The Vampire Diaries Dark Reunion Chapter Eleven Free Essays

string(45) " black walnut trees in the back of the yard\." The car skidded in behind one of the police cars that was parked crookedly in the street. There were lights everywhere, lights flashing blue and red and amber, lights blazing from the Bennett house. â€Å"Stay here,† Matt snapped, and he plunged outside, following Stefan. We will write a custom essay sample on The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Eleven or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"No!† Bonnie’s head jerked up; she wanted to grab him and drag him back. The dizzy nausea she’d felt ever since Tyler had mentioned Vickie was overwhelming her. It was too late; she’d known in the first instant that it was too late. Matt was only going to get himself killed too. â€Å"You stay, Bonnie-keep the doors locked. I’ll go after them.† That was Meredith. â€Å"No! I’m sick of having everybody tell me to stay!† Bonnie cried, struggling with the seat belt, finally getting it unlocked. She was still crying, but she could see well enough to get out of the car and start toward Vickie’s house. She heard Meredith right behind her. The activity all seemed concentrated at the front: people shouting, a woman screaming, the crackling voices of police radios. Bonnie and Meredith headed straight for the back, for Vickie’s window. What is wrong with this picture? Bonnie thought wildly as they approached. The wrongness of what she was looking at was undeniable, yet hard to put a finger on. Vickie’s window was open-but it couldn’t be open; the middle pane of a bay window never opens, Bonnie thought. But then how could the curtains be fluttering out like shirttails? Not open, broken. Glass was all over the gravel pathway, grinding underfoot. There were shards like grinning teeth left in the bare frame. Vickie’s house had been broken into. â€Å"She asked him in,† Bonnie cried in agonized fury. â€Å"Why did she do that? Why?† â€Å"Stay here,† Meredith said, trying to moisten dry lips. â€Å"Stop telling me that. I can take it, Meredith. I’m mad, that’s all. I hate him.† She gripped Meredith’s arm and went forward. The gaping hole got closer and closer. The curtains rippled. There was enough space between them to see inside. At the last moment, Meredith pushed Bonnie away and looked through first herself. It didn’t matter. Bonnie’s psychic senses were awake and already telling her about this place. It was like the crater left in the ground after a meteor has hit and exploded, or like the charred skeleton of a forest after a wildfire. Power and violence were still thrumming in the air, but the main event was over. This place had been violated. Meredith spun away from the window, doubling over, retching. Clenching her fists so that the nails bit into her palms, Bonnie leaned forward and looked in. The smell was what struck her first. A wet smell, meaty and coppery. She could almost taste it, and it tasted like an accidentally bitten tongue. The stereo was playing something she couldn’t hear over the screaming out front and the drumming-surf sound in her own ears. Her eyes, adjusting from the darkness outside, could see only red. Just red. The record player clicked and the stylus swung back to the beginning. With a shock, Bonnie recognized the song as it started over. It was â€Å"Goodnight Sweetheart.† â€Å"You monster,† Bonnie gasped. Pain shot through her stomach. Her hand gripped the window frame, tighter, tighter. â€Å"You monster, I hate you! I hate you!† Meredith heard and straightened up, turning. She shakily pushed back her hair and managed a few deep breaths, trying to look as if she could cope. â€Å"You’re cutting your hand,† she said. â€Å"Here, let me see it.† Bonnie hadn’t even realized she was gripping broken glass. She let Meredith take the hand, but instead of letting her examine it, she turned it over and clasped Meredith’s own cold hand tightly. Meredith looked terrible: dark eyes glazed, lips blue-white and shaking. But Meredith was still trying to take care of her, still trying to keep it together. â€Å"Go on,† she said, looking at her friend intently. â€Å"Cry, Meredith. Scream if you want to. But get it out somehow. You don’t have to be cool now and keep it all inside. You have every right to lose it today.† For a moment Meredith just stood there, trembling, but then she shook her head with a ghastly attempt at a smile. â€Å"I can’t. I’m just not made that way. Come on, let me look at the hand.† Bonnie might have argued, but just then Matt came around the corner. He started violently to see the girls standing there. â€Å"What are you doing-?† he began. Then he saw the window. â€Å"She’s dead,† Meredith said flatly. â€Å"I know.† Matt looked like a bad photograph of himself, an overexposed one. â€Å"They told me up front. They’re bringing out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped. â€Å"We blew it. Even after we promised her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith stopped too. There was nothing more to say. â€Å"But the police will have to believe us now,† Bonnie said, looking at Matt, then Meredith, finding one thing to be grateful for. â€Å"They’ll have to.† â€Å"No,† Matt said, â€Å"they won’t, Bonnie. Because they’re saying it’s a suicide.† â€Å"A suicide?. Have they seen that room? They call that a suicide?† Bonnie cried, her voice rising. â€Å"Oh, my God,† Meredith said, turning away. â€Å"They think maybe she was feeling guilty for having killed Sue.† â€Å"Somebody broke into this house,† Bonnie said fiercely. â€Å"They’ve got to admit that!† â€Å"No.† Meredith’s voice was soft, as if she were very tired. â€Å"Look at the window here. The glass is all outside. Somebody from the inside broke it.† And that’s the rest of what’s wrong with the picture, Bonnie thought. â€Å"He probably did, getting out,† Matt said. They looked at each other silently, in defeat. â€Å"Where’s Stefan?† Meredith asked Matt quietly. â€Å"Is he out front where everyone can see him?