Terrorism and the Mass Media After Al Qaeda a Change of...

Peace Conflict Review Volume 3, Issue 1 ISSN: 1659-3995 Terrorism and the Mass Media after Al Qaeda: A Change of Course? Reviewed by Jessica Baran Abstract Manuel R. Torres Soriano. Terrorism and the Mass Media after Al Qaeda: A Change of Course? Athena Intelligence Journal Vol. 3, No 1, (2008), pp. 1-20. Soriano begins his exploration of the relationship between media and terrorism with the words of Marshall McLuham, whose statement that â€Å"without communication, terrorism would not exist† is taken by Soriano to be â€Å"relatively precocious†, but essentially correct. Though terrorism existed prior to mass media, Soriano argues that it was always about making a public statement, and that new technologies have simply allowed the†¦show more content†¦Soriano also points out that, because of the nature of television news media being short (90 second) stories, it is impossible to tell the whole story and give context to the events unravelling before the viewer’s eyes. The television media does not go into any real detail, thus simplifying the story for the viewer to the point that it has little to do with the actual events. This has great implications for society and social pressure on the government, though one would have to assume this is not beneficia l to the terrorist organization. The terrorist organization would receive massive media coverage for a visual, easy to cover attack, however, this does not mean that the viewers would be aware of why the attack occurred or the ultimate goals of the terrorist organization. This is a complex situation in which the television media are both beneficial and detrimental to the cause of the terrorist. Categorizing the relationship between terrorists and the media Soriano examines the relationship between terrorists and the media, suggesting that there are several different levels of relationship. He sites Michael Wieviorka, a French sociologist, who splits these relationships into four different levels: Complete Indifference, where terrorists complete their act of terror with no regard to media coverage; Relative Indifference, in which terrorists complete theirShow MoreRelatedThe Power of Nightmares: Reaction Essay On Terrorism1486 Words   |  6 Pages Over the course of the twentieth century, numerous governments across the globe established organizations and agencies with aims of combating international terrorism. However, these agencies did not establish vast public attention or immense government spending until the fall of 2001. The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 marked the transformation of not only the American economy, but also a shift in public perceptions of terrorism, both at home and abroad. TheRead MoreThe September 11th Attack on the World Trade Center1743 Words   |  7 Pagesdeparted. Just after noon, the bomb exploded. 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Lea SCTY 488 – Terrorism and Homeland Security December 26, 2010 Professor Eric Witcher Abstract It has been the case that over the duration that mankind has graced the planet there has been group’s hell bent on enacting their beliefs and values upon the rest of the world. As time has passed there have been many times that these groups have changed the face of the planet permanently. You can look at any organized religious group andRead MoreUnited States National Interests: An Analysis2529 Words   |  10 Pagesoperation in Iraq in his first term, which was done. There would also be a new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat Al Qaeda, and the president promised that he would not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens half a world away (Obama Address, p. 6). Over the past three years, the use of aerial drones to attack Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders has increased, along with unconventional warfare against terrorist groups, such as the SEAL team that killed Osama bin

Drug Abuse in America Free Essays

? Literatue Review 3 Section 1: Introduction One of the major problem in modern society is the abuise of drugs. Some use illegal â€Å"street† drugs that have no medical use while others abuse prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes. Either way, it is dangerous can lead to serious consquences, including death. We will write a custom essay sample on Drug Abuse in America or any similar topic only for you Order Now In my paper i will answer two main questions; Why and how are drugs available for the general public to use? What are the mental,physical,and financial consquences of abusing drugs(prescprition or â€Å"street†)? My main source for answering these questions was the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) website. It is a federal angency that is responsible for enforcing the medical laws established by the justice department. This includes regulating laws regarding pharmacies, physcians, and drugs. Mr. Michael Martin, the manager of Walgreen’s Pharmacy was also a credible source as he provided clear explanations if i had any questions. I chose these questions because these are two very important question because they not just impact the abuser but society as well. However, my focus in this paper will be the consquences because they are a serious threat. Section 2: Summary In order to understand the consquences of drug abuse, one must know why drugs are abused. There