Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Bangladeshi Constitution Changes over Time but It Don’t Reflect the Demand of the People of Bangladesh

Question: Bangladeshi constitution changes over time but it don’t reflect the demand of the people of Bangladesh. Introduction: Bangladesh Constitution changes over time in different government regime. There have been ongoing controversies and debates on some aspects of the current Bangladesh Constitution, especially every government came to power and amend the constitution according to their will. No specific and written proposal has ever been published by those governments; so we are unaware of the benefit of those Amendments which are intended.In my study, I tried to discuss about some important amendment about Bangladeshi Constitution. Especially I focused on reflections of the demands and choices of people on these changes. First Amendment: In 1973, the Constitution Act 1973 was passed inserting sub-art (3) in Article 47 whereby law can be enforced over war criminal and then fundamental human rights will be inapplicable. Flaws of this amendment: Govt. an misuse this amend ment and accuse someone as war criminal. As a result that accused people will not be able to have any kind of fundamental human rights. This amendment is not reflecting the need of mass people rather some political people. Third Amendment: The Constitution (Third Amendment) Act 1974 was passed to give effect to the agreement with India giving up the claim in respect of Berubari and retaining Dahagram and Angorpota. Flaws of this amendment:An Enclave is a geographical territory which is completely surrounded by foreign territory (including foreign territorial water) such a territory is called an enclave in respect to the surrounding foreign territory, and an exclave in respect to the territory to which it is politically attached. So after the exchange, the control of the corridor rested with the Indian authorities, and the problems of connecting other enclaves continue as before. Moreover the primary sufferers of this controlled corridor are the people of Bangladesh. Fifth Amendment: The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad on 6 April 1979. This Act amended the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution by adding a new Paragraph 18 thereto, which provided that all amendments, additions, modifications, substitutions and omissions made in the Constitution during the period between 15 August 1975 and 9 April 1979 (both days inclusive) by any Proclamation or Proclamation Order of the Martial Law Authorities had been validly made and would not be called in question in or before any court or tribunal or authority on any ground whatsoever.The expression ‘Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim’ was added before the Preamble of the Constitution. The expression ‘historic struggle for national liberation’ in the Preamble was replaced by ‘a historic war for national independence. ’ One party system was replaced by multiparty parliamentary system. Fundamental principles of state policy were made as ‘absolute trust an d faith in the Almighty Allah, nationalism, democracy and socialism meaning economic and social justice. ’ Flaws of Fifth Amendment [1]:The Fifth Amendment was passed by a military government in the consequences of a series of murderous coups, counter-coups and government change. That period was very painful, undefined and critical for the ‘sovereign existence’ of Bangladesh as it faced hosts of political, economic and security challenges from both within and outside. One may have hesitations about some aspects of this or any other Amendment but it is important also to consider the overall situation prevailing at the time.And it is wrong, in my opinion, to condemn any or all the Amendments if the existing conditions demanded it, but we have a right, in fact obligations, to look at them critically and reassess the situation [2]. The leaders want to change the present Constitution, because according to them, the Constitution was made ‘Communal’ by intr oducing the words ‘Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim’ in the preface and by making ‘Islam’ the ‘state religion’ at the cost of the principle of ‘Secularism’.This brought about fundamental modifications to Constitution, which is true in my judgment, but I am not sure whether this made Bangladesh ‘more Islamic’ or ‘communal’ than before. It is noted that equal rights, including freedom to exercise all religions, are guaranteed in the Constitution. There may be some uncertainty and it is true that some fringe groups have been mixing for introduction of ‘Sharia Law [3]’. This, of course, is shocking the religious minorities for the potential loss of their religious rights and freedom under an ‘Islamic Republic’ in the style of Pakistan or Afghanistan under Taliban rule.Majority Muslims of Bangladesh are also concerned since such activities may encourage the extremist groups to adopt violen t and terrorist activities for a change of the government and the system. The word ‘Socialism’ was not omitted completely from the Constitution by the subsequent amendments but redefined by saying that it meant ‘economic and social justice’. This assured the West and pro-capitalist elements that Bangladeshi Socialism is not socialism in the real sense; it was not the socialism as it was then accomplished in China or Soviet Russia, and that there is no reason to be frightened.In the light of the major changes in the world economic and power relations over the last decades (especially since the collapse of Soviet model, end of Cold war, amendments in the Chinese model), debates on this ‘modernizing socialism’ in the Constitution is rather muted. Some of our former ‘Socialist revolutionary leaders’ are happily co-habiting with semi-feudal, pro-capitalist parties. The debate on ‘Nationalism’ (Bangali vs Bangladeshi) seems to be driven by emotion. Individually, I feel quite comfortable being known as a ‘Bangladeshi’ national with ‘Bangali’ cultural and linguistic tradition and with a Muslim faith.Citizens who are not Bangali but of other ethnic and cultural roots and profess any of the non-Muslim faiths should feel quite relaxed if their nationality is ‘Bangladeshi’. I find no contradiction in this kind of arrangement. But it is wrong to define all the citizens of Bangladesh as ‘Bangali’; they would not feel comfortable with is this classification. Those who raise controversies and unnecessary debates on this issue are not helping Bangladesh to establish its individual national identity. The issue of ‘Secularism’ is more complex as it is supposed to be more rogressive and all embracing as opposed to the word ‘Islam or Muslim’ in the Constitution. Whether the present Bangladesh Awami League government really wants to delete t he words ‘Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim’ from the preface and ‘Islam is the state religion’ from the Constitution to reinstate the word ‘Secularism’, remain to be seen. Still we may create a few comments for general conversation.[1] http://thetrajectory. com/blogs/index. php/2009/05/the-fifth-amendment-crisis-in-bangladesh/ [2] http://www. scribd. om/doc/2599618/12-Amendment-in-Bangladesh-Constitution [3] Sharia, or Islamic law, influences the legal code in most Muslim countries. A movement to allow sharia to govern personal status law, a set of regulations that pertain to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and custody, is even expanding into the West. Tenth Amendment: The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act 1990 amended, among others, Article 65 of the Constitution, providing for reservation of thirty seats for the next 10 years in the Jatiya Sangsad exclusively for women members, to be elected by the members of the Sangsad. Flaws of this amendment :The tenth amendment reflects the right of women regarding the participation in Jatiya Sangsad. But there are biasness regarding the female candidate selection procedure. Moreover some female member of parliament is worse then male MP, this unjustified selection makes the public representation procedure vague. Thirteenth Amendment: The Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act 1996 provided for a non-party Caretaker Government which, acting as an interim government, would give all possible aid and assistance to the Election Commission for holding the general election of members of the Jatiya Sangsad peacefully, fairly and mpartially. The caretaker government, comprising the Chief Adviser and not more than 10 other advisers, would be collectively responsible to the President and would stand dissolved on the date on which the Prime Minister entered upon his office after the Constitution of the new Sangsad. Flaws of this amendment: The introduction of caretaker government is not as effec tive as it was thought. The caretaker govt. forms after a political party handover the power to the caretaker govt. and the duty of caretaker govt. is to make necessary procedure to arrange a free and fair election.But the previous political party can easily influence the caretaker govt. and then caretaker govt. will tilt the election procedure towards them. As a result the previous political party remains in the govt. position for nest 5 years. So there must be more clauses in the 13th amendment to rectify the behavior of caretaker govt. member. Analysis and Comments: It is observed from the above, that the Amendments made at one time under certain circumstances were replaced by another Amendment, and also that majority of these had a broad nationwide debate.But a few of those Amendments were enacted without proper debates and discussions. Whereas, people from different political view, religion should be involved in this process. Amendments that were the result of autocratic though t obviously come under severe criticisms, sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes for political purposes. Constitution is the superlative law of Bangladesh . It is the reflection of people's demands and needs. The government should think very carefully before making any fundamental changes in it.It should refrain from making major changes unless a national harmony is attained. History tells us fundamental changes of the Constitution by the one-sided action of the government have not brought successful result. Rather, it created hostility and division within the country when stability and unity were greatly needed for national prosperity. In any event, if any fundamental changes are to be made in the current Constitution, the prescribed procedure outlined in the very Constitution must be followed.Reference ; Bibliography: †¢Daily ittefaq, Article on ‘Contemporary debates for fundamental changes of the Constitution’, [online, retrieved on February 27, 2010], availa ble at:  http://www. ittefaq. com/issues/2010/02/27/news0888. htm†¢Bangladesh Strategic ; Development Forum, Article on ‘Strategic Relations Between Bangladesh And India’, [online, retrieved on October 9, 2007], available at: http://www. dsdf. org/forum/index. php? showtopic=32551;st=75;gt;†¢The Daily Star, Article on ‘The Tin Bigha corridor 15 years on’, [online, retrieved on October 13, 2007], available at: †¢Council on Foreign Relations, Article on ‘Islam: Governing Under Sharia’, [online, retrieved on October 5, 2010], available at: †¢RESDAL, Article on ‘The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ’, [online, retrieved on October 12, 2010], available at: ;lt; http://www. esdal. org/Archivo/ban-pIII. htm;gt;†¢Daffodil University, Article on ‘THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH’, [online, retrieved on October 11, 2010], available at: †¢Wikipedia 1, 2010, Indo-Bangladesh enclaves. [online retrieved on October 8, 2010], available at:   http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Indo-Bangladesh_enclaves†¢YUDU, Article on ‘Current Changes in Constitution’, [online, retrieved on October 11, 2010], available at: †¢Bangladesh: Constitution, Law and Justice by Nagendra Kr Singh †¢Kamal, M. Bangladesh Constitution: trends and issues. 1994 †¢Islam, M. Constitutional law of Bangladesh. 1995†¢Rahman, L. The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh: with comments ; case-laws. 1994 †¢Ahemd, R. Religion, nationalism, and politics in Bangladesh. 1990

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Literary Criticism of Don DeLillo