† â€Å"No, once we found out she was dead he headed back this way. I was coming to look for him. He must be around somewhere†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Sh!† said Bonnie. The shouting from the front had stopped. So had the woman’s screaming. In the relative stillness they could hear a faint voice from beyond the black walnut trees in the back of the yard. You read "The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Eleven" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"-while you were supposed to be watching her!† The tone made Bonnie’s skin break out in gooseflesh. â€Å"That’s him!† Matt said. â€Å"And he’s with Damon. Come on!† Once they were among the trees Bonnie could hear Stefan’s voice clearly. The two brothers were facing each other in the moonlight. â€Å"I trusted you, Damon. I trusted you!† Stefan was saying. Bonnie had never seen him so angry, not even with Tyler in the graveyard. But it was more than anger. â€Å"And you just let it happen,† Stefan went on, without glancing at Bonnie and the others as they appeared, without giving Damon a chance to reply. â€Å"Why didn’t you do something? If you were too much of a coward to fight him, you could at least have called for me. But you just stood there!† Damon’s face was hard, closed. His black eyes glittered, and there was nothing lazy or casual about his posture now. He looked as unbending and brittle as a pane of glass. He opened his mouth, but Stefan interrupted. â€Å"It’s my own fault. I should have known better. I did know better. They all knew, they warned me, but I wouldn’t listen.† â€Å"Oh, did they?† Damon snapped a glance toward Bonnie on the sidelines. A chill went through her. â€Å"Stefan, wait,† Matt said. â€Å"I think-â€Å" â€Å"I should have listened!† Stefan was raging on. He didn’t even seem to hear Matt. â€Å"I should have stayed with her myself. I promised her she would be safe-and I lied! She died thinking I betrayed her.† Bonnie could see it in his face now, the guilt eating into him like acid. â€Å"If I had stayed here-â€Å" â€Å"And that would have been better!† Stefan cried. His chest was heaving. â€Å"I would rather have died with her than stood by and watched it! What happened, Damon?† He had gotten hold of himself now, and he was calm, too calm; his green eyes were burning feverishly in his pale face, his voice vicious, poisonous, as he spoke. â€Å"Were you too busy chasing some other girl through the bushes? Or just too uninterested to interfere?† Damon said nothing. He was just as pale as his brother, every muscle tense and rigid. Waves of black fury were rising from him as he watched Stefan. â€Å"Or maybe you enjoyed it,† Stefan was continuing, moving another half step forward so that he was right in Damon’s face. â€Å"Yes, that was probably it; you liked it, being with another killer. Was it good, Damon? Did he let you watch?† Damon’s fist jerked back and he hit Stefan. It happened too fast for Bonnie’s eye to follow. Stefan fell backward onto the soft ground, long legs sprawling. Meredith cried out something, and Matt jumped in front of Damon. Brave, Bonnie thought dazedly, but stupid. The air was crackling with electricity. Stefan raised a hand to his mouth and found blood, black in the moonlight. Bonnie lurched over to his side and grabbed his arm. Damon was coming after him again. Matt fell back before him, but not all the way. He dropped to his knees beside Stefan, sitting on his heels, one hand upraised. â€Å"Enough, you guys! Enough, all right?† he shouted. Stefan was trying to get up. Bonnie held on to his arm more firmly. â€Å"No! Stefan, don’t! Don’t!† she begged. Meredith grabbed his other arm. â€Å"Damon, leave it alone! Just leave it!† Matt was saying sharply. We’re all crazy, getting in the middle of this, Bonnie thought. Trying to break up a fight between two angry vampires. They’re going to kill us just to shut us up. Damon’s going to swat Matt like a fly. But Damon had stopped, with Matt blocking his way. For a long moment the scene remained frozen, nobody moving, everybody rigid with strain. Then, slowly, Damon’s stance relaxed. His hands lowered and unclenched. He drew a slow breath. Bonnie realized she’d been holding her own breath, and she let it out. Damon’s face was cold as a statue carved in ice. â€Å"All right, have it your way,† he said, and his voice was cold too. â€Å"But I’m through here. I’m leaving. And this time, brother, if you follow me, I’ll kill you. Promise or no promise.† Damon hitched up his jacket, straightening it. With a glance at Bonnie that scarcely seemed to see her, he turned to go. Then he turned back and spoke clearly and precisely, each word an arrow aimed at Stefan. â€Å"I warned you,† he said. â€Å"About what I am, and about which side would win. You should have listened to me, little brother. Maybe you’ll learn something from tonight.† â€Å"I’ve learned what trusting you is worth,† Stefan said. â€Å"Get out of here, Damon. I never want to see you again.† Without another word, Damon turned and walked away into the darkness. Bonnie let go of Stefan’s arm and put her head in her hands. Stefan got up, shaking himself like a cat that had been held against its will. He walked a little distance from the others, his face averted from them. Then he simply stood there. The rage seemed to have left him as quickly as it had come. What do we say now? Bonnie wondered, looking up. What can we say? Stefan was right about one thing: they had warned him about Damon and he hadn’t listened. He’d truly seemed to believe that his brother could be trusted. And then they’d all gotten careless, relying on Damon because it was easy and because they needed the help. No one had argued against letting Damon watch Vickie tonight. They were all to blame. But it was Stefan who would tear himself apart with guilt over this. She knew that was behind his out-of-control fury at Damon: his own shame and remorse. She wondered if Damon knew that, or cared. And she wondered what had really happened tonight. Now that Damon had left, they would probably never know. No matter what, she thought, it was better he was gone. Outside noises were reasserting themselves: cars being started in the street, the short burst of a siren, doors slamming. They were safe in the little grove of trees for the moment, but they couldn’t stay here. Meredith had one hand pressed to her forehead, her eyes shut. Bonnie looked from her to Stefan, to the lights of Vickie’s silent home beyond the trees. A wave of sheer exhaustion passed through her body. All the adrenaline that had been supporting her throughout this evening seemed to have drained away. She didn’t even feel angry anymore at Vickie’s death; only depressed and sick and very, very tired. She wished she could crawl into her bed at home and. pull the blankets over her head. â€Å"Tyler,† she said aloud. And when they all turned to look at her, she said, â€Å"We left him in the ruined church. And he’s our last hope now. We’ve got to make him help us.