Miss Evers' Boys Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Miss Evers' Boys - Movie Review Example This paper illustrates that government policies compel the nurse in the film to defy their ethical principles while the actions of the single nurse in the film shows that she understands the nursing ethics, and she strives to maintain them even in the grim instances. The film is an adaptation of the Tuskegee experiment makes the ethical issues it raises of immense importance to the practice since it shows the possibility of a government forcing nurses to act against their wishes. The nurses and doctors who ran the experiment defined fundamental codes of ethics in nursing whose primary objective is to minimize the harm caused by either the patients or the nurses in the practice. The American Nurses Association explains that a nurse has a primary commitment to the patients and works to protect the rights, safety, and health of the patient. In the film, the government forces the nurses to defy such basic ethical provision as they run the inhumane experiments on unsuspecting subjects. De spite the laws that protect the experiment, Eunice Evers shows compassion and cares for the patients. The actions of the nurses conform to the ethical provisions of the practice. Doctors treat while nurses care for the patients. She strives to do this by showing compassion and caring for the subjects who endure immense pain while receiving no treatment for their disease. Nurses provide both physical and psychological needs of the patients. They do this in different ways including the consolation of the patients.

Strategic Business Plan for Bellway plc Assignment

Strategic Business Plan for Bellway plc - Assignment Example (Preece, 2003) A major part of Bellway Plc's plan of action must include following a strategy based on gaining competitive advantage as well as achieving sustainable entrepreneurial growth. Let us first examine competitive advantage to see how and where it will fit in with the overall growth and expansion of the Bellway Plc in securing buyers from the global market like Asia, US and other countries. This brings us to a discussion on the technicalities of the model proposed by Porter. Porter's Five Forces model provides suggested points under each main heading. When taken into consideration individually, each of these gives rise to the development of a broad and sophisticated analysis of competitive position. This may further be used during the creation of a strategy, plans, or even where making investment decisions about a business or organization is concerned. These five competitive forces determine industry profitability and attractiveness apart from being responsible for shaping the prices that firms can charge, the costs they have to bear, and the required investments to engage in industry level competition. We are concerned with the fact that Porter's essentially ahistorical approach cannot provide a full account of either a nation's competitive advantage and corporate strategies or the growth and development of industrial clusters. For this, let us first understand compet itive advantage. This has special relevance for the Bellway Plc, owing to the following reasons: The company needs to launch a full fledged expansion policy in international markets as well as the public sector in UK. It needs to zero in on out station resources which can be procured on easy and regular terms. There needs to a study of the marketing options in order to gain competitive advantage as there are many players involved here. Its competitors include Barrat Development, Taylor Wimpey and Berkley Group Holdings. Competitive advantage is the response of afirm to the pressing need to organize and perform discrete activities. While these needs may not be perpetually spelt out, it is the responsibility of the planners and executers of policies to foresee such situations when catering for growth and development of the firm n various levels. So this implies that the Bellway Plc needs to employ an individual

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology Essay Example for Free

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology Essay Technology began when man started to control and modify nature to meet his needs.   Prior to the 20th Century, technology was identified with skilled men and women who passed their expertise and know-how from one generation to another.   Back then technology was associated with new techniques, new processes and new methods of doing things.   With the scientific revolution in the 20th Century, the concept of technology changed.   It is now closely associated with gadgets, products and innovative scientific inventions. This essay examines the advantages and disadvantages of two simple technological innovations: the stun gun and the police car video surveillance.    Their impact, advantages and disadvantages to the society will be evaluated for purpose of deeper appreciation of their use. Advantages and Disadvantages of Stun Guns and Police Car Video Surveillance Technology is closely tied with the concept of innovation.   There was a time when law enforcement officers utilized the wooden batons as their only weapons against violent individuals who resisted arrest (Scott Oldham, 2005, p.1).   In view of the lack of effective weapons that they can use to apprehend and subdue suspects, encounters between law enforcement officers and suspects often lead to a bloody fight.   As a result either the police officer or the suspect ends up getting seriously hurt or killed. Read more:  Technology Advantages and Disadvantages Essay There was also a time when law enforcement officers had to rely on their recollection of the events during dangerous situations.   They had to record the license number of the suspect’s getaway vehicle, remember their faces and the kind of weapons used.   If they were able to arrest the suspects after a dangerous situation, suspects often filed suits against law enforcement officers alleging brutality and violence they experienced in the hands of the police officers.   There being no other witnesses, the police officer had always been placed in jeopardy of being maliciously sued by a suspect he had arrested in his line of duty. With the use of technology, man was able to control and modify nature for the purpose of satisfying his own needs. Law enforcement officers have found simple solutions to their everyday problems.   With the use of stun guns police officers were able to harness the power of electricity.   They were able to control the volt and use it to apprehend violent suspects by incapacitating them temporarily. With the discovery of stun guns, police officers no longer have to worry about getting hurt or hurting anybody in the course of the arrest.   In case a suspect resists arrest and becomes really violent, the law enforcement officer only has to press this gun against the body of the suspect.   It will release an electronic charge that is high in voltage that can disable the suspect for 20 to 30minutes enough time for them to place handcuff on the suspect. Police officers no longer have to worry about the possibility of them forgetting the suspect’s face or the license number of the vehicle or the kind of weapon used.   He also need not fear that suits for excessive violence and brutality may be filed against him because there is physical evidence that can be presented before the court.   Law enforcement officers only have to produce the recording of his patrol car video surveillance and present it in court to disprove the false and malicious accusations against him. Just like any technology, however, it can be abused.   In the hands of an abusive law enforcement officer, stun guns may cause serious injury against a suspect if not used properly.   According to United Nations Committee use of stun guns by the police may cause extreme pain and in certain cases may lead to death.   (David Morgan, 2007, p.2)   It has been reported that since 1999, 80 people have died and others have been seriously injured by police using electronic stun gun which negate the claims that they are non lethal weapons.   (Greg Mathis, 2005, p.1) Use of police car video surveillance may be advantageous for some but it may pose a serious constitutional challenge for others.  Ã‚   Lawyers have challenged the legality of the act of police officers using their video camera as proof to apprehend those who commit over speeding and those who run against red lights.   Their contention is that the owners of the car are automatically considered guilty and imposed a penalty even if it may be possible that the car owners were not driving the vehicles at the time the infraction was committed.   Aside from constitutional violation of presumption of innocence, some police officers may use the video camera for the purpose of invading the privacy of private individuals. Conclusion Technology is indeed the successful attempt by man to control and modify nature for the purpose of satisfying human needs and providing solutions to his problem.   It may happen that the technology may turn into something that it is intended to do or to something that it is not intended to.   This is precisely what technology is.   It may turn out beneficial to mankind but it may also pose serious risks for us. In the case of stun guns, I believe it is still one of the most non-lethal instruments that police officers can utilize against suspects.   It would be better however if police officers are educated on its use and its dangers before they are allowed to use these instruments.   The same thing is true for video surveillance which is most effective if it is utilized for strictly law enforcement work.   These instruments therefore are not dangerous in themselves.   They are not evil in themselves.   Problem starts when those who utilize it use it improperly.   This problem could be remedied by proper orientation and training so that old and new law enforcement officers may be advised on how to properly utilize these new pieces of technology.

