Is Justice Truly Blind essays

Is Justice Truly Blind essays We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal." Thomas Jefferson wrote these immortal words in the Declaration of Independence in 1776. One has the right to impose the question "Are we truly equal?" simply by taking a look at American society. Presently, the United States is a country in which thirty-three percent of the male ages eighteen to thirty years old of African decent are in jail, on probation or parole. This is an exceptionally high statistic in comparison to their white counterparts. Some people argue that those statistics reflect high rate of crime, which is prevalent in African-American communities. Specifically the areas of concern are impoverished. The rate of unemployment is higher than the national average. The average income is considerably lower; this leads to a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. In the nineteen eighties unemployment was high and so was inflation, crack became a channel of escape. Powder cocaine, whose usage also gave rise in the eighties was fashionable in upscale Caucasian neighborhoods and was viewed as glamorous and clean. Just as there is, a difference in the form of a drug that is preferred between the two ethnic groups so is the severity of justice that is meted out. Federal law requires a mandatory sentence of five years for the possession of five grams of crack. To receive the same sentence for cocaine powder form, one must be apprehended in possession of five hundred grams. These disproportionate statistics leads to the notion of the existence of a bias in the justice system to keep the public unequal. If a bias exists why isn't it publicized? This question is valid question with an easy answer. If you, a member of the public are also a member of the white majority, you will not be affected by these biases. Since 1995, discrimination in the court system has become easier to notice. This partially stems from the fact that minorities in gener...

