Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 27~28

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN The Found World The whale ship opened its mouth, and Nate and the crew spilled out onto the shore like sentient drool, which was some coincidence, since that's exactly what lay beneath the hard shell of the landing. They were met by a group of whaley boys, one of whom handed Nate a pair of Nikes, then went off to trade clicks and squeals and greeting rubs with the returning crew. It was so bright after nearly ten days in the whale ship that Nate couldn't immediately tell what was happening. The rest of the human crew were wearing sunglasses as they sat down on the ground to put on their shoes, only a few feet from the ship's mouth. From the rigid feel of the ground, Nate thought they might be on a dock of some kind, but then Cal Burdick took off his own sunglasses and handed them to Nate. â€Å"Go ahead. I've been looking at all of this for a lot of years, but I think you'll find it interesting.† With the dark glasses, Nate was able to see. His eyes were fine, but his mind was having a hard time processing what they were telling him. It was as light as daylight (on an overcast day, at least), but they were not outdoors. They were inside a grotto so immense that Nate could not even make out the edges of it. A dozen stadiums could have fit inside the space and still left room for a state fair, a casino, and the Vatican if you snipped off a basilica or two. The entire ceiling was a source of light, cold light, it appeared – some sections yellow, some blue – great blotches of light in irregular shapes, as if Jackson Pollock had painted a solar storm across the ceiling. Half of the grotto was water, flat and reflective as a mirror, the smoothness broken by small whaley boys porpoising here and there in groups of five and six, their blowholes sending up synchronized blasts of steam every few yards. Whaley kids, he thought. Fifty or so whale ships of different spec ies pulled up to the shore, their crews coming and going. Huge segmented pipes that looked like giant earthworms were attached to each of the ships, one on each side of the head, and ran off to connections on shore. The ground – the ground was red, and as hard as linoleum, polished, yet not quite shiny. It ran out for hundreds of yards, perhaps over a mile, and appeared to continue halfway up the walls of the immense grotto. Nate could see openings in the walls, oval passages or doorways or tunnels or something. From the size of the people and whaley boys passing in and out, he could tell that some of the openings were perhaps thirty feet around, while others seemed only the size of normal doors. There were windows next to some of the smaller ones – or what he guessed were windows – their shapes all curves and slopes. There wasn't a right angle in the grotto. Hundreds of people moved about amid as many whaley boys, maintaining the ships, moving supplies an d equipment on what seemed very normal hand trucks and carts. â€Å"Where in the hell are we?† Nate said, nearly wrenching his neck trying to look at all of it at once. â€Å"I mean, what in the hell is this?† â€Å"Pretty amazing,† Cal said. â€Å"I like to watch people when they see Gooville for the first time.† Nate ran his hand over the ground, or floor, or whatever this surface was they were sitting on. â€Å"What is this stuff?† It appeared smooth, but it had texture, pores, a hidden roughness, like stoneware or – â€Å"It's living carapace. Like a lobster shell. This whole place is living, Nate. Everything – the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the passageway in from the sea, our homes – it's all one huge organism. We call it the Goo.† â€Å"The Goo. Then this is Gooville?† â€Å"Yes,† Cal said, with a big smile that revealed perfect teeth. â€Å"And that would make you?† â€Å"That's right. The Goos. There's a wonderful Seussian logic to it, don't you think?† â€Å"I can't think, Cal. You know how all your life you hear people talk about things that are mind-boggling? It's just a meaningless clich – a hyperbole – like saying that you're wasted or that something is bloodcurdling?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"Well, I'm boggled. I'm totally boggled.† â€Å"You thought the ships were impressive, huh?† â€Å"Yeah, but this? One living organism shaped itself into this complex†¦ what? System? I'm boggled.† â€Å"Imagine how the bacteria who live in your intestinal tract feel about you.† â€Å"Well, right now I think they're pissed off at me.† A group of whaley boys was gathering about ten yards away from them, pointing at Nate and snickering. â€Å"They're coming down to check out the newcomer. Don't be surprised if you get rubbed up against in the streets. They're just saying hi.† â€Å"Streets?† â€Å"We call them streets. They're sort of streets.† Now, out of the dim yellow light of the whale ships, Nate realized that there was a wide variety in the whaley boys' coloring. Some were actually mottled blue, like the skin of a blue whale, while others were black like a pilot whale, or light gray like a minke whale. Some even had the black-on-white coloring of killers and Pacific white-sided dolphins, while a few here and there were stark white like a beluga. The body shapes of all were very similar, differing only in size, with the killer whaley boys, who were taller by a foot and heavier by perhaps a hundred pounds, having jaws twice the width of the others'. He also noticed in the brighter light that he was the only human who had a tan. The people, even Cal and the crew, looked healthy; it just appeared that none of them had ever seen the sun. Like the British. Nuà ±ez came over and helped Cal, and then Nate, to his feet. â€Å"How're the shoes?† she asked Nate. â€Å"They're strange after not wearing any for so long.† â€Å"You'll be wobbly for a few hours, too. You'll feel the motion when you stand still for a day or so. No different from having been at sea in normal ship. I'll take you to your new quarters, show you around a little, get you settled in. The Colonel will probably send for you before too long. People will help you out, humans and whaley boys. They'll all know you're new.† â€Å"How many, Cielle?† â€Å"Humans? Almost five thousand live here. Whaley boys, maybe half that many.† â€Å"Where is here? Where are we?† â€Å"I told him about Gooville,† said Cal. Nuà ±ez looked up at Nate and then pulled her sunglasses down on her nose so he could see her eyes. â€Å"Don't freak out on me, huh?† Nate shook his head. What did she think, that whatever she was going to tell him was going to be weirder, grander, or scarier than what he'd seen already? â€Å"The roof above this ceiling – which is thick rock, although we're not exactly sure how thick – anyway, it's around six hundred feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. We're about two hundred miles off the coast of Chile, under the continental shelf. In fact, we came in through a cliff in the continental rise, a cliff face. â€Å"We're six hundred feet underwater right now. The pressure?† â€Å"We came in through a very long tunnel, a series of pressure locks that pass the ships along until we're at surface pressure. I would have shown you as we came through, but I didn't want to wake you.† â€Å"Yeah, thanks for that.† â€Å"Let's get you to your new house. We've got a long walk ahead of us.† She headed away from the water, motioning for him to follow. Nate nearly stumbled trying to look back at the whale ships lining the harbor. Tim caught him by the arm. â€Å"It's a lot to take in. People really have freaked out. You just have to accept that the Goo won't let anything bad happen to you. The rest is simply a series of surprises. Like life.† Nate looked into the younger man's dark eyes to see if there was any irony showing there, but he was as open and sincere as a bowl of milk. â€Å"The Goo will take care of me?† â€Å"That's right,† said Tim, helping him along toward the grotto wall, toward the actual village of Gooville, with its organically shaped doorways and windows, its knobs and nodules, its lobster-shell pathways, its whaley-boy pods working together or playing in the water, where was housed an entire village of what Nate assumed were all happy human wackjobs. After two days of looking for meaning in hash marks on waveforms and ones and ohs on legal pads that were hastily typed into the machine, Kona found a surfer/hacker on the North Shore named Lolo who agreed to write it all into a Linux routine in exchange for Kona's old long board and a half ounce of the dankest nugs[1]. â€Å"Won't he just take cash?† asked Clay. â€Å"He's an artist,† explained Kona. â€Å"Everyone has cash.† â€Å"I don't know what I'm going to put that under for the accountant.† â€Å"Nugs, dank?† Clay looked forlornly at the legal-pad pages piling up on the desk next to where Margaret Painborne was typing. He handed a roll of bills over to Kona. â€Å"Go. Buy nugs. Bring him back. Bring back my change.† â€Å"I'm throwing in my board for the cause,† said Kona. â€Å"I could use some time in the mystic myself.† â€Å"Do you want me to tell Auntie Clair that you tried to extort me?† Clay had taken to using Clair as a sort of sword of Damocles/assistant principal/evil dominatrix threat over Kona, and it seemed to work swimmingly. â€Å"Must blaze, brah. Cool runnings.† Suddenly something sparked in Clay's head, a dj vu trigger snapping electric with connections. â€Å"Wait, Kona.† The surfer paused in the doorway, turned. â€Å"The first day you came here, the day that Nate sent you to the lab to get the film – did you actually do it?† Kona shook his head, â€Å"Nah, boss, the Snowy Biscuit see me going. She say keep the money and she go to the lab. When I come back with my ganja, she give me the pictures to give to Nate.† â€Å"I was sort of afraid of that,† Clay said. â€Å"Go, blaze, be gone. Get what we need.† So three days later they all stood watching as Lolo hit the return key and the subsonic waveform from a blue-whale call began scrolling across the bottom of the screen, while above it letters were transcribed from the data. Lolo was a year older than Kona, a Japanese-American burned nut brown by the sun with ducky-yellow minidreads and a tapestry of Maori tattoos across his back and shoulders. Lolo spun in the chair to face them. â€Å"I mixed down a fifty-minute trance track with sixty percussion loops that was way harder than this.† Lolo's prior forays into sound processing had been as a computer DJ at a dance club in Honolulu. â€Å"It's not saying anything,† said Libby Quinn. â€Å"It's just random, Clay.† â€Å"Well, that's the way it's gone so far, right?† â€Å"But there's been nothing since that first day.† â€Å"We knew that might happen, that there couldn't be messages on all of them. We just have to find the right ones.