Monday, December 30, 2019

The Social Darwinism Of The World War I - 1311 Words

American Social Darwinism â€Å"For their point of view does not permit of a live-and-let-live kind of carrying on. It is a point of view that justifies itself by a whole hearted acceptance of the worst of Neo-Darwinism, the Allmacht of natural selection applied rigorously to human life and society and Kultur†(p.22, Headquarters Nights by Vernon Kellogg). In the years following World War I, the Social Darwinist movement lost some of its momentum due to the unpopularity of Germany s Neo-Darwinism. Support for an individualistic and nationalistic based Social Darwinism died and was replaced by the state-enforced Social Darwinism of eugenics. Despite the widespread Christian attack on Darwinian tenets, Christians did not fight the eugenics movement in an effective way. Eventually, even legislatures controlled by Christians fell to the false promises of eugenics. Despite poignant criticism of eugenics among scientists in the United States, more than 30,000 individuals were forcibly sterilized. In an ironic twist of fate, the Nazis Party s adoption of American Eugenics programs led to the virtual extinction of Social Darwinism in the United States. Social Darwinism stems from a misapplication of Darwin s theory of evolution. In 1859 Charles Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which describes the mechanism for changes in the trait s of a population over time. This mechanism, called natural selection, favors the survival, and hence the reproduction, of thoseShow MoreRelatedSocial Darwinism And Its Effect On Society1069 Words   |  5 Pages Some people may want perfection, but who wants a boring, lifeless world? Unfortunately, some people did, and still do. The people who want a perfect society and who believe that strong, intelligent, and talented people are the ones who deserve to â€Å"survive,† are called Social Darwinists. Social Darwinism is a competition between groups in society, usually resulting in the most fit, or most capable, coming out on top. Social Darwinists argue that the strong’s power and wealth should increaseRead MoreSocial Darwinism in Cyberpunk Literature Essay1305 Words   |  6 Pagesway (Cooper 15). Social Darwinism, as Spencers theory is called, pits everyone against each other to survive in the world where humans are soldiers in a war for survival. If a person is poor, it is their fault and no one should help that person rise above the poverty status. If a person is rich, they are worthy of the position based on their actions, even if morally wrong. So if one is poor, the person will be weeded out of society while the rich survive. The Social Darwinism of the nineteenthRead MoreEssay about Nazi Use of Darwinism 1495 Words   |  6 PagesAfter the Great War in the nineteenth century, European nations had a difficult time finding economic stability. Germany took full responsibility for starting World War I and by signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany agreed to give up huge portions of territory and pay reparation to victorious allies. The harsh principles which were outlined by the Treaty of Versailles made economic stability in Germany difficult to achieve and caused Germany to suffer from inflation and the Great Depression.Read MoreNazi Death Camps in the Night by Elie Wiesel833 Words   |  4 Pages Yes, I saw it-saw it with my own eyes . . . those children in the flames.†(Wiesel, 30) That is to say the least of what Jewish people had to witness happen to their own people. Wiesel had to fight internally with himself to keep himself going in the toughest times. Elie wanted to give up hope, but he knew he couldnt. Night can relate back to sociology in many different ways. The book is mainly about the Holocaust. The Holocaust can be related back to sociology such as Social Darwinism. SocialRead More Social Darwinism in American Politics Essays1199 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Social Darwinism is a quasi-philosophical, quasi-religious, quasi-sociological view that came from the mind of Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher in the 19th century. It did not achieve wide acceptance in England or Europe, but flourished in this country, as is true of many ideologies, religions, and philosophies. A good summary of Social Darwinism is by Johnson: In these years, when Darwins Origin of Species, popularized by Herbert Spencer as quot;the survival of the fittestRead More Penicillin Essay524 Words   |  3 Pagesworthwhile drug and could save thousands of lives. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;During World War I, death rate from pneumonia in the American Army totaled 18%. In World War II, it fell to less than 1%.One illness after another, that was tested, was cured by penicillin, which was by this time dubbed a quot;wonder drug.quot; In addition to pneumonia and blood poisoning, the major causes of death, in hospitals, during the war, strep throat, scarlet fever, diphtheria, syphilis, gonorrhea, meningitis, tonsillitisRead MoreRacism And Social Darwinism And Its Impact On The World958 Words   |  4 PagesAs the reader goes through the discourse, we can notice his personal battle with colonialism and it changed the very foundation of his world. Cesaire was a product of French colonialism and saw the impact that it had on the planet after the Second World War. He saw the full impact of racism and Social Darwinism, so his response is understandable because he experienced the issues that took place. He was born on June 26, 1913, when France controlle d Martinique, so he experienced colonial issues. MoreRead MoreEffects of Social Darwinism Essay2918 Words   |  12 PagesIntroduction The Effects of Social Darwinism on the social trends of the 19th century. â€Å"As a world view, Darwinism cannot of course be refuted, since Faith is, always has been, and always will be, stronger than facts. â€Å" - Francis P. Yockey Social Darwinism is a theory that competition among all individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives social evolution in human societies. The term draws upon Charles Darwins theory of natural selection, where competition between individual organisms drivesRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Holocaust945 Words   |  4 PagesSince the terrorist attack on Paris, to the natural disasters in Haiti; there have been a variety of tragic events that have occurred throughout history across the world. Perhaps one main tragedy that leaves people feeling baffled is the Holocaust. Eric Lichtblau described the Holocaust in his article, The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking, as a genocide in which Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and its associates killed approximately six million Jewish people because the Nazis believed that exterminatingRead MoreThe Horrors of Imperialism: The Belgian Congo Essay763 Words   |  4 Pagesforced to work the land, so the Europeans could obtain the products they needed by using a cheap labor force to turn around and sell them at a profit. These products included such commodities as rubber, diamonds and coffee (A New World Order: Imperialism and World War I). Unfortunately, the people of the Congo were beaten, over worked, raped, and even killed by the European powers if they did not do their job correctly or if they refused to do their task entirely. Eventually, the enslaved people

