What Were the Consequences of Black September

The Jordanian civil war of September 1970, also known in the Arab world as Black September, was an attempt by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the more radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to topple Jordanian King Hussein and seize control of the country. The PFLP sparked the war when it hijacked four jetliners, diverted three of them to a Jordanian airstrip  and blew them up, and for three weeks held on to dozens of the 421 hostages it seized as human bargaining chips. Why Palestinians Turned on Jordan In 1970, some two-thirds of the Jordanian population was Palestinian. After the Arabs defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Six Day War, Palestinian militants took part in the War of Attrition against Israel. The war was mostly fought in Sinai between Egyptian and Israeli forces. But the PLO launched raids from Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon as well. The Jordanian king had not been keen to fight the 1967 war, nor was he eager to keep letting Palestinians attack Israel from his territory, or from the West Bank, which had been under Jordanian control until Israel occupied it in 1967. King Hussein had maintained secret, cordial relations with Israel through the 1950s and 1960s. But he had to balance his interests in preserving a peace with Israel against a restless and increasingly radicalized Palestinian population, which was threatening his throne. Jordanian army and Palestinian militias led by the PLO fought several bloody battles in the summer of 1970, most violently during the week of June 9-16, when 1,000 people were killed or wounded. On July 10, King Hussein signed an agreement with the PLOs Yasser Arafat pledging support to the Palestinian cause and noninterference in Palestinian commando raids on Israel in exchange for a Palestinian pledge to support Jordanian sovereignty and remove most Palestinian militias from Amman, the Jordanian capital. The agreement proved hollow. Promise of Hell When Egypts Gamal Abdel Nasser agreed to a cease-fire in the war of attrition and King Hussein supported the move, PFLP leader George Habash promised that we will turn the Middle East into a hell, while Arafat invoked the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. and vowed, before a cheering crowd of 25,000 in Amman on July 31, 1970, that We will liberate our land. Three times between June 9 and Sept. 1, Hussein escaped assassination attempts, the third time as would-be assassins opened fire on his motorcade while he drove to the airport in Amman to meet his daughter Alia, who was returning from Cairo. The War Between Sept. 6 and Sept. 9, Habashs militants hijacked five planes, blew up one and diverted three others to a desert strip in Jordan called Dawson Field, where they blew up the planes on Sept. 12. Rather than receiving the support of King Hussein, the Palestinian hijackers were surrounded by units of the Jordanian military. Even though Arafat worked for the release of the hostages, he also turned his PLO militants loose on the Jordanian monarchy. A bloodbath ensued. Up to 15,000 Palestinian militants and civilians were killed; swaths of Palestinian towns and refugee camps, where the PLO had amassed weapons, were leveled. The PLO leadership was decimated, and between 50,000-100,000 people were left homeless. Arab regimes criticized Hussein for what they called overkill. Before the war, Palestinians had run a state-within-a-state in Jordan, headquartered in Amman. Their militias ruled the streets and imposed brutal and arbitrary discipline with impunity. King Hussein ended the Palestinians reign. The PLO Is Thrown Out of Jordan On Sept. 25, 1970, Hussein and the PLO signed a ceasefire mediated by Arab nations. The PLO temporarily maintained control over three towns--Irbid, Ramtha, and Jarash--as well as Dawson Field (or Revolution Field, as the PLO termed it), where the hijacked planes had been blown up. But the PLOs last gasps were short-lived. Arafat and the PLO were expelled from Jordan by early 1971. They went to Lebanon, where they proceeded to create a similar state-within-a-state, weaponizing a dozen Palestinian refugee camps around Beirut and in South Lebanon, and destabilizing the Lebanese government as they had the Jordanian government, as well as playing a leading role in two wars: the 1973 war between the Lebanese army and the PLO, and the 1975-1990 civil war, in which the PLO fought alongside leftist Muslim militias against Christian militias. The PLO was expelled from Lebanon following Israels 1982 invasion. Black Septembers Consequences Besides seeding Lebanons civil war and disintegration, the Jordanian-Palestinian war of 1970 led to the creation of the Palestinian Black September movement, a commando faction that broke away from the PLO and directed several terrorist plots to avenge Palestinians losses in Jordan, including hijackings, the assassination of Jordanian Prime Minister Wasif al-Tel in Cairo on Nov. 28, 1971, and, most notoriously, the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Israel, in turn, unleashed its own operation against Black September as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir ordered the creation of a hit squad that fanned out in Europe and the Middle East and assassinated numerous Palestinian and Arab operatives. Some were connected with Black September. Some were not, including the murder of Ahmed Bouchiki, an innocent Moroccan waiter, in the Norwegian ski resort of Lillehammer in July 1973.

The Problem Of Student Loan Debt - 940 Words

Going to college has been taught to be the next step in education after graduating high school but is it truly that easy? The main factor to attending college now is the money issue. In today’s generation receiving a scholarship would be the best way to get through college without the burden of student loan debt piling up as you get further into college. Even though financial aid is available for students seeking college education, some of those students will not all qualify for financial aid. With them not being able to qualify, it leaves taking out student loans to afford those college expenses. By them having no other option but to take out student loans, it is the start to a long road of student loan debt issues. Majority of student loans today are through the popular loan company Sallie Mae. In 1972, Sallie Mae was founded as a private company for loans but since late 2004, it generally became a publicly traded company. The biggest challenge with student loans is finding one that offers the lowest interest rate. Rising interest rates may make obtaining and paying off student loans more burdensome, particularly for students from financially disadvantaged households. Students from lower income households rely on federal loans more heavily than their higher income counterparts, meaning that students from households with fewer financial resources may be disproportionately affected by increases in interest rates. For instance, over half of all lower incomeShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Of Student Loan Debt1271 Words   |  6 Pagesweighing college students down. The problem is student loan debt. This is the highest of all debt, passing up auto loans and credit card debt. There is approximately $1 trillion in student loans in America and the number is growing every year. It has been said that most of the student’s in debt were dropouts and graduate students, but now has broadened to students still working on their degree. Is getting a degree worth the financial burden? The biggest question asked about student loans is, â€Å"HowRead MoreThe Problem Of Rising Student Loan Debt1495 Words   |  6 PagesAs a mother of four, a large number of the social problems described in the text can and does directly relate to myself, as well as, my family especially regarding the matter of education. However, the problem directly affecting my family and I is the emerging social problem of rising student loan debt. Student loan debt is a problem that has begun to seep into the very mainstream of society as more and more individuals attend college, especially those with great financial needs. Personally, I amRead MoreStudent Loan Debt And Why It Is A Problem Essay1507 Words   |  7 Pages Student Loan Debt and why it is a Problem Student loan debt affects college students all over the United States. Today students are having to take out loans in order to pay for all of their college expenses. It can be a pain to deal with the hassle of paying back the loans. The problems with student loans include causing students to go into debt that they are not able to pay them off in the given time which makes them put major life decisions on hold, and the debt stay with the student evenRead MoreStudent Loan Debt Has Become A National Problem With No Solution2311 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction: According to CNN, â€Å"Almost 19% of student loan borrowers owe more than $50,000.Only 6% of borrowers had that much in 2001.† (Gillispe, 1). Why has student loan debt increased so much? Student Loan debt has become a national problem with no solution. Many students are borrowing more money to keep up with the rising cost of tuition in universities, leaving themselves with thousands of debt after graduation. Students after gaining this debt, have to find jobs to support it which can comeRead MoreThe Student Loan Debt Crisis1247 Words   |  5 Pages The Student Loan Debt Crisis Student loan debt has overtime become an unpleasant part of life for millions of Americans and especially borrowers. It is possible to identify the types of people who went through college and borrowed financial loans from those that went through college and did not go to college or those that went but did not borrow. The debt crisis directly affects the families of the borrowers, those with high debt burdens and advanced degrees. Despite the increased length in loanRead MoreStudent Loan Debt Is Not Worth Going Into1335 Words   |  6 Pagesdecade student loan debt has risen substantially and is now one of the largest form of personal debt in America, totaling about one trillion dollars, with 71 percent of students who earn a bachelors degree graduating with debt, with the average amount of debt being $29,400. This topic has become a very important issue, with some people saying that student loans could be the next bubble and could do what the real estate bubble did to the U.S economy in 2007 and 2009. If student loans are becomingRead MoreEssay on Student Loan Debt Should be Forgiven1256 Words   |  6 PagesDoes the amount of student loan debt have an effect on the economy? If so would forgiving student loan debt help lower the national debt or would it just increase it? According to Mary Claire Fischer, a writer for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, â€Å"two-thirds of students who receive bachelor’s degrees leave college with an average debt of twenty-six thousand dollars† (Fischer). This means that the average student debt has doubled since 2007 (Ross 24). The total student loan debt is $1.2 trillionRead MoreThe Cultural And Global Impact Of College Tuition And Student Loan Debt1442 Words   |  6 PagesThe Cultural and Global Impact of College Tuition and Student Loan Debt Introduction College debt is quickly rising as more students pursue a postsecondary education. Tuition is growing at a rate higher than inflation, thus forcing many students to make up the gap between income and tuition through loans (Houle). However, cultural factors must be considered before a young adult makes a decision about higher education. The type of postsecondary education one pursues, if any, is determined by manyRead MoreForgiving Student Loan Debt Essay examples822 Words   |  4 Pagesamount of student loan debt have an effect on the economy? If so would forgiving student loan debt help lower the national debt or would it just increase it? According to Mary Claire Fischer, a writer for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, â€Å"two-thirds of students who receive bachelor’s degrees leave college with debt in tow† (Fischer). Among these students, the average amount owed is twenty-six thousand dollars (Fischer). There is a six month grace period after graduation to allow the student timeRead MoreStudent Lo Samaritan Or Satan?1545 Words   |  7 Pages11/18/2015 WA#3 3rd Draft Student Loan: Samaritan or Satan? â€Å"Die Luft der Freiheit weht† is Stanford’s motto, which means â€Å"The wind of freedom blows.† However, selective universities are not â€Å"free† like Stanford University’s motto and even less â€Å"free† when students graduate. College students pay a huge amount of tuition every year, and yet not every college graduate can find a satisfying job. Many college students choose to take out student loans. Student loans give many students chances to go to college

Essay on Jealousy By William Shakespeare s Othello Essay Example For Students

Essay on Jealousy By William Shakespeare s Othello Essay Jealousy In Othello Jealousy brings out the worst in people and that is particularly true with leaders, given their far-reaching authority and influence. When jealousy arises, leaders lose focus, respect, and their leadership abilities suffer as do their organization skills. These negative aspects of jealousy are present in Shakespeare’s tragic hero Othello, and was the cause of his ultimate downfall. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, jealousy is a central theme and tragic flaw possessed by the main characters Iago, Othello, and Roderigo. This intrinsic characteristic is the basis for conflict and tragedy throughout the course of the play and is the cause of the deaths of innocent individuals. Jealousy is a theme introduced at the beginning of Othello by Roderigo, a wealthy man infatuated with Desdemona. Roderigo’s infatuation first manifests itself when he hires Iago to assist him in obtaining a possible courtship with Desdemona. As Iago informs Roderigo of Desdemona and Othello’s wedlock, he sparks a flicker of jealousy in Roderigo. Roderigo’s jealousy drives him to notify Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, about the marriage by ridiculing Othello for his race: â€Å"As partly I find it is – that your fair daughter / At this odd-een and dull watch o’th night / Transported with no worse nor better guard / But with a knave of common hire, a gondolier / To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor / If this be known to you and your allowance / We then have done you bold and saucy wrongs.† (1.1. 123-129). Roderigo uses his knowledge of Brabantio’s racism as an attempt to obliterate Desdemona and Othello’s relationship by emphasizing the fact that Othello is a Moor and Desdemona is fair-skinned. Roderigo is fully aware of the rage and di. .ed in the extreme† (5.2. 402-406) Othello realizes how much his jealousy was able to consume him, and agrees he is no longer suitable as the general of the Venice army. Once Othello is aware of the fact that Desdemona was in fact pure and did not have an affair with Cassio, he is overwhelmed with grief. Othello states that he can no longer live without his true love Desdemona, as life would not be the same without her. Jealousy resulted in the downfall of Shakespeare’s tragic hero Othello, as the actions that manifested from his jealous behaviour caused him to lose the single most important person in his life, Desdemona. Jealousy controlled the behaviour and thoughts of characters Roderigo, Iago, and Othello, causing them to act irrationally. Jealousy consumed the virtues and reputation Othello had worked hard to develop and led to his personal and professional ruin.

