Why do states want nuclear weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why do states want nuclear weapons - Essay Example First and foremost we have to understand that many states view the nuclear club as a prestigious guild, for them it is a quick and sure-fire way to not only gain entry into the club but also gain international standing and stature. (Perkovich (1998) p.2) On the other hand gaining the status of a nuclear state can also bolster support for a regime in a particular country. Cases in point are both India and Pakistan. The surge in popularity of the BJP the ruling coalition party in power at the time of weaponized nuclear tests and massive popularity for the Prime minister of Pakistan Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his ruling party after the nuclear tests both illustrate the point. The double standards of the worlds only super power the US, towards Israel has caused some dissent in other nations. This has caused a letup in nonproliferation efforts and leads to decreasing pressure on countries trying to acquire nuclear status, hence more countries try to acquire these weapons. (Perkovich (1998) p.3-4) Another possible reason given to justify the acquisition of nuclear capability is that nuclear weapons can prevent regional and international conflicts due to the threat of mutual destruction. The apprehension countries with regards to its adversaries' present or future strength can serve as a strong motivation for a country to go nuclear as nuclear weapons may be a cheaper (on the whole) alternative to an economically disastrous and militarily dangerous conventional arms race. (Perkovich (1998) p.4) India and Pakistan as well as Israel, the U.S, Russia and China all developed nuclear weapons for reasons of national security. But in some cases as mentioned earlier security was not the only concern. India, U.K, France and even South Africa (which later abandoned its nuclear programme and was declared a nuclear weapons free country) all developed nuclear weapons to further their standing in the regional and international arena, to show-off their national scientific competency and establish themselves as key players in regional and international politics. (Perkovich (1998) p.6) Finally there can only be two views of the current situation and the future line of action. One idea is allowing the induction of more states in to the nuclear club i.e. allowing them to have the weapons. Since the threat of mutual destruction increases, the idea of minimal deterrence pops up. The other option is to limit proliferation of nuclear weapons moving into phased reduction of weapons till the ultimate goal of de-armament is achieved (Perkovich (1998) p.10). But one has to admit regardless of however much optimistic one might be that this scenario at least in the present or in the near future is not probable "at all", given the never-ending quest of countries to acquire nuclear capability and the disagreement amongst the members of the nuclear club on major non-proliferation issues. Work Cited Perkovich, George (Autumn, 1998), "Nuclear Proliferation". Foreign Policy, Volume No.

Ink Painting - Lingnan School of Painting Essay

Ink Painting - Lingnan School of Painting - Essay Example The paper "Ink Painting - Lingnan School of Painting" analyzes how the Lingnan School of Painting contributed to the innovations of the traditional Chinese ink painting, and how it influenced the traditional Chinese ink painting; what were the dissatisfactions articulated by the emerging Lingnan School; how the Lingnan style distinguished itself, in both their underlying philosophy and the art through which they expressed it; and in what direction(s) has the Lingnan school led, in its influence on Chinese ink painting. There were a number of defining characteristics of traditional Chinese ink painting, prior to the emergence of the Lingnan School. These defining characteristic might be arranged into the categories. With respect to the audience, traditional Chinese ink paintings were not created for common people or for a mass audience, but were generally privately-commissioned and intended for an elite audience only. Because the usual form of the painting included calligraphy and poe try, as well as painting and signets, it was done by educated scholars, for whom it was their esoteric passion. As such, the traditional Chinese ink paintings were often too lofty to comprehend. For this reason, they had a limited appeal, though very beautiful. The painter was, in a mystic way, the subject of his/her own painting, whether the apparent subject was landscape, flowers, or animals. The painting expressed the sentiment of the painter, but it was more intimate than that. The painting expressed the personality.... It can be understood that all painting, by artists, should develop their skills. Traditional Chinese ink painting was understood to be more profound than this. The painter painted and developed intellectually and spiritually. It was about the deepest aspects of being and the sensitivity of consciousness 5. Landscape paintings, for example, were lovely and set a mood. More than that, they communicated the emotion that the scholar-poet-painter experienced in that environment. Beyond that, the mountain or waterfall or other landscape setting shown, revealed the personality of the painter, for those who understood how to read the clues. It was not merely a painting for an audience, but it was an opportunity for the painter to reflect and develop personality and spirit. It was this painted high being-ness that the elite audience of traditional Chinese ink painting was looking for and paying for. In appreciating a painting, then, the audience appreciated Spirit and Consciousness. It was co nceptual, rather than visual 6. The subject of traditional Chinese ink painting was always painted in an abstract manner. From the 10th century to the 20th, it was thought that realism somehow cheapened the aesthetics of a painting. So, Chinese traditional ink painting was always expressionist, and not realist, and eventually even the selected subject itself was abstract. For example, a favorite subject of traditional Chinese ink painting, by the nineteenth century, was Taoist and Buddhist teachings. It is no wonder that the subjects of the paintings, for 800 years, were considered by later painters to be aloof from worldly affairs 7. The subjects painted were human figures, landscapes, flowers and birds. These three categories, however, are more

