America Shopping Cart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

America Shopping Cart - Essay Example Thirdly, it saves on parking and petrol costs that would have been incurred if one went out shopping the traditional way. In addition, there are no salesmen involved in the process of shopping online, which implies that there are no additional costs. Moreover, online shopping provides a good shopping environment where one has the freedom to shop the way they wanted to shop. Finally, online shopping assists in the case of buying presents to people overseas if one shops online, which eliminates the cost of importation. Despite these disadvantages, online shopping has varying disadvantages. In this case, that it takes a longer period of time in delivery of products bought online than traditional shopping. Secondly, the shopper does not get the advice they may need on the product which is mostly provided by the seller unlike in the case of traditional shopping. Thirdly, the buyer may get the rejected products that have been brought back by other buyers. In addition, the buyer incurs expenses in postage of the product to his residence. It is not possible to test the products hence they is a high risk of purchasing a wrong product. According to (Popcorn and Marigold), traditional shopping was mainly used before the emergence and innovation of online shopping. Like online shopping, traditional shopping has some advantages although they differ from advantages of online shopping. First, the fact that one can see and test the product they want to buy before they actually buy the product makes an individual make an informed decision. Secondly, one gets the product immediately they purchase it, which is crucial when the goods are needed urgently. In addition, traditional shopping provides for direct communication between the seller and the client and this provides a better chance for bargains and in-depth details about the product. Moreover, this

Medium & light industries Essay Example for Free

Medium light industries Essay Medium light industries have also received a significant portion of the industrial development funds because they are less capital intensive than heavy industry and they can generally turn a quicker profit. Chinas textile industry is the largest in the world, which is why its typically referred to on its own as opposed to being grouped within the light industry branch. Chinese enterprises have a competitive advantage in the textile industry because of the abundant supply of cheap resources, which includes labor and raw materials such as cotton. China ranks among the world leaders in the production of coal and oil. Coal is the primary energy source among petroleum, electric power, and coal in China. Therefore, a vast majority of the coal that is mined is consumed domestically. On the other hand, the petroleum industry has expanded beyond the domestic consumption capacity. Thus, the petroleum industry also services foreign markets with crude oil and other refined petroleum products to a certain extent. Services Chinas service sector (tertiary industry) includes many industries such as food beverage, banking financial services, retail trade, commerce, legal services, health services and insurance services. Similar to the manufacturing and industry sector, Chinas service sector has blossomed with the economic reforms of the last two decades. Before the reforms Chinas service sector was virtually non-existent. Today the service sector has grown to account for 33.8% of the countrys GDP (2002 est.). Retail trade has taken in Chinas urban areas. The roads are now lined with a multitude of privately owned shops and street markets. In the larger towns and cities immense shopping centers and department stores are also common. Western food and beverage chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and McDonalds are also popping up in residential areas. Before the reforms, tourism was very limited because government policies prevented almost all foreigners from visiting China. Today this industry is receiving more attention because the government sees this market as an opportunity to earn foreign dollars. To accommodate tourism many hotels have been built, airline destinations within the country have grown and historic sites, such as the Great Wall, have been opened to foreigners. The communications industry has also benefited from the economic reforms. The telecommunications industry boomed during the 1990s and now telephone service can be found in basically every locality although only 16.7% of households have a phone. Today there are many magazines and over 2,000 newspapers published across China. Radio and television broadcast are also in abundant supply reaching 75% of the population although only 1 citizen out of 3 owns a television. The States heavy hand compels the media to refrain from reporting on politically sensitive issues. As a result, the media adheres to a strict code of self regulation to ward off further government manipulation. Trends and Outlook According to the official figures reported for real GDP, Chinas economy grew to $1,405.95 billion, an increase of 9.1% which is higher than the rate that was forecasted. Government officials speculated that with the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus across China the consequences would be felt in the form of an underperforming economy, especially in the services sector. Therefore, an annual growth of 7-8% was predicted although many in the economic community felt this figure was too low. Chinese officials arent intentionally sandbagging the forecasts. Instead they are still acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to make accurate macroeconomic forecasts, which can be quite difficult in China whose economic statistics are generally misrepresented, especially at the provincial and local levels. The following 2 graphs illustrate Chinas GDP, CPI RPI since 1996. After falling 0.8% in 2002, Chinas consumer price index (CPI) increased slightly in 2003 by 1.2% compared to the previous year. By location, CPI increased by 0.9% in urban areas and by 1.6% in rural areas. The increase in CPI is somewhat misleading because of state interference. Although price controls for commodities are virtually nonexistent, the state indirectly influences the prices for 13 broad categories of items such as electric power, transportation, communication, and some services. Retail prices continued to drop by 0.1% from the 2002 level, which has been on a downward trend for 6 consecutive years. Analyst believe this downward trend is an indicator that China might not be able to sustain or create the needed high levels of