Article Rebuttal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Article Rebuttal - Essay Example Correspondingly, the essay intends to provide a rebuttal to the article with valid arguments. In keeping with the article, in order to validate his claims the author has highlighted that in the year 2000, Mark Muraven and Roy Baumeister published a paper in Psychological Bulletin which states that self-control is similar to muscle that gets weakened every day after use. Thus, if a person forces himself for jogging for an hour the capacity of self-regulation is proportionally weakened which increases the possibility for a person to opt for a pizza instead of salad. In his article, the author states that there are 45 million Americans who actually joined the gym in the year 2000 which was merely 23 million in 1993. The Minnesota Heart Survey highlights that in 1980, 47% of people were undertaking regular exercise which grew to 57% in the year 2000, and yet there has been a rise in obesity. Northwestern University, in June 2009, conducted a research in order to investigate the correlation between development of diabetes and aerobic fitness. The research derived a result that be ing aerobically fit is less important than developing a body mass index that is normal in the prevention of disease. In this situation, the author states that exercise does not help hefty people to reduce their weight. Eric Ravussin quotes that â€Å"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless† wherein the author states that exercise is not important in reducing weight and the advertisements done by various gym are untrue (Cloud, 2009). From the analysis of the article, it is worth mentioning that if a person undertakes jogging it would lead to increase in fitness and greater capability to do certain tasks. The author misrepresents the survey conducted to support his idea. The author in this statement stresses on the fact that even though there has been progress of the people undertaking exercise, it has caused growth in obesity as well. However,

Who Do I Admire Essay Example for Free

Who Do I Admire Essay Most of the people have somebody who they admire, that person can be a writer, an artist, a politician, some kind of public figure, a celebrity or even a friend. But that person who I admire is somebody very close to me, that person is my father. My father is not a great scientific, politician, artist or something like that. Neither has done something big to the society. He’s just a normal father and a good one by the way. So, you may ask yourselves, that if he hasn’t done anything special, why would you admire him? Well, to understand better about the reason why I admire him, I’m going to tell you about his life. My dad was born in La Romana in the 1970’s, since he was born he was raised in a poor environment, but besides that he had a lack of his parents love and support. That means he didn’t have an easy childhood. Even though his parents weren’t such good parents that didn’t affect much my father, because he at least had support of some people of his family. My father since he was a kid had dreams and goals, like most of the people do. But to fulfill one of his goals, he needed to study and graduate from high school. The problem is that his family didn’t have enough money to pay a student expenses. But my father didn’t let anything to stop him to fulfill he’s goals so he being a kid started to work as a shoe shiner to earn money by his own just to pay the school expenses. While years were passing by, my father was maturing faster than any other person of his age, due to the situation he was living. His high school graduation day came, and he had the will to continue developing in his studies, he wanted to go to the university to become a professional and so to be able to reach one of his goals. Since he was a poor person without the necessary resources to pay a university, he needed to ask help. He asked for any help to his familiars and friends, but nobody could help him, and he decided to ask his father. Unfortunately his father didn’t want to provide him any help to be able to continue his studies and he could never go to the university. Even that occurred, that never stopped my dad. His will was strong, he demanded himself to be able to progress and to continue forward. He searched for better job opportunities in one of his brothers’ company. There he got a job being a truck driver. But he didn’t want to stay as one. With time and hard work, he could obtain a better position in the company; he managed up to be the manager of the company. With his hard work and perseverance he became independent. He started his own company, and continued working. Now days, he has a company in his hometown and a branch in Higuey where he’s living today. As you’ve been listening, you know now that my father has not lived an easy and joyful life. Since his childhood he has been working to become someone important in life. Though my father grew up without the love of his parents, he never acted the same with his family. He has been an excellent father, I can’t complain about nothing. He worries a lot about his family, in every sense. He wants us to live like he wished he could live, giving my mother, my sister and I those things he could never have, and gives us that support he never received. My dad is an excellent father, a good businessman, in overall a great person. I have known a lot of people, and I have not seen anyone as my father. I don’t know if he has become someone big and important in life. But I can say that he has really become the most important person in mine. Maybe I don’t know who you admire. But I think you have heard enough to understand why my dad is the person who I admire.

