Preoccupation with Death in Hamlet Essay

â€Å"Hamlet† is a play permeated with death. Right from the opening scene of the play death is introduced, where the ghost of Hamlet’s father introduces the idea of death and its consequences. Preoccupation with death is a major theme in this play as shown in the numerous deaths of the main characters of Hamlet, Polonius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Claudius and Laertes. Taken off the web accurate definitions of â€Å"preoccupation† are the following: 1)a state in which you think about something so much that you do not think about other things; 2)something that you think about and want to do because it is important. This is exactly what the main characters are preoccupied by-death. An example would be that Hamlet is preoccupied by death throughout the story. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his father’s death. When Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, their conversation raises all kinds of unthinkable questions, for example murder by a brother, an unfaithful mother, that triggers Hamlet’s obsession. He feels compelled to determine the reliability of the ghost’s statements so that he can determine how he must act. Ultimately, it is his obsession with death that leads to Hamlet avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius. Although Hamlet’s preoccupation is deeply rooted in his character’s fascination with death, it could be a product of his grief. Hamlet’s most potent consideration of death comes in Act 4, Scene 3. His almost gruesome fixation with the idea of death is revealed by his mockery and such when asked by Claudius where he has hidden Polonius’ body. Hamlet’s answers seem to reveal an extremely morbid state of mind. Hamlet exclaimed how once the body dies, it goes through a cycle where it is eaten by worms, these worms are used to get food for another person therefore, that person digests the dead body. Finally, the graveyard scene shows how Hamlet views death and that he fears how no matter who you were or what you did that someday you too, will be at one with the earth and dirt only to become decayed, fed upon and then nothing. â€Å"No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it; as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was uried, Alexander returned into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam: and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop at a beer-barrel? † (Act 5, Scene 1 Lines 201-206) As Hamlet continuously postponed the death of Claudius he became more preoccupied with the various ways he could have his revenge. Hamlet has completed his transformation from an unhappy young man to a hardened killer. He has no hope and despite Horatio’s praise, by this time he would not have made a good king.

Report on Air Asia Essay

The route map of all the destinations covered by Air Asia and Air Asia X are also shown. Booking services Once the destinations are selected the flight times and the base prices will be displayed AirAsia GoAir Asia Go ensures customers to book flights and the hotel rooms in their preferred destinations at the click of the mouse. AirAsia Credit Cards With the Air Asia credit cards, each customer is entitled for great deals and discounts on selected flights and purchases from Air Asia. AirAsia Insure Air Asia has its own travel insurance, which is Air Asia Insure travel protection. AirAsia CourierWith Air Asia Courier, the courier rates are 50% lower than the nearest competitor prices. It has two main services, that is Delivery to Door and Airport to Airport services. AirAsia RedTix An online ticket service in which customers can buy tickets for upcoming sporting events, theatre shows, and many more. Air Asia RedTix partners with premier event organizers to bring customers the world of high class performances and entertainments. Red MegastoreA merchandise service from Air Asia in which you can browse and shop for exclusive merchandise from the comforts of your home. Exclusive Air Asia merchandise, collectibles, exclusive cosmetics and fragrances are available for customers to choose from. AirAsia. cafeThis is an in-flight experience that is specially tailored to cater to the needs of the customers’ needs and expectations. Food and Beverages, AirAsia Merchandise, and in flight entertainment. Figure: 8 Product & Services of Air Asia (Accessed on 25th May 2010) http://www. redmegastore. com/webshaper/store/viewCat. asp 3. 0 Mega Environment Mega environment are the general condition outside an organization. Mega environment have 5 elements. These are Technological, Economic, Legal Political, Social culture and International. In this particular time our group will be explaining about Technological and Social Culture. 3. 1 Social/Culture Brand culture With the tagline ‘Now everyone can fly’, Air Asia’s philosophy of low fares is aimed to make flying affordable for everyone. Air Asia also aims at making travel easy, convenient and fun for its guests Malaysia is a multiracial country, boasting races of Malays, Chinese, Indians and others. Malaysia’s state religion is Islam, but people are free to choose their religion. Malay is the official language in Malaysia, as English is also widely used. Fernandes’s management style to build on the basis of culture, creating a strong brand, and usinghis own unique way. He stressed that the departments are closely linked, and also the importance of distinguishing. He explained in the aviation industry, â€Å"The pilots think they are God, and also the engineers as these are very important people. † Air Asia’s philosophy is: not only affordable flights, but also interesting and fun experience in each flight.

Death of a Salesman: Symbolism

Langston Hughes's poem â€Å"Dream Deferred† is basically about what happens to dreams when they are put on hold. Hughes probably intended for the poem to focus on the dreams of African-Americans because he originally entitled the poem â€Å"Harlem,† which is the capital of African American life in the United States; however, it is just as easy to read the poem as being about dreams in general and what happens when people postpone making them come true.Overall, Hughes uses a carefully arranged series of images that suggest that people should not delay their dreams because the more they postpone them, the more the dreams will change and the less likely they will come true. In the opening of the poem Hughes uses a visual image that compares a dream deferred to a raisin. Hughes asks the question, â€Å"Does it [the dream] dry up, Like a raisin in the sun? † (2-3). Here you can see the raisin, which used to be a moist, healthy-looking grape, has shriveled up to becom e a raisin.Like the raisin, the dream has been on hold for a long time and eventually it has transformed into something very different than it once was. Because they look so different, few people would believe that raisins were once grapes unless they had been told. Similarly, a dream that continues to be postponed will go through a transformation as well-it won't be the same as the original. On the surface, readers may not view the outcome as negative because raisins are valuable on their own. However, Hughes does not stress the taste of the raisin; he emphasizes the fact that a raisin â€Å"dries up† or loses its moisture.The comparison of the dream to the withered raisin shows how a dream that is postponed changes dramatically and will not turn out as the person originally intended. The next image in the poem â€Å"fester like† a sore and then run† (3-4) gives you a sense of infection and pain. Comparing the dream to a sore of a body, Hughes suggests that unfu lfilled dreams become part of us, like a longstanding injury that has gathered pus. The word â€Å"fester† meaning something decay and â€Å"run† literally refers to pus in my opinion.From this perspective, it explains the pain that someone has when their dream always defers. A postponed dream is like a painful injury that begins to be infected. The next image â€Å"Does it stink like rotten meat†(5) intensified the sense of disgust. A dream deferred may also stink. If dreams are stashed away, will they haunt us like rotten meat haunts us when it sits too long in the refrigerator? If rotting meat didn't smell so bad, how much longer do you think it would sit in your fridge? The smell is often what reminds us to do something about it, to throw it away.What kinds of things crust or sugar over(6)? Honey; cheese or candy. Usually things that left out in the open and that aren't put away properly. Can dreams be put away properly? Can dreams be preserved if they aren' t pursued? Hughes compares dreams to sweet-tasting things, and comparing the bitterness of lost dreams. â€Å"Maybe it just sags like a heavy load† (8-9). Sagging things are things that are old, for example our skin, furniture or even curtains. I think Hughes is pointing out how important dreams are because they are heavy and if we ignore them, they grow to sag. Or does it explode† (10)? I think when Hughes uses the word â€Å"explode† he leaves it up to question. Explode could mean either from built up pressure or something more positive like fireworks or celebration. Whichever comparison, I think either are strong outcomes become your dream has some sort of result. Because of the time period Hughes wrote this poem, I think he wants the readers to question and think about their dreams, and what you are going to do with them; especially for African Americans.

Sustainable Energy Development, Transportation and Gas Flaring in the Research Paper

Sustainable Energy Development, Transportation and Gas Flaring in the Niger Delta, Nigeria - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that Nigeria is ranked among the top 10 countries globally with the largest deposits of natural gas. However, much of this gas is flared off, and the volume of the gas flared in a single day is more than the combined energy needs of entire sub-Saharan Africa. This phenomenon has resulted in socioeconomic losses and health problems to the Niger- Delta region, its people and entire Nigeria. Estimates from the World Bank reveal that each year, Nigeria burns natural gas amounting to more than 100 billion cubic meters. Although the world is shifting towards green technologies, there is still a high need for natural gas both for domestic and industrial use. In addition, energy prices are escalating every now and then indicating a global energy shortage. The burning of gas is, therefore, a colossal waste of resources, and especially, in Nigeria where there are huge energy shortages. The main types of energy that Nigeria develops both for its local and export markets are gas oil and gas. Estimates by the US United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) suggest that Nigeria’s oil reserves are about 16-22 billion barrels (3.5Ãâ€"109 m3) but other sources suggest a higher figure of 35.3 billion barrels (5.61Ãâ€"109 m3). These oil reserves make Nigeria the 10th largest petroleum-rich country and the leading in Africa. This oil is located in 159 oil fields and 1481 wells are already in operation. The most productive oil producing region in Nigeria is the southern region or the Niger Delta, specifically the Niger Delta basin. Khan states that this region has 78 of the 159 oil fields.

