History of the Domestication of Chocolate

History of the Domestication of Chocolate There is currently some debate as to how many species of cacao (Theobroma spp) exist in the world or ever did. Recognized varieties identified (and debated) include Theobroma cacao ssp. cacao (called Criollo and found throughout Central America); T. cacao spp. sphaerocarpum (called Forastero and found in the northern Amazon basin); and a hybrid of the two called Trinitario. Recent genetic studies suggest that all forms of cacao are simply versions of Forastero. If true, cacao originated in the upper Amazon of Colombia and Ecuador and was brought to central America by human intervention. Ethnographic studies in the northern Amazon revealed that cacao use there was confined to the production of cacao chicha (beer) from the fruit, not from processing the beans. Earliest Use of Chocolate The earliest known evidence for cacao bean use was located outside of the Amazon basin and dates between about 1900-1500 BC. Researchers investigated residues on the interior of several bowls dated to the earliest societies in Mesoamerica using mass spectrometry and discovered evidence of Theobromine within a tecomate at Paso de la Amada, a Mokaya site in southern Chiapas, Mexico. They also found a bowl testing positive for Theobromine from the El Manati Olmec site in Veracruz, dated roughly 1650-1500 BC. Other archaeological sites with early evidence of chocolate use include Puerto Escondido, Honduras, about 1150 BC, and Colha, Belize, between 1000-400 BC. Chocolate Innovations It seems clear that the innovation to plant and tend cacao trees is a Mesoamerican invention. Until recently, scholars believed that, since the Maya word kakaw originates from the Olmec language, the Olmec must have been the progenitors of this delicious liquid. However, recent archaeological studies at Puerto Escondido in Honduras suggest that the original steps towards domestication of cacao happened before the rise of the Olmec civilization when Honduras was in active trade with the Soconusco region. Archaeological sites with evidence for early chocolate domestication include Paso de la Amada (Mexico), El Manati (Mexico), Puerto Escondido (Honduras), Batsub Cave (Belize), Xunantunich (Guatemala), Rio Azul (Guatemala), Colha (Belize). Sources Fowler, William R.Jr.1993 The living pay for the dead: Trade, exploitation, and social change in early colonial Isalco, El Salvador. In Ethnohistory and Archaeology: Approaches to Postcontact Change in the Americas. J. D. Rogers and Samuel M. Wilson, eds. Pp. 181-200. New York: Plenum Press.Gasco, Janine 1992 Material culture and colonial Indian society in southern Mesoamerica: the view from coastal Chiapas, Mexico. Historical Archaeology 26(1):67-74.Henderson, John S., et al. 2007 Chemical and archaeological evidence for the earliest cacao beverages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(48):18937-18940Joyce, Rosemary A. and John S. Henderson 2001 Beginnings of Village Life in Eastern Mesoamerica. Latin American Antiquity 12(1):5-23.Joyce, Rosemary A. and John S. Henderson 2007 From Feasting to Cuisine: Implications of Archaeological Research in an Early Honduran Village. American Anthropologist 109(4):642-653.LeCount, Lisa J. 2001 Like water for chocolate: Feasting an d political ritual among the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize. American Anthropologist 103(4):935-953. McAnany, Patricia A. and Satoru Murata 2007 Americas first connoisseurs of chocolate. Food and Foodways 15:7-30.Motamayor, J. C., A. M. Risterucci, M. Heath, and C. Lanaud 2003 Cacao domestication II: Progenitor germplasm of the Trinitario cacao cultivar. Heredity 91:322-330.Motamayor, J. C., et al. 2002 Cacao domestication I: the origin of the cacao cultivated by the Mayas. Heredity 89:380-386.Norton, Marcy 2006 Tasting empire: Chocolate and the European internalization of Mesoamerican aesthetics. American Historical Review 111(2):660-691.Powis, Terry G., et al. 2008 The origins of cacao use in Mesoamerica. Mexicon 30:35-38.Prufer, Keith M. and W. J. Hurst 2007 Chocolate in the Underworld Space of Death: Cacao Seeds from an Early Classic Mortuary Cave. Ethnohistory 54(2):273-301.