Oppression (native Son) :: essays research papers

Oppression   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel Native Son written by Richard Wright a young adult named Bigger Thomas goes through a metamorphosis, from sanity to insanity. He starts out a normal trouble youth, living in a run down housing project, where all he does is hang out with his gang. But the city relief program gives him an opportunity to work and make something of himself. All he has to do is chauffeur for a very rich family. But on his first job everything goes wrong and he ends up murdering the family’s daughter. Through this novel Bigger meets many other people, which have the same oppression as him but handle it in different ways. Some of these people include his mother, his girlfriend, and Max his lawyer. All of these people have a certain amount of oppression given to them by the outside world. The only difference is the way each one of them handle it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ever since Bigger was a little boy he has felt very oppressed by the world because he was black. Bigger feels that he has nothing to be proud of so he takes this oppression to the heart and turns it into fear. The only way that he could express himself was to show the world that they should not oppress what they don’t know the power of. Bigger demonstrated that he should be feared and acknowledged by murdering the daughter of a very rich family. At one point after Bigger killed the daughter stated that “...for the first time in my fear-ridden life a barrier of protection between him and a world of fear.';(p. 119) Bigger feels as though know that he has killed this person that all will be well because of this new sense of power that he received from doing this horrible act. At this point Bigger feels assured that he could fool the world into thinking that he was normal. He started referring to all the people around him as blind, even when they where alr eady physically blind; “Ms. Dalton was blind; yes blind in more ways than one';(p. 120) but in his own mind he no longer felt the oppression or fear after he killed the Daughter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next most oppressed person is Bigger’s mother. She can not get a job because she is black and is of the female gender. So the world has oppressed her into poverty and the only way that she can respond to this oppression is to pray and worship the lord. Oppression (native Son) :: essays research papers Oppression   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel Native Son written by Richard Wright a young adult named Bigger Thomas goes through a metamorphosis, from sanity to insanity. He starts out a normal trouble youth, living in a run down housing project, where all he does is hang out with his gang. But the city relief program gives him an opportunity to work and make something of himself. All he has to do is chauffeur for a very rich family. But on his first job everything goes wrong and he ends up murdering the family’s daughter. Through this novel Bigger meets many other people, which have the same oppression as him but handle it in different ways. Some of these people include his mother, his girlfriend, and Max his lawyer. All of these people have a certain amount of oppression given to them by the outside world. The only difference is the way each one of them handle it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ever since Bigger was a little boy he has felt very oppressed by the world because he was black. Bigger feels that he has nothing to be proud of so he takes this oppression to the heart and turns it into fear. The only way that he could express himself was to show the world that they should not oppress what they don’t know the power of. Bigger demonstrated that he should be feared and acknowledged by murdering the daughter of a very rich family. At one point after Bigger killed the daughter stated that “...for the first time in my fear-ridden life a barrier of protection between him and a world of fear.';(p. 119) Bigger feels as though know that he has killed this person that all will be well because of this new sense of power that he received from doing this horrible act. At this point Bigger feels assured that he could fool the world into thinking that he was normal. He started referring to all the people around him as blind, even when they where alr eady physically blind; “Ms. Dalton was blind; yes blind in more ways than one';(p. 120) but in his own mind he no longer felt the oppression or fear after he killed the Daughter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next most oppressed person is Bigger’s mother. She can not get a job because she is black and is of the female gender. So the world has oppressed her into poverty and the only way that she can respond to this oppression is to pray and worship the lord.

