Overview Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Example Essay Example

Overview: Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Example Paper Overview: Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Introduction Before anything else, it is necessary to provide a brief background of the country in question. According to a factbook by the Central Intelligence Agency (2008), the Republic of Yemen is located in Southwest Asia’s Arabian Peninsula, having a land area of approximately 530,000 sq. km. Said area is comprised of over 200 islands, the largest being Socotra in its southern region. Its capital city is Sana’a and is governed by a republican government – the only country in the Arabian Peninsula under such an administration.As already noted by the CIA, Yemen is a presidential representative democratic republic. It was formally established on May 22, 1990 via the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic (North) and the Marxist People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South), with its constitution having first been drafted on May 16, 1991. It is ruled by a president, or the head of state, as well as a prime minister, or the head of government – the current ones bein g President Ali Abdallah Salih and Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawwar, respectively. The country chooses its president every 7 years, the most recent being in 2006. The president, in turn, appoints the rest of the government officials.In terms of military strength, the Republic of Yemen is said to have a sizable military under its command, a sizable portion of which is made up of conscripts. In fact, their armed forces is the biggest in the Arabian Peninsula, second only to the Saudi military; in 2001, for instance, their armed forces personnel alone numbered at 67,000 (International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2001). According to the Library of Congress (2008), this number further balloons by 71,000 when the Yemeni paramilitary force is taken into account. That the Yemeni government places great importance on their military cannot be denied, placing it as one of their three biggest annual expenditures. As of 2006, their defense budget amounted to $2.1 billion – 6% of the country’s GDP. Of course, this does have the unfortunate side-effect of the country’s other important aspects being neglected and getting the short end of the stick.Further compounding its national troubles is that it has gained notoriety for being a sanctuary and breeding ground for the forces of global jihad (BBC News, 2010). Such an issue was first raised just the previous year when Afghanistan and Pakistan – both countries, it should be noted, with their own track record for terrorist turnouts – expressed fears of elements of al-Qaeda raising militancy among Yemeni citizens. Fortunately, good developments have been happening in this regard; the admission of a Yemeni al-Qaeda terrorist cell to a failed attack on a US airliner helped fuel the government’s resolve against Islamic radicals. The recent bilateral truce with the rebels in the northern regions should only help them better focus their attention on these terrorists.Finally, its legal system, while nominally a democracy, also takes some of its aspects from the Shari’a, or Islamic law – as stated in articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen (1994). This may have played a part in its poor track record with regard to human rights. For instance, among other things, the government has been accused of torture, inhuman treatment and extrajudicial execution of suspected enemies of the state. The justice system is likewise marred by corruption, inefficiency and frequent executive interference. Freedom of speech also leaves something to be desired, especially where press and religious freedom are concerned. This then brings the discussion to another issue; namely, that regarding Yemen’s concept of law enforcement and human rights. Such concerns will be addressed in succeeding portions of this research.Human Rights and the Lack of It: Women’s Rights, Freedom of ReligionAs already mentioned, Yemeni citizens often do not have m uch in the way of human rights. It is supposedly a democratic country, yet freedom of speech is horribly inadequate. Women are treated as second-class citizens, often being forced into arranged marriages at age 9 or even earlier – in stark contrast to the equal rights promised by the constitution. Taking into account the numerous human rights agreements Yemen is a party to, such as the 1994 Geneva Agreement, the government really ought to be called on the numerous human rights violations they have condoned.First among the points that should be addressed is the fact that the Republic of Yemen has Islam as an established state religion. While citizens are allowed to be part of other religious denominations, Muslims are forbidden to convert to another religion, nor are they allowed to be proselytized (United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, 2007). Otherwise, though, the Yemeni government is actually rather tolerant of other religions, having diplomatic ties wi th the Vatican for instance. Moreover, they even issue residence visas to priests who wish to minister to their flock.The more problematic issue related to the instatement of Islam as the state religion is that its laws, Shari’a, form the basis of all Yemeni legislation. These laws are quite notorious for their severity, such as their mandate of death for an apostate. Another fact about these laws is that they are quite biased against women and sometimes, despite the surprising lack of religious discrimination, even against people adhering to the tenets of other religions.As already mentioned above, girls can be forced into arranged marriage even before they are physically capable of pregnancy, thanks in part to preconceived notions on female virginity and integrity. The problem here is that when a girl’s anatomy is not yet fully developed, pregnancy can in fact be more dangerous