Stephanie Essay Example For Students

Stephanie Essay BuceyExpositoryEssayFinalRed Tailed Black Cockatoo(Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne)I didnt really know what to do for my expository essay. I knew thatI wanted to write about an animal and since I am a bird owner, I decided towrite about a bird. I also wanted to learn more about endangered birds andwhat is being done to save their lives. I own a cockatiel, which iscurrently a very common house pet and therefore not endangered. As Iresearched more about birds, I came to a Website about endangered birds. The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo caught my attention with its beautifulcolors. This beautiful large bird with a bright red tail reminded me of mybird but only much larger. I immediately knew I had found my subject andbegan to write down notes. The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo is a very unique bird. People say theRed Tailed Black Cockatoo is unique because of its pattern of red and blackwings. If you were to lift a Red Tailed Black Cockatoos wing you can seethe different patterns. Either you see the red over-lapping the black, theblack over-lapping the red, black bars across the red pattern, or just redon red. The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo is mostly known for its loud noisesand spectacular wings. The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo is one of the largestmembers of the endemic Australian genus, which includes most of the blackcockatoos. You can tell the difference between a male and a female RedTailed Black Cockatoo. Males are all black with red patterns in theirtails. Females resemble males but have yellow spots on the head and bellyand black bars across the red tail patterns. We will write a custom essay on Stephanie specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo are mostly found in South Australia. The population does not exceed 1,000 individuals of which fewer than 200are thought to breed each year. The population of the Red Tailed BlackCockatoos is declining and may soon be extinct if nothing is done to savethem. There are people who are trying to save this bird. One project tosave the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo includes making nests and positioningthem on top of posts for birds that need to nest. The already made nestsare making up for the large number of trees being cut down in SouthAustralia. This increase in nests will help the Red Tailed Black Cockatooincrease its population. The breeding period for a Red Tailed Black Cockatoo is usuallyduring October-May. The tree they mainly nest in is called River Red Gum. It usually takes up to about 28 days of incubation and 87 days of thetaking care of the young birds. Those birds that do breed only breed up toone or twice a year. The Red Tailed Black Cockatoos are endangered because the nesthollows shortage. It has been proven that the failure, despite searching,to find many nests and the fast adoption of the nest boxes made by humansis evidence that there is a shortage of nest hollows. A shortage of nesthollows is thought to limit the number of cockatoos trying to breed.

The I AM Statements of Jesus Essays - Prophets Of Islam,

The "I AM" Statements of Jesus Lynn Hicks Liberty University The "I AM" Statements of Jesus The ?I AM? statements of Jesus are some of the best evidences of the deity of Christ. In the book of Exodus God distinguishes Himself as ?I AM?. ?And God said to Moses ?I AM WHO I AM? and then he tells him to tell the children of Israel ?I AM has sent me to you? (Exodus 3:14, NKJV). The ?I AM? title is reserved for God because He has always been in past, present, and future. Jesus uses this same title for Himself when He states to the Jews Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM? (John 8:58, NKJV). The Jews at this point knew that He was claiming to be God and in their anger tried to stone Him. The ?I AM? term was a very familiar one among the Jews and there was no question to the claim Jesus was making. He was claiming His deity as the Son of God and equal with God. Now we will look at the ?I AM? statements in the book of John. ?I am the bread of life?I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone east of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:48-51, NIV). In the 16th chapter of the book of Exodus God sustained the children of Israel with the manna from heaven. He supplied what they needed in a miraculous way. But ?the manna?could not impart eternal life nor meet their spiritual needs as could the ?bread of life? that came down from heaven in the person of Jesus the Messiah? (Macarthur 2005, 1376). Jesus came as our sustainer to offer His body for the sins of the world in a miraculous way and to sustain us in a sinful world through salvation. He gives us all we need physically and spiritually. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life? (John 8:12, NIV). Darkness is compared with evil, men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil? (John 3:19, NIV). This is describing the natural darkness that evil men use to their advantage. ?Light is a natural figure of speech for what is good and upright? (Morris 1989, 112) and we can contrast the physical darkness to spiritual darkness which also houses the evil deeds of man. ?The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn?But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness (Proverbs 4:18-19, NIV). Jesus as the light of the world brought the truth to dispel the spiritual darkness which in turn offended and angered many people, and still does today, but eternal life and salvation awaits those who accept the truth and believe on Him. ?I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture? (John 10:9, NIV). Jesus makes it very clear in this passage that He is the Gate whereby we enter for salvation and communion with the Heavenly Father. ?Here are plain directions how to come into the fold; we must come in by Jesus Christ as the door; and by faith in him as the great Mediator between God and man? (Henry 1997, 998). There is no other way to access the Father as the Scriptures state no man cometh unto the Father, but by me? (John 14:6, NIV). After salvation we are free to come and go and we will find spiritual pasture and knowledge as we study His word. ?Only Jesus Christ is the one true source for the knowledge of God and the one basis for spiritual security? (Macarthur 2005, 1391). Jesus brings us into a spiritual relationship with the Father into a place where we could not go otherwise. ?I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep? (John 10:11, NIV). As the shepherds of Jesus? day looked out after the sheep and protected them Jesus looks out for us. The shepherds

Its the journey that matters, not the destination a 3 minute speech on journeys, presented to a year 11 class.

Its the journey that matters, not the destination a 3 minute speech on journeys, presented to a year 11 class. So year 11, Is a physical journey merely a distance traveled? Or is there a greater meaning behind every step that is taken? As well as extending yourself physically, what about the mental, emotional and intellectual transformation on the journey? Remember those long roadtrips when you would drive your parents nuts by asking "Are we there yet?" Often, we are so obsessed with the destination that we neglect to see the process that takes us there, the thrills of the unpredictable journey and the things we learn from both the positive and negative challenges we face.Similarly, the poet, Peter Skrzynecki documents the importance of the physical journey as a learning experience in his poem, "crossing the red sea". His recounts shows us how even though we may focus on the destination, it is not until later in life, we may reflect back on how important the actual journey was.Crossing of the red seaThe title alludes biblically to Moses leading the Jews to the new Promised Land, just as the m igrants were on a voyage to the hope of a bright new future. However the journey was an uncertain one that they had been forced into because of the destruction of WWII.Through the first stanza, the reader can gather that a return trip is unlikely, as the travelers "Watch a sunset they would never see again." A strong sense of misery and poverty is further highlighted by the description of these displaced people being "barefooted". It is also a physical reminder of the extended duration of their journey. As the physical journey progresses, their past sufferings are eased by the calmness of the sea. Though personification it accepts the immigrants "outflung denunciations" and provides an opportunity for emotional and mental healing. The process of the journey shows the changing attitudes, figuratively conveyed...

The Differences between Markets and Central Planning Literature review

The Differences between Markets and Central Planning - Literature review Example The Coase theorem states that the problem of externalities will be resolved through bargain when there are no transaction costs and that property rights are well defined, the theorem states that firms in conflict will bargain and one firm may acquire the property right of the other firm however the assumption is that there are no transaction costs. This theory defines the existence of firms in the market economy in that despite the existence of externalities and conflict, firms in a market economy will, in the long run, will attain equilibrium through bargain and this will ensure proper allocation of resources and property rights The price elasticity of demand is a measure of the responsiveness of the quantity demanded as a result of change in the price of a good or service, high price elasticity of demand means that when price is increased by one unit then demand will decline by one or more units, there are those goods and services with inelastic, elastic and perfect elasticity of demand. Income elasticity is also a measure that aids in determining the responsiveness of demand to changes in the price of a product, it measures the change in demand of a product as a result of an increase or decrease in income. In the last 10 to 15 years most firms have experienced elastic price elasticity of demand, this has been attributed to the fact that there are many firms in the market and also existence of substitutes in the market, as a result of this an increase in the price of a good will lead to a decline in the demand for that good due to existing substitutes and alternative.

History (Fifteen Year War) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History (Fifteen Year War) - Essay Example In the context of the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific World War, collectively known as the Fifteen Years War, the reasons for its successes in not spawning staunch resistance from East Asia proved to be the same reasons in the demise of the promise of liberation and ultimately, the Japanese occupation. The annexing of Korea and Manchuria provided momentum for Japan to strengthen its military and industrialize its economy. In the 1940s, Second World War in the Pacific broke out, initially won by the Japanese, and the commissioning of its message of liberation. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (GEACPS) was proposed to consolidate the socio-economic interests of the Japanese empire and newly-conquered Asian states (including Australia Pacific islands) in order to achieve its promulgated objective of liberating Greater East Asia from Western imperialismii. The Japanese invasion was fast and deadly, taking only a few months from the Pearl Harbor incident. It would not be as rapid, however, if the Asian states have bitterly fought the Japanese. In 1937, Japanese forces were intercepted by Chinese forces on their way to Nanking. The delay angered the Japanese, so when they finally reached the Kuomintang capital, the Japanese mercilessly destroyed the city, killing, torturing and beheading some 30,000 citizensiii. Through the stories of the unharmed European and American nationals, the Rape of Nanking was known, reminding Asians of the severe consequences of mounting a resistance to Japanese occupation. Likewise, surrendering to the Japanese would propel the economic development of the region. Such was the case after the capture of Manchuria, despite the underhanded bombing of Mukdeniv, incited by the Japanese themselves. Over a short span of time, the utilization of Chinese resources for Japanese superior knowledge and technical ability, transformed Manchuria to become an urbanized industrial complex. Such

Propsal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Propsal - Essay Example The most recent advent of distance learning constitutes the most enticing of these. The aim of this research is to find out the influence of distance training on raising the motives of teachers to participate in training programmes. It will substantially consider the case of Saudi Arabia and will specifically explore teachers' viewpoints there, regarding the potentials distance training has that make it more favourable and encouraging as opposed to those of the traditional face-to-face approach. The research, in the process, will uncover different aspects related to teachers' training programmes. This will then be correlated to assess how teachers' motivations towards training can be increased. There has been a wide recognition that training plays an important role in upgrading and improving teachers' abilities to elevate teaching outcomes toward highly accomplished educational goals. It is to be noted that an ongoing training system has been developed in Saudi Arabia in this regard. However, the beneficial consequence of the system cannot be apparently felt and there are signs that teachers are not all that interested in participating. Several reasons might be enumerated to be behind this. However, many believe that it is the approach that relies mainly on the conventional face-to-face training that is not sufficiently motivating teachers to take place. It is assumed that applying distance training approach as an alternative would be more encouraging. Although distance training is becoming widely employed nowadays and proved to be very sufficient to gain interest, the link between distance training and motivation is not sufficiently covered by research yet. This research will try to explore this sort of link and find out how significant distance training is considered as a motivating medium. Moreover, the research will assess the extent to which conventional face-to-face approach fulfils teachers' training purposes and highlights the major obstacle facing this system. On the other hand, it will also research the opportunities of applying distance training among teachers in Saudi Arabia. It will try to build a good understanding of the available information technology infrastructure and reveal whether teachers have the basic skills to facilitate information technology tools and thus get the full benefit of distance training. The research will look at how confident teachers are with distance training and find out any sort of relation between satisfaction and motivation with distance training including other factors related to working and personal conditions such as subject and level of teaching. Strategy: The proposed research will take on a quantitative approach. It will mainly depend on gathering and analyzing quantitative secondary and primary data gathered from available literature documents and by means of social surveys. This will be supported with appropriate qualitative data and analysis to provide clarification and confidence. The research will be mostly deductive in a sense that it works from the more general to the more specific and builds up its conclusion upon initial scientific hypotheses. It ought to ascertain a preliminary assumption and generates inferences about associations among selected variables. The research will try to answer the following questions : 1-To what extent do teachers in Saudi

