Illogical Terror (or invent another topic if you like) Essay

Illogical Terror (or invent another topic if you like) - Essay Example He possesses a strange power of seeing future events in his vision. He views blood coming out of an elevator of Overlook Hotel, the place where his father wants to go become the caretaker. The strange force is also present in the telepathic powers of the hotel chef. He offers Danny ice cream through this power. This seems illogical yet vaguely corresponds to people’s perceptions of demonic possessions and haunted places. Logically, it should not terrorize the audiences but it does. Val Lewton uses similar ideas. In his movies, a strange force either haunts a place (building, castle etc.) or it resides in people. In his film Cat People (1942) this strange power lies in a woman, Irena Dubrovna. She can turn into a beast (an overgrown black panther) when sexually aroused. Val Lewton’s The Haunting (1980) also incorporates a similar uncanny force. In the Female Spectator, Lesbian Specter: The Haunting, Patricia White states â€Å"It is the uncanny house that the heroine is forced to inhabit - and to explore†¦ The woman provokes the uncanny; her experience of it remains a shadowy area.† She is shown to have psychic powers. Exactly what happens to her at the house or what she does to the ‘creatures’ living in the house is a mystery. This uncanny force is the theme of The Shining. Towards the end of the movie, the audiences are shown a photograph of Jack from 1921. The story unwinds in such a way that it gives an impression that probably Jack Torrance was a ghost from the beginning. His decision to take his wife, Wendy, and son to the hotel triggered the ‘force’. The Haunting shows a similar context. The team that visits the haunted house triggers paranormal events. The Leopard Man (1943) is fascinating in the sense that this uncanny force is not real. It gives the illusion that the forces there. For instance, all the way through the movie the audiences keep guessing that probably the man

Business ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Business ethics - Essay Example If many patients working under the old plant have already been diagnosed with Cancer, the firm cannot risk continuing with the operations knowing the health implications involved. Even if a cleanup occurs, it is not a guarantee that the scenario will occur again due to the plant being old. Option B, on the contrary, is also unethical because it will expose the workers from Liberia at a serious health risk, not to mention the negative effects on the community. Paying employees’ low wages because of the country they come from is unethical. Employees should not be shown favoritism due to their nationality or ethnicity. The strategy by the firm to cut on labor costs at an expense of the workers in Liberia is very unethical. The firm opting to use Low-tech methods that would cause a health risk to the workers and the community because of toxic hazards released to the Environment is against the Environmental principle of managing toxic wastes. , From an Ethical point of view Option C, can work as the best option among the three options that TK Company has now. Now the Government is offering low interest rates on their financial facilities, thus the firm could resort to take a loan at a low interest rate and use it to improve their new facilities. Facing out the old facilities is ethical on TK’s part because it will reduce the chances of more employees being exposed to cancer infections. In addition, the mechanism they are using to reduce the workforce is very ethical, because no employee will be laid off in an inhumane manner, but has a chance to receive their pension, in addition to all the other retirement benefits. Even though the debt liabilities will rise, the firm can manage it well in the future after the operation at the new facility picks up (Vincent, 2011). Vincent asserts that, every organization, including TK has ethical rules and guidelines, which they refer to as ‘code of ethics’ that they have to

Honey Markets in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve (NBR)

Honey Markets in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve (NBR) p>A STUDY ON THE HONEY MARKETS OF NILGIRIS BIOSPHERE RESERVE INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT ANAND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The project that we have worked on is Honey markets in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve (NBR). In this study we have traced the flow of honey from the honey hunters of NBR to the end consumers. This study is a part of a larger study, Darwin Initiative, aimed at studying the underlying linkages between Bees, Biodiversity and Livelihood in the NBR, undertaken by Keystone foundation along with University of East Anglia and Bees for Development. For the study on Honey markets in the NBR, six sites were chosen from the sixteen sites chosen for Darwin Initiative, based on the accessibility of the site, the predominant trade channels present (based on previously available information, the sites were divided as formal and informal markets), the number of honey hunters in the site (used as a proxy to determine amount of