The disclosure of sensitive and classified information by persons Research Paper

The disclosure of sensitive and classified information by persons currently or previously employed by or affiliated with the Uni - Research Paper Example However, these sources and not authorized disclosures of the core information. This is also because the press only releases individually and cumulatively. Just like secret intelligent actually works. But however, this is a very major issue. If one is working or has worked with United States federal government, then one should know the importance of keeping your organization secrets to yourself. Being not an ordinary citizen, you are of the key persons of the country to keep in-charge of the national security of the United States. The unauthorized disclosure of classified intelligence has always been extraordinarily been resistant to the authenticity. Though there is a committee named as Foreign Denial and Deception Committee. This organization makes an interagency effort in order to understand how other agencies get to know about and how they try to defeat the US secret intelligence activities, but then even the unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence still seem to be a s erious problem for the US national security. Where the term classified information means the information, which at the time of violation of the US laws is, for thenational security, specifically designated by a United States Government Agency for limited rights of distribution. George Tenet – the Director of the CIA, said in an interview about unauthorized disclosures, that they have become one of the biggest threats to the survival of the US intelligence. And definitely, what harm the wikileaks did to the US national security, no one would deny it. Though the US law states that whoever intentionally shares any kind of classified intelligence information to an unauthorized person or transmits, furnishes or publishes it in any way which leads to the benefit of any other foreign government or to the insecurity if the United States concerning the preparation or use of any code, design, construction, maintenance or repair of any device or apparatus or communication of any intelli gence activities of the United States with any foreign government shall be either fined or be imprisoned for not more than ten years, or as a punishment may be have to suffer from even both but the steps take to stop the violation of these rules must be improved in order to assure the security of the US intelligence. George England, the Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense while stating the rules and the responsibilities for the national defense of the US in his Reporting and Investigation Guide said that every civilian employee, active or reserved National Military Guard, any member, contractor or an employee of a contractor of the department of defense working with the classified material is instantly supposed to report through any security channel, any suspect disclosing the classified information to anyone. Then further actions will be taken after consulting with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and other officials after confirming if the information of offici ally released under a proper authority or what. Then further decisions would be made for starting an investigation by some military organization or Federal Bureau of Investigation, which will base on how accurate was the information that was disclosed, how much damage was caused to the national security by the disclosure of that information, how many people gained access to that information, if its investigation will increase the damage caused, the reasonable expectations of the

Events Management Report on Fan Expo - Canada Essay Example for Free

Events Management Report on Fan Expo Canada Essay This report has been commissioned by James Armstrong of Hobby Star Marketing to critically analyse and evaluate the Fan Expo Canada event. A general overview of the event will be provided as well as the event category it falls under and the implications of this. The event will then be analysed in terms of its social impact, the stakeholders involved and economic implications. This report is limited to the event information available on the internet and in the prescribed text for theory based arguments. This report aims to advise Hobby Star Marketing on the current and future states of their event and as related to tourism theory, what impact this may have on social and economic factors, as well as impact on event stakeholders as a whole. In conclusion recommendations will be put forward as to the best approach for event organisers to take in the future to ensure all stakeholders are kept satisfied as well as the wider community. 2.0 Description of EventFan Expo Canada is held annually at the end of each summer in Toronto Canada and features three days of non-stop festivities in the areas of video games, anime, science fiction, horror and comic books. The expo has been running for 12 years with its name recently being changed from the Canadian National Expo. Fan Expo is held primarily in the Toronto Metro Convention Centre and last year boasted over 37 000 admissions. Fan Expo is a unique event targeted to a specific range of markets. Having been dubbed in the past the Nerd Prom, the Fan Expo draws visitors from all around the globe to Toronto Canada, enhancing awareness of the region and its status in gaming, anime, science fiction, horror and comic book realms. Due to these factors it is suitable to classify this expo as a Hallmark event. This type of event is typically defined as a major one time or recurring event of limited duration developed primarily to enhance awareness or appeal and profitability of a tourism destination in the short or long term. In order to obtain success such events rely primarily on their uniqueness, status or timely significance to create both interest and to attract attention (Ritchie, 1984, p.2; Getz 1997 pp.5-6 in Allen et al. 2005). Fan Expo is highly significant to its target markets and provides the host venue, community and destination as a whole with a competitive  advantage over other conventions of a simu lar nature in North America (third largest event of its kind in this region) (Hobbystar 2006). 