Biometric Technologies: Advantages and Disadvantages

Biometric Technologies: Advantages and Disadvantages Abstract There have two aims of this project. Firstly is to provide an objective analysis of available biometric technologies, to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to investigate a broad range of application scenario in where biometric techniques are better than traditional recognition and verification method. Another aim is to develop a product. Now a day most of the online banking and financial organization are trying to convert their existing online banking in open source Java or in some other open source platform, so that it could be more reliable, secure and difficult for the hacker to hack such open source management system. Most of the systems are still using the login ID and password typing functionality which is not secure at all as anybody can steal password by using a hidden Keystroke logger or like this sort of software and another problem is user need to remember so many password and user ID for different web services. From a statistical observation it found that more than 70% people write down their Username and password, which can be stolen, lost and can be misuse by others. If the organizations could integrate secure fingerprint or any other biometrics built in functionality then it could be more secure, reliable, easier and hassle free for the user. To get ride from such problem I have tried to develop such a model of secure web service integrating with fingerprint recognition where users no need to remember or insert anymore user name or password. Although there has lots of password replacement fingerprint software available in the market but as my knowledge such software doesnt work for completely platform independent (Java based) secure web service. I have used platform-independent Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE), Netbean, Jboss server, sql data base and open source bio-sdk to develop this model. Preface Although this web service has integrated only with the fingerprint functionality due to limitations of hardware and other resources but in here has critically investigate about the strengths and the security hole of other biometric functionality, so that in future such biometrics functionality can be imply. Another constraint with regard to this report is time. To provide more strength and security for that system, many features could be added like development of better algorithm to fix the security hole of the fingerprint software. To cope with the time changes are an inevitable part of the software or web service development but many have been entirely avoided in this case as they would not have added any value to the principal purpose of this project. Problem Areas for that Project Biometrics is a young technology, therefore relative hardware is not that available in the local market and they are so expensive to buy personally. Unfortunately there is no biometrics hardware in the CMSs hardware lab. As well as there is no biometrics software or equipment. It was requested to buy some hardware for this thesis purpose but unfortunately the university was not agree to buy or manage anything which is related to biometrics. Many companies of this biometrics fields were requested personally to help or give information regarding their product but they denied for the marketing reason. There was no biometrics related books in the university library. Moreover the library was unable to provide. So without any technical and theoretical support it was really hard to gain new idea and to make a new product which is related to the biometrics. Some biometrics hardware has been bought personally for this thesis. With the extraordinary help, advice and encourage from the supervisor this work has been done. Section One: Background Literature of Biometrics Chapter 2: Background Literature of Biometrics Now a day biometrics is a well known term in the information technology. The origin of the word biometrics comes from Greek language. Bio means life and metrics means measurement. So the biometrics is related to the measurement of a living thing. But in the information technology it means an automated process where a human is recognised or identified using his/her physiological or behavioural characteristics. The specific physiological characteristics is collected, quantified, measured, compared with the previous stored characteristic and decided. So it is the process for the identification not any innovation. 2.1 A short history of biometrics: In the normal life a person has been recognised or identified based on face, body structure, height, colour, hair etc. So in that sense the history of biometrics identifiers or characteristics is as old as mankind history. In the ancient East Asia, plotters used their fingerprint on their products which is the identification of individual. In the ancient Egypt the people use some characteristics such as complexion, eye colour, hair, height to identify trusted traders. But for a long time biometrics had not been considered as a field of study. At the late 1880, the biometrics gained the interest as a field of study. The credit was Alphonse Bertillon who was an anthropologist and police clerk. He was tried to identify convicted criminal to others. He first discovered and mentioned that some physical measurement of an adult human is invariant of time. These combinations of measurements are different to human to human. So these measurements can be used to recognize an individual from other (Scottish Criminal Record Office, 2002a). His theory was known as Bertillonage or anthropometry. That time his theory was appreciated and thought to be well established. The main measurements which he suggested are given in the picture 2.1. But in the year 1903, it was found that his theory was wrong for the identical twins. That time an identical twin was found, according to his theory they are single person. So the new theory or new characteristics were looking for the identification. It was said that Sir Edward Henry was the first who interested on finger print for the purpose of identification. He was an Inspector General of Bengal police. In 1986, he ordered to record the prisoners fingerprint as an identification measurement. He tried to introduce the classification system of the fingerprint. In the year 1901, Sir Henry was joined as Assistant Commissioner of the Scotland Yard. After then a finger print bureau was established. That time the failure of the anthropometry system made the finger print system well known. Finger print system was started to use for the purpose of identification of a person. The system is used as same way still today. Automated system to read finger print was first introduced in the early 1970s. The first finger-print measurement device was first used in 1972 which was known as Identimeter. This device was used at Shearson Hamil named Wall Street Company. The purpose of this device was time keeping and monitoring. Day after day the interest of this biometric system was increased. The decrease of the hardware cost of the computer and improvement of the algorithm increase the research of the biometrics. 2.2 Biometric characteristics: 2.2.1 General requirements for a characteristic using as a biometric identifier: In the biometric history section, it has been discussed that several characteristics were consider as an identifier of human. But many of them were rejected. According to the Amberg 2003, if a characteristic can be considered as an identifier for the biometric purpose then it should mitigate some requirements such as university (Every human should have that characteristics), uniqueness (That characteristic should be different person to person), permanence (that characteristic should be permanent) and collect ability (that characteristic should be able to collect and that should also be measurable). There are some additional requirement can be applied with a these requirement such as performance (It accuracy should be high, it should need minimum resources), acceptability (it should be accept everywhere and it should also be acceptable to the future users), fraud resistance (It should have higher security level and can be resistance to fraudulent), cost effective (it users benefit sho uld be many times higher then its using cost). 2.2.2 Classification of the characteristics which can be used as biometric identifiers: Biometrics characteristics or identifiers can be categorized into two groups. They are Physiological type and Behavioural type. Physiological type: This type of characteristics is related to human body or anatomy. Finger print reading, DNA analysis and face of individual which are frequently used as biometric identifiers of this type. The use of retina and the iris will be prospective future. This type pf characteristic can be divided as genotype and phenotype. A group of people can have the same genotype characteristics. Blood group, DNA analysis these are the two most commonly used genotype characteristics. In contrast to genotype characteristics, phenotype characteristics can be having only single individual, so this type of characteristics is different from person to person. Finger print, retina and iris are this type of characteristic. Behavioural Characteristics: This type of the characteristic is related to human behaviour. Signature is the most commonly used characteristics of this type. Human voice analysis and key stoke is another two characteristics which are now also be used. This kind of characteristics is the indirect measurement of the human body. This type of characteristics has been learned or trained; therefore these can be different from time to time. But when a human reach in a certain age, the change of behaviour is negligible, therefore these type characteristic used as identifiers. In the 2.2 the frequently used biometrics characteristics have been shown. 2.2.3 Contrast of the biometrics characteristics: A contrast of biometrics characteristics has been given in the table 2.1. Table 2.1: A contrast of the biometrics characteristics (Jaine et al. 1999) From the table 2.1, it has been said that the physiological characteristics have the better performance then the behavioural characteristics. From the table 2.1, it has also been seen that some biometrics trait can be regarded more universal, unique and permanent then the other. Such as Iris, DNA, body odour and finger print. But the Iris, DNA and body odour are promising, they need future research and Experiment. Their cost is high, so they are not cost effective. So, now in present the finger print is one of the most accepted biometric traits. 2.3 Establish Identity Now a day society has been changed significantly. In the past, everyone of a community knew everyone. But now a day, globalization has been changed the situation. Peoples are now interconnected electronically. They are mobile all around the world. So establishing identity is one of the most important task. 2.3.1 Resolving identity of an individual: There are two fundamental problems occurs for this purpose. They are authentication and identification. Authentication problem: This problem is also known as verification. This problem arises to confirm or denied anyones claimed identity. When any person claimed an identity then this operation process required a comparison. The comparison occurs between submitted biometric samples and the stored samples for the claimed identity. This process is called a ‘one to one comparison. For an example an ATM (automatic teller machine) can be considered. For ATM machine the authentication problem has been solved in a two stages process. First stage is to possess a valid ATM card. The second stage is to know the PIN (Personal Identification Number). If anyone know the other persons PIN and possess his/her correspondence ATM card then that person can claimed the identity of the original ATM card owner identity. This kind of fraud activities have been increasing day after day. According to Jain Et Al, 1999, In 1996 ATM associated swindle activities valued in USA 3 billion US dollar. In the oth er hand biometrics system promotes a system which can overcome this authentication problem. Recognition problem: This is also known as identification problem. This problem occurs when a person has been identified from a set template of database. In this problem the persons data has been compared against the data from the database. It is ‘one to many system. An example would help to clear the concept. To identify a criminal a law enforce officials some time lifted finger print or other data from the crime scene. After then they compare the data with the stored data of known criminal. By this way they might be able to identify the criminal. According to the UK Biometrics Working Group (2002), all the biometric matters does not included in the title of verification and identification. Therefore three more pair of terms has been introduced. These three pairs are (1) Positive claim of identity and negative claim of identity, (2) Explicit claim of identity and implicit claim of identity, and (3) Genuine claim of identity and imposter claim of identity. Positive claim of identity is also known as positive identification. In this process the claimed persons identity should have to be enrolled before and known to the system. An example would help to realize the process. An online email account customer enters his or her login name and password into the system, the system compared the combination of these two against a set of data where customer data has been stored before. If the combination of the login name and password has been matched then the user has been verified. The process needs only the login and pass word nothing else. So the email provider does not know who is actually using the account. Negative claim of identity has been known as negative identification. In this process the claimed persons identity has not been stored before. So the claimed person can enters only one time, after entering his/her identity has been stored in the system and he or she cannot enters again. Such kind of example is American Social Security. According to the Jain Et Al, 1999, around a billon of US dollar has been taken away annually by using multiple identities from the social security welfare in USA. In the case of Explicit Claim of Identity, a person unambiguously declares his identity to the system. The claim may be negative claim or positive claim. His/ her submitted identity has been compared with the stored data in one to one comparison. (One to one comparison has been described in the authentication section). Using ATM card is an example of the positive explicit claim of identity. To realize the negative explicit claim of identity, consider an air port where the face recognition system has been established. If a passenger is similar to a known terrorist person then the system would raise the alarm. Then the passenger needs to claim the explicit negative claim of identity. So the passengers other identity such as finger print, iris etch has been compared against that known terrorist in one to one basis comparison. Implicit claim of identity can be positive or negative claim. In this process a persons identity has been compared in ‘one to many comparison basis against all stored identities. When anyone claims an honest claim to be himself or herself then it is called the genuine claim of identity (UK Biometric Working Group, 2002). In this case his / her identity has been truly matched with the stored identity. Imposter Claim of Identity is the process where anyone claims to be someone else is deceit or false (UK Biometric Working Group, 2002). In this case submitted identity does not match with the stored identity. 2.3.2 Verification Technique: According to the Mitnick, 2002, the Verification technique can be divided into three types. They are (1) Knowledge based verification technique, (2) Token based verification technique and (3) Biometric based verification technique. Knowledge based verification system: In this process some information has been used, that information is secret (combination of pass word/PIN/Memorable words etc), usually the person of the original identity has been supposed to be acquainted with secret information. People may travel from distance to distance, so that their memorable secret information will be with them. So it can be said that it will be suitable to use from a distance or remote place. But this type of authentication has some serious drawbacks. By using Trojan horses and Spywares a hacker can know the others secret information. Trojan horses and Spy wares are able to send the key stoke as email. So this knowledge based verification is not a secure system. Most of the times people use their known name as secret information for the knowledge based verification system. So, it might be possible for the others to guess. Sometimes people do not change their secret information in the knowledge based verification system for a long time. Their secret information is not secure. Sometimes they keep their initial secret information, so that it might be easy to hack. Many types of hacking methods have been developed such as dictionary attack, Hybrid methods, brute force attack etc. In comparison to other technologies, this is cheap and has a large level of security stage. Token based verification system: In this system the claimed identity person should have something which should be used with the secret information. ATM card is an example of the token based verification system. It can be said that it is more secure then the knowledge based verification process because if the token has been lost or stolen then its user can notify. Biometric verification system: In this system users biometric distinguishing characteristics such as finger print, face, signature, etc have been used which represents the users appearance. These characteristics are moved with the users they are more secure compare to the other two systems. It is quite impossible to use by the unauthorized person. But this system is relatively costly. Actually no system is fully secure. All of the three systems have some serious drawbacks. Secret information can be hacked, unauthorised person can stole the token and use that and it is also possible to copy biometric information and later replay those (Woodward Et Al. 2003). In order to counter these drawbacks, multiple verification systems can be used. ATM card is an example of the combination of knowledge based verification system and token based verification system. If in the future, the iris scanner is available then it will be more secure if iris scanner has been used with the ATM card. 2.4 The components of a general biometric system and their function: A general biometric system can be divided into five subsystems. They are: (1) Data acquisition system, (2) Data transmission system, (3) Signal processing system, (4) Data storage system and (5) Decision making system. In the 2.2 a general biometric system has been shown. Data acquisition system: It has been assumed that every biometric system has two characteristics. They are uniqueness and repeatability. Uniqueness represents that every persons biometric trait is different. It will not be same for the two persons. The repeatability represents that the biometric trait will be same over time. In this acquisition system the sensors measure the users biometric characteristics. These characteristics are said as samples which have definite attributes. The type of presentation and the reader quality can affect the sample qualities. Data Transmission system: Most of the cases the data collection and processing is not at the same location. So there is a one subsystem which function is to transfer the data. In the data transmission system, compression and expansion has been functioned depend on the size of the sample. The standard protocol has been used for compression and expansion. When the facial image has been sent JPEG format has been used. WSQ format has been used for transferring the data of fingerprint and CELP format has been used for the voice. Data processing system: there are three parts of signal processing system. They are: (1) feature extraction section (2) quality control section, and (3) pattern matching section. At the extraction section the appropriate biometric data has been split from the background information of the sample. This process is called segmentation. For an example, in a face detection system facial image has been separated from the wall or other back ground. After the extraction the quality has been checked. If the quality of the data is very poor then another sample has been asked. After this section, the pattern matching process has been started. After then the decision making section. Featured data from the pattern matching section has been stored to the storage section depends on the function of the overall biometric section. Data storage section: From the pattern matching section, some featured of data has been stored as data storage section as template. The main purpose is to compare with the incoming feature. If the overall system is based on one to one matching then the data storage section can be decentralized but if the overall system has been functioned for the one to many matching then the central data base has been needed. Decision making system: Quality score and the matching score have been sent to the decision making section from the processing section. The decision making system decide the sample has been accepted or denied. The policy is specific depends on the system security expectation. If the number of false non match incident has been increased then the number of false match will be decreased. 2.5 Performance of a biometric system: The main focus of a biometric system is to ensure the security where only the authorised used can be accepted and non authorised users are denied. The system processing speed is usually given to less priority. The main considerable factors of a biometric system are mainly described by some terms such as Failure to En-roll Rate (FTE), Failure to Acquire Rate (FTA), False Acceptance rate (FAR), False Rejection rate (FRR), False Match Rate (FMR), False Non Match Rate (FNMR) etc. False Match Rate (FMR): This represents the serious type of fault of a biometric system. This occurs when an authorised users biometric information match to an unauthorised persons identity. In this case the signal processing system produces a high matching score of a non corresponding template. False Non Match Rate (FNMR): In this case the authorised persons biometric features are unable to produce enough high matching score to qualify. This is the opposite of FMR. One of the main reasons of FNMR is partially less quality of the biometric features. Comparison of FMR and FNMR for the different biometric system: The main aim of a biometric security system is to reduce the rate of False Match Rate (FMR). On the other hand if the False Non Match Rate can be reduced then the system will be more fast and reliable. But all the time there is a relationship between FMR and FNMR. In the 2.4, relationships have been shown for different biometric system. Higher False Match Rate (FMR) is not acceptable, but for the low FMR the False Non Match Rate (FNMR) is considerably higher in every system. Failure to En-roll Rate (FTE): Sometimes the biometric system cannot make a valid template for some users. Although biometric characteristics are universal but some case there are differences. For an example for a very low number of peoples finger print cannot be enrolled in the system such person who use their hands aggressively such as construction workers or carpenter. So Failure to En-roll rate is the ratio of the number of the people whose biometric features cannot be enrolled to system to the number of the total person who use the system. In the 2.5 a practical test result has been shown where Failure to En-roll (FTE) has been measured for the different system (Mansfield Et Al.2001). Failure to Acquire Rate (FTA): Sometimes the system cannot acquire data of the desired quality due to the readers/sensors, instrumental problem, environmental problem, noise level of data, background data etc. Simply Failure to Acquire Rate (FAR) represents those biometric sample which cannot get high quality score to go the decision making section. False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and False Rejection Rate (FRR): these two terms are related to the False Match Rate and False Non Match Rate. False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and False Rejection Rate (FRR) are related to the whole biometric system. On the other hand the False Match Rate and the False Non Match rate are related to the single matching process. So in the case of FAR and FRR, Failure to Acquire Rate of the system should be included. According to Mansfield Et Al.2001, relationships can concluded as follow: FAR (Ï„) = (1-FTA) FMR (Ï„) FRR (Ï„) = (1-FTA) FNMR (Ï„) + FTA Here, FAR- False Acceptance Rate Ï„- Decision threshold FTA- Failure to Acquire Rate FMR- False Match Rate FRR- False Rejection Rate FNMR- False Non Matching Rate Each point of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves is corresponded to a definite threshold decision making score which has a particular False Rejection Rate and False Acceptance Rate. For the Forensic purpose, False Rejection Rate should be lowest and for the high security access purpose, False Acceptance Rate should be lowest. Section Two: Biometric Technology 2.1 Physiological Biometric In this section has mentioned about the pattern of fingerprint, hand geometry, pattern of iris, facial, retinal and vascular characteristics as a possible biometric identifier. 2.1.1 Fingerprint Pattern Fingerprint is the oldest, popular and definitely the most widely publicly acceptable mature biometric identifiers. It perfectly meets the necessary criteria for of a biometric identifier like universality, distinctively, persistent and collectability. They are impressions of the friction ridges on the surface of the hand. In the most application and in this thesis as well, the primary concern is focused on the ridges located above the end joints of fingers. However, in certain forensic applications, the area of importance is broader including the fingers, the palm and the writers palm (WOODWARD ET AL. 2003). Since early 1970 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has initiated extensive research and development efforts on fingerprint identification. Their main aim was to invent an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS), so that it could be helpful for forensic purposes (RUGGLES 1996). 2.1.1.1 Feature and Technology There are two main elements in fingerprint matching technique: firstly minutiae matching and secondly pattern matching. In the bellows shows regarding the primary technique that analyzes basic minutia types: Macroscopic overview, universal pattern matching, focus on the integral flow of ridges -these could be categorized into three groups: loops, whorls and arches. Every individual fingerprint should be fit into one of these three categories that shown in the bellows Now a day most of the application depends on the minutiae matching. If a fingerprint scan device capture a typical fingerprint image then there could be identify around 30 to 60 minutia patterns. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that it is not possible for two individuals, even for monozygotic twins also to have more than eight common minutiae. For matching minutiae are examine with type, shape, co-ordinate location (x,y) and direction. In the bellows has shown about the automated minutiae matching process based on these attributes: In the above describes a case in where the input image (in left) is trying to match against a stored template (in right). 39 minutiae were detected in the input, while the template contained 42 different minutiae. The matching algorithm identified 36 matching data points. (Source: Prabhakar 2001) In the above , inputted image (in left) has detected 64 minutiae while in the template (in right) contain 65 different minutiae. The algorithm identified 25 completely non-matching data points. There need a scanning or capture device to obtain such images. Since 1970s, lots of researches have been done to develop and improve such devices. As a result optical, capacitive, ultrasonic, thermoelectric, radio frequency and touch less scanners has invented and now a day most of them become less expensive and available in the market. Optical device / scanner: The first method to capture the fingerprint image was the optical scanning technique. Frustrated total internal reflection is the main principle of the operation of such scanner. In that case the finger is placed on the glass platen and illuminated by the laser light. The surface of the finger reflects certain amounts of light depending on the depth of the ridges and valleys and then reflectance is captured by a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera that constitutes of an array of light sensitive diodes called photosites (OGORMAN 1999). The big advantage of such device is they are cheaper among all of the automated biometric devices and also available in the local market. The disadvantage for such device is: it could be easily fooled by impostors. The latent fingerprint left on the scanning surface, its a big drawback of such device as anybody can collect the latent fingerprint image from there to spoof. Optical Scanner â€Å"Digital Persona† has used to integrate the fingerprint scanning support for the product of that project are using popular U.are.U fingerprint recognition systems depicted in the below . In October 2003, the US Department of Defence has chosen digital persona scanner to secure network security at desktops in its offices in Washington, D.C. (digital persona 2009). Capacitive Scanner / devices: since their first appearance in 1990, such devices have become very popular. A capacitive scanner is a solid-state device, which incorporates a sensing surface composed of an array of about 100.000 conductive plates over which lies a dielectric surface. When a user touches the sensor, the human skin acts as the other side of the array of capacitors. The measurement of voltage at a capacitor decreases with the growing distance between the plates. Therefore, the capacitance measured at the ridges of a fingerprint will be higher than the capacitance measured at the valleys. These measurements are then analyzed in a way similar to a sonar scan of the ocean bottom, resulting in a video signal depicting the surface of the fingerprint (OGORMAN 1999). The advantage of capacitive scanners is its very high accuracy rate. Another big advantages that they are much harder to fool than optical scanners since the process requires living tissue. As the users need to touch the silicon chip itself, solid-state scanners are susceptible to electrostatic discharge (ESD). Recent chip designs were specifically developed to withstand high levels of ESD and frequent handling. modern capacitive device manufacturer like Veridicom claims that their chips will survive around 1 million touches (Ryan 2002). Thermoelectric device: It is silicon based. It measures the difference of temperature between the ridges touching the surface of the sensor and the valleys distant from them (OGorman 1999). Although thermal scanning is very promising but it is still an uncommon method. A company named Atmel proponents of this technique. It uses finger sweep method to capture fingerprint in a tiny si

