The role of the law in guaranteeing equality and justice for all Essay

The role of the law in guaranteeing equality and justice for all extends far beyond the narrow scope of the Equality Act 2010.Discuss with reference to the following area.Hate crime - Essay Example Laws are universal and apply to people of different spheres of lives, across gender, races, etc. The law of equality and justice influence individuals’ ability to amass endowments and enjoy proceeds from such endowments, right to access resources, and enjoy liberty as free agents in the social order. In UK, the law recognizes that equality may occur in many ways.2 The equality principle might impose duties that might be focused on eliminating stigma, redistribution, and accommodation. These duties may include â€Å"formal equality, equality of outcome and equality of opportunity.3† The equality of process involves ensuring uniform treatment for all persons in any given situation. Equality of worth is about giving each the same respect. Equality of outcome entails focusing on similar wealth and educational achievement.4 Finally, equality of opportunity ensures that persons should not be limited from achieving their goals by the circumstances beyond their control. The observation is that in an ideal situation the outcomes are dependent on available opportunities and opportunities for the outcome.5 For example, if a person is from poor a family they are unlikely to realize educational potentials, and because of lower educational achievement the potential for earning better salaries or wages is low.6 Therefore, laws on equality and justice aim at minimizing the gaps between those who are well of and those likely to suffer the worst. The rules of equality and justice are broader than the requirements of Equality Act 2010. Hate crime is a violent crime inspired by biases as a result of group affiliation of the victim.7 These crimes vary in magnitude and may include damages to property, physical assaults, harassment, insults, bullying, offensive graffiti, verbal abuse, etc. The hate crime laws aim at preventing crimes based on bias and protecting the innocent persons from any harm cause by the perpetrators of the crime. Hate crime is harmful

Colin Powell Address the Nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Colin Powell Address the Nation - Essay Example He had often fought with the hawks in the administration, who were allegedly planning an Iraq invasion even before the September 11 attacks-an insight supported by evidence by former terrorism czar Richard Clarke in front of the 9/11 Commission. The main concession Powell wanted before he would offer his full support for the Iraq War was the participation of the international community in the attack, unlike the one-sided approach some of the hawks were championing. He was also thriving in convincing Bush to take the case of Iraq to the United Nations, and in moderating other initiatives. Powell was placed at the vanguard of this diplomatic campaign. Powell's main role was to gather international support for a multi-national alliance to increase the invasion. To this end, Powell addressed a plenary session of the United Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003 to bicker in favor of military action. Quoting "numerous" nameless Iraqi defectors, Powell declared that "We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more." (Cockburn, online) Powell also remarked that there was "no doubt in my mind" that Saddam was working to acquire key components to produce nuclear wea pons. There was a general rejection of the proof Powell offered that the regime of Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Attitude of Young People of India Towards Luxury Brands Essay Example for Free

Attitude of Young People of India Towards Luxury Brands Essay Introduction: A couple of generations ago, a typical purchase decision for the average Indian would be choosing between, say, clothes and electronic goods whenever they had a little cash to spare. Today, the customers’ dilemma involves making up their mind between Prada and Gucci, Merc and Lamborghini. Marie Antoinette would say, â€Å"If they can’t have bread, give them brands instead! † In a relatively short time span of 20 years, India has moved from pavement markets to swanky malls, from frugal minded consumer to who want it all and from a population largely obessed with celebrity gossip to one which yearns to gain knowledge. India is taking wing. It is not simple because India is set to become the fastest growing major economy in the world. The combination of a large young working population, rising income levels, overwhelming consumer optimism and increasingly urbanized lifestyle is driving consumption growth in India. The market potential of world’s second largest population has not gone unnoticed. International Luxury brands have India on the radar. As developed market continue to battle economic turmoil. India offers luxury brand owners unrivalled growth opportunities. The Indian luxury market is projected to reach USD 14. 72 billion in 2015(CII and A. T. Kearny, 2011). It may represents only 1-2 percent of the global luxury market, but its market growth rate of more than 20 percent per annum, promise positive returns for luxury players. A flow of international brands from Giorgio Armani to Ferrari to Sofitel Hotel have entered the Indian market to claim a share of the luxury rupee. Many others are waiting, watching and preparing. This is not just about today’s market but a key strategic market of the future. Problem Definition: * Young consumer attitudes are essential for the marketers to plan their strategy in reaching the target consumers. So in our study we have focused to segment young consumers according to attitude variables. Objectives: * The aim of the study is to segment young consumers based on their three important beliefs parameters (confidence, trust, optimism) as we know beliefs is an important attitudes of consumer Literature review: 1. THE ROLE OF CONFIDENCE IN UNDERSTANDING AND PREDICTING BUYERS ATTITUDES AND PURCHASE INTENTIONS * Peter D. Bennett and Gilbert D. Harrell * Journal of Consumer Research * Vol. 2, No. 2 (Sep. , 1975), pp. 110-117 * Published by: The University of Chicago Press * Article Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/2488752 This research examines the role of buyers confidence in the formation of attitudes and purchase intention. It supports current buyer behavior theory which postulates a positive relationship between overall confidence in a brand and intention to purchase the brand. It also examine buyers confidence in their own ability to judge attributes of brands. 