Analysis of the Twelfth Planet

The Myth of a 12th Planet: A Brief Analysis of Cylinder Seal VA 243 Michael S. Heiser Ph. D. candidate, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages University of Wisconsin-Madison Introduction Readers of Zecharia Sitchin’s books, particularly The 12th Planet, will recognize the above seal, VA 243 (so named because it is number 243 in the collection of the Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin). This seal is the centerpiece of Sitchin’s theory that the Sumerians had advanced astronomical knowledge of the planetary bodies in our solar system.This knowledge was allegedly given to the Sumerians by extraterrestrials, whom Sitchin identifies as the Anunnaki gods of Sumero-Mesopotamian mythology. In the upper left-hand corner of the seal, Sitchin argues, one sees the sun surrounded by eleven globes. Since ancient peoples (including the Sumerians according to Sitchin) held the sun and moon to be â€Å"planets,† these eleven globes plus the sun add up to twelve planets. Of cou rse, since we now know of nine planets plus our sun and moon, part of Sitchin’s argument is that the Sumerians knew of an extra planet beyond Pluto.This extra planet is considered by Sitchin to be Nibiru, an astronomical body mentioned in Mesopotamian texts. Sitchin’s works detail his contention that Nibiru passes through our solar system every 3600 years, and so some believers in Sitchin’s theory contend that Nibiru will return soon. Some followers of Sitchin’s ideas also refer to Nibiru as â€Å"Planet X†. Is Sitchin correct – in whole or in part? Is Nibiru a 12th planet that will soon return? Does VA243 prove his thesis? Unfortunately for Sitchin and his followers, the answer to each of these questions is no. This paper will focus on the heart of his theory, VA243.Nibiru is the subject of another paper on my website. Method and Approach The study of cylinder seals is actually a very specialized sub-discipline within Sumerology and Assyrio logy. a It is possible to determine, through the efforts of cylinder seal specialists of the recent past and current experts, to decisively say that Sitchin’s interpretation of this seal is deeply flawed and lacks scholarly merit. In short, his theory is false and is unsupported by the seal itself. In the discussion that follows, I will demonstrate that VA243 in no way supports Sitchin’s ideas.My reasons / lines of argument for this are: 1) The inscription on the seal (left hand and right hand sides – which are not discussed by Sitchin) says nothing about planets or any element of astronomy. Rather than offering an independent translation, I will defer to authorities on Sumerian seal inscriptions in this regard to avoid any charge of bias. 2) The alleged â€Å"sun† symbol on the seal is not the sun. We know this because it does not conform to the consistent depiction of the sun in hundreds of other cylinder seals and examples of Sumero-Mesopotamian artwor k.I will describe the typical depiction (determined with certainty because it appears with texts about the sun god [Shamash Akkadian, known as Utu in Sumerian]) and provide image examples. Sources are provided for readers to check for themselves. The â€Å"sun† symbol is actually a star (which in Mesopotamian art could have six or, more commonly, eight points). Lest the modern reader retort that â€Å"well, the sun is a star,† I offer several images where the star symbol and the sun symbol (which again, is not that in VA243) are side-by-side and distinct from one another.The Sumerians and Mesopotamians distinguished the sun from stars by using different symbols – and associating each symbol with the sun god and other gods, respectively. There is simply no ancient Sumero-Akkadian evidence to support Sitchin’s identification. 3) If the â€Å"sun† is not the sun, then what are the dots? The dots are also stars, as is best illustrated by the Sumerian-M esopotamian depiction of the Pleaides (seven dots together with reasonable astronomical accuracy since they are visible to the naked eye). b The Pleaides are actually one of the most frequently depicted astronomical features in SumeroMesopotamian art.As Sitchin points out (and this is corroborated by actual scholars in the field – it’s common knowledge), stars were associated with or considered to be heavenly beings – gods. In Sumero-Mesopotamian artwork, a star represents either a god or an astronomical body. The same can be said of the sun – it can either reference the literal sun or the sun god. There are three possibilities as to what VA243 is depicting: (A) It is singling out a deity or special star and associating it with other stars in some sort of zodiacal representation. I don’t consider this likely because there are other far clearer representations of zodiacal constellations.Unless there are clear zodiacal connotations, a star was symbol ic of a deity, which brings us to the second option. (B) More probable is the idea that the central star stands for a deity that has some association with fertility (as in crops) since the inscription describes an offering made by a worshipper (who is named) to a seated god who is associated in the seal with fertile harvest. Since there are two other figures in the seal in addition to the seated god, and one is the offerer, the remaining figure is likely a deity also associated with the offering. In favor of this possibility are the â€Å"implements† aAn excellent general introduction is Dominique Collon, Cylinder Seals. I am not saying the star is depicted amid the Pleiades, only that the artistic depiction of the Pleiades provides an excellent example of â€Å"dots† = stars. The Pleiadean depiction is always seven dots/stars. b shown on the seal with respect to these two figures facing the seated god and the figure’s headdress. Also in its favor is the fact th at there are literally hundreds of such â€Å"offering seals,† and many have a star in upper proximity to the figures’ heads, signifying the figure is a deity (see the example). C) Since the star is surrounded by eleven other stars (dots), the artistic depiction could stand for the lead god of the Mesopotamian divine council and its other eleven (upper tier) members. Recall that (as Sitchin again points out) the Mesopotamian council had 12 members. I have noted before that the 12 member council isn’t always consistent in Mesopotamian religion (at times eight gods are considered the council), but 12 is the more prevalent number. This thesis is attractive, but I can’t say there is much to commend it over option B.The reader might be thinking at this point, â€Å"Well, isn’t the sun god the leader of the pantheon – so if this symbology points to the divine council the center symbol could still be the sun? † This would be an erroneous lin e of thought since in SumeroMesopotamian religion the sun god is NOT the high god; the high god is Anu (later, Marduk), not Shamash. These options are admittedly subjective, but one thing is certain – the â€Å"sun† symbol does not conform to the abundantly frequent symbol for the sun in SumeroMesopotamian art. We are not dealing with a depiction of the solar system.Astronomer Tom van Flandern pointed this out years ago anyway, since the sizes of the â€Å"planets† around the alleged sun do not conform to the correct sizes of the planets and there distances from the pseudo-sun are not depicted in such a way as to depict elliptical (or at least varying) orbits. The link to van Flandern’s critique is on my website. 4) There is not a single text in the entire corpus of Sumerian or Mesopotamian tablets in the world that tells us the Sumerians (or later inhabitants of Mesopotamia) knew there were more than five planets.This is quite a claim, but is demonstrabl e through the work of scholars who specialize in cuneiform astronomy. Below I list all the major works on cuneiform astronomy (catalogues of texts, dissertations / books) and invite readers to check them out of a library and look for themselves. Literally every cuneiform text that has any astronomical comment (even with respect to astrology and omens) has been translated, catalogued, indexed, and discussed in the available academic literature.The tablets are often quite detailed, even discussing mathematical calculations of the appearance of planetary bodies in the sky, on the horizon, and in relation to other stars. The field is by no means new, and is considerably developed. All of the above facets of the discussion are now offered in more detail with bibliography. I. The Inscriptions on VA 243 VA243 has three lines of text (â€Å"line 1† is actually repeated on both sides of the seal):The seal is transliterated (the Sumero-Akkadian signs in English letters) and translated in the principal publication of the Berlin Vorderasiatische Museum’s publication of its seal collection, Vorderasiatische Rollsiegel (â€Å"West Asian Cylinder Seals†; 1940) by Mesopotamian scholar Anton Moortgat on page 101. This book is in German, so I offer the German and an English translation: Line 1 = dub-si-ga â€Å"Dubsiga† [a personal name of an apparently powerful personc] Line 2 = ili-il-la-at â€Å"Ili-illat† [another personal name, this time of the seal’s owner] â€Å"dein Knecht† [German for â€Å"your servant†d] Line 3 = ir3-suSo the full (rather boring) inscription of VA243 reads: â€Å"Dubsiga, Ili-illat, your/his servant. † Nothing in the inscription suggests anything remotely to do with astronomy or planets. In an email correspondence with Dr. Rudi Mayr, whose dissertation was on cylinder seals, Dr. Mayr commented on the inscriptions and the seal [and I interject a few comments in blue]: â€Å"The seated fig ure is a god; the ‘flounced’ garment is normal for deities (though kings start wearing them a little later); deities also have the distinctive headdress. Most scholars call it a ‘horned’ headdress, but I’ve always thought it looked more like flames than horns.Ancient texts often refer to deities having a bright, shining, brilliant aspect [this is true across the ancient near east – witness the â€Å"shining one† terminology I discuss in The Facade and in several papers on my website]; they don’t mention horns . . . The introducing figure also has the ‘horns’ of divinity† [this is a strong contextual argument that the symbol – again, it’s not the â€Å"sun† – to the upper left of the introducing figure is a star. Precisely because they SHINE, stars were associated with deities. Shamash, the sun god, had his own symbol of the sun.See below for what it looked like]. c Personal email com munication on Dubsiga with Dr. Rudi Mayr, whose dissertation was on cylinder seals. Dr. Mayr is also the source of the comment on the second line, which conforms to typical cylinder seal patterns. d Dr. Mayr noted to me in an email that the third line might also read â€Å"his servant†, which was his preference. II. The â€Å"Sun† Symbol This is perhaps the biggest problem with Sitchin’s interpretation of VA243 signifying the solar system. Simply put, if the central symbol in his solar system isn’t the sun, the interpretation collapses completely.There’s actually a good deal of evidence to demonstrate decisively that Sitchin is wrong here. Toward offering that evidence, we’ll first introduce a few general comments on Sumero-Akkadian symbols and move to the specifics. A. General Comments Like all ancient religions, Sumero-Mesopotamian religion had a great concern with heavenly bodies that could be observed with the naked eye. In particular, t he sun, moon, and Venus were important focus points because of their ease of visibility, and each was artistically symbolized and stood for a deity.In Sumer-Mesopotamian religion, the sun god symbology was very clear: Sun god = Shamash (Utu in the Sumerian languagee) The symbol of the sun god in Sumero-Mesopotamian religion was a central circle with four extended â€Å"arms† with wavy lines in between each â€Å"arm† (most common), or