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-6- Closing commentary
When summarizing the facts given in this coursework I come to the conclusion, that George W. Bush, president of the United States of America, used the horrible attacks on the World Trade Center to not only justify the upcoming attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, but also to establish new laws that reduce the citizens freedom. (Patriot Act / Homeland security)

His administration created and distributed false facts, blatant lies and fairy tales, to persuade the people of America of their opinion. Several incidents have shown, that Bush bent reality far too much: All the lies about 9/11, the war in Afghanistan which was started without any real evidence and the war in Iraq, where everyday 1,98 US soldiers are killed.(based on the casualties until today, 30th march, 2004. Watch the Flash animations for further information). The whole story about the Weapons of Mass destruction was a lie. He, Bush, even jokes about the non-existing WMD. “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere … nope, no weapons over there … maybe under here?” Bush joked at the occasion of a dinner.” 41
I personally do not find this too funny. There were no WMD. That’s what Blix’ s detailed report said. Other sources verified this.42 I am really wondering if Mr. Bush thinks that killing people without any reason (that’s what the US did in the Iraq war in 2003), is funny to joke about. The whole idea sickens me.
Slowly, but maybe just in time for the US election 2004, criticism towards the Bush administration increases. Reports that had been withheld are now made public. Former White House employees and other government officials release secret information that were not accessible up to now, and that really puts pressure on Bush. It looks like that Bush tried to use the events of 9/11 to justify wars against other nations, but he did not say “We are declaring war on Iraq”, but “I declare war on terrorism”. This phrase marks history, as for the first time a war is not fought against a single country, but against a great number of countries that allegedly grant a safe haven for them. This vague term allows Bush to target any country he wants. Who will be next? So far, we have learnt, that no reason is a reason, which means, that the country accused of dealing with terrorists (Afghanistan e.g.) can be attacked on base of facts created by the Bush administration’s PR machine.

-7- Eigenständigkeitserklärung

Ich erkläre, dass ich die Facharbeit ohne fremde Hilfe angefertigt und nur die im Literaturverzeichnis angeführten Quellen und Hilfsmittel benutzt habe.

Ich bin der Autor dieser Facharbeit und beanspruche ein komplettes Copyright auf diese.
I am the author of this coursework. The author copyrights this coursework.

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- 3 – Mr. Bush

To fully understand the political context it is important to gain further knowledge about the man who is behind all this: Mr. Bush.

3.1 Who is this man?

George Walker Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was the 41st President of the US, George Herbert Walker Bush. In 1959, George (from now on I am referring to the current president of the USA) was enrolled in the Kinkaid School near Houston, Texas, a private academy in one of the nation’s wealthiest suburbs. He did not stay there for very long, because 1961 his parents decided to enrol him at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, the school his father went to.
“He was an average student who never made honour roll”, so says the school’s yearbook and a dean at Andover doubted that George would be good enough to be accepted at Yale University.0 Of course George wouldn’t break this tradition and went there, too. He received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1968 and then served the military as a as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard.
“Bush had taken the Air Force Officers Qualification Test at Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts, scoring only 25 percent on the “pilot aptitude” section (the lowest acceptable grade) and 50 percent for navigator aptitude. But he scored 95 percent on test questions designed to determine “officer quality.” There were a few Guard openings, and a waiting list of other applicants. Bush was given the last slot and was sworn in as an airman the same day he applied. “He was,” according to Los Angeles Times reporter Richard A. Serrano, “able to jump into the officer ranks without the exceptional credentials many other officer candidates possessed.” Indeed, while “Bush quickly won a place among the Guard’s elite fighter pilots, other young men who earned their wings first had to build up extensive military experience and aviation skills.”"
- Coincidently, his father was an influential congressional representative at the time.
During this time (America was fighting in the Vietnam War), applying for the National Guard was seen as a denial of military service, because the NG operates inside the US only.
In 1975, Bush received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. He then returned to Texas and began his career in the oil business as a free-lance agent; he started working on behalf of different oil companies. Bush established his first oil company named “Arbusto” in 1977 (“Arbusto” is Spanish for “bush”) which soon after ended in ruin.
He graduated and then moved back to Texas to begin a career in the energy business. Usually you expect a career to be something special and good. In his case, it was only the first. His career in the oil business was shocking in a special way:
Molly Ivans, a journalist, describes his development like this:
“When you want to look at George W. [Bushs] development in the oil business, you have to visualize the following: He never created or even found a single source of income, if you don’t count at all the dollars that seeped into the texican underground.”
Until 1986, he earned his money from acting as a CEO6 of several companies. One of these companies was “Spectrum 7″.
“In 1986, Spectrum 7 merged with Dallas-based Harken Oil & Gas, which specialized in the purchase of small, insolvent companies. Its largest stockholder at the time (46.8 percent) was Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, the international financier and currency speculator […]. Paul Rea, Spectrum 7’s president, told the Washington Post: “One of the reasons Harken was so interested in merging was because of George [Bush]. They believed having George’s name there would be a big help to them. They wanted him on their board.”"
He learnt that his name would open him doors, he never had thought of.
After his more or less “unsuccessful” career so far, he started supporting his dad’s presidential campaign, which turned out to be successful. And on the business side,
in 1989, a group formed by Bush Junior bought the Texas Rangers, a Major League Baseball team. He personally invested not more then $606,000. But when the team was sold some years thereafter, his shares were worth over $14.9 million – a tremendous gain made possible by using his fathers’ connections in the background. This is how Mr. Bush finally earned enough money to finance his election.
After 8 years experience in politics (governor of Texas) he was put up as republican presidential candidate, in the coming November he won the election by 271 to 267 electoral votes. He lost the official tally with 50,158,094 to 49,820,518 votes for Al Gore.7
In 2001, he officially started his presidency and took over Bill Clinton (a democrat) who beat his father in the 1992’s presidential election.