† Libby's eyes were pleading. â€Å"Clay, it's a short season. We have to get out in the field. Now that you have this program, you don't need the manpower. Margaret and I will bring back more tapes – we have them coming in from people we trust – but we can't afford to blow off the season.† â€Å"And we need to go public with the torpedo range,† Margaret added, less sympathetic than Libby had been. Clay nodded and looked at his bare feet against the hardwood floor. He took a deep breath, and when he looked up, he smiled. â€Å"You're right. But don't just blow a whistle and hope someone will notice. Cliff Hyland told me that the diving data was the only thing they were worried about. You're going to need proof that humpbacks dive close to the bottom of the channel, or the navy will claim that you're just being whale buggers and there's no danger to the animals. Even with the range.† â€Å"You're okay if we go public, then?† asked Libby. â€Å"People are going to know about the torpedo range soon enough. I don't think that's dangerous for you. Just don't say anything about the rest of this, okay?† The two women looked at each other, then nodded. â€Å"We have to go,† Libby said. â€Å"We'll call you, Clay. We're not running out on you.† â€Å"I know,† Clay said. After they left, Clay turned to the two surfers. Thirty years working with the best scientists and divers in the world, and this was what it came down to: two stoner kids. â€Å"If you guys need to go do things, I understand.† â€Å"Outta here,† said Lolo, on his feet and bounding toward the door. Clay looked at the screen where Lolo had been sitting. Scrolling across it: WILL ARRIVE GV APPRX 1300 MONDAY__HAVE__SIZE 11 SNEAKERS WAITING FOR QUINN__END MSS__AAAA__BAXYXABUDAB. â€Å"Get him back,† Clay said to Kona. â€Å"We need to know which tape this was.† â€Å"Libby gave them all to him.† â€Å"I know that. I need to know where she got it. Where and when it was recorded. Call Libby's cell phone. See if you can get hold of her.† Clay was trying to make the screen print before the message scrolled away. â€Å"How the hell does this thing work?† â€Å"How you know I'm not leaving?† â€Å"You woke up this morning, Kona. Did you have a reason to get out of bed other than waves or pot?† â€Å"Yah, mon, need to find Nate.† â€Å"How'd that feel?† â€Å"I'm calling Libby, boss.† â€Å"Loyalty is important, son. I'll go catch Lolo. Confirm which tape it was.† â€Å"Shut up, boss. I'm trying to dial.† Behind them the cryptic message scrolled out of the printer. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Single-Celled Animal Stockholm syndrome or not, Nate was starting to get tired of the whole hippie-commune, everything-is-wonderful-and-the-Goo-will-provide attitude. Nuà ±ez had come by for three days running to take him out on the town, and every person he met was just a little too damn satisfied with the whole idea that they were living inside a giant organism six hundred feet under the ocean. Like this was a normal thing. Like he just wasn't getting with the program because he continued to ask questions. At least the whaley boys would blow wet raspberries at him and snicker as he walked by. At least they had some sense of the absurdity of all this, despite the fact that they shouldn't even have existed in the first place, which did seem to be a large point of denial on their part. They'd installed him in what he guessed was a premier apartment, or what you'd call an apartment, on the second floor, looking out over the grotto. The windows were oval, and the glass in them, although perfectly clear, was flexible. It was like looking out on the world through a condom, and that was just the beginning of the things that creeped him out about this place. He had a kitchen sink, a bathroom sink, and a shower – all of which had big honking sphincters in the bottom of them – and the seal on the door around his refrigerator, if that's what you called it, appeared to be made out of slugs, or at least something that left an iridescent slime on you if you brushed up against it. There was also a toothed garbage disposal in the kitchen, which he wouldn't even go near. The worst of it was that the apartment didn't make any attempt to conceal that it was alive. His first day there, when the human crew from the whale ship had come by for a drink – a ho usewarming – there had been a scaly knob on the wall by the front door that when pushed would cause the door to open. After the crew left and Nate returned from his shower, the doorknob had healed over. There was a scar there in the shell, but that was all. Nate was locked in. There was a tom-tom thrumming of stones hitting his front picture window. Nate went to the window, looked out on the vast grotto and harbor, then down on the source of his torment. A pod of whaley-boy kids was winging stones at his window. Thump, thump-a, thump. The stones bounced off, leaving no mark. When Nate appeared at the window, the thumping became more furious, as the whaley kids picked up the pace and aimed right at him, as if a well-placed shot might drop him in a dunking tank. â€Å"There's a reason cetaceans don't have hands in the real world!† Nate screamed at them. â€Å"You are that reason! You little freaks!† Thump, thump-a, thump, thump, clack. Occasionally a missed throw hit the shell-like frame of the window, sounding like a marble hitting tile. I sound like Old Man Spangler yelling at my brother and me for raiding his apple trees, Nate thought. When did I turn into that guy? I don't want to be that guy. There was a soft knock on the shell of his front door. As he turned, the door flipped open like shutters, two pieces of shell retracting on muscles hidden in the wall. Nate felt like a surprised box turtle. Cielle Nuà ±ez stood in the doorway with canvas shopping bags folded under her arm. She was a pleasant woman, attractive, competent, and non-threatening; Nate was sure that's why she'd been chosen to be his guide. â€Å"You ready to do some shopping, Nate? I called to tell you I was coming, but you didn't answer.† The apartment had a speaking apparatus, a sort of ornate tube thing that whistled and buzzed green metallic beetle wings when there was a call. Nate was afraid of it. â€Å"Cielle, can we drop any pretense that we are just buddies out for the day? You lock me in here when you leave.† â€Å"For your own safety.† â€Å"Somehow that always seems to be the argument the jailer uses.† â€Å"You want to go get some food and clothes or not?† Nate shrugged and followed her out the door. They walked along the perimeter of the grotto, which seemed a cross between an old English village and an Art Nouveau hobbit housing project: irregularly shaped doors and windows looking into shops that displayed baked goods and other prepared foods. Evidently the Goo wasn't big on having fire around for home cooking. All the cooked foods were prepared somewhere else in the complex. There was a warming cabinet in Nate's apartment that looked like a breadbox made out of a giant armadillo shell. It worked great. You rolled the top open, put the food in, then promptly lost your appetite. â€Å"Let's get you something to wear today,† Cielle said. â€Å"Those khakis are on loan. Only the whale-ship crews are supposed to wear them.† As they walked, a half dozen whaley kids followed them, chirping and giggling all the way. â€Å"So I'd get in trouble if I started kicking whaley kids down the street?† â€Å"Of course,† Cielle laughed. â€Å"We have laws here, just like anywhere else.† â€Å"Evidently not ones that forbid kidnapping and unjustified imprisonment.† Nuà ±ez stopped and grabbed his arm. â€Å"Look, what are you complaining about? This is a good place to be. You're not being mistreated. Everyone's been kind to you. What's the problem?† â€Å"What's the problem? The problem is that all you people were yanked out of your lives, taken away from your families and friends, taken from everything that you knew, and you all act like it doesn't bother you in the least. Well, it bothers me, Cielle. It fucking bothers me a lot. And I don't understand this whole colony, or city, or whatever this thing is. How does it even exist without anyone knowing about it? In all these years, why has no one gotten out and spoiled the secret of this place?† â€Å"I told you, we were all going to drown –  » â€Å"Bullshit. I don't buy that for a second. That gratitude toward your rescuer only lasts for a short while. I've seen it. It doesn't take over your life. Everyone I've met is blissed out. You people worship the Goo, don't you?† â€Å"Nate, you don't want to be locked in, you won't be locked in. You can have the run of Gooville – go anywhere you want. There's hundreds of miles of passages. Some of them even I haven't seen. Go. Leave the grotto and go down any one of those passages. But you know what? You'll be back looking for your apartment tonight. You are not a prisoner, you're just living in a different place and a different way.† â€Å"You didn't answer my question.† â€Å"The Goo is the source, Nate. You'll see. The Colonel – ; â€Å"Fuck the Colonel. The Colonel is a fucking myth.† â€Å"Should we get some coffee? You seem grumpy.† â€Å"Damn it, Cielle, my caffeine headache is not relevant.† Actually it was, sort of. He hadn't had any coffee today. â€Å"Besides, how do I know it's coffee we're drinking? It's probably some mutant sea otter/coffee bean hybrid beverage.† â€Å"Is that what you want?† â€Å"No, that's not what I want. What I want is a doorknob. And not an organic nodule thing – I want a dead doorknob. One that always has been dead, too. Not something that you used to be friends with.† Cielle Nuà ±ez had backed away from him several feet, and the whaley kids who'd been following them had quieted down and gone into a defensive pod formation, the big kids on the outside. People who were out walking, and who normally made a point of nodding and smiling as they passed, took a wide detour around Nate. There was an inordinate amount of whistling among the milling whaley boys. â€Å"That going to do it for you?† Nu;ez asked. â€Å"A doorknob. I get you a doorknob, you're a happy man?† Why should he be embarrassed? Because he'd scared the kids? Because he'd made his captors uncomfortable? Nevertheless, he was embarrassed. â€Å"I could use some earplugs, too, if you have them. For sleeping.† For ten hours out of twenty-four, the grotto went dark. Cielle explained that this was for the comfort of the humans, to help them keep some semblance of their normal circadian rhythms. People needed day and night – without the change many people couldn't sleep. The problem was, the whaley boys didn't sleep. They rested, but they didn't sleep. So when the grotto went dark, they went on about their business. In the dark, however, they were all constantly emitting sonar clicks. At night the grotto sounded like it was being marched upon by an army of tap dancers. Consequently, so did Nate's apartment. Nu;ez nodded. â€Å"We can probably do that. You want to go get a steaming hot cup of sea otter now?