Terrorism, Its Cause and Its Solution Essay Example for Free

Terrorism, Its Cause and Its Solution Essay Political Parties and Their Roles A political party is defined as an organised group of people with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions, that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. Parties tend to be deeply and durably entrenched in specific substructures of the specific society in a sustainable and well functioning democracy. They can link the governmental institutions to the elements of the civil society in a free and fair society and are regarded as necessary for any modern democratic system. Political parties perform key tasks in a democratic society, such as 1. socialising and educating voters and citizens in the functioning of the political and electoral system and the generation of general political values 2. balancing opposing demands and converting them into general policies 3. Activating and mobilising citizens into participating in political decisions and transforming their opinions into viable policy options 4. Channelling public opinion from citizens to government 5. Recruiting and training candidates for public office. Political parties are often described as institutionalized mediators between civil society and those who decide and implement decisions. By this, they enable their members’ and supporters’ demands to be represented in parliament and in government. Even though parties fulfil many vital roles and perform several functions in a democratic society, the nomination and presentation of candidates in the electoral campaign is the most visible function to the electorate. To perform the above mentioned tasks and functions, political parties and citizens need some rights and obligations guaranteed or ruled by constitution or law. These include * Freedom of organisation * Freedom to stand for election * Freedom of speech and assembly * Provision of a fair and peaceful competition * Mechanisms of plurality * Inclusion in the electoral process and contacts with the EMB * A  level playing field and freedom from discrimination * Media access and fair reporting * Transparent and accountable political finance The internal functioning of individual political parties is to some extent determined by forces that are external to political parties, such as the electoral system, political culture, legal regulations, etc. However, internal processes of political parties, such as the personality of leaders and staff, the ideological foundations, party history, and internal political culture are considered to be even more influential on the internal functioning. If a political party would like the democratic principles of electoral politics to be applied within the party, they may consider practices like internal information and consultation processes, internal (formal or informal) rules and structures for the organisation and decision-making within the party, and transparency in the party’s functioning at all levels. Party members may also take on more formal roles in decision-making like participating in internal elections for leadership positions or in selecting the party’s candida te(s) in the upcoming elections. Many parties also work actively to enhance the role oftraditionally under-represented groups in their parties. Role Of Political Parties In spite of the Founders’ intentions, the United States in 1800 became the first nation to develop nascent political parties organized on a national basis to accomplish the transfer of executive power from one faction to another via an election. The development and expansion of political parties that followed was closely linked to the broadening of voting rights. In the early days of the republic, only male property owners could vote, but that restriction began to erode in the early 19th century as the result of immigration, the growth of cities and other democratizing forces, such as the westward expansion of the country. Over the decades, the right to vote was extended to ever larger numbers of the adult population as restrictions based on property ownership, race and sex were eliminated. As the electorate expanded, the political parties evolved to mobilize the growing mass of voters as the means of political control. Political parties became institutionalized to accomplish this essential task. Thus, parties in  America emerged as a part of democratic expansion, and, beginning in the 1830s, they became firmly established and powerful. In recent decades, increasing numbers of individual voters classify themselves as â€Å"independent,† and they are permitted to register to vote as such in many states. Yet, according to opinion polls, even those who say that they are independents normally have partisan leanings toward one party or another. Political Parties play various role such as; role in elections, role in local government,role in Policy macking,Role in government and role in a democracy.these role are explain given below. 1.Election Process: Election is the fundamental part of the government which was founded on the principle that the power to govern resides in the people.Elections provides the mean by which the people delegates this power to elected representative.By voting for government officials,the public makes choices about policies,programs and future direction of government actions.At the same time election make government officials accountable to their constituents.Elected officials must conduct themselves in responsible manner and take into account popular interest and the wishesof those they represent.Otherwise they risk being voted out of office.This system depends primerily on the voters.The electoral process only work if people participate. 2.Functions of political Parties: Political parties perform an important task in government. They bring people together to achieve control of the government, develop policies favorable to their interests or the groups that support them, and organize and persuade voters to elect their candidates to office. Although very much involved in the operation of government at all levels, political parties are not the government itself, and the Constitution makes no mention of them. The basic purpose of political parties is to nominate candidates for public office and to get as many of them elected as possible. Once elected, these officials try to achieve the goals of their party through legislation and program initiatives. Although many people do not think of it this way, registering as a Democrat or Republican makes them members of a political party.  