King Arthur Myth Essays - Mythological Kings, Welsh Mythology

King Arthur Myth There has been a lot of material written about King Arthur and his court. He has been a popular figure in literature for over 800 years. People believe he was only a myth and some people believe he was an actual person. Not a lot of information on King Arthur is fact; most is fictional from many types of writers. The earliest reference of Arthur is the poem " Gododdin" (A.D. 600) also "Historia Bitton" by Nennius (A.D.800). In Sir Thomas Mallory's Novel Le Morte D'Arthur, people receive a good idea on how he worked and how the life back then was. Many stories have been written and tales have been told of King Arthur but stories can't be proven to be true. There are many different versions and many different styles and languages written about King Arthur. Welsh, Italian, Celtic, and Arabian, are just a few types of origins from where Arthur has traveled. It is believed that Arthur was a fifth-century British king also named Rithoamus (meaning high king)1. The historic Arthur lived in the mists of the dark ages. From the encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends, Arthur was not a medieval king. It is believed that he was a fifth century chieftain who protected his people . Arthur changes from a God-like Celtic king, to a monarch, to an ordinary man. There are many different opinions as of whom King Arthur was. King Arthur appeared as a national hero in Geoffrey of Monmouth's book called Historia Regum Britanniea (meaning, History of The Kings of Britain). Many of the legends told about Arthur and the round table take place in the castle of Camelot. This is to be believed to have been Cadbury Castle. This is near Somerset. There is no evidence that a little castle, Camelot, existed. There is evidence; however, that there was a castle in the large hill, inside the outer walls, believed to be Camelot. Arthur was a wonderful leader and a terrific fighter. When fighting, Arthur based his strategies on his hill forts, and mounted commando's. It is said that Arthur fought wars that gave him power over Britain, Ireland, and France. After he gained control, he made his claim of the Roman Empire. Many of the wars he fought were against the Saxons. Arthur was a great Calvaryman. Sir Thomas Mallory's Book, Le Morte D' Arthur-, one of the worlds famous books about Arthur, his court, and his life, is very important to young readers in all different countries. This is a very important book, and contains immense details on how life was back in those years. In The Book, Le Morte D' Arthur, written By Sir Thomas Mallory, tells the story of King Arthur. In this tale of King Arthur, King Uther Pendragon is his father 2. King Arthur's father Uther Pendragon died while in his bed 3. Uther Pendragon died when Arthur was two years old. King Arthur received his title, king, by pulling Excalibur out of the stone. People in the country looked upon him as his king because he had the power to pull the sword out. In Mallory's book, Arthur is the great king of Britain. Arthur conquers Rome and was the founder of the Knights of the Round Table. Many people saw Arthur as a pure and flawless man, however, he commits incest and adultery with his Queen Margause and conceives with her bastard Sir Modred, whom Arthur tries to drown. King Arthur finally marries Gwynevere, who he later sentences to death 4. He sentences her to burn because of adultery. Mallory's Novel was one of the greatest works published and a wonderful piece to read if one is interested in learning more about Arthur and his court. Another important writer was a Welsh writer, Geoffrey of Monmouth, who also wrote in detail about King Arthur and his life. His piece of writing was called Historia Regum Britanniea, (which means, History of the Kings of Britain). The two pieces of writing differ in ways. Geoffrey was a Welsh cleric. It's been suggested that Geoffrey took "Arthur" as his last name because it was his father's name. It may not be going too far to believe that Geoffrey's fascination with the ancient Celtic hero Arthur may have begun when he was a child, hearing the tales his father may have told him about his name 2. "My name is Arthur," his father may have said, "and I want to tell you about another man named Arthur who lived long, long ago." So

Free Essays on Diveristy Anaylsis In The Classroom

As more and more immigrants come to America searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Appreciating individual and cultural differences has become a goal of American society (Gorham, 2005). Some of the issues under fire are who is benefiting from the education, and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. In the 1930's several educators called for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective heritages. This is not a simple feat due to the fact that there is much diversity within individual cultures. In the month of February we celebrate the achievements of African Americans known as Black History Month. In my classroom I have decided to teach my children about famous African Americans. The history books that my students use always show the European side of things. African Americans are left out and their story is not told. So what I have done in my classroom is exposed all of my students to