Cosmopolitan s Myth Or Truth - 1531 Words

Cosmopolitan Canopies: Myth or Truth? Albert Einstein, a famous scientist once said, â€Å"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.† In relation to this quote, a place of peace cannot be created, it has to be naturally formed by people who understand one another, and understand that certain places need to be peaceful. In Elijah Anderson’s The Cosmopolitan Canopy; Race and Civility in Everyday Life, he describes places called â€Å"Cosmopolitan Canopies†. According to Anderson, cosmopolitan canopies are places where everyone is peaceful and civil towards one another. People of all races get along in these places and no one outwardly judges each other in a harsh manner. Judging is either abolished or people keep it quietly to themselves and Anderson refers to judging as â€Å"people watching†. He believes certain requirements need to be met to be formed, and I observed a place that could be a perfect canopy, according to Ander son’s requirements. In Anderson’s The Cosmopolitan Canopy; Race and Civility in Everyday Life, the narrator’s belief in a peaceful common ground causes a certain interest in seeing if the cosmopolitan canopies always form on their own or if they can be created. Anderson’s idea that cosmopolitan canopies are formed in places that have certain requirements, showed me the places that were best for observing. One of the places Anderson observed was Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. Rittenhouse square fits the ideal of a cosmopolitan canopyShow MoreRelatedThe Basic Principle Of Inquiry1195 Words   |  5 Pagesphilosophers. Even though Pre-Socratic history has more than a few missing puzzle pieces, we have understood that this was an era where people began to â€Å"reject traditional mythological explanations of the natural world† and instead began to elucidate myth and look for logical (and in some cases scientific) evidence for occurrences in nature. Famous philosophers of this era include Thales of Miletus who is considered the 1st Western philosopher, Democritus who is known for his atomic theory and otherRead MoreTourism During the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games1551 Words   |  7 Pagesdowntown core, providing a perf ect location for winter sports. Also, the sea-level city is one of the few places in the world where you can experience a morning on the slopes, and a sail in the evening (HelloBC.com 2014). Vancouver is also a very cosmopolitan city, regularly praised for its cuisine and nightlife (Wilson 1997). For these reasons and more Vancouver was awarded host city of the Olympics, attracting hundreds of thousands tourists from across the globe. Examining the impacts of Vancouver’sRead MoreThe Trial of Socrates: an Analysis and Construction of Socrates Defense2369 Words   |  10 PagesUnderstanding the City of Athens thriving democracy will help to understand why the allegations brought before Socrates were made possible and even the ultimate outcome of the case. Even Socrates acknowledges that there is hope for democracy. The cosmopolitan ambience which was made present throughout the whole trial process and selection of the jurors were nothing more than common people. These people were primarily used to the Traditionalists and Sophists views. Most would argue that they predominantlyRead MoreEssay about The Historic Accuracy of Homer’s Iliad2923 Words   |  12 PagesHomer’s Iliad has been a European myth for many millennia , the long poetic narrative written in the 8th century B.C. recounts a fearsome war fought over a beautiful woman. The reliability of Homers Iliad as a true historical docume nt has been challenged for hundreds of years and only through archaeological studies can the truth be deciphered. The Iliad was written five centuries after the war, where the stories had been passed down through the oral tradition, therefore the type of society reflectedRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 Pageswhat prompts Pinter to withhold information from the audience or to rely on ambiguity. The answer is the illusionary nature of truth. Truth to one can be a lie to another and to present something as â€Å"fact† is highly questionable, owing to the suspicion which others may have with regard to its authenticity. As Pinter knew that the only thing that can be termed as close to truth is not the cause but the effects of an action as seen through the naked eye of an impartial witness, his plays abound in ambiguityRead More Capitalism, Marketing, and the Insidious and Covert Co-optation of the Self6482 Words   |  26 Pagesof d emocracy and individual expression, and fulfill various levels of desire. 