Political parties want as many people involved as possible. Most members take a fairly passive role, simply voting for their partys candidates at election time. Some become more active and work as officials in the party or volunteer to persuade people to vote. The most ambitious members may decide to run for office themselves. 3.Role in policy making: Political parties are not policymaking organizations in themselves. They certainly take positions on important policy questions, especially to provide alternatives to the position of whichever party is in power. When in power, a party attempts to put its philosophy into practice through legislation. If a candidate wins office by a large majority, it may mean that the voters have given him or her a mandate to carry out the program outlined in the campaign. Because President Bill Clinton failed to win a majority of the popular vote in both 1992 and 1996, few considered his victories a mandate for any specific policy or ideology. President George W. Bush also entered office without a clear mandate, because his opponent, Al Gore, won more votes (and might have won the Electoral College if not for irregularities, such as confusing ballots, in Florida). 4.Role in Democracy: Democracy can be defined as rule for the, of the, by the peole.Actually it would be a means by which a government can run.infact democracy is based on free and fair Election machenism,adult francise,participation of all people in decision making etc. freedom of all parties to take part in election is one of the most importent thing so as to assure democracy or again democracy is maintain when there is morethen one political party it reflect public opinion and mass participation in decision making for their own.so the existence of political party implice the range of democracy. 5.Role in Local Government: Local candidates standing on a party card should have the advantage of a protective and developmental party machine behind them, schooling them beforehand on the issues, means and procedures of local government. In, practice however, this rarely, if ever, happens. Strategic advance thinking  and preparation – and the organisational focus and capability to deliver it – is, somehow, not the British thing. In theory, Independent candidates cannot be expected to have such support, while in practice, they are no more enabled or disabled by this than are their party political rivals. Where party backing comes into play is, to a degree, in the matter of campaigning. Behind party candidates is some sort of a ‘machine’ – not, actually a realistic concept in the ad hockery of local government at all levels. But there will at least be a knowledge of what to do and how to do it. This can be as much a disadvantage as an advantage as it will tend to perpetuate the status quoand to lack innovation; although it has great practical value in access to existing lists (the word ‘database’ would, in most cases, be stretching the point) and contacts. Party-based candidates will generally be given – or have imposed upon them – overarching, party-driven manifesto commitments to flesh out the paragraphs in their election literature and save them the trouble of thinking too much. Independents fly absolutely solo on the means and content of their campaigns. They have neither guidance nor instruction nor any or much campaigning infrastructure. 6.Regional Division and Politics of Alliances: Although the political contest in Pakistan is often depicted as a battle between the two major parties, this is something of a fallacy. Notably in the smaller provinces, strong regional-based parties have existed since the creation of Pakistani, and this tendency has continued till the present date, providing perhaps some indication of the ethnic, and ideological, diversity in the country. One of the parties which most effectively demonstrates the ethnic nature politics has frequently pursued in Pakistan is the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a party which holds almost total sway as far as electoral success is concerned in the Sindh capital of Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city, gaining over 5 per cent of the national vote in both 1988 and 1990, an astonishing figure given its narrow base. On both occasions this translated into 13 National Assembly, and 28 Sindh seats. The MQM boycotted the 1993 polls. In the 1997 polls, it again claimed a share of just under 5 per cent of the  vote, which gave it 12 seats in the NA. 7.Political trends: While in terms of numbers, the political parties engaged in the electoral contest in Pakistan is great, this does not represent, in ideological terms, a political diversity. The class base for most of the parties has failed to move beyond the traditional elite which wields influence in Pakistans politics, and even when representatives from the middle-classes have emerged, as in the case of those making up the leadership of the MQM, they heave tended to articulate interests based on factors of ethnicity, other narrow categories, rather than on the basis of broader class interests. Moreover, in terms of ideology, the major political parties have been moving closer towards each other, and generally steering away from agendas advocating radical social change. The divide in terms of policy is narrower than ever before, and despite their vociferous attacks on each other, and the deep-rooted polarisation which often prevents them from coming together even on matters of common interest, the leading parties in the country represent a single force, rather than a range of groups articulating different, conflicting interests.The virtual disappearance of the left from electoral politics in Pakistan has aggravated this tendency, with conflict between parties based largely on rhetoric or highly personalised attacks on party leaders. The fact that, on the basis of political opportunism, members of one party are frequently willing to switch alliances and move to another group perhaps reflects the extent to which politics in the country have been stripped of ideological beliefs or commitment. And, even for the parties themselves, it is electoral pragmatism aimed at increasing vote banks and seat shares which for the most part dictates strategy, rather than the pursuit of the lofty ideals detailed in party manifestoes.

