Women in the Military :: Women in Military Essays

Men and women live in society jointly. According to the U.S. Constitution, all men are created equal, and thus includes women. Although everyone is considered equal, history of women in the military proves different. Many contributions have been given to the military by women for hundreds of years. 'Women's struggle for a place in the armed forces has been about seeking the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship' They have earned the right to the recruiting poster?s promise and challenge: 'Be All You Can Be'" Major General Jeanne Holm, USAF(Ret.) (Women 4 Mar 1998). Although the Military standards have been set, equal opportunity regardless of race, gender, or religion, "glass ceilings" are still in effect in the military. According to the Active Duty Military Personnel by Grade/Rank and Gender 1997 and 1995 chart, women are still stopped by a "glass ceiling". At the grade of O-10 from both 1997 and 1995, zero women had achieved this status. At O-9, two women and at O-8, three women respectively. For total officers in 1997 only 13.53% were women and total enlisted only 13.71% were women(Glass 4 Mar 1998). These facts and figures show the difficulty that women have had in breaking through the "glass ceiling" even today when women have proven themselves to be competent and successful. Women have served in the military for hundreds of years. The "official" history of the United States military begins in the 20th century with the establishment of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901 (American 4 Mar 1998). These women worked hard and dedicated to the troops and their country. They cared for the sick and wounded, identified and buried the dead, cooked, sewed, and laundered(American 4 Mar 1998). Although these women worked diligently and were dedicated, they were considered officially invisible and only earned half rations and earned the name Camp Followers(American 4 Mar 1998). Tending to the sick was considered woman?s work. Until 1901, they were civilian volunteers or contract workers who had no rank and received no benefits(American 4 Mar 1998). A bill was written by Dr. McGee to establish a permanent Nurse Corps of June 20, Congress passed this bill in 1901(American 4 Mar 1998). The United States Navy Nurse Corps was established on May 13,1908. At that time, no provisions had been made for rank and rating compensation equal to the Navy?s personnel(Women WWI 26 May 1999). In 1913 Navy nurses began serving on ships aboard the USS Mayflower and the USS Dolphin(American 26May 1999).

Was the Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima Justified

Were the Americans justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945? The dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 by the Americans is a very controversial issue with no definite answer. Both sides of the issue have very justifiable arguments. Reasons for dropping the bomb include the fact that Truman’s options were limited at this point in the war, that the bomb did have the desired outcome of Japans surrender and that the majority of reasons America had for dropping the bomb are justifiable. On the other hand, the atomic bomb was complete new technology and there is no way that Japan could have possibly been ready for it and for that reason the dropping of the atomic bomb is very much morally and ethically wrong. It is also important to consider that two bombs were dropped, both with different motivations and it is quite possible that while one is justifiable, the other is not. There were many reasons why America would have chosen to drop the bomb and the majority can be justified. Before the atomic bomb was dropped, America was nearing the end of the war. They had made the Potsdam declaration requesting Japans surrender and at this point had the Japanese at a very weak position. At a similar time, the Americans had completed the development of the Atomic bomb or Project Manhattan that, after Germany surrendered, had no other competition. A lot money had been put into the development of the bomb and at this point, Truman’s options were limited. Invasion was out of the question due to the Japanese’s strong military and patriotic values: The continuation of conventional bombings and a naval blockade were also considered but deemed unsuitable. The negation of surrender had been tried with the ‘Potsdam Declaration’ and had failed. It is important to point out that by ignoring the declaration; the Japanese in effect gave their acceptance of the Americans threats of ‘prompt and utter destruction. ’[1] America and Britain were both aware that the development of the bomb meant they no longer relied on the allied troops from Russia, and with the fear of communism, this was a motivation for the dropping of the bomb: ‘It is quite clear that the US do not at the present time desire Russian participation in the war against Japan’ [2]. There was also the question of time. The atomic bomb was by far the quickest way that America could see for the ending of the war, and they were eager to end the war as before long, Russia would become involved making a heavier casualty rate inevitable. America were also a very powerful country now they had the development of the Atomic Bomb, it would have been a waste to not be able to show their true power and the true destruction they could use through the bomb. There is also the point that the Americans were looking for revenge against the Japanese, as they had injured and killed many American soldiers, and