Public International Law Academic year 2010-2011 PROBLEM QUESTION Essay

Public International Law Academic year 2010-2011 PROBLEM QUESTION - Essay Example For one thing, this treaty came into force in the year 2000, that is, after the date of enforcement of Vienna Convention on January 27, 1980. Besides, it is also a written covenant and belongs to the genre of multilateral treaty having four different countries, A, B, C and D as signatories, whose governments would have, on the date of affirmation of contractual agreement in year 2000, agreed to be bound by the provisions of this economic covenant among these four countries for furthering mutual co-operation and accord. However, one aspect of this multilateral agreement stands out like a sore thumb, which is the aspect of peremptory norm. It is seen that under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, any covenant that is in direct confrontation with a peremptory law is void ab initio. However, it does delineate that the rule of force or coercion for gaining consent for multilateral treaties is not permissible. This aspect is also in direct conflict with the spirit of United Nations Organisation UNO) which prohibits the use of force or coercion in reaching global accords and contracts. In this case, it is believed that State D has decided to terminate its participation in the treaty, claiming that its ratification of the 2000 treaty was gained through coercion by the threat of economic sanctions by states A, B, and C. In the event that this contention is true, the agreement becomes void and in direct violation of Article 52 of Vienna Convention 1968, which states that â€Å"A treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.† (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 18). However, it would be incumbent upon State D to prove that coercion has indeed taken place. However, the present government in State D

The Metamorphosis of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Essay

A Christmas Carol, a tale that revolves around a man’s fate in the past, the present, and the future. Its story speaks of a man, a man called Ebenezer Scrooge, and the changes in which he goes through. ‘’Oh! But he was tight-fisted man at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days, and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.’’ This description describes Scrooge’s character brilliantly, it is on the second page of the novel and immediately hits you. I feel that Charles Dickens could not have described his character any better. In my opinion the last sentence has great relevance to the story and his attitude towards all things merry, especially Christmas: ‘’†¦his own low temperature†¦and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.’’ Scrooge is a very cold-hearted, spiteful man, he is never cheerful or in any way nice to anyone. The only people who he at the very least endures or respects are men of great importance or wealth, but also his fellow businessmen. It would be easier to get blood out of a stone than to get Ebeneezer Scrooge to be merry; ‘’Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Scrooge has no wish to spend his time with anyone o... ... up the resulting change in Scrooge: ‘’He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew†¦Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh,’’ So we see that Scrooge was indeed saved from the terrible fate that would have otherwise inevitably destroyed him. And also became a model citizen, who mended the error of his ways, strived for good and became a man with no burdens. Except, the burdens of his loved ones and the less fortunate. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Classics of Children's Literature. Ed. John W. Griffith and Charles H. Frey. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992.

How far, and in what ways, do you agree that the story Essay

‘Hamlet’ is a revenge tragedy; a genre originally developed by plays such as ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ by Thomas Kyd from 1585-1590. The genre is characterized by the inclusion of death, murder, betrayal, madness, poison, surveillance and the supernatural in the narrative – themes that all frequently occur in ‘Hamlet’. However to what extent does the story of Polonius, Ophelia and Laertes conform to this idea of a revenge tragedy; and more broadly, how does the story of the family conform to the genre of tragedy as a whole? One issue is how to define a tragedy; Thomas Heywood wrote: â€Å"Comedies begin in trouble and end in peace; tragedies begin in calm and end in tempest†, ‘Apology for Actors’, 1612. By this definition, tragedy generally can be summarised as a sequence of events that lead to the destruction of the majority of its characters. In this sense, the story of Polonius and his family conforms to the basic skeleton of a tragedy – by the end of the play Polonius, Laertes and Ophelia are dead. However the family’s story does not conform as simply to other definitions of tragedy. ‘[Tragedy] would look with a sceptical eye at what was happening in the world around’, M. Mangan (1991). ‘Tragedy would look with a sceptical eye’ implies that tragedy has the role of both viewing and criticising society. This concept can be applied to Polonius, a character remarkably similar to Queen Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham. Shakespeare spent the majority of his life under Elizabeth’s rule; hence the Elizabeth’s gentry may have aided Shakespeare in creating his constructs. Polonius is characterized by his long, rambling speeches, for example in Act 2 Scene 2; ‘Either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastorical-comical, historical-pastoral, tragic-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral unlimited’ The absurd repetition of the words ‘tragedy’, ‘comedy’, ‘history’ and ‘pastoral’ emphasize the loquaciousness of Polonius, but is perhaps also mocking Sir Francis Walsingham. Shakespeare is crafting a stereotype that spymasters are loquacious, obsequious characters. Perhaps Shakespeare is criticising society; society does not require spymasters spawning insincerity and deceit. If so, Shakespeare is using satire as a tool to portray this viewpoint. Polonius may be used by Shakespeare as a means to act as such a ‘sceptical eye’ on society, conforming to Mangan’s concept of the relevance of tragedy in real life. Aristotle was a key figure in defining tragedy, and stated in his ‘Poetics’ that a typical tragedy consisted of a noble protagonist, with a hamartia (tragic flaw), whose peripeteia (reversal of fortune) is brought about by an anagnorisis (moment of recognition). However it would be unwise to assume that Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’, written in c. 335 BC would still be completely relevant to Shakespearean tragedy, written some two thousand years later. However several aspects of Aristotle’s tragedy can be applied to Polonius and his family. Polonius has his tragic flaw: his obsession with spying. He tells Reynaldo before departing to France to spy on Laertes: ‘By indirections find directions out’ (Act 2 Scene 1) Not only does this indicate his unnatural interest in his son’s affairs, so much that he is willing to send a spy to observe his sons possible hedonism in Paris; but it also shows that he is experienced as a spymaster. Such advice is most likely to be learned from several years of manipulating people to his advantage. Essentially what he is saying is the most direct method of finding the truth is through being indirect, which holds to be true as we see later in the play with Hamlet’s ‘The Mousetrap’; a play within a play which exposes Claudius’ villainy through indirect and subtle methods. Furthermore on the topic of hamartia – Laertes has his tragic flaw of overreaction; a stark contrast to Hamlet whose tragic flaw is procrastination. When asked by Claudius what he will do when Hamlet returns to Denmark to avenge his father in Act 4 Scene VII, he replies ‘To cut his throat i’ the church. ‘ This directly mirrors the church scene, where Claudius is vulnerable yet Hamlet refrains from acting out his revenge. This displays Laertes’ as a traditional revenger, willing to act, unlike Hamlet who considers the legitimacy of the ghost’s claims before even considering revenge. Laertes does not take much persuading from Claudius. However it is this over-willingness to act that is the cause of his death. In his rage at the death of both his father and sister, he plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet; a move which kills him as he himself is poisoned by the sword intended for Hamlet. Over-willingness to act is Laerte’s hamartia; and so Laertes also conforms to this tragic skeleton laid out by Aristotle. However perhaps more tragic, although not conforming to Aristotle’s works, is the question; why is Laertes so willing to act? His father was voyeuristic, deceitful and loquacious – he used Ophelia as a tool to gain favour with the king, and spied on Laertes to ensure his name was not tarnished. He was a far from noble man, his life summarised accurately by his death; behind an arras spying on someone. In this regard, it is questionable whether Laertes’ brashness in relation to revenge is justified. From the aspects of Polonius’ character seen in the play, it does not appear that he was a ‘good’ father; in fact he seems villainous at times – for example when he disallows Ophelia to express her love for Hamlet, then makes her feel to blame when Hamlet puts on his antic disposition. It is questionable whether Polonius ‘deserves’ to be avenged. Hamlet seems to simply shrug off the murder of Polonius, noting of what the little worth he was when referring him simply as ‘guts’. This could be seen as tragic, as the worthlessness of Polonius’ character implies that Laertes died for nothing. One explanation is that Laertes may have been inclined to act out revenge with such little persuasion due to the fact Polonius was all he and his sister had. Since Hamlet put on his antic disposition, Ophelia lacked a love interest, as did Laertes assuming he did not have a lover in Paris; moreover they were not allowed to have a love interest due to Polonius caring too much about his image than the wishes of his children. With no love interests, and apparently no motherly figure, they were left with no figure of authority but Polonius, which may be the cause for Laertes’ brash attitudes towards revenge. Also likely is the concept of family honour driving Laertes’ revenge, a concept which an Elizabethan audience may have empathised with. The death of Ophelia in a modern day sense is considered tragic, like any suspected suicide. However during Elizabethan times her death would be considered on a more religious basis; the priest comments on the ‘questionable’ nature of her death, and whether it would warrant a Christian burial. This is an example of how the definition of tragedy shifts over time; even Laertes does not seem as shaken by the announcement of his sister’s death compared to his fathers, perhaps due to the nature of her death. Ophelia’s death is considered a tragedy in a modern day sense, but at the time her death not so much tragic, but rather symbolised the death of innocence in the play, as part of the build up to the climatic deaths in the final act. However, Ophelia’s death is an example of how ‘Hamlet’ is able to transcend traditional ideas on tragedy, and can hold relevance to modern day interpretations of what is considered tragic. In the 21st century, a tragic event is where an individual or group suffers to a greater extent than they are perceived to deserve. It could be argued that however you spin the story of Polonius and his family, they will always conform to this modern interpretation of tragedy, as well as the traditional tragedy theorised by Aristotle. Ophelia is being perpetually commanded and ordered throughout the play by the significant characters in her life; first Laertes, when he displays his disapproval of her intimacy with Hamlet, and Polonius when he conducts his own ‘play within a play’, ordering her to talk to Hamlet while he observes behind an arras. She has little to no freedom, despite the fact she has ‘done nothing wrong’; unlike her brother who had enjoyed the ‘primrose path of dalliance’ while in Paris, and the voyeuristic indulgence of Polonius. The death of Ophelia to a modern audience is tragic, so in this sense the story of Polonius and his family is a tragedy. I agree that the story of Polonius and his family should be considered ‘a tragedy within a tragedy’. Their story contains many of the frequently occurring aspects of a tragedy; death, love, murder, revenge and surveillance. As well as this, the family conforms to the concept of a tragedy as laid out by Aristotle. Finally, the story of Polonius and his family conforms to what is considered tragic in the present, as the tragedy has transcended the period in which the play was written. References Primary Text Shakespeare, W (~1600) ‘Hamlet’ London: Penguin (2005) Secondary Texts Aristotle (350 BC) ‘Poetics’ London: Penguin (1997) Heywood, T (1612) ‘An Apology for Actors’ New York: Scholars’ Facsimiles & Reprints (1999) Mangan, M (1991) ‘A Preface to Shakespeare’s Tragedies’ London: Longman.

Homeless Population And The Homeless Families - 1421 Words

This paper will talk about the homeless population and the homeless families. It will explore the multiple causes of family homelessness and the struggle has on homeless family life. The three main reasons for homeless families within America are the following: 1) the lack of affordable housing, 2) low income 3) Inadequate federal subsidy. This paper will also give possible solutions to family homelessness and improvement plans for the future. Home is where the heart is. -Pliny the Elder We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can t solve.--Linda Lingle The McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 defined a homeless person as â€Å"an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc.† Resent surveys conducted in the U.S. have confirmed that the homeless population in America is extremely diverse and includes representatives from all segments of society, including: the different gander, social class,color and age. The diversity among people that are homeless reflects how difficult it is to generalize the causes of homelessness and the needs of homeless people. 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