What is the Definition of Terrorism? :: Terrorist vs Freedom Fighter

The concept of terrorism is exceedingly difficult to define. Author Gerald Seymour first said in his book Harry’s Game that, â€Å"One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter†. Each individual may view terrorism in a different light. Because of this, there is currently no universal definition of terrorism. However in recent years, it has become increasingly more important to form a definition of terrorism, especially while working in the media. The word terror dates back to the French Revolution. â€Å"A terrorist was, in its original meaning, a Jacobin who ruled France during la Terruer† (Moeller 20). Terrorism has clearly become much broader in the years since its origination. Since the concept was first birthed in France it has been used for separatist, nationalistic, political and religious ends, etc. In the book â€Å"Packaging Terrorism†, author Susan Moeller states that, â€Å"the goal of terrorism is to send a message, not to defeat the enemy†. I think this is an incredibly important concept when one is trying to define terrorism. The goal of terrorism is more about inspiring fear. Terrorists do not generally target high-up government officials, but innocent civilians like those killed in September 11. When an act of terrorism is committed, the effect spreads beyond the victim. When members of Black September killed the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, there were 11 victims of the attack. Black September’s target, however, was greater than just the Israeli athletes. They inflicted a worldwide terror. When defining terrorism, one must realize that the message is often the goal of the attack. The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, â€Å"The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological†. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed â€Å"for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or destablishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization†.

Compare the Evidence of a Nordic Presence in the Americas

Compare the evidence of a Nordic presence in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus with the evidence of a West African presence during that period. It has been said by historians that the Nordics and the West Africans were in the Americas before Columbus arrived in 1492. Though evidence, such as oral sagas, tracing routes which it was said they took, artifacts, skeletal remains, among others, have been found to prove that they could have been present; there are still debates as to whether or not they actually came to the Americas before Columbus.Some believe that the evidence of the presence of the Nordics is more admissible than that of the West Africans. The Norse (also known as the Vikings) got their name from the language they spoke, ‘Old Norse’. They were originally from Scandinavian countries. It believed that they came to the new world for several reasons such as; the fact that it had a rich supply of salt to preserve their goods, they were explorers, the co untry they lived in, Greenland, soon became over populated and they experienced a great famine in 975. It is also believed that there was a political unrest between the cans in Northern Europe.There has been many pieces of evidence to support the theory that the Vikings were, in fact, present in the new world during the pre-columbian era. Some of the settements of the Vikings were found, still standing, such as ‘York’ and ‘Dublin’. There was not much written records on the Viking so most of their history was passed down orally through sagas, through which we first heard of their exploration into Europe and the Americas, there were two sagas which survived; these are the Greenlander’s Saga and The Saga of Erik the Red. The sagas claim that the Vikings interacted and traded with the native people that they found in the Americas.The sagas led to the finding of some substantial evidence such as the archaeological remains found in ‘Newfoundland†™ and there it was discovered that there was a Viking settlement in the town called ‘L’Anse aux Meadows’, in this town historians discovered that the Vikings did travel further south into the Americas and explored the land they spoke of in their sagas, Vinland. When they ventured further down into Vinland historians discovered butternut wood and butternuts, which were not native to the area so it is believed that the Vikings brought it there from further south (lands surrounding the Gulf of St.Lawrence). Other artifacts such as architectural structures, woodworking items, boat rivets and personal items were found in the region, which historians dated back to about AD 1000 with the use of scientific method. Another hard piece of evidence found in ‘Vinland’ was a Norse coin which was found off the coast of Maine and was dated back to between AD1065-1080 which suggests that there was interaction of these people and the indigenous peoples. This gave hi storians