A day without a mexican Essay

With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, the border dividing the Mexican people was formed. The Mexican border means various things to different people. To date, 600 miles of border wall has already been built. This wall would extend from California, to El Paso, to the valley. The first reason given by the government for construction of the wall was to prevent terrorist attacks, the next was to keep illegal Mexicans out, and the most current one is to combat the drug smuggling into the United States. For some Mexicans and Mexican Americans, the border poses threats, and for others, it establishes possibilities for oneself and one’s family. The border industrialization program, which began the 1970s, increased significantly from its previous conditions. Migration to border towns became highly prevalent. Border cities led to population growth and, simultaneously, high unemployment rates. In reaction, government officials started the maquilladora program. Maquillas (from the Spanish maquillar, ‘to make up’) are the giant sweatshops of the global economy, where armies of poor women are put to work to assemble goods for export. See more: Unemployment – problems and solutions essay The supply of women is so great that these women are treated with no value. Border industrialization began to rise and power companies such as Samsung and RCA, as evident in the movie, Maquilapolis (2006) by Vicky Funari and Sergio de la Torre, by always having lines of women ready and willing to work. Mexican government officials viewed the Maquiladora Program in a positive light, claiming it to be â€Å"an integral part of Mexico’s strategy for development. †[1] The movie depicts the maquiladora workers in Tijuana, Mexico to balance life working in these factories with their struggle for justice in the system that governs their place of work. This reiterates how machismo affected gender relations in Mexico and how woman are devalued. These maquiladoras are good because of the labor they give to Mexican citizens. However, it’s not fair for the low wages and cruelties taken on by the employees in these factories. Unsanitary and dangerous factory conditions pose threats to these women’s lives each day. The women are looking for the means of life and survival. They face jobless times, so they are forced to find jobs in labor. Despite the conditions these women have been subjected to, they still continue to remain hopeful. Senorita Extraviada (2001) is a documentary by Lourdes Portillo about the hundreds of unsolved murders of young women that have occurred over the past 10 years in Juarez, Mexico—the Mexican border city across the Rio Grande from El Paso. The Coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs) for Women (1994-2000) was created by female activists; their main aim behind the coalition was to change the cultural, economic, and political context of gendered violence in the city. This coalition organized events such as marches, press conferences, and domestic and international press was prevalent. There were many challenges against this coalition: it was the city’s first ever cross-class women’s political organization and the city’s first feminist-oriented political coalition. An external attack began to form on the Coalition. Many â€Å"elite† political and economic leaders argued that the violence was â€Å"normal† for Juarez. They argued that many of these women knew what they were doing—living the â€Å"doble vida† (double life) as factory workers during the day and prostitutes by night. Many asserted it was a recycled discourse of female trouble. The notion of these â€Å"public women† mimicked the negative talk surrounding the prostitutes as women who â€Å"contaminated† all associated with her from family, community, and nation. A â€Å"public woman† was regarded as an illegitimate citizen. Government authorities used this as a way to dismiss the influx of crimes and blame the women for the surge of violence in Juarez. Alejandro Lugo presents an analysis of the social dimensions along the border from color hierarchies to the notions of borderlands. He suggests that border crossings are â€Å"constituted by ‘inspection stations’ which inspect, monitor, and survey what goes in and out in the name of class, race, and nation. †[2] He asserts that the term ‘border crossings’ has become an exceedingly hopeful phrase. Lugo further claims that people are, indeed, afraid to cross these borders. There are a few reasons for that. Those who have legal residence in the U. S. , who are light-skinned, and those who speak English, cross borders without much concern. However, those are not American citizens, who are dark-skinned, and who don’t speak English face tough circumstances. As Lugo suggests, â€Å"while borderlands implies multiple sides, ‘border’ implies two sides. †[3] The division between the United States and Mexico is ever-present, separating those who are residents and those