a circle with only wavy lines. The entire symbol was itself nearly always [I don’t know any exceptions, but there may be one – just being cautious here] inside a circle, as below:f The reader should note immediately that this is NOT the symbol on VA243.VA 243’s â€Å"pseudo-sun† lacks the wavy lines and is not set inside a circle. This sun symbol is ubiquitous in Sumero-Mesopotamian religious artwork. The other common symbol for the sun god was the god in flight upon a set of wings (a depiction akin to the wing ed disc in Egyptian religion). e See Jeremy Black, Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary (University of Texas Press, in conjunction with the British Museum, 1992): 168. This is an excellent reference source. Dr. Black is a well known Sumerian scholar.He was formerly the Director of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq and is now university lecturer in Akkadian and Sumerian at Wolfson College, Oxford. f See above source, p. 168. The above classic solar disk iconography in Sumero-Mesopotamian religion is contrasted with the star symbol, used to symbolize either stars in constellations, any deity (the star is either over the deity’s head or above it to the left of right), or Ishtar (Sumerian Inana), who stood for Venus, the most visible object in the sky aside from the sun and moon:g Note that this example has eight points.This is the most frequently attested style in Sumero-Mesopotamian religious art. The star also is found with six (l ike VA 243) or seven points, and the points even vary within the same seal or stela carving. It wasn’t consistent in points, but what the symbol stood for was consistent – either a star, planet, or deity – but NOT the sun. The star symbol is either set within a circle or, far more often, not within a circle. It is clearly distinct from the sun symbol. How do I know that the symbol of VA 243 is a star and not the sun disk?Other than the obvious noted above – that VA 243 does not have the wavy lines between the â€Å"arms† of the symbol and is not set within a circle – Sumero-Mesopotamian religion often grouped the symbols for the sun god with that of the moon god (Akkadian = Sin; Sumerian = Nanna) and Ishtar (Sumerian = Inana). This isn’t surprising since they were so readily viewed. In short, they didn’t confuse the symbols and neither should we. This grouped threesome is very prevalent in Sumero-Mesopotamian art, and compels t he observation that the sun symbol and star symbol were distinguished from each other:Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, Tafel 11, Zweite Gruppe, stela â€Å"a† = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, Plate 11, 2nd Group, stela â€Å"a†. Note the wavy lines and encircled sun symbol on the right. Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, Tafel 19, Vierte Gruppe, stela â€Å"b† = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, Plate 19, 4th Group, relief â€Å"b†. Note the wavy lines and encircled sun symbol on the lower right. g See Black, 143. The symbols for sun and star/planet are also distinguished clearly in zodiacal artwork from Mesopotamia:The sun symbol (Left) and star symbol (Right) are next to each other under the snake (Draco). Note the wavy lines of the sun symbol Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 47 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 47 Here is a close-up of the sun (L) and star (R) symbol above. Note that th e star in this case has eight points: A second zodiac example: The sun symbol (center) and star symbol (R of center) are next to each other under the snake’s tail. Note the wavy lines of the sun symbol Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 0 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 60 In the above example, note that: (1) the star has seven points, and (b) the stars below it have six points. Note also that these smaller stars also LACK points – they are just dots. This seven dot/circle arrangement is one of the most common motifs in Mesopotamian art, and denote the Pleiades. The point here is that dots = stars in Mesopotamian art when in an astronomical context (or a context where a deity is identified with a star). This is important for our consideration of VA 243. Again, here is a close-up: A third zodiac example:Note that the star symbol here has six points as does the VA 243 star. Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 23 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 23 Some commentary on this last example is in order. The previous two examples clearly are in zodiac context, as is this one. Those previous two examples clearly have the sun symbol drawn in a manner consistent with expected Sumero-Mesopotamian features (wavy lines, encircled) that unmistakably distinguishes the sun from the star symbol. The star symbol signifies the same astronomical body in each case, yet the number of points varies.This means that the number of points is unimportant for identifying the star symbol as a STAR or planet, NOT the sun. Hence one cannot say, â€Å"well the star symbol usually has eight points, and the Sitchin seal has six, therefore it’s not a star but the sun. † This is erroneous because these examples demonstrate clearly that a star symbol can have 6, 7, or 8 pts. , and LACKS wavy lines. The symbol on Sitchin’s VA 243 is NOT the sun. It is a star, and thus denotes a star, a god, or a single planet. This isn’t my opinion, it’s the Sumero-Mesopotamian art convention.Let’s move on to some cylinder seal examples of star symbols. As noted above, the star was designed to signify a deity or literal star or planet. Here’s an example of a cylinder seal with Ishtar signaled as the deity by a star: Source: Henri Frankfort, Cylinder Seals: A Documentary Essay on the Art and Religion of the Ancient Near East (London: MacMillan and Co. , 1939): Plate XXVI-seal L In this example, the obvious star symbol has eight points, and is very similar in design to the star symbol of VA 243. We know it’s a star and not the sun because the goddess depicted is Ishtar. Another star symbol of very similar design to VA 243 is shown below:i The upper left-hand side of this seal contains the winged sun disk above the head of what scholars refer to as a â€Å"scorpion man† (note his tail). Just to the right of the winged disk is our star symbol. This time the star has seven points, and is quite similar to VA 243. Note as well h See the discussion in Frankfort (pp. 177-178, 236, 254) and Black, p. 168. See also the magisterial survey: E. Douglas van Buren, Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art, Analecta Orientalia 23 (Pontificum Institutum Biblicum, 1945): 8485. Frankfort, Plate XXXIII – seal b. the far upper right corner – the seven stars grouped together are the Pleiades (to which we will return in our discussion). Below are several examples of seals with six pointed stars: (Frankfort, Plate XXXIII – seal d): Comments: Note the six-pointed stars in the upper left and upper right corners. In both cases, note the presence of accompanying â€Å"dots† in groups of seven – again, the Pleiades (the â€Å"extra dot† over the head of the smaller standing figure denotes a deity as it is a star).The seven dots = the seven stars of the Pleiades (the dots were interchangeable with pointed stars to denote stars). A s E. Douglas van Buren, an expert on Sumerian and Mesopotamian art comments: â€Å"In the earliest representations of the 7 dots as yet known it can be seen that . . . they formed a ring or rosette around a central dot . . . [From] the early Babylonian period onwards it is increasingly common to find the 7 dots arranged like stars in the constellation of the Pleiades, and in the last quarter of the second millennium the dots are shaped for the first time as stars. j This observation is important because it demonstrates that the â€Å"pointed star + Pleiades† pattern does not require a certain number of points on the stars. Recall that the same situation was true with the zodiac – it does not matter how many points a star symbol has – it’s a star, not the sun. Another example: j E. Douglas van Buren, â€Å"The Seven Dots in Mesopotamian Art and Their Meaning,† Archiv fur Orientforschung XIII (1941): 277; see also E. Douglas van Buren, Symbols of th e Gods in Mesopotamian Art, 74ff. and E.Douglas van Buren, â€Å"The Rosette in Mesopotamian Art,† Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie and vorderasiatische Archaeologie, new series, vol. 11 (1939, vol. 45 from old series): 104ff. (Frankfort, Plate XXXV – seal h): In this seal the star has six points surrounding a central dot. Note again the Pleiades symbol (see below under the next point on the â€Å"dots† in VA 243). Before leaving the discussion of the star symbol, take note of the close similarity in style between the star on VA 243 that Sitchin says is the sun and the star symbols we have noted above: Frankfort XXXIII-b VA 243Ishtar star Now compare these with the actual sun symbol: III. The Surrounding â€Å"Dots† As I asked in the introduction to this paper, if Sitchin’s â€Å"sun† is not a sun, then what are the dots? The most apparent answer, based on the examples above, is that they too are stars. We have already seen that dots were used t o depict the stars of the Pleiades, and showed that the seven dots = the seven star symbols elsewhere used for the same constellation. We also saw above in the seal of Frankfort Plate XXXIII-d that a single pointed star can be associated with dots which are also stars.It is almost that the â€Å"star + seven dots† symbology is saying, â€Å"constellation = Pleiades. † There is therefore abundant precedent for asserting that these dots in VA243 are stars. It could be that this seal is â€Å"saying†: â€Å"Constellation = the one with 11 stars†. Since I don’t know astronomy well, I’ll let the reader ponder that one. The introduction also noted that the symbology of the seal could just point to a deity and perhaps the divine council. Enough said on that. IV. On Sumerian or Mesopotamian Astronomical KnowledgeIn this regard I offer the reader an opportunity to challenge my assertion above (and I am just quoting specialists in cuneiform astronomic al tablets) that there is not a single text in the entire corpus of Sumerian or Mesopotamian tablets in the world that says the Sumerians or Mesopotamians knew of more than five planets. Below are bibliographical references that anyone can access (the scholarly, dissertation level materials that one needs some knowledge of semitic languages and/or cuneiform, as well as a background in mathematics or astronomy, to really use are noted in their own category).In my paper on Nibiru (available on my website), I’ll briefly go into what the Sumerians and Mesopotamians knew about the planets. For now, though, giving the reader these sources will suffice. General Sources: Francesca Rochberg, â€Å"Astronomy and Calendars in Ancient Mesopotamia,† Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. III, pp. 1925-1940 (ed. , Jack Sasson, 2000) Bartel L. van der Waerden, Science Awakening, vol. 2: The Birth of Astronomy (1974) Technical but Still Readable Wayne Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosm ic Geography (1998) N. M.Swerdlow, Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination (2000) Scholarly (Technical) Resources: Otto Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity (1953) Otto Neugebauer, Astronomical Cuneiform Texts (1955) Erica Reiner and David Pingree, Enuma Elish Enlil Tablet 63, The Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa (1975) Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, MUL. APIN: An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform (1989) Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (1999) N. Swerdlow, The Babylonian Theory of the Planets (1998) David Brown, Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-Astrology (2000)