3.0 Social Impact 3.1 Social BenefitsAll events have a direct social and cultural impact on their participants and sometimes on the broader host communities (Hall, 1989; Getz, 1997 in Allen et al. 2005). In terms of the Fan Expo, the social impacts are expansive and many benefits come to fruition as a result of the event taking place. One in particular is the validation of community groups associated with the event. A positive impact can be seen here through the acknowledgment of local comic book artists, with the talents of the normally ostracised minority being recognised and applauded at an international level. As the community is one of the major event stakeholders, not only are these groups validated but further encouragement of community participation also results due to the overwhelming achievements of specific community members. Social constancy and community pride are again other factors that result in benefits to the community of Toronto. Fan Expo brings tourists from all over the world to one epicentre of likeminded people. Through this experience the local community may volunteer and band together to present their city in the greatest state possible to expo visitors. The impact this effect has on the tourists is also significant as it encourages migration attractiveness as well as an increased positive image tourists have about the city of Toronto. This has a two fold effect as the community also notes the economic gain of for example encouraging a major video game expert to relocate to Toronto (stronger and more competitive local economy). In retrospect the community is more socially aware of itself and its visitors and is more likely to retain and develop higher visitor rates due to its strengthened welcoming culture. The convergence of these likeminded industry experts also facilitates an arena for the development of new ideas and partnerships both within the industry and between expo visitors. Tourists that bring already existing ideas to the expo then can have that idea realised through the resources of local and visiting industry experts (i.e. a gaming designer that wants to  sell his or her idea to a major video game corporation). The potential for economic growth due to this convergence is quite extraordinary. 3.2 Social Costs Of the research conducted about what social cost Fan Expo has had to the local community, one common theme that was realised was the apparent facilitation of strongarm tactics. In an overview of what was discovered, local comic book retailers were being forced by expo organisers either feature solely in their expo (not other competing expos) or not feature at all. The local community backlash from this decision was quite significant with many key industry leaders in the community moving to boycott the Fan Expo event. The ramifications of this monopolistic type approach on the community can cause not only resentment towards event participants and tourists, but also commodification of the event because of the lack of attendance of original industry leaders and pioneers (eg. instead of the creator of the comic book The Phantom attending in person, Fan Expo constructs a video montage of the comic book creator and his work instead). This can cause dissonance between fans and organisers as what was once expected and a major highlight of the event is now replaced with a display that for most fans, the information presented is not uncommonly found on say the internet. On a whole, community resentment for the event taking place in their city can occur but also tourist resentment for the visiting the destination in the future is also a possibility. Social consequence such as criminal activity may occur as a result, specifically if some visitors have travelled a significant distance to attend the event. 4.0 Stakeholders In regards to the stakeholders for Fan Expo Canada, a number of categories can be used to separate the role and objectives of each. In terms of the host organisation, the Toronto City Council is a major figurehead as the support from local government for funding and other regulatory and staffing concerns is vital to the success of this event. Hobby Star Marketing as a corporation is also another obvious stakeholder as they are the primary event organisers and have substantial amounts of  resources injected into fate of this event. The Toronto Metro Convention Centre is also another key stakeholder as the event is being held at their premise. Their objectives for the event will be to ensure their function areas function as they should throughout the expo as well as working closely with Hobby Star to ensure all logistical requirements are executed without delay or error. Toronto as a community is also a primary stakeholder as its involvement and expectations for the event are additionally significant. For Hobby Star, their understanding of the local community is a key factor for the event to be a success. Specifically in this case, the understanding of local community comic book or gaming groups and societies will enable event organisers to develop the event to cater for the needs of these groups. Furthermore representatives from these groups could provide recommendations and assistance for future event ideas. In doing so the community expectations can be more accurately met and overall dissonance of the event significantly reduced (Allen et al. 2005). In terms of the media, local television, radio and print associations are also termed stakeholders as they have been invested in and have also dedicated resources to either cover the event progress or advertise the event in the weeks leading up. Due to the events widespread appeal, web media would also be considered an important stakeholder as accurate information needs to be communicated to tourists planning on attending. Web media is also important to monitor because as noted earlier, backlash or community opinions are not contained within the community when the web is involved, and negative impacts can occur quickly through use of the internet. Other stakeholders include event staff, volunteers and centre management and staff. Their role is to ensure the event plan is executed effectively and their presence as a required resource must also be nurtured through not only being catered for and looked after during the event, but also recognition for their contributions once the event has ended. One way this is performed is by volunteers being given free access to any event over the three days before and after their allotted shift time (Happy Star 2006). For any event  to be truly effective, the vision and philosophy of the event must be shared by all of the team (Allen et al. 2005). The participants of the event which include guest speakers, retailers, performers, industry professionals and the general public are also significant stakeholders. To make the event memorable and meaningful, the event manager must ensure all of these figureheads are satisfied in terms of what they want to get out of the event, which includes their physical needs of comfort, safety and security. At Fan Expo in 2006, it is the 40th anniversary of the birth of Star Trek and the key guest speakers are two famous stars from the original television series. Their involvement and satisfaction of how the event is run and managed will be reflected on how well they address the audience and subsequently the level of enjoyment the spectators receive. 