Zeus As Hero Essay Example for Free

Zeus As Hero Essay One of the reasons why Zeus is a hero is because he defeats his mighty and powerful father Cronos along with the titans, and shares the glory with his many brothers and sisters. On my opinion I think a hero is someone that does something without thinking of themselves. Someone that is willing to take the risk for the sake of someone else. A hero is someone that will always be willing to help and take any major risk. This paragraph will explain how Zeus is a hero because he has demonstrated Bravery, Sharing, and his powerfulness. This paragraph will determine why Zeus is brave and will give three example of him being brave. The first example of Zeus being brave was when Zeus defeated his father Cronos; this example is one of the greatest examples because it explains all three of Zeus’s characteristics. Zeus showed himself being brave because he faced one of the most powerful gods in the world. Not only that but Cronos eager to kill Zeus and swallow him whole. The second example of Zeus being brave is when Zeus caught lightning bolt to protect his best friend Pan, Zeus was then aware he was a god. The third and final example of Zeus being a hero is when Zeus transformed into a bull and dared to take Queen Europa out of her boundaries when she was specifically under many rules of her father and one day would become Queen. But, she luckily got to become Queen of Crete and built many ships for them and Zeus. These actions prove that Zeus is a true Greek hero. The next paragraph will show how Zeus is able to share, and examples will be given to show you why. This paragraph will determine why Zeus is able to share and will give three carefully detailed examples. The first example of Zeus being able to share is when he gives Crete a magnificent gift; King Minos was in desperate need of a wall, a warrior and an army. They pleaded to Zeus to give them these three wishes and Zeus put it all into one huge gift. He gave them Talus a great bronze giant that will protect Crete no more than a thousand years. Each nine years they would bless Zeus for his gift. The second example of Zeus being able to share is when he defeats the titans and frees his brothers and sisters, not only that but Zeus gives his brothers and sisters a part of the world. Poseidon got the sea, Zeus claimed the sky, Hades took the underworld, ECT The third and final example of Zeus being able to share is when he grants queen Europa’s wish. She is then freed from her father’s rules and became Queen of Crete. The next paragraph will tell you how Zeus is loyal in the storeys told about Zeus. This paragraph will identify why Zeus is loyal, It will provide three examples from multiple storeys in the book. The first example of Zeus being loyal was when he made Queen Europa Queen of Crete she became loyal back to him by building the ship that he had requested from her. The second example of Zeus being loyal is when he promised and did give each of his brothers and sisters a piece of the world everyone then worshipped Zeus for what he’d done. The third and final example of Zeus being loyal is when Zeus agreed with Rhea to go defeat his awful father Cronos and to reclaim his brothers and sisters and become king. The next paragraph will conclude why Zeus is brave, loyal and able to share. Zeus has many characteristics that make him a hero. He has demonstrated Bravery, being able to share, and loyalty in many of the myths. For example, Zeus defeats Cronos that trapped his many brothers and sisters and the many invincible titans. Therefore, Zeus is a true Greek hero.

Myanmar And Its Neighbours History Essay

Myanmar And Its Neighbours History Essay Myanmar is one of the few countries in Asia which has reserved interest in what happens outside its border. This is often reflected in the countrys external relations policy. Perception of outside threat to her national security and sovereignty made Myanmar play an independent but inactive role in external affairs. Historically, though Myanmars immediate neighbours were tortured by strong kings of Myanmar in different period of history, Myanmar also suffered in the hands of the neighbouring kingdoms. Thus, the people of Myanmar have general fear and indifferent psychosis towards outside world. This is closely related to nationalism, xenophobia and insular habits. From geographical standpoint also, Myanmar has favourable physical structure and geo-strategic position that has a lot to hide from the outside world. It has been mentioned in the second chapter that Myanmar is surrounded by mountains on three sides and by sea on the forth (south), which do not provide easy access to inside Myanmar. Myanmar was also situated in a vulnerable geo-strategic location with India and China between which Myanmar is sandwiched; and between contending cold war sphere of influence represented by Communist China and pro-western Thailand, Myanmar stood huddled. During the heyday of cold war, Southeast Asian region became a hotspot of the global power politics with many countries of the region taking side either with the western bloc headed by United States of America or the eastern bloc under the erstwhile Soviet Union. But Myanmar tended to look inward in the name of maintaining sovereignty and independent action. This is reflected in the foreign policy of the country as evolved, first as policy of neutralism and nonalignment under U Nu, and second, as policy of isolation under Ne Win, until it adopted policy of opportunistic engagement with the world outside particularly since late 1988. The parliamentary democracy era of 1950s avoided active international engagement in pursuanc e of non-aligned policy. The establishment of military rule in March 1962 brought Myanmars nonalignment and neutral ideology into a strong xenophobic and paranoid nationalism, clearly aimed at reducing any foreign influence on Myanmars politics, economy and society. Only international engagement beneficial to militarys perceived ideology and interest was allowed. In response to the military regimes monopoly of power and adverse human right records, many liberal democratic countries of the west imposed sanctions against Myanmar, and ostracised the country. In the meantime, global geo-political shifts occurred with the end of cold war in early 1990s following the disintegration of erstwhile Soviet Union. Geo-economics rather than geo-politics gained greater credence in the changed international environment. Economic integration and regionalism ushered in with globalization as the thriving force. Internally, the crisis of 1988 necessitate shift in the country internal politics and appr oaches to external countries. Accordingly, Myanmar made adjustment in response to changes in