Deception Point Page 67

As they walked to the elevator, the old man said, â€Å"Sometimes all it takes to unravel something is a single strand. Perhaps we can find a way to eat away at NASA's victory from within. Cast a shadow of distrust. Who knows where it will lead?† The old man locked his tired eyes on Sexton. â€Å"I am not ready to lay down and die, senator. And I trust nor are you.† â€Å"Of course not,† Sexton said, mustering resolve in his voice. â€Å"We've come too far.† â€Å"Chris Harper lied about fixing PODS,† the man said as he boarded the elevator. â€Å"And we need to know why.† â€Å"I will get that information as fast as I can,† Sexton replied. I have just the person. â€Å"Good. Your future depends on it.† As Sexton headed back toward his apartment, his step was a little lighter, his head a little clearer. NASA lied about PODS. The only question was how Sexton could prove it. His thoughts had already turned to Gabrielle Ashe. Wherever she was at the moment, she had to be feeling like shit. Gabrielle had no doubt seen the press conference and was now standing on a ledge somewhere getting ready to jump. Her proposition of making NASA a major issue in Sexton's campaign had turned out to be the biggest mistake of Sexton's career. She owes me, Sexton thought. And she knows it. Gabrielle already had proven she had a knack for obtaining NASA secrets. She has a contact, Sexton thought. She'd been scoring insider information for weeks now. Gabrielle had connections she was not sharing. Connections she could pump for information on PODS. Moreover, tonight Gabrielle would be motivated. She had a debt to repay, and Sexton suspected she would do anything to regain his favor. As Sexton arrived back at his apartment door, his bodyguard nodded. â€Å"Evening, senator. I trust I did the right thing by letting Gabrielle in earlier? She said it was critical she talk to you.† Sexton paused. â€Å"I'm sorry?† â€Å"Ms. Ashe? She had important information for you earlier tonight. That's why I let her in.† Sexton felt his body stiffen. He looked at his apartment door. What the hell is this guy talking about? The guard's expression changed to one of confusion and concern. â€Å"Senator, are you okay? You remember, right? Gabrielle arrived during your meeting. She talked to you, right? She must have. She was in there quite a while.† Sexton stared a long moment, feeling his pulse skyrocket. This moron let Gabrielle into my apartment during a private SFF meeting? She stuck around inside and then departed without a word? Sexton could only imagine what Gabrielle might have overheard. Swallowing his anger, he forced a smile to his guard. â€Å"Oh, yes! I'm sorry. I'm exhausted. Had a couple of drinks, too. Ms. Ashe and I did indeed speak. You did the right thing.† The guard looked relieved. â€Å"Did she say where she went when she left?† The guard shook his head. â€Å"She was in a big hurry.† â€Å"Okay, thanks.† Sexton entered his apartment fuming. How complicated were my goddamn directions? No visitors! He had to assume if Gabrielle had been inside for any length of time and then snuck out without a word, she must have heard things she was not meant to hear. Tonight of all nights. Senator Sexton knew above all he could not afford to lose Gabrielle Ashe's trust; women could become vengeful and stupid when they felt deceived. Sexton needed to bring her back. Tonight more than ever, he needed her in his camp. 79 On the fourth floor of the ABC television studios, Gabrielle Ashe sat alone in Yolanda's glass-walled office and stared at the fraying carpet. She had always prided herself on good instincts and knowing whom she could trust. Now, for the first time in years, Gabrielle felt alone, uncertain which way to turn. The sound of her cellphone lifted her gaze from the carpet. Reluctant, she picked up. â€Å"Gabrielle Ashe.† â€Å"Gabrielle, it's me.† She recognized the timbre of Senator Sexton's voice immediately, although he sounded surprisingly calm considering what had just transpired. â€Å"It's been one hell of a night over here,† he said, â€Å"so just let me talk. I'm sure you saw the President's conference. Christ, did we play the wrong cards. I'm sick over it. You're probably blaming yourself. Don't. Who the hell would have guessed? Not your fault. Anyhow, listen up. I think there may be a way to get our feet back under us.† Gabrielle stood up, unable to imagine what Sexton could be talking about. This was hardly the reaction she had expected. â€Å"I had a meeting tonight,† Sexton said, â€Å"with representatives from private space industries, and-â€Å" â€Å"You did?† Gabrielle blurted, stunned to hear him admit it. â€Å"I mean†¦ I had no idea.† â€Å"Yeah, nothing major. I would have asked you to sit in, but these guys are touchy about privacy. Some of them are donating money to my campaign. It's not something they like to advertise.† Gabrielle felt totally disarmed. â€Å"But†¦ isn't that illegal?