Ku Klux Klan Essays (629 words) - Antisemitism In The United States

Ku Klux Klan Michael Vieira Sociology 5/12/00 The Ku Klux Klan The KKK is a movement that has been very controversial since the Civil War. The Klan as they call themselves was created as a result of the occupation of Federal troops in the South. The KKKs purpose at the time was to provide the people of the south with the leadership to bring back the values of Western Civilization that was taken from them. In the 1920s the Klan had its most popular era. At this time the KKK was the most active politically then it has ever been in history. The KKK still exists today as a brotherhood and a new White racial community that lives and functions by the ideals it promotes. Today the Klan is in its 5th era and continues to be Americas oldest and most effective White Christian Fraternal organization. The Klan stands for many things: The White Race, America First, (First before any foreign or alien influence or interest, and a foreign policy of military non-intervention.) The Constitution, (As originally written and intended. The finest system of government ever conceived by man, who is based on the Holy Bible and Christian Common Law.) Free Enterprise, (Private property and ownership of business, but an end to high-finance exploitation. We advocate economic nationalism and we oppose the Federal Reserve Bank and so-called free trade.) Positive Christianity, (The right of the American people to practice their Christian faith - including prayer in schools. Many Klan members and supporters are involved with the growing Christian Identity religion, which continues to unite the Christian Patriot Movement in the United States.) The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a fraternal, patriotic movement promoting the ideals of Western Christian Civilization and White Racial political self-determination. It is a duly incorporated, non-profit, legally recognized institution, working to rebuild our collapsing society on the principles of Christian honor, honesty, duty, courage, brotherhood, and patriotism. As the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan strive toward the ideals it wants for tomorrow, it lives by those today. In order to become a member of the KKK a person has to meet the following criteria 100%, (the KKK is not an open membership movement) Only pure White Christian people of non-Jewish, non-Negro, non-Asian descent who are at least eighteen years old and who pledge to dedicate their lives to this cause can enter the Ku Klux Klan. Those under the age of eighteen can join the Klan Youth Corp. with parental consent. The Ku Klux Klan is a strictly law-abiding organization. Every member is sworn to uphold the law and the principles of justice. The name Ku Klux Klan comes from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle, because in it is contained some of the unique characteristics of the White or Aryan race. The wheel is a symbol of creativity therefor the creativity of the White races, and the circle is the oldest symbol of unity. Ku Klux was simply taken from the word kuklos and Klan was added. According to the Klan, it is still around because of the name and symbols break through the paper curtain of the anti-White media and brings us to the attention of those who want to learn more about us. Today it is trying to prevent people from taking away your guns, against promoting homosexuals in schools, against permitting the flood of illegal aliens coming across our borders that then tax you to death in order to pay for welfare and other give-away programs. In conclusion the KKK is a movement with very strong beliefs and many deep roots in its history. The KKK is an ongoing movement that will be around until all there demands are met.

Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Essays

Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Essays Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Paper Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Paper the NPCSC ( TheStanding Committeeof the National People s Congress ) declared the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People s Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 in 31.8.2014. Harmonizing to Occupy Central with Love and Peace ( 2015 ) , the members of OCLP ( Occupy Central with Love and Peace ) reject to subject the determination of NPCSC, and they believe that HKSAR authorities should present a receptive attitude towards civil nomination. Occupy Central began in 2013 for the desire of democracy, and evolved into Umbrella Revolution in 26.9.2014. First, I will exemplify the definition of civil noncompliance and regulation of jurisprudence. Second, I will exemplify the statement that support civil noncompliance is non compatible with the regulation of jurisprudence. Finally, I will explicate in what extent civil noncompliance is incompatible with the regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong. 2 ) Definition of civil noncompliance Harmonizing toRawls ( 1999 ) , in constitutional theory, civil disobediencecomposed in three parts. First, definition ofcivil noncompliance is different and separate from misdemeanors of jurisprudence, because civil noncompliance is purposes to raise public concern in some unfair issue, but misdemeanors of jurisprudence do non. Second, civil noncompliance will settle after the unfair issue is justified. Finally, civil noncompliance has a function in constitutional system and the civil disobedient demand to account for protest. Harmonizing toRawls ( 1999 ) , civil noncompliance has four characteristics, public, non-violent, painstaking andjustifypolitical rules. First, public refer to civil noncompliance is a public act, it engage openly with just announce to political authorization and is non covert or close. Second, non-violent refer to themanifestationofcivil noncompliance, it expresses noncompliance to jurisprudence with limitloyalty. The fidelity to lawset upan image that thecivil disobedienceispolitical painstaking and intends to raise the public’s sense of justness. Third, painstaking refer to political act that contra to jurisprudence with purpose of altering the recent jurisprudence or policies. Civil disobedient Acts of the Apostless in thismanifestationaimto addressthe sense of justness of society, but non for personal involvement. Finally, warrant political rules refer to civil noncompliance is non in sense that it address tomajoritypolitical power, besides is aim to steer and warrant political rules. 3 ) Definition of regulation of jurisprudence Rule of jurisprudence is viewed as positive thing and represent justness and good ( Lo A ; Chui, 2012 ) . However, Moller ( 2014 ) said: the construct of the regulation of jurisprudence is extremely complex and basically contested. Finally, Tamanaha carried out a method to separate different definitions of regulation of jurisprudence into two bulk approaches- formalist and substantive. In formalist attacks, one of the descriptions of regulation of jurisprudence is A.V. Dicey version. Dicey ( 1959 ) mentioned three rules of regulation of jurisprudence: No adult male is punishable or can be legitimately made to endure in organic structure or in goods except for a distinguishable breach of jurisprudence established in the ordinary legal mode before the ordinary tribunals of the land. No adult male is above the jurisprudence ; every adult male and adult female, whatever may be his or her rank or place from the premier curate right down to the revenue enhancement aggregator, is capable to the ordinary jurisprudence of the kingdom and conformable to the legal power of the ordinary tribunals. Each man’s single rights are best protected under Common Law instead than a formal Bill of Rights. For substantial attacks, substantial theories mentioned that the regulation of jurisprudence must include formalist attacks component. Harmonizing to Moller ( 2014 ) , three more elements added in substantial attacks, they are single human rights ( belongings, contract, privateness, liberty ) , rights of self-respect or justness ( helps single develops ability to go self-determining ) and societal public assistance ( subtantive equality ) . Civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of law- statement one Civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence because the impression of regulation of jurisprudence is concern about the beginning of jurisprudence, balance of political power and single rights. Harmonizing to Moller ( 2014 ) , there are four dimensions of regulation of jurisprudence, form ( formal legality ) , countenances and control ( cheque and balance between authorities and citizens ) , beginning of jurisprudence and people concent ( Sovereignty of the people ) and substance content ( Indiviaual rights ) . Harmonizing to Brownlee ( 2013 ) , the purposes of civil disobedient is to reprobate peculiar unfair issue and seek to raise the awarness of public in sense of justness. That imply civil noncompliance merely occur when unfair issue occur in society, and unfair issue ever include the resistance between authorities and citizens, this thought is alreadly include in one of dimension of regulation of law- countenances and control, when unfair issue policy occur, people can keep the authorities. And the unjust issue how to specify? Harmonizing to Brownlee ( 2013 ) , civil disobedient addressesthemselves to bulk sentiment and rule of justness. This is besides include in one of dimension of regulation of law- beginning of jurisprudence and people concent. Therefore, civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. Civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of law- statement two Others ground that civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence is regulation of jurisprudence is non wholly equal to obey the jurisprudence. The construct of regulation of jurisprudence is closely linked to societal contract theory, harmonizing to McPherson ( 1980 ) , in societal contract theory, if authorities against citizen’s involvement, citizens can subvert and put in a new authorities. It shows that regulation of jurisprudence is non wholly equal to obey the jurisprudence. When there is unfair issue and policy that against people involvement, people can contend back, civil noncompliance is one of the methods to against these unfair issue and policy. Harmonizing to United Nation ( n.d. ) , the construct of regulation of jurisprudence is extremely associated with the impression of justness. It imply that when the jurisprudence can non demo the impression of justness and when the jurisprudence is unfair in bulk sentiment, civil noncompliance is allowed to warrant the unfair circumstance and it is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. Besides, one of the characteristics of civil noncompliance is justification of political rules and this rules refer to civil noncompliance is non in sense that it address tomajoritypolitical power, besides is aim to steer and warrant political rules. Therefore, civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. In the undermentioned paragraph, I will discourse approximately in what extent civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong. 4 ) In what extent civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong. As I mentioned before, civil noncompliance contain four characteristics, and it is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. But in Hong Kong, civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong in some state of affairss. The first state of affairs is the authorities define regulation of jurisprudence equal to obey the jurisprudence, regulation by jurisprudence or regulation by work forces, falsify the impression of regulation of jurisprudence. These are different construct of jurisprudence, if the functionary in Hong Kong use the distort version to judge the civil noncompliance, than civil noncompliance is compatible with the official rule of law . If the Hong Kong authorities defines obey the jurisprudence, regulation by jurisprudence or regulation by work forces as regulation of jurisprudence, the distort version of regulation of jurisprudence will non include the impression of justness, therefore the action to warrant political principles- civil noncompliance will specify as compatible with the official rule of law . Second state of affairs that civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong is civil noncompliance does non follow the four rules. Such as violent action of civil disobedient, civil noncompliance for personal involvement, etc. These misdemeanor of the rule will do civil noncompliance same as interrupting the jurisprudence. When civil noncompliance can non stand for the impression justness, it is merely interrupting the jurisprudence. Decision In decision, civil noncompliance that follow four rules, public, non-violent, painstaking andjustifypolitical rules is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in normal state of affairs. Because regulation of jurisprudence is non merely accent obey the jurisprudence, it besides include the impression of justness. These four rules of civil noncompliance guarantee that the action is associated with justness. However, in some state of affairss civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. That is when regulation of jurisprudence is non the original regulation of jurisprudence, and civil noncompliance is non the original civil noncompliance. When the authorities functionary specify the regulation of jurisprudence as obey the jurisprudence, regulation by jurisprudence or regulation by work forces, so regulation of jurisprudence will loss the impression of justness, than the action represent justice- civil noncompliance will be defined as compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. When the civil noncompliance do non follow the four rules, the action will besides loss the impression of justness, therefore it is non civil noncompliance any more. Mention: Brownlee, K. ( 2013, December 20 ) .Civil Disobedience.Retrieved March 26, 2015, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: hypertext transfer protocol: //plato.stanford.edu/entries/civil-disobedience/ # FeaCivDis Dicey, A. V. ( 1959 ) .Introduction to the survey of the jurisprudence of the fundamental law ( tenth erectile dysfunction. ) .Basingstoke: Macmillan. Lo, S. H. C. , A ; Chui, H. H. ( 2012 ) .The Hong Kong legal system.Singapore: McGrawHill. McPherson, C. ( 1980 ) .John Locke Second Treatise of Government.Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company. Moller, J. ( 2014 ) .THE RULE OF Law: Definitions, Measures, Patterns and Causes.Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Occupy Central with Love and Peace ( 2015 ) .10 Basic Facts about OCLP. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Occupy Central with Love and Peace Official Page: hypertext transfer protocol: //oclp.hk/index.php? route=occupy/eng_detail A ; eng_id=12 Rawls, J. ( 1999 ) .A Theory of Justice, Revised Edition.Cambridge: Harvard University Press. The Hong Kong Special Adminstrative Government ( 2015, January 7 ) .Decision and accounts of the NPCSC. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Method of Choosing the Chief Executive by Universal Suffrage: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.2017.gov.hk/en/decision/index.html Tamanaha, B. ( 2004 ) .On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. United Nation ( n.d. ) .United Nations Rule of Law.Retrieved March 27, 2015, from United State: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.unrol.org/article.aspx? article_id=3 1

