Frank McCourt essays

Frank McCourt essays Informal Essay on Angelas Ashes Angelas Ashes is a moving book full of poverty, suffering, and death that shows that no matter how difficult things seem, the hard tines can always be overcome. Angela and Malachy McCourt, both Irish, were married in America after a passionate night together that ended up producing their first son, Francis(or Frank as introduced to the reader). Later, the couple had another son, twins, and a daughter while living in a small apartment in New York. Margaret soon died and the family moved to Ireland where their lives were only worsened. Angela had two more children that lived, but the young twins died. Malachy was an alcoholic who rarely held a job and spent his wages at the pub instead of on his family. They were forced to beg for food and other necessities because relatives were cruel and selfish. This novel tells the tell of young Frank having to endure extreme poverty, starvation, and a broken family with strength and courage. He eventually raises enough money to go to America and break free from his depressing childhood. In my opinion, the theme of this book is that no matter how bad things seem to be, anyone can survive and become successful through perseverance and determination. For example, Frank grew up in just about the worst environment possible but was determined enough to get himself to America and eventually become the author of a Pulitzer Prize winning novel! Frank achieved his goals by taking any extra jobs that he could find and saving every penny possible until he could finally afford his passage to America. Because his father never brought home any money, Frank supported the family with what little wages he earned at his job and was determined to make a good life for himself, his brothers, and his poor mother. Frank learned to depend upon no one but himself and his determination to succeed won him ...