are many reasons for drugs abuse, â€Å"The reason for taking the drug depends on the type of drug. Often times the main cause is to escape from their problems or from peer pressure. After some time, the reasons change. They become dependent on the drug and they feel sick or cannot function properly without it. † (Martin) Often times the cause for using a drug is because the brain has a sort of reward center. It creates a pleasurable sensation when a certain action occurs. For example, for a stressed employee drinking after work helps him relax. It causes his mind, mainly his central nervous system to slow down and all the worries in the world are gone for the emploee. This provides an instance of pleasure as the brain feels good, it is able to â€Å"relax’. The four type of drugs are â€Å"depressants, stimulants, sedatives, and hallucionogens† (Martin). Depressants such as alcohol and sleeping pills make a person feel more relaxed. Stimulants like Ecstacy, amphetamines, nicotine and caffeine keep a person energetic and awake. However, once the effects are over, hunger and tiredness will set in. Sedatives such as heroine, morphine and codeine offer relief from pain but cause sleepiness. Hallucinogens, for instance, Ecstacy and LSD, may give strange sensations, causing some to see, feel or hear things that are not there. Each drug provides a relative pleasurable sensation for the user. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) nearly 35 million individuals used illicit drugs or abused prescription drugs in 2007. The federal government â€Å"has allocated more than $14 billion dollars for drug treatment and prevention, counterdrug law enforcement, drug interdiction, and international counterdrug assistance† (NDIC). As stated earlier there are illict â€Å"street† drugs and then there are prescription drugs, both with the potential to be abused. The first focus will be the origin of illict, or â€Å"street† drugs. Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the main cause for the production and trafficking of â€Å"street† drugs. â€Å"Mexican and Columbian DTOs generate, remove, and launder between $18 to $39 billion in wholesale drug proceeds annually. Mexican DTOs are the greatest threat to the United States. Mexcian DTOs are responsible for a â€Å"majority of the cocaine available in the U. S. market† (NDIC). DTOs are responsible for the production of drugs and for trafficking it into U. S. cities. Urban gangs are involved in the sales of these drugs, â€Å"aided by their connections with Mexican and Asian DTOs. Currently Mexcian DTOs continue to â€Å"establish new markets for mexican heroin in northeastern states while gangs relocate from inner cities to suburban and rural areas. However, a threat bigger than the illict â€Å"street† drug problem is the abuse of prescription drugs. Nearly 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs-more than the number who abuse cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and inhalants combined† (DEA). According to the DEA, prescription pain relievers are new drug users’ drug of choice vs. marijuana or cocaine. Unlike illicit drugs, prescription drugs are not synthes ized by DTOs in some lab. Prescription drugs are obtained through decieving various medical professionals, theft, or from the internet. Decieving medical professionals is a technique known as â€Å"doctor shopping†. This involves a patient going to a doctor for a prescription drug. Then the same patient will go to a different doctor, reveal the same symptons without acknowledging the previous doctor visit, and get another prescription for the same drug. Then the patient will go to more doctors and repeat the steps. In the end, the patient will have numerous prescriptions for the same drug each from a different doctor. The patient will have each prescription filled, most likely at various pharmacies and will have a high quantity of one drug. Now the patient may use the drug or maybe even sell the drug to others who will also misuse it. Some other method of obtaining prescrition include theft from pharmacies or homes, and from traditional drug dealing. Another relatively new method obtaining prescription drugs is through cyber pharmacies. There are many illegal internet pharmacies, that take a prescription, fake or real, and fill it for a patient without any knowledge of the patient or anything else. These pharmacies may also â€Å"check† patients, write them a prescription, and then fill it for them, all without a single face to face with the patient. The consquences of using these illicit drugs is very serious. According to the DEA, nearly one in ten high school seniors admit to abusing prescription painkillers. â€Å"A shocking 40% of teens and adults think prescription drug abuse is safer than abusing â€Å"street† drug because prescription drugs have a medical purpose. â€Å"The diversion of prescription drugs cost insurance companies up to $72. 5 billion dollars annually† (NDIC). Almost $48 billion dollars of the $72. 