Torture and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Torture and Ethics - Essay Example Hence, even with prisoners, there can be no excuse to place an individual in a situation wherein his / her rights are violated since the act of penalizing someone is nowhere close to the act of overlooking ones basic rights. As early as 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates, in unqualified terms, that â€Å"no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment† (Evans, R, 2005, The Ethics of Torture). In the following year 1949 â€Å"the Geneva convention not only stipulated the provision for protection of enemy combatants and civilians but also instruct that unlawful combatants must be â€Å"treated with humanity and shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and regular trial† (Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 5) (Evans, R, 2005, The Ethics of Torture) . It must be noted that arguments regarding the act of torture that are pro and against it can be presented. â€Å"There is an old Jewish joke about two Y eshiva students who go to the rabbi to settle a heated legal dispute over which they have been arguing all day. Max, the first student, offers cogent theoretical and pragmatic arguments that forcefully make his point. The rabbi listens carefully and declares, ‘Max you are surely right!’ Next the second student, Joshua, presents his side with vigor. He makes clear and concise counter-arguments and demonstrates how his position is supported by precedent. He argues with such passion and persuasion that the Rabbi, after listening closely, says, ‘Brilliant arguments Joshua – you are clearly correct!’ After the students leave, the rabbi’s wife, who was listening in on the exchange, says to her husband, ‘Are you crazy? Max and Joshua had conflicting arguments, how can you say both of them are right? When one is right the other must be wrong!’ The rabbi thinks long and hard on this and finally says to his wife, ‘You know what? You t oo are right!’† (Wijze. S. d., 2005, The Torture Debate in America) Both arguing sides are sure to have valid reasons to support their arguments but what is important that a society understands the moral worth of such an act, the moral duty of every member of the society, as well as result of such an act to society. If a society where to gauge the moral worth of its actions by the consequences that it produces, then the act of torture might be viewed as something acceptable. For instance, torturing a captured alleged terrorist for information that can ultimately lead to the alleviation of terrible events, can be a worthwhile reason to justify the act of torture. Take for example the captured Al-Qaeda members. â€Å"the goal of American officials was chiefly to acquire information that could be used to prevent a future terrorist attack. In particular, the capture of high-ranking al-Qaeda members such as Abu Zubaida, Mohamed al-Kahtani, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed raised the possibility that American officials may have custody of individuals with extremely valuable "actionable intelligence," in the lingo of military intelligence officials. Intelligence personnel naturally made it a high priority to get these detainees to talk. Because many suspected militants had proven to be skilled at resisting traditional, noncoercive interrogation techniques such as promises of leniency in exchange for cooperation, American officials sought advice to see whether it would be legally permissible to use certain coercive techniques on "high value"

Acid Rain :: Free Essay Writer

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Acid rain is a form of precipitation that contains high levels of sulfuric or nitric acids. In simple terms, acid rain is hail, rain, snow, or sleet that is more acidic than normal. Precipitation naturally is a little acidic but when the pH level drops below a set standard it is acid rain. In general, acid rain is a very complicated problem that is caused by many factors. In this paper, I will discuss how emissions caused by humans effect pH level in precipitation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, I will define, in detail, what acid rain is. Acid rain is precipitation that has a pH less than 5.6. The pH scale is a scale that measures if a compound is acidic, basic, or neutral. Neutral is in the middle which has a pH of 7. Basic has a pH between 7.1 and 14 and acidic has a pH between 6.9 and 0. For example, vinegar is acidic with a pH reading of 2.4. Normal precipitation has a pH between 6.9 and 5.9.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Acid rain is formed when sulfur dioxide and various nitrogen oxides combine with atmospheric moisture. Sulfur dioxide is produced by the emissions of electric utilities, industrial companies, commercial and residential heating, smelters and diesel engines. Sulfur dioxide produces sulfuric acid, which will produce acid rain. Nitrogen oxides are produced mostly by transportation (cars, trucks, planes, etc.). Nitrogen oxides produce nitric acid, which will also produce acid rain. The main contributor to acid rain is sulfur oxides (SO2 and SO3). Sulfur oxides are produced naturally but not in the concentration that humans produce. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, can be largely blamed for the production of sulfur oxides. The process of acid rain starts when photons from the sun hit ozone molecules (O3) to form oxygen (O2). Next, the O2 molecules react with water (H2O) to form a negatively charged hydroxyl radicals (OH-). It is the hydroxyl radicals that are responsible for oxidizing sulfur dioxide. This will produce sulfuric acid. Oxidation occurs in clouds mostly above cities with heavily polluted air. These clouds contain ammonia and ozone that can catalyze the reaction. This means that the ammonia and ozone will produce more sulfuric acid fast and the ammonia and ozone will not be consumed in the reaction. Nitrogen oxides are produce from power plants and exhaust fumes from automobiles. The reactions to make nitric acid are similar to the reactions to make sulfuric acid.