Heroes Must Die :: English Literature Essays

Heroes Must Die Blaine the big was half badger and half troll. He was a huge beast (nearly twice the height of a human) and was almost completely covered in spikes. He hated his space colony. He lived with fake trees, fake grass, fake rain, and all sorts of fake things. He longed to live on Earth and see the real things. He tried multiple times to break into the space airports and enter a ship to Earth, but the wizard guards always caught him. One day, while Blaine was sleeping, the DANGER 1 alarm went off. The alarm was only used for extremely dangerous situations. Blaine and his pet dorg (a big dog trained to kill), Leo, ran out to see what the commotion was about. He felt cold fear run all down his body. There, right in front of him, was a huge troll. Trolls had horribly big bodies and had spikes everywhere below the neck. It smelt horrible and had a double-ended axe. â€Å"What do we have here?† the troll said. â€Å"Don’t hurt me-I’m half troll. You wouldn’t hurt me would you?† stammered Blaine. Blaine decided to go for the friendly approach. â€Å"Your axe looks †¦ marvelous,† he said. Trolls loved to hear their weapons get compliments. This troll was no exception. â€Å"You think so? I really like my axe. My name’s Pete the Perilous. So, what other half are you?† â€Å"I’m Blaine. I’m half badger as well as half troll,† answered Blaine . Blaine decided that Pete wasn’t all that bad. â€Å"What troll dynasty are you from?† Blaine asked. â€Å"Oh, I’m not a troll. I’m a seronto,† said Pete. â€Å"What!† blurted Blaine. Serontos were extremely rare these days because of their not-so-smart minds. Serontos have the power to change into anything they want, and a lot of times they would turn into something deadly. Therefore, the wizards kill them not knowing they were serontos. â€Å"Turn into something smaller!† hissed Blaine. With a â€Å"pop† he turned into a pen. Blaine hastily put the pen into his pocket. Just then, a score of wizards came around the corner, all with their staffs out. â€Å"Did you see a troll around here?† the eldest wizard asked. â€Å"No† replied Blaine. He didn’t dare tell the wizards that the troll was actually a seronto, because the wizards would have just taken him to the ejection room (a room where you are sent into space to die), innocent or not because of the chaos he created.

