Freemasonry’s Beliefs and Their Struggle for Secrecy Free Essays

The extended essay project was done on the Masonic group of people who have been an influential part of history as a whole. In this essay I am going to explore the belief system of the group. As well as demonstrate why there is much controversy surrounding the group by expressing the opposing views. We will write a custom essay sample on Freemasonry’s Beliefs and Their Struggle for Secrecy or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Masons basically are a group of men that have shared feelings about brotherhood, morals and community progress. These men belong to the world’s largest fraternity in the world. It spans all nations, races and religions. The group as a whole is very secret. For instance the origin and the time that this group was structured is still uncertain. Many actions and activities of the group are also low key. This makes the group very vulnerable for Anti-Masonic groups. Many famous and important people in the world have belonged to the Freemasons. When criminal acts or injustices in the community take place, the Anti-Masonic groups place blame on the masons. What was found out by the research is that the secrecy of the Masonic organization is to be kept at all times. Some times extreme measures are taken to insure its secrecy. Anti-Mason groups are detrimental to the survival of the group. They dampen their progress and lower their popularity rating with the public. It is an ongoing battle that doesn’t seem like it will cease any time soon. There is a society in which many people belong. Many people are your everyday people; people that run the country, people that own business to people that pass you on the street. You wouldn’t know they belong to this society because they are everyday people. This society has been around since the earliest of times. The members are dedicated to brotherly love, relief for the community and strong morals. More revealingly this group can be defined as a group of men, banded together in an exclusive lodge to advance, first and foremost, their personal interests and second, the interests of the community or other members of the group (Hoselton). If you know anyone that sounds like he fits this profile they might belong to Masonry also called Freemasonry. Masonry is touted as the world’s oldest and largest fraternity. Freemasonry and Masonry are interchangeable words for the same organization, which has its roots in the medieval trade guilds of stonemasons. In Freemasonry the most widely used symbols are the tools of the stonemason, a square, compass and a level. The level for example is a symbol that are men are equal and on the same level. There are signs that point to the first congregation on this organization, which is back in 926 AD, when the first lodge documents were found. There are writings and evidence that date back to the late 17th century. There is no exact answer to when this society, lodge, group first originated. Even so Freemasonry was formally created in London in 1717. The ideas and beliefs quickly spread to the American colonies and across Europe. Today, there are probably four to six million men in the fraternity (Cambell). The Masons in the mid-seventeenth century were a secret society and since they were secret there was no historical document or writings. There are basically three theories that surround their existence before it became public. The first theory is that freemasonry is as ancient as the Masonic ritual claims. It was indeed created as a result of happenings at the building of king Solomon’s temple and has been passed down to us through mechanisms unknown. The second theory that scientists believe is that the development of medieval stoneman’s guilds, whereby Masonic skills with stone were translated into what masons call moral improvements. The third theory is that masons rituals originally come from the Order Of The Poor Fellow- soldiers of Christ and the temple of Solomon, now better known as the Knights of Templar (Knight). One thing you will learn is that there are no exact answers when it comes to the Masons. This society is held in high regard to its secrecy. The rules and regulations are very sacred and if one is not performed or is broken than severe penalty will be placed in action. The penalties are from removal from the society to death, depending on the act. These rules and guidelines are what gave man his sense of security and sense of well-being back in the times when the world was not as civilized as it was today. When the world was not as stable as it is today and lands were forever changing hands, masons were still united because it is widespread. Masonry is not confined to one race or nationality, creeds or faiths. This organization encompasses almost everyone. In Masonry there is a meeting place for the members. This place is called a lodge. There is a set hierarchy of Lodges. All the states in the U. S have a Highest ruling lodge, The Grand Lodge. This Grand Lodge is used as the presiding lodge over all of the small branches of lodges. The jurisdiction of a Lodge determines its exact beliefs and rules. There is no higher authority than the Grand Lodge of a state. Every month there is a specific meeting for the Master Masons. This once a month meeting is named a â€Å"business meeting† (Virginia). In the lodge religion is encouraged, nothing in particular, but Christianity is the most popular in the United States. Religion though, along with politics is strictly forbidden inside the lodge. Both subjects are very controversial and would cause too much of a divide between men. One of the beliefs that the Masons have is an interesting initiation ceremony. There are a few phases to complete this process but it is what is done to each new member. It has been carried out since the creation of the fraternity so now it is just a belief. The first phase of the ceremony is when the initiate must swear his allegiance to God and his fellow Masons. When that part of the ceremony is over the second part of the initiation begins. This way the initiate can become Master Mason. He is blindfolded and is asked to act out the part of Hiram Abiff. Hiram Abiff was the murdered master in a legend of the building of King Solomon’s temple. This would be the exciting section of the initiation, where all the action takes place. He must refuse to tell secrets of the Freemasons and then he is hit and knocked to the floor. This is a reenactment of Hiram’s death. The third step to the process is a few more points and symbols are explained in detail to him (Cambell). The Masons are also known as a secret society. Many beliefs that they hold are absolutely forbidden from non-members and also not all Masons can know everything. This is what gives the Masons its â€Å"secret society† name, not because its underground or a small gathering. The secrets started back in the earliest times when stonemasons had special trades that they kept from everyone else. There are many types of secrets that are held in the Mason group, many types of sciences and astrology. When a Mason starts to understand the organization and â€Å"probe his unconscious† these secrets are revealed to him. One belief that the Masons have that seems as though it would be outdated by now but is still intact is the admittance of only males. The lodges of today are available to only males who are at least nineteen years of age. To be more accommodative, a separate division of the Freemasons was developed. The Eastern Star was founded in 1850 and is a group for Master Masons or people properly related to Master Masons, including women. The relation can be wife, widow, sister, daughter, mother, granddaughter, stepmother, stepdaughter, stepsister, half sister, and recently, nieces, daughters-in-law, and grandmothers (Virginia). Basically anyone who is not permitted into the lodge meetings but has relation to a Master Mason can be admitted. The lodges are divided into chapters and there are eighteen offices to be filled in each chapter. Men or women can fill these positions. The head of the chapter is deemed the title Worthy Matron. To gain the membership required, each member must agree to belief in a supreme being. Although, the New and Old Testaments are both part of the five degrees. This makes the Eastern Star a particularly Christian group (Virginia). Since, the Eastern Star is a sort of division of the Masons, this must make them a particularly Christian group (Mackey). Since the Freemasons group of extreme size, controversies are always surrounding them. There is also a great deal of controversy that stems from the secretive nature of the Freemasons. Many prominent figures including founding fathers and presidents have been Masons, and in some cases Freemasons have been accused of giving other Masons unfair advantages in job promotion, and also controlling decisions in government by being a sort of underground government themselves (Virginia). A large part of joining the masons is having that advantage of job promotion over non-mason coworkers (Dumenil, 23). The biggest controversy concerning the Freemasons took place in the United States during the early 1800’s. In 1826, one man decided he was going to publish a book that contained all of the secrets that’s the Masonic society had hidden. This man was, Captain William Morgan, a regular member of the Masonic society. The place that the book was being published was burned to the ground and the Captain suddenly disappeared. There are many different endings to this story that go around today, but it is said that he was captured by the Masons and killed. Most Masons today say that is not what happened, but Morgan really left the country and went to Canada. It was noted by a anti-Masonic group that a year later the body was found in a harbor. Other accounts say that his body was never found. What the real truth may be is irrelevant. The fact that these stories set the Masons back a step in popularity is important part. There was even an anti-Masonic presidential candidate in the 1820’s (Mackey and McClenachen, 508). Protecting secrets is not the only type of controversy that the Freemasons get into. Since they are so large they have contacts and members in all aspects of society. Masons are blamed and accused of all types of other functions and mishaps. During the presidential election of Quincy Adams and Jackson, Adams blamed the mason group when he was not chosen for the presidency. There are writings linking the Freemasons to President Lincoln’s assassination, beliefs of Nazi Germany, the murder of Pope John Paul I, establishing the Ku Klux Klan, the Jack the Ripper Murders in England, the JFK assassination conspiracy, and many others (Virginia). All across the world different events have been blamed on their members. These actions might possibly be blamed on the Masons unrightfully. This might be due to their large size and underground secret society, which makes them an easy target to blame. Especially if there is no real suspect is unknown. Most of these accounts do not seem to have much well supported evidence. One thing that does lead one to believe a Mason might kill someone or cheat them out of a position in the work force is the type of penalties they enforce. The Masons preach that they are all about brotherly love and doing good deeds for their fellow members and the community around them; but when you read the types of penalties that they will enforce you have to second-guess the purpose of the group. If one of the members happens to slip and tell the secrets of Freemasonry there are many penalties. The penalties include very vulgar acts which are tearing one’s tongue out by the roots, plucking one’s heart from its breast, and having one’s body cut in two with the entrails burned to ashes (Virginia). This type of language has caused much anti-Masonic sentiment. To be a part of the Mason society it is said that you need to believe in a higher power or god. It is not specified which one to believe in, it does not matter. This issue has some people disturbed; especially Catholics and Methodists who are historically opposed to Masonry. Roman Catholics ban masonry due to the types of oaths and its sincere secrecy. The Methodists have to condemned it as well for the same reasons. Christians have also been very disturbed by Masonry’s mixing of beliefs. This would be both pagan and Christian beliefs together. Representing the Pagan solar gods are the Bible, the compass and the square. These are also the Three Great Lights of Masonry (Virginia). There are many other possible examples of mixing religions, which disturbs some members of Evangelical Christian churches (Cambell, 75-76). A recent controversy involves the history of the Freemasons. Some say that Freemasons didn’t come from medieval stonemason unions. They have come to the presumption that it has emerged from the Knights of the Templar, a privileged class of soldier monks in Medieval Europe. The Knights were attacked by many authorities for their knowledge of the Muslim and Jewish religions, and in 1307, King Philippe IV of France ordered their arrest and a raid of their preceptories. They supposedly escaped to Scotland with all of their treasures and these scholars say that Freemasonry evolved from the Knights Templar traditions (Virginia). These ideas are offered instead of the stonemason history that the Freemasons tell (Knight). There are Masons at all levels of work force especially in the government. It helps when you are trying to get elected and you are a Mason; but even so there is also a drawback to being a Mason. There are always people who try to find the hole in the system and take what you have earned. For example in 1829, under public pressure, the New York state senate investigated freemasonry and reported that wealthy and powerful masons were found at every level of government. Opponents of President Andrew Jackson, who was a freemason, took advantage of the scandal to form the Anti-Masonic party, the first time a third party was created in the United States. Anti-Masonic candidates were successful in state and local elections but failed to unseat Jackson in 1832. By the late 1830’s the Anti-Masonic party had turned to agitation against slavery and the strictly anti Jackson members joined the Whigs. This was a serious blow that took decades for the Masons to recover from (Dumenil). Most of these problems that the Freemasons have are due to the emergence of the Anti-Masonic society. Those who were not offered membership or could not obtain it had jealousy and greed grow inside them. The rest just didn’t know how to become a member. The figured it was a group of elites that belong to a secret society and it was nothing but full of evil and conspiracies. This guessing game and non-members jealousy served as the fuel for igniting and inciting hatred for the unknown. The only thing left was for three groups to keep the fire burning. First of all, politicians used this to gain popularity, but making false accusations did this. Thurlow Weed was the most successful and most damaging in his use of the incident and to claim that he was the savior, â€Å"riding in on a shiny white horse† (MIT). William Seward of Auburn and Millard Fillmore of Moravia made hay of the fiasco and gained political clout by using the Morgan affair as an issue (MIT). Secondly, the clergy also lowered themselves to this level of demagoguery. Even former members of the Fraternity saw in this an opportunity to claim that the Freemasons were evil and that only in the church could souls be saved. The clergy knew full well that Freemasonry was not in the business of saving souls. The third mechanism, which grabbed an opportunity to gain notoriety and to sell newspapers, was the press. New papers were born regularly with the one objective, to sell newsprint by leveling accusations at the Fraternity. Any dirt would do despite its veracity. The anti-Masonic movement in itself was a sort of lie, it was a conspiracy to promote certain people or groups at the cost of freemasons. The press could make money. The clergy saw people converting. Lastly, the politicians had an opportunity to promote themselves (MIT). The times were ripe for suspicion and distrust. Uncultivated egos led people to believe that only their church, their politics, their way of life was the correct one. Others were ignorant and in the dark. (Marrs, 17) The masons as a society are very secretive and extremely widespread. The society is formed on the basis that brotherly love, belief in religion and helping the community are musts. These characteristics don’t make the masons seem like they have any wrongdoing in their actions and so fourth. Even so there is is much criticism of the freemasons as a group. There have been numerous attacks against freemasons and what the supposedly have hidden from the rest of society. The most potentially damaging attacks of this century have come