Marvin Gaye Author Of Soul Music :: essays research papers fc

Marvin Gaye Author of Love MusicBibliographyBayles, M artworkha. Hole In Our Soul. New York The Free Press, 1994Coleman, Nick. Lost Soul. New Statesman 4 Sept. 1998 127. EBSCO Host. Centennial senior high school School Lib., Franklin, TN. 14 Feb. 2001 <http//www.epnet.com/ehost/login.html>. Editors of Time-Life Books. Turbulent Years The 60s. Our American Century.Alexandria, Virginia Time-Life Books, 1998.Gaye, Marvin (Pentz Jr.). Biography.com 4. Online. World Wide Web. 12 Feb. 2001. Available http//www.biography.com.Gracyk, Theodore. An Aesthetics Of Rock. Duke University Duke University Press     Durham and capital of the United Kingdom 1996Haa, Erikka. Soul. New York FriedmanFairfax, 1994. Marvin Gaye (1939-1984). Discovering Biography. Windows Version. CD-ROM.Detroit Gale Research, 1997.OutlineI.     IntroII.     Music     A. Sex     B. Feelings     C. Life III.     Life     A. Early Life     B. Addictions     C. DeathIV. ConclusionHarrington 1     Kci & Jojo, R. Kelly, and Blackstreet are only practice of medicineians who have modernized the music of Soul the music invented by Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye used his feelings of himself, surroundings, and life to write his one-of-a-kind music. Soul music, often referred to as " hit the hay man music", was not about drugs or winning a championship it was about sex, romance, and passion, Marvin Gaye was about it all and more. Marvin Gaye, the Prince of Motown, revolutionized his music into one of Americas most controversial musical forms, "love man music", which would later become Soul Music.          Marvin Gayes music became so popular with the public because it was so risqu the music was about sex. Gaye adored the respect and care h e received from his fans. Songs like "Lets get it on" and "Sexual Healing" became so popular because they were so deeply involved in lovemaking. A allegiant fan on Gaye, David Ritz, explains the love expressed in Gayes musicGaye loved fully orchestrated, wildly romantic music... By now he had mastered multi-track vocalizing, the art of playing with his voices. The use of moaning women in the background sounded childish, but sexual noise was an integral part of the little boy fantasy which lay at the oculus of what seems to me a work of rare beauty. (Bayles 271)His music was new, something people have experienced, but were ready for it and excited to hear it. "Love music" also appeared so fulminant because the people were tired of the Rock and Roll scene that swarmed America. An unknown fan of the love Harrington 2music that was coming about, explains why it took the place of Rock at the top of the charts. "The assumption was that every woman in her rig ht mind would prefer the love mens smooth talking satin-sheets-on-the-waterbed approach to the ear blebby screeching of white boys with road kill hair (Bayles 271).

Life on Other planets. Essay -- essays research papers

One of the nigh common unanswered questions scientists find themselves asking is "Is there life on other planets?" Since the first spl haltidly documented UFO sighting in 1947, the idea of extra-terrestrial life has been debated almost non-stop. The subject has inspired many TV programs, such as The X-Files, and films (Mars Attacks, Independence Day, and the hands in Black films to name but a few). Scientists have come up with many new ideas and ways of trying to either prove or disprove the existence of life elsewhere.Mars is a very similar planet to earth in relation to size and atmosphere. Therefore it seemed like the most likely place to search for life. At the end of the 19th century, an American named Percival Lowell create himself an observatory so that it was possible for him to study Mars in allude detail when its orbit was closest to Earth. At this time it had recently been suggested that the planet had a system of channels on the surface, present from the eva poration of flowing water. face through his telescope Lowell became convinced he could see a network of artificial canals. This led him to believe that there were intelligent beings on Mars who had built these canals. However, spacecraft have now bided Mars and found that there is no evidence of water at all. It is now thought that the lines he could see were the crew of Lowells overactive imagination, and scratches on the lens of his telescope. We are now searching one of Jupiters moons, Europa, as this seems to be the next likely place to hold life. It is seen to be more than likely, however, that we will find less intelligent life in one of two different ways It may be possible for us to bugger off material from another planet or moon or star from elsewhere in the Solar System. Spacecraft may be able to visit these bodies and, for example, use a robot to collect material for examination. This may be examined on site, or brought to Earth to be investigated in laboratory condi tions. They could be tested for things such as evidence of fossilised organisms. Another, possibly slightly far-fetched hope is that we may find simple organisms like bacteria actually living on the desired planet. These ideas spanned from the discovery of rock on our planet that originated from Mars knocked from the planet when a comet collided with it. In 1996 a group of scientists created conflict by ... ...them is so enormous that they are dragged to our planet. Another idea is that UFOs are not really from other planets at all, but created right here on Earth. Supposedly Germans, Americans and Soviets started the Projekt discus in Germany towards the end of World War II. During the war Germans sent ships to the Antarctic with equipment and plans for a massive underground structure. It is said that at the end of the war scientists and engineers who had been working on Projekt Saucer in Germany ended up in this underground structure, where even more advanced saucers were creat ed. In a manner of thinking this is by far the scariest opening should it be proved correct, for it brings up more questions than it gives answers. What would people on Earth want to create spaceships for? Why keep it such a secret if everything is guileless? Maybe, if this theory is proved correct, it is better not to know the answers.To conclude, there are no solid facts on the existence of extra-terrestrials. Whether or not they exist will, until definite proof is brought forward, be a topic of major debate. Personally I believe that there is something out there-although what it is I wouldnt hazard a guess.

The death penalty :: essays research papers fc

The Death Penaltythither are many crimes that are being committed through out America, burglary, car theft, rape, pick pocketing, and murder. There are many different forms of murder, manslaughter (killing someone without it being previously thought out) vehicular manslaughter (hitting someone with your car and killing them) and other forms of accidental deaths whitethorn be thought of in the same sense of murder. The death penalty applies to the murders that are committed baselessly (murders that are done on purpose). The sort to prevent some of these violent murders is to use the death penalty more. Some people say that the death penalty is cruel, unjust and it is in moral. I aspect that the death penalty, if it was in forced, would be a deterrent for crime. There are many strengths and weaknesses surrounding the death penalty. There also have been many arguments in favor of the death penalty. In the state of Pennsylvania, a person that commits first degree murder with eighte en aggravating circumstances is able to be sen disco biscuitced to death. The deadly injection is the means that is used when someone is sentenced to death. There is no real age specified to how old somebody can be before they are sentenced to death. As of July 1, 2001 there was 246 people on death row, 155 (63%) were African American, 75 (30%) were white, 15 (6%) were Latina and 2 (8%) were Asian. A July 2001 Harris Poll founded about four of ten American (42%) felt that capital punishment deters people from committing murders. On the other hand about five of ten American (52%) believed capital punishment does non have much effect. In 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated nearly six of ten (59%) thought capital punishment was a deterrent, compared to just over tierce in ten (34%) who thought it wasnt. (Pg 74 The Death Penalty in America) Some of the strengths of the death penalty are that it does not allow violent murders clog onto the streets, it deters crimes from would be murders, and it gives comfort to families of murdered victims. By using capital punishment on violent murders it prevents them from reentering society and having a chance to commit a violent act again. If capital punishment was handed down as a punishment then other criminals would think again about committing murder. The death penalty also gives comfort to the families of murdered victims by not allowing them (criminals) back onto the streets free to commit another murder.

Effective Communication Inside the Courtroom Essay -- Court Communicat

Effective Communication Inside the CourtroomDo you swear to read the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God? This is a statement that is often heard inside the courtroom, one that solely must swear to as they attempt to testify in a court of law. The constitution of the United States allows accused to be judged by a board of their peers to determine their guilt or innocence (Abadinsky, 1995). In order for that to take place a trial must be conducted to allow the evidence to be presented. In order for that to happen the state must have its attorneys present the facts that have been discovered. It is the responsibility of the state attorney or prosecutor to convince the members of the control panel that the events being presenting are true and that as members of society they should find the accused guilty and thus assess some type of penalty. At the same metre it is the job of the defense attorneys to persuade the jury to find their client not guilty base d on their story. In order for this to happen both the quest and the defiance must effectively communicate with the members of the jury and with other members of the court in an attempt to prevail. The proper communication techniques are very important in presenting ones case. Communication must take place between attorneys and clients, between opposite counsel and with the judge, but most importantly with the jury. Statement of the ProblemThus, the research disbelief for this study is How do attorneys effectively communicate inside the courtroom? Attorneys are defined as officers of the court authorized to appear before it as a representative of a party in a legal controversy. Communicate is defined as to impart knowledge, to make known, to d... ...s paper article Lewis, N.A. (2001, September 9). Plans for sack monitoring in courts dropped.The New York Times, 51,871, 34-35.9. An Article in a scholarly journal with continuous pagination Beitz, C. (2000). Rawlss law of people s. Ethics, 110, 669-696.10. An article in a scholarly journal that paginates each issue separately Durrell, D.D (2000). Durrell as a teacher. Journal of education, 182, 135- 158.11. A film or video tape Bureau of evaluator (Producer) & Richardson, J.G. (Writer/Director). (1997). Bias in the courtroom. microfilm. United States National Center for State Courts.12. An article off of the internet Ramsey, G. (March 1999). Communication theories on trial can the scales of justice be swayed by the application of communication theories? Communication & the law. Retrieved (September 17, 2001) from http// ehostgvw9.epnet.com

Respect, Coercion and Religious Belief :: Religion Argumentative Argument Papers

Respect, Coercion and Religious BeliefIn this paper, I articulate and evaluate an important transmission line in support of the claim that citizens of a progressive tense democracy should not support absolute policies on the basis of a rationale they know other citizens reasonably reject. I conclude that that argument is unsuccessful. In particular, I argue that religious believers who support coercive public policies on the basis of religious convictions do not disrespect citizens who reasonably regard such(prenominal) religious convictions as false. ISomewhere near the heart of much contemporary liberal political theory is the claim that if the state restricts an agents liberty, its restrictions should have round rationale that is defensible to each of those whose liberty is constrained. Liberals are committed to the requirement that all aspects of the social order should either be made acceptable or be capable of being made acceptable to every last individual. But there are ma ny an(prenominal) kinds of claim which are particularly arguable, many about which we expect reasonable disagreement. Coercive policies should not be justified on the basis of such controversial grounds rather, they should enjoy public justification. That coercive policy should enjoy public justification implies that political actors are subject to various principles of restraint, that is, that they should restrain themselves from supporting policies solely on the basis of excessively controversial grounds. The point of advocating restraint is to achieve a minimal moral conception, a core morality, which is rationally acceptable to all and which provides the ground rules for political association. In what follows, I evaluate what I take to be the most compelling argument in support of restraint. For ease of exposition, I shall refer to this argument as the argument from respect. What is that argument? First an informal formulation. Suppose that John supports some policy which has i mportant consequences for the welfare of a certain type of animal, say, the spotted owl. Since spotted owls posterior suffer, and since they are conscious of their suffering, John should take into consideration the interests of the spotted owl when determining whether or not to support logging in octogenarian offset forests, John should include in his moral calculus the suffering generated by the devastation of the spotted owls natural habitat. Johns position regarding the propriety of logging in old growth forests doesnt just affect owls, of course it also affects loggers like Mary. Mary, like John, must come to grips with the issues raised by the destruction of old growth forests.

Truth and Art: Keatss Ode on a Grecian Urn :: Ode on a Grecian Urn Essays

Keatss Ode on a Grecian Urn offers a paradoxical concept of Beauty. It describes the frozen steady portrayed on the Urn as sweeter than reality, for its expiration is a locked impossibility. The lovers kiss is sweeter when in waiting, and her timeless beauty and devotion are worth the kisss impossibility. Thus, the observation of beauty is more than sweet than its reception, and objects in their prime are best just before their expiration. This poem is reminiscent of Shakespeares sonnets in its zeal for permanent youth and disdain for times run off on youths beauty. Yet, after all the desires for the Urns timeless youth and beauty (an impossibility in reality), the poet ends with, Beauty is truth, truth beauty-that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye claim to know. Keats objectifies and works to define beauty through his description of the Urn, or art in general. If the beauty found in the urn is an impossibility in reality, how can it be undeniable truth? La Belle Dame sans Me rci further complicates this question. Here, beauty is false trickery. The knight is pulled in by a mythical creature whose beauty and delight actions draw him into her lair, where she leads him to tragic ending on the cold hills side. It can be deduced from this poem that Beauty is deceiving, and, consequently, not Truth. So what are we left with? Ode on a Grecian Urn implies that art represents Beauty. But this Beauty is impossible in the realm of reality it can only be in the unmoving atmosphere of an Urns surface. after(prenominal) four and a half stanzas supplying evidence of the scenes impossibility, the finishing lines inextricably link Beauty to Truth. The only way the art on the Urn can be viewed as having a place in reality, is the Urns physical timelessness When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain.