consumption and investment required to fix the structural problems that plague the countrys economy, especially from the private sector. China essentially fixes (pegs) the exchange rate of the yuan to the U.S. dollar allowing it to float against other currencies in accordance with changes in the values of the dollar. Although officials recognize the need to eventually switch over to a market-based exchange rate mechanism, the time frame for implementing such a mechanism hasnt been defined. Consequently, the yuan exchange rate remained relatively stable in 2003. Chinas balance of payments remained in a strong position as a result of interest rates that fell for countries in the west (United States) and due to Chinas current account which continued its good standing. Although the trade surplus was $25.5 billion in 2003, this was a decrease from the previous year by $4.9 billion. The countrys foreign exchange reserves saw considerable growth to $403.3 billion, an increase of $116.8 billion compared with 2002 end of year figures. The following 2 graphs depict Chinas foreign exchange reserves and foreign direct investment. The principal growth sectors in China continue to be within the secondary and tertiary industries. The value added in the secondary industry for 2003 was $744.31 billion and $453.84 billion for the tertiary industry which represents an increase of 12.5% and 6.7% respectively over last year. Conversely the value added for the primary industry, which employs half of the labor force, was only $207.8 billion representing a meager growth of 2.5% year-on-year. The continued high growth rates in the secondary industries is fueled by government spending to build the states infrastructure, technical upgrades by leading enterprises, and a tremendous upsurge in the output of steel, which is needed to supply the construction materials and manufacturing equipment required to service real estate development. Although the SARS outbreak had detrimental effects on the retail sales and other service industries, this segment is expected to show signs of a rebound in the near future. This holds true esp ecially for the telecommunications sector. China is now home to the largest wireless and wireline networks in the world and preferential government policies have made this sector very attractive. Although its not reflected in official figures, Chinas labor surplus continues to be problematic for the economy. Income inequality is also an area of concern where urban residents annual disposable per capita income amounts on average to $928 compared to rural figures of $298 which is will below the World Banks $1 per day, i.e. $365, poverty line standard. Other main problems that quell economic and social development include energy shortages, a weak legal structure, corruption, nonperforming loans, inefficient state operated enterprises and most important a socialist system that interferes too much with pricing, interest rates fees, and general market control. TRADE China ranks 4th in the world for exports at $431.6 billion based on 2003 estimates, trailing the United States, German, and Japanese exports. On the other hand, 2003 estimates indicate that the PRC ranks 3rd in the worlds imports at $397.4 billion. The trade balance between the values of imports and exports continued Chinas long standing trend of having a trade surplus. As Chinas foreign relationships improve and barriers against trade fall, its projected that the trade surplus will eventually diminish in magnitude. The worlds economic community frequently had problems with Chinas human rights policies during the 1990s. American disapproval was particularly poignant to the point that the United States teetered on the verge of withdrawing Chinas normal trading status (historically referred to most-favored-nation trading status). Understanding how important the normal trading status was for the countrys continued growth, Chinese officials radically changed the regulations and rules governing trade and investment. The sweeping reforms were aimed at increasing international competition and investment, decreased protectionism for domestic enterprises by limiting previous barriers on U.S. imports of agricultural and industrial goods, and by decreasing tariffs. In turn, the U.S. Congress ratified legislation in 2000 granting the PRC permanent normal trading status based on the belief that improved trading relations will foster labor, environmental and human rights reforms in China. Regulations and Standards Chinas foreign investment and trade policies have historically lacked transparency. This has resulted in a system that generally creates a great deal confusion when it comes to trade and foreign investment because the rules and regulations governing business activity can not be obtained easily; therefore, they arent applied consistently and they often vary by region. Other downsides include poor protection of intellectual property, unequal treatment between domestic and foreign companies, and an inadequate mechanism for resolving disputes. December 11th, 2001, marked Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Even though China is now a standing member of the WTO, the PRC still has a long way to go to adopt all the necessary WTO regulations, which is being accomplished through reforms and the passage of new legislation. Chinas entry into the WTO has not only improved the countrys growth potential but it will also service the Chinese people by improving labor, environmental, and human rights conditions, which will ultimately affect the Chinese culture to a certain degree. Significant changes resulting from the WTO accession include tariff cuts and a dramatic expansion of trading rights in 2002. In 2003, China further reduced tariffs and reformed its tax system in an effort to lessen the distinction between foreign and domestic enterprises based on the principle of national treatment. Quotas on imported goods have also been considerably lowered. The latest change deals with the WTOs transparency requirement. As of July 1st, 2004, the Chinese government promulgated reforms for business licensing. In the past enterprises wishing to do business with China had to undergo an approval process through the Ministry of Commerce which was time consuming, cumbersome, and not clearly defined. The new system utilizes a registration process that is clearly defined and easily accessible with little or no barriers to trade for individuals or legal entities seeking import and or export licensing. Therefore, the registration process is expected to remove yet another trade barrier by making Chinas market more accessible to foreign entities wishing to operate within and to China.

