Cooking Is My Hobby Essay Example for Free

Cooking Is My Hobby Essay I enjoy cooking because it keeps me happy in my life. Whenever I feel sad or upset, cooking ease that for me in a big way. I started cooking when I was 6, but it was as simple as putting ham and cheese between 2 slices of bread and used my favorite condiment of maynaise and let it heat up for about 30 seconds. When I grew older, my knowledge of food grew to new depths when I learned how to cook American food on the grill when I was 13 and my dad was the sole reason why I got better since he explained to me how to use temperature control. The 1st dish I made on my own without any kind of assistance was Alaskan Cod with Lemon Pepper which I enjoyed very much when it was baked in an oven. Now, in my college years, I evolved into making cursine in many cultures such as tacos from Mexico, crepes from France, peking duck from China, and pizza from Italy using my ingredients I purchased from HEB, Fiesta, or Chinatown in my hometown. Cooking is the only thing in which I know how to do best and I usually cook for my family, relatives, friends, or people whom I do not know. Sometimes, I cook multiple of one thing for homeless people and disturbute them across the city. My least favorite thing to cook is vegetables since I do not like them, but if someone requests them on their plate, I will not be unwilling to cook them. Instead, I would embrace their desires and make it for them. I have invested hours of my time per day to be more knowlegable about different cooking methods from various chefs instead of just one in order to be prepared for different styles of cooking and perferences from guests. My signature dish is pork and leek dumplings with either soy sauce or vinegar or my orange chicken with basil and coconut broth so if you are ever in my area, I will be willing to cook for you.

European nations Essay Example for Free

European nations Essay 1. Analysis of data collected from these sources has led researches to conclusively establish the fact of huge wealth gap existing in US society along with establishing the trends in the wealth distribution over almost past 80 years. Studies indicate that in the period 1915-1925, though the wealth gap was large per se, it was more equally distributed than the gap existing in European nations. Wealth inequality, thereafter, continued to rise from 1930s to 1960s, until reaching its peak in 1962 when top 1 percent of wealth owners owned nearly 35 percent of the total wealth and top 5 percent wealth owner had control over more than 80 percent of the total wealth. Further research suggests that where the total wealth of all the Americans has rom 1960 to 1990s, the gap between mean and median wealth has also increased considerably, indicating towards widening inequality in wealth. The gap appeared to decrease through rest of 60s and 70s due to various social welfare and income generation programs launched by government. In this period the share of top 1 percent of wealth owners declined to 19 percent from previous high of 30 percent. However, by 1980 it again started to climb, reaching to peak in 1990s when the former sharp inequality was restored. Research from Danziger et al 1989, Wolff 1993 and many other economists and social scientists show that from 1983 to 1989, share of top 0.5 percent of wealth holders increased by 5 percent. This rise becomes especially conspicuous in the face of corresponding decline in wealth of poorest 80 percent of population by 2 percentage point in the same period. Further, the bulk of growth in net wealth for the period from 1983 to 1989 took place in top 10 percent of wealth owners, strengthening the idiom that ‘Rich gets richer and poor get poorer’. By 1990s, wealth distribution in US had become much more skewed and in favor of the elite group than European nations. Meanwhile the advent of Information Technology and a dot-com revolution created class of neo-riches that further skewed the wealth map of United states. Wealth distribution from 1989-2001 Implementation of new technology, globalization, and Internet revolution created new set of Internet multi-millionaires, while taking the stock of many existing corporations over many fold. The new model of income generation also had significant on wealth distribution in American society. Following table indicates family wealth generation and distribution for period from 1989-2001. Figure1- Family distribution of wealth As the table shows, for the period between 1989-2001, all families in higher income group has shown significant increase in percentage point. Also, it is evident from table that for the same period, the percentage of poorer families lost out in almost all the segment, registering decline in their wealth holding. An interesting revelation about nature of wealth gap emerges from study of wealth distribution among the lowest 90 percent of wealth holders (Figure 2). It can be seen for this group that the overall pattern of unequal wealth distribution holds true even at macro levels; among the lowest 90 percent population, the lowest 50 percent are allocated mere 3 percent of the total wealth. Reasons of Wealth Gap Economists have tried to definitively ascertain unequal wealth distribution and wealth gap that has almost historically existed in every society. Presently, economists look at the issue of unequal distribution of wealth from macro and micro perspective-the first dealing with implication of wealth at overall national scale, and second looking on personal and family role in wealth distribution. The macro analysis states that it is in nature of wealth to increase itself. Wealthy people possess stocks, bonds, shares, equities and other capital stock whose values tend to increase with time and thus it creates additional wealth for them, by the mere virtue of its presence. The micro analysis states that individual effort, family work abilities and cooperation also increases income and consequently wealth. As wealthy families have already better resources and opportunities to invest them, they stand to gain more even in this process of wealth creation. As a solution, government can take measures to ensure that even though wealth gap may exist, there should be a minimum upgrade in income and wealth possession of people from all the income group, to give society a more equitable appearance and standing. Reference Lisa A. Keister , and Moller, S. 2000. Wealth Inequality in the United States . Journal-Annual Review of Sociology. Chandrika Kaul and Valerie Tomaselli-Moschovitis. Statistical Handbook on Consumption and Wealth in the United States ,; Oryx Press, 1999. 296 pgs. Arthur B. Kennickell. A Rolling Tide. Changes in the distribution of wealth in US. 1989-2001. Survey of Consumer Finances. Available on line on 17. 12. 2007. https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/oss/oss2/papers/concentration.2001.10.pdf

