The Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Camerons Avatar Essay Example

The Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Camerons Avatar Essay The Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Cameron’s Avatar Abstract In brief, this study discusses about the representation of orientalism idea which is portrayed in the film Avatar. The film tells about the conflict between human and native people in Planet Pandora, where human exploits the land and oppresses the native. This study explores in what way the idea of orientalism is represented and how both narrative and non-narrative aspects of the film helped in delivering that representation. Indeed, to explore the focus of analysis, the study will be completed by applying orientalism criticism proposed by Edward Said. Thereby, this research will be a qualitative research where the data is taken from the film Avatar, library research, journals, and other resources which appropriate in conducting the analysis. This study discovers that Avatar shows the idea of orientalism in three different pursuits: an academic discipline, a style of thought and a corporate institution for dealing with the Orient. Thus, hopefully this will be completed as expected and may give contribution in literary research focusing on film analysis. Key words: Orientalism, Oppression, Narrative, Non-Narrative, Orient. Introduction The European colonialism towards almost the whole Eastern regions has caused the cultural dominance of Western. The European tends to see that they are more civilized and advanced than the colonized people. Tyson states that the colonizers saw themselves at the center of the world; the colonized were at the margins. Furthermore, he also states that the colonizers also saw themselves as the embodiment of what a human being should be, the proper â€Å"self†; native peoples were considered â€Å"other,† and different (419). We will write a custom essay sample on The Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Camerons Avatar specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Camerons Avatar specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Camerons Avatar specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The colonial discourse of â€Å"self† and â€Å"other† thus leads to the practice of othering, which is the practice of judging the different as less than fully human (Tyson 420). This practice of othering can be seen not only in the written text such as literature but also in the narrative of the performed human culture. The â€Å"other† that is created through narratives is imaginary, stereotypical, and biased. But the details of the narratives lend crucial insight into the identity formation of the â€Å"self† as differentiated from the exaggerated â€Å"other† (Roberts 4). There is another specific form of othering called Orientalism. The term of Orientalism appears in the book with the same title Orientalism written by Edward Said, a preeminent scholar and an important figure in postcolonial studies who is also known as an activist n Middle Eastern politics. Orientalism purpose is to produce a positive national self-definition for Western nations by contrast with Eastern nations on which the West projects all the negative characteristics it doesn’t want to believe exist among its own people (Tyson 420). Said’s Orientalism is a study of ‘the West’s’ representation of ‘the East’ and, in particular, how they underpinned imperialist political ambitions and administrations (Baldwin et al. 169). As an academic discipline, Orientalism emerged in the late eighteenth century and has since assembled an archive of knowledge that has served to perpetuate and reinforce Western representations of ‘the East’ which is also known to be ‘the Orient’ (Ashcroft 57). The idea of Orientalism in recent days can be found in current Western depictions of Arab culture and the discussion of politics in Middle East which is closely associated with terrorism. However, the idea of Orientalism does not merely exist only in either the current affair of Western and Middle East or the literature works which represent the distinctive identity between ‘the West’ and ‘the East’, but also in the recent movie production. In 2009 there is one movie production titled Avatar which has a strong depiction of Orientalism. Avatar is directed by James Cameron. This is an adventure sci-fi movie which is delivered in a 3D format. This movie got 56 nominations and won 3 Oscars and 25 other awards. The film reached the second highest blockbuster movie gross in its first month release date and also became the first movie that delivers truly photo-real CG technology. Besides all the awards and the technology this movie has presented, the clear depiction of Orientalism idea in this movie becomes the main reason Avatar is chosen to be the subject of this study. The plot of this movie tells about the exploitation done by human towards Planet Pandora, the place in which the valuable mineral can be obtained. In that place, human has to face and overcome the struggle of the native called Na’vi who opposes the land exploitation. Human scientists invent the avatar program which enables human to drive their avatar body, a genetically-bred human-Na’vi hybrid, and therefore human can freely observes and persuades the native to surrender their land. Here, the idea of Orientalism clearly depicted in the way human represents the native as primitive and uncivilized and how human tries to educate and build the native in the way human believes to be the best way. There are several critics towards Avatar which states that this movie contains racist themes in which the white hero once again saving the primitive natives. The editor in chief sci-fi magazines Jesse Washington writes that Avatar reminds her of Pocahontas story which also tells about how the main white characters realize that they are complicit in a system which is destroying aliens or people of color, and then go beyond assimilation and become leaders of the people they once oppressed. Furthermore, she criticizes the way Avatar is picturing the native incapability to save their selves (The Huffington Post, 2009). This review also supports the idea of orientalism since being white man wan an idea and reality which involved a reasoned position towards both the white and non-white world. Said further suggests that being a White Man, in short, was a very concrete manner of being in the world, a way of taking hold of reality, language, and thought (226). However, Avatar is the new film production which contains the idea of orientalism. This film represents the story in a more advanced technology. Also, during the process of this research, there is no publication of other researches which is using this film and the idea of orientalism as their main subject. Thus, Avatar is worth to be analyzed in this study. From the previous explanation about the issue which will be analyzed, this study will mainly focuses in analyzing how the idea of orientalism represented in the movie through the depiction of the human and the native relation and also how the narrative and non-narrative aspects of the film build that idea. Orientalism by Edward Said is believed to be the most appropriate theory approach of the study. The theory of narrative and non-narrative of film also will be used in this study since the subject of this study is a film, thus the analysis cannot just rely on the story or narrative of the film, but also the non-narrative aspect which plays the same important role in shaping the film. The Idea of Orientalism Represented in Avatar The analysis will be focuses on the representation of the idea of orientalism