Are Bugs Considered Animals

If youve ever seen a praying mantis in person before you knew of its existence, you may have been frightened by its exotic looks. Its face alone would give anyone seeing it for the first time pause. The law of human nature dictates we fear what we dont know. But most would be fascinated and want to know what it is. Ladybugs must have better public relations people because everyone is happy to see a ladybug land on or near them. Butterflies, too, are beautiful and millions of people visit butterfly exhibits and preserves such as Butterfly World in South Florida annually just to bask in their presence.  Those who believe in spirit guides, upon seeing a dragonfly expects a transition in their lives because dragonflies and damselflies are like the angel Gabriel, here to let you know there is a change coming.  Fun fact about dragonflies: they are the only animal that is at home in the air, the water and on land. Rumor has it there are penalties for killing a praying mantis. However, a review of state and federal laws will turn up nothing that specifically protects praying mantises and the whole thing  appears to be an urban legend, They may be covered by some state  animal cruelty  laws that prohibit needlessly killing animals. But that’s doubtful. So it’s not illegal to kill them, it’s just a rotten thing to do. What Is a Praying Mantis? There are about 2,000 known species of praying mantises, but only twenty of them live in the U.S. All are insects  of the order Dictyoptera,  suborder Mantodea. The common name refers to the way they hold their front legs - like arms in prayer. They are masters of camouflage and blend into the branches, leaves, flowers, and ground where they live. All mantis species are carnivores, eating other insects, small  mammals, lizards, frogs, and  even their own mates. What Is a Lady Bug? Well, it’s not a bug, it’s a beetle. It has the same PR problems as does the Volkswagen Beetle. The Volkswagen people insist their little plump car is a Beetle. The rest of us call it a Bug. It makes us happy and they still sell cars so, no harm done. Entomologists call the ladybug  Coleoptera and probably don’t sing songs about houses burning down. Ladybugs are garden-friendly and belong to an elite group of SEAL TEAM type forces called beneficial bugs. If you don’t have ladybugs in your garden, then you may have an enemy lurking under your Hibiscus leaves. They’re aphids, and they cause plenty of harm. The little bloodsuckers are responsible for destroying your foliage. Ladybugs love them, and home gardeners purchase them by the thousands and release them into their gardens. What Is a Beneficial Insect? Mantises, ladybugs, and butterflies, as well as many other insects, both beautiful and not-so-much, have a reputation as beneficial insects because they eat other insects in the home garden, but they do not discriminate between harmful and beneficial critters. Whats All This Have to Do With Animal Rights? It is important to note that from an  animal rights  viewpoint, the concept of beneficial insects is highly anthropocentric. Every insect - every organism - has a place in the ecosystem. For example, a tick predates on a cow, a cowbird eats the tick and then flies around planting seeds that grow trees, etc. etc. To judge an animal as beneficial because they somehow help human interests ignores the fact that all animals have their own intrinsic value and are beneficial to themselves. Organic gardeners purchase ladybugs to release in their gardens to eat the destructive pests that eat the beautiful flowers and vegetables, so to gardeners, these beetles have a value. Cockroaches, despite having their own  Spanish song, have no value.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ Beneficial Bugs and Federal Law As of 2016, no federal law protects beneficial insects such as the praying mantis and none of the â€Å"good bugs† enjoy any other federal animal protection law. Although mantises and ladybugs are not listed as threatened or endangered under the  Endangered Species Act, plenty of other insects have been put on the list, mostly due to habitat loss and indiscriminate use of pesticides. But most bugs, being  invertebrates, are explicitly excluded from  Animal Welfare Act  protection. CITES   The  Convention on Trade in Endangered Species  of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) also does not currently protect beneficial bugs. CITES is an international treaty that protects endangered and threatened  species by regulating trade  in those species. While CITES includes plants and animals, including insects, no species of praying mantis is listed under CITES as if 2013. However, even if a praying mantis species were listed, CITES applies only to  international trade  and would not govern whether someone can kill a praying mantis, ladybug or butterfly in their own backyard. But it would still be a rotten thing to do. State Animal Cruelty Laws This is where it gets interesting. Some state animal cruelty laws explicitly exclude all invertebrates (e.g. Alaska Stat  §03.55.190) or all insects (e.g. New Mexico Stat  §30-18-1) by excluding them from their definition of the word animal. However, some states do not exclude insects from their laws. For example, New Jerseys definition of animal includes the whole brute creation (N.J.S.  §4:22-15). Minnesotas definition of animal is every living creature except members of the human race (Minn. Stat.  §343.20). In jurisdictions where insects are covered by the state animal cruelty statutes, the needless, intentional killing of an insect is illegal and may carry a fine or even imprisonment. Whether charges are filed and the case is actually prosecuted is a separate issue, however. I was unable to locate a single animal cruelty case involving a praying mantis or insect of any kind. Praying Mantises, Animal Welfare, and Animal Rights From an  animal welfare  or even an animal rights point of view, the current status of our laws is irrelevant to the question of whether it is wrong to kill a praying mantis or any other insect harmless to humans. From both an animal welfare and animal rights viewpoint, killing an animal for no reason cannot be morally acceptable. This is completely separate from whether an animal is endangered or whether the animal is beneficial to humans.

