Research Paper (How conflicts effect an economy, focusing on

(How conflicts effect an economy, focusing on Afghanistan) - Research Paper Example Development indicators are some variables to measure when determining the level of a country’s economic growth. For instance, life expectancy can be a development indicator, and it is a variable that is easy to measure. Another hypothesis in this study can focus on conflict conditions that affect economic development. In this case, the hypothesis can be "conflicts leads to political instability creating conditions that do not favor economic growth". This can be an alternative hypothesis and the reason for setting for the research question is that it gives measurable variables. It is easy to conduct interviews and collect opinions of the Afghanistan business people about what political instability implies for their investment. Therefore, the research has both general and alternative hypothesis and prefers them since the variables easy to measure. The research will not be complete without good conceptualization of the design and approach to the study. In the conceptualization stage, researchers attempt to define their study to the details or they make it as clear as possible2. In this case, it will be necessary to dig deep about conflicts. The word conflict has different meanings depending on the context that individuals use it. In general terms, conflict refers to the state of disagreement between two or more people. In civic terms, a conflict refers to differences in ideologies between one or two people. However, the term conflicts bring the image of battle and wars in the country, society or a community. Therefore, this study refers to conflicts in terms of war and raging battles. The aspect of conflicts that the study seeks to cover is economic implications of wars and battles. In the Afghanistan for instance, conflicts have been responsible for many problems in the country ranging from insecurity to slow economic growth. Conflicts in this context refer to the situation where the country

The United States and the Soviet Union in the Period 1944- 1950 Essay Example for Free

The United States and the Soviet Union in the Period 1944- 1950 Essay In 1944 the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were allies in the war against National Socialist Germany and her Fascist Axis allies in Europe; however by 1950 the relationship had disintegrated to such an extent that the two countries had on more than one occasion nearly gone to war with each other. How had this situation arisen, and what were the implications not only for the two protagonists in what became known as the Cold War, but also for the rest of the world in this new Atomic Age. There was no definite date on which the erstwhile allies began to regard each other as potential adversaries and rivals for world influence. Neither, was their one definitive or underlying reason, for the difference of opinion between the erstwhile Second World War Allies. However, in the latter stages of the conflict and the years immediately following it would emerge a pattern of misunderstandings, miscalculations, misjudgements and suspicions which would come to characterise the following fifty years or so, in the relationship between the two countries and their respective allies. In order to assess the political realities of the situation pertaining at the time it is necessary to consider the geopolitical realities which existed, particular within Europe; and in addition to consider the internal political and economic situations in both countries in the time of victory over the Nazis, and the five years following that victory. Not, withstanding that there was also the Empire of Japan to be defeated particularly by Britain and America, although the Soviet Union would also have a part to play in that conflicts denouement. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was born as a result of the 1917 October Revolution, when the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov known as Lenin, Established the worlds first communist state by overthrowing the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky. There followed a Russian Civil War from which the Red Army formed by Leon Trotsky was eventually to secure a victory for Lenins Bolsheviks. Prior to this the emerging state faced enemies both internally and external, indeed Britain, France and the US all at one time gave support to the whites the enemies of the communists in the Russian Civil war. In 1923 Lenin died and a power struggle ensued to see who would succeed him. Joseph Jugashvili, better known as Joseph Stalin emerged as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He set about mercilessly liquidating all opposition. Including his bitter rival Trotsky (who was murdered in exile in Mexico), his merciless repression reached a peak with show trials and executions of alleged counter revolutionaries. The number of people he was responsible for killing either directly or indirectly by failed economic policies etc. is unknown but must run into several millions. The form of communist state he created is commonly called Stalinist. Historians often point out Stalins purges of military officers as one of the main contributing factor in Hitlers early successes in the Soviet Union. The Nazi onslaught came about despite the Non-Aggression Pact signed between the 2 counties in 1940. Nonetheless, by 1944 Soviet troops were poised to begin the final defeat of the Third Reich, from the east. In 1944 a confident and vigorous United States, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was relishing the prospect of the liberation of Europe and also the much longed for defeat of Japan. The war, had by dint of the huge amount of government spending, revitalised the American economy and by the final stages of the war America was indisputably the worlds economic heavyweight. Roosevelt was indeed the only American president in history to be elected to four terms in office. He certainly carried the majority of the population along with him. Although, it must be stated that he also earned the undying enmity, of a large section of the American conservative right, who blamed Roosevelt for introducing socialist policies to America i.e. the policies introduced by the first Roosevelt administration, to institute economic recovery in the midst of the Great Depression (known as the New Deal), possibly one of the worst economic crisis that the capitalist economies had ever faced. In reality, the New Deal owed more to the economic policies of the British economist John Maynard Keynes than to those of Karl Marx. Nonetheless, to a section of American Society who imbibed the notion of classic liberal laissez faire economics with their mothers milk; Roosevelts ideas represented an unwholesome and unwelcome change of priorities, and the bitterness felt would not be easily dissipated. With the Japanese attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor on the 7th December 1941, and Hitlers Declaration of war against America, the US the Second World War alongside the UK and the Soviet Union which, as previously stated, Hitlers Germany attacked in the summer of 1941 in Operation Barberossa. So right from the outset the alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States was more a marriage of convenience, than a love match. Historically, this alliance was something of an aberration, as the US did not even recognise the USSR, until 1933. However, it wasnt until victory looked certain, that the parties gave any serious thought to the shape of the post war world. In October 1944 the British Prime Minister held a meeting with Stalin in Moscow during the course of which, the post war shape of the Balkans and the contiguous regions was tacitally agreed; or perhaps, more accurately the areas of these regions where each power would have spheres of influence. This meeting was to prove hugely significant in the years to come: in particular as to the thinking of Joseph Stalin. As the end of National Socialism and Japanese militarism became inevitable during the course of 1944, the war aims of the victors became settled in the minds of the probable victors. It soon became apparent that both the USSR and the USA had different end games in mind, which as the international situation settled down in 1945, soon turned out not only to be different but also to a large extent mutually exclusive. These differences became publicly apparent for the first time during the Yalta Conference, a meeting held in the Crimean resort between the leaders of the Allied powers in February 1945, i.e. Stalin, Roosevelt and Winston S. Churchill, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Although, it is debateable whether, any great or meaningful blueprints for the future of the post war world were actually arrived at during the course of the Crimean Conference, other than the three leaders formally re-affirming the Dumbarton Oaks agreement setting up of the United Nations. However, there were understandings, firstly