Deception Point Page 51

â€Å"A decade. And not only is the NASA space station not yet fully operational, but the project so far has cost twenty times your bid. As an American taxpayer, I am sickened.† A grumble of agreement circled the room. Sexton let his eyes move, reconnecting with the group. â€Å"I am well aware,† the senator said, addressing everyone now, â€Å"that several of your companies have offered to launch private space shuttles for as little as fifty million dollars per flight.† More nods. â€Å"And yet NASA undercuts you by charging only thirty-eight million dollars per flight†¦ even though their actual per flight cost is over one hundred and fifty million dollars!† â€Å"It's how they keep us out of space,† one of the men said. â€Å"The private sector cannot possibly compete with a company that can afford to run shuttle flights at a four hundred percent loss and still stay in business.† â€Å"Nor should you have to,† Sexton said. Nods all around. Sexton turned now to the austere entrepreneur beside him, a man whose file Sexton had read with interest. Like many of the entrepreneurs funding Sexton's campaign, this man was a former military engineer who had become disillusioned with low wages and government bureaucracy and had abandoned his military post to seek his fortune in aerospace. â€Å"Kistler Aerospace,† Sexton said, shaking his head in despair. â€Å"Your company has designed and manufactured a rocket that can launch payloads for as little as two thousand dollars per pound compared to NASA's costs of ten thousand dollars per pound.† Sexton paused for effect. â€Å"And yet you have no clients.† â€Å"Why would I have any clients?† the man replied. â€Å"Last week NASA undercut us by charging Motorola only eight hundred and twelve dollars per pound to launch a telecomm satellite. The government launched that satellite at a nine hundred percent loss!† Sexton nodded. Taxpayers were unwittingly subsidizing an agency that was ten times less efficient than its competition. â€Å"It has become painfully clear,† he said, his voice darkening, â€Å"that NASA is working very hard to stifle competition in space. They crowd out private aerospace businesses by pricing services below market value.† â€Å"It's the Wal-Marting of space,† the Texan said. Damn good analogy, Sexton thought. I'll have to remember that. Wal-Mart was notorious for moving into a new territory, selling products below market value, and driving all local competition out of business. â€Å"I'm goddamned sick and tired,† the Texan said, â€Å"of having to pay millions in business taxes so Uncle Sam can use that money to steal my clients!† â€Å"I hear you,† Sexton said. â€Å"I understand.† â€Å"It's the lack of corporate sponsorships that's killing Rotary Rocket,† a sharply dressed man said. â€Å"The laws against sponsorship are criminal!† â€Å"I couldn't agree more.† Sexton had been shocked to learn that another way NASA entrenched its monopoly of space was by passing federal mandates banning advertisements on space vehicles. Instead of allowing private companies to secure funding through corporate sponsorships and advertising logos-the way, for example, professional race car drivers did-space vehicles could only display the words USA and the company name. In a country that spent $185 billion a year on advertising, not one advertising dollar ever found its way into the coffers of private space companies. â€Å"It's robbery,† one of the men snapped. â€Å"My company hopes to stay in business long enough to launch the country's first tourist-shuttle prototype next May. We expect enormous press coverage. The Nike Corporation just offered us seven million in sponsorship dollars to paint the Nike swoosh and ‘Just do it!' on the side of the shuttle. Pepsi offered us twice that for ‘Pepsi: The choice of a new generation.' But according to federal law, if our shuttle displays advertising, we are prohibited from launching it!† â€Å"That's right,† Senator Sexton said. â€Å"And if elected, I will work to abolish that antisponsorship legislation. That is a promise. Space should be open for advertising the way every square inch of earth is open to advertising.† Sexton gazed out now at his audience, his eyes locking in, his voice growing solemn. â€Å"We all need to be aware, however, that the biggest obstacle to privatization of NASA is not laws, but rather, it is public perception. Most Americans still hold a romanticized view of the American space program. They still believe NASA is a necessary government agency.† â€Å"It's those goddamned Hollywood movies!† one man said. â€Å"How many NASA-saves-the-world-from-a-killer-asteroid movies can Hollywood make, for Christ's sake? It's propaganda!† The plethora of NASA movies coming out of Hollywood, Sexton knew, was simply a matter of economics. Following the wildly popular movie Top Gun-a Tom Cruise jet pilot blockbuster that played like a two-hour advertisement for the U.S. Navy-NASA realized the true potential of Hollywood as a public relations powerhouse. NASA quietly began offering film companies free filming access to all of NASA's dramatic facilities-launchpads, mission control, training facilities. Producers, who were accustomed to paying enormous on-site licensing fees when they filmed anywhere else, jumped at the opportunity to save millions in budget costs by making NASA thrillers on â€Å"free† sets. Of course, Hollywood only got access if NASA approved the script. â€Å"Public brainwashing,† a Hispanic grunted. â€Å"The movies aren't half as bad as the publicity stunts. Sending a senior citizen into space? And now NASA is planning an all-female shuttle crew? All for publicity!† Sexton sighed, his tone turning tragic. â€Å"True, and I know I don't have to remind you what happened back in the eighties when the Department of Education was bankrupt and cited NASA as wasting millions that could be spent on education. NASA devised a PR stunt to prove NASA was education-friendly. They sent a public school teacher into space.† Sexton paused. â€Å"You all remember Christa McAuliffe.† The room fell silent. â€Å"Gentlemen,† Sexton said, stopping dramatically in front of the fire. â€Å"I believe it is time Americans understood the truth, for the good of all of our futures. It's time Americans understand that NASA is not leading us skyward, but rather is stifling space exploration. Space is no different than any other industry, and keeping the private sector grounded verges on a criminal act. Consider the computer industry, in which we see such an explosion of progress that we can barely keep up from week to week! Why? Because the computer industry is a free-market system: It rewards efficiency and vision with profits. Imagine if the computer industry were government-run? We would still be in the dark ages. We're stagnating in space. We should put space exploration into the hands of the private sector where it belongs. Americans would be stunned by the growth, jobs, and realized dreams. I believe we should let the free-market system spur us to new heights in space. If elected, I will make it my personal mission to unlock the doors to the final frontier and let them swing wide open.† Sexton lifted his snifter of cognac. â€Å"My friends, you came here tonight to decide if I am someone worthy of your trust. I hope I am on the way to earning it. In the same way it takes investors to build a company, it takes investors to build a presidency. In the same way corporate stockholders expect returns, you as political investors expect returns. My message to you tonight is simple: Invest in me, and I will never forget you. Ever. Our missions are one and the same.† Sexton extended his glass toward them in a toast. â€Å"With your help, my friends, soon I will be in the White House†¦ and you will all be launching your dreams.†

The Importance of Learning to Play a Musical Instrument

Secondly, it helps build your team skills and your social skills. Finally, music helps broaden your knowledge of cultures. These reasons are just the tip of the iceberg. Music is the glue which helps connect us all. Firstly, Imagine a wonderful combination of notes and sounds, calming people down. It helps take away everyone's troubles. A combination of notes that relaxes you and allows you to float away with the sounds. A combination of notes that everyone can enjoy. Melodic music is like a calming stream and is a great stress relief.Many people enjoy coming home and playing on their instrument and unwinding after a long and stressful day. Music also helps you learn, not only patterns and rhythms, but math's and other school subjects as well. It has been proven that students who participate in a music program score higher on tests and do better in school. It doesn't matter if the students are in primary school, middle school, or high school, as the results are the same throughout al l years of schooling. According to a study done tit year g's, some students played the Plano and keyboard, while other students did not.The students who participated In playing the Plano and keyboard scored 27% higher In math tests than the students who TLD participate In learning the Instrument. Another study with high school students who took the Stats showed that students with experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher, by up to 63 points, than students with no arts participation. There are multiple studies that prove time and time again that music programs are very valuable and beneficial for students. Secondly, music helps build your team skills. Team skills are a very important in life.Whether Its playing a sport, or having to do a Joint project at school, everyone, at some stage will have to be part of a team. Playing an Instrument requires you to work with others, so your music sounds good. In a band or orchestra setting, you must learn how to coope rate with the people around you. Also, In order for a group to make beautiful music, each player and section must learn how to listen to each other musical instrument leads to the potential chance of creating or Joining a group or and. Performing and rehearsing together may lead to you becoming friends.The world of music opens doors that usually wouldn't be open to you. It provides the opportunity to go to places and meet people that you may not have had the chance to meet before. It's very common for people to gain lifelong friendships through musical activities. Finally, music helps you understand other cultures. Often music reflects the environment and times of its creation. Therefore, you learn a variety of music types such as classical traditions, folk music, medieval, and other genres. Music itself is history, and each piece usually has its own background and storyline that can further your appreciation of other cultures.Music can include a range of different instruments, from all over the world. When you are listening to music from another country, you may notice some things that seem odd. Whether it's a different language being spoken or sung, or an instrument like tapping sticks that you may have never heard before, every song has a part of its country included into it. After all, music makes the world go round. In conclusion, today's world is one of rapid growth and development in all areas, be it technology, population, or any number of things.A well-rounded education is essential for equipping students with all the skills necessary to fare well in modern society. A strong emphasis on the basic core areas of reading, writing, math, and science are a must, but music should be as well. This way more students will learn to love music and will carry on the tradition of making music for the world hear. Not only can music better prepare students for successes both academically and referentially, but it can also become the base for a memorable, happy, and involved social life.The future of this planet lies in the hands of the students; are we going to poorly equip them by denying some of them the opportunity to experience and learn from music or are we going to prepare them for success and let them play musical instruments? Whether you are poor or rich, young or old, smart or dumb, music unites us all. If you are not playing an instrument, I suggest you go and start learning one. Are we really going to deny that playing a musical instrument is important?

