Beautiful Mind Essay

Based on what I have watched from the movie of â€Å"A Beautiful Mind†, which is a biography based on the true life story of a math prodigy, John Forbes Nash Jr., is an incomparable math genius student from Princeton University who definitely amazed the minds of people he meets. For me, he is an extraordinary person having a broad and an odd imagination as well. Unfortunately, he suffers from a mental illness called schizophrenia which he doesn’t even know himself. His friends find him weird or likely a nerd, but still they try to make friends with him. Nash tried to communicate and interact with them but in the end, it’s like there’s something that bothers him, some kind of paranoia that leads him to stay away and find himself alone and unconsciously creating things that aren’t really there (hallucination) and believing things that aren’t really true (delusion). Like for example, an imaginary friend which is known to be Charles (his room mat e) and Charles’ niece. It’s odd but I strongly believe that all the things kept from his subconscious mind releases through Charles and other delusions his mind creates. I believe more than anything else, this movie focuses on perceptions of life. Perception of what is reality and what is imaginary, not only his perception but also people’s perception of him, and of the situation. Yet he was a brilliant man, although at times to people he seemed a bit unorthodox he was eventually accepted. Ironically enough I believe that it was his problems of not liking people, but wanting to be accepted and acknowledge that aided his mental state, however by the time he had become accepted his imaginary world was out of control. As years passes without knowing that he has such mental illness, Nash have invented some kind of Mathematical formula (equilibrium) which become popular and it startled me. He graduated and become a professor in Mathematics and romantically involved with his hard working student named Alicia and they even got married. But his illness turned out to be worse than I thought; his delusions become rigorous and more uncontrollable by his mind. He even believed that he’s been hired to work to the government to break codes. His other delusional product named Parcher, keeps on haunting him to work and to work which have caused him so much stress that made the symptoms worse. He keeps on believing that there’s a conspiracy, a mission by the government that will lead him to honor, but all of these are only in his mind. Nash continued his medication and deal with his delusional state. And it made me wonder, because according to my belief, â€Å"real mentally abnormal person doesn’t even know that he/she is not normal†. But in Nash’s case, how come he realized that he’s suffering from this illness and he can even stay away from his delusions? I don’t know but all I know are risks that may happen if you pay no attention to this illness. Without medication and therapy, they are unable to function in the real world. If they fall victim to severe hallucinations and delusions, they can be a danger to themselves and those around them. Schizophrenia usually develops gradually, although onset can be sudden. These were the symptoms that Nash have: Confusion, Inability to make decisions, Hallucinations, doesn’t eat regularly and lack of sleep, Delusions, Nervousness, Indifference to the opinions of others, A tendency to argue A conviction that he is better than others, or that people are out to get him. Fortunately, he was able to cop with his Paranoia and lived a simple life, he even got the Nobel Prize he ever wanted because of his genuine mind.

Kfc Strategy in China Essay

KFC: continue to increase localization, pushing spicy Sichuan chicken Various cities in China Kendejichuan spicy chicken on television ads starting from October 27 .10 scale appears, the product was launched. At the same time to market a product in China have another breakfast food, wolfberry Pumpkin porridge. The introduction of spicy Sichuan chicken only in the McDonald’s â€Å"face† strategy of one month, and advertising intensity is very high, so we can respond to competition as this is a response to KFC. KFC continues the current strategy is clearly its long-standing localization strategy. Let us look back to his food with Chinese characteristics. Since 2000, KFC tastes have continued to try to figure out people, the introduction of a typical Chinese products, such as a half fried wings, mustard pork soup, cold Daoxiang mushroom rice, chicken roll of old Beijing, Guangdong, cushions chatter meat flavor. Average Each month, KFC will launch the long-term or short-ter m localized products. KFC The â€Å"Sichuan Spicy chicken† learn the essence of Sichuan, the choice of the side ribs and chicken wings, chicken processing into small pieces of bone, and then use a special â€Å"hot pepper powder, chicken marinade,† preserved, upon frying , spicy and delicious, with rich flavors of Sichuan. KFC seems to have been determined to make China’s eight major cuisines are the reorganization. In other aspects, the pace of the same compact localization Kentucky. 1, KFC in China, the proportion of local procurement of raw materials reached 95%, of which bread, chicken and vegetables all come from China itself. 2, 2003 Chinese New Year, from early January to February 9, white beard, â€Å"Kentucky grandfather† changed the usual â€Å"suit,† the classic image of more than 170 cities in China, 800 restaurants, also put on the traditional Chinese holiday costumes. 3, the layout of KFC’s stores have begun to melt a lot of elements such as China. Of course, more Chinese people speaking, turns KFC has introduced a typical Chinese name and Chinese food is more characteristic of the food of concern. Localization of the product and did not weaken the image of foreign brands KFC. Some experts pointed out that â€Å"tends to localization† refers to the multinational corporations in maintaining the â€Å"classic† status of the product or service main premise, the country’s situation with due regard to create a local natural and cultural environment similar to the business environment to attract more local consumers. both globalization and localization, the localization of the pace of building a compact KFC brand in China is becoming a core strategy of this company one.

Rhetorical Analysis of a Modest Proposal Essay

Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal† written in 1729 was his proposal â€Å"for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to he publick† (Swift, Title). This proposal included the selling, skinning and buying of babies at the age of one. This proposal that he has come up with is a very inhuman and controversial one when it comes to being socially acceptable. Swift begins his essay by describing walking down a street in Ireland. He describes how you would see, â€Å"beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms† (Swift, Para. 1). This gives the reader a mental picture of how bad things are for the women he is trying to help. Swift then talks about how there are very many of these poor people in Ireland and how they are not able to be part of the middle or working class. Look more:  how to write satire essay He then proposes his idea that the children could, â€Å"contribute to the feeding, and partly to the cloathing of many thousands† (Swift, Para. 4). In no way, shape, or form is the eating of or the using of children in this manner acceptable. No society would ever find it suitable to eat or make babies into clothes. Dr. Swift has made a proposal that he should know would not work because of the inhumanity that it is asking people in which to participate. Jonathan Swift later tells the reader of how he has, â€Å"computed the charge of nursing a beggar’s child (in which list I reckon all cottagers, labourers, and four-fifths of the farmers) to be about two shillings per annum, rags included; and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child,† (Swift, Para. 14). This is a good thing that Swift does telling how the mother would stand to make money on selling her child to a man for dinner. Except, I do not believe you couldn’t find a willing mother to sell her child knowing that it would be eaten by a human for a meal. Dr. Swift has made a plan for people with no remorse or thought of their children. The only place this plan could be carried out and continue working is a place with robots that have no feeling or conscious. Swift then makes the statement, â€Å"Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flea the carcass; the skin of which, artificially dressed, will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen,† (Swift, Para. 15). He thinks that someone would be able to treat a baby’s skin as an animal’s and make it into a glove or boot without objection to what it is. This is another flaw in his plan. There are people who are against making animals into clothing. Therefore, I am sure that there would be people against the making of clothes from baby. Next, Dr. Swift gives 6 reasons of why he thinks the plan is a good one. His second reason states, â€Å"Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to a distress, and help to pay their landlord’s rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown,† (Swift, Para. 22). He thinks that poor tenants with children will be able to give their landlords something valuable by giving them their child. No landlord would take a child as a means of money because it just costs more money to them to have the child then without it. In his fourth reason Swift says, â€Å"Fourthly, The constant breeders, besides the gain of eight shillings sterling per annum by the sale of their children, will be rid of the charge of maintaining them after the first year,† (Swift, Para. 24) If the people who like to â€Å"breed† hear of this then they will just think that they will be able to keep having children and selling them instead of having a job. This would cause more jobless people and after so long the supply of the babies would surpass the demand. There then would be poor children hanging on their mothers again in the street defeating the purpose of the plan in the beginning. Fifthly Dr. Swift says, â€Å"This food would likewise bring great custom to taverns, where the vintners will certainly be so prudent as to procure the best receipts for dressing it to perfection; and consequently have their houses frequented by all the fine gentlemen, who justly value themselves upon their knowledge in good eating; and a skilful cook, who understands how to oblige his guests, will contrive to make it as expensive as they please,† (Swift, Para. 5). Again, I refer back to how people would not be able to eat the carcass of an one year old child, but also I think that if you were to find a cook to make this and a person to eat it that it would be at such an outrageous price that the people could not afford to try the meal of the baby. Finally, the last reason I do not think that this plan would work is what is in the final paragraph of the essay-â€Å"I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the publick good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich. † (Swift, Para. 33). If the person that is proposing the idea at the end of the idea tells you that he has no interest in promoting his own proposal, I believe that it means he thinks that it also will not work and could not be enacted on a society. I am not the only one that is outraged or appalled with the works of Dr. Swift. Patrick Delany also states â€Å"As I have marked the passages that seemed to me most faulty, and gave me most offence, I beg leave to point them out, as they come in my way: without any further preface, or apology. The picture he draws of the Yahoos, is too offensive to be copied, even in the slightest sketch. † (Kathleen, Pg. 132). Delany and I are both offended and disagree with Swift’s works, but as a satire writer this just shows how effective his writing is on his audience. He tries to use outrageous and controversial subjects in order to grab the attention of his readers and keep them reading his papers. This style works very well and is a great way to get your point across. This style has grabbed the attention of all the readers and will continue to grab the attention of all the future readers of his essay.

