Monday, April 27, 2020

Legalizing Marijuana free essay sample

Legalizing Marijuana What would happened if our government decided to legalize marijuana and tax it? Wouldn’t it be a huge change in our country, especially since America is still in debt? Legalizing marijuana can reduce the amount of American money going to international criminal gangs and increase our own economy. We could make enough money to get out of debt and provide needed and generous funding of many important criminal justice and social programs. Legalizing Marijuana will not just make money for our government, but SAVE money for our government. Legalization this drug won’t just help our economy but it could have some medical value and effect on our agricultural products and law enforcements. The hemp plant is a valuable natural resource. If marijuana were to be legalized, there would be no more confusion about hemp and it could allow this country to take advantage of hemp’s industrial and agricultural uses. We will write a custom essay sample on Legalizing Marijuana or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Countries such as Canada, have been able to support legal hemp cultivation without making marijuana legal; however, in the U.S. opposition to legal marijuana is still the biggest problem to development of industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural product. The United States energy policy still continues to promote and encourage the development of bio-fuels as an alternative to oil dependency and also as a way to decrease carbon emissions. It is very essential to develop industrial hemp as a bio-fuel source, especially because the use of hemp acts as a fuel source and it will not increase the price of food such as corn, nor will food demands rise. I believe that law enforcement has many more important responsibilities than arresting thousands of people each year for possession of marijuana. Especially knowing how expensive the positioning of each of these cases costs. Arresting individuals for marijuana possession is not only wasting jail space, but also clogging up courts systems. Marijuana arrests makes fairness in the United States less important and more expensive. Not only is it wasting law enforcements time, it is also diverting time of attorneys, police, and judges away from real problems in the world such as violent crimes, terrorism, children sexual abuse, etc. The econometric literature shows that when prices for drugs go down, the use of the drug goes up. (Grossman, 2005). The U. S. is currently spending billions of dollars every year chasing peaceful people who love getting high. These peaceful individuals end up in prison and taxpayers are the ones paying for all of it. This is extremely expensive! As if we did not have enough to pay for already. If marijuana was legalized, the government could be able to collect taxes on it, and sufficient money to pay for effective drug education programs or other essential causes. Use of marijuana has many positive attributes such as its medical value and as a recreational drug with mild side effects. Many individuals have decided that marijuana is good for them, especially the people that are suffering from a variety of serious illnesses, and that is their main reason on why they use it. It provides relief from spasticity, nausea, pain, and other symptoms for many people who haven’t been treated successfully with other medications that were prescribed to them. It is also known to stimulate appetite and relive nausea in cancer and AIDS patients (mjlegal. org). Individuals have personal observations that the drug has a low dependence liability and has side effects that are easy to manage. Users of marijuana that haven’t developed tolerance to the side effects, simply decide to stop using the drug, making in a non-addictive drug. Marijuana could prevent people from drinking alcohol as much as they do because in a recent study, many adults prefer marijuana to alcohol as a moderate and mild way to relax and feel calm. The benefits of use greatly outweigh the risks, especially since the greatest risk of using the drug is the low risk of arrest. Despite the threat of getting arrested and a variety of other punishments, marijuana users have continued to support legalization for over a generation. There have been very great attempts to legalize and prohibition still continues. However, prohibition has failed to silence marijuana users and their quest for fairness and legalization. Marijuana is a great way to make money more America because hemp is a valuable agricultural product. It will allow people to relax without feeling anxious because of the possibility of being arrested for it. Since American users believe in the fundamental values of society, they refuse to give up on their long search for justice. They know the great benefits of this drug and they are determined to accomplish legalization and stand up to the injustice of marijuana probation, no matter what it takes or long it takes to succeed. Legalizing Marijuana free essay sample The legality of Marijuana has been subject to debate and controversy for decades. Cannabis is illegal to consume, possess, trade, cultivate and transfer in most countries. Since the beginning of mass Marijuana prohibition most countries have not re-legalized it for personal use although 10 countries have decriminalized its use in limited quantity. Medicinal use of cannabis is legal in a number of countries including Canada, the Czech Republic, Israel and 16 states in the United States of America. Over the years the number of people supporting the legalization of Marijuana has increased. Some advocate legalization of Marijuana believing that it will reduce crime, reduce illegal immigration as well as increase tax revenue. This essay will attempt to examine all three of these factors but also investigate other factors that legalizing Marijuana will benefit. Firstly Legalizing Marijuana may increase tax revenue and consequently increase the number of jobs. California already earns around 14 billion dollars a year and it is estimated that legalizing Marijuana could generate between . We will write a custom essay sample on Legalizing Marijuana or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 5 to $1. 