The Democratic Republic of Congo Compared to the United States of America Essay Example

The Democratic Republic of Congo Compared to the United States of America Essay In a war torn country, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, there are a number of complex reasons why it is still to this day a poor nation. The central African country is bordered by numerous nations with whom it has had conflicts. There have been a number of complex reasons, including conflicts over basic resources such as water, access and control over rich minerals and other resources like oil, and various political agendas. This has been fueled and supported by various national and international corporations and other regimes which have an interest in the outcome of the conflict. There are clear statistical differences in why the Democratic Republic of Congo (D. R. C. ) is so much the opposite of the United States (U. S. ). Comparing these two places will show Just how poor and conflicted the DRC is to the U. S. The D. R. C. and the U. S. have relatively high foreign external debts, but the U. S. is especially higher. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (C. I. A. ) website on country statistics, the U. S. owes roughly $17 trillion today, whereas the D. R. C. , as of December 31st, 2012 only owes $6 billion. The United States provides approximately $428 million dollars a year to the D. R. C in economic and military assistance. In comparing their Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNI, formally GNP) with the U. S. , there is a significant difference. GDP at purchasers prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy, plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. Even though the D. R. C. has a huge total GDP of $27. 3 billion USD, their GDP per capita that is spent on each person a year is only $271. 97 USD (World Bank). The U. S. has a total GDP of $15. 94 trillion with the GDP per capita at $50,700 GNI is the sum of value added by all resident producers, plus any product (C. I. A. ). taxes not included in the valuation of output, plus net receipts of primary income. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the D. R. C. has a total GNI of $24. 53 billion USD and a per capita GNI of o nly $340. The U. S. in comparison has a total GDI of $16. 77 trillion and per capita GNI of $43,743. We will write a custom essay sample on The Democratic Republic of Congo Compared to the United States of America specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Democratic Republic of Congo Compared to the United States of America specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Democratic Republic of Congo Compared to the United States of America specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In understanding how their GDP and GDI can be so much higher compared to what they provide their people I will give other economic statistics on their trading partners and their main industries, rops, and minerals. The D. R. C. s main trading partners in exporting are China (53. 0%), Zambia (24. 5%), and Belgium (7. 9%) and in importing they are South Africa (21. 4%), China (15. 1%), and Belgium (7. 9%) (C. I. A. ). D. R. C. s main industries are mining, mineral processing, consumer products such as, textiles, plastics, footwear, and cigarettes, metal products, processed food and drinks, timber, cement, and commercial ship repair. Their main crops are coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, cotton, cocoa, quinine, cassava, bananas, plantains, peanuts, root crops, and corn. Main minerals include cobalt, copper, diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, niobium, tantalum, and petroleum. The United States in comparison fares far better off than the D. R. C. Our main trading partners in exporting are from China (19%), Canada (14. 1%), Mexico (12%), Japan (6. 4%), and Germany (4. 