Problems in Advertising - Understanding Advertising Messages Essay

Problems in Advertising - Understanding Advertising Messages - Essay Example There are numerous media used in advertisement such as print media and broadcast advertisements. I am intending to study two magazines and two television programs for a period of two months to verify their effects by going to the magazine publishers and the respective media that air the TV programs. Magazines, which are widely used by most firms due to their ability to access a specific target group with high quality presentations and the fact that they accommodate design options, prestige, influence, believability and long shelf life. (Shimp 367-369). I will consider the models used in different basis such as the number used, gender, facial expressions and their evocation. The setting of the scene, its implications to the moods or emotions and the relationship between the setting and the model is important to be analyzed. I will further consider the possible omissions by regarding not only what has been evidently shown and said but also what is omitted and the implication of leaving such issues. The issue of audience cannot be avoided since it is in fact the reason for advertisement. The strategies used in advertisement should be geared towards persuading the customers or support the product, service or a project. It is therefore important to consider the persuasiveness of the advert in the magazine. I will also confirm if the information being passed is ethical and honest as per the company’s claim. The overall effect of the advert on the customer’s feelings, emotions and the degree in which it attracts the customer is similarly an important issue to reflect on while considering the analysis. I will ask the consumers and the entire public on their take on the magazines advertisement by using questionnaires or verbally interviewing them (Shimp 367-369). Considering the TV advertisements, I will access the ability of the advert contents to appeal to the public. I will intend to check on what the advertiser has done to make the product attractive t o the audience by regarding the color, music on the background used, and the models or people involved in the advert. I will scrutinize the targeted audience of the advert and the ability of the advert to reach the audience as anticipated by the company. I will reflect on the statements used and their credibility about the product VHS vs BetaMax The world of entertainment has since changed greatly since 1975 when Sony single handedly revolutionized the manner in which we watch TV, movies and even the approach used in scheduling our evening hours. However, it is unfortunate that the Betamax format cannot withstand the VHS format in the market simply because of advertisement and promotional techniques employed by VHS. BetaMax had very sharp bits, small cassettes that are very much portable, and the hi-fi sound tracks that do not interfere with high-speed duplication compared to the JVC, which did not have same technological advantage as BetaMax.   Several issues affect the technolog ical associated industries such as video formatting which result to a firm’s loss of market share or even closure. Consumers usually concentrate on features that comprise user friendliness and the degree in which utilization knowledge fits into their needs. Businesses should be geared towards meeting the unmet needs of the customers in addition to the already met needs. High tech markets are regarded as vibrant and multifaceted, thus resulting into a varying target market

Myanmar And Its Neighbours History Essay

Myanmar And Its Neighbours History Essay Myanmar is one of the few countries in Asia which has reserved interest in what happens outside its border. This is often reflected in the countrys external relations policy. Perception of outside threat to her national security and sovereignty made Myanmar play an independent but inactive role in external affairs. Historically, though Myanmars immediate neighbours were tortured by strong kings of Myanmar in different period of history, Myanmar also suffered in the hands of the neighbouring kingdoms. Thus, the people of Myanmar have general fear and indifferent psychosis towards outside world. This is closely related to nationalism, xenophobia and insular habits. From geographical standpoint also, Myanmar has favourable physical structure and geo-strategic position that has a lot to hide from the outside world. It has been mentioned in the second chapter that Myanmar is surrounded by mountains on three sides and by sea on the forth (south), which do not provide easy access to inside Myanmar. Myanmar was also situated in a vulnerable geo-strategic location with India and China between which Myanmar is sandwiched; and between contending cold war sphere of influence represented by Communist China and pro-western Thailand, Myanmar stood huddled. During the heyday of cold war, Southeast Asian region became a hotspot of the global power politics with many countries of the region taking side either with the western bloc headed by United States of America or the eastern bloc under the erstwhile Soviet Union. But Myanmar tended to look inward in the name of maintaining sovereignty and independent action. This is reflected in the foreign policy of the country as evolved, first as policy of neutralism and nonalignment under U Nu, and second, as policy of isolation under Ne Win, until it adopted policy of opportunistic engagement with the world outside particularly since late 1988. The parliamentary democracy era of 1950s avoided active international engagement in pursuanc e of non-aligned policy. The establishment of military rule in March 1962 brought Myanmars nonalignment and neutral ideology into a strong xenophobic and paranoid nationalism, clearly aimed at reducing any foreign influence on Myanmars politics, economy and society. Only international engagement beneficial to militarys perceived ideology and interest was allowed. In response to the military regimes monopoly of power and adverse human right records, many liberal democratic countries of the west imposed sanctions against Myanmar, and ostracised the country. In the meantime, global geo-political shifts occurred with the end of cold war in early 1990s following the disintegration of erstwhile Soviet Union. Geo-economics rather than geo-politics gained greater credence in the changed international environment. Economic integration and regionalism ushered in with globalization as the thriving force. Internally, the crisis of 1988 necessitate shift in the country internal politics and appr oaches to external countries. Accordingly, Myanmar made adjustment in response to changes in domestic and external environment. With western liberal democratic countries still following policy anti-thetical to the militarys ideology, Myanmar focussed to its immediate neighbours and region. While the western countries used sanction policy, neighbouring Asian governments followed a policy of constructive engagement. In doing so, they have filled much of the international political and economic vacuum in Myanmar, giving the military leaders to pursue its self-proclaimed political road-map. This chapter is structured to highlight Myanmars foreign policy, the status of Myanmar in the world community, the countrys government-to-government relationship and relative integration with the world community, especially focussing its relationship with its three important neighbours namely China, Thailand and India. It will be conducted in three phases: period of neutrality and non-alignment under parliamentary democracy, period of isolationism under Ne Win and the period of engagement aftermath 1988. This chapter shows that Myanmars isolationism in external front is a necessary corollary of its domestic political setting. This chapter proves that Myanmars retreat from world of nations is premised on fear, security, non-interference, national interest, sovereignty and development. Though in its foreign relations, Myanmar has maintained regular relationship with all countries, in practice; Myanmar discourages the relationship between its people and those of other countries, so much so that it is like closing the country from the outside world and acts like a hermit of Asia. This chapter also deals with how domestic political-economic changes since 1988 have affected its external affairs policy. This chapter will show that Myanmars foreign policy and status in the international community was characterised by varying degrees of isolation, in response to its internal political setting and global political scenario. International isolationism became a comfortable state of the isolationist political system under the military leaders to deny the attention of the foreign powers as to what happen inside the borders of the country. From the militarys angle, international isolation was in pursuance of a strong, cohesive and developed Myanmar the basis of which was to ensure the military continue to stay in power until acceptable time had emerged to vacate seat of power. As the goal suggest, it will be shown in this chapter that Myanmar opens to outside world only it wo uld serve its highly self-centred interests. Myanmars direct neighbours are often forced to undergo a difficult balancing act. Myanmar in International Context One fact of the pre-colonial Myanmar was that the