even more to come, had the Americans not taken quick action. Looking back at the dropping of the bomb, it is possible to say that it was a method of prevention in many different circumstances. Firstly, the dropping of the bomb meant that the war would be over: ‘The atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II. There can be no doubt of that. ’ [3] It is possible that leaving the war longer could have resulted in a much worse fatality rate for both Japan and America. Also, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima effectively decided the use of atomic technology for weapons for the future. Before the dropping of the bomb, people had no idea of the severity and power of atomic weaponry and therefore, the argument can be made that the dropping of the atomic bomb prevented a lot more serious cases that could have happened say the power of atomic bombs was not explored at this time. The dropping of the atomic bomb caused great loss of life, and there are many arguments suggesting the dropping of the bomb was both morally and ethically wrong. There is no way that the Japanese could have been prepared for the dropping of the atomic bomb as the world had never witnessed something like the bomb before. The Americans had the opportunity of demonstrating the power of the bomb on a deserted area and showing the Japanese what they were facing. This was proposed by a number of American scientists, but rejected by the Military Leaders: ‘we did not think exploding one of these things as a firecracker over a desert was likely to be impressive. ’[4] There was the option of dropping the bomb on purely a military target, yet the Americans chose a target that not only affected Japans military, but took the lives of many civilians. The Americans were always slightly racist towards the Japanese or ‘colored people’ and this could easily have been secret motivation for the dropping of such a severe form of bomb. There is also the consideration of the two different bombs. The American military leaders would have been completely aware of the severity of damage of atomic bombs after Little Boy was dropped yet they still went on to drop Fat Man. It is possible that while the first bomb could be excusable, the dropping of a second, in full knowledge of the damage that it would cause, is not only unnecessary but definitely morally incorrect. It is also important to consider the Truman’s alternatives once again. From the American’s point of view, Truman’s options were very limited, but peace could have been found through the Japanese and the Soviet Union, a pathway which the President was aware of but didn’t really explore. It can also be pointed out that the Potsdam declaration was a very harsh document, especially on a country with such strong patriotic values. Had the declaration not requested ‘unconditional surrender’[5] and had in fact let Japan keep some of their imperial rule, they could have been more likely to accept the declaration. Japan was already very vulnerable when America chose to drop the bomb. In reality, it was only a matter of time before Japan would have needed to surrender anyway. America knew that Japan would need to surrender soon as they were unable to import or export goods: ‘it was quite logical to hope and expect that with the proper kind of warning the Japanese would have made peace’. [6] It really was only a matter of time before Japan would have had to surrender and America knew that. It is possible that the Americans were not just interested in the ending of the war, but had other reasons such as racial discrimination, revenge and greed for power to drop the two atomic bombs. In my opinion, the Americans have enough reasons to justify the dropping of the bomb. They gave the Japanese sufficient warning of their plan through the Potsdam declaration and it was the Japanese’s mistake to ignore this. They also completed the desired outcome with Japan’s surrender. For these reasons America can justify their reasons for dropping the bomb. However, being able to justify something does not mean it is necessarily the best thing to do, and I think that it was morally incorrect to make the Japanese uffer to the extent that they did considering that the war was almost over. The fact that America chose to drop two bombs changes my opinion significantly as well. The first bomb can be looked with the idea that America was not aware of the damage they could cause, however a second bomb was cruel and inexcusable. The Americans were after more than just the end of the war, they wanted the Japanese to feel their power and to have revenge: ‘In being first to use it we had developed ethical standards common to barbarians in the dark ages. [7] The bomb however has benefitted the world in the way that it has prevented anything like the atomic bomb disaster from occurring again, and the use of this technology earlier on could easily have prevented a later, more severe disaster. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima can be justified and looked at as a mistake that possibly had many benefits. The dropping of the bomb on Nagasaki was an example of the American’s greed for power and race driven revenge. In conclusion, I think that America had very strong reasons for dropping the bomb, some of which are valid and some of which are not. This said they should not have dropped it as they knew the effect that this bomb was going to have on Japan, especially when Japan was so unprepared, and there would have been much more appropriate ways of ending the war. ———————– [1] Lewis, Robert AGORA, Vol. 25, No 1, 1990, HTAV, Source 9, page 29 [2] Lewis, Robert AGORA Vol. 25, No 2, 1990, HTAV, Source 22, page 19 [3] Lewis, Robert AGORA, Vol. 25, No 1, 1990, HTAV, page 19 [4] Lewis, Robert AGORA Vol. 25, No 2, 1990, HTAV, Source 16, page 14 [5] Lewis, Robert AGORA, Vol. 25, No 1, 1990, HTAV, Source 9, page 29 [6] Ibid page 34, source 14 [7] Ibid page 19