Domestic Violence and A Mandatory Arrest

Domestic Violence and A Mandatory Arrest Domestic violence is a serious problem in todays society. According to FBI statistics, about 4 million incidents of domestic violence occur throughout each year in the United States. The FBI states, In the United States of America, a man beats a woman every 12 seconds (Mordini, 2004). Mordini, an associate at the Davis Brown Law Firm, conducted a study that found approximately 3.3 million children witness acts of domestic violence each year and that 70% of men who beat their wives also abuse their children. Domestic violence costs American businesses $4 billion dollars each year in the low productivity, staff turnover, absenteeism, and excessive use of medical benefits (Mordini, 2004). During the early 1970s and 1980s, research and studies on domestic violence drew national attention to the issue. Since the middle of the 1980s, recognition of domestic violence has resulted in the problem of shifting from a minor public concern to a major policy issue. Since 1994 alone, the number of new laws enacted across the country that deal with domestic violence is well over 1,500 and the number of bills introduced during this same time is estimated to be around 10 to 20,000 (Miller 2005). In order for mandatory arrest laws on domestic violence to be put into action there were serious debates occurring on how police officers can make an arrest if they have probable cause that domestic violence has in fact occurred. During the mid to late 1980s, a number of states adopted such laws as an effort to combat domestic violence and to control police behavior. However, there is no clear consensus among politicians, law enforcement officials and researchers on the effects that mandatory arrest policies have for victims of domestic violence (Miller, 2005). Thus, the verdict remains unclear on whether these laws provide the intended protection and relief to victims they were designed to, or whether they are the cause of unintended consequences such as increased violence. The domestic violence law slowly evolved throughout the years. Under early common law, women were seen as the property of their fathers or their husbands, and they consequently lacked any kind of identity of their own. This principle was embodied by common law because, when a man and a woman marry, they were seen as a legal entity. A husband had inter-spousal immunity from torts from his wife, but he would be held responsible for torts of his wife, prior to and after marriage (Mordini, 2004). Due to this principle, a husband is able to discipline his wife if she misbehaved. This introduces the Rule of Thumb concept. This concept encouraged violence against women and came from a time that allowed a man to beat his wife as long as he didnt use a stick that was thicker than his thumb (Rizer III, 2005). This concept regulated the use of violence and allowed acceptance within society. Under the 1974 North Carolina court ruling, the law provides that, absent a showing of permanent injury or malice, the preferred treatment of domestic violence cases was to draw a curtain, shut out the public gaze, and leave the parties to forgive and forget (Mordini, 2004). The beating of a wife became a big social issue and it took awhile for the court to deem it unlawful. In 1920, violence against women finally became illegal in all fifty states, including the District of Columbia. However, the legal prohibition of domestic violence still did not protect domestic violence victims because the predominant opinion was that the law should stay out of the private matters of the home (Mordini 2004). Finally, until the 1960s and 1970s, did women start taking a stand and domestic violence womens shelters were created. Another development over history was the Battered Women Movement. Rather than taking on an overwhelmingly political front, shelters looked at the psychological aspects of battery. Instead of having marches and protests on the streets, coordinators and volunteers at these shelters worked individually with each victim and gave the movement a very personal and individual voice. Hotlines and crisis centers were created for victims. The motto of this movement was we will not be beaten. This movement led to more victims speaking out about how they are being abused behind closed doors by their husbands. Some believe that the Battered Womens Movement is often overlooked because of the perceived lack of impact it had during the second wave of feminism. Because there were no dramatic rallies or events to draw large-scale attention to the movement, people have often disregarded it as nothing more than moderately influential. However, what they dont realize is that it had a different type of power that didnt draw too much of attention as how other feminist acts did (Lutz, 2004). Police response to domestic violence became an issue when efforts were criticized for putting too much attention on victims and not on legal remedies. These complaints were mostly about the inadequate police response to domestic violence calls, and the failure of the criminal justice system to treat these incidents as crimes. In the criminal justice system, police officers are considered to be mediators and peacemakers within the community when it comes to enforcing the law on domestic violence. Research was done and found that police officers followed what is known as the stitch rules. These rules justified a wife who claims to be abused by her spouse must acquire a number of surgical stitches before an arrest could be made. Another research found that the police response time was slightly longer when it came to responding to domestic disputes. The average response time was 4.65 minutes compared to 3.86 minutes for non-domestic disturbance calls (Mordini, 2004). However, in the mid 1980s there was a great shift in expanded change within the legal approach to consider domestic violence as a criminal act. The expansion of law enforcement to make warrant less arrests assisted the introduction of domestic violence as a criminal act. This new change demolished the common law and changed the views of law enforcement. Instead of following the common law approach, law enforcement based their arrests on discretion and probable cause. However, some police officers still believed that their role was to mediate the issue and not use probable cause in certain cases involving domestic violence. In 1984 an experiment called the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (MDVE) was conducted by two individuals, Sherman and Berk. These two individuals were the first to study mandatory arrest. The reason for this study was to address and figure out how police should respond to misdemeanor cases of domestic violence. In this study, they found that arrest reduces and deters future violence acts from occurring (Sherman and Berk, 1984). With the continued reluctance of police officers willing to respond properly to domestic disturbance calls, new issues arose. The case of Tracy Thurman vs. City of Torrington made an impact on law enforcement response time and grabbed the attention of the criminal justice system. In this case, Tracy Thurman, a domestic violence victim, was repeatedly assaulted by her estranged spouse. In June of 1983, she was stabbed and left permanently disabled. The problem that occurred with this case