First amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

First amendment - Essay Example There have been a number of issues posing questions as to the effectiveness and extent of the provisions in the First Amendment. One of such is the Citizens United case popularly referred to as the ‘Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission’, in which the US Supreme Court, following a 5-4 decision, ruled that corporations and unions have similar political speech rights as individuals under the First Amendment. Being a conservative non-profit organization, Citizens United claims its commitment to restoring the control of the United States government to the citizens, as well as to emphasize American principles of limited government, autonomy of enterprise, strong families, and state sovereignty and security. Citizens United produced a documentary named Hillary-with respect to the then Senator Hillary Clinton, which was the main issue of the court case. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which controls the financing of political campaigns, was amended by the Bi partisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). Following the amendment, this federal law prevents corporations and unions from spending their general treasury funds towards independent expenditures for a speech referred to as an ‘electioneering communication’, in other words a speech that concerns elections or one that portrays endorsement or disapproval of a candidate in the elections. As defined in the constitution, an electioneering communication ideally refers to any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that refers to an openly identified candidate for Federal office and is created in 30 days of a major election or 60 days of a common election, (2 U.S.C.  § 441b), and that is publicly distributed (11 CFR  § 100.29(a)(2)). The documentary-Hillary was released at a time when Hillary Clinton was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, and as such, it conveyed opinions on Hillary’s suitability for the presidency. Not only did Citizens United avail the documentary in theatres and on DVDs, but also planned to make it accessible through video-on-demand. Further, Citizens United went ahead to produce television advertisements to endorse the movie and planned to run them on broadcast and cable television. However, the advertisements and the video-on-demand distribution had to be paid for, and as such, Citizens United opted to spend its general treasury funds. Consequently, Citizens United’s production and initiative was reflective of a violation of  § 441b of the constitution. Realizing the looming threat of facing possible civil and criminal charges, Citizens United rushed in to seek an injunction in federal district court, against the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), posing various arguments. First, Citizens United presented an argument claiming that  § 441b is unconstitutional with regard to the movie Hillary; a motion that the District Court denied and instead granted summary judgment to the FEC. In additi on, it argued that, as applied to the movie Hillary and the ads endorsing it, BCRA's disclaimer and disclosure requirements (BCRA  §Ã‚ §201 and 311) are also unconstitutional. According to BCRA

Week 4 A 2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 A 2 - Case Study Example This will also help her to make decision on whether to develop a system which she will use for training or offer training manually. The most important aspect of system development is its implementation. This will require approval from management and users of the system. The system should meet needs of the users and also be cost effective. To ensure this is achieved, Susan should assess its efficiency using rate of return, payback period, or net present value methods. Payback period refer to duration which revenue gained from a project will cover the expenditure incurred for its implementation. It is a simple method to use before decision making. However, this method ignores time value of money. Rate of return method is also useful to calculate the total amount of revenue generated from a project. It is useful when comparing more than one project and is also easy to use. However, it ignores projects with low returns at the initial stages but yielding high returns in the future. It also fails to take into consideration time value of money. Finally, she may decide to use net present value method, whereby she will consider the future returns of a project and value them at present time. This method takes into consideration the entire project lifecycle. However, it difficult to calculate since it requires people with professional accounting

Adoloscence and substance abuse Essay Example for Free

Adoloscence and substance abuse Essay Adolescence is a critical period in human development. It is the period during which individuals undergo biological, psychological and social transformations, as they become adults. These transformations occur simultaneously and without conscious awareness by youth going through these changes. Any transformation an adolescent goes through may have an impact on the introduction and progression of teenage substance use. Substance abuse is drug abuse. Most substance abusers globally are the adolescents. This is because their developmental stage is vulnerable to anything. The brain development of an adolescent is not fully developed. A teenager may physically resemble an adult but still lack the brain maturation to think like one. To expect adolescents to make adult like decisions in regard to substance use is an unlikely expectation for most teenagers. Adolescence is defined as those behavioral changes that take place between childhood and maturity or adulthood. It is the changing period from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is viewed as a time where biological, psychological and social transitions take place. It is the most critical stage of human development. During adolescence, different behavior patterns become more frequent (Cobb, 2006). These behavioral trends include risk- taking behaviors, conflicts between the adolescence peers and parents and greater social development. Every individual adapts to their behavior depending on how they were brought up, their social interactions and adult influences. The physical development of adolescence is known as puberty. It is the stage a person is able to reproduce (Cobb, 2006). Adolescence Physical development is all about the body changes. It involves genital growth, changes in body odor. Voice changes, growth of pubic hair, breast development and menstruation in female. The psychosocial development of adolescence is complicated. It involves hormones, love interests and intellectual pursuits. All this complicates adolescence development. In this development, stress, depression, lack of sleep, and anxiety are common among teenagers (Johnston et al, 2006). It is during this psychosocial development that adolescent teenagers are at risk of bad behavior. This development mostly involves intellectual pursuits and social interactions. Adolescents’ brains are usually not fully developed. This plays a major role in immature emotional and cognitive development. It is during adolescence that teenagers adapt easily to different behaviors. How bad and well the behavior is depended on how an individual was brought up and the social interactions. Many risky behaviors such as substance abuse start at the adolescent stage of human development. Adolescence is also a time when young individuals take risks that can have a long time effects on their health and well being. Substance abuse is the misuse of drugs. Most adolescents are prone to drugs and substance abuse. This is because the adolescent brains are not fully developed, and this plays a role in the decisions they make. Immature brain sections may place teenagers at prominent risk to the effects of drugs. Misuse of drugs or substance abuse is mostly associated with the adolescents. Globally, it is estimated through research that five billion people who abuse or use substances are the adolescent (Johnston et al, 2006). Adolescence is a period of significant personal development. It is in this adolescent stage that teenagers are let to make their own decisions. They choose their friends and how they want to live their life. It is during this stage that they can adapt easily to certain behaviors due to influences. It is said that adolescence is the time of testing and novelty seeking. Curiosity on drugs is one way that makes young people abuse substances. Millions of young people try an illicit drug at least once during their adolescent years. The most common substance abuse among adolescents is alcohol and tobacco. Most of the teenagers will have tried either of the two or both. It is estimated that twelve years is the average age of children to take their first alcoholic drink. Nearly 20 percent of twelve to twenty year old is considered to be binge drinkers (Cobb, 2006). Tobacco smoking is also prone to adolescents. Most smokers globally start at their teenage years hence become addicted. It is said that teens are more vulnerable to addiction and receptive to nicotine than are those who start to smoke as adults. Causes of adolescence substance use vary. Peer selection processes, peer influences and cognitive biases play a major role in adolescents substance use. Parental influences also play a role in adolescence substance use. How the adolescent is raised and how the parents behave with them is important to their development. The parent teenage relationship plays major roles in adolescent substance use. Substance abuse has its effects to an individual. Adolescents who use substances frequently are at risk for healthy problems. Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs have certain effects that can cause mental and heath problems. Substance abuse adolescents are at a high risk for various issues that may disrupt with their development. The physical, psychological and social effects of adolescent substance or drug abuse can have lasting consequences for the individual. This may interfere with a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. On-going adolescent substance abuse can make an individual be at a greater risk for addiction in adulthood (Cobb, 2006). The physical consequences of adolescent substance abuse affect an individual physical development. Physical injuries and illnesses occur as a result of drug related accidents and overdoses. The psychological consequences of adolescent substance abuse affect an individual psychological development. Psychological development is all about the brain. The Misuse and overdose of substances leads to mental health problems. Alcohol is one substance that affects an individual psychological development (Cobb, 2006). Tobacco misuse can lead to illnesses such as lung cancer. Other problems may also arise due to tobacco smoking. These illnesses caused by substance abuse can also lead to death. Prolonged substance abuse can cause depression an anxiety, which can disrupt an adolescent ability to function and develop in a productive manner. There are also social consequences due to adolescent substance abuse. Adolescents who frequently abuse substances are more likely to have issues with their social development. Most of them tend to isolate themselves from family and friends. They are also more likely to have troubles with the law and law enforcers. Due to this, the adolescent substance abuser can bring problems within the family. Adolescence is a critical stage. Parents, teachers and any other adult should be role models for healthy behaviors. This is because adolescents adapt certain behavior from their peers and adults. Substance abuse affects adolescents mostly, and this can be avoided if the child to adolescent development is proper. Substance abuse causes major risks to adolescence development. Due to this, it is important for adolescents to be taught good behavior and be corrected when they wrong. Parents, teachers or other adults are people who should play major roles in teenagers’ life. They are a great influence in adolescents hence should be well role models. References Cobb, N. (2006). Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill. Johnston, L. D. , O’Malley, P. M. , Bachman, J. G. (2006). Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use. New York: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Salmonella Outbreak In Usa Commerce Essay

The Salmonella Outbreak In Usa Commerce Essay The Peanut Corporation of America was formally a family-owned peanut processing business and maker of peanut butter for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies. The company was founded in 1977 by Stewart Parnell along with his father, Hugh, and two younger brothers, Hugh, Jr. and Mike (Business Yellow Page, 2009). The company was headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia, where they started the business working out of their home (Business Yellow Page, 2009). By 1994 the family turned a slow growing peanut roasting operation into a company with sales that surpassed 30 million dollars and employed over 95 permanent employees (Business Yellow Page, 2009). In 1995 the business was sold to a large commodities corporation while Parnells father, Hugh, retired from the peanut industry (Business Yellow Page, 2009). Stewart Parnell and his two brothers were kept as management consultants by the companys new corporate owner (Business Yellow Page 2009). The company manufactured roughly 2.5 percent of the nations processed peanuts (Chapman Newkirk, 2009). Stewart Parnell served as a peanut-quality adviser to the U.S. Department of Agriculture until he was removed from the board Februay of 2009 (Chapman Newkirk, 2009). PCA operated processing facilities located in Blakely, Georgia; Suffolk, Virginia; and Plainview, Texas (Business Yellow Page, 2009). As indicated by Layton and Miroff (2009), PCA supplied ingredients to some of the biggest names on supermarket shelves: Kellogg, Sara Lee, Little Debbie. The federal government was a customer, too, buying his peanuts for poor school children, disaster victims and military troops. PCAs products were not sold directly to consumers, but shipped to other manufactures that used their products as ingredients to make cookies, crackers, pet treats, energy bars, ice cream, and other products (Consumer Affairs 2009). Products ranged from peanut butter, peanut paste and peanut oil (msnbc, 2009). Peanut Corporation of Americas scandal began when the company allegedly shipped its peanut butter products knowing they could be contaminated with salmonella which resulted in the outbreak of 2008 (McCormick, 2009). According to Mundy (2009), who interviewed Ron Simon a criminal trial Lawyer for victims of PCA negligence, remarks that PCA knowingly shipped contaminated products which were positively tested for salmonella by two independent labs the company hired. These contaminated shipments were sent to nursing homes, school cafeterias, grocery stores and wholesale outlets. Since the beginning of the peanut salmonella outbreak in September 2008, more than 714 people became ill in 46 U.S. states and one Canadian province, which contributed to at least 9 deaths (Lawyers and Settlements.com, 2009). Its among the largest recalls that weve had, said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDAs Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (msnbc, 2009). The illness was traced back to the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) processing plants in Blakely, GA and Plainview, TX according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Lawyers and Settlements.com, 2009). PCA was no stranger to of selling contaminated products; its Blakely plant was discovered with salmonella in 2006 as a possible result of imported organic peanuts from China according to a letter released by the committee on Nov. 2, 2006 (Zhang and Jargon, 2009). Mr. Parnell was also informed via letter by Darlene Cowart, President of JLA USA testing service that it was likely that the organic peanuts imported from Chinese could be a source for microbial hazards based on the type of fertilizers that was used on the organic product (Zhang and Jargon, 2009). Ms. Cowart also testified that Peanut Corp. samples were tested positive for salmonella between 2007 and 2008 (Zhang and Jargon, 2009). FDA requested a recall for all products containing peanut butter, peanut paste and peanut oil manufactured since January 1, 2007, at the Blakely, Georgia processing center (msnbc, 2009). Federal inspectors found mold, roaches and a leaking roof at the Georgia peanut factory, Dow Jones Newswires reports (Rubenstei, 2009). There are two forms of stakeholders in business ethics, specifically, primary and secondary stakeholders which the Peanut Corporation of Americas case affected. Primary stakeholders are necessary for a firms survial and include employees, customers, investors, shareholders, as well as, businesses, large or small (such as small businesses that used PCAs product as raw material to make product and later market to consumers) (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2008, p. 32). Whereas, secondary stakeholders are not essential for a companys survival; these include the media, trade association and special-interest groups (for example, the American Association of Retired People AARP) (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2008, p. 32). Two primary stakeholders at PCA were Stewart Parnell, president and CEO, and Sammy Lightsey, the plant manager of the Blakely, Georgia plant . Several email were exchanged between Parnell, Lightsey (plant manager of Blakely, GA) and Mary Wilkerson (employee at the Blakely plant) regarding batches of peanut products that tested positive for salmonella by two independent laboratories, J. Leek Associates being one company and Deibel being the other and ignored (Committee on Energy and Commerce 2009). Because of this many stakeholders, both primary and secondary were affected by Peanut Corporation of Americas unethical decision-making. The medias impact on the Peanut Corporation of America brought awareness to members of the community by revealing incidents of PCA as it become known, brought awareness to consumers about the actions of PCA. Managers should be mindful of secondary stakeholders and express thoughtfulness in making ethical decisions. In general, both primary and secondary stakeholders embrace specific values and standards which govern anything that is deemed acceptable or unacceptable corporate behaviors (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, pp.32-33). Peanut Corporation of America was sued by American Candy Company after the FDA discovered in 1990 that Peanut Corporation of Americas peanut butter exceeded the FDA tolerance level for aflatoxin, a toxic mold (Blackwell, 2009). Another lawsuit against Peanut Corporation of America was brought by Zachary Confections, Inc. of Frankfort, Indiana in 1991 after a 40,020-pound shipment of nuts from Peanut Corporation of America was found to have an unacceptably high l evel of aflatoxin (Blackwell, 2009). Because of the unethical decisions made by PCA in January of 2009, all but three of the 46 employees at the Blakely plant were laid off (wsbtv.com 2, 2009). And on February 12, 2009 the Plainview, Texas plant, which employeed approximately 30 employees, was ordered to shut down by the state health officials (Relative, 2009). These employees, because of their assocation with PCA, lost their jobs. On Janaury 10, 2009, another primary stakeholder, the Solon, OH based King Nut