Supporting Goals of International Women’s Day Essays

Supporting Goals of International Women’s Day Essays Supporting Goals of International Women’s Day Essay Supporting Goals of International Women’s Day Essay The popular image of women’s liberation and emancipation in the United States is that of bra burning females of the 1960’s. Burning of items of feminine wear on 7 September 1968 has been permanently etched into American women liberation history as a revolution though writers as Berkeley (1999) conclude that this was an innocuous sub event in the overall protests by members of New York Radical Women. From this glamorized event to the more substantial issue of International Women’s Day, America as well as the World has come a long way. The Eighth of March every year sees the world celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD). This is a significant event and 2007 will mark the 30th anniversary of IWD. The UN established IWD in 1977 and provides an opportunity to celebrate the progress made in empowering women and to assess future challenges. IWD encourages the world to consider steps to bring about equality for women and girls in all th eir diversity and to celebrate the collective power of women past, present and future. International Women’s Day, recognizes both the great strides women have made and the critical need to end discrimination and violence against women globally. It is therefore significant that a Resolution was introduced in the US House of Representatives on 8 February 2007 supporting the goals of the IWD and â€Å"encourages† the President of the US â€Å"reaffirm his commitment to pursue policies to protect fundamental human rights and civil liberties, particularly those of women and girls.† (Resolution, 2006). The Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives on 8 February passed House Resolution No. 149, a resolution sponsored by the Democrat Representative from Illinois, Jan Schakowsky.   The bill had 83 co-sponsors, a majority of whom were Democrats. The Resolution calls on the US House of Representatives to support the goals of International Women’s Day, honour women around the world who have fought and continue to struggle for equality in the face of adversity, and reaffirm its commitment to ending discrimination and violence against women and to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic human rights of women and girls both in the United States and in other countries.   The resolution also encourages the President to reaffirm his commitment to pursue policies to protect the health and human rights of women and girls; and to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe March 8th, International Women’s Day, with appropriate programs and activities.   The resolution will now go to the full House for a vote. This resolution was considered in Committee, which has recommended that the House as a whole should consider it. Although the Resolution has been placed on a calendar of busine ss, the majority party leadership will determine the order in which bills are considered and voted on. On February 15, 2007 the House Foreign Affairs committee ordered it to be reported by Voice Vote. This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process where the bill is considered in committee and may undergo significant changes in Mark Up sessions. The bill has been referred to the Committee in the House on Foreign Affairs and House Judiciary. In the US House of Representatives, a simple resolution is a legislative proposal that does not require the approval of the other chamber or the signature of the President and does not have the force of law. Simple resolutions are used only to change the internal rules of one of the chambers of Congress or to express the sentiments of one of the houses. On February 8, 2007 the Bill was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. On February 15, it was put up for Committee Consideration and a Mark-up Session was held. It is of interest that on the same day Eddie Bernice Johnson as a Democrat from Texas introduced a resolution (No. 146) in the Foreign Affairs Committee expressing the sense of the House that the United States should take action to meet its obligations, and to ensure that all other member states of the United Nations meet their obligations, to women as agreed to in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. This related to women, peace, and security. The Resolution also states that the United States should fully assume the implementation of international law relating to human rights that protects the rights of women and girls during and after conflicts. Resolution no. 149 in its present form envisages empowering women globally. It is recognised that women have advanced and they account for 80 per cent of the world’s 70 million micro-borrowers, 75 per cent of the 28,000 United States loans supporting small businesses in Afghanistan are made to women, and 11 women are chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies. (Resolution, 2006). The Sponsor of the Resolution aptly noted while introducing it in the House. She said it was important for Congress to put on record this resolution, which supported the goals of equality and opportunity and added that it was â€Å"a meaningful step.