Define Terrorism Essay

Define Terrorism Essay Define Terrorism Essay History of Terrorism Today we hear the word â€Å"terrorism† and we automatically think of the events of September 11, 2001. We associate the word with mass casualties, hijacked lanes, destruction and Al-Qa’ida. We think terrorism is something that just started in 2001 in America, but in reality terrorism has been around for centuries and it was happening in other counties. As history will show, terrorism existed long before 2001 and it came in different forms, such as state terrorism, tyrants, anarchists and 4 waves of terror. Terrorism; what does it mean? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it is defined as â€Å"the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal†. The use of the word â€Å"terrorism† can be traced back to the Reign of Terror that occurred after the French Revolution. The Reign of Terror was led by Maximilien Robespierre and he was determined to destroy those who were suspected of being enemies of the Revolution. Roberspierre was a very important member of the Committee of Public Safety which had control over the French government. In 1974 the Committee of Public Safety put the Law of 22 Prairial in place. This law did away with a suspect’s right to public trial and to legal assistance and the only two choices the jury had was to acquit the suspect or sentence them to death. The Committee of Public Safety began to be called terrorists because with this law in place it is estimated that at least 300,000 peop le were arrested and about 1,400 people were executed by guillotine. Carsten Bockstette at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies defines â€Å"terrorism† as â€Å"political violence in an asymmetrical conflict that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear (sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of noncombatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to send a message from an illicit clandestine organization. The purpose of terrorism is to exploit the media in order to achieve maximum attainable publicity as an amplifying force multiplier in order to influence the targeted audience(s) in order to reach short- and midterm political goals and/or desired long-term end states†. (Center for Primary Action to Counter Terrorism – Carsten Bockstette 2008) Although terrorism is thought to be actions of non-state actors, it is said that states can, and have used force or the threat of force to terrorize citizens in order to achieve a political goal, without declaring war. (A guide to Different Types of Terrorism; Amy Zalman Ph.D.). â€Å"State Terrorism† refers to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people or its own people.( Merriam-Webster Dictionary) An example of â€Å"state terrorism† is Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin’s rule. Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party and after Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, Stalin took over as the leader of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin was a very harsh leader. He had anyone that didn’t agree with him killed. He caused famine in certain areas of the country so that people he wanted dead would starve. He ordered purges in order to get rid of the people he thought was against him, which resulted in millions being killed or sent to slave labor camps. Tyranny is a government in which all power belongs to one person: the ruler or authority of a tyrant. It refers to different forms of oppression, either by government, or by a social situation in which a group is tyrannized. Dictatorships are a common form of tyranny. Adolf Hitler is an example of a tyrant. He hated Jewish people and wanted to rid Germany of them. He forced Jewish people to go to concentration camps where 6 million Jews were killed during World War II. He also killed other races and other people he didn’t like. Propaganda by the Deed was an anarchist’s concept that promotes the decisive action of individuals to inspire further

Family Tree of Harry Potter Author, JK Rowling

Family Tree of Harry Potter Author, JK Rowling Joanne (J.K.) Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol, England, on 31 July 1965. This is also the birthday of her famous wizard character Harry Potter. She attended school in Gloucestershire until the age of 9 when her family moved to Chepstow, South Wales. From an early age, J.K. Rowling aspired to be a writer. She studied at the University of Exeter before moving to London to work for Amnesty International. While in London, J.K. Rowling began her first novel. Her long road to the publication of the first Harry Potter book, however, was shadowed by the loss of her mother in 1990 and over a year of rejections by various agents and publishers. J. K. Rowling has since written seven books in the Harry Potter series and was named the greatest living British writer by The Book Magazine in June 2006 and Person of the Year in 2007. Her books have sold hundreds of millions of copies around the world. J.K. Rowling Joanne (J.K.) Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. She first married television journalist Jorge Arantes in Portugal on 16 October 1992. The couple had one child, Jessica Rowling Arantes, born in 1993 and the couple divorced a few months later. J.K. Rowling later married again, to Dr. Neil Murray (b. 30 June 1971) on 26 December 2001 in their home in Perthshire, Scotland. The couple has had two children: David Gordon Rowling Murray, born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 23 March 2003 and Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 23 January 2005. J.K. Rowling's Parents Peter John Rowling was born in 1945. Anne Volant was born on 6 Feb 1945 in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. She died from complications of multiple sclerosis on 30 Dec 1990. Peter James Rowling married Anne Volant on 14 Mar 1965 in All Saints Parish Church, London, England. The couple had the following children: Joanne (J.K.) Rowling.Dianne (Di) Rowling, who was born on 28 Jun 1967 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. Rowling's Grandparents Ernest Arthur Rowling was born on 9 July 1916 in Walthamstow, Essex, England and died about 1980 in Newport, Wales. Kathleen Ada Bulgen was born on 12 January 1923 in Enfield, Middlesex, England and died on 1 Mar 1972. Ernest Rowling and Kathleen Ada Bulgen were married on 25 Dec 1943 in Enfield, Middlesex, England. The couple had the following children: Jeffrey Ernest Rowling, born on 2 Oct 1943 in Enfield, Middlesex, England and died of bladder cancer on 20 Jul 1998 in Juno Beach, Palm Becah County, Florida.Peter John Rowling. Stanley George Volant was born on 23 June 1909 in St. Marylebone, London, England. Louisa Caroline Watts (Freda) Smith was born on 6 May 1916 in Islington, Middlesex, England. According to a 2005 article Plot twist shows Rowling is true Scot in the London Times, based on research by genealogist Anthony Adolph, Louisa Caroline Watts Smith is thought to have been the daughter of Dr. Dugald Campbell, who is said to have had an affair with a young bookkeeper named Mary Smith. According to the article, Mary Smith disappeared soon after giving birth, and the girl was raised by the Watts family who owned the nursing home where the girl was born. She was called Freda and told only that her father was a Dr. Campbell. The birth certificate for Louisa Caroline Watts Smith lists no father and identifies the mother only as Mary Smith, bookkeeper of 42 Belleville Rd. The birth took place at 6 Fairmead Road, which is confirmed in the London Directory of 1915 to be the residence of Mrs. Louisa Watts, midwife. Mrs. Louisa C. Watts later appears as a witness to Fredas marriage to Stanley Volant in 1938. Louisa Caroline Watts (Freda) Smith died about April 1997 in Hendon, Middlesex, England. Stanley George Volant and Louisa Caroline Watts (Freda) Smith were married on 12 March 1938 in All Saints Church, London, England. The couple had the following children: Anne Volant.Marian Volant.