Economic sanctions against Cuba Essay Example for Free

Economic sanctions against Cuba Essay The US economic embargo against Cuba dates back to1962 during a revolution than led to Fidel Castro occupying the top seat as the President of Cuba. The embargos comprised both economic and commercial sanctions as well as financial support. These embargos were put in place when Fidel Castro nationalized all the enterprises that were owned by Americans in Cuba. (Jones, 2008). Due to this, the Foreign Assistance Act was passed in the US congress, which prohibited any aid to be extended to Cuba, and therefore a total embargo was imposed on all trade relations between the US and Cuba. (Sierra, 1962) This economic embargo was to undermine Cuban president, Fidel Castro and the socialist government he had established. Imports of all goods from Cuba were banned. In 1963, President Kennedy proposed that it was illegal for any US citizen to travel to Cuba either for personal reasons or for commercial purposes. In this connection, the US department of commerce made it a requirement that all exports of food stuffs and medicine be approved before being taken out of the country. (Sierra, 1962). The US economic embargo against Cuba led to great economic and social effects which are still felt today. The ban on trade relations with the US led to increased cost of imports and lower levels of production. The cost of food increased, which led to adverse shortage of food in Cuba and an increasing dependency on the Soviet Union. Cuba lost her major markets and foreign assistance leading to a collapse of the Cuban economy. (Lamrani, 2007). Because of this, the standard of living dropped. Additionally, there were critical health concerns due to a ban on medicines from the US. The US president should not continue supporting the policy but he should lift the sanctions. These sanctions hurt Castro’s administration a little, but it is the common man who suffers most from the enforced restrictions. His suffering is in direct contradiction to how the US would like to portray itself as a big brother to smaller and weaker nations. Therefore, lifting restrictions on trade will allow free trade to take place between Cuba and the US. This will stimulate economic growth of Cuba leading to a better standard of living. In addition, lifting travel restrictions will promote tourism in Cuba, which will also stimulate economic growth. Griswold (2005) says that there is need for the application of sound reasoning on trade in general as far as this policy is concerned toward Cuba. Therefore change in Cuba will not be embraced by applying more sanctions but it will be realized through dialogue between Cuba and the US government. The clips present different types of speeches by the presidents concerning different issues in the history of the US. President John Kennedy was among the best in communicating with the American people. An example of this is a humorous speech he made in a democratic fund raising event. Bill Clinton also made a remarkable speech when he talked about forgiveness in a ceremony commemorating the 1963 civil rights march in Washington DC. Contrary to the above, President Richard Nixon had the most difficult time connecting with the people because of the allegations of financial mismanagement by his administration that involved a political trust fund. Because of these allegations, he lost in California when he contested for the presidency a second time. (The history place) It is true that the economic sanctions imposed on Cuba for almost half a century seem to have failed in their mission. Castro’s administration continues to be in power and stronger than ever before, a situation, which is causing a big debate in the US government. (McLoughlin Boles, 2003) Reference Griswold, T (2005). The economic embargo. Updated 2006. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009 http://www. freetrade. org/issues/cuba. html Lamrani, S. (2007). The economic sanctions against Cuba: The failure of a cruel and irrational policy. Updated Oct.8, 2007. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009. http://www. globalresearch. ca/index. php? context=vaaid=7024 McLoughlin, E. Boles, E. (2003). The United states embargo against Cuba. Updated Dec. 5, 2003. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009 http://glenninstitute. osu. edu/washington/McLoughlinPaper. htm Sierra, J. A (1962). The economic embargo time line in Cuba. Accessed Jan. 28, 2009. http://www. historyofcuba. com/history/funfacts/embargo. htm â€Å"The history place†: Sounds of history: Updated 2009. Accessed Jan. 28, 2008 http://www. historyplace. com/specials/sounds-prez/index. html

