Arab-Israeli Conflict Essays - Zionism, Land Of Israel, Free Essays

Arab-Israeli Conflict Essays - Zionism, Land Of Israel, Free Essays Arab-Israeli Conflict The Arab-Israeli conflict came about from the notion of Political Zionism. Zionism is the belief that Jews constitute a nation (or a people) and that they deserve the right to return to what they consider to be their ancestral home, land of Israel (or Palestine). Political Zionism, the belief that Jews should establish a state for themselves in Palestine, was a revolutionary idea for the 19th Century. During World War I, Jews supported countries that constituted the Central Powers because they detested the tyranny of czarist Russia. Both the Allies and Central Powers needed Jewish support, but Germany could not espouse Zionism due to its ties with the Ottoman Empire, which still controlled Palestine. British Prime Minister Lloyd George & Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour, favored Zionism and supported their cause in a letter that became known as the Balfour Declaration, ensuring that the British government would control Palestine after the war with a commitment to build the Jewish national home there, promising only to work for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine and not harm the civil and religious rights of Palestine?s "existing non-Jewish communities". After the Great War, Britain?s Forces jointly occupied the area known as Palestine with Faysal?s (Iraq) Arab army. The British set up a provisional military government in Jerusalem that soon became a struggle between Jewish settlers and the Arab inhabitants. In April 1920, the Palestinian Arabs revolted, killing Jews and damaging property, opening the Arab nationalist revolution in Palestine. The League of Nations awarded the Palestine mandate in 1922, charging Britain with carrying out the Balfour Declaration, encouraging Jewish migration to Palestine and help create the Jewish "national home". But the Arabs suspected the British mandate would hold them in colonial bondage until the Jews achieved a majority in Palestine. Winston Churchill issued a white paper denying that the British government meant to give preferential treatment to Jews with a proviso for restricting Jewish immigration to conform with Palestine?s "absorptive capacity". Another action that seemed to violate the mandate was the creation of the Emirate of Transjordan, removing two-thirds of Palestine that lay east of the Jordan River from the area in which Jews could develop their national home, claiming the partition was only temporary. During the first civilian governor of Palestine, it looked as if Jewish-Arab differences would be resolved when more Jews emigrated out of Palestine than immigrated and with the presence of a complementary relationship among the two peoples, but the hopes dissipated during the 1929 "Wailing Wall Incident". The Wailing Wall (a.k.a. the Western Wall) is a remnant of the second Jewish Temple, symbolizing the hope that one day the Temple will be rebuilt and the ancient Jewish rituals revived; but the Wall also forms a part of the enclosure surrounding the Temple Mount, which the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque stand atop; Muslims feared that Jewish actions before the Western Wall could lead to their pressing a claim to the historic site. In 1928, Jewish worshipers brought some benches to sit on. The police took them away several times, but the Jews kept putting them back. To Muslims, this activity was an attempt by the Jews to strengthen their claims to the Wall and retaliated by running a highway past it to distract the worshipers. Several fights broke out that escalated into a small civil war. Arabs perpetrated massacres in other places in Palestine. The British constabulary was inadequate and Britain sent a commission of inquiry; later issuing a report that justified the Arab position. The colonial secretary, Lord Passfield, placed blame on the Jewish Agency and the Zionists, and Britain tightened restrictions on Jewish immigration. Due to domestic embarrassment, the British government issued a letter explaining away the Passfield condemnation, hardly appeasing the Zionists, but angering the Arabs. As Arab animosity increased, the Arab Higher Committee in Palestine called for a general strike, paralyzing the country for several months. The British sent another commission of inquiry, headed by Lord Peel, which recommended partition, giving a small area of northern and central Palestine to the Jews, while leaving the most to Arabs. But the Palestine Arabs opposed the partition, fearing its? acceptance would be a step toward their loss of Palestine. Britain scaled

Biography of Bessie Blount, American Inventor