Mass Society Theories, Social Responsibilty Theory and the Media Essay

The first half of the twentieth century played a vital role in the state of the present media. The century commenced with the influx of new forms of media as modernization uncontrollably invaded all social forms. The dominant medium of the nineteenth century, the newspaper, sustained its power at the beginning of the century. Moving pictures, or film, was born and started to form its own cult of followers. The entrance of radio and television also received a warm welcome from the masses in the succeeding decades. These innovations in media technology received harsh criticisms from different sources (Baran & Davis, 1995). The impact of the new media technology in the recent course of history was evident. Thus, it incited chaos among the social elites that started relentless criticism of the power of media and the formulation of what is now known as the mass society theory. Leaders of established social and political institutions feared the kind of society that would grow out of this aspect of modernization. Long-term effects of the ‘uncontrolled’ use of media were the focus of the mass society theory. Mass society theorists highly regarded the power of media, especially the new, more technologically-advanced ones, and how it could influence the average people in the society, which are potentially more powerful than the social elites. They also feared that the power of media could be a tool for the rise of a totalitarian social order in America, as what some parts of Europe had experienced (Baran & Davis, 1995). The reputation of the media also led the theorists to push their assumptions forward. The powerful people manipulated what was supposedly a ‘free’ media. Yellow journalism was rampant to protect their reputation. Sensationalized and over-dramatized news stories were as widespread to attract audiences for profit. The elites also started to question the quality of culture the media projected. It was accused of being cheap and tasteless, and that the media practitioners were not qualified to formulate that type of entertainment which instantly became popular to the masses. With all these issues raised against the dominant and emerging forms of media, scholars and some media practitioners volunteered and attempted to lead media reform and ‘prescribe’ how media system should function, giving birth to the normative theories. Earlier thoughts of authoritarianism and libertarianism were strongly criticized. Many were not convinced what authoritarianism proposed – to subject the media to governing authorities that would control these media and sustain social order (Baran & Davis, 1995). Libertarian thought, on the other hand, seeks total freedom of the media from control. After the World War II, the Hutchins’ Commission formulated the social responsibility theory that compromised the authoritarian and libertarian thoughts. The principles of the social responsibility theory could be considered innovative as it was able to make the two opposing thoughts meet at a certain point. It, somehow, answered the key points of mass society theory, but not totally scrapping them as these assumptions can still be observed today. Social responsibility theory regarded the media the same as the mass society in terms of media’s power. The theory considered how much these media could influence the society, and that the media has the power to corrupt people’s minds. Social responsibility theory advised that media should consider their obligations to the society through professional ethics and by promoting what was lacking or needed in the society. At that point, most media companies had accepted this thought and strived to achieve its ideals. The social responsibility theory encouraged media owners to recognize their role to the society and that they were an effective catalyst to social change, or to a ‘Great Community’, as the Chicago School envisioned. In that way, the fear of a totalitarian social order was reduced since social responsibility theory appealed for idealism of individual media practitioners through being able to identify their active role in preserving democracy (Baran & Davis, 1995). As the twentieth century moved towards its second half, media systems had exerted efforts to absorb the ideals of the social responsibility theory. It diluted the bad image of media that the mass society theorists projected while the social responsibility theory aimed for informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity, and balance (Baran & Davis, 1995). Up until now when traditional media boundaries are slowly melting caused by the rapid innovations in technology, the threats posed by the mass society theory are still present and the social responsibility theory’s ideals are still being tried and tested. Reference: Baran, Stanley J., & Davis, Dennis K. (1995). Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Failure of Oslo Peace Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Failure of Oslo Peace Process - Essay Example The conflict has been over borders, water rights, security, Palestinian freedom of movement, control of Jerusalem and solving refugee problem. Zionist claims that they returned to claim their ancestral land from Palestinians (Gelvin, 2007, p. 7). Complete dispossession of the Palestinian-Arabs from the land so that Israelis could inhabit and make it a Jewish state become completely impossible. 1947-1949 war which Israel outnumbered Palestine on the land of Palestinians and the continued massacres resulted to continued war up-to-date. Israel over time has forcefully acquired private land in West Bank and taken control of Gaza where Palestinians have little control over their lives, are oppressed and discriminated. Oslo peace process begun as a clandestine negotiation in a house that was secluded and owned by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1990 in the Oslo outskirts. The negotiation was to initiate peace process and even at the time of conducting the meeting it was done in se crecy since house occupants were informed that it was an academic working (Williams, 2009, p. 77). It was illegal for Israel citizens to come into any meeting with members of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Publicizing of the peace process resulted to a serious preparation on both sides to come into an agreement with a long time enemy. This was not taken lightly by the Israelites where an assassination was made on Israel Prime Minister Rabin in 1995. The Oslo Accord comprised of a series of understandings and agreements reached upon and accepted in the initial secret bilateral negotiations conducted between PLO and Israel. It had aspects of mutual recognition and declaration of principles. Every detail of historical undertakings and the failure of the process will be the focus of this paper. Initiation of the process After several centuries of bloodshed, conflicts, unending war, discrimination and inhuman activities, leaders led by Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PL O leader Yaasser Arafat begun negotiations that were meant to resolve the conflict. A mutual recognition was granted and declarations of principles were initiated agreeing to establishment of Palestinian self-government in parts of Gaza strip and West bank (Selby, 2003, p. 182). The accord was agreed upon and signed in 1993 where timetables and frameworks of Palestinians transition to self-rule and address border issues, Jerusalem and Israeli settlements and establishment of Palestinian state. Agreement of transfer of responsibility and powers was reached upon in1994 and a treaty of peace was established. These accords were established for the purpose of keeping peace and maintaining justice throughout the operations between Israel and Palestine. President Clinton, Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat after the signing of the Peace Accord. Source: http://janmeador.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/america-adding-sin-to-sin/ Success of Oslo Peace process Control o f most parts of Gaza and Jericho was transferred to Palestinians. Israel forces were therefore within a short time conducted an accelerated withdrawal from the areas specified. Responsibility was given out to over 9,000 Palestinian police force but Israel retained West Bank and most areas of the Jewish settlement in 1994 (Efrat, 2006, p. 201). Transfer of authority was also done on culture, education practices, social welfare, health, tourism and the entire taxation process. Borders between Jordan and Israel were defined and a peace treaty established leading to normalization of existing relations. Later on in 1995, further transfer of powers was done on labor, all economic activities, local

IS GOOGLE MAKING US STUPID by nicholas carr Research Paper

IS GOOGLE MAKING US STUPID by nicholas carr - Research Paper Example This paper aims to reject the propositions made by Nicholas Carr and also provides ample supporting evidence to reach to a conclusion. The paper provides a fairly balanced debate on the topic before forming any opinion on the credibility of Carr’s opinions and judgments about internet as a source of information or laziness. Carr’ judgments about technology as being an evil are discussed in the paper in detail and evidence is gathered, both, to support and refute the claims. Nicholas Carr focuses his attention on the search engine Google which is being used by almost every individual in the modern world. The author, Nicholas Carr, is of the view that although internet provides an endless pool of information, there are various inconsistencies about the information accessible on it. He argues that internet has distorted the manner of our thinking, analyzing and reading. Carr’s arguments on using internet for reading and researching are strong. The author does not de ny the easy access of information and help on almost every topic using Google or other search engines but emphasizes on the quality of that information accessed which is or may be questionable. The decreased use of published information and original research material being used is the point which Carr is concerned about. The use of Google or other search engines provide relevant but to some extent unreliable information to the user. In support of Carr’s judgements about technology, Gibson’s analysis of technology may be useful. Gibson simple rejects the idea of using internet as a tool to save our time. He proposes that internet provides us with ample space to waste time. He sees internet as a broad system which takes up our whole attention and diverts us from the real necessity which needed to be fulfilled. This is quite true in many cases as internet does not allow us to focus on one topic, task or software. People usually use 2 or more software when surfing through the internet and social networking websites, messengers and other software are used side by side. Gibson claims that " it offers us the opportunity to waste time, to wander aimlessly, to daydream about the countless other lives, the other people, on the far sides of however many monitors in that postgeographical meta-country we increasingly call home" (Gibson 1996). The claims are not invalid as it is evident in the daily life that internet, Google or other social networking websites or software takes up most of our time. When using Google for a research, people often come across a number of new ideas or things which distract the user from the original search. In an effort to highlight the deficiencies that internet and technologies bring in our lives, Bradley provides a useful and convincing opinion. Bradley does not support the ease of communication as a powerful claim in favor of technology but instead refutes it by claiming it to be the best example of our laziness† as it shows our â€Å"inability to communicate face-to-face". The technology is making us lazy and inactive. Google and search engines fdo not merely provide easy yet

Organizational Behavior - How a successful Iranian based company like Research Paper

Organizational Behavior - How a successful Iranian based company like Hirbodan is surviving in tough times of sanctions against Iran - Research Paper Example Research will be taken to identify the measures taken by Hirbodan Company to succeed despite the difficult situation in the country (Griffin et al, 54). Hirbodan has an organization pattern that is well structured. The board of Directors are always at the top, middle level management, and then lower management (Griffin et al, 70). Due to this organizational structure, decision making and coordination of members within the organization is facilitated. Hirbodan Company mainly encourages its employees by using the theory Y used in management. The theory enables the employees to show commitment to the set goals and accept their responsibilities (Griffin et al, 75). International community especially the U.S has imposed sanctions on Iranian making the economy to suffer greatly (Owens et al, 92). Sanction imposed on the government of president Ahmedinejhad, include ban on Iranian oil, which is the backbone of Iranian economy. This affected several industries Hirbodan included. To worsen the situation President Amedinajhad’s plan on reforms on subsidy of 2010 removed subsidies on electricity and water affected industries (Griffin et al, 54). Iranian currency depreciated much making the cost of living rise and inflation skyrocketed (Colquitt et al, 128). The cost of running of a company turned high due to high cost of importing raw materials. The effects on Iran are adverse that companies are hoping for the best to have an enabling environment for investment. Hirbodan Rose against all odds and wage the storm, due to its strong foundation and the expertise offered by the founding professional (Colquitt et al, 253). It coordinated with companies in Engineering, procurement& construction to have its operations outside Iran. According to the research that was carried out in the company, the chairperson of the Hirbodan Company explained that the success of the company was mainly based on the definitive strategies and logical solutions to the firm problems (Owens

Criminal Law U5IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal Law U5IP - Research Paper Example in interstate commerce through a pattern of racketeering activity; 3) participating in the conduct of a business engaged in interstate commerce through a pattern of racketeering activity, and 4) conspiring to violate any of the above (section 1962). In order for a RICO claim to succeed the plaintiff must show that the conduct of the enterprise or business is through a pattern of activity connected to racketeering. Prior to the enactment of the RICO Act it was difficult to combat racketeering activities (Batista 2007). It was only possible to convict lower ranking members in the rackets as they were directly involved in illegal activities. This meant that racketeering activities still affected businesses and the economy as the higher ranking members were harder to prosecute since they were not directly connected with the illegal activities. The RICO Act provides prosecutors with a tool to fight organized crime (McNeill 2009). The RICO Act is remarkably effective in combating organized crime as it does not require proving that the suspect committed an illegal act but rather that the individual owns or manages an enterprise that regularly conducts an illegal activity prohibited by the Act (Batista 2005). The RICO Act is given a ve ry wide interpretation, and as such legal issues will always arise out of its interpretation and application. The RICO criminal defense practice will, therefore, remain relevant as long as the Act is in use. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Pub. L. No. 91-452, 84 Stat. 941 (Oct. 15, 1970), codified at 18 U.S.C. Ch. 96,

Deconstructing Design Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Deconstructing Design - Thesis Example Furthermore, it demonstrates that this profession has demanding standards, which attract intelligent and motivated people. The general public should thereby also recognise the design profession and the work involved as valuable and a display of intelligence besides being creative. This issue is relevant to the field and worthy of attention because addressing it can help promote the design profession and improve its image as a knowledgeable one. This could make people better aware of what design really involves and its demanding and competitive nature. The techniques used in image making and branding in advertising will be illustrated for the purpose. In addition, examples of works will be given that demonstrate the challenges designers face so that readers appreciate their valuable role in the profession. Simply stated, a designer is a person who designs. A designer therefore specifies certain properties of something that is to be made, created, built or laid out. However, a more precise definition also requires mention of the typical distinguishing qualities found in a designer and the kind of work he or she engages in. For example, an empirical study by Rourke & Sweller (2009) showed that a proper appreciation and identification of a designer’s work requires at least a moderate level of visual literacy skills. This shows that designers themselves must have strong visual literacy skills that enable them to produce the kind of work they do. Moreover, only a designer is able to truly understand the design challenges, both historical and present, that are involved in a work (Kowalski, 2007). As a profession, a designer is one â€Å"who develops solutions to commercial needs that require the balancing of technical, commercial, human and aesthetic requirements† (DIA, 2010). There are many areas in which designers work, so the work handled by a designer determines the type of a designer. For example,

Networking Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Networking - Term Paper Example These systems also force consumers to tackle new rights and responsibilities in order to use the data and re-evaluate principles of advent computers (Stahl 2011). 1.2 The Importance of Ethics Authority, source and control are the major resources of the information. In fact, the key to success is the right access towards the information. As a result, the social and political relationships are also involved in the development and growth of information systems (Hilton, Se-Hyung "David" Oh et al. 2006). It is more important and ethical that how this information is been utilized by the people. For instance, government levels, headquarters and homes include the electronic systems (Hilton, Se-Hyung "David" Oh et al. 2006). This involvement is increased so much that the people without access to these systems are exaggerated in a particular way. For this reason, new and modern techniques, innovative ethical and lawful decisions are needed in order to balance the requirements and privileges of every person (Stahl 2011). 1.3 Ethics Fill the Gap as Legal Decisions Lag Behind Technology The legal decision lags lies as in modern technological field behind technical development and growth. ... These legal issues should be resolved in Electronic Information Systems. 1.4 Ethical Issues In relation to the entire community, the ethics consists of moral options choose by the individuals or users. These include standards of acceptable behavior and rules governing members of an occupation. Moreover, these extend to the Electronic Networks, Electronic Databases and significantly to a Geographic Information Systems. The problems that are present particularly in the three areas require a little different type of ethical decisions. In general, the Electronic Systems, Geographic Information Systems and Networks are being described individually in the later section of this study. 2 World Wide Web 2.1 A Network Defined Starting from a fundamental definition of computer networks, a network is defined as a set of computers or workstations that are capable to communicate with one another. Likewise, in other words a group of similar objects connected together. Some of the networks are prese nt within the institutions or organizations allowing people to communicate electronically within the organization. In fact, some of these small systems are inked or connected with the other organization’s workstations. Thus, thousands of such networks connecting together collectively form an Internet. However, several issues related to the Internet may be applied to smaller network as, well as large network connections. 2.2 Network as Source of Power Initially, the Electronic Networks are recognized as a reliable means of connecting and communicating. Furthermore, it is also recognized as a mean for exchanging information efficiently but today it has become a much more than this. The new sources of power are represented by the large networks. The