economy of power :: essays research papers

15 The economy of power ‘I would like to suggest another way to go further towards a new economy of power relations, a way which is more empirical, more directly related to our present situation, and which implies more relations between theory and practice. Michel Foucault, 1982 Beyond the repressive hypothesis: Power as power/knowledge Foucault never attempts any (impossible) definition of power. At best, he gives a definition of power relations in an essay published in 1982: ‘The exercise of power is not simply a relationship between partners, individual or collective; it is a way in which certain actions modify others. Which is to say, of course, that something called Power, with or without a capital letter, which is assumed to exist universally in a concentrated or diffused form, does not exist.’ Therefore, Foucauldian definition of power is drawn in opposition with the  « repressive hypothesis  » (Foucault, 1971) which holds that there is a transcendental reason which can be exercised independently of any power relationship. Precisely because it is transcendental, reason is then universally compelling. It can limit the political power field and has therefore a role in opposing domination (ie when political power goes beyond its rights). Foucault draws the genealogy of this hypothesis advocating two reasons for its appearance in history(Dreyfus and Rabinow, 1982:130). On a first hand, because of what he calls the  « speaker’s benefit  », the mere fact that, by advocating such a hypothesis, the speaker places himself out of power and within truth. However, this is not the main argument of Foucault as he must recognise that, not as an archaeologist but as a genealogist, he is himself in a field of power relations. On a second hand, because: ‘modern power is tolerable on the condition that it masks itself–which it has done very effectively. If truth is outside of and opposed to power, then the speaker’s benefit is merely an incidental plus. But if truth and 16 power are not external to each other, as Foucault will obviously maintain, then the speaker’s benefit and associated ploys are among the essential ways in which power operates. It masks itself by producing a discourse, seemingly opposed to it but really part of a larger deployment of modern power.’ An additional, more technical, reason should be added, which is that talking about a transcendental reason means falling again in the contradictions of modernity (see part 1). Therefore, Foucault prefers considering rationality as  « a kind of rationality  » and study how several kinds of rationalities could emerge in history (see part 2). However, considering the emergence of a kind of rationality presupposes that the field of possible knowledge is tightly

Module for Grade English

Selection of Purposes for Collaboration Estimated Time: 10 minutes Choose a unit that you would like to make more collaborative. Review the learning objectives for your unit and brainstorm which objectives might be suitable as purposes for collaboration. Teaching Unit Objectives Suitable for Collaboration Unit 4- The Wedding Dance by Matador Adagio Perform the tribal dance of the lawful Present a choral singing of the song â€Å"Letting Go† Make a travelogue about Baggie City featuring the alfalfa belief, customs and traditionsActivity 4: Collaborators and Tools Estimated Time: 20 minutes Describe your plan for Including collaboration In your unit In the table below. (Note: If you have multiple collaborative activities, with unique dimensions, you may want to create separate tables for each by copying and pasting the table for another set. ) Note: You will complete the Digital Tool section of your plan in Module 3. Purpose Scope Type Collaborators Digital Tool To maximize the participation of the students In their group activity Each group will be given 20 malls. Per session which will last for a week to prepare for the presentation Group activelyStudents of Grade 7-A Tribal dance- (You Tube) Travelogue- (Yahoo, Google, Electronic Publication) Brief Description of Possible Collaborative Activity(sees): -Students who belong to the group of tribal dance will research on the internet particularly in you tube on how to perform the dance, one of them may act as the choreographer, costume designer, technical director and the others will be the dancers -For the choral singing group, they may open the You Tube to search for the lyric, tone and singer of the song or they may refer to a recorded music, to maximize their participation, one of them may act as the conductress, musician, costume signer, technical director and the rest are choral singers. – The travelogue group, they will use the electronic publication software for the lay out of the travelogue. They may also surf on the internet for the beliefs, customs and traditions of the lawful or they may search for the photos of Baggie City to be included in their travelogue.One of them may be the editor, feature writer, photographer, lay out artist, researcher, compiler, the money keeper, the auditor and the rest are the presenters to be able to maximize the participation of each. Lesson 3: Assessment in Collaborative Classrooms Activity 3: Self- and Peer Assessment of Collaboration Describe how you might use the collaboration assessments you saved. Assessment How You Will Use It K-W-L-H Chart At the start of the discussion, I will let the students fill in the K-W-L chart for their assign activity and use this information in planning what to teach Collaboration Checklist Students will fill out collaboration checklist after each activity to assess how much monitor their progress individually.Problem solving checklist Students will fill out this checklist after each activity to monit or the difficulties that they have encountered during the project. They will exchange checklist with their group mates to be able to evaluate if they have the same difficulty and will find solution to the problem. I will use this checklist to identify the difficulty of the project and be able to adjust my activities. Lesson 4: Module Review Activity 1: Module Summary Think about the design of collaborative activities and the assessment of collaboration skills as you reflect on your learning in this module. Designing a collaborative activity is not an easy task.We must consider how to group the learners, what would be our basis in grouping them, what activity must suit to the opacities of the learners per group and how are we going to assess their work since it is a group activity. Aside from that, we must closely monitor each learner while doing the activity because sometimes we cannot avoid misunderstanding to occur between or among group mates which if not immediately address, res ults to ruined or unfinished activity. I am happy that I have gained a lot of ideas on how to improve the design of my collaborative activities with the integration of the online tools. Hope I can learn more about on line tools so that I can apply them to my learners very soon.

