Iwo Jima essays

Iwo Jima essays Iwo Jima was one of the greatest land battles in World War II. It cost the Americans thousands of lives because of poorly planned techniques by the sergeants and generals of the Navy and Marines. It is located in the Volcano Islands off the coast of Japan. The battle lasted 26 days, and the island was secured ten days later. It was one of the most costly battles in World War II. Iwo Jima is an inactive volcanic island located 660 miles south of Tokyo, Japan (Josephy 93). Its name means sulphur island (Paull 1). It is eight square miles (Iwo 1) and in the shape of a pork chop. Iwos southern tip is composed of an inactive volcano, Mount Suribachi, the highest point of the island (Josephy 93). The land is made of coarse black sand and jagged rock, and the air smelled of rotten eggs from the sulphur emissions. The water circling the island is twelve feet deep only two feet away from the shore. This made it difficult for the Marines to get on the island from boats (Paull 1). Iwo Jima is only two miles wide and four miles long (Josephy 93). The Americans were to fit 70,000 Marines on this tiny island, and would fight 22,000 Japanese soldiers. It took the Marines 36 days to travel four miles on Iwo (Iwo 1). The Americans began bombing on December 8th. They did this to reduce the number of casualties when the troops came on land. The air raids lasted a total of 72 days (Bradly 135). The Navy Bombardments from offshore were to last ten days requested by the Marine generals. The Navy did not comply with this. They were to give them only three days of bombardments, then the Marines were to invade. The shelling took place on February 16th through February 18th. On February 16th bombarding was cut short because of a heavy cloud cover. February 17th was the only complete day of shelling. On February 18th the bombing was cut short because of heavy rains. It was now time for the Marines to move in (Bradly 144-145). ...

Life and Art of Eva Hesse, Postmodern Sculpture Pioneer

Life and Art of Eva Hesse, Postmodern Sculpture Pioneer Eva Hesse was a German-American artist known for her work as a postmodern sculptor and draughtswoman. Her work is characterized by a willingness to experiment with material and form, fashioning work from latex, string, fiber glass, and rope. Though she died at the age of thirty-four, Hesse has had a lasting impact on American art as a radical voice that pushed the New York art world into an era beyond Abstract Expressionism and stark Minimalism, the dominant art movements at the time she was working in the 1960s. Fast Facts: Eva Hesse Occupation:  Artist, sculptor, draughtswomanKnown for:  Experimenting with materials such as latex, string, fiber glass, and ropeEducation: Pratt Institute of Design, Cooper Union, Yale University (B.A.)Born:  January 11, 1936 in Hamburg, GermanyDied:  May 29, 1970 in New York, New York Early Life Eva Hesse was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1936 to a secular Jewish family. At the age of two, she and her older sister were put on a train to the Netherlands in order to escape the increasing threat of the Nazi party in Germany following Kristallnacht. For six months, they lived in a Catholic orphanage without their parents. As Hesse was a sickly child, she was in and out of the hospital, with not even her older sister for company. Once reunited, the family escaped to England, where they lived for several months, before they were miraculously able to sail to the United States in 1939, on one of the last boats of refugees welcomed on American shores. Settling in New York did not spell peace for the Hesse family, however. Hesse’s father, a lawyer in Germany, trained and was able to work as an insurance broker, but her mother had trouble adjusting to life in the United States. As a manic depressive, she was frequently hospitalized and eventually left Hesse’s father for another man. Following the divorce, young Hesse never saw her mother again, and she later committed suicide in 1946, when Eva was ten years old. The chaos of her early life characterizes the trauma Hesse would endure throughout her life, with which she would wrestle in therapy for her entire adult life. Eva’s father married a woman also named Eva, the strangeness of which was not lost on the young artist. The two women did not see eye to eye, and Hesse left for art school at the age of sixteen. She dropped out of the Pratt Institute less than a year later, fed up with its mindless traditional teaching style, where she was forced to paint uninspired still life after uninspired still life. Still a teenager, she was forced to move back home, where she got a part time job at Seventeen magazine and began taking classes at the Art Students’ League. Hesse decided to take the entrance exam for the Cooper Union, passed, and attended the school for a year before moving on to get her BFA at Yale, where she studied under renowned painter and color theorist Josef Albers. Friends who knew Hesse at Yale remembered her to be his star student. Though she did not enjoy the program, she stayed until graduation in 1959. Return to Germany In 1961, Hesse married sculptor Tom Doyle. Described as equally â€Å"passionate† people, their marriage was not an easy one. Reluctantly, Hesse moved back to her native Germany with her husband in 1964, as he was awarded a fellowship there. While in Germany, Hesses art practice matured into what would become her best known work. She began using string in her sculpture, a material which resonated with her, as it was the most practical way of translating the lines of drawing into three dimensions. Critical Success Upon returning to the United States in 1965, Hesse began to hit her stride as a critically successful artist. The year 1966 saw two landmark group shows in which she exhibited: â€Å"Stuffed Expressionism† at Graham Gallery, and â€Å"Eccentric Abstraction† curated by Lucy R. Lippard at Fischbach Gallery. Her work was singled out and critically praised in both shows. (1966 also saw the dissolution of her marriage to Doyle through separation.) The next year Hesse was given her first solo show at Fischbach, and was included in the Warehouse Show, â€Å"9 at Leo Castelli† along with fellow Yale alumnus Richard Serra. She was the only woman artist among the nine to be given the honor. Artistic Milieu in New York City Hesse worked in a milieu of similarly-minded artists in New York, many of whom she called her friends. Nearest and dearest to her, however, was sculptor Sol LeWitt, eight years her senior, who she called one of the two people â€Å"who really know and trust me.† The two artists equally exchanged influence and ideas, perhaps the most famous example of which is LeWitt’s letter to Hesse, encouraging her to quit distracting herself with insecurity and just â€Å"DO.† Months after her death, LeWitt dedicated the first of his famous wall drawings using â€Å"not straight† lines to his late friend. Art In her own words, the closest summation Hesse managed to come up with to describe her work was â€Å"chaos structured as non-chaos,† as in sculptures that contained within them randomness and confusion, presented within structured scaffolding. â€Å"I want to extend my art into something that doesn’t exist,† she said, and though conceptualism was gaining popularity in the art world, critic Lucy Lippard says that Hesse was not interested in the movement as â€Å"material meant much too much to her.† The creation of â€Å"non-shapes,† as Hesse termed them, was one way to bridge the gap between her dedication to direct touch, investment in material, and abstract thinking.   Her use of unconventional materials like latex has sometimes meant that her work is difficult to preserve. Hesse said that, just as â€Å"life doesn’t last, art doesn’t last.† Her art attempted to â€Å"dismantle the center† and destabilize the â€Å"life force† of existence, departing from the stability and predictability of minimalist sculpture. Her work was a deviation from the norm and as a result has had an indelible impact on sculpture today, which uses many of the looping and asymmetrical constructions that she pioneered.   Legacy Hesse developed a brain tumor at the age of thirty-three and died in May 1970 at the age of thirty-four. Though Hesse did not live to participate in it, the women’s movement of the 1970s championed her work as a female artist and ensured her lasting legacy as a pioneer in the American art world. In 1972, the Guggenheim in New York staged a posthumous retrospective of her work, and in 1976 feminist critic and essayist Lucy R. Lippard published Eva Hesse, a monograph on the artist’s work and the first full length book to be published on virtually any American artist of the 1960s. It was organized by LeWitt and Hesse’s sister, Helen Charash. Tate Modern staged a retrospective of her work from 2002-2003. Sources Blanton Museum of Art (2014). Lucy Lippard Lecture on Eva Hesse. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vV50g8spJrp8t2511s. (2014).Kort, C. and Sonneborn, L. (2002).  A to Z of American Women in the Visual Arts. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 93-95.Lippard, L. (1976). Eva Hesse. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.Nixon, M. (2002). Eva Hesse. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Careers in Mathematics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Careers in Mathematics - Essay Example In recent trends, students are able to have several opportunities to develop their career in mathematics. Mathematics provides wide range career opportunities for the students in several departments such as science department and engineering department among others. This subject provides statics as well as calculation knowledge to the students (LaLonde, Leedy and Runk 285-292). The paper intends to explain about the rewards of selecting a career in math along with the contribution of teachers to the American child to overcome their difficulties in learning mathematics. It also deals with the procedure based on which teachers can help the students to develop a competitive career and they become the next genius in mathematics. Mathematics is one the major subjects through which students can develop their career in several sectors and fulfill their aims in their professional life. Mathematics is majorly associated with science as well as engineering department. The students who have a greater knowledge about mathematics are able to enhance their talent and can easily have an understanding about statistical knowledge, which is presented in demand in the job market. It is a subject, which is required in every step of study and by selecting the subject for building a career; students can develop their career in different fields that include engineering, doctor and scientist among others. By choosing a career in mathematics, students are able to have excellent job opportunities in their professional life (Byrnes and Miller 599-629). In recent trends, it can be observed that most of the students want to grow their career in mathematics based on the job competition in the market. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduate students are essential for the American economy to maintain superiority in the STEM field. Mathematics has own field of career opportunity for the students. However, the students