American Epidemic

In modern times, nobody who reads the newspapers or watches television can avoid the chilling fate that our country faces. School violence is a rapidly growing trend in America, and it seems to be there is nothing we can do to stop it. The offenders are from all races and social classes. They range from the high school hero to the high school dropout. It often seems the only thing they have in common is an utter disregard for their own life and the lives of others. In the following accounts, taken straight from American headlines, harrowing events fit for blockbuster fiction prove that our country is becoming victim to a new criminal: youthful rage. In generations past, the high school rebel was the boy all the girls wanted and all the boys wanted to be. He was the one in the leather jacket who went to class only to make snide remarks, drove too fast, and talked too slow. Jump forward to the end of the twentieth century, and the high school rebel is the boy who students ignore, the one who sits in the back of the classroom and never talks, wears all black and keeps to himself. He is the last student anyone would fear, but probably the most dangerous. He doesn†t want to take advantage of those who are smaller than him, but wants to seek vengeance on those who have hurt him, basically everyone. He, in fact, is sometimes a she. Of course, offenders can†t be classified into one group. Many times it is the last person you would ever imagine. That is the way it happened for Chester Jackson, a Detroit high school football star. Chester was a seventeen-year-old hero, a senior who had reached godlike status due to his work for the school football team. But if you ask his high school friends of their memories of Chester, they will not remember him running down the football field, but running down the hall, trying to save his own life. Like so many students, Chester found it amusing to tease the underclassmen. Particularly a fourteen-year-old freshman boy that was unable to defend himself when Chester and his friends pushed him in his own locker and secured the combination lock for three consecutive classes. That was the event they say made the boy snap. He brought a gun to school the next day, and even with all of his football training, Chester could not run fast enough to save his own life. He was the first student ever killed in a Michigan high school. Unfortunately, Chester†s story is not an isolated incident. School shootings are now a common occurrence. A place that used to be considered a safe haven is now turning into a death trap. Where lockers and drinking fountains used to be found there are now metal detectors and armed guards. Detroit high schools have expelled fifteen students since Chester†s murder inspired them to install metal detectors. Each of the students was carrying a loaded gun. Chester†s death also resulted in the now nation wide Barron Assessment and Counseling Center, a program designed to encourage youths to exchange their weapons for books. Marva Collins, principal of a Chicago Public School, sees the starting of these groups as bittersweet. † (These) Centers are extremely helpful, and have the right idea in mind, but how many children are going to have to die before our nation sits up and pays attention. Will mine be the next? † In 1994, children under 18 were 244% more likely to be killed by guns than they were in 1986. Gun owners of all ages state that their number one reason for owning a handgun is protection from criminals, yet they are 43 times as likely to kill a friend or family member than they are a criminal. In the 1980†³s it appeared that teen pregnancy was going to be the downfall of American society, but as Marion Wright Edelman, president of the children†s advocacy group puts it, † The crisis of children having children has been eclipsed by the greater crisis of children killing children. † Between 1979 and 1993, guns killed more than 60,000 children, a figure greater than the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. Also, a child in the United States is 15 times as likely to die as a result of gunfire than is a child in war-torn Northern Ireland. The statistics only succeed in proving what is becoming incredibly obvious; guns have become the clearest evidence of a growing despair among many American teenagers. As one young man puts it, † That†s just the way it is. Guns are just a part of growing up these days. You fire a gun and you can just feel the power. It†s like yeah. † Who is to blame for the newest American trend? Are parents not paying enough attention to their children? Are schools not educating students on proper anger management? These are both possibilities, but 6 out of 10 people agree: the problem lies in the media. It seems that you cannot attend a movie these days without having to prepare yourself for some degree of violence. Even â€Å"family† movies (those with a G or PG rating) are not immune to it. Television shows are nearly as bad, police dramas run nearly every night during prime time on major networks, exposing millions of young children to things they are not ready to see. The new wave of gangster rap shows young men boasting of killings and beatings, and the people of our country are proving to the corporations that offer these products one major thing; violence sells. Tommy Matola, president of a major music Corporation states â€Å"the things that (these) young men are speaking of are things that they grew up around, that millions of children are still growing up around. Society owes them for exposing a problem that may threaten our national security. † Even a typical cartoon show averages 41 acts of violence each hour, with an attempted murder every 2 minutes. Many parents want the Government to regulate what is available for children to see, but many maintain that it is not their responsibility. As Barry Lynn of the American Civil Liberties Union put it, † If you cannot persuade persons to reject what you consider to be exploitive or unhealthy, do not ask the government to impose your will on those same persons. † Lately, as youth violence has been more scrutinized by the public, many new laws have come into effect. The debate over what to do with juvenile offenders is one that will never be solved, but can be compromised to come up with a good solution. Currently, offenders who appear in juvenile court do not receive a criminal record. Therefore, when a child appears in front of a new judge, he will have no way of knowing how many times the child has convicted the same crime. The law of dismissing children from a criminal record was designed to protect them from stigma and prejudice, but more often there are negative results received not by the child, but by their victim. States have experimented with such things as punishing parents for crimes their children commit, and many have began to charge children accused of major crimes as adults. However, none of these laws have been threatening enough, as fourteen-year-old Arthur Bates has proven. Arthur spent many of his early years in mental facilities, but after it was decided that nobody could help him he was sent home to his mother. One day Arthur chose a house at random and planned on robbing it. Once he got in he realized the owner of the home, Lillian Piper, was asleep inside. Arthur proceeded to rape and kill Miss Piper, and then have a bowl of ice cream from her freezer and drive off in her Cadillac. About an hour later police, to whom he immediately confessed, stopped him. He then told them, â€Å"You can†t do anything to me. I just fourteen. † He was sentenced to seven months in reform school. To many, trying children as adults is the only fit punishment, but it has not been as helpful as its proponents had hoped. Usually, when these children are sent to adult institutions, they are sexually molested and taught new crimes. When the child leaves the institution, which many call their â€Å"crime school,† the child is now more dangerous than he ever had been. There have been many â€Å"crime camps,† instituted with juvenile offenders in mind, as well. At these camps, young offenders take part in â€Å"skills streaming† where they learn new ways to deal with real life situations. Whether any of these options really work is really in the eye of the public, and they cannot seem to agree. As Los Angeles police detective Robert Contreras puts it, â€Å"These kids are getting away with murder. They have no respect for anything and joke that in jail they†ll at least get three square meals a day. † Obviously, it is going to take more than one person to stop what is being called an American epidemic. Every parent, every child, every teacher, and every citizen is going to have to stand up and help achieve a solution. As of now, the students committing these crimes are not only literally getting away with murder but also being glamorized. Maryanne Britain, a Texas student, points out â€Å"I cannot name one of the students that was killed in Colorado, but I know the whole biography of the killers. What sense does that make? † Miss Britain has pointed out something that many of us don†t realize, in our country often times the offenders are mistaken as the victim. We lose sight of the crime at hand and try to blame the problem on society instead of the killers. We are all faced with the same graphic truth, and many of us are able to make it through life without killing anyone. Alone, we cannot accomplish much, but if we stand up to offenders as a nation, we can save the fate that we are now facing. All it will take to save the lives of our generation and many to come is everyone working together. That is when we will take our country back and truly make a difference. Perhaps teamwork can be the nations next epidemic.

A Personal Perspective

Week 3 Hand-in Assignment A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a mobile computer with display circuitry and battery in a single unit. Tablets are equipped with sensors, including cameras, microphone, accelerometer and touch screen, with finger or stylus gestures replacing computer mouse and keyboard. The tablet computer and he associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted In 1915. In 1987. Apple computer started Its tablet project.In 2000 Microsoft coined the term Microsoft Tablet Pc for tablet Pc s built to Microsoft specification. In 2010 Apple introduce the IPad. The IPad has been characterized by some as a tablet computer that mainly focuses on videos, photos, presentation, and Microsoft Office-compatible software for word processing. The iOS 5 was released in October 2011. Samsung Galaxy Tab was also released in September 2010 . Over 80 new tablets were announced to compete with the IPad In January 2011. Companies who announced tablets included: Samsung with a new Galaxy Tab (android 2. ), Motorola with its xoom Tablet (android3. O) Research in motion demonstrating their blackberry playbook, Toshiba with the android 3. 0, Vizio with the tablet and others including Asus, and the startup Company Notion Ink. Many of these tablets are designed to run android 3. 0 honeycomb. An electronic calculator is a small, portable, often inexpensive electronic device used to perform both basic and complex operations of arithmetic, The first known tool used to ald arithmetic alculations was the Abacus, devised by Sumerians and Egyptians before 2000 BC.Computer operating systems as far back as early Unix have included interactive calculator programs such as dc and hoc, and calculator functions are included in almost all PDA-type devices (save a few dedicated address book and dictionary devices). Modern electronic calculato rs contain a keyboard with buttons for digits and arithmetical operations. Some even contain 00 and 000 buttons to make large numbers easier to enter. Most basic calculators assign only one dlglt or operation on each button.However, in more specific calculators, a button can perform multi- function working with key combination or current reckoning mode. In most countries, students use calculators for schoolwork and even financial institutions for caculating money e. g the bank etc . To conclude these systems are different than the systems am currently using today, taking the Tablet for instance we have got lots of brands now and operating systems with Interesting and educative apps .