†Ã‚   (Press Release, 2007). It is acknowledged that women have made tremendous gains across the world, but the reality is that women still face political and economic obstacles, struggle for basic rights, face the threat of discrimination, and are targets of violence all over the world. But worldwide women remain vastly underrepresented in national and local assemblies, accounting on average for less than 10 per cent of the seats in parliament, except for in East Asia where the figure is approximately 18 to 19 per cent, and in no developing region do women hold more than 8 per cent of the ministerial positions. Additionally, it should be noted that worldwide, 130,000,000 girls and young women have been subjected to female genital mutilation and estimates are that 10,000 girls are at risk of being subjected to this practice in the United States. (Resolution, 2006). According to the Congressional Research Service and the US Department of State, illegal trafficking in women and children for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation involves between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 women and children each year, of whom 50,000 are transported into the United States. This is a real challenge facing the sole superpower in the world today.   International policies on women have evolved through interaction of a number of processes. Taking the example of European Union, it can be seen that despite being new coagulation of states the policy for greater autonomy to women was evolved through the process of a number of factors such as autonomy of institutions, state autonomy, policy structuring, influence of past policies and factors which are beyond the preferences of states. (Ellina, 2003). Thus the growth of International Women’s Day movement is not restricted to United States but extends across the entire Western World. The United States must follow the lead though on the issue of women’s rights the record in the US is mixed. One might take one example. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was first introduced in the US Congress in January 1878. The Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. But it took 52 years for the 19th Amendment to be ratified. The Women’s rights and liberation movement has a very long history. This can be traced back to as early as 1848 and continues to the present day. (D’Itri, 1999). Jane Austen was the proverbial women liberator who kept writing novels more for poseterity while attempting to keep the writings hidden from her relations (Lloyd, 1971). But ladies were particularly active in activities such as raising funds through charity bazaars throughout history (Lloyd, 1971).Between 1878 and 1920, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, but their strategies varied for achieving the goal. Some women focused on a strategy of getting the government to pass suffrage acts in each state – nine western states had adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others took the path of legal action by challenging in the courts male-only voting laws. Many suffrage groups used tactics such as parades, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. There are no simple patterns to voting on women in the US Congress. As awareness grows in the national and state legislatures the voting model may also become more complex. Therefore it should not be assumed that the voting pattern regarding women, children, health and so on will be the same as in the case of foreign affairs or strategic defence matters. One should then look beyond the liberal-conservative model on this issue and see the emergence of a consensus on the issue of supporting the international women’s day as a matter of national US policy. This is what makes one suggest that this resolution might be passed in the Congress as a bill giving US women a major role in the global women’s movement. What this depends on is whether the ideological divide in the US Congress can be bridged progress made on this issue keeping in mind its multi-dimensional aspects. The fructification of focus on the International Women’s Day is thus the result of a large number o f men as well as women over more than 150 years of history (D’Itri, 1999). The US Congress thus needs to support the motion most vehemently.

Land Grabbing in Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Land Grabbing in Africa - Essay Example Land grabbing in East Africa causes imbalance between the efforts to build sustainable systems that comprehensively try to resolve land-related tensions and interests, as well as pursuits to economic development (Palmer, 2012). Due to this, Heads of States of Africa and Governments have adopted Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in East Africa. This is to inspire and prompt countries to develop land policies that take into account their particular needs. The presence of continental framework and guidelines and normative instruments like the 11 principles laid out on the Right to Food by the UN Special Rapporteur ensure economic development without weakening the development of any population group. The World Bank plays a greater role in the land grabbing in East Africa. It refers to the land grabbing as agro-investment and makes room for it by creating seven voluntary principles to make the practice of agro-investment responsible. All the seven principles are supposed to safeguard the East Africa’s land from being grabbed. However, this is just a mirage, for these principles are not adhered to, they are just there as beautifying statements. This, therefore, makes the transactions regarding land negative for both the buyer of the land and the seller. Wealthy States are the main causes of the increase in rural poverty that drives many people off the land that they have for generations farmed (Pearce, 2012). For example, there are major environmental and agricultural damage along River Niger caused by the International Land Coalition. This is a global network of civil society and farmers’ organization. Forestry and small scale farming that protects food, unique wildlife and heritage is slowly being converted to wastelands that only profit agribusinesses. Multinational companies in a greater number that vastly exceed the usage by the local communities are using natural resources. As a result, the land’s