Literary Criticism of Don DeLilloâ€Å"It's my nature to keep quiet about most things. Even the ideas in my work. When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It was created as a mystery, in part.† –Don DeLillo, from the 1979 interview with Tom LeClairThere are a number of books and essays which are devoted to analysis of Don Delillo's writing. This page concentrates on the books only (for the most part), with most recent on top.Terrorism, Media, and the Ethics of Fiction: Transatlantic Perspectives on Don DeLillo (2010)Great to see the publication of this book of essays from the DeLillo Conference held in Osnabrà ¼ck, Germany in 2008 (see my page on the Conference). Edited by conference organizers Peter Schneck and Philipp Schweighauser.Terrorism, Media, and the Ethics of Fiction is published by Continuum, ISBN-13: 9781441139931, 2010 (hardcover, 264 pages).Contents include: Introduction – Philipp Schweighauser and Peter Schneck M emory Work after 9/11The Wake of Terror: Don DeLillo's â€Å"In the Ruins of the Future,† â€Å"Baader-Meinhof,† and Falling Man – Linda S. Kauffman Grieving and Memory in Don DeLillo's Falling Man – Silvia Caporale Bizzini Collapsing Identities: The Representation and Imagination of the Terrorist in Falling Man – Sascha Pà ¶hlmann Writers, Terrorists, and the Masses6,500 Weddings and 2,750 Funerals: Mao II, Falling Man, and the Mass Effect – Mikko Keskinen Influence and Self-Representation: Don DeLillo's Artists and Terrorists in Postmodern Mass Society – Leif Grà ¶ssinger The Art of Terror–the Terror of Art: DeLillo's Still Life of 9/11, Giorgio Morandi, Gerhard Richter, and Performance Art – Julia Apitzsch Don DeLillo and Johan GrimonprezGrimonprez's Remix – Eben WoodDial T for Terror: Don DeLillo's Mao II and Johan Grimonprez' Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y – Martyn Colebrook Deathward and Other PlotsTerror, Asce ticism, and Epigrammatic Writing in Don DeLillo's Fiction – Paula Martà ­n Salvà ¡n The End of Resolution? Reflections on the Ethics of Closure in Don DeLillo's Detective Plots – Philipp Schweighauser and Adrian S. Wisnicki The Ethics of FictionSlow Man, Dangling Man, Falling Man: Don DeLillo and the Ethics of Fiction – Peter Boxall Falling Man: Performing Fiction – Marie-Christine Lepsâ€Å"Mysterium tremendum et fascinans†: Don DeLillo, Rudolf Otto, and the Search for Numinous Experience – Peter Schneck CodaThe DeLillo Era: Literary Generations in the Postmodern Period – David Cowart (Sept. 6, 2010)The Cambridge Companion to Don DeLillo (2008)Above is a shot of the book ‘on location' in Cambridge, with St Johns College in the background; I found the book at the Cambridge Book Shop, and the clerk told me that the book had just come in that day! (May 13, 2008)The Cambridge Companion to Don DeLillo is a new book edited by John Duvall, and it features articles covering much of DeLillo's work by many familiar names of DeLillo criticism. Published by Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 9780521690898, 2008 (paperback, 203 pages). There's a hardback as  well.Contents include: Introduction: â€Å"The power of history and the persistence of mystery† John N. Duvall Part I. Aesthetic and Cultural Influences â€Å"DeLillo and modernism† Philip Nel â€Å"DeLillo, postmodernism, postmodernity† Peter Knight Part II. Early Fiction â€Å"DeLillo and media culture† Peter Boxall â€Å"DeLillo's apocalyptic satire† Joseph Dewey â€Å"DeLillo and the political thriller† Tim Engles Part III. Major Novels â€Å"White Noise† Stacey Olster â€Å"Libra† Jeremy Green â€Å"Underworld† Patrick O'Donnell Part IV. Themes and Issues â€Å"DeLillo and masculinity† Ruth Helyer â€Å"DeLillo's Dedealian artists† Mark Osteen â€Å"DeLillo and the power of la nguage† David Cowart â€Å"DeLillo and mystery† John McClure Conclusion: â€Å"Writing amid the ruins: 9/11 and Cosmopolis† Joseph Conte It's unclear how much of this material is truly new; much may be adapted from previously published work.Beyond Grief and Nothing: A Reading of Don DeLillo (2006)Beyond Grief and Nothing is a new book by Joseph Dewey from the University of South Carolina Press. The book traces a thematic trajectory in DeLillo from his first short story to ‘Love-Lies-Bleeding'. The book examines DeLillo as a profoundly spiritual writer, a writer who has wrestled with his Catholic upbringing (the title comes from the famous line from Faulkner's ‘Wild Palms' that forms a motif in Godard's ‘Breathless') and who has emerged over the last decade as perhaps the most important religious writer in American literature since Flannery O'Connor.Dewey finds DeLillo's concerns to be organized around three rubrics that mark the writer's own cre ative evolution: the love of the street, the embrace of the word, and the celebration of the soul.Joseph Dewey is an Associate Professor, American literature at University of Pittsburgh, and heco-edited Underwords (see below). 184 pages, hardcover, $34.95.Don DeLillo: The Possibility of Fiction (2006)Don DeLillo:The Possibility of Fiction by Peter Boxall (Routledge). I don't know much about this book, except for the fact that it's expensive! Dr. Peter Boxall is a lecturer in English Literature at the University of Sussex, and has previously published on Beckett (among others).Approaches to Teaching DeLillo's White Noise (2006)Approaches to Teaching DeLillo's White Noise is a new book edited by Tim Engles and John N. Duvall. From the MLA website:This volume, like others in the MLA's Approaches to Teaching World Literature series, is divided into two parts. The first part, â€Å"Materials,† suggests readings and resources for both instructor and students of White Noise. The sec ond part, â€Å"Approaches,† contains eighteen essays that establish cultural, technological, and theoretical contexts (e.g., whiteness studies); place the novel in different survey courses (e.g., one that explores the theme of American materialism); compare it with other novels by DeLillo (e.g., Mao II); and give examples of classroom techniques and strategies in teaching it (e.g., the use of disaster films).The book is aimed at folks who include White Noise in their syllabus, and it includes pieces from Mark Osteen, Phil Nel, John Duvall, Tim Engles and many more.Benjamin Kunkel on Novelists and Terrorists (2005)In the New York Times Book Review of September 11, 2005, Benjamin Kunkel offers â€Å"Dangerous Characters†, an essay on the ‘terrorist novel' of the pre 9/11 era. DeLillo unsurprisingly features in the essay. It's worth reading in its entirety, but I pull out a couple quotes here that were of particular interest to me:Terrorists might be a novelist's r ivals, as Don DeLillo's novelist character maintains in †Mao II† (1991), but they were also his proxies. No matter how realistic, the terrorist novel was also a kind of metafiction, or fiction about fiction.DeLillo saw that novelists, like terrorists, were solitary and obscure agents, †men in small rooms,† preparing symbolic provocations to be unleashed on the public with a bang. Of course this could refer only to a certain kind of novelist, starting perhaps with Flaubert and ending, DeLillo suggested, with Beckett, whose work could be taken as an indictment of an entire civilization, and whose authority when it came to that civilization was paradoxically derived from his appearing to stand completely outside it.Don DeLillo: Balance at the Edge of Belief (2004)Don DeLillo: Balance at the Edge of Belief by Jesse Kavadlo, published in 2004 by Peter Lang Publishing (ISBN: 0-8204-6351-5). Here's how the back cover puts it:Don DeLillo – winner of the Nation al Book Award, the William Dean Howells Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize – is one of the most important novelists of the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries. While his work can be understood and taught as prescient and postmodern examples of millennial culture, this book argues that DeLillo's recent novels – White Noise, Libra, Mao II, Underworld, and The Body Artist – are more concerned with spiritual crisis. Although DeLillo's worlds are rife with rejection of belief and littered with faithlessness, estrangement, and desperation, his novels provide a balancing moral corrective against the conditions they describe.  Speaking the vernacular of contemporary America, DeLillo explores the mysteries of what it means to be human.Don DeLillo – Bloom's Modern Critical Views (2003)Don DeLillo was published by Chelsea House in 2003, edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom.The book consists of previously published critical essays on DeLillo:â₠¬Å"Introduction† by Harold Bloom â€Å"Don DeLillo's Search for Walden Pond† by Michael Oriard â€Å"Preface and Don DeLillo† by Robert Nadeau â€Å"Don DeLillo's America† by Bruce Bawer â€Å"White Magic: Don DeLillo's Intelligence Networks† by Greg Tate â€Å"Myth, Magic and Dread: Reading Culture Religiously† by Gregory Salyer â€Å"The Romantic Metaphysics of Don DeLillo† by Paul Maltby â€Å"For Whom the Bell Tolls: Don DeLillo's Americana† by David Cowart â€Å"Consuming Narratives: Don DeLillo and the ‘Lethal' Reading† by Christian Mararu â€Å"Romanticism and the Postmodern Novel: Three Scenes from Don DeLillo's White Noise† by Lou F. Caton â€Å"Don DeLillo's Postmodern Pastoral† by Dana Phillipsâ€Å"Afterthoughts on Don DeLillo's Underworld† by Tony Tanner â€Å"‘What About a Problem That Doesn't Have a Solution?': Stone's A Flag for Sunrise, DeLillo's Mao II, and the Politics of Political Fiction† by Jeoffrey S. Bull White Noise: A Reader's Guide (2003)Don DeLillo's White Noise: A Reader's Guide by Leonard Orr was published in 2003. The book is published as part of the Continuum Contemporaries series, sells for $9.95 and is 96 pages.Underwords: Perspectives on Don DeLillo's Underworld (2002)Underwords: Perspectives on Don DeLillo's Underworld is edited by Joseph Dewey, Steven G. Kellman, and Irving Malin, and published by University of  Delaware Press in Sept. 2002 (ISBN 0-87413-785-3 $39.50). Here is a picture & the blurb:Don DeLillo's 1997 masterwork Underworld, one of the most acclaimed and long-awaited novels of the last twenty years, was immediately recognized as a landmark novel, not only in the long career of one of America's most distinguished novelists but also in the ongoing evolution of the postmodern novel. Vast in scope, intricately organized, and densely allusive, the text provided an immediate and engaging challenge to readers of c ontemporary fiction.This collection of thirteen essays brings together new and established voices in American studies and contemporary American literature to assess the place of this remarkable novel not only within the postmodern tradition but within the larger patterns of American literature and culture as well. By seeking to place the novel within such a context, this lively collection of provocative readings offers a valuable guide for both students and scholars of the American literary imagination.The book contains:â€Å"A Gathering Under Words: An Introduction† by Joseph Dewey â€Å"‘What Beauty, What Power': Speculations on the Third Edgar† by Irving Malin and Joseph Dewey â€Å"Subjectifying the Objective: Underworld as Mutable Narrative† by David Yetter â€Å"Underworld: Sin and Atonement† by Robert McMinnâ€Å"‘Shall These Bones Live'† by David Cowart â€Å"Don DeLillo's Logogenetic Underworld† by Steven G. Kellman â₠¬Å"Pynchon and DeLillo† by Timothy L. Parrish â€Å"Conspiratorial Jesuits in the Postmodern Novel: Mason & Dixon and Underworld† by Carl Ostrowski â€Å"Don DeLillo, John Updike, and the Sustaining Power of Myth† by Donald