4 (from taxing the drug) in revenue for California (Wolff). Additionally our country as a whole spends $68 Billion a year on its prisoner’s one third of which are imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes. According to an article written by Madeline Wolff in the Daily Sundial about half of these criminals are in Jail for Marijuana related crimes. This means legalizing the drug would mean spending less then $11. 3 billion less on prisons (Wolff). Legalizing Marijuana would mean generating this lost income and using this money and harnessing it to pump it back into the economy. In addition to the added tax revenue, legalizing Marijuana would also create jobs. The distribution path from the field to the smoker is a long one. Retail Marijuana would create jobs in growing cutting, processing, distribution and sales (Illegal Immigration Statistics). Furthermore additional jobs would be created at the state and federal levels as governments may take on inspectors in order to oversea the production of Marijuana in dispensaries. The combination of creating more jobs as well as the increased tax revenue may help the United States get out of the recession it was in. However if we legalize Marijuana some people may start smoking in the work place. This may ultimately jeopardize the efficiency of the working environment and consequently production may decrease. In order to prevent this we must establish certain regulations with smoking Marijuana just like we’ve established regulations with smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Another problem we can encounter is that if we legalize Marijuana the dealers that sold the drug may resort to harder drugs to sell. Nevertheless the hidden benefit of job creations is ultimately the reduction of crime. According to a paper published by the United States Government Accountability Office it found that in a study that higher levels of unemployment are associated with higher levels of property crime (Nilsen) In other words someone who is struggling to support his or her family is more likely to turn to criminal activity then someone in a stable environment. The government would be senseless if it turned its back on a new market by legalizing Marijuana that would create thousands of new jobs as well as restore hopes to the communities hit hardest by the recession. Furthermore in 2007 the Justice Department reported that there were 1,841,182 drug arrests in the United State. Marijuana arrests accounted for 47. 7% of those. Additionally it costs a further $22,000 a year to house one inmate in one correctional facility. This means criminals who’ve possessed Marijuana house the majority of correctional facilities. If we legalized Marijuana we can make room in the correctional facilities for people who’ve committed much serious crimes as well as people who’ve possessed much harder drugs. Legalization will also reduce violence because it reduces the profit incentive for the dealers. When the price of an item is legal. The price of the item will go down because it’s easier to get. This will also give authorities the ability to better control the use of the drug. Selling the Marijuana to legitimate traders will make it harder for children to obtain instead of it being available on the black market where it is much easier for children to obtain. Furthermore legalization of Marijuana may reduce peoples need to resort to harder drugs. The reason for this could be because the availability of a drug that can get you high will be enough for users of other harder drugs. Marijuana is known to be a psychoactive drug and is quite strong depending on how much one consumes. Therefore if a person wants to get really high Marijuana has been known to produce the same euphoric yet safe sensations as other drugs. Additionally, rehab centers may be able to use Marijuana as a treatment option to help ease those addicted to harder drugs off of them. As a result we can see that Marijuana has some medicinal benefits, according to www. cannabis-med. org. Cannabis can be used to help patients with chemotherapy as the active ingredient in Cannabis, THC, reduces vomiting and nausea and also alleviates pretreatment anxiety. Marijuana can also be used to help people with anorexia as well as people who have been diagnosed with AIDS. The THC increases the appetite of the user causing them to eat more, users have been known to maintain a stable body weight when smoking Marijuana and then consuming food. Marijuana has also been known to alleviate depression, reduce the chance of epileptic seizures, prevent glaucoma and help people with Asthma (â€Å"Medical uses of cannabis and THC†) Another problem we face when legalizing Marijuana is that it may lead users onto using other harder drugs. According to Maia Szalavitz, who’s a writer for Times magazine she states in her article that according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse a person who smokes marijuana is 104 times as likely to use cocaine then someone who has never smoked pot (Szalavitz) The problem here however is that correlation should have nothing to do with cause. For example Hells angles motorcycle gang member is probably 104 times as likely to have ridden a bike as a child but that doesn’t indicate that riding a bicycle as a child is a gateway for entering a motorbike gang. It just means that most people ride bikes and the people