The Connection between Bush and the Royal Saudi Family Essay

The Connection between Bush and the Royal Saudi Family - Essay Example (Sirota, Harvey, & Legum, 2004, np) That in and of itself was note worthy enough, but when coupled with the events surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks suddenly everything took on new meaning. It all began in the 1968 when Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard. He is introduced to and got acquainted with Jim Bath, a former Air Force pilot and the future mediator between Bush and the royal families in Saudi. Years later, Salem Bin Laden, older brother Osama bin Laden, would enter into a trust agreement with Jim Bath, whereby Bath acted as the bin Laden family's representative in North America, investing money in various business ventures. And as if by chance, the same Laden in 1978 invested more than 1 Billion dollars in a Texas based Oil Company called Arbusto - not so surprisingly a Bush venture. Thus began the legacy which has spanned nearly forty years to date. During this same time period George H. W. Bush was climbing his way up the political ladder. In 1976 he was named director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As luck would have it for the Bush family, during his tenure as CIA Director, the senior Bush arranged training for the Saudi Royal Family's security force. This act sealed the association between the two families. During this time while still with the CIA, George H. W. Bush "privatized various CIA assets, with Bath considered one of the beneficiaries because of his involvement in the aircraft business." (Saudi, 2003, pp. 1) During 1980 the senior Bush was on the Primary Election ballot for the Presidency. He lost to Ronald Regan, but in a show of party unity Bush became Reagan's Vice-presidential running mate. In 1988 Bush ran for election and won. As early as 1991 there had been links place between the Bush and Saudi Royal Family, but its significance would not be truly felt for another 10 years. During 1991 Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), a Mid-Eastern bank financed in part by Khalid Bin Mahfouz, who is closely tied to both the bin Laden and the Royal Family, was arrested for withdrawing huge sums of money from the bank prior to its being seized by the U. S. Government for money laundering and other fiscal illegalities. Instead of facing jail time, however, he was levied hefty fines which he paid. 1991 also saw the beginning of the first Gulf War. Bush ordered the military attack to expel Saddam Hussein and his forces from Kuwait in order to ensure the oil pipelines remained open. The decision to enter Kuwait was also discussed with the Saudi government and they urged Bush to use U. S. military forces to expel Hussein. Having the U. S. involved in the first Gulf War was in the Saudi's best interest. They didn't have to launch a military attack against a Middle East neighbor, and, further, if Hussein had been left unchecked he could have very well also invaded Saudi Arabia. The first Gulf War was very short lived and in a matter of just a few days Kuwait had been liberated. There was much debate by the American public at this time as to whether the President should have 'kept going' at that point and remove Hussein from power. However, under advice of his military strategists and political advisors, the military was ordered out of the country. Bush senior was not re-elected in 1992 and many people felt it was due

Welcome Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Welcome Letter - Essay Example Foreigners are welcome in the United States. Due to the diverse ethnic and racial composition of the student population on campus few will actually realize that you are foreign students. Learning the basics about the United States culture is important. In the United States we eat three times a day. Eating at fast food restaurants is a common occurrence. I recommend that as you start meeting people inside and outside of class inviting them to enjoy a meal during lunchtime at the cafeteria or at fast food restaurants is a good way to enjoy time with other people while sharing a meal together. Sports are a major part of our culture. Our school has several sporting teams. Students at our university enjoy going to these sporting events. Most of them are free of charge for students. There are many extracurricular activities going on at our campus everyday. To enjoy the full college experience it would be good for you guys to attend the art expositions, theater events, music shows, and seminars by professionals that occur every semester at our university. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are a hot trend among young people in America. If you donâ€℠¢t have one you should open an account immediately particularly one in Facebook which is the industry leader in social networks. Facebook has 750 million users worldwide (Facebook, 2011). This is a great way to meet friends. You should invite your classmates to be your friends on Facebook or any other social network. As students that are enrolled at our university I know you have high educational goals. You should visit the educational counselors of our school to share with them your aspirations and goals. They can help you create a long term plan for your future. This university is not a walk in the park from an academic perspective. All curriculums are very hard and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to succeed academically. If you need help don’t hesitate

