War on Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

War on Terrorism - Research Paper Example The invasion of Afghanistan is seen as the first action of this war, and initially involved forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Afghani Northern Alliance. Since the initial invasion period, these forces have been augmented by troops from Germany, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2005-2006, Canadian forces there will be increased to over 2000 troops. Canada also supported coalition efforts in Operation Archer, Operation Apollo, Operation Altair, and Operation Athena as part of the ongoing support for Operation Enduring Freedom. The Canadian government, however, does not recognize Iraq as part of the informal network of support for the attacks of 9/11 and as such, has declined to send Forces to that theatre of operations, although scores of them are on assignment to US Forces - mostly assisting in AWACS operations. (Richard Miniter. October 2005) Support for the United States cooled when America made clear its determination to invade Iraq in late 2002. The United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Poland, and Australia joined the "coalition of the willing", unconditionally supporting U.S.-led military action. Other countries, including Canada, Germany, France, Pakistan, and New Zealand opposed military action and blocked American attempts to pass a UN resolution explicitly backing military action. Countries that did not participate in the invasion but who have made themselves parts of the reconstruction and peacekeeping efforts include Ukraine, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Romania. Many of the 'Coalition of the willing' countries also have sent troops to Afghanistan, particular neighboring Pakistan which has disowned its earlier support for the Taliban and contributed tens of thousands of soldiers to the conflict. Support for the "War on Terrorism": Supporters assert that democracy in traditionally authoritarian countries has a transformative power that will add to peace and stability. Supporters downplay civilian casualties by arguing that many who live near terrorist cells are likely to support them materially, although this would imply that western tax-payers should be considered legitimate targets by those opposing western military action. Some argue that war could act as a deterrent against terrorists, demonstrating to potential recruits that they would face certain retribution. This argument may hold less water in reference to suicide terrorism, or when terrorists expect to become martyrs, but can be argued to deter such attacks by weakening the logistical base which provides martyrs with explosives and points them toward effective targets. (Gary C. Schroen. May 2005) Some analysts argue that democracy in the Middle East will elevate Islamists, including radicals, who will use democratic institutions to gain power but then implement their autocratic agenda. Democracy can also lead to instability. In short, things may get worse before they get better, which may be bad news for the US. Many however believe that in the long run increased democratic governance or the break up of static autocracies will lead to a better outcome than the status quo even if the emerging governments initially oppose U.S. policies. Some furthermore argue that any type of somewhat democratic government would find more common ground with the U.S. than the existing ones even if rapprochement was gradual and difficult.

Advantages of Living with Parents in College Essay Example for Free

Advantages of Living with Parents in College Essay When we see graduation caps in the sky, accompanied with laughter, applause and cry, it is a signal that we just welcome ourselves to the new world after high school. As we step into a college world as a new and fresh collegian, there are many facets that we have to think and decide, especially accommodation. Some people choose to live in the college dorms – making new friends and having more social activities, some other choose to share a house with couple of housemates, or just simply rent a flat and live independently. But, there are some that just decide to stay in town and live with their family. This last choice has three main advantages that we can consider: expense, support, and facilities. The first basic advantage of living with family, or parents, is expense. Imagine hearing your door knocked in the morning, and facing your landlord who demands your rent paid as the start of the day? Or when you can’t dial any number in the phone because you haven’t paid the telephone bill? And, the worst, when you don’t even have enough money to buy yourself breakfast because your parents haven’t sent you any monthly money? Well, you won’t have that drove of problems when you live with your parents. Expenses like food (especially healthy and delicious food), telephone, electricity, and many other will be covered by your parents, so that you can still save your own personal money. You don’t even have to pay more for movies or other leisure things when you hang out with your family. This first aspect of living with family is very, very efficient and helpful to save money! Another important facet of living with your parents is support. Being with family and living in your own home help you a lot when you have your transition phase from high school or college. It would be easier not to face other transition major adaptations, like being lonely in your own room, feeling aloof from family, meeting new hostile roommate who you are not connected to and start to adjust your own finance. You will have your family right beside you, and you will always feel like home. You will also be discipline and controlled since you still have curfew and ‘parents rules’. You can also keep your old friends around you, and you won’t even have to give up your old routines like playing tennis with your dad every Saturday or working in the grotesque diner down the street. This second advantage can make you feel like you are still the old you and you don’t even have to give up a thing. Last but not least, facilities can also be another advantage of living with your parents. You will still have anything you need for college like computer, electricity, internet, printer, scanner, or even fax machine, and they are all for free! Yet again, no expenses wasted. You also don’t have to wait the jamming docket bus that comes late in the morning, because you have transportation that keeps you punctual – somehow going to college in your mum’s car is okay! There won’t be any piling laundry because they are all taken care of. You can also have your own bathroom with hot water and hairdryer, plus clean towels every night. The point is it will be much easier for you to have your needed facility when you’re at home, especially without spending any cent. Living outside your house, like in the dorms or flats, won’t give you this kind of comfort. These three advantages show us that living with parents might be embarrassing and less challenging, but it can be considered since it saves a lot of money and gives you a lot of comfort and support. It can even be less expensive than sharing a house with other housemates! From not paying much of expenses, living in your old room every night, and having more facilities, doesn’t it sound like fun?