Chapter 13 Madeye Moody

â€Å"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures†¦damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins†¦.† â€Å"Double Divination this afternoon,† Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying. â€Å"You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?† said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. â€Å"Then you’d be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.† â€Å"You’re eating again, I notice,† said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. â€Å"I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,† said Hermione haughtily. â€Å"Yeah†¦and you were hungry,† said Ron, grinning. There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and gray. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something. On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn’t even got his letter? His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid. â€Å"Bubotubers,† Professor Sprout told them briskly. â€Å"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. â€Å"Pus, Finnigan, pus,† said Professor Sprout, â€Å"and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.† Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. â€Å"This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,† said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. â€Å"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.† â€Å"Like poor Eloise Midgen,† said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. â€Å"She tried to curse hers off.† â€Å"Silly girl,† said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. â€Å"But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.† A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. â€Å"Mornin’!† Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Be’er wait fer the Slytherins, they won’ want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!† â€Å"Come again?† said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates. â€Å"Eurgh!† squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward. â€Å"Eurgh† just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches. â€Å"On’y jus’ hatched,† said Hagrid proudly, â€Å"so yeh’ll be able ter raise ’em yerselves! Thought we’d make a bit of a project of it!† â€Å"And why would we want to raise them?† said a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question. â€Å"I mean, what do they do?† asked Malfoy. â€Å"What is the point of them?† Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds’ pause, then he said roughly, â€Å"Tha’s next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus’ feedin’ ’em today. Now, yeh’ll wan’ ter try ’em on a few diff’rent things – I’ve never had ’em before, not sure what they’ll go fer – I got ant eggs an’ frog livers an’ a bit o’ grass snake – just try ’em out with a bit of each.† â€Å"First pus and now this,† muttered Seamus. Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn’t suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn’t seem to have mouths. â€Å"Ouch!† yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. â€Å"It got me.† Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. â€Å"Its end exploded!† said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand. â€Å"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off,† said Hagrid, nodding. â€Å"Eurgh!† said Lavender Brown again. â€Å"Eurgh, Hagrid, what’s that pointy thing on it?† â€Å"Ah, some of ’em have got stings,† said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). â€Å"I reckon they’re the males†¦.The females’ve got sorta sucker things on their bellies†¦.I think they might be ter suck blood.† â€Å"Well, I can certainly see why we’re trying to keep them alive,† said Malfoy sarcastically. â€Å"Who wouldn’t want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?† â€Å"Just because they’re not very pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re not useful,† Hermione snapped. â€Å"Dragon blood’s amazingly magical, but you wouldn’t want a dragon for a pet, would you?† Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew only too well – he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal, the better. â€Å"Well, at least the skrewts are small,† said Ron as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. â€Å"They are now,† said Hermione in an exasperated voice, â€Å"but once Hagrid’s found out what they eat, I expect they’ll be six feet long.† â€Å"Well, that won’t matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?† said Ron, grinning slyly at her. â€Å"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up,† said Hermione. â€Å"As a matter of fact I think he’s right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all.† They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. â€Å"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?† said Ron. â€Å"You’re going to make yourself puke instead?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. â€Å"I just want to get to the library.† â€Å"What?† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"Hermione – it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!† Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, â€Å"See you at dinner!† and departed at high speed. When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. â€Å"Good day,† said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. â€Å"You are preoccupied, my dear,† she said mournfully to Harry. â€Å"My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas†¦most difficult†¦I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦.and perhaps sooner than you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. â€Å"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars,† she said. â€Å"The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle†¦.† But Harry’s thoughts had drifted. The perfumed fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, and Professor Trelawney’s rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – though he couldn’t help thinking about what she had just said to him. â€Å"I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn’t dreading anything at the moment at all†¦well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught†¦but what did Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortunetelling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again†¦and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him. â€Å"Harry!† Ron muttered. â€Å"What?† Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. â€Å"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,† said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. â€Å"Born under – what, sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!† said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn’t riveted by this news. â€Å"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth†¦.Your dark hair†¦your mean stature†¦tragic losses so young in life†¦I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"I was born in July.† Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. â€Å"I’ve got two Neptunes here,† said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, â€Å"that can’t be right, can it?† â€Å"Aaaaah,† said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney’s mystical whisper, â€Å"when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry†¦.† Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown – â€Å"Oh Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that, Professor?† â€Å"It is Uranus, my dear,† said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. â€Å"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?† said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of the class. â€Å"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart,† she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. â€Å"I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!† â€Å"Miserable old bat,† said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. â€Å"That’ll take all weekend, that will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lots of homework?† said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. â€Å"Professor Vector didn’t give us any at all!† â€Å"Well, bully for Professor Vector,† said Ron moodily. They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them. â€Å"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. â€Å"What?† said Ron shortly. â€Å"Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!† said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. â€Å"Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.† Malfoy looked up. â€Å"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?† he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on: Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers (â€Å"policemen†) over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of â€Å"Mad-Eye† Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody’s heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene. â€Å"And there’s a picture, Weasley!† said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. â€Å"A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn’t she?† Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. â€Å"Get stuffed, Malfoy,† said Harry. â€Å"C’mon, Ron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?† â€Å"You know your mother, Malfoy?† said Harry – both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy – â€Å"that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?† Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. â€Å"Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.† â€Å"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,† said Harry, turning away. BANG! Several people screamed – Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he’d even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall. â€Å"OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!† Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry – at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. â€Å"Did he get you?† Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly. â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"missed.† â€Å"LEAVE IT!† Moody shouted. â€Å"Leave – what?† Harry said, bewildered. â€Å"Not you – him!† Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody’s rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons. â€Å"I don’t think so!† roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. â€Å"I don’t like people who attack when their opponent’s back’s turned,† growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. â€Å"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. â€Å"Never – do – that – again -† said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. â€Å"Professor Moody!† said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. â€Å"Hello, Professor McGonagall,† said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. â€Å"What – what are you doing?† said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret’s progress through the air. â€Å"Teaching,† said Moody. â€Å"Teach – Moody, is that a student?† shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. â€Å"Yep,† said Moody. â€Å"No!† cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. â€Å"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!† said Professor McGonagall wealdy. â€Å"Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?† â€Å"He might’ve mentioned it, yeah,† said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, â€Å"but I thought a good sharp shock -â€Å" â€Å"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender’s Head of House!† â€Å"I’ll do that, then,† said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike. Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words â€Å"my father† were distinguishable. â€Å"Oh yeah?† said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. â€Å"Well, I know your father of old, boy†¦.You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son†¦you tell him that from me†¦.Now, your Head of House’ll be Snape, will it?† â€Å"Yes,† said Malfoy resentfully. â€Å"Another old friend,† growled Moody. â€Å"I’ve been looking forward to a chat with old Snape†¦.Come on, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he seized Malfoy’s upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. â€Å"Don’t talk to me,† Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. â€Å"Why not?† said Hermione in surprise. â€Å"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,† said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. â€Å"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.† Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. â€Å"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,† she said. â€Å"It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione!† said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, â€Å"you’re ruining the best moment of my life!† Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again. â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going back to the library this evening?† said Harry, watching her. â€Å"Got to,† said Hermione thickly. â€Å"Loads to do.† â€Å"But you told us Professor Vector -â€Å" â€Å"It’s not schoolwork,† she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. â€Å"Moody!† he said. â€Å"How cool is he?† â€Å"Beyond cool,† said George, sitting down opposite Fred. â€Å"Supercool,† said the twins’ best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. â€Å"We had him this afternoon,† he told Harry and Ron. â€Å"What was it like?† said Harry eagerly. Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. â€Å"Never had a lesson like it,† said Fred. â€Å"He knows, man,† said Lee. â€Å"Knows what?† said Ron, leaning forward. â€Å"Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,† said George impressively. â€Å"Doing what?† said Harry. â€Å"Fighting the Dark Arts,† said Fred. â€Å"He’s seen it all,† said George. â€Å"‘Mazing,† said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his schedule. â€Å"We haven’t got him till Thursday!