Jean-Paul Sartre Essay

Existentialism is a philosophy about feeling that says being is more important than the indispensable everyday occurrences. It acknowledges an individuals freedom to choose and says with this intimate there comes an immense sense of responsibility. Despair, hopelessness and anxiety are characteristic of a person struggling with existential thoughts. Nihilism sums up this condition by stating that all values are baseless, nothing is foreseeable and that life itself is meaningless.The characters in A Clean Well Lighted Place and A Days Wait show signs of being both aware and unaware of these elements of existentialism. In the first story, A Clean Well Lighted Place, the old drunk adult male represents someone who realizes he has no actual plan or fate. His despair is over the realization that theoretically the afterlife does not exist. The drunken man and senior waiter sell this despair not only because they both realize a mans need for a clean, well-lighted place unsulliedly also because they both struggle to f brainsick a void.The older waiters acknowledgement of nothingness in life is evident when he recites the suppliant but fills in the perceived nouns God and heaven with nada or nothing. He feels a void with this realization that keeps him awake at night. His assumption that others share his insomnia is somewhat correct but what they, the drunken man and the waiter, actually share is a void. The young waiter has a wife to go home to and a bed, the old drunken man has a bed to go to and a niece that looks after him.However, the young waiter has a connection with his wife, a perceived alike view of life while the old drunk bares his anxious perception of the world alone because he is well aware that no one nooky share his world with him. His peculiarity reinforces his aloneness because the more he tries to understand himself and his own choices the farther out of reach he is from another person. The old drunken man serves as a catalyst for the ol der waiter, who himself is also alone in his thoughts.The young waiter cannot understand why the old man feels despair if he has wealth. He is not aware of the statement that existence precedes essence. To him having money and all the other propaganda of a well-lived life are what is important not mere existence itself. The two older characters seem aware of this notion, yet they seem to struggle because they are uneasy with the void felt after having lifes propaganda and no meaning.The young waiters daily disturbances block him from reaching this realization because he does not have the secured survival that would leave him to question existence. wad who have their food, shelter and clothing taken care of like say the elite are able to delve into more thought concerning the afterlife and lifes meaning. Edna, our character in The Awakening, never worked nor worried about survival and so faced existential anxiety. Children, usually the more sensitive and observant types, whitethorn reveal the time amidst their carefree playing to wonder why they are here and what may come afterwards.The boy, in A Days Wait, becomes ill and he takes the illness as a threat to his immortality. He seems upset yet oddly mature about this perceived fate. His mature handle on the possibility that he might die is, in my opinion, a sign that he has thought about the afterlife. His maturity is obvious when he tells his father he does not mind if he leaves the room and when he would not allow anyone to come near him for fear that the illness will spread. The boy has little fight back in him and he seems aware that dying is out of his control.His morbid attitude affects his father who shares his sons anguish over the acknowledgement that afterwards there is nothingness. The father laughs at his sons misconception about the temperature but in his walk, I sense he knows what his son is dealing with. When he is pleased to find the covey near the house after killing two birds, I think Hemm ingway is hinting towards the fathers sensitive mood. The boy may not on the dot coin his thoughts as existential, though he more or less may have an instinctual knowing of the meaninglessness in existential thought.

Movie Analysis of Hotel Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda, released in December of 2004, is based on the true story on the life of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager of Hotel des Mille Collines, who saved the lives of 1,268 hatful in the face of genocide. This moving picture is based on the true events of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 that occurred in Kigali, the capital and largest city of Rwanda in Africa. It touches upon when the Hutu extremists of Rwanda initiated an act of genocide on thousands of the minority group, Tutsis. This movie was directed/written by Terry George and Keir Pearson.Major cast admit Don Cheadle (Paul Rusesabagina), Sophie Okonedo (Tatiana), Joaquin Phoenix (Jack), and Nick Nolte (Colonel Oliver of the UN). Other cast members include Fana Mokoena (General Bizimungu of Kigali Police), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Georges Rutaganda, leader of Interhamwe militia), and Jean Reno (Mr. Tillens, President of Sabena Airlines in Belgium). The movies master(prenominal) location of filming was done in Kigali, Rwanda, a nd Johannesburg, South Africa. Tensions amidst the Hutu and Tutsi groups are what lead to the war, and eventual genocide, in Rwanda.Paul and his family witness killings in the neighborhood. Although his wife is Tutsi, and himself Hutu, Paul carries defense with people of influence, bribing them with money and alcohol, earnking to maintain sufficient influence to keep his family safe. When the war erupts and a Rwandan Army officer affrightens Paul and his neighbors, Paul barely negotiates their safety, and is hale to the decision of bringing everyone to the hotel. More refugees come to the hotel from the overburdened United Nations camp, the Red Cross, and orphanages from entirely over the country.Paul must divert the Hutu soldiers, care for the refugees, be a etymon of strength to his family, and maintain the appearance of a functioning luxury hotel as the situation becomes more dangerous. The UN Peacekeeping forces, led by Canadian Colonel Oliver (Nolte), are inefficient to take assertive action against the Interahamwe since they are forbidden to intervene in the genocide. The foreign nationals are evacuated, however the Rwandans are left behind. When the UN forces search to evacuate a group of refugees, including Pauls family, they are ambushed and must turn back.In a last-ditch effort to save the refugees, Paul pleads with the Rwandan Army General, Augustin Bizimungu (Mokoena) for assistance. However, when Pauls bribes no longer work, he blackmails the General with threats of cosmos tried as a war criminal. Soon after, the family and the hotel refugees are finally able to leave the besieged hotel in a UN convoy. They travel through retreating quite a little of refugees and militia to reach safety behind Tutsi rebel lines. From the beginning, it is clearly displayed that at that place are more than two sides of the story, with various groups representing each side.The Tutsis are the ones accused in the killing of the Kigali president after hi s offer of an agreement of peace, and just want peace between both parties. The Hutu are attempting to kill off each person that is Tutsis. They believe that the Tutsis killed the president because they want to keep the power that was left in their hands when the Belgium left Kigali. There is also the UN peacekeepers and other(a) foreign armies (French, Italian etc), referred in the movie as the westernmost. One is trying to help the Rwandans stay alive, while the other is stay out of the issue.In the movie, Hutu extremist views are undertake through the character of George Rutaganda. They reference the Tutsis as cockroaches, and how the Hutu must rise up and travel rid of any Tutsis, along with any of the next generation. As verbalize in the movie by Rutaganda, Hutu, we must get rid of these cockroaches that are infecting our country. Most of this encouragement comes from Georges Rutaganda, the leader of the Interhamwe militia, who speaks to the Hutu extremists through the ra dio, which is the unless way you see the Hutu people communicate with one a nonher throughout the whole film.Although communication is solely this, the mission of the Hutu is successfully showed. In contrast, while the mission is known, as mentioned before, all communication is through the radio, with no actual physical meetings. This was weird to me, sending the message that decisions were not made by the group as a whole, further rather militia taking orders from one leader (Rutaganda). Also it gave off the feeling of spontaneity, although the movie showed that many Hutu were angry since power was move onn to the Tutsis, and not only when the Kigali president was killed.On the other end, the Tutsis are constantly running searching for protection from the Hutu, trying not to be killed. Those on their side are Rusesabagina, Colonel Oliver, and Mr. Tillens, through their own actions, respectively. Multiple times throughout the film, it shows how the Tutsis give the axenot even st ay in their own homes and once they cannot show identity cards stating their status as Hutu, they are beaten, homes burnt to the ground, and most roads to leave are blocked off. Rusesabagina obviously uses the hotel as a refugee camp, and Colonel Oliver fights through the whole movie to get the influence of the West to stop the enocide, for he cannot himself. Mr. Tillens does what he can to keep off the Hutu extremists away from the hotel by keeping contact with the French, who supply the Hutu armies. Before watching, the reviews portrayed Rusesabagina as a clear hero for the Rwandans. This was evident while seeing the movie. Obviously, Paul shelters thousands of Tutsi people in the hotel, doing everything he can to keep the Hutu away. In the first few moving-picture shows of the movie, this alike determination is not seen. Paul makes it clear that he does everything only to protect his family.As he tells his wife when she tells him to call his people to help the neighbors being a ttacked, I give the powerful guests of the hotel everything, so that in return, they will protect my family when perturbing times come. They are our neighbors, not family. As the attacks get worse, this mindset changes as a threat to kill a group of Tutsis in front of him is presented. Toward the beginning of the movie, after the attacks begin in Pauls neighborhood, a large group of other Tutsis neighbors are hiding in the Rusesabagina home. Hutu armies come to kill all the cockroaches in his home, including his wife and kids.At first, Paul offers bribes of money and alcohol to save only his family, but subsequent offers almost triple the amount of money for the whole group, including expensive jewels. This is only one of the first scenes that Paul bribes armies to avoid the killing of those he is protecting. With the character of Rusesabagina, the film producer portrayed him as a humble man, with no inconstancies in any of his actions. This goes along with the purpose of the fil m, which was to show the actions of a hero, who saved thousands from genocide. The main antagonists of the film would be the Hutu.They could be considered villains not only for their hate for Tutsis, but for the ruthless killing of close to a million. The directors, did just enough in every scene to remind the ones watching that this group of people did not want anything to do with the Tutsis. Another antagonist in the film, in my opinion, was the foreign armies (Belgium, French and Italian). In the first attempt to remove the Tutsis from Kigali, it was believed that all these armies were coming to the aid of the people. When they actually arrived, it was then explained by Colonel Oliver, that they would only be helping evacuate the Americans and those from the West.This scene gives them the portrayal of a villain, because as Colonel Oliver says in a following scene to Paul, You are considered dirt to them Paul, you are not even Black, you are an African. This line was very obliga te for me because it showed a type of ranking between other races, as compared with the Africans, with all of them showing superiority over them. The same scene also showed how people who may see what was going on in Kigali would not take action, like the conversation between Paul and Jack. Jack has just filmed footage of a group of people being beaten and even chopped up with machetes.Paul says to him, How could they not intervene, after seeing such brutality? Jack doesnt welcome the same faith, replying, When people see this, they will say Oh, how horrible and go on eating dinner. It was after these scenes that Paul realizes that believing he was one of them, and everything he has done (adapting to their ways, conforming to every need and want), was for nothing. After this scene, it is said many times, especially by Rusesabagina, that they were on their own, and everyone had abandoned them.If this were true, then they would not even vex the UN peacekeepers, who were consisten t allies. This was the only contradiction I found with the antagonists. If roughlyone only watched the first few scenes of the movie, it could be misinterpreted that Paul had many influences aiding him through the end of the genocide (or in this case, the movie). His main allies in the movie were Colonel Oliver, Mr. Tillens in Belgium, and General Bizumungu. Of these allies, it was perceived that the General was only helping because he was constantly being bribed, and not out of kindness.With Colonel Oliver, he always came back to Paul once he knew of any opportunities to get the people out of Kigali. At first, I assumed that the UN was against the people of Kigali, because they were given orders to not attempt to stop the genocide, or in the words of Oliver, We are peacekeepers, not peacemakers. This is where the audience can think that everyone has abandoned them. This assumption was target away once the UN peacekeepers go through multiple attempts, and are eventually successful at getting everyone pass Tutsi rebel lines, even after the Hutu showed that they killed some of Olivers men.Mr. Tillens, the president of Sabena Airlines, was only present in a few parts, but his was visibly one of Pauls most powerful influences and had a big impact on their survival. In another scene where the hotel is under attack by Hutu extremists, Paul is given ten minutes to come under and provide a list of all the cockroaches staying in the hotel. In this time, he sneaks away to call Tillens. As they are talking, this is when a vulnerable side of Rusesabagina is seen.When asked if there is anything that can be done, it is the first time that Paul mentions any doubt in surviving the genocide, but stating, I do not know what you can do, because I am positive that it is too late, they have already arrived, and I am sure we are going to die. When Tillens says to buy him time, that he will get in contact with the French, who supply the Hutu, Paul is doubtful of his words. As Pa ul is outside negotiating with the armies, who are threatening to kill everyone, they are given orders (in French, but are obvious) to back off and leave the hotel, along with everyone in it.With the General, he is always talking with Paul in the first part of the movie of just how very much the Kigali police have got him protected, but this is while Paul is still able to send him off with the best cigars from Cuba and Africas finest scotch. In a scene when Paul asks the General for help, but has no bribe, he is quick to say, No more police, no more protection. Paul begs for his help, insisting that these are troubling times, and they all need to stick together. The General answers Paul with a stern, How are you going to help me Paul? The General briefly helps once Paul jeopardize him with the idea that everyone believed he was a war criminal involved in the massacres. This is why it was necessary to show all sides, because if they were not, it would be perceived in the movie that no one tried to help the Tutsis survive the genocide, and that they were truly on their own. Many reviews said that the movie did not properly exhibit the actual events of the Rwandan Genocide, but after watching the film, I have to disagree. While watching certain scenes, it really made the tears fall in remembering that the movie is not fictional.It made you feel as if you were there, and put your emotions into each scene, while hitting you with the harsh realization that the event actually occurred. There was an equal stability between showing tidbits of the genocide, but also of how a single man became a hero by saving thousands. Overall, it left the message of how this should have never happened and gave moments as to how it could have been avoided. As one reviewer says, The Rwandan Genocide is one of the most horrific events of this time, and unfortunately, the most unknown, but this movie gives audience a reputable summary that shall leave us knowledgeable.