than it already is. In the worst cases, underage mothers may even die giving birth to thei r child, or worse, die with their child (Uzan, Seince and Pharisien, 2004). Coupled with the sometimes less-than adequate conditions in which babies are delivered, multitudes of Yemeni females end up not fully growing up. The limited access women have to medical care only aggravates the situation.Even discounting this, early marriages often come with the unfortunate side-effect of the girl being forced to prematurely drop out of school. According to UNESCO (2005), Yemen has the unfortunate distinction of having the lowest female enrollment rate of all Middle Eastern countries, and the widest literacy gap between adult males and females – a staggering 38 percent (Library of Congress Federal Research Division, 2008). In general, most Yemeni parents are reluctant to send their daughters to mixed-gender schools due to concerns regarding chastity. Such concern, while understandable, should not be prioritized to the detriment of the welfare of these girls.Other factors that hinder women’s education also come into play. For starters, most Yemeni educational facilities are subpar compared to those found in other nations. The number of schools in a given area is usually not many, and even existing educational institutions often suffer from overcrowding and an overall low quality of education. Neither does it help that the teachers, most of whom are male, often exhibit a conservative attitude towards their female students. Coupled with the fairly large distance between schools and rural areas, low-quality teaching materials, and most importantly lack of financial resources, Yemeni families in general have little interest in educating their daughters.The women who have it worst of all are the ones who never wanted to get married in the first place and therefore want out. In contrast to men who can file for divorce anytime and anywhere they like, no questions asked, women have to undergo a lot of scrutiny as to why they want a divorce in the first place. As written by Amal Basha of Freedom House (2005), no thanks to the horribly backward Personal Status Law, women are forced to contend with unnecessary practical, social and financial consequences associated with divorce. The Human Rights Watch (2001) further laments how authorities often turn a blind eye towards violence against women, yet whose hearts bleed for violence against men.Conclusion: Modernization as the SolutionJudging from the previous statements, it can be convincingly argued that the Yemeni government’s excessive fixation on Islamic law as the backbone of its legislation is largely responsible for most of the issues plaguing the country. What is more, the country’s current state and condition can also serve as proof that when the church dictates how the state runs its affairs, disaster happens. Handelman (2009, p.1) explains how such countries â€Å"still show few signs of forward progress†. Thus, this researcher proposes that the Republic of Yemen c an rise up from its current state by means of modernization. More specifically, considering how Islam has a penchant of breeding conflicts described as â€Å"intense and violent† (Handelman, 2009, p.57), the Yemeni government needs to discontinue its reference to Islamic law for its legislation.Modernization, which refers to a society’s transition from a traditional focus to a modern one, has and is being widely used for those countries who wish to accelerate their development. Where developing countries are concerned, says Qian Chengdan (2009), their modernization works best when based on the experiences and lessons gained from the development of other countries. Compared to their more traditional counterparts, modern countries generally enjoy a higher standard of living, with their citizens accorded more rights and freedoms. This is undoubtedly something the Yemeni people are in dire need of.Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi (1997) further characterize modernizati on as consisting of a gradual differentiation and specialization of social structures; that is, different social structures are created to perform different functions. This would ideally help in setting apart the political structures in particular. In this process, various sequences are involved, including but not limited to industrialization, urbanization, education, communication, mobilization and political incorporation. Ultimately, the end result would be a true democratic system for the country concerned.It should be noted that such a theory is very much applicable to Yemen’s current state. The social and religious structures must be separated from the political structures; specifically, Shari’a should be abolished as the basis for all other Yemeni laws. This is not only because of how draconian said laws are, but also because while an overwhelming majority of Yemenis are Muslim, there are still a handful who do not belong to the Islamic faith. The state should on ly be concerned with matters of state, leaving religious issues to those more qualified to handle them.Mashhur et al (2003) have said that most Arab countries today badly need to initiate reforms in the system. Unfortunately, due to the overly conservative stance of the Yemeni government, modernization will definitely be something they will find difficult to swallow. Griffiths (2010) also adds how Western nations are most often resented for their habit of intervening (some would say interfering) in the affairs of other nations. This, he says, is the â€Å"fundamental flaw in the West’s strategic thinking† (p.20), which will probably be how the idea of a modernized Yemen will be perceived. Until they learn how to be more open-minded – until they learn that the spirit, not the letter of the law is what matters, and that an unjust law is not a law at all – they will find that accelerating their development will be very difficult indeed. Overview: Yemen’s Democracy, Military and Politics Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!