in the past two or three years. People have tried to convince society that freemasonry is rooted in heresy. Even in the face of extreme large amounts of criticism the masons have chosen to remain silent and not release any secrets. Whatever the actions were, or the motives have been they have always allowed themselves to be easy targets. It seems that the masons have been deliberately accused of certain things therefore they will gain the reputation that will put them under. Whether another society has done this to them is unknown. Everything seems to denounce the Order of the Masons. It is probably not long before the masons come out and set the record straight, rather than just accept the blows of criticism. They rely on their acts of reconciliation and following the principles of brotherhood, relief and truth, which is not enough to keep the largest fraternity in the world operating. It is very amazing that a group of people could persevere through the trials and tribulations that they have been through. It was very hard to gather reliable and large amounts of information because of the secrecy. What was learned is that this group operates for nothing but the good of themselves and others. Many very important figures of the world were members of this organization. This is a reason why there is so much controversy surrounding this group. All in all, its been the most successful attempt at a unified group or â€Å"secret society. â€Å" How to cite Freemasonry’s Beliefs and Their Struggle for Secrecy, Papers

Like Father, Like Daughter free essay sample

Lets face it; there comes a time in life when teenagers cannot stand their parents. Arguments ensue, many things that should never be said are spoken aloud, and the teenagers think that they have nothing in common with their parents. However, when Sarah Vowell shares her experience in the essay â€Å"Shooting Dad,† she gives the audience a complete, retrospective look at her teenage feuds, which contrasts her relationship with her father today. Vowell uses her past experiences with her father in order to emphasize the strong bond that they both now have, while acknowledging that even though teenagers may clash with their parents over their beliefs or hobbies, they will still have something, be it mannerisms or interests that connects them to their parents. She begins her essay by introducing the reader to the arguments that she and her father used to have. Vowell makes her aversion to guns and her fathers love of them, as well as their difference in opinions, clear from the beginning of the essay in order to demonstrate how poor she and her fathers relationship used to be. We will write a custom essay sample on Like Father, Like Daughter or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In â€Å"Shooting Dad,† this difference is clearly defined with Vowells descriptions of what she calls, â€Å"jealously guarded totalitarian states in which each of us [Vowell and her father] declared ourselves dictator† (Vowell, 2). By using this wording, Vowell creates the scenario of war, making the reader question the extent of this feud. Later on, Vowell states after revisiting the memory of shooting a gun, â€Å"And, because I believed in the devil, I whispered under my breath, Satan, I rebuke thee† (Vowell, 4). When Vowell says this, the audience can finally feel the total impact of how different she seems from her father, in that while her father loves guns, she cannot stand them. Vowell also states that some of her fights with her father contained words that would have been better left unsaid (Vowell, 4). This portrays a negative connotation of the relationship that Vowell has with her father at this time, yet she contrasts this view throughout the essay using her relationship with her father today. Vowell uses more recent events between herself and her father to convey the bond that she currently shares with him, providing a contrast with how they got along when she was younger. According to the essay, Vowells father now calls her jokingly on Election Days, to proclaim that he has cancelled out her vote; Vowell then goes on to speak about how she and her father were sometimes unable to have a polite conversation (Vowell, 2). These more current events that Vowell gives prove that she and her father have begun to respect each others opinion, and sets the foundation for a playful relationship, rather than the distant bond that had been between them in the past. Listening to Vowell read her essay on NPR, the fun bond between father and daughter is further solidified. At 10:34 in the reading, Vowell laughs as her dad explains why hes able to shoot the cannon into a park (Chicago Public Media). Her laughter is natural, and suggests that she is genuinely attempting to understand why he loves firearms so much. When she tells her dad, â€Å"Good shot,† she realizes that she has actually begun to partly admire her fathers work and enjoys this time with her dad (Vowell, 7). This leads to Vowell searching for and finding a common ground with her father, in which both could talk about the experience comfortably and enjoy it. When talking about the past, Vowell leaves clues as to how identical she and her dad are, which lead up to the final epiphany that she has in the woods while cannon-shooting with her dad. Vowells first indication that she and her dad have things in common is when she is telling about the â€Å"territories† that she and her dad have. Both areas are described as â€Å"messy disaster areas,† each with navigable mazes designed with each persons objects of interest, while the walls boasted even more paraphernalia (Vowell, 2-3). In doing this, Vowell lets the reader catch on to one of the more subtle resemblances that she shares with her father: their mannerisms. She portrays this a couple more times, in that both are stubborn and stick firmly to their opinions, before she has a revelation. In the woods, two hikers look at her equipment in the same fashion that others look at her fathers handiwork (Vowell, 7). Here, Vowell realizes that she carries the same sort of personality and mannerisms that her father has, allowing her to look past many differences and become an ally to her father, rather than constant opposition. This common ground is what led Vowell to agree to her fathers final plan. In finding common ground with her father, Vowell explains how this newfound neutrality has enabled her to agree to her fathers final work of art. When Vowell explains about the cannon, and why she finds it tolerable, she says, â€Å"I can get behind the cannon because Its unwieldy and impractical, just like everything else I care about† (Vowell, 8). In bringing father and daughter together for one common pastime, this cannon is essentially the essence of Vowell and her fathers relationship in that it symbolizes mutual respect and the loving bond between parent and child. Vowell also claims that when her father dies, â€Å"I will light the fuse. But I will not cover my ears. Because I want it to hurt† (Vowell, 8). By using such a charged statement, Vowell intends for the reader to understand that while she intends to feel the emotional pain of her fathers passing by extending it into aural pain, she also wants to respect and honor another aspect that she and her father had in common: a love of noise. This pain is also a reference to what the cannon stands for, in that the bond she and her father shared is severed, but not gone, when his ashes leave the cannon. This helps to tie the entire essay together, and to help prove the main point of the essay. Throughout the essay â€Å"Shooting Dad,† Sarah Vowell tells the audience of the many arguments she and her father had, contrasting these tales with the more current bond that she and her father have assumed. In doing this, she accentuates how strong and playful their bond has become. Then, Vowell began to note the slight similarities that she and her father shared, which ultimately came to light while she helped her dad fire his cannon. Through this common ground, Vowell proves the point that everyone has something that connects them to their parents, and then pushes it further by utilizing the cannon, which had brought her and her father together, as a way to honor his memory and the similarities that they had. Vowell accomplishes in driving home the point that no matter what we do or say, there is something that ties parent and child together, and makes the saying, â€Å"Like father, like daughter,† true.

