Violence On Screen Essays - Animation, Television,

Violence On Screen In the last few years, I have noticed that on screen violence has become as common as a Cheesesteak in Philadelphia. People often argue that the violence seen on screen is influencing our culture, yet each year the amount of viewers' increase. It seems that in order for your film or program to be successful it must contain violence. In my opinion, this constant levitation of violence on screen is due to our cultures' infatuation with the art of violence. Violence is present in the most of our cultures most enjoyedfilms like Independence Day, daytime talk shows such as Jerry Springer and even in cartoons that have been around forever like Tom & Jerry. I can recall a time when daytime talk shows (Donahue, Oprah) would hardly ever have audience feed back and very few panelists. My how times have changed. On today's talk shows, such as Jerry Springer, there is always a boisterous audience member, or an insane guest. Just as sure as you will find Abe Lincoln on a penny, you will see a chair fly on Jerry Springer. The Springer show was the first show to have guests' fight without stopping the camera. Jerry Springers' blatant disrespect for daytime show rules stirred controversy in the media but it also stirred up something in the public.... interest.Although Jerry Springer had gone against all the rules of daytime, his rebellion had made his talk show the most watched show in the nation. When the Springer show surpassed the ratings of all time favorite Oprah Whinfrey, it was re-established that violence sells. Recently the Springer show has stopped airing its' fierce and very real fights for many reasons, one being that 23% of the people that watched his show are under the age of sixteen. Although Jerry Springer is a show intended for adults, childrens' shows contain violence as well.When I was a child, I saw nothing wrong with the Elmer Fudd hunting Rabbits or other Looney Tune characters being blown up, shot, or thrown off a cliff. Wile E. Cyote was always being killed while scheming to catch the Road Runner. The most popular cartoons always contained violence. Though not the most violent, Tom & Jerry exhibited the cat and mouse chase with a little extra. There have been countless times I have been glued to the TV as Tom was beaten up, cut up, or strangled by the witty mouse Jerry. It did not even strike me as violence, but it was. I watched Tom & Jerry a few days ago, I realized that the whole show was based on Tom and Jerry trying to kill each other. Tom trying to kill Jerry to eat him or keep his master and mistress happy and Jerry trying to kill Tom to save his life. There weren't a lot of weapons used in Tom & Jerry except for a few explosives here and there but never any guns like in many big screen movies.Everyone loves to go to the movie theatre with their over priced snacks and sticky floors, but what makes movies sell? The films that make the most money at the box offices are usually action films that have many fist fights, explosives and big guns. Independence Day grossed more at the box offices than any other film in history. The movies plot was typical. A group of fearless humans attempts to save the earth from vicious extraterrestrial. Will Smith fist fought aliens, blew up planets and clobbered all the bad guys. The movie was consisted of a visual feast of explosives, property damages, and incredible sound effects. Independence Day was to Sci-Fi what Twister was to disaster films. Although Independence Day contained a massive amount of violence almost every person in America went to see it, and loved it. Just because our culture loves violence on screen, it does not mean that we all have sick and tormented minds, we are not all just killers waiting to happen. Our culture is obsessed with real issues being dramatized . There is nothing wrong with having violence in films and on T.V. If a person wants to sit down and watch Will Smith blow up a planet and save the world, then they have that right. I personally enjoy watching action films with explosives, fistfights and death counts at nearly one hundred. I love the feeling of leaving the theatre in awe of what I just saw. Violence is apart of our culture both on and off the screen, only we can

Yorktown Technologies

Yorktown Technologies Strategic Problem and issue Identification Yorktown Technologies markets its GloFish to different customers in different parts of the world. The firm requires a powerful marketing strategy in order to get the best outcomes. In 2004, the company made numerous losses thus affecting its future goals.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Yorktown Technologies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This situation explains why Alan Blake required a powerful strategy in order to support Yorktown Technologies’ goals. GloFish has the capability to detect toxins in contaminated water. Some policies made it impossible â€Å"for Yorktown Technologies to market the fish in different parts such as California† (Kerin and Peterson 406). However, the level of consumer-acceptance was on the rise. The other important thing was to create several varieties of the zebra fish. It was also necessary to develop and enhance the produc t. Many investors were becoming impatient because Yorktown Technologies was not making the best profits. The first strategy towards a successful business was to have a proper distribution channel. The major considerations included â€Å"kiosks, the internet, independent pet stores, and chain stores† (Kerin and Peterson 413). The firm was â€Å"also failing to display the fish under optimal conditions† (Kerin and Peterson 413). That being the case, the important thing was for the firm to have a proper marketing strategy. Analysis and Evaluation Blake was ready to make his company successful. To begin with, he had acquired â€Å"genetically modified fish in order to address the ecological issues affecting the business† (407). A new campaign was required in order to attract more customers. The important thing was to inform more people about the product. The approach would also increase the market demand for the fish. More people in the country were purchasing the f ish for ornamental purposes. Different â€Å"competitors were using various distribution channels and outlets to market freshwater ornamental fish† (412).Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This situation shows clearly that the market was embracing the above product. Although Yorktown Technologies was becoming a leading player in its industry, it was the right time to have a powerful marketing strategy. The leading retail chains were also unwilling to market the company’s product. It was also costly to lease space in different outlets and shopping malls. Blake was also considering the possibility of using the internet to market this fish (Kerin and Peterson 413). However, the strategy would be costly for the firm. The other consideration was to market the product internationally. Alan Blake also wanted to produce sterilized fish in order to deal wit h illegal breeding. Blake targeted various markets in Canada, Europe, and Australia. However, this approach would attract many competitors thus affecting the company’s goals. New companies were â€Å"also marketing genetically modified fish in the United States† (Kerin and Peterson 413). Recommendations Yorktown Technologies must use a powerful strategy in order to achieve its potentials. The company should begin by analyzing the level of competition. The firm should also identify new markets in Europe, Asia, and Australia. A powerful strategy will ensure the firm displays its ornamental fish in a proper manner. The company should also use online marketing in order to attract more customers. The company can use a powerful advertising strategy in order to inform more people about this ornamental fish (Kerin and Peterson 412). Different social sites such as Facebook and Pinterest can produce the best outcomes. Yorktown Technologies should also use the 4Ps (product, promo tion, place, and price) of marketing. The firm will use this strategy to market its GloFish to more consumers. A proper distribution channel will also attract more customers. The approach will eventually make Yorktown Technologies successful.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Yorktown Technologies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kerin, Roger, and Robert Peterson. Strategic Marketing Problems: Case and Comments. Upper-Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.