The Process of How a Bill Becomes a Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Process of How a Bill Becomes a Law - Essay Example As an expression of the sovereign people, all laws are legislated in accordance with the highest law of the land—the Constitution. It is done through constitutionally prescribed processes that are often tedious and politically mired with controversies. Usually, a bill is introduced by the House of Representatives and is duly concurred by the Senate. Such bill is presented to the President of the United States for approval and signature. If the president signs it, the bill becomes a law, otherwise, the bill will be returned to the House where it originated with president’s objections. The latter will be put into the journal. The same will be reconsidered by the legislatures. If two-thirds of the House approved the reconsidered bill, it will become a law and such overturned the veto power of the executive. In a similar context, when the bill is presented to the president for signature and if such was not returned within ten working days, the bill likewise becomes a law. Such 10-day period, when it has lapsed, has a similar effect as if the president has signed it, unless the legislative body, by their adjournment prevents its return. As such, the bill will not become the law. The legislation of the law rests on the constitutionally mandated power of the legislative branch under Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution. This process, however, has a complex and evolving mechanisms since the legislative body is composed of a hundred elected senators and 435 members of representatives from states with varying political interests and concerns relating to policy formulation. Bills ought to have undergone a process of consultations from constituents as they are the subjects of legislative agenda and developments. Their voices should be considered by representatives before they’d perform the mandates of advising and agreeing to treaties and other related policies. Bills, before it would become a law, are sourced from the multitude of ideas and proposals of people in each state.  Ã‚  

The Island of Human Nature Essay Example for Free

The Island of Human Nature Essay When Lord of the Flies was first released, William Golding described the novels theme in a publicity questionnaire as an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. (Kennard) Since the island is a microcosm, Golding uses it to reflect our world and give comments on it and his view of human nature. In the novel a group of children are stranded on an island when their plane crashes. The freedom of having no parents while living in a society that does not enforce rules and laws are eliminated. In this novel William Golding uses the objects, characters, and setting show that what happened in the story is just not a story; they help prove the author’s belief that humankind is savage. Each character signifies an important idea or theme from our world, and the statement he makes about human nature is that mankind will turn savage for supremacy. As the novel is an allegory, each character is symbolized clearly as someone in our society. â€Å"Piggy could think. He could go step by step inside that fat head of his, only Piggy was no chief. But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains (Golding, 71). † Piggy is the scientific and intellectual aspect of society. He is a thinker, philosopher and someone who always advises for good. Similarities to Albert Einstein can also be seen in Piggy, because people did not care that he thought the atomic bomb was a bad weapon just like no one cared about what Piggy said or did. Another main character, Ralph, is like Franklin Roosevelt, who could not stop World War Two from breaking out. He signifies the confused that are always uncertain in the recognition between good and evil: The failure of the island society comes about because of an innate tendency towards violence in the boys. Golding is, then, in opposition to the romantic notion of noble primitives knowing the distinction between good and evil. Human beings are not innately innocent, so human progress is unlikely. (Kennard) When the kids on the island are confronted with a choice between reasons civilizing influence and animalitys self-indulgent savagery, they choose to abandon the values of the civilization that Ralph represents. Ralph in Lord of the Flies also represents democracy and is responsible. He is the politician who relies on social order and government, and his political failures show that he cannot oppress the evil within the other boys. One of the most influential boys whose evil Ralph cannot control is Jack. Jack is a symbol of Adolph Hitler. He is a crazy leader who killed many people because he wanted dominance. ?Like Hitler, Jack is a dictator; he is ignorant. Jack is the hunter who is consumed by his own fear and the greater force of his own capacity for evil. Roger is even worse than Jack, even though he is not like that from the beginning. He is similar to Satan or even Dr. Mengele who was Hitler’s worker and did horrific operations on people. Roger is cruel and has gone far beyond from being a savage because he purposely, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever, resulting in Piggy’s death. Struggles between moral conscience and a heart of darkness are symbolized in the conflict between Ralph and Jack. That also represents the struggle between the forces of civilization and anarchy. The tussle between Jack and Ralph for leadership is the allegory of our political leaders who always fight and kill for the sake of control. In the same way that the way the boys are being lead astray by Jack, the leaders of our world take advantage of the masses. The impulses and the behavior of the boys are those of adults. Like adults, he boys realize that the only way that they will keep everyone alive and safe is through rule, yet the frustration of living apart from society tempts many boys to unleash the evil inside them. At last, when no one follows order anymore, the boys hand themselves to bestiality and surviving becomes a combat in between the two tribes. This same choice is made constantly all over the world, all throughout history — the source of the grief Golding sought to convey. â€Å"Lord of the Flies is concerned with the fall of man to savagery with the loss of innocence. † (Kennard) He places supposedly innocent schoolboys in the protected environment of an uninhabited tropical island to illustrate the point that barbarity is not confined to certain people in particular environments but exists in everyone. William Golding shows that the smallest boys acting out, in innocence, is the same as the cruel desire for mastery shown by Jack and his tribe while hunting pigs. The adults waging the war that stranded the boys on the island in the first place are also enacting the desire to rule others. Many aspects of Lord of the Flies can symbolize the struggle for command. Our world is very fertile like the island, but in their ambition to get the supremacy the leaders destroy this world just like the boys who burn the whole island to ashes without realizing that they are destroying their own means of survival. The division of the boys in litluns and biguns is the allegory of the classes in our world. Litluns symbolize the common people, while the biguns are the metaphor of the ruling, powerful and political classes. The island on which the boys find themselves is allegorically our world in miniature. Lord of the Flies was driven by Goldings consideration of human evil, a complex topic that involves an examination not only of human nature but also the causes, effects, and manifestations of evil. Each character signifies an important idea or theme from our world, and the statement he makes about human nature is that mankind will turn savage for supremacy. Golding addresses these topics through the intricate allegory of his novel.

