Thursday, January 30, 2020

Why Nations Go To War Essay Example for Free

Why Nations Go To War Essay There are often people who ask the big question, â€Å"Why do nations feel the need to go to war? † One of the main reasons for this question comes from the loss of life that comes with it. However, on an opinionated theory I have concluded that a larger portion of why a nation decides to go to war would be to expand their territory. They could even be trying to gain freedom for their nation. Many times nations use scarcity of resources in their own country to justify warring with another nation for theirs. Regardless, the nations that begin a war will always be able to provide some reason for the fighting. As stated, territorial expansion is one of the main reasons I believe that nations wage war. Whether it is to prove dominance, or out of jealousy. Larger territories provide for the conquering nation to create a bigger and stronger nation. In some cases, they want to take territory from another nation to make them weak, and unable to stay caught up with the rest of the world. By taking what other nations have, there is the possibility to shut them out. Somewhat in relation to territorial gain, is the possibility to acquire new resources. Having access to more resources like coal, iron, oil, and steel would lead to a larger expanse of trade. This would feed a nation greater sum of money so they could better afford any expenses. At times, war could be caused to take resources from others because the attacking nation has very little of their own. Most wars that are based upon the gain of resources end up devastating the environment they are held in. Lastly, war issues could result from a fight for freedom, this derives from nations wanting the right to self govern themselves. Most times this is due to the abusive control of another oppressive power. Some enslaved nations wish to be free so they can do what was done to them. Eventually they may reach a strong enough point to create their own imperialistic movement. This can also lead to a never ending cycle of fighting for freedom, then turning that new power upon others. Do you have the ability to decipher why a nation chooses to go to war? People often think they know why nations go to war, but can they support their own opinion? I support the connections I made myself with ideas of territorial issues, the need for resources, and the want to truly be free. No matter what issues result in war. They will most likely cause feelings of hatred and resentment between combating nations.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Multimedia :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Multimedia, or mixed-media, systems offer presentations that integrate effects existing in a variety of formats, including text, graphics, animation, audio, and video. Such presentations first became commercially available in very primitive form in the early 1980s, as a result of advances that have been made in digital compression technology-- particularly the difficult area of image compression. Multimedia online services are obtainable through telephone/computer or television links, multimedia hardware and software exist for personal computers, networks, the internet, interactive kiosks and multimedia presentations are available on CD-ROMs and various other mediums. The use of multimedia in our society has it benefits and it’s drawbacks, most defiantly. Some of the more computer-related uses of multimedia, such as electronic publishing, the internet, and computers in education will be discussed in depth thought this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Electronic publishing is the publishing of material in a computer-accessible medium, such as on a CD-ROM or on the Internet. In a broader sense of the term it could also include paper products published with the aid of a desktop publishing program, or any form of printing that involves the use of a computer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reference works became available in the mid-1980s both in CD-ROM format and online. Increasingly, in the 1990s, magazines, journals, books, and newspapers have become available in an electronic format, and some are appearing in that format only. Companies that publish technical manuals to accompany their other products have also been turning to electronic publishing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Electronic books have been recently introduced to the world as a whole. This new concept is the use of internet or otherwise computer technology to electronically convert books to a digital, readable format viewed on a television set or computer screen. This would most likely be done by scanning in individual pages in a book, arrange them in orderly fashion, and have users be able to cycle back and forth between the photo-identical pages. This method would be very quick, and very easy to accomplish- that is- scanning pages as opposed to re-typing millions of words is preferred. This brings us to another method in electronic book production- the interactive method. In digital format, the book’s pages can only be viewed, just like a book. If a reader would want to take notes from a book, he/she would have to write down the notes by hand, or would be forced to photo-copy the page(s). If the book was typed out entirely as would be done by an electronic word processor such as Microsoft Word, users would greatly benefit. The ability for the computer to recognize the words on the screen as actual words as opposed to mere

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Confucianism- Religion or Not?

Confucianism- Religion or Not? Religion has always played a key aspect to societies, ancient or not. Whether to unify a group of people, or to provide a common thought to ensure that the civilization not fail, there is no argument as to the importance of religion. However, in every ancient society, religions share common characteristics which define the term religion itself. There are certain forms to which each religion has to mold to in order to be considered a religion in itself. Certain thought processes or beliefs are exempt from being considered religion. A prime example of this would be Confucianism- Confucianism cannot be considered a religion, but a thought process. Confucianism is not considered a religion for many reasons. First off, one must define the term religion as it pertains to ancient societies. The Princeton Dictionary defines religion as- â€Å"A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that controls human destiny† From ancient societies, one could also tack on that with religion comes holidays or celebrations. After settling on a definition, one can then proceed to pick apart the parts of the definition, and identify as to whether or not Confucianism adheres to these parts. A religion is a strong belief in a supernatural power. In virtually every other dominant ancient religion this holds true. In the lands of Egypt, the belief in a great many Gods, all in charge of a specific task, was the religion accepted by the community. For a small time, the religion even was changed by the Pharaoh to monotheism, before switching back into polytheism. In the ancient lands of India, the belief of Hinduism was the accepted religion. Despite the fact that Hinduism is considered a way of life, a Dharma, there were still many Hindu Gods, such as Ganesha, that Hindus trusted and believed in. However, when one considers Confucianism, one would find no belief in any higher being or God. There is no higher force in Confucianism, which conflicts with a part of the definition of a religion. Looking further, we can see that with every religion follows with it certain celebrations and holidays. In the Hebrew religion, there are many holidays, such as Purim. In the ancient Egyptian religion, there were numerous holidays as well, all in honor of their many Gods. Each of these religions also had religions ceremonies held in temples, such as festivals performed by priests in the Hindu religion. However, Confucianism does not contain either of these practices. There are no holidays in Confucianism, and there are no religious ceremonies to be performed. Although ancient religions differed in viewpoints, there were many redeeming similarities between the religions. It is from these similarities that a definition of what a religion is was formulated from, and how to classify a thought system as a religion. Because Confucianism simply does not contain the bare necessities of other religions, it is not possible to classify Confucianism as a religion on its own.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