famous African Americans. By exposing my students to African American history I am teaching them to display multicultural aware of the different people that had an impact on this country’s history. Multicultural awareness will also help them to understand the people around them. My classroom is made up of several cultures. I have two Hispanic children, five black children, two Caucasian children and to Haitian children. It is safe to say I have a nice little melting pot going on in my classroom. During journal time I try to touch upon issues that have affected all of these children or their ancestors. My goal this month is to make all of these children aware of where they have come from. Different learning styles are always taken into account in my classroom. Some children are auditory learners, some visual, kinesthetic and multisensory. I... Free Essays on Diveristy Anaylsis In The Classroom Free Essays on Diveristy Anaylsis In The Classroom As more and more immigrants come to America searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Appreciating individual and cultural differences has become a goal of American society (Gorham, 2005). Some of the issues under fire are who is benefiting from the education, and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. In the 1930's several educators called for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective heritages. This is not a simple feat due to the fact that there is much diversity within individual cultures. In the month of February we celebrate the achievements of African Americans known as Black History Month. In my classroom I have decided to teach my children about famous African Americans. The history books that my students use always show the European side of things. African Americans are left out and their story is not told. So what I have done in my classroom is exposed all of my students to famous African Americans. By exposing my students to African American history I am teaching them to display multicultural aware of the different people that had an impact on this country’s history. Multicultural awareness will also help them to understand the people around them. My classroom is made up of several cultures. I have two Hispanic children, five black children, two Caucasian children and to Haitian children. It is safe to say I have a nice little melting pot going on in my classroom. During journal time I try to touch upon issues that have affected all of these children or their ancestors. My goal this month is to make all of these children aware of where they have come from. Different learning styles are always taken into account in my classroom. Some children are auditory learners, some visual, kinesthetic and multisensory. I...

Iraq Government, Facts, and History

Iraq Government, Facts, and History The modern nation of Iraq is built upon foundations that go back to some of humanitys earliest complex cultures. It was in Iraq, also known as Mesopotamia, that Babylonian king Hammurabi regularized the law in the Code of Hammurabi, c. 1772 BCE. Under Hammurabis system, society would inflict upon a criminal the same harm that the criminal had inflicted upon his victim. This is codified in the famous dictum, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. More recent Iraqi history, however, tends to support the Mahatma Gandhis take on this rule. He is supposed to have said that An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Capital and Major Cities Capital: Baghdad, population 9,500,000 (2008 estimate) Major cities: Mosul, 3,000,000 Basra, 2,300,000 Arbil, 1,294,000 Kirkuk, 1,200,000 Government of Iraq The Republic of Iraq is a parliamentary democracy. The head of state is the president, currently Jalal Talabani, while the head of government is Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The unicameral parliament is called the Council of Representatives; its 325 members serve four-year terms. Eight of those seats are specifically reserved for ethnic or religious minorities. Iraqs judiciary system consists of the Higher Judicial Council, the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Cassation, and lower courts. (Cassation literally means to quash - it is another term for appeals, evidently taken from the French legal system.) Population Iraq has a total population of about 30.4 million. The population growth rate is an estimated 2.4%. About 66% of Iraqis live in urban areas. Some 75-80% of Iraqis are Arabs. Another 15-20% are Kurds, by far the largest ethnic minority; they live primarily in northern Iraq. The remaining roughly 5% of the population is made up of Turkomen, Assyrians, Armenians, Chaldeans and other ethnic groups. Languages Both Arabic and Kurdish are official languages of Iraq. Kurdish is an Indo-European language related to Iranian languages. Minority languages in Iraq include Turkoman, which is a Turkic language; Assyrian, a Neo-Aramaic language of the Semitic language family; and Armenian, an Indo-European language with possible Greek roots. Thus, although the total number of languages spoken in Iraq is not high, the linguistic variety is great. Religion Iraq is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, with an estimated 97% of the population following Islam. Perhaps, unfortunately, it is also among the most evenly divided countries