2. Defining Avatars The use of the term avatar to represent the self or user in the context of shared on-line Internet environments first occurs in the early 1980s with the development of LucasFilmss Habitat project (Farmer). The term came to popular consciousness with the success of the novel SnowCrash (Stephenson). Discussions of the nature of the avatar are often mixed with current cyborg theory. Although theRead MoreEssay about The Great Gatsby the American Dream4402 Words   |  18 Pagesmoney, which surpassed any sense of nobility in peoples goals and motivations. To understand this presentation of the American Dream one has to first comprehend the characteristics of this Dream. The American Dream encompasses the myth of Americas birth, a myth that is defined by a familiar phrase: The New World. The establishment of the United States, the growth of the country and its power in such a short time, and the sense of success felt across the nation as a result created the conceptRead MoreGloablization4764 Words   |  20 Pagesdepictions of women were particularly debased: a maid or housekeeper. If in print, she represented the woman selling feminine hygiene products. Not until later in history did the Eurocentric vision of Black beauty infiltrate America media. During the late 60’s Diane Carroll an African American model and actress was portrayed as a middle-class widowed single mother with one child. The Diane Carroll Show portrayed a slim fair skinned, docile nurse typifying the American ‘ideal’ of African American ‘fa mily’,Read MoreMarketing and Spring Rolls12893 Words   |  52 PagesBibliography 37 8.0 Appendices 40 8.1 Questionnaire 40 8.2 Statistical analysis example 42 8.4 Boston growth share matrix 45 8.5 Ansoff Matrix 47 8.6 Daloon Portofolio 47 8.7 Social Contract 49 8.8 Log book 50 Executive summary Daloon A/S, henceforth just Daloon, was formed in 1960 with the name of Van’s Product by the founder Sai-Chiu Van. Mr. Van started his business in his private cellar where he produced spring rolls that he later sold in Tivoli garden in Copenhagen. In 1964 theRead MorePostmodernism in Literature5514 Words   |  23 Pagessubjectivism, turning from external reality to examine inner states of consciousness, in many cases drawing on modernist examples in the stream of consciousness styles of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, or explorative poems like The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot. In addition, both modern and postmodern literature explore fragmentariness in narrative- and character-construction. The Waste Land is often cited as a means of distinguishing modern and postmodern literature. The poem is fragmentary and employs

What Are Bombardier Beetles

If youre a small bug in a big, scary world, you need to use a little creativity to keep from being squashed or eaten. Bombardier  beetles  win the prize for the most unusual defensive strategy, hands down. How Bombardier Beetles Use Chemical Defenses When threatened, bombardier beetles spray the suspected attacker with a boiling hot mixture of caustic chemicals. The predator hears a loud pop, then finds itself bathed in a cloud of toxins reaching 212 ° F (100 ° C). Even more impressive, the bombardier beetle can aim the poisonous eruption in the direction of the harasser. The beetle itself is not harmed by the fiery chemical reaction. Using two special chambers inside the abdomen, the bombardier beetle mixes potent chemicals and uses an enzymatic trigger to heat and release them. Though not strong enough to kill or seriously maim larger predators, the foul concoction does burn and stain the skin. Coupled with the sheer surprise of the counterattack, the bombardier beetles defenses prove effective against everything from hungry spiders to curious humans. Researchers Look Inside the Bombardier Beetle New research, published in the journal Science in 2015, revealed how the bombardier beetle can survive while a boiling mix of chemicals is brewing inside its abdomen. The researchers used high-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging to watch what happened inside living bombardier beetles. Using high-speed cameras that recorded the action at 2,000 frames per second, the research team was able to document exactly what happens inside a bombardier beetles abdomen as it mixes and releases its defensive spray. The X-ray images revealed a passageway between the two abdominal chambers, as well as two structures involved in the process, a valve and a membrane. As pressure increases in the bombardier beetles abdomen, the membrane expands and closes the valve. A burst of benzoquinone is released at the potential threat, relieving the pressure. The membrane relaxes, allowing the valve to open again and the next batch of chemicals to form. Researchers suspect that this method of firing chemicals, with rapid pulses instead of a steady spray, allows just enough time for the walls of the abdominal chambers to cool between shots. This likely keeps the bombardier beetle from being burned by its own defensive chemicals. What Are Bombardier Beetles? Bombardier beetles belong to the family  Carabidae, the ground beetles. Theyre surprisingly small, ranging in length from just 5 millimeters to about 13 millimeters. Bombardier beetles usually have dark elytra, but the head is often orange in contrast. Bombardier beetle larvae parasitize the pupae of whirligig beetles and pupate inside their hosts. You can find the nocturnal beetles living along muddy edges of lakes and rivers, often hiding in debris. About 48 species of bombardier beetles inhabit North America, mainly in the