Preventive Priorities Survey 2014 Essay

In this article the author has written about a survey conducted by The Center for Preventive Action which is Preventive Priorities Survey (PPS) that assess the current and all the possible conflicts which can occur in the coming years of US and how they can influence U.S. interests . The purpose of PPS is to help the U.S. policymaking community primarily to prevent conflicts and all the incentives that can erupt a conflict . In the conflict preventive survey there are many possible sources of instability and conflict around the world that the United States should try to avoid. Predicting which conflicts are more likely to occur and can pose a greater threat to U.S. interests than others helps to decide where to focus attention and resources. PPS is a qualitative evaluation that uses the informed judgement of the experts to check all the possible threats and risks that can destroy US interests by erupting a conflict. To help the experts with their estimations and cope up with the situ ation , the survey offered general guidelines to check the relative probability and impact of potential contingencies which a US could face. These contingencies were categorized in different levels as high , moderate and low based on their chance of occurring and their intensity of impact on US interests. The PPS did not include the potential economic or financial crises or any natural calamity or environmental problems , PPS is primarily concerned with the discrete geopolitical contingencies .Also the PPS represents the expert’s opinion at the time the survey was conducted. Risk assessments can change rapidly and oftenly. The results, therefore, could be quite different after several months. There is a certain methodology to carry out this survey which the center for preventive actions performs in different stages of which first stage is soliciting the PPS contingencies in which CPA used a variety of social media platforms as well as its blog on CFR.org to seek suggestions for contingencies to include in the 2014 survey. With the help of the Council on Foreign Relations’, CPA extracted hundreds of suggestions into thirty contingencies considering both ,possibility to occur over the next twelve months and potentially harmful to U.S. interests. The nest stage was polling of experts in which the survey was sent to more than 1200 government officials ,foreign policy experts and academics to evaluate the likelihood and poteintial impact of each contingency on US inetrest  according to the definite criteria. Ultimately the most popular suggestions were included in the survey. Then comes the final stage that is categorizing the contingencies in which the survey results were uniformly scored and contingencies were sorted into one of three preventive priority tiers in accordance to their placement in the risk assessmemnt matrix. There are three tiers in assessing the contingencies in PPS . In Tier 1 Contingencies judged high preventive priorities for U.S. policymakers because in tier 1 those contingencies were included which had a severe impact on US interests and their chance to occur was moderate like the Syrian civil war ,a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure ,threat of military strikes against Iran , a mass casualty terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland ,a severe North Korean crisis caused by a military provocation, internal political instability, or threatening nuclear weapons/ ICBM-related activities. Then comes the contingencies which had moderate impact but high likelihood such as growing violence and instability in Afghanistan resulting from the drawdown of coalition forces and/or contested national elections ,increasing internal violence and political instability in Pakistan ,strengthening of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula resulting from continued political instability in Yemen and/or backlash from U.S. counterterrorism operations , civil war in Iraq ,growing political instability and civil violence in Jordan triggered by spillover from the Syrian civil war. In Tier 2 Contingencies judged mid-level preventive priorities for U.S. policymakers as those contingencies are includedin tier 2 which had moderate effects and moderate chance to occur such as deterioration of the political situation in Egypt, increased sectarian violence and political instability in Lebanon ,continuing conflict in Somalia, political instability and growing militancy in Libya ,drug-related violence in Mexico, a severe Indo-Pakistani military confrontation due to Kashmir. Also there were contingencies which had high impact and low likelihood which are an armed confrontation in the East China Sea between China and Japan ,an armed confrontation in the South China Sea between China and Southeast Asian plaintiff to disputed mari- time areas. It also includes contingencies with low effect on US and high likelihood of occurrence like increasing sectarian violence and political instability in Nigeria ,violence and risk of mass killing in the Central African Republic . In Tier 3 Contingencies judged low preventive priorities for U.S.  policymakers as it included those contingencies which had moderate effect on US interests and their chance of occurrence was low such as a Sino-Indian clash .it also included contingencies with low impact and moderate likelihood which were destabilization of Mali, growing popular unrest and political instability in Sudan , military conflict between Sudan and South Sudan due to border resource disputes ,conflict in the Kurdish- dominated regions of Turkey and the Middle East , growing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo , internal violence in Bangladesh surrounding the general elections. Tier 3 also included contingencies with low impact and low likelihood such as political crisis in Venezuela leading to civil violence and potential regional instability , an outbreak of military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan . So this survey played a vital role to find out and take preventive measures for all t he current and upcoming conflicts which could have any adverse effect on US interests. This survey helped the experts to assess the contingencies and suggest those to CPA which could adversely influence US so the policymakers then worked according to the intensity of the contingencies suggested . PPS is very helpful for the center of preventive action to check the impact and likelihood of the contingencies which could occur and they carried out all their activities according to the strength of the contingencies which they measured on the risk assessing matrix and placed them in different tiers and took precautionary measures to protect the US interests and security.