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Right Of Free Speech And Freedom Of Press - 1363 Words

The right many Americans take for granted every day is the ability to speak to one another and to express their opinions through verbal and non-verbal means of communication. The First Amendment provides the right of free speech and freedom of press to the people. The Bill of Rights, also known as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution went into effect on Dec. 15, 1791, when the state of Virginia ratified it, giving the bill the majority of ratifying states required to protect citizens from the power of the federal government. One must ask, why would such a right need to be thought about for so long before enacting it for the people? Why has this never been considered to be a universal right that every man and woman should have across the world? Historically, in the development of Western Civilization and prior to the colonization of the Eastern states by the British Monarchy, the British colonies were not even states yet, let alone united. Neighboring countries Canada and Mexico were variously governed by the French Canadians, where the French influence can be felt to this day, in places from Quebec to Montreal, by the Spaniards in California, and the British in what is now British Columbia. Parts of California and Texas were also under Spanish and Mexican occupation. What England, France, and Spain had in common were monarchies as governments, with the King or Queen conflated with the Church as ordained by God. The common people were peasants in a feudalShow MoreRelatedThe Delicate Balance of Regulating Freedom of Speech806 Words   |  3 PagesIs the Freedom of the press really â€Å"free† when it comes bearing stipulations and regulations? Should we as citizens then live as a democratic society where freedom of speech and press is completely unregulated? For those readers who say yes, would you then be willing to legalize types of speech like slander or defamation of character and reputation? This is precisely the tricky and delicate balance that democratic societies like the United States often have to weigh in which different social valuesRead MoreThe Amendment And Freedom Of Speech1545 Words   |  7 Pages The 1st amendment was made to guarantee freedoms in the field of expression assembly, religion, and ones rights to petit ion. It prohibits congress men from promoting ones religious practices and also supporting ones faith over another. It also forbids the congress men from disturbing and obscuring the freedom of the press to express itself and also the freedom of speech per individual. It also assures the right of each civilian to petition the regime to redress accusations and gather peacefullyRead MoreThe Freedom Of The Press1124 Words   |  5 Pagesof Rights. This Bill of Rights essentially protects Americans from the government. Among the ten original amendments, the first amendment is often looked at as one of the most important, protecting the right to practice religion, to assemble, to petition the government, and the freedom of the press. The protection of these rights is essential to help maintain the United States a free and democratic country. I believe the most important rights are the right to practice religion and the freedom ofRead MoreA Leader : A Great Deal Of Criticism From Politic ians, Media, And Politics1494 Words   |  6 PagesStates’ Bill of Rights and its implementation. The Bill of Rights, more specifically, the First Amendment prohibits the making of any law infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibiting the petitioning of government. Essentially, the American people are free to say or publish whatever they choose short of pornography and libel or defamation. While the Ecuadorian constitution provides for freedoms of speech and the press, these rights are rarelyRead MoreThe First Ten Bill Of Rights862 Words   |  4 Pages On December 15, 1791, the first ten bill of rights which are the first ten amendments to the constitution went into effect. The first amendment states, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to ass emble, and to petition the government for a redress grievance†. This prohibits the government from establishing a religion. To AmericansRead MoreSocial Responsibility And The Free Enterprise System1186 Words   |  5 Pagescountries, people do not have the freedom of speech rights like we do. We have a free market place of ideas that coincides with capitalism and the free-enterprise system. It is tied to a form of government that is based on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech so that the press can remain fully free, and the public can be fully informed. â€Å"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. Sometimes corporate pressures andRead MoreComparative Analysis Of The Press And Its Role On Civil Liberties1378 Words   |  6 PagesBaylee Bell PSCI 2012 Professor Carew Boulding 2 December 2014 Freedom of the Press and its Role on Civil Liberties: A Comparative Analysis of Democracy in China and Japan Two of the greatest powers in the modern world are China and Japan. Both countries have dealt with civil unrest and violence to establish the governments that exist today, and both maintain status as major economic powers in the modern global trade markets. Located a mere 1000 miles apart, these two countries share many similaritiesRead More The First Amendment Essay1002 Words   |  5 Pagesthe free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to assemble peacefully, and to petition the Government for e redress of grievances. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The first and inargueably the most significant of the amendments to our Constitution is the First Amendment. The amendment that established our freedoms as citizens of our new confederation. The First Amendment insured, among other things, freedom of speech and of the press. SinceRead MoreSpeech On Freedom Of Speech950 Words   |  4 PagesLiberty is the state of being free, to be able to speak and express yourself freely. Liberty was not absolute for everybody. Way back and even today people still don’t have complete liberty in America. The early Americans put limits on freedom even when they were trying to create more freedom. The type of limits that the early Americans put on freedom were limits on freedom of speech, and much more. Even with the American Revolution, it was not for everybody. The American Revolution was onlyRead MoreFreedom of Expression Is Vital to a Free Society Essay example1125 Words   |  5 Pagesestablishment of religio n, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† Does this mean that freedom of speech cannot be prohibited in any way? Are there any reasonable arguments for limiting speech? In this paper, these questions will be examined along with a discussion of where the basic right of free speech originated. Today, society or government