Vancouver Second Narrows Bridge Collapse Assignment

Vancouver Second Narrows Bridge Collapse - Assignment Example Several parties, both individuals and the government were impacted due to the occurrence of the collapse. The disaster cost the Canadian government a total of $16 million. The collapsed occurred at the time when construction work was in progress; as a result, 19 lives were lost including a diver who volunteered to retrieve bodies from the water. In 1958 at around 3:40 p.m. a loud sound reverberated across Vancouver and brought tragedy and non-forgettable memories that still haunt the thoughts of those that witnessed the incident. The massive bridge in Second Narrows in the Burrard Inlet which was under construction for two years, unexpectedly collapsed and tons of debris fell into the waterway. Dozens of laborers way swept away resulting in the tragic death of iron workers, painters, an operating engineer, two engineers and a driver who had embarked on a rescue operation. The bridge was constructed by the Dominion Bridge firm on the Burrad inlet. Its highest point was one seventy five feet above the water. It was later revealed that one of the steel plans in the structures had bucked making the whole structure to collapse. The workers were earning an average of $3.85 an hour equivalent to $25 in today’s currency. The six lane girder truss bridge was to link North Vancouver and the city of Vancouver. The key cantileve r structure about 620 meters long had a 335m cantilever span and two 467 feet anchor spans (Eric, 2011). The bridge also had four steel trusses measuring 285 feet and nine concrete made spans. The construction of the bridge had started in 1956 and was expected to be complete by1958 at a budgeted fee of about $16 million. The parts that fell were the newly built northern anchor spans and a truss span directly adjacent to it. The collapse occurred when the workers were just moving more steel to the pendent end. The bent that was

The Increasing Cost of Health Care as New Technologies are Introduced Research Paper

The Increasing Cost of Health Care as New Technologies are Introduced - Research Paper Example Moreover, implementing new medical technologies in any hospital or clinic is not an inexpensive procedure. This is because medical innovations in the medical sector are taking place at a time when the healthcare sector is also suffering from the scarcity of resources. This has resulted in a need for more rationing of resources, priority setting, and technology management elements. The economic assessment of medical technological innovations is important because it will likely expose the costs as well as consequences of using these innovations in a practical medical setting. Even though individual new medical technological innovations can, by themselves, decrease or increase spending and health care, it has been established that when combined together, they have caused the rise of healthcare costs. Technological innovations in the past decade have resulted in the use of new treatments for formerly incurable conditions such as A.I.D.S. and diabetes, while also effecting the use of new medical procedures for tackling secondary diseases as is the case with dialysis patients (Miller & Sim, 2004). Technological advancements have also resulted in the discovery of better quality methods of treating long-term medical conditions. Whether a newly discovered medical treatment will hike healthcare costs or decrease them is something that is dependent on factors such as its effect on the expanse incurred in taking care of an individual patient. The cost per patient also includes the reality of whether the patient will be hospitalized during the duration of the treat ment or not. The increase or decrease of healthcare costs when medical technologies are used is also dependent on how often the new technology will be used. For instance, new medical technologies created to cure untreatable diseases or survey the population for certain symptoms will mean that the technology will be used

UK Tax System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

UK Tax System - Assignment Example Profit margins are small: Higher expenditure and lower selling prices will lead to a lesser bottom-line and so lower dividend payments. This problem can be overcome by working efficiently and effectively to generate high sales and stand up competitively by not lowering the prices of goods. Late payments from customers will seriously influence the cash flow: In this case, credit terms should be discussed beforehand with customers and be kept strict so as to make inflows earliest. Key supplier (s) will gradually be dissatisfied: If payment problems to suppliers arise due to the expansion or new orders being taken, suppliers will be alarmed and dissatisfied with the company. To cure this problem, the company should beforehand discuss the situation with the suppliers and the credit terms should be precisely conveyed so as to prevent future problems. (b) There are a number of short-term finances available to the company to finance its proposed expansion; two of them are discussed as follo ws: Bank Loan, and Bank Overdraft Bank Loan: In the case of this company, bank loan pertains to the short-term period usually equal to or less than a year. The bank according to the credit rating lends the company a certain amount of loan needed and on an interest rate negotiated. Strengths: Amount will be received on one-time basis and the payment will be done in monthly, quarterly or semi annually installments Cost of borrowing is lower than other means such as Bank Overdraft Interest rates are low Reliability and security is always there in terms of getting the money from the bank on time and for a certain period of time contracted upon with the bank Weaknesses: The loan will be secured against the company’s assets The riskier the business is, the higher the interest rate the bank will charge to cover up its risk Arrangement fees, as well as repayment fees, will have to be paid In case of early repayment of loan, an extra charge will have to be paid Bank Overdraft: It is a kind of loan arrangement under which a bank extends credit allotted to a company up to a maximum amount called the overdraft limit against which a customer or company who has current or checking account with the bank can write checks or make withdrawals (Business Dictionary 2011). Strengths: Appropriate for short-term financing Not secured against any asset of the company so the process of obtaining the loan Is expedited Only charged for the amount overdrawn from the bank account and also pertaining only to the period of time the overdraft facility had been used by the company Weaknesses: The bank overdraft amount has to be paid on demand of the bank. This puts the company at a great risk in the case when the bank decides to request the money back at an inconvenient time for the business High-interest rate is charged (c) Capital Gearing Ratio This ratio tells us that how much risk the company is in terms of financial risk and it is used by companies as well as its shareholders to a nalyze the company’s capital structure and leverage (Accounting for Management 2011).

How does the identity of consultants impact their work Essay

How does the identity of consultants impact their work - Essay Example This paper explores identity formation in multiple fields of consultancy work to determine how identity impedes job role or whether elements of identity have the potential to enhance relationships internally or with external clients. The nature of consultancy According to Alvesson & Robertson (2006, p.220), consultancy firms â€Å"are highly people dependent and rely heavily upon safe-guarding loyalty through identification†. The consultancy industry relies on organisational culture and structure that facilitates allegiance and dependability through various social systems that guide control behaviour through management and demand reliability in all aspects of client relationships. In psychological theory, the nature of organisational culture or group membership defines team-based hierarchies as being highly contributory to self-esteem development and the sustainment of affiliation needs in order to achieve the pinnacle of total self-development and productivity (Chow, 2009; Ga mbrel & Cianci, 2003). Affiliation needs are necessary in group-based environments that are people dependent in order to sustain higher self-esteem development and be able to link identity with organisational culture. A study utilizing a sample of 79 representatives from four distinctly different consulting firms identified that the role of consultant requires four key dimensions. These include knowledge work, management and membership, personal orientation and external interface (Alvesson & Empson, 2008). Knowledge work is the active sharing of data between key members of the organisation and promoting knowledge as a regular business practice. Membership ties closely with the psychological principles previously identified as they are related to finding a sense of identity in terms of the organisation and its mission or structure, as well as related to personal orientation, in support of the literature provided by Chow (2009) and Gambrel & Cianci (2003). For the sake of this analysi s, the spotlight will be on external interface which deals with how the organisation or the individual is seen by others in the external environment. Kipping & Armbruster (2002) recognise that consultants have a difficult time legitimizing their profession to the outside world and clients. There is a general misconception about consultancy work that exists in the external community and external marketplace that is build on scepticism of its validity with perceptions that the field is borne less of expertise and knowledge, but more as â€Å"masters of persuasion† (Kitay & Wright, 2007, p.1619). This pervading professional and social attitude regarding consultancy work maintains the potential to have negative impact on the self-confidence development of consultant workers that could have ramifications for their practice activities and general attitude. â€Å"A deficient sense of the self has a profound impact on psychological functioning as well as interpersonal behaviour† (Reasoner, 2009, p.2). Much to the disadvantage of the consultant, the majority of their dealings are with the external environment in the form of client relationships. When consultants are put into the position of having to continuously

Write a case study about Cadbury company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Write a case study about Cadbury company - Essay Example This very high share of the market reinforces why Cadbury company continues to focus heavily on developing new marketing strategies in order to make their chocolate products stand out from competition. In the late 1990s, Cadbury developed an internal mechanism deemed the formal suggestion programme which was designed to receive various stakeholder feedback regarding the viability of Cadbury products and the company’s marketing efforts as a means to improve the Cadbury image (Myers, 1999). This tends to reinforce that the company remains strongly focused on marketing and branding strategies in order to differentiate Cadbury products from other competition. Currently, in terms of marketing strategy, Cadbury appears to be focused on differentiating its chocolate products from those of competitors by focusing on both quality and by utilising humour in its contemporary marketing approaches. One of the company’s most notable brands, Cadbury Dairy Milk, has utilised television promotion which utilised a drum-banging gorilla in order to link the Cadbury brand with a more flexible, humorous and modern organisation. This ad appears to have achieved significant sales successes for the Dairy Milk brand, prompting the company to allocate a significant cash budget to produce a sequel to this humorous promotion (Dutta, 2008). Says Phil Rumbol, the marketing director of Cadbury, â€Å"We recognised that gorilla had an enigmatic, almost random element to it that audiences had responded to, and had generated masses of debate online† (Dutta, 2008, p.2). This represents a significant change from previous marketing efforts at the company, which attempted to place the company, in the minds of the consumer audience, as an organisation which is committed to tradition and confectionary excellence as part of a more upscale marketing focus. It seems that today, in order to make the company more appealing to mass markets and modern audiences, some of

