Ordinary Men Or Willing Executioners Essays - Human Rights Abuses

Ordinary Men Or Willing Executioners The arguments of Christopher Browning and Daniel John Goldhagen contrast greatly based on the underlining meaning of the Holocaust to ordinary Germans. Why did ordinary citizens participate in the process of mass murder? Christopher Browning examines the history of a battalion of the Order Police who participated in mass shootings and deportations. He debunks the idea that these ordinary men were simply coerced to kill but stops short of Goldhagen's simplistic thesis. Browning uncovers the fact that Major Trapp offered at one time to excuse anyone from the task of killing who was not up to it. Despite this offer, most of the men chose to kill anyway. Browning's traces how these murderers gradually became less squeamish about the killing process and delves into explanations of how and why people could behave in such a manner. Goldhagen's book however, has the merit of opening up a new perspective on ways of viewing the Holocaust, and it is the first to raise crucial questions about the extent to which eliminationist anti-Semitism was present among the German population as a whole. Using extensive testimonies from the perpetrators themselves, it offers a chilling insight into the mental and cognitive structures of hundreds of Germans directly involved in the killing operations. Anti-Semitism plays a primary factor in the argument from Goldhagen, as it is within his belief that anti-Semitism more or less governed the ideational life of civil society in pre-Nazi Germany . Goldhagen stated that a Demonological anti-Semitism, of the virulent racial variety, was the common structure of the perpetrators cognition of the German society in general. The German perpetrators were assenting mass executioners, men and women who, true to their own eliminationist anti-Semitic beliefs, faithful to their cultural anti-Semitic credo, considered the slaughter to be just. Though his statements seem quite harsh in content, they are not completely unjust for there is no obvious reason why a culture cannot be fanatically consumed by hatred. Goldhagen argues that for centuries, nearly every German was possessed of a homicidal animus towards Jews and thus 80 to 90 percent of Germans would have relished in the occasion to eliminate Jews. (Goldhagen dissents from Christopher Browning's estimates that 10-20 percent of the German police battalions refused to kill Jews as 'stretching the evidence ). It is one of Goldhagen's central arguments that the police battalions were prototypical of the murderous German mind-set. Goldhagens true distinction from Browning is to argue that German anti- Semitism was not only a significant but rather it was the sufficient condition for perpetrating the extermination of the Jews. Goldhagen observes that if it was not for Hitlers moral authority, the vast majority of Germans never would have contemplated the genocide against th e Jews. He also argues that by the time Hitler came to power, the model of Jews that was the basis of his anti-Semitism was shared by the vast majority of Germans. To rebuttal his claim I must ask that if anti-Semitism was true to not only the Germans but also the other European countries then why didnt a massive scale anti-Semitism movement come into play elsewhere? It is true that Goldhagen believes Had there not been an economic depression in Germany, then the Nazis, in all likelihood, would never have to come to power. However, this statement simply requires a question that if the Germans were fanatically anti-Semitists then why did they have to wait an economic depression to attain power and act out their anti-Semitist beliefs? Anti-Semitism, according to Goldhagen, was symptomatic of a much deeper German dissatisfaction. It served the Germans as a moral rationale for releasing destructive and ferocious passions that are usually tamed and curbed by civilization. Goldhagen uses the testimonies from the Reserve Battalion 101 as evidence to assert his claims on the anti-Semitic nature of the Germans. He tends to use much of the same evidence that Browning used but he, in trying to prove his point, neglected to use some the vital information that Browning used to assert his own claims, thus selecting only the relevant information. Goldhagen uses numbers to give an idea of the make-up of the men, there age, status, and participation in the Nazi regime. While pointing

Learn to Conjugate the French Verb Tuer (to Kill)