Company, recalled its King Nut and Parnells Pride peanut butter brands that were manufactured by PCA to a distribution chain involving institutions such as hospitals, schools, restaurants and nursing homes (Ashcraft Gerel, LLP, 2009). Now PCAs insurer, Hartford Insurance has filed a lawsuit against PCA to determine if they are responsible for claims filed by victims of this nationwide salmonella outbreak and has asked the court to determine whether the terms of the companys policy exclude coverage for salmonella c laims, along with its obligation to Peanut Corp. (Lindsey, 2009). Peanut Corporation of Americas dishonest behavior seriously affected the primary stakeholders because of the unethical decisions made by the companys leaders and partners of the corporation. The unethical decisions as stated earlier by PCA negatively affected the lives of their employees by the loss of their jobs and the disgrace of being previously employed by PCA put employees in an insecure situation with potential employers. In this situation the people that were sicken, the people that died, the states that were affected, and the companies that had to recall products were all stakeholders in one form or another. Investors and shareholders who gave out money to PCA were also affected by the indiscretions of PCAs mismanagement. Executives and managers of PCA shared in a large gamble which impacted and changed the lives of many individuals and corporations both large and small. Peanut Corporation of America, the company at the center of the nationwide salmonella scare, filed for Chapter 7 in February 2009 (Miroff and Lyndsey, 2009). The filing of bankruptcy negatively affected its investors and shareholders. Others affected by the bankruptcy are secondary stakeholders; government, management agencies and the media. The government was negatively impacted in taxation because of plant closures in the form of income tax and lost sales tax because of lost product sales. The Peanut Corporation of America had its general liability insurance with The Hartford Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. According to Simon (2009),  PCA has $24 million dollars in insurance from The Hartford Casualty Insurance Company which is specifically dedicated to  covering  the food poisoning claims. The insurance coverage is broken up into two policy periods, 10/1/07 9/30/08 and 10/1/08 9/30/09 (Simon, 2009). The The Hartford Casualty Insurance Company rushed to court to limit what it might have to pay on lawsuits (Levick, 2009).They asked a federal court in Virginia to determine what the responsibility is on three years of policies that was issued to PCA (Levick, 2009). Legal analysis The Peanut Corporation of Americas lack of respect and nonconformity for the consumer protection laws was one of the key legal issues relating to the salmonella outbreak. That was one of the contributing factor that led them to be non-compliant with the law. Another, the corporations primary focus was that of making profit and showing complete disregard for consumers and the law thereof. According to Mundy (2009), PCA avoided taking necessary safety measures in safeguarding its facilities which resulted in leaking roofs. Not only did that PCA spend $60,000 in August 2008 to repair a leaky roof in the plant, Ron Simon a trial lawyer stated that the roof was already leaking bird feces before it was repairedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, a clear indication that PCA allegedly failed to maintain proper conditions and practices conducive for managing safety protocols at their facilities (Mundy, 2009). Consumer Protection is government regulations to protect the interests of consumers (Lawyers.com, 2009) . The law refers to state and federal consumer protection and product safety statutes and regulatons that restrict or prohibit deceptive trade practices such as the Consumer Protection Act (Lawyers.com, 2009). The Federal Trade Commission is the main agency enforcing consumer protection statutes (Lawyers.com, 2009). It was established in 1914, for the purpose of supporting consumer protection to drive and control unfair or harmful business practices; it exercises consumer rights and prevents them from being swindled and aids against fraud and deception and enables consumers to make well-informed decisions about products and how they spend their money (www.ftc.gov). The state courts (and some federal courts) in the 1930s placed restrictions on the freedom-to-contract doctrine by establishing rules of public policy and doctrines of unconscionability and fundamental breach that allow the courts to interfere in contractual relationships (Brennan, Browne Kubasek, pp.772). Likewise, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established in the 1930s, as a part of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services to regulate products which accounted for approximately 25% of the U.S gross national prod uct. As stated by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. The companys actions can only be described as reprehensible and criminal, not only did this company knowingly sell tainted products, it shopped for a laboratory that would provide the acceptable results they were seeking. This behavior represents the worst of our current food safety regulatory system (KDKA2, 2009). The company had previously told the FDA that some lots of peanut butter had initially tested positive for the bacterium, then were retested and found to be negative before they were shipped. But further investigation showed that the company actually shipped some of the lots before the second tests were completed. Other lots were shipped without testing and, in some cases, no second test was performed even after the first one came back positive (Maugh and Engel, 2009). The company did not initially disclose that to investigators trying to solve the current salmonella outbreak (KDKA2, 2009). The FDA did not formally announce the new findings about the companys testing, but rather made small revisions Thursday to an online report about the investigation (Maugh and Engel, 2009. It was only when a Washington Post reporter discovered the changes and the news become more widely known (Maugh and Engel, 2009). Ethical Analysis The Peanut Corporation bottom line was to make a profit and not care about social responsibility to the public. The company continued to ship product they knew was contaminated. T he ethical behavior of the company and Stewart Parnell was to keep production going no matter at what cost. This transmitted a lack of morals and value by upper management by keeping their employees working and meeting their shipping demands. The company also continued to run his plants in an unclean manner which put consumer food safety at risk. There are three ethical perspectives that I will focus on as they exhibit both ethical and unethical behavior. The first being consequential theory, this theory brings out questions of moral issues. Under the consequential theory acts are judged ethically good or bad based on whether the acts have achieved their desired results and the acts are looked at as right or wrong on whether the results can be rationalized (Kubasek, Brennan Browne, 2009, p. 223). When examining the scandal of the Peanut Corporation of America the consequential utilitarianism school of thought can be applied. Stewart Parnell thought process can be viewed as being both ethical and unethical. The main issue in this case study was Parnell shipping products that were tainted. For the argument of ethics it could be assumed that Parnell was seeking the best interest of his company to obtain a profit. Parnells rational included keeping and production flowing and employees working while, the unethical can be argued that a desired outcome was not obtained as a result of the deaths and illnesses of consumers and inability for Peanut Corporation of American to remain in business. Parnell should have had a strategy in place that should have been customers first then his employees. The second ethical perspective is the deontological theory which is derived from the Greek word meaning ethics refers to moral philosophies that focus on the rights of individuals and on the intentions associated with a particular behavior rather than on its consequences (Ferrell, Fraedich, Ferrell, 2008, p.153). Deontological theory is also from the Greek word duty, in which actions can be judged ethically good or bad based on rules and principles arrived at by human reason regardless of the action and whether net happiness is reached (Kubasek, Brennan Browne, 2009, p. 225). Based on email that Mary Wilkerson sent to Stewart Parnell on June 6, 2008, Peanut Corporation of American used two outside laboratories for testing (Committee on Energy and Commerce, 2009). Because Peanut Corporation of American testested and re-tested their producted until they received the results they needed, this could be considered ethical or unethical. Ethical because Mr. Parnell needed to receive a neg ative result so that he could continue his production and shipping of his product. It also could be a means of the company double checking results for consumer protection. On the other hand because Parnell sent samples to multiple laboratories until they found their desired results of the product testing to be negative for salmnella poisioning could be considered unethical. An facet of the deontological theory is that a person should engage only in acts that he or she could see becoming a universal standard (Kubasek, Brennan Browne, 2009, p. 225). Another email sent to Sammy Lightsey from Parnell also shows Parnells unethical behavior. According to the email Parnell sent to Sammy Lightsey, he instructed Sammy to ship the tainted product by stating, okay, lets turn them loose then (Committee on Energy and Commerce, 2009). The third