GeoStrategic Importance of Pakistan

GeoStrategic Importance of Pakistan Geo- Strategic means importance of a country or a region as by virtue of its geographical location. Geo political is defined as, stressing the influence of geographic factors on the state power, international conduct and advantages it derives from its location. Pakistan is located at a region which has a great economic, political and strategic location. It has been the hub of great activities for the past twenty years. Stephen Cohn describes this importance While history has been unkind to Pakistan, its geography has been its greatest benefit. It has resource rich area in the north-west, people rich in the north-east. Pakistan is a junction of South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia, a way from resource efficient countries to resource deficient countries. The world is facing energy crisis and terrorism. Pakistan is a route for transportation, and a front line state against terrorism. Pakistan has witnessed the intervention of three great powers Britons, U.S.S.R and U.S. Its significance is further enhanced during the cold war when it became the alley of the U.S policy of containment of U.S.S.R and now the post cold war era has witnessed its significance politically after the event of 9/11. Pakistans Geographical Location: Pakistan is located in southern Asia. It is located between 24 and 36.5 Northern latitude and between 61 and 75.5 eastern latitude. The area of Pakistan is estimated at 803,940 square kilometers. Pakistan is the bridge between South Asia and South West Asia. Towards the North western part of Pakistan there lies Afghanistan. Pakistans boundary with Afghanistan is about 2,250 kilometers long. In the north, it runs along the ridges of the Hindu Kush (meaning Hindu Killer) mountains and the Pamirs, where a narrow strip of Afghan territory called the Wakhan Corridor extends between Pakistan and Tajikistan. This strip is about 16 to 25 kilometers long. The boundary line between Pakistan and Afghanistan is called Durand Line and it was drawn by Sir Mortimer Durand in 1893 and he was the foreign sectary of British India and was acceded to by the ameer of Afghanistan that same year. It was not in doubt when Pakistan became independent in 1947, although its legitimacy was in later years disputed periodically by the Afghan government as well as by Pakhtun tribes straddling the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. On the one hand, Afghanistan claimed that the Durand Line had been imposed by a stronger power upon a weaker one, and it favored the establishmen t of still another state to be called Pashtunistan or Pakhtunistan. On the other hand, Pakistan, as the legatee of the British in the region, insisted on the legality and permanence of the boundary. The Durand Line remained in effect in 1994. In the northeastern tip of the country, Pakistan controls about 84,159 square kilometers of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. This area, consisting of Azad Kashmir (11,639 square kilometers) and most of the Northern Areas (72,520 square kilometers), which includes Gilgit and Baltistan, is the most visually stunning of Pakistan. The Northern Areas has five of the worlds seventeen highest mountains. It also has such extensive glaciers that it has sometimes been called the third pole. The boundary line has been a matter of pivotal dispute between Pakistan and India since 1947, and the Siachen Glacier in northern Kashmir has been an important arena for fighting between the two sides since 1984, although far more soldiers have died of exposure to the cold than from any skirmishes in the conflict. From the eastern end of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, a boundary of about 520 kilometers runs generally southeast between China and Pakistan, ending near the Karakoram Pass. This line was determined from 1961 to 1965 in a series of agreements between China and Pakistan. By mutual agreement, a new boundary treaty is to be negotiated between China and Pakistan when the dispute over Kashmir is finally resolved between India and Pakistan. The India-Pakistan Border, known locally as the International Border (IB), is the international boundary between India and Pakistan that demarcates the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat from provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Pakistan borders India in the East. The border resulted from the Partition of India in 1947. The Line of Control (L.O.C) separates The Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir. Wagah, the ceremonial point of crossing between India and Pakistan lies along this border between the Indian city of Amritsar and the Pakistani city of Lahore, and is within close distance of both cities urban sprwal. The boundary with Iran, some 800 kilometers in length, was first delimited by a British commission in 1893, separating Iran from what was then British Indian Balochistan. In 1957 Pakistan signed a frontier agreement with Iran, and since then the border between the two countries has not been a subject of serious dispute. To the South of Pakistan , Arabian sea and Indian ocean are located. The costal belt of Pakistan is about 700 kilometer. Pakistan significance is enhanced as it located near the Persian Gulf from where 65% oil of the world is produced. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: 500 BC , one of the worlds first great civilizations began to develop in the Indus Valley in what is now Pakistan.Ruin of Harrapa and Mhenjo- Daro , were the two major cities of the civilization, show that both were large and well planned. By about 1700 BC, the Indus Valley civilization had disappeared. Experts dont know why it collapsed. During the next several thousand years, many people from southwest and Central Asia came into the region that is now Pakistan. About 1500 BC, a Central Asian people called Aryans came through the mountains passes to the Punjab region. In time, they settled across almost all of india. The Persians conquered the Punjab during the 500 BC and made it part of the huge Achmenid empire. In 236BC, Alexander the great took control of most of what is now Pakistan, a few years later, the emperor Chandra Gupta Mauriya made the region, part of Mauriyan empire. The Mauriyan Empire began to break up about 230BC. Greeks from the independent state of Bacteria in Central Asia then invaded the Indus valley, they established kingdom with capitals near the present day cities of Peshawar and Rawalpindi. About 100BC Scythians from Afghanistan came into Baluchistan and Sindh. In time they conquered the Indus region. The Parthian, who in turn was conquered by the Kushans of Central Asia, replaced Afghans. The Kushans ruled what is now Afghan. Pakistan and northwest India from about AD 50 mid 200s. They controlled the trade routes from China to India and the Middle East, Peshawar, the kushan capital, became the major commercial center. During the mid 300 the Indus valley become part of the Gupta Empire which had expanded westward from northeastern India, Huns from Central Asia conquered the empire in mid 400s. The coming of Islam, In AD 711,Arabs Muslims sailed across the Arabian sea and invaded Sindh bringing Islam to the region, Beginning about AD 1000 Turkish Muslim invaded Northern Pakistan from Iran. The Turkish ruler Mehmood of Ghazni established a Muslim kingdom that in time including the entire Indus Valley. Lahore become the capital of the kingdom and developed into a major entre of Muslim culture. In 1206, most of what is now Pakistan became part of the Delhi Sultanat, a Muslim empire that included Northern India. The Delhi Sultanat lasted until 1526, when Babar a Muslim ruler from Afghanistan, invaded India and established the Mughul Empire. By far Sher Shahs greatest legacy is the modern Grand Trunk road which ran from Bengal to Attock, however some claim it ran right up to Kabul. Along the way Baulis and Sarais were constructed which are the equivalent of Modern day Service stations. Some 450 years later, an incompetent ruler of Modern Pakistan also fancied going down in History as Sher Shah Suri. The result, a road though one of the best in the world but a white elephant for the Pakistani Nation.

