Secrecy The American Experience By Senator Daniel P. Moynihan Essays

Secrecy: The American Experience? By Senator Daniel P. Moynihan According to a survey performed for the Defense Department in 1996, it was found that the majority of U.S. citizens believe that the government withholds too much information by classifying it as a secret. In this book, ?Secrecy: The American Experience?, Senator Daniel P. Moynihan reinforces that view. This is a distinctive book with numerous weaknesses, some errors, and one great strength. The weakness is that the book shows controversial arguments rather than a policy analysis. Moynihan has a particular view he wants to advance, and he is not interested in considering alternate explanations or exploring evidence that is contradictory with his view. Moynihan marks the start of modern secrecy with the Espionage Act. Most of the distinctive features of twentieth-century secrecy are rooted in the program to build the atomic bomb, including vast secret budgets and cover stories. I particularly enjoyed the book in that it told the truth of past events. I did not like that the book was written from only Moynihan's point of view and did not discuss other opinions. I enjoyed the book because it is nonfiction and reveals the truth of secrecy in America. Most importantly I found it interesting that this book was written by Senator Moynihan rather than by an ordinary person who would make many assumptions in order to write a book about secrecy. This US senator from New York analyzes the roots of America's obsession with government secrecy and pleads for it's dismantling. This book is not primarily an insider's account of the Government in action. It is, more ambitiously, a historical assessment of the ?culture of secrecy,? particularly in the area of foreign policy. Moynihan cites the CIA's failure to forecast the end of the Soviet Union as yet another deviation caused by secrecy. In his view, the CIA simply failed at its most important task. It is possible that all of those who argue to the contrary are mistaken, but Moynihan does not explain why or even acknowledge that there is a debate. In any case, the relevance of this controversy to government secrecy is weak; since CIA estimates of the Soviet Union economy are among the least secretive items it produced. Secrecy is heavily weighted toward the past. More than half the book is devoted to the period before 1950. Here too there are problems. Moynihan believes he has proved that President Harry Truman was never told about the secret army program known as Venona, which successfully decrypted Soviet communications and provided documentary evidence of Soviet espionage against the United States. There is circumstantial evidence that Truman was not informed about Venona, but Moynihan has not proved the negative. In 1996, the number of new secrets dropped to the lowest in recent decades. Never before has so much information about national security been so easily available to so many. How and why this came to pass is a story that has never been fully told, and it is not mentioned at all in this book. Daniel Patrick Moynihan draws two conclusions from his study of the way America keeps its secrets. If the federal government had revealed all it knew about Soviet espionage activities in the United States during and after World War II, there might have been no McCarthy era. If the U.S. intelligence community had needed its own analysis of the Soviet economy in the aftermath of World War II, there might have been no Cold War. These are the conclusions Moynihan makes. Moynihan proves that the American people and government have been the worst sufferers of this secrecy culture. For example: the xenophobic hysteria which led to the 1917 espionage act and the Dulles-Hoover cold war gyrations. Moynihan believes that the US assessments on the Soviet Union went so widely of the mark, in spite of capacity to access the best intelligence since the secret sources could not be tested and substantiated before acceptance as policy inputs. Excessive secrecy also affected the psyche of the American nation in the McCarthy and Vietnam Era. He feels that much of the witch hunting of the innocent could have been avoided had the intelligence available with the security services been revealed to

Another Evening At The Club Essay Sample Essay Example

Another Evening At The Club Essay Sample Essay Example Another Evening At The Club Essay Sample Paper Another Evening At The Club Essay Sample Paper The title Another Evening at the Club is indeed close to me meaning of Just Another Evening at the Club because at the end of this story Samia the wife shows that she has empathy towards Gazia (young servant)for what she and her husband have done to her. They in a sense through a mistake have ruined Gazias reputation in town, she is being questioned by the police and will be ashamed in front of the whole town for a crime she actually did not commit. Samia is showing remorse by the narrator saying that her body was trembling uncontrollably thats what happens to you when you live with guilt I believe. And yet within a few minutes Samia and Abboud Bey gather themselves and decide to go out to the club for supper. So point being that life goes on for them as normal Just Another Evening at the Club but in reality they had changed someone elses life forever†¦. I believe that the author wants the readers to understand is what was actually lost here was life. I also believe that the narrator and Abdul-Karim was never able to get that rematch of the swimming contest, and in the meantime they also lost someone who could give them valuable information about the Arabs enemies so no one really wins. Even though if you think about it Abdul just may have been the winner here since he was not being secretive (yet) and he died an innocent man, also having withheld info. needed to help the Arabs. The narrator actually led a secretive life with the secret army, and Abdul tried to live his life to the biggest extent. I believe that the most important lesson that the narrator of The Womens Baths learns is to always respect what other people do they do it for a reason and you do not have to agree or approve of their reasoning. The grandmother who has been going to the public baths for seventy years, has the narrator join her one day and she actually really enjoys the grandmothers tradition. I think the narrator also learns that you can keep your traditions alive within you even if others (like her daughter in law)decides not to partake. What I have learned about the role of women in the societies that were described in these reading selections is this: women play a very important role in the lives of their husbands and fathers for one. Some of these women have been raised to only be a beautiful, happy and carefree person in the life of their significant other. They do not necessarily have an opinion and do not ever cause a scene or trouble. In fact as we read about the different cultures, religios beliefs, and traditional roles that each of the men and women play you come to find out that the Eastern resistance was brought about to preserve womens purity and devotion. I know that some of these women are proud of their traditions but I couldnt help but feel sorry for some of the women in these stories because I felt like they never say how they felt about certain conficts in their lives. They are people with feelings and emotions also and should have a right to express them. I think that there is another side to all of this also in the way that the grandmother handled herself in The Womens Baths. She believed that her tradition was important enough to pass on to the narrator, she wanted to show her first hand that the role that she played in everyones life at the public bath house was important also. I was proud of her while reading the story that she did not give up her tradition based on how her daughter in law felt. I think these stories showed you that there are many types of women in the world: some who invite challenge for a better life, and some who are content with the security of having a good life but maybe no opinion.