was that police officers knew her husband as a counter worker at the community diner. Knowing about previous calls to the police and his one prior arrest which led Mrs. Thurman to put a restraining order on her husband, the police overlooked the situation. The outcome of this case led the city of Torrington to pay Tracy Thurman $2.3 million and the court ruled that, If officials have notice of the possibility of attacks on women in domestic relationships or other persons, they are under an affirmative duty to take reasonable measures to protect personal safety of such persons in the community. Failure to perform this duty would constitute a denial of equal protection of the laws (Miller, 2004). This case, as well as other cases involving domestic violence victims, played an important role in reminding law enforcement that assault against a partner is considered a crime and that victims have constitutional rights to police protection (Miller, 2004). Mandatory arrest is the mechanism that controls police behavior and helps to clarify the role of the police in domestic violence situations (Rizer III, 2005). Between the years 1984 to 1989, the most support for mandatory policies was generated and arrests increased by 70%. This may not necessarily be a good thing because more arrests means more police time, and it is estimated that it takes around three to four hours of an officers time to process a domestic arrest (Rizer III 2005). The main accomplishment of mandatory arrest is that it protects the victim from immediate violence by separating the batterer and the victim. Mandatory arrest also sends a message to the batterer that his or her behavior is criminal and will not be tolerated by the community. It also sends a message to the victim, who has been assaulted, that domestic violence is a social problem and it is not the victims responsibility to stop it. Even though there are accomplishments of mandatory arrest, there are also concerns. One of the concerns is known as the Blanket Approach. This approach states that mandatory arrest fails to take into account the fact that not all victims are the same and how it affects a victims desire to have their batterer arrested. Victims may not want their batterer arrested because they are either dependent on them, dont want the arrest to occur in front of their children, the arrest might jeopardize their immigration status, or the arrest may put the batterers job at risk. Another concern about mandatory arrest is that it may be too harsh in certain circumstances. This is where the no-drop prosecution policies are introduced. The no-drop prosecution policies occur when a victim drops the charges as part of the cycle of the abuse (Simon, 2007). These policies also allow police reports to be used by prosecutors in court to convict an individual for domestic violence. Mandatory arrest has its positives and negatives. One problem that falls under mandatory arrest is the process of dual arrest. Dual arrest is when both parties allege that the other was the aggressor, leading the police to arrest both parties, including the innocent victim who may have been acting in self-defense (Miller, 2005). A 1988 study was conducted in Los Angeles, California to show significance of the dual arrest policy. In this study, with the use of mandatory arrest policies, three times as many women were arrested compared to less than twice as many men. This study showed that dual arrest has consequences for victims of domestic violence which include, the loss of victim status, transportation to a safe location, issuance of a restraining order, participation in victim assistance programs, loss of employment, and loss of child custody (Miller, 2005). Due to the dual arrest policies, victims may feel that seeking police help or intervention leads to these negative outcomes. In order to deal with this problem of dual arrest, the criminal justice system introduced disproportionate outcomes that address the concern of innocent victims being falsely accused and arrested for domestic violence. States adopted new policies that mandated that officers receive training to develop their abilities in handling domestic complaints effectively and adopted primary aggressors to mandate dual arrests (Rizer III, 2005). However, there is concern that these policies are discriminatory. Some researchers claim that the policies are bias against males and police will usually arrest the male even if there isnt substantial evidence to support the arrest being made. Another problem is that mandatory arrest policies could also provoke the batterer into becoming more violent towards their partner (Iyengar, 2006). Comparing states with the mandatory arrest law show that they have about a 50% higher homicide rate than states without such laws. Radha Iyengar assumes that arrest doesnt deter violence, but it may in some cases cause revenge towards the victim when the batterer is released. As mentioned earlier, the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment was the most influential research conducted on mandatory arrest laws and domestic violence. This study was random and scientifically controlled. The goal of the research was to test the effects of arrest on misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence within different police interventions. The findings of this experiment found that the arrest group maintained the lowest rates of future assaults, threats, and property damage (Sherman and Berk, 1984). Sherman and Berk introduce the specific deterrence doctrine and labeling theory as the literature of how punishment affects behavior. The specific deterrence doctrine claims that legal sanctions suppress crime by making punished persons more sensitive to legal threats in the future and human behavior is considered to be rational when influenced by incentives (Sherman and Berk, 1984). The labeling theory states that punishment makes individuals more likely to commit crime and legal sanctions increase crime by assigning the role or label of criminal to offenders. This primary deviance results in secondary deviance (Sherman and Berk, 1984). The subsequent research and intimate partner homicides were conducted by Radha Iyengar, a professor at the London school of economics. In her study, she wanted to find out if the certainty of arrest actually reduces domestic violence. Iyengar used the FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports, which provide data on all homicides in the United States that took place in the years 1976 to 2003. The results of her analyses showed that although overall homicide rates have been on the decline, states with mandatory arrest policies had a significant increased amount of intimate partner homicides (Iyengar 2006). She further reinforced her findings by looking at a number of covariates for demographics, economic conditions, and social policies such as provisions of divorce laws and welfare assistance, which she found no significant effect (Iyengar 2006). As a result in her findings, Iyengar found that there was conflict with the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment findings. Her study estimates the effect of knowing that arrest is a definite consequence of contacting the police and that the threat of arrest is inadequate in deterring abusers from killing their victims (Iyengar, 2006). In the Rural and Urban Homicide