Friday, December 13, 2019

Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes Free Essays

Online classes and traditional classes are both great ways to receive an education during college. They both strive for the same purpose, which is to help the students reach their goals during their college careers. Although both class settings are great, they do differ in some ways. We will write a custom essay sample on Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes or any similar topic only for you Order Now The three major differences between these classes are the pace of the classes, the student/teacher interaction, and the success rates. The pace of the class affects how much information the student receives throughout the course. Traditional classes often take a slower pace rather than online classes only because online classes have more assignments compared to a traditional class setting. In traditional classes, the students have the luxury to receive the assignment, have time for the teacher to thoroughly discuss the assignment, and have additional time to complete the assignment. On the other hand, students that take part in online classes get a brief, but also detailed description of the assignment and are given a due date to complete the task by. The student/ teacher interaction also plays an important role in between these two class settings. Students in a traditional class setting have the ability to listen to the teacher talk about a lesson, ask any questions that they may have, and take part and watch any demonstrations. Online classes however, may be able to achieve the same things as the traditional classes, but do not get the full effect of the lesson. Teachers also may be able to explain things better in person to person contact, rather than going through a computer to try to solve any questions or concerns that the student may have. The final major difference between these two are the success rates of the classes. Students have a higher risk of failing and/or withdrawing a course taking it online rather than in a traditional class setting. For example, In 2005, the student success statistics for online classes were slightly lower than that of the traditional classes. Students in online classes often procrastinate and put off the assignment where in a traditional classes they would be more obligated to complete the work they are given on time rather than put it of until a different time or day. Also, some students often could be distracted from their work and tests by things in their environment at home, where as in a traditional classroom the teachers try to minimize the risk of a distraction as much as they possibly can. Although both classes have pros, they also have cons that go with each of them. Online classes basically enable the student to teach themselves with minimum guidance from the teacher and traditional classes enable the student to learn from the teacher. It mostly depends on what is better for the student and how the student is interested in learning. How to cite Online Classes vs. Traditional Classes, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Management and Organization for Employees- MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theManagement and Organizationfor Employees. Answer: Ford and Taylorism Frederick Taylors scientific management is a popular theory of management that is considered as the lifeline of many companys organizational performance. The organizations of the various parts of the world such as Asia, Australia, United States, etc. will follow Taylorism for the actual results i.e. increased organizational performance as well as improved performance of the employees. Employees according to scientific management will be get paid if they are performing good in their actual field of work. They will be provided with extra compensation and benefits in order to increase their motivation (Waring 2016). Apart from that, the aspect of culture is described as a vital perspective in shaping the organizational culture as well as the mindset of the employees who are living in the country as well as working in the organizations of those countries. The aspect of culture as well as money as the motivator of work can be used by the enterprises of those countries. The current working environment of the call centres and BPO s are productive in nature. The corporate culture of the call centre and the design of the scripts use by the employees associated with the call centre follow Taylors scientific management. The script that the employees are provided by the employers is to convince the customers while using their services. The role of the people is to seek information related to the companys products and services of the company (Parker, Morgeson and Johns 2017). The persons who are calling to customers are responsible for giving the customer the product details in lieu of that they will be paid by the company that acts as a motivation for them. The managers of the call centres encourage their employees in order to achieve their target. The video clip is showing the incidents that is 100 years ago. However, it can be said that change is constant. The theories and models that are used in that time will not work in the modern systems of organization. But modern organizations use these models in a customized way. The model T of Ford is a huge success to the company. It can be said that the company is innovative in nature and uses scientific management theory of Taylor in his core business operations. The principles of scientific management by Frederick Taylor are the result of the positive results of the company in terms of car production and employee productivity. The scientific management of Frederick Taylor is responsible for the higher productivity of the employees (Morse, Babcock and Murthy 2014). The senior management of the company had successfully implemented the management theory of Taylor in order to increase the sales of the company. At that time, the procedures of organizational operations are different whe n compared to the present organizations of this era. Linear Programming Word Problem The video of linear programming illustrates the fact that the rancher has two types of brands for the foods i.e. Brand X and Brand Y. Brand X has a particular number of protein and fat mix on the other hand, Brand Y has a particular mix of Brand Y. The rancher uses the linear programming in order to determine the actual amount of the protein and fat that will be mixed to the foods of the cattle. The rational decision making process that is used by the rancher in the video is the amount of the total amount of fat and protein that will be required for feeding the cattle. It can be said that the programming can be used in order to determine the value of x and y when both the values are unknown. It will help to find the value of the x and y in order to solve the problem of the given scenario (Bouyssou et al. 2013). Linear programming is recognised as a conventional theory related to the production theory but it has