Human Gait Analysis and Recognition

Human Gait Analysis and Recognition Gait, as a promising unintrusive biometric, has attracted several researchers in recent years. In intelligent surveillance, the advantage of accessibility at a distance makes gait a promising behavior characteristic for recognition. Human identification from arbitrary views may be a terribly very drawback, particularly once one is walking at a distance. Over the previous couple of years, recognizing identity from gait patterns has become a well-liked space of analysis in life science and pc vision, and one among the foremost made applications of image analysis and understanding. Also, gait recognition is being thought of as a next-generation recognition identification technology , with pertinence to several civilian and high security environments like airports, banks, military bases, car parks, railway stations etc. For these application situations, its unimaginable to capture the frontal face, and is of low resolution. therefore most of ancient approaches used for face recognition fail; but, many studies have shown that its doable to spot human notwithstanding frontal face isnt visible, and its doable to ascertain the identity of the person victimization bound static and dynamic cues from face, ear, walking vog ue, hand motion throughout walking etc. If automatic identification systems may be engineered supported victimization these identity specific cues, itll be a good contribution to police work and security space. And our aim is to ascertain identity by victimization long vary gait biometric in conelike read points. Gait may be a behavioural biometric thats superior in person’s authentication. The attractiveness of gait as a biometric arises from the very fact that its nonintrusive and might be detected and measured even in low resolution video. Gait as a biometric technique has some blessings like being troublesome to cover, steal, or fake. what is more, gait may be recognizable from distance. However, most alternative life science may be captured solely by physical contact or at an in depth distance from the recording probe. Moreover, users dont ought to unveil extra info concerning them apart from already obtainable. Despite the benefits enjoyed by gait, it faces several chal lenges that the present gait identification strategies ar sensitive to such as: variety of garments, illumination changes, persons speed and directions. we tend to use human gait skeleton recognition system the peak of someone as another modality Windows 7 or Windows 8 (32 or 64 bit) Processor: 2.5 GHz (1.8 GHz recommended) 4 GB RAM (2 GB RAM recommended) High-speed USB 3.0 recommended Kinect XBOX 360 Sensor Camera Features: The Kinect works as a 3D camera by capturing a stream of colored pixels with data concerning the depth of every pixel. every component within the image contains a value that represents the space from the sensing element to an object therein direction. This hardware feature offer developers the means that for making a touch-less and immersive user expertise through voice, movement and gesture management though it doesnt inherently perform any chase or recognition operations, feat all such process to package. Skeleton chase is usually handled by the SDK with gesture recognition left to the developer, although multiple libraries exist to help in recognition of gestures. additionally, speech recognition is finished by external SDKs like the Microsoft Speech Platform. The Kinect sensor as shown in Figure 6.1 has the following properties and functions: An RGB Camera that stores three channel data in a 1280960 resolution at 30Hz. The camera.s field of view as specified by Microsoft is 43 ¢X vertical by 57 ¢X horizontal. The system can measure distance from a 500mm to 3500mm. An infrared (IR) emitter and an IR depth sensor used for capturing depth image. An array of four microphones to capture positioned sounds. A tilt motor which allows the camera angle to be changed without physical interaction and a three-axis accelerometer which can be used to determine the current orientation of the Kinect. Hardware Interface The sensor interface with the PC via a standard USB 2.0 port; however an additional power supply is needed because the USB port cannot directly support the sensors power consumption. Hardware and Software Requirements According to Microsoft, the PC that is to be used with the Kinect sensor must have the following minimum capabilities: (a) 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processors,(b) Dual-core, 2.66-GHz or faster processor,(c) USB 2.0 bus dedicated to the Kinect, and (d) 2 GB of RAM. To access Kinectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s capabilities, the following software is also required to be installed on the developerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s PC: Microsoft Visual Studio 2010/2012 Express or other Visual Studio edition. The development programming languages that can be used include C++, C# (C-Sharp), and Visual Basic. Software Requirements Operating System: Windows 7 or Windows 8 Programming Tool: Mat lab MATLAB MATLAB may be a superior language for technical computing. It integrates computation, visual image, associate degreed programming in an easy-to-use surroundings wherever issues and solutions area unit expressed in acquainted notation. Typical uses include: Math and computation Algorithm development Data acquisition Modeling, simulation, and prototyping Data analysis, exploration, and visual image Scientific and engineering graphics Application development, together with graphical program building MATLAB is associate degree interactive system whose basic information component is associate degree array that doesnt need orientating. this enables you to unravel several technical computing issues, particularly those with matrix and vector formulations, during a fraction of the time it might desire write a program during a scalar no interactive language like C or algebraic language. The name MATLAB stands for matrix laboratory. MATLAB was originally written to supply easy accessibility to matrix computer code developed by the LINPACK and EISPACK comes. Today, MATLAB engines incorporate the LAPACK and BLAS libraries, embedding the state of the art in computer code for matrix computation. MATLAB has evolved over a amount of years with input from several users. In university environments, its the quality educational tool for introductory and advanced courses in arithmetic, engineering, and science. In trade, MATLAB is that the tool of selection for high-productivity analysis, development, and analysis. Image Acquisition Toolbox Acquire images and video from industry-standard hardware Image Acquisition Toolboxâ„ ¢ permits us to accumulate pictures and video from cameras and frame grabbers directly into MATLAB ® and Simulink ®. youll notice hardware mechanically and piece hardware properties. Advanced workflows allow you to trigger acquisition whereas process in-the-loop, perform background acquisition, and synchronize sampling across many multimodal devices. With support for multiple hardware vendors and business standards, youll be able to use imaging devices starting from cheap net cameras to high-end scientific and industrial devices that meet low-light, high-speed, and alternative difficult necessities. Together, MATLAB, Image Acquisition toolbox, and Image process Toolboxâ„ ¢ (and, optionally, Video and Image process Block setâ„ ¢) offer an entire atmosphere for developing custom-made imaging solutions. will acquire pictures and video, visualize information, develop process algorithms and analysis techniques, and build GUIs. Key Features Support for common OS interfaces for webcams, as well