Journal Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Journal - Term Paper Example One of the first insights Thoreau makes when he states, â€Å"a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone† (Thoreau, pg. 335). This statement is somewhat complex and difficult to discern. While Thoreau is referring to his interactions on the Pond, it’s clear the statement can be extended to the larger context of existence. For me the statement is referring to a sort of wealth that isn’t necessarily linked to money, but is more rooted in wisdom or knowledge. In these regards, Thoreau means that the individual that can go without certain elements in life, has already experienced or gained spiritual insight into their nature and as such can go without them. Another insight I found highly enlightening was Thoreau’s insights into the nature of daily existence and art. In these regards, he states, â€Å"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the day, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep...to affect peoples' quality of life, that is the highest of arts† (Thoreau, pg. 338). This section of the essay is very loaded and complex. In one sense, Thoreau seems to be indicating that the Socratic belief that the unexamined life is not worth living is accurate. He is stating that the individual should wake up every morning with the desire to discover some new truth or an ‘infinite expectation of the day’. Rather than leaving the reader at this stage, however, Thoreau extends this to include the nature of art. He indicates that the greatest type of art should affect individuals’ quality of life. In these regards, Thoreau has gone beyond simply Socratic insights, into stating that the individual should also contribute their intellect to the betterment of society. For me, this underlines the passage and a great deal of Thoreau’s mission. "Reading" 351-362; "Sounds" excerpt 363-364 In the section tit led ‘Reading’ Thoreau considers the nature of reading as it relates to self-edification and culture. In his discussion Thoreau considers a number of works, all of which are considered ‘classics’ in the traditional sense. He has a great support for these works and argues that the information contained therein represent the pinnacles of human thought distilled and articulated into literature that has lasted the test of time. In his support of classic literature, Thoreau laments the unwillingness of others to embrace these texts. He states, â€Å"A man, any man, will go considerably out of his way to pick up a silver dollar; but here are golden words, which the wisest men of antiquity have uttered, and whose worth the wise of every succeeding age have assured us of;- and yet we learn to read only as far as Easy Reading, the primers and class-books† (Thoreau, pg. 357). While underlining Thoreau’s support of classic literature, this quote also indi cates a sort of general displeasure Thoreau has with the general social order. It should be no surprise that an individual who chose to live life for a period in seclusion on a farm should have some general disagreements with the nature of society. As the text progresses, it’s clear that Thoreau’s vision is in large part critical of traditional social assumptions

Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 Essay Example for Free

Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 Essay The invasion was the result of a long-standing territorial dispute. Iraq accused Kuwait of violating the Iraqi border to secure oil resources, (on July 17, 1990 Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates of flooding the world oil market. In addition, he singled out Kuwait for the production of oil from a disputed supply, the Rumaila oil field), and demanded that its debt repayments should be waived. (7:1) Direct negotiations were begun in July 1990, but they were destined soon to fail; along with reassurance from the United States making a claim that they would not get involved (the famous meeting of Saddam Hussein with April Glaspie, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, on the 25th of July, 1990). This was the go ahead that Hussein needed. (8:1) Arab mediators convinced Iraq and Kuwait to negotiate their differences in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 1, 1990, but that session resulted only in charges and countercharges. A second session was scheduled to take place in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, but Iraq invaded Kuwait the next day. (9:1) Iraqi troops overran the country shortly after midnight on 2nd August 1990. The U. S. fell short on its claim to not get involved and instantly declared interest in keeping Saudi Arabia safe. (10:1) The History of Operation Desert Strom: On the morning of August 2, 1990 the mechanized infantry, armor, and tank units of the Iraqi Republican Guard invaded Kuwait and seized control of that country. The invasion triggered a United States response, Operation DESERT SHIELD, to deter any invasion of Kuwaits oil rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia. On August 7, deployment of U. S. forces began. United Nations Security Council Resolutions 660 and 662 condemned Iraqs invasion and annexation and called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces. On August 20 President Bush signed National Security Directive 45, U. S. Policy in Response to the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, outlining U. S. objectives which included the immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait, and the restoration of Kuwaits legitimate government to replace the puppet regime installed by Iraq. (2) A U. N. ultimatum, Security Council Resolution 678, followed on November 29, 1990. It stipulated that if Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein did not remove his troops from Kuwait by January 15, 1991 a U. S. -led coalition was authorized to drive them out. Early in the morning of January 17, Baghdad time, the U. S. -led coalition launched air attacks against Iraqi targets. On February 24, coalition ground forces begin their attack. On February 27, Kuwait City was declared liberated, and with allied forces having driven well into Iraq, President Bush and his advisers decided to halt the war. A cease-fire took effect at 8:00 the following morning. (3) A crucial element of the Persian Gulf war was the Iraqi launch of its modified Scud missiles. Iraq originally obtained Scud missiles, along with much of the rest of its military equipment, from their producerthe Soviet Union. This 1970s study provides basic data on various aspects of the Scud Bincluding, among others, its range, payload, warhead type, and accuracy. It also provides information on the background of the missile and conclusions based on U. S. materiel exploitation of one or more Scuds. (4) On December 2, 1990, six weeks before the United States and its allies initiated Operation Desert Storm, Iraq test launched three Scud missiles from sites in eastern Iraq, which impacted in western Iraq. This DIA report, based at least in part on data from Defense Support Program launch detection satellites, provides first notification of the launch and basic data on the nature of the missilesincluding type, launch sites and impact areasas well as other relevant information. It was reported that the Iraqi test firing allowed the U. S. to fine-tune its launch detection system, which proved of great value during Desert Storm. (5) During the Persian Gulf War Iraq fired 88 Iraqi-modified Scuds at Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. The Scud attacks on Israel threatened to provoke Israel into a counterattack, which the U. S. wished to avoid for fear that it would shatter the Allied coalition. From the beginning of the war destruction of Iraqi Scuds represented a high priority for U. S. and allied forceswhich involved the use of space systems, aerial platforms, and special operations forces. Destruction of Iraqs mobile Scud forces proved far more difficult than expected, in part due to Iraqi tactics. At wars end there had been no confirmed kills of mobile Scuds. This post-war DIA assessment focuses on a number of subjects, including pre-war intelligence assumptions, Iraqi Scud deployment and dispersal, the capabilities of Iraqs extended range Scuds, and means of measuring the effectiveness of the counter-Scud effort. It concluded that the lessons learned during Operation DESERT STORM can provide the framework for developing a more effective, realistic approach to targeting both Third World ballistic missiles and Soviet mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles in the future. (6) A key element in allied success in the Persian Gulf War was the U. S. -British led air campaign prior to the commencement of the ground campaign. That air campaign marked the first major use of the F-117A, Nighthawk, stealth fighter, the existence of which was declassified in 1988 shortly before its first combat in Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama in 1989. This chronology, in addition to covering events related to F-117A deployment and operations, provides a day-by-day, wave-by-wave, account of operations against Iraqi targets. It provides specifics on targets, bombs dropped, and the 37th Fighter Wings general assessment of the effectiveness of the attacks. Subsequent studies of F-117A operations, such as that of the General Accounting Office, were more skeptical of the F-117A effectiveness. (7) What is the situation now in the context of 1990 war?