Location Decision and Sustainability Essay

In this paper we are going to give an in-depth perspective on the subjects of location decision, clusters and corporate social responsibility. First, we will address the location decision subject. Second, we will discuss clusters and different cluster types. Last, we will review the corporate social responsibility subject. After giving an in-depth perspective on the three subjects, we will discuss the relationship between these different topics. Location Decision Location decision is an important strategic decision that must be considered by a firm. It is important because the location strategy could affect the ability of the firm to reach it consumer, to produce in economic scale, or even to get access to the resource they needs. Location decision could also be able to give the firm a competitive advantage, because of transfer of knowledge, innovation, specialisation, and complementariness. In choosing a country, there are two main dimensions that usually be considered. Those two main dimensions are country competitiveness and also risk of the country. The country competitiveness usually is divided into two main categories, which are the market competitiveness and also the industry competitiveness. A firm should able to assess those categories to find out in which location or in which country they should operate to maximize their opportunity and profits and minimize their risks and costs. Country Opportunity Assessing the market opportunity for a country means that we assessing the potential demand that available in a country. The variables that take into account for this assessment are the growth of the market, the size of the market, and also the quality of the demand that exist on the market in a certain country. This market assessment will define whether it is worth or not to start a business in that country, will the firm have a good demand or not, and will that demand able to generate profit for the firm or not. Looking some macroeconomics indicators can assess the market opportunity. Those indicators can be the GDP, GDP per capita, and income distribution, etc. ooking to those indicators can give us an insight about the market size of the country or country buying power compared to another country, etc. the quality of demand is describing the segmentation of the countries. Generally countries are grouped into 4 main clusters: †¢Developing countries, low income per capita, and low growth †¢Emerging countries, relatively low income per capita but high in growth †¢The newly industrialized economies, high growth and moderate to high wealth †¢The final cluster, low growth and high wealth, usually these countries have already reached their ‘maturity’. The other important opportunity that needs to be considered is the industry opportunities. The industry opportunity is including a broad part of aspects. Those aspects are the resource (including human resource and natural resource), the infrastructures, and also government policies (such as government incentive to enhance foreign investment, or tax reduction). A company needs to consider the human resource issue. It is usually addressing the quality of the labor in a country. It is also considering the minimum wages or average wages of labor in a country. That issue is an important issue because it will affect the production cost and production process. The natural resource issue usually also become some major strategic issue because it enables the firm to get closer to the input that they needs including strategic geographical location that can benefits their mobility. Country Risks Beside the opportunities, a firm should also consider the risks of the country. There are some major risks that need to be considered. Political risk, this risk have a high relation with the government policies and political condition in each country. A country with an unstable politic environment may have higher risk of rioting or policy changed. It can cause disadvantage for the firm such as vandalism to firm’s assets, or difficulties from the bureaucracy. Economic risk, this economic risk is including the inflation rate, economic growth, exchange rates of the currency, and also the variability. A firm needs to consider it carefully because it surely will affect the company stability and profitability. Competitive risk, this risk refers to the risk that company gets from the competition, the business group, cartels, or even the competitive advantage among product that being sold in the company. Operational risk, this risk is covering the risks from infrastructures, supplier policy, or even government regulation such as taxation, and nationalistic preference. Location Strategy After knowing the opportunity and the risks that exist in a country. A company should use that data to forming their strategy. The firm needs to compare a list of country to know which country that is the best for their investment, considering the risk and the opportunity of each of them. Clusters In this section of the paper we are going to discuss clusters. In order to explain what clusters are, we will use the definition given to clusters by Michael Porter (1990), which he used for his study of clusters. â€Å"clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions in a particular field that compete but also cooperate†. There are many different types of clusters, which we will discuss below. However, we are going to start by explaining how and why corporations form clusters. Usually for clusters to arise there are already certain resources and capabilities available in a certain area, which are important for the industry and thus the cluster that is formed there. Next, there need to be several corporations that see the advantages of joining and creating a cluster. This is necessary so the different corporations can work together to improve their cluster and add value to it. This will attract new players for it, who can add even extra value to the created cluster. As this process continues, more players tent to join the cluster because it becomes more important every time for the general industry on which the cluster is based, but also because a lot of knowledge and resources are generated within the cluster on which a corporation not joining it, would miss out. Besides generating a lot of knowledge and industry advantages, clusters also improve the general competitiveness of a certain area. Moreover, they can significantly boost the economy of the area were the cluster is situated as many employment opportunities are created alongside the expansion of the cluster. According to the research of Lundequist and Power (2002) four types of clusters exist. These are the industry-led initiatives, the top-down cluster-branding exercises, the visionary projects and temporal clusters. We will discuss each type separately below. The industry-led initiatives are clusters that depend greatly on involving the public sector into the cluster. Moreover, they are the key importance of regional economic growth in their area and they can even bring national economic growth. The second cluster type is the top-down cluster-branding exercises. This type does not have the industry as its key building block but instead builds on the public sector. Also, this type does not find the creation of the clusters itself very important, but focuses on the creation of a brand name first. The third cluster type is the visionary cluster. As the name says, this cluster builds on one strong vision and it therefore needs good leadership in order to execute this vision. Thus, this type needs ‘cluster motors’ (Lundequist and Power, 2002) which are firms that can really start up the cluster and keep it going. In order to sustain this cluster there needs to be a good task division in terms of responsibilities and tasks. This all needs to be supported by a good and strong network and environment. The last cluster type is the temporal cluster and is usually build up around natural resources and physical conditions. Noteworthy is that this type can even be climate-driven and seasonal, meaning that the cluster does not always exist outside certain seasons for example. Lundequist and Power (2002) mention some similarities in all these types of clusters and they are worth mentioning quickly. First, all types work best when there are multiple players with a large interest in the cluster. Moreover, it is important that a clear vision is present for it. Above we mentioned the ‘cluster motors’ which is especially important with regard to the visionary cluster, but all types benefit greatly if such motors are present. Second, it is important if every corporation has a clear view of what they add to the cluster. Thus, good management should be present to support this. Third, it was mentioned explicitly for the second cluster type, but again all types benefit from brand building and thus attention should be paid to marketing this. Last, the progress made within the clusters is very important and appropriate policies and strategies should be present to support this. To conclude, not all cluster types fit exactly in the definition given at the beginning of this part but all have proven to be successful initiatives (Lundequist and Power, 2002). However next to Porter also Eden (2002) and Markusen (1996) identified a cluster typology. According to Eden a cluster could be horizontal (specialized) or vertical (complementary). However it must be said that Eden actually identifies the cluster characteristics than cluster types. Markusen on the other hand identifies the type of clusters by the geographic area, the type of clusters are formed within a metropolitan area. The four types she identifies are Marshallian Industrial Districts and Subdistricts, Hub and Spoke Industrial Districts, Satellite Platform Districts and State Anchored Industrial Districts. The typology in her case is derived from the geographic, public or private investment decisions, the availability of labor, and amount of trade within and outside the district. It is said that there are several similarities between Markusen and Porter’s work. (Fraizer and Zelbst, 2010) Corporate Social Responsibility Affected by the globalization and thus growing importance and awareness of ethics and human rights, as well as being environmentally, socially and economically responsible, internationally operating corporations have to deal with a lot more issues than several years ago. This area of growing importance is called â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† (CSR) and will be explained as follows: In the past decades most of the corporations did not care about issues like sustainable development, business ethics, human rights or global