5.0 Economic Analysis The economic standpoint in regards to events is the make or break factor events must generate revenue to be successful. Therefore one of the most important impacts is the tourism revenue generated by an event (Allen et al. 2005). External visitors not only spend money on the event itself such as tickets and merchandise but also on items such as travel, accommodation and other goods and services available in the host city. This economic influx is sometimes depended on in many smaller communities however in the case of Toronto, effective tourism can result in visitors that are in town for the event to extend their stay and consequently increase spending (Allen et al. 2005). As described in Section 3.1, many business opportunities are possible through the interaction of local and visiting industry members. Furthermore their interaction with the local community and its economy may also give way for tourists to increase stay or indeed make a bid to stay permanently. For the expo, this could mean opportunities for more qualified industry leaders to be a part of the planning process for the following years expo. The overall benefits for Fan Expo could include for example the cast voices for the latest Star Trek game to be sourced and recorded in Toronto due to Microsoft Games setting up headquarters after negotiations. In hindsight whilst the  majority of the Fan Expo is based around a market and display type setup, there are also many exclusive forums and networking conferences that occur over the weekend to further facilitate the creation of business opportunities (Hobby Star 2006). Higher rates of employment can also result from this event employment requirements for Fan Expo itself but also local industry members showcasing their talents then being offered work at a major firm. This can also have a negative effect as the local talent is snapped up and shipped out to other cities or countries, possibly damaging the part of the local economy they were once involved in. On the other hand if nurtured the community member could leave to gain more knowledge then return to the city, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge and experience that could significantly increase the economy of the city and region. On the agenda of negative economic impacts, opportunity cost can clearly be linked to the issues described in Section 3.2 in regards to strongarm tactics allegedly being used by Hobby Star Marketing. With retailers being forced to choose between festivals, the chance for economic gain is lost. Spectators that cannot attend the Fan Expo are left with no alternatives to view and purchase expo items and retailers in general loose out because of reduced exposure. This consequently forces retailers to ascertain which festival would be more financially beneficial to them, hence reducing exposure and possible loss of business opportunities. As stated in Section 3.2 this can generate a negative reputation for Happy Star and the Fan Expo in general and have many negative social and economic impacts. 6.0 Conclusions This report has provided an overview of the Fan Expo Canada event and classified into the Hallmark event category. The event was then analysed in terms of its social impact, the stakeholders involved and economic implications. This report has found that Fan Expo appeals to a unique market and draws visitors to the town of Toronto. It has outlined relevant stakeholders and their goals and found that increased integration of local community groups with the planning process of the expo could be beneficial to future success and reduced dissonance. This report described the importance of economic planning and how decisions that are made in the best interests of the event may not be in the best interests of the wider community. This report aims to advise Hobby Star Marketing on the current and future states of their event and as related to tourism theory, what impact this may have on social and economic factors, as well as impact on event stakeholders as a whole. In conclusion recommendations will be put forward as to the best approach for event organisers to take in the future to ensure all stakeholders are kept satisfied as well as the wider community. 7.0 Recommendations In hindsight to this report, the following recommendations are made:Increase communication with community industry leaders to ascertain the best approach in organising the event so maximum exposure can be generated. Further develop networking events at the expo and facilitate the creation of business opportunities and discovery of new talent in the local community. Promote to industry leaders the benefits of setting up operations in the community and tie this in with a major showcasing of their products at the following years expo. Work closer with Toronto City Council to further promote local and regional tourism to increase longer stays and increased economic activity. Reduce dissonance by operating competitively and ethically with other expos. List of References Allen, J OToole, W Harris, R McDonnell, I 2005, Festival and Special Event Management, John Wiley Sons, Milton. Hobby Star 2006, Fan Expo Canada, viewed 20 August 2006, Getz, D 1997, Event Management and Event Tourism, Cognizant Communication Corporation, New York. Wikimedia Foundation 2006, Fan Expo Canada, viewed 6 August 2006,

A Comparison between Billy Liar and Shirley Valentine Essay -- Drama

A Comparison between Billy Liar and Shirley Valentine I have just been studying Billy Liar and performing it as part of my mock scripted drama GCSE, and have been asked to compare this theatre script to the film script of Shirley Valentine. I have already given the first difference between these two scripts; one is a theatre script and the other is designed specifically for the big screen. Billy Liar was originally a novel written by Keith Waterhouse, who with the help of Willis Hall made it into a theatre script in the 1960's. Billy is an imaginative youth who is fighting to get out of his complacent, clichà ©-ridden background. He was born and brought up in a town in Yorkshire and lives with his father, Geoffrey, mother, Alice, and grandmother, Florence. Billy has three girlfriends, Rita, Barbara and Liz, but he only shows genuine affection and feelings towards Liz. Billy is always fantasising and making up things which earns him the label 'liar'. At the end of the play Billy decides to leave his home and follow Liz to London but as we find out in the last scene he 'chickens' out and returns to the home he so desperately wants to escape. Shirley Valentine on the other hand was written as a film script, by the author Willy Russell in the 1980's, but the story is very similar to that of Billy Liar. Shirley is a housewife and mother to two grown up children. Her husband Joe is very insensitive and unaffectionate. Shirley's best friend Jane invites Shi...