Bureaucracy and American Character, the Spirit of Public Service And the Vision of the Common Good

Bureaucracy is a tempered of laid- score away laws and principles that have been set to govern a group of people, unremarkably members of cosmos, public servants and all involved in any activities of impact to the general public. The healthcare sector is perceived as a very important collapse of the society as all its functionalities are aimed at the transgressment and welfare of the whole society. Many rules and regulations have hence been laid down to govern its operations, as healthful as ensure quality attends are offered to the public at the highest level of professionalism and observance of morality and dignity. therefore, there are limiting factors that do not allow those in healthcare professionalism to operate in just any way they wish. Instead, they have to follow bureaucracy and ensure the offer except the best services and offer an equal chance of being served to all who need the services as dictated by the government and healthcare departments as well as the in ternational authorities. There are different aspects of law checks and behaviors that collectively form what is referred to as the American character.Every ace is supposed to make some basic principles and character in all they do. They are supposed to portray humanity, respect to heart, respect other peoples rights and act in a manner that encourages and boosts unity, peace, satisfactory living conditions and all the values of the government. Every American citizen in the medical exam empyrean is more strictly expected to portray this American character in their operations at all times. A lot of emphasis is hence put on such practiti adeptrs and its a common expectation for them to possess the character.They are hence expected to deal with everyone in need of their services leniently and be non-partisan by avoiding favoritism, nepotism and avoid traditions that undermine a given voice of the public. They are expected to offer their services to everyone at equal chances exce pt in special conditions like emergencies portray a lot of professionalism and follow the set out rules for their profession irrespective of the pressure from other parties, especially from lymph glands.Every person in the medical field is expected to demonstrate the spirit of public service irrespective of their level of practice or their immediate employer, whether a government public servant or a clannish practitioner in the medical field. Unlike in many other fields, in this field a person deals directly with human beings and factors that eradicate human suffering as well as preserving career.Any activity carried out in this field determine in a great deal how much suffering is reduced from a client and in very many cases, whether a clients life is extended or lost. There is therefore a need for everyone in this field to ensure they practice with a broader objective of service to the public, and avoid a focus profit-making and any other returns as a basis for their practice. Anyone with the spirit of public service will be willing to help irrespective of the availability of finances or rewards, but as per the need at hand.One realizes that there is a greater reward in terms of satisfaction as well as more benefits when the focus is on public service instead of self-gain. The mess of common good is another(prenominal) important aspect expected of anyone in any profession in the country, especially in the medical field. In a nutshell, the medical field seeks to ensure good health, reduce pain and suffering and generally ensure the well being of its clients, who are the general public. Therefore, there is a need to reach out to the general public and ensure its overall welfare.There is hence a need for everyone in the medical practice, at whichever level, to have a vision of the common good in which one will ensure that they do not target individuals but the whole society in ensuring better healthcare and equitable access to healthcare facilities. In thi s way, there are more benefits for both the practitioners and the society, and healthcare improves and develops rapidly in the country. The Dilemma There was a quandary that was noted in one of my placements with one of the private hospitals for my profession practice.I was working under the senior ready in the hospital as one of his assisting nurses. After a few weeks of working with him, he grew very fond of me and shared with me most of the challenges he faced as a private medical practitioner. Most people with questionable needs seeking medical attention and avoiding the attention of the government and anyone required to know the needs usually turned to the private hospitals and offered better payments for their services.Since most of the private hospitals were set up with an aim of making profits, most fell to the trap of allowing activities that were considered wrong and even against the law, provided they ensured secrecy of the practices and got better financial gains from such activities. On one of the days in my placement in the private hospital, the senior specify summoned me to his office where I found a unsalted lady seated there. The lady has come to seek the services of the doctor but the doctor thought the situation of her problem too sensitive and put across for my advice.The lady was from a well-known influential family and had been involved in a dark affair with one of the public figures in the domain. After a great time of the affair, the wife of the man started suspecting what was going on and tried following on the lady as well as threatening the man with suing for a divorce if she ever got any substantial information. Unfortunately, one day the lady realized she had gotten pregnant and was carrying the mans child. They hadnt planned for any social function more that just an affair.Once she broke the news to the man, he got so scared and thought this would blow everything up and expose him to his wife, giving her a reason for a div orce suit that would make him lose a lot of his wealth. Hence, the man requested the lady to seek for a way to carry out an abortion and do apart with the maternal quality and avoid any complications that the pregnancy would lead to. He offered to spend any amount of money for the activity. On the other hand, the lady was scared that the pregnancy would make her lose her profession as she was a well-known singer and was also in the modeling industry.Her clients would lose respect for her if they realized she got pregnant, especially out of wedlock and with a married man. She hence had welcomed the idea of an abortion and hence the reason she was in the hospital. The doctor had explained to me that he had carried out a few abortions, but a allowed by the law. The law gave a provision for abortions to be carried out by a professional medical doctor if the mothers life was in danger. However, any other form of abortion was regarded as illegal.Therefore, the reasons the lady presented for the abortion were not genuine and would only lead to an illegal activity. Though the doctor would receive a high pay for the activity, it was surely against the law, against humanity and also against the Christian faith, which we both professed. On the other side, we realized that just rejecting the offer wouldnt solve the problem as the client would just seek for the services elsewhere and still carry on with the abortion. Application of the Expected Reaction I had to have a talk with the doctor, as we sought a way forward for over coming the dilemma.Though the client knew very well what she was doing was wrong, she insisted on carrying on with an abortion just to avoid any negative consequences she would face. She offered good terms of payments and this would have tempted the doctor into the activity. However, there were some values that barred the doctor from accept the offer. According to bureaucracy, there was a need to follow the laws set out for the conduct of medical pra ctitioners. A doctor or nurse was not allowed to move over to pressure from a client and act against the laws and expectations of his profession.The law also forbids doctors from accepting the offer from the client as committing an abortion in the given situations wasnt legal. There was hence a need to reject the offer by the client and avoid carrying out an illegal activity. Although most Americans like referring to abortion as legal, one of the major American statutes is respect and protection of life. Since scientists and medical researchers have proven with no doubt that life starts at conception, there is a need to avoid carrying out abortion unless it is confirmed that the mothers life is at risk.Therefore, there was a need to portray the American character of humanity, respect to life and be reasonable in dealing with the dilemma. The refore, there was no other plectrum apart from rejecting the clients offer. In the spirit of public service, the doctor realized he had previ ously spurned a few other offers for carrying out abortions with no good reasons. He hence realized he couldnt treat this case as a special one just because those involved were wealthy and influential. He opted to treat all equally and hence rejected the offer.With a vision of common good, the doctor realized that he had a social responsibility of preserving life instead of terminating it. He hence had to take the option that would have more benefits not just to the client and the man in question, but to the society as a whole. Preservation of life was hence a better option in this aspect and hence the doctor could not accept the offer. Resolution of the Problem We had to seek for a better way of addressing the dilemma and resolving it. It was clear the doctor wasnt supposed to accept the offer.On the other hand, just rejecting the offer would resolve the dilemma since the client would seek the services of another doctor. There was hence a need to talk to the client and let her hav e our perspective in looking at the situation. After talking to the clients on the implication of an abortion in terms of her own health, humanity and ethics as well as moral values, she was willing to stop an abortion, but on condition that we offered a way out of the problems she was afraid of. We therefore looked at all the available options and finally landed on one of allowing the client to give birth and then give the child up for adoption.We were able to contact an organization from another state that would give the chance to keep her pregnancy secret as she required it to be and then take the child for adoption. The client hence consulted the man and got enough funds from him and then moved to the other state where she stayed till she got the baby and after recovering, she came back and continued with her profession. The client was later very grateful as she realized she had done a noble thing rather than committing an abortion and terminating life. We were also happy to rea lized we had followed the values of our profession in resolving the dilemma.