citizenship, instead only focused on making as much financial profit as they can, however they could achieve it. But over the last several years the number of natural disasters and the increasing warming of the planet have made the people more aware of issues such as sustainable development and allocation of resources. Furthermore the globalization and advanced technologies such as the World Wide Web make the markets and the operations of internationally operating corporations much more transparent to all parties concerned. This is why consumer have also started to base their buying-decision on issues such as human rights, business ethics and sustainable development and take into account if a company does well in the field of â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† or not. Moreover, laws and public initiatives put a lot more pressure on corporations to improve ethical and sustainable actions in the regions they are operating in. As a consequence, companies started to consider these aspects more seriously than before and tried to implement such topics in their strategic activities. To combine ethical, environmental and social aspects with economic aspects is a challenge and one of the most difficult strategic issues corporations have to deal with. Nowadays, corporations are ade feel responsible for the regions they are operating in, as well as for the people who are working for them. Because of that, â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† has become one of the core strategic issues of them to maintain a good image, which is finally responsible for their financial results. By investing in their employees, in infrastructure of the region they are operating in and in acting natural friendly or investing in sustainable energy, corporations not only generate a greater image of them and help the public, they also make finally profit out of it. Because of that, we can say that it is a â€Å"win-win situation† for both. Customers are being strongly influenced by such issues, because they sensitively recognize the â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† performance of a corporation. When a company does well in this field, the customer is finally willing to buy its product or to keep on buying its product, because he or she feels comfortable investing in a company who helps the public and treats its employees very well. This finally results in better revenues, which is a financial parameter. Furthermore employees are feeling much more comfortable and thus work more efficient, when the corporation gives them the feeling of feeling important and investing in them. Higher Efficiency finally results in better products, which affects the buying-decision of the customer, again. Moreover business partner and suppliers are more willing to cooperate with a corporation, who has a good image and who treats them fairly. By cooperating with good business partner and suppliers the corporation ensures good quality of its products, which finally results in better products and thus greater customer-satisfaction, again. So we can see that there is a strong correlation between the financial performance of a corporation and its social performance, which we also know as â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility†. Additionally, according to Kanji and Chopra (2010) these are the six dimensions in CSR that are most important for companies, they are (1) Organizational Strategic Planning Systems, (2) Social accountability and Social Investment, (3) Environment Protection and sustainability, (4) Corporate Governance and Economic Responsibility, (5) Ethics and Human Resources, and (6) Corporate Social Responsibility Index. Furthermore, there are more advantages of â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† than the financial one, which we can see while looking at the business relations, mentioned above. Although, â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† has become much more important over the last years, it is still a field, which has to be more researched about, when we refer to the number of articles already published. The less number of articles published in this field could be related to its definitions, which are very broaden and sometimes difficult to express, because of large number of issues involved. To sum it up, because of the growing awareness of ethical, social and sustainable activities of corporations the field of â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† has become a core strategic activity of corporations and for some even a source of competitive advantage. Location decision, clusters and CSR in relationship. As one can already notice when reading the in-depth perspectives above, there are some common grounds for the three topics. When one forms a cluster it will likely increase the country opportunity by specifically creating very attractive industry opportunities. As the cluster generates knowledge, resources, and capabilities attractive for some specific firms. Moreover, they create the necessary infrastructure and often the right political climate is thus present. Often this contributes to better economic circumstances in that area or region, increasing the market opportunities. Market opportunities are strongly connected to corporate social responsibility. Often industrialized countries demand more corporate social responsibility of a firm than a developing country does. Again this whole process influences the location decision that a company has to make and the market attractiveness for a firm.