Aztec Civilization Essay - 680 Words

The Aztec Indians created a great civilization in Central Mexico, reaching its peak in the 1500amp;#8217;s. Being late arrivals to the area, and because of their strong neighboring nations, they were forced to live in the swampy western areas of the Lake Texcoco. Because of the swampy surroundings, the Aztecs used mud to create miniature islands in the swamps. These islands are called chinampas, or amp;#8220;floating gardens,; and were used as farming lands. On these fertile islands they grew corn, squash, vegetables, and flowers. Being an agriculturally dependant empire, the Aztecamp;#8217;s religion was based highly on the forces of nature and worshipped them as gods. The god of war, Huitzilopochtli, was the most important deity.†¦show more content†¦On the stone is a picture of what the Aztecs thought the universe was like. The sun god is in the middle, with the heavens surrounding it, and pictures of people made out of precious stones. The Aztec form of writing was in pictographs, or small pictures symbolizing objects or sounds. The Aztec numbering system used pictographs also, and was based on the number 20. For example, a flag represented 20, a fir tree represented 20 times 20, or 400, and a pouch represented 400 times 20, or 8000. The capitol of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan, which was built where modern-day Mexico City is. It was given the nickname amp;#8220;Venice of the New World,; because it had many canals. During the acme of the Aztec civilization, the population of this great city nu mbered more than 200,000. This made it one of the most populated cities in the ancient world. The city was connected to the mainland by 3 causeways, which, when flooded, served as protective dikes. In the city aqueducts, which was probably the first type of indoor plumbing, brought fresh water into homes. Many people used canoes to travel through the city. Most of the houses were made up of mud and twisted twigs, but the nobility and priests had plastered brick or stone houses. In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes and more than 500 other Spaniards landed on the shores of Mexico in search of gold. The Aztecs welcomed the Spaniards and gave them gifts, because they thought they were gods. Cortes became greedy when heShow MoreRelatedThe Aztecs And The Aztec Civilization1097 Words   |  5 PagesThe Aztecs had one of the most successful and advanced empires of all time. They had a dwelling culture The Aztec civilization was located directly in the middle of two mountain ranges in the central valley of Mexico ( Platt 10). Although the Aztec empire eventually came to an end they were able to do well as an empire. Contributing factors that led to the rise of the empire was their political structure, social components, and religious traditions which they preformed earnestly. The Aztecs wereRead MoreAztec s And The Aztec Civilization1989 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Aztec. The Aztec’s human sacrifice was a brutal bloodshed. (Pennock 277) The Aztec civilization was a solid and powerful foundation. The Aztec’s dominated northern Mexico during the 16th century, during that time was also the Spanish conquest with Hernan Cortes. The Aztec’s were bodacious warriors. The Aztec’s had a well organized agricultural economy even the Spaniards were impressed and could not wait to take over Mexico. The Spanish knew this could not happen right away with the Aztec beingRead MoreAztec Culture And The Aztec Civilization1637 Words   |  7 PagesAztec culture flourished in the highlands of central Mexico between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, AD. As the last in a series of complex urban civilizations in Mesoamerica, the Aztecs adopted many traits and institutions from their predecessors such as the Maya and Teotihuacan. The Aztecs also devised many innovations, particularly in the realms of economics and politics. Aztec civilization was destroyed at its height by the invasion of Spanish conquerors under He rnando Cortà ©s in 1519. TheRead MoreAncient Civilization And The Aztec Civilization Essay1781 Words   |  8 PagesMesoamerican civilizations lies right below modern day Mexico City. (Yellow,16) Legends have been told about the history of Mexico City, but not until recently was the great city of Tenochtitlan uncovered while construction workers were digging in Mexico City. There are very few physical remains of the ancient city today, but the history of this great civilization is still with us. This civilization was created by the Aztecs, who built their empire in 1325 AD. (Yellow,15). The capital of the Aztecs, TenochtitlanRead MoreAztec, Inca And Aztec Civilizations1134 Words   |  5 Pagesother prospering civilizations thriving in parts of Central America and parts of Mexico. The Mayan, Incan and Aztec civilizations were a few of the greatest ancient civilizations in history, but they each had distinct characteristics that helped them prosper into the great empires that they became. Each had their own fascinating ways of food production, governing system and culture. The Mayans were established first out of the three and settled in modern-day Mexico. Then came the Aztecs and they alsoRead MoreThe Maya And Aztec Civilizations866 Words   |  4 PagesThe Maya and Aztec civilizations were both indigenous people that flourished in Mesoamerica. Maya s classic period dates from 250 to 900 AD, which was considered to be the peak of their civilization. They covered much of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and were centered in what is now known as Guatemala. The Aztecs dominated in the post classic period from 1325 to 1521 AD, in what is now modern day Mexico. Although, the Aztec and Maya s were from different time periods they shared cultural similaritiesRead MoreAztec Religion: the Foundation of a Civilization1456 Words   |  6 Pagesof the Aztec, including their beliefs, customs and religions, acted as a tremendous influence on their government, economy, a nd culture. Religion was the foundation for the infamous culture of the Aztec Civilization. Through ceremonies of sacrifice, and the infusion of cosmology into their religion, the Aztecs sculpted a culture unlike that of any other civilization, and left behind a legacy to be studied and admired for generations to come. Religion ultimately shaped the unique civilization of theRead More The European Invasion of the Aztec Civilization Essay1274 Words   |  6 PagesThe European Invasion of the Aztec Civilization Thunder on their Ships They are landing with rulers, squares, compasses Sextants White skin fair eyes, naked word Thunder on their ships. Leopold Sedar Senghor, â€Å"Ethiopiques† (Adas) â€Å"Thunder on their ships† can be used to describe Herman Cortes when he landed at what is now Veracruz, Mexico in 1519 A.D. The light skinned and bearded Spaniard led his men into territory occupied by the Aztec civilization. Little did Cortes know, but thatRead MoreThe Ancient Aztecs Complex And Advanced Civilization966 Words   |  4 PagesHonors Hilp March 3, 2015 The Ancient Aztecs Complex and Advanced Civilization. The Aztecs were a civilization that emerged in Mesoamerica around the start of the thirteenth century and existed until 1521 CE. The Aztecs had their own system of government, a very complex religion, and sports and games were very important to the civilization. The Aztecs were a civilization that was complex as well as very advanced in many different areas of their civilization such as their government, religion, andRead MoreNative American Civilization : The Aztec, Or Mexicas Essay3157 Words   |  13 PagesOne of the first societies to ever mandate education was the Aztec, or Mexicas, which allowed children of any social stature to be educated, ^ possible input in of a dash rather than a comma including slave children. It is hard to imagine that this grand empire is highly associated with their practices in human sacrifice. When the Spanish invaded and took over, many believed that the Aztecs will killed ^were killed by this ^the Spanish conquest, but ^;but, the truth is that il lnesses brought by the

The Beginning of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict Free Essays