The Brooklyn Arm of Starbucks Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Brooklyn Arm of Starbucks - Assignment Example Below are the proposed steps: Pre-advertising campaign Understanding the expectations of the target audience is of prime importance. We plan to conduct a random-sample research (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Sampling_%28statistics%29&oldid=226589926 ) on what the Brooklyn people expect at Starbucks. For example, they could want a particular flavor peculiar to them. This will help us to have a strong base on which we can build our branding. Re-branding Starbucks already has a strong brand image. We intend to capitalize on it and give it a regional twist to make the branch an instant success. For this, we plan to work on a new profile, specifically catering to Brooklyn, a new tag-line, and a new menu card. With our pre-advertising campaign, we'd also be able to suggest new flavors based on the peoples' opinions. Media Plan Ad Campaigns Prior to the launch of the branch, we plan to use modes such as flyers and pamphlets that could be given out at busy eat-outs, malls and other areas where people meet. Print Ads Print advertisements have a longer shelf life and people retain information very well. Two weeks before the launch, along-side the pamphlets and the flyers, we could advertise in the local dailies. Launch With the campaigns people will be aware of the date, time, and location of Starbucks Coffee new branch launch. Schedule This section describes the project timeline. S.No. Phase Scope Timeline 1. Phase I Conduct a pre-advertising campaign to understand the community's expectations. August 2008 - October 2008 2. Phase II Re-branding October 2008 - November 2008 3. Phase III Ad campaigns December 2008 4. Phase IV Launch January 2009 Resource Distribution This section will describe the project team... Starbucks already has a strong brand image in New York and plans to capitalize on the same in making its new branch a success. For this, Starbucks requires a local Advertising Agency to work out a complete brand building plan for its launch. We have catered to several clients at Brooklyn by researching and understanding the community. All our projects; print and electronic, have been great successes. Our strength lies in our team of brilliant advertising professionals. Understanding the expectations of the target audience is of prime importance. We plan to conduct a random-sample research (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Sampling_%28statistics%29&oldid=226589926 ) on what the Brooklyn people expect at Starbucks. For example, they could want a particular flavor peculiar to them. This will help us to have a strong base on which we can build our branding. Starbucks already has a strong brand image. We intend to capitalize on it and give it a regional twist to make the branch an instant success. For this, we plan to work on a new profile, specifically catering to Brooklyn, a new tag-line, and a new menu card. With our pre-advertising campaign, we'd also be able to suggest new flavors based on the peoples' opinions. We plan to outsource the pre-advertising campaign to a local marketing research co

Empirical research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Empirical research - Essay Example The researcher should test these predictions using appropriate experiments. The results of these experiments will determine whether the conclusions of the empirical research are logically supported or not, depending on whether the theory that informed the hypothesis and predictions is supported by the results or not. In an empirical research, the conclusions are logical if the evidences that support them are logical and there are proper inferences and hypothesis (Goodwin, 2005). Conclusions that are not logically supported do not invalidate the entire study. It is imperative that a conclusion should be arrived at in a logical way, having followed a systematic approach to conduct research, for a study to be fully valid. However, this does not mean that an entire study will be invalid if the conclusions are not logically supported. There will be some confusion because the conclusions are not logically supported, but the study will still be valid to some extent because the research was based on observations and experiences. If these observations and experiences are not logically supported by the theory that informed the research, it does not mean that the entire research is invalid (Becker & Lazaric,

Identifying the political or social orientation of a viewpoint Research Paper

Identifying the political or social orientation of a viewpoint - Research Paper Example Griffin as well as Mr. Block. President Obama based his recess appointments on or pro United States Constitution. The same constitution’s article II provision states the United States President has the constitutional power to appoint individuals to fill vacancies during the Senate’s recess. In fact, the same article affirms former United States President G. W. Bush appointed 171 individuals when the Senate was in recess to fill up the prevailing vacancies. In the same manner, former United States President B. Clinton appointed 139 individuals during the Senate’s recess to fill up current vacancies. The same article shows former United States President A. Johnson had appointed 14 individuals under the classification of recess appointments during his term. Under the bandwagon logic, if the prior presidents were legally allowed to appoint individuals during the Senate Recess. The recess appointments avoided the confirmation or disapproval of our assigned United States Senators during the grueli ng and tension-filled appointment scrutiny meetings (Rainbolt, 2014). The pro argument has its own set of strengths. First, the first premise is true. Our United States Constitution allows the President to appoint his preferred individuals to work in government departments. Second, the second premise affirms that United States President, to the best of his knowledge, felt he did not violate any law. The president innocently felt that the appointments of the three individuals correctly done because the senators were in recess, Christmas recess (Hughes, 2004). The pro argument has its weaknesses. First, the first premise is grounded on the general rule. The general statement dictates that the United States president can appoint individuals during the Senate recess. However, there is an exception. The Federal Court affirmed that recess appointments are allowed only during the formal or official senate recesses. The Federal court

ISMG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

ISMG - Essay Example Big organizations preying on him might decide to give him a deal that he cannot turn down, thus leaving the organization. Subsequently, the organization would lose one of its lead coders. While looking for means of retaining is important, understanding that anything could happen to him, such a tragedy would help them think about this problem soberly. Although he had turned down a number of offers, it does not imply that he would live with IVK forever. One day he could decide to go, or retire. In any case, one day he has to leave. The best way of solving the problem therefore, is looking for individuals talented enough whose efforts when combined could make a substitute. 2. While hiring IT personnel, it is important to put into consideration a number of issues. Skills of the individual are important as IT as a profession requires adequate skills. Talent is yet another important element that managers should look at while determining the kind of people to hire in the IT department. Fina lly, the management needs to consider the experience of an individual while handling different systems or performing certain tasks. 3. Organizations use two different tradeoff methods while locating their IT departments, centralizing them or geographically decentralizing them. While each has its own advantages, it has its own limitations as well. While centralizing enables the monitoring of the operations as well as proper utilization of organizational resources, it has little impact on the depart5ment it is required most. However, it saves the organization additional expenses in maintaining the various branches. On the other hand, decentralization has a greater impact on the areas IT services are required, but increases organizational expenditures. Moreover, there is minimal supervision of the various departments. Chapter 16 1. Different organizations have different ways of drawing their budgets, and their investment plans. The level of expenditure in an organization ion a particu lar department in most cases depends on the size of the organization’s department. For instance, an organization that uses IT extensively could have an extensive expensive expenditure budget on IT, while another could have bigger budget for a different department. An organization should be willing to spend extensively on the particular department generating more income. However, there should be a limit, especially with reference to the organizational budget. While innovation is important to a manufacturing organization, it v could have insignificant impact to a different organization. As such, the ideal ration between the amounts that a firm spends on IT maintenance versus innovation projects depends on the organizational capacity and the importance of the two. 2. The kid’s toolkit approach method, if applied carefully by a manager could help them in avoiding mistakes while determining the best models to apply for their organizations. Although not a certified method, i t makes sense. For instance, by arguing that a manager’s ideas and thoughts were like a toolkit, which they should keep to themselves, it meant that managers, despite having the role of making the most important decisions in an organization, were not always right. Although they perceive their models as being better and superior than others, the geniuses of these is only possible through actual application in an organization

Rader, Cossman & Porter (2012) Fear of crime and vulnerability Essay

Rader, Cossman & Porter (2012) Fear of crime and vulnerability - Essay Example Such physical vulnerabilities include gender, health, and age, while social vulnerabilities are the social economic status of such people and their race. The research held that both the physical and social vulnerabilities characteristics are interdependent causes of fear among people. The direct effects of such social vulnerabilities are tied to physical indicators of vulnerability, though occurrence of indirect effects of physical vulnerabilities are tied to fear of victimization through some indicators of social vulnerabilities. Nahavanna (2006) explains ethical considerations as an important aspect in any quantitative research design, which includes respecting the rights of the participants, and the individual consent by the respondents. The benefits of participation as addressed by the authors would be to learn how people from different races, gender, and age distribution would react to fear of crime, leading to an informed basis on which nursing psychology has to be applied whil e dealing with such vulnerable groups. Since the authors used data sets prepared from a previous research, risk benefits, and informed consent were not of much significance in this research. The board approval was obtained. In this case, the Panel Study on American Religion and Ethnicity (PS-ARE), who carried out the primary survey, authorized the use of the survey results to analyze data collected on statistics that would best describe the trend of both physical and social vulnerabilities in fear of crimes. Therefore, the researchers did not require any consent from the respondents, but required authority of the primary body that handled the research. Since the primary survey was carried out by a religious body alongside additional data from US Census Bureau, it would be expected that respondents participated in the research willingly. In this research, the dependent variable was well identified as the proxy for fear of crime, which is reflective of the level of safety the individu als felt in their respective neighborhoods. On the other hand, the independent variables were indicated as the social and physical vulnerabilities of such groups in their neighborhood. Data collection in this research was from analysis of the survey indicated above. The responses were classified into five distinct categories, depending on answers from respondents to the question whether they felt unsafe in their neighborhoods. â€Å"Never† was associated with 1, while â€Å"at least once a day† was rated 5. On the other hand, in physical vulnerabilities, gender (female = 1), while fair or poor health was designated by 1. Other classifying categories included level of education, and income, which were recorded in 19 categories ranging from $200,000, and marital status as married or cohabiting indicated by 1, else =0. The rationale behind this classification was to define the respondents into refined groups as precisely as possible. Therefore, the respondents’ cha racteristics were the social and physical vulnerability. The time taken for the actual survey was not recorded, nor was the time taken to analyze the survey and classify the data in this research. From the primary survey, data collection involved classifying areas into a three digit zip code, and then for each three digit area, another set of two five digit zip codes were randomly formed, leading to about 90 addresses, which were selected randomly and households screened for eligibility. Therefore, in this research, the data collected from the above defined primary research was analyzed for the physical and social vulnerability factors, and the data analyzed quantitatively. Data management