physical evidence that coincided with the oral sagas. All this evidence pre-dates European arrival by as early as 500 years.It is also believed that the West Africans came to the New World centuries before the arrival of Columbus. Ivan Van Sertima is one of many who argue that West Africans made contact with the new World before Columbus. According to Sertima the Africans travelled from the African coast from the north to the west and crossed the Atlantic. According to the famous Egyptian Scholar, Ibn Fadi Al-Umari, in 1342, there were two large voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, before Columbus’ voyage, both of these voyages were pioneered by one man, Mansa (king) Abubakari II. In the year 1311, Abubakari abdicated his thrown to Mansa Musa.Not a son of his son but in fact his brother. He (Abubakari) equipped 1000 of his ships with the finest men, sorcerers, physicians, sailors and navigators. Every ship had supply ship attached to it. The number of ships totalled 20 00. The other 1000 ships were loaded with foodstuffs, drugs, fruits and drinks to last his team for 2yrs. It was believed that Abubakari arrived on the other end of the Atlantic in the year 1312. Proof of the Malian expedition can be noted in the names given to places in Haiti as the Malians renamed places after themselves. Examples of such are Mandinga Port, Mandinga Bay and Sierre de Mali.It is said that the African mariners that came to the western hemisphere were looking for trade and knowledge of what lied beyond their coasts. They brought with them flora and fauna, cloth, their scientific knowledge, technology and the arts. Modern experiments have shown that the ancient African boats could have made the journey across the seas to the new world as they were strong enough. Boat builders in Central Africa’s Lake chad made a papyrus craft that was sailed from North Africa to Barbados in eastern Caribbean in 1969, there were similar journeys that showed that even the small b oats could with have survived these crossings.Some of the evidence that the West African’s were in fact present in the region before Columbus’ arrival are; the linguistic continuities in the region, an example of this is when it was recorded that the indigenous peoples referred to the Africans as ‘guanine’ which was the first piece of evidence that west Africans were in the region, it, however, was not seen as strong enough by many historians to hold up such a theory. There were no written evidence that they were there, it could be assumed that they could have been lost, or destroyed as it was seen that the Europeans were not always tolerant of these other cultures in their explorations.History has recorded some incidents where the writings of natives and precious metals and gems were destroyed (in the case of the precious metals and gems, they were used or melted down) by the Europeans when they came to the land of the natives, as they saw some of these a s pagan items. Another piece of evidence found by historians were the archaeological remains that were found, the age of these remains were dated back according to how deep the archaeologist had to dip for it.The successive layers of dirt only built up over time, so the archaeologists knew the date of the dirt layer then the date of the artifacts to the layer which was found. Additional evidence that supported the thesis that both these cultures came in contact came from clear evidence of the facial features of the images and figures, which were done using various materials such as clay, gold and copper that were found in the relics which were dug up.The images and figures found in the relics were unmistakably inspired by an African as the phenotypical and cultural characteristics were clearly of an African origin, this could be told by â€Å"†¦their colouration, the fullness of lip, prognathism, scarification, tattoo markings, beards, kinky hair, generously fleshed noses, and even in some instances, identifiable coiffures, head kerchiefs, helmets, compound earrings†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sertima 1976). † Also, there were huge head sculptures which were discovered in the Central and South America that also had African features.Skeletal remains which belonged is believed to have belonged to Africans were found. Further evidence is seen in the religious rituals of the people in Mexico, as their gods and ceremonies are closely modelled to those of the African society. Also, the use of shells as currency rather than just symbolic items and also the botanical continuities such as the presence of species of African origin, for example; banana, jack bean, yam and others. Other evidence which came directly from the natives themselves when they explained to the Europeans that they â€Å"received an alloy called guanine’ from the Africans†, the alloy which they spoke of consisted of a mix of precious metals. It was also noted that some of the artifacts of the natives which Columbus collected, such as the cloths