An Annotated Bibliography on Multi-cultural Education

Mary Stone Hanley, a teacher in the Teacher Certification Program of Antioch University in Seattle, explains and elaborates some of the issues concerning multicultural education and gives a brief history of the subject as well as a few suggestions for its improvement in â€Å"The Scope of Multicultural Education†. She explains the ideals and goals of a multicultural approach to education and the possible ways of achieving them through citations of works from other people and of course, from herself.   The main targets of her article are the teachers concerned in teaching multicultural groups of students. Her article can also be used to inform other people about the subject of multicultural education. She is still continuing further researches for the development of multicultural education. John Morefield. â€Å"Recreating Schools For All Children.† New Horizons for Learning. John Morefield conducted extensive researches for the availability of good education for â€Å"all† children. When he became the principal of Hawthorne Elementary School in Seattle, Washington, he promised the community that entering kindergartners would graduate with skills at or above expected grade level competency. Thus his researches on what works in diverse communities. His targets are all concerned audiences with emphasis to fellow teachers. His article specifies twelve characteristics that he thinks are needed to have a successful school. He explains that since it is widely accepted that American education has been biased and racist, it is now time to move on and prepare a better future of education for all the children of the world. Rey A. Gomez. â€Å"Teaching with a Multicultural Perspective.† ERIC digest. Gomez explains that to teach with a multicultural perspective will encourage understanding and appreciation of one’s own culture, as well as others. He suggests that the use of this perspective in teaching could promote a sense of uniqueness and specialty to his own culture to the child and therefore making the child create a same sense of perspective when viewing other’s cultures. He also suggests that multicultural programs should not utterly focus on only the other’s cultures to the extent that a stereotype is created within the class. In his article, Morefield also reminds the parents of the children attending multicultural schools of the `myths’ that usually lead to the stereotype behaviors of their children toward multiculturalism. Wilson, Keith. â€Å"Multicultural Education.† EdChange. Wilson is an associate professor at the Pennsylvania State University. In his article, he gives a definition of Multicultural Education, and gives examples of the pros and cons of Multicultural Education. He cites some views from other writers to complement their views. He also gives a few suggestions on as to how a multicultural education program may succeed. Burnett, Gary. Varieties of Multicultural Education: An Introduction. ERIC Digest 98. Burnnet compares and contrast some of the programs that represent the current multicultural education typologies. He explains in his article some of the current programs that are currently being used to aid in multicultural education for the benefit of those who would like to create their own policies and or programs for the advancement of multicultural education. He cites some articles concerning debates about the effectiveness of some of the programs to back up his explanations. Milk, Robert-Mercado, Carmen-Sapiens, Alexandria. Rethinking the Education of Teachers of Language Minority Children: Developing Reflective Teachers for Changing Schools. NCBE Focus. The article’s main idea is how to make the teachers more ‘language minority students’ friendly. They wish to clarify and explain the roles of the teachers on the educational lives of the students. They cited several works of other people to further explain the importance of the teacher’s role in the political, demographic, and programmatic statuses of the schools that teach language minority students. They give suggestive guidelines for the teachers to help them in teaching language minority students. Attinasi, John. â€Å"Academic Achievement, Culture, and Literacy: An Introduction.† NCREL. He relates his own ideas and experiences to the audience to explain his, and other’s views about multicultural education. In this article, he introduces multiculturalism by relating it to his views of â€Å"closure† and â€Å"processes† and then states a few brief history of the evolution of multiculture. He then gives a few guidelines and information on how multiculturalism can imply changes on the way of teaching in a school with diversely cultured students. Gollnick, Donna M. – Chinn, Philip C. Multicultural Education for Exceptional Children. ERIC Digest #E498. Gollmick and Chinn stress the importance of multicultural education on the growing population of the U.S. in their article. They also give importance to the purposes of multiculturalism in the education world. They also stress the importance of the teacher’s roles and their curriculums on the multicultural students. and then they give suggestion on as to how to create a non-biased and effective curriculum for teachers, or for schools, who handle multiculturally diverse classes. Their article is a good preview of how important is the need for improvement of multiculture education. Cohen, Cheryl. Teaching about Ethnic Diversity. ERIC Digest No. 32. Cohen explains the importance of Ethnic Diversity as part of the curriculum to be used for students. He also gives stress to the effective procedures to be used in teaching Ethnic Diversity. Basically, it is an informative article that emphasizes the importance of Ethnic Diversity in a curriculum for students. Its main audiences are teachers and the vast American children of different ethnical backgrounds. Covert, Bob and Gorski, Paul. Defining Multicultural Education. EdChange Gorski and Covert give hints as to what does Multicultural Education really mean. They show that there is almost no two classrooms that has the same definition for Multicultural Education. Then they give examples of aspects of multicultural education. They state the importance of the definition on the possible transformations it could cause to the society. They also stated a possible goal of multicultural education which is to affect social change of the world. References: Attinasi, J. (1994). Academic Achievement, Culture, and Literacy: An Introduction. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from the NCREL database. Website: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/leadrshp/le0att.htm Burnnet, G. (1995). Varieties of Multicultural Education: An Introduction. ERIC Digest 98. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education New York NY. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from the ERIC digest database. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED372146. Website: http://www.ericdigests.org/1995-1/multicultural.htm Chinn, P. and Gollnick, D. (1991). Multicultural Education for Exceptional Children. ERIC Digest #E498. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education New York NY. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from the ERIC digest database. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED333620. Website: http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9220/exceptional.htm Cohen, C. (1986). Teaching about Ethnic Diversity. ERIC Digest No. 32. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education New York NY. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from the ERIC digest database. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED273539. Website: http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/eric/ed273539.html Covert, B. and Gorski, P. Defining Multicultural Education. EdChange. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from EdChange database. Website: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html Gomez, R. (1991). Teaching with a Multicultural Perspective. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education Urbana IL. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from the ERIC digest database. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED339548. Website: http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-5/perspective.htm Hanley, M. S. (n.d.). The Scope of Multicultural Education. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from New Horizons for Learning. Website: http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/hanley.htm Milk, R.; Mercado, C.; Sapiens, A. (summer 1992). Number 6. NCBE FOCUS: Occasional Papers in Bilingual Education. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from NCBA database. Website: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/focus/focus6.htm Morefield, J. (n.d.). Recreating Schools For All Children. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from New Horizons for Learning. Website: http://www.newhorizons.org/trans/morefield.htm Wilson,K. (n.d.). Multicultural Education. EdChange. Retrieved August 8, 2007, from EdChange database. Website: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/keith.html      

Chinese Architecture essays

Chinese Architecture essays Architecture, by definition, is the art or science of planning and building structures. Those are the words used to describe architecture in a dictionary but architecture is so much more than a study of how a building is built. Architecture is a product of human activities, and it is also a mirror of human life. Buildings reflect many things life environment, both political and cultural, as well as habitual and geographical environments. This paper is about Chinese architecture; its history, the basic structural elements that make up a Chinese building and the spiritual side of all the grand Chinese buildings. Firstly, if one is to understand Chinese architecture then one must know something of Chinas history because the creation and development of a national architecture has its roots in the cultural background of the nation. The nation of China has been around for around 5000 years, which perhaps the longest history that any nation or culture can lay claim to. Chinas architecture was influenced by religion and myth, philosophy and politics, science and superstition, humanity and ritual. All of these elements were constantly confronting and complementing each other. Also, the arts of feng shui, cosmology, and geomancy played a great part in the structural aspects of many Chinese buildings. Chinas architecture is vastly different from most of the other types of architecture in the world. This is because China is very isolated from the western world. For many years, Chinas only contact with the western world came from its infamous Silk Road on which Chinese merchants carried their goods to be sold to the western world. Very rarely did the westerners come to China to sell their own goods either because of the distance or simply for the fact that the western world was not advance enough to get to China to sell their goods. So Chinese culture and architecture developed without western influenced and it became...

John Maynard Keynes Essays - Third Portuguese Republic, Free Essays

John Maynard Keynes Essays - Third Portuguese Republic, Free Essays John Maynard Keynes UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE VENEZUELA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ECON?MICAS Y SOCIALES ESCUELA DE ADMINISTRACI?N Y CONTADUR?A. DESARROLLO ECON?MICO. John Maynard Keynes Integrantes: Arciniegas, Ver?nica Oliveira, Carlos Caracas, 2008-10-16 John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), economista brit?nico. Sus ideas, sustrato de una nueva escuela de pensamiento econ?mico denominada keynesianismo o ?nueva ciencia econ?mica?, influyeron de forma determinante en el dise?o de las pol?ticas econ?micas de muchos pa?ses desde la finalizaci?n de la II Guerra Mundial. PRINCIPALES CONTRIBUCIONES AL PENSAMIENTO ECON?MICO. Tratado sobre probabilidades (1921) y Tratado sobre el dinero (1930). En esta ?ltima intent? analizar por qu? la econom?a funciona de forma irregular, as? como por qu? est? sujeta a las sucesivas expansiones y depresiones que caracterizan a los ciclos econ?micos. No obstante, no lograba explicar la problem?tica de las depresiones prolongadas. Keynes analiz? en profundidad los problemas relativos a las depresiones prolongadas en La teor?a general sobre el empleo, el inter?s y el dinero. Argument? la inexistencia de mecanismos de ajuste autom?tico que permitan a la econom?a recuperarse de las recesiones. Afirmaba que el ahorro no invertido prolonga el estancamiento econ?mico y que las inversiones empresariales dependen de la creaci?n de nuevos mercados, de la utilizaci?n de nuevos adelantos t?cnicos y de otras variables independientes del tipo de inter?s o de ahorro. Puesto que la inversi?n empresarial fluct?a, no se puede esperar que ?sta pueda preservar un nivel de pleno empleo y unos ingresos estables. Por ello, aseguraba que deb?an ser los gobiernos (factor ignorado hasta entonces), los que tendr?an que convertirse en instrumentos econ?micos activos y compensar (a trav?s de pol?ticas econ?micas adecuadas) la insuficiencia de inversi?n privada durante una recesi?n con la reducci?n de impuestos y, sobre todo, con el incre mento del gasto p?blico. Su soluci?n para el problema fue que los gobiernos se hicieran cargo del d?ficit invirtiendo en obras p?blicas y otros proyectos para incrementar la necesidad de trabajadores As?, defendi? los programas econ?micos de inversi?n p?blica que ya se estaban ensayando en el Reino Unido y, muy especialmente, en Estados Unidos, donde el presidente Franklin Delano Roosevelt hab?a afrontado la lucha contra la Gran Depresi?n con su pol?tica de New Deal. Su obra m?s conocida, La teor?a general sobre el empleo, el inter?s y el dinero (1936), se public? en medio de una enorme crisis econ?mica. Seg?n Keynes, la econom?a ya no funcionaba seg?n los principios cl?sicos que hab?an dominado la teor?a econ?mica durante m?s de un siglo, por lo que era necesario dise?ar nuevas pol?ticas. Keynes escribi? sus opiniones en lo referente al empleo, teor?a monetaria, y el ciclo de comercio, entre otros temas. En su teor?a de la ocupaci?n keynes afirmaba que ?Para lograr el objetivo de ocupaci?n plena, se hace necesario una pol?tica publica de salarios flexibles. Introdujo dos conceptos ?oferta u demanda agregada? para explicar la relaci?n entre el nivel de ocupaci?n y el nivel de producci?n. El desempleo es causado por una demanda agregada total deficiente. Para cada nivel de producci?n hay un nivel correspondiente de ocupaci?n. Si la demanda total agregada no es suficiente para absorber la oferta total de trabajadores, habr? desempleo forzado. Al hablar de la demanda total agregada se refiere a la demanda de bienes y servicios para toda la econom?a. La demanda total agregada la dividi? Keynes en dos elementos: la demanda de bienes de consumo y la demanda de bienes de inversi?n. La fusi?n de esto dos elemento y su aplicaci?n al an?lisis de la teor?a de la renta nacional fue lo revolucionario de este pensamiento. Keynes hizo claro que la demanda por bienes de consumo y la demanda por bienes de inversi?n son funciones independientes y por esta raz?n puede surgir el problema de que la demanda total agregada sea inadecuada para mantener el nivel de producci?n de ocupaci?n plena. Keynes dec?a que la causa real del desempleo era el insuficiente gasto en inversi?n. ?l cre?a que la cantidad de trabajo entregada es diferente cuando el decremento en los salarios reales (el producto marginal del trabajo) se debe al decremento del salario monetario, que en el caso cuando se debe a un incremento del nivel de precios, asumiendo que el sa lario monetario se mantenga constante. Se puede sintetizar su aporte en el concepto de que cuando la demanda deviene transitoriamente m?s peque?a, ello puede

Complex SQL Benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Complex SQL Benefits - Research Paper Example (2) It would be very difficult to incorporate â€Å"Driver Performance by Month† in parallel with Month of Customer’s total shipments/weights in the Customer Summary Report, especially when different months appear in both tables. (3) A typical SQL Statement will have to be written determining/rating the drivers’ performance on the basis of # of manifests on time and/or delivered late. It involves calculation + IF and THEN conditions statements I understand that the Driver Table may be created on a need basis because the purpose of this table is to get the status of Drivers’ Performance, which is also being recorded/saved into the permanent Customer File. I feel â€Å"Driver Performance by Month† in the Customer File is against the concept of table normalization because the drivers’ performance is nothing to do in the Customer Table carrying customers’ transactions.

The history of Arab-Israeli conflict Was the Oslo peace agreement Essay

The history of Arab-Israeli conflict Was the Oslo peace agreement failure Why - Essay Example The 26 years of Israeli occupation were the period, preceding the signed Oslo agreement (usually called Oslo Accord). These 26 years are divided into the two different periods: the first period is called 'easy conquest'1. It was the period, during which Israel kept around 15,000 of military occupiers at the Palestinian territory. This number was drastically increased during the period of Intifada, and according to various estimates, the number of Israeli troops at that time was more than 180,000; but in the period of 1981-83, the new rules of governing Palestinian people were implemented, and the indirect ruling was replaced by the Israeli manpower, which had to govern Palestinians at each level. This was the beginning of perception, that Palestinians didn't feel free and safe on their territory anymore, and thus the need of peaceful resolution was becoming more and more evident. What we see at present - are the consequences of the flawed process of Oslo agreement, which has been bui lt in the wrong direction from the very beginning. We have here to understand, what were the backgrounds of such agreement, and why Palestinians have not accepted it as the means of finding a common solution to their problem, as through the literary sources reviewed, Palestinians are depicted as the victims of the unfair attitudes, stated in Oslo Accord. The consequ The flaws of Oslo Accord and its failure as a means of finding peaceful agreement The consequences - violent confrontation, disproportionally massive Israeli repression and widespread Palestinian rebellion followed by the great loss of life, the majority of which is also Palestinian,2 are the examples of the situations witnessing the final stage of Oslo process failure. This process is stated to be flawed from the very beginning. 'Oslo was designed to segregate the Palestinians in non-contiguous enclaves, surrounded by Israeli-controlled borders, with settlements and settlement roads punctuating and essentially violating the territories' integrity, expropriations and house demolitions proceeding inexorably through the Rabin, Peres, Netanyahu and Barak administrations along with the expansion and multiplication of settlements (200,000 Israeli Jews added to Jerusalem, 200,000 more in Gaza and the West Bank), military occupation continuing, and every tiny step taken toward Palestinian sovereignty -- including agreements to withdraw in minuscule, agreed-upon phases - - stymied, delayed, cancelled at Israel's will'.3 I suppose that Oslo process has displayed a number of serious flaws, each of which has contributed into its failure, and thus is to be considered separately. The first flaw of the Oslo Accord and the peace process in general was in the fact that this very process has presupposed long period of 'mini-withdrawals' of the Israeli military occupiers, but only in exchange of Palestinian 'silence'.4 The core of this flaw is in the suggestion and unreal idea that Palestine would easily give up its attempts to win its territory and thus Israeli would have free opportunity to continue its occupation; but this belief was absolutely unreal. The second flaw was in the fact, that Oslo agreement implied Palestinians had to prove to the Israeli state, that they could be trusted, in exchange for certain small rewards. 5 This idea was stated by Aruri (2000)6 as

Comparitve study of inter-personal relationship as potrayed in madame Essay

Comparitve study of inter-personal relationship as potrayed in madame bovary and siddhartha - Essay Example Due to her blind faith in the materialistic and fabricated relationships she overlooks the real love of Charles Bovary and gets deceived. For instance, she does not recognize the wrong intentions of Rodolphe, who used her to satisfy his sexual desires, and assumed that he loves her. Dr. Charles Bovary’s observation of reality is also impractical. He thinks that living means just to survive. As a result, he is deficient in interest, enthusiasm, strength and joy. He is so insensitive to his surroundings that he remains unaware of the obvious mistakes and relationships of Emma, Homais, Lheureux, and other characters. However, regardless of his unresponsive nature he possesses qualities like sincerity, faithfulness and honesty. On the other hand the character of Siddhartha is not in love with the materialistic world like Emma. He is instead in the search of spiritual love and considers finding this love his destiny. The character as portrayed by the author reaches limits to find t hat love in the story as he leaves behind many things in finding it. This essay would revolve around the two major characters in these novels (i.e. Siddhartha and Emma) and would analyze the relationships both have in the story in accordance to their nature. The relationships that they have with other characters would also be analyzed. It would also tell how both of them are different and similar to each other in their actions. Siddhartha is the novel whose major idea is that pleasure comes from spiritual peace. In the novel, the central character tries to find peace, which is at last attained after going through a number of different phases of life. The first phase is that of his childhood which he spent as an orthodox Brahmins child. In this period, he studies the scriptures and performs ritual sacrifice. In the second stage he follows Samanas and learns about thriftiness and self-discipline. The third stage lets him learn the

Salvador Dali Essay Example for Free

Salvador Dali Essay Salvadore Felipe Jacinto Dali Y Domenech was born on May 11, 1904 . in Figueras, Spain. He was a Spanish Surrealist painter and printmaker by trade. Dali is commonly regarded as having been â€Å"artistically influential for his explorations of subconscious imagery†. As an art student in Madrid and in Barcelona, Dali assimilated a vast number of artistic styles and displayed unusual technical facility as a painter. It was not until the late 1920s however, that two events brought about the development of his mature artistic style. The first of these was Dalis discovery of Sigmund Freuds writings on the erotic significance of subconscious imagery and the second was Dalis affiliation with the Paris Surrealists, a group of artists and writers who sought to establish the greater reality of mans subconscious over his reason. To bring up images from the depths of his subconscious mind, Dali began to introduce hallucinatory states in himself by a process he described as paranoiac critical. In essence, the paranoiac critical meant looking at one thing and seeing another. In my opinion, this is an extended version of the face seen in the fire. Heads turn into a distant city, a landscape resolves itself as a still life, inexplicable combinations are seen to lurk magically beneath the skin of the world and thus the foundation for much Dalis artistic philosophy is established. Once Dali hit on this method, his painting style matured with extraordinary rapidity, and from 1927 to 1937 he produced those paintings which made him the worlds best known Surrealist artist. Dali depicted a dream world in which commonplace objects are â€Å"juxtaposed, deformed, or otherwise metamorphosed in a bizarre and irrational fashion†. Dali portrayed these objects in meticulous, almost painfully realistic detail and usually placed them within bleak, sunlit landscapes that were reminiscent of his Catalonian homeland. Much of my research indicates that the most famous of these enigmatic images is probably The Persistence of Memory (commonly known as Soft Watches) which was painted in 1931. In this painting, limp, melting watches rest in an eerily calm landscape. Moving to Paris around 1928, Dali frequented the Cafe Cyrano, the headquarters of the Parisian surrealists, and in 1929, he first exhibited his own surrealist paintings. Dali continued to study the writings of Sigmund Freud and subsequently declared an ambition to systemize confusion. In addition to such paintings as The Persistence of Memory, other famous works such as The Sacrament of the Last Supper which was painted in 1955 and is currently on display at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., have become widely known as part of the definitive record of twentieth century art. In Dalis books, of which he wrote many himself, canvases, like The Persistence of Memory seem like looking down the wrong end of the telescope at a brilliant, clear, shrunken and poisoned world whose deep mannerist perspective and sharp patches of shadow invite the eye but not the body. I doubt whether one could imagine walking on that stretched, satiny beach among the oozing watches. This atmosphere of voyeurism lent force to Dalis obsessive imagery of impotence, of violence and of guilt. Even in his most extreme moments of anticlerical shock, however, research indicates that Dali remained a Spanish Catholic. He inherited from Spanish devotional art a paralyzing morbidity about flesh. He seemed to like anything that was not erect: running Camembert, soft watches, sagging loaves of flesh held up by crutches. Naturally all this was much more shocking fifty years ago than it is today: Dali was regularly denounced by Fascists and Stalinists alike as a decadent threat to youth. When he could no longer annoy either the bourgeoisie or the self- appointed guardians of the proletariat, he mortally offended the avant-garde by embracing Franco and the Pope, and was duly drummed out of the surrealist group for it Dalis reaction, natural in such an enfant terrible (approx. translation: terrible child), was to become more royalist than the King and more ostentatiously greedy than his Palm Beach and Hollywood patrons. If the net result was a tacky, phosphorescent caricature of Genius at Work, an embarrassment to most aficionados, it is still inconceivable to such eccentric art buffs that Dali the bad boy will ever be expelled from the pantheon of modern imagination. With the Spanish director, Luis Bunuel, Dali also made two surrealistic films. The first was, Un Chien Andalou ( French for An Andalusian dog) produced in 1928 and the latter was LAge Dor (The Golden Age) produced in 1930. Both of these films are commonly described as being grotesque but filled with highl y suggestive images. The production of Dalis art and films was both complimented and further popularized by his maintenance of in image similar to the one reflected in his works;: His eccentric appearance consisting ordinarily of a flowing cape, handlebar mustache, and popping eyes helped to make Salvadore Dali recognized worldwide. In the late 1930s, Dali switched to painting in a more academic style under the influence of the Renaissance painter Raphael, and as a consequence, that was another example of why he was expelled from the Surrealist movement. In the later years of his life, Dali spent the majority of his time designing theater sets, interiors of fashionable shops, and jewelry as well as exhibiting his genius for flamboyant self-promotional stunts in the United States, where he lived from 1940 to 1955. In the period from 1950 to 1970, Dali painted many works with religious themes, though he continued to explore erotic subjects, to represent childhood memories, and to use themes centering on his wife, Gala. Notwithstanding their technical accomplishments, these later paintings are apparently not as highly regarded as the artists earlier works. Salvadore Dali died on January 3, 1989 in Figueras and is now often regarded as one the greatest twentieth century artists yet. With some artists, death is only a ratification of decay: it releases them from the humiliations of their late careers. So it was with Salvador Dali, who when he died at the age of 84 was perhaps the archetype of that 20th century phenomenon, the embarrassing Genius. He was the first modern artist to exploit fully the mechanism of publicity. He appropriated the idea of the artist as demonic obsessive. He dealt with the question Why should your fantasies matter?. Clearly, Salvadore Dali utilized communication and all forms of contemporary imagery to make not only his works, but himself into a legend. Bibliography: Ades, Dawn, Dali and Surrealism (1982); Dali, S.,Salvador Dali: Diary of a Genius (1990); De Liano, I. G., Dali (1984); Descharnes, Robert, Dali (1984); Etherington-Smith, M., The Persistence of Memory: A Biography of Salvador Dali (1993). Various internet sites

Latvian Education: Past and Present :: Essays Papers

Latvian Education: Past and Present I. Introduction Imagine a seven year old boy sitting in class. He is anxious for the day to begin and anticipates its end. Finally, his teacher starts to speak about what will be happening in class that day. The boy looks up in wonderment and confusion. His teacher is speaking in a completely different language than the boy is accustomed to. This little boy is growing up in Latvia, but the language he has grown up learning, in his home, is Russian. The boy, having always heard both languages while growing up, eventually pieced together what the teacher was saying; and later realizes he is going to have to adapt to a new language. This seems to be a common occurrence in Latvian schools. Because of Latvia’s history, back and forth, between Soviet and independent rule, a large population of Russians have migrated, or been moved to, Latvia. This has had a large impact on the way education works in Latvia. The Eastern Union (EU) has also, recently, started to make a difference in the way education works in Latvia. II. History a. Communist After reading through a brief history of Latvia, in the World Book, I found that Latvia was first recognized as an independent state in 1920, even though it had claimed independence just after World War I ended in November of 1918. Two years after their claim, Latvia developed a democratic government which broke up wealthy estates and separated the land among the people. After the Great Depression, in 1936, the president took more power and gave less to the political parties. Shortly after World War II started the Soviets had an agreement with Latvia to build Russian military bases in their country. The Russians eventually seized power and made Latvia part of the Soviet Union and then created a Communist government. Soon after that, in 1941, the German soldiers invaded Latvia and stayed there until 1944 when the Soviets recaptured it. While the Russians resided and ruled in Latvia they created a powerful Communist government which controlled all land and industry, was the only legal politician party, and banned the Latvian flag and national anthem. Latvian Education: Past and Present :: Essays Papers Latvian Education: Past and Present I. Introduction Imagine a seven year old boy sitting in class. He is anxious for the day to begin and anticipates its end. Finally, his teacher starts to speak about what will be happening in class that day. The boy looks up in wonderment and confusion. His teacher is speaking in a completely different language than the boy is accustomed to. This little boy is growing up in Latvia, but the language he has grown up learning, in his home, is Russian. The boy, having always heard both languages while growing up, eventually pieced together what the teacher was saying; and later realizes he is going to have to adapt to a new language. This seems to be a common occurrence in Latvian schools. Because of Latvia’s history, back and forth, between Soviet and independent rule, a large population of Russians have migrated, or been moved to, Latvia. This has had a large impact on the way education works in Latvia. The Eastern Union (EU) has also, recently, started to make a difference in the way education works in Latvia. II. History a. Communist After reading through a brief history of Latvia, in the World Book, I found that Latvia was first recognized as an independent state in 1920, even though it had claimed independence just after World War I ended in November of 1918. Two years after their claim, Latvia developed a democratic government which broke up wealthy estates and separated the land among the people. After the Great Depression, in 1936, the president took more power and gave less to the political parties. Shortly after World War II started the Soviets had an agreement with Latvia to build Russian military bases in their country. The Russians eventually seized power and made Latvia part of the Soviet Union and then created a Communist government. Soon after that, in 1941, the German soldiers invaded Latvia and stayed there until 1944 when the Soviets recaptured it. While the Russians resided and ruled in Latvia they created a powerful Communist government which controlled all land and industry, was the only legal politician party, and banned the Latvian flag and national anthem.

