Bombing Libya in 1986 Operation El Dorado Canyon

After providing support for the 1985 terrorist attacks against airports in Rome and Vienna, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi indicated that his regime would continue to aid in similar endeavors. Openly backing terrorist groups such as Red Army Faction and the Irish Republican Army, he also attempted to claim the entire Gulf of Sidra as territorial waters. A violation of international law, this claim led President Ronald Reagan to order three carriers from the US Sixth Fleet to enforce the standard twelve-mile limit to territorial waters. Crossing into the gulf, American forces engaged the Libyans on March 23/24, 1986 in what became known as the Action in the Gulf of Sidra. This resulted in the sinking of a Libyan corvette and patrol boat as well as strikes against selected ground targets. In the wake of the incident, Gaddafi called for Arab assaults on American interests. This culminated on April 5 when Libyan agents bombed the La Belle disco in West Berlin. Frequented by American servicemen, the night club was extensively damaged with two American soldiers and one civilian killed as well as 229 injured. In the wake of the bombing, the United States quickly obtained intelligence that showed the Libyans were responsible. After several days of extensive talks with European and Arab allies, Reagan ordered air strikes against terrorism-related targets in Libya. Claiming that he possessed irrefutable proof, Reagan stated that Gaddafi had ordered attacks to to cause maximum and indiscriminate casualties. Addressing the nation on the night of April 14, he argued Self defense is not only our right, it is our duty. It is the purpose behind the mission...a mission fully consistent with Article 51 of the UN Charter. Operation El Dorado Canyon As Reagan spoke on television, American aircraft were in the air. Dubbed Operation El Dorado Canyon, the mission was the culmination of extensive and complex planning. As the US Navy assets in the Mediterranean lacked sufficient tactical strike aircraft for the mission, the US Air Force was tasked with providing part of the attack force. Participation in the strike was delegated to the F-111Fs of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath. These were to be supported by four electronic warfare EF-111A Ravens from the 20th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Upper Heyford. Mission planning was quickly complicated when both Spain and France refused overflight privileges for the F-111s. As a result, the USAF aircraft were forced to fly south, then east through the Straits of Gibraltar in order to reach Libya. This wide detour added approximately 2,600 nautical miles to the round trip and required support from 28 KC-10 and KC-135 tankers. The targets selected for Operation El Dorado Canyon were intended to aid in crippling Libyas ability to support international terrorism. Targets for the F-111s included the military facilities at Tripolis airport and Bab al-Azizia barracks. The aircraft from Britain were also tasked with destroying the underwater sabotage school at Murat Sidi Bilal. As the USAF attacked targets in western Libya, US Navy aircraft were largely assigned targets to the east around Benghazi. Utilizing a mix of A-6 Intruders, A-7 Corsair IIs, and F/A-18 Hornets, they were to attack the Jamahiriyah Guard Barracks and suppress Libyan air defenses. In addition, eight A-6s were tasked with hitting Benina Military Airfield to prevent the Libyans from launching fighters to intercept the strike package. Coordination for the raid was conducted by a USAF officer aboard a KC-10. Striking Libya Around 2:00 AM on April 15, the American aircraft began to arrive over their targets. Though the raid was intended to be a surprise, Gaddafi received warning of its arrival from Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici of Malta who informed him that unauthorized aircraft were crossing Maltese airspace. This allowed Gaddafi to escape his residence at Bab al-Azizia shortly before it was hit. As the raiders approached, the formidable Libyan air defense network was suppressed by US Navy aircraft firing a mix of AGM-45 Shrike and AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles. In action for approximately twelve minutes, American aircraft struck each of the designated targets though several were forced to abort for various reasons. Though each target was hit, some bombs fell off target damaging civilian and diplomatic buildings. One bomb narrowly missed the French embassy. In the course of the attack, one F-111F, flown by Captains Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci and Paul F. Lorence, was lost over the Gulf of Sidra. On the ground, many Libyan soldiers abandoned the posts and no aircraft were launched to intercept the attackers. Aftermath of Operation El Dorado Canyon After lingering in the area searching for the lost F-111F, American aircraft returned to their bases. The successful completion of the USAF component of the mission marked the longest combat mission flown by tactical aircraft. On the ground, the raid killed/wounded around 45-60 Libyan soldiers and officials while destroying several IL-76 transport aircraft, 14 MiG-23 fighters, and two helicopters. In the wake of the attacks, Gaddafi attempted to claim that he had won a great victory and began circulating false reports of extensive civilian casualties. The attack was condemned by many nations and some argued that it far exceeded the right of self-defense set forth by the Article 51 of the UN Charter. The United States received support for its actions from Canada, Great Britain, Israel, Australia, and 25 other countries. Though the attack damaged the terrorist infrastructure within Libya, it did not hamper Gaddafis support of terrorist endeavors. Among the terrorist actions, he later supported were the hijacking of Pam Am Flight 73 in Pakistan, the shipment of arms aboard MV Eksund to European terrorist groups, and most famously the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Selected Sources Global Security: Operation El Dorado CanyonAir Power Australia: The Libyan Strike - How the Americans Did It

Analysis Of The Novel Dracula - 1753 Words

