National Economy over the Next Decade Essay Example for Free

National Economy over the Next Decade Essay Beyond 2007, the pace of economic growth will probably slow somewhat. The main reason is that the labor force is projected to grow less quickly as members of the baby-boom generation begin to retire and as the scheduled expiration of various tax provisions in 2011 discourages work by raising marginal tax rates. Real GDP is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 3. 1 percent between 2008 and 2011 and at 2. 6 percent between 2012 and 2016. The rate of inflation is assumed to average 2. 2 percent after 2007; and the unemployment rate, 5. 2 percent. Interest rates on three-month and 10-year Treasury securities are projected to average 4. 4 percent and 5. 2 percent, respectively (Marron 6). Over the longer term, the aging of the U. S. population combined with rapidly rising health care costs will put significant strains on the federal budget, which begin to be evident within the projection period. When the first members of the baby-boom generation reach age 62 in 2008, they will become eligible for Social Security benefits. As a result, the annual rate of growth of Social Security spending is expected to increase from about 4. 8 percent in 2008 to 6. 5 percent in 2016. In addition, because the cost of health care is likely to continue rising rapidly, the annual rate of growth of Medicare spending is projected to increase from 7. 4 percent in 2008 to about 8. 9 percent in 2016. (Medicare spending is anticipated to rise by 17 percent this year and 14 percent in 2007 as the new prescription drug program gets under way. ) Rapid growth is also projected for Medicaid spending—an average of 8. 3 percent annually from 2008 to 2016. According to Congressional Budget Office, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid together will account for 56 percent of all federal spending by the end of the projection period (up from 43 percent in 2006). Measured as a share of the economy, spending for the three programs will equal 10. 8 percent of GDP in 2016, up from 8. 7 percent this year. In addition, no evidence suggests that the growth of health care costs, which have risen faster than GDP over the past four decades, is likely to slow significantly in the future. As a result, spending for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will exert pressures on the budget that economic growth alone is unlikely to alleviate. A substantial reduction in the growth of spending and perhaps a sizable increase in taxes as a share of the economy will be necessary for fiscal stability to be at all likely in the coming decades. References: Baker, Gerard. U. S. economy may be headed for a big crash. The Times of London. August 23, 2006. 23 Aug 2006. http://thechronicleherald. ca/Business/522414. html Barrell, Ray et al. World Economy Forecast. National Institute Economic Review. 28th July, 2006. No. 197. Baumohl, Bernard. Mid-Year U. S. Economic Forecasts For 2006 and 2007. Wharton School Publishing. June 15, 2006. 23 Aug 2006. http://www. whartonsp. com/articles/article. asp? p=420081rl=1

Public Relations In Non Profit Organisations Marketing Essay

Public Relations In Non Profit Organisations Marketing Essay First this essay will explain the role of public relations in non-profit organisations and provide a brief description of our campaign; second the campaigns strengths and weaknesses will be discussed; third the campaign will be discussed in relation to public relations theory; and finally a conclusion summarising the main points discussed in this essay Public Relations and Non-Profit Organisations: Public relations can play an important role for non-profit organisations, providing the support to create new, and maintain existing relationships necessary to meet organisational goals, meet fundraising targets, and develop organisational awareness. As Broom, Center, and Cutlip state, there are five functions the practitioner aims to carry out within non-profit organisations, these are to: Define or brand the organisation, gain acceptance of its mission, and protect its reputation. Develop channels of communication with those an organization serves. Create and maintain a favourable climate for fundraising. Support the development and maintenance of public policy that is favourable to an organizations mission. Inform and motivate key organizational constituents (such as employees, volunteers, and trustees) to dedicate themselves and work productively in support of an organizations mission, goal, and objectives. (Broom, Center, Cutlip, 2006, p. 449) Campaign Description: Intentio PR designed a campaign to achieve two goals; first to increase the amount of funding Parent to Parent receives through creating relationships with the business community; and second to increase awareness of Parent to Parent through the relationships and campaigns developed with the business community. Therefore, Intentio PRs key campaign goal was to increase the amount of funding Parent to Parent receives, while simultaneously increasing awareness of Parent to Parent and their services to key audiences. Intentio PR proposed three projects to achieve these goals: A redevelopment of Parent to Parents website to be more interactive, and to allow for a better donation function. A cause related marketing campaign with Huggies, where a certain amount of each Huggies product purchased was donated to the organisation A relationship with TradeMe, in which users can donate the auction success fee or entire proceeds for an auctioned item to Parent to Parent. Campaign Strength and Weaknesses: Prior to the development of Intentio PRs three campaigns, Parent to Parents current situation was researched, more specifically research concentrated on their purpose and mission, their current financial situation, and their sources of funding. The information gathered from this influenced our next stage of research as we found that there was a problem with funding, and that businesses were not approached for funding, focussing efforts on grants and applications instead. Stemming from our organisational information, we then conducted research that looked into what motivates businesses to provide sponsorship to non-profit organisations, what they see as essential to this relationship, and their level of awareness for organisations providing services to the disabled. Research also looked into the funding and sponsorship situations of the regional Parent to Parent offices. We encountered difficulties in relation to this research in regards to response rates, from both business, and