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 93-97

CHAPTER 93 London's Opus Dei Centre is a modest brick building at 5 Orme Court, overlooking the North Walk at Kensington Gardens. Silas had never been here, but he felt a rising sense of refuge and asylum as he approached the building on foot. Despite the rain, Remy had dropped him off a short distance away in order to keep the limousine off the main streets. Silas didn't mind the walk. The rain was cleansing. At Remy's suggestion, Silas had wiped down his gun and disposed of it through a sewer grate. He was glad to get rid of it. He felt lighter. His legs still ached from being bound all that time, but Silas had endured far greater pain. He wondered, though, about Teabing, whom Remy had left bound in the back of the limousine. The Briton certainly had to be feeling the pain by now. â€Å"What will you do with him?† Silas had asked Remy as they drove over here. Remy had shrugged. â€Å"That is a decision for the Teacher.† There was an odd finality in his tone. Now, as Silas approached the Opus Dei building, the rain began to fall harder, soaking his heavy robe, stinging the wounds of the day before. He was ready to leave behind the sins of the last twenty-four hours and purge his soul. His work was done. Moving across a small courtyard to the front door, Silas was not surprised to find the door unlocked. He opened it and stepped into the minimalist foyer. A muted electronic chime sounded upstairs as Silas stepped onto the carpet. The bell was a common feature in these halls where the residents spent most of the day in their rooms in prayer. Silas could hear movement above on the creaky wood floors. A man in a cloak came downstairs. â€Å"May I help you?† He had kind eyes that seemed not even to register Silas's startling physical appearance. â€Å"Thank you. My name is Silas. I am an Opus Dei numerary.† â€Å"American?† Silas nodded. â€Å"I am in town only for the day. Might I rest here?† â€Å"You need not even ask. There are two empty rooms on the third floor. Shall I bring you some tea and bread?† â€Å"Thank you.† Silas was famished. Silas went upstairs to a modest room with a window, where he took off his wet robe and knelt down to pray in his undergarments. He heard his host come up and lay a tray outside his door. Silas finished his prayers, ate his food, and lay down to sleep. Three stories below, a phone was ringing. The Opus Dei numerary who had welcomed Silas answered the line. â€Å"This is the London police,† the caller said. â€Å"We are trying to find an albino monk. We've had a tip-off that he might be there. Have you seen him?† The numerary was startled. â€Å"Yes, he is here. Is something wrong?† â€Å"He is there now?† â€Å"Yes, upstairs praying. What is going on?† â€Å"Leave him precisely where he is,† the officer commanded. â€Å"Don't say a word to anyone. I'm sending officers over right away.† CHAPTER 94 St. James's Park is a sea of green in the middle of London, a public park bordering the palaces of Westminster, Buckingham, and St. James's. Once enclosed by King Henry VIII and stocked with deer for the hunt, St. James's Park is now open to the public. On sunny afternoons, Londoners picnic beneath the willows and feed the pond's resident pelicans, whose ancestors were a gift to Charles II from the Russian ambassador. The Teacher saw no pelicans today. The stormy weather had brought instead seagulls from the ocean. The lawns were covered with them – hundreds of white bodies all facing the same direction, patiently riding out the damp wind. Despite the morning fog, the park afforded splendid views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Gazing across the sloping lawns, past the duck pond and the delicate silhouettes of the weeping willows, the Teacher could see the spires of the building that housed the knight's tomb – the real reason he had told Remy to come to this spot. As the Teacher approached the front passenger door of the parked limousine, Remy leaned across and opened the door. The Teacher paused outside, taking a pull from the flask of cognac he was carrying. Then, dabbing his mouth, he slid in beside Remy and closed the door. Remy held up the keystone like a trophy. â€Å"It was almost lost.† â€Å"You have done well,† the Teacher said. â€Å"We have done well,† Remy replied, laying the keystone in the Teacher's eager hands. The Teacher admired it a long moment, smiling. â€Å"And the gun? You wiped it down?† â€Å"Back in the glove box where I found it.† â€Å"Excellent.† The Teacher took another drink of cognac and handed the flask to Remy. â€Å"Let's toast our success. The end is near.† Remy accepted the bottle gratefully. The cognac tasted salty, but Remy didn't care. He and the Teacher were truly partners now. He could feel himself ascending to a higher station in life. I will never be a servant again.As Remy gazed down the embankment at the duck pond below, Chateau Villette seemed miles away. Taking another swig from the flask, Remy could feel the cognac warming his blood. The warmth in Remy's throat, however, mutated quickly to an uncomfortable heat. Loosening his bow tie, Remy tasted an unpleasant grittiness and handed the flask back to the Teacher. â€Å"I've probably had enough,† he managed, weakly. Taking the flask, the Teacher said,† Remy, as you are aware, you are the only one who knows my face. I placed enormous trust in you.† â€Å"Yes,† he said, feeling feverish as he loosened his tie further. â€Å"And your identity shall go with me to the grave.† The Teacher was silent a long moment. â€Å"I believe you.† Pocketing the flask and the keystone, the Teacher reached for the glove box and pulled out the tiny Medusa revolver. For an instant, Remy felt a surge of fear, but the Teacher simply slipped it in his trousers pocket. What is he doing? Remy felt himself sweating suddenly. â€Å"I know I promised you freedom,† the Teacher said, his voice now sounding regretful. â€Å"But considering your circumstances, this is the best I can do.† The swelling in Remy's throat came on like an earthquake, and he lurched against the steering column, grabbing his throat and tasting vomit in his narrowing esophagus. He let out a muted croak of a scream, not even loud enough to be heard outside the car. The saltiness in the cognac now registered. I'm being murdered! Incredulous, Remy turned to see the Teacher sitting calmly beside him, staring straight ahead out the windshield. Remy's eyesight blurred, and he gasped for breath. I made everything possible for him! How could he do this! Whether the Teacher had intended to kill Remy all along or whether it had been Remy's actions in the Temple Church that had made the Teacher lose faith, Remy would never know. Terror and rage coursed through him now. Remy tried to lunge for the Teacher, but his stiffening body could barely move. I trusted you with everything! Remy tried to lift his clenched fists to blow the horn, but instead he slipped sideways, rolling onto the seat, lying on his side beside the Teacher, clutching at his throat. The rain fell harder now. Remy could no longer see, but he could sense his oxygen-deprived brain straining to cling to his last faint shreds of lucidity. As his world slowly went black, Remy Legaludec could have sworn he heard the sounds of the soft Riviera surf. The Teacher stepped from the limousine, pleased to see that nobody was looking in his direction. Ihad no choice, he told himself, surprised how little remorse he felt for what he had just done. Remy sealed his own fate.The Teacher had feared all along that Remy might need to be eliminated when the mission was complete, but by brazenly showing himself in the Temple Church, Remy had accelerated the necessity dramatically. Robert Langdon's unexpected visit to Chateau Villette had brought the Teacher both a fortuitous windfall and an intricate dilemma. Langdon had delivered the keystone directly to the heart of the operation, which was a pleasant surprise, and yet he had brought the police on his tail. Remy's prints were all over Chateau Villette, as well as in the barn's listening post, where Remy had carried out the surveillance. The Teacher was grateful he had taken so much care in preventing any ties between Remy's activities and his own. Nobody could implicate the Teacher unless Rem y talked, and that was no longer a concern. One more loose end to tie up here, the Teacher thought, moving now toward the rear door of the limousine. The police will have no idea what happened†¦and no living witness left to tell them.Glancing around to ensure nobody was watching, he pulled open the door and climbed into the spacious rear compartment. Minutes later, the Teacher was crossing St. James's Park. Only two people now remain.Langdonand Neveu.They were more complicated. But manageable. At the moment, however, the Teacher had the cryptex to attend to. Gazing triumphantly across the park, he could see his destination. In London lies a knight a Pope interred.As soon as the Teacher had heard the poem, he had known the answer. Even so, that the others had not figured it out was not surprising. I have an unfair advantage.Having listened to Sauniere's conversations for months now, the Teacher had heard the Grand Master mention this famous knight on occasion, expressing esteem almost matching that he held for Da Vinci. The poem's reference to the knight was brutally simple once one saw it – a credit to Sauniere's wit – and yet how this tomb would reveal the final password was still a mystery. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb. The Teacher vaguely recalled photos of the famous tomb and, in particular, its most distinguishing feature. A magnificent orb.The huge sphere mounted atop the tomb was almost as large as the tomb itself. The presence of the orb seemed both encouraging and troubling to the Teacher. On one hand, it felt like a signpost, and yet, according to the poem, the missing piece of the puzzle was an orb that ought to be on his tomb†¦ not one that was already there. He was counting on his closer inspection of the tomb to unveil the answer. The rain was getting heavier now, and he tucked the cryptex deep in his right-hand pocket to protect it from the dampness. He kept the tiny Medusa revolver in his left, out of sight. Within minutes, he was stepping into the quiet sanctuary of London's grandest nine-hundred-year-old building. Just as the Teacher was stepping out of the rain, Bishop Aringarosa was stepping into it. On the rainy tarmac at Biggin Hill Executive Airport, Aringarosa emerged from his cramped plane, bundling his cassock against the cold damp. He had hoped to be greeted by Captain Fache. Instead a young British police officer approached with an umbrella. â€Å"Bishop Aringarosa? Captain Fache had to leave. He asked me to look after you. He suggested I take you to Scotland Yard. He thought it would be safest.† Safest? Aringarosa looked down at the heavy briefcase of Vatican bonds clutched in his hand. He had almost forgotten. â€Å"Yes, thank you.† Aringarosa climbed into the police car, wondering where Silas could be. Minutes later, the police scanner crackled with the answer. 5 Orme Court. Aringarosa recognized the address instantly. The Opus Dei Centre in London. He spun to the driver. â€Å"Take me there at once!† CHAPTER 95 Langdon's eyes had not left the computer screen since the search began. Five minutes. Only two hits. Both irrelevant. He was starting to get worried. Pamela Gettum was in the adjoining room, preparing hot drinks. Langdon and Sophie had inquired unwisely if there might be some coffee brewing alongside the tea Gettum had offered, and from the sound of the microwave beeps in the next room, Langdon suspected their request was about to be rewarded with instant Nescafe. Finally, the computer pinged happily. â€Å"Sounds like you got another,† Gettum called from the next room. â€Å"What's the title?† Langdon eyed the screen. Grail Allegory in Medieval Literature: A Treatise on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. â€Å"Allegory of the Green Knight,† he called back. â€Å"No good,† Gettum said. â€Å"Not many mythological green giants buried in London.† Langdon and Sophie sat patiently in front of the screen and waited through two more dubious returns. When the computer pinged again, though, the offering was unexpected. DIE OPERN VON RICHARD WAGNER â€Å"The operas of Wagner?† Sophie asked. Gettum peeked back in the doorway, holding a packet of instant coffee. â€Å"That seems like a strange match. Was Wagner a knight?† â€Å"No,† Langdon said, feeling a sudden intrigue. â€Å"But he was a well-known Freemason.† Along withMozart, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Gershwin, Houdini, and Disney.Volumes had been written about the ties between the Masons and the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, and the Holy Grail. â€Å"I want to look at this one. How do I see the full text?† â€Å"You don't want the full text,† Gettum called. â€Å"Click on the hypertext title. The computer will display your keyword hits along with mono prelogs and triple postlogs for context.† Langdon had no idea what she had just said, but he clicked anyway. A new window popped up. †¦ mythological knight named Parsifal who†¦ †¦ metaphorical Grail quest that arguably†¦ †¦ the LondonPhilharmonic in 1855†¦ Rebecca Pope's opera anthology† Diva's†¦ †¦ Wagner's tomb in Bayreuth, Germany†¦ â€Å"Wrong Pope,† Langdon said, disappointed. Even so, he was amazed by the system's ease of use. The keywords with context were enough to remind him that Wagner's opera Parsifal was a tribute to Mary Magdalene and the bloodline of Jesus Christ, told through the story of a young knight on a quest for truth. â€Å"Just be patient,† Gettum urged. â€Å"It's a numbers game. Let the machine run.† Over the next few minutes, the computer returned several more Grail references, including a text about troubadours – France's famous wandering minstrels. Langdon knew it was no coincidence that the word minstrel and minister shared an etymological root. The troubadours were the traveling servants or† ministers† of the Church of Mary Magdalene, using music to disseminate the story of the sacred feminine among the common folk. To this day, the troubadours sang songs extolling the virtues of† our Lady† – a mysterious and beautiful woman to whom they pledged themselves forever. Eagerly, he checked the hypertext but found nothing. The computer pinged again. KNIGHTS, KNAVES, POPES, AND PENTACLES: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY GRAIL THROUGH TAROT â€Å"Not surprising,† Langdon said to Sophie. â€Å"Some of our keywords have the same names as individual cards.† He reached for the mouse to click on a hyperlink. â€Å"I'm not sure if your grandfather ever mentioned it when you played Tarot with him, Sophie, but this game is a ‘flash- card catechism' into the story of the Lost Bride and her subjugation by the evil Church.† Sophie eyed him, looking incredulous. â€Å"I had no idea.† â€Å"That's the point. By teaching through a metaphorical game, the followers of the Grail disguised their message from the watchful eye of the Church.† Langdon often wondered how many modern card players had any clue that their four suits – spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds – were Grail-related symbols that came directly from Tarot's four suits of swords, cups, scepters, and pentacles. Spades were Swords – The blade. Male. Hearts were Cups – The chalice. Feminine. Clubs were Scepters – The Royal Line. The flowering staff. Diamonds were Pentacles – The goddess. The sacred feminine. Four minutes later, as Langdon began feeling fearful they would not find what they had come for, the computer produced another hit. The Gravity of Genius: Biography of a Modern Knight. â€Å"Gravity of Genius?† Langdon called out to Gettum. â€Å"Bio of a modern knight?† Gettum stuck her head around the corner. â€Å"How modern? Please don't tell me it's your Sir Rudy Giuliani. Personally, I found that one a bit off the mark.