Use of military drones in civilian operations and law enforcement and Research Paper

Use of military drones in civilian operations and law enforcement and the impact this will have in regards to the 1st and 4th Amendments of the United States - Research Paper Example In addition, their deployment assists in preventing â€Å"boots on the ground† war, hence making the US safer (Boon & Lovelace, 2014). Opponents on the other hand claim that drones lead to the emergence of more terrorists than the ones they kill. They further argue that drone strikes murder large numbers of innocent civilians, violating international law, are not under adequate congressional supervision, grossly infringes on the sovereignty of other countries in addition to making the terrors of war look as harmless as a video game(Mathews,2013). The most popular form of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs)-which basically are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) armed with combat abilities-is the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. Predators were for the first time deployed to Afghanistan nearly instantly after the terrorists attacks of Sept.11, 2001.In addition, predators carried out their initial ever armed operation in 7th October 2001 in Afghanistan. The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, which is a bigger UCAV, has the capability of hauling a higher payload and has been in service from 2007. The Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC) and CIA are presently jointly administering the current program. These drones are usually deployed in such countries as Yemen, Somali and Pakistan. Strikes in Pakistan for instance have been happening from 2004 and intensified in pace from the beginning of 2008 summer. Apart from a Yemen strike in November 2002, the Yemen and Somalia campaigns started in 2011.In addition, there have been accounts of st rikes occurring in the Philippines, however, the information there is unclear. Additionally, there have done that have been deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya as part of America’s more conservative military operations in those nations (Boon & Lovelace, 2014). Predator drones are capable of carrying up to 2 Hellfire missiles, having warheads of around 20 pounds,

Business Idea Diary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Idea Diary - Essay Example It is well known that many persons have issues when it comes to waking up. People set alarms, but fail to wake up even after hearing one. Instead, they just press the snooze button and go on sleeping. The smart pillow comes in here. Connected to power, it shall analyze the persons sleeping pattern through brain activity and then through computer output, the software shall be connected to an alarm that predetermines the number of hours that person needs depending on their sleeping activity and give a choice of three specific time settings that the person can choose from to set the alarm. I will make money to make this product sustainable by placing a business proposal on popular funding websites for people with brilliant business ideas to get donations, funds and investments from. 2. This idea actually came up in mind as I was facing problems in my sleep. I had problems in rising up in the morning and also in getting to bed. I would set the alarm but would either not hear it or actually ignore it. Hence, I thought, â€Å"A smart pillow,† why not? 3. Rating my business idea on a scale of 1 to 10, I think my idea lies at level 8. The reason for this is because it is radical. It brings about a radical change to how pillows are normally used. On its feasibility, the idea is very much feasible. With many other smart devices out there for different purposes, scientists have come up with various ways to monitor brain activity which can be incorporated into pillows. What this product does is that it complements the existing products, in this case pillows that are already in use. This product creates an opportunity for more products of analysis to be brought nearer and create more interaction with their users without negative side effects in the near future. The hurdles that this product faces in the market are one, convincing the likely users that it does not harm them at all because it shall be used in contact with the persons and