the regional offices contacted to participate. Although not sufficient to produce any significant generalisations to either of the communities surveyed, the information gathered did produce enough relevant data to help in the formation of our campaign goals and objectives. The goals for this campaign fit in to two management situations that Smith describes, a task management goal focused on obtaining more funding, and reputation management goal which is focussed on Parent to Parents awareness and perception (Smith, 2002, p. 69). Although our campaign had a goal derived from our previous research and worked, as Smith states, to provide the direction while objectives pinpoint the destination (Smith, 2002, p. 67) I believe we could have developed more specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART) objectives for the three campaigns developed. Consequently, this would have allowed for us to develop more specific and detailed campaign evaluations, which lacked any specific criteria to measure success against. The reputation or awareness objective that was listed could have been improved by specifically stating who the community mentioned is, for example amongst all parents of disabled children; and by providing measurable targets for the objective, for example an increase of awareness by 60%, although previous awareness levels of the organisation amongst the target audience for the objective would be needed as the standard to be measured against. Public Relations Theory: Although we attempted to use the four step process, that is research, planning, action, and evaluation, our campaign was lacking in areas such as planning and evaluation that would have brought it together. Five theories I would use to describe and evaluate aspects of Intentio PRs campaign would be systems theory, the two-way asymmetrical model, social exchange theory, social learning theory, and situational theory. Systems theory can be used to examine both the internal and external relationships an organisation has with its employees and customers. Baskin, Heiman, Lattimore, and Toth describe organisations as made up of interrelated parts, adapting and adjusting to changes in theenvironments in which they operate. Organisations have recognisable boundaries, within which there must be a communication structure that guides the parts of the organisation to achieve organisational goals. (Baskin, Heiman, Lattimore, Toth, 2007, pp. 44-45) These organisations can be considered either open or closed systems; open systems allowing the flow of information from outside stakeholders, and how these relationships with outside stakeholders might affect the organisation; closed systems choosing to focus on past decisions and how these have performed when making decisions, preferring not to seek new information from outside of the organisation. Our campaign would be based on an open systems theory, with research in to outside organisations and how these relationships are established, and maintained being conducted, as previously discussed; also, we seek to establish new relationships with Huggies, and TradeMe to increase funding and awareness. As surveys were mainly used to explore relationships with businesses, and the information found used to develop or influence our campaign design, the two-way asymmetrical best describes our research and development model, as Tench and Yeomans state Feedback from audiences is important in this model of communication, but it is used to adapt communication strategies to be more persuasive, not to alter the organisations position. (Tench Yeomans, 2006, p. 147) Intentio PRs cause related marketing campaign with Huggies establishes an exchange with the consumer of the Huggies product; for every product the consumer purchases, $2.00 will be donated towards Parent to Parent. Therefore, the act of buying this product (the cost), results in them helping out a charitable organisation (the reward). I believe this is an example of the social exchange theory, which uses the economic metaphor of costs and benefits to predict behaviour. It assumes that individuals and groups choose strategies based on perceived rewards and costs. (Baskin, Heiman, Lattimore, Toth, 2007, p. 48) I believe the social learning theory, which states that we can learn new behaviours merely by observing others (Baskin, Heiman, Lattimore, Toth, 2007, p. 50), is applicable to our TradeMe Team Up campaign. Although there will be a media release and other promotional material in relation to this campaign, the main method in which TradeMe members are going to learn about these donation features are through observing and adapting this behaviour from another member who has used these features on their auction(s). Both VanLeuven; and Baskin, Heiman, Lattimore Toth state that the more positive and rewarding the consequences, the more likely the behaviour will occur. (VanLeuven, 1989, p. 196) Therefore the probability of the observing TradeMe member adopting this behaviour (the donation feature) is more likely if they believe the reward (donating money to a charitable cause) is a sufficient or positive reward for performing the task; the goal of the promotional effort for this campaign should consequently be to align TradeMe Team Up campaign as so. Situational theory, according to Tench, and Yeomans; and Baskin, Heiman, Lattimore Toth (2007, p.46-47), divides an organisations publics according to those publics who actively seek and process information about an organisation or an issue of interest, and those publics that passively receive informationas the situation, problem, opportunity, or issue changes, the publics, with which the organisation must communicate, change. The redevelopment of Parent to Parents website is aimed towards the active information seekers of their publics; the new website design allows for easier navigation of the site, and easier access to relevant information, such as events, regional information, and organisational information. It would be the active users of this website, who are also TradeMe members, who would be the early adopters of the donation feature of TradeMe Team Up. Conclusion: Theory establishes a framework through which common phenomena can be described and analysed. This essay has described the public relations campaign designed by Intentio PR, and has worked to relate the various components that it comprises to relevant public relations theory. I believe the campaign we produced could have been improved if we had used or referred back to the theory discussed previously, and if we had designated SMART goals to each of the campaigns.

