Ethics and Abortion Essay Example for Free

Ethics and Abortion Essay Nicky was 18 when she started dating with James. They had unprotected premarital sex. After a few weeks, she found out that she was pregnant so she asked an advice from her doctor. She wasn’t ready for a baby yet. She still had her ambitions in life and she didn’t want to give up her social life. So she and James decided to abort the baby (Real Life: Abortion (Nickys Story), 2003). Yes, you read it right. In this time of one-night stands, premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies, abortion has become a common resort from responsibility. Abortion is the removal of an embryo or a POC (Product of Conception) from the uterus. Basically, there are two types of abortion: the spontaneous abortion and the induced abortion. Spontaneous abortion is the type that is caused by accident and/or by natural cases. It can also be caused by environmental factors. On the other hand, induced abortion is caused by human action. It is further categorized into therapeutic and elective. Therapeutic abortion is the act of removing the fetus from the uterus for reasons of safety and/or survival in the part of the mother, to preserve the mother’s health, to terminate pregnancy that would result in a child born with congenital disorders, and to selectively reduce the number of fetuses to lessen health risks regarding multiple pregnancies. Meanwhile, elective abortion is the kind of abortion performed for any other reason. There are two different but parallel theories regarding abortion—the consequential theory and the deontology theory. The consequential theory believes that an act is morally right if and only if it contributes to the common good(Williams, 1973. ). It outrightly supports abortion—may it be therapeutic or elective. In therapeutic abortion, if the mother life is at risk in having the pregnancy, then the consequential theory allows for such action. If having a baby destroys a person’s future career, then abortion is okay. Consequential theory denies that moral rightness depends solely on the anything other than the consequences (B. Hooker, 2000). Nonetheless, what makes this morally wrong is not the abortion itself but the consequences it may bring to the mother such as emotional trauma. Consequential theory ignores all morally relevant factors to the consequences as opposed to whatever the circumstances there may be(Mill, 1861). However, deontology theory asserts otherwise. Deontological ethics or duty-based ethics does not consider an act as good or evil per se but classifies the action as it is being performed or on the process of performing devoid of prejudice or pre-established ethical principles. It judges morality by evaluating the nature of the actions and the will of the person involved rather than what is achieved(Kay, 1997). It is also known as nonconsequentialism. Deontological judgment depends on the object or original nature of the act. It typically involves two important elements, prerogatives and constraints. Prerogatives deny that one should always choose the option with optimistic consequences and constraints place limitations on the actions that the person may do in order to bring about his own personal good. Thus, from the deontological parlance, abortion, because it takes away life, upsets nature’s way of creation, and denies the natural capacity of a woman to give birth, is objectively and intentionally malicious, although it could be justified in extreme cases which would merit for an exception. These two theories, in essence are different but somehow, they are compatible with each other. They do not really contradict each other, rather, they are analogous. Analogous theories are truly and essentially different but necessarily contradictory with each other in principle but they could have similar effects or conclusion per application that is why they are analogouspartly the same, partly different. In the present society, most women view abortion consequentially. They justify abortion by consequences it may cause. Let’s take Nicky’s situation as an example. Nicky believes that the abortion of their baby is right mainly because it was not yet the right time for them to have a baby. If she were to continue with her pregnancy, what would have happened? She would have lived a miserable lifenot having a job or a career and tied down with a baby. What if her boyfriend James left her? Could she find another man who would readily accept her despite her past? There were lots of things to be consideredschool, financial stability, and emotional stability. These and a lot more questions ran through Nicky’s mind before she decided to go with the abortion. Obviously, it is not easy to try to confuse one’s conscience. But if we look at it closely, it is a matter of rights. Women’s rights. Everybody makes mistakes. Nicky did a mistake by engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse with her boyfriend. Nevertheless, continuing the pregnancy could also be a mistake. Abortion, when we look at its consequences, is not a mistake. According to the Women’s Rights, â€Å"women have the right to bodily integrity and autonomy†. Whether or not the woman decides to resort to abortion of the fetus inside her body, it is her right to decide on that. Aside from that, women also have the right to parenthood and marriage. Women who have committed abortion should not be discriminated by the society. True, it is not such a nice image but hey, women are humans. Women have rights—equal rights—and dignity(2006, Human Rights Watch).