Fidel Castro Biographical Profile

Fidel Castro Biographical Profile Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (1926–2016) was a Cuban lawyer, revolutionary, and politician. He was the central figure in the Cuban Revolution (1956-1959), which removed dictator Fulgencio Batista from power and replaced him with a communist regime friendly to the Soviet Union. For decades, he defied the United States, which tried to assassinate or replace him countless times. A controversial figure, many Cubans consider him a monster who destroyed Cuba, while others consider him a visionary who saved their nation from the horrors of capitalism. Early Years Fidel Castro was one of the  several illegitimate children born to middle-class sugar farmer Angel Castro y Argà ­z and his household maid, Lina Ruz Gonzlez. Castro’s father eventually divorced his wife and married Lina, but young Fidel still grew up with the stigma of being illegitimate. He was given his fathers last name at age 17 and had the benefits of being raised in a wealthy household. He was a talented student, educated at Jesuit boarding schools, and decided to pursue a career in law, entering the University of Havana Law School in 1945. While in school, he became increasingly involved in politics, joining the Orthodox Party, which was in favor of drastic government reform to reduce corruption. Personal Life Castro married Mirta  Dà ­az Balart in 1948. She came from a wealthy and politically-connected family. They had one child and divorced in 1955. Later in life, he married Dalia Soto del Valle in 1980 and had five more children. He had several other children outside of his marriages, including Alina Fernndez, who escaped Cuba to Spain using false papers and then lived in Miami where she criticized the Cuban government. Revolution Brewing in Cuba When Batista, who had been president in the early 1940s, abruptly seized power in 1952, Castro became even more politicized. Castro, as a lawyer, tried to mount a legal challenge to Batista’s reign, demonstrating that the Cuban Constitution had been violated by his power grab. When Cuban courts refused to hear the petition, Castro decided that legal assaults on Batista would never work: if he wanted change, he would have to use other means. Attack on the Moncada Barracks The charismatic Castro began drawing converts to his cause, including his brother Raà ºl. Together, they acquired weapons and began organizing an assault on the military barracks at Moncada. They attacked on July 26, 1953, the day after a festival, hoping to catch the soldiers still drunk or hung over. Once the barracks were captured, there would be enough weapons to mount a full-scale insurgency. Unfortunately for Castro, the attack failed: most of the 160 or so rebels were killed, either in the initial assault or in government prisons later. Fidel and his brother Raul were captured. History Will Absolve Me Castro led his own defense, using his public trial as a platform to bring his argument to the people of Cuba. He wrote an impassioned defense for his actions and smuggled it out of prison. While on trial, he uttered his famous slogan: â€Å"History will absolve me.† He was sentenced to death, but when the death penalty was abolished, his sentence was changed to 15 years imprisonment. In 1955, Batista came under increasing political pressure to reform his dictatorship, and he freed a number of political prisoners, including Castro. Mexico The newly-freed Castro went to Mexico, where he made contact with other Cuban exiles eager to overthrow Batista. He founded the 26th of July Movement and began making plans for a return to Cuba. While in Mexico, he met Ernesto â€Å"Chà ©Ã¢â‚¬  Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, who were destined to play important roles in the Cuban Revolution. The rebels acquired weapons and trained and coordinated their return with fellow insurgents in Cuban cities. On November 25, 1956, 82 members of the movement boarded the yacht Granma and set sail for Cuba, arriving on December 2. Back in Cuba The Granma force was detected and ambushed, and many of the rebels were killed. Castro and the other leaders survived, however, and made it to the mountains in southern Cuba. They remained there for a while, attacking government forces and installations and organizing resistance cells in cities across Cuba. The movement slowly but surely gained in strength, especially as the dictatorship cracked down further on the populace. Castros Revolution Succeeds In May of 1958, Batista launched a massive campaign aimed at ending the rebellion once and for all. It backfired, however, as Castro and his forces scored a number of unlikely victories over Batista’s forces, which led to mass desertions in the army. By the end of 1958, the rebels were able to go on the offensive, and columns led by Castro, Cienfuegos and Guevara captured major towns. On January 1, 1959, Batista spooked and fled the country. On January 8, 1959, Castro and his men marched into Havana in triumph. Cubas Communist Regime Castro soon implemented a Soviet-style communist regime in Cuba, much to the dismay of the United States. This led to decades of conflict between Cuba and the USA, including such incidents as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Mariel boatlift. Castro survived countless assassination attempts, some of them crude, some quite clever. Cuba was placed under an economic embargo, which had serious effects on the Cuban economy. In February of 2008 Castro resigned from duties as President, although he remained active in the communist party. He died on November 25, 2016, at the age of 90. Legacy Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution have had a profound effect on worldwide politics since 1959. His revolution inspired many attempts at imitation and revolutions broke out in nations such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Bolivia and more. In southern South America, a whole crop of insurgencies sprang up in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Tupamaros in Uruguay, the MIR in Chile and the Montoneros in Argentina, just to name a few. Operation Condor, a collaboration of military governments in South America, was organized to destroy these groups, all of which hoped to incite the next Cuban-style Revolution in their home nations. Cuba aided many of these insurgent groups with weapons and training. While some were inspired by Castro and his revolution, others were aghast. Many politicians in the United States saw the Cuban Revolution as a dangerous â€Å"toehold† for communism in the Americas, and billions of dollars were spent propping up right-wing governments in places like Chile and Guatemala. Dictators such as Chile’s Augusto Pinochet were gross violators of human rights in their countries, but they were effective in keeping Cuban-style revolutions from taking over. Many Cubans, particularly those in the middle and upper classes, fled Cuba shortly after the revolution. These Cuban emigrants generally despise Castro and his revolution. Many fled because they feared the crackdown that followed Castro’s conversion of the Cuban state and economy to communism. As part of the transition to communism, many private companies and lands were confiscated by the government. Over the years, Castro maintained his grip on Cuban politics. He never gave up on communism even after the fall of the Soviet Union, which supported Cuba with money and food for decades. Cuba is a genuine communist state where the people share labor and rewards, but it has come at the cost of privation, corruption, and repression. Many Cubans fled the nation, many taking to the sea in leaky rafts hoping to make it to Florida. Castro once uttered the famous phrase: â€Å"History will absolve me.† The jury is still out on Fidel Castro, and history may absolve him and may curse him. Either way, what is certain is that history will not forget him anytime soon. Sources: Castaà ±eda, Jorge C. Compaà ±ero: the Life and Death of Che Guevara.  New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Coltman, Leycester. The Real Fidel Castro. New Haven and London: the Yale University Press, 2003.