PERSONAL STATEMENT FOR UCAS APPLICATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PERSONAL STATEMENT FOR UCAS APPLICATION - Essay Example My mother used to think of this as my best trait as I would always stack my toys neatly after playing with them! Generally speaking, one of the major benefits of studying statistics and mathematics as a basic degree is the variety of career paths it provides. Applications of mathematics and statistic appears in almost all areas of business, economics, science, technology, research, and wherever data is obtained for the purpose of finding information. Statistics has for long been described as the science of making conclusions in the presence of uncertainty. From what I have learned in the preliminary studies statistics and mathematical models can solve problems and analyze circumstances when seemingly there is no obvious result at hand. This amazing nature of statistics appeals me the most. It encourages me to look up more into this field of education. It is thus become my passion to pursue my forthcoming degrees in the said field. The first thought that came into my when I decided to opt for a graduate degree in mathematics and statistics was that of the Queen Mary College, University of London. The Queen Mary University, Kings College London is one of the most esteemed colleges of Britain and I dream to be an esteemed part of its privileged students. Though I am an international student, I am well versed with written and spoken English language. It is therefore no problem for me to comprehend degree courses that would be taught in English. Moreover, having done my 6 of my O’ Levels courses and one A’ Levels course I have a pretty good idea of this British mode of assessment. I have appeared in the examinations set by the mentioned boards and have obtained grades ranging from A’s to C’s. My initial attempt towards pursuing higher studies in mathematics and statistics was by going for the course of ‘Mathematics’ in A’ levels examinations. Regretfully though I obtained a C in the said course. This was much below the standards that I had set for myself. I got even more motivated by this happening and decided to pursue my studies in statistics and mathematics from its basics. In pursuance of my intention to learn mathematics and statistics from its scratch I enrolled myself in the foundation course of ‘Science and Engineering’ at the Queen Mary University. Currently I am working really hard to get the required percentage so that I can get admission into the university degree level. It is only then that I would be able to pursue studies in my desired course. Taking admission into the degree level of Queen Mary University, Kings College of London would therefore be ‘a dream come true’ for me. I plan to work hard to pursue my studies at the college and then pass out to become an established mathematician and statistical analyst. This will enable me to become a successful banker in the years to come and would also increase other chances of employment in the ever challenging corporate world of today. My happy go lucky nature enables to me intermingle with people anywhere I go. At heart I am a fun loving person who loves to dance at the beat of good music. Listening to good music is one of my favorite hobbies. I have very recently started learning guitar from one of my friends. The explorer in me enthusiastically motivates me to travel to different countries and explore new places. During the school days I have been an active participant in extra curricular activities and have taken part in various

Platos 4 Virtues Essay Example for Free

Platos 4 Virtues Essay In the Republic, Plato sets up a framework to help us establish what the four virtues are, and their relationship between them to both the city and the soul. According to Plato, the four virtues are wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. There are three classes within the city: guardians, auxiliaries, and artisans; and three parts within the soul include intellect, high-spirited, and appetitive. By understanding the different classes of the city or parts of the soul, one will be able to appreciate how the virtues attribute to each one specifically. Book II of the Republic opens with Plato’s two brothers, both who want to know which is the better life to live: the just or the unjust. First, Socrates wants to know, â€Å"what justice and injustice are and what power each itself has when it’s by itself in the soul† (Cahn 130). One needs to understand what the soul is before one can talk about virtue because the relationship between the soul and virtue is excellence. This sets up the foundation that the structure of the soul and the city are similar in relation to the four virtues. In order for Socrates to accomplish this, he needs to examine the larger one first, the city, representing the ontological. Then, he is going to examine the smaller one, the soul, representing the epistemological. The establishment of each of these will display how the two mirror off one another, allowing the relationship between the city and the soul to become visible. Plato sets out the depiction that the city comes into being because not everyone is self-sufficient, but rather everyone needs different things in order to survive. Each person in the city is going to have one specific function to perform, which establishes the proper order of a just city contains three different classes: the guardians, the auxiliaries, and the artisans. In having established this ideal city, one can determine that it is completely good, therefore, it should be seen as wise, courageous, moderate, and just. Each one of the classes established in the city relates to a particular virtue. For the guardian class, â€Å"a whole city established according to nature would be wise because of the smallest class and part in it, namely, the governing or ruling one. And to this class, which seems to be by nature the smallest, belongs a share of the knowledge that alone among all the other kinds of knowledge is to be called wisdom† (Cahn 144). The intellect the guardians possess, allows the city to have good judgment and be considered wise by the people, since so few have this ability. This helps them pass legislation allowing all of the other classes to be in harmony with one another bringing the city to a state of unity. For the auxiliary class, â€Å"the city is courageous, then, because of a part of itself that has the power to preserve through everything its belief about what things are to be feared† (Cahn 144). The auxiliaries demonstrate this kind of preservation about what is to be feared and what is not to be feared and under no circumstances do they abandon their beliefs because of pains, pleasures, desires, or fears. As they fear the destruction of the city and anything that will bring it about, â€Å"this power to preserve through everything the correct and law-inculcated belief about what is to be feared and what isn’t is what I call courage† (Cahn 145). Their determination to remain dedicated to being courageous will lead to justice within the city. For the artisan class, â€Å"moderation spreads throughout the whole. It makes the weakest, the strongest, and those in between†¦all sing the same song together. And this unanimity, this agreement between the naturally worse and the naturally better as to which of the two is to rule both in the city and in each one, is rightly called moderation† (Cahn 146). By willingly accepting the dictates of the guardians by not objecting the legislation they pass, they are putting the city in a state of harmony. It can clearly be seen that only when each class is properly performing its particular role within the city, will justice be able to prevail. For Plato, â€Å"Justice, I think, is exactly what we said must be established throughout the city when we were founding it†¦everyone must practice one of the occupations in the city for which he is naturally best suited† (Cahn 147). This only happens when the city is not in a state of internal conflict with itself allowing the highest principle, good, to be seen; making it the most unified, therefore being just. Since the proper order of the city has now been established, it is time to turn inward to one’s soul to determine where justice and injustice might lie, and what the difference is between the two. Plato believes, â€Å"if an individual has these same three parts in his soul, we will expect him to be correctly called by the same names as the city if he has the same conditions in them† (Cahn 148). Now that Plato has found the four virtues within the larger environment of the city, he now wants to investigate their relationship to the smaller environment of the soul. The first part of the soul that calculates is considered rational by having the ability to make good judgment, known as its intellect. The second part of the soul that desires certain indulgences and pleasures; such as, food, drink, and sex, is considered irrational and is known as its appetitive part. The third part of the soul is known as the high-spirited, which allows a person to get angry by giving way to the use of their emotions. The appetite of one’s soul draws a person towards things, while the intellect of one’s soul pushes that person away, thus creating two different parts. The high-spirited is, â€Å"a third thing in the soul that is by nature the helper of the rational part† (Cahn 151). Originally, the spirited part was thought of as being appetitive; however, when there is a civil war within one’s soul, the anger of the high-spirit allies with the rational part of the soul. Now that the three different parts of the soul have been identified, it is clear that, â€Å"the same number and the same kinds of classes as are in the city are also in the soul of each individual†¦Therefore, it necessarily follows that the individual is wise in the same way and in the same part of himself as the city† (Cahn 151-152). Accordingly, the intellect of the soul should rule, as the guardian class does in the city because they both display the virtue of wisdom allowing them to exercise understanding on behalf of the whole soul and city. Similarly, the high-spirit of the soul should use anger, as the auxiliary class does in the city because they both demonstrate the virtue of courage allowing them to maintain proper order and harmony needed to establish justice. When the two parts of the soul and the city work together, the virtue of moderation is exhibited; because the soul’s appetitive part and city’s artisan class will be working together to maintain a state of unity. As seen with the city, justice will only emerge in the soul when each of the three parts are properly ordered and in a state of harmony with one another. In the city, the guardians and auxiliaries exist in order to control and direct the artisan class; while in the soul, the intellect and high-spirit exist in order to rule over the appetites of the individual. Justice in the city and soul are related to one another because, â€Å"in truth justice is, it seems, something of this sort†¦binds together those parts and any others there may be in between, and from having been many things he becomes entirely one, moderate and harmonious† (Cahn 153). When an individual is acting justly, then they are being true to the three parts of their soul, allowing the virtue of justice to surface. When each of the three classes in the city are properly performing their roles, then is the virtue of justice displayed. Plato describes justice as the perfect harmony between the parts both within the soul and within the city as the best possible combination to illustrate all four of the virtues.