Has ASEAN Been Successful In Promoting Security Politics Essay

Has ASEAN Been Successful In Promoting Security Politics Essay ASEAN has been successful because its members have a very strong commitment to cooperation. Cooperation for the benefit of all and cooperation for the stability and peace of the region. This is a very importance hallmark of ASEAN Tun Abdullah bin Hj. Ahmad Badawi INTRODUCTION History of the Establishment of Asean 1. ASEAN officially declared its establishment on August 8, 1967  [1]  . So far ten countries have been a member of ASEAN which are Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia  [2]  . Establishment of the ASEAN is to create a new organization that will share a common vision in building the nation, reaffirm bilateral and multilateral relations as a way of solving regional tensions.  Establishment of the ASEAN is based on the needs and interests with countries to generate regional security and cooperation between the countries involved.  Knowing that all the ASEAN countries have a similar background; it will be able to perform its role as a forum to be able to develop economic, social and regional stability. 2. For many years, Southeast Asia or ASEAN countries also had witnessed the competition of major powers in their quest to either establish military bases or influence in the region. Countries like United States, Soviet Union, China, Japan and India were taking over the dominance of faded powers of British, France and the Dutch in this area. Besides the intervention of major powers, the Southeast Asia nation also faced their own regional issues. The security problems became even worse with the domestic problems faced by most of the countries in the region. Revolutions, subversion, secession struggles, military coup, terrorism and communist threat were some forms domestic problems faced by the nations which became a hindrance factors for these nations to develop smoothly. Though Thailand was the only country that did not experienced any form of colonization, yet it also faced some domestic problems and got entangled in the regional disputes. 3. This essay is to discuss whether ASEAN has substantially contributed to regional peace and stability in South East Asia and does the assiociation represent a long term alternative to balance of power strategies, or a complement to such? Has ASEAN Substantially Contributed to Regional Peace and Stability in South East Asia? Regionalism Issues 4. The regionalism issue has becoming one of the hottest topics in the field of International Relations today. It was caused by the expanding global economy and political influence of a few powerful nations. The strategies of how the individual countries choose to form regional organisations, more importantly, the administration of the organisation will show how well the regional organization relates to the rest of the world. The success or failure of this regional relationship will greatly impact the future of the member nations and the degree to which they will ultimately become productive members of the global community. Referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) the nations of Southeast Asia (SEA) have chosen to ally themselves with one another so that the collective security and economic well being of the region may be stabilised and well developed. Strategic Stability 5. Strategic stability can be define as a condition where policy maker do not face unavoidable pressure to make sudden shift from non violent to violent strategies, in the process precipitating wars that they neither anticipate nor want. 6. Strategic stability influenced by: a. Geographical issues such as the contesting over access to resources like water and oil claims. b. Culture issues such as conflict in historical background between countries. c. Military Strategic Consideration. d. Domestic Political Pressure. Background of Internal Issues within the ASEAN Countries 7. Regional relations among ASEAN countries are in a satisfactory level with the various forms of cooperation among member countries.  With the creation of the ASEAN forum in 1967, member countries have been dealing with any problem with good and satisfactory.  However there are still some problems involving the member countries that have not successfully resolved.  There are among the problems that were refered to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to enable disputes resolved by a neutral body that was assigned to solve the problem in peace. Bilateral problems are said to challenge the ability and immunities of the family relationship between ASEAN member countries where most issues or conflicts are remnants of ancient history.  Apart from that, the internal problem of ASEAN is also expected to be one cause of threat to internal stability and also has a tendency to spread out from their respective national borders. There were many problems among ASEAN members,  howev er for the purpose of this essay; I will highlight a few problems that are considered as big issue such as borders conflict, the issue of organized transnational crime and arms race. Borders Conflict Issues 8. Malaysia and Thailand.This border conflict has long existed since immemorial time.  Since 1824 until 1851, states in the north and the east coast of Malaya like Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah were under the rule of the Siamese.  However in 1904, under the Treaty of the Anglo-Siamese, Siamese Government has given the authorities of protection, administration and control over these four states to the British.  Together with the treaty is the Treaty Protocol that describes a new border between Siam and the British in Malaya at that time  [3]  .  However, problems still exist that the actual demarcation of the border between Malaysia and Thailand where it is still not have a solution, especially in Kelantan border area involving Golok.  It is afraid that this situation may cause problems in future when land development to be implemented in the area, especially near the river. 9. The other major issue that occurred at the border are activities of Separator Islamic guerrilla movement in southern Thailand, especially in the Pattani and Narathiwat.  These groups consist of a Patani United Liberation Organition (PULO), Pattani Liberation National Front (BNPP) and National Revolution Front (BRN).  PULO believed to receive financial assistance from the military and radical Arab regime in Syria and Libya.  