EU Responses to the Refugee Crisis

EU Responses to the Refugee Crisis How have the European Union member states handled the Refugee Crisis? Discuss how it should be dealt with. Introduction The European Migrant / Refugee Crisis means a massive refugee movement since 2015 with leap in casualties as a result of local disputes in Africa and the Middle East, moving from the original region to the European Union through the Mediterranean Sea or southeast Europe (The UN Refugee Agency, 2015; Amnesty International, 2015). Of course, before this point, Europe had experienced a series of situations in which many refugees and immigrants flowed in and were accepted. However, the European refugee crisis after 2015 started from the state that no one knows practical and exact solutions with the massive scale per movement, unpredictability that nobody can confirm termination point, and with difficulties in methods that cannot be solved by methods of border blockade and movement control. It also showed unknown and unique characteristics to be explored through actual cases and for concrete solutions. (Townsend, 2015). Because this situation is unprecedented situation for the internation al community after World War II, the international community, centering on the United Nations, categorizes it as a special case. In relation to the refugee issue, the EU member states are facing a number of controversies and serious confrontations over the acceptance of refugees. For example, the EU Commission has warned that the refugee capacity and economic burden of Greece and Italy, as the first arrivals of Syrian and North African refugees, have already reached their limits, and emphasized that they can no longer watch this issue but the EU member states need to share each others suffering through the refugee quota system. For that, the member states advocating the acceptance of refugees actively such as Germany and France, accepted the relocation scheme for 160,000 migrants from Greece and Italy, while the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, expressed their dissent. (The guardian, 2016; Trauner, 2016) In this regard, this essay will categorize EU member states response to refugee acceptance into two broad categories, and examine their claims and the challen ges that remain for them in the future. I will start with the opinions of Germany as a representative of Western European countries that have been favored for refugees since 2015, accepting the largest number of immigrants in Europe.[1] Then, I will mainly analyze the Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, who opposed the refugee policy and argued the temporary refugee allocations cannot be a solution. In addition to their differences, I would like to discuss solutions that could be implemented differently in the EU, member states, individuals and other continents. Literature Review Historically, the movement of peoples or tribes has always existed, and its forms have been very varied, such as voluntary or forced migration, immigration or refugees. However, as the number of refugees coming to Europe has increased sharply since 2015, studies on immigration policy and the improvement of legal system have been actively conducted in Europe and elsewhere. Mchugh (2015) produced in-depth press releases analyzing the phenomenon of refugee situations reinforcing the conservative immigration policy of the right-wing political forces, however, with the anti-immigrant sentiment associated with the refugee crisis and the rise of populist parties, many similar studies are still underway. Also, Ross and Zaun (2016) have explored the relationship between the global economic crisis and immigration policy, and many researches have been actively carried out in relation to the fact that the refugee crisis is a problem that cannot be separated from the economic crisis. Nevertheless, I think it is time to find solutions in a different level with the existing crises in Europe, in the way that the European Union, which appears to be a collective of humanitarian societies, is in fact very vulnerable to external shocks, and even though the European Union is formally a democratic ideal society, it is very difficult to reach consensus by gathering opinions among internal members. And this European refugee situation is not only an economic and political issue, but also a problem with a fairly complex ethical dimension. In addition, it is not a matter of European continent alone, but it is a problem that the world should cooperate with. Therefore, we should find some suggestions that can be suggested not only to EU member countries but also to North America and Asia. Background The UN 1951 Refugee Convention, the basis for the establishment of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), describes the refugees as: †¦ being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events (UNHCR, 2011) Europe has long been in the midst of refugee problems, but the immediate cause of European refugee problems since 2015 is closely linked to the Syrian civil war. In the context of the democratization movement after Arab Spring, there has been a civil war between Syrian rebels and government troops to evacuate Al Assads government from 2011, and the disastrous consequences of the IS occupation of eastern Syria, the number of refugees as victims has explosively increased. In September, 2015, a photograph of a 3-year-old boy a Kurdish Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, who was killed in the middle of a move from Syria to Europe, caused a major international impact. (The Independent, 2015) This led to the turning of countries that were passive in accepting refugees to an active position. On the other hand, in the European Union, conflicts are occurring between Member States due to the two basic treaties, the Schengen Treaty and the Dublin Treaty, which are applied in relation to the acceptance of refugees. First, the Schengen Agreement (1985) is a border open treaty between EU member states that requires the elimination of borders and immigration procedures, and assure the equal treatment of nationals with their own nationals. In the case of refugee matters, the Schengen Treaty has more significance, because when a visa is granted in one country people can enjoy freedom of movement within the Schengen zone. Meanwhile, the Dublin Convention, which started in 1990 in the 12 member states of the European Union and entered into force in 1997, is a treaty establishing the principle that which country should apply for refugee applications filed with each member state and ensuring that the country in charge of refugee is dealing with the issue. The meaning of the Dublin Treaty in refugee issues is that it has curbed the prevalence of refugee claims in certain European Union countries and