Gothic Cathedrals :: Europe European Architecture Essays

Gothic Cathedrals For nearly four hundred years Gothic style dominated the architecture of Western Europe. It originated in northern France in the twelfth century, and spread rapidly across England and the Continent, invading the old Viking empire of Scandinavia. It confronted the Byzantine provinces of Central Europe and even made appearances in the near East and the Americas. Gothic architects designed town halls, royal palaces, courthouses, and hospitals. They fortified cities and castles to defend lands against invasion. But it was in the service of the church, the most prolific builder of the Middle Ages, that the Gothic style got its most meaningful expression, providing the widest scope for the development of architectural ideas. Although by 1400 Gothic had become the universal style of building in the Western world, its creative heartland was in northern France in an area stretching from the royal domain around Paris, including Saint-Denis and Chartres, to the region of the Champagne in the east and southward to Bourges. Within this restricted area, in the series of cathedrals built in the course of the 12th and 13th centuries, the major innovations of Gothic architecture took place. The supernatural character of medieval religious architecture was given a special form in the Gothic church. "Medieval man considered himself but an imperfect refraction of Divine Light of God, Whose Temple stood on earth, according to the text of the dedication ritual, stood for the Heavenly City of Jerusalem."3 The Gothic interpretation of this point of view was a cathedral so grand that seems to belittle the man who enters it, for space, light, structure and the plastic effects of the stonework are made to produce a visionary scale. The result of the Gothic style is distortion as there is no fixed set of proportions in the parts. Such architecture did not only express the physical and spiritual needs of the Church, but also the general attitude of the people of that time. Gothic was not dark, massive, and contained like the older Romanesque style, but light, open, and aerial, and its appearance in all parts of Europe had an enduring effect on the outlook of succeeding generations. Gothic architecture evolved at a time of profound social and economic change in Western Europe. In the late eleventh and twelfth centuries trade and industry were revived, particularly in northern Italy and Flanders, and a lively commerce brought about better communications, not only between neighboring towns but also between far-distant regions. Politically, the twelfth century was also the time of the expansion and consolidation of the State.

Change the World by Changing Poverty

Poverty affects many people â€Å"with over three billion living on less than two dollars and fifty cents a day† (Shah). The majority of the parents living in poverty are unable to provide for themselves and let alone able to feed their children, send them to school, get them the medical attention they need, or even provide them with shelter (â€Å"What is Poverty? †). Since parents can not properly provide for their kids, it causes â€Å"twenty-two thousand children to die each day due to poverty†. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the areas most affected by poverty even though it is in every continent, country, and city around the world (Shah).This large poverty problem is a global issue that could be changed into a much smaller one, or even an inexistent problem, by implementing a few different solutions. One way to end poverty is by investing in children. This means to mainly focus on their education, especially when they’re young. Boteach talks ab out how President Obama has an idea to create a â€Å"universal pre-K that would provide millions of parents with a quality, reliable place for their children to thrive, enabling them to work more or steadier hours to bring additional income into the family, as well as create greater economic opportunity for their children in the long term†.In doing this, it would help these children obtain a proper education that can lower poverty at a high rate since children are the ones most affected by it. With the correct education they can grow up and learn to live a life of non-poverty unlike their parents who may have not of had the chance to obtain a proper education (Boteach). Children living in poverty are unable to control their life. They’re vulnerable because they’re at the will of others and they sometimes demean themselves to make ends meet (â€Å"Invest in Services†). So they deserve to be invested in for their future and their well being.Investing in ch ildren can reduce the poverty rate in tomorrow’s world. Another way to end poverty would be to make a world-wide minimum wage law. Why? People live in poverty mostly because they can not make enough money to support themselves or their family. Very rarely is it because people are lazy or don’t have a job (Shah). Why is there still so many people living in poverty if they have jobs? Poverty is mainly caused by too low of minimum wages because â€Å"the leading cause of hunger and homelessness is low-paying jobs† (â€Å"Universal Living Wage†).Most countries do already have a minimum wage, but they are usually not high enough to support a family in today’s world. The United States is a good example of this because â€Å"under current law, a full-time worker with two children earning the minimum wage will still raise his or her family in poverty† (Boteach). This is unacceptable because most employers will pay their workers minimum wage if they can get away with it. And anyone working deserves to not have to live in poverty no matter where they live or what job they do. So there needs to be a world-wide, minimum wage law made.It needs to state that every country has to make a high enough minimum wage that would not allow anyone to live in poverty if they worked a normal forty-hour week. They need to be able to afford essential clothing, nutrition, utilities, medical care, and shelter (â€Å"Universal Living Wage†). So making a world-wide minimum wage law would help reduce poverty. Making sure everyone has access to the proper energy is another solution to end poverty. The people living in third-world countries that