On The Beach Essays - Radiobiology, English-language Films

On The Beach On The Beach In the big city of Melbourne, Australia, material goods have become scarce. There are no cars, and very little of the luxuries that there once were. It takes hours to get simple necessities such as milk. All this is because of the nuclear war in the Northern Hemisphere. This nuclear war has wiped out every living thing, including all humans, throughout countries like China, Europe, and even the United States. It all began with a fight between Russia and China, who wanted to destroy each others land. They managed this with nuclear bombs, and without realizing the consequences, killed off their own people along with everybody else due to the radiation that was left behind. The radiation has killed all forms of life in the Northern Hemisphere so far, and is now steadily approaching the Southern Hemisphere; the only place left on the planet with life. Lieutenant Commander Peter Holmes lives in Melbourne with his wife, Mary and their infant, Jennifer. They, along with everyone else in Australia, have heard and known that the radiation is slowly coming and scientist have predicted that they only have until September before it spreads throughout Australia, killing them all with a slow sickness. This sickness includes symptoms such as nausea, diarrhoea, and trembling. It could take anywhere from three days to three weeks to die, depending on ones resistance in their body. Peter is aware of the short time he has left to live out his life, yet his wife Mary fails to realize that there will be no next year, or next spring. She continues to plan ahead as if she will still be alive years or even months from then. Peter helps to comfort her by allowing her to think this way and buying her things such as flowers for the garden that will not bloom until the next year. Peter is called on assignment in the beginning of the book to go on a cruise aboard the U.S.S. Scorpion, the only submarine left. The goal of this cruise is to see if there is any form of life in the northern cities of Cairns, Port Moresby and Darwin. Any form of life would include birds, plants, animals or vegetation. On this cruise, the crew in unsuccessful in finding any forms of life except one dog roaming around. They go back to the port in Melbourne and are docked for some time. While docked, Peter invites the Commander Dwight Towers to stay with him and his wife for the weekend to go sailing and swimming. Mary decides she wants this to be an adventure for Dwight, and therefore invites her friend Moira Davidson. Moira seems to be different then most girls; very forward and drinks too much, and strong in her beliefs. Yet her and Dwight manage to establish a friendship, which they maintain throughout the book. A few weeks later, another cruise is assigned, both involving Commander Dwight Towers and Peter Holmes. This cruise will be much more difficult and more strenuous. They plan to go up to the United States and around the west coast of Canada to see if they can find the radio signals they have been receiving from where they think is Seattle. The navel officers believe that there must be someone up there running the radio stations to be getting signals. The cruise is planned to take two months, while being submerged underwater for twenty-seven days of those two months. Before Peter leaves for his cruise he wants to make sure that his wife and daughter are taken care of if the radiation were to come quicker then expected and he was not there to help her or be with her. He goes to a nearby chemist for information on what happens to a person when hit with radiation sickness and what to do when it happens. The chemist tells him of all the symptoms and gives him some pills that no one else has been able to get yet. These pills are designed to kill a person peacefully in their sleep, and are meant to be taken when a person knows that they dont want to go on with living through

