Essay on Growing Up In The United States - 844 Words

We’ve all heard the phrase â€Å"Charity begins at home.† This statement holds very true in my case, not because we needed help but rather because we were taught at an early age to provide help whenever possible. In our current economy there are many people not just in our community but throughout the world and beyond that are struggling. I was fortunate to grow up in a household with two loving parents who shared the importance of fundamental beliefs and values. Cynthia Street, the street I grew up on, was a comfortable middle class neighborhood that served as my first perspective of American life. Through my experiences in my neighborhood and also my interaction with my church family at Central Christian Church in Newark, I learned the†¦show more content†¦Their goal is to provide safe, decent and affordable shelter for individuals and families. When my son was in high school, he was interested in becoming involved in a community activity. Together, he and I worked on a Habitat home that was being built in Newark. Neither of us had any construction experience but we did know how to push a broom and haul materials for some of the more experienced contractors. It was later that I realized this home was being built for someone that grew up with me in the same church years ago. For this reason, it became even more rewarding to me. Many times I don’t know who I am providing help to but I still get the sense of satisfaction knowing I am helping someone in need. The Salvation Army is another organization that helps people in need. My mother has been on the board for the Salvation Army for many years. Especially around the holiday many people turn to the Salvation Army for help. Numerous people have lost jobs or have health issues that prevent them from being able to put food on the table. It has been extremely gratifying to work along side my mom, dad, husband, sister and brother-in-law as we were part of the assembly line filling food boxes that were provided to nearly 700 households in Newark this year. In addition to food boxes, the Salvation Army helps parents fill the â€Å"wish lists† of so many young childrenShow MoreRelatedGrowing Up Guatemalan in the United States Essay1379 Words   |  6 Pagesof every day life, the economy was in shambles, and jobs were scare (Cuevas, 2011). It was in this setting that a young man, my future father-in-law, took a chance at a better life for he and his family. Enticed by rumors of pr osperity in the United States, Alex and his brother Rene saved their money to journey to Chicago, leaving their families behind in a search for hope that was borne of desperation. Alex left his wife Ruth with 20 Guatemalan Quetzal, the equivalent of $20 dollars, and theirRead MoreThe United States Of America Essay1694 Words   |  7 Pagessooner than many people think. The United States of America is facing problems a lot of people are either unaware of or just dont think its a big deal. Most of america think that our economy and government is in alright financial shape, That may not be the case though. America is in bad shape and it seems to be going down hill. America is declining in world power as well and this is just another factor leading to a crash in the future. Other nations are growing a lot more powerful than they haveRead MoreMinority Research Paper1715 Words   |  7 Pagesgroups in the United States and what each one prefers. African Americans †¢ The total numbers in the US is 42 million (â€Å"United States Census Bureau†). †¢ African Americans make up 13.6% of the total US population (â€Å"United States Census Bureau†). †¢ The rate of growth for this minority group from 2000 to 2010 was 15.4% (â€Å"United States Census Bureau†). †¢ The average household size is 2.7 (â€Å"United States Census Bureau†). †¢ The average age for African Americans is 32.1 (â€Å"United States Census Bureau†)Read MoreFarming: Feeding the World Essay893 Words   |  4 PagesThe agriculture field is one of the biggest employers, employing over 155 million people in the United States. What do you think about when you hear the word â€Å"agriculture?† Many people would say farming, but this is not the most common occupation in this field. Farmers make up a fraction of the agricultural jobs at 900,000, but over 2.1 million people own, rent, and claim farming as a primary source of income. The average farm size has dropped from 460 acres in 1990 to 418 acres in 2007, whileRead MoreCase Study : Business Entrepreneurship Principles1730 Words   |  7 Pagesin different sectors. This case study is about industries that are growing in the United States. How they are growing and what are the reasons and problems they are facing while developing a company is mentioned in this case. From the Startup This case study describes five industries that are growing. When an industry manifests earnings and revenue figures, then it shows the sign that they are at growing stage. Growing depends on the consumer s demands for new services and products offeredRead MoreThe Moral Issue Of World Hunger887 Words   |  4 Pagespoverty. (Hinman, 364) † Over one billion people including children are living with nothing that needs help more than ever. It is up to the wealthier nations such as the United States to take the acceptances of their moral responsibility and take it into action on the growing world hunger and poverty that is not only affecting our very own neighbors here in the United States but our neighbors around the world. As a nation, we need to come to together to fight against this particular moral issue of worldRead MoreWhat Is The Market Analysis Of The U. S-India Trade?837 Words   |  4 Pagestotal over $100 billion in merchandises and services in 2016, even though there was drop in global trade volumes. The United States remained India’s leading trading affiliate, with exports of American commodities and services to India totaling $42.0 billion (up 5.8% from 2015), and imports from India totaling $72.9 billion (India - Market Overview India, 2017). The United States is India’s number one export market, and it has a trade surplus of more than $30 billion with the U.S. the biggest surplusRead MoreGrowing Up African American767 Words   |  4 PagesGrowing up African American 1 Growing up African American Growing up African American 2 I am a member of the African American group and I would like to tell you a bit about the group of when I am a part of. Let me start by saying that my African American group originated from Africa and growing up in America can be tough for people of my race, the African Americans. My group’s history is wide ranging spanning for many years and varying from region to region within the UnitedRead MoreIs China A Global Superpower?778 Words   |  4 PagesIt is no longer accurate to say, â€Å"China is quickly emerging as a global superpower.† The fact is that China is already a global superpower. Realizing this the United States of America has attempted to once again turn its focus eastward. However, continuing problems at home and in the Middle East have made doing so difficult. More and more frequently attempts at influencing the ongoing narrative in the Asia- Pacific region have been rebuffed. Even allies have found strength in the emergence ofRead MorePolitical Rhetoric Vs. Foreign Policy838 Words   |  4 PagesIt is no longer appropriate to say, â€Å"China is quickly emerging as a global superpower.† The fact is China is just that. Realizing this the United States of America has attempted to once again turn its focus eastw ard. Continuing problems at home and in the Middle East however have made doing so difficult. Additionally more and more frequently attempts at influencing the ongoing narrative in the Asia- Pacific region have been rebuffed. Even allies have found strength in the emergence of a system

Novartis s Transparency Corporate Social Responsibility

Novartis’s Transparency Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Ben Lawton, Erin Shull Sean Avjian, Zain Ali Clark University Author Note This paper was prepared for MGMT 170 Managerial Communication taught by Professor Cheryl Amantea in the Fall Semester Novartis’s Transparency Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a measure of a business’s impacts on society, both positive and negative. Pharmaceutical companies in particular are held to a high ethical standard by the public due to the nature of their products. Novartis, the third largest drug and biotech company in the world, aspires to be a model of ethics and philanthropy in the industry. The company uses its size and global prominence to set a high CSR standard for all businesses. This paper examines some of Novartis’s most recent projects that contribute to the company’s respected reputation, but also investigates lawsuits against Novartis and shortcomings with its transparency, both of which the administration continually fails to address. Recent Philanthropic Initiatives Novartis has increased its budget for charitable healthcare over the last few years. The company developed entire departments to oversee charity projects, raise awareness of diseases, and increase accessibility to its products. These projects focus on providing both preventative and treatment-based healthcare to low-income populations. WorkShow MoreRelatedCorporate Social Responsibility ( Csr )1226 Words   |  5 PagesNovartis’ Transparency Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Consumers all over the world are pressuring companies to become more socially responsible. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a measurement of a business’ impacts on society, both positive and negative. Pharmaceutical companies in particular are held to a high ethical standard by the public due to the nature of their product. Novartis, one of the largest healthcare and pharmaceuticalRead MoreJohnson Johnson Financial Analysis4755 Words   |  20 Pagesincludes the Johnsons baby care line, the Neutrogena skin and hair care line, o.b. and Stayfree feminine hygiene products, the Reach oral care line, Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages, Imodium A-D diarrhea treatment, Mylanta gastrointestinal product s, Pepcid AC acid controller, Tylenol, Motrin, and St. Joseph pain relievers, and Benecol and Splenda sweeteners. Jamp;J generates about 40 percent of its revenues outside the United States, through its network of 200 operating companies in 57 countriesRead MoreCsr Communication in the Pharma Industry35538 Words   |  143 PagesNielsen MA in Corporate Communication Ã…rhus, Denmark. August 2010 CSR COMMUNICATION IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY Josà © Javier Levrino Table of contents Abstract 1. Introduction 1.1 Motivation 1.2 Problem statement 1.3 Delimitation 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3 1.4.4 Scientific paradigm: hermeneutics Qualitative research approach Theoretical framework Analysis of websites 1.4.4.1 Selection criteria 1.4.4.2 Data collection 1.5 Structure 2. Theoretical framework 2.1. Corporate CommunicationRead MoreGlobal Pharmaceutical Industry Analysis7049 Words   |  29 Pagesgenerics emerged. The top 10 firms and their particulars are provided in the table below. Rank 2008 Company Country Total Revenues(USD millions) Healthcare RD 2006(USD millions) Net income/ (loss) 2006(USD millions) Employees 2006 1 Novartis Switzerland 53,324 7,125 11,053 138,000 2 Pfizer USA 48,371 7,599 19,337 122,200 3 Bayer Germany 44,200 1,791 6,450 106,200 4 GlaxoSmithKline United Kingdom 42,813 6,373 10,135 106,000 5 Johnson and Johnson USA 37,020 5,349 7,202 102,695 Read MoreJohnson and Johnson Analysis9749 Words   |  39 Pagessegment reported an increase in sales from 2008. This segment increased its sales by 1.9 percent from 2008’s figures to $23.6B. The Pharmaceuticals segment reported sales of $22.5B (down 8.3 percent), while the Consumer Products segment reported sales of $15.8B (down 1.6 percent) (JNJ 2009 Annual Report). Only the Medical Devices and Diagnostics US sales showed any increase from 2008’s sales levels. Figure 1 below represents the three business segments displaying US and International 2009 salesRead MorePharmaceutical Industry Ethical Practices13569 Words   |  55 Pages| Ethics in Corporate Society | | PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETING-the growing ethical concern? Analytical Report | | | Madiha Raza Noama Naeem Sheikh Zargham Zaigham LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION November 5, 2011 Dear Readers, As students of BBA, our course instructor of Ethics in Corporate Society, Ms. Tania Danish authorized us to make a report on the â€Å"PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETING-the growing ethical concern?† We were required to make a report in accordance to our learning in the courseRead MoreProblems Facing the Pharmaceutical Industry and Approaches to Ensure Long Term Viability14741 Words   |  59 Pagesrationale around that $68 billion deal: That Wyeth s products will make up for Lipitor s fall off the patent cliff. Many big Pharma companies have responded to the current business climate by engaging in a variety of strategies aimed at paving the way for future success. Examples of this are, Merck s recent merger with Schering Plough, a move aimed at consolidation based on perceived pipeline synergies, the Pfizer buyout of Wyeth and Roche s acquisition of Genentech. Others have pursued the pathRead MoreMarketing Project of Reckitt Benckiser19417 Words   |  78 PagesBusiness Week 50, the magazines annual ranking of the best performing companies within the Samp;P European 350.The companys strategy is to have a highly focused portfolio concentrating on its 17 most profitable brands, which were responsible for 62% of net revenues in 2008. 35% of net revenues come from products launched in the past three years, this focus on innovation was recognized by The Economist Corporate Use of Innovation Award in 2009.The company held Platinum status in 2005, 2006, 2007 andRead MoreThe Mind of a Marketing Manager26114 Words   |  105 Pages William Rothschild Ultimately, we wanted Nike to be the world s best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don t end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour. Phil Knight Most business strategies are inadequate for today s markets. They lack context and differenc flexibility and engagement. They often miss the bigger opportunities, andRead MoreMarketing Project of Reckitt Benckiser19403 Words   |  78 PagesBusiness Week 50, the magazines annual ranking of the best performing companies within the Samp;P European 350.The companys strategy is to have a highly focused portfolio concentrating on its 17 most profitable brands, which were responsible for 62% of net revenues in 2008. 35% of net revenues come from products launched in the past three years, this focus on innovation was recognized by The Economist Corporate Use of Innovation Award in 2009.The company held Platinum status in 2005, 2006, 2007 and