American Folk Art

Visiting the four on-line sites devoted to â€Å"Gilded Lions and Jewelled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel† helped me to enhance my knowledge of Jewish woodcarvers art, and I was also provided with excellent opportunity to explore the works of American and European artists. I found out that American art has contributed developing of distinct Jewish culture within American boundaries. The works of art presented at the sites are really exuberant and refine as they reflect the history of transformation and, what is more important, of survival of cultural heritage.The exhibitions presented amounts more than one hundred works and objects, as well as documentary photographs of synagogue arks and carved gravestones, carousel animals and sacred carvings. I learned that Jewish immigrants had to struggle to balance their observant life with reality as it was difficult for them to adjust to new environment. Nevertheless, the most interested information I learned is about the histor y of carousels and carousel animals – lions and horses.My favorite image (see picture) is a standing horse with jeweled trappings made by Marcus Charles Illions. The horse is wooden, painted and decorated with glass eyes and jewels. Illions is known to create the most animated carousel animas and his horses seemed exhausted from their eternal gallop tempers. The horses were often entailed with wild eyes and they were flying in the air. Carousels gained popularity in American and one of the possible reasons is that they were designed by diverse generation of immigrants who added distinct features to horses and lions.The carousel industry flourished in urban centers of New York and Philadelphia as those regions were characterized by mass immigration from countries with strong carving traditions. Mostly, carousel animals were designed by Italians, Germans and Eastern Europeans. Works Cited http://www. folkartmuseum. org/default. asp? id=1869 http://www. gildedlions. org/ http:// www. gildedlions. org/carousels. html http://www. gildedlions. org/welcome. html

Analysis of Gloria Jimenezs Against All Odds and Against...