7%). The U. S. s main industries are petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, and mining. Our main crops are wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables, and cotton nd our main minerals are coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc and petroleum (C. I. A. ). There are also differences in the two countries. The population in the whole U. S. combined is roughly 317 milli on people, while in the D. R. C. there are about 75 million people. With those figures it appears that there is a much smaller population of people in the D. R. C. , but in reality with the amount of land that each nation encompasses, the differing amounts are closely the same. In the D. R. C. The population density is 28. and in the U. S. there are 34. 06 people. That is only roughly 5 more people per square mile in the U. S. , 34. 3% urban. The D. R. C. is the 20th largest nation in the world by population with the U. S. coming in at 4th, roughly 82% being urban. The life expectancy, fertility, and infant mortality rates in the D. R. C. are by far the biggest indicator on how bad their economy and health is. With the quality of life and society as a whole being impoverished, the D. R. C. s population on average is only expected to live to be 56. 14 years with a 2. 54% population growth rate. In the U. S. ur life expectancy is on average 78. 62 years with a . 09% population growth rate. With the D. R. C. having higher population growth than the U. S. , fertility rates are much higher. The fertility rate in the D. R. C. is 4. 95 children, per women whereas, in the U. S. our fertility rates are 2. 6 children, per woman. Infant mortality rates in the D. R. C. are 74. 87 deaths out of every 1,000 live births with the U. S. only having 5. 9 deaths out of every 1,000 births. In the D. R. C adult literacy rates are extremely low with only 66. 8% of people over the age of fifteen can read or write. In the United States 99% over the age of fifteen can do so. Access to clean water and sanitation might be one explanation as to why the people of the D. R. C. have so many problems. Only 45% of the D. R. C. population has safe water to drink and ways to stay clean, but in the U. S. ur total population is at 100% availability for clean water and sanitation (C. I. A. ). With there being wide spread poverty in the D. R. C. communications, the ability to reach the outside world is even less desirable. Telephone services are owned and operated by the corrupt government, and radio and television transmissions are State-controlled. According to a statistical website that aims to facilitate comparison of publicly available data on all countries of the world, states that there are 2 televisions, 19 cell phones, and 385 radios owned out of every 1,000 people in the D. R. C. compared to the U. S. at 1,180 televisions, 600 landline phones, 670 cellular phones, and 2,146 radios per 1,000 people (Allcountries. org)). In conclusion, the D. R. Cs economy being what it is, and a government that is riddled with corruption, there is a long road ahead of them. This republic government faces challenges that include the presence of armed groups in eastern D. R. C. , rampant corruption, inadequate infrastructure and human resources, and a limited capacity to raise and manage revenues. According to the U. S. Department of State, In trying to encourage the growth and living standards for the Congolese citizens, the U. S has taken steps to aid in the D. R. C. s structure. The D. R. C. and the U. S. belong to a International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. The U. S. relations with the D. R. C. are strong. The U. S. foreign policy in the D. R. C. is focused on helping the country become a nation that is stable and democratic, at peace with its eighbors, extends state authority across its territory, and provides for the basic needs of its citizens. In my opinion, the D. R. C. s government has made little effort to punish the rebel groups who are responsible for the chaos. The government itself is unstable and plagued by corruption which heightens the already devastating conditions. There needs to be real support for the ongoing peace process, and holding our allies in the region accountable for their actions. Being socially, politically, legally, and economically empo wered, I believe the citizens of the D. R. C. will rise up and promote a positive change.

