ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
In the time of war, the first casualty is truth. Boake Carter. There is perception and there is reality. Some thoughts pervade and some thoughts provoke. The image is affluent, contented, and serene. The reality is impoverished, malnourished, and bloody. And this reality is depressing. The world has been a witness and victim of wars and bloodshed for centuries and there has not been a stopping point. The recent spate of attacks and violence has made the situation all the more baffling. The duration of wars is unpredictable and the casualties unaccounted for. War is dehumanizing, ruthless, and cruel by definition. It is brutal and its consequences are not just physical devastation, but long-lasting social and psychological deformities. The world is inflicted with violence, be it the terrorist attacks carried out by fanatics in the name of jihad or airstrikes carried out by governments in the name of anti-terrorist missions. Whatever be the nature of violence, the ultimate consequence is the destruction of humanity. The perpetrators of war have nothing to lose. They exploit the innocent masses who are both the fighters and the fought, oblivious to the real motive of the mindless bloodshed. Wars and violence have triggered chain reactions. Once a terrorist strike happens, the government gears up to fight this terrorism the violent way, and terror strikes again. If history is replete with instances of terrorist attacks and the ensuing devastation, then there are a plethora of instances where the armed forces have tortured the common masses on the pretext of anti-terrorist operations. There are no saviors in war; only mortals who are trying to sort out ego clashes in the garb of economic superiority or a superpower status. Our ancestors fought for the sake of certain religious ideologies which had no real meaning in the life of a common man, but he got involved and affected. Such ghastly acts are being done today in the name of so many other ideologies and the victim and the vanquished is the common man again. Who says our society has become more sophisticated and civilized? The means might have changed, but the proposed end is the same, which is a big blow to humanity and tolerance. Be it a young soldier or a terrorist, see it through the eyes of a mother. She has lost a son in both cases. And both of them did not know why were they fighting. Imagine the plight of so many orphaned children who have been the victims of violence. And when this phenomenon strikes impoverished countries, the conditions deteriorate to a level that can neither be improved nor changed. As time goes by, the frequency of violent fervor is accelerating. Insensitivity and lack of wisdom are catalyzing its replication, intensity, and aftermath. The time is not far when the web of war would engulf us forever and barbarism would be an accepted norm. No one wants to lose a war, so losing morals is a convenient bargain!
Sicko is a documentary film produced by Michael Moore, who is an American filmmaker. The film mainly investigates issues of health care in the United States where it focuses on the pharmaceutical industry and health insurance. It compares the non-universal organizations in the United States which make profit with that of universal health care organisations which do not make profit and are based in the United Kingdom, Cuba, Canada and France. Moore was mainly dedicated to exposing social injustices and corruption in health care industry in the United States. He shed light on the issue by casting out those people who had been disappointed by the health care industry in the United States. Despite the fact that the documentary act as an entertainment, it is also very educative. In spite of raising staid questions about the United States Health Care System while emphasizing on its failures, one may be more entertained. The comical atmosphere in the film is intentional; majorly to expose the United States broken Health Care System while addressing critical issue without raving on like violent lunatic. Moore could have also introduced a comic atmosphere in the film to attract attention to enable people watch the film. It was a marketing strategy to enable him sale the film to earn some money from it (Dokoupil 98). However, despite what Moore’s personal reasons was, the film still managed to raise valid objectives and questions on unethical practices of insurance companies and broken system. Moore used anecdotes to demonstrate the predicament of 46 million Americans who suffered because they lacked the health insurance. The documentary begins with Moore narrating how he invites different citizens to share their horrific stories about the health care. This was before he filmed the movie. The narration took one week to complete and therefore opened a website for it which was inundated with more than 25000 mails (Holtz 120). This huge number gave most people the urge to want to hear what those who were interviewed said. Moore presented three cases in the first half of the documentary. The three represented the plight of 46 million people who suffered in America since they lacked health insurance. Sicko managed to bring to light how Americans are not able or are ignorant to fix their health care system while those in Europe are capable of solving and fixing their own health care problems. The film enabled people to see and realise encroachment of corporate influences and greed in health care in the United States. Those who are involved in health care politics and determining health care policies are corrupt since they have not fixed health care problems that affect a large population causing many people to suffer or even lose their lives or loved ones. The President Commission who are concerned with health care have fallen short of declaring all the needs for universal health care in America (Callenbach 110). Sicko was an eye opener to many Americans since it left many people to inquire what has prevented many political parties or forces from developing heath care reforms yet many people still suffer. They sho