are poverty stricken, is mainly due to not having access to energy needed to live day in and day out.Without them having access to the proper electricity they have to work much harder in their lives because they do not have access to running water, lights, heat, refrigeration, air-conditioning, plumbing, stoves, and many other things that most people take for granted. They also struggle not having the proper energy because it affects their ability to get a decent education or earn a nice living or even just trying to keep themselves healthy is an everyday struggle for them.It is physically impossible and too expensive to make sure every square inch of this earth and everyone has access to electricity though. So the solution would be to work with communities to develop renewable energy technologies. These technologies would use natural resources such as water, wind, sun and wastes so they could work in even the smallest or most remote communities and not cost very much to build or maintain (â€Å"Powerful Solutions to Poverty†). Making sure everyone has access to the proper energy needed to live life easily would really help reduce poverty.Investing in children would help end poverty in tomorrow’s world. If children were given the chance to get a proper education it wou ld create a greater economic opportunity for everyone in the long term. For example, â€Å"every year that we keep children in poverty, it costs our nation, United States, half a trillion dollars in lost productivity, poorer health and increased crime,† so if children got a proper education, it would boost the economy, raise health, end a lot of crime and reduce the costs by trillions (â€Å"Ending Child Poverty†).It would also lead to outcomes such as better high school graduation rates, higher worker productivity, and lower rates of violent crime that revenue seven dollars in savings for every one dollar invested upfront in children’s early education (Boteach). This is a realistic solution because The Early Learning Challenge Fund is investing one billion dollars per year in challenge grants to build high-quality early learning systems for children from birth through age five (â€Å"Investing in Early Childhood to Reduce Child Poverty†).Investing in chi ldren’s education from an early age can help reduce poverty to a lower rate. Making a world-wide minimum wage law would reduce poverty drastically. If they raised the minimum wages and indexed them to the cost of living, it would increase the wages of millions of low-wage workers, and create demand in the economy for goods and services as workers spend their increased wages in local businesses (Boteach). For example, if the United States were to raise â€Å"the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour† then that â€Å"would inject about four hundred and fifty billion dollars into the economy each year†.It would give more purchasing power to many poor and lower/middle class Americans, so therefore stimulate buying, producing, and hiring. Also, the Economic Policy Institute has done studies that prove raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars would benefit sixty-four percent of the workforce, eighty-one million people, and therefore their families would no longer have to live in poverty and then they would be able to buy more clothing, new cars, and food from the nation’s businesses (Hanauer). Imagine if every country made a minimum wage and made it high enough to do the same as if it would for the United States.Every country’s economy would be booming and many people could live a better life therefore benefiting the countries in several ways. People would no longer need to use tax payer programs such as food stamps or Medicaid, and then the countries could use that tax money to get out of debt or for other reasons. The United States alone could save a lot of money and get out of some debt since â€Å"according to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government spent three hundred sixteen billion dollars on programs designed to help the poor in 2012† (Hanauer).This is a realistic solution to poverty. Many minimum wage paying jobs are employed by franchises that make billions of dollars a year and still pay their workers nothing. These franchises and companies can and should have to pay their workers a higher minimum wage. Businesses would be responsible to pay the increase to their workers but it is their responsibility to employ and pay them fairly. Making a high, world-wide minimum wage law would help end poverty. Making sure everyone has access to the proper energy is a good solution to end poverty.Having the proper energy resources is important to any area because a â€Å"modern energy supply is foundational for economic development† (Pielke). This is a very realistic solution. In most poverty stricken areas it is impossible to get electricity. So the solution is to work with communities to develop renewable energy technologies. The organization Practical Action is a charity that does just this. They are funded completely by donations and have worked with poor women, men, and children all over the world helping make their lives better.So if they got enough donations, they could end poverty in many third world countries that don’t have the access to electricity. They could do this because of their renewable energy technologies that they invent, build, and distribute. They are always looking for ways to better their inventions and ways to help out the people more (â€Å"Powerful Solutions to Poverty†). Giving everyone access to the proper energy they need can reduce poverty rates. Poverty is a sad thing because it affects every part of these people’s life.It affects their health, learning, jobs, raising their families, and just everyday activities that should be simple. That is why there is a great need to do something to end poverty. Whether the world works together to invest in children and their education, or to make a high, world-wide minimum wage, or to make sure everyone has access to proper energy, the world will have less poverty. Everyone needs to stand and work together to make these solutions work. If everyone acts on them all , we could end poverty completely, so take a stand today and end the suffering for millions of adults and children all over the globe.

