Understanding State Terrorism

â€Å"State terrorism† is as controversial a concept as that of terrorism itself. Terrorism is often, though not always, defined in terms of four characteristics: The threat or use of violence;A political objective; the desire to change the status quo;The intention to spread fear by committing spectacular public acts;The intentional targeting of civilians. It is this last element - targeting innocent civilians - that stands out in efforts to distinguish state terrorism from other forms of state violence. Declaring war and sending the military to fight other militaries is not terrorism, nor is the use of violence to punish criminals who have been convicted of violent crimes. History of State Terrorism In theory, it is not so difficult to distinguish an act of state terrorism, especially when we look at the most dramatic examples history offers. There is, of course, the French governments reign of terror that brought us the concept of terrorism in the first place. Shortly after the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1793, a revolutionary dictatorship was established and with it the decision to root out anyone who might oppose or undermine the revolution. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed by guillotine for a variety of crimes. In the 20th century, authoritarian states systematically committed to using violence and extreme versions of threat against their own civilians exemplify the premise of state terrorism. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalins rule are frequently cited as historical cases of state terrorism. The form of government, in theory, bears on the tendency of a state to resort to terrorism. Military dictatorships have often maintained power through terror. Such governments, as the authors of a book about Latin American state terrorism have noted, can virtually paralyze a society through violence and its threat: In such contexts, fear is a paramount feature of social action; it is characterized by the inability of social actors [people] to predict the consequences of their behavior because public authority is arbitrarily and brutally exercised. (​Fear at the Edge: State Terror and Resistance in Latin America, Eds. Juan E. Corradi, Patricia Weiss Fagen, and Manuel Antonio Garreton, 1992). Democracies and Terrorism However, many would argue that democracies are also capable of terrorism. The two most prominently argued cases, in this regard, are the United States and Israel. Both are elected democracies with substantial safeguards against violations of their citizens civil rights. However, Israel has for many years been characterized by critics as perpetrating a form of terrorism against the population of the territories it has occupied since 1967. The United States is also routinely accused of terrorism for backing not only the Israeli occupation but for its support of repressive regimes willing to terrorize their own citizens to maintain power. The anecdotal evidence points, then, to a distinction between the objects of democratic and authoritarian forms of state terrorism. Democratic regimes may foster state terrorism of populations outside their borders or perceived as alien. They do not terrorize their own populations; in a sense, they cannot since a regime that is truly based on the violent suppression of most citizens (not simply some) cease to be democratic. Dictatorships terrorize their own populations. State terrorism is a terrifically slippery concept in large part because states themselves have the power to operationally define it. Unlike non-state groups, states have legislative power to say what terrorism is and establish the consequences of the definition; they have force at their disposal; and they can lay claim to the legitimate use of violence in many ways that civilians cannot, on a scale that civilians cannot. Insurgent or terrorist groups have the only language at their disposal - they can call state violence terrorism. A number of conflicts between states and their opposition have a rhetorical dimension. Palestinian militants call Israel terrorist, Kurdish militants call Turkey terrorist, Tamil militants call Indonesia terrorist.