Cómo ahorrar en costo boletos Disneyland y Disneyworld

Cà ³mo ahorrar en costo boletos Disneyland y Disneyworld Disneyland, en el sur de California, y DisneyWorld, en Orlando, Florida, son dos de los grandes destinos turà ­sticos de los hispanos que viven en Estados Unidos y de Latinoamericanos y espaà ±oles que visitan el paà ­s como turistas. Las entradas, tambià ©n conocidas como tickets o boletos, son caras. Pero sabiendo dà ³nde comprarlos se pueden obtener descuentos para el parque californiano de Disneyland, como DisneyWorld. Cabe destacar que los nià ±os menores de 3 aà ±os no pagan tickets de ingreso ni a DisneyWorld ni a Disneyland. Entre esa edad y los 10 aà ±os deben comprar ticket de infantes. Los mayores de 10 aà ±os pagan como un adulto. A continuacià ³n, los precios de los tickets y pases para Disneyland y Disneyworld, dà ³nde comprarlos con descuento, quà © tipo de personas tienen acceso a ahorros adicionales, quà © no se puede hacer con los tickets bajo riesgo de arresto y, finalmente, quà © hacer para no perderlos en caso de extravà ­o o robo. Costo de tickets Disneyland en 2018 Para los parques temticos Disneyland Park y Disney California Adventure Park. El costo de los tickets varà ­an segà ºn el nà ºmero de dà ­as que pueden utilizarse y si se utilizan para un à ºnico parque o para ambos. El precio para un à ºnico dà ­a debe consultarse, ya que varà ­a enormemente segà ºn la fecha. Una vez que se compra debe utilizarse antes del 31 de diciembre de 2019. El costo de un ticket para 2 dà ­as puede adquirirse a partir de $105 por jornada, el de 3 dà ­as a partir de $93,34/jornada, el de 4 dà ­as desde $76,25/jornada y el de 5 dà ­as a partir de $64/jornada. Comprar un ticket para 3, 4 o 5 dà ­as da derecho a utilizar una maà ±ana el pase conocido como Magic Morning y que da derecho a entrar a atracciones, tiendas y restaurantes antes de que abran al pà ºblico en general. Todos los tickets son personales y no se pueden transferir a otra persona. Adems, el Disney MaxPass, que puede comprarse a partir de $10 por dà ­a y por ticket o por $75 anuales, permite acceder a fotos sin là ­mite y a utilizar el sistema FastPass para elegir un nà ºmero de atracciones que se pueden disfrutar sin necesidad de esperar en fila como el resto de los usuarios de los parques de atracciones. Adems, hay la posibilidad de comprar Pasaportes Anuales que dan derecho no sà ³lo al ingreso a los parques sino tambià ©n a descuentos adicionales. Los costos de los pasaportes anuales son los siguientes: Disney Signature Passport: $999Disney Deluxe Passport: $729Disney Signature Plus Passport: $1.149 Costo de los tickets para DisneyWorld en 2018 En DisneyWorld hay 4 parques temticos y 2 parques acuticos: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studio, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach y Typhon Lagoon. El precio de los tickets depende de si se compran para un à ºnico parque o permite el acceso a ms de uno. Tambià ©n depende del nà ºmero de dà ­as, permitià ©ndose pases de un mximo de 10. Destacar que al igual que sucede con las entradas a Disneyland, en DisneyWorld los menores de 3 aà ±os no pagan, entre 3 y 9 aà ±os se paga el ticket infantil y el de adulto a partir de los 10 aà ±os de edad. El costo de tickets para un à ºnico dà ­a debe consultarse porque varà ­a enormemente dependiendo de la fecha. Para ms de un dà ­a los precios son los siguientes: 2 dà ­as: a partir de $118,503 dà ­as: a partir de 101,664 dà ­as: a partir de $94,755 dà ­as: a partir de $77.406 dà ­as: a partir de $66,507 dà ­as: a partir de $58,858 dà ­as: a partir de $52,509 dà ­as: a partir de $47,6610 dà ­as: a partir de $43.70 Los tickets deben utilizarse en los 14 dà ­as siguientes a su compra. Al igual que sucede con Disneyland, tambià ©n es posible comprar tickets anuales para DisneyWorld cuyos precios son los siguientes: Premium Annual Passport: $1.579Disney Platinum Plus Pass: $994Disney Platinum Pass: $894 Todos los precios de los pases anuales son a partir de los 3 aà ±os. Descuentos en el precio de los tickets de Disney Cabe