Biography of Bessie Blount, American Inventor Bessie Blount (November 24, 1914–December 30, 2009) was an American physical therapist, forensic scientist, and inventor. While working with injured soldiers after World War II, she developed a device that allowed amputees to feed themselves; it delivered one mouthful of food at a time to patients whenever they bit down on a tube. Griffin later invented a receptacle that was a simpler and smaller version of the same, designed to be worn around a patients neck. Fast Facts: Bessie Blount Known For: While working as a physical therapist, Blount invented assistive devices for amputees; she later made contributions to the field of forensic science.Also Known As: Bessie Blount GriffinBorn: November 24, 1914 in Hickory, VirginiaDied: December 30, 2009 in Newfield, New JerseyEducation: Panzer College  of Physical Education and Hygiene (now Montclair State University)Awards and Honors: Virginia Women in History Honoree Early Life Bessie Blount was born in Hickory, Virginia, on November 24, 1914. She received her primary education at Diggs Chapel Elementary School, an institution that served African-Americans. However, a lack of public resources forced her to end her education before she had completed middle school. Blounts family then moved from Virginia to New Jersey. There, Blount taught herself the material required to earn her GED. In Newark, she studied to be a nurse at Community Kennedy Memorial Hospital. She went on to study at the Panzer College of Physical Education (now Montclair State University) and became a certified physical therapist. Physical Therapy After finishing her training, Blount began working as a physical therapist at the Bronx Hospital in New York. Many of her patients were soldiers who had been wounded during World War II. Their injuries, in some cases, prevented them from performing basic tasks, and Blounts job was to help them learn new ways to do these things using their feet or teeth. Such work was not only physical rehabilitation; its goal was also to help veterans regain their independence and sense of control. Inventions Blounts patients faced numerous challenges, and one of the biggest was finding and developing new ways to eat on their own. For many amputees, this was especially difficult. To help them, Blount invented a device that delivered one bite of food at a time through a tube. Each bite was released when the patient bit down on the tube. This invention allowed amputees and other injured patients to eat without assistance from a nurse. Despite its usefulness, Blount was unable to successfully market her invention, and she found no support from the United States Veterans Administration. She later donated the patent rights to her self-feeding device to the French government. The French put the device to good use, making life much easier for many war veterans. Later, when asked why she gave away the device for free, Blount said she wasnt interested in money; she simply wanted to prove that black women were capable of more than [nursing] babies and [cleaning] toilets. Blount continued to search for new ways to improve the lives of her patients. Her next invention was a portable receptacle support, which hung around the neck and allowed patients to hold objects near their face. The device was designed to hold a cup or a bowl, from which patients could sip using a straw. In 1951, Blount officially received a patent for her self-feeding device; it was filed under her married name, Bessie Blount Griffin. In 1953, she became the first woman and the first African-American to appear on the television show The Big Idea, where she exhibited some of her inventions. While working as a physical therapist for Theodore Miller Edison, the son of inventor Thomas Edison, Blount developed a design for a disposable emesis basin (the receptacle used to collect bodily fluids and waste in hospitals). Blount used a combination of newspaper, flour, and water to produce a material similar to papier-mache. With this, she made her first disposable emesis basins, which would have saved hospital workers from having to clean and sanitize the stainless steel basins used at the time. Once again, Blount presented her invention to the Veterans Administration, but the group had no interest in her design. Blount patented the invention and sold the rights to a medical supplies company in Belgium instead. Her disposable emesis basin is still used in Belgian hospitals today. Forensic Science Blount eventually retired from physical therapy. In 1969, she began working as a forensic scientist, assisting law enforcement officers in New Jersey and Virginia. Her main role was to translate the academic findings of forensic science research into practical guidelines and tools for officers on the ground. Over the course of her career, she became interested in the relationship between handwriting and human health; Blount had observed that writing- a fine-motor skill- could be affected by different forms of disease, including dementia and Alzheimers. Her inquiries into this area led her to publish a groundbreaking paper on medical graphology. Soon Blount was in high demand for her expertise in this emerging field. During the 1970s, she assisted police departments across New Jersey and Virginia, and she even served for a time as a chief examiner. In 1977, she was invited to London to assist British police with handwriting analysis. Blount became the first African-American woman to work for Scotland Yard. Death Blount died in Newfield, New Jersey, on December 30, 2009. She was 95 years old. Legacy Blount made major contributions in both the medical and forensic science fields. She is best remembered for the assistive devices she invented as a physical therapist and for her innovative work in graphology. Sources Inventors and Inventions. Marshall Cavendish, 2008.McNeill, Leila. The Woman Who Made a Device to Help Disabled Veterans Feed Themselves-and Gave It Away for Free. Smithsonian Institution, 17 Oct. 2018.Morrison, Heather S. Inventors of Health and Medical Technology. Cavendish Square, 2016.Overlooked No More: Bessie Blount, Nurse, Wartime Inventor and Handwriting Expert.The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2019.