India: the Unfortunate Correlation Between Poverty and Environmental Issues

India The Unfortunate Correlation Between Poverty and Environmental Issues India makes up 2. 4 percent of the worlds drop off, bandage supporting an increasing 18 percent of the world population (D. Nagdeve, 2006). India is considered to be one of the major developing countries, continuously growing its reputation in the world-wide parsimony. However, since the Independence of India, the issue of pauperism has remained a vital concern. As of last year, more(prenominal) than 37% of Indias population, of a totaled 1. 35 billion muckle, be still living be commencement the leanness line (Economy Watch, 2010).Although there ar individuals and corporations in upper-class India that are growing prosperous, there is an unfairness to those living in severe poverty suffering the surroundingsal damage that country leaders are dismissing. As those living in poverty put pressure against the surround and vice versa there is an evident strong correlation between poverty and environment al issues. The astounding augment in population is one of the main reasons for poverty and environmental struggles in India, along with the neglect for efficient contaminant controls, and unequal distribution of farmland (B. Ruck, 2006).The high death rates in India due to infelicitous diseases, lack of health care and security in old age, leads to Indians having more children (B. Ruck, 2006). More than half of the worlds malnourished and under-weight children are located in S verbotenh Asia. In these South Asian countries there is a double burden of disease and poverty, creating an end slight vicious circle of high disease levels, low productivity and high poverty and death rates. An example, of a terrible disease very present in India is malaria as it is one of the most prevalent valet de chambreity health problems that the country is facing perennially (V. Sharma, 2003).Poverty and malaria responsively are two interwoven elements as this disease is predominantly the disease of the poor. The real poor cannot hold private treatment and therefore must resort to self-medication, usually by the usage of traditional medications, at their own peril (V. Sharma, 2003). For a country magnify to the highest degree its growth rate, the fact that 53% of children in India under the age of five years live without basic healthcare facilities is shameful. This adds up to 67 one thousand million Indian children living in a risk of survival for their first few years. Poor children are three times more likely to take place before their fifth irthday, while over 1 million children in India die in their first month of life annually (K. Sinha, 2008). These saddening statistics just sustain that Indias health care system is doing little to nothing to care for Indias poor population. Indias high death rates, specifically for those living in poverty without health care access, leads to families trying to conceive as umpteen children possible in hopes of more survival. Fo r these health reasons and cultural reasons there are umteen large families across India. The growth in population is resulting in an increased pressure on natural resources, from water to forests (WWF, 2003).Environmentalists worldwide, especially from repleteer nations, have raised concerns about the increasing populations placing excessive strains on the worlds scarce resources (A. Shah, 2005). A recent article from The Economist explains that Indias rapid industrialization, is a troublesome impression for residents, specifically those living in poverty. By the year 2020, according to the population Bank, Indias water, air, discolouration and forest resources will be under more humane pressure than those of any other country (The Economist, 2008).Rapid population growth and poverty in a country, in this case India, is adversely affecting the environment in a devastating manner. Recently, the global population reached 7 billion human beings, all with rising levels of consump tion per capita, quickly depleting natural resources and degrading the environment (A. Shah, 2005). In India, the increase of population combines with the distressed poverty to create an immense pressure on all of the countrys natural resources (D. Nagdeve, 2006).Indias economy is in high gear, leaving an immense and unfortunate trail of contaminant, severely impacting not only India, but withal the rest of the world (WWF, 2003). There are various types of pollution that affect Indias environment including sound pollution, waste and water pollution, and air pollution. Unwanted sounds from the natural environment wind, volcanoes, oceans, and animal sounds, are more tolerable than man-made noises from machines, automobiles, trains, planes, explosives and firecrackers.Mumbai is rated the third noisiest city in the world, with New Delhi following closely behind. It is now increasingly understood that pollution from noise is an important dowery of air pollution. Noise not only causes irritation and annoyance but also constricts the arteries, and increases the flow of adrenaline forcing the heart to work faster. Continuous noise causes an increase in the cholesterol level resulting in permanent constriction of blood vessels, making humans more prone to heart attacks and strokes (P. Mitra, 2007).Perceptibly, the effects of water pollution are not only devastating to wad but also to animals, fish and birds as the water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation, and the agricultural industry. Waste and water pollution diminishes the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers while contaminating aquatic life, reducing reproductive ability (P. Mitra, 2007). Moving up the food chain, the hazard continues to negatively affect human health, supporting the notion that it is greatly challenging to escape the effects of water pollution. It is evident that there is an issue of air and water pollution in many Indian states, including Delhi.With the disturbing gray skies, Delhis air has been considered deadly to breathe. A third of Delhi residents are affected with chronic breathing ailments while one out of six children suffer lead induced mental retardation (South Asian Voice, 2000). The poor are first to suffer the effects of air and water pollution. The rich can minimize their exposure to the air-borne toxics by driving air-conditioned cars while those with lower incomes must travel by feet, bicycles or public transit, unfortunately conclusion themselves in a situation where they cannot escape the detrimental effects.In previous instances the Supreme Court ruled that certain polluting industries should be relocated out of Delhi into less well-known places like Ghaziabad, Meerut or Rohtak (South Asian Voice, 2000). This proposes that the healths of those who reside in more poverty are less important than those in the nations capital. The 2011 bailiwick taken by the Pew Research Centre, presented results that 79% of Indians distinctly considered pollution a very big problem (The Economist, 2008).Of the Indian rural population, more than 22% live in settings with existing physical and financial predicaments in addition to the 15% living in poverty at bottom urban India (Economy Watch, 2010). Throughout the world, including India, the poorest people are increasingly clustered in remote and ecologically fragile areas (B. Ruck, 2006). Agriculture contributes to 21% of Indias Gross Domestic Product its importance within the countrys economic, social, and political standards are highly significant (World Bank Group, 2011).The rural population in India depends on agriculture where the weather phenomenon plays a major role on the rural economy. In the past years there have been severe droughts, affecting the economy as crops were destroyed being an acknowledgeable catastrophe for may cultivators. In many states of India including Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa there are annual floods, which also hamper the growth of crops and farmland s (D. Talukdar, 2010). In rural districts, the best land tends to be taken over by the wealthiest of farmers, who can afford modern technology to maintain and grow crops on the larger areas of land.This inopportunely leaves poor people pressured to occupy and exploit more fragile lands including hillsides, forests and arid areas (D. Pimentel et al, 2004). It is an identifiable struggle to grow decent crops on these marginal areas of land, resulting in increased poverty for those already suffering financially while creating an augmented pressure on over-exploited lands (B. Ruck, 2006). About half of Indias land is affected by soil erosion inwardness that Indias soil is naturally removed by the action of water or wind roughly at the same rate as soil is formed.The country proceeds with irrigation, bringing water to the land in a variety of artificial means, which is leading to desertification of once fertile land. A result of desertification is disforestation taking a toll of 400 mil lion people who depend on non-timber produce (V. Sharma, 2003). Further actions which should be implemented powerfully into Indias lifestyles is improving supplies of clean water to reduce time spent gathering unclean water while also reducing the illnesses caused by these foul water supplies (World Poverty, 2011).By improving the supply of accessible, affordable health care information and services, the country can reduce the vulnerability of diseases within poverty stricken areas while also improving the state of Indias natural environment. Furthermore, improving the training and equipment of farmers would be beneficial to those living in India, as this would help increase crop yields and prolong the environment (World Poverty, 2011). Poverty can be recognized as both the cause and effect of environment degradation.As Indias population and economy continues to intimately grow, the countrys need to find effective solutions becomes significantly more urgent each day. The strong c orrelation between poverty and environmental issues is expanding as both continue to put pressure against each other. The aspirations of more than one billion people suffering through poverty and environmental struggles, must be recognized and relieved. References Agriculture India Priorities for Agriculture and Rural Development. World Bank Group. N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. . Bass, Stephen. Reducing poverty and sustaining the environment the politics of local engagement. London, Sterling, VA Earthscan, 2005. Print. Bhattacharya, Haimanti, and Robert Innes. Is There a connexion between Poverty and Environment in Rural India?. AgEcon Search Item 21201. N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. . Economy Watch Content. Poverty in India . Economy Watch. N. p. , 4 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. . Foundation for Sustainable Development. Environmental Issues in India Foundation for Sustainable Development. Welcome to FSD Foundation for Sustainable Development. N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. . Gadgil, Madhav, and Ramachandra Guha. Development and Change. Ecological Conflicts and the Environmental Movement in India. Online The Hague, 1994. 101 136. Print. Nagdeve, D. A.. IIPS-Envis Center on Environment and Population. IIPS-Envis Center on Population and Environment. N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. . Pimentel, David, Bonnie Berger, and David Filiberto. Water Resources Agricultural and Environmental Issues. California BioScience, 2004. Print. Ruck, Barbara . Poverty and the Environment. World Vision. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. . Shah, Anup. Poverty and the Environment a Global Issues. Global Issues social, political, economic and environmental issues that affect us all a Global Issues. N. p. , n. . Web. 1 Nov. 2011. . Sharma, V. Malaria and poverty in India. Current Science 84. 4 (2003) 513 515. Print. Sinha, Kounteya. 53% Indian kids under 5 lack healthcare Times Of India. The Times Of India. N. p. , 8 May 2008. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. . Solutions to Worl d Poverty. World Poverty. N. p. , n. d. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. . Solutions to World Poverty. World Poverty. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. . South Asian Voice . Problems of Indian Development Environmental Issues, Preserving the Environment, Ending Poverty. South Asian Voice . N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. . Talukdar, Diganta. Poverty and Health Major challenges for India. Citizen Journalism News Platform merinews. N. p. , 22 July 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was perhaps the boldest, close ambitious but at the very(prenominal) while most foolish and ill-timed operation executed by Nazi Germany during World War II. This operation committed Germany to warfare against the Soviet brotherhood which it invaded on June 22, 1941 and terminated on March of 1942. In the early stages of the attempt, the Germans employed the same bilitzkrieg tactics that served them well in the western campaigns.They were hoping to duplicate that same improvement against the Soviets and were lulled into a false soul of confidence when they covered a lot of ground and scored many victories which netted them scores of pris atomic number 53rs of war. When 1942 came along, German high curb began to manage believe later on how wrong they were and thus began a protracted war in what they came to c totally the eastern front. This operation was int closinged to be the fulfillment of Hitlers resourcefulness of lebensraum (living space) in h is locomote, Mein Kampf.If land was desired in Europe, it could be obtained by and large only at the expense of Russia, and this meant that the new Reich must again enured itself on the march along the road of the Teutonic Knights of old, to obtain by the German sword sod for the German plow and daily bread for the community Destiny itself seems to wish to point out the way to us here This colossal empire in the East is ripe for dissolution, and the end of the Jewish command in Russia will alike be the end of Russia as a state. (cited in Shirer 124, 1044 Riasanovsky 515 Hitler)Politically, the clashing extremist ideologies of some(prenominal) Germany and the Soviet juncture gave the Nazis all the same more impetus to invade Russia, considering it as a new crusade against communism which they believed was the creation of the Jews for whom Hitler and the Nazis could see no good. Furthermore, Hitler envisi stard the Slavic people as a race that would serve the purpose of the Aryan race by wither being their slaves or sport wherein they would provide them with something to hunt or kill to conserve their virility (Hitler).This was an opportunity for the Nazis to eradicate these enemies in one fell swoop, once and for all. The Spanish civil war of 1936 gave the Germans a taste of war against the communist where they even so went face to face against Soviet volunteers in this conflict (Riasanovsky 514-515). As Hitlers armies were annexing neighboring states as part of restoring Germanys glory and patrimony, Hitler began conducting diplomatic overtures as part of his strategy to keep potential adversaries at bay, even for alone a while and the Soviet summation was one of them.Thus began secret dipomatic maneuvers which resulted in the non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union prior to the invasion of Poland where the latter was invited to take part in it. Furthermore, this pact served other purposes other than buying time for Germany to attack Russia. Strategically, Germany needed Russian district to be able to transport resources to them followe the blockade of the sealanes by the Allies, especially oil which was vital to Germanys war economy and machinery (Shirer 821-822).Despite entering into these agreements, secret or otherwise, both Germany and the Soviet Union still harbored suspicions and animosities against each other, primarily due to irreconcilable differences in ideology where both sides represent the opposite of political extremes, fascism and communism. The Soviets in like manner axiom the pact as an alliance of convenience on their part as they began their own expansion by invading the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as well as Finland, which was an ally of Germany in 1940.For the sake of keeping the peace with the Soviets, the Germans remained silent as their minor ally was attacked by the Soviets. Germany also felt insecure when the Soviets occupied the Baltic states which they al so felt was theirs owing to historical precedence and even more concerned when the Soviets were also moving into Romania, a nonher German ally further increase tensions between these two supposed allies but it was rather apparent that conflict between them would be inevitable as both sides were taking advantage of each other, with the Soviets being the first (Riasanovsky 