honey collected in the sites to ensure presence of high and low honey collecting areas) and also ensuring that all the three states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh) were represented. Three sites with formal trade channels and three sites with informal trade channels were selected. In the selected sites, a few honey hunters, all the traders and institutional buyers and forest officials were interviewed to compose the value chain of honey. The impact of Price, Credit, State regulation, Volume of honey collected in the site, presence of an accessible institutional buyer at the site, presence of a powerful leader and direct access of consumers to the honey hunters on the sale of honey by the honey hunter was studied and analyzed across the six sites. Of the factors considered, price, presence of an institutional buyer and the presence of a powerful leader had a significant impact on the flow of honey. Based on the above obtained information, the value chain of honey was drawn for all the six sites. 1. INTRODUCTION The project that we had to work is Honey flow in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. In this study we have analyzed the flow of honey from the native indigenous honey hunters in the forest to the end consumers in the area of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. According to the Codex Alimentarius the definition of honey is as follows: Honey is the unfermented, natural sweet substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which honeybees collect, transform and combine with specific substances of their own, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature. Honey shall not have any objectionable flavour, aroma or taint absorbed from foreign matter during its production, harvesting, processing and storage and shall not contain natural plant toxins in an amount that may constitute hazard to health. The honey collected in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is from four different sources depending on the type of honey bees collecting them i.e. Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis florea and Apis dammer. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the first internationally designated Biosphere Reserve of India. It was established in the year 1986 under the proposition of UNESCO. It comprises the three states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It covers 0.15% of Indias land area i.e. an area of 5520 sq. km and is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. The NBR has six protected areas and more than five different types of forests. The major honey zones in the area include Kotagiri and Coonoor areas of Nilgiris, Sigur, Mukkurthi, Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Wynad, Silent Valley, Nilambur, and New Amarambalam Reserve Forest, Attapadi Valley, Pillur Valley, Anaikatti, Boluvampatti and Sathyamangalam Hills. It also home to a large number of indigenous communities, most of them forest dwellers and hunter gatherers. There around eighteen ethnic groups living in the area each of these having small populations and living in geographical concentrations. Not all the ethnic groups engage in honey hunti ng, the main honey hunters are Sholigas, Kattunaickens, Kurumbas, Cholanaickens and Irulas. Todas generally collect honey for home consumption and minor sales. The dorsata honey which is generally obtained from combs that are built in cliffs and not all the tribals engage in cliff honey hunting. Kurumbas are the experts in cliff hunting of honey whereas Irulas collect it from giant trees. The cerana honey is generally collected from tree cavities whereas florea and dammer honey is collected in small quantities from twigs and cavities in walls. The dammer honey is highly priced and used for medicinal purposes. Each of this ethnic group specializes in different ways and methods to collect honey which has given rise to specific techniques and traditions. Honey hunting is a seasonal activity for them; it starts in March and extends up to June. Thus the activity happens only for a period of three to four months in a year. Honey forms a component of the Non Timber Forest Produce which is commonly known as Minor Forest Produce. In this study we have tried to capture the existing market for honey operating in the major honey zones of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve. We met the different native honey hunters engaged in this vocation and enquired about the various selling options that they have. This study looks at how markets function work in these areas and identifies and analyses the factors affecting the honey market. The study tries to explore the various channels through which honey reaches the consumer from the hunter. It also analyzes the major factors affecting the emergence and establishment of particular channel in an area. The study also tries to explain how each channel function in an area, the intermediaries involved, their roles in the channel. The study also describes the value chain of honey with the prices at which different intermediaries purchase honey and wax. For the purpose of study specific sites were selected in the NBR to study the honey market and track the honey flow. This report begins by giving a brief idea about the context in which these markets are operating followed by the methodology adopted for the selection of sites. The market existing in these sites are then described followed by an analysis of all the sites. 