Organizational Culture, Reengineering Services Process, and HR Organization Description Essay Example for Free

Organizational Culture, Reengineering Services Process, and HR Organization Description Essay Magneti Marelli Holding S. p. A. , a division of Fiat, is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and is an international manufacturer that designs, produces, and supplies high-tech automotive components. The primary product range is engine control systems for gasoline and diesel engines. Magneti Marelli is currently present in five continents and 18 countries (Fiat, 2010). To create a more consistent environment in the global process, World Class Manufacturing (WCM) has been implemented in all Fiat manufacturing companies. World Class Manufacturing is an international methodology for the organization of the manufacturing cycle to manage plants in accordance with the best standards. The application of WCM principles and methods resulted in logistics and quality and significant cost reductions. Fiat’s manufacturing structure has become increasingly efficient and flexible and has enabled the company to gain a competitive edge. Strategy Description For several years, the Fiat Group has been working to develop into a global manufacturing entity with the highest standards. The implementation of World Class Manufacturing addresses all aspects of the organization including environmental, health and safety, quality, maintenance, cost and logistic issues from the standpoint of continuous improvement. The entire process revolves around the methodical identification and decrease or elimination of waste through application of standardized techniques and tools and involves everyone in the company. WCM recognizes that employee involvement and empowerment are critical to attaining continuous improvement in all fundamentals of the manufacturing system. Organizational development occurs predominantly through employee involvement. World Class companies invest relatively more in their worker relationships and offer appreciably more training. For program achievement, Human Resources needs to be a business strategic partner and a key member of the management team overseeing and providing operational leadership (Entrepreneur, 1996). Strategy Application The key to developing and maintaining a workforce capable of supporting World Class Manufacturing is to cultivate an atmosphere of employee engagement and team building. Developing a skilled and flexible workforce creates value for external customers. To sustain a talented labor force, Human Resources initiatives involve recruitment and hiring; performance management; employee development and training; leadership development and training; team building; and safety and health programs (Scondanibbio, 2010). By recruiting and retaining top talent by identifying skill gaps and focus training as characterized by WCM, turnover and absenteeism rates are lowered and productivity and efficiency from workers increases. Training employees provides the chance to take ownership of their daily activities. Working in teams and cross-functional training increases efficiency and eliminates clutter and confusion on the plant floor. One section of World Class Manufacturing is People Development (Scondanibbio, 2010). HR provides team facilitation, leadership, and direction guidance in meeting instructional needs. The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating a vision that depicts the core values and purpose that guide the organization. It provides a worthwhile direction for designing, implementing, and assessing needed organizational changes. HR Professionals must sustain the change momentum through to completion by providing resources for change, developing new competencies and skills, and reinforcing new behaviors. Strategy Implications Organizational change involves moving from the known to the unknown which can impact worker competencies and coping abilities. Human Resources must prepare the workforce by meeting instructional needs. The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change. This requires HR to be both the constant and supporter in the middle of the turmoil of change. The organization looks to HR to provide needed structures, processes and approaches to support change management and to ensure the efforts deliver results (Belilos, 1997). World Class Manufacturing has defined key principles that define the organization and inspires doing things better and improving quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction. It is important to understand exactly what waste is and where it exists. For each identified waste, a strategy is prepared so performance and quality are improved. The identical process is also applied to human errors and gap analysis. Specific training models are designed applicable to the need. As the phrase indicates, World Class Manufacturing enhances an organization to be a global leader in performance and quality. Human Resources should have a clear understanding of the value of metrics and continuous measurement as the key to achieving sustainable efficiency and effectiveness. Using these outcomes, HR will have a thorough focus on talent and performance management to establish an integrated workforce management system that is closely aligned to the business needs and brand.

Finnis Theory Of Natural Law

Finnis Theory Of Natural Law Critically assess the success of Finnis attempt to construct a theory of natural law based on practical reason and not on a universal view of morality as traditionally contended. The Natural Law Introduction. It is possible to trace Natural Law thinking from primitive stages of simple societies where there was very little distinction between the religious and the secular the spiritual and the physical. For many of these early communities the spiritual world of gods and spirits was seen as being in control of the physical world including human society. Such communities had a variety of gods and spirits resulting in a spiritual entity associated with numerous aspects of the physical world. This gave rise to a belief that there was some higher power in control of human existence and this power was governed by a set of rules or principles which mankind could utilise in furtherance of a perfect existence. The kernel of the theory of Natural Law holds that law derives from a higher law, which is contained in certain principles of morality. These principles are sourced in either religion (through scriptures) or reason. According to theologians, these principles are under the control and governance of a God or figure of Deity and which eternally controls all of creation. Furthermore, it is their belief that all human arrangements, including law, must conform as far as possible to these principles. Secular theorists believe that such principles originate from mans conscience a conception of morality, which is inherent to all men, and part of their nature. Such principles or rules are discoverable through the application of human reason and form the genesis of law making, constituting the higher law from which all human laws must conform. St. Thomas of Aquinas 13th Century Theorists who support Natural Law guidance assume that certain facts about humans and their society provide the correct basis for laws that guide human interaction. Regardless of the theological vis-à  -vis secular opinions it is agreed between both schools of thought that real laws are those, which meet a moral standard, found by using the right facts and practical reasoning. Historically, one of the most influential natural law jurists was St. Thomas of Aquinas whose teachings form the basis of the Roman Catholic natural law traditions. Aquinas integrates the rationalist and religious approaches to Natural Law. He greatly influenced Western ideals in the area of ethics, political theory but, in particular, his teachings in the field of natural law held him in the highest of esteem within the Catholic Church, prompting Pope Benedict XV to declare The Church has declared Tomas doctrine to be her own. Aquinas believed that the eternal law of divine reason is wholly unknown to man as only God knows its full extent but that it is partially known not only through revelation (the Commandments, the scriptures) but also through the application of reason. He also contends that human law derived from divine law