Systems Analysis & Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Systems Analysis & Design - Essay Example This paper will give details of Use Case Diagrams, Use Cases, Activity Diagram, Class Diagram, Sequence diagram and State Diagram of Caledonian Hotel System information system. Traditional information system projects were developed using the Systems Development Life Cycle (SLDC) or ‘Waterfall Model’ to manage and implement the system. Designed in the 1960s this methodology sees the process split into a series of distinct steps: Using the above ‘top-down’ process each step cannot commence until the preceding step has been completed and the findings passed down the chain, at each stage a review can take place to ensure that the requirements identified in the previous stage have been met. In recent years, this development process has come to be seen as too rigid, one of the major problems with this process is that the timescale involved from the project inception to the stage of implementation is far too long. Problems and delays at each stage of the process often result in late delivery of a system. However, a more serious problem is that because the development process is so long the final system produced can be out of date by the time it is released for use. As time passes, user requirements for a system may evolve as a company embraces new working process or technology, it is easy for these changes not to be incorporated into the system being developed and as a result, the completed system ma y not be fit for its intended purpose. To try and combat these problems new Iterative development processes have been adopted. This new iterative approach involves breaking the entire project into small ‘chunks’ based on functionality, rather than looking to deliver a complete solution one year after the project starts as the traditional waterfall process does, this iterative style will look to produce a working solution in a few months. This initial solution

Affirmative Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Affirmative Action - Essay Example Since time immemorial, women have always been regarded as the lesser gender in almost all aspects of the economy. For a long time this gender stereotype has seen the women belonging to the lower ranks in the society below the male domination. As a result, a great percentage of them have been barred from decision making opportunities and also positions in society and school (Vidu, 1999). Apart from women, affirmative action seeks to change the perception of persons in relation to racism, ethnicity and gender. According to Sander (2004), discrimination on racial grounds is not a new scene in the world. The mostly racially abused group is the African Americans. Some years back, it was difficult and almost impossible for a black person to have equal opportunities in education, employment or business. Puddington (1995) emphasizes that affirmative actions tend to eradicate these issues in all levels of the society. This paper will focus on some of the advantages of affirmative action. Addi tionally, it will also cover critics of the affirmative action and detect instances where affirmative action has been useful. Over the years groups that have made initiatives in indulging in affirmative action have increased significantly. The rising numbers of these groups has given discriminated people hope of a better future. Moreover, in as much as people are not involved in affirmative action, there is a wide global support. One of the notable groups is the women. All over the world, women have the same aim of gaining equal opportunities in all sectors of the economy for instance, education, employment and business (Jacobs, 2004). It is evident that the process of empowering of women around the world has been a tune from the past decade. Due to this, there has been an upward trend on the rising number of significant figures in society working for the cause. An example is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has been credited for her ability to instil confidence among many women in the quest to advance themselves and champion for their rights all over the world. However, affirmative action has critics who oppose these moves in all ways possible. Some people argue that legal practices and courts take positive action to the matter for the purpose of building their reputation. According to Skrentny (2004), some judges tend to make rules in favour of affirmative action groups sp that they can gain more support in their line of duty. Additionally, some affirmative action groups may use manipulation to gain what they need as well as gain attention. It is, nevertheless, vital to note that although affirmative action is for a positive cause in the society, misusing the attention they get is not a positive thing either (Orfield, 2001). In the course of time, affirmative action has risen to be the best tool to use in a court of law. This gives the people the assumption that affirmative action is more than legal practices. In modern society, there are the minority who try to gun dow n affirmative action. Their efforts have been futile since there is no court or counsel which will support any case against affirmative action. In the views of Ibarra (2001), the minority group does not aim to bring back issues of racism experienced in past years, but attempt to expose the other point of view apart from the affirmative action point of view. Schwartz (2009) indicates that, since the realization of affirmative action, the marginalized groups tend to take full advantage of the global support and gain society class and recognition. The major question remains

Organisation and management issues of Alcan Essay

Organisation and management issues of Alcan - Essay Example s mentioned earlier, aluminium is a long term, and also a capital-intensive business, and as far as Lynemouth is concerned, it had begun its operations in the year 1972, and one of the major costs of operation was the power that it had to use for the process of smelting, twenty fours hours a day, all year round. In the year 1990, the plant had about 780 employees, the majority of whom were male, and who had been with the plant since its inception. Work organization was traditional, and the work turnover was low. (Newell; Scarbrough, 2002) There was in addition, a perception that the organization desired to impose changes, by using parts of already existing agreements, instead of involving the Unions. While the employees also reported that the management was not alt all communicative with them, the Union had to take up the cause, and it was requested that the management cooperate with trade unions to establish a better relationship with the employees, because the productivity of the plant was declining as a result of dissatisfaction. Gradually, there was overcapacity with the opening of new plants, and the price of aluminium started to fall, and employment also started to decline from 56,000 to 46,000. In 1991, one of the two pot lines of the plant had to be closed down, and there was a redundancy of fifty percent of the entire workforce. With only one line of operation, Lynemouth was faced with great difficulties, and the management found that they would have to somehow raise efficiency levels immediately, so that pro duction would be improved. Soon team working was brought in, with the cooperation of the trade unions, and in 1994, direct supervision was abolished, and in its place, team leaders were appointed to supervise operations, but the problem was that he could... There are certain specific issues in the Alcan Case that can be analyzed, like change, teamwork, and the managerial structure of the organization. Today, Alcan is entirely different in several aspects, from the Alcan of a mere four years ago. The company has grown operating earnings of 18% annual compound rate and has also managed to invest $8.8 billion for developing and to maintaining the growth of the organization, mainly through acquisitions and taking advantage of internal opportunities, like for example, the expansion of the Alouette Center in Quebec. These were some of the numerous strategic investments that Alcan had embarked on in the recent past, and it is because of this that Alcan has been able to effectively strengthen its global presence, and also maintain its stability and sustainability. Today, it can be stated that the main strengths of the company lie in the unique combination of its strong and committed workforce, and also because of its strong network of operation s. (Innovative aluminium and packaging Solutions Worldwide.In addition, its excellent customer base, in combination with the management’s decision to embark on and to maintain a sustainable and an innovative strategic alliance with its numerous customer and suppliers, making the organization one of the most dynamic and multilingual and multicultural organizations in the global world of today, with more than 70,000 employees in about fifty-five countries all over the world.