† â€Å"Illegal? Hell no! All the donations are under the two-thousand-dollar cap. Small potatoes. These guys barely make a dent, but I listen to their gripes anyway. Call it an investment in the future. I'm quiet about it because, frankly, the appearances aren't so great. If the White House caught wind, they'd spin the hell out of it. Anyhow, look, that's not the point. I called to tell you that after tonight's meeting, I was talking to the head of the SFF†¦ â€Å" For several seconds, although Sexton was still talking, all Gabrielle could hear was the blood rushing in shame to her face. Without the slightest challenge from her, the senator had calmly admitted tonight's meeting with private space companies. Perfectly legal. And to think what Gabrielle had almost considered doing! Thank God Yolanda had stopped her. I almost jumped ship to Marjorie Tench! â€Å"†¦ and so I told the head of the SFF,† the senator was saying, â€Å"that you might be able to get that information for us.† Gabrielle tuned back in. â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"The contact from whom you've been getting all your inside NASA information these past few months? I assume you still have access?† Marjorie Tench. Gabrielle cringed knowing she could never tell the senator that the informant had been manipulating her all along. â€Å"Um†¦ I think so,† Gabrielle lied. â€Å"Good. There's some information I need from you. Right away.† As she listened, Gabrielle realized just how badly she had been underestimating Senator Sedgewick Sexton lately. Some of the man's luster had worn off since she'd first begun following his career. But tonight, it was back. In the face of what appeared to be the ultimate death blow to his campaign, Sexton was plotting a counterattack. And although it had been Gabrielle who led him down this inauspicious path, he was not punishing her. Instead, he was giving her a chance to redeem herself. And redeem herself she would. Whatever it took. 80 William Pickering gazed out his office window at the distant line of headlights on Leesburg Highway. He often thought about her when he stood up here alone at the top of the world. All this power†¦ and I couldn't save her. Pickering's daughter, Diana, had died in the Red Sea while stationed aboard a small navy escort ship, training to become a navigator. Her ship had been anchored in safe harbor on a sunny afternoon when a handmade dory loaded with explosives and powered by two suicide terrorists motored slowly across the harbor and exploded on contact with the hull. Diana Pickering and thirteen other young American soldiers had been killed that day. William Pickering had been devastated. The anguish overwhelmed him for weeks. When the terrorist attack was traced to a known cell whom the CIA had been tracking unsuccessfully for years, Pickering's sadness turned into rage. He had marched into CIA headquarters and demanded answers.

The Artist as a Critic

Oscar Wilder's The Artist as Critic revolves around a debate Gilbert and Ernest discuss over art criticism and analysis. Ernest argues â€Å"that in the best days of art there we no art critics. † (Wilder 346). Whereas Gilbert reasons that â€Å"it (art criticism) treats the work of art simply as a starting-point for a new creation† (Wilder 367). Sadly, Ernest's blatant ignorance is unable to comprehend that without art criticism, there would be no art to truly value.Wilde's quote means that in order to hold art of all fields at a high prestige, we need critical structure and recognition of historical/political context to support art in order to admire the pure beauty within its relative expertise. â€Å"To know the principles of the highest art is to know the principles of the arts† (Wilder 354). Therefore, the cruciality of art criticism responds to the interpretation of meaning and focus on the current culture and time period, overall helping viewers perceive and analyze artworks to gain further knowledge and respect for such creations. Without the critical faculty, there is no artistic creation at all, worthy of name†¦ and no one who does not possess this critical faculty can create anything at all in art. † (Wilder 355) Gilbert sais this to Ernest arguing over the use of art criticism from the Greeks. Gilbert means that without a basic structure of skills and fundamental elements relevant to the expertise, there is no precision of craft. What makes fine art beautiful, worth listening and compelling is highly contingent upon the mastery of key skills and artistic components.If an opera singer didn't know how to differentiate their use of breath during lyric or coloratura repertoire, they would not be able to get through any piece or art song. Instead, they would sound breathy and toneless throughout the phrases, who wants to hear that? Likewise, if a writer has no sense of plot flow, character development, or interesting them es within a story, there is no point in wasting your time reading through a painful piece of literature.All art forms are developed under a certain skill which require dedicated competence and applied faculty. Art critics simply keep artists in check by maintaining a certain level expectation to reach for and continue to advance artistic creations. Negative art criticism does not always apply to the lack of faculty skills. In Amiri Baraka's poem Somebody Blew Up America, released a year after the anniversary of 9/11, he executed a highly controversial piece of writing that was a accused of racism and hatred against Jews, Israelis, and American leaders.The bigoted public treated his work as a literal translation of his opinions and beliefs, when his