Republican demise Essay Example for Free

Republican demise Essay Saddam is fairly sure about his future at the end of this one-sided trial in Baghdad. He would most likely meet an end rightly deserved by a cruel perpetrator against humanity. None of us is immune to fear, pain and loss. But to suffer the fate of an uncertain future could be worse than any of these feelings. From this point of view, George Bush, assured of Republican demise, Tony Blair, assured of his exit and Saddam Hussein, are all on the same boat; certain of their fate. The biggest sufferers of the war in Iraq, are no doubt the Iraqis, suffering the most gruesome bloodshed that mankind has witnessed in recent times. To classify the next category of sufferers are the people who follow Islam. Iraq war has resulted in stereotyping the collaborators and extremists and has led Muslims in the Middle East to feel that it’s a war against their community. Due to the cascading effect that travels in communities and religions, the Muslims in most of the other countries also share this view. Unfortunately, the inability to locate the so-called â€Å"weapons of mass destruction† has also cast a serious doubt on the intentions of USA and UK in the minds of millions residing in their own countries. Now, many of us can relate to the uncertainty sneaking in the minds of people who had to commute on the morning of 8th July 2005 or 12th September 2001. Our government has done its best to gift unscathed tentativeness to British citizens. To foresee a natural calamity is definitely not expected from our leaders. But to invent a manmade catastrophe is also not what we deserve. In order to be socially responsible and contribute in preserving human rights, Britain has to contribute in the current World order. We cannot ignore the atrocities inflicted on mankind especially when we have the capacity to affect the situation. However, to bully a bully is also not a sensible stance. Let us analyze the pretext of going into this war as claimed in a dossier presented in the British parliament on 24th September 2002. The central points of Blair’s defense for offense were Iraqi regime’s program to develop nuclear, biological, chemical weapons of mass destruction. Aiding, funding and supporting groups like Al Qaida by this regime. He argued that Saddam has brutalized his own people using chemical warfare, so far the only blame that could be substantiated after dethroning the dictator. After explaining the threat posed to the region by the Iraqi regime, he lamented I am quite clear that Saddam will go to extreme lengths, indeed has already done so, to hide these weapons and avoid giving them up. Where are those weapons of mass destruction now? Another losing battle is on the economic front. It is clear that the total cost of operations in Iraq is quickly exceeding previous estimates, and is now well over the ? 3 billion originally set aside by the Chancellor to fund the conflict. Rough estimates suggest that as much as an extra ? 1 billion will be required for each further year UK forces remain in Iraq. Perhaps as important as the rising costs themselves is the lack of transparency about where the money is going, and how much more will be needed in the future. The Iraq Analysis Group calls on the future government to clarify the costs of war in terms of size and expenditure type, and how they are being met. In the meantime, we will update this briefing as further information becomes available. It seems that the British government had detailed plans of â€Å"how to go in? † but never planned or foresaw on â€Å"how and when to come out? † Reluctantly enough, people of Great Britain stood by their elected leaders and the choices they made at the time of going into this war. The imminent dangers painted on our minds with repetitive citations on terror, terrorist attacks, axis of evil, tyrannical regime etc, were potent enough for us to believe that we are going to fight for peace. (Oliver King and Paul Hamilos, 2006). The UN was shoved aside, French, German and Russian representatives were simply ignored. Ironically, these nations are geographically and diplomatically a lot close to United Kingdom than Iraq. Somehow, British decision to act as the drum beater for this war, has also led the world to believe that commitment of our conscience is mortgaged to the USA. With his efforts, Blair successfully blurred the identity of our nation. Most of the media in the Middle East now cite UK and USA in the same breath, especially in context of the Iraq war. USA had suffered an indelible blow on 9/11. And we suffered a seemingly low scale trailer on 7/7, primarily due our policies on Iraq. A common view point held by world leaders is that the use of force can never be justified unless all other means of negotiation fail. UN inspectors on Iraq’s weapon program had certainly failed in their job as they were neither supported nor shown any cooperation by the Iraqi regime. The report from the chief UN inspector fortified the rhetoric from George Bush who went to label Saddam’s tactics as a charade. (George Bush, 2003). In such circumstances and in those times when most of the nations were made to believe that what’s going on in Iraq is dangerous for humanity, use of armed action certainly seemed feasible. A dictator, who could kill his own people, can very well drop a bomb on neighboring countries. The dangers and ease of spreading Anthrax as a biological weapon could not be taken as anything less than a grave concern. Just one push of a button could have caused irreparable and unrecoverable destruction. Faced with such a situation, UK’s stance on supporting USA is acceptable. To wait for Saddam to light a fuse for such havoc would have reduced most of the world leaders to a laughing stock, only if few of them would survive to be mocked at. Pre-emptive strike, as popularized by the US media, earns a lot of credibility in this context. Britain, or as a matter of fact any other nation, would react with utter might in order to prevent this. And if the countries surrounding Iraq are themselves grasping for survival and development, the onus does fall on developed nations to resolve the stalemate. Negotiations since 1995 were not bearing any fruits other than letting Saddam to build a black economy of earning billions despite the sanctions imposed on Iraq. Worse, none of this money was used to feed the destitute or mitigating infant mortality. The dictator had built water-tight ways of siphoning money into his personal accounts. The discovery of vast amounts of money being utilized without any tab raised suspicions in the minds of the majority. This surely was a reason valid enough to strike. And there is evidence that Saddam utilized all these years to fool the international community. It will also be not entirely fair to say that Blair did not weigh the situation at all We waited 12 years and then went through the United Nations. It is now three months since we gave Saddam what we called a final opportunity. (BBC News, 2003)