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm just kidding. Lighten up, Nate.† â€Å"I want to go home.† He'd said it before he even realized it. â€Å"That's not going to happen. But I'll send word. I think it's time you met with the Colonel.† They spent the day going to shops. Nate found some cotton slacks that fitted him, some socks and underwear, and a pile of T-shirts from one tiny shop. There was no currency exchanged. Nuà ±ez would just nod to the shopkeeper, and Nate would take what he needed. There was little variety in any of the shops, and most of what they carried was goods from the real world: clothes, fabric, books, razor blades, shoes, and small electronics. But a few shops carried items that appeared to have been grown or made right there in Gooville: toothbrushes, soaps, lotions. All the packaging seemed to come out of the seventeenth century – the shopkeepers wrapped parcels in a ubiquitous oilcloth that Nate thought smelled vaguely of seaweed and indeed had the same olive color as giant kelp. Patrons brought their own jars to carry oils, pickles, and other soft goods. Nate had seen everything from a modern mayonnaise jar to hand-thrown crockery that had to have been made a hundred years ago. â€Å"How long, Cielle?† he asked as he watched a shopkeeper count sugared dates into a hand-blown glass jar and seal it with wax. â€Å"How long have people been down here?† She followed his gaze to the jar. â€Å"We get a lot of the surface goods from shipwrecks, so don't be impressed if you see antiques; the sea is a good preserver. We may have salvaged it only a week ago. A friend of mine keeps potatoes in a Grecian wine amphora that's two thousand years old.† â€Å"Yeah, and I'm using the Holy Grail to catch my spare change. How long?† â€Å"You are so hostile today. I don't know how long, Nate. A long time.† He had dozens, hundreds more questions, like where the hell did they get potatoes when they didn't have sunlight to grow anything? They weren't bringing potatoes up from a shipwreck. But Cielle was letting him get only so far before claiming ignorance. They had lunch at a four-stool lunch counter where the proprietor was a striking Irishwoman with stunning green eyes and a massive spill of red hair and who, like everyone, it seemed, knew Cielle and knew who Nate was. â€Å"Got you a Walkman then, Dr. Quinn? Whaley boys will drive you to drink with that sonar at night.† â€Å"We're going to get him some earplugs today, Brennan,† Cielle said. â€Å"Music, that's the way to wash the whaley-boy whistles,† the woman said. Then she was off to her kitchen. The walls of the cafe were decorated with a collection of antique beer trays, glued in place, as Nate had learned, with an adhesive that was similar to what barnacles secreted to fasten themselves to ships. Nailing things up was frowned upon, as the walls would bleed for a while if injured. Nate took a bite of his sandwich, meatballs and mozzarella on good crusty French bread. â€Å"How?† he asked Cielle, blowing crumbs on the counter. â€Å"How does any of this stuff get made if there's no flame?† Cielle shrugged. â€Å"No idea. A bakery, I'd guess. They make all the prepared food outside the grotto. I've never been there.† â€Å"You don't know how? How can that be?† Cielle Nuà ±ez put down her own sandwich and leaned on one elbow, smiling at Nate. She had remarkably kind eyes, and Nate had to remind himself that she had been ordered to be his friend. Interesting, he thought, that they'd choose a woman. Was she bait? â€Å"You ever read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Nate?† â€Å"Of course, everybody does.† â€Å"And that guy goes back to Camelot from the late nineteenth century and dazzles everyone with his scientific knowledge, mainly because he can make gunpowder, right?† â€Å"Yes, so?† â€Å"You're a scientist, so you might do better than most, but take your average citizen, a guy who works at a discount store, say. Drop him in the twelfth century, you know what he'll achieve?† â€Å"Make your point?† â€Å"Death by bacterial infection, more than likely. And the last words on his lips will probably be, ‘There's such a thing as an antibiotic, really. My point is, I don't know how this stuff is made because I haven't needed to know. Nobody knows how to make the things they use. I suppose I could find out and get back to you, but I promise you I'm not holding out on you just to be mysterious. We do a lot of salvage on the whale ships, and we have a trade network into the real world that gets us a lot of our goods. When a freighter leaves pallets of goods for the people on remote islands in the Pacific, all they know is that they've been paid and they've delivered to shore. They don't stay to see who takes the goods away. The old-timers say that it used to be that the Goo provided everything. Nothing came in from the outside that wasn't on their backs when they got here.† Nate took a bite of his sandwich and nodded as if considering what she'd just said. Since he'd arrived in Gooville, he had spent every waking moment thinking about two things: one, how this whole place could possibly function; and two, how to get out of it. The Goo had to get energy from somewhere. The energy to light the huge grotto alone would require tens of millions of calories. If it got energy from outside, maybe you could use that same pathway to get out. â€Å"So do you guys feed it? The Goo?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Well, then-â€Å" â€Å"Don't know, Nate. I just don't know. How does dry-cleaning work?† â€Å"Well, I assume that they use solvents, that, uh – Look, biologists don't have a lot of stuff that needs to be dry-cleaned. I'm sure it's not that complicated a process.† â€Å"Yeah, well, right back at you on all of your questions about the Goo.† Cielle stood and gathered up her parcels. â€Å"Let's go, Nate. I'm taking you back to your apartment. Then I'm going right to the whaley-boy den and find out if they can get the Colonel to see you. Today.† Nate still had a couple bites of his sandwich left. â€Å"Hey, I've still got a couple of bites of my sandwich left,† he said. â€Å"Really? Well, did you ask yourself where in Gooville we got meatballs? What sort of meat might be in them?† Nate dropped his sandwich. â€Å"Bit of the whining wussy boy, aren't we?† said Brennan as she came out of the kitchen to take away their plates. Nate was reading a cheesy lawyer novel that he'd found in the small library in his apartment when the whaley boys came for him. There were three of them, two large males with killer-whale coloring and a smaller female blue. Only when the blue squeaked â€Å"Hi Nate† in a mashed-elf voice did he recognize it as Emily 7. â€Å"Wow, hi, Emily. Is just Emily okay, or should I always say the Seven?† Nate always felt awkward with someone afterward, even if there wasn't anything for the ward to be after. She crossed her arms over her chest and bugged out her left eye at him. â€Å"Okay,† Nate said, moving on, â€Å"I guess we'll be going, then. Did you see my new doorknob? Brand-new. Stainless steel. I realize it doesn't go with everything else, but, you know, it feels a little like freedom.† Right, Nate. It's a doorknob, he thought. They led him around the perimeter of the grotto, beyond the village, and into one of the huge passageways that led away from the grotto. They walked for half an hour, tracing a labyrinth of passageways that got narrower and narrower the farther off they went, the bright red lobster-shell surface fading into something that looked like mother-of-pearl the deeper in they went. It glowed faintly, just enough so they could see where they were going. Finally the passageway started to broaden again and open into a large room that looked like some sort of oval amphitheater, all of it pearlescent and providing its own light. Benches lined the walls around the room, all in view of a wide ramp that led to a round portal the size of a garage door, closed now with an iris of black shell. â€Å"Ooooh, the great and powerful Oz will see you now,† Nate said. The whaley boys, who normally found practically anything funny, just looked away. One of the black-and-whites started whistling a soft tune from his blowhole. â€Å"In the Hall of the Mountain King† or a Streisand tune – something creepy, Nate thought. Emily 7 backhanded the whistler in the chest, and he stopped abruptly. Then she put her hand on Nate's shoulder and gestured for him to go up the steps to the round portal. â€Å"Okay, I guess this is it.† Nate started backing up the ramp as the whaley boys started backing away from him. â€Å"You guys better not leave me, because I'll never find my way back.† Emily 7 grinned, that lovely hack-a-salmon-in-half smile of hers, and waved him on. â€Å"Thanks, Em. You look good, you know. Did I mention? Shiny.† He hoped shiny was good. The iris opened behind him, and the whaley boys fell to their knees and touched their lower jaws to the floor. Nate turned to see that the pearlescent ramp led into a vibrant red chamber that was pulsing with light and glistening with moisture as the walls appeared to breathe. Now, this looked like a living thing – the inside of a living thing. Really much more what he'd expected to see when the whale had eaten him. He made his way forward. A few steps in, the ramp melded into the reddish flesh, which Nate could now see was shot through with blood vessels and what might be nerves. He couldn't get the size of the space he was in. It just seemed to expand to receive him and contract behind him, as if a bubble were moving along with him inside it. When the iris disappeared into the pink Goo, Nate felt a wave of panic go through him. He took a deep breath – damp, fecund air – and strangely enough he remembered what Poynter and Poe had told him back on the humpb ack ship: It's easier if you just accept that you're already dead. He took another deep breath and ventured forward a few more feet, then stopped. â€Å"I feel like a friggin' sperm in here!† he yelled. What the hell, he was dead anyway. â€Å"I'm supposed to have a meeting with the Colonel.† On cue, the Goo began to open in front of him, like the view of a flower opening from the inside. A brighter light illuminated the newly opened chamber, now just large enough to house Nate, another person, and about ten feet of conversational distance. Reclining in a great pink mass of goo, dressed in tropical safari wear and a San Francisco Giants baseball hat, was the Colonel. â€Å"Nathan Quinn, good to see you. It's been a long time,† he said.

