Technology in the Next 100 Years the Futurologist’s View Essay Example for Free

Technology in the Next 100 Years the Futurologist’s View Essay Futurologist Ian Pearson discussed technologies of the future to more than 200 IT, security and finance delegates on the Aurora cruise ship. He spoke of IT security threats from smart bacteria, gadgets which are installed in the skin, the soaring of tax rates precipitating the emigration of graduates to low-tax economies, oil at 30 dollars a barrel, and the reversal of globalization. Gadgets of the future Electronics in the human body will record holiday and other experiences bungee-jumping for example and replay them into your nervous system, or someone elses. They will be able to feel the same sensations you did on holiday. This would surpass showing holiday snaps to friends and family. Games headsets are already recording some simple thought processes. Pearson also referred to active skin. Tattoos would be applied to the skin to provide interactive, touchsensitive video displays. One drawback: hackers may try to access your nervous system, though this threat will not deter all. Pearson referred to the digital mirror in which you see yourself as you want to, not as you are. And you could use active makeup to change your look during the day. Smart bacteria the biggest IT security threat to mankind? Pearson said that smart bacteria could be the biggest security threat known to mankind by 2025. They may land on keyboards and work out passwords. Even before [your password] signals reach the PC and get decoded by the software, they [smart bacteria] are already taking money out of your bank account. He told anyone in the audience who is working in IT security and is less than say 40-years-old: change your career. He referred to bacteria linked via infrared that form sophisticated self-organising circuits. Robots will replace IT workers the human-machine convergence Pearson referred to an optical brain in a conscious computer a billion times more powerful than the brain with emotions and senses. The conscious computer could be fully sentient benign or malicious. He showed on a slide the stages of man from homo erectus and homo sapiens to what he called homo machinus and bacteria sapiens within 150 years. By 2018 there may be a robot as smart as you are. Robots may have a higher IQ than humans and take over many intellectual and IT jobs today. Today many people work as smart machines. Machines will become much smarter. Research is being funded into making computers thousands and even a million times smarter than humans, he said. Why humans will still be needed the female-dominated economy But humans will add value because of the need for compassion. A robot will never be able to sit beside a patient, give them a cuddle and make them feel better. A robot can clear up a bedpan and give an injection, 2/6/13 Technology in the next 100 years: the futurologist’s view prescribe drugs. Compassion needs humans. A PC will be able to do what a human does today in an intellectual capacity. But a human will add value because of emotion and compassion. He said that workplaces will be designed for meeting people. Pearson spoke of the male-dominated economy coming to an end. Everything I do I could do with a piece of software if I spent enough time writing it. What my wife does, dealing with other people, I cannot do that at all. So she will have a job in 2020 whereas my job will be automated. We are heading very rapidly towards a female-dominated economy. Globalization in reverse Globalization is increasing. But it will soon start reversing. You cannot shake hands with someone or give them a cuddle across a network. Globalization, he said, will start to reverse thanks to the refocus on the care economy over a 100 year period. Oil at 30 dollars a barrel by 2030 Pearson made a case for the wo rlds energy coming from the Sahara and other deserts within 22 years, and oil at less than 30 dollars a barrel. He said that solar power from the Sahara, even at 12% efficiency, could replace carbon-based fuels such as oil, petrol and diesel. The Sahara alone could supply 40 times more energy than we need for the whole planet. One barrel of oil is the equivalent in energy of a solar panel, which measures one square metre, working in the Sahara working for six months. He spoke of solar farms in the Sahara, and super-cables to transmit the energy. By 2030 you cannot sell a barrel of oil for more than 30 dollars. At some point the maximum obtainable price will fall below extraction cost and the rest will be left in the ground. Obsolescence is great for IT and the environment Pearson said that the faster that technology becomes obsolete the faster miniaturisation will happen, which will reduce the drain on the worlds resources. Eventually we get a total sustainable future where everyone has all the IT they can dream of and almost no environmental impact. He added, The faster the obsolescence the faster we get there. If anyone tells you obsolescence is a bad idea, ignore them or argue with them but do not believe them. Do not ever limit your obsolescence cycle. That will slow down progress and increase environmental impact. As an example miniaturisation will bring everyday IT down to lapel-pin size. Agility is more important than being best-in-class Business will change faster. You should not focus on being best-in-class. You need agility. Optimisation is only a good strategy in a stable environment. Security too much will kill your company You cannot have a watertight security policy you have to give enough freedom to employees to do their jobs. In an extreme, your security department can kill your company better than any hacker. He said that boards of directors should beware of setting extreme goals for their heads of IT security. How can you have sensible security while making sure your employees can do their jobs well? Most blue chips do www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Technology-in-the-next-100-years-the-futurologists-view?vgnextfmt=print 2/4 2/6/13 Technology in the next 100 years: the futurologist’s view not do that very well at all. They stop their employees from doing their job. He warned that employees will bypass the corporate systems and do their jobs on home PCs, where there will not be any security at all, and then they will have their ideas stolen. Or they [employees] will be so inefficient you will not have a company. Tax rates will soar sending graduates overseas Pearson said there is nowhere near enough money in the governments pension funds to cope with a population that is living much longer.

