Domestic Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Domestic Terrorism - Essay Example Specifically, the essay aims to present the effects of acts of domestic terrorists in relation to destruction of human lives, economic impact and public policy changes in the country. One of the primary institutions in the country which is actively involved in studying terrorist activities is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI classified terrorist related activities into three: (1) terrorist incident (â€Å"a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or of any state, to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives†); (2) suspected terrorist incident (â€Å"a potential act of terrorism for which responsibility cannot be attributed to a known or suspected group†); and (3) terrorism prevention (â€Å"is a documented instance in which a violent act by a known or suspected terrorist group or individual with the means and a proven propensity for violence is successfully interdicted through investigative activity†). (Terrorism in the United States 1999 ii) Domestic terrorism is also being evaluated in terms of their motivation. Presley (1996) presented the delineation of terrorist activities according to the following motivations: â€Å"(1) religious convictions, (2) racial prejudice and supremacist goals, (3) anarchistic/anti-government/ politically motivated, or (4) in pursuit of unique special interests† (p. 15). Contemporary research reveals that these motivations have specifically identified group classifications of domestic terrorism. These groups were identified by the FBI study as of right-wing, left-wing, or special interest orientations. Their causes generally spring from issues relating to American political and social concerns. (ibid. p. 23). In related documents, groups

Living with Strangers Essay Example for Free

Living with Strangers Essay To top the essence of discomfort off, Hustvedt states that On the subway, I found myself in intimate contact with people I didnt know, my body pressed so tightly against hem, I could smell their hair oils, perfumes and sweat. (p. 1, l. 4-16) This closeness is something that most of us, Hustvedt as well, saves exclusively to boyfriends and close family This exclusiveness only survives because of the Pretend it isnt happening-rule. Throughout the essay Hustvedt takes us down her memory-lane of New York, where she tell us the things that can describe exactly why her view on urban living is how it is. The Pretend it isnt happening-rule seems to be the most visible theme in the essay. To an outsider taking a stance against something that is clearly wrong seems logical, if not almost necessary. Whereas Hustvedt says that in New York that is uncommon and almost illogical behavior, because of the possible outcomes when someone is asked to stop whatever they felt they had the right to do. This is allowed because of the aforementioned rule. To explain her point further Siri Hustvedt exemplifies it for us. Hustvedts husband had witnessed a man stepping on the subway with a lit cigarette, another man confronted him politely by stating that its illegal to smoke on he subway, the smoker had then replied Do you wanna die? To much luck the smoker had to get off the subway at the next stop, which resulted in a quick ending to the affairs, but Hustvedt points out that this couldVe ended much, much worse. Siri Hustvedt almost attempts to Justify the pretend it isnt happening-rule, by showing the dangers ot not pretending. Hustvedt points out that New Yorkers barely even notice that theyre doing it, its such a custom reaction to these situations that in the urban cities youre raised with them Just as youre raised with table manners. To exemplify this Siri Hustvedt mentions her daughter, Sophie, who has adapted to the behavioral pattern already as she feigns deafness when the inevitable stray character comes along and tries a pickup. (p. 2, l. 80-81) and that her daughter has been refining the frozen, blank expression that accompanies the Pretend law. (p. 2, 1. 76-77) In the same example Hustvedt explains that her daughter often gets hit on and some of these admirers are more stray than others. One day Sophie had experienced a man who had been shamelessly staring at her, but when he stepped ff the train and the daughter didnt, the man had thrown himself against the window and yelled l love you at her. Sophie had felt embarrassed and frightened, but the man next to her had commented It looks like you have an admirer. To this Siri Hustvedt explains that His understatement not only defined the comedy inherent in the scene; it lifted my daughter out of the solitary misery that comes from being the object of unwanted attention among strangers. (p. 3, l. 92-94). This example turns the essay towards a new point-of-view, whereas the reader started out ith having a sense of displeasure and discomfort towards urban living, Hustvedt turns the entire essay around in the end where she enlightens us that urban living is not all that bad: Nevertheless, compliments, insults, banter, smiles, and genuine conversations among strangers are part of the citys noise, its stimulus, its charm. (p. 3, l. 102-104) in this quote, Hustvedt points out to us that isnt not only incredibly dull, if urban life only revolved around pretending its not happening, but that is it almost down-right impossible. She also states that because of this rule, those who break it make a turning point to everyday life and its those people who make urban living all the more charming. Siri Hustvedt mentions that Sometimes a brief exchange with an unknown person marks you forever, not because it is profound but because it is uncommonly vivid. (p. 3, l. 112-113) and to end the essay she mentions a moment 20 years earlier in her life, where a homeless man had called her beautiful and asked her to dinner, and when she politely said no, he then had grinned and aid Lunch? This example not only supports her statement that it has indeed marked her forever, but it almost seems like what then wouldVe seemed rather creepy now is a little comical and it probably even lifts her spirit when thinking about it. l, for one, believe that the statement is as true as anything can be. Its not always the deep conversations you have with your family and closest friends that mark you, its the sudden situations; because the yre not forced and that makes them all the more real and therefore deep. I may not live in a true urban city like Copenhagen or New York, but the pretend-rule is everywhere and because of that all of the times that its broken may seem a little odd or even scary at first can make the rest of ones day all the more interesting. A sudden compliment, a smile to a stranger or even a short conversation with someone about why the train is delayed yet again. It gives one time to reflect over the minor things in life and sometimes it may even remind you Just how little you actually are in a good way, of course.