Essay Analysis Gloria Jimà ©nez wrote an essay at Tuffs University in 2003 named, â€Å"Against All Odds and Against the Common Good (Jimà ©nez 116). The purpose of this essay is to persuade and support the following thesis: â€Å"Still, when all is said and done about lotteries bringing a vast amount of money into the lives of many people into the lives of a few, the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble (Jimà ©nez 116).† The evidence given in support of toward this argument does not point toward the proper thesis identified in the beginning of the essay. Jimà ©nez begins with little confidence in her ability to persuade the states to get out of the†¦show more content†¦The author than fails to tell the source of this experiment so the reader of her essay is left wondering if it is even valid evidence from a reliable source. These viewpoints are better placed with a thesis that reads, â€Å"States should no longer be in the business of the state lo ttery.† The evidence she brings at that point covers most of her essay and I do not find them addressing the issue of â€Å"the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble† (Jimà ©nez 116-119). The second to last paragraph actually has the most associability with her main thesis. The logical argument she uses here is a very good point, â€Å"Everyone knows tobacco is harmful. What if the state enticed people to smoke (Jimà ©nez 118)?† This is a very good point except the author failed to address why the harmfulness of the state lottery should be compared to the health risk of cigarettes. The issue is not directly addressed as to why playing the state lottery is bad. Without that supporting evidence that argument leaves much to be desired. It can also be argued that no one ever wins from smoking tobacco even if they never get sick from it; their family and friends suffer. Someone eventually does win the lottery and it may truly be a ticket out of poverty. The circumstance surrounding her addresses concerning poverty is where the author makes an appeal to pathos. She states,â€Å"the poorShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Odds And Against The Common Good990 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of the odds The lottery in this country is a big past time for Americans. It gives hope to the hopeless and disappointment to a multitude of participants. A quick view of statistical information regarding the lottery shows that out of all people who take part in this country wide phenomenon, each individual person has a 1 in 175,223,510 chance of hitting the jackpot (AmericanStatisticalAssociation.org). The author of â€Å"Against The Odds and Against the Common Good†, argues that theRead MoreAnalysis of Against the Odds and Against the Common Good1735 Words   |  7 PagesThe following two paragraphs are a summary of Gloria Jimenezs essay Against the Odds and Against the Common Good. States should neither allow nor encourage state-run lotteries. There are five major arguments that people use to defend lotteries. One is that most lotteries are run honestly, but if gambling is harmful to society it is irrelevant to argue if they are honest or not. The second is that lotteries cre ate jobs, but there are only a small handful of jobs that would be eliminated if lotteries