London bombings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

London bombings - Essay Example Fifty six people, 4 of which, the bombers, died in London on 7 July 2006 as a result of coordinated bombings at 3 points in the London underground train network and one double decker bus during the morning rush hour. About 700 were injured from the bombings: 340 at Russel Square; 90 at Aldgate; 163 at Edgware Road and 100 at the bus explosion at Tavistock Place. 350 of whom were treated at the scene and the rest treated at nearby hospitals: Royal London Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington. Non-British victims of the bombing include people from Australia, China, Colombia, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Romania and Sierra Leone ("Casualties of the 7 July 2005 London bombings", 2006).The three bombs at the underground train: Russel Square, Aldgate and Edgware Road exploded at around 8:50 in the morning, with 50 second interval from each other. About an hour later, another bomb exploded in Tavistock Place on a bus. The bombing is said to be the deadliest incident in London since the Second World War and in the whole United Kingdom since the Pan Am Flight 103 incident. It is also the first suicide bombing in Western Europe ("7 July 2005 London bombings", 2006).The British authorities confirmed the identities of the four bombers: Germaine Lindsay, 19; Hasib Hussain, 18; Shehzad Tanweer, 24 and Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30. Among the Bombers, Khan was identified to be the leader and Tanweer, second in command. Their inclusion in the death toll and their participation in the bombing were made certain by forensic evidence taken from the sites of bombing. DNA tests show that the four bombers were near the bomb during the explosions. Forensic evidence also shows the link between Khan, Tanweer and Hussain, and the bomb factory discovered in Alexandra Grove. In addition, the camera footages taken before the attack showed the bombers, each carrying rucksacks of distinctive size. The authorities confirm the possibility that the bombs used in the attack were contained in the rucksacks. Based on the reports gathered from witnesses, two of the bombers were remembered to be fiddling with their rucksacks before the explosions ("Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005", 2006).Twelve thousand statements and 5000 forensically examined exhibits were used to and are still being used to connect situations and give the most detailed account of what happened. On 11 May 2006, an official account of the bombings was released ("Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005", 2006). Initially, prior to the release of the 11 May report, it was theorized that high grade explosives with timed detonators were used by the bombers. The report refuted this theory stating that the bombs used were actually home-made explosives which materials could be very easily obtained. This report also provided a narrative of how the attack took place and a background on each bomber. In summary, the report ascertained that the planning of the London attacks took place after two of the bombers, Khan and Tanweer came back from Pakistan. It was claimed that some Al Qaeda training took place. Immediately after the attack, Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks in a website operated by the associates of Al Qaeda. According to them, the attacks were done in retaliation for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan ("Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005", 2006). The profiles of the bombers detailed in the report illustrate the difficulty in determining who and who are not possible suspects. All the bombers were known to be living seemingly ordinary lives with personalities not indicating any terroristic tendencies: Khan, being a role model for the youth; Tanweer with his friendly nature and modesty; Hussain being shy and quiet and Lindsay, although with possible criminal tendencies, did not exhibit any manifestation of terrorist

Religions of the Pacific Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Religions of the Pacific - Research Paper Example Indonesia is greatly influenced by India and has been for the previous 2 two thousand years. India is a nation of Islamic faith and has influenced such believes among the Indonesian population. However, the remaining countries have maintained international isolation in terms of religion. Their beliefs have been greatly influenced by their indigenous culture and the small communities seem to have developed their own specific rituals through out the years. The pacific area is a typical modern example of primal religions; however, a lot of criticism has been put on the amount of intrusion being instigated by the European nations. This interference from Europe has continued to increase throughout the sixteenth century right until the twenty first. The interference has led to the adoption of European cultural beliefs and lifestyle among the locals of the pacific regions. There has been a lot of biasness in the past when reporters wrote about the religious beliefs of people in the pacific. Recently however research has become more neutral and researchers are starting to use opinions of the natives in their surveys. Current research involves the analysis of indigenous beliefs and the impact European culture and religion has had on the people’s lifestyle. It also tries to compare the difference between modern times in the pacific and the way of the life in the ancient times. The three most popular religious beliefs in the pacific include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. This paper will analyze these religions in detail and try to compare and contrast the difference between each of them. Firstly, the paper will analyze Hinduism which is a popular religion among the residents of the pacific region. This religion in the pacific comes under the influence of the Indian subcontinent. The religion is comprised of Shaivism, Srauta and Vaishnavism which are the main traditions followed, there are however numerous other smaller traditions (Flood, n.p). Hinduism is regulated by several laws within the religion which determine the lifestyle members are expected to live. The laws are centered on daily morality and include respecting social norms, dharma and karma (Flood, n.p). The religion is based on intellect and is a combination of philosophical theories. Unlike most religions, it is not based on a strict preset standard of rules. The religion does not have one single founder and was created numerous diverse ideologies. It is traced back to the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India; hence, the general consensus is that Hinduism is the longest existing religion. The religion is estimated to have a following of approximately 1 billion followers which is the third largest congregation after Islam and Christianity. The religion is broadly classified into into four categories which are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shundras (Flood, n.p). The Brahims are the priests and the heads and teachers in the church. The Kshatriyas are the noblem en and fighters (in war situations and protection of the land). The Vaishayas are the businessmen and the Shudras are the working class (Flood, n.p). Hinduism beliefs are a combination of many small traditions hence it is difficult classify it as a solitary religion. It believes in freedom of worship and belief and visualizes the world as a single family with one purpose. This means the religion accepts all views because labeling any religion false would symbolize a separation in identity hence oppose the primary belief that the world is one family (Flood, n.p). The religion is henotheistic, hence accepts the existence of other Gods and each individual has the right to choose the one which he/she believes in and worships. The

Developing and maintaining positive union management relations Essay

Developing and maintaining positive union management relations - Essay Example The negative history of industrial relations has to be overcome for all the stakeholders to achieve greater heights of competitive advantage and productivity. Poor union relations have many impacts. Key among them is lack of cooperation between the stakeholders. It has also caused a decline on workers productivity, tarnished the credibility and reputation of organizations involved, and impacted negatively on the working conditions and pay of the workers. To rectify the situation, all the stakeholders need to develop strategic partnerships, undertake joint training, improve the working conditions of the workers, actively engage in collaboration processes, and also streamline their communication processes. Developing a positive relationship with union leaders is of paramount importance if any gains have to be made. The leaders must have exemplary knowledge in union relations to be able to effectively steer the process. Negotiation and collective bargaining skills are of outmost importance here. Managers must realize that they have incredible influence on the employees' satisfaction and productivity at the workplace. Thus they must always strive to maintain strong, positive associations with their employees at the workplace if productivity has to be enhanced and positive union relations maintained. Effective communication is one of the most basic necessities towards establishing positive union management relations. Decisions must be communicated in an effective manner, not withstanding their unpopularity. All stake holders must be positively encouraged to contribute towards the well being of the organization. Effective communication will generally lead to the establishment of mutually beneficial solutions, where by all the stake holders will feel accommodated. In the process, partnerships are formed by the stake holders, either for good or bad intentions. All in all, positive union relations must be developed and maintained at all costs. Introduction The past few decades have witnessed an emergence of strong workers and labour unions, which have been mandated by the workers to guard their own interests. Among other functions, the unions are largely involved in negotiating for better working conditions and better pay packages for workers. They are run by representatives who are elected by the workers to advance their interests on their behalf. The representatives are very crucial in determining whether the unions will be effective in maintaining positive union management relations (Union relationships, 2007). In some of the countries around the world, workers' unions have mutated to major political parties, thus having a direct impact on the population of the respective countries. Maintaining positive union management relations is paramount if unions are to succeed in their core duties of guarding and promoting the rights of employees. Having sophisticated industrial structures, like is the case in the United States, may not be important as long as the relationships between the staff and their Union representatives are not in any way based on trust (Union relationsh

Business Ethics and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Ethics and Strategy - Essay Example In response, god will ensure that he does not disappoint. For example, in the case of Elijah at Mount Carmel, God provided fire for Elijah leading to increased faith and trust on him. The bible indicates that Christians must be trustworthy. Thus, they can be depended upon by both friends and colleagues. The aspect of love of others and justice is presented in the shortened version of God commandment. In His Speech, Jesus talks of loving others as oneself, which means that you do to others as you would like others to do to you (John 13:34,New International Version). The principle of equality of treatment is outlined in the presentation by Jesus. In fact, Jesus captures the issues of justice and fairness in the using the same statement. Likewise, in business, it is vital for employer and employee to practice fairness in all undertaking leading to success and improved performance of the business. It also improves the level of customer care service and employee relations leading to increased performance of the organization. Therefore, the bible supports the two ethical

Investment Enhancement Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Investment Enhancement Paper - Essay Example Also by diversify portfolio investors are able to earn more consistent returns on their investment and if one stock does not perform well and does not yield positive return then the other one could perform well and yield positive return thus the overall risk of the portfolio is reduced and investors are in a position to save their investment from fluctuations of stock as well as market. There are different techniques that investors around the world use to diversify their portfolio and maximize their return. Investing internationally or in the international markets is one of the most common techniques that investors use to diversify their portfolio. This gives more chances to investors to enhance their investment and earn better returns. In addition to while making investment internationally, investors have also used alternative investment vehicles to diversify their portfolio and to enhance their investment. This report analyzes how investors around the world have been diversifying t heir portfolio by investing internationally and by making use of alternative vehicles. international portfolio diversification on an investment portfolio When investors are investing in a particular asset they normally face two types of risks. These two types of risk are; systematic risk and nonsystematic risk. These types of risk influence the stock price and thus the return of the investors is changed. Non-systematic risk is the risk of a particular asset, stock or company in which the investment is being made and it is also called the diversifiable risk as it can be reduced drastically by creating a portfolio and diversifying the investment. The other kind of risk is called the systematic risk and it is the market risk or risk of a portfolio. The risk of a stock is reduced by diversifying the portfolio and by making investment in stock of different industries. However even after diversifying the portfolio in a particular market, the market risk cannot be reduced (Gitman, 2003). T he following graph shows that as the investor diversifies its portfolio the non-systematic risk of the portfolio reduces and as the portfolio becomes more and more diversified, the non-systemic risk reduces. However by diversifying portfolio, the systematic risk or market risk is not diversified or reduced. Market risk is the risk that can be because of fluctuations in the market, economic condition of the country, political instability and several other macroeconomic factors that would directly or indirectly impact the stock prices. (Source: Systematic versus Non-Systematic Risk) So in order to enhance the investment and further reduce the risk of the portfolio, investors have started investing stocks and assets in other countries as it reduces the market risk. By investing in different markets, the impact of change in the return because of a particular market is reduced in the overall investment and therefore the overall risk of the portfolio is reduced. The following graph reflec ts that the risk of the portfolio is further reduced as stocks from other parts of the world are included in the portfolio. Therefore diversifying portfolio and investing in different stocks around the world would reduce the risk of the portfolio and therefore it would enhance the investment. So, investing internationally would reduce the market risk and thus the overall risk

