The Heavens Gate Suicides Essays - Heavens Gate, Religion

The Heaven's Gate Suicides The Heavens Gate Suicides RED ALERT! Hale-Bopp brings closure to: Heavens Gate. This is the greeting one receives upon visiting the Heavens Gate web page. It is a haunting message that was left behind when 21 women and 18 men took their own lives on March 23, 24, and 25, 1997. This mass suicide was under the supervision of Marshall Herff Applewhite, the cults charismatic leader. Heavens Gate was not Applewhites first cult. It was the latest of three organizations that he and his partner, Bonnie Lu Trusdale Nettles had founded. The first of which was Human Individual Metamorphosis which was founded in 1975. This group disbanded with the death of Nettles from cancer in 1985. He formed a new group called Total Overcomers Anonymous in 1993. He relocated this group to the infamous San Diego mansion where he lived on to become one of the 39 suicides in March of 1997. The Heavens Gate cult was founded under unusual beliefs. Applewhite preached that Jesus was an extraterrestrial and that the core of oneself was an alien in place of the traditional belief of the soul. All the cult members believed themselves to be aliens as well. The members were prohibited from sexual activity and were denied sexual identity by means of unisex clothing and unisex treatment. Eight men of the cult, including Applewhite, went so far as to undergo voluntary castrations. It is theorized that Applewhite instituted this complete prohibition of sexuality because of his avoidance of his own sexuality. Applewhite was a homosexual and even tried to rid himself of his burden by committing himself in the 70s when it was thought by some that homosexuality could be cured. It is also hypothesized that the lack of sexuality was due to the belief that aliens have no sexual organs seeing as they modeled themselves as extraterrestrial monks and nuns. These delusions are what lead them to their untimely deaths. The chain of events that resulted in the deaths of 39 mislead men and women was set in effect by what could have been mechanical error. An amateur astronomer reported photographing a huge Saturn-like object trailing the tail of the comet Hale-Bopp. Applewhite received news of this young mans discovery. He came to the conclusion that this object was a UFO that was meant to take the cult members to the next level. The suicides occurred when this comets course was closest to the earth. The members were found in bunk beds wearing black Nikes and black unisex costumes. They had plastic bags and purple shrouds over their heads. In their blood, medical examiners found a virtual cocktail of drugs. All of the members had ingested Phenobarbital that was, mixed with applesauce or pudding and most of them chased this with vodka. Some of the members also took Vicodin and numerous others suffocated under plastic bags. In late March of 1997, 39 men and women put themselves to death under the convoluted leadership of Marshall Herff Applewhite. Who is to blame for this tragic chain of events? Was it the amateur with the telescope? Was the Internet to blame? In my personal opinion, no one but Applewhite and his followers were culpable. Who knows, maybe the cult did hitch a ride with that UFO. Maybe they did make their way to the next level, but as far as I know they have been reduced to a mere bit of trivia here on earth. Social Issues

Article review of A Question of Balance essays

Article review of A Question of Balance essays This review is of the article A question of balance from the April 2004 volume of National Geographic. In the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar (what used to be called Burma), a large wildlife sanctuary was created in an uninhabited section of the valley. Now the wildlife sanctuary is being considered for expansion to become the worlds largest tiger reserve. In an earlier time, this plan may not have faced so many challenges. In the years following World War Two, the bridges leading into the valley were destroyed by nature as well as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) who sought to keep out the central government. Now, decades later, the bridges into the Hukawng Valley are being rebuilt. Because of this, tens of thousands of people are moving into the area. They come in search of gold and wildlife for profit. The gold in the Hukawng valley has remained largely untouched for years. Because of this, people are going to great lengths just to find small amounts of it. A small amount of gold can easily equal a months pay or more. It is the methods used to extract the gold from the soil that worries environmentalists. The miners start by using high pressure water to blast a hole into the ground. The hole becomes larger and the soil is turned into sludge. Cyanide and mercury are then used to help pull the gold from the sludge. For all of the work that is involved, little gold is retrieved and the environment pays the price. The nearby streams and the ground water is damaged by the poisonous chemicals, any animals drinking water from these sources will most likely be killed. Another problem presented by the gold mining is the large increase of people in the area. There are now thousands of people living in areas were only a hundred lived before. The increase in people means a major drain on the local resources. One of those resources is the wildlife in the area. The tigers in the area must ...