5 billion are paid by public, governement funded insurance companies. The threat level of drug abuse depends on the dosage of the drug. For example, Dextromethorphan (street name: DXM, Skittles, Robo) is â€Å"an over the counter cough suppresent commonly found in cold medications. DXM is abused in higher than recommended dosages, mainly by adolescents, to create visual and auditory hallucinations. The recommended dosage of DXm is 15-30mg. Taking a dosage of 100-200mg results in mild stimulation, whereas taking a 200-400mg dosage results in euphoria and hallucinations. A 300-600 dosgae results in distorted visual perceptions and loss of motor cordinations. A 500-1500 dosgae may result in dissociative sedation. Any higher dosage will lead to death. As indicated above, the dosage of the abused drug affect the consquences. The higher the dosage than recommended, the more dangerous and serious the consquences. The most abused substance is hydrocodone, which is a depressant. It is a pain reliever that calms the body. â€Å"There are many indications of drug abuse. The symptons witnessed depend on the type of drug being abused† (MayoClinic). Depression and low blood pressure are indicaters of opioid painkillers abuse; drowsiness and impaired judgement indicate sedatives abuse. Stimulants abuse is indicated by insomnia and irregular heartbeat. Section 3: Analysis The research was very helpful in providing answers for the questions. I learned that there are many ways to obtain illict â€Å"street† drugs and prescription drugs. The street drugs are produced by DTOs and even trafficked by DTOs. However, they are sold by local gangs in various environements, mainly in inner cities. I learned that prescription drugs are obtained through decieving and fradulant online transactions. The most suprising fact was that drug abuse has a big affect on society. The cost for counterdrug enforcement and diversion of drugs is very costly and the money could be diverted to something more useful. The research has thought me alot about drug abuse and why avoiding it is the best option. It was helpful to learn these facts and learning the dangers of falling into the viscious drug abuse cycle. Works Cited â€Å"DEA Briefs Background, Drugs and Drug Abuse, Prescription Drug Fact Sheet. † PE Html PUBLIC â€Å"-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1. 0 Transitional//EN† â€Å"http://www. w3. org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional. dtdhttp://www. w3. org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional. dtd † Welcome to the United States Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration. Web. 13 Mar. 2010. . How to cite Drug Abuse in America, Papers

Hostile Takeover free essay sample

Should there be a market for corporate control? What is the fiduciary duty of officers and directors in their response to take over bids? A hostile takeover typically involves an insurgent group, known as a ‘raider’, who makes a tender offer to buy a controlling block of stock in a target corporation from its present shareholders. The price is generally at a premium. If enough of the current shareholders take the offer, the insurgent group receives a controlling interest at which time the â€Å"raider† fires the current management and makes additional changes to the company. The insurgent group’s responsibility is then to add value to show the premium paid for the company’s stock was a smart investment. The proponents for hostile takeover activity argue that a corporation becomes a takeover target because current management is not increasing the share value. The ‘raider’ pays a premium for the stock because they believe under the new management; the company will increase in value well above the price paid for the stock. They would further argue that increasing shareholder value is better for society because it increases wealth among shareholders, and this wealth trickles down through society. In addition, they would argue that a constant threat of a hostile takeover is accountability to current management to give full shareholder value. A final argument is that all shareholders, regardless of holding period, have equal ownership rights. To restrict a new shareholder from imposing power would be to reduce the rights of the shareholders. The critics of hostile takeover activity argue that target companies of takeovers are often split up and sold piecemeal. This dislocates employees, creates job loss, and is harmful to the community. The takeover often saddles the company with debt that limits opportunities and creates additional risk in the event of an economic downturn. They would further argue that the wealth created from a hostile takeover might not trickle down to society at all. The benefits may come to shareholders from accounting techniques and tax law that do not create any additional wealth. Oftentimes, the bondholders are harmed because they go from holding investment grade bonds to junk-bonds in many cases. In addition, the evidence is lacking to show takeover companies perform any better than the average, over the long-term. They may experience a short-term increase in share price, but this is short-lived. A final argument is that the threat of takeovers causes managers to manage for the short-term by creating immediate results, and the threat of takeover may act as accountability on current management; however, the real winners are the lawyers and investment bankers. August Busch, IV was CEO of Anheuser-Busch in 2008 after taking the place of his father August Busch, III. August, III chose to spend lavishly on national marketing campaigns amongst other big-ticket budget items rather than expanding the Anheuser-Busch footprint internationally. August, IV noticed that American tastes were changing, and his company needed to change too. Anheuser-Busch stock had been stagnant for many years and in 2005 the company’s net income fell 17. 