domestic and external environment. With western liberal democratic countries still following policy anti-thetical to the militarys ideology, Myanmar focussed to its immediate neighbours and region. While the western countries used sanction policy, neighbouring Asian governments followed a policy of constructive engagement. In doing so, they have filled much of the international political and economic vacuum in Myanmar, giving the military leaders to pursue its self-proclaimed political road-map. This chapter is structured to highlight Myanmars foreign policy, the status of Myanmar in the world community, the countrys government-to-government relationship and relative integration with the world community, especially focussing its relationship with its three important neighbours namely China, Thailand and India. It will be conducted in three phases: period of neutrality and non-alignment under parliamentary democracy, period of isolationism under Ne Win and the period of engagement aftermath 1988. This chapter shows that Myanmars isolationism in external front is a necessary corollary of its domestic political setting. This chapter proves that Myanmars retreat from world of nations is premised on fear, security, non-interference, national interest, sovereignty and development. Though in its foreign relations, Myanmar has maintained regular relationship with all countries, in practice; Myanmar discourages the relationship between its people and those of other countries, so much so that it is like closing the country from the outside world and acts like a hermit of Asia. This chapter also deals with how domestic political-economic changes since 1988 have affected its external affairs policy. This chapter will show that Myanmars foreign policy and status in the international community was characterised by varying degrees of isolation, in response to its internal political setting and global political scenario. International isolationism became a comfortable state of the isolationist political system under the military leaders to deny the attention of the foreign powers as to what happen inside the borders of the country. From the militarys angle, international isolation was in pursuance of a strong, cohesive and developed Myanmar the basis of which was to ensure the military continue to stay in power until acceptable time had emerged to vacate seat of power. As the goal suggest, it will be shown in this chapter that Myanmar opens to outside world only it wo uld serve its highly self-centred interests. Myanmars direct neighbours are often forced to undergo a difficult balancing act. Myanmar in International Context One fact of the pre-colonial Myanmar was that the Burmans were generally indifferent towards foreigners. Historically, Myanmars political and military ties with the outside world had feared the country. The Thais, Manipuris, Chinese or Europeans provided ill-experience of dealing with outsiders. The Myanmese never accepted the British presence in Myanmar; they saw the British institutions and practices had undermined the Burman culture. Myanmars ill with the outsider strengthened during the World War Two, when its ties with the British made it a Japanese target. The resulting oppression and destruction during the World War Two left Myanmar even more apathetic to outsiders. With such fear psychosis, Myanmar became independent in 1948, also with new hopes and vigour. But the period coincided with the onset of cold war, where the world was divided into two rival camps headed by United States on the one hand, and Soviet Union, on the other, and most of the lesser powerful states followin g them. Two traditional rivals, China, a communist country in the north, and Thailand, a pro-western ally to the east, were allegedly expressed sympathy for Myanmars anti-government rebels and insurgents in the border areas. Very differently from them, Indian, a non-aligned partner under the leadership of prime minister U Nus close friend Jawaharlal Nehru, had been emerging as a distinct force in the world. This situation was well commented by U Nu in 1950. U Nu lamented his country as ..like a tender gourd among the cactus. We cannot move an inch. If we act irresponsiblyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and thrust the Union of Burma into the arms of one bloc, the other bloc will not be contented to look on with folded arms (U Nu, 5 September 1950 quoted by Thomson 1957:266 ). Back home, ethnic and political disunity erupted into rebellion and the ever increasing economic deterioration greatly disrupted legitimacy of the government and stability of the country. The new external and domestic challenges made materializing Aung Sans world-view difficult.  [1]  In response to the challenges, the new countrys leaders adopted neutralism and non-alignment as the cornerstone of the foreign policy of the country. At the same time, as Choudhary (2000:423) mentions, Myanmar also accepted the principles of maintaining friendly relations with all countries especially with her neighbours without being engaged too closely with any one of them, and of receiving no economic aid with string attached. Commenting on the genesis of Myanmars neutralism in dealing with outside world, Silverstein (1977:169) concludes: The policy of neutralism was based on certain realities that imposed themselves on either a civilian (before 1962) or a military (after 1962) Burmese government. Among them were Burmas small memories of World War Two and the suffering and destruction inflicted upon its people and the land; its internal political instability; and its ethnic and political disunity. These were superimpos ed on Myanmars traditional withdrawing and isolationist attitude and influence of personality of U Nu (Bandyopadhaya 1983:152), the first prime minister of independent Myanmar.  [2]  These factors, among others, shaped Myanmars world-view, that Myanmar would be a neutral and non-aligned country in an effort to maintain friendship with all countries in the world. Myanmar joined United Nations and it became a leading voice and founder-leader of the non-alignment movement, organizing the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia along with like-minded leaders such as Nehru, Nasser, Tito and Sukarno; Myanmar also attended the first NAM summit held in 1961as the movements founder member. The foreign policy of Myanmar also sought a delicate balancing role between USA and USSR, and between India and China. India served as a model for Myanmars neutralism, non-alignment and democracy, but it never allied itself too closely with India, which could have upset its relations with China (Lintner 1 992). Thus, Myanmar became the first non-communist country to recognise the new government of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 (Seekins 1983:54). When it feared its neutral policy would cease if it had joined the British Commonwealth of Nations, it wisely declined to join the body of former British colonies. Myanmar wanted to sever all ties with the outside world provided if it did not serve its interest, and if it proved against the principle of neutralism and non-alignment. Myanmars neutralism and non-aligned policy was first tested in the Korean Crisis of 1950. Myanmar voiced U Nus call for a halt to North Koreas aggression against the South Korea. When the United Nations forces crossed the 38th parallel, Myanmar withdrew its support on the belief that UN had overstepped its original mandate. In several other international issues such as Russian intervention in Hungary in 1956, Egypt crisis in 1956, Cuban crisis in 1961 etc. Myanmar did not followed big power line. Myanmar became a member of the Colombo Plan, but it refused to join SEATO founded in September 1954. Amidst hesitations, Myanmar received aid from both the US and USSR throughout the cold war period. The USSR offered specific gifts of a hospital, hotel and technological institutions, while US funds off and on after 1951 for agricultural and land reclamation projects. The government of U Nu tried to befriend with both India and China through his personal link with their respective leaders nam ely Nehru and Chou-en-Lai. In other words, throughout the parliamentary democracy period, Myanmar gained respect internationally by managing to live alongside large and powerful neighbours without compromising its independent foreign policy (Lintner 1992). It, thus, became one of the most respected leading governments in the region and its neutralism was much appreciated by western chanceries. The is proved by the fact that Myanmars U Thant was appointed, first, as the acting Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1961, and, later, twice elected to the position. U Thant led the world body for the next ten years. When the military rule took over power in March 1962  [3]  neutralism of the era of parliamentary democracy became isolationism and non-involvement or negative neutralism (Maung Maung Gyi 1981). Ne Wins Revolutionary Council followed an ideology called the Burmese Way to Socialism, mixed with a strong xenophobia and nationalistic policy, and corollary to it, Myanmar withdrew from international community, shunning most of the diplomatic ties established during U Nus period. Ne Win heading the new military regime exhibited deep-seated antagonism towards the west and its support for Kuomintang (KMT) troops in Myanmar, distrusted India, and feared Chinese communist influence in the country (Turku 2009:124). Contact with the outside world was kept to an absolute minimum. The military denied joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations when it was formed in 1967 and even stunningly left the NAM in 1979, considering these organizations not neutral. Soon after coming to power, the Revolutionary Council enacted several laws clearly aimed at reducing any foreign influences over Myanmars economy and society. The government announced that it preferred only government to government aid of bilateral and multi-lateral programmes (Holmes 1967:189), and discontinued acceptance of aid from the American philanthropic organizations, the Ford and Asia Foundations, and also the Fulbright British Council programmes, as the military considered it belittling to accept aid from private organizations (Silverstein 1964:167). Freedom of press was denied and the government also acted forcefully to curb propaganda and information activities of all foreign diplomatic missions (Holmes 1967:189), thus denied people to deal directly with the outside world. Foreign diplomats and party officials (BSPP officials) were also subject to very strict set of rules (Turku 2009:192). If the party official sought to speak to a foreign national or issue/accept an invi tation from a foreigner they had to seek specific permission from the party, and upon return they had to give specific details on the conversations they had with foreigners (ibid.) The nationalisation programmes launched in February 1963 by the military government directly affected the Indians, Chinese, Anglo-Myanmese and Western agricultural, trade and banking communities, most of them were force to flee the country. The effort was indigenization of the economy by placing the private foreign owned enterprises in the hands of the people of Myanmar. Cynics argued that Myanmars new foreign policy basically meant no foreign policy at all apart from the concept of group survival; its embassies and consulates abroad did very little to improve relations with the host countries (Lintner 1992). Officially, the dictum friendship with all the countries of the world still remained a cornerstone of Myanmars foreign policy, but in practice, the country did not take any positive interest in furth ering friendly relations with other nations, except few (Singh 1977:181). As Lintner (1992) argues Myanmar under the military rule invented an intensely new dogma in foreign relations, that is, bilateralism, and preferably only with neighbours. General Ne Win made few official visits to Moscow, Peking and Washington, but few meaningful outcomes could be seen from the visits. For example, Ne Wins visit to USA in September 1966 related to some business affairs, military support for its anti-communist military campaign and to play golf. There were no real diplomatic ties and this diplomatic vacuum was well commented by one-Rangon (Yangon) based foreign envoy in 1988: We had no meaningful contact with any element of the Burmese government. They had a designated group of foreign ministry types who could come to our dinners and talk about golf and tennis, the weather and what fruits were in seasonduring my first three months in Burma, my backhand improved immensely, and I even took up the game of golf, which I had thought was just a waste of time. But I had time to waste (quoted in Lintner 1992, also see Lintner 1990:60-61). Under the leadership of the Ne Win, Myanmars military government sank into deep isolation. At the same time, because it had denied the economic benefits of engaging with other countries, and also since the military leaders lacked knowledge of managing economic affairs, the country gradually encountered economic recession. In response, the BSPP government showed inclination to international development assistance and projected its vast mineral wealth opportunities to the outside world. The government entered into development programmes with the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB and UNDP, as well as accepted increased bilateral aids. In 1976, World