A Case Against Slavery & Uncle Tom’s Cabin Essay Example for Free

A Case Against Slavery Uncle Tom’s Cabin Essay HB Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a powerfully evocative condemnation of slavery, and was famous in its own time. While many held that Stowe herself knew nothing about slavery or southern life, having never seen southern plantation life, it had its intended effect regardless: to stir up anti-slavery sentiment in the north, and to a lesser extent, in the South. Chapter VII is called â€Å"A Mother’s Struggle,† and it brings together many of the themes that dominate this book. First, the centrality of motherhood and the invincible power of a mother that is soon to be separated from her only son leads the action of this work. Second, the dominance of the Protestant Christian faith, a faith that serves to both assist slaves in tolerating their condition as well as providing them the strength to escape is the engine of the action. Since God is on the side of those who oppose slavery, ultimately, their struggle will emerge victorious and hence, the strength to persevere is present. Hence, this chapter is a central part of the work as it synthesizes the main themes of the book in rather stark terms, since this chapter is really the first â€Å"action† chapter of the book, that is, it is the beginnings of Eliza’s escape from her bondage and traces her moves northward to the Ohio river. The first real issue that drives Eliza to escape is the fact that she and her son are possibly to be sold. The Shelby family that owns them seeks to sell several slaves to pay off debts, and Eliza, who is not poorly treated by her mistress, Mrs. See more:  First Poem for You Essay Shelby, will not be separated from her only son (1-2). Here, the institution of slavery is shown in its worst aspect: the breaking up of families in the interest of the financial solvency of their masters. It was debated how often this was actually done, but this first few pages show the slave owning Shelby family as more or less humane, but forced due to circumstances to part with slaves, slaves, like Tom himself, who has befriended the son of the Shelby family. But stronger than all was maternal love, wrought into a paroxysm of frenzy by the near approach of a fearful danger. Her boy was old enough to have walked by her side, and, in an indifferent case, she would only have led him by the hand; but now the bare thought of putting him out of her arms made her shudder, and she strained him to her bosom with a convulsive grasp, as she went rapidly forward (1). This passage is an important part of the introduction to this chapter in that it places maternal power at the center of the war against slavery. It is this fear mixed with love that will keep Eliza moving forward. â€Å"Sublime is the dominion of the mind over the body, that, for a time, can make flesh and nerve impregnable, and string the sinews like steel, so that the weak become so mighty. † It is love, ths power of mind, the love for her son that keeps her moving forward, rather to face death, freezing, or torture if caught rather than be apart from her boy (2). It seems that, as Eliza continues her trek forward, that her body has become completely subsumed under her mind, and her love. Hence, she refuses to eat what she has packed for the trip North, and instead only wants her son to eat (3). But along with the power of a mother’s love, is the power of the belief in God and his Scriptures: â€Å"An hour before sunset, she entered the village of T , by the Ohio river, weary and foot-sore, but still strong in heart. Her first glance was at the river, which lay, like Jordan, between her and the Canaan of liberty on the other side. † (4). This passage is telling, in that it provides Old Testament references to the move toward liberty. The move of slaves northward to freedom is likened to the move of Israelites, themselves slaves to the Egyptians, over the Jordan river to the Canaanite valley which God has chosen for his people. For the slave treated harshly and not given even basic freedoms, the move northward was considered the promised land, the land of freedom, regardless of the hardships of slavery: this is the indictment of the institution as a whole. Slaves wold risk everything to avoid the institution, even a more or less comfortable existence that Eliza enjoyed with the Shelby’s. In this chapter, the mood is that if God closes one door, He opens another. So with Eliza gets to the river, the barrier between herself and freedom, it has been largely iced over (5). Given this, the ferry will not run. However, she is briefly taken in by a family connected with the ferry house on her side of the river. The action quickly and awkwardly shifts back to the slave quarters at Mrs. Shelby’s, where the slaves are speaking about the upcoming sale. Speaking of the slave trader, Chloe says, â€Å"He desarves it! † said Aunt Chloe, grimly; â€Å"hes broke a many, many, many hearts, I tell ye all! † she said, stopping, with a fork uplifted in her hands; â€Å"its like what Masr George reads in Ravelations, souls a callin under the altar! and a callin on the Lord for vengeance on sich! and by and by the Lord hell hear em so he will! † (7). This is very important, since it is clear that the slaves hold that God is on their side, not the other way around. On the other hand, this point of view is made more ambagious by Uncle Tom’s statement that damming people to Hell is not a very nice thing to do, and that eternal punishment is not a fit crime for selling slaves, which after all, is not eternal (7). This creates a concept of equivocalness where two factions of the slave population have two different points of view: the first, that of Chloe, that slavers are evil and will be punished to Hell, and the more moderate view of Uncle Tom, that slavers are victims of circumstance, who themselves, did not invent this institution. But Aunt Chloe responds, though indirectly to Uncle Tom: â€Å"Dont natur herself kinder cry out on em? † said Aunt Chloe. â€Å"Dont dey tear der suckin baby right off his mothers breast, and sell him, and der little children as is crying and holding on by her clothes, dont dey pull em off and sells em? Dont dey tear wife and husband apart? † said Aunt Chloe, beginning to cry, â€Å"when its jest takin the very life on em? and all the while does they feel one bit, dont dey drink and smoke, and take it oncommon easy? Lor, if the devil dont get them, whats he good for? † And Aunt Chloe covered her face with her checked apron, and began to sob in good earnest. (8) Again, Stowe is making another attack on slavery here, using the splitting up of families as her center line of argument. Since she is dealing with a family that treats their slaves moderately well, she cannot really rely on the physical violence argument so common in anti-slavery polemics. Since motherhood is at the center of this work, it seems that the basic argument against slavery is that since slaves have no freedom, they cannot fight back when their families are taken apart. Hence, Stowe holds that the family, especially the mother, is the institution of society that maintains moral norms and hence, will be the institution that takes slavery apart. If anything, this is the primary case against slavery being made here. Moving back to the action on the Ohio river, Eliza has been spotted by the slave trader, the very focus of evil throughout this book. It must also be pointed out that the trader and his style of life are equally repugnant to the Shelby’s (10). But as far as Liza is concerned, when she is spotted, A thousand lives seemed to be concentrated in that one moment to Eliza. Her room opened by a side door to the river. She caught her child, and sprang down the steps towards it. The trader caught a full glimpse of her just as she was disappearing down the bank; and throwing himself from his horse, and calling loudly on Sam and Andy, he was after her like a hound after a deer. In that dizzy moment her feet to her scarce seemed to touch the ground, and a moment brought her to the waters edge. Right on behind they came; and, nerved with strength such as God gives only to the desperate, with one wild cry and flying leap, she vaulted sheer over the turbid current by the shore, on to the raft of ice beyond. It was a desperate leap impossible (14). This passage is worth extended comment. First of all, as God has closed the door of the ferry, he has opened another, more dangerous door, that of skipping over the ice cakes. This seems powerfully symbolic: the ice represents the cold hearts of the slave traders and even the good slave owners. Under intense pressure, the power of family–of motherhood–takes over, what seems impossible is not so, if God is on your side. Slavery, it seems, will be defeated by slave mothers trampling on the cold hearts of the slave owners through material love and devotion to get to freedom. On the other side, Eliza meets a friendly farmer, Mr. Symmes, who assists in her escape. Stowe remarks on page 10, â€Å"So spoke this poor, heathenish Kentuckian, who had not been instructed in his constitutional relations, and consequently was betrayed into acting in a sort of Christianized manner, which, if he had been better situated and more enlightened, he would not have been left to do. † Again, a powerful statement is being made here: since slave owners were normally of the â€Å"gentlemanly† class, that is, the civilized class, civilization is equated with the dominating of slaves. Since poor whites were not slave owners (and treated only little better than the blacks) and were not part of their civilization, they had not â€Å"learned† about the inferiority of blacks and the racial and class hierarchy of the South. Therefore, their lack of civilization is a good thing, since simple common sense seems to dominate over â€Å"civilized manners. † Hence, the hero of the story (or at least of the chapter) is this simple farmer from Kentucky who does not represent civilization, but simple agrarian manners and common sense morality. Hence, in conclusion, Stowe is making several points here. First, that the real evil of slavery is the destruction of the family. If the family is the center of social life in that it is the bearer of tradition and moral values, then its destruction must lead to the beastialization of society. This might explain the evil of the slave traders, since they seem to specialize in breaking up families, and hence, are the very symbol of this beastialization. Second, a mother’s love, coupled with God’s force, will lead the southern slaves to freedom. Third, that freedom must be earned, and this is applicable to slaves and slave owners, both of which have not known freedom. Slave owners are as debased by slavery as the slave, since he is dependent upon them and hence, not free. Lastly, that nothing is impossible with God, and with a love of freedom. This is the case against slavery, in that it crushes all of these impulses, impulses that God as implanted in the human spirit and hence, are part of His creation, now enslaved by others. All quotes above are from the Virginia University edition of Uncle Toms Cabin, Published by the University of Virginia E-Text Center of the University of Virginia Library System. (http://etext. lib. virginia. edu/etcbin/toccer-new2? id=StoCabi. sgmimages=images/modengdata=/texts/english/modeng/parsedtag=publicpart=7division=div1)

