Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Generals Revolt on Rumsfeld Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Generals Revolt on Rumsfeld - Essay Example This perception is based on shared perceptions and values followed by the organization and its members. The task and duty of a military leader is to create positive and supportive culture and climate based on principles, rituals and values of the military organization1. The Revolt of the Generals is a vivid example of how climate and culture caused a breach in the civil-military relations. The Revolt of the Generals is a vivid example of assault on military culture. Secretary Rumsfeld was accused in "willfully ignoring military advice and initiating the war in Iraq with a force that was too small"2. The generals state that his leadership led to low level of morale and poor climate, poor performance and personal relationships. Following Hustings (2006) culture and climate are important in the Army because connected with team spirit and commitment soldiers. It is possible to say that the Army structure is based on strong military culture supported and reinforced by soldiers and the officers3. The case of Rumsfeld portrays that a leader's behavior sets the course others follow and determine the values and other measures used to account for group actions. The responsibilities of strategic leaders include identification of a task and the quality of its fulfillment.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Negative Human Effects On Marine Resources Environmental Sciences Essay

The Negative Human Effects On Marine Resources Environmental Sciences Essay What negative effects do human activities have on Marine and Coastal resources from Addington Beach to Aliwal Shoal? The coastline of South Africa stretches for 3000km of which 80% consists of sandy beaches backed by low sand dunes. The focused areas of Addington Beach through to Aliwal Shoal, which contain diversity of fish and other species (including whales, seabirds and tunas), provide opportunities for economic and social activities including development opportunities, fishing, agriculture and recreation. These resources are important as they make up a rich asset to the Southern Coastal areas of South Africa. However, Marine and Coastal resources such as these areas all along the South African coast are being affected negatively due to driving forces mostly caused by various human activities. Pressures affecting these resources include population growth and coastal human settlements, emissions to sea by shipping and sewage and the extracting of natural resources such as fishing or sea bed mining. General pressures and effects of human influences: Population growth is the biggest driving force for environmental changes of marine and coastal resources in South Africa. The increasing population is strongly dependant on production activities to increase service and manufacturing industries and therefore is increasingly dependant on ports such as Durban Harbour for the import and export of products. Demands for food, recreation and land for housing all increase the pressures on the coastal resources. Statistics state that 30% of the South African population lives along the coastline due to in-migration of those seeking jobs, people retiring and those seeking a life of better quality. Because of this increase of dependency the coastal cities have developed rapidly and are as a result having negative influences on the marine and coastal resources. Irreversible changes are occurring due to these influences such as overexploitation of resources, destruction of natural habitats and an increase of wastes and pollution which smother and kill organisms and lead to water quality deterioration. POPULATION GROWTH GRAPH/TABLE. Emissions to sea by sewage and shipping are also a huge cause of the negative effects of marine and coastal resources. Daily industrial effluents and sewage are released into the sea via discharge pipelines near Durban Harbour and by sewage pipes all alone the south coast. These emissions are not only harmful to human health but also have a devastating effect on water quality and may contaminate many organisms. FIGURE 4.8 (effluent pipelines off the South African coast after Cloete 1979) Shipping is also a serious contributor to the degrading of marine and coastal resources. South Africa is situated on one of the biggest ship transport routes of the world and Durban Harbour is one of the few ports often stopped at. Due to weather and sea conditions and the wait to be docked in the port, major marine pollution incidents take place as oil spills and waste dumping takes place. Waters are thus polluted and these wastes and pollutions are transported along the south coast, by the Aguhlus current, and infect and destroy resources along the coastlines of South Africa. The extracting of natural resources such as fishing too affects the marine and coastal resources. Both commercial and recreational fishing are primary economic activities which together can generate more than 158 