intentions were to create an ultimate allegoric poem to open the eyes of our country that was unaware of political schemes and inhumane manipulation of our government that was thought to have led to the events of 9/11. Despite such a disp ute perhaps liable from governmental course of action, 9/11 was still a fresh wound upon our country that was no where close to recovery due to such loss and tragic deaths.Baraka's poem hit too close to home at the time, people did not want to listen to his radical accusations and unpatriotic rambling about our country getting bombed. â€Å"The public's inability to see the poem for what it really is, a high rhetorical statement expressing the writer's ideological investments, signifies a profound lack of understanding of the nature of poetic art—a lack which can be explained by any number of cultural, historical, and institutional factors. (Gwiazda 16) Baraka's Somebody Blew Up America was a powerful poem that should be praised for its thunderous diction and expertise of faculty. Instead he was removed from the national position as the Poet Laureate of New Jersey because the people of country could not comprehend such controversial context within his poem, they took his wor ds too literally instead of a representation of political activist art. â€Å"The sheer multitude of these questions might indeed produce in the reader the suspicion of a global conspiracy of oppressors against oppressed, privileged against unprivileged, have against have-nots.Through its relentless accumulation of imperialist wrongs â€Å"Somebody Blew up America† achieves a compelling rhetorical effect. † (Gwiazda 10) Such an example of Baraka's failure of a poem provides the essential requirement to utilize analytical techniques within political and cultural contexts to ensure further comprehension and appreciation of a valid work of art. Reading the poems in class by Chrystos instilled an influential awareness I e about how the power of poetry can reach people and activate mindsets through a strategic voice of force. As graphic as her poems are, they do not serve as aesthetic platforms that deliver you to your happy place, her work of art leaves a prominent message that is conducive towards delivering a strong testimony about her cultural and spiritual hardships. She opens the mind of the reader and draws a raw picture of her experiences and torments as a native in this intolerant country we call America.Such art that tears at the soul and depicts unpleasant imagery is a powerful form of activist art by bringing awareness to the people about violence and inequities upon Natives, often been covered up by white supremacist governmental officials. Art does not have to be beautiful to convey an influential message, in fact, art in its most vulnerable and raw form reaches the audience by leaving an relevant feeling emotional, effectively capturing a great amount of attention. The ethical effect of art, its importance to culture, and its place in the formation of character, had been done once for all by Plato; but here we have art treated, not from moral, but from the purely aesthetic point of view. † (Wilder 352) Understanding the elements t hat create such dramatic pieces of art enable the art critic to take in historical and political contexts to further establish an opinionated analysis of the work.Unlike Baraka's hostile reviews of â€Å"Somebody Blew Up America†, Chrystos poems were well received, less radical and primarily focused on revolving themes of oppression and discrimination. In conclusion, critical faculty and fundamental elements are essential to analyzing a work of art. The world needs art criticism in order to truly value a mastery of skills relevant to the field. With the foundation of art criticism we can further the creations of great art to aspire to and behold its greatness.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Two

AS ALWAYS, IT WAS DISORIENTING. Faces and skulls, translucent and luminescent, all hovered around me. They were drawn to me, swarming in a cloud as though they all desperately needed to say something. And really, they probably did. The ghosts that lingered in this world were restless, souls who had reasons that kept them from moving on. When Lissa had brought me back from the dead, I'd kept a connection to their world. It had taken a lot of work and self-control to learn to block out the phantoms that followed me. The magical wards that protected the Moroi Court actually kept most ghosts away from me, but this time, I wanted them here. Giving them that access, drawing them in †¦ well, it was a dangerous thing. Something told me that if ever there was a restless spirit, it would be a queen who had been murdered in her own bed. I saw no familiar faces among this group but didn't give up hope. â€Å"Tatiana,' I murmured, focusing my thoughts on the dead queen's face. â€Å"Tatiana, come to me.' I had once been able to summon one ghost easily: my friend Mason, who'd been killed by Strigoi. While Tatiana and I weren't as close as Mason and I had been, we certainly had a connection. For a while, nothing happened. The same blur of faces swirled before me in the cell, and I began to despair. Then, all of a sudden, she was there. She stood in the clothes she'd been murdered