Samsung Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

Samsung Marketing Plan Essay Samsung Electronics has proven to the business world that they are one of the mostprestigious technology companies in the industry. With more technology advancements thanour market can handle at this point and time, Samsung has paved the way for the future inelectronics. One of the most popular new â€Å"toys† in the market today, is the unbelievable 3D TV. The first 3D TV was launched in March of 2010, and has already had a major impact on themarket. With the release earlier this year, Samsung dominated the market, controlling nearly90% of the total share. Samsung’s product, the 9000 series TV, is incomparable to competitionwith its ultra-thin screen, measuring only 0. 3 inches in width. The 9000 series also comes with afull color spectrum that makes for an incredible viewing experience. Although Samsung is dominating the 3D market, we still have very detailed strategiesand tactics that we believe will give us an increased competitive advantage over our competition. The company’s main emphasis the past couple years has been on integration,union, and encouraging innovation. Samsung is always preparing for the next big item to hit themarket, which is why their technology is so far ahead of all leading competitors. In the future,we plan to enter the 3D video gaming market with a partnership with Microsoft. This will give usaccess to all of Microsoft’s gaming technology, in which we will combine with our quality of sound and viewing stations to create the ultimate gaming experience. Of course, throughoutour journey through this market, we will continue to provide the best ad campaigns for the publicso that they will never forget our product. We will put as much prominence as possible in thesleek design and the one of a kind ultra-thin panel, only available in the Samsung 9000 series. By having an effective ad campaign, we will be able to catch the eye of many different targetgroups. Our major target groups are men around the ages of mid twenties to late thirties,Caucasian males, with a new and growing family. Studies show that this category is more likelyto buy the TV, along with a gaming system, than other aged males. We are also targeting â€Å"CubeTubers†. This is a group that consists of young people who grasp onto new technology quickly.

Comparing the Electoral and Party Systems of China and Russia Essay Example for Free

Comparing the Electoral and Party Systems of China and Russia Essay The collapse of the international socialist network changed the world at the turn of the century. The failure of the many socialist regimes ended the confrontation between East and West and provided an opportunity to restructure the international order. The individual states of East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, China and the former Soviet Union took differing paths and chose differing restructuring strategies, which themselves led to different courses of transformation. The former hard-line socialist regimes of Russia and China had to face the challenges brought by the new world order specifically on altering its political structures. This paper would compare the government and politics of China and Russia focusing on the electoral laws and their impacts on the party system. Moreover, this would try to recommend some possible measures to ensure the development of democracy for both countries and to address some of their problems. Russia is a vast country with an imperial and authoritarian past. By area, Russia is the largest country in the world, almost twice the size of the United States. The population includes numerous minorities, with 36 national groups containing more than 100,000 people, Russia’s rulers have in the past been autocratic empire builders, basing their imperial expansion on control of the serf society and a rural community. Russia’s experience in communism represented a culmination of a authoritarianism. The Union Soviet Socialist Republics encompassing 15 European and Asian Republics, formed the former Russian Empire. The politics of Russia take place in a framework of a federal presidential republic. According to the Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is head of state, and of a multi-party system with executive power exercised by the government, headed by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President by the parliaments approbation. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, while the President and the government issue numerous legally binding by-laws. Although Russia has traditionally been ruled by absolute monarchs and dictators, it currently has a democratic system of government. Since gaining its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia has faced serious challenges in its efforts to forge a political system to follow nearly seventy-five years of Soviet rule. With a new constitution and a new parliament representing diverse parties and factions, Russias political structure subsequently showed signs of stabilization. As the transition period extended into the mid-1990s, the power of the national government continued to wane as Russias regions gained political and economic concessions from Moscow. Although the struggle between executive and legislative branches was partially resolved by the new constitution, the two branches continued to represent fundamentally opposing visions of Russias future. One of the world’s oldest civilization consisting states and cultures dating back thousands of years ago is China. It is a cultural region, ancient civilization, and nation in East Asia. The deadlock of the last Chinese Civil War has resulted in two political entities using the name China: the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), administering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; and the Republic of China (ROC), administering Taiwan and its surrounding islands. It has the worlds longest continuously used written language system, and the source of some of the worlds great inventions including paper, compass, gunpowder, and printing. The Peoples Republic of China is working within the framework of a single-party socialist republic. The will of Chinese citizens is expressed through the legislative bodies of the Peoples Congress system. Peoples Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level Peoples Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial Peoples Congress. The provincial Peoples Congress in turn elects members to the National Peoples Congress that meets each year in March in Beijing. Current political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor, and fighting corruption within the government leadership. The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear because national elections are mostly CPC dominated, as there are no opposition political parties and independent candidates elected into office are too scattered and disorganized to challenge CPC rule. According to Hague and Harrop, â€Å"Party systems are the interaction between the significant political parties. In a democracy, parties respond to each other’s initiatives in a competitive interplay. The party system also reflects legal regulation applying to all parties. In China, a dominant party system is in place wherein one party is a constant component of the executive, governing either alone or in coalition. The dominant party system was more common in the twentieth century than it is today and China is one rare example. The dominant party of the PRC is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The leadership of the CCP is enshrined in the PRC Constitution. State power within the PRC is exercised through the CCP, the Central Peoples Government and their provincial and local counterparts. Under the dual leadership system, each local bureau or office is under the theoretically co-equal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the next higher level. China is a country that accepts involvement from multiple political parties. Apart from the CPC, the ruling party, there are eight political parties. They are China Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, Jiusan Society, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-government League. Most of them were founded during the anti-Japanese war and the national liberation war. They support the political leadership of the CPC, which has become their historical choice during the long years of cooperation with the CPC and through common struggles. Although there are other political parties present in China, these parties are not opposition parties, but parties participating in the discussion and administration of State affairs. Moreover, these parties serve to endorse CCP’s policies. Meanwhile, Russia is working on a multi-party system wherein the legislature comprises several minority parties, resulting in coalitions or minority government by the leading party. The multi-party system in Russia resulted to the rise of not just one political party unlike the case of China. Although, United Russia occupies the majority seats of the Duma, the seats obtained by the Russian Communist Party, as well as other parties, are significant in producing checks and balances to the Russian Assembly. Electoral systems were made to answer the question of how to convert votes into seats. In elections to the legislature, the main questions is whether an electoral system