The Idea Of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Essay

The Idea Of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Essay Nowadays, the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility is not new to the business industry. The society and corporations have been paying more and more attention on the initiatives of CSR, which is if a particular corporations business processes are producing an overall positive influence on society. In other words, CSR is defined as a firms sense of responsibility towards the environment and community in which it operates (Crane Matten, 2010). The increasing attention that paid to CSR has not been entirely voluntary. Many businesses only realised their CSR after being shocked by public responses to the issues they had not previously put in mind, and which were part of their business responsibilities (Porter Kramer, 2006). However, if companies could foreseen their CSR and react in advance, it would not only create competitive advantages for them, but it could also improve their brand images (Banerjee, 2008). Starbucks Corporation is a famous brand which sells coffee and has opened a massive number of stores all over the world. This essay will firstly focus on analysing Starbucks efforts of CSR, followed by identifying and discussing different stakeholder groups of Starbucks. Finally, whether the stakeholder analysis of Starbucks provides useful framework for the development and assessment of CSR will be discussed and a conclusion will be drawn. 2.0 Starbucks CSR efforts 2.1 Historical CSR efforts of Starbucks In 1992, Starbucks established the Starbucks Environmental Mission Statement, which committed that the company will positively contributed to the environment. Since then, Starbucks has been expanding their definition of their environmental responsibility within the context of their company growth and their business which has become more complex. Starbucks CSR report (2006) has included their several positive contribution to the environment. As Starbucks is concerned about the climate change will effect the quality of coffee beans, the company has been evolving and implementing an environmental strategy focused on the climate change. What is more, in 2006, Starbucks established a three-year climate change mitigation strategy. This strategy includes purchasing renewable energy, joining with other organisations to raise the awareness of climate change in order to save more energy together. At the same time, Starbucks introduced a new strategy for producing their cupts in order to reduce the negative impacts on environments. This strategy includes three main actions: a) by eliminating most double-cupping, 60 per cent of post-consumer recycled fiber; b) customers who use their own reusable cups are offered a $0.10 discount, this allowed Starbucks to save 674,000 pounds of paper from going to the landfill in 2006; c) Starbucks introduced the hot beverage paper cups which received a positive safety review from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. What is more, the company improved its environmental footprint by greening the store through design, operations and waste and recycling management. In recent years, apart from maintaining the established strategies, Starbucks have began to focus on other social responsibilities such as donations to charity or reducing tissue waste in stores. According to the Starbucks official website, the company pays a minimum of $1.26 per pound for Fair Trade certified ingredients in order to buy Fair Trade CertifiedTM coffee for the companys supply chain strategy (Businessgreen, 2010). Heath (2006) argued that even though firms are not entitled to solve all the worlds social issues, nor could they do so. Each individual firm can identify their own set of societal issues that it is able to solve. By doing so, the firm could gain the greatest competitive advantages. Moreover, Starbucks supply chain strategy has helped the company to gain the advantage of high-quality products, which also improved Starbucks brand image (Maloni Brown, 2006). Harnrungchalotorn and Phayonlerd (2005, p35) stated that: Starbucks has ran its business by driving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a tool that covers the company in every sector of their business. Therefore, Starbucks have indeed identified their social responsibilities and have put much effort into the issues, and these efforts have been realised by the society. This is one of the reasons why Starbucks have created a such successful brand image (Thompson A rsel, 2004). 2.2 Stakeholder Groups of Starbucks Stakeholder theory is a organisational management and business ethics theory. It addresses values and morals in managing a business. Edward (1984) was the first author to detail this theory, and he identified the stakeholders groups of a corporation. Traditionally, the stockholders and shareholders are considered as the owners of the business, and their needs and interested were ought to be put in the first place. However, stakeholders theory suggests that apart from them, there are other parties need to be considered as well. These include political groups, trade unions, governmental bodies, trade associations, financiers, communities, suppliers, customers and employees. In some cases even the competitors are considered as stakeholders as well. In this section, the following three stakeholder groups of Starbucks will be analysed and discussed: customers, suppliers (farmers) and employees (Friedman, 1970). 2.2.1 Customers Nature of Interest and Power The customer stakeholder group is very important to all firms, because customers have the power of purchasing goods or services from firms. In other words, customers provide huge contribution to firms revenue and profits. Not only that, customers also have the power of boycotting firms who provide unsatisfactory goods and services, or whose company policies are unacceptable (Griseri and Seppala, 2010). All these apply to Starbucks. In order to make customers feel good about the Starbucks places and the coffee they drink, Starbucks have been aiming to provide long-term high quality coffee. Starbucks strategies to achieve sustaining coffee quality include sustainable trade and quality assurance and product recall. Starbucks always make sure that they purchased high-quality materials agriculture and manufactured goods, as well as their non-coffee products such as Cocoa, Tea, Bakery and Dairy etc. Starbucks also use high quality water to produce their drinks including Ethos water. The ap proach of quality assurance and product recall allows Starbucks to control their overall product quality and to reduce the amount of customer complains, hence to increase customers level of satisfactory. In fact, Starbucks have never stopped travelling worldwide to look for high-quality coffee beans in order to always provide coffee that has premium quality (Mystarbucksidea, 2010). In 2004, Starbucks established a guideline which is known as Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.), which is used to ensure the sustainable supply of high-quality coffee. What is more, Starbucks have considered other aspects to achieve higher customer loyalty (Findarticles, 2010). Customer loyalty can be obtained through high quality products, friendly workers, excellent customer services, good location of the stores that are easy to access, and comfortable environment in the stores (Crane and Matten, 2010). Starbucks have more than 16,000 stores in more than 60 different countries. Customers are able to fi nd a Starbucks store easily even they are in a foreign country. Workers are productive and friendly as they enjoy their work. What is more, Starbucks are designed to be a place for customers to relax, so the comfortable space in the stores have attracted many customers (Michelli, 2007). Therefore, Starbucks see customers as a very important group of stakeholder and as a famous brand name in the coffee industry, Starbucks have been able to raise the values that customers are interested in. 2.2.2 Suppliers (Farmers) Nature of Interest and Power Like customers, as one of the stakeholder groups, suppliers also have their own nature of power and interests. Suppliers have the power of selling same products to a firms competitors at a different rate. At the same, like customers, suppliers also have the same power of boycotting a firm and stopping providing a firms any materials, if they are unhappy about the firms policy and quality of products. Suppliers interests are to receive regular order of goods from a firm, and to be paid promptly for goods that they delivered (Scott Lane, 2000). For Starbucks, their main suppliers are farmers who have direct influence on Starbucks product quality. Starbucks always make sure that premium prices are paid to suppliers if coffee that are linked to premium quality is provided. The company also sees economic transparency as a very important approach for evaluating whether their suppliers or farmers receive equitable payment for their crops and other products. Starbucks have established stron g relationships and direct engagement with their suppliers and coffee farmers, which will keep Starbucks in touch with all the suppliers issues and progress (Starbucks Corporation, 2006). Farmers have access to credit and resources which are provided by Starbucks, this will help farmers to improve their products quality hence to strengthen their businesses as well as Starbucks business. What is more, Starbucks provide certification labels, including organic and Fair Trade CertifiedTM in order to achieve sustainable coffee farming. Therefore, the evidences show that Starbucks treat suppliers and farmers as another important stakeholder group, and have successfully raised the values they are interested in. Starbucks have achieved high loyalty of suppliers and farmers by providing on time payment, fair rates of payment and practice fair trade with them (Starbucks, 2010). 