000 people and R3 billion annually (CMPP, 2005). The improvement of fishing methods results in a greater number and variety of fish being caught and as a consequence of this, fish stocks are decreasing in size and several species are facing possible extinction. Other human recreational activities, besides fishing, that may negatively affect marine and coastal resources include scuba diving or yachting. TABLE OF DATA FOR FISH NUMBERS: Durban Harbour and Addington Beach: IMAGE OF POLLUTION IN DURBAN HARBOUR: Both the Durban Harbour and Addington Beach are sound examples of coastal areas that have been urbanized and as a result are polluted and negatively effected by human activity. Shipping and the wastes excreted by the industrial companies in the Durban harbour area are a huge cost to the marine and coastal resources in the area. Fish and other animals are being killed or having their habitats affected or destroyed and the general water pollution in the area has increased drastically over the past few years and as a result the water quality has rapidly decreased. FIGURE 4.10 (Isogram depicting classification of the surf-zone at 28 sampling stations) The harbour pollution caused by oil and chemical spills, organic waste dumping and general excretions by the ships docking at the harbour or waiting out at sea to be docked in port. This pollution be the harbour is affecting the resources of surrounding beaches as well, such as North Beach, South Beach, Bay of Plenty and Addington Beach who as a result of the pollution have each lost their Blue Flag status after failing water quality tests. These losses of our Blue Flag status has also had negative effects on the tourism industry but most importantly reinforces the fact that the water quality and pollution is at an unacceptable level and the surrounding litter and destruction of the coasts have too become a state of disaster. Reports about heavily polluted water flowing into the Durban Harbour via the Umhlatuzana River for periods of nine months have also surfaced in recent years. Illegal discharges of wastes and sewage are being flooded into the Durban areas and are too polluting the water badly and destroying species and habitats and are decreasing fish stocks. (Raven, 2008). A great concern about these pollutions and wastes entering the sea near the Durban harbour and other areas is that these wastes are being transported all along the coast of South Africa via the Aguhlus current right down to areas such as Aliwal Shoal. Aliwal Shoal is not only an area being affected by wastes from human urbanization but also by recreational activities and tourism sites. IMAGE OF ALGUHLAS CURRENT Aliwal Shoal: DIAGRAM OF ALIWAL SHOAL: Aliwal Shoal is 50km south of Durban, was formed by a sand dune almost 80 000 years ago and is the home of many different species of fish and other marine organisms such as sea turtles, humpback whales, dolphins and the tiger shark. Recently there has been a hard battle to preserve Aliwal Shoal and many have taken a stand to fight for the protection of the area and marine life from pollution and tourists. Due to the research that was started over 10 years ago by the Natal Sharks Board, the region of Aliwal Shoal has been threatened by environmental pollution. Divers would report on the behaviour of sand tiger sharks at monthly meetings after observing them during dives and collecting data. During the early years of research destruction of Aliwal Shoal became a large concern as the Saiccor cellulose plant, being dumped into the ocean at Umkomaas, was untreated and was polluting the waters. The matter reduced visibility and formed foam that made beaches unusable. However, a solution to this was found by the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“South Coast Marine Pipeline Forum (SCMPLF)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . The Saiccor pipelines were extended to a water treatment plant and the water quality in Aliwal started to improve. The next problem is rooted in this sudden improvement to clear water as diving tourism became very appealing to many. At certain times 20 boats can be seen on the Aliwal Shoal and some even equipped with spears for the sharks and other marine life. In 2009, a huge movement to receive the necessary protection of Aliwal Shoal from pollution and excessive diving is being driven. This unique marine region is in need of laws and regulations that protect it from any more damages to the environment that may be caused by detrimental human activities such as dumping, shipping, pollution transported from Durban Harbour and diving. (Andrew C.R, 2009).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Edgar Allan Poe, son of Actress Eliza Poe and Actor David Poe Jr., :: English Literature