in, a long nightgown and robe covered in blood. Her colors were muted, flickering like a malfunctioning TV screen. Nonetheless, the crown on her head and regal stance gave her the same queenly air I remembered. Once she materialized, she said and did nothing. She simply stared at me, her dark gaze practically piercing my soul. A tangle of emotions tightened in my chest. That gut reaction I always got around Tatiana–anger and resentment–flared up. Then, it was muddled by a surprising wave of sympathy. No one's life should end the way hers had. I hesitated, afraid the guards would hear me. Somehow, I had a feeling the volume of my voice didn't matter, and none of them could see what I saw. I held up the note. â€Å"Did you write this?' I breathed. â€Å"Is it true?' She continued to stare. Mason's ghost had behaved similarly. Summoning the dead was one thing; communicating with them was a whole other matter. â€Å"I have to know. If there is another Dragomir, I'll find them.' No point in drawing attention to the fact that I was in no position to find anything or anyone. â€Å"But you have to tell me. Did you write this letter? Is it true?' Only that maddening gaze answered me. My frustration grew, and the pressure of all those spirits began to give me a headache. Apparently, Tatiana was as annoying in death as she had been in life. I was about to bring my walls back and push the ghosts away when Tatiana made the smallest of movements. It was a tiny nod, barely noticeable. Her hard eyes then shifted down to the note in my hand, and just like that–she was gone. I slammed my barriers back up, using all my will to close myself off from the dead. The headache didn't disappear, but those faces did. I sank back on the bed and stared at the note without seeing it. There was my answer. The note was real. Tatiana had written it. Somehow, I doubted her ghost had any reason to lie. Stretching out, I rested my head on the pillow and waited for that terrible throbbing to go away. I closed my eyes and used the spirit bond to return and see what Lissa had been doing. Since my arrest, she'd been busy pleading and arguing on my behalf, so I expected to find more of the same. Instead she was †¦ dress shopping. I was almost offended at my best friend's frivolity until I realized she was looking for a funeral dress. She was in one of the Court's tucked away stores, one that catered to royal families. To my surprise, Adrian was with her. Seeing his familiar, handsome face eased some of the fear in me. A quick probe of her mind told me why he was here: she'd talked him into coming because she didn't want him left alone. I could understand why. He was completely drunk. It was a wonder he could stand, and in fact, I strongly suspected the wall he leaned against was all that held him up. His brown hair was a mess–and not in the purposeful way he usually styled it. His deep green eyes were bloodshot. Like Lissa, Adrian was a spirit user. He had an ability she didn't yet: he could visit people's dreams. I'd expected him to come to me since my imprisonment, and now it made sense why he hadn't. Alcohol stunted spirit. In some ways, that was a good thing. Excessive spirit created a darkness that drove its users insane. But spending life perpetually drunk wasn't all that healthy either. Seeing him through Lissa's eyes triggered emotional confusion nearly as intense as what I'd experienced with Tatiana. I felt bad for him. He was obviously worried and upset about me, and the startling events this last week had blindsided him as much as the rest of us. He'd also lost his aunt whom, despite her brusque attitude, he'd cared for. Yet, in spite of all this, I felt †¦ scorn. That was unfair, perhaps, but I couldn't help it. I cared about him so much and understood him being upset, but there were better ways of dealing with his loss. His behavior was almost cowardly. He was hiding from his problems in a bottle, something that went against every piece of my nature. Me? I couldn't let my problems win without a fight. â€Å"Velvet,' the shopkeeper told Lissa with certainty. The wizened Moroi woman held up a voluminous, long-sleeved gown. â€Å"Velvet is traditional in the royal escort.' Along with the rest of the fanfare, Tatiana's funeral would have a ceremonial escort walking alongside the coffin, with a representative from each family there. Apparently, no one minded that Lissa fill that role for her family. But voting? That was another matter. Lissa eyed the dress. It looked more like a Halloween costume than a funeral gown. â€Å"It's ninety degrees out,' said Lissa. â€Å"And humid.' â€Å"Tradition demands sacrifice,' the woman said melodramatically. â€Å"As does tragedy.' Adrian opened his mouth, undoubtedly ready with some inappropriate and mocking comment. Lissa gave him a sharp headshake that kept him quiet. â€Å"Aren't there any, I don't know, sleeveless options?' The saleswoman's eyes widened. â€Å"No one has ever worn straps to a royal funeral. It wouldn't be right.' â€Å"What about shorts?' asked Adrian. â€Å"Are they okay if they're with a tie? Because that's what I was gonna go with.' The woman looked horrified. Lissa shot Adrian a look of disdain, not so much because of the remark–which she found mildly amusing–but because she too was disgusted by his constant