2.2.3 Employees Nature of Interest and Power The last group of stakeholders will be analysed is employees. Workers have the power union bargaining, work actions or strikes. As human capitals are very important assets to a company, their interests have to be considered carefully as well. Employees are looking for a firm that could provide stable employment and fair rate of pay for them. Also, employees want to work in a safe and comfortable environment (Friedman and Miles, 2006). According to Starbucks official webise: Starbucks believe every person deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and is entitled to a fair, safe and humane work environment. This is deeply held value at Starbucks and one of our Guiding Principles. Our commitment to this value applies as much to our own workforce as it does to the workers employed by our suppliers (www.starbucks.com). Starbucks also take international labour standards and principles related to working conditions into consideration, including employees health and safety, minimum wa ge, freedom of association and security etc. As part of C.A.F.E. Practices, Starbucks developed a comprehensive system to verify the companys coffee suppliers compliance with international labour standards, including forced labour and child labour practices as well as other environmentally and socially responsible practices. Starbucks goal is to provide the best possible working environment for their employees in order to attracts and retains talented workers and make them love their jobs. Starbucks regularly collect surveys from employees to review their feeling and opinions, and to offer workers competitive benefits including international benefits. What is more, Starbucks often reward workers with excellent performances and recognise employees efforts. Training opportunities are regularly provided in order to give the workers more chance to improve. At Starbucks, workers rights are respected and workplace policies are always upheld. Finally, Starbucks always ensures employees are working in a safe and healthy work environment (Scribd, 2010). 3.0 Stakeholder Analysis and CSR Stakeholder theory is a way of clarifying and responding to the demand and expectations placed on companies, and this is why stakeholder management has been seen as something that companies can do to become more socially responsible. (Griseri and Seppala, 2010, p44). It is true that Starbucks have considered employees interests thus paid more attention to reducing child and forced workers; and customers demand of high-quality coffee have let Starbucks to consider the environmental issues and so on. Therefore, from this point of view, stakeholder analysis do help firms to further assess and develop their corporate social responsibility such as workers rights, environmental sustainability and obligations to the broader community. However, Griseri and Seppala (2010) also suggested that there is no clear relationship between stakeholder interest and CSR. This is because currently the stakeholder analysis does not offer ways to analyse stakeholders interests based on CSR principles, but b y taking wider range of values into considerations, stakeholder analysis should to some extent help firms to make better decisions (Scherer Palazzo, 2010). 4.0 Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has defined CSR and introduced Starbucks historical CSR efforts for environmental issues, climate change and broader community issues etc. These analysis have showed that as a famous and successful brand name, Starbucks have contributed much efforts to its obligated CSR. These efforts have been realised by the society and hence helped Starbucks to further strengthen its brand image. By carrying out stakeholder analysis, three different group of stakeholders were outlined in the essay, and their interests were discussed. Starbucks have concerned these stakeholders power and interests and have been reacting to their requirements and demands. The analyses showed that Starbucks have successfully improved the values that different stakeholders are interested in. Finally, the relationship between stakeholder analysis and CSR was discussed, which concluded that even though there is no clear relationship between them, but stakeholder analysis should allow firms make decisions with higher quality (Scherer Palazzo, 2010).

Human Rights and Prisoner Rights

Human Rights and Prisoner Rights Abdullah Bin Omar, a former prisoner in Guantanamo Bay prison was said to be one of the worst criminals regarding terrorism. Bin Omar was captured by the United States army in Pakistan after he had spent twenty three years in an unknown prison in Tunisia. The unfairness that Abdullah faced was the fact that he wasnt told nor convicted of any real or specific crime. Cliff Stafford Smith, who is a legal director of Reprieve, a UK charity that provides front -line investigation and legal representation to prisoners found out that Bin Omar was captured with no charges and no trial was made for him. Smith said there are many other Guantanamo prisoners facing Bin Omars fate, much as they want to get out of Guantanamo- a purgatory of imprisonment without charge or trail (Smith, 2007). Another example of such unfairness is Eddie/Canada. Eddie was convicted of murder and was set to stay in prison for the rest of his life. Moreover, Eddie was totally aware of the prisons procedures and knew hi s limits during his time over there. Although Eddie killed himself on August 10th, evidence proved that the ignorance of the prison system by those who made and worked on the prisons rules, not mentioning the carelessness of the guards regarding their prisoners were pretty much the main reasons for Eddies suicide. These two examples illustrate and introduce my topic of prisoners rights, which can be supported by article number five in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states: No one shall be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment(Universal declaration of human rights, 1948). The main topic of this research paper is relying solely on prisoners rights and the declaration of their humanity. Because prisoners are still considered as humans, yet they are being tortured and neglected, prisoners should demand for their rights as human beings. In this research paper, I will be discussing: The prisoners environment. Prisoners image from the societys point of view. What the society has done for prisoners. Prisoners environment: General abuse: Life in prison can be seen from multiple views. First of all, the purpose of creating prisons is nothing but to punish certain people who have been claimed to be criminals. Also, the general idea is to treat prisoners equally within the prison walls and help providing them with whatever they require to maintain their lives as human beings. However, not all prisons share or at least work with such an idea. Richard Tewksbury and Margaret J Mahoney, Criminal Justice academics said: As criminal justice academics and practitioners, we know that this sunny look at incarceration is rarely the actual experience of an offender. Although their frequency may be sensationalized by the media, the numerous hardships of prison and jail life (e.g., rape, gangs, drugs, abuse) do exist. They also mentioned that such abuses are found among the inmates and also among the inmates and the staff; guards, officers and etc Despite the help authorities as well as governments provide for prisoners to speak out their abuses, many inmates are still not able to do so, due to the fear from the doer; weather another inmate or a staff member. Furthermore, not all claims of abuses by prisoners are true, since many inmates have attempted to make false claims against other inmates or their own staff in the purpose of creating troubles. Sexual abuse and lack of educational background: To be more precise, inmates all over the world suffer from sexual abuses by both other inmates as well as the staff. In an article regarding sexual victimization in prisons, Richard Tewksbury states that many rape or sexual abuse incidents among inmates are still unknown and are being under-reported. Also, lots of these abuses occur between prisoners because of the lower level of education they receive either before getting to prison or inside the prison itself. In other words, many prisoners who lack of educational background reflect their behavior toward each other and the other inmates as well. Hilde Hetland explains in his article; Educational Background in a prison population the rates of inmates level of education as follows: 14.2 percent of state prisoners have an eighth grade education or less as their highest educational attainment 33.2 percent have completed high school. Only 2.4 percent of state prisoners have reached a college degree. When observing such rates, we can clearly sense the lack of educational background inmates have acquired, and therefore, such a low level of education reflects negatively on their behavior resulting in all kinds of abusing, but most especially, sexual abuses. Prisoners and Sadist guards: A lot of inmates experience different kinds of abuses from sadist guards who use their powers to treat their inmates in an inhuman manner. Theodore Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist and a prison doctor shows in his article The Evils of Ideology how sadist guards take an advantage of their powers towards abusing their prisoners. I have little doubt that he would have kicked him hard and often in short, given him what used to be called in