that elections would be held in all liberated countries, additionally a rather nebulous declaration of self-determination for the said countries. What was not explicitally stated, but nonetheless implicitly understood by all parties was the notion of legitimate spheres of influence, along the lines agreed in the Churchill- Stalin summit in 1944. Had it not been realised before, Yalta it certainly became known during the conferences that each power in particular the Soviets put different interpretations on the notion of free and fair elections and inter alia democracy. This, notion would be physically shaped by events on the battlefield more than lines on a map drawn by political leaders. At Yalta Roosevelt and Churchill informed Stalin that a second front would definitely be launched against Hitler. In addition Churchill and Roosevelt sought to ensure that the agreements viz. free and fair elections would be applied with regard to Poland as it must be borne in mind that this was Britains original war ain in 1939 when it went to war after Hitler invaded Poland. Churchill in particular was aware of the historical enmity that existed between Poland and Russia: Stalin however assuaged Anglo- American concerns, and assured Britain and the US that the Soviet Union would allow free elections in all European countries liberated by t he Red Army The legacy of Yalta, is still the subject of contentious debate, particularly amongst the conservative section of the American body politic; however as was previously stated in terms of ascribing spheres of influence in reality this conference really only confirmed what was happening on the ground i.e. the Red Army had already liberated much of Eastern Europe and was poised for the invasion of the Third Reich proper in 1944/45. Whilst the Western Allies would soon put into effect Operation Overlord landing on the beaches of Normandy on their march, to destroy the Reich from the west; in addition to the push northwards through the now German occupied Italy, in the face of a tactically dogged and inspired German retreat, organised by Field Marshall Albert Kesselring. Thus, it would be difficult to see, short of immediately going to war with the Soviet Union or perhaps credibly threatening to do so, even if that had been either militarily or politically possible; what in reality the Bri tish or the Americans could have done differently. One interesting footnote to the Yalta Conference is that just two days after its conclusion the RAF and the USAAF, bombed the historic eastern German city of Dresden with horrific civilian casualties (around 25,000, although the precise figure was never known) and dubious strategic importance. By the time of the next Allied conference, held in Potsdam in Western Germany in August 1945, the scene had shifted dramatically. President Roosevelt, who had towered over American foreign and domestic policy had died and been replaced by the Vice- President Harry S. Trumann. Roosevelt had not involved Trumann in the field of foreign affairs quite deliberately. He therefore had to get himself up to speed immediately. Trumann was not as understanding of Soviet foibles as Roosevelt had shown him to be; nonetheless he was not, at this stage, anti Soviet. In the United Kingdom too, there was a change in leadership Clement Atlees Labour Government having won a sensational landslide victory in what was dubbed The Khaki election: replacing the wartime coalition led by Churchill (the actual changeover coming during the conference itself). Both Western leaders were suspicious of Stalins motives regarding his plans for Eastern Europe, in particular his approach to the promises made in Yalta in regard to free elections, where it seemed in both American and British minds, that Stalin just wanted the installation of puppet pro- Soviet regimes. The Soviet leader was perhaps somewhat perplexed at this change of attitude, as Stalin understood that he already had agreement on spheres of influence and he considered it a done deal. One factor, which obviously emboldened Trumann, was the knowledge that the US would drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima six days after the end of this conference. The Americans did not officially inform Stalin, but in any event it is likely he was aware of the bomb from his spies (mainly within British Intelligence); nonetheless, it is debatable if Stalin actually understood the awesome power of nuclear weapons at that stage. As the records show Hiroshima was bombed on the 6th August 1945, followed 3 days later by an atomic attack against the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union declared war on the Japanese on the 8th August 1945. The Japanese in the face of the twin threat from Atomic weapons and the Red Army surrendered on the 15th August. The wartime alliance now began to rapidly unravel as its whole raison detre i.e. the defeat of its wartime adversaries had been accomplished. There were meetings between the parties but little of substance was achieved, and more often than not these meetings would degenerate into accusatorial exchanges. There was no doubt that the power of the bomb was in many ways a show of American strength, to the Soviet Union, one that was noted accordingly. One, agreement of note should be mentioned which would assume great import in the coming years was the Agreement for the Soviets to accept the surrender of Japanese forces above the 38th Parrralel, and the Americans to assume control below this. The area of trade proved another source of disagreement, Roosevelts lend lease scheme that had been of enormous influence throughout the conflict. to all Allied nations, more or less came to an end on the ascension of Truman to the Presidency. In actual fact cargo ships destined for the Soviet Union were called back en- route. To add insult to already injured Soviet feelings was the loss of a Soviet application for US trade credits, somewhere within the Washington bureaucratic machine. The Soviet hunger for tax credits was satiated by the American talk of consultation representation on all matters relating to trade in Eastern Europe. In the same breadth the Americans sought to agree plans for repayment of Soviet lend lease debt. The question of American commercial and cultural hegemony would resonate in Europe in years to come, and not just with the Soviet Union. Perhaps the most important document to come out of this period was the so- called long telegram whose progenitor was George F. Kennan an America specialist on Soviet affairs. Keenans analysis of Soviet policy was widely disseminated within the US State Department and in time would hugely affect the policy of Trumans administration. In this telegram Kennan espouses the view that the Soviet view of the world is essentially akin to that held by the pre revolutionary Russians, dressed up with and made even more lethal by the addition of Marxism. Kennan advised toughness when dealing with the Soviet Union and essentially called for a US policy of containment of Soviet influence, as opposed to the view of Roosevelt, which sought to encourage the Soviet Union into a new liberal democratic order. However, at this stage Truman was not yet ready for a policy of containment, if not idealistic enough to take Roosevelts position he was still hoping for some kind of rapprochement with Stalin. Winston Churchill captured the mood of the times (15th March 1946) from an Anglo/ American perspective at any rate, when in a speech in Fulton, Missouri he declaimed to an audience that included a nodding President Truman that from Szczecin in the North to Trieste on the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended on the continent. Churchill also used this speech to call for an alliance of English speaking nations. Stalin was, not altogether unsurprisingly, alarmed at the thrust of Churchills rhetoric, as in Soviet eyes the target of this proposed alliance could only be the Soviet Union itself: and made his feelings public in an interview given to Pravda on the 13th March 1946. Stalin reiterated Soviet concerns viz. Anglo- American aggressive tendencies and equated the undertones of Churchills speech to the racist ones orated by Adolf Hitler. Stalin also pointed out that the Soviet Union had been invaded via neighbouring countries that were unsympathetic to the Soviet Union. Thus, it did not entail a massive leap in logic to surmise that one of Stalins primary aims was to ensure that all neighbouring states were at the very least pro- Moscow. Perhaps the single largest issue to emerge in the immediate post war years was the status of the defeated Germany. In 1946 Germany was administered by the four victorious allies i.e. the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France (still, smarting over having been left out of the Great Power conferences). The German capital Berlin was similarly divided into four zones. At the outset neither side had any firm or concrete plans for the future of Germany apart from a desire for some form of reparations by the Soviet