Eradicating World Hunger By Amartya Sen - 1561 Words

While the number of individuals living in food insecurity worldwide has dropped significantly over the past decade, there still remains an estimated 805 million people continuing to struggle with hunger every day . The suffering and death that are occurring in these developing nations is not fated, nor inescapable. Countries rife with dissolution, unrelenting poverty, abrasive environmental factors, and lifetimes of economic uncertainty have continued to force millions of men, women, and children into impoverished refugees. Indian economist and humanitarian philosopher Amartya Sen attempts to shed light on the origins of the global hunger situation in his work Poverty and Famines, asserting that famines are caused not by the conventional belief of food shortages, but by how a community’s food is distributed. While crop scarcity, diminished imports, and times of drought are often contributing factors, it is the social systems of the community itself that should be given greater attention. Today, Sen’s work still remains relevant, as humanitarian activists in organizations that focus on eradicating world hunger must heed his advice on better redistribution tactics should they wish to prove successful in their cause. While Sen’s understanding of the famine crisis pertains to a number of communities currently living in starvation, his call for developed redistribution systems fails to apply in communist authoritarian regimes such as the Democratic People’s Republic of KoreaShow MoreRelatedReaction Paper : The End Of Poverty3923 Words   |  16 PagesEscobar, Guillermo Professor Stuart Williams Social Problems 31 October 2014 Reaction Paper: The End of Poverty The most pressing problem in today’s world that bleeds into other social problems and helps perpetuate them is poverty. When Americans and other Westerners think of poverty it is easy for many to send money to a charity of their choice with knowledge and comfort that they contributed to help better the lives of the poor. Then again it is not difficult either to dismiss the plight of the

Oedipus The King, By Sophocles - 1201 Words

Shakespeare said about leaders, â€Å"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.† In the story of Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, Oedipus fits Shakespeare’s description of leaders in many ways. He was born in royalty then discarded by his family. Oedipus rose in life to achieve greatness and because of a series of events had greatness thrust upon him. The same series of events eventually became his downfall, but Oedipus was a good leader. He had traits similar to leaders of today. Oedipus was a dedicated moral leader and did his best while looking for truth like Merkel, in addition similar to Trump and Schwarzkopf, he was confident and acted swiftly to reach his goals. Oedipus is moral, dedicated, and works to save the city while trying to find the truth about the death of King Laius. Oedipus was told of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. In the story, Oedipus decides to leave his home and parents to avoid taking a chance that the prophecy will come true. Oedipus makes the decision based on what he knows, like many good leaders, to be proactive to a potential problem. He believes by leaving his home and parents, he will avoid all chances of a causing something with tragic consequences that morally he cannot live with. Oedipus is dedicated to making the city better. He grieves for the city and the problems the citizens are going through so he sends his brother-in-law to see a prophet forShow MoreRelatedOedipus The King By Sophocles848 Words   |  4 PagesOedipus the King, written by Sophocles, follows the tragic story of a king named Oedipus who goes from an all-powerful ruler to a hopeless blind peasant. Oedipus the King was written as a play and performed in front of an audience. Sophocles shows in Oedipus the King that one cannot escape the fate of the gods. Throughout the play Oedipus struggles to find a solution and change all the troubles in his life . The play observes the story of Oedipus who defies the gods and through the journey experiencesRead MoreSophocles Oedipus The King1714 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"ideal tragedy† is the play â€Å"Oedipus the King† written by Sophocles. In this play, Sophocles utilizes the concept of tragedy as well the theory of the importance of scenes of recognition and reversal to create a setting, tone, and mood throughout the play. Oedipus, the mythical king of Thebes, goes through a horrendous tragedy which includes moments of recognition and reversal. These moments are key to the fame and appreciation for the play, â€Å"Oedipus the King†. Sophocles’ use of Aristotle’s conceptsRead MoreSophocles Oedipus The King884 Words   |  4 PagesKing of Thebes, owner of a family tree that identically resembles Medusa on a bad hair day, and the inspiration for a psychologically-riveting complex, Oedipus, tragic hero of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, exposes tr oubling truths about the human condition and, acting as an exemplary precaution for the entirety of humanity, demonstrates how a self-destructive struggle between love, anger, and fate, conveyed through an unorthodox love affair between mother and son (Who gets custody in a divorce?),Read MoreSophocles Oedipus The King992 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout tragedies in Greek literature, the hero always has one tragic flaw. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ main flaw is his overactive hubris, which in turn clouds his overall judgment. This is evident in the Chorus’ first ode to the city of Thebes as they try to ask the Gods for the banishment of the plague. Their answer does not come from a deity, but from Oedipus himself as he enters the palace and says, â€Å"You have prayed; and you prayers shall be answered with help and release ifRead MoreOedipus The King By Sophocles950 Words   |  4 PagesThe people throughout Oedipus’ life trues very hard to allow him to escape his fate of killing his father and then marrying his mother. In the epic poem Oedipus the King, Sophocles tells the story of the tragic downfall of Oedipus. Although many people see the role of free will that brought upon Oedipus’ doom, no matter what choices were made throughout his life, his ultimate fate would always return. The choices made at the beginning of Oedipus’ life set him up to fulfill his prophecy. His parentsRead MoreOedipus The King By Sophocles904 Words   |  4 Pages In Sophocles play â€Å"Oedipus the King† a deadly plague has descended upon the kingdom of Thebes, and because of this plague a dark and iniquitous secret begins to unravel itself only to reveal a web of events connecting Oedipus and others as the culprits behind all the havoc ensued. No one is the sole source responsible for the unfortunate events that befall Thebes, as well as the royal family; In fact, those who unknowingly paved the path of destruction were themselves trying to prevent it fromRead MoreOedipus the King by Sophocles1393 Words   |  6 Pages Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, has risen many questions concerning the main character and whether or not he acts on free will or if his future is predestined by the gods. I am going to test the theory that although Oedipus believes he is acting on his own free will, he is in fact a victim of the gods. I will analyze several different sources that discuss fate and human agency in Oedipus the King and then proceed to build my original argument on the archaic debate. There has been a great dealRead MoreSophocles Oedipus The King Essay1960 Words   |  8 Pages This would have been excellent advice for the main character in Sophocles drama, Oedipus the King. However, the drama was written as a result of Sophocles life and the influence of the humanistic culture in which he lived. Throughout Sophocles life, he gained military knowledge as the son of a wealthy armor manufacturer and received an excellent Greek education with emphasis on Homeric poetry (textbook). Furthermore, Sophocles was very involved in politics and served as a treasurer, a generalRead MoreOedipus The King, By Sophocles1407 Words   |  6 PagesWhen we think about a tragic play or protagonist, most people would think Shakespeare for his common theme of his plays to end with a tragedy. In Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, tells the tale of the protagonist Oedipus. Throughout the play, Oedipus searched for his past to discover the reason why his kingdom is plagued with wilting crops and illnesses. In the end, he becomes a tragic protagonist after discovering his past was related to the previous king’s death. While the search progressedRead MoreSophocles Oedipus The King871 Words   |  4 PagesThe plays written by Sophocles, â€Å"Oedipus the King â€Å"and â€Å"Antigone† are bodies of work displayed the meaning of what Aristotle defined as a tragedy. â€Å"Oedipus the King† is a story of a king trying to avoid the fate of his life that has been prophesized before his birth. In â€Å"Antigone† is story of a girl who devoted to her family, and regardless of the orders made the king Creon. In these stories the archetypes and hamartia of Antigone and Oedipus play a major role in the story. In â€Å"Antigone† the character

Factors and Motivations That Influence Biological Warfare Free Essays

Many troops during the years of World War I met their demise in what is arguable the most terrifying and inhumane of all military tactics – biological warfare. Soldiers inhaled a deadly acidic gas that burned them from the inside out, suffocating them in an excruciating and unimaginable pain. Kurth Audrey, a professor of strategy at the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Factors and Motivations That Influence Biological Warfare or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. National War College in Washington, stated: â€Å"Science is as neutral as a knife; it may maybe a blessing or a curse depending on the heart and the mind of the man who holds it. †[1] Terrorists organizations are motivated by many factors to use biological warfare. If a terrorist organization has the concepts of science down, as a neutral knife, then they can produce weapons that can fulfill their agenda, whether it is something that has to do with reputation, politics, or religion. Many factors contribute to