Monday, December 30, 2019

Biography of Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg is a former analyst for the U.S. military and Vietnam War opponent. His name became synonymous with the importance of the press freedoms granted by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution after he leaked a secret report on the Vietnam War  known as the Pentagon Papers  to journalists. Ellsbergs work as a whistleblower helped exposed the failure of the governments war strategies in The New York Times, The Washington Post and more than a dozen other newspapers, and has been dramatized by Hollywood in movies such as The Post, The Pentagon Papers and The Most Dangerous Man in America. Legacy and Impact Ellsbergs leak of the Pentagon Papers helped to solidify the publics opposition to the Vietnam War and turn members of Congress against the conflict. The publication of the documents by The New York Times, The Washington Post and other newspapers helped bring about the most important legal decision in defense of press freedom in American history. When President Richard M. Nixons administration sought to prevent The Times from reporting on the Pentagon Papers, the newspaper fought back. The U.S. Supreme Court later determined that the newspapers were acting in the public interest and restricted the governments use of prior restraint to censor stories before publication. Wrote Supreme Courts majority: â€Å"Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. ...  In revealing the workings of government that led to the Vietnam War, the newspapers nobly did that which the Founders hoped and trusted they would do. Ruling on the governors claim that publication would threaten national security, the court stated: â€Å"The word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment.† Journalist and Author Ellsberg is the author of three books, including a 2002 memoir of his work to expose the Pentagon Papers called Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. He has also written about Americas nuclear program in a 2017 book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner,  and published essays about the Vietnam War in the 1971 book Papers on the War. Portrayal in Pop Culture Numerous books and movies have been written and produced about Ellsbergs role in leaking the Pentagon Papers to the press and the legal battle over their publication. Ellsberg was played by Matthew Rhys in the 2017 movie The Post.  The film also featured Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, and Tom Hanks as newspaper editor Ben Bradlee. Ellsberg was played by James Spader in the 2003 movie The Pentagon Papers. He also appeared in a 2009 documentary, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. The Pentagon Papers has also been the subject of numerous books, including New York Times reporter Neil Sheehans The Pentagon Papers: The Secret History of the Vietnam War, published in 2017; and Grahams  The Pentagon Papers: Making History at the Washington Post. Studied Economics at Harvard Ellsberg earned a bachelors degree in economics from Harvard University in 1952 and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard in 1962. He also studied in the King’s College at  Cambridge University. Career Timeline Ellsberg served in the Marine Corps before working for the RAND Corp., a research and analysis nonprofit based in Arlington, Virginia, and the U.S. Department of Defense, where he helped with the production of a report on how top U.S. officials made decisions on the countrys involvement in the Vietnam Way between 1945 and 1968. The 7,000 page report, which became known as the Pentagon Papers, revealed, among other things, that the administration of President Lyndon Johnson had systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress, about a subject of transcendent national interest and significance. Heres a timeline of  Ellbergs military and professional career. 1954 to 1957: Ellsberg serves as a  rifle platoon leader, operations officer, and rifle company commander in the U.S. Marine Corps.1957 to 1959: Ellsberg continues his studies as a junior fellow in the Harvard University Society of Fellows, an elite program designed to allow promising young students a chance to pursue their scholarships.1959: Ellsberg takes a position as a strategic analyst at RAND Corp. He would later write that he accepted the position under the delusion ... that a missile gap favoring the Soviets made the problem of deterring a Soviet surprise attack the overriding challenge to U.S. and world security. He worked as a consultant  to the Commander-in-Chief Pacific, or CINCPAC.1961 to 1964: As a RAND Corp. employee, Ellsberg worked as a consultant to the departments of Defense and State and to the White House. He specialized in nuclear weapons, nuclear war plans, and crisis decision-making.1964: Ellsberg joins the Department of Defense and works for  John T. Mc Naughton, the assistant secretary of Defense for international security affairs. In this role Ellsberg is asked to study decision-making on the Vietnam War.1964 and 1965:  Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered  McNaughton and Ellsberg to work on secret plans to escalate the Vietnam War.  