Conservation of Momentum Lab Report Essays

Conservation of Momentum Lab Report Essays Conservation of Momentum Lab Report Essay Conservation of Momentum Lab Report Essay Analyzing Exploding Carts Lab Activity Objectives We will study the relationship of force and the duration of the collision. In doing so we will observe the max force experienced by an accelerating cart when it impacts another cart with a spring. A stiff spring will be used. We will collect the information through two items. We will use distance and time as information collectors. This will measure the acceleration, velocity, and position of the cart as it moves down the track. The most important measurement collected is the velocity; which will be used to calculate the momentum. We will also explore how mass impacts in the change of momentum, and if there can be a non-changing impulse between the two carts with different masses. Data Refer Experimental results: Analyzing Exploding Carts Lab Activity Handout (back part) Materials Stopwatch 1 meter stick 1 Cart 1 Cart with string 2 blocks/books 1 Mass block of 1. 0kg 1 Mass block of 0. kg Method Setup materials: Construct horizontal track, using the meter stick to create it. To surround it (and to prevent the carts from falling), set the 2 blocks/books at the edge of each side. Set the string to its first module. Total track should be 1. 0m; however, distance travelled by the carts will be 0. 52m. Record the interval as d in Table 1. Put the carts next to each other, with the string separating them (but still together). Mark this location with a small piece of tape if necessary. Repeat until timing is precise. Once this finished, calculate the velocity of all trials; FL and v, using ODL (distance traveled by cart 1) and do (distance traveled by cart 2). Also calculate momentum; Pl and pa. Hence, the equations used will be: v = d/t Comments and observations: Setting the material was simple. The activity was interesting. We had lots of experimental error; lots of variations in velocity and some for time. This was equal for cart and cart. We had to run many trials in order to get the most precise results. Total track was 1. Mm long however, only 0. Mm was traveled. The two carts were set in different spots along the track. Cart had an initial weight of 1. Egg, while cart was 0. Egg. The cart on which mass was added was cart 1. We can see here all the trials and how each changed in comparison to the one done before. Between each mass change for cart , distance traveled decreased 0. Mm (or 2. CM). Velocity decreased at different rates; so there was a different acceleration. This was on cart 1, because mass was being added to it; which not only involves a bigger mass but also brings a higher force of friction acting on it. Conclusion We conclude that it is not only possible for two collisions with the same initial velocity to have the same impulse but mandatory. That is, as long as the time of the impulse is free to change. We had some error in our experiment, in the difference in momentum and the integrated impulse. I believe that this was caused by two factors. We did not really measure the force sensor between each run. This could lead to a miss measurement of force and would account for the doubled error for the spring. Also we did not release the cart from the same point on the track (although this was made to have them finishing at same time; easier to administrate). The difference in the mass and distance traveled would naturally cause the final velocity before impact to be different (this is because of friction). The Max force that occurs during a collision is a function of the change in velocity over a change of time. The shorter the time span, the larger the force must be. However, this will not change the impulse. If we had correct calibration and similar momentums for both our runs, I am confident that we would have seen an even more accurate account of impulse. Even with our error we had conclusive results.