ensures that the seats obtained by a party are directly proportional to the votes received (Hague and Harrop 146). In China, the people do not directly elect delegates for the National People’s Congress (NPC). China practices democratic centralism wherein direct democracy is only practiced at the local levels and the elected delegates in the local people’s congresses in turn elect their representative at the NPC. Delegates for the local people’s congresses are elected using the first-past-the-post system (FPTP). FPTP is a type of non-proportional system wherein parties are not rewarded in proportion to the share of the votes obtained. Specifically, FPTP takes the plurality form of non-proportional representation where a candidate only needs a plurality of votes to win a seat and a majority of votes is not required. In Russia, seats in the Duma were formerly elected half by proportional representation (with at least 5% of the vote to qualify for seats) and half by single member districts. However, President Putin passed a decree that all seats are to be elected by proportional representation (with at least 7% of the vote to qualify for seats) to take effect in the December 2007 elections. Particularly, Russia is adapting the list system to confer delegates for the Duma. The list system is the most common method of proportional representation in which parties submit a list of their candidates and then the votes they obtain determines the percent of seats they get. In proportional representation, the goal is to represent parties rather than territories. For China, the adoption of the list system is recommended to develop a genuine opposition party. For many decades now, the rule of the CCP did not face any significant challenger in China. There have also been secessionist movements due to some ethnic and cultural cleavages such as the Tibetans who are lobbying from independence from China. The adoption of the list system would allow the voice of the minority to be heard in the NPC thus ensuring the democratic rights of the people. It will also make China less prone to violence, just like what happened in the Tiananmen Massacre were students on protest were open fired by Chinese military, since grievances can be acknowledge in government institutions such as the NPC. It is necessary to abolish democratic centralism since government processes are easily manipulated by local bureaucrats to advance their own selfish gains. Political reform in China is a matter of opening the ‘nominally open’ elections to other political parties. For Russia, the current electoral system is well on its way to democratize the Russian political system. However, the recent decree of Putin would make it difficult for smaller parties to obtain a seat in the Duma. Seven percent is such a high threshold and may cause the marginalization of the smaller parties and the domination of the more established ones. A lower threshold is hereby recommended and that Putin’s decree for the December 2007 elections should be repealed because it is a hindrance for the continuous democratization of Russia. These formerly hard-line socialist regimes have adopted measures to cope up with the new international order. However, not both were able to give way to democratization due to the electoral and party systems that they adapted.

Has Globalization Created a New Type of Warfare?

Has Globalization Created a New Type of Warfare? Has globalization created an age of ‘new wars’? Introduction With the innovations in information and technologies and the rapid developments in telecommunications and data processing in modernity or even earlier era, globalization is of interest to both researchers and policy makers since it has been recognized as a new phenomenon that leads to significant change in the social relations of warfare (Fleming, 2009: 213). Globalization, a paradoxical process of increased interconnectedness, is the escalating of global interconnectedness that faces a set of challenges of political, economic, cultural and military aspects to the modern state (Kaldor, 2001: 3). The role of globalization in the modern warfare has been rightfully noticed, particularly in Eastern Europe and Africa during the 1980s and 1990s, as a key driving factor behind the development of a new type of organized violence due to its affecting the pattern of politics and rising the term identity politics from the disintegration of state system within states (Kaldor, 2001: 70). This new violent conflict is regarded as of internal or civil characteristics and is defined as new war (Malantowicz, 2010: 52).   Across the time period of the modern welfare, it would emerge that there have been the improvements in information and technologies, especially in communication, is of process of globalization, that greatly led to the changes in contemporary of politics and economics. Furthermore, the characteristic of warfare is of influenced by this process (Malantowicz, 2010: 159). Thus, it is my point of view, as a researcher in this current study, that globalization has a tendency contributed to influence the changes in nature of violent conflicts as it causes a weak states sovereignty in their territory by political mobilization from various intra- and inter- state actors based on identity politics. And since the new wars are often characterized by the form of violence against civilian population; therefore, globalization is very likely to create the new wars era. With these considerations in mind, this current paper has been divided into four parts. First, the differences between old and new wars theories will be briefly outlined, in order to facilitate understanding inside into the characteristics of new wars. Second, the probable link between globalization and new wars, especially Kaldor’s new wars, will be discussed, in order to conclusively demonstrate that globalization may have a numerous effect on elements of these new type of violence. Third, a case study of the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina war will be illustrated, in order to demonstrate the paradigm of the new type of warfare that is of interest of multiple international actors in globalized world in which their effort is mobilized around the ethnically cleans area. Finally, the conclusion will be sum up all for the aforementioned sections. Old wars and new wars: the differences in their logics In order to effectively discuss how it is likely that globalization has created an aged of new war, it is firstly essential to understand the shift of logic of organized violence from earlier era to the era of globalization. The classical term of war is defined by Clausewitz as â€Å"an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will† (In Kaldor, 2001: 17). In other words, this war is war between states and conducted by states, in an attempt to achieve state interests by defeating enemy of state and gaining its territory through the use of national forces. On the other hand, today’s conflicts, according to new wars theories, on the whole, seek to be a part of open world in which the contexts of contemporary politics and economics are influenced by process of globalisation, thus lead to the erosion of authoritarian provoked by individual or group interests and greed (In Malantowicz, 2010: 159). Furthermore, the rapidly advancing communications and tech nology as part of the process of globalization is closely associated with the cause rise of identity politics in situation which, at worst, could be lead to the form of violent ethnic cleansing that directed against civilian population due to their identity (Kaldor, 2001: 78). The contrast between old can new wars can be classified in to four main categories: aims, actors, methodologies and financial forms. Firstly, old wars were fought for democracy or socialism to strengthen state power in which the main driving forces behind states towards these wars are the geo-politics or ideology, whilst political mobilization around identity, ethnic, tribal or religious or racial, in order to claim sovereign state, is the goal of new conflicts. Secondly, the earlier wars were fought by the states’ regular armed forces whereas there are varying actors of both state and non-state, such as warlords, regular armed forces, fought in the new type of conflict. Thirdly, a regular procedure of previous once is the capturing territory through military means during the battle; conversely, in new wars, territory is captured through political means using population displacement technique. Lastly, the financial of old wars is funded by states, however, it is difficult to specify the source of finance in new violent conflicts because it is blurred categories of the purpose of financial between economic and politic (Kaldor, 2013: 3). As Kaldor phrase it, the term ‘new’ is emphasized with an attempt to provide the appropriate approaches in order to demonstrate the shift of logic as well as characteristic of organized violence from the earlier era to the 1990s and to facilitate the understanding and interpreting of such policy-makers insight into the interrelated characteristics of these conflicts (Kaldor, 2013: 4). The logic of new wars: the link between globalization and new wars According to Kaldor, the term of new wars is used to interpret the development of new type of organized violence of the globalized era, particularly during the last decades of the 20th century in Eastern Europe and