Outline

Subject: Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Thesis: The two-state solution would be the ideal outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because this would be in accordance with international law as well as satisfying the most people on both sides of the conflict.


Introduction to the why

• It is the way most in accordance with international law as defined by the 1967 U.N. partition.
• Allows both sides self-determination

Introduction to the why not

• May not completely resolve the bad blood between them
• At this point Palestine may have issues supporting itself

Benefits for Palestine

• Resolves the main point of contention for the Palestinian
• The International Criminal Courts could get involved
• Would be able to decide their own future
• The Palestinian refugees would have a place to go

Benefits for Israel

• Gets to maintain their main goal of a majority Jewish state
• Lessens the risk of rocket attacks on Israeli land
• Could bring them more international recognition
• Wouldn't have to adjust their demographics much

Remaining sticky points

• The right of return for Palestinian refugees originating from Israeli-owned land
• Might not remove the walls/barriers that divide the land
• The Israeli settlements
• May not completely resolve conflict, bad blood runs deep

How the sticky points may be resolved

• Allow refugees from Israeli-controlled land to return
• Build trust between the peoples so that the need for the walls disappears
• Either incorporate Israeli settlements into Palestine or move the ones that refuse back to Israel
• Promote cooperation between the nations as resolving bad blood is a process that doesn't get solved overnight

  
    In my paper I will be exploring the differences between desktop computers and laptop computers. This is to answer the question of whether it is worth the extra price tag in order to buy a laptop over a desktop. This is something I have been wondering myself and I would like to do some more research on the topic to see whether the higher price tag of laptops is justified.

Analyzing "I Want a Wife" and "Men - It's in Their Nature"

 

I Want a Wife:

 

     In this article the author, Judy Brady, describes what she views as the duties and obligations that are expected of women in our culture from the viewpoint of a man wanting a wife. The author makes a rather blatant implication that husband take their wives for granted with a large list of expectations that outlines what western culture has come to expect from the "ideal" housewife.

Men - It's in Their Nature:

 

     This article talks about males and masculinity and how the current trend towards trying to discourage boys from acting on their masculinity is both counterproductive and ultimately futile. The author describes how schools are trying to re tune boys towards less masculine interests in order to close the gap in gender equality. However the author asserts that modern science indicates that a boy's masculine traits and desires are in fact hard-wired in our brains and that trying to change it through force only pushes them further away from the desired equality. She instead suggests that males simply need an outlet for their masculinity that is productive for society versus detrimental.

Essay Choice:

 

     I choose to write my analysis on the article "Men - It's in Their Nature" because I feel the author addresses her viewpoint clearly and provides her reasons for her views. This stands in contrast to "I Want a Wife" which is mostly a list of the various stereotypes of the "ideal" housewife where the author only takes on one viewpoint while neglecting to address the other side nor explain her viewpoint. As such I feel that "Men - It's in Their Nature" is a more complete thought which I can better analyze for the essay.

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Descriptive Free-Write

     I like to go to this place when I want to get away from normal daily life without having to go very far away. As I walk to this place I can feel the salty air of the ocean hit my nostrils after a cool breeze blows my way. As I continue I look upon the waves as they quietly lap along what appears to be a rocky wasteland, though I know that this is no wasteland. A veritable plethora of tiny life teems among shallow pools and under the grey rocks they call home. Nearing my destination, I must pass under a tree laying like a resting behemoth across my path. Arriving at my destination I take my seat upon  an old driftwood log whose bark has long shed away, like a snake that shed it's skin only this skin will never be replaced. At this point I like to start a campfire, in part to keep warm if the day is a cool and chilly one, also to ward away a certain blood-sucking pest who proliferates in the nearby marsh. As I finally sit back I take in the quiet solitude this spot affords, punctuated by the occasional sounds of nature be it the sound of the waves as they continue in their never-ending siege along the shore, or the sounds of the birds as they chirp, caw and sing in their muted cacophony behind me in the forest with their green giants looming over me. Few human souls make their way up to here so for me it is easy for me to whittle away an afternoon sitting there taking in everything around me.

"Destroyed" - Peter F. Martin  

 

Summary:  

 

     In the piece titled "Destroyed" the author Peter F. Martin takes a look at the controversy surrounding the accusations of players doping in professional sports. He questions why anabolic steroid use is considered cheating in the eyes of the public and whether we should look at these "dopers" as people deserving of our anger or as victims of a habitual and, more importantly to him, dangerous drug. In Martin's eyes the fans feel cheated by doping athletes because they flaunt the very principles and purity of sports, the principles that stretch back to Ancient Greece. However, he argues that athletes shouldn't be seen as necessarily evil people, as those that dope will suffer consequences worse than mere scorn as they put their very lives in jeopardy in using steroids.

Paraphrase:

 

     Steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are dangerous, not only to the sports that are marred by cheaters who break the spirit of competition, but to the cheaters themselves who threaten their own health. People forget that it is not only the sport that is damaged, but the players as well (Martin 582).

Quote:

 

     What perhaps struck me the most was when Martin asserts at the end of paragraph 9 that "It is the players, much more than the games, that we must protect." (Martin 582). People get so caught up in bemoaning how the sanctity of the sports are ruined by cheaters that they also forget that these cheaters are human beings just like them, people who have made mistakes in their lives that have led them down the path of risking their very lives in order to improve their performance in a game that is there for the enjoyment of everybody, players and fans alike.