portrayed in the film Avatar. The film tells about the conflict between human and the native of Planet Pandora called Na’vi which is caused by the oppression and land exploitation done by human. A valuable mineral called unobtanium which only exists in Pandora is the main motive why human try to conquer the place. Pandora, which has the different geographical condition from earth, becomes the object of learning and discovery by human. Thus, Pandora represents the Orient and human represents the Occident. A. Orientalism in the Narrative of Film One way of approaching films is to see them as stories. It involves analyzing the various ways in which some common recurring features of storytelling and plot structures are developed. The term narrative is really quite simply used as another term for story. But it can also be seen as a more technical term relating to attempts to theorize the principles by which stories are structured (Benyahia et al. 50). Narrative cinema’s function is storytelling not description. Furthermore, narrative refers to the strategies, codes and conventions employed to organize the story (Hayward 256). The story of Avatar is brought by one narrator who is also become the main character, Jake Sully. Through his narration, the story of the film is delivered in his perspective and emotional attachment. From the paralyzed marine, he becomes the hero of Na’vi people. The narrative of the film clearly shows the superiority of human. Jake Sully comes as the chosen hero character which in the end of the story saves Na’vi people from human ambition to conquer the Orient. The appearance of Jake Sully as the narrator of the story also initiates that this character has the power to represents the Orient and the Oriental. Thus, human still represented as the superior one since the Na’vi people cannot save themselves. They are saved and helped by the coming of Jake Sully. Even the spirit of Eywa, the native’s goddess, gives the message that places Jake Sully as the important character in the first place. The idea of Orientalism is portrayed in the way human defining the Orient as a dangerous place and its people as irrational and uncivilized. Baldwin et al. suggests that Orientalism is not simply a process of description, but a relation of power and domination whereby one group gets to define identities for all by defining the ‘Orient’ and ‘Orientals’ in certain ways (172). Part of the pervasive power of Orientalism is that it refers to at least three different pursuits, all of which are interdependent: an academic discipline, a style of thought and a corporate institution for dealing with the Orient (Ashcroft and Ahluwalia 57). Those three different pursuits of Orientalism appear in Avatar and will be explored specifically. 1. A style of thought Said argues that Orientalism is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between the Orient and the Occident (3). Mostly covered by forest, Pandora is seen as the dangerous and mystical place. The place is dominated by giant plants and wild animals. With all its exotic and challenging condition, human tends to see Pandora as the place which is waiting to be conquered. This representation is clearly stated in the beginning of the movie when Colonel gives a speech to the newcomer marines. Conversation 1 (scene 0:06:15) Colonel: You’re not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. .. Behind that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies or squat in the mud wants to kill you f you wish to survive, you must obey the rule†¦ As for the native people, human places them in the inferior side. Na’vi is determined to be irrational and uncivilized. Na’vi lives in group and they settle in one big tree deep in the forest. They find their food by hunting. They believe in the spirit named Eywa and the flow of energy that lives through all the living things in the planet. Besides their custom, their biological appearance is also different from human. They are two times higher from human and they have blue skin, a tail and a long braid hair which is functioned as their bond device. From all those differences, both appearance and custom, human places themselves in the contrary position of Na’vi. Thus, human are rational and civilized. 2. An Academic Discipline Said suggests that Orientalism is the discipline by which the Orient was – and is approached systematically, as a topic of learning, discovery and practice (73). In the film Avatar, both Pandora and Na’vi people becomes the object of the study of human. The Avatar program itself is the scientist project in combining the DNA of Na’vi and the DNA of human which will become the driver of the avatar body. As described in the film, Pandora has become the specific field of study. Some books have been written by the scientist and those books have been the sorts of knowledge in order to get a description of Pandora, especially for human who never set foot on that place. Conversation 2 (0:10:20) Norm: Grace Augustine is a legend. She’s the head of Avatar Program. She wrote the book. I mean literary wrote the book on Pandoran botany. Conversation 3 (1:11:54) Grace: There is something really interesting going on there biologically. I would die to get samples. Both conversations above clearly show that Pandora has become the topic of learning for human. The knowledge of Pandora is built through the human’s understanding. Thus, the scientists speak for Pandora and Na’vi people. None of the Orient and Oriental can speak for themselves. 3. A corporate institution for dealing with the Orient The third definition of Orientalism as a corporate institution is demonstrative of its amorphous capacity as a structure used to dominate and to authorize the Orient. Hence, Orientalism necessarily is viewed as being linked inextricably to colonialism (Ashcroft and Ahluwalia 57). In the film clearly describes that human try to give Na’vi people education, transportation and health-care through the company policy. Human wants to build Na’vi based on their agenda so that they can dominate and authorize the native. Conversation 4 (0:12:38) Parker: Look, look, you’re supposed to be winning the hearts and the mind of the natives. Isn’t that the whole point of your little puppet show? If you look like them, talk like them, they’ll start trusting us. We build them a school, we teach them English †¦ Na’vi people are taught to speak in English and they are also invited to attend the school which is built for them. Human needs to educate Na’vi people to think like human so that human can freely explores the richness of the land. Furthermore, the main reason the Avatar Program is created is to become the diplomatic solution between human and Na’vi people. Appears in the same biological body with the natives, human intends to persuade Na’vi people to give away their land. Thus, all the corporate institution that is built to Na’vi people in the film Avatar clarifies the intention of the Occident represented by human to dominate and authorize the native. The idea of Orientalism in the film then portrayed hrough the human dominance in the power of knowledge. Human tends to see Pandora as the subject of the study and the place to be conquered of. This idea can be seen in the three different pursuit of Orientalism: a style of thought, an academic discipline and a corporate institution for dealing with the Orient. B. The Supporting Non-Narrative of Film Non-narrative aspect of the film is functioned as the supporting elements in strengthen the idea and meaning proposed by the narrative aspect. Non-narrative contains of cinematography technique which is separated from narration such as setting, costume and make