517 Shirer 832-836, 883).The Nazis entered into a treaty with the Soviets as an alliance of convenience hoping to get more from the treaty. As the war was progressing in the west, the Germans were beginning to pull ahead how difficult the Russians were as negotiators as the latter were driving very hard bargains, especially Stalin. It is revealed in captured German government documents that Stalin also took part in negotiations and was a very tough negotiator who could not be pushed into a compromise and always sought a better deal for Russia and was very demanding.No amount of cerebration and even threats could deter the Russian autocrat (Shirer 882). The German war plan called for a one-front war in order to conserve and husband their resources. Though most of western Europe was not occupied, Great Britain remained defiant and continued to hold out in a protracted aerial battle over their air space where they were able to inflict heavy casualties on the German Luftwaffe (air force), thereby forestalling any plans for a seaborne invasion by the Germans well into 1941.By 1941, Hitler began to become raring(p) on how the campaign against the British was going. It also did not help that Germany was also suffering an acute shortage of resources and this was what prompted Hitler to jump the proverbial gun and attack Russia, thought process also that the British would not give him a problem as he decided to shelve the invasion of Britain and leave it to his U-Boats to strangle Britain economically.By December of 1940, Hitler already had plans for the invasion from his generals and it was hoped that the attack would commence in the spring of 1941. The plan was code keyd Barbarossa, after the Holy Roman emperor who was one of the co-leaders of the Third Crusade an apt name for the operation since Hitler regarded this planned offensive as a new crusade and it also came at a time when relations between Berlin and Moscow were get-go to turn sour as both sides appear to sense that they were double-crossing each other (Shirer 1045, 1049).Another reason for Hitlers desire to attack Russia the soonest was to seal Britains fate, expiration her with no ally when he said But if Russia is smashed, Britains last hope will be shattered. Then Germany will be master of Europe and the Balkans In view of these considerations, Russia must be liquidated The sooner Russia is smashed, the better. (cited in Shirer 1047) Furthermore, Hitler also said that When Barbarossa commences, the world wil hold its breath and make no comment. (cited in Shirer 1078) Hitler was apparently lulled into a fa lse sense of confidence following the victories of German forces in Poland and western Europe and he felt they could do it again in Russia which made him even more self-confident because he regarded the Russians as inferior despite their large population and their inferiority would make it easy for Germany to defeat and conquer them. He was confident that he would succeed where Napoleon had failed, by conquering Russia quickly and in the shortest span of time possible.The rationale for this was to avoid the harsh Russian winter which was one of the reasons why Napoleon failed and he would not want to make that same mistake Napoleon did. Furthermore, if the Russian campaign would drag on beyond winter, they also had to contend with the following spring where the snow-covered ground would turn muddy, which would play mayhem on their powerful war machines which they had never encountered in the western front.He was so driven and obsessed in attacking Russia that he disregarded the adv ice of his commanders to commence campaigns elsewhere by constantly stating Russia had to be eliminated first and that everything else could wait. The plan called for a six-month time table but constant foot-dragging and waging campaigns in the Balkans and North Africa delayed plans well into June of 1941 (Shirer 1087-1088). Alongside the military planning, Hitler also spelled out his political plans for Russia once the invasion commenced in what became known as the Commissar Order. Hitler saw the war also as a battle of ideologies and he saw the need to eliminate those who propagate it when he stated The commissars are the bearers of ideologies directly opposed to National Socialism. Therefore the commissars will be liquidated. German soldiers guilty of breaking international law will be excused. Russia has not participated in the Hague Convention and therefore has no rights below it. (cited in Shirer 1089) It can further be inferred here that Hitler was intent on deliberately co mmitting butcher by ordering the systematic execution of any political commissar captured by German forces.Most of Hitlers commanders objected to it. These were professional soldiers who knew that murder was not part of a soldiers employment and this would be something they would have to deal with when several of them would be brought to trial in Nuremberg in 1945 (Shirer 1089-1090). In an apparent display of overconfidence, Alfred Rosenberg, one of Hitlers lieutenants, prematurely made a proposal on how to divide Russia into political administrations, each with an given German name.The Baltic region and Belarus would be called Ostland the Ukraine, along with its adjacent theatre of operationss Southern Russia dethawning along the Caucasus mountains would be called Kaukasus the areas surrounding Moscow, Moskau and Turkestan for the central regions, each ruled by the modern-day German version of the ancient Roman prefect. Furthermore, plans were already in motion on how to best e xploit Russias resources. They intend to use it to feed Germanys industries and its people.They were acutely conscious of the adverse consequences it would have on the Russian people in terms of hungriness but the Nazis could not care less on what would happen even if millions of Russians would perish under their proposed policies (Shirwe 1091-1092). The forces Hitler arrayed against Russia was made up of 175 army divisions, support by formidable artillery and armored divisions, both from the Wehrmacht (regular army) and his elite Waffen-SS. These were divided into three army groups, North, Center and South, each given specific objectives to capture.To the north, under the command of Field Marshal Wilhelmvon Leeb, the target was Leningrad. As the citys name implies, it was named after Lenin, the acknowledged father of the Russian Revolution which incidentally began in that city, then named Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and the Soviet Union and therefore, one of the symbolic targets o f the German invasion forces. Historially, Hitler believed Leningrad was once part of the territory conquered by the Teutonic Knights of the Middle Ages and he was simply trying to take fundament what belonged to Germany by virtue of conquest (Salisbury 37).The center group, under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, would head for the capital Moscow, reminiscent of Napoleons actions. The southern forces under Field Marshal Gert von von Rundstedt would head for Kiev and Rostov-on-Don in what is now part of the Ukraine which was the Soviet Unions agricultural heartland as well as the road to the oil-rich fields of the Caucasus and Black Sea area (Riasanovsky 518-519). Follow-on forces would come soon to do mop-up operations and to deal with any zealot or guerrilla activity in the occupied areas.All in all, the Nazi government had already made grandiose plans on what to do with Russia, believing they would finally succeed where Napoleon had failed in addition to the fact that Russias conq uest would be the fulfillment of Hitlers visions defined in Mein Kampf. On the part of the Soviets, they had the numerical superiority over the Germans with roughly 8 million men to the Germanys 4 million which also include its allies from Italy, Hungary, Finland and Romania.They even had ten times the number of artillery, armored vehicles and aircraft arrayed against the Germans as well. In terms of numbers, the Soviets were by no means weak. If there was one weakness of the Red Army, it was its diversity with men from the various Soviet republics and whose dispositions ranged from cooperative to hostile towards one another even before they faced the Germans.Furthermore, majority of the Soviet forces initially arrayed were made up primarily of conscripts coming mainly from the peasantry, a throwback of the Tsarist era. The commissars were the ones who primarily kept them in line, not just to preserve ideological purity but meting out discipline instead of the officers assigned to the units and even tried to lead them, replacing the ones persecuted even though they lacked the qualifications. communications and leadership was also poor.This was partly Stalins fault during the Great Purge of the 1930s where several competent senior officers of the Red Army were victims of the purges, depriving their units of capable leaders. As a result, these units were routed with millions killed and taken prisoner (Parker 60). Overall command was under Field Marshal Georgi Zhukov who had distinguished himself in the far east in border clashes against the Japanese which gave him a report card of being a successful commander.Countering the three German offensive groups are three Directions tasked with forming the defense of their assigned territory and launch a counteroffensive. They were the North-Western Direction under Colonel Generals Markian Popov and Fyodor Kuznetsov which covers the Baltic region the Western Direction under General Dimitry Pavlov which covers the area s west of Moscow and the South-Western Direction under Generals Mikhail Kirponos and Ivan Tyulenev concentrating on the Ukraine (Parker 107 Riasanovsky 518).Despite having more war machines compared to the Germans, they were inferior in quality. The Soviets initially had the T-28 medium tanks which could not stand up to the supeior armor the Germans prepared the Panzer I-III series. Although the Soviets had quality armor like the T-34 and KV-1, they were not abundant in number and were uncommunicative for first-line units, particularly the elite Guards units.For air assets, once more, the quality of Soviet combat aircraft was inferior to ther Germans as they fielded the Poikarpov I-16, Lavochkin-3 and Mig-3 which were mediocre compared to the superior Bf109 clamberer planes of the Luftwaffe which made short work of the Red Air Force which were on peacetime status, with aircraft parked closely together in the airfields, making them easy targets for high-altitude bombers and the dre aded Stuka dive bombers of the Luftwaffe (Batty).On the political front, even Stalin was aware of an imminent conflict with Germany and that the treaties they had would not last much longer as tensions between the two supposed allies were increasing as both sides began to sense the duplicity of the other. Yet, he refused to heed the warnings coming from intelligence agents in the field of an impending German attack and those who merely did their duty were branded as provocateurs and censured, if not arrested.He even ignored warnings from British and American emissaries who were aware of the dangers, thinking it was a ruse to make him show his hand prematurely and not wanting to make the mistake Nicholas II did in 1914. Stalin held absolute power and did not permit any autonomy nor initiative among his subordinates (Salisbury 37). Although German aircraft hadalready been intruding into Soviet airspace, Stalin gave orders not to bear on or engage them.His hesitation proved costly as it sent a message to the Germans that the Soviets were complacent, making it the ripe time to attack. The first phase of the war began with air strikes on key military bases and cities to sow terror, panic and confusion as well as cripple and hinder Soviet forces. By the end of the opening phase, the Lufwaffe enjoyed total air superiority over Soviet territory, making them virtually unopposed as they managed to destroy a lot of Soviet aircraft on the ground and shoot down those that managed to take off but were inferior in quality.This was followed up by a simultaneous attack by all three German army groups in their respective fronts and they were able to catch the Soviets off guard, resulting in numerous Soviet casualties and prisoners. They would duplicate the same tactic they did in Poland wherein they would bypass heavier enemy units and encircle them, cutting them off from any support and crush them. They would apply the same tactic as well on major Soviet cities, besieging the m and starving their people although in the case of Leningrad, Hitler wanted it destroyed (Riasanovsky 518 Salisbury 40).Surprisingly, they were happily welcomed by the civilian population in the Ukraine and the Baltic states who hated Stalin and his communist regime. For them, the Germans were liberators instead of invaders and this had helped the Germans gain a foothold into Soviet territory (Batty). However, by the fourth week of the campaign, the progress bogged down as the German forces were overextended and needed time to allow for support units to catch up. By the time they were able to resume again, winter had set in.Even though it provided mobility due to hardened ground, the conditions were do dismal and German forces were beginning to understand now why Napoleon failed as severe blizzards wrought havoc on the invaders who were unprepared for General Winter, the same foe Napoleon faced and had proven to be a far more formidable foe than any army the Germans had fought. At the same time, blank Soviet troops from the east were deployed and they fought doggedly and with more determination, further slowing down the German advance.What had hoped to be finished in three to six months would run for four more years and would eventually bleed German resources dry. The Soviets may have been brought down initially but they were not out of the running as they managed to recover and become stronger in the latter phase of the campaign. In conclusion, Operation Barbarossa started off well but in the middle, it began to lose steam and thus forcing the Germans to fight a kind of war they did not want, especially against Russia which was a war of attrition.It was considered a failure because the Germans failed to meet their objectives of capturing the key cities and failed to meet their timetable, causing them to be caught up in a winter war they were ill-prepared for. This was attributed to the constant delay of the commencement of the attack. The delay caused them to be caught up by the winter season and Hitler refused to heed his generals advice for a pause to allow the winter to pass.Hitlers obsession for going on the offensive caused the German forces to be stretched too thin making the rear areas vulnerable to stay-behind forces and partisan attacks which tied down his forces. The dogged and tenacious resistance put up by the Soviets despite their inferior quality bought time for them to transfer their industries to the remote regions beyond the Urals where they were safe from attacks or capture and enabled the Soviets to reconstitute their forces. Finally, they underestimated the capabilities of the Red Army, especially the Nazi leadership who looked down on the Slavs.Finally, the Germans fought a war they did not want, a 3-front campaign Western Europe, North Africa and Mediterranean and the Eastern Front which severely divided their forces and resources, not to mention fighting multiple enemies, especially with the entry of the United States into the war. The Soviets too had their faults which nearly cost them the war, and Stalin was to blame for decimating his officer corps during the 1930 purges. His iron will of not permitting retreat also caused numerous casualties and prisoners as his commissars and loyal commanders blindly followed his orders.His sparing grace was the leadership in the front provided by Zhukov who cleverly went around Stalins orders to husband his forces that enabled them to recover and regain lost ground in the subsequent battles owing to the characteristic resilience of the Russian forces, interspersed with patriotic fervor. The Soviets ay have lost the initial battles but they eventually won the war because of this and eventually took the war to the Germans and visited upon them the same havoc they wrought upon them. Works Cited Barbarossa (June-December 1941). The World at War. Writ. Peter Batty. Thames. 1973.Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Hitler. Org. 1924. Retrieved 17 May 2010 . Parke r, Robert Alexander Clarke. The Second World War A Short score. Oxford Oxford University Press, 2001. Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia. New York Oxford University Press, 1984. Salisbury, Harrison E. The 900 Days The Siege of Leningrad. True Stories of World War II . Ed. Nancy J. Sparks. Pleasantville, New York The Readers Digest Association, Inc. , 1969. 35-63. Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York Simon and Schuster, 1960.

Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriages Essay

Questions about morality, family relationships, freedom of expression, and sexuality are at stake in the gay brotherhood debate. The main argument of the issue of kindred sex marriage is how much we should allow the government to control in issues like marriage in our unavowed lives. At Issue Gay Marriage, which is a book compose by Debra Miller in 2012, includes a broad spectrum of views on the subject. One of the biggest issues in the gay marriage debate is the meaning of the separation of church and assure in the United States.Some organizations and churches argue that state support of same-sex marriage is a breach of their unearthly freedoms which are protected by the US Constitution and if they are forced by laws enacted to include same sex marriages that they are organism forced to accept acts that are against their religious beliefs. In a statement made concerning same sex marriage some religious organizations and churches claimed that homosexual acts go against their re ligious beliefs and the natural moral law and that they should not be forced to perform marriages that go against their beliefs.Religious organizations say that to legalize homosexual marriage is religious persecution in their eyes. People that approve of gay marriage make the point that marriage is a legal right and a religious right as well because church and the state are separate. Activists argue that homosexual couples have a right to a marriage the same as heterosexual couples do. other point that is called on is that people do not have to marry in a church but can do so in a court house as well and that no church or religious organization is bound to marry any couple.They are fundamentally saying that churches are not forced to do anything against their belief system. One side will argue against federal laws that encompass and over rule state laws. Others will argue that each state should be able to make and enforce laws that concern each state as they see fit inside their s tate governmental departments, like those concerning marriage laws. President Bush believed and stated that the voice of the people is being compromised by the actions of a few judges in isolated cases, (President George Bush, 2003).Former President Bush believes that laws like these could threaten every state in the union because of the unspoiled faith and credit clause in Article IV of the Constitution, (The United States Constitution, Article III, Section 2, 2013), which requires all states to honor the laws of every other state. President Bush said in an interview that the full faith and credit clause would require all states same-sex marriages performed anywhere in America. Bush, 2003) Civil Unions include heterosexual and same sex unions according to The Department of midland Affairs, (The Department of Internal Affairs, 2004). Civil Unions differ from marriage because they are entered into by two people who chose to live together as man and wife and impart themselves to th e public and in private this way without an official marriage or marriage license. They consider themselves married but the government, whether state, local, or federal do not.At one time heterosexual civil unions were accepted and now are no longer recognized in most states. What this means is that people with a marriage license issued by the state are guaranteed certain rights, responsibilities, and privileges that people in civil unions are not given. These rights extend to the work place where damages is guaranteed to a spouse of heterosexuals that are married but not to civil unions between same or opposite sex couples working in the same place.If same sex marriage and civil unions are both accepted and laws are enacted to approve of them then I believe this opens the doors to many other types of behaviors in the future that will do more harm than good to our society. These behaviors would include the right of an older person to marry a child for instance or to marry an animal or inanimate object even. We must ask ourselves one question and that is where we are willing to draw the line in our inclusions and amendments to the laws that were written to protect us in the beginning. The more we accept the more we are willing to accept as a society.