Evaluating the new deal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluating the new deal - Essay Example The recovery programs sort to strengthen the economy and the reform programs aimed at preventing future depressions. Kennedy just like many economists suggests that the new deal did target to saving capitalist system. It is evident that the first new deal was not that different from Hoover’s purpose and philosophy effort to end the depression. This is because both Hoover and Roosevelt sort support from the business community. However, Roosevelt’s administration approached their suggestions with importance and a greater willingness by exerting the full powers of the federal governments on the programs (Kennedy, 1999). The new deal targeted three goals relief, recovery, and reform. There were relief measures such as laws that set up programs that created jobs for thousands of young men. These jobs included tree-planting exercises, fire fighting services, and building dams to control floods. There was also a law that required the federal government to give money to states for helping the needy. The national industry recovery act was implemented to aid in economy recovery let us consider the National recovery administration supported by this law, which brought businesses, government and workers together. This program although it was not successful in regulating competition among businesses and preventing workers from organising unions, it changed business relationships. The laws that aimed at aiding economic recovery also supported programs such as the Tennessee valley authority that encouraged the government to spend heavily on large building projects like building public buildings, highways, and dams this created employment for Americans. The agricultural adjustments act was passed in 1933 the act targeted to increase prices of agricultural products to help farmers by reducing the production of farm produce (Kennedy, 1999). The new deal did manage to improve the circumstances for some Americans. The new deal managed to drop the unemployment figure. In order to achieve the goals set for the new deal the social security act of 1935 helped by supporting the provision of pensions for retired Americans. The law ensured that Americans who lost their jobs could access help from the federal government as stated in the unemployment insurance clause. The disabled and the needy also received government assistance. Although it is evident that not all Americans benefited from this law, but it did improve the lives of Americans in some way (Kennedy, 1999). Kennedy looks at the second new deal, which adopted an economic policy similar to a Keynesian model. The second new deal set up mass consumption based economy by motivating the masses capacity to consume. Economists argue that the second new deal targeted to restore the economy from bottom up. This deal is not as radical as the first deal this is because the second deal improved on a number of policies introduced in the first deal. According to Kennedy in the second new deal, the governme nt spent funds in trying to turn non-consumers to consumers. The federal government continued to initiate projects that would create jobs for family breadwinners. This plan supported many families and increased consumer demand. The social security act of 1935 set up a federally guaranteed pension system, which became a safety net for retired workers this helped to increase consumer demand. There was also an improvement of the National labour relations act of 1935 where the law attempted to prevent the

Business Ethics & Professinal Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics & Professinal Ethics - Essay Example This is a broad core value, but becomes a necessity as a law enforcement officer. As a law enforcement officer or FBI agent, I would be investigating homicides, kidnappings, white collar crimes, and various other offenses. I must be prepared to investigate with the same amount of vigor every case I am assigned. For example, if I arrest an African American, white, Arab, or anyone else, I must treat them the same. If I was investigating the kidnapping of the President’s daughter or a homeless man’s daughter, I must put the same amount of effort in to the investigation. Profiles are used to track criminals, especially in the FBI. However, I must not racial profile, only criminal profile. All American citizens or individuals living in America deserve justice. A cop must follow certain rules to achieve justice for all. It is important to understand that justice sometimes cannot be achieved for all, but the goal is to try to achieve justice for all. In order to do this a few rules must be followed. One example is a suspect’s Miranda Rights. These are rights to remain silent, request a lawyer, or have a lawyer appointed to the suspect. If these Rights are not read, justice cannot be achieved for the suspect or the victim. Innocent suspects can be railroaded or guilty ones can go free, if a cop does not follow the rule of reading the Miranda Rights. Another rule to follow, that some police officers do not observe but should, is the keeping of the laws they enforce. Humans, even police officers, are not perfect. A speeding ticket should not strip a police officer from their post, but more serious offences should. For example, DUI’s, bounced checks, and definitely felonies should cause a police officer’s dismissal. An officer’s integrity would be in question if they commit a crime. They would no longer be able to search for justice, because justice needs to be enforced by those that obey the law. Finally, the last rule

The Palestine Liberation Organization Essay Example for Free

The Palestine Liberation Organization Essay Palestine is a historic region in the Middle East comprising of Israel and the Israeli occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestine Liberation Organization, a political entity, had been attempting to establish a separate state for the Palestinian Arabs. In the year 1948, Israel was created in that region. This emergence of the Israeli state and subsequent wars between it and several Arab countries, served to displace a large number of Palestinians. In the year 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO was founded, in order to represent the demands of Palestinians for the creation of a separate state for them. At that point in time, Arab military forces were singularly unsuccessful in defeating Israel, in the Six Day War of 1967. Under those circumstances, the PLO emerged as an alternative power, and gained regional and international importance (Stein, 2007). A deep rooted hatred has existed between the PLO and Israel, and this lasted for several years. However, between 1993 and 1998, both the PLO and Israel entered into several agreements, which transferred all Palestinian towns and cities that were under the control of Israel to the Palestinian administration. Moreover, the Israelis transferred Arab dominant regions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to Palestine. In accordance with these agreements, the Palestinian National Authority or PNA was formed to govern these transferred Palestinian areas. In the year 1994 the PNA took complete control over the administrative and negotiating roles of the PLO, with respect to these newly transferred territories. As such, the PLO remained a protector of Palestinian interests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It also represents Palestinian interests in international agreements and treaties. The PLO and Israel have continued to remain adversaries, despite diplomatic negotiations between them (Stein, 2007). The fundamental objective of the PLO was the destruction of Israel. In the year 1969, Yasser Arafat became the chairman of the PLO. In the year 1970, Jordan expelled the PLO from its territory, and the PLO relocated itself in Lebanon and established its base of operations there and started to attack Israel. It attacked Israel in 1978 and in 1982. In 1982, it withdrew from Beirut and moved to Tunisia. Yasser Arafat’s leadership of the PLO was challenged several times before, during and after the Intifada. However, he remained the supreme leader of PLO. In 1988, Arafat gave up terrorism and discontinued terrorist attacks against Israel. Subsequently, the PLO was recognized as the umbrella group that represented Palestinian interests and the Palestinian state. Arafat became the leader of the Palestine National Authority in 1996 (Palestine Liberation Organization, 2001). The PLO comprises of three important branches; and these are the fifteen member Executive Committee, which includes representatives from the fedayeen; the Central Committee comprising of sixty members; and the Palestine National Council, which has five hundred and ninety – nine members. The PLO has several departments and agencies, which provide military services, health services, information to the public, finance, social welfare, education, and other administrative services. After the creation of the Palestine National Authority in 1994, it has taken over the duties and responsibilities of the Palestinian people, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Stein, 2007). The PLO was formed, in order to fight against Israel and to compel it to withdraw from Palestine. However, it was unable to unite all the Palestinian groups at that time. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which was under the leadership of George Habash, remained an independent group, and Yasser Arafat of al-Fatah became the supreme leader of the PLO, which launched several terrorist operations against Israel. It killed eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. In the year 1982, Lebanon expelled PLO from its country. In Tunisia, in 1988, the PLO established a parliament in exile for the newly declared state of Palestine. In 1988, Arafat launched peace and diplomacy initiatives, as a prelude to negotiations with Israel. The United States supported the PLO in these efforts, and in 1993, Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed an agreement, after secret negotiations. Thereafter, the PLO relinquished terrorism and honored the right of Israel to exist as a separate state, subsequent to Israel’s withdrawal of its forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 1995, the Palestinians achieved independence and autonomy. The peace process suffered a setback, because the Hamas continued to attack Israel and the latter failed to withdraw its troops. In 1998, the PLO and Israel had signed a land – for – security pact. In 2000, US peace efforts ended in failure, and there was unending violence on both sides (Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 2003). The PLO is composed of several groups, and each of these has its own founders and organizational framework. The leaders of some of these groups had challenged the leadership of Arafat. Some groups had been branded as rejectionist groups as they refused to recognize the September 13, 1993 PLO – Israel accord. They also opposed interim agreements entered into by the PLO and Israel. These rejectionist groups include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or PFLP, led by George Habash, which is a Marxist group. Subsequent to the 1993 Israel – Palestinian Declaration of Principles agreement, the PFLP withdrew from the PLO. Another organization was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command or the PFLP-GC that had been founded by Ahmad Jibril. It was a Damascus based group, with a pro – Syrian faction, which withdrew from the PLO. Nayif Hawatmeh had founded the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine or DFLP, a partner of the PLO coalition. It was a Marxist organization that had joined the PLO in the year 1999. Moreover, the Palestine Liberation Front or PLF, led by Abu Abbas, continued in the PLO coalition (Katzman, 2002). The PFLP, the PFLP-GC, and the PLF were extremist groups that had indulged in terrorist acts against Israel, subsequent to the 1993 Declaration of Principles. These three extremist groups were termed the Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, was categorized as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in its first FTO list published in 1997. However, at the behest of Arafat, and after it had accepted the peace with Israel; it was excluded from the list of FTO’s in 1999. Other coalition groups in the PLO that were not branded as FTOs included the As – Saiqa, the Arab Liberation Front, which was a pro – Iraq faction group, the Popular Struggle Front, the People’s Party, formerly known as the Palestinian Communist Party, and the Democratic Union that was known by its initials FIDA (Katzman, 2002). The timeline of important events in the history of the PLO – Israel relationship has been appended below: December 1968: On the 28th of December 1968, Israeli commandoes attacked the Beirut International Airport. In this operation, more than twelve airplanes were heavily damaged, while some of them were completely destroyed. This operation was launched in retaliation to the attacks on an Israeli civilian flight at the Athens airport in Greece. In this attack, two Palestinian nationals were charged with having attacked an airplane in Athens. This attack had resulted in the death of an Israeli passenger (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). November 1969:Â  Yasser Arafat and the Lebanese commander – in – chief, Emile Bustani, met in Cairo and ratified an agreement. Under the terms of that agreement Lebanon had to recognize the Palestinian revolution. That agreement allowed Palestinians and the Lebanese to jointly fight against Israel without compromising Lebanon’s welfare and sovereignty. Although the agreement was made for twenty years of joint struggle, Lebanon escinded it in 1987 (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1970-1971: Jordan expelled the PLO following a severe battle in their country, which had led to the death of thousands of people. Subsequently, the PLO shifted its base of operations to Lebanon and mounted attacks against Israel from Lebanon. An extremist Palestinian terrorist faction group, Black September, joined the PLO coalition. In September 1970, Jordan initiated a military crackdown on Palestinians (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1972: The terrorist group Black September attacked Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in Germany. In these attacks two Israelis were killed and nine Israeli athletes taken as hostages. The terrorists demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for these hostages. Israel refused to accept these conditions and a counter attack was mounted by the West German commandoes, during which four terrorists and one policeman were killed (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). April 1973: In a covert operation, the future Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, led a team of Israeli commandoes, in women’s attire and killed three prominent PLO leaders in Beirut (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 975: There was fierce civil war in Lebanon between the Palestinians and pro – Palestinian Lebanese militant groups, and Lebanon’s Christian militant groups. They fought each other for fifteen years, until 1990, when the civil war ended officially (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1976: Syria deployed its peacekeeping forces in Lebanon to assist Lebanese authorities to end the war. The Syrian fo rces remained in Lebanon for thirty years, until April 2005 (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). March 1978:Â  The PLO attacked a bus in northern Israel, and in retaliation, the Israeli forces entered Lebanon and pushed the PLO forces far from the border. The UN Security Council ratified a resolution, which instructed Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from Lebanon. Accordingly Israel withdrew its forces, and Major General Saad Haddad established a security zone of twelve miles wide, all along the border. This security zone was meant to prevent Trans – border attacks on Israel (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). September 1978:Â  The US President Jimmy Carter was instrumental in bringing about the Camp David Accord. This Accord led to the establishment of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It also provided sufficient groundwork for a similar peace treaty between Israel, Lebanon and other neighboring Arab states (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). July 17, 1981: Israeli forces attacked the PLO headquarters in West Beirut, and this operation claimed more than three hundred civilian lives. The United States once again intervened and established a cease – fire agreement between Israel, the PLO and Syria. At that particular time, Syrian troops were deployed in Lebanon (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1982: Until the 6th of June 1982 a cease – fire was maintained. It was broken when Israel attacked Lebanon with a sixty thousand army. This was in retaliation to the killing of Israeli’s ambassador to Britain. However, Arafat and the leaders of the PLO escaped from Lebanon and settled in Tunisia. They remained there until 1994 and then moved on to Gaza (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). On 14th September, Bashir Gemayel, the Lebanese president – elect, was assassinated before his swearing in ceremony. He had the support of Israel, and subsequent to his assassination, Israeli troops entered West Beirut and engaged in what could be deemed to be genocide, in which more than eight hundred Palestinian refugees were mercilessly killed by the Lebanese Christian militant groups in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The world community accused Israel for its failure to stop the genocide. During this period, a fundamentalist Shiite Muslim extremist group Hezbollah emerged in Beirut, the Bekka Valley and southern Lebanon. Hezbollah was sponsored by Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards had imparted adequate training and had provided weapons to the Hezbollah. Syria also, lent its support to the Hezbollah, whose fundamental aim was to establish a Shiite Islamic state in Lebanon. Moreover, it aimed to expel Israel and the US military from the region (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). April 18, 1983: Hezbollah launched a number of suicide bombers against the US embassy in West Beirut. In this operation nearly sixty – three people were killed. This attack served as a portent regarding the future attacks against Western nations (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). May 17, 1983: The US achieved an agreement between Lebanon and Israel, and both these nations ratified the agreement, which sought the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon under a conditional withdrawal of Syrian forces. However, Syria refused to accept this agreement (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). October 23, 1983:Â  A suicide bomber from the Hezbollah penetrated into the headquarters of the US Marine and French forces in Beirut and detonated the bomb on his person. This bombing resulted in the death of two hundred and ninety – eight people. Of these, two hundred and forty – one were US Marines and other military staff. Following this attack, the US withdrew its forces from Lebanon (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). January 18, 1984: Malcolm Kerr, President of the American University of Beirut was assassinated (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). March 1984: Lebanon rescinded the May 17, 1983 peace accord, consequent to increasing pressure from Syria (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). September 20, 1984: The US embassy annex in East Beirut was heavily bombarded, resulting in the death of twenty – three people in the attack (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). June 1985: Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon, all the same it controlled the twelve mile wide security zone along the southern border until May 2000 (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). 1990: The fifteen year civil war in Lebanon was officially ended (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). July 1993: Israel attacked southern Lebanon for a week, with a view to end the attacks waged by the Hezbollah on several towns in Israel (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). April 1996: There was fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah for sixteen days. In this battle, nearly one hundred and thirty – seven people were killed. Most of the casualties were Lebanese civilians (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). May 2000:Â  Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon and the United Nations declared the Blue Line to be the actual border between these two nations (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). September 2003: Israel warplanes bombarded southern Lebanon, in retaliation to the launching of antiaircraft missiles by the Hezbollah against Israeli airplanes flying over that region (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). October 2003: Israel and Lebanon exchanged gunfire in the Shebaa Farms, which was a disputed area (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). February 14, 2005: Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister was assassinated by militants, which pressurized Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. In April, Syria withdrew all its troops from Lebanon (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006). July 2006: Militants belonging to Hezbollah entered Israel and killed three Israeli soldiers. They abducted two soldiers and demanded an exchange of prisoners. Israel refused to accept their offer. Subsequently, five more Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush. The response of Israel was a blitzkrieg, and Israel blockaded naval routes and heavily bombarded hundreds of Lebanese targets. It also bombed Beirut’s airport and the headquarters of Hezbollah in southern Beirut. In response to these Israeli attacks, Hezbollah launched attacks using rockets on northern Israeli cities. This battle resulted in the demise of hundreds of Lebanese civilians. Subsequently, Israel conducted a two week military campaign in Gaza in retaliation to the abduction of its soldiers (Timeline: Decades of conflict in Lebanon, Israel, 2006).