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compare and contrast - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to compare growing up in a single parent family vs. a two parent family. The biggest victims in a divorce scenario are the children. The younger the children are the more impacted they are by a divorce. When two parents get divorce they are supposed to jointly care for the children. The wife typically gets custody of the children with the father having privileges of visiting or staying with the kids during weekends. Children that are raised in a single parent family suffer from more emotional stress than dual parent homes. They do not get the chance to have two parents to rely on at all times. The financial resources of single parent families are lower than in two parent families. It is common knowledge that having more financial resources increases the quality of life of a family. Money does not buy happiness, but it enables the parents to buy clothes, food, medicine, toys, and entertainment for the children. Due to the lower financial resources of singl e parent families the home or apartment they live in are inferior in terms of space and quality of neighborhood. There are some advantages to living in a single parent scenario. The children in these situations usually become more independent. They also may enjoy the love of two additional step parents and step siblings.

Computer Manipulation of Photographs and Peoples Trust Essay

Computer Manipulation of Photographs and Peoples Trust - Essay Example Photographs are taken for identification of events, people, things and many other aspects (Goldberg 1991). Photographs are also thought to be a source of evidence for various purposes. With computer manipulation and editing of photographs for personal reasons, photography is not more considered as an evidence for reality. It is considered fake and somewhat containing lies (Brand, et.al 1985). With digital photography, the art of photo manipulation has become more easy and uncomplicated. The photographs that are captured digitally are stored in the computer in form of digital data (Brand, et.al 1985). This digital data can easily be edited and manipulated intentionally or unintentionally. In the market, there are various software programs available that offer the computerized manipulation of photographs. The computer manipulation of photographs is not considered illegal and people, media and other institutions employ the software programs for manipulating images according to their own requirements without any legal threat. We can take many examples of photographs as evidence. For a passport or identity card, photographs are required. Passports or identity cards are used for identifying a person with the help of his given photograph and concerning details. If the photograph is manipulated technologically with the help of the computer, it will give an edited version of the real person, which cannot be considered as wholly true. Passport or identity cards are sources of evidence of a person’s real identification but if the photographs attached with the identification cards are manipulated, no trust will be there. Before computer manipulation, trust in photographs as a form of evidence was there but after, technological development and launch of different software programs related to computer manipulation, people are being led towards distrusting the evidence of photographs (Goldberg 1991).

