Sunday, March 15, 2020

Manuel Quezon of the Philippines

Manuel Quezon of the Philippines Manuel Quezon is generally considered the second president of the Philippines, even though he was the first to head the Commonwealth of the Philippines under American administration, serving from 1935 to 1944.  Emilio Aguinaldo, who had served in 1899-1901 during the Philippine-American War, is usually called the first president. Quezon was from an elite mestizo family from the east coast of Luzon. His privileged background did not insulate him from tragedy, hardship, and exile, however. Early Life Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina was born on August 19, 1878, in Baler, now in Aurora Province. (The province is actually named after Quezons wife.) His parents were Spanish colonial army officer Lucio Quezon and primary school teacher Maria Dolores Molina. Of mixed Filipino and Spanish ancestry, in the racially segregated Spanish Philippines, the Quezon family were considered blancos or whites, which afforded them more freedom and higher social status than purely Filipino or Chinese people enjoyed. When Manuel was nine years old, his parents sent him to school in Manila, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) away from Baler. He would remain there through university; he studied law at the University of Santo Tomas  but did not graduate. In 1898, when Manuel was 20, his father and brother were accosted and murdered along the road from Nueva Ecija to Baler. The motive may have been simply robbery, but it is likely that they were targeted for their support of the colonial Spanish government against the Filipino nationalists in the independence struggle. Entry into Politics In 1899, after the US defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War and seized the Philippines, Manuel Quezon joined Emilio Aguinaldos guerrilla army in its fight against the Americans. He was accused a short time later of murdering an American prisoner of war, and was imprisoned for six months, but was cleared of the crime for lack of evidence. Despite all of that, Quezon soon began to rise in political prominence under the American regime. He passed the bar exam in 1903 and went to work as a surveyor and clerk.  In 1904, Quezon met a young Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur; the two would become close friends in the 1920s and 1930s. The newly-minted lawyer became a prosecutor in Mindoro in 1905  and then was elected governor of Tayabas the following year. In 1906, the same year he became governor, Manuel Quezon founded the Nacionalista Party with his friend Sergio Osmena. It would be the leading political party in the Philippines for years to come. The following year, he was elected to the inaugural Philippine Assembly, later renamed the House of Representatives. There, he chaired the appropriations committee and served as majority leader. Quezon moved to the United States for the first time in 1909, serving as one of two resident commissioners to the US House of Representatives. The Philippines commissioners could observe and lobby the US House  but were non-voting members. Quezon pressed his American counterparts to pass the Philippine Autonomy Act, which became law in 1916, the same year that he returned to Manila. Back in the Philippines, Quezon was elected to the Senate, where he would serve for the next 19 years until 1935. He was selected as the first President of the Senate  and continued in that role throughout his Senate career. In 1918, he married his first cousin, Aurora Aragon Quezon; the couple would have four children. Aurora would become famous for her commitment to humanitarian causes. Tragically, she and their eldest daughter were assassinated in 1949. Presidency In 1935, Manuel Quezon headed a Filipino delegation to the United States to witness US President Franklin Roosevelts signing of a new constitution for the Philippines, granting it semi-autonomous commonwealth status. Full independence was supposed to follow in 1946.   Quezon returned to Manila and won the first national presidential election in the Philippines as the Nacionalista Party candidate. He handily defeated Emilio Aguinaldo and Gregorio Aglipay, taking 68% of the vote.   As president, Quezon implemented a number of new policies for the country. He was very concerned with social justice, instituting a minimum wage, an eight-hour workday, the provision of public defenders for indigent defendants in court, and the redistribution of agricultural land to tenant farmers. He sponsored the building of new schools across the country, and promoted womens suffrage; as a result, women got the vote in 1937. President Quezon also established Tagalog as the national language of the Philippines, alongside English. Meanwhile, however, the Japanese had invaded China in 1937 and started the Second Sino-Japanese War, which would lead to World War II in Asia. President Quezon kept a wary eye on Japan, which seemed likely to target the Philippines soon in its expansionist mood. He also opened the Philippines to Jewish refugees from Europe, who were fleeing increasing Nazi oppression