The Bombmaker

This was the part of the job that he hated, planting the bomb; any thing could go wrong. He checked his watch, 10:20, ‘good' he thought the train wasn't due for 20 minutes. He was putting the blue hold-all with the bomb in inside the tunnel. It was set to go in ten minutes. When he put it down he ran back to the car, his orders were to plant the bomb and make sure it went off with out a hitch. The bomb was meant to disrupt only not to kill or maim. He looked to the tunnel and to his horror he saw three school children about to pickup the bag and set off the bomb. He jumped out of his car and ran to the tunnel as fast as he could shouting â€Å"DON'T TOUCH THAT BAG.† It was too late. That was five years ago†¦ Andrea has always blamed her self for the accident. After that she left the IRA. They begged her not to leave, special branch begged her not to leave, but she was adamant she didn't want to make bombs any more. Present day It was 10:30 in Tokyo. Michael was on his way to Tokyo tower for a meeting with the triads. He decided that if he ever got out of this one alive he would go completely legit. When he got there he was patted down to make sure he was not wearing a wire. He was clean. â€Å"Well Michael we need a favour† said one of the triads â€Å"we need a building to be destroyed for the insurance we hear you know someone to do it.†(Michael is ex-IRA) â€Å"Yea I KNEW some one but I have lost contact with them† replied Michael â€Å"All you have to do is give us the address and we will get back in contact with them† said another triad. â€Å"Here is a picture of the building to be destroyed† It was an office block built in the 70's. The building looked as if it was going to fall on its own. Meanwhile 10,000 miles away in Southeast London Andrea Hayes was putting her 7-year-old daughter Sam to bed. â€Å"Its about time she went to bed, she's got school in the morning† â€Å"Yea what's on TV tonight† â€Å"Just a wild life documentary† â€Å"Ok† While they were talking they didn't hear people braking in the back door walking up the stairs to their daughters room. One of them stumbles â€Å"Quiet† the woman whispered â€Å"all we need to do is grab the kid and get out† So they crept carefully to the room picked the girl up and got out of the house without Andy or Jack hearing them. Andy woke up the next morning and went to get Sam up for school. When she got to her room she found a mobile with a post-it note on with her code name from the IRA and a phone number on. She left Jack in bed and went out back to call the number. â€Å"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER?† shouted Andrea â€Å"Calm down Andy your daughter will be fine as long as you do as we say.† â€Å"Ok† said Andrea calmer than before â€Å"what do you want me to do.† What followed were some instructions to go to London and wait on Baker Street for a brown ford transit. Just before she left for London she left a note for jack telling him to contact Frank Carter of special branch and tell him ‘they have got Brian' When she got to London she rented a hotel room to stay in till the pickup. Because the hotel was a short walk to Baker Street she was only waiting for 30 seconds before she bundled in to a van. â€Å"Who are you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ just as she was knocked unconscious About 3 hours later†¦ â€Å"W†¦w†¦where am I† asked Andrea groggily â€Å"You are in a house.† replied voice â€Å"wh†¦who are you† asked Andrea â€Å"You can call me Lisa† replied the Lisa â€Å"and what you will doing is building a 2000 pound fertiliser bomb† â€Å"WHAT† exclaimed Andrea â€Å"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT† â€Å"yes we know it sounds a bit big, but we think you can pull it off† â€Å"Ill need help, and materials do I get them† enquired Andrea â€Å"of course you do, just write up a shopping list and ill send these two to get it all† Lisa said pointing to two big strong men called wrestler and boxer. So she set to work putting together the bomb While this was happening 300 miles away at home†¦ Jack was just waking up seeing the he jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to see if Sam had gone to school when he saw the note. It said ‘Jack call special branch and ask for Frank Carter and say they've got ‘Brian.' Who was ‘Brian' what did she have to do with special branch. While all this was running through his head one big question was where is Andy and where is Sam. He instantly grabbed the phone and called the police to get through to special branch. â€Å"Frank Carter does not work for special branch any more,† said the operator. â€Å"Well then could you call him and say they've got Brian† (A clicking sound) â€Å"What do you know about ‘Brian?'† said another voice â€Å"Nothing my wife left me a note to say that to Frank Carter.† â€Å"Stay there we will come and get you† â€Å"Ok† Meanwhile Andrea was nearing completion of the bomb â€Å"How is it going† asked Lisa