Health Risk from Butter-Flavored Popcorn

Health Risk from Butter-Flavored Popcorn Did you know you can get a condition called popcorn lung from breathing the artificial butter flavoring from microwave popcorn? The artificial butter flavoring is a naturally-occurring chemical called diacetyl. Diacetyl causes no problems in the butter, milk, cheese, beer, and wine where its found, but when vaporized it can cause damage to the bronchioles in the lungs, eventually deteriorating them into the serious irreversible condition called bronchiolitis obliterans. If you nuke a bag of popcorn every now and then, its not a health concern for you, but workers in the factories producing the butter-flavored popcorn are at risk for lung damage, as are consumers who pop a couple of bags of corn daily. I would guess theater concession stand employees would also fall into this category. So, what should you do to avoid lung damage from popcorn? You can avoid popping the butter-flavored corn and then add liquid butter flavoring after the corn has popped or if you absolutely love that flavor of corn (like me), then just dont go crazy. Enjoy it a few times a week at most.​ How Popcorn Pops | Butter Means Something Different in Chemistry

Dawn Kills Animals

Dawn Kills Animals Proctor and Gamble tests on animals, they dont want to stop, but they want the public to think they are animal-friendly. Last night, I saw a very disturbing commercial for Dawn dishwashing liquid. The commercial claims that thousands of animals caught in oil spills have been saved by being washed in their dishwashing liquid. The video depicts a penguin, a duckling and an otter, all covered with oil, being bathed with their dishwashing liquid. In the before video, you can see how the duckling stumbles and struggles to walk. In tiny letters at the bottom of the screen, it says, simulated demonstration. This was not footage of an actual rescue. They intentionally covered at least three animals with tempera paint and corn syrup to simulate oil, just so they could wash them on camera. If Dawn really is used to wash oil off of animals, why couldnt they use footage of an actual rescue? The company then has the audacity to put up a website at DawnSavesWildlife.com, extolling their role in wildilfe rescue. Meanwhile, Proctor and Gamble, the parent corporation that owns Dawn, continues to test on animals and defends animal testing: We must conduct research involving animals to ensure materials are safe and effective. Not to be branded monsters, they have joined with The Humane Society of the United States in a partnership committed to the elimination of animal use for consumer product safety evaluation. Im guessing that this guarantees that HSUS will not target PG in any campaigns. PG, if you were really committed to the elimination of animal testing, you would stop it. Today. Now. Stop the lip service. Stop pretending. What you can do: Boycott Proctor Gamble products. Contact Proctor Gamble at 513-983-1100 or via email at comments.impg.com (Update: It appears that PG has now disabled this email address), to tell them you are boycotting all of their products until they stop testing on animals. Its not always easy to tell which brands are owned by PG and the list is always changing, so try to familiarize yourself with this list, from the official PG website. Dozens of brands are part of the PG corporation, including Dawn, Gillette, Cover Girl, Pampers, Tampax, Clairol, Febreeze, Tide, Mr. Clean, ​Crest and others. Iams and Eukanuba are also owned by PG and sponsor the Iditarod, so there are at least two reasons to boycott these two brands. Even better, boycott all companies that test on animals. Two apps available on iTunes make it easy to carry around a list of companies that dont test on animals. Cruelty-Free and BNB (short for Be Nice to Bunnies) are both compatible with the iPhone or the iPod touch. July 21, 2009 Update: I just spoke to Cory, a representative at PG, and told him that Im not swayed by the Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign, and if PG really cared about animals, they would stop animal testing. Cory was very nice and said that he would pass along my comment. He also said that PG is required by law to conduct animal testing. I told him that was not true. Federal law requires drugs to be tested on animals, but no law requires household products to be tested on animals. Cory said that the EPA requires new chemicals to be tested on animals. But thats not the same as requiring all household products to be tested on animals. A dishwashing liquid can be made using known, reliable ingredients, without creating new chemicals. There are lots of cruelty-free companies making the same types of cleaning products that PG makes, without animal testing. Our very civil conversation ended with my accepting Corys offer to send me a pamphlet about PGs animal testing, but turning down his of fer of coupons for PG products. Regardless of the certification from AHA, the animal rights position is that animals should not be used for entertainment or commercials, and should not be covered with paint or corn syrup. Correction, July 22, 2009: The original postincorrectly stated that during the filming of the commercial live animals were covered with oil. However, according to American Humane Association, the animals were covered with a mixture of tempera paint and corn syrup designed to simulate oil. The original post also suggested that animals may have been injured or killed during the filming of the commercial. American Humane Association was on set to supervise the filming of the commercial and certified that No animals were harmed during the taping.

1995 Oklahoma City Bombing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

1995 Oklahoma City Bombing - Case Study Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that investigations into the attack led to the apprehension of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as those responsible for the bombing. Initial suspicion wrongfully inclined to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. However, it did not take long before the investigations narrowed down to McVeigh, who had been arrested soon after the detonation for violating traffic regulations, and his compatriot Nichols. Both of them once served in U.S. Army and were linked to radical militant Patriot movement. Before his release for the traffic violation, McVeigh was named and charged as a suspect. Nichols surrendered himself to the authorities shortly afterward. McVeigh was found guilty on 11 counts of murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction. He was executed in 2001 becoming the first person since 1963 to be executed for a federal crime in the U.S. Nichols, on the other hand, avoided the death penalty and was convicted for unintentional m anslaughter and conspiracy. So what is the reason that inspired McVeigh to plant the bomb? This was a retribution attack that was a retaliation to Waco tragedy. On April 19, 1993, the confrontation between the FBI and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas ended in tragedy when fire engulfed the entire Davidian compound following FBI’s decision to gas the complex. 75 lives of the cult followers, including many young children, lost their lives in the unintentional tragedy. The death toll was staggering and many people laid their blame on the U.S. government.