Muslim Women: Wearing The Hijab

Muslim Women: Wearing The Hijab Literature on this topic is abundant as research has been conducted globally on the topic of the hijab as to the reasons why women should and should not wear the hijab. The research conducted was made possible through the use of surveys, interviews, questionnaires and observations. Katherine Bullock in particular, a Canadian community activist, author and lecturer did extensive research on the topic of the hijab and published her findings in the form of a book called Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil which challenges Historical and Modern Stereotypes . She has also published articles on Muslim women and the media, and Islam and political theory. Purposes of the research The objectives of the study are to examine if the dominant negative Western perception affects the reasons why the Muslim community is divided on the subject of hijab. This research addresses the concern for a dialogue that could inform westernised societies about the personal reasons why some female Muslim students wear hijab and why others do not. I want my research to be meaningful, relevant to local communities and to open my mind and that of others by being taught through research and personal interviews about the subject. Scope and limitations The pool of participants is limited to the Muslim students at TSiBA Education. The data set is meaningful, but not representative of the vast range of Muslims in different contexts. It will however show a diversity of views within a common theology and faith. Plan of development METHODOLOGY 2.1 Participation The target group for the research is 20 South African Muslim women between the ages of 18 and 40. This age group is the target of this study because they are the current generation of TSiBA students and are experiencing modern South Africa in a time when it seems there is an ever increasing influx of Western culture. The age group is also likely to include married women who might be inclined to think differently about the hijab as their marriage might have changed the way each looks at the hijab. 2.2 Methods of data collection Two sets of data will be employed: 1) open-ended e-mail questionnaires with 20 Muslim students about the hijab 2) Conduct interviews and observations on the candidates if further data is required. The first data collection method I chose was a simple questionnaire. The research draws on qualitative data from questionnaires and interviews with 20 Muslim female students of varying ages within the TSiBA community. After many different drafts of the questionnaire I went to the Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA) Education to distribute the final version. My questionnaire included the opinions of both young women who wear the hijab and those that do not. I did not ask for names in any section of the survey to ensure the anonymity of all my human subjects. In the end I collected 20 surveys in total. After gathering the questionnaire, I analyzed the results manually. As my second method of data collection, I conducted interviews, each having an approximate duration of between 30 minutes. I used a recording device on all my interviews. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Keywords: Islam, Muslim, hijab, veil, female, students, TSIBA Education, reasons, dominiant negative Western perception. The debate regarding the wearing of religious garb in public, specifically coverings worn by Muslim women has increased over the past few years resulting in a lot of controversy among those who agree with the practice and those who do not (iqraonline.net). The French, along with the west expected that the hijab would pass away into history as westernization and secularization took root. However, in the Muslim world, especially among the younger generation, a great wave of returning to hijab was spreading through various countries. This current resurgence is an expression of Islamic revival (Khaula Nakata, A View Through Hijab, 1994, pg 2). Hijab is seen all over the world, especially in places with a high concentration of practicing Muslims. The hijab has been the focus of often fierce media debates and has come to symbolise the clash of cultures supported by links between Islamic extremism and 21st century terrorism. While in several Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran, the full covering, known as the burqa, has been compulsory. A hostile response against Muslim culture has seen such traditional clothing banned, along with the much more common hijab, in the interests of secularism. In this context, Muslim women are portrayed by the Western media either as veiled victims in need of liberation because of a lack of free choice in foreign lands, or a threat to the Western societies in which they reside because of their choice to adopt the hijab which is a traditional Islamic dress. Muslim women are almost consistently portrayed as oppressed and veiled, a terrorist threat or exotic, sexualised beings. This is in line with Saids theory of Orientalism (Said, 1978), which argues that the Muslim world and its inhabitants are considered backward, barbaric and outsiders to Western society. This portrayal of Muslims is notable in the media in terms of the coverage of Muslim women. Most representations of Muslim women involve them wearing traditional Islamic clothing such as the hijab, and their role in the media is generally limited to commentary on issues such as the veil. Western Influences Dominant negative Western perception The Western media and feminists often portray the hijab as a symbol of oppression and slavery of women. (http://www.al-islam.org). Many feminists, both Western and Islamic argue that the hijab is a symbol of gender oppression and that the Islamic veiling of women is an oppressive practice. Fadel Amara, an Islamic feminist and a Muslim female member of French government says The burqa is a prison, a straightjacket. It is not religious. It is the insignia of a totalitarian Political project for sexual inequality. (King,Islam, Women and Terrorism, 299.) Feminists argue that public presence and visibility is important to Western women. It represents their struggle for economic independence, sexual agency and political participation. In the West, celebrity is the peak of cultural legitimacy. The hijab is a challenge to the view of liberated visibility and freedom of self-expression unfettered by the male gaze.( www.theage.com) After a century of struggle for freedom of expression that included discarding the bra, some Western countries have called for banning the hijab in schools. They have developed, it would seem, a rather limited view of what public visibility might mean to different women. Frances 2004 law, known popularly as the law on the headscarf, reveals the difficulty of respecting conflicting ideas between diverse communities, especially when one community, in this case the Muslims of France, is a minority. According to this law, female students are banned from wearing the hijab as well as all other openly religious symbols in public schools. France bans women from wearing the hijab in public schools because many feminists and lawmakers argue that veiling women serves as an oppressing force, a force that silences women. Alia Al- Saji states in her article The Racialization of Muslim Veils: A Philosophical Analysis many feminists see the headscarf As a symbol of Islamic gender oppression that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦should be banned from public schools, a space where gender equality is presumed (or desired). Supporters of the law believe it fights gender oppression and gives equality to women in the school system. Katherine Bullock sheds light on the differences in judgment over hijab by having identified themes from her research on the women and Islam field. She divides these themes into the descriptions of those who are for and those who are against the hijab. According to Katherine Bullock, critics of the veil rely on secular liberal assumptions about society and human nature and therefore the veil is supposed to be and described as a symbol of oppression because it: Covers up (hides), in the sense of smothering, femininity Is apparently linked to the essentialized male and female difference (which is taken to mean that by nature, male is superior, female is inferior); Is linked to a particular view of womans place (subjugated in the home); Is linked to an oppressive (patriarchal) notion of morality and female purity (because of Islams Emphasis on chastity, marriage, and condemnation of pre- and extra-marital sexual relations); Can be imposed; and Is linked to a package of oppressions women in Islam face, such as seclusion, polygamy, easy male divorce, unequal inheritance rights. 