Laundry Detergent Glowing Skull

Laundry Detergent Glowing Skull If you have laundry detergent, you can make a glow-in-the dark skull that you can put on your sidewalk or window that will be invisible during the day but will glow at night. Heres how you do it. Glowing Skull Materials You only need a few basic household materials for this project, plus a black light. Liquid laundry detergent or else mix powdered detergent with a bit of waterSponge or paper towelArtistic talent or else a stencilBlack light Make the Decoration Download a skull stencil pattern and print it.Cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth of the skull.Select the location for your decoration. You may wish to choose part of the front walkway near a porch light so you can switch out the normal light bulb for a black light. You could also use a black light and an extension cord to put the decoration anywhere. This project works well on a sidewalk or a wall. You could put the skull on a windowpane if you wanted.Dampen a sponge or paper towel with liquid laundry detergent. You want it wet enough to deposit the color, but not dripping wet.Place the stencil where you want the decoration.Blot over the stencil with the detergent-coated sponge to fill in the shapes of the skull. If you mess up badly, just wash it off and try again.Turn on the black light when you want to see the decoration. Turn the light off when you dont want to see it. Wash away the picture when Halloween is over. How It Works Laundry detergents contain brightening agents that glow when exposed to light. They are intended to make whites appear whiter by adding a bit of blue light to them under ultraviolet light, like in sunlight or under fluorescent lights. When you shine a black light on detergent, you get a very bright glow. The glow is bright enough that you dont need total darkness to get a nice effect.

Explain the transformation from the Grand Alliance of World War II to Essay

Explain the transformation from the Grand Alliance of World War II to the development of the Cold War. Why was it impossible to maintain the former Was the - Essay Example (Nordlinger, 5) With the US entering the Second World War following the attack on Pearl Harbour, the three world powers, the US, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were forced to come together to develop strategies to hold back and defeat the axis.(Greenfield, 3-23) At least as far as UK-US relations this strategy was a far easier task for the two nations. Despite the US’s isolationist position in the earlier stages of the war, it remained supportive of the UK. (Greenfield, 3-23) Essentially the Grand Alliance involved a series of common goals and understandings between the US, the UK and the Soviet Union. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour the three countries would both formally and informally negotiate and agree at wartime conferences, government meetings and summits on strategies to defeat Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and Fascist Italy. (Stone, 20) The Soviet’s association with the Grand Alliance grew out of necessity following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, in June of 1941. (Stone, 15)Following which both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin Roosevelt pledged their countries’ support. Once the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour the Grand Alliance became a reality. In other words, the UK, the US and the Soviet Union faced a common threat and while the Grand Alliance was primarily focused on war time cooperation, the three nations recognized a common goal to ensure post war security on a global le vel by ascertaining that Germany and Japan would not remain a threat to world peace following the war. (Lewis, 178-241) On 4 February, 1945, the Soviet’s Joseph Stalin, US President Theodore Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill convened in Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula for what was one of three major war time conferences. The primary purpose of the meeting was to not only

E-commerce A-level Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 16250 words

E-commerce A-level - Coursework Example E-commerce comprises purchasing and selling goods and services in the WWW, and for many companies this is their regular business but extended into the online space, and therefore apart from buying and selling, important are the issuer of money transfers, security, and other aspects of online interaction between companies, customers, suppliers, retailers, middlemen, etc. All in all, in a broad sense, e-commerce denotes all kinds of commercial relations that are connected with setting home-based and international deals in the web: trade mission, factoring, designing, consulting, investment contracts, leasing, engineering, insurance, sale and purchase contracts, bank services, and many other forms of industrial and business cooperation. E-commerce allows to ensure that the businesses be ready to face the new challenges, one of the most important being business globalization. The emergence and development of the IT make it possible for the international businesses to reach out for their customers even in the remotest areas of the world. Conducting business in cyberspace is a way to save money, but surely that is not the only advantage. The rise of e-business has unquestionably changed shopping patterns, forcing retailers to redefine their roles to ensure their place in the market. The variety of goods available to customers at a click of a button and the added benefit of allowing them to shop whenever it's convenient for them, and not during set 'operating hours' has in effect placed the customers in charge. For the companies, the spread of e-commerce marked the necessity to implement into their business model constant interaction with the customers, which is a must for the firms that want to keep up with the consumers' demands, and attract and retail more loyal customers. The Internet is a genuinely new communicational environment, and therefore traditional marketing techniques cannot generally be applied to e-commerce. In the process of studying the marketing model that uses 'traditional' information media for PR, brand promotion and advertising, it was revealed that the use of e-commerce makes it possible for the customers to make decisions independently, and therefore there is a dramatic shift for the consumers from being a rather passive auditorium (as with the traditional marketing) to a powerful force able to influence the companies' activity significantly. Therefore, it is not sufficient for the companies to apply the already existing marketing principles to their e-commerce, as the new Internet environment presupposes the development of principally new approaches to sales, accounting, advertising, dealing with customers, and many other aspects of business activity. In e-commerce, customers play a much more active role in the process of marketing, as they are the bearers of information valuable for the companies. The overall aim of this research is to explore what 'forces' are at work when consumers shop online in the clothing retail. The research will be carried out in the women online clothing retail market, primarily because of the huge investment in the clothing market by both online and traditional retailers, (www.brandrepublic.com) It will comprise two principal elements, a literature search, and an analysis of four retailer websites, two of them are purely online