2. NEED FOR UNIQUENESS AND CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOUR FOR LUXURY BRANDS AMONGST INDIAN YOUTH * Authors: Meenakshi Handa, Arpita Khare * JournalInternational Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management * Publisher : Inderscience Publishers * ISSN:1753-0806 (Print),1753-0814 (Online) * IssueVolume 3, Number 5/2010 * Pages489-502 The purpose of this research was to examine the Indian youths need for uniqueness (NFU) and their attitudes towards luxury brand as an expression of individuality. A primary research was conducted amongst Indian University students to ascertain their NFU and perception of luxury brands. It was apparent that while the NFU is not very high amongst the Indian youth, luxury brands do symbolize status and individuality to them and serve a value-expressive function. As the Indian social system is witnessing a transition from traditional family driven values to more of western and individual-centric values, NFU and expression of self-identity amongst Indian youth may also become more marked. While marketing global luxury brands in India, advertising may be focused towards conveying a new identity to the consumers yet maintaining a balance with traditional norms and value systems. 3. LUXURY’S NEW DESTINATION – CHANGING PARADIGMS OF THE INDIAN CONSUMERS – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY * DR. BUSHAN D. SUDHAKAR*; ARUN KUMAR. PARISE * International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies * Vol. 2 Issue 1, January 2012, ISSN 2249 8834 * Online available at http://zenithresearch. org. in/ In this study the researcher investigate, Indian consumer migration towards Luxury brands form value middle tier brands. The findings suggest that there is significant difference with the gender difference, social status, price, quality to purchase a luxury good. There is a higher association between the annual household income and Purchase of luxury goods It clearly says that affordability, quality, availability, celebrity, self-satisfaction, image and social status are the key drivers to the migration of consumers to Luxury brands from value middle tier branded goods. It confirms the view that brand perception and purchase value is, apart from socially oriented motives of buying to impress others also affected by financial, functional, and individual aspects. It would seem that the dimensions presented in this paper are appropriate variables for segmenting the market for branded items. 4. ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE CONCEPT OF LUXURY: AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS * Bernard Dubois, Groupe H. E. C Gilles Laurent, Groupe H. E. C. * Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 1, 1994 * Pages 273-278 In this paper is the author did an exploratory analysis of the perceptions and attitudes attached to the word (and underlying concept of) luxury. It is hoped that the results presented below will stimulate further research in the area and eventually contribute to the development of a theory of luxury acquisition and consumption behavior. Research Gap: The literature available on topics such as Need for uniqueness and consumption behavior for luxury brands amongst Indian youth, luxury’s new destination – changing paradigms of the Indian consumers – an empirical study, There is no study on attitude (belief like confidence, trust and optimism) of Young people of India towards Luxury brands, which will help in marketers to plan their strategy in reaching these new and promising target consumers. It is essential for the marketer to understand how consumers think and value a product. There has been a vast increase in the luxury market and attempts are being made to attract the youth through different marketing strategies. This research will identify the different belief parameter which is an important attitude of young people of India which influence them towards luxury brands and provide information for better understanding of young customer. Research Design:. Sample Design: Sample size: is hundred (100). Sample techniques: it is judgmental sampling these samples/ respondents will be selected from both NIFT students and young working professional’s i.e. young people’s working in companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro. Observational Design: This research based on primary secondary data. The primary data are collected through structured questionnaire. Primary data generally means those raw data which are handled first handedly and haven’t any previous meaningful interpretation. Secondary data collected from different journals, book and internet on topic of people’s attitudes and luxury brands. Statistical design: we are going to segment young consumers based on their three important beliefs parameters (confidence, trust, optimism) as we know consumer belief is an important factor of consumer attitude. Our proposed segmentation tool is Cluster analysis. We will be using Hierarchical cluster with between groups linkage as the clustering method based on squared Euclidian distance. Wards Hierarchical Clustering Method: Ward considered hierarchical clustering procedures basedon minimizing the loss of information from joining two groups. This method is usually implemented with loss of information taken to be an increase in an error sum of squares criterion. ESS. First, for a given cluster k, let ESSk be the sum of the squared deviations of very item