(The author and his/her times) Abraham Stoker was born in Clontarf, Dublin, Republic of Ireland on November 8, 1847. He was one of seven children and very sickly. At the age of 65, Stoker died on April 20, 1912, in London, England for reasons that are still unclear. One theory is that he died of syphilis; another suggests that he, most likely, died of a stroke. As a child Stoker was confined to his bed due to sickness, as a way to console him, his mother would tell him Irish folklore. Many of these stories consisted of supernatural characters, such as vampires. From these stories it is said that Stoker added more upon the vampires in the stories he was told and used them as inspiration for his novel Dracula. There are several theories behind what really influenced Stoker, a common one is that his influence derived from Prince of Wallachia, Vlad III or better known as Vlad the Impaler. However, his nephew, Irving Stoker, claims that his uncle was inspired after he seen Count Dracula i n a nightmare after eating too much dressed crab. Stoker is said to have added more upon the vampire characters that already existed during his time. (Form, structure, and plot) Abraham Stoker organizes his book in episodic form; it is composed of diary pages, newspaper clippings, journal entries and letters. This provides various perspectives because he includes many narrators. To develop suspense and contribute to the mood of the novel the author foreshadows important information, such as theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Novel Dracula 1452 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Dracula Although Dracula was not the first vampire novel, the effect that Bram Stoker’s creation had on the vampire genre is undisputable. At the time, it was written intellectual revelations during the 19th century had begun to change what people fear. Archaic legends like vampire stories no longer inspired terror in industrializing areas like Britain. What made Dracula widely successful was the incorporation of modern themes and anxieties with the renowned archetype of the vampireRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Dracula 981 Words   |  4 Pagesmany literary analyses of the novel, Dracula is full of statements regarding gender roles and gender separation in the late nineteenth century. Stoker conveys contrasting female personas through Lucy and Mina. Though these women exist in the same time period and within the same social class, they have varying personality traits that reflect their womanhood in relation to societal ideals and, more specifically, to the men around them. Multipl e times within the novel, the traits of the ideal nineteenthRead MoreDracula Seen in New Eyes760 Words   |  3 PagesDracula Seen in New Eyes Dracula by Bram Stoker which is written in the style of journal entries, newspaper clippings, and other forms of personal narratives from various characters, and their viewpoints of the peculiar events surrounding them. There are many interpretations of this novel, many different viewpoints on the themes of the novel. Carol Senf, wrote an essay called Dracula: The Unseen Face in the Mirror. In this interpretation, there are many different viewpoints and ideas about DraculaRead MoreDracula, By Bram Stoker1148 Words   |  5 PagesIn Bram Stoker’s Dracula, there is a plethora of ways the novel can be critically analyzed, but there’s one theory in particular that I found the most interesting to apply. I used the theory of deconstructuralism to critically analyze Dracula, and to help break down the story into particular meanings and themes that can contradict the typical perceptions and first impressions of the novel. To better help complement my analysis, I read and analy zed another popular article by John Paul Riquelme, titledRead MoreGothic Elements In Dracula Essay1499 Words   |  6 PagesBram Stoker s Dracula is a staple of the Gothic Horror genre. It is a novel that has been scrutinized by countless readers since it was published in 1897. While Stoker s novel is certainly not the first example of a piece of gothic horror, or even the first example of a gothic horror story focusing categorically on vampires, it still managed to plenarily capture the attention of the public. But not only did Dracula enthrall the readers of its time, but it perpetuated to be a mainstay of the gothicRead MoreThe Good Will Always Prevail1077 Words   |  5 Pagesvampire fad came from a man who ruled Transylvania named Vlad Dracul, as known as Dracula. Bram Stoker wrote the novel, Dracula, with a gothic-style writing and a combined sense of romanticism. Dracula, by Bram Stoker, should be a chosen reading for this course because, Stoker refrains to many points such as: the good versus evil, symbolism through Christianity, and allegories to addiction. This story is a great novel that shows many aspects of the Victorian era lifestyle throughout these points. Read More Repressed Sexuality in Bram Stokers Dracula Essay1426 Words   |  6 PagesRepressed Sexuality in Bram Stokers Dracula      Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps no work of literature has ever been composed without being a product of its era, mainly because the human being responsible for writing it develops their worldview within a particular era.   Thus, with Bram Stokers Dracula, though we have a vampire myth novel filled with terror, horror, and evil, the story is a thinly veiled disguise of the repressed sexual mores of the Victorian era.   If we look to critical interpretation and commentaryRead MoreEssay on Stokers Portrayal of Women in Dracula1193 Words   |  5 Pagesliterature ever created, Dracula by Bram Stoker has been interpreted many different ways, being torn at from every angle possible. Just as one might find interest in interpreting novels differently, he or she might also find interest in the plot, prose, or theme, all of which ultimately lead to the novels overall tone. Throughout the novel, it becomes blatant that the novel contains an underlying theme of female incompetence and inferiority. Thr ough a true feminist’s eyes, this analysis can clearly be understoodRead MoreSexuality In Bram Stokers Dracula1082 Words   |  5 PagesSexuality in Bram Stoker s DraculaBram Stoker s Dracula, favorably received by critics upon publication in 1897, entertained its Victorian audience with unspeakable horrors such as vampires invading bedrooms to prey on beautiful maidens under the guise of night. The novel s eroticism proved even more unspeakable. Received in the era of repression, it remains questionable whether Dracula s readership perceived the sexuality flowing from the page. An advocate for the censorship of sexual materialRead MoreLiterary Review of Bram Stokers Dracula Essay1230 Words   |  5 PagesReview of Bram Stoker’s Dracula Prior to the creation of the literary classic â€Å"Dracula†, Bram Stoker spent his time managing the Lyceum Theatre and legendary actor Henry Irving. According to Jennifer Dorn, when the novel was first published in 1897, critics regarded it as a â€Å"pulp fiction potboiler† (Dorn). The novels declaration as a literary masterpiece came many years later. A graduate of Trinity college, Stoker came from a middle class Irish family, the son of a civil servant. The publication

Prenatal And Early Postnatal Periods - 1514 Words