Analysis Of The Movie Twilight - 1211 Words

Analyzing a motion picture about relationships, what grander opportunity than to confer the 2008 blockbuster Twilight as a specimen. Twilight originally was paper back and eventually became a motion picture hit after the book became well recognized. The two different opportunities of accessing this unique love story has enhanced the awareness and also makes deliberations to be inclusive to the audience. This has also made it cheaper to view because there was a chose. A brief over of Twilight: Bella moves into Forks, Washington State and suffers from always having been a bit eccentric. She encounters one of her high school peers Edward and is captivated by him. His mysteriousness attracts her more, and when he saves her from being injured†¦show more content†¦The lack of diversity essentially gives a negative stigma for the film that is difficult to defer. It can pose a question of was the film director racist and chose not include people of color? Was it purposely does this way or was it accidental? Does the director not support sexual orientation deviation? Also, why was the handicap father only shown briefly on rare occurrences? Was this done on purpose or was it done unintentional? This poses many enquiries that are challenging to answer due to the lack of evidence on the topic matter. A second look at the film, made me recognize that not every instance in life is going to be black and white. This alone can cause controversy of the fi lm, because it has deficiencies in these categories. When addressing ethical questions pertaining to the film, there is quite a multitude of them to say the least. The first ethical question is Edward a stalker and is this an unhealthy relationship? Edward comes into her room without permission and also followers her without her knowing. He always knows where she is and Bella is oblivious of it. Also, he has placed her into danger which is not healthy as well. He also attempts to isolate her from her family as well as her friends. He has total control of her due to her vulnerability and low self-esteem as well. The low self-esteem gives him power over her and makes her more susceptible to his advancements and orders. It also gives him the power to treat her how he wishes because she willShow MoreRelatedTwilight Movie Analysis937 Words   |  4 PagesGabrielle Law Dr. Savoy PSY 376-501 10 November 2017 Bella’s Development Young adults go through many changes during their adolescent developmental years, including cognitive, emotional, and social development. Isabella Swan, the main character of the movie Twilight, shows the audience a great visual representation of how she goes through emerging adulthood. Isabella, or Bella for short, is a teen girl in high school who just moved to a new city, Forks, Washington, with her father whom she had not seen sinceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Twilight 1222 Words   |  5 PagesIn the movie Twilight, the protagonist Bella Swan, a teenager in high school, risks everything to fall in love with the handsome vampire, Edward Cullens. The story sets in Forks, Washington, where Bella moves in with her father, Charley. Bella’s life stays calm and dull until she meets the vampire family which turns her life up-side-down. Edward Cullens and Bella Swan fall in love with each other at first sight. The love between immortal is not easy; conflicts arise with the int erference of werewolvesRead MoreThe Movie Twilight Film Analysis804 Words   |  4 Pages Twilight Twilight, is a movie known by many people, directed by Catherine Hardwicke in 2008. Twilight is just the first of many movies in the series, â€Å"The Twilight Saga†. Isabella â€Å"Bella† Swan (Kristen Stewart), the main character, is a teenage girl, she is moving from her loved home in sunny and warm Arizona with her mom, to Forks, a always rainy and dreary small town in the state of Washington to live with her father. When she goes to school she meets Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) a vampireRead MoreFilm Review Of Twilight 988 Words   |  4 PagesFilm Analysis of Twilight This report is a presentation of an evaluation of the first Twilight film, Twilight, which came out in 2008. This film depicts many family concepts, values, and relationships that were covered in the textbook, Public and Private Families: An Introduction, seventh edition, written by Andrew J. Cherlin. The main purpose of this film analysis is to address the different types of relationships, family values, and family concepts in this film. In this film there are multipleRead MoreThe Stereotypical Gender Ring : Bella Swan s Indifference Vs. Rosalie Hale s Proactivity932 Words   |  4 Pagesand Popular Culture Research Proposal and Thesis October 5, 2015 Entering the Stereotypical Gender Ring: Bella Swan’s Passivity vs. Rosalie Hale’s Proactivity For my research project I have decided to choose a character from a popular book series, Twilight which was written by Stephenie Meyer. The forbidden love story between a plain human girl and a gorgeous vampire boy sparked the hearts of millions, but the singular character I’m conducting my research on is Rosalie Hale. While Bella Swan, the mainRead MoreThe Act Of Killing By Joshua Oppenheimer1497 Words   |  6 PagesMovie productions produce an extensive range of exclusive films to engage the audience in their film-making process and creation. A customized amount of movies deliberately contain a theme of social unrest. The creation of such film is mainly accomplished by recreating the occurrence and presenting it in a similar perspective, making it available to their current or future audience. However, what are the motives filmmakers desiring to produce a reenactment film regarding social unrest and how doesRead MoreThe Twilight Saga: Redefining the Vampire Essay837 Words   |  4 Pagesthink of the traditional pale-faced, malicious bloodsuckers, sporting a cape and killing people when they’re sleeping. Wrong! Nowadays, the image of a vampire is a handsome, polite, and loving person who protects humans. The new cultural phenomenon Twilight is building a new degrading image for vampires that slaps the face of all previous authors, directors, writers, etc. who contributed to giving the monster its unique image in the past. Simply searching through articles, databases, and other resourcesRead MoreReview Of The Lady With The Toy Dog 1134 Words   |  5 Pages The thought that a fictitious movie like Twilight is actually affecting women seems almost bizarre. You may wonder how it’s even possible that we can be so easily influenced by what some consider an â€Å"aimless series of vampire books†. However, it’s a proven fact that our brains react to fiction tales and they can indeed impact us in ways we could only imagine. A study was done in 2009 at the University of Toronto in Canada testing the hypothesis that art can cause significant changes in the experienceRead MoreCarter Burwell s Impressionist Pieces1912 Words   |  8 Pagesscoring every film they have created. Burwell also composed film music for all of Spike Jonze’s films. He is most famous for his work on Fargo (1996), Being John Malkovich (1999) and Twilight (2008). Burwell’s soundtrack for Twilight, was describes as â€Å"thrilling and exhilarating† (Catherine Hardwicke, director of Twilight). Source: Burwell, 1955, Carterburwell.com, 2014 Clair de Lune: Claude Debussy composed Clair de Lune, the third movement from the Suite Bergamasque in 1888. It was first publishedRead MoreA World Of True Blood And Twilight1349 Words   |  6 PagesIn a world of True Blood and Twilight it is easily seen by the current young adult generation as to how sexualization of vampires is inevitable and as a result is easily accepted. However according to Christopher Craft and his work on â€Å"Gender and Inversion†, that conventional vampiric sexualization is more complex than perceived. Craft’s work outlines many of Bram Stoker’s theses throughout his novel Dracula. He states how there is a gender inversion within Stoker’s vampire; questioning conventional