† That roused everyone. Stefan turned around silently, not speaking and not meeting anyone’s eyes as he followed them back to the street. The police cars and ambulance were gone, and they drove to the cemetery without incident. â€Å"We left his feet untied,† Matt said heavily, with a grimace of self-disgust. â€Å"He must have walked away since his car’s still down there.† Or he could have been taken, Bonnie thought. There was no mark on the stone floor to show which. Meredith went to the knee-high wall and sat down, one hand pinching the bridge of her nose. Bonnie sagged against the belfry. They’d failed completely. That was the long and short of it tonight. They’d lost and he had won. Everything they’d done today had ended in defeat. And Stefan, she could tell, was taking the whole responsibility on his own shoulders. She glanced at the dark, bowed head in the front seat as they drove back to the boarding house. Another thought occurred to her, one that sent thrills of alarm down her nerves. Stefan was all they had to protect them now that Damon was gone. And if Stefan himself was weak and exhausted†¦ Bonnie bit her lip as Meredith pulled up to the barn. An idea was forming in her mind. It made her uneasy, even frightened, but another look at Stefan put steel in her resolve. The Ferrari was still parked behind the barn-apparently Damon had abandoned it. Bonnie wondered how he planned to get about the countryside, and then thought of wings. Velvety soft, strong black crow’s wings that reflected rainbows in their feathers. Damon didn’t need a car. They went into the boarding house just long enough for Bonnie to call her parents and say she was spending the night at Meredith’s. This was her idea. But after Stefan had climbed the stairs to his attic room, Bonnie stopped Matt on the front porch. â€Å"Matt? Can I ask you a favor?† He swung around, blue eyes widening. â€Å"That’s a loaded phrase. Every time Elena said those particular words†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No, no, this is nothing terrible. I just want you to take care of Meredith, see she’s okay once she gets home and all.† She gestured toward the other girl, who was already walking toward the car. â€Å"But you’re coming with us.† Bonnie glanced at the stairs through the open door. â€Å"No. I think I’ll stay a few minutes. Stefan can drive me home. I just want to talk to him about something.† Matt looked bewildered. â€Å"Talk to him about what?† â€Å"Just something. I can’t explain now. Will you, Matt?† â€Å"But†¦ oh, all right. I’m too tired to care. Do what you want. I’ll see you tomorrow.† He walked off, seeming baffled and a little angry. The bulb in the attic ceiling lamp was missing, and Stefan had lighted a candle. He was lying haphazardly on the bed, one leg off and one leg on, his eyes shut. Maybe asleep. Bonnie tiptoed up and fortified herself with a deep breath. â€Å"Stefan?† His eyes opened. â€Å"I thought you’d left.† â€Å"They did. I didn’t.† God, he’s pale, thought Bonnie. Impulsively, she plunged right in. â€Å"Stefan, I’ve been thinking. With Damon gone, you’re the only thing between us and the killer. That means you’ve got to be strong, as strong as you can be. And, well, it occurred to me that maybe†¦ you know†¦ you might need†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice faltered. Unconsciously she’d begun fiddling with the wad of tissues forming a makeshift bandage on her palm. It was still bleeding sluggishly from where she’d cut it on the glass. His gaze followed hers down to it. Then his eyes lifted quickly to her face, reading the confirmation there. There was a long moment of silence. Then he shook his head. â€Å"But why? Stefan, I don’t want to get personal, but frankly you don’t look so good. You’re not going to be much help to anybody if you collapse on us. And†¦ I don’t mind, if you only take a little. I mean, I’m never going to miss it, right? And it can’t hurt all that much. And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Once again her voice trailed off. He was just looking at her, which was very disconcerting. â€Å"Well, why not?† she demanded, feeling slightly let down. â€Å"Because,† he said softly, â€Å"I made a promise. Maybe not in so many words, but -a promise just the same. I won’t take human blood as food, because that means using a person, like livestock. And I won’t exchange it with anyone, because that means love, and-† This time he was the one who couldn’t finish. But Bonnie understood. â€Å"There won’t ever be anyone else, will there?† she said. â€Å"No. Not for me.† Stefan was so tired that his control was slipping and Bonnie could see behind the mask. And again she saw that pain and need, so great that she had to look away from him. A strange little chill of premonition and dismay trickled through her heart. Before, she had wondered if Matt would ever get over Elena, and he had, it seemed. But Stefan- Stefan, she realized, the chill deepening, was different. No matter how much time passed, no matter what he did, he would never truly heal. Without Elena he would always be half himself, only half alive. She’d come up here to give Stefan a gift that he didn’t want. But there was something else he did want, she realized, and only she had the power to give it to him. Without looking at him, her voice husky, she said, â€Å"Would you like to see Elena?