in the period between 1937 and 1941. This saved about 2,500 people from the Holocaust. Although Quezons old friend, now-General Douglas MacArthur, was assembling a defense force for the Philippines, Quezon decided to visit Tokyo in June of 1938. While there, he tried to negotiate a secret mutual non-aggression pact with the Japanese Empire. MacArthur learned of Quezons unsuccessful negotiation, and relations temporarily soured between the two. In 1941, a national plebiscite amended the constitution to allow presidents to serve two four-year terms rather than a single six-year term. As a result, President Quezon was able to run for re-election. He won the November  1941 poll with almost 82% of the vote over Senator Juan Sumulong. World War II On December 8, 1941, the day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines.  President Quezon and other top government officials had to evacuate to Corregidor along with General MacArthur.  He fled the island in a submarine, moving on to Mindanao, then Australia, and finally the United States.  Quezon set up a government in exile in Washington D.C.   During his exile, Manuel Quezon lobbied the US Congress to send American troops back into the Philippines.  He exhorted them to Remember Bataan, in reference to the infamous Bataan Death March.  However, the Filipino president did not survive to see his old friend, General MacArthur, make good on his promise to return to the Philippines. President Quezon suffered from tuberculosis.  During his years in exile in the US, his condition steadily worsened until he was forced to move to a cure cottage in Saranac Lake, New York.  He died there on August 1, 1944.  Manuel Quezon was originally buried in Arlington National Cemetery, but his remains were moved to Manila after the war was over.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Nature or nurture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nature or nurture - Essay Example Although at present, the scientific community has tipped the scale towards ‘nature’, an ongoing debate argues that environment is the main factor influencing gender identities of people. This conclusion is drawn from the work of Michael Kimmel, a sociologist who teaches at the University of New York at Stony Brook. Apart from having written on gender in general and men in particular, in â€Å"‘Bros before Hos’: The Guy Code†, Kimmel deals specifically with issues of masculinity. He believes that young men are socialized into their groups and gain ideas of masculinity from the surroundings around them. Studies which have been conducted by James O’Neill, developmental psychologist at the University of Connecticut and social psychologist, Joseph Pleck have shown how little the socializing influences on boys have changed over the years. Kimmel points out how men conform to masculizing influences and perceived masculine behavior because they are anx ious to secure the approval of other men. In the words of playwright David Mamet, women are perceived have such a â€Å"low place on the social ladder of this country that its useless to define yourself in terms of a woman†. Boys tend to identify with their fathers and older male peers and adopt behavioral patterns considered to be â€Å"masculine† in order to win the approval of other men. Freud has put forward the view that an essential part of the process of defining male gender identify is the separation of a boy from his mother and close identification with his father instead. Masculinity is thus achieved through â€Å"repudiation, disassociation and then identification.† To support this argument, psychologists such as Michael Thompson, James Gabarrino and Dan Kindlon also reiterate that a culture of cruelty is created wherein young boys are actively discouraged from crying or showing their emotions. Applying Pollack’s views, a young boy would be pus hed through the influences from other males in his surrounding environment to actively develop the â€Å"mask of masculinity, which is essentially a stoic, unemotional front wherein denying their own emotional needs forms an essential part of framing of gender identity of the boys. In contrast with Kimmel, Hanna Rosin is less certain about the impact of socializing influences and the environment on the development of gender identity. In the â€Å"A Boy’ Life†, Rosin points to the fact that the difficulties transgender children experience, appear to have been exacerbated by parental indulgence. These children take on role-playing at a very early age – usually the role of the opposite sex – and persist with it. The writer also maps the recent preoccupation with biology in the area of human identity and the theories of gender as a social construct. Both Rosin and Kimmel offer a disturbing view of the motivation of peers, parents, communities and professiona ls. These people involved in the negotiation of gender identities, in which a mix of fear of rejection, a need for normalcy and peer approval, and professional ambition leads to a single-minded consideration. Parents, driven by fear of their children’s rejection by society and constant social affirmation