BOOKREPORT Essay Example For Students

BOOKREPORT Essay by Maximilian SchrederMalcolm XThe Autobiography as told to Alex HaleyIntroductionWhen Malcolm X was murdered in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965, he was world-famous as the angriest black man in America. By that time he had completed his autobiography, so we have now the opportunity to get information of this both hated and loved Afro-American leaders life at first hand. The book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he wrote with the assistance of Alex Haley, was first published in 1965. The Two AuthorsMalcolm X did not write his autobiography on his own, but he told his life to the journalist and novelist Alex Haley. Haley had already interviewed Malcolm X for the Playboy magazine. Later, he asked him if he would tell his life story for publication. Malcolm accepted. SummaryMalcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. The son of Louise and Earl Little. Louise Little was a mulatto born in Grenada in the British West Indies and Earl Little, a six-foot, very dark skinned man from Reynolds, Georgia, was a Baptist minister and organiser for Marcus Garvey, who wanted that all Afro-Americans go back to the land of their ancestors, Africa. Louise, his second wife, bore six children: Wilfred, Hilda, Philbert, Malcolm, Yvonne, and Reginald. Earl Little also had three children by a first wife: Ella, Earl, and Mary. Because of the fathers advocacy for Garveys movement, the whole family was terrorised by the Ku Klux Klan. To avoid any more harassment by these white racists, Little had to migrate with his family to Lansing, Michigan. It did not help. The white racists of Lansing killed Malcolms father by laying him on a railway track, claiming he committed suicide. Alone and without money, Louise Little got more and more desperate, till the whi te authorities sent her to a mental hospital. Malcolm attended school until eighth grade living with different families. When his teacher stopped him from trying to become a lawyer, he dropped out of school and went to his older half sister, Ella, who lived in Boston. There, he took a job as a shoeshine boy at the Roseland Ballroom. A career as a hustler seemed a more tempting option, and he was soon peddling narcotics. He met a white girl called Sophia who quickly became his girlfriend. Having a white girl and being a very good dancer, he soon was a notorious young man with crazy clothes and a haircut made to resemble the hair of white people, which he was very ashamed of later. But Roxbury proved to be too small for him, and in 1942 he took a job as a railroad dining-car porter, working out of Roxbury and New York. Settling in Harlem, New York, he became more and more involved in criminal activities. He robbed, worked as a pimp, and sold narcotics. Malcolm soon learned to survive in the hustler society, which was constantly threatened by internal wars that could render every man your enemy. In Harlem he also got his nickname Detroit Red, because his home town Lansing was close to Detroit and his hair was red. After a year in Harlem, Malcolm was officially initiated into hustler society. He returned to Boston in 1945 after falling out with another hustler, and continued a life of crime, forming his own house robbing gang. Arrested for robbery in February 1946, he was convicted and sentenced to prison for seven years. While in prison, Malcolm became a follower of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small black cult, the Nation of Islam, with branches in Detroit, Chicago and New York. Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad corresponded by mail. Malcolms brothers Philbert and Reginald, visiting him in prison, urged him to join Muhammads cult, and while still in prison he did. He discarded his slave name, Little, and took the new name X. He improved his poor knowledge by reading an encyclopaedia and studied plenty of books as well as the Koran and followed strictly the Nation of Islams dietary laws and moral codes. .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 , .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .postImageUrl , .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 , .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:hover , .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:visited , .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:active { border:0!important; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:active , .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86 .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u71e7992f1a6426642558cd4c02ccec86:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: How Long Should an Essay Be?After his parole in 1952, Malcolm X undertook organisational work for the Nation of Islam under the guidance of Elijah Muhammad. Minister Malcolm X founded mosques in Boston, Philadelphia, Harlem and elsewhere and made the national expansion of the movement possible, so that the membership reached approximately 30000 in 1963. Malcolm X vision was expressed in speeches, a newspaper column as well as radio and television interviews. In addition, he helped to found the Black Muslim newspaper Muhammad Speaks. Minister Malcolm X was said to be the only Negro who could stop a race riot or start one. In January 1958 he married Betty X, who was also a member of the Nation of Islam. Because of his success, other Ministers of the Nation of Islam grew jealous. Elijah Muhammad also began to be afraid of his best Minister who proved to be more famous than he himself. So, partly because of these tensions within the Black Muslim movement, Malcolm became critical of Elijah Muhammad. He was eventually silenced for 90 days after commenting on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with the phrase chickens come home to roost. But before his silence was lifted, Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam to form the Muslim Mosque, Inc. on March 1964. He began to advocate a more pragmatic black nationalism and said that blacks should control the politics within their own community and, through his speeches, encouraged his followers to make changes by voting. At the height of his power Malcolm X was one of black Americas most powerful voices. He had enormous influence among black youth and in progressive intellectual circles. He travelled widely in Europe and Africa and established his Organisation of Afro-American Unity. He saw the black American struggle partly as a segment of the efforts of third world nations for human rights. In 1964, Malcolm X went on his pilgrimage to Mecca, which is obligatory for orthodox Muslims, and there he began to consider changing his views towards integration. In Mecca, he saw that it was possible for black and white people to live in brotherhood, of which he was deeply touched. After the pilgrimage he adopted the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. The angry members of the Nation of Islam began to threaten to kill him. His home in Queens, New York, which Malcolm X shared with his wife and his six children was firebombed in early February 1965. When Malcolm X was delivering a speech in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965, he was shot down by Black Muslims. Personal OpinionNo matter if you agree with Malcolm X opinions, his autobiography is worth reading. One thing of Malcolm X personality I really honour is his readiness to revise his ideas and change them. Especially in the fields of politics and religion, both of which he was working in, people usually never change their beliefs and policies, even if they are proved to be wrong. But Malcolm X was different. He turned all his beliefs and his way of life upside down when joining the nation of Islam. He stopped drinking, smoking and abusing drugs instantly and dedicated his life to his leader, whereas he had been selfish and greedy his whole life before. Tragically, he trusted Elijah Muhammad too much. All in all its a great book.

THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE Essays - EastWest Schism,

THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE On Tuesday, May 29 1453 the last bastion on Christianity in the East, Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet ( also called Mahomet ). This ended the 1100 year reign of the Byzantium Empire and gave the Ottomans a new capital. One of the most famous churches in history, the Church of Holy Wisdom ( also known as the Hagia Sophia ) was converted into a Mosque. The Turks used a revolutionary weapon in the siege - the cannon. Though the cannon had been in Europe for over a century, this was one of the first times they were used effectively. The Turkish army would not have been able to capture Constantinople had they not had the great cannon with them, had the Byzantinians not been so isolated from the West and had the Turkish soldiers not been so devoted. The cannon was essential in the capture of Constantinople. The walls of the city were massive, and had repulsed invaders since 330 A.D. It would have taken the Turks a lot longer to breech the walls if they did not have the great cannon, and aid from the West would have arrived. The cannon had a long range, and it was used to block access to Constantinople by sea. The very presence of the cannon was very demoralizing for the defenders of the city, "Once more the bells of the churches rang to sound the alarm, but the noise was drowned out by the roar from the great cannon," " the reverberations could be heard for a hundred stadia after it fired."Imagine standing on a wall having cannon balls weighing 12 hundredweight booming towards you. The isolation from the West, the preoccupation of the Western powers with other issues and the clash of the Eastern and Western variations of Christianity helped lead to the fall of Constantinople. The people of Byzantine Empire had some disdain for Western Christianity, and did not want to form a union of churches with the West. The pope (Pius II) was not anxious to send reinforcements until he felt that a true union of the churches had been achieved. Most of the other European powers had their own problems to deal with, and while they wanted to help the citizens of Constantinople they were either to far away (Russia, which became a major Christian center after the fall of Constantinople) or had their own problems to deal with.(there was a revolt in Rome in January 1453) The absolute devotion of the Turkish soldiers to their Sultan and to their God helped Mehmet capture the city. The troops of the sultan were fiercely loyal, especially the fearsome Janissaries,( Christian youths taken from captured villages, and trained for seven years. They were fanatical Muslims and fiercely loyal to the Sultan.) The soldiers believed that God would have a special place in Paradise for those who died attacking the city. "They shall conquer Qostantiniya." "Glory be to the Prince and to the army that achieve it."The sultan offered a fantastic prize to the first man inside the city, this, added to the belief that the soldiers had, that those to fall in battle would rise to Paradise, and the men they killed would be their servants there, had each man whipped into a fanatical fervor, willing to rush the walls, ignoring the Christian missiles. This allowed the Turks to capture the city very quickly, before the West would decided to send aid. As you can see, the three main factors that led the Turks to capture Constantinople were, the devotion of their troops, the isolation of the City ( both physically and spiritually ) and their innovative use of the cannon, a new weapon. This shows us that new weapons have a great power to change the world ( Airplanes, Tanks and Nuclear Missiles all have ) and that fanaticism is a grave danger that society as a whole must try to stop. If men are willing to die to establish fundamentalist states and theocracies how are we to stop them?