Union and on the Anglo/ American side a deep desire to avoid the re- creation of the mistake many believed had been made with The Treaty of Versailles i.e. being too punitive in relation to reparations and development in Germany These views although divergent to some degree, need not have been axiomatically opposed. Indeed, at this stage the idea of a united Germany was one that found favour in London. Moscow and Washington, with Paris being the only one to harbour doubts, mainly for internal political reasons. Truman, however increasingly frustrated at what he saw as Soviet obduracy and deception enunciated his feelings in what came to be known as the Trumann Doctrine in March 1947 before Congress in a debate on allocating funds to Greece and Turkey. Essentially this doctrine divided the world into free and enslaved/ enslaver peoples and committed the US to act in the defence of any so called free people being threatened by armed minorities or outside pressures. Stalin (correctly) saw that Truman meant communist when referring to armed minorities etc. He immediately reasoned the Truman Doctrine as a threat to Soviet interests and the Cold War was now off and running, in earnest. The announcement of the new US policy was actually precipitated by the relative decline of the UK in power and influence, and the ravages of the terrible winter of 1947 in Europe. At the time of Trumans speech the main purpose was to secure funds for the anti communist side in the Greek civil war. The UK had been pushed to the brink by the efforts required to sustain the Second World War; and was virtually bankrupt. Most European countries were in a similar if not worse position, if action was not taken to rectify the financial and economic situation as a matter of extreme urgency, it was soon apparent that Western Europe may not require the massed Red Army tanks in order to sharply turn to the left. The solution proposed by the US was at once remarkable and even viewed through the lens of over fifty years extremely generous, if not carried out for reasons of pure philanthropy. The US Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a plan, which would bear his name. The Marshall Plan was formally unveiled in a speech by Marshall at Harvard University on the 5th June 1947, in which a broad outline of an economic aid plan to Europe was outlined. A meeting was held in Paris to take the idea forward, at this stage the Soviet Union was seriously interested in the Marshall Plan. The thing that stuck in the throat of Stalin and his foreign minister Molotov was the idea of common planning and the notion of the Soviet economy being examined by British and American economists. The Soviet Union declined to take any further part in the Marshall Plan. The boundaries of capitalism and communism were now set and would remain so for the next 50 years. The Soviet rejection of the Marshall Plan could not have come as any shock in the West; indeed it may have been exactly what the Anglo- Americans for one were aiming for all along. Europe was now divided between the recipients of American largesse in the west and those countries by dint of their closeness to the Soviet Union who were unwilling, or perhaps unable to accept such American aid. In order to respond to recent events the Soviet Union convened the Communist Information Bureau, known as Cominform in Szklarska Poreba in Poland, which composed of representatives of the communist parties of the Soviet Union, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, and Yugoslavia.The Cominform launched an ideological attack on the Marshall Plan and the Trumann Doctrine. It however was at pains to point out that despite the ideological differences the Soviet Union was perfectly happy to co- exist with capitalism for an unidentifiably long period; after which orthodox Marxist theory predicted the collapse of capitalism due to one or other of the many in built tensions that existed within that system. The desire for both systems to co-exist did not preclude the enlistment of the French and Italian trades unions in an effort to derail the Marshall Plan. The strikes failed in large measure due to the arrival of American food aid in Western Europe. The US for the fist time began to run covert Central Intelligence Agency covert operations within Italy; in an attempt to ensure that the Italian Communists did not succeed in winning the Italian General election. This was done by a series of direct and indirect public pronouncements on the consequences for American aid in the event of a communist victory, together with what was to become the familiar pattern of CIA covert operations i.e. black propaganda, secret payments to non- communist political parties, and special training and equipment for the armed forces. Stalins reaction was characterised by its lack of insight and success in uniting the anti communist political forces in Western Europe. The failure of communist led strikes in Italy and France. In the increasingly heavy-handed approach to the political situation in Eastern Europe alienated many in the left in Europe. The situation in Czechoslovakia where firstly the Czech Foreign Minister had an unfortunate fall from his Foreign Ministry window: swiftly followed by a communist coup in that country severely undermined Soviet credibility in the minds of the Western public. A further crisis developed within the Cominform itself when Stalin tried to exert pressure on the Yugoslav Communist Party to expel its leader Marshall Tito. Tito however retained the confidence of the Yugoslav Communist Party, and far from being feeling himself by Stalins overtures actually began to negotiate for US aid, an act that resulted in Yugoslavias expulsion from the Cominform in 1948. The internecine squabble between Stalin and Tito, had the effect of reducing even further the goodwill of the public towards the Soviet Union within both the US and Europe. Stalin further raised the tension in Europe by paralysing the Allied Control Commission by withdrawing his representative Marshall Sokolovsky. The three other control powers proceeded to treat each of their occupation zones of Germany and of Berlin itself as effectively one unit. In addition plans had been laid for the introduction of the Deutschmark, which was duly introduced in the British, American and French sectors of Germany as well as in the zones controlled by theses three countries of Berlin on the 23rd June 1948. The Soviet response was to immediately begin a blockade of Berlin. For the first time since the cessation of hostilities their existed the very real fear that war could break out. In order to beat the Soviet blockade the Western Allies decided to mount an airlift in order to supply food and other essentials to West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift lasted for eleven months and managed to supply adequate food and fuel for two million Berliners. Despite some calls for the forcing of a passage into West Berlin by tanks, cooler council prevailed .The Soviet rationale for the blockade was simply to prevent the Western Powers proceeding down the road with their plans for a separate West German state: whatever the Soviet intention it was once again based on misjudgement and a miscalculation, and succeeded only in pushing forward the establishment of a West German state. Realising eventually that the only choices open to him was to relent or face fighting a war against a US led alliance armed with nuclear weapons, Stalin abandoned the Berlin Blockade on the 11th May 1949. The consequence of this crisis was the establishment of the very thing Stalin had started the blockade to prevent i.e. the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany on the 20th of September 1949. Following, the rather predictable tit for tat response that was to become the trademark of the cold war, the creation of the German Democratic Republic was announced to the world on the 7th October 1949. The Berlin Blockade and the splitting of Germany succeeded in raising fears within Western Europe to such an extent that there was intense pressure for a formal alliance, which would tie the US into the defence of Western Europe. As a result the North Atlantic Treaty organisation came into being in 1949. The division of Europe was now formalised, and complete along ideological lines. The focus of attention would now turn east, where Mao Tse Tungs communists were in the process of achieving the final defeat of the nationalist Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kai- shek. Conservative opinion in the United States was outraged at this development; accusing Trumanns administration of selling out American interests in the region and failing to provide adequate support to the Kuomintang forces in the Chinese Civil War. This was to be a running sore in the side of the right in America, who viewed it as the sign of communist aggression worldwide. It would act as the impetus for the McCarthy Period, so called because of the committee called The House Committee on Un- American Activities, which