prison warders parlance the black aspirin, which is to say the prison warders boot if I had turned my back for an instant. (Theodore Dalrymple, 2006). Such an act is one of many sadist guards use against inmates and few of these incidents are being reported due to the fear of the guards threats and warnings. Theodore puts the blame on the government, the one that agreed to hire people with such mental illness to be as guards for inmates whom after all are human beings and have their own rights to claim. Discrimination among prisoners: In the 1980s, the United States of America has suffered severe economical crisis in which it has reflected negatively not only on the society but prisoners as well. According to Bert Kimball in his book States of Siege : U. S. Prison Riots, 1971-1986, due to the lack of liquidity, the government was unable to provide enough spaces for all prisoners, therefore, every 119 prisoners were to share a space that fit for only 100 prisoners. As a result of such action, cruel discrimination appeared among prisoners and their guards. For example, a Muslim prisoner received less rights or services than a Christian one. Also, a massive discrimination occurred between blacks and whites which was caused by the guards different treatment for each race. Other than discrimination, the Eighth Amendment that stated the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment was violated due to the lack of organization among the guards. Prisoners image from the societys point of view: Prisoners main definition is that they are certain people who have been claimed to be involved in an illegal or a criminalized act against the society. Such a definition does leave an impact on how the society perceives prisoners as humans with rights to claim for. According to Deborah Cheney; the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice: certain serving prisoners have the right to vote as any other citizen, based on criteria such as sentence length and offence seriousness. We can observe from this quote that not all prisoners have the right to vote, and therefore, not all prisoners deserve to be given such right due to the level of crime they have caused to the society. As human beings, societies are not capable to fully sympathize with individuals who have been convicted of doing harmful or filthy acts towards the society they live in. therefore, not all prisoners can be treated the same or in an equal manner. For example, a society can emotionally forgive a man who robbed a bank or a ma n who didnt pay his taxes, but the very same society is not emotionally capable of fully forgiving a man who has been convicted of raping a 12 years old girl. In other words, the society still perceives some of the prisoners as a lower class of citizens and they simply cant be forgiven no matter how much they pay for in prison time. According to the Lance, worlds leading general medical journal, the Japanese government has allowed the execution of prisoners with mental illnesses. Regardless of their rights as human beings, such prisoners are being terminated with no questions asked. In addition, the evaluation of a prisoner weather he/she is suffering from mental illness is questionable as well. Therefore, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has announced a public argument regarding this issue, hoping that the Japanese government would listen to the other side of the story and might provide some actual rights for such prisoners. Another point to talk about is how the society perceiv es prisoners as an active part that is capable of establishing as well as improving the world in order to make it a better place. As mentioned before in this research, there is a significantly low level of education among prisoners in general. This low level of education reflects negatively on the prisoners image towards their society for their abilities to improve things around. After all, prisoners remain humans with enough mental and physical abilities that can help any society to improve its standard of living. What the society has done for prisoners: New Rights for Prisoners: In response to the prisoners demands for providing them with enough rights that could serve them as human beings, Robert Spencer. Human Events, in article called, Democrats Are Giving Rights to Jihadists, a list of human rights have been provided by the US government to inmates who have been accused to distribute terror among a certain society. Some of these rights can be summarized as follows: Jihadists have the right to have a decent or a respectable lawyer who can defend them and also stop any insults that may appear against them. Jihadists will have the right to eat a decent food that can serve their body and continue their survival Jihadists will have the chance to own a Quran; the Islamic religious book, in their serving period. Jihadists will not experience psychological torture as a strategy of investigation due to its cruel nature that shall not be applied to mankind. Finally, Jihadists will have the opportunity to have phone calls in which they can communicate with their loved once and comfort them. Such rights to be given to prisoners, regardless of whatever it is they have been accused of, create an understanding society that has the ability to forgive as well as the ability to understand why a person has ended up in prison. Supreme Court decisions affecting prisoners rights: Another act in relation to prisoners rights is mentioned in an article called, Prisoners Rights and the Rehnquist Court Era, written by Christopher E Smith., a journalist. The Supreme Court states that prisoners shall be able to maintain their rights as humans and also have the right to fight for their humanity. The Supreme Court also points out the corrections that should be made to lower court decisions regarding the expansion of prisoners rights as human beings with complete protection that will maintain their survival while serving their time in prison. Improve the education level among existing prisoners: In regards to the lower educational level among prisoners, the very same article that discusses this issue; Educational Background in a prison population, provides the following procedures: Education is a central part of the rehabilitation of prison inmates; therefore, Thirty- four of the 47 prisons offer education and training. Increased the number of available school places for prison inmates in recent years. Adopting administrative cooperation model, where the prisons are formally linked to the ordinary public services available outside the prison, such public services provide prisoners with the professional and financial responsibility for education as well as training in the correctional services. A questionnaire to the inmates contained questions about age, gender, citizenship, country of childhood and teenage years to build up a status of the prisoners recent updates as well as their improvement during their serving time. Arguments against capital punishment: Carol S Steiker, a journalist says in her article, Capital Punishment: A Century of Discontinuous Debate: The most powerful new argument in the death penalty debate one that simply did not exist in any sustained form prior to the modern era of capital punishment in the United States (post- 1976) emphasizes the greater cost of capital punishment compared to the alternative of long-term (even lifetime) imprisonment. The argument has become so ubiquitous in contemporary debates about the death penalty that it is hard to imagine that it was virtually non-existent until a few decades ago. Indeed, in one generation, the cost argument has become perhaps the greatest threat to the continued robust use of capital punishment in the United States. This section will examine how and why the cost argument emerged over the past few decades as well as the reasons for its virtual absence in death penalty discourse during the first centuries of capital practice in this country. Many of our societys members have found out that capital punishment is nothing but a cruel act that the government uses to justify the crimes connected to a prisoner. Moreover, the death penalty has become a major argumentative subject in which it is neither known nor certain the measurement of a persons act that makes him/her deserve such punishment. Also, as Carol states in the article, The inability of our capital system to provide meaningful redress for victims families, pretty much explains the fact that there is a failure in our system regarding the issue of a prisoner being sentenced to death penalty. Therefore, serious actions have been made in order to pay more effort as well as more focus on this type of punishment and always reconsider other solutions such as; Life Time imprisonment instead of just sending someone to his/her death. In conclusion, I have talked about the prisoners environment and how prisoners react to it. I also talked about the general idea about prisoners from the societys perspective and how such an idea impacts prisoners from claiming their rights. Finally I have discussed what the society has done for prisoners in regards to their claims to be treated as human beings regardless of their criminal acts. In Abdullah Bin Omars case as discussed earlier in the introduction of this paper, serious procedures have been in order to provide actual human rights, not only for him especially, but also for all Guantanamo as well as all prisoners who suffer the injustice by those who made justice for them, such procedures were discussed in details under New rights for prisoners in this research. In general, any man who has been convicted with any crime; an act that results in harming the society or the surroundings of this person shall be punished so he will know the consequences of his acts and so he wi ll become an example for those who do the same action or attempt to do so. At the same time, it is ultimately important to pay extra attention on the validity of such convictions, the type of punishment that would be determined and finally how to reserve the prisoners right as a human being. After all, we are all humans who are subject to make mistakes, and as a religious person, I believe that its only GOD who has the final say in a mans act and only he can punish this man or forgive him for his mistakes.

Troubled Bruno in The Hostage :: essays research papers

The Hostage A hostage inside himself, and troubled soul that has had very many bad influences in his life. Bruno, a boy, makes many mistakes and has had very many tragic instances like his father dieing, and nothing will, and can go right for him. As the reader will find out is he is very quiet and has a large stature that was feared by many, and has a lot of things that trouble him. Bruno goes though a tough time and bad situations that help influence his actions, feelings, and words, though his life, and holds him hostage within himself. Bruno was very built and had a very large physique, which people found threatening and scary. He looked much older than even one as if he was in junior high. His hair was sleeked back and was very dark and oily with a large neck and shoulders. Even though he had this big overpowering body he let it be known to every one with the cloths he wore. He showed he was tuff, and muscular though those cloths. Bruno also had a scare one his forehead that rumors say he got when a pot of boiling water in a pan hit him. They think he may have pulled it and it fell or his mom dropped it. Through this large stature one might see how he was probably made fun of and harassed.† He spoke English with a strong accent, musical, yet people mocked him and embarrassed him silently†(1201). Written by Joyce Carol Oates the write of the Hostage. This lowered his self a steam that he held in anger and used it to hold himself hostage with in. Other people in Bruno’s class were scared of him and though being scared they respected him. Because he had this kind of scared respect for him he was voted class president and was left alone. People stopped seeing him at school for a while and soon found out that his dad died. He was killed in the mafia, which affected him strongly. When he came back no one said anything and at this time he really need some one to talk too. But no one did because they were scare of him. The only person that came was the narrator was the only person who even came up to him and he did not even let her say it. But she could tell that he really enjoy her even coming up to him to attempt to talk to him.

the history of the internet :: essays research papers

Where would we find ourselves without the Web today? It provides us with a vast amount of information and communication. The world is accessible to us with a click of a button. Maps, stocks, chat and news can all be found in a matter of seconds. Things have greatly evolved from the home PC of the 1980’s - Commodore 64’s and IBM 8088’s, and a life of direct dialing into BBSs at all hours of the night. Every small town of the USA has Internet access; the world is interconnected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon dialing into your Internet service and launching your browser, you open up a gateway to a variety of information resources. One resource available to you is the portal, Yahoo!. Found at http://www.yahoo.com, this web site includes a plethora of selections, including chat. There are different ways of communicating with this feature. You may download Yahoo! Messenger, an application that works in conjunction with Yahoo! Chat web page. In chat, you can enter rooms of topics of your interest, such as sports, music, or business and speak with people all over the world. You don’t need to download any web browser plug-ins to access chat. You may still converse with people using the Yahoo! Messenger program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yahoo! Messenger is one of many different instant-messaging programs out there. Similar applications such as ICQ or EGN can be used, but they are independent of any web portal, like Yahoo!. There are advantages and disadvantages to each program. No instant messaging service can communicate with any other. You have to have an account with the same service, as who you want to speak with. But incase you don’t know someone on the service, you can make friends by meeting people in chat rooms or random chat, set up by that particular service. Random chat gives you the ability to meet people, by random, based on what their interests are. Once you have acquired people on your contacts/friends lists, with multiple services (i.e.: friends on AOL/IM and friends on ICQ), you may want to look into downloading Universal Messenger. This program combines your lists of people, from the most popular programs you may have. These include ICQ, AOL/IM, Yahoo!, PowWow, and MSN Me ssenger. This saves on memory (RAM), so you don’t have to run each individual program on your home computer. You must know your logins and passwords for each service, when you first set up Universal Messenger.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The angel will tell me nothing of what happened to my friends, of the twelve, of Maggie. All he'll say is that they are dead and that I have to write my own version of the story. Oh, he'll tell me useless angel stories – of how Gabriel disappeared once for sixty years and they found him on earth hiding in the body of a man named Miles Davis, or how Raphael snuck out of heaven to visit Satan and returned with something called a cell phone. (Evidently everyone has them in hell now.) He watches the television and when they show an earthquake or a tornado he'll say, â€Å"I destroyed a city with one of those once. Mine was better.† I am awash in useless angel prattle, but about my own time I know nothing but what I saw. And when the television makes mention of Joshua, calling him by his Greek name, Raziel changes the channel before I can learn anything. He never sleeps. He just watches me, watches the television, and eats. He never leaves the room. Today, while searching for extra towels, I opened one of the drawers and there, beneath a plastic bag meant for laundry, I found a book: Holy Bible, it said on the cover. Thank the Lord I did not take the book from the drawer, but opened it with my back to the angel. There are chapters there that were in no Bible I know. I saw the names of Matthew and John, I saw Romans and Galatians – this is a book of my time. â€Å"What are you doing?† the angel asked. I covered the Bible and closed the drawer. â€Å"Looking for towels. I need to bathe.† â€Å"You bathed yesterday.† â€Å"Cleanliness is important to my people.† â€Å"I know that. What, you think I don't know that?† â€Å"You're not exactly the brightest halo in the bunch.† â€Å"Then bathe. And stand away from the television.† â€Å"Why don't you go get me some towels?† â€Å"I'll call down to the desk.† And he did. If I am to get a look at that book, I must get the angel to leave the room. It came to pass that in the village of Japhia, the sister village of Nazareth, that Esther, the mother of one of the priests of the Temple, died of bad air. The Levite priests, or Sadducees, were rich from the tributes we paid to the Temple, and mourners were hired from all the surrounding villages. The families of Nazareth made the journey to the next hill for the funeral, and for the first time, Joshua and I were able to spend time with Maggie as we walked along the road. â€Å"So,† she said without looking at us, â€Å"have you two been playing with any snakes lately?† â€Å"We've been waiting for the lion to lay down with the lamb,† Joshua said. â€Å"That's the next part of the prophecy.† â€Å"What prophecy?† â€Å"Never mind,† I said. â€Å"Snakes are for boys. We are almost men. We will begin work after the Feast of Tabernacles. In Sepphoris.† I was trying to sound worldly. Maggie seemed unimpressed. â€Å"And you will learn to be a carpenter?† she asked Joshua. â€Å"I will do the work of my father, eventually, yes.† â€Å"And you?† she asked me. â€Å"I'm thinking of being a professional mourner. How hard can it be? Tear at your hair, sing a dirge or two, take the rest of the week off.† â€Å"His father is a stonemason,† Joshua said. â€Å"We may both learn that skill.† At my urging, my father had offered to take Joshua on as an apprentice if Joseph approved. â€Å"Or a shepherd,† I added quickly. â€Å"Being a shepherd seems easy. I went with Kaliel last week to tend his flock. The Law says that two must go with the flock to keep an abomination from happening. I can spot an abomination from fifty paces.† Maggie smiled. â€Å"And did you prevent any abominations?† â€Å"Oh yes, I kept all of the abominations at bay while Kaliel played with his favorite sheep behind the bushes.† â€Å"Biff,† Joshua said gravely, â€Å"that was the abomination you were supposed to prevent.† â€Å"It was?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Whoops. Oh well, I think I would make an excellent mourner. Do you know the words to any dirges, Maggie? I'm going to need to learn some dirges.† â€Å"I think that when I grow up,† Maggie announced, â€Å"I shall go back to Magdala and become a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.† I laughed, â€Å"Don't be silly, you are a girl. You can't be a fisherman.† â€Å"Yes I can.† â€Å"No, you can't. You have to marry and have sons. Are you betrothed, by the way?† Joshua said: â€Å"Come with me, Maggie, and I will make you a fisher of men.† â€Å"What the hell does that mean?† Maggie asked. I grabbed Joshua by the back of his robe and began to drag him away. â€Å"Don't pay any attention to him. He's mad. He gets it from his mother. Lovely woman, but a loony. Come now, Josh, let's sing a dirge.† I began improvising what I thought was a good funeral song. â€Å"La-la-la. Oh, we are really, really sad that your mom is dead. Too bad you're a Sadducee and don't believe in an afterlife and your mom is just going to be worm food, la-la. Makes you think that you might want to reconsider, huh? Fa-la-la-la-la-la-wacka-wacka.† (It sounded great in Aramaic. Really.) â€Å"You two are silly.† â€Å"Gotta go. Mourning to do. See you.† â€Å"A fisher of women?† Josh said. â€Å"Fa-la-la-la, don't feel bad – she was old and had no teeth left, la-la-la. Come on, people, you know the words!† Later, I said, â€Å"Josh, you can't keep saying creepy things like that. ‘Fisher of men,' you want the Pharisees to stone you? Is that what you want?† â€Å"I'm only doing my father's work. Besides, Maggie is our friend, she wouldn't say anything.† â€Å"You're going to scare her away.† â€Å"No I won't. She's going to be with us, Biff.† â€Å"Are you going to marry her?† â€Å"I don't even know if I'm allowed to marry at all, Biff. Look.† We were topping the hill into Japhia, and we could see the crowd of mourners gathering around the village. Joshua was pointing to a red crest that stood out above the crowd – the helmet crest of a Roman centurion. The centurion was talking to the Levite priest, who was arrayed in white and gold, his white beard reaching past his belt. As we moved into the village we could see twenty or thirty other soldiers watching the crowd. â€Å"Why are they here?† â€Å"They don't like it when we gather,† Joshua said, pausing to study the centurion commander. â€Å"They are here to see that we don't revolt.† â€Å"Why is the priest talking to him?† â€Å"The Sadducee wants to assure the Roman of his influence over us. It wouldn't do to have a massacre on the day of his mother's funeral.† â€Å"So he's watching out for us.† â€Å"He's watching out for himself. Only for himself.† â€Å"You shouldn't say that about a priest of the Temple, Joshua.† It was the first time I ever heard Joshua speak against the Sadducees, and it frightened me. â€Å"Today, I think this priest will learn who the Temple belongs to.† â€Å"I hate it when you talk like that, Josh. Maybe we should go home.† â€Å"Do you remember the dead meadowlark we found?† â€Å"I have a really bad feeling about this.† Joshua grinned at me. I could see gold flecks shining in his eyes. â€Å"Sing your dirge, Biff. I think Maggie was impressed by your singing.† â€Å"Really? You think so?† â€Å"Nope.† There was a crowd of five hundred outside the tomb. In the front, the men had draped striped shawls over their heads and rocked as they prayed. The women were separated to the back, and except for the wailing of the hired mourners, it was as if they didn't exist. I tried to catch a glimpse of Maggie, but couldn't see her through the crowd. When I turned again, Joshua had wormed his way to the front of the men, where the Sadducee stood beside the corpse of his dead mother, reading from a scroll of the Torah. The women had wrapped the corpse in linen and anointed it with fragrant oils. I could smell sandalwood and jasmine amid the acrid sweat of the mourners as I made my way to the front and stood by Joshua. He looked past the priest and was staring at the corpse, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He was trembling as if taken by a chill wind. The priest finished his reading and began to sing, joined by the voices of hired singers who had made the journey all the way from the Temple in Jerusalem. â€Å"It's good to be rich, huh?† I whispered to Joshua, elbowing him in the ribs. He ignored me and balled up his fists at his sides. A vein stood out on his forehead as he burned his gaze on the corpse. And she moved. Just a twitch at first. The jerk of her hand under the linen shroud. I think I was the only one who noticed. â€Å"No, Joshua, don't,† I said. I looked for the Romans, who were gathered in groups of five at different points around the perimeter of the crowd looking bored, their hands resting on the hafts of their short swords. The corpse twitched again and raised her arm. There was a gasp in the crowd and a boy screamed. The men started backing away and the women pushed forward to see what was happening. Joshua fell to his knees and pressed his fists to his temples. The priest sang on. The corpse sat up. The singers stopped and finally the priest turned to look behind him at his dead mother, who had swung her legs off of the slab and looked as if she was trying to stand. The priest stumbled back into the crowd, clawing at the air before his eyes as if it some vapor was causing this horrible vision. Joshua was rocking on his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. The corpse stood, and still covered by the shroud, turned as if she was looking around. I could see that several of the Romans had drawn their swords. I looked around and found the commanding centurion standing on the back of a wagon, giving signals to his men to stay calm. When I looked back I realized that Joshua and I had been deserted by the mourners and we stood out in the empty space. â€Å"Stop it, now, Josh,† I whispered in his ear, but he continued to rock and concentrate on the corpse, who took her first step. The crowd seemed to be transfixed by the walking corpse, but we were too isolated, too alone now with the dead, and I knew it would only be seconds before they noticed Joshua rocking in the dirt. I threw my arm around his throat and dragged him back away from the corpse and into a group of men who were wailing as they backed away. â€Å"Is he all right?† I heard at my ear, and turned to see Maggie standing beside me. â€Å"Help me get him away.† Maggie took one of Joshua's arms and I took the other as we dragged him away. His body was as stiff as a walking staff, and he kept his gaze trained on the corpse. The dead woman was walking toward her son, the priest, who was backing away, brandishing the scroll like a sword, his eyes as big as saucers. Finally the woman fell in the dirt, twitched, then lay still. Joshua went limp in our arms. â€Å"Let's get him out of here,† I said to Maggie. She nodded and helped me drag him behind the wagon where the centurion was directing his troops. â€Å"Is he dead?† the centurion asked. Joshua was blinking as if he'd just been awakened from a deep sleep. â€Å"We're never sure, sir,† I said. The centurion threw his head back and laughed. His scale armor rattled with the tossing of his shoulders. He was older than the other soldiers, gray-haired, but obviously lean and strong, and totally unconcerned with the histrionics of the crowd. â€Å"Good answer, boy. What is your name?† â€Å"Biff, sir. Levi bar Alphaeus, who is called Biff, sir. Of Nazareth.† â€Å"Well, Biff, I am Gaius Justus Gallicus, under-commander of Sepphoris, and I think that you Jews should make sure your dead are dead before you bury them.† â€Å"Yes sir,† I said. â€Å"You, girl. You are a pretty little thing. What is your name?† I could see that Maggie was shaken by the attention of the Roman. â€Å"I am Mary of Magdala, sir.† She wiped at Joshua's brow with the edge of her shawl as she spoke. â€Å"You will break someone's heart someday, eh, little one?