3.2 His business connections

Some of Bush’s connections to the Arabian states are known and transparent, but others are very well hidden and can only be discovered when looking at his personal background relations. The overall picture shows a striking evidence of close contacts to the bin Laden clan.
A series of coincidences starts in 1968 when George Bush meets and befriends with James Bath, a former Air force pilot and budding entrepreneur. This Mr. Bath functioned as a contact man between the Bush family and the Saudi Arabian Royals, and later on the Laden Clan. With the help of James Bath, these ties became closer and closer over the years. Salem bin Laden for example, Osama’s older brother, had a trust agreement with Bath whereby James would act as his representative for North America. From that point on money was invested in Bush’s business ventures. The business relations grew: In the early 90’s bin Mahfouz, the bin Laden clan’s and Saudi’ banker bought 20% of the BCCI.8

Globalresearch9 wrote:
“Could it, then, perhaps have been nothing more than a coincidence that a brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden, Khalid bin Mahfouz, was reported in the early 90′s to own a 20% stake in BCCI10 – and that bin Mahfouz, as reported by the Houston Chronicle on June 4, 1992, had intimate business dealings with James Bath, the personal representative of bin Laden brother Salim who had invested $50,000 in George W. Bush’s company, Arbusto? Bin Mahfouz, incidentally, had taken over Salim bin Laden’s interest in the Houston Gulf Airport after Salim met his demise in an airplane crash over Houston in 1988″11
Later, the Saudi Royal sheikh Abdellah Taha Bakhsh bought 17,6 % of Harken12 (Oil and energy related company from Houston, Texas where Bush worked) and therefore became the main shareholder. In their research “Outlaw Bank” Jonathan Beaty and S.C. Gwyne report ,that there were numerous other investments by Saudi Royals in Texas. Most of them were handled by the chambers of Baker&Botts, a company owned by James Baker, the man that did business with the bin Laden and Bush Clan. Based on this fact you can say, that there had been relations between the Bush’s and the Laden’s for a long time. Bush, when asked to comment on this said that those connections were no longer active. This is obviously not correct as the Carlyle Group (mentioned later on) still does business with them.
Another surprising fact was discovered by The Guerrilla News Network13, Their authors reportthat Bush Senior authorized several programs to upgrade Iraq’s military in order to support the war against Iran. After the first gulf war was over those relations did not break up at all. In 1991, the US military was “wondering” when fighting the gulf war one why the Iraqi soldiers had similar ammunition and arms. Thus you can say that the former Bush administration maintained and arranged business relations with the Iraq. This fact was well known to the other governmental facilities, but hence no one wanted to loose their position or get defaced no one dared to release the needed information to stop those relations.
But the Iraqi regime did not only receive military equipment.14
This is a widely known fact as well. I compiled a list with the help of different books that demonstrates how these dual-use technology deals worked.15
Last, but not least to mention the Carlyle Group, where Mr. James A. Baker, III, works (for more information see “3.3″). This multinational company earns over 5 billions Dollars a year and employs about 40.000 workers. Just to clarify what the Carlyle Group does I have attached several examples.16
This company is a global player and supplies numerous goods to the US military. At least 5 of their sub companies work on researching projects for the US military. Those include aero-technology (for fighter and transporter engines), missile technology (air to air and ground to air), fiber optic technology for use in military vehicles and combat wear, as well as software needed to operate those military devices. If there was a war going on, this company would have been among the number one firms to profit from it. Hence Bush Senior and other powerful men work for them, it is not too much of a surprise that the current Bush administration “play” an aggressive political style. Carlyle also works with the bin Laden Clan and the Saudi Royals. Together with the bin Laden Clan they built numerous huge and expensive buildings in Saudi Arabia.17
For example they were hired to rebuild the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, after the bombing on the 25th June 1996.18 This incident is very ironical due to the fact that US investigators blamed Osama bin Laden for this terrorist attack. (19 US soldiers died and 500 were wounded)19