J. Greiner â€Å"In the Nick of Time: DeLillo's Nick Shay, Fitzgerald's Nick Carraway, and the Myth of the American Adam† by Joanne Gass â€Å"Don DeLillo, T.S. Eliot, and the Redemption of America's Atomic Waste Land† by Paul Gleason â€Å"The Unmaking of History: Baseball, Cold War, and Underworld† by Kathleen Fitzpatrick â€Å"Underworld or: How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Live the Bomb† by Thomas Myers â€Å"The Baltimore Catechism; or Comedy in Underworld† by Ira Nadel The book also includes a bibliography of Underworld reviews and notices by Marc Singer and Jackson R. Bryer.Don DeLillo: The Physics of Language (2002)Don DeLillo – The Physics of Language by David Cowart was published in Feb. 20 02 by the University of Georgia Press. Here is a link to more info: http://www.ugapress.org/index.php/books/don_delillo/Cowart examines the work of DeLillo with an emphasis on language; DeLillo's use of it in the novels, and the way in which characters in the books are characterized by different types of language. He divides the novels into three groups: the tentative early novels (End Zone, Great Jones Street, Players and Running Dog), the popular fictions (White Noise, Libra and Mao II) and the works of great achievement (Americana, Ratner's Star, The Names, Underworld and The Body Artist).Throughout his twelve novels, DeLillo foregrounds language and the problems of language. He has an uncanny ear for the mannered, elliptical, non sequitur-ridden rhythms of vernacular conversation (the common response to â€Å"thank you† has somehow become â€Å"no problem†). His is an adept parodist of the specialized discourses that proliferate in contemporary society – in sport, business, politics, academe, medicine, entertainment, and journalism. The jargons of science, technology, and military deterrence offer abundant targets, too. But the author's interest in these discourses goes beyond simple parody, and it is the task of criticism to gauge the extra dimensions of DeLillo's thinking about language.Underworld: A Reader's Guide (2002)Don DeLillo's Underworld: A Reader's Guide by John Duvall was published in early 2002. The book is published as part of the Continuum Contemporaries series, sells for $9.95 and is 96 pages.The book has five chapters: The Novelist, giving background on DeLillo; The  Novel, the main section of the book with an analysis of the main themes; The Novel's Reception, on the initial reviews of Underworld; The Novel's Performance, on the subsequent academic treatment; and Further Reading and Discussion.Critical Essays on Don DeLillo (2000)Critical Essays on Don DeLillo, edited by Hugh Ruppersburg, and Tim Engles, published b y G.K. Hall, appeared in 2000. Contains a section of book reviews and a section of essays, covering each novel through Underworld.The essays are:â€Å"For Whom the Bell Tolls: Don DeLillo's Americana† by David Cowart â€Å"Deconstructing the Logos: Don DeLillo's End Zone† by Thomas LeClair â€Å"The End of Pynchon's Rainbow: Postmodern Terror and Paranoia in DeLillo's Ratner's Star† by Glen Scott Allen â€Å"Marketing Obsession: The Fascinations of Running Dog† by Mark Osteen â€Å"Discussing the Untellable: Don DeLillo's The Names† by Paula Bryant â€Å"‘Who are you, literally?': Fantasies of the White Self in Don DeLillo's White Noise† by Tim Engles â€Å"Baudrillard, DeLillo's White Noise, and the End of Heroic Narrative† by Leonard Wilcox â€Å"The Fable of the Ants: Myopic Interactions in DeLillo's Libra† by Bill Millard â€Å"Libra and the Subject of History† by Christopher M. Mottâ€Å"Can the Intellectual Still Speak? The Example of Don DeLillo's Mao II† by Silvia Caporale Bizzini â€Å"Excavating the Underworld of Race and Waste in Cold War History: Baseball, Aesthetics and Ideology† by John N. Duvall â€Å"Everything is Connected: Underworld's Secret History of Paranoia† by Peter Knight â€Å"Awful Symmetries in Don DeLillo's Underworld† by Arthur Saltzman American Magic and Dread (2000)Mark Osteen's book on DeLillo, American Magic and Dread: Don DeLillo's Dialogue with Culture, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in June, 2000. The book examines DeLillo's work from some of the early stories thru Underworld.Modern Fiction Studies (1999)Modern Fiction Studies special issue on DeLillo (Vol 45, No. 3, Fall 1999), includes 10 essays, including work from such friends of the site as Phil Nel, Mark Osteen and Jeremy Green.Undercurrent (1999)In May 1999 an all-DeLillo issue of Erick Heroux's online journal Undercurrent appeared (Number 7). It co ntains the following essays:â€Å"Celebration & Annihilation: The Balance of Underworld† by Jesse Kavadlo â€Å"DeLillo's Underworld: Everything that Descends Must Converge† by Robert Castle â€Å"The Inner Workings: Techno-science & Self in Underworld† by Jennifer Pincott â€Å"American Simulacra: DeLillo in Light of Postmodernism† by Scott Rettberg â€Å"Baudrillard's Primitivism & White Noise: ‘The only avant-garde we've got'† by Bradley Butterfield â€Å"Beyond Baudrillard's Simulacral Postmodern World:White Noise† by Haidar Eid Postmodern Culture (1994)The January, 1994 issue of Postmodern Culture featured the DeLillo Cluster, four essays all dealing with DeLillo edited by Glen Scott Allen and Stephen Bernstein.Glen Scott Allen, â€Å"Raids on the Conscious: Pynchon's Legacy of Paranoia and the Terrorism of Uncertainty in Don DeLillo's Ratner's Star† Peter Baker, â€Å"The Terrorist as Interpreter: Mao II in Postmodern Con text† Stephen Bernstein, â€Å"Libra and the Historical Sublime†Bill Millard, â€Å"The Fable of the Ants: Myopic Interactions in DeLillo's Libra†Don DeLillo (1993)Don DeLillo is a book by Douglas Keesey, a part of the Twayne's U.S. Authors  Series, published by Macmillan, 1993, 228 pages. This book has a chapter on each novel, as well as brief summaries of the stories and plays.Keesey's reading of DeLillo's work is that his novels â€Å"engage in the intensive study of media representations of reality that threaten to distance us from nature and from ourselves.† Thus he links Americana to film, End Zone to language, etc.I found the chapter on Americana quite interesting, as Keesey rebuts those critics who categorized this book as a typical first novel, poorly constructed and lacking charcter development. He argues that on closer examination DeLillo is clearly in control of the book's structure and characters, having made â€Å"fully conscious aesthetic choices.†I tried to get this book through a store, but they couldn't get it, so I ended up buying direct – call 1 800 323 7445 to order.There's an article by Keesey in Pynchon Notes 32-33 entitled â€Å"The Ideology of Detection in Pynchon and DeLillo†.Introducing Don DeLillo (1991)Edited by Frank Lentricchia, 1991. Published by Duke University Press, 221 pages. Lentricchia is the editor of South Atlantic Quarterly and Professor of English at Duke.The book consists of 12 articles:â€Å"The American Writer as Bad Citizen† by Frank Lentricchiaâ€Å"Opposites,† Chapter 10 of Ratner's Star by Don DeLillo  Ã¢â‚¬Å"An Outsider in This Society†: An Interview with Don DeLillo by Anthony DeCurtis (an expanded version of the November 1988 Rolling Stone interview)â€Å"How to Read Don DeLillo† by Daniel Aaron  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Clinging to the Rock: A Novelist's Choices in the New Mediocracy† by Hal Crowther â€Å"Postmodern Romance: Don DeLillo a nd the Age of Conspiracy† by John  A. McClure â€Å"Some Speculations on Don DeLillo and the Cinematic Real† by Eugene Goodheart â€Å"The Product: Bucky Wunderlick, Rock ‘n Roll, and Don DeLillo's Great Jones Street† by Anthony DeCurtis â€Å"Don DeLillo's Perfect Starry Night† by Charles Molesworthâ€Å"Alphabetic Pleasures: The Names† by Dennis A. Foster â€Å"The Last Things Before the Last: Notes on White Noise† by John Frow â€Å"Libra as Postmodern Critique† by Frank Lentricchia More on Frank and Don†¦Jason Camlot delivered an interesting address entitled ‘Frank Lentricchia's Don DeLillo: â€Å"Introducing†, Postmodern Modernism and the Academic Fear of Death' which was given at University of Oregon, May 1993. I am happy to say that this work is now back on the web, hosted here at Don DeLillo's America.Here's a taste:What, then, can be said to make Lentricchia's work as a critic equally relevant and eff ective? In a most obvious sense, it is the position he assumes in relation to the important author that he is introducing that works to establish his own importance. Don Delillo was already a popular author soon after 1985, and by this time he was becoming a significant object of academic attention as well, but these two facts had little bearing on one another, but rather were two distinct phenomena. At least this is what Lentricchia's role as editor and introducer seems to suggest. It is as if the true social significance of Delillo could not exist until a critic such as Lentricchia recognized it, patented it, in a way, by introducing Delillo as the last of the modernists in the postmodern era.New Essays on White Noise (1991)This is a short book of critical essays on White Noise, which is also edited by Lentricchia, published by Cambridge University Press in 1991 (115 pages).The book has five essays:â€Å"Introduction† by Frank Lentricchia â€Å"Whole Families Shopping at N ight!† by Thomas J. Ferraro â€Å"Adolf, We Hardly Knew You† by Paul A. Cantor â€Å"Lust Removed from Nature† by Michael Valdez Moses â€Å"Tales of the Electronic Tribe† by Frank Lentricchia Here's more info on the book.In the Loop – Don DeLillo and the Systems Novel (1987)By Tom LeClair, 1987. Published by University of Illinois Press, 244 pages. LeClair is Professor of English at University of Cincinnati. This is a look at all of DeLillo's novels (through White Noise) in the context of the â€Å"systems novel†. Includes a complete DeLillo bibliography.First Epigraph: â€Å"Somebody ought to make a list of books that seem to bend back on themselves. I think Malcolm Lowry saw Under the Volcano as a wheel-like structure. And in Finnegans Wake we're meant to go from the last page to the first. In different ways I've done this myself.† — Don DeLillo, â€Å"Interview,† Anything Can HappenFrom the Preface:In the Loop also de scribes the situation of the reader who has already entered a Don DeLillo novel, as my first epigraph suggests. DeLillo consistently creates polarized structures–of genre, situation, character, language, tone–that double the novel back upon itself, questioning its generic codes, its beginnings and development, its creator's position toward it, his relation with the reader, who becomes self-conscious, reflective about both his reading and himself, a mobius-stripping away of assumptions about the forms that DeLillo uses, the charged subjects he encircles with his reversals, and the act of reading from beginning to end.Here's the text of a lecture LeClair gave in March 1993 entitled â€Å"Me and Mao  II†.Other Books with DeLillo in the TitleCivello, Paul. American Literary Naturalism and its Twentieth-century Transformations: Frank Norris, Ernest Hemingway, Don DeLillo. (University of Georgia Press, 1994, 208 pages). Chapters 8-10 deal with DeLillo, End Zone and Libra in particular.Hantke, Steffen. Conspiracy and Paranoia in Contemporary American Fiction: The works of Don DeLillo and Joseph McElroy (Peter Lang, 1994).Weinstein, Arnold. Nobody's Home: Speech, Self, and Place in American Fiction From Hawthorne to DeLillo (Oxford University Press, 1993, 349 pages). Chapter 14 is â€Å"Don DeLillo: Rendering the Words of the Tribe† pages 288-315.Back to DeLillo's America Last updated: 06-SEP-2010 Send in some news!