state of intoxication. â€Å"Well, no one treats me like a full-fledged royal,' said Lissa, turning back to the dresses. â€Å"No reason to act like one now. Show me your straps and short-sleeves.' The saleswoman grimaced but complied. She had no problem advising royals on fashion but wouldn't dare order them to do or wear anything. It was part of the class stratification of our world. The woman walked across the store to find the requested dresses, just as Lissa's boyfriend and his aunt entered the shop. Christian Ozera, I thought, was who Adrian should have been acting like. The fact that I could even think like that was startling. Times had certainly changed from when I held Christian up as a role model. But it was true. I'd watched him with Lissa this last week, and Christian had been determined and steadfast, doing whatever he could to help her in the wake of Tatiana's death and my arrest. From the look on his face now, it was obvious he had something important to relay. His outspoken aunt, Tasha Ozera, was another study in strength and grace under pressure. She'd raised him after his parents had turned Strigoi–and had attacked her, leaving Tasha with scarring on one side of her face. Moroi had always relied on guardians for defense, but after that attack, Tasha had decided to take matters into her own hands. She'd learned to fight, training with all sorts of hand-to-hand methods and weapons. She was really quite a badass and constantly pushed for other Moroi to learn combat too. Lissa let go of a dress she'd been examining and turned to Christian eagerly. After me, there was no one else she trusted more in the world. He'd been her rock throughout all of this. He looked around the store, not appearing overly thrilled to be surrounded by dresses. â€Å"You guys are shopping?' he asked, glancing from Lissa to Adrian. â€Å"Getting in a little girl time?' â€Å"Hey, you'd benefit from a wardrobe change,' said Adrian. â€Å"Besides, I bet you'd look great in a halter top.' Lissa ignored the guys' banter and focused on the Ozeras. â€Å"What did you find out?' â€Å"They've decided not to take action,' said Christian. His lips curled in disdain. â€Å"Well, not any punishment kind of action.' Tasha nodded. â€Å"We're trying to push the idea that he just thought Rose was in danger and jumped in before he realized what was actually happening.' My heart stopped. Dimitri. They were talking about Dimitri. For a moment, I was no longer with Lissa. I was no longer in my cell. Instead, I was back to the day of my arrest. I'd been arguing with Dimitri in a cafe, scolding him for his continued refusal to talk to me, let alone continue our former relationship. I'd decided then that I was done with him, that things were truly over and that I wouldn't let him keep tearing my heart apart. That was when the guardians had come for me, and no matter what Dimitri claimed about his Strigoi-time making him unable to love, he had reacted with lightning speed in my defense. We'd been hopelessly outnumbered, but he hadn't cared. The look on his face–and my own uncanny understanding of him–had told me all I needed to know. I was facing a threat. He had to defend me. And defend me he had. He'd fought like the god he'd been back at St. Vladimir's Academy, when he'd taught me how to battle Strigoi. He incapacitated more guardians in that cafe than one man should have been able to. The only thing that had ended it– and I truly believe he would have fought until his last breath–had been my intervention. I hadn't known at the time what was going on or why a legion of guardians would want to arrest me. But I had realized that Dimitri was in serious danger of harming his already fragile status around Court. A Strigoi being restored was unheard of, and many still didn't trust him. I'd begged Dimitri to stop, more afraid of what would happen to him than me. Little had I known what was in store for me. He'd come to my hearing–under guard–but neither Lissa nor I had seen him since. Lissa had been working hard to clear him of any wrongdoing, fearing they'd lock him up again. And me? I'd been trying to tell myself not to over-think what he had done. My arrest and potential execution took precedence. Yet †¦ I still wondered. Why had he done it? Why had he risked his life for mine? Was it an instinctive reaction to a threat? Had he done it as a favor to Lissa, whom he'd sworn to help in return for freeing him? Or had he truly done it because he still had feelings for me? I still didn't know the answer, but seeing him like that, like the fierce Dimitri from my past, had stirred up the feelings I was so desperately trying to get over. I kept trying to assure myself that recovering from a relationship took time. Lingering feelings were natural. Unfortunately, it took longer to get over a guy when he threw himself into danger for you. Regardless, Christian and Tasha's words gave me hope about Dimitri's fate. After all, I wasn't the only one walking a tenuous line between life and death. Those convinced Dimitri was still Strigoi wanted to see a stake through his heart. â€Å"They're keeping him confined again,' said Christian. â€Å"But not in a cell. Just in his room, with a couple of guards. They don't want him out around Court until things settle down.' â€Å"That's