Why Race Matters in the Amanda Knox Case

Given the popularity true crime series covering O.J. Simpson, JonBenà ©t Ramsey, and Steven Avery have recently enjoyed, it’s no surprise that Netflix released the documentary â€Å"Amanda Knox† on Sept. 30 to enormous fanfare. The program stands out from others on Knox—the U.S. exchange student in Italy  accused of killing her British roommate  in 2007—in that it is largely told from her perspective. Teasers for the film show Knox sans makeup with a severely cut bob. Her features are now angular, the round cheeks that led the European press to call her â€Å"angel face† gone.   â€Å"Either Im a psychopath in sheeps clothing or I am you,† she says sternly. But the documentary only pretends to be interested in pinpointing the real Knox. The omission of information that reflects badly on her makes that clear throughout. Whether she’s guilty or innocent was never the most compelling aspect of her case, anyway—the culture clash, the false accusation of a black man for the crime, the slut-shaming and the idea that U.S. courts are somehow superior to Italian courts—are what drew in people from across the globe. Nearly a decade after Meredith Kercher’s murder, my questions about the case are unchanged. Would the press have given Knox as much attention if she’d been a student of color accused of killing her roommate abroad? Would Kercher, born to an English father and an Indian mother, have garnered more press had she been a blonde like Natalee Holloway?  People of color make up a disproportionate amount of crime victims and those falsely convicted of crimes, but they do not generally become celebrities like Knox and other whites, such as Avery, Ryan Ferguson and the West Memphis Three have.   The Central Park Five, the group of black and Latino teens wrongly convicted of attacking a white woman jogging in 1989, are the exception to the rule. Their conviction was the subject of a 2012 Ken Burns documentary. But from the outset, the public widely believed they were guilty. Donald Trump even referred to them as â€Å"animals† and took out a newspaper ad calling for their executions. When the real attacker confessed, Trump refused to apologize for his previous comments. In contrast, when he heard about Knox’s murder case, he offered to help her, demonstrating how an accused person’s race and gender affect public perception of her guilt or innocence. Reflecting on the Knox case in the age of Black Lives Matter makes it rather comical that Americans argued that the U.S. legal system was more just than the Italian counterpart. Only a few days after Knox’s 2009 conviction for killing Kercher, I wrote about my concerns with media coverage of the case for the now-defunct Racialicious blog. The conviction was later overturned, but my observations about Knox’s defenders remain relevant today as the Netflix documentary shines a spotlight on her case once more. Here’s what I had to say:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  * * * I first heard the name Amanda Knox nearly a year ago. As someone who, like Knox, traveled to Europe to study abroad, even visiting Italy during my time there, I sympathized with the young Seattle woman charged with killing her roommate while an exchange student in Perugia, Italy. Numerous articles portray the University of Washington student as an innocent wrongly targeted by a corrupt Italian prosecutor and victimized by Italians who were misogynistic and anti-American. Despite my sympathy for Knox—found guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher by an Italian jury Dec. 4—I take issue with the articles written in her defense. They reveal that America’s ideas about white womanhood have changed little since the 19th century, the whiteness of Italians remains tenuous and black men continue to make convenient crime scapegoats. I’ve no idea if Amanda Knox is innocent or guilty of the charges leveled at her—a jury’s already deemed her the latter—but some American journalists decided that she was innocent long before a verdict was reached. What’s disturbing about some of these journalists is that Knox’s race, gender, and class background played central roles in why they considered her innocent. Moreover, in defending Knox, their xenophobic and arguably â€Å"racist† feelings about Italy came to light. New York Times columnist Timothy Egan is a case in point. He wrote about Knox for the Times both in June and just before the jury issued its verdict in the case. â€Å"All trials are about narrative,† Egan remarked in the summer. â€Å"In Seattle, where I live, I see a familiar kind of Northwestern girl in Amanda Knox, and all the stretching, the funny faces, the neo-hippie touches are benign. In Italy, they see a devil, someone without remorse, inappropriate in her reactions.