U-2 Spy Plane Incident With Gary Powers

U-2 Spy Plane Incident With Gary Powers On May 1, 1960, a  U-2 spy plane  piloted by Francis Gary Powers was brought down near Svedlovsk, Soviet Union while performing high altitude reconnaissance. This event had a lasting negative impact on U.S. - U.S.S.R. relations. The details surrounding this event are to this day still shrouded in mystery. Facts About the U-2 Incident Following World War II, the relations between the United States and the Soviet Union grew increasingly wary. The USSR did not agree to a U.S. Open Skies proposal in 1955 and relations continued to deteriorate. The U.S. instituted high altitude reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union because of this aura of mistrust. The U-2 was the plane of choice for the spying missions. This plane was able to fly extremely high, with an overall ceiling of 70,000 feet. This was key so that the Soviet Union would not be able to detect the planes and see this as an act of warfare for violating their airspace. The CIA took the lead in the U-2 project, keeping the military out of the picture to avoid any possibilities of open conflict. The first flight in this project occurred on July 4, 1956. By 1960, the U.S. had flown numerous successful missions over and around the U.S.S.R. However, a major incident was about to occur.   On May 1, 1960, Gary Powers was making a flight that left from Pakistan and landed in Norway. However, the plan was to divert his flight path so that he would fly over Soviet airspace. However, his plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile near  Sverdlovsk Oblast which was located in the Ural Mountains. Powers was able to parachute to safety, but was captured by the KGB. The Soviet Union was able to recover most of the plane. It had proof of Americas spying over their land. When it was obvious that the Soviet Union had caught the US red-handed, Eisenhower admitted on May 11th to knowledge of the program.  Powers was interrogated and then put on trial where he was sentenced to hard labor.   Mysteries The conventional story given to explain the crash of the U-2 and the subsequent capture of Gary Powers is that a surface-to-air missile brought down the plane. However, the U-2 spy plane was constructed to be unassailable by conventional weapons. The major benefit of these high altitude planes was their ability to stay above enemy fire. If the plane was flying at its proper height and had been shot down, many question how Powers could have survived. It would have been very likely that he would have died in the explosion or from the high altitude ejection. Therefore, many individuals question the validity of this explanation. Several alternative theories have been put forward to explain the downing of Gary Powers spy plane: Gary Powers was flying his plane below the high flying reconnaissance altitude and was hit by anti-aircraft fire.Gary Powers actually landed the plane in the Soviet Union.There was a bomb on board the plane. The newest and probably least probable explanation offered for the downing of the planes comes from the pilot of a Soviet plane involved in the incident. He claims to have been ordered to ram the spy plane. Admittedly there is little evidence to support this claim. However, it further muddies the waters of explanation. Even though the cause of the incident is shrouded in mystery there is little doubt to the short and long term consequences of the event. Consequences and Significance The Paris Summit between President Eisenhower and Nikita Krushchev collapsed in large part because Krushchev demanded an apology that Eisenhower was unwilling to give.Gary Powers was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and 7 years of hard labor. He only served 1 year 9 months and 9 days before being traded for the Soviet spy Colonel Rudolph Ivanovich Abel.This incident set in motion a pattern of mistrust that culminated in the Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations reached an all time low. No one can predict if the Cold War might have ended sooner had the U-2 incident not occurred.

How the Olympic Torch Works

How the Olympic Torch Works Quite a lot of development and technology goes into the flame for the Olympic Torch. Heres a look at how the Olympic Torch works and the fuel used to produce the flame. Origin of the Olympic Torch The Olympic Torch represents Prometheus theft of fire from Zeus. In the original Greek Olympic Games, a fire -  the Olympic Flame - was kept burning during the duration of the games. The tradition of the Olympic Flame made its way into the international games in the 1928 summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam. There was no torch relay in the original games, taking the flame from its source to wherever the games were being held. The Olympic Torch is a relatively new invention, introduced by Carl Diem at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Design of the Olympic Torch While the original Olympic Torch was simply an Olympic Flame that was kept burning throughout the original Greek Olympic Games, the modern torch is a sophisticated device that is used in a relay. The design of the torch changes and is customized for every set of Olympic Games. Recent torches use a double burner, with an outer bright flame and a small inner blue flame. The inner flame is protected such that if the torch is blown out by wind or rain, the small flame acts as a sort of pilot light, re-igniting the torch. A typical torch carries fuel sufficient to burn for about 15 minutes. Recent  games have utilized a  burning mixture of butane and polypropylene or propane. Fun Olympic Torch Facts Some early torches were fueled by olive oil.The runners in the 1956 torch relay carried a flaming block of hexamine and naphthalene, but a more dazzling display was desired for the entry into the Melbourne Olympic Stadium. The runner, Ron Clarke, carried a torch burning a mixture of magnesium and aluminum flakes (think thermite reaction or a giant sparkler). The torch dripped clumps of flaming metal onto the track and burned its carrier.The 2000 Olympic Games featured an underwater flare for a torch so that a diver could bear the flame across the Great Barrier Reef to the Sydney Games in Australia.Multiple torches are made for each set of Olympic Games. There were 22 torches for the 1952 games in Helsinki, 6,200 for the 1980 games in Moscow and 8,000 for the 2012 London Games. What Happens When the Torch Goes Out? Modern Olympic Torches are less likely to go out than their predecessors. The type of torch used for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games has been tested and found to function at temperatures from -5 °C to 40 °C, in rain and snow, at 95% humidity, and with wind gusts of up to 50 mph. The torch will remain lit when dropped from a height of at least three meters (the test height). Even so, the flame can go out! When this happens, the inner flame acts as a pilot light to reignite the fuel of the flame. Unless the torch is very wet, the flame should reignite easily.

Survey and analysis of the IT employment market Report Essay

Survey and analysis of the IT employment market Report - Essay Example Broadly speaking, these include the (1) design, (2) selection, and (3) setting up of computer systems. Systems engineers help organizations in acquiring and installing data processing systems that are affordable as well as workable, and are suited to the existing and anticipated needs. It has been noted that â€Å"systems engineers work at various levels in the design and coordination of large and complex projects known as systems† (Net Industries and its Licensors, 2010). However, fresh graduates are generally placed in the baseline positions. One of the major controlling bodies is Engineers Australia which is â€Å"the national forum for the advancement of engineering and the professional development† (Engineers Australia, 2010) of its members. According to the official website of the organization, â€Å"with more than 85,000 members embracing all disciplines of the engineering team, Engineers Australia is the largest and most diverse professional body for engineers in Australia†; it further claims that engineers who have been given chartered status by it â€Å"are regarded as trusted professionals not only in Australia, but worldwide† (Engineers Australia, 2010). Apart from providing official recognition to member engineers, the main activities of Engineers Australia include (1) advocacy, (2) professional development, (3) program accreditation, and (4) Migration Skills Assessment (MSA). This position is that of â€Å"a SharePoint architect, providing technical and design solutions; the focal point for coordinating and delivering SharePoint user support and optimization; a solution provider, troubleshooting and fixing technical issues; an application integrator, integrating SharePoint with other products; and a project manager, defining, planning and executing SharePoint and infrastructure projects† (IAEA,

News in the United States Political System Essay

News in the United States Political System - Essay Example However, the qualities of reporting and journalism in the country certainly have dimensions along which they can improve, and some observers are even severely critical of the state of affairs with respect to the media. The nature of content and safeguards against bias are especially controversial aspects of the matter. There are 3 major groups of stakeholders with respect to news and the media: the people who report, their audiences, and the entities covered by these reports (Bennett, 2007, p. 6). Each of these categories is further affected by their circles of acquaintances and votaries, and the effects that media content have on their images and societal positions. However, the audience should have precedence in all matters related to the development of media, because their vital interests should not be compromised in any circumstances. This document essays a review of how information is collated, analyzed, and presented by US media to its audiences, the impacts on each of the major categories of stakeholders, and how some of the important perceived limitations can be addressed. It is largely based on a major text on the state of the US media, which is widely used, and which is current as well (Bennett, 2007, p. 6). Two significant factors dominate key US media processes: economics and technology. It is expensive to gather first hand information, and to disseminate it as well. Owners, advertisers, and theories of what audiences would like to see and hear, cast overbearing spells on the workings and decisions of reporters and most professional journalists. Economics rule news content (Hamilton, 2004, p. 7). The advantage of free enterprise becomes an entry barrier as far as the collection and dissemination of news is concerned. Editors have to function as executives, with eyes on lines of financial statements, rather than on the strengths they should have, and the accountabilities which they should hold most sacred. Interference and interventions by quarters which provide financial sustenance to the media is not blatant in any overt way, but the subtle compulsions are not to be denied. The most influential of such pressures on professional journalistic processes, relates to the role of advertisin g. The latter is directly related to sizes of audiences. Truth and relevance must be subservient to guessing as to what people would like to read and to hear. This leads to a high degree of subjectivity in the evaluation of the media and its utility, because the population which it serves is so diverse. Television has substantially displaced the print media as a source medium for news (Bennett, 2007, p. 23). Thus, technology is a determining factor in shaping views, and calls for an extension if not a shift of factual reporting skills from newspapers to electronic media forms. This aspect of media process does not end with television as the Internet grows in influence at unprecedented rates. This trend is set to accelerate much further as cellular telephones offer to keep people in touch at virtually all times. However, this does not mean that mainstream media is condemned to obsolescence, and the resurgence of radio is a reassuring example of how quality news management can retain the loyalties of audiences. The business sector of media is incredibly complex, and most lay people are not conscious of the logistics and management skills which are integral