who don’t probably won’t ride a motorcycle. Additionally scientists have long decided that marijuana isn’t in fact a gateway drug according to a report commissioned by the congress, scientists stated that underage alcohol and cigarette consumption before marijuana use might be the cause for the use of other illicit drugs (Szalavitz). One cause nevertheless between marijuana use and other drugs is taste. People may want to get more out of what they are consuming and try to alter their consciousness for example if one is a music fan they wouldn’t just listen to one band or just one genre instead they would listen to other varieties that would give them the same feelings and emotions that they initially felt. Another reason why people move onto harder drugs is because of legality. Users tend to find harder drugs through marijuana dealers as a result if the government legalizes marijuana the supply of users to the dealers will decrease and consequently they wont have anyone to sell the harder drugs to. A Final point for the Legalization of Marijuana is that it can prevent illegal immigration. The ability of drug cartels to move over the boarder relatively easy has resulted in over 100 billion dollars worth of drugs being brought over the boarder and being sold through over 11,000 gang members each year (Wooldridge). 80% of the daily supply of Marijuana and methamphetamines, cocaine and heroine come from Mexico (â€Å"US illegal Aliens†) this causes a problem as the drug cartels bring in gang members with them as 618,000 illegal immigrants have been convicted of committing a deadly crime on American citizens. Furthermore 2. 2 kilograms of cocaine is brought over from the Mexico-Texas border each year (Pope). If we legalized Marijuana like mentioned in the previous paragraph, we will diminish the market that is available to the drug cartels and prevent them from entering the United States. Furthermore we can use the remaining fund that was used to prevent Marijuana from entering our country and use it instead to prevent the drug cartels from shipping cocaine and other illegal and harder drugs into the country. In conclusion legalizing Marijuana is an extremely controversial topic. We do not know for sure if it will benefit out society for the good. But as the evidence has suggested legalizing Marijuana will not only decrease crime rate but it also be very profitable and can also have medicinal benefits to individuals and it is for those reasons that the government should attempt to legalize Marijuana.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Free Essays on Charles Lindbergh

There have been many great adventurers and heroes in America’s past. One of them is Charles Lindbergh. He is most famous for his transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. He faced many hardships and successes, including his flight, marriage, and his child’s kidnapping. All of his fascination with planes started when Lindbergh was just a youth. Charles was born on February 4, 1902, in the city of Detroit. At the age of eight is when he saw his first airplane, which was piloted by Lincoln Beachey. This is what started Lindbergh’s love for and interest for flight. Lindbergh then started to study World War I. He was fascinated with the flying exploits of French ace Rene Fonck, who had shot down 75 German planes in the war (WGHB, 1997). Lindbergh spent three years working on his father’s farm by the time he graduated from high school. He then enrolled as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. After an airplane landed on campus, Lindbergh had a great desire to fly. He quit college and became a student in Nebraska Aircraft Company, where he was taken aloft for his first flight in April, 1922. After learning the basics of aircraft construction, he went on a cross-country tour with a seasoned barnstormer and learned to wing-talk and make exhibition parachute jumps (NAHF, 1997). Lindbergh then started to take flight. He won his first airplane and a second lieutenant’s commission in the Reserves in 1925. In the spring of 1926 he made the first airmail flight between Chicago and St. Louis. This route was very difficult and poorly marked. He was forced twice to parachute to safety from his disabled mail plane while flying the routes. There was then an extraordinary offer to pilots of the world. A Frenchman, named Raymond Orteig, offered $25,000 to the first aviator to fly non-stop from Paris to New York or New York to Paris. Orteig’s offer was only good for five years, but within those f... Free Essays on Charles Lindbergh Free Essays on Charles Lindbergh There have been many great adventurers and heroes in America’s past. One of them is Charles Lindbergh. He is most famous for his transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. He faced many hardships and successes, including his flight, marriage, and his child’s kidnapping. All of his fascination with planes started when Lindbergh was just a youth. Charles was born on February 4, 1902, in the city of Detroit. At the age of eight is when he saw his first airplane, which was piloted by Lincoln Beachey. This is what started Lindbergh’s love for and interest for flight. Lindbergh then started to study World War I. He was fascinated with the flying exploits of French ace Rene Fonck, who had shot down 75 German planes in the war (WGHB, 1997). Lindbergh spent three years working on his father’s farm by the time he graduated from high school. He then enrolled as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. After an airplane landed on campus, Lindbergh had a great desire to fly. He quit college and became a student in Nebraska Aircraft Company, where he was taken aloft for his first flight in April, 1922. After learning the basics of aircraft construction, he went on a cross-country tour with a seasoned barnstormer and learned to wing-talk and make exhibition parachute jumps (NAHF, 1997). Lindbergh then started to take flight. He won his first airplane and a second lieutenant’s commission in the Reserves in 1925. In the spring of 1926 he made the first airmail flight between Chicago and St. Louis. This route was very difficult and poorly marked. He was forced twice to parachute to safety from his disabled mail plane while flying the routes. There was then an extraordinary offer to pilots of the world. A Frenchman, named Raymond Orteig, offered $25,000 to the first aviator to fly non-stop from Paris to New York or New York to Paris. Orteig’s offer was only good for five years, but within those f...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