would be headlined by Senator Joseph McCarthys purges on alleged communists. McCarthy aided and abetted by future President Nixon unleashed a series of show trials which uncannily mirrored those of Stalin in the 1930s, albeit with considerably less gruesome results Nonetheless, the hearings of this committee changed the atmosphere in the US to such an extent that political liberals, trades unionists and effectively anyone who dared challenge McCarthys orthodoxy was subject to harassment, intimidation and exclusion from employment. The atmosphere endangered by Nixon and McCarthy would help to polarise opinion in America during the late 1940s and well into the 1950s. Against, this backdrop the forces of North Korea backed by Moscow, albeit with some reluctance crossed the 38th Parallel, to invade the western backed South. The attack was repulsed and the forces under the command of wartime hero Douglas Macarthur, after a series of battles advanced towards the Yalu River and Koreas border with China. Seeing this as a provocation China became involved in the war. This brought the world once more to the brink of nuclear conflict, as Macarthur rather injudiciously ruminated about the possibility of using nuclear weapons against China. Fortunately, Trumann declined; the war eventually ending in stalemate with both sides having to be content with the pre-war boundary of the 38th Parallel. The start of the Korean War signalled the end of the development of the cold war, and ushered in the political conditions that would shape the map of the world for the next fifty years nearly. However was the Cold War the inevitable outcome of the situation that arose at the end of World War Two? What is obvious from studying the records of the period is that neither side considered war inevitable, far less desirable. Instead the emergence of the Cold War owed more to serendipity than careful planning and desire by either side. The Cold War began in Europe, as that was where both sides met each other over the ruins of the Third Reich. The Americans with some initial distaste took up where her enfeebled Western Allies left off in South East Asia and the Pacific. The Soviet Union by dint of its support for Marxist regimes found itself being dragged along on the coattails of Maos revolutionary China. Once underway the cold war developed a momentum of its own and its logic embedded itself in the mindset of policymakers in Washington and Moscow. At every turn either superpower would see the nefarious hand of the other behind every event: more often than not erroneously. It is tempting to imagine what the outcome would have been had President Roosevelt not died in 1945. In order to avoid the Cold War the situation needed thought that was imaginative and could see things in a way that was novel. Unfortunately for the world no one emerged in either side of the Iron Curtain with the necessary breadth of vision. Stalin was undeniably a tyrant, and it would have been unlikely that a Soviet Union led by him would have been able to reach a long-term rapprochement with the West. However, the great mistake made by the West was in assuming that the monolithic state espoused by Stalin was truly representative of the Communist Part of the Soviet Union. Indeed Stalin was unique and by tarring his sucessors with the same brush the West was unable to change its perception when a new and potentially more accomadating power took charge in the Kremlin. The Soviet Union for its part made error of judgement so vast as to be inexcusable. Perhaps the greatest of which was its failure to join the Marshall Plan. That and the desire to supplant any form of independent government in Eater Europe, proved in the long term to harbour the seeds of the systems eventual destruction. If more thoughtful council had prevailed, on both sides then perhaps the next fifty years could have been entirely changed. Instead the only real winners of the cold war were the industrial- military complexes as Eisenhower was to term it on both sides, although in the long term only that of the West proved to have the longevity to be called by some the winner.

Widespread use of renewable energy

Widespread use of renewable energy The first oil shock in 1973 raised worldwide concern about dwindling energy supplies. High oil price was a sign of depletion worldwide energy sources. Since 1960s no big oil resources have been discovered in the world. It suggested that world oil production will reach its peak within one or two decades (Lauber, 2005). The rise in oil prices also affected the developing countries development plans, which demand large amounts of energy for their early process of industrialization. For developed countries, the fluctuation in oil prices caused economic and social problems such as unemployment, trade deficits and higher inflation due to their great dependency on oil import (Seitz, 2008). Since the industrialized revolution the consumption of world energy has been continuous. With the contemporary world population growth, energy demand is rising at a rapid rate, especially in many developing nations with a lack of resources on their own land. It is predicted that between 1997 and 2020 ener gy requirement will increase 60 percent, 120 percent growth will occur in developing countries, especially in Asia (Hill, 2004). If this trend continued, the environmental problems would inevitably deteriorate even further. As a considerable proportion of the world energy, fossil fuels account for the prime sources of carbon dioxide emissions, which are main contributors to the global warming. Acid rain concentrated by acid gases from fossil fuels, damages ecosystems and corrodes human buildings. It is becoming a severe problem in Asia with the growing consumption of fossil fuels as the process of industrialization accelerates (Seitz, 2008). The rapidly expanding use of gasoline-powered vehicles could cause severe urban smog and spew small particulates, which are the greatest threat to peoples health (Jaccard, 2005). Sanderson and Islam (2007) maintain that the path of economic development inevitably caused environmental problems related to the overly use of environmental resources and climate can also affect some sectors of the economy such as water resources, agriculture, transport and tourism, which are vul nerable to climate change. In general there are three major solutions for the growing energy demand and worldwide environmental problems, each of which has its attractions. Firstly fossil fuels can be used more cleanly and efficiently, which could contribute to a reduction in energy intensity and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Energy conservation can take effect in short term and directly perform on present energy system without great transition. The economy in the United States increased 30 percent while the oil consumption declined 20 percent between 1977 and 1985 because the country used energy much more efficiently (Seitz, 2008). Secondly, nuclear power emits no air pollution which could greatly address the environmental problems. France shifted to nuclear as its major power of electricity in response to the energy crisis, and by 2005 it reached one of the world highest rates by providing 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear source (ibid). Thirdly renewable energy involves continuous energ y sources and produces little pollution to the environment. There is huge potential in this new energy sources to meet much of the growing energy demand and gradually replace fossil fuels with adequate support (Middleton, 2003). For as long as the global economy continues to development and operate on the basis of limited energy supplies, the great demand for energy services in the future would cause severe energy crisis. Increasing energy efficiency can help to offset the rise in energy demand, but it is unlikely to address all the additional needs (ibid). Furthermore, the environmental contamination caused by fossil fuels will continue to need alternatives. Lauber (2005) maintains that while the present cost of saving one ton of carbon by increasing energy efficiency is substantially lower than by using renewable energy to avoid emissions, renewable power will play a role in the long run, energy efficiency can just solve short term problem. Besides the safety and nuclear waste problems, a significant growth in nuclear power use would increase reliance on imported uranium. Dependence on energy imports would still be a first problem for countries with a lack of resources. In addition, the nuclear sources als o face energy crisis as it is shown that the known reserves of uranium will only last for 60 years by present counts. (Traube, 2004, cited Lauber, 2005). Therefore, renewable energy seems to be a better option based on its two prominent advantages: infinite sources and little pollution. Renewable energy may be defined as energy generated from natural resources in the environment such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are continuously replenished. According