The plans were carried out in the spring of 1965.1965 to 1967: Ellsberg transfers to the Department of State and serves in Vietnam. He is based at the  embassy in Saigon. He contracted hepatitis and left Vietnam in June 1967.1967: Ellsberg returns to work for RAND Corp. and begins work on U.S. Decision-Making in Vietnam, 1945-68, the  document that would later become known as the Pentagon Papers.1968 and 1969: Ellsberg serves as a consultant to  Henry Kissinger, the national security assistant to President-elect Richard Nixon. He helps draft Nixons  presentation to the National Security Council on the Vietnam War.1969: Ellsberg, frustrated by what he described as a continuous re cord of governmental deception and fatally unwise decision-making, cloaked by secrecy, under four presidents, learns that Nixon is preparing to escalate the nations involved in the Vietnam War. Wrote Ellsberg years later: The history in the Pentagon Papers offered no promise of changing this pattern from within the bureaucracy. Only a better informed Congress and public might act to avert indefinite prolongation and further escalation of the war. He begins to make photocopies of the secret 7,000 page study.1971: Ellsberg leaks most of the report to The New York Times because Congress declined to set hearings on the study. When the attorney general and president moved to block the newspapers publication of further reports on the Pentagon Papers, Ellsburg leaks copies to The Washington Post and 19 other newspapers. The Supreme Court later voided the injunction. But later that year, Ellsberg was indicted on 12 criminal charges related to his leak of the top-secret document. The charges included conspiracy, theft of  government property, and violation of espionage statutes.1973: The judge in Ellsbergs trial dismissed all the charges against Ellsberg, citing  improper government conduct shielded so long from public view.  The judge declared a mistrial, stating that the governments action in this case offended a sense of justice.1975:  The Vietnam War ends. Ellsberg begins a career as a lecturer, writer, and activist on what he describes as the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful U.S. interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing. Personal Life Ellsberg was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1931 and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is married and lives in Kensington, California. He and his wife have three grown children. Important Quotes â€Å"Then it was as though an ax had split my head, and my heart broke open. But what had really happened was that my life had split in two.† —  Ellsberg on hearing a speech by a Vietnam War resister who was about to be jailed and his decision to leak the top-secret Pentagon Papers.Thats a heavy burden to bear. I share it with a thousand others who had that kind of access.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Ellsberg on his belief that had he leaked the information sooner, Congress would not have supported an expansion of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.Had I or one of the scores of other officials who had the same high-level information acted then on our oath of office — which was not an oath to obey the president, nor to keep the secret that he was violating his own sworn obligations, but solely an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States — that terrible war might well have been averted altogether. But to hope to have that effect, we would hav e needed to disclose the documents when they were current, before the escalation — not five or seven, or even two, years after the fateful commitments had been made.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Ellsberg  on his belief that had he leaked the information sooner, Congress would not have supported an expansion of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.Without young men going to prison for nonviolent protests against the draft, men that I met on their way to prison, no Pentagon Papers. It wouldnt have occurred to me simply to do something that would put myself in prison for the rest of my life, as I assumed that would do.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Ellsberg on his decision to risk going to prison for leaking the Pentagon Papers.A lesson to be drawn from reading the Pentagon Papers, knowing all that followed or has come out in the years since, is this. To those in the Pentagon, state department, the White House, CIA (and their counterparts in Britain and other Nato countries) who have similar access to mine t hen and foreknowledge of disastrous escalations in our wars in the Middle East, I would say: Dont make my mistake. Dont do what I did. Dont wait until a new war has started in Iran, until more bombs have fallen in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, Libya,  Iraq, or Yemen. Dont wait until thousands more have died, before you go to the press and to Congress to tell the truth  with documents  that reveal lies or crimes or internal projections of costs and dangers. Dont wait 40 years for it to be declassified, or seven years as I did for you or someone else to leak it.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Ellsberg on the importance of whistleblowers to democracy.The personal risks are great. But a wars worth of lives might be saved.  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Ellsberg on the important of transparency in government.I am a patriot, and that has never changed. — Ellsberg responding to a question from National Public Radio about his patriotism and belief in the strength of the United States. References and Recommended Reading Biography  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  Daniel Ellsberg: Scholar, Anti-War Activist, Government Official, JournalistNational Public Radio  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Daniel Ellsberg Explains Why He Leaked The Pentagon PapersEllsberg.net  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Bio of Daniel Ellsberg  | Extended Bio of Daniel Ellsberg