Burmans were generally indifferent towards foreigners. Historically, Myanmars political and military ties with the outside world had feared the country. The Thais, Manipuris, Chinese or Europeans provided ill-experience of dealing with outsiders. The Myanmese never accepted the British presence in Myanmar; they saw the British institutions and practices had undermined the Burman culture. Myanmars ill with the outsider strengthened during the World War Two, when its ties with the British made it a Japanese target. The resulting oppression and destruction during the World War Two left Myanmar even more apathetic to outsiders. With such fear psychosis, Myanmar became independent in 1948, also with new hopes and vigour. But the period coincided with the onset of cold war, where the world was divided into two rival camps headed by United States on the one hand, and Soviet Union, on the other, and most of the lesser powerful states followin g them. Two traditional rivals, China, a communist country in the north, and Thailand, a pro-western ally to the east, were allegedly expressed sympathy for Myanmars anti-government rebels and insurgents in the border areas. Very differently from them, Indian, a non-aligned partner under the leadership of prime minister U Nus close friend Jawaharlal Nehru, had been emerging as a distinct force in the world. This situation was well commented by U Nu in 1950. U Nu lamented his country as ..like a tender gourd among the cactus. We cannot move an inch. If we act irresponsiblyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and thrust the Union of Burma into the arms of one bloc, the other bloc will not be contented to look on with folded arms (U Nu, 5 September 1950 quoted by Thomson 1957:266 ). Back home, ethnic and political disunity erupted into rebellion and the ever increasing economic deterioration greatly disrupted legitimacy of the government and stability of the country. The new external and domestic challenges made materializing Aung Sans world-view difficult.  [1]  In response to the challenges, the new countrys leaders adopted neutralism and non-alignment as the cornerstone of the foreign policy of the country. At the same time, as Choudhary (2000:423) mentions, Myanmar also accepted the principles of maintaining friendly relations with all countries especially with her neighbours without being engaged too closely with any one of them, and of receiving no economic aid with string attached. Commenting on the genesis of Myanmars neutralism in dealing with outside world, Silverstein (1977:169) concludes: The policy of neutralism was based on certain realities that imposed themselves on either a civilian (before 1962) or a military (after 1962) Burmese government. Among them were Burmas small memories of World War Two and the suffering and destruction inflicted upon its people and the land; its internal political instability; and its ethnic and political disunity. These were superimpos ed on Myanmars traditional withdrawing and isolationist attitude and influence of personality of U Nu (Bandyopadhaya 1983:152), the first prime minister of independent Myanmar.  [2]  These factors, among others, shaped Myanmars world-view, that Myanmar would be a neutral and non-aligned country in an effort to maintain friendship with all countries in the world. Myanmar joined United Nations and it became a leading voice and founder-leader of the non-alignment movement, organizing the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia along with like-minded leaders such as Nehru, Nasser, Tito and Sukarno; Myanmar also attended the first NAM summit held in 1961as the movements founder member. The foreign policy of Myanmar also sought a delicate balancing role between USA and USSR, and between India and China. India served as a model for Myanmars neutralism, non-alignment and democracy, but it never allied itself too closely with India, which could have upset its relations with China (Lintner 1 992). Thus, Myanmar became the first non-communist country to recognise the new government of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 (Seekins 1983:54). When it feared its neutral policy would cease if it had joined the British Commonwealth of Nations, it wisely declined to join the body of former British colonies. Myanmar wanted to sever all ties with the outside world provided if it did not serve its interest, and if it proved against the principle of neutralism and non-alignment. Myanmars neutralism and non-aligned policy was first tested in the Korean Crisis of 1950. Myanmar voiced U Nus call for a halt to North Koreas aggression against the South Korea. When the United Nations forces crossed the 38th parallel, Myanmar withdrew its support on the belief that UN had overstepped its original mandate. In several other international issues such as Russian intervention in Hungary in 1956, Egypt crisis in 1956, Cuban crisis in 1961 etc. Myanmar did not followed big power line. Myanmar became a member of the Colombo Plan, but it refused to join SEATO founded in September 1954. Amidst hesitations, Myanmar received aid from both the US and USSR throughout the cold war period. The USSR offered specific gifts of a hospital, hotel and technological institutions, while US funds off and on after 1951 for agricultural and land reclamation projects. The government of U Nu tried to befriend with both India and China through his personal link with their respective leaders nam ely Nehru and Chou-en-Lai. In other words, throughout the parliamentary democracy period, Myanmar gained respect internationally by managing to live alongside large and powerful neighbours without compromising its independent foreign policy (Lintner 1992). It, thus, became one of the most respected leading governments in the region and its neutralism was much appreciated by western chanceries. The is proved by the fact that Myanmars U Thant was appointed, first, as the acting Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1961, and, later, twice elected to the position. U Thant led the world body for the next ten years. When the military rule took over power in March 1962  [3]  neutralism of the era of parliamentary democracy became isolationism and non-involvement or negative neutralism (Maung Maung Gyi 1981). Ne Wins Revolutionary Council followed an ideology called the Burmese Way to Socialism, mixed with a strong xenophobia and nationalistic policy, and corollary to it, Myanmar withdrew from international community, shunning most of the diplomatic ties established during U Nus period. Ne Win heading the new military regime exhibited deep-seated antagonism towards the west and its support for Kuomintang (KMT) troops in Myanmar, distrusted India, and feared Chinese communist influence in the country (Turku 2009:124). Contact with the outside world was kept to an absolute minimum. The military denied joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations when it was formed in 1967 and even stunningly left the NAM in 1979, considering these organizations not neutral. Soon after coming to power, the Revolutionary Council enacted several laws clearly aimed at reducing any foreign influences over Myanmars economy and society. The government announced that it preferred only government to government aid of bilateral and multi-lateral programmes (Holmes 1967:189), and discontinued acceptance of aid from the American philanthropic organizations, the Ford and Asia Foundations, and also the Fulbright British Council programmes, as the military considered it belittling to accept aid from private organizations (Silverstein 1964:167). Freedom of press was denied and the government also acted forcefully to curb propaganda and information activities of all foreign diplomatic missions (Holmes 1967:189), thus denied people to deal directly with the outside world. Foreign diplomats and party officials (BSPP officials) were also subject to very strict set of rules (Turku 2009:192). If the party official sought to speak to a foreign national or issue/accept an invi tation from a foreigner they had to seek specific permission from the party, and upon return they had to give specific details on the conversations they had with foreigners (ibid.) The nationalisation programmes launched in February 1963 by the military government directly affected the Indians, Chinese, Anglo-Myanmese and Western agricultural, trade and banking communities, most of them were force to flee the country. The effort was indigenization of the economy by placing the private foreign owned enterprises in the hands of the people of Myanmar. Cynics argued that Myanmars new foreign policy basically meant no foreign policy at all apart from the concept of group survival; its embassies and consulates abroad did very little to improve relations with the host countries (Lintner 1992). Officially, the dictum friendship with all the countries of the world still remained a cornerstone of Myanmars foreign policy, but in practice, the country did not take any positive interest in furth ering friendly relations with other nations, except few (Singh 1977:181). As Lintner (1992) argues Myanmar under the military rule invented an intensely new dogma in foreign relations, that is, bilateralism, and preferably only with neighbours. General Ne Win made few official visits to Moscow, Peking and Washington, but few meaningful outcomes could be seen from the visits. For example, Ne