string(84) " was attacked almost simultaneously by Lebanese, Iraqi, Egyptian and Syrian troops\." The beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Sebastien Steigmeier ESL071 Professor Waldrop April 23, 2011 Everybody saw it on television, in the newspaper or maybe heard it on the radio, the last century held many different conflicts in Gaza Strip. Basically, people know that Israel and Palestine are fighting for that land, each one pretending that they deserve it. A survey, done on CBU students, shows that most of them don’t know anything about the conflict. We will write a custom essay sample on The Beginning of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict or any similar topic only for you Order Now The only ones who knew a little bit about it were sure that Israel wanted the land to build a Jewish state after the tragedy of the World War II. I asked a few students some questions before doing my survey to get a basic idea of their knowledge. Then I realized that I would probably have to ask different questions considering their lack of knowledge on the topic. Out of the nine students taking time to answer my questions, six had no idea what to answer and two said that Israel wanted the land as â€Å"compensation† after the Holocaust. Let’s take a look at the history, and consider facts that will help us understanding what are the reasons why Zionists (it’s important not to confuse Zionists and Jews) and Palestinian Arabs are fighting. Emerging a long time ago, this idea of having a land to bring Jewish people together came out in 1897. From August 29 to August 31 of that year, occurred in Basel, Switzerland (I swear I didn’t know that) the first Zionist Congress, held by the World Zionist Organization. Theodor Herzl who was named as the first President and who also was the author of â€Å"Der Judenstaat† (â€Å"the Jewish State†) was the initiator of that congress. The Zionist Congress travelled through many different European cities, and was held every two years from 1897 to 1946, except during the two World Wars. As an answer to the question â€Å"why do Zionists want to take that land? † most people answer that they want a land because they want to build a Jewish State to stay together in peace after the Holocaust. History proves them wrong by showing that Zionists are trying to steal that land for more than a century, and the Holocaust happened only seventy years ago. Even though Arabs were killed by Zionists attacks during the 1940’s, in 1947, the United Nations decided to split the land and to give half of it to the Jews. We can say that the seven millions of Jews who were killed during the World War II didn’t die for nothing, as compassion made the United Nations allow them to steal half of a country. Sure, what happened during the Holocaust was terrible, but I don’t think that Zionists should use it to claim â€Å"their† land. There is no land on earth that belongs to a religious group. A lot of religious groups are gathered together in the same area which is fine, but no religious group tries to make an independent country for a religion. What would you think if all the atheist Mexicans come together and say: â€Å"We are going to take the Southern California and make it a Atheist State† It makes no sense. But the United Nations decided to agree with the Zionists and gave them a part of the Arab Palestinian territory. This was called the â€Å"partition plan† and was voted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 29, 1947. Palestinian Arabs felt violated of course, and the day after, on November 30th they reacted violently. It led to what experts call â€Å"The Civil War in Mandatory Palestine†. The Civil War lasted until May 14, 1948 with the Jewish victory. On that day, Israel declared its independence. The British army, who was supposed to maintain order in Palestine, was preparing its withdrawal and didn’t really have a finger in the pie. Great-Britain’s mandate over the Palestinian territory was expiring on May 15; Israel declared its independence on May 14 because May 15 was Shabbat, as the story says. The day after, another important war started, the â€Å"1948 Arab-Israeli War† also known as the â€Å"War of independence† or the â€Å"War of Liberation†. With Israel declaring its independence, the Arab neighbors of â€Å"the State of Israel† started to invade on May 15, showing their disagreement with the decisions that were made by the United Nations. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War happened in three phases, each phase being separated by some truce agreement. As the Soviet Union, Iran and the United States recognized Israel as a free State, the League of Arab States sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General, to proclaim its idea of building what they called the â€Å"United State of Palestine† instead of splitting the country in a Jewish and Arab two states â€Å"country†. That letter, also known as the Cablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Folke Bernadotte, contained what was at that time a great idea, and maybe a good opportunity to try to solve the problem. Basically, they wanted to establish a single and democratically ruled state. This cablegram contained ten points that were asked to be presented in front of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Each point was reminding facts and history, to explain how that territory belonged to Arabs, but also points that showed how Arabs were ready to share it in a democratic way with the Jews living in the same area. The Israelis said that the plan was not even considerable because Jews were a majority in the areas that were given to the Jewish State. At that time, China supported the Arabs, while the United States, Iran and the Soviet Union considered that the Arabs were entering the Israeli territory illegally. Egypt, who was on the Arabs’ side of course enter the conflict by bombing Tel-Aviv in response to previous provocation. The whole all around Arab world followed, and Israel was attacked almost simultaneously by Lebanese, Iraqi, Egyptian and Syrian troops. You read "The Beginning of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict" in category "Papers" But as Israel was a freshly new established state, Jews from all around the world were joining, making the average number of immigrant reaching 10,300 by month! That was really helpful to Israel who could increase its military forces amazingly. By the day of the declaration of Independence, the Israeli strength was just above 29,000. At the end of the year, on December 30, the military forces counted more than 108,000 soldiers. Israel increased in number, but also found ways to get some more military equipment such as planes, weapons and armed vehicles. The war was on; both sides were bombing and fighting each other. The conflict lasted for a little bit more than three weeks. The United Nations called for a truce on May 29, but both sides kept on fighting till June 11. That truce lasted for 28 days and was ending the first phase of the 1948 war. The ceasefire was overviewed by military officers from different countries, such as France, Belgium, United States or Sweden, all picked by the United Nations. This ceasefire had no other goal than just getting ready to fight again for both sides. The Arabs used it to reinforce their positions with new and fresh soldiers while the Israeli were buying new weapons from Czechoslovakia, and sending new soldiers on the field too. There were around 30,000 Israeli soldiers when the truce was announced and a little bit more than 65,000 when the truce ended. Still during the truce, Folke Bernadotte was trying to find a way to settle the land politically. He was facing what he described as his obstacles: â€Å"the Arab world’s continued rejection of the existence of a Jewish state, whatever its borders; Israel’s new ‘philosophy’, based on its increasing military strength, of ignoring the partition boundaries and conquering what additional territory it could; and the emerging Palestinian Arab refugee problem† (Morris, Benny. 