Thorn Queen Chapter One

Sad fact: lots of kids know how to use knives and guns. I'd been one of them, but instead of pursuing a life of crime, I'd trained to be a shamanic mercenary. This meant that while my friends were at dances and football games, I'd been out banishing spirits and wrestling down monsters with my stepfather. On the upside, I grew up never fearing muggers or any other assailants. On the downside, an adolescence like that really screws with your social development. It meant I'd never really been like other kids. I'd had some friends, but compared to theirs, my world had been terribly stark and terribly deadly. Their dramas and concerns had seemed so petty next to mine, and I could never fully relate. As an adult now, I still couldn't really connect to kids because I had no shared experiences to draw on. Which made my job today that much more difficult. â€Å"Go ahead, Polly,† crooned the girl's mother, smiling with over-plump lips. Too much collagen, I suspected. â€Å"Tell her about the ghost.† Polly Hall was 13 but wore enough make-up to rival a 40-year old whore. She sat slouched against the back of a couch in her family's perfectly decorated house, chewing gum loudly, looking everywhere but at us. The more I studied her, the more I decided she probably did have problems. I suspected they had less to do with supernatural influences and more with having a mother who had named her Polly and let her wear thongs. It was an unfortunate side effect of Polly's low-cut jeans that I could see the aforementioned thong. After a minute of silence, Mrs. Hall sighed loudly. â€Å"Polly, dear, we've been over this. If you aren't going to help us, we can't help you.† Smiling, I knelt down in front of the couch so I could look the girl in the eyes. â€Å"It's all right,† I told her, hoping I sounded sincere and not like an after school special. â€Å"I'll believe whatever you tell me. We'll get it taken care of.† Polly sighed just as loudly as her mother had a moment ago and still refused to look at me. She reminded me of my unstable teenage half-sister who was currently MIA and wanted to conquer the world. â€Å"Mom,† she said, â€Å"can I go to my room now?† â€Å"Not until you've talked to this nice lady.† Glancing back to me, Mrs. Hall explained, â€Å"We hear strange noises all night: bangs, cracks, bumps. Things fall over for no reason. I've even†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She hesitated. â€Å"I've even seen things fly around the room. But it's always when Polly's around. Whatever this ghost is, it seems to like her†¦or be obsessed with her.† I turned my attention back to Polly, again taking in the sullen mood and thinly veiled frustration. â€Å"You got a lot on your mind, Polly?† I asked gently. â€Å"Problems at school or something? Problems around here?† Her blue eyes flicked to me ever so briefly. â€Å"What about any electrical issues?† This I directed to her mother. â€Å"Things shorting out? Stereos or appliances not working right?† Mrs. Hall blinked. â€Å"How'd you know that?† I stood up and stretched the kinks out of my body. I'd fought a wraith last night, and he hadn't been gentle. â€Å"You don't have a ghost. You have a poltergeist.† Both of them stared at me. â€Å"Isn't that a ghost?† asked Mrs. Hall. â€Å"Not really. It's a manifestation of telekinetic powers, often brought on by rage and other strong emotions during teenage years.† I'd evaded after school special mode, only to slip into infomercial mode. â€Å"I†¦wait. Are you saying Polly's causing this?† â€Å"Not consciously, but yeah. In cases like this, the subject – Polly – lashes out without realizing it, venting her emotions in physical ways. She probably won't stay telekinetic; it'll fade as she gets older and settles down a bit.† Her mother still looked skeptical. â€Å"It sure seems like a ghost.† I shrugged. â€Å"Trust me. I've seen this lots of times.† â€Å"So†¦isn't there anything you can do? Anything we can do?† â€Å"Therapy,† I suggested. â€Å"Maybe get a psychic to come out.† I gave Mrs. Hall the contact information for a psychic I trusted. Waiving my banishing fee, I simply charged her for the house call. Once I'd double-checked the cash she gave me – I never took checks – I stashed it away and made moves toward the living room door. â€Å"Sorry I couldn't be of more help.† â€Å"No, I mean, I guess this helps. It's just so strange.† She eyed her daughter with perplexity. â€Å"Are you sure it's not a ghost?† â€Å"Positive. These are classic symp–â€Å" An invisible force slammed into me, pushing me into the wall. I yelped, threw out a hand to keep my balance, and shot daggers at that little bitch Polly. Eyes wide, she looked just as astonished as I felt. â€Å"Polly!† exclaimed Mrs. Hall. â€Å"You are grounded, young lady. No phone, no IM, no†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her mouth dropped open as she stared at something across the room. â€Å"What's that?† I followed her gaze to the large, pale blue shape materializing before us. â€Å"Um, well,† I said, â€Å"that's a ghost.