Ethnic studies Essay Example for Free

Ethnic studies Essay The students, united, will never be defeated! . This was the rallying call of students at San Francisco State University trying to save their Asian America Studies classes in 2008. 40 years after the first Third World Liberation Front protested and fought against discrimination and for their rights to have ethnic studies classes, the fight still continues. Students fought to have classes from the perspective of ethnic peoples, and not the Eurocentric point of view. In doing so, the struggle for ethnic studies from students and the community challenged and broke the status quo and construct of race in a Eurocentric America. Ethnic studies in the U. S. campuses started in the 60s along with the Civil Rights Movement, opposition against the Vietnam War, the fight for womens rights, and many other fights by the people for their rights. In March of 1968, The SFSU Third World Liberation Front was created by students of different ethnicities coming together. This was the longest strike in student history, and resulted in the creation of ethnic studies at SFSU, as well as increased admissions for students of colors to the university. The second longest strike occurred in UC Berkeley, with the strike more violent than the first. The clenched fist was the symbol for the strike, equality, power, unity, and change for the minority groups in America. Over the years, there have been many strikes and protest from students to have ethnic studies. California was a hotbed for the struggle of ethnic studies because it has the most immigrant and ethnic groups in the United States. It was a melting pot of African Americans, Asians, American Indians, Latinos, and so on. It was really only a matter of time before they stood up against discrimination. When people of color got up in unity and went on strike, it scared them. Them referring to the white political leaders of the schools. The first to stand up to discrimination is usually those that are educated and realize they can make a change through their actions. Students of ethnic background fought for social justice not only for themselves, but for a larger picture going back to their communities. Ethnic students are representatives to their families and communities. Many of these ethnic students were the first to attend college because their parents or families came to America in search for a better life and an opportunity for their children at an education. As these strikes were occurring, the community came to support them. Not only the communities of ethnic students, but white supporters as well. Supporters that understood the struggle of the ethnic groups, and came together to fight together. Quite a few white students had come to the point of understanding, what our cause was, what it meant, and that we did not want to take over the university, take over the country, we wanted ends. When we think third world we think of people that are improvised, poor, and lacking education. These third world people a Though they werent really third world students, inadequate access to classes that represented their ethnic background meant they had no way to really learn the struggle of ethnics people that came before them. Luis Alarcon made a point that he considered UC Berkeley his university, but the president of Berkeley disagreed and said the university was for the people of California. Although Luis is a person of California, the president did not consider the university for him. As a race of minorities, they were trying to free themselves from being third world citizens in the United States. What we got from this agreement were things that we as third world peoples deserved, and we as students, and we as citizens of this country deserved. But is there a scientific claim that makes certain people third world, or is it a political agenda to people ethnic people third world citizens? Ethnic people living in the United States in the were often discriminated against. As Laureen Chew said, of course I blamed it all on ourselves and our family for being born Chinese, etc. They blamed their race, instead of finding a fault in society for making them an inferior race that were mistreated unfairly. Even today, although racism is not as obvious, it is still alive and in place. Color-blind racism serves as the ideological armor for a convert and institutionalized system in the post-Civil Rights era†. Minorities can be discriminated against their morals, values, and character without whites sounding racist. But is being color-blind discriminating as well? By not seeing color, one fails to recognize that we still havent reached a level where we only judge from character, and not the color of our skin. Its apparent we today, have not reached that goal yet. Tom Horne Arizona superintendent of public instruction believes in cutting off ethnic studies classes because it will divide kids up and only teach them narrowly about the race they were born into. Ethnic studies is for the empowerment of not only ethnic students, but for all students who want to learn about the history of different peoples. It wasnt so long ago when minorities were second citizens in the United States. Many were segregated against, beaten, killed, and uneducated. But what were the terms that classified certain peoples as a different race from whites? Race is a concept with signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies. So because people of different ethnicities have different bodies, specifically skin color they were disadvantaged in comparison to white Americans. The word domination reminds us that the institutional racism is a type of power that encompasses the symbolic power to classify one group of people as normal and other groups of people as abnormal, the political power to withhold basic rights from people of color and marshal the full power of the state to enforce segregation and in equality. To break this institution, learning ethnic studies