Wins visit to USA in September 1966 related to some business affairs, military support for its anti-communist military campaign and to play golf. There were no real diplomatic ties and this diplomatic vacuum was well commented by one-Rangon (Yangon) based foreign envoy in 1988: We had no meaningful contact with any element of the Burmese government. They had a designated group of foreign ministry types who could come to our dinners and talk about golf and tennis, the weather and what fruits were in seasonduring my first three months in Burma, my backhand improved immensely, and I even took up the game of golf, which I had thought was just a waste of time. But I had time to waste (quoted in Lintner 1992, also see Lintner 1990:60-61). Under the leadership of the Ne Win, Myanmars military government sank into deep isolation. At the same time, because it had denied the economic benefits of engaging with other countries, and also since the military leaders lacked knowledge of managing economic affairs, the country gradually encountered economic recession. In response, the BSPP government showed inclination to international development assistance and projected its vast mineral wealth opportunities to the outside world. The government entered into development programmes with the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB and UNDP, as well as accepted increased bilateral aids. In 1976, World Bank set up an aid consortium, including Britain, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Australia and Canada for consultation and the establishment of a common policy regarding Myanmar (Charney 2009:145 ).The BSPP regime also softened its state-controlled and autarchic economic policy, and by mid 1980s, foreign aids and loans began to enter Myanmar. Although Japan and West Germany were the largest of the foreign aid donors, the Peoples Republic of China also emerged as a major source of loans to the country from 1970 (ibid.). However, the inflow of foreign loans also led to corresponding increase in long-term debt, producing a critical state of indebtedness by the mid 1980s. This together with internal political isolation and economic mismanagement produced socio-economic devastations forcing Myanmar to become one of the least developed countries in 1987. This shocked the proud and highly nationalistic people of Myanmar. It spurred the 1988 protests attracting the greatest international interest into the countrys political and economic situations. The brutal crackdown and suppression of the protest by the military junta was swiftly publicised in the international community and even tually western governments imposed sanctions to Myanmar. Many western governments including Japan, non-governmental organizations and business bodies ended operations in Myanmar. Immediately after the crackdown, US withdrew its ambassador from Myanmar. Sanctions by United States were formally enacted in 1997, which was further tightened after 2007, following the crackdown on the monks protest, until it was uplifted recently in 2012.  [4]  Some businesses such as Ciz Claiborne, Osh Kosh BGosh and Pepsi (which was a joint venture with a native businessman) ended operations in Myanmar due to pressure from American-based activists. Contrary to western governments, most of Myanmars neighbouring countries adopted policy of constructive engagement and as mentioned, in doing so they followed much of the vacuum created by international isolation of Myanmar. The country had normalised relationships with two neighbouring powers, China and India (see later), by skilfully exploiting the oppo rtunistic intention of the two countries. Thailand was also captured by the economic prospects which engagement with Myanmar could provide. Following these events, Myanmar made changes to its external relation positions. It gave up its strict non-aligned neutralism  [5]  and isolationism and joined the regional GMS-EC (1992), BIMSTEC (1997), ASEAN (1997) and ACMCES (2003). Myanmar joining ASEAN in 1997 had greatly enhanced the credibility of the legitimacy hungry military government, because the ASEAN, citing their doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of the member countries rallied to the Myanmar governments defence. All these indicate government of Myanmar willing to integrate with the world community, but as evident, it could be when it could provide more benefit to the country. The military regime undoubtedly preferred no foreign attention and involvement in its affairs. For example in 2005, the ruling military government SPDC shifted capital of the country f rom Yangon to a more reclusive region Naypyitaw where influence of outsiders would be so profound. Similarly, aftermath of cyclone Nargis 2008, Myanmar thought a long before letting in any humanitarian and relief aids to the affected people, and when it was allowed, the aid agencies and countries were often obstructed by the military. Moreover, preference was given to neighbours over the western countries. For the last six decades, Myanmar has lived in varying degree of isolationism and opportunistic engagement. During the period of strict isolationism, Myanmar maintained diplomatic relationship with all the countries; it discourages relationship between its people and those of other countries, to such an extent that it is like closing the country from the outside world and acts like a hermit of Asia. The military junta certainly not liked foreign attention and involvement in its internal affairs. Myanmar is interested in foreign aids and loans, external trade and investments, but it did not preferred to abandon its policy of isolation. The pro-democracy uprising of 1988 divided international communitys perception on Myanmar. The western role with regards to Myanmar had long been policy of sanction and isolation, which proved counter-productive. The western countries such as USA, countries of European Union, France, Australia and Asian country-Japan and South Korea, imposed sanctions o n Myanmar thus supplemented Myanmars policy of isolation. Myanmar juntas poor human right record and denial of democracy invited western ostracism. Certainly, the sudden international isolation and sanction policy hampered Myanmars economy badly, and this prompted Myanmars attention and open policy towards its immediate neighbours. The immediate neighbours of Myanmar have acted as a balancing act for the military junta. Myanmar and China China is the largest, the most powerful and practically the nearest of Myanmars neighbours. Historically, Myanmar experienced memory of fear, distrust and entrenched relationship in relation to its northern neighbour. In different periods of history, China posed a threat to the security and sovereignty of the monarchical Myanmar. Many strong Chinese dynasties had intervened in Myanmar kings affairs in different periods of history and caused considerable havoc. Kublai Khan sent armies from Yunnan in late 1980 to subjugate the kingdom of Pagan, effectively bringing to an end the first unified Burman kingdom (Seekins 1997:527). The last king of the Pagan dynasty, king Narathitrapate, earned the nickname Tarok Pye Min, meaning the king who ran away from the Chinese (Trager 1966:234). Chinese had invaded Myanmar during the Chinese Qing dynasty. It was an important event in the history of Myanmar that when Chinese Qing king launched several mission to subdue the arrogant Myanmar king betwe en 1765 and 1768, Chinese professional armies was utterly outfought and its viceroy was forced to sue for peace (Tinker 1967:338). Professor Yingcong Dai (2004) writes, not only did one after another commander-in-chief of the Qing dynasty fail to conquer Myanmar, but the Qing troops also suffered extremely heavy casualties. When Myanmar was incorporated into British Indian Empire, China adopted a cautious attitude in dealing with Myanmar. Myanmar became an independent country in 1948. Next year, the civil war in China had ended with victory of the communist over the nationalist Chinese. China became a communist country under the leadership of Mao Zedong, which was given official recognition by the Myanmar authority. In fact, Myanmar became the first non-communist country to give recognition to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).  [6]  However, in a world divided by ideological and power competitions, Myanmar adopted a policy of non-alignment and neutrality, whereas China became a staunch proponent of international communism considering all countries beyond the socialist camps as imperialist or controlled by imperialist or anti-revolutionary forces. As a result, Myanmese neutralism and non-alignment policy could not win the trust of the Chinese authority. China believed, whether in economic, military or political dimension Myanmars nature has not been changed; it is still a typical country even after its independe nce (Hongwei 2012:15). Hongwei (2007:18) cites Chinese authorities comment on Myanmars neutralism and non-alignment as follows: On one side, Burma is bordering China, and hence do not dare to side with the imperialists [the West] and make China an enemy. At the same time, when Burma is having controversies with the imperialists, they want the support of China and the Soviet Union. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) On the other hand, the ruling class in Burma (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) is to a relatively large degree depending on the imperialists. On occasion, the Chinese government expressed its dislike for the Myanmese leaderships alleged readiness to let the western powers (Great Britain and United States) influence over Myanmars economy and politics. For instance, on September 3, 1952, when Chou-en-Lai visited Moscow and talk with Stalin, he stated that the Myanmese government conceal its real position on China, but it actually pursued the policy of anti-China following the UK and US lead (Hongwei 2012:15). In other words, during the period 1948-1962, China was not at all excited by the idea of Myanmar being an independent country as the Chinese still considered Myanmar to be under foreign influence. Conversely, Myanmars threat perception to its national security from China did not vanished even after independence. The Chinese factor, in turn, influenced Myanmar in adopting a policy of non-alignment and neutrality in a world divided by power politics and cold war. As Thomson (1957:336) writes, fear of antagonizing China ha s also been at least partially responsible for Burmas policy of neutralism. The first factor standoff in the Myanmar-China relations in the initial years of the independence was the unauthorised occupation by the remnants of the Chinese Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) in Myanmars northern border. When Mao Zedong had established a communist regime in China in 1949, armed forces loyal to Chaing-Kai-Sheik, the KMT leaders, by crossing over Yunnan province established base in the eastern part of the Shan state. It is alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supplied money and arms to the illegal KMT forces, and encouraged them to raid into communist China from Myanmars border soil (Choudhary 2000:424, Seekins 1997:527). The Myanmese authority feared that China would use this as a pretext to invade Myanmar, and occupy the unsettled border areas under the guise of the elimination of the KMT troops (Hongwei 2012:14). Myanmar also feared that China would misunderstood that it was intentionally proving shelter to the KMT remnants and supportin g Taiwan and the US anti-communist policy toward China (ibid.). Myanmars fear and distrust for China continued and as a result, Myanmar was very cautious in dealing with China. The two countries established formal diplomatic ties early in 1950s. While Myanmar attempted to deliberately avoid antagonizing China, China, in response, adopted a dual strategy. On the one side, China pursued a policy of establishing good diplomatic relationship with the government of the Union of Myanmar by establishing diplomatic ties and exchanging official visits, on the other side, it sympathized Communist rebel in Myanmar. It can be mentioned here that immediately after independence Myanmar faced severe threat to its national security from the communist rebels and ethnic insurgents. During this turbulent years of internal revolts, China extended covert sympathy in cause of the revolting communist rebels in Myanmar by endorsing party-to-party relations between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the White Flag Communist Party (BCP) of Myanmar led by Than Tun. The Chinese authority rendered psychological support and strategic advices to the BCP which was not liked by the Myanmese authority. So, the BCP with the support of the Chinese posed a serious threat to Myanmars national security.  [7]  This factor greatly held back the growth of a close and warmth government-to-government relations between Myanmar and China. Nevertheless, the bilateral relationship achieved significant milestone in 1954 when the Chinese Premier Chou-en-Lai visited Rangon in 1954, and with his Myanmese counterpart U NU issued a joint statement declaring the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence which henceforth acted as the basis for the Myanmar-China relationship.  [8]  The government-to-government ties were further strengthened when U NU paid back a visit to China latter in the year 1954. Not to attract communist Chinas wrath over the KMT issue, the previous year, the Myanmese authority had so ught attention and support of the United States and United Nations. In 1953, Myanmar asked the United States to cancel its aid programme to the KMT remnants, and took the question of illegal Chinese nationalist forces inside Myanmar to the United Nations (Choudhary 2000:242).  [9]  However, despite the efforts of the world body, only a partial repatriation of the Chinese nationalist troops to Taiwan was affected, and the remaining KMT soldiers settled down in the Shan state and became involved with the Myanmese ethnic and political dissents and active in the illegal opium trade (ibid.) until the forces had been uprooted in late 1980s. The more significant development between Myanmar-China relations came when the two governments had managed to reach agreement on the historical issue of border settlement in 1960. The Sino-Myanmar border treaty was signed in 1960 defining the international boundary between the two countries. The same year the two countries also signed a treaty of f riendship and mutual non-aggression which reinforced the treaty of 1954.  [10]  According to the treaty, the two parties would not invade each other and refrain from any military alliance directed against the other party. In 1961, Chinas People Liberation Army (PLA) and army of Myanmar launched joint operations against the KMT forces operating between their borders. The period before the military led By Ne Win had establish political control in Myanmar in 1962, Sino-Myanmar relation was nervously friendly. Myanmar, during this period, was very cautious not to offend PRC and courted its friendship because, unlike India, China posed potential threat to interfere in Myanmese internal affairs due to presence of KMT forces inside Myanmars northern border and also it adopted policy of export of revolution. Myanmar adopted and pursued policy of non-alignment and neutrality, and showed friendly gestures, which were largely grounded on maintaining its national security and freedom of action. The country maintained policy of neutrality during the Sino-Tibet affairs of 1950 and refused to brand China an aggressor in Korean Crisis of 1951 in United Nations meetings. But, the Chinese dual-track policy toward Myanmar continued. In 1957, U Nu spoke in Myanmars parliament that new Chinas relationship with the insurrectional BCP are not clear, but expressed some fraternal case (cited in Hongwei 2012:12). To China, Myanmars non-alignment and neutralism was not genuine, but fickle and unpredictable. Thus, though there was mutual suspicion and mistrust, the period 1949-1962 was a period of ambivalent peaceful co-existence in the bilateral relatio

Mans Relationship with Nature in Hughes and Wordsworths Poetry Essay

Man's Relationship with Nature in Hughes and Wordsworth's Poetry Concentrating on one Poem by each Poet, Compare and Contrast the ways in which Hughes and Wordsworth Present Man’s Relationship with Nature Both Hughes and Wordsworth have beliefs about man’s relationship with nature, but I feel that they see the relationship between the two in different ways. Hughes has a more pessimistic and negative approach, feeling that nature must protect herself from man’s destructive nature, while Wordsworth believes that nature is a teacher and nurtures you. Wordsworth uses a more optimistic and positive approach in his poetry. Wordsworth sees nature in a romantic and spiritual sense that protects and is constantly feeding and inspiring man’s mind and helping it to grow. On the other hand Hughes sees man as interfering and destructive towards nature and is excluded from its harmony. Hughes personality is much more complicated and hard to deal with, so to speak, than Wordsworth’s; this is reflected in his attitude towards nature because he thinks that nature is a violent and brutal enemy towards man and even itself. From this you can tell that he is quite a brooding and depressive man. I have chosen to compare ‘Work and Play’ by Hughes and by Wordsworth I have chosen ‘Expostulation and Reply’ and ‘The Tables Turned’ which are poems on the same subject but ‘The Tables Turned’ is set later on in the day and is the ‘Companion-Piece’ to ‘Expostulation and Reply’. I chose to study these two poems because I think that it is very interesting how the beliefs of Hughes and Wordsworth are presented, showing that they both have an admiration for the beauty of nature and its power, and how Hughes believes that in comparison m... ... the relationship between man and nature. This is because Wordsworth lived in a period in time that was called the romantic era, this is reflected in his views and the ways he writes as a poet. Whereas Hughes who lived in the 20th century, had quite different views about man’s relationship with nature. I think that this is because the period of time that you live in influences you very heavily in the way you write or express anything. This is because public attitudes change along with what is accepted and what is not, or what the public will find most popular. I think that if Hughes had lived in Wordsworth’s time his style of writing would not have been as popular as it is today, this is because Hughes style of writing has a more dramatic and dark edge to it whilst Wordsworth’s poetry is more romantic so to speak and has a gentler way of putting things.