Edgar Allan Poe, son of Actress Eliza Poe and Actor David Poe Jr., born 19th of January 1809, was mostly known for his poems and short tales Edgar Allan Poe, son of Actress Eliza Poe and Actor David Poe Jr., born 19th of January 1809, was mostly known for his poems and short tales and his literary criticism. He has been given credit for inventing the detective story and his pshycological thrillers have been infuences for many writers worldwide. Edgar and his brother and sister were orphaned before Edgar's third birthday and Edgar was taken in to the home of John and Fanny Allan in Richmond, Va. The Allans lived in England for five years (1815-1820) where Edgar also attended school. In 1826 he entered the University of Virginia. Although a good student he was forced to gambling since John Allan did not provide well enough. Allan refused to pay Edgar's debts and Edgar had to leave the University after only one year. In 1827 Edgar published his first book, "Tamerlane and other poems" anonymously under the signature "A Bostonian". The poems were heavily influenced from Byron and showed of a youthful attitude. Later in 1827 Edgar enlisted in the Army under the name Edgar A Perry where his quarrels with John Allan continued. Edgar did well in the army but in 1829 he left and decided to apply for a cadetship at West Point. Before he was able to enter West Point Edgar published a book entitled "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and minor poems", this time the book was published, not anonymously, but under the name Edgar A. Poe, where the middle initial acknowledged John Allan's name. Before Edgar left West Point he received financial aid from his fellow cadets to publish a third edition of the book. Edgar called it a second edition though and it was entitled "Poems by Edgar A. Poe" in which his famous poems "To Helen" (another version was published in 1848) and "Israfel" appeared. These show of the musical effect that has come to characterize Edgar's poems. Later Poe moved to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Maria Clemm, and his first cousin Virginia. In 1832 he won a $50 prize for his story "MS. Found in a Bottle" in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter. In 1835 Poe brought his aunt and cousin to Richmond where he worked with Thomas Willis White at the Southern Litterary Messenger. He also married his cousin Virginia, only thirteen years old. Most of Edgar's work with the Messenger were of a critical nature but he also published some literary work such as "Berenice".

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Social Tension of the 1920s and Nativists

Christopher Nieves The social tension of the 1920s was to a large extent due to backlash from Nativists and the KKK towards immigrants. With the immigrant surge threatening jobs and tainting the white Anglo-Saxon society, the idea of nativism began to proliferate through the minds of native born Americans. Social conflicts often came to violent ends by the hands of members of the â€Å"Ku Klux Klan†, they too had a nativist mindset however they focused primarily on African Americans but harbored hatred towards anyone who is not of Anglo-Saxon descent.These two movements made for a dangerous society, and made matters even more difficult for penniless immigrants trying to survive. Starting up around 1890 but plateauing in the 1920s nativists and labor unions fought for immigration restriction. In 1921, an emergency immigration act was passed which established a quota system that decimated the amount of immigrants granted access to the States. America had never before seen such a surge of immigrants before, over 25million people over the course of thirty years, and this was the first time that Italians, Poles, Jews and Slavs had come to America in mass.Nativists worked to do anything they could to belay immigrant progress in society, and with the economic prosperity of the twenties they realigned their beliefs behind religious and racial nativism. Following the First World War, nativists throughout the twenties focused their attention of Catholics, Jews, and southeastern Europeans. These people were different than the immigrants that had come before in that they had much more difficulty assimilating with the language barrier and even in appearance. Difficulty communicating made getting a job and education much more difficult and for Hasidic Jews stood out with their distinct religious garb.When the migrants from England and Ireland and the like came over they could communicate much easier with Americans which significantly helped them out. Well over half of the American population before the immigrant surge could trace their lineage to either the British Isles or to Germany, these people also tended to be fair-skinned and Protestant. The racial concern of the anti-immigration movement was closely linked the eugenics movement that was gaining popularity in the twenties. Nativists grew more concerned with the racial purity of the United States, uch groups as the Ku Klux Klan were able to flourish as a result of this movement. The rebirth of the KKK or the second Klan was strongly due to the anti-immigrant attitude of America in the twenties, as it had basically died out after the civil war. They also tended to view the darker-skinned, Catholic or Jewish new immigrants as â€Å"inferior† and lacking the Anglo-Saxon