† What makes these â€Å"touches† benign—simply the fact that, to Egan, Knox was â€Å"a familiar kind of Northwestern girl?†Ã‚  While waiting to be interrogated, Knox reportedly did cartwheels. Egan chalks this up to Knox being an athlete. But if Donovan McNabb or LeBron James were being investigated for murder and did cartwheels during an interrogation, would their behavior be taken as that of a benign athlete or make them look unfeeling and flippant? Egan attempts to undermine Italy by making it appear as if sinister Italians were angling to punish this girl who not only reminds him of numerous girls from the Pacific Northwest but also of his own daughter. Yet, non-Italian friends of British murder victim Meredith Kercher considered Knox’s behavior to be strange as well, counteracting Egan’s attempts to discredit Italian sensibilities. â€Å"While I was [at the police station] I found Amanda’s behavior very strange. She had no emotion while everyone else was upset,† Kercher’s friend Robyn Butterworth testified in court. And when another friend reportedly remarked that she hoped Kercher hadn’t suffered much, Butterworth recalled Knox replying, â€Å"What do you think? She f___ing bled to death.† At that point, Butterworth said, the way Kercher died hadn’t been released. Amy Frost, another friend of Kercher, testified about Knox and Knox’s boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito. â€Å"Their behavior at the police station seemed, to me, really inappropriate,† Frost said. â€Å"They sat opposite each other, Amanda put her feet up on Raffaele’s legs and made faces at him. Everyone cried except Amanda and Raffaele. I never saw them crying. They were kissing each other.† Egan could have written a defense of Knox that focused on the fact that there was virtually no physical evidence of her having been at the crime scene and what little there was came under dispute because it was collected more than a month after the murder and, thus, thought to be contaminated. Instead, he chose to characterize Italy as a nation of backward, inane people. â€Å"As this week’s closing arguments showed once again, the case has very little to do with actual evidence and much to do with the ancient Italian code of saving face,† Egan wrote on  Dec. 2. Just as Egan chose not to explain why Knox’s odd antics during her interrogation were benign, he doesn’t explain why â€Å"saving face† is an â€Å"ancient Italian code.† It’s seemingly so just because he declares it to be. In the same editorial, he discusses the Italian jury much in the same way whites have traditionally discussed people of color, such as Haitian practitioners of Vodou, Puerto Rican practitioners of Santeria, Native American medicine men or African â€Å"witch doctors.† â€Å"Their verdict is not supposed to be about medieval superstitions, sexual projections, Satan fantasies or the honor of a prosecution team,† Egan writes. Egan implies Italy’s legal system is filled with people who can’t be trusted to make rational decisions, a matter of crucial importance when the future of a young American white woman is at stake. How horrible that Amanda Knox’s fate is in the hands of these crazy Italians? These people still believe in superstitions and Satan, for heaven’s sake! The way Egan and Knox’s own relatives described Italians reminded me that Americans haven’t always regarded Italians as white. This makes undermining the rationality and trustworthiness of the Italian people and court system go largely unquestioned. In a book called Are Italians White?, Louise DeSalvo writes about discrimination Italian immigrants to America faced. â€Å"I learned†¦that Italian-Americans were lynched in the South; that they were incarcerated during World War II. †¦I later learned that Italian men who worked on the railroad earned less money for their work than ‘whites’; that they slept in filthy, vermin-infested boxcars; that they were denied water, though they were given wine to drink (for it made them tractable)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Some of the comments about Italians in the Knox case certainly seem like throwbacks to a time when Italians weren’t viewed as white. I have a hard time imagining that if Knox had been tried in England, consistent efforts would be made to discredit the British judicial system. To make matters worse, while American xenophobia is being aimed at Italy, American supporters of Knox are painting Italy as anti-American. Former prosecutor John Q. Kelly even used racialized language when discussing Knox’s plight, likening treatment of her to â€Å"a public lynching.† Isn’t this how racism works today? People who exhibit clearly racist attitudes and behaviors accuse President Obama of being anti-white or blame Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson for perpetuating racism rather than historic, institutionalized white supremacy. After Knox was found guilty of murder, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell stated, â€Å"I have serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial.† This argument of anti-Americanism falls apart considering that Italian national Raffaele Sollecito was also found guilty of murder. Are we to believe that an Italian jury would sacrifice one of its own to spite America? The problematic racial overtones in the reporting of the case not only involve Italians but black men. Following her November 2007 arrest, Knox wrote to police that bar owner Patrick Lumumba killed Kercher. â€Å"In these flashbacks that I’m having, I see Patrik [sic] as the murderer, but the way the truth feels in my mind, there is no way for me to have known because I don’t remember FOR SURE if I was at my house that night.† Because of Knox’s repeated insinuations that Lumumba murdered Kercher, he spent two weeks in jail. Police ended up releasing him because he had a solid alibi. Lumumba sued Knox for defamation and won. While Egan has mentioned that Knox mistakenly linked Lumumba to Kercher’s murder, he quickly let her off the hook for it, as did a commenter at women’s Web site Jezebel who remarked: â€Å"I don’t judge her for that at all. She was held in an Italian prison, questioned for days, and encouraged to ‘confess.’† But to ignore Knox’s transgression on this front is to ignore the history of sympathetic (but guilty) white Americans fingering black men for crimes the men never committed. In 1989, for instance, Charles Stuart shot and killed his pregnant wife, Carol, but told police that a black man was responsible. Two years later, Susan Smith murdered her young sons but told police initially that a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the boys. Although Knox said that she fingered Lumumba for the crime under duress, her doing so casts suspicion on her and shouldn’t be overlooked by those who find it hard to believe that a pretty American coed is capable of murder. Another black man, Rudy Guede from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of killing Kercher before Knox and Sollecito were, but evidence suggested that more than one assailant was involved in Kercher’s demise.  If authorities believe that Guede didn’t act alone, why is it difficult to believe that Knox also played a role in Kercher’s murder? After all, Knox gave inconsistent statements about her whereabouts the evening of Kercher’s death and did not call police after reportedly finding the door to her home wide open and blood on the floor. To boot, her lover, Sollecito, bought two bottles of bleach the morning after Kercher’s death allegedly to clean up the crime scene, where police found his bloody footprints as well as Knoxâ €™s. These facts hardly reflect well on Knox, so I’m willing to consider her guilt as well as her innocence. Perhaps her use of hashish the night of Kercher’s death clouded her memory. But those who refuse to consider that Knox is guilty, all the while attacking the Italian justice system, remind me of those who struggled to believe that Lizzie Borden hacked her parents to death in 1892. â€Å"The horrific ax murders of Andrew Borden and his third wife, Abby, would have been shocking in any age, but in the early 1890s they were unthinkable,† writes Denise M. Clark in Crime Magazine. â€Å"Equally unthinkable was who wielded the ax that butchered them†¦The idea that the murderer could possibly be†¦Lizzie took days to register with the police – despite overwhelming physical and circumstantial evidence that pointed only at her†¦.What would end up saving her was the remarkable violence of the murders: The murders were simply too grisly to have been committed by a woman of her upbringing.† Isn’t this the argument that Egan makes when he described Knox as a benign hippie type from the Pacific Northwest? Knox, we’re told, worked multiple jobs to save up money to study abroad. She excelled in athletics and academics  alike. Girls like her don’t commit murder, many Americans believe. And if she were tried stateside, perhaps she would have gotten off as Lizzie Borden did. But apparently, Italians aren’t burdened by the cultural baggage that weighs down America. White and female and from a good family don’t equal innocent.