The Freedom Charter Called for Equality in South Africa

The Freedom Charter Called for Equality in South Africa The Freedom Charter was a document ratified at the Congress of the People held at Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa in June 1955 by the various member bodies of the  Congress Alliance. The policies set out in the Charter included a demand for a multi-racial, democratically elected government, equal opportunities, the nationalization of banks, mines, and heavy industries, and a redistribution of land. Africanist members of the ANC rejected the Freedom Charter and broke away to form the Pan Africanist Congress. In 1956, following extensive searches of various homes and confiscation of documents, 156 people involved in the creation and ratification of the Freedom Charter were arrested for treason.  This was almost the entire executive of the African National Congress (ANC), Congress of Democrats, South African Indian Congress, Coloured Peoples Congress, and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (collectively known as the Congress Alliance). They were charged with high treason and a countrywide conspiracy to use violence to overthrow the present government and replace it with a communist state. The punishment for high treason was death. The Freedom Charter and Clauses We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people. -The Freedom Charter Here is a synopsis of each of the clauses, which list various rights and stances in detail. The People Shall Govern: This point included universal voting rights and the rights to run for office and serve on governing boards regardless of race, color, and sex.All National Groups Shall Have Equal Rights: Apartheid laws will be set aside, and all groups will be able to use their own language and customs without discrimination.The People Shall Share in the Countrys Wealth: Minerals, banks, and monopoly industries would become government-owned for the good of the people. All would be free to ply any trade or profession, but industry and trade would be controlled for the well-being of the whole people.  The Land Shall Be Shared Among Those Who Work It: There will be land redistribution with assistance to peasants to farm it and an end to racial restrictions on ownership and freedom of movement.  All Shall Be Equal Before the Law: This gives people rights to a fair trial, representative courts, fair imprisonment, as well as integrated law enforcement and military. There will b e no discrimination by law for race, color, or beliefs. All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights: People are granted the freedom of speech, assembly, the press, religion, and education. This addresses protection from police raids, freedom to travel, and abolishment of pass laws.There Shall Be Work and Security: There will be equal pay for equal work for all races and genders. People have the right to form unions. There were workplace rules adopted including a 40-hour work week, unemployment benefits, minimum wage, and leave. This clause eliminated child labor and other abusive forms of labor.The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall Be Opened: This clause addresses free  education, access to higher education, ending adult illiteracy, promoting culture, and ending cultural color bans.There Shall Be Houses,  Security  and Comfort: This gives the  right to decent, affordable housing, free medical care and preventive health, care of the aged, orphans, and disabled.Rest, Leisure and Recreation Shall Be the Right of All.There Shall Be Peace and Friendship: This clause says we should strive for world peace by negotiation and recognition of rights to self-government. The Treason Trial At the treason trial in August, 1958, the prosecution attempted to show that the Freedom Charter was a Communist tract and that the only way it could be achieved was by overthrowing the present government.  However, the Crowns expert witness on Communism admitted that the Charter was a humanitarian document that might well represent the natural reaction and aspirations of non-whites to the harsh conditions in South Africa. The main piece of evidence against the accused was a recording of a speech made by Robert Resha, the  Trasvaal  Volunteer-in-Chief, which appeared to say that volunteers should be violent when called upon to use violence. During the  defense,  it was shown that Reshas viewpoints were the exception rather than the rule in the  ANC and that the short quote had been taken completely out of context. The Outcome of the Treason Trial Within a week of the trail starting, one of the two charges under the Suppression of Communism Act was dropped. Two months later the Crown announced that the whole indictment was being dropped, only to issue  a new  indictment against 30 people- all members of the ANC. Chief Albert Luthuli and Oliver Tambo were released for lack of evidence. Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu (ANC secretary-general) were among the final 30 accused. On March 29, 1961, Justice FL Rumpff interrupted the defense summation with a verdict. He announced that although the ANC was working to replace the government and had used illegal means of protest during the Defiance Campaign, the Crown had failed to show that the ANC was using violence to overthrow the government, and  were therefore  not guilty  of treason. The Crown had failed to establish any revolutionary intent behind the defendants actions. Having been found non-guilty, the remaining 30 accused were discharged. The Ramifications of the Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a serious blow to the ANC and the other members of the Congress Alliance. Their leadership was imprisoned or banned and considerable costs were incurred. Most significantly, the more radical members of the ANCs Youth League rebelled against the ANC interaction with other  races  and left to form the PAC. Nelson Mandela, Walter  Sisulu,  and six others were eventually given a life sentence for treason in 1964 at what is known as the Rivonia Trial.

Revolutionary Leadership in Russian Revolution and the Arab Spring Essay

Revolutionary Leadership in Russian Revolution and the Arab Spring - Essay Example To start with, the general complexity of the given cases is the reason for drawing on their similarities and differences. In fact, it is not right to comprehend all the three revolutions in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia as a general phenomenon. Moreover, it is hard to comprehend an overall process of the Russian revolution in a sketch too. Thus, it is necessary to determine the key leadership and the starting conditions of these four countries in order to provide any comparison between them. On the one hand, Anderson (2011) believes that Arab countries are different among all in terms of their economic ground and social fabric. In other words, by referring to the Arab Spring countries we consider three different in their internal environment states (Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya). For instance, the main forces for change in Tunisia were the local trade union (UGTT), lawyers, and journalists; but in Egypt, the revolution was headed by linked to the political opposition the April 6 Movement. H ence, the leadership of the Arab Spring is not the same not only in terms of concrete personalities but also in the social background of these forces. Furthermore, the key problems that encouraged these countries to change are also not the same. In the days prevailing the revolution, Tunisia was a tourist-oriented and powerful. In fact, the revolution in this country emerged as a response to the way â€Å"the Ben Ali family plundered the economy and repressed all autonomous attempts at political expressions†.