3.2.2 Media attitudes to reporting Islam and hijab While the media cannot be held solely responsible for the construction of national identity nor blamed for societal attitudes towards minority cultures and religions, they play a significant role by providing the lens through which reality is perceived (Bullock Jafri, 2000). While the Western media sees itself as a democratic institution, it is often held accountable for legitimising and spreading racism and bias against religious communities such as Muslims (Bullock Jafri, 2000). The media portrays Muslims as tricky, sleazy, sexual and untrustworthy, as uniformly violent, as oppressors of women, and as members of a global conspiracy (Bullock Jafri, 2000). Macmaster and Lewis identify the shift in the European medias portrayal of veiled women from exotic to a danger to society (Macmaster Lewis, 1998, p. 121). They point out the juxtaposition of representations of Muslim women as concurrently oppressed and threatening, while Kolhatkar highlights the depiction of Muslim women as shapeless blue-clad forms of Afghan women (Kolhatkar, 2002, p. 34). The identification of Muslim women in the media by the use of traditional Islamic dress has been noted by Begum, who argues that images of Islamic dress are increasingly used in the media as a visual shorthand for dangerous extremism, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Muslims all over Europe are suffering from the consequences of such associations (Begum, 2005, p. 1). In France, a breeding ground of media and political debate about the hijab, has had a polarising affect on the Muslim community and a divisive impact on society and feminism. (Begum, 2005, p. 1) The medias portrayal of these women went from sinister symbols of Islamic extremism to brave heroines of the republic overnight (Ezekiel, 2005). But since then, the French media have reported on the suspension of a Muslim meter reader who wore a hijab under her hat, the banning of a fashion show of veiled women, the prevention of hijab-wearing mothers from volunteering in schools; the refusal of service to a student wearing a hijab by a university cafeteria and the banning of a witness to a civil service wedding from signing the documentation because her hijab prevented her from being formally identified According to Ezekiel, sexism and racism intersect in this debate. On one side of the feminist debate about the hijab, there are those who demand veils be banned from French streets as they encourage the harassment of unveiled women. But at the other end of the spectrum, feminists advocating a Muslim womans right to choose to wear or not to wear a hijab have aligned themselves with fundamentalist Islamic leaders, arguing that its a Muslim womans obligation to wear a hijab and demanding the ban be overturned. The authors argue that because of the medias cultural fixation on Muslim womens dress as a symbol of oppression, Muslim women often have to focus on that aspect of their identity as well, even if they would rather discuss something else. They suggest that even responsible journalism about Muslim women tends to demote them to the role of a reactionary source in the hijab debate. In sum, it is clear that Muslim women are predominantly presented to the Canadian public as foreign, exotic, oppressed, or threatening others rather than as ones unexotic, unthreatening next door neighbours. (www.reportingdiversity.org.) Clearly, the hijab story remains newsworthy in Western countries, and Muslim womens identities are inextricably linked to the headscarf as a result. 3.2.2.1 The argument of oppression Although it is true that many women do choose to wear the Hijab, it is not the case for all women. In many Middle Eastern and North African countries women are forced and are persecuted and abused for noncompliance with the hijab. This Hirshmann, Western Feminism, Eastern Veiling, and a Question of Free Agency, was recently demonstrated in Pakistan, where an extremist killed a womens activist and government minister, because she refused to wear the Hijab. King states, From Afghanistan to Algeria to Sudan, Pakistan and Iran- women are systematically brutalized and caught in a deadly crossfire between the secular and fundamentalist forces. Some Islamic feminists argue that although the statement in the Quran about women covering themselves was not meant to oppress women, the interpretation of those verses by Islamic societies does in fact oppress women. Although it can be argued that the hijab is a symbol of the oppression that occurs against women in Islam, many Islamic women dont agree. It is true that under some Islamist rule, specifically in some North African countries, Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia women are oppressed and forced to wear the hijab, but in an international context, this is the exception to the rule regarding womens practices of wearing the veil11. Salma Yaqoob, a Muslim woman who chooses to wear the hijab explains the veil is not only an oppressing force in Islamic countries that require the veil, but also in Western countries that ban the veil. Yaqoob adamantly contends that by infringing laws that restricts womens choice on whether or not to wear the veil, they are also being oppressed. I am opposed to the Saudi and Iranian governments imposition of the veil and that of the Taliban previously. But this is also why I oppose the ban on wearing the hijab. In both cases the woman herself is no longer free to make a choice. In both cases her dignity is violated.. Yaqoob explains that more women are currently banned from wearing the hijab, than are required to wear it. The argument of liberation It can be argued that rather than oppressing, the hijab is liberating. The oppressing force behind the veil is when members of the authority, both Islamic and Western, take away a womans right to choose. The veil itself is just a piece of cloth. We interpret the hijab according to our social and religious constructions. Through the Western discussion and banning of the hijab in public schools, the Muslim school girls of France lose their freedom to express their spirituality. This view on the veil serves to continually disable and oppress women by terminating their freedom of spiritual expression. Frances 2004 law on the headscarf disables Islamic females from wearing the veil in places of education. The desired effect of the 2004 law is to fight gender oppression and inequality in the public school system, but as a residual effect, it actually diminishes womens freedoms rather than enhancing them. The law on the headscarf supports the oppressing Western discourses about veiled women and attempts to Westernize French Muslim schoolgirls. Internal debate: Reasons for wearing and not wearing the hijab The opinions of Islamic women vary in their decision whether or not to wear the veil. Some feminists, both Muslim and non-Muslim, defend the veil as a mark of agency, cultural membership, and defiance. Tayyab Bashart, a feminist scholar and Muslim who teaches in France, explains her beliefs, A woman in hijab, who is a functioning member of society, symbolizes an empowered, independent woman, rather than someone who lacks self-determination and is a puppet of society (Tayyab, Basharat.Hijab as an instrument of Taking Women off the Sex Economy.). Muslim women see bans on the veil as creating or perpetuating stereotypes that are becoming harder to fight. Hirshmann states that Western society tends to oversimplify these cultural stereotypes without looking into the women whom they think are being degraded. Reasons for wearing the hijab in Islamic Tradition The most basic debate over the hijab is over the requirement of the hijab. This is an issue that is debated by many Muslim scholars. First in order to understand why there is an issue it is important to understand the power of the Quran. The Quran is the word of God brought by his last messenger the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Islam is the total submission to Allah (God the Father) and obedience to Allah, as the Quran is Gods word then it also means total submission and obedience to Quran. The first issue with the requirement of the hijab comes from whether the hijab is in the Quran or not. There are two sides to this argument; there are those who say that the hijab is a requirement because it is in the Quran and those who say that it is not because it is not part of the Quran. Amr Khaleds lectures have greatly influenced the Muslim youth, especially Muslim female youth on the topic of the hijab. He represents the school of thought that considers the hijab to be directly in the Quran and thus a requirement for Muslim women. In one of his lectures about the hijab he says Some people argue that