Plan Columbia Essay Example for Free

Plan Columbia Essay The term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and combating aleft-wing insurgency by supporting different activities in Colombia.[1] Plan Colombia can also refer to a wider aid initiative originally proposed by Colombian President Andrà ©s Pastrana Arango, which included U.S. military/counter-narcotics aid, but was not limited to it. The plan was conceived between 1998 and 1999 by the administration of Pastrana with the goals of ending the Colombian armed conflict and creating an anti-cocainestrategy. Critics of the initiative also claimed that elements within the Colombian security forces, which received aid and training from the U.S., were involved in supporting or tolerating abuses by right-wing paramilitary forces against left-wing guerrilla organizations and their sympathizers. Another controversial element of the anti-narcotic strategy is aerial fumigation toeradicate coca. This activity has come under fire because it damages legal crops and has adverse health effects upon those exposed to the herbicides. Original Plan Colombia The original version of Plan Colombia was officially unveiled by President Andres Pastrana in 1999. Pastrana had first proposed the idea of a possible Marshall Plan for Colombia during a speech at Bogotà ¡s Tequendama Hotel on June 8, 1998, nearly a week after the first round of that years presidential elections. Pastrana argued that: [Drug crops are] a social problem whose solution must pass through the solution to the armed conflictDeveloped countries should help us to implement some sort of Marshall Plan for Colombia, which will allow us to develop great investments in the social field, in order to offer our peasants different alternatives to the illicit crops.[2] After Pastrana was inaugurated, one of the names given to the initiative at this early stage was Plan for Colombias Peace, which President Pastrana defined as a set of alternative development projects which will channel the shared efforts of multilateral organizations and [foreign] governments towards Colombian society.[2] Pastranas Plan Colombia, as originally presented, did not focus on drug trafficking, military aid, or fumigation,[3] but instead emphasized the manual eradication of drug crops as a better alternative.[4] According to author Doug Stokes, one of the earlier versions of the plan called for an estimated 55 per cent military aid and 45 percent developmental aid.[5] During an August 3, 1998 meeting, President Pastrana and U.S. President Bill Clinton discussed the possibility of securing an increase in U.S. aid for counternarcotics projects, sustainable economic development, the protection of human rights, humanitarian aid, stimulating private investment, and joining other donors and international financial institutions to promote Colombias economic growth. Diplomatic contacts regarding this subject continued during the rest of the year and into 1999.[6] For President Pastrana, it became necessary to create an official document that specifically served to convene important U.S. aid, as well as that of other countries and international organizations by adequately addressing US concerns. The Colombian government also considered that it had to patch up a bilateral relationship that had heavily deteriorated during the previous administration of President Ernesto Samper (1994–1998). According to Pastrana, Under Secretary of State Thomas R. Pickering eventually suggested that, initially, the U.S. could be able to commit to providing aid over a three year period, as opposed to continuing with separate yearly packages.[7] As a result of these contacts, US input was extensive, and meant that Plan Colombias first formal draft was originally written in English, not Spanish, and a Spanish version was not available until months after a revised English version was already in place.[8] Critics and observers have referred to the differences between the earliest versions of Plan Colombia and later drafts. Originally, the focus was on achieving peace and ending violence, within the context of the ongoing peace talks that Pastranas government was then holding with the FARC guerrillas, following the principle that the countrys violence had deep roots in the economic exclusion andinequality and poverty. The final version of Plan Colombia was seen as considerably different, since its main focuses would deal with drug trafficking and strengthening the military.[8] When this final version was debated on the U.S. Senate floor, Joseph Biden spoke as a leading advocate of the more hardline strategy.[9] Ambassador Robert White stated: If you read the original Plan Colombia, not the one that was written in Washington but the original Plan Colombia, theres no mention of military drives against the FARC rebels. Quite the contrary. (President Pastrana) says the FARC is part of the history of Colombia and a historical phenomenon, he says, and they must be treated as Colombians[Colombians] come and ask for bread and you (America) give them stones.[10] In the final U.S. aid package, 78.12 percent of the funds for 2000 went to the Colombian military and police for counternarcotics and military operations. (See graph, below) President Pastrana admitted that most of the resulting US aid to Colombia was overwhelmingly focused on the military and on counternarcotics (68%), but argued that this was only some 17% of the total amount of estimated Plan Colombia aid. The rest, focusing mostly on social development, would be provided by international organizations, Europe, Japan, Canada, Latin America, and Colombia itself. In light of this, Pastrana considered that the Plan had been unfairly labeled as militarist by national and international critics that focused only on the US contribution.