Compare and contrast at least two anthropological interpretations of Essay

Compare and contrast at least two anthropological interpretations of the term culture - Essay Example Their vision of culture influenced anthropological thinking for at least fifty years. Culture, as a guidance system, leads society to notice important differences between humans and other phenomena that get directed. Humans and their guides are often in conflict. Humans, or peculiar primates, create a peculiar guidance system, one that is praised, died for, evaded, avoided, and taught to young children. Intuitively, all we know about culture makes sense. C. Geertz represents a symbolic anthropology school which underlines a key role of symbols (thoughts) in society and its culture. Geertz develops and discusses the main ideas about culture and its meaning in The Interpretation of Culture (1973) and Local Knowledge: Further essays in Interpretive Anthropology (1983). It is important to note that this school of thoughts is also called an interpretive anthropology, paying a special attention to semiotic nature of culture. Under the leadership of Clifford Geertz, culture generates considerable excitement as a semiotic concept. Ideas and concepts used in his theories, Geertz took from the work of Gilbert Ryle and translating his philosophical ideas into notions usable by anthropologists, Geertz is revitalizing an old link with philosophy. This revitalization movement has its own vision of culture. According to Geertz, culture is no longer a map lodged in human minds; it is no longer plans, recipes, and rules. Culture, now, is traffic in things which impose meaning. More completely, and in Geertz's words, culture is traffic in anything "that is disengaged from its mere actuality and used to impose meaning upon experience" (Geertz 1973, p. 45). Within this context, human activity is well described as a "text," and a culture as an assemblage of texts. In presenting texts to interested publics and in interpreting their meanings, anthropologists assume old roles with some new labels, observers, scribes, translators, and interpreters. The documents anthropologists present must be deeply embedded in the contextual richness of social life; a text, that is, must be a "thick" description. Geertz defines culture as "a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life" (Geertz 1973, p. 89). The problem is, it is quite easy to write a text that is thick, but it is very difficult to write a text that is valid. The problem has not escaped Geertz. He admits that it is difficult to fathom "what our informants are up to and what it all means." Also, he settles rather cheaply for "doing the best we can" and using a lot of guessing. In his words: Cultural analysis is (or should be) guessing at meaning, assessing the guesses, and drawing explanatory conclusions from the better guesses, not discovering the Continent of Meaning and mapping out its bodiless landscape. (1973: 15) Guessing, a fundamental strategy in science, generally passes under the more prestigious name of hypothesizing. And hypothesizing, in traditional science, is but part of the opening moves. In the middle game and the end game scientists (1) build and use models and (2) utilize verification procedures. Instead of formal models, Geertz provides two general and rather strange images. Humans, for Geertz, are like spiders "suspended in webs of significance"