How ratio analysis provides a meaningful comparison of a company to Essay

How ratio analysis provides a meaningful comparison of a company to its industry, chief competitors, or to any other well run firm - Essay Example These techniques help to compare a company’s performance with its chief competitors in same industry as well as monitor the company’s progress over time. Accounting ratios is an important tool for financial statement analysis. A ratio is defined as relation between two numbers expressed as fraction or as percentage. When such relationships are derived from the financial statements, they are called accounting ratios (Kim & Ayoun, 2005, p.2). Accounting ratios have immense application in interpretation of financial statements by helping perform both intra-firm and inter-firm comparison. Intra-firm comparison helps to measure the performance of the company on Y-O-Y basis while inter-firm comparison helps to evaluate Company’s performance with its competitors. Ratios can be broadly classified into income statement ratios (derived from income statement), balance sheet ratios (derived from balance sheet) and composite ratios (one item from balance sheet and another from income statement). They help to evaluate the firm’s ability to honor its short term or current obligations. It is an indicator for the measure of working capital management. The firms’ short term obligations include carrying out day to day operations, payments to creditors for purchase of raw materials, payment of daily wages of laborers, outstanding expenses and bills payables, etc. These current liabilities are financed by current assets (Bragg, 2012, p.73). It is the ratio of total long-term debt to total asset. While a low ratio provides security to creditors a high ratio helps the management to trade on equity. Hence it is also called the leverage ratio (Drake, 2008, p.9). It is the ratio of long term debt to shareholders’ fund (Equity shares, retained earnings, preference shares, and fictitious assets). Form the investors’ point of view a

4 Ways to Sustain Tourism Industry Essay Example for Free

4 Ways to Sustain Tourism Industry Essay Sustainable destinations have achieved balance. They have balanced the long-term economic needs of residents with the short and medium term needs of businesses. They have done this by creating a diverse and value-laden tourism product that attracts a mix of domestic and international guests, many of whom are repeat visitors and have made a personal financial commitment to the destination. Sustainable destinations are managed by well-trained and committed staff. They have an up-to-date tourism plan which focuses on sustainable tourism. They have the personnel, resources, and political commitment to implement and monitor the plan. Achievements are tracked and made public. Tourists are consulted and their opinions are considered in plans. Safety is taken seriously and plans and policies exist for crisis, security, fire, health and safety. See more: Defining research problem and setting objectives Essay Sustainable destinations reinvest the profits from their tourism activities in environmental conservation and historic restoration and preservation. They demonstrate a thriving culture, strong social networks and increasing biodiversity. They show effective planning, substantial land and marine protection, increased energy and water conservation, and a reduction in solid waste per guest over time. They have an effective recycling and wastewater sanitation program that is carefully managed. They have taken steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their activities. Sustainable destinations are internationally recognized, valued by tourists for their environmental quality, and receive increasing value from tourist stays. Assessment We start by working together to establish a long-term view of the destination landscape, identifying sustainability risks and strategic growth opportunities. We facilitate discussions with stakeholders, while utilizing our innovative tools and expertise to develop a clear plan of action. Planning As we design and implement initiatives, we’ll prioritize critical impacts, build local capacity and set achievable benchmarks. Over time, we’ll help you implement these programs, track their progress, and monitor your results. Standards and Monitoring Sustainable tourism standards are the genesis of quality tourism planning. Our place-based solutions focus on the needs of the destination, while assuring that local tourism businesses meet third-party verified levels of quality and sustainability.

Killing a whole family Essay Example for Free

Killing a whole family Essay Rodolfo again faces Eddies angry side, which asks him to get out of his house. But Rodolfo has nothing to do with him and is more concerned of the arrival of Marco, which could lead to sparks flying between his brother and Eddie. He calls out to Catherine to leave now, while Beatrice suggests to Eddie to leave the house and go somewhere else. But Eddie refuses to move as this was his house, and now Beatrice is totally fed up with his behaviour and asks him that why he hates Marco now. Eddie refers to the time when Marco called him a rat and claimed that he had killed his children, which he says caused such hatred. Now Rodolfo tries to make things better by apologizing from his brothers behalf and he takes all the troubles and brings up the comradeship. But Eddie still sticks with his claim that Marco stole his name and asks Rodolfo to tell him to give it back in front of the whole neighbourhood. Eddie feels that this explanation isnt enough, now Beatrice can no longer hold the truth. She knows what Eddie wants, and in front of everyone and the arriving Marco, she says you can never have her. Beatrice asks Eddie to bid farewell to his niece forever, and that truth is not as bad as blood. Catherine is shocked, Eddie I horrified and [clenching his fists] he denies having such thoughts and asks Beatrice what made her think like that. Marco now calls out for Eddie and Eddies attention is diverted as he steps out of the apartment to challenge Marco. Rodolfo pleads them to stop and tells Eddie that he would be killing a whole family. But nothing can stop Eddie now and he has a murderous look and with a bit of fake laugher puts forward things that they have done wrong. He says that he knows that Marco feels that what h did wasnt right and should apologize for taking his name away and accusing him for killing his children despite the fact that he put his roof over them and food in their mouths. He further provokes Marco by repeatedly calling him a liar and then they get physical as Eddie lunges at Marco. Marco strikes him in the neck and calls him a animal. Eddie goes down and when it seems Marco has full control of the situation, Eddie brings out a knife. Louis tries to stop Eddie, but Eddie is totally out of control and he lunges with his knife at Marco, who with a final cry of Anima-a-a-l!   grabs his arm and presses the blade into Eddie. Mike and Louis separate the pair, but time has run out for Eddie whose words to Beatrice were his last ever. Beatrice covers Eddie while people around are praying, lights shine on Alfieri who is in the crowd. So as the play has progressed, this dominant and generous hero of the play is made to seem like a selfish and rude villain, whos immense love, narrow minded nature and feelings of insecurity have led to him falling into his own trap of death. I do indeed think that Eddie was responsible for his own death, and it was bound to happen as soon as he had made the phone call which in my view was the hubris, the point of no return. But just like Alfieri, the audience does tend to feel sorry for this hard-working man, who despite having displayed his generosity, his life had to end in this manner. His selfishness and his flaw, which was his immense love, ate him up, and he was always very stubborn to his decisions and never took advice from either Alfieri or Beatrice. His deterioration was clear and could be monitored as he first felt honoured to welcome the Italian brothers, then when they he entered he asked them when they would leave and towards the end asked them to get out of their house. When Alfieri says at the end of the play, And yet it is better to settle for half, he is trying to send a message that despite the fact that Eddie displayed honest emotions through out, he still never compromised with everyone because of his narrow-minded beliefs and that eventually cost him his life.