south. Creationism and Bombardier Beetles Creationists, who believe all organisms were made by the specific, intentional act of a divine creator, have long used the bombardier beetle as an example in their propaganda. They assert that a creature with such a complex and potentially self-destructive chemical defense system could never have evolved through natural processes. Creationist author Hazel Rue wrote a childrens book promoting this myth called Bomby, the Bombardier Beetle. Many entomologists have skewered the book for its complete lack of scientific facts. In a 2001 issue of the Coleopterists Bulletin, Brett C. Ratcliffe of the University of Nebraska reviewed Rues book: †¦the Institute for Creation Research demonstrates that brainwashing is alive and well as it continues to wage its own cold war against reason in order to replace it with superstition. In this highly disjointed little book, the target is young children, which makes the authors’ sin of deliberate ignorance even more reprehensible. Sources: How some beetles produce a scalding defensive spray, by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office, April 30, 2015. Accessed online February 3, 2017.Review of HAZEL RUE, Bomby the Bombardier Beetle, by Brett C. Ratcliffe, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, The Coleopterists Bulletin, 55(2):242. 2001. Accessed online February 3, 2017.Genus Brachinus – Bombardier Beetle, Bugguide.net. Accessed online February 3, 2017.

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The Importance of Health Information Privacy Bill of Rights

Describe the issue and its impact on the population it affects most. What arguments or facts are used in the article to support the proposed solution? What are the ethical and legal issues reported for your administrative issue? Explain the managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues. If none were stated, what should have been done? Identify any proposed solutions. The article documents the diminished rights of patient privacy. Kam (2012) states that an attorney specializing in patient rights James C Pyles complained that an individual has greater privacy rights regarding the size of a shirt you purchased online than you do about information in your mental health records under the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, issued by the White House in February 2012 Pyles consequently is pushing a forthcoming Health Information Privacy Bill of Rights that will provide patients the same degree of rights as those offered by the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The author believes that the Health Information Privacy Bill of Rights, developed with the American Psychoanalytic Association, is an important addition to the healthcare institution and spherically needed right now when implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) makes privacy of patient is more important than ever before. Electronic records opens us up to the possibility that millions of confidential information of patients can be simultaneouslyShow MoreRelatedThe Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act1438 Words   |  6 Pages Over a million people live in the United States of America, and with that type of power you can bet that the country would be corrupt. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is there to prevent such events happening. HIPAA, or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was implemented to help serve the people and keep information safe. Originally it started out as a way t o ensure that Americans going between jobs would still be covered by their insurance companies. SinceRead MoreEssay On Helping Families In Mental Crisis1402 Words   |  6 Pagesbarred from being informed and cannot get important information about their loved one’s diagnosis, medications, and/ or future appointments through the hospital. Currently there is a bill in the House of Representatives with the intent to try to change that. The bill is called the Helping Families in Mental Crisis Act of 2016 and it is aiming to allow a limited disclosure to HIPAA and FERPA, giving physicians the ability to disclose vital information to caregivers and patient’s families without or evenRead MoreHunger-Free Kids Act of 2010709 Words   |  3 PagesMatrix Health Care Law Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010 Describe the health care law (75 to 150 words) The Hunger-free kids act is a nutrition program that provides all children with healthy food in school and to low income families. Because of this act schools are playing a larger role in children’s health. Included in this legislation other programs that focus on hunger has come into play such as: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants and Children (WIC), Child and AdultRead MoreMoral Reasoning For Journalists By Steve Knowlton And Bill Reader883 Words   |  4 Pagesname and story should be published in a student newspaper. It concerns sensitive details of a suicide in an area where mental health issues are abundant: a college campus. Even today, it is still taboo to discuss mental disorders and depression while