Contribution for Canadian Identity Essay Example for Free

Contribution for Canadian Identity Essay Throughout history, Canadian aboriginals have not been recognized for their contribution, sacrifices, and involvement in Canadian war efforts. During the First and Second World Wars, many aboriginals enlisted themselves in the services for the Canadian Armed Forces. In World War I, aboriginal soldiers like Corporal (Cpl). Francis Pegahmagabow and Henry Norwest helped advance the Canadian identity with their skills and bravery in Canadian fought battles. Tommy Prince in World War II worked hard to further maintain the Canadian identity. Aboriginal soldiers courage, sacrifices, and accomplishments further developed Canadian identity in World War I and World War II. Aboriginal, Corporal (Cpl) Francis Pegahmagabow contributed his brave actions for the development of the Canadian identity. It was during his first year on the Western Front that Pegahmagabow became one of the first Canadians to be awarded the Military Medal (MM). He received his MM for his service as a messenger in battles such the Battle of Ypres. Pegahmagabow was a messenger from February 1915 to February 1916; he â€Å"carried messages with great bravery and success during the whole of the actions at Ypres, Festubert and Givenchy.† [1] The bravery of Pegahmagabow resulted in the halt of the German advance. The defeat of the Germans was important in Canadian history because, the world now saw Canada as an independent nation that could unite as one to fight for their rights and freedom. Pegahmagabow was important because his job of delivering messages allowed access to information about the German advance which in turn resulted in a Canadian victory. This victory gave the Ca nadians an independent identity. At the Battle of Passchendaele, Pegahmagabow added the first bar to his MM for his work of running across the land through the tough war conditions to bring back valuable information for his unit. The information Pegahmagabow provided resulted in â€Å"the success of the attack and saving valuable time in consolidating.† [2] The courage of the aboriginal soldier Cpl. Pegahmagabow and his excellent work contributed to the success of the Canadians capturing the Passchendaele Ridge. The victory of the battle of Passchendaele was vital in the development of the Canadian identity because the British Army had previously tried to capture the Passchendaele Ridge for three months but had not succeeded. The Canadians captured the ridge mainly because of the support and the contribution of such soldiers like Pegahmagabow, and therefore Canadians accomplished goals that other countries had failed to do. During Pegahmagabow’s service in the Canadian Armed Forces Cpl. Pegahmagabow â€Å"captured 300 soldiers and shot 378.† [3] As a result of his achievements, Pegahmagabow served as a catalyst for Canada to be able to have a presence on a global scale. Cpl. Pegahmagabow was also a skilled marksmanship, which allowed him to succeed at the battlefront. Applying these skills resulted in a high number of casualties on the German side which, identified him as a valuable soldier. This was a great advantage for the Canadian side as the strength of the enemy forces was weakened, therefore Canadians were a step closer to wining the war. This achievement by an aboriginal soldier further contributed to the Canadian identity. Henry Norwest, another aboriginal, contributed to the development of the Canadian identity by utilizing his fine skills in sniping. Norwest was given his first MM after the capture of the Pimple peak on Vimy Ridge because, Norwest showed â€Å"great bravery, skill and initiative in sniping the enemy after the capture of the Pimple.† [4] The sniping skills Norwest possessed led to the Canadians capturing the peak on Vimy Ridge. Killing the enemy after the capture of the Pimple peak was important because, the skillful aboriginal saved a great number of Canadian soldiers. This battle was also of great significance in Canadian history, as Canadians, once again proved to the world that they are a capable, strong nation that that can overcome obstacles regardless of the circumstances or previous failed attempts. On the other hand, with the skills of aboriginal soldiers like Norwest, the Canadians were able to conquer the Pimple. Norwest had all the essential skills a sniper needed to be successful. Norwest had â€Å"excellent marksmanship, an ability to keep perfectly still for very long periods and superb camouflage techniques.†[5] These skills made Norwest a lethal Canadian aboriginal sniper. Being a lethal sniper, Norwest was crucial for the development in the Canadian identity. By camouflaging, Norwest deceived the enemy and hence sniped them. The contribution of this aboriginal soldier gave Canadians the identity as strategic planners. Norwest was a skilled and fatal sniper because he â€Å"achieved a sniping record of 115 fatal shots.† [6] Norwest shot down many enemy soldiers and as a result, this reduced the number of enemies to fight. By reducing the number of enemies, Norwest also enabled the Canadians to be another step closer to winning the war. Canadians proved that they are a mighty, powerful and strong army because of Canadian aboriginal soldiers such as Norwest, who shot down many enemy soldiers efficiently. In the Second world war, aboriginal soldier Tommy Prince’s brave actions and unique ability, led to the further enhancement of the Canadian identity. In 1944 in Italy, Tommy Prince showed his bravery while spying on a German camp. While he was reporting the German activity, his communication line was damaged but, â€Å"[b]y pretending to tie his shoes, he successfully repaired the break in full view of the German soldiers.†[7] Prince’s utmost bravery led to the destruction of four German tanks, which were shooting at the Allied forces. Prince risked his life to fulfill his duty as a spy. This act of the aboriginal soldiers bravery was pivotal for the development of the Canadian identity. Canadians proved that they are risk takers and are capable of fulfilling their duty with bravery. King George VI decorated Tommy Prince with the Silver Star and ribbon, an American honour because Prince â€Å"occupied new heights and successfully wiped out the enemy encampment area† [8] in the summer of 1944 for going behind enemy lines and locating a German camp. Tommy Prince located the camp and then with his brigade, captured more than 1000 German soldiers. This technique of locating the German camp led to the reduction in the number of German soldiers. This commendable mission carried out by aboriginal soldier, Prince, was essential for the development for the Canadian identity. This mission was significant because the world saw Canadians as a strong nation that has a strong military capable of destruction of the enemies. Tommy Prince had skills which allowed him to be a part of the special airborne force with â€Å"1600 of the toughest men to be found in Canada and the United States.† [9] Tommy Prince possessed essential paratrooper skills. He possessed the skills of landing and crawling on his belly, with the swiftness of a snake. These skills made Prince a successful paratrooper. The aboriginal soldier applied his exemplary skills at the battle front to further enrich the Canadian identity. Soldiers such as Prince were symbols to represent the Canadians as tactful and skillful warriors. During the First and the Second World Wars, many aboriginal Canadians volunteered for the Canadian Armed Forces and contributed in the development of the Canadian identity. With the unique and effective skills of Francis Pegahmagabow and Henry Norwest the Canadian identity was enhanced. Tommy Prince’s courage and dedication for his nation helped Canada gain a military reputation throughout the world. The contribution, sacrifices, and involvement of aboriginals should not be forgotten because aboriginal soldiers were important for the enrichment of the Canadian identity. Works Cited â€Å"Prince of the Brigade,† Canadian Government Site. Web. 28 April 2011 â€Å"Sharpshooter: Henry Louis Norwest,† Canadian Government Site. Web. 3 May 2011 â€Å"Treasures Gallery Francis Pegahmagabow’s Medals†, Canadian Museum of Civilization. Web.2 May 2011 Gaffen, Fred. Forgotten Soldiers, 1985 Penticton, B.C.: Theytus Books. Print Livesey, Robert, and A. G. Smith. The Great War. 2006 Markham, Ont.: Fitzhenry Whiteside. Print Lloyd, Dohla. â€Å"Thomas Prince: Canadas Forgotten Aboriginal War Hero.† First Nations Drum Canada’s National Native Newspaper, September 2002. Article. â€Å"Henry Norwest,† University of Calgary. Web. 29 April 2011 A Peaceful Man Veterans Affairs Canada. Veterans Affairs Canada. Web. 27 April 2011 Wheeler, Victor W. The 50th Battalion in No Mans Land, 2000, Ottawa, Ont.: CEF Books. Print [1] Veterans Affairs Canada, A Peaceful Man Veterans Affairs Canada., last modified 2011-02-23, http:/www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=history/other/native/peaceful [2] Canadian Museum of Civilization, â€Å"Treasures Gallery Francis Pegahmagabow’s Medals†, last modified 2010-05-27, http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasure/280eng.shtml [3] Livesey, Robert, and A. G. Smith. The Great War . Markham, Ont.: Fitzhenry Whiteside, 2006, 84 [4] University of Calgary â€Å"Henry Norwest,† last modified 2010, http://library.ucalgary.ca/node/599 [5] Canadian Government Site. â€Å"Sharpshooter: Henry Louis Norwest,† Date Created: 1996-12-22, Date Modified: 2006-12-15, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=history/other/native/norwest [6] Wheeler, Victor W. The 50th Battalion in No Mans Land, Ottawa, Ont.: CEF Books, 2000, 283 [7] Gaffen, Fred. Forgotten Soldiers, Penticton, B.C.: Theytus Books, 1985, 56 [8] Canadian Government Site. â€Å"Prince of the Brigade,† Date Created: 1996-12-22, Date Modified: 2006-12-15, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=history/other/native/prince [9] Lloyd, Dohla. â€Å"Thomas Prince: Canadas Forgotten Aboriginal War Hero.† First Nations Drum Canada’s National Native Newspaper, September 2002.