A critical review of the harlem dancer and her storm

A critical review of the harlem dancer and her storm Claude McKay’s â€Å"The Harlem Dancer† is a poem immersed in the rich cultural aesthetic of a cultural renaissance that is unable to conceal its somber song of oppression, even in an atmosphere trying relentlessly to exorcise those sour notes. The infected atmosphere in question is a Harlem nightclub, in which a beautiful, black female dances away her hardships as â€Å"laughing youths,† â€Å"prostitutes,† and the speaker watch. Using the speaker’s unique perspective, and the strict sonnet form, McKay illuminates both the beauty of resilience and degradation of the African American â€Å"self† perpetuated by racial oppression. Initially, a division is drawn between the speaker and the rest of the audience because of a difference in race and perhaps morality. Critic Beth Palatnik agrees, stating that the speaker â€Å"identifies himself and the dancer with blackness† (Palatnik). According to her analysis, the speaker assumes a position of moral superiority over the rest of the audience that sexualizes the dancer’s â€Å"half clothed body† (McKay 2). She notes that the speaker is more preoccupied with the woman’s â€Å"swaying palm† than he seems to be with her scantily clad figure. Though Palatnik seems to believe that this evidence alone proves the speaker’s moral superiority, the speaker is nevertheless an audience member himself in the nightclub, watching this sexualized dance. Therefore, it seems hypocritical to suggest that he is morally superior to those around him who are watching the same show. However, perhaps the difference involves not what the speaker sees, but what the audience does not see during the performance. The other audience members are described as â€Å"laughing,† â€Å"eager,† and â€Å"passionate†; diction that alludes to their unburdened enjoyment of the performance. The speaker is separate from these â€Å"boys† and â€Å"girls,† and the slow, deliberate meter of this sonnet, antithetical to the raucous atmosphere of the nightclub, allows the reader to infer that the speaker is a more reserved and thoughtful presence. Critic Eugenia W. Collier confirms that the â€Å"slow, measured, dignity o f the sonnet† form, contrasts with the â€Å"wild world† of Harlem (Collier). The speaker’s demeanor contrasts with those around him just as the structure of this poem contrasts with its setting. Maybe, as Palatnik suggests, his behavior is derived from his repudiation of the audience-projected eroticism, which she labels as â€Å"cultural rape†or maybe, as Collier speculates, he behaves differently because of the age disparity between him and the other audience members (Palatnik). Yet, it is a third explanation that best defends the critical assertion that the speaker of this poem is morally superior to those around him. In the ending heroic couplet following this sonnet’s volta, the reader learns that the speaker sees the dancer’s â€Å"self† as well as her body, creating a psychological connection rather than just a corporeal fascination. The audience and the speaker are both voyeurs, enjoying the aesthetic pleasure of watching the dancer, but unlike the audience the speaker sees the dancer as a fully actualized being, spiritually separated from her body and gender, if not race. The speaker sees her as a person as well as the attractive subject of his voyeurism, particularly a person similar to himself because of their shared ethnicity. He recognizes the intersection of beauty and pain that both define her humanity and, as the speaker implies, the African-American race. Using the dancer as an archetype, the speaker and poet illuminate the codependence of beauty and adversity in relation to the African-American woman, and the black community in general. In accordance with the philosophy of this poem, adversity begets beauty and this is emphasized through McKay’s use of a storm as an extended metaphor for the hardships faced by the black population through the course of American history. The poem states that the dancer had â€Å"grown lovelier for passing through a storm† (McKay 8). Palatnik is correct in her assertion that this storm is a metaphorical storm of racial oppression, supported with the emphasis on race in this poem and exemplified in the euphonic phrase â€Å"blown by black players,† the description of the dancer’s neck as â€Å"swarthy†, as well as through McKay’s other works that focus on race (ie: â€Å"Mulatto†). Critic Cary Nelson argues that the dancer’s beauty and pride, epito mized through her graceful movements and â€Å"proudly swaying palm,† represent the gains black people had made from overcoming adversity (McKay 5-7). Still, while the dancer may seem beautiful and triumphant, the description of her as â€Å"falsely-smiling† in the final heroic couplet implies that the resilient â€Å"self† that she projects to the audience may be as much of a performance as her dance. Although analysis of the speaker establishes his recognition of the dancer’s â€Å"self,† further examination of the last phrases of this poem suggests that what the speaker is seeing is not the â€Å"self† but the absence of the â€Å"self,† resulting from the dancer’s continued experience of racial subjugation. The speaker states that he knew the dancer’s â€Å"self† was not in the â€Å"strange place† of the nightclub. This line contains two metrical deviations from standard iambic pentameter; a pyrrhic followed by a spondee that emphasize the words â€Å"strange place†. This spondee’s function is to separate â€Å"strange place† from the rest of the line, creating a division between itself and the word â€Å"self† and therefore a thematic separation of the dancer’s internal self from her external environment. This tactic conveys that the dancer has overcome adversity through adaptation, pro tecting the â€Å"self† through separating it from her body, which exists in an environment of racial oppression and sexual exploitation. The music playing in the Harlem nightclub fades with a final somber note. Though triumph is found at the beginning of this poem, it is only a triumph of adaptation. In this poem, McKay insinuates that the oppressive conditions African Americans endured for centuries still persist into his current era and that any projected contentment on the community’s behalf is as much a facade as the dancer’s â€Å"falsely-smiling† face.