The Greek Words Used to Name Dinosaurs

The Greek Words Used to Name Dinosaurs If it sometimes seems as if the names of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals come from another language, well, theres a simple explanation: the names of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals really do come from another language. Traditionally, paleontologists the world over use Greek to christen new species and genera - not only of dinosaurs, but also of birds, mammals, and even microbes. Partly this is a matter of convention, but partly its rooted in common sense: classical Greek and Latin have been the shared languages of scholars and scientists for hundreds of years. (Lately, though, there has been a trend for using non-Greek roots to name dinosaurs and prehistoric animals; hence sibilant beasts like Suuwassea and Thililua.) But enough about all that: what good does this information do you if you have to decode a mouthful of a name like Micropachycephalosaurus? The following is a list of the most common Greek words used in dinosaur names, along with their English equivalents. If you want to have some fun, try assembling your own fictional dinosaur from the ingredients below (heres a nonsense example to get you started: Tristyracocephalogallus, or the extremely rare three-headed spiky chicken.) Numbers Mono OneDi TwoTri ThreeTetra FourPenta Five Body Parts Brachio ArmCephalo HeadCerato HornCheirus HandColepio KnuckleDactyl FingerDerma SkinDon, dont ToothGnathus JawLopho CrestNychus ClawOphthalmo EyeOps FacePhysis FacePtero WingPteryx FeatherRhampho BeakRhino NoseRhyncho SnoutTholus DomeTrachelo Neck Animal Types Anato DuckAvis BirdCetio WhaleCyno DogDraco DragonGallus ChickenHippus HorseIchthyo FishMus MouseOrnitho, Ornis BirdSaurus LizardStruthio OstrichSuchus CrocodileTaurus Bull Size and Shape Baro HeavyBrachy ShortMacro BigMegalo HugeMicro SmallMorpho ShapedNano TinyNodo KnobbedPlaco, Platy FlatSphaero RoundTitano GiantPachy ThickSteno NarrowStyraco Spiked Behavior Archo RulingCarno Meat-eatingDeino, Dino TerribleDromeus RunnerGracili GracefulLestes RobberMimus MimicRaptor Hunter, ThiefRex KingTyranno TyrantVeloci Fast Times, Places, and Assorted Features Antarcto AntarcticArchaeo AncientAustro SouthernChasmo CleftCoelo HollowCrypto HiddenEo DawnEu Original, FirstHetero DifferentHydro WaterLago LakeMio MioceneNycto NightOvi EggPara Near, AlmostPelta ShieldPlio PliocenePro, Proto BeforeSarco FleshStego RoofThalasso Ocean

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Chernobyl Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chernobyl Disaster - Essay Example Chernobyl disaster happened due to overheating of the core, which resulted in the core meltdown. The meltdown of the core exposed the radioactive matter to the outer environment and it was also carried far away by wind. People were forced to leave the city as quickly as they could. At first, people were not informed by the accident but after some time, the news of the disaster spread widely. The radioactive materials from the reactors were found hazardous to the people and other living beings of the place. The persons who were quite near the power plant or working inside the power plant faced the high exposure of radioactive materials. Only two workers had lost their lives, when accident happened but the accident caused severe damages to the people nearby the place of accident and a large number of people had suffered from cancer and died after the accident (World Nuclear Association 2011). The radioactive ash from the reactor had two parts. One part of the ash contained very small particles which were carried away by the wind. The other part of the ash contained a bit thick particles and could remain hazardous for many hundreds of years. The disaster had endangered more lives as compared to any other such incident. Belarus, the place nearest to Chernobyl, had been affected more than any other region from the radiations, spread as the result of Chernobyl disaster (World Nuclear Association 2011). ... The reactor no four was made with high precision and a lot of instrumentation was utilized to precisely measure different functionalities. A nuclear power plant is incomplete without the implementation of a cooling system. The cooling system is employed to draw the decay heat away from the reactor core. Water is utilized mostly as a coolant in the nuclear reactors. On 26th, April 1986, the water pumps, which were used to maintain the temperature of the core, were stopped for some time to verify that the backup power system to power the water pumps is working properly. In this little while the temperature of the core was raised but the backup power system did not worked. Then it was tried to normally start the cooling pumps but in vain. The temperature of the core exceeded to an uncontrollable level which blew the thick steel roof of the core with a massive amount of heat and unused radioactive material. Chernobyl power complex had lacked one of the most important safety features that are employed in modern nuclear reactors. Containment cooling method, that is considered when there is an uncontrollable situation at the nuclear reactor, prevents the radiations from spreading in the atmosphere. At the Chernobyl, there must be a containment cooling system which could reduce the spreading of the radiation material. The authorities like government should emphasize more on safety features rapture than generating high profits. The Chernobyl nuclear reactors had lacked other safety measures, active and passive cooling techniques must be there to meet the uncontrollable situations. There were construction errors, like the pillars that were to be placed horizontally were not present there at the reactor building