as Direct Show, QuickTime, and video4linux2. Support for a variety of business and scientific hardware vendors. Multiple acquisition modes and buffer management choices. Synchronization of multimodal acquisition devices with hardware triggering. Interactive tool for fast hardware configuration, image acquisition, and live video previewing. Support for C code generation in Simulink. Graphical Interface for Image and Video Acquisition The Image Acquisition Tool could be a graphical interface for operating with image and video acquisition devices and is similar temperament for interactive configuration of cameras. youll browse all hardware devices out there on your laptop, amendment device settings, choose an Region Of Interest (ROI), preview a buying deal, acquire pictures and video, and record knowledge. A preview window helps verify and optimize your acquisition parameters by mechanically reflective any changes created to camera properties within the video stream. The Image Acquisition Tool is a place to begin within the development of automatic and custom image acquisition and process systems. Image Acquisition in MATLAB Image Acquisition toolbox provides graphical tools and a programmatic interface to assist to figure with image acquisition hardware in MATLAB. youll modify repetitive tasks, produce workflows combined with tasks like image process, and build standalone feasible that acquire pictures and video with MATLAB Compilerâ„ ¢. The toolbox allows you to customize the acquisition method to incorporate integration image process practicality to spot objects, enhance imagination, or construct mosaics and birds-eye views because the information is acquired. Connecting to Hardware Image Acquisition toolbox mechanically detects compatible image and video acquisition devices. every device affiliation is encapsulated as associate object, providing associate interface for configuration and acquisition. youll be able to produce multiple affiliation objects for coinciding acquisition from as several devices as your laptop and imaging hardware support. Image Acquisition tool chest are often used on Windows ®, Linux ®, and Macintosh ® systems, sanctioning you to recycle code once connecting to an equivalent camera in several operational systems. Acquiring Image Data Image Acquisition toolbox supports many modes, together with background acquisition and continuous acquisition, whereas process the noninheritable information. The chest mechanically buffers information into memory, handles memory and buffer management, and allows acquisition from an ROI. The image acquisition engine is meant to accumulate imagination as quick as your camera and laptop will support, sanctioning analysis and process of high-speed imaging applications. Data are often noninheritable during a wide selection of information sorts, together with signed or unsigned 8-, 16-bit and 32-bit integers and single- or double-precision floating purpose. The chest supports any color area provided by the image acquisition device together with RGB, YUV, or grayscale. Raw sensing element information during a pain pill pattern are often mechanically born-again into RGB information. Performing Image Acquisition in Simulink Simulink could be a block-diagram based mostly setting unremarkably used for video system style and multi domain simulations. Image Acquisition tool case provides a Simulink block that allows you to capture pictures and video knowledge directly from any device supported by the tool case to be used in imaging system styles. Combined with Video and Image process Block set, the tool case helps you to perform simulation and verification of image or video process system styles with live image or video knowledge. Code Generation Image Acquisition toolbox enables you to generate a C code interface to a deployable library for the Simulink block. this permits you to style a video system and integrate acquisition practicality into your own applications while not having to perform low-level writing with hardware drivers. Code generation conjointly permits Simulink speedy Accelerator modes, that speed up simulations by providing higher performance and frame rates for image and video process simulations. Triggering and Acquisition Customizations Image Acquisition toolbox supports multiple trigger varieties to customise the acquisition process: immediate, manual, and hardware. Initiating a sale with a manual trigger offers in depth management over once to start acquisition. In some applications, youll need to record at a high frame rate, perform acquisition only Associate in Nursing object is detected, or once a proximity warning is issued as a trigger. In these things, youll write MATLAB code to form the logic to activate a manual trigger that may be controlled by the tool chest. Hardware triggers, that ar device-specific, allow you to synchronize your acquisition among many multimodal devices to an external signal. this allows you to record imagery together with alternative analog and digital input sources.

Human cloning: what are the ethics, applications and potential undesira

Mankind has always tried to extend his knowledge about the properties of every living thing; it is an integral part of human nature. What is also important about it is that there is constant disagreement in new views between scientists and society. One such problem is the question of human cloning. Firstly, the term â€Å"cloning† must be defined: â€Å"Cloning is the production of an exact genetic duplicate of a living organism or cell† (Baird 2002, 20). This procedure not only led to producing a sheep, Dolly, but it can also have other very useful applications. Using different methods of cloning is expected to change radically the process of organ transplantation and it is a way of finding appropriate treatments of diseases. As a result of this sick people can be cured and other cases might be prevented. Despite these apparently positive applications, there are some very weighty arguments against human cloning, the main one being that the idea of cloning runs counter to religion and centuries-old principles. The aim of this paper is to consider the ethics of human cloning and analyse its applications and potential drawbacks. Main body There is one very important aspect about cloning – in general there are two basic methods of cloning: reproductive and therapeutic. Not everyone is acquainted with this information, so when the word â€Å"cloning† is used, it evokes the concept of reproductive cloning, â€Å"armies of obedient replicants†, which may appear risible, but â€Å"22% of respondents in ... Time/CNN poll gave this fear as their reason for opposing reproductive cloning† (Levy and Lotz 2005, 234). The following will describe the procedure of reproductive cloning, the reasons for rejecting it and arguments for this method. The aim of reprod... ...ificially conceived. It also has not been proven so far that he would have another constitution or different from usual people’s necessities of life. As it was written above, cloning could be helpful for infertile couples that want to have genetically close children to them. Nevertheless, opponents think that genetics is not compulsory in this situation and it is possible to love adopted children as well as own, so long as the role of mutual understanding is more important than genes. At the same time everyone has a right to marry and to have children, so why it is immoral to have a cloned offspring, if it would make parents happier and possibly will improve demographics in some countries. To sum up the theme of reproductive cloning is complicated and there is no single point of view in all categories, however, discussion of therapeutic cloning is no less complex.