Bank set up an aid consortium, including Britain, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Australia and Canada for consultation and the establishment of a common policy regarding Myanmar (Charney 2009:145 ).The BSPP regime also softened its state-controlled and autarchic economic policy, and by mid 1980s, foreign aids and loans began to enter Myanmar. Although Japan and West Germany were the largest of the foreign aid donors, the Peoples Republic of China also emerged as a major source of loans to the country from 1970 (ibid.). However, the inflow of foreign loans also led to corresponding increase in long-term debt, producing a critical state of indebtedness by the mid 1980s. This together with internal political isolation and economic mismanagement produced socio-economic devastations forcing Myanmar to become one of the least developed countries in 1987. This shocked the proud and highly nationalistic people of Myanmar. It spurred the 1988 protests attracting the greatest international interest into the countrys political and economic situations. The brutal crackdown and suppression of the protest by the military junta was swiftly publicised in the international community and even tually western governments imposed sanctions to Myanmar. Many western governments including Japan, non-governmental organizations and business bodies ended operations in Myanmar. Immediately after the crackdown, US withdrew its ambassador from Myanmar. Sanctions by United States were formally enacted in 1997, which was further tightened after 2007, following the crackdown on the monks protest, until it was uplifted recently in 2012.  [4]  Some businesses such as Ciz Claiborne, Osh Kosh BGosh and Pepsi (which was a joint venture with a native businessman) ended operations in Myanmar due to pressure from American-based activists. Contrary to western governments, most of Myanmars neighbouring countries adopted policy of constructive engagement and as mentioned, in doing so they followed much of the vacuum created by international isolation of Myanmar. The country had normalised relationships with two neighbouring powers, China and India (see later), by skilfully exploiting the oppo rtunistic intention of the two countries. Thailand was also captured by the economic prospects which engagement with Myanmar could provide. Following these events, Myanmar made changes to its external relation positions. It gave up its strict non-aligned neutralism  [5]  and isolationism and joined the regional GMS-EC (1992), BIMSTEC (1997), ASEAN (1997) and ACMCES (2003). Myanmar joining ASEAN in 1997 had greatly enhanced the credibility of the legitimacy hungry military government, because the ASEAN, citing their doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of the member countries rallied to the Myanmar governments defence. All these indicate government of Myanmar willing to integrate with the world community, but as evident, it could be when it could provide more benefit to the country. The military regime undoubtedly preferred no foreign attention and involvement in its affairs. For example in 2005, the ruling military government SPDC shifted capital of the country f rom Yangon to a more reclusive region Naypyitaw where influence of outsiders would be so profound. Similarly, aftermath of cyclone Nargis 2008, Myanmar thought a long before letting in any humanitarian and relief aids to the affected people, and when it was allowed, the aid agencies and countries were often obstructed by the military. Moreover, preference was given to neighbours over the western countries. For the last six decades, Myanmar has lived in varying degree of isolationism and opportunistic engagement. During the period of strict isolationism, Myanmar maintained diplomatic relationship with all the countries; it discourages relationship between its people and those of other countries, to such an extent that it is like closing the country from the outside world and acts like a hermit of Asia. The military junta certainly not liked foreign attention and involvement in its internal affairs. Myanmar is interested in foreign aids and loans, external trade and investments, but it did not preferred to abandon its policy of isolation. The pro-democracy uprising of 1988 divided international communitys perception on Myanmar. The western role with regards to Myanmar had long been policy of sanction and isolation, which proved counter-productive. The western countries such as USA, countries of European Union, France, Australia and Asian country-Japan and South Korea, imposed sanctions o n Myanmar thus supplemented Myanmars policy of isolation. Myanmar juntas poor human right record and denial of democracy invited western ostracism. Certainly, the sudden international isolation and sanction policy hampered Myanmars economy badly, and this prompted Myanmars attention and open policy towards its immediate neighbours. The immediate neighbours of Myanmar have acted as a balancing act for the military junta. Myanmar and China China is the largest, the most powerful and practically the nearest of Myanmars neighbours. Historically, Myanmar experienced memory of fear, distrust and entrenched relationship in relation to its northern neighbour. In different periods of history, China posed a threat to the security and sovereignty of the monarchical Myanmar. Many strong Chinese dynasties had intervened in Myanmar kings affairs in different periods of history and caused considerable havoc. Kublai Khan sent armies from Yunnan in late 1980 to subjugate the kingdom of Pagan, effectively bringing to an end the first unified Burman kingdom (Seekins 1997:527). The last king of the Pagan dynasty, king Narathitrapate, earned the nickname Tarok Pye Min, meaning the king who ran away from the Chinese (Trager 1966:234). Chinese had invaded Myanmar during the Chinese Qing dynasty. It was an important event in the history of Myanmar that when Chinese Qing king launched several mission to subdue the arrogant Myanmar king betwe en 1765 and 1768, Chinese professional armies was utterly outfought and its viceroy was forced to sue for peace (Tinker 1967:338). Professor Yingcong Dai (2004) writes, not only did one after another commander-in-chief of the Qing dynasty fail to conquer Myanmar, but the Qing troops also suffered extremely heavy casualties. When Myanmar was incorporated into British Indian Empire, China adopted a cautious attitude in dealing with Myanmar. Myanmar became an independent country in 1948. Next year, the civil war in China had ended with victory of the communist over the nationalist Chinese. China became a communist country under the leadership of Mao Zedong, which was given official recognition by the Myanmar authority. In fact, Myanmar became the first non-communist country to give recognition to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).  [6]  However, in a world divided by ideological and power competitions, Myanmar adopted a policy of non-alignment and neutrality, whereas China became a staunch proponent of international communism considering all countries beyond the socialist camps as imperialist or controlled by imperialist or anti-revolutionary forces. As a result, Myanmese neutralism and non-alignment policy could not win the trust of the Chinese authority. China believed, whether in economic, military or political dimension Myanmars nature has not been changed; it is still a typical country even after its independe nce (Hongwei 2012:15). Hongwei (2007:18) cites Chinese authorities comment on Myanmars neutralism and non-alignment as follows: On one side, Burma is bordering China, and hence do not dare to side with the imperialists [the West] and make China an enemy. At the same time, when Burma is having controversies with the imperialists, they want the support of China and the Soviet Union. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) On the other hand, the ruling class in Burma (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) is to a relatively large degree depending on the imperialists. On occasion, the Chinese government expressed its dislike for the Myanmese leaderships alleged readiness to let the western powers (Great Britain and United States) influence over Myanmars economy and politics. For instance, on September 3, 1952, when Chou-en-Lai visited Moscow and talk with Stalin, he stated that the Myanmese government conceal its real position on China, but it actually pursued the policy of anti-China following the UK and US lead (Hongwei 2012:15). In other words, during the period 1948-1962, China was not at all excited by the idea of Myanmar being an independent country as the Chinese still considered Myanmar to be under foreign influence. Conversely, Myanmars threat perception to its national security from China did not vanished even after independence. The Chinese factor, in turn, influenced Myanmar in adopting a policy of non-alignment and neutrality in a world divided by power politics and cold war. As Thomson (1957:336) writes, fear of antagonizing China ha s also been at least partially responsible for Burmas policy of neutralism. The first factor standoff in the Myanmar-China relations in the initial years of the independence was the unauthorised occupation by the remnants of the Chinese Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) in Myanmars northern border. When Mao Zedong had established a communist regime in China in 1949, armed forces loyal to Chaing-Kai-Sheik, the KMT leaders, by crossing over Yunnan province established base in the eastern part of the Shan state. It is alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supplied money and arms to the illegal KMT forces, and encouraged them to raid into communist China from Myanmars border soil (Choudhary 2000:424, Seekins 1997:527). The Myanmese authority feared that China would use this as a pretext to invade Myanmar, and occupy the unsettled border areas under the guise of the elimination of the KMT troops (Hongwei 2012:14). Myanmar also feared that China would misunderstood that it was intentionally proving shelter to the KMT remnants and supportin g Taiwan and the US anti-communist policy toward China (ibid.). Myanmars fear and distrust for China continued and as a result, Myanmar was very cautious in dealing with China. The two countries established formal diplomatic ties early in 1950s. While Myanmar attempted to deliberately avoid antagonizing China, China, in response, adopted a dual strategy. On the one side, China pursued a policy of establishing good diplomatic relationship with the government of the Union of Myanmar by establishing diplomatic ties and exchanging official visits, on the other side, it sympathized Communist rebel in Myanmar. It can be mentioned here that immediately after independence Myanmar faced severe threat to its national security from the communist rebels and ethnic insurgents. During this turbulent years of internal revolts, China extended covert sympathy in cause of the revolting communist rebels in Myanmar by endorsing party-to-party relations between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the White Flag Communist Party (BCP) of Myanmar led by Than Tun. The Chinese authority rendered psychological support and strategic advices to the BCP which was not liked by the Myanmese authority. So, the BCP with the support of the Chinese posed a serious threat to Myanmars national security.  [7]  This factor greatly held back the growth of a close and warmth government-to-government relations between Myanmar and China. Nevertheless, the bilateral relationship achieved significant milestone in 1954 when the Chinese Premier Chou-en-Lai visited Rangon in 1954, and with his Myanmese counterpart U NU issued a joint statement declaring the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence which henceforth acted as the basis for the Myanmar-China relationship.  [8]  The government-to-government ties were further strengthened when U NU paid back a visit to China latter in the year 1954. Not to attract communist Chinas wrath over the KMT issue, the previous year, the Myanmese authority had so ught attention and support of the United States and United Nations. In 1953, Myanmar asked the United States to cancel its aid programme to the KMT remnants, and took the question of illegal Chinese nationalist forces inside Myanmar to the United Nations (Choudhary 2000:242).  [9]  However, despite the efforts of the world body, only a partial repatriation of the Chinese nationalist troops to Taiwan was affected, and the remaining KMT soldiers settled down in the Shan state and became involved with the Myanmese ethnic and political dissents and active in the illegal opium trade (ibid.) until the forces had been uprooted in late 1980s. The more significant development between Myanmar-China relations came when the two governments had managed to reach agreement on the historical issue of border settlement in 1960. The Sino-Myanmar border treaty was signed in 1960 defining the international boundary between the two countries. The same year the two countries also signed a treaty of f riendship and mutual non-aggression which reinforced the treaty of 1954.  [10]  According to the treaty, the two parties would not invade each other and refrain from any military alliance directed against the other party. In 1961, Chinas People Liberation Army (PLA) and army of Myanmar launched joint operations against the KMT forces operating between their borders. The period before the military led By Ne Win had establish political control in Myanmar in 1962, Sino-Myanmar relation was nervously friendly. Myanmar, during this period, was very cautious not to offend PRC and courted its friendship because, unlike India, China posed potential threat to interfere in Myanmese internal affairs due to presence of KMT forces inside Myanmars northern border and also it adopted policy of export of revolution. Myanmar adopted and pursued policy of non-alignment and neutrality, and showed friendly gestures, which were largely grounded on maintaining its national security and freedom of action. The country maintained policy of neutrality during the Sino-Tibet affairs of 1950 and refused to brand China an aggressor in Korean Crisis of 1951 in United Nations meetings. But, the Chinese dual-track policy toward Myanmar continued. In 1957, U Nu spoke in Myanmars parliament that new Chinas relationship with the insurrectional BCP are not clear, but expressed some fraternal case (cited in Hongwei 2012:12). To China, Myanmars non-alignment and neutralism was not genuine, but fickle and unpredictable. Thus, though there was mutual suspicion and mistrust, the period 1949-1962 was a period of ambivalent peaceful co-existence in the bilateral relatio

Saboteur by Ha Jin | Analysis

Saboteur by Ha Jin | Analysis Reading Saboteur was really ironic for me because I grew up in this kind of controlled place, and I could really relate to these feelings that Mr. Chiu had. In Poland, until I was about ten years old we were under the control of communist Russia. I remember that the government required every person to have their permission to get food. They did not let us use money; we had to apply for special vouchers and everybody was allowed the same amount because communism philosophy was that everyone is equal. There were many times that I saw this kind of totalitarian control by the police. For example, if someone said something against the government that they didnt like, they could go to jail. Even worse, if some government official didnt like someone, they would be falsely accused and sent to jail, even though the government officials were the bad guys and the person had done nothing wrong. Ha Jins short story Saboteur is filled with ever increasing irony from beginning to end that finally c limaxes in the main character, Mr. Chiu, becoming that which he was falsely accused of being. Ha Jins tale of Mr. Chius unfair arrest, imprisonment and eventual release in Muji City, China after the Cultural Revolution is filled with irony. The story opens at the end of Mr. Chiu and his wifes honeymoon. Mr. Chiu had suffered from acute hepatitis and he was feeling like he was recovering but still worried about his liver. This is where one of the first ironic events occurs. They were having lunch in the square, waiting for the time to catch their train home, when the policeman at the next table threw a bowl of tea on their sandals. Mr. Chiu is obviously upset, and he asks the officers why they threw the tea. The officer tells Mr. Chiu that he is lying, and that he wet his shoes himself. The policemen arrest Mr. Chiu after he asks Why violate the laws you are supposed to enforce? (Jin par.15). The young officer then told Mr. Chiu Youre a saboteur, you know that? Youre disrupting the public order (par.17). This situation is very ironic because Mr. Chiu was minding his own business, doing nothing to disrupt the public. The police, who are supposed to keep the order, were the ones disrupting it. Many times, in communist coun tries, the enforcers of the law and rules end up being the ones who break them the most. After Mr. Chius arrest, he was taken to the Interrogation Bureau. He was asked some standard questions and we learned that he as a member of the Communist Party. Then the chief told him Your crime is sabotage, although it hasnt induced serious consequences yet You have failed to be a model for the masses (par.40). Mr. Chui argued his side of the story trying to convince the chief that it was actually the police officers who were the saboteurs. The other man in the room then showed Mr. Chiu some statements given by eyewitnesses. The statements all said that Mr. Chiu had shouted in the square and refused to obey the police. Mr. Chiu was feeling sick. The chief told him that he would have to apologize and write a self criticism. Mr. Chiu told the chief, I wont write a word because Im innocent. (par.51). This whole scene is ironic because it is again the police who are saboteurs. They went so far as to get false statements to force Mr. Chiu confess to a crime that he did not commit. He r efused to do that. Mr. Chiu was feeling very sick. He asks one of the guards to let their leader know of his condition when he is informed that no leader is on duty on the weekend. Mr. Chui resolved himself to take his detention with ease, and he tried to be restful to not irritate his hepatitis more. When he woke up Monday, he heard moaning. Mr. Chiu looked out of his window, and realized that it was his lawyer handcuffed to a tree in the heat. The lawyer had been sent by his wife to get him out of the jail, and now he was being tortured for calling the boss a bandit. This is another instance of irony because it shows the upholders of the laws breaking them. Mr. Chiu is taken to the interrogation room again after seeing his lawyer friend get more punishment. He felt helpless, and knew the only way to help was to sign a confession for a crime he did not commit. The chief told him he didnt have to write it himself, only sign it. The confession said I myself and responsible for my arrestI have realized the reactionary nature of my crimeshall never commit that kind of crime again (par.95). Even though he was furious, he signed it to help his friend. Mr. Chiu and the lawyer left the police station, and then they stopped at many tea stands and restaurants. While eating little bits at each place, he kept saying I wish I could kill all those bastards! (par.106). Within a month over eight hundred people got hepatitis and six died. The irony here is that Mr. Chiu is the one who spread his disease, disrupting public order, they crime he was falsely accused of. This story has many wonderful instances of irony, and if we look even closer, we can see even more irony when we tie all of the past events to the ending. Even though Mr. Chiu takes the only revenge he can, becoming what he was falsely accused of by spreading his disease around because he was reacting to the crime against him. The real saboteurs were the police. If the police had not falsely accused Mr. Chiu, they would not have spread hepatitis to their city, disrupting the public. They are the ones who wrote the confession, and those were the crimes they were guilty of.