in the cluster from the cluster mean (centroid). If there are currently K clusters, define ESS as the sum of the ESSk or ESS = ESS1 + ESS2 + + ESS K At each step in the analysis, the union of every possible pair of clusters is considered, and the two clusters whose combination results in the smallest increase in ESS (minimum loss of information) are joined. Initially, each cluster consists of a single item, and, if there are N items, ESSk = 0, k = 1,2, , N, so ESS = O. At the other extreme, when all the clusters are combined in a single group of N items, the value of ESS is given by N ESS =j=1nxj-x(xj-x) where Xj is the multivariate measurement associated with the jth item and i is the mean of all the items. The results of Wards method can be displayed as a dendrogram. The vertical axis gives the values of ESS at which the mergers occur. Wards method is based on the notion that the clusters of multivariate observations are expected to be roughly elliptically shaped. It is a hierarchical precursor to nonhierarchical clustering methods that optimize some criterion for dividing data into a given number of elliptical groups. We discuss nonhierarchical clustering procedures in the next section Proposed Questionnaire: 1=strongly agree 2=agree 3=neither agree or disagree 4=disagree 5=completely disagree Please do tick which option you feel most†¦ Statement no 1: 3. 3. 2. 2. 5. 5. 4. 4. 1. 1. â€Å"I buy luxury products because good quality of product† Statement no 2: 3. 3. 2. 2. 5. 5. 4. 4. 1. 1. â€Å"Luxury means some extra things which is adding more value than the regular brands have† Statement no 3: 3. 3. 2. 2. 5. 5. 4. 4. 1. 1. â€Å"I buy luxury products whatever I can afford whatever I want† Statement no 4: 3. 3. 2. 2. 5. 5. 4. 4. 1. 1. â€Å"I preferred luxury products what I like, if I like it a lot and feel like it’s worth my money† Statement no 5: 3. 3. 2. 2. 5. 5. 4. 4. 1. 1. â€Å"I preferred luxury brands because it brings higher aspiration in my life† Statement no 6: 3. 3. 2. 2. 5. 5. 4. 4. 1. 1. â€Å"I like to have BMW or Ferrari in future†.

History and Origins of ISIS

History and Origins of ISIS Since the last United States (US) presidential elections, there has been a raise in hate speech and crimes, frequently by right-wing parties and often directed towards Muslims, there has also been an emphasis on ISIS propaganda (Lewis, 2017). The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, is an offspring of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) which is a branch of the group al-Qaeda. The Islamic State, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or in Arabic Da’esh, is a Sunni Salafi-jihadist militant movement and unrecognized quasi-state as it once controlled 10 million people (see Figure 1). As ISIS is a descendent of al-Qaeda, in order to outline its birth, this paper will explain the origins of al-Qaeda and the history that leads up to ISIS. Primarily done through a literature review, this paper will look at historical events, periods and their deeply rooted issues that led up to the formation of al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda in Iraq and more importantly ISIS starting with the Ottoman Empire to the 21st century. This is the history of the rise of ISIS to what it has now become. Rise of ISIS It is perceived around the world that al-Qaeda is a terrorist group that conducted or has inspired many horrible acts of violence since the 21st century including a series of car bombings and shootings, 9/11, and more. Although, ISIS is also known as a terrorist group, a key difference between al-Qaeda and ISIS are their enemies, al-Qaeda engages in a war with the West, while ISIS is more involved in the Middle East (Lister, 2015). This has caused the war on terror, which include international military campaigns, particularly by the United States, as we will discuss. Although, some attacks have been inspired by ISIS in the West, the organization does not advocate for such actions or war on the West, unlike al-Qaeda who conduct 9/11 style attacks, ISIS usually does not participate in major terrorist attacks against the West (Lister, 2015). ISIS is rather reluctant to engage with the West directly or to ‘take on’ the West, this can be seen through the refusal of attack Isr ael, as it is a US ally nor did it openly pick a side in the Israeli-Palestinian War (Lister, 2015). In spite of this, they are still a terrorist group who conduct horrendous acts of violence and cruelty such as the use children soldiers, kidnapping and sell women as sex slaves or force them to marry their fighters, murder praying Shiites, and sell organs on the black market, all in the name of Allah. Furthermore, ISIS is known to use Sunni resentment[1] against Shiites in their fight and recruitment as they are a Sunni group. ISIS is a Salafi[2] jihadist militant movement with great power; by 2014, the group embodied 31,000 Muslims fighters who have joined its rank from nine different countries (Hassan, 2016; Lister, 2015). Many of these ISIS fighters join for religious reasons, other believe that the group offers some answers and a purpose to their anger towards Shiites and Westerns (VIDEO). Their commitment to establish a unitary state or caliphate with no borders in the Middle East and wish to extend this to India (Lister, 2015). Ottoman Empire & Colonial Era   During the time of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, the Tanzimat, which is the reorganization of the Empire, brought about the development of an elite and liberal nationalism with the goal of independence from colonial powers, but saving the beneficial characteristics of these Western states and their markets (Hazbun, 2015). This reorganization caused power to centralized and the bureaucracy to modernized and that opened new markets. This challenged the national identity, sovereignty, self-determination and security of Middle Eastern countries, but also created different groups with a common interest in these capitalist economies, which the need for specific political representation (Hazbun, 2015). While