Ideas of feminism and free love

Ideas of feminism and free love Since time immemorial women have been viewed as the weaker sex, and so, over the centuries they have had to fight for each and every right they deserved as humans to lead a happy and content life. Men have always viewed themselves as superior to women and claim that even nature intended it to be that way as they are naturally physically more powerful. But they forget that it is a woman who gives birth to a man and that is how nature intended it to be for eternity. Men have tried and have been able to not only make women but also their desires slaves over the centuries. Woman was seen as a commodity and to the horror of the civil society still is in many parts of the world. She still has no complete right over her body, mind or soul. This paper intends to talk about the right of a woman over both her body and mind through the Free Love Movement. Sexuality has been a taboo topic in most of the societies around the world and it is viewed as shameful to even bring up the thought that women can have their own desires related to sexuality. In many orthodox societies, women even today are synonymous with the word honor and the talk of rights for them is seen as foolery. But over the centuries women all around the world and many men also, have realized that this patriarchal world would never hand over rights to women and so these feminists have to take up the fight for their rights whether social, economic or political. In this debate over rights comes the right of a woman over her body and how and what she wants to do with it which finally gets attached to the bigger subject of feminism. This fight of the feminists is very much entwined with the Free Love Movement and has played a huge role in giving momentum to the mo vement over the years and around the world. INTRODUCTION: Charles Fourier in this famous essay originally published in the 1800s talks about women and their degraded status: Is there a shadow of justice to be seen in the fate that has befallen women? Is not a young woman a mere piece of merchandise displayed for sale to the highest bidder as exclusive property? Is not the consent she gives to the conjugal bond derisory and forced on her by the tyranny of the prejudices that obsess her from childhood on? People try to persuade her that her chains are woven only of flowers; but can she really have any doubt about her degradation, even in those regions that are bloated by philosophy such as England, where a man has the right to take his wife to market with a rope around her neck, and sell her like a beast of burden to anyone who will pay his asking price?  [1]   He further goes on to talk about the double standards of different nations towards women though these nations are seen as highly moralistic but in reality even they have treated their women as slaves according to him. He states that even the English legislation which is highly respected and is seen as highly moralistic is also prejudiced against women. It had given rights to men but had degraded the women. Even the French are no less different from their British counterparts and treat their women in the same biased way. Eventually, the slavery is the same for the women, no matter which country she belongs to. Hence, there is no justice for women anywhere. Likewise, he points out that there was not much difference regarding the status and rights of women in both the civilized and the savage (as the oriental and African countries were referred to by this term) countries. He elaborates by mentioning the different countries like Japan and china. He was of the view that all the nations which give their women the highest level of freedom are the best in the world. Japanese according to him were the most industrious and bravest but in contrast to other nations were also highly indulgent towards their women. Their women enjoyed a respectful place and even the Chinese went to Japan to enjoy the love that was forbidden in their own country due to their hypocritical customs. He further elaborates by giving examples of nations both civilized and savage which supported the fact that a nation can only develop if it respects its women. He argues that both the Tahitians and the French are placed really well off and are also highly developed due to the respect attached to women. Likewise, he also believed that the nations which subjugated their women turned out to be the most corrupt. Maybe, they faced a deficiency in their moralistic standards as a nation which cannot respect its women is never able to gain any respect anywhere. Ultimately, he reached the conclusion which came out as a general thesis: Social progress and historic changes occur by virtue of the progress of women toward liberty, and decadence of the social order occurs as the result of a decrease in the liberty of women. Other events influence these political changes, but there is no cause that produces social progress or decline as rapidly as change in the condition of women.  [2]   FEMINISM: The concept of feminism is an amalgamation of movements with the primary aim of defining, establishing and defending equal political, economic and social rights to women and ultimately resulting in equal opportunities for women. Though the main focus of feminism is on women but many feminists are of the view that as it aims at gender equality so, even men are a party to it, as many times due to sexism and due to fixed gender roles they also suffer. Feminism aims to free both the genders away and out of the cast of their traditional roles. Persons who practice feminism are known as feminists and can belong to either sex. Feminists over the centuries have fought around the world and campaigned for womens rights such as in contract, property and voting while also promoting a womans right to bodily integrity, autonomy and reproductive rights. They have taken a very strong stand against sexual harassment, domestic violence and sexual assault. For example, feminists groups in India have been for long raising their voice for change in the laws related to rape under the Indian Penal Code. Feminists have also advocated for equal rights for women in the economic sphere also as they demand equal pay and opportunities for careers and to start businesses which some constitutions like the Indian constitution have made a part of their fundamental rights. Feminism over the time period has been divided into three waves by the feminists and scholars: First Wave: It primarily refers to the movements fought all around the world for the right of suffrage in the 19th and early 20th centuries which were basically concerned with womens right to vote. Second Wave: This phase started in the 1960s and lasted upto the 1980s. It was basically concerned with the movement for legal and social equality for women as campaigned by the feminists in the women liberation movement. Third Wave: It is a continuation of and a reaction to the so called perceived failures of the second wave feminism and began in the 1990s. THE FREE LOVE MOVEMENT: Wendy McElroy in her article on free love very clearly has defined the aim of the movement. According to her the free love movement of the 19th century basically aimed at separating the state from matters related to sexuality like marriage, birth control and adultery. The individuals involved were the ones who should have a say on these matters and not the state as it concerns their personal lives and the state has no right as to dictate to people how to live. Many of the free love advocates were of the view that sexual laws were basically meant to discriminate against women and their freedom specially the marriage and birth control laws. They viewed sexual freedom specially the supporters of Josiah Warren and experimental communities as a clear, direct expression of an individuals self ownership.  [3]   On the other hand Taylor Stohr and other revolutionary writers talk about the movement in respect to America: What was free love? The nineteenth century free love movement was a distinct reform tradition, running from the utopian socialist thinkers of the 1820s and 1830s through the center of American anarchism to the anti Comstock sex radicals of the 1890s and 1900s and from there into the birth control movement of the twentieth century.  [4]  The times of the emergence of this movement were full of upheaval and change in the centuries old sexual conventions. The sexual relations between men and women were undergoing huge changes. The number of women living away from their families and having their own individual lives had increased dramatically. Things were changing for women within marriage as well  [5]  and they were now exerting their will to have their own individual lives as well. The changing scenario regarding the change in attitude of women towards their sexuality in America and to top it all there was observed an assertion of sexual freedom by women. The change in the pattern of sexual activity told the story very clearly during those times. Women in America had started having fewer pregnancies and child birth and that showed a control over their sexual activities. The free love movement was there to support these changes and bring about a reform and modernize these ages old emotional and sexual conventions which had made stiff rules of behaviour for both the sexes. Free love was more of an individualistic based movement. It emphasized on the happiness of the individual and not on social welfare. It viewed marriage as a union of love and appreciation between two individuals and not as an institution for reproduction. It was a reform which was bringing about self consciousness and it was both related to and still different from women right movements. Over the centuries, this movement has been only viewed by many as an anti-marriage movement. But on further study one realizes that the movement covered a much wider aspect. It was basically in opposition to marriage as a legal institute which made the advocates of this movement see the legalization of marriage as an attempt by the state to regulate the private affairs of individuals. The nature of the movement can also be defined as that of civil libertarian as it aimed to defend individuals rights in matters of sex and love. The movement aimed at encouraging healthy democratic public debates about sexuality, love and reproduction. It protested against any type of control over any of these matters by the state through experts. That is the reason why all the supporters of the free love movement stood together against the Constock laws which restricted the individuals from learning and talking about sexual matters to some select experts only. Our perceptions regarding the advocates of the free love movement may view them as pro sex but in reality it was not the case. The advocates of this movement totally denied that they were encouraging or supporting any kind of sexual promiscuity or a license to indulge. Indeed free lovers often claimed that they were working for a relaxation of external controls in order to produce a greater sense of sexual responsibility and personal control, a utopia of permanent, harmonious, monogamous true love.  [6]   Still sex according to the proponents of this movement did not fall in the same category as sexual intercourse and it is neither on the same plane as sexual orgasm. Appreciation and encouragement of sexual expression not only for the men but also for the women was the basic aim of the free love movement to the surprise of many people. The movement supporters were of the view that sex not only had an important role in procreation but it could be viewed differently also. The possession of strong sexual powers is not to be deprecated, Victoria Woodhull insisted, in the face of cultural norms to the contrary. If superiority of any kind is desirable at all, let it be in the animal, since with this right, all others may be cultivated to its standard.  [7]   There has been a huge debate regarding the movement being dominated by men or women. The movement seems to be a culmination of both. It was simultaneously male as well as feminist dominated. Many of the male leaders of the movement were unsuccessful in understanding the sexual needs and wants of the women though the free lovers claimed that womens stand regarding sexuality and their freedom was essential to bring about a sexual revolution in the society. The most notorious example of male arrogance in respect of sexual matters in the free love tradition was the utopian free love community in Oneida, New York, where an extremely radical, revolutionary and a promiscuous sexual practice had originated monogamy was absolutely prohibited and couples were broken up by the community itself- and all control was vested with the founder, John Humphrey Noyes. The male domination carries on in the history of this movement too as well cause most of the histories of the movement were written by m en and the irony is that these histories have not treated the women writers with equal respect and seriousness as the men writers such as Victoria Woodhull, and they made male concerns central to their writings and female sexual concerns such as contraception were put at the periphery. Instead of marriage based on external moral systems like organized religion and social convention, free lovers preached fidelity to ones self, or individual sovereignty.  [8]  Individual sovereignty, literally self ownership, was the central doctrine of early nineteenth century American anarchism. The extreme ideology of individual rights which this represented was used as an economic theory and a political doctrine, but for free lovers, it also functioned as a theory of individual psychology, which had implications for sexual conduct. As an alternative to social codes and moral systems, free lovers argued for the importance of each individuals coming to understand his or her own personal laws, and recognized that these might vary from person to person. No two spears of grass, no two leaves are exactly similar, Mary Nichols wrote. I have wants of taste, of appetite, of being that are not yours. If I am true to the spirit, the informing life, I shall live very differently from you and your idea, your right.  [9]   Since centuries women had been considered mens property and so the ideas of sexual self ownership and self definition were revolutionary in nature. Mary Nichols used the concept of individual sovereignty in an explicitly sexual way, to mean womens right to be sexually self determining, but she used it primarily in the negative the right to reject the sexual demands of men, including their husbands, unless the women themselves wanted to have sex. Nichols linked her free love ideas to the emerging womens rights movement of the 1850s; she was particularly impressed with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  [10]  Yet she grasped that her emphasis on sex distinguished her from them. The idea of self ownership has come to few women in different ages, to more in this than in any previous age, she wrote, still the number is very limited at present who recognize no authority but their own.  [11]   FEMINISM AND FREE LOVE: After going through what does feminism and free love stand for one comes to acknowledge that both these movements are intermingled and to talk of one without mentioning the other would amount to blasphemy. Both the terms women liberation and sexual freedom carry with themselves huge connotations but it has been felt that though both project the way to a highly desirable way of life for women there has been much confusion regarding the interconnection between the two. Certainly any simple equation between the two womens liberation and sexual freedom ceased being possible some years ago, when modern feminists exposed the sexual revolution of the 1960s for what it was, a new set of imperatives on womens behavior, a compulsion to say yes that was as inhibiting as the injunction to say no. Since then, modern feminism has contributed its own premises to the politics of sexuality. The two most important of these are first, recognizing the degree to which sexuality and violence have conver ged in the heterosexual culture of our society; and second, asserting the possibility of sex between women and identifying  [12]  and criticizing what Adrienne Rich calls compulsory heterosexuality.  [13]   The debates regarding sexual freedom and sexual happiness though have asked the questions and tried to find answers as to what sexual happiness is and how it can be achieved but always from a male point of view. It is high time that these questions were looked into from the point of view of women. As Linda Gordon has written Sex hating women were not simply misinformed, or priggish or neurotic. They were often rationally responding to their material reality. Denied even the knowledge of sexual possibilities other than those dictated by the rhythms of male orgasm, they had only two choices; passive and usually pleasure less submission, with high risk of undesirable consequences; or rebellious refusal.  [14]  With the passage of time women realized that it is very much normal to have different desires from their male partners and their desires should also be respected in the same manner. On the level of political history, this feminist sexual revisionism has meant rediscovering the social purity and moral reform movements and reinterpreting them as womens collective efforts at sexual self defense.  [15]  There is a need for searching for other aspects of the history of feminist sexual politics, in particular to discover if there is another tradition, running alongside moral reform and social purity, in which women tried to assert the possibilities of a different kind of sexual life for women, one that didnt involve their systematic subordination.  [16]  The free love movement presents itself as the right movement to be studied in order to understand these aspects. Feminism itself was a collection of many things as pointed out by Ann Corthoys. She says that Twentieth-century feminism was many things: a set of ideas, a political and social movement, a cultural renaissance. It was a force for change and a guide for living. Feminism was the site of the reinvention of the category woman in the 1970s, and then of its deconstruction in the 1980s and 1990s. Now, at the turn of the century, after many years of involvement in feminism in all these aspects, one ponders at the meaning and future of the feminism that has helped shape our lives. In feminisms much-noticed episodic history, giving rise to the metaphor of waves, we seem to be at an ebb-tide. Something, the feminism of the last thirty years, has ended, and something else seems about to take its place. We live in an obscurely apocalyptic moment.  [17]   There has been a notion in the olden times and specially when the church played a very important part in the lives of the common man that womans primary responsibility was not to her husband or to her children, but to God, as all souls were ultimately equal before God, though for their own benefit men have altered this notion totally. While it was true that St. Paul had said that wives should be subject to their husbands in this life, he had also said that there is neither male nor female in the Lord. And so, a new kind of woman emerges from the restless anonymity of the crowds, aloof from the sullen aimless excitement of the thousands that drift along the pavements and surge through the squares, a figure whose mystery and danger is that she is alone.  [18]   Feminist theory emphasizes its critique insofar as it focuses on the subordination, weakness, and invisibility of women as part of a gender-based society. Feminism argues that a critique of gender socialization must begin from the perspective of women because general analyses of the human condition have tended to overlook womens conditions.  [19]   The free love movement had a huge impact in America and though it was very much present in Europe also the American movement was much more aggressive and highly supported Marriage assumed a central place in the social vision of this new middle class. Writers and lecturers like William Alcott and Sylvester Graham offered a comprehensive view of sexuality and marriage, stressing personal purity and the quality of relations both during courtship and in matrimony. By the 1840s an ideal of true marriage had been formed that viewed the voluntary decision to enter marriage as the most basic of all social relations. The guarantee that a marriage was sound, and therefore a sure foundation for society, was both the character of those entering it and their love for one another. True love never varied, but bound two people together exclusively and for life. Spiritualists, who appeared at the end even gave love credit for binding people together eternally.  [20]   As middle- class men and women came to view marriage as the root of all social relations, they also began to fear that its subversion potentially destroyed all of society. If something was wrong with marriage, as many Jacksonians believed, then all of society was at risk. By tracing the shift in perception during the late 1840s that led some members of the middle class to repudiate marriage we can gain a clearer insight into the social vision of early middle-class reformers and radicals. Those who doubted the legitimacy of marriage shared many of the assumptions of middle-class reformers of the period. Assumptions that derived from widely held middle-class ideals. These men and women looked upon individuality as an irreducible condition and feared institutions that limited individual autonomy, whether churches or governments. As we reconstruct the free love network that was formed to promote these beliefs we will see the connections between free love and other ante-bellum reforms, as well as free loves dependence on middle-class assumptions and values.  [21]   The Free love movement had a positive influence and brought about reforms related to other aspects of life too. Many feminists and free lovers compared African slavery to slavery by marriage and raised their voice for abolition of both. They were of the view point that a woman can only gain equal status to a man after she is treated as an equal partner in marriage. Free lovers also supported vegetarianism and teetotalism. Free lovers believed that sexual intercourse would be less frequent within a free relationship because both partners would be free of the lusts engendered by the artificiality of marriage.  [22]   The American movement ultimately did agree to the thoughts of Woodhull and other free lovers before her. Thus, her thought did turn victorious. From the mid-1870s on, the womens movement began to unite in opposition to the sexual ownership of women by men in marriage, and in defense of the principle of individual sovereignty, womens right to say no to sexual intercourse that they didnt want.  [23]   By 1894, the conservative Christian moralist Elizabeth Blackwell, took the same stand as that of Mary Nichols forty years before, said, In healthy, loving women, uninjured by the too frequent lesions which result from childbirth, increasing physical satisfaction attaches to the ultimate physical expression of love. The prevalent fallacy that sexual passion is the almost exclusive attribute of men, and attached exclusively to the act of coition arises from ignorance of the distinctive character of human sex, viz. its powerful mental element.  [24]   Though Victoria Woodhull was one of the biggest supporters of the free love movement but most of the respectable feminists were dead against her stand regarding the uselessness of marriage. The feminists also were unable to understand the willingness of the free lovers in viewing sex and reproduction separately pertaining to women. Though they agreed to and thought it necessary for women to have a say in choice and consent to intercourse, but they were equally committed to the confinement of sex within marriage.  [25]  Closely-related to this was a reverence for motherhood and the power it could bestow on women, a belief which we have seen even Nichols and Woodhull shared. Many more conservative feminists hoped that once men ceased to destroy marriage with their excessive sexual demands, women should once again welcome intercourse with them, not for the sheer sexual pleasure of it, but as the fulfillment of their higher maternal duties. Few, even among feminists, could see that t he equation between female sexuality and reproduction was a historically specific achievement, and that the liberation of womens sexuality was a process that would not be reversed.  [26]   Hence, we can see that the histories of both free love and feminism are entwined. From the late 18th century, leading feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft have challenged the so called sacred institute of marriage and some of them have even gone further by demanding its abolition. The proponents of free love never viewed sex as a means of reproduction and so access to birth control was considered as a means to womens independence. The free love movement was even embraced by leading birth control activist like Margaret Sanger. Many of the leaders of first-wave feminism attacked free love. To them, womens suffering could be traced to the moral degradation of men, and by contrast, women were portrayed as virtuous and in control of their passions, and they should serve as a model for mens behavior.  [27]  The free love ethics of the 1960s and 1970s can today maybe seen as a manipulative strategy against a womans right to say no to sex. Issues regarding contraception, marital emotional and physical sexual abuse and sexual education are the areas very much emphasized upon by the sex radicals and the right of the women to control her body. The radicals were of the viewpoint that talking about female sexuality would ultimately help in empowering women around the world. FEMINISM, FREE LOVE AND THE GLOBAL SCENARIO: Ultimately, one has to agree to the fact that even as women all around the world are fighting for their rights in order to live a dignified and happy life one cannot disagree to the fact that there is huge cultural differentiation around the world. What may seem degrading to an American for a woman may be totally normal for a woman of that part of the world. Though these movements fight for a just cause but lack of global homogeneity is one of the important factors because of which women have not been able to gain as much out of these movements as they could have. But one cannot disagree to the fact that these movements have brought about opportunities for women all around the world which were unseen and unheard in the past. Women over the past have been seen as depositories of cultural homogeneity and it is high time that this notion was done away with. It is sad in the very first place that women have to fight for their rights though I am sure god intended both men and women to be equal and live a peaceful life together but in reality the picture is far away from this utopian idea. But though this movement has brought about changes in the thinking of the individuals around the world, the concentration is more in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Other nations of the world have lacked behind and even today the matters related to female sexuality and freedom are taboo in conservative societies like that of India. Though the educated class has still benefited from these revolutions and are quite free in matters related to head, heart or body but most of the other women still suffer from inequality in most of the spheres of their lives. It is ultimately the combination of feminism with free love that has brought about a positive change in both men as to respecting the wishes of women and in women as to voicing their needs and finally having the guts and confidence to walk out of the shackles and say no as and when they want to. But still, a lot of work needs to be done globally and it should be seen that knowledge about such movements should be made available around the world through the revolutionary writings of the supporters of free love. So women around the world can bring about a change in their own societies in order for a women to live a dignified life and the men to respect her as they respect themselves. CONCLUSION: After 1875, a lot of research still remains to be done on the participation and role of women in the free love movement. A large number of women had come forward and supported the movement during and after 1875. But as the number of women supporters increased so did the differences among them. Nichols and Woodhull were two of the biggest names of the movement. There were many more women who were equally passionate and supporters of the movement