† It swooped toward me, mouth open in a terrible screech. I yelled for the others to get down and jerked a silver-bladed athame out of my belt. A knife might seem useless against spirits, but they needed to take on a substantial form to inflict any real damage. Once solid, they were susceptible to silver. This spirit bore a female shape – a very young female shape, actually. Long pale hair trailed in her wake like a cloak, and her eyes were large and empty. Whether it was a lack of experience or simply some inherent trait of hers, her attack proved floundering and uncoordinated. Even as she screamed at the first bites of the athame, I had my crystal studded wand out in my other hand. Now that I'd regained my bearings, I could do a banishing like this in my sleep. Speaking the usual words, I drew from my internal strength and sent my own spirit beyond the boundaries of this world. Touching the gates of the Underworld, I ensnared the female spirit and sent her over. Monsters and gentry I tended to send back to the Otherworld, the limbo they lived in. A ghost like this needed to move on to the land of death. She disappeared. Mrs. Hall and Polly stared at me. Suddenly, in her first show of emotion, the girl leapt up and glared at me. â€Å"You just killed my best friend!† I opened my mouth to respond and decided nothing I had to say would be adequate. â€Å"Good heavens, what are you talking about?† exclaimed her mother. Polly's face twisted with anger, her eyes bright with tears. â€Å"Trixie. She was my best friend. We told each other everything.† â€Å"Trixie?† Mrs. Hall and I asked in unison. â€Å"I can't believe you did that. She was so cool.† Polly's voice turned a little wistful. â€Å"I just wish we could have gone shopping together, but she couldn't leave the house. So I just had to bring her Vogue and Glamour.† I turned to Mrs. Hall. â€Å"My original advice still stands. Therapy. Lots of it.† I headed home after that, wondering for the hundredth time why I'd chosen this mercenary shaman profession. Surely there were other jobs that were a lot less trouble than interacting with evil supernatural beings. Accounting. Advertising. Law. Well, maybe not that last one. About an hour later, I arrived back home and was immediately assaulted by two medium-sized dogs when I cleared the door. They were mutts, one solid black and one solid white. Their names were Yin and Yang, but I could never remember who was who. â€Å"Back off,† I warned as they sniffed me, tails wagging frantically. The white one tried to lick my hand. Pushing past them, I entered my kitchen and nearly tripped over a tabby cat sprawled on the floor in a patch of sun. Grumbling, I tossed my bag onto the kitchen table. â€Å"Tim? Are you here?† My housemate, Tim Warkoski, stuck his head in. He wore a tee shirt with silhouettes of Native Americans that said Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism since 1492. I appreciated the cleverness, but it lost something since Tim wasn't actually an American Indian. He merely played one on TV, or rather, he played one in local bars and tourist circles, using his tanned skin and black hair to elude his Polish heritage. It had gotten him into trouble with a lot of the local tribes. With a garbage bag in one hand and a cat scoop in the other, he gave me a dark look. â€Å"Do you know how many boxes of litter I've had to change today?† I poured a glass of milk and sat down at the table. â€Å"Kiyo says we need one box for every cat and then an extra one.† â€Å"Yeah, I can count, Eugenie. That's six boxes. Six boxes in a house with 1500 square feet. You think your deadbeat boyfriend's ever going to show back up and help out with this?† I shifted uncomfortably. It was a good question. After three months of dating between Tucson and Phoenix, my boyfriend Kiyo had decided to take a job here to save the hour and a half commute. We'd had a long discussion and decided we were ready to have him simply move in with me. Unfortunately, with Kiyo came his menagerie: five cats and two dogs. It was one of the woes of dating a veterinarian. He couldn't help but adopt every animal he found. I couldn't remember the cats' names any better than the dogs'. Four of them were named after the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and all I could really recall was that Famine ironically weighed about 30 pounds. Another problem was that Kiyo was a fox – both literally and figuratively. His mother was a kitsune, a sort of Japanese fox spirit. He'd inherited all of her traits, including amazing strength and speed, as well as the ability to transform into an actual fox. As a result, he frequently got ‘the call of the wild,' making him yearn to run around in his animal form. Since he had downtime between jobs now, he'd left me to take a sort of wild vacation. I accepted this, but after a week of not seeing him, I was starting to get restless. â€Å"He'll be back soon,† I said vaguely, not meeting Tim's eyes. â€Å"Besides, you can get out of chores if you want to start paying rent.