Cleanliness: Recycling and Comprehensive National High

CLEANLINESS By: Edgardo Eleccion ( GCCNHS) The often quoted saying is â€Å"Cleanliness is next to Godliness†. People are so busy thinking what possible solution to make in order to maintain cleanliness for a worldwide issue. The air, water and soil are not polluted. This is the very issue of cleanliness that need an immediate action, a problem to be addressed. Gingoog City Comprehensive National High School ( GCCNHS) community has campaigned on zero waste management program on waste segregation by bio and non-biodegradable scheme. Stakeholders either direct and indirect have been oriented on this scheme on waste segregation. However, students either young or old still can’t follow simple instructions. A kind of system within a person to discipline him to do what is good in saving the environment and saving the generation ahead. United Nations and some of the environmental friendly establishments and organizations have join forces to launch a program for a greener world. The join effort is now part of their mission in their business and organization. However, if one is not performing its task to save this planet, then who else would clean up our mess? We should not wait for others to do the task, today is the right time. Sometimes our mind set reflects our own actions. Do we mind the earth we are living now? Are we ready to pass this world to the next generation after us? What else should we do to give this legacy a worthwhile for them? Symposium, memorandum, policies, bills, laws and rules have been done even in school and communities. Reduction, reforestation, redirection, recycle and reuse policies have been adopted. Still we continue making dirt to this paradise God given gift to us. This world is the package of our existence. This is not ours. We just borrow this. We live this for free, is it not proper to clean the earth we lend form the Maker? Edgardo Eleccion is a secondary teacher of Gingoog City Comprehensive National High School ( GCCNHS) Gingoog City, Philippines. He is a Values Education Teacher.

The Marshall Plan

THE MARSHALL PLAN By the end of World War II much of Europe was devastated. The region’s economic structure was ruined and the devastation to agriculture left millions starving and homeless. During the war, Axis powers targeted the transportation infrastructure, leaving railways, bridges, and roads in a state of severe disrepair. Much of the civilian merchant shipping industry had also suffered severe damage. Due to the economic strain placed on the European countries during the war, many had exhausted their treasuries. If not for The United State’s aid in the form of the Lend-Lease program during wartime efforts, this damage would have been much worse and the outcome may have been different. The United States however, did not suffer the same severity of destruction on its own territory. Consequently its massive agriculture and manufacturing base was still intact. For these reasons, The United States saw it necessary to offer goods, services, and monies to any European or Asian country, be it an Allied or Axis power. The U. S. continued providing aid after the war was over. Between 1945 and 1948, the U. S. ent $12 billion in aid to European Nations. The world’s major economies were crumbling and the U. S. realized the global impact. General George C. Marshall introduced a recovery plan in 1947, the European Recovery Plan or ERP. This plan, which later became known as the Marshall Plan, was the primary program for rebuilding and creating a stronger economic foundation for the countries of Western Europe during the post-war era, 1948-1952. The Marshall Plan provided an additional $13 billion in aid to European nations. Post-war relief from the U. S. totaled $25 billion. With a GDP of $258 billion, U. S. post-war investment in foreign countries totaled 10% of its GDP. For all Marshall Plan participants, the economic output was 35% higher in 1951 than the 1938 pre-war era. Poverty and starvation disappeared and Western Europe began two decades of growth in which it saw a drastic increase in the standards of living. This plan was a key element in European recovery and integration. It erased trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate a global economy. Efforts were made to model European industrial and business practices using the more efficient American models. The Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods system mandated free trade throughout the region. Through these acts, European nations standardized international exchange rates, set up the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is now part of the World Bank Group. The European Coal and Steel Community which eventually became the European Union has roots in the Marshall Plan. Today, the term â€Å"Marshall Plan† has become a metaphor for any large scale government program that is designed to solve a specific social problem. It is usually used when calling for federal spending to correct a perceived failure of the private sector. The Marshall Plan has played an integral part in establishing a global economy. References http://www. polsci. ucsb. edu/faculty/cohen/inpress/bretton. html http://www. archives. gov/exhibits/featured_documents/marshall_plan/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#Criticism http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan http://en. wikiquote. org/wiki/George_Marshall#Essentials_to_Peace_. 