Africa in order to conceptualize the breakdown of binary distinctions contexts between state and non-state, public and private, external and internal, economic and political, and even war and peace which is both a cause and a consequence of violence. Various terms have been used to emphasize the concept of these conflicts. The most of new wars theorists are prevailing defined this term as civil or intra-state wars or else as low-intensity conflict (Kaldor, 2001: 2). There is however, for thinkers such as Shaw asserts emphatically that there is an interrelation with the total wars of the twentieth century and their genocidal aspects, thus he points out the term ‘degenerate warfare’ as a description of new wars in which highlights the deteriorate of national framework, mainly in the military forces aspect (In Kaldor, 2001: 2). The emergence of industrial society during modernity period or even earlier as a consequence of the revolution in information and technologies and advancements in transport, communications and data processing resulted in a new phenomenon of transnational networks so-called globalization. Kaldor underlined in her book, New and Old Wars: Organized violence in a global era, that globalization is defined as ‘the intensification of global interconnectedness of political, economic, military and cultural’ (Kaldor, 2001: 71). This global integration process is a paradoxical process involving both homogenization and differentiation, integration and fragmentation, globalization and localization, whilst some writers such as Berdal points out that this process is mainly caused by technological change, in order to simulate a labeled growth of transactional and organizational connections across national boundaries (2003: 481). With regard to the context of globalization from the above, it is clear that process of globalization has connected the world, however, at the same time it has resulted in disconnections and alienations, thus leads to an arising out of global class based on the ability to cooperate into this process (Kaldor, 2001: 4). Moreover, the accelerating of globalization process, especially the advanced communication and transportation, is very likely leading to rapidly connect a variety of communities and supporters instantly. Thus, it is very likely that globalization may cause organized violence.    The new type of warfare, in most cases, are typically based around the erosion of the authoritarian states as well as in some intense cases of the state disintegration, and much of pressure on such state has been caused by the process of globalization on the international boundary (Kaldor, 2001: 4). According to Kaldor, an accelerating of globalization process creates the situation in which states are strongly intervened in their political, economic and social aspects from the external forces of third party, mainly in from of foreign assistance intervention (2001: 83). Moreover, various types of actor such as states, private enterprises and military organization that are arising out in the territorial state as a consequence of globalisation are recognized as a cause of changes in economic and political contexts (Kaldor, 2001: 73). These lead to a simultaneous dramatic decline of state power and tax revenues, thus result in the situation that drives economy toward extremely collapse (Newman, 2004: 183). As regards the position in which the state has lost dominance, Kaldor explicitly asserted that it is likely to provide an environment of corruption and criminalization and political legitimacy collapse that could be led to different forms of conflict (2001: 5). At the same time, however, it could be argued that the new wars, part of the process through which globalization evolved then, are closely lead to the situation in which traditional distinctions between war and peace, organized crime and large-scale violation of human rights become blurred and disappeared as a result, the international violence is shifted from conventional conflict of primarily state-oriented to a series of internal or the war against civilian population or else as low-intensity conflicts (Kaldor, 2001: 2). From this understanding, thus, it can be assumed that a link does exist between globalization and new wars can be characterized by ethnic cleansing, genocide, terrorism as well as low-intensity conflict. Moreover, Kaldor explicitly state a link between globalization and new wars in term of a ‘crisis of identity’ (2001: 75). For Kaldor, a significant feature of new wars is that the combatant focus on question of identity in which she has seen as these conflicts are negative consequence resulted from globalization process. Therefore, her attention is drawn to the term of identity politics. This may be because globalization influences an emerge of consolidations of networks of both state and non-state actors beyond the conventional competence territorially defined governments. In other words, the modern state structures are disintegrated due to the mixed of regionalization and transnationalization of governance in the state territory. As a result, new wars are fought by in the name of identity politics in which political elites reproduce their power. They do, however, attempt to achieve political mobilisation around identity (Kaldor, 2013: 2). Thus, in the context of these new wars regarding identity political then, the different identity is used as an instrument to control population in form of ethnically cleanse an area. Moreover, most conflict is directed against civilians. Simultaneously, however, the strong emphasis on identity within new wars means that aid distribution can easily aggravate tensions between communities. Going back to the erosion of state system caused by negative impact of globalization, this leads to an increased in identity politics; therefore, result in the changes in type of modern warfare where violent conflicts occur in state territory in term of the wars against civilians.   Thus, it is clear that globalization may create the new wars era. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, for example, is constantly claimed by Kaldor as a model of the paradigm that globalization influencing the new type of warfare; therefore, I selected the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict as a case study with regards to the name of identity politics influencing violent ethnic cleansing, in order to make my analysis more sectional. The Bosnia and Herzegovina war: heralds an era of new wars triggered by globalisation The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina is of a huge of international effort of governmental and non-governmental from both local and global sectors due to approximately 260,000 deaths from genocide (Kaldor, 2001: 31). This seems to be the reason for Kaldor’s argument that ‘the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina has become the archetypal example, the paradigm of the new type of warfare’ (In Fleming, 2009: 219). With regards to the thesis statement mentioned above, a case study of Bosnia-Herzegovina is considered to be the most appropriate paradigm to prove that the globalization has created an aged of new wars, by it having an evidence of a link between globalization and the changes in the nature of violent conflicts. Moreover, this war also demonstrate that globalization is a root cause of the shifted in strategy on new wars where the authoritarian states no longer seek population support, alternatively they introduce the population displacement driving by politics identities in term of ethnic cleansing. Bosnia-Herzegovina is geographically situated as a sort of convergence point of a number of different ethnicities and cultures that date back hundreds and even thousands of years. One of the characteristics of Bosnia-Herzegovina is that it is the most diverse ethnic groups, involving Muslims, Serbs, Croats, Yugoslavs, Jews, Roma and others, of former Yugoslavia. The majority different among people whose live in these republics are types of religions in which we notice as the Orthodox Serbs and the Catholic Croats (Kaldor, 2001: 32). This means, thus, that the war is more likely to took place in this area in form of violent ethnic cleansing, in order to complete their desire on establish ethnically homogeneous territories and to divide ethnically mixed Bosnia-Herzegovina between Serbs and Croats driving by their different nationalism perspectives (Kaldor, 2001:33) In 1992, when the war began, Bosnia-Herzegovina consisted of a majority Muslim, and Serbians, with a smaller percentage of Croatians, who were predominantly Catholic, and Jews. While these people had coexisted together for quite some time, there seemed to be a degree of fear and hate that was passed down through the generations. The existence of this fear and hate may be said as the cause that made the Serbian people is easily to manipulate by the power of their political leaders and in a wave of nationalism. As a result, they set out on a murderous â€Å"ethnic cleansing† to rid themselves of the Croatians (Kaldor, 2001:33). Nationalism, playing on the fears of a particular group of people, is what from my point of view that it is likely to be a root cause that led to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is because nationalism has been driven from different ethnic roots and has been reconstructed for political purposes (Kaldor, 2001:34). As a result, political