Introduction Season of Birth (SOB) is influenced during prenatal and early postnatal periods and is thought to affect the brain resulting in various personality traits (Kazanteva et al., 2014). SOB may also affect a person psychologically or physiologically, such as with sleep patterns and handedness (Dome et al., 2010). Many of the research done on SOB define season base on the northern hemisphere as spring (March to May), summer (June to August), autumn (September to November) and winter (December to February) (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Some scientists postulate that SOB is also influenced by environmental factors, such amount of sunlight exposed to the individual. Which SOB has been seen in some people with disorders, such as†¦show more content†¦Both the patients who had schizophrenia and the patients, who did not, were divided into subgroups base on their age, gender and income status. There were a total of 631,911 individuals, 306,194 were male, and 325,717 were female. 5,047 of the individuals had schizophrenia, 2,796 were male and 2,251 were female. All of the participants aged from 21 to 60 years old. The age was divided into 10-years periods, from 1950-1959, 1960-1969, 1970-1979, and 1980-1989. Then the subgroups was divided into gender, and further into income status. The income status was divided into low (USD 0-1007), medium (USD 1007-20,000), and high (USD 20,000). The result showed a high in February and a low from June and July. However, overall there were not any patterns that could be observed. There was a significant different was only in female participants (P0.00001). There was also a significant different in female and male participants who had schizophrenia. Months of May, August, and November was high in male who had schizophrenia and deficit in December. However, there was a different research that also focuses on SOB and schizophrenia. The experiment was done in Puerto Rico, with the temperatures ranging from low of 65 °F to high of 78 °F (Carrion-Baralt et al., 2006). Some researchers thought that SOB was influence by temperature. Carrion-Baralt and his team decideShow MoreRelatedThe Stem Cell Therapy ( Iusct )1641 Words   |  7 Pagesare considered to be perinatally lethal or associated with significant disability and morbidity if intervention is delayed to postnatal period (1). Recent advances in prenatal diagnostic techniques have enabled early prenatal diagnosis of a wide variety of genetic disorders. IUSCT has the following advantages over postnatal therapy: the immune system of the fetus at early gestation is still immature; which is the basis for the unique immunologic tolerance phenomenon described many years ago (2).Read MoreThe Role Of Literature Of Maternal Depression During Prenatal Stages1110 Words   |  5 Pages Evaluating the Relationship of Literature of Maternal Depression during Prenatal Stages. Depression can occur at any time. We often hear talk of postpartum depression or the baby blues, which occurs shortly after the birth of a baby. Though we rarely discuss depression that occurs during pregnancy or prenatal depression. There are estimates that as many as 70% of women will experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy, making it a widespread concern. However, these depressive symptoms areRead MoreWhat Are The Effects Of Prenatal Choline Supplementation On Spatial Working Memory?1345 Words   |  6 Pagesalcohol-related deficits. The present review explores the ability of choline, a critical nutrient for brain development, to reduce alcohol-related deficits in spatial memory at three distinct developmental stages. Thomas et al. (2) explore the effects of prenatal choline supplementation on spatial working memory. Experimenters randomly assigned pregnant rats to receive oral injection of ethanol (EtOH) accompanied by saline of choline supplementation during gestational days 5-20. After birth, the offspringRead MoreWhat Is Meant By Plasticity On The Context Of Neural Development And Briefly Describe How It Occurs As A Lifelong Essay1219 Words   |  5 Pages2011). These stages include prenatal and postnatal events that give rise to human brain functioning. The major prenatal events include neural induction, neurulation, cell proliferation and migration, followed by differentiation, apoptosis, and axonal outgrowth. Myelination and synaptogenesis fall into both categories of prenatal and postnatal (Nelson, 2011). Up until the 1960s, researchers believed that the brain could change only during the infancy to childhood period, and that the brain structureRead MoreCauses And Timing Of Premature Infants1043 Words   |  5 PagesJanuary 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011, their gestational age at birth was 22 0/7 to 28 6/7 weeks, and they were born in a Neonatal Research Network center† (Patel et al., 2015, p. 332). Evaluation of death was actively followed from birth to a postnatal age of 120 days, death, hospital discharge, or transfer to another center. Infants who remained hospitalized for more than 120 days were evaluated for death until 1 year of age (Patel et al., 2015, p. 332). The primary cause of death was identifiedRead MoreDifferences Between Nutrition Supply And Foetus1719 Words   |  7 Pagesautoimmune reaction. This study examines the how foetal early environment causes mental and behavioural health outcomes in adult life and its potential basic components and methodological difficulties. It relates how early environment links to the disease and developmental plasticity effects on prenatal environment. However further studies need to analyse the impact of particular prenatal element and effort to separate the impact of genetic and prenatal environment. Birth weight associates foetal patternsRead MoreHuman Adaptation Essay1234 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferences between prenatal and postnatal environments, which can lead to diabetes and obesity in adulthood. In this case, the origins are limited to two or three generations as opposed to thousands of years of evolution as in genotypic—there is no change in biology of individuals. Maternal health, particularly under-nourished indicates a nutritionally restricted fetal environment; the fetus adapts to these conditions and increases its abi lity to store fat, preparing it for a postnatal environment similarRead MoreMaternal Depression Case Study1431 Words   |  6 Pagesand 92 five-year-old children and their mothers, Wojcicki et al. (2015) examines the telomere length within these children. Shorter telomere length has been linked to health conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity in adults, so determining early-life risk factors can improve the health trajectories of many children (Wojcicki et al., 2015). The purpose of the study is to determine the effects that exposure to maternal depression has on telomere length in children as well as the effect telomereRead MoreMothers And Their Newborn Babies Care After Discharge : A Review Of Supporting Maternal Transition : Continuity, Coaching1196 Words   |  5 PagesCoaching, and Control Paulette Dongmo Nanfack Kennesaw State University Overview The postpartum period represents a significant transition in women s lives. This critical period of adjustment is characterized by many physical, emotional, and psychological changes that influence women s experiences, adaptation, health, and wellness. Most stressors in the puerperal period include: the transition to motherhood and associated role change and role stress; and physical stressors such asRead MoreExposure To Social Violence1134 Words   |  5 Pagesweight and fetal distress) were not mediated by mental health status of the pregnant women. However, premature birth was almost completely mediated by depressive affect during pregnancy. The relationship of objective pregnancy outcome measures and early life adversity found in our study strengthens extends previous findings showing that intra-familial ACEs (child abuse and household dysfunction) are associated with premature delivery (11–13) and low-birth weight (10,13). Furthermore, it spread out