3.3 His Personal connections:

George Bush’s father worked for the Carlyle Group after his presidency and had regular meetings with members of the Bin Laden Clan. It is a known fact, that the Bin Laden Clan had invested at least over two million dollars in Carlyle projects.20
Prince Bandar who is a member of the Saudi Royal Family and also the ambassador to the US is a close friend to the Bush family as well. Bush’s nickname for the Prince is “Bandar Bush”. (Robert Baer “Sleeping with the Devil” crown, 2003)
The prince and Mr. Bush are reported to be meeting on a regular basis to dine together, Bandar also took place in Barbara Bush’s 75th birthday celebrations.21
Ambassador Bandar even took George Bush Senior to England for a pheasants hunt. In conclusion you can say that their relation was very close.
Another common friend is James Baker, a lawyer working for both the Saudi Royal family and the Bush family, he is also employed at the Carlyle Group in Washington and served the Bush administration as Secretary of State just a decade ago. This man is another good example for the close personal and business ties.

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy!

- Main ideas
utopia / dystopia = anti-utopia

- Our future, is it doomed?
* colourless
* dull
* grey

- Asia, a new market
- Africa, the forgotten continent

_FUNCTION+PURPOSE: warn of technology and its consequences

- far advanced technologies

- birth control
* artificial production of humans
* mass production
* controlled society
* faster reproduction

- DNA / gene manipulation
* standardized human beings
* fixed destiny / inescapable future

- one language
- limited resources
- fake wars

- drugs / drug use
* honest and contempt citizens
* emotions are suppressed by drugs

- totalitarian system
* propaganda is used to manipulate society.
* Dictatorship like government
* education and punishment in order to impose ideology on society
* total surveillance
* omnipotent controllers
* fixed system of values
* set ideals

- loss of individuality

- urge of perfection at expense of emotions
* no more love and romance
* sex only for fun
* monogamy

- communication world wide (internet?)
- information overload vs. controlled life
- nature vs. machines
- no wars
- no revolutions
- no changes
- no developments
- no history
= stuck in the present, no past and future
= only progress is stand-still
= history ceased to exist
= human values are destroyed
= nature has been replaced by an artificial environment

1984 & Brave New World – some common traits
- anti-utopian
- totalitarian system
- controlled society (by an elite)
- total surveillance
- uniformation of society
- new language
- castes
- theme: individuality vs. society

1984:
- war
- hate
- sadism, diabolism, brutality
- feasible/comparable with existing science and technology
- colourless, dull world
- political dystopia
- violence and punishment
- takes place in the past
- limited resources

Brave New World:
- pharmacological totalitarian system
- no more war
- friendly atmosphere
- no diseases
- no problems
- colourful
- technological dystopia
- no violence
- satisfaction
- takes place in the future
- enough resources
- harmony
- far advanced technology

Essay on society of the Brave New World, J.Klewes
Society of the BNW is not really a society at all. This is my introductional theses which I will be trying to explain.
Society as A. Huxley describes it, lacks most of the features that make up a society or what I consider a society. There is no real and intact family structure, words and abstract expressions such as “mother”, “father”, “parents”, “home”, “family” or “romance” do not really exist anymore.
Only a handful of people know those words and those who do know them from history only. A society is a dynamic and vivid concentration of different groups. Often it consists of many different religions, cultures, races and ethnic minorities. All those features are lacking in the BNW.
Society is stable due to the controlled system. The birth rate is controlled and altered whenever it is necessary, furthermore everyone’s fate is decided before he or she is decanted.
Decanted? Yes, that’s right; the leaders of the BNW abolished viviparous reproduction. Nowadays they rely on artificial creation of human beings.
Almost industrial-like humans are created in hatcheries.
Society is a human thing. People have the urge to come together, form groups and to interact which each other. Society in the BNW is totally different from that, humans in the BNW lack this human feature.
Actually it is a good question whether the people living in the BNW can be considered “human” at all, because they betray they body, block emotions and take drugs in order to feel happy. It is a very important human feature to have emotions and that is why I hope Huxley’s dystopian views of the BNW will never become reality!

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy!

Land rights:
In many 3rd World countries the land is owned by relatively few people or organisations (often multinational), who use it for plantations of cash-crops which can be sold. The mass of the population, who do not own land, cannot plant the subsistence crops they need to support themselves. If food prices are high and their wages are low, or they are unemployed, these people face malnutrition or even starvation.

Multinationals:
A company based in one country is subject to the laws of that country, pays taxes there, and can be controlled in its operations.
Multinationals however are not controlled that much. They act in their own interest.

Arms Trade:
Part of a government’s budget that is spent on defence. Industrialized countries support Arms Trade as many jobs are in manufacturing of arms. Many countries give credits to poor countries so that they can participate in Arms Trade.