Hucklebery Finn Literary Figures :: essays research papers

The Adventures of Huck Finn CHARACTER: Character Name  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Description  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quote Huckleberry Finn  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A young outcast boy who is always forced to survive on his own due to lack of authority. He is quick-witted and able to make intelligent decisions, but is often influenced by his friend Tom.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jim  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A black slave that belonged to Miss Watson but escaped after she threatened to sell him. Huck and him went off together on the river looking for the free states.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The king & the duke  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fugitives that joined up with Huck and Jim on the raft. They posed themselves as a king and a duke and performed scandalous plays to rip people’s money off. They were later both tarred and feathered.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   DICTION:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The diction used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is mostly informal and neutral. SYMBOLISM:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has many important symbols throughout the novel. One major symbol is the raft that Huck and Jim travel on through a majority of the book. In Chapter 18, Huck states, â€Å"We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.† Huck said this after he and Jim escaped from the troublesome feud between the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons. The raft represents to Huck an escape from the troublesome and sick society in the outside world. The raft also represents live itself as it floats along the river.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Along with the raft, the river represents the path of life and how it can turn in many unexpected ways and how obstacles can get in the way of things at any time. During Huck and Jim’s journey along the Mississippi, obstacles in the form of troublesome slave hunters and scandalous royalty constantly took them off course and led them on a temporary sidetrack. Once they are able to overcome the obstacles or outrun trouble, Huck and Jim were back on the river enjoying life. Like the river, life also has many obstacles that must be overcome before one can continue down the path. THEME:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about trusting what one believes and knows is morally right. When the king and the duke sell Jim, Huck writes a letter to the Widow telling her about the whereabouts of Jim. Before he sends it though, he tears it up because he realizes how close of friend Jim has become.

Russian Jews :: essays research papers

Russian Jews To Russian Jews, the synagogue was the center of religion and religion was the most important thing in their lives. The rabbi was their leader, they came to him with every problem they had. Jews were poor, but they all gave tzedakah. It was said that even the poorest Jews could find someone poorer to help and give money to. According to the Jewish religion, tzedakah is one of the most important mitzvahs you can do. The same could be said about the Jewish holidays. They were observed very strictly, but Shabbat was the most welcomed. In order to teach the importance of Jewish law, they started their own schools, their own courts of law, and their own burial societies. even though there were pogroms, religious persecution forced the Jews to create stronger communities and made them more united. In the beginning of the 1800s, Alexander I ruled Russia. He promised the Jews that they could become farmers, could live in two districts, and could buy unoccupied land. Although Alexander was kind and helped the Jews, the tax they were forced to pay, stayed. before he died in 1825, the Jewish situation became hard for them to bare. They lived in poverty in small and crowded places and were oppressed. For hundreds of years, Jews lived these ways in two communities - the ghetto and the shtetl. To keep out thieves and rioters from coming in, they built walls around their section of town. When they did this, the government and churches got an idea, they would use the walls that the Jews built, to lock them in. These walls were located near a foundry that made cannons, so they named it â€Å"ghetto† which means "foundry". They would close the gates every night and the Jews would be locked in until daybreak. The word of the ghettos quickly spread, soon there were ghettos all over Europe. The Jews were all treated the same in every ghetto that was in Europe, according the government and churches, the Jews had no rights. They were no allowed to own land, join crafts guilds, or do any kind of work that Christians got to do. In some ghettos, they were even forced to wear badges so anyone who saw them would know they were Jewish. The badge was usually a Star of David. For many years, the government took copies of the Talmud, and burnt them. Also the government forced the Jews to listen to long Christian sermons. Even though all these terrible things took place and the government was not good to the Jews, the ghettos seemed to be a

