Essay on Drug Policies

Suggestions to improve current drug policies

Introduction: Current efforts to fight drug abuse

Drug abuse has turned into one of the most acute problems of today. As a result, many countries have recognized the need to combat this problem and have joined their efforts to address the issue. An example is the EU Action Plan on Drugs (2000-2004) that was supposed to coordinate efforts of the member states on combating drug trafficking and use. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Europol Drugs Unit, later replaced through the European Police Office (Europol) were set up to help the bloc achieve better coordination in this area (EU Action Plan on Drugs).

Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on Drug Policies for You!

However, the evaluation of the results achieved through the implementation of this plan by the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), published in October 2004, shows that little was achieved of what was stated in the initial plan. The problem with the evaluation of the plan was the lack of coordination between the member states and use of different evaluation criteria when assessing the impact of the plan (ENCOD Bulletin).

In the US, the Office of National Drug Control Policy is an executive body that coordinates the work on combating drug trafficking. The US Department of Justice includes the Drug Enforcement Administration (DFA) that oversees the import of substances in the country (US Embassy in Mexico).

Suggestions on improvement of the policies

To eradicate the problem of drug abuse or at least reduce it to a minimum, one needs to address the issue of why people abuse drugs or why they choose to engage in drug production and trafficking instead of more legal pursuit. The answer to the latter question is that financial benefits of this pursuit outweigh the potential dangers of imprisonment.

I would suggest to replace the prison terms for those people with fines that will be later used on drug-combating programs. Imprisoning members of drug gangs hardly contributes anything to society, as it merely removes these people from the environment where they can stop committing crimes. On the other hand, financial punishment will result in an inflow of funds that can be put to good use, assisting in sponsoring rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, creating employment programs for youth in depressed areas, and offering assistance to drug addicts who were able to conquer their dependence.

As the fine will replace prison terms, it would be possible to make them really substantial in size. Ideally, calculations could be made to fix the amount at such a level that the whole fortune made on drugs can be extracted from the criminal’s funds plus some of the additional income from other sources, if the perpetrator has legal business operations as well.  The fine has to be set regardless of the availability of funds from the criminal and has to be paid later in life if the criminal claims to be unable to do this in the moment. In this case, a prison sentence has to be applied. Subsequently, the convicted person will have to devote a large part of one’s income to extinguishing the debt to the government.

The effect has to be to a great part psychological. It will make little sense for criminals to engage in illegal drug trafficking if they can expect that their fortune will later be taken away from them.

Another change in the policies could involve an alteration in punishment for people who do not trade in drugs, but were found guilty of using drugs themselves.

First, it would do good if the criteria for punishment could be harmonized across the nations. There has already been debate in the EU on the equal application of punishment, especially with regard to the liberal policies accepted by some countries like the Netherlands.

Second, it is unwise to punish young people, many of whom showed carelessness in making a decision to take drugs, with a severe measure, like imprisonment. Some of them might have tried drugs only once in a company of friends and are not likely to do it again. Thus, suspension of severe penalties for them could be worthwhile.

Another option for them might be compulsory involvement in drug-combating activities, such as educational programs for youth, fund-raising for charitable initiatives, or voluntary work in rehabilitation centers for drug addicts. These kinds of activities would help them to grasp the negative impact of drugs and assess the danger they are in through drug use. In case the violators refuse to engage in charitable activities, they can be subject to other, more severe measures.

Drawbacks of the proposed solutions

The outlined steps, however viable, have several limitations.

As for the first solution, replacement of the imprisonment with fines would inevitably reduce the seriousness of the punishment and might lead to a factual increase in criminal activities. Besides, it is not always easy to asses the amount of wealth accumulated by the person through illegal activities. If this is not enforced, the criminal would benefit financially from drug production and/or trafficking, and the enforcement agencies will not be able to nullify the effect from taking on extra risk from illegal activity.

The second suggestion, namely, replacement of punishment with voluntary activities for the criminals found guilty of drug abuse for the first time, seems to be less controversial. The only dubious moment is whether psychologically these people are going to benefit from the things they will be required to do. Undoubtedly educational as these activities are for the people who engage in them of their own accord, for those who are required to perform them, they may turn out to be less beneficial.