† he said in a disappointed voice. Chapter 13 Madeye Moody â€Å"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures†¦damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins†¦.† â€Å"Double Divination this afternoon,† Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying. â€Å"You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?† said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. â€Å"Then you’d be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.† â€Å"You’re eating again, I notice,† said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. â€Å"I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,† said Hermione haughtily. â€Å"Yeah†¦and you were hungry,† said Ron, grinning. There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and gray. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something. On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn’t even got his letter? His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid. â€Å"Bubotubers,† Professor Sprout told them briskly. â€Å"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. â€Å"Pus, Finnigan, pus,† said Professor Sprout, â€Å"and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.† Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. â€Å"This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,† said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. â€Å"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.† â€Å"Like poor Eloise Midgen,† said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. â€Å"She tried to curse hers off.† â€Å"Silly girl,† said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. â€Å"But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.† A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. â€Å"Mornin’!† Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Be’er wait fer the Slytherins, they won’ want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!† â€Å"Come again?† said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates. â€Å"Eurgh!† squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward. â€Å"Eurgh† just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches. â€Å"On’y jus’ hatched,† said Hagrid proudly, â€Å"so yeh’ll be able ter raise ’em yerselves! Thought we’d make a bit of a project of it!† â€Å"And why would we want to raise them?† said a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question. â€Å"I mean, what do they do?† asked Malfoy. â€Å"What is the point of them?† Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds’ pause, then he said roughly, â€Å"Tha’s next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus’ feedin’ ’em today. Now, yeh’ll wan’ ter try ’em on a few diff’rent things – I’ve never had ’em before, not sure what they’ll go fer – I got ant eggs an’ frog livers an’ a bit o’ grass snake – just try ’em out with a bit of each.† â€Å"First pus and now this,† muttered Seamus. Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn’t suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn’t seem to have mouths. â€Å"Ouch!† yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. â€Å"It got me.† Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. â€Å"Its end exploded!† said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand. â€Å"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off,† said Hagrid, nodding. â€Å"Eurgh!† said Lavender Brown again. â€Å"Eurgh, Hagrid, what’s that pointy thing on it?† â€Å"Ah, some of ’em have got stings,† said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). â€Å"I reckon they’re the males†¦.The females’ve got sorta sucker things on their bellies†¦.I think they might be ter suck blood.† â€Å"Well, I can certainly see why we’re trying to keep them alive,† said Malfoy sarcastically. â€Å"Who wouldn’t want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?† â€Å"Just because they’re not very pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re not useful,† Hermione snapped. â€Å"Dragon blood’s amazingly magical, but you wouldn’t want a dragon for a pet, would you?† Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew only too well – he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal, the better. â€Å"Well, at least the skrewts are small,† said Ron as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. â€Å"They are now,† said Hermione in an exasperated voice, â€Å"but once Hagrid’s found out what they eat, I expect they’ll be six feet long.† â€Å"Well, that won’t matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?† said Ron, grinning slyly at her. â€Å"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up,† said Hermione. â€Å"As a matter of fact I think he’s right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all.† They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. â€Å"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?† said Ron. â€Å"You’re going to make yourself puke instead?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. â€Å"I just want to get to the library.† â€Å"What?† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"Hermione – it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!† Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, â€Å"See you at dinner!† and departed at high speed. When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. â€Å"Good day,† said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. â€Å"You are preoccupied, my dear,† she said mournfully to Harry. â€Å"My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas†¦most difficult†¦I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦.and perhaps sooner than you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. â€Å"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars,† she said. â€Å"The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle†¦.† But Harry’s thoughts had drifted. The perfumed fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, and Professor Trelawney’s rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – though he couldn’t help thinking about what she had just said to him. â€Å"I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn’t dreading anything at the moment at all†¦well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught†¦but what did Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortunetelling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again†¦and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him. â€Å"Harry!† Ron muttered. â€Å"What?† Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. â€Å"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,† said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. â€Å"Born under – what, sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!† said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn’t riveted by this news. â€Å"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth†¦.Your dark hair†¦your mean stature†¦tragic losses so young in life†¦I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"I was born in July.† Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. â€Å"I’ve got two Neptunes here,† said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, â€Å"that can’t be right, can it?† â€Å"Aaaaah,† said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney’s mystical whisper, â€Å"when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry†¦.† Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown – â€Å"Oh Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that, Professor?† â€Å"It is Uranus, my dear,† said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. â€Å"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?† said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of the class. â€Å"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart,† she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. â€Å"I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!† â€Å"Miserable old bat,† said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. â€Å"That’ll take all weekend, that will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lots of homework?† said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. â€Å"Professor Vector didn’t give us any at all!† â€Å"Well, bully for Professor Vector,† said Ron moodily. They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them. â€Å"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. â€Å"What?† said Ron shortly. â€Å"Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!† said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. â€Å"Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.† Malfoy looked up. â€Å"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?† he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on: Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers (â€Å"policemen†) over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of â€Å"Mad-Eye† Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody’s heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene. â€Å"And there’s a picture, Weasley!† said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. â€Å"A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn’t she?† Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. â€Å"Get stuffed, Malfoy,† said Harry. â€Å"C’mon, Ron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?† â€Å"You know your mother, Malfoy?† said Harry – both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy – â€Å"that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?† Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. â€Å"Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.† â€Å"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,† said Harry, turning away. BANG! Several people screamed – Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he’d even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall. â€Å"OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!† Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry – at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. â€Å"Did he get you?† Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly. â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"missed.† â€Å"LEAVE IT!† Moody shouted. â€Å"Leave – what?† Harry said, bewildered. â€Å"Not you – him!† Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody’s rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons. â€Å"I don’t think so!† roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. â€Å"I don’t like people who attack when their opponent’s back’s turned,† growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. â€Å"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. â€Å"Never – do – that – again -† said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. â€Å"Professor Moody!† said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. â€Å"Hello, Professor McGonagall,† said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. â€Å"What – what are you doing?† said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret’s progress through the air. â€Å"Teaching,† said Moody. â€Å"Teach – Moody, is that a student?† shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. â€Å"Yep,† said Moody. â€Å"No!† cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. â€Å"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!† said Professor McGonagall wealdy. â€Å"Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?† â€Å"He might’ve mentioned it, yeah,† said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, â€Å"but I thought a good sharp shock -â€Å" â€Å"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender’s Head of House!† â€Å"I’ll do that, then,† said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike. Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words â€Å"my father† were distinguishable. â€Å"Oh yeah?† said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. â€Å"Well, I know your father of old, boy†¦.You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son†¦you tell him that from me†¦.Now, your Head of House’ll be Snape, will it?† â€Å"Yes,† said Malfoy resentfully. â€Å"Another old friend,† growled Moody. â€Å"I’ve been looking forward to a chat with old Snape†¦.Come on, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he seized Malfoy’s upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. â€Å"Don’t talk to me,† Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. â€Å"Why not?† said Hermione in surprise. â€Å"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,† said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. â€Å"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.† Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. â€Å"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,† she said. â€Å"It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione!† said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, â€Å"you’re ruining the best moment of my life!† Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again. â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going back to the library this evening?† said Harry, watching her. â€Å"Got to,† said Hermione thickly. â€Å"Loads to do.† â€Å"But you told us Professor Vector -â€Å" â€Å"It’s not schoolwork,† she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. â€Å"Moody!† he said. â€Å"How cool is he?† â€Å"Beyond cool,† said George, sitting down opposite Fred. â€Å"Supercool,† said the twins’ best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. â€Å"We had him this afternoon,† he told Harry and Ron. â€Å"What was it like?† said Harry eagerly. Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. â€Å"Never had a lesson like it,† said Fred. â€Å"He knows, man,† said Lee. â€Å"Knows what?† said Ron, leaning forward. â€Å"Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,† said George impressively. â€Å"Doing what?† said Harry. â€Å"Fighting the Dark Arts,† said Fred. â€Å"He’s seen it all,† said George. â€Å"‘Mazing,† said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his schedule. â€Å"We haven’t got him till Thursday!† he said in a disappointed voice.