The History And Influence Of Latin Music

The History And Influence Of Latin Music The history and influences of Latin American music started in the 1550 by the Moorish and African slaves. Latin Americas style of music has a mix of European, African, and Indigenous influences. Latin music today is played to celebrate events and many other happy happenings this is where in my essay I will focus in the early times of Latin America, the indigenous civilizations of Aztec, Maya, and Inca had their style of music for rituals and ceremonies, but when the Europeans came in the colonial period, they brought their Roman Catholic religious and also changed the views of many indigenous people including their style of music. At the time European was conquering Latin America, the Europeans brought African slaves for labour, but because they were not allowed to believe in their believes, the African slaves used their own instruments that were brought with them when they were forced into slave trade to create rhythms to communicate, tell stories, and share unspeakable joy which al l created the beat of Lain Music. Lastly I will talk about present Latin music itself and what influences was kept. Oldest musical traditions in Latin America were based on the three great civilizations of Maya, Inca, and Aztec. The three great civilizations played three types of music. The first one was played for pleasure that inspired group singings and dances. The second type was functional music for instance, work songs and martial music. The last type of music was the largest category, it was religious music used for rituals and communication. For the largest category of music, their religion was extremely important to the indigenous people. They had their unique kind of music to please the evil gods to bring good lucky, another to bring good harvest and most importantly the rain god to bring water for drinking and farming. Many of these type of music was played when a ritual was happening, sacrifices would be done at the same time. There were centuries where the music that were heard by authors and music scholars and they would say it was barbaric and frightful. Though many disagreed with t he music of sacrifice, many were impressed by the large variety of detailed instruments ranging from flutes made out of clay, conch shells used like a trumpet, rattles, and drums ranging from different sizes. Music was always played in festivals, and a particular song was played for each big event. Even small villages of Amerindians musicians produce music that is diverse and unique to each village. As the European came in the colonial period, their influenced evolved indigenous style of music to more detailed pieces. When Spain and Portugal started to settle on American land in the colonial period, the Spanish and Portuguese brought their culture along with them especially their Roman Catholic religious believes, where the indigenous people began the use their influence of arts. In this period the indigenous people were beginning to be influenced by their arts and many Europeans played many kinds of their famous music in churches to convert Indians into Catholicism. Their music however did not play a major role in the development in Latin American and especially Brazils popular music. When the Christmas season came, autos were introduced to the Indians and they were highly influenced by the later music of Latin America. At this time, the colonist of Europe brought European instruments and the natives quickly adopted these, but because the Indians tried not to copy the exact instrument, they would construct similar ones but with better quality items. For example the guitar, the Indians would chang e the tuning of the strings or change the guitar box with an armadillo shell. But not till the twenty-first century, the Maya still played their old songs but with European instruments where they shared Mayan roots with both Aztec and Spanish borrowings. Latin America gained independence during the early nineteenth century. With the independence, music shifted its status in leadership. In the nineteenth century the musical life of Latin American started using the piano to produce salon music. Many different kinds of Latin American music were produced but not all kinds were so popular. Italian lyricism, German and French romanticism were the three biggest influences to Latin American composers of the nineteenth century. By the end of nineteenth century, Latin America started to not lean so much towards the European traditions and started to create national music. As this new development of nationalism music, composers started to focus more into folk and popular themes. In this new de velopment, Brazil began to use native melodies to compose their music. The most important development of Latin American music during the Colonial Period was in the sixteenth century when African slaves were sent to the Caribbean Islands and Brazil, and this is where the base of contemporary Latin American music started. Latin American music is highly influenced by European colonization and by the African slaves. The African slaves brought the following characteristics for their style of music: multiple percussive lines, polyrhythms, polymeric vocal polyphony, choreographic features, mystical-religious references, the use of a stanza-refrain form, and specific instrumentation as they were forced into labour on unfamiliar land from salve trades, which created vibrant rhythms and melodies to Latin America from their homeland. The music they play associates with work, play and spiritual purposes because they were not allowed to practise their believes so they create rhythms to communicate, tell stories, and share unspeakable joy. Their music comes in a range for every occasion from lullabies to punishments and because of their diversity, each group of