Puerto Rico History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Puerto Rico History - Essay Example The most significant among such encounters were the wars fought between Spanish territorial invaders and Americans (History). The continual aggression of these forces resulted in the slow elimination of Tainos culture by the end of 16th century. By the end of 19th century, the continually fought Spanish-American wars concluded with Americans claiming the control of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico). The control of Puerto Rico by Americans started bringing considerable changes to the socio-economic and political conditions of Puerto Ricans. The stage was set for modernization and started creating a congenial atmosphere of American commercial growth plans. The initial step in this direction was rationalization of currency of Puerto Rico(Puerto Rico). The development and implementation of uniform polices for the government employees which included stipulated working hours of eight hours a day, along with the enforcement of freedom of assembly, speech, press and religion. In addition, steps to improve the educational system was initiated by starting public school and extended the US postal service to this island (Puerto Rico). The better transportation was planned, highways extended and bridges constructed across major rivers and canals to enhance the development. The better health care systems started reducing the child mortality rates and controlled various endemic diseases. The period also showed creation of new political parties - Republican Party and American Federal party (Puerto Rico). In order to get more democratic rights a new political party called Nationalist party was founded in the year 1922 (History). Being more politically aggressive, Nationalist party started intensifying its protests by boycotting the various collective political exercises. This resulted in distancing the party from the existing authorities. This led to the incident

Setting up a car sales garage Essay Example for Free

Setting up a car sales garage Essay I Have Chosen To Provide A Good Service To My Customers Because I Think This Will Differentiate From The Competition And I Expect To Gain More Customers Through This. I Have Chosen To Increase Sales And Profit As I Will Then Be Able To Input More Money Into The Business And Expand My Stores Into New Areas And Expand My Product Range. Source Of Finance Most Of My Money Will Come From My Partnership And This Money Will Be Used To Pay For Rent Which Will Be Approximately   1500 Per Month. I have Based This On Internet Research Which Identified Medium Sized Outlet In Newcastle Would Cost Around This Amount To Rent. The Money Will Be Used For Refurbishment And Initial Stock And If Any Money Is Needed I Will Ask The Bank For A Small Loan/Overdraft For Up To 5000. If I Take Out A Loan I Expect To Pay 6-7% Interest If I Take It Out Over 5 Years. This Percentage Is Because The Current Interest Rate Set By The Bank Of England Is 5. 5%. If Grants Are Available To Locate In Newcastle Would Apply For One As They Are Available To Certain Areas For Example Rundown Areas. I Have Chosen Not To Get A Mortgage Because It Would Tie Me In For A Period Of Up To 25 Years And Make It Difficult To Relocate To Another Property Or Area Because I Would Have To Sell My Existing Property First. Competitor Scan In This Section I Will Undertake a competitor scan by visiting local competitors or researching the internet. I Will Outline 3 main competitors in the local area. I Will Then Explain their strengths and weaknesses and outline how you will make your business better than theirs. I collected my info from 100 people, this gives me an accurate amount of results and an even sample percentage. I chose 100 people and used their answers and put them in graph. I chose these people with random sampling. This is where I choose people to do it at random when I was giving them out so that everyone has an equal chance of getting chosen. The results are as follows: 1. Sex The Graph above shows that males seem to be more interested in my shop so I will aim my products towards a male population. The graph shows that a majority of people under age 30 were interested in my shop. So I will target this group. 3. Wages The graph shows the majority of people earn   10000 30000. I will aim my products toward these people. As a lot of my accessories I will be selling are expensive it is better to aim the price range to higher earning individuals. 4. Cars The graph shows the four most dominant types of car owned by my target market. As these cars are most popular I will specialise in selling accessories for these models. I am now going to summarise my questions. Most people whom I questioned said that they probably would buy my product. Most people said they would pay between i 300 i 1500 depending on the item. The majority of people would buy their parts from a car hypermarket. Most people said they look for quality and well priced parts when purchasing them, these are also the reasons people said I improve my services to differentiate me from all competitors. Laws Affecting My Business The Race Relations Act, 1976 Makes discrimination on grounds of race illegal in the same way as the Sex Discrimination Act. Again, there is scope for GOQs for example, advertising for an Italian waiter to work in an Italian restaurant. How It Affects My Business Prevents people from racial discrimination at work and prevents colour prejudice such as when applying for a job. The Equal Pay Act of 1970 Sets out that women and men should receive the same pay for doing the same type of work or ranked as being of the same value. How It Affects My Business This prevents men and women being paid different wages for the same job. And means I will have to pay both sexes equally. When recruiting people I must make sure they are getting paid the same as someone else doing the same job. have chosen these companies to supply these parts as they are well known by my target age group and are reasonably priced. The parts will be specifically suited for different makes and models of cars. The main cars I will stock for are the Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio, Vauxhall Corsa and the Ford Focus. I will stock these parts for these cars as my target market identified these as popular choices. I will differentiate myself by offering special discounts to store card holders and allow them to purchase items on credit. I will give each customer free fitting for customers who spend over i 1250 and will give all customers a year long money back guarantee and free servicing if they are store card holders, this differentiates me from my competition because none of them offer this service. I have chosen not to offer credit agreements as a lot of companies have lost a lot of money in recent months through customers being unable to pay the money back. I will try to portray my company as a company that offers good quality named products at very competitive prices. This will in turn create a well respected image for my business which will help me stand out from the competition, this will help attract my target market. I have chosen the name AutoModz as my company name as this relates to the products Im selling and is catchy. Product Life Cycle Introduction During this stage my sales will be low. Heavy promotional spending is needed I will do this by spending a large portion of my money on advertising such as leaflets and paper advertisements. The aim of my promotional strategy is to create awareness of my business. Growth During this stage sales and profits are steadily rising, I will need a lot of advertising to promote the demand. I will attempt to build up customer loyalty before the entry of competitors. I will use persuasive advertising such as special offers and customer guarantees. Maturity During this stage the product will be bought by the majority of my target market also during this stage the rate of sales growth will start to slow down.