Discuss Strategies Adopted By Domestic or Foreign Firms in China to Essay

Discuss Strategies Adopted By Domestic or Foreign Firms in China to Reduce Turnover of Their Staff and Assess the Effectiveness of Specific Measures - Essay Example This essay stresses that the major factor driving the staff turnover rate to increase somewhat incessantly indicates to the demographic factors of the Chinese economy, which comprises of low cost Chinese labour and the behaviour of the employees, giving much emphasis on their salary structure. The fact was further justified when the HR professionals of China reported that in the early years of 2000s, around 73% of the employees on an average, in China, had resigned from their previous jobs and moved to the other because of a higher pay structure. This discussion declares that apart from stating the reasons for the Chinese employees to leave the job, the HR professionals of China have also stated that the implementation of strategies focused on high employee satisfaction is the best method to deal with the ongoing problem of increment in the staff turnover. The various organisations are also struggling hard to retain their employees by implementing effective organisational strategies for the reduction of staff turnover rate. The continuous increase in the employee turnover rates has evidently emerged as a major barrier to the effective performance of both domestic as well as the foreign firms of China. Although the problem’s epicentre is same, the strategies adopted by the two groups have been observed as quite different. The Chinese firms usually believe that the best strategy of retaining the employees is to provide them with the best deals in comparison to those offered by other employers.... In this essay, the key area of study have been concentrated on the identification of the strategies adopted by the domestic as well as the foreign firms in China for reducing their staff turnover rates and subsequently, assessing the measurable effectiveness of those strategies in the current scenario of the economy. Discussion Strategies Adopted by Domestic firms for Reducing Staff Turnover The continuous increase in the employee turnover rates has evidently emerged as a major barrier to the effective performance of both domestic as well as the foreign firms of China. Although the problem’s epicentre is same, the strategies adopted by the two groups have been observed as quite different. For instance, to ensure better retention of the productive professionals in the organisation and mitigate the issue of increasing staff turnover rates, domestic firms in China have adopted certain distinctive strategies at organisational level, which principally focus on pay structure design efficiency, better training and developmental aids to ensure performance satisfaction to the employees and enrich management-employee relations. The Chinese firms usually believe that the best strategy of retaining the employees is to provide them with the best deals in comparison to those offered by other employers (Ferreira & Alon, n.d.). Few of these strategies that the Chinese firms have adopted for reducing the issues of staff turnover have been explained below. Considering the fact that a majority of employees decide to leave their current job being influenced by the pay hikes they shall obtain from joining another organisation, domestic firms in China often tend to emphasise regular pay hikes and increments to be delivered to their employees. In many

My Suggested Economic Policy For Mr. President Essay Example for Free

My Suggested Economic Policy For Mr. President Essay First of all Mr. President , I will like to congratulate you on your victory as the new president of the United states of America and I wish you a successful and prosperous administration as the president. The success of any administration depends massively on the policies that the commander-in-chief and other government stakeholders put out and how effective the policies are enforced. The past administration had much of their efforts on war, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction while economic concerns were often relegated to the back burner. I am not saying that security measures are not important to the policies of nation but we cannot ignore the market forces and turn them to our utmost advantages. Policies on international economy are very essential to the prosperity of any nation and that is why I would like you to look into some areas, which I would suggest for your final decision. A New Global Order There are new emerging market economies and china and India are the main point of view. These two countries are becoming world-class competitors in diverse range