Introduction Hacienda Luisita

Introduction Hacienda Luisita was once part of the holdings of Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas, Sociedad Anonima, better known as Tabacalera, which was founded on November 26, 1881 by a Spaniard from Santander, Cantabria and Santiago de Cuba, Don Antonio Lopez y Lopez. He was the first Marques de Comillas and was famous for being an associate of the first Spanish Prime Minister with foreign blood, the Spanish-Filipino mestizo Don Marcelo Azcarraga y Palmero. His relative on his Spanish side, Ricardo Padilla, married Gloria Zobel y Montojo (younger half sister of Mercedes Zobel de Ayala de McMicking, largest Zobel owner in the Ayala group of companies) and was an aide-de-camp of Juan de Borbon, Count of Barcelona, father of the current King of Spain, His Majesty DonJuan Carlos de todos los Santos de Borbon y Borbon-Dos Sicilias. The estate was named after Antonio's wife, Luisa Bru y Lassus. Their son, Claudio Lopez, the second to hold the title , donated some of the profits to the Jesuits to create the Pontifical University of Comillas, a university outside Madrid. Lopez acquired the estate in 1882, a year before his death. Lopez was a financial genius who parlayed his work adventures in Cuba and Latin America into a steamship, companies and trading businesses. He was the most influential Spanish businessman of his generation and counted the Prime Minister and the King of Spain as his personal friends. Tabacalera was a private enterprise he founded with the sole intention of taking over the Philippine Tobacco Monopoly from the Spanish colonial government. This included the Hacienda Antonio (named after his eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter) in Cagayan and Isabela provinces where the legendary La Flor de Isabela cigar was cultivated. Tabacalera’s incorporators were the Sociedad General de Credito Inmobiliario Espanol, Banque de Paris which is now Paribas and Bank of the Netherlands which is now ABN-AMRO. The sugar and tobacco in the Philippines were the reason why the Lopez de Comillas family were able to donate such a huge pontifical university to the Jesuits on top of lavishing on their home, the Palacio de Sobrellano in Comillas and the Guell park (designed by Gaudi) in Barcelona. Don Alfonso Guell y Martos born in 1958, the fourth Marquis of Comillas, currently holds the title. He is also the Count of San Pedro de Ruisenada, the third to hold that title. Both are grandee status in Spain and as such can address the King as â€Å"mi primo† or â€Å"my cousin. Contrary to what was expected, Spanish-owned Hacienda Luisita did not languish when the Americans took full control of the Philippine government. In fact, Tabacalera as a whole experienced prosperous times because of the legendary sweet tooth of the Americans. With Cuban sugar not enough for their domestic market, the Americans tapped the Philippines for its sugarcane requirements. At one point during pre-war Manila times, Hacienda Luisita supplied almost 20% of all sugar in the United States. Luisita sugar became popular among Filipino (specifically Ilocano) expatriates in America just as much as Victorias sugar was popular among Manila’s elite circles back home. The Americans also brought the centrifugal-based machinery which doubled the production of the estate and therefore did not require the cane to be loaded by truck to Laguna to be squeezed in the haciendas there, including those of the Roxas y Zobel families. As this new technology swept in Luzon and the sugar mills consolidated, many wealthy families fell into foreclosure or combined their resources. Some of the brave few like Honorio Ventura (who paid for Diosdado Macapagal’s schooling), the De Leons, Urquicos, Lazatins and the Gonzalezes did just that— which is how PASUDECO came into being. Structurally, there was little change in the hacienda; Tabacalera y Compania positionedSpanish-Filipino and American-Filipino encargados and administradores to manage the vast estate. Like all haciendas and tabacaleras in the Philippines, the Hacienda Luisita continued to operate during the Japanese occupation. The Japanese were bent on ensuring that commodities such as sugar and rice be made available to the majority of the Filipinos, therefore avoiding any tempers of additional insurgencies and guerilla movements. The Spanish-Filipino administrators simply placed their subordinates, Japanese journeymen (who, like many impoverished Chinese immigrants from Fujian fled south to the Philippines for a better life) and Korean stevedores working as machinists in the centrifugal system, to the helm. This kept both the Japanese and the Spanish in good terms as both their interests were protected. As a matter of fact, even before World War II, the Tabacalera had in their payroll a good number of Japanese migrant workers doing odd jobs around Hacienda Luisita. (Before 1942, the Philippines was a first class colony in Asia while Hong Kong and Singapore were poor cities; Tokyo and Japan as a whole was relatively closed from the outside world then). When the Japanese Imperial Army marched into the country, these lowly migrant workers became valuable translators and managers. In conjunction with re-taking the Philippines from the Japanese, on January 25, 1945 General Douglas MacArthur moved his advanced headquarters forward to Hacienda Luisita. In the 1950s, the onset of the Hukbalahap rebellion led the Spanish owners of Tabacalera to sell Hacienda Luisita and the sugar mill Central Azucarera de Tarlac. Ramon Magsaysay, then president of the Philippines, blocked the sale of the plantation to the eager and wealthy Lopezes of Iloilo. During those times the brothers Fernando Lopez and Eugenio Lopez as well as their cousins were one of the wealthiest in all of the Visayas Islands, save for a few Chinese Filipino families in Cebu and Leyte, as well as the Familias Aliadas de Villegas, Teves, Lopez, y Rodriguez (a family with origins from Santander, Galicia, & Asturias; as well as China – Teves). Fearing the Lopezes might become too powerful after already owning Meralco, Negros Navigation, Manila Chronicle, ABS-CBN, various haciendas in Western Visayas and then the nearby PASUMIL consortium in del Carmen, Pampanga that they purchased from the Americans, the President offered the property to Jose Cojuangco, nicknamed â€Å"Pepe† through Magsaysay protege and Cojuangco's son-in-law, Benigno Aquino. Magsaysay also knew the Cojuangcos through his wife, Luz, of the prosperous Banzons, an old Chinese Filipino family. Unfortunately, President Ramon Magsaysay died in Mount Manunggal, Cebu in 1957. The sale was consummated in President Carlos P. Garcia’s term, a close ally of then Senator Ferdinand Marcos and five years from the day President Magsaysay offered the land. The Jose Cojuangcos were wealthy in land and bank holdings and in Philippine pesos. They were not wealthy in United States dollars which was closely regulated then by the Philippine Central Bank. In fact, Pepe and his wife Metring were not able to send Pepe’s younger brother Eduardo Sr. (Danding Cojuangco’s father) to the United States for treatment for the mere fact that they could