Free Trade in Agriculture and Food Security

Free Trade in Agriculture and Food Security Introduction Food insecurity has been threatened many countries in the world with an indication the high rate of hunger, 842 million people (UN, 2014). Countries that do not have a good food security system would be vulnerable to social problems. Conversely, countries with good food security system will create productive and prosperous citizens. Some of the causes of food insecurity are limited access of food, the lack of food availability, and low of purchasing power. One solution to those problems is conducting trading activities of agricultural products. International institutions such as the WTO and FAO keep continue on encourage free trade toward developing countries. Free market means open competition. However, there is an imbalance of competition which is weak states are forced to compete against advanced states. The IMF has also imposed the Washington Consensus formula toward developing countries that was not always successful. This paper tries to reveal some of the failures of free trade in agriculture, as well as some improvements that could be done. Government subsidies in developing countries for certain sectors (education and health care) must be maintained. In addition, the supporting agricultural infrastructure in developing countries must be prepared in advance until they really deserve to compete. Developing countries should be allowed to impose tariffs when their balance of payments extremely deficit. Hunger and Food Security MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) finish in 2015. The first goal of MDGs is eradication extreme poverty and hunger. Poverty and hunger have close relationship because major cause of hunger is poverty. In other words, to alleviate hunger must eradicate poverty as well. According to the data from United Nations, the number poor people in 2010 has halved than 1990 with definition of poor people is someone lived below US$1.25 per day. However, nowadays there are still 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty. Unfortunately, achievement in reduce of the poor people not accompanied by achievement in hunger alleviation. Roughly 842 million people are estimated undernourished and more than 99 million children under five years old are still underweight and undernourished. Food security is prominent concept in hunger issue. World Food Summit 1996 provide concept of food security when â€Å"all people, at all time, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life† (FAO, 1996). There are many aspects which have correlation with hunger issue, such as economic and security. Amartya Sen (1981, pp.1-8) said people starve because they do not have enough food entitlement. They are unable to produce foods, goods, or services which would enable them to access sufficient food. It means food security is not only about food availability, but also access in terms of household economic capacity and political condition in a particular country. One of empirical examples country which has lack food security is South Sudan. Actually, South Sudan land has good soil which 70% is suitable for farming, but only 4% were utilized. Besides that, conflict with Sudan makes food distribution not smooth (Diao et al, 2012). On the other hand, countries like Singapore and Switzerland has good rank in Global Food Security Index (GFSI), fifth and sixth position respectively. Despite both countries do not rely on their national economic on agriculture sector, those countries have good infrastructure, trading system, and purchasing power (EIU, 2014). Global Food Governance In ancient era, most people consumed what they produced, but today more people are no longer directly involved in the production of their own food. Instead, they are connected through extensive and complex mechanism of food chain distribution (Smith, 1998, p.208). Innovations in transportation, technology of food preservation, and logistics are supporting factors for the emergence of long-distance trade relations. Nowadays, international trades have been made interdependence relationship among food producers and consumer around the world. International trading, especially for agricultural products contain a series of laws, norms, customs, and contract which influence availability and security of food in many countries. There are many efforts from multiple and intergovernmental to organize and coordinate the production and consumption of food in this era of globalization. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is one of the United Nations bodies which aims to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, increase production, processing, marketing and distribution of food and agricultural products, promoting rural development; and eradicate hunger. World Trade Organization (WTO) is the international institution which regulates interstate commerce issues. WTO multilateral trading system is governed by an agreement which contain the basic rules of international trade as a result of negotiations among member states. The approval of a contract among countries member bind the government to obey the implementation of trade policies in their respective countries. Although signed by the government, its main purpose is to help producers of goods and services, exporters and importers in trading activities. Institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and UNDP (United Nations of Development Programme) also have contribution in terms of strengthen government capacity in food security programme. Besides them, there are International NGO, such as Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and One Acre Fund (OAF). Overall, states are important actor, how they manage their country and fulfil food needs for their citizens. In competition there is usually a party who wins and loses. Conflicts between producer and consumer countries potentially threaten international organizations such as the WTO, bilateral and regional relations between countries as well. The relationship between food and agricultural trade gives an overview of the mechanisms of globalization. The food is also associated with many other sectors such as environment, biology, ecology, and human welfare and the globalization of world order any food could threaten these values (Cooke at al., 2008). Can Free Trade Improve Food Security? Trade among nations could bring good impact. According to WTO, trade gives wide range of benefits from promoting peace, reduce costs of living, until endorse practice of good governance. Like other Breton woods institutions who promote liberalization, privatization, or reduce any kind of government interference, WTO endorse free trade system. In 1996 World Food Summit made declaration in Rome. Commitment number four state â€Å"we will strive to ensure that food, agricultural trade and overall trade policies are conducive to fostering food security for all through a fair and market-oriented world trade system† (FAO, 1996). That document explains that free trade market can help many countries which suffer hunger at that time. The concept of free trade system has been existed since 18th century when Adam Smith launched his book in 1776 â€Å"An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations†. One of concept on that book is ‘invisible hand’. Smith stated that giving people freedom to produce and exchange products (free trade) and opening markets to competition would bring opulence for nations. Following Smith theory, in 1817 David Ricardo introduced his theory named â€Å"comparative advantage†. If some particular countries do not have absolute advantage products, they still have opportunity to make trade transaction with specialized themselves in particular products. At least there are five benefits of free trade: good quality products and prices, economic growth, efficiency and innovation, competitiveness, and fairness (Boudreaux, 2013). The logic thinking of free trade system assumes that competitive situation would bring many advantages especially availability of variant good quality products with affordable price. Each party (an individual, a company, or a nation) will compete to make competitive products. One way to make it happens, is create effective and efficient process of goods production. Besides that external factor like infrastructure and political stability also have influence. Shortcomings of free trade in agriculture Through World Food Summit in 1996 FAO endorse free trade. That declaration targeted the decreasing of the number of hunger people become half their present level before 2015. Unfortunately, based on global hunger index data from 1990 until 2014, only 26 countries reduced their score hunger index by 50% or more such as Kuwait, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some country like Sudan and Zambia were stagnant. Furthermore, four countries (Swaziland, Iraq, Comoros, and Burundi) even had worse condition than 1990 (IFRI, 2014). One of countries has big score of hunger index is Gambia. Rice is the main food of Gambian people. Most farmers there are women, but they did not get much benefit from their agricultural activities. This is because the transportation, marketing systems, infrastructure and subsidies for them inadequate. Between 1966 and 1984, the government of Gambia receive aid from foreign governments and international aid agencies, but it made Gambia dependence from aid. Starting in 1986, the government remove subsidies, price controls and import tariffs, and made several deregulation policy. This is a series of requirements which is imposed by the IMF for loans. As implication of lax regulation, frequency of import rice at low prices rose, consequences people prefer to buy the less expensive rice (Moseley et al., 2010). Many countries involve in free trade agreements. These agreements can be bilateral type or multilateral free trade area such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area), and GAFTA (Greater Arab Free Trade Area). Mexico is member of NAFTA since 1994, after 20 years join in trilateral free trade agreement with USA and Canada, trade volume rose significant. However, many problems appear as well, such as environment issue, wages, and economic growth for Mexico The increasing of Mexico GDP from 1960 to 1980 reached almost doubled. It is raising the living standards of Mexico people. In the early 1980s Mexico experienced a crisis, and handled by the neoliberal ways. Some ways were fiscal and monetary policy tight and provide a great space for the deregulation of international trade and investment fields. Unfortunately, that policy inhibits the growth and development of the Mexican economy. Since 2000, countries in Latin America experienced a 1.9% increase in per capita per year. As a result, the poverty rate has declined from 43.9% in 2002 to 27.9% in 2013. However, economic growth in Mexico 1% below the average of the regional countries, so these results are not significant effect on the reduction of poverty, 52.3% in 2012 and 52.4% in 1994. Without economic growth, it would be difficult to reduce poverty in a developing country like Mexico (Weisbrot, 2014). Imbalance in free trade liberalization One of popular theories about liberalization is Washington Consensus. John Williamson (2000, p.255) reemphasized and clarified his concept about Washington Consensus. Washington Consensus focus on policy reforms that reduced the role of government, through several ways such subsidies restriction, privatization, deregulation, and liberalization of finance and trade. He said that Washington Consensus not the same with neoliberalism and market fundamentalism. It does not mean liberalize as much as you can or privatize as fast as you can. For example, subsidies can still be given to push economic growth and has impact on poverty level reduction. Targeted food subsidies as well as the medical and educational program can reduce the number of poor people Based on WTO Agreement in agriculture in 1994, member countries agree to ease market access and reduce or removing tariffs. Developing countries begin to open their market and removing tariff like many developed countries did. Nevertheless, developed countries had much higher subsidies to begin with. So they still have an advantage. The industrialized countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) have historically paid enormous levels of subsidies to their own farmers at levels that developing countries are unable to match for their own farmers (often because of obligations to liberalize their economies under programmes of structural adjustment) (Clapp, 2014, p.16). In fact, industrial countries still maintain high protection in agriculture through an array of very high tariffs, tariffs more than 15%. On the other hand, industrialized countries market hard to access for small scale farmers from developing countries. Furthermore, they have to survive on lower or even without subsidies (IMF, 2001). Conclusion In conclusion, based on all the things mentioned above, it is necessary caution in liberalizing the agricultural product like rice products in Gambia. International organization and the government have to anticipate the bad impacts from its policy, and make sure that the life of local farmers is protected. Common problems that occur in some developing countries are poor supporting infrastructure and political instability. Those basic problems have to be solved first before certain countries decided to join in the free market. Simultaneously, developing countries government could provide subsidies for basic sectors such as education, food, and health. International organizations such as the IMF should be cautious in giving loans, so the prerequisite of loans does not deteriorate the economy of a recipient country. Furthermore, developing countries that have involved in free trade but experienced extreme balance of payments deficit as a result of too many imported goods, can perform the review to impose tariffs. Bibliography Smith, D. W. (1998). â€Å"Urban food systems and the poor in developing countries† Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers,Vol.23, No.2, pp. 207-219. Sen, Amartya. (1981)Poverty and famines: an essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Progress and Innocence in One Hundred Year of Solitude Essay -- One Hu

Progress and Innocence in One Hundred Year of Solitude   Ã‚   One Hundred Year of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez projects itself among the most famous and ambitious works in the history of literature. Epic in scope,  Marquez weaves autobiography, allegory and historical allusion to create a surprisingly coherent story line about his forebears, his descendants and ours. It has been said that there are only about 18 or so themes that describe the human condition. This quote was made in reference to Shakespeare, and posited that all of the books and movies that we digest and assimilate can be shown to have their roots in these canonical themes. In Cien Anos, Marquez addresses several of these themes in the subtle and interlocking ways that they deserve. This paper will concentrate on two interrelated themes: progress and innocence. In its exploration of these concerns, this novel provides no less than a rendering of the trajectory of human evolution. Loss of innocence is a time-worn theme in the literature of every culture. It traditionally takes the form of some type of epiphany visited upon an unsophisticated character as she grows up and encounters the larger world. The focus of this theme is normally personal, in the point of view of an individual, or the omnipotent third person account of the reaction of an individual. While this aspect can be found in the novel, it additionally explores the loss of innocence of a family, people or race, called estirpe in the original edition. In the Western sensibility, the march of progress is normally deemed positive and inevitable. In recent Western history, from the Middle Ages forward, successive improvements in the spread of knowledge, dissemination of culture, and the av... ...s of Solitude." In McGuirk and Cardwell, 65-79. Griffin, Clive. "The Humour of One Hundred Years of Solitude." In McGuirk and Cardwell, 81-94. James, Regina. Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Revolutions in Wonderland. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1981. McGuirk, Bernard and Richard Cardwell, edd. Gabriel Garcia Marquez: New Readings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987). Martin, Gerald. "On 'magical' and social realism in Garcia Marquez." In McGuirk and Cardwell, 95-116. Williams, Raymond L. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Boston: Twayne, 1984. Williamson, Edwin. "Magical Realism and the Theme of Incest in One Hundred Years of Solitude." In McGuirk and Cardwell. 45-63. Wood, Michael. "Review of One Hundred Years of Solitude." In Critical Essays on Gabriel Garcia Marquez. McMurray, George R., ed. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1987.      

Barack Obama’s $ 350 Billion Request in Relation to Fiscal Policy

The declaration of recession by the United States of America has been the official indicator that the country is indeed very much affected by the global financial crisis. The country is facing difficulties in many areas especially when it comes to the situation of their economy. This is clearly exemplified by an article that features President-elect Barack Obama urging the Congress to allow his administration to use the other $ 350 billion of the $ 700 billion rescue package. The main objective of the Obama administration is to use the $ 350 billion of financial bailout funds to help the Main Street more rather than the Wall Street. This amount of money will become available to the Treasury Department within the span of 15 days unless the Congress will pass a law to prevent it (Kelley and Fritze). However, some Republicans clearly oppose the plan to spend more. They justified such position with their perspective that such plan will not be effective. These Republicans asserted that they will only support the spending if there are assurances that the money will not be misspent. There are also some American citizens who are also skeptical about Obama’s plan because of the mismanagement of the first $ 350 billion during the Bush Administration. On the other hand, those who support Obama’s request understand the weariness of the people but they encourage them not to prevent the Obama Administration to use the funds because of their disappointment with the previous administration. President Obama sought to reassure the Congress by promising them that there will be transparency to the process and more money will be directed to address the foreclosure crisis. This is in support with the letter sent by Obama’s economic adviser Lawrence Summers to the Congressional leaders that the country’s fragile economy entails them to act â€Å"both quickly and wisely† (Kelley and Fritze). The economic principle applicable to this article is fiscal policy. Fiscal policy pertains to the â€Å"deliberate changes in government spending and tax collections designed to achieve full employment, control inflation, and encourage economic growth† (McConnell and Brue 214). In relation with this, the request of President Obama for $ 350 billion exemplifies fiscal policy. The situation of the country under which the President made this request is in time of recession. It is said that fiscal policy is most applicable in such kind of economic condition. During time of recession, an expansionary fiscal policy is a possible way to address the problem. A possible reason behind the occurrence of recession is that the profit expectations on investment project have dimmed which curtailed investment spending and decreased aggregate demand. In this case, the federal government has three main options that it can use in order to stimulate the economy. These options are: (1) Increase government spending, (2) reduce taxes, or (3) use some combination of the two (McConnell and Brue 215). It is quite observable that President Obama opted to choose the first option, which is increased in government spending. A sufficient increase in the spending of the government can aid in pushing the economy out of recession. This will address one of the problems in times of recession because increased government spending will also increase aggregate demand. Nevertheless, the initial increase in aggregate demand is not the end because the multiplier effect will increase the original money spent by the government. The greater shift in the aggregate demand curve due to the multiplier process that magnifies the initial variation in spending into more successive rounds of new consumption spending (McConnell and Brue 215-216). Lastly, the political considerations that are observable in the article are also a part of implementing fiscal policy. This is due to the fact that fiscal policy is conducted in the political environment. As a result, economic considerations might be taken aside because of political concerns. It is also a common practice for politicians to rationalize actions and policies that are beneficial to one’s interest (McConnell and Brue 223). This is clearly proven by the opposite poles that the Republicans and Democrats have with regards to this issue.