terrorists using this type of warfare, which stimulates the motivations of terrorist organizations. These factors range from; access to information, cost, ease of dissemination, availability, access to technology, and difficulty of detection. Biological warfare is a dangerous type of warfare, than can cause severe damage to a population of people, crops, or animals. It can also cause harm to the one that is dispersing the biological agent, which causes one to think, why would someone use this type of warfare? Biological agents are often simpler to attain and produce than chemical weapons that can cause mass destruction in a population. The material for biological agents can easily be grown or purchased. There are some agents, such as Anthrax or Brucellosis, which occur naturally in animals in certain parts of the world , and individuals can acquire these agents just by traveling the globe to where these agents grow. For an example, the Aum Shinrikyo cult was reported to have gone to Zaire, a place in Africa, to seek the strains of Ebola for its use in its bio-weapons program. [2] Until recently, anyone could order agents from supple houses around the world. In 1995, American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), a mail order company that provides biological products, shipped the bacteria, Anthrax, to Saddam Hussein’s biological warfare program in Iraq. [3] Just like the increase of technology throughout the decades, there is also an increase of availability of information related to chemical and biological weapons. Information on how to create biological weapons can be taken from articles within scientific literature on a variety of topics, which only requires a trained scientist to understand. The Internet has created forums on which terrorists groups can reach out, recruit members, and spread messages. It also makes a large library of information available to just about anyone who is interested on the production of biological agents. One resource that is found online is, Bacteriological Warfare: A Major Threat to North America, which is written by Larry Wayne Harris of the Aryan Nation. 4] This manual describes the reproduction and growth of biological agents, and can be purchased for only $30. [5] Another resource available is called, Silent Death, which instructs the reader in ways to kill using chemical and biological poisons. According to the publisher of this book, it sells thousands of copies each year. [6] Bio-engineers are now armed with knowledge on how to cease biological agents, as well as the effects of the agents upon a population. According to Ken Alibek, who supervised the Soviet bio warfare program, â€Å"Although the mos-sophisticated and effected versions [of biological weapons]require considerable equipments and scientific expertise, primitive versions can be produced in a small area with minimal equipment by someone with limited training†¦ They would be relativity inexpensive and easy to produce. †[7] To produce bio-weapons, a terrorist organization must have access to a scientist with some graduate training in the fields of microbiology or genetic engineering. The political and economic situation in Russia created a supply of bio warfare scientists who were not being paid and were unable to provide for themselves or their families. Regardless of the political, moral and ethical standards of these scientists, it is reasonable to expect that many of those scientists are now working for terrorist organizations around the world. Iraq scientists discovered which strains to order by reviews in American scientific journals, which are located at American Type Culture Collection in Rockville, Maryland. For thirty-five dollars, they also picked up strains of tularemia and Venezuelan equine encephalitis once targeted for weaponization at Fort Detrick. [8] The knowledge that is learned, and the availability of the biological agents, caused the relative ease of production of the agents, storage they can be contained in, dissemination factors, increased safety for the troops handling the binary agents, and the less complicated processes of demilitarization. The cost of producing and deploying biological weapons is less expensive than chemical weapons; the materials, equipment, and production space are all so inexpensive, any terrorist organization can afford them. According to an Office of Technical Assessment (OTA) Report, the cheapest overt production of one nuclear bomb costs $200 million, with larger programs costing up to 50 times more. In contrast, a large arsenal costs less than $10 million dollars. 