studies, researchers found that the norms of society and tradition govern behavior that lead to violence among certain groups. For instance, family and intimate partner homicides are usually a result of a history of abuse, where other homicides involving strangers are not. In stranger-acquaintance homicides, males are more likely to be the victims and account for over 90% of the perpetrators. In comparison, women are at greater risk of being the victims of intimate-partner homicides and when they are perpetrators in a homicide, they are more likely to kill within a family context (Gallup-Black, 2005). There are differences between rural and urban areas considering the layout of geography, the community dynamics, crime control, and family-intimate partner abuse patterns. The nature of interpersonal relationships may be more or less likely to involve individuals to know one another based on these differences in communities in the different areas. Lack of state in rural communities may exert a chilling effect on those seeking assistance for intimate-partner or family abuse. This problem could lead to an increase in homicide rates (Gallup-Black, 2005). After discussing about domestic violence and mandatory arrest laws, many questions have erupted about this issue. What else should be considered? Gender stereotypes have an importance due to the different definitions of gender and sex. This can propose obstacles for victims who are trying to get protection and also for the criminal justice system that has to deal with these cases. Research has also shown that sex of the perpetrator influences the criminal justice response to domestic violence (Schmesser 2007). This suggests that not only do definitions of domestic violence need to be considered, but also how these laws are carried out in practice, and the social context and biases that may impact their effectiveness and or application. Same-sex relationships are not addressed in statutes, which deny them equal protection under the law. The way states depart from each other is by whether their domestic violence law covers couples who live together, who lived together previously, who are dating or who dated prior and same-sex couples. Future research may aim to look more specifically at the definitions and protections within each state statute because the protection levels provided are not uniform across all fifty states. Another issue that should be considered is race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This is significant because it suggests that the implementation of mandatory arrest policies may have unintended consequences for minority groups. Race is an important variable to consider when looking at the effectiveness of these laws, because race impacts domestic violence. In order to understand this impact, race needs to be understood in context of our societys long history of oppression and subordination of different minority groups, most notable African Americans (Buzawa Buzawa 2003). This may cause these groups to be less likely involved in calling for police assistance if it means an arrest will occur. Socioeconomic status and race are also significant together because studies have found that environmental stress and family pathologies-including poverty, social dislocation, unemployment, and population density. Future research may consider the importance of place, socioeconomic distress fa ctors, and race when looking at the effectiveness of mandatory arrest laws on domestic violence. In conclusion of this policy, the studies and researches conducted to justify the mandatory arrest policy on domestic violence proved that this policy will undergo further debate. This is a strong topic and a difficult issue to have a similar opinion on but with further research and studies, the criminal justice system can come to an agreement on how to handle this policy. Domestic violence is a huge problem within the United States and hopefully the criminal justice system can figure out a policy that can help decrease the amount of cases involving domestic disputes and disturbances. Law enforcement also plays an important role with this policy. Police officers must realize that community policing, as well as traditional policing can lead to the reduction of domestic violence. Each state has its own way of dealing with domestic violence. The state of Hawaii is in the learning process on creating laws to protect victims on domestic violence due to the recent amount of homicide cases involving domestic assaults. As each day passes, there is a new victim to domestic violence. It is up to the government to find a policy that can help victims and their families cope with domestic violence and law enforcement needs to stay involved with the mixture of community and traditional policing.

Free Julius Caesar Essays: The Tragic Hero :: Julius Caesar Essays

Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar A tragic hero is the character whose actions deeply affect the other characters and who creates a series of events that eventually lead to the character’s downfall and the downfall of his loved ones. Such a hero possesses a flaw in character that influences his actions and thinking and especially his judgments. In logically determining who the hero in Julius Caesar is, one simply must find the one character who fits the above guidelines. Marcus Brutus is the only one, and, thus, he is the tragic hero. One of the first occasions presented was the plotting of Caesar’s assassination. Cassius, Casca, Trebonius, Ligarius and the other conspirators all wanted to rid Rome of Caesar. However, not one of them could give the green light.† They needed one who held a high place in the hearts of the people, to support them and to justify their actions. They needed an â€Å"honorable† man. Without this man, the conspirators would not be called conspirators for they would not have had sufficient strength to see it through. In that, there would not have been a conspiracy. Marcus Brutus agreed to be their source of strength. This final decision to join Cassius and company marked the end of Julius Caesar. After the murderous confrontation, it was not too late to prevent the anger of Caesar’s allies and the citizens or, even, to avoid future civil war. But it was here that Brutus made his second and third mistakes. Marcus Brutus rose before the Roman populace and attempted to offer a justification of Caesar’s murder. His flawed judgment came when he deemed Antony trustworthy and allowed him to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus naively let Antony draw the mob in his favor. No one could dare refute Antony’s impassioned pleas in behalf of Caesar. Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming â€Å"Rex.† He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same â€Å"honor† which motivated himself. Finally, though the debate may continue on those issues mentioned, there is no other character whose decisions and actions created a series of events so catastrophic.

The Kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh JR

No matter how you choose to raise your children, one thing is the same for every parent- the immediate sense of panic you feel when you can't find your child. Whether a relative has scooped your newborn up for a cuddle, or your toddler is hiding in a nearby clothing rack, or your punctual teen is 30 minutes late for curfew, the wave of panic is the same. Fortunately, so is the instant relief when we see their face. So much so, we almost feel silly for even letting our minds go there. Unfortunately that isn't always the case. For aviator Charles Lindbergh and wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, on 01 March 1932 that panic would turn to terror and then heartbreak.THE FAMEAt 30 years old, Charles Lindbergh had made quite the life for himself. His solo flight across the atlantic (from New York to Paris) He landed in Paris to a cheering crowd of over 150,000 spectators, and returned home to millions who turned out for a ticker tape parade in America. His fame was world wide as he received commendations from Presidents, Kings and Dictators. (The annals of crime) In the two-year period following Lindbergh's flight, the U.S. Copyright Office recorded thr ee hundred applications on Lindbergh songs. He married his love, Anne Morrow, and together had a son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. He was a beautiful little boy with blue eyes and blonde curly locks. He may have been the apple of his parents eye but had won the affection of the people as well-and the press knew it. They followed the young family everywhere. Even the house staff cashed in on the fame by giving tours of their main residence in Hopewell, New Jersey, U.S which, in hindsight, may have given the kidnappers the advantage of knowing where the child slept.THE KIDNAPPINGOn 1 March 1932, Anne Lindbergh made a last second decision against taking a toddler with the sniffles into the cold and rainy night air to travel to her parents house. She had the nurse take young Lindbergh upstairs to bed at 8pm. The nurse, Betty Gow, rubbed medicine on his chest, changed him into a one piece sleeping suit and put him down to sleep around 8:30 pm (kidnapped) Following Lindberghs orders, she closed the door allowing the child to self soothe for no less than 2 hours before checking on him. Though Anne was in a bath and Charles was in his study, both heard a noise around 9:30 but dismissed it as being made by one of their staff. An hour later, upon checking on young Lindbergh, Nurse Gow informed them the child was gone. â€Å"They have stolen our baby!† was Lindbergh's immediate response. (kidnapped) A seal enveloped ransom note was on the open window sill.THE INVESTIGATIONAs police began arriving shortly before midnight they had little to go on. Although H. Norman Schwarzkopf (father of Persian Gulf War commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf) of the New Jersey State Police was nominally the lead investigator in the case, control of many of the details was ceded to Lindbergh. (encyclopedia britannica) A command center was formed in Lindbergh's 3 car garage. Despite the command center Police failed to secure the crime scene and kept no record of who was in the home at the time of the kidnapping nor of who came and went from the home afterwards. Poor lighting and bad weather limited their search outside. They started inside the home, mainly, the nursery. The ransom note demanded specific amounts of certain denominations and seemed to be written by someone who spoke english as a second language and was uneducated. The room was dusted for prints only to discover none would be found, anywhere -not even nurse Gows.(Annals of crime) It appeared to have been wiped clean, thoroughly and completely. It wasn't long before the press got wind of the story and began arriving. They each set up their own command centers and started doing their own investigating, walking around the house in search of clues and entering and exiting the home questioning staff. The next morning, no witnesses saw anyone come or go on the main street in front of the home. Investigators did manage to find a broken homemade ladder several yards from the house. It is unclear whether it was ignorance or poor training was to blame as to why so few crime scene photos were taken and those that were, were neither to scale nor taken before the evidence was moved. As for the ladder, which was considered the most damning piece of evidence, (mike ray) was photographed after being broken down into 3 pieces. Later a photo was taken of a different ladder of exact height up against the home to show a ladder of that length would reach the child's window. Fingerprint experts found 400 partial prints, but because they were all fragmentary, they had no value in identifying anyone. (annals of crime) Lack of evidence only fed speculation that some powerful criminal organization or foreign government had taken the young child (annals of crime) Even though President Hoover had vowed to move â€Å"Heaven and Earth† to find the child (annals of crime) and J. Edgar Hoover-no relation- decided to expand the FBI into a national police agency, Lindbergh chose not to cooperate with FBI agents. He first went to William Donovan (who would later head the OSS.) Then he sought out shady characters who claimed to have underworld connections. He then went to the underworlds elite that he could find=the ones in prison. Al Capone offered his assistance, upon his release, which was immediately denied. Without consulting investigators he then gave copies of the ransom note to all parties contacted in an attempt to find out who wrote it. The shady characters showed their shadiness by immediately selling their copies to the press. With the press competing in their print wars they ran with their lead, publishing the note. Suddenly, ransom notes claiming to be the kidnappers started to appear. Some raise the ransom and some included items like a thumb guard, which the baby (along with 1000's of other babies) had on when abducted, so was assumed to be his (but could not be proven to be young Lindberghs.) The third ransom note was received by Colonel Lindbergh's attorney on March 8, informing that an intermediary appointed by the Lindberghs would not be accepted and requesting a note in a newspaper. On the same date, Dr. John F. Condon, Bronx, New York City, a retired school principal, published in the â€Å"Bronx Home News† an offer to act as go-between and to pay an additional $1,000 ransom. The following day the fourth ransom note was received by Dr. Condon, which indicated he would be acceptable as a go-between. This was approved by Colonel Lindbergh (fbi 2010) In total, 12 ransom notes were received from the kidnappers. None were found in the same place and the person contacted as to their whereabouts changed each time as well. After the 12th note,which reduced the ransom to the original asking price of $50,000, Dr Condon began negotiating through the newspapers on when and where to meet. On April 2 1932 Dr Condon with Lindbergh not far in a park car, met with â€Å"John† at St Raymonds Cemetary in the Bronx to exchange the ransom for the child's whereabouts. Because Lindbergh wanted the focus on child recovery and not kidnapper apprehension, the police were not told about the exchange,however the bank did record the serial numbers from the 10,000 in cash and 40,000 in gold certificates. â€Å"John† gave them the 13th and last note stating the child could be found on a ship called â€Å"The Nelly† in Martha's Vineyard under the care of 2 innocent women under the impression they were babysitting. Instead of following â€Å"John† they contacted police who informed local authorities and Lindbergh took to the air to find the ship. Despite all efforts, the ship could not be found. Later they would find it didn't even exist. Lindbergh conceded he had gained nothing by paying the ransom.THE DISCOVERYOn May 12, 1932, the body of the kidnapped baby was accidentally found, partly buried, and badly decomposed, about four and a half miles southeast of the Lindbergh home, 45 feet from the highway, near Mount Rose, New Jersey, in Mercer County. The discovery was made by William Allen, an assistant on a truck driven by Orville Wilson. The head was crushed, there was a hole in the skull and some of the body members were missing. The body was positively identified by Lindbergh who, and after cause of death was determined, ordered its immediate cremation in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 13, 1932. The Coroner's examination showed that the child had been dead for about two months and that death was caused by a blow on the head. (FBI 2010)Now a murder investigation, the Bureau (who was acting merely in an auxiliary capacity, since there was no federal jurisdiction.) was now in charge. The President directed that all governmental investigative agencies should place themselves at the disposal of the state of New Jersey and that the FBI should serve as a clearinghouse and coordinating agency for all investigations in this case conducted by federal investigative units.On May 23, 1932, the FBI in New York City informed banks in greater New York that the Bureau was the coordinating agency for all governmental activity in the case. A close watch for ransom money was requested. A pamphlet containing serial numbers was created. Copies of this pamphlet was given to each employee handling currency in banks, clearinghouses, grocery stores in certain selected communities, insurance companies, gasoline filling stations, airports, department stores, post offices, and telegraph companies.(fbi 2010) As time went on, the money and certificates popped up along the eastern seaboard, but police had no way to analyze the bills recovered. Just as the case turned cold, On May 1st, 1933 there was an executive order released for any individuals in possession of any gold certificates to turn them into a bank for money; if you were to be found in possession of the gold certificates after this date you were held criminally responsible and could be punished via a fine of $10,000 or up to ten years in prison. Prior to this deadline, $2990 in gold certificates matching the serial number were turned into a local bank, but the bank attendants were busy due to the deadline and did not notice the serial numbers until after the individuals left the bank. What seemed to be a fruitless endeavor finally bore its first solid fruit in Sept 1934. 16 certificates had popped up in New York. A suspicious gas station attendant had wrote the licence plate number of a man who had used the certificate to purchase gas on the certificate itself. Soon after the bank teller informed the FBI. The license plate belonged to a german immigrant carpenter named Bruno Richard Hauptmann. He was married and had a son close in age to young Lindbergh had he been alive.TRIAL AND EXECUTIONWhen police arrested Hauptmann on Sept 19 1934 he had a $20 certificate on his person. Police claimed to have found many pieces of evidence in Hauptmanns home. Over $13,000 in certificates were found in his garage. An apparent sketch of a collapsible ladder similar to the one used in the kidnapping was found. Jim Condon's telephone number and address was found written on a closet wall in the house (history.com); whether this handwriting matched Hauptmann's or the ransom notes is unknown. Hauptmann did admit to police that he wrote the information down himself, but this was after hours of interrogation and at least one severe beating (FBI, 2010). Some questioned why he would still have these items 2 years after the kidnapping.The most damning evidence was found in the attic. Investigators noticed a beem missing from his rafters. The piece that would come to be known as â€Å"Rail 16† was found to be part of the homemade ladder found by the Lindberghs home and became a large part of the prosecution's case. Wood expert Arthur Koehler was one of 8 experts who testified for the prosecution. He matched Rail 16 of the kidnap ladder with the flooring from the attic. The four irregularly spaced extra nail holes in Rail 16 matched up perfectly with the holes in the attic floor joists. Prosecutor Wilentz broke up their dry testimony by bringing on a statuesque beauty, Hildegarde Alexander, described as â€Å"a blonde pajama model,† who testified that she saw Hauptmann staring at Dr. Condon in a telegraph office. Alexander was one of many eyewitnesses for both sides whose testimony seemed contrived. (crime mag) This included an 87-year-old Hopewell man, testifying for the prosecution, claimed that Hauptmann drove by his house the morning of the kidnapping. That is, he remembered the face of a stranger in a car, before he had any reason to take notice of him, and could pick him out in the courtroom three years later. Only after the trial, the defense learned that this witness was legally blind and had been so at the time of the sighting. This could've been known if the defense had challenged his eyesight as expected of an 87 year old witness. Even Lindbergh's claim that he recognized Hauptmann's voice as being the same voice that said â€Å"Hey, Doc,† at the cemetery 2  ½ years earlier seems far-fetched. But he was the Lone Eagle. As the prosecutor told the jury, â€Å"And Lindy remembered that voice. And who is to say he didn't? Are you going to substitute your judgment for his?†. (crime mag)VERDICT AND SENTENCINGOn Feb. 13, 1935, after 11 hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict. Hauptmann was sentenced to death. A series of appeals, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court in December 1935, were unsuccessful, and a clemency bid was rejected on March 30, 1936. Desperate to bring others to justice but running out of time, the prosecution offered Hauptmann a deal- your life for your confession and accomplices. A newspaper offered $90,000 to Hauptmann's wife and child to accept the deal. (Fleming, 2010) Hauptmann, denying until the end any involvement in the crime, told them he had no names to give. On April 3, 1936, 19 months after the verdict, he was executed by electric chair. Soon after the United States Congress adopted a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act 18 U.S.C.  § 1201(a)(1) (popularly known as the Lindbergh Law, or Little Lindbergh Law) imposing the death penalty for transporting a kidnapped victim across a state line.(history.com)CONCLUSIONThis day, many forensic scientists and police investigators are under the belief that Bruno Richard Hauptmann was innocent and that he fell victim to police and their need for closure a case. There was too much circumstantial evidence and police made too many mistakes; crime scenes were contaminated, evidence lacked and was not always connected. (fORENSIC FILES) Lindbergh's dominating control of the investigation raises even more questions. Sadly, Lindbergh's fame was greater than Hauptmanns innocence. A point made clear by the jury, who so quickly found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt, even though so much was left unclear or unknown.