this hijab is not obligatory and that it was not mentioned in the Quran. These are the Qurans verses that make the Hijab obligatory to Muslim women. O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And ALLAH is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (33:59) ( Amr Khaled). Here in this verse women are told to cover their bodies so that they should be known as modest women and are not harassed. The hijab, according to many Muslims, has multiple uses and meanings. The hijabs symbolism is one of modesty and morality. According to Islam, the hijab functions as a shield for a woman against the lustful gaze of men. The hijab also serves as a cover to preserve the modesty and piety of the woman, as that is her main role as stated in the Quran. Not only is this her role in her faith, but in society as well. The Quran also states that the woman is the familys main preserver of honour, piety, and modesty. Thus, the hijab is an aid in which the woman can successfully carry out this function as demanded by Allah through the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Kulenovic 714-715). Amr Khalad, a popular Islamic scholar, layman, and highly influential Muslim speaker, has had a strong influence on Muslim youth in on the issue of the hijab, especially in Jordan (Stratton 98). According to Amr Khalads lecture Al-Hijab, the hijab also serves the purpose of forcing men to not sexually objectify women but to see her as a vessel of intelligence and high moral values. Khalad says that the hijab reinforces the fact that Islamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ made the beauty of women of a higher value in mens eyes by providing protection [in the form of hijab] to that beauty from uncontrolled lusts and desires, and instead ordering men to respect greater the inner beauty of her soul. Thus, the real value of women is associated with the degree of her bashfulness and her abidance by it (Khalad Al-Hijab). This is the tradition Islamic rational for the hijab and why it is important in Islam (Khalad AlHijab). A study about hijab in the West also provides another theory that I believe can also be applied in South Africa because it is a country heavily influenced by the West. The idea of the hijab as a symbol of resistance is explored by Tarik Kulenovic but not necessarily one that is strictly political. Tarik Kulenovics theory suggests that the hijab in the West is a matter of identity, a physical symbol of a womans Muslim identity. This symbol also carries a message of religiosity in a modernizing society which encourages a secular life style and scorns tradition. Kulenovic asserts that the modern identity of Muslim women, which includes the wearing of the veil, is primarily the identity of resistance to the values than individuals find foreign to them and as such imposed on them (Kulenovic, page 717). Thus, in modern society, the hijab can be thought of as a means of retaining a religious life style while assimilating to the demands of the modern world. Another reason women choose to wea r the hijab is that they find that the hijab serves as an empowering factor. Yaqoob states her personal reasons why she wears the veil, For me, the wearing of the hijab denotes that as a woman I expect to be treated as an equal in terms of my intellect and personality and my appearance is relevant only to the degree that I want it to be, when I want it to be. Katherine Bullock addresses dominant western assumptions by proving through her research that the reasons some women wear the hijab are that the hijab: 1. Does not smother femininity; 2. Brings to mind the different-but-equal school of thought, but does not put forward essentalized male-female difference; 3. Is linked to a view that does not limit women to the home, but neither does it consider the role of stay-at-home-mother and homemaker oppressive; 4. Is linked to a view of morality that is oppressive only if one considers the prohibition of sexual relations outside marriage wrong; 5. Is part of Islamic law, though a law that ought to be implemented in a very wise and women-friendly manner, and 6. Can and should be treated separately from other issues of womens rights in Islam. 4.2 Reasons for not wearing the hijab in the Islamic Tradition In the Quranic this verse although it says to draw the cloak all over their bodies, it does not specifically say the hair. In addition, it does not specify in what way, to what extent, and in what manner women should cover themselves. There are many modern alternative views to this idea that the hijab is compulsory because it is in the Quran. For example, Dr.Reza Alsan, an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions,the founder of AslanMedia.com and also one of the leading scholars in the alternative view, considers the hijab not an obligatory aspect of being a Muslim woman. Reza claims, Although long seen as the most distinctive emblem of Islam, the veil is, surprisingly, not enjoined upon Muslim women anywhere in the Quran (Alsan). Instead he claims that the veil was in Arab culture before the arrival of Islam, through contact with Syria and Iran, where the veil was the sign of the upper class women. According to Lelia Ahmed and those who fall in the second school of thought like Reza, the only places that the hijab is applied to women is when it is addressing the wives of Prophet Muhammad. Thus the veil was only associated with the prophets wives and his daughters not all women of Islam. This school of thought does not deny that modesty was expected of all believers. Women should guard their private parts and drape a cover over their breasts when in the presence of strange men (Surah 24:31-32) (Aslan). Here specific parts of the body are named that women should guard and cover including the private parts and the breast but the hair is not mentioned. Thus those in this school of thought like Leila Ahmed and Reza Alsan do not believe that the hijab is mandatory for Muslim women because it is not mentioned in the Quran. According to Bullock, critics of the veil rely on secular liberal assumptions about society and human nature and therefore the veil is supposed to be and described as a symbol of oppression because it: Covers up (hides), in the sense of smothering, femininity Is apparently linked to essentialized male-female difference (which is taken to mean that by nature, male is superior, female is inferior); Is linked to a particular view of womans place (subjugated in the home); Is linked to an oppressive (patriarchal) notion of morality and female purity (because of Islams Emphasis on chastity, marriage, and condemnation of pre- and extra-marital sexual relations); Can be imposed; and Is linked to a package of oppressions women in Islam face, such as seclusion, polygamy, easy male divorce, unequal inheritance rights, and so on. 4.3 Spirituality Some women have a deep spiritual and religious connection to the veil and firmly disagree with the view of it as a sign of oppression. Many Muslim women feel uncomfortable without wearing it because the hijab is deeply-rooted in their personal values and religious tradition. A main reason women choose to wear the hijab, is as expression of spirituality. Bashart states in his book that Muslim women carry with them their sacred private space into the public space by use of the Hijab. (Basharat, Hijab as an Instrument of Taking Women off the Sex Economy). In this view of the hijab, the veil is not simply an article of clothing; or a symbol of oppression it is a tool of spirituality for women. Fadwa El Guindi, author of The Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance, says veiling patterns and veiling behaviour are. about sacred privacy, sanctity and the rhythmic interweaving of patterns of worldly and sacred life, linking women as the guardians of family sanctuaries and the realm of the sacred in this world Conclusion This research investigates the reasons why the Muslim community is divided on the subject of the veil and if the dominant negative perception of hijab (as the hijab being oppressive) has affected, if at all, the wearing of hijab in TSiBA Education. In the attempt to answer this question, the research has presented two hypotheses. Firstly, the divide on the practice of the hijab exists within the Muslim community because there are different interpretations of the verses of the Quran where Allah commands females to over their hair. Secondly, that the dominant negative Western perception causes some Muslim women to fear wearing the hijab and to abandon it all together as wearing the hijab could result in more oppression to females- as portrayed in Western media. Thirdly, Some Muslim women choose to wear the hijab for spirituality reasons despite constant the pressures of the West.