Raghunath Prasad CASE Essay Example for Free

Raghunath Prasad CASE Essay Father and son equal owners of a vast joint family property – both quarrelled over it – Father instituted criminal proceedings against the son – In order to defend himself, the son borrowed money from the plaintiff at 24% compound interest and mortgaged his properties – In eleven years, the amount payable magnified more than eleven fold – Defendant contended that plaintiff/lender taking unconscionable advantage of his mental distress and exercised undue influence defendant failed to prove that the lender was in a position to dominate his will – Borrower got no relief. However, no presumption of undue influence in following cases and burden of proof lies on the party claiming as such 1. Landlord and tenant 2. Creditor and debtor 3. Husband and wife 1. This is an appeal from a decree, dated November 9, 1920, of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, which varied a decree, dated September 25, 1917, of the Subordinate Judge of Arrah. 2. The suit is for recovery of the amount of principal and interest due by the appellant to the respondents (the plaintiffs) under a mortgage of late May 27, 1910. The Subordinate Judge gave decree in the mortgage suit but only allowed simple interest. The High Court allowed compound interest. 3. The substantial question raised on the appeal is whether the appellant, in the circumstances proved in the case, fell within the protective provisions of Section 2 of the Indian Contract (Amendment) Act, 1899. It may be convenient to set that section out in full: 2. Section 16 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, is hereby repealed, and the following is substituted therefor, namely: 16.(1) A contract is said to be induced by undue influence where the relations subsisting between the parties are such that one of the parties is in a position to dominate the will of the other and uses that position to obtain an unfair advantage over the other. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing principle, a person is deemed to be in a position to dominate the will of another: (a) where he holds a real or apparent authority over the other, or where he stands in a fiduciary relation to the other; or (b) where he makes a contract with a person whose mental capacity is temporarily or permanently affected by reason of age,  illness, or mental or bodily distress. (3) Where a person who is in a position to dominate the will of another, enters into a contract with him, and the transaction appears, on the face of it or on the evidence adduced, to be unconscionable, the burden of proving that such contract was not induced by undue influence shall lie upon the person in a position to dominate the will of the other Nothing in this sub-section shall affect the provisions of Section 111 of the of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. 4. It is in the view of the Board by that section that the question arising between th ese parties falls to be settled, and not by reference to the legislation of other countries, e. g., the English Moneylenders Act. The statute to be here construed is the Indian Contract Act as amended. It is accompanied with danger to invoke as authority in an Indian case expressions which merely connote the principles which underlie a particular English statute, and form a guide to its interpretation. As will be seen this general observation is required by reason of the citation of certain authorities alluded to in the judgment of the Subordinate Judge and referred to in the argument before their Lordships Board. 5. The appellant is a member of a joint undivided family owning a property of considerable value, including inter alia, 186 villages, assessed to revenue for about Rs. 17,000 annum. 6. The mortgage is dated May 27, 1910. It is for the sum of Rs. 9,999 borrowed from the plaintiffs. The rate of interest is covered by the following provision: I, the declarant, do promise that I shall pay interest on the said debt at the rate of 2 per cent, per mensem on the 30th Jeth of each year. In case of non-payment of the annual interest, the interest will be taken as principal and interest will run thereon at the rate of 2 per cent, par mensem, that is, interest will be calculated on the principle of compound interest. 7. There can be no question that these terms were high: if payment was not made the sum due on the mortgage would speedily mount up. By the decree of the High Court which was pronounced on November 9, 1920, it is seen that the original debt of Rs. 10,000 had reached, with interest and costs calculated up to May 8, 1921, more than a lac of rupees, viz., Rs. 1,12,885. In eleven years the stipulation for interest at 24 per cent, compound had magnified the sum covered by the mortgage more than elevenfold. It is upon these facts, coupled with one other about to be mentioned, that the appellant takes his stand. 