† That was our deal. Free lodging in exchange for food and housework. He wasn't deterred. â€Å"Your choice in men is questionable. You know that, right?† I didn't really want to ponder that too much. I abandoned him for my room, seeking the comfort of a jigsaw puzzle depicting a photograph of Zurich. It sat on my desk, as did one of the cats. I think he was Mr. Whiskers, the non-Apocalyptic one. I shooed him off the puzzle. Doing so took about half the puzzle pieces with him. â€Å"Goddamned cat,† I muttered. Love, I decided, was a hard thing. Well aware of my grumpy mood, I knew part of my anxiety over Kiyo stemmed from the fact that he was also passing part of his sabbatical in the Otherworld, spending time with his ex-girlfriend who just happened to be a devastatingly beautiful fairy queen. Fairies, sidhe, shining ones†¦whatever you wanted to call them, they were the tall, long-lived rulers of the Otherworld. I and most shamans referred to them as gentry, an antique term. Maiwenn, Kiyo's ex, was almost nine months pregnant, and although they'd broken up, he was still a part of her life. I sighed. Tim might have been right about my questionable taste in men. Night wore on. I finished the puzzle while blasting Def Leppard, making me feel better. I was just shutting off the music when I heard Tim yell: â€Å"Yo, Eug. Kujo's here.† Breathless, I ran to my bedroom door and flung it open. A red fox the size of a wolf trotted down the hall toward me. Relief burned through me, and I felt my heart soar as I let him in and watched him pace around in restless circles. â€Å"About time,† I said. He had a sleek orange-red coat and a fluffy tail tipped in white. His eyes were golden and sometimes bore a very human glint. I saw nothing like that tonight. A purely animal wariness peered out at me, and I realized it'd be a while before he changed back. He had the ability to transform to a wide range of foxes, everything from a small, normal-sized red fox to the powerful shape before me. When he spent a lot of time in this bigger form, turning human took more effort and time. Still, hoping he'd transform soon, I dumped another puzzle on my desk and worked it as I waited. Two hours later, nothing had changed. He curled up in a corner, wrapping his body in a tight ball. His eyes continued to watch me. Exhausted, I gave up on him and put on a red nightgown. Turning off the lights, I finally slipped into my bed, falling asleep instantly for a change. As I slept, I dreamed about the Otherworld, particularly a piece of it that bore a striking resemblance to Tucson and the Sonora Desert surrounding us. Only, the Otherworldly version was better. An almost heavenly Tucson, warmed by bright sunshine and ablaze with flowering cacti. This was a common dream for me, one that often left me yearning for that land in the morning. I always tried my best to ignore the impulse. A couple hours later, I woke up. A warm, muscled body had slid into bed with me, pressing against my back. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and Kiyo's scent, dark and musky, washed over me. A liquid feeling burned inside of me at his touch. Roughly, he turned me toward him. His lips consumed me in a crushing kiss, blazing with intensity and need. â€Å"Eugenie,† he growled, once he'd paused long enough to remove his lips – just barely – from mine. â€Å"I've missed you. Oh God, I've missed you. I've needed you.† He kissed me again, conveying that need as his hands moved over me. My own fingers slid along the smooth perfection of his bare skin, reveling in its feel. There was no gentleness between us tonight, only a feral passion fueled as much by animal instinct as love. He had not, I realized, completely regained his human senses, no matter his shape. When I woke up in the morning, my bed was empty. Across the room, Kiyo pulled on jeans, meeting my eyes as though he had some sixth sense that I was awake. I rolled over on my side, the sheets gliding against my naked skin. Watching him with a lazy, satisfied languor, I admired his body and the sexy features gifted to him by Japanese and Hispanic heritage. His tanned body and black hair stood in stark contrast to the light skin and reddish hair my European ancestors had given me. â€Å"Are you leaving?† I asked. My heart, having leapt at his presence last night, suddenly sank. â€Å"I have to go back,† he said, straightening out a dark green tee shirt. He ran an absentminded hand through his chin-length hair. â€Å"You know I do.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, my voice sharper than I'd intended. â€Å"Of course you do.† His eyes narrowed. â€Å"Please don't start that,† he said quietly. â€Å"I have to do this.† â€Å"Sorry. Somehow I just can't get all that excited about another woman having your baby.† There it was. The issue that always hung over us. He sat down beside me on the bed, dark eyes serious and level. â€Å"Well, I'm excited. I'd like to think you could support me in that and be happy for me.† Troubled, I looked away. â€Å"I am happy for you. I want you to be happy†¦it's just, you know, it's hard.