9 percent, to $1. 8 billion, the first drop in a decade. By 2006, beer sales had fallen to 50. 7 percent of the total market for alcohol in the U. S. , from 55. 5 percent in 2000. Then in 2007, Anheuser-Busch’s two main competitors, SABMiller and Molson Coors, merged, making the situation for Anheuser-Busch even more precarious. (Berfield) InBev’s tender offer for Anheuser-Busch stock shares came with a number of concessions not typically seen in hostile takeover activity. They were prepared to adopt the Anheuser-Busch name for the combined entity and establish its North American headquarters in St. Louis. InBev pledged not to close any U. S. breweries and said it would invite a number of Anheuser directors to join the board of the combined company as well as seek to retain key members of its management team. InBev was also willing to pay cash of up to $40 Billion on the deal, and InBev would maintain its investment-grade credit rating after the deal was complete. (Wall Street Journal) InBev saw, what they viewed as, extravagant spending by Anheuser-Busch and 50% of the United States market share for beer as a great opporutnity. InBev has a reputation for watching expenses closely, and they felt that trimming the lavish spending of Anheuser-Busch would increase profits rapidly. Anheuser-Busch looked at a number of alternatives to the hostile takeover, including buying the 50 percent of the Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo that it did not already own. This would raise Anheuser-Buschs price tag, potentially deterring InBev. (Sorkin and Merced) Grupo Modelo was not interested in the offer, and Anheuser-Busch Board of Directors were left to make the best decision for the shareholders. The Anheuser-Busch Board of Directors were left to decide the fate of an American icon. Kantian ethics, or duty based ethics, must have come into question during their meetings. Which action was most rational and dignified? The company was struggling, and they were looking at an offer, especially at $70/share, that was at a 35% premium to their current share price. The shareholders had not seen this type of growth from Anheuser-Busch, cumulatively, over many years of holding the stock. The utiliartian benefits must have also come into question, and they must have known that they would be judged by the amount of good produced by their decision. The stakeholder’s, namely the employees, community of St. Louis, stock holders, and consumers, rights all had to be weighed in making a decision. Though the Busch family had been in control for 5 generations, the Busch family owned only 4% of Anheuser-Busch stock in 2008. â€Å"A common and fair complaint about globalization is that it separates businesses from the places in which they do their business. If a business operates amidst, and is therefore dependent upon, a local community, it tends to treat that community with more care than if its an ocean away. It has more of an investment in the community financially, emotionally, politically and therefore usually makes more of an investment. † (Solomon) How would the city of St. Louis, MO fair with this takeover? What about national pride? What duty did the Board of Directors have toward the United States in protecting a native brand? On November 18, 2008, the acquisition was completed, and the parent corporation was renamed Anheuser-Busch InBev; Anheuser-Busch became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new corporation, controlled within the North America zone unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev. By early 2009, Anheuser-Busch InBev turned a family-led company that spared little expense into one that is focused intently on cost-cutting and profit margins, while rethinking the way it sells beer. (Wall Street Journal) Anheuser-Busch InBev focused on reducing costs in the Anheuser-Busch Companies subsidiary and implemented performance-related pay, along with several other changes. These included immediate layoffs of 1,400 employees and 415 contractors, the sale of Busch Entertainment Corporation and company-owned aircraft, lengthened accounts payable terms, and the introduction of zero-based budgeting. For employees, Anheuser-Busch InBev ended employee benefits such as executive assistants for senior management, company contributions to the salaried employee pension plan, and company-provided life insurance to retirees; it also reduced company-provided cell phones, tuition reimbursement, and severance packages. In addition to these internal changes, Anheuser-Busch InBev has made large cuts to its advertising budget. (Wall Street Journal) Anheuser-Busch InBev stock price has risen from $70 per share on November 18, 2008 to $88. 61 per share on December 3, 2012, an increase of 26. % as compared to the 64. 1% increase in the SP 500 during the same time period. Was the loss of an American beer company necessary for the short-term gains of a foreign competitor? This is a difficult question to answer; however, I do not believe Anheuser-Busch would have made the necessary changes to compete in a changing, global market. In my opinion, their history of overspending and native bias led to t heir takeover. In retrospect, I am unable to condemn InBev for their handling of this corporate takeover, and I do not believe Anheuser-Busch or InBev acted unethically in their decision-making.