of sectors and this development will require even more rapid improvement in the skills of U. S. workers and the flexibility of U. S. -based companies. It will be important if your administration continue and develop new reforms that will increase the countrys competitiveness and diligent negotiations on trade and other international issues. However, new competitors also offer attractive markets for U. S. exports and investment. They are valuable suppliers of high-quality, low-cost goods. And if properly incorporated into the global economy—and paired with effective domestic policies in the United States—they will lead to new gains in global growth, as well as improvements in U. S. productivity that will further magnify the benefits of globalization for the United States. Credit Check Going by standards and recent analysis, the United States is the world’s largest deficit and debtor nation. This poses a threat and risk to both the U. S. economy and foreign policy. ). The continued buildup of debt owed to foreigners, moreover, will steadily erode national income over time. This status, I will like your government to look into; and advising your administration to work towards restoring a sustainable current account and international financial position. Energy Drain Energy is another area in the Unites States that is very vulnerable when looking at it from both economic and foreign policy points of view. This is due to the ineffective policy from the past administration. Over the recent years, the leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are allowed to manipulate world energy prices, holding them 50 to 75 percent above market levels in recent years. This has resulted to the rise of the cost of energy as a share of U. S. GDP by triple fold since 1997. The inflation of energy costs has caused a depression to the U. S. GDP and I believe that an effective policy in this area is very important. This area need lots of attention because if this administration do not look into it, the United states government will probably be forced to continue launching periodic military interventions to satisfy its tremendous appetite for energy. Therefore, Mr. President, as your adviser, I believe that effective policies in these areas will bring about economic boos in your administration. REFERENCE Dolan, Edwin G. , and Lindsey, David E. (1991). Economics. Chicago: Dryden Press.

Essay on Voltaire’s Candide: Use of Language -- Candide essays

Use of Language in Candide      Ã‚  Ã‚   A great philosopher Liebnitz once said that this is the best possible of all worlds. Voltaire disagrees. In Voltaire's Candide, the impartial narrator travels to distant lands and experiences a range of extremes. After having spent a great deal of time away from his homeland, and having seen more than most people see in a lifetime, the narrator is forced to conclude that this may not be the best possible world because of the reality of evil. Voltaire relates this point very effectively through his mastery of language and the choices he makes, both gramatically and content-related.    In one particular passage, Voltaire uses explicit diction, exaggerated details and manipulated syntax in order to contrast the optimist's romantic view of battle with the horrible reality that is war. Voltaire's grossly exaggerated details give a somewhat comical description of an otherwise horrible event.   "The cannons battered down about six thousand men", and then "the musket-fire removed...about nine or ten thousand" and finally, the bayonet kil... ...g his lifetime, Voltaire awakened people through his writing.   He masterfully chose his diction and details to show the contrast between the ridiculous ideas of the optimist and the truth that only the realist could see.   His choice of syntax leaves the reader with unforgettable images of war that will have a lasting effect.   Through his clever satire, Voltaire urges the reader to be more practical rather than happily ignorant.    Work Cited: Voltaire.   Candide.   Trans. Bair, Lowell.   New York: Bantam Books, 1988.

A critical analysis of the role of popular culture in creating and maintaining learning across British society

In the following study I will be examining the way that popular culture has affected British public in relation to learning. I will be first examining previous times and the ways in which popular culture has influenced people over time. I will be concentrating on the effects that music and advertising has had and shaped society over time, and the methods these mediums have used to achieve this. Throughout the last century British culture has been dramatically transformed through popular culture, the development of major corporations, the changing methods of the current governments of the time, and the development of methods that popular culture can reach the public, all contributing to an extreme alteration in the way society as a whole behaves. Before the industrial revolution, popular culture was based on the agricultural year and around religious festivals for example, harvest, plough Monday, Easter, Christmas etc.) There was no division of the classes. Everyone joined together in recreation and entertainment. In the nineteenth century however, there was a considerable change. A sharp rise in urbanisation meant people flocked to the cities away from the agricultural areas to the industrial centres. There was therefore a massive decline in the