supporting the modernization of the upper class, these reforms also caused lower social classes to become populist[3] and develop a radical nationalism as they wished to oppose these developments (Hazbun, 2015). This internal separation occurred until Sykes and Picot[4], British and French diplomats respectively, divided the Ottoman Empire and created new territorial borders (Hazbun, 2015). The collapse of the Ottoman Empire, thus, started British rule and French rule in the Middle East. These new states (and borders) were rejected by, â€Å"Arab nationalist and social-reformist ideologies territorial nationalisms, Islamic solidarity and tribal identity† (Hazbun, 2015). This gave rise to populist protests and revolts for independence across North Africa, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq against the imposed leaders from the recent protectorates (Hazbun, 2015). When independence occurred, there was still a dependence on external powers, which caused a more recent rise of middle class of urban professionals that led â€Å"radical Arab-nationalist, socialist, labor and communist movements that sought to challenge both the colonial states and the Arab elite who had inherited political power and economic privileges† (Hazbun, 2015). These movements sought change through the modernization and socio-economic reforms that the middle-class could identify with. The institutionalization of inequality in the colonial-era resulted of the Sykes and Picot agreement and led to the social discontent of Middle Eastern society that sparked disruption that can be seen as the root revolutionary groups. Arab-Nationalism   During the 1950s and 1960s, the region was occupied with disruption and change, which some call the Arab Cold War due to the series of uprisings and conflicts (Hazbun, 2015). As the radical Arab-nationalist groups challenged the Western influence in the area; Arab politics were also altered by ‘street politics’[5], an ideological shift and social movements (Hazbun, 2015). These groups rallied enough support to promote Arab-nationalist leaders that opposed the West, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian President. Even though, many Arab-nationalist revolutions were accomplished with military coups, the objective was to take over a state and claim sovereignty over its resources (Hazbun, 2015). During President Nasser’s government, Egypt became the first Arab regime to have state power and encourage â€Å"self-determination and modernization† and grew to be a regional force (Hazbun, 2015). In the mid sixties, the basis of their confrontation with the old system was gone, as their modernization of welfare, programs and development could not be done without external support (Hazbun, 2015). This made governments turn to autocratic means of social control and the suppression of conflicting views. The same people that encouraged Arab-nationalist leaders, such as Nasser, now were the same people â€Å"who provided the social bases for the rise of the radical Islamist movements that challenged the legitimacy of the rulers of the secular modern Arab states† (Hazbun, 2015). And the governments need for external help led to foreign intervention and dependence which continued opposition domestically, regional competitiveness and conflict (Hazbun, 2015). Arab-Israeli War In 1967, the Arab-Israeli War was fought by Syria and Egypt to regain occupied territory taking by Israel[6] and other Middle Eastern countries competed for control. An accumulation of factors above lead to the definition of regional politics in the Middle East to be described in terms of conflict and feuds. The oil Crisis of 1973 produced an even larger divide between the Middle East with oil-producing countries (such as Iraq) gaining more wealth and influence while non-producing countries were heavily on intervention and aid (such as Syria) (Hazbun, 2015). By the 1970s and 80s, the inequality in Arab states grew to new heights that made societies and citizens dissatisfied and caused resentment towards the government, and its top officials, due to the lessening of protections and corruption (Hazbun, 2015). Therefore, governments restrained mobilization and political expression, and they relied more heavily on international support, from foreign nations such as the United States. This support allowed leaders to keep their power and security while facing domestic threats of discontent. It is through this social repression, government exhaustion and an authoritarian regime that helped emerge militant Islamist movements, which ideologically challenged the â€Å"modern secular-nationalist state† (Hazbun, 2015). These movements and groups used violent means in order to overthrow regimes in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (Hazbun, 2015). Among Islamic jihad actions were the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and numerous tourists’ attacks. During the Cold War, in 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan with intentions of defending the authoritarian leader against rebels (VIDEO). For many of these rebels, they were fighting for a religious struggle, called the mujahid, and some developed extremist views (VIDEO). One of the rebels who did so was Osama Bin Laden, a well-educated Saudi, which later created al-Qaeda and was executed by the US forces in 2011 (Stern & Berger, 2016). Another rebel was Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, uneducated Jordanian and former gangster, who later created ISIS (Fishman, 2016; Stern & Berger, 2016). These fighters subsequently used the civil unrest and discontent to their interests and founded their own militant groups. Al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 with recruit fundamentalist soldier that fought against the Soviets earlier on; the terrorist organization became a network that defended the struggle against Islam’s enemies (Riches, & Palmowski, 2016). United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East and its Effects   As the US does not work or encourage terrorist groups, by the late 1960s, they