used by the natives closely matched the weave, colouration and style of cloths used by African communities in Guinea. An explorer, Balboa, also recorded that he came across scattered groups of people who looked very much like Africans in regions that he had ‘discovered’.This shows that the Europeans themselves came across Africans in the region. There is also the scientific evidence (oceanography) which points to the fact that the Africans were very capable of getting to the new world before Columbus, The Atlantic World’s coastline was linked to the African coastline by the ocean currents which moved between the two areas, which meant that the Africans who were seen in the Americas would not have had any problems using these ways to make their way to the new world.In both cases, as relating the presence of the Nordics and the west Africans in the western hemisphere before Columbus, the main problem is t he fact that there are not much written accounts by the people themselves, and so it is easy to call the evidence inadmissible as in the world today facts are based on what is written in the books.There is, however, more admissible evidence for the Nordics as it relates to how they got the western hemisphere as there route can be traced easily, though it is said that the Africans got to the western hemisphere using Pacific current known as the Kouro-Siwo and the Equatorial currents of the Atlantic Ocean. In both case, settlements were uncovered, and evidence of things they left behind such as flora and fauna, personal items among other things.It can be said that though there was not much written accounts of their presence, there is sufficient evidence that they had, indeed, been present in the Americas in the pre-columbian era.BIBLIOGRAPHY Africaspeaks. com Bornblackmag. org Campbell, John and Heather Cateau. History for the Caribbean in the Atlantic World. Ghanaweb. com Shepherd, V erene Liberties Lost. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, Worker. org

Bankruptcy Among Youth - 5014 Words

1.0 INTRODUCTION Young generation is an important asset to developing country like Malaysia since they will continue to achieve the vision and mission of Malaysia. They need to be survived and struggle in order to be useful to this country. However, Malaysian youth are becoming increasingly reckless with spending especially by the convenience offered by credit card. It is due to the desire to purchase everything that they want making them easily to involve with the loan. As the result, many youth where below than age 30 were involves with bankruptcy. According to Credit Counseling and Management Agency in New Straits Times (2011), an average of 41 Malaysians are declared bankrupt daily, with the majority failing to make repayment for car†¦show more content†¦The researcher will selects the respondents among the students of UiTMArau that have different attitude toward bankruptcy issues by distributing questionnaire and gather the information by using several related resources. 5.0 THE RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY 5.1 To the Researcher The researcher will get experience on how to deal with the real situation as they will have to develop questionnaires and distribute it to the respondent as well as further understanding on factors that contribute to the bankruptcy. 5.2 To the UiTM Perlis It can be used to increase awareness on bankruptcy among students, lecturers and staff inUiTM Perlis. 5.3 To the Faculty With this study, the collection of project paper can be added in the faculty as it is useful for future reference as well as help other students to gather information and make as references for findings from past research. 6.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 6.1 Conceptual Discussion 6.1.1 Bankruptcy Bankruptcy can be defined as someone who has officially declared that he cannot pay what he owes. In Malaysia, the minimum amount of outstanding debt amount to initiate bankruptcy is RM30 000 (Insolvency Department of Malaysia, 2012). According to BERNAMA (2010), this problem was happen due to several reasons such as becoming guarantors, failing to settle credit card payments, scholarships or education loans. Those factor have been supported by HemananthaniSivanandam (2010) which said theShow MoreRelatedBankruptcy Among Youth1748 Words   |  7 Pages1.0 Introduction Bankruptcy becoming the issues toward many youth nowadays. The worst is the bankruptcy was involves with many youth where below than age 30. According to Credit Counselling and Management Agency in New Straits Times (2011), an average of 41 Malaysians are declared bankrupt daily, with the majority failing to make repayment for car purchase loan. In short, the problem of bankruptcy among youth has to be taken seriously. 