Matrix Movie Review Free Essays

Brad Davies Sociology 11:00-12:15 a. m. MW 2/20/2010 Swanson Movie Paper 1) In the movie The Matrix, Keanu reeve stars as a character whose world is based on a futuristic reality. We will write a custom essay sample on Matrix Movie Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now This fact plays the role to why this movie demonstrates social imagination. The basis is that the individuals in the movie have to be aware of their enemies, the machines and artificial intelligence. Social imagination is also expressed through the virtual reality the humans go into where they have certain advantages that they wouldn’t have in the real world. The environment determines the reality of the characters in many ways. In The Matrix, that was created by computers to limit and reduce the human population, reeves character forms a rebellion against the machines with others who escaped the cyber world. When he enters the matrix, he continues his constant struggle with Agent Smith, a virtual character created by the machines to destroy Reeves. These, I believe, are good examples of the social imagination. ) The deception of this movie is that the future, many movie producers believe, we humans will be at some sort of worldwide war with artificial intelligence. Along with the characters in the movie, the writers, producers, and directors are the ones who created this deception. The Matrix, which is the â€Å"fake reality†, is created through the minds of the characters by the means of technology. The advancement in technology that the movie portrays is the basis behind the â€Å"artificial reality. I believe, after viewing the movie, the main characters figure out the difference between fact and fiction by simply going through the metamorphous of the real world and the matrix. I feel that the reality of this movie is the possibility that the future of the humans may indeed involve a conflict with machines, artificial intelligence, and/or the entire cyber world. 3) Yes, I do believe that it is possible to create a separate reality in our minds. People do this every day through hypnosis. When people go â€Å"under† and it is said that their conscious minds are released. This is done so that we can escape our very stressful, worrisome, everyday lives. Our minds are endless and we go through hypnosis, we can explore the unexplored of our inner-conscious. When it comes to create a â€Å"fake reality† like the matrix in our minds and live in it, I don’t think it’s possible, without the help of some sort of machine or computer basis. I’m sure some people try to do this, but nothing can compare to the reality portrayed in the movie. ) I did like The Matrix, along with the rest of the trilogy, because of the Sci-fi, fictional baseline. It is pretty cool to think about what it would be like if we could actually hook up to a computer and travel into a different world. This assignment was pretty tricky and I really hope that I nailed all the key points and that my examples make sense and go along with the questions. I think the class is going fairly well so far. Can’t go wrong with learning new things every day! How to cite Matrix Movie Review, Papers

PMBOK and PRINCE2 Methodology-.com

Questions: 1.Define what a Project Methodology is giving few definitions from various authors and the role it serves in Project Management. 2.Choose 1 Methodology from this list to compare and contrast with methodology outlined by Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), analysing the similarities and differences between them both. 3.Identify how your chosen Methodology and Processes relate to the Project life. Answers: 1. Project Methodology Project methodology is a set of standards that describes in detail the processes, techniques and methods that are to be implemented while executing a project. The project management approach that is undertaken in order to implement the project according to the plan in known as project methodology (pundak, 2014). It is a guideline that guides the project from its implementation to the closure. Therefore, project methodology can be defined as a standard process, which is required to successfully implement the project. Project methodology helps in achieving the set objective of the project by implementing the project according to the set objective and the set budget. A project methodology is a model that is generally employed by the project manager for properly designing, planning and implementing the project. There are different project methodologies, out of which a proper project methodology is chosen at the initiation of the project, which is followed throughout the project lifecycle . A project methodology defines the guiding processes that is followed by the entire project team while implementation of the project. The project management methodology provides standard tools for initiating and managing the different phases associated with a project (Smith, 2013). The project manager appointed for a project decides which methodology is to be applied in a particular project (Schwalbe, 2015). The most commonly used project management methodologies include, iterative waterfall model, PRINCE2, XP, agile scrum, agile, PMBOK and so on. Adopting a proper project methodology helps in proper planning and implementation of the project. Developing a proper project plan is important for estimating the resources required for the project, project cost and schedule of the project. PMBOK is a standard that consists of collection of processes and terminologies, which are accepted throughout the project management industry (Kerzner, 2013). The similarities and the differences between the PRINCE2 and PMBOK are elaborated in the following section. 