has clearly identified the need for states to assume equal responsibility for refugee acceptance. However, this two treaties confronts the unexpected difficulties. Due to geopolitical conditions, it is Greece and Italy where the refugees firstly arrive through the Mediterranean, while it is Hungary when they use land route through Turkey. However, due to various reasons including economic recession and security problems, it is difficult for these countries to accept mass refugees. Even if these countries accept refugees, it is a problem because it is contrary to the basic purpose of the Dublin Treaty, based on the equal responsibility of accepting refugees. Also, various problems which can be caused by freedom of movement guaranteed in Schengen treaty leads to the case where the Dublin Treaty is virtually rendered impotent. How the Member States Responded Germany has a key position in the European Union, reserving the Dublin Treaty on August, 2015 and proclaiming unconditional acceptance of Syrian refugees, giving a bit of a breath of fresh air to the Mediterranean countries, including Greece. Germany decided to focus on the policy by actively accepting refugees in order to resolve the problems and declared to accept about 800,000 refugees of about 1.2 million refugees arriving in Europe, which is about 1% of the population of Germany[2]. (BBC, 2016) In addition to these actions, Germany pressed the Middle-Eastern European countries to overcome the crisis through solidarity among their member countries rather than their own self-determination. At the same time, the countries in favor of refugees tried to convince Middle-Eastern European countries suffering from aging due to declining fertility rates and the widespread export of skilled engineers to Western Europe that refugees with a high level of education will be able to become a new growth engine rather than depriving them of their jobs. (The Economist, 2015) On the other hand, Poland, Hungary, and other Central and Eastern European countries argue the current EU refugee policy (Germany-led) is unrealistic and requires too much sacrifice and obligation to the Member States. In other words, although the situation in the Member States of the EU is all different, they are unilaterally forcing the reference point in one standard. For example, Germany, actively accepting refugees, is the country with the third highest percentage of immigrants in the world, including the immigrants about 12% of the total population.[3] Therefore, it is argued that social understanding of refugee acceptance is very high. Also, as of 2017, Germanys unemployment rate is as low as 3.6% (CEIC, 2017) and the declining skilled labor force due to aging population and low birth rate, is also a necessity to replenish the labor force through inflow of refugees. However, the situation in Eastern Europe is different from that in Western. There are still many countries that are suffering from high unemployment rates and financial self-reliance is weak compared to advanced countries in Western Europe. In addition, many countries in the Middle-Eastern Europe still have conflicts and racial issues in the past, and the public opinion on refugee acceptance due to the lack of immigrants is also negative. Therefore, they argued if some advanced countries, such as Germany, ignore the situation of the Middle-Eastern Europe and claim the refugee quota system on their own, without consideration of the situation of other regions, it will provide a source of serious social problems. In addition, the ability of the Middle-Eastern European countries to exceed their limitations is one of the reasons for their opposition to the relocation scheme. In the case of Hungary, which is the land of Syrian refugees among Central European countries, had received more than 170,000 asylum applications arrived by the end of 2015, (BBC, 2016) This has led to serious social and financial deterioration to a serious level. Even though Middle-Eastern European countries are gradually increasing their economies of scale through industrialization, they have been in the EU for 10 more or less 10 years, it can be argued that this is an overwhelming situation. Furthermore, they pointed out that the temporary refugee allocation cannot be a fundamental solution to the refugee crisis and that the powerful nations should take practical solutions. In fact, the struggle between the Syrian dictatorship and the anti-government forces that have resisted it has already become more complicated as support forces from Russia, China-America and Saudi Arabia have been long-termed with their own weapons support. Plus, it can be a trend that is continuing to increase as the number of refugees passing through Europe increases, nobody can say that the limit is the limit. They repeat passing refugees to each other,[4] and as a result, mutual denunciations have also heated up, deepening the conflict between neighboring countries. These countries, in particular, demanded that the EU completely block the so-called ‘Balkan Route,’ which has become a major route for refugees to Europe since 2015. They put pressure saying if the EU does not launch it, they will implement it on their own, and made it closed in March 2016. In addition, the EU strongly opposed shifting the external borders of non-EU countries to the border with Greece, not the Greek coastline but the Greek northern land, namely Macedonia or Bulgaria.[5] This claim has been welcomed by Balkan European countries, such as Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria, who are experiencing serious social and economic crises due to refugee problems, as they are now on the Balkan route of mass influx of refugees. Actually, in the background of these claims, distrust of Greece takes a big part. They say it would not have brought such a serious situation if the Greece well-managed the refugees arrived in its coast based on the ‘Dublin Treaty,’ which set the principle of national order to deal with asylum application. They have believed that Greece has helped these refugees to enter the EU addressing the difficulty of mass refugee problems and has either neglected or guided these refugees to go through the Balkan route and into the EU. Thus, it was claimed that Greeces overland border blocking and the establishment of new external borders are inevitable in order to prevent mass refugee inflows to the Central and Eastern European countries that follow the Balkan route geographically.