brings out the truth of this country, which in turn brings out the greatness of the United States. Ethnic studies allows us to think critically about our relationship in terms of our relationship this country and our backgrounds. It gives us a basis to deal with historic racial issues such as the Zimmerman trial. Ethnic studies departments in the CSU are at the forefront in leading students to balanced, critical, and open discussions of racial and ethnic matters that, unfortunately, have yet to be resolved in the US. Its important to have a format in educating students so that we may form our own educated opinions and learn facts on the history of our ethnicities. People gave up their bodies for their right to have ethnic studies. I wanted to give you a poem, but I give you my body instead. As she finished her speech, her fellow supporters agreed with her with loud applause. She was only one of many proponents in decades of struggle by students to fight for their ethnic studies departments. The protesting for ethnic studies was intertwined with the opposition against the war, civil rights, and other social issues going on at the time. In 1999 the issue was California becoming increasingly wary against immigrants, using them as a scapegoat for the economy failing. Protesting at Berkeley meant defending affirmative action, defending the rights of immigrants. The protesting in SFSU was the longest lasting student protest. Their cries for we want the puppet! meant they wanted to discuss ethnic studies with S. I. Hayakawa who did not rally with the students even though he was Asian American. These students were subject to police violence, who went into the cafeterias to harass and attack the students. At Valley State University, Latino students with the black students protested in order to have more representation in and open up classes for Chicano studies and Black studies. So what role does race really play in all of this? We know that even if its not about race, its always about race. You can say that the student protests were all about race. When you ask people about which race they are, one normally gets a response like, asian, black, white, or so on. The two schools of thought, Primordialism and Instrumentalism, are opposing forces in which the former believes that races existed, that races are biologically determined and distinct from one another. The latter believes race as a man-made, human created reality. It is an instrument that was constructed sociohistorically in order to allocate resources. An outcome of the struggle for ethnic studies is that it challenged what the racial norm really was. By fighting for their rights, the protestors inadvertently chipped away at what really defines race; a racist invention to divide and allocate resources. But can we really ignore that our race has nothing to do with our genetic makeup and the way we look? Discriminatory and prejudiced behavior towards minorities was the cause of the student unrest, as well as gaining support from non-ethnical students and community. Jesus Rodriguez realized people can be so quick to attach certain characteristics to a persons race. The characteristics we attach to minorities are theyre lazy, they dont want to leave the bottom, theyre slow learners, etc. With this in mind, white people in power discriminated these minorities, saying they dont belong in their universities. Many white people believed in the status quo or race at the time and opposed the ethnic protestors. But what about everyone else that eventually sided with the protestors? Especially during the 60s and 70s, people began to fight for each others rights. The division between races between people were lessening, and the thought of a human race were expanding. They fought for their own rights and they fought for each others rights, because they realized all minorities at the time were going through the same struggle. I believe that it is important for every American to know their history, even if it has nothing to do with their color or ethnicity: since events such as the Third World Strike influenced some of your fellow Americans, these same events indirectly influenced you as well. Where would we be without ethnic studies today? Without the efforts and sacrifices of those student protesters, someone like me might not even appreciate and understand the struggle that so many went through. We stand on the shoulders of those who dared to challenge injustice and discrimination, and broke the barriers of race and racial equality. Leon, Teresa W. History of AAS at CSUN. N. p. , 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Shiekh, Irum. On Strike: Ethnic Studies Progressive Films. Progressive Films. Progressive Films, n. d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Ethnic Studies Ban Racist? YouTube. YouTube, 13 May 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. CSUN Student Political Activism 1960s/70s The Storm at Valley State YouTube. YouTube, 27 Jan. 2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. 3rd ed. Lanham: Rowman Littlefield, 2010. Print. SF State Third World Student Strike. YouTube. YouTube, 22 June 2007. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Save Our AAS. YouTube. YouTube, 09 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Leon-WIlliams, Teresa. Lecture Notes on The Historical Origins of Race CSU Northridge: Login to the Site. N. p. , 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Student Unrest at SF State College and S. I. Hayakawa. YouTube. YouTube, 19 Apr. 2008. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Leon-WIlliams, Teresa. How the Blind Perceive race. . . CSU Northridge: Login to the Site. N. p. , 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Rodriguez, Jesus. Re: Race the Working Field. Weblog comment. N. p. , 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. Leon-WIlliams, Teresa. Prejudice Discrimination. Moodle, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