temperament required to maintain a free society. Furthermore these â€Å"threats to society† lacked work ethic, self-discipline and could not be trusted not to throw their votes away to machine politics which wer e largely successful during this time period.The film The Birth of a Nation was released in 1915 glorified the KKK, and although its director didn’t intend to, the film helped gain the Klan popularity. At first the Klan like it always had focused on intimidating blacks, however focus turned towards Catholics, Jews and foreigners. The Klan devoted itself to purging American life basically of anyone not a white Anglo-Saxon, proving their devotion by lynching impure, foreign people and burning crosses.To say this hate was group engaged in â€Å"social conflicts† is an understatement. The economic prosperity of the â€Å"roaring twenties† overshadowed its escalating social tension. Although America was colonized by immigrants, the â€Å"nativist† movement worked to throttle immigration and ostracize migrants viewing them as impure and inferior. The hypocrisy of the entire movement is incredible. Extremist groups like the KKK took racism to a new level resorti ng to medieval tactics like lynching and cross burning.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

History of Las Vegas, Nevada Essay

Las Vegas, translated from Spanish as â€Å"the meadows† was discovered and thus established in 1829 by the Mexican merchant Antonio Armijo, who led a trade caravan of 60 men creating a trade route to Los Angeles. Ironically, what historically was established as a mere transition point on a route, became one of the most remarkable places in the United States, â€Å"a pearl in a desert. † Practically, the rapid growth of Las Vegas as both a tourist destination and a community is directly related to the development of the image of Las Vegas. Even though Nevada was the last state to outlaw gambling in 1909 and the first state subsequently to legalize gambling in 1931, Las Vegas city fathers were more concerned with the divorce laws than reinstating gambling, and throughout most of the 1930s, gambling remained a sideline for Las Vegas. But the eighth wonder of the world, as Boulder Dam was then billed, â€Å"began to funnel a torrent of tourists† to the Las Vegas Valley (Boorstin, 1987:3). Las Vegas leaders envisioned their town as a Nevada Palm Springs. Alan Hess, in his book Viva Las Vegas, observes, â€Å"They began to promote their characteristic western identity, the desert scenery, a social mix of laissez-faire government and neighborly hospitality embodied in speedy divorces and easy gambling† (Hess, 1993:19). In 1932, a year after the legalization of gambling, the then-luxurious, three-story Hotel Apache opened in downtown Las Vegas. With a motif of Native American design and an elevator to the supper club on top, the Apache was the most modern for its day. By 1936, the dam was completed and Las Vegas, with no more big payroll checks from dam workers, was beginning an economic slump. But, between 1938 and 1942 several changes occurred to avert the slump. In 1938, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Brown had begun enforcing the no gambling laws in California and many California gamblers moved to Las Vegas. Guy McAfee, a police captain and commander of the vice squad, was one of these California gamblers who moved into Las Vegas where he purchased the Pair-O-Dice Club in 1939. McAfee is credited with naming that part of the Los Angeles Highway which came into Las Vegas as â€Å"The Strip† in fond memory of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. It would be several years before ‘The Strip† would gain its present day fame. Federal intervention also assisted the Las Vegas economy when President Roosevelt’s administration ordered air bases throughout the country. In 1940 Las Vegas received an air training station on the outskirts of town, and in 1941, Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI) was built, which created the city of Henderson. † Las Vegas found itself with two new industries-recreation provided by the dam and lake, and defense, provided by the training station and BMI. The recreation (tourism) and defense industries would shape many western cities throughout the rest of the century. Fremont Street, Las Vegas’s main thoroughfare, boomed. As Don Knepp said in Las Vegas Entertainment Capital, â€Å"There also emerged the image of Las Vegas as the glamorous hub for vacations in the Southwest† (Knepp, 1987:31). The city leaders had begun promoting Las Vegas as a tourist Mecca, and the WPA Guide to Nevada, the Silver State, 1940, seemed to approve of the methods when it said of Las Vegas, â€Å"No cheap and easily parodied slogans have been adopted to publicize the city, no attempt has been made to introduce pseudo-romantic architectural themes, or to give artificial glamour and gaiety† (Hess, 1993:20). 