My Life For A Road Trip - 1323 Words

It was the hottest summer in California, and of course this is the time my parents’ decided this would be a good time for a road trip. We went to LA for the weekend to visit my Grandma Jane and Grandpa Albert, but it was time to head back to Colorado where we had no beaches, but the air was somewhat cooler. All four of us--Mom, Dad, my older brother Eric, and myself, Chloe--all crowded in a 10 year old Subaru Outback with all the stuff we brought along. The air was blasting out of all the vents yet it wasn t doing much to counteract the hot sun shining through the window. It might not have been one of the best memories of my childhood, but I found myself holding on to it, because we were all together as a family. It s only been three years since the trip, but it felt like ten years had gone by. Eric was in college, and I had just started high school. It was September 21st, the day my parents told me that Dad was moving out and they decided to get a divorce. I sat in bed wondering What did i do? I kept on replaying the moment when they told me. I remember it started to get cold and rainy. From the moment I woke up I could feel something different. I thought it was just the weather that was changing, but it was something bigger. After lunch Mom and Dad sat me down on the brown leather couch between the two of them. Oh no. They just looked at each other. Mom took a breath and said straight out, â€Å"Chloe, I m sorry, but yourShow MoreRelatedMy Life For A Road Trip1323 Words   |  6 PagesChange It was the hottest summer in California, and of course this is the time my parents’ decided this would be a good time for a road trip. We went to LA for the weekend to visit my Grandma Jane and Grandpa Albert, but it was time to head back to Colorado where we had no beaches, but the air was somewhat cooler. All four of us--Mom, Dad, my older brother Eric, and myself, Chloe--all crowded in a 10 year old Subaru Outback with all the stuff we brought along. The air was blasting out of all theRead MoreUnplanned Roadtrip760 Words   |  4 PagesUnplanned Road trip The most people take risks to go on a road trip; some people believe it’s not important. Road trip is one of the most excited events. Road Trip is full of fun and people suffer through, some different experience. I was too excited when; I went last time with friends on a road trip and had lot of fun but planning play great role in road trip. On the Sunday morning, it was raining outside and I was getting bore at home. I called my friend and make a plan for road trip. I pickRead MoreSummer Road Trip1174 Words   |  5 PagesMy Summer Road Trip The late June Texas sun was hot as it came through the window of my Caliber. I had begun my road trip to the lake house in Mineola early that morning. I had dressed for comfort, wearing my blue shorts and my favorite worn out tee, I knew it was going to be a long hot drive. As I drove down the road, I soon realized that I had never been anywhere alone before. This was a new feeling to me, one of strength and fear rolled into one. While fighting the traffic to get out of townRead More Fort Bragg: My First Road Trip Essay1739 Words   |  7 PagesFort Bragg: My First Road Trip When you are a teenager you reach a certain point in your life when you want to be independent. You get this feeling that you want to do something on your own to prove you can. When I was seventeen, in the fall of 2001, I had that feeling that I needed to do something on my own. I needed an adventure to show everyone that I was old enough to be on my own for once. I needed something exciting and new. I talked to my friend Annie and we came up with aRead MoreRoad Trips in Literature: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Travels with Charlie970 Words   |  4 PagesRoad trips are known to be fun adventures. When someone says they are going on a road trip people expect them to go and see amazing places and then come back. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck and On the Road by Jack Kerouac are about road trips but these trips are not about the adventure. Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sal from On the Road and Steinbeck from Travels with Charley all go on road trips because of the American driveRead MoreAnalysis Of The Story The Kim Family 779 Words   |  4 PagesThanksgiving trip during winter weather was truly tragic. They made a decision to take a road trip under harsh weather conditions with limited amount of food and gas. They missed their exit, and decided to take an unknown, dangerous route where they got stuck for nine days. In my opinion, the moral of the story is to plan and prepare for a road trip especially under inclement weather. It’s essential to carry an emergency kit, extra food, water, and clothing in case one gets stuck due to poor road conditionsRead MoreA Picture Of The Kancamagus Highway812 Words   |  4 PagesPainting a Picture of the Kancamagus Highway The mountains are known for cutting through the landscape like glaciers. The Kancamagus Highway, or â€Å"The Fearless One† cuts through Lincoln, to Conway, New Hampshire. Rich in history as well winding roads, and mammoth mountains are often traveled by the fearless, and adventurous traveler. For some, they stumble upon this great beauty is small and not appreciated, but for others the venture is a state of mind and continues to inspire long after the visitRead MoreShort Story : Memoir 1155 Words   |  5 Pagestowards the end of June last year, it was family rodeo back home where my mom grew up at. We had always gone back to that town and that rodeo since i was a yee young lad, around 5 or 6. We used to go see my grandma, but she died when i was 10. Anyways, it was my mother, my brothers, sister and her family, me and my girlfriend. Well, the car we were suppose to drive 5 hours north with was very cramped for all of us, so i asked my girlfriend if we could borrow her new car she just bought the day beforeRead MoreThe people around us make experiences great and unforgettable. I was oblivious to this fact before800 Words   |  4 Pagesfact before my first completely independent summer trip for three weeks. In the past, I always traveled with my parents. They were all great vacations but they were not planned or controlled by me. It was all up to my mom. This time, however, I was the one who found the opportunity to go to the seaside with a group of young people and spend 21 days there. My parents were happy to let me go on this trip; as they also saw it as an exciting opportunity. It was up to me to plan it all on my own. I learnedRead MoreThe City Of The Nairobi Airport1201 Words   |  5 Pagesinto Nairobi. The darkness was broken by the lights of the city and airfield. Touching down around 9:30 local time, I climbed wearily down the stairs and saw my first sight of Africa, the Nairobi airport. It didn’t look especially impressive and I only wanted to sleep because my body ached in a way that only eight hours in an airplane can do. My family was taken to customs; two hours later, we emerged, glad that we had hurdled our first obstacle. After, finding our driver, we had a 45 minute tour on

Passion in A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay - 963 Words

Passion in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream may come off as a simple comedy but is a complex play with many interesting aspects. Passion, a significant characteristic, is often expressed through the play. Characters in the play show passion for different reasons; Puck passions for mischief, Helena for Demetrius’ love and Bottom for theatrics, are a few of the many examples. Passion shows much significance, being the most important characteristic in the play. Puck is a mischievous sprite, involved with most magical events in the play. Often playing tricks for his own enjoyment or by his master, Oberon’s, commands, Puck is depicted as a young, deceptive character. When first discovered as Robin†¦show more content†¦Being the only character, other than Bottom, to enter both the human and fairy world, the play makes Puck to be the protagonist. While there his trickery and trouble are antagonistic in nature, his vital part is that of a positive character, ultimately resolving all problems. Puck treats the entire idea of love as madness, the idea Shakespeare was conveying with his trickery. Helena is portrayed as a desperate character, her passion being for the love of Demetrius. Helena spends most of the story pursuing Demetrius in hope of receiving any form of affection in return, only receiving affection due to magic. While chasing Demetrius, Helena says â€Å"What worser place can I beg your love, - And yet a place of high respect with me, - Than to be usà ¨d as you use your dog?† (II.i.208-210) Helena, knowing demeaning herself to the position of a dog, believes that she is not worthy enough for such authority, therefore hoping she will be given the honour. Helena compares herself to a dog in the sense that the more Demetrius rejects her, the harder she will try to receive any emotion from her master. Although heartbroken by Demetrius’ hatred for her, Helena showers Demet rius with comments, only to be continuously beaten down. This is explicitly shown when Helena comments on Demetrius’ demeanor and is, again rejected, saying, â€Å"You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant; But yet you draw not iron, for my heart Is true as steel: leave you your powerShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Article Twelfth Night 998 Words   |  4 Pagesmagical freedom that A Midsummer Night’s Dream encompasses. Mahood delves into the cultural significance of Puritanism early in the 17th century through the character of Malvolio. Although Twelfth Night is a comedy, the presence of morally strict Puritanism affects the lightness of the play. The Puritan Revolution took away the foolish fun and celebration in life. Mahood connects the cultural context with Malvolio’s objection of fun throughout the play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is completely andRead More Shakespeare in my World Essay1580 Words   |  7 Pagesspring, Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead, By paved fountain or by rushy brook, Or in the beached margent of the sea, To dance our ringlets to the whisteling wind, But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport. ~ Titania A Midsummer Nights Dream 2.1 I first truly gazed upon William Shakespeare during college. I had to do a monologue of Joan of Arc from Henry VI part I. I remember wrapping my mouth around his words, tasting him for the first time. This had not been our first introductionRead MoreLiterary Love Essay968 Words   |  4 Pagesof world, negatively being the cause of death and anywhere in between. In Aristophanes Lysistrata and Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, the theme of love is present throughout moving the story along through many trials and tribulations; however, Lysistrata is more of a love of beliefs of freedom empowered by the drive for sexual desires where as A Midsummer Nights Dream is the search for true love between young couples. In Aristophanes Lysistrata, the women of the country do not agreeRead MoreWeathering the Storms of True Love1159 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom the truth. Shakespeare presents the truth about true love in his comical tragedy A Midsummer Nights Dream. Lysander clearly stated loves situation when he told Hermia the course of true love never did run smooth (Griffiths 94). In some ways Lysanders declaration becomes the plays structural and thematic point by which Shakespeare uses to explore the storms of love (Bloom 12). In A Midsummer Nights Dream, Shakespeare uses young lovers to depict how love masters young people and pushes themRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1474 Words   |  6 Pagesconsistent and underlying concept of romance in each of Shakespeare’s plays and related movies. For instance, one could look at the movies A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shakespeare in Love. The latter follows the life of William Shakespeare himself, everything from h is love affair with Viola de Lesseps to his creation of Romeo and Juliet. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is one of the most famous plays of Shakespeare’s, revolving around the tumultuous relationships of four lovers, aided, and sometimes thwartedRead MoreEssay about Love in Mid Summer Nights Dream988 Words   |  4 Pagesdifficult mysteries of life. The difficulty of love is shown throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, the characters have to deal with jealousy that comes along with being in love. Love’s difficulty in the play comes from love being out of balance. Love being out of balance is a romantic situation where a difference gets in the way of happiness in the relationship. William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream demonstrates these conflicts with a little bit of humor and buoyancy. The fourRead MoreDifferent Types of Love in Midsummer Night’s Dream1508 Words   |  7 Pagesof Love in Midsummer Night’s Dr eam Love and lovers, both can be described as many different things. William Shakespeare shows us this in his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In this play we see all types of love, from passionate love to foolish love. Along with this we also see different types of lovers and pairs. Examples of these lovers come from pairs like, Hermia and Lysander, Demetrius and Helena, Titana and Bottom, and Oberon and Titana. It seems that in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ShakespeareRead MoreAnalysis Of Midsummer Night s Dream 1251 Words   |  6 Pages Midsummer Night’s Dream is a perfect example of just how deceit can tear people apart. When trying to force a situation into something/ a situation you wish it to be you can end up putting yourself in quite the compromising position. It is a good story on the struggles of true love, parents wills, and fighting for what one believes in, with just a hint a magical alure to it and a slight pull of betrayal to make things even more interesting. In the end though, just as almost every other love storyRead MoreInconstant Passion with Consequences Essay1016 Words   |  5 Pages Inconstant Passion With Consequences Extreme passion results in irrational actions with horrifying consequences. The indecisive and fervent whims regarding love and the human heart are often selfish and fickle. For the victims of love, destruction is often inevitable. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, unrequited love forces both Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide, as neither one believes it is possible to continue life without the other. Both, through mere days of desperation, elationRead MoreEssay on A Midsummer Nights Dream: Comedy650 Words   |  3 PagesA Midsummer Nights Dream Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream is a comedy that is full of mischief. Instead of having a main plot, it seems to be about random thoughts and emotions (much the same as dreams are). In fact, I have to wonder how much of the whole play is really supposed to be a dream Ââ€" as Puck even suggests toward the end of the play. There is no real protagonist to latch onto in this play, probably because there are three main groups of characters, but many people