[6] However, when the Balkan route was closed down in 2016,[7] it was heavily criticized by many scholars as the European Institutions exalted this agreement as an instrument for putting an end to the refugee crisis, but afterwards, none of them took authorship and the responsibility for this statement (Sardelic, 2017). Meantime, at the EU level, it was necessary to control the refugee inflow rate and seek cooperation from Turkey. The EU has offered a remedy for providing 6 billion euros in economic support, a visa waiver for Turkish citizens, facilitating Turkeys EU accession negotiations, and acceptance of a Syrian refugee from Turkey whenever they accept one of the ineligible refugees who are repatriated from Greece. That is to say, Turkey received a long-awaited visa exemption and subscription negotiations on the condition that non-eligible refugees who do not meet the refugee qualification criteria are allowed to re-enter Turkey from Europe as a transit country. The EU says the EU-Turkey agreement is aimed at an important moral practice goal. In other words, by screening camouflaged refugees, Europe will be able to receive the real refugees who have gone on the journey of life to avoid the reality and possibility of political persecution. (Economist, 2015). Because Turkey is bordered by Syria and Iraq, where refugees are most prevalent, and the East Mediterranean Sea route is the fastest route to Europe, so coordination with Turkey was an inevitable choice to do. But this negotiation with Turkey faced many criticisms. It is pointed out that there are ethical problems in negotiations with Turkey, which tend to be violent and non-humanitarian in their relations with the Kurd. That means, it can help consolidate the dictators power base by recognizing the legitimacy of the authoritarian regime in Europes values and actions to solve the troublesome problems in Europe. In particular, the visa waiver issue has been criticized because the EU was just engrossed in reducing the number of refugees and as it has nothing to do with humanitarian principles or treatment of refugees. But the EU-Turkey agreement appears to be in force. After the EU-Turkey agreement, the number of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to Europe has sharply decreased. Besides, the European refugee crisis is currently undergoing a settling due to the agreement between the EU and Turkey, but it is hard to know how long it will last. First, it is unclear whether the agreement between the EU and Turkey will continue. As a condition of the EU-Turkey agreement, Turkey must legislate and implement many reforms. It is uncertain whether Turkey can and will meet the needs of the EU. If Turkeys reforms do not meet the expectations of the EU, the EU will not be able to implement the visa exemption proposed by Turkey as a carrot and the resumption of EU accession negotiations as scheduled, and Turkey will likely respond by opening the way for refugees. The bigger problem is that the EU does not have enough time and cards to persuade its member countries of the border blockade. The EU, which is fiercely contested over the direction of refugee policy with Middle Eastern European countries due to mass refugees from the Middle East, has been troubled by the crisis of the Brexit (United Kingdom out from the EU) and the possibility of the collapse of the European zone. But there is growing concern over whether the Schengen Treaty can be maintained as it is now, as the conflict of interests within the EU member states is sharply divided and the leadership of the major member states is weakening. It is difficult to rule out the possibility that the EUs core Schengen treaty will collapse and that the EU member states could lead to a huge economic loss, possibly triggering a disintegration of the EU itself. Suggestion Often when looking at refugees from Europe, refugee problems are sometimes approached in terms of human resources, not humanitarian, but I argue that it is not right to analyze refugees from the point of view of human resources. It reflects the view that although Europe has taken on the problems of other continents but they can use them as a resource for the development of the European Union as well as the intention to resolve the economic downturn in Europe based on refugee labor and taxes. Therefore, I would like to suggest to consider the meaning of accepting refugees as historical moment when two civilizations coexist in Europe. To this end, the perception that two civilizations are essential partners for mutual development should be fully considered. Although the problem of refugees is in the process of seemingly tragic modern history, the consensus of historical awareness cooperation in balancing the exchange between Europe and other civilizations will be important. In addition, it is important to establish a social consensus on the refugee problem. For this purpose, it is important to have a positive attitude to actively participate in and understand the refugee problem as their own issue. In addition, people’s attitude and consideration for refugees should not be limited to small acts of humanity, but to the level of helping them and causing social structural changes that can be accepted as members of the community. At the social level, we should make efforts to secure and maintain the soundness of the society itself while at the same time utilizing more active acceptance policies in the human rights dimension. Citizenship ethics education for social integration as well as sophisticated policy planning should be done together. The attitude of the developed countries that have the capacity to accommodate the refugees may be caused by the refusal of the refugees and the disgusting tendencies that are prevalent in the civil society, but also there are a few political movements encourage anti-immigrants atmosphere such as populism. It is a well-known fact that some discomfort may arise when accommodating refugees, but the social atmosphere that encourages fear beyond it is a challenge to be overcome. Accepting a certain part of the refugees is a recognition of a new way of life, which means that there is some change in the existing way of life. However, this should strive to expand soundness in all aspects of institutions and consciousness so that it does not threaten the current lifestyle, culture, or identity of the society. It is also necessary for the refugees who receive help to form and practice their own sense of responsibility. In some parts of Europe, which accept refugees, the voice of concern is increasing due to the unethical conduct of refugees. Some cases of refugee applicants committing crimes such as sexual violence, robbery, theft, etc can impair the view of refugees and at the same time worsen public opinion regarding the local identity of refugees. Therefore, refugees should practice their own responsible behavior norms, and follow their own responsibility to better fulfill their responsibilities. In addition, active and in-depth consideration and efforts should be made to resolve the causes of the refugees home country. It would be great if the refugees who are directly related to their home countries have interests in their home countries’ issues