destacar que en la mayorà ­a de los casos es difà ­cil obtener descuentos superiores al 5 por ciento por ticket y que se debe sospechar y analizar todas aquellas ofertas que brindan un descuento mayor, principalmente si piden pago en efectivo o por Wester Union. Tambià ©n debe sospecharse de las pginas que brindan descuentos y que en el url tienen la palabra Disney, ya que eso indica que no son vendedores autorizados por la propia Disney y tampoco se debe comprar un ticket de un solo dà ­a con descuento, porque tampoco est autorizado. Es ms fcil ahorrar alojndose fuera de los parques o eligiendo restaurantes baratos que en el costo de los tickets. Aà ºn asà ­, sà ­ que en ocasiones es posible comprar los boletos ms baratos que al precio oficial. Para el pà ºblico en general, las reglas generales son las siguientes.Para tickets de 1 o 2 dà ­as: comprar directamente en las puertas.Get Away Today es una pgina especialista en tickets para Disneyland que debe siempre checarse.Para tickets de 2 a 10 dà ­as para DisneyWorld o para entradas de varios dà ­as en Disneyland verificar con Undercover Tourist, un vendedor autorizado.Para Disneyland verificar tambià ©n con Disneyland Good Neighbor HotelsPara tickets anuales para DisneyWorld, informarse con Auto Club South Es posible comprar tickets en Cotsco, Walmart, Safeway y AAA, pero como regla general puede afirmarse que los descuentos son mà ­nimos. Adems, existen descuentos especiales como residentes de Florida, funcionarios pà ºblicos, miembros del Disney Vacation Plan, visitantes de Irlanda y el Reino Unido, descuentos a empresas y, finalmente a militares en activo, reserva, retirados y miembros de la Guardia Nacional. Los militares pueden comprar tickets de descuento, que varà ­a segà ºn la à ©poca del aà ±o. La regla general es comprarlos con anticipacià ³n contactando con MWR y mostrar el I.D. militar a la puerta del parque. Quà © hacer y quà © no hacer con los tickets de Disney Lo primero que debe hacerse es asegurarse de poder recuperar el ticket en caso de robo o pà ©rdida. Para ello existen dos opciones, en primer lugar, crear una cuenta en MyDisneyExperience y vincularla con los datos en el ticket. En segundo lugar, escanear el reverso del ticket y guardarlo en una cuenta de email o fotocopiarlo. En ambos casos ser posible obtener una nueva tarjeta o una MagicBand. Otro consejo a destacar es que no deben comprarse tickets a personas que los compraron para varios dà ­as y acaban no utilizndolos todos y quieren vender los no usados. Los tickets de Disneyland y DisneyWorld son personales e intransferibles y Disney utiliza un sistema biomà ©trico el primer dà ­a que se utiliza el ticket que le permite saber si alguien distinto pretende utilizarlo los dà ­as siguientes e impedir su ingreso. Adems, en el estado de Florida es un crimen y puede dar lugar al arresto de la persona que adquiere asà ­ las entradas a los parques temticos. Este tipo de incidente quedarà ­a en el rà ©cord migratorio, incluso en el de los turistas extranjeros. Turistas internacionales: a tener en cuenta Los turistas internacionales deben no olvidar la importancia de no permanecer en Estados Unidos ms tiempo del autorizado porque da lugar a la cancelacià ³n de la visa y, en el caso de turistas de un paà ­s en el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visados que ingresan a EE.UU sin visa, pierden ese privilegio si se quedan ilegalmente en el paà ­s, asà ­ sea por un solo dà ­a.. Asimismo y ya que California y Florida son estados donde los turistas acostumbran a manejar con frecuencia, se deben conocer las consecuencias de no  pagar las multas de trnsito. Puntos Clave: tickets para Disneyland y Disneyworld El precio de los tickets en Disneyland y Disneyworld depende de la edad del comprador, nà ºmero de dà ­as, si se visita uno o varios parques temticos y de los extra como, por ejemplo, FastPass.Los tickets son personales e intransferibles. Disney no admite utilizar boletos comprados a nombre de otra persona y en Florida es, adems, ilegal. Despuà ©s de comprarlos, vincularlos a la cuenta Mydisneyexperience o escanear o fotocopiar el reverso para poder recuperarlos en caso de robo o extravà ­o.Desconfiar de las ofertas que brindan grandes descuentos en tickets para Disneyland o Disneyworld o piden pago en efectivo o por Wester Union o incluyen la palabra Disney en el url de su pgina web.Es aconsejable comprar los tickets en el propio parque o en vendedores autorizados.Checar descuentos adicionales en costo de tickets para militares, reservistas y veteranos, residentes de Florida, funcionarios pà ºblicos y empleados determinadas empresas. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Human rights in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human rights in China - Essay Example The proposed study thus adopts the hermeneutical design of research not only because it promises a high degree of objectivity but also because it is considered the most appropriate methodology for a study of the social sciences. Empirical evidence will be gathered, interpreted and analyzed to disprove or confirm prior conceptions (Schostak, 2002) about the prevalence of human rights abuses in China. Hermeneutics is the art or science of interpretation, which is often used in the interpretation of biblical passages and their applications on day-to-day living. In the same manner, research using the hermeneutical approach describes the practical problem, the processes of data collection and analysis as well as its interpretation and application. When a study asks what something means, the hermeneutically designed research focuses on the entire context within which it happens. Hermeneutics requires that in reading a text, examining a word or phrase will not make sense if the reading does not consider the whole text of which the word or phrase is a part. The â€Å"whole† may be a hospital and the â€Å"part† could be a waterborne or maternity clinic, in which case the relevant study must discuss how the specialized clinic and the hospital as a general treatment center relate to each other. Thus, the proposed research on human rights in China examines how the parts arti culate the whole, and how the whole makes the parts possible and vice versa. The parts here refer to specific instances of human rights violations within China, which will be studied and interpreted according to their place in the overall picture. China is equated with arbitrary detentions, lack of legal safeguards to ensure fair trial, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and association, lack of religious freedom and human rights violations specific to women. This unsavory image of China has been established through the years not only by

Gods and Goddesses paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gods and Goddesses - Research Paper Example There are many similarities found in comparing the various mythologies. A study into the Greek Mythology throws light in the civilizations of the Ancient Greek. Greek mythology is one of the largest collections of mythical stories in the world which lays vastly from representational arts like vase-painting to epics and poems. Greek god Zeus is depicted in many of the mythological stories. Iliad and Odyssey, the oldest epic poems of Homer involve the myths based on the events around the Trojan War. The evidence of the origin of Indian Mythology can be traced out from the period of 2000-1000 B.C. The Aryan history and their celebration about the nature are depicted in the hymns of Rig Veda, written in those days. They had special respect for air, earth water and converted them and worshiped them as their Vedic Gods like Agni, Vayu and Surya. The epics or called the two Itihasas the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, written in the Vedic period speak about the heroes of Vedic period who grad ually turned out to be Gods. The characters in them reflected the enmities between Gods and demons and the struggles between good and evil principles. Coming to the Chinese myths, they were passed down from ancestors orally or written which involve huge collection of folktales, cultural history, and religions.