948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War) Bernadotte also presented his idea of a new plan of partition as following, that a union â€Å"be established between the two sovereign states of Israel and Jordan (which now included the West Bank); that the Negev, or part of it, be included in the Arab state and that Western Galilee, or part of it, be included in Israel; that the whole of Jerusalem be part of the Arab state, with the Jewish areas enjoying municipal autonomy and that Lydda Airport and Haifa be ‘free ports’—presumably free of Israeli or Arab sovereignty† (same source). Israel didn’t agree with that plan because they wanted Jerusalem, but they agreed to lengthen the truce for one more month. The Arabs rejected both the plan and the truce and on July 8 Egypt bombed Negba, which was an Israeli position. (Alfred A. Knopf. A History of Israel from the Rise of Zionism to Our Time. New York. 1976. p. 330. ) This attack on the â€Å"Israeli territory† launched the second phase of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The second phase lasted only ten days but it was sufficient for the Israeli soldiers to perform a lot of operations, with the most famous one, Operation Danny. It had for goal to secure two of the most important cities (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) and also the roads linking both those cities. The Jewish military forces launched a few other operations during those ten days conquering more territory and more dominance. The United Nations succeeded in calling another truce on July 18, which led to an almost two months break. Bernadotte again proposed a new partition plan on September 16 with a fair â€Å"distribution† of the territories and the internationalization of Jerusalem. A militant Zionist group, Lehi, was scared that the Jewish Government would accept the plan so they assassinated Bernadotte in Jerusalem the day after. What Lehi didn’t know is that meanwhile they were planning their operation both the Arab and Israeli Government already rejected the plan and were preparing to fight again the next month. This was the end of the second truce. On October 15, the war started again, and both sides were conquering and losing some territories, and clue cities. The British army, who said that they were agreeing with the United Nations when it was time to make decisions finally realized that Israeli positions were going maybe a little bit too far in Egypt as they were approaching the Suez Canal, which was controlled by Great Britain and pretty useful. On November 20, the Israeli shot down a photo-taking-plane sent by the British. The day after, four British routine reconnaissance planes were also shot down by the Israeli, killing one of the four pilots and taking the three other ones as hostages. The rest of the squadron realizing that the four planes were not coming back went to look for them and also was attacked by the Israeli. Maybe that if Great Britain had decided earlier to seriously care about what was happening in Gaza Strip before it messed with their personal profits, they wouldn’t have lost those pilots. People don’t care about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict until they might lose something. The British army was supposed to maintain order over the Palestinian territory before the war started. As said earlier, they were preparing their withdrawal and they let the Jews attack the Arabs while they still were there. It didn’t matter to them because they were leaving. But years later, when they realized that Israeli Forces were about to take control on the Suez Canal, they understood that if they wanted to keep it they would have to do something (or maybe should have done something by the past). The Jews were not only firing the planes but also finding the planes on the ground after shooting them, removing the usable pieces and then burning the rest to make sure that it would be useless. Tired of being shot down by the Israeli, who were saying that they could not difference them from the Arabs (really? , the British painted their planes’ wings to be more recognizable. The Jews started to understand that they were in a dangerous position and that fighting in Egypt was maybe a stupid idea, so they retired from Egypt and stopped fighting. At the end of the year 1948, the United Nations General Assembly voted for the â€Å"Resolution 194† which said that â€Å"refugees wishing t o return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so† and that â€Å"compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return. (Efraim Karsh, The Palestinians and The ‘Right of Return’ Commentary Magazine, May 2001. ) In the beginning of 1949, Israel started signing armistices with Egypt first, and with Lebanon, Jordan and Syria later. But this wasn’t fair. According to Leon Carl Brown â€Å"†¦ when the war ended in 1949, Israel was in control of about one-third more territory (some 2,500 square miles) than it had been allocated by the United Nations partition plan† (Leon Carl Brown (2004). Diplomacy in the Middle East: the international relations of regional and outside powers. I. B. Tauris. pp. 126) letting the Arabs with only Gaza Strip and the West Bank under control. After having its territory secured, Israel evicted the Arabs that were remaining on the new Jewish State. More than 700,000 Arabs were forced to leave their home and were told that they would never be allowed to come back in Israel or in any neighboring Arab country but Transjordan. Those Arabs were known as the Palestinian Refugees. â€Å"Arab-Israel Conflict. † The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 58-121. ) The conflict never really stopped, and by the Jordanian border there were always some kind of operations launched by both sides. In 1955, Israel killed 37 Egyptian soldiers in Gaza on a raid. After this attack, Egypt started to build a more serious army, by training the volunteers remaining in Gaza and making them â€Å"F edayeen† (â€Å"those who sacrifice†) forces. Years later, in 1967, Israel attacked the Egyptian forces in Gaza Strip and the Jordanian forces in the West Bank, annexing both the lands and taking control over Jerusalem. This conflict is known as the Six-Day War. To summarize quickly: as if receiving half of a land was not enough, Israel started a conflict with the real owners, after having more than what they should have got, they fight again because they want it entirely. What else could they do to mock the Arabs a little bit more? They named the freshly acquired Jerusalem as the Capital city of the Jewish state. When you become aware of what happened since 1897, it is hard not to feel compassion for the Palestinian Arabs who were stolen and killed because Zionists decided that they deserved a land. Of course the Arabs were not white as snow after the conflict began and they also killed some of the Israeli forces soldiers. But with the Great Britain just watching instead of acting as they should have done, I feel like the Arabs did the right thing fighting back. Who could say with integrity that they should not have fought back and let the Jews steel their land? In my opinion, no one. References A history of Conflict. BBC News http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/default. stm Benny, Morris. 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War Karsh, Efraim. (2001). The Palestinians and The ‘Right of Return Commentary Magazine. Knopf, Alfred A. (1976). A History of Israel from the Rise of Zionism to Our Time. New York. Kurtzer, Daniel. Lasensky, Scott. Negotiating Arab-Israeli peace: American leadership in the Middle East, United States Institute of Peace (readable on Google books) Palestine Refugees. The UN agency for Palestine Refugees. http://www. unrwa. org/etemplate. php? id=86 Pappe, Ilan. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. The Middle East Quarterly (2006) http://www. meforum. org/1886/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestine Frequently Asked Questions About Israel. Israel Ministry Of Foreign Affairs. (2001) http://www. mfa. gov. il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/11/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions%20About%20Israel#refugee Green, Peter. ISRAEL and the Palestine right of return. (2003) http://wais. stanford. du/Israel/israel_andthepalestinerightofreturn51603. html Arnett, Peter. Palesinian-Israeli Conflict. http://www. azdema. gov/museum/famousbattles/pdf/Palestinian-Israeli%20Conflict-072809. pdf Survey from April 22, 2011 (see next page) Oral communication, April 22nd, 2011, California Baptist University Have you ever heard of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Do you know why Israeli and Palestinian are fighting? Do you know since when they are fighting? If you answered the previous questions, who do you think is right? How to cite The Beginning of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Papers

Advocacy Protection of Human Rights