had abandoned rational nationalism’s progressive reforms and modernization (Hazbun, 2015). Instead, they created closer ties with the Israelis and practiced containment policies of radical Arab states (Syria for example) and invaded Lebanon in order to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organization[7] (PLO) (Hazbun, 2015). In order to help the US interest and development a Middle Eastern strategy, they kept close relations with growing authoritarian regimes and â€Å"backed their efforts to suppress social and political mobilization† (Hazbun, 2015). The support of authoritarian regimes for national interest, as well as, disregarding human rights and American values of democracy and freedom has become a recurring pattern in US foreign policy. In the late 1980s and 1990s, policy makers in the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations wanted to use US power to contain instability and lead the regions into the modern world (Hazbun, 2015). This led to an even greater difference between societal and national rhetoric of insecurity that led to the foundations of Arab uprisings (Hazbun, 2015). US foreign policies and actions regarding the Middle Eastern disruption and violence lead to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which caused an increase in societal insecurities and division (Hazbun, 2015). This 2003 invasion was largely opposed to by neighbouring countries as they did not perceive Syria as a threat, and thus, US went to war with limited support from the region (Hazbun, 2015). Under President Bush, the US alleged that Iraq had nuclear weapons and the hosting of al-Qaeda members by Saddam Hussein (Fishman, 2016). The US secretary of state also emphasized Zarqawi as the leader of a fatal terrorist network, which made Zarqawi internationally known and in doing so, actually recruited fighters (Fishman, 2016). Furthermore, the consequences of the invasion were wide and include breaking civil order, mobilization of Sunni jihadist movements in Iraq and the general radicalization of Sunnis (Krieger, 2014). Both before and after this intervention and conflict, Sunni radicalization increased, but more importantly the US withdrawal from Iraq caused a power vacuum that the group took advantage of (Lister, 2015). Particularly due to the failure of the United States government to establish and â€Å"leave behind sustainable democratic institutions, a well-trained army, a functioning bureaucracy, and relative ethnic and sectarian harmony† (Lister, 2015). As ISIS’s growth is dependent on the particular military and political situation that has resulted from the isolation of and hostility to the Sunni population by the government and the lack of infrastructure left behind by the US (Lister, 2015). This lack of permanent and beneficial action in Iraq happened in Afghanistan and in Lybia, where the US overthrow Gaddafi, but did not build a new government (Lister, 2015). This lack of action has created a hatred for the US of which ISIS has benefited from (Lister, 2015). Thus, this invasion set the foundations for ISIS, for example, the Sunni dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, destroyed the nation’s army, which led to thousands of angry and unemployed Sunni-Iraqi soldiers who joined the Sunni insurgency (Stern & Berger, 2016). As jihadist groups saw this as a repeat to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, many came to fight of which Zarqawi (VIDEO). The jihadist group led by Zarqawi became the most violent group in Iraq and targeted mostly Shiites, which sparked the Sunni-Shiite civil war. By 2004, Zarqawi was famous jihadi, fighter of the struggle against the enemy of Islam, by that time, al-Qaeda had weakened and thus an alliance was formed between both leaders which lead to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which was created to fight against US forces in its occupation of Iraq (Hassan, 2016; Stern & Berger, 2016). Until 2006, Iraq Sunnis stand up to Zarqawi and he was killed by an US air strike (Fishman, 2016). Then, US leaves Iraq in 2011 as it has stabilized according to them. According to Hassan, â€Å"Iraqi Sunnis have been subjected to years of political and economic marginalisation, state-sanctioned repression, lawlessness and rampant corruption in the hands of Iraq’s Shia-led government under the former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki [and others]. They have rebelled by joining ISIS† (2016). Which leads to the Arab springs in the Middle East in 2011, caused by Syrian dictator Assad suppression of protesters that leads to a civil war (Fishman, 2016). As he fears external intervention (that will overthrow his dictatorship), he releases jihadists that were supposed to help suppress protesters, but instead make them more extreme (VIDEO). In Iraq, the remains of Zarqawi’s groups are still allied with al-Qaeda, but are now known as ISI (the Islamic State in Iraq) lead by religious scholar Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Fishman, 2016). In 2012, Baghdadi sends top ISI deputy in Syria to start a new al-Qaeda branch that will fight along the rebels called Jabhat al-Nusra (Stern & Berger, 2016). In order to gain strength, Baghdadi strikes prisons and releases former jihadis, as well as, forming new fighters (VIDEO). A year later, he announces that he is taking over all al-Qaeda forces in Syria, in addition to Iraq, the group therefore expands to be known as ISIS to include Syria (Fishman, 2016; Stern & Berger, 2016). The al-Qaeda branch, Jabhat al-Nusra, rejects Baghdadi’s ISIS and causes civil war (Stern & Berger, 2016). As the oppression and conflict in Iraq allowed ISI to expand, the Syrian violence caused Baghdadi to expand in Syria (Stern & Berger, 2016). Nevertheless, ISIS grows powerful in Syria, because Assad tolerates its rise (which he does because it divides his enemies within Syria and causes an emphasis of foreign power on ISIS rather than on himself and his regime) (VIDEO). In early 2014, ISIS had been disowned by al-Qaeda claiming â€Å"ISIS is not a branch of