The Power of the Mamluks and Il-Khanates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Power of the Mamluks and Il-Khanates - Essay Example The Il-Khanates, on the other hand, achieved power by giving their subordination to the main Kahn, Kublai, and the main empire, thus ensuring the support of a successful ally. Because they were originally not a Muslim culture, they were often attacked by the Islamic states surrounding them. Eventually, after the converted to Islam, they were able to solidify their faith and gain acceptance. Thus, both clans were able to earn power through their religion, although through different means. It's important to revisit the development of these two empires in order to see how their power bases were increased by their acceptance into Islam. First, it is important to revisit the original Mongol invasions. Something different happened after the Mongols had invaded a few Islamic empires; eventually, the Mongols were to become Muslim themselves. This was to play an important role in the development of Islam within the Il-Khanate. The invasions of Central Asia and Russia by the Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde did not have the negative impacts on the native Islamic faith that the Mongol invasion of Iraq and Persia both had. Even though the Mongols defeated the Islamic states, the Muslim faith did prevail, and the Mongols themselves, although the invaders, did, for the most part, convert to Islam. However, the Mongol conquering of Islam's heartland did result in some major changes for the religion. By conquering and disemboweling the current Islamic dynasties, the Mongols in stilled new ones, thus setting a new era for the religion. This new era would allow both the Il-Khans and the Mamluk to achieve power through Islam, although this power would not be implemented until a little later in history. In order to understand how this process came about, it is important to revisit the history regarding the Mongol conquering of Islam. The fighting in Asia began in the 13th century with Genghis Khan, who raided Persia and conquered several cities up until his death. By 1237, the Mongols were outside of Bagdhad, the center of the Abbasid caliphate. When the Great Kahn Mongke was elected in 1251, the decision to attack the Abbasid caliphate was formed. Mongke did not like that Islamic people worshipped a man who they seemed to view as even above the Khan. Thus, the Mongols attacked the capital, and came out victorious (Nichoole 82). Then, Mongke gave instructions to attack the caliphate only if it decided not to surrender. Of course, the caliphate did not, and they were largely unprepared to do battle with fighters as whorled-renowned as the Mongols. They had a large force, but were not as well trained as the Mongols. Another problem that emerged in the Islamic faction was the age-old battle between Sunni and Shiite, and the fact that the caliphate was a Sunni meant that many Shiites went over to the Mongol side, thinking they would regain power if they did saw. Also, many Christians joined the side of the Mongols, seeing the Mongols as possible saviors from the fate of Islam. Some of the Mongol army was, in fact, Christian, so this is perhaps one of the reasons why they were able to gather so much support. Many Mongol soldiers were careful not to destroy Christian churches and symbols, and this fact endeared the army to the

Tax Return Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Tax Return Worksheet Essay 1. Even though Gloria is single, her filing status is Head of Household. Why is Gloria able to file as head of household? Gloria is able to file head of house hold in this case because, she has a qualifying dependent. A qualifying dependent would be a closely related relative dependent that you have provided for maintaining a home for yourself and your dependent or dependents. 2. How does Gloria benefit from filing as head of household, rather than single? She benefits more from filing head of household because she will get better tax benefits like higher standard deductions and lower tax rates. 3. What is Gloria’s adjusted gross income? In which line in the tax form did you find her total income? Line-21 Adjusted gross income 22,275. 4. Even though Gloria is filing the short form (1040A), she is still able to get two credits. What are the two credits Gloria receives? List the line you found the answers on as well. 1,000 Additional child Tax credit line 41, and 728 for child care tax credit lines 29-33. 5. How much of a refund is Gloria going to receive? 2,500 6. What are the four steps listed in the filing checklist? Step 1: Sign and date the return. Step 2: Assemble the return. Step 3: Mail the return Step: Keep a copy. 7. On the Wage and Tax statement, list how much Gloria paid in her Federal Tax Withholding? 1,500 8. How much did she pay in Social Security and Medicare? 1,721 in total. 9. If she had owed money but was not able to pay it, what options would she have? She can apply for additional time to pay through an online application where she might get granted extra time to pay based on her situation. Also she can setup an installment agreement; she could do this by applying on a Web-based Online Payment Agreement application on IRS.gov. There she might be allowed as a taxpayer who owes $25,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest to self-qualify, apply for, and receive immediate notification of approval of this option. She can also request an installment agreement that under circumstances may allow her to create a convenient way to establish an installment agreement this takes away the need for personal interaction with IRS and reduces paper processing. She can also do this by completing and submitting a Form 9465 in writing, or call 1-800-829-1040 to make your request. Balances over $25,000, are due to complete a financial statement to determine the monthly payment amount for an installment plan. 10. If you have questions about filing your tax return, where would you go for help? Did any of Gloria’s tax conditions teach you about your own situation? IRS service center, and Gloria’s situation is different than mine but I did learn that there is a child care credit available, which I will take advantage next year when filing my taxes.