school of thought, humanist theory, where actions are evaluated as ethically good or bad based on whether they contribute to improving inherent human capacities as it pertains to intelligence, wisdom, and self restraint (Browne, Brennan, Kubasek, p.226). According to the USDA, Parnells previous position on the U.S. Department of Agricultures Peanut Standards Boards, which sets the quality and handling standards, intended to assure that satisfactory quality and wholesome peanuts are used in the domestic and import peanut markets (Keefe, 2009). Parnell was first appointed to the USDAs Peanut Standards Board in July 2005 and was reappointed for another term that would have expired in 2011 (Keefe, 2009). On February 5, 2009, the USDA announced that the new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack had removed Parnell from the board (Akre, 2009). Mr. Parnells ethical behavior based on the humanist theory put him in a great position to help improve quality and handling standards for pea nuts grown and marketed domestically and imported. Parnells unethical behavior could be considered as a conflict of interest because he did not follow those standards within his own company, which caused his own plants to suffer miserably in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions. It is obvious that Parnell didnt have the understanding, Knowledge, intelligence or even discipline to run a processing plant. Contributing Factors The companys culture encouraged unethical behavior and did everything to undermine anything ethical, stemming from sanitation conditions from the beginning because of the history of the overall business operation and that of Mr. Parnells upbringing. David Brooks, a former buyer for a snack company who was familiar with the conditions of PCAs business operation (Layton Miroff, 2009, p.2). Brooks also noted that on three occasions in the mid 1980s, he inspected PCAs Gorman plant to determine whether to buy its peanut products and each time, he gave the plant a failing grade (Layton Miroff, 2009, p. 2). According to Brooks, It was just filthy; Dust was all over the beams, the braces of the building. The roofs leaked, the windows would be open, and birds would fly through the building . . . It was just a time bomb waiting to go off, and everybody in the peanut industry in Georgia, Virginia and Texas they all knew (Layton and Miroff, 2009). According to two former Blakely employees, one recalls opening a tote of peanuts at the processing plant in this small Georgia town and seeing baby mice in it. It was filthy and nasty all around the place, (Glover, 2009). Unethical behavior of upper management and Stewart Parnell were more concerned about profits instead of the lives of the consumers who were vulnerable to harm and the employees who were deliberately deceived about the true results of the contaminated products. The PCA Georgia Plant contributed to the sanitation problem. There were ethical issues throughout the plant that lead to the tainted products. There were peanuts stored next to the finished peanut butter (Smalley, 2009). The roaster they used was not calibrated to kill deadly germs (Smalley, 2009). Dispirited workers on minimum wage, supplied by temp agencies, donned their uniforms at home, potentially dragging contaminants into the plant, which also had rodents (Smalley, 2009). The roof of the PCA plant in Georgia leaked when it rained which is a big risk; given that salmonella thrives in water and the facility should have been dry (Smalley, 2009). The Federal officials in Texas did not even know PCAs Plainview facility existed until after they started investigating the Blakely plant (Layton Miroff, 2009). It was unlicensed and had been uninspected by the government for four years (Layton Miroff, 2009). This company has shown a manner of disrespect for the consumer right laws and obvious disregard for consumer safety that filtered from the top of the corporation down through management. The impatience of not waiting on the results of the test and conducting several re-test to obtain a favorable result was in poor judgment and a sure sign that problems were being ignored and standardized procedures were not being followed by these leaders. They were comfortable wallowing in filth and infestations within their food processing plants for thirty years. Thats a culture that will and did breed all types of legal and unethical problems that was bound to catch up with them. It seemed that they all lacked insight and did not think thoroughly about the results of their actions or to make ethical decisions. They may not have cared about the Consumer Protection Law but they should have been worried about Murphys Law. Ethical decision factors to consider There are three factors to be addressed relating to the ethical theories previously discussed in this case analysis. Based on perspectives of consequential theory where acts are judged as ethically good or bad based on whether the acts have achieved their desired results (Brennan, Browne, Kubasek, 2009, p. 223-224). Under the consequential theory this ethical issue reiterates Parnells actions for shipping products that he knew was contaminated, to keep production flowing and their plants making a profit. The company also had a lack of concern for the consumers health and management continued filling orders with tainted products. The golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is the hallmark of the deontological theory (Brennan, Browne, Kubasek, 2009, p. 225). Under the deontological theory the ethical issue was lab shopping. Parnells persistence of conducting multiple tests in order to obtain results pleasing to his satisfaction without thought of the unforeseen consequences. The ethical decision factor to be considered in this situation is the need for ethical policies for quality control checking. All companies should have this process in place for products we consume. This way it wont be misinterpreted as lab shopping. And the third school of thought, humanist theory evaluated actions s good or bad depending on whether they contribute to improving inherent human capacities such as intelligence, wisdom, and self-restraint (Brennan, Brown, Kubasek, 2009, p. 226). Under the humanist theory the ethical issue was Parnells conflict of interest based on his previous held position on the U.S. Department of Agricultures Peanut Standards Boards. The ethical decision factors to be considered in this situation are showing little intelligence, wisdom or self-restrain, sitting on the board that he was clearly not qualified for. Recommended corrective action Outbreaks of salmonella are not unfamiliar to the FDA and Peanut Corporation of America was not the first company to be confronted with this issue. In 2005, a ConAgra Foods factory in Georgia was inspected by the FDA due to complaints about a salmonella contamination (Glover, 2009). Spinach contaminated with salmonella followed by peppers and tomatoes was the big scare of 2006 (Shvartsman, 2009). In June, 2009, Nestle Toll House cookie dough and 380,000 pounds of beef produced by JBS Swift Beef Company were recalled due to E. coli contamination (Shvartsman, 2009). Peanut Corporation of America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and closed its doors and is now in legal proceedings (Miroff Layton, 2009). ConAgra can be considered the industry leader in setting examples for what should be done when product may be tainted. Therefore, there should be no reason why Peanut Corporation would not know how what to do in a situation such as this. PCA like ConAgra could have voluntarily issued recall voluntarily upon learning about the products which were tested positively for salmonella. PCA could have prevented this tragic end to its business and the lives of those lost if they had attempted to rectify the situation properly and address the root of the problems which were many. It may be too late for implementation of a corrective action for Peanut Corporation of America, but not too late for a corrective action for the remainder of the food processing industry. Food processing plants and warehouses should base their policies and procedures off the guidelines for food safety set forth by the Food and Drug Administration. As part of a new regulation, Obama administration is working on toughening food safety standards. A bill that recommends a proactive stance in preventing food contamination was approved by the House (Shvartsman, 2009). The bill will step up inspections of high risk facilities every six months, or at least once a year (Shvartsman, 2009). This change will dramatically lower food recalls. The final regulation will come in the fall when the Senate votes on the bill (Shvartsman, 2009). The House voted to empower the FDA to order recalls (Shvartsman, 2009). Food safety advocates have been lobbying Congress to give the FDA more regulatory power over the food supply, a vast and growing network crossing state lines and international borders (Shvartsman, 2009). As stated earlier PCA had plants in Georgia, Texas and Virginia. This new bill will provide the FDA the power to police companies that have locations in multiple states (Shvartsman, 2009). PCA was unlikely to remain in business given Mr. Parnells inherent behavior along with those who were a part of his management. PCA was unlikely to remain in business under the direction of Stewart Parnell. Parnells inherent behavior along with those who were a part of his management did not act in an ethical manner towards the community. Mr. Parnell consistently put profits ahead of public safety and acted in a manner that proved to be detrimental to society. Therefore, it can be concluded that PCA lacked business ethics and morals and how they portrayed the companys image and conveyed disregard for their employees and members of the community.