Capital and Corporal Punishment: Argumentative Essay

Capital and Corporal Punishment: Argumentative Essay What is meant by capital punishment? Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offence. Britain has used the death penalty since its early history. Over 200 crimes could be punished by death within the 18th century, these consist of such trivial offences like stealing an item in a shop which was worth more than 5 Shillings, sending threatening letters and even cutting down a tree. In the 1820s this list off offences which could lead to death penalty was repealed due to a growing humanitarian movement against capital punishment and the views of the public which disagreed with this form of punishment. Also juries became more unable to convict defendants of relatively small offences if the offence meant they had to receive the death penalty as they felt too guilty to take the life of another person. This happened more and more even if all evidence pointed to the defendant of the crime to be guilty In 1861 parliament passed The offences against the persons act 1861 which established that murder could be the only offence in which a death penalty could be applied to during peace time. The only acception to this rule was if the defendant was to ask the Home Secretary to apply mercy, otherwise this sentence was mandatory to anyone convicted by a jury of murder. 1868 saw the abolishment of hangings being a public spectacle and from then onwards hangings and such kinds of capital punishment would exist only behind the walls of prison grounds. However it is argued by Henry Fielding that although this action was to make the death penalty a more civilised procedure, the sense of horror and fear within the public was increased as the way in which capital punishment was now administered was now more a secret and private affair. The start of the 20th century saw the birth of a new political force the Labour Party. The Labour party amongst its members felt negatively towards capital punishment and in January the party published a manifesto on capital punishment. The abolition of the death penalty was strongly supported and 27 important labour politicians signed this manifesto. However once the Labour party was elected into power they were unable to enact principles in which they had demonstrated and they seemed aspirational. In 1930 a select committee report suggested that a 5 year experimental period should be used to suspend the death penalty however the idea was unachieved. The House of Commons passed a bill in 1948 which included an amendment to abolish capital punishment. This cause much outrage and shock amongst the public and the House of Lord defeated the idea and the 1948 Criminal Justice Act was passed without the significant section included. The Royal Commission was set up in 1949 to help appease the publics opinion and help investigate circumstances when a murder might not attract a death penalty. It was stated that a murder which was unpremeditated or murder which was committed by the mentally unstable should remain outside of the administration of the death penalty. It was only later that diminished responsibility was recognised as a defence to murder. A defendant of murder which could be shown or proved to be insane as per the legal guidelines of the Mcnaghten rules could however escape execution. Derek Bentley a man with the mental age of a child was accomplice to a murder and was hanged in 1952 however his co defendant Christopher Craig escaped hanging. A petition for mercy was signed by over 200 MPs as well as much of the general public however Sir David Maxwell Fyfe the home secretary at the time was unconvinced and Bentley was hanged in 1953. The Gowers Commission of 1953 reported that the reform of the law of murder should include the abolition of capital punishment however the Government paid no attention to this advice. Ruth Ellis was hanged in 1955 in Holloway prison for the murder of her past lover. It appeared that murder had occurred though the state of passionate jealousy in which she was deeply disturbed by. As a result her case attracted much public attention, debate and publicity and hangings were suspended for two years. A Labour MP Sydney Silverman organised a national campaign against hanging which created huge debate amongst the media and parliament. In 1956 Britains most senior hangman Albert Pierpoint resigned as a result of personal conscience. A bill was then again created to abolish hanging however was thrown out by the Lord when passed through the house of commons. In 1957 the Homicide Act was passed in which introduced three partial defences to murder. These consisted of: provocation, diminished responsibility and suicide pacts. These three defences offered an alternative verdict of voluntary manslaughter in which a jury could apply if they were persuaded by the defences appropriateness to the case in which they were involved. This then enabled the judge to sentence at his discretion and thus avoid imposing the mandatory death penalty for murder. There was 87 hangings between 1950 and 1956 however in the following 8 years past 1957 there were only 29, and to this end there has been no noticeable rise in the rates of homicide. In 1964 a new Labour government was elected and those who were in favour of the abolition where encouraged to renew their beliefs and hopes through campaigns. A private members bill was introduced by Sydney Silver man which gained much support and was passed by the Commons and Lords with approximately two thirds in majority of both houses. After gaining the royal assent the Murder (abolition of the death penalty) Act 1965 was passed. The act included a pacifying clause to its opponents that the act would expire in 5 years unless parliament voted to retain it, however it seemed that the country was now at ease with the act and in 1969 James Callaghan moved a motion through parliament to remove the clause and thus retain the act. It has been argued for many years whether capital punishment should remain abolished or should be reinstated, here are some arguments for and against capital punishment: Arguments for capital punishment: Incapacitation of the criminal: Capital punishment permanently removes the worst criminals from society and should prove much safer for the rest of us than long term or permanent incarceration. It is self evident that dead criminals cannot commit any further crimes, either within prison or after escaping or after being released from it. Cost: Money is not of an infinite supply and the UK could be better off if the government spent our (limited) resources on the old, the young and the sick etc rather than spend our money on the long term imprisonment of murderers, rapists, etc. Retribution: Execution is a very real punishment and possibly the worst punishment which can be administered to an individual. Forms of rehabilitative treatment criminals are made to suffer in proportion to offences in which they may have committed seem merely uncompensational. Although whether there is a place in a modern society for the old fashioned principal of an eye for an eye is a matter of personal opinion. Retribution is seen by many as an acceptable reason for the death penalty according to my survey results. Deterrence: Does capital punishment deter individuals from committing crime. This is a hard matter to prove because in most countries the number of people actually executed per year in comparison to those sentenced to death is usually a very small proportion. However it does seem that in those countries (e.g. Singapore) which almost always carry out death sentences, there is far less serious crime. This leads us to believe that the death penalty does deter criminals from committing crime but only where execution is a virtual certainty. The death penalty is much more likely to be a deterrent when the crime in which a criminal executes requires planning and the potential criminal has time to think about the possible consequences. If the crime is committed in the heat of the moment there is no way that any punishment will act as a deterrent. Arguments against capital punishment: The main weakness with capital punishment is that there is no absolute certainty that people have committed the crime which they have been convicted for and genuinely innocent people can be executed to which there is no way of compensating them for a mistake of a sentence like this. Also a person convicted of murder may have actually killed a victim and may even admit having done so but does not agree that the killing was murder and may believe that it was of no fault of their own or an accident, for example a car crash could be seen as a murder. Often the only people who know what really happened are the accused and the deceased. It then comes down to the skill of the prosecution and defence lawyers as to whether there will be a conviction for murder or for manslaughter. Therefore it is probable that people are convicted of murder when they should really have only been convicted of manslaughter. For example the cases of James McNicol and Edith Thompson. A second weakness is the hell the innocent family and friends of criminals must also go through in the time leading up to and during the execution. It is often very difficult for people to come to terms with the fact that their loved one could be guilty of a serious crime and no doubt even more difficult to come to terms with their death in this form. It is un ethical to deny the suffering of the victims family in a murder case. In America, a prisoner can be on death row for many years awaiting the outcome of numerous appeals, some of which are fatuous and filed at the last minute in order to obtain a stay of execution. This can cause the families and friends of the defendants much unwanted and unneeded stress and pain which is unfairly administered. Another main weakness against the death penalty is that it needs to be remembered that criminals are real people too who have life and with it the capacity to feel pain, fear and the loss of their loved ones, and all the other emotions that everyone is capable of feeling. It easy to have the view of an eye for an eye when faced with a 70 year old murdering rapist but harder when considering criminals such as an 18 year old girl convicted of drug trafficking. In Singapore two girls where hung for this crime in 1995 who were both only 18 at the time of their offences and In China an 18 year old girl was shot for the same offence in 1998. There is no such thing as a humane method of putting a person to death. Every form of execution causes the prisoner suffering, some methods perhaps cause less than others, but there is no doubt that being executed would be a terrifying ordeal for anyone. The mental suffering that the criminal suffers in the time leading up to the execution is also overlooked. It can also be argued that the abolition of the death penalty has had an effect on the laws within the UK and the rate if criminality. What are these changes and how has the crime rate been effected? According to the Home Office Report (Murder 1957-1968) the murder rate in England and Wales steadily increased after the passing of the 1957 Act and further accelerated after suspension (effective abolition) of capital punishment in 1965. The graph below which was produced from that report, shows the rates for murders that would have been classed as capital and non capital under the 1957 Act. It continued to increase and in the 21st century has reached over 900 a year by 2004. It is clear to see that after the abolishment of the death penalty within the UK the rate of murder crimes after 1957 has steadily rose. The argument here is clear, does the death penalty reduce crime, although the graph above would suggest so in comparison to countries such as America which still possess capital punishment the rates of crime are not so different. In the United States, homicide rates are higher in states and regions with the death penalty than in those without it. However the rates for unlawful killings in Britain have more than doubled since abolition of capital punishment in 1964. Home Office figures show around unlawful killings 300 in 1964, which rose to 565 in 1994 and 833 in 2004. The figure for homicides in 2007 was 734. The principal causes of homicide are fights which involve fists and feet, stabbing and cutting by glass or a broken bottle, shooting and strangling. Convictions for the actual crime of murder (as against manslaughter and other unlawful killings) have also been rising incredibly. Figures released in 2009 show that since 1997, 65 prisoners who were released after serving life were convicted of a further crime. These included two murders, one suspected murder, one attempted murder, three rapes and two instances of grievous bodily harm. The same document also noted that 304 people given life sentences since January 1997 served less than 10 years of them, actually in prison. And Statistics were kept for the 5 years that capi tal punishment was suspended in Britain (1965-1969) and these showed a 125% rise in murders that would have attracted a death sentence. To conclude the abolition of the death penalty has had a huge effect on the rates of crime within the UK, as is clearly shown within the figures above. With no other form of punishment existing that has the same effect the death penalty had on criminals and individuals deterring them away from crime, there is nothing to indicate a reduction in the rates of crime within the UK. Corporal Punishment: Corporal punishment is a type of physical punishment that involves the infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a individual who has committed an offence. It is also used to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable. In Medieval Europe, corporal punishment was encouraged by the attitudes of the medieval church towards the human body which was a common means of discipline. This had an influence on the use of corporal punishment in schools, as educational establishments were closely attached to the church during this period. However corporal punishment was not used uncritically, it has been recorded as early as the eleventh century that Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking out against what he saw as the excessive use of corporal punishment in the treatment of children. Physical punishment has been a common punishment since ancient times. It is believed Jesus was beat before he was crucified. In England from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century whipping was a common punishment for minor crimes. In the 18th century whipping or being physically beat was a common punishment in the British army and navy. However it was abolished in 1881. In the Middle Ages discipline was extremely severe. Boys were beaten with rods or birch twigs. Discipline in Tudor schools was also savage. The teacher often had a stick with birch twigs attached to it. Boys were hit with the birch twigs on their bare buttocks. One of the most commonly used forms of corporal punishment was birching. This punishment meant beating a person across the backside with birch twigs. This was once a common punishment in schools and could also be imposed by the courts for minor offences. Birching was banned in Britain in 1948. Other forms of corporal punishment for adults included branding and mutilation. At the beginning of the 19th century two men Joseph Lancaster and Andrew Bell independently invented a new method of educating the working class. In the Lancaster system the most able pupils were made monitors and they were put in charge of other pupils. The monitors were taught early