My Teacher, My Hero Essay

When my friends asked me to write again, I decided to start my compilation with something meaningful, a themed essay for the My Teacher, My Hero theme, contrary to last year wherein I had a hard time choosing who to pay tribute to, this year is much different, it was easy and I believe, it is the most obvious choice. Everyone has someone to keep them on their own feet as they walk through life. Normally, it would be your parent or friend, but mine is different, I had kept myself intact with the help of a teacher. Teachers are usually there to impart knowledge and give you an opportunity to move on with life, I was blessed to have someone during my college days who takes time to make sure that I was okay and the strength to hold on to when everything else went astray, he was Engr. Elmerito D. Pineda. I first met Engr. Pineda as my professor back when I was in First Year (Advanced Programming Languages in C) , back then, things were just inside the classroom – lectures, quizzes, exercises which brought my confidence back after losing my scholarship during the previous term but things turned different when I was in my Third Year and he became our thesis mentor. He turned out to be the #1 Supporter to what we have wanted in the first place, the Alumni Tracer for FEU – East Asia College. Despite both parties having to adjust to the situation of having a part-time mentor last year, we both exerted effort to follow-up and communicate with each other. Since I was always doing the documentation portion of most our projects, I was the one responsible for making follow-ups with the mentor, which happened to be Mr. Pineda. I took it as my responsibility to stay late, meet him after classes for checking and even go straight to his FEU Main class just to finish the proposal for our thesis. Unfortunately, our second term was cut short after failing the proposal defense – but when things thought that it was the end of our mentorship with Engr. Pineda, we were wrong. He stayed with us until the very end. He had always made sure that I was okay. He had always made me feel secure especially by showing me how much he believes in the entire group. When we are back for the third term with a different project and mentor, he made sure he would ask us about our thesis and he was one of the few people who first congratulated us after a successful defense – indeed, he showed me that he was true to his words when we started communicating, â€Å"Dito lang ako for you, parang si Ms. Bong (Evelyn Ruth M. Manuel)†. He never left the group, he never left me during the good times and the bad times. Even if he is not physically present, his presence would always be felt wholeheartedly, and in the little ways he does it, I am extremely grateful. As time pass by, I looked up to him as one of the best friends and as my â€Å"dad† in school. I still see him from time to time. He has helped mold my character to be as strong as it is right now. He has his own way of teaching me things, he doesn’t get mad easily when you do something wrong, however, he has his own way to show you that you are wrong and it is proven effective to me, I managed to make amends and never do things again. For all the things he has done for me, all I can do to repay is to be there for him as well. I know I would be supporting him in whatever he would aspire to do in his life. I also look forward to see him finish Doctoral of Information Technology sometime next year for it would add weapons to his already impressive curriculum vitae. I hope he touch more lives and help direct it to a better place, just like how he helped me push my life back on track. My life would never be perfect. I would always experience the roller-coasters of being a human being but I would always remember one thing, that indeed, I was blessed. I was blessed to have people that would guide me. I was blessed to have people who would accept me for who I am. Furthermore, I am blessed to have Engr. Elmerito D. Pineda in my life, whatever you do call him, he would always have a special place in my life, a great mentor, friend and a dad. Engr. Elmerito D. Pineda, hats off†¦ my 2011 would not be complete without having the opportunity to thank you for everything that you have done for me.

