JFK Essays (4811 words) - Assassination Of John F. Kennedy

JFK (Part 1 - The first Ricky White News Story) NOV. 22, 1963: ANOTHER STORY BLURS THE FACTS SON OF DALLAS COP SAYS DAD WAS 1 OF 3 WHO SHOT KENNEDY By Andrew Likakis In another bizarre twist to a mystery that has haunted Americans for more than a quarter century, the son of a former Dallas police officer plans to tell the world that his father was one of the assassins of President John F. Kennedy. Ricky White, a 29-year-old, unemployed oil equipment salesman in Midland, says he "had no conception of ever, ever giving this story out" but decided to do so after FBI agents began asking questions in May 1988. "I'm telling you a story that has touched me, not only others, and I feel uncomfortable just telling it to strangers," White said during a recent interview with the Austin American-Statesman. Monday in Dallas, White is scheduled to show reports material implicating his father, Roscoe Anthony White, in the 1963 assassination. It suggests that White, who died in 1971, was a member of an a ssassination team of three shooters, that he fired two of the three bullets that killed the president, and that he also killed Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit during the manhunt for Lee Harvey Oswald. Among the material: a rifle with telescopic sight that uses the same kind of ammunition as Oswald's gun; records showing that Oswald and White served together in the Marines; three faded messages that appear to be decoded orders to kill someone in Dallas in November 1963; and a son's recollections of his father's incriminating diary - a document that is missing. The press conference is being sponsored by two private groups - the JFK Assassination Information Centre of Dallas and the Assassination Archives and Research Centre of Washington - and some Midland Businessmen. The possibility of Ricky White's story being a hoax - a falsehood concocted either by Ricky or his father - has not been dismissed by the people urging him to publicly talk about the matter. During the last 27 years, many private researchers have claimed to have found evidence of a conspiracy, only to be proved wrong or deceitful. Bernard Fensterwald, executive director of the Assassination Archives and Research Centre, says if there was a conspiracy, Ricky White may have the key. "I think it's our best shot," he says, "and we better take it." J. Gary Shaw, co-director of the JFK Assassination Information Centre, says he hopes White's story will result in an investigation of the assassination by Texas authorities. Two Washington-based probes - the Warren Commission in 1963-64 and the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1976-78 failed to resolve the enigma of the Kennedy shooting, Shaw maintains. As with previous conspiracy theories, White's story is tantalizing, the evidence intriguing. Yet, as with other theories, it raises more questions than it answers -- such as: Who issued the orders to the so-called assassination team? Why was the assassination ordered against Kennedy? And why is Ricky White telling this story now? AN OSWALD CONNECTION Using clues discovered in his father's effects and relying on available government records, Ricky White says he has determined that Roscoe White and Lee Harvey Oswald probably met in 1957. Ricky White's mother, Geneva, is gravely ill and unable to be interviewed, family members say. According to Military records, both White and Oswald were among a contingent of U.S. Marines, who boarded the USS Bexar in San Diego that year for the 22-day trip to Yokosuka, Japan. In its final report, the Warren Commission published a photo of Oswald with other Marines in the Philippines. All but one of the Marines was squatting on the ground. Ricky White says his father claimed to have been the standing Marine and claimed to have become acquainted with Oswald in Japan and the Philippines. Military records show that Roscoe White took frequent unexplained trips in the Pacific, and Ricky White says that his father's diary described those as secret intelligence assignments. It has been established in previous investigations that Oswald was discharged in 1959 and defected to the Soviet Union. He returned to the United States in mid-1962, settling first in Fort Worth with his

JOE MAMA essays

JOE MAMA essays Imagine looking out the window in the morning and only being able to see a few blocks. It is not snow that you see neither is it heavy rain. It appears to be fog, but not regular fog, it is a harmful, acidic and ugly fog that is a result of very bad air pollution. This is true on some days in Mexico City. Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world and the mountains that surround the city hold the thick and ugly fog in. Acid rain has been known to fall in this city and many others around the world. Acid rain is one the biggest problems our environment deals with today. What is acid rain? Where does it come from and how does it form? What are the effects of it on our environment and us? In this report I will teach you all you need to know about acid rain and what we can do about it. What is Acid Rain? Acid rain is defined as rain that has more acid in it than the normal amount. Acidity is measured on the pH scale that runs from 0 to 14. Anything from zero to seven is considered acidic, seven is neutral and anything from 7 to 14 is basic. Something that has a pH of 6 is ten times more acidic that something with a pH of 7. There is a lot of controversy over what the pH of rain must be to be considered acidic. Anything equal to or lower than 5.6 on the pH scale has been said to be acidic but that number is subject to change depending on who you talk to or where you live. Acid rain in found in places around the world. The sad thing is that the cities that create all the pollution don't suffer from it, it's the areas around the source of the pollution. Some of the main countries affected severely by acid rain include Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Mexico, US, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Switzerland is one of those ...