Paper about Finance Debt, Derivative, and speculation on financial Essay

Paper about Finance Debt, Derivative, and speculation on financial instruments - Essay Example Debt financing is a tool employed by firms to raise capital and expenditure funds through sale of bonds, notes or bills to investors who may be institutions or individuals. The buyers are promised repayment of the principal plus interest on their investment and as such are creditors to the selling firms. The term ‘debt financing’ may carry some negative look but this tool of financing is really helpful in raising starting business to run operations. Even firms with very healthy balance sheets resort to raising working capital through debts. It is also known as leverage in financial terms. When used well debt financing may help firms take advantage of lower interest rates from financial institutions and as such obtain cheap capital. The firm has therefore obtained capital readily, is repaying at lower interest rates and the repayment is spread over a period of time. If carefully employed debt financing is a sure way to obtain capital and maintain ownership. After the obtaining funds from the lender the only obligation is to repay back with interest. The borrower has the advantage as they invest the funds in their business without any interference. Firms also enjoy the benefits of tax deductions on the borrowed funds as well as the interest hence if carefully invested debt financing is a cheap source of capital. However debt financing may come with negative effects if misused; the borrower is obligate to repay regardless of the macro-economic environment hence it can result in to bankruptcy and legal suits. The borrowed funds also have to be repaid with interest and it affects a company’s credit score. Another financial tool in the world of business involves financial derivatives. This instrument of finance is associated with an indicator of finance or a commodity and through these certain financial risks

Philosophical discussion with a film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Philosophical discussion with a film - Essay Example The creation of an ideal superman and the philosophy of fighting for the good fo all and even killing for the same despite all personal feelings comprise the final theme of the movie. The ending might be controversial in some respects but the paper will defend his actions apart from relating my personal feelings regarding the same. The superman shows us a controversial philosophy of dealing with injustice with a bold face and taking the toughest decision of killing for good. The very concept behind the creation of a superman lies in something greater than human. But greater than human in what way is the main concern, i.e. should a superman be born with a bigger and wiser outlook towards life? Do we want to see him as more physically powerful than normal human beings or more psychological strong or be extremely benevolent and kind hearted which we are not capable of. We see a superman in our eyes and in our ways. My idea of a superman is someone who is extremely powerful and can easil y kill but will not kill and show his power unnecessarily. The provocation to show his power should be extremely strong in order to actually pour out his strength and go for a killing. Here the superman fits this criteria perfectly well and kills for a reason bigger than personal benefit. So here the superman is kind hearted and shows personal feelings for the loss like other human beings but he knows what is good for the world and does exactly that without being concerned about his personal gains. It is important to give ample chance to the victim for rectifying his mistakes and the superhero did the same too unlike he ormal state laws where a criminal is arrested and might be shot down without giving a fair chance for correction. So he is above the conventions and reason of human law. At this point I believe the Man of Steel satisfies the audience psychologically in being the super hero. A true hero whom people can idolize and worship and most importantly learn from under similar circumstances. This summer we got the pleasure to satisfy our fantasy instinct through the hero of the superheroes none other than Superman. Though the title Man of Steel nowhere reflects any indications of Superman in it, but the title itself re-boots the idea of the mystery and re-imagination of the background within it. This movie is the idea of a new version of the ever imaginative Superman story. Director Zack Synder tried to unfold his imagination which audience wants to see in their real life. Now there are several questions which has been arrived. Critics have various points to rate a film. This gets a first critical view in the aspect that it shows superman in a totally different aspect. The major critic that took place is that superman here is very serious, conservative, always frustrated, chiseled and handsome but not interested in any kind of romantic affairs. He is always trying to defend the planet earth from the evil eyes of Krypton another imaginary planet from where actually superman belongs to. But as he became the son of the earth and got attached with the upbringing atmosphere he now took this as a duty to protect earth from any bad force. Many critics have complained about the movie that the movie has too much action which was not actually required. But according to my point of view I will say that though it was full of action but the use of the plot was good and effective. This is because I think the director wanted to

To Sin by Silence When They Sould Protest Makes Cowards of Men Essay Example for Free