meaningfulness of the agricultural festivals. In the city there was a physical separation of the classes, the working classes living tightly together in houses built specifically to house workers. There were far fewer public holidays as the agricultural ones were regarded as obsolete. There were fears about the amount of control the rich had over the working classes, as there was in the church. The working classes saw how they were treated by the Church Of England in the city very different to what they were used to. Many theories arose about the church and how it was corrupt. A man called John Leicester believed the Church to be corrupt and began his own church. The Methodist church, derived from the Czech Maravian Church. Methodist churches have no icons, statues, or grand features such as stained glass. Many working class people became Methodist due to the supposed corruption of the Church of England and its discrimination against the poor. This caused worry among the upper classes that the working classes could rise up against them. At this time, Irish Catholics were brought over from island to dig the canals. With them they brought the Irish Catholic faith. The Irish were regarded as extreme underclass and were very poor, therefore Catholicism was regarded as a religion for the poor. Yet another new faith for the working classes. There was increased fear of revolution as the inventions of new non-conformist churches happened. More and more controls and legislation were applied to prevent the uprising of the working classes. The Age of Interference The worries that the upper classes had of a possible revolution caused them to impose many rules on popular pursuits such as cricket and football. There was also a move to open parks and museums and other recreational facilities to distract the working classes not only from drinking and riots, but political movements and uprise. There was also a bought of middle-class pursuits invented such as Thomas Cook Holidays. Advertising Advertising is very easily exposed to the public. Advertising is available in a large variety of mediums, television being a main outlet, radio, posters, billboards, signs, newspapers and more, a more recent method being the internet. All of these things we come into contact with everyday. A very effective medium for advertising is the radio. This reaches people while they are doing other things, like driving or working, unlike television, which people only see when they have specifically sat down to watch it. Roland Barthes (1950-1980) studied semiotics, which is the study of signs and how we interpret them. He said that we receive subliminal messages through adverts without knowing it, this in turn making us want to buy the product/service. Roland Barthes dismantled images, the most known example of this being a picture of a black French Cub Scout saluting, and used his three levels of deconstruction to find hidden meaning to the image. This can be applied to images and advertising we now see today. Phallic symbolism was and still is used today within advertising, especially on television and is found to be extremely effective. The Cadbury's Flake television commercial is a prime example. But of course, a few hundred years ago, television would not have been about and advertising would have been restricted to other mediums. Before the industrial revolution, posters or leaflets would have not worked because there was mass illiteracy at those times because of the lack of education facilities available to the general public. After the revolution though, there was more education available to both children and adults of the working classes. But what is ‘working class.'? Karl Marx was the founding father of communism and is referred back to consistently when definitions of social class are made. Born in Germany in 1818, Marx lived in France, Belgium and London. He was an associate of Engels, with whom he devised the Communist/Economic Determinist Theory. This stated that there are two types of people. The Proletariat (who by efforts produce wealth) and the Bourgeoisie (the owners of factories and profits who exploit the proletariat). In 1847 Marx attended a meeting in London, the groups aim being ‘the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the domination of the proletariat.' In this, Marx was willing the working classes to rise up against the bourgeoisie. Marx had many followers, an important one being Gramsci. Gramsci was born in 1891. A believer in Marxism, joining the Communist party in 1921, he was an avid supporter of all of Marx's proposals, but he thought that his theories were too focused on economics and take into account the other factors enough, with culture being a crucial example. The Gramscian model was called the hegemony model. Through this, Gramsci said that the upper classes use a form of propaganda to suppress revolution of the working classes. He claimed the working classes would begin to resent how much power was had over them and revolt. At that point, the powerful people would stop the revolution by giving the rebels a little of what they demanded to curb them. For example, there was a move to encourage people to read more political literature. Communists used this to provoke revolution through leaflets and articles. The Government automatically put a large tax on all forms of literature, resulting in an underground illegal press. Within time though, the government lifted the tax