Hot Coffee Reaction Paper Essay

After watching the documentary â€Å"Hot Coffee,† I realized that it greatly explained how one incident started a domino effect that shook up the way Government protects big business forever. I strongly believe that Tort reform was meant to back big business and take away the rights of Americans who are wronged by these corporations. From a sociologist standpoint I can especially see the concerns of a conflict theorist because this is capitalism at its best. When Stella Liebeck sued McDonalds for a cup of hot coffee that she spilled on herself, a lot of people originally viewed the situation as a joke and as a plan for someone to get rich quick. Before watching the documentary I had no knowledge of the incident and thought it sounded like a case of lawsuit abuse. Soon after watching, I saw the negligence of McDonalds by not monitoring the temperature of the coffee and the major damage done to Stella’s skin. The medical bills were major and she deserved not only compensation for medical bills but punitive damages as well. She was awarded 160,000 dollars in damages and 2.7 million in punitive damages (eventually reduced to 480,000). After such an infamous case, it opened the floodgates for other Americans to go after businesses that had wronged them. In a case for Stella, the lawsuit was justified, but there were cases across the country were lawsuits were filed and many were trying to â€Å"get rich quick.† Sure it is a controversial situation but Tort Reform was used a defense mechanism for big business. Companies like tobacco corporations for example, were actually behind lawsuit abuse groups trying to help spark tort reform to favor them. They had all the money to back political campaigns for  nominees that would favor tort reform. This I believe is a matter of capitalism because the rich are investing in themselves and are literally fixing campaigns by funding whomever they believe look after their best interest. As another example, The Chamber of Commerce are a committee assembled of big business corporations who fund political campaigns for nominees who back their political views and invest in their well being instead of the nation as a whole. In other words, the rich want their nominees to win in order to protect their investments, therefore they all band together to achieve this goal. George W. Bush was definitely a beneficiary of highly funded campaigns and it showed. During his presidential campaign he was lobbying for Tort Reform and that meant capping punitive damages. There are cases where this cap hurts the people who are wronged from businesses that have wronged them. In the documentary the case of Colin Gourley strongly was affected by tort reform. Lisa Gourley gave birth to twins and during her pregnancy was constantly misdiagnosed and improperly observed. Because of the neglect of her doctor, one of the twins, Colin, was born with brain damage and would require therapy and special healthcare for the remainder of his life. She was constantly uneasy with the progress of her pregnancy but was always reassured by her doctor. Because of negligence, Lisa Gourley was awarded 5.6 million dollars in a lawsuit. However, due to the law in Nebraska, it was reduced to 1.6 million. This is a prime example of a system that failed a family due to tort reform. Ultimately this documentary opened my eyes to the many capitalist ways we operate as a country. This most definitely identifies with conflict theory. It is understood that this country is ran and protected by the wealthy. There are ways for things to change but this documentary demonstrates where our challenges lie.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 30~31

Chapter 30 Cops and Corpses â€Å"This guy is pissing me off,† Cavuto said, expelling a blue cloud of cigar smoke against the file drawers of the dead. â€Å"I hate this fucking guy.† He was standing over the body of Gilbert Bendetti, who had a thermometer sticking out of the side of his abdomen. â€Å"Inspector, there's no smoking allowed in here,† said a uniformed officer who had been called to the scene. Cavuto waved to the drawers. â€Å"Do you think they mind?† The officer shook his head. â€Å"No, sir.† Cavuto blew a stream of smoke at Gilbert. â€Å"And him, do you think he minds?† â€Å"No, sir.† â€Å"And you, Patrolman Jeeter, you don't mind, do you?† Jeeter cleared his throat. â€Å"Uh†¦ no, sir.† â€Å"Well, good,† Cavuto said. â€Å"Look on the side of the car, Jeeter. It says ‘Protect and Serve, not ‘Piss and Moan.  » â€Å"Yes, sir.† Rivera came through the double doors, followed by a tall, sixtyish man in a lab coat and silver wire-frame glasses. Cavuto looked up. â€Å"Doc, this guy done, or what?† The doctor pulled a surgical mask over his face as he approached the body. He bent over Gilbert and checked the thermometer. â€Å"He's been dead about four hours. I'd put the time of death between one and one-thirty. I won't be able to tell for sure until I finish the postmortem, but offhand I'd say myocardial infarction.† â€Å"I hate this guy,† Cavuto repeated. He looked down at Jody's toe tag, which was lying on the linoleum with a chalk circle drawn around it. â€Å"Any chance this guy misplaced the redhead?† The coroner looked up. â€Å"None at all. Someone removed the body.† Rivera had his notebook out and was scribbling as the doctor talked. â€Å"Any news on the one that just came in, the cowboy? Any blood loss?† â€Å"Again, I can't say for sure, but it looks like a broken neck is the cause of death. There may have been some blood loss, but not as much as we've seen with the others. Since he was sitting up, it could just be settling.† â€Å"What about the wound on the throat?† Rivera asked. â€Å"What wound?† the coroner said. â€Å"There was no wound on the throat; I checked the body myself.† Rivera's arms fell to his sides, his pen clattered on the linoleum. â€Å"Doctor, could you check again? Nick and I both saw distinct puncture wounds on the right side of the neck.† The doctor stood up and walked to the rack of drawers and pulled one out. â€Å"Check for yourself.† Cavuto and Rivera moved to either side of the drawer. Rivera turned Simon's head to the side while inspecting his neck. He looked up at Cavuto, who shook his head and walked away. â€Å"Nick, you saw it, right?† Cavuto nodded. Rivera turned to the doctor. â€Å"I saw the wounds, Doc, I swear. I've been doing this too long to get something like that wrong.† The coroner shrugged. â€Å"When was the last time you two slept?† â€Å"Together, you mean?† said Cavuto. The coroner frowned. Rivera said, â€Å"Thanks, Doc, we've got some more work at the other crime scene. We'll be back. Let's go, Nick.† Cavuto was standing over Gilbert again. â€Å"I hate this guy, and I hate that cowboy in the drawer. Did I mention that?† Rivera tuned on his heel and started toward the doors, then stopped and looked down. There was a distinct footprint on the linoleum in brown gravy. Made by a small foot, a woman's bare foot. Rivera turned to the coroner. â€Å"Doc, you got any women working here?† â€Å"Not down here. Only in the office.† â€Å"Fuck! Nick, come on, we need to talk.† Rivera stormed through the double doors, leaving them swinging. Cavuto ambled after him. He paused at the doors and turned back to the coroner. â€Å"He's moody, Doc.† The coroner nodded. â€Å"Nothing to the press about the blood loss, if there was any. And nothing about the missing body.