Forms Of Resistance Rebellion - 1312 Words

Forms of Resistance: Rebellion Throughout the three-hundred years that slavery was exercised in the United States, there were many forms of resistance to the horrors it entailed. Everything from acts of sabotage, poor work, feigning illness, arson, poisoning, and running away to the North were used to undermine the institution (Foner;Garraty). Perhaps one of the most prolific and impactful forms of resistance to slavery were the numerous rebellions and revolts (Foner;Garraty). Although many revolts were put down quickly after their initiation, a select few significant political effects. The Gloucester Conspiracy, the South Carolina â€Å"Stono†¦show more content†¦The men agreed on a plan to collect weapons and ammunition to lead a march to the governor, Sir William Berkeley to request release from their indentures. This plan was ultimately foiled by a servant and four conspirators were hanged and the others arrested. The Gloucester County conspiracy was significant in a few different ways. Firstly, the conspiracy staged a rebellion on a scale never before imagined compared to the small acts of disobedience sometimes encountered with servants. The revolt included weapons and enough intent and ambition to use them, which may have caused a violent and bloody outcome. Secondly, the timing of the conspiracy was in the middle of a transition from servitude to full enslavement in the Virginia Colonies. The great demand for labor was at its high point of the time and landowners desperately needed some form of it (Wolfe). This is significant because although indentured servitude is not entirely slavery, the fact that a group of people would be angry enough to harm or kill to attain freedom scared many owners, and slavery would only cause greater anger. The 1739 Stono Rebellion was arguably the bloodiest revolt in the history of colonial America and was definitely one of the most frightening. By the end of the uprising, over sixty people were dead and the South Carolina colony was left bewi ldered (Stono Rebellion). Named the â€Å"Stono Rebellion† for its location

Food Web Diagram Free Essays

Mojave Desert Organisms * Planate (Vegetation) – Brittle Bush, California Juniper, Creosote Bush, Common Saltbush, Joshua Tree, Mojave Aster, and Triangle-leaf Bursage * Animalia (Animals) – Mammals include coyote, desert bighorn sheep, desert kit fox, spotted skunk, spotted bat, black-tailed jackrabbit, ground squirrels, kangaroo rat and white-footed mouse. Birds include eagles, hawks, owls, quail, roadrunners, finches, warblers and orioles. Reptiles include desert (Gopher Tortoise), several species of rattlesnakes and chuckwalla lizard * Micro-organisms – Fungi (penicillium), monera (mycorrhizae, lichens, azotobacter and streptomycetes, mycoplasmas, and cyanobacteria) Coyote Canus latrans * Organs are essentially the same as humans with minor adaptations * Lungs are bigger for more oxygen intake while being active * The part of the brain referred to as the â€Å"lizard brain† is slightly larger than that of a normal human * Unlike humans, they can digest raw meat with no negative side effects * Their metabolisms are faster They have a Jacobson’s organ that gives scent information to the brain The Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus * Reabsorbs water from feces and excretes excess salt through a nasal gland * Will extract water from its lizard prey * Reduces activity 50% during the heat of midday P C D Desert Food Chains Food chains allow us to examine the basics of how energy passes through an ecosys tem. We will write a custom essay sample on Food Web Diagram or any similar topic only for you Order Now Producer | Consumer | Predator | A food chain is sequence of plants, herbivores and carnivores, through which energy and materials move within an ecosystem. Food chains are usually short and not more than three or four links. They usually consist of a producer, a consumer and a predator, with the predator being the top of the food chain. The top of the desert food chain does eventually die though, and is returned to the bottom of the chain as nutrients by decomposers. Typical Desert Food Chains Mountain Lion Mule Deer Plant (forbs)| Coyote Quail Plant (shrub seeds)| Snakes Lizards Insects Plant (wildflower/grass | Hawk Snakes Rats Plant (seeds)| Typical Desert Food Pyramid Tertiary Consumers Carnivores These are high level consumers, carnivores that will eat other carnivores. Secondary Consumers Small Carnivores The predators are the secondary consumers. They occupy the third trophic level. Again we see cold-blooded animals, such as snakes, insect-eating lizards, and tarantulas. Only about 2 Kilocalories per square meter per year are stored in their bodies. In the harsher desert environments, they are the top predators. Primary Consumers Herbivores These animals are usually small and eat little. Many are insects, or reptiles, who are cold blooded and who use less energy to maintain their bodies than mammals and birds do. As food for predators, they provide about 20 Kilocalories per square meter per year for predators. Including: Ants and other insects, rats and mice, some reptiles the largest of which are the tortoise and chuckwalla. Primary Producers Plants These are plants that make food through photosynthesis. Limited by the availability of water, they produce fewer than 200 Kilocalories of food for the animals for each square meter each year. Including: Trees, shrubs, cactus, wildflowers, grasses Primary Producers: is occupied by the primary producers-plants. Plants produce energy from photosynthesis. Plants produce energy to use for survival, growth and to store when production resources are not available. Primary Consumers: Primary consumers are the animals that eat the plants. These animals, including insects, mammals, such as the desert pocket mouse, food is consumed and converted to energy. References Blue Planet Biomes. (2011). Mojave Desert. Retrieved from http://www. blueplanet Biomes. org/mojave_desert. htm Desert Wildlife. (2011). Digital-Desert. Retrieved from http://digital-desert. com/wildlife/ coyote. html Google. (2011). Google Images. Retrieved from http://www. google. com/imagres? q=†¦ How to cite Food Web Diagram, Essays