to the definition renewable energy will never run out. For this reason, renewable energy could be an ideal solution to the energy shortage problem. Additionally, renewable energy does not generate pollution directly, which will alleviate the serious global environmental deterioration. Renewable energy is actually already in widespread use: about 20 percent of worlds electricity production comes from hydroelectric dams; in many developing countries biomass provides the only power for cooking and heating; India and China both have primary wind power electricity plans, with 2,000 megawatt targets; Some Middle Eastern countries are trying to explore the hydrogen produc tion powered by solar energy as a long-term alternative to dependence on exporting oil; The large-scale federal government in the United States received increasing RD funding for renewable energy after the 1974 oil shock(Elliott, 1997). The widespread use of renewable energy in many countries clearly shows that the promotion of renewable energy technologies provides great advantages for both rich and poor countries. In industrialized countries, solar or wind energy require highly skilled and knowledge-intensive employers, which will be an impetus to a new job hunting tendency. Using biomass with more efficient technologies for cooking and heating in developing countries where the biomass is usually used inefficiently and wastefully can bring large benefits such as a reduction in deforestation. Examples are the widespread use of improved wood and charcoal cooking stoves in Kenya as well as the production of ethanol from sugar cane in Brazil (Aâ‚ ¬mann, Laumanns and Uh, 2006). However, one renewable source may produce little or no pollution, but have other adverse environmental and social effect (Hill, 2004, p.325). Hydroelectric dams generate low greenhouse gas emissions but affect both up- and down-stream ecosystems and force many people who live along the river into removing from their homes. Solar power does not produce direct pollution. During the process of manufacturing and transporting solar panels, energy storage and maintaining machines, however, pollution will be generated. Renewable energy has to face three challenges in its practical application. Firstly, the sources of energy are not continuous. For example solar power cannot be accumulated at night and less is generated on cloudy or rainy days with little sunlight (Hill, 2004). The problem with wind power is that the wind may not be blowing when and where it is needed. Therefore the large-scale storage of solar and wind energy is necessary and needs both technical and financial support. Secondly, renewable energy has relatively low energy density. Take the case of solar energy, to meet the large energy demand, large areas of land are required to be covered with solar panels. According to the US Electric Power Research Institute, to meet 25 percent of Americas electricity demand about 6000 square miles of solar farms, an area equals to the Connecticut State, are needed (Hill, 2004). Biomass energy will face the same challenge. Large land areas used for biomass energy need to remain forested. This cou ld cause land-use conflicts because the significant growth of the worlds population will require increasing food production and more land dedicated to agriculture. There is a trade-off between the two methods of land use (Jaccard, 2005). The third challenge involves inconvenient location of power plants. Large-scale solar power plants need to be located in areas with plentiful and long-time sunlight. The best wind power need the energy sites with dependable and strong winds. These locations are usually far from energy consumption centers. Transporting the power to customers requires infrastructures and complicated power line organization. People usually do not want power lines near their homes or schools and a lack of transporting infrastructures are all obstacles to the actual feasibility. There are also political and finical barriers to the adoption of renewable energy system. Many governments prefer conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy due to tradition, familiarity, and the size, economic strength, and political clout of the conventional energy industries (Geller, 2002, p. 43). In developing countries loans for constructing renewable energy projects have been rejected by the World Bank and multilateral development banks due to their small project scale, unfamiliarity with the technologies and higher investment risk (Martinot, 2001, cited in Geller, 2002). In conclusion, despite those barriers and disadvantages, the widespread use of renewable energy meets the requirements of sustainable development in a long term. Whether in terms of increasing energy efficiency, shifting to nuclear power or developing renewable energy sources, the future effects cannot be avoidable. Even though renewable power technologies were in most cases not fully competitive commercially and the switch to renewable energy system will take a long period, their costs had the potential to fall rapidly, and by 2020 should be able to outdo fossil fuels (Lauber, 2005). Nuclear power was evaluated as being more expensive than renewable energy and as holding little chance of cost reductions in the future. At the present stage different sources should be used together and the development of renewable energy should be given more emphasis. References Aâ‚ ¬mann, Dirk, Laumanns, Ulrich and Uh, Dieter (2006) Renewable Energy: a global review of technologies, policies and markets London: Sterling, VA: Earthscan. Elliott, D. (1997) Energy, Society and Environment: Technology for a Sustainable Future. New York: Routledge. Geller, Howard (2002) Energy Revolution: Policies for a Sustainable Future. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press. Hill, Marquita K. (2004) Understanding Environmental Pollution (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Jaccard, Mark Kenneth (2005). Sustainable fossil fuels: the unusual suspect in the quest for clean and enduring energy Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Jamie Sanderson and Sardar M.N. Islam (2007)Climate change and economic development : SEA regional modelling and analysis. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan. Lauber, V. (Ed.) (2005) Switching to Renewable Power: A framework for the 21st Century. London, GBR: Earthscan Publications. Middleton, Nick (2003) The global casino : an introduction to environmental issues (3rd ed.)London : Arnold. Seitz, J L (2008) Global Issues (3rd ed.). Blackwell: Malden MA (USA).

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Woman in White :: Compare Contrast Lee Woman White Essays

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (post 1914) and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (pre 1914) I chose the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" as I had read it a while ago and had enjoyed it a great deal, I was also interested in the themes and subjects covered in it, such as: Prejudice, innocence, how a mind set affects peoples opinions etc My only problem was I had no idea what to compare it to as I am not a huge fan of classical literature, and do not know many books of this style. My teacher suggested I try either "Jane Eyre" or "The Woman in White", as they both covered the themes and subjects of "To Kill a Mockingbird". First I tried "Jane Eyre", after a few chapters I decided to try "The Woman in White", as I found "Jane Eyre" quite monotonous and dull. The first few chapters in "The Woman in White" were also quite dull but at about chapter 8/9 it starts getting really interesting soon after I couldn't put it down. It is now one of my favourite books The "Woman in White" is a story about the horrific acts a man of high status could commit in the 1800's and get away with (Sir Percival Glyde). The story begins by introducing us to Walter Hartright, who is the primary narrator, through him we have our first encounter with the woman in white (Anne Catherick), who hints that she had been terribly wronged by an evil baronet (who we soon discover to be Sir Percival Glyde). Sir Percival is engaged to Laura Fairlie, the beautiful art student of Mr Hartright. But Laura and Mr Hartright are in love, the triangle ends with Laura and Sir Percival marrying and Mr Hartright going to Central America to try to forget Laura. It turns out that Sir Percival has a terrible secret, which Mrs Catherick (Anne's mother) knows it is that he is not really a baronet he becomes paranoid of Anne discovering it so he sends her to an asylum. In addition, he is in great debt, which is why he marries Laura as she is set to inherit a great fortune. This is the base of which a terrible conspiracy takes place, which robs Laura of her identity and money then locks her up in an asylum. The rest of the story concerns her revenge, and how it was possible for such a thing to take place. "To Kill a Mocking Bird" is also based around how an innocent who is wronged simply to suit a person's personal needs.