† Dead silence from the bed. Bonnie sat, watching the shadows in the room sway and flicker. At last, she chanced a look at him out of the corner of her eye. He was breathing hard, eyes shut, body taut as a bowstring. Trying, Bonnie diagnosed, to work up the strength to resist temptation. And losing. Bonnie saw that. Elena always had been too much for him. When his eyes met hers again, they were grim, and his mouth was a tight line. His skin wasn’t pale anymore but flushed with color. His body was still trembling-taut and keyed up with anticipation. â€Å"You might get hurt, Bonnie.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"You’d be opening yourself up to forces beyond your control. I can’t guarantee that I can protect you from them.† â€Å"I know. How do you want to do it?† Fiercely, he took her hand. â€Å"Thank you, Bonnie,† he whispered. She felt the blood rise to her face. â€Å"That’s all right,† she said. Good grief, he was gorgeous. Those eyes†¦ in a minute she was either going to jump him or melt into a puddle on his bed. With a pleasurably agonizing feeling of virtue she removed her hand from his and turned to the candle. â€Å"How about if I go into a trance and try to reach her, and then, once I make contact, try to find you and draw you in? Do you think that would work?† â€Å"It might, if I’m reaching for you too,† he said, withdrawing that intensity from her and focusing it on the candle. â€Å"I can touch your mind†¦ when you’re ready, I’ll feel it.† â€Å"Right.† The candle was white, its wax sides smooth and shining. The flame drew itself up and then fell back. Bonnie stared until she became lost in it, until the rest of the room blacked out around her. There was only the flame, herself and the flame. She was going into the flame. Unbearable brightness surrounded her. Then she passed through it into the dark. The funeral home was cold. Bonnie glanced around uneasily, wondering how she had gotten here, trying to gather her thoughts. She was all alone, and for some reason that bothered her. Wasn’t somebody else supposed to be here too? She was looking for someone. Step by step, as if something were pulling her, Bonnie approached the casket. She didn’t want to look in. She had to. There was something in that coffin waiting for her. The whole room was suffused with the soft white light of the candles. It was like floating in an island of radiance. But she didn’t want to look†¦ Moving as if in slow motion, she reached the coffin, stared at the white satin lining inside. It was empty. Bonnie closed it and leaned against it, sighing. Then she caught motion in her peripheral vision and whirled. It was Elena. â€Å"Oh, God, you scared me,† Bonnie said. â€Å"I thought I told you not to come here,† Elena answered. This time her hair was loose, flowing over her shoulders and down her back, the pale golden white of a flame. She was wearing a thin white dress that glowed softly in the candlelight. She looked like a candle herself, luminous, radiant. Her feet were bare. â€Å"I came here to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie floundered, some concept teasing around the edges of her mind. This was her dream, her trance. She had to remember. â€Å"I came here to let you see Stefan,† she said. Elena’s eyes widened, her lips parting. Bonnie recognized the look of yearning, of almost irresistible longing. Not fifteen minutes ago she’d seen it on Stefan’s face. â€Å"Oh,† Elena whispered. She swallowed, her eyes clouding. â€Å"Oh, Bonnie†¦ but I can’t.† â€Å"Why not?† Tears were shining in Elena’s eyes now, and her lips were trembling. â€Å"What if things start to change? What if he comes, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She put a hand to her mouth and Bonnie remembered the last dream, with teeth falling like rain. Bonnie met Elena’s eyes with understanding horror. â€Å"Don’t you see? I couldn’t stand it if something like that happened,† Elena whispered. â€Å"If he saw me like that†¦ And I can’t control things here; I’m not strong enough. Bonnie, please don’t let him through. Tell him how sorry I am. Tell him-† She shut her eyes, tears spilling. â€Å"Stefan, no! Elena says-† It didn’t matter. His mind was stronger than hers, and the instant she’d made contact he had taken over. He’d sensed the gist of her conversation with Elena, but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Helplessly, Bonnie felt herself being overridden, felt his mind come closer, closer to the circle of light formed by the candelabras. She felt his presence there, felt it taking shape. She turned and saw him, dark hair, tense face, green eyes fierce as a falcon’s. And then, knowing there was nothing more she could do, she stepped back to allow them to be alone. How to cite The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Eleven, Essay examples

Factory Farming free essay sample

Many people might not be aware of what really happens in factory farms, or if they do, they tend to turn a blind eye towards it. Our society has a fairytale image of how factory farm animals live: Cows grazing the luscious green fields, hens nesting in a warm, spacious barn, and pigs rolling around in mud enjoying the sunny day. This vision of farm life is far from reality, especially today with demand for cheap, delicious meat rising. Today, billions of animals are born, confined, biologically manipulated, transported, and slaughtered for human consumption. The majority of farm animals are not enjoying the ideal farm life, but instead, they are living in factory farms, also known as confined animals feeding operations (CAFOs) or intensive live-stock operations (ILOs) (Williams, Nancy). The purpose of factory farming is to produce some of the lowest prices in the world for meat, eggs, and dairy products, but is it really worth the cost? Not only is animal welfare