Effects of cartoons on children free essay sample

In light of the recent Super Bowl debacle, the harmful effects of media on children have once again become a hot topic in this country. One of societys most important and sacred responsibilities is to mold the future leaders of the U. S. during their impressionable years. Janet Jacksons breast baring has awoken America and moved legislators to remove lurid material from radio and TV. I recently testified in front of the House of Representatives to push for increased fines against broadcasters that air and performances that contain unsuitable content. However, what the mainstream press is not discussing is the adverse effects of animation on children. Kid friendly channels like Cartoon Network are no longer safe with its adult programming. Like the use of the cartoon character Joe Camel, children and their parents see cartoons and think safe product. But as we have learned that it’s harmful to give cigarettes to six-year-olds, we need to address the dangerous effects ofSpace Ghost and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law on our children as well. Cartoon related injuries are a serious topic that America has been avoiding for years. Dozen of our children each year fall prey to being over stimulated by crazed and/or super-powered characters. How many times will children be hurt under the guise of having fun? It is a note to AWNs balanced coverage of the animation community that it is willing to publish my case study on the adverse effects that cartoons have had on our youth. What you read may be disturbing, but as a concerned parent, grandparent or court appointed guardian, this article is a must read. Afterwards, hopefully each of you will join my call to ban all harmful cartoons. The first reported toon-related incident occurred in 1914, when a 9-year-old upstate New York boy fell from his pony while pretending to be Winsor McCay atop Gertie the Dinosaur. The prep school student was already an experienced rider, but was distracted during a routine trot by fanciful thoughts of bare-backing a brontosaurus. After the release ofSteamboat Willie in 1928, the number of cases of toon-related injuries skyrocketed. Strangely enough one of the most publicized Willie ward cases as the hospitals use to call them – was from the same upstate New York town that the aforementioned Gertie fiasco occurred. Many scholars in the field of toon-agedies have looked into the susceptibility of the New England states to toon-related occurrences. Some have linked it to harmful levels of cod in the groundwater, but others feel its simply due to the regions loose liberal attitudes. In the fall of 1928, young Dickie Johnson decided to take the family yacht for a spin around the lake. Unfortunately, the small boy was not yet an accomplished sea-fairing captain and he crashed the family heirloom into the dock, ruining his sister’s otherwise splendid cotillion. This incident spurred the first toon-related injury lawsuit. Dickies father, Gaylord Johnson, filed the case against Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks on charges of corrupting a minor and inciting mischief. When Dickie took the stand in the summer of 1929, he told the jury, I thought if a lowly, common mouse could drive a boat, surely I could too. In other damning testimony, the boys mother, Mrs. Virginia Johnson said, After seeing that crazed mouse in the theater, Dickie became a hellion. He just wouldnt stop tormenting the cat. He even fashioned his father’s ascots into a nest! Disney, not one to flinch from adversity, stood his ground. The case is officially still on the books. Luckily, after a short institutional stay, young Johnson grew out of his Mickey Mouse fixation and ended up founding the hugely successful Orkin Extermination franchise. Such cases grew and grew, as animated shorts became a staple in movie theaters around the world. However, a large spike in reported cases can be seen in 1937 with the release of the first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As chronicled in the Journal of Modern Psychology, hundreds of reports of children being poisoned by tainted apples during Halloween came flooding into police stations across the United States. Grumpy, Doc and their animated housemates were now unhinging the fragile minds of the mentally unstable. The film also garnered the distinction of gaining the first reported toon-related injury to a young girl. That up until this point, only boys had been traumatized can be attributed to the fact that most parents did not let their daughters leave their rooms until the start of World War II, when they went to work in munitions factories. In 1938 after viewing Snow White, 16-year-old Isabel Hart was inspired to take laudanum in a deluded attempt to secure a date to the fall formal. Subsequently, the teenager slipped into a coma for a week. Her mother, Rosie Hart, told the The Local Paper, I dont know what she was thinking. Me and her step-mom wouldnt have let her go to the dance anyway. She has chores to do. Like young Dickie Johnson, Isabel was rehabilitated after a four-year stint in the Lehigh County Metal Institute. After her release she went on to gain a solid job as a social worker helping neglected children. Undoubtedly, her toon-related incident spurred her desire to help other afflicted youth. Years later, Hart sued the Walt Disney Co. for copyright infringement on the feature film, Cinderella. Cases of toon-related injuries persistently increased each year after. However, yet another great rise in the number of incidents came in the dawn of television animation in 1956. For the late part of the 1950s, children didn’t begin speaking at a normal age, directly attributed to Gerald McBoing Boing. Many professional psychologists and government officials feared that it was a secret Communist plot to under-develop American childrens minds. Former Senator Joseph McCarthy even re-ignited his Communist fight against UPA and CBS the shows broadcasters soon after the series started airing. In an interview shortly before his death in 1957, McCarthy said in the magazine Capitalists For a Better Tomorrow, Its got red inked all over it. You know what UPA really stands for? Undemocratic Pinkoes for America. After McCarthys passing, many Boing-busters, as they were called, fought to have the show removed from airwaves. The group later lobbied against all harmful television productions. One of the group’s 1960 promotional pamphlets stated that, the avante-guard imagery in TV cartoons is clearly hallucinogenic and will inspire ruthless and care-free behavior in our young children when they grow older. Plus, they’re not funny. This idea later grew more prominent as the group compiled