Consolidation of City and County Government

Consolidation of City and County Government Most people have very busy lives, we own businesses, have families, and jobs. Running for a political office takes a lot of time and money and typically only the â€Å"rich† or â€Å"well off† have the disposable income, and time to run for a political office. Citizens do like to be involved in government to a certain extent, but typically only when issues strikes home with them such as smoking in public places, sexual predators in the neighborhoods, drug free school zones, etc. The fundamental difference between a mayor and a city manager is that mayors are elected officials and managers are not.A City manager is typically appointed by mayors and city councils on the basis of the manager’s background, education and past experience. Elected officials often expect that a manager’s decisions and actions will be guided by professionalism, ethical principles, and the will of the city council. A mayor is the â€Å"front man† on all local issues, they are expected to be aware of the issues facing them (city/county issues), and to be able to deal directly with these issues. For example, James Knowles is the Mayor of Ferguson, MO, Since the shooting death of Michael Brown the city of Ferguson has been subject to mass protests, hacking and looting. Knowles has pleaded with the looters to stop, has canceled protests, and told the media â€Å"We want people to have faith in the process.† Earlier he had defended the officers’ policing of the looting, saying â€Å"The officers did their best. They’re only human.† (heavy.com, 2014). A city manager has a somewhat varying role in government today. Some city managers envision themselves as policy managers; others see themselves as administrative managers, a prudent city manager should not wish to appear as a policymaker even if they are so inclined to be. A city manager oftentimes must roll with many of the city councils ideas as they depend on them to keep them in their position. Just a few years ago in my town, Jim Bourey, a city manager resigned due to may disagreements with the Greenville city council, Bourey said his resignations was forced. In this case, theres a comfort level that the manager needs to have and council needs to have with the manager, and that wasnt where they wanted to be. (foxcarolina.com, 2010). Mayors are free to engage in political activities, as it is required of them to represent their political affiliations; Mayors are elected because of their politics, even if/when they hold nonpartisan positions. Mayors are, in short, living examples of the local democracy at work. City managers are not free to be Republican or Democratic managers; City managers are required to represent the bureaucracy, and the decisions made by the elected mayor of their jurisdiction and city council. A City Manager that strays into the political arena lack the legitimacy endowed by an election, not to mention good survival instincts (weshare.cityofalbany.net, 2009) References: Politics in states and communities (Rev: 14): Pearson Education (10/15/2012) Dye, T. R., MacManus, S. A. heavy.com, www.heavy.com/news/2014/08/ferguson-mayor-james-knowles-michael-brown- shooting/, Accessed 26 December 2014 foxcarolina.com, www.foxcarolina.com/story/14756034/greenville-city-manager-jim-bourey-resigns-4-19-20 10#ixzz3MzB9QJmX, accessed 26 December 2014 weshare.cityofalbany.net, www.weshare.cityofalbany.net/2009/10/09/the-difference-between-mayors-and-city-managers/, Accessed December 26, 2014 After the end of the Second World War the United States experienced unprecedented population growth that to this day has shaped the social and political landscape of the country, and changed how and where many Americans live. Known as the baby boom, this population expansion took place between the years 1946 and 1964, with the peak occurring in 1957. The elevated birthrate, unparalleled in American history, added more than 50 million babies by the end of the 1950s. (countrystudies.us, 1998). And with this tremendous growth Americans developed their love affair with the automobile. Up until the Second World War many people had lived in cities with dense populations, after the war many wanted to have a piece