Question: Discuss about the AdvocacyforProtection of Human Rights. Answer: Introduction Over the past years, there has been a great concern by the New Zealand government in the effect of human rights on the policy making procedure. Moreover, the government has entered into extensive international agreements regarding the promotion and protection of human rights. These agreements are engaging New Zealand due to the International law. This comprises both the social, economic, political, cultural and civil rights. In particular the latter has numerous problems for social policy. After many years, there has been a rise in concerns from inside and outside the New Zealand government in the effect of public rights and freedom on the policy implementation procedure. However, there has been a major issue regarding which rights based strategy to social policy is needed in New Zealand. That issue is because of problems that limit any effort to enhance the extent and effects of New Zealands concerns with respects to Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) rights (Smith Smith, 2016). T his paper is an analysis of the concepts of social justice and human rights in New Zealand. In general, ESC rights have not been subjected to similar extent degree of normal setting that has been required by the international laws of Child protection rights, and particularly the language in which they are set is usually uncertain (Osler, 2015). Moreover, the rules set by the International Covenant on cultural, social and economic rights are placed on relative instead of relative terms (Smith Smith, 2016). It necessitates the state to discover the rights in a progressive manner and to the extent of its available resources. Due to this facts, the exact level to which the states duties regarding the ESC rights is both controversial and contestable. This crisis is due to the lack of an organized tendency of the New Zealand judiciary to clearly elaborate the ESC rights both in the domestic and international scenario (Flood Gross, 2014). During the year 2003, the Human rights commission interviewed the publishers using the New Zealand Centre for human Law, to make a statement p aper on the concerns of applying a rights-based analysis to the making of social policy in New Zealand. This publication is an edited and exaggerated version of the paper. Its motive is to enhance discussions about the concerns for New Zealand social policy decision of developing a rights based strategy (De Souza, 2015). Social policy are the codes and systems by which the government uses to impact the improvement of community, especially in association to education, welfare and health. This description is somehow narrow as compared to the definition used by the ministry of Social Development in the Social improvement strategy (Bertot,2016), in which social policy is explained as the policy that has an effect on the social standards. However, the modification has a big impact for the evaluation that follows and that is required in this setting to try and find the answer to the main question of what, exactly is the definition of social policy. Recently, there has been numerous protests against the social development, social welfare, and social policy in New Zealand. The ministrys mechanism is detailed and finds a broad variety of approaches to wellness, appropriate objectives and desirable social results. Moreover, it incorporates reference to a guideline concerning the distribution of wellness that all persons enjoy some basic limited level of wellness (De Souza, 2015). What is not clear in the ministrys mechanisms is the use of dialect or the aspect of human rights. This is not to suggesting that a human rights aspect is entirely lacking form the New Zealand policy setting. After the development of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act in 1990, government officers have completely been made to control the effects of human rights obligations for policy development and this exposed in Cabinets decision-making procedures. However, there is still uncertainty in the government regarding what a rights based strategy to social policy can need and how it can be different from a strategy that centralizes on the wellness. Particularly, this uncertainty is a ttached to the principle concerns of ESC, which are not covered by the Bill of Rights Act of 1990 and, for the explanation already given, raise certain problems of presentation (Came McCreanor, 2015). On other hand, a rights based strategy to social policy is one that confirms that guidelines are implemented within the guidelines stipulated by the New Zealands human rights requirements, as stated in international and domestic law (Ife, 2012). It is significant to think about the meaning of human rights and particularly, how to concentrate on requirements, that is invited by the qualities of wellness. There is a big similarity between needs-based and right-based approaches in that both approaches are based on interventions on the needs expressed by poor individuals. However, the language of rights stretches emphasizes on certain parameters of the duties, obligations and interests that are important. For instance, Mary needs food if we consider that in the lack of food, Marys wellness will decrease in an approach that we refer as important. We are evaluating the limitations that Mary will face if denied food. Similarly, an analysis of Marys requirements may as well as underlie the s tatement Mary has a right to food. However, the concept of rights supports the concept of need in a number of aspects. Firstly, the dialect of rights is the dialect of demand of ownership. To suggest that Mary needs food reflects the moral or legal duties of others regarding Marys need. In comparison, the statement Mary has a right to food states that somebody has an obligation to ensure that Marys right is secured (Smith Smith, 2016). Human Rights Mechanism in New Zealand The human rights in New Zealand are secured in many ways within the entire common and statute law. For instance, to use commonplace, the concept of justified murder is one of the procedures in which the nation secures the right to life (Osler, 2015). In general, this guidelines of common or statute law can be modified through the standard procedure of principles enactment followed by parliamentary developments. The human rights mechanisms refers to those particular structures of human rights protection, retrieved from international and domestic law, that cover not only the daily activities of the policy procedure but also ensures that it is substantive and procedural (Ife, 2012). Key Important Structures of Human Rights Protection The guidelines administering Executives decision making procedures under the subtitle Executive Government ensures that Executive papers advocating policy and statutory proposals should incorporate consideration of various domestic rights-related tools that is Bill of Rights Act 1990, the Human Rights Acts 1993, the Privacy Act 1993, and the treaty of Waitangi. In addition, they need approval of New Zealands international requirements. The compulsory international human rights guidelines incorporated into by the new government in New Zealand are majorly located in two categories of international convections that is the United Nations (UN) and the international labour organisation convections (ILO). The mechanism of the UN human rights management is the accumulation of international tools usually known as the international Bill of Rights. This constitutes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international covenant on Civil and Political Rights and two protocols of the ICCPR (Brisman South, 2016). Despite the Universal Declaration, these tools are compulsory treaties that have been cleared by the New Zealand Government. The Universal Declaration was retrieved from the resolutions of the UN General Assembly having no influence of law. On the contrary, its requirements have been so often revoked and used by government and non-governmental organisations that some individuals believe that most of the rights incorporated within it have gained the condition of common law (Zehr, 2015). In addition, the International Bill of Human Rights is complemented by more particular convections that protect the human rights of certain endangered categories or that explore in details the nations guidelines regarding a certain set of human rights. The most common is the Convention associated with the conditions of the refugees (refugee convention), the treaty on the elimination of all kinds of Racism (Race Convection, the treaty against Torture and other cruelty, inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (Torture Convection), the convection on the removal of all kinds of discrimination against women, and the convecti on on the rights of the child. Primarily, the ILO convections support labour rights. There are 185 such convections, where 50 have been implemented in New Zealand. Substantive Rights The human rights treaty regime is important as it has enhanced freedom and equality from discernment. Equality rights are entirely secured in the entire treaty regime. This convections ensure that rights are protected in the particular treaties without distinction of any form of sex, language, colour, and race (Bertot, 2016). Additionally, the significance of the right to equality is that it extends its rights to persons and groups that are endangered, disadvantaged or marginalized. Secondly, the child protection rights may in any situation affect social policy and particularly on the procedure where social help is implemented and distributed. One set of Child protection rights that has certain impact and significant for the procedure of social policy formulation is rights regarding involvement in the code of public affairs. Rights of involvements are found in several kinds in the international human rights treaties. This includes, the race convection, the womens convection and the c hildrens convection. To evaluate the extent and concerns of the guidelines undertaken by the New Zealand government to compulsory international convections, it is important to analyze the mechanisms themselves to non-commitment bases of interpretation and analysation. This includes; particular statements and other papers created by the UN human rights convection agencies (Bertot, 2016). To summarize, the most important appreciative aspect of the rights-based strategy to social policy involves the understanding of what exactly the New Zealand government has undertaken regarding the protection of human rights. As indicated before, there are several domestic human rights laws that are stipulated in the codes managing Cabinets decision-making procedures: the Bill of Rights Act 1990, the privacy Act 1993 and the Human Rights Act 1993. In relation to this, these statutes have a negative impact on government action and policy making processes. The reason is that during the final exploration, the New Zealand parliament remains with the power to enact where the standard human rights are breached. Moreover, the need to pass legislation in order to limit these securities, in conjunction with the systems for contemplation of human rights and associated problems that have been created in the routine constraints on policy making. The difficulties that occur in governance in an NM P setting act as a further limitation. Furthermore, there is nothing to force the New Zealand government to enhance change to international law, if there is absence of the statutory reference in the international human rights treaty guidelines. However, it is a critical guideline of the international law that the guidelines throughout the treaty bind the participants to the treaty, who are in accordance mandated to revise their common legal guidelines to enhance change to them. References Belgrave. M. (2014). Needs and the state. Evolving social policy in New Zealand history. In B. Dalley M. Tennant (Eds.), Past judgment: Social policy in New Zealand history (pp. 2328). Dunedin, NZ. Otago University Press Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., Gorham, U., Taylor, N. G. (Eds.). (2016). Perspectives on librariesas institutions of human rights and social justice. Emerald Group Publishing. Brisman, A., South, N. (2016). Environmental crime and social conflict: contemporary and emerging issues. Routledge. Came, H., McCreanor, T. (2015). Pathways to transform institutional (and everyday) racism in New Zealand. De Souza, R. (2015). Navigating the ethics in cultural safety. Cultural Safety in Aotearoa New Zealand, 111. Ife, J. (2012). Human rights and social work: Towards rights-based practice. Cambridge University Press. Smith, R., Smith, R. K. (2016). Textbook on international human rights. Oxford University Press. Osler, A. (2015). Human rights education, postcolonial scholarship, and action for social justice. Theory Research in Social Education, 43(2), 244-274. Zehr, H. (2015). The little book of restorative justice: Revised and updated. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

The Problem With Oliver free essay sample

The short story is about a girl named Fionnuala, whom goes to a local school, and she has a boyfriend named Oliver. She cant tell her mother about Oliver, because she believes that her mother wont let her see him, if see knew. Her mother is Irish, and therefore Fionnuala knows that she probably wont like the name Oliver. She tells her mother, that she is going to practice with her orchestra, when she is in fact going to see Oliver. They have a leprechaun tree in their yard, that covers their entire house, and Fionnuala wants her mother to cut it, but her mother wont, because its a hawthorn tree and Irish folklore believes that the fairies live in hawthorn trees, and that they will take a terrible revenge, if you damage their home. Fionnuala and Oliver had talked about having sex, so Fionnuala finds it a good idea to take the key from Grainne, to their beach hut for the next day, but then she wonders if its really what she wants. We will write a custom essay sample on The Problem With Oliver or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The next day, the key is gone, and Fionnuala runs out in the rain, and into a phonebox. She calls Oliver, and tells him that it cant be tonight, because her mother knows about it. And when she gets back home, her mother is gone, but she has left a letter that says, that she can bring him home tomorrow, because she would like to meet him. Fionnuala Fionnuala is a teenager, who is deeply in love with Oliver and it seems like she is spending all her time on him. Her mother once told her not to give them what they want, because it would save her a lot of trouble later on, and even though, the relationship between her and her mother isnt that good, she still listens to her mothers advice, and wonders if having sex with him is the right thing to do, because she knows that its wrong to do it, just to do it, and not because you actually want to. But she thinks, that she is far too old not to have done it, so maybe she feels pressured to do it. She is very embarrassed of her mother, because she is so into all these Irish myths. And everyone at her school knows it, but because Oliver goes on a private school outside Southwold, she has to try and explain it to him. She is very mad about the tree in their yard; she thinks its silly that her mother wont cut it, because she doesnt believe that her mother believes in fairies. She is also embarrassed by her name, because she was named for a mythological princess who was turned into a swan. And she doesnt want Oliver to know that. Fionnuala and her mother doesnt communicate that well, and Fionnuala finds her mother annoying. It annoys her when her mother is talking about the sacred Irish folklore. And when they talk, Fionnuala speaks in a bad vibe and you can see that she doesnt really want to talk to her mother. Her mother on the other hand, is trying to do the best she can, even though she knows that Fionnuala is annoyed by her weird stories about the Irish folklore. Fionnuala doesnt want to be like her mother, so she has straightened her hair just to look different. It also says in the text that the leprechaun tree stands in the middle of them, and creates a distance between them. Fionnuala is simply a teenager, who easily gets annoyed by her mother, and even more, when her mother is so into Irish folklore, because it embarrass her. The main theme in this story is the relationship between a mother and her daughter. In this story it shows that even when a mother and her daughter dont get along, her daughter still listens to her mothers advice. And that it isnt always true, what you think about your mother, she isnt as stupid as Fionnuala thinks. Fionnuala believes that her mother will never accept that she has a boyfriend, but in the end her mother is really fine with it, and Fionnuala sees that maybe there wasnt anything to worry about, and that her mom really is cooler than she thought.