Web 2.0 Applications Essay Example for Free

Web 2.0 Applications Essay O’Reilly (2006) in his Commencement Speech at UC Berkley , explained that the genuine Web 2. 0 application is the one where there is a proportionality between the number of users and the development of the application. Because of this, it is argued that the core value of Web 2. 0 is being able to effectively harness the innovativeness of everyone in the group. This kind of development is a step forward as compared to the previous state of the internet where the Web as a platform remained a baffling mess of buzzwords with no real clarity. Spolsky(2005) agreed with this stating that Web 2.0 is â€Å"a big, vague, nebulous cloud of pure architectural nothingness† and that â€Å"when people use the term Web 2. 0, I always feel a little bit stupider for the rest of the day. † Although this is obviously true, in this specific sense, the concept of the Web 2. 0 application is nothing new at all to the World Wide Web. The term Web 2. 0 is used when a read-write aspect of the Web is used in a participatory way that actually creates greater shared knowledge for all. It was the widespread adoption of blogs, wikis, MySpace and other read-write techniques that ushered in a common I-write-and-everyone-reads-it usage pattern (Hinchcliffe 2006). The concept of Weblog or Blogging has been defined by Drezner and Farrell (2004) as â€Å"A web page with minimal to no external editing, providing on-line commentary, periodically updated and presented in reverse chronological order, with hyperlinks to other online sources. † Yet even though this definition exists, other researchers such as Nardi et al (2004) express that weblogs currently accessible in the internet have a great diversity that is there is not a single dominant style of activity in the net. Others (Dyrud , Worley Quible, 2005) agree with this but on the hand, they expressed that there is something common to all blogs and that is they are primarily a venue in order to share information (regardless of the amount and manner) between people, groups, and organizations. According to Blood (2000) there are essentially two types of weblog: those that emphasize the diary and comment aspect, and those that emphasize hyperlinks. The former may seek to influence wider public opinion, or merely to raise the profile of the blogger; the latter act as a filter system, looking at what exists on the Web and recommending content that might be of interest to visitors. If bloggers make mistakes in the information they publish, they rely on their peers to point out any errors (Johnson and Kaye 2004) – this sentence is very ‘stand alone’ you may wish to introduce the idea of authority of authority of Web 2. 0 technologies (which will presumably covered again in Wikis etc) . Thus, Blogs have unique features that traditional web media does not have. About 2. 7 million bloggers update their blogs at least weekly. According to Technorati, new blog creation continues to grow Figure X shows the number of new blogs created each day, from January 2004 to January 2006: As was mentioned above, there are various types of blogs and each variation provides the information to the user as different as possible. Factors to be considered are the type of the media to be used in order to transfer the information, the device that is used, the genre, the legal status of the publishers, blog search engines, and blogging communities and directories. One varying consideration to blogs is the kind of media that is used in order to share the message from the person/organization that would want to give the message to the recipient of the message. Take for example; a video blog is called a vlog, a blog that is comprised of links to other sites or networks is called a linklog. Another kind of blog that contains a series of sets of sketches is called a sketchblog and another type similar to a sketchblog is called a photoblog – one that comprises of photos being shared, uploaded and downloaded.

Common Pagan Rituals And Beliefs Essay examples -- essays research pap

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paganism is an ancient type of religion which has quite an inauspicious reputation today. There are many types of paganism, most date back thousands of years, which include Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, and a few other lesser known and practiced variations. Yet all of these religions are similar and share common beliefs. Wicca is the most common of these, as it also demonstrates the shared belief of doing good that is common to most forms of paganism. Another common belief, is to gather in small groups, called covens, to practice pagan rites and ceremonies with others. There are many ancient beliefs, archaic rituals, and forgotten traditions that are practiced by pagans. Many of these are also the origins of widely practiced traditions in the Christian-dominated world of today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A defining characteristic of many pagan religions, especially Wicca, is the worship and closeness to nature. Pagans treat animals kindly and respect all things, living or nonliving, as though they were a person (Roy N. p.). They also share the worship of their nature gods, which increases their respect for all that is around them (Roy N. p.). Pagans are very sensitive people that also have a high regard for personal privacy (Roy N. p.). With this belief of privacy, many pagans have more time to keep in touch with their inner selves and with the nature around them. Wicca, a more popular pagan religion, focuses on the Earth and uses pure white magic to help others (Roy N. p.). In fact, the Wiccan creed is, â€Å"An it harm none, do as thou will,† which agrees with the â€Å"good† philosophy (Beliefs N. p.). Altogether, pagans have a great deal of emphasis on the life and beauty of the nature that thrives around them and are radically different than the mythical rumors of witches that have been given to them over time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another defining characteristic of many pagans is the dedication to knowledge and self exploration (Roy N. p.). In fact it has been said that, â€Å"Witchcraft is the oldest, most irrepressible religion in the world because it stimulates the intellect, promotes a simple, practical way of life, and most importantly, is emotionally satisfying† (Art N. p.). There is a set of beliefs, called the Laws of Magic that help illustrate the beliefs supported by Wicca and other pagan religions. Many of these la... .... The Laws of Magic. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/magic.laws.txt, 30 Nov. 1996. General Beliefs. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/wicca.gen_beliefs.txt, 15 Dec. 1996. Hicks, J. Brad. Ceremony of Initiation. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/initiation.ritual.txt, 15 Dec. 1996. Hunter, Ryan. Handfasting Ceremony. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/handfasting1.ritual.txt, 15 Dec. 1996. Roy, R. Thirteen Questions. Online. Necromnami Net. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/13Questions.txt, 30 Nov. 1996. The Ancient Art. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/craft.intro.txt, 30 Nov. 1996. The Sabbats. Online, Teleplex Communications, Inc. Available HTTP:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.teleplex.net/SCNPA/sabbat.html, 8 Dec. 1996.