Difference Between Business Proposal and Formal Research Essay

The final objective of the business proposal and a formal research establishes the differences between the two studies. Business proposal has a practical orientation and is designed to find the best solution to a problem in order to generate either financial savings or greater revenue (Bazerman, M. H., & Moore, 2009). On the other hand, a formal research builds upon other comparable research to discover, demonstrate or test a hypothesis. It has no financial implications and generates a wide variety of findings that may be made applicable in a wide variety of contexts. Business proposal defines the problem as a business decision making concern, formal research estimates the problem as a potential contribution to scholarly research. When it comes to data gathering and use, business proposal looks for available data sources to make a decision, formal research produces own data to make a discovery. The approach for business proposal is to analyze different alternatives, for formal research is related to performing an experiment. Business proposal normally doesn’t use theoretical work ; on the other hand, formal research defines the theories that support the variable utilized in the hypothesis. The capability of the formal research consists of contributions to the academic world and the scholarly work while capability of a business proposal is to find solutions to business problems. Despite the many differences between business proposal and research project, there are some commonalities. One of them is that the findings in both cases may or may not be presented with headings and subheadings (Bazerman, M. H., & Moore, 2009). Business proposal and formal research should work together. If no formal research is present , the proposal will be useless. To write a business proposal, there is a need to conduct a formal research on the market. The reason it is so important is that the viability of the business can be determined. It wouldn’t be logic to initiate any kind of business if the products or services are not needed by the visualized market. Business decisions require intelligence and how research can provide that intelligence. Business proposals contextualize the findings from formal research in an existing organizational structure.

Reflective Learning Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflective Learning - Term Paper Example They represent a learning cycle, repeated innumerable times in an individual’s life. According to Kolb, the learning can start anywhere in the cycle but is most efficient if the full circle is completed. Here is an example of the learning cycle: someone has a negotiation about his salary with his superior. His idea of negotiation is that you have to be firm, show confidence and no weakness to your negotiation partner. So he slams down an offer, but it ends badly. His superior rejects. After this experience, he observes others to see if other strategies can work better. It can be direct observations, but also movies, or memories that he hasn’t reflected over before. In the step of abstract conceptualization, he discusses with others and maybe read something on the subject. He tries new strategies in everyday situations, and evaluates them in new reflective observation. When it’s time for a new discussion about the salary, he has a lot better understanding and new methods to reach the result he wants. It is off course also possible that this person goes through a learning cycle with only three of the steps: he acts, observes, and tries a new action. Another possibility is that he never realizes the opportunity for learning, and just leaves the first experience cursing his boss. Another central concept from Kolb is that of learning styles. The theory is that every person has two dominant of the four concepts above, that make up their learning style. Since four combinations are possible, there are four major learning styles. They are accommodating, diverging, converging and assimilation. Accommodating learners are intuitive, practical and experimental. Diverging learners gather information, use various viewpoints and are imaginative and artistic. Converging learners are problem-solvers and use a technical and practical approach. Assimilation learners are analytical and use reason and logic in their approach. There are also other ways to express

Music of India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music of India - Essay Example The craze of Indian Music can be recognized from the words of Ali Akbar Khan stating â€Å"For us, as a family, music is like food. When you need it you don’t have to explain why, because it is basic to life† (Logan & Subramaniam 1). Music of India has always occupied a predominant position in the rich cultural heritage of India. Comprising of various races and cultural diversities Indian Music exhibits a complex musical system. Understanding Indian classical music in particular demands a time of entire life. The earliest of Indian Music have been found to emerge out of the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of the Hindus (Chandrakantha & David Courtney). The Guru (teacher), Shishya (student) and Parampara (tradition) relationship has remained throughout in the history of Indian Music (Logan & Subramaniam 1). Rag, the melodic form and Tal, the rhythmic, constitute the two fundamental bases of Indian Music (Chandrakantha & David Courtney). The Indian Classical Music has been p rimarily classified into South Indian Music called Carnatic and North Indian Music called Hindustani.

Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States Assignment

Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States - Assignment Example The defeat of both Germany and Japan as well as the decline in the French Empires and British Empires created a situation where the United States had to build its military forces after winning a successful war against Adolf Hitler’s German Army and other intruders. In the same manner, the U.S.S.R. set up its own formidable military force to protect its own way of life. The United States’ way of life is grounded on democracy. On the other hand, the U.S.S.R’s way of life is grounded on communism. In response, the U.S.S.R created the Eastern Bloc of communist nations. On the other side of the cold war fence, the United States formed the NATO, a military alliance of nations bent to preventing the spread of communism around the world. In addition, The National Security Council issued Memorandum Number 68 (1) article indicates the Soviet Union had a new fanatic faith that was antithetical to the American people. The Soviet Union’s leaders were serious in their p olitical process to spread communism around the world. In the same manner, the United States was eagerly on its toes ready to aid countries being attacked by the Communist countries. George Kennan (1) opined the cold war B article states the Soviets were afraid of the Americans as much as the Americans were afraid of the Soviets. The Soviets were afraid of the United States’ atomic bombs. The Soviets doubled their efforts to produce their own Atomic bombs as well as thermonuclear weapons to diffuse the American threat son Soviet territories. The Soviets formed the Eastern Bloc of nations to prevent the Americans from attacking their communism- based nations. The Soviets were afraid that the United States would win in the North and South Vietnam War. Soviet Power focuses on reducing war risks by not engaging in conflicts or wars where the U.S.S.R would stand to lose, especially losing to the United States in a war.

Impact of a Risk Premium on the Empirical Testing of FOREX Essay

Impact of a Risk Premium on the Empirical Testing of FOREX - Essay Example In line with this, the empirical tests test for the availability of atypical or risk –accustomed earning opportunities. However, in the case of ambiguity and uncertain venture such as spot and forward (JACQUE, 2014) speculation, it is complex to interpret the empirical tests relative to the market efficiency. The fundamental model applied in testing marketing efficiency is the joint hypothesis, which means that two hypotheses are tested at the same time. In such cases, when the risk premium is in existence it creates an impact which shifts the equilibrium return on currency trading toward a high point. This implies that, the profits attributed to the currency trading do not show market inefficiency if these returns are fewer than the suitable risk premium (ULLRICH, 2009). This impact can be explained by an example of a corporation, which hedges, and in return, its financial experience to the currency risk reduces. This implies that, in the absence of a risk premium, the firm d oes not sacrifice any return in the process of risk reduction. If the corporation faces high cost of financial misery, then this nature of reduced volatility will benefit its operations (RECORD, 2003). This implies that the effect of risk premium on a firm is immensely attributed to the hedging of a corporation when the risk premium exists. In addition, the risk premium on empirical testing invokes significance and negative relationship with the expected future spot rate. In addition, the premium risk offers a more explanatory note relative.

Public Administration The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Research Paper

Public Administration The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Research Paper Example However, the failure of the House Republicans to endorse the process compelled President Obama to come up with immigration accountability executive actions. The actions target to provide a mechanism for fighting illegal crossing at the borders; deport felons who upset national security and overall public safety without including their families and running a background check of the undocumented illegal immigrants. The check will prompt the workers to pay their taxes legally and offer temporary stay before the payment (The White House, 2015). A regulatory public policy supports the move by the president to put an end to the illegal population in United States. A regulatory policy is aimed at limiting the actions of any person, group or organization to protect the general public or the portion of the public that is directly affected by those actions. Remarkably, a number of regulations aim at reducing criminal or illegal activities. The administration policies focus on regulating the practices of businesses to ensure that they uphold fair and competitive practices for all American citizens. Both state and federal government carry out the regulatory efforts to monitor organizations or agencies that upset stability of the economy. The propositions by the Obama government about immigration are built on the existing Immigration and National Act. The Immigration and National Act is a public policy that was created first in 1952 (West, 2010). The immigration law has so far received new provisions and reorganization in terms of structure. The government noted the need to reinforce homeland security procedures, governance of corporations and financial institutions following the rampant cases of terrorist activities and the turbulent state of the economy. The authority and regulatory grip of the government will be expanded if the entire congress and the senate endorse the proposed reforms. The previous governments have constituted the regulatory

PetMeds Outputs Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PetMeds Outputs - Case Study Example This paper will dwell on the different levels of outputs on PetMed Express, Inc. PetMeds does business as 1-800-PetMeds using three main sales channels - Internet, telephone, and direct mail/print. It is America's leading pet pharmacy that markets prescription and non-prescription pet medications and other health products for dogs, cats and horses (PetMed Express Inc, 2009). The company employs customer care representatives, marketers, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, warehouse associates, information technologists, accountants, purchasers, human resource personnel as well as supervisors and managers. These individuals serve at the core process groups of customer care, warehouse, pharmacy and corporate departments. The paper will identify the different outputs at the different individuals. The group output will be discussed according to the departments. The system outputs will involve the overall performance and effectiveness of PetMeds in the pet pharmacy industry. Individual outputs in the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model include individual behavior, performance and effectiveness (Falletta, 2005). ... Marketers are in control of the different promotional strategies of the company such as advertising, mail catalogs and press releases. On the other hand, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are in-charge of the prescription needs of customers and pet owners. Their output would be the prescription orders of customers. The warehouse supervisors and associates are accountable for all the warehousing of inventory and shipping of prescription and non-prescription pet medicines. The accountants are liable for the monetary transactions such as account payables and receivables as well as monitoring of the company's costs and expenses. The purchasers are responsible for procurement of pet medications including health and nutritional supplements from different manufacturers and suppliers of the company. Human resource personnel are in-charge of the retention as well as recruitment and selection of employees. Their outputs will be the optimum number of employees that the company requires for i ts day-to-day operations. Aside from the expected functional outputs of individual employees, they are also appraised on their performance such as their absenteeism, lateness and levels of employee satisfaction and stress. Group Outputs The group outputs of an organization include the performance and effectiveness of the group as well as intergroup conflict, collaboration, and communication (Falletta, 2005). PetMeds have four core groups in the company that is responsible for different functions and processes. These groups are customer care, pharmacy, warehouse and corporate departments (PetMed Express, 2009). This paper will focus on the core