Introduction This proverb reflects on and the challenges African Americans faced during the process of their integration into America. Over the years, this integration has resulted in a common course with other disparate ethnicities. They share different problems such as gender inequalities, among others. This paper will analyze three essays, Ain’t I a Woman by Truth, Witnes s by Dubus, and What Sacagawea means to me by Alexie, about the proverb. Discussion In Sacagawea’s story, we see America likened to Eden and Sacagawea to Eve. Sacagawea is a native of the U.S highly considered as the mother of Americans. This bears a correlation with America’s integration because of the country’s apparent continued colonization. From Sacagawea’s roots (half American and half Indian), it is clear that she is a result of integration. Numerous disparate cultures and peoples have come together to form present America, integrating through the years to their present status. The article recognizes the changes that occurred after the revolutionary wars in the U.S and gives its results in present-day America, also seen as the new Eden. In essence, people arrived in several ships, but now ride in a similar boat. This is because all have integrated through interaction, colonization, wars, and conflicts, to form a new nation, called America, working together for a common purpose (Alexie, p. 1). In Andre Dubus’s the Witness, we follow his story of an accident that occurred several years back, in 1996. This accident left him in a wheelchair, although the other victim died after only a few hours of the incident. He’s now old, with grown-ups who have spouses, and regularly picks his two daughters, Madeleine and Cadence from school to walk their dog, then moves them for dinner in his house and finally hosts a workshop for writers. Thursday is his busy day and he loves it although his feet hurt, he claims that folding them increases pain. He meets a woman, who has recently moved into their neighborhood and confirms to him about seeing the accident, the woman seems to be of another ethnicity from her description as brown haired. Dubus is left with much thought about what happened and wants to learn more about the incident. These people, from different places, have come together for the common purpose of resolving the incident, which has bothered Dubus for the past ten years. It shows that however different their origin is, they are in the same boat, and America works together despite their varied cultures (Dubus, p. 33). Finally in the story by Truth, Ain’t I a woman, she laments her status as a woman and the difference in life between the North and the South. She is dejected by the slavery held in the South and is concerned by the rights of women violated even by enslaved black men in the South. She notes that both Negros in the South and women (whites) in the North are in the same boat, fighting for their rights. During this period, women could not vote and were viewed as inferior to men. This is a sentiment shared by both black and w
People from different places in the world live according to standards, which the society dictates. Human beings start practicing the societal decrees at significantly tender ages. Consequently, people develop behaviors that are congruent with the traditional practices evident in a distinct society. Individuals and societies may become curious thus seeking to decipher how to shift from such traditional practices. Karl Marx in his book “the communist manifesto” presents a situation that explains the origin of the first world countries. Through this, he explains how established ideologies can be changed. An example is how proletarians contributed to the conversion of societies that practiced slavery, oppression and violence in the societies by enhancing good governance and thriving economy. In diverse areas in the world, societies follow a certain social arrangement. Dissimilar social classes, which garnered respect from their minors existed (Marx and Engels 22). However, he argues that with time, the issue of the social ranks was replaced by trade and industrialization. He affirms that proletarians resulted to more sensible groups or classes with fewer cases of slavery. The invention of America gave new routes for development. The availability of markets of India, American colonization and other colonies in the region resulted to effective trade. The growth of commodity exchange resulted to development of many states and countries. This affected how people conducted themselves and their social lifestyles changed as a result. Rousseau in his book “the social contract” has zeal in understanding how to achieve freedom in a civil society. While trying to understand what freedom refers to, he compares it with the physical freedom that human beings enjoy that has no constraints on their behavior. However, he argues that for us to enter in to this social contract, we must put restrictions on the way we behave so that it becomes possible to co-exist peacefully in the society. Therefore, we force ourselves to change our perception on some ideas and behaviors instilled since childhood. We sacrifice our physical freedom with civil freedom that makes us rational human beings. The civil freedom also helps develop morality therefore, doing away with some old behaviors and ideas. Karl Marx explains how transition from communism to socialism could change our behaviors and practices. In his writing, he explains how these two terms differ from each other. In a society where communism typifies