Agamemnon Essay -- essays research papers fc

Agamemnon Agamemnon is a confusing tale of the people that are waiting for the soldiers to get home from the Trojan war. Most of the play is the chorus singing about many of the things that happened during the war. The play also shows the disrespect the men had for women in that time period. In front of Agamemnon's palace, a watchman wishes his shift would end. He is tired and wants to sleep but he must stay awake. He awaits news from Queen Clytemnestra. The Chorus of Argive elders enters, singing of the war. They sing of the gods, asking for them to help them win the war, and of the great army. They anxiously await the news from the Queen. In the song, they tell how Agamemnon killed his child. He sacrificed his daughter to Apollo so that Apollo would make the winds blow for his armies ships. The chorus thinks that deed was horrible, but had to be done for the good of the country. The leader asks Clytemnestra if she's heard any news. He doesn't like being ruled by a woman and treats her somewhat rudely. He only listens to her because of his loyalty to his King. She tells the leader that the army has taken Troy. The leader is skeptical and asks her to repeat herself several times. The Queen gets angry and tells him she is not a "credulous girl." When the leader asks how Clytemnestra...

Vacant Chapter 13 Forgive

So far I've cleaned the bathroom, the oven, the refrigerator and vacuumed – twice. It's after nine and Emily still hasn't shown up. I'm starting to think that her things are simply a mirage, or maybe she just didn't want to carry a lot of junk with her. Maybe she's staying with one of her school friends, and she didn't need her hygiene stuff. Maybe my earlier thought about what she would need to do for money wasn't that far off the mark. Maybe she's out doing something dangerous, or worse yet, something has already happened to her. There's no one but me to know she's missing. How long do I have to wait before I turn her in as a missing person? I know she has to be missing for at least twenty-four hours, but maybe she's already been gone for a couple days. Oh, God – what if she's hurt and lying somewhere. Maybe she only has minutes left and I can't get to her in time†¦ â€Å"Ow!† I hit my head on the bottom shelf of the linen closet, cleaning the dried and caked shampoo from the floor when the sound of the door closing startles me. â€Å"Emily?† I hope it's her. If it's not, I'm going to call the cops and lie and tell them she's been missing for days. I hear the slapping of tennis shoes against the linoleum, then a thud on the carpet. I turn and look down the hall to see a brown-haired beauty face down on the floor. â€Å"Emily? Are you okay?† I almost – almost – laugh when she looks up at me with her hair tangled in her face. â€Å"Ethan, it's you! It's really you!† She scrambles the rest of the way to me on her knees, spitting her hair out of her mouth and hugging me tighter than I can ever remember. Her smile is brighter than a sunny day at the equator. We settle on the couch, still holding on to each other. I can't seem to let go. I never want to let go. â€Å"Where have you been?† There doesn't seem to be any anger in her tone. How could she NOT be angry with me? I'm ashamed at my answer. â€Å"I drove. I didn't really go anywhere. I was just running away, Emily.† I hang my head, embarrassed that I don't even have a good reason for leaving her. â€Å"I know it won't make any difference now because you probably hate me, but I love you too, Emily. I have since†¦forever, and I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you. I should have said it to you a week ago instead of running away like the coward I am. But, I can't hold back any longer without you knowing how I feel about you. I've never been in love before, but I'm pretty sure this is what it feels like. I can't think about anything else but you – how you laugh, the way you comb your hair, the way you smell right after the shower†¦ God!† Something stops my rambling, something soft, warm and moist. Emily's lips are on mine and her arms are wrapped around my neck. She's kissing me, and I don't ever want her to stop. Her mouth on mine is awesome! And I think about other things I want her to do with her mouth. While there are a hundred synonyms for how kissing Emily feels, the only thing in my head the at the moment is â€Å"woo-hoo†. If I really think about what is actually happening, I'll make her stop. This is wrong – not the kissing part, but the part where she's willing to forgive all my sins and just take me back without a second thought. Now that I'm thinking about it†¦ Damn it! Now I'm mad. I pull away while her lips linger. â€Å"Emily,† I sigh, not really knowing where to start. â€Å"We have to talk about this,† I motion between us. She nods begrudgingly. It's written all over her face; she thinks I'm going to reject her again. â€Å"Look,† I pull her chin up so her eyes meet mine, â€Å"nothing will change my feelings for you. They haven't changed in the last few years, and they won't change in the next few, either. What I have to know, though, is how you are feeling.