in the day before the other children arrived. When they did the monitors taught them. Under Lancasters system pupils who did well were rewarded with badges. When they collected enough badges they were rewarded with a toy. However Lancaster also used cruel punishments such as the pillory, suspending pupils in a basket from the ceiling and forcing them to wear a wooden log around the neck. Punishments in schools were still brutal in the 19th century. As well as beatings less able pupils were humiliated by being forced to wear a dunces cap. Until the late 20th century it was quite normal for teachers to beat children. In the 19th century hitting boys and girls with a bamboo cane became popular. In the 20th century the cane was used in both primary and secondary schools. The ruler was a punishment commonly used in primary schools in the 20th century. The teacher hit the child on the hand with a wooden ruler. Also objects such as shoes or the slipper were often used in secondary schools. Normally it was a trainer or a plimsoll. Teachers used a trainer to hit children on the backside. However when the cane was used it was recorded in a punishment book. When the slipper was used it normally was not, which meant in effect that PE teachers could hit children when they felt like it. The tawse was a cruel punishment used in Scottish schools. It was a leather strap with two or three tails. It was used in Scotland to hit a childs hand. In the 20th century the leather strap was used in some English schools. Children were either hit across the hands or the backside. It was not only schools where children where victims of corporal punishment, in the 19th century children were hit at work. In the early 19th century in textile mills children who were lazy were hit with leather straps. Furthermore lazy children sometimes had their heads ducked in a container of water. However in the late 1960s and early 1970s the cane was phased out in most primary schools. In England in 1987 the cane was banned in state-funded secondary schools. However it was only until 1999 that It was banned in private schools. Throughout history until very recently parents beat their children. In the 20th century many parents used a wooden spoon to hit children. Other implements used included belts, slippers and hairbrushes. In the late 20th century public opinion turned against corporal punishment and in several countries it has been banned. It has been argued for many years whether corporal punishment should remain abolished or should be reinstated, here are some arguments for and against corporal punishment: Arguments for corporal punishment: Some argue that corporal punishment is a quick and effective method and less cruel than long-term imprisonment. Individuals who possess this viewpoint think that corporal punishment should be re-considered in countries that have banned it as an alternative to imprisonment. A strength of corporal punishment includes the belief that a quick but painful punishment is more effective and ethical that long term punishments. Many people who argue for corporal punishment believe physical wounds heal quickly, while prison and other such long term punishments can affect relationships and job prospects. Also it is believed to have a greater deterrence rate and fewer costs to society. Some studies show that frequent smacking may be counter-productive however selective or infrequent smacking or spanking has been shown to be positively effective. Many people have the opinion that parents which slap a naughty child, or one whose behaviour is endangering itself, may sometimes be the best immediate course of action under certain circumstances as it prevents the negative behaviour recurring or increasing. Arguments against corporal punishment: Many people believe corporal punishment is ineffective. It is believed spanking a child will stop the child from misbehaving for the moment, but studies have shown that the childs compliance will only last for a short time. Also it has been proved corporal punishment actually increases the childs non-compliant behaviour in the future. Psychologist H. Stephen Glenn said Corporal punishment is the least effective method of discipline. Punishment reinforces a failure identity. It reinforces rebellion, resistance, revenge and resentment. And, what people who spank children will learn is that it teaches more about you than it does about them that the whole goal is to crush the child. Its not dignified, and its not respectful. Another main weakness for corporal punishment is that It has been linked to many adult problems. Corporal punishment studies have linked spanking during childhood to higher levels of adult depression, psychiatric problems, and addictions. Another study shows that children who were spanked have a lower IQ when compared to children whose parents used other methods of discipline and control. It is also a well known fact that corporal punishment can escalate to abuse. Because a spanking works for a while, the parent often repeats the spanking whenever the child misbehaves. Corporal punishment may then become a standard response to any misbehaviour. This can lead to increasingly frequent and harsher spanking which can exceed the reasonable force threshold and become abuse. To conclude corporal punishment although effective for a short while has been proven on more than one account to cause more problems than it solves. Also a law which enables a person to hit or hurt another person is completely un-ethical as it goes completely against the human rights which everyone possesses. Why Did the Great Depression Last so Long? Why Did the Great Depression Last so Long? WHY DID GREAT DEPRESSION LAST SO LONG? WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO ITS END? Great depression Great Depression is the overall financial downturn that started in 1929 and kept going until around 1939. It was the longest also, most extreme depression ever tested by the industrialized Western world. In spite of the fact that the depression started in the United States, it brought about intense decreases in yield, extreme unemployment, and intense collapse in every nation of the globe. However its social and social impacts were no less amazing, particularly in the United States, where the Great Depression positions second just to the Civil War as the gravest emergency in American history. Economic history The timing and seriousness of the Great Depression shifted considerably crosswise over nations. The Depression was especially long and serious in the United States and Europe; it was slighter in Japan and a lot of Latin America. Maybe as anyone might expect, the most exceedingly awful sadness ever experienced originated from a large number of reasons. Decreases in customer interest, budgetary freezes, and confused government strategies brought about monetary yield to decline in the United States. The gold standard, which connected almost all the nations of the world in a system of altered money trade rates, assumed a key part in transmitting the American downturn to other nations. The recuperation from the Great Depression was impelled generally by the deserting of the gold standard and the resulting money related extension. The Great Depression achieved basic changes in monetary establishments, macroeconomic approach, and financial hypothesis. Timing and severity In the United States, the Great Depression started in the summer of 1929. The downturn got to be uniquely more regrettable in late 1929 and proceeded until early 1933. Genuine yield and costs fell steeply. Between the top and the trough of the downturn, mechanical creation in the United States declined 47 percent and genuine GDP fell 30 percent. The wholesale value file declined 33 percent (such decreases in the value level are alluded to as emptying). In spite of the fact that there is some verbal confrontation about the unwavering quality of the insights, it is broadly concurred that the unemployment rate surpassed 20 percent at its most elevated point. The seriousness of these decreases gets to be particularly clear when they are contrasted and Americas next most exceedingly bad subsidence of the twentieth century, which of 1981–82, when genuine GDP declined only 2 percent and the unemployment rate crested at fewer than 10 percent. Also, amid the 1981– 82 subsidence costs kept on rising, despite the fact that the rate of cost increment regulated considerably (a marvel known as disinflation†). Causes of the Great Depression The central reason for the Great Depression in the United States was a decrease in spending (here and there alluded to as total interest), which prompted a decrease underway as makers and merchandisers recognized an unintended ascent in inventories. The wellsprings of the withdrawal in spending in the United States changed throughout the span of the Depression; however they cumulated into an amazing decrease in total interest. The American decrease was transmitted to whatever remains of the world generally through the gold standard. In any case, an assortment of different elements likewise impacted the downturn in different nations. The causes are as follows; Stock market crash The starting decrease in yield in the United States in the late spring of 1929 is broadly accepted to have originated from tight U.S. financial approach went for restricting securities exchange hypothesis. The 1920s had been a prosperous decade, yet not an extraordinary blast period; wholesale merchandise costs had remained about consistent during the time and there had been gentle subsidence in both 1924 and 1927. The one undeniable territory of abundance was the stock exchange. Stock prices had increased more than fourfold from the low-slung in 1921 to the crest came to in 1929. In 1928 and 1929, the Federal Reserve had brought investment rates up with expectations of moderating the fast ascent in stock costs. These higher investment rates discouraged premium touchy spending in zones, for example, development and car buys, which thusly lessened generation. A few researchers accept that a blast in lodging development in the mid-1920s prompted an overabundance supply of lodging and a n especially huge drop in development in 1928 and 1929. Hence, although the Great Clatter of the stock market and the Great Depression are two truly separate occasions, the decrease in stock costs was one variable creating the decrease underway and work in the United States. Banking anxieties and monetary reduction The following hit to total interest happened in the decline of 1930, at the time the first of four waves of saving money frenzies grasped the United States. A saving money frenzy emerges when numerous contributors lose trust in the dissolvability of banks and at the same time request their stores be paid to them in real money. Banks, which regularly hold just a small amount of stores as money stores, must sell credits so as to raise the obliged money. This methodology of hurried liquidation can cause even a beforehand dissolvable bank to come up short. The United States experienced boundless managing account frenzies in the fall of 1930, the spring of 1931, the fall of 1931, and the fall of 1932. The last wave of frenzies proceeded through the winter of 1933 and reached a state of perfection with the national bank occasion proclaimed by President Franklin Roosevelt on March 6, 1933. The bank occasion shut all banks, allowing them to revive strictly when being esteemed dissolvable by government controllers. The frenzies took a serious toll on the American keeping money framework. By 1933, one-fifth of the banks in presence towards the beginning of 1930 had fizzled. The gold standard A few economists accept that the Federal Reserve permitted or created the immense decreases in the American cash supply incompletely to protect the gold standard. Under gold standard, each nation set an estimation of its coin as far as gold and took money related activities to protect the settled cost. It is conceivable that had the Federal Reserve extended extraordinarily because of the managing an account alarms, nonnatives could have lost trust in the United States dedication to the gold standard. This could have prompted expansive gold outpourings and the United States could have been compelled to downgrade. Moreover, had the Federal Reserve not fixed in the fall of 1931, it is conceivable that there would have been a theoretical attack on the dollar and the Unites States would have been compelled to forsake the gold standard alongside Great Britain. International lending and trade A few researchers stretch the significance of other global linkages. Outside giving to Germany and Latin America had extended incredibly in the mid-1920s. U.S. giving abroad then fell in 1928 and 1929 as a consequence of high premium rates and the blasting securities exchange in the United States. This diminishment in outside giving may have prompted further credit withdrawals and decreases in yield in borrower nations. In Germany, which experienced to a great degree fast swelling (hyperinflation) in the early 1920s, fiscal powers may have wavered to embrace expansionary arrangement to check the financial lull on the grounds that they stressed it might re-light swelling. The impacts of lessened remote loaning may clarify why the frugalities of Germany, Argentina, and Brazil twisted down before the Great Depression started in the United States. Sources of recovery and Conclusion Given the key parts of money related compression and the gold standard in creating the Great Depression, it is not astonishing that cash downgrades and fiscal extension turned into the main wellsprings of recuperation all through the world. There is an outstanding relationship between the time nations relinquished the gold standard (or debased their monetary standards significantly) and a recharged development in their yield. Case in point, Britain, which was constrained off the gold standard in September 1931, recuperated moderately early, whereas the United States, which did not viably downgrade its money until 1933, recouped considerably later. Additionally, the Latin American nations of Argentina and Brazil, which started to depreciate in 1929, had generally gentle downturns and were to a great extent recouped by 1935. Conversely, the Gold Bloc nations of Belgium and France, which were especially married to the gold standard and moderate to degrade, still had modern generation in 1935 well underneath its 1929 level. Bibliography and Sources used MILTON FRIEDMAN and ANNA JACOBSON SCHWARTZ, A Monetary History of the United  States, 1867–1960  Available at: https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=1cad=rjauact=8ved=0CBwQFjAAurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpress.princeton.edu%2Ftitles%2F746.htmlei=JH8QVbCuC8qUNuuOhMgKusg=AFQjCNFPP3wSJlCQfnWD7PprJTeLAvcLQgsig2=-xIZqf1VPxXFFglQHXjvGg BARRY EICHENGREEN, Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression,  1919–1939  Available at: https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=7cad=rjauact=8ved=0CEMQFjAGurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpdf18.orumrf.com%2Fizjj_golden-fetters-the-gold-standard-and-the-great-depression-1919.pdfei=z38QVeGrGYKcgwTJ44DQBQusg=AFQjCNG-7y-HJcpY8n1jSHatfag3-NcjGwsig2=sy3MpyRbHKqWdgPgqLGCGgbvm=bv.88528373,d.eXY LESTER V. CHANDLER, America’s Greatest Depression, 1929–1941 (1970)  Available at: https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=1cad=rjauact=8ved=0CB0QFjAAurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F1991426ei=FIAQVefINci6ggTFnIGACQusg=AFQjCNE7Hs75wkTzQbYRUFbO0ZB1P02I0Qsig2=csBo_ouzWmqyE1hfk68YAwbvm=bv.88528373,d.eXY