buy custom The Role of Chemical Engineering essay

buy custom The Role of Chemical Engineering essay Green engineering is a phrase used to explain the role of engineering to reduce or eliminate daily carbon emissions. Green engineering is a process through which products and services are designed in order to lower their impact on the environment. This process eliminates the health hazards posed to man and the environment through pollution. The processes used in green engineering should be economically feasible and cost effective when applied to the existing processes of product design. Environmental remediation is a phrase meaning the restoration of a deeply contaminated location or place to a condition that it will not be a threat to life forms or human health. In conventional clean ups, the contaminated site is usually fenced off to prohibit human and animal entry but green engineering designs methods that will clean the air, soil and water in such a site. This paper highlights the role of chemical engineering processes and methods in environmental remediation. Each year, industries across the world generate multi-billion tons of waste. This is a potential risk to all the life on the planet and consequently environmental degradation. In addition to that, recycling and managing that waste is costing enterprises millions of shillings although regulatory measures are in place. From the start of industrialization, laws regarding environmental protection are on the increase, but some have done little to protect the environment against degradation (NRC Board, 2000). Green engineers have resorted to designing systems that will remediate the environment from choking in waste. They have used green chemistry methods like selecting chemicals that are not toxic, have low potential hazards, which are eliminated through the reduction of chemical exposures. Environmental designs try to reduce risk to the natural ecosystems, workers in industries and consumers of the goods. Before designing any process that remediates the environment, green engineers, have to access the risks of a production process to the environment and human life. A risk can be expressed as the role of exposures and hazards. A hazard is defined as anything that produces a detrimental effect on the human environment while exposure is defined as the qualitative assessment of a chemical when it is exposed to the human or animal body, for instance the skin and the respiratory system. It is vital to note that, conventional methods of preventing pollution focus on the reduction of waste while modern methods of green engineering evaluate the risk posed by the chemicals used in production. Using the approach of risk assessment, engineers have been able to design processes that will be economically beneficial and feasible while reducing the risk to the environment. The application of risk concepts has made green engineers to design green processes and products. They have optimized designs with the purpose of reducing environmental impacts. Chemicals that need to eliminated or minimized have been highlighted and industries are educated on their adverse effects. Green engineers have estimated the risk that the current processes pose to the human environment and people, in addition to accessing the recycle channels and feeding processes. Chemical Precipitation Industries and sewage systems emit a lot of water contaminated with heavy metals. In the conventional systems, the water is kept in treatment plants where heavy metals are not removed. Heavy metals like lead, mercury, cobalt may not be removed from effluents through the filtering or precipitation processes. Green engineering is evaluating chemical products and synthesizers used in water treatment. These chemicals may prove to be useful in remediation of wastewater. The methods have to ensure that the precipitates will not deteriorate and discharge heavy metals to the surroundings. The fist method involves the treatment of wastewater using alum and a polymer. These chemicals enable the precipitation of heavy metals in wastewater. In addition to that, they reduce the PH f treated wastewater from about 8.5 and lower it to seven. A Californian Company, ETUS, Inc., manufactures Thio-Red, a commercial product that has been successful in removing heavy metals from sewage and industrial water. This product reacts with heavy metals to form metal sulfides instead of metal thiocarbonates. The other products include TMT-55 and TMT-15, which are very efficient in precipitating copper, lead, and silver from effluents (Henke 7-55). William Oswald, an environmental scientist at Berkeley University, developed the process of treating water using algae photosynthesis in ponds that are openly incorporated. This system is used to treat sewage in almost all countries in the world (Earth Sciences Division, n.d). This system involves the design of systems that will use microbial genomics in relation with biofuels and recovery of hydrocarbons emitted during the production process. In the MEHR Method, microorganisms, oxygen, nutrients are put in a reservoir with used or contaminated oil with the purpose of enhancing oil recovery. The main objectives of these processes are to transform the hydrocarbon components found in oil. This will make oil to be more fluid and in viscid. This method can be used to clean environments, which have been contaminated with waste products produced by fossil fuels. Algae can be used to generate biofuels for industrial use. Although it is a ubiquitous organism, algae have been used in the pharmaceutical world and it can be applied in the production of clean energy. Algae that absorb carbon are a great potential and an alternative to the use of fossil fuels. One setback with the use of algae to produce biofuel, is the need of large systems (Earth Sciences Division, n.d). Sugar undergoes a series of chemical processes to produce ethanol. This process is referred to as fermentation. Ethanol and carbon dioxide are produced after microorganisms have fermented the sugar. Intellishare Environmental Company provides a soil remediation oxidizer, vacuum extractor and control systems. These packages can help in restoring the natural components and structure of soil in a contaminated area. In addition to that, the combination of the systems of this soil remediation method can slip through the cracks and help in treating the lower soil layers. Intellishare Environmental Companys soil remediation oxidizer, vacuum extractor and control system. Green Engineers recommend the use of Poly vinyl formamide is a less toxic chemical used in paper industries, water treatment plants, oil recovery, and industries used to design items for personal care. This chemical is not a neurotoxin even when ingested. Polyacrylamide, a chemical used in the same process is very toxic and can cause paralysis of the Central Nervous System when ingested. The waste produced is very expensive to clean up. In addition to that, CNS paralysis can lead to loss of lives, livelihoods, and increased dependency (Van Noordern, 2011). Green System Design Piping used in industries should slope downwards to reduce the amount of solvents used. Short and big pipes reduce the flow dram while using very low energy. Industries should not have dead-end sample points in order to reduce waste. Other green engineering changes that can be made to the industry include the use of efficient raw materials that are somehow refined. For instance, water used in refinery industries can be treated before being used to reduce sludge waste. Selectivity in rectors should also be increased to reduce the time taken to mix, catalyze. This can be enhanced by using highly efficient reactors, which take little residence time. Industries should use efficient separation processes. Conventionally, separate reaction and separation processes demanded the use of large amounts of solventss while consuming a lot of energy or pressure. Green technology has developed novel methods that allow products to separate by themselves due to their physical and chemical properties. The other method is through combined reaction and separation processes occupy little space, consume less energy, and are more efficient because it allows almost 99% conversion. Distillation and LLE processes can also be combined to increase efficiency and reduce waste. PET bottles can be recycled using simple processes. The colors of the bottles are sorted using spectroscopy since PET bottles have a characteristic green dye incorporated into their surface. The bottles are shredded and washed to remove labels. In the same water, HDPE and PET are separated through their different densities. The aluminum ring is removed using an electrostatic ring and the bottles can be reused. Efficiency Maximization Systems Processes, products should be designed to maximally utilize energy, mass, time and space in an efficient manner. Heat integration systems should be coupled to increase efficiency while reducing waste. For instance, in a cooling plant and heating plant, the systems can be interconnected in a way that steam from hot water is released to heat cold water. This reduces the loss of energy to the surroundings. According to La Chateliers principle, if stress is applied to a system, the system reacts by offsetting itself to relive the applied pressure. In industrial terms, stress can be defined as any factor that upsets the concentration gradient, for instance, temperature and pressure. Increase of an input into a production system will lead to an increase in the generation of an output. This design aims to minimize the quantities of resources used while getting a good amount of output. In this context, manufacturing systems can be based on timely manufacturing. Timely manufacturing refers to the production of goods to meet the consumers quantity, quality and in their time of demand. This method implies that the resources, equipment, and labor are available when there is a demand created by the consumers. This is a form of a planned manufacturing system that does manages waste, overproduction, reduces waiting time, inputs, and outputs. This enables that industries have minimized excess while meeting the needs of their consumers. Chlorination of water is simple and makes millions of water safe within a short time. This method spends little energy over water treatment plants that use unnecessary resources like heat, power, and labor. Green engineering advocates for methods like express metal deposition over metal casting because the waste produced by the earlier method is little. Reduction of Complexity The use of natural systems should not be avoided in the manufacturing process. The higher the complexity involved in making a product, the lower the chances of recycling the material. Products should be made in a way that they are durable rather than those ones that have a very long shelf life. If production processes target immortality, there is a high risk of the products to the environment and many potential hazards to the human life. For instance, eco-fill a food grade input is constituted from water and starch. It can be used in industrial production, very durable and exerts little burden to the environment because it is mortal. The other method that eliminates environmental hazards is the use of polylactic acid to manufacture fibers and plastics over polyacrylic acid, which is non-biodegradable (Center for Green Energy and Green Engineering, 2011). In conclusion, green engineering has taken a step in redesigning the production processes to eliminate waste and environmental pollution. This form of engineering aims at renewable products and services that pose a minimal or no risk to the environment and other life forms. Products that are designed with components that can be reused reduce waste in the environment. All companies should embrace these methods to reduce the hazards and risks posed to the environment because prevention of dumping is less expensive than cleaning up. Buy custom The Role of Chemical Engineering essay

And The Winner Is… Orange Bubble Power!