The Limitations in Greek Citizenship and Democracy essays

The Limitations in Greek Citizenship and Democracy essays According to most present-day historians that focus on the political and social realms of ancient Greece, the implementation of the concept of citizenship as the basis for the city-state (polis) and the extension of citizen status to all free-born members of the community is most closely related to the Athenians who desired to form a free society in the ancient world with democracy as its foundation. In Athens, citizenship carried certain legal rights, such as access to courts to resolve disputes, protection against enslavement by kidnapping and participation in the religious and cultural life of the polis. It also implied participation in politics, although the degree of participation open to the poorest men varied among different city-states. The ability to hold office, for example, could be limited in some cases to owners of a certain amount of property or wealth. But most importantly, citizen status distinguished free men and women from slaves and foreigners; thus, even the poor had a distinction that set themselves apart from these groups that were not given There were also other limitations in regard to Athenian citizenship, for the incompleteness of the equality that under laid the political structure of the polis was most prominent as to status of citizen women who generally had an identity, social status and local rights that were denied slaves and foreigners. Citizen women had access to courts in disputes over property and other legal matters, but they could not represent themselves and had to have men speak for their interests, a requirement that reveals their inequality under the law. in contrast, all male citizens, regardless 2 eventually entitled to attend, speak in, and cast a vote in the communal assemblies in which policy decisions for the polis were made and drafte ...

Periods of Musical Movements

Periods of Musical Movements Name of the periods of musical movementsTime periods of musical movementsHow are these periods part of social changes?Major streamsSub streamsOrigin and end of various sub streamsBaroque1600-1750The Baroque period showed the change in the characterisation of architecture and design. The profound political and social changes that succeeded the Renaissance Era led to the creation of quite different styles in the arts, particularly in Baroque music.Baroque versus Renaissance styleBaroque versus classical styleEarly BaroqueMiddle BaroqueLate BaroqueEarly Baroque (1600-1654)1 (refer to appendix)Middle Baroque (1654-1707)2Late Baroque (1680-1750)3ClassicalAbout 1770-1830Classical music was strongly linked to the court culture and absolutism, with its formality and emphasis on order and hierarchy. The social world of music had seen dramatic changes: international publication and touring had grown explosively, concert societies were beginning to be formed, notation had been made more specifi c, more descriptive, and schematics for works had been simplified.Renaissance ClassicismAge of Classicism - visual arts, architecture and literatureBeginnings of the Classical StyleEarly Classical StyleMiddle Classical StyleLate Classical StyleBeginnings of the Classical Style (1730-1760)4Early Classical Style (1760-1775)5Middle Classical Style (1775-1790)6Late Classical Style (1790-1825)7Major composersComposers' sources of influenceComposers' musical impactComposers' styles and characteristicsComposers' cultural and social impactsBaroque periodHenry PurcellPurcell's sources of influence were the style of palace, and the court systems of manners and arts, which Louis XIV of France fostered. This became the model for the rest of Europe.Purcell was a fluid composer who was able to shift from simple anthems and useful music such as marches, to grandly scored vocal music for the stage. His great keyboard pieces influenced later composers.Purcell had a...Baroque !

catch22 essays

catch22 essays In J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfields innocence is taken away through a twisted chain of events. The novel opens up with Holden depresses after fluking out of Penecy, the suicide of a classmate, and the death of his brother, Allie. Because if these tragic events, Holden tries to preserve his innocence and the purity of the children around him. Holden wants to catch all of the naive children who are falling off the cliff into adulthood. As a result of Holden coming across his sister Phoebe and the *censored* you on the wall of the school, Holdens dreams of becoming the catcher in the rye disappear. He finally realizes that all children must fall into adulthood, just as While walking through the bust streets of New York, Holden notices a lighthearted little boy who is walking and humming if a body catch a body coming through the rye (43). Holden finds it humorous that the child can hum so nonchalantly as the cars on the bust street honk at him. Despite the fast-moving cars, which represent the average phonies in the world, the child pays no attention to them. When Holden sees that the little boy will not allow himself to be pulled into the average crowd of people, he realizes that not everyone wishes to fall from their simple childhood into adulthood. From Holdens encounter with this little boy, he wants to become the catcher in the I kept picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I am standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. I mean if theyre running and they dont ...

Research Critical Appraisal Article Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical Appraisal Article - Research Paper Example However, studies were selected with relevance to the various difference in culture, policy making, marginalization and difference in nursing practices among the groups. Demographic and methodological characteristics of study were used. Moreover, the use of methodical searches through the cumulative index to medicine and sociological abstract as a selection of study was used. During the study, the researchers should ensure that the outlined procedures can successfully help in achieving the objectives of the study. In order to achieve this, the list should be narrowed down to point only on specific facts and admirations (Xu, 2007). Further, during the study, the list was narrowed down into four main parts including the difference in nursing performances, discrimination, marginalization and exploitation, challenges in communication and the cultural differences. Documenting and examining of the experiences in pre-dominant subgroups contributed to reduction on the number of group members. Further, the list was narrowed down in relation to gender, race and culture that affect the work and life understandings. While carrying out research, appropriate selection of findings and facts is necessary. Appropriate section will always determine the type of the results possible to be achieved. Due to the fact that the study involved study in a strange land, the selection was based on the nurses from Asia and western countries. In order for the visitors to coop with cultural difference challenges, it was necessary for the selection to be made up of real members and the visitors. This could help in learning some cultural practices (Xu, 2007). Moreover, since there was limited level of experience among the immigrants nurses, the selection could be based on the immigrant’s nurses and the Asian nurses in order to share knowledge and understanding between them. Selection based on language

Desktop Publishing (DTP) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Desktop Publishing (DTP) - Essay Example In practical use, much of the ‘graphic design’ process is also accomplished using desktop publishing and graphics software and is sometimes included in the definition of desktop publishing.† (Bear 2008) For the task of designing a newsletter to welcome students to the university, my foremost objective was to grab the attention of a new student who can be one of thousands on campus. Firstly, I have chosen a nameplate which clearly identifies the university and lends credibility to the publication and appended to it the â€Å"Welcome New Students† banner which also clearly identifies the publication as meant for new students. Red is the colour of choice for this banner deliberately so that it stands out from the rest of the page which are of more muted colours. In designing the nameplate, the right title must be chosen with important words isolated, the right type font used and size and position are carefully selected. (Gibbs 2002) The headline article affirms the new student’s decision of enrolling at the university and article content is the proud and warm welcome of the vice-chancellor. Although the article title is very noticeable, it is not expected that the reader will immediately proceed to read the lengthy article. Deliberately, a collage of interesting university photos have been used as visual for the article. Next, the resources at the university which should be quite important to new students is the next item in the eye path, so a stack of these facilities are immediately below the photos. The right hand column ends with the contact box which is another piece of important information for new students. The Choices at NTU list is designed as teaser items with graphic icons that depict what the resource is all about. Aside from drawing attention to each item on the list, the icon along with the type font used creates a visual element. â€Å"Nothing turns off a reader more

How I Undertook the Conduct of Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

How I Undertook the Conduct of Research - Essay Example Where did you start with your research? b. How and why did you approach the various aspects of your work? c. How, why and where you found things? d. Why were some things useful, and why were others not? Where did you start your research? The research done in order to write the research paper was conducted with a view to analyse existing legal rules and jurisprudence on the law on assisted dying. I started my research by first reflecting and asking myself what I wanted to find out and how I wanted to proceed. Did I have a specific opinion on whether or not the law should be reformed and then find justification for such an opinion, or did I want my own opinions to be shaped by the data that I would come across in the course of my own research? The first thing I did was to acknowledge that I had a specific and definite opinion on the issue of assisted dying and it was that I believed the law was in great need of reformHowever, I also wanted to ensure that I started as objectively as pos sible, and thus it was important for me to get an accurate definition of assisted suicide. For this, I wanted not grey literature or advocacy literature, but something scientific and credible. Thus I relied on a book entitled â€Å"Medical Law and Ethics†. I found that the definition of euthanasia, or assisted dying is, the act of consciously assisting someone’s death in order to relieve that person of suffering as a result of terminal illness1. I also found that this can be broken down into even more classifications, such as passive and active, as well as voluntary and involuntary. After knowing what the definition of euthanasia, I then focused on finding what the law presently states on the subject matter. For this, it was of course helpful to not only look at the appropriate statutes and criminal code, but also to look at what eminent jurists were saying on the subject matter. It quickly became clear in the course of my research that while neighbouring countries lik e The Netherlands and Belgium – both in close proximity to the United Kingdom in more ways than geography -- have allowed euthanasia and in fact, many citizens of the UK and around the world have made the tip to these two countries to have assisted suicide performed on them, it is still illegal in our jurisdiction. How and why did you approach the various aspects of your work? Because I did not want to just focus on a general reform call, I wanted to be specific to a particular bill. To this end, I focused on the Assisted Suicide bill by Lord Joffe, which was priorly defeated in the House of Lords. As I stated in my reform paper, the bill, if enacted into law, would allow terminally ill patients to seek drugs from their doctors that would end their lives. The benefits of the act, if passed, will only be for those who have been medically diagnosed to live for six months, who are suffering from unbearable pain, and who are psychologically of sound mind and not depressed. I chos e this particular reform bill because it is by and large the most debated upon and controversial bill with respect to euthanasia and the debates on the merits of this bill have not abated even after its defeat. This research primarily relied on doctrinal methods. Paul Chynoweth defines the Doctrinal Legal Research as follows:

