Operation Condor essays

Operation Condor essays The authoritarian repression of the 1970s and the 1980s was very difficult for the South American victims of the tortures. They could not escape this repression even by fleeing their own countries. The government rulers of the countries had tortured and disappeared many dissidents, so many potentially so-called subversives decided to protect themselves by leaving the country. This, however, did not guarantee their safety, as the intelligence organization and cooperation of governments involved in Operation Condor tracked down these subversives every move and agreed to bring the subversives to justice, no matter the country where they resided Recently, Operation Condor has been gaining publicity because of the trials of Pinochet and the use of universal jurisdiction and the newly discovered Archives of Terror. Operation Condor, which is also being investigated by the same judge trying Pinochet, Garzon, has run into numerous obstacles for bringing about these trials and justice. Operation Condor strengthened the net of torture in South America because it involved a cooperation of all military forces to pursue subversives in all countries. Because it was run mainly by intelligence agencies of all the countries and even involved the powerful United States Central Intelligence Agency, the actual documentation of the operation is still yet to be disclosed. However, in order to bring the Operation Condor to justice, a cooperation of all countries involved will need to take place, but this time in pursuit of justice, not torture. To further understand the Operation Condor, it is important to analyze the events of the political world when Operation Condor occurred. The time period in which Operation Condor occurred gives us many clues of why it happened. Operation Condor was established in 1974, following the 1973 coup de etat that ousted leftist Salvador Allende. During this authoritarian repression, a fear of leftist, Marxi...

Independence Day (The Language of the Declaration of Independence)

Independence Day (The Language of the Declaration of Independence) Independence Day (The Language of the Declaration of Independence) Happy Fourth of July! 240 years ago today, America’s founding fathers agreed to adopt the Declaration of Independence (it wasn’t signed until August). Traditionally, we mark this occasion with food, flags, and fireworks. All while saluting the American Eagle of Freedom. [Photo: Therightclicks/wikimedia]However, we’re proofreaders, and there’s only one way we know how to celebrate: pointing out grammatical and spelling mistakes. Today, then, we shall turn our pedantry towards the Declaration of Independence to see how our language has changed since 1776. Capitalization Anyone who reads the Declaration of Independence will notice that some words are capitalized when you wouldnt expect them to be. Sure, there are some comparisons with modern English, like capitalizing â€Å"Government† when referring to a specific government. But others, like in â€Å"Safety and Happiness,† are less familiar. However, this capitalization was a common way to emphasize particular words at the time, so it only seems odd to modern eyes. Peculiar capitalization and a typo or, possibly, quill-o? American vs. British English American and British English have since developed in different ways. In 1776, though, British spellings were dominant in America. We can see this in the Declaration of Independence with the spelling of â€Å"neighbourhood.† Another example is the use of â€Å"which† and â€Å"that.† The British still use these terms interchangeably, but American English uses â€Å"that† for clauses that change the meaning of a sentence (restrictive relative clauses) and saves â€Å"which† for clauses that simply add more detail (non-restrictive relative clauses). But the Declaration of Independence uses the British model. An interesting exception is the last word of the document, â€Å"honor,† which uses the modern American spelling rather than the British version (â€Å"honour†). Other Spelling Issues There are also some unusual spellings that we can’t blame on the English, like â€Å"compleat,† â€Å"hath shewn† and â€Å"Brittish.† And don’t even get us started on the inalienable/unalienable thing. That one is just confusing. Can we not just accept that unalienable and inalienable mean the same thing? In reality, we can’t call these â€Å"mistakes,† since it’s only recently that many spellings have been standardized. But they still look strange to our eyes. Gendered Language That â€Å"all men are created equal† is one of the most famous lines in the English language. But the fact it says â€Å"men† reflects how women were excluded from public discourse. Nowadays, we’d probably pick a more inclusive term. We imagine Abigail Adams was particularly annoyed. We’d hopefully also reconsider the reference to â€Å"merciless Indian Savages,† which could sound ever-so-slightly insensitive these days. A Very Important Period We won’t go into depth, but some scholars think we’ve been reading the Declaration of Independence wrong. And this is all because of a misplaced period after â€Å"the pursuit of Happiness.† Period or comma? You decide! Put simply, the use of â€Å"That† at the start of the next sentence suggests it was supposed to run on from the previous part, while the period is also missing in some versions of the document. The issue at stake is whether the following passage – related to how governments are instituted to protect the rights of citizens – counts as one of the â€Å"self-evident† truths that precede it. If nothing else, it’s definitely a good example of why proofreading is important!