2.0 Problem Statement Statistics by the AKPK indicated thatRead MoreThe Assessment Of Yakima County1562 Words   |  7 Pages Yakima County is geographically very unique. The county is located in south central Washington State among seven neighboring counties. Its geography consists mainly of rolling foothills and fertile valleys. Agriculture is the main producer in the county’s economy and, according to the Yakima county economic profile, Yakima is the second largest county in Washington state at 2.75 million acres. Concerning health in Yakima County there are three major issues that stand out. The percentage of peopleRead MoreThe Affects of the United States Economy1195 Words   |  5 Pagesup after a sluggish 18 months (Mississippi Business Journal, p.7). Consumer spending had a tremendous grow since the recession started. One of the areas that consumers are spending their money in is the youth furniture department. According to Furniture-Today (2008), â€Å"Consumer spending for youth bedroo m furniture is expected to grow by 23.5% in the next five years, with sales to reach $6.3 billion by 2012.† In conclusion, our small and big business are starting to see the light at the end of theRead MoreEssay on Casinos1252 Words   |  6 Pagesbanks but will rarely admit that it is for gambling. They will borrow theirselves into bankruptcy. In South Dakota, the state has experienced increases in chapter seven bankruptcies. But personal debt is by far not the only problem for compulsive gamblers. In the same two years the bankruptcy increased in South Dakota, the number of divorces increased nearly 6 percent. Also, child abuse and neglect are high among the crimes that compulsive gamblers commit. A study of the impact of casino gambling onRead MoreHeathcliff Character Analysis1700 Words   |  7 Pageshim to elevate himself from humble beginnings daily the fame of a rich gentleman, however his want everyday revenge himself for Hindley’s abuse and Catherine’s betrayal leads him into a twisted life of cruelty and hatred; Catherine is day-to-dayrn among her love for Heath cliff and her desire every day be a gentlewoman, and her choice every day marry the genteel Edgar Lindailyn drags nearly all of the novel’s characters inday-to-day struggle with Heathcliff The regular emphasis on landscape in theRead MoreStudent Debt And Its Effects On Students847 Words   |  4 Pagesenormous, far larger than credit card debt. It s a trap for the rest of your life because the laws are designed so that you can t get out of it. If a business, say, gets in too much debt, it can declare bankruptcy, but individuals can almost never be relieved of student debt through bankruptcy. This compelling statement was made by American activist, linguist, journalist and philosopher, Noam Chomsky. On the topic of student debt, I realize that it is by far one of the most largest and most considerableRead MoreHuman Rights During World War I And II909 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstanding from person to another, even if they live in the same region and under the same circumstances. During world war I and II, there were enormous losses of human life and rights such as discrimination, intolerance, injustice, oppression (Youth for Human Rights International, 2001). 10,000 ye ars in the past, some slaves were an essential part in people s civilization such as Greece, Rome, Medieval Europe and West Africa. The buyers made the slaves do anything they wanted, to clean, to cookRead MoreCauses Of Homelessness1405 Words   |  6 Pagesfor people who had mental illnesses, it is such a huge challenge to get back to their normal lives. Many studies have reported that the prevalence of mental illness and cognitive disability is higher among homeless individuals compared to the general population, and the rates of mental illness among the homeless population have recently increased. In the article â€Å"Causes of homelessness prevalence: Relationship between homelessness and disability†, the author compares the causes of homelessness andRead MoreThe Great Depression and Unemployment: Discussion Questions1271 Words   |  5 Pagescountries. Among various other reasons, economists, researchers, and historians cite the Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929) as the biggest cause of the Great Depression. It was the day on which the stock market crashed. A massive number of individuals, business corporations, and banking companies had invested huge amounts in stocks. In order to survive from heavy loss, everyone hurried to sell its stocks, but there were no buyers. The banks went bankrupt and further increased panic amon g individualsRead MoreThe Rising Costs Of Formal Education1649 Words   |  7 Pages American youth have more pressure to get a good education than ever before, but at what price? The cost of education is at an all time high and rising every year. Many Americans are struggling with a large amount of student loan debt weather they graduated with a degree or not. The only way to secure the future of students today is to invest in the students themselves rather than investing their money into the corporate market. By preparing students for higher education and providing financial