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Literature review about a journal article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

About a journal article - Literature review Example 50 - 64). For a certain amount of time, now, the activity of marketing is long being attributed with understanding environmentally aware consumers as well as devising strategies to connect with such consumers. In the domains of marketing as well as strategic management, it is often highlighted that the process of decision making by the managers should also include the environmental issues which include ideas on sustainability of the environment as well as conservation of the resources. It is important to state that by the process of addressing the worries of both the consumers as well as the manager in regards to natural as well as physical environment, the organizations can expect to attain a better performance in business along with the enhancement of its reputation. In the current days, while the significance of sustainable environment in connection to competitive advantage and business performance is better perceived, the research initiatives for various strategies to implement s ustainable environment based corporate programs for the business to business segments are in their stages of infancy. This particular paper on industrial marketing management shed light on the domain of business to business marketing and intends to develop a framework which highlights the marketing role in sustainable supply chain strategies. Summary From the theoretical aspects, sustainable development is explained as the line of development which fulfils the needs of the current generation without destroying the capacity of the upcoming generation to fulfil their needs. However, some experts feel that the factor of business interest as well as the society’s interest overlap with each other to a great extent. This process of overlapping is referred to as the sustainability sweet spot. In linking environmental sustainability with marketing, it needs to be stated that the large business customers are often more credible in implementing environmentally friendly policies in othe r firms with which they are engaged in a transactional manner (Drumwright, 1994, p. 1- 19). The business customers often has the larger power in creating the pressure on multiple smaller and dependent firms to opt for environmental friendly measures and thereby develop and build eco-friendly products. Critique From the critique’s point of view, it is important to focus on the sustainable market framework that is discussed in this paper. The framework is being built by relying on two very important objectives of sustainable environment. The first objective is that when firms do manufacture optimum number of units with regards to the demand in hand, the factor of over production is being negated which helps in lower levels of product disposition. This creates a sustainable environment, which is commonly referred to as the reduced surplus supply strategy. The second objective is in connection to the reduction of number of products which requires recycling. This strategy which is termed as reducing reverse supply, highlights that firms should concentrate on developing repairable products along with more extensive recycling as well as remanufacturing strategies. The implementation of the reduced surplus supply strategy, which is based on the Build To Order (BTO) concept, brings into focus that the challenges associated with inculcating changes in the product design and manufacturing process. The set up costs are

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Impacts of Terrorism on Sporting Events

Impacts of Terrorism on Sporting Events Examining the Impacts of Terrorism on Sporting Events: Focusing on the FIFA World Cup. Terrorism is now, more than ever, a prevalent subject within media discourse. The impact of threats of terrorism, be they perceived or realised, is one that should not be underestimated. While the threat of terror attacks is one that we see on a regular basis, the fact that large scale events such as the FIFA World Cup draw thousands of spectators to one confined area (i.e. a football stadium, and the location surrounding the stadium) means that terror attacks and the threat thereof should be addressed as part of the risk assessment for the event. The events industry, focusing particularly on sports tourism, have been affected by the global concern surrounding terrorism. Hinch and Higham (2001) recognise that sport in general, be that on a local or a global level, has a huge influence on the numbers of tourists that are attracted to a particular area. Sport is a massive, multi-billion-pound industry, and the tourism that it encompasses makes a significant contribution to the revenue it creates. There are a number of facets to sport tourism that make it what it is. There are three prominent markers of this particular aspect of tourism, which include outdoor sports, fitness activities, and major events (Hall, 1992). If we consider one of those criteria – major events – then this study will focus on the FIFA