Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron :: Mother Night Essays

Government vs. Individual in Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has made important contributions to the development of the 20th century American novel. His influences are felt in modern social satire, as well as nontraditional science fiction. One theme that is recurrent in his work is the common portrayal of government forces as destructive to individuals; to force characters to do evil in the name of good. Kurt Vonegut, Jr. was born November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of an architect. He attended Cornell University in 1940, studying biochemistry, but soon quit because his grades were poor. He worked as a columnist for the Cornell Daily Sun until joining the army in 1942. He was captured by the Germans in 1944 and forced to work in a factory, where he lived through the fire bombing of Dresden. This, and the suicide of his mother in 1944, were the two most influential events in his life. After the war he worked for the Chicago News Bureau and studied anthropology. He has written many novels and one short story collection. His most acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five, is a twisted account of the Dresden bombing. He is still alive and writing. His most recent published work, Timequake, appeared in the December 1997 Playboy Magazine. Mother Night was Vonnegut's third novel and one his few works that contains no elements of science fiction. Though this novel is not one of his most critically acclaimed, it serves as a prime example of Vonnegut's skill as a black humorist and weaver of human absurdity. Mother Night is the story of Howard W. Campbell, Jr, Nazi radio propagandist and American spy. The novel begins and ends in the same spot; a "new jail in old Jerusalem" (Mother Night p. Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron :: Mother Night Essays Government vs. Individual in Mother Night, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has made important contributions to the development of the 20th century American novel. His influences are felt in modern social satire, as well as nontraditional science fiction. One theme that is recurrent in his work is the common portrayal of government forces as destructive to individuals; to force characters to do evil in the name of good. Kurt Vonegut, Jr. was born November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of an architect. He attended Cornell University in 1940, studying biochemistry, but soon quit because his grades were poor. He worked as a columnist for the Cornell Daily Sun until joining the army in 1942. He was captured by the Germans in 1944 and forced to work in a factory, where he lived through the fire bombing of Dresden. This, and the suicide of his mother in 1944, were the two most influential events in his life. After the war he worked for the Chicago News Bureau and studied anthropology. He has written many novels and one short story collection. His most acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five, is a twisted account of the Dresden bombing. He is still alive and writing. His most recent published work, Timequake, appeared in the December 1997 Playboy Magazine. Mother Night was Vonnegut's third novel and one his few works that contains no elements of science fiction. Though this novel is not one of his most critically acclaimed, it serves as a prime example of Vonnegut's skill as a black humorist and weaver of human absurdity. Mother Night is the story of Howard W. Campbell, Jr, Nazi radio propagandist and American spy. The novel begins and ends in the same spot; a "new jail in old Jerusalem" (Mother Night p.

Ground Water Pollution by Fertilizers

Land Water Pollution by Fertilizers Table of Content Introduction Situation Problem Solution Decrease of the Procedure Chemicals Evaluation Organic Fertilizers Inorganic Fertilizers Decision MentionsIntroductionThis essay is based on the subject â€Å"Ground Water Pollution by Fertilizers† . Furthermore, it is further divided into four different parts that contains state of affairs, job, solution and rating. The initial portion of this considered essay focal points on the current state of affairs of land H2O pollution by fertilisers, and the following portion discusses some serious jobs that people faced presents. The 3rd stage entails of import ways or solutions to undertake this lifting job in an appropriate mode, farther the last portion of this essay discusses the rating of all three stages.SituationThe groundwater taint appears where there is a alteration of groundwater. The alteration implies the tainting by micro-organisms, chemicals, harmful and insecure substances and atoms, which is to boot the indispensable groundwater taint ( Rail, 2000 ) . In malice of the fact that groundwater pollution on occasion happens due to the regular or man-made stuff, the be ginnings that conveying about the groundwater pollution are hardly characteristic or man-made. Truly, natural beginnings are non every bit hurtful as 1s produced by human exercisings may be. Those human exercisings bring about a few noxious and deathful stuffs, and when they touch the surface of the land, they can perforate into the belowground degree, and foul the H2O at that place. The grade that those chemicals contaminate the H2O relies on upon their kinds, the soil conditions that they have polluted ( Bjerg, 2000 ) . At that point, what are the beginnings in charge of the groundwater taint? The principal and important one is concerns. Chemical and other fabrication concerns need to treat and clean the H2O every bit much as possible for that ground they frequently use different sorts of chemicals that increase the land H2O pollution ( Tellam, 2007 ) . Then once more, when they have completed the procedure of managing and cleaning H2O, they neglect to suiting handle the utilised H2O, which is planned to be reused, therefore, the untreated utilised H2O watercourses go into the land and contaminates the groundwater. Furthermore, solid industrial wastes are to boot in charge of the groundwater taint, which can weaken deadly stuffs to groundwater pollution after rains and rainwater leaks underground ( Brebbia, 2014 ) . Furthermore, the agricultural exercisings are an surrogate intent behind groundwater taint, in which the fertilisers and other mixture substances can easy foul the groundwater ( Zobisch, 2006 ) . Persons are at some point in charge of the groundwater pollution, in visible radiation of the fact that they bring legion insecure and harmful substances to the groundwater, and subsequently foul it. These substances are characterized as the groundwater toxicants. In visible radiation of their qualities, they could be separated into point root and non-point 1. The point toxins are the 1s from sewerage pipes or armored combat vehicles ; and the non-point 1s are pesticides and fertilisers, which will efficaciously distribute over legion typical districts ( Thangarajan, 2002 ) .ProblemThere is an issue of groundwater pollution by high N fertiliser. It is revived from the surface, streams underneath the land and in the terminal watercourse to the surface. Generally, difference between the ground water and river or saltwater is that one frequently includes dirt wets and other does non ( Hill, 2010 ) . There is similarly an actuality that groundwater has any longer rhythm term than that of the ocean or river H2O. An single can use submerged for agribusiness, industry and imbibing in some zone, which has less H2O. The important issue with groundwater is that it is influenced by N included in fertiliser and this leads legion persons to decease because they have merely groundwater to imbibe ( Giordano, 2007 ) . Fertilizer is known as a substance that supplies workss addendums like N or P, and this is the best methods for heightening creative activity of merchandise and nutriment quality. Previously, people did non hold unreal compost, evidently ; nevertheless, some of the experts discovered the first synthesis fertiliser in 19th century ( Ramachandra, 2006 ) . From that point, people have enhanced the quality and use of fertiliser and they have two kinds of fertilisers, natural and inorganic, now. Natural compost incorporates regular natural stuffs, so natural one is utile for nature ‘s sphere. In actuality, inorganic manure incorporates high N, which is begun from ammonium. The methodological analysis of doing inorganic manure is called Haber-Bosch procedure and inorganic compost is called manufactured compost. The ground for pollution in groundwater is supposed to nitrogen included in bogus man-made compost ( Pipkin, 2013 ) . In add-on, included nitrogen interaction affects submerged taint. The bulk of the N in the land starts from high N fertiliser nevertheless, some of them are from industrial waste and sewerage. As a regulation, N in fertiliser and other types have typical word pictures. At the point when there are two kinds of N in the land, N get downing from industrial waste and sewerage is effortlessly retained. This implies N from manure can non be assimilated good ; raindrops wash it, and do the submerged pollution ( Komatina, 2004 ) . Despite the fact that there are legion beginnings of N ( both common and anthropogenetic ) that could conceivably motivate the taint of the groundwater with nitrates, the anthropogenetic beginnings are genuinely the 1s that on a regular basis cause the step of nitrate to mount to an insecure degree. Waste stuffs are one of the anthropogenetic beginnings of nitrate befoulment of groundwater ( Pepper, 2011 ) . Numerous beginnings of possible nitrate tainting of groundwater exist, for illustration, â€Å" sites utilize for transportation of human and creature sewerage ; industrial waste identified with nourishment preparing, and some Polynesian offices ; and topographic points where managing and inadvertent autumn of nitrogen-bearing stuff may garner. Septic armored combat vehicles are one of the most critical illustrations of anthropogenetic beginning N befoulment of the groundwater. There are different parts of the universe where they have reported important taint of groundwater from septic armored combat vehicles ( Brebbia, 2014 ) . Ground H2O pollution is usually identified with the thickness of infected models. In to a great extent populated scopes, infected models can talk to a existent local beginning of nitrate to the groundwater. Then once more, in less populated parts infected models do non by and large posture much of a danger to groundwater pollution ( Singhal, 2010 ) . The echt issue by high N fertiliser is submerged taint every bit good as an unnatural conditions alteration, eutrophication and well-being effects. Carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) and methane ( Ch4 ) is greenhouse gasses yet azotic oxide ( N2O ) is besides considered as a nursery gas. At the point when high N fertiliser is put underneath the surface, microscopic beings in dirt deteriorate N and produce azotic oxide. At that point, it goes non yet decided because gas is lighter than dirt ( Mukherjee, 2013 ) . Following echt issue is eutrophication. Eutrophication is phenomena that there is an inordinate sum of addendums in the lake or river and a few kinds of species to develop so good that different species can non populate comfortably. For case, when the nitrate fertiliser watercourses in waterways, it promotes development of small workss on the surface of the watercourse. These workss are on the surface so the workss in the underside of the watercourse can non acquire adequate daytime and make photosynthesis ( Herda, 2013 ) .SolutionThe submerged taint has legion echt issues so an single must avoid H2O taint. There are two attacks to prevent taint. The first is to see whether N fertiliser is genuinely needed or non. This helps persons lessen taint and salvage their resources. The 2nd manner is to works trees so that soil decomposition will non go on ( Bjerg, 2000 ) . Trees change C dioxide into oxide in their photosynthesis and ascribe to ease a unsafe atmospheric devotedness. They hav e to reassess whether high N compost is genuinely an ideal attack to force works development. In the event that they continue using fertilisers at this gait, the Earth will be increasingly harmed ( Chesworth, 2008 ) . To command taint because of these material workss in the zones around them the attach toing steps could be taken with a specific terminal end to construct long-run sustainability as a corporate process, which is entirely adjusted to the concern aims of being productive in the terminal, and procure big market portion. The H2O used as a portion of preparing of stuffs is lessened to an extended grade such that the emanating focal point is constrained to a labeled small volume of H2O and it does non get down impacting larger volume of H2O ( Marinov, 2010 ) .Decrease of the Procedure ChemicalsThe process chemicals make more than 90 to 93 per centum of the taint by different organisations. This likewise cuts down the coevals cost every bit far as the chemicals use. It might be accomplished through recycling different chemicals when procedures are finished. For Example: Acerb sodium carbonate is recouped from the mercerizing and sourcing and is therefore sifted and dialyzed so it might be r eused ( Pepper, 2011 ) . The procedure alteration would include little accommodations in the different techniques utilized amid piecing within petition to do lesser taint and lessens unneeded wastage of H2O. Certain other chemicals can likewise be utilized amid piecing so that recovering those chemicals get to be simple and it in this mode could be utilized as a portion of farther collection processs ( Nair, 2004 ) . Through different alimentary direction undertakings, husbandmans are put to deathing best direction patterns that advance the proficiency of fertiliser usage by fiting supplement supply with merchandise necessities and to minimise alimentary loses. Throughout the old ages, there have been alterations in cultivating patterns to decrease nitrate filtering ( Giordano, 2007 ) . These integrated applications of N fertilisers, which include the best possible steps of N and other works addendums for overpowering harvest growing focused around dirt and works tissue proving. Soil moistness detectors are presently accessible that consider the persistent checking of dirt H2O position in the dirt. Fustigation has ended up more celebrated for its adept use of H2O and addendums, gigantically decreasing run outing and spillover of nitrates ( Chesworth, 2008 ) . Similarly, more late there have been new technological promotion is adopted, for illustration, the distant detection of in-season N position of harvests for auxiliary readying including maize and wheat, and is right off being developed for rock nutrients grown from the land crops and Prunus dulciss. Crop-particular and often even some other algorithms take into consideration exact and spatially variable application of the ideal N rate ( Mukherjee, 2013 ) . Furthermore, promotion is continuously made to concentrate nitrogen disposal zones guided by aeronautical symbolism, picture taking to catch N anxiousness, and detectors to calculate nitrogen application rates while tracking the field. As this new technology gets to be more settled and moderate, its appropriation in different portion of the universe will be loosely acknowledged ( Rail, 2000 ) .EvaluationFertilizers are those chemical compounds that are peculiarly used to increase the growing rate of works and nutrients grown. These are usually connected either through the dirt or by foliar prolonging. They are besides connected to sea-going state of affairss. There are two types of fertilisers organic fertiliser and inorganic fertiliser and they are as follows ;Organic FertilizersOrganic fertilisers are â€Å" normally † happening compounds, which utilize natural process of composting or on a regular basis accessible mineral shops. These fertilisers can take more clip to interrupt down and be assimilated into the dirt and into the workss than inorganic fertiliser ( Pipkin, 2013 ) . On the other manus, the organic fertilisers enhance the well-being and productiveness of dirt and workss, as they present different critical addendums to back up the works growing. The organic foods expand the profusion of dirt life signifiers by giving natural affair and micronutrients to organic entities, for illustration, contagious mycorrhiza, which supports workss in retaining addendums ( Bjerg, 2000 ) .Inorganic Fertil izersInorganic fertilisers are manufactured through complete chemical process, to boot using of course go oning, while synthetically modifying them for illustration concentrated ternary superphosphate. The inorganic manures has important constituents of Phosphorous, Nitrogen, and Potassium quickly accessible for workss without break down like in organic and workss can retain them immediately. Likewise, works could be given definite step of addendums that it needs maintaining in head the terminal end to be solid and less expensive to buy and speedy to use ( Nair, 2004 ) . Largely fertilisers contribute N ( N ) to the Earth and do issue of nitrate taint of H2O and taint of air with nitrate oxide, different oxides of N and base. These gasses help the nursery impact, worldwide warming as their spread outing focal points in the clime and to the annihilation of the stratospheric ozone bed, which secures the Earth from ultraviolet radiation ( Herda, 2013 ) . The manures and animal have created batch of issues of nitrate taint. Greenhouse gas of Azotic oxide ( N2O ) likewise helps the obliteration of the stratospheric ozone when changed over to azotic oxide. N2O is basically created in the life techniques of nitrification and gentrification. To construct the effectivity of N, manure utilizes through alterations, inhibitors of life techniques and in add-on better disposals to vouch expanded nourishment coevals while procuring the natural resources ( Marinov, 2010 ) . While proposed to progress dirts, overexploitation of fertilisers can impact the overall productiveness of harvests in a pessimistic mode. Since most merchandises are suited to a impersonal pH scope, dirt agitation from significant N inputs can equilibrate the expected impacts of fertiliser add-on. Most of the agribusiness experts say that legion countries would profit from application decreases of up to 50 to 60 per centum. China is the universe ‘s top purchaser of fertilisers and it is evaluated that 10 million dozenss of compost used in China ‘s waterways ( Zobisch, 2006 ) . As it was observed due to the extra usage of fertilisers, it increases the groundwater pollution to the extreme degree. It is a premier responsibility of each & A ; every person to take some serious stairss in order to cut down the use of fertilisers to get the better of the job of groundwater pollution every bit much as possible. For that intent, legion ways that can help an person to do proper sc hemes while utilizing different types of fertilisers because it can act upon the productiveness of harvests in both ways optimistic and pessimistic ( Hill, 2010 ) .DecisionTo reason this essay it was found that the fertilisers could be good to heighten the overall productiveness of harvests that will finally help the higher functionary of a state to carry through the demand of their citizens in an appropriate mode. On the other manus, it was noticed that the use of different sorts of fertilisers increase the groundwater pollution that will finally impact the overall environment of a part in a negative mode.MentionsBjerg, P.L. , 2000.Groundwater 2000. CRC Press. Brebbia, C.A. , 2014.Water Pollution XII. WIT Press. Chesworth, W. , 2008.Encyclopedia of Soil Science. Springer Science & A ; Business Media. Giordano, M. , 2007.The Agricultural Groundwater Revolution. CABI. Herda, D.J. , 2013.From Container to Kitchen. New Society Publishers. Hill, M.K. , 2010.Understanding Environmental Pollution. 3rd erectile dysfunction. Cambridge University Press. Komatina, M. , 2004.Medical Geology. Elsevier. Marinov, A.M. , 2010.Water Pollution X. WIT Press. Mukherjee, S. , 2013.Environmental Scenario in India. Routledge. Nair, P.K.R. , 2004.New Vistas in Agroforestry. Springer Science & A ; Business Media. Pepper, I.L. , 2011.Environmental and Pollution Science. 2nd erectile dysfunction. Academic Press. Pipkin, B. , 2013.Geology and the Environment. 7th erectile dysfunction. Cengage Learning. Rail, C.D. , 2000.Groundwater Contamination: Management. CRC Press. Ramachandra, T.V. , 2006.Dirt and Groundwater Pollution from Agricultural Activities. TERI Press. Singhal, B.B.S. , 2010.Applied Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks. Springer Science & A ; Business Media. Tellam, J.H. , 2007.Urban Groundwater Management and Sustainability. Springer Science & A ; Business Media. Thangarajan, M. , 2002.Sustainable Development and Management of Groundwater Resources in Semi-Arid Regions with Particular Reference to Hard Rocks. CRC Press. Zobisch, M.A. , 2006.Resource Use and Agricultural Sustainability. kassel university imperativeness GmbH.