Tied Aid:
Rich nations devote small portions of their budget to foreign aid. The idea is to make countries better by helping them to be able to help themselves. Sometimes the aid comes in the form of interest-free loans or capital. In most cases the countries that receive Tied Aid cannot decide how to use the help. The multinational companies profit from Tied Aid, too, because often the aid receiving countries buy products from the donor country.

Cash Crops:
Products like tea, coffee, cocoa, bananas or tobacco are Cash Crops.
Cash Crops are items that cannot be effectively consumed by the producing countries but bought by richer countries. Cash Crops are products that are sold on the world market.

Colonial history:
In many colonies the colonists organised trade and industry to serve their own interests. For instance, the raw materials were produced in the colony, and the processed in the metropolis using technology to make a finished product. This happened, for instance, with sugar in the Caribbean, cotton in India or copper in Zambia. The processing is the profitable part, and the resources of rich countries ensure their technology is always more advanced. The colonists often destroyed and agricultural system where fanning was carried out in harmony with nature, the result was erosion and soil exhaustion. Populations which could support themselves became dependent on wages instead.

Problems connected with multiculturalism in England:
- rough competition between immigrants and white citizens for the low number of jobs
- racism by dissatisfied whites (problem: jobs)
- substandard housing (run-down areas)
- development of ghettos
- ethnic segregation: different ethnic minorities live separated from each other
- riots
- racial tension
- violence
- unemployment
- prejudice
- people feel overrun
- people feel like foreigner are not willing to integrate into society
- fear of their own country turning “foreign”
- cultural differences

Summary
Immigrants
- legal
- temporary

Asylum seekers
- bogus
- genuine

Hopes
- living conditions
- work
- education

Commonwealth countries
- Bangladesh
- Pakistan
- India
- Caribbean
- Africa

Problems
- competition (jobs)
- racism
- riots
- racial tension
- violence
- unemployment
- development of ghettos
- run-down areas
- ethnic minorities

Solutions
- government is to spend money on job creation
- social centres
- city councils
- community
- increase acceptance

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy!

- the colonial heritage , e.g. India, the Caribbean, South Africa, Nigeria

General statements:
We know what is happening in the third world, we know what Tied Aid does or how Multinational companies work and what they cause, but we also want to be blindfolded, we want to ignore reality so what we only see what we like.

Foreign companies own virtually everything –from banks to agriculture facilities-. The main problem is, that the money, their profit, is not re-invested in the region. As a consequence the foreigners become richer while the native population remains at a level of poverty.

The IMF and the World Bank both lend money to highly indebted states and countries so that they have a chance of developing their own industry. Once the industry is settled, the economy can stabilize and the government can pay back the borrowed money.

What It Means to Be British, Robin Cook
Chicken Tikka Massala

- British is not a race, but a majority of different races and cultures
- naval supremacy
- 200 different languages spoken in London
- Pluralism contributes to culture
- cultural diversity = reason why international companies change their hq to London
- linguistic variety
- social enrichment
- Britain absorbs other culture’s traditions
- food = perfect example for that
- London = perfect hub
- not a burden but an asset

Tourists in Third World Countries

pro:
- bring along money – might improve economy
- tourists get to know the countries and their cultures – education of people
- improved infrastructure – higher standard of living (living conditions) for some people

against:
- companies that are not related to the 3rd World country earn most of the money (food, etc)
- foreign (higher developed) countries take away profits
- prostitution and drug business booms
- tourists are privileged

Caribbean’s diversity and problems

- Although the islands belonging to the Caribbean are small an incredibly huge diversity of nationalities, languages and cultures can be found
(great variety)

- They suffer from the same problems that 3rd World countries do:
- due to a similar shared history of slavery and sugarcane there are huge differences in the distribution of property and wealth
- that means that only a few people own a lot while the majority is poor
- they are missing essential goods such as medicine, education, etc.
- there is little to no schooling (lack of educational opportunities)
- 60-50 % can neither read nor write
- no decent jobs
- not able to afford decent housing
- slums
- low life expectation
- high infant mortality
- high crime rate
- lack of jobs
- lack of investors
- unstable economy

Basically all profit’s that were generated by the region’s resources were taken away (and are still) by Multinationals.
Though the region is rich on goods it doesn’t benefit from it.
Market is controlled by multinational companies that are able to set a price for a certain good. If the Caribbean economy doesn’t accept these framing conditions the companies will simply move away and leave the region in poverty.

Facts:
The Commonwealth Caribbean consists of the territories which used to be part of the British Empire, i.e. Belize and Guyana on the mainland as well as many islands.
The Bahamas, the Greater Antilles (Jamaica etc) and the Lesser Antilles.
Many countries gained independence in the 19th century.
Their political system is based on British democracy.
Commonwealth is a voluntary association of sovereign states, nearly all which were formerly British territories. Each country is independent.
53 countries, 1.6 billion people. Queen = head. Some flags feature the Union Jack (New Zealand and Australia).