The Existence Of God Essay -- Religion Theology Essays Papers

The Existence of God Works Cited Not Included For centuries, the idea of God has been a part of man's history. Past and present, there has always been a different integration consisting of the believers and the non-believers of God. The group of those who have "faith" in God tend to be related to one religion or another. On the other hand, the skeptics find the existence of God somewhat puzzling and try to seek the answers through scientific methods. Even as of today with all the modern technologies and the development of sciences, we still do not have a definitive answer to the question "does God exist?" Among many philosophers and scholars who have tried to answer this question, we shall look upon Rene Descartes' theory on the existence of God. In terms of believers and non-believers, Descartes would be one of the believers. Before we go any further, we must ponder upon several questions. What is God? Does God exist? If such God does exist, then where does this being come from? Why do believers and non-believers hold on to their beliefs as they do? What significance does the existence of God have upon mankind? These are only the tip of the iceberg amongst the vast array of unanswered questions related to God. Though there are so many uncertainties as we have just mentioned, the existence of all other uncertainties in our world may explain why the existence of God is so real to many people. For the believers, God provides a convenient answer to all these questions except for the answers regarding God itself. The following are some of the general arguments for the existence of God. The first argument comes from the theory of design; there are orders in the universe which can't be occurring by mere chance. Secondly, the existence of God explains the arguments regarding the efficient causality; as the world exhibits orderly causal sequences, something had to start it all up. Thirdly but not the least, God provides an answer to the question of the origin of life and its destination after death. ( For the sake of convenience, we shall borrow some theological ideas from Christianity, the Christian God, to exemplify our comparisons.) As an example, God is the creator of all, and there is a place in heaven, a kingdom of God, for those who have faith in God. This helps believers understand their identity and alleviate the fear of ... ...inite faculties of knowledge hold the potential of having mistakes. In the above discussion, I was trying neither to prove nor disprove the existence of God; I was, however, trying to offer some skepticism upon statements which many people have claimed about the existence of God. Although Descartes embraces quite a grand statement on the issues of God, I felt that his beliefs were biased towards his own perception and lacked evidence in proving that God exists to the point beyond reasonable doubt. I believe that neither Descartes nor modern science have been able to successfully prove whether God exists or not. What's really important, no matter whether such a being exists or not, is that the ideology of God has certainly existed throughout the history of man. Moreover, the power of this ideology of God has proven to be overwhelming among the believers who have faith in its religion. Even for the non-believers or so called atheists, the ideology of God has an effect and/or an influence on them in one way or another. On a larger scale, it is not an exaggeration to say that our society is built on the ideology of God. What is your opinion? "In God we trust?"

Criminal Justice Workplace Observation Paper

In any workplace the goal of the company is to perform all job duties so that work functions may be carried out accordingly. Jobs that are centered around the criminal justice system have an even more important task of getting things done because just like any other job, criminal justice ones have laws to uphold. This paper will discuss the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) and its workplace observations. The leadership consists of three levels: upper management, middle management and lower level management. Upper management involves the judge of each case that passes through DHR. The judge is responsible for overseeing the case and making final decisions overall about the case. Middle management consists of the attorneys that are assigned to each case. Attorneys are responsible for making sure the legal aspects of the case in regards to the child are being followed. Lower management consists of the DHR workers. The DHR workers are responsible for making sure the welfare of the child is in their best interest. Culture is one of the most important factors in successfully managing a criminal justice workforce. It is extremely important for each of the above named participants to be able to understand the differing diversities that the courts may encounter. It is not uncommon for a DHR worker to have a caseload with different ethnicities and cultural differences. You can read also  Justice System Position Paper Sometimes, those cultural differences may cause an individual to speak a different language than the worker, judge, or attorney is familiar with. Language barriers can often cause problems with relaying actual problems that are going on with a case. If either of the above participants can fluently speak different languages then that helps not only the court participants, but the people that are involved in the case personally. This will cut down on the legal issues that could arise in cases. Speaking of legal issues, the law is an extremely serious matter in DHR. DHR workers have the ever daunting task of making sure they report behavior to the courts about the welfare of any child. The judges have to make sure they are upholding the law and interpreting it to the best of their ability, and attorneys are built to practice and exercise the good will of the law all according to their states’ statutes.