Impacts of the technology on one's future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impacts of the technology on one's future - Essay Example Impacts of the technology on my future as a leader This paper reviews my developed knowledge about contemporary technology and the benefits of the knowledge to my future as a leader, an advocate, and a scholar in specialized education. The scope of information technology that allows for communication among parties at remote sites, and facilitates retrieval of information, has significant contribution in educational and home set ups. In academic environments, for instance, both students and teachers derive benefits from application of the new technologies. Students have for example been captivated into the technology and are explorative of its applications such as analytics and networking, a factor that has developed new learning approaches among students through new fashions in technological usage. The new technology has also promoted practical application of students’ developed knowledge. Ability to work in teams, self-reliance, and development of analytical skills are other benefits that students derive from the contemporary state of technology. The technology has also empowered teachers to make adequate preparations for their classes and to make the classes effective. It also facilitates teachers’ coaching ability and analytical potentials (Hussain and Safdar, 2008). The twenty first century technology has also empowered me to efficient and effective future advocacy. This is because I have learnt of the technology’s potential role in developing useful information towards change, and disseminating developed information to target populations to effect the desired change. While retrieval and analysis of information through the technology develops bases for advocacy, the technology’s communication applications such as the social media facilitate activism to ensure

Change Management in Telecommunications Sector Omantel in Sultanate of Essay

Change Management in Telecommunications Sector Omantel in Sultanate of Oman - Essay Example This indicates that the country is highly literate and privatizations of government owned corporations indicate a liberalization of government economic and trade policies. However, not all organizations keep up with the social, economic and political changes in the country, there are those who remain traditional and resist change. Change is inevitable if the organization wants to pursue progress and growth. Change in the organizational structure, management and use of technology indicates that the organization is moving towards better measures of effectiveness and industry standing. â€Å"Change will not disappear nor dissipate. Technology, civilizations and creative thoughts will maintain their ever-accelerating dive onwards† (Paton & McCalman 2008, p. 5). As with any process and change, this is often met with negativity and apprehension. Even if the change is for the greater good of the company, there will always be anxiety and tension that is caused by the process of change . The study is talks about the extent to which change management process are taken by the company Omantel. It is the first Oman based Telecommunication Company and also pioneer of complete solutions for communications in the Sultanate of Oman. The Omantel is established in 1987 and the target customer of the company includes government, residential and corporate. The company provides complete solution for all the communication related problems. Organizational change is brought about by a number of factors; this could be from mergers and acquisitions, a government take-over or the privatization of the organization. The anxiety provoking aspect in any organizational change is not actually the transformation of the organization or the change in management but the fact that the employees have to leave their old ways of doing things; it is the learning of new tasks, new protocols and new operating procedures that threaten employees to face the organizational change. By definition, change means discarding the old and embracing the new, the new may not always be accepted and appreciated by the employees. â€Å"Two underlying beliefs and their associated assumptions about how change occurs have shaped much of the development of organizational change models. First is the belief that organizational change can be planned and managed through an understanding of its sequential steps. The second belief which has largely evolved due to the criticisms of planned change has been the belief that change is an organic process which cannot be managed† (Turner et al. 2009, p. 27). But some form of anxiety and apprehension are actually natural reaction to any change, and it is welcomed by the agents of change as an opportunity to make the employees become aware of what is happening in the organization. It is the time when questions can be answered, when fears and doubts can be placated and when employees are engaged as advocates of the change process as they now have the know ledge and information that they can share to other employees who may have the same concerns. Change Management in organization is all about the actions necessary for an organization to recognize, organize, execute and take full advantage of considerable change. The ultimate aims of Change Management organizations are: The successful plan, execution, measurement and preservation of a change initiative of the organizations and improvement of their on-going ability for managing change. Here the study is talks to evaluate change management in Telecommunications sector Omantel in Sultanate of Oman. â€Å"The Sultanate of Oman is among the Region’s most progressive countries in the telecom sector in terms of