Conclusion

Drug abuse has grown into one of the greatest problems of today’s world, and so far efforts to fight it have not achieved desirable effect.

The first of the proposed solutions address the cornerstone of the drug production, its attractiveness as a professional pursuit due to the huge profits it brings. Its viability is somewhat challenged by the problems with its enforcement.

Both suggestions aim at substituting imprisonment with alternative actions, forcing criminals to take active action against one of the most serious problems of many countries.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION!!! HotEssays.blogspot.com provides free sample essays and essay examples on any topics and subjects. EssayLib.com essay writing service produces 100% custom essays, term papers & research papers, written by quality essay writers only. The prices start from $10 per page. You can order a custom essay on Drugs now!

Felix the Cat Essay

Abstract

The paper describes in brief advent of Felix the Cat animation picture, the main landmarks of its early historical development till 1930s. a summary and evaluation of some of the pictures from the series is given.

History of Advent

For the first time Felix the Cat appeared on the screen on November 9 1919 in short five-minute “Feline Follies” as a part of a Paramount Magazine. The following years brought the Cat as well as the technology of animation worldwide fame. In fact, Felix was the first cartoon character to gain such a level of popularity enough to draw audiences to the picture only by his star power. He was also the first television star, as his image was the first one ever broadcast through means of television. Cat’s black body, huge white eyes and giant grin together with surrealism of situations gets into, made him the best know cartoon character in the world. He remained at the top of popularity until the advent of Disney’s Mickey Mouse. [4]

Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on Felix the Cat for You!

Despite the fact that the Cat was actually created by Otto Messmer, Pat Sullivan assumed all the fame for creating him, as Sullivan placed only his label everywhere he could. Messmer was just doing what he liked – he drew. Actually Pat Sullivan in 1917 had made a cartoon named “The Tail of Thomas Kat” starring a prototype of Felix. This character was called Master Tom and this name didn’t change until the third series. In 1923 Felix was for the first time introduced as a newspaper comic and was distributed by King Features. [4]

Felix’s Popularity

The Cat’s popularity was enormous: his image was used to a great range of products from baby oil to cigars. Yet, Felix wasn’t just a wonder of marketing acumen, the cartoons were an example of some of the wittiest animation of the silent pictures era. Owing to his creator, Felix possessed an outstanding personality. While most of other cartoon characters had little individuality, Messmer managed to endow the Cat with his own traits, manners and mimicry. One important feature: when Felix was faced a problem and was seeking for an answer he would walk back and forth with his head handing low and his hands locked behind his back. And he always found an answer, as he was the fastest-thinking animation character ever! [1]

Era of Sound

When the arrival of era of sound many old-fashioned actors have finished their careers. Quite similar thing happened to Felix. Pat Sullivan possessed too narrow vision that didn’t let him to upgrade the studio to new technical standards. So, Felix disappeared from the screen for a while. Sullivan has missed his chance. Such rapidly growing studios like Disney and Fleischers squeezed Felix’s native studio out. Their technology could no longer keep up and creative forces had been exhausted. In attempt to save the situation, sound was added later on. [4] First, the studio added sound to already existing silent cartoons, such as Astronomeows (1928), then original films animated around sound. In the first instance sound was added in attempt to increase the comedy of the situation. Sound cost the Cat too much. Sound-related expenses took their toll on creativity. In later cartoons such as April Maze animation is tragic and awkward. Felix’s movements are no longer so natural, organic and at the same time abstract as Messmer once managed to draw. Over time, the Cat’s character changes for the worse as well. He became more and more domesticated, finally timid and child-like. [1, 2]

Characteristics of Series

“Felix Saves the Day” was the first genuine Felix the Cat cartoon. It presents one of the most archetypical plots of the Felix animation film. Felix comes to the rescue of his friend and finds witty, eccentric way to save the day. In this cartoon the ballplayer friend of Felix is thrown to jail just one day before the important game. While Felix doesn’t win the game literally, he finds a method to put the outcome of the game off to a later date. He beans Jupiter, the god, with a pop that burns into heaven. Jupiter sends a downpour of rain in revenge, which cancels the game. [1]