newspapers either fully disclose or blanket suicides in the news. In Moral Reasoning for Journalists, Steve Knowlton and Bill Reader write that in situations involving tragedy and suffering, â€Å"the public’s need to know is implicitâ₠¬  and I agree with thisRead MoreConfidentiality in Health Care1338 Words   |  6 PagesThe importance of patient confidentiality in health care setting The purpose of this assignment is to explore the importance of patient confidentiality. This assignment will define and discuss the values of confidentiality in general and in mental health care setting. It will highlight its importance in individual decisions to seek health care services. Each profession that provides health care embraces confidentiality as a core principle therefore, the legal framework and ethical issues of governingRead MoreThe Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act1416 Words   |  6 PagesHistory The history of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPPA, began in 1996 when a legal mandate was issue by Congress to protect the ethical principles and confidentiality of patient information (Burkhardt Nathaniel, 2014). Prior to this legislation, employees were not protected between jobs. Waste, fraud and abuse in health insurance and healthcare delivery was prevalent. The need to protect the rights of the patient was needed but also the Act contained passagesRead MoreFederalism Is The Division Of Powers Between A Central Government And Regional Governments1480 Words   |  6 Pagesscopes of authority. The Fourth Amendment protects the right of the people against unreasonable searches and seizures†. The Fourth Amendment, spoke to the importance of federalism as a mechanism to secure liberty for the American people. State courts would be responsible for determining if the searches were conducted with reasonableness, giving the government the clos est to the people the most say in such matters. Regarding privacy rights there have been positive and negative impacts throughoutRead MoreHipaa Compliance And Technology Use Essay942 Words   |  4 PagesHIPAA compliance and technology use: In 1996 when Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted HIPAA compliance and the use of technology was not given that much importance as it is today. Only small percentage of people owned mobile phones twenty years ago which didn t have a lot of capabilities of communicating except the basic text messaging. Twenty years later the mobile device technology is much advanced and has much more capabilities and much faster than imaginedRead MoreHippa Violation1569 Words   |  7 PagesSection 04 - Medical Law and Ethics class. HIPPA Violation – Privacy Rule Thesis: Preventing violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule greatly impacts any health care professional, specifically patient information as it relates to a pharmacy and its entire staff. Ever wonder what the acronym HIPAA stands for, how it relates to health care professionals, as well as you, the patient? Violations of the HIPAA Privacy rule greatly impacts health care professionals, specifically those working in a pharmacyRead MoreHipaa, Health Insurance And Portability Act Of 19961577 Words   |  7 PagesHIPAA (Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996), outlines rules, regulations and the rights of patients to access their healthcare information such as notifications of privacy practices, copying and viewing medical records, and amendments. This paper explains why confidentiality is important today and discusses recourses patients can use if they believe their privacy has been violated. This paper will also discuss criminal and civil penalties’ that can occur for breaking HIPAA privacy rules

Study Guide for French Revolution Free Essays

Study Guide for French Revolution * Brinton’s model of a revolution: * Symptomatic Phase- all social classes are unhappy (peasants are scared of change, bourgeoisie want change) * Moderate Phase- revolution begins in hopes of control (radicals feel like there isn’t ENOUGH change) * Radical Phase- a strong men from a radical group gains and assumes power * Convalescence Phase- revolution has a setback; moderate groups regain power * Estates: First Estate: Clergy (less than 1% of population) * Upper Clergy: noble by birth/bishops * Lower Clergy: peasant class/priests * Second Estate: Nobility (less than 2% of population) * Privileged class * Absolute monarch would cause them to lose power * Third Estate: Common People (97% of population) * They pay all the taxes for the country * Includes the bourgeoisie, urban workers, peasants and serfs * Sans-culottes: radical lower class workers Louis XVI: King of France during the revolution; he was slow to make decisions about the r evolution * Marie Antoinette: France disliked her from the minute she married Louis XVI because she was Austrian and did not have a child for the first 7 or 8 years, and disregarded the struggle the public was going through * Old Regime: the social and political system before the revolution began * Cahiers- nobility Estates-General: under the Old Regime there was a legislative assembly with representatives