PULO reportedly established cooperation with the BNPP which is one of the oldest Muslim separatist groups but have a lack of influence.  BNPP which is the Islam konsevatif group reportedly has close relationship with the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) which is currently ruled Kelantan at the east coast of Malaysia.  BNPP influence has decreased since the death of Naser Tunku Yala in 1977.  This is all due to loss of spiritual leadership for 30 years before and the defeat of PAS in Kelantan during the elections in 1978.  After that the group has bee n operating in the area of Ban Panare, Pattani under the new leadership who is Badri Hamdan the university graduates from West Asia and Samsudin Abdul Ghani from Egypt  [4]  .  Thailand Government leaders often do not feel satisfied with the support of the Kelantanese to the Patani people at that time.   10. Military Cooperation. Various efforts have been established in order to overcome and reduce the tension for example by enhancing the military cooperation between both countries.  Among the efforts that have been and are being implemented are as follows: a. Border Patrol.   A form of border cooperation has been established since 1979.  As a result of the declaration of borders cooperation, joint border patrol between the Malaysia and Thailand army has been held until now. This has reduced tension on the border conflict between the two countries.  In addition, this operation also helps in restraining the activities of the rebellion group from spreading to the Malaysian border.  This cooperation has also brought much success to curb smuggling of people, goods and illegal border crossing activities.  As a result, this bilateral cooperation has increased the mutual trust between the two countries. b. Joint Training. Among the training that have been and are being held continouesly are collective military training, individual training and seminars.  Military training as Exercise THAMAL between Malaysia/ Thailand organize every year in order to reduce the tension in border conflict.  Through the training it is also hope that they will be a deep understanding regarding the bilateral military cooperation between both countries. c. Meeting The Highest Military Leaders. Visits and conference between the higher levels of leadership from both Ministry of Defense always conducted every year. This approach has contribute to closer relationship, mutual understanding and respect between each other.   Any sensitive issues can be solved together wisely to avoid any military action. In the 24th High Level Committee Malaysia- Thailand both the military leader agreed that criminal and illegal activities in border area have been decreased  [5]  . On 9 Dec 2009 Prime Minister of Malaysia as request by the Prime Minister of Thailand has made a joint visit to the unstable region in southern Thailand.  The purpose of the visit is to win the heart and mind of the people in that area.   This effort shows how ASEAN countries are concerned about bilateral cooperation in solving problems between countries in the region as well as to increase the trust between each others  [6]  . 11. Malaysia and Indonesia. Boundary problem between Malaysia and Indonesia exists only in East Malaysia, covering Sabah and Sarawak. A very long border between Sabah, Sarawak and Indonesia is very difficult to be mark.  The thick forests and a lot of mountains make it difficult to be entered by anyone and become a big challenge for the border surveyors from both countries. As a result of the absence of stone boundary that separates between Sabah and Sarawak to Kalimantan has allowed the entry of illegal immigrants from Indonesia to Malaysia without any problems as well as the smuggling activities. 12. All these illegal activities become a very sensitive issue discussed in the Malaysia-Indonesia Boundary Committee and affected the relationship between both countries. Less enforcement by the Indonesian authorities has lead to the increasingly smuggling and illegal logging activities. Stealing of the logging equipments such as bulldozers of the Malaysian workers by the Indonesian has become a normal phenomena for them without thinking about their actions could cause conflict between the two countries.  All these illegal activities will continue as long as the boundary problem is not resolved. 13. Thai and Cambodia. Issue between the two countries are at the boundary of Range Dang Reo. Inaccuracies in the marking of the border along Reo Dang River between 1905 and 1917 have caused disputes between Thailand and Cambodia in 1958. This argument is due to the Angkor Wat Temple Preah Vihear, located at the border between the two countries. The conflict arised because of the different border area from the map that produced by the France and the one that with the Cambodian. Thailand which has occupied the area since 1945 refused to give any response raised by the French and Cambodia about the border. Thailand has insisted that the map prepared by one parties only and are not published. Finally in 1962, it has been successfully resolved by the ICJ and Cambodia won the case  [7]  .   14. However, the conflicts between the two countries flared again in 2008 involving both military forces which at first caused at least two Cambodian soldiers died and wounded seven Thais soldiers. This issue arised when Cambodia applied to UNESCO for Preah Vihear Temple to be list in UNESCO World Heritage List  [8]  . Organised Transnational Crime 15. The concept of transnational crime actually took place more than a quarter century ago. Transnational organized crime has become a big issue in the international arena  [9]  .  Transnational means the movement of the information, money, physical goods, people or things that are visible or not visible across state boundaries when at least one actor involved in the non-governmental movement  [10]  .  According to the UN Secretariat, transnational crime has been defined as offences whose inception, prevention and / or direct or indirect effects involved more than one country  [11]  .  When we talk about the concept of `Transnational Crime, it is a criminal activity or activities undertaken by a planned crime organisation which lead to a criminal ofences of two or more countries  [12]  . Transnational Crime or Organized Crime involves many crimes activities; that occur around the world that ASEAN countries are also cannot escape from being drawn into the same a ctivity. The activities have been occurring from time to time without any signs of activity undertaken to decrease. It involves criminal activity quite popular such as smuggling of goods, drugs, weapons and human beings. Those who commit criminal activities are growing increasingly clever and brave to carry out criminal activities.  