Introduction Cefalu (2014) believes “that 11 th September 2001 became a turning point in America’s war against terrorism” (p. 6). The United States was attacked by terrorists, thus forcing the government to identify new measures to protect every American citizen. The country’s effort to deal with terrorism has led to new policies and strategies. The important goal has been to improve the country’s security. New approaches have also been recommended in order to manage every unforeseeable emergency situation. Government agencies monitor the strategies undertaken by different schools and communities in order to deal with terrorism. This paper, therefore, focuses on the major safety reforms adopted by global universities as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Building Institutional Capacity Campus Emergency Management Teams Several reforms have been implemented in an attempt to develop better safety and emergency policies. The first approach has been to have a powerful Disaster Management Plan (DMP) in every university and college. Institutional capacity has been achieved by establishing an expert Campus Emergency Management Team (CEMT). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designs powerful programs that can be used in different learning institutions. The programs are usually aimed at equipping members of the Campus Emergency Management Team with appropriate skills (Kangabam & Kangabam, 2012). Participants acquire “new competencies in fire suppression, disaster medicine, disaster preparedness, team leadership, light search and rescue, and disaster psychology” (Cefalu, 2014, p. 19). The CEMT team is therefore encouraged to equip different learners and members of staff with appropriate disaster management skills. The team should also be ready to respond to various security threats. The members of the team use the above competencies to support different students whenever there is an attack. Similar teams have been established in different campuses and learning institutions across the globe. Such teams respond to a wide range of disasters. The main purpose of such CEMTs is to implement various lifesaving strategies and actions whenever there is a disaster. This role “is critical because it supports the needs of many victims until professional rescuers arrive on the targeted scene” (Guerdan, 2010, p. 35). Such expert CEMTs have been able to address various disasters in different parts of the world. The use of these teams has made it easier for many leaders to make their campuses secure. The teams have promoted the required institutional capacities, thus making more colleges secure. For example, St. Mary’s College has “established a powerful All Hazards Emergency Response Plan in order to address the impact of an emergency on visitors, students, faculty, fac
De Litteris Colendis and General Capitulary of the Missi are the documents that demonstrate Charlemagne’s concern with spreading education and establishing Missi’s institution, royal messengers, who had to supervise various parts of the kingdom. As shown in the lecture, both these activities aimed to help Charlemagne establish and maintain his rule by ensuring his legitimacy in every part of his kingdom, which relates his strategy to that of other ancient rulers with several distinctions. For example, in De Litteris Colendis , it is evident that education is Charlemagne’s concern, but the reasons for this interest are quite complex. They do not seem to be limited to promoting instruction for the sake of enlightening the population and nurturing talent; they instead appear to be related to religious propaganda. Indeed, Charlemagne explicitly states that his people should “study earnestly so that you may be able more easily and more correctly to penetrate the mysteries of the divine Scriptures.” Crone mentions that religion has an enormous legitimization power, which is usually quite popular among large populations due to its ability to explain life. Charlemagne was not the first person to use this legitimization to demonstrate his right to rule, exemplified by the rulers previously discussed in the course. However, his attention to education implies that he was more resourceful than his predecessors in achieving this aim. Given that Charlemagne also made attempts at reforming the church (as stated in the lecture), this education could also be aimed at ensuring that the people were exposed to these reforms faster and more efficiently. As for Missi Dominici, which is translated in the lecture as the “messengers of the lord,” they were noble people engaged in multiple supervision activities in various parts of the kingdom. From General Capitulary of the Missi, it follows that they were expected to provide the “necessary care and discipline” that the “emperor” could not “give to all individually.” This care included paying attention to injustice and other complaints of the population. The Missi had the power to attempt to resolve on their own or in cooperation with local authorities. If they found that they could not do so, they were expected to report to the emperor. Charlemagne also specifically pointed out that he did not want his Missi to get involved in corruption: “The straight path of justice shall not be impeded by anyone on account of flattery or gifts from anyone, or on account of any relationship, or from fear of the powerful.” In other words, Missi were supposed to be loyal servants capable of extending Charlemagne’s power to every part of the kingdom. It should be pointed out that Charlemagne demonstrated the qualities of a thoughtful and responsible ruler since he appeared to be concerned with caring about the needs of the population; for example, the General Capitulary of the Missi contains remarks about the protection of vulnerable groups like widows and orphans. This point is not precisely in line with Crone’s description of preindustrial politics as the “politics of