Death penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Death penalty - Essay Example This essay will outline the debate on death penalty and provide an in-depth explanation of the proponents and opponents of the issue and their differing attitudes. The United States is one of the few nations of the world, which still employs death penalty as a form of punishment for some crimes. The penalty is considered as barbaric and contrary to the values of humanity, as well as American values of human treatment of individuals. However, there are some people who do not object to the death penalty and consider it as a crucial tool that can be employed in the fight against some that have a huge impact on the victim. There are some instances when an innocent person may be hanged to death yet they have not committed any crime. Such mistaking of criminals has led to numerous objections of the death penalty. Since the 1950s, most of the Americans have supported death penalty. There has been, however, tremendous changes in the attitudes towards death penalty since this time with few people supporting execution of murder criminals during the 1960s and 1970s. During the mid-1990s, the debate on death penalty took a new twist with a lot of emphasis been placed on the gender and racial aspects of death penalty. The support for death penalty was low among the blacks, women, as well as Hispanics while white males supported death penalty. Numerous polls conducted in the United States have sought to get know the attitudes of American public towards death penalty. From the studies conducted, it is clear that the attitudes of people towards death penalty are guided by their emotions (Lerne and Wilmoth 234). In the United States, criminal punishment has been riddled with controversy with some people opposing it on the grounds that what motivates law enforcers is revenge as opposed to ensuring that the victims get justice. In most instances, the United States law convicts criminals to death penalties in the case of murders. People who support this point of view hold

Does ontogeny recapitulate phylogeny Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Does ontogeny recapitulate phylogeny - Assignment Example Ontogeny is the scientific belief pertaining to the development of embryos. The idea behind it is that scientists can trace the evolutionary history of organisms through its ancestral characteristics. The belief is that ancestral characters of organisms will more likely than not, be preserved in an organisms development. The idea is better visualized in the following manner; â€Å"both chick and human embryos go through a stage where they have slits and arches in their necks that are identical to the gill slits and gill arches of fish. This observation supports the idea that chicks and humans share a common ancestor with fish. Thus, developmental characters, along with other lines of evidence, can be used for constructing phylogenies.† (â€Å"Ontology and Phylogeny†, n.d.) On the other hand, Phylogeny is defined by scientists as â€Å"the history of the evolution of a species or group, especially in reference to lines of descent and relationships among broad groups of organisms. â€Å" (â€Å"phylogeny†, n.d.) Phylogeny is basically reliant on the theory that plants or animals all descend from common ancestors. However, due to the lack of scientific basis for this theory to be proven as true, since most of the ancestors of life on the planet are already extinct and the fossils on record are few and far between, this theory is based solely on direct evidence. Having now defined what Ontogeny and Phylogeny are in relation to the evolution of man, we may now coherently discuss as to whether Ontogeny recapitulates Phylogeny. Most scientists do not agree with the ORP theory and reject the thought based upon the embryological evidence for evolution. Basically, if we look at a man and a chick, we will see that both fetuses have gills and slits in the neck. Therefore, both species stemmed from a fish-like existence. However, the animal and the man never turned into fishes before turning into men and chicks. In the case of man, we evolved past that into the