In this cartoon Messmer reveals a full range of the treats that would make Felix so dear to the audience. The picture is filled with fantastic events, yet the plot revolves around a common thing – a baseball game in New York City. In this cartoon Felix is confused for the first time. A bunch of question marks appear out of his head. It appears that it is possible for him (in Felix cartoon everything’s possible!) to climb up to the window several floors high. He uses punctuation in a witty manner also in “Felix Finds ‘Em Fickle” (1924), as he clubs the bear into head with a exclamation mark that leaped from his head. In this early cartoon Master Tom, a cat, courts a kitty that lives nearby. Tom has no traits like Felix does, in fact, nearly all the early cartoon characters of the silent era were nondescript. Towards the end of the picture Felix uses signs of notes that leap out of Mater Tom’s guitar, makes a go-cart out of them and rides off. This kind of surprising and fantastic action has become a hallmark of Felix the Cat cartoons. [1]

Felix helps a hen-pecked husband to find a coat for his wife in “Felix Goes A-Hunting” (1923). In “Felix in Hollywood (1923) he helps his proprietor to get to the Hollywood and helps an owner of a shoe store sell his shoes. The most endearing quality of Felix’s character is readiness and willingness to help out anyone. Thus, in “Felix Lends a Hand” (1922) he goes to Egypt on a flying carpet to rescue a girlfriend of a shop owner. And whatever the case is, Felix’s solutions and decisions are anything but commonplace things. [2]

He is not always that lucky, though. Sometimes the Cat’s solutions do not work as intended. In “Felix Goes A-Hunting” he causes a bear to chase him so that a hunter would shoot the bear. But the hunter is not ready so that the bear runs right into hunter’s house and his wife. In “Felix Lends a Hand” he finds out that the girlfriend has become so fat he can’t get her on a flying carpet.

In “Felix Dines and Pines” (1927) the action develops in a rather dramatic way. First, the Cat can’t catch a mouse, then a chicken and jumping beans and eats a shoe instead. The shoe brings him a lot of trouble and action turns into hallucinatory nightmare. [3]

Decline of Cartoon

Pat Sullivan’s Studio gradually dissolves and after his death in 1933 only Otto Messmer remains. The value of Felix as a trademark fell dramatically. “The first Cat to Act” now appeared on pages of children books. In spite of this, Otto Messmer continued to draw his Cat on a daily basis, for living. [2]

After a few decades of virtual oblivion, as he was appearing only in children’s books and comic strips, which was nothing compared to the glory he enjoyed before, Messmer’s assistant Joe Oriolo produced TV series about Felix’s Magic Bag of Tricks in 1958. Since then a number of TV series appeared including Film Roman’s Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. [4]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION!!! HotEssays.blogspot.com provides free sample essays and essay examples on any topics and subjects. EssayLib.com essay writing service produces 100% custom essays, term papers & research papers, written by quality essay writers only. The prices start from $10 per page. You can order a custom essay on Felix the Cat now!

Literary Analysis Essay

1F. The land is an equal participant of the events of the “Heart of Darkness.” It has its own destiny, and it should be regarded as an unavoidable element of the character list of the story. The beauty of the jungle isn’t a mere contrast to the cruelty of the European colonists in Congo. The land is continuously referred to as a living being. Charlie Marlow was very much surprised by the “river, the forest, all the great land throbbing with life.” (Conrad, 1998, p.9), and this scenery had awaken many thoughts in his mind about the sense, meaning and the purpose of life and its transient nature.

Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on Literary Analysis for You!

Land seems to have emotion of its own, for instance, the sound was described “as if the whole land had been one immense drum booming out steadily an appeal to heaven.” (Conrad, 1998, p.16)

The land is full of serenity, wisdom and splendor, and the reader can virtually feel “the subtle and penetrating perfume as of land breezes breathing through the starlight of bygone nights.” (Conrad, 1998, p.37)

1H. Dreams in the “Heart of Darkness” are both a part of imagery and way of structuring the story. For a number of times Marlow felt like loosing the contact with reality and he wasn’t sure about what was really happening, for instance, during his voyage upriver.