up, and character appearances. In analyzing this study, several non-narrative aspects mentioned above will be analyzed briefly 1. Setting The setting of the film only takes place in the Planet Pandora, the place where human exploits the land to obtain a valuable mineral. The distinction geographical condition between the Orient and the Occident does not appear in the film since Pandora is the only setting of the film. Pandora is located in six years travel time from earth. The planet is mostly covered by wild forest. There is hardly human building since the native lives inside the forest. The setting is dominated by green and giant plants. There are also flying mountains which significantly differs the geographical condition of Pandora and the Earth. The setting of the Orient represents the dangerous and untamed nature in which the Occident try to conquer. Wild and large forest, flying mountains and steep cliff are the dominant setting of the film. Those setting represent the dangerous and challenging nature. Although the setting in which the Occident is represented is the same as the Orient, but there is a clear distinction between the two places. While the Orient is represented in the wild and dangerous environment, the Occident is represented in an advanced technology environment. Human build the headquarters which filled with high technology equipments. There are no green or giant plants in the setting of the Occident. Thus, from the distinction of the setting the message of superiority is clearly shown. Human rules the native through the power of knowledge and technology. 2. Character Appearance The Occident characters are represented through several human characters portrayed in the film. First is Jake Sully, the main character and the hero. He happens to be unexpected person; invalid and not fulfill the requirement to drive the Avatar body, which surprisingly overcome the task by which he is given to. Second is the Colonel character, the man who sees the military force is the best solution on every problem. Third is Grace, a scientist which creates the Avatar program who sees Pandora as the place of learning and discovery. The Orient character is best described by Neytiri and Tsu-tey. Both of them have a great ability to fight and hunt. It is their belief and dependency towards the spirit that clearly shows their weakness. However strong they might be, they still cannot save their people by their own power. 3. Costume and Make Up The distinction between human and Na’vi is clearly shown since Na’vi has a different biological appearance. Na’vi appears in the blue skin and twice height of human. Bellantoni states that many films use an intense turquoise blue as an exotic presence that, because it’s combined with green, visually warms the conservative forces in a tiny village (131). Here clearly stated that the skin color of the Na’vi signifies the exotic presence which always associated with the Orient. The Na’vi barely wears any clothes and there is only some fabric and beads which covers their vital organ. The distinction then does not appear in the costume wear by human compares to Na’vi people, instead it appears on the Avatar body which is driven by human. Although they have the exact same biological body, Avatar body wears the proper clothes according to human custom. Thus, from the distinction of costume it can be clearly seen that Na’vi represents the uncivilized part while human, although becomes the driver of the Avatar body, represents the civilized one . Conclusion Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that Avatar contains the strong idea of Orientalism. Through the distinction power between the Orient which is represented by Planet Pandora and the Occident which is represented by human, the idea of Orientalism is delivered in three interdependent pursuits proposed by Said. First is Orientalism as a style of thought. Pandora is seen as the dangerous and mystical place. Since it has a different geographical condition with earth where human comes from, human tends to see the Orient as the other, the different and contrary identity from them. With all its exotic and challenging condition, human sees Pandora as the place which is waiting to be conquered. Second is Orientalism as an academic discipline. Pandora has been the object of the scientific study by human. Several books and science projects are created in order to give the broad examination of the Orient. Thus, human has the whole knowledge about the Orient. Human speaks for the Orient according to their understanding and none of the Orient able to represent themselves. Third is Orientalism as a corporate institution for dealing with the Orient. In the film clearly describes that human try to give Na’vi people education, transportation and health-care through the company policy. Human wants to build Na’vi based on their agenda so that they can dominate and authorize the native. The idea of Orientalism which is portrayed in Avatar is supported in both narrative and non-narrative aspect of film. Narrative is the story of the film which contains the plot structure which forms the sequence performed in the film. Avatar is narrated by the main character Jake Sully, which then initiates the emotional and perspective attachment towards the problem. The appearance of Jake Sully as the hero who saves Na’vi people from the destruction of human shows that human indeed still has the superiority towards the Orient and Oriental. Na’vi is described to be incapable to save themselves and thus it places them on the weak and inferior side. The film shows that Jake Sully is the chosen one, the character which will be the savior for Na’vi people. The non-narrative aspects of the film also becomes the important part in giving the supportive power in strengthen the idea which is presented in the narrative aspect. The non-narrative aspects analyzed in this study are setting, character appearance, costume and make-up. All four elements in non-narrative aspects give the supportive power in strengthen the idea of Orientalism and the clear distinction between the Orient and the Occident. To conclude, Avatar is one film which contains the issue of Orientalism. Although it is not rely on the specific Western and Eastern region as proposed by Said, but the role of the power of knowledge which defines human as the superior clearly shows the main idea of Orientalism. Moreover, this ilm has achieved three Oscars and has listed in 53 nominations throughout the world. Then it is undeniable that this film gives a great impression towards the film critics. Works Cited Ashcroft, Bill, and Pal Ahluwalia. Edward Said. London: Routledge, 2001. Avatar. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver. Twentieth Century-Fox, 2009. Baldwin, et al. Introducing Cultural Studies. London: Pearson Education Limited, 1998. Bellantoni, Patti. If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die. Focal Press, 2005. Benyahia, Sarah, Freddie Gaffney, and John White. As Film Studies: The Essential Introduction. Routledge, 2006. Hayward, Susan. Cinema Studies: The Key Concept. London: Routledge, 2000. Loomba, Ania. Colonialism / Postcolonialism. London: Routledge, 1998. Purdue OWL. â€Å"MLA Formatting and Style Guide. † The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2009. Roberts, Kathleen G. Alterity and Narrative: Stories and Negotiation of Western Identities. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007. Said, Edward W. Orientalism. London: Penguin Books, 2003. Tyson, Louis. Critical Theory Today. New York: Garland Publishi ng Inc. , 1999. Washington, Jesse. ‘Avatar’ Critics See Racist Theme. The Huffington Post, 2009.