Good Advice :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

Good Advice Good advice is different for everyone and is distinct each time you receive it. Sometimes I receive advice and don’t realize what it is until I actually need to apply it. This occurred in Andrea Kunze’s paper. Her dad had always warned her that boys were the devil and on her first day of school the advice he had been giving her all along suddenly could make sense. Some advice I’m given allows me to ponder over options I hadn’t thought of before. Other times who ever happens to be helping me envisions a solution that is a variation of what I had contemplated. This goes with the theory that two heads are better than one. The way I think differs from everyone else’s conceptions. When two people work on the same problem they’re able to come up with variations on how to solve it. By listening to what someone else has to say about a situation, they bring in an objective opinion that might shed a different angle of lightening on a possible solution. An example of this is when I had to make a model of the human heart out of clay for biology. I was trying to mold the outside of the heart while still showing the parts of the inside. My dad noticed me struggling on this project so taking it from me, he restructured it by cutting the heart in half so you could still see what the outside looked like on one side of the model whil e the other side showed what the heart looks like in the inside. Whenever I seek guidance I turn to my friends, parents, acquaintances, and teachers because I respect their judgment. Given a difficult decision to make, even though I know what their response will be, I still look to them for help. I search for their understanding to reinforce what I already know I need to do. It’s easier for me to make a decision because when I hear the same solution being said by someone else I know someone is behind me, supporting my choice even if I mess up. They can show me options that would work for my situation and they won’t try and mislead me by giving advise that could cause me to get hurt. Like Douglas Crane wrote, â€Å"The advisor doesn’t have secret plans to use the advise for their personal gain, the advisor had respect and in most/all cases, love for the advisee.

Identity and Belonging – Change Can Be Easy or Hard – Reference to Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

Throughout your life the process of ageing is constantly influencing your identity. As William Shakespeare wrote â€Å"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Our identity is forever changing and this is because we are forever ageing. Throughout out the three main stages of ageing – youth, middle age, elderly- we don’t just age physically, we age physiologically as well. Hence as we age we mature, become wiser and more aware of the world around us. As of this our views change from each stage of life, thus inflicting our identity to change. Although some people find this transition from one stage of life to the next to be difficult and dread upon its occurrences whereas others enjoy ageing and just take it as it comes. As a baby we have our identity created for us, they say â€Å"give me the boy at seven and I will give you the man† implying that until the age of seven a child is dependent on their very first social unit, that is family. It is the multiplicity and complexity of family that gives children real life experiences into human relationships and what teaches them morals and values which will always be a part of their identity, although as you age, and mature you become less dependent on your family and are able to venture out into the world. This usually happens around the age of adolescence. This is a time when adolescences have the world at their feet and they are â€Å"servants to their own dreams†. Many people enjoy this part of growing up as their bodies are at the peak, meaning they are able to push them to do whatever they want. They are less susceptible to illnesses and less likely to damage themselves; when they do the body’s ability to repair at that age is remarkable. Not only are they at the physically peak of their lives, they are usually at the social peak. Their social networks at this age are usually highly complex and turning 18 opens the doors to a once prohibited world full of new adventures and experiences, such as going clubbing, driving and being classed as an adult. However many adolescence’ find it hard to transition to adulthood as they no longer have the burdens of high school pressures and friends. This also creates problems for people who only have social networks that they have from school meaning when school is over they need to adapt to a new environment and become independent. This can be emotional and daunting for many youth. Middle age is a crisis for many people both men and women. It is a time when they have left the excitement and potential of their youth, instead they reflect back on where they have come from and often look with dread towards their older years, in Ray Lawyers Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll this period of time effects many characters negatively as they cannot accept they are aging and thus see change as a daunting factor. Roo, the ganger of a team of cane cutters, realises he is ageing when his back gives way and he is forced to step down as top dog. Since he was young he had been a cane cutter, that was his identity but because of his ageing body, his identity will change as he can no longer be a cane cutter, this not only affects Roo but also Olive. Olive has been in the group since it started seventeen summers ago and is reflecting on her life so far, remembering the times when Roo and Barney would come down South to see her and Nancy during the layoff. However since Nancy has left the group to go get married, Olive realises that she is turning 40 soon and is still clinging to her glory days. In order to keep her â€Å"youth† she has decorated the lounge room with the keepsake dolls to testify her persistence on keeping the group together and displaying her symbols of youth. With Olives obsession of keeping the group together revels a woman who cannot accept that she is getting older and who can adjust to the new era in her identity. For olive, the change of getting older is not physically but more physiological as she sees this change as losing her youth. Although middle age is not always negative for everyone. Although Nancy is the catalyst for the group’s breakdown, she realises that she can no longer act like a youth, as she did with Olive and the group and as such has accepted the fact that she is getting older, hence why she abandoned her friends to settle down and get married to start the next chapter in her life. Although many people believe it’s the best years of life as it is the only â€Å"time you really live as the young are slaves to dreams; the old are servants of regrets. Only the middle aged have all their 5 senses in the keeping of their wits. † The last period of life that has been categorised as â€Å"old age† and is now considered to be after 65. Some people choose to accept old age as a positive as they have lived their lives and are now in retirement. Many elderly people see being able to retire as being able to act like they are young again as they have completed the majority of lives responsibilities, such as rearing children and working for a living, this gives many the opportunity to travel and do what they desire but at a cost. Having lived for such a long time has taken a physical toll on the body, it is weaker and more frail then that of a youthful person, hence why some older people see old age as a negative. They feel as though they are stuck inside an â€Å"old carcass† and believe that â€Å"nature is cruel; tis jest to make old age look like a fool; (because) the body crumbles, grace and vigour depart† No matter what age you are there will always be a positive and a negative but regardless of this, age will always influence your identity as it changes your thoughts as you become wiser and more knowledgeable about the world around you. Throughout each age group you will have new realisations about the environment you live in and this will cause a physiological or physiological a change which influences your identity.