2. POLICIES AND STATE REGULATIONS There is neither any policy on NTFP in the state of Karnataka or any laws that have direct consequences on NTFP its collection, processing and marketing. Several legal documents have some rules regarding the extraction of certain NTFPs such as the Karnataka Forest Manual, The Karnataka Forest Act 1963 etc but by far it does not restrict the collection of honey. The state of Karnataka has defined MFP through its Karnataka Forest Act, 1963 as forest produce other than timber, sandal wood, firewood, charcoals, bamboos and minerals, and includes forest produce such as myrobolans, barks, fibres, flosses, gums, resin, dyes, grass, leaves, roots, fruits, seeds, creepers, reeds, moss, lichens, wood-oil, honey, wax, lac, wild animals, wild birds, horns, hides, bones, tusks etc. The Karnataka Forest department has allowed the collection of 45 items from the leased forest areas. The price fixation of these MFPs is done by Karnataka LAMPS. The Tamilnadu Forest department allowed 23 items for collection from the leased forest areas. There is no proper definition for MFP in the state. The price fixation mechanism operating for these products is through the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. Honey does not figure in the list of allowable items for collection. In the state of Kerala, forest department permitted 100 items to Tribal Services Cooperative Societies(TSCS) for extraction from the leased forest areas. The price fixation mechanism operating here is through Kerala Minor Forest Products committee. Honey and wax collection in the state is not banned but it is regulated through Cooperative Societies. In these states for several years the trade of NTFP had been in favour of private contractors. Recently the government guideline for constitution of Village Forest Committee has, to some extent, kept the private traders away but the NTFP market is still with the hand of those traders. With the absence of any legal documents, the states like Tamil Nadu have complicated the NTFP management. The Tamil Nadu state Act has not defined NTFP and there are no transit rules for movement of produces outside the states. 3. METHODOLOGY The study was carried out in a sample of six sites out of the total sixteen Darwin sites. The sampling which was suggested earlier on societies may not give a uniform analysis as these function only in Kerala and parts of Karnataka. Hence we have chosen six Darwin sites for the purpose of study. The six sites chosen to study the value chain of honey under the Darwin Initiative were selected on the basis of the following criteria. Type of trade (formal or informal trade). Number of honey hunters in the site. Representation of all the three states Research Sites Region , State Indigenous Community No of hhlds No. Hhlds inter-viewed No.of Honey hunting Hhlds Trade Aspects 1 Bedaguli Chamraj Nagar Karnataka Sholiga, Kannadiga 55 55 25 Collection is banned. 2 Kannur Sathy Tamil Nadu Sholiga 96 48 30 Collection is banned in Tamil Nadu, but the Village Forest Council (VFC) collects honey from harvesters along with other NTFPs. 3 Kalidimbam Sathy Tamil Nadu Irula 55 55 20 Collection is banned in Tamil Nadu, but the Village Forest Council (VFC) collects honey from harvesters along with other NTFPs. 4 Athoor Chamraj Nagar Karnataka Sholigas, Kannadiga2 Badaga3 103 52 14 Collection is banned. 5 Comop Coonoor Tamil Nadu Kurumba 7 7 4 Honey is sold to green shop Keystone in Coonoor both honey as well as beeswax. Occasionally sold to other local shops as well. 6 Pudukadu Coonoor Tamil Nadu Kurumba 34 34 4 The Honey is sold to shops on the Coonoor- Mettupalayam highway 7 Situkunni Coonoor Tamil Nadu Irula 10 10 1-2 Sold to local traders, tourists and occasionally to Keystones centre. 8 Kobo Kotagiri Tamil Nadu Toda 9 9 3-4 Honey is collected mostly for personal consumption. 9 Koduthen mund Kotagiri Tamil Nadu Toda, Others 4 8 8 1-2 Cerana honey collected for consumption but not regularly. 10 Tunieri Kotagiri Tamil Nadu Badaga, Others 320 51 None None of the households are engaged in HH. 11 Perur Sigur Tamil Nadu Kattunaicken 51 51 18 The product is sold within the village, tourists and local customers or to Kallur cooperative society in Kerala. 12 Chemmanatham Sigur Tamil Nadu Kasava/Irula 44 44 5-10 Honey collection is banned. It is collected and sold to local traders or the numerous resorts adjacent to the Mudumalai sanctuary. 13 Siriyoor Sigur Tamil Nadu Kasava/Irula/Jenu Kurumba 52 52 7-10 Honey collection is banned. It is collected and sold to local traders or the numerous resorts adjacent to the Mudumalai sanctuary. 14 Nala Nilambur Kerala Kattunaicken, Paniyas 54 54 15-20 Honey is sold to the cooperative society. Society has a captive market as selling outside is illegal. 15 Mancheri Nilambur Kerala Cholanaicken 145* All caves have Honey Hunters Honey is sold to the society Bees wax is also sold to the society. Society has a captive market as selling outside is illegal. 