John Lockes Social Contract Theory

John Lockes Social Contract Theory The agreement of the society to surrender its rights partially or entirely to the ruling government or authority is a social contract. The social contract is the basis of societys moral values today because it gives government the liberty to decide what is right and wrong depending on each societys socialization structure, all in the name of the rule of law. The social contract theory has been in existence for a very long time, right from the days of Plato (380BC) to John Rawls of the 20th century. The social contract bears the responsibility of both citizen and government and is introduced to protect an already peaceful society, or to form one. It is associated with modern political theory. Idealists and liberalist such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques-Rousseau and John Locke have influenced constitutions around the world a great deal especially the West with their theories. The social contract is generally supposed to provide justice and security to citizens within its boundaries. The state of nature is a place envisioned by a philosopher, prior to the existence of the social contract. The social contract is preceded after a philosopher has given his view of the state of nature. The state of nature does not have any moral or physical structures in place. It has to be envisioned. In the state of nature, there are no laws in place and no civilization. Man is either described as one who lives in harmony with his fellow men or fights for his survival. Idealist philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean Jacques Rousseau argue that, since man is rational, in his state of nature there would be co-operation in existence and therefore his social contract must embody laws that are rational. On the other hand, realist philosophers such as Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes disagree with the optimistic notion of human beings. They argue that human beings are se lf-centred and would promote their interest first in all situations; therefore their state of nature would be chaotic and disorganised. The survivors of such a place would be only the strong or swift ones, therefore his social contract should allow irrational decisions to be taken by the head of state for the greater good of the people. The social contract simply implies that the people give up some rights to a government and/or other authority in order to accept or jointly preserve social order. John Locke, a liberal philosopher of the 18th century and the author of the famous and influential book, The Second Treatise of Government pioneered the need for the respect of human rights. Locke begins his theory by visualizing a state of nature that human beings live in before agreeing to the social contract. In Lockes state of nature, there is freedom, but not entirely because he claims that the law of nature governing this estate is from God. Rights and liberties are respected because he views human beings as rational. In the event where human beings react irrationally to negative human behavior, Locke suggests the need for a social contract, an agreement between the people of the state of nature to have an authority that would ensure justice and equality. One may react irrationally when meting out a punishment to an offender; another person may also intervene and punish the offender. To prevent a biased form of justice being carried out, Locke suggests an agreement among the pe ople to form a government that would make laws that would ensure equal justice for all and protection of rights found in the state of nature. In the state of nature there is no political authority in existence, however, moral values do exist. The Law of Nature, which is on Lockes view the basis of all morality, and given to us by God, commands that we not harm others with regards to their life, health, liberty, or possessions (par. 6).  [i]  Life, health and liberty are some of the fundamental rights that are found in the state of nature. The social contract which Locke suggests, must respect these basic human rights which are found in the state of nature John Lockes State and Law of Nature A state also of equality, wherein all the power of jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦should also be amongst one another, without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.  [ii]   -Second Treatise of Government, Locke To understand the state of nature, society must be viewed without any present authority, ruling monarch or government. It contains no houses, buildings, farmlands, culture or social amenities. John Lockes state of nature assures equality for all men. He believes that we will not entirely be free in the state of nature because we will be bound by the laws of nature. The law of nature which compels every and reason, which is that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life health, liberty or possessions for men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent and infinitely wise Maker.  [iii]  This law of nature enables the perceptive that, since we are all Gods creation, automatically we are all equal; therefore we have no right to take to take anothers life or possessions. In the state of nature, when no mans rights are being invaded then the law of nature is being observed. However, the law of nature allows an offender to be punished for the offence he committed. Everyone bound by the laws of nature have the right to punish transgressors of the law. This is because the law ensures equality and therefore it cannot appoint one person who would obtain a senior role to carry out justice. The problem with allowing everyone to be an executioner of the law is that a biased sentence could be carried out since emotions could come in the way. John Locke identifies that self-love will make men partial to themselves and their friends which will not reflect a true and just system and ill nature and revenge will carry them too far in punishing others and hence nothing but confusionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ To solve this problem, Locke proposes a social contract. The Social Contract The social contract he proposes is an agreement between the citizens and the ruling government. It is a solution to the problems of the state of nature. The government in power must be concerned with the well-being of the citizen. It must preserve his rights and punish the transgressors of the law. Such a government can be described as a legitimate government. An illegitimate government would be the one that would fail to protect the natural rights of its citizens and violate the rights of its subjects. Locke states that when a civil society is popularly entered into, it cannot become a dictatorship because power must come from above but legitimacy must come from below.  [iv]   This explains the reason why Locke argues that a society has the right to do away with a government that is not obeying the laws of the land by being involved in negative practices such as cheating, corruption, torture and nepotism. This provides the grounds for a legitimate rebellion. The government can be removed from power through the legitimate processes such as elections. Lockes arguments for the social contract and for the right of citizens to revolt against their king were enormously influential on the democratic revolutions that followed, especially on Thomas Jefferson, and the founders of the United States  [v]  look for more on the tacit consent Flaws of the Social Contract One of Lockes flaws is his contradiction of how exactly we are obliged to be a part of the social contract. He first discusses how the first citizens become a part of the contract by individual consent and how subsequent generations become a part of it by tacit consent. It does not hold because then it would be unconsciously forced unto the subsequent generations if they are not asked their opinion. For a society that is supposed to ensure freedom and equality, it is violating the rights of its citizens. Lockes view that permanent citizenship depends wholly on the individuals consent -and even express consent- is both unhistorical and contrary to all legal doctrine as any instructed modern reader will easily perceive.  [vi]  This is how Frederick Pollock views Lockes flaw of the consent in his book. Locke does not talk about what the ruling government must do if the citizens relegate their side of the contract. It cannot be applicable in the pursuit of happiness because it does not defend the minority or those living out of it. Generations tacit consent: agreeing to the unknown. Describe contract.;authority,rights of the people.what rights are they giving up? What will keep the contract binding? f

columbia :: essays research papers

I would love to visit Columbia, but I would not like to live there. I wouldn’t want to live there because must of Columbia is poverty. One US dollar would equal 2,504.24. So, that means there money isn’t worth a lot. There literacy rate is 91% so they are educated. I would love to visit Colombia because Shakira was born there and she is really hot. I also want to experience a different culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One reason I will never live in Colombia is because most of it is poverty. Population below poverty line is 55%. Maybe that's why they have drug cartel. One of the major drugs coming from there is cocaine. So the poor people have nothing to lose and everything to gain. One reason I would love to live there is because if you too $125,000 US dollars that would equal $62,606,000 Colombian pesos. So you would be rich over there. With that kind of money you could buy a mansion and impress a lot of beautiful women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One reason I would love to visit Colombia is they have really good coffee. Also Shakira was native there; so that means there are more beautiful women over there. I also want to learn some Colombian boxing or other kind of fighting. So that I could have experience when I join UFDC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). It’s no holds bared fighting, I wold also like to take a picture in front of Shakiras old house.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last reason I want to go visit Colombia is I want to engage in a different culture. Not so much the religion part, but their way of living. I would also love to eat some of their native foods. I want to dress like them because they look funny in the clothes, but they always have a smile on their face. While I’m there why not get some Colombian rum in use, right. I wouldn’t mind boxing and making money to pay for the rum I’ll be drinking.

The Americas to 1500 Essay -- essays papers

THE AMERICAS TO 1500 I. Methodology in the History This period, which deals with the world the Indians knew before the arrival of European explorers, poses difficulties flowing mostly from the lack of the usual evidentiary foundation for doing history: written documents (for example, letters, speeches, treaties, constitutions, laws, books, newspapers, magazines, almanacs). This lack need not be a major obstacle to historical study, however. Indeed, one of the most important things we can accomplish in teaching this period is devising ways to give students a sense of the spectrum of methods that historians use to investigate and understand the past. We can give students a sense of the breadth and depth of the historian's task and the remarkable array of tools and techniques available to the historian to find out about the past. In seeking to understand the first human beings who settled North and South America either 15,000 or 40,000 years ago (the dates are a matter of vigorous historical dispute), historians use some or all of the following: archaeology (digs for artifacts, examinations of burial sites, close study of ancient constructions such as the cliff dwellings of the western United States, or the mounds left by the mound-builder peoples of the southeastern United States); comparative religion and folklore -- the study of creation myths, legends, and folktales told by Indian peoples; medicine -- tracing such biological factors as human bloodtypes to show how different peoples (the Aztec, the Comanche, the Seminole, the Kwakiutl) may well share a common ancestry, or studying the differing responses of Indian and European peoples to diseases to illustrate how contact between the cultures occasionally proved fatal to the indigenous culture; geology, climatology, and ecology -- to reconstruct the land as the Indians found it, to identify the ways they lived off the land and in harmony with it, and to provide a basis for comparison between Indian and European understandings of the relationship between human beings and t he natural world; linguistics -- to trace the origins and development of Indian languages and the genealogy of Indian language families; anthropology -- to identify shared cultural elements and cultural distinctions between Indian peoples; and even "conventional" techniques of history -- e.g., close interpretation of such histo... ..., and that technological insights such as the wheel are not inevitable.) Indian economies were shaped by their geography, climate, and ecology. As noted above, some Indian peoples were primarily hunters and grazers, while others were primarily agricultural, and still others possessed complex, sophisticated, and successful mixed economies that rivaled European economic systems. One last point: Again, all these areas remain controversial in the extreme, implicating as they do such disputes as whether Indian peoples are "primitive" and whether the concept of "primitive" is useful or even appropriate in analyzing a different people's culture and way of life. Further, as we see in essay II, a complicating factor in the study of the Americas before the arrival of European explorers and settlers is the idea -- widely circulated and discussed during the 500the anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the "New World" -- that the Europeans dispossessed the rightful inhabitants of these continents, and that all later American civilization and history, however notable and estimable its achievements and ideals, is based on a colossal series of acts of expropriation, fraud , and genocide.

