The state of our planet’s environment is a matter of much debate and concern over the last few years. With global warming and global dimming being established scientific facts, the future prospects of many species (including ours) are under threat. It is these concerns that are articulated by writers such as Rick Bass, Alice Walker…
An overview of the most important policy issues on Turkey’s agenda
Turkey’s political history has had many notable achievements and as well as some obvious failures. Geographically located at the joint of Europe, Asia and Arabia, the nation’s demography is culturally, linguistically and religiously diversified. Generally, policy making is conducted within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The Prime Minister is the head of…
A comparison between Buddhist and Christian denomination teachings
Buddhism and Christianity are two dominant world religions in contemporary times. They both converge at certain points, but largely their philosophical and theological underpinnings are divergent. The rest of the essay will provide supportive arguments in favor of this thesis. Firstly, many Buddhist scholars would argue that Buddhism is not even a religion in the…
Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
The Temple of Dendur was built by Petronius, the Roman governor of Egypt more than three millennia ago. The temple was dedicated to ancient deities Isis, Osiris, Pihor and Pediese. It was Emperor Augustus of Rome who commissioned this grand project. Ever since the year 1978, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has…
The Hite Report (1976): A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality
Shere Hite is one of the most influential and controversial figures in sociology scholarship of the last half century. It won’t be an exaggeration to suggest that she is one of the most quoted authors in feminist scholarship; and her most famous work The Hite Report is even popular among lay readers. The Hite Report:…
Book Review: All the Shah’s Men – An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer
The book All the Shah’s Men was written by American journalist Stephen Kinzer. The subject matter of the book is the America backed coup-de-tat carried out in Iran in 1953, in which its incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh was forcefully replaced by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The latter was loyal to Western interests and it…
Should businesses like McDonald’s be blamed for overweight Americans?
The United States of America is notorious for the high percentage of overweight and obese people in its populace. The fad of fast-food chains is identified as a chief culprit behind this worrying trend, which other lifestyle factors are also attributed a share of the blame. For example, “Americans forked over $110 billion to fast-food…
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce: An Analysis
Ambrose Bierce’s short story titled An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is one of the classics of the art form. The story could be read from three different angles. First, the political angle provided by the American Civil War of the 1860s. Second is the cultural angle, whereby the unique flavors of the American South…
Article summary: Beware Those ‘Beta Traps by Ben Levisohn
The article chosen for this exercise is titled ‘Beware Those ‘Beta Traps’’. Written by Ben Levisohn, it appeared in the Wall Street Journal on 29th October, 2011. The article cautions investors about the dangers of those stocks whose prices tend to behave with high volatility. The volatility of a stock’s price movement is mathematically represented…
Two great speeches: Ain’t I a Woman and Address to the People of the Free States
What do Ain’t I a Woman and Address to the People of the Free States by the President of the Southern Confederacy tell us about the divisions between people in United States during the 1860s? The 1860s were a tumultuous time in the history of the United States. Public discourse and debate centered on the…