from each estate; this system is very unfair because the 1st and 2nd estates would usually agree with one another and the third estate (which was obviously much larger than the other estates) was left in the dust; Louis XVI called them together when he heard about the revolution * Abbe Sieyes: a priest that wrote a pamphlet about the 3rd estate, which created the revolution to some extent because it made the third estate think about how little power they have; also this pamphlet helped the Old Regime urn into the National Assembly * National Assembly: the new legislative system in which the amount of representatives from the third estate was doubled, but the voting didn’t change (so in the end it helped with nothing) * Tennis Court Oath: Louis XVI locks the National Assembly out of their meeting spot at Versailles, so they go to an inside tennis court that’s near; the National Assembly took an oath saying that they would not separate, but reassemble whenever certain situations required a reorganization, at least until the constitution of France was created * The Bastille: July 14th, 1789;a large group of people bombarded the royal prison; it was a symbol of tyranny * The Great Fear: riots and violence spread to the countryside of France; people went on a rampage because they were afraid the king was forming an army and was going to attack them; National Assembly takes action to keep things in order * The Law of the Fourth of August: National Assembly abolishes feudalism (on paper, but in reality it doesn’t actually stop) * Emigres: Frenc h term meaning someone who has left/migrated out of the country * Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: influenced by Rousseau; not a radical document; only benefit wealthy men * â€Å"Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity†: French motto March of the Women to Versailles: the goal was to bring the King back to Paris, so people could speak to him about important situations whenever they wanted * Civil Constitution of the Clergy: a law created that made the State have control of Church; priests were forced to swear an oath of loyalty to the revolution * Olympe de Gouges- a girondist woman who created the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, which was after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was created * Jacobins- the most radical group that wanted Paris to be the center of government; represented interests of sans-culottes * Girondists- another radical group that favored decentralized government; feared sans-culottes * Legislative Assembly: National Assembly vo ted themselves out of existence and created this new assembly; it lacked experience because there was a rule that said anyone from the National Assembly couldn’t be in the Legislative Assembly * The Marseillaise- France National Anthem; also it is an area in France * Flight to Varennes: the royal family tried to escape and flee to Austria to live with Marie’s family; unfortunately they were caught ecause common people knew Louis XVI’s face from the currency (money) in France; after this people saw Louis as a traitor * National Convention: the NEW government of France during the Reign of Terror (radical phase of the revolution) * Robespierre- radical Jacobin; dictator of the Radical Phase; led the Committee of Public Safety * Committee of Public Safety: a radical group that tried to eliminate anyone who was against the revolution; killed them using the guillotine * Danton- led/roused up the sans-culottes; Robespierre eventually executed him * Jean Paul Marat- bit ter, angry newspaper writer, who took his anger out on the revolution; killed by the girondist, Charlotte Corday * Universal manhood suffrage- every man can vote, class doesn’t matter * Reign of Terror- period of time (during the radical phase) were there was a lot of violence stirred up by conflicts between the Jacobins and the Girondists; over 25,000 people were killed * Republic of Virtue- Robespierre tried to create this as part of the de-Christianization in France * Guillotine- an enlightened, democratic, and humane way to kill people; it was equal for everyone and someone’s class didn’t change the way they were killed * Levee en Masse- a law that said that everyone should someone support the revolution; men could fight in battles, old men could sell things; and women could be nurses for the injured men * Directory- government of France after the Reign of Terror; very corrupt; their only success was creating a better army by increasing patriotism; people wh o were originally involved in the Reign of Terror were now being attacked in what is known as the â€Å"White Terror†; they revived Catholicism; ruled by rich bourgeoisie * Napoleon Bonaparte: short, but extraordinarily energetic man from the island of Corsica, who believed he was destined to do great. In order to succeed and get what he wanted, he would do anything (Machiavellian). He created a new government: consulate. We will write a custom essay sample on Study Guide for French Revolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now He tricked people into voting for him by making it seem like it was a