Flappers Essay example -- American History Essays

Flappers When one thinks of flappers, the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a woman dressed much like Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie, bobbed hair, fringed low-waisted dress, flat-chested and highly made up face. This, though a stereotype is close to the truth. In the 20’s after the first world war women’s roles in society began to change, primarily because they started becoming more independent – both in their dress and action. They started to defy what was considered to be appropriate feminine behavior and along with those actions came new fashions. The sleek, boyish look became popular and women began to wear lower waistlines, higher hemlines, sleeveless dresses that showed off their arms, long strands of pearls and rolled down pantyhose to show their knees. Women who had larger breasts even went so far as to bind them down to fit into the flat-chested ideal of beauty. The â€Å"in† look now was boyish, much in contrast to the feminine big skirted, shirtwaisted dresses of their mothers’ age. Women began to gain the independence and social liberties that men had always possessed, they wanted to physically display their newly gained freedoms. Short hair, first as a bob, later as a slicked down â€Å"shingle† that curled above the ears emphasized the new androgynous look women were trying to obtain. These â€Å"modern† women asserted their independence by going out dancing, moving to the city alone, drinking even during prohibition, flirting and having love affairs. After gaining so much independence in World War I when men were away across the ocean, many women resisted the idea that they should now return to the kitchen, the rise of the flapper came out of this new concept of feminism and... ...elf sufficient, sexy, and powerful were all so appealing to the women who had been oppressed for years in the past that society had to change entirely to accommodate them. Sources http://home.earthlink.net/~rbotti/ Flapper Station, information on flapper culture, ties to sites with pictures of vintage flapper clothing http://www.geocities.com/flapper_culture/ Flapper Culture, first person articles about the age, literary ties in the age and many details about the decade of decadence. http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm The Internet Guide to Jazz Age Slang, jazz dictionary for terms like â€Å"applesauce† and â€Å"petting party† Mowry, George Edwin, The Twenties: Fords, Flappers, and Fanatics, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1963 Melman, Billie, Women and the Popular Imagination in the Twenties: Flappers and Nymphs, Macmillan Press, 1988