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy! This part about Macbeth is especially long and detailed, hope anyone can use it!

Macbeth

Short characterizations:
Macbeth:
- a good vassal
- obedient general
- brutal
- courageous
- brave
- merciless
(changing in the course of the play)

Macbeth’s character changes from the beginning of the play to the end as at first he is presented as a noble, honorable and good vassal.
In the on going story he is a coward at one point and his manhood is questioned by his wife. He is lead by his fears, visions and prophecies.
In the end he has become a brutal, reckless and violent ruler “the tyrant” of Scotland. Both the witches and Lady Macbeth have a heavy influence on him and his personality.
In both cases this influence is negative, as for the witches and their prophecy he becomes narrow-minded and reckless and for his wife he turns into a violent beast.
He is more or less the witches’ toy.

Duncan:
- a good king
- gracious
- generous
- fair
- humane
- respectful

They are equally good men with opposing qualities.

Witches:
- supernatural beings: foresee the future, curse people, cast weather spells, ability to disappear
- human beings: human desire for sleep, exposed to the weather, depended on nutrition, reckless
- visions: invisible, outer appearance seems unreal, bubble-like, melting

Opening scenes in Macbeth:
- introducing the reader to a world of disorder
- the nature which is in uproar is matched by the society at war
- traitors and invaders have upset peace

Contrasts:
The atmosphere:
outside: thunderstorm, foggy
inside: warm

A summary of Macbeth:
King Duncan hears how Macbeth has been a brave warrior whilst fighting the Norwegians. Duncan gives Macbeth the title Thane of Cawdor as reward for his valour.
The old Thane of Cawdor is sentenced to death for being a traitor.
On their way back from battle, Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches who tell Macbeth that he will become the new Thane of Cawdor and also the new king of Scotland. The weird sisters tell Banquo that his descendants will be the future kings of Scotland. Macbeth is not sure whether this is true, but he soon told by a messenger that he is now the new Thane of Cawdor. This seems like the first part of the prophecy has come true.

Macbeth sends a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, about the witches predictions. She is excited about becoming queen, but fears that Macbeth is not ambitious enough to kill Duncan. When Macbeth arrives home she tries to persuade him to kill Duncan.
Macbeth eventually agrees with her.

Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle and is greeted by the hosts. They hold a feast and most people get drunk. Macbeth is unsure about killing Duncan and decides to abandon his plan. Macbeth believes that Duncan is a good king and he comments that Duncan has said many good things about him. Lady Macbeth is angry that he has abandoned his plan and calls him a coward. Macbeth decides to go through with the plan to murder the king.

Later that night, whilst approaching Duncan’s room, he sees an imaginary dagger before his eyes. He follows the dagger to Duncan’s room. Macbeth creeps into his king’s room and murders him in cold blood. Lady Macbeth sees the daggers in Macbeth’s hands and rushes back to plant them on the servants.
Macduff arrives at the castle and discovers Duncan’s corpse and raises the alarm. Duncan’s sons, Malcom and Donalbain, quickly leave Scotland, because they might be suspected of killing their father. Macduff does not trust Macbeth and suspects that he might have something to do with it.

Macbeth has become the king of Scotland. The witches’ prophecy makes Macbeth believe that he must kill Banquo and his son Fleance, because Banquo’s descendants might become kings of Scotland. Macbeth orders two henchmen to carry out the job. However, Fleance escapes and this makes him very angry and also concerned that the witches’ predictions could become true.

Macbeth has a banquet and sets a place at the table for Banquo, knowing full well that he is dead. However, he sees the gory ghost of Banquo in the seat left for him and he shouts in horror at the ghost. His guests suspect that he has a guilty conscience.

Macbeth decides to pay the witches another visit and the show him the apparitions. The first is a head with armour on (this represents Macbeth’s own severed head, later), the second is a bloody child (who is likely to be Macduff torn from his mother’s womb), and the third is a crowned child with a tree in its hand (this is meant to represent Malcom and Birnam Wood). The first apparition tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff, the second that he will never be defeated by anyone born of a women, and the third tells Macbeth that he will never be beaten until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.

Macduff is sure that Macbeth has murdered Duncan and decides to join Malcolm and Donalbain in England. He raises an army of 10000 Englishmen in order to kill Macbeth and reclaim the throne.

In rage that Macduff has fled the country, Macbeth orders his henchman to kill Macduff’s wife and children. This act disgusts his followers, who start to desert him.

Lady Macbeth has gone mad and talks in her sleep about washing blood from her hand.
A messenger tells the king that the wood is on its way to Dunsinane and Macbeth is worried.