democracy when he was going to dictate the country anyway; declared himself Emperor and crowned himself as a symbol of true power; he made sure that there was no freedom of speech for citizens and he restored Catholic Church * Josephine de Beauharnais: Napoleon’s first wife * Coup de’ etat: French term for overthrowing something * Plebiscite: everyone votes for something and someone simply counts to see how many greed or disagreed (very democratic) * Napoleonic Code: legal code that Napoleon created and brought everywhere; based on old Roman law and influenced modern day French law * Continental System: main goal was to hurt Great Britain economically, but it backfired on Napoleon * Duke of Wellington: the man who defeated Napoleon in his last battle (Battle of Waterloo) * Peninsular War: fought Portugal * Guerilla Warfare: hide and ambush * Russian campaign: on June 24th, 1812, Napoleon ignores the advice from his advisors and invades Russia; the weather randomly turned winter-like plus the unfamiliar size of Russia helped defeat Napoleon * Scorched-earth policy: Russians would burn everything in their path to create hardship for their enemies * Elba: an island that Napoleon was exiled to * Hundred Days: Napoleon came back to France after he was exiled, Louis XVIII was afraid so he fled, Napoleon was in control for 100 days * St. Helena: the second island Napoleon was exiled to; he died there * Klemens von Metternich: the Prince of Austria; also the President of the Congress * Congress of Vienna: a meeting in Austria; nobles who were in the Congress wanted everything to just go back to the way it was before the Revolution, which was reactionary * Balance of Power- a new diplomatic system that created an equal amount of power for different sections of government * Lord Castlereagh- British representative in the Congress of Vienna * Talleyrand- French representative in the Congress of Vienna * Principles of Peace Statement: * Legitimacy- if someone was legitimate or not, so they could rule * Compensation- something, typically money, awarded to someone as to make amends for loss, injury, or suffering * German Confederation- the Congress of Vienna voted to destroy the Holy Roman Empire and create the German Confederation, taking hundreds of miniscule states and creating 15 main states within the association How to cite Study Guide for French Revolution, Essay examples

Down Syndrome An Informative Essay Example For Students

Down Syndrome: An Informative Essay Down Syndrome is the name for babies born with a disorder related to their chromosomes. It is caused when meiosis occurs and an error occurs in the cells development. The reason for this defect is often because the parent is over 40 or for some other reason their meiosis is not Up to par. The actual defect is an extra chromosome is developed during cell development. The abnormal development results in 47 chromosomes rather than the usual 46 (23 from each parent). This extra gene causes problems in the childs physical and mental development. There are an estimated 5000 babies with Down Syndrome born in America every single year. While the chances of having a Down Syndrome baby are slim, (1 in 1000) it is still an issue that to-be parents should discuss and prepare for. People with Down Syndrome are identified by many physicalcharacteristics. Some of these are: larger or almond shaped eyes (sometimesBrushfield spots on the irises), smaller than normal features, such as smallerears or a smaller nose, short stubby fingers, a single palmar crease on theirhands, and having exceptional social intelligence. Because Down Syndrome is cause by a cell abnormality during meiosis, itcan not really be proven that Down Syndrome is hereditary. A perfectly healthymother could have a Down Syndrome baby even though there was never any sign ofthe disorder in her pedigree. There are however, three different kinds of DownSyndrome. 95% of Down Syndrome babies have Trisomy 21. This is the presence ofextra genetic material on the 21st pair of chromosomes. Around 4% have what iscalled Translocation. This is where the extra chromosome 21 decided to breakaway and attach itself to another chromosome. The last 1% is made up of thosewith Mosaicism. This is where some cells have Trisomy 21 while others do not. There is no cure for Down Syndrome. There is also not way to prevent it. Once faced with the fact you have a Down Syndrome baby however, the baby willneed various kinds of checks and treatment to help it live. Down Syndrome babieshave a very high rate of congenital heart defects. In fact 30% to 50% have thesedefects. An endocardiogram is a way to check babies for any signs of defect andstart the child on treatment. Down Syndrome babies also require more effort andtime in teaching them things because they learn at a much slower rate. In the case that I find out I am going to be the father of a DownSyndrome child, I would keep the child even though it would be very hard on meand my wife. Even though our child would not be the next Einstein or even close,a life is a life regardless of its intelligence and I would do my best to guidemy new-born child through life.