Analyse a discourses in 'Discourses and Variation' subject Essay - 1

Analyse a discourses in 'Discourses and Variation' subject - Essay Example These talk back methods enable community involvement and discussion of interactional energy with instructors through conversation (Williams, 2004). User review of retail methods illustrates SNS interactions prospective subversion of straight interaction of energy and equalizing instructor and school student accessibility details statements. This review supports statements about the machine-mediated interaction approach (Facebook) to democratize interaction through filtering cues denoting community hierarchies. Learners who could not otherwise criticize educators educational methods in experience to deal with get in touch with for fear of sanction, found in Facebook a safe way to query them. RP posts, ‘I do not care if pain WAS useful to get details. It still goes against the Geneva Conference agreement, and is an obvious attack on individual privileges. What is this world coming to? We’re SUPPOSED to be the excellent people, but the way I look at it we are not doing a very excellent job of displaying it. Torture is incorrect. 100 %. No validation.’ MR posts, â€Å"bunch of generous pansies †¦ do you really experience concern for the same people that blew up a part of our country? Do you think these ‘people’ (and I used that term loosely) would stop to consider what they are (and did) to our prisoners? †¦ I say whatever happens to them is much less than they are entitled to †¦.† PS declares, â€Å"†¦ (of course there are the exclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and even goes to unite himself with team associates by asking, â€Å"†¦ what does [sic] people like us have to concern over issues of this nature?† a participant preserves this design of discussion. QK â€Å"It is not anyone here is [sic] job to persuade you that you are incorrect, but if you are here to task the GROUP’s opinions, back it up. Oh, and cut down on the terminology — AND learn how to perform magic. I think what it comes down to is to THINK before you write,

Historical Developments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Historical Developments - Essay Example This was further intensified when the Royal Proclamation was issued by King George III, prohibiting the colonists to settle beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This was a move to strengthen the British relationships with the Native Americans. Followed by this, there were a number of Acts, namely Sugar Act (1764), Currency Act (1764), Quartering Act (1765) and Stamp Act (1765) increased the duties and taxes of the colonists. When the colonists resisted, these Acts were enforced on them. The Boston Massacre of 1770 ignited the fire between the parties and the colonists used this event to showcase the cruelty of the British. The Intolerable Act (1774) which placed restrictions on meetings and Boston harbor in response to the Boston Tea Party, was a milestone, as it resulted in the colonies forming an Association (First Continental Congress) to boycott British goods in retaliation. The open warfare at Lexington and Concord (1775) resulted in the death of 8 American men and 70 British soldi ers. This was followed by all the 13 colonies meeting to form the Second Continental Congress in May 1775 and George Washington was named the head (Gipson, 1954). Thus the growing grievances of the colonists against the restrictions placed by the British, finally resulted in the American

Rethinking corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rethinking corporate governance - Essay Example Jeswald (2002) defines corporate governance as the relationship existing amongst the management, Board of Directors, shareholders, and other stakeholders that revolves around exercising authority, direction, as well as control in an economy or organization. From the perception of Clark, WÃ ³jcik and Bauer (2005), it is true that there is need for economies and organizations to rethink on how to direct, control, and exercise authority in a bid to enhancing sanity within their environs. According to Veasey (2005), every stakeholder has a right to ensure corporate governance compliance within nations or organizations. Indeed, with current happenings in the business environment there is a need to rethink corporate governance. Whilst focusing on rethinking corporate governance various questions of concern arise. First, what as been the impact of ineffective corporate governance on economies and business organizations within the contemporary business environment? Second, what is the relationship between corporate governance and performance within business organizations and economies? Third, what practices result to ineffective corporate governance within the business contemporary? Fourth, what are the practices that organizations and nations should engage in with a view of enhancing effective and efficient corporate governance? Fifth, how will rethinking corporate governance influence the performance of business organizations and nations especially given the turbulences and dynamisms within current business environment? I propose to majorly dwell on the third questions. Identifying some of the practices that have caused ineffectiveness and inefficiency in corporate governance will be a foundation to understanding how individuals, institutions, organizations, and nations can rethink and restructure their corporate governance. In order to attain this, I will have to collect data on various nations and organizations that have failed in corporate

Analyse a discourses in 'Discourses and Variation' subject Essay - 1

Analyse a discourses in 'Discourses and Variation' subject - Essay Example These talk back methods enable community involvement and discussion of interactional energy with instructors through conversation (Williams, 2004). User review of retail methods illustrates SNS interactions prospective subversion of straight interaction of energy and equalizing instructor and school student accessibility details statements. This review supports statements about the machine-mediated interaction approach (Facebook) to democratize interaction through filtering cues denoting community hierarchies. Learners who could not otherwise criticize educators educational methods in experience to deal with get in touch with for fear of sanction, found in Facebook a safe way to query them. RP posts, ‘I do not care if pain WAS useful to get details. It still goes against the Geneva Conference agreement, and is an obvious attack on individual privileges. What is this world coming to? We’re SUPPOSED to be the excellent people, but the way I look at it we are not doing a very excellent job of displaying it. Torture is incorrect. 100 %. No validation.’ MR posts, â€Å"bunch of generous pansies †¦ do you really experience concern for the same people that blew up a part of our country? Do you think these ‘people’ (and I used that term loosely) would stop to consider what they are (and did) to our prisoners? †¦ I say whatever happens to them is much less than they are entitled to †¦.† PS declares, â€Å"†¦ (of course there are the exclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and even goes to unite himself with team associates by asking, â€Å"†¦ what does [sic] people like us have to concern over issues of this nature?† a participant preserves this design of discussion. QK â€Å"It is not anyone here is [sic] job to persuade you that you are incorrect, but if you are here to task the GROUP’s opinions, back it up. Oh, and cut down on the terminology — AND learn how to perform magic. I think what it comes down to is to THINK before you write,

Rethinking corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rethinking corporate governance - Essay Example Jeswald (2002) defines corporate governance as the relationship existing amongst the management, Board of Directors, shareholders, and other stakeholders that revolves around exercising authority, direction, as well as control in an economy or organization. From the perception of Clark, WÃ ³jcik and Bauer (2005), it is true that there is need for economies and organizations to rethink on how to direct, control, and exercise authority in a bid to enhancing sanity within their environs. According to Veasey (2005), every stakeholder has a right to ensure corporate governance compliance within nations or organizations. Indeed, with current happenings in the business environment there is a need to rethink corporate governance. Whilst focusing on rethinking corporate governance various questions of concern arise. First, what as been the impact of ineffective corporate governance on economies and business organizations within the contemporary business environment? Second, what is the relationship between corporate governance and performance within business organizations and economies? Third, what practices result to ineffective corporate governance within the business contemporary? Fourth, what are the practices that organizations and nations should engage in with a view of enhancing effective and efficient corporate governance? Fifth, how will rethinking corporate governance influence the performance of business organizations and nations especially given the turbulences and dynamisms within current business environment? I propose to majorly dwell on the third questions. Identifying some of the practices that have caused ineffectiveness and inefficiency in corporate governance will be a foundation to understanding how individuals, institutions, organizations, and nations can rethink and restructure their corporate governance. In order to attain this, I will have to collect data on various nations and organizations that have failed in corporate

The Collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe Essay Example for Free

The Collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe Essay Analyses of the collapse of communism have followed a dialectical path since the early 1990s, explaining the implosion first as the direct result of US pressure, then as the inevitable fall of a flawed system, and finally, as a combination of the two. This fluctuation has occurred as national archives from both the East and the West have become increasingly accessible, giving historians a more complete picture of trends that may have contributed to the climate within the Eastern bloc at the beginning of the relevant period. Indeed, such documents have been instrumental in dispelling the view that the pivotal events of 1989 had relatively short-term roots. Some analysts have developed reasonable arguments tracing the fall of the Warsaw Pact back only as far as 1985, but for the most part, these are unsatisfying, ignoring critical factors such as the rise of the hawkists in America, and the role of world-wide peace movements. In addition, the release of top secret CIA files has shed interesting light on the under-rated Afghan conflict. These suggest that far from being yet another target for moralistic US containment, Afghanistan was set up by the Americans as an attempt to trap the Soviets in an exhausting Third World contest- to give them their own Vietnam. This discovery, and others relating to the nuclear arms race, technology, the media, and human rights debates, indicates that while not as active as initially supposed, the US was highly instrumental in bringing down European communism. At the same time, however, evidence of a self-perpetuating economic crisis, a crisis which was to spawn the powerful dissident movements in Eastern Europe, can be seen in Soviet archives as early as 1960. It could thus be argued that communism was, as an impractical, unpopular system, doomed to eventual failure. That this occurred on such a grand scale, however, and as early as 1989, must be attributed to Gorbachevs dramatic reform policies; these were in turn shaped by both external and internal pressures, as well as the particular political matrix, formulated under Khrushchev, in which Gorbachevs career began. In order to fully understand the forces that pushed Moscow towards such reforms, it is necessary to begin with the 1970s and the Soviet Union under Brezhnev. This was a period that left a strong legacy economically and thus shaped the local and international environments to a significant degree. A time of superpower dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente, both East and West were feeling the strain of Cold War competition- President Nixon of the U.S. looking for a way to liquidate the Vietnam War, and Brezhnev beginning to find the arms race excessively expensive. Trade between the two sides increased, and the common goal of nuclear non-proliferation led to various limitation agreements, such as the ABM Treaty of 1972. It was within this context, as Brezhnev was finally able to turn his attention to the process of catching up with the West financially and technologically, that the extent of the economic crisis in the communist states first became apparent. Dissent in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and, to a lesser extent, East Germany, had rung the alarm bells frequently throughout the preceding two decades, but the dilemma had never really absorbed much of the leaderships notice until now. Due to poor management of state funds, corruption within the system- granting party officials special luxuries, and an unbalanced emphasis on industrial manufacture, living standards within the Eastern camp were at a universal low. This was despite successful oil and steel production, the proceeds from which went to the maintenance of the KGB and the military presence in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Commodities were difficult to obtain, having been sacrificed for power plants that were needed to support industry, and, as a result, labour productivity and life expectancy were on the decline. In addition, government subsidies ate up such a large portion of the state budget that foreign trade had to be restricted, and importing rationed. These conditions had long been the fuel for various dissident undercurrents, which were intensified by strict censorship; as Timothy Sowula puts it, nothing nurtures dissent like the inability to express it.1 Although not anti-communist in essence, being rather concerned with democratizing socialism than with implementing Western ideology, these movements, particularly in Hungary and Poland, called for a reduction in state control, and promoted pluralism, and were thus clearly founded on a lack of faith in communism as an economic mechanism. These groups would later develop into powerful policy-setting factions. That they should be given more freedom to express their views first dawned upon the Soviet leadership during Brezhnevs tenure, as the intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the crushing of Solidarity in 1981 proved destructively expensive both financially and in terms of propaganda. These trends- of economic decline and accompanying dissent- were clearly of predominantly internal beginnings. Basic faults in the system, such as excessive state control, corruption, over-emphasis on industry and the military, in addition to the characteristically repressive environment, caused the crisis situation to emerge as rampant by the 1970s. As recently upgraded spy systems relayed, irregularly it is true, updates on these problems to the West, they were picked up by hawkists within America and taken into careful consideration by those in charge of developing foreign policy. Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente had, once again, lost its luster in the eyes of many instrumental figures, and was viewed not merely as an expression of Americas weakness but also as a cause of it. 2 In addition, U.S. failures such as Vietnam and Watergate had damaged Western morale, and President Jimmy Carter was under pressure to make a strong reinstatement of American prestige. The main source of this pressure, a new political branch later branded neo-conservative, became prominent in the late 1970s, and followed Richard Piper in stating that: The notion that through accommodation you could change (the Soviets) was faulty. To change them you needed a very hard line policy.3 It was this branch, in control of perhaps the majority of the votes in the Senate by 1979, that formulated the adjusted US line: the exploitation of Soviet weaknesses in several different forums. The first arm of this strategy was clandestine support for the existing dissident movements in Eastern Europe. Solidarity, for instance, was largely dependent on printing equipment smuggled in from the U.S, using it to put out regular bulletins coordinating strikes, presenting political advice, and informing members of trade union meetings. The same equipment was also used to publish forbidden books and essays for Solidaritys extensive underground education system. This was not exclusive to Poland, either- evidence suggests that Washington furnished insurrectionist organizations in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany with similar printing machinery. This sponsorship effectively laid the platform for the reform campaigns that were launched both subversively and in the main-stream political arena. In addition, there are numerous records of visits by American politicians to pro-Western officials in Eastern Europe, encouraging them in their resistance, and helping them to develop the petitions that they placed before the leadership in their respective countries. Thus, it is clear that the U.S. did play a relatively influential role in developing the capacity of these movements, although they were, as already stated, self creating and sustaining. In other words, it would be fair to say that while it did not incite their sentiments, the U.S. did equip those who fought for the fatal reforms that would bring down communism. Another important forum of U.S. pressure was the human rights debate. This had begun in 1975 with the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, but had not really evoked wide interest until approximately five years later, as a strong realpolitik contingent in the West had spurned the human rights issue as an unnecessary ideological digression. It was only as Jimmy Carters public promotion of humanitarianism, a tactic which had been rarely used since Vietnam, succeeded in gaining popular support, that U.S. policy makers reincorporated the human rights line into their scheme. And, indeed, this proved a worthwhile investment. Inciting peace movements across the West, and providing the dissident factions in the East with a weapon with which to fight oppression, the Helsinki Final Act, when brought to life, became a powerful document in the context of Cold War competition. It provided a frame of reference by which the peoples of the world could judge both domestic conditions and superpower behaviour in the various conquests of the 1980s. It formed the foundation for reformist debates behind the Iron Curtain, particularly on the subjects of state sovereignty and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente. While it gained great public acclaim as a rare superpower agreement to play by the same rules, however, the Helsinki process was in fact treated with little respect by its signatories. That the U.S. valued it as something that the media could use to bring out Soviet atrocities, both within its own quarters and in places like Afghanistan, more than as a genuine moral code, was evident in Washingtons ongoing support of brutal military dictatorships in Central America, and its collaboration with apartheid South Africa. Likewise, the Soviet Union ignored the terms of the act, which were not legally binding, and opposed the freedom of traffic and of the press that it stipulated. Ultimately, although thus under-rated by the Kremlin, the Helsinki Final Act was to facilitate one of the major exposà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s of the communist system, officially dissolving the myth that communism was socialism with a human face.4 Of course, the success of this human rights operation depended largely on the media. In fact, it was as coverage of peace demonstrations in the West reached the East that an echo effect began to occur, winning support for the dissident movements and dividing central party regimes- a crucial hollowing process that would set up the later implosion. With the tight censorship exercised by Eastern regimes during this period, it may seem surprising that Western media so dramatically influenced areas such as Poland and Hungary, but highly developed technology had basically put an end to the shielding and isolating of peoples in communist countries. This was particularly true in East Germany- the normalization of relations with West Germany in August 1972 and resulted in East Germans being allowed to watch West German T.V. As had been the case throughout the Cold War, what happened in Germany set the tone for the rest of Europe. Combined with Washingtons equipping of Solidarity, this media traffic had under-estimated ramifications. Not only did it expose the peoples of the communist world to the human rights debate, it also, and perhaps more importantly, allowed them to experience the full extent of the disparity between living conditions in the East and living conditions in the West. This, a tribute to the merits of capitalism, and a tool for awakening civilians to their own economic repression, mobilized reformist movements in a way that even Washington, responsible for developing the technology for this project, had never anticipated. Running parallel to these subtler channels of pressure was the typically forefront issue of nuclear arms. And, indeed, a dramatic shift in U.S. nuclear policy around 1978-79 can be discerned, although demand for a zero option in Europe was a consistent theme throughout the relevant period. To return briefly to the 1970s and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente, we see the nuclear arms race denounced as pointless- a vicious circle.5 Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union made marked steps during this passage of the Cold War towards the dissolution of the contest- with the partial test ban treaty of 1968, and the ABM treaty of 1972. Approximately mid-way through Jimmy Carters term, however, the soft-line policy was reversed, and the U.S. began to pressurize the Soviets by developing MRVs, and escalating the production of unlimited weapons. In addition, NATO formulated a tough response to the previously unanswered SS 20 missiles, which allegedly