limitations. The problems faced by the production team in terms of planning can not be solved due to the limitations of it. The limitations of linear programming are described in the following: For specifying an objective function in terms of mathematical form is a difficult task. For instance, the objective function can be determined. On the other hand, the user will find difficulties in determining institutional, social, financial constraints, and other constraints. The main problem lies in the determination of the relevant values of the coefficients of the constraints in the linear programming (Urea et al. 2015). There is a possibility that the constraints and the objective function are not directly specified by the equality equations of the linear programming. In some circumstances, the assumptions of the equations of the linear programming are not realistic. The assumption lies in the fact that the factory consumption will remain constant. Apart from that, the factors of relations between the cost and production, input and output, total revenue and production are all linear. Linear programming is considered to be a complex mathematical technique that is known for giving trial and error solutions which is difficult to provide an optimal solutions with the business problems. If a company uses linear programming while increasing its production, then the production will increase in a single direction and the quantity of the input is supposed to be increase in a properly fixed amount (Bouyssou et al. 2013). Linear programming is also known as linear optimization is used by the companies that is used to achieve maximum profit at the lowest cost of manufacturing i.e. the best outcome in a mathematical way. The requirements are represented in terms of linear relationships. Linear programming is an approach that is used to optimize the linear objective function that is subjected to linear inequality and linear equality constraints. The real time applications of productions such as production planning, scheduling, repair, plant layout, equipment acquisition, logistic management, etc. are maintained by linear programming (Slovic 2016). References Bouyssou, D., Dubois, D., Prade, H. and Pirlot, M. eds., 2013.Decision Making Process: Concepts and Methods. John Wiley Sons. Morse, L.C., Babcock, D.L. and Murthy, M., 2014.Managing engineering and technology. Pearson. Parker, S.K., Morgeson, F.P. and Johns, G., 2017. One hundred years of work design research: Looking back and looking forward.Journal of Applied Psychology,102(3), p.403. Slovic, P., 2016.The perception of risk. Routledge. Urea, R., Chiclana, F., Morente-Molinera, J.A. and Herrera-Viedma, E., 2015. Managing incomplete preference relations in decision making: a review and future trends.Information Sciences,302, pp.14-32. Waring, S.P., 2016.Taylorism transformed: Scientific management theory since 1945. UNC Press Books.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

A Brief History of the KGB and Its Origins

A Brief History of the KGB and Its Origins If you grafted the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), added a few hefty tablespoons of paranoia and repression, and translated the whole megillah into Russian, you might wind up with something like the KGB. The Soviet Unions main internal and external security agency from 1954 until the breakup of the U.S.S.R. in 1991, the KGB wasnt created from scratch, but rather inherited much of its techniques, personnel, and political orientation from the greatly feared agencies that preceded it. Before the KGB: The Cheka, the OGPU  and the NKVD In the aftermath of the October Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Lenin, the head of the newly formed U.S.S.R., needed a way to keep the population (and his fellow revolutionaries) in check. His answer was to create the Cheka, an abbreviation of The All-Russian Emergency Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage. During the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920, the Cheka - led by the one-time Polish aristocrat Felix - arrested, tortured, and executed thousands of citizens. In the course of this Red Terror, the Cheka perfected the system of summary execution used by subsequent Russian intelligence agencies: a single shot to the back of the victims neck, preferably in a dark dungeon. In 1923, the Cheka, still under Dzerzhinsky, mutated into the OGPU (the Joint State Political Directorate Under the  Council of Peoples Commissars  of the U.S.S.R. - Russians have never been good at catchy names). The OGPU operated during a relatively uneventful period in Soviet history (no massive purges, no internal deportations of millions of ethnic minorities), but this agency did preside over the creation of the first Soviet gulags. The OGPU also viciously persecuted religious organizations (including the Russian Orthodox Church) in addition to its usual duties of rooting out dissenters and saboteurs. Unusually for a director of a Soviet intelligence agency, Felix Dzerzhinsky died of natural causes, dropping dead of a heart attack after denouncing leftists to the Central Committee. Unlike these earlier agencies, the NKVD (The Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs) was purely the brainchild of Joseph Stalin. The NKVD was chartered around the same time Stalin orchestrated the murder of Sergei Kirov, an event he used as an excuse to purge the upper ranks of the Communist Party and strike terror into the populace. In the 12  years of its existence, from 1934 to 1946, the NKVD arrested and executed literally millions of people, stocked the gulags with millions more miserable souls, and relocated entire ethnic populations within the vast expanse of the U.S.S.R. Being an NKVD head was a dangerous occupation: Genrikh Yagoda was arrested and executed in 1938, Nikolai Yezhov in 1940, and Lavrenty Beria in 1953 (during the power struggle that followed the death of Stalin). The Ascension  of the KGB After the end of World War II  and before his execution, Lavrenty Beria presided over the Soviet security apparatus, which remained in a somewhat fluid state of multiple acronyms and organizational structures. Most of the time, this body was known as the MGB (The Ministry for State Security), sometimes as the NKGB (The Peoples Commissariat for State Security), and once, during the war, as the vaguely comical-sounding SMERSH (short for the Russian phrase smert shpionom, or death to spies). Only after the death of Stalin did the KGB, or Commissariat for State Security, formally come into being. Despite its fearsome reputation in the west, the KGB was actually more effective in policing the U.S.S.R. and its eastern European satellite states than in fomenting revolution in western Europe or stealing military secrets from the U.S. (The golden age of Russian espionage was in the years immediately following World War II, before the formation of the KGB, when the U.S.S.R. subverted western scientists in order to advance its own development of nuclear weapons.) The major foreign accomplishments of the KGB included suppressing the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia in 1968, as well as installing a Communist government in Afghanistan in the late 1970s; however, the agencys luck ran out in early 1980s Poland, where the anti-Communist Solidarity movement emerged victorious. All during this time, of course, the CIA and the KGB engaged in an elaborate international dance (often in third-world countries like Angola and Nicaragua),  involving agents, double agents, propaganda, disinformation, under-the-table arms sales, interference with elections, and nighttime exchanges of suitcases filled with rubles or hundred-dollar bills. The exact details of what transpired, and where, may never come to light; many of the agents and controllers from both sides are dead, and the current Russian government has not been forthcoming in declassifying the KGB archives. Inside the U.S.S.R., the attitude of the KGB toward suppressing dissent was largely dictated by government policy. During the reign of Nikita Khrushchev, from 1954 to 1964, a certain amount of openness was tolerated, as witnessed in the publication of Alexander Solzhenitsyns Gulag-era memoir One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (an event that would have been unthinkable under the Stalin regime). The pendulum swung the other way with the ascension of Leonid Brezhnev in 1964, and, especially, the appointment of Yuri Andropov as the head of the KGB in 1967. Andropovs KGB hounded Solzhenitsyn out of the U.S.S.R. in 1974, turned the screws on the dissident scientist Andrei Sakharov, and generally made life miserable for any prominent figure even slightly dissatisfied with Soviet power. The Death (And Resurrection?) of the KGB In the late 1980s - partly because of the disastrous war in Afghanistan and partly because of an increasingly costly arms race with the U.S. - the U.S.S.R. began to fall apart at the seams, with rampant inflation, shortages of factory goods, and agitation by ethnic minorities. Premier Mikhail Gorbachev had already implemented perestroika (a restructuring of the economy and political structure of the Soviet Union) and glasnost (a policy of openness toward dissidents), but while this placated some of the population, it enraged hard-line Soviet bureaucrats who had grown accustomed to their privileges. As might have been predicted, the KGB was at the forefront of the counter-revolution. In late 1990,  then-KGB head Vladimir Kryuchkov recruited high-ranking members of the Soviet elite into a  tight-knit conspiratorial cell, which sprang into action the following  August after failing to convince Gorbachev to either resign in favor of its preferred candidate or declare a state of emergency. Armed combatants, some of them in tanks, stormed the Russian parliament building in Moscow, but Soviet President Boris Yeltsin held firm and the coup quickly fizzled out. Four months later, the U.S.S.R. officially disbanded, granting autonomy to the Soviet Socialist Republics along its western and southern borders and dissolving the KGB (along with all other Soviet governmental bodies). However, institutions like the KGB never really go away; they just assume different guises. Today, Russia is dominated by two security agencies, the FSB (The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) and the SVR (The Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation), which broadly correspond to the FBI and the CIA, respectively. More worrisome, though, is the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin spent 15 years in the KGB, from 1975 to 1990, and his increasingly autocratic rule shows that he has taken to heart the lessons he learned there. Its unlikely that Russia will ever again see a security agency as vicious as the NKVD, but a return to the darkest days of the KGB is clearly not out of the question.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Human Trafficking Along The US Borders Essay

Human Trafficking Along The US Borders Essay Human Trafficking Along The United States Borders Essay Human Trafficking Along The United States Borders Essay Human trafficking, also referred to as trafficking in persons, is one of the most heinous and reprehensible crimes that can be committed in the modern world. According to Tiano, Murphy-Aguilar and Bigej, human trafficking is the third largest enterprise in the world; it is surpassed only by the illegal drug and weapons trade. In its worst manifestations, trafficking in persons is akin to slavery. A typical victim of human trafficking is a person who pays a huge sum of money to be illegally smuggled into the United States, but ends up in the thrall of villainous traffickers. The Critical Analysis of Human Trafficking Along U.S.-Mexico Border Both U.S. and international law define human trafficking as encompassing two separate forms of criminal activity, namely forced labor and sexual exploitation. Indeed, most victims of human trafficking are enticed into involuntary labor, prostitution and other forms of servitude against their will. As appalling as it sounds, children and adolescents who have not attained the age of majority also fall prey to traffickers. Projecting these findings onto the case of human trafficking along the American borders, it seems logical to note that the Mexico-United States border is the most vulnerable. Yet, there have been occasional reports of sustained upsurges in human trafficking activities along the Canada-United States border. Similarly, human trafficking poses a perplexing conundrum to customs officers guarding the Cuba-United States maritime boundaries. The present paper will focus mainly on trafficking in persons along the Mexico-United States border, providing economic, legal, and soc ial analysis behind this multibillion-dollar enterprise. General Background to the Problem According to the generally accepted definition, â€Å"human trafficking is the involuntary transport of men, women and children within and across national borders for purposes of exploitation, extortion, and other kinds of victimization†. It is also necessary to note at the outset that human trafficking should not be mistaken with human smuggling. As Tiano, Murphy-Aguilar and Bigej put it, human trafficking is always coercive and is grounded on deception. Nevertheless, there are some other reasons behind voluntary character underlying human trafficking. In case of Mexico, for instance, human trafficking is rooted in violence, inequality, and extreme poverty. In other words, Mexico is teeming with socioeconomic problems and many people leave their families behind to find a better life in the U.S. Coyotes, a slang term for people who illegally smuggle desperate Mexicans into the U.S., often take advantage of those fleeing adverse socioeconomic situation in Mexico and other impov erished Central American nations. Indeed, Central American refugees often stray over the border with Mexico just to fall into the clutches of human traffickers. In the long run, they all end up in indentured servitude. By the same token, it is not a rarity that bona fide tourists become victims of human trafficking. Although the dimensions of human trafficking remain unclear, it is believed that traffickers