Changes brought on by blogging and social media on public relations Research Paper

Changes brought on by blogging and social media on public relations - Research Paper Example Public Relations (PR) is the act of managing the informational flow that occurs between a business/company or organization and the public (Stuart, 2012). It is an essential part of business operations, and any successful company requires this part of business in order to maintain a relationship with its target market which in this case can be referred to as the audience. The introduction of blogging to the business world has affected the public relations sector in a number of ways, and it can be said that it has become an essential factor in this part of business as its popularity has continued to rise over the years (Fraser, 2007). Companies have developed the need to integrate blogs and blogging into their PR system as its growth has made it a medium of importance. There are various changes that have been brought on by blogging on Public relations as it has affected various areas related to this practice. Some of these areas and the changes that have been to them include: Communication can be said to be the sector that has been mostly affected by the introduction of blogging to Public Relations. The mode of communication has developed as a result of the introduction of blogs to the internet as the traditional methods can be said to have been surpassed as a result of this new activity (Bruns & Jacobs, 2006). Whereas in the past most companies depended on the more traditional mediums such as TV, Radio and Print media to pass on their information to the public, the introduction of blogs has brought on a new trend where these mediums are no longer a necessity for those organizations who may wish to pass on certain information to the public (Fraser, 2007). The internet has spread throughout the world like wild fire, and as a result there is a large demographic population that have turned to the World Wide Web as a source of information thus

Michellamine A ( A natural product) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Michellamine A ( A natural product) - Essay Example Structurally they originate, from the acetate polymalonate pathway and not from amino acids 1. They exist as monomeric and dimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids. The monomeric alkaloids which possess a naphthalene-isoquinolene linkage and the dimeric naphthylisoquinolines include the michellamines. The Michellamines comprise two monomeric naphthylisoquinoline coupled together. The Michellamine dimers A, B and C are isolated from the leaves of Ancistrocladus korupensis 1,5,16, 18, 21. These dimeric alkaloids possess highly useful medicinal properties like antiviral and antiparasitic, which are distinct from their monomeric counterparts 13. In addition they also possess several pharmacological, toxicological and antiviral properties such as the inhibition of the cytopathic effects of the Human Immunodeficiency virus which is the major causative agent of AIDS 1, 9, 12, 19. Experiments show that Michellamines A and B give protection in vitro to human CEM-SS lymphocytes against the cytopathic effects of HIV virus (14)20, 21. Michellamine B has been shown to have inhibitory effect on drug-sensitive ,drug- The naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids are exists as both monomers and dimmers. All the monomeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids are biaryls containing a naphthalene moiety and an isoquinoline moiety and these two are linked. They may contain a dihydrogenated (this is present in the said ref: 13,) or a tetra hydrogenated isoquinoline moiety 13. The linkage varies between the different alkaloids. There is also a restricted rotation about this linkage and hence these compounds exist as thermally stable atropisomers 1. This is an interesting characteristic feature among these alkaloids. These alkaloids are also unusual on account of the methyl group present at the 3- position and oxygenation at the 8 and/or 6 position of the isoquinoline ring, which suggest that they have a polyketide origin. These alkaloids can be grouped according