Virginia Planter and Slave Holder Essay Example for Free

Virginia Planter and Slave Holder Essay The declaration for independence was given out by American representatives, American, then, being a colony of the Great Britain. American by then was constituted of majority being the slaves captured from other parts of the world and sold to merchants in the slave trade in the Great Britain who were later set free and allowed to settle in far lands which later came to be called America. America remained the colony of Great Britain until the Declaration of independence in 1776. The declaration encompasses a number of philosophies. Assuming that I am presently a Virginia planter and slave holder, this paper seeks to address how the philosophical ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the similarities and differences of philosophies in the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, affect my assumed role as a Virginia planter and slave holder. The paper also seeks to establish a constitutional ratification for and against my assumed role. To start with, the philosophies in the Declaration of Independence include the powerful proposition that all men were created equal and each one of them has a right to life, right to think for oneself i. e. right to liberty and right to pursuit of happiness (Jefferson, 1964). This philosophy of idealism, which believes in the inherent good of humanity, affects my assumed role in that as a holder of slaves whom I use for free labor in my farm, I go against the very human rights spelt out in foregoing philosophical stance. I deny the slaves I hold, their right to liberty i. e. hey need to acquiesce to working for me as opposed to my use of force. My holding of the slaves also seeks to show one thing: that I have failed to realize that all men were created equal, the inherent good in humanity and that no one or nothing gives me the right to hold them against their wish and consent. This does not mean that no one can have people working for him or no one can exercise power over individuals. All this is possible only if the subjects are in consent otherwise it is slavery Any conceivable government begets its power from the concurrence of the subjects (Jefferson, 1964). The fundamental difference between the Articles of confederation and the constitution is that whereas the articles were constructed by 13 states that the constitution of the US, by then, superseded (In fact, it is more of a treaty between the 13 states), the constitution was constructed to rule the whole nation constituted of many states, all the states, as one country. The articles were parochial but the constitution is not. Another difference is that, in the articles, the government had no power to directly tax the people. This was because the people were suspicious of the government for they saw it as a great threat to their liberties. The constitution gives the government power to directly tax people and the people are more receptive to and trust the government to do most things for them. Further, the articles had the states given one vote no matter how large the state was. This is not the case with the constitution which allows a large state a proportionate voting power. Finally, the articles are oriented to the idealist philosophy which believes in the inherent good of humanity whereas the constitution is oriented to the pragmatic philosophy which doesn’t trust that people can do the right thing. On the part of similarities, it is seen that both, the Articles of confederation and the constitution, provide for the congress declaring war and sending ambassadors. As a Virginia planter and slave holder, the articles of confederation and the constitution may favor me or threaten me at the same time. Even as the articles of confederation fought to promote general welfare, to ensure domestic tranquility and to ensure the blessings of liberty, they always had a compromise to let slavery continue because most of the people, by then, owned slaves. It was to take centuries later before the slaves could finally enjoy the blessings of liberty spelt out in the constitution when the constitution could later clearly emphasize award of inalienable human rights to slaves and lords alike. This was of course no good news to any Virginia planter and slave holder because it meant that they could lose the free labor from the slaves hence no productivity or expensive cost of production and they stood a chance of going to prison if they continued to keep the slaves. This explains why Virginia delegates failed to sign the constitution during the constitutional convention. Slavery is seen going against the laws of human jurisprudence. The opening phrase in the American constitution, insurance of liberty being part of the phrase, serves as a precursor to antislavery stance of the constitution. However, the constitution may have failed in its own ways and supported slavery or any act close to slavery. A number of scholars argue that the constitution at its conception at the constitutional convention was pro-slavery. The founders created a national charter to deal with the slavery issue, when they realized that fallout was eminent based on the issue of slavery. It is noted that the slave owners were monopolizing the government offices and dictating policies that trampled on human rights. For this reasoning that constitutional ratification appeared unclear on the issue of slavery, a Virginia planter and slave holder could not ratify the constitution until he was sure that slaves were only counted as property and not citizens lest they could attract the protection the human rights enshrined in the constitution consequently making slavery illegal.