To Sin by Silence When They Sould Protest Makes Cowards of Men Essay To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world†¦would do this, it would change the earth said William Faulkner. Being suppressed by an entity powerful then us we lose the courage to use our tongue and that is the thing what makes us a coward. When an individual refrains from voicing his/her beliefs and becomes a passive observer of endless oppression he/she is as guilty of the crime as the oppressor. Standing your ground for what is right is, thus, our moral obligation and efforts which are taken in distress are never gone in vain. Injustices in the world would never be hindered if there was no one to stop them. Take a look around and see innumerous people suffering, some being killed because of sectarian differences, some being crucified like goats because of the greed of power. Thousands have been killed in Quetta, million lives have been shattered and they have been forced to spend their whole lives to shoulder a heavy burden which is not theirs to carry. Acceptance of their misery is perverse when there is a way out. Individuals who are uninvolved witnesses to their heartache are obliged to speak up and help the victims attain their rights. As Shakespeare commented, in the time of crisis, I was not hurt by the harsh words of my enemies, but by the silence of my friends. (Simple secrets to a positive attitude) . Stepping up for someone is not just supported by the heartwarming words of a thousand minds but also by the legal system, which tells us that the court trial requires witnesses without which a criminal doesnt get the penalty he/she deserves. Without anyone courageous enough to testify against a crime justice can never be rise. The oppressor would continue with the transgression unhindered. Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly said Gandhi. History embarks us with a series of intense and astonishing events which enlightens us with what the strength of our voice can achieve if we stand as one. It all started in 1977 when a body of people initiated the demonstrations to overthrow the Pahlavi Dynasty under Shah Mohammad Raza Pahlavi. Tired of watching their rights being snatched out of their hands and their assets  being taken away by their hypocrite leader to feed America and United Kingdom whose support he had. The movement turned into a campaign of civil resistance, it intensified in 1978 and with their determined leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, they were able to overthrow the existing government in 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini emerged as a victorious leader. The Shah left Iran in January 1979 and the era of falsehood and injustice dissolved. An entire nation got their fundamental rights because the witnesses to the oppression werent apathetic enough to let this injustice prevail. Despite the pernicious circumstances a voice which is raised to call out for justice has never gone feckless. Justice is a long and beautiful road. Being scared of the fact that your call for help would never reach the ears of the considerate is just an excuse we use to sneak through the blames for being equally responsible for the prevailing injustice around us. It makes us equally responsible for the situation up surging around us and As Leonardo Da Vinci summed it, â€Å"Nothing strengthens authority so Much as silence. Being so threatened by the fear of being suppressed, we ignore how the enemy stumbles each time we raise our voice, drowned in this hopelessness makes us ignore the shaking authority of the enemy. Realizing the strength of your voice is the first step towards justice, no matter if at the end you are bruised you should realize that the enemy is not in its best shape either and if you can put them in this hideous situation and break their pride, that is nothing short than a victory. No step taken for the right act has ever become a lost cause. The public needs to express the disapproval of the biased policies in order to make way for new concepts and that can only be done by getting on the road of justice, which can never go to waste. The revolutions and protests which were, though, unable to achieve their destined aim were able to smash the authority of enemy into pieces. Many Czechs might recall the events of 1968 with brackishness and as a defeat by the soviet tanks, and the uprisings reformist leader, Alexander Dubcek. But agreed by many, it was a political awakening. Standing as one in a wave of protests, that great of global rebellion, the demonstration was a cry for liberty, both raw and sophisticated, by the people against the forces of Moscow. Prague, an activist, reporting on this event stated, â€Å"a tank was a tank no matter what color it wore and our moment was a color of liberty against whomsoever it pitched itself, communist or capitalist (Prague spring and uprising 1968). Though, many would agree that enduring the pain is the key to freedom. But for how long can you seal your lips when you know you are being wronged? Unlimited patience is not a virtue that most humans can withstand. The anger would keep building inside you until you reach your limit of patience and burst. The feeling of anger and revenge can lead to individual taking innumerous regrettable steps. History sheds light on the French Revolution which is looked at as, by many, an event which was won by the revolution yet the humanity lost at that very instance. It was the bloodiest shift from monarchy to democracy where every leader was beheaded on the guillotine by the poor and oppressed factions of society. Hundreds of innocent men were killed. To prevent such situations from arising people should be given a chance to express their feelings right from the beginning and planned protests should be carried out to promote amongst the people a sense of freedom of expression. Knowing one has a safety valve to vent the steam a build-up of pressure and a violent outburst is unlikely to occur. Dictatorships where protests are banned are overthrown through revolutions whereas democracies evolve overtime where individuals have freedom of expression and freedom to vote. However there are exceptions to this idea. The Stockholm syndrome highlighted that there are some individuals who develop affectionate feelings toward their oppressors as a gradual acceptance of their situation settles in. Though this approach ignores the psychological impact these people suffers. Their judgment abilities are affected and they might not even be able to distinguish between what is beneficial for them and what is harmful. They tend to lack confidence in all aspects of life and are always shy when it comes to expressing themselves. Such people can be deteriorated by anyone and will never be able to work out their true rights. They might become less human as our thinking ability is what makes us human in the first place. For instance, we cant conceive the immense psychological breakdown a women of lower class endures in Pakistan. A woman facing constant abuse from her husband would gradually accept it as her fate. As it is hammered in her head that it is her duty, being a woman, to praise that. She would never speak up no matter what is done to disrupt her life and she would even lose the courage to help the victims floating on the same boat as her. Thus confidence and freedom of expression along with awareness is essential in making an individual a positive contributor to the society. It is believed by many that the best defense to oppression is the patience to endure the hardships. No harm would be done and no wars will break out. But what is the worth of this meaningless life when the sole purpose of the life itself is taken away from you? When even if you are breathing there is a little part of you that is dying inside. Each day you get off the bed, you lose the courage and the guts to speak your heart out. Setting someone right and standing for what you deserve is worth fighting for. Dying is better than living a life miserably. Not standing up for what we truly believe in is what makes us a coward and we will always gain from being vocal instead of covering our eyes when injustice and the immoral practices prevail. As Bob Marley said it in his own style , get up stand up, stand up for your right, get up stand up dont give up the fight.