Learn to Conjugate the French Verb Tuer (to Kill) When you want to say killing or killed in French, youll use the verb  tuer. To get it into the present or past tense, however, you will also need to know its conjugations. A quick lesson will introduce you to the essential forms of  tuer  that youll need. The Basic Conjugations of  Tuer As with all French verb conjugations, you will have quite a few words to memorize for tuer. It is a regular -er verb, though, so if youve studied similar words, you can apply the same endings here. The key to any conjugation is to begin with the verb stem (or radical). For  tuer, this is  tu-. From there, simply match the subject pronoun with the tense thats appropriate for your sentence. As an example,  je tue  means I am killing and  nous tuerons  means we will kill. Present Future Imperfect je tue tuerai tuais tu tues tueras tuais il tue tuera tuait nous tuons tuerons tuions vous tuez tuerez tuiez ils tuent tueront tuaient The Present Participle of  Tuer When you add -ant  to the stem of  tuer, the  present participle  is formed. The result is  tuant, which can be an adjective or noun as well as a verb. Tuer  in the Compound Past Tense Another simple conjugation and alternative to the imperfect is the  passà © composà ©. This is a compound past tense, but its relatively easy to construct once you know the rules. To begin,  conjugate the auxiliary verb avoir  to the subjects present tense. Then attach the  past participle  tuà ©, which indicates that something has already been killed. The result is, for example,  jai tuà ©Ã‚  for I killed and  nous avons tuà ©Ã‚  for we killed. More Simple Conjugations of  Tuer When youre unsure if any killing has happened, you can use  the subjunctive  of  tuer. Yet, if the killing is dependent on certain conditions, youll use  the conditional. The passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive  are both literary tenses and youll find them in formal French writing. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je tue tuerais tuai tuasse tu tues tuerais tuas tuasses il tue tuerait tua tut nous tuions tuerions tumes tuassions vous tuiez tueriez tutes tuassiez ils tuent tueraient turent tuassent To use  tuer  in short, direct commands or requests,  the French imperative  is used. In this case, the subject pronoun is dropped so  tu tue  becomes  tue. Imperative (tu) tue (nous) tuons (vous) tuez

Minerals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Minerals - Essay Example Crespo et al., (2004) reported that disseminated graphite only occurred in metamorphic rocks of the La Umbria series and Fuente del Oro in the â€Å"Aracena Metamorphic Belt†. The deposits of graphite are weathered at 50 to 65 feet in depth. Coherence between graphite and other minerals is lessened due to weathering. Subsurface mining needs the cutting of multiple shafts to access the graphite deposits. Sometimes, tunneling equipments are used to remove the rock. Both, crystalline, and flake Graphite are graded as per carbon contents, and size of particles. Graphite with a high purity is only achieved through heating in the electric furnaces. Ash chemistry and likely applications are applied to grade the Flake carbon (80-99%), crystalline graphite (90-99%) and amorphous carbon (70-85%). Graphite’s purity is determined on the basis of Carbon contents and size of particles while amorphous Graphite is classified only on the basis of the carbon contents. Both, synthetic and natural graphite are heated up to 2500 °C that produces the graphite of a high purity 99.9%. Silicon and Boron are used as promoter elements for the graphite structure. Introduction of these elements enhances the consistency, conductivity and lubricant properties of the graphite (Crossely, 2000). Usually two techniques named as open pit mining and underground mining are used for graphite mining. Open pit mining is the method for the extraction of rocks from the open pits. This technique is useful when graphite ore lies close to the surface of the earth. On the other hand, underground mining involves the mining of graphite placed at the depth under the surface of the earth. Drift mining, slope mining, shaft mining and hard rock mining are the important methods for the underground mining (Crusher in China, 2012). Mining process of Graphite requires the power operations at the mining locations. The construction, decommissioning and operations