Municipal Solid Waste Management Essay

Municipal Solid Waste Management Essay Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it. Waste management can involve solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, with different methods and fields of expertise for each. Waste Management is the term that refers to the collection, processing, recycling, transport, and monitoring of waste products. The waste products means the various materials produced by human activity and is undertaken for reducing their effect on health, environment or aesthetics. Another application of the waste management is to recover the various resources from it. It involves the management of solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes. Each type of waste requires a different methods and fields of expertise. The practices of waste management differ from developed and developing nations. In fact, there is difference in methods used in the urban and rural areas, and also for industrial or residential producers. It is the responsibility of local government authorities to manage non-hazardous residential and institutional waste in metro areas. However, the management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is done by the generator. There are various methods of waste disposal including integrated waste management, Plasma gasification, Landfill, Supercritical water decomposition and Incineration. There are lots of concepts about waste management which differ in their usage as per the varying regions or countries. Some of the widely used concepts include Waste hierarchy, Extended producer responsibility and Polluter pays principle. The waste hierarchy points to the reduce, reuse and recycle that classify waste management strategies as per their effectiveness in regards to waste minimization. The waste hierarchy is the cornerstone of majority of waste minimization strategies. It focuses on taking out the maximum practical advantages from products and generating least amount of waste. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy that is intended for the integration of all costs related with products across their life cycles into the market price of the product. The Polluter Pays Principle suggests that in case of waste leading to any impact on the environment, the polluting party is held responsible and it needs to pays for it. The waste management refers to the need for a waste producer to pay for proper waste disposal. Effective Techniques of waste management:- 1) LANDFILL: it is one of the inexpensive methods of waste management. In this waste is dumped on an abandoned land. Be cautious that no toxic or hazardous waste gets dumped in landfill. 2) INCINERATION: Toxic substances that cannot be dumped are burnt. This method is not much in action as this emits harmful pollutants leading to pollution. 3) COMPOSTING: Organic wastes from homes garden eg- food, plants, etc are decomposed, recycled used as manure for agriculture purpose. 4) MECHANICAL BIOLOGICALTREATMENT: Glass, plastic other recyclable waste is put into waste treatment plant. Recyclable content from waste is taken converted to calorific fuel that in turn is used by power plants. 5) PYROLYSIS GASIFICATION: Waste products are treated at high temperature7 high pressure. Its a thermal technique. In pyrolysis, waste is converted into solid liquid, in which solid is refined into carbon form liquid got from the waste is used as energy giving oil. In gasification, waste is converted into synthetic gases: that are burnt to give high energy. (6) Disposal: Non recyclable wastes are dumped into a vast abandoned land. This is called landfills. Only care should be taken that toxic waste does not enter the soil and water system. The people in charge of landfill department must supervise approve the dumping site. Care should be taken about depth allowed till dumping, the nature of the waste dumped, etc must be approved MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE 1. Municipal Solid Waste Garbage is generally referred to Waste and is also termed as rubbish, trash, junk, unwanted or undesired material.As per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management Handling) Rule,2000 garbage is define as Municipal Solid Waste which includes commercial and residential wastes generated in a municipal or notified areas in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes but including treated bio-medical wastes Municipal solid waste consists of household waste, construction and demolition debris, sanitation residue, and waste from streets. This garbage is generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes. 2. Main Sources of Municipal Waste House hold waste Commercials: Street sweeping Hotels and restaurants Clinics and dispensaries Construction and demolition Horticulture Sludge 3. Composition of Municipal Solid Waste in India In India, the biodegradable portion dominates the bulk of Municipal Solid Waste. Generally, the biodegradable portion is mainly due to food and yard waste With rising urbanisation and change in lifestyle and food habits, the amount of municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly and its composition changing. There are different categories of waste generated, each takes their own time to degenerate (as illustrated in the table below). 4. Life Cycle of Municipal Solid Waste 5. Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices in India The term municipal solid waste refers to solid waste from houses, streets and public places, shops, offices, and hospitals. Management of these types of waste is most often the responsibility of Municipal or other Governmental authorities. Except in the metropolitan cities, SWM is the responsibility of a health officer who is assisted by the engineering department in the transportation work. The activity is mostly labour intensive, and 2-3 workers are provided per 1000 residents served. The municipal agencies spend 5-25% of their budget on SWM A typical waste management system in a low- or middle-income country like India includes the following elements: Waste generation and storage Segregation, reuse, and recycling at the household level Primary waste collection and transport to a transfer station or community bin Street sweeping and cleansing of public places Management of the transfer station or community bin Secondary collection and transport to the waste disposal site Waste disposal in landfills But in most of the Indian cities open dumping is the Common Practices which is adversely affecting on environment and Public health. 6. Adverse Effect of open dump An open dumping is defined as a land disposal site at which solid wastes are disposed of in a manner that does not protect the environment, are susceptible to open burning, and are exposed to the elements, vectors, and scavengers. Open dumping can include solid waste disposal facilities or practices that pose a reasonable probability of adverse effects on health or the environment. Health Effect The health risks associated with illegal dumping are significant. Areas used for open dumping may be easily accessible to people, especially children, who are vulnerable to the physical (protruding nails or sharp edges) and chemical (harmful fluids or dust) hazards posed by wastes. Rodents, insects, and other vermin attracted to open dump sites may also pose health risks. Dump sites with scrap tires provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, which can multiply 100 times faster than normal in the warm stagnant water standing in scrap tire causing several illnesses. Poisoning and chemical burns resulting from contact with small amounts of hazardous, chemical waste mixed with general waste during collection transportation. Burns and other injuries can occur resulting from occupational accidents and methane gas exposure at waste disposal sites. Environment pollution Air pollution Dust generated from on-site vehicle movements, and placement of waste and materials Water pollution Runoff from open dump sites containing chemicals may contaminate wells and surface water used as sources of drinking water open dumping can also impact proper drainage of runoff, making areas more susceptible to flooding when wastes block ravines, creeks, culverts, and drainage basins also contamination of groundwater resources and surface water from leachate emissions. Soil Contamination Permanent or temporary loss of productive land Global Warming and Climate Change In most of the cities towns, the municipal solid waste is being dumped burnt in open spaces without understanding the adverse impacts on the environment. The waste in the dumping ground undergoes various anaerobic reactions produces offensive Green House gases such as CO2, CH4 etc. These gases are contributing potentially to Global Warming Climate Change phenomenon. 7. Integrated Solid waste Management Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) is a tool to determine the most energy-efficient, least-polluting ways to deal with the various components items of a communitys Solid Waste stream. The twin goals of ISWM are to: Retain as much as possible of that energy those materials in a useful state. Avoid releasing that energy or matter into the environment as a pollutant. Benefits of Integrated Solid waste management The concept of ISWM plan derives from the necessity to look at alternative sources of collection, transportation and most importantly, disposal to ensure a healthy living environment in urban cities. Local and regional economies benefit by the continued exchange value of the reclaimed materials and products and the jobs created in reprocessing and reselling them. National and global resource natural depletion is reduced, contributing to a more sustainable long-term economy. Pollution from landfills is reduced because many toxic or otherwise polluting materials are diverted from the landfills, and because the overall volume of land filled material is reduced. 8. Legal framework for Municipal Solid Waste in India Municipal Solid Waste (Managment Handling ) Rule was notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India [vide No.S.O.908 (B) dated the 25th September 2000]. The objective of these Rules was to make every municipal authority responsible for the implementation of the various provisions of the Rules within its territorial area and also to develop an effective infrastructure for collection, storage, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of Municipal Solid Wastes. The Civic bodies have the responsibility to enforce these rules.