Racism in the UK workplace and its affect on managers Essay

Racism in the UK workplace and its affect on managers - Essay Example Further, the paper will discuss how managers respond to the issue of racism and the skills used to solve racism in work place in United Kingdom. The human resources department cannot control the managers on what they do. Human resource mainly monitors employment practices to in the entire company cases of discrimination are monitored by the human resource. Racial discrimination in workplace affects managers in different ways for example an individual may be discriminated in workplace and later lawsuit to be the next thing. This normally happen when there is an evidence that a company is discriminating the minority group in a company against the white employees causing such a firm to be sued and thus heavy fine is imposed to the company (Gomez, 2008). The federal government from 1960s has been fighting racism in workplace and if one is discriminated, law that prohibits discrimination will lead to the manager being fired thus affecting the company progress. The work output where racism exists is low since competence is not used as the basis to improve the company output thus making the managers to be under pressure since the managers want high quality production and increased output of the products. If problem persist, it will lead to the company being unable to carry the daily transactions thus the manager’s capability to control and manage to be questioned. Racism usually leads to the company using more resources like fund to hire competent people from other organizations leading to increased expenditure in the company. This will mean the company will rely on other sources of production despite having employees in the company (Bonnett, 2000). The responsibility to explain the expenditure can make the manager to be demoted or even being fired since one is not able to lead the employees. Racism will cause those employees who are innovative not to present the ideas to the

Video Games Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video Games - Essay Example With this, the company is also armed with more significant information relative to its competitors. The company capitalizes on its patent-pending technology and a wide network of exclusive publishers and developers. Massive is also capitalizes on the capability and experience of its management team, wide network, innovative ideas, and technological capability. The announcement of Microsoft last May formalized its acquisition of the in-game advertising pioneer. With its being a subsidiary of Microsoft, this brand equity is further enhanced while also increasing its reach and scope. Weaknesses. Prior to the acquisition by Microsoft, the major weakness of Massive Incorporated lies in its financial capability. As a start-up, the company lacked the much-needed financing to back its research and development program. It was also hard to take the risk of releasing new products without the financial muscle to back it up. Relative to its competitors, Massive lacks the capability of customizing it product offerings like what is being offered by Double Fusion. As opposed to IGA Worldwide, Massive's products are only applicable on a single platform. Opportunities.