Ethnomedicine Essay

Since the beginning of man, there have been ailments that have plagued the human race without concern of who it is inflicting or why they occur. These ailments had to have been combated by some sort of medicine by each culture and their remedies must have been plenty. The plethora of different kinds of medicines and remedies to these ailments among the different kinds of cultures is what we, Team Bloodnut, define as ethnomedicine. Many cultures throughout the world practice some form of ethnomedicine. A field of anthropological research, ethnomedicine seeks to describe the medical systems and practices utilized in different cultures. It examines the origins of what people believe cause illness, as well as examine the ways in which individual cultures treat such maladies. Team Bloodnut wanted to discover the healing beliefs and practices held by Amazonian shamans. Through the use of a life history interview, we sought to understand the traditions held by a people through the experiences of a man working with a former shaman of the tribe. Team Bloodnut formed a hypothesis regarding ethnomedicine in today’s modern world. We hypothesized that the remedies and medicines indigenous cultures use to heal the ill are unorthodox from the stand point of western civilization. Western society will view these remedies as barbarian and a total fallacy. We conducted our research through a life history interview, contacting a filmmaker named Matthew Vincent. Possessing an interest in natural medicines, Vincent spent over half a year living in Peru documenting the experiences of an American Shaman’s journey into the depths of Amazonian Shamanism. Together, they discovered the origins and methods involved in practicing shamanism in relation to this particular cultural group. Matthew trained under the ‘gringo shaman’ Ron Wheelock, learning the techniques and methods required to effectively heal members of the community in which they lived. In order to effectively film his documentary in a realistic manner, Matthew Vincent needed to integrate himself into the rituals, learning their practices and lifestyles. Researching through a life history interview best utilized our information since it enabled us to capture the personal experience of a man submerging himself into such a specific aspect of a community’s life. Our group set out to understand the origins of Amazonian shamanism. We wished to learn about the beliefs of the roots of illnesses as well as the methods used to treat them. Ethnomedicine seeks to understand what illnesses mean within a culture and how to remedy these ailments. According to Vincent, shamans believe people contract illnesses due to a variety of reasons. Culturally, the soul brings balance to the physical body and makes it strong. If presumed damaged or corrupt by devious spirits, souls must undergo ritualistic healing in order to return to a healthy state. Physical illness is thought to be a manifestation of corruption within the soul. In order to correct this corruption, patients go through a mixture of ritualistic songs, plant gnosis, and trances. Shamans utilize trances in order to enter different states of consciousness, allowing them to interact with souls and spirits to perform healing to the soul and bring the spirits back to the sick physical body. One extremely common way to remedy an ailment in Amazonian Shamanism is through the use of ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is an extremely hallucinogenic vine used in brews that are consumed by the Shaman along with the patient so the Shaman can conjure the spirits of the plants used in the brew to foresee any future ailments, cure any immediate ones, and try to prevent any others from manifesting themselves within the patient’s body and or soul. The ayahuasca brew can take any time from a couple of hours to brew, all the way to up to two days, being cooked three times. Wheelock told Vincent that he has treated people who have visited a psychiatrist for over a year and with one ayahuasca ceremony, the patient feels more rejuvenated and alive than ever before. Ayahuasca can also be used for other uses as well, depending on the ingredients used in the brew. For example, if brewed with shapishico, moonshine, and rainwater, and left to sit together for about nine days, this brew acts as an extremely potent aphrodisiac. Shamans are not only medicine men, but spiritual guides. Shamans can choose from two different paths when immersing themselves in their practices. They can choose to be curandero or a brujo. A curandero is a healer. He is the medicine man that can heal physical and psychological ailments that one might have. He does this through plant gnosis and conjuring the spirits of the plants to help cure the patient. A brujo, on the other hand, focuses on the dark arts of Shamanism, although he can also heal. In a Shamans training, they are visited by spirits and are given magical darts. These magical darts are a brujo’s weapon of choice when it comes to causing harm or kill another. He can use those towards anybody in the world as long as he has their name, a mental image of the person, a picture, or some sort of memorabilia that depicts who their target is. A curandero will only use these magical darts, usually, to defend himself. When a curandero sends a magical dart to a brujo, it’s usually with the intention to kill him. After conducting our life history interview, Team Bloodnut came to a conclusion on our hypothesis. We concluded that our hypothesis was correct regarding the differences between western medicines and Amazonian Shamanistic medicines. Western medicines include all of the technologies, modern medicines, and commodities that these indigenous cultures do not have access to; therefore we are much more technologically advanced. These countries are at a disadvantage when it comes to the commodities and technologies but that doesn’t mean that the quality is any less. These medicine men spend most of their lives learning how to conjure and interact with these spirits of nature so that they can heal in their favor. The way in which they do so shouldn’t be frowned upon. If these Shamans have found ways to cure, not just treat these illnesses and ailments, then why haven’t we, Western Civilization, adopted these methods? Is it the fear or the skepticism of failure? We think that it’s not so simple. We believe that the reason for these medicines not being accepted into our country is simply so the government won’t lose money and control. Wheelock cured a patient that had been visiting a shrink for over a year. In that time how much money did that psychiatrist earn? From that income how much did the government take from the psychiatrist in taxes? This is only for one person, too. Some people spend half of their lives, if not longer visiting some kind of medical practitioner or some form of psychedelic help. There will never be a shortage of sick people, so if they are simply just cured with a couple of ayahuasca ceremonies, that’s a pretty significant chunk out of the United States’ money supply. Not only is it a monetary issue, but also a control issue. If these practices were administered in the United States, people would gain insight and enlightenment to its effects. There is a chemical in ayahuasca that is an intense psychedelic. Dimethyltryptamine is the psychedelic in the ayahuasca that puts the body in the state in which it can be visited by manifesting spirits of the vine. If this psychedelic were to fall into the wrong hands, it could be very harmful to not only to America’s economy, but also to the ones who abuse it. Ergo, ethnomedicine is a sensitive subject because it is not only a way to treat people within a certain country or tribe, but it is also the way of life and the way generations upon generations have practiced these remedies. Just because different cultures do things differently, it doesn’t mean that one way is right and the other is wrong. If we, as a species and inhabitants of this Earth, all worked together and shared our practices with each other in the field of medicine, maybe we could find cures, not just treatments to malignant diseases such as cancer. Ayahuasca ceremonies are not just a ritual to heal patients that come to Shamans, but also a lifestyle.