smuggle no less than 18,000 people into the U.S. annually . According to Staudt, Payan and Kruszewski, It is not clear what portion of the estimated 12 million unauthorized persons living in the United States fall victim to human trafficking. Government estimates of human trafficking have varied widely in the last decade, with recent figures far lower than earlier estimates. In 2000, the U.S. government estimated that 45,000 to 50,000 women and children alone were trafficked into the country annually. After 2004, however, government figures dropped to between 14,500 and 17,500. The government attributes the large difference between the 2000 and 2004 estimates to improvement in its methodology for calculating the flow of trafficking victims and not to an actual reduction in the rate of victimization. However, the methodology used by the government has its quirks. Many cases of human trafficking, especially instances of labor exploitation and indentured servitude, receive little government attention or go unreported altogether. The rationale behind this deplorable negligence is that human trafficking is more commonly associated with sexual slavery rather than other criminal activities. Yet, there is no gainsaying the fact that human trafficking is a multifaceted phenomenon. Oftentimes, victims are abused into submission, both emotionally and physically, through intimidation, starvation, forced drug use, confinement, etc. Factors that Attend and Contribute to the Problem Many people do not realize the enormity of the problem when they hear about human trafficking, and it is not surprising. In the age of progressive international organizations and overarching human-rights policies, human trafficking should be a hypothetical problem at best. Yet, the new trends in global economy are in fact also responsible for trafficking in persons. Under the current circumstances, both legal and illegal entrepreneurs can derive substantial benefits from huge flows of goods, services, people and capital across national boundaries. Mercantilist values prevalent in the modern society pressure individuals to attain financial stability. When taken too far, people grow excessively commercial and voyeuristic. Often, people attempt to enrich themselves at the expense of others. As a rule, those who have already been hit by poverty are the ones who suffer from the scourge of human trafficking. In Mexico, approximately 40% of people live in squalid conditions and are, thus, v ulnerable to dishonest traffickers. Domestic human trafficking in Mexico is a chronic dilemma for the government, but it is incomparable in scale to cross-border trafficking in persons. Sustained levels of international migration are also inimical to the resolution of the problem. As a rule, Mexican men migrate to the U.S. more often than Mexican women do. However, there has been an increase in the number of Mexican females willing to reunite with their husbands living currently in the U.S., thereby keeping families intact. Likewise, many Mexican women try to penetrate into the US in response to the changing market demands for labor in the neighboring country. Just like it is commonplace to see people collapsing from hunger in the streets of Mexican towns, it is commonplace for Mexican women bound for the U.S. to bring along their children. Naturally, children and women are among the most vulnerable groups of population, and traffickers willingly take advantage of their weaknesses. Therefore, it is safe to say that new shifts in regional migration also contribute to the flourishing of trafficking along the Mexico-United States border. Undoubtedly, poverty in Mexico and new tendencies in regional migration are not the only factors that encourage human trafficking. The U.S. is also accountable for the problem. It has focused its efforts on sealing off the border rather than improving interior enforcement. Undoubtedly, it is a good idea to reinforce the cordon sanitaire around the problem area, but its effectiveness is limited. After all, many people do not know that they will be exploited until they cross the border and, thus, cooperate with traffickers. As a result, it is difficult for a customs officer to tell who is a crook and who is not. At the same time, the failure of the authorities to do something about lax enforcement in the U.S. contributes to higher rates of trafficking in persons. On the other side of the border, law enforcement agencies are so lathered with corruption that traffickers can easily bribe or otherwise suborn the policy and continue their venal activities with impunity. Finally, the advance of the Internet has had an impact on human trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border as well. Sex industry colossi use the Web to disseminate their pornographic contents, thereby reinvigorating demand for the sexual exploitation of females. The Internet has given a powerful fillip to the development of sex tourism in Mexico. There are many websites offering services of Mexican â€Å"comfort houses†, a euphemism for brothels. Such facilities are usually located in popular tourist destinations in the vicinity of the Mexico-United States border. Obviously, there are some other factors whose contribution to the high incidence of human trafficking is not as significant, but they are mentioned throughout the paper nevertheless. Below is a point-by-point analysis of the most salient forms of human trafficking. Labor Exploitation The woes and grievances that undocumented workers encounter in the U.S. have been cited and repeated so often that they have already taken on the aura of conventional wisdom. There is nothing surprising about this disgraceful state of affairs, for the persistent influx of illegal immigrants contributes to the development of a pestilential environment of abuse and vulnerability. It is a matter of fact that crime flourishes wherever the law does not reign supreme. The inability of the federal government to tackle the illegal alien dilemma perpetuates a baleful environment wherein exploitation runs riot. Apparently, illegal migrants are incapable of overcoming their desperate plight singlehandedly. As a corollary of this, undocumented workers from Central America coming to the US through Mexico become victims of labor exploitation. Illegal immigrants endure unfair treatment because they fear their overlords. Such people are lured with pompous promises of well-paid jobs and decent life, but end up in domestic servitude or at sweatshop factories. Among the most salient factors that contribute to the prevalence of labor exploitation along the U.S.