Battle of South Mountain - Battle of South Mountain Civil War

Battle of South Mountain - Conflict: The Battle of South Mountain was part of the 1862 Maryland Campaign during the American Civil War. Battle of South Mountain - Date: Union forces attacked the gaps on September 14, 1862. Armies Commanders: Union Major General George B. McClellan28,000 men Confederates General Robert E. Lee18,000 men Battle of South Mountain - Background: In September 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee began moving his Army of Northern Virginia north into Maryland with the goal of severing the rail lines to Washington and securing supplies for his men. Dividing his army, he sent Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson to capture Harpers Ferry, while Major General James Longstreet occupied Hagerstown. Pursuing Lee north, Union Major General George B. McClellan was alerted on September 13, that a copy of Lees plans had been found by soldiers from the 27th Indiana Infantry. Known as Special Order 191, the document was found in an envelope with three cigars wrapped in a piece of paper near a campsite recently used by Major General Daniel H. Hills Confederate division. Reading the orders, McClellan learned Lees marching routes and that the Confederates were spread out. Moving with uncharacteristic speed, McClellan began putting his troops in motion with the goal of defeating the Confederates before they could unite. To expedite passing over South Mountain, the Union commander divided his force into three wings. Battle of South Mountain - Cramptons Gap: The Left Wing, led by Major General William B. Frankin was assigned to capture Cramptons Gap. Moving through Burkittsville, MD, Franklin began deploying his corps near the base of South Mountain early on September 14. At the eastern base of the gap, Colonel William A. Parham commanded the Confederate defense which consisted of 500 men behind a low stone wall. After three hours of preparations, Franklin advanced and easily overwhelmed the defenders. In the fighting, 400 Confederates were captured, most of who were part of a reinforcement column sent to aid Parham. Battle of South Mountain - Turners Foxs Gaps: To the north, the defense of Turners and Foxs Gaps was tasked to the 5,000 men of Major General Daniel H. Hills division. Spread over a two mile front, they faced the Right Wing of the Army of the Potomac led by Major General Ambrose Burnside. Around 9:00 AM, Burnside ordered Major General Jesse Renos IX Corps to attack Foxs Gap. Led by the Kanawha Division, this assault secured much of land south of the gap. Pressing the attack, Renos men were able to drive Confederate troops from a stone wall along the crest of the ridge. Exhausted from their efforts, they failed to follow up this success and the Confederates formed a new defense near the Daniel Wise farm. This position was reinforced when Brigadier General John Bell Hoods Texas Brigade arrived. Re-commencing the attack, Reno was unable to take the farm and was killed in the fighting. To the north at Turners Gap, Burnside sent Brigadier General John Gibbons Iron Brigade up the National Road to attack Colonel Alfred H. Colquitts Confederate brigade. Overrunning the Confederates, Gibbons men drove them back up into the gap. Widening the assault, Burnside had Major General Joseph Hooker commit the bulk of I Corps to the attack. Pressing forward, they were able to drive the Confederates back, but were prevented from taking the gap by the arrival of enemy reinforcements, failing daylight, and rough terrain. As night fell, Lee assessed his situation. With Cramptons Gap lost and his defensive line stretched to the breaking point, he elected to withdraw west in an effort to reconcentrate his army. Aftermath of the Battle of South Mountain: In the fighting at South Mountain, McClellan suffered 443 killed, 1,807 wounded, and 75 missing. Fighting on the defensive, Confederate losses were lighter and numbered 325 killed, 1560 wounded, and 800 missing. Having taken the gaps, McClellan was in prime position to achieve his goal of attacking the elements of Lees army before they could unite. Unfortunately, McClellan reverted to the slow, cautious behavior which had been the hallmark of his failed Peninsula Campaign. Lingering on September 15, he provided time for Lee to reconcentrate the bulk of his army behind Antietam Creek. Finally moving forward, McClellan engaged Lee two days later at the Battle of Antietam. Despite McClellans failure to capitalize on the capture of the gaps, the victory at South Mountain provided a much needed victory for the Army of the Potomac and helped to improve morale after a summer of failures. Also, the engagement ended Lees hopes for staging a prolonged campaign on Northern soil and put him on the defensive. Forced into making a bloody stand at Antietam, Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were compelled to retreat back to Virginia after the battle. Selected Sources Son of the South: Battle of South MountainCWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of South Mountain