Poems By Robert Frost And Leon :: essays research papers

Have you ever wondered what makes two places the same, but in two totally different areas? Throughout the poems â€Å"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening† by Robert Frost, and â€Å"The Bus† by Leonard Cohen, there are many similarities that take place. These similarities are the life in cities and towns, the escape into nature, and the consequences of such escapes. Throughout this essay these similarities will be explained in detail.In all cities and towns people always have obligations and responsibilities to perform. One example of this is when Robert Frost says â€Å"I have promises to keep†(pg 127). This quote proves that he has an obligation to the city and to the people at home.The Bus has it’s own similarities in the life in cities and towns. While reading the poem Leonard Cohen makes the reader feel that the bigger the city, the less homy it is. The is proven when Cohan states â€Å"Lets run away from the big city...† (pg 144). This qu ote shows that Cohan is trying to â€Å"run away† from his obligations and responsibilities.The similarities in cities and towns from â€Å"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night† and â€Å"The Bus† are in both poems the character is effect by there obligations to the world. In â€Å"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night† Frost’s character is honouring his responsibilities and obligations by leaving the wood to go home to his family. In â€Å"The Bus† the character wants run away from them.In both poems the author escapes into nature. At on point in â€Å"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night† Frost’s character notices the beauty of the forest around him: â€Å"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep† (pg 127). This shows that the character has a deep feelings for the nature around him.Leonard Cohen also escapes into nature in his poem. When his character is riding the bus home he says to the bus driver â€Å"Lets find o urselves a tiny american fishing village, in unknown Florida† (pg144). With this quote he expresses that he is picturing a beautiful place out in the middle of no-where. A place the is beautiful and relaxing to him.In both poems the escape into nature is obvious. In â€Å"Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Night† Frost is showing us how beautiful mother nature really is. Meanwhile in â€Å"The Bus† Cohan was dreaming of how beautiful and relaxing his tiny fishing village would be.

Excretion And Elimination Of Toxicants And Their Metabolites :: essays research papers

Excretion and Elimination of Toxicants and their Metabolites The first topic that was covered by this chapter was the excretion of wastes by the Renal system. The first step that occurs in the kidney deals with the nephron, which is the functional unit of the kidney. In the glomerulus the formation of urine begins with the passive filtration of plasma through the pores that are found in the glomerulus. The plasma is forced through these pores by hydrostatic pressure. The only things that determines if a molecule will pass through the pores of the glomerulus is it's molecular weight. The lower the molecular weight, the easier it will pass through the pores. Another determining factor will be if a molecule is bound to a large molecule. If this is true then passage through the pores will be hindered by the size of the larger molecule. Reabsorbtion of the many ions, minerals and other nutrients that escaped in the glomerular filtrate will need to be recovered.. Reabsorbtion begins in the tubules of the nephron. Anywhere from 65% to 90% of reabsorbtion occurs in these structures. Active reabsortion is used to recapture glucose, proteins, amino acids and other nutrients. Water and chloride ions are passively reabsorbed by the establishment of osmotic and electrochemical gradients. Both the Loop of Henley and collecting duct are used to establish these osmolar gradients. The tubule has a brush border that will absorb proteins and polypeptides through pinocytosis. These molecules are sometimes catabolised and converted into amino acids. and returned to the blood. Sometimes the accumulation of these proteins can lead to renal toxicity A second process that occurs in the tubules is tubular secretion. This is another mechanism used to excrete solutes. Secretion may be either passive or active. Secretions include organic bases, which occur in the pars recta of the proximal tubule. Secretions of weak bases and two weak acids occur passively. Other mechanisms involves the use of a mechanism that is called ion trapping. At a certain pH the compounds are more ionized. Outside of the tubule these compounds are non-ionized and are lipophilic. Thus they are able to diffuse across the membranes of the tubule. Once inside, the pH of the tubule will ionize them and render then unable to pass across the cell membranes. The removal of xenobiotics is dependant on many factors. First is the polarity of the xenobiotic. Polar compounds are soluble in the plasma water are more easily removed by the kidneys through the use of glomerular filtration. The faster the rate of glomerular filtration , the faster the polar xenobiotics are Excretion And Elimination Of Toxicants And Their Metabolites :: essays research papers Excretion and Elimination of Toxicants and their Metabolites The first topic that was covered by this chapter was the excretion of wastes by the Renal system. The first step that occurs in the kidney deals with the nephron, which is the functional unit of the kidney. In the glomerulus the formation of urine begins with the passive filtration of plasma through the pores that are found in the glomerulus. The plasma is forced through these pores by hydrostatic pressure. The only things that determines if a molecule will pass through the pores of the glomerulus is it's molecular weight. The lower the molecular weight, the easier it will pass through the pores. Another determining factor will be if a molecule is bound to a large molecule. If this is true then passage through the pores will be hindered by the size of the larger molecule. Reabsorbtion of the many ions, minerals and other nutrients that escaped in the glomerular filtrate will need to be recovered.. Reabsorbtion begins in the tubules of the nephron. Anywhere from 65% to 90% of reabsorbtion occurs in these structures. Active reabsortion is used to recapture glucose, proteins, amino acids and other nutrients. Water and chloride ions are passively reabsorbed by the establishment of osmotic and electrochemical gradients. Both the Loop of Henley and collecting duct are used to establish these osmolar gradients. The tubule has a brush border that will absorb proteins and polypeptides through pinocytosis. These molecules are sometimes catabolised and converted into amino acids. and returned to the blood. Sometimes the accumulation of these proteins can lead to renal toxicity A second process that occurs in the tubules is tubular secretion. This is another mechanism used to excrete solutes. Secretion may be either passive or active. Secretions include organic bases, which occur in the pars recta of the proximal tubule. Secretions of weak bases and two weak acids occur passively. Other mechanisms involves the use of a mechanism that is called ion trapping. At a certain pH the compounds are more ionized. Outside of the tubule these compounds are non-ionized and are lipophilic. Thus they are able to diffuse across the membranes of the tubule. Once inside, the pH of the tubule will ionize them and render then unable to pass across the cell membranes. The removal of xenobiotics is dependant on many factors. First is the polarity of the xenobiotic. Polar compounds are soluble in the plasma water are more easily removed by the kidneys through the use of glomerular filtration. The faster the rate of glomerular filtration , the faster the polar xenobiotics are

Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini is well-known Italian dictator. From 1992 to 1943, he ruled over Italy as the leader of the Italian government. His administration adhered to fascism, which was established by Mussolini himself. On the 28th of April 1945, due to uprising and his political defeat, he was captured and executed by a firing squad. Benito Mussolini was born on the 29th of July 1883 in Dovia de Predappio in Italy. His family was not granted with a prosperous life as his father worked as a blacksmith and his mother worked as a grade school teacher.The sinister side of Mussolini materialized even during his younger years. In addition to his inability to perform well academically, he also committed violent acts against his peers. Mussolini was capable of perpetrating menacing and treacherous acts, as he was able to stab one of his schoolmates in his attendance at a boarding school. When he grew up, he was able to get a job as a teacher at a secondary school, after acquiring his college diplom a. In 1904, Mussolini joined attended military services and pursued a career in politics from then on.He united with the Socialist Party. Socialism is a political belief or principle that adheres to equal distribution of property and income between the members of the social system. However, in the advent of World War I, he opposed the Socialist Party and joined the rival nationalist group. Shortly after his crossover, he was able to establish a newspaper, which he called Popolo d’Italia. His political beliefs and ideals served as the backbone of the Popolo d’Italia. His then changed ideologies and principles were learning toward Fascism.Fascism was an established political doctrine where the authority is embodied by a dictator who promoted the primary interest of the nation and enforces tyranny to achieve an end. Mussolini despised communism and socialism. To show opposition for these two parties, he organized a group who promoted the ideas of nationalism. In 1921, the result of the elections put him in Parliament where the National Fascist Party was also organized. Mussolini was the leader of this party who has gained over a thousand followers.He abused his position to stay in power and altered the political system into a dictatorship style of government. Several members of the opposition party were assassinated and mass media was influenced into broadcasting propaganda in favor of the National Fascist Party. During his days as leaders of the Italian government, he employed the use of power and vigor to force people into doing what was favorable to him. However, during the 1930’s, Italy suffered a great blow in its economy.Because of this, Mussolini aimed to establish and develop the Italian Empire. Mussolini believed that in order to improve the economic status of Italy, he should be able to conquer other countries, especially countries in power, in order to capture dominance over the Mediterranean. To further his accomplishment, he supp orted the Nazi Fascist government of Adolf Hitler, and engaged in oppressing the Jews. Because of his brutal means of ruling the government, Italy was not able to bear his rule and discontinued their support for Mussolini.During the World War II, Mussolini submerged Italy into war despite the opposition of the people. It was fear that drove Mussolini into joining the World War II. In this period of chaos and hostilities, Mussolini was able to conquer the European Sea and African Mediterranean Sea, including France, Greece, and Egypt. In the 1940’s, Mussolini suffered a great loss as he lost his control over the Mediterranean Sea. After this political failure, Mussolini was capture and dubbed as the pawn of Hitler.He was shot in Como province leading him to his grave. References About. Com. (2007). The Columbia Encyclopedia: Mussolini, Benito. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from About. Com. Website: http://history1900s. about. com/gi/dynamic/offsite. htm? site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. b artleby. com%2F65%2Fmu%2FMussolin. html Notable Biographies. (2007). Benito Mussolini Biography. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from Advameg, Inc. Website: http://www. notablebiographies. com/Mo-Ni/Mussolini-Benito. html Benito Mussolini A fascist leader of Italy form 1922 to 1943, BENITO MUSSOLINI, centralized all of his power as the leader of the powerful fascist party and tried to make an Italian empire in coalition with the German dictator Adolph Hitler. The conquering of the Italian army in WW2 led to the end of his grand dream and the downfall of his empire. He was born in the town of Predappio close to Forli in Romagna in July 29 1883 to a Black smith name Alessandro and a School teacher Rosa. Just like his father, Mussolini became a keen socialist.In 1901 he qualified as an elementary schoolmaster. The next year he migrated to Switzerland. There he was having difficulty in finding a stable job and was later arrested because of vagrancy, he was barred from Switzerland and was returned to his native land of Italy to serve in the Military. Due to some more trouble with the police, he started working in a newspaper in the town of Trento in Austria where he wrote a novel The Cardinal’s Mistress which was la ter translated into English. Socialist AssociationsHe was later barred by the Austrians too. He later became an editor of a socialist newspaper La Lotta di Classe (The Class struggle) in Forli. His early passion for Karl Marx was enhanced by a combination of ideas from the innovative policy of Auguste Blanqui, syndicalism of Georges Sorel and the thinking of Friedrich Nietzche. Benito later became a secretary of a local Socialist party in Forli in the year 1910. At this point of life, he had a political view totally opposite to what was to come later. He was antipatriotic.In 1911 when Turkey was to be attacked by Italy, he was jailed for his propaganda of peace keeping. He was later editor of an official Socialist newspaper by the name of Avanti in Milan where he recognized himself as one of the most powerful labor leaders in the Italian communism. He had a viewpoint that the working class should unite into a formidable unit prepared to seize power at any time. From here on than the Fascist movement started. When the WW1 started in 1914, Benito along with other communists agreed that Italy should not be a part of it.The only war acceptable to him was the Class war, and he threatened the government that he will lead a When World War I broke out in 1914; Mussolini agreed with the other Socialists that Italy should not join it. Only a class war was acceptable to him, and he threatened to be the leader of a People’s revolt against the government if Italy was a part of the WW1. After several months he suddenly changed his viewpoint on the war and decided to leave the editorial chair along with the socialist party. Birth of FascismHe established a new paper in November of 1914 by the name of Popolo D Italia and prewar group Fascia d Azione Rivoluzionaria. He clearly hoped that the WW1 would result in the collapse of the Italian government which would gain him power. He was to serve in the military later where he was injured in a grenade practice and because o f that he returned to his newspaper editing. In March 1919 Fascism developed into a planned political movement when Mussolini established the Fasci de Combattimento. He failed in the 1919 elections but later in 1921 he entered into the Parliament as a right wing member.Armed squads were established by the Fascist to terrify Benito’s former communist co workers. The government rarely hampered the movement. He got support from the industrialists and in return he gave his support to strike breaking and later he deserted radical demonstrations. The moderate governments of Giovanni Giolitti, Luigi Facta and Ivanoe Bonomi failed to prevent the increase of chaos, Benito was asked by king in October of 1922 to establish a government. Fascist Dictatorship He was supported by the Liberals in the parliament.With their support he initiated stringent censorship and changed the way elections were held in 1925-26 so that he had absolute power and could suspend all other political parties to work. As he had control over the press, he slowly made a legend of Duce, a human being capable of making everything right and had the ability to solve all the problems whether they are political or economic. Soon Italy became a police state. Whoever resisted him like Giacomo Matteotti did of the Socialist party he was very much cruel to them. He had a great skill in propaganda that he had very little opposition.After 1922, many time he personally took over seven departments at the same time like foreign affairs, ministry of the corporations, Army and other armed service, public works, interior ministry along with the premiership. He was the leader of the Powerful Fascist party which was established in the 1921 and also was the leader of the Fascist armed Militia. This made him to be successful in keeping power in his own hands and averting the surfacing of any competitor. This all came at a price of making a government which was corrupt, over centralized and totally inefficient.He spent most of his time on propaganda whether he was in Italy or some where else, here his training as a journalist was precious. Each and every mode of information was carefully monitored to create a fantasy that fascism was the main principle of the 20th century and was take the place of equality and freethinking. He wrote an article in which he laid down the principles of this policy which appeared in Encyclopedia Italiana in 1932. An agreement was signed in 1929 with the Vatican, which finally recognized the Italian