List of Types of Disaccharides

List of Types of Disaccharides Disaccharides are sugars or carbohydrates made by linking two monosaccharides. This occurs via a dehydration reaction and a molecule of water  is removed for each linkage. A glycosidic bond can form between any hydroxyl group on the monosaccharide, so even if the two subunits are the same sugar, there are many different combinations of bonds and stereochemistry, producing disaccharides with unique properties. Depending on the component sugars, disaccharides may be sweet, sticky, water-soluble, or crystalline. Both natural and artificial disaccharides are known. Here is a list of some disaccharides, including the monosaccharides they are made from and foods containing them. Sucrose, maltose, and lactose are the most familiar disaccharides, but there are others. Sucrose (saccharose) glucose fructoseSucrose is table sugar. It is purified from sugar cane or sugar beets. Maltose glucose glucoseMaltose is a sugar found in some cereals and candies. It is a product of starch digestions and may be purified from barley and other grains. Lactose galactose glucoseLactose is a disaccharide found in milk. It has the formula  C12H22O11 and is an isomer of sucrose. Lactulose galactose fructoseLactulose is a synthetic (man-made) sugar that is not absorbed by the body  but is broken down in the colon into products that absorb water into the colon, thus softening stools. Its primary use is to treat constipation. It is also used to reduce blood ammonia levels in persons with liver disease  since lactulose absorbs ammonia into the colon (removing it from the body). Trehalose glucose glucoseTrehalose is also known as tremalose or mycose. It is a natural alpha-linked disaccharide with extremely high water retention properties. In nature, it helps plants and animals reduce long periods without water. Cellobiose glucose glucoseCellobiose is a hydrolysis product of cellulose or cellulose-rich materials, such as paper or cotton. It is formed by linking two beta-glucose molecules by a ÃŽ ²(1→4) bond. Table of Common Disaccharides Heres a quick summary of the subunits of common disaccharides and how they are linked to each other. Dissacharide First Unit Second Unit Bond sucrose glucose fructose ÃŽ ±(1→2)ÃŽ ² lactulose galactose fructose ÃŽ ²(1→4) lactose galactose glucose ÃŽ ²(1→4) maltose glucose glucose ÃŽ ±(1→4) trehalose glucose glucose ÃŽ ±(1→1)ÃŽ ± cellobiose glucose glucose ÃŽ ²(1→4) chitobiose glucosamine glucosamine ÃŽ ²(1→4) There are many other disaccharides, although they are not as common, including isomaltose (2 glucose monomers), turanose (a glucose and a fructose monomer), melibiose (a galactose and a glucose monomer), xylobiose (two xylopyranose monomers), sophorose (2 glucose monomers), and mannobiose (2 mannose monomers). Bonds and Properties Note multiple disaccharides are possible when monosaccharides bond to each other, since a glycosidic bond can form between any hydroxyl group on the component sugars. For example, two glucose molecules can join to form maltose, trehalose, or cellobiose. Even though these disaccharides are made from the same component sugars, they are distinct molecules with different chemical and physical properties from each other. Uses of Disaccharides Disaccharides are used as energy carriers and to efficiently transport monosaccharides. Specific examples of uses include: In the human body and in other animals, sucrose is digested and broken into its component simple sugars for quick energy. Excess sucrose can be converted from a carbohydrate into a lipid for storage as fat. Sucrose has a sweet flavor.Lactose (milk sugar) is found in human breast milk, where it serves as a chemical energy source for infants. Lactose, like sucrose, has a sweet flavor. As humans age, lactose becomes less-tolerated. This is because lactose digestion requires the enyzme lactase. People who are lactose intolerant can take a lactase supplement to reduce bloating, cramping, nausea, and diarrhea.Plants use disaccharides to transport fructose, glucose, and galactose from one cell to another.Maltose, unlike some other disaccharides, does not serve a specific purpose in the human body. The sugar alcohol form of maltose is maltitol, which is used in sugar-free foods. Of course, maltose is a sugar, but it is incompletely digested and absorbed by the body (50 to 60 percent). Key Points A disaccharide is a sugar (a type of carbohydrate) made by linking together two monosaccharides.A dehydration reaction forms a disaccharide. One molecule of water is removed for each linkage formed between the monosaccharide subunits.Both natural and artificial disaccharides are known.Examples of common disaccharides include sucrose, maltose, and lactose. References IUPAC, Disaccharides. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the Gold Book) (1997).Whitney, Ellie; Sharon Rady Rolfes (2011). Peggy Williams, ed.  Understanding Nutrition  (Twelfth ed.). California: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. p.  100.