Monday, July 29, 2019

Network Virtualization in Cloud Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Network Virtualization in Cloud - Research Paper Example The physical servers that are originally installed at the back end are incorporated for the purpose of providing original data and reference connection. The virtual system though established on the concept of virtualization and cloud computing, necessarily requires the presence of physical layer architectural support to run the system smoothly. Hypervisor comes as an essential feature of the virtual operating system. This particular function is the sole identifying and differentiating factor between the two which allows for gaining the remote presence without being identified in a cloud environment. The mechanism and process of establishing the cloud computing is similar to creating a computer system machine. It also requires installing firewalls, software applications along with the switches, hubs and other basic elements that are essential for the purpose of establishing online operations. Further dissection within the networks include options such as De militarization Zone (D-M-Z) which ensures protecting and dissecting the overall network for the purpose of reduced system damages and reduced chances of system breach. Various security measures such as Iaas also allows protecting against the migration threat and other associated features and damages that are possibly and likely to take place in the virtual networks (Franceschetti and Grossi, p. 78). Cloud computer is also based on the feature of being compatible with the different software platforms and operating system units. This enables broader operations and multiple platforms support. Cloud computing enables off site installation of online support and also enhances the availability system with minimum chances of system breaking and other considerations. Using the Iaas Service in contrast to the conventional Saas infrastructure supported function also enable the cloud computing based

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Comparative politics 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparative politics 3 - Essay Example The population comprises of a mix of people with European, African, and Native American roots, as well as other immigrants from Europe and Asia. Despite having a large resource base and a well-developed economy, Brazil has deep-seated social problems such as income inequality and poverty. This can be seen from the fact that, in Brazil, there is a dramatic variation in the living conditions of the Brazilian people. The nation is characterized by varying poverty incidence rates among the nonmetropolitan urban areas, metropolitan areas, and rural areas. There are also considerable income disparities among different regions. Income Inequality in Brazil Income inequality in Brazil has been very high for a long time. A large number of Brazilians live in poverty despite the fact that Brazil is not a poor nation. In fact, â€Å"Brazil has one of the most unequal income distributions in Latin America, a region with the highest income inequality in the world† (Almeida 2008, 7). A recent study conducted by the World Bank showed that over half of Brazilians live in very poor conditions. ... zilian people in families earning average incomes that were below the poverty line were approximately 51 million, which is about half of Brazil’s total population. However, it is important to note that there are many nations whose levels of per capita income are lower than that of Brazil. Causes of Income Inequality in Brazil Income inequality in Brazil can be attributed to a number of factors. These include: 1. Extreme land concentration among Brazil’s elites. This has led to unequal land distribution among people in Brazil, and is a major cause of inequality and poverty in the country. According to Almeida, â€Å"in Brazil, 1% of the population controls 45% of the farmland† (2008, 8). 2. Differences in incomes among different regions in Brazil. Brazil is the most unequal nation in Latin America in terms of income. â€Å"In income distribution, Brazil is among the 10 most unequal countries in the world. An estimated 95 percent of the world’s population l ives in countries where income is more equally shared than in Brazil† (Thomas 2006, 28).The differences in income among different regions has led to overall income disparity in Brazil, and consequently, to poverty. 3. Racial differences. Racial component as a cause of poverty in Brazil is affirmed by the Brazilian government. A significant part of the overall income inequality in the country can be attributed to income differences based on skin color. Afro-Brazilians, who are Brazilians with an African descent represent almost half of Brazil’s population, and constitute sixty four percent of the poor and sixty nine percent of the very (Almeida 2008). 4. Lack of access to quality education. Educational attainment in Brazil is very disproportionate. Brazil is not characterized by low public expenditure like other

Possible Impacts of NEOs with Earth Research Paper

Possible Impacts of NEOs with Earth - Research Paper Example When deciding the potential danger an NEO can ensue, the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, or simply the Torino scale, is consulted, which measures and categorizes the impact hazards that are associated with near-Earth objects. The Torino scale ranges from zero to ten, with zero is that there is no likelihood of a collision, though it also applies to smaller objects that burn up within the Earth’s atmosphere, and ten meaning that a collision is most certainly going to happen, â€Å"threatening the future of civilization as we know it.†3 The Torino scale is also split up into five colored zones: white, meaning no hazard, which consists of the zero level; green, normal, which consists of level one; yellow, meriting attention by astronomers, which consists of levels two, three and four; orange, threatening, consisting of levels five, six and seven; and red, certain collisions, which consists of levels eight through ten. Each color and number reveals certain levels of danger and damage in regard to each NEO that is discovered. The Torino scale allows astronomers to understand and keep an eye on certain NEOs that they believe could collide with the Earth, as well as brushing aside the ones that stand no chance of a collision. A meteorite hitting Earth’s atmosphere is a very common occurrence, though these are usually small enough to burn up within the atmosphere. Many of them that do make it past the atmosphere is tiny, often pebble-sized, by the time that they land on Earth’s surface. There are thousands that do not even make it to pebble-sized but end up as bits of dust. This in itself shows that an NEO impacting the Earth is very plausible, as it happens often with smaller, almost unnoticeable objects. It has been estimated that approximately 37,000-78,000 tons of mass of material fall to Earth on a yearly basis.4  There is sufficient proof that larger NEOs have collided with the Earth in past centuries, such as the asteroid that presumedl y wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago. Another larger NEO that has collided with the Earth is the meteorite that formed Meteorite Crater in Arizona over 50,000 years ago.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Property Law Asessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Property Law Asessment - Essay Example Private express trust which is governed by the precedent set by the case of Knight vs Knight of 1830. It sets out three certainties which need to be met in order for a trust to be met. These are certainty of matter, object and word. The followings are legal advise that Leo needs to know concerning the clauses in his draft will. 1. Under the law of trusts, for a disposition to be valid, three certainties must be met. Certaintyof matter, objects and words. Certainty of matter is Leos building shares, of intention is when he says that income from his building shares to go to Ben as long as he lives and of object is Ben himself2. This disposition is a fixed trust. In the case of Re Endacott 1959, a fixed trust is identified as the ability to identify the lists of beneficiaries. Here, Ben is a beneficiary therefore this trust is valid. 2. This disposition is a private express trust. In the case involving Knight vs. Knight3, three certainties must be present for a valid trust and Kassim be ing the only beneficiary, this trust is therefore a bare trust. The subject matter and intention of the testator is not clear in this situation since the word reasonable is vague. Leo has not given a precise value of what Kassim needs to earn from his blue chip companies.In the 1965 case of Golays Trust4, the word reasonable was extensively analyzed and it was allowed to stand in the legal principles of defining certainty of subject matter. The intention of Leo under this dispension is unclear and the case of Re Adams and the Kensington Vestry of 18845 analyzes if this disposition is valid. The case used the words in full confidence, and it failed because the words were not sufficientto create a trust. Another case, of Musoori Bank ltd andRaynor of 18826 used the words,In full confidence and the court ruled that words such as that cannot create a valid trust.Under the case Palmer vs. Simmonds 1854, the word bulk was used and it was considered insufficient in writing a will, since th e word itself is vague. Under similar circumstances, the word reasonable is vague and it requires more clarity from Leo. Therefore this trust is void. 3. Ben and Toby are the only beneficiaries of this disposition making this a fixed trust under the certainty of object law. However there is a possibility of Ben dying before making a choice and therefore this disposition is invalid under the principles set out in the Boyce and Boyce 1849 case. Where the testator gave one of his daughter, Maria a choice of taking one of his houses before his other daughter Charlotte. Maria died before choosing any house making the will void. Using this principles of this case, the trust will be void. 4. This is an example of a public express trust. Under the case of Knight vs. Knight, 1830, for a public express trust to be valid, there must be three certainties. Certainty of words, subject matter and objects. Under this case, there is certainty of subjects that are Sonya and Adaeze and certainty of ob jects that is the residuary estate. However, the word bulk is not certain. Under the case Palmer vs Simmonds 18547, the word bulk was found to be vague therefore using the same principles of Palmer and Simmonds, this trust is void. 5. This disposition is a purpose trust and under the law, it will not hold. The 1876 case of Musset vs Bingle 8prevented the erection of monuments for an individual and under the draft will; there are no beneficiaries for the monument. The case Morice vs. Bishop of