2.PRINCE2 PRINCE2 stands for Projects in a controlled environment. This widely used project management methodology helps in identifying and assigning different roles to project team members. The major advantage of using PRINCE2 is that it deals with the various aspects of the project that is needed to be managed in a project management. The PRINCE2 methodology evaluates seven major principal associated with the project, which is the project progress, business case, project change, risks involved with the project, the project plan, the quality of the project and the organizational benefit. This is a product-based methodology that divides the entire project into different stages that helps in proper management of the project. Dividing the entire project into number of phases enhances the communication process among the project team members and with the stakeholders involved with the project as well. It further ensures that the improvements can be made in the organization while the project is imp lemented (Saad et al., 2014). This is possible as the PRINCE2 method helps in identifying the flaws of the project for improving the process of project implementation. This methodology is widely accepted as it provides the flexibility to customize the project management processes according to the project needs. However, it is somewhat more complex than other project management methodologies such as agile or waterfall. Similarities between PMBOK and PRINCE2 The similarities between the PMBOK and PRINCE2 methodology are as follows- The methods applied for managing the project in PMBOK and PRINCE2 are somewhat similar. It provides a proper guideline, tools and techniques for managing the project (Karaman Kurt, 2015). PRINCE2 and PMBOK identifies and handles the risks associated with the project in a strategic manner that helps in eliminating the project risks and enhance the project management process. Both the methodologies provide a robust business case that defines the team roles. Both the methodologies mainly focus on the project deliverables that helps in tracking the project progress (Sanjuan Froese, 2015). Differences between PMBOK and PRINCE2 The differences between PMBOK and PRINCE2 are as follows- PRINCE2 is methodology framework that is composed of 4 integrated elements, which are project principles, project themes, project processes and tailoring the project on which the entire project is based. This is absent in case of PMBOK. PRINCE2 methodology although complex, but is easier to implement than PMBOK. PMBOK has a stronger communication management mechanism that covers the interpersonal skills of the project team members that is essential for creating an effective environment for the project (Matos Lopes, 2013). PRINCE2 offers a practical approach of project management in comparison to PMBOK. 3.PRINCE2 in Project Life Cycle The PRINCE2 methodology has three main parts, which includes manage by states, planning the theme of the project, and planning the project processes. PRINCE2 is widely adopted in project management as it helps in managing the complex projects by dividing the entire project into number of phases. It provides a flexible and scalable method of managing the projects that is evaluated on basis of the key output of the project. It is a process driven project management approach that evaluates the input and output of the project with the activities that is to be carried out throughout the project. The project is segregated into number of phases and each phase is managed separately. This helps in elimination of any risks associated with the project and thus the project is implemented according to the plan in PRINCE2 methodology (Tomanek Juricek, 2015). References Karaman, E., Kurt, M. (2015). Comparison of project management methodologies: prince 2 versus PMBOK for it projects.Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research,4(5), 657-664. Kerzner, H. (2013).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Matos, S., Lopes, E. (2013). Prince2 or PMBOKa question of choice.Procedia Technology,9, 787-794. Saad, S., Ibrahim, A., Asma, O., Khan, M. S., Akhter, J. (2014). PRINCE2 MEthodology: AN INNovAtIvE WAy foR IMPRovINg PERfoRMANCE of MAlAysIAN AutoMotIvE INdustRy.The Journal of Technology Management and Technopreneurship (JTMT),1(1). Sanjuan, A. G., Froese, T. (2015). Principles, characteristics, and methodology to develop a project management assessment tool at the construction project level. Schwalbe, K. (2015).Information technology project management. Cengage Learning. Smith, L. T. (2013).Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Zed Books Ltd.. pundak, M. (2014). Mixed agile/traditional project management methodologyreality or illusion?.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,119, 939-948. Tomanek, M., Juricek, J. (2015). Project risk management model based on PRINCE2 and SCRUM frameworks.arXiv preprint arXiv:1502.03595.