Critical Description of J.S. Bachs Prelude no. 12 essays

Critical Description of J.S. Bach's Prelude no. 12 essays This piece is taken from Book 2 of J.S. Bachs Forty-Eight Preludes and Fugues (also known as The Well-Tempered Clavier). A prelude could take almost any form, the only conditions being that it should be in the same key as the fugue and form a suitable preparation of the listeners ear and mind for what is to follow, although Bachs preludes were usually a clearly defined musical personality, of which the fugues were logical developments and projections. Prelude no XII is in F minor. Pieces in a minor key are often less cheerful and perhaps darker than those in a major key, and while this prelude is not at all gloomy or dismal, it is somehow quite reflective. The listener does not simply a receive a happy four-minute ditty that is forgotten the moment after the recording finishes (as could be said for some classical pieces that I have heard); it is much more thought-provoking than that. The prelude, and indeed the entire work from which it originates, was designed for a keyboard soloist and from the recording I can well imagine the soloist, even Bach himself playing with great feeling and emotion. This is typically what the audience likes to hear from solo performances, unlike huge orchestras where an individuals efforts can be drowned out by a mass of horns and strings. That is probably why the piece is best suited to the piano rather than any other instrument, such as a violin. Often when I hear violins I expect them to be part of a larger string section, or at least supported by a section. I imagine, perhaps somewhat ignorantly that violins are great for playing fast and furiously, or slowly and serenely, but not for the mid-tempo, middle ground. The piano, however, can achieve this. The performer is instructed to play this piece allegretto espressivo. The listener wants to be able to envisage the pianist playing from the heart, and I think that this performer achieves that. ...

The Availability of Digital Machines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Availability of Digital Machines - Essay Example It is not wrong to argue that current newspapers and magazines are filled with subtle and clever tricks that are used to deceive the public. It is, therefore, advisable to examine images and photographs featured in widely respected magazine and newspaper articles critically, and possibly identify how it has been used to deceive the public. For instance, on April 1 2011, Brian Walski, a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times Working in Iraq, was fired after his editors identified that he had used two of his Iraqi photographs into one, to improve its composition. This paper, therefore, describes how photographs can be manipulated to change the whole meaning of the original information to lose its credibility, by using Brian Walski controversial Iraqi photographs. In Walski’s photograph, there is an armed British soldier and Iraqi citizens in Basra. The soldier is gesturing at the Iraqi civilians, apparently urging them to take cover, while a standing man carrying a young child in his arms appears to look at the soldier astonishingly. This controversial photograph featured in page one of some leading newspapers such as Hartford Courant, Times, and the LA Times, has met many critics from the public (Lester 258). This photograph is believed to be bogus: a computer-generated amalgam of two separate images combined into one image. In one photograph (un-manipulated) image, the soldier is not featured gesturing and looking at the standing man holding a child (Lester 258). In the second photograph, also un-manipulated, the soldier appears to gesture dramatically, and the standing man holding a child is much less visible (Lester 261). Therefore, it is not wrong to conclude that Walski generated amalgam of two separate images into one superb il legitimate one.