Economic recovery among ASEAN countries after the economic crisis from 1996 to 1998 was greatly influenced this activity and has helped expand transnational crime all over Southeast Asia. In 1994, the UN Secretariat has identified 18 categories of transnational crime in the world  [13]  which of the major transnational criminal activities that hit ASEAN countries are smuggling goods, drugs and people.   16. Drug Smuggling. Drug trafficking business becomes a challenge to the economy growth within ASEAN country. It is not only a major source of Centre of Money Lender but also lead to the cause of war, murder and others criminal offences  [14]  . This illegal activity is very difficult to be contain totally even though various method such as strict checks at all border entry point implemented in ASEAN country. Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia known as the `Golden Triangle is a nest of the largest drug producer in the region. Based on the studies conducted by U.S. government found that Myanmar still remains the largest opium producer in the world  [15]  with production rate said to increase by 9 percent in the mid-1990s. Not less than 2,560 tons of opium has been produced by the country  [16]  . Therefore, it is difficult to eliminate drug trafficking activities as long as the situation continues.   17. Human Trafficking. Human smuggling crimes have become a very popular activity since a long time where it deals with a lot of money. According to the study conducted by `Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, it was estimated that 4 million people each year have been smuggled across the world  [17]  .  International associations paying less attention to the efforts of monitoring individuals to enter the country illegally compare with the group smuggling activities  [18]  . Countries that have a strong economic position, such as Malaysia and Singapore become a major destination for human smuggling activities. The smuggling agents willing to faced high risks to do the activities because they can get payment between RM 2,000.00 to RM 4,800.00 per person  [19]  . 18. Smuggling Goods. ASEAN countries can be seen in two contacts; the countries that have high income rates for example Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore and countries that have low income rates for example Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. The goods in high income rates countries are more expensive than the countries that have low incomes rates. This factor has encouraged smugglers to take high risks in smuggling activities. The smuggling activities of cars from Malaysia to Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia have been successfully reduced not long ago. The smuggling of cigarettes from Indonesia still exists because of the high demand. Clove cigarettes worth million of dollars was confiscated by the customs of Malaysia in 1998 (Table 1)  [20]  . Ser Month Total Cases Quantity Price (RM) Tax (RM) 1. January 4 909.11 kg 215,660.00 578,510.20 2. February 4 9,558.2 kg 569,680.00 1,857,984.04 3. March 9 2,749.115 kg 210,013.65 545,082.69 4. April 2 1,690.44 kg 17,756.00 16,167.10 5. May 2 209.52 kg 12,060.00 14,489.73 6. June 3 3,865.95 kg 273,920.00 761,315.77 7. July 4 7,057.2 kg 463,320.00 1,377,921.19 8. August 8 3,452.27 kg 226,514.00 766,095.15 9. September 6 9,884.83 kg 704,920.00 1,947,847.13 10. October 11 3,619.82 kg 225,598.00 698,551.63 11. November 11 4,667.88 kg 276,490.00 1,008,555.98 12. December 13 5,816.61 kg 386,510.00 1,407,840.77 Total 77 53,480.95 3,582,441.65 10,980,361.38 Table 1: Cigarettes Confiscated by the Customs of Malaysia in 1998 19. Arms Race Issues. Are there any arms race issues within ASEAN countries? According to Colin Gray, there are four basic conditions to be considered as arms race which are: a. There must be two or more parties, conscious of their antagonism. b. They must structure their armed forces with attention to the probable effectiveness of the forces in combat with, or as a deterrent to, the other arms race participants. c. They must compete in term of quantity and quality. d. There must be rapid increases in quantity and/or improvements in quality  [21]  . 20. The momentum of military build up among the ASEAN countries increased in the 1980s and 1990s, however since the financial crisis in 1997 the force modernisation has slowing down  [22]  except for Singapore that has less affected in the crisis and continued its military build up. A few reason of why the process of equisition of military equipment within ASEAN country still continueing eventhough in a slow manner is because of to protect economic resources, requirement for EEZ surveillance and protection, inter state tension in the region, internal security caused by the terrorism threat for example after the Sep 11 incident in US and conflict between Thailand Government and the rebellions from the southern part of the state. Based on the study,  [23]  it is identified that non of the process of military modernisation comply with the conditions stated by Colin Gray. There is no ASEAN country that has a really serious conflict between one another. The border crisis between T hailand and Cambodia which flared in 2008 anyway still can be resolved where both countries still concern the importance of the relationship between ASEAN countries. Force modernisation in Southeast Asia can be considered as arms build-up rather than arms race. Does the Assiociation Represent a Long Term Alternative to Balance Of Power Strategies, or a Complement to Such? 21. For this question I will highlight the platform that has been established by ASEAN such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and East Asia Summit (EAS) and the external cooperation between ASEAN and major power outside the region. 