after the resettlement and are engaged in the refugee research of the settlement countries. Conclusion Immigration is a huge and complex phenomenon, so it is powerful enough to change the overall picture of society. Thats why we cannot find a solution by comparing what the related costs and benefits are, but the outcome depends on how we deal with it. In particular, European refugee issues are closely linked to human rights issues in that they basically escape from violence. Therefore, it may be possible to discuss the theory of convergence by suggesting a new type of larger community such as Global Citizenship Ethics or to introduce a third ethical framework. At the national level, the refugee problem needs to be regarded as a problem of the social community and its members. Refugees themselves need a responsibility to actively resolve the causes of their problems. In summary, Germany, as a representative of Western Europe, is relatively moderate in its policy of accepting refugees, because in the German society the elements are implicitly contained with a wide range of issues and developments; historical consciousness and tolerance that reflects the Nazis mistakes, well-established educational and political institutions that have supported humanitarian respect. However, the eastern European countries have a tough stance on the refugee problem. The influx of refugees with different religions and cultures is a kind of cultural shock because of the deprivation due to the relatively poor environment and the social environment maintaining the religious and ethnic homogeneity. And there were no colonial histories that dominate others, unlike some Western European countries, they do not intervene in the internal affairs of old colonial countries, so there is no sense of responsibility or duty based on historical consciousness, And the fact that there are cases in which nationalism is promoted with a narrow nationalism. I think it is reasonable that the efforts of the EU to accept refugees have no meaning without the solution of root cause of the refugee crisis, which is claimed by the Central and Eastern European countries. These countries have a realistic view claiming that the EUs refugee allocation is not a fundamental solution to the refugee crisis. In particular, Syria, which can be considered a representative country of the refugee crisis, could not be able to make further progress unless a solution is sought, such as a real agreement between the US and Russia, I argue. However, it is also true that it is difficult for the EU to provide a fundamental solution. Because if the EU implement the EU asylum rules it can overburden Southern European states, whereas if the EU ignore these rules they can lay a burden on Northern member states (Trauner, 2016). Because of the acute conflict of interests within the EU member states over the refugee issue and the weakening of the leadership of the main member states, we cannot be sure whether the Schengen Treaty presupposes free movement in the region can be maintained as it is now, or it will bring new challenges to integration and maintenance. This is the reason we all need to work together to solve the more fundamental causes of ethical issues. Bibliography UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, December 2011, HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV. 3, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f33c8d92.html https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/germany/unemployment-rate http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimatesgraphs.shtml?3g3 http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/09/europe/germany-upper-limit-refugees/index.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34131911 https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/sep/18/refugee-crisis-hungary-builds-border-fence-with-croatia-live-updates#block-55fbf9b1e4b0c46d88e03183 Scipioni, Marco. 2017. ‘Failing forward in EU migration policy? EU integration after the 2015 asylum and migration crisis’, Journal of European Public Policy, DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2017.1325920 Trauner, F. 2016. ‘Asylum policy: the EU’s ‘crises’ and the looming policy regime failure’, Journal of European Integration 38:3, pp.311-325. Sardelic, Julija, The Western Balkan Route: A New Form of Forced Migration Governance in Europe? https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-western-balkan-route-a-new-form-of-forced-migration-governance-in-europe/ The Economist, 2015. â€Å"More vacancies than visitors: Eastern Europe may not like refugees but needs them more than other countries†, https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21665031-eastern-europe-may-not-refugees-needs-them-more-other-countries-more-vacancies The UN Refugee Agency, 2015m â€Å"UNHCR chief issues key guidelines for dealing with Europe’s refugee crisis†, http://www.unhcr.org/55e9793b6.html   ; Amnesty International, (2015), â€Å"Europe’s response: Face-saving not a life-saving operation† https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/04/face-saving-not-a-lifesaving-operation Riley M. Townsend, European Migrant Crisis (NY: Lulu.com of Lulu press Inc., 2015), pp. 1-9. Jess McHugh, â€Å"How the EU Migrant Crisis is Fueling Right-Wing Politicians and Refugee Policies in Europe†, International Business Times (august 27, 2015) Christof Roos and Natascha Zaun, â€Å"The global economic crisis as a critical juncture? The crisis’s impact on migration movement and policies in Europe and the US.†, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42-10 (July, 2016), pp. 1579-1589. UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency, Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/3b66c2aa10.pdf   ; http://www.unhcr.or.kr/unhcr/html/001/001001001002.html The Independent, â€Å"Aylan Kurdi: Syrian boy’s family took deadly voyage after Canada refused refugee application† http://www.indepedent.co.uk/news/world/europe/aylan-syrian-boys-family-took-deadly-voyage-after-canada-refused-refugee-application-10483968.html    Access to European Union Law, â€Å"The Schengen acquis†Ã‚   http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:42000A0922(01)    Access to European Union Law, â€Å"REGULATION (EU) No 604/2013† As Known As â€Å"Dublin Regulation†,http://eur-lexeuropa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/;jsessionid=jHNITp3HLjpw8mqGbQSpZh1VWpjCyVQq14Hgcztw4pbfSQZffnrn!557467765?uri=CELEX:32013E0604    BBC news, â€Å"Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts† http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34131911; Eurostat, â€Å"Migration and migrant population statistics† http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Migration_and_migrant_population_statistics [1] The highest number of first time asylum applicants in the third