The language of any country depends on some historical events which happened in the process of its establishing as a state. The brighter the history is, the richer the language becomes, absorbing all unique phenomena and facts that happened to a country. Canada is a state with a very bright history. Being inhabited with Indian tribes, this land then was affected by different European countries, which made a great influence on the development of the language culture of the country. It is clear how the English language was introduced. Colonizers from Britain brought it with them to a new land and guaranteed its penetration in the language of the native population. In the years of the colonial relationship with Great Britain, the English language had strengthened its positions. However, Canadian English presents itself as a strange mixture of Anglicisms, Americanisms, and Canadianisms. Loyalists immigrating from the USA to Canada had influenced culture greatly, introducing some new notions to the language. Canadianisms, at the same time, reflect the unique character of this language which had been developing almost isolated from its roots. Under these unusual conditions, Canadian English obtained its strange peculiarities. The frequency of usage of the words, representing these three groups was always in the sphere of interest of linguists, which had been trying to determine the dominating group. A great number of different questionnaires were created, and different layers of society were asked, starting with grownups and ending with children. However, the results are still double. Taking into account the fact of the geographical neighborhood of Canada and the USA, which is one of the biggest English speaking countries in the world, it should be clear that the USA has the greatest influence on Canadian English. That is why Canadian is closer to American than to British English. This difference can be seen in the usage of such Americanisms as chips, drugstore, fries, freight car, elevator instead of their British variants which are c risps, chemist, goods wagon, lift . However, there are some vocabulary differences in American and Canadian English. The most striking of them is the use of zed rather the zee for the last letter of the alphabet. There is one more Anglicanism which is widely used. It is the usage of the word tap instead of the faucet. There is also some difference in vocabulary within Canada, which can be explained by the influence which of one or another country had on this region in the past. The first of regional variations of the language is the usage of the words cottage and cabin . They both mean a small house in the countryside, though the first word is widely used in Nova Scotia and the second one in British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland. Another important regional variable is the word which describes a book of paper for making notes. The majority of people in Canada, especially in Ontario uses the word notebook. However, there is another word scribbler , which is widely used on Prince Edward Island and in Nova Scotia. The words exercise book and copybook also occur. In recent years an ove
Mount Pinatubo is said to have the largest eruption in the 1990’s. It is situated on the Philippine Island of Luzon. When it erupted, the volcano killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands. It also destroyed properties and crops that belonged to the people living around the mountain. Seismic experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had predicted its eruption in April 1991. The experts declared that the people living around the mountain were in danger and needed to be evacuated from the area. Evacuation started from the people living along the slopes of the mountain. They were followed by people living in the near lowlands of the mountain (Charles, 1996). The prediction of the eruption had been a success since they were able to evacuate the people around the mountain in good time. But they failed since they were not able to predict the coming of a storm that caused heavy rainfall. Had the experts predicted the storm, the whole Island could have been evacuated (Richard, V.F., and Grant, H., 1998). The lowland areas were not safe since the steaming mudflow found its way to the lowlands destroying properties, crops, killing people and animals. USAID came to their rescue and donated plastic materials that were used as temporary houses. There were also some donations of money that was used to fund the rehabilitation projects (Richard, V.F., and Grant, H., 1998). The victims faced a lot of challenges due to mismanagement of resources, thus making the campus to have inadequate facilities. There was an outbreak of diseases and children suffered. Sources provide that these days, most of the victims of Pinatubo eruption are still in camps due to lack of sufficient donors, USAID being their main donor (Cashman, K. V., and Cronin, S. J., 2008). Evacuation is one of the techniques used when there in a volcanic disaster. Before evacuation takes place, some measures need to be taken into consideration. For example, the affected people should have knowledge of where they are going to take refuge. Secondly, they should have an idea of the important things to carry. For instance, if one has pets, he should know where to keep them safe (Charles, 1996). The victims should also have the emergency kits just in case of any injuries. Also the victim should have a proper method to communicate with his family in case of any separation when evacuation is taking place. During the evacuation, the victims should be well instructed on the measures to take in order to avoid confusion that can cause panic. Crowd control is another technique used during the volcanic disaster. Crowd control is enhanced in so many ways. First, the victims need to be made aware of the likely disaster they may face (Haraldur, 19