which governed the relationship between all things created by Him. According to Aquinas, God is the highest good and the reason all matter exists and that such creations exist together in a hierarchy known as the Principle of Subordination. Aquinas divided law into four main categories Eternal Law Such law constitutes Gods rational guidance of all created things and is derived from the divine wisdom and based on a divine plan. Man can never understand eternal law in its entirety but shall be guided by it as he moves through life. On the one hand such law resides with God alone, mysterious and inaccessible. En revanche as it is responsible for various complexities throughout nature, mankind can figure out certain aspects of it. Promulgated law, mentioned by Aquinas consists of practical reason emanating from a ruler or a figure of authority in a community. By the same rationale, he contends that God, as a ruler of the universe also has the nature of a law and as He is not subject to time such law is eternal. Divine Law Eternal law which manifests itself in the Christian scriptures the Commandments or the will of God revealed in the Old and New Testaments. Such law, according to Aquinas, was necessary as humans require require guidance on how to perform proper acts. It was also required to keep checks on the uncertainty of human judgement and to provide divine insight on issues they are not competent to judge for themselves. The Natural Law According to Aquinas, It is evident that all things partake somewhat of the eternal law, in so far as, namely, from its being imprinted on them à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Wherefore it (humans nature) has a share of the Eternal Reason, whereby it has a natural inclination to its proper act and end: and this participation of the eternal law in the rational creature is called the natural law From this Aquinas contends that Natural Law exists among man in the world and it is as he states à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦as though the light of natural reason by which we discern good from Evil. From this Aquinas gives us his definition of the Natural Law (participation of humans in Eternal Law) and the first principle of Natural Law (the capacity to differentiate good from evil). Human Law Is derived a combination of both the Divine and Natural Laws and must be directed toward the common good. Such law can vary in accordance with time but its essence must be just as an unjust law is not law (lex injusta non est lex). For Aquinas an unjust human law is one that furthers the interests of the lawgiver solely; or exceeds the power of the lawgiver; or imposes unequal burdens on the society being governed. Under this rationale therefore, Aquinas held the belief that disobedience to an unjust law becomes a duty as if the law is contrary to Divine law, man is released from obedience we should obey God rather than man. However such disobedience should be avoided if it were to lead to social instability, which is a greater evil than the existence of an unjust law in the first instance. Aquinas was concerned with the nature of laws primarily rather than the nature of a legal system or how laws operate. John Finnis, as will be seen later, was concerned with both equally. Law, according to Aquinas, is the use of reason for the common good made by those that care about the community and made known to this community. Aquinas believed that God gave humans characteristics the primary of which was our capability for rationality and reason. Mankind tends to do things naturally thus mirroring God as supremely rational. Using reason and rationale we can deduce what is self-evidently good and worth pursuing or what is self-evidently bad or evil and to be avoided. In this pursuit of good things we make laws for the common good using reason and are, again according to Aquinas, participating in Gods rational world order. Aquinas believed there are numerous ways to solve a problem and acknowledges that different societies or cultures may place different restrictions on behavior following from this there is not only one way to make law. The critical point to acknowledge is that whatever means are used are accepted by rational people. When dealing with positive/mad made laws Aquinas classifies them into real or defective. The former relate to reasonable standards of conduct in the pursuit of the common good while the latter refers to laws that do not meet criteria established in natural law principle or are unjust (do not meet the requirements of justice) and so these laws can be justifiably disobeyed. The Fall and Rise of Natural Law The secularisation of Natural Law began with the advent of the Reformation in Europe and the consequent decline of the Roman Catholic Church. This essentially resulted in Protestant theorists developing their own theories on natural law that were not based on papal teachings. Natural law doctrines faced further decline throughout the 18th century and into the 19th century where emphasis was placed on the notions of State power and State coercion. This era also saw a rise in the positivists approach to jurisprudential theories which were promoted by Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. Such jurists sought to separate the notions of what law is as opposed to what the law ought to be. The concepts of morality and law should be kept apart and the principles of Natural Law should belong more to the former than the latter. The 20th century saw a rebirth of Natural Law approaches to the study of law. To the forefront was the notion that there must be a higher set of principles (as distinct from positive law) which must satisfy natural law theories if law was to be regarded as valid. This revival was the result of a number of historical occurrences Nazism (whose acts were based on Nazi laws); the development of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction; the general decline of social and economic stability worldwide. Professor John Finnis 20th Century Professor John Finnis is a contemporary defender of natural law and a supporter of its resurgence in the last century. Finnis is a strong supporter of a neo-Aquinian natural law philosophy which does not presuppose a divine being. Instead of making reference to the form of good or seeking good, as was proposed by historical jurists he speaks of mans desire to pursue basic goods in life. Finnis focuses on goods rather than a single good in what he refers to as a theory of moral action for our day or in other words he seeks a theory of how to live well. Finnis The Basic Goods of Life This theory is based on the supposition that mankind sets out to obtain things they perceive to be good for themselves. In doing so, man must exercise practical reason to obtain that good at any one time. Finnis isolates eight of these goods which, according to him, cannot be broken down any more and so refers to them as basic goods in life. These are, he says, fundamental and do not derive from other goods analogous to the moral equivalents of chemical elements. They are generally things which for most people make life worthwhile and according to Finnis are self-evident. They list as follows Life life is the first basic value stemming from the drive for self preservation. Knowledge refers to the preference of man for true fact over false belief. Finnis calls it speculative knowledge distinguishing between knowledge sought for personal sake over knowledge sought as a means of achieving power or popularity. Play relates to performance for the sake of it an act or acts done for no point but an attempt to better oneself Aesthetic Experience relates simply to the appreciation of beauty but at all levels Friendship/ Sociability acting for the well being of a friend Practical Reasonableness the main concept which relates to mankind using their own intellect to choose his paths in life Religion relates to the ability of mankind to reflect on universal origins and of human freedom and reason Marriage a recent addition to Finnis list of basic goods. Marriage, per Finnis, is that between a male and a female and any sexual activity between non-married persons that is not procreative is inherently immoral. The first three (a) to (c) above Finnis calls substantive goods, which exist prior to action. The final group of these basic goods he terms reflexive goods which