quarter of 2017 was registered in Germany (with over 46 000 first time applicants, or 28 % of all applicants in the EU Member States). (Asylum quarterly report, 2017) [2] However, the open-door migration policy of Angela Merkel seems to be slightly changed to aim for a cap on Germanys refugee intake, opposed to her previous rejections. (CNN, 2017) http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/09/europe/germany-upper-limit-refugees/index.html [3] UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2017 Revision, can be seen here: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimatesgraphs.shtml?3g3 [4] Grierson and Weaver, Croatia moves refugees to Hungarian border as it happened, The Guardian, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/sep/18/refugee-crisis-hungary-builds-border-fence-with-croatia-live-updates#block-55fbf9b1e4b0c46d88e03183 [5]   Independent, â€Å"Refugee crisis: Eastern Europe opposes Angela Merkel’s policy on asylum seekers†, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-eastern-europe –opposes-angela-merkel-s-policy-on-asylum-seekers-a6877916.html.; DW, â€Å"Visegrad Group opposes Germanys refugee policy†, http://www.dw.com/en/visegrad-group-opposes-germanys-refugee-policy/a-19048816. [6] Radio Praha. Visegrad leaders debate back-up plan for migrant crisis. http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/visegrad-leaders-debateback-up-plan- for-migrant-crisis. [7] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/09/balkans-refugee-route-closed-say-european-leaders

Wide Area Networks Essays -- Technology Computers Communication Essays

Wide Area Networks The creation of wide area networks links mass communication from people all over the world with a vast variety of different uses. â€Å"A wide area network is telecommunications networks covering a large geographic area.† The internet is the biggest example of a wide area network and has influenced our daily lives all around the world. Wide area networks are connected to local area networks to enable computers to share, send, and access information on a larger scale. These recent technologies over the past 20 years have affected the way we communicate, how businesses operate, and many other factors that we take for granted. Wide area networks are a fast growing telecommunications business which are developing new technologies to help people access information easier, faster with cheaper costs. Wide Area Networks and why, where, who, and how it important? â€Å"Wide area networks are used to connect local area networks together, so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations. Many WANs are built for one particular organization and are private, others, built by Internet service providers provide connections from an organization’s LAN to the Internet.† WANs are usually built with leased lines from different telecommunications companies. At the end of these lines is a router which allows access and transmissions through these given lines. Through various telecommunications devices and services wide area networks are the leading technology in transmitting global information and communication. â€Å"The main purpose of a WAN is to provide reliable, fast and safe communication between two or more places with low delays and at low prices.† â€Å"WANs can be linke... ...nt to help influence the computer age into a bright, and much larger future. References Duley, CJ. WAN (2000) http://www.btinternet.com/~C.J.Duley/WAN.htm O’Brien, James A. (2004) Management Information Systems: Managing information technology in the business enterprise. Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill, Boston. Ploskina, Brian DNA Lends Hand to WANs http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1242507,00.asp?kc=EWNKT0209KTX1K0100440 August 28, 2001 Alliance Datacom: Wide Area Networks http://www.alliancedatacom.com/technologies/wide-area-network/wide-area-networks.asp Documentation. (2002) http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/ito_doc/introwan.htm#xtocid8 Cisco Systems, Inc. Wikipedia: Wide Area Network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_area_network Wireless Wide Area Networking Technologies (2004). http://www.rhowireless.com/wan/

Pompeii Apartments :: Architecture Building History Essays

Pompeii Apartments The Pompeii apartments are located in the middle of a town called La Habra, population roughly fifty-five thousand. They lie nestled in an apartment community, nearby two other apartment complexes. For the residents, this offers a moderately inexpensive housing alternative to living in a house, most of which are small or expensive in La Habra. Nearby, actually on the other side of a wall, pass the cars on Beach Boulevard, the major thoroughfare of the town, which connects La Habra to the rest of Orange County and four freeways that participate in the Los Angeles/Orange County freeway system, notorious nationwide for its complexity. Hence, the apartments offer convenient access to the rest of the southland. In ancient Rome, Pompeii was a typical town, founded in the seventh century BCE between two Greek colonies in what is now southern Italy. When the neighboring volcano Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, the city and many of its inhabitants were encased in ash, which served to preserve the area in its same condition for centuries. For this reason, Pompeii is an extraordinary example of the Roman towns and their inhabitants' ways of life. Many of the paintings on the walls of the houses, for example, still survive, as well as imprints in the ash of the various plants used in the gardens of wealthy townhouses. These townhouses, or domuses, offer a glimpse into the lives of the upper class of Roman citizens and their expressions through art and architecture, much of which remains as it did almost two thousand years ago. There are many similarities between the Pompeii apartments and a townhouse of historical Pompeii, accompanied by just as many differences. To begin with, the modern construction materials of the apartments are nothing similar to the brick and concrete walls of the Pompeiian domus. The apartments use wooden frameworking with drywall and fiberglass insulation, covered on the outside with a flame resistant stucco. Typical to apartment construction now, these materials are a technological leap from ancient Rome. Another difference appears in the ground plan and design of the structure as a whole compared to that of a Roman townhouse in Pompeii. Where a domus would have an axial design centered on the line of the fauces, atrium and tablinum in the front of the building, the apartments have a central grass area with trees, bordered on all sides by the building. Access to the apartments comes through gates at the corners of this quadrangle design instead of through a single front entrance.