Aztecs of Mexico Essay

Aztecs of Mexico Essay Aztecs of Mexico Essay The Aztec Indians created a great civilization in Central Mexico, reaching its peak in the 1500’s. Being late arrivals to the area, and because of their strong neighboring nations, they were forced to live in the swampy western areas of the Lake Texcoco. Because of the swampy surroundings, the Aztecs used mud to create miniature islands in the swamps. These islands are called chinampas, or â€Å"floating gardens,† and were used as farming lands. On these fertile islands they grew corn, squash, vegetables, and flowers. Being an agriculturally dependent empire, the Aztec’s religion was based highly on the forces of nature and worshipped them as gods. The god of war, Huitzilopochtli, was the most important deity. They had many other important gods, such as Tlaloc, the god of rain, Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind and of learning, and Tenochtitlan, the sun god. The Aztecs believed in order to appease these and many other gods that they needed to perform human sacrifices. The main purpose of the great Aztec pyramids was, in fact, human sacrifices. They also believed that there were â€Å"lucky† and â€Å"unlucky† days for baptism and to declare war on, which were decided by a priest. Most art and architecture in the Aztec civilization was based on their religion. There are many brightly colored murals and paintings on walls and on bark which depict religious ceremonies, along with large idols of gods. One of the most amazing and famous of the Aztec’s art works is a huge calendar stone that

9/11 Terrorism Attacks Essay Example for Free

9/11 Terrorism Attacks Essay ? After the September 11 World Trade Center Attacks, America had had second thoughts about their immigration law. On September 11, 2001, four commercial planes were hijacked in the US. Using the planes as bombs, the hijackers flew two into the World Trade Center in New York City; one was flown into the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. Over 6,000 people were killed, most when the World Trade Center collapsed. The FAA immediately grounded all US planes to prevent further attacks. The 19 men who hijacked the planes were foreigners who had been in the US from a week to several years. At least 16 entered at US ports of entry, with student or tourist visas; some of their visas appear to have expired before September 11, 2001. About 40 percent of the 8. 5 million unauthorized foreigners in the US similarly entered with seemingly valid visas, but did not abide by the terms of their visa by e. g. departing within 90 days. (Martin & Martin, October 2001) Our enemies have repeatedly exercised this option of inserting terrorists by exploiting weaknesses in our immigration system. A Center for Immigration Studies analysis of the immigration histories of the 48 foreign-born Al-Qaeda operatives who committed crimes in the United States from 1993 to 2001 (including the 9/11 hijackers) found that nearly every element of the immigration system has been penetrated by the enemy. (Camarota, 2002) Of the 48, one-third were here on various temporary visas, another third were legal residents or naturalized citizens, one-fourth were illegal aliens, and the remainder had pending asylum applications. Nearly half of the total had, at some point or another, violated existing immigration laws. 9/11 was not the only terrorist plot to benefit from lax enforcement of ordinary immigration controls—every major Al-Qaeda attack or conspiracy in the United States has involved at least one terrorist who violated immigration law. Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer, for example, who was part of the plot to bomb the Brooklyn subway, was actually caught three times by the Border Patrol trying to sneak in from Canada. The third time the Canadians would not take him back. What did we do? Because of a lack of detention space, he was simply released into the country and told to show up for his deportation hearing. After all, with so many millions of illegal aliens here already, how much harm could one more do? Another example is Mohammed Salameh, who rented the truck in the first World Trade Center bombing. He should never have been granted a visa in the first place. When he applied for a tourist visa he was young, single, and had no income and, in the event, did indeed end up remaining illegally. And when his application for a green card under the 1986 illegal-alien amnesty was rejected, there was (and remains today) no way to detain and remove rejected green-card applicants, so he simply remained living and working in the United States, none the worse for wear. (Krikorian, 2004) Immigration Changes According to Daniel T. Griswold (2002) â€Å"We should not allow the war on terrorism to be hijacked by those who would turn it into a war on immigration. Members of the Immigration Reform Caucus and writers in National Review have tried to hitch their anti-immigration agenda to legitimate concerns about border security in our post-9-11 world. But â€Å"border control† and immigration are two separate issues. The problem is not that we are letting too many people in but that the federal government has not been doing enough to keep the wrong people out† Philips and Susan Martin stressed that The federal government immediately made some immigration changes