Friday, July 26, 2019

The Jurisdiction and National Security Policy Assignment

The Jurisdiction and National Security Policy - Assignment Example With limited types of cases that it can hear, The Federal Court hears cases that involve the United States as a party. The jurisdiction of the Federal Court System also includes cases that violate the U.S Constitution or general federal laws. Some of these laws are on copyright, patent, bankruptcy and maritime law cases. Another area of difference with the jurisdiction of State of California and the Federal Court System is that whereas the State of California Court System is not mandated to hear cases in which one or both parties live outside California, the Federal Court System is allowed to hear cases between citizens of different States, especially with the amount in contention exceeds $75,000. Finally, there are instances where both the State and Federal Courts have jurisdiction. It is the case, the parties involved choosing which of the two courts they would want to use. 2. Explain what national security policy is and identify the key policy-making actors in U.S foreign policy T he National Security Policy is a guiding principle of strategic national security plan prepared on a periodic basis by the executive arm of the United States Government. The policy is made up of major national security issues and ways by which the Administration plans to handle them. Though prepared by the Executive Arm of government, the National Security Policy is prepared for Congress.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

International Business Plan for Medican (Canada) Essay

International Business Plan for Medican (Canada) - Essay Example Marketing plan includes the main aspect of market penetration such as: location, target audience, HR, product modification, advertising and promotion activities. The research suggests that the real value of strategic planning may be more in the future orientation of the planning process itself than in any resulting written strategic plan. The research also includes analysis of the financial data and recommendations for further market penetration of MediCan. Corporate Profile and Nature of the Business MediCan (fictitious company) is a manufacture and distributor of high-tech medical equipment. Medical equipment industry is one of the profitable industries today and, as predicted, in future. An industry with this kind of rapid change presents several challenges for medical equipment and, namely production costs, property owners, and monopolies. Customers and technology are the primary driving factors of this industry. Company profile The company was founded in 1913 in Calgary as a private owned business. In 1990, the company owners identified the need for simple, inexpensive and portable blood test equipment which could be marketed to the medical profession. A device was developed cheaply. Sales did not come easily at first, but the breakthrough came in March 1993 when the first electronic blood test was delivered to a hospital. With orders flowing in, the present company, MediCan concentrates on manufacturing and marketing the new electronic medical devices. More routine production had been relocated to a new factory near Calgary in response to local planning restrictions, and for many years it benefited from low wage rates and tax concessions. No tax was payable for the first five... From the report it is clear that MediCan is originated manufacture of the equipment and has all the rights of ownership. MediCan decides to penetrate into Asia market, and China was selected as the most promising country. The product for promotion is inexpensive and portable glucose test device for people with diabetics. This product combines the properties of high effective glucose test device with low cost production proposed by MediCan. As the essay states MediCan (fictitious company) is a manufacture and distributor of high-tech medical equipment. Medical equipment industry is one of the profitable industries today and, as predicted, in future. An industry with this kind of rapid change presents several challenges for medical equipment and, namely production costs, property owners, and monopolies. Customers and technology are the primary driving factors of this industry. The company sells high-tech medical equipment for hospitals and individual patients. The basic equipment is intended for laboratories, anesthesiology and dental equipment, monitors etc. During the late 1990s the company had expanded con ¬siderably and its blood test equipment is being used in 50 countries around the world in hospitals, general practices, company health-care services and specialist test ¬ing laboratories. It has five factories located around the country. A program to develop new technology was undertaken at 1990s. MediCan had ow n research department. In some years a new part-electronic blood test was developed.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Globalisation and mass media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Globalisation and mass media - Essay Example vior that makes up the institutional structure of a larger society, mass media is a considered a system which enables us to communicate messages and symbols to the public† (Herman & Chomsky 1988, p. 5). One of the most significant impact of globalization towards the mass media is the change in the type of mass media ownership not only from within but also outside the national borders. For instance: Between 1970s and 1980s, the independent newspaper publishers like Washington Star and Philadelphia Bulletin were all earning good profit until the rapid development of information and communication technology existed (Compaine & Gomery 2000, p. 1). Since a large number of newspaper readers are able to gain access to electronic news information, some of the independent newspaper companies were forced to enter into merger contracts or buy-outs in order to make the company financially survive the challenges within the global markets. Over the years, similar changes took place in other form of mass media including book publishing and the magazine, radio, television, Aiming to give the readers a better understanding of the impact of globalization on mass media, a literature review will be provided regarding the main purpose of globalization. Eventually, a social scientific research will be conducted to determine the political economy of the modern mass media. In the process of going through the main discussion, a full overiew with regards to the impact of globalization on mass media will be tackled followed by contextualizing its development which started to occur during the twenteeth century. Prior to conclusion, the most current issues that are being debated by the mass media people aside from the possible economic, social, and political consequences of these issues towards the cultural industries will be thoroughly analyzed and discussed. Globalization is a process of interaction and integration of the world economy, culture, technology, business governance, human

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

PEACE Domestic Violence Agency Description Assignment

PEACE Domestic Violence Agency Description - Assignment Example The two grant programs run by the National Foundation under which it can provide a grant to the PEACE are the Small Grants Program and the Investor Program. Both programs have different budgets. The Small Grants Program offers a one-time grant of $5,000 to registered charities and Investor Program offers a grant of $150,000 a year for 3 consecutive years for any of the program objectives through Supporting Families Program. The program is built on firm footing by PEACE; it has analyzed the needs of the end users for whom the welfare program has been initiated. It has specifically outlined the geographical area where the needs of the affected people match with that of the National Foundation programs to rehabilitate the affected community members and support the relatives of the victims of domestic violence. PEACE has been providing such services for a long time and has a reputation for its clear vision, strong leadership, and solid financial footing. PEACE is well aware of the needs of the Portland community. Members of the community have been involved in social crimes like domestic violence against women and children. The focus of the agency has been on educating the Portland community against such wrong social practices. In the last five years, there have been many incidents of road rage implicating community members in criminal cases. Needs of the affected community are identical with the mission and visions of both the organizations, the National Foundation, and PEACE. These needs are reflected in the aims of PEACE – to improve the standard of life of such families that have one of their family members in prison. The National Foundation’s program, Supporting Families, also supports young people involved with the criminal justice system through a rehabilitation program designed to provide the skills, create confidence in the community, and establish personal support networks to help them in leading a normal life.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Reliable Pharmaceutical Service Essay Example for Free

Reliable Pharmaceutical Service Essay The scope of the project is to develop a web based application for Reliable Pharmaceutical Service to ease the existing system for its employees. The new web based application should be user friendly and should be hosted at the headquarters of Reliable Pharmaceutical Service. The existing data Reliable Pharmaceutical Service should be moved into the new web based application. Before the start of the development activities of the web based application, the activities like effort estimation, risk identification, budget allocation, resource identification etc should be completed to ensure hassle free development of the project. The effort estimation should be done very precisely to ensure the timely completion of the project. The testing of the web based application plays an important role in the successful project delivery therefore the software should be extensively tested so avoid any hiccups in the future. There will be several defects that may be identified during the testing phase. The resolution of all such defects is also in the scope of this project. The existing losses of Reliable Pharmaceutical Service are due to the complex system on which the whole company relies upon. The new web based application should work in such a way that Reliable Pharmaceutical Service should start making profits once again. The web based application so developed should be such that the widespread network of Reliable Pharmaceutical Service should be precisely united. The business that is being carried forward with the existing old technologies should be completely replaced with the new web technology without any loss of data.