not exchange their pesos to dollars. Eduardo Sr or Endeng Lalake later died of kidney failure. The Jose Cojuangcos acquired the property in 1958 through a loan from the Government Service Insurance System and a dollar loan from the Manufacturers Trust Company of New York, which was guaranteed by the Central Bank of the Philippines, with consent from Miguel Cuaderno, its governor. Pepe also reduced his stake in the Paniqui Sugar Mills, though he and his cousins still managed it on behalf of his aunt, Ysidra Cojuangco, the matriarch. Hacienda Luisita was the largest investment he ever made. With the ink barely dry, he appointed not his eldest son Pedro but his son-in-law Benigno Aquino Jr as administrator. Pepe and Ninoy introduced an almost social welfare state: free medicines and check up, scholarships to colleges, free education, free food and equitable shares to the harvest, free child care and nutrition, free burials, a village with housing earmarked for the farmers, even free gasoline to the tractoras. Like the Paniqui Sugar Mills, not a single workers’ strike was instigated during their administration. Pepe barely made any money from the Hacienda Luisita. Understanding that the value of the Luisita is in the farmers who till it, he chose to rehabilitate the Filipinos who before were almost slaves under the Tabacalera. He was able to sustain these losses due in part of his other more money making investments in the Bank of Commerce and First Manila Management which owned the Pantranco buses and the Mantrade group. As Ferdinand Marcos was elected for a second term in 1969, the reverse happened to Pepe. At Bank of Commerce, where he and his brother Juan â€Å"Itoy† Cojuangco and nephews Ramon Cojuangco(later of PLDT; son of relative Antonio Cojuangco Sr) and Danding Cojuangco (eldest son of deceased brother Eduardo Cojuangco Sr) each owned equitable stakes, the last three factions planned a coup d’ etat by toppling him from the presidency of the said bank. The three did not want Pedro (Pepe’s first born) to be bank president which was against the aging Pepe’s wishes. To avoid a scandal, Pepe Cojuangco sold his remaining shares in Bank of Commerce, almost equal to 28%, to his relatives. Thus Pepe lost his one of eventually three lifelines in nurturing the Hacienda Luisita. As the 1970s crept in and immediately after Benigno Aquino Jr imprisonment on false charges, Pepe’s business empire began to wane. He was unable to purchase new machines and new technology for the aging sugar mill that stands in the middle of the estate because of the government’s refusal to Pantranco’s appeals for higher charges as compared to its competitors who have since been permitted so. Business critics believed it was Marcos’s way of pressuring Pepe to influence his son-in-law from attacking him and his wife, First Lady Imelda Marcos(who recently built the Cultural Center of the Philippines and whom Ninoy labeled as the new Evita Peron). His close business associate in First Manila Management of the Pantranco / Nissan Philippines / Mantrade fame, Manuel Lopa, died in 1974. With his death, the FMMC-Mantrade companies lost their immunity from the Marcoses (Manuel was a close personal friend of Speaker Daniel Romualdez, Imelda's uncle). Ambassador Benjamin Romualdez, brother of Imelda, then coerced Pepe and his son-in-law, Ricardo â€Å"Baby† Lopa (Manuel’s son) into selling the collection of 38 companies under First Manila Management to him. Baby and his wife Teresita Cojuangco, together with Pepe and the rest of the Lopa heirs, had no choice but to sell. The second lifeline disappeared with this extortion. In 1976, First United Bank, the banking concern Pepe built on his own after his ouster from the family owned Bank of Commerce which he saved from bankruptcy decades ago, was sold for an amicable amount to his nephew, Danding Cojuangco, who was then close to President Marcos, with both mothers being Ilocanas notwithstanding. The poorest branch of the Cojuangcos, the Eduardo branch, has become the richest through the sheer genius of Danding. Though this third lifeline disappeared in good terms, the Jose Cojuangcos were left with nothing but a half-rehabilitated and barely earningwhite elephant of a hacienda. Practically all of his farm workers mourned his death. Many flooded his funeral Mass to see him off. Pepe Cojuangco died on August 21, 1976, five years from the day of the Plaza Miranda bombing. His wife, Demetria Sumulong-Cojuangco, died due to colon cancer (the same disease that killed daughter Cory Aquino). Both died disappointed and broken-hearted. Their children and grandchildren zealously took key positions in the holding company to save the hacienda from the creditors, all of whom wanted to slice Luisita away save for Chinabank of Binondo, who defied the anger of President and Mrs. Marcos by continuing to help them. Chinabank was partly owned by the Dee, Sycip and Lim families. With Ninoy and his wife Cory Aquino in exile in Boston, the remaining children took drastic steps in ensuring that the hacienda continued to exist and operate. To maximize the productivity of sugar and therefore profitability, a certain level of economy must be reached. Thus the Jose Cojuangcos tried their best to keep the Luisita in one piece. They refurbished and re-used old 1950s era farm machines and tools, doubled capacity production maintained low expenses. There were a lot of reasons why Luisita remained in Cojuangco hands. One, it helped that Danding Cojuangco was the de facto kingpin of Tarlac and his kind mother Josephine Murphy Cojuangco was still cordial to them. For Marcos to touch Hacienda Luisita he also would have to force Agrarian Reform into the Ysidra Cojuangco haciendas which were under the supervision of Danding Cojuangco. Thus, many haciendas around Luisita were hacked to smaller pieces such as those of the De Leons[disambiguation needed ],Escalers, Urquicos, Arrastrias, Quiasons and Gonzalezes[disambiguation needed ] but not those of the Cojuangco. Two, it helped that the price of sugar spiraled so high because of President Marcos and Roberto Benedicto manipulating the sugar prices primarily in Negros Occidental. Third, Ninoy Aquino was not in the Philippines lambasting President Marcos in the underground movements. For as long as the Marcoses heard less of Pepe’s son-in-law, the less government pressure there was on the Jose Cojuangcos. Most importantly, it helped that most of the farm workers who remember Pepe understood the frugality measures his children had to implement. On Pepe’s death anniversary and that of the bombing of Plaza Miranda, Ninoy Aquino was gunned down in broad daylight, August 21, 1983. Upon the installation of his wife, Cory, Pepe’s daughter, the property was folded into the Hacienda Luisita Incorporated established on August 23, 1988. [1] In compliance with the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which at this time around did not exempt anyone whether or not they were close to President Marcos before, nearly 5,000 hectares of Hacienda Luisita were placed under astock distribution agreement between the landowners and farm workers. President Aquino wanted to make sure that all