Leo :: essays research papers

Leonardo sped from one creative experience to another his reach as for his grasp. His career was vagrant and unfocused; in fact, he never had a career. He seemed to have had no civic loyalty. Nor devotion to church or Christ. He willingly accepted commissions from the popes or their enemies. He lacked the sensual worldliness of a Boccaccio or a Chaucer, the recklessness of a Rabelais, the piety of a Dante or the religious passion of a Michelangelo. The vast disorderly notebooks in his own hand mystify as much as they explain. No other artist bequeathed so copious a record of his thoughts and yet told us so little of himself. The 3,500 closely written pages that have survived of his notebooks may be only a quarter of those left at his death. Whole notebooks have been lost or broken up, and single sheets now turn up around the world. Some of the 19 existing notebooks were small enough to be carried about on Leonardo's belt for occasional jottings, some were large folios. While most of the script is clear, and legible if viewed in a mirror, it is almost all in "mirror writing," written "backwards." Since Leonardo was probably left-handed, this way of writing might have come quite naturally to him. It could hardly have kept the contents secret or deceived the censors since his texts were copiously illustrated. Perhaps Leonardo only wished to make trouble for any who dared to read his private jottings. The vast disorderly notebooks in his own hand mystify as much as they explain. No other artist bequeathed so copious a record of his thoughts and yet told us so little of himself. The 3,500 closely written pages that have survived of his notebooks may be only a quarter of those left at his death. Whole notebooks have been lost or broken up, and single sheets now turn up around the world. Some of the 19 existing notebooks were small enough to be carried about on Leonardo's belt for occasional jottings, some were large folios. Leo :: essays research papers Leonardo sped from one creative experience to another his reach as for his grasp. His career was vagrant and unfocused; in fact, he never had a career. He seemed to have had no civic loyalty. Nor devotion to church or Christ. He willingly accepted commissions from the popes or their enemies. He lacked the sensual worldliness of a Boccaccio or a Chaucer, the recklessness of a Rabelais, the piety of a Dante or the religious passion of a Michelangelo. The vast disorderly notebooks in his own hand mystify as much as they explain. No other artist bequeathed so copious a record of his thoughts and yet told us so little of himself. The 3,500 closely written pages that have survived of his notebooks may be only a quarter of those left at his death. Whole notebooks have been lost or broken up, and single sheets now turn up around the world. Some of the 19 existing notebooks were small enough to be carried about on Leonardo's belt for occasional jottings, some were large folios. While most of the script is clear, and legible if viewed in a mirror, it is almost all in "mirror writing," written "backwards." Since Leonardo was probably left-handed, this way of writing might have come quite naturally to him. It could hardly have kept the contents secret or deceived the censors since his texts were copiously illustrated. Perhaps Leonardo only wished to make trouble for any who dared to read his private jottings. The vast disorderly notebooks in his own hand mystify as much as they explain. No other artist bequeathed so copious a record of his thoughts and yet told us so little of himself. The 3,500 closely written pages that have survived of his notebooks may be only a quarter of those left at his death. Whole notebooks have been lost or broken up, and single sheets now turn up around the world. Some of the 19 existing notebooks were small enough to be carried about on Leonardo's belt for occasional jottings, some were large folios.

Penetanguishene Charter Violation :: essays research papers

In Penetanguishene, the law now says that anyone under 16 out after 12am will be taken home. This was on VR News tonight, the reasons they listed--a skate park had been graffitied and a park bench was slightly burned in a fire. These all seem a little light to me, I guess to a town of less than 9000 people, it's very severe, but is that an excuse to defy the Constitutional rights of Canadians? I have so many problems with this, I don't know where to begin. I think I'll start with the Charter, section 15. (1) "Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability." I'd like to stress on equal protection and equal benefit without discrimination based on age. What is this? It's discriminating based on age. Penetanguishene has introduced a law targeted at a group of people, without taking in any individual merit (more on this later), and using age as the target point. We all have to remember that just because someone is a minor, it does not give the right for the government to abuse them. Unless it can be proven that all people in Penetanguishene under 16 out after 12am are committing a crime or are planning to commit a crime, this law is unconstitutional. This law infringes on section 2. c) by depriving the right to peaceful assembly as the police will not take into account what the people are doing and will take home anyone and everyone fitting the [already deemed unconstitutional] preset criteria. It infringes on section 7., it deprives liberty of these people to not give them the choice, and the reasons do not affect the principles of fundamental justice at all. So, what does the local Ontario Provincial Police have to say about enforcing an unconstitutional curfew? "It's not a curfew". According to the OPP, they are not introducing any new law, simply enforcing an already passed law (regrettably I can neither remember which jurisdiction it was under or what it was called, something about Youth and Family Services). A good question is what's the point of fighting this, Burlington has curfew bylaws and I don't say anything about them. Well it's simple, Burlington's curfew is there in case it has to be used, like a police officer's sidearm, they don't go around shooting everyone for anything, but should the rare occurrence that they need it, it's there.

A Few Greek Gods Essay -- essays research papers

The Ancient Greeks believed in a series of myths which explained nature, set up a moral code for the people, and were just folk lore of the people. In this paper, the beginnings of myths, the Greek gods themselves, and several myths concerning morals, nature, and old lore of the Ancients will be discussed. Because the myths and details about the gods were passed along by word of mouth, some myths or gods might be interchanged or different. The Greek myths started as folk lore until it began to explain nature and storytellers integrated a moral code into the myths. Many myths started out as fairy tales. As new and more efficient farming methods became available to the Greek people they were faced with more time in which to do other things. A people who have waste develop a culture all their own. Because Greece was divided into different city- states, many of the myths are different. The culture of storytelling began to involve explanations of nature such as the creation of the horse, spider, and such changes as winter and fire along with the creation of man himself. Slowly, as with any longstanding government, the morals and laws of society leaked into Greek myths in the form of, "The slain shall be avenged by Nemesis (a force which causes people to get revenge)," or just, "Kindness and humbleness are rewarded by the gods." Some myths were even created to support other myths. The myths started with storytelling and developed into a complex system of morals and explanations. The Greek myths were almost fruitless without the intervention of the gods. The gods controlled nature and fought their own battles on the earth, which sometimes caused problems. The first god was the most powerful one until he had children. The first god is called Oranos or in some myths Uranus. He was the first ruler among the gods. Uranus was the heavens and Gaea was the earth and thus they were married. The couple gave birth to many different and odd children but Uranus was cruel to them. Then, Chronos was born as the youngest titan. Chronos dethroned his father and soon after married his sister, Rhea. He didn't want his children to dethrone him so he ate them. However, Zeus overthrew Chronos and established the first real empire of the gods. Zeus settled disputes between the other gods and made sure the humans weren't treated in... ...horselike animals. The gods control the seasons as we know them today in this Greek myth. Hades was on the surface of the earth on business when Eros shot him with an arrow. Hades fell in love with Persephone and stole her away into the Underworld. Demeter, Persephone's mother, searched for her daughter and when she could not find her, froze the earth. Zeus didn't want the earth to wither and die so he sent Hermes to fix the situation. Since Persephone ate part of a pomegranate, she would stay with Hades part of the year and live on the world the rest of the year. All the time she would be gone, Demeter would weep and snow would fall. Fall is caused by her anticipation of her daughter leaving. This myth demonstrates the power of the gods, the power of love, and how fall and winter happen. The Greek gods and myths were a vital part to the ancient Greeks. The myths do explain nature and set up an orderly manner in which people should act. The myths, however, use gods to explain nature in order to substitute for pure logic. All the myths have meanings or explanations in which all the ancient questions are answered. The Greek myths were vital to Grecian society.

How Nirvana Changed the World Essay

In the late eighties music was going through a big change. People wanted something new, something exciting, especially the younger generation. No more soft melodies and pop music like Duran Duran and Madonna. In these changing times a very special band called Nirvana came on the music scene. Three young man from Seatlle, Washington – Kurt Cobain on vocals and on guitar, Krist Novoselic on bass and Dave Grohl on drums – they were everything people yearned for, but didn? t even knew it. With long hair, washed-up jeans and ? I don’t give a f†¦? ttitude people wanted to see more. They defied authority with rough sound later defined as Grunge – a mixture of metal and punk rock. Their lyrics gave a whole generation meaning, hope and something to aspire to. If you look at most of the bands and singers of the eighties, you see a certain type of look; very polished, man with top buttons of their shirts opened – kind of a macho look. The girls had big hair and small, tight outfits that don’t leave much to the imagination. But in the end of the decade there was a new look, changing the standards. Really long, neglected hair, light jeans full of holes and so washed-up that it was hard to recognize their color. In around the year 1989 this look became known as the Grunge look. Nirvana looked and acted like they were nothing important, just three regular guys and if it weren’t for that image they would have never got such a sensation as they did. Completely different from their look was their sound, their music. Well played choruses combined with excellent long solo? s, this was something to hear. According to Cobain, the sound came first and the lyrics followed. With songs containing lyrics like ? Here we are now, entertain us? , ? I? m so ugly, but its okay ? cause so are you? and ? When I swear that I don’t have a gun? you would think people wouldn’t relate. But they did and sung along from the top of their lungs on concerts. One of the things that made them sound so good is the fact that Kurt, who wrote most of the bands music and lyrics poured his heart and soul into every song. When their second album Nevermind came out in 1991, the band became an instant global success story. They changed from an underground band playing in bars and small halls to an international sensation that booked big tours all around the world. Although they were famous now, had a lot of money and fans something was still missing for Kurt. If you compare their early years to the year 1993 or 94 you can see Kurt? s transformation. From an enthusiastic and charming person became a sad, lonely individual who had seemed to lose his spirit and was in a lot of pain. Many people believe that was due to drugs he was using, but I think there were many contributing factors to his fading character. It is recognized that his marriage to Courtney Love, who was also a musician, just less successful one, had a lot to contribute to his state of mind. Love is a person who craves constant attention and the finest things in life like expensive clothes and jewelry, big houses and non-stop excitement, partying. People say that opposites attract (and so did Kurt in Milk It), but that was one strange couple with a stormy marriage filled with public disputes and scandals. I? m starting to believe that such different people shouldn’t be together despite their attraction towards one another. Due to all these factors and many more Kurt ended his life with a shotgun to the head in April of 1994. For a short time of five years Nirvana was on the top and had the world in its palms. Most people agree that they inspired a whole generation with their music and their charisma. Only every once in a while comes a band like this, which has the complete package that just looks and sound perfect. It is sometimes said that Kurt was a spoiled child, who couldn’t take the circus that comes with fame, so he took the cowards way out and ended his life, leaving his loved ones behind. In my opinion he was a great man who suffered from problems like everyone else and being in the constant spotlight just made things worse. People who liked them will always remember that funny trio that did a difference on the music scene. When I listen to their records, I get the feeling that I can do great things, everything I want and much more. It doesn’t matter where you come from or how you look, you are something special, something unique. At least, that is how I understand and interpret their message towards the world.