The Failure of the Road Map to Peace

Abstract The failure of the Roadmap to Peace has become an object of substantial debate. This essay examines the conflict utilizing the concept of ripeness and third party intervention in order to determine the impact. The evidence presented illustrates the lack of details produced a lack of direction which led to strategy failure. This study will be of value to any person studying conflict resolution. 1 Introduction The Roadmap to peace was created to bring quiet and balance to the Middle East. This essay examines the failure of the Roadmap process through the perspective of ripeness and third party intervention. With each process, this essay identifies the strengths and weaknesses associated with the method in order to create better understanding. Beginning with a base overview of the Roadmap to peace this essay sets out a fundamental building point. Following this with an assessment of the ripeness of the peace process will allows for an illustration of potential, adding to the narrative. Next, will be an examination of third party intervention and the opportunities that this created in the Roadmap process. A combination of these sections will enable the creation of reasonable conclusions based on evidence. In the end this essay considers initial policy, modern practice and future potential with the clear and stated goal of demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of international conflict resolution. 2 Roadmap to Peace2.1 OverviewWith the failure of the American President Bill Clinton to forge a lasting peace in the Middle East before leaving office, the second intifada broke out hampering peace efforts and increasing regional violence between Palestine and Israel. This sudden onslaught rapidly deteriorated any building goodwill between the states and made any form of resolution very hard to create. The Roadmap was an effort constructed by the major powers Russia, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union in an effort to create peace between Palestine and Israel. With a real need to implement a form of resolution and partnership in order to promote international concerns, the Middle East plan was built to resolve many long standing issues. Citing the rising tensions in the region, the world powers, led by the United States President George W. Bush, adopted the Roadmap, a concept taken from a 2002 speech created the foundation for the Road Map to Peace. With a c lear political impact to be felt by the failure or success of the program, the Western Powers and Russia felt that the time had come to answer the violence with a bold initiative directly aimed at changing the status quo. The strategy itself was enacted with three distinct segments in mind, which in turn would provide markers illustrating the progress . The first phase envisioned a form of acceptance between the antagonists which would lead to an end to the on-going violence in the region . As part and parcel of the reform needed, the Palestinian state would undergo elections and fundamental development, thus enabling a better informed and therefore less violent population. Israel in turn would pull their military assets back as well as allowing normalization of operations in Eastern Jerusalem. This process would allow for a general rising of health conditions alongside the improvement in the aid situation that was being experienced by the general population. A final component of the first phase of the Roadmap dictated a total freeze on expansion settlements, and the further exploration of alternatives . Each of these first steps was designed with a broad intent, but few details. However, the intent w as to deescalate the tension and creates a perception of partnership that would allow for both Israel and Palestine to find common ground, thereby inherently reducing the underlying violence and hardship. The second segment of the Roadmap was to take place over the course of the 2003 year. Building on the projections of the first portion, the second phase begins the real work of creating an independent state. This process of development for Palestine required a substantial economic recovery as well as a considerable increase in the quality of social services available . With increased funding, and environmental assistance this segment encompassed the physical rehabilitation of the Palestinian state in order to establish a viable national presence. Once again, the critics of this segment cite the lack of detail compared to the overarching goals. Yet, with the accomplishment of these goals, Israel would restore communication and cooperation with the Palestinians, thereby increasing the communication and opportunity for partnership in the region. The third and final section of the Roadmap consisted of a second international conference that would herald the passage of the Palestinian state into international recognition. As a consequence of the success of the first and second sections, it was judged that the Palestinians would have a permanent status as an independent state which would in turn effectively end the conflict . During this third segment many of the most vexing issues surrounding the conflict including the borders of the city Jerusalem would be addressed in order to cement a lasting peace. Further, this final effort would encompass the refugee and settlement issues with a final decree thereby settling each of the commonly held elements of the conflict. Described as a performance driven strategy, there was no real method of enforcement, compelling the states involved to meet the standards of the Roadmap. With a great deal of mistrust resting between the Palestinians and the Israeli’a the expectation of trust and good faith on the part of every player was a significant assumption. With an initial directive of immediate ceasefire on the part of Palestine alongside the immediate cessation of building by Israel was meant to convey in a very direct manner, that the peace process was moving forward and would impact the most sensitive elements of the conflict. This fundamental endorsement of the two state solutions to the regional conflict by world powers signalled the beginning of a political push to solve the long running crises. Both players did not agree to abide by the agreement, Israel nor did Palestine truly meet the guidelines, making the effort to keep the Roadmap on track both frustrating and pointless.2.1 Failure of the Roadmap2.1.1 RipenessMany elements are at the core of the failure of the Roadmap policy, including clarity, ripeness of goals and the overall intervention efforts by the larger world powers. With spiralling rates of violence taking their toll on each side, it was deemed time for intervention by the world powers prior to the creation of the Roadmap. However, not each party involved in the conflict agreed with that assessment. Wallensteen (2002) identifies the concept of ripeness as the moment of defining readiness for change. With the onset of dialogue and the uptick in desire for a regional solution to the confli ct, both the Palestinians and the Israeli’s seemed ripe for a compromise. With very little ahead of either party without a form of conflict resolution, the long term outlook was dim and growing dimmer. The ripeness of the opportunity led the four major world powers to create and implement the Roadmap to peace even with the lack of clarity . With a clear moment for seizing the reins and changing the narrative, the players in the negotiations sought to accomplish a long held goal in a relatively short period. Further, the foundation goals of the endeavour coordinated with the needs of the population in the moment, yet, the overall lack of clarity and details only led to confusion and skewing of purpose throughout the implementation process. This same concept of timing was conceived as an integral component of the conciliation resolution effort envisioned in the end goal. However, the lack of any real method of compelling motivation on the part of either Palestine or Israel both states quickly reneged on the agreement and failed to live up to the expected standards. Another central element of the motivation behind the peace plan was the coveted alliance of the moderate states in region that the American president sought. In a very real way, every step of the peace process in the Middle East was conceived as a result of the need to ensure adequate oil supply from the region. This added many layers of complexity to the already complicated regional environment. As Tristan (2014) notes in his detailed evaluation, despite the lofty goals of the Roadmap, there was not a noticeable advance in the agenda between the beginning of the peace process in 2002 and the scheduled cessation of the conflict in 2005. This wasted opportunity led to a disengagement that resulted in a re-emergence of violence that soon destroyed any good the preceding efforts had achieved. Taking away an opportune moment and drastically stoking the anti-Western resentment in the region was the invasion of Iraq only a year after the creation of the Roadmap. This contradiction in goals only served to further divide the local area as well as weaken any real oversight that the agreement on. Central to this argument is the need for continual communication and commitment in order to progress, which with the lack of monitoring failed to serve the intended purpose of driving the process forward. With the timing of the American invasion coinciding with the peace effort there was a clear opportunity to view the real views that the West espoused. As the war deteriorated and became a perceived vendetta pursued by the American President any lasting credibility that the Roadmap had was soon lost. Despite the need for resolution and the continuing commitment for solutions from the neighbours, Israel initially declined the offer of the Roadmap, instead supplying a long list of conditions that would serve to offset any initial losses a compromise may entail. No matter the funding and benefits offered, the elements of the situation allowed Israel the leverage to institute a series of demands. This recognition of ripeness allowed the Israeli’s to accomplish much of the dismantling of the Palestinian infrastructure immediately, making these elements critical to any lasting accord. Lacking any clear detail or direction, the Roadmap was unable to address many of the issues at the regional level, making any form of progress hard. There was a real perception of rudderless direction with no real commitment by the creating powers. Tocci (2013) argues that the outbreak of the second intifada was the signal of the ripeness of moment in the Israeli and Palestine peace process. With a clear indication by the United States that it would accept the assistance of others to promote peace in the region, the international components all seemed ripe for working and finding a long term solution . Yet, the complex nature of the conflict negated any possible progress, frustrating every party involved. In summation: There was a clear perception of opportune timing to be had in the intifada and the desire to de-escalate the conflict by every party involved. This benefit was bolstered by the American Presidents wish to provide a path to a moderate alliance in the region that would ensure oil production in the West . Taking away momentum from the proffered Roadmap, thus letting the moment slip past, was the lack of clarity in the fundamental plan, which was large on goals and slight on how to accomplish them. This was further complicated by a lack of understanding of the outside parties that only resulted in creating or exasperating current conditions. Coupled with the outbreak of the American and Iraqi conflict that illustrated a negative aspect of the Western power, the moment for change was soon lost among the need to serve one owns interest . With the outside powers having to concrete on the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan there was scant time or funding to provide any meaningful support for the Roadmap, which in turn consistently diminished the efforts of each person involved.2.1.2 Third Party InterventionThere are three reasons for outside parties to become involved in an international conflict. With elements including traditional alliance compulsions, ethnic or population ties or the presence of humanitarian emergencies are at the centre of these interventions. Many studies contend that the multi-faceted partnership is more effective than the United Nations