Rango Essay - 1395 Words

AP World History Opening Film Essay Rango It’s not always easy to relate the story of a talking lizard to the history of the world. Or at least, that’s they want the watchers to think. The truth is that there are many different themes that tie into the world’s past. Rango (the talking lizard) can represent some of the world’s most influential leaders; the mayor, who is a talking turtle, corresponds to the corrupted government of countries. In a way, many of the themes in this movie relate to one another. Human identity, religion, government, hero worship, and human adaptation, is only the beginning of what this film uncovers about the world, and the human species itself. The biggest and most occurring questions asked in Rango are the†¦show more content†¦The once great leader became corrupted by the notion of power and influence he had over the towns people by controlling what they needed the most; water. The mayor wanted to have everything under his control, every piece of land, every p iece of business and so on. The town, was one day thriving, living the great American life, and then the next, businesses were shutting down, land was drying up, and the drought was more serious than ever. While the mayor and his comrades laughed about getting all the water to themselves, the villagers lived in hardship. That situation reminds me of Jean-Claude Duvalier, president of Hati from 1971-86. Jean-Claude resumed the position of president after his predecessor and father, passed. The United States put a lot of pressure on Jean-Claude to restore the great land of Hati, from the dictatorial regime of his father. In the beginning, he was successful. He introduced reforms, replaced cabinet members, and released political prisoners. Though all was not as it seemed, and his reign did not differ much from his father’s. While his people were living in poverty, he continued to live a luxurious lifestyle with his wife. In fact, his wedding along cost $3 million US dollars. Man y people wondered for ages, how all this was possible, and eventually, the truth came out. As it turns out, Jean-Claude had been in several drug trades as well as selling body parts of dead Haitians. After his dark secrets were revealed, he fledShow MoreRelatedThe Movie Pulp Fiction By Quentin Tarantino2271 Words   |  10 Pagesmoral struggles witnessed is with Jules and Vincent in the dinner. The movie ends as it began with Rango(Tim Roth) and Yolanda â€Å"Honey bunny†(Amanda Plummer). They had the bright idea to rob a diner but not expecting Jules and Vincent to be there two hitmen that kill for a living. As they rob the place they get to Jules as Vincent is in the bathroom and he gives Rango his wallet and points a gun at Rango and then tells him his Ezekiel 25:17 a passage from the old testament and gives speech trying to

U.S. Holiday Shopping Free Essays

Sales among U. S. stores went stronger than expected over the weekend causing a relief for most retailers who were expecting a bleak shopping period due to overall slowdown of the economy. We will write a custom essay sample on U.S. Holiday Shopping or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, even though the figures are up, signs of more troubles were evident. Apparently, the bargain prices which helped drove shoppers to buy were so shocking that some analysts predicted that these stores will see a much worse profit slashing from their sales in the long run. Most retail experts consider the Friday after Thanksgiving Day as the overall barometer of retailing performance for holiday sales which basically account for at least 25 percent of their annual sales. The very indicator for these retailers came out when ShopperTrak released a report indicating a 3 percent increase of sales last Friday compared with last year’s performance. Moreover, the National Retail Federation (NRF) added that shoppers spent at least 7% more this year compared to 2007 with an average shipper spending about $372. 7 from Friday through Sunday. According to Kathy Grannis of the federation, â€Å"It seems that not only did retailers do a good job of attracting shoppers but it seems that shoppers were also excited again to take part in the tradition of Black Friday weekend. † Friday’s store sales which ranged from 50 to 70 percent will not provide better profits for retailers in the long run experts said. It was such an indicator that â€Å"retailers are somewhat desperate to sell†, according to Hana Ben-Shabat, of A. T. Kearney’s retail practice. NRF reported that 172 million shippers visited shops and online stores after Thanksgiving weekend which is up from 147 million shoppers last year. In general, shoppers bought low-cost items like clothes, DVDs, video game CDs and other accessories. Gift card were not as popular having a 10 percent decrease in sales. How to cite U.S. Holiday Shopping, Papers