Contrast In Language :: essays research papers

Contrast Between Language of Love in the Balcony Scene and the Language of Death in the Final Scene of Romeo and JulietIn William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare introduces many themes that he continues throughout all of his tragedies, including the language of love vs. the language of death. The balcony scene is the most valuable scene illustrating the language of love, whereas in the final scene of the play the language of death is used to set the stage for their suicides, pulling together the tragic ending of the play.Throughout the second scene of Act II, Romeo uses beautiful metaphors and similes to express his affection for Juliet:O, speak again bright angel, for thou artAs glorious to this night, being o'er my headAs is a winged messenger of heaven.(Rom. II. II, 28-30.)This passage is used to compare Juliet to an angel, somethign that is universally held as sacred and lovely. Elsewhere in the scene there are lines that describe their love for one another, and add to the romantic theme of the scene:And but thou love me, let them find me here.My life better ended by their hateThe death prorogued, wantingof thy love.(Rom. II. II, 76-78.)In the final scene of the play, there is much talk of death by Romeo, Friar Laurence, and Juliet. Romeo announces his own demise in his soliloquy:Depart again. Here, here I will remainWith worms and chambermaids. O, hereWill I set my everlasting restAnd shake the yoke of inauspicious starsFrom this world-weariedflesh. Eyes, look your last!Arms, take your last embrace! And, lips,O youThe doors of breath to engrossing death!(Rom. V. III, 108-114.)The Friar's Frantic wrods and actions in conflict to his previous calm stature illustrate the grim mood of the scene: Stay not to question, for the watch is coming.Come, go good Juliet.

Evaluate a Significant Experience, Achievement, Risk You Have Taken

Soraya Palmer Connecticut College, Class of 2007 Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you Finding Truths In my life, I have taken many journeys without which I would not have experienced important truths. My father started us off early, taking us on many journeys to help us understand that true knowledge comes only from experience.We took trips every winter break to Madrid, Mexico, Costa Rica, and to Jamaica and Trinidad, my parents’ homeland for Christmas. Silly things I remember from those trips include the mango chili sauce on the pork in Maui, the names of the women who gave out the towels by the pools in Selva Verde, Costa Rica, eating dinner at 10 p. m. in Spain. These were all tourist experiences that I, at first, found spellbinding. My truths were the truths of the tourist brochures: beautiful hotels, beaches, and cities.I did not see the blindfolds. I did not appreciate how being held hostage by the beauty of the surface—the beaches and cities—blinded me to the absence of Puerto Rican natives on the streets of San Juan; I did not understand how the prevalence and familiarity of English conspired to veil the beauty of the Spanish language beneath volumes of English translations. I learned more about these truths in my sophomore year of high school, when I was among a group of students selected to visit Cuba.My grandmother was born in Cuba, yet I had never thought to research my own heritage. I have remained the naive American who saw Castro as some distant enemy of my country, accepting this as fact because this seemed to be the accepted wisdom. I soon became intrigued, however, with this supposed plague to my freedom, my culture, and everything good and decent. I began to think, just what is communism anyway? What’s so bad about Castro and Cuba—and I hear they have good coffee.I believed that what was missing was a lack of understandin g between our two cultures, and that acceptance of our differences would come only with knowledge. My first impression of Cuba was the absence of commercialism. I saw no giant golden arch enticing hungry Cubans with beef-laced fries; I did see billboards of Che Guevara and signposts exhorting unity and love. I realized, however, that much of the uniqueness that I relished here might be gone if the trade blockades in Cuba were ever lifted. The parallels and the irony were not lost on me. Read also â€Å"Glengarry Glen Ross†Ã‚   by David MametI was stepping out of an American political cave that shrouded the beauty of Cuba and stepping into another, one built on patriotic socialism, one where truths were just as ideological as, yet very different from, mine. History, I recognized, is