who aspire to live the American dream to better themselves and their family. Violence is being exercised against Mexicans at border crossings. The Border Patrol continues to isolate those who do not have legal residence and force these Mexicans back to where they supposedly ‘belong. ’ There is no in-between. As described by Lugo, many Border Patrol agents possess no acceptance for uncertainty. You must prove you belong or you’re forced back to the other side. This border symbolizes such positive things for many hopefuls seeking freedom, work, opportunity, however, at the same time, is a complete, unwelcoming division. Color hierarchies exhibit this discrimination against many dark-skinned Mexicans who are forced out of the U. S. by their own Mexican American people along the border. The border transforms itself. As evident of this border transformation is the drug smuggling. In a recent article, â€Å"Drug smugglers from Mexico move into NM town,† the border town of Columbus, NM has seen an influx of fancy cars with nice rims and a boom in the housing market. Many of these drug smugglers have fled from Palomas, Mexico where the Mexican army had previously been stationed. According to some residents, such as Maria Gutierrez, â€Å"The problem is in Palomas. It’s serene here†[4] Many have refused to come to terms that crime is starting to flood their town. This also alludes to the border transformation—not just a sign of hope to those who seek to cross it, but, now, a means of making big money for some. The Columbus police department has faced its share of â€Å"bad† cops within the force, yet the new appointment of police chief, Angelo Vega, is meant to restructure things within the town. However, even some residents believe that it would be impossible for this town to survive without illegal money flowing in. Not only is violence witnessed between Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but also amongst Caucasians. Racial injustice continues to exist to this day. Similar to the story of Esequiel Hernandez, the 18-year-old U. S. high school student killed on May 20, 1997 by Marines along the US–Mexico border in Redford, Texas, Luis Ramirez was recently murdered by two Anglo males in Pennsylvania. Ramirez, a 25-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant, was assaulted by â€Å"a gang of drunken white teenagers motivated by a dislike of the growing Hispanic population in their small coal town of Shenandoah. †[5] Both the Marines and the two men accused of this crime were acquitted of all charges. These types of racial tensions exhibit the racial hierarchies in society. Many guilty people can be set free just because of the color of their skin. In contrast, the story of the maquilladora program, the surge of violence along the border, gender relations, the influx of drug trading, and prevalence of racial tensions and color hierarchies amongst Mexicans and Mexican Americans all illustrate the dangers that face the border. These combinations of problems all make up the transformation of the border within the past several decades. It truly depicts the war of the frontiers. Many residents along the border, as in the town of Columbus are fighting to keep their town as it was by trying to rid the drug trafficking. Many Mexican Americans want a better life for their family, as well as, to not be treated inferiorly by their own people because of the color of their skin. As put by Salman Rushdie, â€Å"By crossing those frontiers, conquering those terrors and reaching their goal, they themselves were now what they were looking for. They had become the god they sought. †[6] For many this â€Å"god,† is the crossing at the border. For some, it leads to a life filled with promises and opportunities, and for others, false hopes and empty promises at their homeland are ever changing. The war of frontiers will continue to exist until the government does more to change how things are run along the controversial border. ———————– [1] Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, â€Å"Chapter 2,† in For We are Sold, I and My People: Women and Industry in Mexico’s Frontier, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983), 35. [2] Alejandro Lugo, â€Å"Theorizing Border inspections,† Cultural Dynamics 12:3 (2000), 355. [3] Lugo, 359. [4] Alicia Caldwell, † Drug smugglers from Mexico move into NM town,† Austin American-Statesman, May 1, 2009, http://www. statesman. com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Drug_Smugglers_Town. html, accessed on May 1, 2009. [5] Michael Rubinkam, † Luis Ramirez Killers Found Not Guilty After Beating Mexican Immigrant To Death,† Huffington Post, May 2, 2009, http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2009/05/04/luis-ramirez-killers-foun_n_195535. html, accessed on May 4, 2009. [6] Salman Rushdie, â€Å"Step Across This Line,† in Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction, 1992-2002, (New York: The Modern Library, 2002), 351.