depend on our choices. Finnis The Principles of Practical Reasonableness To achieve these goods Finnis also has nine principles of practical reasonableness that are what might be called methods of operation that are to be utilised in the ordering of human life and the human community and the creation of the optimum conditions to attain these basic goods such conditions equate to the common good. These basic methodological requirements when taken in part or as a whole allow us the capability of figuring out the morally correct way of acting. The first requirement of practical reasonableness is a rational plan of life. Man must have a structured set of purposes which he should commit to and which guide him through life. Despite life, being subject to many changes one should not just live from moment to moment. Any commitment to a rational life plan will require one or some of the basic goods but such commitment will only be rational if it is based on ones capacities, circumstances and tastes. Secondly, I am of no more value than others but my own well being is my concern and interest and by having a preference for my own well being I will do what is reasonable. Do unto others as you would have them done unto you; put yourself in the other mans shoes; do not condemn others for what your are willing to do yourself these are all requirements of reason and ignoring them is being arbitrary between individuals. Good is to be done and evil is to be avoided a principle taken directly from Aquinian teachings and also Aquinas basic principle of moral action. In doing so one ought to choose and will only those possibilities where willing and action are compatible with integral human fulfillment. This principle gives Finnis (as we shall see further in this essay) and others committed to global human rights the most ammunition i.e. all actions that work against such fulfillment are basically wrong. The forth and fifth principles are related to each other and that of adopting a coherent life plan. One must have a certain detachment from all specific projects that are undertakes. If failure occurs in any of these commitments or projects we must not develop an apathetic attitude thereafter to life. A healthy balance must exist between fanaticism, apathy or refusal to participate. Thus if any commitment fails or appears to be heading that direction then one must look for a more creative or rewarding way to perform same. A further principle relates to the requirement to bring good to the community by actions that are efficient for their purpose. Over a wide range of preferences, it is reasonable for such a community to seek the maximum satisfaction of these preferences. Related to this is the need to favour the common good of ones community or society on a macro scale. Penultimately, no man should choose an act that would damage or negatively affect the participation of any one or more of the basic human goods it is always necessary to weigh up ones actions. Finally the ninth requirement outlines that one should not do what one does not feel like doing so man must act in accordance with his conscience a reiteration of a belief proposed by Aquinas. The Concept of Law Focal vis-à  -vis Penumbral As discussed, Finnis outlines that the human basic goods must be utilised in a community or society, as only then will the conditions to achieve these exist in the pursuit of a common good. This common good requires a legal system but such systems can sometimes work against the common good Finnis acknowledges this and states that a ruler has the authority to act for the common good. If he acts in a way that appears to go against the common good or any of the principles of practical reasonableness such actions lack the authority that they should have had. Just as Aquinas believed, Finnis says such laws lack moral authority, they do not bind the conscience of man and one is neither morally obliged to conform nor not to conform. Or put more simply unjust laws are a perversion of law and do not bind mans moral conscience. Finnis distinguishes here the difference between the focal or core meaning of the law from the penumbral meaning. The latter relates to difficult cases and unclear meanings of law. In such cases an argument is needed to demonstrate that it is appropriate to interpret the rule of law in a particular fashion. The former relates to laws that are aimed at the realisation of the common good for a community if such are unjust they will not be regarded as laws in the focal sense. It is in the focal sense of the concept of law that we must identify as it is in this meaning that we find a direct link between the law and moral order. Finnis Distributive Justice In his book Finnis links practical reasonableness and law when discussing justice and rights. He states that the whole object of distributive justice is the common good. With regard to the basic goods, Finnis maintains that the main criteria are need followed by function and capacity. Such terms relate to roles in communal enterprise together with opportunities for advancement of the individual in society. Finis also makes mention of desert based principles which relate to claims that people deserve certain economic benefits in light of their actions making people responsible for their actions and creative in their environments. The different desert-based principles of distribution differ primarily according to what they identify as the basis for deserving. These principles can be broadly categorised as follows 1. Contribution people should be rewarded for their work activity according to the value of their contribution to the social product 2. Effort people should be rewarded according to the effort they expend in their work activity 3. Compensation people should be rewarded according to the costs they incur in their work activity Finnis further suggests a requirement for private ownership as a requirement of justice when he mentions personal autonomy in the community bolstering this by adding that rule of human experience indicates that resources are more productively exploited by private enterprise but then diluting it by referring to the fact that common ownership and enterprise would be beneficial for all. Finnis Commutative Justice Commutative justice relates to a fundamental fairness in agreements and exchanges between social groups. It demands respect for the equal human dignity of all persons in economic transactions, contracts, or promises e.g. workers owe their employers diligent work in exchange for their wages while employers are obligated to treat their employees as persons, paying them fair wages in exchange for the work done together with establishing conditions and patterns of work that are fair and equitable. The central or characteristic act of commutative justice, according to Aquinas, was Xs act of restitution for Y for losses incurred by Y. This is based on the presupposition that X has already wronged Y. Aquinas teachings did not allow for X to do wrong to Y post restitutio so in many cases the primary focus of Aquinas discussions on commutative justice is not the duty of recompense but the primary question of whether Xs act is or is not a wronging of Y. The term commutative justice for Aquinas therefore is a wide one focusing on rights and wrongs in any interaction between individuals or neighbours. Finnis contends that Aquinas classification of the types of justice as opposed to general justice is fragile. General justice, according to him, is ones orientation to act for the common good or toward a common rule according to all relevant laws, either divine or human. Following from this, all laws (that are adhered to) are made for the common good and everything required for such good of a particular grouping in society should conform to a rational standard. Aquinas however, according to Finnis, clarifies that acting for the common good [according to reasonableness] can sometimes not mean acting according to a common rule. Finnis further makes reference to occasions where it is difficult to distinguish between rules that are intended to secure either distributive justice or commutative justice. He makes reference to the classical period in the law of torts, from mid 19th century to modern day, where such rules may be interpreted either way. Where at one stage the issue was what standard of conduct is owed to a person [neighbour] is