A Closer Look at Watchmens Dr Manhattan Essay Example for Free

A Closer Look at Watchmens Dr Manhattan Essay Neil Armstrong, Clark Kent, John F. Kennedy, Professor Charles Xavier, Gandhi, Chuck Norris, Master Yoda. The men mentioned above are fictional or real characters with quite a few things in common. They are all heroes in their respective universes, they fight for what is good, and they are all experts in their fields of profession. In fact, they are the supposed best or the most renowned at what they do. Neil Armstrong has to be the most famous Astronaut of all time while Clark Kent’s alter ego, Superman is arguably the greatest superhero there is and if not, he is definitely the most famous. Chuck Norris is the best ass-kicker in the world while Professor X is the greatest telepath in the Marvel Universe. JFK was a great president, Gandhi changed revolution, and Master Yoda taught nine hundred years’ worth of Jedi Knights. Yes, these men are all very talented and very powerful. However, these outstanding heroes have one more thing in Common: they all fall nothing short of insignificant to the power, intelligence, and capabilities of Dr. Manhattan. Dr Manhattan’s powers and abilities include immortality, shapeshifting to any form he chooses, seeing the future, reading minds, teleportation, and bending matter to his will. He practically has no physical weaknesses. Superman and Yoda could possibly put up a fight but that’s another story. In the world of Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan made human life appear insignificant. Yes, insignificant. Can you imagine? The supposed dominant species in the world could have been a clump of dirt on Dr. Manhattan’s shoe compared to his Godlike persona. This became the aggravating external conflict Dr. Manhattan had with humans. In fact, Dr. Manhattan ended up believing that Humans had become irrelevant and mattered little to him, thus, resulted in him eventually leaving Earth and living on Mars. This caused momentous discomfort and major uproar in Earth, namely, The United States. Dr. Manhattan may have lost his purpose of necessity for human beings but The United States needed him as if their lives depended on it. In fact, The United States practically worshipped him as a God. In the Watchmen storyline, The Cold War between the Russians and the Americans was at the brink of becoming nuclear warfare and either side was very close to opening fire and sending all their nuclear warheads at each other. If both sides fired every missile they had, they would destroy all human life on Earth. Dr. Manhattan, being America’s greatest weapon and greatest defence, was expected to use his power and eliminate every Russian warhead that he could and give the United States a chance to fire back at Russia and ultimately win the Cold War. What the Americans hadn’t counted on was Dr. Manhattan leaving Earth after losing his temper during a live-on-television interview. The Russians took this once in a lifetime opportunity of an AWOL Dr. Manhattan to ready their missiles to fire at the United States. Of course, that is not what happened. But we will get back to that later. You may be wondering, â€Å"Okay what’s your point? Why are you mentioning all of Dr. Manhattan’s capabilities and how he serves the United Sates? † Well to answer your question, let me restate what I pointed out earlier: In the world of watchmen, Dr. Manhattan makes human achievements and ultimately being human, almost completely irrelevant. Imagine, the nuclear warhead is possibly the most powerful weapon humankind has to offer and Dr. Manhattan can make them disappear with a wink of an eye. Man’s mission to the moon took billions of dollars, a rocket ship, and years of planning and preparation for this life-changing project to become a reality. However, as seen in the opening credits of the film version, Neil Armstrong was not the first person to arrive on the moon. When Armstrong first set foot onto the moon’s surface, what does he find? He finds nothing other than Dr. Manhattan in his, blue, naked form with no spacesuit, no spacecraft, and no artificial aid whatsoever. What does this tell us? Whatever humans can do, Dr.  Manhattan can do it much better. And if humans are ever to make a new life-changing discovery, Dr. Manhattan has already discovered it. However, Dr. Manhattan does have some personal, noteworthy, and very human limitations. In his eyes, he would even call them â€Å"Flaws†. Let’s take a closer look at some of these flaws. For one thing, Dr. Manhattan may be all-powerful and superior to humans but he still experiences human emotions. Namely, love. To expound on the significance of Dr. Manhattan’s ability to love, let me first talk about another flaw of his. Dr. Manhattan is the most powerful being in the Watchmen Universe and he knows it. Soon, his Godlike power eventually causes him to lose all respect for humanity and he begins to question their significance in his life. Getting drunk with power and losing respect for anyone under your power is indeed a very human imperfection. Now, going back to his ability to love, the only reason Dr. Manhattan has not given up on humans and abandon Earth completely was because of one person, Laurie, better known as The Silk Spectre. Dr. Manhattan was in love with her. He even tells her that she had become his only link to humans and without her, he would have no longer cared and simply let the United States and Russia destroy each other. It can even be inferred that if it wasn’t for Dr. Manhattan’s ability to love, Veidt would not have gotten his way and the Russians and Americans would have still caused nuclear war. In the Watchmen storyline, Adrian Veidt, also known as Ozymandias, was meant to appear as the villain. Readers and the audience would be quick to assume that since he was not on the side of Dr.  Manhattan, NiteOwl, Rorschach, and Silk Spectre, and the fact that he killed The Comedian, he was automatically the villain. However, in the end, and to everyone’s surprise, Ozymandias ironically turned out to be the unconventional hero. Veidt’s subtitle of â€Å"World’s Smartest Man† suited him because he knew that the solution to preventing the nuclear war was to direct both superpowers against a common enemy. And that enemy had to be none other than Dr. Manhattan. Somehow, Veidt just knew that the only way to prevent global destruction via nuclear war was to make the United States fear Dr.  Manhattan just as much as The Soviets feared him. Veidt tricked Dr. Manhattan into helping him make generators that could replicate the energy that gave Dr. Manhattan his power. When Dr. Manhattan left the planet and exiled on Mars, Veidt seized the opportunity to attack a number of major cities in the world using energy from the generators he and Dr. Manhattan made. Because of these attacks, thousands of people were killed and the areas affected by the blasts endured colossal damage. Yes, Veidt had killed thousands of people but he believed that sacrifices had to be made if we truly wanted to save the world. After the attacks from Ozymandias, scientists examined the affected areas and the energy readings led the humans to conclude that Dr. Manhattan himself had caused these global crimes. Thus, causing the Americans and Soviets to turn their weapons away from each other and point them towards an even greater threat: Dr. Manhattan. Dr. Manhattan knew that Veidt was right and he also knew that if he stayed on Earth, it would cause even more destruction and more unnecessary deaths. Without hesitation, he left the planet once again.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Probing Using Zenmap Gui

Probing Using Zenmap Gui Hackers traditionally follow a 5-step approach to seek out and destroy targeted hosts. The first step in performing an attack is to plan the attack by identifying your target and learning as much as possible about the target. Hackers traditionally perform an initial reconnaissance probing scan to identify IP hosts, open ports, and services enabled on servers and workstations. In this lab, students will plan an attack on 172.30.0.0/24 where the VM server farm resides. Using ZenMap GUI, students will then perform a Ping Scan or Quick Scan on the targeted IP subnetwork. Lab Assessment Questions Answers Name at least five applications and tools pre-loaded on the Windows 2003 Server Target VM (VM Name: WindowsTarget01) and identify whether that application starts as a service on the system or must be run manually? Lan routing Run manually Nat Run manually Vpn Start as a service Terminal services Start as a service Streaming server Run manually What was the DHCP allocated source IP host address for the Student VM, DHCP Server, and IP default gateway router? DHCP allocated the following IP addresses Source IP host address is 192.168.1.6 DHCP server address 192.168.1.1 Default gateway router address is 192.168.1.1 Did the targeted IP hosts respond to the ICMP echo-request packet with an ICMP echo-reply packet when you initiated the ping command at your DOS prompt? If yes, how many ICMP echo-request packets were sent back to the IP source? Yes, four ICMP echo-request packets sent when I initiate a ping command from the DOS prompt Details of these packets are as follows: Ping statistics for 192.168.1.6 Packets: sent=4, Received=4, Lost=0 (0% loss) Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum=0ms, Maximum=131ms, Average= 43ms If you ping the WindowsTarget01 VM server and the UbuntuTarget01 VM server, which fields in the ICMP echo-request / echo-replies vary? When I ping the WindowsTarget01 VM server and the UbuntuTarget01 VM server, ICMP echo-request / echo-replies of Windows Target01 VM server varies like 8ms, 131ms, 33ms and What is the command line syntax for running an Intense Scan with ZenMap on a target subnet of 172.30.0.0/24? nmap -T4 -A -v 192.30.0.0/24 Name at least 5 different scans that may be performed from the ZenMap GUI and document under what circumstances you would choose to run those particular scans. Intense Scan: Command = nmap -T4 -A -v Intense Scan is to comprehensive scan the network and all the computers in the network. The benefit is that you can check all the vulnerabilities in the network where you are connected with. Ping scan Command = nmap -sn Ping scan only finds either target/targets are up or not. It does not scan the ports of that particular target/targets. Quick scan Command = nmap -T4 -F It is faster than the normal scan because it scans the fewer ports and uses the aggressive timing template Quick scan plus Command = nmap -sV -T4 -O -F version-light It detects the Operating system as well as the version of OS. Quick traceroute Command = nmap -sn traceroute It does not do the port scanning it just find the intermediate hops where from you can connect with the computer. Regular scan Command = nmap A basic port scan with no extra options. How many different tests (i.e., scripts) did your Intense Scan definition perform? List them all after reviewing the scan report. It performs the following tests: Port Scanning OS detection Version detection Network Distance TCP sequence prediction Trace route Describe what each of these tests or scripts performs within the ZenMap GUI (Nmap) scan report. Port Scanning: A port scan is mostly what its name suggests, a scan of all the ports open upon a system. The way a port-scanner typically works is to attempt to connect to each port upon a host, in turn, and then report the results. For example a scanner could connect to: port 1 to see if tcpmux is running. port 7 to see if echo is running. port 22 to see if openssh is available. port 25 to see if smtp is available. OS Detection: One of Nmaps best-known features is remote OS detection using TCP/IP stack fingerprinting. Nmap sends a series of TCP and UDP packets to the remote host and examines practically every bit in the responses. Version Detection: Two important fields that version detection can discover are operating system and device type. These are also reported on the Service Info line. We use two techniques here. One is application exclusivity. If we identify a service as Microsoft Exchange, we know the operating system is Windows since Exchange doesnt run on anything else. The other technique is to persuade more portable applications to divulge the platform information. Many servers (especially web servers) require very little coaxing. This type of OS detection is intended to complement Nmaps OS detection system (-O) and can sometimes report differing results. For example, consider a Microsoft Exchange server hidden behind a port-forwarding UNIX firewall. Network Distance: It detects how many hops are involved in the way to reach to the targeted computer. TCP sequence prediction: Nmap sends a couple of resets first to the open port, then sends six packets with just SYN set (the normal method for opening a TCP connection), followed each time with a reset (a TCP header with reset and ACK flags set, which aborts the connection). The sequence numbers in packets sent increase incrementally by one each time; this is abnormal behavior but is characteristic of sequence number collectors. Nmap collects the initial sequence numbers received from the target and looks for a pattern in the way they are incremented. This is called a TCP sequence prediction. Traceroute: Nmap does not perform a full trace to every host, so necessarily it must make assumptions about the hops that it has not probed. The first and most fundamental of these is that, in tracing a host, we find an intermediate hop that has already been seen in tracing another host, we may assume that it and all it parents hops are shared between the two hosts. How many total IP hosts (not counting Cisco device interfaces) did ZenMap GUI (Nmap) find on the network? Two (2) up hosts are found in my network. Based on your Nmap scan results and initial reconnaissance probing, what next steps would you perform on the VM server farm and VM workstation targets? In Nmap scanning weve been find the vulnerabilities of network or targeted computer. After the reconnaissance weve to check where weve to enter into the computer for the specific purpose i.e. if we want to check the web services on the targeted computer then weve to enter form the port 80.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Affect of Computers on Society Essay -- essays research papers

Computers and Society The first modern digital computers were developed in the 1940s for military purposes that arose during World War II. These computers filled entire rooms. They took hours to perform complex mathematical operations. In the 1970s, the first personal computers were sold. Fitting on a desktop, they were much faster and more powerful than the computers that had once filled large rooms. Computers were also affordable to individual consumers, making it possible for many people to use them for personal, business, and academic needs. By the mid-1990s, laptop computers capable of millions of calculations per second had been developed. Currently, nearly half of American homes have a personal computer, and businesses have come to rely on computers for nearly every function. Computers are becoming smaller and more powerful than they were. In future, it looks like computers will be used in almost every aspect of people’s lives and we might not even realize how significant this effect might b e. Lots of business owners and just common people are excited and optimistic a... Affect of Computers on Society Essay -- essays research papers Computers and Society The first modern digital computers were developed in the 1940s for military purposes that arose during World War II. These computers filled entire rooms. They took hours to perform complex mathematical operations. In the 1970s, the first personal computers were sold. Fitting on a desktop, they were much faster and more powerful than the computers that had once filled large rooms. Computers were also affordable to individual consumers, making it possible for many people to use them for personal, business, and academic needs. By the mid-1990s, laptop computers capable of millions of calculations per second had been developed. Currently, nearly half of American homes have a personal computer, and businesses have come to rely on computers for nearly every function. Computers are becoming smaller and more powerful than they were. In future, it looks like computers will be used in almost every aspect of people’s lives and we might not even realize how significant this effect might b e. Lots of business owners and just common people are excited and optimistic a...