† â€Å"I know.† He leaned over me, sliding his hand up the back of my neck, twining his fingers in my hair. â€Å"You've spent more time with her in the last week than with me.† â€Å"It's a necessity. It's almost time.† â€Å"I know,† I repeated. I knew my jealousy was unwarranted. Petty, even. I wanted to share his happiness at having a child, but something in me prevented it. â€Å"Eugenie, I love you. It's that simple. That's all there is to it.† â€Å"You love her too.† â€Å"Yes, but not in the way I love you.† He kissed me with a gentleness very different from the roughness of last night. I melted against him. The kiss grew stronger, filling with ardor. With great reluctance, he finally pulled away. I could see the longing in his eyes. He wanted to have sex again. That said something for my charms, I guessed. His responsible inclinations winning out, he straightened and stood up. I stayed where I was. â€Å"Will I see you there?† he asked, voice even and neutral. I sighed. â€Å"Yeah. I'll be there.† He smiled. â€Å"Thank you. That means a lot to me.† I nodded. He went to the door and looked back at me. â€Å"I love you.† The heat in his voice told me he truly meant it. I smiled back. â€Å"I love you too.† He left, and I pulled the sheets more tightly against me and made no motions to get up. I couldn't stay in bed all day, unfortunately. Other things – like my promise to Kiyo – demanded my attention today. There was a trip to the Otherworld ahead of me, one that would take me to a kingdom I'd reluctantly inherited. You see, Maiwenn wasn't the only Otherworldly queen in Kiyo's life. Yet, astonishingly, that wasn't the problem for me today. That was easy compared to what else lay in store for me. I had to go to a gentry baby shower.

Consumer Culture in the Twenty First Century Essay

Consumer Culture plays a significant role in our everyday lives. The articles In Praise of Consumerism and Needing The Unnecessary; The Democratization of Luxury by James Twitchell show strong arguments in favour of consumer culture. Both articles focus on how important consumerism has become in the modern commercial world and how more people wealthy or middle class are buying luxury items to be accepted by others in society. People in today’s society who buy luxury items find it â€Å"arousal seeking† and it is believed that consumerism will soon be the new world culture. These two articles show similar views on consumerism and hold valid information in favour of consumer culture. Korten shows that the transition from an Empire to Earth Community would be alot easier without the increase in consumerism in the 21st century. James Twitchell wrote an article In Praise of Consumerism about how consumerism is a significant part of everyday life. Commercialism is in practically everything that we encounter on a day to day basis. It is in the water we swim in, the air we breathe, our sunlight and shade. In our society you can’t consume an object without consuming meaning which is a major part of the modern commercial world. People like having things and it has come down to the quality and quantity of what you have as to how you are perceived by others in society. Twitchell states in his article that the American Century will be the next era and that it will likely be the commandeer of the 21st century. So basically American culture is well on its way to being recognized and used by cultures all over the world. It will soon be the new world culture. Korten states that the United States has been the world’s most aggressive national proponent of economic growth and consumerism as the tickets to happiness; however what did clearly increase in the United States over this period were measures of depression, anxiety, distrust and psychological dysfunction. Although this article focuses on consumerism being a positive development for the 21st century, Korten shows that along with consumerism comes many personal and social issues. In the article Needing The Unnecessary: The Democratization of Luxury he talks about how consumerism has changed from the 1950s to the twenty first century. In the 1950’s the wealthy upper class people were the ones who had  the luxury items and they could flaunt what they had. But if you were a middle class person who had luxury items you had to be very subtle about it. If you flaunted what you had you were frowned upon by other people in society because luxury items were lightly tainted with shame. In the 21st century it is completely the opposite. Since the 1980’s more middle class people have been buying more luxury items as opposed to the wealthy. Alot of people are buying things they can’t afford with money they don’t have by using credit cards, loans, mortgages and cash advances. This allows more middle class people to buy more luxury items as opposed to wealthy people, but this doesn’t mean they can actually afford it which in time can cau se many more problems. According to Twitchell to understand the material culture in the beginning of the 21st century, you have to understand