the group, we have no organizational relationship with it, and is not responsible for its actions† (Stern & Berger, 2016). Yet this break in alliance did not hinder ISIS; by summer 2014, ISIS has a large army within Syria, which invades Iraq militarily and become victorious quickly due to a corrupt Iraqi army (VIDEO; Fishman, 2016). According to Fishman, this invasion of ISIS in Iraq â€Å"signalled the emergence of a new force in the Middle East – a hybrid organisation that combined terrorist tactics, military precision, religious ideology, and technological and bureaucratic innovation (2016). And because many Iraqi Sunnis are tired of the Shiite authoritarian government, most welcomed ISIS or at least tolerated them in Iraq (VIDEO). Within days of entry in Iraq, ISIS had captured 1/3 of its territory and a large part of Syria. ISIS’s goal is more audacious that al-Qaeda’s as it wants to revive the ancient caliphate and expand it to involve all Muslims (VIDEO). Conclusion In conclusion, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s origins are found the roots of al-Qaeda particularly in its offspring al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Al-Qaeda and ISIS are said to be ideological twins, but strategic enemies, as they both adhere to the same ideology, yet, ISIS overshadows al-Qaeda due to its control of territory and oil rigs, its large financial resources, its great success in the proclamation of caliphate and its alliance to many Islamic groups that have pledged alliance to it like Boko Haram (Lister, 2015). The development of ISIS and its self-proclaimed Caliph al-Baghdadi was a mixture of societal exclusions and discrimination (both ethnic and religious) that explains the â€Å"angry, disillusioned and marginalised Iraqi Sunnis† support for ISIS (Hassan, 2016). Thus, the combination of political and religious oppression and personal circumstances led ISIS to grow strong from the roots of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (Hassan, 2016). In addition, some critics of US fo reign policy claim that the US caused the birth of ISIS due to its withdrawal of Iraq in 2010, which left the group with the ‘space’ to expand with limited military resistance. There is a general consensus and hope within scholars that ISIS will be soon defeated, especially with its current size. Recently, ISIS lost its control in Raqqa by its seizure by an alliance of Syrian and Arabs fighters backed by the US after a 3 year hold, which greatly diminishes the group’s power. This is, of course, a watered down and simplified version of the origins and history behind ISIS. As Fishman explains, the defeat of ISIS will depend on how it is defined, meaning that if it is defined as a cult with a distort interpretation of Islam, its abolishment would simply account for explaining its false views, rather than if it is defined through violent actions that need a war to destruct the organization (2016). â€Å"As President Barack Obama observed at the 2015 White House conference on countering violent extremism, ‘When governments oppress their people, deny human rights, stifle dissent or marginalise ethnic and religious groups, or favor certain religious groups over others, it sows the seeds of extremism and violence’.† (Hassan, 2016). â€Å"In the modern globalised world, diversity and cultural crossovers are becoming a matter of routine. Hybridity is transforming different Islamic countries and regions into autonomous cultural systems; thus posing a challenge to the conventional categorical oppositions of ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘Muslim’ and ‘other’.† (Hassan, 2016). Please note: This is a ‘watered down’ version of historical facts and the origins of ISIS. All sections discussed could have been discussed in great detail as they are complex matter, as well as, more events could have been discussed. Although, for this paper, I decided to give a simple yet far lengthen view of the rise of ISIS. References Lister, C. R. (2015). The Islamic State: a brief introduction. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press. Hazbun, W. (2015). A History of Insecurity: From the Arab Uprisings to ISIS.  Middle East Policy,  22(3), 55-65. doi:10.1111/mepo.12143 Riches, C., & Palmowski, J. (2016). ‘PLO’, ‘al-Qaeda’, and ‘ISIS’ in A dictionary of contemporary world history: over 2800 entries. Krieger, J. (2014). US Invasion of Iraq in The Oxford companion to international relations. Fishman, B. (2016). Defining ISIS.  Survival (00396338),  58(1), 179-188. doi:10.1080/00396338.2016.1142145 Hassan, R. (2016). ISIS and the Caliphate. Australian Journal of Political Science, 51(4), 759–771. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2016.1242115 Stern, J., & Berger, J. M. (2016). ISIS: the state of terror (First ECCO paperback edition). New York: Ecco Press, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/al-qaeda-5-years-after-the-death-of-osama-bin-laden http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034 Figures Figure 1. Map of ISIS control. We can clearly see the decrease in ISIS control between January 2015 and October 2017. [1] The Sunni and Shiite divide started in †¦ and is caused by ideological differences among which †¦. [2] Salafism is an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam [3] A populist is a member of a political party that represents ordinary people and their interests. [4] The Sykes and Picot Agreement divided the former Ottoman Empire who had been newly defeated by the members of the entente cordiale (France and Great Britain) into new borders and sphere of influence and control. [5] Street-politics refers to the use of the streets to discuss and protest their wants from their government. [6] This capture of land by Israelis from the Palestinians is part of a long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is a complex and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. [7] Founded in 1964, the PLO wants a secular and democratic state of Palestine, along with the elimination of Israel (Riches, & Palmowski, 2016).