Book Review the Forgotten War by Clay Blair free essay sample

Blair’s book explains the placement, objective, and every command level decision. Generally summarizing the Korean War as in Blair’s Forgotten War – At the end of World War II the western half of the world (the Capitalist side) and the eastern half of the world (the Communist side) divided the Korean peninsula into two nations, the northern half communist and the southern half American occupied and capitalist. The two nations were divided at the 38th parallel. The Korean War itself began when the communist North Koreans invaded their South Korean neighbors by advancing over the 38th parallel boundary, on the 28th of June 1951 when the North Korean army, using Russian equipment and advisors, had conquered much of South Korea, a poorly equipped and poorly led U. S. Army came to the rescue of the South Koreans. President Truman had basically stripped the U. S. Army’s equipment and manpower down to nothing for budget reasons, believing that his military advisors spoiled, dumb, and â€Å"big spenders†, (sparing no expense to win a battle). Truman believed that he could do better than any military official. General Douglas MacArthur, on whom Blair spares no criticism, had been overseeing the occupation of Japan, and was a decorated general during WWII in the Pacific theater, he was the obvious choice to be appointed commander of the U. S. forces which were to hold back the North Korean army at Pusan – the tip of the Korean peninsula. MacArthur was in command of the U. S. 8th Army, which Truman had stripped down into 4 divisions, and was only an occupational force in Japan, participating in almost no training. Although Korea was not an essential objective to the military strategy of the United States during the Cold War, politically the Western half of the world wanted to show that its forces would not allow the expansion of their political enemy, the communists. The U. S. , U. N. , and South Korean armies had their backs against the wall near the sea at Pusan; MacArthur schemed a reckless, but very lucky, surprise amphibious assault on the South Korean port city of Inchon, n the Asan bay of Korea just a few miles east of Seoul . With this miracle assault’s success the army commanded by MacArthur swiftly annihilated the North Koreans and obtained Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. According to Blair, MacArthur’s ego got in the way of his victory; he was not content with his quick, easy, and lucky victory over the communist forces. General MacArthur then foolishly invaded North Korea and pushed the communists to the highest points of their country. Believing that the Capitalist armies might use North Korea for strategic advancements on their country the communist Chinese defensively sent their own military force over the Yalu River, the northern border between China and the Koreas. Upon meeting the opposing U. S. army the Chinese attacked and began to push their greatly outnumbered enemies. The numbers and morale of the now losing American 8th Army quickly disintegrated as they were pushed back into South Korea. Only after the incompetent General Douglas MacArthur was fired from his position and appointment of Blair’s hero Lieutenant General Matthew Bunker Ridgway as commander of the United States’ forces did the war begin to again favor the Americans and troop morale improve. The mistaken President Truman wished for a cheap, swift war and political popularity, his top General, MacArthur continually went against the U. S. president’s orders, and spoke out against the way the war was being fought. Truman relieved the popular general of his position. This was a very bad political move for the President. Lieutenant General Ridgway took command of the American forces as MacArthur’s successor. Now under new management, the Western forces stopped the communist advance a small way into North Korea with defensive positions using a few invasions as a defensive tactic. With the two opposing forces at a standstill peace negotiations dragged on for months. The negotiations improved only after Eisenhower was elected president. In July 1953 an Armistice was signed at Panmunjom that put a hold to the Korean War, even though many people say the Korean War was the United States’ first loss it could still be viewed as a success, simply because the non-communist South Koreans kept their freedom. This, of