increasingly moving toward being phrased in terms of the apportionment of risk. Finnis Human Rights According to Finnis, human rights must be maintained as a fundamental component of the common good. Such rights are subject to or limited to each other and by other aspects of the common good these aspectscan be linked to issues concerning public morality, public health or public order. Finnis believes in some absolute human rights i.e. the right not to have a life taken directly as a means to further end; the right not to be deprived or to be required to deprive oneself from pro-creative activity. Finnis turns to an explicit treatment of rights but then observes that his whole book has been about human rights, which he takes to be synonymous with natural rights The modern grammar of rights provides a way of expressing virtually all the requirements of practical reasonableness, the latter phrase, as discussed above, being equivalent for Finnis to the tradition of natural law. Finnis beliefs on human rights enable him to give an alternative expression of the version of natural law he has developed in conjunction with other modern day philosophers such as Grisez and Hohfeld. In answer to the philosophical question as to what it is to have a right Finnis identifies two theories, the benefit theory and the choice theory. The choice theory arises because it regards the benefit theory as seeing rights simply as the reflex of rules which impose duties. H.L.A. Hart taught that possession of a right was to have control over other peoples freedom or, what amounts to the same thing, control over other peoples duties. (duties being limits on freedom, meaning moral freedom or what a person is morally permitted to do). He emphasised this criticising a different answer to the question what does it mean to have a right? that having a right consists in being the beneficiary of someone elses duties. Hart argued that there are some examples where a person is the beneficia ry of a duty but does not have a right. He further came to see that the choice theory was inadequate, writing that the core of the notion of rights is neither individual choice nor individual benefit but basic or fundamental individual needs. Finnis also sees this as identical with his own notion of basic aspects of human flourishing. Rights exist wherever a basic principle or requirement of practical reasonableness, or a rule derived there from, gives to X, and to each and every member of a class to which X belongs, the benefit of a positive or negative requirement or obligation imposed upon Y, or the ability to bring it about that Y is subject to such a requirement, or the immunity from being himself subject by Y to any such requirement In brief, Finnis is able to recast his whole theory into rights parlance. The benefit theory of rights has been shown by Hart to be only a special case of the choice theory, so we are prepared for Finnis steady correlation of rights and duties. His treatment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 provides not only a keen analysis but a general acceptance of it. His attention is drawn to the specification of what can legitimately limit the exercise of a right. To say that the exercise of human rights is subject to the common good serves no useful purpose, for the maintenance of human rights is a fundamental component of the common good. Finnis, in essence, extends his contention that natural law and natural rights can be regarded as two sides of a coin as duty on one side and the flipside as a right. The modern use of right to mean something someone has turns out to be simply a restatement of the requirements of justice from the side of the recipient. According to McIne rney, it is not simply that the old talk can be translated into the new, Finnis shows a preference for the new and praises it on occasion. Finnis A Critique of Practical Reasonableness Practical reasonableness is the key to Finniss theory of Natural Law. It is the means through which people grasp what is good and what is to be pursued, as well as being a good in itself. As discussed earlier, Finnis recognises basic forms of good, and asserts that this is an exhaustive list, suggesting that everyone who is practically reasonable will agree with it but if true must not practical reasonableness be an objective concept. Otherwise, people could discover completely different forms of good using their own subjective practical reasonableness. Finnis, however, does not agree and in his book expresses an aspect of practical reasonableness as the requirement that one should not do what one judges or thinks or feels all-in-all should not be done. This, he feels, expresses that practical reasonableness is not simply a mechanism for producing correct judgments, but an aspect of personal full-being, to be respected (like all the other aspects) in every act as well as over-all whatever the consequences How so is it possible to have a self-evident, indemonstrable good of practical reasonableness, through which all other forms of good are recognised, if it is acceptable to follow a mistaken conscience, whatever the consequences? Hitler, for example, may have genuinely felt he was doing a great service to the common good by ridding society of the curse of the Jews; and under Finniss theory, he cannot be criticised for this, because he was following his conscience, and because all of the requirements are of equal value. Ironically the prosecution of these war crimes were a principal factor that led to the Natural Law revival in which Finnis took part. Finnis regards practical reasonableness as an end in itself. He considers just that about all of the basic goods (of which practical reasonableness is just one) as being an end pre-eminently endish Reference is made however of a double duty whereby such reasonableness is a means of pursuing the ends of the other basic goods. So reasonableness is both a basic aspect of human well being and concerns ones participation in all other aspects of human well being. Can such a double-duty be performed? Is it actually a good, an end in itself or is it merely a method of attaining the other goods? Unlike knowledge for example, practical reasonableness cannot be pursued just for its own sake. Such a pursuit is necessarily contingent upon another end. When participating in it, the ultimate goal is not the attainment of practical reasonableness, but the participation in and realisation of another goal. Finnis would appear to place a higher value on the good of practical reasonableness than on the rest of the basic goods contrary to his belief that they are all equal. If it is accepted that it is both a means and an end that it does in fact do double-duty where none of the other basic goods do this would lend creedence to the suggestion that it sits atop a hierarchy à ¡ la Finnis. He suggests as much by stating that despite being free to choose which good we choose to pursue and which to ignore, we have no good reason to leave practical reasonableness out of our plan to live well. This would further introduce an Orwellian concept that the basic goods are all equal but some are more equal than others. If such a hierarchy exists should the basic good of life not outrank all others without which one could not partake in the rest of the basic goods. This, the author contends, unlike much of Finnis assertions, actually is self-evident. Next in line should then be practical reasonabl eness for reasons set out above followed by knowledge which bridges a gap between self-interest and a concern for the common good. Religion and all curiosity relating to cosmic order could come next although it could be linked to knowledge or a sub-category of it. Play is linked to sociability and friendship with aesthetic friendship linked to it as a sub-category. Finnis rates this as least important as it would appear to have the least interaction with the rest. Finnis natural law theory asserts that the values of his self-evident basic goods are the impossible to measure. Fundamental problems are created when morality is divorced from values. Finnis, as discussed above, requires a life plan based on these goods placed in a hierarchical format but does not outline how one should go about this. This places the morally right candidate in a unsure position as he may try to do what Finnis suggests but may never be able to achieve the required result as Finnis expects. Conclusion Essentially Finnis lays claim that the law is a social institution whose purpose is to regulate the affairs of people and so contribute to the creation of a community in which all people can live harmoniously while realising the fruits of the basic value system he proposes. In effect the law is a moral project where one must take the position of the person who examines the law with this person in mind. This is the practical reasonable person who grasps the basic values together with the laws purpose in helping others realise them. Whether or not a persons description of law is correct or not will depend significantly upon whether ones moral views are correct as it is these that will inform the way in which one conceives the project of law. Word Count 4,974 Footnotes 36