fragmentation of Bosnia-Herzegovina gave rise to identity-based mobilization, thus leads to the violent of ethnic nationalism. Furthermore, alongside with the begin of war Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992, the internet was still in its beginning stages. The internet was one of the driving forces that helped bring along the concept of globalization, as people from different cultures migrated around the world. Information became more readily available to more and more people from an ever increasing web that spanned the world (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and KumpikaitÄâ€", 2008: 43). Thus, leads to the situation in which multiple international actors around the world could be engaged in rising of identity politics and mobilizing political purpose in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Therefore, it can be also concluded that the Bosnia-Herzegovina is the new type of war in sense of a war against the civilians and civil society (Kaldor, 2001: 44). Conclusion To conclude, the nature of warfare has been changed across the time period due to the process of globalization as the factor driving the changes in the political nature. As rightfully remarked by Kalyvas, the critic of new wars, there are the shifted in fundamental of the warfare from the armed conflicts between states in an earlier era to internal war or the war against civilian populations, mainly focused on ethnic cleansing, of the conflicts nowadays (2001: 99). This current study has identified the link between the process of globalization and new wars, in relation to the political mobilization based on identity politics in the internal territory, which has been recognized as the characteristics of new wars, using case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina war, the violent ethnic cleansing of Bosnian. The result can be argued that nationalism and globalization lead to the political fragmentation that rising identity-based mobilization in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Therefore, it could lead to the new war caused by ethnic politics. Globalization, the revolution of communication and technology, creates the situation in which states are strongly intervened in their politics, economics and social from the external forces of third party and multiple actors of both states and non-states, thus lead to a dramatic decline of state power, an extremely collapse of former economic and a provision of corruption and criminalization environment (Newman, 2004: 183). These situation, therefore, leads to the motivation of political mobilization, particularly based around identity politics and are stimulated by personal or group interests and greed (Malantowicz, 2013: 52). And since internal violence invoked by irregular paramilitary troops and the population movement rather than battles between armies in the traditional field are the elements which characterise the new wars (Malantowicz, 2010: 159) As a result, the impact of globalization could be led to a new type of organized violence so-called new war. However, from my perspective, as a researcher in this study, that globalization process is what will hopefully, one day, put an end to such genocide, as people continue to migrate, inter-marry, and become familiar with, and tolerant of other cultures. Bibliography Fleming, C. M. (2009) New or Old Wars? Debating a Clausewitzian Future, Strategic Studies, 32(2), pp.213-241. Henderson, E. and Singer, J. (2002): New Wars and Rumors of New Wars, International Interactions, 28(2), pp.165-190. Baylis, J., Smith, S., and Owens, P. (2014) The Globalization of World Politics:   An Introduction to International Relations 6th edi. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bougarel, X. (2015) The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 15(4), pp.683-688. ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€", R., and KumpikaitÄâ€", V. (2008) The Impact of Globalization on Migration Processes, Socialiniai tyrimai / Social Research, 3 (13), pp. 42–48. Kardor, M. (2001). New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era (Edition), Cambridge: Polity Press. Kaldor, M. (2013) In Defense of New Wars. Stability, 2(1): 4, pp. 1-16. Kalyvas, N. S. (2001), New and Old Civil Wars: A Valid Distinction?, World Politics, 54(1), pp. 99-118. Malantowicz, A. (2010). Do ‘New Wars’ Theories Contribute to Our Understanding of The African Conflicts? Cases of Rwanda And Darfur. Africana Bulletin, pp: 159-172. Malantowicz, A. (2013) Civil War in Syria and the New Wars Debate. Amsterdam Law Forum, 5(3), pp. 52-60. Newman, E. (2004) The ‘New Wars’ Debate: A Historical Perspective Is Needed, Security Dialogue, 35(2), pp. 173-189.

moralant Free Antigone Essays: Do the Right Thing :: Antigone essays

Antigone: Do the Right Thing Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon's strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her brother become consumed by vultures' talons and dogs. Creon finds out that somebody buried Polynices' body and sent people out to get the person who preformed the burial. Antigone is guilty and although she is to be wed to Creon's son, Haemon. He sentences her to be put in a cave with food and water and let the gods decide what to do with her. He was warned by a blind profit not to do this, but he chooses to anyway, leaving him with a dead son, a dead wife, and self-imposed exile. Antigone had good reasons for her actions. She did obey the rules of her gods, which were that any dead body must be given a proper burial, with libatations. This would prevent the soul from being lost between worlds forever, along with wine as an offering to the gods (page 518- side note). Nor could Antigone let Creon's edicts go against her morals (lines 392-394). She chooses to share her love, not her hate (line 443). She couldn't bare to see one family member be chosen over the other because of what a king had decided was right, which she contravened. Why condemn somebody who stood up for what they believed in and is now dead for it anyway? Bringing homage to the family was very important to Antigone (line 422-423). The gods' laws come before mortal laws in Antigone's point-of-view, which is how I believe also. In death, you will answer to your god and no man will have control of your fate in the world that lies hereafter. Therefore by obeying the gods, hopefully, will result in a happy afterlife, which are what most people strive for in ancient times and now. If man does not honor you for noble efforts, your gods' will. Antigone's act was honorable. She stood up to the highest of powers so she could honor her brother, knowing the consequence would be death. Most likely she figured there is only a certain amount man can do to you, so she might as well stand up for not only her family and beliefs, but her gods as well (lines 377-389).

Mixed Media Culture :: essays research papers

Mixed Media Culture Following the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Ben Franklin was asked what kind of government the country now had; â€Å"a republic, if you can keep it†. Franklin’s concerns at that time was that we might turn to a monarchy on the basis that this was the kind of government familiar to most people in the new world. Now, many years later, we should be concerned about the same issue, but rather than a â€Å"real† monarchy, comprised of an individual or a family ruling the country, we are faced with the prospect of money being the King and those with money controlling government and society. We have seen government fall to the whims of money and special interest groups, more in the last decade than before. There are laws on the books to control the influence peddling in Washington and other communities, but these laws are not being enforced. Pressure and influence by unions, large business groups and other large organizations has been common place for years, but in the recent past, we have seen influence from individuals, many with less than acceptable standards, accepted by the size of their campaign contributions to individuals or to a specific party. The average American has to wonder today whose interest is being served by their representatives. The idea of a government for the people can and should be questioned, until we can put controls on those with money and the manner in which they are allowed to spend money to influence elections and policies. When we see polls indicating that nearly two thirds of the participants question the integrity of the government, we need to look seriously at what changes need to be made. We need to develop a system that is less influenced about the need to raise large sums of money and get the politicians more focused on the needs and values of society. Some of the measures being considered include: better enforcement of laws currently on the books, restrictions on a candidate raising large sums of money, if he elects public funds for his campaign, closing the loopholes associated with soft-money contributions from unions, business groups and others, and encourage voluntary limits on campaign spe nding. Obviously, we did not get in this position overnight and this issue is not something that will be solved without a sweeping change through the government structure. Another issue impacting the political process today is the lack of participation by registered voters and maybe the need to increase the number of registered voters.