targeted Western Europe. The proposed introduction of the Pershing II and Tomahawk missiles in West Germany and the Netherlands was a new approach, replacing the former agreement to engage in talks on the matter. That this shift coincided with the realization that the nuclear arms race was exhausting dwindling Soviet resources and morale, suggests that it was the direct result of new insights into Soviet behaviour. As American pressure in this arena continued to rise with the development of SDI, the reality that the USSR lacked the power to retaliate began to dawn upon those in charge of foreign policy. One would think, with the traditional gauge of Cold War tensions- the nuclear contest, in such a unilateral state, that superpower relations were becoming progressively peaceful. The irony that summit talks consistently coincided with outbreaks or accelerations in external conflicts demonstrated, however, that this was not the case. In fact, if the impression that the Soviets were suddenly more pro-dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente than the U.S. in the nuclear sense even emerged, Washington quickly eradicated it by turning the worlds attention to undoubtedly aggressive Soviet behaviour in the Middle East and Angola. Exploitation of the Soviet tendency to get involved in Third World conflicts became perhaps the focus of U.S. foreign policy during the late 1970s and early 80s, as can be seen in the most obvious and important example: Afghanistan. The superpower-funded war in Afghanistan was, as stated earlier, misunderstood until perhaps a few years ago. At the time of its occurrence, and during its immediate aftermath, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan was generally defined as an extension of containment, justified with the characteristic moral charge and talk of liberating Afghan captives from an unwanted regime. According to this view, the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to suppress popular sentiments that threatened their dominance, prompting an objection and military response from the U.S. New evidence suggests, however, that the launch of the covert CIA operation in Afghanistan was hardly a reaction to Soviet movements. On the contrary, substantial U.S. activity was recorded in the area as early as 6 months before the deployment of the Red Army, as officials stirred up opposition to the government, promising military support for an insurrection. Mr. Brezezinksi, adviser to Carter at the time, sums this up, saying: According to the official version of history, aid to the moujahideen began during 1980after the Soviet army invadedBut the realitysecretly guardedis completely otherwise.6 Having established this, we can see that U.S. involvement in Afghanistan had a far from peaceable source; quite the opposite, the plan of action was to induce a Soviet military intervention.7 The purposes of this operation were multiple, but are encapsulated in Brezezinksis statement, quoted earlier, that this was the (Soviets) own Vietnam8- in other words, a conflict designed to exhaust economically, raise disputes at home, and as a touch-point for propaganda. And it worked, too. Domestically, by the time the conquest was five years old, and had claimed thousands of Soviet lives, it had become extremely unpopular, fuelling dissent, and disillusioning even faithful communists. Economically, a battle fought in the mountains with helicopters against the powerful US FIM-92 Stingers was expensive, and, in addition, created a rift between the Red Army and the Soviet leadership as the fighting went on past the desired date of departure. Further, since the West controlled the international media, it was able to present coverage of the exchange with a prejudice, emphasizing the Soviet atrocities and the number of civilian deaths. Human rights were, as one would expect, a major talking point within this context. In addition to undermining the Soviet Union in the above ways, Afghanistan was used as a pretext to end every vestige of dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente. The promising grain trade that had sprung up between the U.S. and the East was abruptly brought to a close. Then, Washington pressured the Saudi Arabian leadership, which was co-operating with the CIA in Afghanistan, to lower oil prices, and thus undercut the Soviet monopoly. Simultaneously, the White House denounced the SALT II Treaty as meaningless, and began inciting people in the West to express their disapproval of Soviet actions by boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The result of all these manouevres was a dramatic heightening in temperature in the Soviet Union, as it found itself stretched and tested at numerous points- economic, political, and military. It is clear, then, that it was a combination of both internal and external forces that shaped the political climate in Moscow in the critical mid-80s period. An additional factor, overlooked in that it is better defined as a context than as a force, was the legacy of dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and democratization that Khrushchev had left the communist party. While gradually eradicated from main-stream politics as its negative effects began to emerge in Eastern Europe and China, this remained an important influence in specific circles. It had a particular impact on those whose careers had begun under Khrushchev, as his anti-Stalinism left a lasting imprint on minds trained to worship an infallible Soviet leadership. These politicians, many harbouring inclinations towards democratization and reform despite Brezhnevs harsh Sinatra Doctrine, were to emerge as central figures in the Kremlin by 1985. This created an entirely new environment, uniquely receptive to the heightening pressure for refor m that was applied through the previously mentioned channels. Mikhail Gorbachev, a leading figure within this political contingent, was elected head of the communist party both as a result of the natural process outlined above, and as officials realized that the public would best submit to someone with plans for reform. His policies have been cited as the major cause of the collapse of communism, which is reasonable in a limited sense, but they must be viewed as the product of the existing domestic and international situations rather than as a theoretical digression. Faced with such economic, political, and military strain, Gorbachev virtually had no other choice than to seek to minimize Soviet expenses. And this meant, of course, reorganizing the empire for efficiency (perestroika). It also entailed pacifying the masses by giving them a voice; the policy of open discussion, known as glasnost, reduced censorship and allowed debates on ideology to take place. This approach was developed with the aim of liquidating factions such as Solidarity, by giving them certain concessions, for example, freedom of speech and of assembly. As later became evident, however, both this policy and perestroika had a far from calming effect in the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. Ultimately, Gorbachevs reforms destroyed communist rule because they compromised the central police force and terror necessary to its survival- allowing pluralism, and opening gateways to the West. This took place in both an economic and a political sense, so that capitalist influences infiltrated almost every sphere of Soviet society. The first of Gorbachevs policies to make an impact was perestroika, which was put before the Kremlin in June 1987, and began to affect the economic structure almost immediately. As early as August, the Soviet Union had begun to make overtures to British prime-minister Margaret Thatcher, arranging for Western businesses to be established on Soviet soil, and opening up the oil trade. A series of joint ventures were set up the following year, although they were never to achieve the stated goal of helping the USSR to advance technologically. At the same time, petroleum production was restored, state planning diminished, taxes regulated, and a law passed permitting private businesses to operate. These changes were to affect almost everyone- many negatively, as alterations in factory relationships caused workers to lose their jobs. In fact, this economic democratization actually worsened living conditions- that this occurred just as the people were becoming exposed to the comparative wealth of Western nations as traffic flow and the media opened up, ensured that perestroika contributed significantly to the fall of communism. This exposure came with the policy of glasnost, introduced in the Soviet Union in late 1987, and entailing the open discussion of communist ideology both through the media, and within the Party. Its inception was accompanied by Gorbachevs declaration before the UN that he would not intervene in the internal affairs of other Warsaw Pact countries. Together, these liberalizations virtually ended communist terror, opening the way for reform. In addition, the new media freedoms enabled programs detailing past Soviet atrocities, such as the gulags and the Great Purges, to be broadcast. At the same time, the inefficiency of Stalins mechanisms and the extent of state corruption in the past were made known in full to the public. This greatly undermined the peoples faith in the system- it eroded the CPs social power base, by bringing down its traditional corner stones- the hierarchy of the politburo, and CP dominance. The effects of these policies were first evident in Eastern Europe, as dissident movements supported by Gorbachev began to gain power. In Poland, for instance, the previously banned Civic Society was able to rise to a position where it could negotiate for economic reforms and other freedoms- freedoms which would eventually lead to pluralism. Hungary followed a similar course, its underground organizations receiving encouragement and inspiration from Gorbachev, and Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria, while slower to get started, eventually experienced much the same thing. This process- the rise of dissent and the consequent introduction of non-communist elements into the party- escalated as it became increasing clear that Moscow had no intention of opposing democratization. It culminated in 1988-89, as a series of insurrections, some violent, some peaceful, brought about the reinstatement of free elections and the overthrow of communist regimes across Eastern Europe. This implosion is perhaps symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurred after Gorbachev liscensed Hungary to open its border and thus provide an escape route for East Germans. It was echoed in the Soviet Union two years later- the Red Army had staged a brief coup in the interests of a military intervention in Eastern Europe, and had failed. Gorbachev had tried to regain popular support, and had proposed a new constitution, dismissing the CPCC, but Estonia, Ukraine, and Belarus nonetheless declared their independence. By 1991, communist rule in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union was over, and the world was left to reflect on the sad, bizarre chapter in human history,9 that had just been written. It can thus be confirmed that the decline of communism after 1985 was the direct result of Gorbachevs policies. And, in this sense, it was an internal force that brought about the actual collapse that occurred, although, as already established, this was shaped both by U.S. pressure and conditions within the Eastern bloc. It is important, in addition, not to overlook the role that American policy played in these latter years. That Reagan and Thatcher continued to build western economies that far outshone those in the East certainly kept the pressure on the communists. Likewise, Regan constantly challenged Gorbachevs commitment to peace, demanding that he open this gatetear down this wall.10 For the most part, however, the collapse was self-contained after 1985. It is perhaps best summarized by Erik Chenoweth in his article, Common Elements of Successful Opposition to Communism: pluralism is an anathema to communism andcan survive communisms system of terror, where the systems terror is balanced by societys opposition.11 1 Timothy Sowula, The Helsinki Process and the Death of Communism, 2002. 2 Richard Piper, Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and Its Demise, 2001. 3 ibid. 4 Timothy Sowula, ibid 5 Colonel-General Nikolai Chervov, as quoted in Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente And Its Demise, 2001 6 Brezezinksi, The Afghan Caper, 2004 7 ibid. 8 ibid. 9 Robert Reagan as quoted in Misinterpreting the Cold War- www.foreignaffairs.org/19950/001fareviewessay5008/richard-pipes.html 10 ibid. 11 http://www.idee.org/cubaideas4.html