Christianity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Christianity - Assignment Example An eye for an eye meant an actual eye for an eye. The Pharisees felt the oral tradition could be interpreted as an eye could be replaced for the value of the eye. Although both the Sadducees and Pharisees fought against each other, both group groups disapproved of Jesus. Both believed in one God. Jesus was preaching that He was the Messiah. Instead of the law that both Sadducees and Pharisees believed in, Jesus was preaching forgiveness and love. While the Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife, the Pharisees thought the way to heaven was by following the law. When Jesus tore down the money changer tables in the Temple, both groups decried him as a sacrilege. Jesus came preaching new concepts that the Jews did not want to listen to at the time. I believe the pivotal event in the emergence of Christianity between Jesus’ death and the end of the Roman Empire was the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine I. I think if any other Roman Emperor such as Caligula, Nero, or any other save for Constantine had promoted Christianity than Christianity would have remained a cult and not grown. However since Constantine I had many military victories and his greatness helped promote Christianity. In Catholicism anyone baptized is saved. Children are baptized as soon as possible to save their immortal soul. This practice uses baptism as a way to be saved. On the other hand, Calvinists believe only someone who has accepted Jesus in their heart should be baptized. A preacher must talk and be convinced of the individual’s sincerity. This type of baptism is used to show they have been saved. For a Calvinist to submit to a baptism and not be saved only infuriates God. It would be better to be saved and not baptized than be unsaved and baptized. Two theological issues that caused the Reformation was King Henry VIII declaring himself not under the authority of the Pope. Henry became head of the new English Church. The second theological issue was the Bible. The

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury Literature review

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury brands in the UK - Literature review Example In spite of having such a strong presence and considerable purchasing power, this ethnic minority has not been studied as much as it deserves. Through this research we should be able to establish: Impact of Western Values on Chinese Traditions. The reasons and perception behind making such purchasing decisions. Chinese perception of brands and role a brand name plays Brand Image Journey towards brand management starts with the development of brand identity and concept and determining the way the public should perceive the brand by communicating a distinct brand image and personality (Okonkwo, 2007). According to Scholz (2012), luxury brands focus on the top two tiers of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid: Self-esteem and self-actualization. A luxury brand as opposed to a mass brand has fewer versions and products so that the brand can retain its superiority and uniqueness (Fich, 2011). Furthermore, in most cases the luxury brands are manufactured by hand or have a certain element of customization, making it one-of-a-kind product. However, on key feature of luxury brand is the fact that they are always very high-priced and are not affordable by the masses (Schloz, 2012). This fact alone retains the exclusiveness of a luxury brand as it is unreachable by masses and can be afforded by the very few with the purchasing power. In spite of what may be perceived, luxury brands are seldom bought spontaneously. Thus the majority of consumers of luxury brands put significant effort in the buying decision. In other words, the spontaneous buyers of luxury brands represents a small percentage as opposed to 70% of luxury consumers that plan in advance for buying a luxury product (Scholz, 2012). Thus luxury goods cannot be exclusively restricted to price, where the consumer is seeking bargains for convenience goods but is willing to pay a significant sum for luxury product. This is where the concept of Brand Image comes in; brand image involves the marketer to brea the life into an inanimate product, thus creating a perception of human characteristics and distinct personality in the eyes of the consumers (McLoughlin, Aaker & McLoughlin, 2012). Brand image is on the receiver’s side. Image research focuses on the way in which certain groups perceive a product, a brand, a politician, a company or a country. The image refers to the way in which these groups decode all of the signals emanating from the products, services and communication covered by the brand (Kapfere, 2004). Brand image plays a positive role in boosting the product choice when the consumer forms a congruency between their self-image and the brand personality. The marketer’s aim is to create a clear positioning of their brand in the minds of the consumer by means of brand image, thus the brand image is the most powerful tool that can be used by the luxury brand. Luxury Brand Consumers Nicole Fich (2011) in her book Brand Management for luxury goods distinguishes clear ly between a â€Å"product† and a â€Å"brand†, the product can be a car but a brand would be BMW. It is the brand name that makes a huge difference in terms of price that the consumer is willing to pay and the key feature that distinguishes the brand from competition. China and the Europe have a very rich and old civilization, and so is their long relationship. Presently this relationship is strengthened by the