Short Run and Long Run Strategies in Business Essay

Short Run and Long Run Strategies in Business - Essay Example The short run is a period usually in which factors of capital other than labor are all fixed and cannot be changed, the short run for the shipping industry may be 3 years and the short run for a smaller business like handicrafts may be 6 months but generally the short run is considered to be one year. The ultimate goal for any company other than not for profit is to earn a considerable profit for its stakeholders but at times market conditions are such that this objective has to be kept behind and other strategies have to be pursued in order to meet the long-term objective of making a profit for all the people who are concerned with the business. Some of these environmental situations are explained below. At times in the face of strong competition that might threaten the business in the long run and the short run as well businesses tend to forget the objective of making a profit until they drive the competition out of the market, there are several strategies that a business could use for this. One of the most popular strategy that businesses use to drive out competition from the market is dumping, since the company which is just entering the market have higher production costs because of lower efficiency due to a variety of reasons such as not knowing the best suppliers and not having a reputation and a rapport would mean that costs for the company automatically are higher than a company which is already existent in the market. Hence established firms take advantage of this and start selling their products at well below their marginal costs, the new entrant into the market can ill afford that and is forced to move out of the market. When a firm deploys this strategy to drive competit ion out of the market, is it earning a profit on the products that it is selling? No, it is not, in fact, it is selling at a price lower than what it cost to produce one extra unit.

Is the U.S. government doing enough to make the american worker Essay

Is the U.S. government doing enough to make the american worker competitive - Essay Example The question is if America is doing enough to make its workers competitive? This literature will explore the capability of the human capital of the United States and to ascertain if governments have provided measures to make its labor capital competitive with the global market. It will also delve if it’s necessary to impose more tariffs to goods that cannot be competitively made in America. US Economy President Barack Obama assumed his political seat vowing economic reform and redistribution of wealth. Officials and constituents rigorously discussed the imperative of budget cuts, refocused on social services and in raising capital for investment to generate employment opportunities and for economic bilateral relations with emerging markets. This strategy was essential as home needed to be cared by administrators too after suffering debilitating economic setbacks due to offshore conflict situations and anti-terror drive (Nixon, 2011). True enough, taxation was levied for those within the affluent class of American society, e.g. luxury tax for jet and boat owners and financial analysts restudied how income taxes could add more for national revenue. Obama thereafter made a pronouncement to unleash American business ingenuity and improve its productivity to maximize the American economic dynamism by extolling 70 trade agreements sealed for 12 US states. ... The trade deal hopes to provide manufacturing job opportunities to 235,000 American citizens for agriculture development, gasification, railway construction and production of hybrid buses. Obama also opened business deals in South Korea that will help auger 70,000 American jobs and of the removal of 95% tariffs between this nations, albeit opposition of AFL-CIO, a labor federation, arguing that free trade and removal of tariffs is unprotective of US workers. This measure to improve US macro-economic relations was a positive response after an economic recession that has affected major industries of the country which cost the loss of $13 trillion in 2007 and loss of 208,000 jobs in the trucking industry (US Department of Labor, 2010). Both small and big firms were hit with similar net job losses (US Department of Labor, 2010). In another development, last February 2011, the US government closed doors for H-1B work visas, a 3-year employer sponsored visa for highly skilled foreign worke r, following Immigration Services announcement that statutory cap of 85,000. While the agency protects the interest of the country from being burdened of increasing populace of immigrants, this was however criticized by some economist as a policy which discouraged entry of foreign investors e.g. Microsoft opted to avail European market because it can allow to hiring of highly skilled employees from foreign countries (Nowrasteh, 2011). Nowrasteh (2011) proposed government to review and reconsider this opportunity since companies like Intel, Sanmina-SCI, Sun Microsystems, eBay, Yahoo and Google with high-skilled foreign workers made America a leader in

