Louis Riel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Louis Riel - Essay Example At one point, he attempted taking legal studies, but these attempts failed (Thomas 1887, p. 35-67).1 Despite the failed attempts to study religious studies and legal studies, Riel continued to give his opinion on issues of religion and political reforms. When giving his opinions, Riel appeared to be contended with whatever he said, and he never allowed anyone to oppose his opinions. His discussions were done using a strong command of languages. Riel was talented in catching the attention of his listeners through creating a sense of his importance. One notable thing about Riel was his understanding of dangers associated with engaging in physical wars despite his use of violent speeches. Majority of people living in the Red River knew Riel due to his popularity in engaging in matters of politics and religion (Thomas 1887, p. 35-67).1 Louis Riel and the Red River Rebellion In 1869, the Canadian government signed the Canadian Act of 1869, which introduced a provisional government for the colony in the Red River. This move by the Canadian government was not welcome by many settlers of the Red River. Riel was the fast to oppose the government’s move. Using his religious doctrines and political opinions, he challenged his fellow Half-breeds to stand strong and resist the Canadian authorities. The Half-breeds believed that the government’s move aimed at getting properties out of the Half-breeds living in Canada. The rebellion formed by Riel was done through mobilizing a few Half-breeds and instructing government surveyors to stop their work in the Red River (Lewis 2000, par. 1-25).2 After managing to stop the surveyors from carrying out their job, Riel and his group later seized Fort Garry, which held a company for military supplies and rifles. Later, a meeting for all Half-breeds living in Red River was convened, and people in attendance were convinced to adopt a proposed â€Å"bill of rights.† The proposed â€Å"bill of right† had fifteen provisions, which addressed the plight of the 2Half-breeds. When closing the convention, Riel proposed the formation of a provisional government, of which he would be the head. All this time, he was acting as the secretary general to a provisional government that believed to be in power after the inception of the rebellion. At one point, Riel warned people in Canadian authorities against intruding territories within the Red River (Lewis 2000, par. 1-25).2 Once the military operations within the seized Fort Garry came to an end, Riel became the master of the territory for close to six months. Settlers living in the Red River were in full support of Riel’s proposals, but his intentions of creating an independent government with him as the head left many settlers with a lot of questions. Many settlers thought that Riel had a strong will in fighting for the rights proposed in the â€Å"bill of rights† rather than calling for an independent republic. Furthermore, Riel showe d a lot of cruelty when dealing with people who opposed his ideas. He went to the extent of ordering the shooting of such people. At one time, Riel ordered for the shooting of an Orangeman of which it was later discovered that the shooting was motivated by personal differences. The shooting of the Orangeman aroused fellow Orangemen living in Upper Canada. The heightened mood in Upper regions of Canada caused the English government to interfere in the issue (Thomas 1887, p. 35-67).3 The colonial

Types of Cooperatives Essay Example for Free

Types of Cooperatives Essay The following are the main types of cooperative enterprises: i.Producer Cooperative Societies These are formed to eliminate the middlemen and capitalist groups from the  industrial production. Its main purpose is to produce goods for the requirements of its members. Surplus productions are also supplied to out riders in the open market at profit. All the necessary activities .as production, management and marketing are performed by the members themselves. Its members get dividend on the basis of the capital invested by them. Objects (a)To purchase the raw materials and other factors at most economical prices. (b)To produce the goods at the most economical level. (c)To supervise the production most efficiently and effectively. (d)To dispose of the surplus production to non members at maximum prices. (e)To eliminate the middlemen and capitalists. (f)To remove the workers grievances in respect of working conditions, wages etc. (g)To arrange for the democratic control of the industrial unit. ii.Consumer Cooperative Societies The society is the voluntary association of ordinary people formed with the object of obtaining daily requirements of the members. It directly purchases the goods at large scale from the producer or wholesalers at whole sale price. It thus eliminates capitalists, retailers and other middlemen from the channel of distribution and members are in a position to make their purchase at cheater rate. Anyone can become member by purchasing one share of the society. Sometimes goods are also supplied to non-members but they do not share in the profit of the society. Profit earned by the store are distributed among the members according to the value of the purchases conducted by the manager who is elected by the members. Generally its two types are popular in the world. (a)Retail cooperative store. (b)Wholesale cooperative store. Objects 1.To eliminate the retailers, capitalists and wholesalers. 2.To promote the welfare of the members. 3.To supply the daily necessities of life to its members at market price. 4.To increase the purchasing power an standard of living of the members of the society. iii.Marketing Cooperative Society It is the voluntary association of producers formed for the object of arranging the disposal of their output. It pools together the output of the individual members and arranges to supply the product at highest possible price. The profit of the sale of the ~ products is distributed among the contributing producers according to their individual contribution to the pool. This kind of society is particularly useful for the small producers and agriculturists. It can be formed in two organization according to the local condition of the country i.e. (a)Single purpose society (b)Multi purposes society Objectives 1.To eliminate the middlemen who are liable of the high cost of marketing. 2.To pool together the output of the individual members. 3.To grade and process of the pooling products of the members. 4.To dispose of the product at the maximum price. 5.To adjust supply to demand. 6.To provide storage facilities to its members. 7.To procure the information relating to market for the members product. 8.To provide the financial facilities to its members. iv. Insurance Cooperative Society This type of cooperative society is formed for the objects of providing group insurance facilities to its members. It makes the contract with sound insurance company on collective terms and conditions and thus pay lower premium rate to insurance company as compared with ordinary policy holders. These are other two forms of cooperative Insurance i.e. 1.Mutual office 2.Self concern. In the Mutual office, the policy holders are the owners and the profit of the insurance company is utilized in the following ways: (a)To strengthen the financial position of the company. (b)To decrease true amount of premium. (c)To distribute bonus to its members. Self concern Cooperative society is organized to provide insurance facilities like the private insurance company and issued policy to its members for reasonable amount. Object 1.To provide insurance facilities to its members. 2.To charge the low rate of premium. 3.To promote the welfare of the members. 4.To encourage the habit of thrift and investment. v.Housing Cooperative society It is an association of middle and low income groups of people. Generally it is formed in urban areas. The main purpose of this form of society is to protect its members against exploitation by landlords. It not only grants financial assistance to its members but also achieve the economics of purchase of building material in bulk. In order to become a member of the society one must buy at least one share of the society. The liability of the member is limited to his capital contributed. It is also called Building Society and may be divided into three types i.e. (1)Housing Building Society (2)Land Society (3)Finance Society Objectives 1.To receive deposits from its members. 2.To make loans to its members for the construction of house at low rate of interest. 3.To render technical services for its members. 4.To purchase building materials at economical rate. 5.To perform the welfare activities as water supply, roads, sewerage, electricity etc. vi. Cooperative Farming Society This form of Society is formed with the object of obtaining the benefits of large scale farming and maximizing agricultural products. It is basically agricultural. cooperative which is confined to agricultural countries. Its members generally relate to the formers including those owing land. The cooperative forming are of the following types: 1.Cooperative collective farming Society. 2.Cooperative joint farming society. 3.Cooperative better farming society. 4.Cooperative tenant farming society. Objective (a)To consolidate holding. (b)To introduce new technique of cultivation. (c)To improve the irrigating system. (d)To increase the area under agricultural operations. (e)To make necessary steps for the improvements of the standard of living of the farmers. (f)To increase the production per acre. (g)To provide seeds manures and implements to its members. (h)To dispose of agricultural output. vii. Credit Cooperative Society Credit cooperative society is the voluntary association of .the financially weak persons organized with the object of providing short term financial requirements to them. This society performs important role in the rural areas where the dishonest money lenders have been exploiting simple villagers by charging high rate of interest. The Funds of the society consist of (a) Membership fees, (b) Dispose of shares (c) Deposits from members and non-members (d) Loan from govt. and semi govt. The liability of members is unlimited. This assists the society in raising funds and ensures that every member will take keen interest in the activities of the society. The society prefers the poorer members in granting loan and charges low rate of interest from them. Generally the society advances the amount for productive purposes but some loans are also given to members for unproductive purposes. Credit cooperative society may be divided into two types: (1)Agricultural Credit Society (2)Non-agricultural credit Society Objects (a)To get rid of the pressure of money lenders. (b)To provide the financial facilities for short term to its members. (c)To keep the minimum rate of interest on loan. (d)To develop the habit of thrift and saving among the members. (f)To encourage the habit of mutual aid.