farmers’ rights are recognized. If the farmers agreed for a stock distribution agreement then the plantations would also remain intact. Many haciendas, including those assembled by Ysidra Cojuangco a century before, did not qualify or the farm hands there refused the offer. Thus, the majority of all Cojuangco lands disappeared while a Cojuangco was President of the Philippines. This caused a silent rift within the Cojuangco clan. All the lands where sugarcane and molasses were derived to feed the Paniqui Sugar Mills were hocked to appease the government program and those of the angry farm workers. Hacienda Luisita was saved by the perseverance of Cory’s siblings and the fact that most of the farm workers signed the agreement, counting that one day the life in Hacienda Luisita would be just as good as the time when Pepe and Ninoy used to managed it. However, development and new technology did not arrive in Cory Aquino’s term. She barred any relative from starting any new businesses. Furthermore, she forbade many among her siblings and cousins from retaking the family businesses lost in the 1970s unless it was sold back to them (as with the case between Romualdez selling back First Manila Management to the Lopa clan) or was awarded to them by the PCGG or Presidential Commission on Good Government. The old sugar mill in the middle of Luisita remained rickety and with holes in its roofs. After 1992, Cory Aquino stepped down from the Philippine presidency. That was also the time that elder brother Pedro â€Å"Pete† and sons Melecio â€Å"Mel† and Fernando â€Å"Nando† entered the hacienda hoping to make it profitable. Mindful of the farm workers, they instituted very slowly the fiscal reforms to achieve this goal. This partly explains why every year from 1988 until 2008 the Hacienda Luisita and itsCentral Azucarera de Tarlac posted hundreds of millions of losses. Only in 2009, buoyed by the huge demand for sugar and the unpredicted fluctuating prices of Brazilian sugar, did the family corporation post a profit. The various siblings stopped contributing money from their own non-hacienda corporations for the benefit of Pepe’s hacienda, which was a huge sigh of relief for them. On the other hand, the management style of the Pedro Cojuangcos lacked the charisma of the deceased Ninoy. His United States educated children, Mel and Nando, continue to strive to placate the needs of the farmers while balancing the budget. Sadly, when profit arrived so did the workers’ strikes. The unrest was blamed on the allies of current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who were shocked to see Cory Aquino joining anti-Arroyo rallies. Some blamed Danding Cojuangco since owning the hacienda would complement San Miguel and Ginebra’s ethyl, molasses and sugar needs. This was refuted by Danding himself and his cousins believe in him. In 2005, the Department of Agrarian Reform canceled the stock distribution agreement, citing that it had failed to improve the lives of more than 5 000 farmer beneficiaries. Hacienda Luisita Incorporated appealed this decision, but in May 2006, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council rejected with finality the motion of Hacienda Luisita Incorporated to reconsider the revocation of the stock distribution agreement. However, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order, stopping the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council from parceling out the land to the workers.

Plato’s Concept of Justice

Aside from â€Å"reason,† the concept of justice is a common topic in every dialogue of Plato like in â€Å"Parmenides† and â€Å"Timaeus†. However, it is in â€Å"The Republic† that the concept of justice is intensively argued, scrutinized, and differentiated. Specifically, the dialogue on the essence of justice in â€Å"The Republic† is largely brought up by the challenging inquiries of Glaucon and Adeimantus. Glaucon, spoken as devil’s advocate, classified justice similarly to the goods chosen, not for the goods themselves, but for the other things that they may bring. Glaucon argued that people do not want anyone to obstruct their unceasing desire for everything and only act in such a way that they avoid unjust treatment. As an analogy, he used the story of Gyges' ring, the ring that gives magical invisibility to its bearer. Anyone who becomes a possessor of that ring can hardly resist the temptation of becoming like a god among others. He or she, unrestrained by justice, will use the ring to satisfy his desires for everything. On the contrary, Socrates pointed out that justice, both in itself and what it brings is good while injustice, even unnoticed, is injurious. Thus, to confute the impressive challenge of Glaucon, Socrates it is imperative to understand the essence of justice before one can really know whether justice is good in itself or it is good due to the things which come from it. However, to expound the Plato's concept of justice, the different gaps in his arguments are needed to be filled with the missing premises. Historical Background In the ancient time, Greeks conceive justice through the poets' ideas like those of Hesiod. Hesiod described justice by conforming to certain set of acts; to avoid Zeus' punishment and achieve his rewards, man must act in accordance with Zeus' will. However, this concept of reward and punishment has lost its credibility during the late period of the fifth century. As people came to observe that most unjust men flourish as good citizens continue to suffer hardships and trials, they denounced the pre-conceived notion that rewards are given to the good doer while punishments are inflicted to the unjust. Consequently, as democracy in the Athenian society evolves, few Athens can hardly see to give importance on the afterlife and the questions on the essence of justice became a great controversy. This controversy was exacerbated by the Sophists who act as hired tutors for wealthy students. Sophists denied the existence of the standards or objective truth concerning right and wrong. They rather treated morality and law as the bases of truth. For instance, Antiphon publicly declared that one must choose to be unjust for it is an advantage. Hence, Plato decided to defend justice against the Sophistic challenge. The Argumentation Thrasymachus claimed that justice is merely an advantage of the stronger citizens. In Book I, he argued that the societal norms and mores are merely conventions which serve as constraints for those who abide with them while others who ignore them are benefited. Whereas the unjust people gain power, become strong and rulers in the society, the weak conform to the justice which places them in a disadvantaged position. Thrasymachus then believed that the justice's norms and mores are merely conventions promulgated by the strong, powerful people and the rulers to protect their own interest and keep the weak into the state of oppression. On the other hand, the second book presented Thrasymachus' challenges not only to the standards of right and wrong but also on the Socrates' method of searching for the truth, the method of elenchus. The Socrates' method of finding the truth commences by building