Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - Essay Example Other than the USA PATRIOT Act amendment of 2001, there have been several other amendments such as the Protect America Act of 2007 and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 is the most significant amendment of the three. This amendment gave powers to state authorities that were sufficient in protecting the homeland. The powers also gave these authorities the ability to protect the country from future attacks. These powers included the ability to monitor internet data and use, interception of emails and phone calls. The Act further granted state authorities the right to place wiretaps on conversations between American citizens and non-citizens3. In addition to surveillance, the state authorities were granted powers to detain individuals it deemed suspicious and dangerous. In comparison to other Acts, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is the most controversial. This essay will assess and analyze its electronic surveillance provision. The Electronic Surveillance provision in the FISA Act grants state authorities to conduct electronic surveillance because of two scenarios. In the first scenario, the President can authorize state authorities to conduct electronic surveillance for one year. The President does this through the office of the Attorney General and the surveillance can only be done on foreigners4. This surveillance picks up any foreign intelligence information being exchanged between agents of a foreign power and the foreign power. This surveillance, according to the Act, may or may not substantiate to anything feasible5. It is the Attorney General’s responsibility to create a certification of the conditions necessary for the surveillance. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court authorizes this certification by its seal. The A.G is then supposed to report to both the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select

Strategica HRM and change management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategica HRM and change management - Essay Example environment it operates in, it is important for an organization to adapt to changes and formulate policies and strategies which are fit for the changing environment. Due to the rapid development of technology and increased competition, the environment has become very volatile. The spread of globalization at an accelerating pace has further made the environment more and more volatile. In order to survive in such a volatile environment, organizations need to be very flexible so that they can proactively form or reform their strategies according to the changing environment. Today, one of the most important assets for any organization is its ability to manage change. Organizations which failed to be flexible enough to fit in this environment eventually died as their survival became impossible. Change is the only constant thing in life. The world is constantly changing and it is often difficult to predict what it is changing into. The change results in hundreds of opportunities and pitfalls which an organization comes across every moment. The concept of organizational change refers to organization-wide change rather than smaller changes such as modifying a product of adding a new employee. It includes activities such as a change in mission of the company, operations restructuring, introduction of new technology, mergers, collaborations, launching new programs such as TQM, etc. Organizational change is usually provoked by outside factors such as new markets, changing consumers’ demands, substantial cuts in funding, need for an increase in the productivity, etc. As a business evolves through various cycles of a business lifecycle, it needs to change its overall strategies in order to be successful. Any organization attempting to bring about a change must take into consideration the three key aspects of organizational life which are: the organization’s culture, the leadership and the existing network of power. An organizational culture is defined as the

International Marketing - 3 discussion questions Essay

International Marketing - 3 discussion questions - Essay Example One of the differences between domestic marketing and international marketing is that domestic marketing is considered to be easier than international marketing because a company doing local marketing already understands the local/country customs and norms. The focus then is effective marketing. On the other hand international marketing is usually more difficult because literal translation can often turn off prospects. Other differences include the uncertainty of different foreign business environments that are not in domestic marketing. This is because there is a difference in infrastructure, technology, competitive dynamics, legal and governmental restrictions, customer preferences, culture and many additional uncontrollable variables. Organizations should be more concerned about international marketing because their international image should be of more importance to them. Another reason for emphasizing on international marketing is the fact that if an organization has a good international image then automatically its domestic image becomes of a competitive organization that will excel in the future. There are different conditions that have led to the development of global markets. The first condition is the limitation that each and every country cannot produce all the goods and products of their need. Even if they do have the capability then the required quantity is not met. Another important reason is the quality of a product. For example a country might be able to produce a good but another country is making it of a better quality so they will prefer to buy it rather than producing it themselves. There is an increased interest shown by US Organizations in the global markets, the major reason being to boost up the profits. Other reasons are to maintain a high image of the organization domestically, to exploit the international markets where customers want quality products that are