Nature versus Nurture :: Genes vs Environment

Abstract The paper covers the debate of nature versus nurture. Within the paper there is an introduction in which the hypothesis is given and a literature review that provides the reader with previous studies done with nature versus nurture. The methods, results, discussion and recommendations from the research study are also provided within the paper. Introduction and literature review The research question is: When comparing Nature verses Nurture in children which one is stronger than the other? The hypothesis is: Nature has a stronger correlation than nurture when it comes to individual differences between males and females. There is a big controversy between whether inherited genes or the environment influences and affect our personality, development, behavior, intelligence and ability. This controversy is most often recognized as the nature verses nurture conflict. Some people believe that it is strictly genes that affect our ways of life, others believe that it is the environment that affects us, and some believe that both of these influence us. A wide variety of characteristics have been considered in such debates, including personality, sexual orientation, gender identity, political orientation, intelligence, and propensity for violence or criminality (Wright, 1998). Human nature is the range of human behaviors that is believed to be innate rather than learned. There is much debate over which behaviors are innate and which are learned, and whether or not this division applies equally to all individuals. Although "nurture" may have historically referred mainly to the care given to children by their parents, any environmental (not genetic) factor also would count as "nurture" in a contemporary nature versus nurture debate, including one's childhood friends, one's early experiences with television, and one's experience in the womb(Wright,1998). Indeed, a substantial source of environmental input to human nature may arise from external variations in prenatal development (Wright, 1998). Either way, social scientists have been struggling for centuries deciding whether our personalities are born or made. Tests are done often on identical twins that were separated to see how they are influenced. In the past twenty years, it has been discovered that there is a genetic component to about every human trait and behavior (Pinker, 2002). However, genetic influence on traits and behavior is partial because genetics account on average for half of the variation of most traits (Pinker, 2002). Researchers are finding that the balance between genetic and environmental influences for certain traits change as people get older (Pinker, 2002).

Love and Basketball: An Overview

Here’s the run-down. Love & Basketball is deceivingly simple in its structure. The movie is divided into the quarters of a basketball game and tells the story of a boy and a girl. Meeting at about the age 11, the film traces their lives as they run parallel and run apart from childhood, to high school, to college, and just after. Monica and Quincy each have their hopes and their dreams. They both want to play basketball on a professional level. For Quincy, it is easier and expected since he is the son of a professional player. It is harder for Monica, both being a woman and as a daughter whose mother cannot understand why she does not want to grow up to be a pretty stay at home wife. Through the whole film the constant between the two is their love for each other and for the game of basketball. The movie is full of honest moments, laughs, tears and some awesome basketball scenes. There are a lot of positives to this movie. This movie shows that no matter what race, gender, or where you came from you can be a successful athlete. Monica is a black female basketball player with an attitude of a male who makes it to the pros. Going into her senior year of high school, Monica was afraid she wasn’t getting any looks by colleges and at the games she was getting looked at she was riding the bench because of her attitude, but the movie showed that it is important to have a strong support system at home. Her parents recognized it and put her in her place! A good athlete has to be all around good. They have to be focused in the classroom and respectable on and off the court! The movie showed how important a healthy home life is needed in more ways than just at Monica’s home. Quincy’s father was a professional athlete that was cheating on his mother. This unhealthy home life affected Quincy and his athletics. Quincy didn’t finish college because of it and entered the draft. After he entered the draft he hurt his knee; consequently he thought his basketball career was over. That was also another positive aspect of the movie, showing the importance of education! If Quincy had finished college and received a college degree he would have had something to fall back on. The main plot line of the movie is very positive in and of itself! A story based on two individuals whom are childhood sweethearts trying to balance following their dreams while trying to keep their love alive is ultimately the hardest thing to do in the eyes of a student athlete of any age! Watching this movie gives you hope that it can actually happen. I know people who try to live this life. Truth be told, it can only happen in a fairy tale though! I don’t believe it. A little girl finds herself in a new neighborhood and having to make new friends. She stumbles upon some boys playing basketball. Being the tomboy she is, she assumes they will let her play. She ends up in a fight with one boy, Quincy. She goes home only to hear her mom go on and on about how she needs to be more girly and quit trying to be one of the boys. Monica has heard this bit her whole life. The young boy is fascinated by Monica; he has probably never had a girl ever stand up to him in that way. He asks her to be his girlfriend and they share their first kiss together. Throughout the years they maintain their strong friendship, living so close together they comfort each other during family problems. They live window to window. They get to high school and Quincy is, of course, quite the ladies’ man; being the best basketball player in the state, they tend to have that effect. Monica plays too, but in high school her anger problems are out of control on the court. Little did they know their romantic lives were about to cross paths again at their very last hooray of high school; senior prom. Quincy of course took one of his random hoes to the prom; whereas Monica just to please her mom. She went with a college guy who her sister set her up with.

Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Seventeen

The four of us moved as silently as we could into the forest, from the place where Gretchen had seen Magdy, Enzo and their two friends go into the tree line. We listened for their sounds; none of them had been trained to move quietly. It wasn't a good thing for them, especially if the creatures decided to hunt them. It was better for us, because we wanted to track them. We listened for our friends on the ground, we watched and listened for movement in the trees. We already knew whatever they were could track us. We hoped we might be able to track them, too. In the distance, we heard rustling, as if of quick, hurried movement. We headed that direction, Gretchen and I taking point, Hickory and Dickory fast behind. Gretchen and I had been training for months, learning how to move, how to defend ourselves, how to fight and how to kill, if it was necessary. Tonight, any part of what we learned might have to be used. We might have to fight. We might even have to kill. I was so scared that if I stopped running, I think I would have collapsed into a ball and never gotten up. I didn't stop running. I kept going. Trying to find Enzo and Magdy before something else did. Trying to find them, and to save them. â€Å"After Gutierrez left, Magdy didn't see any point in keeping our story quiet anymore, so he started blabbing to his friends,† Gretchen had told me. â€Å"He was giving people the idea that he'd actually faced these things and had managed to keep them off while the rest of us were getting away.† â€Å"Idiot,† I said. â€Å"When you parents came back without the hunting party, a group of his friends came to him about organizing a search,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Which was actually just an excuse for a bunch of them to stalk through the forest with guns. My dad caught wind of this and tried to step on its head. He reminded them that five adults just went into the forest and didn't come out. I thought that was the end of it, but now I hear that Magdy just waited until my dad went to go visit yours before gathering up some like-minded idiots to head off into the woods.† â€Å"Didn't anyone notice them heading off?† I asked. â€Å"They told people they were going to do a little target practice on Magdy's parents' homestead,† Gretchen said. â€Å"No one's going to complain about them doing that right about now. Once they got there they just took off. The rest of Magdy's family is here in town like everyone else. No one knows they're missing.† â€Å"How'd you find out about this?† I asked. â€Å"It's not like Magdy would tell you this right now.† â€Å"His little group left someone behind,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Isaiah Miller was going to go with him, but his dad wouldn't let him have the rifle for ‘target practice.' I heard him complaining about that and then basically intimidated the rest of it out of him.† â€Å"Has he told anybody else?† I asked. â€Å"I don't think so,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Now that he's had time to think about it I don't think he wants to get in trouble. But we should tell someone.† â€Å"We'll cause a panic if we do,† I said. â€Å"Six people have already died. If we tell people four more people – four kids – have gone off into the woods, people will go insane. Then we'll have more people heading off with guns and more people dying, either by these things or by accidentally shooting each other because they're so wired up.† â€Å"What do you want to do, then?† Gretchen asked. â€Å"We've been training for this, Gretchen,† I said. Gretchen's eyes got very wide. â€Å"Oh, no,† she said. â€Å"Zoe, I love you, but that's loopy. There's no way you're getting me out there to be a target for these things again, and there's no way I'm going to let you go out there.† â€Å"It wouldn't just be us,† I said. â€Å"Hickory and Dickory – â€Å" â€Å"Hickory and Dickory are going to tell you you're nuts, too,† Gretchen said. â€Å"They just spent months teaching you how to defend yourself, and you think they're going to be at all happy with you putting yourself out there for something to use as spear practice. I don't think so.† â€Å"Let's ask them,† I said. â€Å"Miss Gretchen is correct,† Hickory said to me, once I called for it and Dickory. â€Å"This is a very bad idea. Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan are the ones who should deal with this matter.† â€Å"My dad's got the whole rest of the colony to worry about at the moment,† I said. â€Å"And Mom's in the medical bay, getting fixed from when she dealt with this the last time.† â€Å"You don't think that tells you something?† Gretchen said. I turned on her, a little angry, and she held up a hand. â€Å"Sorry, Zoe. That came out wrong. But think about it. Your mom was a Special Forces soldier. She fought things for a living. And if she came out of this with a wound bad enough for her to spend her night in the medical bay, it means that whatever is out there is serious business.† â€Å"Who else can do this?† I asked. â€Å"Mom and Dad went after that hunting party on their own for a reason – they had been trained to fight and deal with experiences like that. Anyone else would have gotten themselves killed. They can't go after Magdy and Enzo right now. If anyone else goes after them, they're going to be in just as much danger as those two and their other friends. We're the only ones who can do this.† â€Å"Don't get angry at me for saying this,† Gretchen said. â€Å"But it sounds like you're excited to do this. Like you want to go out there and fight something.† â€Å"I want to find Enzo and Magdy,† I said. â€Å"That's all I want to do.† â€Å"We should inform your father,† Hickory said. â€Å"If we inform my father he'll tell us no,† I said. â€Å"And the longer we talk about this the longer it's going to take to find our friends.† Hickory and Dickory put their heads together and clacked quietly for a minute. â€Å"This is not a good idea,† Hickory said, finally. â€Å"But we will help you.† â€Å"Gretchen?† I asked. â€Å"I'm trying to decide if Magdy is worth it,† she said. â€Å"Gretchen,† I said. â€Å"It's a joke,† she said. â€Å"The sort you make when you're about to wet your pants.† â€Å"If we are to do this,† Hickory said. â€Å"We must do it on the assumption that we will engage in combat. You have been trained with firearms and hand weapons. You must be prepared to use them if necessary.† â€Å"I understand,† I said. Gretchen nodded. â€Å"Then let us get ready,† Hickory said. â€Å"And let us do so quietly.† Any confidence that I had any idea what I was doing left me the moment we entered the forest, when the running through the trees brought me back to the last time I raced through them at night, some unknown thing or things pacing us invisibly. The difference between now and then was that I had been trained and prepared to fight. I thought it would make a difference in how I felt. It didn't. I was scared. And not just a little. The rustling, rushing sound we had heard was getting closer to us and heading right for us, on the ground and moving fast. The four of us halted and hid and prepared ourselves to deal with whatever was coming at us. Two human forms burst out of the brush and ran in a straight line past where Gretchen and I were hiding. Hickory and Dickory grabbed them as they passed by them; the boys screamed in terror as Hickory and Dickory took them down. Their rifles went skidding across the ground. Gretchen and I rushed over to them and tried to calm them down. Being human helped. Neither was Enzo or Magdy. â€Å"Hey,† I said, as soothingly as I could, to the one closest to me. â€Å"Hey. Relax. You're safe. Relax.† Gretchen was doing the same to the other one. Eventually I recognized who they were: Albert Yoo and Michel Gruber. Both Albert and Michel were people I had long filed away under the â€Å"kind of a twit† category, so I didn't spend any more time with them than I had to. They had returned the favor. â€Å"Albert,† I said, to the one closest to me. â€Å"Where are Enzo and Magdy?† â€Å"Get your thing off of me!† Albert said. Dickory was still restraining him. â€Å"Dickory,† I said. It let Albert go. â€Å"Where are Enzo and Magdy?† I repeated. â€Å"I don't know,† Albert said. â€Å"We got separated. Those things in the trees started chanting at us and Michel and I got spooked and took off.† â€Å"Chanting?† I asked. â€Å"Or singing or clicking or whatever,† Albert said. â€Å"We were walking along, looking for these things when all these noises started coming out of the trees. Like they were trying to show us that they had snuck up on us without us even knowing.† This worried me. â€Å"Hickory?† I asked. â€Å"There is nothing significant in the trees,† it said. I relaxed a little. â€Å"They surrounded us,† Albert said. â€Å"And then Magdy took a shot at them. And then things really got loud. Michel and I got out of there. We just ran. We didn't see where Magdy and Enzo went.† â€Å"How long ago was this?† I asked. â€Å"I don't know,† Albert said. â€Å"Ten minutes, fifteen. Something like that.† â€Å"Show us where you came from,† I said. Albert pointed. I nodded. â€Å"Get up,† I said. â€Å"Dickory will take you and Michel back to the tree line. You can get back from there.† â€Å"I'm not going anywhere with that thing,† Michel said, his first contribution to the evening. â€Å"Okay, then you have two choices,† I said. â€Å"Stay here and hope we come back for you before these things do, or hope that you make it to the tree line before they catch up with you. Or you can let Dickory help you and maybe survive. Your choice.† I said it a little more forcefully than I had to, but I was annoyed that this idiot didn't want help staying alive. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Good,† I said. I picked up their rifles and handed them to Dickory, and took his. â€Å"Take them to the tree line near Magdy's homestead. Don't give them back their rifles until you get there. Come back and find us as soon as you can.† Dickory nodded, intimidated Albert and Michel into movement, and headed off. â€Å"I never liked them,† Gretchen said as they left. â€Å"I can see why,† I said, and gave Dickory's rifle to Hickory. â€Å"Come on. Let's keep going.† We heard them before we saw them. Actually, Hickory, whose hearing goes above human range, heard them – trilling and chirping and chanting. â€Å"They are singing,† Hickory said quietly, and led Gretchen and me to them. Dickory arrived, silently, just before we found them. Hickory handed over its rifle. In the small clearing were six figures. Enzo and Magdy were the first I recognized. They knelt on the ground, heads down, waiting for whatever was going to happen to them. The light was not good enough for me to see any expression on either of their faces, but I didn't have to see their faces to know that they were scared. Whatever had happened to the two of them had gone badly, and now they were just waiting for it to end. However it would end. I took in Enzo's kneeling form and remembered in a rush why I loved him. He was there because he was trying to be a good friend for Magdy. Trying to keep him out of trouble, or at the very least to share his trouble if he could. He was a decent human being, which is rare enough but is something of a miracle in a teenage boy. I came out here for him because I still loved him. It had been weeks since we'd said anything more than a simple â€Å"hello† at school – when you break up in a small community you have to make some space – but it didn't matter. I was still connected to him. Some part of him stayed in my heart, and I imagined would for as long as I lived. Yes, it was a really inconvenient place and time to realize all of this, but these things happen when they happen. And it didn't make any noise, so it was all right. I looked over at Magdy, and this is the thought I had: When all of this is through, I am seriously going to kick his ass. The four other figures†¦ Werewolves. It was the only way to describe them. They looked feral, and strong, and carnivorous and nightmarish, and with all of that was movement and sound that made it clear that there were brains in there to go along with everything else. They shared the four eyes of all the Roanoke animals we had seen so far, but other than that they could have been lifted right out of folklore. These were werewolves. Three of the werewolves were busy taunting and poking Magdy and Enzo, clearly toying with them and threatening them. One of them held a rifle that it had taken off of Magdy, and was jabbing him with it. I wondered if was still loaded, and what would happen to Magdy or the werewolf if it went off. Another held a spear and occasionally poked Enzo with it. The three of them were chirping and clicking at each other; I don't doubt they were discussing what to do with Magdy and Enzo, and how to do it. The fourth werewolf stood apart from the other three and acted differently. When one of the other werewolves went to poke Enzo or Magdy, it would step in and try to keep them from doing it, standing between the humans and the rest of the werewolves. Occasionally it would step in and try to talk to one of the other werewolves, gesturing back to Enzo and Magdy for emphasis. It was trying to convince the other werewolves of something. To let the humans go? Maybe. Whatever it was, the other werewolves weren't having any of it. The fourth werewolf kept at it anyway. It suddenly reminded me of Enzo, the first time I saw him, trying to keep Magdy from getting into an idiotic fight for no reason at all. It didn't work that time; Gretchen and I had to step in and do something. It wasn't working now, either. I glanced over and saw that Hickory and Dickory had both taken up positions where they could get clean shots at the werewolves. Gretchen had moved off from me and was setting up her own shot. Between the four of us we could take all of the werewolves before they even knew what had happened to them. It would be quick and clean and easy, and we'd get Enzo and Magdy out of there and back home before anyone knew anything had happened. It was the smart thing to do. I quietly moved and readied my weapon, and took a minute or two to stop shaking and steady up. I knew we'd take them in sequence, Hickory on the far left taking the first of the three group werewolves, Dickory taking the second, Gretchen the third, and I the last one, standing away from the rest. I knew the rest of them were waiting for me to make the shot. One of the werewolves moved to poke Enzo again. My werewolf hurried, too late, to stop the assault. And I knew. I didn't want to. I just didn't. Didn't want to kill it. Because it was trying to save my friends, not kill them. It didn't deserve to die just because that was the easiest way to get back Enzo and Magdy. But I didn't know what else to do. The three werewolves started chittering again, first in what seemed like a random way, but then together, and to a beat. The one with a spear began thumping it into the ground in time, and the three of them started working off the beat, playing against each other's voices for what was clearly a victory chant of some sort or another. The fourth werewolf started gesturing more frantically. I had a terrible fear of what was going to happen at the end of the chant. They kept singing, getting closer to the end of that chant. So I did what I had to do. I sang back. I opened my mouth and the first line of â€Å"Delhi Morning† came out of it. Not well, and not on key. Actually, it was really bad – all those months of practicing it and playing it at hootenannies were not paying off. It didn't matter. It was doing what I needed it to do. The werewolves immediately fell silent. I kept singing. I glanced over to Gretchen, who was not so far away that I couldn't read the Are you completely insane? look that she had on her face. I gave her a look that said, Help me out please. Her face tightened up into something unreadable and she sighted down her rifle to keep one of the werewolves squarely in target – and started to sing the counterpoint of the song, dipping above and below my part, like we had practiced so many times. With her help I found the right key to sing and homed in. And now the werewolves knew there was more than one of us. To the left of Gretchen, Dickory chimed in, mimicking the sitar of the song as he did so well. It was funny to watch, but when you closed your eyes it was hard to tell the difference between it and the real thing. I drank in the twang of his voice and kept singing. And to the left of Dickory, Hickory finally came in, using its long neck to sound off like a drum, finding the beat and keeping it from then on. And now the werewolves knew there were as many of us as them. And that we could have killed them anytime. But we didn't. My stupid plan was working. Now all I had to do was figure what I had planned to do next. Because I really didn't know what I was doing here. All I knew was that I didn't want to shoot my werewolf. The one, in fact, who had now stepped off entirely away from the rest of his pack and was walking toward where he thought my voice was coming from. I decided to meet him halfway. I set down my rifle and stepped into the clearing, still singing. The werewolf with the spear began to raise it, and suddenly my mouth was very dry. I think my werewolf noticed something on my face, because it turned and chattered madly at the spear carrier. The spear went down; my werewolf didn't know it, but he'd just saved his friend a bullet in the head from Gretchen. My werewolf turned back to me and started walking toward me again. I kept singing until the song was through. By that time, my werewolf was standing right next to me. Our song was finished. I stood there, waiting to see what my werewolf would do next. What he did next was point to my neck, to the jade elephant pendant Jane had given me. I touched it. â€Å"Elephant,† I said. â€Å"Like your fanties.† He stared at it again and then stared at me again. Finally it chirped out something. â€Å"Hello,† I said back. What else was I going to say? We had a couple more minutes of sizing each other up. Then one of the three other werewolves chirped something. He chirped something back, and then tilted his head at me, as if to say, It would really help me if you actually did something here. So I pointed to Enzo and Magdy. â€Å"Those two belong to me,† I said, making what I hoped were appropriate hand signals, so my werewolf would get the idea. â€Å"I want to take them back with me.† I motioned back in the direction of the colony. â€Å"Then we'll leave you alone.† The werewolf watched all my hand signals; I'm not sure how many of them he actually got. But when I was done, he pointed to Enzo and Magdy, then to me, and then in the direction of the colony, as if to say, Let me make sure I've got this right. I nodded, said â€Å"yes,† and then repeated all the hand signals again. We were actually having a conversation. Or maybe we weren't, because what followed was an explosion of chittering from my werewolf, along with some wild gesticulating. I tried to follow it but I had no idea what was going on. I looked at him helplessly, trying to get what he was saying. Finally he figured out I had no clue what he was doing. So he pointed at Magdy, and then pointed at the rifle one of the other werewolves was holding. And then he pointed at his side, and then motioned at me as if to take a closer look. Against my better judgment, I did, and noticed something I missed before: My werewolf was injured. An ugly furrow was carved into his side, surrounded by raw welts on either side. That idiot Magdy had shot my werewolf. Barely, sure. Magdy was lucky that his aim continued to be bad, otherwise he'd probably already be dead. But even grazing it was bad enough. I backed up from the werewolf and let him know I'd seen enough. He pointed at Enzo, pointed at me, and pointed back to the colony. Then he pointed at Magdy and pointed at his werewolf friends. This was clear enough: He was saying Enzo was free to go with me, but his friends wanted to keep Magdy. I didn't doubt that would end badly for Magdy. I shook my head and made it clear I needed the both of them. My werewolf made it equally clear they wanted Magdy. Our negotiations had just hit a really big snag. I looked my werewolf up and down. He was stocky, barely taller than me, and covered only in a sort of short skirt cinched up with a belt. A simple stone knife hung from the belt. I'd seen pictures of knives like it from history books detailing the Cro-Magnon days back on Earth. The funny thing about the Cro-Magnons was that despite the fact that they were barely above banging rocks together, their brains were actually larger than our brains are now. They were cavemen, but they weren't stupid. They had the ability to think about serious stuff. â€Å"I sure hope you have a Cro-Magnon brain,† I said to my werewolf. â€Å"Otherwise I'm about to get in trouble.† He tilted his head again, trying to figure out what I was trying to say to him. I motioned again, trying to make it clear I wanted to talk to Magdy. My werewolf didn't seem happy about this, and chattered something to his friends. They chattered back, and got pretty agitated. But in the end, my werewolf reached out to me. I let him take my wrist and he dragged me over to Magdy. His three friends fanned themselves out behind me, ready if I should try anything stupid. I knew outside the clearing Hickory and Dickory, at least, would be moving to get better sight lines. There were still lots of ways this could go very very wrong. Magdy was still kneeling, not looking at me or anything else but a spot on the ground. â€Å"Magdy,† I said. â€Å"Kill these stupid things and get us out of here already,† he said, quietly and fast, still not looking at me. â€Å"I know you know how. I know you have enough people out there to do it.† â€Å"Magdy,† I said again. â€Å"Listen to me carefully and don't interrupt me. These things want to kill you. They're willing to let Enzo go, but they want to keep you because you shot one of them. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?† â€Å"Just kill them,† Magdy said. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"You went after these guys, Magdy. You were hunting them. You shot at them. I'm going to try to keep you from getting killed. But I'm not going to kill them because you put yourself in their way. Not unless I have to. Do you understand me?† â€Å"They're going to kill us,† Magdy said. â€Å"You and me and Enzo.† â€Å"I don't think so,† I said. â€Å"But if you don't shut up and actually listen to what I'm trying to say to you, you're going to make that more likely.† â€Å"Just shoot – † Magdy began. â€Å"For God's sake, Magdy,† Enzo said suddenly, from Magdy's side. â€Å"One person on the entire planet is risking her own neck for you and all you can do is argue with her. You really are an ungrateful piece of crap. Now would you please shut up and listen to her. I'd like to get out of this alive.† I don't know who was more surprised by that outburst, me or Magdy. â€Å"Fine,† Magdy said, after a minute. â€Å"These things want to kill you because you shot one of them,† I said. â€Å"I'm going to try to convince them to let you go. But you're going to have to trust me and follow my lead and not argue and not fight back. For the last time: Do you understand me?† â€Å"Yes,† Magdy said. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"They think I'm your leader. So I need to give them the idea I'm angry with you for what you did. I'm going to have to punish you in front of them. And just so you know, this is going to hurt. A lot.† â€Å"Just – † Magdy began. â€Å"Magdy,† I said. â€Å"Yeah, all right, whatever,† Magdy said. â€Å"Let's just do this.† â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Sorry about this.† Then I kicked him in the ribs. Hard. He collapsed with a whoosh and fell flat to the ground. Whatever he was expecting, he wasn't expecting that. After he had gasped on the ground for a minute I grabbed him by the hair. He clutched at my hand and tried to get away. â€Å"Don't fight me,† I said, and gave him a quick punch in the ribs to make the point. He got it and stopped. I pulled his head back and yelled at him for shooting the werewolf, pointing at his rifle and then the wounded werewolf and back and forth several times to make the point. The werewolves seemed to make the connection and chittered among themselves about it. â€Å"Apologize,† I told Magdy, still holding his head. Magdy reached out to the wounded werewolf. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. â€Å"If I had known that shooting would mean Zoe got to beat the crap out of me, I would never have done it.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said, and then let go of his hair and smacked him hard across the face. Magdy went down again. I looked over to the werewolf to see if this was sufficient. He didn't look like he was quite there yet. I loomed over Magdy. â€Å"How are you doing?† I asked. â€Å"I think I'm going to throw up,† he said. â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"I think that would work. Need any help?† â€Å"I got it,† he said, and retched all over the ground. This got impressed chirps from the werewolves. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Last part, Magdy. You really have to trust me on this one.† â€Å"Please stop hurting me now,† Magdy said. â€Å"Almost done,† I said. â€Å"Stand up, please.† â€Å"I don't think I can,† he said. â€Å"Sure you can,† I said, and wrenched his arm to give him motivation. Magdy inhaled and stood up. I marched him over to my werewolf, who eyed the both of us, curiously. I pointed at Magdy, and then to the werewolf's wound. Then I pointed to the werewolf, and made a slashing motion on Magdy's side, and then pointed at the werewolf's knife. The werewolf gave me yet another head tilt, as if to say, I want to be sure we understand each other, here. â€Å"Fair's fair,† I said. â€Å"You're going to let him stab me?† Magdy said, his voice rising dramatically at the end of that sentence. â€Å"You shot him,† I said. â€Å"He could kill me,† Magdy said. â€Å"You could have killed him,† I said. â€Å"I hate you,† Magdy said. â€Å"I really really really hate you now.† â€Å"Shut up,† I said, and then nodded to the werewolf. â€Å"Trust me,† I said to Magdy. The werewolf drew his knife, and then looked back at his companions, who were all chattering loudly and beginning to chant what they were chanting earlier. I was all right with that. The difference now was that it was my werewolf who would do whatever violence would be done. My werewolf stood there for a minute, soaking in the chant of his fellow werewolves. Then without warning he sliced at Magdy so quickly that I only got him moving back, not forward. Magdy hissed in pain. I let him go and he fell to the ground, clutching his side. I moved in front of him and grabbed his hands. â€Å"Let me see,† I said. Magdy moved his hands and winced preemptively, expecting a gush of blood. There was only the thinnest red line on his side. The werewolf had cut Magdy just enough to let him know he could have cut him a lot worse. â€Å"I knew it,† I said. â€Å"You knew what?† Magdy said. â€Å"That I was dealing with a Cro-Magnon,† I said. â€Å"I really don't understand you,† Magdy said. â€Å"Stay down,† I said. â€Å"Don't get up until I tell you.† â€Å"I'm not moving,† he said. â€Å"Really.† I stood up and faced the werewolf, who had put his knife back on his belt. He pointed to Magdy, and then pointed to me, and then pointed back toward the colony. â€Å"Thank you,† I said, and gave the werewolf a little nod of my head, which I hoped would convey the idea. When I looked up again, I saw him staring at my jade elephant again. I wondered if he'd ever seen jewelry before, or if it was simply because an elephant looks like a fantie. These werewolves followed the fantie herds; they would be a main source of food for them. They were their lives. I took off my necklace and handed it to my werewolf. He took it and gently touched the pendant, making it twirl and glitter in the dim light of the night. He cooed at it appreciatively. Then he handed it back to me. â€Å"No,† I said. I held up a hand, and then pointed to the pendant, and to him. â€Å"It's for you. I'm giving it to you.† The werewolf stood there for a moment, and then uttered a trill, which caused his friends to crowd around him. He held up the pendant for them to admire. â€Å"Here,† I said, after a minute, and motioned to him to hand me the necklace. He did, and I – very slowly, so I wouldn't surprise him – put it around his neck and fastened it. The pendant touched his chest. He touched it again. â€Å"There,† I said. â€Å"That was given to me by someone very important, so I would remember the people who loved me. I'm giving it to you, so you'll remember that I'm thanking you for giving me back people I love. Thank you.† The werewolf gave me another of his head tilts. â€Å"I know you don't have any idea what I'm saying,† I said. â€Å"Thank you anyway.† The werewolf reached to his side, pulled his knife. Then he laid it flat on his hand and offered it to me. I took it. â€Å"Wow,† I said, and admired it. I was careful not to touch the actual blade; I'd already seen how sharp it was. I tried to return it but he held up his hand or claw or whatever you want to call it, in a mirror of what I did for him. He was giving it to me. â€Å"Thank you,† I said again. He chirped, and with that he returned to his friends. The one holding Magdy's rifle dropped it, and then without looking back they walked to the nearest trees, scaled them at an unbelievable speed and were gone almost instantly. â€Å"Holy crap,† I said, after a minute. â€Å"I can't believe that actually worked.† â€Å"You can't believe it,† Gretchen said. She came out of hiding and stalked right up to me. â€Å"What the hell is wrong with you? We come out all this way and you sing at them. Sing. Like you're at a hootenanny. We are not doing this again. Ever.† â€Å"Thank you for following my lead,† I said. â€Å"And for trusting me. I love you.† â€Å"I love you too,† Gretchen said. â€Å"It still doesn't mean this is ever going to happen again.† â€Å"Fair enough,† I said. â€Å"It was almost worth it to see you beat the crap out of Magdy, though,† Gretchen said. â€Å"God, I feel horrible about that,† I said. â€Å"Really?† Gretchen said. â€Å"It wasn't just a little bit of fun?† â€Å"Oh, all right,† I said. â€Å"Maybe a little.† â€Å"I'm right here,† Magdy said, from the ground. â€Å"And you need to thank Zoe you are,† Gretchen said, and bent down to kiss him. â€Å"You stupid, exasperating person. I am so happy you are still alive. And if you ever do anything like this again, I will kill you myself. And you know I can.† â€Å"I know,† he said, and pointed to me. â€Å"And if you can't, she will. I get it.† â€Å"Good,† Gretchen said. She stood up and then held out her hand to Magdy. â€Å"Now get up. We've got a long way to go to get home, and I think we just blew all our dumb luck for the year.† â€Å"What are you going to tell your parents?† Enzo asked me, as we walked home. â€Å"Tonight? Not a thing,† I said. â€Å"Both of them have enough to worry about tonight. They don't need me coming in and saying that while they were out I faced down four werewolves who were about to kill two more colonists, and defeated them using only the power of song. I think I might wait a day or two to drop that one. That's a hint, by the way.† â€Å"Hint taken,† Enzo said. â€Å"Although you are going to tell them something.† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"We have to. If these werewolves are following the fantie herds then we're going to have problems like this every year, and every time they come back. I think we need to let people know they're not actually murdering savages, but we're all still better off if we just leave them alone.† â€Å"How did you know?† Enzo asked me, a minute later. â€Å"Know what?† I said. â€Å"That those werewolf thingies weren't just murdering savages,† Enzo said. â€Å"You held Magdy and let that werewolf take a shot at him. You thought he wouldn't stab Magdy to death. I heard you, you know. After it did it, you said ‘I knew it.' So how did you know?† â€Å"I didn't,† I said. â€Å"But I hoped. He had just spent God knows how long keeping his friends from killing the two of you. I don't think he was just doing it because he was a nice guy.† â€Å"Nice werewolf,† Enzo said. â€Å"Nice whatever he is,† I said. â€Å"Thing is, the werewolves have killed some of us. I know John and Jane killed some of them trying to get our people back. Both of us – the colonists and the werewolves – showed we were perfectly able to kill each other. I think we needed to show that we were capable of not killing each other, too. We let them know that when we sang at them instead of shooting them. I think my werewolf got that. So when I offered him a chance to get back at Magdy, I guessed he wouldn't really hurt him. Because I think he wanted us to know he was smart enough to know what would happen if he did.† â€Å"You still took a big risk,† Enzo said. â€Å"Yeah, I did,† I said. â€Å"But the only other alternative was to kill him and his friends, or have them kill all of us. Or all of us kill each other. I guess I hoped I could do something better. Besides, I didn't think it was too big a risk. What he was doing when he was keeping the others away from you two reminded me of someone I knew.† â€Å"Who?† Enzo asked. â€Å"You,† I said. â€Å"Yes, well,† Enzo said. â€Å"I think tonight marks the official last time I tag along with Magdy to keep him out of trouble. After this he's on his own.† â€Å"I have nothing bad to say about this idea,† I said. â€Å"I didn't think you would,† Enzo said. â€Å"I know Magdy gets on your last nerve sometimes.† â€Å"He does,† I said. â€Å"He really, really does. But what can I do? He's my friend.† â€Å"He belongs to you,† Enzo said. â€Å"And so do I.† I looked over at him. â€Å"You heard that part, too,† I said. â€Å"Trust me, Zoe,† Enzo said. â€Å"Once you showed up, I never stopped listening to you. I'll be able to recite everything you said for the rest of my life. Which I now have, thanks to you.† â€Å"And Gretchen and Hickory and Dickory,† I said. â€Å"And I will thank them all, too,† Enzo said. â€Å"But right now I want to focus on you. Thank you, Zoe Boutin-Perry. Thank you for saving my life.† â€Å"You're welcome,† I said. â€Å"And stop it. You're making me blush.† â€Å"I don't believe it,† Enzo said. â€Å"And now it's too dark to see.† â€Å"Feel my cheeks,† I said. He did. â€Å"You don't feel especially blushy,† he said. â€Å"You're not doing it right,† I said. â€Å"I'm out of practice,† he said. â€Å"Well, fix that,† I said. â€Å"All right,† Enzo said, and kissed me. â€Å"That was supposed to make you blush, not cry,† he said, after we stopped. â€Å"Sorry,† I said, and tried to get myself back together. â€Å"I've just really missed it. That. Us.† â€Å"It's my fault,† Enzo started. I put a hand up to his lips. â€Å"I don't care about any of that,† I said. â€Å"I really don't, Enzo. None of that matters to me. I just don't want to miss you anymore.† â€Å"Zoe,† Enzo said. He took my hands. â€Å"You saved me. You have me. You own me. I belong to you. You said it yourself.† â€Å"I did,† I admitted. â€Å"So that's settled,† Enzo said. â€Å"Okay,† I said, and smiled. We kissed some more, in the night, outside Enzo's front gate.

20 Proficient Essay Topics The Best Facts from the History of Internet Development

20 Proficient Essay Topics The Best Facts from the History of Internet Development In our previous guide, 11 facts on Internet history for a proficient essay, you were given some very interesting research material and now you must be aching to go with a particular topic. You’re in luck because this part of the guide is going to do just that. We have a few highly essay-worthy topics you might find helpful. We assure you after reading these 20 topic suggestions, your mind will be swirling with creative ideas. Here are 20 topics on Internet history for a proficient essay: The Inspiration Behind the Internet. The Global Expansion of the Internet Moral and Ethical Dilemmas with The Expansion of the Internet technology Globally Traffic Handling on the Internet. Spread of the Internet Through Satellites in Outer Space From Telephone to the Internet – Point to Point Communications to Wide Area Networks The Modern Historical Uses of the Internet in Cases Of Wars, Turmoil and Natural Disasters. How File Sharing Conquered a Major Chunk of the Internet Business Uses of the Internet – from Inception Till to Date. The Unreliability of the Internet – No Alternative to the Internet The Evolution of the Internet Development of WWW at CERN Birth of TCP – Transmission Control Protocol Brief History of Internet Browsers The Distribution of the Internet through ISPs The Future of the Internet – What to Expect Now The History of E-marketing How the Internet Revolutionized the Field of Research The Science Behind Domain Names Why Is the Internet Termed as the Most Important Scientific Discovery of the 20th Century? These topic suggestions are sure to spark your intellectual juices so you can write a compelling essay on the Internet’s history. You have half your work cut out; the next part of this guide is a detailed piece on how to write a history essay on the Internet. That’s not all; below is a sample essay on one of the topics mentioned above. This is to give you a fair idea on how to go about writing the essay. Without further ado, here’s the sample essay: Sample Proficient Essay: Development of WWW at CERN It was the year 1980 when Tim Berners-Lee built ENQUIRE. At the time, Mr. Lee was an independent contractor who worked at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). ENQUIRE was originally designed to be a database for people and models of software. Other purposes included displaying hypertext which means that every page of ENQUIRE was connected to another existing page. Although his contract in the year 1980 was to expire in December, Mr. Lee would return to CERN four years later in 1984 and this time, in a more permanent capacity. He took over the emerging demand and challenges of information management at a time when physicists from all over the globe were desperately looking for better means to share data. It was a dire need at the time to have a common machine which could share data and presentation software. After the return of Mr. Lee at CERN, TCP/IP protocols were installed on a few specific machines which were running non-Unix platforms. Within a few years the institution became one of the most prominent Internet hubs in Europe. CERN’s infrastructure was then the perfect nest for the Internet’s egg to be laid in and all this was possible due to Berners-Lee. And we saw the creation of The Web. In March 1989 Berners-Lee, presented a project proposal which would make access to large hypertext databases possible through typed links. This proposal, unfortunately, was far ahead of its time and attracted very little attention, though Berners-Lee’s boss, Mike Sendall, encouraged him to start building the platform. Hence, Berners-Lee began working on the NeXT workstation to make the proposal possible. It came to be known by several names such as The Information Mine, Mine of Information and Information Mesh. Eventually, Mr. Lee settled on the name we know today as the World Wide Web. It was a lonely road after that, so to speak, and it wasn’t until Christmas of 1990 that Mr. Lee had all the tools necessary to launch a functional Web; the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 0.9, the first Web browser, the first web server, the first HTTP server software and last but not the least, the first ever web page were all made official, which explained the project itself. The initial browser was able enough to handle FTP files and access Usenet newsgroups. The limitation was that it could only run on NeXT. It was Nicola Pellow who translated the system to a simple text browser known as Line Mode Browser which almost any computer could run. To ensure that CERN would still be used, Bernd Pollermann uploaded CERN’s contact information on the web. This was a good development because earlier web users had to log onto the mainframe if they wanted to get that contact information. References: Kenneth P. Birman (2005). Reliable Distributed Systems: Technologies, Web Services, and Applications. Springer-Verlag New York Incorporated. Hillebrand, Friedhelm (2002). Hillebrand, Friedhelm, ed. GSM and UMTS, The Creation of Global Mobile Communications. John Wiley Sons Abbate, Janet (1999). Inventing the Internet. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press Ryan, Johnny (2010). A history of the Internet and the digital future. London, England: Reaktion Books. Turings Legacy: A History of Computing at the National Physical Laboratory 1945–1995, David M. Yates, National Museum of Science and Industry, 1997 Tanenbaum, Andrew S. (1996). Computer Networks. Prentice Hall. Mueller, Milton L. (2010). Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance. MIT Press.