Overview of the Sri Lankan Civil War

Overview of the Sri Lankan Civil War In the late 20th century, the island nation of Sri Lanka tore itself apart in a brutal civil war. At the most basic level, the conflict arose from the ethnic tension between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens. In reality, though, the causes were much more complex and arose in large part because of Sri Lankas colonial history. Background Great Britain ruled Sri Lanka- then called Ceylon- from 1815 to 1948. When the British arrived, the country was dominated by Sinhalese speakers whose ancestors likely arrived on the island from India in the 500s BCE. Sri Lankan people seem to have been in contact with Tamil speakers from southern India since at least the second century BCE, but migrations of significant numbers of Tamils to the island appear to have taken place later, between the seventh and 11th centuries CE. In 1815, the population of Ceylon numbered about three million predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese and 300,000 mostly Hindu Tamils. The British established huge cash crop plantations on the island, first of coffee, and later of rubber and tea. Colonial officials brought in approximately a million Tamil speakers from India to work as plantation laborers. The British also established schools in the northern, Tamil-majority part of the colony, and preferentially appointed Tamils to bureaucratic positions, angering the Sinhalese majority. This was a common divide-and-rule tactic in European colonies that had troubling results in the post-colonial era in places such as Rwanda and Sudan. Civil War Erupts The British granted Ceylon independence in 1948. The Sinhalese majority immediately began to pass laws that discriminated against Tamils, particularly the Indian Tamils brought to the island by the British. They made Sinhalese the official language, driving Tamils out of the civil service. The Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948 effectively barred Indian Tamils from holding citizenship, making stateless people out of some 700,000. This was not remedied until 2003, and anger over such measures fueled the bloody rioting that broke out repeatedly in the following years. After decades of increasing ethnic tension, the war began as a low-level insurgency in July 1983. Ethnic riots broke out in Colombo and other cities.  Tamil Tiger insurgents killed 13 army soldiers, prompting violent reprisals against Tamil civilians by their Sinhalese neighbors across the country. Between 2,500 and 3,000 Tamils likely died, and many thousands more fled to Tamil-majority regions. The Tamil Tigers declared the First Eelam War (1983-87) with the aim of creating a separate Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka called Eelam. Much of the fighting was directed initially at other Tamil factions; the Tigers massacred their opponents and consolidated power over the separatist movement by 1986. At the outbreak of the war, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India offered to mediate a settlement. However, the Sri Lankan government distrusted her motivations, and it was later shown that her government was arming and training Tamil guerrillas in camps in southern India. Relations between the Sri Lankan government and India deteriorated, as Sri Lankan coast guards seized Indian fishing boats to search for weapons. Over the next few years, violence escalated as the Tamil insurgents used car bombs, suitcase bombs, and landmines against Sinhalese military and civilian targets. The quickly-expanding Sri Lankan army responded by rounding up Tamil youths and torturing and disappearing them. India Intervenes In 1987, Indias Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, decided to directly intervene in the Sri Lankan Civil War by sending peacekeepers. India was concerned about separatism in its own Tamil region, Tamil Nadu, as well as a potential flood of refugees from Sri Lanka. The peacekeepers mission was to disarm militants on both sides, in preparation for peace talks. The Indian peacekeeping force of 100,000 troops not only was unable to quell the conflict, it actually began fighting with the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers refused to disarm, sent female bombers and child soldiers to attack the Indians, and relations escalated into running skirmishes between the peacekeeping troops and the Tamil guerrillas. In May 1990, Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa forced India to recall its peacekeepers; 1,200 Indian soldiers had died battling the insurgents. The following year, a female Tamil suicide bomber named Thenmozhi Rajaratnam assassinated Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally. President Premadasa would die in a similar attack in May 1993. Second Eelam War After the peacekeepers withdrew, the Sri Lankan Civil War entered an even bloodier phase, which the Tamil Tigers named the Second Eelam War.  It began when the Tigers seized between 600 and 700 Sinhalese police officers in the Eastern Province on June 11, 1990, in an effort to weaken government control there. The police laid down their weapons and surrendered to the militants after the Tigers promised no harm would come to them. However, the militants took the policemen into the jungle, forced them to kneel, and shot them all dead, one by one. A week later, the Sri Lankan Minister of Defense announced, From now on, it is all out war. The government cut off all shipments of medicine and food to the Tamil stronghold on the Jaffna peninsula  and initiated an intensive aerial bombardment. The Tigers responded with massacres of hundreds of Sinhalese and Muslim villagers. Muslim self-defense units and government troops conducted tit-for-tat massacres in Tamil villages. The government also massacred Sinhalese school children in Sooriyakanda and buried the bodies in a mass grave, because the town was a base for the Sinhala splinter group known as the JVP. In July 1991, 5,000 Tamil Tigers surrounded the governments army base at Elephant Pass, laying siege to it for a month. The pass is a bottleneck leading to the Jaffna Peninsula, a key strategic point in the region. Some 10,000 government troops raised the siege after four