Succubus Shadows Chapter 9

â€Å"She couldn't have!† I exclaimed. â€Å"He was with me all night.† â€Å"Not after the concert ended,† pointed out Roman. â€Å"You know, I think that band might really be going somewhere.† Whatever trace of sentiment he'd shown earlier with me had vanished in Carter's presence. â€Å"Simone was hanging out in that twenty-four-hour coffee shop,† Carter said. â€Å"Seth went there to work after – what was it you said? You were at a concert?† â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"Blue Satin Bra.† The angel gave Roman a nod of agreement. â€Å"Those guys are great.† â€Å"Hey, can we stick to the issue here?† I gave both of them glares. â€Å"What happened with Seth and Simone?† Carter shrugged. â€Å"Same as usual. He came in and noticed her first, though. She had her head in a book – didn't even look up until he walked over.† â€Å"Well played,† I said. â€Å"Forces him into the aggressive role.† â€Å"I don't think Seth's ever really in an aggressive role,† mused Carter. â€Å"It just put him in a position to make the first move, if he wanted to be polite.† During our brief affair, Seth and I had made love so tenderly and so sweetly that poets would have wept at its beauty. Other times, things had been downright dirty, and I think Carter might have reconsidered his comment about Seth being aggressive, had the angel known. â€Å"Then what?† I demanded. â€Å"Like I said, the same. They talked about different things – a lot of topics interesting to Seth, really. I think she might have done some research on him.† â€Å"Fucking lovely.† I collapsed onto the couch, and then I promptly shot back up. â€Å"I'm going over there – â€Å" â€Å"Gone,† interrupted Carter. â€Å"They went separate ways, and then she bagged some guy, and I decided it was time for me to fly away.† â€Å"Lucky bastard,† grumbled Roman. â€Å"You have no idea what kind of shit I had to sit through.† The hint of a smile flickered on Carter's face before he turned back to me. I sighed and sat back down. â€Å"Confronting her's no good anyway. You already did it, and nothing came of it. I'm guessing this would just be a repeat.† Probably a good point. Being in a conflict with a succubus kind of sucked. I could punch Hugh or the vampires, and even with immortal healing, they'd still sport a black eye for a few hours – longer if I was really good. But with a succubus? I could smack her around, and she'd shape-shift the damage. And as for verbal fighting? Well, seeing as I had no real leverage, I'd probably just fuel her further and provide more cat fight entertainment for my friends. â€Å"Well,† I said to Roman. â€Å"I think I'm pissed off enough now that you don't have to go to bed with me.† Carter's eyebrow rose again. â€Å"I mean, he doesn't have to watch me sleep,† I explained. â€Å"I was kind of glum earlier, and we were worried my mystery†¦thing†¦might show up again.† â€Å"Why glum?† asked Carter. He attempted innocence, but I wasn't fooled. Even without being at the concert, he could easily figure out what had me down. â€Å"Long story.† Those silvery gray eyes bored into me, and I shifted and looked away. I hated when he did that. It was like he could see into my soul. That was a place I didn't even want to look at – let alone have others do it. I attempted a change in subject. â€Å"You know, I was thinking about this thing that's going on†¦this force or siren song or whatever. It's not like what happened with Nyx, but there's still a dreamlike quality to it, you know? I mean, it certainly seems like I'm sleepwalking. Do you think she could be back?† â€Å"Nope,† said Carter. â€Å"She's definitely still locked up. I checked myself.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Really.† I didn't follow up with the obvious question. Had Carter done it for me? I mean, checking up on Nyx probably wasn't too hard for him. He probably just asked some angel buddy who asked another angel†¦etc. It still made me wonder about Carter's endgame. Why go to such trouble for me? Why look into this? Why track Simone? His expression made me think he guessed my thoughts, something I hated. â€Å"Thanks,† I said. â€Å"But I think I'm heading to bed now.† â€Å"And I,† said Carter, â€Å"am going to get a drink.† â€Å"Done with Simone for good?† asked Roman. Carter made a dismissive gesture. â€Å"At least for tonight. I'll find her in the morning.† â€Å"You're kind of a slacker spy,† I pointed out, though I definitely understood his reasons for avoiding the other succubus' liaisons. His only response was another smile before he vanished. â€Å"Now what?† I wondered aloud. â€Å"Now,† said Roman, â€Å"you get your beauty sleep so that I can have another captivating day of listening to you give recommendations for people who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code.† â€Å"You know you love it,† I said, walking off toward my bedroom. â€Å"Sure you don't want company?† I glanced back at him and studied his face, the lovely lines of it and blue-green eyes like the Mediterranean of my youth. His expression was speculative, wry humor twisting his lips. I couldn't entirely tell if he was joking. Or what his exact meaning was. â€Å"Positive.† My words were a little bolder than I felt, but the night passed uneventfully, again furthering the idea that my blue moods were the target. Consequently, this put me in a good mood when I went to work the next day. I even wore yellow in an attempt at further cheeriness and greeted my coworkers with such enthusiasm that Doug wanted to know what drugs I was taking – and if he could have some. All of that changed when, while headed for the science fiction section, I felt something totally unwelcome: an immortal signature. A succubus immortal signature. And I knew exactly which succubus it belonged to. I did a 180, took a few steps, and tried to pinpoint its direction. Fiction. I headed straight over there, and sure enough, there was Simone – with Seth. She wore that guise I'd heard reports of, the bookish – yet sexy – brunette. They were standing by Seth's section, and she was holding up one of his paperbacks, Idiosyncraso. I knew she could feel my signature as I approached, but her eyes stayed on Seth, her conversation not missing a beat. â€Å"You really wrote this in college?† â€Å"Yup,† he said. â€Å"It wasn't the first I had published, though. I shelved it for years before digging it out and revising it.† â€Å"Cool,† she said, flipping through the pages. â€Å"I can't wait to read it. It'll give me something to do before your next one.† â€Å"Well, don't get your – oh, hey.† Seth had spotted me. I came to a stop beside them, and Simone turned toward me politely. â€Å"How's it going?† I asked, voice harsher than I intended. Seth, always sensitive to me, looked a little surprised at my tone but didn't acknowledge it. â€Å"Fine. Georgina, this is Kelly. Kelly, Georgina. Georgina's the manager here.† â€Å"Hi, Kelly.† I shook her hand with a hardness she matched, and we both continued grinning at each other like Stepford Wives. â€Å"I met Kelly at a coffee shop,† said Seth mildly, not aware he was in succubus crossfire. â€Å"Told her she should see the store sometime.† â€Å"It's great,† said Simone, all adorable innocence. â€Å"I'm a big reader. I love all things books. And meeting one of my favorite authors has given me great insight.† â€Å"Well,† said Seth, a little embarrassed at the attention. â€Å"I don't know how much insight I'm really offering.† Simone laughed. â€Å"Lots. I feel like I'm getting something from you each time I see you.† â€Å"Have you seen each other a lot?† I asked. â€Å"Kelly moved to Queen Anne,† said Seth. â€Å"So we keep running into each other.† â€Å"It's a great area,† I said. â€Å"Where do you live?† Simone faltered. â€Å"Um, on Queen Anne.† â€Å"Street, Avenue, or Drive?† Seth seemed surprised at the interrogative style of the question. Simone turned nervous. â€Å"Eh, Avenue.† Damn. Lucky guess. Queen Anne Street didn't exist. â€Å"Nice place.† Turning my back on her, I looked at Seth. â€Å"I came over because I heard someone say Maddie was looking for you.† That wasn't true at all. Maddie wasn't even in for another hour. I gave Simone a casual glance. â€Å"Maddie's his fianc? ¦e.