16 Mundakadavu Nilambur Kerala Padinaickens, Paniyas 29 29 6 Honey is sold to the society and to the local traders. Bees wax is also sold to the society for Rs.120/kg. Society has a captive market as selling outside is illegal. Table 1: Information about honey trade across Darwin sites As mentioned above the criteria used for selection of site for the study of value chain of honey from the Darwin sites were the type of trade (formal or informal trade), number of honey hunters in the site and the representation of all the three states. These criteria were applied to the sites in the above mentioned order. The Darwin sites were initially categorized into one of the three trade types prevalent by large. Throughout our study, we have used the terms formal, informal trade to describe the trade channels existing in the different sites. Informal trade includes the honey collection and trade in the area where it is banned by law and is not allowed by the forest officials. This kind of a trade can be seen on the Karnataka part of NBR. By Informal trade we refer to honey trade with private traders and the flow through informal channels of trade. Here there is no organizational set up for buying honey. The honey traded here is unbilled. Honey trade in Tamil Nadu is not allowed by law but it is permitted by the forest officials. This is also included under informal trade. Honey collection and trade in this area happen with the knowledge of the forest officials. The above mentioned are considered as permitted trade. The permit ted trade, can again be formal and informal trade. By formal trade, we refer to honey trade with organizations like keystone (in Tamil Nadu) or cooperative societies (in Kerala). In this, the honey traded is billed. Honey collection and trade in Kerala is permitted by law. The following table shows the classification of Darwin sites according to the type of trade Table 2: Classification of Darwin sites based on the type of trade INFORMAL TRADE FORMAL TRADE ATHOOR MANCHERI BEDAGULI KANNUR PERUR KALIDIMBAM SIRIYUR NALA CHEMMANATHAM MUNDAKADAVU PUTHUKADU COMOP KOBO KODUTHENMUNDU SITUKUNNI Tuneri has not been included in the table because no honey collection takes place there. In the next step, the sites were ranked based on the number of honey hunting households present in the village. The following table shows the sites ranked in descending order of honey hunters present in a village. Table 3: Sites selected for the study INFORMAL TRADE FORMAL TRADE NAME HH NAME HH BEDAGULI (KARNATAKA) 25 MANCHERI (KERALA) 36 PERUR (TN) 18 KANNUR (TN) 30 ATHOOR (KARNATAKA) 14 KALIDIMBAM (TN) 20 SIRIYUR (TN) 7 NALA (KERALA) 15 CHEMMANATHAM (TN) 5 MUNDAKADAVU (TN) 6 PUTHUKADU (TN) 4 COMOP (TN) 4 KOBO (TN) 3 KODUTHENMUNDU (TN) 1 SITUKUNNI (TN) 1 After the sites were ranked, they were selected based on the number of honey hunters and other factors as mentioned below Athoor and Bedaguli are the two Darwin sites in Karnataka. In these sites, honey hunting is banned as per the state regulation and is also not permitted by the forest officials. In spite of it, honey is being collected there. Athoor was chosen over Bedaguli in the state of Karnataka because of the following reasons Easy accessibility. Athoor is located on a highway (Sathyamangalam Mysore highway). Athoor is the only site that is located on a highway and has the possibility of sale to travelers on the road. It has the potential for retail trade by honey hunters. There are nine sites that fall under the informal trade category including the two sites in Karnataka. Of these seven sites, Perur had the highest number of honey hunters (more than twice the number of the second highest) and was selected. Koduthenmundu and Situkunni were not selected for low honey flow areas even though they had only one honey hunting house hold each because the hunters here do not go for honey hunting every year. So Kobo with three honey hunting house holds was selected as the site for low honey flow area under the informal trade category. In the formal trade category, Mancheri (even though it has the highest number of honey hunting house holds) was not selected because of accessibility problems. Kannur with thirty house holds was selected as the site for high honey flow and Comop with the least number of honey hunting house holds in the category was selected. Then the selected

An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

An Inspector Calls "An Inspector Calls" by J.B Priestley is a play about an inspector questioning a family about the suicide of Eva Smith. At the beginning of the play the Birling are celebrating the engagement of Sheila and Gerald. They are interrupted by Inspector Goole who informs them that an Eva Smith has committed suicide. The Birling family all deny an involvement but Inspector Goole manages to piece together the facts that in some way they were all involved in her death. When Inspector Goole leaves they all question whether he was a real inspector or not. Gerald, who had left the house, comes back with the information that he wasn't a real inspector after all. Then at the very end of the play the Birling family receive a telephone call that an Eva Smith has just committed suicide and an