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 8

Ethics - Essay Example Section 2 of the BCS Code of Conduct clearly states on specific responsibility in the business environment: â€Å"You shall have regard to the legitimate rights of third parties† (bcs.org, 2009). It is clearly identified that the term third party consists of potential competitors or any member of the public society who could be adversely affected by certain elements of an information technology system without their full knowledge of these activities. In Joan’s situation, there is clearly an ethical dilemma as none of the aforementioned public officials or corporate officers are aware that information about them is being stored, accessed, and analysed in the INF Ltd. database. Though it has not been offered as to why this information is actually being collected, simply gathering information for future or current use about these officials and public figures creates non-compliance to ethical obligations of the business. This information could be being collected to sell to competing organisations in similar business markets, as one example. Joan has an obligation to recognise that these activities are immoral based on the BCS Code of Conduct and she has legitimate concerns over how this information is being handled and processed. In the event that any of this information might be given to other third parties, there are unlimited opportunities to cause harm to the individuals whose information is being collected. â€Å"You shall avoid any situation that may give rise to a conflict of interest between you and your relevant authority. You shall make full and immediate disclosure to them if any conflict is likely to occur or be seen by a third party as likely to occur† (bcs.org). In Joan’s situation, she has been chosen for the task of collecting this information therefore a conflict of interest has been created not only between herself and her employer, but potentially

