Switzerland - 2044 Words

Alps Castle Ice Hockey Fondue Name: Zorina Lai Class: (11) 5E Class teacher: Mr Steve Chan Supervisor: Mr Steve Chan Contents Introduction P. 3 Famous sights P. 4 †¢ Castles †¢ Mountains and Alps †¢ Museums Culture P. 6 †¢ Holidays †¢ Art Foods P. 8 †¢ Cheeses †¢ Pastries †¢ Potatoes †¢ Chocolates Entertainment P. 9 †¢ Sports †¢ Spa †¢ Theme parks Conclusion†¦show more content†¦The Chapel Bridge was built in 1365 and was re-built again after fire in 1993. It attracts many tourists. Travelers and tourists from other countries come to see them and are very impressive by the scenes, castles and Alps. These scenes not only make the country beautiful, but also very attractive to the travelers and tourists. This is why Switzerland is a great place for travelling. Culture Switzerland is a nation of full of traditions. There are over 100 fun and enjoyable holidays and festivals through out the year for celebrating foods, religions, and fall harvest. The Swiss peoples love and enjoy gathering and celebrating festivals and holidays with their families and friends. The wine and cheese festivals are very common and celebrate few times a year. The music festivals are mostly held in summer. The national day is at the first of August, it is celebrated by having fire works, concerts and yodeling. The Christmas in Switzerland is very special. Santa Clause will give out candies and presents to the people on the street. The Swiss decorate the houses, sing carols, wrap presents, bake cookies, and go to the church. All these make this cold and windy season full of joy and peace. The Basler Fasnatch is another festival, which lasted for 3 days. It starts at 4:00am at the market square. Men dress likeShow MoreRelatedSwitzerland : The Largest City Of Switzerland1388 Words   |  6 Pagesto live where would it be. So the place I have chosen is Switzerland. I chose Switzerland to live in because of their health care system. The people in Switzerland are happy and healthy both at the same time. They give top-notch education to everyone and the y care about talent and innovation. They’ve also created an environment where people can thrive. The exact city I will be doing is called Zurich. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland. Zurich is a city that is both exciting and open to differentRead MoreSwitzerland : The Largest City Of Switzerland1059 Words   |  5 PagesIf I could choose anywhere in the world to live, it would be Switzerland. I chose Switzerland to live in because of their health care system. The people are happy and healthy both at the same time. They give top-notch education to everyone and they care about talent and innovation. They’ve also created an environment where people can thrive. The exact city I will be doing is called Zurich. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland. Zurich is a city that is both exciting and open to different culturesRead MoreDemography and Switzerland Essay4807 Words   |  20 PagesSwitzerland is best described by conveying an understanding of its geography, p olitical, economic, cultural and social environments. The geography of the country has had a significant impact on its way of life. Switzerland is bordered by Germany in the north, Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein in the east, Italy in the south and France in the west. This represents many significant European cultures converging on Switzerland Ââ€" the German speaking region, the French and the Italian. TwoRead MoreSwitzerland Culture and Religion1191 Words   |  5 PagesSwitzerland Culture Religion Switzerland is widely known for the beautiful views places shown in movies, music videos, to tourists for tourist locations, and masses of other places. However out of the places that Switzerland is shown not many contain information or insight on the culture and the religion in stowed in this gorgeous country. Also if asked about Switzerland to an â€Å"outsider† the response would be, â€Å"oh they love cheese, chocolate, watches, and make army knives, and the popular SwissRead MoreTourism of Switzerland10781 Words   |  44 PagesProject About: â€Å" Travel And Tourism of Switzerland† Flag: It may be hard to believe but the famous white cross on a red background has only been the national flag of Switzerland since the 19th century. The origins of the flag, though, date back to 1339 and the historic Battle of Laupen, when Confederate soldiers began using the white cross as their field sign. History: Switzerland evolved over many centuries from a loose alliance of small self-governingRead MoreComparing The United States And Switzerland872 Words   |  4 Pages Trying to compare the United States to Switzerland is quite difficult, especially when there are many differences between the states of America. So the easiest is to compare the general aspects across the board, and for the smaller differences I can only compare it with Texas, since I have lived there my whole life. The first major difference is the food, of course the food is different all across Europe compared to the United States, just because we have different types of food. In