Another symbolic value of dreams is revealed at the point when Marlow was awakened by drums and felt himself at a loss and in the middle of nowhere. Many things in Africa appeared to the Europeans like in a feverish dream.

2B. In this essay I’m going to discuss why the “Heart of Darkness” can be viewed as a story of the education of Charlie Marlow, and the specific role Kurtz played in it. Indeed, the “Heart of Darkness” is the comprehensive account of Marlow’s personal growth. Life, nature, strange people and extreme conditions – all this was serving the noble purpose of Charlie’s education.

From the nineteenth century colonist, Africa demanded much courage and strength. The Congo nature and way of living were all new to Marlow, so he had to cope with many threats and hardships without descending into the darkness of madness, like many Europeans were doomed to.   

The experience of Marlow makes him reassess his own values and the social values of those times. He was used to civilization, but he had to meet with savagery face to face. It would be logical to think that in the “heart of darkness” civilized people should fall into degradation and dehumanization; however, observing the natural state of people helps Marlow to understand his own self and the nature of the social organization.       

During the course of the story, Marlow becomes more and more skeptical of imperialism. He opened his eyes on the dangers and suffering it caused. I believe that Marlow became more humane and enlightened.

The Congo journey of Marlow can be compared not only with the university of life but also with the grand awakening. The Old World was sleepy, lazy, and meaningless. The unknown lands were offering dynamic developments, adventures, and freedom from the old social prejudices.  

Kurtz have produced a powerful impact over Marlow. At first, he appeared as an elusive figure, and only then as a real man of flesh and blood. Kurtz is continuously referred to as “gifted Mr.Kurtz.” At first, Marlow “was then rather excited at the prospect of meeting Kurtz very soon.” (Conrad, 1998, p.182)

When he met him, he wasn’t disappointed but even more intrigued by the enigmatic personality of Kurtz. Kurtz was strong, eloquent and knowledgeable. He won the respect of Charlie by hi independent and analytical nature. He always had an opinion of his own and was never afraid to express it freely:

“This is the reason why I affirm that Kurtz was a remarkable man. He had something to say.” (Conrad, 1998, p.241)

In difficult situations, Marlow “turned mentally to Kurtz for relief-positively for relief.” (Conrad, 1998, p.228) 

Kurtz didn’t admit the rules of the game the European colonists had to play. He recognized that the Europeans, him including, ruled the continents with the help of aggression and oppression. He familiarized too much with the natives, and that was the reason of his downfall.

Concluding my argument, I can say that the “Heart of Darkness” tells the story of the gradual education of Marlow in the faraway Congo. The influence of Kurtz was the major influence out of all the factors that influenced Charlie’s personality during the course of the story.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION!!! HotEssays.blogspot.com provides free sample essays and essay examples on any topics and subjects. EssayLib.com essay writing service produces 100% custom essays, term papers & research papers, written by quality essay writers only. The prices start from $10 per page. You can order a custom essay on Literary Analysis now!

Voyeurism Essay

Voyeurism at the heart of cinematic pleasure

Speaking about the definition of the voyeurism, it is generally refers to the disorder of sexual arousal.

It involves the act of observing people that do not even know about that fact, they are usually strangers, which are naked or in the process of disrobing, having petting or having sex. Masturbation usually takes place during, or after the voyeuristic activities. Voyeurism also includes listening to erotic conversations, also telephone sex.

Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on Voyeurism for You!

People watch films for pleasure. They are going in for watching for some things they lack in everyday life or simply to have rest. They search for something new and curious about the things they never experience.

Voyeurism in cinematography takes not the last positions. It is usually viewed from the point of the disorder when people can’t live without watching someone without permission, or disorder on the sexual basis when person’s successful sexual life wholly depends on the watching and sexual arousal can come only after that. Cinematography basically works for the customer. And it is rather hard to define why do voyeurism scenes are so common there. Everything is relative and nobody can surely define what can be called a disorder, but most evidently the reason is the following. When a person doesn’t know that he/she is observed he behaves naturally and that is the most valuable thing in each person’s life- being self and enjoying the present moment, which is the only one that is worth living for. And at the same time, the other person, voyeur, is not self-sufficient and seeks for stoling another person’s moment getting the highest pleasure of that process.