Scouting The Braves free essay sample

The Atlanta fans ignite with sports chants such as lets go Hayward and lets go braves. As the game starts saw the coaches giving the players signs using sign language to tell them to bunt, or even to take a pitch. There are many different assets that mold the baseball culture together which include chants, sign language, sports talk, the sounds of the game, the smells of the ballpark and many different rituals that are particular to baseball, which have witnessed in person. There were forty three thousand fans that showed up and all had on some type of shirt supporting their team.Many fans had on jerseys of their favorite player, while others wore a shirt the color of their team. While the fans dressed to support their team, the players put on their jerseys in which they all wear a hat, a shirt with their team name on it, pants, belt, and baseball cleats. We will write a custom essay sample on Scouting The Braves or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The only difference separating the two teams is the colors of their team and their name. Every player in the field has a baseball glove and the players batting carry a bat. All the fans are chanting for the home team, the Atlanta Braves and mostly all of the fans are doing the chop with foam tomahawk chops they gave out before the game. Every time someone gets a hit for the home team the fans start clapping, cheering and shouting in joy for their team. The opposite happens when something good happens to the Atlanta Braves opponent, the Braves fans start booing. This is because the fans care about their team and want their team to win, so when something good happens to the other team, which is the Dodgers, the Braves fans arent happy. Although the Dodgers have a few fans too, which theyre pulling for their team and hoping for something good to happen for their team.Baseball is an intense game especially when it comes to the postseason and both the players and the fans are emotionally attached to their team. Just like any other sport, the team you grow up near or what is to be the team representing your home State is the team youre mostly attached to and the team you pull for. It was a beautiful night for baseball as the fans were snapping pictures, the smell of the ballpark food and the amazingly fresh cut grass of t he baseball amend. Before the game many people caught pictures with some of the players they loved to watch play the game of baseball.Also throughout the game the fans were taking pictures just to catch the beautiful scenery the night brought. While watching the game my dad and I would talk baseball, which many others wouldnt understand if you werent familiar with baseball. My dad and I were talking about how and where to pitch a player up at bat by saying, he needs to throw him a slider here low and outside or give him the high cheese. These are certain pitches related to an off speed pitch and a high fastball.Walking around the ballpark before the game you could smell the best smell in the world, ballpark food. Fans were lined up at the concession stands waiting to feast on whatever food they wanted during the game such as hotdogs, nachos and most baseball favorites sunflower seeds. Even the players would chew on sunflower seeds during the game while theyre playing. The keys to the baseball culture and what makes baseball includes the smell of fresh hotdogs, the sounds of the crack of the bat and he view of a beautiful baseball diamond.I sat in the stands along with all the other forty three thousand fans pulling for the Atlanta Braves. Was in the stands supporting my team to victory and I too was also doing the Tomahawk Chop, which the Atlanta Braves are known for. I talked with a few fans around me, just chatting about the game of baseball and exchanged thoughts about the game. Also, every time the Braves did something good would exchange high fives with the fans around me. Was a one of many fans that came out to support the Atlanta Braves, in which the fans are a big factor in helping a team win. The fans act the way they do because they have grown to love their team. The fans where their teams jerseys and colors to represent their love for that team. With the fans doing the Tomahawk Chop, this is their way Of showing the Braves rituals, as every team has their own. With the players using sign language lets only the team giving them understand what is suppose to happen, so they wont give away what they are calling. All assets of the game are crucial in winning a baseball game and having a great atmosphere.The smell of fresh cooked burgers, the sound of hard hit ball, the chanting and the different traditions are the heart and soul of baseball, which I had seen firsthand at the Atlanta Braves baseball game. It was a sight to see as Atlanta took the game in a four to three victory over the Dodgers. The fans stood by their seats and cheered so proudly for their team as they walked off the field with a win. There was nothing better than seeing a culture come together in supporting their team by using ritual chants as in the Tomahawk Chop and just witnessing the beautiful game of baseball.

Critical Analysis of Frida essays

Critical Analysis of Frida essays Henry Ward Beecher once said, Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. With her brush, Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, painted the pain, horror, happiness, and triumphs that made up this extraordinary womans life. Fifty years after Kahlos death, her story has inspired director Julie Taymor to take on the enormous project of putting together 120 minutes of a movie to show this womans strengths, weaknesses, failures, and victories. Through the acting, the sets, and the use of Kahlos paintings, Taymor remarkably captures the life of this artist, emphasizing the enduring power of the human spirit. The movie begins with an aging Frida (Salma Hayek) being carried in her bed out of her house and quickly switches to her high school years. She goes to see famous muralist, Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), and immediately becomes intrigued by his womanizing demeanor. A calamitous bus accident leaves Frida temporarily bed stricken with a shattered back. After weeks of being hospitalized, she returns home and paints throughout the rest of her recovery. Eventually, Frida gains enough strength to seek an evaluation of her art from Rivera. Over a period of time, their friendship evolves into a romantic liaison. Although Diego will not maintain fidelity, they agree to marry as long as he remains loyal to Frida. Numerous affairs on both sides plague their marriage and provide anger and discomfort. After agreeing to have a child, fate coldly embraces the life of their unborn. One evening, Frida catches her sister with Diego. Consequently, they separate and divorce. After several flings in Mexi co and Paris, Frida realizes she misses Diego. They remarry, and Fridas medical conditions worsen. Just before her first art exhibition, her doctor demands that she stay in bed. Flashing back to the opening scene, Frida is carried out of her house and to her exhibit. The movie e...