Subject, Education, Truth :: Philosophy Papers

Subject, Education, Truth Two processes develop in human culture and society that implicate each other. The first is, according to Hegel, the development of universal experience and knowledge in any individual since individuals are never born complete as what they are supposed to be. The second is the subjectivization of the universal experience and knowledge into unique and singular forms of the self and self-consciousness. An analysis of these two processes in the history of philosophy has revealed the interconnections between the cognizing subject, truth and education and paideia. A hermeneutical principle of "self-care" that develops the skill of ruling and caring for others represents one of the traditions that includes these features in unity and determines a type of paideia. This principle is developed by Socratic, Platonic, Epicurean and Stoic morality, and was actualized by Descartes in his movement to the cogito. "Self-care" was considered in the 17th century as a condition of acquiring scientific k nowledge; later, however, it was labeled as egotism and individualism and replaced by self-cognition. Foucault gives proof of the necessity to revive the "self-care" principle in its initial sense as a foundation of the modern hermeneutical conception of upbringing. Hence, the role of philosophy as "an adviser" or "tutor" is to be revived in the process. How should I change my "self" to gain access to the truth? M. Foucault Hegel treats education as the alienation of natural Being and individual rising to universality, thus he correspondingly understands the person as "self" and as the subject of education. Subjectivity is here the definiteness of the universal. Aimed to freedom, it is able to unfold itself in culture and history, to develop itself on the basis of "the spirit and heart principle" to the extent of subjectivity, to the extent of judicial, moral, religious and scientific activity. It exhibits itself in active entity, internal activity and processuality as "inter-subjective" activity that develops in culture and history. The self-educating subjectivity becomes the highest universality, concrete Being of the universal, an individualisation of its content. In culture and society there develop two processes that meet each other. The first one, according to Hegel, is coming of a person to the universal experience and knowledge, because a person is never born the one s/he has to be. The second i s subjectivization of the universal experience and knowledge into unique and singular forms of the self and self-consciousness. Looking at education from these two points of view allows one to reveal hermeneutic meanings of education.

How is mother essential to the development of the plot in All My Sons by Arthur Miller? Essay

Mother is essential to the development of the plot because her role in the family and her interests make up the key elements of the story. The fact that she is the only obstacle between the family and forgetting about Larry’s death is one of the main catalysts leading up to the ending. She refuses to give up on Larry, which shows her desperation and love for her son. Miller does not address her by her real name, but instead as â€Å"mother†, giving her an undeniable mother figure. This suggests that Kate is the link in the family that cannot be broken. If she falls apart, so does the family. During the play’s first few minutes, Keller says â€Å"I’m just waiting for her to see it† which shows that he is already anticipating the outcome. His short and confident words show his certainty about the outcome. On the other hand, it could also be said that Keller has been desensitised to Kate’s reactions to things related to Larry. Mother also interrupts long tensions between characters and changes the subject abruptly in order to avoid a conflict. For example, when the subject of Larry’s tree casually comes up in conversation, Mother instantly ‘presses her hand to top of her head’ and says â€Å"I’ve got such a funny pain on the top of the head†, which diverts all attention to her and her head. Chris replies with â€Å"Can I get you an aspirin?† which shows Mother’s importance in the family, and how she must not fall as all other family members will also fall. This is also apparent at the end of the play, when the realisation first hits Mother and then has a knock-on effect on Joe Keller. When Mother reads the letter, â€Å"Anne goes quickly to Mother, takes the letter from her hand and starts for Chris. Mother instantly rushes to intercept her.† These stage directions show Mother’s desperation to keep order. This emphasises the nuclear family idea which was apparent during World War II in America, where the father was to pay take care of the physical aspects of family (house, money and family business) and the mother was to take care of the emotional aspect (relationships, problems and keeping things ‘clean’ and ‘tidy’) . It could also be said that Mother causes all these problems herself rather than being an innocent bystander, because she often takes the lead by telling other members of her family what to do. Mother can also be seen to live in her imagination. At one point, she ‘raises her arm over the audience’ and says, â€Å"Remember the way he used to fly low past the house when he was in training?† Her body language emphasises the emotion that she feels while she speaks. Larry is said to â€Å"fly low past the house† which shows the comfort that she feels when Larry is close to her. It could also be said that Mother feels overprotective of Larry and cannot deal with his loss. In conclusion, Mother is crucial in the development of the plot because of her placement in the family and her evasive nature. She wants to keep her family together, which is why she cannot deal with any disruption of this norm.