The End of History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The End of History - Essay Example What we may be witnessing in not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.In the controversial 1989 essay titled "The End of History", Francis Fukuyama attempted to give Western capitalism's victory over communism a Hegelian interpretation. He argued that the end of history has eliminated all but one intellectual option for the future evolution of the planet. Liberal Democracy and the 'American way of life' were hailed as the only rational coherent system of values and practices; everything else that happened in the past was only leading up to this new Enlightenment and triumph of reason, in a teleological sense of inevitability. In a way, neither is the advent of man the end of evolution, nor is the widespread prevalence of liberal democracy that we witness in our day the "end" of history. Yet they represent effective points of resolution. If we were to assert that man is the pinnacle of natural evolution, it would be factually very incorrect as man modern man evolved barely 100-120 thousand years ago, and evolution takes place in a geological time scale spanning millions of years. Though it may be difficult for us to conceive any life form beyond human beings, evolution is simply a naturally phenomenon that cannot be stopped and has not stopped with humans. Humans may only be representing a transitional life form, or dolphins may evolve to be more intelligent that humans ever were, in a million years or so. We also would like to think American-type liberal democracy as being the pinnacle of evolution of political organisation of society, but we could be wrong. In the course of evolution, there occurred a decisive encounter between Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens for over ten thousand years, in which Homo sapiens sapiens finally emerged as the survivor to assert supremacy over the planet, about 28,000 years ago. Eerily echoing this epic evolutionary clash between the two rival human species, there raged a monumental battle in the twentieth century between communism and democracy during the years of the Cold War, in which the forces of democracy finally emerged victorious and asserted supremacy over the planet. However, there is nothing intrinsically final about both these phenomena. Man has of course no rival on the planet now, and liberal democracy too, even with all its defects and shortcomings, appears the sole viable alternative for the present and the future of human society. However, if we were to claim that man is the culmination and the end of natural evolution, we could be accused of brazen anthropocentrism. Similarly, if we were to claim that democracy is the culmination, and more than that, the end itself, of ideological evolution, we could perhaps be accused of "American-centrism". Yet the fact remains that, considered on a rational basis, emergence of man represents an evolution of consciousness that offers a satisfactory resolution to the six hundred million years of natural evolution, despite his war-like nature and other selfish, brutish tendencies. In this sense, enlightened liberal democracy too, notwithstanding its myriad inadequacies, offers a satisfactory resolution to the ten thousand years of evolution of human society. If Neanderthals took over the Cro-Magnon man (that is, us), of if Hitler won the Second World War, or if the Soviet Union somehow succeeded in annihilating the United States in the Cold War, would we have been at the end of history too Certainly, Neanderthals were very robust, they had already been flourishing for about two hundred thousand years when the Cro-Magnon man arrived on the ice age European scene and made his presence felt. There were also many times in the Second World War, where the German forces were on the ascendency, and in fact Hitler

A+ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A+ - Assignment Example Perceived obsolescence is a concept which means that something has seemingly gone out of style but it has not yet. In other words, basically recycling should be planned obsolescence, because as we become a garbageless society the recycling system will be perceived obsolescence and recognized as such within society, without a doubt. These are real concepts. Recycling only comparmentalizes garbage. We have increasing amounts of recyclable garbage to compartmentalize and reuse, threfore we must realize that when we â€Å"throw away,† there is no away, per se. The garbage is either being added to the amount of recyclable garbage in circulation or is added to the landfills. 4. Since we â€Å"cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely,† what is the solution if we are to become a sustainable society? Another way to say this is you can’t have unlimited economic growth with limited resources. If we become a sustainable society, we will be far less wasteful as a society. Once our resources become scarce, we are going to have difficulty finding new revenue sources. The problem is, we can no longer depend on foreign oil to help our livelihood. The economy will not recover if we consistently fail to use our resources wisely. So, in effect, we must galvanize as a nation in order to use them with caution and very sparingly. In order to accomplish this we must reign in our spending and not make waste and increase revenue. We need to ensure that the economic system is sustainable environmentally, if that makes sense. Our policies should reflect ecological realities. The biological systems on which we depend should be supported by policies. If they are not, we will have future problems for sure. The political action groups (PACs) that lobby Congress must â€Å"go green† and become environmentally conscious and savvy and â€Å"in the know† about what we are doing to our environment.