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Why Women Should Not be Allowed in Active Combat Duty Essay

Why Women Should Not be Allowed in Active Combat Duty - Essay Example They are admirable in the way they acquit themselves in times of conflict and split second decision making and maybe, just maybe -- we might even have a female president some day. Women still have lofty ambitions when it comes to more things that they hope to do in terms of male equality and, along with the presidency, fighting alongside men in active combat is still one glass ceiling they cannot break. Although there already exists cracks in that particular ceiling, I do not believe that women should ever be allowed to see active combat for a number of valid reasons. There are two main reasons that women should not be allowed in combat according to Robert Bork (qtd. in Sowin). Those reasons are: 1. Putting women in combat is crucial to women’s self-esteem and to men’s respect for women. (That has never been true in the past and it is impossible to see why it should be true now.) 2. Combat roles are important to military advancement. The above arguments are all based up on the way that women are traditionally viewed in our society. Women's rights activists protest the idealization of the female role in society because it makes them seem like fragile, emotionally weak people who do not have any desire or capability to defend themselves or others. By joining the military and joining active combat, women feel that they are an equally strong sex and are capable of fighting the good fight also. This is one case wherein the intentions may be sound, but the execution will always be weak. The reality of women in the military is that they are given preference and leeway in most streneous and taxing activities because women do not have the same stamina as men. In fact, women who train in West Point and other military institutions are not made to compete against other men or by male standards, they are only measured in terms of capabilty against other women. This can prove to be detrimental on the battlefield where they fight alongside men who are faster and stronger but are then held back in order to allow the women to catch up. (Sowin Why Women Should Not Be Allowed in Combat). Gender norming and lowering the training standards in order to allow women to pass is a disservice to our world class soldiers who are expected to lead on the battlefield. Women are still thought of all over the world, most specially in the Muslim territories as being weak and dependent on the male species. Majority of the modern women have managed to change that idea by proving that they can be emotionally and physically strong in various ways. I take my hats off to those women. However, fighting in an active battlefront requires much more than just marathon training and endurance tests. There are those who take on the point of view that : Women are not suited by temperament or by physical characteristics for the highly aggressive, ultra-violent pursuit of victory in battle. Much of an army’s success depends upon intimidation of the enemy. A force compo sed of women is far less intimidating than one consisting of macho men. Intimidation of the enemy saves lives in wartime. (Women Should Not Be Allowed in Military Combat). Consider if you will, that the enemies of our nation field burly, scary, and brainwashed men into battle. They live to intimidate the weak. The simple glare of of their eyes, flare of the nostrils, or clearing of the throat is designed to instill fear into any enemy be he male or female. Fighting a war does not allow for segregation of the sexes in order to effectively fight the battle. It is man vs. woman in most cases and, no matter what Hollywood says about G.I. Jane, a woman can easily be taken down by a well trained and strength enhanced enemy. This will then pose a problem for the team who will