Frost Essay -- essays research papers

Explication of â€Å"The Road Not Taken†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Frost, a poet from the early Twentieth Century, is well known not only for his elegant style, but for his use of great symbolism throughout his works. In â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, he depicted his theme and meaning through a four stanza poem which consisted of a set rhyme scheme (A, B, A, A, B). This poem has left its readers with many different interpretations. It is one’s past, present, and the attitude with which he looks upon his future that determines the shade of the light that he will see the poem in. In any case, however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost’s belief that it is the road that one chooses that makes him the man who he is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first stanza, the narrator says, â€Å"And sorry I could not travel both...† This quote is plainly explaining how difficult is it to make a decision because it is impossible not to wonder about the opportunity cost; what the decision maker will miss out on. There is a strong sense of regret before the choice is even made and it lies in the knowledge that in one lifetime, it is impossible to travel down every path. In an attempt to make a decision, the traveler â€Å"looks down one as far as I could†. The road that will be chosen leads to the unknown, as does any choice in life. As much as he may strain his eyes to see as far the road stretches, eventually it surpasses his vision and he can never see where it is going to lead. It is the way...

Language Differences: Age Essay

When children are young, apart from natural instincts and biological aspects, their brains are virtually blank slates. Thus, as they develop, their behaviors and speech also develops, depending on their environment. So it is factual, that when they are young, they do not have a properly developed vocabulary, have a lower rate of speech motor control, and have poorer sentence structure and grammar. All these factors play a part in the language difference between, say, a five year old child and a 20 year old adult. Experiment: Speaking to 6 year-old children. Results: Initially it was difficult to get them started to speak to me, as they can prove quite shy. This may be because of their lack of language, ensuing in their lack of confidence. This however varies from child to child. When we did start speaking though, I found myself automatically speaking at a level which they’d understand. I noticed that even though they may have a lot to say about something, they find it hard to express their ideas and communicate with others. I also observed the limited vocabulary used and the occasional stuttering and stumbling with words. Experiment: Speaking to Adults. Results: They tended to be easier to talk to. I noticed that once they began talking and had a clear idea of what they were talking about the words began to flow. Most were quite articulate and used a range of vocabulary. The speech-tempo was also at a steady yet quick pace as well. It was clear that they had more set and direct ideas that they understood more about what they were saying than children did. Therefore, these are the main differences of language between ages. It is proven that as age develops, so do speech qualities.

The Internet And Its Effects On Society - 1235 Words

The world has been brought together by the reigning overlord of today s society - the internet. People all around the world have become slaves to the internet, growing dependent on the many ways that it is used. This powerful tool can cover news stories as it happens, provide entertainment, as well as a form of education. It can do so much and can be found almost anywhere. The internet can also let anyone take a peek into others lives, no matter what their privacy settings are. The internet has become a physical, mental, and emotional danger to every user. The world is now in a digital era, where technology is a main part of many lives. Children are starting to use the internet earlier and using the internet to watch pornography, as†¦show more content†¦To a mind of a child or adolescent, these prominent changes will affect their developing minds permanently, leading to an impatient, aggressive, and unproductive generation (Internet Addiction: The New Mental Health Disorder?). Spending hours online takes away from the capability to interact with families and peers. Instead of forming and strengthening bonds face to face, internet users are more likely to socially interact with people anonymously in mass amounts, rather than to interact with people to understand and learn about them (Researchers Link Use of Internet, Social Isolation). A study done by the Pew Research Center resulted that †¦ an increasing number of Americans have no one with whom they can discuss important matters (Social Isolation and New Technology). A person walks amongst the earth in order to create relationships. However, the relationship has no meaning if both parties are not able to trust each other. Trust is the most important part in any interaction. A relationship consists of two parties with different desires. Those parties trust each other to respect each other. When human stop trusting each other, they are preying on each other in their animalistic nature. The internet is a tool to take a peek into others lives. The privacy settings of social