† â€Å"Of course not. I have no desire to advertise that my office is losing bodies,† the coroner said. Rivera was waiting in the hallway when Cavuto came through the doors. â€Å"We've got to cut the kid loose, you know that.† â€Å"We can hold him another twenty-four hours.† â€Å"He didn't do it.† â€Å"Yeah, but he knows something.† â€Å"Maybe we should let him go and follow him.† â€Å"Give me one more shot at him. Alone.† â€Å"Whatever. We've got something else to consider too. You saw those puncture marks on the cowboy's throat the same as I did, right?† Cavuto chewed his cigar and looked at the ceiling. â€Å"Well?† Cavuto nodded. â€Å"Then maybe the others had wounds too. Maybe they had wounds that went away. And did you see the footprint?† â€Å"I saw it.† â€Å"Nick, do you believe in vampires?† Cavuto turned and walked down the hall. â€Å"I need a stiff one.† â€Å"You mean a drink?† Cavuto glared over his shoulder and growled. Rivera grinned. â€Å"I owed you that one.† Tommy guessed the temperature in the cell to be about sixty-five, but even so, his cellmate, the six-foot-five, two-hundred-fifty-pound, unshaven, unbathed, one-eyed psychopath with the Disney-character tattoos, was dripping with sweat. Maybe, Tommy thought, as he cowered in the corner behind the toilet, it's warmer up there on the bunk. Or maybe it's hard work trying to stare at someone menacingly, without blinking, for six hours when you only have one eye. â€Å"I hate you,† said One-Eye. â€Å"Sorry,† said Tommy. One-Eye stood up and flexed his biceps; Micky and Goofy bulged angrily. â€Å"Are you making fun of me?† Tommy didn't want to say anything, so he shook his head violently, trying to make sure that nothing remotely resembling a smile crossed his face. One-Eye sat down on the bunk and resumed menacing. â€Å"What are you in for?† â€Å"Nothing,† Tommy said. â€Å"I didn't do anything.† â€Å"Don't fuck with me, ass-wipe. What were you arrested for?† Tommy fidgeted, trying to work his way into the cinder-block wall. â€Å"Well, I put my girlfriend in the freezer, but I don't think that's a crime.† One-Eye, for the first time since he'd been put in the cell, smiled. â€Å"Me either. You didn't use an assault weapon, did you?† â€Å"Nope, a Sears frost-free.† â€Å"Oh, good; they're really tough on crimes with assault weapons.† â€Å"So,† Tommy said, venturing an inch out of the corner, â€Å"what are you in for?† Thinking baby-stomping, thinking cannibalism, thinking fast-food massacre. One-Eye hung his head. â€Å"Copyright infringement.† â€Å"You're kidding?† One-Eye frowned. Tommy slid back into his corner, adding, â€Å"Really? That's bad.† One-Eye pulled off his ratty T-shirt. The Seven Dwarfs danced across his massive chest between knife and bullet scars. On his stomach, Snow White and Cinderella were locked in a frothy embrace of mutual muffin munching. â€Å"Yeah, I made the mistake of walking around without a shirt. A Disney executive who was up here on vacation saw me down by the wharf. He called their legal pit bulls.† Tommy shook his head in sympathy. â€Å"I didn't know they put you in jail for copyright infringement.† â€Å"Well, they don't, really. It was when I ripped the guy's shoulders out of their sockets that the police got involved.† â€Å"That's not a crime either, is it?† One-Eye rubbed his temples as if it was excruciating to remember. â€Å"It was in front of his kids.† â€Å"Oh,† Tommy said. â€Å"Flood, on your feet,† a guard said from the cell door. Inspector Nick Cavuto stood behind him. â€Å"C'mon, cutie,† Cavuto said. â€Å"We're going for a last walk.† The blood-high wasn't racing through her with flush and fever as it always had before. No, it was more like the satisfying fullness of a lasagna dinner chased with double espressos. Still, the strength sang in her limbs; she ripped the loft-door dead bolts through the metal doorjamb as easily as she had torn the plastic crime-scene tape the police had put across the door. Strange, she thought, there is a difference in drinking from a living body. Her remorse over killing Simon had passed in seconds and the predator mind had taken over. A new aspect of the predator had reared up this time, not just the instinct to hide and hunt, but to protect. If Tommy was in jail for putting her in the freezer, it meant that the police had also found Peary, and they would try to connect Tommy to the other murders. But if they found another victim while Tommy was behind bars, they would have to set him free. And she needed him to be free, first so that she could find out why he had frozen her, but more important, because it was time to turn the tables on the other vampire, and the only safe way to hunt him was to do it during daylight. She had bit Simon's neck and used the heel of her hand to pump his heart as she drank. There was no guilt or self-consciousness in the act; the predator mind had taken over. She found herself thinking about the burly fireman who had come to Transamerica to teach the employees earthquake preparedness, which had included a course in CPR. What would he think of one of his students' using his technique to pump lifeblood from the murdered? â€Å"I'm sorry, Fireman Frank, I sucked like an Electrolux, but it just wasn't enough. If it's any consolation, I didn't enjoy it.† What little strength she had gained from Simon's blood seemed to evaporate as she walked into the loft. It was in worse shape than the day the Animals had come for breakfast. The futon was bundled against the wall; the books had been taken out of their shelves and spread out on the floor; the cabinets hung open, their contents tumbled across the counters; and a fine patina of fingerprint powder covered every surface. She wanted to cry. It reminded her of the time she had lived with a heavy-metal bass player for two months, who had torn their apartment apart looking for money for drugs. Money? She ran to the bedroom and to the dresser where she had stashed the remaining cash the old vampire had given her. It was gone. She threw open the drawer where she kept her lingerie. She'd kept a couple thousand rolled up in a bra, a holdover habit from the days of hiding cash from the bass player. It was there. She had enough for a month's rent, but then what? It wouldn't matter if Tommy didn't stop the other vampire. He was going to kill them both, she was sure of it, and he was going to do it soon. As she weighed the rolls of bills in her hand, she heard someone open the stairwell door, then footfalls on the steps. She went to the kitchen and waited, crouched behind the counter. Someone was in the loft. A man. She could hear his heart – smell sweat and stale deodorant coming off him. Tommy's deodorant. She stood up. â€Å"Hi,† Tommy said. â€Å"Boy, am I glad to see you.† Chapter 31 He Was an Ex-Con, She Was Defrosted†¦ She started to lean over the counter to give him a hug, then stopped herself. â€Å"You look awful,† she said. He was unshaven, his hair stuck out in greasy tufts, and his clothes looked as if he'd slept in them. He hadn't. He hadn't slept at all. â€Å"Thanks,† he said. â€Å"You look a little tattered yourself.† She raised her hand to her hair, felt a tangle, and let it drop. â€Å"And I thought my red hair went so well with freezer burn.† â€Å"I can explain that.† She came around the counter and stood before him, not knowing whether to hold him or hit him. â€Å"That's a great dress. Is it new?† â€Å"It was a great dress before the gravy and cobbler melted all over it. What happened, Tommy? Why was I frozen?† He reached out to touch her face. â€Å"How are you? I mean, are you okay?† â€Å"Good time to ask.