Majority Rule :: Essays Papers

Majority Rule According to John C. Calhoun’s â€Å"Disquisition on Government†, Rousseau’s ideas were wrong. Unlike Rousseau, Calhoun believes that man is more self-interested than socially interested therefore Rousseau’s idea of a sovereign making a fair general interest decision obsolete. Calhoun acknowledges the fact that in any society there has to be a decision making procedure and a form of power. He then explains how that power will naturally make self-interest a priority. Calhoun breaks up the decision making process of voting into two different categories, numerical/absolute majority and constitutional/concurrent majority. Calhoun stresses the fact that there is a major difference between these two and â€Å"that they cannot be confounded without leading to great and fatal errors†. Numerical majority is described as a majority of numbers, which does not consider the actual people who make up this â€Å"so called† majority. Mr. Calhoun insists that confounding the two majorities and considering numerical majority as the only majority will in fact tear apart the popular government. Instead he explicates the importance of every persons opinion, this is what is so overlooked in a majority rule, because there are more numbers does not make that a right majority. A majority is most often in control or heavily involved with its government. Calhoun explains that if a constitution is made to be easily changed to limit the powers of some departments, as well as this may seem, can cause harm. A majority that is limited by one of these provisions will find it easier to do away with these provisions because of their numbers, while the minority will not have the ability to keep the provisions. These beliefs are easily correlated with the issues of states rights during the civil war. I agree with Calhoun and his beliefs of majority. Although our nation today is prosperous this does not make the decisions of and other events in our country right. We have almost lost touch with many groups and simply dubbed them the minority.

Guide for employers Essay

Eliminating would mean developing a zero tolerance anti-bully policy while the work environment is being structured to incorporate a sense of autonomy and individual challenge. The best way is to define specific duties and responsibilities of every employee working in the organization. This shall give one a good reference of what and what not to do as covered by the job description. People management practices of managers and work systems must be determined like staff shortages, poorly defined jobs, and lack of policies and procedures including leadership styles. A good and strong HR is but appropriate when there is a need for control of attitude and behavior like when the bullies are the managers. It is high time that HR shall have a distinct place in the organizational chart like organization reengineering that will really make them effective in responding to employee’s problems like sexual harassment, bullies, and workplace violence. However bullying is not always intentional. Workplace diversity also plays a minor role in it when people do not seem to realize that the effects on seemingly innocent gestures or words on others may be perceived negatively and may have a detrimental effect brought about by relative cultural differences. The organization then is encouraged to carefully design and implement an equal opportunity or diversity policies to initiate culture change and work ethics like what is and what is not an acceptable behavior. This will of course lessen counterproductive behaviors. Allow no idle time, see to it that each one is performing and completing their job on time. Preoccupation with the task on hand makes employees look and observe other people less. Idle times promotes chatting and looking at other people’s personal businesses. HR of course shall make use of productivity tools measurement like man-machine charts to make sure that employees used their time wisely but not overworked. The organization must promote team empowerment and group dynamics leadership to care for the values, interest and emotional responses of the members while taking care of the interests of the organization. Develop a code of ethics that everyone is able to understand and follow. HR needed to establish an independent contact with employees and secretly conduct attitude surveys especially on departments where there is high statistics of staff turnover. Eliminate trouble spots by holding awareness seminar and providing a kind of online hotline where employees may be able to tell their problems to HR direct. It could be a tedious task reading emails and complaints but there is not much option better than open communication. Procedure must be developed in handling complaints regarding bullying. The easiest part is to make a blog as part of the company website and encourage employees to contribute. One can know if something is happening within the organization or not by the way they write. To manage stress, deep rooted problems even domestic ones, big organizations must be able to have a counselor (Tehrani 2001, p. 209) offline and online. If it is too expensive then the organization must be able to refer them to one that is not so expensive and that can closely work with HR. Domestic problems has greater tendency to get spilled out in workplaces. Stress and anxiety affects productivity and so employers must provide all the features that could eliminate such deficiency. Domestic violence is not just a private matter anymore because it could get spilled in the workplace anytime. Bullying breed bullying and violence breeds violence. Bully and violence complaints must be immediately responded, investigated and properly documented. This will also paved way to improving current anti-bully policy on hand. Since this is a problem of global dimension, there is a need to evaluate the violence prevention programs and refer any difficulties to an organization that specializes in the field. Employers must keep records of the bullying to help determine the reasons for the bully to be able to find relative solutions for it. The anti-bully policy must be made available in the company’s website along with the organization’s contact person for quick reference. Remember that one is dealing with the behavior and not with the person so it would be good to provide counseling and personal development programs too. References ACT Workcover 2004 Preventing workplace bullying: a guide for employers and employees ACT, Australia, pp. 4. Retrieved November 6, 2007 Website: http://www. workcover. act. gov. au/pdfs/guides_cop/Bullying_Guide-Final. pdf SHARP 2006 Workplace bullying: what everyone needs to know Department of Labor and Industries, Western Australia, pp. 1. Retrieved November 6, 2007 Website: http://www. lni. wa. gov/Safety/Research/Files/Bullying. pdf Tehrani, N. 2001 Building a culture of respect: managing bullying at work Taylor & Francis, London, pp. 209. The CMR Group 2006 Workplace bullying: what can you do? Retrieved November 6, 2007 Website: http://www. badbossology. com/i9763-c47

Humans Did Not Cause Global Warming Environmental Sciences Essay

In the universe we live in today, we are ever looking for a opportunity to indicate a finger and name person to fault. And recently they have told us that the incrimination rests to a great extent on our shoulders. However, this clip we are non the guilty 1s. And today my spouse and I will turn out that to you. We shall demo you that this clip human existences are guiltless. That they can non manus whomp us into a rubric of incrimination based on an thought that our opposition seems to believe. We shall demo that there are two sides to everything and hopefully you will recognize that you have been earnestly misled. And that worlds are non ever the destroyers in every state of affairs. Our thesis is that recent addition in atmosphere CO2 is non chiefly caused or due to human activity. For our first statement we believe that, natural causes such as vents emanations and atoms of dust that can be released by vents into the ambiance. Animal respiration, decay and workss can every bit good make more CO2 than human activity can. For our 2nd statement we believe the nature consequence of H2O vapour and organic affair diminution makes CO2 in the atmosphere worse. For our 3rd statement, we would wish to explicate that the Earth is wobbly, so it does non revolve in a accurate nor even manner. Therefore far it creates atmospheric alterations on its ain. Merely by its uneven rotary motion around the Sun. â€Å" Harmonizing to the IPCC, 150 billion metric tons of C go into the ambiance from natural procedures every twelvemonth. This is about 30 times the sum of C worlds emit. † hypertext transfer protocol: //www.grist.org/article/natural-emissions-dwarf-human-emissions A When speaking about natural causes that admit CO2, you could easy convey up things such as vent emanations, and carnal respiration/decay. So many focal point obviously on human emanations and yet what about natures class? Volcanoes entirely can breathe 230 million dozenss of CO2 into our ambiance in a individual twelvemonth. Something every bit small as a little sum of vent exhausts can drastically alter the sum of CO2 in the ambiance as we know it. â€Å" Volcanic eruptions normally contain a figure of harmful gases like C dioxide, S dioxide, H2O vapour, H sulphide, H fluoride, H chloride, C monoxide, halocarbon and metal chlorides. The H chloride and H fluoride nowadays in volcanic eruptions are of import subscribers to acid rain. These compounds get dissolved in H2O droplets, present in clouds and so fall back on Earth as acid rain. â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-volcanoes.html Now merely conceive of all these harmful elements eating off at our ambiance and destructing it? We merely have one ambiance and with all those gases from something like a vent. A thing that is portion of nature itself that is really endangering the Earth and our being every bit good. But that ‘s merely the thing. Vents do non merely harm us, but they every bit good harm all the workss on the land. And with the emanation of lava and ash autumn. It can run things such as trees, flowers and harvests. Another non- anthropogenic cause is really animals themselves. In fact animate beings can do around 57 billion dozenss of CO2 emanations of all time individual twelvemonth, merely by take a breathing. Animal decay every bit good plays a large portion in CO2 emanations. When a animate being dies it ‘s organic structure releases C dioxide into the air. And when the animate being happens to be in the ocean, it sinks to the underside and releases much more carbon dioxide. This mean s that organic structures of H2O, such as lakes and oceans every bit good have carbon dioxide within them. Plants every bit good let go of C dioxide into the air. Though they do adsorb CO2 utilizing photosynthesis, at dark they use up the O and merely let go of C dioxide. This is another procedure that is known as, â€Å" respiration. † In the spring and autumn clip there is a batch more C dioxide in the air, ( most a consequence from natural causes ) because a batch of workss, animate beings and dead algae are disintegrating. Because most died during the winter clip. This all happens in a rhythm, when the non life and populating organisms exchange C between each other, it is known as â€Å" The Carbon Cycle. †A Mentions:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.grist.org/article/natural-emissions-dwarf-human-emissions hypertext transfer protocol: //www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-volcanoe.html hypertext transfer protocol: //www.personal.psu.edu/jam5646/edgloo/project2.html hypertext transfer protocol: //www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html hypertext transfer protocol: //encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/carbon+cycle hypertext transfer protocol: //tellus.ssec.wisc.edu/outreach/teach/ideas/kotoski/Minifact_Sheets/Minifact6_Carbon_Dioxide.pdf A † How much does H2O vapor amplify CO2 warming? Without any feedbacks, a doubling of CO2 would warm the Earth around 1A °C. Taken on its ain, H2O vapour feedback approximately doubles the sum of CO2 warming. When other feedbacks are included ( eg – loss of reflective powers due to runing ice ) , the entire heating from a doubling of CO2 is about 3A °C † – hypertext transfer protocol: //www.skepticalscience.com/water-vapor-greenhouse-gas.htm A Water vapour which is a natural cause does hold a really large impact on our ambiance. It warms the Earth in a certain manner. And can duplicate the consequence that CO2 on its ain seems to hold. In fact when C dioxide increases, it allows H2O vapour to come in the ambiance easier. These two nursery gases work manus and manus when sing the Earth ‘s ambiance. And because of that H2O vapour makes the effects that CO2 manner more worse than they CO2 is on it ‘s ain. The organic affair diminution as good is impacting the CO2 degrees. Organic affair has to make with the natural stuffs that can be found in dirt. â€Å" Organic affair is the fraction of things that one time lived, including works and animate being remains, cells and tissues, works roots and dirt bugs. † -http: //www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0016/41641/Organic_matter.pdf Organic affair is a beginning of nutrient for things such as workss, because it holds a batch of foods. When added to regular dirt it helps the works to be in a better status than it already was. Organic affair is better for a works because it can absorb more H2O than regular dirt can. In fact it can keep about six times its regular weight in H2O. Which means in desert like topographic points it can do a works last longer and utilize much less H2O often. Because of its diminution, when the dirt in the organic affair ‘s decays, it is let go ofing more and more C dioxide into the ambiance. Since these dirts contain dead organisms it holds twice the sum of C that happens to be held in our ambiance. In Europe ‘s dirt alone it is said to incorporate 75 billion dozenss of organic C, merely by organic affair.A Mentions:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.skepticalscience.com/water-vapor-greenhouse-gas.htm hypertext transfer protocol: //www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/41641/Organic_matter.pdf hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.html hypertext transfer protocol: //www.slate.com/id/2182564/ hypertext transfer protocol: //soco.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/ENFactSheet-03.pdf â€Å" As the Earth spins, it does non accomplish perfect rotary motion. It really wobbles somewhat, therefore alternately exposing the northern and southern latitudes to more and less solar radiation. This wobble in the Earth ‘s rotary motion has been doing alterations in the temperature of the ambiance for many 1000000s of old ages. † – hypertext transfer protocol: //www.acoolerclimate.com/global-warming-natural-causes.html A If the Earth is so inaccurate, how could be perchance be certain that everything that is go oning is something that we cause. It is perchance that we may be wholly off on what precisely is in our ambiance in the first topographic point. And because the Earth takes it upon itself to drastically alter the ambiance, there could be unexplained clime alteration. This means that it can convey unaccountable conditions to different topographic points. Such as doing a warmer topographic point like Africa colder and a colder topographic point like as Antarctica heater. Therefore far, this is another natural cause that can turn out to be much more fatal than human activity. It affects non merely human life, but carnal life and even works life. â€Å" Reasonably unstable orbit of our planet as a chief ground why the Earth experiences mass clime alteration and associated extinctions. The Earth ‘s rickety orbit could regularly signal alterations that finally prove fatal to about all species of workss and animate beings populating at a given clip. † -http: //www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891454,00.html