Provisions for elite performers Essay Example for Free

Provisions for elite performers Essay Many elite performers start to progress after representing their school at competitions affiliated to the English Schools FA, such as the ESFA Coca Cola National Cups. These national competitions attract attention from district scouts. After representing their schools talented performers may be selected to represent these District teams. Then the performers could be selected to play for their county or to train with professional clubs youth teams. I believe that Britain is behind America in progressing their young sporting talent. There are no real scholarships in Britain like there are in the US. Students are expected to complete all school work as well as trying to improve at their chosen sport. There is also very little funding for less glamorous sports than football.  It can also be seen that although footballers who are regularly being paid tens of thousands of pounds a week are living a glamorous lifestyle, there are also thousands of players in the lower leagues who are being paid considerably less. These top-class footballers are set for life, however the less fortunate players who play in the lower leagues will have to retire at around the age of 34 or 35. The retired players usually have no real future as they have given all their lives to football. When they were young they were kicking a football around when they should have been studying. Many face financial ruin. Additional agencies and bodies  There are many additional agencies that help to ensure the smooth running of football clubs all over the country:  Organisations such as the St Johns ambulance service are at every Sutton United game.  UNICEF has teamed up with non-governmental organizations, private businesses, government agencies and football superstars to establish educational and recreational programs around the world that involve football. The global appeal of football is a tool for engaging young people in a positive future. TWS Associates Ltd is a specialist consumer marketing agency with over 20 years experience in football focussed campaigns, supporter research and relations.  The government also specifies that all people working with children are child protection officers. This helps to keep all participants free from any harm.  Provision for female competitors It can be clearly seen that there are many local football teams for men, however there are much fewer for women. This is also the case at professional level in the UK. There are now no full-time professional womens clubs. This is in contrast to women in football in the USA. The women have their own professional league with there seeming more interest in the womens game than in the mens. Due to this, the American womens national team has been very successful, winning two world cups. This shows just how far the British governing bodies are behind their American counterparts. In the past it has been seen unfeminine for women to play football in the UK. This has come from sexism in previous governments. Female football gets much less coverage on TV with only the Womens FA cup and internationals shown on TV. Some English women have had to resort to travelling to America to earn a living from football. Nationwide has sponsorship of the three womens leagues, under the banner of The F.A. Nationwide Womens Premier League. Nationwide also enjoy sponsorship of The F.A. Premier League Cup and partner sponsorship of The F.A. Womens Community Shield, The FA Womens Cup and the England womens teams.  Although there are girls teams at schools at the moment, there is much less participation than by the boys. This is because there seems to be no importance in the womens game. There are local cups as well as county and national cups. Unlike with the boys where there are teams for each year, there are teams for a group of ages, such as under15s or under 18s. This is again due to the lack of participation of the girls. There are a few scholarships for elite womens footballers at places such as Kingston and Richmond universities, but nowhere near the amount of their male counterparts. These scholarships are obviously only for the elite women footballers. At the moment womens football in England i s not very popular. Even the Womens World Cup and Womens football in the Olympics do not draw a lot of viewers. I believe that the only way that womens football could become more appealing would be if it could be hosted in this country. This would draw a lot of attention to the womens game. Provision for disabled athletes  Although there are huge numbers of people playing football all over the country, there are very few organisations who cater for disabled participants.  The British Football Association for the Visually Impaired, was established in the late 1970s to allow the opportunity for those individuals aged 16 and upwards with visual impairments, whether totally blind or partially sighted, to participate in football.  From those humble beginnings where only a handful of teams were involved came the implementation of a league system in 1980 and the visually impaired football league catering for partially sighted players has evolved progressively to this day. Today the British Blind Sport Football League comprises two divisions each containing 7 teams playing 5-a-side indoor football nation-wide teams from as far a field as the north-east South Shields and the south-west Avon Sports based in Bristol. The North West are represented by Northern Sports (Manchester) and Inter Cosmos mainly Cheshire based. The Midlands have a number of clubs; Birmingham Sports, Midland All-Stars, Loughborough Lions and the Royal National College for the Blind, RNC. The capital is represented by London Sports. Fulham Deaf FC was founded in 2003 by a group of deaf footballers led by Nick Beese who was somewhat concerned about the lack of deaf football opportunities in South West London and very keen to make a contribution in improving deaf football welfare in South West London, prior to the setting up of Fulham Deaf, there were only three deaf football clubs registered in the British Deaf Sports National Cup from London, whereas previously there used to be twelve London representations. The number of Deaf football clubs has decreased over the last decade unfortunately due to the lack of support and commitment from the community. Lack of understanding from the outside community has also contributed to this temporary downfall. However it does not mean that the numbers of deaf footballers in London are on the decline, as there are many active deaf five a-side teams in the capital competing in local five-a-side mainstream league.