State. His leadership finished the parliamentary system.He rewrote the law codes. The teacher teaching in universities or schools were swearing on an oath to secure the regime of Fascist. Mussolini himself started choosing editors of the newspapers and no other editor could establish a newspaper without the permission of the Fascist party. Trade unions were not given total independence were included in what was called the corporative system. The main aim was to place all the Italian public in different organization and corporations which were professional but all under the rule of the government.Mussolini had the idea of shifting the industries from public to private owners with the help of his financial backers. But later in 1930 he started moving back to the conflicting intensity of inflexible governmental control of industry. A huge sum of money was spent on different public works due to which the Italian economy suffered a great deal as he had placed so much money on the heavy industry to make Italy self sufficient but this was not possible as Italy was lacking numerous resources. Military AggressionIn his foreign policy Mussolini started shifting from a peace loving anti imperialism to a tremendous outline of violent self rule. In 1923 the bombing of Corfu is an example of his self rule. After setting up a dummy government in Albania and re capturing Libya, he had a dream of making the Mediterranean Sea Italian Sea. Later in 1935 he along w ith others established an anti Hitler policy at the Stresa Conference to protect the freedom of Austria. His successful battle against Ethiopia (than Abyssinia) was opposed by the League of Nations.Because of this he made a deal with the Nazi Germany, which before had been introverted from the league. Any prospect of a settlement between Britain and France ended when took an active part in the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War and took the side of General Francisco Franco. After having to make a deal with the Germans, he had to accept the German capturing of Austria and Czechoslovakia’s dismemberment. In 1938 at the Munich Conference, he portrayed himself as a fair person functioning for peace in Europe.His allegiance with Germany was later confirmed when in 1939 he made a Pact of Steel with Adolph Hitler. Being an inferior partner to the Germans, Benito followed the same racial policy as did the German’s did against the Jews. When World War 2 was coming nearer, Mussolini ma de his intention clear to conquer Tunisia, Malta and Corsica. He conquered Albania after a short war in 1939. He didn’t realize that by gaining more power he would have a power balance in Europe, instead he favored a policy pretending and threaten to persuade the Western powers to make way for his growing territorial demands.He lectured for 15 years regarding the merits of war and the military keenness of Italy to battle, but his army was totally unprepared when the attack on Poland by Hitler led to the World War 2. He remained quite for a while until n unless he was sure who will win. He declared war in1940 after the collapse of France, thinking that the war will only last for a few weeks. He later attacked Greece which showed everyone that he was not prepared for a successful military machine. He had no alternative left but to pursue Hitler in announcing war on Russia and United States both in 1941.After Italy was defeated all ends, and the landing of Anglo American in Sici ly in 1943 led to many of Benito’s co workers to turn against him at a conference in Fascist Grand hall on July 25, 1943. This also led to the king dismissing him and ordered for his arrest. The Germans rescued him after a couple of months, after being rescued he set up a Republican Fascist state in north of Italy. Under the German’s he was not more than a dummy. Benito later returned to his ideas of collectivization and communism. He executed the Fascist leader who turned against him including his own son in law.He blamed the Italian public for this although they had been supporting all along his colonial dream. When the Allied Armies reached Milan on April 27 in 1945, Benito along with his mistress Clara Petacci were captured by the Italian enthusiasts, when he was trying to flee into Switzerland. Assassination A day later, Benito and his mistress were both shot dead near a village of Dongo, along with his 15 colleagues, comprising of ministers and officials. The kil lings were conducted by Colonel Walter Audisio; he was given the order to kill Benito by the National Liberation Committee.Later a witness by the name of Bruno Giovanni confessed that he had killed Benito and his mistress but these reports were never confirmed. After the killings, both the bodies were hanging upside down on meat hooks in Milan along with the fifteen colleagues killed, to confirm that the once mighty leader has been killed. This was to discourage the fighting by the fascists. The body was to become a thing of mockery and mistreatment by those who felt he was a cruel ruler. His body was later taken down and buried in an unmarked grave in Milan. Later his body was stolen but retrieved and brought to Predappio.Here he was buried in his family vault. A large marble of himself sits on top of the tomb. He was survived by his wife, Rachel, two sons Romano and Vittorio and his daughter Edda, whose husband was killed by Benito. His third son was killed in an air incident. Bib liography †¢ Benito Mussolini from Answers. com. Retrieved March 27, 2007. From http://www. answers. com/topic/benito-mussolini †¢ Benito Mussolini from Wikipedia (2007). Retrieved on March 28, 2007. From http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini †¢ Benito Mussolini Background. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.From http://library. thinkquest. org/17120/data/bios/mussolini/background/backg1. html †¢ Mussolini, Benito from BartleBy (2005). Retrieved on March 28, 2007. From http://www. bartleby. com/65/mu/Mussolin. html †¢ Benito Mussolini. Retrieved on March 28, 2007. From http://www. info. tampere. fi/a/amuri/tyot/ilduce3. htm †¢ Benito Mussolini from Spartacus Educational. Retrieved on March 28, 2007. From http://www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/2WWmussolini. htm †¢ Benito Mussolini. Retrieved on March 28, 2007. From http://www. moreorless. au. com/killers/mussolini. html Benito Mussolini Mussolini is considered to be the founding Father of Fascism, seizing power by a combination of terror and persuasion. He held Italy firmly in his grasp by crushing his enemies while still promising glory. Mussolini was able to successfully turn Italy into a com/world-history-unit-3/">dictatorship under a fascist regime because of the country’s internally divided war-torn society as well as the weak state of Italy’s minority governments which could not unite to oppose fascism and finally because of his ability to appeal to this country through a false sense of security and nationalism. Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born in Predappio on July 29, 1883.Son of a socialist blacksmith, he grew up to be a self-proclaimed â€Å"anti-patriot† like his father (The Columbia Encyclopedia 33087). He hadn’t taken to school and rebelled against most things. He had gotten expelled from his first school, which was a catholic school ran my monks, though he did better in his second. He went on to become a qualified school teacher, even though he wasn’t interested in teaching. Benito Mussolini had a passion for politics. In June 1902, Mussolini went to Switzerland and got involved with some Italian socialists and got a job as a brick layer and joined the trade union.When he had suggested the very revolutionary idea for a general strike, he got expelled from Switzerland in 1903. He then went to an area called Trentino, which was ruled by the Austrians. The authorities soon labeled him as a trouble-maker; he encouraged the trade unions and attacked the Catholic Church. He was then expelled from Trentino in 1909 (Hibbert 4-10). Throughout Mussolini’s life, he had made his rise to power, many accomplishments, and in the end he had made a huge effect on his country.After being wounded in the trenches during World War I, he was sent home because of an injury only to become editor of his own newspaper. It was called Il Popolo d’Ital ia or The People of Italy. This represented his changing of his pacifist views, he used his paper to spread his new ideas and gain support. Mussolini also organized a pro-war group called Fasci d’Azione Rivoluzionaria. After the war he joined a different group called the Arditi Association, which was a military assembly composed of WWI veterans. Both of the associations contributed to the beginning of fascism.In 1919, Mussolini founded the Fasci de Combattimento, which was the skeletal structure for what was to become the political