When the army arrives at the castle, Macbeth recklessly attacks and kills many men because he believes that no one can kill him. However, Macduff tells Macbeth that he was not born of a woman, because his mother gave birth to him by cesarean. They start to fight and Macduff kills Macbeth. He takes his head with him, so that it is displayed for everyone to see.

Themes within Macbeth:
- goodness and evil
- loyalty and hypocrisy
- love and deception
- justice and retaliation
- kingship
- corruption
- supernatural
- ambition*
* driving force of Macbeth’s life. It is his ambition that leads the witches to Macbeth, and it is ambition which leads Macbeth to murder, treason, hypocrisy, corruption and deepest evil.
Theatre in the times of Shakespeare

groundlings:
- can’t attend plays very often due to lack of money
- admission cost 1 penny
- close to the stage, just below the actors

actors / play:
- performances took place in day light
- roofed stage
- always sold out theatres

nobility:
- smoked tobacco pipes
- comfortable seats
- good view towards the stage
- shilling rooms

There was no class distinction in theatres, because members of all social classes were allowed to visit the theatres. That means the working, middle and upper class.

Shakespeare and his time
- plague also called “black death”
- sailors sail around the world for the first time
- England defeats the Spanish Armada
- people believed that the sun turned around the earth
- Monarchy (the country is ruled by a king/queen)
- law and order was maintained by the landowners and enforced by their deputies
- the average man had no vote
- women had no rights at all
- England was a Christian country in which every child was baptized
- The church was very important in England at that time
- Absence at divine service was punished by fines
- Bible was only available in Latin, later in English, that is the reason why the Christian religion spread so well in England
- School education reinforced the Church’s teaching
- School started at the age of four
- School cost money, fees had to be paid if you wanted further education
- Only few students proceeded to university (either clever boys or sons of noble man)
- Girls stayed at home and acquired domestic skills such as cooking, sewing or sometimes music, only a few learnt how to read or write
- The language “English” is partly based on Latin resources.
- English is a language rich of synonyms, word-plays such as puns and infinite variety of expressing certain things.

The feudal pyramid
God
King
Vassals
Nobility / clergy
Peasants / servants / women / serfs

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy!

How to make a letter more vivid and appealing:
- Rhetorical questions – “Is this the people we want?”
- Using personal pronouns – “…our kids…”
- Appeal to the readership – “Don’t say you…”

A letter to the local city council concerning the planned construction of an international airport

Attention: department of construction

I am writing to you because of the planned construction of the international airport in the New Jean area.
Hence I am living in this region which is very close to construction site I ask you to rethink the airport’s placement on the basis of the following reasons:
There are various residential zones with a high density of housing;
in two out of eleven regions live a fairly ample amount of young families with little kids and babies.
All those residents won’t be too happy and delighted to receive constant acoustic irradiation caused by the arriving and departing airplanes, as well as the vehicles moving to the airport.
I personally will not accept this harassment.
I won’t let my life be disturbed by every York-Jean flight.
Furthermore keep in mind that the Jean area encloses 9 districts where about 2300000 people live. If necessary I will not hesitate to raise signatures for a complete interdiction-petition.
Speaking of petitions- the environmentalists won’t be too happy about the idea of having this intact and untouched piece of nature destroyed.
I doubt that pro-naturalists and those residents who frequently visit the Jean National Park will support the construction of the airport.
I would appreciate if you took this letter into consideration.
Sincerely yours,
jez

A retarding element causes tension.

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy!

Will We See the Real War?, J.Alter
-No. (explained below)

Rules for the press, Pentagon

- The Pentagon’s draft rules allow the press to interview or photograph wounded soldiers only in the presence of a military escort and with the consent or patient, doctor and commander.
The visual and audio recordings of personal in agony or sever shock are not authorized.
Imagery of patients suffering from severe disfigurement or undergoing plastic-surgery treatments are not authorized.
Interviews with or visual imagery of patients undergoing psychiatric treatment are not authorized.

Embedded correspondents
- Frontline reporting
- real and direct reporting
- bring truth to the local citizens as well as the people far away
= major progressive development

- but: part of a military unit and takes on the soldiers’ views
- government controls them (“propaganda”)
- distorted view of reality
- personal danger
- US-ARMY has the possibility of manipulating the reports

Reality is different from what is written in the newspapers.
Reality is clouded by fog of war.
A fog that governments create in order to camouflage the reality.
Information is censored for the purpose of not damaging the military’s reputation.
Information is released to justify the war and to maintain a certain narrow-minded picture of the war. (one sided, biased reporting)
Human Interest Stories are released to manipulate people and to draw attention.
HIS are heroic stories that describe the fate of a single person.
A legend remains regardless whether the story is true or not.