8. The statement in the defence admits that at the time of  the execution of the mortgage the defendant was owner of one half of a valuable joint famil y property. The owner of the other half was his father. Father and son had quarrelled. Serious allegations are made by the son against the father; whereas it appears that the father had instituted criminal proceedings against the son. Shortly before the date of the mortgage the defendant had borrowed Rs. 1,000 from the plaintiffs so as to enable him to defend himself in these criminal proceedings. It is alleged that they caused him great mental distress, and that he required more money to conduct his litigations. That is the story. 9. Evidence was taken in the case. It is sufficient to say that the defendants gave no evidence at all. It is quite plain that no Court can accept a story thus unproved by its author as establishing a case either of mental distress or of undue influence under the Indian Contract Act. The only case which the appellant has is the case derived from the contents of the mortgage itself. 10. It is argued with force that these are unconscionable, and that it is the duty of the Court in India to step in either to rescind the contract or to rectify the bargain. It was the latter course which was argued for in the present case. In support of this argument much reliance was placed upon the judgment pronounced by Lord Davey in Dhanipal Das v. Raja Maneshar Bakhsh Singh. (1906) L.R. 33 I.A. 118, s.c. 9 Bom. L.R. 304, 306. 11. Before, however, addressing themselves to the authorities cited their Lordships think it desirable to make clear their views upon, in particular, Sub-section 3 of Section 16 of the Indian Contract Act as amended. By this sub-section three matters are dealt with. In the first place the relations between the parties to each other must he such that one is in a position to dominate the will of the other. Once that position is substantiated the second stage has been reached, viz., the issue whether the contract has been induced by undue influence. Upon the determination of this issue a third point emerges, which is that of the onus probandi. The burden of proving that the contract was not induced by undue influence is to lie upon the person who was in a position to dominate the will of the other. 12. Error is almost sure to arise if the order of these propositions be changed. The unconscionableness of the bargain is not the first thing to be considered. The first thing to be considered is the relations of these parties. Were they such as to put one in a position to dominate the will of the other? Having this distinction  and order in view the authorities appear to their Lordships to be easily properly interpreted. 13. In the judgment of this Board in Dhanipal Das v. Raja Maneshar Bakhsh Singh, (1906) L.R. 33 I.A. 118. the outstanding effect was that the borrower who mortgaged the estate was actually, at the date of the transaction, under the control of the Court of Wards. He was treated, to use the language of Lord Davey, as under a peculiar disability and placed in a position of helplessness, and the lender was proved to have been aware of that and, therefore, in a position to dominate the borrowers will. Lord Davey thus expressed the Boards view (p. 126): Their Lordships are of opinion that although the respondent was left free to contract debt, yet he was under a peculiar disability and placed in a position of helplessness by the fact of his estate being under the control of the Court of Wards, and they must assume that Auseri Lal, who had known the respondent for some fifty years, was aware of it. They are therefore of opinion that the position of the parties was such that Auseri Lal was in a position to dominate the will of the respondent within the meaning of the amended Section 16 of the Indian Contract Act. It remains to be seen whether Auseri Lal used that position to obtain an unfair advantage over the respondent. 14. This case was followed in terms in the case of Maneshar Bakhsh Singh v. Shadi Lal (1909) L.R. 36 I.A. 96; in which the bond in suit was given by a talukdar in Oudh without the knowledge and consent of the Court of Wards after his estate had been placed under it. In these circumstances the former case was followed, and Lord Collins expressed the opinion of the Board to be that they are satisfied that in this case also the borrower was placed in such a condition of helplessness that the lender was in a position to dominate his will, and that he used that position to obtain an unfair advantage over the appelant. 15. It is sufficient to say that the borrower in the present case was sui juris, had the full power of bargaining and of burdening his estate, that his estate was not under the Court of Wards and that he lay under no disability. With regard to his helplessness nothing whatsoever is proved in the case except the bare fact that he being a man of wealth as owner of one-half of certain joint family property wished to obtain and did obtain certain monies on loan. The only relation between the parties that was proved was simply that they were  lender and borrower. 16. It is an entire mistake to represent the decisions of this Board as being wanting in light upon the last mentioned case. For in Sundar Koer v. Sham Krishen (1906) L.R. 34 I. A, 9, 16, the exact point was referred to by Lord Davey in the course of the judgment read by him (p. 16): There is no evidence of any actual exercise of undue influence by the mortgagees or of any special circumstances from which an inference of undue influence could be legitimately drawn, except that the mortgagor was in urgent need of money. The learned counsel for the appellant argued that the mortgagees wore thereby placed in a position to dominate the will of the mortgagor, and cited a recent decision of this BoardDhanipal Das v. Raja Maneshar Bakhsh Singh. In that case, however, the borrower was a disqualified proprietor under the Oudh Land Revenue Act, 1870, and his estate was under the management of the Court of Wards, and it was on that ground that their Lordships held that the borrower was under a peculiar disability, and the position of the parties was such that the lender was in a position to dominate his will. There is nothing of that kind in the present case, and their Lordships are not prepared to hold that urgent need of money on the part of the boriower will of itself place the parties in that position. 17. This precisely fits the situation of these parties. It has not been proved,it might be said that it has not even been attempted to be proved,that the lender was in a position to dominate the will of the borrower. 18. In these circumstances, even though the bargain had been unconscionable (and it has the appearance of being so) a remedy under the Indian Contract Act does not come into view until the initial fact of a position to dominate the will has been established. Once that fact is established, then the unconscionable nature of the bargain and the burden of proof on the issue of undue influence come into operation. In the present case, for the reasons stated, these stages are not reached. 19. Their Lordships think it right to observe that the judgment now pronounced is not in accord with the principles laid down by the Appellate Civil Court of Calcutta in Abdul Majeed v. Khirode Chandra Pal (1914) I.L.R. 42 Cal. 690. that where there is ample security, the exaction of excessiv e and usurious interest, in itself raises a presumption of undue influence which it  requires very little evidence to substantiate. Their Lordships think this decision to be wrong. There is no such presumption until the question has first been settled as to the lender being in a position to dominate the borrowers will. Their Lordships are further of opinion with reference to the citation of Smuel v. Newbold [1906] A.C. 461., that that case does not form any authority in the construction of the Indian Contract Act. The case was determined under the Moneylenders Act, 1900, as it expressly bears. The issue was thus stated by Lord Macnaghten (p. 468): It seems to me that the construction of the Moneylenders Act, 1900, is plain enough, and that the evidence before your Lordships is more than sufficient to show that this case is within the mischief which the Act was designed to remedy. 20. In the view of the Board cases of that character form no precedent for a decision of the present appeal which is rested on another and very differently worded statute. 21. Their Lordships are of opinion that the decree of the High Court should be varied by allowing compound interest on the principal at the rate of two per cent, per mensem from the date of the execution of the bond until September 25, 1917, and thereafter simple interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum up to the date of realization, and that in other respects the decree of the High Court should be affirmed, and they will humbly advise His Majesty accordingly. 22. The appellants will pay the costs of the appeal.

Glorious Sceptre :: essays research papers

The Immortal Sceptre Within the Iliad Homer portrays through association and symbolism the sceptre as a representation of divine power. Agamemnon is the nominal owner of this sceptre, on which much emphasis is placed in the early stages of the poem. This relic, a sceptre once owned by Zeus, has a kingly and divine past and, as a result, is a symbol of authority, power, and recognition within the kingdom of Greece. Homer’s discussion of the sceptre in Books I and II serves to elucidate these characteristics of the sceptre. In the earlier stages of book II, Homer establishes the godly and noble history of the sceptre. Through a slight digression in the story line, Homer gives the reader a brief overview of its former owners: "Hephaistus gave it to Zeus the king, the son of Kronos, and Zeus in turn gave it to the courier Argeiphontes, and lord Hermes gave it to Pelops, driver of horses, and Pelops again gave it to Atreus, the shepherd of the people. Atreus dying left it Thyestes of the rich flocks, and Thyestes left it in turn to Agamemnon to carry and to be lord of many islands over all Argos. (II, 102-109)" In naming Hephaistus, Zeus, Hermes, and the kings of Mycenae, Homer describes a legacy that enhances the sceptre’s image as a token of influence and power. Moreover, it is important to note that the sceptre was not conceived by a mortal, but rather by Hephaistus. Using the wood from a living tree in the mountains, he constructed an immortal device for Zeus. Hephaistus’ creation of the sceptre both bolsters the notion of the sceptre’s divinity, and strengthens its image as a symbol of influence and recognition. In Book I of the poem, Achilles takes oath upon the sceptre. In his oath, Achilles states his intent to withdraw from the army and swears that the Achaians will one day regret their irreverence. However, before anything is sworn, Homer has Achilles describe the sceptre by stating that it "never again will bear leaf nor branch, now that it has left behind the cut stump in the mountains, nor shall it ever blossom again, since the bronze blade stripped bark and leafage" (I, 233-237). Achilles emphasizes the sceptre’s imperishability and endurance as a symbol. Lacking life and therefore lacking the prospect of death, the sceptre is, in a sense, immortal, giving reason for its divine connotations. Glorious Sceptre :: essays research papers The Immortal Sceptre Within the Iliad Homer portrays through association and symbolism the sceptre as a representation of divine power. Agamemnon is the nominal owner of this sceptre, on which much emphasis is placed in the early stages of the poem. This relic, a sceptre once owned by Zeus, has a kingly and divine past and, as a result, is a symbol of authority, power, and recognition within the kingdom of Greece. Homer’s discussion of the sceptre in Books I and II serves to elucidate these characteristics of the sceptre. In the earlier stages of book II, Homer establishes the godly and noble history of the sceptre. Through a slight digression in the story line, Homer gives the reader a brief overview of its former owners: "Hephaistus gave it to Zeus the king, the son of Kronos, and Zeus in turn gave it to the courier Argeiphontes, and lord Hermes gave it to Pelops, driver of horses, and Pelops again gave it to Atreus, the shepherd of the people. Atreus dying left it Thyestes of the rich flocks, and Thyestes left it in turn to Agamemnon to carry and to be lord of many islands over all Argos. (II, 102-109)" In naming Hephaistus, Zeus, Hermes, and the kings of Mycenae, Homer describes a legacy that enhances the sceptre’s image as a token of influence and power. Moreover, it is important to note that the sceptre was not conceived by a mortal, but rather by Hephaistus. Using the wood from a living tree in the mountains, he constructed an immortal device for Zeus. Hephaistus’ creation of the sceptre both bolsters the notion of the sceptre’s divinity, and strengthens its image as a symbol of influence and recognition. In Book I of the poem, Achilles takes oath upon the sceptre. In his oath, Achilles states his intent to withdraw from the army and swears that the Achaians will one day regret their irreverence. However, before anything is sworn, Homer has Achilles describe the sceptre by stating that it "never again will bear leaf nor branch, now that it has left behind the cut stump in the mountains, nor shall it ever blossom again, since the bronze blade stripped bark and leafage" (I, 233-237). Achilles emphasizes the sceptre’s imperishability and endurance as a symbol. Lacking life and therefore lacking the prospect of death, the sceptre is, in a sense, immortal, giving reason for its divine connotations.

The Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympic Games is an international event that features various winter sports disciplines. This year, it will be hosted in Socio, Russia, which is costal to the prominent Black Sea. These competitions are scheduled to take place between February 7th and February 23rd, 2014. With more than the estimated 2,800 athletes participating, and approximately ninety-eight events, It Is sure to be exciting. However, It seems that many people are uncomfortable with the 22nd Winter Olympics being hosted in Russia. Many are concerned about the security Issues and fatty.London Reed expressed that â€Å"It's not safe at all†, and many agree with him. â€Å"Vive seen on CNN that fifty-seven percent agree that It's not safe†, said Reed. He Insists that terrorism activities are extremely possible. Another two persons retorted the same. Land's brother, Jack Reed had a negative overall view for Russia. When asked his thoughts on the Winter Olympics he responded, â€Å"As beautiful as the events are, Its dangerous†. He too was knowledgeable about the terrorist threats. Reed gave a brief history lesson. He explained, â€Å"The threats today are threats due to an Islamic LOL war.He also mentioned that Austrian competitors have already received threats. Furthermore, the American government insists that persons not represent their flag to avoid being a target. Yet, according to some people and news blobs, the 22nd Winter Olympics will be secured. It is said that 40,000 police will be operating in the Socio region. This will be double the amount on duty during the London Olympics. There are also much more security measures implemented to ensure a safe successful competition. But of course, its almost impossible to guarantee absolute safety. Let the games begin?