Genetically modified organism Essay

Genetically modifying foods might seem very unorthodox with the changing of traits and genes within the foods, but genetically modifying foods does not hurt the consumer in any way. Earlier in the 1990’s, genetically modified foods were announced by the Food and Drug Administration to not be â€Å"inherently dangerous†. However, when a type of transgenic corn was pulled from the market when it was mistakenly entered into the open food supply in 2000 that was not fit for human consumption, it led to growing concerns of the safety of consuming genetically modified foods. These foods are not only safe, but transformative. Agricultural biotechnology has lessened the amount of chemical pesticides and herbicides used in these foods. This science has been making important contributions to the relief of world hunger, genetically modified foods are obviously safe to consume. Genetically modified foods are definitely safe and nutritious because if the consumption of genetically modified foods posed a health threat, we would have known it by now. The biotechnology within the foods has made it possible to have a safe consumption. Genetically modified foods have never been proven to be harmful to humans. â€Å"Genetically modified (GM) food has become so common in the U. S. that most people do not even know when they are consuming it† (â€Å"Update: Genetically Modified Food†, 2008). If the foods were harmful, people would be getting sick all the time since most of the time we don’t even know that we are consuming it. â€Å"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared that GM foods were not ‘inherently dangerous’† (ProQuest Staff, â€Å"At Issue: Genetically Modified Foods†, 2013). The FDA is a huge association that regulates the purity and safety of foods, drugs, and cosmetics. If they say that the GM foods are safe, then they are definitely safe. Genetically modified foods are safe for the environment. â€Å"Most GM crops have been modified to be either herbicide- or insect-resistant†¦because the plants themselves are poisonous to insects, farmers do not need to spray their crops with pesticides, which harm the environment. Biotechnicians also say modifications like those lead to more efficient farming and, in turn, result in higher crop yields† (â€Å"Update: Genetically Modified Food†, 2008). Since farmers do not need to spray their crops with pesticides, they don’t damage the earth, making genetically modified foods safe. â€Å"By raising the oil content of other plants non-petroleum, organic lubricants can be harvested, reducing dependence on fossil fuel† (â€Å"Modified Food May Enrich Our Health†, 1999). Less fossil fuel will be produced, making the genetically modified foods safe for the earth. Not everyone is for genetically modifying foods, though. According to the article, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Be Banned†, products of the biotech industry cannot be considered safe because there has only been one human health study published in 2004 called â€Å"The Newcastle Study† (Andy Rees, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Be Banned†, 2003). Having only one published story of the health effects of genetically modified foods is a legitimate reason to want to ban the cultivation of the GM crops, but from a scientific perspective, there really should not be a concern of GM foods being more harmful compared to the non GM foods. Genetically modified have no scientific evidence of not being safe. GM crops can contribute to a great future for all people, but if the cultivation of GM crops were to be banned, no research could be done to find the positives and negatives of GM crops. According to the article, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Not be Banned, but Carefully Monitored†, some crops that are genetically modified to be resistant to maybe herbicide or pests are exposed to a lot less of the chemical contaminations than most of the foods we eat are (Conor Meade, â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Not be Banned, but Carefully Monitored†, 2003). So, it is possible that GM food is not bad for us at all. And although GM crops are not the solution for the sicknesses of the world, if the technology is handled by publicly funded institutions, they can find possible ways to modify the foods to create a much greater future for the people unable to consume them. Genetically modified foods are definitely safe and nutritious because if the consumption of genetically modified foods posed a health threat, we would have known it by now. Because of the incapability to prove that GM foods are definitely neither safe nor unsafe, the issue will remain controversial. People will always be uncertain about conducting research of the topic because of that, but if it remains like this, foods will not be able to be modified to help the health of others by creating allergy-resistant products, and we will never be able to find any more information about the GM crops making them always remain a health risk mystery. In addition, GM crops could be very beneficial and make a great future for all people. But without careful and frequent study and research, proper decisions about the cultivation and use of GM crops can never be made. Research on GM crops by public institutions is absolutely necessary in order to find more information about the issue. Without this research, a ban on GM crops is definitely not the best idea. Since genetically modified foods have been on market shelves for over twenty years and there has been no proof that they hurt anyone, it is safe to assume that no one will have a late health consequence from digesting a GM food they had over a decade ago. Instead of banning the research and cultivation of the GM foods, research should be accepted to be searched about the topic because eventually the GM food industry could do wonders. Works Cited Meade, Conor. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Not Be Banned, but Carefully Monitored. † Genetically Engineered Foods. Ed. Nancy Harris. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"Careful Stewardship of GM Crops Is Needed, Not a Ban. † Irish Times 23 June 2007: 13. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. Rees, Andy. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food Should Be Banned. † Genetically Engineered Foods. Ed. Nancy Harris. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"GM Potatoes—Facts and Fictions. † The Ecologist 36. 9 (22 Sept. 2006): 14-15. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. ProQuest Staff. â€Å"At Issue: Genetically Modified Foods. † ProQuest LLC. 2013: n. pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. â€Å"Update: Genetically Modified Food. † Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 31 Dec. 2008. Web. â€Å"Modified Foods May Enrich Our Health. † Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, Canada). 20 Dec 1999: A12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web.