Essays --

Many diverse cultures exist across the globe, differing in several aspects, such as beliefs, practices, and values. An example of two cultures that demonstrate dissimilar values are Ancient Anglo-Saxon and Ancient Mesopotamian. These two cultures are known to have expressed opposing heroic values. Two texts that can be accurately used in this comparison are Beowulf, an Ancient Anglo-Saxon text, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, an Ancient Mesopotamian text. Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage. Beowulf was a true hero, in the eyes of many, through said traits. He fought a number of battles and was triumphant in all, except his last battle. Beowulf possessed the skills and power necessary to kill Grendel, the monster who had been terrorizing the Danes for over a decade, with his bare hands. While fighting, Beowulf detached Grendel’s arm from his shoulder, which was later hung up as a trophy. Beowulf eventually put an end to Grendel’s life, and naturally, Grendel’s mother had pursued Beowulf. Although Grendel’s mother was an even deadlier monster than her son, Beowulf once again proved his abilities by slaying her, as well. He slashed her neck with a sword that carried unbearable weight. Afterwards, he carried her head with only his own arms, while it took the a... ...concerns was fame. He only wanted to build his name. Another way in which Gilgamesh did not demonstrate the same heroic values as Beowulf is the fact that he was not fearless. He was afraid of his own death. We witnessed this after Enkidu died, when he set out on his journey to gain immortality. In both Ancient Anglo-Saxon and Ancient Mesopotamian cultures, works of literature portray heroes such Beowulf and Gilgamesh, and the heroic values that they possessed. The heroes, Beowulf and Gilgamesh, had both similar and dissimilar heroic values, however, Beowulf was by far a better hero than Gilgamesh. While Beowulf and Gilgamesh both possessed remarkable strength and courage, Beowulf was fearless and selfless, which makes him a true hero. After comparing the two texts, it is fair to say that Ancient Anglo-Saxons abide by stricter guidelines in terms of heroic values.

Eliminative Materialism

Explain Eliminative Materialism. Explain an argument in its favor. Does the Argument succeed? In this paper I will discuss Eliminative Materialism, a theory in philosophy of mind. First I will explain the term theory-theory, next Folk Psychology, as a theory will be discussed. Then, I will clarify the failure of Folk Psychology as per Eliminative Materialism. Last, I will explain an argument in favor of Eliminative Materialism. Finally, I will elucidate whether the argument succeeds or fails. Functionally, a theory must make predictions, interpret evidence in new ways, and provide explanations of phenomena in its domain [http://www. iep. utm. edu/th-th-co/]. Science contains an ample amount of theories. For example, the theory of evolution in biology makes the prediction that all life forms arose from a common ancestor. In the event that a new species is to be discovered the theory of evolution can, based on its careful observations and classifications of life forms, predict the ancestors of the newly discovered species. The theory of evolution does provide adequate explanation of phenomena in its domain; hence it is a successful theory. â€Å"The term â€Å"Theory-Theory† derives from Adam Morton (1980), who proposed that our everyday understanding of human psychology constitutes a kind of theory by which we try to predict and explain behavior in terms of its causation by beliefs, intentions, emotions, traits of character, and so on†[http://www. iep. uwtm. edu/th-th-co/]. The hypothesized theory of human behavior is â€Å"Folk Psychology†. Folk Psychology provides explanations of human behavior, which is contingent on other mental states, like: desires, beliefs, fears, perceptions and so forth [Paul Churchland]. Hence, Folk Psychology has numerous mental states in its domain for which it provides explanations. To provide explanation of phenomenon and predictions Folk Psychology and other scientific theories use deductive nomological (law-like) explanations (Campbell). This is according to Paul Churchland. Here is an example of a deductive nomological explanation of fear-behavior as per Folk Psychology: People who are exposed to something scary tend to be scared. People who tend to be scared shriek â€Å"Yahhhhooowww† I scared my friend by surprising her Therefore, My friend said â€Å"Yahhhhooowww† Deductive nomological predictions can be attained my manipulating the tenses. According to Paul Churchland Folk Psychology has become such an integral and seemingly natural part of our way of dealing with one another; we overlook its theoretical status. Another reason for its seamless integration is the fact that Folk Psychology is an empirical revisionary theory. â€Å"It is so obviously a theory†¦ The structural features of Folk Psychology parallel perfectly those of mathematical physics; the only difference lies in the respective domain of abstract entities they exploit-numbers in the case of physics, and propositions in the case of psychology†(Churchland) Being an empirical revisionary theory Folk Psychology excepts far more generalizations/exceptions than do other reputable theories (Campbell). Now that we have seen that Folk Psychology shares theoretical underpinnings with actual scientific theories what is next? According to an Eliminative Materialist then Folk Psychology can be disproven/eliminated. The preceding also suggests that Folk Psychology is not innate (knowledge that is a priori) as we might believe. That our commonsense psychological framework may be completely erroneous. – â€Å"The presumed domain of folk psychology used to be much larger than it is now. In primitive cultures, the behavior of most of the elements of nature were understood in intentional term. The wind could know anger†¦ † Churchland – The above shows reduction of the domain over the course of the years of folk psychology â€Å"Given that folk psychology is an empirical theory, it is at least an abstract possibility that its principles are radically false and that its ontology is an illusion. â€Å"(Churchland) Our Ontology is the catalogue of all things we believe actually exist in the universe. Campbell) â€Å"Born of innocence and tunnel vision† Churchland To measure Folk Psychology's success â€Å"we must evaluate Folk Psychology with regard to its coherence and continuity with fertile and well-established theories in adjacent domains-with evolutionary theory, biology, and neuroscience. † (Churchland). – Mention the failings of Folk Psychology here. Specific example the process of learning. If folk psychology is something that is itself learned then folk psychology would thus appear incapable of even addressing how one learns. Folk psychology then comes across a theory that is at best a highly superficial theory, a partial and unpenetrating gloss on a deeper and more complex reality. A reality that can be uncovered only by mature neuroscience. – If we approach homo sapiens from the perspective of natural history and the physical sciences, we can tell a coherent story of his constitution, development, and behavioral capacities which encompasses†¦ That story, though still radically incomplete, is already extremely powerful, outperforming Folk Psychology at many points even in its own domain. – â€Å"On why is Folk Psychology hard to get rid of: Folk Psychology is a central part of our current lebenswelt, and serves as the principle vehicle of our interpersonal commerce. Foe these facts provide folk psychology with a conceptual inertia that goes far beyond its purely theoretical virtues. Folk psychology's categories appear (so far) to be incommensurable with or orthogonal to the categories of the background physical science whose long-term claim to explain human behavior seems undeniable. What is Folk Psychology? Folk Psychology is the common-sense understanding of mental states [Stanford]. By â€Å"common-sense understanding† it is meant that mental states are not discerned in a scientific manner. Folk psychology encompasses the explanation and the prediction of behavior, the other-minds problem, the nature of i ntrospection