never objective. The journeys I have taken have been colored by my prior experiences and by what my feelings were in those moments. Everyone holds a piece of the truth. Maybe facts don’t matter. Perhaps my experience is my truth and the more truths I hear from everyone else, the closer I will get to harmonization.Maybe there is no harmony, and I must go through life challenging and being challenged, perhaps finding perspectives from which I can extract—but never call—truth. I must simply find ways to understand others, to seek in them what is common to us all and perhaps someday find unity in our common human bond. This is what life has taught me so far, my sum of truths gleaned from experiencing many cultures. I don’t know if these truths will hold, but I hope that my college experience will be like my trip to Cuba—challenging some truths, strengthening others, and helping me experience new ones.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Essay

Looking at the graph above we can see that Yum! Brands, the parent’s company of KFC are the third biggest firm in the fast food industry. By serving more than 12 million customers in 21000 stores in 109 countries every day, KFC has become the world most popular chicken fast food franchise. (1) However, over the past decade, KFC’s suppliers have been caught several time violating animal rights by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the world’s largest animal rights organization. KFC claims that all their suppliers are very well monitored and often inspected by the government; however PETA undercover investigations have proved otherwise. In 2007, 2 videos secretly recorded workers extremely violated animal rights in these slaughterhouses, showing some disturbing scenes. Although you may argue that KFC does not responsibility for the cruelty in the slaughterhouses, it has violates its own code of conduct, which will be discussed later in this report. Besides, since KFC buys raw meat from these suppliers, they are partly support these slaughterhouses so it is also a part of their responsibility. The main purpose of this report is to show several violations which were caught by PETA investigation in 2007 and the possible solutions for this particular scandal. The investigation takes place in Tyson’s Georgia and Tennessee factories, one of KFC’s major suppliers. Within only 9 days of the investigation, many workers have been caught on videos abusing chickens. One of the most serious acts is workers urinating in the belts that transform birds to different areas in the slaughterhouse (2). And that is not the only thing they did. Chickens are thrown from a far distance to the conveyor belt. The workers at these slaughterhouses somehow found it an entertaining thing to do so the abuse was repeated again and again. They picked up chickens and throw them to the shackles. Chickens are also found dead after trapping their body parts under a door at the end of the belt meaning the facility quality is not good enough. One of the examples is the blade which is supposed to cut chicken’s throat, cut the chicken’s body parts instead, and many of them also miss the blade. Therefore, when being transferred to the next stage of the production, which is going to the boiling tank, they are fully conscious. Moreover, workers are told by supervisors that it is acceptable to rip off thoselive chicken’s heads which are not cut properly. The problem here is, supervisors at both these slaughterhouses were involved with the abuse and aware of it but did not do anything to stop it from happening. Moreover, most of KFC claims on their website are inaccurate and go against their code of conduct (3): â€Å"Our suppliers work with primary breeders who provide poultry specifically selected with health and well being in mind.† This statement is, however, false. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) discovered that KFC’s suppliers use drugs to help chickens to gain as much weight as possible in a short period of time. The effect of this is these chickens will suffer from diseases and injuries such as broken legs, heart attacks and other problems because they are overgrown.(4) â€Å"Prior to slaughter, birds are stunned so they are insensible to pain. †¦ Chickens are stunned and killed before they are introduced into the defeathering tanks.†This statement is again not totally true. Although all the chickens are put in an electrified bath before being throat-slitting, the bath only makes them immobility not fully unconscious. Furthermore, as stated above, there are evidences that chickens completely miss the blade therefore they are still alive when being put in the scalding tank. According to USDA, there are nearly 3 million scalded alive chickens every year.