Personal Identity & Immortality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Identity & Immortality - Research Paper Example Millers main line of argument is that there is a correlation between body and soul and that even if the body dies, the soul may continue to live. Weiroib disputed this by asserting that there is no evidence that the soul exist and therefore we should not easily assume that something we know not of its existence will help us survive after we are dead (Perry 397). Here, miller tries to ask his friend if he can prove that he is the same person he ate lunch with last week to enable him see the sense of his claims of life after death. This is based from the fact that the other week they were at lunch siting opposite each other on the table and communicating with each other. This example brings in an important fact that miller was not aware of that soul if immaterial and therefore one should not conclude that the soul you met last time is the same soul you are meeting today. When Miller claims that he is the same person he saw last week, he gives Weirob a chance to prove to him that what h e saw was just the body and therefore, the claim that the soul exist cannot easily be substantiated. The caramel example is used to by Miller in his desperate attempts to show that there is a link between body and soul of a person. This view of however criticized by when Weirob asserts that there is no link between the body and the soul of human beings. In the Blue River analogy, is used by Weirob to show that a river contains different water every time in his attempt to disqualify his assertion that souls and body are the same. The issue of same body same soul is thus an issue that can only be discussed on earth in human context. Our personal identity is sometimes unknown since we are not sure whether there is a relationship between body and soul. The topic of the Blue river example is used to prove the concept that same characteristics do not necessarily require same substance and therefore, human soul and body may be different. Weirob tries to challenge her friend miller to comfo rt her on her death bead days before she passed away if there is a possibility of her surviving after her death. Miller claims that survival is possible after death for a person is identical to his soul and not his body as most people think. Miller highly believes in this and he thus asserts that survival after her death is possible because her personal identity is tied to her soul. Weirob on the other hand challenges this view by asserting that soul is something immaterial and cannot be seen or felt unlike our bodies that are physical and can be seen and felt. This disqualified millers claim that people are identical to their souls and thus can have a life after their death. Miller further claims there is a correlation between bodies and soul but his argument is also criticized by Weirob who argues that such a claim is baseless since there is no evidence that the soul is exist in the first place. Miller is never tired of her claims that soul exists and its correlated with the body by asserting that body exhibit certain behaviors that are in unison with certain psychological characteristics. Weirob criticizes this line of argument by asserting that similarity between psychological characteristic with the body since its not physical like most of the things we see around like rivers. He further states that human beings are not certain of how souls work and thus we can easily assume that there is a correl

History Behind Moulin Rouge the Movie Essay Example for Free

History Behind Moulin Rouge the Movie Essay It was 1899 in Paris, France, it was the time of the Bohemian Revolution, and it was the summer of love. Christian, played by Ewan McGregor, was a writer and came to Paris to experience this revolution and be surrounded by the artists, singers, and dancers of this new Bohemian world. Little did he know that he would experience something he had never felt before but always believed in: love. Moulin Rouge, directed by Baz Luhrmann, is an exquisite movie musical based off of a real life cabaret called Moulin Rouge in Montmartre. The movie tells the story of the love triangle between Christian, Satine aka the â€Å"Sparkling Diamond† of the Moulin Rouge, played by Nicole Kidman, and The Duke. Although Christian and Satine are fictional characters, the story includes real life characters such as Harold Zidler, the co-mastermind of the Moulin Rouge and Toulouse-Lautrec, a famous French artist. Moulin Rouge is a great look into what life was like back in Paris in 1900, but also adds in the love story between Christian and Satine to make for a great movie musical. In the beginning of the movie, Christians optimistic love shines some light into Satines dark materialistic reality. To make a living, Satine became a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. She gets