Gambling Essay Research Paper Gambling while it free essay sample

Gambling Essay, Research Paper Gambling, while it lowers revenue enhancements and creates occupations, it besides causes nuts to lose money and hence creates a higher offense rate. A Quick History of Gambling. Gambling was a popular interest in North America long earlier there was of all time a United States. Playing cards and dies were brought over by both the British and the Dutch. By the terminal of the seventeenth century, merely about every countryseat in colonial America had a lottery wheel. Cockfighting flourished thoughout the states, particularly in the South. Bear Baiting was besides a popular athletics, but the Puritans banned it. ( Ortiz 4 ) About 100 old ages subsequently chancing in the West gave chancing a 2nd life. Early church leader struck down all signifiers of gaming and so in the East gaming for the most portion died wholly. Army for the liberation of rwanda from both authorities controls and moral intervention of reform groups in the East, chancing became so popular in the West that Monte tabular arraies were frequently setup in the center of the town. ( Donovon 13 ) Organized Crime During the Prohibition Era ( 1920-1933 ) , illegal gaming was organized into an autocratic regional and national system. Duty for the syndication of chancing is normally attributed to Arnold Rothstein, who invented the inner-city layoff. He is besides known for maestro minding the # 8220 ; Black Sox # 8221 ; dirt in which the White Sox threw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds to guarantee chancing net incomes. Gambling lawfully, one time once more, becomes acceptable. Since the 1970s, the United States has turned full circle in its attitude toward chancing. Three hundred old ages ago, the # 8220 ; athletics # 8221 ; , largely in the signifier of lottery, was seen as a absolutely acceptable manner to raise money for public intents. ( Savage 12 ) Over the past several old ages, slow economic growing, cuts in federal support to provinces, and turning public demands have forced many despairing province and even local authorities to seek extra beginnings of gross. Most provinces have turned to lotteries, Equus caballus and Canis familiaris racing, and, most late, a turning figure of provinces have resorted to casino chancing as a manner to raise money and maintain revenue enhancements low. ( James B5 ) Sports chancing During the late eightiess, and early 1990s, several provinces have tried to present athleticss wagering, either as portion of lottery, like athleticss pool, or as athleticss bookmaking. Never the less, the leader of the state # 8217 ; s athleticss unity, including the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , the National Football League ( NFL ) , and Major League Baseball ( MLB ) , were concerned that the provinces, in their despair to raise money, might get down to bind in athleticss wagering with the lottery. Then the three athleticss teamed up to seek to set a halt to this. First, they began to set strong force per unit area on province legislative assembly non to bring on athleticss wagering. Second the athleticss industry besides started buttonholing Congress, and as a consequence, several measures have been introduced in the U.S. Congress to restrict the growing of athleticss beting, either as portion of the lottery or as athleticss bookmaking. ( Savage 18 ) Making Gambling Interests Heard The province legislative assemblies decide if gaming will go legal in the single provinces. Currently, some signifier of gaming is legal in all provinces except Hawaii and Utah. While success is neer assured, revenue-hungry province authoritiess are virtually ever willing to give gaming involvements a hearing. In April 1994, casino involvement spent $ 4.2 million to convert Missouri electors they should allow slot machines in their province. The ballot failed by 1/10 of 1 % , so gambling involvement spent another $ 11.5 million for a similar referendum in November, which passed. In Connecticut, chancing corporations spent $ 4.9 billion in a four-year-long failed attempt to acquire the province to allow the edifice of a casino in economically hard-pressed Bridgeport. ( Goddu E1 ) Gambling is by and large a well-regulated concern. Virtually every province that permits casino chancing or pari-mutuel betting has a province racing or chancing committee to supervise chancing activities. While today # 8217 ; s chancing industry is large concern tally by immense corporations, virtually every province regulated committee feels it must demo it is doing gave that no underworld or mob figures play a function in its province gaming activities. ( Ortiz 50 ) The committees besides controlled other activities such as how late casinos may remain unfastened and whether there will be bounds on betting. Since these ordinances are normally determined by province legislative assemblies, it is merely natural that chancing companies try to act upon their determinations through lobbyists and political contributions. ( Siebel 19 ) Resistance to Gambling The rapid enlargement of chancing across the United States has non been good received by all Americans. The failure of many chancing enterprises over the past few old ages indicates an resistance powerful plenty to either influence province statute law leting assorted signifiers of chancing in their province or to regulate adequate ballots to get the better of enterprises which would make the same thing. ( Siebel 27 ) A Moral Issue Many who oppose chancing see it morally or theologically incorrect. The domestic force and offense that might ensue from compulsive gaming could lead to the dislocation of the household and divorce. Gambling, particularly the lotteries, contribute to the attitude that a individual can acquire something for nil, a belief many people consider peculiarly harmful to the nation’s morality. The provinces, by administrating the lotteries, have become party to this. By approving gaming, authorities governments have contributed to doing chancing publically acceptable. Many oppositions believe that authorities and community leaders have had a pick between money and morality and, in all excessively many instances, have chosen money. Not merely have they degraded their ain unity, but they have besides debased the values of their communities. ( Donovon 45 ) Increased Addiction An estimated.7percentage of Americans are addicted to chancing. Perceivers estimate that with the increased chances to chance, the proportion of compulsive gamblers has increased to over 2 to 5 % of those who gamble. ( Siebel 35 ) Beting on Sports # 8220 ; Almost half of those surveyed by the Gallupp Poll thought wagering on professional athleticss should be banned altogether. # 8221 ; ( Ortiz 90 ) About 12 per centum of those interviewed had bet on professional athleticss at least one time in the last twelvemonth. Men, immature people, people populating in the metropolis, those with the same college instruction, and those who Bet on athleticss, at casinos, and at racecourses was most likely have placed a athleticss stake in the last twelvemonth. ( Siegel 96 ) Gambling in the Future The gaming industry is analyzing how to develop ways to let Americans to bet utilizing the Internet or overseas telegram telecasting. Presently, it is illegal to chance on the Internet because it violates the Interstate Wire Act. ( Goddu B5 ) Arguments back uping Gambling Americans by and large agree with the statements back uping gaming, many of which are economic. Most Americans agreed that chancing # 8220 ; creates occupations and helps excite the local economic system # 8221 ; . # 8220 ; About 3 out of 5 will chance anyhow so we might every bit good do it legal and roll up the money. # 8221 ; said one California city manager. ( Siebel 69 ) Arguments opposing Gambling In add-on, a bulk oppose to chancing. Stating # 8220 ; it # 8217 ; s the Satan # 8217 ; s work # 8221 ; . Over half the population agreed that chancing # 8220 ; encourages people who can least afford it to waste their money. # 8221 ; Sixty two per centum believed it # 8220 ; opened the door for organized crime. # 8221 ; Well over half thought chancing # 8220 ; can do compulsive gamblers out of people who would neer take part in illegal gambling. # 8221 ; ( Siebel 70 ) The moral statement, nevertheless, held small sway since hardly one-third believed gaming was immoral. Protestants were more than twice every bit likely as Catholics to believe gaming was immoral. Among the assorted Protestant denominations, Southern Baptist churchs were far more likely to believe gaming was immoral than were the other Protestant denominations. ( Siebel 71 ) Make You Know Anyone with a Gambling Problem? When asked if they knew anyone who now had, or did hold, a gaming job, three-fourthss did non cognize anyone. Fourteen per centum knew a friend and 13 per centum knew a relation. The male parent of 3 per centum and the partner of 2 per centum had a job. About 4 per centum said that chancing, by either respondent or a member of the household, had made his or her place life unhappy. When asked whether they knew anyone who gambled excessively much ( but did non needfully hold a gaming # 8220 ; job # 8221 ; ) , 28 per centum said they knew person with such a job. ( Savage 40 ) Most New Jerseyites believed that the province and the legal gaming companies should lend to educate province occupants about gaming and aid handle compulsive gamblers. A big bulk thought the province should supply instruction plans to pupils. A smaller bulk believed the province should supply support for intervention of compulsive gamblers. Almost three-fourths agreed that chancing companies should supply fiscal support for chancing plans. ( Savage 46 ) Attitudes Towards Legal Gambling The New Jersey survey found that while most occupants did non believe chancing was illegal most did believe that chancing entailed hazards to society. Merely 22 Percentage of those interviewed believed that chancing was immoral. Those over age 65 and those gaining less than $ 25,000 were most likely to believe gaming was immoral. ( Donovon 70 ) However, 66 per centum thought chancing # 8220 ; encouraged people who can least afford it to pass money gaming, # 8221 ; and 59 per centum thought that # 8220 ; chancing can gnaw immature people # 8217 ; s work ethics. # 8221 ; The respondents were equally split on whether # 8220 ; chancing Teachs kids that one can acquire something for nil # 8221 ; with 49 per centum agreeing and 48 per centum disagreeing. ( Siebel 82 ) Decision In decision gaming is all right every bit long as its is done in moderateness. Besides if you know that you have a job with chancing you should name the gamblers hotline so that you can acquire the aid that you need before it # 8217 ; s to late. I would besides wish to state I learned a batch from this research paper. I hope whomever reads this research paper does so to. Donovan, Hedley. The Gamblers. Alexandria: Time-Life Books, 1978. Goddu, Jenn. # 8220 ; Blue Chip lives up excessively most of its goals. # 8221 ; Hammond Post-Tribune 24 Feb. 1999: E1+ James, Rich. # 8220 ; All five casinos show January gross drop. # 8221 ; Hammond Post-Tribune 23 Feb. 1999: B5+ Ortiz, Darwin. Gambling Scams. New York: Dodd, Mead + Company, 1984. Savage, Jeff. A Certain Thing? . Gopher state: Lerner Publications Company, 1997. Siebel, Mark A, Nancy Jaids, and Alison Lanes. Gambling Crime or Recreation. Texas: Information Plus, 1996.

What You Ought To Know About Choosing The Right College

High school seniors all over the world have been eagerly waiting to finally receive their college acceptance letters. Some may have already gotten more than one, while others are counting down the days till April 1st. Though you may have a dream school in mind, that doesnt mean you should quickly rule out the other schools you were also accepted to. There are a number of things to look consider, like financial aid and the types of classes offered . Whatever the reasons are, if youre struggling to decide where to commit, take some advice from our college users who have been through it all before:Liberal Arts Colleges798741280240737FB(Vassar College ‘19): I chose Vassar College because of its tight-knit community, open curriculum, and financial generosity. When I first visited, everyone was so nice and eager to help me answer my questions and make my decision. Furthermore, everyone was open and accepting of each others beliefs and differences. There are only 3 requirements in ter ms of courses and afterwards, I just need to fulfill major requirements while taking classes in subjects that interest me. Finally, I did not have any loans in my financial aid package due to Vassars commitment to meeting 100% demonstrated financial need.dddominica:I fell in love with an all-womens school for the camaraderie that it brings. Theres taboo out there about selecting a gender exclusive school, but I really feel that this small liberal arts school, complete with strong-willed and diverse students is someplace I want to belong. I spent countless nights researching statistics, reading up on current students blogs, and one fact about Smith that always came up was how friendly and inviting the population is. In addition, Smith College gave great financial aid, is surrounded by beautiful scenery, and guaranteed an amazing education. I used niche.com predominantly in making my college selection because it was too far away to visit! I made a list of pros and cons for each school , and while it finally came down to which was the best financial choice, I love Smith College.West vs. Eastalijetv(Stanford ‘19): I chose to attend Stanford because it is a university with the opportunities and quality of an ivy league school but without the ego. While everyone there is extremely intelligent and hard working, they dont seem to take themselves too seriously and the competition between students does not seem as intense. Instead, Stanford stresses collaboration, especially interdisciplinary collaboration, instead of cutthroat competition. I was also sold by Stanfords new commitment to the arts, as they seem to pouring a lot of money into their arts and humanities programs right now, and it seems that as a more humanities and arts centered student, I would be in the right place at the right time.MPaike96: Choosing an early action/decision school was extremely difficult. My interests are varied, but I knew I wanted a school with: 1) a strong cognitive sciences prog ram; 2) strong research; and 3) great humanities. This narrowed down my list to: MIT, Harvard, and Stanford. I nixed MIT because, despite my love for the campus and the (surprising) strength of its programs, I did not sense much of a humanities presence. To be fair, Harvard v. Stanford is comparing apples to oranges: Harvard has a (surprisingly) great computer science program, while Stanford has a (surprisingly) great philosophy program! Both schools also have excellent cognitive science interfaculty initiatives. I chose Harvard because I preferred Boston as a college town and I love changing seasons.UC SchoolsAmairani Rolon (UCLA ‘18): I had narrowed my options down to UC Berkeley and UCLA. I ultimately chose UCLA over Berkeley because of the location and the atmosphere. Coming from a small town I wanted to be in a big city, and experience something different to what I was used to. It is half an hour away from downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood. There is always something to d o. Also, UCLA has that Southern California warm weather that I love and it is only twenty minutes away from the beach. Plus, its about two and a half hours away from home. I felt like this was a good distance, since I was far away from home to feel independent and close enough to go home when I needed or wanted to. In general, I also preferred the atmosphere UCLA.GoBears: I ultimately decided to choose the University of California, Berkeley after doing extensive research of each school I was accepted to. I researched internship, research, and post-college opportunities for students of my majors (Business Administration and Computer Science) and analyzed which school topped the charts in these fields and had the characteristics of a university that I enjoyed. For example, one of the schools I was accepted to did not have any sports teams or sports programs and I was averse to selecting that school - even though it had a great Business Program - because I knew I wanted to go to a univ ersity that had the school spirit and sports culture. One of the main things about choosing a school to attend is that you pick a school that you know you will be happy at. Dont choose a university just because it is ranked really high - you may end up hating your time in college.To Ivy or not?Andk: Before choosing Duke, I was stuck between Duke and Penn. Both schools are of equal esteem, so I decided to visit them to get a better idea of what I wanted. I ultimately chose Duke because I viewed the school as one giant community. Since Duke is situated in Durham, a somewhat bland city, students are on campus most of the time. This creates an environment where students live together, do homework together, go to classes together, and hang out together. Most of the social events are on campus or at venues within walking distance of campus, rather than at far-off bars and clubs in the city. At Penn, the city of Philadelphia offers so many exciting places to visit that students often stray from the campus on weekends, making the community feel less unified than at Duke. I chose Duke because I valued strong solidarity and community among students over living in an exciting city. For other people, the opposite may be true. Another selling point was the fact that Duke shines in basketball. AtDuke, you can get the academic experience of an Ivy League with the sports experience of a state university. Duke is one of the few top schools with a thriving school spirit, due in large part to its basketball team. Lastly, I felt that Duke would give me more freedom in choosing my courses, major, and minor as my interests evolved. I applied to Duke for Mechanical Engineering, but discovered during my first semester of freshman year that I was more interested in economics and finance. I was allowed to take several economics courses and zero engineering courses, despite the fact that I was enrolled at the engineering school until the end of the school year. Switching out of the engineering school at Duke was easy and painless; all I was required to do was meet with a dean and fill out a simple online form. At Penn, I would have been more confined to the engineering school. If I had wanted to switch to the business school, there would have been a rigorous application process. Additionally, I would have only been able to take a certain number of courses from the business school. At Duke, you can take whatever courses you want, permitting that the schedule for your major can fit them.Buttsc: Having already discussed my post-undergraduate plans, my ultimate choice related strongly to this plan. I talked to everyone whos opinion I value the most and the quote I heard the most was that I cant go wrong either way once I had narrowed it down to two choices. As I already said, I did not choose until the day before the deadline so clearly I had an incredibly hard time. It just made it even harder when my two best friends had committed to the two choices I narrowed down to. It made me feel like I had to choose one friend over another. To get on with how I chose, once I felt like I had exhausted all of my resources, I asked a friend who I never thought to ask. My friend had an older sister and older brother who had been through extensive education and knew a lot about different universities. After having talked to my friends older sister, she enforced the fact that its much harder to attain a strong economic and quantitative background in grad school than it would be to attain the international side of my interests. To go along with this, she also reinforced something in my mind that the school I would not be choosing has an amazing law school and an amazing program that would be ideal for my passion while the undergraduate opportunities at the school I would choosing are nearly limitless. If I had not talked to my friends sister, I might still be choosing today or I may even be at home convincing myself that no choice was the right choice. In the end, your personal feelings matter most, but to have someone to cons ult is always extremely helpful.College is where you’ll spend 4 years of your life learning, developing critical skill sets, and expanding your social circle. Make sure you choose the school that is the right fit for you because a shiny title is not a guarantee of success or of a fulfilling college career. Make an informed choice by talking to current students on ourmentorship platform. 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2017 2018 Full Review of Every ACT Test Date