on Earth in terms of Sunni and Shia populations; 60 to 65% of Iraqis are Shia, while 32 to 37% are Sunni. Under Saddam Hussein, the Sunni minority controlled the government, often persecuting Shias. Since the new constitution was implemented in 2005, Iraq is supposed to be a democratic country, but the Shia/Sunni split is a source of much tension as the nation sorts out a new form of government. Iraq also has a small Christian community, around 3% of the population. During the nearly decade-long war following the US-led invasion in 2003, many Christians fled Iraq for Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, or western countries. Geography Iraq is a desert country, but it is watered by two major rivers - the Tigris and the Euphrates. Only 12% of Iraqs land is arable. It controls a 58 km (36 miles) coast on the Persian Gulf, where the two rivers empty into the Indian Ocean. Iraq is bordered by Iran to the east, Turkey and Syria to the north, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the west, and Kuwait to the southeast. Its highest point is Cheekah Dar, a mountain in the north of the country, at 3,611 m (11,847 feet). Its lowest point is sea level. Climate As a subtropical desert, Iraq experiences extreme seasonal variation in temperature. In parts of the country, July and August temperatures average over 48 °C (118 °F). During the rainy winter months of December through March, however, temperatures drop below freezing not infrequently. Some years, heavy mountain snow in the north produces dangerous flooding on the rivers. The lowest temperature recorded in Iraq was -14 °C (7 °F). The highest temperature was 54 °C (129 °F). Another key feature of Iraqs climate is the sharqi, a southerly wind that blows from April through early June, and again in October and November. It gusts up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph), causing sandstorms that can be seen from space. Economy The economy of Iraq is all about oil; black gold provides more than 90% of government revenue  and accounts for 80% of the countrys foreign exchange income. As of 2011, Iraq was producing 1.9 million barrels per day of oil, while consuming 700,000 barrels per day domestically. (Even as it exports almost 2 million barrels per day, Iraq also imports 230,000 barrels per day.) Since the start of the US-led War in Iraq in 2003, foreign aid has become a major component of Iraqs economy, as well. The US has pumped some $58 billion dollars worth of aid into the country between 2003 and 2011; other nations have pledged an additional $33 billion in reconstruction aid. Iraqs workforce is employed primarily in the service sector, although about 15 to 22% work in agriculture. The unemployment rate is around 15%, and an estimated 25% of Iraqis live below the poverty line. The Iraqi currency is the dinar. As of February 2012, $1 US is equal to 1,163 dinars. History of Iraq Part of the Fertile Crescent, Iraq was one of the early sites of complex human civilization and agricultural practice. Once called Mesopotamia, Iraq was the seat of the Sumerian and Babylonian cultures c. 4,000 - 500 BCE. During this early period, Mesopotamians invented or refined technologies such as writing and irrigation; the famous King Hammurabi (r. 1792- 1750 BCE) recorded the law in the Code of Hammurabi, and over a thousand of years later, Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605 - 562 BCE) built the incredible Hanging Gardens of Babylon. After about 500 BCE, Iraq was ruled by a succession of Persian dynasties, such as the Achaemenids, the Parthians, the Sassanids and the Seleucids. Although local governments existed in Iraq, they were under Iranian control until the 600s CE. In 633, the year after the Prophet Muhammad died, a Muslim army under Khalid ibn Walid invaded Iraq. By 651, the soldiers of Islam had brought down the Sassanid Empire in Persia  and began to Islamicize the region that is now Iraq and Iran. Between 661 and 750, Iraq was a dominion of the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled from Damascus (now in Syria). The Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled the Middle East and North Africa from 750 to 1258, decided to build a new capital closer to the political power hub of Persia. It built the city of Baghdad, which became a center of Islamic art and learning. In 1258, catastrophe struck the Abbasids and Iraq in the form the Mongols under Hulagu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan. The Mongols demanded that Baghdad surrender, but the Caliph Al-Mustasim refused. Hulagus troops laid siege to Baghdad, taking the city with at least 200,000 Iraqi dead. The Mongols also burned the Grand Library of Baghdad and its wonderful collection of documents - one of the great crimes of history. The caliph himself was executed by being rolled in a carpet and trampled by horses; this was an honorable death in Mongol culture  because none of the caliphs noble blood touched the ground. Hulagus army would meet defeat by the Egyptian Mamluk slave-army in the Battle of Ayn Jalut. In the Mongols wake, however, the Black Death carried away about a third of Iraqs population. In 1401, Timur the Lame (Tamerlane) captured Baghdad  and ordered another massacre of its people. Timurs fierce army only controlled Iraq for a few years  and was