and promoted the reading and publishing of cheap magazines, which distracted people from the political literature, therefore no one read the communists provocations. So, Marx's ideas had been supported and followed by many, but the revolution they all predicted and encouraged never happened. Why? The working classes never revolted because the industrial revolution meant increased prosperity to all. Marx expected more solidarity among the working classes than there actually was and this stratification meant that revolution was never fully supported. Education at this time was limited. Children would attend Sunday schools and learn to read. There were also ‘Bell Schools' in which educated pupils would teach each other. These children would then go home to their (probably illiterate) parents and read to them, thus the parents learning as well as the children. Better education meant new technology was being developed. The printing press was introduced in the late 1860s, this resulting in many forms of writing being freely available. Not only news, but entertaining stories like ‘Penny Dreadfuls' that became very popular among the working classes. The Education Act of 1870 meant that education was available to all people whatever their class all over the country. Mass literacy ensued and more and more reading materials were being produced to entertain and inform. Literacy has had a massive effect on the way we live and how we learn and the availability of education is so huge compared to those a hundred years ago. Although mass literacy was an extremely important development in our culture and its effects are colossal, there are other ways in which popular culture affects learning in societytoday. Advances in education meant more technology was being invented. Music was becoming more and more inventive as time went on because of the new ways of producing it and publicising it. The advent of music halls was a very important step in social development. Before the industrial revolution, the workers would often drink habitually throughout the days while working the land. When they moved to the cities and worked in the factories, obviously drinking was not tolerated. Urbanisation meant that all had more money to spend because of their pay in the cities, therefore more money to spend on alcohol. This meant that the workers would come home and drink the equal amount they would have over the day while on the farms, in one evening. Drinking created social decline, causing a large spread of violent drunken behaviour, rape, domestic abuse, child negligence etc, prompting the authorities to provide evening entertainment for the working classes, to prevent the boredom and the need to drink. Thus, the music halls were born. Music halls were popular all over Britain, and drew in both the working classes and the upper classes to shows involving many different types of people singing patriotic songs or amusing acts, often by women. A famous example of performer was Vesta Tilley. Tilley would often impersonate men, mainly ‘pencil pushers', the middle-class men who worked in offices and the like. Tilley would dress in drag, and impersonate and ridicule these type of people, much to the amusement of the working class people who often detested these type of people. Tilley's most famous song was ‘Burlington Bertie'. As WW11 began, music changed within society. Patriotic songs like ‘Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag' and ‘Jerusalem' were very popular as was all uplifting nationalist music at the time. The Frankfurt School This was a group set up in 1923 mainly made up of Jewish intellectuals threatened by the Nazis. With beliefs similar to Gramsci's they believed that the working classes had been ‘pacified' into accepting capitalism by ‘Commodity Fetishism' (the creation of false needs. The most famous three members of the Franfurt school were arguably Adorno (1903-1969), Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) and Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979). Adorno devised many theories concerning popular culture, many of which are still used today. In Dominic Strinati's work An Introduction To Theories Of Popular Culture, features a quote from Adorno giving his view on popular culture and the way in which it is used. ‘In all its branches, products which are tailored for the consumption by masses, and which to a great extent determine the nature of that consumption, are manufactured more or less according to plan†¦ This is made possible by contemporary technical capabilities as well as by economic and administrative concentration. The culture industry intentionally integrates its consumers from above. To the detriment of both it forces together the spheres of high and low art, separated for thousands of years. The seriousness of high art is destroyed in speculation about its efficacy; the seriousness of the lower perishes with the civilisational constraints imposed on the rebellious resistance inherent within it as long as social control was not yet total. Thus, although the culture industry undeniably speculates on the conscious and unconscious state of the millions towards which it is directed, the masses are not primary but secondary, they are an object of calculation, an appendage o f the machinery. The customer is not king, as the culture industry would have us believe, not its subject but its object'. (Adorno. Strinati D. 2004..) This indicates the