281953. 29 The Marshall Plan By the end of WWII the political map of the world was distinctly shaped. The former allies in anti-Hitler coalition entered into the era of ideological, military and industrial confrontation the humanity had never a chance to experience before; a confrontation used to be known as the Cold War with its iron curtain, unprecedented arm race and the support of various regimes including those which built their state doctrine on the ideology of terrorism.The political map of the post-war Europe was divided into two political camps, a pro-Soviet Eastern alliance and the Western Europe exhausted by the bloody war. The natural disasters of 1947-1947 ruined the agricultural infrastructure of some European countries. Especially damaged was transportation infrastructure, as railways, bridges, and roads had all been heavily targeted by air strikes, while much merchant shipping had been sunk.By and large the small towns and villages in Western Europe had suffered little damage, but the destruction of transportation left them economically isolated. None of these problems could be easily remedied, as most nations engaged in the war had exhausted their treasuries in its execution. With the formation of the confronting political camps the urgent political and economic actions were required first of all to reconstruct the economy of the countries opposed to the pro-Soviet block and secondly, to restrain the further expansion of the Soviet Union in Europe.The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program (ERP)) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding the allied countries of Europe and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for United States Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan. 1 In fact the Plan was offered to the Soviet Union if it accepted certain conditions like the changes in the political system and the outer control.It was understood that the conditions suggested by the US Administration would never be accepted by the Soviet rulers. The general idea of the Marshall Plan presupposed the elimination the tariffs, close economic integration and it could be said that the Plan was the beginning of the Euro integration process which is taking place nowadays. The attitude towards the idea of the European reconstruction was rather controversial in America. First of all such foreign policy was new for the United States and changed the foreign policy of the pre-war isolationism.At the same time the lessons of the WWII showed that the global security could not be provided under the isolationism doctrine. The State Department under Harry S. Truman was dedicated to pursuing an activist foreign policy, but the Congress was somewhat less interested. Originally, it was hoped that little would need to be done to rebuild Europe and that the United Kingdom and France, with the help of their c olonies, would quickly rebuild their economies.By 1947 there was still little progress, however. A series of cold winters aggravated an already poor situation. The European economies did not seem to be growing as high unemployment and food shortages led to strikes and unrest in several nations. In 1947 the European economies were still well below their pre-war levels and were showing few signs of growth. Agricultural production was 83% of 1938 levels, industrial production was 88%, and exports only 59%. 2It was the objective reality that the United States was the only country the economy of which was not seriously damaged by the war and the bipolar nature of the post WWII world needed some action restraining the Soviet influence. The ruinous effect of the WWII was the fertile soil for spreading the Communist ideas and consequently the influence of the USSR which was not limited by the ideology only but by the growing military, political and economic presence.On June, June 5, 1947 Se cretary of State George Marshall gave the address to the graduating class of Harvard University in which he stated the preparedness of the United States to give the aid to European countries. The most important provision of the speech was that the Europeans should create their own plan of the economic reconstruction and the United States would finance such reconstruction. UK and France considered it necessary to invite the Soviet Union to join the European program of the post war reconstruction.Such appeal to Stalin would exclude possibly hostility from the USSR on one hand but on the other hand it was clear that the USSR would never accept the offer because the Cold War had already started by that time by the Soviet leaders. The major reason the aid was rejected by the Soviet rulers was that the Plan presupposed the creation of the unified European economy which was incompatible with the command economy of Soviet socialism. The US Administration considered the global economic stabi lity to the guarantee of the political stability and security which was stated in Marshall Plan Speech in Harvard.â€Å"It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist†. 