Analysis Of The Poem Whale Rider Essay - 1265 Words

This is a story about how a Maori girl Kahu Paikea will eventually overcome the obstacles of tradition and reality. From the film you can see this old tribe is still has serious patriarchal consciousness, the rules have always been used to break, the life needs self-master. The girl did not give up the goal, she used her actions inherited the chief s miracle. Legend is often inspirational, because with spiritual power, or implied some kind of mystery. If some kind of legend with its inherent rationality, will produce a good story. The Whale Rider is such a good film, the open sea, the distant shout, an island Maori, their ancestors are riding a whale come. Certainly, an ancient village has a traditional parents, the system must have an elderly management of the entire village. Inheritance and development into a mission. Opposition and friction is the new era of continuous progress and replacement. In the traditional literary and artistic works, the clear contradiction is the prerequi site for the achievement of good works. In Whale Rider, Caro is to seize this contradiction, thus creating a legendary classic. First of all, a legend about the Maori, more than 1,000 years ago, the Maori because of the storms and sailing fall into the sea, helplessness and despair in shows on their faces. One of them called the whales to help them, and later he rode the whale and find this beautiful land, New Zealand. Since then, the people here multiply, endless, and MaoriShow MoreRelated The Style of Beowulf Essay2172 Words   |  9 Pagesstyle. Recently, there have been reconsiderations of authochthonous traditions linked mainly with the analysis of larger narrative patterns (105).    Beowulf ‘s stylistic features will be examined in this essay, along with the perspectives of various literary critics.    T. A. Shippey in â€Å"The World of the Poem† expresses himself on the subject of a point of style in the Old English poem Beowulf: â€Å"The poet reserves the right to say what people are thinking; he does not, however, regardRead More themebeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - Theme and Style of Beowulf2716 Words   |  11 PagesIn this essay I hope to state clearly some of the popularly mentioned themes running through the poem, and to carefully delineate many aspects of the author’s style.    â€Å"Many critics feel that the speech of Hrothgar between lines 1700 and 1784 encapsulates the moral of the poem†¦.’He does not know the worse – till inside him great arrogance grows and spreads’† (Shippey 38). Is the theme of the poem that pride kills? Hrothgar’s ominous words do come back to haunt the hero more than once. Beowulf

John Smith and William Bradford Free Essays

John Smith and William Bradford were both great early explorers. Smith and Bradford had both many similarities and differences when it came to such topics as Leadership, Interaction with Native Americans, and Success in Arrival. John Smith was an explorer from the Virginia Company. We will write a custom essay sample on John Smith and William Bradford or any similar topic only for you Order Now He was always known as a good leader but he had one flaw. His sarcastic attitude was always getting him in trouble. It almost got him killed when he was captured by the Powhatan tribe. The only thing that saved him from execution was Pocohontas, the chiefs daughter.Smith was scheduled to arrive in Virginia because everyone on his charter were to work there as endentured servants. But Smith never ended up landing in Virginia, his charter ended up landing in Plymouth MA. William Bradford was an Explorer aboard the Mayflower and also had a lot to do with the Mayflower compact. Thankfully, Bradford never really had any problems with the native americans. He actually made peace with a Native American by the name of Squanto. While aboard the Mayflower, Bradford experienced a very tough journey. The ship was over crowded, they experienced bad weather, there was much disease, and a lack of necessary supplies.Once they finally made it to America though it was well worth it. Their primary reason for leaving was to escape their tyrannical King. Now that they were in a new country they weren’t forced to worship him anymore. In conclusion, Smith and Bradford had both many similarities and differences when it came to such topics as Leadership, Interaction with Native Americans, and Success in Arrival. They were some of the first to colonize what the U. S. is today and they had an incredible impact on American Literature with the documents and journals that they left behind. How to cite John Smith and William Bradford, Papers