United States v. Lopez The Case and Its Impact

In United States v. Lopez (1995), the United States Supreme Court declared the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 an unconstitutional overreach of the implied powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause. The 5-4 divided decision preserved the system of federalism and reversed the Supreme Court’s 50-year trend of rulings that expanded the powers of Congress. Fast Facts: United States v. Lopez Case Argued:  November 4, 1994Decision Issued:  April 26, 1995Petitioner:  United StatesRespondent:  Alfonso Lopez, Jr.Key Questions:  Is the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act’s prohibition of possessing a gun in a school zone an unconstitutional overreach of the power of Congress to legislate under the Commerce Clause?Majority Decision:  Justices Rehnquist, O’Connor, Scalia, Thomas, and KennedyDissenting:  Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Stevens, and SouterRuling:  The legislative history of the Gun-Free School Zones Act failed to justify it as a constitutional exercise of the Commerce Clause. Facts of the Case On March 10, 1992, 12th-grader Alfonso Lopez, Jr. carried an unloaded handgun into his high school in San Antonio, Texas. After admitting to having the gun, Lopez was arrested and charged with violating the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, which makes it a crime â€Å"for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm [in] a school zone.† After being indicted by a grand jury, Lopez was found guilty by a trial court and sentenced to six months in prison and two years on probation. Lopez appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming that the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded the power granted to the Congress by the Commerce Clause. (The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to â€Å"regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes). Congress had long cited the Commerce Clause as justification for passing gun control laws.   Finding that possession of a firearm had only a â€Å"trivial impact† on commerce, the Fifth Circuit overturned Lopez’s conviction, further noting that the legislative history of the Gun-Free School Zones Act failed to justify it as a constitutional exercise of the Commerce Clause. In approving the United States government’s petition for certiorari, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Circuit Court’s ruling. Constitutional Issues In its deliberations, the Supreme Court faced the question of whether the Gun-Free School Zones Act was a constitutional exercise of the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress power over interstate commerce. The Court was asked to consider whether the possession of a firearm in some way â€Å"affected† or â€Å"substantially affected† interstate commerce. The Arguments In its effort to demonstrate that possession of a firearm in a school zone was a matter that affects interstate commerce, the U.S. government offered the following two arguments: Possession of a firearm in an educational environment heightens the likelihood of violent crimes, which in turn, will increase insurance costs and create expenses harmful to the economy. In addition, the perception of the danger of violence will limit the public’s willingness to travel to the area, thus harming the local economy.With a well-educated populace being critical to the nation’s financial health, the presence of firearms in a school may frighten and distract students and teachers, inhibiting the learning process and thus leading to a weaker national economy. Majority Opinion In its 5-4 majority opinion, written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court rejected both of the government’s arguments, finding that the Gun-Free School Zones Act was not substantially related to interstate commerce. First, the Court held that the governments argument would give the federal government virtually unlimited power to prohibit any activity (such as public assembly) that might lead to violent crime, regardless of that activity’s connection to interstate commerce. Secondly, the Court held that the governments argument provided no safeguards to prevent Congress from applying the Commerce Clause as justification for legislation prohibiting any activity (such as careless spending) that might limit an individual’s economic productivity. The opinion also rejected the government’s argument that by harming education, crime in schools substantially affects commerce. Justice Rehnquist concluded: â€Å"To uphold the Governments contentions here, we have to pile inference upon inference in a manner that would bid fair to convert congressional authority under the Commerce Clause to a general police power of the sort retained by the States. This we are unwilling to do. Dissenting Opinion In the Court’s dissenting opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer cited three principles that he considered basic to the case: The Commerce Clause implies the power to regulate activities that â€Å"significantly affect† interstate commerce.Rather than considering a single act, the courts must consider the cumulative effect of all similar acts—such as the effect of all incidents of gun possession in or near schools—on interstate commerce.Rather than determining whether the regulated activity significantly affected interstate commerce, the courts must determine whether Congress could have had a â€Å"rational basis for concluding that the activity affected interstate commerce. Justice Breyer cited empirical studies he said tied violent crimes in schools to the degradation of the quality of education. He then referred to studies showing the growing importance of primary and secondary of education in the job market, and the tendency of U.S. businesses to base location decisions on the presence or absence of a well-educated workforce. Using this rationale, Justice Breyer concluded that school gun violence clearly could have an effect on interstate commerce and that Congress could have rationally concluded that its effect could be â€Å"substantial.† The Impact Because of the United States v. Lopez decision, Congress rewrote the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 to include the required substantial effect connection to interstate commerce used as justification for other federal gun control laws. Specifically, the connection requires that at least one of the firearms used in the crime â€Å"has moved in †¦ interstate commerce.† Because almost all firearms have at some point moved in interstate commerce, gun rights advocates argue that the change was merely a legislative tactic to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, the revised Federal Gun Free School Zones Act remains in effect today and has been upheld by several United States Circuit Courts of Appeals. Sources .†US Reports: United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)â€Å" U.S. Library of Congress..†United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr., 2 F.3d 1342 (5th Cir. 1993)â€Å" US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.