941 saw further growth for the Strip and downtown. The El Rancho opened with a dude ranch theme and atmosphere. Built by Californian Thomas E. Hull, the El Rancho established a pattern of roadside landmarks, vistas and signs that broke with the tradition of downtown Las Vegas hotels and realized a vision that would mold the city’s current form. The El Rancho duplicated the easy accessibility of the roadside motel, but with much more grandeur. While the downtown Hotel Apache was fancy, the El Rancho was lavish. Downtown, the El Cortez opened. Built by Californians Marion Hicks and John Grayson and although multistory, as most downtown hotels were, the El Cortez also kept to the western or Spanish theme. After stopping at the El Rancho, William J. Moore and R. E. Griffith, realizing the potential of thousands of gambling customers from the gunnery school, built the Last Frontier. Opening in October 1942, the Last Frontier also western in theme, was larger and more opulent than the El Rancho. McAfee, not satisfied with owning just the Pair-O-Dice Club, tried to upstage the El Rancho by building the Pioneer Club at Fremont and First Streets. Also consciously western in style, the Pioneer Club opened in 1942. Even though western in design, as late as 1947 Las Vegans were amazed that something so lavish as the El Rancho could succeed so far from downtown. The success of the El Rancho, the Pioneer Club and the Last Frontier was impressive enough that the city boosters considered making the western theme mandatory for Fremont Street. Although many downtown casino owners followed suit, the idea was never formally adopted. As Las Vegas became more savvy about the potential of a tourist economy, it began to exploit its western heritage more consciously. In keeping with the western motif, dude ranches replaced motels to provide divorce seekers a place to stay until their six weeks residency requirements were met The western influence provided a successful venue for divorce interests and gambling, two of the leading economic factors for Las Vegas. Close behind McAfee was Bugsy Siegel, who began by taking over the Las Vegas race betting wires, and, as a representative of Al Capone, â€Å"muscled out the Continental Press Service and gained part ownership of several Fremont Street Clubs including the Pioneer Club. Although there was already an obscure element of â€Å"gangsters† in Las Vegas, Siegel was publicly known for his ties to organized crime. Siegel brought with him the negative aspect of the influence of organized crime, but he also brought the positive aspect of establishing a landmark luxury resort with the building of his Flamingo which broke with the western theme. The half-finished Flamingo officially opened with Jimmy Durante as entertainment in 1946; finances forced closure of the resort four weeks later, but the Flamingo reopened in 1948. Knepp credits Siegel with bringing extensive national exposure to Las Vegas; the notoriety attached to â€Å"the Fabulous Flamingo† branded Las Vegas as an underworld haven, a reputation that has persisted (Knepp, 1987:32). World War II created a shortage of construction materials which also created most of the financial difficulties Siegel experienced while building the Flamingo. But the federal government, including the war and defense spending, contributed greatly to Nevada, especially Las Vegas. Eugene P.  Moehring states in his book, Resort City in the Sunbelt, that â€Å"Defense spending was an obvious by-product of the worldwide conflict. But, like the dam earlier, World War II strengthened the town’s recreational economy† (Moehring, 1995:40). The war also brought some disadvantages such as curfews, which cut profits by closing casinos from 2 to 10 a. m. and meat rationing, which caused some restaurants to close. â€Å"Clearly, the national emergency cr eated many problems for Las Vegas† (Moehring, 1995:40). Yet, much the same as Hoover Dam before it, World War II represented a bonanza for the small town’s economy. The war helped confirm gambling as Las Vegas’s main postwar industry; â€Å"By partially depriving the city of tourists for almost four years, the war magnified their [tourists] importance in the minds of promoters† (Moehring, 1995:40). The end of the World War II brought an end to the shortages of construction materials which had plagued Siegel and the 1950s brought the largest growth expansion in American history. This expansion occurred in the western United States, led by the state of Nevada. As 1950 opened, Nevada contained approximately 160,000 residents: by 1955, the population was about 245,000, a rise of more than 53 percent (Glass, 1981:39). By the end of the 1950s, Nevada’s population had increased 75 percent, to 285,000 residents, making it the fastest-growing state in the country. During this expansion, Nevada’s economy flourished thanks to mining, to the Freeport Law and to the test site in Las Vegas. But, it was gambling that brought about the unprecedented growth. By 1955, mining still outstripped gambling by just under $100,000, but as Jane Glass, in her book Nevada’s Turbulent 50% asked, â€Å"Who noticed? Well, of course the people who were working the mines noticed and the tax collectors who pulled in the highest amount on record but, â€Å"almost nobody else† (Glass, 1981:92) which seems to imply that Nevada, especially Las Vegas, had forgotten the rich economy of mining, preferring instead to credit gambling as the biggest bo on the state’s economy. The Freeport Law was the legacy of Edwin Bender, an administrator for a federal agency in charge of storing strategic war material, when he discovered a shortage of space in which to store the items. By the end of the 1940s, Bender found himself with a surplus of space and a shortage of goods. Later, when the county tax assessor evaluated some of the items for tax purposes, Bender felt the taxation to be unfair. He wrote a proposal for what became the Freeport bill and with the help of Nevada Attorney General Alan Bible, who drew up the bill. Owners of warehouses and light manufacturing firms found Nevada’s tax climate substantially to their liking and, the Freeport Law became a significant economic advantage. After twenty-five years, three-quarters of a billion dollars worth of goods were being shipped yearly by truck and rail from the warehouses in the state (Glass, 1981:44). Although initially slow to move, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce became deeply involved in designing and planning for tourists as early as 1944. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and its boosters, fearing for the postwar economy sponsored a fund raiser to raise $75,000 as a budget for promoting the city as a tourist destination. During the war, the two largest industries had been the Army Air Base and Basic Magnesium, Inc. Surveys and research led the Chamber to the conclusion that tourism was now the best means to a good economy and the Chamber set out to attract visitors. Before long however, Las Vegas found it had to deal with the underworld image that had grown up thanks to â€Å"Bugsy† Siegel and others. The Chamber of Commerce tried several different public relations firms and advertising firms to draw attention away from the negative publicity of gangsters as well as the wild city image previously promoted. When these firms failed to promote the city in what Las Vegans and the Chamber felt was a positive way, the Chamber hired the West Marquis Agency to handle promotion. The West Marquis Agency was subsequently replaced when the Chamber felt it too had failed. It appears the Chamber need not have worried. Surveys now have shown that during the time of heavy gangster influence, tourists came to Las Vegas in the hopes of actually seeing a gangster. Knepp supports this view, â€Å"For most visitors in the 1940s, however, the reputed underworld ties seemed only to highlight the city’s wide open appeal. † (Knepp, 1987:32). Nevertheless, by the 1950s, promoting Las Vegas and creating the acceptable image had become a concerted effort of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the city and the casinos who hired their own communication specialists. Contemporary Las Vegas is a place famous for extremely high concentration of world largest and what is more important, famous, casinos, among which are Stratosphere Hotel and Tower, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Rio Suites, the Gold Coast, the Maxim, the San Reno, the Continental, the new Paris and the smaller Hard Rock, Luxor, and the Circus Circus. Las Vegas Valley and its dominant industry generate a great many statistics, some misleading, others conflicting. In 1995-96, gamblers left behind $3. billion at the machines, tables, and sports books of the Strip compared to $683 million Downtown, a fact that gives some idea of the relative importance of the two in the industry that created and still runs Las Vegas (Littlejohn and Gran, 1999:2-3). Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other city in the world (more than a hundred thousand in 1998, with twenty thousand more either planned or under construction), and the highest average hotel-occupancy rate (87 to go percent) of any American city. In 1995, the Zagat Guide estimated that it offered the lowest average daily hotel room rate of the thirty-three leading U. S. visitor destinations. Moreover, Las Vegas currently contains nine of the world’s ten largest hotels. Las Vegas claims to be the number-one tourist destination in the U. S. , with more than 30 million visitors a year. Nevada had in 1996 both the highest marriage rate (ten times the national average, due primarily to out-of-state couples who come to Las Vegas and Reno to marry) and the highest divorce rate (more than double the national average). According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports for 1995, Las Vegas had the highest total crime rate and the highest rate of crimes against property among all American cities with more than 250,000 people (Littlejohn and Gran, 1999:5). Police reports for that year placed Las Vegas fourth among U. S. metropolitan areas of over a million population – after Miami, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City – in the rate of all serious crimes; 14. 7 percent of these were called â€Å"violent. †