Computer Crime :: essays research papers

Computer Crime A young man sits illuminated only by the light of a computer screen. His fingers dance across the keyboard. While it appears that he is only word processing or playing a game, he may be committing a felony. In the state of Connecticut, computer crime is defined as: 53a-251. Computer Crime (a) Defined. A person commits computer crime when he violates any of the provisions of this section. (b) Unauthorized access to a computer system. (1) A person is guilty of the computer crime of unauthorized access to a computer system when, knowing that he is not authorized to do so, he accesses or causes the be accessed any computer system without authorization... (c) Theft of computer services. A person is guilty of the computer crime o f theft of computer services when he accesses or causes to be accessed or otherwise uses or causes to be used a computer system with the intent to obtain unauthorized computer services. (d) Interruption of computer services. A person is guilty of the computer crime of interruption of computer services when he, without authorization, intentionally or recklessly disrupts or degrades or causes the disruption or degradation of computer services or denies or causes the denial of computer services to an authorized user of a computer system. (e) Misuse of computer system information. A person is guilty of the computer crime of misuse of computer system information when: (1) As a result of his accessing or causing to be accessed a computer system, he intentionally makes or causes to be made an unauthorized display, use, disclosure or copy, in any form, of data residing in, communicated by or produced by a computer system. Penalties for committing computer crime range from a class B misdemeanor to a class B felony. The severity of the penalty is determined based on the monetary value of the damages inflicted. (2) The law has not always had much success stopping computer crime. In 1990 there was a nationwide crackdown on illicit computer hackers, with arrests, criminal charges, one dramatic show-trial, several guilty pleas, and huge confiscations of data and equipment all over the USA. The Hacker Crackdown of 1990 was larger, better organized, more deliberate, and more resolute than any previous efforts. The U.S. Secret Service, private telephone security, and state and local law enforcement groups across the country all joined forces in a determined attempt to break the back of America's electronic underground. It was a fascinating effort, with very mixed results. In 1982, William Gibson coined the term "Cyberspace". Cyberspace is defined as "the "place" where a telephone conversation appears to occur.

Lydia Peelle †Mule Killers Essay

In this short story â€Å"Mule Killers† by Lydia Peele we meet three generations of a family, grandfather, father and son as well as the different women in the story. The story is told in present time by the son as a first person narrator, but almost everything in the story is a flashback of the father’s story about his youth. The story is constructed in parts; you get introduced to the lives of the father and the grandfather with no introduction of what has happened before, and then, the story jumps to the end in the present, without letting the reader know what has happened in between and what will probably happen after the story ends. The story takes place on a farm on the countryside near Nashville in the Southeast of United States. Though the story, you get an impression of an isolated society where the church is central and people has got quiet and ordinary lives while they work hard to make a living from their farms. The language in â€Å"Mule Killers† is observing, which we can see in the description of Eula: â€Å"(†¦)her hair swept up off her neck, thick purple-black and shining, the other girl’s hanging limply down, onion paper pale(†¦)† In the story we hear the father tell the son about the events that changed their lives: how he met the mother of his son and also had to give up on his dreams of love and how the lovestory of what should have been innocent turned out to be the thing that shaped his future. The tragic love story represents the way the farmland was changed in the future. Firstly, the shift from mules to tractors in the farming symbolises several things. For the grandfather, the shift to tractors and the following accident marks a new time that he does not accept and he does not take him. This we get an example of in this line: â€Å"you’re gonna see a future I can’t even stretch my mind around. Not any of it. I can’t even begin to imagine. † For the father, the loss of his mule Orphan, which was one of the things that he really cared about represents the end of his childhood. The mules is a symbol of the future and the killing of them is a bad sign for the future and also is the point of no return in this short story. The shift from child to grown-up is the main theme in this story, but also the fathers struggle to live up to his fathers ideals of what a man is, is an important aspect in the story. In his trying to be and act like a grown-up he supresses his fears and his sadness and also the things he love: music and the mules. So it’s like he cannot cultivate these interests any longer. Another important theme in the short story is time. During the story you get a feeling of time passing by. The father goes from being a young man to having a son, who is twice as old as the father was when the son was born, the farming changes and goes from using mulls to tractors.