3The position of the Soviet Union and it allies towards the Marshall Plan was rather predictable. Soviet rulers considered the Marshall Plan to be an attempt to destroy the Soviet domination in the Eastern Europe. The USSR allies influenced by the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia rejected the offered aid. Finland also declined in order to avoid antagonizing the Soviets. The So viet Union's â€Å"alternative† to the Marshall plan, which was purported to involve Soviet subsidies and trade with eastern Europe, became known as the Molotov Plan, and later, the COMECON.4 Some scholars consider the Marshall Plan to be a milestone and even a starting point on the long term global confrontation known as the Cold War. â€Å"Our analysis of the Marshall Plan will show that it was American policies as much as (and perhaps more than) Soviet actions that finally led to the division of Europe and thus to the Cold War itself. Many historians will feel uncomfortable with this conclusion; and it is certainly not a point of view that is popular with American historians, especially now. Nor should this much surprise us.After all, the Marshall Plan has always tended to receive favorable reviews within the United States—partly because few appear inclined to think critically about an act of generosity involving something close to $13 billion;19 partly because in the context of 1947 the Marshall Plan stood in sharp contrast to its shrill predecessor, the Truman Doctrine; and partly because of the huge reputation of George Marshall, whose role in the Marshall Plan was commemorated by the British government with the scholarships that still bear his name. †5Cox and Kennedy-Pipe suggest that the Marshall Plan was one of the major reasons of the division of Europe and it led to the Cold War. But this approach looks like that which is a little bit simplified. The confrontation of the USSR and USA was unavoidable no matter what political processes took place in the post WWII globe. First of all the confrontation was originally programmed in the ideological difference of the two systems. Nowadays we can observe the nominally Communist China and Vietnam integrating in the world market economy.The modern economies of China and Vietnam have nothing common with the traditional communist command economy. It could be said that the ideological basis of the modern China and Vietnam contradicts completely to the traditional communist approach to economy when the market and the competition according to classics of Marxism-Leninism are aimed to exploitation of the working class and prosperity of the ruling class. Nobody knows what kind of confrontation would be if the Marshall Plan were not introduced.One of the possible scenarios could be that the Europe remained in ruins, Soviets gained the unlimited influence and the greater part of Europe would get involved into the crazy arm race without any restrictive factor which would lead to the new global conflict. The Marxian ideologists interpreted the Marshall Plan as the manifestation of the US neo-colonial global policy. â€Å"US imperialism has never had need to operate in the traditional manner of the British, French or German imperialisms. These countries had to acquire direct political possession of the colonial areas in order to control, subjugate and exploit them.American imp erialism, with its overwhelming capacity to produce, has always used economic penetration as its main weapon of gaining economic and political control over another country. †6 The American Marshall Plan was heavily criticized both in the United States and abroad. The opinions ranged from â€Å"the betrayal of the American interests† to â€Å"the attempt of global domination† but there was no any reasonable alternative suggested. The political aim of the Marshall Plan as it was stated above was to restrain the Soviet expansion and influence in the post War Europe and the entire world.The United States and the USSR were two global superpowers which defeated the Hitler block. At the same time as it was stated above they have basic system ideological differences which in their essence were incompatible. The United States and the USSR were destined to confrontation due to such differences. The first post – war political initiative of the USSR was the creation o f the pro-Soviet block in Europe. Germany, Italy and Japan were destructed and demoralized to oppose the growing Soviet influence. The spread of the Soviet influence created the real threat to the entire world.What is more, the situation looked like paradox because the United States assisted to strengthen the position of its ideological opponent in the world. Due to its geopolitical position the United States could not provide the symmetric political presence in Europe. The Great Britain ran its traditional isolationist policy. France was not economically and politically strong enough to oppose the Soviet influence. â€Å"If Russia came to control Europe and Asia, this control could be founded only on communist dictatorships maintained against the will of the majorities of the peoples.The mere existence of a great free country like our own, to which anti-Soviet forces could gravitate, would then be a major danger (even more than it is today) to the security of the Soviet political structure. For this reason, the Russians would inevitably focus the full force of their economic and military power upon the destruction of our society, with a view to establishing here a regime subservient to themselves which would make no further trouble for them. They would hope that in this way the conscience of the world could be finally silenced†. 