course, excludes a large amount of criticism and is only a summary of events in The Forgotten War. Blair is an extremely critical author. His views in the book toward the leadership of the United States military and government are extremely negative. Blair finds faults in almost all division and corps commanders, especially General Almond (Who was the 10th Corps commander and originally MacArthur’s chief of staff) , President Truman and General MacArthur. The author has an unwavering admiration for Lieutenant General Ridgway, Blair sees Ridgway as a great hero of the Korean War. The author is excessively critical of all command positions in the Korean War, leaning either one side or another in a dire way everyone in Blair’s book is either a saintly, competent, war hero or a lying, drunk, arrogant, sack of crap. The first person Blair attack is President Truman. Blair blames Truman’s dislike for military personnel, specifically graduates of West Point, for his heedlessness of their advice. In The Forgotten War, President Truman believes that West Pointers are arrogant and incompetent, which for the most part Blair thinks likewise, and that they recklessly spend the governments money, ignorant of the fact that it might be needed elsewhere, this, of course, Blair disagrees with. The President’s disrespect and negligence of his top military advisors led to many problems during the war. One of the biggest was the fact that Truman cut funds to the military for equipment and weapons; the President took one of the most powerful and mobile military forces in the world and stripped it bare. For example Task Force Smith, led by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Smith, consisted of two, lightly armed companies. Task Force Smith was equipped with – other than their standard rifles – four recoilless 75-mm rifles, four 60-mm mortars, four 4. -inch mortars, six 105-mm artillery (with only six rounds), and ten obsolete 2. 36 bazooka rocket launchers, which were ineffective against tanks, as compared to the latter distributes 3. 5-inch rocket launchers. Although the author attacks many military officials he does praise a few, particularly the Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway. After MacArthur’s firing, Lt. Gen. Ridgway forged the beaten down United St ates Army into a force capable of defending the South Koreans. Ridgway quickly saved the day and held off the communists just above the 38th parallel. Blair’s admiration of Ridgway does not get in the way of his criticism, though. The author attacks Ridgway in his decisions during the long negotiations with the Chinese and North Koreans, but in no way is this criticism as terrible as it is for everyone else in the book. Blair himself writes very well. The author does have a tendency to repeat himself, though. He particularly uses sentences starting with â€Å"inasmuch as† or something similar. The book itself, intimidates the novice historian with its size and scope. In reality Blair could have summed up a large amount of his book into half as much as he wrote. But then again, if one wanted a highly opinionated, critical and in-depth explanation of events in the Korean War, Clay Blair’s The Forgotten War is definitely the right book. The author did his homework, though. In The Forgotten War one can find the exact placement of any military unit at any given time during the war. Blair is specific and detailed in his description of U. S. military operations, though he lacks in the area of common, trench-level, soldiers, or their weapons, and the opposing communist side. This lack of action leaves the book a little dry as it is mostly about command level decisions and who made them. A particularly annoying thing about Blair’s writing is that he commonly gave too much information about a particular person; he basically wrote a small life story, and a critical essay about every officer associated with the Korean War. The book seems less like a story about â€Å"The Forgotten War† and more about every single officer in the US military between 1950 and 1953. With the exception of being long and a little boring, Clay Blair’s book is an excellent source of knowledge about the Korean War. The author writes clearly and specifically. He is very critical but with a vast amount of data to back it up. Blair wrote his book with exceptional research and vast knowledge of the American influence in the Koreas.