† She glared at him. He looked in her eyes, then away. â€Å"You're very beautiful, you know that?† He crumpled to the floor and sat with his back against the counter. â€Å"I'm so sorry, Jody. I didn't want to hurt you. I was just†¦ sort of lonely.† She felt tears welling in her eyes and wiped them away. He was genuinely sorry, she could tell. And she had always been a sucker for pathetic apologies, going back as far as the time the bass player she was seeing hocked her stereo. Or had that been the construction worker? â€Å"What happened?† she pressed. He stared at the floor and shook his head. â€Å"I don't know. I wanted someone to talk about books with. Someone who thought I was special. I met a girl at work. I was just going to meet her for coffee, nothing else. But I didn't think you'd understand. So I†¦ well, you know.† Jody sat down on the floor in front of him. â€Å"Tommy, you could have killed me.† â€Å"I'm sorry!† he screamed. â€Å"I'm afraid of you. You scare the hell out of me sometimes. I didn't think it would hurt you or I wouldn't have done it. I just wanted to feel special, but you're the special one. I just wanted to talk to someone who sees things the way I do, who can understand how I feel about things. I want to take you out and show you off, even during the day. I've never really had a girlfriend before. I love you. I want to share things with you.† He looked down, would not meet her gaze. Jody took his hand and squeezed it. â€Å"I know how you feel. You don't know how well I know. And I love you too.† Finally he looked at her, then pulled her into his arms. They held each other for a long time, rocking each other like crying children. A half hour passed, ticked off with tear-salty kisses, before she said, â€Å"Do you want to share a shower? I don't want to let go of you, and it'll be dawn soon.† Warmed and cleaned by the shower, they danced, still wet, though the dark bedroom, to fall together on the bare mattress. For Tommy, being with her, in her, was like coming to a place where he was safe and loved, and those dark and hostile things that walked the world outside were washed away in the smell of her damp hair, a soft kiss on the eyelid, and mingled whispers of love and reassurance. It had never been like this for Jody. It was escape from worry and suspicion and from the predator mind that had been rising for days like a shark to blood. There was no urge to feed, but a different hunger drove her to hold him deep and long and still, to envelop and keep him there forever. Her vampire senses rose to the touch of his hands, his mouth – as if finally her sense of touch had grown to feel life itself as pleasure. Love. When they finished she held his face against her breast and listened to his breathing becoming slow as he fell asleep. Tears crept from the corners of her eyes as dawn broke, releasing her from the night's last thought: I'm loved at last, and I have to give it up. Tommy was still sleeping at sundown. She kissed him gently on the forehead, then nipped his ear to wake him. He opened his eyes and smiled. She could see it in the dark; it was a genuine smile. â€Å"Hey,† he said. She snuggled against him. â€Å"We've got to get up. There's things to do.† â€Å"You're cold. Are you cold?† â€Å"I'm never cold.† She rolled out of bed and went to the light switch. â€Å"Eyes,† she warned as she flipped on the light. Tommy shielded his eyes. â€Å"For the love of God, Montressor!† â€Å"Poe?† she said. â€Å"Right?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"See? I can talk books.† Tommy sat up. â€Å"I'm sorry. I didn't give you a chance. I guess we were always talking about – about your condition.† She smiled and snatched a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt from the pile of clothes on the floor. â€Å"I talked to the other vampire the other night. That's why I left the note.† Tommy was wide awake now. â€Å"You talked to him? Where?† â€Å"In a club. I was mad at you. I wanted to go out. Show off.† â€Å"What did he say?† â€Å"He said it's almost over. Tommy, I think he's going to try and kill you, maybe both of us.† â€Å"Well, that sucks.† â€Å"And you've got to stop him.† â€Å"Me? Why me? You're the one with X-ray vision and stuff.† â€Å"He's too strong. I get the feeling he's really old. He's clever. I think that the longer that you're a vampire, the more you can do. I'm starting to feel†¦ well, sharper as time goes on.† â€Å"He's too strong for you, but you want me stop him? How?† â€Å"You'll have to get to him while he's sleeping.† â€Å"Kill him? Just like that? Even if I could find him, how would I kill him? Nothing hurts you guys – unless you have some kryptonite.† â€Å"You could drag him into the sunlight. Or cut his head off – I'm sure that would do it. Or you could totally dismember him and scatter the pieces.† Jody had to look away from him when she said this. It was as if someone else was talking. â€Å"Right,† Tommy said, â€Å"just shovel him into a garbage bag and get on the forty-two bus. Leave a piece at every stop. Are you nuts? I can't kill anyone, Jody. I'm not built that way.† â€Å"Well, I can't do it.† â€Å"Why don't we just go to Indiana? You'll like it there. I can get a union job and make my mom happy. You can learn to bowl. It'll be great – no dead guys in the freezer, no vampires†¦ â€Å"By the way, how'd you†¦ I mean, where did you thaw out?† â€Å"In the morgue. With a pervert all ready to live out his wet dreams on me.† â€Å"I'll kill him!† â€Å"Not necessary.† â€Å"You killed him? Jody, you can't keep – â€Å" â€Å"I didn't kill him. He just sort of died. But there's something else.† â€Å"I can't wait.† â€Å"The vampire killed Simon.† Tommy was shaken. â€Å"How? Where?† â€Å"The same way as the others. That's why the cops let you go.† Tommy took a minute to digest this, sat for a moment looking at his hands. He looked up and said, â€Å"How did you know I was in jail?† â€Å"You told me.† â€Å"I did?† â€Å"Of course. You were so tired last night. I'm not surprised you don't remember.† She buttoned up the flannel shirt. â€Å"Tommy, you've got to find the vampire and kill him. I think Simon was his last warning before he takes us.† Tommy shook his head. â€Å"I can't believe he got Simon. Why Simon?† â€Å"Because he was close to you. Come on, I'll make you coffee.† She started into the kitchen and tripped over the brass turtle. â€Å"What's this?† â€Å"Long story,† Tommy said. Jody looked around, listened for the sound of turtle claws. â€Å"Where's Scott and Zelda?† â€Å"I set them free. Go make coffee.† Rivera and Cavuto sat in an unmarked cruiser in the alley across the street from the loft, taking turns dozing and watching. It was Rivera's turn to watch while Cavuto snored in the driver's seat. Rivera didn't like the way things were going. Weird shit just seemed to follow him. His job was to find evidence and catch bad guys, but too often, especially in this case, the evidence pointed to a bad guy who wasn't a guy at all: wasn't human. He didn't want to believe that there was a vampire loose in the City, but he did. And he knew he'd never convince Cavuto, or anybody, for that matter. Still, he'd dug out his mother's silver crucifix before he left the house. It was in his jacket pocket next to his badge wallet. He had been tempted to take it out and say a rosary, but Cavuto, despite his growling snore, was a light sleeper, and Rivera didn't want to endure the ridicule should the big cop wake up in the middle of a Hail Mary. Rivera was getting ready to wake Cavuto and catch a nap when the lights went on in the loft. â€Å"Nick,† he said. â€Å"Lights are on.