Cerebellar Lesions and the Neurologist :: Brain Neurology Cerebellum Essays

Cerebellar Lesions and the Neurologist What is a Neurologist? A neurologist is a medical doctor trained in the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system disorders including diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles (www.neurologychannel.com). Common nervous system diseases treated by neurologists include multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, headaches, stroke or injury to the nervous system. The types of diagnostic tests employed by neurologists to detect neurological problems include: †¢ the CAT (computed axial tomography) scan; †¢ the MRI/MRA (magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic response angiography); †¢ lumbar puncture (or spinal tap); †¢ EEG (electroencephalography); †¢ and the EMG/NCV (electromyography/nerve conduction velocity). (www. Neurologychannel.com) A neurologist can also prescribe medications to treat diseases or may refer a person to a neurological surgeon if surgical treatment is needed. (www.my.webmd.com) Most of their patients are referred to them by other doctors who suspect their patients problem/s are neurologically related. Unsure as to exactly what neurological problem their patients are afflicted with, neurologists act as a kind of medical detective and work to figure out what the neurological problem is, what brain structure is implicated in the problem, where in that brain structure the problem is based, the severity of the problem, its future implications, and how the problem can be treated (Phone interview conducted with Licensed Nurse Practitioner and Neurological Specialist Douglas Lucas 4/05). This ‘detective work’ is done through a careful screening process. A neurological examination includes a series of questions and tests that provide crucial information about the nervous system. For the most part, it is an inexpensive, non-invasive way to determine what might be wrong. The neurological examination is divided into several components, each focusing on a different part of the nervous system. These components include testing patients mental status, cranial nerves, motor system, sensory system, the deep tendon reflexes, coordination and the cerebellum, and gait. (www.neurologychannel.com) Testing for coordination and cerebellum, for example, is designed to provide clues conditions that affect the cerebellum. For example, â€Å"the neurologist may ask patients to move their finger from their nose to the neurologist’s finger, going back and forth from nose to finger, touching the tip of each. Patients also may be asked to tap their fingers together quickly in a coordinated fashion or move their hands one on top of the other, back and forth, as smoothly as they can. Coordination in

Improving Language Acquisition in Bilingual Children Essay -- learning

For most bilingual speakers, the English language is hard to navigate. Like an unknown street, not natural to them, they stumble to find the words to say what they want to say; they trip over cracks of pronunciation, taking wrong turns over careless misuse, out of context phrasing, as they attempt to follow the rules of ambiguous signage established by others. â€Å"Uh, um, hmmm, how do you say†¦?† A long pause follows. The image that comes to mind is of a student scratching at their head, hesitating before finally delivering the â€Å"right† word. It’s a matter of translating it to convey the correct meaning. Many bilingual speakers think out a process of word sorting that allows them to think through their vocabularies, sort, and choose a word that sounds right and is easy to say. A significant amount of bilingual speakers make every effort to learn how to say pronunciations that do not always readily translate from their native language; thus they struggl e to express themselves correctly in everyday conversations. Today in the U.S., The Department of Education reports that 21% of school-age children between the ages of 5 and 17 speak a language other than English at home. Studies have shown that students that first learn to speak languages other than English often face neurolinguistic challenges, especially with the formation of organized thoughts for pronunciations and syntax. It is important that bilingual speakers in the U.S. become more comfortable and confident speaking English, but this can only be carried out and developed correctly if done at the right age and in the right environment. What makes for better bilingual speakers? It all depends on timing. Widely acclaimed linguistic psychologists like Patricia K. Kuhl and Steven ... ...go: College-Hill, 1984. 27-41. Print. Hatch, Evelyn M. "Introduction: A Perspective on Psycholinguistics." Psycholinguistics: A Second Language Perspective. Rowley: Newbury House, 1983. 1+. Print Hatch, Evelyn M. "Phonology." Psycholinguistics: A Second Language Perspective. Rowley: Newbury House, 1983. 12+. Print Badger, Emily. "Where 60 Million People in the U.S. Don't Speak English at Home." The Atlantic Cities. The Atlantic Cities, 6 Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Kim, K. H., Relkin, N. R., Lee, K. M., & Hirsch, J. (1997). Distinct cortical areas asso- ciated with native and second languages. Nature, 388(6638), 171–4. "Fact Sheets: Languages Spoken in the United States According to the 2000 U.S. Census." U.S. English. U.S. English, 200. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. Kuhl, Patricia. â€Å"The Linguistic Genius of Babies.† TEDTalks, Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Dangers of Online Dating Essay

In this article the author was relating teenage obesity to some of the dangerous activities that teens may be experimenting with. The authors theory was that since sometimes teenagers who are obese may be socially isolated, they may do things to try to fit in with the crowd. Also being socially isolated may cause stress. Some of these things may include experimenting with drugs and alcohol. One of these drugs might be cigarettes which can become very dangerous to an obese person because of the health risks involved. And it was said that although skinnier girls are more likely to have ever had sex, it was said that when an obese girl did have intercourse it will be more likely to happen under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Both of those are dangerous and cause these girls to be at risk or pregnancy or STD’s. This article could affect many of the overweight girls that are on this college campus. I believe that many people are introduced to the drug and alcohol world around this time in their life. And in college you need to protect yourself twice as much if you decide to engage in those activities, especially if you are at a college party or in a unfamiliar setting. Also many students start feeling the stress when they come to college and realize the work load. A way of coping with stress is substance use. Therefore, once again every body needs to be safe and smart when it comes to drug and alcohol use. The safest way is not to use drugs and alcohol. It ensures sober sex and a sober safe night.