A Game of Thrones Chapter Forty-seven

Eddard He was walking through the crypts beneath Winterfell, as he he had walked a thousand times before. The Kings of Winter watched him pass with eyes of ice, and the direwolves at their feet turned their great stone heads and snarled. Last of all, he came to the tomb where his father slept, with Brandon and Lyanna beside him. â€Å"Promise me, Ned,† Lyanna's statue whispered. She wore a garland of pale blue roses, and her eyes wept blood. Eddard Stark jerked upright, his heart racing, the blankets tangled around him. The room was black as pitch, and someone was hammering on the door. â€Å"Lord Eddard,† a voice called loudly. â€Å"A moment.† Groggy and naked, he stumbled his way across the darkened chamber. When he opened the door, he found Tomard with an upraised fist, and Cayn with a taper in hand. Between them stood the king's own steward. The man's face might have been carved of stone, so little did it show. â€Å"My lord Hand,† he intoned. â€Å"His Grace the King commands your presence. At once.† So Robert had returned from his hunt. It was long past time. â€Å"I shall need a few moments to dress.† Ned left the man waiting without. Cayn helped him with his clothes; white linen tunic and grey cloak, trousers cut open down his plaster-sheathed leg, his badge of office, and last of all a belt of heavy silver links. He sheathed the Valyrian dagger at his waist. The Red Keep was dark and still as Cayn and Tomard escorted him across the inner bailey. The moon hung low over the walls, ripening toward full. On the ramparts, a guardsman in a gold cloak walked his rounds. The royal apartments were in Maegor's Holdfast, a massive square fortress that nestled in the heart of the Red Keep behind walls twelve feet thick and a dry moat lined with iron spikes, a castle-within-a-castle. Ser Boros Blount guarded the far end of the bridge, white steel armor ghostly in the moonlight. Within, Ned passed two other knights of the Kingsguard; Ser Preston Greenfield stood at the bottom of the steps, and Ser Barristan Selmy waited at the door of the king's bedchamber. Three men in white cloaks, he thought, remembering, and a strange chill went through him. Ser Barristan's face was as pale as his armor. Ned had only to look at him to know that something was dreadfully wrong. The royal steward opened the door. â€Å"Lord Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King,† he announced. â€Å"Bring him here,† Robert's voice called, strangely thick. Fires blazed in the twin hearths at either end of the bedchamber, filling the room with a sullen red glare. The heat within was suffocating. Robert lay across the canopied bed. At the bedside hovered Grand Maester Pycelle, while Lord Renly paced restlessly before the shuttered windows. Servants moved back and forth, feeding logs to the fire and boiling wine. Cersei Lannister sat on the edge of the bed beside her husband. Her hair was tousled, as if from sleep, but there was nothing sleepy in her eyes. They followed Ned as Tomard and Cayn helped him cross the room. He seemed to move very slowly, as if he were still dreaming. The king still wore his boots. Ned could see dried mud and blades of grass clinging to the leather where Robert's feet stuck out beneath the blanket that covered him, A green doublet lay on the floor, slashed open and discarded, the cloth crusted with red-brown stains. The room smelled of smoke and blood and death. â€Å"Ned,† the king whispered when he saw him. His face was pale as milk. â€Å"Come . . . closer.† His men brought him close. Ned steadied himself with a hand on the bedpost. He had only to look down at Robert to know how bad it was. â€Å"What . . . ?† he began, his throat clenched. â€Å"A boar.† Lord Renly was still in his hunting greens, his cloak spattered with blood. â€Å"A devil,† the king husked. â€Å"My own fault. Too much wine, damn me to hell. Missed my thrust.† â€Å"And where were the rest of you?† Ned demanded of Lord Renly. â€Å"Where was Ser Barristan and the Kingsguard?† Renly's mouth twitched. â€Å"My brother commanded us to stand aside and let him take the boar alone.† Eddard Stark lifted the blanket. They had done what they could to close him up, but it was nowhere near enough. The boar must have been a fearsome thing. It had ripped the king from groin to nipple with its tusks. The wine-soaked bandages that Grand Maester Pycelle had applied were already black with blood, and the smell off the wound was hideous. Ned's stomach turned. He let the blanket fall. â€Å"Stinks,† Robert said. â€Å"The stink of death, don't think I can't smell it. Bastard did me good, eh? But I . . . I paid him back in kind, Ned.† The king's smile was as terrible as his wound, his teeth red. â€Å"Drove a knife right through his eye. Ask them if I didn't. Ask them.† â€Å"Truly,† Lord Renly murmured. â€Å"We brought the carcass back with us, at my brother's command.† â€Å"For the feast,† Robert whispered. â€Å"Now leave us. The lot of you. I need to speak with Ned.† â€Å"Robert, my sweet lord . . . † Cersei began. â€Å"I said leave,† Robert insisted with a hint of his old fierceness. â€Å"What part of that don't you understand, woman?† Cersei gathered up her skirts and her dignity and led the way to the door. Lord Renly and the others followed. Grand Maester Pycelle lingered, his hands shaking as he offered the king a cup of thick white liquid. â€Å"The milk of the poppy, Your Grace,† he said. â€Å"Drink. For your pain.† Robert knocked the cup away with the back of his hand. â€Å"Away with you. I'll sleep soon enough, old fool. Get out.† Grand Maester Pycelle gave Ned a stricken look as he shuffled from the room. â€Å"Damn you, Robert,† Ned said when they were alone. His leg was throbbing so badly he was almost blind with pain. Or perhaps it was grief that fogged his eyes. He lowered himself to the bed, beside his friend. â€Å"Why do you always have to be so headstrong?† â€Å"Ah, fuck you, Ned,† the king said hoarsely. â€Å"I killed the bastard, didn't I?† A lock of matted black hair fell across his eyes as he glared up at Ned. â€Å"Ought to do the same for you. Can't leave a man to hunt in peace. Ser Robar found me. Gregor's head. Ugly thought. Never told the Hound. Let Cersei surprise him.† His laugh turned into a grunt as a spasm of pain hit him. â€Å"Gods have mercy,† he muttered, swallowing his agony. â€Å"The girl. Daenerys. Only a child, you were right . . . that's why, the girl . . . the gods sent the boar . . . sent to punish me . . .† The king coughed, bringing up blood. â€Å"Wrong, it was wrong, I . . . only a girl . . . Varys, Littlefinger, even my brother . . . worthless . . . no one to tell me no but you, Ned . . . only you . . . † He lifted his hand, the gesture pained and feeble. â€Å"Paper and ink. There, on the table. Write what I tell you.† Ned smoothed the paper out across his knee and took up the quill. â€Å"At your command, Your Grace.† â€Å"This is the will and word of Robert of House Baratheon, the First of his Name, King of the Andals and all the rest—put in the damn titles, you know how it goes. I do hereby command Eddard of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Hand of the King, to serve as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm upon my . . . upon my death . . . to rule in my . . . in my stead, until my son Joffrey does come of age . . . â€Å" â€Å"Robert . . . † Joffrey is not your son, he wanted to say, but the words would not come. The agony was written too plainly across Robert's face; he could not hurt him more. So Ned bent his head and wrote, but where the king had said â€Å"my son Joffrey,† he scrawled â€Å"my heir† instead. The deceit made him feel soiled. The lies we tell for love, he thought. May the gods forgive me. â€Å"What else would you have me say?† â€Å"Say . . . whatever you need to. Protect and defend, gods old and new, you have the words. Write. I'll sign it. You give it to the council when I'm dead.† â€Å"Robert,† Ned said in a voice thick with grief, â€Å"you must not do this. Don't die on me. The realm needs you.† Robert took his hand, fingers squeezing hard. â€Å"You are . . . such a bad liar, Ned Stark,† he said through his pain. â€Å"The realm . . . the realm knows . . . what a wretched king I've been. Bad as Aerys, the gods spare me.† â€Å"No,† Ned told his dying friend, â€Å"not so bad as Aerys, Your Grace. Not near so bad as Aerys.† Robert managed a weak red smile. â€Å"At the least, they will say . . . this last thing . . . this I did right. You won't fail me. You'll rule now. You'll hate it, worse than I did . . . but you'll do well. Are you done with the scribbling?† â€Å"Yes, Your Grace.† Ned offered Robert the paper. The king scrawled his signature blindly, leaving a smear of blood across the letter. â€Å"The seal should be witnessed.† â€Å"Serve the boar at my funeral feast,† Robert rasped. â€Å"Apple in its mouth, skin seared crisp. Eat the bastard. Don't care if you choke on him. Promise me, Ned.† â€Å"I promise.† Promise me, Ned, Lyanna's voice echoed. â€Å"The girl,† the king said. â€Å"Daenerys. Let her live. If you can, if it . . . not too late . . . talk to them . . . Varys, Littlefinger . . . don't let them kill her. And help my son, Ned. Make him be . . . better than me.