Optional Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Optional - Essay Example The transistors in the processing chips have continually reduced in size leading to the possibility of measuring them on basis of atomic scale. According to Hagar, 2011, the atomic scale perception of transistors allows QC to deploy quantum mechanics that are governed by wave and relativity laws. While digital computing uses bits, QC uses qubits. A bit represents 0 or 1. A qubit represents 0, 1 and any other superposition possible from the qubit values. This implies that while bits can only contain a particular value, qubits contain a vast amount of values. It is worth noting that QC is capable of undertaking multiple calculations while conventional computing would only partake to one calculation at a time. In addition, QC processes large volumes of data at the same time. It swiftly and accurately solves large relative mathematical problems such as the nondeterministic polynomial (NP) calculations. Chemistry uses the computer to model medicine molecules that are very sophisticated. In order to achieve this, complex calculations (Schrodinger Equation) guide in developing the model structure. The complexity of the medicine structure doubles with each electron added to the basic structure, which is a building block, such that there is a limit past which the conventional computing mechanism is overwhelmed. Currently, computers are only able to model molecular structure not exceeding 300 electrons. Quantum computing can solve SE equations with more than 30 electrons due to its ability to integrate, float and portray basic vast values as mere constitutes to infinite combinations. Systems rely on certain features of data encryption to safeguard sensitive information in banking or transaction activities. RSA is the unbreakable encryption system recognized today because it uses about 300 character integers to encode data. Any attempts to deceiver the encryption require large

Identity, Authority and Freedom; The Potentate and the Traveler by Essay

Identity, Authority and Freedom; The Potentate and the Traveler by Said Edward W - Essay Example He believes that the missing element of criticism which is lacking in academies or educational institutes in most parts of the world is something that needs to be added to academic life to resolve issues of politics which include race, gender, religion, national identity and culture. The fact is, that most people are convicted of stereotyping, being ethnocentric, geocentric or faced with a national superiority or a supremacy over other cultures (Said, 2005). Analysis and Evaluation The problem highlighted by the author here relates to identity, authority and freedom of speech and expression in the world in general. The fact that, nothing in this world is seen in isolation but is relative to other things or dependent on other elements such as culture, religion, geographic similarity, religion, nationality or politics. In light of social sciences and humanities, the author considers race, gender, ethnicity and religion as political factors that hinder learning and knowledge at all leve ls especially in the academia which is suffering from a lack of academic freedom as the author terms it. He believes that academics forms a basis of what the students would later be like once they leave the academic institute and the social, political and general environment is what defines their future and how they deal with adversities.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 35

Essay Example These early Christians beliefs are at par with the present day beliefs on the existence, holiness, faithfulness and the power of God. The views of the early Christian teachings on evil, the devil and sin based on the teachings of the three saints are obsolete. In religion, the problem lies with explaining the cause and proof of these ideologies. The saints attribute all evil and sin to the devil. St. Anthony states that he envies all what he considered good and holy (Porter and Prince Danforth, 472). He referred to him as the ‘opponent or the enemy’ who was associated with sins including fornication. They believed that the devil was the cause of all temptations and he targeted those who were staunch believers. According to the early teachings, discipleship was interpreted as living one’s life based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The disciples were bestowed with the duty of preaching the gospel to many people in accordance to the teachings of Jesus and converting them to Christians through baptism. Discipleship required a lifestyle of selflessness, continuous hardships and in the case of St. Anthony he experienced physical torture (Russel and Amy, 51). These conditions for discipleship are harsh and not legalistic. In the 21st century there are diverse religious beliefs and early principles including discipleship, brotherhood and sisterhood are slowly fading away. The saints viewed the world as full of evil and attributed this to the devil. The saints were not successful in their mission to convert the world. The saints were not irresponsible by trying to withdraw from the world. They were trying to take responsibility for all the evil in the world by taking up the burden of fighting against the ‘enemy’ alone (Kelly, 146). They were just attempting to reinforce the already existing Christian values and not creating an alternative model. Though they managed to convert a few individuals through their discipleship