African slaves produce different musical styles with a wide variety of instruments from rattles, to woodwinds, to drums, to stringed instruments. One of t he larger groups known as the Moorish people also known as Afro-Caribbean brought their culture up front and it came forth. In 1776 Moorish people were prohibited to play drums and the Caribbean slaves were allowed, which were just for recreation, entertainment, and the most important, communication. All of these played the traditional Moorish and African rhythms on a drum and the basic beat for Latin American music. The African slaves were always interested in coming up with new rhythms that they liked to play in ensembles of different percussion instruments but because they are rich in rhythmic form, their melodic variation is extremely poor. African beats highly influenced the creation of samba, where ancient drumming and circular dance ritual called the bataque are included. Although the bataque was originally a religious dance, slaves disguised it as a secular celebration because the Portuguese forbade the Africans to practice their sacred beliefs. The word samba first appeared in 1838 where it originally originated from an African dance known as the mesemba but the actual samba dance and music was created in 1917. History has said that the African-Brazilian people in the working class of Rio de Janeiro probably invented the samba. The rhythms of the samba had three roles: to sing, dance, and to parade at carnivals. Ernesto does Santos; a black musician recorded the first samba song in 1916. When Manuel Diniz opened a maxixe academy in Paris, the samba dance gained much popularity in Europe in 1921. Sambas name was for its rhythm, but there were different kinds of samba. The most fast paced and extreme was the batucada. The batucada is both the name for a large samba percussion group and a drumming style with two rhythms mixed together. Latin music is a combination of influences from Africa, Europe, and the indigenous people of Latin America. Latin music is influenced by Spanish songs, African and indigenous rhythms, European classical and popular music from the Catholic Church. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, ballad, rhythm, blues, jazz, rocks, reggae, Afro-pop, and hip-hop were created. Rhythms and harmonies are the two elements that help differ Latin music from European and North American music. Many European classical and church influences were incorporated into Afro-Cuban music. The rhythmic structure or the beat is the most distinctive elements in Afro-Cuban music. Latin music is a five-beat pattern called the clave. There are two wooden clave sticks which are used by musicians to tap out the underlying rhythms of a song. Contemporary Latin music shows three main trends. The first are the ones who follow the footsteps in expressing their love for their country in the late nineteenth century or ear ly twentieth century. The second most influential group are composers who seek to accommodate their cultures myths and express their own individuality at the same time. Lastly they are the ones who ignore both the love of their country and cultural myth. Their music is developed along experimental lines. In conclusion Latin American music is a popular music that has a history of cultural mixes. Without the conquest of the Spanish and Europeans, they would never have given influences to the style and also the bring African slaves over for the beat of todays Latin music From Africa to the Aztec and the Inca, the forebears of Latin music have circled the globe for hundreds of years. The unique melodies and instruments played important roles in ancient societies, and they continue to influence millions of musicians in the 21st century

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big To fully understand this book, people must go behind the book and find the true state of mind of the author. Unfortunately in this case, the author is the one and only Jose Canseco. Jose Canseco is what I like to call, â€Å"The black sheep in the family of baseball.† Canseco’s history can be related to such incidents of drug using, heavy drinking, numerous sexual encounters with hundreds of partners, and unreasonable acts of violence. This book goes into grave detail on how steroids have changed his life and how it is currently changing baseball. Juiced starts off with what appears to be a legal disclaimer. "This book does not intend to condone or encourage the use of any particular drugs, medicine or illegal substances." Yet the author spends most of the time doing nothing but repeating his assertions that taken under proper supervision, these drugs can enhance everyday life. Jose Canseco says he wrote Juiced because he wanted his fans to listen to him and hear him out on what he has to say about the current state of baseball and it’s future. I believe this former 40-40 had another reason for writing this book and it’s plain and simple†¦money. Money encourages the human mind to perform selfish and somewhat outlandish stunts in order to achieve wealth. I believe that Jose Canseco’s mind consists of slop and greed. It’s a proven fact that this 1988 Major League MVP has a truly unstable mind. One incident in his book that proves this is the time he went â€Å"deep sea fishing.† The story begins with Jose Canseco’s wife leaving him for Kansas City Chiefs’ all-star tight end, Tony Gonzalez. Mr. Canseco reacted by grabbing his 12-gauge shotgun and taking his boat out to sea where he decided to shoot sharks with his shotgun when they surfaced. This incident is one of the very many incidents that question the complete truth in Juiced. Jose Canseco is best known for several things: A fly ball bouncing off his noggin and landing over the fence, dating Madonna, his tape measure home runs, having numerous run-ins with the law, being the first man to ever hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, and his bulging biceps. In Juiced, Canseco recalls other steroid user’s stories within the sport ... ...baseball and hold them responsible. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of bad things rising from the depths of this book. One of these would be the fact that Jose Canseco is gaining more attention for these appalling allegations and stories. Not only is Canseco gaining attention from the media but he’s also profiting immensely from his book, book signings, talk shows, and television appearances. The only thing worse than a regular Jose Canseco is a rich Jose Canseco. We are simply feeding the dragon himself by agreeing and believing all his allegations in Juiced. The book clearly depicts that there are holes within his stories and these prevent the truth to be fully told. Although I have an undying hatred for Jose Canseco, he deserves credit for forcing America to give serious attention to the steroid problem not only in baseball but all of professional sports. Without Jose Canseco’s deceiving stories about the abuse and the media attention that this is creating, there is a possibility that this could have been unnoticed for many years to come. This drug usage throughout the league is clearly paving a dark future for our national pastime.

Comparing Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill Essay example -- Karl Marx vs

Karl Marx was born and educated in Prussia, where he fell under the influence of Ludwig Feuerbach and other radical Hegelians. Although he shared Hegel's belief in dialectical structure and historical inevitability, Marx held that the foundations of reality lay in the material base of economics rather than in the abstract thought of idealistic philosophy. He earned a doctorate at Jena in 1841, writing on the materialism and atheism of Greek atomists, then moved to Kà ¶ln, where he founded and edited a radical newspaper, Rheinische Zeitung. Although he also attempted to earn a living as a journalist in Paris and Brussels, Marx's participation in unpopular political movements made it difficult to support his growing family. He finally settled in London in 1849, where he lived in poverty while studying and developing his economic and political theories. Above all else, Marx believed that philosophy ought to be employed in practice to change the world. Although it at first had little impact on the varied revolutionary movements of the mid-19th century Europe, the Communist Manifesto was to become one of the most widely read and discussed documents of the 20th century. Marx sought to differentiate his brand of socialism from others by insisting that it was scientifically based in the objective study of history, which he saw as being a continuous process of change and transformation. Just as feudalism had naturally evolved into mercantilism and then capitalism, so capitalism would inevitably give way to its logical successor, socialism as the necessary result of class struggle. Marx's insistence that tough-minded realism should replace the utopian idealism of earlier socialists had profound consequences: it enabled revolutionaries like Lenin to be put it into action, but it also tended to encourage its followers to accept ruthless means to justify what they believed were historically necessary ends. Radical politics were being much m ore widely discussed than the small number of radicals justified; but Marx uses this fact to his advantage by proclaiming that any ideology so feared must be important and worth explaining clearly. In the notes, "Marx" is used as shorthand for both Marx and Engels. The Manifesto was originally issued in several languages, including an English version. According to Mark, the modern age is a dangerous age, an age in which we might ... ...or the few is solely due to its non-existence in the hands of those nine-tenths. You reproach us, therefore, with intending to do away with a form of property, the necessary condition for whose existence is the non-existence of any property for the immense majority of society. In one word, you reproach us with intending to do away with your property. Precisely so; that is just what we intend. From the moment when labour can no longer be converted into capital, money, or rent, into a social power capable of being monopolised, i.e., from the moment when individual property can no longer be transformed into bourgeois property, into capital, from that moment, you say individuality vanishes. You must, therefore, confess that by "individual" you mean no other person than the bourgeois, than the middle-class owner of property. This person must, indeed, be swept out of the way, and made impossible. Works Cited Marx, K. and Engels, F. Manifesto of the Communist Party, in The Portable Karl Marx, edited by E. Kamenka, New York: Penguin Books 1983. Mill, John Stuart.  On Liberty. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1978. Mill, John Stuart.  Utilitarianism.  Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001

Al Qaeda 4