The Present State Of Neutrino Masses :: essays research papers

One of the current questions in physics is whether or not neutrinos have mass and what this mass is. Neutrinos are subatomic particles that have no electrical charge and interact only via the weak nuclear force. They are products of radioactive decay processes, and thus are produced abundantly in our Sun, our atmosphere, and in other astrophysical sources such as supernovae and active galactic nuclei. Millions and millions of them are crossing through the Earth every second, but only very few of them will interact with the Earth. In practice you can say they are invisible. But fortunately we can detect them by building a very large detector and waiting long enough. There are several reasons to search for a possible non-zero neutrino mass. Fermion masses in general are one of the major mysteries/problems of the standard model. Observation or nonobservation of the neutrino masses could introduce a useful new perspective on the subject. Nonzero neutrino masses are predicted in most extensions of the standard model. They therefore constitute a powerful probe of new physics. Also, there may be a hot dark matter component to the universe. If so, neutrinos would be (one of) the most important things in the universe. The observed spectral distortion and deficit of solar neutrinos is most easily accounted for by the oscillations/conversions of a massive neutrino. The largest neutrino detector is the Super-Kamiokande and is located in the Kamioka Mine, about 200 km north of Tokyo. It is water cerenkov detector, which means it is a large (40 meters diameter by 40 meters tall) tank of ultra-pure water viewed by thousands of sensitive phototubes. Super-Kamiokande will address some of the most important open questions in physics today, such as: why does the Sun appear to produce only half as many neutrinos as theory would predict? Do neutrinos have mass? Do protons decay, as predicted by Grand Unification Theory? One source of neutrinos are nuclear reactions. Inside our Sun nuclear reactions are occurring on a gigantic scale. Lots of neutrinos are produced. There are enough of them, that when they reach the Earth they can still be detected. Since physicists can calculate how many of them should be seen, there is a big problem because we see too few, roughly two times too few. This is so called the solar neutrino problem. There can be several solutions to the puzzle. One is that we do not understand the Sun well enough.

Madame Bovary - Emma, Christianity, and Adultery Essay -- Madame Bovar

Emma, Christianity, and Adultery In Madame Bovary, Emma is depicted as a slave to her desires, namely, to the desire for what she calls love. The origin of these desires appears to stem from her childhood habit of reading romantic novels while she lived in the convent. Because of her idealized picture of what romantic love is supposed to be, she searched desperately for this in real life, but to no avail. It appears that Emma’s suffering is due to her disillusion with reality and her own naivete about the nature of relationships with other people. However, time after time, Emma looks into the face of morality in the respect of her religion. After she does so, rather than reconcile with her faith and repent her adulterous sins, Emma proceeds to commit them again, with a new and refreshed energy. In one of my previous papers I analyzed the role Christianity assigned to love and concluded that Christianity causes people to be enslaved by their Love for God. Although Emma never experienced the same type of Love f or God that I discussed, her Christian upbringings played a significant role in shaping the way she looked upon life. Specifically, Christianity contributed a great deal to Emma Bovary’s choice to commit adultery in her search for Love. The teachings of Christianity encourage the very thing Emma did throughout her entire lifetime—expect better things to come. Worldly things are not to be coveted because grander rewards will come in Heaven. Christians are taught to dream of a better future, eternal life, peace, and happiness. Moreover, Christianity makes its followers live in expectation of something better, and actions are motivated by expectations of these eternal rewards. Christians also martyr those who sacrifice and suffer since the sacrifice of Christ is a symbol of God’s Love. By acting in the imitation of Christ, the rewards and expectations will thus be fulfilled in Heaven. Therefore, in Christianity, Love is used to achieve transcendence. It is a passion that consumes, controls, and allows one to be content with unhappiness and suffering. Emma wanted happiness and an end to suffering just like other Christians, and she knew that the solution lie in Love. In the convent, she was inspired by stories from the old maid who slipped her romance novels. In the holy atmosphere of the convent, these stories of â€Å"love, lovers, swee... ...ll is to drag out, as I do, a useless existence. If our pains could be of use to some one, we should find consolation in the thought of sacrifice† (168). Because she felt this alienation from God, she struggled to practice Christianity. She knew what she desired, but she did not know how to attain it. Emma did not know how to be a virtuous woman and happy woman at the same time. The break between worldly love and heavenly love lead her astray and towards adultery, and the lack of guidance from the Church caused her to become confused. Finding worldly love has become more and more important today, and many people will travel the same roads as Emma in pursuit of the celestial lover, trying to make their sufferings and sacrifices of use to some one. Like Emma, they are motivated by the ideas that they deserve better and that happiness is found in Love. These ideals caused Emma to commit adultery and tragically end her life; she represents the modern person trapped between the ideals of the Christian tradition and modern times. Because of this conflict of interest, the modern man, as demonstrated by Emma Bovary, will suffer from insatiable and conflicting desires.