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Analysis Of The Initial Stages Of Thefacebook - 923 Words

In the initial stages of â€Å"thefacebook,† the site was limited to students of Harvard and within the first month of the site’s launch, slightly more than half of Harvard’s undergraduate population was registered on the site. Soon after the launching of â€Å"thefacebook,† Zuckerberg added new members Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes, and Andrew McCollum to his team, but as the company quickly expanded, more team members were added. The company would eventually find itself in need of hundreds of experts in programing, graphic design, customer relations and P.R., marketing, accounting and finance, communications, gaming and dozens of other specific fields. Facebook has grown from having one employee, Mark Zuckerberg, to currently employing around 12,691 people full time. Dustin Moskovitz, Zuckerberg’s roommate and co-founder, was another programmer who co-founded Facebook with Zuckerberg but later left the company in 2008 to cofound Asana and in 2011 was reported by Forbes Magazine to be the youngest self made billionaire in history because of his 2.34% share in Facebook. Co-founder Eduardo Moskovitz, a junior at Harvard when he got involved with Facebook, was charged with handling the business aspects of the site and was named chief financial officer (CFO). Co-founder Chris Hughes was brought on by the â€Å"somewhat less than charming† Zuckerberg to be the website’s spokesperson and representative to the public but also was unofficially tasked with generating product

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Beers and Cutler Company Free Essays

The Beers and Cutler Company provides accounting and consulting services for other organizations, institutions, or other clients that might require their services. (â€Å"Firm Profile,† 2008) The company primarily acts as an accounting firm, but other tasks and roles carried out by Beers and Cutler include tax and auditing, and even major business-related operations and processes such as strategic planning and consultancy for other business processes. (â€Å"Industry Profile: Accounting Services,† 2008) However, the latter aforementioned services provided by Beers and Cutler are only available in Washington, D. We will write a custom essay sample on Beers and Cutler Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now C. (Sarath, 2008) The company has been around since 1967 operating primarily for the real estate industry. However, the aim of Beers and Cutler company to expand and add value to the its reputation, image, and capabilities motivated it to venture into new fields and areas and implement a wider range of services that are highly beneficial to most organizations or institutions. At the moment, Beers and Cutler is able to cover the needs and demands of various fields such as the â€Å"automotive, construction, hospitality, retail and technology† (Sarath, 2008) industries. To further its capabilities and advantages, Beers and Cutler have become a member of The Baker Tilly International which facilitates communication, networking, sharing or resources, and such between accounting firms and business organizations around the world. (Sarath, 2008) Beers and Cutler considers the fulfillment of various goals and objectives in diverse and multiple organizations as the company’s mission. The company aims to accomplish this mission by helping business organizations achieve their corporate goals and objectives by providing aforementioned services timely and efficiently. (â€Å"Firm Profile,† 2008) Moreover, the employment of highly knowledgeable, skilled, and competent individuals is one of the company’s strategies in gaining competitive advantage. Career opportunities made available by the company include job openings for students, fresh graduates, as well as experienced professionals. For students, the company is searching for individuals who might fit jobs under the fields of Assurance and Tax, and Consulting. (â€Å"College Recruiting,† 2008) For experienced professionals, Beers and Cutler is looking for individuals that might fulfill roles under the areas of Assurance and Tax, Consulting Practice, and Practice Administration and Support. (â€Å"Experienced Professionals,† 2008) For the good of its employees and members, Beers and Cutler offers reasonable salary packages and benefits. Reviewing available career opportunities that the company is offering, the salary packages that Beers and Cutler are offering range from $60,000 to $150,000 annually. However, as the total amount of the salary package increases, the number of needed individuals or employees decreases. For instance, the career opportunity that pays $150,000 a year only offers one single slot for the said position. (â€Å"Beers Cutler Jobs in Washington, D. C. ,† 2008) On the other hand, the benefits provided by the company to its employees are competitive enough, fostering full compensation for the contributions of its constituents. For instance, individuals who get hired for a position in the company are provided with the benefit of a four-week break or vacation from work, with payment. This generous package for employees is motivated by the company’s sensitivity to providing a well-balanced working environment for its members in order to foster creativity, productivity, and high quality work outputs. (â€Å"Microsoft Web Developers: BEERS and CUTLERS,† 2008) Basically, the marketing plan of Beers and Cutler follows the concept of direct-to-person marketing or personal contact with clients or consumers. The firm utilizes means or tools of marketing that communicate directly to end users or individuals. Beers and Cutler utilize direct mailing systems to send informational messages to individuals, seminars to capture the attention of a large audience at the same time, and personal referrals or word of mouth. (â€Å"Industry Profile: Accounting Services,† 2008) References â€Å"Beers Cutler Jobs in Washington, D. C. † (2008). Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Indeed. Website: http://www. indeed. com/q-Beers-+-Cutler-l-Washington,-DC-jobs. html â€Å"College Recruiting. † (2008). Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Beers and Cutler PLLC. Website: http://www. beersandcutler. com/careers/college-recent-graduates/opportunities/ â€Å"Experienced Professionals. † (2008). Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Beers and Cutler PLLC. Website: http://www. beersandcutler. com/careers/experienced/opportunities/ â€Å"Firm Profile. † (2008). Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Beers and Cutler PLLC. Website: http://www. beersandcutler. com/firm/profile/ â€Å"Industry Profile: Accounting Services. † (2008). Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Hoover’s Inc. Website: http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/ind/fr/profile/basic. xhtml? ID=74 â€Å"Microsoft Web Developers: BEERS and CUTLERS. † (2008). Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Yahoo! Inc. Website: http://hotjobs. yahoo. com/job-J7ZN5I1Q0Y8? rec=2 Sarath, P. (2008). Beers and Cutler PLLC. Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Hoover’s Inc. Website: http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/factsheet. xhtml? ID=rysfhtfshyhhhyy How to cite Beers and Cutler Company, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Obesity in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Obesity in Australia. Answer: Introduction: Many health concerns have arisen in the last decade as a consequence of either lifestyle or pollution in the air we breathe or the food we eat. These are the emerging health issues that have targeted individual irrespective of age or gender (Bogossian et al., 2012). One of such concerns is the rapid escalation of obesity in the mass. Be it children or adolescents or adults. Men and women all ages are the victim of this predicament. Despite it being a global health issue this report takes up Australia as an example to evaluate different aspects of obesity and different stakeholders associated with this issue (Brennan et al., 2015). All about obesity: Obesity has become one of the primary factors leading to a high mortality rates worldwide, by paving the way for fatal medical complications (Finegood, 2012). Australia also has made a place for itself in the long list of obesity epidemic countries. In order to target the issue of obesity it is vital to characterize the disease itself. Obesity is a clinical condition that causes the body mass index to increase rapidly that has the potential to impart an adverse effect on the health and wellbeing of the individuals (Brennan et al., 2015). There are a lot of factors that can contribute to obesity like food habits, life style choices or genetic predisposition. Obesity leads to a lot of other more complicated health problems including diabetes, cardiac complications and hypertension, but societal stigma continues to be the lethal most consequence of obesity. Different stakeholders: Obesity is a major global health concern and naturally there are different stakeholders associated with it in both health sector and outside health sector. Each stakeholder has a different role to play in this context. The most vital stakeholder will be the people that suffer with excessive body weight themselves, from children to adults, across all age groups (Lacy et al., 2012). The next major stakeholder would be the clinical practioner or nutritionist that an obese would seek advice from along with the health care providers that will be involved in caring and assisting for the obese individuals. There are a lot of medications available in the market that addresses the issue of obesity, the manufacturers and the sellers of these medications are important stakeholders in this. Surpassing the medical sector there are a lot of other stakeholders involved in this issue. Most importantly the gym is undoubtedly the most important stakeholder outside the realm of health care services (Lu ke Stamatakis, 2012). Apart from that there are slimming tools and technologies available in the market along with slimming clothing that attempt to camouflage the appearance of obesity. There are block clubs and charitable events and civic events in the region that are actively involved in supporting and motivating the obese. There are a number social service agencies and recreational centres or yoga centres that provide regular exercise activities for the obese to help them regain control of their lives. There are different classes available as well that educate the people suffering with obesity about different diet options and supplements that help with reducing or burning extra fat and different