Lets Put an End to Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation Essay

We Must Put an End to Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation Without animal research, cures for such diseases as typhoid, diphtheria, and polio might never have existed. Without animal research, the development of antibiotics and insulin would have been delayed. Without animal research, many human beings would now be dead. However, because of animal testing, 200,000 dogs, 50,000 cats, 60,000 primates, 1.5 million hamsters, and uncounted millions of rats and mice are experimented upon and die each year, as living fodder for the great human scientific machine. Some would say that animal research is an integral part of progress; unfortunately, this is often true. On the whole, animal testing is a necessary evil that should be reduced and eliminated whenever possible. Since the time of Aristotle, animals have been used to further human progress. When Galen pioneered the study of anatomy or when Harvey discovered the circulation of blood, they used animals as a vital portion of their work. Why? Because at the time there was no alternative short of testing on human beings, an option very few would morally accept then or even now. Throughout all of human history, the pattern has remained the same—human technological and scientific progress has always involved testing on animals. Without that testing, modern medicine would be a shadow of what it is today. Many modern procedures stem directly from testing with animals. In addition, doctors and surgeons receive much of their training with the living tissues of animals. Computer simulations and other methods simply cannot compete with experience on a living being. For example, the United States Army formerly shot goats to train physician responses to gunshot wounds (Cole ... ... Rights and Wrongs.† Taking Sides: Psychological Issues. Gilford: Dushkin Publishing Group, 2011. Lane, Stuart. â€Å"Banning Animal Testing May Be Hazardous to Your Health.† Priorities Spring 2013: 23. Loeb, Jerod M. â€Å"Human vs. Animal Rights: In Defense of Animal Research.† Taking Sides: Science, Technology, and Society. Gilford: Dushkin Publishing Group, 2011 Oà ­ Connor, Karen. Sharing the Kingdom. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Lmt, 1984. Regan, Tom. â€Å"Ill-Gotten Gains.† Taking Sides: Bioethical Issues. Gilford: Dushkin Publishing Group, 2009. Rohr, Janelle. Animal Rights: Opposing Viewpoints. NP: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Weaner, Dave. Personal Interview. 22 March, 2014 Whistler, Ann. Personal Interview. 24 March, 2014 Zak, Steven. â€Å"Ethics and Animals.† Taking Sides: Science, Technology, and Society. Gilford: Dushkin Publishing Group, 2007

The Starbucks Corporation Essay -- essays research papers

1. Starbucks Corporation's rise seems to be out of a storybook for Howard Schultz. Starbucks began selling whole bean coffee in 1971 under Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker. Business grew at a slow and steady pace until Schulz joined the company as manager of retail sales and marketing. After a visit to Milan, Italy, Schultz was inspired by a vision. He saw how important coffee was to the romantic culture of Italy. He believed that if Americans had such places to socialize over a cup of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, etc., that they would pay good money for his quality product. The owners of the Starbucks Corporation were not as excited and did not want to operate in the restaurant business. Schultz filmed these coffee bars and began to pitch his ideas to investors. By April of 1985, his first coffee bar had opened and by 1987 he had bought the Starbucks name. Although the first few years of the company were less than profitable, Schultz looked at the long-term opportunities and never let his idea die. Within a few years sales shot up 84%. This left room for expansion. By 1995 there were almost 200 stores opened across the U.S. and Starbucks was already looking international at this point and began operations to look to Asia. Starbucks now has opened bars all over the world and is one of the most successful businesses in the world. 2. The topics we have been looking at include the external environments of businesses and deciding on what a company is to do in the...