best friends Essay -- essays research papers

It was a sunny Sunday morning; the spring breeze was evident all around, the kind that says summer in on the way. My best friend called and offered to take me rock climbing up at Indian Hills, I was thrilled but timid. Waiting with anticipation I could hear the sound of his car coming, it was distinct in its own way because the muffler was on its last leg. He arrived in style, no not really. The paint of his car was peeling off and the smell of the exhaust filled the air with a horrible aroma. Every time I got in his car I felt embarrassed, but it was all right because he was the only one who could drive. As we started up the 225 Highway we were following traffic along the twisting, turning road. Suddenly my best friend cursed under his breath. I looked at him surprisingly and asked, "What's wrong?" He started to laugh, took his foot off the accelerator, hit the brakes, and said "Didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you see that state trooper?" I nodded, "Well we were going 85 up this road," he said. Luckily we were not the only cars on the road. About a mile from the turn off we slowed down to 55 miles an hour. When we pulled off the side of the road, we were both surprised to find that there were no other cars parked there. Normally this turn off was packed with cars, with people climbing in the Indian Hills. Although we were both happy that there was no one else around to interfere, there was a lingering feeling of dread. If something were to go wrong there wouldn't be anybody else around to help. We both got out of the car and decided to go on against our better judgment. The trail up was steep; about two feet wide surrounded, with scrub brush. On the way up I was thinking both about how bad my legs were getting cut from the brush, and about not slipping on the sandy trail. The half-mile long hike was nothing but a warm up for my best friend and I, who are avid backpackers and trail hikers. We reached the top and headed to the intermediate climbs off to the left. My best friend is an experienced rock climber so this was nothing to him. However it didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t look too intermediate to me. Mount Everest came to mind! I walked over and stood underneath the rock formations. I felt so little like a two-story building surrounded by skyscrapers. The incredible height was nothing in comparison to the thought of falling onto the jagged rocks that surrounded the ... ...sier way. About half way down the hill we both realized we were lost, it had seemed that we were going in the wrong direction. By this time it was almost pitch dark. Concentrating on ground beneath my feet, it became somewhat of a blur to me. I started crying with out warning. I guess it was a delayed shock that had finally hit me. With great emotion I knew that I had to compose myself before Mark saw me crying. I thought to myself, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Thank god Mark was in the right place at the right time.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? I could have either been seriously injured and even worse dead. As we kept walking we could hear cars in the faint background and see headlights. We headed toward the sound and used the lights for visual guidance. Finally we reached the highway only to realize we were about a  ¼ of a mile from the car. We were lucky it wasn't a longer walk. On the way home, after a long silence mark said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“We shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t tell our parents, especiall y your mom, because you know how protective she is.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? From that day on realization washed over me and I decided that it would be better if my feet remain on the ground. I also realized that friends are always there when you need them, especially best friends.

Arguments for the Existence for God Essay -- Argumentative Religion Pe

1. The Cosmological Argument for the existence of God is based on the principle of cause and effect. What this basically means is that the universe was the effect of a cause, which was God. One of the oldest and most well known advocates of the Cosmological Argument was Thomas Aquinas who outlines his argument for the existence of God in his article entitled The Five Ways. The first way in his argument is deals with motion. Aquinas says that in order for something to be in motion something had to move it because it is impossible for something to move without the presence of some sort of outside force upon it. Therefore the world around us, nature, and our very existence could not have been put into motion without the influence of the â€Å"unmoved mover†, as it is called in the book, who we know to be God. Aquinas’ second way to prove that God exists is by stating that nothing can be the cause of itself. For example, I am not the cause of myself. I would not be in existence today if it were not for my parents having a baby and naming it Chris. This is true for everything around us: trees, buildings, cars, planes, etc, none of these can be the cause of themselves. They all must be created or manufactured from seeds, humans, and machines in order for them to exist as they do today. The next way comes from possibility and necessity. First is possibility which means that it is possible for everything in the world to at some point in time not exist, thus meaning that there was a time when nothing existed and since something cannot come from nothing it is necessary for something to have always existed. However as Aquinas previously stated this necessary being cannot be the cause of itself plus there cannot be a time at which it did not exist therefore this being must have always existed and be God. In his fourth way Aquinas bases the existence of God on the gradation of things such as things being the greatest or the smallest, the hottest or the coldest. Aquinas says that there must be a cause of this and it is God. The last way that Aquinas proves God comes from the governance of the world. Aquinas says that things in the world lack knowledge and yet they still work their way towards an end, but he says that it is impossible for something to lack knowledge and work its way to an end. Due to this fact Aquinas determines that there must be some intelli... ...that logic to explain God to him he would laugh in his face. Although these arguments may prove their point in a construed way there are some who believe the Ontological Argument to be impossible, one of these being Kant. Kant believes that the argument fails right off the bat by basing everything on the idea that God does exist. Kant believes that it is wrong to assume that God has all of these magnificent characteristics that Anselm believes Him to have. Kant questions how Anselm proves this. My view of these arguments and the Ontological argument as a whole is that it is a weak argument. If I had to choose sides between Anselm or Gaunilo and Kant I think I would choose Gaunilo and Kant because they do a better job of arguing their point. If I were questioning the existence of God and had Anselm’s argument to read and then Kant’s to read I would probably end up ton believing that God existed. One reason being that you cannot understand Anselm’s argument and two he does not prove anything but the fact that God is a supreme being than which no greater can be conceived. It is because of this why I believe the Ontological argument to be a bad way to prove God to anyone.