Chapter 31 The Third Task

â€Å"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?† Ron whispered. Everything Harry had seen in the Pensieve, nearly everything Dumbledore had told and shown him afterward, he had now shared with Ron and Hermione – and, of course, with Sirius, to whom Harry had sent an owl the moment he had left Dumbledore's office. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat up late in the common room once again that night, talking it all over until Harry's mind was reeling, until he understood what Dumbledore had meant about a head becoming so full of thoughts that it would have been a relief to siphon them off. Ron stared into the common room fire. Harry thought he saw Ron shiver slightly, even though the evening was warm. â€Å"And he trusts Snape?† Ron said. â€Å"He really trusts Snape, even though he knows he was a Death Eater?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. Hermione had not spoken for ten minutes. She was sitting with her forehead in her hands, staring at her knees. Harry thought she too looked as though she could have done with a Pensieve. â€Å"Rita Skeeter,† she muttered finally. â€Å"How can you be worrying about her now?† said Ron, in utter disbelief. â€Å"I'm not worrying about her,† Hermione said to her knees. â€Å"I'm just thinking†¦remember what she said to me in the Three Broomsticks? ‘I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl. ‘ This is what she meant, isn't it? She reported his trial, she knew he'd passed information to the Death Eaters. And Winky too, remember†¦'Ludo Bagman's a bad wizard.' Mr. Crouch would have been furious he got off, he would have talked about it at home.† â€Å"Yeah, but Bagman didn't pass information on purpose, did he?† Hermione shrugged. â€Å"And Fudge reckons Madame Maxime attacked Crouch?† Ron said, turning back to Harry. â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry, â€Å"but he's only saying that because Crouch disappeared near the Beauxbatons carriage.† â€Å"We never thought of her, did we?† said Ron slowly. â€Å"Mind you, she's definitely got giant blood, and she doesn't want to admit it-â€Å" â€Å"Of course she doesn't,† said Hermione sharply, looking up. â€Å"Look what happened to Hagrid when Rita found out about his mother. Look at Fudge, jumping to conclusions about her, just because she's part giant. Who needs that sort of prejudice? I'd probably say I had big bones if I knew that's what I'd get for telling the truth.† Hermione looked at her watch. â€Å"We haven't done any practicing!† she said, looking shocked. â€Å"We were going to do the Impediment Curse! We'll have to really get down to it tomorrow! Come on. Harry, you need to get some sleep.† Harry and Ron went slowly upstairs to their dormitory. As Harry pulled on his pajamas, he looked over at Neville's bed. True to his word to Dumbledore, he had not told Ron and Hermione about Neville's parents. As Harry took off his glasses and climbed into his four-poster, he imagined how it must feel to have parents still living but unable to recognize you. He often got sympathy from strangers for being an orphan, but as he listened to Neville's snores, he thought that Neville deserved it more than he did. Lying in the darkness, Harry felt a rush of anger and hate toward the people who had tortured Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom†¦.He remembered the jeers of the crowd as Crouch's son and his companions had been dragged from the court by the dementors†¦.He understood how they had felt†¦.Then he remembered the milk-white face of the screaming boy and realized with a jolt that he had died a year later†¦. It was Voldemort, Harry thought, staring up at the canopy of his bed in the darkness, it all came back to Voldemort†¦.He was the one who had torn these families apart, who had ruined all these lives†¦. Ron and Hermione were supposed to be studying for their exams, which would finish on the day of the third task, but they were putting most of their efforts into helping Harry prepare. â€Å"Don't worry about it,† Hermione said shortly when Harry pointed this out to them and said he didn't mind practicing on his own for a while, â€Å"at least we'll get top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We'd never have found out about all these hexes in class.† â€Å"Good training for when we're all Aurors,† said Ron excitedly, attempting the Impediment Curse on a wasp that had buzzed into the room and making it stop dead in midair. The mood in the castle as they entered June became excited and tense again. Everyone was looking forward to the third task, which would take place a week before the end of term. Harry was practicing hexes at every available moment. He felt more confident about this task than either of the others. Difficult and dangerous though it would undoubtedly be, Moody was right: Harry had managed to find his way past monstrous creatures and enchanted barriers before now, and this time he had some notice, some chance to prepare himself for what lay ahead. Tired of walking in on Harry, Hermione, and Ron all over the school. Professor McGonagall had given them permission to use the empty Transfiguration classroom at lunchtimes. Harry had soon mastered the Impediment Curse, a spell to slow down and obstruct attackers; the Reductor Curse, which would enable him to blast solid objects out of his way; and the Four-Point Spell, a useful discovery of Hermione's that would make his wand point due north, therefore enabling him to check whether he was going in the right direction within the maze. He was still having trouble with the Shield Charm, though. This was supposed to cast a temporary, invisible wall around himself that deflected minor curses; Hermione managed to shatter it with a well-placed Jelly-Legs Jinx, and Harry wobbled around the room for ten minutes afterward before she had looked up the counter-jinx. â€Å"You're still doing really well, though,† Hermione said encouragingly, looking down her list and crossing off those spells they had already learned. â€Å"Some of these are bound to come in handy.† â€Å"Come and look at this,† said Ron, who was standing by the window. He was staring down onto the grounds. â€Å"What's Malfoy doing?† Harry and Hermione went to see. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in the shadow of a tree below. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be keeping a lookout; both were smirking. Malfoy was holding his hand up to his mouth and speaking into it. â€Å"He looks like he's using a walkie-talkie,† said Harry curiously. â€Å"He can't be,† said Hermione, â€Å"I've told you, those sorts of things don't work around Hogwarts. Come on, Harry,† she added briskly, turning away from the window and moving back into the middle of the room, â€Å"let's try that Shield Charm again.† Sirius was sending daily owls now. Like Hermione, he seemed to want to concentrate on getting Harry through the last task before they concerned themselves with anything else. He reminded Harry in every letter that whatever might be going on outside the walls of Hogwarts was not Harry's responsibility, nor was it within his power to influence it. If Voldemort is really getting stronger again, he wrote, my priority is to ensure your safety. He cannot hope to lay hands on you while you are under Dumbledore's protection, but all the same, take no risks: Concentrate on getting through that maze safely, and then we can turn our attention to other matters. Harry's nerves mounted as June the twenty-fourth drew closer, but they were not as bad as those he had felt before the first and second tasks. For one thing, he was confident that, this time, he had done everything in his power to prepare for the task. For another, this was the final hurdle, and however well or badly he did, the tournament would at last be over, which would be an enormous relief. Breakfast was a very noisy affair at the Gryffindor table on the morning of the third task. The post owls appeared, bringing Harry a good-luck card from Sirius. It was only a piece of parchment, folded over and bearing a muddy paw print on its front, but Harry appreciated it all the same. A screech owl arrived for Hermione, carrying her morning copy of the Daily Prophet as usual. She unfolded the paper, glanced at the front page, and spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice all over it. â€Å"What?† said Harry and Ron together, staring at her. â€Å"Nothing,† said Hermione quickly, trying to shove the paper out of sight, but Ron grabbed it. He stared at the headline and said, â€Å"No way. Not today. That old cow.† â€Å"What?† said Harry. â€Å"Rita Skeeter again?† â€Å"No,† said Ron, and just like Hermione, he attempted to push the paper out of sight. â€Å"It's about me, isn't it?† said Harry. â€Å"No,† said Ron, in an entirely unconvincing tone. But before Harry could demand to see the paper. Draco Malfoy shouted across the Great Hall from the Slytherin table. â€Å"Hey, Potter! Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?† Malfoy was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet too. Slytherins up and down the table were sniggering, twisting in their seats to see Harry's reaction. â€Å"Let me see it,† Harry said to Ron. â€Å"Give it here.† Very reluctantly, Ron handed over the newspaper. Harry turned it over and found himself staring at his own picture, beneath the banner headline: â€Å"HARRY POTTER† â€Å"DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS† The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School. Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying. It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potters brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, a nd that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion. â€Å"He might even be pretending,† said one specialist. â€Å"This could be a plea for attention.† The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public. â€Å"Potter can speak Parseltongue,† reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year. â€Å"There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power.† Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue â€Å"as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers.† Similarly, â€Å"anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence.† Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening. â€Å"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?† said Harry lightly, folding up the paper. Over at the Slytherin table, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were laughing at him, tapping their heads with their fingers, pulling grotesquely mad faces, and waggling their tongues like snakes. â€Å"How did she know your scar hurt in Divination?† Ron said. â€Å"There's no way she was there, there's no way she could've heard -â€Å" â€Å"The window was open,† said Harry. â€Å"I opened it to breathe.† â€Å"You were at the top of North Tower!† Hermione said. â€Å"Your voice couldn't have carried all the way down to the grounds!† â€Å"Well, you're the one who's supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging!† said Harry. â€Å"You tell me how she did it!† â€Å"I've been trying!† said Hermione. â€Å"But I†¦but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  An odd, dreamy expression suddenly came over Hermione's face. She slowly raised a hand and ran her fingers through her hair. â€Å"Are you all right?† said Ron, frowning at her. â€Å"Yes,† said Hermione breathlessly. She ran her fingers through her hair again, and then held her hand up to her mouth, as though speaking into an invisible walkie-talkie. Harry and Ron stared at each other. â€Å"I've had an idea,† Hermione said, gazing into space. â€Å"I think I know†¦because then no one would be able to see†¦even Moody†¦and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge†¦but she's not allowed†¦she's definitely not allowed†¦I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library – just to make sure!† With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall. â€Å"Oi!† Ron called after her. â€Å"We've got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes! Blimey,† he said, turning back to Harry, â€Å"she must really hate that Skeeter woman to risk missing the start of an exam. What're you going to do in Binns's class – read again?† Exempt from the end-of-term tests as a Triwizard champion, Harry had been sitting in the back of every exam class so far, looking up fresh hexes for the third task. â€Å"S'pose so,† Harry said to Ron; but just then. Professor McGonagall came walking alongside the Gryffindor table toward him. â€Å"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast,† she said. â€Å"But the task's not till tonight!† said Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time. â€Å"I'm aware of that, Potter,† she said. â€Å"The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them.† She moved away. Harry gaped after her. â€Å"She doesn't expect the Dursleys to turn up, does she?† he asked Ron blankly. â€Å"Dunno,† said Ron. â€Å"Harry, I'd better hurry, I'm going to be late for Binns. See you later.† Harry finished his breakfast in the emptying Great Hall. He saw Fleur Delacour get up from the Ravenclaw table and join Cedric as he crossed to the side chamber and entered. Krum slouched off to join them shortly afterward. Harry stayed where he was. He really didn't want to go into the chamber. He had no family – no family who would turn up to see him risk his life, anyway. But just as he was getting up, thinking that he might as well go up to the library and do a spot more hex research, the door of the side chamber opened, and Cedric stuck his head out. â€Å"Harry, come on, they're waiting for you!† Utterly perplexed. Harry got up. The Dursleys couldn't possibly be here, could they? He walked across the Hall and opened the door into the chamber. Cedric and his parents were just inside the door. Viktor Krum was over in a corner, conversing with his dark-haired mother and father in rapid Bulgarian. He had inherited his fathers hooked nose. On the other side of the room, Fleur was jabbering away in French to her mother. Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, was holding her mother's hand. She waved at Harry, who waved back, grinning. Then he saw Mrs. Weasley and Bill standing in front of the fireplace, beaming at him. â€Å"Surprise!† Mrs. Weasley said excitedly as he smiled broadly and walked over to them. â€Å"Thought we'd come and watch you. Harry!† She bent down and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"You all right?† said Bill, grinning at Harry and shaking his hand. â€Å"Charlie wanted to come, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail.† Fleur Delacour, Harry noticed, was eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder. Harry could tell she had no objection whatsoever to long hair or earrings with fangs on them. â€Å"This is really nice of you,† Harry muttered to Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"I thought for a moment – the Dursleys -â€Å" â€Å"Hmm,† said Mrs. Weasley, pursing her lips. She had always refrained from criticizing the Dursleys in front of Harry, but her eyes flashed every time they were mentioned. â€Å"It's great being back here,† said Bill, looking around the chamber (Violet, the Fat Lady's friend, winked at him from her frame). â€Å"Haven't seen this place for five years. Is that picture of the mad knight still around? Sir Cadogan?† â€Å"Oh yeah,† said Harry, who had met Sir Cadogan the previous year. â€Å"And the Fat Lady?† said Bill. â€Å"She was here in my time,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"She gave me such a telling off one night when I got back to the dormitory at four in the morning -â€Å" â€Å"What were you doing out of your dormitory at four in the morning?† said Bill, surveying his mother with amazement. Mrs. Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling. â€Å"Your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll,† she said. â€Å"He got caught by Apollyon Pringle – he was the caretaker in those days – your father's still got the marks.† â€Å"Fancy giving us a tour, Harry?† said Bill. â€Å"Yeah, okay,† said Harry, and they made their way back toward the door into the Great Hall. As they passed Amos Diggory, he looked around. â€Å"There you are, are you?† he said, looking Harry up and down. â€Å"Bet you're not feeling quite as full of yourself now Cedric's caught you up on points, are you?† â€Å"What?† said Harry. â€Å"Ignore him,† said Cedric in a low voice to Harry, frowning after his father. â€Å"He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Triwizard Tournament – you know, when she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion.† â€Å"Didn't bother to correct her, though, did he?† said Amos Diggory, loudly enough for Harry to hear as he started to walk out of the door with Mrs. Weasley and Bill. â€Å"Still,†¦you'll show him, Ced. Beaten him once before, haven't you?† â€Å"Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble, Amos!† Mrs. Weasley said angrily. â€Å"I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!† Mr. Diggory looked as though he was going to say something angry, but his wife laid a hand on his arm, and he merely shrugged and turned away. Harry had a very enjoyable morning walking over the sunny grounds with Bill and Mrs. Weasley, showing them the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship. Mrs. Weasley was intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she had left school, and reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man called Ogg. â€Å"How's Percy?† Harry asked as they walked around the greenhouses. â€Å"Not good,† said Bill. â€Å"He's very upset,† said Mrs. Weasley, lowering her voice and glancing around. â€Å"The Ministry wants to keep Mr. Crouch's disappearance quiet, but Percy's been hauled in for questioning about the instructions Mr. Crouch has been sending in. They seem to think there's a chance they weren't genuinely written by him. Percy's been under a lot of strain. They're not letting him fill in for Mr. Crouch as the fifth judge tonight. Cornelius Fudge is going to be doing it.† They returned to the castle for lunch. â€Å"Mum – Bill!† said Ron, looking stunned, as he joined the Gryffindor table. â€Å"What're you doing here?† â€Å"Come to watch Harry in the last task!† said Mrs. Weasley brightly. â€Å"I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook. How was your exam?† â€Å"Oh†¦okay,† said Ron. â€Å"Couldn't remember all the goblin rebels' names, so I invented a few. It's all right,† he said, helping himself to a Cornish pasty, while Mrs. Weasley looked stern, â€Å"they're all called stuff like Bodrod the Bearded and Urg the Unclean; it wasn't hard.† Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to them too, and Harry was having such a good time he felt almost as though he were back at the Burrow; he had forgotten to worry about that evening's task, and not until Hermione turned up, halfway through lunch, did he remember that she had had a brainwave about Rita Skeeter. â€Å"Are you going to tell us -?† Hermione shook her head warningly and glanced at Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Hello, Hermione,† said Mrs. Weasley, much more stiffly than usual. â€Å"Hello,† said Hermione, her smile faltering at the cold expression on Mrs. Weasley's face. Harry looked between them, then said, â€Å"Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione's not my girlfriend.† â€Å"Oh!† said Mrs. Weasley â€Å"No – of course I didn't!† But she became considerably warmer toward Hermione after that. Harry, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley whiled away the afternoon with a long walk around the castle, and then returned to the Great Hall for the evening feast. Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table now. Bagman looked quite cheerful, but Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Madame Maxime, looked stern and was not talking. Madame Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and Harry thought her eyes looked red. Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her, There were more courses than usual, but Harry, who was starting to feel really nervous now, didn't eat much. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell. â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now.† Harry got up. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding him; the Weasleys and Hermione all wished him good luck, and he headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor. â€Å"Feeling all right. Harry?† Bagman asked as they went down the stone steps onto the grounds. â€Å"Confident?† â€Å"I'm okay,† said Harry. It was sort of true; he was nervous, but he kept running over all the hexes and spells he had been practicing in his mind as they walked, and the knowledge that he could remember them all made him feel better. They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy. Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest. â€Å"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze,† said Professor McGonagall to the champions. â€Å"If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?† The champions nodded. â€Å"Off you go, then!† said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers. â€Å"Good luck. Harry,† Hagrid whispered, and the four of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze. Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, â€Å"Sonorus,† and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands. â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each – Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!† The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. â€Å"In second place, with eighty points – Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!† More applause. â€Å"And in third place – Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!† Harry could just make out Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione applauding Fleur politely, halfway up the stands. He waved up at them, and they waved back, beaming at him. â€Å"So†¦on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!† said Bagman. â€Å"Three – two – one -â€Å" He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze. The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they entered the maze. Harry felt almost as though he were underwater again. He pulled out his wand, muttered, â€Å"Lumos,† and heard Cedric do the same just behind him. After about fifty yards, they reached a fork. They looked at each other. â€Å"See you,† Harry said, and he took the left one, while Cedric took the right. Harry heard Bagman's whistle for the second time. Krum had entered the maze. Harry sped up. His chosen path seemed completely deserted. He turned right, and hurried on, holding his wand high over his head, trying to see as far ahead as possible. Still, there was nothing in sight. Bagman's whistle blew in the distance for the third time. All of the champions were now inside. Harry kept looking behind him. The old feeling that he was being watched was upon him. The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. He reached a second fork. â€Å"Point Me,† he whispered to his wand, holding it flat in his palm. The wand spun around once and pointed toward his right, into solid hedge. That way was north, and he knew that he needed to go northwest for the center of the maze. The best he could do was to take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible. The path ahead was empty too, and when Harry reached a right turn and took it, he again found his way unblocked. Harry didn't know why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving him. Surely he should have met something by now? It felt as though the maze were luring him into a false sense of security. Then he heard movement right behind him. He held out his wand, ready to attack, but its beam fell only upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side. Cedric looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robe was smoking. â€Å"Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!† he hissed. â€Å"They're enormous – I only just got away!† He shook his head and dived out of sight, along another path. Keen to put plenty of distance between himself and the skrewts, Harry hurried off again. Then, as he turned a corner, he saw†¦a dementor gliding toward him. Twelve feet tall, its face hidden by its hood, its rotting, scabbed hands outstretched, it advanced, sensing its way blindly toward him. Harry could hear its rattling breath; he felt clammy coldness stealing over him, but knew what he had to do†¦. He summoned the happiest thought he could, concentrated with all his might on the thought of getting out of the maze and celebrating with Ron and Hermione, raised his wand, and cried, â€Å"Expecto Patronum!† A silver stag erupted from the end of Harry's wand and galloped toward the dementor, which fell back and tripped over the hem of its robes†¦.Harry had never seen a dementor stumble. â€Å"Hang on!† he shouted, advancing in the wake of his silver Patronus, â€Å"You're a boggart! Riddikulus!† There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke. The silver stag faded from sight. Harry wished it could have stayed, he could have used some company†¦but he moved on, quickly and quietly as possible, listening hard, his wand held high once more. Left†¦right†¦left again†¦Twice he found himself facing dead ends. He did the Four-Point Spell again and found that he was going too far east. He turned back, took a right turn, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him. Harry approached it cautiously, pointing the wand's beam at it. This looked like some kind of enchantment. He wondered whether he might be able to blast it out of the way. â€Å"Reducio!† he said. The spell shot straight through the mist, leaving it intact. He supposed he should have known better; the Reductor Curse was for solid objects. What would happen if he walked through the mist? Was it worth chancing it, or should he double back? He was still hesitating when a scream shattered the silence. â€Å"Fleur?† Harry yelled. There was silence. He stared all around him. What had happened to her? Her scream seemed to have come from somewhere ahead. He took a deep breath and ran through the enchanted mist. The world turned upside down. Harry was hanging from the ground, with his hair on end, his glasses dangling off his nose, threatening to fall into the bottomless sky. He clutched them to the end of his nose and hung there, terrified. It felt as though his feet were glued to the grass, which had now become the ceiling. Below him the dark, star-spangled heavens stretched endlessly. He felt as though if he tried to move one of his feet, he would fall away from the earth completely. Think, he told himself, as all the blood rushed to his head, think†¦ But not one of the spells he had practiced had been designed to combat a sudden reversal of ground and sky. Did he dare move his foot? He could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He had two choices – try and move, or send up red sparks, and get rescued and disqualified from the task. He shut his eyes, so he wouldn't be able to see the view of endless space below him, and pulled his right foot as hard as he could away from the grassy ceiling. Immediately, the world righted itself. Harry fell forward onto his knees onto the wonderfully solid ground. He felt temporarily limp with shock. He took a deep, steadying breath, then got up again and hurried forward, looking back over his shoulder as he ran away from the golden mist, which twinkled innocently at him in the moonlight. He paused at a junction of two paths and looked around for some sign of Fleur. He was sure it had been she who had screamed. What had she met? Was she all right? There was no sign of red sparks – did that mean she had got herself out of trouble, or was she in such trouble that she couldn't reach her wand? Harry took the right fork with a feeling of increasing unease†¦but at the same time, he couldn't help thinking. One champion down†¦ The cup was somewhere close by, and it sounded as though Fleur was no longer in the running. He'd got this far, hadn't he? What if he actually managed to win? Fleetingly, and for the first time since he'd found himself champion, he saw again that image of himself, raising the Triwizard Cup in front of the rest of the school†¦. He met nothing for ten minutes, but kept running into dead ends. Twice he took the same wrong turning. Finally, he found a new route and started to jog along it, his wandlight waving, making his shadow flicker and distort on the hedge walls. Then he rounded another corner and found himself facing a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Cedric was right – it was enormous. Ten feet long, it looked more like a giant scorpion than anything. Its long sting was curled over its back. Its thick armor glinted in the light from Harry's wand, which he pointed at it. â€Å"Stupefy!† The spell hit the skrewt's armor and rebounded; Harry ducked just in time, but could smell burning hair; it had singed the top of his head. The skrewt issued a blast of fire from its end and flew forward toward him. â€Å"Impedimenta!† Harry yelled. The spell hit the skrewt's armor again and ricocheted off; Harry staggered back a few paces and fell over. â€Å"IMPEDIMENTA!† The skrewt was inches from him when it froze – he had managed to hit it on its fleshy, shell-less underside. Panting, Harry pushed himself away from it and ran, hard, in the opposite direction – the Impediment Curse was not permanent; the skrewt would be regaining the use of its legs at any moment. He took a left path and hit a dead end, a right, and hit another; forcing himself to stop, heart hammering, he performed the Four-Point Spell again, backtracked, and chose a path that would take him northwest. He had been hurrying along the new path for a few minutes, when he heard something in the path running parallel to his own that made him stop dead. â€Å"What are you doing?† yelled Cedric's voice. â€Å"What the hell d'you think you're doing?† And then Harry heard Krum's voice. â€Å"Crucio!† The air was suddenly full of Cedric's yells. Horrified, Harry began sprinting up his path, trying to find a way into Cedric's. When none appeared, he tried the Reductor Curse again. It wasn't very effective, but it burned a small hole in the hedge through which Harry forced his leg, kicking at the thick brambles and branches until they broke and made an opening; he struggled through it, tearing his robes, and looking to his right, saw Cedric jerking and twitching on the ground, Krum standing over him. Harry pulled himself up and pointed his wand at Krum just as Krum looked up. Krum turned and began to run. â€Å"Stupefy!† Harry yelled. The spell hit Krum in the back; he stopped dead in his tracks, fell forward, and lay motionless, facedown in the grass. Harry-dashed over to Cedric, who had stopped twitching and was lying there panting, his hands over his face. â€Å"Are you all right?† Harry said roughly, grabbing Cedric's arm. â€Å"Yeah,† panted Cedric. â€Å"Yeah†¦I don't believe it†¦he crept up behind me†¦.I heard him, I turned around, and he had his wand on me†¦.† Cedric got up. He was still shaking. He and Harry looked down at Krum. â€Å"I can't believe this†¦I thought he was all right,† Harry said, staring at Krum. â€Å"So did I,† said Cedric. â€Å"Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?† said Harry. â€Å"Yeah,† said Cedric. â€Å"You don't think Krum got her too?† â€Å"I don't know,† said Harry slowly. â€Å"Should we leave him here?† Cedric muttered. â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"I reckon we should send up red sparks. Someone'll come and collect him†¦otherwise he'll probably be eaten by a skrewt.† â€Å"He'd deserve it,† Cedric muttered, but all the same, he raised his wand and shot a shower of red sparks into the air, which hovered high above Krum, marking the spot where he lay. Harry and Cedric stood there in the darkness for a moment, looking around them. Then Cedric said, â€Å"Well†¦I s'pose we'd better go on†¦.† â€Å"What?† said Harry. â€Å"Oh†¦yeah†¦right†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It was an odd moment. He and Cedric had been briefly united against Krum – now the fact that they were opponents came back to Harry. The two of them proceeded up the dark path without speaking, then Harry turned left, and Cedric right. Cedric's footsteps soon died away. Harry moved on, continuing to use the Four-Point Spell, making sure he was moving in the right direction. It was between him and Cedric now. His desire to reach the cup first was now burning stronger than ever, but he could hardly believe what he'd just seen Krum do. The use of an Unforgivable Curse on a fellow human being meant a life term in Azkaban, that was what Moody had told them. Krum surely couldn't have wanted the Triwizard Cup that badly†¦.Harry sped up. Every so often he hit more dead ends, but the increasing darkness made him feel sure he was getting near the heart of the maze. Then, as he strode down a long, straight path, he saw movement once again, and his beam of wandlight hit an extraordinary creature, one which he had only seen in picture form, in his Monster Book of Monsters. It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Harry as he approached. He raised his wand, hesitating. She was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking his progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice. â€Å"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me.† â€Å"So†¦so will you move, please?† said Harry, knowing what the answer was going to be. â€Å"No,† she said, continuing to pace. â€Å"Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I will let you walk away from me unscathed.† Harry's stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the center. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Can I hear the riddle?† The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited: â€Å"First think of the person who lives in disguise, Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies. Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, The middle of middle and end of the end? And finally give me the sound often heard During the search for a hard-to-find word. Now string them together, and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?† Harry gaped at her. â€Å"Could I have it again†¦more slowly?† he asked tentatively. She blinked at him, smiled, and repeated the poem. â€Å"All the clues add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss?† Harry asked. She merely smiled her mysterious smile. Harry took that for a â€Å"yes.† Harry cast his mind around. There were plenty of animals he wouldn't want to kiss; his immediate thought was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but something told him that wasn't the answer. He'd have to try and work out the clues†¦. â€Å"A person in disguise,† Harry muttered, staring at her, â€Å"who lies†¦er†¦that'd be a – an impostor. No, that's not my guess! A – a spy? I'll come back to that†¦could you give me the next clue again, please?† She repeated the next lines of the poem. â€Å"‘The last thing to mend,'† Harry repeated. â€Å"Er†¦no idea†¦'middle of middle'†¦could I have the last bit again?† She gave him the last four lines. â€Å"‘The sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word,'† said Harry. â€Å"Er†¦that'd be†¦er†¦hang on – ‘er'! Er's a sound!† The sphinx smiled at him. â€Å"Spy†¦er†¦spy†¦er†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Harry, pacing up and down. â€Å"A creature I wouldn't want to kiss†¦a spider!† The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass. â€Å"Thanks!† said Harry, and, amazed at his own brilliance, he dashed forward. He had to be close now, he had to be†¦.His wand was telling him he was bang on course; as long as he didn't meet anything too horrible, he might have a chance†¦. Harry broke into a run. He had a choice of paths up ahead. â€Å"Point Me!† he whispered again to his wand, and it spun around and pointed him to the right-hand one. He dashed up this one and saw light ahead. The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of him. Cedric was going to get there first. Cedric was sprinting as fast as he could toward the cup, and Harry knew he would never catch up, Cedric was much taller, had much longer legs – Then Harry saw something immense over a hedge to his left, moving quickly along a path that intersected with his own; it was moving so fast Cedric was about to run into it, and Cedric, his eyes on the cup, had not seen it – â€Å"Cedric!† Harry bellowed. â€Å"On your left!† Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and avoid colliding with it, but in his haste, he tripped. Harry saw Cedric's wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Cedric. â€Å"Stupefy!† Harry yelled; the spell hit the spider's gigantic, hairy black body, but for all the good it did, he might as well have thrown a stone at it; the spider jerked, scuttled around, and ran at Harry instead. â€Å"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!† But it was no use – the spider was either so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it. Harry had one horrifying glimpse of eight shining black eyes and razor-sharp pincers before it was upon him. He was lifted into the air in its front legs; struggling madly, he tried to kick it; his leg connected with the pincers and next moment he was in excruciating pain. He could hear Cedric yelling â€Å"Stupefy!† too, but his spell had no more effect than Harry's – Harry raised his wand as the spider opened its pincers once more and shouted â€Å"Expelliarmus!† It worked – the Disarming Spell made the spider drop him, but that meant that Harry fell twelve feet onto his already injured leg, which crumpled beneath him. Without pausing to think, he aimed high at the spider's underbelly, as he had done with the skrewt, and shouted â€Å"Stupefy!†just as Cedric yelled the same thing. The two spells combined did what one alone had not: The spider keeled over sideways, flattening a nearby hedge, and strewing the path with a tangle of hairy legs. â€Å"Harry!† he heard Cedric shouting. â€Å"You all right? Did it fall on you?† â€Å"No,† Harry called back, panting. He looked down at his leg. It was bleeding freely. He could see some sort of thick, gluey secretion from the spider's pincers on his torn robes. He tried to get up, but his leg was shaking badly and did not want to support his weight. He leaned against the hedge, gasping for breath, and looked around. Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him. â€Å"Take it, then,† Harry panted to Cedric. â€Å"Go on, take it. You're there.† But Cedric didn't move. He merely stood there, looking at Harry. Then he turned to stare at the cup. Harry saw the longing expression on his face in its golden light. Cedric looked around at Harry again, who was now holding onto the hedge to support himself. Cedric took a deep breath. â€Å"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here.† â€Å"That's not how it's supposed to work,† Harry said. He felt angry; his leg was very painful, he was aching all over from trying to throw off the spider, and after all his efforts, Cedric had beaten him to it, just as he'd beaten Harry to ask Cho to the ball. â€Å"The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg.† Cedric took a few paces nearer to the Stunned spider, away from the cup, shaking his head. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"Stop being noble,† said Harry irritably. â€Å"Just take it, then we can get out of here.† Cedric watched Harry steadying himself, holding tight to the hedge. â€Å"You told me about the dragons,† Cedric said. â€Å"I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming.† â€Å"I had help on that too,† Harry snapped, trying to mop up his bloody leg with his robes. â€Å"You helped me with the egg – we're square.† â€Å"I had help on the egg in the first place,† said Cedric. â€Å"We're still square,† said Harry, testing his leg gingerly; it shook violently as he put weight on it; he had sprained his ankle when the spider had dropped him. â€Å"You should've got more points on the second task,† said Cedric mulishly. â€Å"You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that.† â€Å"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!† said Harry bitterly. â€Å"Just take the cup!† â€Å"No,† said Cedric. He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries. â€Å"Go on,† Cedric said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided. Harry looked from Cedric to the cup. For one shining moment, he saw himself emerging from the maze, holding it. He saw himself holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, saw Cho's face shining with admiration, more clearly than he had ever seen it before†¦and then the picture faded, and he found himself staring at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face. â€Å"Both of us,† Harry said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it.† Cedric stared at Harry. He unfolded his arms. â€Å"You – you sure?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry. â€Å"Yeah†¦we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together.† For a moment, Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears; then his face split in a grin. â€Å"You're on,† he said. â€Å"Come here.† He grabbed Harry's arm below the shoulder and helped Harry limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles. â€Å"On three, right?† said Harry. â€Å"One – two – three -â€Å" He and Cedric both grasped a handle. Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Cedric at his side.