22. Establishment of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). ASEAN countries agreed with the iniative to establish ARF in the 26th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Post Ministerial Conference which were held on 23 to 25 July 1993. Then the inaugural meeting held in Bangkok on July 1994. The objectives of ARF are: a. To fster constructive dialougue and consultation on political and security ssues of common interest and concern. b. To make significant contributions to effort towards confidence building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia Pacific region  [24]  . The current importance members of ARF are US, China, India, Japan, European Union and Republic of Korea. To build confidence and the capability to cooperate, the ARF also conducts such cooperative multilateral activities such as observation of military exercises, exchanges between defence colleges, joint training and exercises in search-and-rescue and disaster relief, and the maintenance of a registry of conventional arms. Latest in the 16th ARF that has been conducted in Thailand on 23 July 2009 has come out with a vision statement for ARF by 2020 which focus on to building a region of peace, friendship and prosperity. In year 2009 also, ARF has conducted a lot of conference, dialogue and seminar regarding national threat such as terrorism and transnational crime, maritime security and law and regulation on the participation in International Disaster Relief. In promoting mutual assurance, the ARF has proven its value in three stages evolution from confidence building, preventive dip lomacy and for the longer term is the approaches to conflict resolution. 23. The Establishment of East Asia Summit (EAS). The first EAS was held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 Dec 2005. The members of the EAS are the ten of ASEAN countries, Australia, Peoples Republic of China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea ad New Zealand. EAS was held as part of the overall ASEAN meeting  [25]  . In the first meeting, the discussion emphasized more towards on developing communication among the members and based on the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the EAS indicated that it will be a forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest and concern and with the aim similar to the ARF which is to promote peace, stability and economic prosperity in EAST Asia  [26]  . It was also stated in the Kuala Lumpur declaration that EAS will be an open, inclusive, transparent and outward-looking forum to strengthen global norms and universal recognized values with ASEAN as the driving force  [27]  . Since the establishment in 2005 till 2009 most of the discussion focus on desease prevention such as avian influenza issue and energy security issue which focus more towards the environment and health problems. Latest in 28th Aug 2008 the AEM+6 has been launch and then established the Economic Reasearch Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) which the purpose of establishment was to identified the best way of economic integration, narrowing development gaps between members and how the energy development can sustain for long term  [28]  . External Cooperation between ASEAN and Major Power Outside the Region 24. ASEAN and Japan. ASEAN and Japan first established informal relations in 1973. The ties were later formalised with the establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Forum in March 1977. Since then, the ASEAN-Japan Forum has met once every 18-24 months. In early August 1977, the Japanese Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Takeo Fukuda met with the ASEAN Heads of Government at the Second ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The Japanese Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Noboru Takeshita met with his ASEAN counterparts in Manila during the Third ASEAN Summit in December 1987. At the meeting, ASEAN and Japan announced a new partnership toward peace and prosperity. Japan has been ASEANs top trading partner for many years. In 1993, two-way trade between Japan and ASEAN amounted to nearly US$87 billion and in 1996, it rose to US$109.0 billion, representing nearly 21% of ASEANs total external trade. On the other hand, Japans trade with ASEAN accounted for about 15% of her total external trade. A unique feature of ASEAN-Japan co operation is the ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism in Tokyo. The Centre was set up in 1981 under the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism between ASEAN Member Countries and Japan. It is jointly funded by contributions from Japan and ASEAN Member Countries. In January 2002, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiru Koizumi visited a number of ASEAN countries and proposed several new initiatives for cooperation.   These include the designation of 2003 as the Year of ASEAN-Japan Exchange, reinforced cooperation in education and HRD, solidifying the security relations between Japan and ASEAN, the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEP), and the Initiative for Development in East Asia:   IDEA.   Consultations to carry out these initiatives are proceeding. The recent establishment of the Japan-ASEAN General Exchange Fund (JAGEF) has generated a number of cooperation activities in support of greater ASEAN integration.   ASEAN and United States. After the demise of the Cold War, though in a reduced scale, increased US economic interests in the region is an important factor for her in maintaining its military presence in the region. The US presence in the region can become a stabilizing factor only if its military presence can be retained and its economic and political presence is accepted.  [29]  The US participates in a series of consultative meetings with ASEAN which includes the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) 9+1 and 9+10, the ASEAN Economic Minister-US Trade Representatives (AEM-USTR), the Senior Economic Officials Meeting-US Trade Representatives (SEOM-USTR), the ASEAN-US Dialogue Meeting, the Joint Planning Committee(JPC) Meeting and the ASEAN-US Business Council. The ASEAN-Washington Committee also assist in conducting and maintaining the dialogue with the US. The ASEAN-US Dialogue has also focused more and more on political and security discussions over the years, particularly with the end of the Cold War. The principle focus of the ASEAN-US security dialogue has been the role of the US in maintaining stability in the region. ASEAN and the US have signed a Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism on 1 August 2002 in Bandar Seri Begawan. ASEAN and China. Until the 1980s China had largely neglected its claims, preoccupied with more pressing defence demands and lacking in any case the military resources to intervene in the area. As a result, during much of the Cold War, the massive expanse of the South China Sea acted as a sort of buffer zone between ASEAN and China, largely preventing direct contact between their respective forces. At present, all the countries concerned investing heavily in forces to defend their claims, in some cases encouraged by the Law of the Sea, and with growing speculation as to the value of the resources contained in the area, the South China Sea has been transformed into a zone of contention and possible conflict.  [30]   Singapores Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew warned that unless this issue is resolved in a sensitive way, the present friendly relations between ASEAN and China could revert to the awkward relations of the decade when China supported guerrilla insurgencies in many ASEAN countries.  [31]  In July 1996, China was accorded full Dialogue Partner status at the 29th AMM in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Chinese Vice Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Mr. Qian Qichen attended the meeting as a representative of a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN for the first time.It is hoped that the new generation of leaders in China will allow a more open and pluralistic system to develop and, thus, will enable China to become an integral part of the international community of nations. As a major power in the Asia-Pacific region that possesses nuclear weapons and has adopted a non-aligned posture, China has a unique and important position in regional efforts to promote regional stability. It has become extre mely active and more positive in regional multi-lateral institutions, such as the ARF, CSCAP and the ISIS Roundtable on Peace and Security in the Asia-Pacific for the past years. For ASEAN, this is a welcome development and hopefully the US would see it in the same way although a nuance may remain on the objectives of those regional institutions in

The Caracter of Meursault in The Stranger (The Outsider) Essay

The Caracter of Meursault in The Stranger      Ã‚   Albert Camus' The Stranger is a startling novel at worst and a haunting classic at best. Camus presents a thrilling story of a man devoid of emotion, even regarding the most sensitive, personal matters. The main character, Meursault shows no feelings after the death of his mother, during his romantic relationship with Marie, or during his trial for the murder of an Arab. Meursault never shows feelings of love, regret, remorse, or sadness. It takes a great amount of skill to portray such a seemingly inhuman character as someone who is complex and multi-faceted like Meursault is.    Camus shows a definite sense of audience in this book. His language and phrasing shows that he has aimed the book towards an older crowd, one that would understand the message he wants to portray. Even when the language is written in a simple tone, it still seems aimed at an older audience:    Fumbling a little with my words and realizing how ridiculous I sounded, I blurted out that it was because of the sun. People laughed. My lawyer threw up his hands, and immediately after that he was given the floor (103).    The subject matter itself is certainly aimed towards an adult audience. Some topics include sex, murder, death of a family member, and domestic abuse. Religion, or lack thereof, is a topic heavily discussed during Meursault's trial for murder. Meursault is a self-professed atheist, and there are numerous conversations between the main character and others he interacts with on this topic.    The author is an important part of The Stranger. Camus developed his theory of the absurd - the idea that life has no rational meaning - during World War II. ... ... Compare sentences from the first half of the novel to the second half:    "As soon as he saw me, he sat up a little and put his hand in his pocket" (58). "Especially when the emptiness of a man's heart becomes, as we find it has in this man, an abyss threatening to swallow up society" (101).    The first sentence has less detail and feeling to it; the second example seems to have more emotion and feeling in its structure    In conclusion, all of these elements help to make The Stranger a classic tale of murder and the absurd. Camus' treatment of Meursault's tormented world, where everything makes sense to only him is an ingenious way of looking at the sheer monotony and almost redundant tendencies of life in general.       Work Cited: Camus, Albert. The Stranger, trans. Mathew Ward. New York: Random House, Inc., 1988.

Characterization in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goo

  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay will demonstrate the types of characters present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.    R. W. B. Lewis in â€Å"The Return into Rime: Hawthorne† states: â€Å"†¦ there is always more to the world in which Hawthorne’s characters move than any one of them can see at a glance† (77). This is especially true with such flat or two-dimensional characters as are generally found in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† These type characters are built on a â€Å"single idea or quality† and are presented without much â€Å"individualizing detail† (Abrams 33). Faith, of course, represents or symbolizes the theological virtue of faith; Goody Cloyse, as a catechism teacher, represents â€Å"goodness†; the unnamed fellow-traveller in the woods is symbolic of â€Å"evil.† Q. D. Leavis explains this symbolic use of characters: â€Å"The first batch of works I specified [including ‘Young Goodman Brown’] is essentially dramatic, its use of language is poetic, and it is symbolic, and richly so, as is the dramatic poet’ s. . . Where the â€Å"symbol† is the thing itself, with no separable paraphrasable meaning as in an allegory: the language is directly evocative (27).    The flat character Faith is not developed like her husband; her dialogue is restricted to the opening few paragraphs. She speaks only four sentences in the entire story:    "Dearest heart," whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, "pr'ythee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed tonight. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she's afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husb... ...ng Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html    Kaul, A.N. â€Å"Introduction.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Leavis, Q.D. â€Å"Hawthorne as Poet.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Lewis, R. W. B. â€Å"The Return into Time: Hawthorne.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Swisher, Clarice. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.