World Cup, and will explore how the World Cup has been affected by terrorism. Since the 2001 terror attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre, major events have been directly affected by the threat of terror attacks. Sports tourists no longer feel as safe as they did travelling to destinations for major sporting events, as the risk of attack is perceived as being much greater. These fears are exacerbated by the fact that tourists are in enclosed spaces for the duration of the sporting event, with means of escape being difficult to navigate and police in large crowds. Since the late 1900’s sports tourism has seen a surge in popularity unrivalled by other large scale events (Standeven and DeKnopp, 1999). Sport tourists are known to spend a significant amount of their income on travelling to destinations in order to watch their favourite team or sportsperson perform. We can define sports tourism as â€Å"‘sport-based travel away from the home environment for a limited time, where sport is characterised by unique rule sets, competition related to physical prowess, and a playful nature† (Hinch and Higham, 2001, p.56). This can be directly attributed to the FIFA World Cup, as teams of players will take part in a match with defined rules, are athletic by their very nature, and if we break football down to a basic level, the players are playing a game. So, as discussed one of the criteria that makes up sports tourism is ‘major events’. This title can be attributed to the likes of the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. We can see how the act of putting on such a large-scale event has benefits for both the fans of the particular sport in question (in this instance the FIFA World Cup) and also the country in which the event is to be based. The fans are afforded the opportunity to witness their favourite sports team in action, while the revenue produced through their tourism contributes greatly to the area in which the event is to take place. During the FIFA World Cup that took place in South Korea in 2002, the then-president of South Korea is quoted as stating that the event was ‘a chance for us to make the country prosper diplomatically, economically and culturally, in sectors like tourism and science’ (McCormack, 2002, p.39), ‘us’ in this instance being South Korea. As there is a significant return made when compared to the actual investment involved in the planning, launching, and running of such an event, many destinations who are able to host events such as the FIFA World Cup vie for the opportunity to do so, as they are all too aware of the benefits they will be rewarded with in exchange for their investment (Kelly, 2000). Although we have seen significant growth in terms of sports-related tourism (which may be due to the advancement of travel networks, and the ability to now travel to events for a smaller financial outlay), the notion of sports tourism is still a fairly new construct. With this in mind, consideration by organisers must be made towards how terrorism can have negative effects on sports tourism. Sport is a global phenomenon, which means that global incidents, such as acts of terrorism, have a direct effect on the industry. Terrorism is a difficult term to describe. In fact, the US Department of State (2001) has argued that there is no universally accepted definition of what terrorism actually is. There are a significant number of variables that can affect how people perceive an act of terrorism, and indeed whether they actually see an act as one of terrorism at all. Ganor (2001) argues that in order for terrorism to be fought back against, then a specific definition should be in place that sets out exactly what an act of aggression (or otherwise) should constitute in order for it to be labelled as ‘terrorism’. This inability to agree on what constitutes terrorism has led to several difficulties. Governments are unable to create laws around terrorism because they can’t agree on what terrorism is (Whitaker, 2001), and also opposing terrorism, in certain circumstances, could be construed as an act of terrorism in of itself. Freedman (2002) attempts to remedy the situation of disagreement regarding what is and isn’t terrorism by stating what those attempting to define it do agree on. These factors include: Terrorism is carried out in a purposeful manner (i.e. specific targeting).Terrorism is inclusive of acts of violence, which vary in their extremity.Terrorism has some form of political motivation.Victims of terror are not ‘pre-selected’ (i.e. victims of suicide bombers for example)The act of terror is intended to affect people, bodies or movements outside of the direct victims of the attack (i.e. coercion of a government to act in a certain way as a result of the attack). Most of the discourse surrounding violence within the sporting industry has been directed towards the violent conduct of spectators of a specific sport. Football fans in particular have found themselves the subject of much conjecture regarding the causes of sports violence, and this has been the case since the 1960s and 70s. There has, however, been an underwhelming degree of investigation into the effect of terrorism on sports tourism (Atkinson et al, 2000, p.54). Wedermeyer (1999, p.218) supports this assertion in stating that ‘specialist literature on the relationship between sport and terrorism is rare’. This is in contradiction to the fact that major sporting events are in no way insusceptible to terrorist attacks, a point which is highlighted by the fact that in December 2016, a series of car bombs was detonated outside the stadium of Turkish football team, Besiktas, injuring many in the process, the majority of whom were completely innocent civilians. Atkinson and Young (2000, p.54) further their point by saying that although, on the face of