† â€Å"I didn't think she was in yet,† said Seth. Why, of all days, would his memory be up and running today? â€Å"Maybe I misheard,† I said with a shrug. â€Å"But I figured you'd want to check.† â€Å"I will,† he said, still a little puzzled. â€Å"I need to show Kelly one more book.† She shot me a triumphant look, but I knew she'd accomplished nothing with Seth. He had that expression he got when he was so focused on something – in this case, the history of books – that he was distracted from the world. â€Å"Kelly† was a pleasant coincidence. Simone was too overconfident to notice. Seth turned back to the shelves, and me staying would have seemed awkward. With his attention elsewhere, I shot Simone a warning look. â€Å"Well, I'm sure I'll see you around.† â€Å"Oh,† she said with a serene smile, â€Å"you will.† When I got home later that day, I was ready to break some furniture. â€Å"Did you see – â€Å" â€Å"Yes, yes, I saw,† said Roman, materializing beside me. â€Å"Calm down.† I let out a small cry of frustration, something primal with no real form. â€Å"I can't believe that bitch! Can't believe she'd actually do it right in front of me! She did it on purpose. She did it on purpose to taunt me.† Roman was the picture of tranquility as he leaned against the wall, a far cry from my frazzled, pacing state. â€Å"Of course she did. It's like mobsters who threaten their victims in a crowd – there's absolutely no way you could have fought back, not with that many witnesses.† â€Å"Nice analogy,† I muttered. â€Å"Maybe there'll be a horse head in my bed next.† â€Å"I could leave one in hers, if it would help,† he offered. That almost made me smile. Almost. Except I wasn't entirely sure he was joking. â€Å"The really comical part is that Seth brought it about, you know? He was trying to stay away from me and walked right into this.† â€Å"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.† I didn't dignify that with an answer. â€Å"Look,† he said in all seriousness, taking a few steps toward me. â€Å"It sucks that she's doing this, and we can definitely rule out coincidence. But if Seth's with Maddie while she's there, you know nothing's going to happen. And Carter will report back to us. No point in getting worked up over it.† â€Å"Easier said than done. Nothing's going to distract me from this.† He moved closer still and rested his hands on my upper arms. â€Å"Oh? When was the last time you went dancing?† I blinked in surprise. The last time I'd been dancing? It had been a salsa lesson at the bookstore earlier this year, after which Seth and I had ripped each other's clothes off in my office. â€Å"A while ago,† I said evasively, thrown off by both the question and his fingertips on my skin. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Let's go out,† he said. â€Å"There are a million places we can go. Any kind of dance you want. If memory serves, you're an okay dancer.† I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"I'm an excellent dancer, and you know it.† He leaned his face closer. â€Å"Then prove it.† â€Å"Irrelevant. I don't feel like going out.† Roman sighed and stepped away. I found I was a little disappointed to have him let go. â€Å"Man,† he said. â€Å"I remember when you used to be fun. I'm glad I left town when I did.† He walked over to my entertainment center and knelt down. â€Å"Well, if Muhammed won't come to the mountain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Good grief. You're a wealth of religious proverbs tonight, aren't you?† â€Å"Hey, just trying to – Jesus Christ. CDs? You do know the Dark Ages ended a long time ago.† He pointed at my collection with disdain. â€Å"Everyone's gone digital now. You know, those little magical devices that store music? Or do you consider them some kind of witchcraft?† â€Å"Technology changes every year. Jump on a fad, and you're obsolete before you know it.† â€Å"Honestly, it's a wonder you aren't cooking over a fire in the middle of your living room.† â€Å"You forget – I don't cook.† â€Å"I live here. I haven't forgotten.† By then, he'd put one of my â€Å"archaic† CDs in the player. I laughed. â€Å"You're one to talk about ancient history. This is old school.† â€Å"Nah.† He rose and offered me his hands. â€Å"This is classic. Never goes out of style.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, as the music began playing. â€Å"All the kids are doing foxtrot nowadays. Geez, it's even the slow style.† But I still let him take hold of my hands. â€Å"Hey, you're the one who owns that CD.† We both fell into the steps effortlessly, gliding around the living room and managing to dodge the furniture with some grace. Roman had a long list of flaws, but one of his better traits was that he was almost as good a dancer as me. â€Å"Why do you dance so well?† I asked, stepping over Aubrey. She didn't seem concerned at all about getting squashed and had shown no signs of moving when we began to dance. â€Å"What kind of a question is that? Why do you dance so well?† â€Å"Natural instinct, I guess. That's what I'm wondering. Was it something you were born with? Or is it something you can't help but perfect over the years? I mean, you've been around for a while. I suppose if you put your mind to something that long, you can't help but master it.† He laughed. â€Å"To tell you the truth, I don't know. Maybe it's in the blood.† â€Å"Oh, come on. I cannot picture Jerome out on the dance floor.† â€Å"Not him. My mother. She was a dancer. A slave girl for this king a long, long time ago†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Roman's gaze turned inward. He didn't seem angry, so much as nostalgic. â€Å"Of course, he was pretty pissed off when she got pregnant. That kind of thing tends to ruin the chorus line.† â€Å"What happened to her?† I hadn't been around that long ago, but certain things stayed the same through time. Slaves who angered their masters got beaten or sold to someone else. Or worse. â€Å"I don't know. Jerome took her away, off to some village where she could be a free woman.† I frowned. I still had trouble wrapping my mind around the idea of my boss falling – romantically and divinely – for a mortal. â€Å"Did he stay with her? He would have been a demon by then†¦.† â€Å"He never came back. First time I saw him was last year. My mother didn't hold a grudge, though. She would talk about him all the time†¦said he was beautiful. I don't know if she meant as an angel or a demon, though. Probably he looked the same, seeing as they're the same beings, really.† â€Å"I'm guessing he didn't look like John Cusack though.† â€Å"No.† This made Roman laugh again. â€Å"Probably not. My mother took on mundane jobs whenever we moved villages – washing woman, field worker. But at least she was free. And she still danced sometimes. I saw her once, when I was really young†¦just before she was killed. There was a festival, and I remember her dancing in front of the fire, wearing this red dress.† All mirth disappeared from him. â€Å"That image is burned into my mind. I can see how an angel would have fallen for her.† I didn't ask any questions about how she was killed. In those days, it could have been as simple as a raid or attack. They were commonplace. Or, more likely, she'd been killed in an attempt on Roman and his sister. He'd once mentioned that they were always on the run from angels and demons. â€Å"So maybe you learned to dance as a subconscious tribute to her,† I said, shifting to something lighter. That half-smile returned. â€Å"Or maybe I just inherited my father's attraction to graceful, sensual women.† The song ended, and we stood there, frozen in time with our hands still entwined. Foxtrot was hardly the bumping and grinding seen in modern clubs, but our bodies were close, and I felt like I could sense the heat from his. Whether it was real or imagined, I couldn't say. But I did know there was something very seductive about dancing, about mirroring another's body, and somehow, I wasn't surprised when he leaned down and kissed me. I was a little surprised that I kissed him back. But not for long. Because as our lips met, I realized how much I'd come to regard Roman as a comforting fixture in my life. We'd grown from adversaries to friends to†¦what? I didn't entirely know. I did know that I liked having him around and that I'd never really shaken the attraction that had drawn me to him long ago. I also knew that I was lonely for the touch of someone I liked and that I had an automatic instinct to respond to this sort of thing. His mouth pressed harder against mine, as hot and demanding as I recalled. His hands quickly moved from the formal orientation of foxtrot to something more intimate and eager, sliding down to my hips and somehow managing to push me against the wall while also shoving my shirt up. My own hands were around his neck, my lower body pressing against his as I felt all my nerves set on fire and lust coursing through me. He managed to break away enough to pull my shirt off, and then his hands moved to my breasts, which were wrapped in a white lace bra. He glanced down and made a face as he pulled from our kiss. â€Å"Can't you make it a front hook?† A small bit of shape-shifting made the bra disappear altogether. â€Å"Don't trouble yourself,† I said. He smiled and moved his lips to my neck while his hands cupped the curves of my breasts. It made it impossible for me to take his shirt off, but I slid my hands under it, loving the feel of his warm skin and taut muscles. I tipped my head back, letting him taste me and increase the intensity of his kissing. And through it all, there were no voices in my head. I heard none of his thoughts, sensed none of his feelings. I was alone – alone with my own reactions, simply enjoying the way my body felt with no other interruptions. It was glorious. I at last managed a break that let me pull his shirt off, and then my hands moved to his pants, putting us in a brief deadlock as he tried to move his lips to my nipples. I won and watched his pants fall to the floor. With that concession, he pulled me down as well and continued his efforts to kiss my breasts, almost kneeling before me as he did so. I ran my hands through his hair, gripping his head while his mouth sucked and teased. As he did, his eyes glanced up and met mine. I saw the desire in them and – something more. Something I hadn't expected to see. There was†¦what? Love? Adoration? Affection? I couldn't quite pin it down, but I recognized the general category. It was a slap to the face. I hadn't anticipated it. Lust, I'd expected. A primitive instinct to throw me down and fuck me, in order to relieve his body's need. For so long, I'd operated on the assumption that he kind of liked me and kind of wanted to hate me. Yet, now, I realized those nice moments we'd had recently weren't coincidence. His sharp attitude had been a facade, meant to hide his feelings. Roman still loved me. I identified it for what it was. He wasn't doing this just because he wanted my body. He wanted me. This was more than just fulfilling a physical instinct for him, and suddenly†¦suddenly, I didn't know what to do. Because I realized then, I didn't know why I was doing this. There was a fair amount of lust on my part, and I'd grown closer to him since his return to Seattle. But the rest†¦? I wasn't sure. There was so much going on right now: Maddie, Simone, Seth†¦Always Seth. Seth, who even now made my heart ache while I was wrapped in the arms of another man. My emotions were a tangle of confusion and hurt and desperation. I was with Roman as some sort of reaction, some attempt to fill the hole in my heart and seek false comfort. My feelings didn't match his. I couldn't do this with him. I didn't deserve to do this with him. I pushed him away and jumped to my feet, backing off toward the hallway. â€Å"No†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I said. â€Å"I can't†¦I can't. I'm sorry.† He stared up at me, understandably confused and a little hurt after the ardor I'd displayed seconds ago. â€Å"What are you talking about? What's wrong?† I didn't know how to explain it, didn't know how I could even begin to articulate what I felt inside of me. I just shook my head and continued backing. â€Å"I'm sorry†¦I'm so sorry†¦I'm just not ready.† Roman sprang to his feet in one graceful motion. He took a step toward me. â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But I was already moving away, off to the safety of my bedroom. I slammed the door behind me – not from anger, but from a desperate need to stay away from him. From the hall, I heard him call my name and feared he'd come in anyway, despite my refusal to answer. I had no lock, and even if I did, it wouldn't stop him. He said my name a few more times, and then silence fell. I think he returned to the living room, backing off and giving me my space. I flung myself onto the bed, gripping the sheets tightly and trying not to cry. That horrible despair that plagued me so often filled me now. It was an old friend, one that I would never be able to leave. All my relationships – friends and lovers – were a mess. I was either hurting them, or they were hurting me. There was no peace for me. There never would be, not for this servant of Hell. And then, through that horrible, clenching pain inside me, I felt the lightest of touches. A whisper. A breath of music, of color, of light. I lifted my head up from where I'd buried it in my pillow and stared around. There was nothing tangible, not exactly, but I could sense it all around me: that warm, comforting siren song. It had no words, yet in my despair, I could hear it perfectly. It was telling me I was wrong, that I could have peace. And not just that – I could have comfort and love and so much more. It was like arms beckoning to me, a mother welcoming home a long-lost child. I slowly rose from my bed, moving toward that which had no form. Come, come. Outside my door, I heard Roman shout my name, but the tone was different from before. This wasn't confusion or pleading. It was frantic and concerned. The sound was grating to my ears as I stepped closer to that beautiful warmth. It was home. It was an invitation. All I had to do was accept. â€Å"Georgina!† The door blew apart, and Roman stood there, blazing with power. â€Å"Georgina, stop – â€Å" But it was too late. I had accepted. All that joy and protection wrapped around me, taking me into its arms. The world dissolved.

dave matthews band essays

dave matthews band essays David John Matthews was born on January 9, 1967, in a suburb near Johannesburg, South Africa. When Dave was 2 years old, his family moved to the New York suburb of Yorktown Heights, where his father, a physicist, worked for IBM. Dave who usually loves a good laugh or joke, seems to grow quiet when speaking of his father. Matthews calls him, "one of the granddies of the superconductor," and describes a loving family that included Jane, an older sister, Anne, and a brother, Peter. The family was torn when his father, John, developed lung cancer. "We figure he might have got the disease from the radioactive material he handled," Matthews thought. His father died when Dave was 10. This was not the only tragedy for Dave's family. Before the release of Dave's 1994 album, Under The Table And Dreaming, Anne, Dave's older sister, was murdered by her husband. Even though Matthews has never spoken publicly about his sister, he dedicated Under The Table And Dreaming to Anne. He put on the cover of the CD a picture of him and his nephew. Dave and Jane are now raising Anne's children. Dave says that these specific tragedies in his life have shaped the songs that he has written. In 1987, Dave took a job as a bartender at a Charlottesville bar called Miller's. Millers was a hangout for local musicians who played gigs on a small stage at the front of the room. One of them was a local music teacher John D'Earth, who later put out a single record and now plays in Bruce Hornsby's band. Nobody in that bar really knew that Dave had a strong talent for music. Slowly and smoothly, he let his secret be known among his new friends at Miller's, "I sat in with Tim Reynolds a few times, and I played with John D'Earth. I started to open up." One day he let everyone know that he'd also been writing songs. "It's weird," he says. "After a trip to South Africa, I cut off all of my hair. Somehow that gave me the confid...