at risk, but so is the environment and human health. Factory Farming should be banned in the United States, or even better, worldwide. Today we live in a society where animals are held at higher respect than they were ever before. Dogs have become known as a â€Å"man’s best friend† and cats are just as welcome on your couch as your family is. It is considered morally wrong to abuse any animal to the extent that we have laws protecting the welfare of animals. However, the live-stock in factory farms do not live comfortable lives. Probably the only good thing about living in a factory farm is that the animals do not live very long. Astonishingly, farmed animals are specifically excluded from the Federal Animal Welfare Act and also from most state anti-cruelty laws. In one case, during a Farm Sanctuary investigation of the ISE egg factory in early 2000 in the town of Broadway, New Jersey, two live hens were found deliberately dumped in a trash can full of dead birds (Bauston, Gene). In result of this, the ISE was charged with cruelty to animals and taken to court, but the judge ruled that the company was not guilty of animal cruelty (Bauston, Gene). To make matters worse, the ISE’s lawyer made a point that it was legally acceptable to discard live birds in the garbage and treat them as if they were manure (Bauston, Gene)! What exactly makes your household pet much different from that innocent pig suffering in a factory? Realistically speaking, it is human nature to consume meat; we humans must eat meat to be exceptionally healthy, but there are indeed better ways of doing it. In egg factories, hens are forced to live in battery cages, confined to about seven or eight to a cage, not leaving them enough room to turn around or spread their wings (Williams, Nancy). Not to mention, the egg industry confines about 300 million hens in a battery cage facility at any given time (Wenz, Peter). The battery cages used to house these hens already sound brutal, but to make matter worse, those hens are immobilized by their battery cages; their wings, legs, feet, and necks caught in the wires (Wenz, Peter). If you think hens have it bad, imagine what else might be happening to these animals. The pigs there spend most of their lives confined in narrow crates that enable most movement; the hard, slatted floors and the lack of exercise causes their feet and legs to cripple, and joint disorders; the constant rubbing up against the bars of their crates give them open sores, vulnerable to infection (Bauston, Gene). Calves are forced to live in two feet wide crates and chained to the neck, disabling most movement which prevents exercise and limits muscle development, which keeps the calves’ meat tender (Bauston, Gene). This treatment of farm animals is not only inhumane, but hypocritical considering that we live in an animal-loving society. Aside from animal abuse, factory farming also causes devastating effects on health. These health risks concern humans as well as animals. Approximately two-thirds of the 1,400 known pathogens to scientists are thought to have originated in animals (Sayre, Laura). The most common illnesses known to humans have actually came from the same animals we eat or have eaten in the past: tuberculosis and the common cold are thought to come to us from cattle, pertussis from pigs or sheep, leprosy from water buffalo, and influenza from ducks (Sayre, Laura). You may ask, â€Å"Well how does this have a connection with factory farming? † The connection is actually quite simple. Factory farms are breeding grounds for virulent disease, which spreads to the community through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and even the people who work at these â€Å"farms† by coming in contact with them and their families (Sayre, Laura). The unsanitary and stressful conditions in factory farms are passing new diseases onto humans faster than ever before. Many of us have heard the term â€Å"you are what you eat†. Factory farms have shed a new light on this term. Ever wonder what the food you eat actually ate while it was still alive? It might make one sick to their stomach when they realize what the FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) allows the factory farms to feed the animals we eventually eat. The FDA allows cattle blood, brains, spinal cords of cattle not older than 30 months of age, restaurant waste, and used poultry litter to serve as protein for factory animals (Pluhar, Evelyn). These factories are allowed to feed cattle other cattle, which can be forced cannibalism. Not only is feeding cattle spinal cords of other cattle morally wrong, but it is also dangerous because it is risking the spreading of mad cow disease. The FDA justifies this by noting that cattle 30 months old or younger are less likely to harbor mad cow disease, but it is possible for younger cows to still be infected, and it is possible for the disease to be spread through what is still allowed (by the FDA) in cattle feed (Pluhar, Evelyn). Now, consider the psychological strains factory farming might cause. Our society has determined that animals have feelings as well as humans –assuming this based on the federal and city laws that exist protecting animal rights. Animals are being chained, confined, neglected, and brutalized in industrialized factory farms; if this was happening to one of our dogs or cats the society would literally go ballistic. These imprisoned animals experience a wide range of psychological disorders as a result of their horrible living conditions (Bauston, Gene). Surprisingly, the animals are not the only ones who suffer psychologically. According to slaughterhouse expert Temple Grandin, it’s not unusual for the employees to become sadistic, literally being brutalized by what they must do hourly and daily (Pluhar, Gene). The unhealthy, dirty, and depressing environment the employees work in must affect them greatly, eventually affecting not only their work environment but also their personal life. After soaking in all of this depressing information