The Help Is A 2011 American Period Drama Film Directed By...

The Help is a 2011 American period drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor, based on Kathryn Stockett s 2009. â€Å"The film is about a young white woman, Eugenia Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights era in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. Eugenia is a journalist who decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.† (The Help, 2015) The film stars Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O Reilly, Chris Lowell, Sissy Spacek. The Help was produced by DreamWorks Pictures and was released by Touchstone Pictures, the film opened to positive reviews and became a success with a worldwide box office gross of $216 million. The Help has received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for Viola Davis, and Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Chastain and Octa via Spencer, with the latter winning the award. The film also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Pictures. In the review, â€Å"Life In The South, Through The Eyes Of The Help’, the critic said â€Å"I’d done a little weeping while reading Kathryn Stockett s lively — if brazenly string-pulling — 2009 novel about black maids and their white mistresses in the Deep South. Yet while my neighbor had used up her hankie supply by the end of the movie, I left dry-eyed andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Movie The Long Walk Home 1307 Words   |  6 PagesThe Help is a drama filled movie that portrays inequality, and racial discrimination faced by African American woman, in which Tate Taylor adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s novel and rewrote and directed in the year 2011. This film stereotypes the roles of African American women during this time in history and fails to focus on the crucial reality faced by black women as domestic workers. The Civil Rights movement was very effective for African Americans; however black women still are faced with theRead MoreCom pare And Contrast The Help And Remember The Titans1915 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"How do Boaz Yakin and Tate Taylor depict historical content to develop the theme of racism in Remember the Titans and The Help in similar and different ways?† Introduction Remember the Titans is a 2000 American sports film directed by Boaz Yakin, set in Alexandria, Virginia. The film is based on the true story in 1971 of African-American coach Herman Boone. Set in the time during segregation, he tries to integrate a racially divided school football team putting the fundamentals of footballs greatRead MoreThe Violence Of Racial Hate Crimes Against African Americans Essay1520 Words   |  7 Pagesagainst African Americans, because the violence in these hate crimes, both past and present, will help educate individuals about different racial perspectives on the claimed â€Å"unfair† or â€Å"unequal† treatment of the African American race compared to the treatment of whites in all aspects of society and life. In the United States, African Americans as a race haven been one of the main targets for violent racial and hate crimes. Racial violence and hate crimes against African Americans have been a partRead MoreThe Help Film Analysis Essay1686 Words   |  7 PagesHannah Struzynski Film/Documentary Analysis Paper: The Help ERS 100 Section 8 For my film/documentary analysis paper, I chose the movie The Help. This movie was actually originally a book written by Kathryn Stockett, but then in 2011, a screenplay was written and directed by Tate Taylor. I selected this film because it directly relates to some of the topics we talk about in class. Some of them being segregation and discrimination. In society today, segregation and discrimination play a huge roleRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Help 1550 Words   |  7 Pages Walt Disney Studio’s 2011 film, â€Å"The Help† is an adaption of Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name. The Help is an American drama film, and stars a powerhouse cast, with the leading roles played by Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, and Allison Janney. The film was both written and directed by Kathryn Stockett’s friend Tate Taylor, who was given the rights to the film before her book was even published. In 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi during the civil rights movementRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesmymanagementlab is an online assessment and preparation solution for courses in Principles of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY