Its Time for Americans to Understand that Freedom Isnt Free Essay

It's Time for Americans to Understand that Freedom Isn't Free I feel inspired and patriotic every time I see a car’s back bumper sticker featuring an American flag stating, â€Å"Freedom Isn’t Free!† The moral clarity of those words rings as true as the Liberty Bell. Those Americans that do not fathom the significance of the motto Freedom Isn’t Free suffer from the very problematic â€Å"victim/slave mentality,† which ultimately will become a future reality should more citizens not heed the simple message the sage language conveys. Yes it indeed bears repeating, â€Å"Freedom Is Not Free!† Its acquisition from King George’s England involved struggle, its maintenance throughout the first two and a quarter centuries of our Great Republic required sacrifice and its continuation demands perseverance. Wise people fully realize that struggle, sacrifice and perseverance are the vital characteristics of freedom, democracy and independence. In the late 1930s complaisant European nations were lulled into the jaws of the very dangerous â€Å"victim/slave mentality.† Weak democracies tried placating and accommodating the tyrannical proponents of the Communist, Socialist and Fascist ideologies and Europe soon found itself in jeopardy with maniacs like Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini threatening the existence of taken-for-granted freedom and human rights. Thanks to the intervention of the United States Hitler and Mussolini were defeated (despite incredible adversity) and Europe was salvaged from the scourge of Fascism. But Nazi Fascism did not go away meekly. Its defeat required intensive struggle, sacrifice and perseverance with over 50 million military and civilian deaths occurring during the widespread devastation. Yes, during War World II the social a... ...civilians with ordinary families. Their wicked goal is to see Manhattan, Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia or Los Angeles totally obliterated. We cannot allow this to happen even though our solution might endanger the rights of â€Å"suspected war criminals† that think your neighborhood is their battlefield. If the anti-war â€Å"victim/slave mentality† should ever become the majority opinion in America, then the lyrics of the rock group Kansas would become prophetic truth, â€Å"All we are is dust in wind!† Let’s be wary and vigilant and not permit horrific catastrophe to happen! Wake up all you American Apologists while you still have precious breath in your lungs to do your pathetic apologizing! It’s now time for all Americans to openly acknowledge that Freedom Isn’t Free and that these dire times require the tried and true virtues of struggle, sacrifice and perseverance.

Social Responsibility

Sole proprietorship This business is an individual owned organization. This business is the most attractive because of its simplicity and control over the business. * Liability-. This business has unlimited liability. The owner is responsible for everything. If the business begins to fail personal assets and business assets can be sought after to pay off debts. There is no distinction between the two assets. * Income taxes- Business owners in a sole proprietorship file a 1040 as well as a schedule C (â€Å"profit or loss from a business or profession†). The Proprietor’s personal income is supplemented by all profits of his business. This form of taxation is known as pass-through taxation, meaning there is no separate federal income tax reporting for the proprietorship. * Longevity/continuity: In the event the sole proprietor dies and planned steps were not properly carried out the business will cease. Sadly the family’s source of income is no longer available. Life insurance is an important need to the proprietor, it may be the family’s only source of income. Secondly a will is a must have with precise details on to whom and how the business should be carries out. It’s also important to pre-plan with his chosen representative, teaching them how the business is managed. Control: The sole Proprietor may choose to directly run his business or hire others to manage for him. Being in total control of the business the proprietor is solely responsible for the major functions of his business. Leaving him with the responsibility of guiding his business down the path of success. * Profit retention: Al l profits belong to the owner. There is sole gain, no partners or stockholders to share proceeds with. * Location: One of the best things about a sole proprietorship is there are no limitations on the business. If the owner wishes he can expand, down size, move locations, or sell his business at will. Convenience/Burden: A sole proprietorship has the convenience of absolute freedom of action. A downfall to the Proprietor is the responsibility of running a business that â€Å"pays the bills†. In the event he were to die become ill or injured the business could no longer run. General Partnership This form of business consists of two or more partners. The partners are the founders of the organization. * Liability: Being co- owners, the partners have equal rights to the possession of the partnership assets. They can’t sell, assign, or transfer their individual shares of the ownership. Each partner is unlimited liable for the firms obligations. Partners are responsible for the debts. Any debt not covered could be made up from personal assets. Partners are responsible for one another. * Income taxes: There is no federal income tax imposed on the partnership. Individuals must file an informational tax return. Each partner must include his share of the profits. Partners can take advantage of the partnerships losses to offset their personal income. * Longevity/Continuity: If a partner were to die, sell, or retire his or her part of the partnership would be dissolved. Exception would be the â€Å"buy sell† agreement. Meaning the surviving partner must buy the deceased partners’ interest from the heirs. Personal ownership dies but the deceased interest possess to the decedent’s personal representative. * Control: Each partner has equal authority. In partnerships with more than two members the majority will rule. Each partner becomes an agent of the other. A partner may not assign or sell partnership property, admit another to the firm without the consent of all associates, or sell their interest to another without consent of the partners. Profit: All profits and losses are distributed evenly throughout the partnership. * Location: The rules and regulations vary from state to state . General partnership should use Schedule R to apportion income between the states. * Convenience/Burden: The main advantage of this form of buisness is low volume of paperwork needed for registration and its cheapness. Limited Partnership This busine ss has two or more partners much like the general partners. There is a few key differences though. * Liability: There is a partner that carries full liability and the others are limited liability. Income Tax: Income taxes are paid after the partners have received their share. There is four characteristics that would make a limited partnership have to pay corporate taxation. They only need two of the four to qualify. * Longevity/Continuity: In the case of a death the partnership would most likely end. * Control: The general partner would control the daily business for the partnership and the limited partners just have control over the investments. * Profit Retention: All profits are distributed evenly through the partnership. * Location: Partners should pay taxes according to the amount made in each state. Convenience/Burden: The ability to have funds from the limited partners and not having control. On a negative side there would be a risk if a partner dies or leaves the partnership . C-Corporation This corporation is also known as the regular organization. They have an unlimited amount of stockholders, allowing both residents and non-residents in. * Liability: Owners are limited to the amount of his or her investment. All personal assets are safe. * Income taxation: The C- Corporation is taxed as a corporation. Net income is paid to shareholders for dividends. They also pay personal income tax, thus meaning they are double taxed. Longevity/Continuity: The life period is unlimited, as long as they have the money to back up the debts they will not be affected by the death of a stockholder. * Control: Shareholders do not directly manage the business they elect the board of members that will manage the business. * Profit Retention: Profit can be used in two ways. One it can be invested in the business or can be paid out in dividends to shareholders. * Location: Corporate taxes are equal in all states. * Convenience/Burden: The ability to raise money for funds is a n advantage. It also benefits from the ability to continue if a shareholder leaves the business. And obviously the double taxation is a big negative. S-Corporation This corporation has all the advantages of the previous businesses but also has its own disadvantages. * Liability: Shareholders liability is limited to the amount of investment. * Taxation: Company doesn’t get taxed itself, only shareholders pay taxes. * Longevity/Continuity: Company is unlimited same as an S-Corporation. The shareholders will not affect the organization. * Control: The company is ran by the board of directors. Stockholders have corporate meetings. * Profit Retention: Same as the C-Corporations, pass through tax. Location: Must be domestic in any state. * Convenience/Burden: Business that are starting up usually pick this type of business because of the losses endured. There is a lot of paper work and the meetings are very inconvenient. Liability Limited Company Each member owns his or hers amount of shares according to their contributions. * Liability: An LLC functions much like a corporation . It’s members are unlimited liable. * Taxation: An LLC has a pass through taxation and only the shareholders are taxed individually. * Continuity/Longevity: There is a 50% rule in a LLC . If a member owning more than 50% of the business leaves or dies the LLC will end. But if a member owning less than 50% of the business the business will continue. * Control: There is two types , member –managed and managed – managed . * Profit Retention: Profits are distributed among members according to their stake. * Location: Most states allow an LLC . Different paperwork is required in different states. * Convenience: A LLC may federally be classified as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, or corporation for tax purposes. Classification can be selected or a default may apply.

Agricultural Mechanizasion as a Solution to Food Insecurity in Africa Essay

Achieving food security in its totality continues to be a challenge for ever increasing population of Africa. A approaches are employed in developing countries but with less success due to a number of factors . this paper examines the causes of food insecurity in African. Scanning through researchers works ,it was noted that over seventy percent of the food insecure population in africa live in the rural areas. The paper therefore recommends that, if the ever increasing population of the african countries is to be fed, then mechanization of all agricultural operations should be embrace. In conclusion, efforts to words the development of the rural communities in Africa should be increased. Key words: agriculture, mechanization, food security, Africa, rural development. Introduction : Agriculture is the practices of cultivating the soil and raising livestock to produce plant and animals useful to humans and sometimes animals {S. N, Asogwu and O. A Asogwu,2007}, Agriculture is an important occupation in Nigeria with over 7o% of her population depending on it directly for livelihood. It provides the bulk of employment, income and food for the rapidly growing population as well as supplying raw materials for agro-based industries. World current agricultural production as an average growth rate of 1. 8% as compared to the 3% in the 1960s and therefore at a lesser pace than the demographic growth. The world bank has shown that in sub-saharan Africa (to which Nigeria belongs)the annual food increase needs to reach 4%, i. e. more than double the current figure in order to achieve food security. She suggested that this can be reached through a significant progress in plant and animal breeding that plays a key role in the development of the agricultural sector as well as a significant impact using appropriate farm mechanization {Pawlat et al , 2002}. Due to number of factors, which include rising population, increasing pressure on land resources, natural and man-made disasters such as drought, desertification, soil erosion and degradation (Raoult-Wack and Bricas, 001), the problem of sustainable agricultural production in Nigeria has assumed greater importance than ever before. Agricultural development involves three approaches namely bio-chemical, socio-economic, and engineering known as the trio of technologies (Mrema and Odigboh, 1993). The bio-chemical approach includes the development of improved animal and plant species, animal and plant nutrients (fertilizer and feed) and plant and animal protection (veterinary drugs, pesticides and herbicides). The socio-economic approach includes financial packages and management programmes (economic, business management, accounting, sociology, extension services, agricultural machines and equipment (be they human, animal or mechanically powered) for production and post harvest systems handling and storage systems and farm structures, erosion control measures, water resources development as well as irrigation and drainage structures, meteorological systems, and the technologies for optimally utilizing the above and their proper and economic use and management. Ani and Onwuala, 2002; Ampratwum et al, 2004; Onwuala and Pawa, 2004). Agricultural mechanization implies the use of various power sources and improved farm tools and equipment, with a view to reduce drudgery of the human beings and draught animals, enhance the cropping intensity, precision and timeliness of efficiency of utilization of various crop inputs and reduce the losses at different stages of crop production. The end objective of farm mechanization is to enhance the overall productivity and production with the lowest cost of production. The contribution of agricultural mechanization has been well recognized in enhancing the production together with irrigation, biological and chemical inputs of high yielding seed varieties, fertilizers, pesticides and mechanical energy. Different researchers have concluded that farm mechanization enhances the production and productivity of different crops due to timeliness of operation, better quality of operations and precision in the application of the inputs. According to NCAER (1980) survey covering 815 farming households in 85 villages, the increase was 72 percent in the case of sorghum, and 7 percent in the case of cotton as compared to traditional bullock farms. ITES, Madras (1975) found that the productivity increase on tractor owning and hiring farm ranged between 4. 1 and 54. 8 percent. The percent increase was comparatively low on custom hiring farms as compared to tractor-owning farms due to higher level of inputs and better control on timeliness of operations. These productivity increases, thus, were attributed to higher doses of fertilizer, irrigation and mechanization. Degree of mechanization is the ration of machine or technological work input to total work input (machine plus manual) into agricultural production. The importance of food security to any nation cannot be over emphasized. The issue of food security became prominent in the 1970s and had been given considerable attention since then. The World Food Programme Report in 1979 conceptualized food security, equating it with an â€Å"assurance of supplies and a balanced supply-demand situation of staple foods in the international market†. The report