2017 2018 Full Review of Every ACT Test Date SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Choosing an ACT test date can be difficult because what works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else. Ultimately, whether a test date is good for you depends on how soon you want to start prepping,what your goal scores are, andwhether you have any obligations around that time. In this guide, we give you the pros and cons of all upcoming ACT test dates and explain which dates work well- as well as which ones don't work so well- for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Feature image:Dafne Cholet/Flickr 2017 ACT Test Dates Autumn and early winter test dates are ideal for juniors taking the ACT for the first time, and for seniors taking the ACTone last time before college applications are due. However, sophomores should typically avoid these dates. September 9, 2017 Sophomores This ACT test date is far too early for sophomores. At this time, you won’t know many of the major concepts tested on the ACT. What's more, you probably won't have a concrete list of where you want to apply to college yet, so there’s no point in taking the ACT if you don't have a cleargoal scorebased on your schools. If you really want a head start on ACT prep, though, go ahead and start doing some light studying.You might want to buy a couple of prep books or work through somehigh-quality practice questions online. This lets you slowly familiarize yourself with the ACT without actually taking it. Juniors September is an ideal time for juniors to take their first ACT. Taking it early lets you get a feel for what's on the ACT and how it works, and gives you enough time to prepare for a retake in the spring or summer. Additionally, this date lets you prep entirely over the summer instead of during the school year, which is helpful if you think you'll have trouble squeezing in ACT prep when school is in session. Seniors This date is a good time for seniors to make a final attempt at the ACT, as it offers ample time for your scores to get to your schools, even if you’re applying early action or early decision. You'll also have the entire summer to prepare for the test. This is especially important for seniors since it means you won’t need to juggle ACT prep with college applications.As a result, you'll feel less overwhelmed and less anxious about everything you need to do. PSAT Test Date: October , 2017 It's important to keep this date in mind when choosing an ACT test date.Apractice test for the SAT (not the ACT), the PSATserves two primary purposes: To prepare sophomores and juniors for the SAT To recognize high-scoring juniors (top 1%) as National Merit Semifinalists Despite the fact the SAT and ACT are two different tests, they share many similarities in content and structure. Therefore, taking the PSAT could give you a clearer sense of what kind of content you’ll need to know to do well on the ACT. Don't be scared ... this next test date is right around Halloween! October 28, 2017 Sophomores This test date is still too early for sophomores.Most likely, you still won’t know where you’re applying to college and won't understand all of the concepts being tested.But if you’re really interested in getting an ACT test-taking experience, there are better options than taking the test this soon. One (free) option is to take a full-lengthACT practice test. Official tests are guaranteed to give you the most realistic practice possible. Another, and perhaps more level-appropriate, option is to take the PreACT. This test, which began in 2016and costs $12, is a practice ACT, similar to how the PSAT is a practice test for the SAT. Unlike the PSAT, though, the PreACT can be administered anytime from September to June; there is also no scholarship competition associated with it. Finally, you may want to consider taking the PSAT. As I mentioned earlier, this test is nearly identical to the SAT, so it’s not totally relevant to the ACT. But since the redesigned SAT and ACT are very similar now, taking the PSAT can offer you a broader sneak peek at how college admission tests work. Juniors If you missed the September date for your first ACT, this is another solid date for you to take it on.Like the September date, this date gives you plenty of time to prepare for a retake in spring or summer. If you’re taking the PSAT, however, opt for a different ACT test date. Studying for both tests at once will likely overwhelm and confuse you (especially since the PSAT is slightly different from the ACT), so go with one of the two instead of both. Seniors This is another solid choice for seniors. Most college application deadlines are around January 1, so an October test date offers plenty of time for your scores to get to schools.If you’re applying early action or early decision, this is the last date you can take the ACT and still get your scores to your schools in time. Because you’ll likely be busy preparing your college applications in October, I suggest aiming for the earlier September test date if possible. This way you won't have too many things to keep track of and can focus entirely on getting your applications together in October and November. December 9, 2017 Sophomores This test date, too, is a bit early for sophomores. That said, if you really want to know what the ACT is like, you’re welcome to flex your test-taking muscles and try it out. Just don’t put too much pressure on yourself to do extremely well on it. (Remember, you won't have learned everything that's on the ACT anyway!) What I recommend instead, though, is to continue working with practice questions and reviewing the various concepts tested on the ACT. Juniors This test date, though doable for juniors, can be a little trickier since it might overlap with finals. I would only opt for this test date if you missed the two dates in the fall and want to get your first ACT over with before springtime. Seniors For many schools, this is the last date you can take the ACT and still have your scores get to your schools in time.While it's too late for early action or early decision applicants, this test date should work fine for the majority of regular decision applicants. The biggest problem with this date is that it might overlap with finals, so make sure you’re balancing your prep time wisely. You don't want to overwork yourself by studying for too many tests at once! In addition, if you took the ACT in September but were unhappy with your scores, this date offers one last chance to try to raise them before your college application deadlines. If only we could actually jump to new years! 2018 ACT Test Dates Late winter, spring, and summer test dates are usually too late for seniors but should work well for juniors and high-achieving sophomores. February 10, 2018 This test date is not available in New York. Sophomores Again, this date is early for sophomores. If you’re really feeling ready to test the waters, though, go ahead and try the ACT.Just don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself to get a high score, especially on Math. If you're currently in Geometry, it's better to wait to take the ACT since you won't know the vast majority of concepts it tests. If you're in Algebra II, however, you'll know most concepts and could give it a shot if you really want to. (And if you're in Pre-Calculus or Trigonometry, you should definitely be fine!) Juniors If you took the ACT back in the fall and are getting ready to retake it, you could sign up for this date- but it’s probably better to hold off until spring. A spring test date ultimately gives you more time to study and hone your test-taking skills. Moreover, with an early February test date, you’ll most likely need to prep over winter break, which can be difficult to do if you're trying to juggle holidays and family time. Seniors This is the very last ACT date seniors can choose for regular decision deadlines. Unfortunately, not many schools accept February ACT scores (December is typically the last date you can take the test). If your school does accept February scores, however, this will be your final chance to get the scores you want and send them in. As with anything related to college applications, check your schools’ policies to see whether they accept February ACT scores before you signup for this date as a senior. April 14, 2018 Sophomores This date is the earliest I recommend sophomores take the ACT. At this point, you should be familiar with most concepts tested on the ACT, though there may still be some (particularly in math) you've yet to learn. By taking the ACT this early, you’ll get a sense of where you’re scoring and can then use the rest of spring, as well as the entire summer, to prepare for a retake in September or October your junior year. This puts you way ahead of the game! Juniors The April test date is a great time for juniors to take the ACT since it shouldn’t conflict with finals or most mid-terms. If you already took the ACT in the fall of your junior year, this is an ideal time to retake it and try to improve your score. On the other hand, if you haven’t taken the ACT at all yet, definitely take it by this date. This way you'll have the entire summer to prepare for a second attempt in the fall of your senior year. Seniors This date is too late for seniors.At this point, any scores you get on this ACT won't make it to your schools in time, so make sure you take the ACT in December (possibly February) or earlier. Would you rather go to the beach this summer or take the ACT? Before you say, "Go to the beach, duh!" just remember that you can't get a sunburn in a test center. Think about it. June 9, 2018 Sophomores This date is another date that could work well for sophomores looking to get a head start on the ACT.A June test date means you’ll get your scores by late June or early July and can then use the rest of your summer to prepare for a retake at the beginning of your junior year.At this rate, you might get all of your testing done before even starting your college applications- and that will definitely save you a headache later on! Unfortunately, the June date is likely to conflict with finals. So if you're already getting overwhelmed by those, it’s better to wait. Juniors Another solid option for juniors, the June test date allows you to get the ACT over with before summer vacation andwhen you're still in "learning mode" for school. As I mentioned before, though,this date might conflict with finals, so make sure you know your schedule ahead of time before registering for this date.Generally speaking, the April test date is a better option for juniors,as it is less likely to coincide with school tests and end-of-school-year events. July 14, 2018 This test date is not available in New York. Sophomores The July date is a solid time for sophomores (who are entering their junior year) to take the ACT and see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The biggest benefit of this date is that you’ll have completed your sophomore year and therefore learned the bulk of what you’ll need to know for the ACT. Also, because this date is in the middle of summer, you won’t have to deal with homework or tests as you prep. Unfortunately, this also means you won’t get to have as carefree a summer as other people since you’ll be studying for the ACT- but, honestly, this might be worth it in the long run if you can avoid having to take the test your senior year! Scores from this test date come out around August, about a month before the September ACT. Since this doesn’t give you a lot of time to analyze your scores and prepare for a retake, it’s better to retake the ACT, at earliest, in October your junior year. Juniors This summer date offers a convenient opportunity to take the test when you have no school commitments or college applications to worry about. It's particularly convenient for juniors who want to avoid taking the ACT their senior year. Unfortunately, this means you’ll need to spend about half your summer studying for the exam. Still, it can be worth it if you feel you’ll get overwhelmed senior year due to college applications and awkward homecoming dances. It's time to push the big, fat "When" button- or, er, bubble? When Should You Take the ACT? Key Takeaways There are seven ACT test dates in the 2017-18 testing year. These are: September 9, 2017 October 28, 2017 December 9, 2017 February 10, 2018* April 14, 2018 June 9, 2018 July 14, 2018* *Not available in New York. ACT test dates are spread throughout year, from fall to summer, and offer multiple opportunities to take the ACT and get the score you want- especially if you’re a sophomore or junior. For sophomores, the best test dates are in April, June, and July. These dates ensure you’ve learned most of the exam's content and will have plenty of time to study and retake the test at the start of your junior year. Juniors have the most freedom and can take the ACT on any test date. Usually, we advise juniors to take their first ACT in the fall (September or October) and their second ACT in the spring (April or June). This gives you plenty of time between tests to focus on your weaknesses, study hard, and hopefully raise your score. Finally, seniors should stick to taking the ACT in September or October- possibly December. If you want to take the ACT one last time before your college applications are due, the two fall dates guarantee your scores will get to your schools in time, no matter whether you’re applying regular decision or early action/early decision.Though December is too late for early action, most regular decision applicants shouldn't have any trouble with the December test date. Ultimately, no matter when you decide to take the ACT, make sure you've got a solid study plan so that you'll know how much you need to prep and can carve out enough time for your studies! What’s Next? Want more help choosing an ACT test date?Check out our full guide to choosing to get tips on how to find the perfect test date for you. When should you register for the ACT?In our guide to ACT registration dates and deadlines, we give you all of the info you need, from deadlines to fees, to make the testing plans you want. Should you take the ACT more than once?There are many benefits of taking the ACT multiple times, the main one being that you can improve your score on a retake! Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

What Are Some Good Adjectives For Resume

What Are Some Good Adjectives For Resume The right adjectives are a vital part of a great resume. While its important to be able to express the roles and responsibilities youve held, the adjectives you use to describe these experiences are what brings them to life. Resume experts know that its difficult to write a resume that engages the interest of employers. If you need someone to edit your CV, just apply for help with your resume. On average, employers spend about 11 seconds scanning a resume. That means you want to make sure you capture their interest by choosing the right adjectives. You can take a boring resume and turn it into something that sells your skills and lands you an interview with descriptions that pack a punch. Before decorating you resume with powerful words, you need to complete the template with core information. Use our guide on writing a resume. A word of caution: though you want to use adjectives, you dont want to overdo them. Think powerful yet tasteful. Dont knock them over the head with your dynamic, enthusiastic, incredible, resourceful self. Instead, consider the areas you want to highlight and choose exciting adjectives to bring out your best qualities. Learn how to choose wisely with the following tips: Use Active Adjectives A lot has been written about using action verbs in the resume. What about active adjectives? Using strong adjectives can have just as big an impact as action verbs. Try including words like â€Å"persistent† â€Å"passionate†, â€Å"enterprising†, â€Å"vigorous† and â€Å"determined†. Be Positive Employers love to know that a candidate has a positive outlook on things. Someone who has a positive attitude can help elevate a companys morale, inspire other team members and allow others to indulge their creativity and innovation. Words such as â€Å"exceptional†, â€Å"optimistic†, â€Å"positive†, â€Å"extroverted†, â€Å"personable† and â€Å"sincere† can make a great impact on an employer. Show Them Youre Flexible Things dont always go as planned and an employee that can handle a curve ball or two is a valued asset to any company. Someone who can think on their feet, withstand pressure and turn a misfortune into an opportunity is worth their weight in gold. Adjectives such as â€Å"dynamic†, â€Å"resourceful†, â€Å"adaptable†, â€Å"broad-minded†, â€Å"versatile† and â€Å"foresight† can sell your skills as an expert troubleshooter. Demonstrate Leadership If the position youre applying for calls for leadership skills, make sure you highlight yours with the right adjectives. Try â€Å"leading†, â€Å"diplomatic†, â€Å"facilitating†, â€Å"team-building† and â€Å"guiding† to let them know that you can lead a project to success. Display Your Dedication An employee who shows loyalty to a company is a valuable assent. Make sure you let a potential employer know that youre â€Å"dedicated†, â€Å"loyal†, â€Å"dependable†, and â€Å"reliable† . Standing by the company in trying times can earn you extra points to future employers. Highlight Your Creativity Someone who can think outside the box can bring a lot to any business. In fact, these are some of the most valued qualities at top companies such as Google and Apple. Tell them how â€Å"innovative†, â€Å"creative†, â€Å"unique†, â€Å"original†, â€Å"inventive† and â€Å"imaginative† you are. While the above can help you impress employers with adjectives, you should also bear the following in mind: Use the Job Description The adjectives used in the job description itself can provide you with the guidance you need. You could go through the effort to find appropriate synonyms, but really, the best way to go is to use the words in the job description. Employers will likely be sifting through a lot of resumes, so its no use being subtle. If theyre looking for a self-starter whos innovative and reliable, then give it to them. Use PAR: Project, Action, Result Sometimes people can go overboard on their adjectives in a resume and employers can get lost in a sea of descriptions. Rather than litter your resume with superfluous adjectives, make sure you apply them effectively by using this method. Use adjectives to describe a project you completed or a skill you possess, an action you executed and the result it produced. Though the job market is highly competitive these days, you can make your resume stand out. Make sure you describe you followed basic resume rules and used the right adjectives.

Preventive Measures and Privacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Preventive Measures and Privacy - Research Paper Example The American government under the guise of national security is going too far. There is nothing to hide, as do most Americans, but with that said, the government has overstepped its bounds. There should be boundaries and a balance between individual rights of freedoms and national security. There is amuch concern for the protection of innocent Americans from terrorist. With the government invading its citizen’s privacy, by watching and surveying everything people do, it is one step closer to losing people’s constitutional rights than ever before (Minow 2004). Sending e-mails, purchasing through credit cards, and making phone calls are some of the many things Americans do many times in a day without thinking much about it. Although these activities feel less important and general, they are recorded in many corporate databases. They become part of each individual’s digital history. Most of the databases are accessible by federal counterterrorism agencies which deal with terrorism. The agencies are aware that terrorists use the same financial and communications channels as law-abiding citizens do. The agencies have embarked on using sophisticated computer programs that have the capacity to mine this data. The agencies do so to try and spot patterns that will indicate terrorist-like activities among the many transactions happening every day. The agencies mine citizens’ data without their permission. This raises serious constitutional issues (White 2006). As a result of the exposure of classified surveillance operations, many of the Americans expressed disapproval about the government’s decision of recording phone activities of ordinary Americans. Most of the people showed little concern on their phone calls and Internet activities being monitored. About 57 percent of the people interviewed said that the leaks on the monitoring will not affect the United States in preventing future acts of terrorism

Financing a Small Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financing a Small Business - Research Paper Example Luckily, there are still many ways which a smart and proactive person can use to make his living. Something which is better than his previous job infact. This is to start his own business. One might ask why anyone would want to start his own business and go through such a huge risk of investing so much and finding out in the end that it was all a bad idea and loses all his money. Well the answer is already given above. But apart from not having any other choice, it is wrong by many people to consider a business as a "risky investment" because a business is as secure as you want it to be. If you start out with a stupid idea which only you believe is going to sell, well then you will lose your money. On the other hand, if you value your investment a lot and do not want to take big risks, you can start something simple like a general or medical store. This type of business will give you lesser profit but it will be stable and will involve routine supply chain techniques which will there fore lowering the risk to a minimum. Now comes the most crucial part, one which actually makes a person decide on his destiny. It's how to finance his business. The first thing a person needs to answer is how much investment is he going to need. If his business plan is well defined and thoroughly covers the default five year plan technique, he will know exactly how much he will need in order to get it started. He will also know in how much time he will be able to reach break-even for his investment therefore answering his second query of repayment of his installments. There are several ways a person can finance his business, for the purpose of simplicity, we will discuss three of the most common ways which are used by small businessmen and even by big multinational giants (James E. Burk, Richard P. Lehman, 2006). Personal Credit This technique is primarily designed for small businessmen deciding on opening a low risk and stable earning platform. This is because as the name suggests, the businessman will borrow money from his personal contacts either by formal or informal agreements. These personal contacts are usually family members who come in the businessman's trust circle like his parents and siblings. This is the safest way of acquiring money for investment because there is a lot of flexibility involved in the process. Also, the business man will be more careful of investing it wisely as his share is the highest in the whole investment and he cannot gamble with it too much. Upon interview of selected people on whether they would lend money to a close relative, the answers received were highly unexpected. 80% of people interviewed said they were not comfortable in lending their hard earned money as they were not sure if they would be able to get it back once they lend it. On the other hand, people also said that they would not like to ask their family members for help as they do not want to parade about the fact that they are starting a business as they might become prey to extreme jealousy. Bank Loan This technique is the most common used in the business world today. Even banks offer special packages to customers seeking money for investing in their own small business which are good because they have lower markups and they are granted more easily thanks to governmental

Reasons Behind Colonial Settlements in North America Essay Example for Free

Reasons Behind Colonial Settlements in North America Essay As a whole, I believe economic development had a larger impact on colonial settlement than religious concerns, but this varies with the individual colonies. Each colony had something different to offer England and a different motive for settling. New England came about because the Puritans and Separatists wanted a place to worship free the original Church of England. Virginia, on the other hand, was established at first as a trade colony and base for gold and precious metal expeditions. The Maryland colony was founded in order to further the cultivation of certain crops like tobacco. Religion was by no means pushed away in the colonies. It was a strong and meaningful force for almost all colonists; it Just wasnt always their driving force. England held economic control over all colonies and did not let anything get in the way of that. Virginia became an agricultural settlement that brought large amounts of money to Britain. Religion was important and valued higher than everything except money. The colony of Maryland was given by Charles I to George Calvert, whose son (Cecilius Calvert) allowed freedom of religion to all Christian settlers in the colony. That was the biggest difference between Maryland and Virginia, who both became agricultural societies fairly quickly. Indentured servants were shipped to work the fields, which created a populous community and a strong economy. New England was created for more than Just a place for the Puritans and Separatists to worship freely. Because of American influence in English lifestyle (mainly food), the population doubled, leading to high inflation, a very unbalanced wealth distribution, and a plummeting economy. As a result of overpopulation and poverty, people were drawn to North America. Among the attracted people were Puritans and Separatists, who could both escape poverty and start a new colony based off of their own religious beliefs. These people were rebels in the eyes of the English hierarchy, and therefore received much less funding and support from the government. New England evolved as more of a family friendly colony than the Chesapeake Bay colonies, which were more business and economically focused. The Chesapeake Bay colonies were established by the English government for the sole purpose of economic development, while New England was founded by religious leaders escaping English intolerance. The Massachusetts Bay Company was moved to New England, along with the addition of three thousand Puritans by the year of 1643. The area sprouted busy seaports in coastal towns and farms in agricultural. As the population grew, New England became more financially inclined. Compared to other European societies, English colonies were as equally everyday life centered as economically centered. They brought their culture, religion, and everyday life to North America. New England and the Chesapeake Bay colonies had different personalities and goals when it came to economic, religious, and settling beliefs. The economy was a focus point for both colonies, but especially the Chesapeake bay colonies, while religion was the founder of New England.

Global Warming Essay -- Environment Global Warming Climate Change

Global Warming For the last 20 years or so the subject of global warming has spawned heated debate among the world’s brightest minds. Its causes and effects, if either actually exists, have been hotly debated. The most popular hypothesis is called the greenhouse effect with the agreed upon cause being green house gasses. These gasses are all naturally occurring and include water vapor, methane, oxygen, and the now infamous carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gasses exist in the atmosphere and have an effect on our global weather. They trap radiated heat and prevent it from exiting our atmosphere. This supposedly increases global temperatures and is, or will, cause melting of the polar ice caps. This in turn is expected to raise sea level and cause global coastal flooding. A brief geology lesson The world we live on is at least 4.6 billion years old. In that time span it has undergone immense changes. At one time most of the land surface was connected. The continents separated and migrated to their present positions. The force behind this is called plate tectonics. The sea floor is still spreading today and is the driving force for all of the earthquakes and volcanic activity that we experience today. Convection currents created by the tremendous heat and pressure of the inner core move the plates. This core is undergoing massive thermonuclear reactions. The heat produced migrates outward and the currents it produces move the plates. This process also releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and water vapor. This has been taking place since the Earth was formed. We know from geologic record that there have been numerous greenhouse and icehouse ages. The question is, is the greenhouse state caused by greenhouse gasses? Probably not, at least not entirely. There are several other factors involved - the most significant being the Milankovitch cycles. These are three cycles that describe the motion of the Earth through space. The first involves the Earth’s orbit around the sun. The orbit is not perfectly round, but elliptical. This means that at one point the Earth is closer to the sun than at other times. This cycle takes about 100,000 years to complete. The second cycle involves the tilt of the Earth’s axis. The Earth’s axis is currently tilted about 23.5 degrees. But this tilt is not constant. Throughout a period of about 40,000 years the tilt changes a f... ...een showing a downward trend since their peak in 1940. Satellite readings continue to show a decrease in temperature. They recorded 1997 as the coolest year since this technology has been implemented. This imagery was also accurate enough to predict â€Å"that â€Å"La Nina† would predominate in 1998, lowering global temperatures significantly"2. That same year Moscow recorded its coldest December in a century3. Conclusion This great world of ours has been around for a long time – at least 4.6 billion years. During that time untold and unimaginable changes have taken place. Countless icehouse and greenhouse ages have come and gone. Continents have been created, destroyed, and migrated over and over again. Thousands, perhaps millions, of species have come and gone. All this, and more, without any influence from man. In geologic terms we have been on this Earth for a very, very short time. The Earth evolves on a time scale that we cannot comprehend. It has developed a balance, a system of checks and balances, which we have little or no control over. To think that we can alter a global climate that has been 4.6 billion years in the making merely shows just how much we have yet to learn.

Emotions In The Things They Carried Essay

In his story â€Å"The Things They Carried†, Tim O’Brien, enlightens the reader with the many faces and emotions of men. Although men are normally thought upon as the stronger of the two sexes; physically and emotionally, O’Brien lets us realize that this is not so. Men are weak in even the strongest of situations. And in this case, the situation is war. War is the main theme of the story. Masculinity in the story The ‘soldiers’ mentioned are victims of many emotions, for example, love, hatred, stress, depression, etc. They realize how important love and real-life relationships are. Most men who are prey to long lost love, try to let go of their past and focus only on their duties in vain. As they walk through the streets of Vietnam, they carry with themselves the basic necessities of survival and souvenirs to remind them of home. During these marches, they dispose of some of their supplies because they are aware that they will soon gain much more. War is like a game to the soldiers, there are always winners and losers. It can be played with many different tactics. It is all a matter of luck and strategy. But it is not all that bad. Some of the soldiers, who leave, return soon because the peace ‘hurts’ them too much. And for some, the war is far too much to handle. This is mainly due to the losses they experience. Death is a frightening incident which occurs most often bringing with it tears of pain and stress. The soldiers are afraid of killing as well. The first kill is always the hardest to bear. These soldiers imagine what kind of a life their enemies led before getting involved into such a situation. Deep, dark marks are left within the hearts of these soldiers as they spend endless days on the battlefields. Voegele quotes O’Brien as talking about fear, â€Å"In many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down.† (Voegele). The soldiers have dreams about escaping the brutal nature and reality of war because they are unable to remove fear from their hearts. Most of the time, there are petty quarrels that take place, some leading to physically fights, which soon lead to renewed friendships, trust and written pacts, and then ending in death and sorrow. Voegele quotes O’Brien provides the weight of the objects which the soldiers carry by saying â€Å"The weapon weighed 7.5 pounds unloaded, 8.2 pounds with its full 20 round magazine. The riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazines†¦adding on another 8.4 pounds at minimum, 14 pounds at maximum.† (Voegele). The story above portrays the masculine romance of the soldier as it portrays the tough and brutal nature of their experience in war. These soldiers have to be tough and brave in the battlefield in order to prove that they are worthy males. Experience of war O’Brien gives a graphic portrait of the experience of war by mentioning the weight of the things which the soldiers carry. The soldiers also have to face other external factors like the weather during the time of war â€Å"They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere†¦they carried gravity.† (Voegele). However according to O’Brien the soldiers have several emotional problems which are much heavier for them than the physical things they carry. â€Å"Grief, terror, love, longing these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weigh.† (Voegele). Many different stories are discussed and the lust for women is often brought up during camp talks. But many stories of lost and dead soldiers are never spoken of. Sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of respect, and sometimes out of sheer disappointment and misunderstanding. These stories, burdened by the soldiers sometimes drive them into a negative attitude. Most of these soldiers tend to commit suicide. â€Å"That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him† (O’Brien, pg. 156). The author describes his feelings of when he lost a true friend due to a sudden attack. Kiowa had drowned into the depths of the sewage during this attack. Although O’Brien had tried to help, the smell was excruciating to him. In the story, there is also specifically rumors of a girl smuggled into Vietnam by a soldier are brought up. This ‘soldier’ had to spend a large sum of money into getting his girlfriend there. He warned about how dangerous it was. All the men are duly jealous of the young couple. Superstition is common among the men. They keep certain ‘things’ with them at all times, believing these items may bring them luck. To a few of them, they actually do bring luck! But religion is also a big part of these soldiers’ lives. They chat about how one day; they would like to be monks and priests, and about how they would like to help people and be kind to them instead of killing anyone and anything that came in their way. As the war wages on, the soldiers try to find amusement in the harshness around them. The camps they set around for themselves are of unpleasant surroundings. From the ruthless weather, to the creepy crawlies and even then unbearable stenches, these soldiers have witnessed it all. They joke about the times they had almost died or had cried out of fear of facing death during combat. Most of these men undergo many changes, especially in their personalities. Some of the soldiers like Norman Bowler were decent and law abiding citizens when they were civilians. But this man transformed himself into a heartless creature and around his neck he carried a thumb which had been removed from the body of a Viet Cong guerilla fighter. The Viet Cong guerilla fighter was only a teenager. Bowler was very proud of his first kill. But there were also others, like Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, who had been sensitive during their civilian life. But the effects of war do not change them into animals. They stay the same, lovable humans, hoping for an escape into the arms of their loved ones. But when they face their enemies, regardless of their age or gender, these soldiers are emotionless beasts. They even torture human babies, mostly orphan infants, brutally. O’Brien refers to the babies as a ‘young water buffalo’. Readers will find the story to be devoid of any emotions as the American soldiers engage in torture and brutality for sports and recreation. However, these men tend to feel awful afterwards. They think over what they have done and regret these events so much that they end up hurting themselves in order to finally escape this reality. While some, make all the killing seem like child’s play. And later, all these men share and relate their own life stories to the people they kill during the war. This, according to O’Brien, brings them back to life. He based his life on one motto, â€Å"Once you’re alive, you can’t ever be dead† (O’Brien, pg. 244). Tim O’Brien does not believe in death. The soldiers, even tough are fighting day and night for their country; feel that it is useless to wage this war. They cannot find any real reasons as to why they are there, except that they were appointed to this duty without any consideration. This lack of purpose also drives the men into insanity. When finally, the war comes to an end, the soldiers return home to again lead a ‘normal civilian’ life. But the bitter memories of Vietnam prevent these men from ever being sane again. The war has cast a heavy shadow over the hearts of these once good-willed, god-fearing men. Although, most of the story is fictional, Tim O’Brien portrays to his readers the cruelty of war. He wants people to understand how it felt to experience death, so that they could finally accept it. He tries to share his feelings and the feelings of his fellow soldiers through detached words. He talks of the torture and pain, the crying and screaming, the innocent civilian families watching their loved ones being put to death in front of their eyes aware that their turn is soon to come. The experience of war is romanticized in the novel as the author provides an account of the experiences of soldiers. These soldiers are living in hell but they have a clear concept of the culture of war. They know that they are making history by becoming participants of war. Conclusion This story clearly states that even men are feeble creatures who fall victim to emotions no matter what they do. The life of a soldier may seem to be filled with hardships and killing. But no one really knows the truth behind the lifeless eyes. We, civilians wonder what it might be like out their on the battlefield and how these soldiers live their lives without emotion. When, in reality, they share as much emotion as any normal human being would. They fear the blood shed around them. Some display their feelings and confess their love and fears, while others decide to hide themselves by displaying a merciless attitude. Every experience is hard for them. Every new day is a bigger challenge. If the cards are not played right, there is a loss, sometimes many losses. The story is an important reminder about the horrors and brutalities of war. It tells us how war changes the experiences of soldiers. Works Cited O’Brien. Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway. (1998) Voegele, Jason. Thoughts on The Things They Carried. Copyright  © Jason Voegele Retrieved 16th August 2008 http://www.jvoegele.com/essays/things.html

Africans Before Columbus

BLACK CIVILIZATIONS OF ANCIENT AMERICA (MUU-LAN), MEXICO (XI) Gigantic stone head of Negritic African The earliest people in the Americas were people of the Negritic African race, who entered the Americas perhaps as early as 100,000 years ago, by way of the bering straight and about thirty thousand years ago in a worldwide maritime undertaking that included journeys from the then wet and lake filled Sahara towards the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, and from West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Americas.According to the Gladwin Thesis, this ancient journey occurred, particularly about 75,000 years ago and included Black Pygmies, Black Negritic peoples and Black Australoids similar to the Aboriginal Black people of Australia and parts of Asia, including India. Ancient African terracotta portraits 1000 B. C. to 500 B. C. Recent discoveries in the field of linguistics and other methods have shown without a doubt, that the ancient Olmecs of Mexico, known as the Xi People, came originally from West Africa and were of the Mende African ethnic stock.According to Clyde A. Winters and other writers (see Clyde A. Winters website), the Mende script was discovered on some of the ancient Olmec monuments of Mexico and were found to be identical to the very same script used by the Mende people of West Africa. Although the carbon fourteen testing date for the presence of the Black Olmecs or Xi People is about 1500 B. C. , journies to the Mexico and the Southern United States may have come from West Africa much earlier, particularly around five thousand years before Christ.That conclusion is based on the finding of an African native cotton that was discovered in North America. It's only possible manner of arriving where it was found had to have been through human hands. At that period in West African history and even before, civilization was in full bloom in the Western Sahara in what is today Mauritania. One of Africa's earliest civilizations, the Zingh Empire, exis ted and may have lived in what was a lake filled, wet and fertile Sahara, where ships criss-crossed from place to place.ANCIENT AFRICAN KINGDOMS PRODUCED OLMEC TYPE CULTURES The ancient kingdoms of West Africa which occupied the Coastal forest belt from Cameroon to Guinea had trading relationships with other Africans dating back to prehistoric times. However, by 1500 B. C. , these ancient kingdoms not only traded along the Ivory Coast, but with the Phoenicians and other peoples. They expanded their trade to the Americas, where the evidence for an ancient African presence is overwhelming.The kingdoms which came to be known by Arabs and Europeans during the Middle Ages were already well established when much of Western Europe was still inhabited by Celtic tribes. By the 5th Century B. C. , the Phoenicians were running comercial ships to several West African kingdoms. During that period, iron had been in use for about one thousand years and terracotta art was being produced at a great level of craftsmanship. Stone was also being carved with naturalistic perfection and later, bronze was being used to make various tools and instruments, as well as beautifully naturalistic works of art.The ancient West African coastal and interior Kingdoms occupied an area that is now covered with dense vegetation but may have been cleared about three to four thousand years ago. This includes the regions from the coasts of West Africa to the South, all the way inland to the Sahara. A number of large kingdoms and empires existed in that area. According to Blisshords Communications, one of the oldest empires and civilizions on earth existed just north of the coastal regions into what is today Mauritania.It was called the Zingh Empire and was highly advanced. In fact, they were the first to use the red, black and green African flag and to plant it throughout their territory all over Africa and the world. The Zingh Empire existed about fifteen thousand years ago. The only other civiliza tions that may have been in existance at that period in history were the Ta-Seti civilization of what became Nubia-Kush and the mythical Atlantis civilization which may have existed out in the Atlantic, off the coast of West Africa about ten to fifteen thousand years ago.That leaves the question as to whether there was a relationship between the prehistoric Zingh Empire of West Africa and the civilization of Atlantis, whether the Zingh Empire was actually Atlantis, or whether Atlantis if it existed was part of the Zingh empire. Was Atlantis, the highly technologically sophisticated civilization an extension of Black civilization in the Meso-America and other parts of the Americas? Stone carving of a Shaman or priest from Columbia's San Agustine CultureAn ancient West African Oni or King holding similar artifacts as the San Agustine culture stone carving of a Shaman The above ancient stone carvings (500 t0 1000 B. C. ) of Shamans of Priest-Kings clearly show distinct similarities in instruments held and purpose. The realistic carving of an African king or Oni and the stone carving of a shaman from Columbia's San Agustin Culture indicates diffusion of African religious practices to the Americas. In fact, the region of Columbia and Panama were among the first places that Blacks were spotted by the first Spanish explorers to the Americas.From the archeological evidence gathered both in West Africa and Meso-America, there is reason to believe that the African Negritics who founded or influenced the Olmec civilization came from West Africa. Not only do the collosol Olmec stone heads resemble Black Africans from the Ghana area, but the ancient religious practices of the Olmec priests was similar to that of the West Africans, which included shamanism, the study of the Venus complex which was part of the traditions of the Olmecs as well as the Ono and Dogon People of West Africa.The language connection is of significant importance, since it has been found out through d ecipherment of the Olmec script, that the ancient Olmecs spoke the Mende language and wrote in the Mend script, which is still used in parts of West Africa and the Sahara to this day. ANCIENT TRADE BETWEEN THE AMERICAS AND AFRICA The earliest trade and commercial activities between prehistoric and ancient Africa and the Americas may have occurred from West Africa and may have included shipping and travel across the Atlantic.The history of West Africa has never been properly researched. Yet, there is ample evidence to show that West Africa of 1500 B. C. was at a level of civilization approaching that of ancient Egypt and Nubia-Kush. In fact, there were similarities between the cultures of Nubia and West Africa, even to the very similarities between the smaller scaled hard brick clay burial pyramids built for West African Kings at Kukia in pre Christian Ghana and their counterparts in Nubia, Egypt and Meso-America.Although West Africa is not commonly known for having a culture of pyra mid-building, such a culture existed although pyramids were created for the burial of kings and were made of hardened brick. This style of pyramid building was closer to what was built by the Olmecs in Mexico when the first Olmec pyramids were built. In fact, they were not built of stone, but of hardened clay and compact earth. Still, even though we don't see pyramids of stone rising above the ground in West Africa, similar to those of Egypt, Nubia or Mexico, or massive abilisks, collosal monuments and structures of Nubian and Khemitic or Meso-American civilization.The fact remains, they did exist in West Africa on a smaller scale and were transported to the Americas, where conditions such as an environment more hospitable to building and free of detriments such as malaria and the tsetse fly, made it much easier to build on a grander scale. Meso-American pyramid with stepped appearance, built about 2500 years ago Stepped Pyramid of Sakkara, Egypt, built over four thousand years ago, compare to Meso-American pyramid Large scale building projects such as monuent and pyramid building was most likely carried to the Americas by the same West Africans who developed the Olmec or Xi civilization in Mexico.Such activities would have occurred particularly if there was not much of a hinderance and obstacle to massive, monumental building and construction as there was in the forest and malaria zones of West Africa. Yet, when the region of ancient Ghana and Mauritania is closely examined, evidence of large prehistoric towns such as Kukia and others as well as various monuments to a great civilization existed and continue to exist at a smaller level than Egypt and Nubia, but significant enough to show a direct connection with Mexico's Olmec civilization.The similarities between Olmec and West African civilization includes racial, religious and pyramid bilding similarities, as well as the similarities in their alphabets and scripts as well as both cultures speaking the ident ical Mende language, which was once widespread in the Sahara and was spread as far East as Dravidian India in prehistoric times as well as the South Pacific. During the early years of West African trade with the Americas, commercial seafarers made frequent voyages across the Atlantic.In fact, the oral history of a tradition of seafaring between the Americas and Africa is part of the history of the Washitaw People, an aboriginal Black nation who were the original inhabitants of the Mississippi Valley region, the former Louisiana Territories and parts of the Southern United States. According to their oral traditions, their ancient ships criss-crossed the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas on missions of trade and commerce.. Some of the ships used during the ancient times, perhaps earlier than 7000 B.C. (which is the date given for cave paintings of the drawings and paintings of boats in the now dried up Sahara desert) are similar to ships used in parts of Africa today. The se ships were either made of papyrus or planks lashed with rope, or hollowed out tree trunks. These ancient vessels were loaded with all type of trade goods and not only did they criss-cross the Atlantic but they traded out in the Pacific and settled there as well all the way to California.In   fact, the tradition of Black seafarers crossing the Pacific back and forth to California is much older than the actual divulgance of that fact to the first Spanish explorers who were told by the American Indians that Black men with curly hair made trips from California's shores to the Pacific on missions of trade. On the other hand, West African trade with the Americas before Columbus and way back to proto historic times (30,000 B. C. to 10,000 B. C. ), is one of the most important chapters in ancient African history. Yet, this era which begun about 30,000 years ago and perhaps earlier (see the Gladwin Thesis, by C. S.Gladwin, Mc Graw Hill Books), has not been part of the History of Blacks in the Americas. Later on in history, particularly during the early Bronze Age. However, during the latter part of the Bronze Age, particularly between 1500 B. C. to 1000 B. C. , when the Olmec civilization began to bloom and flourish, new conditions in the Mediterranean made it more difficult for West Africans to trade by sea with the region, although their land trade accross the Sahara was flourishing. By then, Greeks, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians and others were trying to gain control of the sea routes and the trading ports of the region.Conflicts in the region may have pushed the West Africans to strengthen their trans-Atlantic trade with the Americas and to explore and settle there. Ancient sea-going vessel used by the Egyptians and Nubians in ancient times. West African Trade and Settlement in the Americas Increases Due to Conflicts in the Mediterranean The flowering of the Olmec Civilization occurred between 1500 B. C. to 1000 B. C. , when over twenty-two collosal head s of basalt were carved representing the West African Negritic racial type.This flowering continued with the appearance of â€Å"Magicians,† or Shamanistic Africans who observed and charted the Venus planetary complex (see the pre-Christian era statuette of a West African Shaman in the photograph above) These â€Å"Magicians,† are said to have entered Mexico from West Africa between 800 B. C. to 600 B. C. and were speakers of the Mende language as well as writers of the Mende script or the Bambara script, both which are still used in parts of West Africa and the Sahara. These Shamans who became the priestly class at Monte Alban during the 800's to 600's B. C. ( ref.The History of the African-Olmecs and Black Civilization of the Americas From Prehistoric Times to the Present Era), had to have journied across the Atlantic from West Africa, for it is only in West Africa, that the religious practices and astronomical and religious practices and complex (Venus, the Dogon Si rius observation and the Venus worship of the Afro-Olmecs, the use of the ax in the worship of Shango among he Yoruba of West Africa and the use of the ax in Afro-Olmec worship as well as the prominence of the thunder God later known as Tlalock among the Aztecs) are the same as those practiced by the Afro-Olmec Shamans.According to Clyde Ahmed Winters (see â€Å"Clyde A. Winters† webpage on â€Å"search. † Thus, it has been proven through linguistic studies, religious similarities, racial similarities between the Afro-Olmecs and West Africans, as well as the use of the same language and writing script, that the Afro-Olmecs came from the Mende-Speaking region of West Africa, which once included the Sahara. Sailing and shipbuilding in the Sahara is over twenty thousand years old. In fact, cave and wall paintings of ancient ships were displayed in National Geographic Magazine some years ago.Such ships which carried sails and masts, were among the vessels that swept across the water filled Sahara in prehistoric times. It is from that ship-building tradition that the Bambara used their knowledge to build Thor Hayerdhal's papyrus boat Ra I which made it to the West Indies from Safi in Morroco years ago. The Bambara are also one of the West African nationalities who had and still have a religious and astronomical complex similar to that of the ancient Olmecs, particularly in the area of star gazing.A journey across the Atlantic to the Americas on a good current during clement weather would have been an easier task to West Africans of the Coastal and riverine regions than it would have been through the use of caravans criss-crossing the hot by day and extremely cold by night Sahara desert. It would have been much easier to take a well made ship, similar to the one shown above and let the currents take it to the West Indies, and may have taken as long as sending goods back and forth from northern and north-eastern Africa to the interior and coasts of West Africa's ancient kingdoms.Add to that the fact that crossing the Sahara would have been no easy task when obsticales such as the hot and dusty environment, the thousands of miles of dust, sand and high winds existed. The long trek through the southern regions of West Africa through vallies, mountains and down the many rivers to the coast using beasts of burden would have been problematic particularly since malaria mosquitoes harmful to both humans and animals would have made the use of animals to carry loads unreliable.Journeys by ship along the coast of West Africa toward the North, through the Pillars of Heracles,   eastward on the Mediterran to Ports such as Byblos in Lebanon, Tyre or Sydon would have been two to three times as lengthy as taking a ship from Cape Verde, sailing it across the Atlantic and landing in North-Eastern Brazil fifteen hundred miles away, or Meso America about 2400 miles away. The distance in itself is not what makes the trip easy. It is the fact that c urrents   which are similar to gigantic rivers in the ocean, carry ships and other vessels from West Africa to the Americas with relative ease.West Africans during the period of 1500 B. C. to 600 B. C. up to 1492 A. D. may have looked to the Americas as a source of trade, commerce and a place to settle and build new civlilzations. During the period of 1500 B. C. to 600 B. C. , there were many conflicts in the Mediterranean involving the Kushites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Sea Peoples, Persians, Jews and others. Any kingdom or nation of that era who wanted to conduct smoothe trade without complications would have tried to find alternative trading partners.In fact, that was the very reason why the Europeans decided to sail westwared in their wearch for India and China in 1492 A. D. They were harrassed by the Arabs in the East and had to pay heavy taxes to pass through the region. Still, most of the Black empires and kingdoms such as Kush, Mauri, Numidia, Egypt, Ethiopia and others may have had little difficulty conducting trade among their neighbors since they also were among the major powers of the region who were dominant in the Mediterranean.South of this northern region to the south-west, Mauritania (the site of the prehistoric Zingh Empire) Ghana, and many of the same nationalities who ushered in the West African renaissance of the early Middle Ages were engaged in civilizations and cultures similar to those of Nubia, Egypt and the Empires of the Afro-Olmec or Xi (Shi) People. Nubian-Kushite King and Queen (circa 1000 B. C. ) It is believed that there was a Nubian presence in Mexico and that the West African civilizations were related to that of the Nubians, despite the distance between the two centers of Black civilization in Africa.There is no doubt that in ancient times there were commercial ties between West Africa and Egypt. In fact, about 600 B. C. , Nikau, a Pharaoh of Egypt sent ships to circumnavigate Africa and later on about 450 B. C. , Phoenicians did the same, landing in West Africa in the nation now called Cameroon. There they witnessed what may have been the celebration of a Kwanza-like harvest festival, where â€Å"cymbals, horns,† and other instruments as well as smoke and fire from buring fields could be seen from their ships.At that period in history, the West African cultures and civilizations, which were offshoots of much earlier southern Saharan cultures, were very old compared to civilizations such as Greece or Babylon. In fact, iron was being used by the ancient West Africans as early as 2600 years B. C. and was so common that there was no â€Å"bronze age† in West Africa, although bronze was used for ornaments and instruments or tools. A combination of Nubians and West Africans engaged in mutual trade and commerce along the coasts of West Africa could have planned many trips to and from the Americas and could have conducted a crossing about 1500 B.C. and afterwards. Massive sculptures of the heads of typical Negritic Africans were carved in the region of South Mexico where the Olmec civilization flourished. Some of these massive heads of basalt contain the cornrow hairstyle common among West African Blacks, as well as the kinky coiled hair common among at least 70 percent of all Negritic people, (the other proportion being the Dravidian Black race of India and the Black Australoids of Australia and South Asia). Collossol Afro-Olmec head of basalt wearing Nubian type war helmet, circa 1100 B. C. Afro-Olmecs Came from the Mende Regions of West AfricaAlthough archeologists have used the name â€Å"Olmec,† to refer to the Black builders of ancient Mexico's first civilizations, recent discoveries have proven that these Afro-Olmecs were West Africans of the Mende language and cultural group. Inscriptions found on ancient monuments in parts of Mexico show that the script used by the ancient Olmecs was identical to that used by the ancient and modern Mende-speakin g peoples of West Africa. Racially, the collosal stone heads are identical in features to West Africans and the language deciphered on Olmec monuments is identical to the Mende language of West Africa, (see Clyde A.Winters) on the internet. The term â€Å"Olmec† was first used by archeologists since the giant stone heads with the features of West African Negritic people were found in a part of Mexico with an abundance of rubber trees. The Maya word for rubber was â€Å"olli, and so the name â€Å"Olmec,† was used to label the Africoid Negritic people represented in the faces of the stone heads and found on hundreds of terracotta figurines throughout the region. Yet, due to the scientific work done by deciphers and linguists, it has been found out that the ancient Blacks of Mexico know as Olmecs, called themselves the Xi People (She People).Apart from the giant stone heads of basalt, hundreds of terracotta figurines and heads of people of Negritic African racial reatur es have also been found over the past hundred years in Mexico and other parts of Meso-America as well as the ancient Black-owned lands of the Southern U. S. (Washitaw Proper,(Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas), South America's Saint Agustin Culture in the nation of Colombia, Costa Rica, and other areas) the â€Å"Louisiana Purchase,† lands, the south-eastern kingdom of the Black Jamassee, and other places including Haiti, see the magazine Ancient American).Various cultural clues and traces unique to Africa as well as the living descendants of prehistoric and ancient African migrants to the Americas continue to exist to this very day. The Washitaw Nation of Louisiana is one such group (see www. Hotep. org), the Garifuna or Black Caribs of the Caribbean and Central America is another, the descendants of the Jamasse who live in Georgia and the surrounding states is another group. There are also others such as the Black Californian of Queen Calafia fame (the Black Amazon Queen mentioned in the book Journey to Esplandian, by Ordonez de Montalvo during the mid 1500's).Cultural artefacts which connect the ancient Blacks of the Americas with Africa are many. Some of these similarities can be seen in the stone and terracotta works of the ancient Blacks of the Americas. For example, the African hairline is clearly visible in some stone and terracotta works, including the use of cornrows, afro hair style, flat â€Å"mohawk† style similar to the type used in Africa, dreadlocks, braided hair and even plain kinky hair. The African hairline is clearly visible on a fine stone head from Veracruz Mexico, carved between 600 B.C. to 400 B. C. , the Classic Period of Olmec civilization. That particular statuette is about twelve inches tall and the distance from the head to the chin is about 17 centemeters. Another head of about 12 inches, not only posesses Negroid features, but the hair design is authentically West African and is on display at the Nat ional Museum of Mexico. This terracotta Africoid head also wears the common disk type ear plugs common in parts of Africa even today among tribes such as the Dinka and Shilluk.One of the most impressive pieces of evidence which show a direct link between the Black Olmec or Xi People of Mexico and West Africans is the presence of scarification marks on some Olmec terracotta sculpture. These scarification marks clearly indicate a West African Mandinka (Mende) presence in prehistoric and ancient Meso-America. Ritual scarification is still practiced in parts of Africa and among the Black peoples of the South Pacific, however the Olmec scarification marks are not of South Pacific or Melanesian Black origins, since the patterns used on ancient Olmec sculpture is still common in parts of Africa.This style of scarification tatooing is still used by the Nuba and other Sudanese African people. In fact, the face of a young girl with keloid scarification on here face is identical to the very sa me keloid tatoos on the face of an ancient Olmec terracotta head from ancient Mexico. Similar keloid tattoos also appear on the arms of some Sudanese and are identical to similar keloid scars on the arms of some clay figures from ancient Olmec terracotta figurines of Negroid peoples of ancient Mexico. Bronze head of an ancient king from Benin, West Africa, The tradition of fine sculpture in West Africa goes back long before 1000 B.C. Collosal head of Afro-Olmec (Xi) warrior-king, circa 1100 B. C. Descendants of Ancient Africans in Recent America In many parts of the Americas today, there are still people of African Negritic racial backgrounds who continue to exist either blended into the larger African-Americas population or are parts of separate, indigenous groups living on their own lands with their own unique culture and languages. One such example is the Washitaw Nation who owned about one million square miles of the former Louisiana Territories, (see www. Hotep. org), but who n ow own only about 70,000 acres of all their former territory.The regaining of their lands from the U. S. was a long process which concluded partially in 1991, when they won the right to their lands in a U. S. court. The Black Californian broke up as a nation during the late 1800's after many years of war with the Spanish invaders of the South West, with Mexico and with the U. S. The blended into the Black population of California and their descendants still exist among the millions of Black Californians of today. The Black Caribs or Garifunas of the Caribbean Islands and Central America fought with the English and Spanish from the late fifteen hundreds up to 1797, when the British sued for peace.The Garifuna were expelled from their islands but they prospered in Central America where hundreds of thousands live along the coasts today. The Afro-Darienite is a significant group of pre-historic, pre-columbian Blacks who existed in South America and Central America. These Blacks were the Africans that the Spanish first saw during their exploration of the narrow strip of land between Columbia and Central America and who were described as â€Å"slaves of our lord† since the Spaniards and Europeans had the intention of enslaving all Blacks they found in the newly discovered lands.The above mentioned Blacks of precolumbian origins are not Blacks wo mixed with the Mongoloid Indian population as occurred during the time of slavery. They were Blacks who were in some cases on their lands before the southward migrations of the Mongoloid Native Americans. In many cases, these Blacks had established civilizations in the Americas thousands of years ago. An early Black Californian, a member of the original Black aboriginal people of California and the South Western U. S.A member of one of the original Black nations of the Americas, the Afro-Darienite of Panama. Stone carving of Negroid person found in area close to Washitaw Territories, Southern U. S. THE USE OF ANCIENT AFRICAN SHIPS AND BOATS TO TRADE WITH THE AMERICAS Protohistoric, prehistoric and ancient Negritic Africans were masters of the lands as well as the oceans. They were the first shipbuilders on earth and had to have used watercraft to cross from South East Asia to Australia about 60,000 years ago and from the West Africa/Sahara inland seas region to the Americas.The fact of the northern portion of Africa now known as a vast desert wasteland being a place of large lakes, rivers and fertile regions with the most ancient of civilizations is a fact that has been verified, (see African Presence in Early America, edt. Ivan Van Sertima and Runoko Rashidi, Transaction Publishers, New Bruinswick, NJ â€Å"The Principle of Polarity,† by Wayne Chandler: 1994. ) From that region of Africa as well as East Africa, diffusions of Blacks towards the Americas as early as 30,000 B. C. re believed to have occurred based on findings in a region from Mexico to Brazil which show that American indian s in the region include Negritic types (eg. Olmecs, Afro-Darienite, Black Californians, Chuarras, Garifunas and others). Much earlier journeys occurred by land sometime before 75,000 B. C. according to the Gladwin Thesis written by C. S. Gladwin. This migration occurred on the Pacific side of the Americas and was began by Africans with Affinities similar to the people of New Guinea, Tasmania, Solomon Islands and Australia.The earliest migrations of African Blacks through Asia then to the Americas seemed to have occurred exactly during the period that the Australian Aborigines and the proto-African ancestors of the Aborigines, Oceanic Negroids (Fijians, Solomon Islanders, Papua-New Guineans,and so on) and other Blacks spread throughout East Asia and the Pacific Islands about one hundred thousand years ago. The fact that these same Blacks are still among the world's seafaring cultures and still regard the sea as sacred and as a place of sustinence is evidence of their ancient dependan ce on the sea for travel and exploration as well as for commerce and trade.Therefore, they would have had to build sea-worthy ships and boats to take them across the vast expanses of ocean, including the Atlantic, Indian Ocean (both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were called the Ethiopean Sea, in the Middle Ages) and the Pacific Ocean. During the historic period close to the early bronze or copper using period of world history (6000 B. C. to 4000 B. C. migrations of Africans from the Mende regions of West Africa and the Sahara across the Atlantic to the Americas may have occurred.In fact, the Mende agricultural culture was well established in West Africa and the Sahara during that period. Boats still criss-crossed the Sahara, as they had been doing for over ten thousand years previously. The ancient peoples of the Sahara, as rock paintings clearly show, were using boats and may have sailed from West Africa and the Sahara to the Americas, including the Washitaw territories of the Mid western and Southern U. S. Moreover, it is believed by the aboriginal Black people of the former Washitaw Empire who still live in the Southern U. S. , that about 6000 B. C. there was a great population shift from the region of Africa and the Pacific ocean, which led to the migrations of their ancestors to the Americas to join the Blacks who had been there previously. As for the use of ships, ancient Negritic peoples and the original Negroid peoples of the earth may have began using boats very early in human history. Moreover, whatever boats were used did not have to be sophisticated or of huge size. In fact, the small, seaworthy â€Å"outrigger† canoe may have been spread from East Africa to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific by the earliest African migrants to Asia and the Pacific regions.Boats of papyrus, skin, sewed plank, log and hollowed logs were used by ancient Africans on their trips to various parts of the world. Gigantic stone head of Afro-Olmec (Xi People) of ancien t Mexico, circa 1100 B. C. Face of Afro-Olmec child carved on the waste â€Å"belt† of an Olmec ballplayer This stone belt was used by the Olmec ballplayers to catch the impact of the rubber balls in their ball games. This face is typical Negritic, including the eyes which seem to â€Å"slant,† a common racial characteristic in West Africa, the Sahara and in South Africa among the Kong-San (Bushmen) and other Africans.TRADE ROUTES OF THE ANCIENT BLACKS During the years of migrations of Africans to all parts of the world, those who crossed the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Pacific also used the seas to make trips to the northern parts of Africa. They may have avoided the northern routes across the deserts at particular times of the year and sailed northward by sailing parallel to the coastslines on their way northward or southward, just as the Phoenicians, Nubians and Egyptians had done. Boats made of skin, logs, hollowed ttee trunk, lashed canoes and skin could have been used for trading and commerce.The reed boat is a common type of watercraft used in West Africa and other parts of the world, yet there were other boats and ships to add to those already mentioned above. Boats similar to those of Nubia and Egypt were being used in the Sahara just as long or even longer than they were being used in Egypt. In fact, civilization in the Sahara and Sudan existed before Egypt was settled by Blacks from the South and the Sahara. The vessels which crossed the Atlantic about 1500 B. C. during the early Afro-Olmec period) were most likely the same types of ships shown in the sahara cave paintings of ships dating to about 7,000 B. C. or similar ships from Nubian rock carvings of 3000 B. C.. Egyptologists such as Sir Flinders Petrie believed that the ancient African drawings of ships represent papyrus boats similar to the one built by the Bambara People for Thor Hayerdhal on the shores of Lake Chad. This boat made it to Barbadose, however they did not reinforce the hull with rope as the ancient Egyptians and Nubians did with their ancient ships.That lack of reinforcement made the Bambara ship weak, however another papyrus ship built by Ayamara Indians in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia was reinforced and it made it to the West Indies without difficulty. Naval historian Bjorn Landstrom believes that some of the curved hulls shown on rock art and pottery from the Nubian civilization (circa 3000 B. C. ) point to a basic three-plank idea. The planks would have been sewn together with rope. The larer version must have had some interior framing to hold them together.The hulls of some ot these boats show the vertical extension of the bow and stern which may have been to keep them bouyant. These types of boats are stilll in use in one of the most unlikely places. The Djuka and Saramaka Tribes of Surinam, known also as ‘Bush Negroes,† build a style of ship and boat similar to that of the Ancient Egyptians and Nubians, with their bows and sterns curving upward and pointing vertically. This style of boat is also a common design in parts of West Africa, particularly along the Niger River where extensive river trading occurs.They are usually carved from a single tree trunk which is used as the backbone. Planks are then fitted alongside to enlarge them. In all cases, cabins are built on top of the interior out of woven mat or other strong fiberous material. These boats are usually six to eight feet across and about fifty feet long. There is evidence that one African Emperor Abubakari of Mali used these â€Å"almadias† or longboats to make a trip to the Americas during the 1300's. (see, They Came Before Columbus, Ivan Van Sertima; Random House: 1975)Apart from the vessels used by the West Africans and south western Sahara Black Africans to sail across the Atlantic to the Americas, Nubians, Kushites, Egyptians and Ethiopians were known traders in the Mediterranean. The Canaanites, the Negroid inhabitants of the Levant who later became the Phoenicians also were master seafarers. This has caused some to speculate that the heads of the Afro-Olmecs represent the heads of servants of the Phoenicians, yet no dominant people would build such massive and collosol monuments to their servants and not to themselves.Check for historical references and literature ANTHROPOLOGISTS BELIEVE THERE WAS AN ANCIENT BLACK PRESENCE IN THE AMERICAS During the International Congress of American Anthropologists held in Bacelona, Spain in 1964, a French anthropologist pointed out that all that was missing to prove a definite presence of Negritic Blacks in the Americas before Columbus was Negroid skeletons to add to the already found Negroid featured terracottas. Later on February of 1975 skeletons of Negroid people dating to the 1200's were found at a precolumbian grave in the Virgin Islands.Andrei Wierzinski, the Polish crainologist also concluded based on the study of skeletons found in Mexico, that a good portion of the sku lls were that of Negritic Blacks, Based on the many finds for a Black African Negroid presence in ancient Mexico, some of the most enthusiastic proponents of a pre-columbian Black African presence in Mexico are Mexican professionals. They conclude that Africans must have established early important trading centers on the coasts along Vera Cuz, from which Middle America's first civiliztion grew. In retrospect, ancient Africans did visit the Americas from as early as about 100,000 B.C. where they stayed for tens of thousands of years. By 30,000 B. C. , to about 15,000 B. C. , a massive migration from the Sahara towards the Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the East occurred from the Sahara. Blacks also migrated Westward across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Americas during that period until the very eve of Columbus' first journey to the Americas. Trade, commerce and exploration as well as the search for new lands when the Sahara began to dry up later in history was the catalyst that dro ve the West Africans towards the Atlantic and into the Americas.REFERENCES Washitaw Nation (www. Hotep. org) Clyde A. Winters (The Nubians and the Olmecs) Blacks of India dalitstan. org Blacks of the Pacific and Melanesia: www. cwo. com/~lucumi/pacific. html If you ever visit the ancient Afro-Olmec monuments of Mexico, the Washitaw Nation of Louisiana, the monuments of Nubia, Egypt or West Africa you need to take great pictures: www. photoalley. com Trinicenter PanTrinbago RaceandHistory HowComYouCom BLACK CIVILIZATIONS OF ANCIENT AMERICA (MUU-LAN), MEXICO (XI)Gigantic stone head of Negritic African during the Olmec (Xi) Civilization By Paul Barton The earliest people in the Americas were people of the Negritic African race, who entered the Americas perhaps as early as 100,000 years ago, by way of the bering straight and about thirty thousand years ago in a worldwide maritime undertaking that included journeys from the then wet and lake filled Sahara towards the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, and from West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Americas.According to the Gladwin Thesis, this ancient journey occurred, particularly about 75,000 years ago and included Black Pygmies, Black Negritic peoples and Black Australoids similar to the Aboriginal Black people of Australia and parts of Asia, including India. Ancient African terracotta portraits 1000 B. C. to 500 B. C. Recent discoveries in the field of linguistics and other methods have shown without a doubt, that the ancient Olmecs of Mexico, known as the Xi People, came originally from West Africa and were of the Mende African ethnic stock.According to Clyde A. Winters and other writers (see Clyde A. Winters website), the Mende script was discovered on some of the ancient Olmec monuments of Mexico and were found to be identical to the very same script used by the Mende people of West Africa. Although the carbon fourteen testing date for the presence of the Black Olmecs or Xi People is about 1500 B. C. , journies to the Mexico and the Southern United States may have come from West Africa much earlier, particularly around five thousand years before Christ.That conclusion is based on the finding of an African native cotton that was discovered in North America. It's only possible manner of arriving where it was found had to have been through human hands. At that period in West African history and even before, civilization was in full bloom in the Western Sahara in what is today Mauritania. One of Africa's earliest civilizations, the Zingh Empire, existed and may have lived in what was a lake filled, wet and fertile Sahara, where ships criss-crossed from place to place.ANCIENT AFRICAN KINGDOMS PRODUCED OLMEC TYPE CULTURES The ancient kingdoms of West Africa which occupied the Coastal forest belt from Cameroon to Guinea had trading relationships with other Africans dating back to prehistoric times. However, by 1500 B. C. , these ancient kingdoms not only traded along the Ivory Coast, b ut with the Phoenicians and other peoples. They expanded their trade to the Americas, where the evidence for an ancient African presence is overwhelming.The kingdoms which came to be known by Arabs and Europeans during the Middle Ages were already well established when much of Western Europe was still inhabited by Celtic tribes. By the 5th Century B. C. , the Phoenicians were running comercial ships to several West African kingdoms. During that period, iron had been in use for about one thousand years and terracotta art was being produced at a great level of craftsmanship. Stone was also being carved with naturalistic perfection and later, bronze was being used to make various tools and instruments, as well as beautifully naturalistic works of art.The ancient West African coastal and interior Kingdoms occupied an area that is now covered with dense vegetation but may have been cleared about three to four thousand years ago. This includes the regions from the coasts of West Africa to the South, all the way inland to the Sahara. A number of large kingdoms and empires existed in that area. According to Blisshords Communications, one of the oldest empires and civilizions on earth existed just north of the coastal regions into