up ideas from the people's beliefs. Thus, if Thrasymachus is impeccable with his notions, truth about justice is merely imposed by rulers. This gave a great task to Socrates to assert that justice is both good and desirable and it is more than conventions; rather, it is connected to the standards of morality and it is our advantage to adhere with it. In the progression of the argumentation in Plato's â€Å"The Republic,† justice was discussed and described in different ways. Some of these ideas were rejected for they inaccurately described justice. Hence, in the end, the argumentation does not only lead to what justice is but also defined what it is not. By analogy, the conception of justice was compared to the political structure of the city and the components of an individual. â€Å"Justice emerges from the relation of these parts in both the city and the individual. † Although justice, in form, is not identical to the structure of the city or the form of the soul, the manner of the various parts of the soul or city must function imply the harmony that the justice could bring. Justice in the city and the individual’s soul is the relating and functioning of parts in a systemic way to produce a graceful harmonious result. † In its comparison with the city, â€Å"justice is everyone doing one's part into the best of what he or she can and not meddling in others business†. On the other hand, justice results when the three compone nts of the soul function in a graceful manner. Thus, as the individual parts of the soul and the city work properly, the resulting harmony is excellence in their function. This resulting excellence then is justice. In the case that one of their integral parts does not function well, the entity or individual suffers resulting to the lack of justice. Justice then for the individual is internal as he or she tries to align it from the soul with his or her body's external actions which in turn directly affected by the external world; hence, a just person will not commit unjust actions. In such way, the internal justice of the person is directly affected by the external world. Moreover, Book I presented the conception of justice as an internal virtue and external quality with more complexities and implications. The discussions of such can be directly seen from the propositions of Thrasymacus, Cephalus and Polemarcus which scrutinized by Socrates. Cephalus perceived justice as telling the truth and paying one's debts while Polemarchus proposed that â€Å"justice is giving each what is owed to them. † Socrates told is not always true as perceived by Cephalus for it could create disastrous results like in returning weapon to a mentally-defective person who could harm others and even herself or himself. Even the conception of Polemarchus is defective for it signifies the intention to help friends and to do harm to enemy. Socrates argued that a just person must not do anything harm to anyone for he or she must do good things and doing harm to anyone is not good. Nevertheless, Thrasymachus conceived justice as â€Å"the advantage of the stronger and obeying the rulers,† which was contradicted by Socrates due to its insufficiency. Thrasymachus' notion can also be stated as â€Å"advantage of the stronger,† which requires a deeper interpretation. In this way, Thrasymachus suggested that justice can only be fully understood by a person in power. So as to become powerful and ruler, that person must possess knowledge in producing justice and ruling for his or her favor. If the ruler has knowledge and knowledge is good, this goodness will lead everyone to happiness while happiness is ultimately justice. Looking gain at the proposition of Thrasymachus, he pointed out two essential things between the ruler and the ruled. First, the ruling group or person who will create laws is stronger and advantageous. Then, these laws inflict punishments to the ruled group which place them in a disadvantageous position. Thus, justice is compliance with the laws made by the rulers. As such, in the ideal world of Thrasymachus, the rulers pass laws for their favor and entirely for their own benefits. On the other hand, the ruled group is mandated to obey the laws in order to avoid punishments and to achieve the collective good. By implementing this, the ruler helps the ruled group to attain internal personal justice as well as to help the city in pursuing justice for â€Å"the individual justice echoes out to effect the city as a whole. † Therefore, compliance with the laws is also justice. The â€Å"good† for Thracymachus is doing what perceived to be good. Eve though there is no standard good, one must do things which bring profits and benefits to self. On the other hand, the powerful can act the way they want for the laws are made for their own favor. Meanwhile, the soul's function is living. Everything that functions has excellence and justice is the excellence of the soul. As well, the achievement of justice will eventually lead to the well-living and the happiness of a person. As justice leads to happiness and â€Å"just† person is also a happy one, the person has happiness if he or she has the sense on justice and the person is only â€Å"just† when he or she has happiness. Therefore, Thrasymachus believed that happiness is the end goal. Furthermore, Thrasymachus added that justice is only advantageous for the stronger and it is better to be unjust than just. Since getting more things bring happiness, it is better to get more in life. He suggested that if it is possible to act without the consequences of one's actions, anybody would transgress the set obligations and legal standards. Since laws are merely created to benefit the stronger, anybody may probably choose to act in a way which benefits him or her. In this manner, the person acts unjustly if in this way he or she will be benefited. By living then in unjust manner the person will be benefited and eventually will attain happiness. These propositions of Tharsymachus were largely shaped by his position as a sophist with no morality standards or objective truth belief. Man is capable of pretending just externally but internally unjust. For Thrasymachus, this ability is an advantage because the person can obtain the external reward of pretending as just while simultaneously avoiding the consequences of being unjust internally. In addition, the unjust man can take the advantage of the â€Å"just† man in a similar fashion. Thrasymachus set the example of a man who is a good tax payer and a law-abiding citizen as compared to the unjust tax evader who violated the law due to the belief that laws are not beneficial to him or her. For Thrasymachus, this situation necessitates a special skill or craft which can be perfected through practice. That is, an individual can possibly perfect the skills of being unjust while simultaneously pretending as a just person. Originally, it was Polemarchus who assumed that justice is a craft or skill which was debunked by Socrates but in the same argument Thrasymachus has fallen. Hence, by using the same analogy as with Polemarchus, Socrates was able to refute the proposition of Thrasymachus. Finally, at the end of Book I, Thrasymachus agreed