Global Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global Climate Change - Essay Example However, we’ve only seen a glimpse of what’s to come in both the near and far future. It’s not a myth as deniers would have people believe or even a debate to be had. The earth’s climate is warming and man-made air pollutants are the main cause. Factories and automobiles are spewing hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere faster than it can be naturally absorbed. Air pollution is not only affecting people’s lungs but every aspect of the natural world as well. This warning has been sounded by climatologists for at least 30 years; the science has in, peer-reviewed and accepted by more than 98 percent of all scientists worldwide. The only question is do we have the political will to do anything about it. Carbon dioxide is the main â€Å"greenhouse gas† affecting the earth’s temperature. The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring event that provides a warm blanket of air for the earth. It had served the planet well f or thousands of millennia but excess gasses are causing the effect to become unbalanced. In much the same way as a man-made greenhouse are designed to grow plants operate, the earth’s greenhouse allows in sunlight but just enough to keep the temperature steady. Gases, such as naturally occurring carbon dioxide and water vapor trap some energy but the rest is bounced back into space. Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere absorbs additional heat allowing less back into space thus warming the earth at a faster rate than normal. Methane and nitrous oxide are two other types of gasses caused either directly or indirectly by man’s actions but carbon dioxide, the result of fossil fuel emissions are the main culprit. This pollutant accounts approximately 85 percent of the excess greenhouse gas. Oil and gasoline used by automobiles and coal burnt in electric generating power plants are by far the main source of carbon in the atmosphere. Methane results from cattle flatulence therefore the more beef people eat, the more methane is emitted into the atmosphere. In nature, animals, such as humans, breathe out carbon dioxide and growing plants â€Å"breathe† it in. This is not a contributor to climate change but coal and oil emissions are. (Walls-Thumma, 2012) Slight changes in the earth’s average temperature cause big changes in intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as drought, rains, floods and tropical storms. With only modest temperature variations rare weather occurrences become more often and are more severe. Precipitation patterns are altered. Normally dry areas become drier and areas that usually experience moderate rains are deluged by heavy rains. Examining the way global climate change has altered the chances for a particular event occurring has been performed for extraordinary incidents such as the 2003 heat wave in Europe which left tens of thousands dead. The odds of this extreme heat wave occurring, based on reco rds dating back 150 years, are about 1 in 10 million. (Shar, et al., 2004) When factoring in just a two degree temperature rise globally, the odds closed severely, more than quadrupling the chances. The intense weather occurrences that were expected to happen with greater frequency in a warming world are increasing. For example, just six decades ago record high temperatures were occurring at the same frequency as record low temperatures. Today, approximately two record highs are documented for each record low. That is phenomenal change and a clear indicator of a warming earth and the correlation of higher temperatures with extreme weather events. This increase in record high temperatures is occurring all over the globe. A comparable two to one proportion of record highs temperatures to record lows have recently been documented in

Carrie Fisher - Bipolar Disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Carrie Fisher - Bipolar Disorder - Research Paper Example Bipolar Disorder is one that has been affecting so many lives until now. To be able to understand this better, Bipolar Disorder is commonly known as manic-depressive illness which is one kind of brain disorder that causes one to have an extreme change of mood, energy, and activity levels that prevents one to carry out a day to day task. Though the symptoms are not easily seen as a mental disorder, it is usually severe (NIMH Â · Bipolar Disorder., n.d.). As opposed to mood swings that could be affected by menstrual cycle, a sudden change or turnaround of circumstances, bipolar disorder is a continuous cycle that cannot be controlled. It can result to inconsistency, poor performance at work, or even suicide. However, what is great to know is that this can be cured through a series of rehabilitation programs. One of the most famous cases of Bipolar disorder would be that of Carrie Fisher. She is an American actress, novelist, and a screen writer that no doubt put most of her life in th e spotlight. However, things started getting a bit blurry when Carrie started not being able to sleep or stop talking which she thought was just part of being in Hollywood. According to one article, she immediately resorted to trips to rehabilitation centers as she abruptly realized it was nothing but depression that was causing her to act a certain way (Carrie Fisher and her life with Bipolar Disorder | bphope., n.d.). This presentation of Bipolar Disorder is inconsistent as this certain disorder is believed through study and experience as one that is not easily spotted when it starts. The symptoms are always considered as the effects of another problem and never considered the main problem. For a lot of people, they suffer for years first before they realize they are suffering from bipolar disorder. In the article I am citing on Carrie Fisher’s battle with Bipolar Disorder, the author pointed out that Carrie started acting out extreme emotions when she was in her adult year s, while she was on top of her game. Well, this is a consistent fact about Bipolar Disorder as it is one that usually develops in one’s late teens or early adult years though almost half of all cases start before the age 25 (NIMH Â · Bipolar Disorder., n.d.). Another interesting fact about how the author foretold the case of Carrie is that, finally, when Carrie Fisher was able to learn about her Bipolar disease, she did not hide it from the public or seen it as something that needed hiding. Instead, she chose to make her battle against it part of her public persona by even speaking about it in public to help others who are suffering from the same illness overcome it. This is consistent with the reality of the disease as Bipolar Disorder is a long-term illness that cannot be cured by one time intake of medicine but is something that could be defeated through a step by step effort everyday, all throughout a person’s life. With this inspiring story that is shared to us u ntil today through the life of Carrie Fisher, we all must know that mental diseases are something that we must take seriously. This is because of the number of families today that cease to

Citizenship of organizations, nations and the planet- Rights and Responsibilities Essay Example for Free

Citizenship of organizations, nations and the planet- Rights and Responsibilities Essay Man is a social animal. The history of mankind is the history of evolving societies, civilizations and nations. These are the various levels of groups a person exists as a citizen of, where he cooperates with others to fulfil and increase his own needs and potential and therefore developing that group as a whole. Hence, an individual is tied to his social moorings which provide him certain rights for his own self development and also demand from him certain responsibilities for the well being and sustainability of the society as a whole. These rights and responsibilities are indispensable for any organisation to exist and develop. The rights have also evolved as society has progressed. Earlier in the days when democracy did not exist, a king or a dictator did not need to worry much about rights of his citizens. But democracy is based on will of people. In a democratic government, a citizen gets his rights which are fundamental to his well being and growth. Hence, in India our constitution makers provided us with fundamental rights which we did not enjoy when india was not a democratic nation. Similarly, when industrialisation had emerged in western Europe, the rights of the workers was not given much credence to. They lived in miserable conditions, with very long working hours and less leisure. But today, every organisation provides its workers safe working environment as a right. Today, as the twenty-first century enters its second decade the world has shrunk in a space becoming a global village.The ancient Indian notion encapsulated in the sanskrit dictum ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’( the world is a family ) has never been truer.Today, its not realistic to think only in terms of ones own country .The exchange of ideas and goods are taking place everywhere in the world with ever greater frequency,speed and ease.The safety of people everywhere not only depends on local security forces,but also on guarding against terrorism.What happens in other parts of the world affect other nations too. We are becoming citizens of a unified planet. Under this perspective, the united nations formulated the Human rights which  are fundamental for the existence of a citizen irrespective of race, gender or geography like right to live with security, right against slavery. If a government denies its citizens these basic rights for example in a genocide, UN can intervene to restore peace and a legitimate government. Likewise it sends directives to its member nations on how they can perform better so that the citizens have better life. A citizen needs to take full responsibility towards Organization, Nation as well as Planet.People everywhere increasingly connected through travel,trade and the internet. World is so closely knitted today that a fire that starts in a remote thatched in one corner of a village can melt the steel girders of the tallest skyscrapers at the other end of our global village. The impact of 9/11 was felt all around the world or the impact of recession that was felt all around the world in 2008 due to the failure of Lehman brothers and Bear stearns .The impact that one citizen, organization or nation creates around the world cannot be ignored in such an interdependent world .We can no longer afford the luxury of not thinking about the impact on the planet in anything we do . The problems that the world is facing today like terrorism ,of the proliferation of weapons of mass destructions,global warming ,contagious disease, poverty, mass illiteracy and massive displacement cannot be addressed by one or a group of country alone .Today nations around the world find them vulnerable to threats from beyond once borders counterfeiters of currency,drug smugglers,child traffickers,pirates ,credit-card crooks and even imported diseases such as swine flu. Such problems required solutions that transcends all boundaries and it can only happen when one think himself as a global citizen and realize their rights and responsibilities towards the planet. Citizenship is the status of a person recognised under the law of a state that bestows on that person the rights and the duties of citizenship. Rights and responsibilities complement each other.It has been rightly said with great power also comes great responsibilities.Rights and respondibilities both should be enjoyed actively .Active citizenship is the  philosopy that citizens would work towards the betterment of society through economic participation, volunteer work and other such efforts to improve life for all citizens. A right has not be enjoyed by an individual at the cost of other’s right. A right pertains to an individual’s liberty but to sustain and develop equality in a society, responsibilities or duties are must to be followed by the citizens. If we have a right to free speech, then it becomes our responsibility to moderate our speech so that it does not incite hatred between groups and communities. Keeping this in view, India incorporated fundamental duties as well in its constitution to complement the rights. Now corporates which thrive on lands and forests occupied earlier by other communities, they have to share their riches with those people in the form of corporate social responsibility. Mahatma gandhi had aptly said that the world has enough to fulfil everyone’s need but not enough to fulfil anyone’s greed. In today’s world where resources are scarce, these words of his have become highly relevant. In the name of development, we are polluting our air and cutting down our forests. We are threatening the livelihood of various communities which sustain on these lands. This has led to widespread social tensions resulting into violence. The corporates and other players are forgetting their responsibilities towards the society. Their rights to do business must be in harmony with the rights of citizens whose livelihood gets affected. Many Management literates have investigated the notion of Citizenship from three perspective-an Organizational Citizenship (where the efforts are undertaken by the employees to behave as good citizens within their organization); from a social perspective with the notion of Corporate Citizenship (where initiatives are undertaken by businesses to act responsibly in society in particular and the Nation in general) and last but not the least from the planet perspective with the notion of Environment Citizenship (where efforts should be undertaken by Individuals/entity to be responsible towards environmental protection). At the organization level citizens should strive for sustainable development . There should be effort towards a future state for human societies in which living conditions and resource-use meet human needs without undermining the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that future generations may also have their needs met. Central coalfield Limited(CCL) as a responsible organization in making citizens partner in progress. Major corporate social responsibility(CSR) activity of Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) 1. CCL has adopted 2 villages in the nearby vicinity in which Rs. 50 lac was provided for setting up a Solar Light Generating Unit. 2. CCL has organized 25 medical camps in the adopted villages, in which 2644 persons were benefitted. 3. CCL has constructed/ repaired 17 rural roads, built/ repaired 21 rural schools and 20 community centers have been constructed/ repaired. 4. 11 visually impaired girl students of Brajkishore Netrahin Balaika vidyalia have been adopted by CCL for their education and Health Care. 5. For providing the supply of drinking water, 84 works with respect to digging of hand pumps, installation of hand pumps, wells, ponds etc. were undertaken by CCL giving benefit to 105 villages. 6. 335 health camps were organized in different villages of CCL in which 52309 people were benefited. 7. CCL has started operation JYOTI to eradicate reversible blindness in command areas and 2511 persons have been operated so far. 8. An amount of Rs. 3.70 Cr. was provided to state Government for construction of Bridge on Ray-Tandwa- Khilari Road. 9. Rs. 81.38 lac was provided to Jharkhand state for De-Silting of Kanke Dam, Ranchi.

The Temper Tantrums Children And Young People Essay

The Temper Tantrums Children And Young People Essay Mothering is the interaction style of mother with her children. A mother should be patient and good listener. She should keep herself cool in negative circumstances. She should her child at every step. She should be responsible for needs and belongings of her child. She should take interest in the activities of her child. It will bring positive changes in her child (Freud, 1946). Fathering is a big responsibility. Father is a role model for his child. Child observes the behavior of his father and imitates it. He has to take the responsibility of his childs every need like food, shelter, clothing and education. He should affection and love towards his child. Little words of appreciation and encouragement can develop the confidence of child (Runkel, 2008). 1. Temper tantrums Temper tantrums are very challenging. If a toddler is becoming tantrum then try to divert his attention. Try to engage him in another activity and give him choices. A daily routine schedule can be established with regular eating, sleeping and play times. It will result a happy and developed behavior. 2. Potty training Children might oppose potty training. But mother should not enforce him potty sitting but she should keep herself calm. Sleep affects potty training session. Mother should take care about his sleep. She should set their timing by limit food and drink 2 hours before bed .She should encourage for a potty trip before sleep. Bullying is violent behavior that can be verbal or physical. Boys show bullying behavior mostly by physical actions like pushing, kicking or hitting. While girls engage in verbal bullying. Parents can help their adolescents deal with the common issue of bullying by following these guidelines: Parent should understand the situation and seriousness of bullying. Parents must recognize initial behavior that led to bullying. Parents should use suitable strategies according to the nature of child. Parent should educate their child about bullying that is not accepted behavior and they must avoid it. Parent should teach their children to cope stress. Physical exercise, spending time in playing or spending time in the company of nature can cope stress (Campbell, 2005). In limited caretaking parents are primary caretaker and grand parents have limited connection with their grand children. Grandparents can not involve in the education of their grandchildren. They can not check their school records. But in involuntary caretaking grand parenting, grand parents are primary care taker. They have full-time custody over them and responsible for their every matter. Grandparents have positive impacts on the life of grandparents. They change their life style and built up positive character of their grandchildren. Grandchildren become aware of dealing with different circumstances of life without parents. They behave as responsible person and become more disciplined. They did not feel alone but being loved and feel satisfied. Grandparents told them past stories and about their traditions and cultural values and they become aware of cultural values. Due to positive attitude towards life, they take interest in studies and show good performance in studies. Due to these positive impacts of grandparents on the life of grandchildren, parent should include them to influence their childs life. National Extension Parent Education Model provides research based information about parenting. It improves parenting skills. It assists parents to care themselves first. By caring themselves, their stress level will decrease which will decrease gap between parent. And close relationship brings confidence in child. It enables the parents to understand the behavior of their children by observation. Parents understand the needs of their children by their behavioral cues. It enables the parents to guide and discipline their children effectively. Consistency in guidance play significant role in the development of child. It makes the parents to nurture their child which brings positive outcomes and increase their level of competence. It practices the parents to motivate their children which provides opportunities to students to learn more and more. And they develop intellectually and become responsive. Poverty refers to economic hardships and meeting the basic needs of life. It impacts both parents and children. It resists parents to become good parents. It increases the stress level of parents which result into bad attitude towards children. It may led to child abuse. It effects physical health of children due to insufficient money. When they do not meet their basic needs, they effects psychologically and show mental and behavioral problems. It lowers down the educational outcomes of children. Education of child is combined responsibility of parents and children. Parents can support their children in the classroom in many ways. They meet the teachers face-to-face on regular basis to about the progress of their child. They should try their level best to attend schools field trips and concerts. It send a message that they take care about the education of their child. There are following two outside resources to support your family: Parents should act as teacher. They should guide their family members. It is their responsibility to provide medical services to their family. Divorce is a somber decision. It breaks down a family bond and effects the children both psychologically and emotionally. Parental loss is major effect. Child feels alienated and become victim of anxiety and depression. He has to face many problems in school. He is teased by his peer group. Moreover, he has to face financial problems sometimes. Parents can encounter act the negativity and support their children in following way: social support by parents can help them to adopt positive attitude towards life. Parents have to make their children to face multiple situations in school and how to cope with them. Take a calendar and set your time schedule for whole day morning to night. Avoid wastage of time from morning to evening. Then follow your time table. It will enhance the lives of their children. Parents should themselves in childs school functions like field trips and concert. As, it send a message that they take care about their children. Overweight consider body weight with respect to body composition or height. Overweight children have chances of sever obesity in adulthood. Overweight leads to serious physiological health problems. It affects mental development of children and cause psychological problems like anxiety. It involves high risk of asthma, cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It leads to musculoskeletal and fatty liver disorder. It causes orthopedic problems and agitation during sleep. Fat accumulation resists insulin production and cause diabetes. Parents can help their children in following ways: They should make their children to adopt healthy life style by changing their eating habits. They should develop their routine with maximum physical activities to burn their calories. It may include sports or just playing. They should let them avoid carbohydrates and junk food. They should let them eat fresh fruits and vegetable instead of packed juices. Physical disable children are very sensitive. It is great task for parent to handle them positively. Parents can help their child in different fields of life in many ways. Parents should adopt positive attitude towards their children. They should take them as burden. It will increase their pain and sufferings. They should try to understand their problems and help them in finding solution of these problems. Like other children, choice making is a great and difficult task for them. Parents should guide and help them in this concern. They should grant them emotional support in classroom activities. They should encourage them. It will bring confidence and positive learning outcomes. They should teach the peer group their disable child to offer their help their help respectfully and may not damage their self-respect socially. They should assess their children to search creative ways to involve physical disable child to different play activities. For example, it is easy for disable child t o play with blocks on a table with his peer group, sitting on his wheel chair. Adopted parents may face many fears and natural insecurities after adopting a child. Adopted child also feels alienation and anxiety due to loss of their biological parents. Some children feel curiosity about their genetic history, which will create confusion and mistrust towards their parents. It will lower their level of self-esteem. Adopted parents can help them in their grievances for their separation from their biological parents. They should tell him about his genetic history and help him to find their identity. It will develop trust on adoptive parents and establish good relationship and raise their level of self-esteem. Some of this information has been taken from Caught in the middle: Protecting the children of high-conflict divorce. Because it manages the custody case of contested child and evaluate parent child relationship and parenting skills effectively. There is variety of child care program due to different school of thought. There are many positive effects of s quality childcare program. High quality childcare programs in childhood lead to academic success in next life. While poor parents child can not compete them in academic performance. By effective strategies, children show positive behavioral change. It also leads to intellectual development a child. You can convince parents that your program is ideal childcare program by informing them about your high objective for intellectual and behavioral development of a child, effective plans to achieve your objectives, and its positive effects. Parents often wish that a parenting manual came with their children. A it suggests that they are member of their childs classroom. An appropriate parenting model which is suitable for every social class, race and ethnic group convey to parents that your classroom is tolerant, supportive and encouraging to all families.