The Database Dilemma Essays -- Computers Privacy Security Ethics Essay

The Database Dilemma Personal privacy today is a controversial and complex topic, which is influenced by a number of factors. There is an integral role that databases play in this highly debated topic. The fact that many people now carry out their transactions electronically is another important factor. There is also pressure on personal privacy for increased national security around the world to combat terrorism. In addition, personal privacy is even threatened by commercial factors and the Internet. Personal information can consist of anything from a home address, telephone number, social security number, income, credit card history, etc, any piece of information that can be tied to a distinct individual. Once personal information is lost it cannot be recovered. Some of this personal information can change such as your address or telephone numbers, but new information would easily be found. On the other hand, some of your information cannot be changed such as your social security number and credit card history. As you can see, personal information is a valuable asset that everyone has. This paper will explore the issues that affect personal privacy on a global scope in the current age of computing. BACKGROUND ON DATABASES In the following three subsections, I will provide background information about databases that will set the scene for why they are so important to the modern issue of personal privacy. I will provide a definition for what databases are, as well as where they are used, how they affect us, and the potential threat that databases pose to our personal privacy. What Are Databases? Databases are defined by Webopedia as â€Å"A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can... ...e, Robert. â€Å"National ID card – Electronic ID card becomes reality in Europe.† Novosec Aktlengesellschaft. 30 Sep. 2002. Poulsen, Kevin. â€Å"Record ‘National Security’ surveillance in 2000.† SecurityFocus. 2 May 2001 Quiddington, Peter. â€Å"Security vs. Privacy.† ABC Online, Australia. 4 Apr. 2003 Solove, Daniel J. â€Å"Privacy and Power: Computer Databases and Metaphors For Information Privacy.† Stanford Law Review. Jul. 2001 v53 i6 p 1393 Spinello, Richard A. â€Å"Frameworks for Ethical Analysis.† Chapter 2 of Ethical Aspect of Information Technology (Prentice Hall) 1 Jan. 1995 page 28 Trippe, Bill. â€Å"First, Do No Harm: Can Privacy and Advanced Information Technology Coexist?† EContent. Mar. 2003 v26 i3 p 38(5) Vencchiatto, Paul. â€Å"US or EU Model for SA privacy laws?.† ITWeb. Wearden, Graeme. â€Å"U.S. tech protests EU privacy laws.† ZDNet News. 30 Sep. 2002.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Three