paid for making men believe what they want to believe, so she sells her body to make money. She mistakenly became attracted to Christian for his pure and optimistic belief in love. Seeing that Christian did not have a lot of money, she becomes hesitant of loving him because he would not be able to support her and her dreams of being an actress. With Christians pure and optimistic belief of love, he captures Satines heart by loving her for who she really is, not for what she is. Although Satine dies in the end of the movie, Christian learns that true love lasts forever even through death. Harold Zidler, who is not a fictional character, is the man who helped to run the real Moulin Rouge cabaret. In the film, and in real life Paris, Zidler was the man who was, â€Å"a ‘brother’ to the artists and the man in the shadows who watched over the dancers and the rest of the personnel with a benevolent eye and ruled with an iron fist† (History). In the film he is the one who is in charge of making sure everything goes perfectly at the cabaret and makes sure all his dancers, especially Satine, know what they are supposed to do and who they should impress that night. Not only did he run the Moulin Rouge he was also a showman and performed with his dancers in the shows. Toulouse-Lautrec was also an important person when it comes to the cabaret in Paris. In the film he does not have a huge role other than help Christian get inside the Moulin Rouge and find a way for him to meet Satine. In Paris in the 1900’s, though, he is said to have been â€Å"the eyes of the Moulin Rouge.† Toulouse-Lautrec attended every evening show when the cabaret opened; and as mentioned before he was an artist, so every night he would sit in a corner and draw the dancers accompanied by a glass of absinthe (History). The fact about the absinthe is also in the movie; Toulouse-Lautrec, Christian, and a few others take a shot of absinthe before they head to the Moulin Rouge one night and the next few minutes of the film are just filled with pure craziness and hallucinations. His artwork, though, was extremely important in the success of the Moulin Rouge. â€Å"In 1891, he drew the first advertising poster for the Moulin Rouge, which today remains the best known image of the Moulin Rouge around the world† (History). His work is still famous today and without him the Moulin Rouge in Paris would not be as well known as it is today. The dancers of the Moulin Rouge were masters of the â€Å"cancan.† One of the stars and also known as â€Å"Queen of the Cancan† was Louise Weber, but her nickname was â€Å"La Goulue.† She is not specifically in the film, but in a biography about her, it states that, â€Å"one evening when she was dancing a frenetic cancan, between two cartwheels she spotted the Prince of Wales, who had come to spend an evening on his own at the Moulin Rouge, and called out, with the Parisian cheek for which she was well know, ‘Hey, Wales! The champagne’s on you?’† (History). La Goulue is relatable to Satine in the film, because Satine was also the star and best dancer and she spotted Christian the first night he was there and while she was dancing called him out in front of everyone who was in attendance at the Moulin Rouge that evening. Moulin Rouge is one of Baz Luhrmann’s best films. The movie came out in June 2001 and has won many awards and is one of the best movies in the musical genre. The set design, costumes, casting of roles, and music all is so perfectly put together to create this brilliant film. Luhrmann, who also co-wrote the movie with Craig Pearce, traveled to Paris with Pearce and the production designer to conduct historical research and write the synopsis for the movie. â€Å"To find ways to depict 19th century Paris and the Moulin Rouge as it may have felt to its audience then at the cutting edge of sex, music, dance, theater and modern thinking the filmmakers immersed themselves in the neighborhood, venues and culture of their story† (Luhrmann). Through their research and learning about the culture, they came to understand that the Moulin Rouge was a club that brought all different classes together and Pearce quotes that is the equivalent of â€Å"Studio 54 in New York in the late 70’s; a place where the rich and the powerful can mix with the young, the beautiful and the penniless† (Luhrmann). This is shown in the movie because we see the powerful, such as The Duke, and then Christian who is just a writer, come to the same club to experience th e same thing, women and entertainment. The first half an hour of the movie is nonstop music, dancing, lights, and just absolutely craziness. Audiences are not given a chance to â€Å"relax† and just slowly take the movie in; it is fast paced and keeps the movie viewer on their toes just waiting for what will come next. In a movie critique, shortly after it came out in 2001, the movie reviewer describes Moulin Rouge as â€Å"grandiose, glorious, absinthe-soaked excess.