9] Kathleen Bailey, found through interviews with professors, students, and scientists, that all that was needed to create a biological weapons program capable of producing large amounts of agents, would be several biologists with $10,000 worth of equipment – all of which who could fit into the same room. [10] This then causes many terrorists organizations to actually be capable of producing a biological agent. Dissemination of biological agents can be simple and inexpensive. There are a variety of different ways they can be de livered. The simplest methods of dissemination are through the contamination of food products or water. This method only requires direct access to any food product or water- preferably during the purification stages of that food product or of that water. Biological agents can also be dispersed through the contamination of agriculture, indirect transmission through animals, and direct contact, such as the assassination of Georgi Markov in 1978 through a ricin- containing pallet that was shot into his thigh. Dissemination through aerosol or vapor into an enclosed area or the open air is more complex than just through food products or water. Biological agents released into the air, such as through the release of vapors from a crop duster, are subject to biological decay, physical decay, atmospheric thermal stability, wind speed, and dimension of the land surface. The dissemination of agents is more predictable in rural areas than urban regions. The agents must be able to withstand the stress of the dissemination, environmental factors, and physical obstructions. Researchers have found, however, that dissemination of agents at night or enclosed dark areas, such as subways or tunnels, can be particularly effective. [12] Biological agents can be extremely lethal, some biological agents create more deadly affects than others, such as Anthrax. According to the Department of Defense, ten kilograms of Anthrax can cause more damage than a ten kiloton nuclear weapon. [13] This form of warfare can lead a military down by 90% through the intentions of militarization, by giving the military that dispensed the biological agents a form of character. Since most individuals are not vaccinated for different types of diseases, such as smallpox, it can lead to millions of people dying. Small pox is an example of a bacteria that can cause up to 2 million people, if being exposed to a society, to die because of the complete absence of prevention and control measures since 1970, because people do not believe that this disease will emerge again. It has such a high mortality rate (one in three people die) and infectiousness (on average, one person will infect three additional people). Politics seams to be the cause of many disasters from the corrupt French government in 1740 which led to the brutal French Revolution, to the rebellions of Aum Shinrikyo, which formed their own structure based on the Japanese government. Aum Shinrikyo attracted followers that opposed the Japanese government, in the late 1980’s and 1990’s, which caused their group to become larger. Their goal was to pursue terrorist violence in competition with rival groups that Shoko Asahara, the leader of this violent group, feared would attract support away from Aum Shinrikyo. Their next goal was to take over the Japanese government. On March 1194, Aum Shinrikyo tried to assassinate the leader of a rival religious sect, the Soka Gakkai, but failed because the spraying system mounted on a van malfunction and contaminated its operators. However, the second attempt occurred in Mastumoto on June 27th, 1994, the members working with the biological agents of Aum Shinrikyo, improved the spraying system, which targeted three judges who were expected to rule against the sect in a land dispute. This later resulted in the injuries of 500, including the three political judges they were after. In September 1984, Rajneeshee religious cult the Dalles, Orgeon grew Salmonella typhimurium to manipulate the results of the November 1984 election. They planned to buss homeless people into their commune and register them as voters, and make the opposing voters sick and unable to vote. They then poisoned to county commissioners by using the method of dissemination of contaminating water with salmonella typhiurium, which caused both the commissioners to become sick. The cult then contaminated ten Dallas restaurants, which opened up 751 cases of salmonella. 16] The uses of these pathogens by both these two different groups, had the attentions of manipulating whatever they deemed was politically corrupted. Biological agents can be small and easy to transport. William Patrick, who left the US biological Weapons Development Program around 1969, regularly carries a vial containing a stimulant for anthrax, just to test whether or not it will be detected. In 1999, he brought the vial with him into a hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence without being detected and claimed to make the same move at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the CIA. 17] Many have traveled through airports, with high-tech security, around the world carrying equipment for deploying these biological agents through the air and never were stopped to explain the purpose for the equipment. The first signs of an attack may not even come until weeks after the agent has been deployed. Thus, by the time the authorities determine an attack has taken place, the perpetrators could be anywhere in the world, trying to escape what they have done. Biological attacks can be mistaken for naturally occurring disease outbreaks. Because of the difficulty in detecting a biological weapons attack, it is almost impossible to lay blame on a particular group or individual for the outbreak. As technology, and information on the biological fields of science increase, so do