Aspects of Thai Buddhist Culture

Aspects of Thai Buddhist Culture CHAPTER V Thai Culture At the outset of this study I had intended to have two sections in the final chapter, one section detailing the Buddhist roots of all things Thai and the other showing Hindu / Indic influence. This idea has been abandoned by the author due to the limited solely Buddhist influence. There are many aspects of Thai culture that have combined elements of other countries such as China, Laos etc but I have chosen to limit the comparisons to Buddhist / Hindu wherever possible. The study will instead focus on detailing the aspects of influence and state whether they have a combined influence or whether they have been influenced by only one of the subjects. The reader will by now appreciate the massive scope of Hinduism and as such it will prove very difficult to find aspects of Thai Buddhist culture that do not have at least some basis in Hinduism. The common origin of the Indian sub-continent and the antiquity of Hinduism make such a subjective study difficult. For this reason I undertook a survey of many Thai people, including but not limited to, my friends, my students, neighbours, monks, etc. I asked them to make a list of 20 things that they considered to be Thai or that which they thought might be perceived by foreign visitors as representative of their country and culture. The answers were varied (and, at times amusing due to language) and from the answers they gave I have composed a list of the results. (shown on next page). The list has been arranged alphabetically and I have limited the list to the most common answers. The list may have been influenced by regional representation as many of the people gave regional answers such as Isan, or the rocket festival. The answers were unprompted by the author and I feel that the list is accurate for the purpose of this study. Almsround by the Monks Arts and Crafts Boat Races / Royal Barge Procession Buddhism Elephants Buffaloes Isan / Isarn Monuments Mai Pen Rai ! Offerings / Merit Making Rain Dance Respect for Royalty Rocket Festival Royalty Temples / Shrines Thai Smile / Friendliness The Wai ( Thai Greeting ) Thai Boxing Thai Festivals Ceremonies Thai Dance / Thai Dress Thai Food / Fruit Sculpture Thai language Thai literature Thai Massage / Traditional Thai medicine Thai music / musical instruments Thai Silk Tuk Tuk ( 3 wheel vehicle) Sanuk ! Sukhothai Kingdom The discerning reader will note that Hinduism is absent from the list. This was a little surprising to the author as I had distributed approx two hundred surveys and had about 60% returned completed and not a single reply had Hinduism or Brahmanism as an answer. Buddhism was on every single list returned to me and that was not in the least surprising. I had not thought to make my own list prior to asking the Thai people their opinion and I think this was a mistake or rather an oversight on my part. I am unable to remember exactly what I conceived of as Thai-ness, but the Thai smile and the Wai greeting would definitely have been included in any list. Westerners who visit the Kingdom generally know in advance about the Kingdoms Buddhist temples and the friendliness of the people. The Thai language appears to be very difficult for the average foreigner / westerner to master and for that reason I have chosen to begin my analyses by looking at the Thai Language / Thai Script. There was obviously a Thai language long before there was a written Script. By far the most interesting thing about the Thai script is that it was invented by a Thai king ! Not many countries can make such a claim, but is there any basis to the claim which is widely accepted by the majority of the Thai people? The sources I consulted all agreed that the Thai script has its roots in India. In fact, many of the South East Asian scripts are very similar as they all have the same root, namely the Brahmi script of ancient India. At the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom the country of Siam was under the control of the Khmer Empire. It is very likely that the Khmer alphabet had an influence on the Thai alphabet. A look at the first vagga/ varga of Khmer Thai consonants will show the striking similarities. Khmer Palm Leaf Script Modern Khmer Modern Thai The other Scripts which Thai has borrowed from are the Mon, Burmese, as well as the Khun, Tham or Lanna scripts which were existent prior to the first known Thai writing. Tham/Lanna Khun Burmese Burma Northern Thai Scripts Modern Thai Script The Tai Tham script, also known as the Lanna script is used for three living languages: Northern Thai (that is, Kam Muang), Tai Là ¼ and Khà ¼n. In addition, the Lanna script is also used for Lao Tham (or old Lao) and other dialect variants in Buddhist palm leaves and notebooks. The script is also known as Tham or Yuan script. The oldest Thai inscription dates from 1283. The Thai script is a syllabic alphabet based on the Brahmi script which was adapted to write the Siamese / Thai language. Its invention is attributed to King Ramkhamhaeng, who reigned over Sukhothai from 1275 to 1317. The Ramkhamhaeng Stele This stone, now in the National Museum in Bangkok, was allegedly discovered in 1833 by King Mongkut, who was a monk at the time, in Wat Mahathat. It should be noted that the authenticity of the stone or at least portions of it has been brought into question.[[1]] Piriya Krairiksh, an academic at the Thai Khadi Research institute, notes that the steles treatment of vowels suggests that its creators had been influenced by European alphabet systems; thus, he concludes that the stele was fabricated by someone during the reign of Rama IV or shortly before. The matter is very controversial, since if the stone is in fact a fabrication, the entire history of the period will have to be re-written.[[2]] Scholars are still divided over the issue about the steles authenticity.[[3]] It remains an anomaly amongst contemporary writings, and in fact no other source refers to King Ramkhamhaeng by name. Some authors claim the inscription was a complete 19th-century fabrication, others claim that the first 17 lines are genuine, that the inscription was fabricated by King Lithai (a later Sukhothai king), and some scholars still believe very much in the inscriptions authenticity.[[4]] The inscription and its image of a Sukhothai utopia remains central to Thai nationalism, and the suggestion that it may have been faked in the 1800s caused Michael Wright, a British scholar, to be threatened with deportation under Thailands strict lese majeste laws .[[5]] Phra Lewis, a western monk who has lived in Thailand for the past 8 years, went to great lengths to explain the construction of the Thai language and demonstrated that while the spoken language has evolved over time, ie the sound of the consonants changing, their position in the surd/sonant grid has not altered accordingly. This was very helpful to my research work in this study as I had encountered some difficulty researching Thai words due to the many different spellings I encountered. There is in fact a Royally approved system of translation, but it is not always followed and there are numerous informal systems in wide use. For example, the Sanskrit word Dharma is the Pali word Dhamma but the Thais call it Tam, another example is the Thai word Bangsakun which is actually Pamsakula in Pali. Written Thai is very structured and follows simple rules with no ambiguity as to the pronunciation like there is in English. The Thai language is tonal and that is where most problems arise for the foreigner. The old style of pronunciation was no doubt altered when the capital moved from Sukhothai in the north, to Ayuddhya in the central region. The letter ? (K) became G, the ? (C) became J and the ? (J) became CH, and so on. The vowels were also altered slightly. Unless consonants are otherwise marked they carry an inherent vowel. In Indian languages this is normally an a but in Thai the rules are slightly different. The inherent vowel is an o but if the word has more than one syllable then the first inherent vowel is an a and the second inherent vowel is an o. The example below shows the word for road Thanon Before moving on to examine festivals and ceremonies I would like to look at a remarkable feature of the Thai language. For this information I am indebted to Phra Lewis who not only pointed it out but explained it to me as follows :- The above 44 consonants of the Thai alphabet have been shown with their modern phonetic sounds. Some letters change sound change depending on where they are in the syllable. They have been shown horizontally in vaggas dependant upon where the sound is made. The first vagga is guttural, made in the throat. The last line are not shown in their vaggas. The first vertical column should show the surd, the second column the surd aspirate, the third column shows the sonant and the forth shows the sonant aspirated. Column five is the nasal sound made. In the first vagga of the diagram we can see that the G and K sounds of modern Thai have switched positions and if one looks at the next vagga ie the palatal vagga, we can see the J has also moved. The monk has speculated that this happened when the Thais moved their capital to Ayuddhya. The letters M, L, H in the chart indicates the class of consonant ie middle , low and high. This should not be confused with the tones of the language. Looking down the first column we see all the letters are middle class, the next column are all high class and the remaining letters in the 5 vaggas are low class consonants. The consonants in the last, longer, line can also be placed in their vagga, ie Y would belong to the palatal vagga, H in the guttural etc. This class of consonant feature is unique to Thai but the grid is the format of the majority of Indian languages. The king did not invent the grid but he may well have been the instigator for the format of the letters, a man in his position could no doubt summon the best minds in the Kingdom. Phra Lewis speculates that the need for a new script was prompted by the wish to write the Pali Canon. As the old Thai / Lao alphabet had only 18 consonants this would not be possible as Pali has 33 consonants. It was therefore necessary to add new letters for the sounds that did not exist is Thai. This is where the uniqueness of the script can show the root of the word for the Thai script was designed with this in mind. The king started with the basic grid and filled it with the letters existent in Thai. There were some gaps in the grid where Pali had sounds that Thai had no letters for, the aspirated G or the pallatal NY for instance. The first step taken was to add letters to fill in the gaps. These letters were (English letters give OLD pronunciation The ingenious part was the addition of letters where Thai already had a letter for the existing Pali sound. The Thais already had a letter for the aspirated K (KH), but they added an additional letter ? (KH) to be used in Pali / Sanskrit words. The practice has continued up until very modern times with foreign loan words being spelt in Thai using the new letters. This allows a person reading Thai to tell if the word is of foreign origin. Most ingenious, some modern English words may be able to trace their Greek or Latin roots from the spelling but this is not the norm as it is with Thai. Those wishing to delete obsolete letters from the Thai alphabet do not have a true understanding of its well thought out and practical design. The additional letters means that Thai has 44 consonants whereas Pali only has 33. The Thai letters used to write Pali in Thailand today should be pronounced differently from spoken Thai but most Thai monks do not do this. After this had been explained I found it a simple matter of looking at a grid chart in order to translate Thai words into roman lettering such that I could research the words online. All of this information was obtained from the monks personal notes and, after checking, I have found it to be correct though I wish to point out I have no linguistic training. The controversy over the Ramkhamhaeng Stele remains unresolved but that is of no concern to the study. The one thing that can be said for the inventor'(s ?) of the Thai script is that he or they were very intelligent and methodical in its design. I personally favour a single person as committees tend to mess things up and this system, in its original form, was perfect. ( and Indian influenced ) Festivals and Ceremonies The foreign visitors perception of Thailand and the Thais is not gained from the language but from the visual aspects of Thai culture such as festivals and ceremonies. There are some public holidays which have no Hindu or Buddhist roots such as days commemorating past kings or celebrating the founding of the constitution. The study has omitted these and others which may have there roots in other foreign countries ie Chinese New Year. To begin with I have chosen to look at three celebrated days which are definitely Buddhist in origin and are known as Puja days. Wisakha Puja Day Wisakha Puja Day is a very important day in the Buddhist tradition, for it was on this day that Prince Siddhattha Gotama was born, 35 years later became the enlightened Buddha, and in another 45 years, passed away into total Nibbana (Parinibbana). In each case, these events took place on the full-moon day in the Wisakha month (usually in May). Wisakha Puja Day is a great Buddhist holiday. It falls on the 15th day of the waxing moon in the 6th lunar month, i.e. full moon day. In Thailand, Wisakha Puja is celebrated throughout the country. On Wisakha Puja Day people put up religious flags outside their houses. They take part in ceremonies at temples and they make merit. They bring flowers, candles, and incense to pay respect to the Triple Gem, i.e. Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha (the community of followers). In the evening, people take part in candle-lit processions and walk clockwise around the main chapel of the temple three times. In the procession, each person carries flowers, three incense sticks and a lighted candle. The concept of walking clockwise around shrines etc is a Hindu / Indic practice clockwise for auspicious occasions and anti-clockwise for inauspicious ones such as death. Magha Puja Day Magha Puja Day is one of the most important Buddhist celebrations in the Thai Calander. This day, which falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month (either the last week of February or early of March). marks the four great events that took place during Lord Buddhas lifetime, namely; 1250 Buddhist monks from different places came to pay homage to Lord Buddha at Valuwan Vihara in Rajgaha, the capital of Magaha State, each of his own initiative and without prior notification or appointment. all of them were the enlightened monks (Arahants) all of them had been ordained by the Buddha himself (Ehi Bhikkhu) They assembled on the full moon day of the third lunar month. On the evening of that day, Lord Buddha gave the assembly a discourse Ovadha Patimokha laying down the principles of His Teachings summarised into three acts, i.e. to do good, to abstain from bad action and to purify the mind. It was unclear as to when the Magha Puja Ceremony took place. However, in a guide book of ceremonies for the twelve months written by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), it is said that, In the past, the Magha Puja was never performed, the ceremony has just been practised during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV)? Realizing the significance of this day, King Rama IV ordered the royal Magha Puja Ceremony to be performed in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in 1851 and this has continued up to the present day. In later years the ceremony was widely accepted and performed throughout the Kingdom. The day has been declared as a public holiday. Thai people go to the temple to make merit and perform religious activities in the morning and return to take part in the candlelit procession or Wien Tien in the evening. At this auspicious time, His Majesty the King will preside over the religious rites to mark the occasion at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and will later lead hundreds of people in a candlelit procession held within the temples compound. Asaha Puja Day Asaha Puja means the ceremony in the eighth lunar month. On the full moon day of the eighth lunar month, the Lord Buddha gave his first sermon and one of his followers became the first Buddhist monk. The ordained followers of the Buddha are collectively called the Sangha, (Asaha Puja is sometimes referred to as Sangha Day.) During his first sermon, the Buddha talked about The Middle Way, to be successful in Spiritual life, we should avoid the two extremes: Trying too hard, such as not eating or not sleeping enough and Not trying hard enough, such as eating and sleeping too much. The Buddha also spoke about the Noble Eightfold Path. This path instructs the faithful to to live in a way that does not harm ourselves or others, to help ourselves and others and to purify the mind. He advised the people to Do good: Avoid evil: Purify the mind. He gave eight guidelines to help people to live in this way, and they are commonly spoken of as the Noble Eightfold Path. He advised people to speak, act and earn their living in moral ways. He further advised them to practise meditation in order to purify their minds and gain deep wisdom (Panya in Thai). These three days are very low key as far as celebrations are concerned and a foreign visitor may not even be aware of them unless they choose to visit a temple or Wat. The next Buddhist ceremony or festival to examine is the Robe Giving ceremony of Kathina. Kathin Ceremony At the end of the three-month Rains Retreat (July to September / October), monks throughout the country are allowed to travel from place to place and are eligible to receive new robes in an annual presentation ceremony called Thot Kathin. Besides new robes, Buddhist literature, kitchen equipment, financial contributions and building materials e.g. nails, hand-saws and hammers etc. are also presented to monks on this occasion. In fact, the word Thot means making an offering to the monk and the word Kathin literary means the embroidery frame used in sewing the robes which, in those days, were collected from rags on dead bodies (pamsakula, rag robes) or rags found in the forset since clothes were not available in plenty as nowadays. Buddhist people regard the Thot Kathin ceremony as the most significant form of merit-making next to the ordination of their close kin. To sponsor a Kathin ceremony involves a lot of time, manpower and expense. Above all, an advance booking must be made with the Wat if a person wishes to be the sole sponsor of the Kathin ceremony but this may not be possible in all Wats, especially temples which are held in high esteem by many people. Nontheless, those who fail to be the sole sponsor of Kathin can also take part in the ceremony which, in this type, is known as Kathin Samakki or the United Kathin. Sometimes a Kathin group will travel for several hundred kilometers by bus, train, boat or even by plane to present the Kathin robes and other necessities to monks in remote temples or in other countries where Buddhist temples are established. People thus hold this merit-making festival not only for earning merit for themselves but also for enjoying a holiday free from the daily hectic life full of stress and strain in the city. During the Thot Kathin period, it is very common to see Kathin processions traveling to and fro throughout the country. In fact, anybody can take part in the event through the simple method of enclosing a small amount of money in the white envelope given by friends or relatives. Songkran Festival Songkran is a Sanskrit word in Thai form which means the entry of the sun into any sign of the Zodiac. But the Songkran in this particular instance is when the sun enters the sign of Aries or the Ram. Its full name is Maha Songkran or Major Songkran to distinguish it from the othes, though most Thais are totally unaware of this fact. Songkran is in fact the celebration of the vernal equinox similar to those of the Indian Holi Festival, the Chinese Ching Ming, and the Christian Festival of Easter. Due to the precession of the equinox the introduction of spring, ie when the sun crosses the equator, now occurs on or around the 21st of March. For the Thai people it is simply their traditional New Year when they can enjoy their holidays to the full with no economic hindrance. Songkran begins on the 13th April and ends on the 15th April, (occasionally, in certain years, on the 16th April). The Songkran Festival is the most striking, for it is widely observed not only in this country but also in Burma, Cambodia and the Lao Republic. On the eve of Songkran Day, i.e. on the 12th April, people clean their house and burn all of the refuse in the belief that anything bad belonging to the old year will be unlucky if left and carried on to the coming New Year. Early on the first day of Songkran, the 13th April, the people both young and old in their new clothing go to their local Wat or monastery to offer food to the monks. A long table is erected in the compound of the Wat where monks alms bowls stand in a row on either side of the table. The people donate many types of food and dainties by placing these in the monks alms bowls. In the afternoon of the same day there is a bathing ceremony of the Buddha images and in some wats this includes the abbot or statues of other famous monks of high regard. It is after this that the well-known water throwing begins. The bathing of images is done as ritualistic ceremony, which will be dealt with separately. Thai people will go on this day, and the succeeding days, to pay their respects and ask blessings from their elders and respected seniors. They will pour scented water into the palms of the old people and often present them with small gifts. In previous times it was an actual bathing where the young people helped the old people to take a bath and to change their old clothing and put on the new clothes which the young people presented them as an act of respect to the aged on the occasion of the New Year. An important thing to be done during the Songkran Festival is a religious service called Bangsakun (Pamsakula in Pali) performed in sacred memory to the dead. When a person died and was cremated, the remains were often placed in a chedi in the Wat. In later times a portion of the bones was sometimes kept in the house in a receptacle. On Songkran Day a religious service in memory to the dead may be officiated by monks at the place where the ashes and the bones have been deposited, or as in some localities the people bring their dead bones to a village wat in company with others where a joint memorial service is performed. In some parts of the country the guardian spirits of the village and town receive also their annual offerings on Songkran Days. Obviously there are reminiscences or traces of ancestor and animistic worship in by-gone days. The monks are presented with cloth, symbolizing the death shroud, which in olden times was cut up and used as rag cloth to make the robes of the m onks. Loy Krathong The most colourful festival during the year is Loy Krathong wich is held on the full moon of the 12th lunar month, usually in November. This is a festival to pay respects to the Mother of Water and to ask forgiveness for polluting the water in the past year. Loy means to float and a krathong is a kind of bowl. A typical krathong is made using banana leaves and the base is from the stem of a banana plant. Incense sticks, candles and flowers are placed inside the krathong along with small denomination coins. (perhaps this acts as an encouragement to the people who have to remove them from the klongs!) On the afternoon of the festival a parade normally takes place through the city or town. Krathongs of all shapes and sizes are placed on floats and carried by locals and their children. During the evening, thousands of people go down to their local river or klong (canal) to float their krathongs. They light the candles and incense sticks, say a prayer and then float it on the water. It is a wonderful sight with flickering lights bobbing up and down on the river, much more interesting to witness than to read about.There is a Loy Krathong song, (in Thai language) which is often played throughout the day. Below is a translation of this popular song: November full moon shines, Loy Krathong, Loy Krathong and the waters high in the river and local klong Loy Krathong is here and everybodys full of cheer Were together at the klong, Each one with his krathong As we push away we pray, We can see a better day The Loy Krathong festival dates back to the period of the Sukhothai Kingdom, 700 years ago. It marked the end of the rainy season and the main rice harvest. It is based on a Hindu tradition of thanking the water god(s). The farmers of Sukhothai held a festival of floating candles. One year, a beautiful woman called Noppamas, who was the chief royal consort, made special lanterns for the festival. She made them from banana leaves and shaped them like lotus flowers. The king was suitably impressed with what he saw, and announced that krathongs would be floated every year from then on. Today, in memory of her and her innovation, there is a beauty contest called The Noppamas Queen Contest. Laying the Foundation Stone Thai people like to consult the astrology charts (and / or Buddhist monks though this is spoken of as a low art in the Brahmajala Sutta) in order to find an auspicious time to do something important. This can be anything from the day of a marriage or when to make a business deal. The date and time for starting to build a house is also important. A special ceremony is arranged for erecting the first pillar or foundation stone. Previously I had the privilege to attend the ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone for the Paknam Tower. This is going to be a 139 meter high tower with amazing views over Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand. Thai people are mainly Buddhists, but ceremonies like this one are conducted by Brahmin priests dressed in white. During the ceremony a priest asks forgiveness from the guardian spirit of the land. He also asks the spirits permission to build on the land. This was followed by offerings for the guardian spirits. Although this ceremony is mainly Brahmin, nine monks were also invited to do some chanting. Local dignitaries offered food to the monks in order to make merit during this event. I was reminded of the fact that many Thais see no conflict of interest by partaking in both Brahmin and Buddhist ceremonies, even simultaneously. The Thais themselves would rather make auspicious offerings twice than not make them at all. According to Thai astrology, there are three days of the week when you should never start construction of a building. These are Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. For the consecration ceremony of the Paknam Tower the date chosen was Friday 18th May 2007. The time for the actual laying of the foundation stone was set for exactly 2:19 p.m. The number nine is considered auspicious by Thai people. Everything is done in multiples of threes or nines wherever possible. There were nine monks and nine different kinds of food offerings for them. As well as the marble foundation stone, nine symbolic bricks were used during the ceremony. Three made of gold, three made of silver and three made of an alloy. There were also nine symbolic pegs made of nine different types of wood. In addition to these items, there were jasmine garlands, flowers with popped rice and one baht coins which were all utilized during the ceremony. After the conch shell had been blown and the small drums sounded, it was time for the foundation stone laying ceremony to begin. Khun Anuwat Methiwibunwut, the Governor of Samut Prakan Province hammered one of the pegs into the sand. Each of the dignitaries then took turns hammering the remaining pegs into place, followed by pouring of the cement. The nine bricks had been laid in a star pattern where the pegs had been driven into the sand. Additional cement was then poured on top. At this point all of the senior dignitaries jointly placed the marble foundation stone onto the bricks. Following this, they then took turns to sprinkle flowers and coins onto the marble slab. Once the main ceremony was over, the local people, who had been patiently waiting and watching everything, were allowed to come forward to do the same with their own flowers and coins. There were two identical copies of this foundation stone. I presume that one will be covered in cement while the second one will be placed in a prominent place once the building has been completed. The photo below shows the dignitaries placing the marble foundation stone onto the bricks Ploughing Ceremony The Ploughing Ceremony, which is observed every year, is an age old tradition, and according to the Thais it dates back to the Sukhothai Period. It was observed in the Ayuttaya Period and passed on to the Rattanakosin Period. The Ploughing Ceremony is held at Sanam Luang in Bangkok during May and it signals the start of the planting season in this country where the majority of the population are farmers. The ceremony is aimed at making predictions about the years crops. In the reign of King Rama IV, the Ploughing Ceremony was held in the ancient capital of Ayuttaya as well as in Phetchaburi. Later, it was held on a field, called Som Poy, in the outskirts of Bangkok, it was at this time Buddhist elements were added to the previously Brahmin-dominated proceedings, these took place at the temple of the Emerald Buddha on the eve of the ceremony. This Buddhist part of the ceremony involved the processing of Khantarat Buddha images of the past reigns, along with citations blessing such grains as rice, glutinous rice and sorghum, sesame seeds, taro, potato, gourd seeds, melons and sweet basil. A ceremonial pavilion was built at Sanam Luang for the occasion, which was participated by the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony (Phra Raek Na) assisted by four Celestial Maidens (Thepi) carrying gold and silver baskets full of grains. Before the start of the ceremony, the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony and the four maidens were anointed on the foreheads and in the palms, and given a conch and bel leaves. Selected from among high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Phya Raek Na wore a ceremonial ring with nine different gemstones which the King had given him. The ceremony in the reign of King Rama IV was performed in grand style, with a processing of 500 people led by the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony in resplendent attire and carrying his ceremonial sword. Before the start of the ceremony, the Lord of Ploughing Ceremony was offered three pieces of loincloth from which he chose one. The cloths were of different lengths four, five and six kheub (one kheub is about six inches) and the length of the