inspector will be coming to question them. John Boynton Priestley was on of the most popular, versatile and important authors of his day. Although he never wrote a bona fide masterpiece his work was still highly valued. he wrote sixteen novels but it was as a playwright and political/social thinker that Priestley was especially important. Politically Priestley was a patriotic socialist and he was passionately convinced of the need for social change to benefit the poor. During World War II his weekly broadcasts expressed his faith in ordinary people and he felt that "An Inspector Calls" helped labour win the election after the war (1945). As a socialist Priestley believed that we are all responsible for each other. I think that Priestley has written this play to convince people that his views as a socialist are correct. The fact he wrote the play in 1945 yet set the play in 1912 was so he could make the ideas of Mr. Birling seem ridiculous with the use of hindsight. Mr. Birling talks about how there won't be a war, no problems with worker relations and how strong the Titanic is. All of Birling's ideas are shot down because there was a war with Germany, there was a general strike and the Titanic sank on it's maiden voyage. In turn this makes the Inspector's and Priestley's ideas of socialism seem correct. Priestley also wrote this play to make people realise that they are responsible for their own actions. Some of the characters in the play do not accept the fact that they were partly responsible for the death of Eva Smith. Eric and Sheila knew they had done wrong and regretted their part in her death. Sheila says, "And I know I'm to blame-and I'm desperately sorry." This indicates that Sheila wants to change her ways.

Financial Crisis and Brazil Essay

The economic crisis that has swept the world since 2008 has wrought havoc in national economies all over the world. As a group, one of the more particularly hard-hit groups of nations has been the Latin American countries of Central and South America. One notable exception to this trend appeared to be the nation of Brazil. The gloomy projections appeared not to apply to Brazil. According to Mauricio Cardenas of the Brooking institute: This doom and gloom has not infected Brazil, however, where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is showing unprecedented self-assurance. Speaking in Madrid, Lula said somewhat rhetorically that â€Å"this idea that markets can do everything is over,† and more fundamentally â€Å"The times in which emerging countries depended on the IMF are over. † This is not Hugo Chavez speaking, but the president of Latin America’s largest economy, who enjoys 80 percent popularity in his country. (Cardenas, 2008) Although Brazil weathered the early months of the financial crisis better than its Latin American neighbors, the longer the crisis has continued, the more the Brazilian economy has weakened. One of the factors that prevented an immediate collapse of the Brazilian Economy in the wake of the 2008 Crisis was the relative lack of foreign banks in the country. (Cardenas, 2008) Unlike many Latin American nations that have a high percentage of foreign banks (i. e. Mexico: 80% foreign banks), Brazil has only 30% foreign banks. (Cardenas, 2008) In the short term, this allowed Brazil to assume that a contraction in foreign lending would not have as deep an impact on their economy than that of other nations. Brazilian banks, in times of previous economic prosperity, had built reserves, rather than engaging in profligate loaning, leading to the hopes that these reserves were sufficient against the day that foreign banks severely restricted credit. (Cardenas, 2008) By September of 2008, this theory seemed to erode in the face of certain economic indicators. The Bovespa index, a market indicator similar to the Dow Jones industrial Average, lost half of its value from May to September of 2008. (Cardenas, 2008) 10% of that drop occurred in the second half of September. More strikingly, the value of Brazil’s currency, the Real, fell 32% against other world currencies. (Cardenas, 2008) These factors show that Brazil may still be prone to suffer in the economic crisis. Other analysts, such as John Williamson of the Peterson Institution of international Economics, have been less sanguine about the prospects of Brazil’s economy. Wiliamson stated: Moreover, the markets decided that while many of the emerging economies might no longer have any need for an inflow of loans, many (like Brazil) are still significant net debtors to the rest of the world and therefore still vulnerable to a sudden withdrawal of foreign credit. Compounding this is the fact that one may have a balanced overall position and still be vulnerable because debts are concentrated at short maturities. Hence one read, for example, of the Bovespa index falling by over 10 percent in a day (it has cumulatively halved in value since the peak in May). Likewise, the real has fallen by a cumulative 32 percent in the past month. The markets clearly do not believe that Brazil has been made invulnerable†¦ (Williamson, 2008) The world market contraction has had a significant effect on Brazil’s foreign trade. (Williamson, 2008) The export economy