To What Extent Were Gorbachevs Reforms A Failure Politics Essay

To What Extent Were Gorbachevs Reforms A Failure Politics Essay The second half of the 1980s was marked as the fundamental change in the Soviet era. The era of reconstruction, Perestroika had gone into history, with the main purpose of introducing the new Soviet Union, which was the creation of the legal social state and democratisation of a new country. It is considered the most dramatic event in political economy to happen since the Great Depression of the 1930s  [1]   The research question: To what extent could the political and socio-economic consequences of Gorbachevs reforms be considered a failure? adopts a critical and evaluative approach of the Soviet reforms such as, perestroika, new political thinking and glasnost, during the mid 1980s, assessing negative as well as positive consequences of the reform. This investigation explores the question of whether the socio-economic and political changes caused by Gorbachevs reforms can be either justified as a complete failure, contributing to decline in socio-economic development and political factors, or on the other side viewed as a successful policy, that brought freedom to East Europe. For answering the question it is essential to examine the political and socio-economic conditions and address the necessity of such changes that was caused by a profound crisis in the of the Soviet-Union pre-Gorbachev era prevailing in late 1970s. Regardless of the conclusion, this topic will remain under controversy causing different judgments among the historians, as an Emeritus Professor of politics at Oxford University said: The extent to which he [Gorbachev] is regarded a success or a failure will long remain a matter of controversy. There seems no doubt, though, that both in Russia and outside he will be regarded as a figure of decisive importance, regardless of whether his activities are viewed positively or highly negatively.  [2]   During the investigation a wide range of sources was used, representing polar opposite perspectives of the West and the East, from both the time of Perestroika and in hindsight. The sources used can be separated into three groups. The first group were those who believed that the initiative and perseverance of Mikhail Gorbachevs reforms made the first step to ensure the transformation of the country to a civilised state of the Western world. The second group- evaluates Gorbachevs reforms more negatively, believing that his imperialistic policy has led to serious irreversible consequences of the country. Finally, the third group includes political scientists and economists like Marshall I. Goldman and who combine their studies in both approaches, considering both positive and negative aspects of Perestroika. Therefore, the essay will be divided into Political and Socio-Economic reforms of Perestroika during 1985 and 1991 according to these identified groups. 2. Conditions in the Soviet Union prior to Perestroika The necessity of Perestroika and such radical changes were caused by the profound crisis of the Soviet system that were formed in the late 70s including the fall of Soviet authority in the eyes of public opinion in the Soviet Russian and in the Eastern Europe, a so-called socialist camp, where new democratic ideas were forming and demanding more human and political rights, as well as a rejection of the totalitarian regime. Therefore, for Mikhail Gorbachev, his reforms were seen as the best solution to the urgent political and socio-economic problems, which were aimed to strengthen and develop the Soviet Union. Furthermore, he was not anticipating that Perestroika would lead to a complete collapse of the system and USSR. a) Political Between 1980 and 1984, the changes in leadership have had a great impact on destabilising the government. Moreover, USA USSR relations were getting worse every day. After the Yalta Conference and Churchills Iron Curtain speech all contributed to the growing fear of the Soviet Union  [3]  and the beginning of the Cold War. The rivalry of two sides, has increased the military budget of the country, while not helping its economy. Additionally, in the mid 1980s, the Soviet Union was demonstrating its military might in the Afghan war that has also turned against it.  [4]   b) Socio-Economic Prior to perestroika, the Soviet economy was marked by the extensive economic growth in the late 1960s that began to pull to the economical development backwards. In the consequent 20 years USSR has experienced a rapid decline in growth of industry from 8.5% to 3.5%. There was also a problematic situation in consumers market which was also linked to the drop of oil prices. According to the economists, the prices of raw materials were comparatively cheap to other products, which caused inefficient and wasteful usage of these raw materials.  [5]  Between 1970 and 1980 USSR has earned 170 billion US dollars from the petroleum export. However, again, this money was invested into the military expansion and purchase of new machinery which was inefficiently used and did not enrich the country in the long run.  [6]   The agricultural situation in the Soviet Union was also rather complex. The money earned from petroleum exports was used for food imports, instead of introducing new efficient agricultural reforms substituting the old collective system. The economic problems reflected on production in both agrarian and industrial sectors of the country. The harvest fell from 237 million tons from 1978 to 158 million tons in 1981, depicting a very radical change. Similarly, the production of steel fell from 151 million in the 1978 to 147 million in 1982, which is particularly surprising as it always has been constant apart from the World War II period.  [7]   The economic and political constraints in the country such as economic stagnation and corruption, contributed to the rapid decline in the social sphere. Budgets proportion that went to people was not simply enough. This has lead to various social problems such as low standards of living, health care and high levels of alcoholism. These three main factors have affected the ideological and moral values of the people in the country causing demoralisation of the society. That also affected the quality and efficiency of work, such as poor working habits and incentives. As a result, in the early 80s the income per capita has decreased three fold compared to mid 60s. Additionally, there were issues with income distribution, resulting in high inequality between the lower and higher classes. This, of course, all went against the communist ideology. People were deprived of the civil rights and as a result various dissident movements broke in USSR and Eastern Europe. 3. Analysis of Political Reforms a) Glasnost Glasnost was the main political reform introduced in 1986 by Gorbachev. After 50 years of silence and fear the society was finally allowed to speak and express its opinions. With the policy of Glasnost, which Gorbachev has referred to as the other side of the Perestroikas coin, the system became less strict in many aspects of the society. This has included media, reduction in censorship and freedom of speech, opening up USSR to the rest of the world. Only in the year 1986 more than 14 million new newspapers were printed. After Olympic boycotts, the 1986 Goodwill games were seen live from both sides of the Iron Curtain. In the period of two years Gorbachev has made the fear disappear, bringing pop-culture to the USSR, creating a new breed of young people.  [8]   The policy of glasnost was responsible for drastically changing the spiritual life for people. The government ceased prosecution of many key figures that were exiled under Stalins rule, like Andrei Sakharov, who was in  internal exile for seven years.  [9]  Gorbachev said that they need glasnost in order to ensure fulfillment of tasks of the Party Congress  [10]  or in other words Perestroika was used as the base for his reforms. Primarily it was aimed to criticise and expose the corrupt leadership and was an instrument to improve political activity. In his speech to the January 1987 CC Plenum, Gorbachev has said: there can  be no person beyond criticism or people with no right to criticise.  [11]   b) Intellectual Elite Natan Edelman, a well-known historian, wrote in 1989: that the intellectuals support for Perestroika  is virtually unanimous.  [12]  All the great minds that were deprived during the Soviet Regime, has benefited from Gorbachevs reforms. Gorbachevs reforms have assured intellectuals of the right to free speech, unprecedented artistic freedom, wide access to the mass media, and a chance to be elected to the Soviet legislature and to serve in government.  [13]  These were the kind of thinkers who were essential for countrys future growth. c) Democratisation With the reform of Perestroika a general democratisation of life began in the country. Gorbachev publicly stated that Democratisation will not weaken our society but on the contrary, it will strengthen it.  [14]  Even though many were against the political reforms, the supreme Council has adopted two new laws changing and altering the Constitution of the USSR, and introducing voting system for peoples deputies. The final stage of the political reform which was the Congress of public Deputies of the USSR, has elected Gorbachev as the president of the USSR. Despite the numerous mistakes in the reforms, this was still a significant step towards liberation from the previous one-party system. d) US-Soviet Relations The slogan of the new political thinking, was a big change for the USSR and the world. The main idea of the concept was that any military conflict, is wrong. During the 1987 Washington Summit meeting between leaders of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and the U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a disarmament treaty was finally agreed and signed.  [15]  Gorbachevs new thinking and non-aggressive policy improved the US-Soviet relations as well as the international situation in general. Weapons of mass destruction were reduced by 2000 warheads. USSR has refused to further confront the West and wished for an end of the Cold War, for which Gorbachev received a Nobel Prize. This breakthrough has not only brought relief to the American-Soviet tensions, but has also allowed Gorbachev to cut the military budget that was essential to reduce the inflationary pressure and improve the living standards.  [16]   e) Afghan War and The Brezhnev Doctrine During 27th Party Congress in February/March 1986 after confirming the Brezhnev Doctrine,  [17]  the failed operation in maintaining Afghanistan gave Gorbachev no other choice in than to abandon the Doctrine and follow the policy of Perestroika. By 1989 Gorbachev withdrew almost all combat personnel from Afghanistan.  [18]   After the free elections in Poland which were marked by Communist Partys defeat by Solidarity in 1989, Gorbachev has renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine.  [19]  His speech at the UN on Dec. 7, 1989 represents the abandonment of communism from the Eastern Europe. In the next two years, their  numerical strength will be reduced by 500,000 persons, and the volume  of conventional arms will also be cut considerably. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]. By agreement with our allies in the  Warsaw Pact, we have made the decision to withdraw six tank divisions  from the GDR, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, and to disband them by 1991.  [20]   f) Conclusion of political reforms The results of Perestroika in terms of foreign policy and political freedom cannot be considered a failure. Due to the policy of glasnost, the media and formation of independent press could now criticise anyone they wanted. People were finally free to speak. Perestroika was a big step towards liberalism with multyparty system and elections.  [21]   Now, almost 20 years after Perestroika, Gorbachev himself, who has lost the political power to Yeltsin after Perestroika, does not regret his actions and marks the results of his reforms as success . Gorbachev claims: it was such a success as it launched the democratic process in the Soviet Union. After the break-up of  USSR, Russia today is continuing to develop the market economy as well as pluralism in several domains such as politics, ideologies, religion, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [22]   Collapse of the Soviet totalitarian empire and the formation of the 15 new states, some of which later became the members of NATO and a part of new Europe; destruction of the socialist camp and the Warsaw Pact with democratic changes in the political system can all be seen as examples of positive sides of Gorbachevs reform. It also had a further positive effect on economic reforms, that in the long-run has resulted in growth in Eastern Europe and Russia. Moreover, according to Gorbachev, another positive side was that they have managed to avoid a real bloodbath  [23]  in achieving these changes. On contrary, the radical changes were not welcomed by most of the older generation Soviet party members. They believed that the perfect Soviet regime has started to lose its totalitarian control and its isolationist character. For example, the control over media that resulted in a weaker censorship, has then opened many negative aspects of USSR that has been previously presented to be flawless. Gen. Valentin Varennikov, Chief of Soviet Ground Forces has stated that the social and military situation of the country was becoming worse  [24]  and Nina Anderyeva, a historian, saw the younger generations negative attitude towards the Soviet past as a moral degradation and a negative result of Glasnost.  [25]  The society has started to hear the problems in the Soviet Union such as poor living conditions, alcoholism etc. The nationalistic feeling and the strive to independence from the East European countries has increased. Many ethical problems which were previously sealed, have now opened into various riots, demanding for greater independence and stabilisation of the economy. 4. Analysis of Socio-economic Reforms a) Economic reforms The crisis in the economic development was a significant reason for the Soviet leadership in changing the structure of the economy. In July 1987, the  Supreme Soviet  has passed the Law on State Enterprise. It was seen as the key in conversion to a market economy  [26]  . The core of reform included the abandonment of the old planned economy and transition of the decision-making from state to private businesses. This has resulted in abolition of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the GKES, which were involved in foreign economic operations before.  [27]   However, the initial process of privatisation was much slower than planned. A small number of vendors was the main reason for high prices on the market, and the prices of goods in cooperatives were always higher than the prices in state stores. By 1989, only after one year of Perestroikas inception there were 133,000 private ownerships. However, in comparison to Chinas ten million private enterprises in 1980,  [28]  it is only demonstrating the Soviet delay in the privatisation. Due to mistakes in reforms and social elements in the system, the transformation of the Soviet planned system into a free market economy has failed. The third economic change, was the Venture Law, that went into effect in June 1987 after Gorbachev and his leadership have decided to open the doors of the Soviet market to foreign firms. This was completely against the Marxist ideology and was viewed as an economic and political espionage by the Soviet party members, fearing that the capitalists would gain control over the Soviet market, exploiting their workers as well as stealing their ideas.  [29]  However, it was more the Soviet government and the newly bred mafia that took advantage of this, rather than the foreign companies which instead have brought advances to the Russian market. b) Agricultural reforms A similar situation was in the agrarian sector. In May 1, 1987 Gorbachev has authorised the establishment of individual farming and has introduced decollectivisation. However, again, this process was very slow. By 1990 there were only 20  000 private farms in the Soviet Union, from that only 240 were registered in Russia and only 4 in Ukraine!  [30]  Many who did set up the private farms were subject to attacks and were classified as kulaks. In contrast, to compare with contemporary dynamics, the Chinese process of decollectivisation went at a much faster pace. By 1980 in China all farms were decollectivised.  [31]   c) Anti-alcohol campaign Perestroika has also introduced socio-economic reforms to tackle serious problems like alcoholism that also affected the economical growth. Gorbachevs anti-alcohol campaign was aimed to decrease the consumption of alcohol, improve health and increase the efficiency of the work force and production. However, the anti-alcohol campaign had a rather negative impact on the Soviet economy. As this was a great hit for the state monopolies, including the disappearance of vineyards in Georgia and other republics. It has decreased the tax income by 13% and was said to cost the Soviet Union 200 billion Rubles. It did not stop people from drinking, instead the policy encouraged black markets and increased the production of moonshine,  [32]  that were usually low-quality and harmful for health. Additionally, it had a side effect on the consumption of sugar as home-made vodka required large quantities of sugar for production. The increase in consumption was 10 kilograms per capita in only 5 ye ars, effecting the market and the prices. Both sugar shortage and the reduction in imports of consumer goods combined with inflation caused a buyers panic.  [33]  Moreover, the situation got worse as not only sugar disappeared from the markets but normal goods from sugar to furniture. As a result consumer behavior was to buy as many goods as possible to avoid future shortages, spending hours in queues for nearly everything.  [34]  . d) Conclusion of socio-economic reforms During the years of Perestroika nothing significant was actually done to reform the economic methods. There were many laws adopted that allowed small businesses and private corporations, however, none had any fundamental effect on the principles of the Soviet economy. The political reforms have lead to governments losing of control over the national economy that they had planned out for many years. Gorbachevs indecisiveness in his reforms might explain the fact that he did not know what he was doing. A rapid decline in production has resulted in 20% decline in national income. The consumption of new machinery and lower tax revenues contributed to a rapid increase of the budget deficit. Table 1 shows the estimate budget deficit of the country between 1978 and 1990. CIA states that in 10 years the deficit had increased from 16 billion rubles to 68 billion rubles and later on increased even further reaching three digit values. Although different sources have different values and estimations, it is a fact that the situation catastrophically affected the people. As a result, to decrease the deficit more money was printed which has additionally increased the inflation. As Gorbachev has stated in his speech in the 1990 We have lost control over the financial situation in the country. By late 1990 the inflationary prices of goods were increasing at a 20% rate per annum and few years later this value has increased to 70%.  [35]  There were shortages of various consumer goods and a rat ioning system was introduced. This resulted in a drop of living standards, the Soviet Union fell to 82nd place in the world in terms of living standards. Another problem that has elevated during the economical crisis, was a serious debt as the expenditures were 20-30 % higher than the income (GDP)  [36]  . The debt of the Soviet Union was estimated to be about 60 billion dollars. The Soviet Union had to sell its gold reserves to purchase the foreign currency. This is a very bright illustration that Perestroika has not only failed to improve the old system, instead it disturbed the old system and further deteriorated the situation. 5. Conclusion According to the existing evidence, it is clear that Perestroika has suffered a defeat in the form it was originally conceived  [37]  from a socio-economic side and failed in achieving its main aims in improving the economic situation, instead had rather negative results and consequences. Gorbachevs reconstruction has weakend the social and economic conditions in the country. A further phrase by Aleksandr Zaychenko further proves this statement: Russians today [in 1989] eat worse than did Russians in 1913 under the Czars.  [38]   Even though elimination of the state monopoly in foreign trade was a positive sign in transformation to the market economy, as foreign corporations were able to show the Soviet system new and more advanced ways of doing business. This was a sign that He [Gorbachev] knew where he wanted to end up, with a more productive, consumer-oriented economy, but he did not know how to get there.  [39]  Between 1985 and 1991, ten new economic reforms have been introduced, and not a single one was ever implemented  [40]  no one went down that road before. As a result this half-measure in the economy has lead to an economic crisis. After the reconstruction of the old approaches to the economy there were no new methods that would replace the old ways, the Soviet economy was stuck in the middle between the planned and private economies, which are considered as an economic failure. As stated by Marshall I. Goldman, an expert on the Soviet economy, his book Went Wrong with Perestroika, clearly shows the fundamental problems in socio-economic sphere that were formed as result of Gorbachevs indecisive maneuvers and highlights their contribution to result in a total failure and the collapse of the whole system. On equilibrium, however, political factors seem to be more successful. Reforms like: Glasnost and New Political Thinking, played a crucial role in improving the U.S.-Soviet relations breaking the tensions and diminishing the possibility of a military conflict between the two military blocks, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, as well as finally opening the iron curtain and breaking the Berlin wall. Additionally, Mikhail Gorbachevs new thinkingduring Perestroika was the key in ending the Cold War. After 5 decades of hostilities, In the last few years, throughout the world  people were able to heave a sigh of relief, thanks to the changes for  the better in the substance and atmosphere of the relations between  Moscow and Washington.  [41]  Additionally, after three decades of confrontation USSR became friends with China. This all was doubtlessly one of Gorbachevs successful achievements of his reforms. People take Gorbachev as a hero, others accuse him of causing a disaster  [42]  . Similarly Perestroika is considered as a failure because it has given way to the totalitarian control of the country and, on the other side, can be considered a success for giving freedom to people. Peoples conclusions are linked to their understanding of things.  [43]  These understandings will change with time and therefore change their whole idea towards the event. 