Relationships Between Employees And Employers

Relationships Between Employees And Employers The subject of this study is the relationships between employees, employers and their representatives in the United Kingdom and mainly the changes that have occurred in the last few years. What is meant exactly by employee relations? What has changed since the Industrial Revolution? Salaman (2000) defines employee relations as a reflection of the development of more diverse employment patterns, the growth of high tech and commercial sectors, reduced levels of unionisation and use of management strategies aimed at individualising the employment relationship, in other terms it is the new management of all the variables which influence the work namely the management style, the level of employees motivation, the work environment, job satisfaction, the objectives of the company etc. We can differentiate three phases in the evolution of employee relations since the end of the Second World War, the third one being the partnership approach. Until 1979 (date of the election of the Conservative Party), work relations were based on collective bargaining and collective agreement aiming to determine and regulate, in varying degrees, the terms on which individuals will be employed (Flanders, 1968), with a strong voluntarism encouraged massively and informally. The trade unions (basically, it is an association of wage earners, totally independent of employers pressure, who struggle to improve work conditions) had a lot of power and everything was negotiated through deals. In fact, a Trade Union, through collective bargaining can force employers to deal with labour as a collective identity, rather than isolated individuals, and so, secure better the terms and condition of employment (Webb Webb, 1920). However, when the conservative party was elected in 1979, everything changed. The new government introduced a lot measures to limit the role of trade unions. In addition, it introduced an enterprise culture in which individuals and organisations, rather than government, were to be held responsible for economic performance. Thus, as well as rejecting the maintenance of full employment as a major policy objective, they in effect abandoned the commitment of their predecessors to voluntary collective bargaining as the most effective method of determining pay and conditions. Then, there was a total break with the old work patterns but an explanation of this will be the economical context. In fact, after the war, there was a period of reconstruction that engendered a lot of work; manufacturing was the backbone of the economy, it was a period of full employment. After that, there was a wave of privatisation, many companies became multinationals, and there was an internationalisation of business. The aim of the study will be to analyse and evaluate the new approach to the management of employee relations. Firstly, the author will define and explore what the partnership approach is. Then, the study will continue by examining the advantages and the disadvantages of this approach to each stakeholder (employees, employers and Trade Unions). Finally, an evaluation of the prospects for success of the partnership approach and an expression of a critical comparison with the previous ones will be highlighted. The Employment Relation (ER) Employment relationship is an economical exchange of labour capacity in return for the production of goods and services. It is very important to understand the implications of all the aspects of employment relations. High levels of collaboration between the workforce and management are likely to be consistent with greater reliability of production and quality of output, which in turn would bolster the organizations market position. Thus, employment relation is one of the most significant areas that need to be invested (Rollinson, 1993). Salaman (2000) defines employment relations as a reflection of the development of more diverse employment patterns, the growth of high tech and commercial sectors, reduced levels of unionisation and use of management strategies aimed at individualising the employment relationship, in other terms it is the new management of all the variables which influence the work namely the management style, the level of employees motivation, the work environment, job satisfaction, the objectives of the company etc. The state (all levels of government) plays a crucial role in employment relations, both directly and indirectly. The roles undertaken by governments may be categorised into five components including maintaining protective standards; establishing rules for the interaction between the parties; ensuring that the results of such interaction were consistent with the apparent needs of economy; providing services for labour and management such as advice, conciliation, arbitration and training; and as a major employer. The management of the ER system in Britain Britain is a country of Western Europe comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Until July 2003, the British population is 60,094,648. At the height of its power in the 19th century it ruled an empire that spanned the globe (Stewart, 2005: 23-25). It is the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. The first half of the 20th century saw the Britains strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the Britain rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. It is also a leading trading power and financial centre, is one of the quartets of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. The British industrial relations system has a long history and has undergone much change in recent years. There are three phases in the evolution of employee relations since the end of the World War II, the third one being the partnership approach. Until 1979 (date of the election of the Conservative Party), work relations were based on collective bargaining and collective agreement aiming to determine and regulate, in varying degrees, the terms on which individuals will be employed (Flanders, 1968), with a strong voluntarism encouraged massively and informally. The partnership approach What is it? The use of this term is a relatively recent political phenomenon. Some people affirm that it is just a term used by the Government to attract popular support because nobody can be against Partnership (Knell, 1999). Some others, more optimistic, see in this term a new pluralist approach to industrial relations. This concept comes from the idea that enterprises should recognise the interests of each stakeholder, namely employees, employers and their representatives, in order to satisfy each party. The aim of this approach is to find a common interest of management and labour, through trust and mutual involvement, instilling a sense of belonging and involvement. The Involvement and Participation Association (IPA, 1992) identifies six key principles: A shared commitment to the success of enterprise, including support for flexibility and the replacement of adversarial relations. A recognition that interests of the partners may legitimately differ. Employment security, including measures to improve the employability of staff as well as limit the use of compulsory redundancy. A focus on the quality of working life. A commitment to transparency, including a real sharing of hard, unvarnished information, an openness to discussing plans for the future, genuine consultation and preparedness to listen to the business case for alternative strategies. Adding value the hallmark of an effective partnership is that it taps into sources of commitment and / or resources that were not accessed by previous arrangement. For the New Labour government, partnership at work becomes an important objective. B. Its dimensions 1. Who are the partners? The partnership is between individual employer and individual employee and their representatives but the latter partner is weak in the new work relation. The partnership approach is more focused on individual relationships than a collective one, like in the past. Indeed, New Labour insists on individual choice. For them, it is not an obligation to integrate a working union. It emphasises that individuals are the best judges of their own individual interests. That is to say that the individual has the choice of whether or not to join a trade union and whether or not to take part in the coverage by collective agreement. It might mean the new government is not really in favour of the trade unions. In fact, some people think that a trade union would be an enemy of the partnership approach in the sense that trade unions defend the workers interests and they always have a confrontational relationship with the employers. Then, how can a partnership be formed if one of the partners does not make an effort to find a common agreement? In this way, the trade unions role has to be redefined. They have to play a co-operative role with employers in order to find some common interests which satisfy both the employees and the employers. The psychological contract The psychological contract is the basis of a partnership approach. It is the link between employers and employees. It establishes the expectations, aspirations and understandings which they have of each other (Herriot, 1998). The author has noticed that the psychological contract has changed since the last few years because of the changes of the work environment (change in workforce structure, re-engineering, downsizing.). The old psychological contract was based on security and predictability, now it is more situational and short term and assumes that each party is much less dependent on the other for survival and growth. According to Hiltrop (1995), the new contract can be defined as follows: There is no job security, the employee will be employed as long as he/she adds value to the organisation, and is personally responsible for finding new ways to add value. In return, the employee has the right to demand interesting and important work, has the freedom and resources to perform it well, receives, pay that reflects his or her contributions and get experience and training needed to be employable here or elsewhere. The psychological contract has to be strong and truthful to allow a partnership relation The voluntary aspect of the partnership New Labour insists on the voluntary aspect of the new work relation. The partnership should be introduced through cultural changes which will lead to more positive relationships between employers and employees than the letter of the law can ever achieve. That is to say that the law itself can not resolve the problem of employee relations, some cultural changes have to emerge first. Employers and employees have to make some effort to improve the work relationship. The advantages and the disadvantages of the partnership approach: A. For the employees 1. Advantages With the partnership approach, employees benefit from a Family atmosphere with friendly policies. For example, they benefit from new working arrangements which allow a greater flexibility. There is a harmonisation of working conditions, policies and procedures for all employees under training. The partnership approach introduces a new pay structure: pay is monthly through credit transfer, and the traditional annual pay is replaced by an objective formula. Moreover, a reduction of the working week for manual and craft employees can be observed. 2. Disadvantages However, the partnership approach introduces the notion of the individual worker. In this way, trade unions are less useful in the employer/employee relationship and lose their power. Then, the employee is in a weaker position than his/her employer (a caution has to be noticed because, trade unions have a right to accompany their members during the disciplinary or grievance interview). B. For the employers 1. Advantages Firstly, the partnership gives a good reputation to the enterprise which applies it. Moreover, it allows a greater stability of employment because employer talks to employee and establishes some rights and some obligations that each party has to respect (limit the turnover, strikes and so on). The relationship between both is more respectful and equal. Furthermore, the partnership allows a greater openness over the enterprise. Through it, the employers know what is wrong with the employees and try to find how they can fix it. The work atmosphere is more friendly and truthful. The partnership approach is, as well, a need for a change in approach to the trade unions. To date, the relation between employers and trade unions is based on confrontation. This new approach gives a secondary role to the trade unions and privileges the individual employer/employee relations, which is easier to manage. Moreover, employers try to improve work conditions, in return they profit from a greater activity because workers feel good in the company. In addition they can have greater performance appraisal and a new understanding of performance management through control and feed back. 2. Disadvantages This approach demands a lot of administration and is quite constraining for a company. To fire an employee who has a poor performance for example, the employer has to give a first warning and propose a disciplinary interview in order to detect what is wrong with this employee. If nothing has changed, the employee can receive another warning, the last one, before the dismissal (or other sanctions). Sometimes, procedures take too much time and engender an economical loss. Moreover, the enterprise can lose some power in relation to its employees. Previously, employers had the economic power over employees, now this power is more shared between both because their relationship is more interdependent. C. For the trade unions 1. Advantages There is a new stake in their role as representatives. They have to prove the value of the employers to the employees and the value of the employees to the employers. Moreover, the trade unions can profit from a partnership fund in order that employers and employee representatives work together to support innovative projects to develop the partnership approach in the workplace (Lord McIntosh Lord Hansard, May 1999). 2. Disadvantages The partnership approach has more disadvantages than advantages for the trade unions. Through it, trade unions lose some power. Firstly, their recognition is limited. According to the government, the trade union has a secondary role in the employer/employee relationship. Then, their role has to be redefined in a more consultative sense; it has to focus on the information, the communication, the representation and the partnership. Their contribution to the partnership is potentially useful but far from being essential. Thus, trade unions are worried about their traditional role which is to defend the workers interests. They think that in this new approach, employee representatives will become part of the management. Moreover, according to the IPA, the partnership needs a different channel than the union one, because this model is not adequate anymore. In fact, the union presence is weak or non-existent in the majority of companies in Britain, therefore, the partnership needs a new representative structure. Evaluation and criticism of the prospects for success of the partnership approach The employment relation through the partnership approach becomes fairer. For example, union co-operation in more flexible work patterns, teamworking, the introduction of annualised hours and the harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment are all greater assets of the partnership approach. Concerning job security, the partnership approach remains limited: The job security guarantees have been identified as the hallmark of partnership approach by many of its advocates, although, they have no featured in all such agreements. In most cases, they amount to relatively limited management commitments to avoid the use of compulsory redundancy as a means of labour shedding- a fairly familiar practice in organisations that can attract sufficient candidates for early retirement and voluntary redundancy with enhanced severance payments. Moreover in some partnership agreement, trade unions and employees are required to co-operate with measures with make the avoidance of compulsory redundancy easier, including the acceptance of the companys use of subcontracted, temporary or short-term contract staff ( Taibly Winchester, 2000 and Bach Sisson,2000). Moreover, the fundamental need for a successful approach requires some cultural changes; we have to break with the old practice (industrial/adversarial ones) because we cannot access a new form of management without this. Furthermore, the partnership approach appeared in a particular political context. In fact, it was the end of the Conservative government (characterised by a policy of deregulation) and the beginning of the Labour party which developed the important idea of commitment to the partnership in the workplace. But, its aim has to be analysed very carefully because we can notice that the government refused to take part in some social policy proposals developed by the European commission. This reaction is contrary to the apparent willingness of the government to introduce fairness in work and at work. However, some surveys show that employees feel better with the partnership agreement. We can notice that job satisfaction level is greater than before (Bach Sisson, 2000) but this result has to be taken with caution if we refer to the recent strike of the Post Offices which occurred last month. Then, the question is whether the partnership approach is successful? In the historical, political and economical context, the author thinks that partnership and the willingness of each stakeholder are present. The difficulty is just trying to apply it in the best way. Britain has made a lot of effort to improve work conditions. Compared to the past, this approach is the compromise between the two previous ones. Indeed, the first one (~1945-1979) was too dominated by the trade unions. The following one was too adversarial; the employees lost all their rights. Thus, this new approach tries to satisfy both parties. Conclusion The work is not finished. If the partnership approach succeeds in satisfying the stakeholders, it needs to be improved again. Britain needs to work on other more social law proposals and take part in the European ones. However, the employment relations are governed by the variation of the market as well; hence, it is very difficult to satisfy everybody. But, the important thing is to try to do the best. Moreover, there will always be some disagreements and unfairness in work and at work; we have to be patient because it takes time to change the mind of each person.