supplanted by the Ottoman Turks. The Ottoman Empire would rule Iraq from the fifteenth century through 1917  when Britain wrested the Middle East from Turkish control and the Ottoman Empire collapsed. Iraq Under Britain Under the British/French plan to divide the Middle East, the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, Iraq became part of the British Mandate. On November 11, 1920, the region became a British mandate under the League of Nations, called the State of Iraq. Britain brought in a (Sunni) Hashemite king from the region of Mecca and Medina, now in Saudi Arabia, to rule over the primarily Shia Iraqis and Kurds of Iraq, sparking widespread discontent and rebellion. In 1932, Iraq gained nominal independence from Britain, although the British-appointed King Faisal still ruled the country and the British military had special rights in Iraq. The Hashemites ruled until 1958  when King Faisal II was assassinated in a coup led by Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim. This signaled the beginning of a rule by a series of strongmen over Iraq, which lasted through 2003. Qasims rule survived for just five years, before being overthrown in turn by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif in February of 1963. Three years later, Arifs brother took power after the colonel died; however, he would rule Iraq for just two years before being deposed by a Baath Party-led coup in 1968. The Baathist government was led by Ahmed Hasan Al-Bakir at first, but he was slowly elbowed aside over the next decade by Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein formally seized power as president of Iraq in 1979. The following year, feeling threatened by rhetoric from the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the new leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Iran that led to the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq War. Hussein himself was a secularist, but the Baath Party was dominated by Sunnis. Khomeini hoped that Iraqs Shiite majority would rise up against Hussein in an Iranian Revolution-style movement, but that did not happen. With support from the Gulf Arab states and the United States, Saddam Hussein was able to fight the Iranians to a stalemate. He also took the opportunity to use chemical weapons against tens of thousands of Kurdish and Marsh Arab civilians within his own country, as well as against the Iranian troops, in blatant violation of international treaty norms and standards. Its economy ravaged by the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq decided to invade the small but wealthy neighboring nation of Kuwait in 1990. Saddam Hussein announced that he had annexed Kuwait; when he refused to withdraw, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to take military action in 1991 in order to oust the Iraqis. An international coalition led by the United States (which had been allied with Iraq just three years earlier) routed the Iraqi Army in a matter of months, but Saddam Husseins troops set fire to Kuwaiti oil wells on their way out, causing an ecological disaster along the Persian Gulf coast. This fighting would come to be known as the First Gulf War. Following the First Gulf War, the United States patrolled a no-fly zone over the Kurdish north of Iraq to protect civilians there from Saddam Husseins government; Iraqi Kurdistan began to function as a separate country, even while nominally still part of Iraq. Throughout the 1990s, the international community was concerned that Saddam Husseins government was trying to develop nuclear weapons. In 1993, the US also learned that Hussein had made a plan to assassinate President George H. W. Bush during the First Gulf War. The Iraqis allowed UN weapons inspectors into the country, but expelled them in 1998, claiming that they were CIA spies. In October of that year, US President Bill Clinton called for regime change in Iraq. After George W. Bush became president of the United States in 2000, his administration began to prepare for a war against Iraq. Bush the younger resented Saddam Husseins plans to kill Bush the elder and made the case that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons despite the rather flimsy evidence. The September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC gave Bush the political cover he needed to launch a Second Gulf War, even though Saddam Husseins government had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or the 9/11 attacks. Iraq War The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003, when a US-led coalition invaded Iraq from Kuwait. The coalition drove the Baathist regime out of power, installing an Iraqi Interim Government in June of 2004, and organizing free elections for October of 2005. Saddam Hussein went into hiding  but was captured by US troops on December 13, 2003. In the chaos, sectarian violence broke out across the country between the Shia majority and the Sunni minority; al-Qaeda seized the opportunity to establish a presence in Iraq. Iraqs interim government tried Saddam Hussein for the killing of Iraqi Shiites in 1982  and sentenced him to death. Saddam Hussein was hanged on December 30, 2006. After a surge of troops to quell violence in 2007-2008, the US withdrew from Baghdad in June of 2009  and left Iraq completely in December of 2011.