Kite runner redmption Essay

One of the main themes of the novel The Kite Runner Is redemption. Throughout the novel, the main character, Amir, seeks redemption for his sins. Amir states in the first chapter of the novel that he has a past of â€Å"unatoned sins. † Throughout the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses the following symbols to express the theme of redemption: The scar above Amirs lip, the lamb and the blue kite. The scar above Amirs lip represents the redemption Amir attained by rescuing Sohrab. Amir travels to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, who is being exploited by a Taliban leader. The Taliban leader turns out to be an old enemy from Amirs childhood, Assef. Amir must fight Assef in order to leave with Sohrab. During the fight Amir is beaten brutally until Sohrab shoots Assef with his slingshot. Amir is left with a scar above his right lip, strikingly similar to the one Hassan had after having surgery for his cleft lip. At the beginning of the novel, Amir watches Hassan get raped, but he did not intervene. The guilt from that day haunts him throughout the novel. At one point, Amir even tries to force Hassan to beat him up, as though the only thing that could redeem Amir was being beaten, but Hassan does not and Amir is even more ridden with guilt. When Rakim Khan calls amir, he says, â€Å"Come, This is a chance for you to be good again. † It is clear Rakim Khan understood the guilt that Amir was feeling, and realized that Amir had been searching for redemption all his life. Khan new that rescuing Sohrab was the only way Amir could truly find redemption. The rescue of Sohrab, was the rescue of an innocent, the rescue of a lamb. Throughout the novel, a reoccurring image of a sacrificial lamb represents a path to redemption. Amir tells the reader how during the Muslim holiday of Eid-Al-Ahda, the Mullah sacrifices a lamb. The look on the lamb’s face during the sacrifice stays with Amir for the rest of his life. When Amir witnesses Asseff rape Hassan, he remarks, â€Å"I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb. † Once more in the novel, Amir is reminded of the lamb, when he witnesses Asseff exploit Sohrab. The link between Hassan, Sohrab and the Lamb is their innocence; Because Amir betrayed an innocent Hassan, he must save an innocent to be redeemed, Sohrab is this innocent lamb. By ending the exploitation of this figurative lamb, Amir attains redemption for his sin. Finally, returning with the blue kite was an avenue of redemption for Amir. Every winter, in Kabul, there was a large kite-fighting tournament. The tournament was a big deal to the people of Kabul. Amir and Hassan won the tournament, but in order to truly be victorious, Hassan had to retrieve the blue kite so Amir could bring it home as a trophy. During the kite tournament Amir states, â€Å"All i saw was the blue kite. All i smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption. † Specifically, redemption in the eyes of Baba. Amir had stated earlier in the novel how he thought Baba thought of him as weak, but this was Amirs chance to be strong in the eyes of Baba, and end Amirs longing for Baba’s love. In conclusion, the rescue of Sohrab, the sacrificial lamb and the blue kite represent redemption for Amir’s sins. Redemption is a main theme of the novel, and Khaled Hosseini uses the aforementioned symbols to tell the story of Amir’s quest for redemption. Amir’s quest makes one question whether sometimes the sinner, is also the victim. As a mere child, Amir betrayed his friend, out of fear, out of cowardice, and out of selfishness, but he did not know that decision would haunt him for the rest of his life. Did he really deserve the punishment befallen on him?

Essay about hamlet - 1684 Words

Hamlet One of the most unique elements of the Hamlet character is that he is so human. Many types of readers can identify with him. Hamlet is imperfect, and he is fretful. Hamlet has human properties, and it is his humanity that I intend to explore. Indeed it is these human qualities and imperfections that make his story so tragic. Another tragic part of the play is the plays irony. Irony is an important tool in the hands of the playwright to achieve both comical and/or dramatic effect. There is usually little reason for a tragedy to be funny, so Shakespeare has used this tool to add more tragedy to the play. I will investigate the nature of this irony. Also, I will investigate the types of conflict that play a major part in the play†¦show more content†¦One occurrence of irony I found particularly striking was the fact that Hamlet effectively maneuvers himself into the same position as Claudius. Claudius had attacked and killed a man who did not have the opportunity to defend himself, but when Hamlet kills Polonius, is he not guilty of the same? It is intriguing that both Claudius and Hamlet have killed fathers. It is interesting to see how these two completely different characters deal with this problem in different ways. Other interesting parallels I found are the numerous deaths by poison. Hamlets father was murdered by Claudius with poison. In the final act, the queen is the first to be poisoned, by drinking from Hamlets cup. Then, Hamlet is wounded by the poisoned tip of Laertes sword. When they change swords, Hamlet gets the upper hand and Laertes is poisoned. When the queen dies, Laertes explains all to Hamlet, before he dies. Hamlet then kills Claudius before dying himself. It is ironic that, as Claudius is poisoned because of his own plotting, he had already signed his own death warrant when he killed Hamlets father, the first tragic action of the play. There are only three people in this play who dont die by poisoning: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet their deaths in England, after being outsmarted by Hamlet. The third is Ophelia, who is drowned. There are three types of conflict I can identify in the play: man versus man, man versus nature and man versusShow MoreRelatedHamlet Madness In Hamlet1293 Words   |  6 Pages When reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a class, the first thing that most teachers or professors point out is the argument/idea of sanity, specifically Hamlets sanity. I believe that Hamlet is, in fact, feigning his madness. What I do not know is if I believe this because it is what I was taught or if I came up with the idea myself based on my own interpretation. When I was taught Hamlet there was no argument it was just fact that he was faking his madness. 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Claudius, who is Hamlets uncle, has recently become the new king and as well married Hamlets fathers wife, GertrudeRead More Hamlet Essay1107 Words   |  5 Pages Perhaps the most famous soliloquy in literature, these words reflect the state of desperation in which Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, finds himself as he contemplates suicide. His father, the King, has died. His mother, the Queen, has remarried within a month of the Kings passing, an act which has disturbed young Hamlet in and of it. To make it worse, she has married the Kings brother, Hamlets uncle, who is now the King of Denmark. As Hamlets despair deepens, he learns through the appearance