Cosmetic surgery Essay Example

Cosmetic surgery Essay Example Cosmetic surgery Paper Cosmetic surgery Paper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When the topic is plastic surgery, one thing comes to mind: Hollywood. Plastic surgery is being used for purely aesthetics purposes. Hollywood stars undergo cosmetic operations to enhance and beautify themselves. Wilson (2001) asserts that in Hollywood, the stars’ appearance means everything. This is why stars are lining up to undergo the operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, not all plastic surgery is for the rich and the famous; many are a medical necessity in order to function on a day to day basis. Many birth defects can now be corrected using plastic surgery. Congenital deformities can be psychologically and physically taxing. Reconstructive surgery gives hope to people who undergo this trauma. (Kita nd) Accidents and war wounds may also require plastic surgery. Their goal for undergoing the operation is to try to live normal lives again. A person had car accident and lost a leg can make use of an artificial limb so that he can be able to walk again through therapy. A soldier whose face has been burned in the war can undergo plastic surgery to avoid fear or embarrassment of facing other people. Rhinoplasty is also commonly called a nose job. 3 The real start of cosmetic surgery began in the 20th century. Obviously, technology is the shoulder of this. The main purpose of this surgery was to repair the faces of the victims of the World War I. The end of WWI and the high number of shattered faces that were rebuilt by new constructive surgical procedures was put in the press as a way to restore hope amongst soldiers. Surgeons began to realize the capabilities of the reconstructive procedures and began to realize the possibilities. The history of cosmetic surgery has changed a great deal from altering birth deformities to shifting ideas of beauty based on the times. Once described as a mainly Caucasian surgery reserved for just the rich and famous, the history of cosmetic surgery did not allow the average person to benefit from the procedures that could reshape societys elite. In the history of cosmetic surgery, there was also more of a stigma in speaking openly about any cosmetic work performed. There was also a more mainstreamed idea of beauty in the early history of cosmetic history, with people seeking procedures to a more conformed idea of beauty. 4 Today, cosmetic surgery has shifted from the early history of cosmetic surgery views. Over time, there have been many additional procedures developed, better techniques formed, a wider range of patients, and a higher acceptance and openness than the early history of cosmetic surgery. The idea of beauty has become more diversified, with a greater acceptance for unique and ethnic features and has become a more open forum to discuss than early history of cosmetic surgery. The shift in views from early history of cosmetic surgery to now has been attributed to many things. The focus on health and fitness has led to a natural progression of wanting to look as good as you feel, and there are more media outlets than in the history of cosmetic surgery. More information and more people are speaking about their cosmetic surgery, which in the history of cosmetic surgery was not done. People today, unlike in the history of cosmetic surgery, are not ashamed that they have gotten surgical work performed on areas there were previously not completely satisfied with. In 2002 alone, there were close to 6. 9 million cosmetic surgery procedures performed, a vast increase of 228% from 1997 which is not a long history of cosmetic surgery but merely five years. When looking at how far the history of cosmetic surgery has extended many people believe the recent increase, awareness, and acceptance has been in part to the limitless amount of information people can access through the Internet. What the history of cosmetic surgery has taught is that becoming as educated and aware of all aspects of aesthetic procedures and better ensure a safe and satisfying surgical experience. The history of cosmetic surgery is destined to continue to change. With the growing acceptance and openness of cosmetic surgery, it is also essential to remember the history of cosmetic surgery and not lose sight of how it should be used. While cosmetic surgery is an immensely positive experience for many people, studies and history of cosmetic surgery shows that it can be a negative tool if used incorrectly. Patients should have realistic and informed expectations about cosmetic surgery and understand that over time the history of cosmetic surgery has changed to accept beauty in all types of ethnic and unique ways. 5 Right now, there are different types of cosmetic surgeries. One of the most mainstream clinics which offer the said procedures is the Belo Medical Group headed by Dr. Victoria G. Belo. Here are some services offered: 1. Blepharoplasty: Laser Eyebag Removal/Eyelift 2. Breast Augmentation/Breast Lift 3. Face Lift 4. Hair Transplant 5. Hydrogel Butt Augmentation 6. Laser Assisted Tumescent Liposuction 7. Lipectomy: Tummy Tuck 8. Rhinoplasty: Noselift/Alar Trimming 9. Stem Cell Auto Grafting (SCAG)6 If we look at the modern Filipinos today of age above 25, we could see that most want to achieve that beauty.