at implementing an effective assistance effort. Others argue that these situations often present outside entities with opportunities for profit that have nothing to do with the local region. This particular factor makes it very hard for nations such as Palestine and Israel to view the assistance offered by the third party nations with trust. As with any infrastructure built on apprehension, there will be a wide margin of error that will work towards the failure of the overall goal. Most third party ef forts are centred on finding a method of compromise that each side can appreciate. By finding factors that appeal to each of the local concerns there is a real opportunity for find common ground that can lead the way to compromise. However, in some cases both sides refuse to yield, making any form of progress slight. Others favour the contingency method of third party intervention which entails the identification, initiation and seq8uencing of the primary elements in order to create a workable solution. In each case, it is necessary for the third parties to find common ground in order to formulate beneficial policy. Third Party intervention in the Middle East was deemed a plausible conflict resolution process by the outside powers that were concerned about the region and its resources . In a very real way, the Roadmap was a product of the need of the larger nations to ensure their line of oil supply and production, which in turn dictated that an alliance of the moderate states in the region come together to accomplish this goal. The four nations outside of the region that were intimately involved with the Roadmap were the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United nations. Each of these entities had their own priorities when dealing with the Middle East, yet, the need for them to come together was made evident the continuing violence and unrest in the region. This conciliatory approach to resolution in the region was obstructed from the outset by the Israeli demands that shifted the tone of the negotiations from the beginning. President Bush involved the very prestige of his office in the attempt to reconcile the nations and this initial balking on the part of Israel immediately dampened the prospects for progress in the region. In this case, the American regime was forced to reverse course and allow these changes before even the first step of the Roadmap could be realized. This created a very clear perception of Israel holding the upper hand in the negotiations. A similar reaction to the third party solution was experienced in Palestine with a dramatic upswing in violence. With no real details in the initial offering each side of the conflict felt oppressed the outside powers played a direct role in the population’s discontent. From the very beginning there was the perception by those involved in the process that the parties were going to do what they would despite any opinion held by the outside powers. This realization of this fact fuelled the growing frustration that surrounded the entire Roadmap implementation method. The quartet of powers deemed the primary obstacle of peace to be the inability of both Israel and Palestine to reign in their most extreme components. This perception of lawlessness on the part of the extremists made the cessation of violence only attainable after both sides agreed to tone down the violence. This initial step was agreed upon by the quartet yet; both Israel and Palestine were hard pressed to truly diminish the rate of violence espoused by their population. The only real point of agreement to be found between the states of Israel and Palestine is that another protracted war will very likely destroy both entities. With this element serving to bring the parties back to the table despite the setbacks, there has been a consistent, if not weak, effort to find peace in the region for generations. Turner (2011) argues that the very attempt at building statehood in this manner has first polarized and then paralysed the effort, making the goal unattainable. This fact is enhance d by the lack of regional understanding that the third parties had in regards to local matters. The third party resolution efforts recognized that the areas of settlements and refugees were delicate topics for both the Israeli’s and the Palestinians. Utilizing summits to attempt to coordinate efforts between the powers, the very direct intervention of the United States President, actively working through Russian and the European Union to build support for the Roadmap, there was an initial sense of accomplishment. This first cessation of hostilities brokered by the outside parties resumed quickly after President Bush left the region, making much of the efforts of the previous months negligible. With facets including the release of political prisoners directed at directly building trust between the states, the third party negotiators found a common goal in the realized reduction in violence. Van Der Maat (2011) contends that the difficulty in the realization of conflict resolution by third parties is the lack of true economic or military vulnerability. With nothing to lose , there is the perception by the local population that the world powers are there only to suit their own ends, which in turn undermines the entire process. Levine, Taylor and Best (2011) illustrate the concept that the third party negotiators during any form of conflict resolution are more likely to take the consolatory approach. While this approach can serve to bring disparate groups to the table, a base lack of understanding will only serve to drive the factors further apart. This very train of events seems to have occurred in the Middle East with the fundamental failure and abandonment of the Roadmap. However, this same study highlights the factor the coming together of multiple third parties was likely to increase the rate of success by dividing the load. In summation There was a real perception that the third parties involved in the Roadmap process had their own agendas, which in turn diminished their integrity. With each outside nation offering incentives for compliance, it was in the best interest for both Palestine and Israel to agree to the broad outline proposed. Yet, despite the points agreed upon during various summits there was real lack of progress as the situation would soon devolved to the prior state. Even though there were some economic repercussions, the lack of any direct military or economic damage in the Middle East created the perception of continued arrogance on the part of the Western powers by the local populations. This continued to increase the tension no matter the financial or economic incentive that the third parties were able to offer. Despite the studies attributing higher rates of success to partnership in third party conflict resolution efforts, the combined lack of details, time and resources contributed to the fina l failure of the concept. 3 Conclusion This essay has focused on the failure of the Roadmap to peace in the Middle East utilizing the concepts of ripeness and third-party intervention. The evidence provided has created a compelling narrative that illustrates many of the shortcomings of the peace strategy as well as many of the mistakes made by the outside players in the conflict. Driving the lack progress on nearly every level was a base lack of understanding and detail. Despite the American effort to lay out a broad outline that could in turn become a detailed plan, there was no real motivation for Palestine or Israel to comply. Not only was there a perception of political and economic motivation on the part of the outside entities there was continued perception of poor planning and lack of details. The elements for resolution were in place at the beginning of the process making the initial portion of the Roadmap seem ripe for implementation. Yet, allowing for only a broad design diminished the effectiveness of the program as well as reducing the faith in the third party negotiators. With the onset of the Afghanistan and Iraq affair, the perception of the outside powers continued to deteriorate, making the Roadmap ever more difficult to achieve. Despite the conciliatory approach taken by the third parties during the peace process, the refusal by the Palestinians and Israeli’s to abide by the basic agreements fuelled further dissent. No matter the timing and the desire to find common ground, the complex nature of the disputes between the populations were not be remedied with the shallow solutions provided by the American and Western nations. Further, the self-interest of the outside nations only built on the distrust that the local population continued to evince. Not even the public relations efforts that the President Bush attempted, there was not a method of appeal that lasted for any length of time. This basic fact kept the Roadmap from every truly developing, making each progressive goal nearly impossible to achieve. In the end, despite the timely intervention and the multiple partnerships provided by the third parties, the deeply complex nature of the regional disputes found in the Middle East demanded details in the Roadmap that were not present. This lack of direction was the true failure of the strategy, as there was no means to build or produce meaningful change. 3 Bibliography Amstutz, M. R. 1999. International conflict and cooperation. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Babbitt, E. and Hampson, F. O. 2011. Conflict resolution as a field of inquiry: practice informing theory. International Studies Review, 13 (1), pp. 46–57. Barak, O. 2005. The failure of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, 1993–2000. Journal of Peace Research, 42 (6), pp. 719–736. Ben-Ami, S. 2007. A roadmap to failure. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/feb/15/bushsroadmaptofailureint [Accessed: 13 Mar 2014]. Carpenter, T. G. 2012. Roadmap to Nowhere. Cato Institute. Chandler, D. 2006. Peace without politics?. London. Einarsen, S. 2011. Bullying and harassment in the workplace. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Fisher, R. J. 2007. Assessing the contingency model of third-party intervention in successful cases of prenegotiation. Journal of Peace Research, 44 (3), pp. 311–329. Forum, J. 2014. The Road Map. [online] Available at: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/189/38357.html [Accessed: 13 Mar 2014]. Golan, G. and Salem, W. 2013. Non-State Actors in the Middle East. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Levine, M., Taylor, P. J. and Best, R. 2011. Third Parties, Violence, and Conflict Resolution The Role of Group Size and Collective Action in the Microregulation of Violence.Psychological Science, 22 (3), pp. 406–412. Levy, M. P. 2012. The Palestinian-Israeli Conflcit: The Way Forward. Mason, R. 2013. The Price of Peace: A Reevaluation of the Economic Dimension in the Middle East Peace Process. The Middle East Journal, 67 (3), pp. 405–425. Miall, H., Ramsbotham, O. and Woodhouse, T. 1999. Contemporary conflict resolution. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Migdalovitz, C. 2004. The Middle East Peace Talks. Milton-Edwards, B. 2004. Elusive ingredient: Hamas and the peace process. JSTOR. Rioux, J. 2003. Third Party Interventions in International Conflicts: Theory and Evidence. Said, E. W. 2004. From Oslo to Iraq and the road map. New York: Pantheon Books. Schanzer, J. 2012. State of failure. Shiqa?qi?, K. 2006. Willing to compromise. Washington, DC: U.S. Institute of Peace. Tocci, N. 2013. The Middle East Quartet and (In) effective Multilateralism. The Middle East Journal, 67 (1), pp. 29–44. Tristam, P. 2014. Bush’s Road Map for Peace in the Middle East, Five Years Later: What’s Been Achieved?. [online] Available at: http://middleeast.about.com/od/israelandpalestine/p/me070911.htm [Accessed: 13 Mar 2014]. Turner, M. and Y. 2011. Creating ‘Partners for Peace’: The Palestinian Authority and the International Statebuilding Agenda. Journal of intervention and statebuilding, 5 (1), pp. 1–21. Van Der Maat, E. 2011. Sleeping hegemons Third-party intervention following territorial integrity transgressions. Journal of Peace Research, 48 (2), pp. 201–215. Wallensteen, P. 2002. Understanding conflict resolution. London: SAGE Publications. Williams, P. and Jannotti Pecci, F. 2012. Earned sovereignty: bridging the gap between sovereignty and self-determination. Wohl and Er, S. B. 2001. A theory of third-party intervention in disputes in international politics.