† When filming, Luhrmann wanted everything to be over the top and wanted more out of the production; more songs, more sound, more color, more everything (Kaplan C.D.). This is what it was like in the real cabaret, the dancing and songs were all so intense and crazy so the men would be fully entertained and never get bored. There was a lot going on in Paris in the late 1880’s and 1890’s. The Eiffel Tower was built, the first cinematographic screening was shown by the Lumiere brothers, and the most famous cabaret opened its doors. â€Å"The public came in mass to discover this extravagant place with its huge dance floor, mirrors everywhere, and galleries that were the last word in elegance, to mix with the riffraff and girls of easy virtue† (History). The Moulin Rouge was a place for the rich and poor men to come for dancing, music, and entertainment from the ladies; it is said to have been an atmosphere of â€Å"total euphoria.† This was a time where workers, aristocrats, artists, and the middle-class could all gather together to experience cabarets, music-halls, and other night time activities. As mentioned before, this movie takes place during the Bohemian Revolution. This revolution was not a revolution of fighting, but a revolution of art and culture. It was a time for artisits, poets, writer, singers, dancers, and anyone else who wanted to express themselves to show off their talents and be recognized. These were the â€Å"children of the revolution† (Moulin Rouge). In the beginning scenes of Moulin Rouge, Christian is told that to really be a child of the revolution, he has to believe in beauty, freedom, truth, and most importantly love. Which of course he believes in love, it is what he lives for and as stated earlier, he is given the chance to experience love for the first time. Not only is the movie based off of the real cabaret in Paris, but it is also partly based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and partly on the opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (IMDb). The Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is somewhat like the story between Christian and Satine. Orpheus is said to have been the best musician that ever lived and until he met Eurydice, he lived his simply and carelessly. Orpheus and Eurydice fell in love and it meant everything to both of them but someone else wanted Eurydice’s beauty and wanted her but she did not care for this other man. To make a long story short, she ends up dying and Orpheus tries to get her back from the underworld but could not save her; all he had left was the love they once had (â€Å"Orpheus†). For Christian, he lost Satine and would never get her back again but what he got from her death was a story of true love that he has to share with the world. Satine was already dying before she fell in love with Christian, but at least she was able to die knowing what it was like to be in love. The opera La Traviata is another love story that ends tragically. Violetta, who is a courtesan, claims that love means nothing to her until she meets a young man named Alfredo which makes her then wonder if he could be the man that she could love. In the end of the story, though, Violetta is diagnosed with tuberculosis and does not have long to live and dies at Alfredo’s feet (â€Å"La Traviata†). This opera, the myth of Orpheus, and Moulin Rouge, are all similar in the way that the woman never really believed in love until they met that one man that changed their views on love, there are challenges to face one the man and woman fall in love, and then it is the woman who dies in end leaving their lovers all alone. Each story is a little different but the same basic idea, from the opera and Greek myth, are apparent in the film. From twentieth century Paris, the Bohemian Revolution, the myth of Orpheus, Harold Zidler, and other historical moments, Moulin Rouge is a one of a kind musical film that is an amazing piece of work put together by Luhrmann. Knowing the history behind the film makes it exciting to watch and understand what it was like back in Paris in 1899. Works Cited â€Å"The History of the Moulin Rouge and its Shows.† Moulin Rouge.fr. Le Bal du Moulin Rouge, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. Kaplan, C.D. Rev. of Moulin Rouge, by Baz Luhrmann. Louisville Eccentric Observer, Louisville, Ky.: 30 May 2001. Vol. 11, Iss. 30; pg. 21 â€Å"La Traviata.† The Metropolitan Opera. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. Luhrmann, Baz,, and Craig Pearce, commentary. Moulin Rouge. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Twentieth Century Fox, 2001. Film. Moulin Rouge. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Twentieth Century Fox, 2001. Film. â€Å"Moulin Rouge.† IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Orpheus and Eurydice.† Paleothea Myths. N.p., 10 Jan. 2008. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.