Weathering Defined and Explained

Weathering Defined and Explained Weathering is the gradual destruction of rock under surface conditions, dissolving it, wearing it away or breaking it down into progressively smaller pieces. Think of the Grand Canyon or the red rock formations scattered across the American Southwest.  It  may involve physical processes, called mechanical weathering, or chemical activity, called chemical weathering.  Some geologists  also include the actions of living things, or organic weathering. These organic weathering forces can be classified  as mechanical or chemical or a combination of both. Mechanical Weathering Mechanical weathering involves five major  processes that physically  break rocks down into sediment or particles: abrasion, crystallization of ice, thermal fracture, hydration shattering, and exfoliation. Abrasion occurs from grinding against other rock particles. Crystallization of ice can result in force sufficient enough to fracture rock. Thermal fracture may occur due to significant temperature changes. Hydration the effect of water predominantly affects clay minerals. Exfoliation occurs when rock is unearthed after its formation.   Mechanical weathering does not just affect the earth. It can also affect some brick and stone buildings over time.   Chemical Weathering Chemical weathering involves the  decomposition or decay of rock. This type of  weathering doesnt break rocks down but rather alters its chemical composition through carbonation, hydration, oxidation or hydrolysis. Chemical weathering changes the composition of the rock toward surface minerals and mostly affects minerals that were unstable in the first place.  For example, water can eventually dissolve limestone. Chemical weathering  can occur in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and it  is an element of chemical erosion.   Organic Weathering Organic weathering is sometimes called bioweathering or biological weathering. It involves factors such as contact with animals- when they dig in the dirt- and plants when their growing roots contact rock. Plant acids can also  contribute to  the dissolution of rock.   Organic weathering isnt a process that stands alone. Its a combination of mechanical weathering factors and chemical weathering factors.   The Result of Weathering Weathering can range from a change in color all the way to a  complete breakdown of minerals into clay and other surface minerals. It  creates deposits of altered and loosened material  called residue  that is ready to undergo transportation,  moving across the earths surface when propelled by water, wind, ice or gravity  and thus becoming  eroded. Erosion means weathering plus transportation at the same time. Weathering is necessary for erosion, but a rock may weather without undergoing erosion.

Business Strategy Nokia Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Strategy Nokia Corporation - Case Study Example In addition, it provides recommendations and suggestions as how to employ the internal and external strengths, overcome the weakness, make use of the opportunities and identifying the potential threats in time and take preventive measures in time. Nokia Corporation is a Finland based company incorporated in the year 1966. The major breakthrough came when Nokia made an entry into the consumer electronics market. Through its remarkable internationalisation policies, Nokia over the years has evolved as the leading manufacturer of mobile devices and mobile networks across the globe. However from a humble start with paper, rubber and cable manufacturing, consumer electronics brought about a major reorientation of the company. It was towards the end of the twentieth century that Nokia aggressively started implementing expansionary policies in different electronic product areas. Over the next twenty - twenty five years, Nokia actively made acquisitions and divestments in an effort to internationalise and growth. In the year 1995, Nokia recorded revenue of a whooping FIM 36, 810 million of which 99 percent came from the electronics business: mobile phones, telecommunications and consumer electronics. (Lindell L. and Melin L., 1996) Today Nokia operat... It has a plethora of products and services to offer to consumers. Though its primary business area is manufacture and sell of mobile phone handsets, it also provides services to that help to protect a business from foreign intrusion, improve workforce communications and voice solutions. (About Nokia, 2009) The determining factor of Nokia's success in the consumer electronics industry is its timely identification and exploitation of business opportunities. Nokia's acquisition strategies played a major role in bringing about a remarkable corporate transformation. Between the period 1983 and 1992, Nokia made five well planned and strategised acquisitions of European companies. 1983 Salora (Finland), Luxor (Sweden) 1987 Oceanic (France) 1988 Standard Electric Lorenz (Germany) 1988 Main plants: Bochum (Germany) and Ibervisao (Portugal), with six other plants supporting the manufacturing of TV sets 1992 Finlux (Finland) In the 1970s when Nokia had just entered the computers manufacturing industry, another opportunity to expand in electronics appeared. There was a sudden creation of demand for a new type of portable radio telephone by the Finnish army. Eventually the three companies that got the order of manufacturing were Salora, Televa and Nokia. Salora was much ahead of its two counterparts in its Research and Development activities. In view of this, Nokia strategically approached Salora and for a joint venture initiative in the radio telephone business. (Lindell L. and Melin L., 1996) However in the 1970s Salora was forced to relinquish their ownership due to unethical business practices. After years of ill fate and business blunders, Nokia acquired 18 percent of the shares in Salora, however it

Stalinism and Leninism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Stalinism and Leninism - Essay Example There is no generally accepted point of view. The adherents of the continuity theory believe that Stalinism was the direct continuation of Leninism whereas their opponents do not (Evans, 1993). Paradoxically but they use the same citations and rhetoric to approve their believes. Stalin was a deserving successor of his teacher and comrade thus many phenomena of Stalinism had their roots in the theoretical postulates proposed by Lenin. Such conceptual views like democratic centralism in the governing, expectation of international revolution, and single party rule (ibid) are characteristic both for Leninism and Stalinism. However some Stalin's contributions are distinctive of Lenin's views. Thus he supported thesis of the possibility to built socialism in one country, and developed the theory of "aggravation of the class struggle along with the development of socialism" (Stalin, 1933). The critics of Stalinism (e.g. Leon Trotsky and his followers) as well as the historians Discontinuity who support alternative theory argue that Stalinism discontinued the development of Lenin's ideas. Lenin proposed the rule of party and dictatorship of the revolutionary proletariat while Stalin replaced this thesis with the absolute power of party leader. Theoretical achievements of Stalin's works were non-significant thus Stalinism is more related to the style of governing than to true political theories (Fitzpatrick, 2000). Some researchers found the relation between the traditional Russian autocracy (Tzar's government) and Stalinism (Kotkin, 1997; McCauley, 2003). They consider that Stalin adopted traditions to the new ideology and built the cult of own person. Contrarily Lenin never emphasized his own role in the Bolsheviks party. Of course, many features of Stalinism could be linked to the trends occurred during Lenin's rule. Thus Red Terror developed the tools and infrastructure for the further repressions. Lenin wrote in 1917 "One out of every ten idlers will be shot on the spot". He gave hundreds orders for repressions and murders but he never use his weapon and deterrent against members of his party - they could be exiled from Russia but their lives were preserved. Nevertheless the idea of political control through terror is related Lenin. "It was Lenin who laid the police state foundations which made Stalin's monstrous feats technically possible" (Leggett, 1981, cited by D02C143HP, 2003). Stalin was not too liberal, he "killed more Communists than Hitler, Mussolini and Franco together. He destroyed Lenin's Bolshevik Party and murdered all its leaders" (Woods, 2004). During the "purges" thousands of people were expelled from the Bolshevik Party and then arrested, imprisoned or persecuted later. But the number of Stalinism victims was estimated at the millions. They put their lives to the basement of Soviet Empire and its leader, Stalin. There is interestingly that Lenin understood the dangerosity of his comrade, Stalin, for Bolshevik Party. He wrote in his Testament: "Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary has immeasurable power concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient control" (Lenin, 1922) Lenin and Stalin demonstrated different approaches in the economic policy of Communist State. Vladimir Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy and restored the agricultural and industrial

Rise And Fall Of Joseph Stalin

Rise And Fall Of Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin, a man of great ambition and power, played a significant role in the transformation of Russia throughout the 20th century and up until his death in 1953. Joseph Stalin was a coldblooded leader, capable of provoking revolutionary loyalty in his followers. Nikita Khrushchev, who followed Stalin to power, described Stalins guidance as creating a cult of personality. What gave Stalin such power? Was it because he could persuade people on his behalf? Was it his rise to power along with the rise of industrialization? Or did he simply create a cult? Stalins success likely derived from a combination of all three. Its undeniable however that Stalins leadership played a massive role in the present portrayal of Russia. By the 1930s, he managed to lead Russia into the industrial age and at the same time alter the Soviet people into a strong-willed and modern nation able to counter the Western powers. Stalin was without a doubt an aggressive yet remarkable leader, and it would be te sted when World War Two broke out in Europe in 1941. He characteristically ordered vigorous attacks and was willing to take risks with the lives of his soldiers, and urged the Central Committee to discharge commanders that proved futile. Stalins behavior during the civil war anticipated exactly the role he would play as Leading Commander throughout World War Two. However, it was this behavior and his fear of losing power that would haunt him until his death in 1953. Born into a dysfunctional family in the mountains of Georgia in 1879, Joseph Stalin from childhood embraced his strong desire for greatness and respect. Joseph was a devout Orthodox, and often involved himself in sermons. Due to an early outbreak of smallpox and a deformed arm as a child, Stalin felt inferior to many intellectuals and from that point on he would distrust many of the people hed meet in his future. Because Stalin grew up in a dangerous village where blood feud persisted, he learned to crush any individuals that would attempt to harm him. Georgian popular culture had a broad emphasis on honour. This involved loyalty to family, friends and clients. Joseph by contrast felt no lasting obligation to anybody. He was later to execute in-laws, veteran fellow leaders and whole groups of communists whose patron he had been. On the surface he was a good Georgian. He hosted lavish dinner partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦he dandled children on his knee. But his sense of traditional honour was non-existent (Service 27). Through a traumatic childhood event, where he witnessed the hanging of two local Georgian men, Joseph learned that state power was an essential factor in any society, and that if changes in government were to ever happen, force would be a key component to go against the status quo. Prior to his engagement in school education, Joseph loved Georgian literature including thirteenth century epic poetry such as The Patricide by Alexander Qazbegi, a story about the great resistance against Russian Imperial power in the 19th century. When he began attending school, he was soon to be recognized as a competent student that was well-behaved and quick to learn. By the end summer in 1894, Joseph had completed his term at the Board of the Gori Spiritual School, and was recommended to attend the Tiflis Spiritual Seminary. The school itself followed many rules, which ranged from prohibiting students to only spending up to an hour a day in the city, to only being allowed to speak and write Russian. Inevitably, Josephs desire for more power and intellect led him to join the rebel students. Through his rebellious acts, he acquired texts by Marx, Darwin, Plekhanov and Lenin. During his attendance, Marxism was on the rise and he would not hesitate to learn in its tenets. By the end of his term at Tiflis Spiritual Seminary, Stalin lost interest in poetry and religion, and began to focus on his study of socialism, Marxism, economics and politics. During the Revolution in 1905, Stalin along with other Marxist and Bolshevik organizations across Russia were involved in a series of thefts from banks to help fund their party. Lenin and Stalin, who were firm supporters of Bolshevism, demanded for money to help sustain the party. By the end of 1906, Stalin was well-recognized in Georgia as The next Lenin. In 1913, Stalin, along with other Bolshevik leaders were sent to exile in northeast Siberia. Their planned term of life in exile was cut short however, when in March of 1917, news came to Stalin that Nicholas II of Russia abdicated his position as ruler, thus ending the reign. A Provisional Government was formed on March 3rd, with Prime Minister Prince Lvov, cabinet members made up of Constitutional-Democrats, and Minister Alexander Kerenski. Immediately, Stalin and Kamenev were demanding a revolutionary democratic dictatorship. On their journey back to Petrograd, both Kamenev and Stalin agreed that they would seize control of the Bolshevik Central Committee in the capital. The Central Committee was not pleased with the arrival of Kamenev, when they discover which side he, Stalin, and Muranov were taking in the political debate. The Committee members were determined to avoid giving the three of them high ranks. Over the next few months, Stalin, who did not adopt all of Lenins policie s which demanded state ownership of the land, argued that it would alienate peasants who wished to control the countryside. Stalin and Kamenev both agreed that in order for their Bolshevik party to grow, they had to convince everyone that they were the only party in Russia that could bring peace. Inevitably, the Provisional