The Religious Right Definition and Issues

The movement generally referred to in the U.S. as the Religious Right came of age in the late 1970s. While its extremely diverse and shouldnt be characterized in simple terms, its an ultraconservative religious response to the sexual revolution. Its a response to events that are seen by Religious Right proponents as being connected to the sexual revolution. Its goal is to effect this religious response as public policy. Family Values From a Religious Right perspective, the sexual revolution has brought American culture to a fork in the road. Either the American people can endorse a traditional and religious institution of family and the values of loyalty and self-sacrifice along with it, or they can endorse a secular hedonistic lifestyle grounded in self-gratification and with it a profound moral nihilism. Proponents of the Religious Rights approach to public policy do not tend to see any broadly applicable alternatives to these two possibilities—such as a hedonistic religious culture or a deeply moral secular culture—for religious reasons. Abortion If the modern Religious Right had a birthday, it would be January 22, 1973. That was the day the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Roe v. Wade, establishing that all women have the right to choose to have an abortion. For many religious conservatives, this was the ultimate extension of the sexual revolution—the idea that sexual and reproductive freedom could be used to defend what many religious conservatives consider to be murder. Lesbian and Gay Rights Religious Right proponents tend to blame the sexual revolution for increasing social acceptance of homosexuality, which some religious conservatives regard as a contagious sin that can be spread to youth by exposure. Hostility toward lesbians and gay men reached a fever pitch in the movement during the 1980s and 1990s, but the movement has since transitioned into a calmer, more measured opposition to gay rights initiatives such as  same-sex marriage, civil unions, and nondiscrimination laws. Pornography The Religious Right has also tended to oppose the legalization and distribution of pornography. It considers it to be another decadent effect of the sexual revolution. Media Censorship While media censorship has not often been a central legislative policy position of the Religious Right, individual activists within the movement have historically seen the increase of sexual content on television as a dangerous symptom of and a sustaining force behind cultural acceptance of sexual promiscuity. Grassroots movements such as the Parents Television Council have taken aim at television programs that contain sexual content or that appear to condone sexual relations outside of marriage. Religion in Government The Religious Right is often associated with attempts to defend or reintroduce government-sponsored religious practices ranging from government-endorsed school prayer to government-funded religious monuments. But such policy controversies are generally seen within the Religious Right community as symbolic battles, representing flashpoints in the culture war between religious supporters of family values and secular supporters of hedonistic culture. The Religious Right and Neoconservatism Some leaders within the Religious Right  see theocratic movements within Islam as a greater threat than secular culture since the events of 9/11. The 700 Clubs Rev. Pat Robertson endorsed thrice-divorced, pro-choice former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential elections because of Giulianis perceived tough stance against religion-motivated terrorism. The Future of the Religious Right The concept of the Religious Right has always been vague, nebulous, and vaguely insulting toward the tens of millions of evangelical voters who are most often counted among its ranks. Evangelical voters are as diverse as any other voting bloc, and the Religious Right as a movement—represented by organizations such as the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition—never received evangelical voters ubiquitous support. Is the Religious Right a Threat?   It would be naive to say that the Religious Right no longer poses a threat to civil liberties, but it no longer poses the most serious threat to civil liberties—if it ever did. As the general atmosphere of obedience following the September 11 attacks demonstrated, all demographics can be manipulated by fear. Some religious conservatives are more motivated than most by the fear of a potentially hedonistic, nihilistic culture. The proper response to that fear is not to dismiss it but to help find more constructive ways to respond to it.

The During The Reconstruction Era - 989 Words

During the Reconstruction era which occurred after the Civil War there was animosity between the states as well as the debate over how freed slaves should be dealt with in terms of becoming citizens with the same rights as the Constitution provided for whites. The government had to come up some type of conditions which would attempt to allow the rebellious southern states back into the union. During this time period President Abraham Lincoln appointed provisional military governors to oversee the re-establishment of the southern states into the union as well as a functioning government. Yet, during the late 1800’s the Republicans ruled Congress and made efforts during the Reconstruction end to ensure that everyone had the same equal rights by passing the Civil Rights Bill to ensure that everyone had equal rights. This also led to questions as to what to do with the recently freed blacks. The main problem was with the Southern states and getting them to except black, so the gov ernment implemented laws and Constitutional Amendments which helped the federal government with the enforcement of equal rights which would give blacks in the south the rights to hold office and vote. This leads us to the freeman’s Bureau which was also a part of the Reconstruction Act. The Reconstruction act of 1867 required southern states to except and ratify the 14th Amendment granting equal protection for the freed blacks, and the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right for blacks to vote. BlacksShow MoreRelatedThe Reconstruction Era During The Civil War1370 Words   |  6 PagesThe Reconstruction Era beginning in 1865 marked the period where white men and recently freed African Americans quarreled over the concept of equality on the basis of race as well as where freedom extended to. After the Civil War, there was a power struggle between the Republican and Democratic parties as they had extremely distinct ideas on whether African Americans should be free and hold citizen rights. African Americans were able to achieve citizenship as well as have equality through the 14thRead MoreThe Reconstruction Era During The Civil War910 Words   |  4 Pagestoday without what African Americans went through. They have had such a major impact on music, movies, literature, sports, and many other things. The Reconstruction Era took place after the end of the Civil War. It lasted from 1965 to 1977. It was the North’s way of making peace with not only former slaves, but the South as well. The Reconstruction Era attempted to better the lives of African Americans by making advancements in education and religion. The 15th Amendment gave African Americans the rightRead MoreThe Era Of Reconstruction During The Civil War1630 Words   |  7 Pagesit was followed by a brutal contraction, which was imposed by the white people. This contradiction is emblematic of the African-American experience. The era of reconstruction was a short-term success, a medium-term failure, and a foundation for the long-term successes of the civil rights movement in terms of black freedom. The era of reconstruction exposed the radical limits of freedom for natural born citizens in the post-civil war United States. The idea of freedom changed in a tremendous way forRead MoreAfrican Americans During The Reconstruction Era1629 Words   |  7 PagesDuring The Reconstruction era, African Americans faced many obstacles on their way to success. Reconstruction of the United States refers to the remodeling that took place after the civil war. The country was injured in all areas. Its society, economy and physical structure had been In January of 1863; President Abraham Lincoln lifted the chains off thousands of African Americans’ shoulders by releasing the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this relief was short-winded. The EmancipationRead MoreCivil War During The Reconstruction Era906 Words   |  4 Pages During the Reconstruction Era, Congress passed many laws to provide equal rights to people of color. But at the local level, specifically in the South, many Democrats took the law into their own hands. They supported the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) hoping to restore the pre-Civil War social hierarchy. The texts in Going to the Source illustrates two groups of individuals who opposed the KKK. In testimonies given by white witnesses, Republicans from the North felt the KKK posed a political and social dangerRead MoreWhite Supremacy During The Reconstruction Era856 Words   |  4 Pages After the Reconstruction era, African Americans were granted citizenry in the United States through the abolition of slavery. As blacks sought to live among American culture, white citizens, primarily based in the South, came under rage. Thus, white supremacy became prominent in the United States after the Reconstruction era, a period also called the Nadir. This erupted into a series of violent attacks against the black community and many legislations to deny blacks the immunities and privilegesRead MoreThe Era Of Recon struction During The Civil War1275 Words   |  6 PagesThe Era of Reconstruction started in 1855. After the Civil war ended the South was left in shambles. Southern states were left in economic and politic distress and faced renewed social issues. The objective of Reconstruction in the South was to restore the South economically, award freed African Americans the rights to be equal citizens in the eyes of the law, and repair the breakage in the Union. Though the people worked to restore the South they were unable to get over the differences and realitiesRead MoreMassive Changes During the Reconstruction Era of America817 Words   |  3 Pagessought change was 1865 which was the time period known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period of many different leaders, different goals and different accomplishments. Many debate whether Reconstruction was a success or failure. Success is an event which accomplishes its intended purpose, which Reconstruction did, but during this process of accomplishment, evil came about. There was many good things that came from the Reconstruction era which leads me to believe that it was a success, theseRead MoreBenefits Of Reconstruction Era During The Civil War Essay2309 Words   |  10 Pages There were a million of slaves that had obtained their freedom at the start of the reconstruction era. African American had also gained a voice in government for the first time in American history. These were just some of the many benefits of reconstruction era. The reconstruction era is a period after the civil war had ended which is the new and improved United States. The civil war was a conflict between the North and the South because of economic differences, social and political, but mostRead MoreCongressional Era Of Reconstruction During Post Civil War Reconstruction2634 Words   |  11 Pagesâ€Å"Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.† —Henry Ford. This was the Southern optimist’s view of what the results of post Civil War Reconstruction could be. Unfortunately, once the Congressional era of Reconstruction began, this view was squandered under federal punishment of the South. This policy led to strained relations between Congress and the ex-Confederate states. The difference of opinion was over how harshly the South should be punished for leaving the