† He winced. â€Å"Gods have mercy.† â€Å"They will, my friend,† Ned said. â€Å"They will.† The king closed his eyes and seemed to relax. â€Å"Killed by a pig,† he muttered. â€Å"Ought to laugh, but it hurts too much.† Ned was not laughing. â€Å"Shall I call them back?† Robert gave a weak nod. â€Å"As you will. Gods, why is it so cold in here?† The servants rushed back in and hurried to feed the fires. The queen had gone; that was some small relief, at least. If she had any sense, Cersei would take her children and fly before the break of day, Ned thought. She had lingered too long already. King Robert did not seem to miss her. He bid his brother Renly and Grand Maester Pycelle to stand in witness as he pressed his seal into the hot yellow wax that Ned had dripped upon his letter. â€Å"Now give me something for the pain and let me die.† Hurriedly Grand Maester Pycelle mixed him another draught of the milk of the poppy. This time the king drank deeply. His black beard was beaded with thick white droplets when he threw the empty cup aside. â€Å"Will I dream?† Ned gave him his answer. â€Å"You will, my lord.† â€Å"Good,† he said, smiling. â€Å"I will give Lyanna your love, Ned. Take care of my children for me.† The words twisted in Ned's belly like a knife. For a moment he was at a loss. He could not bring himself to lie. Then he remembered the bastards: little Barra at her mother's breast, Mya in the Vale, Gendry at his forge, and all the others. â€Å"I shall . . . guard your children as if they were my own,† he said slowly. Robert nodded and closed his eyes. Ned watched his old friend sag softly into the pillows as the milk of the poppy washed the pain from his face. Sleep took him. Heavy chains jangled softly as Grand Maester Pycelle came up to Ned. â€Å"I will do all in my power, my lord, but the wound has mortified. It took them two days to get him back. By the time I saw him, it was too late. I can lessen His Grace's suffering, but only the gods can heal him now.† â€Å"How long?† Ned asked. â€Å"By rights, he should be dead already. I have never seen a man cling to life so fiercely.† â€Å"My brother was always strong,† Lord Renly said. â€Å"Not wise, perhaps, but strong.† In the sweltering heat of the bedchamber, his brow was slick with sweat. He might have been Robert's ghost as he stood there, young and dark and handsome. â€Å"He slew the boar. His entrails were sliding from his belly, yet somehow he slew the boar.† His voice was full of wonder. â€Å"Robert was never a man to leave the battleground so long as a foe remained standing,† Ned told him. Outside the door, Ser Barristan Selmy still guarded the tower stairs. â€Å"Maester Pycelle has given Robert the milk of the poppy,† Ned told him. â€Å"See that no one disturbs his rest without leave from me.† â€Å"It shall be as you command, my lord.† Ser Barristan seemed old beyond his years. â€Å"I have failed my sacred trust.† â€Å"Even the truest knight cannot protect a king against himself,† Ned said. â€Å"Robert loved to hunt boar. I have seen him take a thousand of them.† He would stand his ground without flinching, his legs braced, the great spear in his hands, and as often as not he would curse the boar as it charged, and wait until the last possible second, until it was almost on him, before he killed it with a single sure and savage thrust. â€Å"No one could know this one would be his death.† â€Å"You are kind to say so, Lord Eddard.† â€Å"The king himself said as much. He blamed the wine.† The white-haired knight gave a weary nod. â€Å"His Grace was reeling in his saddle by the time we flushed the boar from his lair, yet he commanded us all to stand aside.† â€Å"I wonder, Ser Barristan,† asked Varys, so quietly, â€Å"who gave the king this wine?† Ned had not heard the eunuch approach, but when he looked around, there he stood. He wore a black velvet robe that brushed the floor, and his face was freshly powdered. â€Å"The wine was from the king's own skin,† Ser Barristan said. â€Å"Only one skin? Hunting is such thirsty work.† â€Å"I did not keep count. More than one, for a certainty. His squire would fetch him a fresh skin whenever he required it.† â€Å"Such a dutiful boy,† said Varys, â€Å"to make certain His Grace did not lack for refreshment.† Ned had a bitter taste in his mouth. He recalled the two fair-haired boys Robert had sent chasing after a breastplate stretcher. The king had told everyone the tale that night at the feast, laughing until he shook. â€Å"Which squire?† â€Å"The elder,† said Ser Barristan. â€Å"Lancel.† â€Å"I know the lad well,† said Varys. â€Å"A stalwart boy, Ser Kevan Lannister's son, nephew to Lord Tywin and cousin to the queen. I hope the dear sweet lad does not blame himself. Children are so vulnerable in the innocence of their youth, how well do I remember.† Certainly Varys had once been young. Ned doubted that he had ever been innocent. â€Å"You mention children. Robert had a change of heart concerning Daenerys Targaryen. Whatever arrangements you made, I want unmade. At once.† â€Å"Alas,† said Varys. â€Å"At once may be too late. I fear those birds have flown. But I shall do what I can, my lord. With your leave.† He bowed and vanished down the steps, his soft-soled slippers whispering against the stone as he made his descent. Cayn and Tomard were helping Ned across the bridge when Lord Renly emerged from Maegor's Holdfast. â€Å"Lord Eddard,† he called after Ned, â€Å"a moment, if you would be so kind.† Ned stopped. â€Å"As you wish.† Renly walked to his side. â€Å"Send your men away.† They met in the center of the bridge, the dry moat beneath them. Moonlight silvered the cruel edges of the spikes that lined its bed. Ned gestured. Tomard and Cayn bowed their heads and backed away respectfully. Lord Renly glanced warily at Ser Boros on the far end of the span, at Ser Preston in the doorway behind them. â€Å"That letter.† He leaned close. â€Å"Was it the regency? Has my brother named you Protector?† He did not wait for a reply. â€Å"My lord, I have thirty men in my personal guard, and other friends beside, knights and lords. Give me an hour, and I can put a hundred swords in your hand.† â€Å"And what should I do with a hundred swords, my lord?† â€Å"Strike! Now, while the castle sleeps.† Renly looked back at Ser Boros again and dropped his voice to an urgent whisper. â€Å"We must get Joffrey away from his mother and take him in hand. Protector or no, the man who holds the king holds the kingdom. We should seize Myrcella and Tommen as well. Once we have her children, Cersei will not dare oppose us. The council will confirm you as Lord Protector and make Joffrey your ward.† Ned regarded him coldly. â€Å"Robert is not dead yet. The gods may spare him. If not, I shall convene the council to hear his final words and consider the matter of the succession, but I will not dishonor his last hours on earth by shedding blood in his halls and dragging frightened children from their beds.† Lord Renly took a step back, taut as a bowstring. â€Å"Every moment you delay gives Cersei another moment to prepare. By the time Robert dies, it may be too late . . . for both of us.† â€Å"Then we should pray that Robert does not die.† â€Å"Small chance of that,† said Renly. â€Å"Sometimes the gods are merciful.† â€Å"The Lannisters are not.† Lord Renly turned away and went back across the moat, to the tower where his brother lay dying. By the time Ned returned to his chambers, he felt weary and heartsick, yet there was no question of his going back to sleep, not now. When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die, Cersei Lannister had told him in the godswood. He found himself wondering if he had done the right thing by refusing Lord Renly's offer. He had no taste for these intrigues, and there was no honor in threatening children, and yet . . . if Cersei elected to fight rather than flee, he might well have need of Renly's hundred swords, and more besides. â€Å"I want Littlefinger,† he told Cayn. â€Å"If he's not in his chambers, take as many men as you need and search every winesink and whorehouse in King's Landing until you find him. Bring him to me before break of day.† Cayn bowed and took his leave, and Ned turned to Tomard. â€Å"The Wind Witch sails on the evening tide. Have you chosen the escort?† â€Å"Ten men, with Porther in command.† â€Å"Twenty, and you will command,† Ned said. Porther was a brave man, but headstrong. He wanted someone more solid and sensible to keep watch over his daughters. â€Å"As you wish, m'lord,† Tom said. â€Å"Can't say I'll be sad to see the back of this place. I miss the wife.† â€Å"You will pass near Dragonstone when you turn north. I need you to deliver a letter for me.† Tom looked apprehensive. â€Å"To Dragonstone, m'lord?† The island fortress of House Targaryen had a sinister repute. â€Å"Tell Captain Qos to hoist my banner as soon as he comes in sight of the island. They may be wary of unexpected visitors. If he is reluctant, offer him whatever it takes. I will give you a letter to place into the hand of Lord Stannis Baratheon. No one else. Not his steward, nor the captain of his guard, nor his lady wife, but only Lord Stannis himself.† â€Å"As you command, m'lord.† When Tomard had left him, Lord Eddard Stark sat staring at the flame of the candle that burned beside him on the table. For a moment his grief overwhelmed him. He wanted nothing so much as to seek out the godswood, to kneel before the heart tree and pray for the life of Robert Baratheon, who had been more than a brother to him. Men would whisper afterward that Eddard Stark had betrayed his king's friendship and disinherited his sons; he could only hope that the gods would know better, and that Robert would learn the truth of it in the land beyond the grave. Ned took out the king's last letter. A roll of crisp white parchment sealed with golden wax, a few short words and a smear of blood. How small the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death. He drew out a fresh sheet of paper and dipped his quill in the inkpot. To His Grace, Stannis of the House Baratheon, he wrote. By the time you receive this letter, your brother Robert, our King these past fifteen years, will be dead. He was savaged by a boar whilst hunting in the kingswood . . . The letters seemed to writhe and twist on the paper as his hand trailed to a stop. Lord Tywin and Ser Jaime were not men to suffer disgrace meekly; they would fight rather than flee. No doubt Lord Stannis was wary, after the murder of Jon Arryn, but it was imperative that he sail for King's Landing at once with all his power, before the Lannisters could march. Ned chose each word with care. When he was done, he signed the letter Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Hand of the King, and Protector of the Realm, blotted the paper, folded it twice, and melted the sealing wax over the candle flame. His regency would be a short one, he reflected as the wax softened. The new king would choose his own Hand. Ned would be free to go home. The thought of Winterfell brought a wan smile to his face. He wanted to hear Bran's laughter once more, to go hawking with Robb, to watch Rickon at play. He wanted to drift off to a dreamless sleep in his own bed with his arms wrapped tight around his lady, Catelyn. Cayn returned as he was pressing the direwolf seal down into the soft white wax. Desmond was with him, and between them Littlefinger. Ned thanked his guards and sent them away. Lord Petyr was clad in a blue velvet tunic with puffed sleeves, his silvery cape patterned with mockingbirds. â€Å"I suppose congratulations are in order,† he said as he seated himself. Ned scowled. â€Å"The king lies wounded and near to death.† â€Å"I know,† Littlefinger said. â€Å"I also know that Robert has named you Protector of the Realm.† Ned's eyes flicked to the king's letter on the table beside him, its seal unbroken. â€Å"And how is it you know that, my lord?† â€Å"Varys hinted as much,† Littlefinger said, â€Å"and you have just confirmed it.† Ned's mouth twisted in anger. â€Å"Damn Varys and his little birds. Catelyn spoke truly, the man has some black art. I do not trust him.† â€Å"Excellent. You're learning.† Littlefinger leaned forward. â€Å"Yet I'll wager you did not drag me here in the black of night to discuss the eunuch.† â€Å"No,† Ned admitted. â€Å"I know the secret Jon Arryn was murdered to protect. Robert will leave no trueborn son behind him. Joffrey and Tommen are Jaime Lannister's bastards, born of his incestuous union with the queen.† Littlefinger lifted an eyebrow. â€Å"Shocking,† he said in a tone that suggested he was not shocked at all. â€Å"The girl as well? No doubt. So when the king dies . . . â€Å" â€Å"The throne by rights passes to Lord Stannis, the elder of Robert's two brothers.† Lord Petyr stroked his pointed beard as he considered the matter. â€Å"So it would seem. Unless . . . â€Å" â€Å"Unless, my lord? There is no seeming to this. Stannis is the heir. Nothing can change that.† â€Å"Stannis cannot take the throne without your help. If you're wise, you'll make certain Joffrey succeeds.† Ned gave him a stony stare. â€Å"Have you no shred of honor?† â€Å"Oh, a shred, surely,† Littlefinger replied negligently. â€Å"Hear me out. Stannis is no friend of yours, nor of mine. Even his brothers can scarcely stomach him. The man is iron, hard and unyielding. He'll give us a new Hand and a new council, for a certainty. No doubt he'll thank you for handing him the crown, but he won't love you for it. And his ascent will mean war. Stannis cannot rest easy on the throne until Cersei and her bastards are dead. Do you think Lord Tywin will sit idly while his daughter's head is measured for a spike? Casterly Rock will rise, and not alone. Robert found it in him to pardon men who served King Aerys, so long as they did him fealty. Stannis is less forgiving. He will not have forgotten the siege of Storm's End, and the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dare not. Every man who fought beneath the dragon banner or rose with Balon Greyjoy will have good cause to fear. Seat Stannis on the Iron Throne and I promise you, the realm will bleed. â€Å"Now look at the other side of the coin. Joffrey is but twelve, and Robert gave you the regency, my lord. You are the Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm. The power is yours, Lord Stark. All you need do is reach out and take it. Make your peace with the Lannisters. Release the Imp. Wed Joffrey to your Sansa. Wed your younger girl to Prince Tommen, and your heir to Myrcella. It will be four years before Joffrey comes of age. By then he will look to you as a second father, and if not, well . . . four years is a good long while, my lord. Long enough to dispose of Lord Stannis. Then, should Joffrey prove troublesome, we can reveal his little secret and put Lord Renly on the throne.† â€Å"We?† Ned repeated. Littlefinger gave a shrug. â€Å"You'll need someone to share your burdens. I assure you, my price would be modest.† â€Å"Your price.† Ned's voice was ice. â€Å"Lord Baelish, what you suggest is treason.† â€Å"Only if we lose.† â€Å"You forget,† Ned told him. â€Å"You forget Jon Arryn. You forget Jory Cassel. And you forget this.† He drew the dagger and laid it on the table between them; a length of dragonbone and Valyrian steel, as sharp as the difference between right and wrong, between true and false, between life and death. â€Å"They sent a man to cut my son's throat, Lord Baelish.† Littlefinger sighed. â€Å"I fear I did forget, my lord. Pray forgive me. For a moment I did not remember that I was talking to a Stark.† His mouth quirked. â€Å"So it will be Stannis, and war?† â€Å"It is not a choice. Stannis is the heir.† â€Å"Far be it from me to dispute the Lord Protector. What would you have of me, then? Not my wisdom, for a certainty.† â€Å"I shall do my best to forget your . . . wisdom,† Ned said with distaste. â€Å"I called you here to ask for the help you promised Catelyn. This is a perilous hour for all of us. Robert has named me Protector, true enough, but in the eyes of the world, Joffrey is still his son and heir. The queen has a dozen knights and a hundred men-at-arms who will do whatever she commands . . . enough to overwhelm what remains of my own household guard. And for all I know, her brother Jaime may be riding for King's Landing even as we speak, with a Lannister host at his back.† â€Å"And you without an army.† Littlefinger toyed with the dagger on the table, turning it slowly with a finger. â€Å"There is small love lost between Lord Renly and the Lannisters. Bronze Yohn Royce, Ser Balon Swann, Ser Loras, Lady Tanda, the Redwyne twins . . . each of them has a retinue of knights and sworn swords here at court.† â€Å"Renly has thirty men in his personal guard, the rest even fewer. It is not enough, even if I could be certain that all of them will choose to give me their allegiance. I must have the gold cloaks. The City Watch is two thousand strong, sworn to defend the castle, the city, and the king's peace.† â€Å"Ah, but when the queen proclaims one king and the Hand another, whose peace do they protect?† Lord Petyr flicked at the dagger with his finger, setting it spinning in place. Round and round it went, wobbling as it turned. When at last it slowed to a stop, the blade pointed at Littlefinger. â€Å"Why, there's your answer,† he said, smiling. â€Å"They follow the man who pays them.† He leaned back and looked Ned full in the face, his grey-green eyes bright with mockery. â€Å"You wear your honor like a suit of armor, Stark. You think it keeps you safe, but all it does is weigh you down and make it hard for you to move. Look at you now. You know why you summoned me here. You know what you want to ask me to do. You know it has to be done . . . but it's not honorable, so the words stick in your throat.† Ned's neck was rigid with tension. For a moment he was so angry that he did not trust himself to speak. Littlefinger laughed. â€Å"I ought to make you say it, but that would be cruel . . . so have no fear, my good lord. For the sake of the love I bear for Catelyn, I will go to Janos Slynt this very hour and make certain that the City Watch is yours. Six thousand gold pieces should do it. A third for the Commander, a third for the officers, a third for the men. We might be able to buy them for half that much, but I prefer not to take chances.† Smiling, he plucked up the dagger and offered it to Ned, hilt first.

Gender Discrimination Against Women in the Workplace Essay

Traditionally, women have been considered to be the weaker sex and subordinate to men. Moreover, their roles have been assigned to domestic and childrearing duties. The job market is male dominated, and women are often considered to be out of place therein. Women face considerable sexual discrimination in the world of work, significantly limiting their employment prospects and subsequent advancement in their careers. Women generally find it more difficult than men to acquire a fulltime job. What is more, when they can successfully find work, they often struggle to extend their reaches and advance to higher positions. The jobs women are granted are very often those with low status and correspondingly lower income. As Harolambos (Sociology: Themes and Perspectives) says, â€Å"Women face a number of disadvantages in paid work. Firstly, they tend to be lower paid than men. Secondly, they are more-likely to be in part-time work. Thirdly, they tend to concentrated in the lower reaches of the occupations in which they work. Fourthly, women tend to do particular types of jobs, usually those with low status.† In aquiring a job, it must be remembered that more often than not, the employer is male. Men are the ones in the job market with power and authority, and thus make the majority of the decisions – including who gets hired. As Peter Worsley (The New Introducing Sociology) puts it, â€Å"Within the gendered workplace, it is invariably men who are overwhelmingly in positions of power and authority. It is men who, by-and-large, make decisions.† When prospective female employees are being considered for employment, several biases tend to come into play in the minds of the employers. Firstly, male applicants for the job are often given more preference because it is assumed that they have a wife and family to support. In the view of many employers, the role of women as breadwinners is a subordinate one to that of their husband (if she is married). Added to this fact, women lead more complex social lives than that of men. They often must balance their roles as financial providers and child caregivers. Employers often ask personal questions to female applicants. They aim to obtain background information. This may include her marital status, whether she has any children and their ages, or if she is a single mother. Then they interpret these pieces of information in several, prejudiced lights. For example, if she is married, they assume that her husband is the primary breadwinner and her role will be subordinate. This puts the female applicant at a disadvantage when compared to a male applicant with a â€Å"wife and family to support.† Or they may assume that a single parent mother with a young child may need too much personal time to fulfil her parental roles at the loss to the employer (manifesting as a loss in â€Å"man-hours†). Women – both single and married – may even be asked if they intend to have children at a job interview, perhaps informally. And if they say â€Å"yes†, thoughts of maternity leave, subsidized childcare and their costs immediately spring in the minds of the employer. A woman who leaves her job on maternity leave often runs the risk of not having a job to return to. â€Å"Britain for example, has the lowest rate of maternity leave in the European Union. Sixty percent of women in the United States have no adequate access to such leave.† (David Bender and Bruno Leone, 1989) In Trinidad and Tobago, women had virtually no protection from such discrimination until 2001, when the Maternity Leave Act was passed – guaranteeing that their job would still be available on their return. Many mothers are at pains to find fulltime work. Their parental demands make it difficult to pursue a fulltime career. Employers often make no provisions for them, as well as women returning from maternity leave, in the way of workplace creche and nursery services. Their part-time status means that they earn significantly less. Ironically, they earn less just at the time when they need more funds to support adequate childcare. The jobs women are usually able to get tend to be of low status, and low paying. â€Å"Society has made it such that even if a woman wanted to go against the norms and get a job in the work force she would not get very far. About 75 percent of the jobs in the well paying professions are held by men and even if women are able to get equal jobs as men they still get paid considerably less.† (David Bender and Bruno Leone, 1989) In the professional world, women seem to be trapped in the clerical field, with very few ever reaching managerial positions, even and despite of their having adequate qualifications. In 1950, women composed 30 percent of the workforce. Over 50 years later, this number has increased to 47 percent. Yet, today, women who work full-time, year-round earn 76 cents for every dollar men earn. This is in part due to the limited career options of women compared to that of men, in addition to the usual disparity in pay. Many jobs are so designed, that their â€Å"qualifications† are deterrents to female applicants and favour males. For example, to be a firefighter, you have to pass a strength test – and even if a woman passes, she may still be denied access if she is not of the required height and weight. Thus, such jobs tend to be male oriented. Increasingly however, women are being granted them as old attitudes and norms change. But this has lead to yet another ill – workplace violence against women is on the increase in such careers. It seems that in traditionally male dominated fields, such as the armed forces and the utilities, women earn less only to suffer more. In 2001, 14,170 lost-time injuries or illnesses resulting from assaults and violent acts on women in the American workplace were reported, whereas men suffered from 9,464. Although women compose 47 percent of the workforce, they suffer 60 percent of these attacks. About 36,500 rapes occur in the workplace annually, approximately 80 percent of which occur against women. In 2001, female fatalities in the American workplace as a result of assaults and violent acts numbered 30.8 percent. Men however, had only a 13.9 percent workplace fatality rate due to assaults and violent acts. Without doubt, women are the ones who suffer more from workplace violence. Unquestionably, women experience discrimination in the world of work. Although the prospects for improving the current state of affairs may seem bleak, there is hope. As increasing numbers of workingwomen and their supporters lobby for change, those in authority have started listening. The gender disparity in pay is decreasing and women now have a greater range of career opportunities. Progress has been slow. But considering it requires the changing of norms established from the dawn of society, the advancement has been significant. While gender discrimination may exist for quite some time to come, it can be expected to decrease as time goes on.