exercise regimes that help in reshaping (Lacy et al., 2012). Systems thinking approach: With the varied range of stakeholders, an emerging health concern such as the increasing obesity in the mass will undoubtedly have a lot of factors complicating the path of finding a solution. The societal discrimination and self indulgence being the prime few of them, however incorporating a systems thinking approach can easily prove to be the light in the dark abyss (Swinburn Wood, 2013). A system thinking approach facilitates the selection of a solution, utilizing a variety of different resources, methodologies, theories and principles (Walls et al., 2012). Using these tools the purpose behind a systems thinking approach is to arrive at a conclusion that acknowledges the interrelationship among the key stakeholders and identification of a common process that leads to a stable future. A systems thinking approach to improve the health conditions in a population level involves a preconceived and well organized curated care setting that addresses all factor associated with the particular issue. In a global issue like obesity, the intervention has to be effective and efficiently incorporated into the activities of all the stakeholders involved. For example in case of a obese child, a systems thinking approach to his care will involve himself, his family, his physician, the managed care organizer and the external stakeholders indirectly associated (Swinburn Wood, 2013). However there are some limitations to the implementation of a systems thinking approach. Limitations and restrictions: The MCO health care setting is ideal for incorporating a systems thinking approach to tackle obesity as a health concern but implementation of it can face some serious challenges. The first challenge is the lack of substantial data of what works in a health care setting to tackle obesity (Walls et al., 2012). The other major setback will be the denial and preconceived notions in the general mass, for example in native communities of Australia the perceived notion of the inefficacy and risk of the programs or interventions can seriously hamper the outcome of the systems approach. Small scale interventions don not always work in bigger settings and Australia being diverse with strong multicultural influence it become4 even more of a problem. Lastly the lack of motivation or will in the obesogenic population to participate or volunteer to changes that can help them get back in shape (Johnston, Matteson Finegood, 2014). Recommendation: Despite all the challenges the systems thinking approach is certainly the optimal opportunity for the obese to change their lifestyle and improve their social and personal dignity. A few careful strategies can attempt to overcome the challenges to successful incorporation of changes that can help the obesogenic population of Australia to a great extent (Johnston, Matteson Finegood, 2014). Generating awareness in the mass about the adverse effects of obesity. Finding more engaging techniques that will persuade the obese to try Counselling to destroy myths and safeguarding confidentiality so that the participants feel empowered and safe. Persuasive campaigning that invites the people to take the plunge and try the intervention (Lacy et al., 2012) Conclusion: This innovative systematic approach has a huge potential to successfully target and diminish the alarmingly increasing rates of obesity in the population at large irrespective of age or gender. The systems thinking approach facilitates specific targeted implementation procedures that if incorporated at the right time in the right way, can yield wondrous results. However the challenges that still prevail in the incorporation can be a tricky hurdle to overcome but effective participation of all stakeholders can ensure successful incorporation and impactful results. References: Bogossian, F. E., Hepworth, J., Leong, G. M., Flaws, D. F., Gibbons, K. S., Benefer, C. A., Turner, C. T. (2012). A cross-sectional analysis of patterns of obesity in a cohort of working nurses and midwives in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.International journal of nursing studies,49(6), 727-738. Brennan, L. K., Sabounchi, N. S., Kemner, A. L., Hovmand, P. (2015). Systems thinking in 49 communities related to healthy eating, active living, and childhood obesity.Journal of Public Health Management and Practice,21, S55-S69. Finegood, D. T. (2012). The importance of systems thinking to address obesity. InObesity Treatment and Prevention: New Directions(Vol. 73, pp. 123-137). Karger Publishers. Johnston, L. M., Matteson, C. L., Finegood, D. T. (2014). Systems science and obesity policy: a novel framework for analyzing and rethinking population-level planning.American journal of public health,104(7), 1270-1278. Lacy, K., Kremer, P., Silva?Sanigorski, A., Allender, S., Leslie, E., Jones, L., ... Swinburn, B. (2012). The appropriateness of opt?out consent for monitoring childhood obesity in Australia.Pediatric obesity,7(5), e62-e67. Luke, D. A., Stamatakis, K. A. (2012). Systems science methods in public health: dynamics, networks, and agents.Annual review of public health,33, 357-376. Swinburn, B., Wood, A. (2013). Progress on obesity prevention over 20 years in Australia and New Zealand.Obesity Reviews,14(S2), 60-68. Walls, H. L., Magliano, D. J., Stevenson, C. E., Backholer, K., Mannan, H. R., Shaw, J. E., Peeters, A. (2012). Projected progression of the prevalence of obesity in Australia.Obesity,20(4), 872-878.