of the â€Å"American Dream† and started moving in droves to what was once known as the countryside into what was becoming known as the suburb. Suburbs have grown incrementally since the end of the war, but the most significant works have been since the 1970’s. The suburbanization of American was primarily driven by two things, one that I previously mentioned being the motorcar and the second being the development of interstate highways and expressways. On June 29, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The bill created a 41,000-mile â€Å"National System of Interstate and Defense Highways† that would, according to Eisenhower, eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams and all of the other things that got in the way of â€Å"speedy, safe transcontinental travel.† At the same time, highway advocates argued, â€Å"in case of atomic attack on our key cities, the road net [would] permit quick evacuation of target areas.† For all of these reasons, the 1956 law declared that the construction of an elaborate expressway system was â€Å"essential to the national interest.†Ã‚  (history.com, 2014) Some of the governing issues that arose from the urbanization of the countryside were very basic in nature, such as how to police such a large area, typically there is the town police force that dealt with issues in town and did not stray too far from their assigned areas, this developed two new police force expansions one within the local sheriff’s department, by giving them a broader scope within the county they served as well as the growth of the state police department which had far superior jurisdiction statewide. Other issues of the suburban sprawl had to do with the provision of services such as electricity, water and sewage, as well as garbage collection and fire and rescue department’s expansion. (McManus, 2012, p421) In my humble opinion it seems that the best way to govern metropolitan areas is through a consolidation of the management system and services offered to the citizens of the city/county, as many of the services offered are fragmented at best, for example, in my hometown of Greenville, SC the city has a paid fire department and ambulance service that has 24/7 shifts and recently on the news they stated that the typical wait time for a 911 call response for either of those services was about 9 minutes, the flip side of this is that I live in the same county, but in the suburbs, there was an occurrence with one of my neighbors that required me to call for an ambulance, now we are a ways out of the city so we have a volunteer fire/rescue department, the response time for that call was over 20 minutes, granted it was a non-life threatening issue, but still required transport to the hospital. Would a centralized service have narrowed that time down, I don’t know, but I am sure that i f the service were centralized then the time could possibly have been shortened. Other examples of services offered by the city but not by the county are water sewer services, the city has a water service, the county does not, so my water comes from a well, is the water better from a well, maybe, but I still have to pay for the well to be dug, the water softener chemicals and if it were to go dry I would be out another $2000 to have a well dug. In this case it would cost the city to extend the water services 10 miles out of town and to provide the infrastructure to support it (pumping stations, etc.) that cost would obviously be supported by an increase in taxation, or the cost amortized over X amount of months in billing cycles, but I would not have the overriding concerns of a well running dry. I would support a consolidation of city and county services as I feel that in the long run it would be beneficial to all of the residents of the county and city regardless of what the actual service provided is. References: Politics in states and communities (Rev: 14): Pearson Education (10/15/2012) Dye, T. R., MacManus, S. A. countrystudies.us, www.countrystudies.us/united-states/history-114.htm, accessed 26 December 2014 history.com, www.history.com/topics/interstate-highway-system, accessed 26 December 2014

A Summary of Barbara W. Tuchmans The Guns of August :: Barbara W. Tuchman The Guns of August