Identity Crisis in a Racist World - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1151 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/08/12 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: The Bluest Eye Essay Did you like this example? Identity Crisis in a Racist World as reflected by Toni Morrison in The Bluest Eye Abstract The present paper is an attempt to study the thematic concerns of the novel The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. In her first novel The Bluest Eye (1970), Toni Morrison has shown thrown light on the black consciousness of the 1960s that was characterized by identity crisis resultant of struggle for personal and racial identity. The novel revolves around the tragic tale of a young black girl who has a staunch desire for a pair of blue eyes because she considers by having blue eyes she will become beautiful and worthy. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Identity Crisis in a Racist World" essay for you Create order Morrison brings forth the disastrous effects of inter race prejudice upon innocent black girls who are left traumatized bereft of any individuality. Introduction Toni Morrison was passionately inclined to writing endowed with a new insight into black history, the great suffering and trauma suffered by her race. She wanted her novels to serve the purpose of a reformer in the right sense of the term. She felt the oppression that the black people have been subjected to, is something highly disturbing in nature that the blacks consider it is the lack of beauty aspects in them which is the cause of their disgrace and humiliation. The blacks wishing to have beauty aspects like blue eyes, blond hair and white skin on par with the whites is the central idea in the novel. It is a profoundly sensitive issue to the blacks and it is a tragic condition for them in a racist social order. The novel centers on racism; black stands for something dark, evil, and bad while white stands for purity, virtue, hope and innocence. Morrison brings into focus that racism tarnishes the self image of the black girls and leaves adverse psychological effects in their psyche. The protagonist of the novel The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove belongs to a poor black family and yearns for blue eyes like white children so that there would be mutual reciprocation of her feelings, and attitude on par with the whites. She wants to be loved and accepted by both the whites and blacks. She feels that absence of complexion and blue eyes is the main reason for poor personality. She is forced to long for blue eyes like those of white children and surrounded by cultural message that she is ugly by definition; she can achieve peace only by retreating into schizophrenia. The agony and pain of Pecola is all the more worse when her own father outraged her modesty. She is made to live a life of fetters for no fault of her own. The people around her view her as a pitiable person reduced to nothing. Her desire is something which cannot be fulfilled. The world that Pecola lives in is one which reduces persons to mere objects. Toni Morrison exposes the radical effects of racism on the black girls. The pitiable plight of Pecola is the outcome of fierce racism and interracial conflicts of myths. The failure of Pecola is not only because of her hopeless desire for blue eyes but it is also because of her lack of self confidence. She has a deep rooted feeling that she is ugly and the intensity of feeling is such that she finds it difficult to uproot it even from her sub conscious mind. When such a feeling is accompanied by external humiliation it is her inferior complex that gets aggravated. Her mother calls her ugly since her childhood days and her father hates her because she is ugly. Her parents fail to give Pecola the necessary love and affection. Pecolas struggle for identity is defined by her everlasting desire to be loved. Her family and community made it impossible for her to be ever sanely content. Cholly Breedlove, the father and eventually the rapist of Pecola is a bastard. He was born to an unwed mother, his father ran away the day of his birth and his mother abandoned him three days later. This horrible beginning reflects his every day views and actions. After the death of his legal guardian (his aunt), Cholly decides that as an inner mission he needs to find his father to find himself. To understand who he is, he has to look into his past; a long search ends in an extremely disappointing and crushing experience. Chollys private life is still painful. Being a black victim he is forced to have sex with two white police officers. Forcing him to have sex they just chuckled from behind. These episodes left a huge impact on him that eventually caused him to do something that would not have happened had he had proper guidance in those areas. Chollys family and his community contributed in making the man he became and thus his eventual downfall. Almost all characters in The Bluest Eye are after something. Having lost themselves they look in for their identity. Pecola yearns for blue eyes. At the end of the novel she believes that she has those eyes. She thinks that people treat her funny because of her blue eyes and she has learned to accept that happily. She yearned for the acceptance and love of society seen through her eyes. No matter if that acceptance and love were there or not, she thought it was and therefore was able to survive. Pecolas search for her identity ends in her insanity. Although she is not accepted by society for reasons she does not understand, she puts exclusion from society into terms she can comprehend. Society influences her identity and moulds her into what she becomes by not giving her the guidance and approval she needs. In the same way Cholly found himself separated from the community. He does an act of inhumanity and he could not live with the realization of the monster he had become and he disappeared. As a man he does not know who he is. W. E. Du Bois in his book, The Souls of Black Folk gauges the deleterious impact of racism on cultural self consciousness and identity. The term, ?double consciousness, refers to two distinct realitiesa psychological conflict between opposing cultural world views and debilitating resolution in which extremely derived and distorted perceptions of the self constitute a single, but alienated self- consciousness. Du Bois further notes that it is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others. The Bluest Eye inspired a climate of revolution and evolving black consciousness of the sixties, a period characterized by an almost evangelical struggle for personal and racial identity. Morrison chooses the obsession of the blacks with an American standard of beauty that seems both inescapable and destructive. The novelist states that that concept of physical beauty as a virtue is one of the dumbest, most pernicious and destructive ideas of the western world.