Loss of Productivity in The Workplace and Modern Technology Essay

Loss of Productivity in The Workplace and Modern Technology - Essay Example Simplistic assessments driven by special interests tend to convince the confused corporate employer to attribute the blame of productivity loss to an errant workforce and jump into a frenzy of surveillance and lay-offs without being sure at the first place, whether the traditional ideas of productivity can be applied at all to the situation. New technology creates new stresses as also new benefits, and the idea of productivity itself needs to change and take into account the whole rather than a part of the consequences of the computer network in the workspace. "To be sure, part of the problem is that we are mismeasuring productivity" (Blinder & Quandt, 27-28) for we have not yet standardized the inputs and outputs, and the traditional workspace is already being pushed by the virtual workspace that extends the office workspace into the homes of telecommuting employees. When we talk about productivity in the workplace, our primary concern is labor or employee productivity, and the way modern technology affects it. Despite its obvious boons, modern technology also affects the workspace by its inherent tangible and mechanical complexity, fallibility, and speed of change. Usually these are overlooked as corporates tend to view system failures as part of the game while employee failures as unpardonable. Too often, in the confus... 'Hand it round first, and cut it afterwards.' Too often, in the confused state of the market, employers buy systems and software first and understand their compatibility and utility later. This results in a terrible lack of standardization that affects both the employer and the employee. A hardware failure can cost between 2-16 hours of productivity on an individual computer. A server failure affects the entire workforce and can throttle productivity and raise stress to unbearable heights especially if deadlines are on hand. (Johnston) Slow operating systems and machines take away productive time frustrating the employee who feels out of control, and that the computer sets the pace of work rather than the human. The effect of system failures on worker stress and productivity has been a matter of research and "some studies have shown that characteristics of computer technology can add to the stress experienced by office workers. Johansson and Aronsson ( 1984 ) showed that computer breakdown yielded an increase in adrenaline excre tion and diastolic blood pressure, as well as in selfrated irritation, fatigue, rush, and boredom. Schleifer ( 1987 ) showed that slow computer response time generated higher ratings of mood disturbances."( Carayon-Sainfort, 246) The loss of valuable data and related productivity loss exhibits worker stress in a phenomenon termed as PC rage. In a research conducted by Symantec in UK in conjunction with the National Opinion Poll, it was found that nearly half of Britons have reacted to system crashes by "either abusing colleagues, hitting the computer, screaming, shouting or hurling parts of the PC." (PC Rage, The Birmingham Post) More than half of the Symantec research subjects admitted to experiencing a loss of productivity as a result of

Indirect free kick Essay Example for Free

Indirect free kick Essay There are fouls and misconduct happen during and sometimes after the match in football. When a player kicks or attempts to kick another opponent is one of the offences, however there are other ways of make an offence and that’s by tripping an opponent which can be used by using your hands to throw them down, using the legs which is a common one, however, it is also an offence to just stand in front of them or behind them. There are more offences and they are jumping at an opponent, charging them in a violent or in dangerous way, charging them from behind using boot feet, attempting or striking to strike at the opponent, holding and pushing an opponent and finally it is also an offence to handle the ball for example carrying it, striking it or using their hand or arm which is then followed up by giving the other team an indirect free kick. When a player has the ball and he makes a back pass to his goalkeeper directly, and the goalkeeper holds the ball with his hands or has any contact with his hand then the other team will be rewarded with an indirect free kick. This rule was put it in place recently in 1992 which was done because it stopped the goalkeeper from wasting time and holding the ball from opportunities to the other team and by also taking possession of the ball with the hands. This also stopped the goalkeeper from having more than 6 seconds limit of goalkeeper possession. Another reason for this rule to be put in place was because it made the games more interesting and less boring. In order for a team to score a goal, the whole ball passes over the goal line, in between the goalposts and under the crossbar. As you can see in the picture to the right, it shows that the whole ball has to pass otherwise even if it’s touching the line a little bit; it’s considered as play on with no goal. There have been some recent changes in football because a lot of times the referee is blamed for not making the right decision about the ball going in or not so therefore FA has introduced a new referee which is called an assistant referee and his job is to stand on the goal line to make sure and have a better view of the ball going in or not. They have done this because it ruins the fair play between the teams especially when the games are very important. In order for a team to win a match, the team has to have more goals than the other team and if it ends up being equal, then the game ends as a draw which means neither of the teams won. In some games there might be extra time provided because one team has to win so therefore they play with extra time.  A goal can be scored from anywhere on the play, from anyone who is playing and that included the goalkeeper too. Goals are also scored from penalties and free kicks. However a goal cannot be scored directly from a throw in so therefore it has to be touched by someone else after the throw in order to score a goal. A goal cannot be counted if the referee has not blown his whistle for the game to restart. Another way a goal cannot be scored is if you are taking an indirect free kick because it’s indirect so therefore the ball has to be passed to someone in your team and then you can score.