Korean Economic Crisis Essay -- Korea Asia Economy Papers

Korean Economic Crisis problems with format The Korean economy did an important role in the remarkable economic growth, which was so called  ¡Ã‚ °East Asia ¡Ã‚ ¯s miracle ¡Ã‚ ±. At the end of 1997, however, the Korean economy fell into a crisis of default and finally received IMF ¡Ã‚ ¯s relief aid. After that, Korea has been struggling not only to reform its monetary system but also to promote drastic reforms in its economic structure in order to improve the productivity of the Korean industry. Given this context, understanding what truly caused the Korean economic crisis is very important. Without identifying and remedying the fundamental problems, nobody can be sure that Korea will not have the similar kind of economic crisis never again. So, we need to identify what caused the crisis in 1997 and what the Korean government has to do. Therefore, this paper will examine the root cause of Korea's economic crisis in 1997 and present solutions for the stable growth of the Korean economy in the future. 2. Causes of the Korean economic crisis On November 21, 1997, the Korean government formally asked the International Monetary Fund for stand-by loans. With this request, the Korean government admitted its inability to meet international debt payments with its own means. The followings are three popular views about the cause of the Korean economic crisis in 1997(Cho, 1999): First, the currency crisis in Southeast Asian countries mainly Thailand and Indonesia in the summer of 1997 made Korea vulnerable to the attacks of currency speculators. So, the currency speculators turned their attention to Korea after having devoured the Southeast Asian countries. Second, the root cause of the... ...1998. Press Release IV.  ¡Ã‚ °Economic Crisis and Restructuring in Korea, ¡Ã‚ ± International Conference, Dec.3, 1999, Seoul, Korea .(http://www.idep.org/conference12/default_eng.htm) Underwood, Peter(1998), Korea ¡Ã‚ ¯s Current Economic Crisis, Industrial Research & Consulting, Affiliate of Fry Consultants Atlanta, (http://www.fryconsultants.com/new.html) Yang , Woo Jin(2002),  ¡Ã‚ °Roots of the Economic Crisis in Post-Democratization Korea ¡Ã‚ ±. By Eileen Sir, UCLA International Institute, (http://www.isop.ucla.edu/research.asp) http://www.nira.go.jp/newse/research/a151.html http://www.res.org.uk/media/annconf99/demet.htm http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/homepage/Books/koreareform.html http://www.hankooki.com/kt_op/200011/t20001129171159481174.htm http://www.nira.go.jp/newse/research/a151.html http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55a/index-g.html