Letter of Recommendation Computer Science department

As the Head of Computer Science department, it gives me immense pleasure to pen down a recommendation letter for an ambitious student like Sarang Metkar. A hardworking and intelligent student with an excellent grasping power is how I will describe Sarang. My association with him as a final year project guide is sufficient to gauge his intellectual capability and state his suitability for the graduate program from your University. His never-ending quench for acquiring knowledge on new technologies was exhibited while working with him on his final year project.It was sponsored by Persistent Systems Ltd. They had a requirement to develop a web browser for directory servers like SunONE DS, IBM IDS and OpenLDAP, with LDAP as a communication protocol. His team showed a great perseverance in understanding the new concepts like LDAP and Directory Server. Impressed by the depth of knowledge they have acquired, I asked his team to present a seminar on LDAP and directory server to our college`s post-graduate students. He has an excellent presentation and communication skills with a clear understanding of concepts and can articulate his ideas effectively.He effectively coordinated communication with external project guide and maintained a proper document to track the requirements. He was prompt in suggesting different approaches to meet the requirements and equally flexible to incorporate any suggested changes. He was punctual and never hesitated to put more efforts to complete his task. His work was highly appreciated and earned him an offer to work as a Software Engineer in sponsoring company. Sarang consistently exceeded in all areas of his coursework and was amongst top 5% in the department.Owing to his excellent academic record, he was awarded merit scholarship for all four years. He also displayed a good interest in co-curricular activities and represented our college in various programming and quiz competition. Speaking of his leadership skill and organizing ability , he successfully coordinated a state-level Technical event named ‘Equinox'. He single handedly managed a C-programming competition, called ‘C-Netics', in our Department which was a huge success. . He volunteered National-level workshops on â€Å"Emerging Trends in IT† and different chapters of Computer Society of India(CSI) conducted in our college.When elected as a ‘Class Representative’, he effectively discharged his duty of coordinating, managing and encouraging student participation. He possesses the intelligence and capacity for sustained hard work to ace the toughest program. By virtue of his strong academic foundation, he has developed the necessary aptitude, attitude and passion for pursuing the graduate education. In view of his inherent potential, strong determination and persistence, I believe that he will scale the highest peaks in his fields of interest and strongly endorse his application for admission to your esteemed institution with financial aid.

Religion Christianity Essay

In relation to Mark 8:34, the teachings of Martin Luther, combined with the Sacrament of Baptism and the ethical application of Church teachings on bioethics, all represent the above sentiment. Significantly, Martin Luther, a fifteenth century German monk, set to right the path the church was leading its’ adherents – to help the members of the Church â€Å"take up [their] Cross† to â€Å"follow [Jesus]†. One of the major sacraments he fervently believed was necessary to â€Å"come after† Jesus is the Sacrament of Baptism, which is still applicable in the lives of Christians today. This sacrament, which invites the adherent into the ethical guidelines of the Church, is essential for the adherent as it enables them to â€Å"come after† Jesus through the practical application of his teachings through their lives. Thus, a combination of significant people, sacraments and ethics of Christianity all link to represent the sentiment in Mark 8:34. In the 15th Century, Martin Luther, a German Christian monk at the time, visited Rome and saw the corruption of the Church, denying adherents to â€Å"take up [their] cross†. Revolted, Luther wrote his first significant doctrine, the Disputation of the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (1517), nailed to the Church door, was revolutionary in righting Church doctrine to allow adherents to â€Å"come after† Jesus. In the document, Luther preached that indulgences were a way by the corrupt Church to steal money of already poor people, for the already wealthy Papacy. Stating that the Church was manipulating the population by putting themselves between an individual of God, he preached against the corruptness, â€Å"In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery? (St Augustine). Instead, he preached his new theology, one which stuck a chord with many people as the writings spread due to the printing press. The teaching of, â€Å"The upright man finds life through faith† was the start of core teachings that would usurp Church doctrine by enabling the adherent to â€Å"deny himself, take up his cross and follow [Jesus]†. However, perhaps Luther’s most important document of all was conceived in 1522 – The German Translation of the Bible. This single document enabled the ordinary Christian adherent to follow Jesus as laid out in Mark 8:34. Through this, people could achieve â€Å"justification by faith alone† and was the medium through which an individual’s relationship with God could be achieved. The clergy and Church doctrine were no longer needed to guarantee the individuals advancement into heaven. The corrupt influence of the Church could be ceased as common people could now read teachings for themselves, instead of the illegible Latin text. By giving people the tool to follow Jesus into everlasting life, personal relationships with God could grow. This final text was the catalyst for the now known Protestant Reformation, inciting a rift against Protestants and Catholics that would shape the church doctrine and development up until the present day. One sacrament that Luther encouraged the Church to keep was the Sacrament of Baptism. This Sacrament essentially gives encouragement for the adherent to follow Jesus – to â€Å"take up his Cross† – through the promise of Salvation. This tool to heaven for adherents positively impacts upon adherents as it encourages them to live a life and â€Å"follow† the way Jesus preached it and develop a positive relationship with God and the community ad embrace the Grace they will receive. Significantly as well, the statement in the Bible by Mark, â€Å"he who believes and is baptised will be saved† (Mark 16:16), gives evidence to this sacred link between the sacrament of Baptism and salvation. This link, then, provides reason for adherents to live a good, fulfilling life in the eyes of Jesus and to â€Å"follow [Jesus]† teachings. Baptism is furthermore representative of Mark 8:34 as it initiates adherent rebirth into the Church to become part of the Body of Christ. The Christian community is the living Christ whose job is to spread the ‘good news’ – thus to â€Å"come after† Jesus and what he preached in his Ministry. The baptismal vows ask the candidate to ‘ever remain faithful to His Church’ and in doing so, one takes on the responsibility of being an active member of the community and to nurture the faith of others. Similarly, the community is sked to help foster the faith of those baptised and to reflect on their own beliefs and the way they â€Å"follow† Jesus. Candidates must live according to the laws and practices of the community in which they have been baptised into. In baptism, one affirms their faith in the principle beliefs of Christianity – essential in allowing the adherent to â€Å"deny himself, and take up his Cross, and follow [Jesus]. † This ideal of following Jesus, as communicated in Mark 8:34, is practiced in many ways by adherents; importantly through taking a Christian ethical stance on bioethical issues. The ethical teachings of Jesus not only guide the adherent to make the right decision about bioethical issues, but they also allow the adherent to choose the right path and â€Å"come after† Jesus. Agape, the love for friends as well as enemies, is one of the most influential ethical teachings. Exhibited in the Scripture in Matthew 5:43-44, â€Å"Love your enemies and pray for those whom persecute you† is a huge deciding factor in ethical decision making, taking into account this love for all humans – the application of which allows the adherent to â€Å"and take up his Cross, and follow [Jesus]. This application is evident through the Christian ethical stance on euthanasia. Very simply, the stance taken by Catholic, Orthodox and Uniting is influenced by a single Commandment, â€Å"Thou shalt not kill† (Exodus). There is a unified belief that euthanasia is wrong, as it breaches the guidelines of agape, and violates the other major ethical teachings of human dignity and humans made in the image of God. By applying this teaching of Jesus onto these bioethical issues, such as euthanasia, the adherent is allowed to â€Å"come after† Jesus and to follow him. Thus, the practices, teachings and significant idols of Christianity definitely represent the Mark 8:34 sentiment. From Luther’s righting of Church doctrine to allow adherents to â€Å"come after† and â€Å"follow† Jesus, to the encouragement to follow Jesus through the Baptism sacrament and the application of Jesus’ ministry through bioethics, the practices and teachings of Christianity fervently represent the above sentiment.

How to Solve a Crime? Essay

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all Brass had on him. He laid a credit card on the bar counter and wished it luck. It only had to bear the price of a couple of rounds, but his salary and his expenses were not on speaking terms lately. It was Christmas in Las Vegas. Every year, it set him back until April. Which was tax time. Which set him back until Christmas. There was a comforting rhythm to it. ‘They have some good single malts,’ Catherine said, and ordered a beer. That was one of the things Brass liked about her. She had class, but didn’t make a man pay for it. Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows, Las Vegas Crime Scene Investigation senior supervisor. Catherine is the glamorous commander of a crack team of forensic criminologists It was 4:30am on Christmas Eve, meaning it was Christmas morning to anybody who had got some sleep in the interim, and crime scene investigators Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes had just finished dropping off bodies and registering the evidence they’d gathered at a messy murder scene. The fatal string of Christmas lights was wound around the female victim’s neck so many times the coroner was going to have to cut it from the corpse. The second victim was her husband; they assumed he was the one that did the strangling. With the steak knife in his neck, he’d only had just enough blood in him to finish the job. ‘The weird part,’ Nick remarked, leaning on the bar with his heavy forearms, ‘is the lights around her neck were still on when we got there.’ ‘It lent a certain festive air to the scene,’ Brass replied. Brass’s understudy for the evening, a young detective by the name of Ottman, known as ‘The Otter’ among the wittier senior staff, sat uncomfortably between Catherine and Brass. He looked ill. He hadn’t worked many murder scenes before, and this one wasn’t just bloody, it was ironic. Irony always made things worse. The knife was part of a gift set intended for the dead man. It had his monogram burned into the handle. For the veteran CSI team, it was just another couple of dead people, another raft of evidence and paperwork. Ottman cleared his throat before he spoke, a habit that irritated Brass. ‘There’s nothing festive about people killing each other on Christmas Eve,’ he objected. ‘He doesn’t mean it,’ Catherine said. ‘It’s awful. Every murder is awful. But if we mourn the dead every time we find them . . . ‘ ‘Some do,’ Brass interrupted. ‘They don’t last in the job.’ He fixed his melancholy eyes on Ottman and waited for the message to sink in. Before he could be sure it had, the drinks arrived. Beer all round except Ottman, who opted for one of those Tiger Woods non-alcoholic things that used to be an Arnold Palmer. The kid didn’t even know how to drink. Catherine decanted her beer into a glass. Nick picked at the label on his. George Eads as Nick Stokes. Formerly Catherine’s deputy, he has just been promoted to be her co-supervisor. Occasionally over-emotional. ‘Lot of murders this time of year,’ Nick said, in much the way he might observe it was a chilly night. Ottman cleared his throat. ‘People always get crazy around the holidays?’ he asked nobody in particular. ‘If you’re going to kill somebody, the season of joy is a popular time. Statistically speaking,’ Catherine replied. She checked her watch. Coming to the bar had been her idea: it was too late to go home and get in bed. She’d wake her daughter Lindsay up, and now that she was 18, Lindsay didn’t like early rising at Christmas. So Catherine was pretending it was the previous night, rather than the following morning. Nick had proposed they get coffee and breakfast, but he lived alone and his family was in Texas. He could lounge around all day. Catherine had a full schedule of family events, and breakfast at home was one of them. Brass glanced over at Ottman. The guy wasn’t cut out for this work. He was a fairly good detective. Book smart, but not great at murders. He would be best at property crime, hustles, something like that. Brass’s first reaction to any weak-hearted cop was always to push his buttons, expose the soft parts and toughen them up – that, or drive him out of the department before he made a costly mistake. Still, it was Christmas Eve or morning, according to your tastes, and the poor guy was clearly having a hard time. ‘Sometimes, even with murder, there’s Christmas spirit,’ Brass said. ‘The steak knives were good quality,’ Nick agreed. Catherine shook her head. ‘Go easy,’ she said, observing Ottman’s discomfort. ‘No, seriously,’ Brass continued. ‘Remember that time, it must have been seven, eight years ago, the one with the 60-G watch?’ Nick raised his bottle to his mouth, trying to recall, then snapped his fingers and set the bottle back down. ‘The big guy and the little guy.’ ‘And the dancer,’ Catherine added. She never forgot the dancers. Ottman had his hands folded in his lap, his drink untouched in front of him. He clearly didn’t want to ask. But the others were looking expectantly at him, so he asked anyway, rather than let the silence get too long. ‘So how was there murder and Christmas spirit?’ Brass took a pull of his beer, dabbed at his lips with his handkerchief, and twisted around so he could face Ottman. ‘I’ll tell you,’ he said. It was a warm Christmas night back in the high times when people went to Las Vegas just to get rid of their excess cash – by the truckload. There was still plenty of crime, but it was a different kind of crime, the kind that comes from an opportunityrich environment. These days, it’s the kind of crime that comes from a lack of opportunity. The difference is academic to most victims. Gil Grissom was supervisor back then. There had been various robberies, a couple of fatal accidents and a gang fight that night; nothing serious. Then the call came in, around 9pm on Christmas Eve. ‘The call came in from the Mediterranean Hotel on the Strip. Maid finds a corpse in one of the VIP suites. He’s lying on the floor in his boxer shorts,’ Brass said. ‘Ambulance shows up, medics think it could be foul play, they call us. I was first on the scene, me and a couple of patrolmen. ‘Hell of a suite he had, about the size of Yankee Stadium. Looked like the Pope decorated it. As crime scenes go, not too shabby – especially compared to Latrine Alley, where at that moment most of the graveyard shift was on its hands and knees, looking for shell casings with a flashlight.’ Brass took a swig from his beer. Ottman cleared his throat, but Brass got there first: ‘So we take a right at the grand piano and there’s the victim, in the split-level living room.’ ‘Dead,’ Nick added, in case Ottman was as slow as he thought he was. Paul Guilfoyle as Captain James Brass, a Las Vegas Police Department homicide detective who does things by the book ‘Fatally so,’ Brass resumed. ‘Frank â€Å"Bozo† Bozigian, heir to the automotive floor mat fortune. Big guy. Always rents this same suite, every weekend. He was lying face down on the carpet with his head busted open against this gold-plated coffee table the size of my house. ‘The table was interesting. There were five lines of coke laid out on it, and a stack of $20 bills that would keep a stripper in business for five years. And most importantly, a chunk of meat with hair in it – from where this individual’s head came in contact with the corner.’ ‘An accident,’ Ottman interjected. ‘Yeah, except for one thing: Bozigian’s knuckles are all busted up. There’s blood under his fingernails. Maybe it’s relevant, maybe it’s not, but this guy was in a fight some time around when he died.’ ‘Sounds circumstantial,’ Ottman said. Brass ignored him and carried on, determined to get to the exciting part: ‘So I look around while I’m waiting for these two CSIs to show up, and I can’t figure it out. Looks like Bozigian just fell down and busted his head, right? Death by misadventure. Except he’s only got his drawers on. And when I look around, all I find is a fully packed suitcase in the bedroom. Where’s the clothes he walked in with? Where’s his shoes? ‘Only thing the victim has on is gold chains and a wristwatch, which is one of these Swiss automatics that sets you back 60 grand. Basically, I’m stumped.’ ‘Which doesn’t happen that much,’ Catherine said, and raised her glass to Brass. ‘Here’s to Christmas,’ Brass said, and they all drank. ‘Took us a while to get there,’ Nick said. ‘The other major scene, the gang fight, was a mess. Gil Grissom and the rest of us were working it for hours. When we finally got out of there, me and Catherine showed up at the Mediterranean looking like trash pickers.’ He laughed at the memory. Catherine smiled. It hadn’t been funny at the time. Nick went on: ‘There wasn’t any camera surveillance on that floor, but we got hotel security to secure video from all the elevators. Then we went into the suite. The deceased was a huge guy, twice my size, steroid muscle all over him. Shaved head, tattoo of a pole dancer on his back.’ ‘The tattoo probably scared the maid more than the blood,’ Catherine added. ‘No question about the head injury,’ Nick said. ‘He got it from the table. Scalp is split open with a furrow gouged out of the skin, and on the iron corner of the table there’s a corresponding scrap of tissue with identical hair on it. You could see at a glance this guy hit that table hard enough to kill him. But w e never guess at anything if we can prove it instead. So we take a set of one-to-one pictures of the whole scene. Then we collect the tissue, the hair, the money, the cocaine. Then it’s time to move the body.’ ‘Corpses are always heavy, but this guy weighed a ton,’ Catherine observed. Brass clapped Ottman on the shoulder. ‘It took all three of us to roll him over,’ he said. ‘If you’d been there, Ottman, it would have been easy.’ Nick stepped in to continue the story. ‘The front of him was more interesting, from a forensic perspective. He’d been bleeding, and it had pooled under him and glued him to the carpet, which is one reason he was so hard to move. His hands were clenched into fists. We found some blonde hair caught under a chain on his wrist. Several skin tags. They got pulled out hard.’ ‘He wasn’t blonde, needless to say,’ Catherine added. ‘So we bagged it. There was blood, maybe even tissue, under his fingernails, so we went to bag his hands, too, and that’s when we start realising the watch is a factor after all. I remember the make. It was a gold Vacherin Constantin automatic, and like Brass says, it was worth five figures. ‘But it didn’t fit his wrist. Had a dive-style bracelet on it – you fit those exactly to size on a watch like that, by adding or subtracting links with tiny screws. It was way too tight. So we opened the clasp and found blood on the underside of the bracelet. No lividity where it squeezed the skin, so as far as we can tell, the watch was put on after death. And get this – a patent fingerprint on the crystal. I mean you could see it in ordinary light, it was that clear, and printed in blood.’ Ottman cleared his throat, and Brass suddenly understood why they called him ‘The Otter’. When he swallowed, he looked like an otter eating clams. I t was perfect. William Petersen as Dr Gilbert ‘Gil’ Grissom, Catherine’s predecessor as CSI senior supervisor ‘If there was blood on the watch, did it correspond with the corpse?’ asked Ottman. ‘Did his hand fall under his head, or maybe his knuckles bled on it?’ ‘No,’ Catherine said. ‘But good question. His hands were down at his sides, palms downward, and the blood was all up under his head. His knuckles had stopped bleeding some time before death.’ ‘So the blood either came from the earlier fight, or it came from somebody else putting the watch on him after the guy was dead.’ Ottman nodded as he figured it out. Brass added: ‘That’s not all, though. It was on his right wrist, which makes sense if he’s a southpaw, but it wasn’t a left-handed watch.’ ‘So we looked around,’ Nick said, ‘collected whatever we could, and then I accompanied the body to the morgue. Bra ss and Catherine went to LVPD to file the preliminary report.’ ‘That was it until we had some more information,’ Brass said. ‘So back at Crime Central, I did a little research. Bozigian wasn’t unknown to the authorities.’ Brass paused. ‘Bozigian was from Glendale, California, but spent most of his time in Vegas, always at the best hotels. Looking at his rap sheet, he was one of these playboy types with a fat trust fund that didn’t go as far as he wanted it, so he was always looking for more money. But he was too lazy to actually earn it, so he went for the quick scores: private bookmaking, junk real estate, money laundering through clubs. Most of all, gambling. ‘He loved the cards, so even if he made any money, he lost it just as fast. Got into some wild bets. People got hurt. But he never did a day’s time.’ Nick counted off a few details on his fingers: ‘The assistant coroner determined Bozigian’s time of death to be an estimate of one to three hours prior to the maid finding his body. So I checked out the hotel’s elevator security footage, looking for any visitors to that floor during this time frame. ‘Sure enough, a guy gets in the elevator alone. He’s suspicious because he’s got a towel to his face. Can’t get a good look at him. He rode up from the parking garage, exits Bozigian’s floor. Five minutes later, he gets in the same elevator car and rides back down.’ ‘By now,’ Catherine interjected, ‘Grissom is working another scene, which is a jewellery-store robbery. Apparently this guy drove his monkey-brown Toyota truck straight through the front window of a store on the Strip, jumped out, grabbed what he could, and drove off. Not a real criminal mastermind. They have his plates and everything. Name is Henry Carson. There’s an APB out on the truck.’ Catherine said: ‘Brass and I have ten minutes free, so we decide to go crazy and get a cup of coffee at the place next door. Halfway across the police department parking lot, we see the truck. Same plates, same colour, the front all smashed in. ‘Out gets this little tiny man, smaller than me. And it looked like somebody ran him over with a train. Face pummelled. Blood all over his shirt. He sees Brass, walks up to him, and says, â€Å"I’m turning myself in. I killed a man named Frank Bozigian.† ‘ But how could one of these little people murder a 300lb man mountain with just their bare hands?