History of the North American Free Trade Agreements

History of the North American Free Trade Agreements A free trade agreement is a pact between two countries or areas in which they both agree to lift most or all tariffs, quotas, special fees and taxes, and other barriers to trade between the entities. The purpose of free trade agreements is to allow faster and more business between the two countries/areas, which should benefit both. Why All Should Benefit from Free Trade The underlying economic theory of free trade agreements is that of comparative advantage, which originated in an 1817 book entitled On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by British political economist David Ricardo. Put simply, the theory of comparative advantage postulates that that in a free marketplace, each country/area will ultimately specialize in that activity where it has comparative advantage (i.e. natural resources, skilled workers, agriculture-friendly weather, etc.) The result should be that all parties to the pact will increase their income. However, as Wikipedia points out: ... the theory refers only to aggregate wealth and says nothing about the distribution of wealth. In fact there may be significant losers... The proponent of free trade can, however, retort that the gains of the gainers exceed the losses of the losers. Claims that 21st Century Free Trade Doesnt Benefit All Critics from both sides of the political aisle contend that free trade agreements often dont work effectively to benefit either the U.S. or its free trade partners. One angry complaint is that more than three million U.S. jobs with middle-class wages have been outsourced to foreign countries since 1994. The New York Times observed in 2006: Globalization is tough to sell to average people. Economists can promote the very real benefits of a robustly growing world: when they sell more overseas, American businesses can employ more people. But what sticks in our minds is the television image of the father of three laid off when his factory moves offshore. Latest News In late June 2011, the Obama administration announced that three free trade agreements,.. with south Korea, Colombia and Panama... are fully negotiated, and ready to send to Congress for review and passage. These three pacts are expected to generate $12 billion in new, annual U.S. sales. Republicans stalled approval of the agreements, though, because they want to strip a small, 50-year-old worker retraining/support program from the bills. On December 4, 2010, President Obama announced completion of renegotiations of the Bush-era U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. See Korea-U.S. Trade Agreement Addresses Liberal Concerns. The deal that weve struck includes strong protections for workers rights and environmental standardsand as a consequence, I believe its a model for future trade agreements that I will pursue, commented President Obama about the U.S.-South Korea agreement. (see Profile of U.S.-South Korea Trade Agreement.) The Obama administration is also negotiating an entirely new free trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which includes eight nations: U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei. Per AFP, Nearly 100 US companies and business groups have urged Obama to conclude TPP negotiations by November 2011. WalMart and 25 other U.S. corporations have reportedly signed onto the TPP pact. Presidential Fast-Track Trade Authority In 1994, Congress let fast-track track authority to expire, to give Congress more control as President Clinton pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement. After his 2000 election, President Bush made free trade the center of his economic agenda, and sought to regain fast-track powers. The Trade Act of 2002 restored fast-track rules for five years. Using this authority, Bush sealed new free trade deals with Singapore, Australia, Chile and seven smaller countries. Congress Unhappy with Bush Trade Pacts Despite pressure from Mr. Bush, Congress refused to extend fast-track authority after it expired on July 1, 2007. Congress was unhappy with Bush trade deals for many reasons, including: Losses of millions of U.S. jobs and companies to foreign countriesExploitation of labor forces and resources and defilement of the environment in foreign countriesThe enormous trade deficit generated under President Bush International charity organization Oxfam vows to campaign to defeat trade agreements that threaten peoples rights to: livelihoods, local development, and access to medicines. History The first U.S. free trade agreement was with Israel, and took effect on September 1, 1985. The agreement, which has no expiration date, provided for the elimination of duties for goods, except for certain agricultural products, from Israel entering the U.S. The U.S.-Israeli agreement also allows American products to compete on an equal basis with European goods, which have free access to Israeli markets. The second U.S. free trade agreement, signed in January 1988 with Canada, was superceded in 1994 by the complex and controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, signed with much fanfare by President Bill Clinton on September 14, 1993. Active Free Trade Agreements For a complete listing of all international trade pacts to which the U.S. is a party, see the United States Trade Representives listing of global, regional and bilateral trade agreements. For a listing of all worldwide free trade pacts, see Wikipedias List of Free Trade Agreements. Pros Proponents support U.S. free trade agreements because they believe that: Free trade increases sales and profits for U.S. businesses, thus strenghtening the economyFree trade creates U.S. middle-class jobs over the longtermFree trade is an opportunity for the U.S. to provide financial help to some of the worlds poorest countries Free Trade Increases U.S. Sales and Profits Removal of costly and delaying trade barriers, such as tariffs, quotas and conditions, inherently leads to easier and swifter trade of consumer goods. The result is an increased volume of U.S. sales. Also, use of less expensive materials and labor acquired through free trade leads to a lower cost to manufacture goods. The result is either increased profit margins (when sales prices are not lowered), or increased sales caused by lower selling prices. The  Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates  that ending all trade barriers would increase U.S. income by a whopping $500 billion annually. Free Trade Creates U.S. Middle-Class Jobs The theory is that as U.S. businesses grow from greatly increased sales and profits, demand will grow for middle-class higher-wage jobs to facilitate the sales increases. In February, the  Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist, pro-business think-tank headed by Clinton ally former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., wrote: Expanded trade was undeniably a key part of the high-growth, low-inflation, high-wage economic expansion of the 1990s; even now it plays a key role in keeping inflation and unemployment at historically impressive levels. The  New York Times wrote  in 2006: Economists can promote the very real benefits of a robustly growing world: when they sell more overseas, American businesses can employ more people. U.S. Free Trade Helps Poorer Countries U.S. free trade benefits poorer, non-industrialized nations through increased purchases of their materials and labor services by the U.S. The  Congressional Budget Office explained: ... economic benefits from international trade arise from the fact that countries are not all the same in their production capabilities. They vary from one another because of differences in natural resources, levels of education of their workforces, technical knowledge, and so on. Without trade, each country must make everything it needs, including things it is not very efficient at producing. When trade is allowed, by contrast, each country can concentrate its efforts on what it does best... Cons Opponents of U.S. free trade agreements believe that: Free trade has caused more U.S. jobs losses than gains, especially for higher-wage jobs.Many free trade agreements are bad deals for the U.S. Free Trade Has Caused U.S. Jobs Losses A  Washington Post columnist wrote: While corporate profits soar, individual wages stagnate, held at least partly in check by the brave new fact of offshoring that millions of Americans jobs can be performed at a fraction of the cost in developing nations near and far. In his 2006 book Take This Job and Ship It, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) decries, ... in this new global economy, no one is more profoundly affected than American workers... in the last five years, weve lost over 3 million U.S. jobs that have been oursourced to other countries, and millions more are poised to leave. NAFTA: Unfilled Promises and a Giant Sucking Sound When he signed NAFTA on September 14, 1993,  President Bill Clinton exulted, I believe that NAFTA will create a million jobs in the first five years of its impact. And I believe that that is many more than will be lost... But industrialist H. Ross Perot famously predicted a giant sucking sound of U.S. jobs heading to Mexico if NAFTA was approved. Mr. Perot was correct.  Reports the Economic Policy Institute: Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1993, the rise in the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico through 2002 has caused the displacement of production that supported 879,280 U.S. jobs. Most of those lost jobs were high-wage positions in manufacturing industries. The loss of these jobs is just the most visible tip of NAFTAs impact on the U.S. economy. In fact, NAFTA has also contributed to rising income inequality, suppressed real wages for production workers, weakened workers  collective bargaining  powers and ability to organize unions, and reduced fringe benefits. Many Free Trade Agreements Are Bad Deals In June 2007, the Boston Globe reported about a pending new agreement, Last year, South Korea exported 700,000 cars to the United States while U.S. carmakers sold 6,000 in South Korea, Clinton said, attributing more than 80 percent of a $13 billion U.S. trade deficit with South Korea... And yet, the proposed new 2007 agreement with South Korea would not eliminate the barriers that severely restrict the sale of American vehicles per Sen. Hillary Clinton. Such lopsided dealings are common in  U.S. free trade agreements. Where It Stands U.S. free trade agreements have also harmed other countries, including: Workers in other countries are being exploited and harmed.The environment in other countries is being defiled. For example, the  Economic Policy Institute explains  about post-NAFTA Mexico: In Mexico, real wages have fallen sharply and there has been a steep decline in the number of people holding regular jobs in paid positions. Many workers have been shifted into subsistence-level work in the informal sector... Additionally, a flood of subsidized, low-priced corn from the U.S. has decimated farmers and rural economics. The impact on workers in countries as India, Indonesia, and China has been even more severe, with innumerable instances of starvation wages, child workers, slave-labor hours and perilous work conditions. And  Sen. Sherrod Brown  (D-OH) observes in his book Myths of Free Trade: As the Bush administration has worked overtime to weaken environmental and food safety rules in the U.S., Bush trade negotiators are trying to do the same in the global economy... The lack of international laws for environmental protection, for example, encourages firms to go to the nation with the weakest standards. As a result, some nations are conflicted in 2007 over U.S. trade deals. In late 2007, the  Los Angeles Times reported  about the pending CAFTA pact: About 100,000 Costa Ricans, some dressed as skeletons and holding banners, protested Sunday against a U.S. trade pact they said would flood the country with cheap farm goods and cause big job losses. Chanting No to the free-trade pact! and Costa Rica is not for sale! protesters including farmers and housewives filled one of San Joses main boulevards to demonstrate against the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Democrats Divided on Free Trade Agreements Democrats have coalesced in favor of trade policy reform over the past decade as President Bill Clintons NAFTA, WTO and China trade deals not only failed to deliver the promised benefits but caused real damage, said Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch to  Nation contributing editor Christopher Hayes. But the centrist  Democratic Leadershp Council insists, While many Democrats find it tempting to Just Say No to Bush trade policies... , this would squander real opportunities to boost U.S. exports... and keep this country competitive in a global marketplace from which we cannot possibly isolate ourselves.