And The Winner Is†¦ Orange Bubble Power! And The Winner Is Orange Bubble Power! And The Winner Is Orange Bubble Power! By Daniel Scocco The Short Story Competition 2 has finally come to an end. The voting session last week was pretty interesting, with different stories taking the lead in different days, and in the end Orange Bubble Power won. Congratulations to Violet Toler! Both Violet and Easton Miller, the runner up, will get a free license to the executive edition of the WhiteSmoke writing software, which costs $310. Thanks WhiteSmoke for sponsoring the event as well. Finally, a big thank you to all the readers who supported the competition with their votes and comments. Below you will find the winning story once again. Orange Bubble Power by Violet Toler I love to write. I hate housework. However, some mundane chores just won’t wait. One look at the bathroom sink caused me to grab my trusty Orange Bubble Power Wipes dispenser. Too bad those cute little scrubbing bubbles from the commercial aren’t real. I’d love to let them do the job while I compose the next NY Times best seller. Might as well get it over, I thought, as I hurriedly opened the lid and snatched at the wipe. The tip tore off in my hand. Irritated, I pulled on the stub more forcefully this time. It ripped again. Grabbing the last smidgen that barely peeked through the slit, I yanked hard. Out came the rest of the wipe–unattached from the rest of the roll. The second wipe should have fed through the X-shaped cut in the plastic top. It didn’t. Impatiently I jerked the lid off to feed the darn wipe through from the underside. The orange lid was stiff and unyielding. â€Å"I don’t have time for this!† I grumbled. Accentuating my words with action, I vigorously crammed the wipe out the other side. That’s when my troubles began. One-half inch of my index finger now protruded through the hole with half a wipe. A stream of Orange Bubble Power Wipes drooped between my hand and the open container on the hamper. Try as I might, I couldn’t get free. I tugged and the blasted lid worked like Chinese handcuffs. The harder I pulled, the tighter it stuck. I twisted and turned, but remained trapped. Every movement sucked my fingertip in tighter still. Within minutes, sharp V-shaped points were digging into my flesh cutting off circulation. How humiliating. This situation was far beneath my dignity. After all, I was a professional woman. I couldn’t allow anyone to see me like this, especially Stephen, my proper gentleman husband. I was determined to solve this problem by myself in privacy. God knows I tried. I lathered my finger with soap. I pried. I twisted. I pulled. Nothing helped. Oh, gosh durn, I thought, this hideous contraption is going to eat me alive! Orange Bubble Power indeed! I wondered if my finger was only an appetizer for this plastic vampire. It appeared voracious. Panicked, I swallowed my pride and called for help. My urgent tone brought Stephen down the stairs two at a time. He burst through the bathroom door, out of breath. When I saw his concerned expression, I regretted frightening him. However, as he surveyed the situation, worry fell off his face so fast, I swear I heard it hit the floor. His dignified manner disappeared as his lips twitched, then his whole face rippled as he broke into laughter. This was no mere grin or snicker, but was a total knee-slapping belly laugh. I stood there, annoyed, humiliated, and in pain. He finally regained his composure, held my finger tight, and tried to unscrew the lid, so to speak. His plan went awry. So did my usually mild demeanor as I told him what I thought of his attempt. He poured half a bottle of liquid soap and some cooking oil over my finger. It added goop to the mess, but didn’t penetrate the orange grip of death. Imagining the worst, it dawned on me that my finger could die without blood. For all I knew, I could be facing amputation! Panicked, I ran through the house for my sewing shears. Ten feet of Bubble Power Wipes streamed behind like crepe paper from a Main Street parade. The empty container rolled onto the floor with a thump. With my left hand, I grabbed the scissors and tried to cut myself free. No luck. Stephen took over, but my scissors couldn’t grip the slimy lid. We tried again after rinsing, but the rigid material was unrelenting. So was the pain! Stephen headed for his basement workshop for tin snips leaving me helpless and alone for what seemed an eternity. By this point, I was ready to stoop to just about anything. I seriously considered dialing 911 with my good hand, all the while picturing the Jaws-of-Life rushing to my rescue. Stephen finally returned. I wailed shamelessly as he snipped at the blasted lid. Jagged points bit deeper with every clip. After several distressing snips, he pried the plastic apart and set me free. My poor finger had four pointed indentations that resembled tooth marks and a bloodlessly white tip. Other than that, I had escaped the Orange demon. My hero tried to manage a straight face. â€Å"What on God’s green earth were you trying to do?† â€Å"Believe me,† I pronounced grimly, â€Å"Those Scrubbing Bubbles may look cute on TV, singing their little high-pitched song, but don’t let them fool you. Those sweet grins hide sharp, powerful, orange teeth that are just waiting to attack! Lucky for me, you were here. They would have done their dirty deed, wiped up the mess, and you’d have never known what became of me.† He left the room muttering something about finding a support group for husbands of imaginative writers. Me? I headed for the computer to write this story one-handed. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?The Difference Between "will" and "shall"English Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases