Americas Oil Problem Essay -- American Economy, Oil Industry

The United States is in a recession and depends on foreigners to fuel our country. Oil companies are taking advantage of the power they have over gas prices and the economy is at one of the lowest points in all of our history. It can be seen that the way things are going now that change needs to occur for America to get back on its feet. Drastic changes will need to happen if we are going to continue to enjoy living in a very advanced and prominent country. By developing proper offshore drilling techniques, and alternate energy, America could eliminate debt and lessen dependence on foreign oil. As it stands, oil companies have a firm grasp of the American economy. As the price of oil increases, the price of living also increases. Not only that, but they are getting away with paying dues they owe. "Oil companies have escaped more than 60 billion dollars in royalties because of a loophole to get access to more leases. The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, and 31 percent of that production comes from land owned by the federal government" (Offshore Drilling Will Enrich Big Oil Companies 2). America maintains this title even though "America's crude oil productivity has decreased since 1985" (Crude Oil Production 1). Currently, oil is becoming more expensive and damaging the economy while America is becoming more dependent on foreign oil; decreasing productivity and narrowing offshore drilling. The oil industry is making an immense profit. Oil companies that secured leases in 1998 and 1999 haven't been paying royalties, even though a bill signed in November of 1995 required royalties to be paid in proportion to the oil profit made. An example of a company profiting because of this is "West Texas Inte... ...ational security. As voters, and future voters, we need to vote for candidates that understand the colossal importance of using renewable energy and offshore drilling to start a recovery of the economy and keep America as a power figure. It will cost billions of dollars for research and perfecting offshore drilling, but it is a long-term investment that will have an enormous payout. If America was to fail in alternative energy research and offshore drilling have multiple spills; the worse that could happen is we go farther into debt. The country is already trillions deep into debt. Taking a risk and finding other ways to generate profit is how we will stimulate growth. The future is here. Fossil fuels will not last forever. If America leads the charge into the renewable energy field we can continue to be a very powerful nation and get the economy back on track.

Night of the Scorpion Essay

The father of post Independence Indian English verse, Nissim Ezekiel, was a Mumbai born, Indian – Jewish poet, playwright, editor and art-critic. His works are an important part of Indian literary history. His major themes are love, loneliness, creativity and human foibles. Via his works, he satirized evil practices, superstitions and ignorance of the Indian people, as he has in this poem. He made Indian English poetry digestible for the common man. He wanted simplicity of thought and language in modern poetry. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection – â€Å"Latter-Day Psalms.† This poem, Night of the Scorpion, is one of his most famous poems. It has been written in ‘free verse’ which means that it is highly irregular in terms of line length and does not follow any rhyming pattern. The ‘Night of the Scorpion’ captures a scene in a rural Indian village where being bitten by a scorpion was a common fear. The narrator is a young child witnessing a horrific event in his life- his own mother writhing in agony of a scorpion’s sting. Along with the anguish of the family members, the poet describes the concern for the mother by the villagers. The child describes the scorpion as the Devil Himself by using adjectives like ‘diabolic’ and also refers to it as the metaphorical ‘Evil One’. However, the poet also says that the scorpion had been forced to â€Å"crawl beneath a sack of rice† by the torrential rain and later had to â€Å"risk the rain again†. This shows a subtle feeling of pity underlying the fact that the scorpion was the Devil Incarnate. Imagery is one of the main literary devices used in this poem. â€Å"With candles and lanterns Throwing giant scorpion shadows On the sun-baked walls† This aids us to visualize the scene of Villagers searching for the scorpion outside the cottage in the steady downpour amidst the sun-baked huts. In most rural Indian villages, the entire village is like a community. Each family shares in each other’s joys and sorrows. This is evident since the poet uses the line â€Å"the peasants came like swarms of flies.† As a hyperbole, this line shows their immense numbers. It also shows that the people were more of a hindrance than a help like a ‘swarm of flies’. It also shows how, in close-knit communities, all news spreads like wildfire. The fruitless passing of time is also shown by the line, â€Å"More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours, More insects and the endless rain.† Another aspect of rural society, unfortunately, is their belief in baseless superstitions and beliefs. Having being denied proper education facilities, they remain unaware of the truth. These uneducated villagers are clueless about proper medication. In an effort to help, they pray to god to paralyze the scorpion so that, as their superstition states, the poison would also be paralyzed in the mother’s blood. The villagers also believe in the Karma philosophy. This philosophy was born in India and in certain cultures it is intertwined with the concept of reincarnation, or life after death. The villagers chant, â€Å"May the sins of you previous birth Be burned away tonight† And, â€Å"May the poison purify your flesh Of desire and your spirit of ambition† Thus, they imply that the mother’s desires and ambitions are the sins that she is paying for. Finally, the mother’s ordeal comes to an end. In a display of mother’s unconditional love, the poem ends with the mother saying, â€Å"Thank god the scorpion picked on me and spared my children†

Comme dhabitude - French Expression

Expression: Comme dhabitude Pronunciation: [kum dah bee tood] Meaning: as usual Register: normal Notes The French expression comme dhabitude, informally apocoped to comme dhab, means as usual, as when talking about something that regularly or typically happens. Examples      Charlot a oublià © de faire ses devoirs, comme dhabitude.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Charlot forgot to do his homework, as usual.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Comme dhabitude, Marc est parti sans fermer la porte.   Ã‚  Ã‚  As usual, Marc left without closing the door.      Ã‚  Ã‚   -Ça va, Élise ? Pas trop de boulot ?   Ã‚  Ã‚  -Comme dhab !   Ã‚  Ã‚  -Hows it going, Élise? Not too much work?   Ã‚  Ã‚  -The usual! More Expressions with commeMost common French phrases