what is today Mauritania.It was called the Zingh Empire and was highly advanced. In fact, they were the first to use the red, black and green African flag and to plant it throughout their territory all over Africa and the world. The Zingh Empire existed about fifteen thousand years ago. The only other civilizations that may have been in existance at that period in history were the Ta-Seti civilization of what became Nubia-Kush and the mythical Atlantis civilization which may have existed out in the Atlantic, off the coast of West Africa about ten to fifteen thousand years ago.That leaves the question as to whether there was a relationship between the prehistoric Zingh Empire of West Africa and the civilization of Atlantis, whether the Zingh E mpire was actually Atlantis, or whether Atlantis if it existed was part of the Zingh empire. Was Atlantis, the highly technologically sophisticated civilization an extension of Black civilization in the Meso-America and other parts of the Americas? Stone carving of a Shaman or priest from Columbia's San Agustine CultureAn ancient West African Oni or King holding similar artifacts as the San Agustine culture stone carving of a Shaman The above ancient stone carvings (500 t0 1000 B. C. ) of Shamans of Priest-Kings clearly show distinct similarities in instruments held and purpose. The realistic carving of an African king or Oni and the stone carving of a shaman from Columbia's San Agustin Culture indicates diffusion of African religious practices to the Americas. In fact, the region of Columbia and Panama were among the first places that Blacks were spotted by the first Spanish explorers to the Americas.From the archeological evidence gathered both in West Africa and Meso-America, the re is reason to believe that the African Negritics who founded or influenced the Olmec civilization came from West Africa. Not only do the collosol Olmec stone heads resemble Black Africans from the Ghana area, but the ancient religious practices of the Olmec priests was similar to that of the West Africans, which included shamanism, the study of the Venus complex which was part of the traditions of the Olmecs as well as the Ono and Dogon People of West Africa.The language connection is of significant importance, since it has been found out through decipherment of the Olmec script, that the ancient Olmecs spoke the Mende language and wrote in the Mend script, which is still used in parts of West Africa and the Sahara to this day. ANCIENT TRADE BETWEEN THE AMERICAS AND AFRICA The earliest trade and commercial activities between prehistoric and ancient Africa and the Americas may have occurred from West Africa and may have included shipping and travel across the Atlantic. The history of West Africa has never been properly researched.Yet, there is ample evidence to show that West Africa of 1500 B. C. was at a level of civilization approaching that of ancient Egypt and Nubia-Kush. In fact, there were similarities between the cultures of Nubia and West Africa, even to the very similarities between the smaller scaled hard brick clay burial pyramids built for West African Kings at Kukia in pre Christian Ghana and their counterparts in Nubia, Egypt and Meso-America. Although West Africa is not commonly known for having a culture of pyramid-building, such a culture existed although pyramids were created for the burial of kings and were made of hardened brick.This style of pyramid building was closer to what was built by the Olmecs in Mexico when the first Olmec pyramids were built. In fact, they were not built of stone, but of hardened clay and compact earth. Still, even though we don't see pyramids of stone rising above the ground in West Africa, similar to those of E gypt, Nubia or Mexico, or massive abilisks, collosal monuments and structures of Nubian and Khemitic or Meso-American civilization. The fact remains, they did exist in West Africa n a smaller scale and were transported to the Americas, where conditions such as an environment more hospitable to building and free of detriments such as malaria and the tsetse fly, made it much easier to build on a grander scale. Meso-American pyramid with stepped appearance, built about 2500 years ago Stepped Pyramid of Sakkara, Egypt, built over four thousand years ago, compare to Meso-American pyramid Large scale building projects such as monuent and pyramid building was most likely carried to the Americas by the same West Africans who developed the Olmec or Xi civilization in Mexico.Such activities would have occurred particularly if there was not much of a hinderance and obstacle to massive, monumental building and construction as there was in the forest and malaria zones of West Africa. Yet, when t he region of ancient Ghana and Mauritania is closely examined, evidence of large prehistoric towns such as Kukia and others as well as various monuments to a great civilization existed and continue to exist at a smaller level than Egypt and Nubia, but significant enough to show a direct connection with Mexico's Olmec civilization.The similarities between Olmec and West African civilization includes racial, religious and pyramid bilding similarities, as well as the similarities in their alphabets and scripts as well as both cultures speaking the identical Mende language, which was once widespread in the Sahara and was spread as far East as Dravidian India in prehistoric times as well as the South Pacific. During the early years of West African trade with the Americas, commercial seafarers made frequent voyages across the Atlantic.In fact, the oral history of a tradition of seafaring between the Americas and Africa is part of the history of the Washitaw People, an aboriginal Black nat ion who were the original inhabitants of the Mississippi Valley region, the former Louisiana Territories and parts of the Southern United States. According to their oral traditions, their ancient ships criss-crossed the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas on missions of trade and commerce.. Some of the ships used during the ancient times, perhaps earlier than 7000 B.C. (which is the date given for cave paintings of the drawings and paintings of boats in the now dried up Sahara desert) are similar to ships used in parts of Africa today. These ships were either made of papyrus or planks lashed with rope, or hollowed out tree trunks. These ancient vessels were loaded with all type of trade goods and not only did they criss-cross the Atlantic but they traded out in the Pacific and settled there as well all the way to California.In   fact, the tradition of Black seafarers crossing the Pacific back and forth to California is much older than the actual divulgance of that fact to the first Spanish explorers who were told by the American Indians that Black men with curly hair made trips from California's shores to the Pacific on missions of trade. On the other hand, West African trade with the Americas before Columbus and way back to proto historic times (30,000 B. C. to 10,000 B. C. ), is one of the most important chapters in ancient African history. Yet, this era which begun about 30,000 years ago and perhaps earlier (see the Gladwin Thesis, by C. S.Gladwin, Mc Graw Hill Books), has not been part of the History of Blacks in the Americas. Later on in history, particularly during the early Bronze Age. However, during the latter part of the Bronze Age, particularly between 1500 B. C. to 1000 B. C. , when the Olmec civilization began to bloom and flourish, new conditions in the Mediterranean made it more difficult for West Africans to trade by sea with the region, although their land trade accross the Sahara was flourishing. By then, Greeks, Phoenicians, Ass yrians, Babylonians and others were trying to gain control of the sea routes and the trading ports of the region.Conflicts in the region may have pushed the West Africans to strengthen their trans-Atlantic trade with the Americas and to explore and settle there. Ancient sea-going vessel used by the Egyptians and Nubians in ancient times. West African Trade and Settlement in the Americas Increases Due to Conflicts in the Mediterranean The flowering of the Olmec Civilization occurred between 1500 B. C. to 1000 B. C. , when over twenty-two collosal heads of basalt were carved representing the West African Negritic racial type.This flowering continued with the appearance of â€Å"Magicians,† or Shamanistic Africans who observed and charted the Venus planetary complex (see the pre-Christian era statuette of a West African Shaman in the photograph above) These â€Å"Magicians,† are said to have entered Mexico from West Africa between 800 B. C. to 600 B. C. and were speakers of the Mende language as well as writers of the Mende script or the Bambara script, both which are still used in parts of West Africa and the Sahara. These Shamans who became the priestly class at Monte Alban during the 800's to 600's B. C. ( ref.The History of the African-Olmecs and Black Civilization of the Americas From Prehistoric Times to the Present Era), had to have journied across the Atlantic from West Africa, for it is only in West Africa, that the religious practices and astronomical and religious practices and complex (Venus, the Dogon Sirius observation and the Venus worship of the Afro-Olmecs, the use of the ax in the worship of Shango among he Yoruba of West Africa and the use of the ax in Afro-Olmec worship as well as the prominence of the thunder God later known as Tlalock among the Aztecs) are the same as those practiced by the Afro-Olmec Shamans.According to Clyde Ahmed Winters (see â€Å"Clyde A. Winters† webpage on â€Å"search. † Thus, it has been proven through linguistic studies, religious similarities, racial similarities between the Afro-Olmecs and West Africans, as well as the use of the same language and writing script, that the Afro-Olmecs came from the Mende-Speaking region of West Africa, which once included the Sahara. Sailing and shipbuilding in the Sahara is over twenty thousand years old. In fact, cave and wall paintings of ancient ships were displayed in National Geographic Magazine some years ago.Such ships which carried sails and masts, were among the vessels that swept across the water filled Sahara in prehistoric times. It is from that ship-building tradition that the Bambara used their knowledge to build Thor Hayerdhal's papyrus boat Ra I which made it to the West Indies from Safi in Morroco years ago. The Bambara are also one of the West African nationalities who had and still have a religious and astronomical complex similar to that of the ancient Olmecs, particularly in the area of star gazing.A journey across the Atlantic to the Americas on a good current during clement weather would have been an easier task to West Africans of the Coastal and riverine regions than it would have been through the use of caravans criss-crossing the hot by day and extremely cold by night Sahara desert. It would have been much easier to take a well made ship, similar to the one shown above and let the currents take it to the West Indies, and may have taken as long as sending goods back and forth from northern and north-eastern Africa to the interior and coasts of West Africa's ancient kingdoms.Add to that the fact that crossing the Sahara would have been no easy task when obsticales such as the hot and dusty environment, the thousands of miles of dust, sand and high winds existed. The long trek through the southern regions of West Africa through vallies, mountains and down the many rivers to the coast using beasts of burden would have been problematic particularly since malaria mosquitoes harmful to both humans and animals would have made the use of animals to carry loads unreliable.Journeys by ship along the coast of West Africa toward the North, through the Pillars of Heracles,   eastward on the Mediterran to Ports such as Byblos in Lebanon, Tyre or Sydon would have been two to three times as lengthy as taking a ship from Cape Verde, sailing it across the Atlantic and landing in North-Eastern Brazil fifteen hundred miles away, or Meso America about 2400 miles away. The distance in itself is not what makes the trip easy. It is the fact that currents   which are similar to gigantic rivers in the ocean, carry ships and other vessels from West Africa to the Americas with relative ease.West Africans during the period of 1500 B. C. to 600 B. C. up to 1492 A. D. may have looked to the Americas as a source of trade, commerce and a place to settle and build new civlilzations. During the period of 1500 B. C. to 600 B. C. , there were many conflicts in the Mediterranean involving th e Kushites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Sea Peoples, Persians, Jews and others. Any kingdom or nation of that era who wanted to conduct smoothe trade without complications would have tried to find alternative trading partners.In fact, that was the very reason why the Europeans decided to sail westwared in their wearch for India and China in 1492 A. D. They were harrassed by the Arabs in the East and had to pay heavy taxes to pass through the region. Still, most of the Black empires and kingdoms such as Kush, Mauri, Numidia, Egypt, Ethiopia and others may have had little difficulty conducting trade among their neighbors since they also were among the major powers of the region who were dominant in the Mediterranean.South of this northern region to the south-west, Mauritania (the site of the prehistoric Zingh Empire) Ghana, and many of the same nationalities who ushered in the West African renaissance of the early Middle Ages were engaged in civilizations and cultures similar t o those of Nubia, Egypt and the Empires of the Afro-Olmec or Xi (Shi) People. Nubian-Kushite King and Queen (circa 1000 B. C. ) It is believed that there was a Nubian presence in Mexico and that the West African civilizations were related to that of the Nubians, despite the distance between the two centers of Black civilization in Africa.There is no doubt that in ancient times there were commercial ties between West Africa and Egypt. In fact, about 600 B. C. , Nikau, a Pharaoh of Egypt sent ships to circumnavigate Africa and later on about 450 B. C. , Phoenicians did the same, landing in West Africa in the nation now called Cameroon. There they witnessed what may have been the celebration of a Kwanza-like harvest festival, where â€Å"cymbals, horns,† and other instruments as well as smoke and fire from buring fields could be seen from their ships.At that period in history, the West African cultures and civilizations, which were offshoots of much earlier southern Saharan cult ures, were very old compared to civilizations such as Greece or Babylon. In fact, iron was being used by the ancient West Africans as early as 2600 years B. C. and was so common that there was no â€Å"bronze age† in West Africa, although bronze was used for ornaments and instruments or tools. A combination of Nubians and West Africans engaged in mutual trade and commerce along the coasts of West Africa could have planned many trips to and from the Americas and could have conducted a crossing about 1500 B.C. and afterwards. Massive sculptures of the heads of typical Negritic Africans were carved in the region of South Mexico where the Olmec civilization flourished. Some of these massive heads of basalt contain the cornrow hairstyle common among West African Blacks, as well as the kinky coiled hair common among at least 70 percent of all Negritic people, (the other proportion being the Dravidian Black race of India and the Black Australoids of Australia and South Asia). Collos sol Afro-Olmec head of basalt wearing Nubian type war helmet, circa 1100 B. C. Afro-Olmecs Came from the Mende Regions of West AfricaAlthough archeologists have used the name â€Å"Olmec,† to refer to the Black builders of ancient Mexico's first civilizations, recent discoveries have proven that these Afro-Olmecs were West Africans of the Mende language and cultural group. Inscriptions found on ancient monuments in parts of Mexico show that the script used by the ancient Olmecs was identical to that used by the ancient and modern Mende-speaking peoples of West Africa. Racially, the collosal stone heads are identical in features to West Africans and the language deciphered on Olmec monuments is identical to the Mende language of West Africa, (see Clyde A.Winters) on the internet. The term â€Å"Olmec† was first used by archeologists since the giant stone heads with the features of West African Negritic people were found in a part of Mexico with an abundance of rubber tr ees. The Maya word for rubber was â€Å"olli, and so the name â€Å"Olmec,† was used to label the Africoid Negritic people represented in the faces of the stone heads and found on hundreds of terracotta figurines throughout the region. Yet, due to the scientific work done by deciphers and linguists, it has been found out that the ancient Blacks of Mexico know as Olmecs, called themselves the Xi People (She People).Apart from the giant stone heads of basalt, hundreds of terracotta figurines and heads of people of Negritic African racial reatures have also been found over the past hundred years in Mexico and other parts of Meso-America as well as the ancient Black-owned lands of the Southern U. S. (Washitaw Proper,(Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas), South America's Saint Agustin Culture in the nation of Colombia, Costa Rica, and other areas) the â€Å"Louisiana Purchase,† lands, the south-eastern kingdom of the Black Jamassee, and other places including Haiti, see the magazine Ancient American).Various cultural clues and traces unique to Africa as well as the living descendants of prehistoric and ancient African migrants to the Americas continue to exist to this very day. The Washitaw Nation of Louisiana is one such group (see www. Hotep. org), the Garifuna or Black Caribs of the Caribbean and Central America is another, the descendants of the Jamasse who live in Georgia and the surrounding states is another group. There are also others such as the Black Californian of Queen Calafia fame (the Black Amazon Queen mentioned in the book Journey to Esplandian, by Ordonez de Montalvo during the mid 1500's).Cultural artefacts which connect the ancient Blacks of the Americas with Africa are many. Some of these similarities can be seen in the stone and terracotta works of the ancient Blacks of the Americas. For example, the African hairline is clearly visible in some stone and terracotta works, including the use of cornrows, afro hair styl e, flat â€Å"mohawk† style similar to the type used in Africa, dreadlocks, braided hair and even plain kinky hair. The African hairline is clearly visible on a fine stone head from Veracruz Mexico, carved between 600 B.C. to 400 B. C. , the Classic Period of Olmec civilization. That particular statuette is about twelve inches tall and the distance from the head to the chin is about 17 centemeters. Another head of about 12 inches, not only posesses Negroid features, but the hair design is authentically West African and is on display at the National Museum of Mexico. This terracotta Africoid head also wears the common disk type ear plugs common in parts of Africa even today among tribes such as the Dinka and Shilluk.One of the most impressive pieces of evidence which show a direct link between the Black Olmec or Xi People of Mexico and West Africans is the presence of scarification marks on some Olmec terracotta sculpture. These scarification marks clearly indicate a West Afri can Mandinka (Mende) presence in prehistoric and ancient Meso-America. Ritual scarification is still practiced in parts of Africa and among the Black peoples of the South Pacific, however the Olmec scarification marks are not of South Pacific or Melanesian Black origins, since the patterns used on ancient Olmec sculpture is still common in parts of Africa.This style of scarification tatooing is still used by the Nuba and other Sudanese African people. In fact, the face of a young girl with keloid scarification on here face is identical to the very same keloid tatoos on the face of an ancient Olmec terracotta head from ancient Mexico. Similar keloid tattoos also appear on the arms of some Sudanese and are identical to similar keloid scars on the arms of some clay figures from ancient Olmec terracotta figurines of Negroid peoples of ancient Mexico. Bronze head of an ancient king from Benin, West Africa, The tradition of fine sculpture in West Africa goes back long before 1000 B.C.