The Millers Prologue and Tale :: The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

The Miller's Prologue and Tale is a humorous story about a love triangle of three men and one woman. The tale has many intriguing parts but the most important theme is that of loyalty. In the beginning of the tale, the carpenter, John, talks about his wife, how she is so much younger then him and how he is a very jealous man: "This carpenter hadde wedded a newe a wif / Which that he loved more than his lif. / Of eighteteen yeer she was of age; / Jalous he was wilde and yong, and he was old / And deemed himself been lik a cokewold" (113). He is talking about his new wife, and that although he loves her dearly, he is very jealous because he is so old and she is so young. It is very strange that a beautiful young woman would marry a man so much older then him. The carpenter even states that: "Men shold wedden after hir estat" (121) which means that men should marry according to their condition. So I think that the carpenter is a wealthy man, and because of this, he feels he should marry a beautiful woman. Going with that, I believe that the young woman, Alison, married this old man, for his money, and not based of true love. So if this marriage wasn't based on true love, it leaves room for disloyalty to come about. The disloyalty starts when Alison and Nicholas, the boarder, start flirting and he wants to kiss her. She says no, that she will do it when they are alone in private: "Myn housbonde is so ful of jalousye / That but ye waite wel and been privee / I woot right wel I nam but deed" (186). Alison states that he husband, as said before is madly jealous, so they intend to wait and find a place to be in private so they can be together without having to worry about being caught. After thinking, they came up with an idea: "That Nicholas shal shapen hem a wile / This sely jalous housbonde to bigile / and if so be this game wente aright, / She sholden sleepen in his arm al night" (295). They decide that they are going to have a plan, and if everything goes ok, by the end, they will be sleeping in each others arms all night.

Revolution Politically Considered Essay

The word Maccabean comes from Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the Jewish revolt against Syria which took place from 167 – 160 B. C. E. In 2nd Maccabees 15 v 30 he is described as â€Å"The perfect champion of his fellow citizens. † The story is recorded in the Apocryphal Biblical Books Ist and 2nd Maccabees, the sources written closest in time to the events and to a lesser extent by the Jewish 1st century C. E. historian Flavius Josephus in his Antiquities ( Books XII and XIII) who wrote some 200 years later. Martin Cohen ( The Hasmonean Revolution Politically Considered,1975, page 21) describes all three of authors, those of the Maccabean books and Josephus, as being overly partisan and seems to be saying that the so called sinners weren’t as black as they are painted. Some might say however that his article is in danger of going too far the other way in parts. The name means ‘hammer’ and was used to describe Judas’ immense strength. It was then taken as a name by his brothers, two of whom succeeded him, and other followers. The conflict had been stirred when, after a period of increasing Hellenisation, Syrian ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes gave orders forbidding certain Jewish customs and practices and turned the Temple into a shrine for the pagan god Zeus – the idol the Jews refer to as ‘the abomination of desecration’ mentioned in Daniel 11. Judas Maccabeus and his followers incited a revolt. In 164 B. C. E they were able to regain control of the Temple, which was then cleansed and rededicating to the God of Israel. To this day Jews celebrate the feast of Hanukkah to recall these events. The story ends with the death of Nicanor in 2 Maccabeans 15 and also the idea of dedicating a special day to its remembrance- the thirtieth day of the twelfth month. The use of the menorah, the seven branched candlestick, is a reminder of the same events. Members of Judas’ family, the Hasmoneans, continued to rule in Israel until the Romans arrived in force in 63 B. C. E. Ist Maccabees was originally written in Hebrew, but that version is now lost and the text used is taken from the Greek Septuagint. The book is set in the period of Greek rule and covers the period of revolt from 175 to 134 B. C. However it also describes how many Hebrews actually welcomed the coming of Greek customs, even to the extent of trying to pass themselves off as Greeks. In 1st Maccabees 1 v 15 the writer tells how some were trying to hide the marks of circumcism i. e. the very mark of their Jewishness. In 2nd Maccabees the events are again related, but this time seemingly with the intention of showing God’s continued care for his people. It begins by urging Alexandrian Jews to keep the feast of Hanukkah and looks back at the events that led up to the first celebration. At the same time it castigates several people – the Hellenistic Jewish priests, in particular including High Priest Jason who was said to have sent money for statue of Herakles, something Martin Cohen ( Page 15 ) sees as a bribe rather than as a genuine donation because of faith.. Robert Doran ( 2006, The revolt of the Maccabees) looked for historic similarities and likened it to the modern day insurgency in Iraq. He tells how for the first years of Seleucid rule there were no major problems between the two groups. He describes the main problem as being about Jewish identity and who controls that definition. He makes