Problem Areas in Life Essay Example For Students

Problem Areas in Life Essay : In this day and age its pretty amazing to be achild that has parents that are still married. It truly is amazing how twopeople so different from one another can make a marriage. Many people entermarriage with the belief that if you love each other, than that is enough to getbye. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-* Copyright DueNow.com Inc. *Category:PhilosophyPaper Title:Problem Areas in LifeText:17 Problem Areas in LifeFAMILYIn this day and age its pretty amazing to be a child that has parents thatare still married. It truly is amazing how two people so different from oneanother can make a marriage. Many people enter marriage with the belief that ifyou love each other, than that is enough to get bye. When I look at my parents I realize that they were raised in two totallydifferent environments, with different life styles, and different ways ofthinking. Yet, I cant help noticing that their family foundations are the same. Both of them have made a commitment to each other, a commitment to communicatewith one another, and a commitment to always love one another even when theydont always like one another. They must be doing something right, theirmarriage is in its 36th year!WORKCommunication in the work place and the ability to communicate effectively iscrucial to success. Even the simplest straightforward exchange of informationcan lead to distortion and miscommunication. The basis of a positive andsuccessful work place is the result of communication from managers topersonnel. Listening and feedback are essential to creating a harmonious workenvironment. It has been my personal experience that when communication in the workenvironment needs improvement management always increases written notices toemployees instead of verbal communication. When a manger has to come in contactwith an employee often times what they say can be important and it is intendedto benefit the receiver. When a manager needs to address a situation they shouldtake a good look into what the real problem is and if the employee has a clearunderstanding of the instructions in the first place. MONEYMoney and credit seem to be the root of many marital problems. We have allbeen in the same predicament at least once in our lives, not enough money tocover the bills. The choices you make now will determine your credit later. Topay your bills now will leave you strapped for the time being. To pay your billslate will leave you with damaged credit. When first starting out, credit is very hard to establish. You need to findsomeone that will give you that initial loan, whether that may be a credit cardor an actual bank loan. After you have been given the opportunity to buildcredit, how you manage it is entirely up to you. Many families experiencetension of money and credit problems. Once again, I believe that commitment andplanning is the key to overcoming potential problems in this area. LEISUREFamily leisure is an important aspect of leisure and an important part oflife for many people in our society. Home-based activities and family-orientedactivities outside the home are the most common forms of leisure activity. Family forms and structures have undergone dramatic changes in recent years,and the traditional family, made up of a bread-winner husband, ahomemaker mother and children, represents only a very small minority of familiestoday. There are an increasing number of non-traditional families, includingsingle-parent families, gay and lesbian families, blended families and childlessfamilies. Moreover, recognition of the differential needs of different cultural,racial and ethnic groups means recognition that family structures may varyaccording to cultural background. The Yellow Wallpaper – Journey into Insanity Essay ThesisQUALITY OF LIFEA term that is highly associated with quality of life iseuthanasia. The most common thesis in support of euthanasia iscalled The Argument for Mercy. It simply states that euthanasia ismorally justified because it ends suffering. Terminally ill patients are peoplewho will never attain a personal existence, never experience life as a netvalue, and/or never achieve a minimal level of independence. The moral issueregarding euthanasia is not affected by whether more could have been done for apatient, but whether euthanasia is allowable if it is the only alternative totorment. Euthanasia does not refer to Nazi-like elimination of the sick, old, orunproductive. Traditionally, euthanasia means the search for a good death, aneasier death for one who is dying, a release through death from intractablesuffering. If a person prefers and even begs for death as an alternative tolinger on in torment, only to die, then s urely it is not immoral to help thisperson die sooner. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is one of theoldest and most common moral proverbs, which applies to everyone alike. Whenpeople try to decide whether certain actions are morally correct, they must askwhether they would be willing for everyone to follow that rule, in similarcircumstances. Each of us is going to die someday; although, we do not know howor when and we have little choice in the matter. Suppose you were given thechoice to die quietly and painlessly or to live and suffer. A chance to survivea while longer with a disease so painful that you could only moan for those fewdays, weeks, or even months before death while family members stand helplesslyby. What would your ideal choice be? I know, I would choose the quick andpainless death not only for myself, but for my family. The principle ofself-determination promotes the ideas of self-governance, freedom of choice, andpersonal responsibility for individual decisions and behaviors. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-