One of the principle aims of the Children Act

One of the principle aims of the Children Act One of the principle aims of the Children Act 1989 was to ensure that more attention was paid to the child’s voice. Critically examine to extent to which this aim has been achieved. Introduction: Bridgeman and Monk argue that the development of child law is becoming progressively more distinct from family law. In their view this development can be understood as a reflection of the influence of children’s rights and feminist views of the law that have encouraged a child centred focus where children are not simply seen as family persons but as individuals in their own right (Bridgeman and Monk, 2000, p. 1), a point reiterated by Muncie et al. who point to the recognition of rights of children as now being considered as distinct from the rights of the family as a whole (Muncie at al., 2005). The Children Act 1989 which came in to force on 14th October 1991 was heralded as the most important legislation pertaining to children in living memory. Lord Mackay called it: â€Å"the most comprehensive and far reaching form of child law which has come before Parliament in living memory.† Prior to the Act the law relating to children in the UK had been driven by a plethora of different pieces of legislation, leading to considerable complexity and inconsistency. Although European law has come to an increasing level of prominence in domestic law, in practice the Children Act remains the single document most referred to (Prest and Wildblood, 2005, p. 311). The strength and scope of the Act have been reflected by the considerable body of case law that evolved in a relatively short period of time. The Act fulfilled two functions as highlighted by Allen: It brought together all the existing law under the umbrella of one piece of legislation; The Act acknowledged the limits of the law in family relations. While it was seen as a land mark piece of legislation, it did not contain a magic formula to deal with family problems. (Allen, 2005, p.1). The main thrust of the Act was to enable all those involved with the care of children to further their best interests whether living with their families, in local authority care or in respect of protection from abuse. Private and Public Law: The private legislation relating to children’s law does not concern public bodies. It refers to issues that are between individuals, usually family members. The public law relating to children concerns legislation pertaining to intervention by public authorities. This encompasses voluntary agencies as well as social services. The State is typically a party to proceedings. Purpose of the Act: It was also hoped that through the Act children would become more central to proceedings concerning their welfare and would be given a considerably stronger voice. Feminist analysts have questioned the effectiveness of this, arguing that the law is often better at protecting the interests of adults than children. Common Law Before the Act: Historically, in common law parental rights were traditionally with the father in the case of legitimate children. It was not until 1886 that mothers were given guardianship under the Guardianship of Infants Act and the welfare of the child was to be taken into account when hearing any claim. Developments in this area of the law saw an increasingly important regard given to the welfare of the child. This evolved into the modern idea of paramnountcy, enshrined in the 1989 Act. The Law Leading to the Act: Before the Act there were a number of different aspects of children’s law, described by Allen as chaotic in its nature (Allen, 2005, p.3). The law relating to children had evolved in a somewhat haphazard way, and was becoming increasingly difficult for professionals to interpret. In 1984 a comprehensive review was undertaken in an attempt to integrate the law. The White Paper published in 1987, The Law on Child care and Family Services, stated that government proposals would involve â€Å" a major overhaul of child care law intended to provide a clearer and fairer framework for the provision of child care services for families and for the protection of children at risk.†[1] Scope of the Act: The Act covers many areas including pre-school day care, child protection, local authority provision for children, the care of children in independent schools, children involved in divorce or custody proceedings, children with disabilities, child patients in long stay hospitals and children with learning difficulties (Hendrick, 2003, p.196-107). Intrinsic to the legislation were four main principles: (1)The paramountcy principle – this was not really a new idea but added considerable weight to ideas about child welfare, making it clear that this was always to be paramount in any decisions. This guiding principle has, however, been criticised in some quarters because of its vagueness. The child’s welfare is the paramount consideration in respect of: (a)the upbringing of the child; (b) the administration of a child’s property or any income arising from it (s 1 (1)).[2] (2) A checklist was introduced to assist courts in applying the welfare principle when considering certain categories of order. (3)The delay principle which states that proceedings should be expedited with minimum delay as any such delay is regarded as being to the child’s disadvantage unless proven otherwise (s 1 (2))[3]. (4) Intervention by the State in the life of the child or the child’s family should only occur when it could be shown that â€Å"on balance the bringing of proceedings is likely to be in the best interest of children.† This is the no order principle where no order shall be made unless it is considered to be better for the child than making no order at all.[4] Some new concepts were introduced. One of the main ones was â€Å"parental responsibility†. This emphasised the rights of parents in the context of their parental responsibility. If parents exercise their responsibility with the necessary level of diligence, certain rights in law are afforded, in effect promoting parents as authority figures. The Act also saw something of a swing back in emphasis to parents as opposed to the state being responsible for their children. Parents could only relinquish their responsibility to their children through formal, legal adoption. The term â€Å"accommodation† replaced â€Å"voluntary care† meaning, in effect that local authorities would care for children on their parents’ behalf only until such times as they could resume their proper role (Eekelaar and Dingwall, 1989, p.26). Parental Responsibilities: The Children Act gave courts wide ranging and flexible powers to regulate the exercise of parental responsibility, introducing some sweeping changes in this area. The Child’s Wishes: One of the central ideas was that the child’s wishes be taken into consideration, to a degree which was appropriate in any proceedings. The issue has arisen in relation to care proceedings, medical treatment and so on. In the case of local authority accommodation, there is a clear distinction in law between children over and under sixteen years old. The Children Act provides that neither the parental right of objection not the parental right of removal applies where a child of sixteen agrees to being provided with accommodation.[5] This was tested in Re T (Accomodation by Local Authority)[6]. A seventeen year old girl had been informally accommodated by friends, an arrangement which she sought to formalise so that both parties would be eligible for benefits under section 24 of the Act which would stop when she reached age 18 otherwise. The director of social services refused this request taking the view that her welfare was not likely to be seriously prejudiced if she were not accommodated. This decision was quashed at court, the judge taking the view that social services had no way of ascertaining her future needs and there was no way of establishing whether the local authority would continue to exert the discretionary power it had done up to this point. The issue of the child’s wishes is a much more contentious area when younger children are involved. Some very emotive case law, particularly in respect of medical arrangements and treatments, has developed in this area. The child’s age should be taken into consideration when making any decision, but this is dependent on the individual child concerned . It is well recognised that children have the capacity to engage in acts and make decisions which can be dependent on chronological age or the attainment of a level of maturity beyond the chronological age. Precedent concerning a child’s age was first established in the land mark case of Gillick v. West Norfolk and Wisbech Health Authority[7]. The Gillick Case: In 1980 The Department of Health and Social Security asserted that, while it would be most unusual, it would be lawful in some circumstances for a doctor to give contraceptive advice to a girl under sixteen without prior consultation with her parents. Victoria Gillick, a parent with strongly held religious views, sought assurances that none of her daughters would receive such advice. Her claim was eventually rejected by the House of Lords, the decision coming to be known as ‘Gillick competence’. Lord Scarman proposed that a high level of understanding would be required, extending beyond the medical issues. Lord Scarman noted: â€Å"It is not enough that she should understand the nature of the advice which she is being given: she must have sufficient maturity to understand what is involved.† Critical was the question in respect of whether, once a child has reached a certain level of maturity, whether in chronological or maturational terms, the rights of the patents to be involved, should be terminated or should co-exist with the child’s. The Gillick decision was contrary to popular opinion and controversial. When faced with the dilemma of Gillick competence again, the courts adopted a somewhat different view. Later case law served to muddy the waters and adolescents were not given clear advice over their right to reach decisions for themselves in the event of family disputes or other issues. Re R[8] concerned the competence of adolescents to refuse medical treatment. R was a fifteen year old girl who had been suffering from mental illness which had caused her to be hospitalised under the Mental Health Act. At various times during the course of her treatment she was regarded as being a suicide risk. The unit in which she was hospitalised used sedatives as a last resort as part of the treatment regime. The hospital said that they would not retain R in hospital unless she were prepared to engage in treatment, including taking sedatives. They put this to the local authority who had parental responsibility for R. The local authority initially agreed to the hospital’s request but, following conversation between R. and a social worker, withdrew its consent. R indicated to the social worker that the hospital were trying to give her drugs which she neither wanted nor needed. The social worker’s opinion was that R. was lucid and rational during the conversation, an assessment subsequently confirmed by psychiatric evaluation. The authority made R. a ward of court to resolve the argument. This is demonstrative of the responsibility to make the child’s voice heard, through the consultation process, a responsibility placed on local authorities by the Act. The solicitor acting as guardian ad litem argued that, where a child has capacity to withhold consent to treatment based on sufficient understanding, any parental right to give or withdraw consent terminated. Lord Donaldson reopened the whole discussion in respect of the relationship between a competent minor’s capacity and a parent’s right to consent on a minor’s behalf. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Waite J., that R. failed the test of competence and that, in her best interests, the treatment should be authorised. The most significant issue was whether the court had the power to over rule the decision of a competent minor. The court held that such an ability existed because the Gillick principles did not have effect in wardship proceedings. It was argued that the court had wider powers than those of normal parents, being derived from the Crown. The court saw no reason not to override the wishes of a competent minor if it believed that to be in the child’s best interests. The judgement demonstrated that the application of the ‘welfare’ and the ‘Gillick’ tests could lead to different results. The court’s power to override the decision of a minor were again illustrated in Re M. (Medical Treatment : Consent)[9]. A fifteen year old girl needed a heart transplant to save her life but refused to give her consent. Her reasoning was that she did not want to have some one else’s heart and did not want to have to take medication for the rest of her life. In the solicitors notes taken at interview, it could be clearly seen that she had considered carefully her decision: â€Å"Death is final – I know I can’t change my mind. I don’t want to die but I would rather die than have the transplant and have someone else’s heart, I would rather die with fifteen years of my own heart.