volumes of evidence against cartoon makers, showing thousands of examples of beat-nick behavior within many theatrical and television characters. The Boing-busters later discovered proof linking the entire hippie movement of the 1960s and 1970s to mind altering cartoons. Mina Joyless, president of Boing-busters during those turbulent years, in her plea to the U. S. congress in 1969, said, We can directly link this new generations confused sexual identity to Looney Tunes shorts. Bug Bunny often gleefully without shame cross-dresses. In one such short, Bugs Bunny marries Elmer Fudd, who wears a white wedding dress. The homoerotic undertones are obvious, but what is more disturbing in the prevalence of bestiality. The case against animation was weakened once a liberal study released at U. C. Berkeley presented the notion that the U.S. school system was a far greater factor in the under-development of American youth than anything seen on television. Though the scholars were later discredited by allegations that they drank wine in a hot tub, unfortunately, the damage to The Cause had already been done. Though they failed to rid television and movie houses of damaging cartoons, Boing-buster did however, bring toon-agedies into the public consciousness. No longer could animators hide their willy-nilly leftist thoughts under the guise of childrens entertainment. America was taking note of the harmful mental and physical damage that cartoons were producing. However, with everything good comes some bad. Films like Fritz the Cat, Yellow Submarine and Mad Monster Party? were now free to say, Okay you figured us out and make cartoons with no shackles of self-restraint. Luckily, the conservative Reagan administration of the 1980s created a more sterile environment in America. Brilliant marketing by the Boing-busters made U. S. audiences disregard liberal art animations as flower power frivolities, rendering them uncool to the younger generation. Cartoons like The Care Bears and The Get-A-Long Gang acted as sedative elements in childrens lives, counteracting the detrimental effects of Woody Woodpecker, Tom Slick and Tom Jerryreruns. However, the decade did see the most publicized toon-related injury case ever brought to court. The complex lawsuit was brought against all the major cartoon studios for years of continued mental anguish, reckless endangerment and inciting criminal acts. This court case was the first brought against a cartoon creator by an adult who was first afflicted as a child. The family of Devin Grimm filed the suit against Walt Disney, MGM, Universal, Fox and Warner Bros. for years of mental abuse. The case rested on the foundation that between the ages of 2 and 17, Devin had watched approximately 20,956 hours of animation. The daily â€Å"toon† onslaught had left Mr. Grimm mentally unstable, socially inept and tragically â€Å"unhip. † Like many other caring modern parents of the atomic age, Devin’s mom and dad thought the TV would raise their kid to be a useful member of society like many scientists of the time believed. Instead, their son was turned into a reclusive and dangerous lunatic. By age five, Devins parents Mac and Beth Grimm, noticed that their son had developed strange speech patterns, pronouncing rs as ws and ending sentences with beep, beep. † He would only speak seven phrases â€Å"heavens to mergatroid, Whats up doc? , Thats all folks, Exit†¦ stage left, No need to fear. Devin is here and This program was brought to you by the rich chocolaty taste of Ovaltine. His parents were generally unconcerned, finding the behavior rather cute. However, his seemingly innocent cartoon-induced impersonations turned into a nightmare overnight on the first day of kindergarten. Much like any number of famous cartoon characters that flashed through his brain Devin came unglued. If he wasn’t sitting in the corner pounding his head with a large mallet or defiantly trying to disprove the laws of gravity, he was perched atop a row of tall file cabinets screaming, â€Å"Ah, ah, ey, ey, tookie, tookie! † Throughout his elementary school years and into his tweens, Grimm was kicked out of school after school. This is the period where his superhero obsession took hold. So convinced he had superpowers, he would refuse to take off his cape and eat his mothers meatloaf, running away from the table screaming â€Å"You’re trying to rob me of my powers with that insidious Kryptonite log. † He suffered minor burns one night trying to summon the powers of Greyskull with a metal spatula thrust into an exposed light socket. Moreover, signs of a split personality surfaced, when he began maniacally tying female classmates to cafeteria benches, then leaping back to save them later after changing into various odd leotards in a nearby janitor’s closet. As Devin reached his teens his behavior became more deviant and more violent. At age 13, Devin started smoking corn cob pipes exclusively and muttering cocky statements under his breath. No female student teacher was safe from his wolf whistles, howls and screams of â€Å"Aoogah! † In 1984 at age 15, soon after his parents divorce, Devin became very reclusive and began watching more and more cartoons, refusing to watch more normal teenage male programming like sports and sitcoms like Charlies Angels or Mr. Belvedere. During the trial Mrs. Grimm observed, This was the time he began sawing the furniture and speaking in a Canadian accent. We thought it was some kind of teen fad. Grimm’s obsession with animation had by now grown into a full-blown addiction. Much like a junky, Grimm had to feed his need for the most obscure animated programming at any cost. At first, he just borrowed money to purchase bootlegs copies of films like Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, Thank You Mask Man, and Private Snafus Booby Traps. He left a trail of worthless IOUs all over town. He started devising irrational schemes to gain cash. He was once found at a Williams Sonoma frantically rubbing a copper kettle screaming, â€Å"It’s mine all mine, all mine! † In another incident, he threatened to shoot chickens in the frozen foods section at a local supermarket with a Super Soaker filled with BBQ sauce if they didnt lay a golden egg. Unable to show his face at any of the town’s video stores, Devin hatched a plot to get his hands on a complete collection of Krazy Kat. After eating three cans of spinach and painting anchors all over his face, Devin hid out all night on the roof of Bob’s Video store, where he had hoisted an anvil by a rope and lay in wait for the owner to open up shop. At 9:00 am the next morning, as the owner approached, Devin’s ill-fated plan went awry. Not realizing the rope was also wrapped around his foot, he let go of the anvil too soon, which landed 10 feet in front of the owner, pulling Devin off the roof and onto the rear bumper of a nearby Pinto, causing a tremendous explosion, which burned the hair off all the cats in the adjacent pet stores window display. Grimm was institutionalized after he was ruled not fit to stand trial for the assault. Dr. Buster Mirth took Devins case and soon learned the extent of damage cartoons had inflicted on the teenage boy. After two years of extensive counseling, Dr. Mirth urged the Grimms to file suit against the animation community. The case went to trial on March 7, 1989. Once, Devin took the stand the trail hit a fever pitch. After two hours of cross-examination the lead lawyer for the defense, Dean Gulberry, asked Devin, So Mr. Grimm, you cant maintain adult relations or hold a steady job. Are you blaming this all on cartoons? Devin replied, This doesn’t look like Miami Beach! I musta taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque I mean in adolescence and it has led me to this state, varmit. Race, Dr. Quest, quick, get the transfibulizer! Soon after, several of the studios settled out of court. 20th Century Fox continued on and was eventually acquitted. It seems that so few people had ever seen a Fox cartoon that no one could prove they had any real negative effect on society. Disney finally forced the lawsuit to be thrown out after convincing the judge that Grimms lawyer had stolen inflammatory animation cels from the companys dumpsters. At the age of 24, Devin was released from the mental institution. However, like most addicts, getting clean and going straight was just too much for him to handle. In 1992, after drifting in and out of halfway houses and homeless shelters, Grimm took a job as a writer on the USA Network animated series, Duckman. As the 1990s rolled in, toon-agedies reached an all-time high. The appalling effects of such irreverent cartoons asThe Simpsons, South Park and Pokemon, have been so well documented I will not delve into them here. Pepe LePew cartoons have been linked to teen pregnancy, Goofy shorts to careless â€Å"extreme sports† injuries and Snorksto scores of teen suicides. When will this stop? We must follow the example of Turkey and take broadcasters of detrimental cartoons off the air. Future generations need to be free to grow up unabated from the tyrannical thumb of cartoonic oppression. Dr.Ruebert Saturnine III is a professor at the New Jersey Online University and is the current vice-president of the Boing-busters. He would like to wish you all a happy April Fool’s Day and thank iStockPhoto. com for the use of its images. Cartoons Triumph of the nerds The internet has unleashed a burst of cartooning creativity Dec 22nd 2012 IN 1989 Bill Watterson, the writer of â€Å"Calvin and Hobbes†, a brilliant comic strip about a six-year-old child and his stuffed tiger, denounced his industry. In a searing lecture, he attacked bland, predictable comics, churned out by profit-driven syndicates. Cartooning, said Mr Watterson, â€Å"will never be more than a cheap, brainless commodity until it is published differently. † In 2012 he is finally getting his way. As the newspaper industry continues its decline, the funnies pages have decoupled from print. Instead of working for huge syndicates, or for censored newspapers with touchy editors, cartoonists are now free to create whatever they want. Whether it is cutting satire about Chinese politics, or a simple joke about being a dog, everything can win an audience on the internet. This burst of new life comes as cartoons seemed to be in terminal decline. Punch, once a fierce political satire magazine whose cartoons feature in almost every British history textbook, finally closed its doors in 2002. The edgier Viz magazine, which sold a million copies an issue in the early 1990s, now sells 65,000. In the United States, of the sprawling EC Comics stable, only Mad magazine remains, its circulation down from 2. 1m in 1974 to 180,000. Meanwhile, the American newspaper industry, home of the cartoon strip, now makes less in advertising revenue than at any time since the 1950s. Cartoons go way back before newspapers. They have their origins in the caricatures and illustrations of early modern Europe. In Renaissance Germany and Italy, woodcuts and mezzotint prints were used to add pictures to books. By the 18th century simple cartoons, or caricatures, circulated in London coffee shops, lampooning royalty, society and politicians. Popular engravers such as William Hogarth and James Gillray came up with tricks we now take for granted: speech bubbles to show dialogue and sequential panels to show time passing. But it was the combination of the rotary printing press, mass literacy and capitalism which really created the space for comic art to flourish. In Britain Punch coined the term â€Å"cartoon† in 1843 to describe its satirical sketches, which soon spread to other newspapers. In the United States, the modern comic strip emerged as a by-product of the New York newspaper wars between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst in the late 19th century. In 1895 Pulitzer’sSunday World published a cartoon of a bald child with jug ears and buck teeth dressed in a simple yellow shirt: the Yellow Kid. The cartoon gave the name to the new mass media that followed: â€Å"yellow journalism†. Newspapers filled with sensationalist reporting sold millions. They even started wars. But in an era before television and film, it was the cartoons—filled with images of the city and stories of working-class living—which sold the newspapers. With most papers reporting much the same news, cartoons were an easy way for proprietors to differentiate their product. After the success of the Yellow Kid, both Pulitzer and Hearst introduced extensive comic supplements in their Sunday papers. Like the papers that printed them, comics rose and died quickly: the Yellow Kid lasted barely three years. But as the newspaper industry overall grew, so too did the funnies pages. By the mid-1920s one cartoonist, Bud Fisher, was paid $250,000 a year for â€Å"Mutt and Jeff†. By 1933, of 2,300 daily American papers, only two, the New York Times and the Boston Transcript, published no cartoons. That was the golden age. During the second world war, paper rationing forced comic strips to shrink on both sides of the Atlantic. Afterwards, the rise of television news culled the number of dailies and all but wiped out evening papers. With less competition, newspapers relied less on cartoons to sell copies. Comic books filled some of the gap, but unlike the newspapers, these were mostly for children. By the 1980s most newspaper cartoon strips were controlled by a small group of syndicates whose executives saw them primarily as devices to sell licensed merchandise. Childish cartoons with weak, universal jokes thrived—think â€Å"Garfield†Ã¢â‚¬â€while more interesting artists struggled to find an outlet for their work. When authors retired, successful strips were handed down to new artists like real estate to avoid jeopardising merchandise revenues. â€Å"Mutt and Jeff†Ã¢â‚¬â€tired by the 1950s—continued until 1982.