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Education T

My Personal Philosophy of Education When I came to college, I debated on a major, trying to find a career that would be satisfying to me. After much pondering, I decided that education is the right path for me. I now find that not only do I think it is the right career, but I have a passion for helping children succeed. Education is a very important part of today's society. Teaching is a way to make society a better place for today's generation and our children. Teaching may not seem like a very important career to some people, but when I think back to some of my own teachers, I realize what an important part they played in my life. Many people have the desire to be a teacher from the time they are children. Others figure out their destiny much later. I started out wanting to be a forester. Forestry is something that always fascinated me, but after giving that a shot, I realized that it wasn't something for me to spend the rest of my life doing. After forestry fell through, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to be. I thought about my two favorite teachers from high school. Mrs. Patterson, my math teacher, and Mr. Brown, my science teacher, had both told me I'd make a good teacher because I could get things across to students that had trouble understanding. Mrs. Patterson chose me as a tutor for her upper level math courses because I knew the classes well and could sometimes teach things to students clearer than she co...

Friday, July 19, 2019

Macbeth :: Essays Papers

Macbeth The witches and Lady Macbeth appear to dominate Macbeth's will, but in reality Macbeth is always in control. The confusion is created because, unlike these one dimensional, aggravating characters, he understands the complexity of the problem and must wrestle with his conscience. However, his action is based primarily upon his own desires. Ironically, given his understanding of the issues, he is horrified by the immensity of his crime once it has been committed and his terrified of the consequences. Clearly Macbeth understands the problem he faces and must struggle with his conscience. Throughout Macbeth's soliloquy in Scene 1 he expresses his feelings by saying, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear Thy very stones prate of my whereabout, And take the present horror from the time, Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives: Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. (Act 2, Scene 1) With that speech he is saying don't hear the steps I walk for fear they will give away my whereabouts. He wishes that the silence would break so he could finish his work. This meaning he wants the bell to ring, causing a break in silence, signaling him to kill Duncan so he can get his evil deed finished. To add to that point he also is saying that talking is delaying action. Actions being the killing of Duncan. The bold reality is that he is struggling within himself because he just wants to get it over and done with. He has everything under control now and just hopes that he wont be found out. The complexity of his problem between his ambition and loyalty he recognizes, knowing that he wants to do this but prays not to be caught in his act of disloyalty. Macbeth's ambitions are that of his own desire. The murdering of Duncan is purely what Mabeth truly wants. These desires are well pointed out during his soliloquy in Scene 1. He says, Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable

Thursday, July 18, 2019

World Oil Economy

Energy has been the main concern of nations looking for progress and development throughout history, oil has always been one such means of energy that is capable of sustaining the large scale development projects many nations have undertaken, the utility generated by oil cannot be substituted with the same efficiency by any other energy generation means, oil today is used in transportation, manufacturing, infrastructure development, power generation etc. All the uses of oil are so vital and important in nature that any hindrance in the supply of oil can wreck havoc in the world economic system. In recent years, we have seen the prices of oil reach to new heights and it’s an accepted fact that oil prices fluctuating always deal a blow to the economic system on a global level. Whenever there is uncertainty about oil supply due to violence in the Niger delta or political turmoil in Iran or Venezuela or due to the Iraq war. The world markets always react to it and we see a negative impact on the overall economy the prices of oil surge to record heights, such is the case we witnessed in 2008 and early 2009 until recession came into full force and due to dropping demand the prices of oil lowered considerable. But the fundamental question remained energy and the quest for energy and how the global oil economy is working having a direct and immediate impact on the economy of the world. (IEA, 2008) The reason for this issue to come to the forefront are the oil shocks and their negative effects the world has witnessed in the last few decades, it all started with the Arab-Israeli war in 1973, then came the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, then was the attack on Iran by Iraq and later the attack on Kuwait in 1980 and 1990, then was the operation desert storm for liberation of Kuwait in 1991, further down the line was the War in Iraq after the allegations of weapons of mass destruction being in possession of Iraq, the war in Lebanon with Israel and in recent times the Iran issue threatens to jeopardize the supply of oil to other countries of the world. Right before the recession started effecting the economies in the year 2008, the world was experiencing a very healthy growth rate, countries like China and India were booming giving a rise to demand of oil and related products which naturally played a role in the rise of oil prices In recent years due to the economic crisis we see that the price of oil experienced a massive drop from the record heights it had managed to reach, and that prompted OPEC which is a organization of oil producing and exporting countries to undertake supply cuts in hopes of controlling the price and stopping it from dropping below and acceptable level. In the last few years, OPEC has made sure that it controls the supply of oil to the market in a tight manner and the recent surge in prices gave them a windfall of profit but it should be kept in mind that the global inventory of oil is low as well and it should not be forgotten that concerns do exist about a shortage of oil in the future which will effective ly jam the growth of all countries of the world. The fact that is most interesting that the prices of oil start depicting the effects of news and speculation even before anything actually happens which is also a reason that speculation plays a very big role in oil pricing mechanisms, since the whole game is about the supply and oil deliveries reaching their intended destinations that’s the core reason that prices get effected by the news and expected events or incidents. (Jesse et al, 2008) The market does possess certain complaints with the oil producing and exporting countries as well, it has been seen time and time again that whenever there is fear that the oil prices are going to experience a big drop OPEC immediately introduces production cuts to balance the effect but on the other hand when the prices of oil hit the ceiling there is very little or almost no effort done by the OPEC countries to control the situation and hence it creates a negative feeling about these countries in the non-OPEC nations. It wont be wrong to suggest that the entire world economy is more dependent on oil and its resulting impacts then any other single factor, countries like China and India have been going through massive development and they supply their products to markets in the west as well as the east and hence the prices and fluctuations in oil prices and supply have a deep impact on these economies, on the other hand poor nations emerge as the biggest losers in case of major turmoil in oil markets. The rise in oil prices has a fundamental contribution to the increase in inflation and trade imbalances in various countries and the prices of oil start a chain effect hindering the abilities of a country to economically strengthen or at times even sustain the current economic strength. On a long term basis we witness that nations are increasingly taking interest in resources that can be used as substitute to oil, development of ethanol is one such example of work being done in alternate energy sources, another interesting observation is that most oil exporting countries are eager to maintain national control over the oil resources but such a strategy also logically leads to less investment in the sector and that’s subsequently leads to maintenance of higher prices in the near future. (Jesse et al, 2008) â€Å"In an elegant and influential paper, it was shown that oil price spikes might lead to a high degree of subsequent uncertainty that causes firms to hold up their investment projects, thereby leading to a dip in overall output. In theory, this effect could be important, though there is not yet much corroborating empirical evidence. â€Å"(Ben Bernanke, 1983) Some studies done by the IMF in 2003 suggest that a 5$ a barrel increase in oil price would lower the global output by 0. 3%, with Europe and Africa being the most effected areas since Asia, and Latin American does consist of oil exporting countries. The problem here is that the effect on fast paced developing countries is much more then as compared to other countries and secondly if we consider situation of a poor nation which is already facing a heavy import bill, the oil shock can end up being a back breaker for them with the impact being at least 4 times more intense. What makes oil products different from other commodities based on the demand and supply principle is that fact that it is used for energy purposes and the price effects for the oil producers and people who consumer oil are more difficult to be adjusted to in the short run then on the long run. Over a long run the factors induced by oil price uncertainty and the political uncertainties surrounding it can definitely be managed as societies are known to evolve over a period of time, needs and ways of getting the job done change from time to time, already we see that the world has become wary of the Oil weapon in the hands of a particular cartel which gives them an edge and a negotiating slip for their interests as they are fully aware that the dependence of the world is on the recourses provided by them. (IEA, 2008) In relation to the countries which are heavily dependent on oil to meet their energy requirements the picture is not so good, as they are so dependent on oil even short run fluctuations have a major impact on the position of their revenues, Oil industry requires massive investments to setup and a long lead time is involved in making the ventures profitable this situation further complicated by oil price fluctuations make it a risky venture. One option for them is to try and diversify the risk they are taking by the sharing of the costs involved with countries they are allied with or the private sector, the existence of oil stabilization funds in countries like Norway can be made of use to stabilize the shocks arising from volatile fluctuations. (Rogoff, 2006) Another good measure will be for other countries to exercise much more flexible monetary policies, countries that are into commodity manufacturing export like South Africa, New Zealand, Australia allow their exchange rates too adjust accordingly with the fluctuations in the prices for the commodities they export. Similarly oil producing countries will be able to induce exchange rate flexibility helping to avoid the sudden deflation that normally occurs. Another question that comes in every individuals mind is how long will the oil reserves last, every now and then we get estimates providing deadlines like oil will run out in about 50 years time or 100 years time but the fact is we just cant be sure about it, there is another circle of thought that believes that with the developing technology and sophisticated methods it will be possible to discover more oil reserves which may last for a very long time. Recently questions did arise about the size of reserves of particular countries or large corporate entities like Royal Dutch Shell but the point to be understood is the oil industry is covered with various complexities like the large scale work involved in identifying potential spots for oil reserves, undertaking massive investment to explore the marked areas and then judging the size of underlying reserves due to all these factors the experts tend to prefer taking a conservative approach instead of going full board and then coming up with disappointing revisions knowing perfectly that the prices of oil are directly effected by the discovery of new reserves. (Jesse et al, 2008) The Political side of the Oil game can never be ignored or downplayed since it’s a major factor, for countless years the world oil industry was being ruled by a limited number of corporate giants operating in collaboration and keeping away from each others territories all over the world. The companies h ad been able to obtain large number of areas in oil rich countries as their turf and were allowed to operate freely. These corporate entities were operating like state’s functioning within state’s, their roles and ways of functioning have been documented on various occasions by investigative studies and new findings continue to arise on a more regular basis. These companies were allowed to use their massive budgets and resources to influence the elected officials in many of the countries and at certain points even gain outcomes in the political and legal arenas as per their wishes. What resulted from this strong influence were the fantastic terms of agreement and other concessions these companies were able to obtain with ease furthermore they were also able to protect the industry from nationalization policies which were attempted in various countries as well. (Mitchell et al, 2001) Although today the situation is different from what it used to be as many countries have preferred to operate in the oil industry only with their nationally run entities, but there are other countries which seem to be opening up to international entities and the need to tight regulation and control arises from this situation if the mistakes of the past are to be avoided. It can also be said that the roles of the past have been somewhat reversed in current times, these days companies face far stringent regulations and terms to be met with by some of the countries. On other hand we can also see the example of sanctions imposed by the US on certain oil rich countries which directly hinders the American oil companies from undertaking any research and development of oil reserves in the territories being blocked by the American sanctions. It is important to understand that in recent times the situation in the World oil industry has experienced a significant shift from what it used to be, the companies have started taking a more professional and business oriented approach, negotiations are done on the basis of mutual benefits. (Borenstein, 2008) Concerns about the future supply and availability of oil due to political reasons arise every now and then but it is very important to understand that the countries producing and exporting oil cannot hold it and disrupt supply for long periods as they themselves are significantly dependent on revenues generated from oil they sell in the world markets so any disruption can only be of a very small amount of time and not something very substantial to be a matter of great concern. (Jesse et al, 2008) In relation to the growing demand of oil, it is predicted by many researchers that the oil prices will remain high but the high prices should be considered a permanent change in fact the growing awareness of substituting oil and energy based resources should be kept in mind as we know today that large amounts of coal reserves do exist which have not been discovered or are not being utilized at present, such alternative energy resources if brought into action in the future in large scale projects will definitely make the prices of oil dip significantly knowing that the current dip in prices is only because of the recession and demand drops being experienced all over the world, but the recession is temporary and it will pass but the situation will definitely become much more interesting when the alternative energy resources are brought into the market scenario. Obviously the level of oil supplies cannot be sustained indefinitely and some data obtained form research on this topic comes very handy here. (Kate et al, 2008) In the month of November 2007, the World Economic Outlook 2007 of the international energy agency came up with a finding that was alarming for everyone, stated that a â€Å"supply side crunch leading in the period to 2015 involving an abrupt escalation of prices cannot be ruled out , the findings further suggested that due to short term inelasticity a demand supply gap could open up a gap of about 13. 5 million barrels per day in the span of coming seven years, we also saw similar warnings coming from the CEO’s of Chevron, Total and the royal Dutch shell† Interestingly the paper attributed these findings to be more related to the economic and political circumstances around the world that could hinder the exploration and development of new reserves which are fundamental to the world oil economy. Furthermore the paper goes on to state that the methods being used to calculate the current oil reserves in the world are variable and have the tendency to be incorrect which creates confusion since no comprehensive and accurate system exists till this point, most of the figures being quoted are nothing more then reasonable guesses. (IEA, 2004) In terms of the future outlook looking at the world political and economic situation it seems unlikely that a positive platform may get developed for wide scale exploratory and development work in potential spots around the world in search for oil reserves which basically advocates to the fact that the world maybe heading towards another oil price shock. The paper sums it up as that although oil reserves may not run out any time soon and it wont be an abrupt affair as well, the reserves may last for quite some time before the crisis is at our doors but the it is important to develop a system to foresee any undesirable development and take steps to neutralize it before it triggers a crisis which could be one of the worst ones the world is going to see, and like it was suggested that the OPEC countries seem to be taking a lethargic approach towards development of new reserves for the future generation and this needs to be corrected and a more active approach is required from all the parties involved. (Jesse et al, 2008) A study done in the Netherlands also came up with some very interesting findings which are mentioned below: The study suggests that if the world economy was not hit by the recession then at this point in time the prices of oil could have reached a whooping 200$ a barrel due to supply constraints, it is also suggested that after the recession such a situation of supply constraint and high prices could last well for a decade at least. (Barry, 2005) According to this paper, â€Å"Due to the supply strain the oil prices will oscillate between two variables: a) The cost of the marginal barrel of supply as determined by the most expensive barrel plus a margin for supply/demand fundamentals and geopolitical risks, driven by open markets in an OECD economic framework, and ) The real User Value of oil – determined by increasingly closed markets (for new reserve exploitation; for bilateral oil trade flows; for refined products), as supported by several of the major OPEC countries and Russia. â€Å" The two options above are distinctive price regimes and as mentioned in the paper the prices wont follow one single regime entirely in fact with changing trends an conditions each of the two regimes will come in play time and time again. Some other factors in relation to it are about the oil futures market as it is the indicator and signaling mechanism of the future prices of oil in the international market. From a traditional point of view high prices of oil should encourage producers to develop and supply more expensive oil and benefit from the high prices but we have not seen any such scenario developing instead the prices are just a test of the consumer behavior towards the changes and the resulting demand. Due to the political and social situation an uncertainty lingers and when such times of great uncertainty are in effect either the price really shoots up or shoots down depending on the conditions. We have already seen the prices shoot up drastically in the last year 2008. It should be understood that although in the short term the actions and reactions of speculators may have an impact on the oil prices but they have no impact in the long run and in the case of current oil prices it is the long run which is the driver behind the volatility. (Kate et al, 2008) In a period of less the 15 years the consumer base for oil has doubled, the situation has changed rapidly from what it was in the early 1990’s, Countries like China and India plus the other developing nations have substantial energy requirements which is naturally dependent on oil, further more the increase in the demand for oil was not exactly being matched by new discoveries of oil reserves resulting in a scenario where we have an extreme strain on the oil industry and the struggle of the industry to provide sustained supply can be understood. Although high oil prices do have an impact on the growth globally but the rate of responsiveness to high prices has not been as substantial till now, at present oil has become a necessity to meet fundamental energy requirements and the absence of substitute resources on a mass level is mainly responsible for the situation. In any given scenario we see that oil will remain the fundamental and the most basic resource for meeting the glob al energy requirements at least for a few decades. The recently revised figures by the international energy agency show that over the next 22 years the supply of oil will only increase at half the pace then it was originally anticipated to which will be about 13 to 18 million barrels per day as compared to previously anticipated 29 million barrels per day. The figures further suggest that the development and discovery pace of new oil reserves and supply of new oil to the market will require serious efforts if the world demand for oil has to be met and a global energy crisis has to be averted. The scenario suggests that if some drastic discoveries are not made, oil rationing will be done in countries to accommodate the need for growing and developing countries, further more countries will have to take effective steps in withdrawing oil products subsidies without triggering massive inflation so as to curb the growing demand for oil. A fierce battle will also begin for domination over scare resources, this can range from tough price wars to even geo political tensions and ultimately even leading to wars. A deep and prolonged recession can be one of the likely outcomes if an energy crisis takes the world in its grip. Quickly shooting up oil prices may not be the only fate the world may face if countries which are non-OPEC but they do possess significant oil reserves step up to the plate and in collaboration with major oil consuming countries make the oil available in the international market, currently these resources are not being developed and made use of due to the massive investment needed in developing them and the uncertainty relating to demand, not to forget the economic crisis the world has been gripped by. If these countries are able to collaborate and make use of the idle resources then the predictions of massive rise in oil prices in the next decade will fade, although the prices of oil will rise in the future but in a more orderly and controlled fashion without causing any economic turmoil or crisis. (Kate et al, 2008) Steps and measures will be required to change the scenario from an Oil supply constrained condition to a more energy sustainable globe. It is a fact that the world needs time to adapt itself to new measures and steps to reduce the dependence on oil and use the latest technology to develop renewable energy resources and supplement oil with the alternative fuels so that the strain on the oil supply be relieved. Iraq is one of the major producers of oil in the world but the Iraqi oil producing and exporting capacity has been negatively affected by the constant turmoil and violence in the country, if the conflict is resolved and the violence subsides then the capacity development and supply by Iraq can play a big role in calming the international oil market. (Kate et al, 2008) What needs to be understood that the size of the world oil economy is huge, it produces about 84 million barrels a day which is a huge size by any metrics. A resource being generated and utilized on such a large scale cannot be substituted over night, it will take a very long time for any viable alternative to be developed and for it to be available in a mass quantity. Only suitable alternatives being developed by using latest technology are the 1st generation bio fuels and by the estimates it becomes clear that although the supply and size of this option will increase but there will be no dramatic and significant rise in the bio fuels to have a big impact on the strain being experienced by the oil supply side. In recent years we have seen attempts made by geo-economic layers to secure access to oil reserves by getting into understanding with oil producing countries not just by business to business contact anymore but by a government to government contact. The importance of geo-politics and international relations can not be ignored In this scenario when the challenges to transform the world into an energy sustainable entity are mammoth and the complexity is expected to increase we set forth on the path to reforming the world oil economy. We see that the world is in the grip of a credit crisis, very high rates of inflation, imbalances in the balance of trade and a weak dollar, many economies are suffering from the resulting recession and they will find it very difficult to incorporate new measures to adapt themselves to the new situation that has arisen today. The recent windfall earnings made by the oil producing and exporting countries is also something that brings them to the forefront in the global arena, it remains to see whether these funds are used to develop new oil reserves so that the strain on the current reserves is reduced or these funds are withheld and used for other purposes. (Kate et al, 2008) The geographical and political tensions are already on the rise in the quest for energy and resources, specially since these recourses are in the hands of a small number countries with high concentration, the question that arises is whether the oil exporting countries and the oil consuming countries will be able to collaborate and co-operate with each other to turn the situation towards an energy sustainable environment or will things take a turn towards the worse resulting in conflict and competition for the dominance over resources by all means necessary. The situation will of course be dependent on the condition of the gap in supply and demand the level of growth being experienced in the world. Confrontations can be expected between these countries as one group will be of the countries holding the keys to al the resources and the other group will be the one in need of these resources. In recent times we have also seen threats by countries like Iran to not only halt petroleum supplies but also block the channel through which oil is supplied to the rest of the world from the middle east, this is one scenario which we are likely to witness incase there is war in Iran. In recent times King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia invited oil consuming and producing countries to the Jeddah summit to discuss the developing situation in the oil markets and the impact of oil prices on the world economy. Hopefully this can be the start of the collaboration and co-operation hoped for between the countries to a better tomorrow.