Hsc Belonging Peter Skrzynecki and Ben Heine

Individuals may feel a sense of belonging to many people and places. This sense of belonging can enrich the individual, becoming a positive influence on his or her life. Ben Heine is the skilled photographer behind the photograph titled ‘Home’. This photograph uniquely explores ideas about belonging as to provoke thought in regards to the viewer’s perception of what it actually means to belong. Likewise, these ideas surrounding a connection to people and places are expressed in Peter Skrzynecki’s Immigrant Chronicles.Belonging is the central theme throughout the photograph ‘Home’ which is clearly represented through the caricature of a child girl establishing herself in a fantasy world she is depicted drawing herself into. Ben Heine’s image represents reality versus fantasy which could also be viewed as not belonging and belonging. He has accomplished this through holding a pencilled sketch over a section of adjoining photograph to make something real into a distorted fantasy. Unlike novels, poetry or songs, images cannot be expressed using a considerable amount of words. Instead images must display visual techniques to convey ideas.Heine has incorporated numerous visual techniques into his photograph to achieve such complexity in depth and meaning. As the title of the photograph suggests, this image displays images of home, which provokes emotive thoughts towards the people depicted in the image. Within the salient image is a vector where your eyes are drawn towards and then follow a path to where the artist wishes you to look. In the image ‘Home’ Heine has drawn a vector stemming from the centre of the young girl, which is then followed up the girl’s arm where she has written the simple word ‘Home’ as a logo upon the singular house.This provokes thoughts as to whether the child and her mother standing to her left actually have a place to call ‘Home’. In ’10 Mar y Street’, it is the house that provides a literal and psychological place to belong. It signifies the Skrzynecki’s’ search for security, identity and safety and is a refuge from the new and strange environment. The family invests too much in its importance, however, and the personification of the house’s ‘China blue coat’ reveals its fragility and that the nature of belonging to a place is transitory.This reveals the poet’s recognition of the position of vulnerability the family are in at the hand of their rigidity and exposes the dangers of relying on a place to belong. In ’10 Mary Street’ the Skrzynecki’s’ have a home, unlike the little girl portrayed in ‘Home’ who has to draw a fantasy which includes a house and family to belong. The entire photograph ‘Home’ depicts reality versus fantasy. The reality in the image is exemplified by the use of colour whereas the fantasy is shown in black and white sketching.The fantasy is a perfect illusion which would easily be concealed as reality if it weren’t for the obvious contrast between the colour palette, and lack of it. The pencilled fantasy is a perfect world however it is clearly a child’s fantasy. The girl’s mother standing next to her seems oblivious to the girl’s imaginative world. She is absorbed in what is right in front of her; reality. This is similar in ‘St Patrick’s College’ as Peter’s mother is oblivious to her son’s wishes. In the last paragraph the poet states â€Å"prayed that someday mother would be pleased†¦ hat the darkness around me wasn’t â€Å"for the best†. The repetition of this negative phrase â€Å"wasn’t for the best† reinforces Skrzynecki’s negative attitude to his mother’s choice of education for him as she was initially merely â€Å"impressed by the uniforms of her employers sons†. It implies some criticism for his mother’s choice of school based on the ideas and attitudes of others and perhaps not on what is best for her son’s personality and happiness. The God-like hand stemming from the right hand side of the image ‘Home’ is holding the sketch.It is as though he is giving the girl opportunities, foresight into what her life could be like, a guiding hand making dreams come true. In the fantasy is a simple home and at its base lays a car, happy smiling people united by held hands. It is a wealthy area which is clean, unpolluted and uncrowded. This description is juxtaposed by the reality which is a poor, dirty, polluted, crowded looking area. The people in the fantasy holding hands are a representation of family, happiness, familiarity, safety and acceptance. Interestingly in reality there is just the girl and her mother without a father figure present.However, sketched in the child’s fantasy world there is a fam ily; a mother, a father and a daughter who are united by held hands. This representation of belonging in the fantasy contrasts the reality as in the reality there is a large distance between mother and daughter where the mum and she are separated. This is shown by the tilt of the mum’s head away from the girl. The transition between childhood and adulthood often leads to a distancing between parents and their children. In the poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki ‘ this idea is evident ‘as like a dumb prophet watched me pegging y tents further south of Hadrian’s Wall’. The simile, ‘like a dumb prophet’ and the metaphor ‘further south of Hadrian’s Wall’ emphasises the gap between Skrzynecki and his father because of different life experiences. Feliks is both dumb and prophetic as he portrays a certain lack of knowledge of the English language; whereas Skrzynecki’s English grows and Feliks is powerless to speak up about his son’s movement away from him. He is prophetic as he can foresee that his son will come to value his heritage in later years at the expense of his dislocation from it in youth.The image ‘Home’ is like a story. Firstly, you look through the vector into the girl’s fantasy then your eyes are drawn towards the mother who is clearly at peace with her culture and third world. She has accepted her life, unlike her young daughter who is metaphorically represented reaching up for more than what she has. Then your eyes are drawn to the bottom of the picture where both the mum and daughter are being supported by their third world structure. This is a metaphor as they need their country; this is their ‘Home’. They are ‘citizens of the soil. ’

The Famous Poll at Jodys Bar essays

The Famous Poll at Jodys Bar essays The theme of the story, The Famous Poll at Jodys Bar, is the different mindset about the relationship of man and woman. There come two couples, Nora Jane and Sandy; Prescott and Emily Anne. Nora Jane met Sandy at a record shop where she worked and fell in love with him at the first sight. Sandy was her dream man who was like Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid. The author describes Sandy as a handsome and attractive thief by using the Sundance Kid. After 14 months of living together without a marriage, Sandy left her saying that he would call her again when he settled which was a lie. He just left her in an indifferent way when he earned enough money robbing with her. He didnt value the relationship as much as she did. However, Nora Jane devoted her life to meet and hold the relationship with him. It says, To the source of all water. It means that Sandy was a reason for living for her. The other couple, Prescott and Emily Anne, also lived together for years without getting married. Even though Prescott didnt care about her much, Emily Anne continued the relationship with him. Two couples in the story describe the reality of men and womens view about love and relationship so well. Men dont consider a relationship with women and a marriage as much as women do. Whereas, women value every relationship with men importantly, and they are ready to devote their lives for their love. The description about a marriage by Prescott was very realistic and fun but disappointed that there are some men who think a marriage so miserably and negatively. The author used the third point of view in the story to be objective about two different views about love. Therefore, the story is not biased to either side. The author used several similes and exaggeration, which created strong images about characters and their thoughts. The story was the comparison of two different min...