Based upon your reading in The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L Essay

Based upon your reading in The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Helibroner, as well as CREDIBLE outside sources, outline the di - Essay Example Both Joseph Schumpeter and John Maynard Keynes were subjected to the same economic period, suffering from economic recession and aimed at developing theories aimed at economic development. However both analyzed the situation differently and thus observed different economic problems which made them to come with different definitions of the economics, which are very important in understanding the modern economic trends and situations. In an effort to solve the economic crisis, Keynes called for government intervention. Holding to the fact that money was not an just a means of exchange as was stipulated by the likes of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, but the supply of money, and to be specific money velocity had an adverse effect on the demand of goods, Keynes put it across that regulation of money supply would improve economic conditions during recession (Heilbroner 267). To come up to this conclusion, Keynes held lack of control of money supply in the capitalist system had caused the re cession. Schumpeter agreed to Keynes idea that the failure of capitalist system resulted to the economic recession but attributed the failure to poor relation between capitalist investors and the actual managers of the investment projects who happened to be employees. According to Schumpeter, the managers salaries are not correlated to the company’s profit and thus don’t strive to maintain or improve future returns. Although Schumpeter did not reject interventions, he held that capitalism could be maintained and its success accelerated ‘creative destruction’ that is replacement of old worn-out business models by new entrepreneurs’ innovations. What determines real price of commodities is a question that most economics have had in their minds. Keynes was not an exception, although his answers portrayed a view completely different from his predecessors. To develop his theories, Keynes held that money and credit were real, and greatly influenced commod ity prices (Heilbroner 270). Disregarding that firms and individuals had any impact the economy as demand which was only affected by money velocity influenced capital formation, productivity and employment. However Keynes held the assumption that his theory was only effective if the velocity of money was held constant. Schumpeter embedded on this assumption and criticized the whole theory on the fact that velocity of money can only be constant in primitive societies and not in the modern complex economic conditions. It was Keynes ideas, of fiscal and monetary policies that were used to solve the recession problem. However, equilibrium conditions were only obtained in the short run just as they were proposed by Keynes. Schumpeter criticized Keynes short run solutions as not caring about the future. Schumpeter identifies that the central economic problem was not equilibrium as stipulated by Keynes, and suggested that structural change was more realistic. In attempt to solve the proble m, he maintained that capitalist, not discarding intervention can still thrive given his theorem of the innovator. Schumpeter emphasized that equilibrium solutions were only short run that could not prevail in the long run due to structural changes. Contrary to their predecessors, Keynes and Schumpeter replaced the argument demand or supply of

Comparison and Contrast of The Hobbit Novel and The Hobbit Films Essay Example for Free

Comparison and Contrast of The Hobbit Novel and The Hobbit Films Essay The Hobbit: An unexpected journey and The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug had a great director; Peter Jackson to keep every original concept that J. R. R. Tolkien would have in mind if he was the one to direct these movies. They kept that its not only about getting Dwarves their homeland back, but the development of a quiet, stay at home and stay safe Hobbit. Most of the characters were well interpreted into the movie like Thorins greed for the Arkenstone, how that is his childhood and the kingdom was balanced on the Arkenstones power. The films kept the same feeling that one would get from reading the novel. A Hobbit on his adventure, there and back again. Though they kept the same feeling, scenes and characters occurred even though they were never included in the novel. Tauriel was a she-elf that created a love triangle between Kili and Legolas. In the book, Kili goes with the other dwarves, entering Smaugs lair. In the film, he gets a injured in the leg by an arrow that becomes infected and hes forced to stay in Laketown with Bard and the others, and Tauriel and Fili his brother. Their deaths will become different from the original story. Also the size of Smaug became enormous compared to the book and J. R. R. Tolkien had his own artwork of the rough size of this dragon and the amount of gold he settled in. The treasure and how much dragon remained under the mountain was blown off the scale. These differences hardly impact the plot, but those are some differences between The Hobbit novel and The Hobbit movies.