† While acknowledging the gravity of overriding M.’s decision, and the associated health risks, the operation was authorised. Children in Court: English law has not traditionally given minors right of representation in legal proceedings, but this was one of the main issues that the Children Act 1989 sought to address. The usual procedure has been for courts to require welfare reports in respect of children rather than to elicit the views of children themselves or of other interested parties or representatives. The Children Act considerably changed that nature of representation for children in public proceedings in court. In care proceedings the Act created the presumption of the appointment of a guardian ad litem (Children’s guardian). The child will also automatically be party to the proceedings. Children’s guardians are individuals who are required to have a thorough knowledge of both social work and child law. Their role is to ensure ‘that the court is fully informed of the relevant facts which relate to the child’s welfare and that the wishes and feelings of the child are clearly established.[10] Their role is to be proactive in its nature and ensure that the wishes of the child are given their due weight in the proceedings. The issue in respect of private law is markedly different with children rarely being represented in this context. These are generally in relation to divorce and while welfare reports are submitted on occasion, this is not often the case, simply because of the volume of these types of proceedings. Harm to children: One of the main purposes of the Children Act was to ensure that children be protected from harm. Newham London Borough Council v. AG[11]. reflects the difficult choice with which the courts are often faced regarding whether it is better for a child to stay with members of his/ her extended family or other, outside carers. In Newham the Court of Appeal held that placing the child with grandparents would be unsatisfactory as they would be unable to protect the child from the serious risk that was posed by the child’s mother who suffered from severe schizophrenia which manifested itself in her inability to look after the child and to neglect her. The test case for the risk of significant harm is Re M. (A minor)(Care Order: Threshold Conditions).[12] A father had murdered the children’s mother in front of them, after which they were taken into emergency protection. The father was convicted of the mother’s murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he be deported to Nigeria, his home country, on release. Three of the four children were placed with Mrs W., the mother’s cousin, but she felt unable to cope with the youngest child, M. who was placed with a temporary foster mother. Eventually Mrs W. wanted to offer M. a home with his siblings. The father sought to influence the decision from prison, as he was M.’s biological father. The local authority, the guardian ad litem for M., and the father all wanted a care order to be made for M. outside the extended birth family. Bracewell J. made the care order in the first instance but the Court of Appeal favoured Mrs W., substituting a care order in her favour. The question for the courts was whether, in considering if a child ‘is suffering from significant harm’, is it permissible to consider the situation when protective measures were introduced, or does this test have to be satisfied at the time of the hearing at which the application is being considered. At the time of the hearing M. was no longer suffering, nor was he likely to suffer ‘significant harm because, by this time, he was being properly looked after and the danger had passed. The House of Lords held that there was jurisdiction to make a care order in these circumstances. Lord Mackay argued that the court was entitled to have regard to the full length from the protection to the disposal of the case. Brackwell had been entitled to, and indeed correct, to look back to the time when the emergency protection was taken. She had been entitled to infer that, at that time, M. had been permanently deprived of the love and care of his mother which constituted significant harm. The care given by the father was not what could reasonably have been expected from a parent, although it could reasonably be argued that the anger and violence was directed to the mother rather than M. The only limitation in the process of looking back was that the initial protective arrangements had remained continuously in place. Lords Templeman and Nolan pointed out that to restrict evidence to that which was available at the hearing could mean that any temporary measures which removed the risk could preclude the court from making a final care order which could not have been Parliament’s intention. Separated Families: Contact: A great deal of case law relates to families where divorce or separation is a factor. Section 8 of the Act deals with the contact order: â€Å"an order requiring the person with whom a child lives, or is to live, to allow the child to visit or stay with the person named in the order, or for that person and the child otherwise to have contact with each other.†[13] The contact order has become very important in the sphere of children’s law as it is the most common type of order made. Men, who tend not to be the residential parent in cases of divorce, are increasingly applying for contact orders with their children. Payne v. Payne is one of the leading cases in respect of contact. The mother, originally from New Zealand wanted to return there with the couple’s four year old child following her divorce. Mr Payne argued that, to allow the mother to remove the child from the country, would infringe his right to contact, and that this infringement would be contrary to the principles of the Children Act 1989. The Court of Appeal argued that the child’s happiness was bound up in the happiness of the mother , the primary carer, and any move to separate them might be that her â€Å"unhappiness, sense of isolation and depression would be exacerbated to a degree that could well be damaging to the child.† The judgement in Payne v. Payne was not a denial that the father had a right to contact. It was a demonstration of the application of the welfare principle, protecting the best interests of the child which were, in the courts opinion, inextricably linked to the mother. The decision makes clear that contact is a qualified right which will always be superseded by the welfare of the child. Paternity: The paramountcy principle has been criticised as being too limited in its scope. Where the issue of paternity has come before the courts it has been held that this only has an indirect impact upon the child’s upbringing and so falls outside the scope of the test. Freeman has argued that since maternity is rarely in doubt, this stance in respect of paternity allows men to shirk to some degree their paternity in the English Legal system (Freeman, 2000, p.33). Foster Parents: While the law relating to children has always had scope in respect of biological families, this is clearly extended to foster parents by the Children Act. The term ‘foster parents’ covers a variety of care arrangements, but is most usually thought of as parents who look after children to whom they are not related. The main distinctions in foster care arrangements are in private or local authority arrangements and short and long term fostering arrangements. Arrangements and case law have shown that foster carers will not automatically be afforded parental responsibility, legal steps must be taken before this can happen. In Gloucestershire County Council v. P[14] the child’s guardian ad litem persuaded the court that a residence order in favour of the foster parents, rather than an order freeing the child for adoption or residence order in favour of the extended family, would be appropriate. A majority of the Court of Appeal held that the Court did, in fact, have the power to do this even though the foster parents had cared for the child for less than three years. More than one child: Problems with the paramountcy principle have occurred when there is more than one child and their interests appear to be at odds. In Birmingham CC v. H[15] the case concerned a mother, herself a minor, and her child. It was believed to be in the mother’s best interests to maintain some contact with her baby as she may self harm otherwise. It was not held to be in the best interests of her baby. The law said that the interests of both was paramount. The House of Lords held that it was necessary to identify the child who was the subject of the application and make their welfare paramount, in this case the baby. This logic has been applied in subsequent cases on this matter when the interests of siblings have been thought to be in conflict. Conclusion: It is generally agreed that the Children Act represents a consensus among interested parties, except of course for children, who were not consulted (Hendrick, 2003, p.198). The concept of welfare or best interests of children reflects a desire to protect children. Some theorists have argued that because the input of children into changes in the law has been neglected, the law may be ineffective in protecting them from harm which may be very different from the harm and pain felt by adults (Bridgeman and Monk, 2000, p.7). Some aspects of the Act have been problematic. The paramountcy principle has been very difficult in both a practical and an ethical respect. There is considerable tension between a child’s welfare and a child’s voice. The weight of the law is given to the former but many argue that the child’s opinion and wishes should carry more weight than they do at the moment. There are also, as has been seen, questions concerning when the child’s wishes should supersede those of his/ her parents and be respected as valid in their own right. The law in relation to children has seen more change in recent years but the Children Act still has considerable force in practice. While there has been increasing emphasis placed on children’s individualism, autonomy, capacity and competence (Hallett, 2000, p.389), it has been seen that it is often the case that no matter how lucid or mature a child appears to be, the courts have been reluctant to allow the child to have a full voice in issues of a serious and life changing nature. The complex nature of families and their increasingly diverse nature in society means that these difficult issues will probably become more, rather than less complex in their nature and present themselves with a greater degree of frequency. References: Allen, N. (2005) Making Sense of the Children Act 1989. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Bainham, A. (1990) Children : The New Law. Bristol: Jordan Publishing Ltd. Bainham, A. (2005) Children: The Modern Law. Bristol: Jordan Publishing Ltd. Bainham, A., Day-Sclater, S. Richards, M. (Eds)(1999) What is a Parent? A Socio-Legal Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bridgeman, J. Monk, D. (2000) Reflection on the relationship between feminism and child law in J. Bridgeman D. Monk (Eds) Feminist Perspective on Child Law. London: Cavendish Publishing. Corby, B. (2002) Child Abuse and Child Protection in B. Goldson, M. Lavalette and E. McKenchie (Eds) Children, Welfare and the State. London: Sage. Eekelaar, J. (1991) Parental Responsibility: State of nature or nature of state? Journal of Welfare and Family Law, 1, 37-50. Eekelaar, J. and Dingwall, R. (1989) The Reform of Child Care Law: A practical Guide to the Children Act. London: Routledge. Farson, R. (1978) Birthrights. London: Penguin. Fortin, J. (2003) Children’s Rights and the Developing Law. London: Reed Elsevier. Freeman, M. (2000) Feminism and Child Law in J. Bridgeman D. Monk (Eds) Feminist Perspective on Child Law. London: Cavendish Publishing. Gibson, C., Grice, J., James, R. Mulholland, S. (2001) The Children Act Explained. London: The Stationery Office. Hallett, C. (2000) Children’s Rights: Child Abuse Review, 9, 389-393. Harris, P.M. Scanlan, D.E. (1991) Children Act 1989: A Procedural Handbook. London: Butterworths. Hendrick, H. (2003) Child Welfare: Historical Dimensions, Contemporary Debate. Bristol. The Policy Press. Herring, J. (2004) Family Law. London: Pearson. Hoggett, B.M. (1987) Parents and Children: The Law of Parental Responsibility. London: Sweet and Maxwell. Horwarth, J. (Ed)(2001) The Child’s World: Assessing Children in Need. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Masson, J. (1990) The Children Act 1989: Current Law Statutes Annotated. London: Sweet and Maxwell. Muncie, J. Wetherall, M., Dallos, R. Cochrane, A. (Eds)(1995) Understanding the Family. London: Sage. Prest, C. Wildblood, S. (2005) Children Law: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Bristol: Jordan Publishing Ltd. White, R., Carr, P. Lowe, N. (1995) The Children Act in Practice. London: Butterworths. Wyld, N. (2000) The Human Rights Act and the Law Relating to Children. Legal Action, September, 17-18. 1 Footnotes [1] Family Law: Review of Child Law (Law Com No. 172, 1988), para 2.4. [2] There are some exceptions to the paramountcy rule. [3] The delay principle is a general principle not an absolute one. There are circumstances in which a planned and purposeful delay may be in the child’s interests. [4] This is consistent with the main philosophy that there should be minimum intervention in family life and that parents should exercise responsibility for their children. [5] Section 20 (11). [6] [1995] 1 FLR 159. [7] [1986] AC 112. [8] Re R (A Minor) (Wardship: Consent to Treatment) [1992] Fam 11. [9] Re M (Medical Treatment: Consent) [1999] 2 FLR 1097. [10] Children Act Advisory Committee Annual Report 1992/1993 (Lord Chancellor’s Department, 1993) at p.14. [11] Newhan Borough Council v. AG [1993] 1 FLR 281. [12] RE M (A minor)( Care Order: Threshold Conditions) [1994] 3 WLR 558. [13] Section 8 (1). [14] Gloucestershire County Council v. P [1999] 2 FLR 61. [15] [1994] 1 FLR 224.