the high importance of unnecessary material. It is believed that you are what you consume and practically everything you consume is not needed. Consumer culture focuses on community. People regardless of their class are buying more luxury items to look cool and also to be admired and welcomed by others of the same lifestyles. Earth Community offers an alternative to the alienation and the sorrows of Empire, a way of living that places life values ahead of financial principles of domination. Korten shows that in an Earth Community you don’t need luxury items to be accepted by society. Consumerism focuses on providing society with its unnecessary and necessary needs. Twitchell believes that in this post modern world we have replaced the knowledge of production with the knowledge of consumption. To justify this way of thinking many people feel that nowadays not everyone is a worker but everyone is a consumer. So why not focus on educating society on the area that will be useful for all. Twitchell believes that what you buy becomes more important than what you make therefore luxury is not a goal, it is a necessity. Twitchell believes that Humans are consumers by nature. Consuming luxury has gone from telic (arousal reducing) to paratelic (arousal seeking). Consumerism provides individuals with a temporary â€Å"high on life†. Buying new things makes them feel momentarily happy, powerful and superior. These are all good feelings however they don’t last and many people who don’t have the resources to buy luxury items are buying them. This creates  for them debt, stress, frustration and competitiveness. Those who can’t afford these luxury items show resentment for the ones who can. This causes tension in society and can create an Empire where people are competitive and hostile. The golden rule of Earth Community is do unto your neighbours as you would have your neighbour do unto you as you work together to create a better life for all. Consumerism is focused towards making individuals happy as opposed to everyone. Those people who can’t afford to have the nice things are forced to live with daily reminders through advertisements of things they want but cannot have. Consumerism doesn’t create a better life for all but creates one for those who can afford it. Consumers are fully aware that they are more interested in consuming appearances rather than the object. They enjoy the status that surrounds the objects they buy/own. Korten’s concept of Earth Community is in favour of creating relationships and developing communities by bringing people together. Twitchell makes a good argument showing how consumerism has brought people together. People can now blend into society by simply buying the latest fashions and are no longer being excluded due to their ethnicity, social status, family name, language or religion. High-end items are decreasing the past social restrictions for the 21st century. Twithcell states that high-end consumption promises to do exactly what critics of stuff have always yearned from namely, to bring us together, often traumatically. The transgenerational poor are excluded, as the bottom fifth of our population has not budged an inch in the luxe explosion. Yet more people than ever are entering the much-vaunted global village because of consumption, not despite it. Consumerism is allowing for most people similarities that connect them together and eliminate the previous gaps between social classes. Korten states that relationships, not money are the true measure of well-being. What matters most is our connection to and participation in the life of community. If we were to define human progress by the measure of human happiness we would devote far less of our resources to making money and far more to building community. Korten shows that relationships are more important than money and Twitchell shows that consumerism can help build relationships. As a supporter of David Korten’s concept of Earth Community consumerism makes people more interested in material possessions than community. Consumerism does have some good affects on the community but it restricts people moving away from an Empire towards an Earth Community. If people weren’t so busy trying to get the things they desired they would focus more on meaningful relationships. Korten shows that people who have lots of money are just as happy as people who don’t. When surrounded in a caring community money makes little difference in regards to happiness. Twitchell makes an interesting argument in favour of consumerism and shows that consumerism has an ability to fade the lines between social classes. Consumerism still ignores the extremely poor; however, it can create a larger community of middle and upper class. Works Cited Look Smart; In Praise of Consumerism. James B. Twitchell, Online Edition. Look Smart; Needing the Unnecessary: The Democratization of Luxury. James B. Twitchell, Online Edition. Berrett-Koehler Publishers; The Great Turning from Empire to Earth Community. David C. Korten, San Francisco, CA