Paper 1 – Al-Qaeda 10/19/10 It would not at all be surprising if this decade comes to be known as the decade of terrorism in years to come. Since the turn of the millennium, terrorism, maybe more than any other global issue or topic, has plagued the world stage with constant news and horror. It can be argued that terrorism is a problem with no solution and no end in sight. The Islamic militant group, Al-Qaeda, is the most well known terrorist organization in the world.Al-Qaeda has been held accountable for some of the most tragic and horrifying acts of terror in history. Still, many people do not fully understand what Al-Qaeda is, who is behind it, and why it exists. A fluid, agreed-upon definition does not exist for the extremist organization, run by Osama bin Laden and responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks, but rather a multitude of beliefs on the number, strength, and whereabouts of Al-Qaeda. Most researchers and historians point to August 11th, 1988 as the o rigin of Al-Qaeda as an organized group.However, it was the events leading up to this meeting that caused Osama bin Laden and a small group of extremist leaders to officially organize what had grown into a large, strong Islamic following. From December 1979 through February 1989, the Soviet Union was engaged in a war with Afghanistan. The communist Soviet Union allied with the Afghan Marxist regime in order to fight the native Afghan mujahideen (Burke and Allen). The United States channeled funds to the native Afghanis in order to stop the spread of communism by the Soviet Union in a CIA program called Operation Cyclone.There are many people today that are of the belief that it was this CIA program that kick started Al-Qaeda, and that the US was directly responsible for the growth and success of the same terrorist organization that executed the most devastating attack on US soil (Dixon). Once the war ended, Osama bin Laden met with the leader of the Egyptian Islamic-Jihad, Abdullah Azzam and planned to expand their newly founded organization. Al-Qaeda relocated to Sudan from 1992 to 1996.During this time, Al-Qaeda grew through various forms of terrorist attacks, until the Saudi Arabian government exiled Osama bin Laden and forced him and his followers to once again relocate to avoid conflict (Bergen). After the Soviets left Afghanistan, there was a period of great turmoil and anarchy that took hold. There was no established form of government, and many separate groups claimed the rights to certain territories throughout the country. This was the perfect time for bin Laden and Al-Qaeda to return home and regain power in Afghanistan.They teamed up with the Taliban, an organization that garnered its strength through the education and training of children. The Taliban had been the most successful group to rise to power, and many recognized them as the governing entity in Afghanistan. With the protection and support from the Taliban, bin Laden was able to mobilize and organize Al-Qaeda into a dominant and strategically planned terrorist organization (Burke and Allen). Al-Qaeda’s mission has been summarized as â€Å"centralization of decision and decentralization of execution. In other words, bin Laden hoped to form a group in which he and a few close advisors would set out guidelines and make decisions for the smaller cells that would then spread around throughout the world and execute his attacks. Structurally, Al-Qaeda is formed just like any other corporation, with senior executives at the top and then smaller, less powerful roles towards the bottom. Bin Laden is the emir, which is the highest power in the organization, almost king-like. Ayman al-Zawahiri is Al-Qaeda's Deputy Operations Chief, and is known as bin Laden’s second in command.Similar to other organizations and corporations, Al-Qaeda has several divisions that handle issues specific to their role. First, the Military Operative is the most destructive and infamous . It is responsible for training soldiers, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks around the world. Second, the Money/Business Committee is responsible for providing the funding for the training operatives and attacks, using the hawala banking system (informal value transfer system that is not used in the United States).The Law Committee rules on whether certain actions follow Islamic law. The Islamic Study/Fatwa Committee issues religious edicts, also known as fatwas, that the rest of the organization and even the territory it controls must follow. For example, in 1998, Al-Qaeda issued a fatwa that all Muslims should kill any American if given the chance. The most recent addition to Al-Qaeda has been the formation of As-Sahab, Al-Qaeda’s media outlet that supplies video and audio recordings and sends them out to the rest of the world (Inside Al-Qaeda).Tapes of bin Laden have been released to the United States where he takes responsibility for the September 11th attacks, as well as numerous other hateful speeches about the evils of Western culture and perceived Muslim intolerance. Although there is a large following of people that believe Al-Qaeda has been dismantled and broken down since the War on Terror, evidence still points to a structurally organized and strategically planned organization in which each department works in conjunction with each other to carry out acts of terror.Osama bin Laden is advised by a Shura Council, estimated to consist of twenty to thirty members, who make plans and decisions for the entire organization. They recently released a document called â€Å"Al-Qaeda’s Strategy to the Year 2020† in which they outlined their military, political, and religious goals for the organization in the upcoming years. The strategy can be summarized into five stages. First, provoke the United States into invading a Muslim country. This was successfully executed once the United States invaded Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks.Second, incite local resistance to occupying forces. This way, Al-Qaeda creates the enemy and turns the natives against the foreign invaders, thereby leaving them as the only reliable solution to restore â€Å"peace†. Third, engage surrounding countries in the war so that the United States is trapped in a â€Å"long war of attrition†. Fourth, convert Al-Qaeda into a set of operating principles and ideologies that can be franchised into smaller countries and smaller cells. Then, these cells will engage the United States and its allies until they can no longer fight and must withdraw.Al-Qaeda was able to do this with the 2004 Madrid train bombings, but failed to impact