Government ran into difficulties, mainly due to the prolongation of the war with Germany and the dislocation of the economy. Food supplies fell. Factories faced closures as metal, oil and other raw materials failed to be delivered. Banks ceased to bail out industrial enterprises. The civilian administrative system, which was already creaking under wartime strains, started to collapse. Transport and communication became unreliableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Workers called for higher pay and secure employment. Soldiers in the garrisons supported a peace policy: they were horrified by the possibility of being transferred to the front line (Service 128). By 1918, Civil war broke out between the Red and White groups. Slowly overtime, Stalin and other Bolshevik groups begin to seize control. It was not until 1922, when Stalin was appointed to General Secretary of the Communist Partys Central Committee. Stalin understood his power, and used it against the committee, and it was not until much later that the organization came to a realization of what he was planning. The only person who could challenge Stalin, was Lenin, who was near death after a series of strokes. In due course, Stalin became the leader of the country up until Mikhail Gorbachev. After Lenins death in 1924, Stalin went about destroying the ally commanders. At first, hed remove them from their posts and exiled abroad. Stalin was still not satisfied, however, when he culminated a series of show trials in the 1930s against the founding fathers of the Soviet Union. Stalin successfully managed to manipulate the public of Russia that these revolutionaries were enemies of the p eople. Driven by his own sense of inferiority, Trotsky along with any other intellectual professionals were liquidated or sent into exile. The First Moscow Trial accused Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev, two prominent party leaders, of attempted assassination of Stalin. The two were sentenced to death. The Second Moscow Trial involved Karl Radek, Yuri Piatakov, Leon Trotsky and Grigory Sokolnikov, in which they were said to have conspired with Nazi Germany. Most were either sentenced to death or exile. The third and final trial, known as The Trial of the Twenty-One involved Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Nikolai Krestinsky, Christian Rakovsky, and Genrikh Yagoda. The twenty-one members were accused of belonging to the Bloc of Rightists and Trotskyites. All the leading defendants were executed except Rakovsky and two others. Through a series of purges in 1936-38, Stalin became the sole intellectual force of Russia, and began to pursue an economic policy which would mobilize the enti re country to achieve rapid industrialization, so that he may stand alongside with other Capitalist leaders. To this end, he forcefully collectivized agriculture, instituted the Five-Year Plans to coordinate all investment and production in the country, and undertook a massive program of building heavy industry. Although the Soviet Union boasted that its economy was booming while the Capitalist world was experiencing the Great Depression, and its industrialization drive did succeed in rapidly creating an industrial infrastructure where there once had been none, the fact is that all this was done at exorbitant cost in human livesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and the discovery of a source of cheap labor through the arrest of millions of innocent citizens led to countless millions of deaths from the worst man-made famine in human history and in the camps of the Gulag (Abamedia 1). Inevitably, Stalin managed to make Russia a world power, only to the demise of millions of innocent people. In the early hours of August 24, 1939 Stalin came to agreements with Hitler a ten-year non-aggression pact. The agreement, which took place in Molotovs office in Kremlin, ended six years of mutual discrepancy between the Soviet Union and the Third Reich. Stalin, who was greatly pleased and signed the treaty which ultimately divided the northern regions of Eastern Europe into two areas. Stalin believed that he and Hitler had a truce, thus he refused to listen to any warnings in 1941 that Hitler was planning a massive attack. On May 5, 1941, Stalin addressed a speech in Moscow which declared: War with Germany is inevitable. If comrade Molotov can manage to postpone the war for two or three months through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that will be our good fortuneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Until now we have conducted a peaceful, defensive policy and weve also educated our army in this sprit. But now the situation must be changed. We have a strong and well-armed army. A good defense signifies the need to attack. Attack is the best form of defenseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦We must now conduct a peaceful, defensive policy with attack (Service 407). As Hitler began to take over France, Stalin realized it was only a matter of time before Germany would attempt to takeover Russia. If the Soviet state would fail to defeat the German armed forces, it would mean the end of the communist party. On the 23rd of June, Stalin worked with the members of the Supreme Command to plan for war. Over the next few days, the members would vote on Supreme Commander. It was not until the 10th of July, that Stalin was appointed the position. As the three million German forces crept closer to Moscow, panic began to pervade all of USSR. Because the military had been removed of its best commanders in the 1930s, it took much time for the Soviets to reorganize. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦owing to Stalins purges the army was to all intents and purposes leaderless. In this respect Hitler was right in declaring that the Red Army was a headless giant, and in hurrying to invade the Soviet Union while its head had still not regrown (Wegner 381). Stalin ordered that armament production be boosted, along with labor discipline be tightened and food supplies be secured from villages. Stalin encouraged à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦enhancing the Soviet defensive position along the USSRs western borderlands. Hence the takeover of the Baltic States and the move into Romania (Roberts 122). Unfortunately, the lack of military experience by Stalin was detrimental to their early success. After the battle for Minsk came to a close, Stalin lost more than 400,000 Red Army troops to German forces. The Soviet air force had been destroyed, and the areas of transport and communications throughout USSR had been shattered. In October of 1941 the German forces, having lunged across the plains and marshes to the east of the River Bug, were massing outside Moscow for a final thrust at the USSRs capital. Critical decisions needed to be taken in the Kremlin. The initial plan was for the entire government to be evacuated to Kuibyshev on the Volga. Stalin was set to leave by train and Lenins embalmed corpse, was prepared for the journey to Tyumen in west Siberia. Moscow appeared likely to fall to the invader before winterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and Stalin, could scarcely expect that Hitler would grant him his life in the event of the increasingly probable German victory (Service 420). From 1941 to 1945, the forces under the command of Stalin ordered nearly 50 different strategic operations, nearly a quarter of which were defensive. Because of Stalins lack of military knowledge, he was not able to forecast