7. Bibliography Books Charles Bukowski, and J. Richard Walsh, eds.,  Glasnost, Perestroika, and the Socialist Community  (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1990) Peter J. Boettke,  Why Perestroika Failed: The Politics and Economics of Socialist Transformation  (New York: Routledge, 1993) Mikhail S. Gorbachev, 39 Address at the Forty-Third Un General Assembly Session, December 7, 1988,  The Soviet System: From Crisis to Collapse, ed. Alexander Dallin andGail W. Lapidus (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995) Marshall I. Goldman,  What Went Wrong with Perestroika  (New York: W. W. Norton, 1992) Ronald E. Powaski,  The Cold War The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991,   (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) Dmitri N. Shalin, ed.,  Russian Culture at the Crossroads: Paradoxes of Postcommunist Consciousness  (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996) Joanne Wright, 3: The End of the Cold War: The Brezhnev Doctrine,  Why the Cold War Ended: A Range of Interpretations, ed. Ralph Summy andMichael E. Salla (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995) William E. Watson,  The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union  (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998) Thomas C. Owen,  Russian Corporate Capitalism from Peter the Great to Perestroika  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) Hunt, Lynn: The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. (Bedford/St. Martins, Boston and London, 2009) Magazine Peter Hylarides, Mikhail Gorbachev and Perestroika,  Contemporary ReviewAutumn 2008,  Questia, Web, 1 Jan. 2011. Journal Vanden Heuvel, Perestroika and After: Comrade Ligachev Tells His Side,  The Nation  2 Dec. 1991,  Questia, Web, 1 Jan. 2011. Websites Structural Reforms, 1986 to Mid-1988 http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12788.html Communist Party of the Soviet Union. CENTRAL COMMITTEE. MINUTES Of Meeting No. 2 of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU September 20, 1990, http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/o2gorby.html Mikhail Gorbachev, former USSR President  :Perestroika won, but politically I lost. Euronews Inerview 05/11/09 17:31 CET http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/05/mikhail-gorbachev-former-ussr-president-perestroika-won-but-politically-i-lost/ 1985: Anti- Alcohol Campaign http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subjectSubjectID=1985drylawYear=1985navi=byYear 1987 | Nuclear Disarmament http://www.austria1989.org/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=66Itemid=96 1988 | Gorbachev Ends the Cold War http://www.austria1989.org/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=67Itemid=97 Video Gorbachev, Glasnost, Perestroika, Arms Agreement , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=595W4JJHa2U

Essay on African American Culture -- World Cultures Essays Papers

Essay on African American Culture Works Cited Missing African American culture is defined as the learned, shared and transmitted values, beliefs, norms, and life ways carried by this group of people, which guides their decisions, thinking, and actions in patterned ways. The individual in society is bound by rules of their culture. Culture of people are different in that the same events that maybe fear- inducing in one culture, maybe anger-inducing in another culture (Leininger's, 1991). The theoretical framework that I used for this paper is Leininger's Sunrise Model. It describes the factors that have to be assessed in order to provide competent trans cultural care for a culture. These include educational factors, economic factors, political and legal factors, cultural values and life ways, kinship and social factors, religious and philosophical factors, technological factors, generic or folk systems within a cultural care worldview (Leininger's, 1991). There is tremendous diversity among African Americans. They live in all areas of the United States and come from all socioeconomic levels. Approximately ninety percent of African Americans have some Caucasian ancestry and at least twenty-five have Native American ancestry. They are more present time oriented group of people. However, there may be strong future oriented behaviors as well. These include saving for college education for children, purchasing insurance policies to cover funeral and burial cost, etc. Elders may place a great deal of values on past experiences, which are frequently shared with younger individuals. The dominant language among African American is English. Speech may be accompanied by animated non-verbal gestures such as a hand movemen... ...at prevented them to keep their appointments, make lifestyle changes, and take medications as prescribed. Positive influences were the support of close family members and also the presence of caring health care providers (Rose et al., 2000). The review of literature corresponds to the African Americans risk of getting hypertension. It showed that African American are at a higher risk for hypertension because many of them are unwilling to seek medical care and even when they do they do not take their medications as prescribed. Hypertension will continue to be a major cause of death all for Americans especially African Americans. Limitations in care for the under-served will continue to be a growing problem. Solutions must be made to provide the delivery of high quality, lower cost and especially effective primary care to the underserved populations.

The Odyssey :: essays research papers fc

When one ponders the Greek mythology and literature, powerful images invariably come to mind. One relives the heroes’ struggles against innumerable odds, their battles against magical monsters, and the gods’ periodic intervention in mortal affairs. Yet, a common and often essential portion of a heroic epic is the hero’s consultation with an oracle or divinity. This prophecy is usually critical to the plot line, and also to the well being of the main characters. Could Priam have survived in the Achaean camp if not at the gods’ instruction (200-201)? Could the Argos have run the gauntlet of the Prowling Rocks if not for the gods’ advice of using a sacrificial bird (349). Moreover, prophecy can be negative as well as positive. Achilles was prophesied to die gloriously in battle if he chose his life’s way as a warrior. Oedipus was exiled and condemned by his own words, after he slew his sire and wed his mother. This type of prophesy can blind eve n the gods themselves; Chronos was fated to be defeated and his throne stolen by his son. Demeter loses Persephone periodically every year because her daughter ate Hades’ pomegranates. Prophecy plays an important role in the whole of Greek folklore. Something this ever-present bears further examination. In The Odyssey, prophecy in its myriad forms affects nearly every aspect of the epic. Prophecies are seen in the forms of omens, signs, strict prediction of the future, divine condemnation, and divine instruction. Though conceptually these forms are hard to distinguish, they are clearly separate in the Odyssey. Moreover, prophecies can be interpreted not only on the "plot device" level, but also on the level of characterization. Whether a character accepts or denies the gods’ prophecies tells the reader something about the character himself. Omens are brief prophecies intimately connected to the action at hand, which must be interpreted in terms of that action . Halitherses comments on the eagle attack after Telemakhos condemns the suitors (463-464); he correctly interests it to mean that if the suitors keep feeding off Odysseus’s possessions they will be destroyed. Yet the suitors ignore the omen, inviting their eventual destruction. This haughty treatment of a divine omen is a justification for their deaths. When Penelope says if Odysseus had returned he would, with his son, surely slay the suitors, Telemakhos let loose a great sneeze (429). This omen reinforces the previous one, and simultaneously prepares the reader for the carnage to follow.