Energy Crisis and Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Energy Crisis and Pakistan Essay There has been an enormous increase in the demand of energy in Pakistan as a result of industrial development and population growth, as compared to increase in energy production. The number of energy consumers has increased to 12.5 million: household 46 per cent, industry 28 per cent, agriculture 12 per cent, bulk supply nine per cent and commercial five per cent. For faster economic growth, Pakistan need more generation. Supply of energy is, therefore, far less than actual demand, resultantly crisis has emerged. An energy crisis can be defined as any great bottleneck (or price rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy. Pakistan’s energy infrastructure is not well developed, rather it is considered to be underdeveloped and poorly managed. Rapid demand growth, transmission losses due to out-dated infrastructure, power theft, and seasonal reductions in the availability of hydropower have worsened the situation. Consequently, the demand exceeds supply and hence load shedding is a common phenomenon in all cities. Energy crisis in Pakistan started in 2007 and in 2008 it took a serious turn. During 2009-10, energy supply and per capita availability of energy witnessed a decline of 0.64 per cent and 3.09 per cent respectively in comparison to previous year. Pakistan needs around 15,000 to 20,000 MW electricity per day, however, currently it is producing about 11,500 MW per day hence there is a shortfall of about 4000 to 9000 MW per day. The power companies, circular debt is a big issue which has risen to 230 billion. Line losses, mainly theft, lone contributed Rs.125 billion to circular debt. It is better for the government to focus on curtailing power theft. Mere power tariff raise could not revive the power sector, as numerous hikes in the past have not resolved the chronic problems of circular debt and power theft. Pakistan’s energy consumption is met by mix of gas, oil, electricity, coal and LPG sources with different level of shares. Share of gas consumptions stood at 43.7 per cent, followed by oil 29.0 per cent, electricity 15.3 per cent, coal 10.4 per cent and LPG 1.5 per cent. Guddu plant is largest thermal operated plant with a capacity of 1,650 MW, while two largest Independent Power Plants (IPPs) are: Kot Addu (1,600 MW) and Hubb river (1,300 MW). In 1994 during the Benazir’s government the IPs projects were bitterly opposed, blaming the government of taking commissions in these projects. However, no one had any idea how to solve the electricity problems. The situation went complicated when the civil-military bureaucracy didn’t allow Nawaz government to export surplus power to India because trading with the enemy on the basis of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status was not acceptable to them. Now the circumstances have changed and we are ready to import electricity from India by granting them the same MFN status. Hydro power is generated by using electricity generators to extract energy from moving water. Pakistan is having rich resources of energy in hydel power; however, only 34 per cent of total electricity generation is coming from this power. Currently we are having 6555 MW against the potential of 41000 t0 45000 MW. Current hydropower stations are: Tarbella Dam: 3,478 MW; Ghazi Barotha: 1,450 MW; Mangla 1,000 MW; Warsak 240 MW and Chashma 184 MW. Potential hydropower stations are: Diamer-Basha Dam 4,500 Mw; Munda Dam-Swat River in Mohmand Agency 740 MW; Kalabagh Dam 2400-3600 MW; Bunji Dam 5400MW and Dasu Dam 3800 MW. Alternative sources of energy: Wind power harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of wind turbines. These turbines cause the rotation of magnets, which create electricity. Though Pakistan has potentials of wind energy ranging from 10000 Mw to 50000 Mw, yet power generation through wind is at the initial stages and currently 06 Mw has been installed in first phase in Jhimpir through a Turkish company and 50 MW will be installed shortly. More wind power plants will be built in Jhimpir, Gharo, Keti Bandar and Bin Qasim Karachi. Solar power involves using solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity, using sunlight hitting solar thermal panels to convert sunlight to heat water or air. Pakistan has the potential of more than 100,000 Mw from solar energy. Building of solar power plants is underway in Azad Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan. However, private vendors are importing panels/solar water heaters for consumption in the market. Alternative energy Development Board (AEDB) is working for 20,000 solar water heaters in Gilgit Baltistan. Mobile companies have been asked by the government is shift supply of energy to their transmission towers from petroleum to solar energy panels. Biomass production involves using garbage or other renewable resources such as sugarcane, corn or other vegetation to generate electricity. When garbage decomposes, methane is produced and captured in pipes and later burned to produce electricity. Vegetation and wood can be burned directly to generate energy, like fossil fuels, or processed to form alcohols. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programmes from biomass/biodiesel in the world, followed by the US. Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) of Pakistan has planned to generate 10MW of electricity from municipal waste in Karachi followed by similar projects in 20 other cities. Nuclear power stations use nuclear fission reaction to generate energy by the reaction of uranium inside a nuclear reactor. Pakistan has a small nuclear power programme, with 425 MW capacity, but there are plans to increase this capacity substantially. Since Pakistan is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is excluded from trade in nuclear plant or material which hinders its development of civil nuclear energy. Remaining issue in development of nuclear energy are enrichment of uranium from U235 to U238, controlling chain reaction and dumping of solid waste. Pakistan has had wider potentials to tap energy, however, due to lack of any integrated/proactive planning, very less number of power producing plant were installed to meet demand. Resultantly, over the years, the gap between energy demand and supply drastically grew and now against demand of 20000 Mw, we are having around 115000 MW. Energy mix in Pakistan is quite imbalance in comparison to other countries, with greater reliance on non-renewable resources of gas (43.7 per cent) and oil (29 per cent majority of which is imported). Prices of petroleum products/crude oil fluctuate and in current Afro-Arab political crisis, the oil prices are likely to increase manifold affecting oil prices in Pakistan. A rational energy mix planning ought to be developed giving greater dependency to renewable (hydel power), indigenous (coal) and alternative energy resources (wind and solar energy). Coal: Pakistan is having one of the largest coal fields in Thar, having reserves of more than 175 billion tonnes, which exceeds equivalent oil reserves of Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc. In addition to power generation, this coal can be used for chemical and fertilizer production. Moreover, employment provided to workforce can be instrumental in increasing GDP and economic prosperity to many families. This is a positive sign that our renowned scientist, Dr, Samar Mubarakmand, has been working on the project to produce electricity from coal. Pakistan has potential of hydro resources to generate 41000 to 45000 MW; however, only 6555 MW is currently being generated by this important renewable resource. Four large hydropower dams namely Kalabagh 3600 MW, Bhasha 4500 Mw, Bunji 5400 and Dasu 3800 MW can be constructed to generate hydroelectricity. Similarly, many small to medium hydro plants can be installed on rivers and canals, etc. Energy is pivotal for running all other resources and crisis of energy directly influences all other sectors of the economy. The economic progress is hampered by decline in agricultural productivity as well as by halting in operations of industries. One important factor of lower GDP and inflation of commodity prices in recent years is attributed to shortfalls in energy supply. Social issue: this factor is primarily related to the domestic usage of energy (cooking, heating, and water provision). Load shedding cause unrest and frustration amongst the people and results in agitation against the government. Decline in economic growth, lower agricultural productivity, unemployment and shackling industrial growth result in increasing poverty. Currently, around 40 per cent of our population is living below the poverty line and this ratio is increasing day by day. Ample control of energy crisis will surely yield in curbing this menace. Conclusion: energy crisis has, more or less, plagued all sectors ranging from economy to industry, agriculture to social life, inflation to poverty and it is hampering national progress in a drastic manner. Nonetheless, the menace of energy crisis can be controlled by the government through making effective policies and its proactive implementation. Simultaneously, it is the responsibility of all Pakistanis, to utilise the available energy astutely and play our due role in the progress of our country. Following measures will be helpful in fighting the menace of energy crisis.