movement of Fascism. This attracted the attention of the lower-middle class with its nationalistic, anti-liberal ideas (The Columbia Encyclopedia 33087). During the 1920’s the Black Shirt Militia was formed by Mussolini due to his disgust with the corruption of the liberal and later socialist Italian government. Originally, they were reformers but then their methods became harsher and they used violence, intimidation, and murder.One of their typical techniques was to force-feed they’re opponents castor oil, which was often laced with petrol. Another method was to force them to swallow live frogs! Mussolini slowly began to back away from the Arditi Association as his Fascist movement became more powerful. In 1921 he was elected to parliament and the National Fascist party was organized. When his Fascists were sent to march on Rome they were permitted to enter the city and King Victor Emmanuel III called on him to form a cabinet (Lewis 16). This helped him gradually transform the government into a dictatorship.He soon got the official title of head of the government. His ambition to restore greatness found expression in pretentious slogans and speeches in the creation of monumental buildings which helped his encouragement of extreme nationalist groups. The fascist regime turned society into individuals who would just obey and distrust reason as well as understand violence as an essential tool to order. Ideally the country would transform into a totalitarian state; where the government would have total control over the lives of individuals and this would mean that anything is justified if it serves the states ands.Fascism emphasized victory, glorified war, is cruel to the weak, and is irrational and intolerant. Mussolini used the condition of the country to his advantage in his journey to becoming the dictator of Italy. Mussolini actually began his political career as a socialist and then became attracted to fasces, the ancient Roman symbol of the life-and-death power of the state, bundles of the lictor’s rods of chastisement which, when bound together, were stronger then when they were apart – reflecting the intellectual debt that fascism owed to socialism and presaging the symbolism of the renewed Roman imperium Mussolini promised to bring about.Mussolini claimed that it would help strengthen a relatively new nation (which had been united only in the 1860's in the Risorgimento ), although some would say that, like Lenin, he wished for a collapse of society that would bring him to power. Evidently, Mussolini accomplished many things during WW II on the Axis side. He started taking over Italy when he was dubbed Dictator. This was when he first was addressed as Il Duce, which means â€Å"the leader. † Since he had all the power of Italy, he began to take over and make all of the decisions.Mussolini started building roads, kept rivers from over-flowing, increased over production and ran the trains on time. He also extended his control over other countries. He invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and took over Albania in 1939. Not only was Benito Mussolini the leader of Italy, he was also the youngest dictator of Italy. Mussolini’s main role during WW II was being the leader of Italy. As earlier stated, he had tried taking over Ethiopia and seized Albania. Later on, the axis powers took over countries such as: Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Polan d, Romania, and many more.Mussolini soon became known as Hitler’s right hand man, and this helped him become very popular. Through his accomplishments, he pushed Hitler to make his own Fascist party. They became known as the Nazis. The axis power created a Rome-Berlin alliance of totalitarianism. As the axis power had every say in what people did, German, Italy, and Japan felt as though they could do anything. Mussolini had been a huge part with the axis powers during WW II (Lewis 15- 16). Once the Allies had occupied the southern part of Italy in 1943, the King had ordered Mussolini to be arrested in order to sign the peace agreement.He had then been imprisoned and then liberated by the Germans, Mussolini lived in northern Italy until his capture by the Italian Monarchy. He was then executed by the monarchy on April 28, 1945 along with his mistress, Claretta Petacci, by military forces of the Italian Resistance. The next day, their corpses and those of Mussolini’s hen chmen were hanged in the Piazzale Loreto, Milan, for public view (Antliff 1). Antagonisms between political parties had given rise to a civil war that continued for about three more years. Italians then decided, in 1946, to vote to dissolve the Monarchy.Then in 1948, the first political elections were held. Mussolini’s dictatorship will forever be remembered for bringing on many Mafia and Mani Pulite scandals and for political disillusion among Italian youth which escalated into such terrorist acts as Brigate Rosse and the Moro Affair. The Brigate Rosse was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization that arose out of a student protest movement in the late 1960’s. They had wanted to separate Italy from NATO and promoted violence in the service of class warfare and revolution. The original group concentrated on assassination and kidnapping of Italian Government and private-sector targets.They haven’t conducted an act since 1988, and have been largely inactive since the Italian and France police arrested many of the group’s members. In 1978, the BR had kidnapped Aldo Moro who was the Italian president-to-be. This became known as the Moro Affair. The 50 year period that Mussolini ran as dictator is now labeled as the First Republic which renewed Italian confidence in the democratic process (Lewis 17). The recent appearance of skinhead guards of honour at Mussolini’s tomb had provoked a controversy about how Italians should view their fascist period.Unlike Germany, Italy has never faced up to its role in WW II, preferring to see itself in the role of victim. The national narrative omits the first part of the war, in which Italians fought along side the Germans, and committed crimes in Albania, Greece, and Yugoslavia. Today, a resurgent nationalism has continued to gloss over the more shameful parts of Italian history, while at the same time allowing fascist apologists to exalt Italy’s most notorious 20th leader (Antliff 1). As the great dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini had rose to power by forcing his way to the top.He didn’t let anything stand in his way, even if it meant scamming. He achieved whatever he felt needed to happen, which finally, effected Italy’s history. All in all, Italy unlike the rest of Europe was greatly affected by the first World War and the state that the country was left in made it vulnerable to the extremist view of Mussolini and was easily transformed into a dictatorship and lead into a fateful alliance with Germany. Mussolini and his fascist ideals were able to overthrow Italy and turn it into a dictatorship and lead it into the second World War behind Hitler’s Germany.Mussolini was able to successfully turn Italy into a dictatorship under a fascist regime because of the country’s internally divided war-torn society as well as the weak state of Italy’s minority governments which could not unite to oppose fascism and finally because of his ability to appeal to this country through a false sense of security and nationalism. In my opinion, Mussolini played a negative role in the course of history. He led the Italians into the Second World War and so happened to join the wrong side. Subsequently, the country suffered lasting physical, political, and cultural damage.Their government remains constantly in turmoil. His methods and tactics fostered the rise of the Mafia in Italy. The Mafia and related activities gave the Italians an unfavorable international reputation with crime and trust even today. He fostered distrust of the government by the Italian people, which in itself was not bad, but his chosen methods of accomplishing objectives were proven to be ineffective. His leadership led to the eventual dissolution of the Italian Monarchy, which could have helped stabilize the country had it remained intact much like Britain’s and Sweden’s.His effect on Italy, in many ways, is still being felt today. Works Ci ted Antliff, Mark. Fascism, Modernism and Modernity. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 84, 2002. Falasca-Zamponi, Simonetta. Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy. Berkeley: U of California P, 1997. Fermi, Laura. Mussolini. University of Chicago Press, 1966 Hibbert, Christopher. Il Duce: The Life of Benito Mussolini. Little, Brown, 1962. Lewis, Paul H. Latin Fascist Elites: The Mussolini, Franco, and Salazar Regimes. Praeger, 2002. Mussolini, Benito. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2004.