The Blue Sword CHAPTER THREE

Corlath stared at his horses black-tipped ears. The Hillfolk passed through the gate of the Residency and Corlath lifted his gaze to rake angrily across the dusty station street, the little dun-colored houses and shops, the small straggly trees. At a slight shift in his rider's weight the red horse turned off the road. The harsh clatter of hooves on the packed-dirt road changed to the duller sound of struck sand. He could hear his men turning off the road behind him; he shook his head in a futile attempt to clear a little space for thought amid the anger, and leaned back in his saddle, and the horse's pace slowed. There was no sense in charging across the desert at midday; it was hard on the horses. The six riders closed up behind him; the two who came forward to ride at his side stole quick looks at him as they came near, and looked away again as quickly. Outlanders! Involuntarily his hands, resting lightly on his thighs, curled into fists. He should have known better than even to try to talk to them. His father had warned him, years ago. But that was before the Northerners had come so near. Corlath blinked. The heat of his own anger was hard to contain when there wasn't some use he could put it to; anger was splendidly useful on the battlefield, but he was not facing any regiments just now that could be tangled in their own feet and knocked over in companies. Much as he would like, for example, to set fire to the big stupid house – an absurd building for the desert: it must be the sort of thing they lived in in their own country – and watch it crash down around the ears of the big soft creature who called himself commissioner †¦ but spite was for children, and he had been king for thirteen years, and he bit down on his anger and held it. He remembered when he was young and before the full flowering of his kelar, of the terrible strength known ironically as the â€Å"Gift,† his father had told him that it would often be like this: â€Å"We aren't really much good, except as battle machines, and even there our usefulness is limited. You'll curse it, often enough, far more often than you'll be glad of it, but there you are.† He sighed, and looked wryly at his son. â€Å"They say that back in the Great Days it was different, that men were made big enough to hold it – and had wit enough to understand it. It was Lady Aerin, the story goes, that first knew her Gift and broke it to her will, but that was long ago, and we're smaller now.† Corlath had said, hesitantly: â€Å"They say also that the Gift was once good for other things: healing and calming and taming.† His father nodded sadly. â€Å"Yes; perhaps it once was; but no more. Luthe knows, if he will tell you, for he has the old kelar, and who his parents are even he has forgotten; but Luthe is himself. You and I are of duller blood. â€Å"And it is duller blood that has brought us to what we are, what we remain – what remains to us. Avoid the Outlanders, if you can. They can't, or won't, understand us; they don't recognize horses from oxen, and will try to put the yoke on you that they have hung on the rest of our land. But their strength is the strength of numbers and of stubbornness and persistence; do not underestimate it.† He could see his father standing in one of the inner courtyards of the City in the mountains, staring at one of the fountains, water running shining over the colored stones of the Hills, talking half to himself. Then the picture faded, blotted out in another swift sweep of anger; and he found himself looking at the girl again, the girl he had seen standing in front of the Outlander house. What had she to do with anything? He frowned, and his horse's ears and black mane reappeared before him. He looked up; it was still a long ride to their camp. He had not, somehow, wished to sleep too near the Outlanders; it was not that he suspected deliberate treachery, but that the air that hung over an Outlander station sent bad dreams to Hillfolk. His anger kicked him again like a spurred heel; he flinched. It had a life of its own, the Gift, damn it. What indecipherable object did it desire of him this time? He knew by now that the idiosyncrasies of kings, and others whose blood carried much kelar, were viewed with more alarm by the victims themselves than by their friends and subjects. Not that the alarm did any good. If one was king, one could not explain away one's more impenetrable actions by saying that one just couldn't help it. Woven into his anger there was a pattern. Occasionally he understood it. He waited, gritting his teeth; and he saw the girl again. This time, as long as she was there, he looked at her. When he had seen her first, at the foot of the steps, just a few minutes ago, he had been surprised into looking at her. He knew what his glance could do when he was angry, and tried to be careful about whom it rested on, and for how long. But this girl had, unfortunately for her, somehow caught his attention, and he had looked longer than he meant. She was tall, as tall as most men, tall even by Outlander standards. Her hair was yellow, the color of sun on sand, and almost as bright. His people, the Hillfolk, were usually smaller than the Outlanders, and dark of skin and hair. But it wasn't her size or her coloring that held him beyond the first startled flick of notice; nor was it her beauty. There was too much strength in that face and in the long bones of the body for beauty. Something about the quietness of her, perhaps? Or her self-contained straightness; something about the way her eyes met his, with more thought behind them than the usual half-hypnotized, half-fearful look he had learned to expect if he held anyone's gaze too long – even when his kelar was quiet. Something, he thought suddenly, like the controlled straightness he himself had learned, knowing well what could happen if he relaxed. But that was nonsense. She was an Outlander. While there were still wild sports among his own people, where a few drops of royal blood from many generations past would suddenly burst into full kelar in the veins of some quiet family's child, there had never yet been an Outlander with any Gift to contain. This train of thought took him far enough from the center of anger that he had begun to relax a little; his hands uncurled, and the black mane swept against his fingers. He looked ahead; he knew, although he could not yet see it, that his camp lay just beyond this next bit of what looked like flat bare impartial desert and was in fact a little rise in the land, enough of a buffer from sand and storm to allow a small well of sweet water, with a little grass and low scrub, to live behind a protecting shoulder. As he looked out across his desert, almost calm again, or at least finding the beginnings of calm, the kelar suddenly produced a picture of Sir Charles' foolish white face anxiously saying, â€Å"My dear sir – hmm – Your Majesty† and explaining why he could not help him. The picture was thrust before his eyes, and he took his breath in sharply between his teeth. Having caught his attention, the single-minded kelar snatched Sir Charles away and presented him with the girl again. What about her? he shouted silently, but there was no answer. It was rare that the Gift ever made it easy for him by explaining what it wanted. Sometimes he never did find out, and was left to muddle through like any other mortal – with the added disadvantage of inscrutable messages banging inside his skull. His patience gave way; he leaned forward in the saddle, and the big stallion leaped into a gallop. The six riders, who knew their king's moods, and hadn't been very happy at their reception at the Outlanders' hands themselves, let him go. He swerved away from the line that would take him directly to the camp. The man on the golden dun, who had been riding on the king's right, soothed his mount with one hand. â€Å"Nay, we do not follow him this time.† The man at his left glanced across at him and nodded briefly. â€Å"May the Just and Glorious be with him.† The youngest of the riders snorted with laughter, although it was not pleasant laughter. â€Å"May the Just and Glorious be with all of us. Damn the Outlanders!† The man on the dun frowned and said, â€Å"Innath, watch your tongue.† â€Å"I am watching it, my friend,† replied Innath. â€Å"You may be glad you cannot hear what I am thinking.