the point that some would not have considered Jason to be a Jew at all, whereas he, as Jewish high priest, presumably did. He cites 20th century Jewish scholars Elias Bickermann and Victor Tchenikover who put the blame not on the Seleucids, but upon the Jewish leaders of the time. While I Maccabees blames the Seleucid leader, it has been pointed out by scholars such as Otto Morkholm (Antiochus IV of Syria, 1966) that in general he supported local cultures. The writer of 2nd Maccabees blames the institution of Greek education, even though there were a number of years between the opening of the Greek school and the revolt. The truth seems to be that when a villager from Modein, the Hasmonean home town, went to make sacrifices, Mattathias, the father of Judas, struck him with his sword. The family then fled, but also began a campaign of throwing down the pagan alters that they found and killing those who opposed what they felt was right. By the opening of 2nd Maccabees the father had died and it is Judas who is leading the revolutionaries. There are other major differences between the accounts, namely with regard to fighting on the Sabbath. This happens in the first book, but not in the second. According to Doran, in what seems to be a quite objective account ( page 107), upon the death of Antiochus his successor seems, to have let the matter stand, with the Hasmoneans in charge in Jerusalem. However the revolution was spreading to other areas. Jerusalem became the center for a general revolt against Seleucid rule. In 162 B. C. E. Judas finally lost control of the Temple area and was killed. Josephus describes in the opening words of his second book about the period, (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 13) how, after the death of Judus Maccabeus ‘all the wicked, and those that transgressed the laws of their forefathers, sprang up again in Judea. ’ And so the battles continued under new leadership. However soon after this the Seleucid Empire began to crumble because of its own internal divisiveness and Simon, brother of Judas, was able to expel the Seleucids. He was recognized as high priest of Judea in 140 B. C. E. So what had begun as a religious protest ended up as the basis for an independent kingdom – at last for a while. Martin Cohen took a new look at the events portrayed in the scriptures. He sees it as much as an internal fight among Jews as a revolt against foreign rule. He states (page 26) that Antiochus believed that no Jewish group was capable of holding the peace. He had trouble elsewhere and this is why he came down hard, turning Jerusalem into a fortress and he also removed the power of the Jewish constitution. This turned many into revolutionaries. If they had no Jewish law how could they be Jewish? Cohen describes how the revolt has often been viewed as a class struggle between the Hellenistic rulers and the ordinary people, despite the fact that there seems to have been grass roots support of Hellenisation. The Maccabees were not just non Hellenistic however, they were totally anti – Hellenistic, not just for themselves, but for Judaism as such. Cohen points out that the two accounts are both conflicting and inadequate and that the facts cited by Jewish historian Josephus don’t add a great deal to historic knowledge. He also describes how the Jewish Hellenistic aristocracy were very small in number. If they had not had popular support then the Selucid would have had to come down hard. Right from the beginning. The priests concerned are condemned in passages such as 2nd Maccabees 4 v 11 and 14. In the former passage they are accused of adding to the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch was scripture, but it was also the basis for all Jewish life. At the time of the revolution religion and politics, as far as the Jewish people were concerned were one and the same thing. But the Hellenistic Jews did not deny Judaism and the priests amongst them continued with their sacrificial roles, which they do not seem to have considered as being in opposition to their Hellenistic practices. Conclusion Whatever the truth of the matter regarding the origins of the revolt and wherever the true blame should lie, essentially this was about preserving Judaism as it had been for hundred of years and was about defining what is a Jew – an argument that can still be seen to be going on, even if sometimes in silence, in the differences to be observed daily in the 21st century between those who call themselves Orthodox Jews and others of the same faith and race, believers and otherwise. Works Cited Bible, King James, â€Å"2nd Maccabees†, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia 12th May 2010, Libraryhttp://etext. virginia. edu/toc/modeng/public/Kjv2Mac. html Bible, Revised Standard Version, â€Å"Ist Maccabees†, National Council of Churches of Christ in America 12th May 2010, http://quod. lib. umich. edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx? type=DIV1&byte=4219672 Cohen Martin, â€Å"The Hasmonean Revolution Politically Considered: Outline of a New Interpretation,† The Journal of the Central Conference of American Rabbis , (Fall 1975 ): 13-34 Doran , Robert, â€Å"The Revolt of the Maccabees â€Å" The National Interest ( September –October 2006):99, 100 Josephus , â€Å"Antiquities of the Jews† , Book XII ,12th May 2010, http://www. ccel. org/j/josephus/works/ant-12. htm Josephus , â€Å"Antiquities of the Jews† , Book XIII 12th May 2010 http://www. ccel. org/j/josephus/works/ant-13. htm Morkholm, Otto,† Antiochus IV of Syria†, Classica et Mediaevalia Dissertationes VIII, Copenhagen. 1966