Looking for Alibrandi Extra Chapter

Chapter 33 Three months have passed since Josie and Jacob’s break and the completion of their final year at school, the summer holidays are coming to an end and a new year has begun. My heavy eyes ached as I closed them listening to music. I was nearly asleep when the song I was listening to paused and my familiar message tone sounded through my headphones. I picked up my phone just as the song faded back in, my eyes blurred as they adjusted to the light of my phone screen but the only thing I could see was Josie’s name. I sat up in shock and re-read the sender name a few times before believing it.I opened the message and started reading. ‘I’ve missed you so much Jacob, this is so hard and everything I do reminds me of you, I really want to see you again. ’ I stared at it for a moment in shock before a huge wave of emotion came over me. I kept reading it over and over thinking I must be in a dream. I didn’t know what to do or say. My mind was soon crowded with thoughts and suddenly I felt wide awake. Every day that passed I thought how I wished I was good enough to be with her, because in reality I wasn’t over Josie and I really missed what we had.When I did reply I wrote ‘I need you in my life Josie, I can’t bear not having you next to me anymore, I miss your company and want to see you’ I pressed send and anxiously waited for a reply. I heard another buzz so I picked up my phone. ‘Meet me at Subway at 12’ she said. The morning went so fast, I was slightly nervous about seeing Josie again since it had been three months since our last encounter. I put on a t-shirt and shorts on then stood in front of the mirror as I splashed my face with water. I looked at the clock and saw it was 11:50 so I grabbed my helmet and jacket as I pushed my motorcycle out the garage.It wasn’t until I got to the street before Subway that I realised my phone had fallen out of my pocket and I had lef t my wallet at home. I knew then I was going to be late and Josie was going to be left waiting. I turned around and was accelerating down the road when my bike slowed and came to a halt. ‘Could things get any worse? ’ I asked myself as I stared down at an empty fuel gage. I was scared that Josie would be thinking I stood her up and that I had no intention of getting back together with her. I had no choice at this point but to push my bike back home. All I could picture was Josie sitting at Subway all alone waiting.I arrived back home feeling stuffed but I refuelled my bike and sped back down to Subway. I saw Josie sitting at a bus stop nearby and I knew she had recognised the familiar sound of my motorcycle. I parked and got off right beside her. ‘You actually bothered to show up? ’ she exclaimed with anger in her voice. ‘Jose I’m so sorry, I’m sorry for everything! ’ I said still taking off my helmet so my voice was muffled. I tr ied to wrap my arms around her but she resisted trying to be mad. Even though I knew her better than anyone and I could tell she was happy to see me.The butterflies from three months ago had probably just filled her stomach like she told me they used to. ‘I was nearly here when I realised I forgot my wallet, then my bike ran out of fuel, I’m so sorry†¦ I’ll make it up to you,’ I looked at her in the eyes as she pushed out a smile. ‘Let’s go, I want to take you somewhere’ I said as I grabbed her hand and she jumped on the back of my bike. We went down to the beach and took a long walk on the sand. Having that break between us was the best thing, it feels like nothing was ever wrong and we are just meant to be together.