The Power And The Glory :: essays research papers

As countless people in a third world country fall to the ravages of poverty and disease, a single woman fights to make a difference. Living a spartan life, through conditions far from humane, she helps those who are poor, suffering and sick, with total disregard for her own personal comfort. One might say that this woman is a saint and for many she already is. Her selfless abandon to help those in need makes her virtuous to a heroic degree. Her name is Mother Theresa. By stark contrast, the whisky priest can hardly be classified as a saint. A saint is an individual remarkably free from human weaknesses. The whisky priest however, is the incarnate of human failings: a sinner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Priests are respected members of their communities and should exemplify what it is to be a Christian. They are model citizens who practice the teachings of Christ and take on the responsibilities of their title. Under the circumstances of an anti-clerical purge in the southern states of Mexico, it is understandable that the whiskey priest is unable to perform all of his priestly duties for fear of his life. To survive, he must lie, cheat and steal to avoid the law. These tactics however, are not new to him. Even before the purge, he is a priest that is hardly good and honest. By requiring a fee for services such as baptism, at a price of two pesos a head, he is no better that the common thief. Families that can hardly put food on the table are asked to pay for a service that should be given, not sold. The fees for his services are most often directed to luxuries such as brandy, his personal favorite.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a man whose calling is to serve the people, the whisky priest does nothing but serve himself. When the villagers ask the priest to hear their confessions, he unwillingly complies. He is compelled only by his sense of duty and angrily responds, 'Oh let them come. Let them all come, I am your servant.'; (p. 45) He begins to weep not for their sins, but in pity for himself. He does not perform his tasks graciously but feels that they are a chore imposed on him. A priest's duties are not to himself but to God and his neighbours. When the whisky priest prays, it is only for his daughter and no one else. The Power And The Glory :: essays research papers As countless people in a third world country fall to the ravages of poverty and disease, a single woman fights to make a difference. Living a spartan life, through conditions far from humane, she helps those who are poor, suffering and sick, with total disregard for her own personal comfort. One might say that this woman is a saint and for many she already is. Her selfless abandon to help those in need makes her virtuous to a heroic degree. Her name is Mother Theresa. By stark contrast, the whisky priest can hardly be classified as a saint. A saint is an individual remarkably free from human weaknesses. The whisky priest however, is the incarnate of human failings: a sinner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Priests are respected members of their communities and should exemplify what it is to be a Christian. They are model citizens who practice the teachings of Christ and take on the responsibilities of their title. Under the circumstances of an anti-clerical purge in the southern states of Mexico, it is understandable that the whiskey priest is unable to perform all of his priestly duties for fear of his life. To survive, he must lie, cheat and steal to avoid the law. These tactics however, are not new to him. Even before the purge, he is a priest that is hardly good and honest. By requiring a fee for services such as baptism, at a price of two pesos a head, he is no better that the common thief. Families that can hardly put food on the table are asked to pay for a service that should be given, not sold. The fees for his services are most often directed to luxuries such as brandy, his personal favorite.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a man whose calling is to serve the people, the whisky priest does nothing but serve himself. When the villagers ask the priest to hear their confessions, he unwillingly complies. He is compelled only by his sense of duty and angrily responds, 'Oh let them come. Let them all come, I am your servant.'; (p. 45) He begins to weep not for their sins, but in pity for himself. He does not perform his tasks graciously but feels that they are a chore imposed on him. A priest's duties are not to himself but to God and his neighbours. When the whisky priest prays, it is only for his daughter and no one else.

Rise And Fall Of The Kkk Essay -- essays research papers

The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" - Thomas Jefferson (Cultural Racism 1) This excerpt from the Declaration of independence specifically stated that all men are created equal, but that is contradiction to the governments decisions. The Ku Klux Klan founded in 1865 by William Nathan Bedford a former confederate general, began a campaign of terror against free blacks and their white supporters. The KKK had a wide array of uneducated people because their main incentive was to recruit young, homeless, and mindless children to follow in their footsteps and become a member of the KKK. In many instances Klan members were taught the KKK did not believe that blacks were capable of the necessary decision making in life, they thought that Blacks were sub-human(Student Handbook 316). The KKK had many wrong beliefs, like that Blacks were not capable of decision making, recruiting young children who did not know better to become members of the KKK, that they were above the law in many instances. On the other hand very few Klan members were educated to know what they were in the Klan for, like David Duke. I believe in white supremacy until blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgement to irresponsible people. John Wayne Interview in Playboy Magazine, May 1971 (Cuturla Racism 2) White supremacy served as the basis for the organization of the Ku Klux Klan, despite slaves and white abolitionists. The KKK blames the abundance of ethnic groups for their misfortunes. The Supreme Court ruled many times that no slave had any rights as a free man. Either their plantation owners or high-ranking officials determined the exploitation and way of life. Whenever a slave escaped it was the right of the owner to reclaim its property (Hamm 27). The whites in the KKK then wanted to become the ultimate race and would do almost anything to do that, an example would be that their main incentive was to go out and recruit young, homeless, ... ...he received his BA in history in 1974, he became an enthusiastic admirer of Adolph Hitler, and by 1975, he had risen to Grand Wizard of the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan (Student Handbook 490).† The United States is known as the melting pot. Since its beginnings as small settlements, this country has always been known as a haven to those who love to cherish it. When people think of America they think of the land of opportunity and that is why so many people are immigrating or emigrating to or in this Country. The Ku Klux Klan is everything the American Dream is not. They are a sign of bigotry and hatred. They have tried for over a hundred years to shatter the dreams of so many people. Many people think that since the civil rights movement the KKK is no longer a danger but in fact it is still a great danger. There are still people like David Duke in office and there is no way to persuade someone to change their views, so we have to live with the bigotry and hatred for a very long time. The Klan of 1865 differs from the Klan of 1999 and it will always be changing. The Klan will never revolve around the main theme of 1865 again but they will always have the same people involved