Friday, January 31, 2020

Corporal Punishment Essay Example for Free

Corporal Punishment Essay For hundreds of years, it has been customary for a child to receive a spank or slap as a form of discipline, one that parents of all cultures have used. Corporal punishment of a child by a parent or teacher has been legal in Canada since 1892, though 51% of Canadians believe that the use of corporal punishment does not reflect the attitude of Canada’s majority (Barnett). In recent years, corporal punishment has had more investigation, showing that, â€Å"corporal punishment by it’s nature can escalate into physical maltreatment† (Gershoff and Larzelere). Child abuse can be defined as â€Å"Physical, sexual, or emotional ill treatment or neglect of a child especially by those responsible for its welfare† (dictionary.com). Child abuse researchers suggest that physical punishment increases a child’s chance of developing a mental illness, incites antisocial behaviour, and stunts intellectual growth. The psychological effects of corporal punishment directly influence to a child’s mental and emotional stability. Corporal punishment is permanently damaging to a child’s development, and should be considered child abuse. Corporal punishment increases a child’s chance of developing a debilitating mental illness, specifically those caused by internalising problems, such as depression and anxiety (Smith). By using Ivan Pavlov’s theory of Learned Reflexology, it can be deduced that the high anxiety levels of children who have been routinely punished by a physical means is caused by the expectation of being stricken. It was â€Å"found that the stress of corporal punishment shows up as an increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms such as being fearful that terrible things are about to happen and being easily startled†(ScienceDaily). Physical punishment produces a large amount of stress and feelings of hopelessness in a child, leading many adults who were corporally punished in childhood to develop anxiety-related mental illnesses. â€Å"According to Strauss (1999), mental health problems are associated with physical punishment due to their being an outcome of the suppression of childhood anger associated with being hit by adults who children depend on for love and nurturance†(Smith). The main role of a guardian in a young child’s life is to protect and provide for the youth and, through corporal punishment, the child-parent relationship is damaged, producing children with antisocial tendencies. By using corporal punishment as a means of discipline, a child learns to distrust parents or other guardians, resulting in antisocial behaviour. When an adult the child trusts implements corporal punishment as a means of discipline, feelings of hostility and betrayal develop. This hostility is a result of the duplicity of a parent’s role to protect the child, causing many children to feel as though their parents and others dislike them. Said an adult who had been physically punished for delinquent behaviour as a child, â€Å"My parents were very strict†¦I was basically very good and I was hit frequently†¦It made me go out and do the same thing again, what I’d been smacked for. The message I got from them when they hit me was not ‘what you’re doing is bad, don’t do it again’. The message I got was ‘we don’t love you’.†(Smith). When rule-enforcing figures disappear, delinquent behaviour emerges, suggesting, â€Å"that parental corporal punishment erodes the parent–child relationship and in turn decreases children’s motivation to internalize parents’ values and those of the society, which in turn results in low self-control (Hirschi, 1969)† (Gershoff). Corporal punishment does not stimulate reasoning skills in a child, resulting in low-self control, as mentioned, and thus a shorter span of cognitive ability. Intellectual development begins when children are very young, and by using corporal punishment as a means of instruction, a child’s intellectual development is permanently damaged. A child that is spanked in the first grade is proven to score 5 IQ points lower than a child that was not spanked at all (Talawar, Carlson, and et al). Studies show that â€Å"[c]hildren in a school that uses corporal punishment performed significantly worse in tasks involving â€Å"executive functioning† – psychological processes such as planning, abstract thinking, and delaying gratification – than those in a school relying on milder disciplinary measures [†¦]† (Talawar, Carlson, and et al ). Executive functioning tasks require self-control, a skill that children who have been disciplined physically, as opposed to with reasoning and explanation, do not have. â€Å"Thus, poorer cognitive outcomes may result if parents who physically punish their children make less use of inductive methods of discipline, such as explanation and reasoning- procedures that are likely to enhance cognitive growth† (Smith). By contemplating the effect of an action and the whether or not the action is appropriate, children exercise executive functioning processes, which will give a child the skills to contemplate problems of academic or real-world nature. Corporal punishment has a permanent, negative effect on a child’s future mental stability, sociability, and intellectual potential. The Canadian Human Rights Act says that, â€Å"the prohibited grounds of discrimination are race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and conviction for which a pardon has been granted†( RSC 1985, c H-6). The continuation of corporal punishment in modern society, â€Å"encourages a view of children as less worthy of protection and respect for their bodily integrity based on outdated notions of their inferior personhood† (Barnett). 51% of Canadians do not feel that the physical punishment of a child is right or just (Barnett), and believe that it should not be used as a parenting technique. Corporal punishment’s damaging effect on a child’s psychological well-being, both in child and adulthood, proves that it is a form of abuse. There are alternative parenting techniques that are proven to produce better results, and encourage the progress of a child’s development. â€Å"Children are one third of our population and all of our future,†(quotegarden.com). Should the future not have the right to the same amount of protection as their predecessors? Works Cited: Barnett, Laura. Parlaiment of Canada. Law and Government Division. The Spanking Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code. Ottawa: , 2008. Web. . â€Å"Children who are Spanked Have Lower IQs, New Research Finds. ScienceDaily. 24 Sep 2009: n. page. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. . Gershoff, Elizabeth. Corporal Punishment by Parents and Associated Child Behaviors and Experiences: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review. endcorporalpunishment.org. American Psychological Association, 2002. Web. 21 Jan 2012. . Gershoff, Elizabeth, and Robert Larzelere. Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline?. American Psychological Association 26 06 2002. n.pag. American Psychological Association. Web. 23 Jan 2012.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Story Behind the Nazi Gold :: World War II History