Shake :: essays research papers fc

What is it about the works of William Shakespeare that appeal to us today? Is it the poetry, the violence, the humor, or the romance? Is it because all of these things relate to our times? No. These aspects of Shakespeare ¡Ã‚ ¦s plays have always appealed to audiences. Shakespeare ¡Ã‚ ¦s plays are timeless, and due to this enduring significance, the Bard ¡Ã‚ ¦s works have easily translated to film. Scarcely a Shakespearean play has not been made and remade numerous times into to a movie, and more often than not the film is either a hit at the box office or critically acclaimed. There is something about Shakespeare that has continued to capture the attention of audiences for the past four hundred years. In our present age of short-attention spans and exploding graphics, it is difficult to imagine that literature and poetry could attract people to the movies, but it seems that film has become the best medium for Shakespeare. All that the stage once limited can now be seen at the movies in its full glory; what the Bard wrote for everybody may now be known visually and in total splendor. In Taming of the Shrew, we are presented with the story of a very independent woman and a very controlling man in an Elizabethan Battle of the Sexes. Appropriately, the female submits to the male and all is happy and well. For many, this is certainly not the best story to update to the present era of liberated women. On the contrary, Taming of the Shrew is an ideal film to update to our time. In 1967, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton starred in Franco Zeffirelli ¡Ã‚ ¦s version of Taming. For those familiar with the history of the 20th century, you may recall that the 1960 ¡Ã‚ ¦s are somewhat notable for the women ¡Ã‚ ¦s liberation movement. Zeffirelli directed a film that, on the surface, advocates female obedience to males. Upon careful inspection, however, it can be seen that submission was not the message at all. When Shakespeare wrote Taming, Queen Elizabeth I sat on the throne of England. Elizabeth was a famous shrew who ruled alone without the aid of a man. Such autono my by females was not commonplace and certainly not appreciated. So when this playwright named William Shakespeare came out with this story of a strong-willed woman being tamed by a brutish man, many felt it was a commentary on Elizabeth and an appropriate way for a woman to behave.

Human Kind and Extraterrestrial Life Essay

For centuries ever since man has first looked up at the night sky and wondered what other things existed beyond Earth he has continued to explore the heavens in search for answers. Over a few hundred years the quest for truth has yield substantial amounts of data. It is true that ancient astronomers did nothing more than just attribute mythical and religious meaning to different celestial phenomena. Stars have been given their respective names—a group of them are even linked to gods and mythical figures as constellations, and were used as a timetable for various human activities like navigation and agriculture. However, the improvements in modern astronomy have changed the rules of the game from mere nomenclature to a more profound exploration of space and the myriad possibilities that it brings. The quest for knowing other life outside the planet has never been more exciting and providential as it had been before. Slowly we are beginning to realize that the chances that there are advanced life-forms out there waiting to be discovered are significantly high to support the claim that we are not alone. To say that the entire universe is a big place is to make the biggest scientific understatement. Science has revealed that the universe is so big that there are no mathematical figures to approximate its size. In order to define the known borders of space there is a need to express terms in a special unit called a Light: Or the distance that light travels in one year. Recently, the Hubble Space telescope has pegged the perimeter and edges of the universe to a width of millions and millions of light years (O’Brien, â€Å"Long Live Hubble†). Such distance alone beggars description. Within that given space, there are billions of individual galaxies each with roughly 400 million stars in the system on average. There could be less but there could also be a dozen times more. At any rate, there are an estimated millions of stars with planetary systems like our own. Roughly a fraction of a percent of that number may have planets that host organic elements of life both simple and complex. Some of the complex life-forms may evolve into intelligent life capable of developing competent scientific knowledge and even perhaps communicate with their neighbors using advanced radio technology just like we had been doing at the turn of the last century. Planet Earth appears to be the only planet in the Solar System viable for life. Most planets have noxious environments and harsh atmospheres. Our closest planetary neighbors, Mars and Venus, are either too cold or too hot (Sagan, â€Å"Heaven and Hell†, 76-79). The primordial soup which made life on Earth possible will freeze or dry up anywhere else in the Solar System. Indeed, religion waxes poetic that our world is an astounding and thought-provoking miracle of life. However, evolutionary scientists would say that we are just fortunate that the environment, at one point of our planet’s history, has been conducive to the formation of life and the same has not been interrupted by any outside cause (Dawkins 19). Some planets in other stars may theoretically be as lucky to be able to give rise to life, and theoretically intelligent beings too (21). But just like Mars, Venus and other planets in the Solar System, the chances of life are rare. Even with Earth alone, the statistics reflect how fragile the occurrence of life began millions of years ago. Unless there are kinds of biological species that can withstand even extreme environments and thus would continue to develop despite harsh conditions, then Earth life might just all there is in the universe. Thanks to recent discoveries, however, scientists are inclined to believe that a certain kind of bacterium can live in the highest or lowest temperatures, impervious to both heat and cold, makes it possible that life may still develop or artificially introduced in Mars and Venus or elsewhere regardless of hostile environments (Sagan 9). If that is the case, the chances of life may be higher than previously expected. While scientists are busy in attempting to find life out there, the rest of the world is perpetually fascinated with the idea of the existence of extraterrestrial life. Science fiction and Hollywood movies are in the forefront of providing us with hypothetical images and scenarios of aliens visiting our planet. Alien invasion is one of the most titillating themes that fire up our imagination. H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds and Steven Spielberg’s Independence Day bespeak both our universal desire to feel that we are not alone and the irrational fear that beings more intelligent than us would destroy the planet. The realm of the unknown viz. extraterrestrial life has never been simultaneously awe-inspiring and scary. In addition, fiction writers and film-makers present extraterrestrial beings as creatures that appear, behave and live entirely different from humans. Similarly, if we are to accept the premise that conditions for life in other planets were vastly peculiar, then it is fair to expect that the aliens would probably have tentacles, communicate through ESP, possess superhuman powers, spit venomous saliva, eat through metal or have human like bodies but with pasty white skin and large, black oval eyes. Although they seem to be portrayed differently, the literature on aliens share the common feature that they are antagonistic creatures out to invade and kill all humans Scientists theorize that if other life-forms were capable of making interstellar travel they must have evolved as a species and as a civilization to eschew violence. Otherwise, if such aliens were warmongers as movies and science fiction stories would suggest, then they would have obliterated themselves way before they have developed complex means of space travel. In fact, alien tourists, if there have been some, would have more reasons to fear us than we would have to fear them. Carl Sagan writes that it is more likely â€Å"that the mere fact that they have survived for so