America weRead MoreSwitzerland Immigration Essay1642 Words   |  7 PagesSwitzerland Key History Immigration When the Federal State was founded in 1848, Switzerland began to industrialize. Foreigners from neighboring countries came to Switzerland for work. Post World War II labor shortages in Switzerland brought more immigrants into the country (Ruedin, Alberti, DAmato, 2015). Switzerland has been shaped immigration, and how the immigrants from neighboring countries settled have in separate regions (Appendix: Map 1). Throughout Swiss history, immigration has been aRead MoreEssay about Switzerland4525 Words   |  19 PagesSwitzerland Switzerland is best described by conveying an understanding of its geography, political, economic, cultural and social environments. The geography of the country has had a significant impact on its way of life. Switzerland is bordered by Germany in the north, Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein in the east, Italy in the south and France in the west. This represents many significant European cultures converging on Switzerland – the German speaking region, the French andRead More Switzerland Report 2005 Essay1111 Words   |  5 Pages SWITZERLAND Switzerland is an independent country that has been able to maintain its neutrality, making them honored by the major European powers. An interesting historical fact is that Switzerland was not involved in either of the two World Wars. Switzerland’s active role in many UN and international organizations has been a positive strategy strengthening ties with its neighbors, but also letting them retain a strong commitment to neutrality. However, Switzerland did not officially become a UNRead MoreSwitzerland Health Care System1296 Words   |  5 PagesSwitzerland Health Care System The Introduction and Historical Background Switzerland, officially known as the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic made up of 23 cantons. It lies in central Europe and is bordered by many different countries, which are France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. It covers a huge amount of area about 41,287 km2 Switzerland’s major city include, Berne which is the capital, also Zurich, Basle and Geneva. The country is dominated by the Jura Mountains in the northwest

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 28 Free Essays

string(34) " bent down and examined the girl\." Chapter 28 Joshua’s ministry was three years of preaching, sometimes three times a day, and although there were some high and low points, I could never remember the sermons word for word, but here’s the gist of almost every sermon I ever heard Joshua give. You should be nice to people, even creeps. And if you: a) believed that Joshua was the Son of God (and) b) he had come to save you from sin (and) c) acknowledged the Holy Spirit within you (became as a little child, he would say)(and) d) didn’t blaspheme the Holy Ghost (see c), then you would: e) live forever f) someplace nice g) probably heaven. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 28 or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, if you: h) sinned (and/or) i) were a hypocrite (and/or) j) valued things over people (and) k) didn’t do a, b, c, and d, then you were: l) fucked Which is the message that Joshua’s father had given him so many years ago, and which seemed, at the time, succinct to the point of rudeness, but made more sense after you listened to a few hundred sermons. That’s what he taught, that’s what we learned, that’s what we passed on to the people in the towns of Galilee. Not everybody was good at it, however, and some seemed to miss the point altogether. One day Joshua, Maggie, and I returned from preaching in Cana to find Bartholomew sitting by the synagogue at Capernaum, preaching the Gospel to a semicircle of dogs that sat around him. The dogs seemed spellbound, but then, Bart was wearing a flank steak as a hat, so I’m not sure it was his speaking skills that held their attention. Joshua snatched the steak off of Bartholomew’s head and tossed it into the street, where a dozen dogs suddenly found their faith. â€Å"Bart, Bart, Bart,† Josh said as he shook the big man by the shoulders, â€Å"don’t give what’s holy to dogs. Don’t cast your pearls before swine. You’re wasting the Word.† â€Å"I don’t have any pearls. I am slave to no possessions.† â€Å"It’s a metaphor, Bart,† Joshua said, deadpan. â€Å"It means don’t give the Word to those who aren’t ready to receive it.† â€Å"You mean like when you drowned the swine in Decapolis? They weren’t ready for it?† Joshua looked at me for help. I shrugged. Maggie said, â€Å"That’s exactly right, Bart. You got it.† â€Å"Oh, why didn’t you say so?† Bart said. â€Å"Okay guys, we’re off to preach the Word in Magdala.† He climbed to his feet and led his pack of disciples toward the lake. Joshua looked at Maggie. â€Å"That’s not what I meant at all.† â€Å"Yes it is,† she said, then she took off to find Johanna and Susanna, two women who had joined us and were learning to preach the gospel. â€Å"That’s not what I meant,† Joshua said to me. â€Å"Have you ever won an argument with her?