Language Slang

Language is one of those spheres of human activity that are the first to bring reaction to social and other kinds of changes in human life and activities. Language may even not only follow or accompany these changes but also cause them. Every social or political change, revolution, innovation, introduction of new words and terms is reflected in newspaper publications. A great number of people, over 70%, read newspapers everyday[1 5]. Andto keep such a large number of people reading, the newspaper must be easy to read and understand. Using a type of speech that people se everyday is an easy way to accomplish that.Using colloquial speech should also be used depending on the audience that is reading a newspaper article[1 1,125-126]. Colloquial speech should also be used if an article is written for children or teenagers. A teenager would better relate to â€Å"Hey, what's up? † than â€Å"Greetings. How are you this fine September afternoon? † Because they can relate to it , they are more likely to understand the text and keep on reading. Not only teenagers and children use this type of language. Many adults still use words like â€Å"radar† and â€Å"e-mail†; either of them are formal English[1 5].That is why the theme of this term paper is of a great importance. The relevance of the term paper iscaused bypermanent development of language. While doing our research we will take into account the works of such scientists as Arnold I. V. , Galperin I. R. , Rayevska N. M, Kukharenko V. A. , Antrushyna H. B. and other scholars, who have already made a great contribution to investigating colloquial vocabulary and newspaper style. The task of this term paper is to present the use of colloquial words in British and American newspapers. The aim of the term paper is to analyze the colloquial vocabulary in English newspapers.To achieve the above mentioned purpose the following objectives are established: to study the theoretical material which is r elated to the topic of the term paper; -to analyze the newspapers of Great Britain and USA with the aim of selecting special colloquial words; -to define the dominant part of colloquial vocabulary prevailing among the newspapers. The object of the term paper is lexical units representing colloquial English vocabulary. The subject of the term paper is the study of the eculiarities of colloquial vocabulary of English newspapers.The material for the study is taken from different newspaper articles in the following British and American newspapers: The Gurdian, The New York Times, The Daily mirror, The Sun. In this term paper thefollowing methods of research have been used: -the method of analysis and synthesis; -descriptive method. The method of analysis is used to break a complex topic into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The method of synthesis is used to combine separate elements of research in order to form a coherent whole. Descriptive method is used o present t he picture of a phenomena under study.

3 Sentences Demonstrating the Power of the Comma

3 Sentences Demonstrating the Power of the Comma 3 Sentences Demonstrating the Power of the Comma 3 Sentences Demonstrating the Power of the Comma By Mark Nichol The three sentences that follow illustrate the importance of the inclusion or omission of a comma can have in easing comprehension of a sentence. 1. After two hours at the bar, Jones said Smith was too drunk to drive, and Smith insisted that Jones take him home. This sentence erroneously implies that two hours after Jones and Smith arrived at a bar, Jones made the statement (to Smith?) that Smith was too drunk to drive; it seems odd that after Jones confronted Smith, the latter would demand a ride home. However, Jones is relating, much later (and to another party), the fact that two hours after they arrived at the bar, Smith was too drunk to drive; his demand for a ride was not in response to a confrontational comment. Inserting a comma after said to make â€Å"Jones said† a parenthetical attribution clarifies that Jones made the statement later, not that night: â€Å"After two hours at the bar, Jones said, Smith was too drunk to drive, and Smith insisted that Jones take him home.† 2. Smith admitted that he knew about the design side, but he didn’t know a whole heck of a lot about the manufacturing side. As written, this sentence suggests that although Smith acknowledged aloud that he was familiar with design, he apparently kept to himself his ignorance of manufacturing. However, though the context is not clear in isolation, Smith gave both pieces of information. In order to communicate that fact, the two components of the sentence must be parallel (â€Å"he admitted this and that†), and the comma must be omitted: â€Å"He admitted that he knew about the design side but he didn’t know a whole heck of a lot about the manufacturing side.† (A repeat of that can be inserted after but, though it is optional.) 3. This is the final known image of actor Robin Williams posing with a fan. This caption accompanying a photograph of Williams and an unidentified person can be read two ways: It is the last one he took with an admirer before his death (and the appearance of another person in the photo is important), or it is the last photograph taken of him before he died (and it just happens that it was taken with a fan). Even out of context, the first interpretation is suspect; unless the article the photo accompanies specifically pertains to the distinction of Williams being photographed with a fan (not likely), it’s almost certain that the fan’s presence in the photo is irrelevant to the distinction of the picture as the last one known to feature Williams before his death, and the phrase â€Å"posing with a fan† should be treated as a dependent clause: â€Å"This is the final known image of actor Robin Williams, posing with a fan.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help†Connotations of 35 Words for Funny PeopleWhat Is a Doctor?

Employment Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employment Discrimination - Essay Example The argument put forward by this commission on behalf of the employee was that the medical disorder she suffered from was classified as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) around January of 2013. This, therefore, provided a basis for valid suing and demand for compensation to the affected person. A close examination of how Cody – the employee was sacked it truly appears to have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act since after she suffered seizures the company required her to go for medical clearance that she complied. The doctors cleared her and found she would still perform her duties effectively but only under a few restrictions. This should have convinced the organization to let her continue with her job and observe the restrictions provided for in the doctor's report. The organization, however, gave her an unpaid leave and went ahead to sack her. The argument of EEOC was in accordance to title 7 if the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was amended in 2009 to include the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages in cases of intentional violation of Title 7, Americans with Disabilities and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act (EEOC, np). In my opinion, after a close analysis of the case, I think the sacking was intentional. This decision is derived from the fact that the organization already had the medical report of the employee before she was relieved of her duties.

A spin on the issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A spin on the issue - Essay Example Military veterans who have suffered a disabling injury during service are neither condescended to nor treated with undue special treatment by being given preferential treatment for jobs and positions through affirmative action. In this case, society is giving preferential to those who have served society and earned, with the price of their health, the opportunity to be placed at the head of the line. While most social groups who are elevated because of affirmative action are given preferential treatment because of something that was a consequence of birth, disabled veterans have earned the spot at the head of the line. According to Hackerott, Kapusta, and Miller (2003), all federal job opportunities must be covered under affirmative action parameters to support the hiring and advancement of disabled veterans. In comparing the purposes of affirmative action to the plight of women and minorities in contrast to giving preferential treatment to those who have served, the purpose of equaling the playing field for woman and minorities is very different than giving honor to those who have served society through military service. Women and minorities have suffered under oppressions that have denied them the same consideration as others, which affirmative action frameworks intended to balance by then requiring those groups to be considered first. The ethical problems that come through these forms of trying to set things right are different than those for disabled veterans. An example of the ethical problems involved in affirmative action initiatives arose during the case the University of California versus Bakke. Mr. Bakke sued the University of California for discriminating against him because he was a white male for not letting him apply under the special admissions program. Bakke won his lawsuit and provided context for arguments against affirmative action in that through the intention of trying to level the playing field in