the potential threats of this type of warfare. It has been examined closely to how the factors help contribute to this type of warfare, as well as how motivation leads for this type of warfare to become some-what successful. The main major factor of groups to use this type of warfare would be religion. Religion plays a tremendous role in human misery, from wars, such as the crusades, to the use of biological weapons targeted at specific religious groups. When terrorism is involved in the name of religion, such as Al-Qaida, it is often motivated by violence that is regarded as â€Å"divine duty† which justifies bloodshed. One of the hallmarks of a religious terrorist is the unquestioned willingness to kill a large number of people without conscience behind their agendas. Since biological warfare is very effective in killing mass number of people, many religious extremist groups use this form of warfare to justify their actions, and views on religion. Terrorists groups have reputations that attract many people. Acquiring such massive biological weapons, or producing such complicated weapons, brings the terrorist group a high-rank reputation as well as to be seen as having no boundaries. It then makes it easier for the terrorist group to achieve their agendas. Aum Shinrikyo cult is an example that uses both of these motivations. Their attack in the subway system in 1995 not only caused the successful attack of fifty-five hundred people, according to their agenda, but had gotten people to realize their dangerous element; the involvement of highly intelligent and educated people, in which some are considered to be Japan’s brightest scientists, computer technicians, and trained professionals. Even by the standards of cults, the Aum were a strange bunch. Among other things, members believed in the virtues of levitation and coffee enemas. They also wore elaborate radio sets on their heads so as to better hear the thoughts of their Leader. Despite their unusual ideas, the cult attracted a number of educated followers with scientific and technical abilities. It is a discouraging fact: religious cults may be strange and oblivious, but that doesn’t prevent them from attracting capable intelligent followers – or to pursue their doomsday agendas. This type of warfare is an inhumane, dangerous type of warfare, that has killed dozens of people. If we actually take the factors into consideration, than we can lower the motivation and the prevent the further productions of these biological weapons. Bibliography http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_AUM01.htm How to cite Factors and Motivations That Influence Biological Warfare, Essay examples

Against Prostitution Paper free essay sample

Theodore Roosevelt once said â€Å"[to] educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society†. Teddy was a wise and moral man; one should take his advice when coming to a timely and moral decision such as the one with prostitution. Prostitution is an act that is detrimental to the self-dignity and morals that all humans should have, regardless of religion. Morals are the basis of humanity, without them, humans would be nothing more than supremely intelligent savages. By allowing the injustice of prostitution to reign prevalent, we would be inching closer to an emotionless and moral-lacking creature that one sees in science fiction. Prostitution should be illegal because it will increase STD rates, it promotes human trafficking, and because it is degrading to women. There are three types of slavery in this world; emotional, mental, and physical. Prostitution manages to utilize all three, thus confirming its dangerous nature. Human trafficking is done to force human beings into prostitution to make money; therefore legalizing prostitution will only further encourage human trafficking. Richard Poulin,(Professor at the University of Montreal), found that in countries where prostitution is legal; the majority of the prostitutes are foreigners with no papers, making them largely suspects of being sex slaves (Poulin). Take Amsterdam for example, where research shows that eighty percent of the prostitutes there are foreigners, and seventy percent of them have no papers (Poulin). This indicates that the majority of the prostitutes there are victims of human trafficking. Another point is that since prostitution is legal in some countries, then that country would attract more tourists who are seeking sexual services; in turn leading to a higher demand for prostitutes, simultaneously encouraging human-trafficking (Dorchen). It is very clear then that the legalization of prostitution will lead to a whole new wave of slaves in the worst form. There is an estimated 110 million cases of STDs in the United States, and those numbers are increasing every day (CDC). STDs are some of the terrible consequences of lust, and if that lust were to increase there is no telling how amplified STD rates would be. By legalizing prostitution, sex will become an excessive part of life, brothels would become the harbor for disease ready to spread. As the World Health Organization pointed out, the main way of transmitting the HIV disease is through prostitutes and the men who sleep with them, also in