about factory farm life, on might wonder what it would be like without it. Eliminating factory farms would greatly benefit the environment, the life of farm animals, and the people. Many people do not realize that amount of greenhouse gases that factory farms put into the air they breathe. Astonishingly, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) documents that the livestock industry contributes to these emissions- a full 20% of the total- than all of transportation (Pluhar, Evelyn). Ridding of factory farms would eliminate a substantial about of greenhouse gases that pollute our atmosphere. Instead of factory farming, there are much better ways of producing our country’s need for meat and dairy products. Smaller, more numerous family farms that practice substantial agriculture and humanely raise the animals they market for food would impose much less of a burden on the environment (Pluhar, Evelyn). Not only would these changes benefit our environment, but also our health. Animals raised in less stressful conditions would shed fewer pathogens; they would not be pumped with hormones and unnecessary doses of antibiotics; their feed would not be contaminated with cattle parts and poultry litter (Pluhar, Evelyn). Although, animals will still be getting slaughtered and eaten, but family farms with cleaner, more humane conditions would provide a better live for the animals, and they would suffer much less. Factory farm animals live brutal, painful lives. The suffering of these animals is unnecessary and inhumane, and not to mention, a hypocritical act of our animal-loving society. Factory farming is also harmful to the people that live in this country, affected by the illnesses and pollution is passes. Everyone, humans and animals included, would live healthier lives without the harmful effects of farming factories. Our society needs to come together and rethink the way we treat animals because it eventually comes back to â€Å"bite our butts†.

Effects On Economy1850 To 1914 Essays - International Trade

Effects On Economy:1850 To 1914 Effects on Trends in Trade Policy from 1850-1914 The modernizing world of 1850-1870 belonged to an age of remarkable growth in international trade, stimulating the largest free market the world had ever seen. Yet by 1914, only 30 years later, the trend towards liberal trade policies had mostly ended, replaced by a revival of the protectionist system. A study of the variation in trade policies over time shows a remarkable growth in the power of interest groups to influence the institutional rules and regulations concerning international economic intercourse. The initial major trend can be partly attributed ternational conditions, whereas later trends are more attributable to the relative strength of the interest groups within individual nations and their ability to influence institutional policies. It is, however, necessary to always consider the impact of the international economic situation on the interest groups, as changes in the international arena often played a significant role in determining which interest groups held power at any given time. A convenient starting point for looking at trends in international commerce policy is Great Britain. Prior to the British initiative towards free trade, there were two main barriers to trade, natural and artificial1. Natural barriers were the long distances to be transversed and the high cost of shipping materials. Artificial barriers included tariffs and at times direct prohibitions on the import of certain goods. As the century progressed both barriers fell drastically due to remarkable advances in technology and through the international leadership of Great Britain. This lasted until the 1870s initiated the return to protectionism. Britain, as the first serious pundit for free trade, led the initial trade liberalization movement for several reasons. First, the philosophical roots which planted the argument in favor of free trade came to fruition with the publication by Adam Smith of The Wealth of Nations. This work was quickly expanded upon by David Ricardo who postulated the concepts of absolute and comparative advantage, and who showed that every nation involved in trade benefited. The first group of influential people to accept and use these arguments thus arose in Britain in the form of the international merchants and industrialists. Britain in 1832 expanded the franchise to the urban upper middle class, of whose numbers merchants and industrialists constituted a significant amount. Thus at the same time the merchants were beginning to advocate a liberalization of Britain's trade policy, they were also becoming empowered to influence the parliamentary rules. Younger politicians intent on simplifying the government architecture gained power as a result, including Robert Peel and William Huskisson. The greatest barrier to free trade in Great Britain in the 1840s were the Corn Laws. The Corn Laws principally benefited the landed aristocracy, the strongest group traditionally represented in Parliament. Thus the landed aristocracy can and should be viewed as an institution as well as a separate interest group, given their hegemony over policy within the nation for several centuries. The rise of the merchant classes and the enfranchisement thereof provided the catalyst necessary to promote a sweeping change of the traditional policies. In Britain this political turmoil led to a trend towards free trade and a demand for the repeal of the Corn Laws by the industrialists and merchants. Richard Cobden, an industrialist, formed the Anti-Corn Law League2 in 1839 which created one of the first large scale campaigns to influence public opinion. The Whig party saw the merchants as a way to gain more control in Parliament, but failed to win the election in 1841. Tory Sir Robert Peel was elected prime minister, already intent on making extensive changes in the fiscal system. The Anti-Corn Law League achieved triumph in 1846, not due to their extensive propaganda, but thanks to the Irish potato famine. Faced with mass starvation Peel decided to introduce a bill which would permit the duty free import of grain within a few years. In some sense it can be argued that without the Irish famine the era of free trade would have come substantially later if at all. As an international event it propelled Great Britain down the path of free trade, and it is significant that the Whigs, which became the party of the industrialists and merchants, were unable to attain the repeal of the Corn Laws without a significant catastrophe to aid them. In the aftermath of the potato famine, the Whigs gained power and eventually replaced the vast majority of the tariffs with an income tax, making Britain essentially free trade. The interplay of events leading Britain towards free