Betrayed by My Best Friend Essay

Betrayed by my best friend, the more I thought about the title the more I decided that it was time to write about the betrayal that cost me so very dearly. She entered my life in August of 1978 with her three children, she rented the apartment on the other side of the old farm house my former husband and I had purchased. I was still young and naive then, and overly trusting. I thought she and her sons would be a blessing instead she used that friendship to betray me and my daughters. My former husband was cheating on me: I knew that much I just had no idea that he was cheating with two different women at the same time. One woman he got pregnant and married the other was my best friend or so I thought. I first became suspicious when I discovered she knew exactly where my former husband hid his cigarettes and alcohol. I ignored those clues; I just could not bring myself to believe she was having sex with my former husband. She knew we were having problems and even told me at one point she would gladly testify in the divorce trial if she were needed. I told her of coarse she was needed; I had to prove he was cheating on me and that he was continually abusive to me and my daughters. Imagine my surprise when she reneged and refused to testify. She had been dating a friend of mine and while I was visiting she was also there. She could not even look me in the eye but still being as naive as I was I pursued the subject with my friend who finally told me that she had indeed been having an affair with my former husband. I remember sitting and crying all I wanted was to know why, what had I done to deserve this? She never did answer me but my daughter recently told me what happened after I finally left. Apparently she was supposed to be cleaning the house and doing the grocery shopping since my former husband did not think that his children needed food. When the divorce trial became a reality, she not only would not testify on my behalf, she would not answer her phone. My attorney told me that if she was called to testify, she would be a hostile witness and possibly harm my case more than it was already harmed. My former husband’s attorney was the assistant District Attorney who happened to play golf with the presiding Judge. On the advice from my attorney she was not called, I lost my daughters to my former husband; he was working and had a good income. I was working at a minimum wage job, so the Judge decided that my daughters would be better off with their father. The girls were abused by their step mother; their father knew what was happening to them but ignored them. My best friend’s betrayal not only cost me my daughters, it cost me precious time with my daughters that I can never regain. I am no longer bitter where she is concerned, she is not worth it. Betrayal is the hardest thing to deal with because it involves not just friendship but trust. I sometimes wonder what happened to her after the trial, I would like to see her again one day and ask: â€Å"why did you betray me?†

Youth In An Austrian Town Essays

Youth In An Austrian Town Essays Youth In An Austrian Town Essay Youth In An Austrian Town Essay replaced with a new town square and monuments to those that have been lost, old mingles with new, like the waters in the sea. Buchanan shows how the children have survived but are forever changed.