Reliability and Validity Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reliability and Validity Paper - Essay Example † and then proceeds with â€Å"How it will be measured?† (Desarbo, William, & Babin, 2009) A measurement is defined as ‘good’ if it fulfills the criteria of validity and reliability. Reliability: Reliability measures the extent to which the test yields consistent results each time it is conducted and across various situations and includes the following (Neukrug, 2008). Test-retest: This involves conducting the same scale or test to similar respondents at two different points in time (Neukrug, 2008). For example, a researcher interested in measuring the number of times an average adult worker falls sick within a year discovers that 68% of the population falls sick at least thrice. If this test is conducted again, under similar conditions, and it is discovered again that 68% of the population falls sick at least thrice a year, it indicates that the test is reliable. Split-half: Under this the researcher checks one half of the results of a test against the othe r half to check for internal consistency (Neukrug, 2008). For example, a researcher who has measured good quality of human services at a hospital in terms of four items ambience, proper equipment, quick procedure and trained staff can split the results by grouping the results of ambience and proper equipment together and quick procedure and trained staff together respectively and then check the Chronbach’s alpha for these two groups. ... If the results obtained through the two tests show high correlation, then the tests are considered to be reliable. Validity: Validity refers to the extent to which the test measures what it is supposed to measure; that is, the extent to which the test meets its objectives (Neukrug, 2008). The following are the types of validity: Face or content validity: This results from the consensus amongst experts that a scale logically appears to be reliable (Neukrug, 2008). For instance, questions such as â€Å"how many children do you have?† asked by a researcher regarding the effectiveness of family planning programs are generally assumed to stand up to face validity. Criterion Validity: If the measure correlates with another measure of the same construct then it is assumed to have criterion validity (Desarbo, William, & Babin, 2009). If the new measure is tested at the same time as the old measure and is shown to be valid it is known as concurrent validity and if the new measure is te sted at a later time and is shown to be valid then it is predictive validity (Desarbo, William, & Babin, 2009). For example, in tests reveal that the effectiveness of the prototype provide correct estimate of the effectiveness of the final medicine 80% of the time, then the test has predictive validity. If, however, the same correlation is established between the final medicine (after it’s manufactured) and its prototype at the same time, then it will have concurrent validity. Construct Validity: This refers to the extent to which the measure confirms a network of hypothesis based on a theory to which the concepts are related (Monette, Sullivan, & DeJong, 2010). Convergent

Intruding Ima and Falsified Report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Intruding Ima and Falsified Report - Case Study Example Police force is very crucial in any democratic system for maintaining law and order. As such they should have high ethical standards. Police officers are charged with the responsibility of promoting the rights of citizens but at the same time restricting the right of people who are a threat to the general good of the society. In their routine, they are sometimes compelled to appeal to force when a situation calls for it. Deliberate brutal treatment of offenders on the part of the officers is however a crime. To keep the trust of the public, misconducts on the parts of police should be dealt with in an acceptable way. Any officer given the duty to serve the public should take an oath of office and adhere to the set a code of ethics. Most people understand the importance of the police force in law enforcement and their role in maintaining order. As such they are very willing to cooperate with the police in order to live in a safe environment (Peak, 2001). Misconducts from police office rs weaken the relationship between the police and the people making them loose trust on the force. In this paper, the case study of Intruding Ima and falsified report and how such cases of misconduct and insubordination can be treated by the police administration and a justification of the method used is brought to the fore. Summary of the case study The case study given in this book is about Officer Ima Goodenough who has been an employee in the force for eight years. She is an officer in charge of patron and at times serves as field training officer. She has demonstrated great capability and is experienced in detective division and patrol. She labels herself as being an â€Å"old school† and only associated with colleagues who share her sentiments while turning away from other officers with contrasting views. When called for service, she takes them singlehandedly without asking for back up or cover units. She has shown consistent rough treatment in her contact the public wi th about six cases of brutality complaint launched against her within the last three years. According to her, people who ask for backup are â€Å"wimps†. Recently, she was engaged in two-high speed pursuit when her car was seriously smashed when she tried to go after