Daenerys Her brother held the gown up for her inspection. â€Å"This is beauty. Touch it. Go on. Caress the fabric.† Dany touched it. The cloth was so smooth that it seemed to run through her fingers like water. She could not remember ever wearing anything so soft. It frightened her. She pulled her hand away. â€Å"Is it really mine?† â€Å"A gift from the Magister Illyrio,† Viserys said, smiling. Her brother was in a high mood tonight. â€Å"The color will bring out the violet in your eyes. And you shall have gold as well, and jewels of all sorts. Illyrio has promised. Tonight you must look like a princess.† A princess, Dany thought. She had forgotten what that was like. Perhaps she had never really known. â€Å"Why does he give us so much?† she asked. â€Å"What does he want from us?† For nigh on half a year, they had lived in the magister's house, eating his food, pampered by his servants. Dany was thirteen, old enough to know that such gifts seldom come without their price, here in the free city of Pentos. â€Å"Illyrio is no fool,† Viserys said. He was a gaunt young man with nervous hands and a feverish look in his pale lilac eyes. â€Å"The magister knows that I will not forget my friends when I come into my throne.† Dany said nothing. Magister Illyrio was a dealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, and other, less savory things. He had friends in all of the Nine Free Cities, it was said, and even beyond, in Vaes Dothrak and the fabled lands beside the JadeSea. It was also said that he'd never had a friend he wouldn't cheerfully sell for the right price. Dany listened to the talk in the streets, and she heard these things, but she knew better than to question her brother when he wove his webs of dream. His anger was a terrible thing when roused. Viserys called it â€Å"waking the dragon.† Her brother hung the gown beside the door. â€Å"Illyrio will send the slaves to bathe you. Be sure you wash off the stink of the stables. Khal Drogo has a thousand horses, tonight he looks for a different sort of mount.† He studied her critically. â€Å"You still slouch. Straighten yourself† He pushed back her shoulders with his hands. â€Å"Let them see that you have a woman's shape now.† His fingers brushed lightly over her budding breasts and tightened on a nipple. â€Å"You will not fail me tonight. If you do, it will go hard for you. You don't want to wake the dragon, do you?† His fingers twisted her, the pinch cruelly hard through the rough fabric of her tunic. â€Å"Do you?† he repeated. â€Å"No,† Dany said meekly. Her brother smiled. â€Å"Good.† He touched her hair, almost with affection. â€Å"When they write the history of my reign, sweet sister, they will say that it began tonight.† When he was gone, Dany went to her window and looked out wistfully on the waters of the bay. The square brick towers of Pentos were black silhouettes outlined against the setting sun. Dany could hear the singing of the red priests as they lit their night fires and the shouts of ragged children playing games beyond the walls of the estate. For a moment she wished she could be out there with them, barefoot and breathless and dressed in tatters, with no past and no future and no feast to attend at Khal Drogo's manse. Somewhere beyond the sunset, across the narrow sea, lay a land of green hills and flowered plains and great rushing rivers, where towers of dark stone rose amidst magnificent blue-grey mountains, and armored knights rode to battle beneath the banners of their lords. The Dothraki called that land Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the Free Cities, they talked of Westeros and the SunsetKingdoms. Her brother had a simpler name. â€Å"Our land,† he called it. The words were like a prayer with him. If he said them enough, the gods were sure to hear. â€Å"Ours by blood right, taken from us by treachery, but ours still, ours forever. You do not steal from the dragon, oh, no. The dragon remembers.† And perhaps the dragon did remember, but Dany could not. She had never seen this land her brother said was theirs, this realm beyond the narrow sea. These places he talked of, Casterly Rock and the Eyrie, Highgarden and the Vale of Arryn, Dorne and the Isle of Faces, they were just words to her. Viserys had been a boy of eight when they fled King's Landing to escape the advancing armies of the Usurper, but Daenerys had been only a quickening in their mother's womb. Yet sometimes Dany would picture the way it had been, so often had her brother told her the stories. The midnight flight to Dragonstone, moonlight shimmering on the ship's black sails. Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved. The sack of King's Landing by the ones Viserys called the Usurper's dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark. Princess Elia of Dorne pleading for mercy as Rhaegar's heir was ripped from her breast and murdered before her eyes. The polished skulls of the last dragons staring down sightlessly from the walls of the throne room while the Kingslayer opened Father's throat with a golden sword. She had been born on Dragonstone nine moons after their flight, while a raging summer storm threatened to rip the island fastness apart. They said that storm was terrible. The Targaryen fleet was smashed while it lay at anchor, and huge stone blocks were ripped from the parapets and sent hurtling into the wild waters of the narrow sea. Her mother had died birthing her, and for that her brother Viserys had never forgiven her. She did not remember Dragonstone either. They had run again, just before the Usurper's brother set sail with his new-built fleet. By then only Dragonstone itself, the ancient seat of their House, had remained of the Seven Kingdoms that had once been theirs. It would not remain for long. The garrison had been prepared to sell them to the Usurper, but one night Ser Willem Darry and four loyal men had broken into the nursery and stolen them both, along with her wet nurse, and set sail under cover of darkness for the safety of the Braavosian coast. She remembered Ser Willem dimly, a great grey bear of a man, half-blind, roaring and bellowing orders from his sickbed. The servants had lived in terror of him, but he had always been kind to Dany. He called her â€Å"Little Princess† and sometimes â€Å"My Lady,† and his hands were soft as old leather. He never left his bed, though, and the smell of sickness clung to him day and night, a hot, moist, sickly sweet odor. That was when they lived in Braavos, in the big house with the red door. Dany had her own room there, with a lemon tree outside her window. After Ser Willem had died, the servants had stolen what little money they had left, and soon after they had been put out of the big house. Dany had cried when the red door closed behind them forever. They had wandered since then, from Braavos to Myr, from Myr to Tyrosh, and on to Qohor and Volantis and Lys, never staying long in any one place. Her brother would not allow it. The Usurper's hired knives were close behind them, he insisted, though Dany had never seen one. At first the magisters and archons and merchant princes were pleased to welcome the last Targaryens to their homes and tables, but as the years passed and the Usurper continued to sit upon the Iron Throne, doors closed and their lives grew meaner. Years past they had been forced to sell their last few treasures, and now even the coin they had gotten from Mother's crown had gone. In the alleys and wine sinks of Pentos, they called her brother â€Å"the beggar king.† Dany did not want to know what they called her. â€Å"We will have it all back someday, sweet sister,† he would promise her. Sometimes his hands shook when he talked about it. â€Å"The jewels and the silks, Dragonstone and King's Landing, the Iron Throne and the SevenKingdoms, all they have taken from us, we will have it back.† Viserys lived for that day. All that Daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known. There came a soft knock on her door. â€Å"Come,† Dany said, turning away from the window. Illyrio's servants entered, bowed, and set about their business. They were slaves, a gift from one of the magister's many Dothraki friends. There was no slavery in the free city of Pentos. Nonetheless, they were slaves. The old woman, small and grey as a mouse, never said a word, but the girl made up for it. She was Illyrio's favorite, a fair-haired, blue-eyed wench of sixteen who chattered constantly as she worked. They filled her bath with hot water brought up from the kitchen and scented it with fragrant oils. The girl pulled the rough cotton tunic over Dany's head and helped her into the tub. The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. â€Å"Ours is the house of the dragon,† he would say. â€Å"The fire is in our blood.† The old woman washed her long, silver-pale hair and gently combed out the snags, all in silence. The girl scrubbed her back and her feet and told her how lucky she was. â€Å"Drogo is so rich that even his slaves wear golden collars. A hundred thousand men ride in his khalasar, and his palace in Vaes Dothrak has two hundred rooms and doors of solid silver.† There was more like that, so much more, what a handsome man the khal was, so tall and fierce, fearless in battle, the best rider ever to mount a horse, a demon archer. Daenerys said nothing. She had always assumed that she would wed Viserys when she came of age. For centuries the Targaryens had married brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters to bride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times; theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of the dragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men. Yet now Viserys schemed to sell her to a stranger, a barbarian. When she was clean, the slaves helped her from the water and toweled her dry. The girl brushed her hair until it shone like molten silver, while the old woman anointed her with the spiceflower perfume of the Dothraki plains, a dab on each wrist, behind her ears, on the tips of her breasts, and one last one, cool on her lips, down there between her legs. They dressed her in the wisps that Magister Illyrio had sent up, and then the gown, a deep plum silk to bring out the violet in her eyes. The girl slid the gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in her hair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs. â€Å"Now you look all a princess,† the girl said breathlessly when they were done. Dany glanced at her image in the silvered looking glass that Illyrio had so thoughtfully provided. A princess, she thought, but she remembered what the girl had said, how Khal Drogo was so rich even his slaves wore golden collars. She felt a sudden chill, and gooseflesh pimpled her bare arms. Her brother was waiting in the cool of the entry hall, seated on the edge of the pool, his hand trailing in the water. He rose when she appeared and looked her over critically. â€Å"Stand there,† he told her. â€Å"Turn around. Yes. Good. You look . . . â€Å" â€Å"Regal,† Magister Illyrio said, stepping through an archway. He moved with surprising delicacy for such a massive man. Beneath loose garments of flame-colored silk, rolls of fat jiggled as he walked. Gemstones glittered on every finger, and his man had oiled his forked yellow beard until it shone like real gold. â€Å"May the Lord of Light shower you with blessings on this most fortunate day, Princess Daenerys,† the magister said as he took her hand. He bowed his head, showing a thin glimpse of crooked yellow teeth through the gold of his beard. â€Å"She is a vision, Your Grace, a vision,† he told her brother. â€Å"Drogo will be enraptured.† â€Å"She's too skinny,† Viserys said. His hair, the same silver-blond as hers, had been pulled back tightly behind his head and fastened with a dragonbone brooch. It was a severe look that emphasized the hard, gaunt lines of his face. He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword that Illyrio had lent him, and said, â€Å"Are you sure that Khal Drogo likes his women this young?† â€Å"She has had her blood. She is old enough for the khal,† Illyrio told him, not for the first time. â€Å"Look at her. That silver-gold hair, those purple eyes . . . she is the blood of old Valyria, no doubt, no doubt . . . and highborn, daughter of the old king, sister to the new, she cannot fail to entrance our Drogo.† When he released her hand, Daenerys found herself trembling. â€Å"I suppose,† her brother said doubtfully. â€Å"The savages have queer tastes. Boys, horses, sheep . . . â€Å" â€Å"Best not suggest this to Khal Drogo,† Illyrio said. Anger flashed in her brother's lilac eyes. â€Å"Do you take me for a fool?† The magister bowed slightly. â€Å"I take you for a king. Kings lack the caution of common men. My apologies if I have given offense.† He turned away and clapped his hands for his bearers. The streets of Pentos were pitch-dark when they set out in Illyrio's elaborately carved palanquin. Two servants went ahead to light their way, carrying ornate oil lanterns with panes of pale blue glass, while a dozen strong men hoisted the poles to their shoulders. It was warm and close inside behind the curtains. Dany could smell the stench of Illyrio's pallid flesh through his heavy perfumes. Her brother, sprawled out on his pillows beside her, never noticed. His mind was away across the narrow sea. â€Å"We won't need his whole khalasar,† Viserys said. His fingers toyed with the hilt of his borrowed blade, though Dany knew he had never used a sword in earnest. â€Å"Ten thousand, that would be enough, I could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with ten thousand Dothraki screamers. The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell, Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be with us. They cry out for their king.† He looked at Illyrio anxiously. â€Å"They do, don't they?† â€Å"They are your people, and they love you well,† Magister Illyrio said amiably. â€Å"In holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of your return from across the water.† He gave a massive shrug. â€Å"Or so my agents tell me.† Dany had no agents, no way of knowing what anyone was doing or thinking across the narrow sea, but she mistrusted Illyrio's sweet words as she mistrusted everything about Illyrio. Her brother was nodding eagerly, however. â€Å"I shall kill the Usurper myself,† he promised, who had never killed anyone, â€Å"as he killed my brother Rhaegar. And Lannister too, the Kingslayer, for what he did to my father.† â€Å"That would be most fitting,† Magister Illyrio said. Dany saw the smallest hint of a smile playing around his full lips, but her brother did not notice. Nodding, he pushed back a curtain and stared off into the night, and Dany knew he was fighting the Battle of the Trident once again. The nine-towered manse of Khal Drogo sat beside the waters of the bay, its high brick walls overgrown with pale ivy. It had been given to the khal by the magisters of Pentos, Illyrio told them. The Free Cities were always generous with the horselords. â€Å"It is not that we fear these barbarians,† Illyrio would explain with a smile. â€Å"The Lord of Light would hold our city walls against a million Dothraki, or so the red priests promise . . . yet why take chances, when their friendship comes so cheap?† Their palanquin was stopped at the gate, the curtains pulled roughly back by one of the house guards. He had the copper skin and dark almond eyes of a Dothraki, but his face was hairless and he wore the spiked bronze cap of the Unsullied. He looked them over coldly. Magister Illyrio growled something to him in the rough Dothraki tongue; the guardsman replied in the same voice and waved them through the gates. Dany noticed that her brother's hand was clenched tightly around the hilt of his borrowed sword. He looked almost as frightened as she felt. â€Å"Insolent eunuch,† Viserys muttered as the palanquin lurched up toward the manse. Magister Illyrio's words were honey. â€Å"Many important men will be at the feast tonight. Such men have enemies. The khal must protect his guests, yourself chief among them, Your Grace. No doubt the Usurper would pay well for your head.† â€Å"Oh, yes,† Viserys said darkly. â€Å"He has tried, Illyrio, I promise you that. His hired knives follow us everywhere. I am the last dragon, and he will not sleep easy while I live.† The palanquin slowed and stopped. The curtains were thrown back, and a slave offered a hand to help Daenerys out. His collar, she noted, was ordinary bronze. Her brother followed, one hand still clenched hard around his sword hilt. It took two strong men to get Magister Illyrio back on his feet. Inside the manse, the air was heavy with the scent of spices, pinchfire and sweet lemon and cinnamon. They were escorted across the entry hall, where a mosaic of colored glass depicted the Doom of Valyria. Oil burned in black iron lanterns all along the walls. Beneath an arch of twining stone leaves, a eunuch sang their coming. â€Å"Viserys of the House Targaryen, the Third of his Name,† he called in a high, sweet voice, â€Å"King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the SevenKingdoms and Protector of the Realm. His sister, Daenerys Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone. His honorable host, Illyrio Mopatis, Magister of the Free City of Pentos.† They stepped past the eunuch into a pillared courtyard overgrown in pale ivy. Moonlight painted the leaves in shades of bone and silver as the guests drifted among them. Many were Dothraki horselords, big men with red-brown skin, their drooping mustachios bound in metal rings, their black hair oiled and braided and hung with bells. Yet among them moved bravos and sellswords from Pentos and Myr and Tyrosh, a red priest even fatter than Illyrio, hairy men from the Port of Ibben, and lords from the Summer Isles with skin as black as ebony. Daenerys looked at them all in wonder . . . and realized, with a sudden start of fear, that she was the only woman there. Illyrio whispered to them. â€Å"Those three are Drogo's bloodriders, there,† he said. â€Å"By the pillar is Khal Moro, with his son Rhogoro. The man with the green beard is brother to the Archon of Tyrosh, and the man behind him is Ser Jorah Mormont.† The last name caught Daenerys. â€Å"A knight?† â€Å"No less.† Illyrio smiled through his beard. â€Å"Anointed with the seven oils by the High Septon himself.† â€Å"What is he doing here?† she blurted. â€Å"The Usurper wanted his head,† Illyrio told them. â€Å"Some trifling affront. He sold some poachers to a Tyroshi slaver instead of giving them to the Night's Watch. Absurd law. A man should be able to do as he likes with his own chattel.† â€Å"I shall wish to speak with Ser Jorah before the night is done,† her brother said. Dany found herself looking at the knight curiously. He was an older man, past forty and balding, but still strong and fit. Instead of silks and cottons, he wore wool and leather. His tunic was a dark green, embroidered with the likeness of a black bear standing on two legs. She was still looking at this strange man from the homeland she had never known when Magister Illyrio placed a moist hand on her bare shoulder. â€Å"Over there, sweet princess,† he whispered, â€Å"there is the khal himself.† Dany wanted to run and hide, but her brother was looking at her, and if she displeased him she knew she would wake the dragon. Anxiously, she turned and looked at the man Viserys hoped would ask to wed her before the night was done. The slave girl had not been far wrong, she thought. Khal Drogo was a head taller than the tallest man in the room, yet somehow light on his feet, as graceful as the panther in Illyrio's menagerie. He was younger than she'd thought, no more than thirty. His skin was the color of polished copper, his thick mustachios bound with gold and bronze rings. â€Å"I must go and make my submissions,† Magister Illyrio said. â€Å"Wait here. I shall bring him to you.† Her brother took her by the arm as Illyrio waddled over to the khal, his fingers squeezing so hard that they hurt. â€Å"Do you see his braid, sweet sister?† Drogo's braid was black as midnight and heavy with scented oil, hung with tiny bells that rang softly as he moved. It swung well past his belt, below even his buttocks, the end of it brushing against the back of his thighs. â€Å"You see how long it is?† Viserys said. â€Å"When Dothraki are defeated in combat, they cut off their braids in disgrace, so the world will know their shame. Khal Drogo has never lost a fight. He is Aegon the Dragonlord come again, and you will be his queen.† Dany looked at Khal Drogo. His face was hard and cruel, his eyes as cold and dark as onyx. Her brother hurt her sometimes, when she woke the dragon, but he did not frighten her the way this man frightened her. â€Å"I don't want to be his queen,† she heard herself say in a small, thin voice. â€Å"Please, please, Viserys, I don't want to, I want to go home.† â€Å"Home?† He kept his voice low, but she could hear the fury in his tone. â€Å"How are we to go home, sweet sister? They took our home from us!† He drew her into the shadows, out of sight, his fingers digging into her skin. â€Å"How are we to go home?† he repeated, meaning King's Landing, and Dragonstone, and all the realm they had lost. Dany had only meant their rooms in Illyrio's estate, no true home surely, though all they had, but her brother did not want to hear that. There was no home there for him. Even the big house with the red door had not been home for him. His fingers dug hard into her arm, demanding an answer. â€Å"I don't know . . . â€Å"she said at last, her voice breaking. Tears welled in her eyes. â€Å"I do,† he said sharply. â€Å"We go home with an army, sweet sister. With Khal Drogo's army, that is how we go home. And if you must wed him and bed him for that, you will.† He smiled at her. â€Å"I'd let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army. Be grateful it is only Drogo. In time you may even learn to like him. Now dry your eyes. Illyrio is bringing him over, and he will not see you crying.† Dany turned and saw that it was true. Magister Illyrio, all smiles and bows, was escorting Khal Drogo over to where they stood. She brushed away unfallen tears with the back of her hand. â€Å"Smile,† Viserys whispered nervously, his hand failing to the hilt of his sword. â€Å"And stand up straight. Let him see that you have breasts. Gods know, you have little enough as is.† Daenerys smiled, and stood up straight.

Nestlé Refrigerated Pizza Case

In 1990 Nestle Refrigerated Food Company, NRFC, subsidiary of Nestle S. A, had to decide about the launch of a refrigerated pizza, under the name of Contadina pizza, continuing the build of the refrigerated food category it started few years ago with the launch of the Contadina pasta and sauces, and where the satisfying results exceeded expectations, NRFC would be then the first mover in this new category product, pre empting its serious and major competitor: Kraft general food who was on his way to make a similar launch(their launch is expected within six months). The market studies consisting of the forecast of the estimated demand show that the pizza launch is recommended, and it should better be with the pizza and topping product instead of the pizza only, and that the basic business requirement $45 million(factory dollar sales) could be met with a minimum of 7% of market penetration. The opportunity is great since the Italian ethnic food market is developing very fast, but NRFC should be very careful since bad results could seriously hurt the Contadina brand name built with the success of the pasta and sauces. The price of the offering should be adjusted to lower levels and a heavy advertising support should be carried. Situation Analysis: NRFC first entered the refrigerated food market by launching the Contadina pasta and sauces . it was an undeveloped market in 1987 where fresh pasta was considered to be a premium product sold only in specialty stores. At that time refrigerated foods were responsible of 7% of Nestle global sales with very little contribution from us market. The refrigerated food was perceived as fresh, very convenient and with high quality, but in the us market it raises a serious problem of distribution because of its nature as refrigerated, for what NRFC devised a highly distribution system from the factory in Danville, Virginia, and took the option to utilize food brokers, who earned a 3%-5% commission, who acted as sales agents. The results were very satisfying, and Nestle became the established market leader: $150 million retail sales by 1990. Refrigerated pizza was the natural extension of this introduction. The threatening competition came from Kraft’s DiGiorno pasta and sauce, a 90day shelf life against the 40 days for NRFC products. Kraft was a subsidiary of Philip Morris Companies, Inc, the food division of which was one of the largest manufacturer and marketer of frozen food in the USA. Kraft’s had operating revenue of $25 billion, in the time the total Nestle sales were at 54,500 millions of Swiss francs. And beside their test for the pasta and sauce products, Kraft test-marketed a refrigerated pizza of which the rumor said the launch would take place within six months, increasing pressure over NRFC management who were looking for the first mover advantage, as they had with Contadina pasta and sauces. The pizza market in the USA, evaluated at $18,4 billion, was targeting 95. 5 million households, and was dominated by restaurants, with 88% of total sales, even if 60% of pizza were eaten at home; with a large national franchisors – such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s pizza- as well as numerous local competitors. The consumers were perceiving the pizza in general as very convenient, easy to prepare and to serve, adequate for the whole family; and the frozen pizza was seen as less valuable than the take out pizza or the Contadina kit / the assembled pizza set for evaluation ( exhibit 13 and exhibit 14). Concept tests: The main products tested by NRFC for the pizza launch were the pizza kit with the option of available toppings (pizza and topping) and the pizza kit with no additional toppings (pizza only), and they used the BASES model to forecast the estimated demand. Numerous assumptions were used in the purpose to make the tests very close to reality, such as the parent brand penetration and the total brand awareness. (-the parent penetration was estimated at 24% by the marketing staff, but MRD – the market research department-recommended to check volume projections with penetration ranging from 5 to 25%. -$18 million would be dedicated to promotion and advertising, based on what 37% of overall awareness was used in the forecast. ) The results (see exhibits A,B,C,D ) show that: at 24% user penetration the option A (pizza kit plus toppings) would allow a margin of $12,570 millions while the option B (pizza only) let a total factory sales amount of $35,137 well below the $45,000 millions basic business requirements. -the exhibit 21 shows for the â€Å"top two box† a noticeable difference between the Contadina users and non users, it gets obvious then that the amount of the percentage of brand users will heavily affect the results. Fo r that reason we set different scenarios assuming various user penetrations: 5% 10% 15% and 20%, the option A results start insuring the NRFC threshold at a minimum user penetration of 7%. So these numbers recommend the introduction of the refrigerated pizza with the toppings option. Let’s have a look on the concept test for the pizza comparing to that for the Contadina pasta and sauces: * For the pasta we can see (exhibit 6) that 26% of total surveyed persons perceive it as a fresh product, only 8% think its price is too high, and 61% found nothing dislikable in it. * About the pizza (exhibit 19) 26% found it too expensive comparing to the take out or delivery one, even among those who were favorable to the product, only 4% perceived it as natural with no preservatives, and 12% disliked the general taste. Comparing the refrigerated pizza to the other ones available on the market we can see on the exhibit 20 that the it is perceived as better tasting than the frozen pizza (9 on a ten point scale) but is rated 7. 3 on the same scale for the â€Å"tasting as good as take out or home delivered pizza†, which means that it should have excellent quality to be l ess threatened by these ones and that it will be more valuable and gets better perception than the frozen pizza. The pizza opportunity is the logical continuity of the pasta one, but in fact the context is pretty different: for both we can talk about ethnic food development, but as the time there are not too many substitute products to the pasta, the number of Italian restaurants ,pizza franchisors retail outlets, was so numerous, with the maximum freshness that makes the operation surrounded by some risks to penetrate this market, meanwhile for the pasta demand against the actual market offering made the refrigerated category grow even with the DiGiorno entry. During the development process for the pizza, from the idea generation to the commercialization, the BASES II involved a concept test combined with product test, the choice of the respondents who were given the product to test can lead to results not reflecting their real opinion about it, since they will feel treated in a special way and then can be much more favorable to the product, altering their judgment. Instead, a blind test might give better feedback. The BASES seems to be a tool to assess the market potential, and evaluate the wareness level, but a better return about the new product could be achieved by a larger testing operation, which would be expensive, and might be used by competitors in their advantage. Among the Michael porter’s five forces concerning the pizza market NFRC is aiming to penetrate, the two threats who concern them the most are: the substitutes – the large number of restaurants and outlets selling fresh pizza- , and their main competitor Di Giorno, and it is clear that this situation could make NRFC expedite the launch operation in such a way that it could make judgment mistakes. Recommendations: The market studies are favorable for the new pizza launch, but the opportunity is less interesting that the one for the pasta, the case for the pizza is surrounded by great risks that the management should seriously consider: -the opportunity is sensitive to parent brand, for that reason NRFC should take more time to fine tune the pasta product, and not hurry for the pizza in a manner that could considerably hurt the initial pasta and sauces success. proceed for a larger product testing, even if there is a risk that competitors might take profits of it, and try to target the Contadina non users in larger amounts for the test -improve the pizza taste according to feedback from the test, and cut off prices in such way that they match the customer’s expectations since they will compare it to the existing products from other suppliers. The new product should be then positioned in an intermediate range between the frozen pizza and the existing fresh pizza (restaura nts, pizza outlets, and so on) -delaying the launch could make DiGiorno launch its own pizza and then be the first mover in the refrigerated pizza market: take this as an opportunity and try to learn from his mistakes: the market risks are real and for sure that competitor will meet difficulties, learn from that and try to improve the product introduction.