The function of the press
- Information (truthful account of events)

Code of Ethnics (moral principle) for American Journalists
= Responsibility of information having to reach the public
- Freedom of the press
- Independence (independent from governments)
- Sincerity, Accuracy (Aufrichtigkeit/Richtigkeit)
- Impartiality (Objectivität)

Total information awareness (erkenntnis) motel
- Pentagon – embedded media
= both in one bed == connected = P. controlling the e.m.

Reshaping the American Dream, Griffith
traditional form:
- “liberty and justice for all”
- “land of promise”
- “pursuit of happiness”
-> Declaration of Independence
Everybody shall be able to develop to the fullest stature.

present form:
- “more than incomes and titles”
- material wealth and social position are basic personal goals
- the idea of progress for future generation
- but also: crime rates increased, state of affluence is accompanied by losses of individuality
- idea of social and moral advancement (not achieved: crime rates)

future form:
- A.D. is still a basic ingredient
- but: Americans have lost confidence in their future
- limitation of resources -> planning != dream
- new challenges for the future
- the American Dream has a new shape

Michael Moore, The Big One
This documentary deals with the subjects social security cuts, its consequence, unemployment caused by companies and the widening gap between rich and poor.
Moore uses irony, the means of direct confrontation, provocation, humour, sarcasm, exaggerations and news reports to draw attention to his issues.
It is good to see that people like Michael Moore stand up to large companies and confront them with what the vast majority thinks.

Adams
- A.D. = lure, promise of America
- no clear definition
- land of opportunity
- richer fuller life
- pursuit of happiness
- success
- not a dream of material plenty (cars and high wages)
- equality (equal treatment regardless of the circumstances of birth/position)
- freedom (of choice)
- in order to make the dream come true, people have to build together (better), and not bigger (keeping up with the Joneses)
- communal spirit must be higher
- intellectual life must be higher
- top society members are to become more dedicated to society and share their intellectual wealth

Independence Day – 4th of July – Declaration of Independence was passed
Stars and Stripes – white = purity, red = endurance, blue = justice
Melting Pot – metaphor describing America. Individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men.
New Canaan – reference to Canaan, the land Moses led his people, New Canaan = America, “The Promised Land”
Frontier – line of settlement (westward)
Individualism – central concept in the way Americans see themselves and are viewed by others. Responsibility for one’s fate shaped the American culture.
Manifest Destiny – America’s mission to democratize the world. USA = “nation of the future”. Used the M.D. to justify the territorial expansion. The role of the US as global mediator in political conflicts grew out of this idea.

Reasons for the immigration:
- Industrial revolution
- Gold rush
- Building of railroads
- persecution of Jews

Later on, limited immigration due to laws. Set quotas, changed immigration system. Illegal immigration of Mexicans and Latin Americans.

Franklin
Ladder of success:
- Industry = Fleiss
- perseverance = Ausdauer
- courage = Mut
- economy = Sparsarmkeit
- integrity = Anpassungsfähigkeit
- prudence = Klugheit
- temperance = Gelassenheit

Elliott
The American Dream:
- Democracy and freedom
- Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”
- Equality (no racial/political differences)
- Success
- Progress
- The frontier (line of settlement)
- Individualism
- Capitalism
- Peace
- Pride
- Happiness
- Wealth
- Unlimited possibilities
- The founding fathers (Franklin, Jefferson, Washington)
- Everyone has a different “American Dream”

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The following article is part of a series called “German A-Levels/Abitur 2005 English”. In Germany you have your a-levels after the 13rd year in school. Pupils are usually between 17 and 18 years when they have their exams. In the compulsory schools you a broad variety of courses: From German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Greek to Science, Maths, Geographics, Physics, Literature, Arts and Sports etc. I prepared myself in 2005 for my a-levels by writing everything down. May these articles help anyone. Enjoy!

-City lights / Skyline book

Skyline book page 160
Words:
billboards, anonymity, neon signs, sky scarpers, high rise pollution, exhaust, fume, congested traffic, buildings, illuminated city, high crime rates, social differences

Skyline book page 162
Fact file London:
- London’s economic output is enormous
- Many minorities live in London (central London)
- prices for nearly everything are higher than elsewhere in the UK
- fast rising prices (housing)
- very good infrastructure hence the spending on public transportation are gigantic compared to the spending in the outer areas
- poverty in London is higher than elsewhere in the UK
- service sector is dominating in London

Problems:
high prices -> high wages / high cost of living / high crime rate

Skyline book page 162-164
It’s London vs. Britain:
The level of subsidy means the amount of money given to certain people to support them.

Fiscal transfers are just another expression for financial transfers.

Urban chic means a trendy live in a megalopolis such as London.

Working down the phone lines means someone working outside London with his phone or laptop and the internet by communicating with the people inside London “over the phone lines”.

When speaking of an Agatha Christie Britain one means the Britain as it is described in the author’s books. It is a generalized image of Britain and refers to a romantic vision.

The M25 is a motorway in England and often described as “the concrete border”. It divides the London area from the rest of Britain.