Response Paper On Being An Atheist Philosophy Essay

Response Paper On Being An Atheist Philosophy Essay In the H.J. McCloskey article entitled, On Being an Atheist he begins with assertions that are absent of logic, common sense, and reasoning. He reaches all these conclusions without even a respectful cursory reading of Gods word, much less study. I will attempt to show where his arguments do not, conclusively prove that atheism is true, or that God does not exist.  [1]  I find it interesting that he does not address ontological arguments (the idea of God proves, or adds evidence to, the fact that He exists and, in fact, dismisses them. Therefore, I want to point out that ontological arguments do not prove atheism, because simply declaring yourself an atheist does not qualify you as an atheist. With all due respect, Mr. McCloskey argues in favor of atheism and attempts to discredit theism, by using multiple approaches one being that God failed to establish His own existence, and he claims in his cosmological argument, that the existence of all that we experience and see while on e arth, does not prove God exists or that He is even necessary.  [2]   Proofs cant definitively establish the case for God First, McCloskey implies proofs cant definitively establish the case for God, so they should be abandoned. McCloskey makes no effort to define evil, nor does he attempt to explain it. He tries to discredit anyones belief in God, by attacking the origin of their belief, but he never addresses why a persons faith cannot be valid whether they examine all the evidence prior to accepting Christian theism are not! To understand McCloskeys argument, you have to understand relativism, which is a position where all points of view are equally valid and all truth is relative to the individual, but relativism does not prove there is no God. Philosophy sometimes clouds issues to the point, that nothing can be known for sure. For the Christian, the ultimate expression of truth is found in Jesus words in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life McCloskey portrays God as jaded, accusatory, argumentative, uncaring, incompetent, unforgiving, and punitive. Mr. McCloskey is putting forth a cause and effect argument absent of consequences. McCloskey says the best proofs of the non existence of God are the evil acts of men and women and he circumvents morality, and focuses on evil, because morality is stronger proof that an intelligent creator designed the universe. As a result, McCloskey struggles with the question: AWhy is there evil and suffering in the world?  [3]   The Cosmological Argument In his book: Reasonable Faith, William Lane Craig, writes, There must exist a creator, or a being responsible for all creation and that creator has no need of a cause, as do those things which have an origin. So everything that begins to exist does need a cause, but to say that something has no beginning does not need a cause, denies the existence of a predecessor.  [4]   In Dr. Evans book, Philosophy of Religion, he summarized the cause question saying, The person who believes in God and the person who does not believe in God, do not merely disagree about God. They disagree about the very character of the universe. If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist and since they do, then God does exist. Cultural relativism makes the culture the supreme determinant of right and wrong; therefore, the culture becomes god. McCloskey flippantly and wrongly asserts, There is no God, because of all the evil and wickedness in the world.  [5]  Mr. McCloskey argues against theism and paints a picture of humanity being little more than animals and acts that we classify as murder, torture, and rape are natural and amoral just as in the animal kingdom. Moreover, if there is no rule of law to prohibit certain actions, how can we have moral obligations or prohibitions? The cosmological argument asks: Is something good because God wills it, or does God will something because its good? Theists have traditionally taught: God wills something, because He is good, but that doesnt ignore divine sovereignty. William Craigs answer is, Gods moral nature is itself the ultimate standard of moral goodness. Go ds moral nature is what Plato called the Good. He is the source of moral value.  [6]   The Teleological Argument McCloskey claims, as does many philosophers, that in order to believe that nature was designed, there would need to be examples that were indisputable. The Argument of Design, appeals to a principle of reasoning that seems to be firmly embedded in common sense and in scientific thinking, so he asks, How can evil exist if an omnipotent God really exists? That brings us to the concept of free moral will. Evil is not something God deliberately and maliciously created so that humans could experience pain and suffering. Atheists never deal with the question of what the purpose of mans existence is. Julian Huxley, representing the atheist view, said: We are as much a product of blind forces as is the falling of a stone to Earth, or the ebb and flow of the tides. We have just happened, and man was made flesh by a long series of singularly beneficial accidents.  [7]  McCloskey asks why God cant keep humans from making wrong decisions? The teleological argument says, To approach this proof, indisputable examples of design would be required. Generally speaking, to give an example of design, would make it possible that there is a Designer; and in order for that possibility to exist, God must exist! McCloskey says, No being who was perfect could have created a world in which there was so much suffering or in which his creatures would engage in morally evil acts, which often result in injury to innocent persons.  [8]  Moral evil is caused by the actions and wrong choices of free, morally responsible beings. Natural evil, is the evil that does not occur as a result of a responsi bly moral being. God is justified in allowing evil, because he is God and we are not! Alvin Plantinga in his book: God, Freedom, and Evil writes, God has reasons for allowing evil that we cant know and would not understand if we did. Some of the evils in the world happen in order to produce second order virtues. For example, a first order evil occurs, when a grizzly bear charges a mans daughter; perhaps a second order virtue, courage, is produced when the man charges the bear waving his arms to scare the bear off. Or, if the bear gets the girl, which would be evil, perseverance and reliance on Christ could be the second order virtue of the man. The second order evils that occur, are opposite virtues, such as cowardice? This is the result of the mistakes of Man and his poor use of free choice.  [9]  McCloskeys discussion of free will begins when he asks why God did not arrange so that man always makes the right choice. His argument, is not logical, because had God decreed that ev eryone always choose the right path, then no one would have a free will. As Evans stated in his book, Philosophy of Religion: Thinking About Faith, AGod allows human kind a free will, because without it we could not be morally responsible, nor would we be capable of freely doing good by responding to and loving our Creator. Atheists cannot always argue that free will and necessitation to virtue are incompatible, because they represent God himself as possessing a free will and as being incapable of acting immorally. If this can be the case with God, why can it not be so with all free agents?  [10]   The Presence of Evil. There is the idea postulated worldwide that states, the amount of good in the world ultimately outweighs the evil in the world. Its the Agreater [emailprotected] argument where a greater good is achieved and therefore the good will always outweigh the bad. So by McCloskeys definition, wholesale murder is wrong, but unavoidable. If the atheist says there is no such thing as objective morality, the atheist loses all credibility. In JudeoChristian theism, we believe objective morality exists, and is the byproduct of the regenerate heart and mind, and if morality is transcendent of the opinions of man, it becomes nothing more than logic, when in fact morality is far more important than logic. So does atheism have a better explanation for the existence of objective morality? McCloskey offers nothing to the debate! Atheism is not comforting Our universe is a maze of mysteries, like how can gravity pull the Milky Way into a spiral? How can atoms contain such power that matter, smaller than a dime, produced the energy in the bomb that killed 100,000 Hiroshima residents? How can the doublehelix thread of DNA create all living things, from bacteria to trees to Beethoven? How can electrons, dormant in every atom of your body, explode into violent lightning bolts when theyre detached? Why does anything exist? If we say that the power of gravity, atoms, DNA, lightning and all the rest is God B and that God is E = MC2 B then God exists. Those baffling forces are undeniably real. McCloskey offers some encouragement and insight saying, Atheism is not comforting when you consider the problem of evil. Instead, atheism adopted by a thoughtful and sensitive person, leads to a spirit of self reliance, and self respect which demands that we comfort and help those who need such support, because it will mitigate the blows of fate.  [11]  William Lane Craig was absolutely accurate when he spoke ingeniously, If God does not e xist, then you are just a miscarriage of nature, thrust into a purposeless universe to live a purposeless life.  [12]  