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Comparing Culture - Germany and America essays When many people think of Germany, the first thing that often comes to mind is its dark history, including the Nazi Regime that ruled during World War II. However, much has changed since then, and Germany today is one of the centerpieces of the European Union and economy. Today, the German economy, which is based heavily upon the American Wall Street, is a flourishing part of Europe. Like the United States, Germany has one of the most vast and broad media industries in the world. German-based print, radio and television deliver high-quality journalism that is widely respected by both the German public and international media experts. Sports take up a considerable amount of peoples free time in Germany. There are more than 87,000 sports clubs affiliated with the "Deutscher Sportbund" (DSB; which is the German Sports Federation). Approximately 27 million people - nearly a quarter of the entire population - are members of a sports club, and another 12 million partake in sports independently. In all the various branches, there are approximately 2.6 million people working as coaches, trainers, physiotherapists or officials. At the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Germany was ranked No. 5. The most popular sport in Germany is soccer, called "Fussball. Soccer is called football in most of Europe, while football from America is referred to American Football. America is one of the few countries that calls the game soccer." The German national soccer team has won the World Cup three times and came close in 2002 before losing to Brazil in the final. Germany is gearing up to host the 2006 World Cup. The all-time best-known German soccer player is perhaps Franz Beckenbauer, who is known today as the soccer "Kaiser" for his influence on the sport. The Grundgesetz (the German Basic Laws, which is the German equivalent of the US Constitution) guarantees freedom of faith and freedom of religion and dec...

The american holocaust essays

The american holocaust essays What Ever Happened to the Indians?-A Look into the American Holocaust For years and years students across the world have studied and memorized endless gory facts about massive genocides such as the Jewish Holocaust, the World War Two atomic bombs, and the religious Crusades. These were extremely significant events during the history of the world because they changed the lives of so many people. Millions of people were killed during these three events simply because of their religion or the color of their skin. All of these genocides were unique for one reason or another including the numbers of people killed or the time period in which it took place (Stannard 151). Several books, including school textbooks, often go into great detail describing these bloody events. However, as horrible as these extensive murders were, there was another massive genocide that occurred right in our own country that is barely acknowledged when compared with these other three, especially the Jewish Holocaust. The extermination of almost all Native American Indians was easily one of the most horrific genocides in history, totaling nearly 100,000,000 deaths (Stannard 151). Yet this particular genocide is barely given any attention. In his book American Holocaust, David Stannard questions why we, the world as a whole, dont seem to care about the terrible things that the Europeans did to the Native American Indians. Also, why, when more Indians were killed, is there more emphasis on the Jewish Holocaust and other extreme events? And finally, why did the Europeans find it necessary to exterminate virtually every American Indian? He seeks to answer these questions and more through examples of torture techniques, European attacks on Indians, and other evidence that he researched. Stannard comments on how there is a traditional Eurocentric bias that lumps undifferentiated masses of Africans into one single categ...

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3 Common Mistakes When Presenting Quotations 3 Common Mistakes When Presenting Quotations 3 Common Mistakes When Presenting Quotations By Mark Nichol Reproducing the precise wording of a saying or the exact words someone has said or someone might say requires adherence to a simple set of rules of punctuation and capitalization, as described and demonstrated in the discussions following each of the examples provided below. 1. The old saying, â€Å"What gets rewarded gets done,† is applicable to any business process. Setting off a saying, or a question or any other type of quotation, with commas marks the quoted material as the only specimen of that type of thing. Because this is not an attributed direct quotation, it should be presented with nonrestrictive construction, indicating that it is merely one of multiple possible sayings: â€Å"The old saying ‘What gets rewarded gets done’ is applicable to any business process.† 2. Demonstrators chanted â€Å"release the tape† and â€Å"we want the tape† as they marched down the street. An attribution (an identification of one or more speakers) must be followed by- or preceded by- a comma (in the former case, a colon is sometimes used instead), and the first word of a full quotation should be capitalized: â€Å"Demonstrators chanted, ‘Release the tape!’ and ‘We want the tape!’ as they marched down the street.† (Notice, too, that exclamation points have been inserted at the end of each quotation to indicate that the speakers raised the volume of their voices above the normal range.) 3. When you tell young people to turn off the phone, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. When describing at a distance of time and/or space what a person or people say or would conceivably say, treat the statement as an actual quotation: â€Å"When you tell young people to turn off the phone, they hear, ‘Please cut off your left arm above the elbow.’† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeExpanded and ExtendedNeither... or?

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Enterprise Resource Planning System Research Paper - 1

Enterprise Resource Planning System - Research Paper Example One must consider the scale the drive â€Å"Enterprise Resource Planning† (ERP) vendors in order to understand these vendors’ sales tactics. Millions of dollars are invested by big players such as Oracle/PeopleSoft, SAP, Microsoft, and SYSPRO --- to name some --- to develop ERP systems (Dowlatshahi, 2005, p.3745). For these vendors, CD copy of the system is just minimal capital; therefore closed deals for implementations of these systems gain them absolute profit. It should be of no surprise to see these vendors exhaust all means to close deals with potential clients, since there is a lot of profit at stake (Fulla, 2007, p.35). Some companies report being given trips to the vendor’s headquarters, luxurious meals and accommodations, and transport by stretch limos (Dowlatshahi, 2005, p.3747). These are all part of a vendor’s strategy in wooing clients to buy their ERP system. Basically, these ERP systems are similar in their fundamental functionalities in business processes management. Therefore, to sell a product, vendors must establish their product’s superiority over other ERP systems available in the market. The danger here is the vendor’s inclination to make outrageous claims regarding their ERP system. Some vendors publicize the advanced functionality of their system, some vouch for the ease of use, while others offer money-back guarantees of up to millions of dollars if their system fails to double other company’s ERP system performance (Fulla, 2007, p.36). ERP vendors even try to sell extra technical and consultation support aside from their software licenses. Final quotes may include consulting and programming assistance of up to thousands of hours. However, companies should be aware that there are usually fees for this consulting assistance, and it may be easier to find cheaper open market services (Fulla, 2007, p.38).   

Quantitative Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Sertive style Essay Example for Free