long is because they have learned to live with themselves and others† (258). Similarly, he adds that perhaps our fears reflect our own backward thinking as a civilization, â€Å"an expression of our guilty conscience about our past history: The ravages against civilizations only slightly backward than we† (259). In other words, the conquests done by Western civilization against their contemporaries time and again are so imbedded in our history that we expect advanced life-forms to have the same colonizing tendencies. The fascination for extraterrestrial life grows with such gusto that several years after alien hype has reached feverish pitch, numerous sights Unidentified Flying Objects all over the world have been reported. Likewise, people claim to have been abducted and subjected to strange experiments by our curious alien visitors. The encounters are few and far between but each of them fuels our imagination. Thus far, none of the sightings have been confirmed to be true although we desperately believe that one or two are real (Cook, â€Å"UFO’s: the Secret Evidence†). As several critics of alleged alien encounters rightly observes, the relation between alien encounters and weird and wacky people who report them only proves the fact that these reports are a hoax. Meanwhile, humanity has yet to mature as a civilization before we even begin to welcome other intelligent species. Accordingly, science fiction writers posit the theory of the Fermi paradox stating the reason why aliens have not paid us a visit is because they, â€Å"the advanced alien community has cordoned off the earth in a galactic nursery, until the time that we have reached an adequate stage, ready for contact† (Tee, â€Å"Extraterrestrial Life†). Yet scientists and writers remain optimistic about the existence of intelligent life-form. The famous Drake equation translates the possibility of extraterrestrial life into a mathematical formula where N is the number of advanced civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy. It is the product of values assigned with respect to the number of stars in the galaxy, the fraction of which that have planetary systems, a percent of which are suitable for substantial biological formation, the probability that life arises, the variable pertaining to its evolution, intelligence and further multiplied to the reasonable time that intelligent life is able to survive taking into account the possibility of self-eradication due to wars, environmental changes and the like (Ford, â€Å"What is the Drake Equation? †). The value of N could be any number more than one what with the number of stars and galaxies in the universe. Even if the estimate hovers on an insignificant value of 1 or 3, the prospect, that one or more planetary systems have intelligent life and such have survived and evolved into complex societies, is truly astonishing. The statistical computation of the probability that Extraterrestrial beings exist leaves little to the imagination. Scientists are convinced that life exists in other planets that they have established extravagant methods of getting in touch with them. One of the most ambitious projects of making contact to outer beings to date is the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program. The name of the project sums up what it sets out to do—to search the heavens for signs of intelligent life. It sends radio signals and broadcasts them to specified points in space, such as candidate stars and planets. 50 years of sending the messages, a reply has yet to be received. Of course, this does not disprove the claim of alien life, what with the distance that the radio signals have to travel to and fro the recipient, but rather, this only inspires other scientists to develop quicker and more effective means of communication (Shostak, â€Å"Finding Them, Finding Us†). In addition, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been continuously sending golden discs into outer-space, ever since it sent the first men into the moon, containing details about human civilization and how far it has progressed (Sagan 264-265). To this day, the discs hurl into the infinite void with the hope of one day crash-landing into a planet with beings capable of deciphering the code. We have long been fixated on our earthly problems and conflicts, and took pride with all our achievements, but the moment that contact is made, the event would change how we look at ourselves and how we appreciate our place in the universal magnitude of things. If before we could not care much about how badly we treat our close neighbors in the planet, we might fare better as an intelligent species by the mere thought that we are not alone. As such, we have to find ways to learn how to live peacefully and progress scientifically if only to survive long enough to meet our interstellar neighbors. Nevertheless, the question whether or not there is extraterrestrial life remains to be answered conclusively, whether we are alone or not: Either conclusion is mind-boggling. Works Cited Cook, Nick. UFO’s: The Secret Evidence. 18 Mar. 2006. BBC Online Documentaries. 1 May 2008 . Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. London: Oxford University Press, 1990. Ford, Steve. â€Å"What is the Drake Equation? † Aug. 1995. The SETI League. 1 May 2008 < http://www. setileague. org/general/drake. htm>. O’Brien, Miles. â€Å"Long Live Hubble†. 31 Oct. 2006. CNN International. 1 May 2008 < http://edition. cnn. com/2006/TECH/space/10/31/hubble. obrien/index. html>. Sagan, Carl. Cosmos. New York: Ballantine Books, 1980. Shostak, Seth. â€Å"Finding Them, Finding Us†. 28 Feb. 2008. SETI Institute. 1 May 2008 . Tee, Brian. â€Å"Extraterrestrial Life†. The Ten Big Questions. 1 May 2008 < http://www. 123infinity. com/extraterrestrial_life. html>.

North Korea as a Nuclear power

It is now known that North Korea, continuing on the path of defying the international community, became a nuclear nation, or is close to becoming one within a short period of time, depending on a variety of factors.The latest declaration of the North Korean government regarding conducting a nuclear test is bringing the chapter of this country in what concerns its relations with the rest of the world to its final phases.According to Abramowitz and Lynch (2006), the White House wants the various members of the United Nations, especially those with permanent seats in the Security Council, to agree on immediate measures that can be considered as punitive actions against the government in Pyongyang. The two authors state that there are still doubts and questions concerning the â€Å"the strength and success of the reported North Korean explosion, but there was little doubt among White House officials, lawmakers and outside experts that the action added a volatile new ingredient to an alr eady dangerous world environment†.The doubts concerning the test are caused by two factors: First, that the United States and other countries do not trust what the regime of North Korea says, and the second is what was stated by Naughton and Knight (2006) when they reported that the test was done through the detenation of bomb underground, and that the explosion caused an earthquake measuring about 3.6 on the Richter scale. This gives us an idea that the explosive device was of some size around 500 tonnes, which makes its power reach the equivalent of one-thirtieth of the power of the bomb deployed against the city of Hiroshima at the end of the World War II.Even though there is total agreement between the permanent members of the Security Council to condemn this action, there are still certain doubts about the next steps to be taken. As it is widely known, North Korea is practically suffering from a regime of sanctions imposed on it by many countries (including the United Sta tes), but there are other elements to take into consideration. As Nichols (2006) reports, â€Å"despite the hard-edged rhetoric, foreign policy analysts and nuclear experts pointed out the obvious: World powers have tried to bully, threaten, cajole, entice, sanction and sweet talk North Korea into the community of nations for 50 years, without success.