Yugoslavia-War and Peace essays

Yugoslavia-War and Peace essays The U.S. has a very important job throughout the world. Not only does the government and the military have an important job, but the people do also. As citizens of the U.S., we are talked about around the world about our freedom of speech. Some countries dont approve of our ways, but it is our choice. And on the other hand some countries look on us to help them improve their government. We are number one in the world and that means we have a major responsibility. When countries call upon us to help them in time of need, we should be there with manpower and foreign aid. Our overall role in the world is too help keep peace in other countries. We should stick up for the little countries that need help against a country that we dont believe in. For example, the U.S. has a current conflict with Iraq and the U.S. is helping Kuwait from being taken over. Being number one puts a big burden on our shoulders. Other countries look up to us for help. As for other nations rights, we should give all nations an equal voice in a matter if it concerns them, and help out in a peace process. We shouldnt have any special rights just because we are number one in the world of nations. We should be partly responsible for some actions in the world. If we were called upon to help in a situation and that country gets beat, then we should be held partly responsible. But only if that was our own fault. We should be most interested in places of the world like the Middle East. The U.S. imports oil from the Middle East, and without oil, our country would practically fall apart for a time being. Oil runs our cars, provides electricity for some peoples homes. Without oil, there would be absolutely no transportation. Another nation of interest is Panama. The U.S. has given back the Panama Canal back to Panama. If another country takes or tries to take it over, the U.S. should step in. Panama is a major shortcut ...