the suspects off the road. She only reports to her supervisor about major cases. New supervisors have reported having major problem with her as she shows no respect for their authority. According to her, the administration is just there to mess up people. Being her shift commander I am fed up with her unchanging negative attitude and dissatisfactory performance and I am considering taking disciplinary moves. I have been made to understand that she is very tough making some of her current and past and current supervisors dread her. She has shown cases of intrusion and giving falsified reports on several occasions. In one instance, when she was on patrol, she is reported to have responded to a shooting call outside her jurisdiction. She radios her supervisor that she was assisting and intrudes into a home where different officers and paramedics already had the situation under control. She tampers with evidence by holding a revolver that she finds lying on the floor. When asked to write about a report about the incidence, she leaves out the part where she interferes with the evidence. Her file shows that her performance for the last eight years have

A research paper on cocaine Essay Example for Free

A research paper on cocaine Essay Grown in the countries of South America, with Columbia being the most productive, the Erythroxylon Coca bush is the natural origin of cocaine, a central nervous stimulant. Its history is as rich and diverse as the people using and dealing the drug. Cocaine use dates as far back as the 16th century when it was used among Inca royalty. In the early 1800s cocaine was introduced to Europe. Sigmond Freud wrote a song in its honor and famous author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during a six -day cocaine binge. In the early 1900s cocaine was available to consumers over the counter. Its medicinal value was a relief for toothaches and congestion. Parke Davis advised their consumers of the effects of cocaine by stating that it could make the coward brave, the silent eloquent, and render the sufferer insensitive to pain. The use of cocaine found its way into other products like wine and the most famous of all, Coca Cola. Early production of Coca Cola contained 60mg of cocaine. Today, the popular soft drink still uses the leaves of the Coco Bush for flavor but the illicit drug has been removed (www.cocaine.org). The resurrection of cocaine use as a recreational drug began in the 1960s, and was used mostly among the affluent because of its price. Movie stars, sport stars and the like give cocaine its mystique and draw; psychological and physical effects make it addictive. Changes in form and price make cocaine far more accessible and affordable. Today, there is no clear connection between the use of cocaine and education, occupation or socioeconomic status. Cocaine is generally sold as a hydrochloride salt, a fine white powder substance that is commonly referred to as snow, coke or blow. Street dealers of cocaine commonly dilute, or cut the drug with similar looking substances like talcum powder or with active local anesthetics and even sometimes with other stimulants like amphetamines. The purity of street cocaine, powder form, is about 75 percent. When the impurities of this form are removed, it is known as freebase or crack cocaine. Crack cocaine  is easier to find and less expensive to buy. Cocaine in any form can be found in almost every town and city. Research studies done in 1999 showed cocaine is used by over 3.7 million Americans 12 years old and over, with the highest rate among people 18 and 25 years of age. The use among people 35 years and older also continues to rise (www.cocaine.org). The effects of cocaine depend on the route of administration, the amount of consumption, the users past experience, and the circumstances under which its taken. The major routes of administration are snorting, injecting, and smoking. Snorting is inhaling the powder form through the nasal cavity. The drug enters the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting cocaine is using a syringe to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking cocaine is inhaling the cocaine vapors or smoke delivering large quantities to the lungs where it then enters the bloodstream as quickly as injecting. Cocaine interferes with the re-absorption process of dopamine that is a chemical messenger of pleasure to the brain. The effects are instant and intense but not long lasting (www.drugs.indiana.edu). The short -term effects usually make the user fell euphoric, energetic, and alert to their senses. It can decrease your anxiety and heighten your sexuality. Crack users have described the rush as a whole body orgasm. Or, a user can feel anxious or panic-stricken. The drug is a parody of heaven and hell. Often times the cocaine user craves other drugs. These symptoms appear quickly and disappear within a few minutes or a few hours. Physically, a persons blood pressure, body temperature, heartbeat, and breathing accelerate, along with pupil dialation. In larger amounts the side effects intensify. The high might include feelings of paranoia, vertigo, and muscle twitches and physically a user might experience chest pains, nausea, blurred vision. Over time with continued use, the effects of cocaine gradually change. Irritability, restlessness, insomnia and paranoia replace the euphoria. Physically, the long- term user will lose interest in sex and lose weight. Those who snort the drug wear out their nasal septum while those who inject it risk the chance of contracting hepatitis