London is different from the rest of Britain, because of multiple things:
There is a greater diversity of cultures in London than elsewhere and the prices are also higher than in he outskirts or in the rest of Britain.
That means houses, accommodation, taxes and even parking fees are higher then in any other city.
London has an immense economic output.
It is Britain’s capital and therefore the centre of all political decisions.
London also has an administrative function for the rest of the country.
People living there are younger than people from outer regions and there is also a higher percentage of liberal people; that means they are more tolerant than others. Summed up you can say that the differences are the higher number of ethnic minorities, the higher costs for living, a higher living standard, a higher number of young and liberal people, as well as London’s economic, social, political and administrative importance.
It is not only because of those facts that many people work in the service sector, but also for the reason that London is a multinational gateway for services of all kind. Many companies have their headquarters in London.

Skyline book page 165-166
Can you hear me at the back?

The author criticizes multiple aspects of the town he lives in.
He is annoyed of the office blocks in the city centres, because of their location they are the reason for jammed roads.
The cars are the main cause for the increased noise level.
The leisure life is changed to a hectic one and it is no longer possible to sit down in a café in downtown hence there are none left.
Theatres and cafes cannot remain in the centre, because the estate prices are too high.
People can’t effort to live there either due to the high property prices.
As a result the city is merely used for working instead of living.
The author says that the high buildings look almost like identical boxes to him.

He uses the connotative image of Lego land to fortify the small, all alike looking image. Those boxes show how the architect’s restricted creativity.
The architects are not asking the people living there.
The buildings are planned for and not with the people.
The denotative meaning of Lego land is different from the connotative.
Lego land is a large amusement park in Denmark and Lego is also a box like plastic toy for children. One piece of Lego can be put on top of another piece.

Skyline book page 161
New York, Bono (U2)

The song “New York” by U2 deals with the megalopolis NY and how a single person living there sees the city with his eyes.
The song’s gist is that NY is offering a lot of freedom concerning choices. The city is a crowded and busy place where a different people from a diversity of countries live. The summer is hot there, almost depressing.
The singer says that everyone is happy but himself and his personificated friend “NY”. It seems like the person described there is in his/her midlife crisis.

His attitude towards NY is split into a positive and a negative one. On the one hand he likes NY and says he “found a friend to drown out the voices”, but on the other hand he says that the freedom offered by NY has the negative consequence of having too many choices.
Furthermore he says that NY has caused a midlife crisis for him, but he is also not leaving the city to ease the problems caused by that. That is a bit paradox.

Those lyrics feature several positive and negative aspects;
Some positive aspects are the many choices, freedom to choose, the hot summer, different cultures, a stimulating city.
Negative items include: too many choices, noise, voices, sounds, hot air which is uncomfortable, smog, cultural clashes, restlessness, hectic, anonymity.

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The following article was written by Lena as a part of her revision for the a-levels on English Language in 2005. I hope this will be handy for anyone having to revise for “English GK”

London, by William Blake

The poem consists of four stanzas, with four lines. The rhyme scheme is a cross rhyme. The poem’s general attitude and mood can be described as a very depressive one. In the first stanza, which can be seen as an introduction, the lyrical I focusing the reader at the city of London in general. Therefore the reader gets a first impression of the city. The repetition of the word “charter d´” in the first two lines shows that many things are owned by capitalists. The parallelism in line four “Marks of weakness, marks of woe.” and the anaphora “In every…” in the first three lines of the second stanza show that there are no happy people and that everything is cruel. Words like “voice” (l.7), “hear” (l.8),”cry” (l.9) and” sigh” (l.11) create a special atmosphere, because the words are connected with sound. The third stanza shows that every member of the society and also every institution are involved in the depressive mood of the city. Blake personifies the church in line ten (“Church appalls ;”) to demonstrate, that the people who work for it are also responsible for the tragedy in London. The word “blacking” in the same line shows that the image of church is damaged. With the sentence in line 11 and 12 “Soldiers sigh runs in blood down Palace walls.” Blake wants to clarify that the government/monarchy is also guilty for the tragic events. The word “blood” and the “soldier” in this context stand for war, hate, dead and other negative associations. Blake wants to show that there exists no hope. Children often stand for hope. Therefore he uses many words, which reminds the reader of children, for example “infants, new born” as well as the metaphor “chimney-sweeper” in line nine, which stands for a child, too. In the last stanza the most serious problem of the society is demonstrated. The metaphor “Marriage hearse” in the last line of the poem, symbolizes that marriage is responsible for harlotry and every problems which are connected with it. The word “Harlot’s curse” in line 14 underlines this.
All in all it becomes clear that Blake wants to criticize the institution of church and government, which were both very powerful in the 19th century. He also criticizes the capitalists as well as the social force of marriage. These facts are after Blake responsible for the disaster in London.

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