Sport Record :: Sports Records Papers

Sport Record The founding father of the Olympic Movement, Pierre de Coubertin, referred to the sport record as having the same function in the ideology of Olympism as the principle of gravity in Newtonian mechanics (Loland 1995). The record was, so to speak, the eternal axiom of sport. No doubt, Coubertin was right in many ways. The fascination for records is a key element in our fascination for sports. Records are the stuff of which legends and myths are made. Johnny Weissmuller's 1924 one hundred meter freestyle swim under the minute, Wilma Rudolph's fabulous sprint records from the early 1960s, and Michael Johnson's explosive two hundred meter record run at the 1996 Atlanta Games, are all paradigmatic examples of Coubertin's ideals. The record stands as a symbolic message of human greatness and infinite possibility. However, as will be shown in this paper, the record idea is not unproblematic. First, sport records are defined. Second, based on critical, conceptual analyses, the logic of the record is examined and possible consequences are discussed of the continuous quest for new records. Finally, some reflections are presented on alternative lines of developments in sport in which the status of the record idea is drastically reduced. Record Sports, Quasi Record Sports, and Games A sport record is a performance, measured in exact mathematical-physical entities (meters, seconds or kilograms) within a standardized spatio-temporal framework defined by sport rules, that is better than all previous performances measured in the same way. Typical record sports are athletics, swimming, and weight lifting. Record sports have to satisfy strict requirements on both standardization of conditions and on exact measurement of performance. A series of sport disciplines satisfy one of these two criteria. In marathon running and cross-country skiing, performances are measured and compared by exact timing, but there are no standardized arenas. The Boston Marathon is rather different from the one in Oslo. The conditions and trails of cross-country ski races vary from race to race. We sometimes talk of records here, but in an inaccurate way. Disciplines with exact performance measurements but without strictly standardized frameworks can perhaps better be called quasi-record sports. Other sport disciplines have well-defined standardized spatial frameworks but do not measure performances in exact ways. In terms of arenas, soccer and tennis are more or less identical from match to match. Performances, however, are measured in non-precise entities like goals, points, sets, and games. Moreover, performances are in a sense relative as they depend upon social interaction with other competitors.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories Closed Reading Essay