Starbucks Analyse Marketing Activities and Performance Essay - 3

Starbucks Analyse Marketing Activities and Performance - Essay Example That is converted to additional value in the company and hence increased profits. Employees are treated as Starbuck partners, normally referred to as Baristas through use of favorable management theories. However, except for the senior managers, the company does not employ full-time meaning they do not accord full benefits for employees (Kumar, 65). This is good for the company since it does not have to pay for pensions, which are additional costs to a company. That is favorable use of operations management since Starbucks only pays for the productive hours worked, and with minimal supervision The operations management applied by Starbucks is implemented by baristas, employees, as well as the managers. The ‘bean stock’ option was got from the story of Jack and the bean stock, which grew to the sky. The latter makes the difference between the operations management used by Starbucks and the rest of its competitors. According to the ‘bean stock’ management option, all employees are considered valuable to the company, on the same degree as shareholders. Hence, Starbucks Company operates as one big family without a big deviation between senior and junior employees. The ‘bean stock’ option employed by Starbucks plays a significant role in defining a chain of activities that ensures external customers are accorded the value they deserve. Following the use of ‘bean stock’ the performance and attitude of Starbuck employees has improved. It has immensely improved operations management with improved employee relations and customer satisfaction (Bedbury, 24). Employees are able to work with minimal supervision for optimum productivity as the company maximizes its profit margins For Starbuck’s managers, conceptual skills are important for innovation and new ideas on running their unique management practices. The company’s initial store manager, Howard Schultz used conceptual skills to

Drug cartels and us involvement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Drug cartels and us involvement - Research Paper Example In addition, other significant activities of the Gulf cartel are present in Monterrey in Nuevo Leon and Morelia in Michoacan. Finally, there is the Tijuana cartel which is approximated to be spread in 15 states. It conducts most of its operations in Tijuana, Mexicali, Tecate, and Ensenada in Baja California and in parts of Sinaloa. In the past years alliances have been established by the major cartels. An alliance was formed between Tijuana cartel and the Gulf cartel as a result of prison negotiations made by the cartels leaders. Other cartels came together and established the federation alliance. This alliance is mainly under the leadership of the Sinaloa, Juarez, and Valencia cartels representatives. In most cases the cartels still remain independent even though they work jointly. The availability of the illegal drugs has also been on the rise in the United States. The expanding activity from drugs cartels in Mexico has contributed greatly to this condition. These cartels are the m ost drug trafficking threat to the United States (Stich, 123). The Mexican drug war is considered to be a continuous armed conflict among the drug cartels that are competing for regional control and the Mexican government forces that are battling to bring the drug trafficking to an end. Mexico as a country is popular for production and transit of drugs. It is considered to be the leading foreign supplier of marijuana and also top supplier of methamphetamine to the United States. Most cartels in Mexico have been in existence for a longer period but their power has become significant in recent years especially after Medellin and Cali cartel’s in Columbia came to an end. ... Even though Mexico produces a smaller percentage of heroin in the whole world, it is the leading supplier of heroin in the United States. Most cartels in Mexico have been in existence for a longer period but their power has become significant in recent years especially after Medellin and Cali cartel’s in Columbia came to an end. The cocaine traffic was moved to Mexico after the trafficking route in Florida was closed. This resulted in tremendous increase in the trafficking of cocaine by the Mexican cartels (Friesendorf, 130-132). The Mexican cartels have also grown marijuana in the United States, and are located in the federal land in California. Currently they are increasing their drug production to northwest in the pacific area and a small portion in the eastern side of the United States. All those involved in these different areas have joined together to form strong ties. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, the American illicit drug market has been dominated mostly by the drug cartels from Mexico. The center also reveals that the cartels have a transport network which is well established. This helps them in the transportation of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin to the various destinations. There has been continuous balanced power in the different cartels as others are introduced and the older ones are weakened. In most cases their system is disrupted when the key leaders are arrested or even killed. The top rival’s takes an advantage and tries to occupy the power vacuum and this in most cases results in bloodshed. Leadership vacuum in some cases is as a result of successful law enforcement against a specific