it, sports may not seem to be linked to acts perpetrated by terrorist organisations, there is no escaping the fact that major events in the sporting world may become the target for terrorist attack. These acts of terrorism may not only be directed towards the spectators at a major sporting event, but also those who partake in the events themselves (i.e. the athletes), or even the large corporations who have put funds towards sponsorship of the event. They are, in essence, saying that everyone associated with the event is a potential target for terrorism. If we consider the FIFA World Cup, then this is quite obvious a major event, with a huge amount of prestige attached to it. As a result, it makes sense that we can consider the FIFA World Cup, in the contemporary climate in particular, to be at risk of a terrorist attack. We have seen historical instances of major sporting events attracting the attention of terrorist groups. Perhaps one that will be forever remembered is the 1972 Olympic Games, which took place in Munich. A militant terrorist organisation known as ‘Black September’ stormed the grounds of the Olympic residents accommodation and attacked the Israeli team’s hospitality area. In doing so, they murdered one Israeli sports coach in cold blood, and took ten hostages. The attempts to save the hostages failed tremendously, and they all died as a result of the failed attempt, as did a number of the Palestinian terrorists involved in the coup, and several police officials. More recently, during the Olympic games which took place in Atlanta in 2002, several individuals died either as a direct result, or indirect result, of a concealed bomb which was hidden in a backpack in the spectator area of the stadium. Many were injured in the attack, while one of the spectators died as a result of the blast. We have seen how World Cup Football has contributed to violence in the past, and sometimes on a serious and larger scale than ‘mere’ hooliganism. In 1969, two countries, Honduras and El Salvador, ended up declaring war on one another after they came head-to-head in a pre-tournament qualifying match. Because friction between the two countries was already high, this translated directly to the football field, and as a result the spectators clashed violently with eachother. This escalated and the two countries entered into a war in July of that year. Whilst this may not be seen as a direct act of terrorism, it does serve to illustrate how violence is present in World Cup football, or any kind of football for that matter. However, this kind of violence can be seen as politically motivated. Two separate sets of fans are brought together, from separate countries, between which tensions may be running high. The emotion of the event, and the patriotism felt for each sets of fans’ own countries, by the fans themselves, could potentially lead to an act of terrorism taking place. As mentioned earlier, sport is a truly global phenomenon. So, it goes without saying that globalisation will have an effect on sports related-violence. We have seen how global travel has become much more accessible to those who previously were unable to make journeys to far-away destinations due to the financial implications of doing so. However, we briefly touched upon how football hooliganism has been an issue in sports events since the 70s. Inexpensive holiday deals, and even travel deals tailored specifically towards the sports tourist, have been prolific for the past 30 years, and so it makes sense to make the link between sports tourism and sports violence. Working class males have been given access to the deals mentioned above, which means that they can travel to destinations for a comparatively nominal fee. It shouldn’t be viewed as entirely coincidental that where these travel opportunities are made available, and are combined with cheap alcohol, that sports violence (particularly hooliganism, which is often associated with working class males) would increase and become more of a threat in the time leading up to a major sporting event. Taylor (2002, p.27) supports this assertion. He states that ‘For many (especially) ‘working class’ young men, it was football that first initiated them into ‘foreign’ travel’. To return to World Cup Football and acts of terrorism, we saw that there was a great deal of concern surrounding the safety of spectators and participants of the 2002 South Korean FIFA World Cup. As stated earlier, this was as a direct result of the atrocities that took place during the 9/11 terror attacks in America. Nevertheless, all the authorities involved decided that this major event should go ahead unhindered. This may well have simply been down to the fact that the revenue generated by the tournament would have been undeniably beneficial to South Korea. Indeed, as quoted earlier, the South Korean President, Kim Dae-Jung, stated himself exactly how beneficial it would be for their country, bringing in hundreds of thousands of tourists from across the globe. Bibliography Atkinson, Michael and Young, Kevin. 2002. Terror Games: Media treatment of security issues at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Olympika: the International Journal of Olympic Studies 9; 53-78. Ganor, Boaz. 2001. Terrorism: No Prohibition Without Definition.7 October. http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=393. 14 April 2003. Hall, C. Michael. 1992 Hallmark Events: The Impacts, Management, and Planning of Event Tourism, Belhaven Press: New York. Hinch, Tom and Higham, James. 2001. Sport Tourism: A Framework for Research. The International Journal of Tourism Research. 3(1); 45-58. Kelly, J. 2000. Looking to sports for development dollars. American City & Country. 115(14); 20. McCormack, Gavan. 