Sertive style Essay â€Å"A Telephone Call† by Dorothy Parker is a short story that focuses on a woman waiting for a man to call her. He told her, â€Å"I’ll call you at five, darling† (Parker, 1) but as time passes he still has not called. She begins to bargain with God by begging Him to make the man call her as well as by keeping her from calling the man (Parker, 1). The woman in this short story takes a classic lamb’s approach to asserting herself. She begs and pleads with God by attempting to make her reasoning and logic seem sound while also attempting to make God feel compassionate towards her strong desire to have the man call her as he said he would. The lamb’s approach to assertiveness is not effective nor is it appropriate for a grown woman to use in her quest to get what she wants (Sichel, 14). Instead, Sichel suggests that the most effective form of assertiveness is the self-assertive style which does away with the threatening and whining that accompany other forms of assertiveness (14). Assertive style #1 is based on avoidance and using tactics to evoke guilt, to manipulate, to bully, to scare or to threaten (Sichel, 15). In â€Å"A Telephone Call† the woman uses the guilt tactic in order to try to get God to make the man call her immediately. She uses phrases such as, â€Å"let him call me now† or â€Å"I won’t ask anything else of you† (Parker, 1) in order to try to get God to feel sorry for her and to guilt Him into making the man call. As the story progresses, the woman begins to take a whining approach to convincing God to prompt the man to call right away. She rambles on about why he may not have called yet but then continues to plead with God to make the telephone ring. This technique is highly ineffective in getting what one wants because whining is very annoying and is particularly irritating coming from a grown woman. Attempting to make God do anything is a fruitless pursuit to begin with and adding pleading and begging to the mix is not an effective way to get what one wants. Assertive style #2 is concerned with narcissistic exaggeration that uses black and white statements to evoke a sense of drama into assertive statements. The lamb’s approach to assertiveness using this style depends on the use of phrases such as, â€Å"you’re never† and â€Å"it’s impossible† (Sichel, 15). The woman in â€Å"A Telephone Call† uses similar phrases in her attempt to get God to make the telephone ring. The woman also gets quite dramatic as is evident in her ramblings about possible reasons why the man has not called yet. She begins to wonder if he does not like her as she thought he did and goes on to believe that God is angry with her which leads to the ultimate dramatic expression that she wishes the man were dead (Parker, 1). Further, her constant waffling back and forth evokes a strong sense of drama into the short story because one second she is trying to convince herself that there is a very good reason why the man has not called yet and the next second she is wishing him ill will or even death (Parker, 1). Again, this type of assertiveness is neither effective nor mature. Phrases that use words such as â€Å"never† and â€Å"impossible† are highly dramatic because they are words that display exaggeration rather than problem solving techniques. Drama rarely leads to positive solutions but usually leads to the mind going off on tangents that never solve anything as is the case in â€Å"A Telephone Call. † Assertive style #3 focuses on the disavowel of assertion in order to appear nice. The lamb’s approach to using this assertive style is to appear nice by using such phrases as, â€Å"don’t you think it would be good? † (Sichel, 15). This type of questioning allows a person to get their anger out while also using a nice tone of voice in hopes that they will still get what they want. The woman in â€Å"ATelephone Call† is a master at this technique. During her pleading with God she says, â€Å"Ah, don’t let my prayer seem too little to you God† (Parker, 1). The reader is well aware of how desperate and angry the woman is becoming as the story progresses but the way she phrases this question evokes niceness without backing down on the anger. Similarly, she later asks God, â€Å"Are you punishing me God, because I’ve been bad? † (Parker, 1). It is clear from this statement that she is getting increasingly desperate and angry while also realizing that yelling and screaming at God will get her nowhere. This technique is not effective either. God, and most humans as well, can tell the difference between a sincere assertive question and an angry rant disguised by a nice tone of voice. The woman in this story is clearly desperate but goes about stating her case to God in an immature and childish way that garners no results. Assertive style #4 deals with indirect and evasive techniques instead of strong assertive behavior. The lamb’s approach to this style is to mask tough questions with gentle phrases such as, â€Å"do you think you might want to? † (Sichel, 15). Once again the woman in â€Å"A Telephone Call† uses this style in order to convince God to make the telephone ring. She does not ever come right out and say something truly assertive by telling God specifically what she wants and why it is important to her. Instead, she takes on a whining and manipulative tone of voice that relies on pleading and begging to get what she wants. At one point in the story she says, â€Å"I’ll be good, God. I will try to be better, I will, if you will let me see him again. If you will let me telephone me. Oh, let him telephone me now† (Parker, 1). These types of statements are whiny and manipulative and do not focus on the reasons why the woman wants God’s help and reassurance. Instead, they focus on pleading with God in the hopes that He will get tired of listening to her begging and grant her request. This type of assertiveness is rarely effective because it relies on the breaking point of humans in order to get what one wants. It is similar to a child whining until his or her parents get tired of hearing it and just give in to make it stop. Assertive style #5 deals with the issue of denial of ownership. The lamb’s approach to this style is to mask anger with words such as â€Å"never† (Sichel, 16). The woman in â€Å"A Telephone Call† uses this technique throughout the short story as she continues to bargain with God in hopes that the man will call. Towards the end of the story the woman’s begging and pleading begin to focus on God himself and the fact that he cannot possibly understand what she is going through. â€Å"You don’t know how it feels. You’re so safe, there on your throne, with the blue swirling under you. Nothing can touch you; no one can twist your heart in his hands† (Parker, 1). Again, instead of clearly stating her reasons why she hopes God can help her, she puts the blame on God. She takes the ownership of the problem off of herself and tries to make God see that, as a human woman, she is truly suffering, which is something that she does not feel God is taking seriously enough. Instead of talking with God about what her possible role in the problem could be, she makes herself appear to be an angel while the man who does not call and the entire situation are made to appear as the evil ones. This is not an effective assertive technique because it does not require a person to take responsibility for the problem as well as the eventual solution. Similar to the other styles, it relies on whining and begging and other childish behavior rather than adult behavior. â€Å"A Telephone Call† is a highly entertaining and amusing story. If the woman in the story had used the lion’s approach to assertiveness the story would have taken a dangerous and angry turn which would not have produced such an enjoyable story. Similarly, if the woman had taken the self-assertive approach in the story it would have turned out rather boring. However, this is a story and the lamb’s approach to assertiveness is neither amusing nor effective in real life. If a real woman had a similar problem and strongly wished for a man to call her she may indeed turn to God for help. However, in order to effectively state her case and make her wishes known there are several suggestions and recommendations she should follow in order to ensure that she is taking the very best approach to getting what she wants and avoiding the type of drama that the woman in the story displayed. First, she must eliminate all whining and manipulation. These tactics result in an avoidance of the true problem and makes the woman appear immature and desperate instead of assertive enough to state her case in a strong tone of voice. Second, the woman in the story would have been much more effective if she would have avoided narcissistic exaggeration and drama. These just add additional hurdles to overcome when trying to get what one wants. Instead, the woman would have been more effective if she would have told God why she thought the man should call and why it was so important to her to have him call. It would also be effective to remember to say â€Å"please† and â€Å"thank you† while making the request. Similarly, the woman would have been more successful if she had simply stated her case without trying to sugarcoat her anger. This is rarely effective because it makes a person appear fake rather than genuine. The woman should have explicitly stated what she wanted from God and politely requested that He work with her to find a solution. At the same time, the woman was also indirect and evasive when she was trying to convince God to make the telephone ring. Again, she would have been more successful if she would have told God specifically what she wanted Him to do in order to help her. Instead of begging and pleading, she could have simply made her request in a direct and up front manner. Finally, the woman in the story denied ownership of her role in the problem. This usually backfires because people who need help should take an active role in proposing a solution rather than denying any responsibility for the problem. The woman would have been more effective in her request if she would have told God exactly how she felt, why she felt that way and once again asked God for help. The self-assertive approach to asking for something is the most effective because it uses mature techniques that allow a person to speak their mind and make their case in a calm and collected manner that motivates those around them to want to help rather than give in to avoid a dramatic display of childish behavior. Parker, Dorothy. â€Å"A Telephone Call. † 20 March 2009 http://www. classicshorts. com/stories/teleycal. html. Sichel, Mark. â€Å"The Five Styles of Avoidance and Self-Assertion. †

Issues with Unlimited Police Powers

Issues with Unlimited Police Powers Police is enforcement is a vibrancy interpretation of the law, safeguarding citizens from threats of anti social elements qualifies to be the most decisive police job description. Crime is an act for which on may punished by law. A criminal describes someone who has broken the accepted laws of the country by his or her action. The police is the people who have power to bring criminals to justice. Clearly there are limits on a precincts ability to use its police power to control the persons and property of citizens. The general rule is that the means employed in the exercise of the police power can be neither arbitrary nor oppressive, and there must be a reasonable and substantial relationship between the means employed and the end to be attained. In today world, we are facing many incidents of police powers and their authority, if police have unlimited power when dealing with crime, the issue of corruption will be occur. The police corruption has been used to describe many activitie s such as bribery, violence, brutality, fabrication and destruction of evidence, favouritism and nepotism. Corruption of authority is when an officer receives some form of material gain by merit of their position as a police officer with violating the law. Police may use their authority to get some extra income when dealing with criminal. It is most commonly happen when police dealing with traffic offenders or maybe a murder. Police may receive some pocket money, when the traffic offenders are trying to escape from traffic tickets. It happens every day in our real life. Bribery will be happen if the murder criminal is a richer, they can even escaped arrested with money. So when bribery is happen, the richer criminals do not need to be punished by law. The truth cannot be found, the victim cannot find the murderer. The unsolved crime is gradually increased. Favoritism and nepotism also is the reason may cause innocent. Police may actually protect the people they would like to protect, such as their family even they are likely to be criminals. The fabrication and destruction of evidence may happen due to escape legal of sanctions. With such behavior, is often result more victims and more innocent events. This is actually unfair to the public. These are also the reason why we still have lot of unsolved crime in our country. Police are human, human are prone to error. Unlimited power means police dont have to abbey the law or the constitution. Meaning they are allow to do absolutely anything to the suspects of the crime. There is now the era of numerous incidents of police brutality against criminal suspects resulting in serious injuries and deaths. The police may use abuse on the suspects who may actually innocent. There have been several cases involving. This was certainly the case in the deaths of three innocent school boys who were shot dead by the police. The police said they ignored orders to surrender and opened fire at police personnel. It was great suspicion of foul play, because there is no witnesses, no police cars with bullet shots, no wounded policemen. Where there is a death by police shooting, the authority alleges that the deceased attacked and the police acted in self defense. Families of those shot dead have often protested that the deceased had no history or track record of any crimina l activity, again raising questions about the veracity of police claims. The police may assume the things they do to be helping society, such acts may include violence towards the suspect. However, the victim may feel unfair, but still, since the right is given to the police, they are not responsible in inflicting damages to the victim. A string of vicious murders by the police on suspects have left the nation loathe and distrust the police for the police force. It is very difficult to believe that these deaths are caused by the very institution is supposed to protect and preserve justice, even to those who are suspected individuals. This is not the usual situation of having to put up with police corruption, misconduct, mistreatment and heavy-handedness as part of our life everyday life. It will continue to happen as long as the police have the discretion and unlimited power in their hands to interpret as they like the Federal Constitution. Social unrest may also occur due to the police having unlimited powers, the victim may feel unfair due to police corruption. Riots might happen due to the seeking of justice for the victim may result. Social unrest may cause our country political unstable. Social unrest not only will cause the loss of many innocent lives, it will also in the drop of our economic level, Foreign investors will no longer take interest in investing in a country with internal conflicts. Such an incident is similar to that of the 1992 Los Angeles riots which were sparked when the jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King when he resisted arrest. Looting, assault, arson and even murder occurred. The country took a long time to settle the unrest, resulting in loss of revenue for the country. This shows how a country can adversely affected due to unlimited powers given to the police, this all actually can be avoid. It is important to the government to overlook the effect of giving such right to the police before doing so ensure best to the country and its people. In my opinion, police should not have unlimited power when dealing with crime. Although the police have ether assumed or have been assigned responsibility for dealing with many more of complex crime and social problem, but their job is to service people. The mission of police is to control crime, we expect them to perform, a crime control role. They should not be giving authority to judge a criminal. Their job is to find out the criminal and left them to legal sanctions.