Finance Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Finance Project - Essay Example Stock options encourage managers to maximize shareholder value. Although stock options were once reserved for upper management, there has been a trend to include more employees. Generally, the future purchase price, or strike price, is equal to the market price of the stock at the time of grant. When an employee exercises options, he or she pays the firm the strike price for the shares, regardless of the then- current market price. Employees usually remain with the firm for a specified period before options vest. Upon vesting, the employees may exercise their options. If an employee leaves the firm, outstanding vested and unvested options are forfeited or cancelled. Options not exercised by a date specified in the option contract will expire. When an employee decides to exercise their stock options, they may either purchase the underlying stock at a discounted price or receive an equivalent cash premium. This transfer from the firm to the employee becomes part of the employee's taxable income for the year. Firms now grant stock options to a much broader range of employees for many reasons. A firm's motivation in implementing a stock option plan includes increased employee productivity, the attraction and retention of valuable human capital, reduction of short-run compensation costs, increased cash flows, and higher levels of book income. Individuals, employers,... Stock options' ultimate value to the employee depends on the future stock performance. Consequently, the stock option value is uncertain at the time of grant. Literature Review Arbitrage pricing arguments can be extended to allow for diversifiable risks. In equilibrium, these risks will be fully diversifiable and have zero prices. Thus every asset can be priced exactly (or approximately) as a linear combination of a relatively small number of common factors. Although this is instructive for introducing basic ideas of arbitrage, aggregation, and diversification, we require a multiperiod framework to capture a range of intertemporal problems. For example, we would like to investigate the term structure of interest rates, complicated multiperiod derivative securities, the dynamics of stock prices, and dynamic hedging strategies. It will turn out that our two-period analysis has laid an important foundation for this analysis. By choosing an appropriate dynamic framework, we can generalize our two-date results, and obtain obvious sophisticated reinterpretations of familiar results. Pastor and Stambaugh (2000) provide further details through an investigation of the portfolio choices of an investor seeking a mean-variance efficient portfolio by comparing the risk based model of Fama, and French (1993) and the characteristic based model of Daniel, K. & Titman, (1-33). They report that there is virtually no difference between the risk- and characteristic-based models, as both lead to similar portfolio choices within the investment universe. (Michael, et.al. 119) While debate continues over explanatory basis of the various multifactor models, the essence of the argument remains the

12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose Essay Example for Free

12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose Essay When reading the play 12 angry men, is it hard to ignore the prominent character- the 8th Juror. As the plot unfolds, the reader notices that Juror #8 is the only one among the 12 who really understands the seriousness of the situation at their hands. At the very beginning of the play, you can see that there is no sympathy towards the boy accused of murder. And why should it be? All the evidence that was brought up in the court room has crushed the defense and the boys chances on the trial. The prosecution made it clear that the boy is guilty. In fact, too clear- The defense was helpless and left many holes in their case. Thats why in the initial vote done by the jurors, everybody votes guilty (against the boy) except for #8. And here we see the first importance of #8: because of his reasonable doubt the jury hadnt found the boy guilty at the first 10 minutes of their debating, which would have ended the trial. #8 did not necessarily believe the boy was innocent, but he understood that if he raised his hand at that vote- it would all end. They will not have a chance to discuss the case, and it will, in his eyes, belittle the value of human life. Furthermore, we can see that #8 is a key character in many other parts of the play. After starting to talk about the case, some of the other jurors got mad and tried to convince #8 to vote guilty and end the discussion. Yet, he stayed calm and tried to continue debating in spite of their efforts to convert him. After realizing that he is standing alone against them, he called for another vote, in which he will not participate (a rather questionable action, considering he had not yet spoke out the contradictions that he had found in the prosecutions case). This was a rather bold step, but it paid out because of #9, who changed his vote to not guilty because of his respect towards #8 and #8s courage. We see that despite the efforts the 11 jurors made, #8 stuck to his position and allowed the continuation of the play. At page 26 we see another contribution to the unfolding of the case- Juror #8Â  brings up the question whether the old man (who had testified about hearing the accused boy shouting Im going to kill you) could really hear what he had clamed he heard. #8 makes the brilliant connection between two pieces of separate testimonies and proves (as much as it can be proved) that it was not possible for the old man to hear that. One by one he shattered the so-called facts, as he proved that Sometimes the facts that are staring you in the face are wrong. He develops the issue with the 15-seconds walk the old man apparently took, the eyeglasses marks next to the testifying womans eyes and many more. You can say that juror #8 has an additional importance to the play, in the terms of his character and personality. He shows a side that the jurors could not see- he tried to put himself in the boys shoes and see the case from a different perspective. By doing that, he showed the other jurors how prejudice can prevent people from seeing the truth (or in their case- judge in a fare manner). You can honestly say that if it were not for him, the boy would have been put to death for sure. He may only be an architect, but he presented his arguments like a lawyer and proved his theories throughout the play. He avoided being personally involved and let his sharp and lucid mind lead him and the rest of the jury on their way to solve the case.

Continental Cablevision Inc Expansion

Continental Cablevision Inc Expansion Executive Summary The Joint-Venture agreement: On February 1994, Continental Cablevision Inc., the third largest U.S. cable TV Company and Fintelco, Argentinas leading television-cable operator had drafted a joint venture structure after several meetings and negotiations. The joint-venture structure took six months to develop. Continental Cablevision: Two Harvard graduates founded Continental in 1963, and the success of the company based on growth strategy i.e. ‘cluster cable system, and as on Dec 1993, the company serves has 3 million subscribers in 19 states of U.S. The company starts exploring international market because of saturation of US cable market and Governments deregulation of cable industry. In 1993, company started explores joint venture in Singapore and Australia. In the meantime, Robert Stengel received a call from Jack Crosby, associate of Texas businessman showed concerns investment opportunity with Fintelco. Fintelco: Samuel Liberman, an Argentine entrepreneur founded Fintelco in 1980. The growth strategy was also same as Continental. The company was Argentines largest cable operating service provider and around 390,000 cable subscribers by 1990 in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Rosario and other Argentine cities. The company also bought Video Vision in 1993, the largest cable-television-system operator in Cordoba. As the cable market was optimistic, Liberman wants to expansion of the company but due to lack of well-developed local capital market as well as the Argentinas capital market did understand cable market, and it is new for the Argentines bank to do investment in media sector. Factors enhanced the joint venture: Exhibits 10 shows that Argentinas cable market had become most developed in Latin America, by 1994 approx 4 million subscribers and the growth rate of 50% while U.S. cable market towards maturation phase. Argentinas cable industry deregulated by the Government, which created competitive and strong cable market in Argentina. Under the deregulation plan, U.S. investors can invest 100% in cable systems and 25% of broadcast- television station in Argentina. Conclusion: The joint venture of Continental and Fintelco and 50-50 deal was as a win-win for both partners as commended by Sachs even though there are few pit holes. Fintelco needs investment to expand the services in Argentina where Continental exploring foreign investment for expanding business outside U.S. In this deal, Continental gets a local partner so that the investment risk reduces where as Fintelco not only get financial investment also gets technological assistance, experienced management team, which helps Fintelco aggressive entry in Argentinas cable market with new strategy. Continental Cablevision, Inc. is a leading provider of broadband communications services. As of December 31, 1996, the Companys cable television systems and those of its U.S. affiliates passed approximately 7.4 million homes and provided service to approximately 4.4 million basic cable subscribers, making the Company the third-largest cable television system operator in the United States. In addition, Continental has pursued investments in sectors that are complementary to its core business, including interests in International broadband communications Telecommunications and technology, including competitive-access telephony and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service and Programming services. On November 15, 1996, Continental merged with and into Continental Merger Corporation; a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. WEST, Inc. Continental Merger Corporation changed its name to Continental Cablevision, Inc. on the Merger Date. The Company or Continental refers to both the Successor Corporation and the Predecessor Corporation. Continental is one of the multimedia businesses of U.S. WEST and is a member of the U.S. West Media Group (the Media Group). The Media Group is comprised of: cable and telecommunications network businesses outside of the Communications Group fourteen state region, domestic and international wireless communications network businesses and domestic and international directory and information services businesses. Media Group is one of two major groups that make up U S WEST. The other major group, the Communications Group, provides telecommunications services in fourteen western and midwestern states. See the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to the Merger. U.S. Cable Television Business Cable television is a service that delivers a wide variety of channels of television programming, consisting primarily of video entertainment, sports and news, as well as informational services, locally originated programming and digital audio programming, to the homes of subscribers who pay a monthly fee for the service. Television and radio signals are received by off-air antennas, microwave relay systems, satellite earth stations and fiber-optic cables and then distributed to subscribers homes over networks of coaxial and fiber-optic cables. The joint venture of Continental and Fintelco was a long-term strategic move in the history of cable service provider. Entry of continental in to the Argentine market was a good strategic move for the company. Continental exploring the international market hence, the U.S. cable market reaches stage of saturation and the deregulation of cable industry by U.S. government make the cable market is more competitive in U.S. so joint venture of Continental and Fintelco is a good strategic move because it will reduce the market entry risk in foreign market using local partner in joint venture For Continental six months will be not enough to study a foreign market and invest so getting a local partner who is premier service provider will help to run the business in profit in very short time. The foreign investor no need license to provide the cable service otherwise it will delay the process in this Continental will save the time and they can use best the local resources. Fintelco is Argentines largest cable operating service provider and they have a better understand of the cable market than a foreign investors and it will be difficult to fight head to head for a foreign investor against a local company so for Continental a good move to choose Fintelco a venture partner. Amos and Samuel both are self-made man and they have similarities of personality and they are quite comfortable each other not just at business level they are personally comfortably each other. This means they trust each other and have respect for each other so in this situation doing business will be easier for long-term partnership. Continentals success of the company based on growth strategy i.e. ‘cluster cable system, which is same strategy of Fintelco so it is easier to executive and understand the management of the company together as well if they have common strategies it will be easier to make future marketing strategies of the company. Argentinas government deregulation plan helps Continental to move strategically to invest in Argentinas cable company Fintelco. Even though if Fintelco will discontinue with Continental in this scenario the Continental does not need to find venture partner urgently because Continentals investment in Fintelco is subject to regulatory approval by Federal authorities working in Argentina. The recent approval of a bi-lateral investment and trade agreement between Argentina and the U.S. make it possible for the first time for U.S. companies to own cable systems in Argentina. Therefore, it allows U.S. investors to invest 100% in cable industry. So there is possibilities for Continental to buy the 50% share from Fintelco. When Argentina entered the decade of the 1990s, the economic performance was dull it over a prolonged period of time. From the period of 1975 through 1990, the country was plagued by high inflation and general economic stagnation. Inflation seldom fell below 100 percent; there were bouts of hyperinflation, notably in 1985 and 1989-90. In the year 1990, real GDP stood 6 percent below the level in 1974. Over this period of time, the general stance of economic policy was inward-looking and interventionist, although there were occasional attempts to adopt more market oriented policies. All-out crises erupted twice during the 1980s. But with the help of joint venture of Continental and Fintelco, these companies were able to cope up with the Inflation. All the above factors indicate that the Continentals move to entry into Argentines market was a good strategic move, and Fintelco was an appropriate venture partner. In Businesses joint ventures or partnership is very important to strong the relation for long-term commitment or collaboration to start or continue short-term project. The opportunities and risk of Continental and Fintelco joint venture are as follows: Opportunities: Local market knowledge This venture has an advantage of a local partner, knowledge of the local market is extremely important for a company to do business in other country. It is more important for an entertainment industry to know about their customs, culture, political scenario and regulatory laws. In this venture, Fintelco is a local leading cable provider so it is easier for the company to customize the programme and marketing accordingly. Sharing of resources Fintelco is a local company so there are many data available with the company, which can be used for marketing and customizing progemme otherwise for Continental it will take time to conduct surveys, gathering data and analysis it consume lot of money as well as time. So with this venture there are lots of opportunity to save time and money which is so important for a company so that they can use the money for strategic investment. Continentals technical assistance offering will help the venture to upgrade the technology in Argentinas cable market without any cost paying. Advance technology edge will give business advantage as well as lost operating cost. Later, the venture can sell their technology skills to small cable operator so they can extend their services. Argentinas cable market In Latin America, Argentinas television and cable markets it has the largest number of television receivers (8,000/thousand population) in the region affter Brazil and Mexico by 1994. And its cable penetration was 50% (case studys exhibits 10). It is good opportunity for the venture to make strategy to capture market share as much as possible while acquiring small cable service provider or extending the services in new regions. Flexible venture One important aspect of the venture is the venture is flexible and partner of Fintelco is Continental, which based in U.S. The recent approval of a bi-lateral investment and trade agreement between Argentina and the U.S. make it possible for the first time for U.S. companies to own cable systems in Argentina and invest up to 100%. Therefore, it allows Continental to invest as much as possible to expand the market. Fintelco get regular investment from the venture partner and on other side Continental able to expand the business international market without and legal barrier for investment. The flexible venture also be a risk that both partner might be internally try to increase the percentage of share holding of the camapany. Telephone and Satellite markets Argentinas tele-communications and wireless cable is underdeveloped so there are opportunities for the venture to investment in this sector as well as extend their business to reduce the risk doing one business. Risk: Different cultures and management styles Both companies culture and management style is different which may be result in poor integration and co-operation among the staff. Continental not just limited to investment they will share the management committee. Objective of the venture The objectives of the venture were not very clear and communicated to everyone involved. This venture is most like to their personal preference and level of comfortable and mutual trust. But in future absence of their may create confusion and may the venture get trouble, Leadership If the management committee will share by venture partner then it will be difficult for both leader to be present at all meeting to guide and mentor the newly formed managerial committee that may be difficult to follow the value of the company. Success of the joint venture was dependent on clear aims and objectives, mutual trust and open discussion among partners. The business plan should be communicated effectively and clearly at all levels of staff and involvement of majority of employees. In 1994, the senior management of Continental Cablevision contemplated acquiring a 50 % interest in the largest Argentine television cable company, Fintelco, for $80 million up front, and an additional $70 million over the next few years, Continental is facing a maturing market in the U.S., and sought new avenues of growth and outlets for its strong positive cash flow. Meanwhile, Fintelco needed cash for the aggressive build-out of its cable system. Strategically and organizationally, the investment seemed to make sense. The forecasted cash flows in Argentine pesos. As a matter of government policy, the peso was pegged to the dollar at 1:1 exchange rate. But whether this was sustainable, the Economist Intelligence Unit projected inflation in the dollar at 2.5 % for the next 5 years and inflation in the peso at 6 to 12 % over the same period. There were no firms comparable to Fintelco listed for trading on the Argentine equity market. Continentals analyst took a sample of betas for cable firms in the U.S,, unlevered and averaged them, and then relieved the average to drive a firm beta for Fintelco. The country beta for Argentina currently was 1.96. The countrys risk yield premium was 350 basis points over U.S. treasuries at the time. Continental was uncertain about the governments commitment to maintaining a 1:1 convertibility between the Argentine peso and the U.S dollar, so the analysts modeled the cost of capital estimate under both scenarios. Under the 1:1 convertibility and devaluation scenarios, the resulting estimates of cost of capital were 20.75 and weighted cost of capital (WACC) 19.21% respectively. Exhibits 1 2 give the calculations of the WACC and NPV for the investment. The result presents two exchange rate scenarios: 1:1 and depreciating peso. Under the stable scenario, the NPV would be $96.2 million and under the depreciating peso scenario, the NPV would be -$15 million. At that point in time analysts should not be biased with the new venture and valuate the price of the deal again, specifically with the depreciating peso scenario. Both the companies were offering different kinds of deals. One was offering 75% while the second was offering 25% but finally they came to 50-50 partnership deal. Apart from few pit holes, this deal was a fair deal for both the companies. Continental wanted to enter into the Argentine market and Fintelco needed capital at that time. So, overall, the deal worked well and both companies were in win win position. In an international joint venture, generally, small enterprises suffer two basic disadvantages that large enterprises by definition are without: Elevated rates of employee costs. Working capital requirements. Large enterprises like Continental cablevision have lower costs per unit turnover and substantially larger cash flow capacities. Moreover, these kinds of joint ventures represent a high risk factor in terms of debt repayment capacity, often because of inadequate financial know-how and limited access to guidance and consultation. Long term success of the joint venture is additionally contingent upon a heightened degree of financial flexibility that enables rapid adaptation to changing market needs. The disappointment with large scale, capital intensive and often import-dependent businesses has been growing long before the current global economic downturn set in. Continental and Fintelco has a lot to blame on themselves for their experience with large enterprises, reports of their diminishing impact on inclusive economic growth is emerging unmistakably from across the globe. As new economic realities begin to hold sway, slowly but surely the practicality of these kinds of ventures running on gigantic employee and capital turnovers is slipping away. It holds out a multitude of short and long term benefits that are of especial relevance to this joint venture. In the context of both immediate and long term goals, a policy shift in favor of rapid promotion of smaller enterprises is perhaps the only policy priority standing between Continental and Fintelco and a rapidly prospering economy. There are significant challenges in this direction, none more pressing than the need to create a mindset change among these companies with regards to grassroots entrepreneurship. Further practical problems were in the form of skilled manpower shortage, a disturbing enterprise mortality rate and devastating infrastructural deficiencies, especially in terms of security, power and roads. Improving availability and access to finance and equity was the most critical challenge by far,. In order to ensure rapid development, both companies must effect swift fiscal, monetary and industrial policy changes in order to capitalize on its huge potential of venture. A lot more things depend on the effective management of its human resource capital its sizeable population that has been traditionally dependent on extremely small, subsistence-level enterprises. It is a matter of fact that the fate of Continental and Fintelco ambitious economic goals rests largely on its ability to convert this talent into tangible economic growth.

Beatrice in Dantes Divine Comedy Essay -- Divine Comedy Inferno Essay

Beatrice in Dante's Divine Comedy      Ã‚  Ã‚   How many people spend their whole life in love with a person they met only once when they were nine years old? Dante Alighieri, born in 1265, had only one meeting with Beatrice Portinari in 1274, making him only nine years old. By Dante's own account this was the most important event of his youth (Alighieri). When she passed away in 1290 Dante was about 25 and overcome with grief (Barbi 6). If Dante hadn't met Beatrice much of his work would have never been written. When he met the Florentine gentlewoman, she made a deep impression on his feelings. In the Inferno Beatrice symbolizes blessedness or salvation, and Dante always called her by her full name to indicate that she brought happiness to whoever looked upon her. All evidence shows she was the daughter of Folco Portinari, and later, the wife of Simone die Bardi. Dante expressed his love for her in his poetry and believed she was "the guide of his thoughts and emotions toward that ideal perfection which is the goal of every noble mind" (Barbi 6). Other poets of the time wrote about the cruelty of women and demanded pity.    Dante exalted or glorified Beatrice as a miracle of courtesy and virtue sent to earth by God for the welfare of himself, and for those who would appreciate her qualities. Because of such exultation Dante believed that Beatrice would not stay long in the earthly life, and in June 1290 she died. This caused intense contemplation of her in the glory of heaven (Barbi 6). Dante was married shortly after the first anniversary of Beatrice's death. However, her memory came back and he felt horrible f... ....    Dante Alighieri met the love of his life when he was only nine years old, but never stopped loving her. She passed away when he was about 25 and Dante was never the same. After 16 years his love for her never faded, even though both had married. Even right before his death Dante still wrote about Beatrice and held her in the highest regard. Beatrice inspired his work and gave it meaning.    Works Cited Alighieri, Dante. "The Inferno." The Norton Anthology World Masterpieces Expanded Edition vol. 1. Ed. Maynard Mack. W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. 1995. 1693-1828. Alighieri, Dante. Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation,1993-1997. Barbi, Michele. Life of Dante. London: Cambridge University. 1954. "Knights, Ladies and Constant Heartache." Discovery Online. 3/14/04.www.discovery.com.   

Identity in The Count of Monte Cristo :: Monte Cristo

Identity in The Count of Monte Cristo An identity is more than just a name. Sometimes an identity is the first thing and possible the only thing a person notices about one or the other. A person's identity can represent their culture, their race and sometimes, even possible their family background. My identity is what represents me. For those who does not know me personally but knows my name, knows my identity. This identity is what people will recognize me as for now and possible for ever. When people create different identities, it may be to distort reality. People may create identities to fulfill fantasies or just to impersonate others(in other words, distorting reality). Everyone has done it whether it was from acting in a skit or creating a false photo identification card or just giving someone a fake name. All of those above are different ways of distorting reality and different ways of changing an identity. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a book which contains few characters but many identities. Edmond Dantes if not the main character, than one of the main characters kind of has a reality dysfunctional problem. In the book, Edmond Dantes creates various identities to fulfill his missions(fantasies). One of the few characters that Edmond Dantes transformed into was Sinbad the Sailor. At the beginning of the book, while Edmond was still Edmond Dantes, he work and pursued his career on a ship. The guy at which he worked for soon became in debt because his shipping business was going out of business. Edmond Dantes payed off this shipping guys debt under the name as Sinbad the Sailor. Edmond accomplished this mission under a different name so his former boss wouldn't know that Edmond Dantes was really the bill savior that Sinbad the Sailor has became. Edmond Dantes changed his identity to pursue, perhaps a fantasy. Edmond wanted to give back to those who gave to him. He changed his identity for the better. He changed it to help out instead of to destroy. Edmond Dantes also took on the identity as a Priest. I would say Edmond miss used the power of a priest because he used his power and the trust of others within him and gather information out of individuals. Most people have trust for priest and Edmond Dantes knew this as he accomplished the transformation from himself to the priest. Identity in The Count of Monte Cristo :: Monte Cristo Identity in The Count of Monte Cristo An identity is more than just a name. Sometimes an identity is the first thing and possible the only thing a person notices about one or the other. A person's identity can represent their culture, their race and sometimes, even possible their family background. My identity is what represents me. For those who does not know me personally but knows my name, knows my identity. This identity is what people will recognize me as for now and possible for ever. When people create different identities, it may be to distort reality. People may create identities to fulfill fantasies or just to impersonate others(in other words, distorting reality). Everyone has done it whether it was from acting in a skit or creating a false photo identification card or just giving someone a fake name. All of those above are different ways of distorting reality and different ways of changing an identity. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a book which contains few characters but many identities. Edmond Dantes if not the main character, than one of the main characters kind of has a reality dysfunctional problem. In the book, Edmond Dantes creates various identities to fulfill his missions(fantasies). One of the few characters that Edmond Dantes transformed into was Sinbad the Sailor. At the beginning of the book, while Edmond was still Edmond Dantes, he work and pursued his career on a ship. The guy at which he worked for soon became in debt because his shipping business was going out of business. Edmond Dantes payed off this shipping guys debt under the name as Sinbad the Sailor. Edmond accomplished this mission under a different name so his former boss wouldn't know that Edmond Dantes was really the bill savior that Sinbad the Sailor has became. Edmond Dantes changed his identity to pursue, perhaps a fantasy. Edmond wanted to give back to those who gave to him. He changed his identity for the better. He changed it to help out instead of to destroy. Edmond Dantes also took on the identity as a Priest. I would say Edmond miss used the power of a priest because he used his power and the trust of others within him and gather information out of individuals. Most people have trust for priest and Edmond Dantes knew this as he accomplished the transformation from himself to the priest.

The History of Capital Punishment Essay -- History Crime Punishing ess

The History of Capital Punishment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crime has been a plague on society from ancient times to present. In response to this plague, society has formed structured rules to deal with the perpetrators of crime. A crime can be defined as act that society’s government deems as illegal. Different societies have formed various methods and standards for evaluating crime and assigning corresponding punishment. What constitutes a crime has changed throughout the course of history. In ancient times, such extreme actions as the deliberate killing of another human being for the sake of family honor or religious rite was considered socially acceptable and therefore not legally wrong. Now, the majority of the modern world (with perhaps the exclusion of some Middle Eastern sects) view the deliberate killing of another human being as non-socially acceptable, and therefore legally wrong. The overall exceptions to this rule are the taking of human life in the act of war and in punishment for extreme crime(s) against humanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Punishment for crime has ranged from mild, in the form of fines, or incarceration, to severe, in the form of physical torture or death. In ancient times, punishment for serious crimes such as treason, theft, or murder was frequently severe and inhumane. Offenders were often tortured for hours to be either left to die a slow and painful death or be executed publicly. The use of the death penality has declined throught out the industrial Western world since the 19th century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The concept of confinement for punishment dates back to ancient times. Imprisonment is generally a milder form of punishment which removes an individual from society and confines him/her in an institution with other offenders. Examples of historical places of confinement are London’s Tower and Paris’s Bastille. The Tower and Bastille were used to confine political prisoners, not criminals in the ordinary sense. The common jail has existed since approximately 1166, when King Henry II of England ordered places of confinement for criminals built. Jails mainly served the purpose for prisoners awaiting trial, while also holding unfortunate petty offenders such as beggars, vagrants, and debtors. The purpose for places of confinement remained the same until the development of the American prison system. The purpose of the American prison system posed a t... ... person recieving punishment, and (4) the death penalty lowers the goverment to the same level as the criminal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All prudent people have concern for the sanctity of human life. No one enjoys having to be responsible for sentencing a person to death no matter what crime they have committed. However, as President George W. Bush recently said, â€Å"There are evil people in the world and we must respond appropriately.† Basically, what he is means is that there must be just and direct punishment for evil and heinous crimes. Therefore, capital punishment is and can be a deterrent for crimes of serious nature against individuals and society. This is an attempt to punish some and deter others. For certain, those sentenced to death will no longer be a threat to society. Works Cited McCuen, Gary E. â€Å"Reviving the Death Penalty† Copyright : 1985 Gary E. McCuen Publications Wekesser,Carrol - editor â€Å"The Death Penalty† Copyright: 1991 Greenhaven Press, Inc. Abelson & Friquegnon - editor â€Å"Ethics for Modern Life† Copyright: 1995 St. Martin’s Press, Inc Zimring, Franklin E. - The World Book Encyclopedia - â€Å"Capital Punishment† p. 193 Copyright: 1993 World Book, Inc