What is Freedom †English Essay

What is Freedom – English Essay Free Online Research Papers What is Freedom English Essay Wallace: I AM William Wallace! And I see, a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. Youve come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? Scotsman: Fight? Against that? No, we will run, and we will live. Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and youll live. At least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to thatfor one chancejust ONE CHANCE to come back here to tell our enemy that they may take out lives, but they will never take OUR FREEDOM!!! The quote above dates back to the 1995 movie Braveheart starring Mel Gibson as Sir William Wallace of Scotland. In this quote, Wallace is talking to Scotsmen at Stirling Bridge, where the Scottish Army had a stunning victory over the English Army. The Scottish people who came to fight felt that it was impossible to defeat an overwhelming English Army. However, with the courage of a man named William Wallace, the Scotsmen were guided into battle over the English and because of Wallace’s relentless patriotism and strong desire of freedom, the country of Scotland was regained from the British Rule. Wallace’s act of courage and plea with his fellow citizens to risk their lives came out of a greater belief in freedom that parallels the theme of fighting against oppression throughout history by great men. In The Tyranny of Freedom, Gerry Spence claims, â€Å"a state of perfect freedom is a state of nothingness.† According to society, the definition of freedom generally means when members of society are free to do whatever they want. However the true question is, does a place where such freedom truly exists? The answer is yes. That place is our mind. In our minds, we can imagine the state of nothingness and live in the so called ultimate freedom. However, in the United States of America, ultimate freedom is found from the history that is given a lot of pride. In history, freedom has been achieved from the rebound of World War II to the times of Immigrants. During World War II, the Japanese Army at Pearl Harbor attacked the United States of America. The attack was classified as one of the worst attacks on this country’s soil. The United States Government was forced to take logical and rational decisions on a counter attack with the Japanese. On August 6th and 9th, 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the first atomic bombs used in warfare. The aftermath of the Atomic Bomb was so unbearable, that the government of the United States of America had to take charge in the rebuilding process of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In rebuilding Japan, the United States gave special civil liberties to the Japanese after realizing the harm they gave to the citizens of Japan. For many centuries, decades, and years, the United States of America has been a country in which immigrants would flood the borders. Currently the number of immigrants allowed in this country has been limited, however the borders continue to remain flooded. Walt Whitman describes America as, â€Å"not merely a nation, but a teeming nation of nations.† The main reason why everybody wants to go to US is because if they would go somewhere like France of Japan although they would get higher wages, there is a much greater chance of getting harassed, arrested or deported in those countries as opposed to the United States. In addition, the price tag of freedom in this country is so precious that it can never be taken away from you. In some countries, freedom is considered evil, religious freedom isn’t considered, and economically the United States of America allows its citizens to grow and become a successful member of society in its free enterprise market. After seeing how freedom has been portrayed in this country, it leaves the reader back to the original question of freedom being a state of nothingness. In the farms or in the city, there will always be limitations to what freedom is. However in the farms the limitations are considered less compared to those in the city. In conclusion society often associates freedom with the ability to make an unconstrained choice between options. For example, an individual can wake up one morning and choose to wear a black sweater or instead choose a green one. These kinds of choices are made daily. Some choices are made with not so much as a ripple of consequence in our daily existence, while others are life changing events, such as the choice to marry, or the choice to kill, or the choice to go to school, etc. All these choices that an individual makes is known as the freedom that is not so much in the state of nothingness. Research Papers on What is Freedom - English EssayThe Effects of Illegal Immigration19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraQuebec and CanadaNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeCapital PunishmentWhere Wild and West MeetPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Essay

Federal Rules of Evidence Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Federal Rules of Evidence - Article Example The two police handcuffs and the gun were illegally in the accused hands; there was no other explanation behind such possession of such items other than to cause malice and harm. Therefore, by the mere position of the police assortment, the accused had the intent to commit a crime, which could most likely be explained to be a kidnap. Moreover, the cruel treatment of the victim at the hands of the defendant could be reliable evidence to portray the accused to have had no other intention other than to kill Ms. Woodward. Wallace (2013) explains that circumstantial evidence does not need to prove anything by itself, but has the power to point to the right direction, by proving something related to the question at hand. Consequently, the ill-treatment of Ms. Woodward in the case points to the direction of intention to commit murder or grievous harm to the victim. The accused had handcuffed the victim, placed her at the back of the vehicle in an inhuman treatment. Moreover, when the victim inquired the intention behind the defendant’s actions after realizing he was not a police and tried to escape, the accused rained blows on her head several times and covered her face. The victim was dizzy from the received blows. After opening the door finally, the defendant did not stop driving but continued while the victim tumbled on the ground heavily. These incidents lead to the conclusion that the defendant was indeed preparing to commit murder or grievous harm, similar to the case of the 24-year-old Imette st. Guillen.

Critical Analysis of Tourism Websites Assignment

Critical Analysis of Tourism Websites - Assignment Example With that said, I found the official tourist website for Greece and took a look around. The website is mediocre and the web designer must have used a strange layout code because mousing around causes weird changes to the layout. The header has four tabs: Home, Site Map, Newsletter Subscribe, and Contact. The homepage itself offers additional tabs: Greece (which expands to include links to History, Civilisation[sic], Geography, General Info, and Before You Travel), Explore (which expands to include links to Destinations, Culture, Sea, Nature, and Religion), Enjoy (which expands to include links to Activities, Leisure, Touring, and Gastronomy), Specials (which expands to include links to You in Greece, Downloads, and Newsletters), and GNTO (which expands to include links to About Us, Business Newsletter, Links, and Competitions). There is so much information, at first the website can seem a bit daunting. There are all kinds of related links, a plethora of historical information, most w ith links to outside websites that offer tourist trips, and an events calendar (though it didn’t seem to be functioning on the several visits I made to the website). Most notably, the website offers a large column of social networks that they hope you â€Å"like† them on—which seemed distracting, actually. I came to the site to learn more about Greece, not worry about their Google +1 or Twitter status. The website does include some photos of Greece and its monuments, though I was severely disappointed in quality, number, and size. Essentially, this website looked like they took their â€Å"Travel Greece† brochures and turned them into a website. Nothing special, too many choices that lead to the same places, and a distracting layout that makes choosing a tab to visit next confusing. Most frustrating, is that getting into the culture of Greece is nearly impossible, simply from the lack of visual evidence. Over and over I second-guessed this choice as the m ain tourism website for Greece, but GTNO stands for Greek National Tourism Organisation[sic], which is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Overall, if I hadn’t seen Greece in movies and literature previously, I wouldn’t want to visit there if this were the only site available. The lack of visual evidence is frustrating, and though they offer a large amount of historical information about the cities and monuments, the information is not, ironically, very informative. At just about every opportunity, the website links you away from the main site to give the real information. From this tourism website, I’ve gotten a sick feeling about Greece. I’ll keep it as my destination because I believe the country is far more beautiful than the tourist site lets on, but I was highly disappointed because it seems—at least it should be this way—that the main tourism site’s only function is to attract tourists and visitors to their landm arks. Nightmare Excursion: Israel Sure, it may be the fount of the world’s oldest and most prominent holy site; but it’s guaranteed to be wrought with civil war and unfathomable dangers to the average tourist. With that said, I took a gander at Israel’s official tourism site which bears the promise, â€Å"Israel: Come find the Israel in You.† The Ministry of Tourism’s site is actually quite impressive, not at all what I expected. Obviously, their website wouldn’t be openly promoting their thousand-year-old holy wars, but the aesthetic was far more pleasing than imagined.