with Socrates that a just man attains happiness while the unjust man falls into the trap of misery. As Thrasymachus retracted his previous propositions, Socrates further explained that the unjust man is unwise and ignorant. A wise man seeks the trail of other wise men that existed and made a path of wisdom; knowledge and wisdom must be achieved by a man to become just. Furthermore, Thrasymachus ideas of justice contradicted the Socrates’ a band of thieves’ analogy. As injustice brings hatred, each member of the band of thieves will come to a moot point where they could hardly trust one another which eventually lead to misunderstanding and separation. If injustice results to such worst ending, we may say then that only justice can preserve love and unity among individuals. Thus, justice is again associated with the â€Å"good† while the injustice is to unbeneficial which denounced the notion of Thrasymachus that injustice is beneficial than justice. Therefore, Thrasymachus ultimately believed that the soul directs the person’s life. This means that an individual with a good soul lives a good and beneficial life while an individual with a bad soul has a miserable life. In connection to this, Socrates firmly stated that a just man has a better life than the unjust for â€Å"justice is the peculiar excellence or virtue of the soul. † Plato’s â€Å"The Republic† presented a systematic analogy of the soul and the city. Plato proved that the human soul has various parts that work harmoniously. On the other hand, the city has different structures that work for the common good in order to attain peace and order and to avoid civil war. Whereas the social structures of the city must collectively work for the common good, the components of the soul must maintain harmonious relationships for the achievement of a collective functional excellence. As the soul functions justly, it is working with excellence which is the utmost functional goal of the soul itself. The Nature of Actions As discussed above, man’s action is a basis of justice. Man acts in way to attain happiness and to avoid pain. As such, Plato believed that the supreme good is the ultimate goal of every human endeavor. What then is the â€Å"good† for a man that can be possibly attained through his endeavors? It is happiness but relatively defined; vulgar men associated it with pleasure while people with refined character ascribed it to honor. While these things are pursued to achieve happiness in one’s self, but â€Å"good† should be pursued not only for happiness but for the â€Å"good† itself—as an end. The â€Å"good† brings happiness and is associated with function or activity. For instance, if you are a behest pianist then, you are good in playing piano for you are functioning well. The well-performance of your function creates happiness not only for yourself but also for the others, thus, giving you a unique identity. In the same line of reasoning, soul is an aspect of humans that differentiated them from the rest of the animals. Thus, man’s function concerns the soul. The rational component of the soul controls man’s impulses, thus, makes him virtuous. Therefore, â€Å"human good turns out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete. † Meanwhile, the nature of man’s actions was classified as voluntary, nonvoluntary and involuntary. Involuntary actions are done against one’s disposition; voluntary actions are in accordance with the disposition; and nonvoluntary actions are accidentally done due to ignorance. Since virtue governs one’s disposition to act in accordance with the â€Å"good,† the primary basis then of a virtuous action is the goodness of choice. For an action is always a product of premeditated choice of an individual for the attainment of one’s purpose, it is therefore voluntary. This also satisfies the conditions that Plato believed are necessary for virtue: knowledge, volition, and doing. On the other hand, if an individual was forced for a certain action, although seem involuntary, he is still responsible for that action for he has a choice for not doing. Meanwhile doing things because of ignorance is involuntary if at the end, one recognizes ignorance while failure to do so, makes it nonvoluntary. For instance, if a drunkard is addicted to liquor due to inability to discern virtuous things, the person then is guilty of ignorance and the action is nonvoluntary. If at some point of time, the person realized his ignorance, the action then becomes involuntary. With these, only ignorance can excuse an action to be called a vice but has limitation. If after realizing virtuous things, the person has continued to be a drunkard, then the action is voluntary and he is therefore vicious. It is common sense to us, for example, that insufficient food and water taken into the body results to poor nutrition while a balanced diet ensures good health. â€Å"So too is it, then, in the case of temperance and courage and other virtues. † Avoidance of fears leads to timidity while extreme braveness endangers one’s life; absolute abstinence creates insensibility while hedonism shapes one’s indulgence. Since wrong doings are committed due to pleasure and noble character is avoided due to pain, pleasures and pain then are subjects of every virtue. Just and temperate actions are done by a man who has the sense of justice and temperance. â€Å"But if the acts that are in accordance with the virtues have themselves a certain character it does not follow that they are done justly or temperately. † Several conditions are necessary for the conduct of every virtuous action: knowledge of virtues; disposition for virtuous actions; and power to do virtuous actions. Hence, knowledge on virtues is not enough to become virtuous; rather, the disposition to put virtues into actions is a must. Limitations of Human Judgment Through the hierarchy of things here in the world, we perceive that several creatures are much better, thus, higher than the others: creatures that are alive are better than inanimate objects; living organisms that have senses are much better than plants; and humans that are alive have senses, and have the gift of reason are much perfect to the rest of the creations. However, even if we are the highest form of living organisms, we are not capable of an absolute understanding of reality. For we judge reality based the way we perceive things, beauty, truth or evil. In order to perceive, we make use of definite criteria that if are correct, entails the veracity of our judgment. Can we absolutely perceive the truth? In judging, we are guided by the truth but we do not judge the truth. The truth therefore is higher than us. Nonetheless, in perceiving the truth, we must grasp with something that does not change (solid basis). For if our basis changes, the left over is just a part of the truth. This is also true in perceiving the real essence of justice. In trying to explain free choices through other things may limit the rationale for the true justice. For different things may require different explanations. Hence, in trying to conceive for the real sense of justice, this may lead us to a perilous situation that is substituting vagueness to its real essence.