Personal Narrative- My Near Drowning Experience Essay -- Personal Narr

Personal Narrative- My Near Drowning Experience Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On March 21, 1987, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned. On that fateful day in March, I was a couple months shy of my third birthday. My family and I lived in New Mexico at the time and were renting a house with an outdoor in-ground pool. The day was beautiful. I was outside with my oldest sister Rachel and my father. Rachel was diligently reading curled up on a bench that sat against the house, and my father was mowing the backyard. My mother and my other sister were in the house. Off to one side of the house there was a group of large bushes. I was playing over there with one of her large cooking pots, off in my own little world. At one point while amusing and en... Personal Narrative- My Near Drowning Experience Essay -- Personal Narr Personal Narrative- My Near Drowning Experience Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On March 21, 1987, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned. On that fateful day in March, I was a couple months shy of my third birthday. My family and I lived in New Mexico at the time and were renting a house with an outdoor in-ground pool. The day was beautiful. I was outside with my oldest sister Rachel and my father. Rachel was diligently reading curled up on a bench that sat against the house, and my father was mowing the backyard. My mother and my other sister were in the house. Off to one side of the house there was a group of large bushes. I was playing over there with one of her large cooking pots, off in my own little world. At one point while amusing and en...

Cloning Essay -- Clone Science Nature Wildlife Conservation Essays

Cloning Abstract The question to clone or not to clone is currently center stage of scientific debate. Since the birth of Dolly, the sheep, in 1997 the controversial question of cloning has been paramount throughout the entire globe. The question is no longer whether it can be done, but whether is should be done and to what extent. We have already cloned goats, mice, monkeys, cattle, and pigs (Cloning fact sheet). Scientists are now trying to get approval to clone humans or at least parts of them (Eccleston, CNN). All of these clonings have led to much criticism and controversy, but the latest attempt at cloning is that of endangered and possibly already extinct species in hopes of preserving them. This short paper will give a brief description of cloning and the pros and cons of preserving endangered and extinct species via means of cloning. Introduction There are different types of cloning. One type led by researchers at the Human Genome Project entails the copying of genes and parts of chromosomes in order to get enough identical genetic material to do further research, which they believe could help prevent human diseases in the future (Cloning fact sheet). Another type of cloning is called Blastomere separation, also known as twinning. In this case they split an egg (embryo), soon after it has been fertilized which results in two or more embryos, twins, containing the same exact DNA from both parents (Cloning fact sheet). However, Dolly, was cloned from only one parent. To do this, scientists must take an egg, empty out its genetic material, and replace it with genetic material from another animal by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer (Cloning fact sheet). This means that on... ...ed: Eccleston, J., Baum, M.D. 2000. Cloning complications: British plan on human embryos stirs an international debate. http://www.cnn.com/2000/fyi/news/08/29/human.cloning/index.tr.html. 3 pages. Accessed 10/26/2000. Lanza, R.P., Dresser, B.L., Damiani, P. 2000. Cloning Noah's Ark: biotechnology might offer the best way to keep some endangered species from disappearing from the planet. Scientific American. Vol. 283: 84-89. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R., Mittermeier, C.G., Da Fonseca, G.A.B., Kent, J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature. Vol. 403: 853-858. Reaves, J. 2000. Bring back the DoDo! Brave new strides in animal cloning. Time daily. http://www.time.com/time/daily/0,2960,57207,00.html. 2 pages. Accessed 10/26/2000. Unknown. Cloning Fact Sheet. www.ornl.gov/hgmis. 3 pages. Accessed 10/26/2000.