(4) â€Å"KFC sup pliers, KFC and the National Chicken Council have standards for stocking density to ensure birds have sufficient space and are healthy. †¦ The cleanliness of these facilities and the health of the birds are top priorities for the farmers.† Unfortunately, KFC suppliers actually do not have good facility to â€Å"ensure birds have sufficient space and healthy† like they stated. They are famous for raising chickens in a small area, as small as possible so they could cut down on cost. The wastes from chickens are not even cleaned up during their life time, again just to save cost. The effect of this is causing many health problems to chickens. One of the reasons why KFC and its suppliers are so careless is because according to the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, chickens are not protected. Farmed animals such as chickens, cows are also not covered by the Animal Welfare Act either.(4) Ever since the videos are published, many protests and campaigns have been taken place, causing dramatic impact on KFC’s stockholders. Activists, through the media, have made people aware of the problem and therefore most people decided to stop eating at KFC a sign of pro test. There was a time KFC’s stock went down by 10% because of the scandal and this has made these stockholders, managers become more serious with the problem and come up with some solutions. Once of the few solutions that KFC could apply to fix the problem is to ask the suppliers to punish those who are responsible for the incidents. This includes the workers who abuse the chickens, the supervisors at these 2 facilities who completely ignored the abuse. The punishment will definitely set an example for other employees and supervisors at other supplier’s facilities. Moreover, they could install more cameras in the slaughterhouses to control worker’s act. Once a month, private investigators could be hired to make sure animal abuse will not happen again. This seems to be one of the most effective solutions since workers are in tighter control, it is very unlikely that they will violate the rules. KFC, however, has to pay a little extra money each month to maintain the cameras and the cost of hiring private investigators. The reason why workers mistreat the chickens at these suppliers could be because they are not satisfied with their salary. This could be easily explained, firstly, since most of the suppliers will try to cut down cost as much as possible they are likely to reduce the wage rate to exploit workers. Since the demand for this type of job is high, it is workers who need the suppliers, not the other way round so employees will always feel like they are being exploited. Secondly, those farm suppliers are famous for their terrible working conditions, there is always a problem with hygiene and environment in the slaughterhouses. All the factors combined will cause workers to be easily frustrated and pass the angry to the chickens. Therefore, the solution is KFC to force suppliers to improve wage rate and the working conditions. Once these have taken place, the rate of mistreating animals will definitely be reduced. Although, this solution seems to work in theory, it is unlikely to work in practice since it has too many disadvantages. They must spend a lot more each month to increase the salary for all workers in these suppliers. This might also set a bad habit for workers, treating chickens badly as a sign of protest to demand higher wages. In response to all the claims by PETA, KFC states on their website that PETA is actually a â€Å"radical extremist group† and their main purpose is to â€Å"promote a vegetarian health style† (3). Because of this, PETA is unbiased and their claims are not totally correct and could be misleading. In addition to this, KFC has also ensured consumers that their chickens are bought from the same suppliers that provide raw meat to supermarkets and restaurants. Although in the real world they have no responsibility over the animal cruelty and abuse in those slaughterhouses, they did require suppliers to obey the law as well as animal welfare. In conclusion, we can see from the report that both KFC and PETA have different point of views, and they are both reasonable in their ways. However, the situation could have been much better if KFC took care of the scandal thoroughly as soon as possible so that the same mistake will not happen again in the future.