The Story Behind the Nazi Gold Nazi Gold: Hard currency looted from treasuries of countries occupied by the Axis powers during World War II. Ingots consisting of gold melted down from the teeth of murder victims and weddings bands and jewelry. About two thirds of an estimated $660 million ($7.8 billion in today's dollars) in stolen Nazi gold passed through Switzerland during the war. And like any sharp businessmen with hot goods, the Swiss disposed of much of their gold quickly - through Portugal mainly, but also to Sweden, Spain, and other central banks (Hirsh 48). Probably no more that $140 million remains unaccounted for, and a good portion of that was probably sold onward as well. But what remains of the known Nazi hoard (none of which has been returned to the Jewish community) is worth no more than about $65 million according to the Brussels-based Tripartite Gold Commission, set up after World War II to return stolen gold to national treasuries. Recently the Clinton administration created a commission to sear ch for any Nazi funds that might have ended up in U.S. Federal Reserve vaults. "We have to be willing not only to focus the spotlight on Switzerland," says Under Secretary of Commerce Stuart Eizenstat. "We have to be willing to follow the trail of assets into our own treasury" (qtd. in Hirsh 47). This trail though, suggests that there is no huge stash of Nazi gold in Switzerland. The loot has scattered worldwide through numerous transactions and is probably irretrievable. Also, because so many banks were involved, the amount of gold left in Switzerland is probably negligible, contrary to what investigators have until now presumed. At this point the cost or returning the Nazi Gold to its rightful owners is not worth the trouble and inconvenience it would create. Documents released in recent months have made it clear that Swiss banks traded in looted Nazi-gold, and that Swiss businesses made a fortune selling arms to the Nazis. In a historical report published around May 9,1997, it was said that there was no evidence that the Swiss or other neutral countries knew that gold from the central banks had been smelted together with gold fillings, wedding bands, and other jewelry stolen from Holocaust victims (Sanger). But, Eizenstat found "incontrovertible evidence" that Swiss bankers knew they were trading in gold that Germany had looted from the treasuries of states it occupied, and also a handwritten ledger sheet from the Reichsbank showed a deposit of 29,996 grams of "dental gold" into a Swiss account (A harsh.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Penn foster exam Essay

I want to inform you of a position here at INK. My boss, Daniel Smith, is looking for a personal assistant and I know that you would be perfect for the position. Your background in sales and cashiering lend some qualifications to the job, but it is your outgoing personality and attention to detail that are sure to win him over. The Job Requirements include: -Preparing coffee every morning -Creating speeches for Mr. Smith’s many public appearances -Joining Mr. Smith at weekly conferences -Keeping a detailed log of Mr. Smith’s contacts with business and community members including personal information about their families, likes, dislikes, and hobbies -Managing Mr. Smith’s business account and petty cash funds. With your background as a cashier, I have no doubt that you will excel at managing the books. I have always noticed your ability to organize any situation to run smoothly, so I am assured that you can also handle Mr. Smith’s many public appearances and conferences. Your success as a sales clerk is surely due to your bright and positive personality- in fact I have rarely seen you without a smile for everyone. Mr. Smith can be a bear in the mornings without his coffee, so your upbeat attitude and your ability to roll with the punches, so to speak, will be a huge asset in that regard. I also know that in our family, you are the one who remembers everyone’s birthday’s, so as far as making Mr. Smith’s guests and associates feeling welcome, you are the best person for the job.

Monday, January 6, 2020

What Happened And When At This Years Belarus Gaming Congress

Blog 10 – What happened and when at this years Belarus Gaming Congress The online casino industry has been somewhat nomadic over the years, as it tends to not stay put in one nation for very long. From Peru to Gibraltar, it seems that the online casino industry has laid down roots in one former or another in various countries around the world. In many ways online casino operators chase the tax laws, as they are always on the lookout for the most favourable business environment. The latest nation to become a key host of online casino brands is Belarus, as many major brands have upped sticks and relocated to the nation. Cementing the country’s status as a key online casino market, Belarus is now throwing an increased amount of effort†¦show more content†¦It seems that the industry looks very favourably on bitcoin implementation, which will be music to the ears of online casino portal users. Bitcoin is all set to be a key industry element in the coming years, with its discussion at the Belarus Gaming Congress confirming its newfound importance. Other Aspects As with every other conference, laws and regulations were a keen point of discussion at the Belarus Gaming Congress. Since 2009 Belarus has been a key market within the industry, with its evolution now being key. Several names looked to talk about how the use of new technology will shape and mould the market into a modern industry. What was also discussed was how the laws will have to adapt to operators and vice versa. Belarus is steamrolling as far as online casino momentum is concerned, so as you would expect, how this momentum is managed is important should the industry wish to continue down the right path. The stage was set at the Belarus Gaming Congress and the speakers dually delivered, as there is now a real buzz surrounding Belarus as online casino market. Business Focus Making sure that the industry is ready for the next step; various business-focused discussions took place. Brand management was discussed at length too. It is clear that the industry within Belarus’ borders is gearing up for the future, so business growth is of the utmost importance. Unlike other markets, from what was seen