The one most complex movie of Hitchcock, Vertigo, there are many themes that come out throughout the film. After the first glance, voyeurism theme may not appear so obvious and main. In the film, the theme does not appear from the very beginning. Scottie is said to be a retired police officer. And to watch seems to be his everyday job. Policemen are constantly looking around for searching clues for this or that crime or accident. After his retirements, he is hired for another private position as a private investigator for his old mate’s wife. He becomes a perfect example of a voyeur, a private eye, who job is what else can consider a disorder- to watch.

There is a very firm connection between person’s activity and his further deeds. What is called a disorder, a person may be paid for getting double benefit. Movies with voyeuristic impacts are usually thrillers and hard to watch. It is something forbidden and that is always much more interesting. They are always psychologically deep and made people think a lot (American Beauty).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION!!! HotEssays.blogspot.com provides free sample essays and essay examples on any topics and subjects. EssayLib.com essay writing service produces 100% custom essays, term papers & research papers, written by quality essay writers only. The prices start from $10 per page. You can order a custom essay on Voyeurism now!

Essay on Night Terrors

Contrary to the opinion of the most Night Terrors – are not just a usual thing, more to it is not even a real dream in the sense of the word we are used to! Most of the people think that night terrors and nightmares are synonyms; however there is a clear distinction between the two terms on both psychological and physiological levels.

Take a thought of these examples: Night terrors occur in early night, usually several minutes after the person felt asleep, and it is not even a REM time. The beginning of the terrors are accompanied with body moving (which represents the relaxation of muscles), and then followed by excess sweating, shouting, and finally sudden awaking. What makes the person to do it? It’s a common place that people do not remember what happened in the dream in case of night terrors and that’s where the clue must me sought.

Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on Night Terrors for You!

Though the nature of night terrors has not been fully investigated the researchers determined that they happen during the early period, which takes place within an hour after the beginning of sleep and lasts from five to ten minutes. Night terrors are basically severe eclectic life-like nightmares (Jugass 24). Loud screaming and thrashing about are common; sleeping person is difficult to wake up and often recalls nothing but an overpowering emotion or a particular episode, if anything.

The causes of night terrors are not well understood, but as a form of dream they are thought to be only a bare “reflection of person’s unconsciousness” (Smoley 13). Night terrors provide our awareness a possibility to bring back its stability by balancing the subconscious affects in our lives and neutralizing the stress accumulated during working day.  

The physical explanation to the strange events of night terrors lies in the fact that before a person deeply falls asleep his brain waves begin regular alpha rhythms, indicating a relaxed state. While rhythms are being synchronized the inevitable wavelengths mismatches occur – they are the source for the brain to create phantasmagoric and terrifying pictures (Natterson 42). There is a psychological connection of person’s mental state to the kind of night dreams he has. One of the ideas is that mentally unstable people (which may include permanent and temporary instability, caused, for example, by sickness or some psychological trauma) experience more vivid and long-lasting night terrors.

After a brief examination of night terrors we now know that they are scientifically classified as ‘nightmare dreams’ but we tend to believe that night terror is an attempt of our soul to reconnect itself to the universal spirit and heal the wounds or find a solution to bothering question. Night terrors are a ‘balancing figure’ between every-day stress and deep relax of the brain at night. Person’s mental and physical health has direct impact on how often the night terrors happen.

  

At the end: avoiding night terrors is easy – just try not to take everything close to your heart and simply live your life always smiling.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION!!! HotEssays.blogspot.com provides free sample essays and essay examples on any topics and subjects. EssayLib.com essay writing service produces 100% custom essays, term papers & research papers, written by quality essay writers only. The prices start from $10 per page. You can order a custom essay on Night Terrors now!

US Constitution of 1787 Essay

Essay on US Constitution of 1787

A Good Start Despite Imperfectness

Today, the American state is considered one of the most successful and stable examples of democracy in the whole world. American citizens can boast of high quality of life, economic and social well being, human rights protection, political freedom, and many other benefits resulting from advanced democratic development secured by carefully worked out legislation. Furthermore, the United States of America actively promotes and safe-guards the democratic ideology in the modern society worldwide.

Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on US Constitution for You!