weeks, but over 2,000 fighters on both sides had been killed, making this the bloodiest battle in the entire civil war. Although they held this chokepoint, government troops could not capture Jaffna itself despite repeated assaults in 1992-93. Third Eelam War January 1995 saw the Tamil Tigers sign a peace agreement with the new government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. However, three months later the Tigers planted explosives on two Sri Lankan naval gunboats, destroying the ships and the peace accord. The government responded by declaring a war for peace, in which Air Force jets pounded civilian sites and refugee camps on the Jaffna Peninsula, while ground troops perpetrated a number of massacres against civilians in Tampalakamam, Kumarapuram, and elsewhere. By December 1995, the peninsula was under government control for the first time since the war began. Some 350,000 Tamil refugees and the Tiger guerrillas fled inland to the sparsely populated Vanni region of the Northern Province. The Tamil Tigers responded to the loss of Jaffna in July 1996 by launching an eight-day assault on the town of Mullaitivu, which was protected by 1,400 government troops. Despite air support from the Sri Lankan Air Force, the government position was overrun by the 4,000-strong guerrilla army in a decisive Tiger victory. More than 1,200 of the government soldiers were killed, including about 200 who were doused with gasoline and burned alive after they surrendered; the Tigers lost 332 troops. Another aspect of the war took place simultaneously in the capital of Colombo and other southern cities, where Tiger suicide bombers struck repeatedly in the late 1990s. They hit the Central Bank in Colombo, the Sri Lankan World Trade Centre, and the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, a shrine housing a relic of the Buddha himself. A suicide bomber tried to assassinate President Chandrika Kumaratunga in December 1999- she survived  but lost her right eye. In April 2000, the Tigers retook Elephant Pass  but were unable to recover the city of Jaffna. Norway began trying to negotiate a settlement, as war-weary Sri Lankans of all ethnic groups looked for a way to end the interminable conflict. The Tamil Tigers declared a unilateral ceasefire in December 2000, leading to hope that the civil war was truly winding down. However, in April 2001, the Tigers rescinded the ceasefire and pushed north on the Jaffna Peninsula once more. A July 2001 Tiger suicide attack on the Bandaranaike International Airport destroyed eight military jets and four airliners, sending Sri Lankas tourism industry into a tailspin. Long Road to Peace The September 11 attacks in the United States  and the subsequent War on Terror  made it more difficult for the Tamil Tigers to get overseas funding and support. The United States also began to offer direct aid to the Sri Lankan government, despite its terrible human rights record over the course of the civil war. Public weariness with the fighting led to President Kumaratungas party losing control of parliament and the election of a new, pro-peace government. Throughout 2002 and 2003, the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers negotiated various ceasefires and signed a Memorandum of Understanding, again mediated by the Norwegians. The two sides compromised with a federal solution, rather than the Tamils demand for a two-state solution or the governments insistence on a unitary state. Air and ground traffic resumed between Jaffna and the rest of Sri Lanka.   However, on October 31, 2003, the Tigers declared themselves in full control of the north and east regions of the country, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. Within just over a year, monitors from Norway recorded 300 infractions of the ceasefire by the army and 3,000 by the Tamil Tigers. When the Indian Ocean Tsunami hit Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, it killed 35,000 people and sparked another disagreement between the Tigers and the government over how to distribute aid in Tiger-held areas. On August 12, 2005, the Tamil Tigers lost much of their remaining cachet with the international community when one of their snipers killed Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, a highly respected ethnic Tamil who was critical of Tiger tactics. Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran warned that his guerrillas would go on the offensive once more in 2006 if the government failed to implement the peace plan. Fighting erupted again, including the bombing of civilian targets such as packed commuter trains and buses in Colombo. The government also began assassinating pro-Tiger journalists and politicians. Massacres against civilians on both sides left thousands dead over the next few years, including 17 charity workers from Frances Action Against Hunger, who were shot down in their office. On September 4, 2006, the army drove the Tamil Tigers from the key coastal city of Sampur. The Tigers retaliated by bombing a naval convoy, killing more than 100 sailors who were on shore leave. After October 2006 peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, did not produce results, the Sri Lankan government launched a massive offensive in eastern and northern parts of the islands to crush the Tamil Tigers once and for all. The 2007-2009 eastern and northern offensives were extremely bloody, with tens of thousands of civilians caught between the army and Tiger lines. Entire villages were left depopulated and ruined in what a U.N. spokesman termed a bloodbath. As the government troops closed in on the last rebel strongholds, some Tigers blew themselves up. Others were summarily executed by the soldiers after they surrendered, and these war crimes were captured on video. On May 16, 2009, the Sri Lankan government declared victory over the Tamil Tigers. The following day, an official Tiger website conceded that This battle has reached its bitter end. People in Sri Lanka and around the world expressed relief that the devastating conflict had finally ended after 26 years, hideous atrocities on both sides, and some 100,000 deaths. The only question remaining is whether the perpetrators of those atrocities will face trials for their crimes.