better than jail,' admitted Lissa. â€Å"It's still absurd,' snapped Tasha, more to herself than the others. She and Dimitri had been close over the years, and she'd once wanted to take that relationship to another level. She'd settled for friendship, and her outrage over the injustice done to him was as strong as ours. â€Å"They should have let him go as soon as he became a dhampir again. Once the elections are settled, I'm going to make sure he's free.' â€Å"And that's what's weird †¦' Christian's pale blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully. â€Å"We heard that Tatiana had told others before she–before she–‘ Christian hesitated and glanced uneasily at Adrian. The pause was uncharacteristic for Christian, who usually spoke his mind abruptly. â€Å"Before she was murdered,' said Adrian flatly, not looking at any of them. â€Å"Go on.' Christian swallowed. â€Å"Um, yeah. I guess–not in public–she'd announced that she believed Dimitri really was a dhampir again. Her plan was to help him get more acceptance once the other stuff settled down.' The â€Å"other stuff' was the age law mentioned in Tatiana's note, the one saying dhampirs turning sixteen would be forced to graduate and start defending Moroi. It had infuriated me, but like so many other things now †¦ well, it was kind of on hold. Adrian made a strange sound, like he was clearing his throat. â€Å"She did not.' Christian shrugged. â€Å"Lots of her advisors said she did. That's the rumor.' â€Å"I have a hard time believing it too,' Tasha told Adrian. She'd never approved of Tatiana's policies and had vehemently spoken out against them on more than one occasion. Adrian's disbelief wasn't political, though. His was simply coming from ideas he'd always had about his aunt. She'd never given any indication that she wanted to help Dimitri regain his old status. Adrian made no further comment, but I knew this topic was kindling sparks of jealousy within him. I'd told him Dimitri was in the past and that I was ready to move on, but Adrian–like me–must have undoubtedly wondered about the motivations behind Dimitri's gallant defense. Lissa began to speculate on how they might get Dimitri out of house arrest when the saleswoman returned with an armful of dresses she clearly disapproved of. Biting her lip, Lissa fell silent. She filed away Dimitri's situation as something to deal with later. Instead, she wearily prepared to try on clothes and play the part of a good little royal girl. Adrian perked up at the sight of the dresses. â€Å"Any halters in there?' I returned to my cell, mulling over the problems that just seemed to keep piling up. I was worried about both Adrian and Dimitri. I was worried about myself. I was also worried about this so-called lost Dragomir. I was starting to believe the story could be real, but there was nothing I could do about it, which frustrated me. I needed to take action when it came to helping Lissa. Tatiana had told me in her letter to be careful whom I spoke to about the matter. Should I pass this mission on to someone else? I wanted to take charge of it, but the bars and suffocating walls around me said I might not be able to take charge of anything for a while, not even my own life. Two weeks. Needing further distraction, I gave in and began reading Abe's book, which was exactly the tale of wrongful imprisonment I'd expected it to be. It was pretty good and taught me that faking my own death apparently wouldn't work as an escape method. The book unexpectedly stirred up old memories. A chill went down my spine as I recalled a Tarot reading that a Moroi named Rhonda had given to me. She was Ambrose's aunt, and one of the cards she'd drawn for me had shown a woman tied to swords. Wrongful imprisonment. Accusations. Slander. Damn. I was really starting to hate those cards. I always insisted they were a scam, yet they had an annoying tendency to come true. The end of her reading had shown a journey, but to where? A real prison? My execution? Questions with no answers. Welcome to my world. Out of options for now, I figured I might as well try to get some rest. Stretching out on the pallet, I tried to push away those constant worries. Not easy. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw a judge banging a gavel, condemning me to death. I saw my name in the history books, not as a hero, but as a traitor. Lying there, choking on my own fear, I thought of Dimitri. I pictured his steady gaze and could practically hear him lecturing me. Don't worry now about what you can't change. Rest when you can so you'll be ready for tomorrow's battles. The imaginary advice calmed me. Sleep came at last, heavy and deep. I'd tossed and turned a lot this week, so true rest was welcome. Then–I woke up. I sat upright in bed, my heart pounding. Peering around, I looked for danger–any threat that might have startled me out of that sleep. There was nothing. Darkness. Silence. The faint squeak of a chair down the hall told me my guards were still around. The bond, I realized. The bond had woken me up. I'd felt a sharp, intense flare of †¦ what? Intensity. Anxiety. A rush of adrenaline. Panic raced through me, and I dove deeper into Lissa, trying to find what had caused that surge of emotion from her. What I found was †¦ nothing. The bond was gone.