Lot of problems

People of Choral argon facing kitty of problems due to lack of yoke. Ferry service Is available till 2. 00 am and if on that point is any medical emergency, plurality have to face lot of problems. It is noticed that many womens at the era of their pregnancy had stayed outside Choral with fear. A long queue Is base clenching for ferry. There are lots of fights amongst the people. Many people from Blowhole, Mayhem sides use this ferry for flood tide to Pianism. One can teach fights between villagers from Choral and the outsiders.The someones who are most affected are the students. Students have to Walt or many hours at ferry stop because of which they reach late. BENEFITS Benefits which Islanders depart get from the facial expression of bridge are- Choral Island impart be developed. Transport problem allow for be automatically solved. The pressure that Choral ferry has to conceive bequeath be reduced. Etc If this ferry is utilize for tourists who come to enjoy scenic beauty of Choral Island, coarse revenue can be earned by the government.After completion of this bridge the distance from Pianism to Bucolic will be reduced by around km and hence pressure on Mona Bridge will be reduced. All these benefits will depend on, from which way the bridge will be instructed. Government has proposed construction of bridge from different sides. Government has presently planned to construct bridge Joining Choral to chap village, which has been agreed by all villagers. But the villagers from Sally are opposing this bridge.According to them Khan land will be reduced. Traffic problem will be ca apply leading to k-joss in their own village. Some people of Choral are also of the opinion that, after construction of the bridge, Choral village will digest its identity. According to some environmentalist Choral bird century will be affected. One person from the village said that, he is so much fed up of this issue that, he does not want construction of bridge. As ac cording to him, it will only remain as a dream.Shawls Scotchman salvo Scotchman Conclusion Dallas Earmarked According to me, Choral Bridge Is Just a vote bank Issue used by our politicians. They do not view It as a development activity rather Is a Just dream of Islanders. CHORAL BRIDGE By Skirts-Scotchman People of Choral are facing lot of problems due to lack of bridge. Ferry service is outside Choral with fear. A long queue is found waiting for ferry. There are lots of sights amongst the people. Many people from Bucolic, Mayhem sides use this ferry for coming to Pianism.One can see fights between villagers from Choral and the outsiders. The persons who are most affected are the students. Students have to wait Benefits which islanders will get from the construction of bridge are- earned by the government. After completion of this bridge the distance from Pianism Cashing Scotchman Disks Earmarked According to me, Choral Bridge is Just a vote bank issue used by our politicians. T hey do not view it as a development activity rather is a Just dream of islanders.

Analyzing hso

Sandra Esqueda Elizabeth Montelongo Emma Johnson The Area internal representation on Aging department that we visited is located on 255 S Kansas Ave in Weslaco, Texas. The representative that spoke to us on behalf of The Area Agency on Aging is named Vivian Moreno who is a social worker with a BSW. The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council ( LRGVDC) was designated in 1984 by the Texas Department on Aging as the Area Agency on Aging of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, one of 28 such atomic number 18a agencies.These agencies were created by the 1973 amendments o the Older Americans Act of 1965 to ensure that individuals aged 60 and over are treated with dignity, given independence, and provided with the opportunity to contri excepte to their communities. (http//www. lrgvdc. org/aging. html) Task Environment Relationships with Funding Sources Cash Revenues Area Agency on Aging depends on funds coming from state and local funds. Funds are filtered subdue from the national level and then distributed throughout the state for the Rio Grande Branch the break-down of funds was as followed Ill-B Supportive service- $420,000 Ill-c living servtce-$Ill-E Caregiver- S For a Total -$ Vivian also informed us that on top of the budget that they stupefy for the fiscal yr they also get funds from the local level and some contribution but they are normally a minimal amount. Vivian also revealed to us that the numbers she gave us were numbers from this year and the fiscal year had ended already and are waiting for their new budget but willing not receive those numbers until January 2014. Area Agency on Aging, Vivian Moreno) Noncash revenues The agency does use volunteers especially for their nurture

The advancement of human civilization

The development of products and modernization are in each otherwises pocket. People simply travel by foot before nevertheless now, mankind thoroughly deal travel by air, land and sea.A hundred years ago, a company doesnt carry computers to happen its business. Today, the need to adopt testifyation technology is a matter of necessity for the survival of business. The goment of adult male civilization is marked by advances in Sciences which is best manifested in the development of products and services available to the people. As civilization advances, our needs also dynamically change.Advertising is at the core of change because it is primarily the method by which set forthation about red-hot things i.e. products and services are communicated or disseminated for the eventual adoption and acceptance of society. To imagine that advertising encourages us to buy things we really do not need undermines the important role it plays in introducing and initiating progressive chang e in society.Moreover, to view advertising in this manner connotes a negative appraisal because it would distort its static function of information dissemination to a means of manipulating people into believing something that is not true. Advertising is neither good nor bad but is just a means to an end.Whether that end is good or bad makes advertising good and bad as well. This on the other hand depends on the perspective of the person who views it or on which side the person is in terms of the information that advertisement railway carries. An advertising campaign for Nazism is apparently bad for most people but is good in the perspective of advocates of Hitler.Advertising is a component of the marketing process i.e. under product promotion which is knowing to inform potential customers about a particular product and service of a company. Following the essence of marketing, advertisements finally tell us about new products that may improve our lives. marketing is the managem ent process which identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably. (Hoffmann).Products are developed with market research, which involve understanding needs and preferences of customers and finding a competitive edge or differentiating it from the weaknesses and strengths of ones competitors. Products are therefore developed ultimately as a response to the identified and anticipated needs of the people. Advertising functions to communicate how innovations in new products are able to address those needs for the convenience of people and generally to improve life or advance the civilization.Of course, we wear outt need cars, computers or any other appliances to survive. Mankind had evolved to have all the resources he/ she needed for basic survival. However, mankind is also not static. It is a rational creature in a constant pursuit to improve its life by creating new products and services. Cars where invented even though we have feet for trans port. Indeed, we dont need cars for primordial survival, but transportation had definitely and progressively changed how mankind conducted life.Advertising played the of import role of introducing not the need but the advantage and convenience of transportation or having a car in as much as it did for all other products and services. Advertising therefore was essentially meant to inform people of new products that are meant to improve our lives because these new products and services where designed to address or react to our needs and preferences In which case, advertising partakes in setting social progress by introduction of new products and services.That advertising encourages us to buy things we really do not need may have stem from the idea of advertising as a tool for propaganda. Because propaganda as a form of communication through mass media is one sided, some modern theorists are critical and wary that this will be utilize by the powerful elites to impute and infuse val ues and beliefs which are not necessarily true but are meant to serve their own selfish purposes. (Perry).In which case, advertisements are meant to persuade or shape peoples thoughts. Such is the case for products and services that more than just being informative are astutely designed position product and create company image.They effectively incite people to buy things and patronize products in a subliminal and benevolent approach. For instance, MasterCard priceless campaign emphasize on what is priceless it gives less caution to the cost of what we buy or the need for buying it. Nevertheless, credit cards indeed provide us the convenience of paying or carrying cash. In which case, people need to be critical of the information that they receive. Whether they need the product or service advertised is ultimately up to the consumer to decide.ReferencesHoffmann, Stefanie. Are the 4 Ps of International Marketing of Equal Importance to All Firms? What Factors Might Cause Some to More Or Less of the essence(p) Than Others? A Short Article, GRIN Verlag, 2008Perry, D. Theory and Research in Mass Communication Contexts and Consequences. Erlbaum, Publications, 2002

Racc

Design and Development of Strategy Processes at RACC 1. What have been the goals of the strategical grooming exercise at RACC over the years? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the RACC get? Previously all the strategic be after exercises involved a wide worry participation coupled with bottom-up approach. The aim was the development of a multi-product and multi-channel strategy. In 2000-02 the emphasis of the strategic plan was focused on geographical expansion.Which were formed by participative dish up by including 21 senior managers from level 1 and 2 who carried out and external epitome, followed by an national feasibility analysis. As a result, five corporate strategic priorities were identified, with expansion to the rest of Spain as the highest priority. In 2003-06 the focus of the strategic exercise was to tackle the issue of how to capitalize on the successful expansion. The middle level was given more importance in terms of participation.Significant chang es in the market had occurred in 2005 and 2006 along with diversification of RACCs amount of money business had initiated a change in the approach to strategic planning turn to bring the business back to its shape. From a freehandeder participative approach, RACC started practicing a top-down approach. The goal went to being the development of a multi-product and multi-channel strategy while ensuring compatibility with the ongoing and revised strategy that had already begun to be implemented.The objective of the change was to make up the profitability and secure the survival of RACC in the insurance business keeping the multi-product and multi-channel strategy as the draw strategy in order to increase cross-selling opportunities and to increase the sales revenue and market share. In 2005, un promisen stagnation of the insurance businesses be difficult for RACC to function as a result the top management had to abandon the bottom-up approach in order to quickly react to the di sturbance in the core business of RACC. 007-08, the senior management deemed it necessary to trigger an update of strategic planning exercise of RACC to control the impact and needs of these ongoing projects and to identify additional initiatives. This was embracen into consideration to establish overall strategic coherence and help revamp projects that would ensure future financial stability. The 2008-13 exercise was to be carried out by external consultants since they would have a more objective approach along with a team of 10 top managers. The exercise reinforced the concept of service to the car driver and established ambitious evolution targets for RACC in the car insurance.With more emphasis on multi-product and multi-channel strategy to expand the services for car drivers and were knowing with ambitious targets. Bottom-up approach/ broader participative approach * Advantages Commitment of the RACC people towards the strategy was formed which resulted in moving growth in terms of profit, number of members and geographical growth within Spain. * Disadvantages This approach could not foresee the market. The symptoms of stagnation could not be detected which led to an negative impact. Top-down approach * AdvantagesThe strategy allowed it to cultivate its different business in different ways whilst producing synergies between them. The strategy also provided better node service and fostered cross-sales as it encouraged better relationships between the businesses. * Disadvantages The current cross-selling activities needed to be improved which proved as a significant challenge as it necessary updating the current customer information, analysis of competitors and market trends channel mix, geographical expansion, organic lawal restructuring, definition of commercial supervision redistribution systems and probably many other(a) issues that could arise. . Should RACC go through a more conventional top down approach given that a participative approach did not seem to foresee the changes in the market? Given that the previous participative and bottom-up approach could not foresee the changes in the market, the top-down approach proved more beneficial since it was more sore to work with external consultants because of their objective approach.The symptoms of stagnation were unpredicted and to react to such unforeseen circumstances it was required lay emphasis on the top level managers because of their exclusivity towards the strategy and the lack of time to resolve the occurrence. However, the broad participation approach had proved beneficial for a significant time as well, since it involved the organization participation as a whole, which encouraged implementation due to the involvement. But due to the urgency to take remedial action it would not be feasible to initiate bottom-up approach. . Having faced market changes and having updated the corporate level strategy, should RACC go back to broader participation for the multi-cha nnel strategy? In terms of reacting proactively and effectively to a explosive crisis, it is best for the strategic planning decisions to be carried on by the top level along for a more professional, objective and realistic approach. Regarding the implementation of the strategy, the top level can set directions and supervise the sink levels.However, to maintain a balance and motivate the lower levels a bottom-up approach can be considered once RACC obtains a more stable position. To facilitate multi-channel strategy the integration of broader participation can lift cross-selling with the supervision of the top level managers. Core decisions should be in the authority of the higher levels. 4. Can a participative strategy making process increase the chances of future stable profits for RACC? Yes, as long as the core strategic decisions are under the authority of the CEO and top level.A broader participative approach can be initiated once again when RACC stabilizes itself in the mar ket since this method had been adopted from prior times and had in incident double profits previously because of the commitment of RACC people towards the strategy. Although this can only be opted for enhancing multi-channel strategy, since RACC has diversified itself from a broker to having its own insurance products and services and it is difficult for the lower level to comprehend the wide take off of multi-products being implemented. Concentration on cross-selling can prove more viable to sustain growth.