The Law Making Process in Congress

In USA the political arena is dominated by two political parties namely the Democrats and the Republicans. Each of the two parties has significant bearing in the governance of US. In them are bred the presidential candidates. When the president wins the elections, it is either because of the Democrats party or because of the Republicans party. What the party does is offering the technical and financial support during the presidential campaigns in form of fund-raising and organizing of the campaign activities (Bacevich, 2009)Out of them will also be born the law makers since they act as a vehicle in which the politicians travel into the senate or the house to make laws. The governments at the city, provincial and national levels are composed by members of law makers who emanate from the political parties. Upon getting into their offices the leaders who were elected from the political parties in US are taken to the noble task of setting up the government strategic plans they will then form judicial system in the government to oversee the constitutional matters including the legal matters as well.It is the also the role of the political parties to furnish the congress with the senators whose hands the public bills pass for approval as laws. The senators can kill the bill or approve it and leave it for presidential decision. The ministers, supervisors and financiers in public offices come from these political parties. The government departments that play pivotal role in the US make up the ministries which are spearheaded by the ministers and supervisors. They therefore have great influence here. (Beard, 1920)Consequently, in the event of enforcing their mandate in the law making process, the individual politicians earn a great deal of benefits. When they see a potential gain in a particular bill to be enacted, they have nothing but to bulldoze it through the obstacles into being a law. When the bill will potentially take something from them, they suppress and kill it. If defeated, they weaken it with amendments (Schmidt ,2008). Besides, as a way of assuring their constituents of their worthy action in the house or senate, they introduce the public bills quite often.By so doing they win the favor of the public and build good grounds for the next election. The Law making process in Congress What gets into the congress as a bill meets a set of steps set to try it out and validate it as a law. These trials mainly done by the law makers in the Senate or the House, sometimes with inclusion of the public or the lobbyists. The steps they subject the bill to makes a total of nine, along which the fate of whether the bill will make it to be a law will be judged.Each step is almost a roadblock to the bill and in most cases, the bill that makes it to a law does so having been distorted through amendments (Hamilton, 2004). The first step introduces the bill into the house or the senate as a new number, denoted as ‘HR’ if introduced to the hou se or ‘S’ if to the senate. Here, the number and the influential ability of the senators introducing the bill have a bearing on its fate. The second step subjects the bill to a blazing fire of a committee which in turn toughens its influence on the bill by assigning it to yet another fire of Sub committee that it selects.If the bill survives death in the hands of the Sub committee, it gets to the committee level. If it survives the second time, it gets approved into the full chamber in the congress. The survival of the bill is owed to the kind of committee spearheading its approval. It could be friendly or not (Schmidt et. al, 2008). The bill then has to secure a place in the agenda for discussion in the House. Placing it on the agenda is the work of Rules Committee drawn from the senior members of each party.As in the name, they give the bill the rule or procedure with which it can be discussed. The bill then proceeds to the fourth step in the full chamber where all th e senators throw in cards in the process of making the amendments in the bill. The participation in this is however restricted depending on whether the bill goes through the open rule or the closed rule. The source of the rule dictates this. In the former any legislator in the house can amend while in the latter the committee member reporting it makes the amendment.Then it enters the 5th step in the senate where, like in the House of Representatives has to go through the same committees with the exception of the rules committee. The passage through this takes it to the floor of the senate where it can be discussed by the full chamber. This step through the other chamber is calling since it can kill the bill if the senators chose to take longer time in discussing it. The bill then gets to the conference committee which harmonizes its form at the house and at the senate to come up with the form that can be accepted by the president.Then it gets into further refinery at the congress by both chambers for acceptance changes or rejection. The accepted bill is sent to the president who will approve, veto or do nothing. The veto may be overridden by two thirds voting from each chamber of congress. The functions and powers of the president The functions of the US president lie within his execution of powers that he has. Being the head of state, he is considered the commander in chief of the armed forces. This mainly gives him a better hand in commanding the defense of the state from external attacks.He also basks in the glory of forgiving federal criminals especially during public functions. He is the one whose call is heard by the congress when there is need for a special session. During the national functions and the international meetings, the president speaks on behalf of the nation, receive ambassadors from other nations. When the US laws have been passed in the house, it is the duty of the president to ensure that they are enforced. The work of appointing officia ls within the executive arm of the government as well as judges in the judicial arm is also a reserve for the president.It is him who is responsible for signing agreements with other nations. In the senate, the president will be the final man to approve the law. Therein, he can sign it, veto it or do nothing to it. This has great implication on the bills. With all these many responsibilities, the nation grants him powers accordingly. In his executive position, he is the man with the power to enforce the law, to make appointments in the executive branch and the senate, to remove officers, to enjoy executive privileges besides commanding the armed forces (Schmidt et. l, 2008).In the legislature, he influence a lot in the law making process, either in calling for meeting or approving laws. The judiciary gives him the powers of appointing the judges and pardoning criminals who have been judged. The president can declare the state of emergency if he sees the government is in a pending da nger. President is one with the power in ensuring the financial stability of the country in addition to maintaining good relationship with foreign nations (Forman, 2008).