Ulysses S. Grant Essay -- essays research papers

Ulysses S. Grant lived an interesting life. He gave so much to this country. His life was exciting and he lived in many different places, from small houses to a house given by people to the white house. From saving the blacks from more slavery to giving the U.S. bad years from presidency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and the 18th president of the U.S. (Williams 53).Grant was born in point pleasant, Ohio, on April 27 ,1822, the son os Hannah Simpson and Jesse Grant, the owner of a tannery (Williams 52). In 1839, under the name of Ulysses Simpson, instead of his original Hiram Ulysses, he was appointed to West Point (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Graduating 21st in a class of 39,loosing to Robert E. Lee, who came 1st (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). There he met Julia Dent, whom he married after the Mexican war (â€Å"Grant†314). During the Mexican war, Grant served under both General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott and distinguished himself (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). In 1854, while stationed at Fort Humboldt, California, Grant resigned his commission because of loneliness and drinking problems, and in the following years he engaged in generally unsuccessful farming and business ventures in Missouri(Williams 19- 59). He moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1860, where he became a clerk in his father's leather store (Williams 21).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Civil War, after an indecisive battle raid on Belmont, Missouri, he gained fame when in February 1862, in conjunction with the navy; he succeeded in reducing Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, forcing General Simon B. Buckner to accept unconditional surrender and earned him the nickname Unconditional Surrender Grant (Williams 52). In 1863 he established his reputation as a strategist in the brilliant campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, which took place on July 4 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After being appointed commander in the west, he defeated Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant's victories made him so prominent that he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and in February 1864 was given command of all Union armies(â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant accompanied the army of the Potomac in its overland assault on Richmond, Virginia.Grant continues to press the drive against General Robert E. Lee's army (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After... ...p;After retiring from the presidency, Grant took a long trip around the world. Returning in 1879, he became an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination, which went to James A. Garfield (Williams 58). In 1881 Grant moved to New York City, Where he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Grant and Ward; he was so close to ruin when the company collapsed in 1884 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). To provide for his family, he wrote his memoirs while fighting cancer of the throat; he died at Mount Gregor, New York, on July 23,1885 (Williams 52-59).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gave so much to this country and we never had a chance to thank him, not by giving stuff to him like the memorial but to say it up close and shaking hands with him. He was a great   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 General by giving the slaves freedom and fighting for them, if he hadn’t fought for us think about where we would be right know. From the best General of the U.S. Army to 1 of the worst Presidents he still did good for this country. Ulysses S. Grant Essay -- essays research papers Ulysses S. Grant lived an interesting life. He gave so much to this country. His life was exciting and he lived in many different places, from small houses to a house given by people to the white house. From saving the blacks from more slavery to giving the U.S. bad years from presidency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and the 18th president of the U.S. (Williams 53).Grant was born in point pleasant, Ohio, on April 27 ,1822, the son os Hannah Simpson and Jesse Grant, the owner of a tannery (Williams 52). In 1839, under the name of Ulysses Simpson, instead of his original Hiram Ulysses, he was appointed to West Point (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Graduating 21st in a class of 39,loosing to Robert E. Lee, who came 1st (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). There he met Julia Dent, whom he married after the Mexican war (â€Å"Grant†314). During the Mexican war, Grant served under both General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott and distinguished himself (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). In 1854, while stationed at Fort Humboldt, California, Grant resigned his commission because of loneliness and drinking problems, and in the following years he engaged in generally unsuccessful farming and business ventures in Missouri(Williams 19- 59). He moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1860, where he became a clerk in his father's leather store (Williams 21).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Civil War, after an indecisive battle raid on Belmont, Missouri, he gained fame when in February 1862, in conjunction with the navy; he succeeded in reducing Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, forcing General Simon B. Buckner to accept unconditional surrender and earned him the nickname Unconditional Surrender Grant (Williams 52). In 1863 he established his reputation as a strategist in the brilliant campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, which took place on July 4 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After being appointed commander in the west, he defeated Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant's victories made him so prominent that he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and in February 1864 was given command of all Union armies(â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant accompanied the army of the Potomac in its overland assault on Richmond, Virginia.Grant continues to press the drive against General Robert E. Lee's army (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After... ...p;After retiring from the presidency, Grant took a long trip around the world. Returning in 1879, he became an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination, which went to James A. Garfield (Williams 58). In 1881 Grant moved to New York City, Where he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Grant and Ward; he was so close to ruin when the company collapsed in 1884 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). To provide for his family, he wrote his memoirs while fighting cancer of the throat; he died at Mount Gregor, New York, on July 23,1885 (Williams 52-59).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gave so much to this country and we never had a chance to thank him, not by giving stuff to him like the memorial but to say it up close and shaking hands with him. He was a great   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 General by giving the slaves freedom and fighting for them, if he hadn’t fought for us think about where we would be right know. From the best General of the U.S. Army to 1 of the worst Presidents he still did good for this country.