A Critical Analysis on “A study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In his book, â€Å"A study in Scarlet† Sir Arthur succeeded in marrying mystery, intrigues and suspense together into one. The book has an unusual style of writing, for it is written in two different writing styles that dissolve into one another.The first part has a first person singular diction, while the second part has third person narrative style. It also has two settings, the first has London settings, while the second setting is America. It is a classical novel that revolves around a detective, Sherlock Holmes, a character who later became famous in other subsequent novels.The novel is divided into two parts, the diction in the first part is rather sarcastic, which has Doctor Watson relates the story in a personal experience style. He briefly explained how he was wounded at the second â€Å"Afghan war† and came back to London to find a decent apartment.It was this search for accommodation that led to his meeting of with Sherlock Holmes, an enthusiast chemist, who can also be described as eccentric, a cosmos and that later turned detective as the novel unfolds.â€Å"Holmes is a little too scientific for my tastes—it approaches to cold-bloodedness.†The novel delves into its mystery theme when a dead body was found at dilapidated building in Brixton with the word â€Å"RACHE† scribbled with blood on a wall near it. Sherlock, who is very vast in science and criminal investigation, took it upon himself to fish out the culprit irrespective of the fact that he does not have anything to gain from it.â€Å"You seem to be a walking calendar of crime,†Ã‚   â€Å"You might start a paper on those lines. Call it the ‘Police News of the Past. †As he proceeds with the investigation, he keeps unfolding mystery. Firstly, with the help of a wedding ring found at the crime scene, which he advertised in the paper, he found out that the old woman, who came to claim the ring was only disguised as a woman but was indeed a ma n. But as he traces this woman, the woman escaped. Not much later, a police comes to inform Holmes of the arrest of the murderer and one would think that was all about the play, but Sir Arthur had more   plots up his sleeves.As the first detective was done, a second detective came to announce another similar murder, a proof that the murderer is still at large, that the first police had only jailed an innocent fellow. Holmes told both police that he had already solved the puzzle of the mystery killer, that it will only take short while before he apprehend the murderer.  He later fulfilled his promise by arresting the culprit, pretending to be going for a journey; he deceived the culprit to help him pack his luggage. As the cabman was packing these things, he brought out a handcuff and arrested him. After severe struggle with Holmes and his friends, the cabman realized he was caught and resigned to his fate as the first part of the play ends.

Eugenics and the Horrors of Genocide in Nazi Germany Essay - 1

Eugenics and the Horrors of Genocide in Nazi Germany - Essay Example In the 1870s industrialization began to create a thriving economy in Germany, but a wide gap between wealth created a society in which was exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure. The population was growing at a rate that was not in step with the provisions that were available at a social level. Mortality rates began to skyrocket and the development of a definable issue meant that solutions would soon also emerge. Medical ‘advances’ began to define the meaning of human existence, often through the delusions of prejudiced theories that supported an idea that there were a human race and a series of sub-human races. During the time between the 1870s and the 1930s, a relationship had developed between American eugenics experts and German scientists with the same goals. In the 1930s, however, the relationship became strained. The racism that developed in Nazi Germany involving those of an ethnic Jewish background became an issue of contention and the American scientists were not interested in the idea that being Jewish meant being inferior. One of the clear signs that the racism was infecting the society of Germany is that of the Nuremberg laws which stated that those with Jewish heritage in their background would not be allowed to have citizenship. Decrees began to emerge that were further and further limiting the rights of those with ethnic Jewish ancestry, creating a prejudicial climate that began to define the nature of the beliefs as being centered on the heritage that broke the code of acceptable genetics which was growing in the nation.

Becoming an Intellectual Craftsman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Becoming an Intellectual Craftsman - Essay Example The intellectual craftsman trusts their imagination, memory, and experience to craft an idea that will resonate through a targeted audience. A fundamental principle of the intellectual craftsman is that they are always functioning as craftsmen. Every waking experience contributes to their well of knowledge and catalogue of ideas. They do not simply work as scholars; they are thinkers that do not separate their craft from their life. They continually strive to gain new experience that they can add to their breadth of knowledge, while not yet being aware of how today's most trivial experience may contribute to tomorrow's groundbreaking truth. The intellectual craftsman trusts this knowledge, as it is the most important component of any truly original intellectual thought. Storing this knowledge for later use is all just a part of the craft. Becoming an intellectual craftsman begins with the amassing and storing of these thoughts, ideas, and experiences. They are stored as materials in the tools of the intellectual trade such as notes, journals, diagrams, and the most trusted corners of the academic mind. Once the intellectual craftsman has gathered their materials and tools it is time to assemble, disassemble, and reassemble them into a concrete set of ideas that have form and substance. Here is where the craftsman separates themselves from the technician. Becoming an intellectual craftsman demands trusting your imagination enough to stretch its limits and examine the subtle connections that bind your experiences into a cohesive unit. Developing the art, or the craftsmanship, is really just a matter of letting the imagination run free. The craftsman differs from the technician as the craftsman assumes the risk of imagination. As the imagination runs free, ideas combine, reinforce, invert, and create new strains of thinking. They form building blocks of ever-larger concepts until the idea becomes prioritized as a set of questions that need to be answered. The academician has expanded their imagination and constructed unique concepts and viewpoints out of the basic material of experie nce. They have become an intellectual craftsman. Just as a cabinetmaker needs a building to practice their trade on, the intellectual need an audience to ply their craft. Left alone, ideas are nothingness. Ideas only come alive and take form when they are shared with an appreciative audience that can understand the nuance and rigor involved in the process. This demands that the intellectual craftsman becomes a communicator. Becoming a communicator of academic ideas requires putting complex ideas and concepts into a language that conveys the meaning, while still remaining understandable by the intended audience. One does not become an intellectual craftsman by communicating with pseudo-scientific hyperbole that is designed to shade the meaning and mask the truth from the audience. Becoming an intellectual craftsman is learning the language of their peers and applying it wisely and with restraint. In conclusion, intellectuals create a piece of work through the systematic application of the process of craftsmanship. The process begins by gaining the materials and methods that are everywhere all around us. Becoming an intellectual craftsman means learning to recognize the importance of every experience and every idea without

Is the one-child policy in China effective Is it ethical Are there Essay - 1

Is the one-child policy in China effective Is it ethical Are there other solutions - Essay Example On the other hand, the policy allows people who have their first babies as girls to have another child but, regardless of the gender of the second child, the parents are not allowed to have a third one. For rural Chinese, access to different services is limited and the different family planning attempts are not popular in such place of China, which make 60 percent of the total population of China. The one child policy in China has negative effects and can be subjected to critical ethical consideration to find whether it is effective and any alternative step to be taken. This policy by the Chinese government has been aimed at reducing the country’s population growth rate. China is factually one of the most populated countries in the world, with an estimated population of 1,354,040,000, which is 100 million more than the world’s second largest country, India. Culturally, the Chinese community believes in the tradition of having many children. Whilst the government is concerned about the demographics of the country and planning on the resources distribution to its ever rising population, the people are concerned with how they need to maintain their culture. As a result of the ever growing population, the government has increasingly strengthened its policies and measures to a point of introducing the one child policy. This is a strict measure by the government which is aimed at reducing the number of the young generation and subsequently increasing the number of the aging population. Data available on the Chinese population is worrying ev en to the government itself. The figure 1,354,040,000 does not include the island of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau which are governed as administrative districts of China. One child policy in China also called the family planning policy was designed to limit the number of children couple in different areas can get and the different conditions of that can allow different people to have more than