turn affecting the men’s wives and babies (JRSM 319). Furthermore, evidence from a controlled experiment regarding prostitutes and venereal diseases; found that out of the sample size, only around eleven percent of prostitutes are STD free (Chambers 69). The reality is that promiscuity will be encouraged if prostitution is legal, inevitably leading to a surge in STD rates never before seen. Women like Jane Addams and Alice Paul once fought very hard to destroy the old notion of inequality towards women; with the legalization of prostitution, these great women’s vision will be severely tainted. Women are presumably the backbone of prostitution, because of that the pimps that run prostitution rings typically will do anything to keep their women doing this degrading job. By legalizing prostitution, one would be degrading women, seeing how they are the brunt of the of prostitution industry. Recent statistics in the United Kingdom show that sixty three percent of women prostitutes experience violence, and seventy five percent of those prostitutes had been physically assaulted by their pimps (AVA). One could assume that in the United States those statistics are similar but the proportion is way larger here as well. All in all, prostitution only leads to women being cruelly controlled, and abused. Many argue that prostitution is beneficial to the economy, while this may be true, that is not justification at all. The opposition believes that many women need these jobs in order to survive, and that the legalization will lead to an increase in clientele who spend more money and boosting the economy. However to those people who believe economic benefits should be the sole proprietor in this decision, one should ask if they would support the fateful night of kristallnacht carried out by the Nazis, surely that worked out well for non-Jews economically. Society could sacrifice a lot of the morals that are instilled, and it could very well begin with the perception of prostitution, but it will not end there if one continues to search for unethical means of stimulating the economy. As Virada Somswasdi (President for FORWARD) puts it, One needs to completely rid oneself of the voracity for cash to see that prostitution, although legalized, can never be a legitimate business because it will always be associated with crime, corruption, class, mass sexual exploitation and human trafficking (Procon. org). Although the opposition sees the hollow value in prostitution, it is not a sufficient reason for legalization due to its absence of consideration morally; therefore their argument should be disregarded considering the United States is a country of ethics resembling upon the laws. Secondly, the opposition also believes that by legalizing prostitution, organized crime will drop, this is true but only according to misinformed laws. The opposition believes that it is quite simple, one makes it legal and the â€Å"bad guys† suddenly will flush out. Technically by law the â€Å"bad guy† becomes a businessman or a manager; however those people although labeled differently are still the same old crooks that they always have been. Organized crime will in actuality become more prevalent if prostitution is legalized, because the businesses will be run by criminals. Let us take Amsterdam for example, where the local police and the mayor have acknowledged that the red-light district has become a haven for crime and corruption such as human trafficking, money laundering, and formations of gangs marketing very young girls (Bindel). This acknowledgement by authorities in Amsterdam sends a serious red flag because it proves the notion that only criminals are involved with this sick business; legalizing prostitution would be encouraging criminals to commit injustices. With all that being said, the opposition’s stance would be counterproductive to what they really want to accomplish. Lastly, many argue that prostitution is a victimless crime that harms nobody; however that is a ludicrous assumption. The thinking behind the opposition’s stance is that since prostitution involves two consenting adults then it does not hurt anybody. Prostitution is the selling of human bodies for a profit; therefore that naturally does damage to the victims which in this case are the prostitutes. According to Torontonian Valerie Scott in reference to legal brothels, At the brothel, [you] [are] regularly forced to have free sex with the manager and any of his friends, and you [do] [not] have the right of refusal. If your client demands a particular type of sex [you] [are] not comfortable with, you have to do it anyway. In my mind, [that] [is] sexual assault she says (Doll). Right she is, it seems like although legal, prostitution on a continual basis violates human rights. Additionally, in a study of 475 people in prostitution sixty-two percent of prostitutes reported being raped, seventy-three percent reported being physically assaulted, and ninety-two percent said they wanted to escape immediately (Rapeis. org). This all makes it very difficult to believe that prostitution is a â€Å"victimless crime†, especially when the majority of them want to escape; therefore the opposition’s contention is void as well. Works Cited