belief that the authorities within the culture industry shape culture in Britain through the search for profit. Adorno believed that the power lay within the culture industry and its products encouraged compliance and consensus. Adorno was very interested in music. Classically trained, he used is knowledge in the field and compared it with the modern music of the time. Popular music was completely different to the classical style he had be taught. He said that in popular music, ‘the beginning of the chorus is replaceable by the beginning of the innumerable other choruses†¦.. every detail is substitutable; it serves its function only as a cog in a machine.' Adorno maintained that this is different to in classical music where the music provides ‘a musical sense from the totality of the piece and its place within that totality.' Adorno believed that popular music was in no way creative or intuitive, merely ‘to please the masses.' At the time of Adorno, dramatic changes in popular music were happening. The 1950s brought about the uprising of the ‘teenager'. Artists such as Buddy Holly were idolised, American music being a strong upcoming force at this time. Musicians used not only their music to sell their records, but their appearances and attitude also. The rapidly altering types of music were a big worry to the government of the time. Many complaints were filed against many album covers and performances. Elvis for example was filmed from the waist up so his rotating hips were not broadcast! There were calls to ban many songs and particular album covers, like the cover of the Mamas and Papas album ‘If You Can Believe Your Eyes And ears', in which the band are shown in a bath together fully dressed. Record companies were forced to sign less ‘controversial' bands like The Monkees. Music has developed dramatically since. Bands such as The Clash promoted rebellious attitudes towards authority, as did the Sex Pistols, whose song God Save The Queen was banned by Radio One upon its release. A recent band who follow this theme are Anti-Flag who's most famous song ‘Fuck Police Brutality', is a blatant attack at the authorities of the country. Bands such as these are now very popular, their songs and attitudes being imitated by its listeners. These attitudes have spawned a variety of fashions, often involving the wearing of black hoodies, piercings and coloured hair. This is seen as a statement against society, a rebellion against conformity. Artists such as Eminem have come under serious criticism, charged with endorsing drug use and bad language. Emiem alone has been blamed on numerous occasions for behavioural problems children have allegedly developed after to listening to his records. One child committed suicide in the early nineties, his death blamed on Eminem's music. An alternative fashion trend has been born from black music, specifically rap. This involves the wearing of tracksuits, trainers, large gold chains and caps. Although this is merely a way of dressing, this type of outfit is often perceived by the general public as disruptive, indicating the person is a troublemaker, often being turned away from particular institutions for example clubs on account of their dress. Snoop Dogg, an American rap artist at the Live8 concert recently swore repeatedly both during his songs and between them, all at about lunchtime in front of millions of people both at the gig and watching on television around the world. Criticised heavily for this, he received a massive fine from the organisers of the event and forced to publicly apologise. Some claim that music such as his is very damaging to children and should not be released, let alone promoted. The governments of today are more lenient when allowing records from such bands to be released, but parental advisory stickers are put on if there is but one expletive within the record, and this means the record can not be sold to persons under the age of fifteen. With the invention of music videos, there have been many complaints concerning the content. A lot of modern music, especially music of black origin like r'n'b releases videos involving sexual scenes. This has caused outrage and has forced many videos to be scrapped completely, edited or blurred when shown. For example, the punk band Blink 182's video for the song ‘I Miss You' released in 2001 involved scenes of lesbianism and voyeur. These scenes were edited out, then the video was eventually taken off the television because of the amounts of complaints received about it. A very famous and recent example of prohibition by the government involving music videos is the infamous ‘Crazy Frog' song by Axel F. The video showed an animation of a frog dancing. The frog was naked and, although no distinctive genitalia were present, the Advertising Standards Committee received thousands of complaints from parents stating it was too explicit to be shown before watershed. The video was then edited, the aforesaid area blurred and allowed to be broadcast only after watershed (9pm.) The actions of governments when looking at the way they manipulate the music industry can be clarified when looking at Gramsci's hegemony model. The definition of hegemony by Gramsci: ‘A cultural and ideological means whereby the dominant groups in society, including fundamentally but not exclusively the ruling class, maintain their dominance by securing the ‘spontaneous consent' of subordinate groups, including the working