A Summary of Barbara W. Tuchman's The Guns of August â€Å"The Guns of August† was written by Barbara W. Tuchman in 1962. The book details the causes of the first World war and describes the first month of the war. The book clearly illustrates how a local war became an entire European struggle by a call to war against Russia. Soon after the war became a world issue. Summary of the Book Plans The Beginning (Chapters 1-5) The book begins at the funeral procession of King Edward VII of England in 1910. This procession contained a glorious array of Kings and Nobles from around the world, this was to be the last. Throughout the procession there are mournful faces, but one â€Å"mournful face† hides happiness. The happiness is of Emperor William II of Germany. Throughout his life and reign, Edward candidly exhibited his love for France over his neighboring country, Germany. Now that Edward was out of the way, William was sure that he had earned the position as the ruler of Europe the entire and would soon take action to prove to the rest of the world that Germany was more powerful than all. In Germany, the Chief of the German General Staff, Count Alfred von Schlieffen, created a plan of attack in case of the possibility of a two-front war. But, this plan required invading Belgium, which(at the time) was neutral territory and proteced by England, Despite the promise of England to Belgium, Schlieffen continued with his attack plans. He believed that Germany’s army was far more powerful and advanced than England, and that there was no reason he should feel threatened. After years of perfecting his plans, they were finally finished in 1906. Nevertheless after all of those years of planning, he failed to properly reinforce the eastern front. Even though he was highly criticized for this, he stood by his decision stating that he knew the Russians would force the army into the cold harsh, Russian winter, such as the case of Napoleon. Even though Schlieffen came up with this wonderful and well thought out plan, his successor, General von Moltke, changed the plans entirely. Like Germany, France also concocted an offensive plan.

Growing Up in Charlotte, NC

Growing up here in Charlotte NC was very hard for me and my family. As a young child, I was the younger of two children actually, I was the middle child of three, I had a baby brother who died at a young age from an illness. Well as a young child I grew up on the West side of town called West Blvd. and then we moved to Rosszell ferry Rd.We stay there till I was in the 5th grade we then moved to Columbus Circle and then to Bruns Ave as you can see I moved around a lot but it did not matter everywhere we moved I was always the one who got picked on because of my clothes and hair, My hair was short because it was not took care of, my clothes were not new, we had to shop at the thrift store of the goodwill to find things that would fit. I remember as a young child one year for Christmas me and my brother did not get anything for Christmas, O my God I was so hurt.All my cousins got all these toys but me and my brother did not get anything, and the sad part about all this is my Father had brought me and my brother bikes but he took them to SC and gave them to his girlfriend children. I also remember as a young child as the one who was always took down in the basement and messed with by my uncle, or when I went to visit my cousin their older brother would try to mess with me, This thing I took and push in the back of my mind, and tried to live my life as best I knew how. Living life as a teenager really was hard.I was known as the Black Dolly Pardon, WOW this was hard but I still push my way through this. I manage to finish school and college but life was still hard. At the age of 21 I got pregnant with my second child, O I did not tell you I got popped at the age of 16 and lost the baby, I lost the baby at 3 months. When I was 19 I decided to leave home, and that was the worst decision of my life, I was abuse by my son father, who has passed away, James E. Henderson was killed in 2007. In 1986 I gave birth to a son Jonathan D. Adams. Jonathan is now 26 years old.In 1 987 I had another son name Sirquentin Q Adams and a Daughter name Rasheena Adams. At the age of 24 I had three children and no husband; I didn’t know what to do. God I really needed your help, things began to spin out of control, I was living wherever I could and that was no fun, But I made it, at the age of 27 my father put me and my three children out on the street with nowhere to go, I was so hurt I ended up staying with a guy who hurt me by letting me know that me and my baby girl could stay but not my boys so I had to find somewhere to go, I ended up moving in with a friend who let her hildren abuse my children by biting, scratching, pinching, and whatever they could to hurt my children. Until I moved in with my cousin and only stayed there for about a month or two then I got my own house through the section 8 program. I stayed in the program for 15 years. I became very sick with sleep apnea and high blood pressure. But I still kept trying to live the best life I could.W hat I am trying to say is all my life I was bullied, picked on, talked about and threw under the bus, this hurt very badly. I am learning to live life the best I know how, but I still have not learn the lesson yet. I have always made sure that my children and everyone else that was connected to me was ok, But I never really took care of me, I am now living with my cousin on there couch, I don’t really want to be here but it is either here or in the shelter.God I am in need of your help, this thing is affecting me so bad to the point that I am not even in place in church. I now ask that you forgive me for all my sins, and mistakes, God please forgive me, I just want to please you. God I need my own apartment and I need it to be furniture, I need all my debts to be caught up so I can start over again. God I just want a chance to start over and make things right with you and myself. God I just want to live in peace.