Definition of Terms free essay sample

This Chapter contains the Introduction, Background of the Study, and Statement of the Problem, Significance of the Study and the Scope and Limitation. Filipinos love eating different types of food, the reason why they can easily find restaurants around the country. But starting up a restaurant is not as easy. A functional knowledge of the background of food service is a must for one who is contemplating on joining the industry.There is a need to be thoroughly familiar with the development of the food service industry in order to appreciate its roles, functions, and important contribution to the nation’s economy. Food service organizations vary in the system from the highly competitive and expensive restaurant to the less costly fast-food outlets in school, offices, and hospitals. Filipinos are adopting what other countries brought to us, they can easily learn the trends along the way. First, Chinese traders introduced to the country the commercial type of food service which was further encouraged by the Spaniards. However, the American occupation saw the start of the cafeterias in school and hospitals. Today the food service industry has flourished into a big business. The food service industry is broad in scope and varies in system individual establishments also differ in size, location, physical structure and policies. We also have to learn on how they run their restaurant business in spite of the competition that they are facing. Background of the Study The food industry in the Philippines includes food establishments that range from simple fast-food in malls and supermarkets to formal and expensive restaurants and hotels.Food service establishments are classified into commercial food service outlets and service oriented operations. Restaurant is a commercial establishment where meals can be brought and eaten. They also do renovations to enhance everything, to attract people to eat and dine in their restaurant, to measure how competitive they are in the field of food industry. Here is the restaurant which is the focus of our research. . Tokyo Tokyo Tokyo Tokyo is a Japanese restaurant chain in the Philippines.Tokyo Tokyo is known for serving Japanese dishes with free rice refill, a promotion called eat all you kanin (or eat all the rice you can) which has been going since it started in 1985. Fortunately, Tokyo Tokyo currently operates 56 stores in the Philippines with much of the chain expansion being attributed to franchising at first. Generally, Tokyo Tokyo restaurants are located within major shopping centers and malls in the country, malls which are owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings, Robinsons and the Ayala Corporation.According to the â€Å"Tokyo Tokyo† Jobstreet. com, restaurant opened on April 22, 1985 at Quad Car Park in Makati City. They first served Japanese dishes such as Tempura, Tonkatzu, Yakisoba, Sushi and Sashimi. At the time they opened their first Japanese restaurant in 1985, other Japanese restaurants were more traditional, and the â€Å"mainstreaming† of the market has contributed to restaurant chain growth. (2009-06-03) At first, Tokyo Tokyo’s menu currently offers three types of sushi, spicy kani roll and spicy tuna roll and California maki.The best seller variant of beef teriyaki, beef misono, pork tonkatsu, squid ika fry and prawn tempura are dishes with vegetables. The best chicken teriyaki and tuna misono are the house specials of Tokyo Tokyo. They come with the same package of their best seller variants. In addition with that, they also offers Japanese style potato balls, miso soup and kani crab corn soup as side dishes. (Tokyo Tokyo TURNS 20. Newsflash. com) 2009-06-03 Statement of the Problem 1. To determine the profile of the customers of Tokyo Tokyo restaurant in terms of: a) Age b) Gender c) Civil Status ) Occupation 2. To determine the significant difference on the level of customer’s satisfaction in terms of: a) Facilities b) Security and Safety c) Service d) Food Quality 3) Is there a significant difference on the level of customer’s satisfaction in the area of facilities, security and safety, service and food quality against age, gender, civil status and occupation? Significance of the Study This study provides information to the customers the service that a restaurant can offer. This would likely help the students for their added information as a future manager and marketers.Since all of us tried the experience on eating in a restaurant. The researchers will also discuss in this study the level of competitiveness of a restaurant which is very important information for the public. Scope and Limitation This area of study focused on Tokyo Tokyo, a Japanese Restaurant that is currently operating in Robinson Metro East, Pasig City. This comparative study focused about the level of competitiveness of the restaurant towards the customer’s demand before and after it was renovated to measure the improvement after the renovation if did make a difference.This study is important to the owner and employer in which it will give them information that will be a big help in their operation. For the employees, this study will be their guide to be more customers oriented, to understand what customers really need. Towards the customer or guest, they will be informed about what is happening in a establishment. And last, for the future researchers this will stand as a guide on how they were going to handle this king of study. Frame workThe development of observation towards Restaurant business within Robinson Metro East, considering the market identity and the factor that the respondent’s considered in eating in a restaurant, the market identity and factors considered are link to business profitability which builds company reputation retain customers and profit. Restaurant competitiveness RestaurantFast Food Chain Age Gender Civil Status Occupation FacilitiesFacilities Security SafetySecurity Safety AmbienceAmbience Food QualityFood Quality.