The Influenza :: Spanish Influenza Essays

The Influenza It was time to bring in the crops--this was one of the best years I'd ever had. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to getting into the field to gather the crop I'd worked so hard to grow. A farmer's life is never easy, but this was my year. I'd managed to get more land, and I was way past the days of just putting food on my family's table. The fall of 1918 turned out to be one of the worst times of my life. I had a rather large family--two boys and two girls. They were all teenagers in 1918. My wife, my children, and I all lived in Riley County, Kansas. Fort Riley's Camp Funston brought a lot of activity into the area. In the fall of 1918, there were soldiers there preparing to go overseas to join in the battles. The soldiers brought new life to our community, as well as chaos. We were happy, for the most part, to have the soldiers around our community, until their presence proved too costly. As I mentioned, in September of 1918, I was eager to get to the fall harvesting. All of my children were excited and ready to help, as they knew the harvest would bring money into the household. We'd heard about the influenza at Camp Funston, and I'd told my family to steer clear of any wayward soldiers. My youngest son began to hang around the camp, against my wishes, in order to see what was occurring there. He and his friends made a habit of sneaking around the outside. We'd managed since the spring to avoid influenza. We heard from workers inside the fort that the soldiers were dying quickly, but we all assumed that it would stay inside the camp and away from our families. Little by little, in the fall, influenza began to creep into the communities around the camp. I thought I was fortunate in that none of my neighbors worked in or near Camp Funston, and I didn't expect to have to deal with any sickness. My family was warned, and everyone in the communities around the camp was being as careful as possible to keep the influenza from spreading. Then my son brought influenza, the soldiers' problem, into our family. The Influenza :: Spanish Influenza Essays The Influenza It was time to bring in the crops--this was one of the best years I'd ever had. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to getting into the field to gather the crop I'd worked so hard to grow. A farmer's life is never easy, but this was my year. I'd managed to get more land, and I was way past the days of just putting food on my family's table. The fall of 1918 turned out to be one of the worst times of my life. I had a rather large family--two boys and two girls. They were all teenagers in 1918. My wife, my children, and I all lived in Riley County, Kansas. Fort Riley's Camp Funston brought a lot of activity into the area. In the fall of 1918, there were soldiers there preparing to go overseas to join in the battles. The soldiers brought new life to our community, as well as chaos. We were happy, for the most part, to have the soldiers around our community, until their presence proved too costly. As I mentioned, in September of 1918, I was eager to get to the fall harvesting. All of my children were excited and ready to help, as they knew the harvest would bring money into the household. We'd heard about the influenza at Camp Funston, and I'd told my family to steer clear of any wayward soldiers. My youngest son began to hang around the camp, against my wishes, in order to see what was occurring there. He and his friends made a habit of sneaking around the outside. We'd managed since the spring to avoid influenza. We heard from workers inside the fort that the soldiers were dying quickly, but we all assumed that it would stay inside the camp and away from our families. Little by little, in the fall, influenza began to creep into the communities around the camp. I thought I was fortunate in that none of my neighbors worked in or near Camp Funston, and I didn't expect to have to deal with any sickness. My family was warned, and everyone in the communities around the camp was being as careful as possible to keep the influenza from spreading. Then my son brought influenza, the soldiers' problem, into our family.

Important of cruise ships in my destination Essay

A cruise ship is a ship built for passengers,but mostly used for pleasure cruises.A cruise ship generally takes passengers on extended cruises with occasional calls in various places of interest.The cruise industry is the fastest-growing category in the leisure travel market; it plays an essential major role in the tourism sector. It is important for cruise ships to come to my destination/country because of the many benefits to be derived from such an endeavor.Cruise ship tourism generates revenue for my destination/country through tourists expending at (bars,restaurants,craft villages,shops,attractions,etc) per person head taxes and other fees.The foreign exchange from this benefit my destination/country gained greatly;it provides the government with well needed currency to support the country’s debt and to purchase goods and services from overseas.It increases the tax revenue of the government also.The taxes which are collected are used to improve the countries infrastructur e making my destination more seductive to future visitors.The cruise ship industry also produces employment for many workers at my destination.Persons are employed at the various ports where the ships dock.Jobs in restaurants,bars,hotels,entertainment facilities and more are also produced.They are also employed at tour companies,attractions, craft markets, and shops who sell to tourists.Security,transportation and farming jobs are also created.Accommodating cruise ships also allows for improvements to infrastructure such as port facilities; expansions to shipping ports allows for more greater ships to visit.Improvements are also done on public facilities.These improvements benefit my destination in the long run as they improve their overall standard and quality of life of the citizens living there.Cruise ship tourism also produces the possibility for  future stop over visitors.