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning of hotels Assignment

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning of hotels - Assignment Example Market segmentation therefore relies on the principle that individual customers have need for a variety of products or services (OUP). Any market segmentation endeavour initially needs the identification and selection of the most suitable variables on the basis of which the potential customers are grouped. The identified variables form the platform for the segmentation basis. Whether the market is targeted at consumers or if it is a business to business organization decides the selection of the appropriate variables which however cannot be consistent and be decided in a single stroke on the basis of an identified factor. Appropriate market segmentation therefore requires research and analysis by considering a range of data from different sources (OUP). After a proper market segmentation has been achieved, the next step is the targeting the identified market segment with the product line which the consumers need. Targeting is the focussing of attention on identified segments, directing resources in that direction and taking business decisions accordingly. There has to be an optimum relationship between the resources/capabilities against the attractiveness of an identified segment on the basis of which targeting strategy can either be differentiated, undifferentiated or concentrated (OUP). Targeting is therefore the selection of one or more of the marketing segments which the company intends and decides to enter. After the targeting strategy has been developed, the next step is the positioning of the product by creating marketing offers that serve the targeted customer in the best possible manner. This is achieved by establishing, highlighting and communicating the key factors and the distinctive advantages of a company’s pro duct in relation to the competition. The hotel industry is one of the largest hospitality industries in the world which has thrived due to the large scale movement of