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buy custom Moral Philosophy essay The moral philosophies of Aristotle and Plato have some similarities and differences. One of Platos main arguments is that the structuring of the elements of the soul would result onto great benefit (Grube and Plato 27-31). He exemplifies this through an examination of how traditional values may be interpreted from the perspective of fostering the proper interaction between reason and the less logical psyche. Aristotles thinking is similar to Platos in that his function argument is heavily tilted on the premise that good results from a dominance of reason. Aristotle however differs from Plato in that he does not rely on Metaphysics to make conclusions as Plato did in the Republic. Aristotle does not believe in Platos premise that in order to be a person of virtue, they must study all branches of knowledge in a holistic manner. According to Aristotle, ethics is an autonomous branch of knowledge and in order to be virtuous one need not be an expert in all branches of knowledge (Chase a nd Aristotle 6-8). Plato asserts that the type of virtue, which we ought to have like a desirable in itself and also for its consequent results. According to Plato, justice fits in this category since it is desirable in itself and results in positive consequences in the society (Grube and Plato 49-53). Aristotle, on the other hand, makes the assumption that if one thing is desirable for the sake of another then it must be better than it. This, therefore, follows that the highest form of good would be one that is not hinged on anything else, but rather on its own sake. Aristotle argues for the centrality of good in a successful life by explaining that a virtuous individual will rarely live his life without contentment, affluence, friends, and honor. The performance of good deeds in itself does not guarantee happiness at all times, but rather it serves as the objective in which antecedent components of happiness are achieved. Aristotles concept, therefore, makes the connection between virtue and antecede nt results to be of more significance than in Platos conceptions (Chase and Aristotle 25-32). Issues such an isolation, poverty and dishonor usually restrict people from exercising virtuous deeds, which in turn robs them of happiness even though he adds that there are various exceptions. Aristotle and Plato would have opiions concerning American consumerism, which would be similar in some aspects and different to some extent. Aristotle in many instances makes reference to the importance of pleasure to the human condition. Aristotle argues that a happy life is a function of the pleasure that a virtuous life brings upon a person (Chase and Aristotle 78-81). Consumerism is said to be a psychological condition, which leads a person to purchase things simply because such purchases induce pleasurable feelings. According to Aristotle, a lack of external goods which in this instance are representative of American consumerism would lead to negative consequences. He explains that this lack would result into people`s less virtuous lives. Aristotle makes very important assertion that in some instances which may be considered pleasurable by someone may not be pleasurable to others at all. The issue of consumerism would apply to this notion in that consumerism in the United States is driven by the Joness syndrome whereby people purchase things not because they need them, but because they have seen others with them. People usually assume that some expensive things will bring most pleasure while this is not always true. Platos response with regard to consumerism would probably be best represented by his notion of measure for measure. American consumerism is exemplified by excessive purchase of items, which is deemed relatively excessive and expensive. Plato makes the assertion that a measurement or quantification of pleasure would be instrumental in measuring the virtuosity of any pleasure. This follows that any purchases which are deemed to be excessive or too expensive would be deemed by Plato as lacking virtue. Plato goes further to talk of balance and stability which results from measure. Consumerism will thus be perceived from the perspective of the balance of things bought and whether they are essential or not. According to Plato, the seeing of pleasure is usually a result of the endeavor to restore a balance within the body or soul of a person. Pleasure would thus be good, if they are intended to restore the mental or physical equilibrium (Grube and Plato 23-25). Indulging in pleasure without an understanding of measure, objective or quantity would be harmful. Since consumerism is characterized by a lack of measure and wrong motives, it would be considered morally wrong by Plato. My philosophical response to American consumerism would borrow from the assertions of both Aristotle and Plato with regard to pleasure and happiness. I consider consumerism to be against the basic criterion of not acting in a manner that is in the extremities. Since pleasure is a function of the human race, I believe that it is inevitable that human beings require a certain amount of consumerism in order to be happy. However, the exercise of pleasure ought to be exercised in combination with logical reasoning. This type of reasoning is supported by Platos reasoning which asserts the importance of pleasure, but stresses the importance of measure. Measure in this instance is a function of reason and logic. Human beings by nature are given to aspects of limits and non limits. It is a combination of these two elements in the right proportions which gives rise to harmonious ethical relationship (Grube and Plato 56-58). Consumerism if exercised with the right combination of restraint and p leasure is acceptable, if it allows the individual to have happiness with no negative effects such as debt. I would also make my observation on American consumerism which would be compatible with some of Aristotles ideas. I believe that consumerism ought to be practiced from the perspective of consideration of other antecedent factors. It is important for people to engage in consumerism, while analyzing their circumstances at the present and future time. Engaging in consumerism without an analysis of the present and the past would result in negative effects of unhappiness due to unpleasant consequences such as depletion of savings. American consumerism is undertaken by people in order to attain a certain kind of pleasure. I believe that pleasure may be achieved through a variety of avenues and not only consumerism. Americans should, therefore, make a careful analysis of the pleasure activities available to them. Since consumerism in most instances results in negative consequences, it is advisable that people engage in other activities such as spending time with family or sports which would give the same pleasure and other related benefits. This view is supported by Aristotles assertion that pleasure activities are usually in competition with each other and as such people ought to opt for those activities which result in the least negative effects and the most benefit (Chase and Aristotle 138-143). Buy custom Moral Philosophy essay