British involvement with the July 7, 2005 London bombings. Finally, the fifth stage, which has thankfully yet to occur, is that the United States’ economy will crumble due to too many engagements in too many areas, and any allied nations supported by the United States will fall as well. Al-Qaeda will then be able to take control and set up the desired form of government, a Wahabi Caliphate, throughout the region (Atwan).Al-Qaeda has been responsible for several acts of terror in the 1990’s and 2000’s that were designed with the intent of furthering Al-Qaeda’s mission. In 1992, Al-Qaeda successfully executed its first terrorist attack. Two bombs were detonated in Aden, Yemen. The first target was Movenpick Hotel and the second was the parking lot of the Goldmohur Hotel. Although no Americans were killed and it went with little notice in the United States, the attack did signify the first attack on Western culture by Al-Qaeda.Then, in 1993, Ramzi Yousef used a truck bomb to explode one of the World Trade Center towers. The plan was that the bomb would crumble the foundation of the first tower, sending it into the second tower and resulting in the collapse of both. Although the plan did not work to perfection, it did kill six people and put Al-Qa eda on the radar as a potential threat to American security. There were several other attacks in the late 1990’s, such as the bombing of the U. S. S. Cole, a military destroyer based off of Yemen that killed 17 US servicemen (Terrorism Project).However, no attack in history has come close to the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. The September 11th attacks were the culmination and result of Al-Qaeda’s growth, organization, and mission. Once bin Laden was able to mobilize the extremist followers, he was ready to execute the first stage of its mission strategy. On September 11th, Al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners. The hijackers flew two planes into both towers of the World Trade Center, eventually collapsing both towers into debris and destruction.Another plane crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth was originally intended for Washington, D. C. , but crash-landed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. These attacks left 3,000 people dead and countless injured, allowing i t to be the worst attack in American history (Bin Laden). Following the attacks, an extreme sense of national unity erupted in the United States, and George Bush’s administration had no choice but to wage war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime. The War on Terror began on October 7, 2001 with the first set of US troops landing in Afghanistan.The original plan was executed swiftly and successfully, and by early 2002, Al-Qaeda had been dealt a serious blow. Many of its top executives and leaders were either captured or killed, and many of its training facilities and bases were destroyed. By the end of 2004, the United States government estimated that two-thirds of Al-Qaeda’s most senior figures had been captured and interrogated by the CIA. However, Osama bin Laden was able to escape each attempt at capture, and is still believed to be hiding out in an undisclosed location.Overall, the initial strike in the War on Terror was deemed a success, even though the aftermat h has divided the nation and raised serious questions about the United States’ involvement in the Middle East (9/11 Commission Report). The world changed forever on September 11th, 2001. Aside from the tragic consequences and the unfathomable death toll, a new evil was officially born into the world. There had been terrorist attacks before, but none that shook the United States, and the world stage, as much as September 11th did. As a result, this decade has been plagued by fear of terror.New organizations and strategies have emerged that solely engage in counter-terrorist activities. Airport security has been completely revamped following an extreme fear in almost all Americans that caused aviation activity to decrease significantly after the attacks. So, after all that Al-Qaeda has been accused of, and after all the intense fear that spread throughout the country, why is it that there are still such differing beliefs and theories on Al-Qaeda? Why do some people believe that , for the most part, it has become a brand name that smaller terrorist groups use, but in reality have no real affiliation with the defeated organization?And on the other hand, why are there people who strongly contest these views and believe that Al-Qaeda is still a functioning, organized militia run by Osama bin Laden? I am not sure whether there is a right or wrong answer, but a serious concern in the minds of both beliefs is that terrorism, as a threat, could be one that proves insolvable.Works Cited â€Å"The 9/11 Commission Report. † National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. . Atwan, Abdel Bari. The Secret History of Al-Qaeda. Los Angeles, California: University of California, 2006. Google Books. Bergen, Peter. â€Å"The Osama Bin Laden I Know. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. . â€Å"Bin Laden Claims Responsibility for 9/11. † CBC News. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. . Burke, Jason, and Paddy Allen. â€Å"The Five Ages of Al-Qaida. † Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian. co. uk. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. . Dixon, Norm. â€Å"How the CIA Created Osama Bin Laden. † Green Left Weekly. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. . â€Å"Inside the Alqaeda Terrorist Network. † Middle East: MidEastWeb. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. . â€Å"List of Known Terrorist Organizations. † CDI – Center for Defense Information – Security Policy Research Organization. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. .