Describe the work and organisation of the people working at Bletchley Park Essay Example

Describe the work and organisation of the people working at Bletchley Park Essay Example Describe the work and organisation of the people working at Bletchley Park Essay Describe the work and organisation of the people working at Bletchley Park Essay Throughout WWII determining the combat plans of the enemy proved to be imperative. Britain was finding the war very difficult in the first two years and the ability to foretell when and where hits were going to take place was crucial. The main institution that mastered this vital war technique was Bletchley Park. This was a large Mansion into which the government moved its Govt Code and Cipher School. The main thing that Bletchley Park, under the dummy name of Captain Ridleys Shooting Party was aiming to achieve was to be able to crack the codes that the Germans used to broadcast their war plans between each other. The main code being used by the Germans was called the Enigma code, it was very important that they crack this code as the war was not going well for the Allies in 1939. The Germans were prevailing in most of Europe and Britain had been saved by the Royal Air Force who won the Battle of Britain. In response to this Hitler launched the Blitz which involved night time saturation bombing (or raids) of large inner city areas which was theoretically to cripple industrial productivity and lower morale. This was supposed to make Britons more desperate for peace. The code cracking began in that year. There had been attempts to crack the codes by the Polish but were not secret enough about it and so the Germans just kept changing their codes more regularly. There was a wide array of people with different skills working at Bletchley Park. Most of the employees were maths orientated minds, chosen from top universities, particularly from Oxford and Cambridge. There were many different departments e.g. one for army codes and one for naval codes and each department had its own hut somewhere on the premises. Source D is a description of the work in hut 3 it says Material came in from hut 6They had to translate them into English This shows just how departmentalised the establishment was and how each hut was crucial to the operation. The workers were sworn to absolute secrecy and were simply told that what they were doing was extremely important for their country. The confidentiality was even mentioned and praised by Sir Winston Churchill who said that Bletchley Park was The goose that laid the golden egg and never cackled An example of this concealment is found in source A. I hadnt a clue what was going on in the rest of the park and nobody else had a clue what we were doing, except the real high-ups. This source suggests that although each hut knew exactly what they were doing for their department but did not know what happened in other huts and how their work fitted into the jigsaw of Bletchley Parks code breaking. The high-ups that the source mentions perhaps include Alan Turing, Max Newman, Tommy Flowers and Heath Robinson all of whom had great influences on the building of the Colossus computer and the cracking of the Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The reason the government chose their code breakers so carefully was because the task at hand was extremely difficult. The chances of breaking the codes were very slim, a massive 150,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1. To help them to even start breaking the codes the intelligent scholar-turned-code breakers built the worlds first computer, Colossus. This proved vital for cracking both the main enigma code and also the Lorenz cipher, used by higher up ranks such as the generals and even Hitler himself. The workers monitored every message whi ch was sent from listening stations and passed them on to Bletchley Park for these workers to attempt to interpret. The actual work at Bletchley Park involved was quite complicated however because of the wide range of workers, each person would be doing the same thing over and over, for this reason the job was often very boring. The hours were also long considering the boring and yet difficult work such as writing down ninety letters a minute which had to be understood from Morse code. Source H shows the confined space in which the many people would have to carry out their monotonous tasks for many long hours. The job was also often very mystifying as most people did not have clearance to fully understand the degree of importance of the job; this made many people unhappy because as far as they were concerned they could have been doing the tedious job for nothing. Source B suggests this. It is a woman who worked there, upon arriving she said that Most people thoughtthat nothing would happen and we would all go back to London. This shows the lack of understanding, on the workers part, of the scale of the operation. After reviewing the evidence from the sources and working from my own knowledge and deduction I think it was vital to crack the German codes with the best intelligence there was and to keep the fact that they were being broken a secret, however, I think that the hours of tedium were at times unnecessary.

Public Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Management - Essay Example But in recent time, the emphasis on New Public Management/ Public sector management approaches has forced public organizations to pay closer attention to their services delivery as con summers have begun to expect and demand more for their tax dollars". In this instance, no consumer of public goods and services are content with grumbling about poorly- produced goods and services and the under-qualified, untrained employees who render these services to them. Hence, as societies become more critical and litigious, public service organizations must seek all possible avenues for improving their output and providing the satisfaction their clients require and deserve. This couple with the complex nature of governance in contemporary times, where government partakes in nearly every sector of the economy (statism) in service provision (though there is a reduction in this through the privatization policies of must governments), then there is the need to ensure that quality service is delivere d. Strategic management is usually associated with private organizations that operate in a competitive environment, but now it is a noticeable management technique adopted in the New Public Management, as a concept and practice, by public sector organizations. This essay tends to look at the advantages and disadvantages associated with the adoption of strategic management in public sector organizations. Also, the argument on the difference context of strategic management in the private and public sectors would be deliberated upon. CONCEPTUALIZATION OF TERM Strategic Management: strategic management involves a rational planning process directed towards achieving clearly defined coherent goals. According to Armitage (1992), strategic management is a continuous process that works to fit an organization into its changing environment. Strategic management is a broader concept than strategic planning. In the sense that strategic planning (or long- range planning) is traditionally regarded as a period process to develop long-range plans for the organization. On the other hand strategic management encompasses both strategic decisions making and strategic planning. Thus, strategic management focuses on any strategic decision that must be made, regardless of its time frame and the planning necessary to complement that decision. Strategic management is then conceive as "a continuous activity of setting and maintaining the strategic direction of the organization and its business, and making decisions on a day- to day basis to deal with changing ci rcumstances and the challenges of the business results; it is all about people, leadership, technology and processes. Effective combination of these elements will help with strategic direction and successful service delivery (OGC, 2005). New Public Management: the concept of new public management differs from

Discuss healthcare systems organizational structure, financing, Assignment

Discuss healthcare systems organizational structure, financing, mission, vision, philosophy, and values - Assignment Example ciety as a whole and how the overall healthcare system is linked with other sectors of the economy to support and bolster the overall good of the society. (Skolnik, 2012, p.52) It is therefore clearly established that the overall goals, mission and vision of a healthcare system shall be focused upon delivering good health and generating and allocating financial resources fairly. The financial resources of the healthcare system therefore either are generated through the public funds or through public-private partnership arrangements along with self-funding through patients. It is however, critical to understand that overall organizational structure can also result into the restriction of the access to the healthcare providers. (Andersen, Vedsted, Olesen, Bro, & Ndergaard,2011). The concept of gatekeeping into the overall organizational structure of healthcare system is resulting into a change in the overall relationship between the healthcare providers and the patients. Since one of the components of the organizational structure is service delivery it is therefore critical that organizational structure shall not be the restricting factor in the overall delivery of efficient and effective healthcare services to the patients. Andersen, R. S., Vedsted, P., Olesen, F., Bro, F., & Ndergaard, J. S. (2011). Does the organizational structure of health care systems influence care-seeking decisions?A qualitative analysis of Danish cancer patients’ refl ections on care-seeking. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care,

Credit marketed to cunsumers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Credit marketed to cunsumers - Essay Example Emphasis is given to the following fact: the marketing plans that promote credit have a series of severe implications for consumers. These implications are analyzed below aiming to highlight the need for setting barriers to the marketing of credit around the world. One of the most critical findings of the study seems to be the following: in the past credit was regarded as a tool used under exceptional conditions; today, credit has become a key part of daily life. Thus, the terms of its marketing should be thoroughly reviewed as of their effects on consumers. In order to evaluate the potential consequences of the credit marketed to consumers it is necessary to refer primarily to the methods employed by marketers for promoting credit. Commonly, marketers who design the marketing plans promoting credit use themes and issues related to critical social incidents or problems. For example, in USA ‘the credit cards that aim to cover medical expenses’ (Scurlock 6) are quite popul ar. Another issue quite important for marketers developing these plans is the marketing means used for communicating with the public, i.e. for promoting credit to consumers. ... In other words, the marketing plans promoting credit can appear almost everywhere. It can be quite difficult for consumers to resist to the dilemmas set through the relevant advertisements. However, consumers have started to face these plans with skepticism, especially since the image that these plans present in regard to credit-related products have been proved as unreal (Scurlock 12). The introduction of the concept of credit score is considered as an effort of marketers to control the concerns of consumers towards the credit-related financial products (Scurlock 127). The positive credit report has been set as a prerequisite for the extension of existing credit or for the provision of credit; the last case refers to consumers who borrow money for the first time (Scurlock 127). The credit report is based on credit scores: a high credit score denotes a consistent borrower while a low credit score indicates the failure of the borrower to respond to his obligations in regard to his deb t (Scurlock 127). Today, credit score is used for checking the overall financial status of a person, a fact that has caused strong criticism; for example, a candidate for a specific job may be asked to bring his credit report before signing the employment contract (Scurlock 128). The above practice violates human rights since it justifies the access to private data (Scurlock 128). Although it is widely used, the credit report hides a series of risks: a) by emphasizing on credit report and on the importance of credit score authorities and organizations seem to promote a specific trend: consumers are urged to put all their efforts for protecting their credit score. In this