† Maggie didn't answer. But I must have shown some reaction to the question, because Justus laughed again. â€Å"Or perhaps she already has, eh, Biff?† â€Å"It is our way, sir. That's why we Jews bury our women when they are still alive. It cuts down on the heartbreak.† The Roman took off his helmet, ran his hand over his short hair, and flung sweat at me. â€Å"Go on, you two, get your friend into the shade. It's too hot out here for a sick boy. Go on.† Maggie and I helped Joshua to his feet and began to lead him away, but when we had gone only a few steps, Joshua stopped and looked back over his shoulder at the Roman. â€Å"Will you slay my people if we follow our God?† he shouted. I cuffed him on the back of the head. â€Å"Joshua, are you insane?† Justus narrowed his gaze at Joshua and the smile went out of his eyes. â€Å"Whatever they tell you, boy, Rome has only two rules: pay your taxes and don't rebel. Follow those and you'll stay alive.† Maggie yanked Joshua around and smiled back at the Roman. â€Å"Thank you, sir, we'll get him out of the sun.† Then she turned back to Joshua. â€Å"Is there something you two would like to tell me?† â€Å"It's not me,† I said. â€Å"It's him.† The next day we met the angel for the first time. Mary and Joseph said that Joshua had left the house at dawn and they hadn't seen him since. I wandered around the village most of the morning, looking for Joshua and hoping to run into Maggie. The square was alive with talk of the walking dead woman, but neither of my friends was to be found. At noon my mother recruited me to watch my little brothers while she went to work with the other women in the vineyard. She returned at dusk, smelling of sweat and sweet wine, her feet purple from walking in the winepress. Cut loose, I ran all over the hilltop, checking in our favorite places to play, and finally found Joshua on his knees in an olive grove, rocking back and forth as he prayed. He was soaked in sweat and I was afraid he might have a fever. Strange, I never felt that sort of concern for my own brothers, but from the beginning, Joshua filled me with divinely inspired worry. I watched, and waited, and when he stopped his rocking and sat back to rest, I faked a cough to let him know I was coming. â€Å"Maybe you should stick with lizards for a while longer.† â€Å"I failed. I have disappointed my father.† â€Å"Did he tell you that, or do you just know it?† He thought for a moment, made as if to brush his hair away from his face, then remembered that he no longer wore his hair long and dropped his hands in his lap. â€Å"I ask for guidance, but I get no answer. I can feel that I am supposed to do things, but I don't know what. And I don't know how.† â€Å"I don't know, I think the priest was surprised. I certainly was. Maggie was. People will be talking about it for months.† â€Å"But I wanted the woman to live again. To walk among us. To tell of the miracle.† â€Å"Well, it is written, two out of three ain't bad.† â€Å"Where is that written?† â€Å"Dalmatians 9:7, I think – doesn't matter, no one else could have done what you did.† Joshua nodded. â€Å"What are people saying?† â€Å"They think that it was something the women used to prepare the corpse. They are still going through purification for two more days, so no one can ask them.† â€Å"So they don't know that it was me?† â€Å"I hope not. Joshua, don't you understand that you can't do that sort of thing in front of people? They aren't ready for it.† â€Å"But most of them want it. They talk about the Messiah coming to deliver us all the time. Don't I have to show them that he has come?† What do you say to that? He was right, since I could remember there was always talk of the coming of the Messiah, of the coming of the kingdom of God, of the liberation of our people from the Romans – the hills were full of different factions of Zealots who skirmished with the Romans in hope that they could bring about the change. We were the chosen of God, blessed and punished like no other on earth. When the Jews spoke, God listened, now it was God's turn to speak. Evidently, my best friend was supposed to be the mouthpiece. But at that moment, I just didn't believe it. Despite what I'd seen, Joshua was my pal, not the Messiah. I said, â€Å"I'm pretty sure the Messiah is supposed to have a beard.† â€Å"So, it's not time yet, is that what you're saying?† â€Å"Right, Josh, I'm going to know when you don't. God sent a messenger to me and he said, ‘By the way, tell Joshua to wait until he can shave before he leads my people out of bondage.'† â€Å"It could happen.† â€Å"Don't ask me, ask God.† â€Å"That's what I've been doing. He's not answering.† It had been getting darker by the minute in the olive grove, and I could barely see the shine in Josh's eyes, but suddenly the area around us was lit up like daylight. We looked up to see the dreaded Raziel descending on us from above the treetops. Of course I didn't know he was the dreaded Raziel at the time, I was just terrified. The angel shone like a star above us, his features so perfect that even my beloved Maggie's beauty paled by comparison. Joshua hid his face and huddled against the trunk of an olive tree. I guess he was more easily surprised by the supernatural than I was. I just stood there staring with my mouth open, drooling like the village idiot. â€Å"Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all men. For on this day, in the city of David, is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.† Then he hovered for a second, waiting for his message to sink in. Joshua uncovered his face and risked a glance at the angel. â€Å"Well?† the angel said. It took me a second to digest the meaning of the words, and I waited for Joshua to say something, but he had turned his face skyward and seemed to be basking in the light, a silly smile locked on his face. Finally I pointed a thumb at Josh and said, â€Å"He was born in the city of David.† â€Å"Really?† said the angel. â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"His mother's name is Mary?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"She a virgin?† â€Å"He has four brothers and sisters now, but at one time, yes.† The angel looked around nervously, as if he might expect a multitude of the heavenly host to show up at some point. â€Å"How old are you, kid?† Joshua just stared, smiling. â€Å"He's ten.† The angel cleared his throat and fidgeted a bit, dropping a few feet toward the ground as he did so. â€Å"I'm in a lot of trouble. I stopped to chat with Michael on the way here, he had a deck of cards. I knew some time had passed, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  To Joshua he said, â€Å"Kid, were you born in a stable? Wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger?† Joshua said nothing. â€Å"That's the way his mom tells it,† I said. â€Å"Is he retarded?† â€Å"I think you're his first angel. He's impressed, I think.† â€Å"What about you?† â€Å"I'm in trouble because I'm going to be an hour late for dinner.† â€Å"I see what you mean. I'd better get back and check on this. If you see some shepherds watching over their flocks by night would you tell them – uh, tell them – that at some point, probably, oh – ten years or so ago, that a Savior was born? Could you do that?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"Okey-dokey. Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.† â€Å"Right back at you.† â€Å"Thanks. Bye.† And as quickly as he had come, the angel was gone in a shooting star and the olive grove went dark again. I could just make out Joshua's face as he turned to look at me. â€Å"There you go,† I said. â€Å"Next question?† I suppose that every boy wonders what he will be when he grows up. I suppose that many watch their peers accomplish great things and wonder, â€Å"Could I have done that?† For me, to know at ten that my best friend was the Messiah, while I would live and die a stonecutter, seemed too much of a curse for a ten-year-old to bear. The morning after we met the angel, I went to the square and sat with Bartholomew the village idiot, hoping that Maggie would come to the well. If I had to be a stonecutter, at least I might have the love of an enchanting woman. In those days, we started training for our life's work at ten, then received the prayer shawl and phylacteries at thirteen, signifying our entry into manhood. Soon after we were expected to be betrothed, and by fourteen, married and starting a family. So you see, I was not too young to consider Maggie as a wife (and I might always have the fallback position of marrying Joshua's mother when Joseph died). The women would come and go, fetching water, washing clothes, and as the sun rose high and the square cleared, Bartholomew sat in the shade of a tattered date palm and picked his nose. Maggie never appeared. Funny how easy heartbreak can come. I've always had a talent for it. â€Å"Why you cry?