† She starts shaking her head, telling me not to worry, but that's precisely the problem. She should be angry with me. â€Å"Emily, you should be upset with me. Yell, scream, hit – anything to let me know how you feel!† I'm almost shouting near the end of my declaration. I pull back and get myself in check before I completely lose it. â€Å"Relieved.† â€Å"What?† It's a stupid question because I heard perfectly well what she said. It's a stall tactic on my part. â€Å"I'm relieved, Ethan.† â€Å"Why aren't you-â€Å" â€Å"Do you know how many people there have been in my life who I cared about or who cared about me?† I'm pretty sure I know the answer. I'm hoping it's two, but know for sure it's one – her mother – but I'm always careful not to bring up LouAnne. I just squeeze her hand, which I'm still holding onto like the piece of wood Leonardo DiCaprio was holding onto after his exit from the Titanic. â€Å"Two, Ethan. Two.† Now I'm relieved. â€Å"And one of them can't ever come back, but you did. You came back and I don't care where you went or what you did. You are here now, safe.† The tremble in her voice as she says, â€Å"what you did,† tells me she's a little scared of what – or who – I might have done, so I hope I'm about to put her fears to rest. â€Å"I just drove and slept in my car. I ate a few times, but honestly, Emily, the only thing I did was think about you and how much you mean to me. I was an asshole for leaving you. I didn't take your safety or well-being into account and for that, I'm sorry. You should be upset with me.† â€Å"I was scared, Ethan. At first, I thought maybe you were just blowing off some steam, off figuring out a way to tell me to leave, but when you didn't come home that first night or the next morning, I started to get worried. Then Margie came by and said you hadn't shown up for work.† So, this is how Margie knows about Emily. â€Å"I wasn't really sure how much she knew, but I could tell she was surprised to find me here. She was so nice though. I told her how highly you speak of her and how much we appreciated the deal she and her husband gave on the car. Then I lost myself for a little bit and told her about you surprising me and taking me to graduation.† Emily pauses and smiles, then looks down as if she's a little embarrassed. â€Å"It was nice to have a woman to talk to again. It reminded me a little of my mom.† Emily continues to tell me about Margie coming to the house. She said she cried for a little bit because she didn't know what to do, that she'd been relying on me for so long. She didn't know what she would do if I didn't come home. She also tells me how Margie asked her about a job and what she liked to do. It seems they went to the public library and Emily applied for a position. She can work there part-time and still go to school. Apparently, she works until closing and that's why she came home so late. Margie also got her a bus pass and rode with her the first time to make sure it was safe. There isn't a bouquet of flowers big enough for Margie right now.

The Pesticide Called Atrazine Acts as an Endocrine...

The article reviewed in this summary is Hayes, T.B., Khoury, V., Narayan, A., Nazir, M., Park, A., Brown, T., Adame, L., Chan, E., Buchholz, D., Stueve, T., and Gallipeau, S. 2010. Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107: 4612-4617. The authors have assigned key words described throughout this article including amphibian decline, endocrine disruption, pesticide and sex reversal. The larger or global context for the research conducted in this article is that the pesticide Atrazine is widely utilized across the entire world, contaminating water sources by mobilizing through rainfall, disrupting habitats and impacting†¦show more content†¦Spermatogenesis data was collected from five random testicular tubules as well as the largest tubule. DNA for sex determination was obtained from the prepared toe tips of the amphibians and aromatase samples were collected from the RNA removed from the gonads of atrazine induced females. The authors collected data on mating choice behavior from single and paired frogs of both male groups to ZW stock females placed in a pool together. Testosterone levels were obtained from the same paired and single males by taking centrifuged blood samples and extracting the plasma testosterone. Fertility data was collected by pairing controlled and atrazine exposed males with ZW stock females and gathering eggs and embryos from these matings. The data collected spans from hatching of the larvae until about two to three years after metamorphosis. For the morphometric measurements, statistical analyses were performed. The dilator larynges were examined by the proportion extended beyond the thiohyral in order to determine the significance of the length of the extension. The presence or absence of observable nuptial pads was analyzed, to determine it as a sex characteristic of males. Breeding glands were evaluated by considering the maximum area of the l argest gland which was then compared to the areas of other glands to observe the size differences between the control and atrazine treated males. Stages of spermatogenesis for the testis and tubules with and