Religion and International Relations

Religion and International Relations Introduction Religion (noun): the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. In modern times, religion isn’t just the belief and worship of a supernatural entity. It is a way of life. Since birth, children are indoctrinated into their parent’s religion. Traditions, practices and values, both positive and negative are taught till they become common fact. Religion permeates into the lives of people completely and seamlessly. Given its pervasive nature, it is unsurprising that religion affects relations between people and on a larger scale relationships between nations. This project analyses the effects of religion on the international scale. Through case studies, it will highlight the advantageous as well as detrimental role of religion in maintaining peace between countries. The article will not focus on the various conflicts/ peace processes themselves, instead, it will detail the religious background, the issues and proposed solutions. Case Study 1: Jerusalem and the Israel – Palestine Conflict Background to the Conflict: Jerusalem and other holy sites of the Middle – East are holy to the three major Abrahamic religions namely – Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Historically speaking, there have been multiple conflicts over the ownership of these locations. The most famous being The Holy Crusades. In modern times, this has continued into the Israel – Palestine conflict. The roots of the conflict lie in the late 19th and early 20th century. This period saw the rise of nationalist movements amongst Jews and also amongst Arabs. Both movements wished for a sovereign state for their people, in the region. It was also a time of large scale Jewish immigration into the region. Jews were escaping the chaos caused by the Russian Revolution and later the Holocaust during WW2. In 1920,Haj Amin al-Hussein emerged as the leader for the Palestinian Arab Nationalist Movement. The man saw the Jewish Nationalist Movement and Jewish immigration as the primary enemies to his goal. This led to large scale riots and violence between the two sides. Sporadic bursts of violence continued till the start of WW2. Post WW2 tensions arose due to the large scale immigration of Holocaust survivors. This was fuelled by the stories that were coming out the Holocaust. The support resulted in Jews attacking on the Arabs as well as the British Administration. In 1947, the British Mandate approached the United Nations to provide a solution to the problems in Palestine. The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine proposed a division of territory on the basis of religion. The area was to be divided into three parts. An independent Arab state and an Independent Jewish state while Jerusalem and Bethlehem remained under UN control. Jews were dissatisfied by the loss of Jerusalem but accepted the decision. However it was vehemently opposed by the Arabs. This led to eruption of a Civil War in the region. Jews in the region were conscripted into an army. With British aid, they annexed territories to form modern day Israel. The Conflict: In 1948, The Israeli Declaration of Independence was signed officially declaring the State of Israel as an independent nation. Since then the region has been under multiple wars and conflicts. The Arab nations surrounding Israel universally opposed its existence. They trained armies and rebels to conquer the nation. In 1967 during The Six Day War, Israel occupied areas of Palestine beyond its borders. Including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israelis have since started settling in the region. Despite multiple attempts at peace the standing issues of the conflict could not be resolved. From 2005 onwards the Hamas organisation gained prominence in Palestine. The fighting in recent years occurred due to rocket attacks coming from both side of the Gaza strip. The Standing Issues: Jerusalem Jerusalem is the most major issue. Both sides claim ownership of the city. As stated previously Jerusalem is of great significance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam being an important and holy city for all of them. For Judaism in particular Jerusalem is the holiest city in the world. It is the former location of the Jewish temples on theTemple Mountand was the capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom. It also contains the Jewish holy site, The Western Wall and the Mount of Olives. Hence the Israelis are unwilling to part with the city. For Islam, Jerusalem is the site ofMohammads Night Journeyto heaven, and theal-Aqsa mosque. For Christians, Jerusalem is the location ofthe Crucifixion of Christand theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre. Presently, Israel considers the complete Jerusalem as part of its sovereign region. Jerusalem also is its capital. No other nation in the world accepts this Holy sites Both sides have concern over the treatment of their holy sites under the other’s control. Historically these concerns are founded, as both sides have banned worshippers while they were in control of the region. The treatment and possible vandalism of the sites under opposing rule is a concern as well. Proposed Solutions: The most globally accepted solution is a Two State one. Since the conflict is religious in nature, it proposes splitting the region based on religion. With Palestine being comprised of the West Bank and Gaza Strip while Israel consists of the rest of the region. This would ensure that demographically Israel will have a Jewish majority with a significant Arab minority. While Palestine will have an Arab majority with a small Jewish minority. Jerusalem would serve as the capital of both nations. With the Arab part under the control of Palestine and the Jewish part under the control of Israel. Israel has expressed concerns regarding safety to this plan. As the region has been under multiple terrorist attacks, it believes that having a border so close to Palestine would increase the risk to its citizens. Case Study 2: Islamic Terrorism Islamic terrorism comprises of terrorist acts done by people in the name of Islam Ideology: The term Jihad features a prominent role in militant Islam. Jihad literally translates to â€Å"struggle† or â€Å"resistance†. Based on context and writing. This can have multiple interpretations. Peaceful interpretations include â€Å"struggling to follow the way of God†. However Jihad also has a military sense, it calls for the defence and expansion of the Islamic state. Defensive Jihad is considered an obligation of utmost importance for all Muslims, while expansionist Jihad is optional. The ideology of Islamic terrorists insists that they are initiating a defensive Jihad against the West. Terrorists believe that the Western society and its policies are actively anti – Islamic. As such they insist that their actions are in defence of their religion. The terrorists point out what they believe is a continuing war between Christianity and Islam. A war that started from the Crusades. By framing the fight as defensive, they appear to be a victim rather than an aggressor, and give struggle the very highest religious priority for all good Muslims. Many of the violent terrorist groups use jihad to fight against Western nations and Israel. Most militant Islamists oppose Israel’s existence. Another major aspect of terrorist ideology is the belief that Muslims have deviated from true Islam and must return to â€Å"pure Islam† as originally practiced during the time ofMuhammad. â€Å"Pure Islam† can only be reached by applying a literal and strict interpretation of theQuran and Muhammad’s commands. The original sources should be interpreted individually and Muslims simply should not follow the interpretations of Islamic scholars. Interpretation of the Quran from a historical, contextual perspective is corruption. In addition militants, scholars, and leaders oppose Western society for what they see as immoralsecularism. Terrorists claim that free speech has led to the proliferation ofpornography,immorality,secularism,homosexuality,feminism etc. ideas and concepts that they oppose. Conflicts: Due to their ideology, Islamic Terrorism has been in multiple conflicts throughout the world. In addition to this, Islam has had traditional rivalries with many religions. Including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism etc. further increasing the issue. Some of the various conflict zones are: Country Main religious groups involved Type of conflict Afghanistan Extreme, radical Fundamentalist Muslim terrorist groups non-Muslims The traditional base of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. It was liberated by a joint military effort. However the Taliban is rising again and fighting continues. Iraq Kurds, Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, western armed forces By mid-2006, a small scale civil war, primarily between Shiite and Sunni Muslims started. Presently, the country is in another civil war against the ISIL Kashmir Hindus Muslims Kashmir has been a contested region since the formation of India and Pakistan. Kurdistan Christians, Muslims Periodic assaults on Christians occur Middle East Jews, Muslims, Christians Israel has always been a target of religious conflict. Thus Middle East remains as a volatile zone Pakistan Sunni Shi’ite Muslims Mutual attacks, and periodic strikes by Taliban. Somalia Wahhabi and Sufi Muslims Sufi Muslims moderate version of Islam are fighting followers of the Wahhabi tradition of Islam. Thailand Buddhists Muslims Muslim rebels have been attacking southern Thailand. Solutions: As such there is no uniform solution for Islamic terrorism. The locations and grievances of each conflict are extremely varied and cannot be uniformly addressed. The terrorists also enjoy support due to the economic and social conditions of these regions. However generic solutions to address parts of this issue exist such as: Establishment of humanitarian centres to help people socially. Mobilisation of religious leaders to publicly oppose these actions and remove the militant support base. Case Study 3: The Tibet – China Conflict Background: The Tibet – China conflict is a historical and geopolitical debate. Both sides claim sovereignty of the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetans insist that they have largely been a historically independent nation, and believe the Chinese occupation to be illegal. While the Chinese claim that Tibet was a part of Chinese administration until it was annexed by the British Raj to act as a buffer between India and China and after the Raj withdrew, the Chinese were able to regain their territory in 1951. The conflict also has an ethnic and religious side. The ethnic aspect comes from the fact that the Tibetans of the Tibetan Plateau are a minority to the Han Chinese majority of China, Secondly most Tibetans are Buddhists, while religion is banned in Communist nations like China. The Chinese government has a history of persecuting religions, especially those that have widespread popularity like Buddhism has in China. Widespread persecution and the exile of the Dalai Lama have only fuelled the clash. Present Day Scenario: Tibet did not participate in international organisations like League of Nations in the early 20th Century. As such it is unable to provide sufficient evidence for its sovereignty and independence. China maintains an extremely strict stance and prevents outside intervention. However there have been known cases of genocide against Tibetans and Buddhists in particular. Also development and growth in the region seems to affect and benefit only the Han Chinese immigrants. Solutions: The most accepted solution seems to be to provide Tibet with more autonomy and freedom while keeping it under Chinese rule. This would ensure an end to religious persecution while also allowing more inclusive development in the region. Scholars also agree that the Dalai Lama must be allowed to return from exile and be an active part of the peace process. The Dalai Lama has a great influence in the Tibetan region and would be able to reassure and appease hardliners. Case Study 4: Role of Christianity in Nazism and the Holocaust During his rise to power, Hitler realised the political significance of Christianity and Christian Churches. To this effect, the Nazi party started the promotion of â€Å"Positive Christianity†. Positive Christianity differed from Christianity in many ways. Modern day historians agree that despite his claims, Hitler was anti – Christianity. He used â€Å"Positive Christianity† to justify his actions and his power. Throughout his rule, Hitler called the Nazi cause as Christian. At the same time, he utilised the historical rivalry and hatred between Christians and Jews. To justify this, â€Å"Positive Christianity† openly rejected any Jewish involvement in the Holy Bible. It: Rejected the Jewish-written parts of the Bible(including the entire Old Testament) Claimed Christ was Aryan and not Jewish Opposed the existence of the Catholic Church Promoted national unity, and wanted to put all Protestant Churches under a single national Positive Christian Church It emphasised Christ as a â€Å"positive† preacher and warrior against institutionalized Judaism Hitler also used Christianity in his justification for the Holocaust. Claiming he is continuing Christ’s work by eliminating other races. Religion as a Peacemaker Historically, religion has been a cause of conflict. However religion can also be the cause of peace. Most religions in the world advocate peace. The use of violence is advised only as a last course in defence. Even the concept of Jihad in Islam is used mainly for defending the Islamist nation. Religion can be used to eliminate the very cause of conflict itself, as opposed to merely stopping the fighting while the issues remain unaddressed. This is especially true under the following conditions. religion is a significant contributor to the conflict religious leaders on both sides wish for peace Religious leaders are of particular importance in this approach as they are trusted and respected by their communities. This enables them to: A leverage against those opposing peace Generate local, national and international support for peace Ensure promises are kept at a local level Emphasise on the maintenance of morality and humanity in peace Conflicts can be addressed by: Interfaith dialogue and interaction to address issues Proposing a solution that can address the religious and ethnic needs of both sides as a compliment to diplomatic negotiations e.g. solutions proposed for the Israel – Palestine conflict Establishment of religious peacekeeping centres in strife torn regions like Iraq etc. By this method it is possible to mobilise religion into a peaceful force that can end wars that are not only religious in nature but of other origins as well. References Beginners Guide to the Israeli Palestinian Conflict (a video available on YouTube) A Brief History of the Arab-Israeli Conflictby Jeremy Pressman BBC News reports on the Israel Palestinian Conflict ReligiousTolerance.org Conflict Over Tibet: Core Causes and Possible Solutions By Dustin Stokes â€Å"Religion and the Holocaust† by Richard E Smith â€Å"The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity† by Richard Steigmann-Gall Religious Contributions to Peacemaking: When Religion Brings Peace, Not War