Ubermensch, the Superman, and who he really is Essay

Ubermensch, the Superman, and who he really is - Essay Example he demonstrates in his work Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche’s idea of superman held that he was a man of ordinary means and stature with an extraordinary commitment to his own definition of the world. As is communicated through the many small individual sermons Zarathustra delivers to those people interested in learning, Nietzsche conceived of the overman as an individual who was capable of removing himself from the group mind by ignoring the common moralities and religious teachings to develop his own morals and values. As a result of his beliefs, he is always redefining himself, but taking joy and serenity in the knowledge that it is up to him how to define what is good and bad in each situation. While Nietzsche’s idea of the overman was an individual who held himself aloof from the activities and thought of normal men, Bernard Shaw felt the role of the superman was to also provide assistance to his fellow man as is shown in his play Man and Superman. He agreed with Nietzsche that the superman was an individual capable of removing themselves from the group-speak of the common world to attain higher thoughts and ideals but felt responsible for bringing the rest of humanity up to his own level. While the hero is strong in his own will, he is capable of recognizing the greater needs of the world around him and applies practical means of accomplishing the necessary goal. Another significant difference found in Shaw is in his inclusion of the woman as an important element in the development of the Superman. By pursuing the life force and stabilizing the home, Shaw indicated that women were essential if a man was to transcend to superman. Ayn Rand seems to conform more closely with the ideas of Nietzsche in her depiction of the superman in her novel Atlas Shrugged. Again portrayed as otherwise ordinary, Rand depicts the superman as an individual who is capable of higher forms of reasoning and logic. The goal of mankind to reach this height through

Expert Systems: The Past, Present and Future of Knowledge-based Systems :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Expert Systems: The Past, Present and Future of Knowledge-based Systems Expert Systems were invented as a way to decrease the reliance by corporations on human "experts" -- people who apply reasoning and experience to make judgements in a specific field, such as medicine, insurance underwriting or the operation of a power-plant. Hence, an expert system should include a database of facts and a way of reasoning about them. In many, but not all, applications it is also helpful to have a way for the system to reason with probabilities or non-Boolean truth values. Expert systems are also sometimes referred to a "knowledge-based systems". In classical AI many different reasoning methods have been tried. A few of the common ones are "forward chaining", in which conclusions are drawn from a set of facts by using modus ponens, syllogism, and other simple tools of logic; "backward chaining", which uses trickier logic, such as modus tollens; and neural nets. Most expert systems simply use forward chaining and backward chaining, with some non-Boolean component such as Fuzzy Logic only where necessary. Expert systems tend to be more practical than AI in general. It is quite possible to build an expert system in a conventional programming-language, such as COBOL, C or Java. However, much of the machinery inside an expert system can be abstracted away from any specific domain, and the main criterion in the success of an expert system is its ease of use and maintenance, not it's ability to make decisions in a fraction of a second. Therefore, it is possible to build a "knowledge system shell" which can then be prepared for almost any domain simply by listing rules and data in a standard form. Few expert systems are written in LISP, because most LISP implementations lack robust user-friendly input-output routines. A good knowledge system shell includes I/O routines, a way to accurately and generally represent facts, and an easy, efficient, accurate way to give the system inference-rules. However, even the best expert system shell is limited by the problem domain to which it is applied. One researcher divided problem domains into four categories: "Class 1. ... if the effective domain decompositions are not known and the available domain knowledge is limited to the set of allowable actions and constraints. An example of such a problem is maze traversal, where the knowledge about the structure of the maze is not available a priori. "Class 2.