has relied upon raw materials for 50% of exports, and the prices of these materials have dropped dramatically in the face of world-wide declines in demand. (Williamson, 2008) The other half of Brazil’s exports, differentiated manufactured goods have also decreased in the face of reduced demand. Ironically, the weakness of the real against foreign currencies has softened the negative effect of these factors. (Williamson, 2008) The soft real will inspire increased purchase of manufactured goods from Brazil. This will soften, but not eliminate, the negative effects of low demand. The decrease in foreign capital that these commodity price decreases have reflected, will rapidly eat through Brazil’s trade surplus, and put strain on lending institutions in Brazil. (Williamson, 2008) The future of Brazil’s economy has been reported with varying degrees of optimism. The GDP of Brazil is projected to contract anywhere from 1. 5 to 20% in 2009 after growing 5% in 2008. (Williamson, 2008) An increase in the shift of agricultural exports to China has also contributed to the overall positive projections of the Brazilian economy. (Xinhua, 2009) The increase from March of 2008 (8. 5%) to March of 2009 (12. 5%) amounts of agricultural exports to China reflect this phenomenon. (Xinhua, 2009) The president of Brazil claims that the crisis has passed, and that Brazil has weathered the worst part of the economic crisis of 2008. (Xinhua, 2009) The longevity of the world-wide recession will determine if this is in fact a true prediction. (Xinhua, 2009) Brazil weathered the economic crisis of 2008 comparatively well, but suffered great financial repercussions late in the year. The economy seems to be in a stage of recovery, but its continued well being will rely on the recovery of other nations that control lending power and demand for Brazil’s exports. Work Cited Cardenas, M. (2008) â€Å"Global Financial Crisis: Is Brazil a Bystander? † Retrieved June 4th, 2009 from Brookings Institution website: http://www. brookings. edu/opinions/2008/1015_financial_crisis_cardenas. aspx Williamson, J. (2008) â€Å"The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Brazil† Retrieved June 4th, 2009 from Peterson Institution of international Economics website: http://www. iie. com/publications/papers/williamson1008. pdf Xinhua (2009) â€Å"Brazil’s agricultural exports to China up 52. 5 percent in March† Retrieved June 4th 2009 from China’s people’s Daily website: http://english. people. com. cn/90001/90778/90857/90861/6634356. html

Law Code of Hammurabi

Everything and everyone has a history. Things and materials do not just appear on this earth. They all have beginning. It’s very interesting to see where things got started. How we came to evolve to the way we are today. Everything is so interesting, but the thing that has caught my attention more is The Code of Hammurabi. According to Judith Levin, The Code of Hammurabi was discovered in the winter of 1902 and 1903 while digging up the site of ancient city of Susa, present day Iran. They found three large shiny pieces of shiny black stone that formed a monument almost seven and a half feet tall (13). The writing was in the script of cuneiform. In essence The Code of Hammurabi was the first set of laws ever established. It was an ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ kind of laws. You killed someone†¦someone will kill you. Hammurabi was king of Babylon about 4,000 years ago. Babylon was the land between the rivers, the rivers being Tigris and the Euphrates. He proclaimed that he was â€Å"Hammurabi, King of Justice. † That he protected the weak – poor people, widows, orphans- from the powerful (Levin). I chose to compare some of the law codes in Hammurabi’s Law Codes and some amendments from the United States Constitution. The Code of Hammurabi was believed to be written 1727 BCE (Constitutuion. org). The United States Constitution was ratified 1788. The Code of Hammurabi being one of the first written laws and regulations to the laws and regulations we live by today. I found interesting because knowing where we first started shows how much the human race has changed. When it comes to the characteristics the United States Constitution and Hammurabi’s Law Code have in common both, obviously, are sets of laws. This means that they both have decrees that must be followed. Also, the purpose of both of these laws is to protect and bring justice to the people to whom the rules shall apply. Some basic differences are the severity of rules and punishments. The Code of Hammurabi is kind of extreme. The Code of Hammurabi was a primitive and cruel justice system that relied on fear to keep the populace in line. Hammurabi claimed he was sent by a god to rule, so therefore, no one would question his authority. Religion alone was not enough to keep the people in line, so Hammurabi created a code of laws that would scare the people into obedience. Breaking the laws resulted in an inhumane or exaggerated punishment. Common human error was treated as a crime, and could have severe consequences. The people lived in constant fear of the law. The justice system claimed to have an â€Å"eye for an eye† mentality, but it often seemed that it was a life for