or AIDS. Cocaine related deaths  are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest. Over time, to the users tolerance, the drug will build. To achieve the same effects as that of early usage requires larger doses of the drug. The user becomes psychologically dependent. The drug becomes pivotal to their thoughts, feelings and their daily activities. Cocaine just made you feel really good. Then after you get done feeling really good then you start to get a Superman ego and thats the beginning of the end. (Drug Wars; A Frontline, PBS Production) Often times, cocaine addicts develop an illicit lifestyle to keep up with their drug habit. Cocaines influence leads a user to stealing from family, friends and even employers. The lifestyle of addicts becomes as corrupt as the organizations that produce and supply the product. Cocaines addiction has two sides: the love of the high and the love of the money. The US Government has estimated that cocaine trafficking takes nearly $80 billion a year out of our economy. In 1990, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) estimated about 20 Colombian organizations controlled most of Americas cocaine supply. Annual revenues of the Colombian drug trade have been estimated to be 5 billion dollars. The drug cartels existing today control every phase of the drug trafficking business. They manufacture, transport, distribute, and finance cocaine. Like many large corporations, the business involves bankers, accountants, and lawyers, wholesalers and retailers. More special to this business the cartel payroll also includes chemists, pilots and enforcers of security (www.drugs.indiana.edu). The cartels are structured in layers, at the center is the cartel manager or kingpin. Information shared among the members of the cartel is highly secularized. Only a choice few are privy to all the workings of the cartel. Those employees holding positions in the outer layers of the organization (the lawyers, accountants, bankers, and enforcers) reap the financial benefits of serving their bosses but are strictly put on a need to know basis. Cartels operating in the United States are referred to as cells which are self contained organized units. The Medillin Cartel was the first known, successful cartel of cocaine  traffickers coming from Colombia. It was established in 1978 and lead by Carlos Lehder. It used violence and intimidation to stay one step ahead of the justice system. The cartel bribed police officers with money or threatened them with death if they did not honor the cartel and look the other way when they did business. The Medellin Cartel was taken down in March of 1984. Carlos Lehder was arrested in 1987, tried in the United States and sentenced to 135 years without the possibility of parole. George Jungs, the Medillin Cartels American contact, testimony against Lehder assured his conviction. In the 1990s, on the heels of the Medillin, came the Cali Cartel. They are responsible for 70-80 percent of the cocaine coming into the United States and 90 percent of that entering Europe. Instead of violence and intimidation like their counter parts, the Cali operated their business using a subtle approach. Law enforcement has had difficulty in closing the Cali operations for many reasons. Their structure is different from that of the Medillin, as is their methods of smuggling. They are much more conservative. They only sell to people they know. The home office, which is the CEO and vice presidents, coordinate the cells. The cells contact the buyers usually by cellular phone or pager and arrange the time and place to distribute the drugs. Payment is made at the second meeting. When the deal is done, the home office is contacted and accurate records are kept by both (www.awesomestories.com). While the Colombians may monopolize the cocaine market, there are similar organizations in other countries. The Triads and Tongs of China, La Compania of Cuba, and the Yakuza of Japan are some other major drug trafficking organizations. They have successfully invested into legitimate American business. The one thing they all have in common: United States of America as a client base (www.cocainefacts.com). Cocaine touches many people on a variety of levels. It can completely change a persons personality, for the worse. It spins a web of deceit and destruction. Physically and mentally the drug tricks you from recognizing reality. Euphoria tricks you into believing that the high is good, all the while the time bomb is ticking. Blowing up your mind is just a matter of time. Works Cited Bailey, William J. Factline on Cocaine. 1995: Heller, Matthew. Addicted to Love. Los Angeles Magazine. Sept. 1999. No Author Given. No Author Given.

We Need a Constitutional Amendment to Protect the American Flag Essay

We Must Fight for the Constitutional Amendment to Protect the American Flag Free speech and the First Amendment rights do not give people lisence to desecrate a symbol of pride and freedom. It is not all right to protect those who let it burn, lighting up the sky with their hatred. It definitely is not acceptable to insult the men and women who fight every day to protect this nation by burning the symbol of their labors. Therefore, it is crucial that the Supreme Court pass the amendment to the Constitution to protect the flag of the US. When people see â€Å"Old Glory† flying, the experience should take their breath away. From the Omaha beaches in Normandy, where over three million soldiers stormed the German Nazis, to Iwo Jima, where the exhausted marines raised the proud flag, to the h...