Skills as a photographer

Skills as a photographer Annie Leibovitz was born in Connecticut on the 2nd of October, 1949. She was one of six children born to Sam and Marilyn Leibovitz, a dance instructor. In 1967, Leibovitz registered at the San Francisco Art Institute. She developed a love for photography while on a trip to Japan with her mother in the summer of her sophomore year. That autumn she started classes in photography [1]I was totally seduced by the wonderment of it all, she told a writer for Art News. To see something that afternoon and have it materialize before your eyes that same day. There was a real immediacy to it. I lived in the darkroom. A trip to Israel helped her to really develop her skills as a photographer. While she was still a student at the institute, Rolling Stone magazine gave Leibovitz her first commercial assignment after she approached Jann Wenner, in 1970, the founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine, which he had recently launched. The assignment was to take a picture of the Beatles musician John Lennon. The black and white image of the unkempt rock star was released on the cover of the 1971 issue on January 21st. In 1973 when she was only 23 years old she was given the job of being the magazines main photographer. She held this position for ten years. In 1974 Rolling Stone began printing the magazine in colour and Leibovitiz changed with it. [2]In school, I wasnt taught anything about lighting, and I was only taught black-and-white, she told ART news in 1992. So I had to learn colour myself. Using colour Leibovitz created her own signature style, the colours can be described as brilliant perhaps because it printed well. Some of the famous musicians she photographed include Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Patti Smith. At first her photographs of celebrities were like snapshots, where she tried to capture her subject in the moment. But she soon noticed her ability to put people at ease and help them to let down their guard. She encouraged her subjects to pose for her doing eccentric or silly things which revealed much more of their personalities than a straight portrait ever could. One of Leibovitzs secrets to her success is researching her subjects before she has he photo shoots with them. She reads or watches their works if possible sh e spends time observing their daily lives. However one of the shots that really created her standing as a top photographer is her photo of John Lennon hours before he died. In 1980 leibovitz was sent to take a photograph of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Leibovitz had originally planned that the couple would pose together nude. Even though Lennon happily obliged, Ono refused to take off her clothes, much to the disappointment of Liebovitz. She decided to work with Yoko Ono clothed and Lennon naked I was thinking that they had never been embarrassed to take their clothes off, that they could do a nude embrace, says Leibovitz, who was photographing them for a Rolling Stone cover to mark the release of Double Fantasy, their first album in five years.[3] John took his clothes off in a few seconds, but Yoko was very reluctant. She said, Ill take my shirt off but not my pants. I was kinda disappointed, and I said, Just leave everything on. We took one Polaroid, and the three of us knew it was profound right away.. The final image shows John Lennon nude, curled around a fully dressed Yoko Ono. This shot was used for the cover of the commemorative issue of the Rolling Stone. Another project which helped push her to the top was her documentation of the Rolling Stones 1975 world tour. The photographs she created while she lived and travelled with the band have been described as being [4]some of the most eloquent images ever made of the world of Rock and Roll.. This project helped give Leibovitz a big name among the top photographers. However she unfortunately became involved with drugs, being part of the groups entourage and with the burden of her career pushed her towards the usage of cocaine. She has been quoted in Vanity Fair that [5]I went on that [Rolling Stones] tour to get to the heart of something, to see what it was like. People always talk about the soul of the sitter [in a photograph], but the photographer has a soul, too. And I almost lost it. It took Leibovitz almost five years to get over the tour, which she did and her career continued to take new heights. In one interview Leibovitz talks about the effect being on the Rolling Stones tour aff ected her [6] Ive been on many tour buses and at many concerts, but the best photographs Ive made of musicians at work were done during that Rolling Stones tour. I probably spent more time on it than on any other subject. For me, the story about the pictures is about almost losing myself, and coming back, and what it means to be deeply involved in a subject. You can get amazing work, but youve got to be careful. The thing that saved me was that I had my camera by my side. It was there to remind me who I was and what I did. It separated me from them. Over time she became known for her picture of celebrities, some of these photos include Whoopi Goldberg with only her face, arms, and legs peeking out of a bathtub full of milk and the artist Christo wrapped in fabric as if he was in one of his own pieces of art. Andy Grundberg a well known photography writer and critic has pointed out that Leibovitz exaggerates the distinctive characteristic of [the celebrities] public image in a way thats funny and deflating. One of her most controversial photographs was a 1992 Vanity Fair cover. It featured the actress Demy Moore who was nude and pregnant. http://www.answers.com/topic/annie-leibovitz , 12:15, 04-12-09 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/annie-leibovitz/life-through-a-lens/16/ , 12:30, 04-12-09 http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6478087/behind_the_photo_john_and_yoko, 12:40 04-12-09 http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/ewb_09/ewb_09_03807.html, 12:45, 04-12-09 http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/ewb_09/ewb_09_03807.html, 12:57,04-12-09 http://kottke.org/08/09/annie-leibovitz-on-photography 14:30, 04-12-09