A Dirty Job Chapter 27

27BITCHS cr depletee from raw materialLily had been tone all(a) night for a substance to approach Minty Fresh. Shed do eye contact with him a dozen meters oer the course of the evening, and smiled, neertheless with the atmosphere of dread that degenerate over the style she was having trouble thinking of an opening line. Finally, when an Oprah movie of the week came on the television and e trulyone gat gainherd rough to honor the media diva beat Paul Winfield to demise with a steam iron, Minty went to the breakfast bar and started flipping through his day visible light planner, and Lily do her move.So, checking your appointments? she said. You must be musical noteing optimistic ab issue how things will go.He shook his operate. non really.Lily was smitten. He was beautiful and morose want a great brown man-gift from the gods.How bad can it be? Lily said, pulling the appointment rule book out of his hand and flipping through the p historic periods. She stopped on to days date.Why is Ashers puddle in here? she asked.Minty hung his organize. He said youve known all about us for a while.Yeah, simply She looked at the name again and the realization of what she was seeing was kindred a punch in the boob. This is that book? This is your date book for that?Minty nodded slowly, not looking for at her.When did this name show up? Lily asked.It wasnt there an min ago.Well, fucksocks, she said, sitting spate on the bar stool next to the big man.Yeah, said Minty Fresh. He congeal his arm round her shoulders.With Charlie pulling on the legs of the bobcat ridicule (who was doing approximately impressive screaming con alignring he had prototype vocal cords) and the squirrel people dog-piling onto the Boston terrier, they were eventually able to extricate their lieutenant from the jaws of the bug-eyed fury with sole(prenominal) a few snags in his Beefeaters costume.Down, Bummer, Charlie said. Just chill. He didnt know if chill was an discharg eicial dog command, just it should be.Bummer snorted and backed away from the surrounding crowd of squirrel people. non one of us, said the bobcat guy, pointing at Bummer. non one of us.You shut up, Charlie said. He pulled a beef anserine from his pocket that hed brought for emergency rations, tore gain a hunk, and held it out to Bummer. Come on, buddy. I told the Emperor Id look out for you.Bummer trotted over to Charlie and took the beef jerky from him, thereforece turned to face pop out the squirrel people as he chewed. The squirrel people made clicking noises and brandished their weapons. Not one of us. Not one of us, chanted Bob.Stop that, Charlie said. You cant get a mob chant going, Bob, youre the exclusively one with a voice box.Oh yeah. Bob let his chanting trail off. Well, hes not one of us, he added in his defense.He is now, Charlie said. To Bummer he said, Can you lead us to the sin?Bummer looked up at Charlie as if he knew exactly what was being asked of him, h owever if he was going to find the strength to carry on, he was going to need the other half of that beef jerky. Charlie gave it to him and Bummer immediately jumped up to a higher, four-foot pipe, stopped, barked, past took off down the pipe.Follow him, Charlie said. later an hour following Bummer through the sewers, the pipes gave way to tunnels that got bigger as they go along. Soon they were moving in caves, with high ceilings and stalactites in the ceiling that glowed in various colors, illuminating their way with a dull, shadowy light. Charlie had read enough about the geology of the area to know that these caves were not natural to the city. He guessed that they were somewhere nether the financial district, which was mostly built on Gold Rush landfill, so there would be nothing as old-looking or as solid as these caves.Bummer kept on, leading them down one fork or another without the slightest hesitation, until suddenly the cave opened up into a enormous grotto. The chambe r was so large that it simply swallowed up Charlies flashlight and headlamp beams, merely the ceiling, which was several hundred feet high, was lined with the luminous stalactites that reflected red, green, and discolor in a mirror-smooth melanise lake. In the middle of the lake, probably ii hundred yards away, stood a great dismal sailing channel tall-masted like a Spanish galleon red, pulsating light approaching from the con book braidows in the rear, a single lantern lighting the pack of cards. Charlie had hear that whole ships had been buried in the debris during the Gold Rush, provided they wouldnt have been left preserved like this. Things had modifyd, these caves were all the result of the Under manhood rising and he realized that this was exclusively a hint of what was going to encounter to the City if the Underworlders took over.Bummer barked and the nipping report echoed around the grotto, dis take aim a cloud of bats into the air.Charlie saw movement o n the deck of the ship, the blue-black outline of a woman, and he knew that Bummer had led them to the right place. Charlie handed his flashlight to Bob and institute his blade-cane on the cave floor. He drew the retire from Eagle from the shoulder holster, checked that there was a round in the chamber, cocked the hammer, then re devise the safety and reholstered the pistol.Were going to need a boat, Charlie said to Bob. involve if you guys can find something we can stag a raft from. The bobcat guy started down the shoring up with Charlies flashlight, scanning the rocks for useful flotsam. Bummer growled, tossed his head like he had ear mites or perhaps to indicate that he ideal Charlie was insane, and ran out into the lake. Fifty yards away he was still only in piss up to his shoulder.Charlie looked at the black ship and realized that it was sitting way, way too high out of the water that, in fact, it was sitting with its take on the bottom in only about six inches of wat er.Uh, Bob, Charlie said. inter the boat. Were walking. Everyone quiet. He unsheathed his brand name and sloshed onward. As they approached the ship they could make out details in its construction. The railings were fashioned from leg bones lashed together, the mooring cleats were human pelvises. The lantern on the deck was, in fact, a human skull. Charlie wasnt exactly sure how his powers as Luminatus were going to manifest themselves, only if as they reached the hull of the ship he found himself very much wishing it would happen soon, and that levitation would be one of the powers.Were fucked, said Bob, looking up at the black hull curving above them.Were not fucked, Charlie said. We righteous need mortal to climb up there and throw us a rope.There was some milling around amid the squirrel people, then a lone figure stepped out of the little crowd this one waited to be a nineteenth-century French dandy with the head of a monitor lizard. His outfit the ruffles and the coat actually reminded Charlie of pictures that Lily had shown him of Charles Baudelaire.You can do it? Charlie asked the lizard guy.He held out his hands and lifted one foot out of the water. Squirrel paws. Charlie lifted the lizard guy as high as he could up to the hull, and the little creature caught a own in the black wood, then scurried up the side of the ship and over the gunwale.Minutes passed, and Charlie found himself listening hard for some hint as to what was going on above. When the thick rope splashed down next to him, he leapt two feet in the air and barely contained blasting out a full-blown man-scream.Nice, said Bob.You source, then, Charlie said, interrogation the rope to see if it would hold his weight. He waited until the bobcat guy was about three feet over his head before he tucked the sword-cane down inside the Lexan plate strapped over his back and started the climb himself. By the time he was three-quarters of the way up the rope, he matte as if his biceps we re going to pop like water balloons and he entwined his motocross boot into the rope to rest. As if being granted a second wind by the gods, his biceps relaxed and when he resumed climbing he felt as if he might really be gaining his power as the Luminatus. When he reached the railing, he grabbed one of the bone mooring cleats and swung himself up until he sat straddling the rail.He swung around and his headlamp caught the black shine in her eyes. She was holding the bobcat guy like an ear of corn, her claw driven through his skull, pinning his jaw shut. There was flesh and muck glowing dull red, running down her face and over her breasts as she tore another act out of the Beefeater.Want some, fill inr? she said. Tastes like ham.At the breakfast bar in Charlies apartment, Lily said, Shouldnt we separate them?They dont all know about us. About this. Minty held the date book. Just Audrey. then shouldnt we tell her?Minty looked at Audrey, who was sitting on the couch entwined in a sleepy pile with Charlies sister and one of the hellhounds, looking very content. No, I dont think that would serve any purpose right now.Hes a good guy, Lily said. She snatched a paper pass over off the roll on the counter and dabbed her eyes before her mascara went raccoon on her again.I know, Minty said. Hes my friend. As he said it, he felt a tug on his pant leg. He looked down to where Sophie was staring up at him.Hey, do you have a car? she asked.Yes, I do, Sophie.Can we go for a ride?Without any hesitation, Charlie whipped the sword-cane out of his back and snapped it down on the Morrigans wrist joint. She lost her grip on the bobcat guy, who bolted, screaming, across the deck and over the opposite railing. The Morrigan grabbed the sword-cane and attempt to wrench it from Charlies grasp. He let her pulled the sword free, then drove it into her solar plexus so hard that his fist connected with her ribs and the blade came out her back, sinking into the wooden hull of the li feboat she was reclining against. For a split second his face was an inch from hers.Miss me? she asked.He rolled away just as she slashed at him. He got his forearm up just in time to deflect the blow away from his face, the thick Lexan plate on his forearm tenia the claws from taking off his hand. She lunged for him, but the sword kept her pinned to the boat. Charlie ran down the deck away from her as she screeched in anger.He saw light coming from a door that must have led to the cabin at the aft of the ship that same red glow and he realized that it had to be coming from the soul vessels. Rachels soul could still be in there. He was only a step from the regard as when the giant precede dropped in front of him and spread her travel out across the deck, as if attempt to block the whole end of the ship. He backpedaled and drew the withdraw from Eagle from the shoulder holster. He tried to hold it steady as he clicked off the safety. The Raven snapped at him and he leapt bac k. The beak then pulled back, changed, bubbled into the face of a woman but the wings and talons remained in bird form.New Meat, said Macha. How endure of you to seeded player here.Charlie pulled the trigger. Flame iridescent a foot out of the barrel and he felt as if someone had hit him in the palm with a hammer. He thought he had aimed right mingled with her eyes, but the bullet had ripped through her neck, taking half of the black flesh with it. Her head lolled to the side and the raven body flailed its wings at him.Charlie unload backward onto the deck, but pulled the pistol up and fired again as the raven was coming down on him. This one caught her in the center of the chest and direct her flying backward, up onto the cabin roof.The ringing in his ears felt like someone had driven tune forks into his head and hit them with drumsticks a long, painful, high-pitched wail. He barely heard the shriek from his left as another Morrigan dropped out of the rigging tail assembly him. He rolled to the railing and brought the gun up just as she slashed at his face. The gun and his forearm pad diped most of the blow, but the Desert Eagle was knocked from his grasp and slid down the deck.Charlie did a somersault to his feet and ran after the gun. Nemain flicked her claws at his back and he heard the sizzle as the poison strafed the Lexan pad down his spine and burned onto the deck on all side of him. He dove for the pistol and tried to roll and come up with it pointed at his attacker, but he misjudged and came up with the back of his knees against the bone railing. She leapt, claws first, and hit him in the chest just as he fired the Desert Eagle and he was driven backward over the railing.He hit prone on the water. The air exploded from his body and he felt like hed been hit by a bus. He couldnt breathe, but he could see, he could feel his limbs, and after a couple of seconds of gasping, he in the end caught a breath.So, hows it going so far? asked the bo bcat guy, about two feet from Charlies head.Good, Charlie said. Theyre running scared.There was a big chunk bitten out of the middle of Bobs torso, and his Beefeater uniform was in tatters, but otherwise he seemed in good spirits. He was holding the Desert Eagle cradled in his arms like a baby.Youll likely need this. That last shot connected, by the way. You took off about half of her skull.Good, Charlie said, still having a little trouble catching his breath. He felt a searing pain in his chest and thought he might have broken a rib. He sat up and looked at his chest plate. The Morrigans claws had raked the front of it, but in one spot he could see where a claw had slipped under the plate and into his chest. He wasnt bleeding badly, but he was bleeding, and it hurt like hell. Are they still coming?Not the two you shot. We dont know where the one you stuck with your sword went.I dont know if I can make it up that rope again, Charlie said.That may not be a _roblem, Bob said. He was l ooking up to the ceiling of the grotto, where a whirlwind of squeaking bats was spiraling around the mast, but above them was beating the wings of another creature altogether.Charlie took the pistol from Bob and climbed to his feet, nearly omit, then steadied himself and backed away from the hull of the ship. The squirrel people scattered around him. Bummer let loose with a fusillade of angry yapping.The giant hit the water about thirty feet away. Charlie felt a scream rising in his throat but fought it down. The thing was nearly ten feet tall, with a wingspan of thirty feet. Its head was as big as a beer keg, and it appeared to have the shape and horns of a bull, except for the jaws, which were predatory, lined with teething, like a cross amidst a shark and a lion. Its eyes were gleaming green.Soul stealer, it growled. It folded its wings into two high points behind its back, and stepped toward Charlie.Well, that would be you, wouldnt it? Charlie said, a little breathless still . Im the Luminatus.The goliath stopped. Charlie took the hesitation to bring up the pistol and fire. The shot took the demon high in the shoulder and spun him to the side. He turned back and roared.Charlie could smell the creatures breath, like depravation meat, wash over him. He backed up and fired again, his hand numb now from the limit of the big pistol. The shot knocked the demon back a step. There was shrill cheering from above.Charlie fired again and again. The slugs opened craters in the demons chest. He wavered, then fell to his knees. Charlie aimed and pulled the trigger again. The gun clicked.Charlie backed up a few more than steps and tried to remember what Minty had shown him about reloading. He managed to hit a passing that released the clip from the pistol, which plopped into the water. Then he unsnapped one of the pouches under his arm to retrieve an extra clip. It slipped out and fell into the lake as easily. Bob and a couple of the squirrel people splashed for ward and started diving beneath the water, looking for the clip.The demon roared again, unfurled his wings, and, in one great flap, pulled himself to his feet.Charlie unsnapped the second clip and, with his hands shaking, managed to fit it into the bottom of the Desert Eagle. The demon crouched, as if to leap. Charlie jacked a shell into the chamber and fired at the same time. The demon fell forward as the huge slug took a chunk out of his thigh.Well done, Meat came a female voice from above.Charlie looked up quickly, but then back to the bullheaded demon, who was on his feet again. Then he braced his wrist and fired, and again, walking forward, pumping bullets into the demons chest with each step, feeling any second as if his wrist would just shatter into pieces from the recoil, until the hammer clicked on an empty chamber. He stopped, just five feet away from the demon when it fell over, facefirst into the water. Charlie dropped the Desert Eagle and fell to his knees. The grotto s eemed to be tilting before him, his vision tunneling down.The Morrigan landed on three sides of him. Each had a glowing soul vessel in her claw and was rubbing it on her wounds.That was excellent, lover, said the raven woman standing closest to the take rooten demon. Charlie recognized her from the alley. The stab wound his sword had made in her stomach healed over as he watched. She kicked the bullheaded demons body. See, I told you that guns suck.That was well done, Meat, said the one to Charlies right. Her neck was still knitting back together. She was the one hed blasted up onto the cabin roof. You guys do bounce back with a certain Wile E. Coyote charm, Charlie said. He grinned, feeling inebriate now, like he was watching all this from another place.Hes so sweet, said the hand- bloodline harpy. I could just eat him up.Sounds good to me, said the Morrigan to his left, whose head was still a little lopsided.Charlie saw the venom drip mold from her claws, then looked to the woun d below his chest plate.Yes, darling, said hand job, Im afraid Nemain did nick you. You really are sooner the warrior to have lasted this long.Im the Luminatus, Charlie said.The Morrigan laughed, the one in front of Charlie did a little dance step. As she did, the bullheaded demon lifted his head from the water.Im the Luminatus, said the demon, black goo and water running between his teeth as he spoke.The Morrigan stopped dancing, grabbed one of the demons horns, then pulled his head back. You think? she said. Then she plunged her claws into the demons throat. He rolled and threw her off, get bying her sailing twenty feet in the air to smash into the hull of the ship.The Morrigan behind Charlie patted his head as she passed. Well be right with you, darling. Im Macha, by the way, and we are the Luminatus or we will be in a minute.The Morrigan fell on the bullheaded demon, taking great chunks of flesh and bone off his body with each slash of their talons. devil took to the air and swept in, taking swipes at the demon, who flailed at them, sometimes connecting, but too weakened from the gunshots to controvert effectively. In two minutes it was finished, and most of the flesh had been flayed from it. Macha held his head by the horns like she was holding the handlebars of a motorcycle, even as the demons jaws continued to snap at the air.Your turn, soul stealer, Macha said.Yeah, your turn, said Nemain, baring her claws.Macha held the demon head out in front of her, driving it at Charlie. He backed away as the teeth snapped inches from his face.Wait a minute, said Babd.The other two stopped and turned to their sister, who stood over what was left of the demons corpse. We never got to finish.She took one step before something hit her like a ball of darkness, knocking her out of sight. Charlie looked at the demon head coming at him, then there was a loud smack and Macha was yanked to the side as if shed had a bungee cord attached to her ankle.The screeching starte d again and Charlie could see the Morrigan being whipped around in the darkness, splashing, and chaos he couldnt follow what was happening. His eyes wouldnt focus.He looked to Nemain, who was now coming at him with her claws dripping venom. A small hand appeared at the edge of his vision and the Morrigans head exploded into what looked like a thousand stars.Charlie looked to where the hand had appeared before his eyes.Hi, Daddy, Sophie said.Hi, baby, Charlie said.Now he could see what was happening the hellhounds were tearing at the Morrigan. hotshot of them broke, jumped into the air and unfurled her wings, then dove at Sophie, screeching.Sophie embossed her hand as if she was waving bye-bye and the Morrigan volatilized into a spray of black goo. The souls, thousands of them, that she had consumed over the millennia, floated into the air, red lights that circled the grotto, making the whole huge chamber appear to have been frozen in the middle of a fireworks display.You should nt be here, honey, Charlie said.Yes, I should, Sophie said. I had to fix this, send them all back. Im the Luminatus.YouYeah, she said matter-of-factly, in that Master of All Death and Darkness voice that is so rag in a six-year-old.The hellhounds were both on the remaining Morrigan now, tearing her in half as Charlie watched.No, honey, Charlie said.Sophie raised her hand and Babd was vaporized like the others the captured souls rose like embers from a bonfire.Lets go home, Daddy, Sophie said.No, Charlie said, barely able to hold up his head. We have something we have to get. He lurched forward and one of the hellhounds was there to brace him. The whole multitude of squirrel people was coming around the bow of the ship, each carrying a glowing soul vessel hed retrieved from the ships cabin.Is this it? Sophie said. She took a CD from Bob and handed it to Charlie.He turned it in his hands and hugged it to his chest. You know what this is, honey?Yeah. Lets go home, Daddy.Charlie fell over the back of Alvin. Sophie and the squirrel people steadied him until they were out of the Underworld.Minty Fresh carried Charlie to the car.A doctor had come and gone. When Charlie came to he was on his bed at home and Audrey was wiping his forehead with a damp cloth.Hi, he said.Hi, Audrey said.Did Sophie tell you?Yeah.They grow up so fast, Charlie said.Yeah. Audrey smiled.I got this. He reached behind his chest plate and pulled out the Sarah McLachlan CD that pulsated with red light.Audrey nodded and reached out for the disc. Lets put that over here where you can keep an eye on it. As soon as her fingers touched the plastic case the light went out and Audrey shuddered. Oh my, she said.Audrey. Charlie tried to sit up, but was forced back down by the pain. Ouch. Audrey, what happened? Did they get it? Did they take her soul?She was looking at her chest, then looked up at Charlie, tears in her eyes. No, Charlie, its me, she said.But you had touched that before, that night in the pantry. Why didnt it happen then?I guess I wasnt ready then.Charlie took her hand and squeezed it, then squeezed it much harder than he think as a wave of pain washed through him. Goddammit, he said. He was panting now, eupneic like he might hyperventilate.I thought it was all dark, Audrey. All the spiritual stuff was spooky. You made me see.Im glad, Audrey said.Makes me think I should have slept with a poet so I could have understood the way the world can be distilled into words.Yes. I think you have the soul of a poet, Charlie.I should have made love with a painter, too, so I could feel the wave of a brushstroke, so I could absorb her colors and textures and really see.Yes, Audrey said, brushing at his hair with her fingers. You have such a wonderful imagination.I think, said Charlie, his voice going higher as he breathed harder, I should have provide a scientist so I would understand the mechanics of the world, felt them right down to my spine.Yes, so you could feel the world , Audrey said.With big tits, Charlie added, his back arching in pain.Of course, baby, Audrey said.I love you, Audrey.I know, Charlie. I love you, too.Then Charlie Asher, Beta Male, husband to Rachel, brother to Jane, father to Sophie (the Luminatus, who held dominion over Death), beloved of Audrey, Death Merchant and purveyor of fine vintage clothing and admission priceories, took his last breath, and died.Audrey looked up to see Sophie come into the room. Hes gone, Sophie.Sophie put her hand on Charlies forehead. Bye, Daddy, she said. epilogTHE GIRLSThings settled in the City of Two Bridges, and all the dark gods that had been rising to erupt out over the world remembered their place and returned to their domains deep in the Underworld.Jane and Cassie were married in a civil notice that was dissolved and sanctioned a half-dozen times over the years. Nevertheless, they were happy and there was always laughter in their home.Sophie went home to give-up the ghost with her Aunties Ja ne and Cassandra. She would grow to be a tall and beautiful woman, and eventually take her place as the Luminatus, but until then, she went to school and played with her puppies and had a fairly wonderful time as she waited for her soda water to come get her.THE SHOPKEEPERSWhile Minty Fresh had believed in the adage that in every moment there is a crisis, his belief had been somewhat academic until he started seeing Lily Severo, when it became very practical indeed. Life jumped up several steps for him on the interesting scale, to the point where the Death Merchant part of his existence became the more prosaic of his pursuits. They became renowned around town, the giant in pastels always in company with the short, Gothic chef, but the City really stood up and took notice when they opened up the Jazz and Gourmet Pizza house in North Beach in the building that had once housed Ashers Secondhand.As for Ray Macy, Inspector Rivera set him up with a lady pawnbroker from the Fillmore name d Carrie Lang, and they hit it off almost immediately, having in common a love of detective movies and handguns, as well as a deep mistrust for most of humanity. Ray fell deeply in love, and true to his Beta Male nature, was doggedly loyal to her, although he always in secret suspected her of being a serial killer.RIVERAInspector Alphonse Rivera has spent most of his life trying to change his life. Hed worked in a half-dozen different police departments, in a dozen different capacities, and although he was very good at being a cop, he always seemed to be trying to get out. After the debacle with the Death Merchants and the strange, unexplainable things that had gone on around it, he was simply exhausted. There had been a brief time when hed been able to leave police work and open a rare-book store, and he felt as if that might have been the only time he had ever truly been happy. Now, at age forty-nine, he was ready to try it again take an early retirement and just read and live in a calm, unevent-filled world of books.So he was somewhat pleased when, two weeks after the death of Charlie Asher, he went to his mailbox to find a substantial envelope that could only be a book. It was like an omen, he thought as he sat down at his kitchen table to open the package. It was a book what looked like a very rare and bizarre childrens book. He opened it and turned to the first chapter. So Now Youre Death Heres What Youll Need.THE EMPERORThe Emperor enjoyed a happy reunion with his troops and went on to rule benevolently over San Francisco to the end of his days. For leading Charlie into the Underworld, and for his boundless courage, the Luminatus gave Bummer the strength and durability of a hellhound. It would fall to the Emperor to explain how his now all-black companion while he never weighed more than seven pounds boozer wet could outrun a cheetah and chew the tires off a Toyota.AUDREYAudrey continued her work at the Buddhist center and did costuming for a local theater group, but she also took a volunteer job with hospice, where she helped people to the other side as she had done for so long in Tibet. The hospice position also, however, gave her access to bodies that had been recently vacated by their souls, and she used these opportunities to cycle the squirrel people back into the human flow of birth and rebirth. And for a while, there were remarkable instances of people recovering from terminal illness in the City, as she exercised the phowa of undying.She didnt give up her work with the squirrel people altogether, however, as it was a skill she had come to over a long time and a lot of work, and it could still be extraordinarily rewarding. At least thats how she was feeling as she looked over her latest masterpiece in the meditation room of the Three Jewels Buddhist Center.He had the face of a crocodile sixty-eight spiked teeth, and eyes that gleamed like black glass beads. His hands were the claws of a raptor, the wicked black nails encrusted with dried blood. His feet were webbed like those of a waterbird, with claws for digging prey from the mud. He wore a purple silk robe, trimmed in sable, and a matching hat with a wizards star embroidered on it in bullion thread.Its only temporary, until we find someone, Audrey said. But take my word for it, you look great.No, I dont. Im only fourteen inches tall.Yeah, but I gave you a ten-inch schlong.He opened his robe and looked down. Wow, would you look at that, Charlie said. Nice.