† The king had disappeared in the heat glaze rising from the sand by the time the little group topped the rise and saw the pale tents of their camp before them, and resigned themselves to telling those who awaited them what had occurred during the meeting with the Outlanders. Harry blinked and recognized the boy at her elbow. â€Å"Thank you,† she said absently, and he led the pony away, looking anxiously over his shoulder at the way the desert men had gone, and evidently grateful to be leaving himself. She shaded her eyes with her hand a moment, which only served to throw the fire of her headache into greater relief. She looked up at the men on the verandah and saw them moving uncertainly, as if they were waking up, still half under the influence of unpleasant dreams. She felt the same way. Her shoulder creaked when she dropped her arm again. At least it will be a little cooler inside, she thought, and made her way up the steps. Cassie and Beth, their mounts led away after Harry's, followed her. Luncheon was a quiet meal. All those who had played a part in the morning's performance were there. Rather, Harry thought, as if we can't quite bring ourselves to separate yet, not because we have any particular reason to cling to one another's company. As if we'd just been through †¦ something †¦ together, and are afraid of the dark. Her headache began to subside with the second glass of lemonade and she thought suddenly: I don't even remember what the man looks like. I stared at him the entire time, and I can't remember – except the height of him, and the scarlet sash, and those yellow eyes. The yellow eyes reminded her of her headache, and she focused her thoughts on the food on her plate, and her gaze on the glacial paleness of the lemonade pitcher. It was after the meal had been cleared away – and still no one made any move to go – that Jack Dedham cleared his throat in a businesslike manner and said: â€Å"We didn't know what to expect, but by the way we're all sitting around and avoiding one another's eyes – † Harry raised hers, and Jack smiled at her briefly – â€Å"we don't have any idea what to do with what we've got.† Sir Charles, still without looking up, said, as if speaking his thoughts aloud: â€Å"What was it, Jack, that you said to him – just at the end?† Harry still had her eyes on Dedham, and while his voice as he answered carried just the right inflection, his face did not match it: â€Å"It's an old catch-phrase of sorts, on the let-us-be-friends-and-not-part-in-anger-even-though-we-feel-like-it order. It dates from the days of the civil war, I think – before we arrived, anyway.† â€Å"It's in the Old Tongue,† said Sir Charles. â€Å"I didn't realize you knew it.† Again Dedham's eyes suggested something other than what he said: â€Å"I don't. As I said, it's a catch-phrase. A lot of ritual greetings are in the Old Tongue, although almost nobody knows what they mean any more.† Peterson said: â€Å"Good for you, Jack. My brain wasn't functioning at all after the morning we'd spent. Perhaps you just deflected him from writing off the Outlanders altogether.† Harry, watching, saw the same something in Peterson's face that she had wondered at in Dedham's. Sir Charles shrugged and the tension was broken. â€Å"I hope so. I will clutch at any straw.† He paused. â€Å"It did not go well at all.† The slow headshakes Dedham and Peterson gave this comment said much louder than words could how great an understatement this was. â€Å"He won't be back,† continued Sir Charles. There was the grim silence of agreement, and then Peterson added: â€Å"But I don't think he is going to run to the Northerners to make an alliance, either.† Sir Charles looked up at last. â€Å"You think not?† Peterson shook his head: a quick decided jerk. â€Å"No. He would not have listened to Jack at the end, then, if he had meant to go to our enemies.† Jack said, with what Harry recognized as well-controlled impatience, â€Å"The Hillfolk will never ally with the Northerners. They consider them inimical by blood, by heritage – by everything they believe in. They would be declaring themselves not of the Hills if they went to the North.† Sir Charles ran his hand through his white hair, sighed, and said: â€Å"You know these people better than I, and I will take your word for it, since I can do nothing else.† He paused. â€Å"I will have to write a report of this meeting, of course; and I do not at all know what I will say.† Beth and Cassie and Harry were all biting their tongues to keep from asking any questions that might call attention to their interested presence and cause the conversation to be adjourned till the men retired to some official inner sanctum where the fascinating subject could be pursued in private. Therefore they were both delighted and alarmed when Lady Amelia asked: â€Å"But, Charles, what happened?† Sir Charles seemed to focus his gaze with some difficulty on the apprehensive face of his wife; then his eyes moved over the table and the girls knew that they had been noticed again. They held their breaths. â€Å"Mmm,† said Sir Charles, and there was a silence while the tips of Beth's ears turned pink with not breathing. â€Å"It hurts nothing but our pride to tell you,† Dedham said at last. â€Å"He was here less than two hours; rode up out of nowhere, as far as we could tell – we thought we were keeping watch so we'd have some warning of his arrival.† The girls' eyes were riveted on Dedham's face, or they might have exchanged glances. â€Å"He strode up to the front door as if he were walking through his own courtyard; fortunately, we had seen them when they entered the gates in front here and were more or less collected to greet him; and your man, Charles, had the sense to throw open the door before we found out whether or not he would have walked right through it. â€Å"I suppose the first calamity was that we understood each other's languages so poorly. Corlath spoke no Homelander at all – although, frankly, I don't guarantee that that means he couldn't.† Peterson grunted. â€Å"You noticed it too, did you? One of the men he had with him did the translating, such as it was; and Peterson and I tried to talk Darian – â€Å" â€Å"We did talk Darian,† Peterson put in. â€Å"I know Darian almost as well as I know Homelander – as do you, Jack, you're just more modest about it – and I've managed to make myself understood to Darians from all sorts of odd corners of this oversized administration – including a few Free Hillfolk.† Harry thought: And the Hill-king stopped dead, as angry as he was, when Dedham addressed him in the Old Tongue? â€Å"In all events,† Dedham went on, â€Å"we didn't seem able to make ourselves understood too readily to Corlath.† â€Å"And his translator translated no faster than he had to, I thought,† Peterson put in. Dedham smiled a little. â€Å"Ah, your pride's been bent out of shape. Be fair.† Peterson answered his smile, but said obstinately, â€Å"I'm sure of it.† â€Å"You may be right.† Dedham paused. â€Å"It wouldn't surprise me; it gave them time to look at us a little without seeming to.† â€Å"A little!† Sir Charles broke out. â€Å"Man, they were here less than two hours! How can they – he – conclude anything about us in so little time? He gave us no chance.† The tension returned. Dedham said cautiously: â€Å"I daresay he thought he was giving us a chance.† â€Å"I am not happy with any man so hasty,† said Sir Charles sadly; and the pompous ridiculousness of his words was belied by his tired and worried face. His wife touched his hand where she sat on his right, and he turned to her and smiled. He looked around the table; both Peterson and Dedham avoided his gaze. He said, lightly, almost gaily, â€Å"It's simple enough. He wants arms, men, companies, regiments – help to close the mountain passes. He, it would appear, does not like the idea of the Northerners pouring through his country.† â€Å"Which is reasonable,† said Dedham carefully. â€Å"His country would be turned into a battlefield, between the Northerners and †¦ us. There aren't enough Hillfolk to engage the Northerners for any length of time. His country would be overrun, perhaps destroyed, in the process. Or at least annexed by the victor,† he added under his breath. â€Å"We couldn't possibly do as he asked,† Sir Charles said, lapsing back to speaking his thoughts aloud. â€Å"We aren't even sure what the Northerners mean toward us at present.† Peterson said shortly: â€Å"The Hillfolk's attitude toward the North being what it is, I feel certain that Corlath's spy system is a good one.† â€Å"We offered cooperation,† Sir Charles said. â€Å"Capitulation, you mean,† Peterson replied in his blunt way. â€Å"His.