Go Ask Alice Essay -- essays research papers

Go Ask Alice, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteen-year-old drug user. The author, through this book, doesn’t wants his readers to look for advise in it, but to learn about the real world in which some teenagers have to live through. Alice, the main character, made the worst mistake ever and radically changed her life around to fit in with the crowd . She is soon exposed to drugs, sex and violence. It is a battle that Alice can win, but sometimes as much as you want something, the environment around you can pull you back. The author emphasizes the fact that you should never trust anyone, not even your own shadow. You never know what life has prepared for you, and sometimes it’s not always the best. The fact that someone is your friend doesn’t mean they can’t become your enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book mainly takes place in Chicago, during the 60’s era. Alice is a young teenager who lives a normal life and has a good up-bringing. Her family gives her all the support to succeed and is always there for her. She loves boys, wearing nice clothes, and basically being your average everyday girl. As she moved into a new town, she began making new friends and one of those was Jan. She looks like a nice and popular girl. Jan has a way of influencing others into new trends and Alice is so excited to be accepted by her popular crowd, that she begins spicing up her lifestyle. Chris is another one of her new friend an...

Human Cloning

Ashley Brackett Biology Ms. Lecco Block 1A Human Cloning: Helpful or Harmful? Human cloning, which was once thought of as the witchcraft involved in fictional stories, is a true thing in the real world. Human cloning involves replicating DNA of one organism into another one (Human Cloning). The controversial topic of cloning is seen by citizens that it could be beneficial for all humans, but by many people it is conceived as immoral and unsafe. Human cloning should not be allowed because the health risks involved, its depraved background, and errors that could occur during the cloning process.Cloning is potentially very dangerous to the clone being formed. For example, in mammalian cloning, at least 95% mammal experimental clones have had miscarriages, stillbirths, and life-threatening anomalies (Reproductive Cloning Arguments). No clones are perfectly healthy and will clearly have difficulty during pregnancies. Pregnancy problems will affect the clone and its child. Also, cloning ca n lead to birth defects to the clones themselves as well (Health Risks). Since clones are scientifically made, their organs are enlarged which is the most common reason for birth defects.Clones are also likely to experience an early death due to their weaker immune system (Health Risks). Clones will experience death possible before normally developed human. Health problems and early death is what makes human cloning unsafe. Along with all the health risks, human cloning is also immoral to a great amount of the populace. Clones are formed because of a nuclear donor and as a result, a clone will never be able to be its own self (Reproductive Cloning Arguments). This will affect a clone’s social development. Making an exact copy of someone is not morally right.Cloning could diminish the sense of uniqueness among human beings (Reproductive Cloning Arguments). People are supposed to have their own personality and physical features. Being an individual is ethical. As well as destro ying a sense of individuality, cloning also would fosters a person’s idea of a human being by how it’s made to how it looks (Reproductive Cloning Arguments). There will be a specific look that all people will believe is perfection. This forms unrealistic images in young children’s minds and also takes away self appreciation.Cloning is immortal and should not be used to create a human being. Cloning is now as an experiment and it is not always perfect. In cloning, many mistakes are made. The most common mistake is DNA imprinting (Health Risks). Improper imprinting on an embryo can lead to organ abnormalities. Because cloning can possibly have errors, a clone is never going to be what it is meant to be which is a copy of a person. Human cloning will never be just right. Human cloning is extremely hazardous, unethical, and can result in many errors. It posts many dangers and makes citizens lose sight of individuality.For these reasons, human cloning should not be a llowed in the United States. Work Cited â€Å"Human Cloning. †Ã‚  Buzzle. N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. . Pandey, Kundan. â€Å"Health Risks of Cloning. †Ã‚  Buzzle. N. p. , 16 June 2011. Web. 15     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Reproductive Cloning Arguments Pros and Cons. †Ã‚  Genetics and Society. Center for     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Genetics and Society, 15 May 2006. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. .