E-Commerce In Latin America Essay -- Consumer Markets Business Essays

E-Commerce In Latin America Where Is It Now, Where Is It Going, Who Is Taking It There? In recent years, the media has made much of the growing consumer markets in Latin America. North Americans have to come to understand that much of the health of the U.S. economy is tied to the economic well-being of Latin countries such as Brazil and Mexico. Yet even with our awareness of the market size of our neighbors and awareness of our increasing interdependence, most North Americans consider the emerging Latin American markets to be underdeveloped, backwards, comprised of technologically unprepared people. How accurate is this conception, and specifically, what is the status of the Latin American market for e-commerce? In order to understand any market for the first time, one must answer several basic questions: How large is the market? How fast is it growing? What are the buying patterns in the market? How might they change? When will the market â€Å"take off?† What is blocking or helping market growth? Who is already in the marketplace? Who is likely to enter? This paper outlines the answers to these initial questions, and makes the case that North Americans need to pay attention to emerging Latin ecommerce markets- whether as advertisers, consumers, or trendwatchers. Market Size and Growth Rate As recently as August 1999, the Boston Consulting Group stated that on-line retailing in Latin America will reach $77 million in 1999. This figure represents web sales earned by Latin American based e-tailers. The same report states that an additional $90 million in revenues will be earned by U.S.-based online merchants this year. This results in a total of $167 million in domestic and international ecommerce r... ...n America, I will continue to follow these related trends with increased interest. [1] Emarketer, August 2, 1999, www.emarketer.com/estats/080299_beg.html. [2] Emarketer, June 28, 1999, Is Latin American eCommerce Ready to Take Off?, www.emarketer.com/estats/062899_latam.html. [3] Ibid. [4] eMarketer, Latin American Retail Ecommerce to Reach $160 Million, August 2, 1999, www.emarketer.com/estats/080299_beg.html. [5] Ibid. [6] eMarketer, March 22, 1999, Latin America Gets Fired Up for EC, www.emarketer.com/estats/032299_latin.html. [7] Emarketer, â€Å"Telephone Costs Holding Back Access In Latin America,† September 28, 1998, www.emarketer.com. [8] Ibid. [9] Emarketer, â€Å"UOL,† October 1999, www.emarketer.com. [10] Ibid. [11] â€Å"Building the First Web Brand in Latin America,† From metasearch using keyword â€Å"StarMedia.† [12] Ibid. E-Commerce In Latin America Essay -- Consumer Markets Business Essays E-Commerce In Latin America Where Is It Now, Where Is It Going, Who Is Taking It There? In recent years, the media has made much of the growing consumer markets in Latin America. North Americans have to come to understand that much of the health of the U.S. economy is tied to the economic well-being of Latin countries such as Brazil and Mexico. Yet even with our awareness of the market size of our neighbors and awareness of our increasing interdependence, most North Americans consider the emerging Latin American markets to be underdeveloped, backwards, comprised of technologically unprepared people. How accurate is this conception, and specifically, what is the status of the Latin American market for e-commerce? In order to understand any market for the first time, one must answer several basic questions: How large is the market? How fast is it growing? What are the buying patterns in the market? How might they change? When will the market â€Å"take off?† What is blocking or helping market growth? Who is already in the marketplace? Who is likely to enter? This paper outlines the answers to these initial questions, and makes the case that North Americans need to pay attention to emerging Latin ecommerce markets- whether as advertisers, consumers, or trendwatchers. Market Size and Growth Rate As recently as August 1999, the Boston Consulting Group stated that on-line retailing in Latin America will reach $77 million in 1999. This figure represents web sales earned by Latin American based e-tailers. The same report states that an additional $90 million in revenues will be earned by U.S.-based online merchants this year. This results in a total of $167 million in domestic and international ecommerce r... ...n America, I will continue to follow these related trends with increased interest. [1] Emarketer, August 2, 1999, www.emarketer.com/estats/080299_beg.html. [2] Emarketer, June 28, 1999, Is Latin American eCommerce Ready to Take Off?, www.emarketer.com/estats/062899_latam.html. [3] Ibid. [4] eMarketer, Latin American Retail Ecommerce to Reach $160 Million, August 2, 1999, www.emarketer.com/estats/080299_beg.html. [5] Ibid. [6] eMarketer, March 22, 1999, Latin America Gets Fired Up for EC, www.emarketer.com/estats/032299_latin.html. [7] Emarketer, â€Å"Telephone Costs Holding Back Access In Latin America,† September 28, 1998, www.emarketer.com. [8] Ibid. [9] Emarketer, â€Å"UOL,† October 1999, www.emarketer.com. [10] Ibid. [11] â€Å"Building the First Web Brand in Latin America,† From metasearch using keyword â€Å"StarMedia.† [12] Ibid.

Defeating the Aztec Empire

Hernan Cortes, a fierce Spanish conquistador, landed at San Juan de Ulua, in April 1519. With him, Cortes had 508 soldiers, one hundred sailors, artillery cannons, eleven ships and sixteen horses. Cortes and his small army, marched through Mexico, forming alliances with Aztec rivals, until reaching the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the massive Mexican empire known as the Aztecs or Mexica. It had a population of 200,000 people; almost three times that of the largest city of Spain, Seyville (Windschuttle, 43). Within the next two years, Cortes and his men had triumphantly defeated the Aztecs and taken control of Tenochtitlan against all odds. (Daniel, 1992) So how, despite be hopelessly outnumbered, without the possibility of new supplies or reinforcements, fighting other native tribes and Spaniards, and the Aztecs on their own turf, did this tiny Spanish force defeat such a formidable army. Today, there are a number of reasons why the Spanish have believed to been able to overcome such odds. A combination of poor Aztec military tactics against advance Spanish weaponry and strategy, a weak Aztec ruler, the spread of disease, Tenochtitlan’s poor governing over its populace, and the interconnectedness of Aztec military and religion ultimately led to the demise of its empire. The first phase of the Spanish invasion of Mexico took place in April 1519. In defiance of the Governor of Cuba and his expedition sponsor, Cortes took control over his forces and moved them inland. On the way, Cortes met resistance from other locals, who he eventually conquered and absolved into his army as allies. After reaching Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Capital, the Spaniards were initially greeted as foreign ambassadors. Other claims state that the Aztecs viewed Cortes as the god, Quetzalcoatl (Windschuttle, 50). The Spanish did not return the favor, eventually kidnapping Emperor Montezuma and, using him as a puppet, ran the country. The Governor of Cuba, angry with the defiant Cortes, sent a force under Panfilo Narvaez to end his exploration. As the natives before him, Cortes defeated this force and had them join him in his conquest. In Cortes’ absence, the Spanish troops left behind had massacred Aztec nobles during a religious festival, a confrontation that also left emperor Moctezuma dead. The Spanish were forced to leave Tenochtitlan, ending the first phase of the conquest. For a year, the Spanish forces recuperated, gathering eight thousand native allies and new supplies, including three naval vessels. â€Å"To ay siege to a lake-girt city requiring the prefabrication of thirteen brigantines on the far side of the mountains, eight thousand carriers to transport the pieces, their reassembly in Texcoco, the digging of a canal and the deepening of the lake for their successful launching (Clendinenn, 72)† For a year, Cortes and his native allies lay siege to the city of Tenochtitlan. Using experience military tactics, against an Aztec force unprepared for them, Cortes and his troops captured the capital cit y, killing almost all inside. This would be the end of the Aztec empire. Moctezuma II was the ninth ruler of Tenochtitlan and the first Aztec emperor to make contact with Europeans. Moctezuma’s poor leadership and unwillingness to deal with the invading Spaniards are regarded as large factors of the Aztec’s demise. He immediately assumed the foreigners to be foreign ambassadors and was blindly unable to see their true intent. At their first meeting, the two leaders exchanged gifts. Clendinnen stated that â€Å"Cortes interpreted Moctezoma’s first gifts as gestures of submission of naive attempts of bribery. To the Aztecs, Moctezuma gifts were most likely â€Å"statements of dominancy, superb gestures of wealth and liberality made the more glorious by the arrogant humility of their giving (Windshuttle, 40). † After living months in Tenochtitlan, the Spaniards launched a coup, taking Moctezuma as a hostage. When he was taken hostage, he preferred to attempt to bribe the invaders rather than, although have the ability to, expel t hem from the city. Being heavily religious, Moctezuma would depend on his oracles for a plan of action, proving his indecisiveness and wasting valuable time. Indecisiveness of the leader and inaction to deal with the invaders led to the demise of the Aztec empire (Windschuttle, 45). The Aztec’s authoritative rule over its different cities and populations allowed for Hernan Cortes to recruit thousands of native allies. Only recently rising to power, the Aztecs depended on governed regions and populations for taxing tribute that included food and other necessities. â€Å"They exacted tribute by threat of terror and retribution. In fact, each year, the agricultural harvest heralded the onset of a six-month season of war, in which warriors from Tenochtitlan would go out to other settlements to challenge them to battle, to bring back captives for sacrifice, and to carry off women, children, and slaves (Windschuttle, 54). † The capital city of Tenochtitlan’s use of murder, sacrifice, and firm rule over its lands caused other Aztec cities to desire them to be overthrown. The Aztec’s authoritative rule was heavily resented, and did poorly to attain any loyal sentiments among its far-reaching population. Cortes was able to easily break these shaky alliances, and have these angered native populations join him in getting rid of the Aztecs. By the second siege of Tenochtitlan, Cortes had almost every other Aztec city fighting behind him. It was these native allies that led to the final massacre of the remaining Aztecs in Technoctitlan (Clendinenn, 91). Since the first contact between Europeans and American natives, diseases such as smallpox, measles, and yellow fever had spread like wildfire, killing millions of natives. The spread of disease to natives lacking immunity also contributed to the fall of the Aztecs. During the second siege of Tenochtitlan, a Spanish soldier from the force sent by the Governor of Cuba, had brought the smallpox disease with him. This disease spread quickly and was very effective at killing the natives. â€Å"Smallpox was the biggest single cause of death in the Valley of Mexico and killed off many more Aztec warriors than did Spanish swords or guns (Windschuttle, 46). † When the second siege of Tenochtitlan began, their population had dwindled so much that defeat was seemingly imminent. A major reason for the Spanish victory over the Aztecs was their experienced and trained military soldiers. They had foot soldiers with pikes, swordsmen, muskets and artillery. Spanish forces, trained by numerous wars with the French, were comprised of tercios, or units of 250 men. Soldiers were well-trained and put through drills that stressed the importance of the unit working together. Cortes and his army, due to lack of men, had to adjust to follow Spanish military strategy. â€Å"During the siege of Tenochtitlan the force was reformed into nine companies of about fifty men each, grouped in turn into three â€Å"divisions,† each of three companies. This handling of troops was in keeping with Spanish practice of the period (Daniel, 189). Cortes’ sixteen horses also proved to be incredibly effective against the Aztec soldiers and a played a vital role in their victory. â€Å"At Cintla in Tabasco, early in the expedition, thirteen horseman route a huge enemy force engaged with the infantry. At Otumba the wounded and exhausted cavalry repeatedly broke through the overwhelmi ng numbers of Aztec troops until they retreated (Daniel, 189). † Without the help of rival native groups, such as the Tlaxcala and Texcoco, the Spanish would have been even more outnumbered by the Aztec forces. This tactical use of alliances was possibly the most important aspect of Cortes’ conquest of Mexico. Overall, the use of infantry, cavalry, and allies seemed to be too much for the Aztecs. The tactical organization of the Aztec military was much different than that of the Spanish. The Aztec forces were comprised of every able man, who had little option, as opposed to the Spanish forces comprised of volunteers. Their forces were divided into four units of four hundred men, commanded by a councilor of the emperor. Most of these troops were low class commoners. There were also units of elite soldier fraternities, such as the Eagle and the Jaguar, that provided increased military skill to the Aztec army. Typically, Aztec forces would use open formations and attempt to overcome their foe using flanking tactics (Daniel 120). The Aztecs and their fortified cities were also not used to siege warfare or the use of cannons. â€Å"European cities had over this time adapted their construction, supplies and defenses to the possibility of a siege. Moreover , at the time the Spaniards were departing from America, European fortifications were going through a rapid redesign because of the challenge presented by the invention of cannon. In Tenochtitlan, however, Cortes found a people who had never even conceived of European-style siege warfare, let alone constructed defenses against it (Clendinenn, 56). † The Aztec use of open formations and inability to defend against cavalry attacks led to a disadvantage on the battleground. The Spanish army’s closed sword-wielding formations were able to hold up well against the Aztecs, often breaking through their lines. The cavalry, time and time again, were able to break up the Aztec formations, causing them to retreat. An example of the overpowering Spanish army tactics was highlighted by the Battle of Otumba. Here, a large Aztec army confronted exhausted Spanish forces. Cortes ordered his cavalry to attack the military leaders and the Aztec army’s flanks, breaking through their lines and causing confusion. The Spanish infantrymen engaged the Aztec foot soldiers, continuing to attack as the Aztec retreated. These tactics of Cortes and his men proved to too much even large Aztec force. Aside from military tactics, the military technologies utilized by the Spanish army were far more superior to the weapons of the Aztecs. Europeans were much more advanced in terms of weaponry, using weapons of steel and iron against the Aztec’s wood and stone. As the Aztecs considered kills with long-distance weapons to shameful, their arrows and darts were only meant to injure their opponents. Aztec warriors carried wooden arrows, knives of flint stone and wooden clubs embedded with flakes of obsidian, a form of volcanic glass (Windschuttle, 45). † These clubs with stone tips were the most effective weapons carried by the Aztecs. Spanish soldiers on the other hand carried â€Å"cutlasses, lances, arrowheads and armor all forged from iron and steel, plus hand guns, crossbows, and cannons (Windschuttle, 1997-45). Their lances and cutlasses were much more efficient in hand-to-hand combat, with the ability to kill opponents with one strike. The Spanish also brought with them armored cavalry, cannons, crossbows, brigantines (ships), and handguns. In the second siege of Tenochtitlan, the three brigantines lay waste to Aztec canoes fighting in defense of the city. The Aztec military was seemingly outmatched and did not intimidate the invaders in the least. â€Å"Spanish soldiers, in fact, found Aztec weapons so inconsequential that they abandoned their own heavy metal armor in favor of quilted cotton (Windschuttle, 55). The Spanish weaponry was too much for the outdated weapons of the Aztecs to have a chance. One historian, Inga Clendinnen, argued that the biggest Aztec disadvantage was how they viewed military confrontations. As they did with the Spanish, the Aztecs would send food and gifts to an enemy viewed as inferior. The Aztecs felt that war and religion were interconnected. The Aztecs preferred hand-to-hand combat with the intention of using captives for sacrifices to the gods. They were opposed to killing opponents from a distance and viewed surprise ambushing as an unthinkable military tactic. The Spanish army, however, cherished their long-ranged weapons, such as their muskets and crossbows. To make matters worse, Aztec warriors considered being killed by a long-distance weapon as an unworthy death. â€Å"Spaniards valued their crossbows and muskets for their capacity to pick off selected enemies well behind the line of engagement: as snipers, as we would say. The psychological demoralization attending those sudden, trivializing deaths of great men painted for war, but not yet engaged in combat, must have been formidable (Clendinnen, 80)† Cortes also launched numerous attacks in the orning, known as dawn raids, charging on unsuspecting villages and slaughtering men, women, and children. Cortes and the Spanish army learned to take advantage of the Aztecs’ religious military tactics. Spanish soldiers would pretend to retreat, tempting Aztec troops to pursue chases in the hopes of acquiring sacrificial captives. Cortes would then simultaneously have his troops turn around and slaughter the unsuspecting Aztecs (Windschuttle, 52-53). Cortes states that â€Å"Sometimes, as we were thus withdrawing and they pursued us so eagerly, the horsemen would pretend to be fleeing, and then suddenly would turn on the,; we always took a dozen or so of the boldest. By these means and by the ambushed which we set for them, they were always much hurt; and certainly it was a remarkable sight for even when they well knew the harm they would receive from us as we withdrew, they still pursued us until we had left the city (Clendinenn, 80). † The Spanish used siege warfare to ultimately bring down Tenochtitlan. They constricted its perimeter, forcing other tribes to join them against the Aztecs, and cutting off supplies to the Tenochtitlan’s inhabitants. â€Å"Siege was the quintessential European strategy: an economical design to exert maximum pressure on whole populations with active engagement, delivering control over people and place at least cost (Clendinenn, 83). † Aztecs detested this form of warfare, preferring the more honorable hand-to-hand combat. The Spanish, however, would avoid this type of warfare, sticking together in tight formations and using long-distance weapons and artillery. In the end, despite being heavily outnumbered, outgunned, and malnourished the Aztecs followed their prideful ways and refused to surrender. â€Å"Again they encountered ghostly figures, of women and gaunt children, and saw the warriors still stationed on the rooftops, but silent now, and unarmed, close-wrapped in their cloaks. And still the fruitless pretense at negotiation, the dumb, obdurate resistance (Clendinnen, 91). † Here Cortes seems to be dumbfounded by the resilience of the seemingly defeated Aztecs. In the coming day, Cortes and his army killed twelve thousand more Tenochtitlan inhabitants. Cortes again tried to get them to surrender. â€Å"I said many things to persuade them to surrender but all to no avail, although we showed them more signs of peace that have ever been shown to a vanquished people for we, by the grade of our Lord, were now the victors (Clendinnen, 91). † After two more days of Aztec refusal, Cortes released their native ally forces, which mercilessly murdered â€Å"forty-thousand† more Aztec civilians. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the Aztec empire had been a thriving empire with far-reaching influence throughout Mexico. The eventual demise befalling them would go blindly unknown as Hernan Cortes and his army of Spanish Conquistadors explored Mexico. Within two years of seeing Tenochtitlan and meeting its emperor Moctezuma II, the Spanish forces of roughly five hundred men had destroyed the Aztec city and killed off most of inhabitants. There are many reasons that contributed to this extremely unlikely scenario. Moctezuma made the first blunder by accepting the invaders as foreign ambassadors and basically allowing them to roam freely around the city. His eventual kidnapping at the hands of the Spanish seemed to be the beginning of the end. After the initial siege of Tenochtitlan was unsuccessful, the Spanish were able to recuperate in a neighboring city of Texococo. Preying on weak ties between Technotitlan and the cities it cruelly and authoritatively ruled over, Cortes was able to combine a native ally army. In conjunction with the Spaniards’ advanced weaponry and military strategy, and using the poor religious-backed military tactics of the Aztecs to their advantage, the Aztecs fell within a year. The defeat of the Aztecs seemingly opened the door to European colonization of the Americas and the further destruction of the continents’ natives.