† Cavuto woke, instantly alert. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Lights are on. The kid's up.† Cavuto lit his cigar. â€Å"And?† â€Å"I just thought you'd want to know.† â€Å"Look, Rivera, the lights coming on is not something happening. I know that after ten or twelve hours it seems like something, but it's not. You're losing your edge. The kid leaving, the kid strangling someone, that's something happening.† Rivera was insulted by the admonition. He'd been a cop as long as Cavuto and he didn't have to take crap like that. â€Å"Eat shit, Nick. It's my turn to sleep anyway.† Cavuto checked his watch. â€Å"Right.† They watched the windows for a while, saying nothing. Shadows moved inside the loft. Too many shadows. â€Å"There's someone else up there,† Rivera said. Cavuto squinted at the shadows and grabbed a pair of binoculars from the seat. â€Å"Looks like a girl.† Someone passed by the window. â€Å"A redhead with a lot of hair.† Tommy took a sip of his coffee and sighed. â€Å"I don't even know where to start. This is a big city and I don't know my way around that well.† â€Å"Well, we could just wait here for him to come get us.† Jody looked at his cup, watched the heat waves coming off the coffee. â€Å"God, I miss coffee.† â€Å"Can't you just wander around until you feel something? Lestat can†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don't start with that!† â€Å"Sorry.† He took another sip. â€Å"The Animals might help. They'll want revenge for Simon. Can I tell them?† â€Å"You might as well. Those guys do just enough drugs that they might believe you. Besides, I'm sure the story was in the paper this morning.† â€Å"Yeah, I'm sure it was.† He put his cup down and looked at her. â€Å"How did you know about Simon?† Jody looked away. â€Å"I was in the morgue when they brought him in.† â€Å"You saw him?† â€Å"I heard the cops talking. I slipped out during the excitement when they found the dead pervert.† â€Å"Oh,† Tommy said, not quite sure of himself. She reached out and took his hand. â€Å"You'd better go. I'll call a cab.† â€Å"They took all the money,† Tommy said. â€Å"I have a little left.† She handed him two hundred-dollar bills. He raised his eyebrows. â€Å"A little?† Jody grinned. â€Å"Be careful. Stay around people until it gets light. Don't get out of the cab unless there are a lot of people around. I'm sure he doesn't want any witnesses.† â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"And call me if anything happens. Try to be back here by sundown tomorrow, but if you can't, call and leave me a message where you are.† â€Å"So you can protect me?† â€Å"So I can try to protect you.† â€Å"Why don't you come with me?† â€Å"Because there's two cops in the alley across the street watching the loft. I saw them from the window. I don't think we want them to see me.† â€Å"But it's dark in the alley.† â€Å"Exactly.† Tommy took her in his arms. â€Å"That is so cool. When I get back, will you read to me naked, hanging from the ceiling beam in the dark?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"Dirty limericks?† â€Å"Anything.† â€Å"That's so cool.† Five minutes later Tommy stood at the bottom of the stairs with the fire door cracked just enough to see when his cab arrived. When the blue-and-white DeSoto cab pulled up, he opened the fire door and a furry black-and-white comet shot past him. â€Å"Bummer! Stop!† the Emperor shouted. The little dog skipped up the steps with a yap and a rattle every step of the way; his pie-pan helmet was hanging upside down by the chin strap, hitting the edge of each step. He stopped at the top of the stairs and commenced a leaping, barking, scratching attack on the door. Tommy leaned against the wall holding his chest. He thought, Good, a heart attack will sure mess up the vampire's murder plans. â€Å"Forgive him,† the Emperor said. â€Å"He always seems to do this when we pass your domicile.† Then, to Lazarus, â€Å"Would you be so kind as to retrieve our comrade-in-arms?† The golden retriever bounded up the stairs and snatched Bummer out of the air in mid-leap, then carried him down by the scruff of the neck as the rat dog struggled and snarled. The Emperor relieved Lazarus of his squirming charge and shoved the smaller soldier into the oversized pocket of his coat. He buttoned the flap and smiled at Tommy. â€Å"Dogged enthusiasm in a handy reclosable package.† Tommy laughed, more nervous than amused. â€Å"Your Highness, what are you doing here?† â€Å"Why, I am looking for you, my son. The authorities have been asking after you in regard to the monster. The time to act is at hand.† The Emperor waved his sword wildly as he spoke. Tommy stepped back. â€Å"You're going to put someone's eye out with that thing.† The Emperor held his sword at port arms. â€Å"Oh, quite right. Safety first.† Tommy signaled to the cabdriver over the Emperor's shoulder. â€Å"Your Highness, I agree, it's time to do something. I'm on my way to get some help.† â€Å"Recruits!† the Emperor exclaimed. â€Å"Shall we join forces against evil? Call the City to arms? Drive evil back to the dark crevice from whence it came? Can the men and I share your cab?† He patted his still squirming pocket. Tommy eyed the cabdriver. â€Å"Well, I don't know.† He pulled open the rear door and leaned in. â€Å"Dogs and royalty okay?† he asked the cabbie. The driver said something in Farsi that Tommy took for a yes. â€Å"Let's go.† Tommy stepped back and motioned for the Emperor to get in. Lazarus jumped into the back seat with a rattle of armor, followed by the Emperor and Tommy. As soon as the cab had gone a block, Bummer settled down and the Emperor let him out of his pocket. â€Å"Something about your building vexes him. I don't understand it.† Tommy shrugged, thinking about how he was going to tell the Animals about Simon's death. The Emperor rolled down the window and he and his men rode through the City with their heads out the window, squinting into the wind like mobile gargoyles. Cavuto slapped Rivera on the shoulder, startling him out of sleep. â€Å"Wake up. Something's going down. A cab just pulled up and that old wacko just came around the corner with his dogs.† Rivera wiped his eyes and sat up. â€Å"What's the Emperor doing here?† â€Å"There's the kid. How in the hell did he get hold of the old wacko?† They watched as Tommy and the Emperor talked, Tommy glancing from time to time at the cabdriver. A few minutes passed and they loaded into the cab. â€Å"Here we go,† Cavuto said as he started the car. â€Å"Wait, let me out.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"I want to see where the girl goes. Who she is.† â€Å"Just go ask her.† â€Å"I'm out of here.† Rivera picked up the portable radio from the seat. â€Å"Stay in touch. I'll send for another car.† Cavuto was rocking in the driver's seat, waiting to go. â€Å"Call me on the cell phone if you see the girl. Keep it off the radio.† Rivera stopped halfway out of the car. â€Å"You think it's the girl from the morgue, don't you?† â€Å"Get out,† Cavuto said. â€Å"He's leaving.† The cab pulled away. Cavuto let them get a block away, then pulled out after them, leaving Rivera standing in the dark alley fingering the crucifix in his pocket. Four stories above him, on the roof of a light industrial building, Elijah Ben Sapir, the vampire, looked down on Rivera, noting how much heat the policeman was losing though the thinning spot in his hair. â€Å"Jump or dive?† he said to himself.