Competitive Eating Exposed free essay sample

It is a muggy July day in a packed amusement park in New York. Thousands of people are crowding around to catch just a second of the next twelve minutes. The smell of hotdogs and lemonade is more abundant that any of the other smells at this time. This is July 4 at Coney Island. The Nathan’s Famous Hotdog Eating Contest is about to start. In the next twelve minutes over sixty people will eat at least ten hotdog and as many as sixty! Competitive eating is an exciting sport that anyone can take part in. There are many organizations for competitive eating, but the most famous is the International Federation of Competitive Eating or IFOCE. There are many events each year. The foods eaten at the event will vary for each event. In New Orleans, there is an oyster eating contest. In Philadelphia, there is a very famous chicken wing eating contest. We will write a custom essay sample on Competitive Eating Exposed or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There are two different types of events. There are events with set time limits and events with set food amounts. In the first there is a set amount of time and the eater sees how much they can eat in the time limit. The Nathan’s Famous Hotdog Eating Contest has a set time limit. An eater has twelve minutes to eat a lot of hotdogs. The latter of the events has a set food amount; this means that the eater sees how fast they can eat an amount of food. In the ‘90s, when competitive eating was only famous on extreme sports channels in Japan, an American eater was invited to Japan to take part in an interesting challenge. He was taken into a room and was given 30 square feet of sushi arranged in a line. He ate the sushi in a little over thirty minutes. In New Orleans another event with a set time limit took place. At Acme, a seafood restaurant, oysters on the half shell were being sold a $.50 a piece. Crazy Legs Conti, a local eater, went there and ate over two hundred oyster s. His picture and his record can still be seen framed on the walls. The rules of the sport are very simple and can be explained in three words. The slogan â€Å"Eat Lots Fast† summarizes the rules is a very important phrase for some eaters. The contestant wants to eat as much as they can. If they throw up, they are disqualified. After the event an eater is on the honor system, if they want to throw up they can, but that is cheating and God knows. Before last year, the world of competitive eating was dominated by one man. This man was the Japanese Takeru Kabayashi. Kobayashi is one of the greatest competitive eater ever. In the 2005 Nathan’s Famous Hotdog Eating Contest he ate 56? hotdogs. This was a personal best and beat the world record set by him the last year. The closest person to him was Sonya Thomas who ate almost 35 hotdogs. One reason Kobayashi eats so quickly is his technique. He eats two at a time. He grabs two hotdogs and rips them in half. The two halves in his right hand he dips in lemonade and eats in one bite. He repeats this process with the two halves in his left hand. Another reason he was so unbeatable last year was that while he ate he was constantly shaking his body from side to side. This movement is referred to as the Kobayashi shake. By shaking his stomach while he eats, the food in the stomach is compressed to create more room for more hotdogs. It was also rumored that before the eat-off he ran twenty mile and ate nothing so that he would have all the room in his stomach and no fat on him. One would think that in competitive eating your size would not matter, but in actuality it matters as much as it does in other sports. According to the â€Å"Belt of Fat Theory,† the stomach can expand until the skin on the outside of the body cannot expand anymore. If this is true, then an eater does not want anything to interfere with the expansion of the stomach. Fat will get in the way of the stomach’s expansions ca using the eater to get full quicker. This year Kobayashi was defeated. In his second year as an eater, American Joey Chestnut ate 66? hotdogs; Kobayashi ate 65. Before the eat-off Kobayashi said that he was having jaw problems and may not be able to perform at his best. Would Kobayashi have been able to eat 67 hotdogs if he had been in perfect condition? No one knows. If Kobayashi ate 67, would Chestnut have been able to respond and eat 68? No one knows. Jaw problems aside, the 2008 Hotdog Eating Contest will be one worth watching. Competitive eating is the quickest growing sport in the United States. It is quite simple and most people practice more than once a day. Watching the events are very exciting and when someone watches the events they might be watching history since a record is set a almost every event. This year’s Hotdog Eating Contest had a huge record shattering result. It was also exciting to watch someone who the year before ate twelve hotdogs beat someone who ate fifty in 2007. Competitive eating is an exciting sport that everyone can take part in.