† Sir Charles frowned. â€Å"If he would agree to put himself and his people entirely under our administration – â€Å" â€Å"Now, Bob,† Dedham said. â€Å"That's what it amounts to,† Peterson said. â€Å"He should give up his country's freedom – that they've hung on to, despite us, all these years – â€Å" â€Å"It is not unusual that a smaller country should put itself under the protection of a larger, when the situation demands it,† Sir Charles said stiffly. Before Peterson had a chance to reply, Dedham put in hastily: â€Å"What it comes down to is that he is too proud to hear our terms, and we are – er – we cannot risk giving – lending – him troops on his terms.† â€Å"The Queen and Council would be most displeased with us if we precipitated an unnecessary war,† said Sir Charles in his best commissioner's voice, and Peterson grunted. â€Å"We know nothing about the man,† Sir Charles continued plaintively. â€Å"We know that he wants to keep the Northerners out of Daria,† Peterson muttered; but Dedham moved in his chair in a gesture Harry correctly translated as bestowing a swift kick on Peterson's ankle; and Peterson subsided. â€Å"And he would not stay to parley,† Dedham finished. â€Å"And here we are, feeling as if we'd all been hit in the head.† Corlath paced up and down the length of his tent as his Riders gathered. He paused at one end of the tent and stared at the close-woven horsehair. The wall moved, for the desert wind was never still. There were so few of the Hillfolk left; in spite of the small hidden tribes who had come out of their fastnesses to pledge to Damar's black-and-white banner after generations of isolation. Corlath had worked hard to reunite the Free that remained – but for what, when one thought of the thousands of Northerners, and eventually the thousands of Outlanders who would meet them? – for the Outlanders would learn soon enough about the Northerners' plans for southern conquest. Between them they would tear his country to shreds. His people would fight; he knew with a sad sore pride that they would hold on till the last of them was killed, if it came to that. At best they would be able to continue to live in the Hills: in small secret pockets of their Hills, hiding in caves and gathe ring food in the darkness, slipping away like mice in the shadows, avoiding those who held their land, claimed it and ruled it. The old Damar, before the civil wars, before the Outlanders, was only a wistful legend to his people now; how much less it would be when there were only a few handfuls of the Free living like beggars or robbers in their own Hills. But he could not submit them to the Outlanders' †¦ practical benevolence, he called it after a moment's struggle with himself. For his army to be commanded by Outlander generals †¦ The corners of his mouth turned up. There was some bitter humor in the idea of the pragmatic Outlanders caught in a storm of kelar from both their allies and their opponents. He sighed. Even if by some miracle the Outlanders had agreed to help him, they would have refused to accept the kelar protection necessary – they didn't believe kelar existed. It was a pity there was no non-fatal way to prove to them otherwise. He thought of the man who had spoken to him last, the grey-haired man. There had almost been a belief in him – belief in the ways of the Hills, that Corlath had read in his face; they might have been able to speak together. That man spoke the Hill tongue understandably at least – although he may not have known quite what he was offering in his few words of the Old Tongue. Poor Forloy: the only one of his Riders who knew even as much of the Outlander tongue as Corlath did. As an unwelcome envoy in a state far more powerful than his own, he had felt the need of even the few minutes a translator might buy him, to watch the faces of those he wished to convince. Why wasn't there some other way? For a moment the heavy cloth before him took on a tint of gold; the gold framed what might have been a face, and pale eyes looked at him – She's nothing to do with this. He turned away abruptly and found his Riders all seated, watching him, waiting. â€Å"You already know – it is no good.† They bowed their heads once in acknowledgment, but there was no surprise on their faces. â€Å"There never was much chance – † He broke off as one of his audience dropped his head a little farther than the seriousness of the occasion demanded, and added, â€Å"Very well, Faran, there wasn't any chance.† Faran looked up, and saw the dawn of a smile on his king's face, the nearest thing to a smile anyone had seen on the king's face for days past. â€Å"No chance,† Corlath repeated. â€Å"But I felt, um, obliged to try.† He looked up at the ceiling for a minute. â€Å"At least it's all over now,† he said. Now that any chance of outside assistance had been eliminated, it was time to turn to how best to guard their mountains alone. The Northerners had tried to break through the mountains before, for they had always been greedy and fond of war; but while they were cunning, they were also treacherous, and trusted nobody because they knew they themselves were not to be trusted. For many years this had been a safeguard to the Hillfolk, because the Northerners could not band together long enough or in great enough numbers to be a major threat to their neighbors. But in the last quarter-century a strong man had arisen from the ranks of the petty generals: a strong man with a little non-human blood in him, which granted him a ruthlessness beyond even the common grain of Northern malice; and from whatever source he drew his power, he was also a great magician, with skills enough to bring all the bands that prowled the Northlands, human and non-human alike, under his command. His name was Thurra. Corlath knew, dispassionately, that Thurra's empire would not last; his son, or at most his son's son, would fail, and the Northerners break up and return to their smaller, nastier internecine quarrels. Corlath's father, and then Corlath, had watched Thurra's rise through their spies, and Corlath knew or could guess something of the cost of the power he chose to wield, and so knew that Thurra would not himself live much longer than an ordinary man. Since the Hill-kings lived long, it might be within Corlath's own lifetime that, even if the Northerners won the coming war, he would be able to lead his people in a successful rebellion; but by then there might not be enough of the country left to rebel, or to live off of after the rebellion was finished. Not much more than five hundred years ago – in Aerin's day – the desert his tent was pitched on had been meadow and forest. The last level arable land his people had left to them was the plain before the great gap in the mo untains where the Northern army would come. Sir Charles might beg off now while the Northerners had not yet attacked any Outlander-held lands. But once they had cut through the Hillfolk they would certainly try to seize what more they could. The entire Darian continent might fall into the mad eager hands of Thurra and his mob, many of them less human than he; and then the Outlanders would know more than they wished of wizardry. And if the Outlanders won? Corlath did not know how many troops the Outlanders had to throw into the battle, once the battle was engaged; they would learn, terribly, of kelar at Thurra's hands. But even kelar was limited at last; and the Outlanders were stubborn, and, in their stubbornness, courageous; often they were stupid, oftener ineffectual, and they believed nothing they could not see with their eyes. But they did try hard, by their lights, and they were often kind. If the Outlanders won, they would send doctors and farmers and seeds and plows and bricklayers, and within a generation his people would be as faceless as the rest of the Outlander Darians. And the Outlanders were very able administrators, by sheer brute persistence. What they once got their hands on, they held. There would be no rebellion that Corlath would ever see. It was not pleasant to hope for a Northern victory. His Riders knew most of this, even if they did not see it with the dire clarity Corlath was forced to; and it provided a background to Corlath's orders now. King's Riders were not given to arguing with their king; but Corlath was an informal man, except occasionally when he was in the grip of his Gift and couldn't listen very well to anything else, and usually encouraged conversation. But this afternoon the Riders were a silent group, and Corlath, when he came to the end of what he had to say, simply stopped speaking. Corlath's surprise was no less than that of his men as he heard himself say: â€Å"One last thing. I'm going back to the Outlander town. The girl – the girl with the yellow hair. She comes with us.†