2002. Things more important than football? Japan, Korea and the 2002 World Cup. In Japan, Korea and the 2002 World Cup eds John Horne, J. and Wolfram Manzenreiter. pp 29-42. London: Routledge. Standeven, Joy and DeKnop, Paul. 1999. Sport Tourism, Human Kinetics: Champaign, Illinois. Taylor, Rogan. 2002. World Cup fans: hooligans or tourists. In Proceedings of the Korean Academic Society of Tourism Management International Conference for the Success of the 2002 World Cup., pp. 22-35. Seoul. 18 January. United States, Dept. of State. 2001. Patterns of Global Terrorism. Washington: Dept. of State: vi. http://www.history.navy.mil/library/guides/terrorism.htm#definition. 14 April 2003. Wedermeyer, B. 1999. Sport and terrorism. In The international politics of sport in the 20th century eds. Jim Riodan and Arnd Krà ¼ger. pp. 217- 231. New York: Routledge. Whitaker, Brian. 2001. The definition of terrorism. The Guardian. 7 May. http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,487098,00.html

Friday, January 17, 2020

Death of a Salesman Family Relationships

Battle between Father and Son Family relationships always have a way of playing a key role for the duration of most literary pieces. According to Arthur Miller’s novel, Death of a Salesman, the interaction of Willy and his sons, Happy and Biff, shows that family ties usually are connected either physically or emotionally in some way or another. Willy Loman is just like every father in a father/son bond, yet all he wants is to be a part of his son’s life. Even though Biff and Happy admire and have so much love for their father when they are younger, later down the road when they are older suddenly they realize he had failed to prepare them for the real society in life. Many people would say that in the play that the father/son relationship would be considered merely ironic. In a sense, one might consider that a poor relationship stems more from the lack of love and attention from the father. With that in mind however, the Loman family’s circumstances would be considered the complete and utter opposite. Ever since the day Willy Lomans’ first son was born, he vowed for his life goal to be the perfect father (1214). Throughout his life, he becomes enthralled with becoming the absolute ideal father, so to speak. It’s displayed through Willy’s actions and even his words that all he wishes for his son’s is for them to be what he sees as successful (1216). Although Willy may not be considered the best salesman out there, he has the constant urge to keep believing he needs to keep trying harder in order to give off the impression to people that he’s an excellent provider. With all his troubles, sacrifices he makes, and even his final suicide they all end up being for his sons, and not nearly for himself. Father Loman’s constant need to try and better his way of becoming a perfect father to his son’s drives him to believe that if he commits suicide he could better provide a different life that he wished he could’ve given to his son’s (1277). From the first line to the last, Willy had the instinct to think that if he did so much for his boy’s he had hoped that someday he would be considered an even greater father than his own was by making the so many sacrifices he did. All Willy really wants is to be a part of his son’s lives and, Miller shows this by the example of when in the play Biff comes home to recollect himself, Willy seems to think this as a failure because he would rather see his eldest son be likely more successful rather than his youngest, Happy. Hereafter, Willy tries to take matter into his own hands, ‘I’ll get him a job selling, he could be big in no time’, he says to Linda (1215). Partially due to Willy’s consistency in Biff’s life conflicts start to erupt more partially to do with the fact being that they had different ideas of what the ‘American Dream† really is. With Biff believing that the most inspiring job to a man is working outdoors, his father disregarded by saying that working on the road selling was the greatest job a man could possibly have (1276). The boys are clearly not at all fully functioning adults because of their upbringing throughout their life. Another major issue in the play with the father/son relationship between Willy and his sons is the amount of love shown towards them. The continuous support from growing up had molded the Lomans into men who always fled back home whenever a problem approached. Biff says to Willy, ‘I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could not stand taking orders from anybody! ’ (1275). The Loman brothers were babied so much all through their childhood they never got a real chance of growing up and trying to choose for themselves of what they really wanted in their own lives. Being raised to only know to want one thing like selling, for example, puts pressure on everyone else especially the eldest, Biff. In real life today we are faced with decisions of what is next after high school; In Death of a Salesman, Biff was pressured primarily from his father to be a famous football player but then when things turn for the worst he suddenly loses everything and nothing to live for but selling like his father, which is not his true idea of what the ‘American Dream’ is supposed to be. The father/son bond in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, leads to a tragedy of downfall in the Loman family. Willy’s longing effort to be the perfect father did not have much success for him in the life he tried to accomplish living. Once finding out that he still had his sons’ love he was immediately overwhelmed with it all. Suicide was Willy’s last resort to try and make up for what he wasn’t able to provide for his son’s growing up to give them the money from the accident. His immediate departure in the end left Happy, Linda, and Biff in despair and uncertainty of what was really going on through Willy’s thought process.