-Mexico border are a lack of access on the part of trafficked people to legal protection, limited language skills, poverty-related debts, etc. Moreover, victims of labor exploitation are often exposed to prolonged ostracism. It is proverbial that they are frequently victimized by traffickers from the same ethnic or national extraction. It would be wise to mention several cases of labor exploitation that happened in the US over the course of the last few years. For example, in May 2008, a couple from Miami was charged with forcing a 14-year-old girl from Haiti into domestic servitude. The girl worked for 16 hours a day without respite, did not attend school, and was constantly beaten. Sometimes, traffickers let loose their corrupt imagination, coercing their victims into doing various perverted things. Thus, in another case dated of January 2008, Elizabeth Jackson from Tucson, Washington, pled guilty to forced labor. She had virtually enslaved a girl from the Philippines, compelling her to work for 18 hours a day, sleeping on a dog basket and eating mildewed food. Apart from those two instances, the annals of the American legal history bristle with similar labor exploitation issues. On the whole, the fact that labor exploitation continues unabated demonstrates the flawed character of the system of immigration enforc ement in the US. Sex Trafficking Women of Asian and Latin American origin alike are lured to the shores of the United States by individuals promising well-paid jobs in restaurants, bars, modeling, and domestic services. However, as it often turns out, those promises remain unfulfilled. Women fall victim to human traffickers. As a result, they are exposed to sexual and physical violence as well as suffer extreme emotional exploitation. Traffickers also encroach upon their fundamental human rights, such as the right to dignity and the right to liberty. Human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation has deleterious consequences on both sides of the Mexico-United States border. Thus, according to the most conservative estimates, â€Å"Mexico sees 800,000 adults and 20,000 children trafficked for sexual exploitation each year†. Many of these victims are trafficked into the U.S. at one point or another. On the other side of the border, the situation may be even more sorrowful. Due to the high level of im punity for sexual exploitation of illegal immigrants, the exact numbers of victims are hard to tell. Estimates vary widely from one agency to another, but it is believed that no less than 300,000 children become victims of sex trafficking on American soil each year. Examples of cases against sex traffickers abound. In August 2008, several American citizens who had a massage parlor were found guilty of running a prostitution ring and recruiting women of Chinese descent. The latter worked seven days a week and were prohibited from leaving the parlor. The defendants were pled guilty to human trafficking and forced to forfeit money gained from their illicit venture. However, sex trafficking schemes are usually perpetrated on a larger basis. Thus, in 2002, the police uncovered a den in San Diego that employed 30 prostitutes. They raided it and found 15 undocumented Mexican women, who were later deported. Yet, as it often happens, women were afraid to testify and the organizers of the trafficking ring were not arrested. Similar patterns of sex trafficking have been observed domestically in Mexico and along its northern border with the United States. Sex Tourism According to Howard Hughes, sex tourism is often thought of as travel which occurs with the prime purpose of having sexual encounter whilst away, usually in a country with greater tolerance of prostitution. Mexico has traditionally been both a perfect breeding ground for sex tourism and an ideal destination for prurient tourists. Sex tourism has the heaviest toll on children. Mexico’s feeble legal system combined with the ready availability of girls beckons men from both the U.S. and Canada. It should be mentioned that for a long time, salacious Americans looked for sex in countries of South East Asia, with Thailand being one of the most attractive destinations. However, after local governments had started adopting tougher stances on sex crimes and organizing crackdowns on illicit prostitution rings, North Americans riveted their attention on Mexico and some other Latin American states for the sexual abuse of children. It is not accidental that the word â€Å"children† is used in this context. Indeed, sex tourists arrive in Mexico in droves for the sexual abuse of girls and boys alike. It is practically impossible to tell with pinpoint accuracy the exact figures of tourists coming to Mexico from the U.S. with the purpose of having sex with underage children. Yet, it is believed that roughly 20,000 children are sexually exploited in such Mexican cities as Acapulco, Cancun, Juarez, Tijuana and Tapachula. Even the fact that there is an extradition treaty between Mexico and the U.S.in place does not discourage sex tourists. It is unlikely that things will change in the nearest future because sex tourism is hard to tackle. Meanwhile, traffickers will continue to reap tangible benefits from the suffering of the unfortunate victims. Illegal Adoptions and Organ Trafficking Whereas adolescents and young women are usually trafficked to be engaged in labor and sexual exploitation, children are usually kidnapped for adoption. Undoubtedly, children also become victims of sexual abuse, as it was mentioned above. According to Troubmikoff, the United States is the main destination for â€Å"young children kidnapped and trafficked for adoption by childless couples† unwilling to navigate through the dense thickets of bureaucracy to adopt a child in compliance with the legitimate procedures. Sometimes people are so anxious to buy a child that they pay money to trafficking rings in advance. Traffickers organize clandestine meetings in Mexican border cities with potential buyers seeking children. The problem is very pressing and all efforts to address it have been stillborn so far. Although the police uncover child trafficking rings from time to time, the overall statistics remain unfavorable. Perhaps, organ trafficking is the most gruesome type of human trafficking practiced along the American borders. Indeed, trafficking in human organs along the Mexico-United States border is a complicated issue. However, the magnitude of this problem has not been established because there is a paucity of concrete evidence. Still, it seems logical to assume that the problem is not simply a hoax. In the U.S., where selling organs is prohibited, there are 95,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney. Considering that a kidney can cost as much as $150,000, it is not surprising that organ hawking has become such an alluring market. Human trafficking gangs abduct, seduce, or otherwise catch women just to disembowel them and transport their organs to customers across the border. According to the official statistics, between 1993 and 2009, nearly 600 girls and women were slain in the Mexican city of Juarez, which abuts on the border with the United States. The complicity of trafficking rings that harvest organs and sell them in the murders is evident. Responses to Human Trafficking The Washington government has been on the prowl to find an imaginative solution to the long-standing problem of human trafficking for many consecutive years. The biggest problem of the current immigration system is that it punishes immigrants, i.e. hapless victims of human trafficking, instead of those who profit from them. The U.S. needs to switch to internal enforcement rather than focus solely on border control. By the same token, it is imperative that the country should overhaul social security system and ensure that all workers, regardless of their origin, are afforded proper working conditions, equal labor rights, and fair wages. Provided that these critical steps are taken in the nearest future, the whole American society will be better off. Apparently, the U.S. senior leadership understands all this very well, but those actions may be easier said than done. It is incumbent on the Mexican authorities to take all the necessary measures to stem the problem on that side of the bo rder. Overall, a bi-national task force is needed to put an end to trafficking in persons along the Mexico-United States border. It was not until 2000, when â€Å"President Clinton signed into law the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, that the fight against human trafficking in the United States began in earnest†. Later on, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama gave a stamp of approval to the Protect Act. The goal of the act is to extend protection to the victims of human trafficking within the borders of the country. The Protect Act, inter alia, provides law enforcement agents with more flexibility, imposes harsher penalties on American residents involved in sex tourism and other forms of commercial sex with human trafficking victims, and guarantees greater protection to the latter. What is more important, it established President’s Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The two initiatives have been the linchpin of America’s fight against human trafficking ever since. The United States Department of Homeland Security also plays a critical role in combating human trafficking. In consistence with the provisions of the Protect Act, it pursues the so-called 3P-strategy. Under this strategy, it protects victims, persecutes traffickers, and prevents the exacerbation of the problem. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, hereinafter referred to as CBP, guards almost 12,000 kilometers of land border and 330 ports of entry. Of those 12,000 kilometers 3,145 separate the United States from Mexico. Yet, even those immense resources have not been enough to disrupt human trafficking along the border. Perhaps, CBP and its sister agencies use wrong strategies. Many people like to saddle the responsibility for the persistently high rates of human trafficking on the Mexican part alone. Indeed, the roots of the problem go to Mexico and its southern neighbors, but it would not be fair to say that anti-trafficking efforts lie dormant in these countries. According to Cawley, Mexico has not been blind to the problem. The country passed its first federal law targeting human trafficking in November 2007, and legislation has since continued to emerge. By 2012, 23 states had laws specifically targeting trafficking and in June 2012, the country passed a new, more comprehensive law to combat the crime. This general law requires compliance from all levels of government, widens the scope of crimes considered human trafficking, establishes prison sentences up to 40 years for related crimes and provides for increased inter-agency coordination, says the ONC. Mexico’s efforts to stop trafficking in persons have not brought a rich harvest of results because of the chronic corruption and other concomitant problems. However, America’s handling of the problem has not been much better. In March 2013, President Obama reauthorized the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. The move has gained the implacable opposition of many experts because it resulted in the potentially calamitous surge of minors into the U.S. The present paper has shown that trafficking in persons along the Mexico-United States border is a very nettlesome problem. There are five forms of human trafficking in this region, namely labor exploitation, sex trafficking, sex tourism, illegal adoptions, and organ trafficking. Both males and females can fall into the clutches of traffickers, but girls and women constitute the most vulnerable group. Mexico serves as both a source of and an entrepà ´t for people for trafficking because of it sordid poverty and noisome corruption. Indeed, the scourge of human trafficking is devastating poverty-ridden societies and Central America is very poor. The promises of decent jobs and better life used by traffickers to lure victims have led to a stampede to the US. The rising rates of trafficking in persons along the border have also been attributed to new tendencies in global economic development and new shifts in regional migration. Both Mexico and the United States have adopted a plethora of bills to combat trafficking in persons. However, many of them are ineffective and need to be relegated to the dust of official pigeonholes. The main problem of the U.S. is that it focuses on border control and disregards internal enforcement, while the Mexican efforts to do anything about the problem have been halted and confused. The latter needs to lance the boil of corruption first to be able to deter human trafficking. Most importantly, the two countries need to marshal every fiber and force at their disposal to resolve the problem. It will take time because there are no painless solutions to such deep-seated issues. Hopefully, the two countries will not remain oblivious to what happens to the hapless victims of human trafficking.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Mission Statement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Mission Statement - Assignment Example It also aims at teaching them to adhere to the spirit of rules thus instilling habits that lead them to better and healthier lives. In addition, the program aims at building community by engaging the young people and creating an environment through which other people can also enjoy the experience. The issues that the program is likely to face include: firstly, insufficient funds to carry out all the obligations. Being a new program, we are not likely to get sponsors. I will address the problem by organizing fundraising events to ensure that we get enough funds. I will also look for charity organizations that can support us however small. Secondly, the program is likely to have poor reception (strong opposition) in the area because many parents prefer curricular activities (Murphy, 2011). I will carry out awareness programs aimed at educating parents on the benefits of co-curricular activities. This will make the parents to allow their children to join the program. I will also encourage my students to balance between athletics and class work to ensure that they excel in both. Finally, we are likely to be faced with youth sports violence. For instance, some parents being unhappy about unfair treatment their children receive and hence verbally abusing the coach (Murphy, 2011). I will ensure that equity and equality is observed all the time and also that all complaints are listened to and addressed fully. Such parents will be made to understand the role youth sports play in the society and not viewing them as just games of