† said Bartholomew. He was bigger than any man in the village, his hair and beard were wild and tangled, and the yellow dust that covered him from head to toe gave him the appearance of an incredibly stupid lion. His tunic was ragged and he wore no sandals. The only thing he owned was a wooden bowl that he ate from and licked clean. He lived off of the charity of the village, and by gleaning the grain fields (there was always some grain left in the fields for the poor – it was dictated by the Law). I never knew how old he was. He spent his days in the square, playing with the village dogs, giggling to himself, and scratching his crotch. When the women passed he would stick out his tongue and say, â€Å"Bleh.† My mother said he had the mind of a child. As usual, she was wrong. He put his big paw on my shoulder and rubbed, leaving a dusty circle of affection on my shirt. â€Å"Why you cry?† he asked again. â€Å"I'm just sad. You wouldn't understand.† Bartholomew looked around, and when he saw that we were alone in the square except for his dog pals, he said, â€Å"You think too much. Thinking will bring you nothing but suffering. Be simple.† â€Å"What?† It was the most coherent thing I'd ever heard him say. â€Å"Do you ever see me cry? I have nothing, so I am slave to nothing. I have nothing to do, so nothing makes me its slave.† â€Å"What do you know?† I snapped. â€Å"You live in the dirt. You are unclean! You do nothing. I have to begin working next week, and work for a lifetime until I die with a broken back. The girl I want is in love with my best friend, and he's the Messiah. I'm nothing, and you, you – you're an idiot.† â€Å"No, I'm not, I'm a Greek. A Cynic.† I turned and really looked at him. His eyes, normally as dull as mud, shone like black jewels in the dusty desert of his face. â€Å"What's a Cynic?† â€Å"A philosopher. I am a student of Diogenes. You know Diogenes?† â€Å"No, but how much could he have taught you? Your only friends are dogs.† â€Å"Diogenes went about Athens with a lamp in broad daylight, holding it in people's faces, saying he was looking for an honest man.† â€Å"So, he was like the prophet of the idiots?† â€Å"No, no, no.† Bart picked up a small terrier and was gesturing with him to make his point. The dog seemed to enjoy it. â€Å"They were all fooled by their culture. Diogenes taught that all affectations of modern life were false, that a man must live simply, outdoors, carry nothing, make no art, no poetry, no religion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Like a dog,† I said. â€Å"Yes!† Bart described a flourish in the air with the rat dog. â€Å"Exactly!† The little dog made as if to upchuck from the motion. Bart put him down and he wobbled away. A life without worry: right then it sounded wonderful. I mean, I didn't want to live in the dirt and have other people think me mad, like Bartholomew, but a dog's life really didn't sound bad. The idiot had been hiding a deep wisdom all these years. â€Å"I'm trying to learn to lick my own balls,† Bart said. Maybe not. â€Å"I have to go find Joshua.† â€Å"You know he is the Messiah, don't you?† â€Å"Wait a minute, you're not a Jew – I thought you didn't believe in any religion.† â€Å"The dogs told me he was the Messiah. I believe them. Tell Joshua I believe them.† â€Å"The dogs told you?† â€Å"They're Jewish dogs.† â€Å"Right, let me know how the ball licking works out.† â€Å"Shalom.† Who would have thought that Joshua would find his first apostle among the dirt and dogs of Nazareth. Bleh. I found Joshua at the synagogue, listening to the Pharisees lecture on the Law. I stepped through the group of boys sitting on the floor and whispered to him. â€Å"Bartholomew says that he knows you are the Messiah.† â€Å"The idiot? Did you ask him how long he's known?† â€Å"He says the village dogs told him.† â€Å"I never thought to ask the dogs.† â€Å"He says that we should live simply, like dogs, carry nothing, no affectations – whatever that means.† â€Å"Bartholomew said that? Sounds like an Essene. He's much smarter than he looks.† â€Å"He's trying to learn to lick his own balls.† â€Å"I'm sure there's something in the Law that forbids that. I'll ask the rabbi.† â€Å"I'm not sure you want to bring that up to the Pharisee.† â€Å"Did you tell your father about the angel?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Good. I've spoken to Joseph, he's going to let me learn to be a stonecutter with you. I don't want your father to change his mind about teaching me. I think the angel would frighten him.† Joshua looked at me for the first time, turning from the Pharisee, who droned on in Hebrew. â€Å"Have you been crying?† â€Å"Me? No, Bart's stench made my eyes water.† Joshua put his hand on my forehead and all the sadness and trepidation seemed to drain out of me in an instant. He smiled. â€Å"Better?† â€Å"I'm jealous of you and Maggie.† â€Å"That can't be good for your neck.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Trying to lick your own balls. It's got to be hard on your neck.† â€Å"Did you hear me? I'm jealous of you and Maggie.† â€Å"I'm still learning, Biff. There are things I don't understand yet. The Lord said, ‘I am a jealous God.' So jealousy should be a good thing.† â€Å"But it makes me feel so bad.† â€Å"You see the puzzle, then? Jealousy makes you feel bad, but God is jealous, so it must be good, yet when a dog licks its balls it seems to enjoy it, but it must be bad under the Law.† Suddenly Joshua was yanked to his feet by the ear. The Pharisee glared at him. â€Å"Is the Law of Moses too boring for you, Joshua bar Joseph?† â€Å"I have a question, Rabbi,† Joshua said. â€Å"Oh, jeez.† I hid my head in my arms.

Force Practice Questions

A hockey stick exerts an average force of 39N on a 0. 2kg hockey puck over a displacement of 0. 22m. if the hockey puck started from rest, what is the final velocity of the puck? Assume no friction. Your physics teacher walking with the aid of a cane approaches a skateboard of 3. 5 kg lying on the side walk. Pushing with an angle of 60 degree down from the horizontal with his cane, he applies a force of 115N, which is enough to toll the skateboard out of his way. Calculate the initial accelerationA solo arctic adventurer pulls a string of two toboggans of supplies across level, snowy ground. The toboggans have masses of 95kg and 55kg. Appling a force of 165N causes the toboggans to accelerate at 0. 61m/s2. Find the tension in the rope attached to the second toboggan. A 75kg man is standing on a scale in an elevator when the elevator begins to descend with an acceleration of0. 66 m/s2. What is the reading on the scale while elevator is accelerating? A 32 kg baby is practising climbing skills on a climbing wall, while being belayed by her parent.The child loses her grip and dangles from the rope. When the parent starts lowing the child, the tension in the rope is 253N. Find the acceleration of the child when she is first being lowered. The lighter person on an Atwood machine is 45kg. If the tension in the rope is 512N, what is the mass of the second person? What is the acceleration of the two people? A 40g glider on an air track is connected to a suspended 25g mass by a string passing over a frictionless pulley. When the mass is released, how long will it take the glider to travel the 0. 5 m to the other end of the track. Starting from rest, Grace bikes down the starting ramp at a professional biking track. If the ramp has the minimum legal dimensions (1. 5m high and 12m long), find the acceleration when coefficient of friction is 0. 11 Lyn flick a 5. 5g coin up a smooth board propped at an angle of 25 degree to the floor. If the initial velocity of the coin is 2 . 3m/s up the board and the coefficient of kinetic friction between the coin and the board is 0. 4, how far does the coin travel before stopping?