The origins of these results are found in the work of the American Founding Fathers, whose work was displayed in two major documents: first, Declaration of Independence, where the Founding Fathers expressed their mistrust to the British authority, and, later, The Constitution, adopted in 1787 by the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention.

Despite its historical importance, American constitution was far not the first. The authors that contributed to the appearance of the Constitution were influenced by the ideas and concepts introduced in the constitutions of other countries. The most evident source is Britain. For example, the very concept that the state should use a written document, or the constitution, as a guideline was inherited from the British philosopher John Locke.

According to Kim Lane, the US Constitution was also much influenced by the ideas present in the constitutions of Poland and France, and also by several constitutions that appeared, though for a short time, as a result of European Revolutions of 1848. As it becomes clear, the Founding Fathers have applied a technique, well known in the today’s marketing, called benchmarking: analysis and ethical copying from several sources.

Anyways, American constitutional experience turned out to be very important for the world’s history because it showed how one can construct a long-lasting democratic government on the basis of clever progressive ideas summarized by the adoption of a constitution.

Interesting enough, but the Founding Fathers themselves were not very satisfied with the outcome of their work. For example, the patriarch of the American democracy, Benjamin Franklin, was quite a bit doubted about the efficiency of the constitution. Franklin expressed worry that this document could be corrupted by personal prejudices, selfish interests, errors, and passions of the people who contributed to its creation.

Despite their self-critique, Founding Fathers were of an opinion that the Constitution with all its strengths and weaknesses was the best alternative in the circumstances of that time. The certain weakness of the Constitution was marked by the disorder and instability in the first years after its adoption (rebellions in western Pennsylvania and North Carolina) and the contemporary criticism of several ideas and policies of that time (i.e., slavery approval and genocide against Indians). However, the adoption of the Constitution demonstrated Americans’ ability to be a strong state organized and proved the people’s national identity.

Constitution became a favorable background fro the further economic development, and was upgraded by the politicians of the later generations.    

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION!!! HotEssays.blogspot.com provides free sample essays and essay examples on any topics and subjects. EssayLib.com essay writing service produces 100% custom essays, term papers & research papers, written by quality essay writers only. The prices start from $10 per page. You can order a custom essay on US Constitution of 1787 now!

Prepare My Essay

Who Will Prepare My Essay?

Modern students are extremely busy nowadays, they study and work a lot. Most of them have problems with their home assignments, because they can not balance their time properly. Many students do not want to give up their job and apply for online essay writing services. They often ask: 'Who will prepare my essay online?' or “Who will write my essay for me?’. Our writing team has been working for students for several years, so we know everything about quality essay writing. If you ask: ‘Who will do my essay for me?’ - we are always ready to help you.

Who will write my essay?

If you wonder: ‘Who will prepare a good essay for me?’ - our writing service is at your disposal. We are one of the best writing teams, because there are the best essay writers in our staff. We employ only experienced essay writers who come from various disciplines and are able to cope with any essay on any subject and any complexity. So, if you ask: ‘Whom can I pay to write my essay?’ - we are your reliable helper. Our essay writers are English native speakers and professional linguists, so it is reasonable to pay for a quality essay written by the best writers. Be sure that we offer only non-plagiarized essays. Our writers research, format, write from scratch and prepare the whole essay themselves to avoid plagiarism. We respect our customers, so we have only original quality essays for sale.

Who will write my urgent essay?

We have a permanent number of writers who are 24\7 online to give our customers a possibility to contact us even at night. If you ask: ‘Who will do my urgent essay?’ - we will organize it and deliver it without a delay. When you custom our essays, we search an expert on your topic and your essay is written as quickly as possible. If you ask: ‘Who will make my essay for money?’ - we offer affordable professional essays for sale. We respect privacy of our customers, we will never inform anybody about the origin of your essay.

Who will prepare my essay online?

If you have troubles with your essay and ask: 'Who will make my essay for me online?' - our trustworthy writing service will always help you. If you want to customize an essay, the procedure is very easy - just fill the form on our web site and wait till our writers organize the best successful essay for affordable price for you. We guarantee that our custom essays, written by our professional writers will impress your teacher and you will receive no less than A+ for your paper.