Game Theory and Report Teachers Association

Ridgecrest School Dispute Initial Report Teachers’ Association 11/15/12 In order to maximize combined interests and reach the Pareto Efficient Frontier, our strategy is to build trust by sharing information about our interests and priorities. In addition, sharing information can help create a positive relationship with the Board of Education and can increase the chances that they will reciprocate that behavior by giving away information about their interests and priorities.Given that many people are reluctant to share information with the other side, we also plan on asking the Board of Education many questions so that we can learn from what is not said as well as from what is said. Another strategy we will use to create value is to make multiple offers simultaneously because it helps to collect valuable information and it makes us appear more flexible. This is a particularly important strategy given that we can compromise on various issues if the other side is willing to offer us some concessions on other matters in return.For instance, we would be willing to accept a formula in which any pay received for performing civic duty would be deducted from regular pay if the board is willing to meet our demands for salary acceptably (See planning document for what is acceptable). The cost-cutting strategy is useful in that it allows for one party to get what it wants while the other has the costs associated with its concession reduced or eliminated. This is a strategy we will use by proposing to the other side a budget that we have come up with that minimizes our concessions while still allowing them to get what they want (See attached Budget Proposal).We have prepared this budget so that when the other side claims that there is no other way expenditures can be cut, we can show them an alternative solution. In addition, we also want to trade off differences in interests and priorities in order to create value. We plan on doing this by trading issues that are mo st important to us such as salary and workload for issues that are most important to the other side. We realize that this might be a problem if the interests that are most important to us are also most important to the other side.But, there might be issues that are significantly more important in terms of other issues to one side than they are to the other side. Finally, we plan on searching for post-settlement settlements in order to look for an agreement that is better for both sides. Once we have created the most possible value that can be created, we will use strategies to claim value. First, we will open aggressively given that initial positions act as anchors and affect the perception of what outcomes are possible. We will do this by asking for more than our target (See planning document for target).For example, we will ask for a $7,000 increase in salaries for lower levels and reduce the pupil/teacher ratio to 13:1. We realize that the other side will not agree to this, but i t will still be helpful as an anchor. Another strategy we will use to claim value is to give credible reasons for our interests whenever possible (See Issues Analysis for several reasons). For instance, the reason we want an increase in salaries is because we have not had any salary increases in years and our workday is longer than the NJ average (See attached for NJ average). If we do not have a credible reason for an interest, then we will use a pseudo reason.In addition, we will know what interests we are willing and not willing to give concessions on (See planning document for concessions). This is important given that there are so many issues in this negotiation that we can compromise on if the other side is willing to give us something else in return. Finally, we are prepared to make smaller concessions to indicate that we are reaching our bottom line without revealing our bottom line. This is always an important strategy because we want a deal that is close to our target, but are willing to accept any deal that is at or above our bottom line.