†This is a difficult reality to deal with, especially when we know that countries like China (and maybe Russia) are always reluctant whenever the discussions reach the point of severe sanctions. According to Jim Walsh, a North Korea expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the United States and Japan do not really have many options if China refuses to pass a strong resolution against North Korea (Nichols, 2006)The image that we have about North Korea, according to Harrison (2006), is not a correct one. The country is politically stable and is growing economically. â€Å"North Korea is stable and there is more econom ic activity in Pyongyang than I have ever seen—more cars and bicycles, better-dressed people, more restaurants, more small mom and pop stores, and above all more interest in making money.†From this angle, we can understand why sanctions did not work in the past, and why it is possible that it would not work in the future; in addition to the fact that North Korean officials have already declared that â€Å"sanctions imposed by the US were a declaration of war, and had forced it [the government of North Korea] to go ahead with plans for testing.† The worrying factor here is the impact that is expected on the countries in the region: â€Å"There are fears that a North Korean nuclear test could trigger a regional arms race. Japan could seek its own nuclear deterrent in a move that could aggravate historical tensions between Japan on one hand and China and South Korea on the other† (The Guardian).The government in North Korea is a dictatorship that has a terrib le record in what concerns human rights and the persecution of political opposition and with subjects related to public freedoms. When a regime like that is allowed (or not completely opposed) to possessing nuclear weapons, this would create a grave threat to the world and it should be taken seriously.The duty of the international community is to responsibly deal with this responsibly, and to go through all the options that should stop the threat of a nuclear North Korea.REFERENCESAbramowitz, M. &   Lynch, C. (2006, October 10). U.S. Urges Sanctions on North Korea.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Washington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2006Naughton, P., & Knight, S. (2006, october 9). World searches for response to North Korea nuclear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ‘test’. Times Online. Retrieved October 11, 2006 from:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2395600,00.htmlNichols, B. (2006, October 19). Condemnation swift, but options are limited. USA Today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã ‚  Ã‚   Retrieved October 11, 2006, from:http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-10-09-nuke-test-reaction_x.htmHarrison, S. (2005, September 19). North Korea: A Nuclear Threat. Newsweek International.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved October 10, 2006Pyongyang defiant over nuclear test. (2006, October 4). The Guardian. Retrieved October 10, 2006, from:   http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,,1887353,00.html North Korea as a nuclear power It is now known that North Korea, continuing on the path of defying the international community, became a nuclear nation, or is close to becoming one within a short period of time, depending on a variety of factors.The latest declaration of the North Korean government regarding conducting a nuclear test is bringing the chapter of this country in what concerns its relations with the rest of the world to its final phases.According to Abramowitz and Lynch (2006), the White House wants the various members of the United Nations, especially those with permanent seats in the Security Council, to agree on immediate measures that can be considered as punitive actions against the government in Pyongyang. The two authors state that there are still doubts and questions concerning the â€Å"the strength and success of the reported North Korean explosion, but there was little doubt among White House officials, lawmakers and outside experts that the action added a volatile new ingredient to an alr eady dangerous world environment†.The doubts concerning the test are caused by two factors: First, that the United States and other countries do not trust what the regime of North Korea says, and the second is what was stated by Naughton and Knight (2006) when they reported that the test was done through the detenation of bomb underground, and that the explosion caused an earthquake measuring about 3.6 on the Richter scale. This gives us an idea that the explosive device was of some size around 500 tonnes, which makes its power reach the equivalent of one-thirtieth of the power of the bomb deployed against the city of Hiroshima at the end of the World War II.Even though there is total agreement between the permanent members of the Security Council to condemn this action, there are still certain doubts about the next steps to be taken. As it is widely known, North Korea is practically suffering from a regime of sanctions imposed on it by many countries (including the United Sta tes), but there are other elements to take into consideration. As Nichols (2006) reports, â€Å"despite the hard-edged rhetoric, foreign policy analysts and nuclear experts pointed out the obvious: World powers have tried to bully, threaten, cajole, entice, sanction and sweet talk North Korea into the community of nations for 50 years, without success.†This is a difficult reality to deal with, especially when we know that countries like China (and maybe Russia) are always reluctant whenever the discussions reach the point of severe sanctions. According to Jim Walsh, a North Korea expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the United States and Japan do not really have many options if China refuses to pass a strong resolution against North Korea (Nichols, 2006)The image that we have about North Korea, according to Harrison (2006), is not a correct one. The country is politically stable and is growing economically. â€Å"North Korea is stable and there is more econom ic activity in Pyongyang than I have ever seen—more cars and bicycles, better-dressed people, more restaurants, more small mom and pop stores, and above all more interest in making money.†From this angle, we can understand why sanctions did not work in the past, and why it is possible that it would not work in the future; in addition to the fact that North Korean officials have already declared that â€Å"sanctions imposed by the US were a declaration of war, and had forced it [the government of North Korea] to go ahead with plans for testing.† The worrying factor here is the impact that is expected on the countries in the region: â€Å"There are fears that a North Korean nuclear test could trigger a regional arms race. Japan could seek its own nuclear deterrent in a move that could aggravate historical tensions between Japan on one hand and China and South Korea on the other† (The Guardian).The government in North Korea is a dictatorship that has a terrib le record in what concerns human rights and the persecution of political opposition and with subjects related to public freedoms. When a regime like that is allowed (or not completely opposed) to possessing nuclear weapons, this would create a grave threat to the world and it should be taken seriously.The duty of the international community is to responsibly deal with this responsibly, and to go through all the options that should stop the threat of a nuclear North Korea.REFERENCESAbramowitz, M. &   Lynch, C. (2006, October 10). U.S. Urges Sanctions on North Korea.    Washington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2006,  from:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-  Ã‚   dyn/content/article/2006/10/09/AR2006100900419_pf.htmlNaughton, P., & Knight, S. (2006, october 9). World searches for response to North Korea nuclear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ‘test’. Times Online. Retrieved October 11, 2006 from:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2395600,00.htm lNichols, B. (2006, October 19). Condemnation swift, but options are limited. USA Today.   Ã‚   Retrieved October 11, 2006, from:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-10-09-nuke-test-reaction_x.htmHarrison, S. (2005, September 19). North Korea: A Nuclear Threat. Newsweek International.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved October 10, 2006, from:   http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15175633/site/newsweek/Pyongyang defiant over nuclear test. (2006, October 4). The Guardian. Retrieved October 10,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2006, from:   http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,,1887353,00.html