Blood Promise Chapter Twenty-Nine

The flight was more like thirty hours. Getting from the middle of Siberia to the middle of Montana wasn't easy. I flew from Novosibirsk to Moscow to Amsterdam to Seattle to Missoula. Four different flights. Five different airports. A lot of running around. It was exhausting, yet when I handed over my passport to get back into the U.S. in Seattle, I felt a strange surge of emotion in me†¦ joy and relief. Before leaving Russia, I had thought Abe might come back with me and finish his task himself, hand-delivering me to whomever had hired him. â€Å"You really are going back now, aren't you?† he asked at the airport. â€Å"To the school? You aren't going to get off at one of your stops and disappear?† I smiled. â€Å"No. I'm going back to St. Vladimir's.† â€Å"And you'll stay there?† he pressed. He didn't quite look as dangerous as he had in Baia, but I could see a glint of hardness in his eyes. My smile slipped. â€Å"I don't know what's going to happen. I don't have a place there anymore.† â€Å"Rose-â€Å" I held up a hand to stop him, surprised at my own determination. â€Å"Enough. No after-school specials. You said you were hired to get me back there. It isn't your job to say what I do after that.† At least, I hoped not. Whoever wanted me back had to be someone at the Academy. I'd be there soon. They had won. Abe's services were no longer required. Despite his victory, he didn't look happy about relinquishing me. Glancing up at one of the departure boards, he sighed. â€Å"You need to go through security, or you'll miss your flight.† I nodded. â€Å"Thanks for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What exactly? His help? â€Å"†¦ For everything.† I started to turn away, but he touched my shoulder. â€Å"Is that all you're wearing?† Most of my clothing had been scattered around Russia. One of the other Alchemists had located shoes, jeans, and a sweater, but otherwise, I was winging it until I got back to the U.S. â€Å"I don't really need anything else,† I told him. Abe arched an eyebrow. Turning to one of his guardians, he made a small gesture toward me. Immediately, the guardian took off his coat and handed it over. The guy was lanky, but the coat was still too big for me. â€Å"No, I don't need-â€Å" â€Å"Take it,† ordered Abe. I took it, and then to my further shock, Abe began unwinding the scarf from around his neck. It was one of his nicer ones, too: cashmere, woven with an array of brilliant colors, more suited to the Caribbean than here or Montana. I started to protest this as well, but the look on his face silenced me. I put the scarf around my neck and thanked him, wondering if I'd ever see him again. I didn't bother asking because I had a feeling he wouldn't tell me anyway. When I finally landed in Missoula thirty hours later, I was pretty sure I didn't want to fly in a plane anytime soon-as in, like, the next five years. Maybe ten. Without any luggage, getting out of the airport was easy. Abe had sent word ahead of my arrival, but I had no idea who they'd send to get me. Alberta, who ran the guardians at St. Vladimir's, seemed a likely choice. Or maybe it would be my mother. I never knew where she was at any given moment, and suddenly, I really, really wanted to see her. She would be a logical choice too. So it was with some surprise that I saw that the person waiting for me at the airport's exit was Adrian. A grin spread over my face, and I picked up the pace. I threw my arms around him, astonishing both of us. â€Å"I have never been happier to see you in my life,† I said. He squeezed me tightly and then let me go, regarding me admiringly. â€Å"The dreams never do justice to real life, little dhampir. You look amazing.† I'd cleaned up after the ordeal with the Strigoi, and Oksana had continued healing me in spite of my protests-even the bruises on my neck, which she had never asked about. I didn't want anyone else to know about those. â€Å"And you look†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I studied him. He was dressed as nicely as always, with a three-quarter-length wool coat and green scarf that matched his eyes. His dark brown hair had that crafted messiness he liked, but his face-ah, well. As I'd noted before, Simon had gotten a few good punches on him. One of Adrian's eyes was swollen and ringed with bruises. Nonetheless, thinking about him and everything he'd done†¦ well, none of the flaws mattered. â€Å"†¦ Gorgeous.† â€Å"Liar,† he said. â€Å"Couldn't Lissa have healed that black eye away?† â€Å"It's a badge of honor. Makes me seem manly. Come on, your carriage awaits.† â€Å"Why'd they send you?† I asked as we walked toward the parking lot. â€Å"You are sober, aren't you?† Adrian didn't dignify that with an answer. â€Å"Well, the school has no official responsibility to you, seeing as you're a dropout and everything. So they weren't really obligated to come get you. None of your other friends can leave campus†¦ but me? I'm just a free spirit, hanging out. So I borrowed a car, and here I am.† His words sparked mixed reactions in me. I was touched that he'd taken the trouble to come out here but was bothered by the part about the school having no responsibility to me. Throughout all my travels, I'd gone back and forth in thinking of St. Vladimir's as home†¦ yet, in the most technical terms, it truly wasn't anymore. I would just be a visitor. As we settled into the drive, Adrian caught me up on the aftermath at the school. After the big psychic showdown, I hadn't delved much into Lissa's mind. Oksana had healed my body, but mentally, I was still exhausted and grieving. Even though I'd accomplished what I set out to do, that image of Dimitri falling and falling still haunted me. â€Å"It turns out you were right about Avery bonding Simon and Reed,† Adrian said. â€Å"From what information we could gather, it sounds like Simon was killed in a fight that Avery witnessed years ago. Everyone thought it was a miracle he survived, not actually realizing the truth.† â€Å"She kept her powers hidden like the rest of you,† I mused. â€Å"And then Reed died later?† â€Å"Well, that's the weird thing,† said Adrian, frowning. â€Å"No one can really tell when he died. I mean, he's royal. He's been pampered his whole life, right? But based on what we could get out of him-which wasn't much, since they're all pretty messed up now-it sounds like Avery may have intentionally killed him and then brought him back.† â€Å"Just like with Lissa,† I said, recalling Simon's words during the fight. â€Å"Avery wanted to kill her, bring her back, and bond her. But why Lissa of all people?† â€Å"My guess? Because she's a spirit user. Now that spirit's not a secret anymore, it was only a matter of time before Avery heard about Lissa and me. I think Avery thought bonding Lissa would increase her own power. As it was, she was sucking up a lot of energy from those other two.† Adrian shook his head. â€Å"I wasn't kidding about sensing that spirit all the way across campus. The amounts Avery had to wield to compel so many people, mask her aura, and who knows what else†¦ well, it was staggering.† I stared off at the freeway ahead of us, considering the consequences of Avery's actions. â€Å"And that's why Reed was so messed up-why he was so angry and ready for a fight. He and Simon were absorbing all that darkness she was producing by using spirit. Just like I do with Lissa.† â€Å"Yeah, except you were nothing like these guys. It wasn't so obvious with Simon-he was better at keeping a straight face-but both of them were totally on the edge. And now? They're over the edge. All three of them are.† I recalled Simon staring at nothing and Avery screaming. I shivered. â€Å"When you say over the edge†¦?† â€Å"I mean totally and completely insane. Those three are going to be institutionalized for the rest of their lives.† â€Å"From what you†¦ we all did?† I asked, aghast. â€Å"Partly,† he agreed. â€Å"Avery was throwing all that power at us, and when we threw it back and then some†¦ well, I think it was like an overload to their minds. And to be honest, considering how Reed and Simon already were, the stage was probably set for this. With Avery too.† â€Å"Mark was right,† I murmured. â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The other shadow-kissed guy I met. He was talking about how Lissa and I might be able to heal the darkness away from each other someday. It takes a careful balance of power between the spirit user and the shadow-kissed. I still don't fully get it, but I'm guessing Avery's little circle of three wouldn't have been able to handle that kind of balancing act. I don't think bonding to more than one person is healthy.† â€Å"Huh.† Adrian didn't say anything for a while and simply pondered all this. Finally, he laughed. â€Å"Man, I can't believe you found another spirit user and shadow-kissed person. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, but that kind of thing always happens to you. I can't wait to hear the rest of what you've been doing.† I looked away and rested my cheek against the glass. â€Å"It's actually not very interesting.† None of the Academy officials knew about my role in the showdown with Avery. So it wasn't like anyone questioned me when we got back. They were still doing cleanup and asking Adrian and Lissa a lot of questions. Spirit was still such a new phenomenon that no one knew what to think of what had happened. Avery and her bondmates had been taken away for help, and her father had already gone on a temporary leave of absence. Adrian signed me in as his guest, which got me a campus pass. Like all visitors, I was also given a list of where I'd stay and what I could and couldn't do. I promptly ignored it. â€Å"I have to go,† I told Adrian immediately. He gave me a knowing smile. â€Å"I figured.† â€Å"Thank you†¦ for coming to get me. I'm sorry I've got to leave you-â€Å" He waved off my worries. â€Å"You aren't leaving me. You're back; that's what counts. I've been patient this long-I can hold out a little longer.† I held his eyes for a moment, startled at the warm feelings that suddenly bubbled up within me. I kept them to myself, though, only giving Adrian a quick smile before I set off across campus. I got a lot of strange looks when I went to Lissa's dorm. It was right after classes had ended, so student traffic was pretty busy with people rushing in or out to get somewhere. Yet, when I passed by, silence fell and people stopped moving and talking. It reminded me of when Lissa and I had been returned to school after running away. We'd been marched through the cafeteria and had received similar treatment from our peers. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed worse this time. The looks more shocked. The silence heavier. Last time, I think people had believed we'd run off as some sort of prank. This time, no one really knew why I'd left. I'd come out of the school's attack a hero, only to drop out and disappear. I think some of Lissa's dorm mates thought they were seeing a ghost. Ignoring the gossip and opinions of others was something I had a lot of practice with, and I sprinted past the onlookers without a backward glance, taking the stairs two at a time. I shut myself off to Lissa's feelings as I walked down her hall. It seemed silly, but I wanted to be surprised. I just wanted to open my eyes and see her in person, with no warnings as to how she was feeling or what she was thinking. I knocked on the door. Adrian had said seeing me in dreams couldn't compare to seeing me in person. The same was true with Lissa. Being in her head was nothing like being near her in reality. The door opened, and it was like an apparition materializing before me, some sort of heavenly messenger descended from above. I'd never been away from her for this long, and after all this time, part of me wondered if I was imagining this. Her hand went to her mouth, and she stared at me wide-eyed. I think she felt the same way-and she hadn't even had warning of my visit. She'd just been told I was coming â€Å"soon.† No doubt I seemed like a phantom to her, too. And with that reunion†¦ it was like I was emerging from a cave-one I'd been in for almost five weeks-into the bright light of day. When Dimitri had turned, I'd felt like I'd lost part of my soul. When I'd left Lissa, another piece had gone. Now, seeing her†¦ I began to think maybe my soul might be able to heal. Maybe I could go on after all. I didn't feel 100 percent whole yet, but her presence filled up that missing part of me. I felt more like myself than I had in ages. A world of questions and confusion hung in the silence between us. In spite of everything we'd been through with Avery, there was still a lot of unresolved business from when I had first left the school. For the first time since I'd set foot on the Academy's grounds, I felt afraid. Afraid that Lissa would reject me or scream at me for what I'd done. Instead, she drew me into a giant hug. â€Å"I knew it,† she said. She was already choking on her sobs. â€Å"I knew you'd come back.† â€Å"Of course,† I murmured into her shoulder. â€Å"I said I would.† My best friend. I had my best friend back. If I had her, I could recover from what had happened in Siberia. I could go on with my life. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said. â€Å"So sorry for what I did.† I pulled away in surprise. Stepping into the room, I shut the door behind us. â€Å"Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?† Despite my joy at seeing her, I'd come here expecting her to still be angry at me for leaving. None of that mess with Avery would have happened if I'd stayed around. I blamed myself. She sat down on her bed, eyes wet. â€Å"For what I said†¦ when you left. I had no right to say the things I did. I have no right to control you. And I feel horrible because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She ran a hand over her eyes, trying to dry the worst of the tears. â€Å"I feel horrible because I told you I wouldn't bring back Dimitri. I mean, I know it didn't matter, but I should have still offered to-â€Å" â€Å"No, no!† I sank down in front of her and grabbed her hands, still awed to be with her again. â€Å"Look at me. You have nothing to be sorry for. I said things I shouldn't have, too. It happens when people are upset. Neither of us should beat ourselves up over it. And as for bringing him back†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I sighed. â€Å"You did the right thing in refusing. Even if we had found him before he'd been turned, it wouldn't have mattered. You can't safely bond more than one person. That's what went wrong with Avery.† Well, that was part of what had gone wrong with Avery. Manipulation and abuse of power had played a huge role too. Lissa's sobs quieted. â€Å"How did you do that, Rose? How were you there at the end when I needed you? How did you know?† â€Å"I was with another spirit user. I met her in Siberia. She can actively reach into people's minds-anyone's, not just those she's bonded to-and communicate. Like Avery could, actually. Oksana reached into me while I connected to you. It's really strange how it all went down.† To say the least. â€Å"Another power I don't have,† said Lissa ruefully. I grinned. â€Å"Hey, I have yet to meet any spirit user who can throw a punch like you can. That was poetry in motion, Liss.† She groaned, but I sensed her pleasure at my use of the old nickname. â€Å"I hope I don't ever have to do that again. I'm not meant to be a fighter, Rose. You're the one who charges out there. I'm the one who waits with moral support and post-battle healing.† She held up her hands and looked at them. â€Å"Ugh. No. I definitely don't want to do any more hitting or punching.† â€Å"But at least now you know you can. If you ever want to practice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No!† She laughed. â€Å"I've got too many things to practice with Adrian now-especially after you keep telling me about more and more things that everyone else can do with spirit.† â€Å"Fine. Maybe it's best if things go back to how they were.† Her face sobered. â€Å"God, I hope so. Rose†¦ I did so many stupid things while Avery was around.† Through the bond, I felt her greatest regret: Christian. Her heart ached for him, and she'd shed a lot of tears. After having Dimitri ripped away from me, I knew how it felt to lose that kind of love, and I swore to myself that I'd do something to help her. But now wasn't the time. She and I need to reconnect first. â€Å"You couldn't help it, though,† I pointed out. â€Å"She was too strong with her compulsion-especially when she got you to drink and killed your defenses.† â€Å"Yeah, but not everyone knows that or will understand it.† â€Å"They'll forget,† I said. â€Å"They always do.† I understood her angst over her reputation, but I doubted there would be any truly permanent damage-aside from Christian. Adrian and I had analyzed Avery's manipulation and figured things out once we'd paired it with Simon's comment about Lissa having an unfortunate accident. Avery had wanted to make Lissa look unstable in the event Avery somehow didn't have the strength to resurrect her. If Lissa actually died, no one would investigate much. After weeks of crazy, drunken behavior, her losing control and accidentally falling out of a window would be tragic but not completely out of the realm of possibility. â€Å"Spirit's a pain in the ass,† Lissa declared. â€Å"Everyone wants to take advantage of you-non-users like Victor and users like Avery. I swear, I'd go back on my medication if I wasn't paranoid now about protecting myself from other Avery-type people. Why'd she want to kill me and not Adrian? Why am I always the target?† I couldn't help a smile in spite of the grim topic. â€Å"Because she wanted you for a minion and him for a boyfriend. She probably wanted a guy who could help escalate her rise in society and couldn't risk killing him in a bonding attempt. Or who knows? Maybe she would have eventually tried him, too. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she felt threatened by you and wanted to make sure she had the only other known female spirit user under her control. Face it, Liss. We could spend hours trying to figure out how Avery Lazar thinks and get nowhere.† â€Å"True, true.† She slid off the bed and sat next to me on the floor. â€Å"But you know what? I feel like we could talk about anything for hours. You've been here ten minutes, and it's like†¦ well, it's like you never left.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed. Before he was a Strigoi, being with Dimitri had always felt natural and right. Being with Lissa also felt natural and right-though it was a different kind of rightness. In my grief over Dimitri, I'd nearly forgotten what I had with her. They were two sides of me. In that uncanny way she had of guessing thoughts, Lissa said, â€Å"I meant what I said earlier. I'm sorry for what I said-about acting like I have some right to dictate your life. I don't. If you decide to stay or guard me, you do that by your choice and your kindness. I want to make sure you live and choose your own life.† â€Å"There's nothing ? ®kind' about it. I've always wanted to protect you. I still do.† I sighed. â€Å"I just†¦ I just had things to take care of. I had to get myself together-and I'm sorry I didn't handle it with you very well.† There was a lot of apologizing going on, but I realized that was how it was with people you cared about. You forgave each other and moved on. Lissa hesitated before asking her next question, but I'd known it was coming. â€Å"So†¦ what happened? Did you†¦ did you find him†¦?† At first, I didn't think I wanted to talk about it, but then I realized that I needed to. And the thing was, a few different things had gone wrong with Lissa and me before. One had been that she'd taken me for granted. The other had been that I wouldn't tell her the truth-and then I'd resent her for it later. If we were going to patch up this friendship and forgive each other, we had to make sure we didn't repeat the past. â€Å"I did find him,† I said at last. And I launched into the story, telling her everything that had happened to me: my travels, the Belikovs, the Alchemists, Oksana and Mark, the unpromised, and of course, Dimitri. Just as Lissa had joked earlier, we talked for hours. I poured out my heart to her, and she listened without judgment. Her face was compassionate the whole time, and when I reached the end, I was sobbing, all the love and rage and anguish I'd been holding onto since that night on the bridge exploding out of me. I hadn't told anyone else in Novosibirsk exactly where I'd been during my time with Dimitri. I hadn't dared tell anyone I'd been a blood whore for a Strigoi. I had stayed vague, hoping if I didn't talk about it, then maybe it wouldn't be real. Now, with Lissa, I had to accept the reality of everything and truly feel it: I had killed the man I loved. A knock at the door jolted us out of a world that contained only her and me. I glanced at the clock and was startled to see it was almost curfew time. I wondered if I was being thrown out. But when Lissa opened the door-after I'd hastily dried my eyes-the waiting dorm worker had a message of a different sort. â€Å"Alberta wants to see you,† the woman told me. â€Å"She thought you might be here.† Lissa and I exchanged glances. â€Å"When? Now?† I asked. The woman shrugged. â€Å"From the way she sounded? Yeah, I'd say now. Or sooner.† She shut the door. Alberta was the captain of the guardians on campus, and when she spoke, people acted. â€Å"I wonder what this is about?† asked Lissa. I stood up, hating to leave. â€Å"Any number of things, I imagine. I'll go see her and then head back to guest housing. Not that I'll sleep. I have no clue what time zone I'm in anymore.† Lissa gave me a parting hug, one we both had a hard time letting go of. â€Å"Good luck.† I started to turn the door's handle and then thought of something. I slipped the silver ring off of my finger and handed it to Lissa. â€Å"Is this the ring you-oh!† She wrapped her hand around it, her face growing enraptured. â€Å"Can you feel the magic in it?† I asked. â€Å"Yeah†¦ it's weak, but it's in there.† She held the ring up to the light and stared at it. She probably wasn't going to notice when I left because I had a feeling she'd be studying the ring all night. â€Å"It's so strange. I can almost immediately feel how she did this.† â€Å"Mark said we probably had a while to go before we could do the healing they do†¦ but maybe you could figure out how to make charms while we wait?† Her jade green eyes were still on the ring. â€Å"Yeah†¦ I think I might.† I smiled at her excitement and tried to leave again, but she caught my arm. â€Å"Hey†¦ Rose†¦ I know I'll see you tomorrow, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But what?† â€Å"I just wanted to say, after everything that's happened†¦ well, I don't want us to ever have this kind of separation again. I mean, I know we can't be together every single second-and that's kind of creepy anyway-but we're bonded for a reason. We're meant to look out for each other and be there for each other.† Her words sent a shiver through me, like we were wrapped in powers greater than ourselves. â€Å"We will be.† â€Å"No, I mean†¦ you're always there for me. Every time, I'm in danger, and you come rushing in to save me. Not anymore.† â€Å"You don't want me to save you anymore?† â€Å"That's not what I meant! I want to be there for you too, Rose. If I can throw a punch, I can do anything. Even though that really hurt.† She exhaled in frustration. â€Å"God, I'm not making any sense. Look, the point is, if you ever have to go off alone, take me with you. Don't leave me behind.† â€Å"Liss-â€Å" â€Å"I'm serious.† Her luminous beauty burned with determination and purpose. â€Å"Whatever obstacles you have to go against, I'm going to be there for you. Don't go alone. Swear to me that if you ever decide to take off again, you'll bring me. We'll do it together.† I started to protest as a million fears came to my mind. How could I risk her life? Yet looking at her, I knew she was right. For better or worse, we had a bond we couldn't escape. Lissa was indeed tied to that piece of my soul, and we were stronger fighting together than apart. â€Å"Okay,† I said, clasping her hand. â€Å"I swear it. The next time I go do something stupid that might get me killed, you can come along.†