also emphasized that increasing food production in the developing countries is a panacea to food security. The concept of food security proposes that food is available, accessible and affordable, when and where needed in sufficient quantity and that this state of affair will continue and be sustained (Agboola, P. O. , 2002). It is a situation in which sufficient food us available at all times in the right quantity and quality, at affordable process. To accomplish this, we must have a production system that produces enough food in the short run, sustainable in the long run and does not place undue risks on agricultural producers and must respond rapidly to disruptions in the food supply due to disease epidemics, natural disasters, civil disturbances, environmental imbalances and other cause (Agboola P. O. 2002). With these objectives in mind, various efforts at the international, national and local levels had been put in place at one point in time or another to boost agricultural production to make food available to the teaming population and the ever-increasing world population. The world population. The world population explosion witnessed as at the end of 1999, further increased the fear of those concerned about world food security. During this period, the global population exceeded 6 billion. Leisinger, (2002), stated that never before in human history had the population of the earth been as great as it is today, and never before had it grown so rapidly within one century. He stated further that the doubling of world population over the past 40years had put enormous pressure on the natural systems that support all life on Earth. This pressure on natural resources also increased the burden of assuring food security for the entire world’s people international Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI, 2001) stated in one of her reports, that about 73 millions people would be added to world’s population every year between 1995 and 2010 increasing it by 32 percent to reach 7. 5 billion. However, much of this population growth is expected to occur in the developing world. If this prediction is to go by, then the food security situation of the developing world needs constant assessment via empirical research. Joachim et depal (2004), wrote that these was a strong direct relationship between agricultural productivity, hunger and poverty. He stated further that three quarter of the world’s poor people lived in rural areas and made their living from agriculture. He therefore, concluded that the higher the proportion of the rural population that obtained its benefits from subsistence farming (without the benefit of pro poor technologies and access to markets) the higher the incidence of food insecurity. Challenges to Food Security in Africa The root cause of food insecurity in developing countries is the inability of people to gain access to food due to poverty. While the rest of the world has made significant progress towards poverty alleviation, Africa, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa, continues to lag behind. Projections show that there will be an increase in this tendency unless preventive measures are taken. Many factors have contributed to this tendency including the high prevalence of HIV/AID; civil war, strive and poor governance; frequent drought and famine; and agricultural dependency on the climate and environment. Food security on the continent has worsened since 1970 and the proportion of the malnourished population has remained within the 33 and 35 percent range in Sub-Saharan Africa. The prevalence of malnutrition within the continent varies by region. It is lowest in Northern Africa (4 percent) and highest in Central Africa (40 percent) Over seventy percent of the food insecure population in Africa lives in the rural areas. Figure 1 shows the distribution of food insecurity in Africa. Ironically, smallholder farmers, the producers of over 90 percent of the continent’s food supply, make up the majority (50 percent) of this population. The rest of the food insecure population consists of the landless poor in rural areas (30 percent) and the urban poor. Throughout the developing world, agriculture accounts for around 9 percent of the GDP and more than half of total employment. In countries where more than 34 percent of the population is undernourished, agriculture represents 30 percent of GDP and nearly 70 percent of population relies on agriculture for their livelihood. This fact has in the past been used in support of the argument as to why developing countries should move away from agriculture and invest in technology. Because over 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas, where also the largest proportion of the food insecure live, it is evident that ;we cannot significantly and sustainably reduce food insecurity without transforming the living conditions in these areas. The key lies in increasing the agricultural profitability of smallholder farmers and creating rural off-farm employment opportunities. The objective of this paper is to h8ighlight the challenges to food security in Africa while providing alternative solutions to the problem that would not only allow for poverty alleviation but also wealth creation. While the focus of this paper is in alleviating food insecurity in the rural areas, effort has been made to address the plight of the urban poor.

Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging

Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging By Michael Ali recently gave us five reasons why blogging improves your writing, and I dont disagree with any of them. What ruined my writing ability (temporarily, I hope) was not the chance to write regularly or to get instant feedback. So what ruined it? Did I get worse the more I practiced? Can that even happen? Sports coaches and music teachers will tell you that it can if you practice doing it wrong instead of doing it right. If you repeatedly practice bad habits, they will become ingrained habits. Email and instant messaging may have taught people how to type better, but I dont think its teaching them to write better. What ruined my writing ability was placing money and productivity higher than integrity and honor. I told myself, This assignment pays half of what I need to earn per hour; therefore, I will only spend half an hour on it. In retrospect, I realized that I was gaining income, but losing self-respect. I was quickly lowering my standards to meet my financial goals, but found that I couldnt raise them back again so easily. In essence, I was training myself to write sloppily. Disclaimer: Daily Writing Tips is a good example of a blog that attracts lovers of writing and pays them well. Ive done some of my best work here. Perhaps Ive done even better writing on my personal blog for which I receive no money at all. There is an economic aspect to writing professionally, of course, but I found that it also involves economics that are not monetary. The British economist E.F. Schumacher called this meta-economics. A job working with hazardous chemicals may earn you a higher salary, but may cost you in quality of life. Writing only for the money, even when my heart wasnt in it, paid most of the bills. But meeting a word count without meeting my personal standards, in effect, lowered my personal standards. I almost forgot what they were. I found out what had happened to me when I was offered a secure job in the marketing department at a local university. I took it and put my freelance writing career on hold. My freelance writing experience was one reason why I was hired. Yet when I began writing documentation for my new boss, he was unenthusiastic about using it. The problem wasnt my style or grammar or punctuation. He only told me, Ive found that when you really understand something, you can explain it clearly. Professional blogging, for low pay and not for love, hadnt taught me to explain things clearly. We expect bloggers to entertain us more than to inform us. When we expect them to inform us, we dont expect complete information. Theres nothing wrong with that. Ive found, however, that you advance by exceeding peoples expectations, not simply meeting them. And you wont advance as a writer when you dont meet your own expectations, especially when you tell yourself that you dont need to. To be fair, I was not a typical blogger. I was a professional blogger, trying to support my family and pay a mortgage in the US economy. When I complained mildly to one of my editors about my low pay scale, he wisely pointed out that my rate was typical for the industry. Even more wisely, he told me that most of my fellow writers were blogging because they loved their subject, not because they were depending on an extra few dollars to pay the mortgage. The danger Im warning against is not confined to the world of professional blogging. Everyone who writes for the money but doesnt get much of it is tempted to cut corners. Writing keyword-rich SEO copy is perhaps even more dangerous for aspiring writers. At least blogs have to appeal to human beings. That isnt a requirement for SEO copy. Every time you tell yourself, I can dash off this post; I dont need to devote any time or thought to it, you make it easier to do it the next time and the next time. Its quite easy to lose your critical ear and lower your standards if you deliberately do it over and over. Youre never writing only for others. Youre always writing for yourself too. Youre never dealing only with money. Youre also dealing with your ability and integrity. Your writing skills are like the assets of a bank account. You can add to your assets by doing your best work, all the time, and always raising the bar. You can lose assets as a writer when you dont. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Grammar Mistakes You Should Avoid15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsSit vs. Set

The level of contamination on the things we use on daily basis Essay

The level of contamination on the things we use on daily basis - Essay Example At the age of 12 Conrad had lost both his parents to tuberculosis. Conrad father was a translator while he was still alive and thus exposing Conrad to a wide range of literature from many nations, which were in English, French, Spanish, and American. Despite a tragic beginning, Conrad could have a good introduction to rich literary atmosphere. After his parents demise he was to stay under the care of his maternal uncle, Tadeusz Bobrowski. His uncle introduced him to a new chapter in life, which was contrary to what he learned from his father. He was fed with notions of conservatism and strict social discipline. The different ways of life that he had when he was young made Him realize that he was a homo duplex. He was torn between chivalric and egalitarian, revolutionary and conservative, and pragmatic and romantic tradition (Watt, 14). At the age of 14 onwards, Conrad disliked the Christian religion, ceremonies, festivals, and its doctrines. This was the best decision that he made, b ut it was contrary to his family beliefs. At the age of 17, Conrad left Poland to become a sea man and at some point attempted to commit suicide because of problems he experienced at the sea. His career to literature came to be when he was 40 with his first novel The Nigger of the Narcissus, which characterized Conrad’s in-between position as a writer. This was the introduction to prime of Conrad career as a writer. The most famous novel by Joseph Conrad is Heart of Darkness, which he primarily based it on his experience in the Congo. This book is full of paradoxes and has deeply symbolic text (Watt, 37). His main goal was to make a symbolic use of color. Conrad makes constant references of light and dark, black and white. The different characteristics that he gives make the reader to confuse the two states normally associated with the terms. Many instances of moral and physical darkness are topics that Conrad has touched on for example He signifies the corruption of one impo rtant character in the book. In addition, the title of the novel Heart of Darkness brings about a clear picture of the dark and gloomy way of life in the heart of Africa. There is a good connection between the characters used in this book and the events together with the experience that he had in 1890. This novel is a commentary touching upon the tough reality of imperialist control. Symbols are character, objects, figures or color used to show an abstract idea or concept. One symbol used is fog. This symbolizes darkness, and it not only distorts, but it also obscures. Conrad explains that one should make decisions based on the information given and he or she should never try to judge the accuracy of the information (Shmoop, 46). Darkness is also used as a symbol. It is very hard to tell what darkness stands for in this context. However, everything in this book has a dark coating. In addition, the inability to see is also viewed as darkness. Failure to sympathize happens when one fa ils to see another human being and thus having a hard time trying to understand that person Conrad uses Marlow to show that women are the keepers of naive illusions. This role is crucial although it can be seen as condemnatory. Kurtz and his intended mistress function as blank slates, and this brings about the value of wealth of their respective societies. Other symbols include the river, and the white sepulcher. This book is about a story of a European seaman, who sets on a journey to explore the Congo River. His primary role is helping Kurtz, a very prominent ivory trader who was employed by the Belgians. Also a successful writer, Kurtz has a good reputation and Marlow likes him even before their meeting. His writings were concerned with the civilization of the African

DID STEREOTYPING OF YOUNG MALE MUSLIMS INCREASE AFTER THE LONDON Research Paper

DID STEREOTYPING OF YOUNG MALE MUSLIMS INCREASE AFTER THE LONDON TRANSIT BOMBING ON 2005 - Research Paper Example Media played the major role to increase stereotyping in UK. The median focused on the radicalization of Islamic youths residing in UK by linking them to inadequate integration processes. The police departments were given direct orders to overcome the impacts from the incidents and punish the anti-social activists swiftly. Most of the Muslim male youths were harassed in UK after the incidents and the civil society of UK turned against the entire Muslim community. The number of reported incidents against the Muslim community and their worship places increased immediately after the bombing incidents of London. This research paper focuses on the impact of London bombings on racial profiling. On the 7th of July, a series of suicide bomb attacks were conducted in Central London. The attacks were majorly conducted to create massacre among the civilians using the public transport system. According to reports, it has been observed that four British Islamist men had detonated four bombs. Among the four bombs, three of them were detonated in the underground trains across the city. The fourth bomb was detonated on a double-decker bus. Almost one hour after the underground train attacks the fourth bomb was detonated on the number 30 bus (Goldstein 21). The attack occurred in Tavistock square, resulting in multiple injuries and death of innocent civilians. The incident occurred on a Tuesday, leaving 52 civilians dead and more than 700 injured. This incident has been regarded as the worst attacks, since 1988, i.e. the Lockerbie bombing. Before the London bombing incident, several other attacks took place in UK resulting in loss of many lives and properties. One of the most disastrous attacks occurred on 30 October, 1883. Two bombs exploded in the London underground railways in Paddington and Westminster Bridge station. In the year 1884, three