in response to the terrorist attack, such as holding foreigners who violate immigration laws 48 hours without charge, up from 24 hours. But the Bush administration is seeking more immigration changes, and the new Homeland Security Council, with 100 staff members comparable in size to the National Security Council staff, is likely to suggest even more as the 46 federal agencies whose work it coordinates to fight terrorism review the processes of issuing visas to foreigners, controlling their entry into the US, and ensuring that they abide by the terms of their visas inside the US. Immigration policy reforms can not prevent terrorism, but they are a key part of any effort to combat terrorism. Immigration policies aim to facilitate the entry of wanted foreigners, and to identify and deter the entry of terrorists and other unwanted foreigners. This paper outlines the immigration reforms that could help prevent the entry of future terrorists. It would be unfair and self-destructive to blame America’s immigration policy for what happened on September 11. Immigrants come to live and work and build a better life for themselves and their families. The terrorists did not come here as immigrants. They entered the country on temporary non-immigrant tourist and student visas. They didn’t apply to the INS for green cards or any other kind of permanent status. Immigrants are only a small subset of the much larger pool of 30 million foreign nationals who enter the United States in a typical year. More than 95 percent enter as tourists or business travelers. Only 3 percent, or about one million, enter to immigrate, that is, to settle here permanently. We could reduce immigration to zero and it would do nothing for our national security. (Griswold, 2002) 9/11 Terrorism Attacks. (2017, May 03).

Macro & Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Macro & Micro Economics - Essay Example The characteristics of the market include durability, heterogeneity, high costs of transaction, long time delays, an investment as well as a consumption good, and immobility. The housing market possesses the importance of second hand transactions. According to the largest lender of the country, 5% of the total transaction is for the purchase of new properties while the rest is for purchase of either old or modern property. Two reasons can be accounted to assess the importance of the housing market for the economy of UK. The first reason states that the purchasing of houses is one of the biggest single purchases for the household and the purchased commodity represents the biggest single item of the wealth of the consumer. The changes in the prices of the houses have the potential to affect the entire economy. Current UK housing market The real estate industry is suffering from another wobble as the lenders are raising the rates of mortgage. The potential buyers are feeling the heat of consumer squeeze. Analysts are of the opinion that it is going to be a tough year ahead and the prices of the houses are taking the declining curve. The market outlook reports that the average price of the new properties failed to take the rising curve in the months of April-May, 2012. The market is driven by the release of equity. According to the nationwide house price index for the month of April, the property values have declined by 0.2 percent. It also states that the house prices are going to fall further as the households are uncertain of any possible recovery in the economy. The lenders are putting double squeeze on the home owners. The experts of the industry concluded that this is the greatest threat for the industry and it has come at the time when the economy was showing the signs of recovery. The seasonally adjusted net balance of headline price recorded a slip of 19%. The newly agreed sales value turned to negative again. The price outlook of the three months declined in the month of April and net balance witnessed a drop from -3 to -17 (RICS, 2012, p. 1). Several economists have noted that the housing market has moved out from the impacts of business cycle for the major economies including that of UK (Jones, Colin and Watkins 2009 p.1). Some writers opined that the housing market of the country is correlated with that of the economy while some others opposed it. Some writers concluded that the market is dominated by the investors and that is why demand may be artificially high or low for a long time. The interest rates act as the key economic variable for the housing market and the level of the interest rate will have impact on the demand for housing as it has the potential to determine the cost of credit for the buyers. In order to boost the economy, the interest rates have been set at a lower level. The different stages of supply and demand controls the housing market and so the market for UK is same as the market as in any other part of the World. There are two potential risks that are associated with the housing market. The first is the interest rate and the second one is mortgage indebtedness. The borrowing costs are a significant factor that determines the rates of mortgage and the ability to pay back the loans. The repayments of the mortgages become expensive as the interest rates rise and the previous crashes occurred due to this reason. The offered mortgages vary from nominal fixed rate to variable rate or index