European Monetary Union without a Banking or Fiscal Union cannot Essay

European Monetary Union without a Banking or Fiscal Union cannot succeed. Please critically evaluate this statement with s - Essay Example Before going into detail as to why and how fiscal and banking union can facilitate success of monetary union, it will be prudent to delve deeper into the aspects that are responsible in creating a state of financial instability in the European Union. It is worth noting that unlike the United States, fiscal measures are not exercised by the EMU and that is where the major crux of the issue lies. Genesis of Crisis EU witnessed a sovereign debt crisis and an unprecedented banking crisis in the recent years. It is important to note that both did not surface in isolation but they were interrelated. Sovereign debt crisis had its genesis in poor fiscal management over several years violating Maastricht Treaty. A fairly large number of Spanish banks are afflicted with their own sovereign debt and because of that have lost their substantial Tier I capital. Thus, banking crisis has its roots, albeit in an indirect way, to the fiscal mismanagement. It is also true that the US subprime crisis di d contribute to the woes of the European banks. When seen in terms of the fiscal mismanagement, the genesis of debt crisis is old. ... The irony was that much of the borrowing was not revealed because each successive government had to meet the euro norm that restricted borrowing at 3% of GDP. Everything was fine until global financial crisis surfaced in 2008 that exposed many EU countries for their imprudent fiscal policies. Debt levels went so high that it was impossible for the country to repay them. While providing the rescue package, the European Union attached several conditions that further compounded Greece's woes. In May, 2010, Greece was provided with funds of 110bn Euros so that government could pay its creditors. It was soon realized that given funds were not enough and another tranche of 130bn euro was planned. Maastricht Treaty among the member states specifies that total debt should not exceed 60 percent of GDP. Even this norm was flaunted by the member countries considerably. For example, in 2000, Greece had total debt of 103.4% as a proportion of GDP that rose to 145% and 165% in 2010 and 2011 respec tively. Italy too had the total debt-GDP ratio of 108% in 2000 that rose to 120% in 2011 (BBC News, 2012). Fiscal Discipline – A Necessity In the above perspective, it is quite obvious that monetary union cannot achieve desired results in the euro zone area as far as the financial stability is concerned. A fiscal discipline is extremely necessary; however, monetary union has no control on fiscal imbalances created by the member states. Cottarelli (2012) from the IMF argues that in view of the current situation and to bring the EU out of crisis, a Fiscal Union is an absolute necessity built on the following criteria. 1. The Fiscal Union can enforce stronger constraints on state deficits and debt creation that will help

Smokers in great Britain and USA are increasingly treated as social Essay

Smokers in great Britain and USA are increasingly treated as social pariahs - Essay Example In Britain, following the ban on smoking; merchants have reverted to selling cigarettes in disguise to avoid confrontation with the government agencies who have vowed to eliminate smoking not only in the public places but also in private environments. The book creates scenarios of the possible implications of smoking ban in Britain. This makes the book reliable, authoritative, and objective for the research. Scenarios are conceivably the best practical analysis of social phenomena since it enables the creation of foresight into the societal issues. This literature details the health campaigns by the American Authorities to advocate for the elimination of smoking due to its contribution to cancer. It further depicts the discrimination that smokers encounter in seeking employments and sustaining such jobs. It captures the deliberate denial of civil rights in disguise for health campaigns and the resulting effects of the denial of civil rights on the smokers. In this light, it is reliable, authoritative and objective for the research. In a nutshell, the literature analyses the implications of reduced smoking on the economy, health standards, and the general welfare of the citizens. The book contains the elaborate steps employed by the American Authorities to at least minimize the use of certain drugs such as cigarettes. It recounts the intrigues in the banning of smoking in virtually all public places and that possibly with time, smokers would be registered as pedophiles. Berman, P.S, Neckerman, and K.M &Wright, elucidate the con tribution of health campaigns in changing the societal perception about smoking in America. In more precise terms, the book covers the risk perception about smoking among the early America smokers and the proceeding causes of changes in risk perception currently. The authors expose the earlier misconceptions that predisposed American to smoking such as the use of Menthol cigarettes to