Introduce wordMicrobreweries from Pacific Northwest and Alaska Essay

Introduce wordMicrobreweries from Pacific Northwest and Alaska - Essay Example After this deregulation, the area witnessed a sudden rise in the number of microbreweries largely due to the related profitability and comparatively lower investment to start the business. In the U.S, the term microbrewery is used to refer to a beer production unit that produces < 15000 barrels/annum (Bamforth n.p.). A rapid growth in the establishment of new microbreweries is evident in Alaska and places to drink by the name of brewpubs are rapidly emerging which can provide up to 36oz/day to an average customer. During recent times, microbrewers have teamed up to form guilds that work collectively for the betterment of the microbrewers as a whole. The â€Å"Brewers guild of Alaska† is one such body which aims to strengthen networking base for brewers and suppliers, retailers and various others. The purpose of such bodies is to safeguard the interests of microbrewers who in majority of cases work independently of one

Global Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Governance - Essay Example The conclusion contains brief recommendations for action to make free trade really "free". An initial look at the term globalisation implies that some "thing" or "phenomenon" is spreading throughout the globe and in the process becoming "global", or globalising. Whilst diseases, ideas, information, or even weather disturbances can go global, the current usage of the term "globalisation" is in reference to free trade in goods, services, and labour among the world's nations. Thus, globalisation and free trade are understood to be one and the same. Micklethwait and Wooldridge (2000) described globalisation (p. xvi) as the "integration of the world economy, reshaping business and reordering the lives of individuals, creating social classes, different jobs, unimaginable wealth and, occasionally, wretched poverty." Stiglitz defined it earlier (2002, p. 164) as "the integration of countries and peoples of the world brought about by the enormous reduction of transportation and communication costs, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flow of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and people across borders." The use of "integration" in both definitions implies a reference to a previous state marked by separation. Integration in the context of international trade signifies that economic and business laws, political systems, cultural differences, and all other factors that act as barriers to the economic relationship amongst nations are minimised or removed, made compatible and attractive enough for trade to take place. Free trade amongst nations is not a recent phenomenon. It has been going on for centuries, and as discussed in the next section, it has caused prosperity and poverty, sometimes becoming a prelude to wars as nations battled each other for supremacy. Trade amongst nations was pretty straightforward, regulated by the law of supply and demand and bartering. But as societies became complex and the control of wealth shifted from nobles to industrialists, the world's socio-economic order underwent a radical shift as the growth in populations increase the pressure for governments to satisfy the people (Yergin et al., 1998, p. 189). The driving force of free trade was Britain, the world's superpower in the 18th and 19th centuries. British goods were traded all over the globe, made from materials extracted from colonies that spanned an empire where the sun never sets. Law and order were maintained by a powerful army and navy that kept trade routes safe. London's financial system dipped its fingers into every business pie. Understandably, Britain sowed the intellectual seeds of globalisation and free trade, inspired by the works of Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations, 1776), David Ricardo (On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 1817), and James Stuart Mill (Elements of Political Economy, 1821). Smith emphasised the invisible hand of free markets that

Research Question paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Question - Research Paper Example Lastly, experiments can be repeated for a number of times with different sample sizes until the expected outcome is achieved. Surveys on the other hand are not quite reliable since they will cost more while being repeated. Content analysis is best suited for social science studies that highly rely on research based on already existing literature. According to Babbie (2010), it is "the study of recorded human communications such as books, websites, paintings and laws†. Ethical considerations are also very essential while conducting a study. According to the APA (2002), five principles should be implemented by the researcher. These include: Participant should be informed of intellectual property (IP) rights. Researcher should follow informed – consent rules. Researcher should be professional. Researcher should practice confidentiality. Researcher should be capable of solving ethical dilemmas. Some of the limitations with regard to the experiment include human error. Sectio n 2: SAMPLING The participants who will be sampled include students from the different levels in the college. The number of participants will be controlled to 40 participants. These participants will be randomly selected – A random sampling technique will be used. The population of interest is individuals aged from 18 to 37 years. In addition to that, there will be other secondary sources of information that will be used so as to support the evidence being studied. That is, the secondary resources will act as additional literature entries. It should be noted that having a controlled sample size is key in every study. This is in a bid to prevent the experiment from being extremely tedious, uncontrolled as well as preventing the use to too many resources. As a result, the sample size that has been selected will perfectly represent the targeted population. Limitations in the sample include: Type 2 errors, lack of statistical power, distribution inequalities and lack of significa nce. Section 3: KEY VARIABLES In this hypothesis testing, the variables under study include the age of the participants and the effect of instructor humour in student learning. The age of the participants: It is without doubt that humour has its effect on different age groups differently. For example younger people may find humour important in student learning as compared to elder people. As a result, this is a variable that is very crucial in this testing. Effect of instructor humour: This is another variable that is important in this study. It will be used to determine which age group fancies humour in the learning environment. Independent variable: An independent variable is that which can be changed in a study. Largely, any experiment must have an independent variable. With regard to the hypothesis being tested, the independent variable is the impact of humour in student learning. As a result, the humour could be projected by the instructor or not. Dependent variable: This is a variable that solemnly depends on the independent variable. As a result, these variables act as functions of the independent variable. With regard to the hypothesis being tested, the dependent variable is the age of the participants. In the experiment, the hypothesis will be: â€Å"The effects of instructor humour on student learning† Section 4: ANALYSIS The level of measurement is a representation of the different methods in which numbers can be used in an experiment. There are four major levels of