Porter Five Analysis of the European Airline Industry Essay

While the business model existed for some time (first such in 1973 US), the appearance of these in the European market needed the liberalization brought forth by the EU, implementing the „Freedoms of the air† in three stages. In 1997 the first LCC (Low Cost Carrier), the Ryanair began its operation, and in a few years a few more followed, which gave the national and network airlines a new problem to the existing economic problem, shrinking market and others such as 9/11. By today the changes in the past two decades have shifted and diversified the industry, which was once a mature and to some level declining in structure. The new regulations, companies, investors and consumers have brought new life, the industry once again mature with fragmented characteristics. The ideal tool for the assessment of the airlines industry is Michael Porter’s five force model. It aims to find and demonstrate the forces in the microenvironment which influence the industry, internal and external as well. Threat of new entrants (barriers to entry) †¢High capital investment ? †¢Capital intensive ? †¢Airport slot availability ? †¢Predatory pricing ? †¢Brand loyalty/frequent flyer ? †¢Economies of scale ? Limited number of routes ^ The threat of new entrants, due to the barriers mostly set by the nature of the industry and by the existing companies, are very low. Yet sometimes when the possibility arises, new companies start: in the past few years many national companies went bankrupt leaving a market to take by the existing companies or new upstarts. Bargaining power of suppliers †¢Ai rcraft manufacturers †¢Relatively low number of suppliers ^ †¢Suppliers are concentrated ^ †¢Airlines are valued customers ? †¢Airports †¢Slot availability ^ †¢Alternatives to the primary airports ? The bargaining power of suppliers is mostly two-legged, and both have a medium threat. For both parties it is best to find a mutually working solution on a long term, because it is a industry with relatively small number of players loosing even one can have an impact on both sides. Threat of substitutes †¢Alternative transport (bus, car, train) ^ †¢Videoconferencing ^ †¢Global environmental awareness ^ The threat of substitutes includes a broad variety for the different needs. All-in-all it still only gives a medium threat, since the quick transport to a distance has no alternative. Bargaining power of customers †¢Price ? †¢Internet/social media ^ †¢Customer orientation ? †¢Choice ^ With the first LCCs the customers had no bargaining power: if you choose to go with this low price, accept the services as it is. However, nowadays with more alternatives and the ever-reaching internet and social media a bad customer satisfaction can be a disaster. This can however be mitigated with customer orientation, but still customer had the choice, it is a medium high level. Rivalry within the industry †¢Between LCC and national/network airlines ^ †¢Between LCCs ^ The rivalry within the industry is high due to the high number of big and medium sized companies. The airlines industry is highly competitive, with very high barriers and medium to high threats within. While there is a relatively low threat from a new market entree, the existing international competition is fighting over all the resources: more and better airports possibly with mutually excluding contracts, picking up the customers fed up with their previous carrier or starting a price war on a selected destination, binding the newly aquired flyers with brand loyalty programmes. Unless there is an opportunity, it is not an attractive industry to enter due to the high number of barriers. However, once established a foot, it is a very interesting and very intensive industry with good possibilities. The major LCCs depending on how low cost they are making good profit and there is still room for growth. The key factors for success should include: †¢Efficiently utilizing the resources (financial, time, human resources) †¢Utilizing a network of business partners (complementary) †¢Timely expansion (trying new destinations, increasing frequency) †¢Customer orientation (with following trends eg. ocial media) These above should be observed by both LCCs and traditional airlines. The industry standards are given, those companies will become successful which can effectively utilize them.