Case Study Geog

Case study: Chances Peak, Montserrat, 1995-97 – an LEDC Plymouth covered in ash from volcanic eruptions on Montserrat Montserrat is a small island in the Caribbean. There is a volcanic area located in the south of the island, called Soufriere Hills. The volcanic peak in this area is called Chances Peak, which had been  dormantdormant:  A volcano is classed as dormant when it is temporarily inactive but not fully extinct. for over 300 years. Then in 1995, the volcano began to give off  warning signs  of an eruption (small earthquakes and eruptions of dust and ash).Once Chances Peak had  woken up  it then remained active for a period of five years. The most intense eruptions occurred in 1997. During this time, Montserrat was devastated by  pyroclastic flowspyroclastic flow:  A pyroclastic flow is a very hot mixture of volcanic debris that flows downhill at high speeds.. The small population of the island (11,000 people) was  evacuated[evacuated:  removed or s ent away  ]  in 1995 to the north of Montserrat as well as to neighbouring islands and the UK. Despite the evacuations, 19 people were killed by the eruptions.This is because a small group of people chose to stay behind on the island and watch over their crops. Volcanic eruptions and  laharslahars:  A lahar is a destructive volcanic landslide or mudflow, consisting of a mixture of volcanic debris, mud, rock and water. have destroyed large areas of Montserrat. The capital, Plymouth, has been covered in layers of ash and mud. Homes and buildings including the only hospital, the airport and many roads have been destroyed. The graphic shows the progress of the eruption and its impact on the island. Montserrat – eruption progress and impactShort-term responses These include evacuation, money for compensation and redevelopment from the British government, unemployment due to the collapse of the tourist industry, and abandonment of the capital city. Long-term responses These include a volcanic observatory to monitor the volcano, the building of new roads and a new airport, an expansion of services in the north of the island, an exclusion zone in the volcanic region, and a growth in tourism based on the presence of the volcano. Volcanic activity has calmed down in recent years and people have begun to return to the island.

A Persona Of Amelia Earhart - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 424 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/08/16 Category People Essay Level High school Tags: Amelia Earhart Essay Did you like this example?   Amelia Earhart was a well known pilot around since she was a women. She accomplished many great things. In her biggest flying mission yet, she disappeared. What   happened to her? No one knows. But first let us Start from the start of her life. Her parents -Edwin and Amy Earhart- welcomed Amelia to their home as a first child on July 24, 1897. Her home was in Atchison, Kansas. 3 years later, she too did welcome a baby girl to her home as her younger sister. Her name was Muriel. Their childhood was tough. Her fathers drinking got him fired from his well paid job. The girls and their mother left to Chicago shortly after. Her mom and dad had split up. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Persona Of Amelia Earhart" essay for you Create order In 1917, Amelia traveled to Canada. There she would visit her sister. During her visit, she saw hurt soldiers. She now has second thoughts about college. She wanted to be a nurse and help injured people like the soldiers she saw. So, she started nursing at a Soldiers Hospital.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1920, her parents got together again and moved to california. Amelia decided to move to California as well. For $1, Amelia went on a 10 minute ride on a plane over Los Angeles. She said, As soon as we left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly. To pay for flying lessons, she had to work a lot of extra jobs for money. Pilot Anita Shooks was her teacher. She soon wanted to buy her own plane.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amelia received a phone call in 1927. Captain Hilton Railey had an offer she could not say no to. In 1928 she flew over the Atlantic by herself. This made her the first women to do so.Though Amelia was not the pilot, the newspaper ignored the 2 men that pilotes and she got the attention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4 years later, her new goal was to fly over the Atlantic on her own. It took 13 hours and 30 minutes. Now she was famous throughout europe and the U.S.A. A few years later, she flew from Hawaii to california putting her the first woman to do so.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She also participated in a cross-country air race. She founded women pilots called the Ninety-Nines because of their 99 members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1937, she wanted to fly around the world. She set out with her navigator Fred Nooran to Thailand and Australia. Taking off in New Guinea, the U.S coast guard lost all contact with her. With that, there was no trace of them ever found. And the passengers? Never found again. That is why Amelia Earhart was famous and mysterious.