an eye. Killing a man for committing robbery is extreme; he could just be picking a pocket, rather than robbing a bank. Cutting of an offender's hand was a common punishment for small crimes. If a son strikes his father, his hand shall be cut off. This is done regardless of the circumstances, considering the father could be beating the son. Amputating a hand often led to death, for there was no medicine to stop the bleeding. The court attempted to keep people from bearing false witness, by giving severe penalties. If a man cannot prove that the man he is accusing of murder is guilty, he shall be put to death. While this might deter citizens from making false accusations, it might cause an innocent man to be put to death because he could not find evidence. If someone were to bear false witness concerning grain or money, he shall put death. A little extreme, considering it could be concerning pocket change. Sentences like this would cause the people to be afraid to stand up for their rights in court. Severe penalties were often inflicted in cases of common human error. If a physician were to cause a man's death while operating, he would lose his hand. Physicians who try to do well are punished for making mistakes. Once they lose their hand, they cannot operate again. A bit harsh in my opinion. On the other hand, the United States Constitution isn’t as extreme. It’s not perfect, but nothing really. There is always going to be flaws. The United States Constitution covers all the almost all the laws as the code of Hammurabi, but not so extreme. With the Law of Hammurabi, only one person could decide the person’s fate. With the Constitution, we the people have the right to have someone defend us in court. We have the right to be tried by a grand jury versus the judge himself/herself. We have many more options to protect ourselves. We have rights that follow us all through the process. For example, once we get arrested we have our Miranda rights; we have a time limit as to how long they can keep us under custody. For example, once arrested, if we don’t see a judge with a certain amount of hours they have to let us go. With the code of Hammurabi, you stood trial. If one person and one person only believed you were guilty, then not even God would save you. If the judge couldn’t determine who was the guilty and who the innocent was, you had to do some extreme things that were totally uncalled for. For example, â€Å"if any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser (King). Something interesting about both of them is their regulations for people who tell lies against other people. Under Hammurabi’s rule if someone came forward to accuse someone else of a crime, they better have the means of evidence to back it up or there would be consequences. For example, if I came forward and accused Ben of stealing, if I can’t prove Ben was stealing then my punishment for lying would be the punishment Ben would have gotten if he really was stealing. Under the Code of Hammurabi this is getting my hand cute off (Legal History and Philosophy). So people were pretty spectical about coming forward and accusing people with crimes if they didn’t have rock hard evidence. Under the United States Constitution, there is a charge and penatly for lying or give the police unreliable information and it conflicts with an investigation. If it might give us a misdemeanor but nothing major like cutting off someone’s hand. Hammurabi’s Code was stricter and less tolerant. The United states Constitution is strict but it has its parameters. It doesn’t just go off on a killing spree for everyone crime in the book. The Code of Hammurabi, most of the consequences for the crimes is death. That’s kind of harsh. Everyone under Hammurabi’s reign became model citizens, expert liars, or were extinct with the rest of the population he was killing. People were afraid to do anything. He called himself the defender of middle class and the poor but in reality he didn’t protect them. He fined the rich because they had the money to pay, if they got caught up in a crime all they had to to do was pay. When the poor got involved with crimes they didn’t have money to pay up so they were punished with other means†¦like cutting of f a hand, being put to death, etc. It is good that someone did establish laws starting with â€Å"if. † Instead of having something is just illegal or â€Å"thou shall not†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The Hammurabi Code’s were actually set realistically. The punishments might have not been but they started off good. â€Å"If this crime is committed, then this is the punishment. They were realistic that even if they declared something illegal someone was still going to break the law. The United States Constitution, was built over many years and many people. They just didn’t write one thing down and leave it like that. They got accustomed to the changes of the world. Rules and regulations were later added to adjust to the ch anging world. In Conclusion, The Code of Hammurabi is what got the law started in a way. But the United States Constitution is how far along it was come. Everything needs a start. Hammurabi was the start†¦. things evolve and change with time. We all adapt.