† Langdon had his own qualms about the newly knighted Sir Mick Jagger, but this hardly seemed the moment to debate the politics of modern British knighthood. â€Å"Let's have a look.† Langdon summoned up the hypertext keywords. †¦ honorable knight, Sir Isaac Newton†¦ †¦ in Londonin 1727 and†¦ †¦ his tomb in Westminster Abbey†¦ †¦ Alexander Pope, friend and colleague†¦ â€Å"I guess ‘modern' is a relative term,† Sophie called to Gettum. â€Å"It's an old book. About Sir Isaac Newton.† Gettum shook her head in the doorway. â€Å"No good. Newton was buried in Westminster Abbey, the seat of English Protestantism. There's no way a Catholic Pope was present. Cream and sugar?† Sophie nodded. Gettum waited. â€Å"Robert?† Langdon's heart was hammering. He pulled his eyes from the screen and stood up. â€Å"Sir Isaac Newton is our knight.† Sophie remained seated. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Newton is buried in London,† Langdon said. â€Å"His labors produced new sciences that incurred the wrath of the Church. And he was a Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. What more could we want?† â€Å"What more?† Sophie pointed to the poem. â€Å"How about a knight a Pope interred? You heard Ms. Gettum. Newton was not buried by a Catholic Pope.† Langdon reached for the mouse. â€Å"Who said anything about a Catholic Pope?† He clicked on the† Pope† hyperlink, and the complete sentence appeared. Sir Isaac Newton's burial, attended by kings and nobles, was presided over by Alexander Pope, friend and colleague, who gave a stirring eulogy before sprinkling dirt on the tomb. Langdon looked at Sophie. â€Å"We had the correct Pope on our second hit. Alexander.† He paused. â€Å"A. Pope.† In London lies a knight A. Pope interred. Sophie stood up, looking stunned. Jacques Sauniere, the master of double-entendres, had proven once again that he was a frighteningly clever man. CHAPTER 96 Silas awoke with a start. He had no idea what had awoken him or how long he had been asleep. Was I dreaming? Sitting up now on his straw mat, he listened to the quiet breathing of the Opus Dei residence hall, the stillness textured only by the soft murmurs of someone praying aloud in a room below him. These were familiar sounds and should have comforted him. And yet he felt a sudden and unexpected wariness. Standing, wearing only his undergarments, Silas walked to the window. Was I followed? The courtyard below was deserted, exactly as he had seen it when he entered. He listened. Silence. Sowhy am I uneasy? Long ago Silas had learned to trust his intuition. Intuition had kept him alive as a child on the streets of Marseilles long before prison†¦ long before he was born again by the hand of Bishop Aringarosa. Peering out the window, he now saw the faint outline of a car through the hedge. On the car's roof was a police siren. A floorboard creaked in the hallway. A door latch moved. Silas reacted on instinct, surging across the room and sliding to a stop just behind the door as it crashed open. The first police officer stormed through, swinging his gun left then right at what appeared an empty room. Before he realized where Silas was, Silas had thrown his shoulder into the door, crushing a second officer as he came through. As the first officer wheeled to shoot, Silas dove for his legs. The gun went off, the bullet sailing above Silas's head, just as he connected with the officer's shins, driving his legs out from under him, and sending the man down, his head hitting the floor. The second officer staggered to his feet in the doorway, and Silas drove a knee into his groin, then went clambering over the writhing body into the hall. Almost naked, Silas hurled his pale body down the staircase. He knew he had been betrayed, but by whom? When he reached the foyer, more officers were surging through the front door. Silas turned the other way and dashed deeper into the residence hall. The women's entrance.Every Opus Dei building has one.Winding down narrow hallways, Silas snaked through a kitchen, past terrified workers, who left to avoid the naked albino as he knocked over bowls and silverware, bursting into a dark hallway near the boiler room. He now saw the door he sought, an exit light gleaming at the end. Running full speed through the door out into the rain, Silas leapt off the low landing, not seeing the officer coming the other way until it was too late. The two men collided, Silas's broad, naked shoulder grinding into the man's sternum with crushing force. He drove the officer backward onto the pavement, landing hard on top of him. The officer's gun clattered away. Silas could hear men running down the hall shouting. Rolling, he grabbed the loose gun just as the officers emerged. A shot rang out on the stairs, and Silas felt a searing pain below his ribs. Filled with rage, he opened fire at all three officers, their blood spraying. A dark shadow loomed behind, coming out of nowhere. The angry hands that grabbed at his bare shoulders felt as if they were infused with the power of the devil himself. The man roared in his ear. SILAS, NO! Silas spun and fired. Their eyes met. Silas was already screaming in horror as Bishop Aringarosa fell. CHAPTER 97 More than three thousand people are entombed or enshrined within Westminster Abbey. The colossal stone interior burgeons with the remains of kings, statesmen, scientists, poets, and musicians. Their tombs, packed into every last niche and alcove, range in grandeur from the most regal of mausoleums – that of Queen Elizabeth I, whose canopied sarcophagus inhabits its own private, apsidal chapel – down to the most modest etched floor tiles whose inscriptions have worn away with centuries of foot traffic, leaving it to one's imagination whose relics might lie below the tile in the undercroft. Designed in the style of the great cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres, and Canterbury, Westminster Abbey is considered neither cathedral nor parish church. It bears the classification of royal peculiar, subject only to the Sovereign. Since hosting the coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day in 1066, the dazzling sanctuary has witnessed an endless procession of royal ceremonies and affairs of state – from the canonization of Edward the Confessor, to the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, to the funerals of Henry V, Queen Elizabeth I, and Lady Diana. Even so, Robert Langdon currently felt no interest in any of the abbey's ancient history, save one event – the funeral of the British knight Sir Isaac Newton. In London lies a knight a Pope interred. Hurrying through the grand portico on the north transept, Langdon and Sophie were met by guards who politely ushered them through the abbey's newest addition – a large walk-through metal detector – now present in most historic buildings in London. They both passed through without setting off the alarm and continued to the abbey entrance. Stepping across the threshold into Westminster Abbey, Langdon felt the outside world evaporate with a sudden hush. No rumble of traffic. No hiss of rain. Just a deafening silence, which seemed to reverberate back and forth as if the building were whispering to itself. Langdon's and Sophie's eyes, like those of almost every visitor, shifted immediately skyward, where the abbey's great abyss seemed to explode overhead. Gray stone columns ascended like redwoods into the shadows, arching gracefully over dizzying expanses, and then shooting back down to the stone floor. Before them, the wide alley of the north transept stretched out like a deep canyon, flanked by sheer cliffs of stained glass. On sunny days, the abbey floor was a prismatic patchwork of light. Today, the rain and darkness gave this massive hollow a wraithlike aura†¦ more like that of the crypt it truly was. â€Å"It's practically empty,† Sophie whispered. Langdon felt disappointed. He had hoped for a lot more people. A more public place.Their earlier experience in the deserted Temple Church was not one Langdon wanted to repeat. He had been anticipating a certain feeling of security in the popular tourist destination, but Langdon's recollections of bustling throngs in a well-lit abbey had been formed during the peak summer tourist season. Today was a rainy April morning. Rather than crowds and shimmering stained glass, all Langdon saw was acres of desolate floor and shadowy, empty alcoves. â€Å"We passed through metal detectors,† Sophie reminded, apparently sensing Langdon's apprehension. â€Å"If anyone is in here, they can't be armed.† Langdon nodded but still felt circumspect. He had wanted to bring the London police with them, but Sophie's fears of who might be involved put a damper on any contact with the authorities. We need to recover the cryptex, Sophie had insisted. It is the key to everything. She was right, of course. The key to getting Leigh back alive. The key to finding the Holy Grail. The key to learning who is behind this. Unfortunately, their only chance to recover the keystone seemed to be here and now†¦ at the tomb of Isaac Newton. Whoever held the cryptex would have to pay a visit to the tomb to decipher the final clue, and if they had not already come and gone, Sophie and Langdon intended to intercept them. Striding toward the left wall to get out of the open, they moved into an obscure side aisle behind a row of pilasters. Langdon couldn't shake the image of Leigh Teabing being held captive, probably tied up in the back of his own limousine. Whoever had ordered the top Priory members killed would not hesitate to eliminate others who stood in the way. It seemed a cruel irony that Teabing – a modern British knight – was a hostage in the search for his own countryman, Sir Isaac Newton. â€Å"Which way is it?† Sophie asked, looking around. The tomb.Langdon had no idea. â€Å"We should find a docent and ask.† Langdon knew better than to wander aimlessly in here. Westminster Abbey was a tangled warren of mausoleums, perimeter chambers, and walk-in burial niches. Like the Louvre's Grand Gallery, it had a lone point of entry – the door through which they had just passed – easy to find your way in, but impossible to find your way out. A literal tourist trap, one of Langdon's befuddled colleagues had called it. Keeping architectural tradition, the abbey was laid out in the shape of a giant crucifix. Unlike most churches, however, it had its entrance on the side, rather than the standard rear of the church via the narthex at the bottom of the nave. Moreover, the abbey had a series of sprawling cloisters attached. One false step through the wrong archway, and a visitor was lost in a labyrinth of outdoor passageways surrounded by high walls. â€Å"Docents wear crimson robes,† Langdon said, approaching the center of the church. Peering obliquely across the towering gilded altar to the far end of the south transept, Langdon saw several people crawling on their hands and knees. This prostrate pilgrimage was a common occurrence in Poets' Corner, although it was far less holy than it appeared. Tourists doing grave rubbings. â€Å"I don't see any docents,† Sophie said. â€Å"Maybe we can find the tomb on our own?† Without a word, Langdon led her another few steps to the center of the abbey and pointed to the right. Sophie drew a startled breath as she looked down the length of the abbey's nave, the full magnitude of the building now visible. â€Å"Aah,† she said. â€Å"Let's find a docent.† At that moment, a hundred yards down the nave, out of sight behind the choir screen, the stately tomb of Sir Isaac Newton had a lone visitor. The Teacher had been scrutinizing the monument for ten minutes now. Newton's tomb consisted of a massive black-marble sarcophagus on which reclined the sculpted form of Sir Isaac Newton, wearing classical costume, and leaning proudly against a stack of his own books – Divinity, Chronology, Opticks, and Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. At Newton's feet stood two winged boys holding a scroll. Behind Newton's recumbent body rosean austere pyramid. Although the pyramid itself seemed an oddity, it was the giant shape mounted halfway up the pyramid that most intrigued the Teacher. An orb. The Teacher pondered Sauniere's beguiling riddle. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb.The massive orb protruding from the face of the pyramid was carved in basso-relievo and depicted allkinds of heavenly bodies – constellations, signs of the zodiac, comets, stars, and planets. Above it, the image of the Goddess of Astronomy beneath a field of stars. Countless orbs. The Teacher had been convinced that once he found the tomb, discerning the missing orb would be easy. Now he was not so sure. He was gazing at a complicated map of the heavens. Was there a missing planet? Had some astronomical orb been omitted from a constellation? He had no idea. Even so, the Teacher could not help but suspect that the solution would be ingeniously clean and simple – â€Å"a knight a pope interred.† What orb am I looking for? Certainly, an advanced knowledge of astrophysics was not a prerequisite for finding the Holy Grail, was it? It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb. The Teacher's concentration was broken by several approaching tourists. He slipped the cryptex back in his pocket and watched warily as the visitors went to a nearby table, left a donation in the cup, and restocked on the complimentary grave-rubbing supplies set out by the abbey. Armed with fresh charcoal pencils and large sheets of heavy paper, they headed off toward the front of the abbey, probably to the popular Poets' Corner to pay their respects to Chaucer, Tennyson, and Dickens by rubbing furiously on their graves. Alone again, he stepped closer to the tomb, scanning it from bottom to top. He began with the clawed feet beneath the sarcophagus, moved upward past Newton, past his books on science, past the two boys with their mathematical scroll, up the face of the pyramid to the giant orb with its constellations, and finally up to the niche's star-filled canopy. What orb ought to be here†¦and yet is missing? He touched the cryptex in his pocket as if he could somehow divine the answer from Sauniere's crafted marble. Only five letters separate me from the Grail. Pacing now near the corner of the choir screen, he took a deep breath and glanced up the long nave toward the main altar in the distance. His gaze dropped from the gilded altar down to the bright crimson robe of an abbey docent who was being waved over by two very familiar individuals. Langdon and Neveu. Calmly, the Teacher moved two steps back behind the choir screen. That was fast.He had anticipated Langdon and Sophie would eventually decipher the poem's meaning and come to Newton's tomb, but this was sooner than he had imagined. Taking a deep breath, the Teacher considered his options. He had grown accustomed to dealing with surprises. I am holding the cryptex. Reaching down to his pocket, he touched the second object that gave him his confidence: the Medusa revolver. As expected, the abbey's metal detectors had blared as the Teacher passed through with the concealed gun. Also as expected, the guards had backed off at once when the Teacher glared indignantly and flashed his identification card. Official rank always commanded the proper respect. Although initially the Teacher had hoped to solve the cryptex alone and avoid any further complications, he now sensed that the arrival of Langdon and Neveu was actually a welcome development. Considering the lack of success he was having with the ‘orb' reference, he might be able to use their expertise. After all, if Langdon had deciphered the poem to find the tomb, there was a reasonable chance he also knew something about the orb. And if Langdon knew the password, then it was just a matter of applying the right pressure. Not here, of course.Somewhere private. The Teacher recalled a small announcement sign he had seen on his way into the abbey. Immediately he knew the perfect place to lure them. The only question now†¦ what to use as bait.