A Case of Buddhism

Buddhism continues to exert a fundamental influence on the cultures of the world and also play a leading role in the contemporary affairs of the world. This paper draws on the understanding that the humanistic aspect of world encompasses problems that are said to be evil from the religious perspective and the fundamental objective of the religion amid these human problems is to provide solutions in relation to the absolute. As such, a manifold of worldly problems today; economic justice, insecurity and peace, human rights and protection of the environment call for the universal corporation of the human as well as religion in solving them.Towards obtaining solutions for these human problems, Buddhism as a religion build on their belief system to establish helpful ideas that touch on and are related to the absolute. Essentially, the relevant sphere of action focus on the pedestal of humans understanding that the world poses characteristics of humanity and in a collective sense, individ ual Buddhists as human beings face these problems within the nature as the physical environment.With this principle in focus, Buddhism effort to solve the problems for human by drawing from the divine provision and agency between the supernatural realms, the human beings as well as the natural environment that humans operate in. Introduction The central idea behind the problems in the world encompass the larger perspective of humanism and towards solving the resultant problems, Buddhism focuses on the stipulated divine agencies.Considered to be on of the world major religion, Buddhism adheres to religious tenets that typify it as a religion in addressing concerns that rise in the physical world. In so doing, Buddhism understands that a universal humanitarianism is an essential component towards solving global problems. As such, compassion is regarded among the pillars of world peace. Accordingly, Buddhism draws on its several doctrines and belief system to embrace the concept of abs olute set of values which in the very least serve as guiding absolute ethical principles.In addition, the position of the life after death, which is a post mortem kind of existence guides how Buddhism as a religion helps its members to understand the numerous human problem and strike a balance in approaching the very problems in a bid to solve them As a result, the question of evil is highly addressed in the attempt to understand the many human problems where the future of Buddhist in life after here contends the approach used in solving the human problems. Historical Overview of Buddhism The history of Buddhism spans the 5th century BCE to the present 21st century.Obviously, the birth of Gautama Siddhartha, famously referred to as Buddha, in Ancient India marked the beginning of Buddhism because, he grew up to evolve Buddhism into a religion that spread through central, Southern and East Asia. Warren (2007) asserts that the history of Buddhism is typified by the development of seve ral schism and religious movements such as Mahayana, Thervada and Vajravana traditions. Buddha founded Buddhism after asceticism and meditation which sparked him to establish a path of moderation that sought to move away from the extreme modes of life of self mortification and self indulgence.Scholars argue that after Buddha attained divine enlightenment when he was seated under the papal tree, he managed to leverage the ruler of the Magadha who was an emperor and made him accept Buddhism as his personal faith. This incidence allowed for the establishment of the numerous Buddhist Viharas that later spread through the entire Asia into well established Buddhism (Herman, 2003). Before his death, Buddha instructed his followers to embrace the doctrine and teachings of Dharma in order to avoid the problem of this world and attain supremacy in life after death.These instructions from Gautama laid the foundation for the absolute ethical and divine principle, that prescribes the present rul es of discipline and community living that characterizes Buddhism (Warren, 2007). On these tenets, Buddhism developed into a world’s religion that took great pains in addressing the problems of humans through transmitting the teachings of Buddha in the most accurate form. Koslowski (2001) agrees that the Buddhist follow the ideas and practices of Buddha; a concept that has developed from early Buddhism to the present Buddhism.Bearing in mind that the first followers of Buddha were as homeless as their teacher, they wandered all over receiving material gifts of food from lay people and ended up settling in the outskirts of cities and town to mainly teach the laity about the meditative way of life that Buddha taught. Accordingly, it becomes evident that the Buddhist community has for so many years regarded the teachings of Gautama as the enlightened teachings that should be used to seek divine intervention.Alexander (2008) outlines that the basic teachings of Buddha touched on the animate and inanimate phenomena that poses three features of being unsatisfactory, impermanent and lacking an abiding value. In light of this, these characteristics have been applied to the human sphere to evoke the picture of sufferings (dukkha), ageing and death (jar-maraa) as well as the absence of the soul (anatt) to illuminate the rationale for human problems and the hitherto solution that attribute to the absolute (Diederik, 1999).Problems for Humans in the World and the Solutions of Regarding the Absolute Realm To understand the problem of human within the context of Buddhism leads us to understanding the relation that exist between Buddhism and Humanism. According to Keown (2000), it is definite that humanism opposes the religious tenets of Buddhism and the important point in focus arises in light of understanding the way religion interprets problems that humans face in the world.Incorporated in the self infused belief systems of dharma, Buddhism holds on the concept of law and norm as opposed to the western religion that upholds the concept of God. In this contradictory framework, the contemporary society faces similar problems and Buddhism stick to the natural laws of compassion to address these universal problems. Minnich (2008) postulates that problems originating for the social, political, economic, cultural and technological paradigms, can succinctly be solved through a concise framework of values and beliefs which are considered absolute.With regard to this, these values invoke the supernatural forces in a more concise ways because they involve ethical rule that do not attract rational inquiry or rather are they completely relativistic. To illustrate, members of the Buddhism community employ moral approaches towards solving their problems in a criterion that is considered as more satisfying because, viewed from a cultural and ethical perspective, the Buddhist understand the role of applied ethics as an obligation that can help them to execut e the good for both the individual and the larger society(Warren, 2007).To reinforce this argument, the solutions to the human problems in the absolute sense the question of hereafter is well catered for and Buddhists are obligated to do good for the society and individuals so that they may be reborn in order to attain a state of holiness or purity. These supernatural elements make Buddhism to ignore the concept of God but still satisfy the condition of absolute thus addressing the contemporary problems of humans (Freeman, 2007). It is plausible to argue that the major problem of humans within the perspective of Buddhism is the nature of being evil which comes through the process of constant becoming.Pandey (2008) postulates that evil forms a perpetuation of illusions by aspects of humanity and doing what is unethical. As such, many humans face a manifold of problems due to their ignorance in perceiving that the devoid of self, is impermanent and thus leading to constant sufferings. Whether this is manifested through lack of peace, constant warfare, negative effects of technology on value systems and environmental challenge, it is imperative to note that the problems narrows down to what is inarguably referred to as ignorance in perceiving life through the three characteristics of importance, suffering and self indulgence.Essentially, the summation of these factor focus on suffering to be problem of human in the world and as Buddha proclaimed, life that exist in evil yields constant sufferings (Fasching, 2008). According to Warren (2007), the noble truth of suffering encompass the holistic life such that aspects of birth, sickness, aging death, sorrow, despair, associating with what is evil all amounts to problems of suffering which characteristically borders the angle of evil and lack of moral tenets as manifested in current worldly problems.Keown (2000) further agues that the defilement of the mind unquestionably combine with aspects of life to yield sufferi ng and within the angles of absolute solutions, Buddhism seeks to alleviate sufferings and enhance a value system that will not only reduce the instances of humans suffering but also being rewarded by rebirth. Significantly, problems such as greed (raga), aversion (dvesha) and ignorance (avidya) are all products of defiled mind.In addition, they are products of human desire to experience existence at a personal level and as selfishness and egoism is an illusory effect of desires and defiled minds, selfish human perpetuate the desire for personal existence and benefits; a actor that lead to constant suffering. Buddhism attempts to solve this fundamental problem by enforcing moral, ethical and value systems enshrined in the teachings and beliefs of the Buddha (Warren, 2007). Evaluation of Buddhism All the factors of our lives subsist in a complex of human mutual causality.As a conscience, our problems, succinctly perceived by the Buddhists as sufferings, are favored by the interplay o f delusion, aversion and perpetual craving that come up due to the lack of poor understanding of roles in the society (Warren, 2007). In essence, humans create a self bondage through forms of reifying as well as holding onto what is naturally transient and contingent. In light of this , Pandey (2008) primarily describes that the problems of human are endemic and so is suffering but the role of religion is to provide a platform that addresses the problems through a situation of eternal rewards that come after death.Essentially, although sufferings is endless, it can be stopped or rather reduced and towards achieving this solutions, Buddhism emphasis on the need to see the true nature as a phenomenon, which radically forms the human interdependence. Solutions packed for the human problems in the world can be achieved if human cleanse their perception through meditation and maintain purity of conscience through an acceptable moral conduct (Warren, 2007).This intuitive approach limits i ts practicality to the absoluteness of values and beliefs which yields a concrete interconnectedness of all things in life and irrespective of the problem or the nature of the problem, the doctrines of Buddhism offers clear ways of understanding deep complicated platform of various social economic, cultural, political and technological links that connects with the life of the human being and others. As a result, the reciprocities of thought and action as well as universe and self direct the individual to uphold meditation, correct moral conduct and purity of conscience (Diederik, 1999).Moreover, it invokes criticism that as the world and life correlate to the aspects of human consciousness and mentality and this distinctive feature attracts many humans to be endowed with the capacity to choose their destiny. Warren (2007) argues that it is on this conceptualization that human life is considered as a privilege that comes with no price and the practices of Buddhism emphasizes on medit ation which gives the individual an opportunity to understand his human existence and seize the opportunity to uphold the value system and make the society a better place for all.Significantly, the vision of Dharma enhances the fact the humans in the world can be always alive with consciousness, thus providing an inspiration that is powerful for the healing of lives in the world. In the arising world with numerous problems, the Buddhist system of belief helps humans to see important aspects of life such as the deep interconnectedness in the web of life as well as the distinctiveness of human beings together with the ability to choose.In light of this, it becomes clear that this approach of life and religious practice facilitates a process where human beings are relived of their human loneliness and arrogance (Warren, 2007). Conclusion From the forgoing discussion, it is evident that Buddhism continues to exert a fundamental influence on the cultures of the world and also play a lead ing role in the contemporary affairs of the world. A manifold of worldly problems today; economic justice, insecurity and peace, human rights and protection of the environment call for the universal corporation of the human as well as religion in solving them.Towards obtaining solutions for these human problems, Buddhism as a religion build on their theory and perspective to establish helpful ideas that touch on and are related to the absolute. The central idea behind the problem s in the world encompass the larger perspective of humanism and towards solving the resultant problems, Buddhism focuses on the stipulated divine agencies. Considered to be on of the world major religion, Buddhism adheres to religious tenets that typify it as a religion in addressing concerns that rise in the physical world.Evil forms a perpetuation of illusions by aspects of humanity and dong what is unethically not accepted. As such, many humans face a manifold of problems due to their ignorance in percei ving that the devoid of self, is impermanent and thus leading to constant sufferings. Buddhism seeks to alleviate sufferings and enhance a value system that will not only reduce the instance of humans suffering but also being rewarded by a rebirth. Reference Alexander, J (2008). Responding to Religious Absolutism. London: Routledge Diederik, V (1999). World Views and The Problem of Synthesis. Cambridge: CUP Fasching, D (2001). Comparative Religious Ethics.London: Blackwell Books Freeman, R (2007). The Search for Absolute Values in the Changing World: A Perspective of Buddhism. Oxford: OUP Herman, C (2003). Participatory Learning and Religious Education in Globalizing Society. London: Brill Press Keown, D (2000). Contemporary Buddhist Ethics. London: Routledge Koslowski, P (2001). Overcoming and Understanding Evil and Suffering in the World. New York: Springer Books Minnich, V (2008). Investigation of Self Human Environment. Texas: Global Books Pandey, C (2008). Ecological Perspectiv es in Buddhism. New York: Readworthy Press Warren, M (2007). Worlds Religion. Belmont CA: Wordsworth

Analysis of the Twelfth Planet

The Myth of a 12th Planet: A Brief Analysis of Cylinder Seal VA 243 Michael S. Heiser Ph. D. candidate, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages University of Wisconsin-Madison Introduction Readers of Zecharia Sitchin’s books, particularly The 12th Planet, will recognize the above seal, VA 243 (so named because it is number 243 in the collection of the Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin). This seal is the centerpiece of Sitchin’s theory that the Sumerians had advanced astronomical knowledge of the planetary bodies in our solar system.This knowledge was allegedly given to the Sumerians by extraterrestrials, whom Sitchin identifies as the Anunnaki gods of Sumero-Mesopotamian mythology. In the upper left-hand corner of the seal, Sitchin argues, one sees the sun surrounded by eleven globes. Since ancient peoples (including the Sumerians according to Sitchin) held the sun and moon to be â€Å"planets,† these eleven globes plus the sun add up to twelve planets. Of cou rse, since we now know of nine planets plus our sun and moon, part of Sitchin’s argument is that the Sumerians knew of an extra planet beyond Pluto.This extra planet is considered by Sitchin to be Nibiru, an astronomical body mentioned in Mesopotamian texts. Sitchin’s works detail his contention that Nibiru passes through our solar system every 3600 years, and so some believers in Sitchin’s theory contend that Nibiru will return soon. Some followers of Sitchin’s ideas also refer to Nibiru as â€Å"Planet X†. Is Sitchin correct – in whole or in part? Is Nibiru a 12th planet that will soon return? Does VA243 prove his thesis? Unfortunately for Sitchin and his followers, the answer to each of these questions is no. This paper will focus on the heart of his theory, VA243.Nibiru is the subject of another paper on my website. Method and Approach The study of cylinder seals is actually a very specialized sub-discipline within Sumerology and Assyrio logy. a It is possible to determine, through the efforts of cylinder seal specialists of the recent past and current experts, to decisively say that Sitchin’s interpretation of this seal is deeply flawed and lacks scholarly merit. In short, his theory is false and is unsupported by the seal itself. In the discussion that follows, I will demonstrate that VA243 in no way supports Sitchin’s ideas.My reasons / lines of argument for this are: 1) The inscription on the seal (left hand and right hand sides – which are not discussed by Sitchin) says nothing about planets or any element of astronomy. Rather than offering an independent translation, I will defer to authorities on Sumerian seal inscriptions in this regard to avoid any charge of bias. 2) The alleged â€Å"sun† symbol on the seal is not the sun. We know this because it does not conform to the consistent depiction of the sun in hundreds of other cylinder seals and examples of Sumero-Mesopotamian artwor k.I will describe the typical depiction (determined with certainty because it appears with texts about the sun god [Shamash Akkadian, known as Utu in Sumerian]) and provide image examples. Sources are provided for readers to check for themselves. The â€Å"sun† symbol is actually a star (which in Mesopotamian art could have six or, more commonly, eight points). Lest the modern reader retort that â€Å"well, the sun is a star,† I offer several images where the star symbol and the sun symbol (which again, is not that in VA243) are side-by-side and distinct from one another.The Sumerians and Mesopotamians distinguished the sun from stars by using different symbols – and associating each symbol with the sun god and other gods, respectively. There is simply no ancient Sumero-Akkadian evidence to support Sitchin’s identification. 3) If the â€Å"sun† is not the sun, then what are the dots? The dots are also stars, as is best illustrated by the Sumerian-M esopotamian depiction of the Pleaides (seven dots together with reasonable astronomical accuracy since they are visible to the naked eye). b The Pleaides are actually one of the most frequently depicted astronomical features in SumeroMesopotamian art.As Sitchin points out (and this is corroborated by actual scholars in the field – it’s common knowledge), stars were associated with or considered to be heavenly beings – gods. In Sumero-Mesopotamian artwork, a star represents either a god or an astronomical body. The same can be said of the sun – it can either reference the literal sun or the sun god. There are three possibilities as to what VA243 is depicting: (A) It is singling out a deity or special star and associating it with other stars in some sort of zodiacal representation. I don’t consider this likely because there are other far clearer representations of zodiacal constellations.Unless there are clear zodiacal connotations, a star was symbol ic of a deity, which brings us to the second option. (B) More probable is the idea that the central star stands for a deity that has some association with fertility (as in crops) since the inscription describes an offering made by a worshipper (who is named) to a seated god who is associated in the seal with fertile harvest. Since there are two other figures in the seal in addition to the seated god, and one is the offerer, the remaining figure is likely a deity also associated with the offering. In favor of this possibility are the â€Å"implements† aAn excellent general introduction is Dominique Collon, Cylinder Seals. I am not saying the star is depicted amid the Pleiades, only that the artistic depiction of the Pleiades provides an excellent example of â€Å"dots† = stars. The Pleiadean depiction is always seven dots/stars. b shown on the seal with respect to these two figures facing the seated god and the figure’s headdress. Also in its favor is the fact th at there are literally hundreds of such â€Å"offering seals,† and many have a star in upper proximity to the figures’ heads, signifying the figure is a deity (see the example). C) Since the star is surrounded by eleven other stars (dots), the artistic depiction could stand for the lead god of the Mesopotamian divine council and its other eleven (upper tier) members. Recall that (as Sitchin again points out) the Mesopotamian council had 12 members. I have noted before that the 12 member council isn’t always consistent in Mesopotamian religion (at times eight gods are considered the council), but 12 is the more prevalent number. This thesis is attractive, but I can’t say there is much to commend it over option B.The reader might be thinking at this point, â€Å"Well, isn’t the sun god the leader of the pantheon – so if this symbology points to the divine council the center symbol could still be the sun? † This would be an erroneous lin e of thought since in SumeroMesopotamian religion the sun god is NOT the high god; the high god is Anu (later, Marduk), not Shamash. These options are admittedly subjective, but one thing is certain – the â€Å"sun† symbol does not conform to the abundantly frequent symbol for the sun in SumeroMesopotamian art. We are not dealing with a depiction of the solar system.Astronomer Tom van Flandern pointed this out years ago anyway, since the sizes of the â€Å"planets† around the alleged sun do not conform to the correct sizes of the planets and there distances from the pseudo-sun are not depicted in such a way as to depict elliptical (or at least varying) orbits. The link to van Flandern’s critique is on my website. 4) There is not a single text in the entire corpus of Sumerian or Mesopotamian tablets in the world that tells us the Sumerians (or later inhabitants of Mesopotamia) knew there were more than five planets.This is quite a claim, but is demonstrabl e through the work of scholars who specialize in cuneiform astronomy. Below I list all the major works on cuneiform astronomy (catalogues of texts, dissertations / books) and invite readers to check them out of a library and look for themselves. Literally every cuneiform text that has any astronomical comment (even with respect to astrology and omens) has been translated, catalogued, indexed, and discussed in the available academic literature.The tablets are often quite detailed, even discussing mathematical calculations of the appearance of planetary bodies in the sky, on the horizon, and in relation to other stars. The field is by no means new, and is considerably developed. All of the above facets of the discussion are now offered in more detail with bibliography. I. The Inscriptions on VA 243 VA243 has three lines of text (â€Å"line 1† is actually repeated on both sides of the seal):The seal is transliterated (the Sumero-Akkadian signs in English letters) and translated in the principal publication of the Berlin Vorderasiatische Museum’s publication of its seal collection, Vorderasiatische Rollsiegel (â€Å"West Asian Cylinder Seals†; 1940) by Mesopotamian scholar Anton Moortgat on page 101. This book is in German, so I offer the German and an English translation: Line 1 = dub-si-ga â€Å"Dubsiga† [a personal name of an apparently powerful personc] Line 2 = ili-il-la-at â€Å"Ili-illat† [another personal name, this time of the seal’s owner] â€Å"dein Knecht† [German for â€Å"your servant†d] Line 3 = ir3-suSo the full (rather boring) inscription of VA243 reads: â€Å"Dubsiga, Ili-illat, your/his servant. † Nothing in the inscription suggests anything remotely to do with astronomy or planets. In an email correspondence with Dr. Rudi Mayr, whose dissertation was on cylinder seals, Dr. Mayr commented on the inscriptions and the seal [and I interject a few comments in blue]: â€Å"The seated fig ure is a god; the ‘flounced’ garment is normal for deities (though kings start wearing them a little later); deities also have the distinctive headdress. Most scholars call it a ‘horned’ headdress, but I’ve always thought it looked more like flames than horns.Ancient texts often refer to deities having a bright, shining, brilliant aspect [this is true across the ancient near east – witness the â€Å"shining one† terminology I discuss in The Facade and in several papers on my website]; they don’t mention horns . . . The introducing figure also has the ‘horns’ of divinity† [this is a strong contextual argument that the symbol – again, it’s not the â€Å"sun† – to the upper left of the introducing figure is a star. Precisely because they SHINE, stars were associated with deities. Shamash, the sun god, had his own symbol of the sun.See below for what it looked like]. c Personal email com munication on Dubsiga with Dr. Rudi Mayr, whose dissertation was on cylinder seals. Dr. Mayr is also the source of the comment on the second line, which conforms to typical cylinder seal patterns. d Dr. Mayr noted to me in an email that the third line might also read â€Å"his servant†, which was his preference. II. The â€Å"Sun† Symbol This is perhaps the biggest problem with Sitchin’s interpretation of VA243 signifying the solar system. Simply put, if the central symbol in his solar system isn’t the sun, the interpretation collapses completely.There’s actually a good deal of evidence to demonstrate decisively that Sitchin is wrong here. Toward offering that evidence, we’ll first introduce a few general comments on Sumero-Akkadian symbols and move to the specifics. A. General Comments Like all ancient religions, Sumero-Mesopotamian religion had a great concern with heavenly bodies that could be observed with the naked eye. In particular, t he sun, moon, and Venus were important focus points because of their ease of visibility, and each was artistically symbolized and stood for a deity.In Sumer-Mesopotamian religion, the sun god symbology was very clear: Sun god = Shamash (Utu in the Sumerian languagee) The symbol of the sun god in Sumero-Mesopotamian religion was a central circle with four extended â€Å"arms† with wavy lines in between each â€Å"arm† (most common), or a circle with only wavy lines. The entire symbol was itself nearly always [I don’t know any exceptions, but there may be one – just being cautious here] inside a circle, as below:f The reader should note immediately that this is NOT the symbol on VA243.VA 243’s â€Å"pseudo-sun† lacks the wavy lines and is not set inside a circle. This sun symbol is ubiquitous in Sumero-Mesopotamian religious artwork. The other common symbol for the sun god was the god in flight upon a set of wings (a depiction akin to the wing ed disc in Egyptian religion). e See Jeremy Black, Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary (University of Texas Press, in conjunction with the British Museum, 1992): 168. This is an excellent reference source. Dr. Black is a well known Sumerian scholar.He was formerly the Director of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq and is now university lecturer in Akkadian and Sumerian at Wolfson College, Oxford. f See above source, p. 168. The above classic solar disk iconography in Sumero-Mesopotamian religion is contrasted with the star symbol, used to symbolize either stars in constellations, any deity (the star is either over the deity’s head or above it to the left of right), or Ishtar (Sumerian Inana), who stood for Venus, the most visible object in the sky aside from the sun and moon:g Note that this example has eight points.This is the most frequently attested style in Sumero-Mesopotamian religious art. The star also is found with six (l ike VA 243) or seven points, and the points even vary within the same seal or stela carving. It wasn’t consistent in points, but what the symbol stood for was consistent – either a star, planet, or deity – but NOT the sun. The star symbol is either set within a circle or, far more often, not within a circle. It is clearly distinct from the sun symbol. How do I know that the symbol of VA 243 is a star and not the sun disk?Other than the obvious noted above – that VA 243 does not have the wavy lines between the â€Å"arms† of the symbol and is not set within a circle – Sumero-Mesopotamian religion often grouped the symbols for the sun god with that of the moon god (Akkadian = Sin; Sumerian = Nanna) and Ishtar (Sumerian = Inana). This isn’t surprising since they were so readily viewed. In short, they didn’t confuse the symbols and neither should we. This grouped threesome is very prevalent in Sumero-Mesopotamian art, and compels t he observation that the sun symbol and star symbol were distinguished from each other:Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, Tafel 11, Zweite Gruppe, stela â€Å"a† = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, Plate 11, 2nd Group, stela â€Å"a†. Note the wavy lines and encircled sun symbol on the right. Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, Tafel 19, Vierte Gruppe, stela â€Å"b† = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, Plate 19, 4th Group, relief â€Å"b†. Note the wavy lines and encircled sun symbol on the lower right. g See Black, 143. The symbols for sun and star/planet are also distinguished clearly in zodiacal artwork from Mesopotamia:The sun symbol (Left) and star symbol (Right) are next to each other under the snake (Draco). Note the wavy lines of the sun symbol Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 47 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 47 Here is a close-up of the sun (L) and star (R) symbol above. Note that th e star in this case has eight points: A second zodiac example: The sun symbol (center) and star symbol (R of center) are next to each other under the snake’s tail. Note the wavy lines of the sun symbol Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 0 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 60 In the above example, note that: (1) the star has seven points, and (b) the stars below it have six points. Note also that these smaller stars also LACK points – they are just dots. This seven dot/circle arrangement is one of the most common motifs in Mesopotamian art, and denote the Pleiades. The point here is that dots = stars in Mesopotamian art when in an astronomical context (or a context where a deity is identified with a star). This is important for our consideration of VA 243. Again, here is a close-up: A third zodiac example:Note that the star symbol here has six points as does the VA 243 star. Source: Ursula Seidl, Die Babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs, p. 23 = The Babylonian Kudurru Reliefs, p. 23 Some commentary on this last example is in order. The previous two examples clearly are in zodiac context, as is this one. Those previous two examples clearly have the sun symbol drawn in a manner consistent with expected Sumero-Mesopotamian features (wavy lines, encircled) that unmistakably distinguishes the sun from the star symbol. The star symbol signifies the same astronomical body in each case, yet the number of points varies.This means that the number of points is unimportant for identifying the star symbol as a STAR or planet, NOT the sun. Hence one cannot say, â€Å"well the star symbol usually has eight points, and the Sitchin seal has six, therefore it’s not a star but the sun. † This is erroneous because these examples demonstrate clearly that a star symbol can have 6, 7, or 8 pts. , and LACKS wavy lines. The symbol on Sitchin’s VA 243 is NOT the sun. It is a star, and thus denotes a star, a god, or a single planet. This isn’t my opinion, it’s the Sumero-Mesopotamian art convention.Let’s move on to some cylinder seal examples of star symbols. As noted above, the star was designed to signify a deity or literal star or planet. Here’s an example of a cylinder seal with Ishtar signaled as the deity by a star: Source: Henri Frankfort, Cylinder Seals: A Documentary Essay on the Art and Religion of the Ancient Near East (London: MacMillan and Co. , 1939): Plate XXVI-seal L In this example, the obvious star symbol has eight points, and is very similar in design to the star symbol of VA 243. We know it’s a star and not the sun because the goddess depicted is Ishtar. Another star symbol of very similar design to VA 243 is shown below:i The upper left-hand side of this seal contains the winged sun disk above the head of what scholars refer to as a â€Å"scorpion man† (note his tail). Just to the right of the winged disk is our star symbol. This time the star has seven points, and is quite similar to VA 243. Note as well h See the discussion in Frankfort (pp. 177-178, 236, 254) and Black, p. 168. See also the magisterial survey: E. Douglas van Buren, Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art, Analecta Orientalia 23 (Pontificum Institutum Biblicum, 1945): 8485. Frankfort, Plate XXXIII – seal b. the far upper right corner – the seven stars grouped together are the Pleiades (to which we will return in our discussion). Below are several examples of seals with six pointed stars: (Frankfort, Plate XXXIII – seal d): Comments: Note the six-pointed stars in the upper left and upper right corners. In both cases, note the presence of accompanying â€Å"dots† in groups of seven – again, the Pleiades (the â€Å"extra dot† over the head of the smaller standing figure denotes a deity as it is a star).The seven dots = the seven stars of the Pleiades (the dots were interchangeable with pointed stars to denote stars). A s E. Douglas van Buren, an expert on Sumerian and Mesopotamian art comments: â€Å"In the earliest representations of the 7 dots as yet known it can be seen that . . . they formed a ring or rosette around a central dot . . . [From] the early Babylonian period onwards it is increasingly common to find the 7 dots arranged like stars in the constellation of the Pleiades, and in the last quarter of the second millennium the dots are shaped for the first time as stars. j This observation is important because it demonstrates that the â€Å"pointed star + Pleiades† pattern does not require a certain number of points on the stars. Recall that the same situation was true with the zodiac – it does not matter how many points a star symbol has – it’s a star, not the sun. Another example: j E. Douglas van Buren, â€Å"The Seven Dots in Mesopotamian Art and Their Meaning,† Archiv fur Orientforschung XIII (1941): 277; see also E. Douglas van Buren, Symbols of th e Gods in Mesopotamian Art, 74ff. and E.Douglas van Buren, â€Å"The Rosette in Mesopotamian Art,† Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie and vorderasiatische Archaeologie, new series, vol. 11 (1939, vol. 45 from old series): 104ff. (Frankfort, Plate XXXV – seal h): In this seal the star has six points surrounding a central dot. Note again the Pleiades symbol (see below under the next point on the â€Å"dots† in VA 243). Before leaving the discussion of the star symbol, take note of the close similarity in style between the star on VA 243 that Sitchin says is the sun and the star symbols we have noted above: Frankfort XXXIII-b VA 243Ishtar star Now compare these with the actual sun symbol: III. The Surrounding â€Å"Dots† As I asked in the introduction to this paper, if Sitchin’s â€Å"sun† is not a sun, then what are the dots? The most apparent answer, based on the examples above, is that they too are stars. We have already seen that dots were used t o depict the stars of the Pleiades, and showed that the seven dots = the seven star symbols elsewhere used for the same constellation. We also saw above in the seal of Frankfort Plate XXXIII-d that a single pointed star can be associated with dots which are also stars.It is almost that the â€Å"star + seven dots† symbology is saying, â€Å"constellation = Pleiades. † There is therefore abundant precedent for asserting that these dots in VA243 are stars. It could be that this seal is â€Å"saying†: â€Å"Constellation = the one with 11 stars†. Since I don’t know astronomy well, I’ll let the reader ponder that one. The introduction also noted that the symbology of the seal could just point to a deity and perhaps the divine council. Enough said on that. IV. On Sumerian or Mesopotamian Astronomical KnowledgeIn this regard I offer the reader an opportunity to challenge my assertion above (and I am just quoting specialists in cuneiform astronomic al tablets) that there is not a single text in the entire corpus of Sumerian or Mesopotamian tablets in the world that says the Sumerians or Mesopotamians knew of more than five planets. Below are bibliographical references that anyone can access (the scholarly, dissertation level materials that one needs some knowledge of semitic languages and/or cuneiform, as well as a background in mathematics or astronomy, to really use are noted in their own category).In my paper on Nibiru (available on my website), I’ll briefly go into what the Sumerians and Mesopotamians knew about the planets. For now, though, giving the reader these sources will suffice. General Sources: Francesca Rochberg, â€Å"Astronomy and Calendars in Ancient Mesopotamia,† Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. III, pp. 1925-1940 (ed. , Jack Sasson, 2000) Bartel L. van der Waerden, Science Awakening, vol. 2: The Birth of Astronomy (1974) Technical but Still Readable Wayne Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosm ic Geography (1998) N. M.Swerdlow, Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination (2000) Scholarly (Technical) Resources: Otto Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity (1953) Otto Neugebauer, Astronomical Cuneiform Texts (1955) Erica Reiner and David Pingree, Enuma Elish Enlil Tablet 63, The Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa (1975) Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, MUL. APIN: An Astronomical Compendium in Cuneiform (1989) Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (1999) N. Swerdlow, The Babylonian Theory of the Planets (1998) David Brown, Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-Astrology (2000)