Peabody Trust Essay Example for Free

Peabody Trust Essay In 1862 George Peabody, an American from Philadelphia who moved to London in 1837, founded the most famous society providing homes for the skilled artisan classes. With ? 150,000 0f initial capital at his disposal, Peabody had several buildings constructed in the inner city Spitalfields district of London by early 1864, in later years; Peabody built dwellings in Bermondsey, Chelsea, Islington, and Shadwell. His goal was to house the working poor in healthy dwellings as long as they were of good character, conducted themselves responsibly, and paid their rent on time (Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 93). The Peabody Trust is a non-profit organization that builds and manages high quality social housing for people on low incomes. Their fund had its greatest impact on the London housing market during the first fifteen years after its founder’s death in 1869; unfortunately, no major projects were undertaken between 1885 and 1900, the worst years of the housing crisis, as the Peabody Trust had at that time to pay down the huge loans taken out during the first twenty years of its existence (Tarn 10). Peabody Trust’s approach is truly innovative. Taking a long-term view of regeneration, the organization works closely with its customer (the tenants of its homes) and suppliers to alleviate homeless and provide opportunities for quality accommodation and employment. Core to the organization’s work is the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of urban development. An outstanding commitment to empowering staff, suppliers and customers has created a culture of creativity in which growth is almost inevitable. In the last decade, the number of properties owned by Peabody has nearly doubled. A similarly innovative approach to raising funds ensures that finances pose no barrier to this substantial growth. In fact, the Trust is one leading raisers of private finance in the housing association field, raising ? 80 million through Business Expansion Schemes and ? 200 million through debenture stock issue. Peabody Trust has one major advantage over most organizations; most of its employees have bought into the Trust’s ethos and work before they walk in through the door. The management, however, is far from complacent. In addition to the culture of openness that permeates, employees are genuinely empowered. Peabody’s innovative approach to fundraising means that they find it fairly straight forward; finances have not represented a barrier to development as an active developer at all. Key to the success of the scheme was the creative approach of the financial director, who shares Peabody’s commitment to innovation. The financial regime is unusually free, enabling the organization to act innovatively. On the other hand, in 1883 the Peabody Trust was severely criticized for housing only the aristocracy of the working classes, it is clear that wherever the Trustees built they provided rooms at rents lower than those generally prevailing in the immediate neighborhood. It is significant that in an area of Westminster where there were only ninety-six one-roomed tenements available, the Peabody Trust added sixty two, but just as important is the fact that in a congested part of central London they were able to offer three rooms for about the price of two in neighboring streets. No wonder that the Peabody superintendent wrote that in his twenty-eight years of managing various model dwellings, he had never experienced so great a rush for places. If the buildings had been six times as large, he declared, â€Å"I would have no difficulty in letting the rooms†. (Medical officer of Health’s Report 58). The Peabody Trust, of all the mode dwelling companies, appeared to have had the greatest and most continuous demand for its rooms. The rent structure and activities of the Peabody Trust were bitterly attacked by several of the model dwelling companies. In part this stemmed from the definition by the other companies of Peabody’s original intentions, in part from jealousy and rivalry. Many felt the Trustees should concentrate on building in the most run-down areas of London (FRSS 103). The other companies feared that the activities of the Trust would jeopardize the entire working-class housing movement by thwarting the principles of five percent philanthropy. Meanwhile, one of the representatives of the Peabody Trust admitted before the same committee that the Trust’s policy of letting at well under market rates might discourage commercial and semi-philanthropic builders, but he suggested, perhaps not too seriously, that the only solution then was for the Trust to buy up its competitors and reduce their rent levels, a solution which would certainly have made the Trust a public body. There even existed a widespread feeling that at the rate the Trust was accumulating money and property it might one day become the sole builder of working-class housing in central London. Like the other companies, the Peabody Trust was very careful in its selection of tenants. The Trust often turned down applicants whom it considered able to afford other accommodation, and it was very strict in its determination to obey Peabody’s injunctions concerning moral character. One can only hazard a guess that the Peabody Trust and the model dwelling companies which cooperated with the Board under the Cross Act attracted to their model dwelling well paid labourers and artisans from nearby streets, and thus, through the leveling-up process, made it easier for those displaced under clearance schemes to find vacant lodgings in the immediate vicinity. Hardship and dislocations inevitably occurred, but without the willingness of the Peabody Trust to assume the duties of a semi-public body and build on a scale matching the demolition work of the central London government, the first large attempts at slum clearance would either have been totally abortive or would have even more harmful effects. Of all the agencies erecting model dwellings, the Peabody Trust excited the most interest and stimulated most controversy. It did more than any other model dwelling society to draw attention to the peculiar difficulties involved in constructing dwellings in central London. They are actively involved in a number of urban regeneration initiatives, their approach is a holistic one, embracing social, economic and community development issues as well as physical improvements. In 1999 Peabody joined forces with South work Housing and appointed ECD Architect s to prepare a master plan for the redevelopment of the Coopers Road Estate. Shortly afterwards they acquired an adjoining site, fronting the Old Kent Road, known as â€Å"Success House† and invited proposals from ECD for a mixed-use high-rise building. Concurrent with these activities, Peabody have been carrying out a ‘community mapping’ exercise, liaising with a developer to redevelop the site of neighbouring redundant pub and planning improvements to Ken House, an existing Peabody estate that abuts both sites. The redevelopment of these sites will act as an important catalyst for regeneration of the wider area. Planning approval for the Coopers Road site was obtained in November 2001 and a start on site is programmed for January 2003.

Physics of Downhill Ski Racing Essay -- physics sport sports skiing

Gliding is the art of maintaining the flattest ski in order to achieve the lowest possible friction. The forces associated with gliding are fairly straightforward: gravity, friction, and air resistance. Air resistance has several inputs that add to the total resistive force. Friction is caused by the lack of a perfectly smooth surface between the skis and snow on a microscopic level. Think of it as the Rocky Mountain range trying to slide over the Himalayas. On a microscopic level this is what friction is. Two factors contribute to the resistive frictional force; a normal force and the friction coefficient. The normal force is the force holding the person up keeping them from falling towards the center of the earth. On level ground the normal force acts straight up against the acceleration of gravity. On a slope, the normal force is equal to the force of gravity proportional to the cosine of the angle of the slope to horizontal. This portion of gravity attempts to accelerate the person toward the center of the earth, the normal force resists this acceleration. The remaining component of gravity accelerates the body down the hill parallel to the slope, a linear acceleration. It is the coefficient of friction that speed skiers and racers try to reduce to a minimum. The normal force is a constant since it is related to their body weight, which does not change during the course of the race. The coefficient of friction is already reduced from everyday levels because of the snow, but it is the goal of racers to reduce this to an absolute minimum to maximize speed. The coefficient of friction is a unit less ratio of the force of friction to the normal force. The real value for the coefficient is often determined experimentally.... ...and the force normal to the shear plane. These two forces again result in the same resultant force but are rotated into the shear plane. The angle of rotation into the shear plane is phi in above second diagram. Phi is the edge angle minus the angle in the triangle of the normal force(N) and the friction force(F) on the ski divided by 2. This can be seen in the first diagram. The centripetal force can be found using the above equations in the second diagram: Fc=Fs*cos(phi)+Fn*sin(phi) Fn=Fs/tan(O-b-F) The Fc is the failing point at which the racer begins to slide the ski and lose speed. When a racer does balance the speed, radius, and other factors to maximize the centripetal force and acceleration, up to 2.5 Gs of acceleration can be achieved. Downhill ski racing is a ballet and balancing act of the laws of physics to be the fastest person down the hill.

Employee Retention and Interviewing Essay

When Southwest Airlines wants to hire employees, they tend to have 142,000 applicants. They obviously want to choose the person who will suit their organizational culture the best. To achieve this objective they need to ask the right questions when interviewing the applicants. These questions should be such that they provide a clear picture as to which applicant will be best for the job and the organization as a whole. You can use behavioral-based job interview questions to help you select superior candidates. Ask interview questions that help you identify whether the candidate has the behaviors, skills, and experience needed for the job you are filling. (Top job interview questions to help you select the Best, Susan M. Heathfield) Before starting the interview the interviewer should describe the essential functions of the job and ask the interviewee if he can perform those functions with or without accommodations. (http://www. alllaw. com/articles/employment/article13. asp) The first competency question should be related to the ability to recruit and interview applicants, ‘how often during your last job did you need to interview applicants and describe a situation in which the first impression of the applicant could have altered your judgment. ’ Through this question the interviewer may get an idea of the prejudices the person might or might not hold. Southwest Airlines need to make sure that their employees do not discriminate against certain races and are able to handle all sorts of situations hands on. The second question is related to the employee’s ability to perform reference checks on potential employees. ‘When a former employer was not willing to provide information about a potential employee, how did you handle the situation and perform the necessary reference check? ’ this question will help the Airlines figure out if the employee is responsible enough to go through the necessary procedure or would overlook some things and carry on. The third question is about the employee’s ability to plan and conduct regularly scheduled organizational orientation programs. Tell me about an incidence where last minute changes were made in the orientation plan, these changes were not known to you. How did you cope with these lat minute changes? ’ this question will help identify the employee’s capabilities in a chaotic situation. For airlines these situations are quite common and such a characteristic will be beneficial for the organization. The fourth question is connected with the employee’s ability to prepare and explain HR policies and procedures. ‘Tell me about a situation where there was a revision in the company policy and the employees did not take the change well. What did you do? This will help the employer or interviewer for Southwest Airlines find out the opinion of the employee about some policies and procedures that may be adopted by the company or already exist within the company. The fifth question is about the employee’s ability to develop and maintain up-to-date job descriptions. ‘How many job descriptions have you developed in your time as an employee here at Southwest and what were some of the major difficulties you faced while carrying out your work? ’ this question will help understand if the employee will be able to assess the applicant’s capabilities and send him to the department that suits him best. The sixth question for the employee should be based on his ability to administer a compensation program and monitor salary increase recommendations to ensure compliance with merit increase guidelines. The question here will be, ‘what is your view on performance appraisals, are they necessary or not, do they motivate employees to do better on the job? ’ This question will help understand what the employee’s are expecting and what benefits they want for the jobs they perform on a weekly or daily basis. By asking these questions from the existing employees, the top management at Southwest Airlines will know the sort of employees who will be screened out from the 142,000 applicants. The number of employees they actually need is 4000, thus the company needs to be careful as to who they hire and retain. By interviewing the interviewers beforehand the organization is making sure they hire the right people. Also, when your interview questions ask the applicant to tell you about behaviors and actions she has actually demonstrated in the past, your selection process will improve.