Cause and effect early pregnancy Essay

Early Pregnancy is one of the problems in today’s society. Many teenagers today don’t know how big responsibility to raise a child when they are young too. Becoming a parent is a big responsibility that should give priority, but how can teenagers can handle this big responsibility if she was too young too? To raise a child involves a lot of patient and sacrifices which lot teens don’t have. The risk of pregnancy among teenagers is largely increasing. Some teenagers who get pregnant early may experience anxiety, depression and other emotional problem. We know that teenager’s ages of 15-19 are still young so emotion and other feelings of being teenagers might occur. Some of the causes of early pregnancy among teenagers are lack of education especially sexual education, poverty, undergraduate, or problem with their family. Lack of Education among teenagers should be given priority; I am agreeing that sexual education should be learned in school. To aware them from the effect that may occur. Problem with family is another issue, some of the teenagers are not provided with their own family, and most of the teenagers get rebelled. These are some of the cause why they are so many teenagers’ gets pregnant early, which I think the government should look in to it. Government should look forward on how to resolve this issue. Teenagers should be educated with this kind of problem, especially those teenagers who are already sexually active. If the Government should not give chances to these issues, teenage pregnancy will increase rapidly. This can cause a lot of endless problems in the life of the teen and the newborn child. There are a lot of things that can cause an unplanned teen pregnancy, such as teens experimenting with sexual encounters at a young age. Another major cause is the lack of guidance due to guardians that are blind or do not want to believe in such activities. These causes can have devastating effects on the teen and the newborn in the household. Some effects of early pregnancy will include an unexpected rise of responsibility for the teen and can cause many health concerns for both teen and newborn child. Teens experimenting are the leading cause in the unplanned pregnancies. As a teenager in high school ages there are a lot of peer pressures. Such as experimenting with alcohol and unprotected sexual intercourse. Drinking and the use of narcotics also largely have an impact on the judgment of the teen before the pre-pregnancy comes about. Experimenting can cause many effects on the teen and the relationships at hand, including the relationships with the baby’s mom or dad and also the parents of the teens. Another way of experimenting is the pregnancy caused in the sequel of either a long-time dating of the boyfriend or the other case of those random one night stands or hook-ups. Experimenting can be well avoided which can cause less of a chance of the unplanned pregnancy. Another very important concern for preventing teen pregnancy is having a good guidance throughout the teenager’s teen years. The guardians of the teens play a crucial role in guiding the teen to making the right choices in his/her life. The teenager then is faced with obstacles that would normally happen to a 20-30 year old woman. Not having the proper guidance will cause the teen to find the alternatives. For example, finding someone to be with to be cared for by in replace of a strong guidance, by the guardians in the teenager’s life. For not having the proper guidance the teenager has a higher chance of dropping out or failing out of a school, such as being a high school dropout to have time to give birth and time to raise the young child. So by becoming pregnant at a young age and not finishing your education. It definitely doesn’t sound like too much fun, now does it? The guidance in life is the most important thing throughout so this can be less of an issue. It is then caused, in effect, to put a lot of responsibility in the teenager’s life once they find out that they are pregnant. There is 100% more responsibility in the teenager’s life. The early responsibility causes changes the teenagers overall personality. Going from being in school full time getting your education to having the responsibility to bringing a child into the world, then being alone able to possibly finish your high school education. Finishing your education in a regular 4 years of your high school years will be hard. Not even to mention the financial costs it has to have a newborn. What makes it hard is when you need money for the simple things for the child, but you don’t have the time to get a job because you’re nursing and getting ready to bring a child into the world. So as a teenager you need a support system so that a newborn is taken care of in the safest, best place for the child. A lot of this early responsibility can be unbearable for some teens, expesically the ones that choose to get pregnant while they are still in high school. With all of this going on in their lives it’s affecting the health risks and medical negatives a teenage pregnancy can cause. For example, there is an increased chance of mothers from ages 15-19 of birthing a child that is underweight at birth. A low birth weight will increase the chance of the newborn to have health risks. It is definitely not a great thing to have the chance of health risks in you or the child. Another way that the health problems can start is because teens might not have all the knowledge of proper behavior in knowing how to nurse the child or the proper ways during the growth of the child. Teenage adolescents tend to develop poor eating habits during pregnancy, they tend not to take the proper vitamins, and in the worst scenario the teen drinking and/ to doing drugs during the pregnancy. That is the worst that can be done; it will increase the chance greatly of the baby being born with some type of birth defect or a weak part of the baby. Now that can be t he worst you can possibly do to an unborn child. To wrap it all up, teen pregnancy is a major issue that should try to be prevented as much as it can. It causes countless, dodge able problems if the right choices are made and you have a good support system around you. It would be in the best advice to not take the chances to get pregnant as a teenager. It is not the age to get pregnant. Teens are not fully ready to become adults like the stress that follows during the pregnancy.