The Impact of Transnational Corporations on Less Economically Developed Countries

A transnational (TNC) corporation is simply a large business organisation which operates and has ownership of assets in more than one country. Most TNCs operate in just a few countries, are involved in manufacturing and services and have their head offices in more developed countries. TNCs are responsible for employing over 40 million people worldwide, indirectly influence an even greater number, and to control over 75 per cent of world trade. At first, many branches of TNCs were located in economically less developed countries, but there has been an increasing global shift to the affluent markets of Europe, North America and Japan. The reason why TNCs originally decided to locate in less developed countries was due to the existence of valuable resources, but the most important reason was the level of incentives offered by the home government. Also read this  Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy If a TNC decides to settle in an LEDC, there will be huge benefits. Many new jobs will be created, which will be filled by local labour. The jobs will probably be better paid than other jobs supplied by industry which developed within the country. On the other hand, the wages will be much lower than the wages given for the same job in an MEDC. This is another reason why TNCs choose to create branches in LEDCs. The jobs supplied by the TNC will probably require some basic skills, especially if it involves the manufacture of a good. The education will be supplied by the TNC, and will probably be of a fairly high standard if they want the branch to be very productive. The employees will benefit from these skills, because they would be able to use them in other aspects of their lives. The TNC will supply the expensive machinery used in manufacturing for the employees, which may also introduce new technologies as well. This will enable the country to progress and allow companies to use the new technology to develop. Because worker wages is increasing, demand for consumer goods will increase as well, another reason why new companies will be tempted to develop. Mineral wealth and new energy resources will develop, Because there is more trade in the country, there will be more reason for roads to be built, as well as railways and airports. The TNC may help fund the development of these because it will improve the importing and exporting ability of that country. The government will probably supply money for the transport links as well, due to the increasing amount of money coming into the country. The increased amount of money made by the country can also be used for many other things. Health control could be introduced, which means workers will be given improved working conditions and health plans. This could also help to improve output further because workers will be in a better environment and mood to work. Money can also be used for environmental control, which could include developing ways of minimizing the amount of pollution certain industries create and even developing new production methods. Although the advantages to the country are numerous, there is a negative side which includes many disadvantages. Although the new TNC will supply many jobs, the cost of investment will be high. The new TNC will know that wages in the target country are very poor and so they will not have to pay workers as nearly as much as they pay employees in MEDCs. This is quite unfair, because the TNC is taking advantage of the people in the LEDC. Furthermore, employees will be made to work very long hours with little or no breaks. The TNC will most likely choose not to employ local highly skilled workers, because they will expect higher salaries and better working conditions. This will mean that low skilled people will be given jobs, but higher skilled workers will remain unemployed. As previously mentioned, the TNC will most probably enjoy large profits if they set up branches in LEDCs. The problem is most of this money will not stay within the country because the main branch of the TNC will be situated in an MEDC. This means money will not stay in the LEDC; there will be an outflow of wealth. If money is going abroad, the GNP of the TNC will increase rapidly. The GNP of the LEDC used will increase as well, but at a slower rate. This means that development speed of the MEDC will far exceed that of the LEDC. This defeats one of the main reasons why TNCs setup branches overseas; they want the country to catch up with the growth rate of other countries. Technological advancements in the LEDC can eventually cause problems. Mechanisation will mean that fewer workers are needed because robots can do the jobs that the workers once did. The only workers needed will those used to maintain the machinery, which means the work force will be decreased substantially. The raw materials which are located in the LEDC will most probably be exported instead of manufactured locally. If the country is using as lot of energy to develop, then this can cause a national debt. Therefore, the rate of development will be stunted and the country will have been taken advantage of. This could cause upset within the workforce, creating strikes. This can cause further problems because the firm is not located within the country. They could choose to pull out when ether they like, meaning many jobs would be lost. This would not be a great loss to the TNC though, as they have many other branches they can rely on. The money created by these TNCs would probably be better off spent on improving housing, diet and sanitation than roads and airports for trade. The problem is that the TNC would not benefit as much from these improvements so it does not concern them. The development of new firms can damage the environment because land must cleared for factories to be built. This could destroy the natural homes of species of animals, which is very difficult to correct. Because the target country will not be aware of the amount of pollution produced by industry, the laws on pollution control will not be as tight as the country where the firm is located. This could cause health problems, especially if a lot of waste is produced and dumped into the local water supply, for example. It is clear that there are many advantages and disadvantages in terms of TNCs creating branches in other countries. The real problem is that the disadvantages mostly affect the target country, not the TNC. So until LEDCs are aware of the problems caused by firms settling in their country, the chance of the growth of TNCs slowing down is very small. This could cause the gap between the levels of development in LEDCs and MEDCs to become even wider in the future.