7Such attitude towards position of Russia was a little bit exaggerated especially when Mr. Kennan said about the direct Russian aggression against the United States but still it indicated the real threat of Russian influence in the world. It is worth reminding that Mr. Kennan spoke about the Soviet threat to American society in 1948 when there were only two dominating military and political forces in the world, the USA and the USSR, one of which started forming the military and political block risking the superpower global balance. It is worth noting that the initial confrontation of the superpowers was the battle for minds.The Europeans with their destructed economies had the options to choose either the ideology of Communism with its dictatorship and command economy or find the way to rehabilitate their post-war economies on the basis of free market and the United States entered this battle for the sake of the Europeans. The post-war situation is similar to that of nowadays when the United States faces the problem of battling the global terrorism including the economic measures. As Gordon O. F. Johnson notes â€Å"Today we are fighting for the minds of those throughout the world who are inclined to support and sympathize with international terrorists.Just as the aim of the Marshall Plan was to â€Å"drain the swamps† where communism was drawing support, so we today must â€Å"drain the swamps† where international terrorism recruits and draws its support. †8 The outcomes of the Marshall Plan are of great significance for Europe and entire world. The most important of them is that the United States and the civilized community introduced and implemented the unprecedented tool of collective reconstruction. It is worth mentioning that the post-war European economies were rehabilitated by the Europeans themselves with the assistance of the United States.The essence of the Marshall speech at Harvard was that the European countries were supposed to reconstruct their countries themselves and the United States was not supposed to interfere into this process. That is, the United States provided only the tools for reconstruction without imposing any dictatorship. Another important outcome of the Marshall Plan was that the former enemies in the World War II succeeded to join their efforts in building the new Europe taking away the political, economic and ideological disagreements of the former enemies in the bloodiest war of the human history.The Marshall Plan apart from its economic value became the factor consolidating Europe. â€Å"The objective of the Marshall Plan wa s not to solve the problem of poverty by handouts and welfare systems, but rather to foster successful enterprises which would create productive jobs with a genuine future. Jobs and a strong middle class were key to fighting communism. They were key for Europeans to rebuild from the rubble and offer hope for their youth who were the most susceptible to the message of international communism. †8The history of the mankind knows a lot of examples when the political and economic actions were imposed from outside. The Marshall Plan gave the brilliant example when the effective assistance program had the local character. It was taken as fair and sincere action because of its transparency and the complete lack of the outer dictatorship. It had a great ideological value as well indicating that people of the countries which were completely destructed by the devastating war were able to rehabilitate their economies and rebuild their home countries. Citation 1. Wikipedia 2. Ibid 3.Text o f the Marshall Plan Speech 4. Wikipedia 5. Cox and Kennedy-Pipe 6. Homer Paxon 7. George F. Kennan 8. Gordon O. F. Johnson 9. Ibid Bibliography †¢ Marshall Plan, Wikipedia, available at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#searchInput, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Text of the Marshall Plan Speech, available at http://www. marshallfoundation. org/marshall_plan_speech_harvard. html#top, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Cox and Kennedy-Pipe, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Rethinking the Marshall Plan, available at http://www. polisci. ucla. edu/faculty/trachtenberg/cv/jcws(marshall%20orig). pdf, retrieved 9.11. 2006 †¢ Homer Paxon Marshall Plan: Road to Conquest Analysis of the American Way of Imperialism, From New International, Vol. 14 No. 5, July 1948, pp. 138-143. , available at http://www. marxists. org/history/etol/newspape/ni/vol14/no05/paxon. htm#top, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ George F. Kennan on the Strategic Background, available at http://www. marshal lfoundation. org/marshall_plan_information. html, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Gordon O. F. Johnson, Lessons for Today from the Marshall Plan, CIPE. ORG Feature Service: Technical Paper Series January 2002, available at CIPE. ORG, retrieved 9. 11. 2006.