Bopomofo Chinese Phonetic System

Bopomofo Chinese Phonetic System Chinese characters can be a major stumbling block for students of Mandarin. There are thousands of characters and the only way to learn their meaning and pronunciation is by rote. Fortunately, there are phonetic systems that aid in the study of Chinese characters. The phonetics are used in textbooks and dictionaries so that students can begin associating sounds and meanings with specific characters. Pinyin The most common phonetic system is Pinyin. It is used to teach Mainland Chinese school children, and it is also widely used by foreigners learning Mandarin as a second language. Pinyin is a Romanization system. It uses the Roman alphabet to represent the sounds of spoken Mandarin. The familiar letters make Pinyin look easy. However, many of the Pinyin pronunciations are quite different from the English alphabet. For example, the Pinyin c is pronounced with a ts sound. Bopomofo Pinyin is certainly not the only phonetic system for Mandarin. There are other Romanization systems, and then there is Zhuyin Fuhao, otherwise known as Bopomofo. Zhuyin Fuhao uses symbols which are based on Chinese characters to represent the sounds of spoken Mandarin. These are the same sounds which are represented by Pinyin, and in fact there is a one-to-one correspondence between Pinyin and Zhuyin Fuhao. The first four symbols of Zhuyin Fuhao are bo po mo fo (pronounced buh puh muh fuh), which gives the common name Bopomofo – sometimes shortened to bopomo. Bopomofo is used in Taiwan to teach school children, and it is also a popular input method for writing Chinese characters on computers and handheld devices such as cell phones. Children’s books and teaching materials in Taiwan almost always have Bopomofo symbols printed next to the Chinese characters. It is also used in dictionaries. Advantages of Bopomofo Bopomofo symbols are based on Chinese characters, and in some cases they are identical. Learning Bopomofo, therefore, gives Mandarin students a head start to reading and writing Chinese. Sometimes students who start learning Mandarin Chinese with Pinyin become too dependent on it, and once characters are introduced they are at a loss.   Another important advantage to Bopomofo is its status as an independent phonetic system. Unlike Pinyin or other Romanization systems, Bopomofo symbols cannot be confused with other pronunciations. The main disadvantage to Romanization is that students often have preconceived ideas about the pronunciation of the Roman alphabet. For example, the Pinyin letter â€Å"q† has a â€Å"ch† sound, and it can take some effort to make this association. On the other hand, the Bopomofo symbol ã„‘ is not associated with any other sound than its Mandarin pronunciation. Computer Input Computer keyboards with Zhuyin Fuhao symbols are available. This makes it fast and efficient to input Chinese characters using a Chinese Character IME (Input Method Editor) like the one included with Windows XP. The Bopomofo input method can be used with or without tone marks. Characters are input by spelling the sound, followed by either the tone mark or the space bar. A list of candidate characters appears. Once a character is selected from this list, another list of commonly used characters may pop up. Only In Taiwan Zhuyin Fuhao was developed in the early 20th century. In the 1950s, Mainland China switched over to Pinyin as its official phonetic system, although some dictionaries from the Mainland still include Zhuyin Fuhao symbols. Taiwan continues to use Bopomofo for teaching school children. Taiwanese teaching material aimed at foreigners usually uses Pinyin, but there are a few publications for adults which use Bopomofo. Zhuyin Fuhao is also used for some of Taiwans Aboriginal languages. Bopomofo and Pinyin Comparison Table Zhuyin Pinyin b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s a o e ai ei ao ou an en ang eng er i u u

Ethical Viewpoints Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical Viewpoints - Essay Example This deprivation imposes the same difficulty faced by children raised by a single parent. True marriage provides normal conditions of a normal atmosphere beneficial for the upbringing of children Most arguments additionally stipulate that, same sex marriage just serves to validate and promote the homosexual lifestyle. Gradually, these arguments have profoundly been modifying everyone’s perception and evaluations of behavior. Eventually, the legal system will completely embrace this type of abominable marriage and thus shadow certain basic moral values and cripple public morality. Morally this union is wrong and legal recognition will simply change this moral wrong to a civil right. Eventually, anti-gay activists state that legalizing same sex marriage will force the whole society to accept and the state will have to form laws that punish people especially state employees that express disapproval. This is because