So Iff the Water Genie told Haroun about the Ocean of the Streams of Story, and even though he was full of a sense of hopelessness and failure the magic of the ocean began to have an effect on Haroun. He looked into the water and saw that it was made up of a thousand thousand thousand and one currents, each one a different colour, weaving in and out of one another like a liquid tapestry of breathtaking complexity; and Iff explained that these were the Streams of Story, that each coloured strand represented and contained a single tale. Different parts of the ocean contained different sorts of stories, and all the stories that had ever been told and many that were still in the process of being invented could be found here, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was in fact the biggest library in the universe. And because the stories were held here in fluid form, they retained the ability to change, to become new versions of themselves, to join up with other stories and so become yet other stories; so that unlike a library of books, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was much more than a storeroom of yarns. It was not dead but alive. (Rushdie 72) In Salmon Rushdie’s’, Haroun and the Sea of Stories various themes are explored presenting numerous arguments to the reader. One of the main themes within the novel is the importance of stories. Within the passage above Salmon Rushdie presents the changing nature of stories and their ability to become new versions of themselves, this is explored through the use of literary devices. These techniques allow interpretation of the themes, present Rushdie’s ideas and further engage the reader. Some of the techniques used within the above passage are; third person narrative, repetition, synonyms, sentence structure and metaphor. The above passage is key to Rushdie’s story, Haroun and the Sea of Stories and its themes as this is when Haroun is first introduced to the Sea of Stories. Haroun is challenged to make a decision between two wishes; to have his mother come back or for his father to regain his lost story telling ability. Failing to make either wish due to his eleven minute concentration, a result of his mothers departure, Haroun is possessed with a â€Å"sense of hopelessness and failure†(pg 72). These feelings foreshadow future angst Haroun will feel and overcome about the Sea of Stories and its potential destruction. The use of third person narrative can be seen throughout the novel and passage. This allows the reader to be an onlooker to the story, a gain a more informative view of the story, allowing them to see numerous points of view rather than just one. Within the passage third person is used to engage the reader and distance them from the immediate situation while still allowing them to observe the beauty described by Iff the Water Genie. Examples of third person within the passage are â€Å"Iff explained† and â€Å"Iff the Water Genie told Haroun. The passage portrays the nature of the sea and sets up the context for the oceans future with the use of repetition. The idea of change is presented; throughout the passage with the idea of stories being simple is challenged, uncovering their true complexity, detailing how the water is â€Å"made up of thousand thousand thousand and one currents, each of a different colour† (pg 72) and how stories have the ability to join up with one another and to become yet another story. This represents the idea that everything can change and nothing is susceptible to it, this can also be seen throughout the novel. Change can be seen through the repetition of the word ‘different’. The ‘different colours†, the â€Å"different sorts of stories† and the â€Å"different parts of the ocean†. The repetition of the word is used to present the reader with the full potential of the ocean and its changing magical ability. Within the novel the sea can be seen to change from something possessed with magic and beauty that inspired many to something toxic and sickly contaminated that affects numerous people and their health. Repetition of the ocean being alive and personifying the ocean, can be seen through the passage. The passage personifies the ocean by talking of its playful nature of the currents â€Å"weaving in and out of one another† and its ability to change, as it has a mind of its own. The last sentence within the passage states â€Å"it was not dead but alive† the use of short sentencing emphasised its point and indicates its importance. However this short verse changes the mood of the passage, the reader is confronted by the abrupt word â€Å"dead† this single word changes the tone of the sentence and explores that along with the capability to be alive there also is the capability to be dead. This foreshadows the next passage and the future of the ocean. Within the passage the metaphor of the ocean being a library is emphasised, it states that it is â€Å"the biggest library in the universe† this metaphor is used to try and example the extent of the sea and how many stories it possesses, connecting it to a familiar idea for the reader. However the metaphor is later contradicted renouncing the oceans likeness to a library of books due to the fluid form of the stories and their changing nature and ability to become new versions and to join up with other stories. It presents the ocean to be much more. This is revisited throughout the novel, exampling how the ocean is â€Å"much more† and how it is a health source to plentimaws fish, directly impacting them as the ocean becomes more toxic, as well as a way of life to all members of gup city. In the passage synonyms are used to help emphasis the key points an example of this is the synonym ‘change’ and ‘new versions of themselves’. These synonyms are used to indicate the importance of the oceans changing ability allowing the reader to assess how it is important. This concept is seen to be a key point of the passage and one of within the novel. The synonym of ‘not dead’ and ‘alive’ are used to stress the importance of the Sea of Stories, by stating its alive nature, the impact the sea has on others throughout the novel can be seen, to those who feed off it and keep it pure, for instance the plentimaw fish. The passage seen above is made up of four sentences; three extended and one truncated. The use of sentence structure is important as it seperates the ideas of the passage. Both the magic and splendor of the Sea of Stories and the realisation of it being â€Å"not dead but alive†(pg72) are seen within the passage. Extended sentences are used to describe the magic of the ocean an its ability to effect others, in the passage it is seen to effect Haroun, as he has a sense of hopelessness and failure however from the magic of the ocean Haroun is affected and changed. With the use of extended sentences the Sea of Stories is described by Iff the Water Genie. The reader is presented with the imagery of the water and its numerous colours, forever moving, weaving and how it is constantly changing into something new joining with other stories. This description paints a picture to the reader allowing them to imagine the true nature of the Sea. The second last sentence of the passage describes how the sea is ‘‘much more than a storeroom of yarns’’ as the stories are fluid form, holding the ability to become other stories, new stories. This allows the reader to interrupt the importance of the sea. The final sentence is made up of six words â€Å"it was not dead but alive† these few words hold great power as within the short sentence the reader is confronted with their meaning. Both the emotive words and change in tone, the reader is left questioning is there something more, with the words foreshadowing the future of the sea. The first and final sentences of the passage are seen to interlink as the effect the ocean has on Haroun creates a sense of obligation for him to help fight to fix the ocean and to keep it alive. Within the passage above form is seen to produce meaning. This is done through the use of literary techniques, the use of these devices allow the purpose of the text to be seen. The meaning of the passage is to example change, the good and bad, and to portray the importance if the Sea of Stories to the reader. The passage and its form also hold meaning the novel as it describes the sea and illustrates its magic.