Grave danger essays

Grave danger essays "The gravest danger facing America and the World today is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons." This line from Presidents Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address underlines what is in store for our nation. The risk to our country is increasing more and more due to the availability of cheap weapons and military technology. There are a couple of factors that contribute to the rise in our national security risk. The first and most obvious threat comes in the form of terrorism from armed minorities, for example militant Islamic groups. Defending a nation from terrorist attacks is tricky, because of the fluidity of the group. It's not like dealing with a country, these terrorists live within civilization that may not know of their existence. Another security risk are unstable regimes or aggressive states that are rising to power. These countries are potentially dangerous because of irrational rulers, or strong senses of nationalism. These nation states can hurt us in a couple of ways. One way, is by supporting terrorists and other militant groups with guns and money. Another way a country could be a danger to the US is through a cold war style face off Whatever the case, these problems won't go away and must be dealt with. Terrorism, by definition is "a form of political violence conducted by individuals, groups, or clandestine government agents that attempts to manipulate politics by attacking noncombatants and nonmilitary targets in order to create a climate of fear." (Rourke 597) Prior to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Americans thought terrorism was largely a problem for just the Middle East. A 1999 survey found that only twelve percent of Americans surveyed even mentioned terrorism. (Rourke 348) The train bombings in Madrid last month is a great example of how effective terrorism can be. The result of the bombing was the president losing an election that he had tied up before ...

Definitions and Glosses

Definitions and Glosses Definitions and Glosses Definitions and Glosses By Mark Nichol A definition is a phrase or sentence (or more) that explains the meaning of a term, and a gloss is a brief definition offered parenthetically after the term. This post includes examples of sentences in which definitions and glosses are erroneously presented. Discussion after each sentence explains the error, and a revision demonstrates the correct treatment. 1. The term uncertainty is defined as not knowing how or if potential events may manifest themselves in the context of achieving future objectives and business strategies. Enclose explicit definitions (those preceded by means, â€Å"is defined as,† and the like) in quotation marks to signal that the definition is the exact wording from another source: â€Å"The term uncertainty is defined as ‘not knowing how or if potential events may manifest themselves in the context of achieving future objectives and business strategies.’† 2. The organization defines â€Å"relevant information† as information that facilitates informed decision-making. This sentence is constructed differently from the previous example, but the rule is the same: â€Å"The organization defines ‘relevant information’ as ‘information that facilitates informed decision-making.’† (In this case, because the term consists of more than one word, it is enclosed in quotation marks as well, rather than italicized.) However, if a definition follows is or another form of â€Å"to be,† do not set it off in quotation marks: â€Å"Relevant information is information that facilitates informed decision-making.† Note, too, that in this sentence, â€Å"relevant information† is treated as the thing itself, not the term for the thing, so the phrase is not set off with quotation marks. However, in some sentence constructions, the word or phrase may be emphasized because it is a reference to the term itself, and not the concept, while the definition is not treated as a quotation; see, for example, â€Å"‘Relevant information’ refers to information that facilitates informed decision-making.† 3. Administrative adjudication is one of several methods the agency may use to enforce compliance with federal consumer financial laws; it refers to the process by which an administrative agency engages in an adversarial proceeding with a supervised party. â€Å"Administrative adjudication† is referred to here as a concept, but â€Å"it refers to† implies that the reference is to the phrase for the concept, like relevant information in the parenthetical example in the discussion above. (Also, compare â€Å"A pencil is a writing instrument† and â€Å"Pencil denotes a writing instrument.†) It is equivalent to the concept, not the term for it, so the phrase preceding the definition must be revised to reflect this: â€Å"Administrative adjudication is one of several methods the agency may use to enforce compliance with federal consumer financial laws; the term refers to the process by which an administrative agency engages in an adversarial proceeding with a supervised party.† 4. The Gospel of Matthew, the only one of the four canonical gospels to mention the Wise Men, or Magi, makes no mention of the number who came to worship the baby Jesus. Here, two designations for the same thing, the group of men said to have visited Jesus shortly after his birth, are described, but it makes no sense to first provide the more transparent of the two terms, followed by the more esoteric one. The designation that is more well known should be offered as a subsequent gloss, or brief definition, of the more obscure term: â€Å"The Gospel of Matthew, the only one of the four canonical gospels to mention the Magi, or Wise Men, makes no mention of the number who came to worship the baby Jesus.† 5. Alice in Wonderland syndrome, or micropsia, is a neurological disease that affects the visual cortex and makes you see things much, much smaller than they really are. Again, why include a more technical term in addition to a vernacular alternative unless it is introduced first, followed by the more familiar or accessible name as a gloss? Revise as shown here: â€Å"Micropsia, or Alice in Wonderland syndrome, is a neurological disease that affects the visual cortex and makes you see things much, much smaller than they really are.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Common Mistakes category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†When to Form a Plural with an ApostropheCaptain vs. Master