Life Shaping Experience Essay

More often than not motorcycle safety should be a major concern for riders and should be learned and practiced prior to the operation of any motorcycle. Motorcycle safety is a very important consideration not only to the operator but also for other individuals when sharing the road and should not be learned through adverse experiences. The Proper use of a D. O. T. , Department of Transportation, approved helmet insures that the possibility of serious head injuries or death can be greatly reduced. Current statistics, from 2008, from The Center For Disease Control @ www. cdc. gov. rg state that â€Å"A Proven Safety Measure. Helmets save motorcycle riders’ lives. Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 69%. In a motorcycle crash, an unhelmeted rider is 40% more likely to die from a head injury than someone wearing a helmet. In 2008, helmets saved over 1,800 riders’ lives, but about 800 more lives could have been saved if all riders had worn helmets. † While operating a motorcycle one warm early summer evening I was involved in a traffic collision with a local elderly couple driving an earlier model 1970’s Cadillac. Not only was this Cadillac very large it was also very heavy. The gentleman that was driving was not paying very close attention as he continued straight through the very busy intersection from a left only turn lane. As I approached the intersection from the opposite direction I became aware that this monstrous chuck, of fast moving steel, was not turning nor was it slowing down. I decided it was best to smash on my breaks and discontinue my left hand turn attempt. This I believe is what saved my life that night. My bike straightened out and slowed just enough to prevent us both from winding up straight in front of our doom. The caddy and I grazed side by side. My left hand and handlebar smashing the caddy’s front windshield, back window and all other windows on the driver’s side. At that point in time everything that was anything turned into nothing but one big crash. The bike went its way and I went for a flight straight up into the air. Landing back to earth, after what seemed to be forever, on my hands and knees the only thing that came to mind was to find safety. Safety from all of the other traffic that needed to use that very same busy intersection that I was now no longer in need of. The only safety that I could think of was the comfort of getting next to that now dilapidated bike of mine. Why? I have no idea but it seemed like the right thing to do at that spinning point in time. So I crawled and I crawled until, finally, I was next to that that was going to protect me from getting run over. Three, kind, employees that worked at the filling station across the street came over and helped me to the side walk and began to take steps to see if I was physically alright. Beside from a few rocks being stuck in my aching knees and bleeding hands and apart from being really shook up these two, more than kind, individuals determined that I was going to live. This, needless to say, was comforting even coming from medically uncertified sources. It was then that motorcycle safety consideration came into being for me. I asked one of these gentlemen, â€Å"Could you please go back out into the intersection and get my eyeglasses and helmet for me? † The gentleman replied’† Yes I would be more than happy to get your glasses however you were not wearing a helmet. † As far as the condition of the elderly occupants of the Cadillac and their wellbeing, they were uninjured and doing fine all except for being really shook up and not wanting to speak to me at all. They had just almost killed me and did not want to take the effort ,that any caring citizen would take , to see if I was ok. That’s the last that I heard from them. It was now up to their insurance company to take care of business and wow did they ever have to. I made a couple of dollars on that life changing experience. Later that evening after recouping for an hour or so at home and a little self-medicating Lewis, a very close friend of mine at the time, came to my door and asked,† Is there anything that I can do to help? Lewis had gotten word through the proverbial circle of friends that we are all familiar with in the high school years of our lives, and hurried right over. We went cruising around the stomping grounds of El Toro California because it seemed like the thing to do after one of us had cheated death and could still talk to the other. As we cruised we meditated on and came to the conclusion of motorcycle helmets and how they will be a part of both of our lives from now on. We talked about how it was not luck having escaped serious injury or perhaps even death due to this accident. We both agreed that it was simple hysics that attributed to not having collided with any other objects during the actual event. Having agreed, that remaining friends was something that we both wanted and that riding bikes with our girlfriends was also something that we wanted to continue doing, we bought helmets for ourselves and our girlfriends. Once again I cannot stress enough the importance of motorcycle safety. How wearing a helmet at all times while riding is so important for operators protection. Again more often than not motorcycle safety should be a major concern for riders and should be learned and utilized by riders prior to operating a motorcycle.