marriage affects the whole of society and this new pigment will compel others to betray their consciences. People attracted with the same sex have gradually been coming out of their closet actively demanding that they have the right to legally get married in same sex unions. Today’s generation is very liberal and they are not afraid to express what they feel. Some of the arguments echo the fact that everyone should be given the chance to form a lifelong bond with the partner they choose. They argue that it is their civil right to be recognized just like the same recognition was given to heterosexual relationships so should it be given to homosexuals. The law is for all and thus should not create a gap between people in a second class who will have lesser rights than others. This will be discriminating and thus not right. Arguments reiterate that Homosexuals are human too hand since everyone is born equal and free there should be no reason that should

Airlines fault because of safety violations Research Paper

Airlines fault because of safety violations - Research Paper Example Such factors include safety violation. According to Pollock, (2009) the regulatory body (FAA) has for much times fined many of airlines due to the safety violation. The highest fine ever to be charged by Federal Aviation Administration is $ 10.2 million. The latest incidence that attracted the fine action of FAA involved a Texas-based airline. In the report of year 2012 of FAA, the airline delayed repair of its two MD-80. Such delays posed a safety compromise to the passengers. The Texas-based airline operated with this fault for 58 times in violation of safety and the Federation regulation. According with the FFA, (2010) report, the airline was taxed $ 7.1 million. According with the regulation and policies of FAA, negligence in maintaining the airline with knowledge constitutes a breach of safety regulation. The Texas-based airline had deliberately postponed the maintenance of the airline. By postponing, the service providers were intentionally putting the life of passengers at risk. The report established that the management was aware of the several autopilot problems yet they continued to defer the maintenance. The rules and regulation of FAA were enacted following the injury and death caused by airlines. According to FFA, (2010) most of the faults leads to very fatal accident that claimed life of many citizens. In a research done by Pollock, (2009) most airlines in most cases defer maintenance of the airline in the festive seasons such Christmas where there is a lot of travelling. One example given in the research is MD-80 affiliated to Texas-based airline. In the busy Christmas travel season, the autopilot disconnected many times posing a threat on the passenger traveling. It has been established that most a time is due to negligence and drive to make money in the peak season. For this case, the airline was charged a fine of $ 8 million. More

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Project Management - Essay Example The fertile soil of the Delta consists of alluvial and marine deposits; Increasing use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides â€Å"are compromising the water and habitat quality of large portions of the Delta ecosystem.† Fish grown and exported provide a large portion of the economy’s export earnings. â€Å"water quality is compromised from the industrial and municipal effluent of the capital city of B. located just northwest of the Delta.† Decrease in numbers of migratory birds in the Delta - affects the newly developing tourism industry. A stakeholder interest and influence chart is devised illustrating the stakeholder groups’ relative interest and influence in the project. This identifies those who should be managed, monitored, or kept informed or satisfied. Additionally, communities and environmentalists are specially interested in reducing pollution; workers in enhancing their livelihoods, and L due to violations of the EEZ. Desperate stakeholder groups are the poorer communities and those facing water shortages in S. Capacity for participation is expected to be greatest by those who stand to benefit economically, especially the tourism industry, and the international and national NGOs. Generally, those stakeholders with the greatest interest coupled with influence will have greater capacities. In keeping with the objective of frank disclosure of project information, fostering a culture of improvement, and stakeholders are encouraged to participate commensurate with their importance and valuable contributions. The WRB requires appropriate structures, mechanisms and systems in place, which all stakeholders must work together to ensure. The purpose of this analysis is to identify the problems and needs of the region, and, to recommend measures for poverty reduction, ecological sustainability and macroeconomic development. In doing so, we seek active involvement of