Gun Rights Under President George W. Bush

Gun Rights Under President George W. Bush After a series of new laws under the administration of President Bill Clinton instituted background checks for handgun purchases and banned assault weapons, gun rights took a significant step forward during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration that followed. Although Bush himself supported several mild gun control measures and vowed to sign a renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban if it reached his desk, his administration saw several advancements of gun rights on the federal level, especially in the courts. A Supporter of ‘Common Sense’ Gun Control In debates during both the 2000 and the 2004 presidential campaign, Bush stated his support for background checks for gun buyers and for trigger locks. Additionally, he said on multiple occasions that the minimum age for carrying a handgun should be 21, not 18. However, Bush’s support for background checks stopped at instant checks that did not require waiting periods of three or five days. And his push for trigger locks extended only to voluntary programs. During his administration as governor of Texas, Bush implemented a program that provided voluntary trigger locks through police stations and fire departments. During the 2000 campaign, he called for Congress to spend $325 million in matching funds to enable state and local governments across the country to set up similar voluntary trigger lock programs. While his advocacy was for voluntary trigger locks, Bush said at one point during the 2000 campaign that he would sign a law requiring trigger locks for all handguns. On the other hand, Bush was an opponent of state and federal lawsuits against firearms manufacturers. An 11th-hour victory of the Clinton administration was a landmark deal with firearms manufacturer Smith Wesson that would see lawsuits cease in exchange for the company including trigger locks with gun sales and implementing a smart gun technology. Early in his presidency, Bush’s stance on gun industry lawsuits led to Smith Wesson withdrawing from its promises made to the Clinton White House. In 2005, Bush signed legislation providing the gun industry federal protection against lawsuits. The Assault Weapons Ban With the Assault Weapons Ban set to expire before the next presidential term was complete, Bush stated his support for the ban during the 2000 presidential campaign but stopped short of pledging to sign an extension. As the 2004 expiration date neared, however, the Bush administration signaled its willingness to sign legislation that either extended the ban or made it permanent. â€Å"[Bush] supports reauthorization of the current law,† White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters in 2003, as the debate over the gun ban began to heat up. Bush’s position on the ban represented a break from the National Rifle Association, which had been one of his administration’s staunchest allies. But the September 2004 deadline for renewing the ban came and went without an extension making it to the president’s desk, as the Republican-led Congress declined to take up the matter. The result was criticism on Bush from both sides: the gun owners who felt betrayed and the gun ban proponents who felt he did not do enough to pressure Congress into passing the AWB extension. â€Å"There are a lot of gun owners who worked hard to put President Bush into office, and there are a lot of gun owners who feel betrayed by him,† keepandbeararms.com publisher Angel Shamaya told the New York Times. â€Å"In a secret deal, [Bush] chose his powerful friends in the gun lobby over the police officers and families he promised to protect,† said U.S. Sen. John Kerry, Bush’s opponent in the looming 2004 presidential election. Supreme Court Appointments Despite a cloudy picture on his overall stance on gun rights, the lasting legacy of the Bush administration will be his appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. John Roberts was nominated by Bush to replace William Rehnquist in 2005. Later that same year, Bush nominated Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the high court. Three years later, the court took up arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller, a critical case revolving around the District’s 25-year handgun ban. In a landmark ruling, the court knocked down the ban as unconstitutional and ruled for the first time that the Second Amendment applies to individuals, providing a right to own guns for self-defense inside the home. Both Roberts and Alito ruled with the majority in a narrow 5-4 decision. Just 12 months after the Heller decision, another monumental gun rights case made its way before the court. In McDonald v. Chicago, the court struck down a gun ban in the city of Chicago as unconstitutional, ruling for the first time that the gun owner protections of the Second Amendment apply to states as well as to the federal government. Again, Roberts and Alito sided with the majority in a 5-4 decision.

Formal report for specific company PowerPoint Presentation

Formal report for specific company - PowerPoint Presentation Example Mortgage loan is used to purchase real property. Mortgage borrowers can be either be individuals or businesses mortgaging commercial property. In fixed rate mortgage interest rates remain fixed for life thus all the interest risk is held solely by the lender. Where by, when market interest rate go high, the lender cannot adjust the rates thus continues to earn less interest. This is an investment advisory discipline. It is aimed at educating potential investors on the most viable and promising investment options that would yield returns to their investments. Possible investment options include a venture in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and insurance, real estate or cash investments. A shareholder is one who owns a part of an organisation through purchase of shares. Having made an investment in the business shareholders is concerned with assessing the profitability of their investment. All decisions made by the management should be to ensure that the shareholders interest is maximized. With the weakening interest margins in the market, Wells Fargo’s management should develop strategic planning to ensure that they continue to attract as much customers as possible as well as encourage more investors in the organisation in view of maximization of shareholders

Element of international business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Element of international business - Essay Example xcess money, so much so that inflation rate soared to 200%.2 In 1989, prices were galloping at the rate of 5,000 per cent a year, prices were being adapted almost daily, and panic-stricken people were getting rid of their currency as though it was scalding them.3 Carlos Menem, who became president of Argentina in 1989 tried to rectify matters by cutting red tape in a determined effort to rejuvenate industrial development, liberalising trade, throwing open state run enterprises to privatisation.4 Privatisation witnessed Argentina disposing off, what Argentines now remorsefully refer to â€Å"las joyas de miabuela† (grandmother’s jewels): Vivendi of France won the privatised water sector, while U.S giants Enron and Fleet were successfully allocated the gas and banking sectors respectively.5 Menem’s ambitious plans did not succeed even after giving it time until March 1991, mainly due to apprehensions over the amount of state deficits.6 The first incident occurred on April 1991. Due to the strong recommendations of Carlos Menem and Minister of Economy Domingo Cavallo, the Argentine Congress passed the Convertibility Law, officially adopting a currency board.8 This move ensured that the peso and the U.S. dollar both circulated freely and in conformity with the law at a 1-to-1 exchange rate.9 In a bid to prevent the government from printing excessive money, the total currency flowing inside the country was rigorously indexed to the number of dollars in the custody of the central bank. The currency board succeeded in bringing back public confidence in the economic system. Secure in the confidence that their monetary possessions (assets, savings and investments) could be converted into U.S dollars at a one-to-one rate, the peso began to be used freely and without apprehension by both Argentines as well as foreigners working in Argentina.10 The second incident took place in May 1995. Carlos Menem, one of the architects of the currency board, was re-elected as