Final U in English Words

Final U in English Words Final U in English Words Final U in English Words By Maeve Maddox The aphorism â€Å"English words don’t end in u,† is frequently invoked by spelling teachers as an aid in spelling such common words as, blue, clue, cue, due, flue, glue, hue, and true. The silent final e also rescues the following words from the onus of ending in u: construe, continue, ensue, imbue, and issue. The only two native English words that end in u are the pronouns thou and you, but they probably shouldn’t count because they really end in ou. There remain 50 or so â€Å"English† words that do end in u. I put English in quotation marks because most of these u-words obviously came undigested from some other language, most from French. I’ve arranged them in three groups. I won’t provide definitions for the first group because they are fairly common. 1. U-words you may have come across, depending on your age and reading habits bayou beau bureau caribou chapeau chateau froufrou gnu guru haiku impromptu jujitsu kudzu lieu lulu manitou menu milieu muumuu nouveau parvenu plateau portmanteau sou tableau tiramisu tofu trousseau tutu 2. U-words with special applications acajou: A tree related to the cashew. bateau: a flat-bottomed boat used in the bayous. bijou This French word for â€Å"jewel† was popular as a name for movie theaters. eau:This French word for â€Å"water† appears on bottles of eau-de-cologne. ecru: the color of unbleached linen. Jehu: a fast driver. In some old novels it’s used as a generic name for a coachman. The reference is to Kings 9:20: â€Å"And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.† kinkajou: a fruit-eating quadruped of Central and South America, allied to the raccoon. landau: A four-wheeled carriage, the top of which, being made in two parts, may be closed or thrown open. Aficionados of period novels will be familiar with this word. ormolu: gilded bronze or a gold-colored alloy of copper, zinc, and tin used to decorate furniture, make ornaments, etc. pilau: a dish, partly of Middle Eastern, partly and ultimately of South Asian origin. poilu: a soldier in the French army, especially one who fought in World War I. rondeau: a short poem of medieval French origin. rouleau: A length or tube of rolled fabric used as a trimming on a garment. sadhu: In India: a holy man, a sage. I may have learned this one by reading Kim. tonneau: The rounded rear body of a motor-car (originally with the door at the back); the rear part of a car with front and rear compartments or of an open car. vermoulu: worm-eaten. 3. U-words that are clippings or slang flu: from influenza snafu: I’ll let you look this one up. thru: an alternative spelling of through that may or may not become standard some day. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcBest Websites to Learn EnglishIs Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?

Free Essays on Trip To Andros

Trip to Andros Andros is the northernmost island of the Cyclades Islands cluster, the second largest after Naxos and is situated in the heart of the Aegean Sea. The island of Andros is gifted with important sightseeing, which are spread all over the landscape. Hora, the capital, built on a cape, is a beautiful town with a ruin of a medieval castle as well as two interesting museums, the archaeological and the modern art museum. After Gavrio, the main port of the island, the impressive tower of Agios Petros prevails. Batsi, the most popular resort of the island that pulses with traditional Cycladic houses, and a reverent monastery with an incredible view in the next village. Paleopolis, Ormos Korthiou, Messaria, Apikia, are also magnificent settlements that worth a visit. However, Andros not only has beautiful places but also an exciting history. Beginning with the history, we discover that the name of the island most probably originates from General Andros from Crete, legendary colonizer of the Minoan times. Archeological excavations prove the existence of developed settlements, dating back to Mycenaean times or even earlier. The island becomes historically known during the Geometric period (9th-7th century B.C.), as it is proved by traces of a settlement found in Zagora, at the south-western part of the island. The capital of Andros island, during the classical times, was Paleopoli. The prosperity during that period is shown by the big production of coins and the Hermes of Andros statue. In 7th century B.C. Andros island participated with Chalkideans to the colonization of Chalkidiki and coastal areas of Thrace in northern Greece. Andros, following with the rest Aegean islands the fate of continental Greece, consecutively fell under Roman, Frank and Ottoman occupation. Dating back to 11th century, Byzantine style churches a re found around the island, like Taxiarchis in Ipsilou, Melida and Messaria and Kimisi Theotokou. In the 14th c... Free Essays on Trip To Andros Free Essays on Trip To Andros Trip to Andros Andros is the northernmost island of the Cyclades Islands cluster, the second largest after Naxos and is situated in the heart of the Aegean Sea. The island of Andros is gifted with important sightseeing, which are spread all over the landscape. Hora, the capital, built on a cape, is a beautiful town with a ruin of a medieval castle as well as two interesting museums, the archaeological and the modern art museum. After Gavrio, the main port of the island, the impressive tower of Agios Petros prevails. Batsi, the most popular resort of the island that pulses with traditional Cycladic houses, and a reverent monastery with an incredible view in the next village. Paleopolis, Ormos Korthiou, Messaria, Apikia, are also magnificent settlements that worth a visit. However, Andros not only has beautiful places but also an exciting history. Beginning with the history, we discover that the name of the island most probably originates from General Andros from Crete, legendary colonizer of the Minoan times. Archeological excavations prove the existence of developed settlements, dating back to Mycenaean times or even earlier. The island becomes historically known during the Geometric period (9th-7th century B.C.), as it is proved by traces of a settlement found in Zagora, at the south-western part of the island. The capital of Andros island, during the classical times, was Paleopoli. The prosperity during that period is shown by the big production of coins and the Hermes of Andros statue. In 7th century B.C. Andros island participated with Chalkideans to the colonization of Chalkidiki and coastal areas of Thrace in northern Greece. Andros, following with the rest Aegean islands the fate of continental Greece, consecutively fell under Roman, Frank and Ottoman occupation. Dating back to 11th century, Byzantine style churches a re found around the island, like Taxiarchis in Ipsilou, Melida and Messaria and Kimisi Theotokou. In the 14th c...