Factory Near Housing Area

An international company is planning to set up a factory near your housing area. The proposed factory however, is believed to be environmentally hazardous. It will pollute the environment through thermal pollution, chemical pollution, air pollution, and noise pollution. Write a persuasive essay urging people in your neighborhood to protest against the set up of the factory. Based on Macmillan English Dictionary, pollution is the process of damaging the air, water, or land with chemicals or other substances. Pollution even started from the prehistoric times when man created the first fires.But nowadays, it was the  industrial revolution  that gave birth to environmental pollution. The emergence of great factories and consumption of immense quantities of  coal  and other  fossil fuels gave rise to unprecedented  air pollution  and the large volume of industrial  chemical  discharges added to the growing load of untreated human waste. Therefore, is it suitable for fact ories to be build near the housing area? People in the community should show their concerns and attention to this matter because setting up an environmentally hazardous factory near their house is extremely unreasonable.There are many kind of pollution caused by factory. One of it is thermal pollution, another form of water pollution. Like other form of water pollution, thermal pollution is widespread, effecting many rivers, lakes and stream around the world. It happens when there is increase of temperature in the stream, river or lake. Factories involve in thermal pollution when they dump water used to cool their machinery. As we all know, water used for cooling the machine warms to five to ten Celsius degree before dumped back into river or lake where it come from.When water temperature rises from normal temperature, the plants and animals lived in the water will die because they had been adapted to live in a certain range of temperature only. Increase in temperature cause them to die. Therefore, we shouldn’t allow this to happen because it will affect the stability of the ecosystem which also leads to decreasing food source. As we know it, many hazardous chemicals are used in factories during the production process, after which they are dumped into rivers and lakes.Issues about factories that did not dispose their chemical wastes in the correct way are also very common in these days. Unused chemical substances were disposed into the rivers illegally. This had eventually endangered the water species in the river and destroyed the drinking water sources of the people. As a result, more than 40% of the rivers in China are considered unfit for drinking, while 64% of major cities and towns have  seriously polluted groundwater. We can’t let this happen in our housing area because water is a very important source for us to live.Therefore building a factory near the housing area is not supposed to happen. Besides, noise pollution is also one of the pollution that is contributed by factory. Machine in the factory produce very loud noises which can affect the health and behavior of a person. This is because unwanted noise can damage physiological and psychological health. For example, people will face many health problems such as annoyance and aggression,  hypertension, high stress levels,  tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects due to the exposure of loud noise.Therefore, if the factory is just around the corner, the possibility for the community to be effected by the loud noise is very high. It is very risky to let the community facing those loud noises as it will affect their live eventually. Another pollution that caused by factory operation is air pollution. With accelerating urban and industrial growth, vast amount of harmful waste product has been released into the atmosphere by the irresponsible citizen. The most common gaseous pollutants are  carbon monoxide,  carbon dioxide, chlor ofluorocarbons  (CFCs) and  nitrogen oxides.Factories involve in air pollution when the burning of various fuels in the factory emits poisonous gasses to the atmosphere and eventually damage the air quality. Besides that, dust that comes from cement kilns, lime kilns, stone crushing and asbestos factories are also the main causes of breathing problems and lung diseases in our country. This shows that low quality of air increase the risk for the community to be infected by disease. Therefore, factory should be build far away from the housing area to ensure the healthy environment can be built in the neighborhood.Our environment means the surrounding of our house where we live together with our neighbors. To produce a healthy environment for us and the people around us, we should cooperate with each other and prevent any unpleasant force from disturbing our healthy life. In this situation, we should get up and protest against the set up of the factory because the damages that come with the factory are just too awful. It may increase the spreading of disease and disturb the balance nature of our neighborhood. Therefore we need to be united in order to provide a better living for our community.