American Imperialism in Liberia :: African History Essays

Until the late 19th century, America was not an imperialist nation in the sense that the western European nations were. The wars with Native Americans were not so much a colonization effort as it was sheer conquest. Imperialism is an oppression of a foreign land and people for the purpose of enhancing the economy and political prowess of the imperialist nation, as well as enforcing the imperialist nation’s culture and often religion on the native population. The Native American oppression was too domestic to be considered imperialism, and was done strictly for the land and the American belief in Manifest Destiny. In short, the Indian wars were no more imperialistic then the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire or the NAZI invasion of Europe. As a nation, America did not become imperialistic until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, under whom the U.S. acquired its first foreign colony. America did have a significant influence in Liberia, despite a void of military presen ce. The American government’s allowance of slavery and the ensuing anti-slavery campaign led to the rise of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1817. The ACS, headed by Robert Finley, bought land on the West Coast of Africa in what is now called Liberia. This project was funded by members of the ACS and the American government, the latter of which donated one hundred thousand dollars in 1819. The ACS had a very strong influence in the American government due to some of its most prominent members, who included James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay. Free blacks in America and newly freed blacks off of slave ships in the West Indies were transported to Liberia from 1819 until the end of the Civil War, when the organization’s funding diminished. During that time, over thirteen thousand blacks immigrated to Liberia including over two-thousand six-hundred African-Americans. This immigration did not make a significant dent in the population of free blacks in the United States, which at that time was approximately two hundred thousand. The motives for the black colonization of Liberia were polar opposites. Some slaveholders were at one end of the spectrum, arguing that free blacks were dangerous to American society and should be taken back to Africa. Supporters of free blacks, on the other hand, reasoned that blacks would never surmount the racial prejudice in America and thus would be better off in among the blacks of Africa.