The Naked Sun essays

The Naked Sun essays In the novel The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov, the main character in the novel is a New York police officer, Elijah Baley, who is sent to another planet called Solaria to solve a murder mystery. He is a young police officer who choosen by government of Solaria because of his earlier experiences in solving problems involving Solarians who are called Spacers in the novel. He is assigned to work with a robot with human look that used to work with him in his last case involving Spacers. This robot has human identity and other robots in Solaria know him as a human. He is assinged to spy on Baley for other planets that dont have good relation with Solarians. Elijah is the first person who is traveling to one of the outer planets and is responsible to bring information for his government and act as a spy. Bring us information. The big flaw in sociological forecast is our lack of data concerning the Spacers. (Page 27). During his investigation, he finds out that the human race is in danger and the victon was killed because he had some information about it. It is not easy to aks an earthman to help, but I must do so. Remember, the human race is in danger. Earth too.(Page 104). He tries to do his job as an earthman and not like a Spacer. He is not scared of what they might do to him in their planet and he doesnt care about that because he knows that human race is in danger. No! listen to me. Id advise you to. Youre a bigtime Spacer and Im an earthman, but with all respect, with deepest and most humble apologies, you are scared.(Page 172). He also tries to work without respecting the culture and the way of living in Solaria and in his investigations, he work the same way he used to work on earth, by meeting people, which is not a normal for them. From now on, th ...

About Vikings History, Locations, and Characteristics

About Vikings History, Locations, and Characteristics The Vikings were a Scandinavian people highly active in Europe between the ninth and eleventh centuries as raiders, traders, and settlers. A mixture of population pressure and the ease with which they could raid/settle is commonly cited as the reasons why they left their homeland, the regions we now call Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. They settled in Britain, Ireland (they founded Dublin), Iceland, France, Russia, Greenland and even Canada, while their raids took them to the Baltic, Spain, and the Mediterranean. The Vikings in England The first Viking raid on England is recorded as being at Lindisfarne in 793 CE. They began to settle in 865, capturing East Anglia, Northumbria, and related lands before fighting with the kings of Wessex. Their regions of control fluctuated greatly over the next century until England was ruled by Canute the Great who invaded in 1015; he is generally considered one of Englands wisest and most able kings. However, the ruling House which preceded Canute was restored in 1042 under Edward the Confessor and the Viking age in England is considered to have finished with the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Vikings in America The Vikings settled the south and west of Greenland, supposedly in the years following 982 when Eric the Red – who had been outlawed from Iceland for three years – explored the region. The remains of over 400 farms have been found, but the climate of Greenland eventually became too cold for them and the settlement finished. Source material has long mentioned a settlement in Vinland, and recent archaeological discoveries of a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland, at LAnse aux Meadows, have recently born this out, although the topic is still controversial. The Vikings in the East As well as raiding in the Baltic, by the tenth century Vikings settled in Novgorod, Kiev, and other areas, merging with the local Slavic population to become the Rus, the Russians. It was through this eastern expansion that the Vikings had contact with the Byzantine Empire – fighting as mercenaries in Constantinople and forming the Emperors Varangian Guard – and even Baghdad. True and False The most famous Viking characteristics to modern readers are the longship and the horned helmet. Well, there were longships, the Drakkars which were used for war and exploration. They used another craft, the Knarr, for trading. However, there were no horned helmets, that characteristic is entirely false. Famous Vikings King Canute the GreatEric the Red, settler of Greenland.Leif Ericsson, settler of VinlandSweyn Forkbeard, King of England and Denmark.Brodir, active in Ireland.

Why liberal gun laws are bad and how they affect the community Research Paper

Why liberal gun laws are bad and how they affect the community - Research Paper Example The subject of gun control is contentious and the debate surrounding it often emotional usually centering on conflicting interpretations of the Constitution. Most people agree that the Second Amendment allows citizens to own guns for protection and hunting. Both common sense, as the title indicates, the law of the land and statistics demonstrate, stricter guns laws make us less not more safe. The idea of gun control in the State of Texas is absurd for all reasons already mentioned in addition to the independent nature of the culture in Texas. Much the same as in other states, guns are a tradition passed from father to son, a way of life. Even if some types of guns were outlawed, the logistical problem and practicality of collecting them would also be absurd. According to the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, â€Å"A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed† (â€Å"Th e Constitution†, 2006). This, as were the entire Bill of rights, was added by the founders of the country so as to provide a clearer definition of the specific rights granted to all Americans. Gun control supporters consider the Second Amendment to be â€Å"obsolete; or is intended solely to guard against suppression of state militias by the central government and therefore restricted in scope by that intent; or does not guarantee a right that is absolute, but one that can be limited by reasonable requirements† (Krouse, 2002). However, they only question the need for people to own firearms that are not primarily designed for sporting purposes such as hunting. Clearly, the right to own guns was of utmost importance to the Founding fathers given that it was listed second, after the freedom of speech and religion was acknowledged in the First Amendment. The Founders recognized that by ensuring the right to own arms, the public would have the ability to defend themselves fr om that which may jeopardize their life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. This could include physical protection from animals and persons and or from an tyrannical government that endangered the freedoms outlined in the Constitution. â€Å"The Second Amendment reflects the founders’ belief that an armed citizenry, called the ‘general militia’ was a necessary precaution against tyranny by our own government and its army. The idea that government has a constitutional right to disarm the general citizenry is totally foreign to the intent of the Constitution’s framers† (Reynolds & Caruth III, 1992). The State of Texas is known, somewhat deservedly, as having an open policy regarding firearms. Texans are permitted to carry concealed handguns after completing licensing requirements. George W. Bush, then Governor, signed a law which expressly permits guns to be carried in Church. Texans will, for the far foreseeable future, have their guns and be able to c arry them on their person. Statistics bear-out what Texans have seemingly always known. â€Å"States which have passed concealed-carry laws have seen their murder rate fall by 8.5 percent, rapes by 5 percent, aggravated assaults by 7 percent and robbery by 3 percent. In the early 1990s, Texas’s serious crime rate was 38 percent above the national average. Since then, serious crime in Texas has dropped 50 percent faster than for the nation as a whole. All this happened after passage of a concealed-carry law in 1994.† LaRosa (2002) It has been said that Americans no longer need firearms the way they did 250 years ago. No unfriendly Indians and maybe a slight threat from wild animals; the government is secure and elected by a democratic procedure. In addition the people of the country have the most dominant armed forces