any future attacks by Hitler. Thus many of the battles were spontaneous defensive battles, which was mainly due to the lack of preparation in long-term strategy for the whole USSR. As military leader, Stalin attempted to maintain morale of his forces through means of Stalinist methods and propaganda. He would pay less attention to strengthening the roles of his commanders and political commissars, and focus more on violence and punishment. It was not until Zhukov, one of Stalins assisting commanders, concluded that they must abandon the Ukrainian capital in order to conserve resources and human lives. Stalin, who did not agree with Zhukov, followed through with the plan. While Zhukov worked on a campaign, Stalin promoted the expansion of the armed forces. Miracul ously, Stalins war slogan Everything for the Front! helped provide a massive economic boost. In the second half of 1942, Stalin managed to have the USSR produce 15,000 aircrafts and 13,000 tanks. However as a result, farms fell out of production and a deeper impoverishment of the countryside. By November, Stalin and Zhukov arranged a new operation called Uranus. Operation Uranus consisted of a series of telegrams, in which Stalin would order a series of attacks to crush the enemy. Thus Hitler would order his fellow general to break into Stalingrad, which had been prepared with Russian army groups. The battle persisted until February 2, 1943, when German resistance finally ceased. Stalingrad was a Soviet city again. Following the war, Stalin met in the Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences and ordered for the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations. Stalin managed to successfully negotiate with the other leaders and secured three seats for Russia at the UN, a nd took control the Baltic States, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. Communist governments were installed in the newly controlled territories, and many people began to leave. The Soviet Union was now a recognized superpower worldwide, having its own permanent seat with the Security Council, giving Stalin the respect hed been dreaming his whole life. The strains of the Second World War on Stalin were great, by this time he was old, a long-term smoker and drinker, and was inevitably driving him to an earlier death. After the suicide of his wife, Stalin and his family began to lead odd lives. While Stalin lived, however, his policies remained unchallengeable. He was not absolutely inflexible and most war-related decisions were kept in policy. While many of the churches had been reopened due to the war thrived, Stalin consented to act as unofficial ambassador for the peace policy of the USSR government. Thus the Russian Orthodox Church began to occupy previously recognized Christian buildings. Cultural expression became as wide as the war, where the level of material provision for Soviet citizens maintained the Stalinist mindset. While Stalin did not play for an economy of shortage, he still aimed to expand the supply of food and industrial products through the retail trade. Stalin agreed that in order to stimulate the production an d distribution of consumer goods, he would have to cease wartime inflation. As a result, in December of 1947, Stalin declared the devaluation of the ruble, reducing its value to a tenth of what it had been valued at. At the end of January in 1953, Stalins physician Miron Vovsi was arrested in relation to The Doctors Plot. This plot was an alleged conspiracy made by Stalin, which would nearly bring purges again to Russia. The conspiracy would eliminate the leadership of the Soviet Union by means of highly regarded Jewish doctors. Khrushchev, along with others, suggested that Stalin had long held negative attitudes towards Jews that had manifested prior to the 1917 Russian Revolution. Further suspicions of Stalins crudeness towards Jews were seen through the elimination of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee in 194 and his campaign referred to as rootless cosmopolitans. The Soviet dictator accused nine doctors plotting to poison and kill the Soviet leadership. The convicted men were arrested, and at Stalins order, were tortured until they confessed. Within days of the doctors arrest, however, Stalin who was in terrible health was rapidly deteriorating. His high-blood pressure, along with his unhealth y lifestyle, led to his eventual coma. Four days later, Stalin briefly regained consciousness, and demanded the leading members of the party be brought for a conference. As a last sign of life, Joseph Stalin raised his left arm, only to die moments later. He remained a hero to the people of Russia until Nikita Krushchev, the new leader of the Soviet Union, made a prominent speech to the Party Congress in 1956. The speech attacked the policies of Stalin and revealed how Stalin was responsible for the execution of thousands of loyal communists during the purges. In the months following Krushchevs speech, thousands of the imprisoned under Stalins order were released. Attempts were further made to completely erase Stalins image from the Soviet Union. Public statues and portraits of the leader were removed, and parks and streets were renamed after being originally named after Stalin. Stalingrad, which had been associated with Stalin during both the Civil War and World War Two, was renamed Volgagrad. Finally, Stalins ashes were removed from the Kremlin Wall. While images and names of the leader were removed from the public domain, the system which Stalin had worked for still remained. The state which protected Soviet leaders was to stay unchanged for the next thirty years, until Mikhail Gorbachev took control in the 1980s. The Cold War continued, gulags remained operational, and the totalitarian government remained. The world was finally permitted to access the records of Stalin and his crimes after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the conclusion of the Cold War, and the final end of the Soviet Union in 1991-92. While most of the contemporaries working under Stalin managed to hide the corruption behind Stalins past, many people still managed to acquire some information against the cruel dictator. In the end, just as we may never gain full knowledge of his past crimes, we may never seize an absolute understanding of his motivations and personality. For decades, Stalin and his committee members managed to justify their deeds by saying that their goal, the building of a utopia, necessitated the sacrifice of any number of lives. In order to make a life which would better the whole, lives must be surrendered. While Stalin believed he never reached a complete Communist society, he did prove that his tactics such as collectivization and the Five-Year Plan guided toward an ideology that focused on Totalitarian control. While the world continues to suffer, it is important to realize Stalins unbridled desire for power can devastate millions of lives. His egocentric personality not only was detrimental to the Russian people, but to countries across the globe. While he may be revered as a man who greatly contributed to Russias success as a world superpower, it is undeniable that it was a t the cost of something much more important. While he was a political genius, it was his paranoid loss of power which led to his demise. Joseph Stalin will always be remembered as a ruthless leader of Russia, and while he may have been erased from the public streets, he will always remain in the thoughts and prayers of the people in Russia and across the globe.