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United States Cuba Relations And The Economies Politics Essay Economic sanctions can be and are a valuable tool for enforcing international norms and protecting our national interests. The U.S. Policy of applying economic pressure in Cuba originated soon after Fidel Castro came into power in 1959. The United States first imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba on February 3, 1962, after the Kennedy Administration became convinced that Castro was moving rapidly toward the establishment of a totalitarian regime in alliance with the Soviet Union. Castro had not only confiscated U.S. and other Cuban and foreign-owned properties on the island, but had been providing indiscriminate support for violent revolution throughout the Americas as part of his efforts to carry on the continental struggle against the Yankees, which he considers to be his true destiny. The embargo was formally begun by President, John F. Kennedy, and has been supported by all successive Presidents. 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American businessmen claim that the effects of even limited unilateral trade sanctions will go well beyond the targeted sectors. They also argue that the effects of such action will tend to linger long after the embargo is lifted because U.S. forms will come to be regarded as unreliable suppliers. Exports lost today may mean lower exports after the sanctions are lifted because U.S. firms will not be able to supply complementary parts, replacement parts, or related technologies. These indirect effects may extend beyond the sanctioned products and even beyond the time period in which the sanctions are imposed. Jobs in the export sector of the economy tend to pay better than the average wages. Thus even in the full employment economy that the U.S. is enjoying now, the loss of exports still means a loss in wages-the export wage sector premium. The export sector wage premium is about 12 to 15 percent, taking into account both direct and indirect employment. In 1995, the average salary in the manufacturing sector was about $34,020, so the premium paid by the export sector was about $4080 per worker (12% of $34,020). What these figures mean is that, as a consequence of U.S. sanctions, workers probably lost between $800 million and $1 billion in export sector wage premiums in 1995. In some periods in the last two decades, when the U.S. economy was not flourishing with full employment, and when jobs were not readily available, the loss of these exports may have added to the unemployment rolls. But even if the loss of exports had a zero effect on unemployment, it certainly reduced the number of good paying jobs. If the next twenty years see similar applications of sanctions in the United States, the cumulative loss of wage premiums could be around $20 billion (20 years times roughly $1billion a year). This is a heavy cost for us, and does not even take into account less tangible costs like making U.S. companies seem unreliable as suppliers and handing over business to foreign competitors. U.S. businesses are alarmed by the proliferation of trade sanctions by federal, state, and local governments and are pushing for legislation making it harder to use commerce as a weapon in international disputes. USA*Engage and its 632 businesses and organization members argue that unilateral trade sanctions rarely work, and often, they do backfire and have a bad affect ion American interests. Most of the analysis of the effectiveness of economic sanctions suggests they have limited utility for changing the behavior or governments of target countries. Previous research at the Institute for International Economics concluded that US sanctions had positive outcomes in fewer than one in five cases in the 1970s and 1980s. Much less is known about the costs of economic sanctions for the U.S. economy. Foreign investment in Cuba has failed abysmally to meet the regimes own expectations. Many of the countries that had committed investment hardly reached what they had actually promised (see chart below). Originally targeted at $500 million per year when new measures to attract foreign investment were introduced in 1990, the three-year investment total (FY 90-91 to 92-93) barely reached $500 million. For thirty years, the United States had a media ban restricting the media from having outposts in Cuba. American news bureaus were closed down in Cuba in 1969 when Castros government expelled the last members of the Associated Press who had been operating in the country. Almost thirty years later, in February 1997, President Clinton stated that ten news organizations would receive licenses allowing them to resume operations in Cuba. The decision to lift the news media restrictions came at a time when questions concerning relations with Cuba began to cause policy rifts between the United States and our European allies. Despite this minor concession made by the White House concerning the media networks, the policies of the Clinton Administration remained avidly anti-Castro. Clintons main intentions concerning Cuba are to promulgate democratic reforms in the government and bring an end to four decades of communism in Cuba. During Clintons first term in office, he signed into law, a bill that imposed sanctions on any country that chose to do business with the Castro government, the Helms-Burton Act. Our European allies argued that the law was an attempt by the United States to control the foreign policies of other countries. And they vowed to challenge the law before the newly formed World Trade Organization (WTO). After Cuban fighter jets shot down two passenger planes without warning in February 1996, President Clinton showed no hesitation in signing this bill into law. Part of his intentions were to send Cuba a powerful message that the United States will not tolerate further loss of American life, as Clinton stated himself. The bill targets companies doing business in Cuba in an attempt to block crucial international investment sought by the Cuban government. It allows Americans to sue companies that profit from the property the Cuban government has confiscated in the past 35 years, a stipulation many U.S. allies have shown opposition for. One of the major reasons for the imposition of the embargo was the Cuban Governments failure to compensate thousands of U.S. companies and individuals whose properties, large and small, were confiscated after the revolution. They specifically targeted and took property owned by U.S. nationals. Under the Cuba claims programs in the 1960s, the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission certified 5,911 valid claims by U.S. nationals against the Government of Cuba. The Castro government also took property from thousands of Cubans, some of whom have since become U.S. citizens. Under the law, any person who makes use of property confiscated from Americans by Castros government can be denied entry into the United States. Cuban-American Representative Ileana Ros-Lechtin, R-Florida, said the bill will penalize those who have become Castros new patron saints: the foreign investors who callously traffic in American confiscated property in Cuba to profit from the misery of the Cuban worker. The bill also urges the president to seek an international embargo against Cuba, but currently, no other economic power observes an embargo. Cuba doesnt seem very concerned though. The main victim of this law will be the United States itself, said Paul Taladrid, Cubas deputy minister for foreign investment, because it will have to face the opposition of the r est of the world, or its closest allies. Although many U.S. allies oppose parts of the policy, they have said that they agree with us on the key goal of encouraging democracy and human rights in Cuba. Even when supporting Cubas resolution at the UN General Assembly against the U.S. embargo of Cuba, The European Union made clear its opposition to Cubas human rights policies. The best known and most controversial parts of the Act are Title III and Title IV which created a private cause of action in U.S. Courts and prohibits visas and entry into the United States to those who traffic in confiscated property claimed by a U.S. national. The provisions extend well beyond Americas legal reach. These provisions prompted the European Union to initiate a complaint against the U.S. in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Canada and Mexico called for consultations under the provisions of NAFTA. Many think that the Act is a misguided principle; critics claim that it attempts to undermine the regime of Castro by depriving him of hard currency. This is futile, not only because the U.S. finds itself alone in its policy of isolating Cuba; although sometimes a lonely policy may be the right one. Both Canada, the biggest investor in the island country, and the European Union are still poised to retaliate against the United States. American allies reject the idea of making foreign policy under threat of lawsuit. Although the United States has such a problem with other countries not backing the embargo, an embarrassing example is still extant. After the foundation of the state of Israel, an Arab boycott penalized foreign firms for doing business with the new state. America rightly opposed this policy; now it must prepare to reverse itself. U.S. allies in Europe and Latin-America are livid over Helms-Burton; by what right, they ask, do U.S. Courts presume to impose sanctions against foreigners doing their own business in Cuba? Several of these countries have passed counteracting laws allowing their citizens to sue in their courts if Helms-Burton cases are brought against them in the United States. All this does is leave a potential legal rats nest benefiting nobody but the lawyers. Helms-Burton in section 306(b) gives the President authority to suspend the provisions allowing lawsuits against traffickers for successive periods of six months if he finds that such a step is necessary to the national interests of the United States and will expedite the transition to democracy in Cuba. President Clinton has already exercised this option several times to appease the dissention from our allies. We have been able to manage this serious disagreement with our close allies and trading partners and advance the promotion of democracy in Cuba. Under Secretary Eizenstat reached an Understanding with the EU in April 1997 under which the EU agreed to suspend its WTO case and step up its efforts to promote democracy in Cuba. The parties also agreed to negotiate disciplines on property confiscated in contravention of international law, including property in Cuba, and principles on conflicting jurisdictions. These discussions are in a crucial phase and, if an agreement is reached, the Administration will discuss with Congress the possibility of obtaining authority to waive Title IV of the Act. There is a large body of misconceptions about the present state of health care in Cuba, including the false accusation that it is the U.S. policy to deny medicine or medical supplies and equipment to the Cuban people. The end of Soviet subsidies forced Cuba to face the real costs of its health care system. Unwilling to adopt the economic changes necessary to reform its dysfunctional economy, the Castro government quickly faced a large budget deficit. In response, the Cuban Government made a deliberate decision to continue to spend money to maintain its military and internal security apparatus at the expense of other priorities including health care. In 1995, Cubas imports totaled $2.8 billion dollars, yet only $46 million dollars only 1.5% of overall foreign purchaseson medical imports for its 11 million people. By comparison, Cubas neighbor, the Dominican Republic, spent $208 million dollars on medical imports for its 7.5 million citizens in 1995. The US embargo does NOT deny medicines and medical supplies to the Cuban people. As stipulated in Section 1705 of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the U.S. Government routinely issues licenses for the sale of medicine and medical supplies to Cuba. The only requirement for obtaining a license is to arrange for end-use monitoring to ensure that there is no reasonable likelihood that these items could be diverted to the Cuban military, used in acts of torture or other human rights abuses, or re-exported or used in the production of biotechnological products. Independent non-governmental organizations, international organizations, or foreign diplomats can perform monitoring of sales. Since 1992, 36 of 38 license requests have been approved to U.S. companies and their subsidiaries to sell medicine and medical equipment to Cuba. Sales have included such items as thalamonal, depo-provera, pediatric solutions, syringes, and other items. The Department of Commerce declined the other two requests for licenses it received for failure to meet legal standards. Both of these exceptions to the general policy of approving commercial medical sales occurred in 1994. Moreover, the U.S. embargo on Cuba affects only U.S. companies and their subsidiaries. Other nations and companies are free to trade with Cuba. Should Cuba choose not to purchase from the U.S., it can purchase any medicine or medical equipment it needs from other countries. Such third-country transactions only cost an estimated 2%-3% more than purchases from the U.S. as a result of higher shipping costs. In closing, the essential element of the tragedy of the Cuban people is not the United States-Cuba conflict; rather, it is the struggle of eleven million people who seek to assert their human dignity and reclaim the inalienable political, economic and civil rights that were taken away from them by the Castro regime. The Cuban people have been victims of one of the most oppressive regimes of the twentieth century. The systematic violation in Cuba of each and every human right recognized in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been faithfully documented in recent years at the UN Human Rights Commission and by respected human rights organizations throughout the world. The truth is there for all that wish to see. Impervious to the deplorable living conditions of the people, the asphyxiating lack of liberty, and to repeated international calls for democratic change, Castro staunchly clings onto the reins of absolute power. Yet, despite the regimes relentless repres sion, those on the island are courageously demonstrating their commitment to change with increasing resolve. The U.S. economic embargo against the Castro regime has weakened its capability to repress this universal desire for freedom and is an expression of moral support that strengthens the will of those who seek to wrestle from the hands of a dictator the destiny of a whole nation.

Information Age :: essays research papers

Discussion Board Activity Question Activity Based Costing in the Information Age Activity based costing systems provide a much more accurate picture of product costs than do traditional product costing systems. This exercise focuses on an article presented on the Web site of the ACA Group, an alliance of highly trained and experienced consultants and instructors. The ACA Group provides in-house training, management consulting, and systems installation. You may recognize the names of some of the Group's clients including General Motors, Nissan Motor Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, Dole Packaged Foods, Gillette, Xerox, Gateway, and Anheiser Busch. The title of the article used for this exercise is entitled "Activity based Costing in the Information Age." (http://www.theacagroup.com/activitybasedcosting.htm). It was written by Jim Tarr, president of J.D. Tarr Associates. Mr. Tarr has over 25 years experience in consulting, senior management, and in industrial and manufacturing engineering. You have been asked by your manager to read the article and prepa re a brief for other managers in the organization. The brief must answer the following questions. 1. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of traditional product costing systems? There are many advantages and disadvantages, in traditional product costing systems. As, listed in Mr. Tarr ¡Ã‚ ¦s article you can see first that the advantages are apparent and clear. The purpose for this system is what is was intended for. And that is standard cost accounting, Companies where designed to do the following for success.1) homogeneous products, 2) large direct costs compared to indirect costs, 3) limited ability to collect data and 4) low "below the line" costs. (Tarr, James D. N.d.) So, with changing time ¡Ã‚ ¦s and the system being build over 70years ago. This has been cause for change because of the disadvantages the system brings to the table due in part to the  ¡Ã‚ §advent of certified financial statements, accounting systems became more structured to comply with the demands of external stakeholders ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Tarr, James D. N.d.) So, the primary purpose and focus of cost accounting today is to value inventory for financial statements. The negative t rend continues due in part to the floes that the "leveraging effect" of direct labor overhead application as cause as many other applications have given cost accounting negative effects as well. 2. For what type of business case were traditional costing systems designed? Why isn't a traditional costing system appropriate for today's companies? Traditional costing systems were designed for a company with large direct costs in comparison to indirect costs, a limited ability to collect data, homogeneous products and low  ¡Ã‚ §below the line ¡Ã‚ ¨ costs.

Regret by Kate Chopin Essay

In the short story â€Å"Regret† by Kate Chopin, a woman named Mamzelle Aurelie has to watch a neighbor’s four children for two weeks. Mamzelle is an old and lonely woman who never believed in love or marriage. She has never had a man, nor been married, and lives alone on her farm with some animals. She also has African Americans, or â€Å"negroes†, who work around her house for maintenance. Because of a dangerous illness that her mother acquired, the younger neighbor had to leave, and could no longer watch after her children. This is where Mamzelle comes in, who has never had children before. In the beginning, she has great problems managing the children. However, after a short period of time, she begins realizing that humans need more than just food and a place to sleep. This is when she really starts to develop a relationship with the children. Once the children return to their mother, Mamzelle cries very heavily in remorse. In the beginning, Mamzelle is described as â€Å"a good strong figure, ruddy cheeks† and â€Å"a determined eye†. She wears â€Å"a man’s hat† and â€Å"a blue army overcoat†. and even sometimes â€Å"top-boots†. From her brief description, it is clear that there is no femininity, nor does there appear to be any desire to become more feminine. Before meeting the children, there was no desire to become more feminine, until realizing what she had been missing out on. She is forced to play a feminine role, by cooking, sewing, and telling the children bedtime stories to fall asleep. She softens to the point in which she cries, and carries a regret in her heart from never having her own children. The main theme of the story, which is the title of the poem, is regret. The woman in the story has lived a lonely life, and she thought that she was happy with the life she had. It wasn’t until taking care of her neighbor’s children did she realize what she was missing out on by being alone. For the first time, while caring for those children, she began to realize all the joys and sadness that life brings. She has regret that she didn’t live life to its fullest, regret that she didn’t want that priceless joy in her life,  and regret that she was too old to try and acquire it.

Logophile Definition, Etymology, and Use

Logophile Definition, Etymology, and Use A logophile is a lover of words. Also called a  word lover or philologos.  A related term is logomaniac, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person who is obsessively interested in words. EtymologyFrom the Greek, word love Examples and Observations I am a lifelong logophile if not an out-and-out verbivore. I have a good ear and a good memory for words, its just a kind of tic or trick, the way some lucky people can play a song by ear after hearing it once or count cards at blackjack or spot four-leaf clovers. Unusual and specialized words tend to lodge in my mind, where they hang around, often for years, until I need them. American English has an astonishingly rich vocabulary and we typically use so little of it; I think thats a shame, or maybe it would be better to say I think of it as an invitation.I write with two dictionaries right at my elbow . . .. I look forward to visiting my dictionaries anew every time I sit down to write. The same goes for when Im reading and I come across an unknown word: Quaternions? Yahoo! I get to go to the dictionary!I know thats probably kind of freakish. I guess I am counting on the readership of freaks.(Michael Chabon, Questions for Michael Chabon. The New York Times, Feb. 8, 2007)I am a medic al logophile, and in using words, I will often go to the Greek or Latin roots; doing so helps me use words more precisely.(Robert B. Taylor, Medical Writing: A Guide for Clinicians, Educators, and Researchers, 2nd ed. Springer, 2011) Vocabulary Building[The] suspicion of new words, a distaste of verbal novelty, is acquired in school from dreary English teachers still in thrall to Hemingwayesque simplicities. You know their chief cliche from your own school days: always use the simple word, class! Never seek out a synonym or exotic foreign term. Thank goodness I had a father who taught the very opposite: always discover the rarest yet still correct word. By doing that, a young student accomplishes two things. You expand your vocabulary and you flummox ordained pedagogical authority, namely the dull teacher.(  Bill Casselman,  Where a Dobdob Meets a Dikdik: A Word Lovers Guide to the Weirdest, Wackiest, and Wonkiest Lexical Gems. Adams Media, 2010)The Sweetest-Sounding Words in English (1950)While most of the words that [columnist Frank] Colby discusses are suggested by his readers, Colby turned the tables in 1942 by asking them: What are the most euphonious English words? The top ten by popular vote: mother, m emory, Cellophane, bellboy, melancholy, belladonna, flamingo, wilderness, tambourine, lavender. Last week Logophile Colby reported the results of a new readers poll. Mother had slipped a bit, but was still listed among the top ten. There were eight new favorites. The 1950 hit parade: melody, lullaby, mimosa, memory, mellow, mother, moonbeam, murmuring, beautiful, lanolin.(The Press: Mimosa, Moonbeams Memory. Time magazine, Jan. 30, 1950) Creating KingdomsA love of words comes from the work of playing around with language. We learn words by hearing them, rolling them around on our tongues and in our minds like a small child does as she learns language. A person who loves language plays with ithears words and links them with other sounds, other meanings, and other words. The patterns and sounds of language are fascinating to the lover of words. From these connections, many poets find poems. Poetry comes as Harry Behn writes (1968) from falling in love with language. Rebecca Kai Dotlich says in A Kingdom of Words, that a word may seem to be just a word, but a poet can create a kingdom around it.(Barbara Chatton, Using Poetry Across the Curriculum: Learning to Love Language. Greenwood, 2010) Also Known As: word lover, philologos

Abortion2 essays

Abortion2 essays This topic has always been a concern between the people and the government. There are approximately 1.6 million abortions. Abortion means Induced termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or fetus that is incapable of survival. I think that basically, people can do whatever they want to do, as long as they know what they are doing. What abortion is, is that if a woman has a baby in her stomach, and she does not want to have the baby, she can go through abortion or have the baby and put the baby for adoption. The main reason for aborting a baby is because that they can not handle the responsibility, another one is because they can not afford it. There are three stages in a womans pregnancy. The first stage is when the baby is still a small egg kind of growing. The second stage is when it actually gets their feet and hands and a heart. The third stage is when it is actually living off of your body as another human being. think that if you are too young to have a ba by, and you are pregnant, then I think it should be ok for the person to abort the child. One of the side effects for having an abortion is that you feel the pain and you can get diarrhea, nausea, also it increases chances of getting cancer, anemia, and lung disease. Another effect that has on the women is the psychological effects. About ninety five percent of the women who had an abortion had a negative psychological effect, and ninety seven percent thought they have taken a humans life. There are many ways to abort a child, most of the time the doctor would just prescribe medication to take. If medication does not work, they will pull it out. Most of the time, the medication would kill the baby and the woman would just have to give birth to a dead baby, or they can make it so that you have a miscarriage. However, if the baby is in its first trimester, a vacuum can suck it and it will have hardly any damage to yo ...

Effects of steroids on calcium activated potassium channels and Essay

Effects of steroids on calcium activated potassium channels and secretion of LH and FSH in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - Essay Example The secretion of these hormones by the gonadotropes is in turn mediated by the activity of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) produced by the BPG axis (Borg, 1994). Apart from regulating gametogenesis, these hormones also control steroidogenesis, a process that produces sex steroids involved in moderating gametogenesis (Schulz and Goos, 1999). Another important regulating hormone for the gonadotropins is dopamine, which has been reported as a down regulator in several teleost fish (Borg, 1994). The releasing hormone, GnRH, once produced binds and activates its receptors found on the membrane of the hormone producing cells of the pituitary gland (Bliss, Navratil, Xie, & Roberson, 2010). Contrastingly in teleost, there is a direct innervation of the pituitary gland by GnHR neurons, whereas, in humans and other mammals, the action of GnHR is via neurochemostasis (Mousa & Mousa, 2003). The binding of GnHR to its receptors on the gonadotropes triggers an increase in intracellular calcium ion concentration an action that stimulates the secretion of the hormones by the activated cells. The initial and immediate secretion of the hormones is by exocytosis of hormone vesicles, which is later followed by long term gene transcription to sustain prolonged secretions. The increase in calcium ion concentration is mediated by various mechanisms, such as an influx via voltage-gated channels, and release from intracellular stores. For example, action potentials tend to promote the influx of extracellular calcium ions in voltage-gated calcium ion channels expressing cells. The elevated calcium ions concentration, in the cells activates, calcium activated Potassium channels (CAPC), a pathway that plays a significant role in modulating membrane potentials and thus the electrophysiological effect on hypothalamic releasing hormones (Fettiplace & Fuchs, 1999). CAPCs are

Concert Attendance Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Concert Attendance Report - Assignment Example Classical at the Freight brought some of the best classical musicians of the Bay Area. I spent the hour listening to outstanding chamber music in an atmosphere that was quite friendly and informal. The musicians were seated on the stage in a semi-circle carrying different musical instruments. The bands musical instruments included violin and cello. One man played both English horn and oboe simultaneously. Wooden paneling rising vertically from the floor to the Freight & Salvage Coffee House board made the background and created a very sophisticated and peaceful environment. Peter Lemberg is SFCO principal oboist. He came to the Freight with this friskily plangent musical program for the English horn and strings. Together with All-Stars of SFCO, Peter performed the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Jean Francaix. One of the songs performed by the band was â€Å"Quatuor (1971): 1. Allegro vivace by David Juritz, Rebecca Knight†. There was a lot of variety in the music. The structure of the music was soft and smooth and had a good flow. The purpose of the music was to create an atmosphere of comfort and light joy. The tempo of the song was allegro. The volume was reasonably loud to make it audible to the entire audience. The song had a soft and smooth rhythm and the melody was sweet. The first thing that came to my mind to hear such sweet melody was Tom & Jerry Cartoons. We often hear such music played in the background in the mouse and cat chase. The song belongs to the era few decades ago, but its sweet melody and energy makes it relevant to t he audience even today. I was very excited at the concert because it had occurred more as a surprise to me since I had not planned to go there originally. I listened to the music very attentively because my friends had praised this band a lot. I wanted to know why were they such big fans of the band. I enjoyed the concert because I witnessed the perfection and extreme talent of the