class. This is achieved by the negotiated construction of a political and ideological consensus which incorporates both dominant and dominated groups'. (Strinati, D 2004). This definition indicates to us that the authorities according to Gramsci, prohibit the uprising of the lower classes through bowdlerization, restrictions and censorship. This is apparent when looking at popular music, and the radio. Radio Caroline was a pirate radio station set up in the 1960s by a group of people who rebelling against the strict control the government had over the music broadcast on the radio. To stop prosecution, Radio Caroline was broadcast from the sea off the shores of Britain so as to avoid breaking the law. Radio Caroline broadcast rock'n'roll, and music genres that the younger audiences would appreciate, music which was censored and restricted by the government, receiving little airtime. The government retorted by making the listening to Radio Caroline illegal, but this was ineffective, so they produced a new radio station called Radio One. This was obviously still controlled by the government, but played the popular music that Radio Caroline did. This is a strong example of hegemony, showing how the government changes its policies to give the impression that the public have got what they wanted, but still having that underpinning control. I conclude that popular music has had and continues to have massive influence on society today. Music such as ‘Jerusalem' around the time of the world wars was uplifting and gave people hope in the terrible times they lived through while the war was happening. In the 1950s, music changed dramatically and brought about certain fashion trends, some seen as damaging, but overall just another cultural change. Nowadays, music is less regulated, but we are still prevented from listening to particular types of music at certain ages, indicating the continuation of censorship enforced by the government. Hegemony in music is very apparent, a prime example being the banning of Radio Caroline and the censorship involved in the music industry today. I feel society has developed through music, as new music is born; new technology to improve it follows and so on. Music brings joy and entertainment, a medium through which thoughts are expressed and ideas are publicised. I feel that the censorship of music is meaningless, because as we develop as people, we can learn to accept maybe aggressive lyrics or offensive videos and tolerate them as just another part of someone's culture. Through music we learn and to censor our music is to stifle our growth as human beings.

Baby Quotes That Make All the Labor Pain Worth It

A baby in the house does make its presence felt. Its shrill cries, drooling mouth, smelly diapers, and gurgling laughter, can give any mother a feeling of ecstasy. There is no greater joy than watching a baby. A baby can make melt even the toughest heart. What makes a baby tug at our heartstrings? A baby has only one description. Cute! Babies make the cutest pictures. You can’t blame the newborn’s parents for suddenly metamorphosing into shutterbugs the moment they see their tiny tot smile, laugh or gurgle at them. You can’t help but notice  the innumerable baby pictures hanging on the walls of a pediatric hospital. When I was preparing for the birth of my first child, I was inundated with cute baby pictures cluttering my email box. It does not matter if this is your first baby or your fifth. Each baby brings its own share of pleasant surprises (and unpleasant ones) into your life. If you are expecting a baby, read some of these cute baby quotes to make that 1000-watt smile  brighter. Some of these baby quotes are so very true-to-life that you will find yourself completely agreeing with them. If one of your loved ones has just set out on the journey of parenthood, make their baby showers special with unique baby shower sayings. But if you’d rather stay out of all this baby fuss, just read and enjoy witty baby quotes in this collection. Mark TwainA baby is an inestimable blessing and bother.Tina BrownHaving a baby is like falling in love again, both with your husband and your child.BarrettoBabies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God.Eleanor RooseveltI think, at a childs birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.Louisa May AlcottFather asked us, What was Gods noblest work? Anna said, Men, but I said Babies. Men are often bad, but babies never are.Henry David ThoreauEvery child begins the world again.Charles DickensEvery baby born into the world is a finer one than the last.Kate Douglas WigginEvery child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.Milton BerleIf evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?Robert OrbenI always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food.Ronald KnoxA baby is a loud noise at one end and no sense of responsibi lity at the other.br/>Jayne MansfieldCarrying a baby is the most rewarding experience a woman can enjoy.Natalie WoodThe only time a woman really succeeds in changing a man is when he is a baby.T. S. EliotIf you desire to drain to the dregs the fullest cup of scorn and hatred that a fellow human being can pour out for you, let a young mother hear you call dear baby it.William BlakeI have no name: I am but two days old. What shall I call thee? I happy am, Joy is my name. Sweet joy befall thee!Mark TwainMy mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.