† He shook his head. â€Å"Then say amen and let’s go see what Peter’s wife has cooked up.† The disciples were gathered around outside of Peter’s house, sitting on the logs we had arranged in a circle around a fire pit. They were all looking down and seemed to be caught in some glum prayer. Even Matthew was there, when he should have been at his job collecting taxes in Magdala. â€Å"What’s wrong?† asked Joshua. â€Å"John the Baptist is dead,† said Philip. â€Å"What?† Joshua sat down on the log next to Peter and leaned against him. â€Å"We just saw Bartholomew,† I said. â€Å"He didn’t say anything about it.† â€Å"We just found out,† said Andrew. â€Å"Matthew just brought the news from Tiberius.† It was the first time since he’d joined us that I’d seen Matthew without the light of enthusiasm in his face. He might have aged ten years in the last few hours. â€Å"Herod had him beheaded,† he said. â€Å"I thought Herod was afraid of John,† I said. It was rumored that Herod had kept John alive because he actually believed him to be the Messiah and was afraid of the wrath of God should the holy man perish. â€Å"It was at the request of his stepdaughter,† said Matthew. â€Å"John was killed at the behest of a teenage slut.† â€Å"Well, jeez, if he wasn’t dead already, the irony would have killed him,† I said. Joshua stared into the dirt before him, thinking or praying, I couldn’t tell. Finally he said, â€Å"John’s followers will be like babes in the wilderness.† â€Å"Thirsty?† guessed Nathaniel. â€Å"Hungry?† guessed Peter. â€Å"Horny?† guessed Thomas. â€Å"No, you dumbfucks, lost. They’ll be lost!† I said. â€Å"Jeez.† Joshua stood. â€Å"Philip, Thaddeus, go to Judea, tell John’s followers that they are welcome here. Tell them that John’s work is not lost. Bring them here.† â€Å"But master,† Judas said, â€Å"John has thousands of followers. If they come here, how will we feed them?† â€Å"He’s new,† I explained. The next day was the Sabbath, and in the morning as we all headed to the synagogue, an old man in fine clothes ran out of the bushes and threw himself at Joshua’s feet. â€Å"Oh, Rabbi,† he wailed, â€Å"I am the mayor of Magdala. My youngest daughter has died. People say that you can heal the sick and raise the dead, will you help me?† Joshua looked around. A half-dozen local Pharisees watched us from different points around the village. Joshua turned to Peter. â€Å"Take the Word to the synagogue today. I am going to help this man.† â€Å"Thank you, Rabbi,† the rich man gushed. He hurried off and waved for us to follow. â€Å"Where are you taking us?† I asked. â€Å"Only as far as Magdala,† he said. To Joshua I said, â€Å"That’s farther than a Sabbath’s journey allows.† â€Å"I know,† Joshua said. As we passed through all of the small villages along the coast on the way to Magdala, people came out of their houses and followed us for as long as they dared on a Sabbath, but I could also see the elders, the Pharisees, watching as we went. The mayor’s house was large for Magdala, and his daughter had her own sleeping room. He led Joshua into the bedchamber where the girl lay. â€Å"Please save her, Rabbi.† Joshua bent down and examined the girl. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 28" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"Go out of here,† he said to the old man. â€Å"Out of the house.† When the mayor was gone Joshua looked at me. â€Å"She’s not dead.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"This girl is sleeping. Maybe they’ve given her some strong wine, or some sleeping powder, but she is not dead.† â€Å"So this is a trap?† â€Å"I didn’t see this one coming either,† Joshua said. â€Å"They expect me to claim that I raised her from the dead, healed her, when she’s only sleeping. Blasphemy and healing on the Sabbath.† â€Å"Let me raise her from the dead, then. I mean, I can do this one if she’s only sleeping.† â€Å"They’ll blame me for whatever you do as well. You may be their target too. The local Pharisees didn’t devise this themselves.† â€Å"Jakan?† Josh nodded. â€Å"Go get the old man, and gather as many witnesses as you can, Pharisees as well. Make a ruckus.† When I had about fifty people gathered in and around the house, Joshua announced, â€Å"This girl isn’t dead, she’s sleeping, you foolish old man.† Joshua shook the girl and she sat up rubbing her eyes. â€Å"Keep watch on your strong wine, old man. Rejoice that you have not lost your daughter, but grieve that you have broken the Sabbath for your ignorance.† Then Joshua stormed out and I followed him. When we were a ways down the street he said, â€Å"Do you think they bought it?† â€Å"Nope,† I said. â€Å"Me either,† Joshua said. In the morning a Roman soldier came to Peter’s house with messages. I was still sleeping when I heard the shouting. â€Å"I can only speak to Joshua of Nazareth,† someone said in Latin. â€Å"You’ll speak to me or you’ll never speak again,† I heard someone else say. (Obviously someone who had no desire to live a long life.) I was up and running in an instant, my tunic waving unbelted behind me. I rounded the corner at Peter’s house to see Judas facing down a legionnaire. The soldier had partially drawn his short sword. â€Å"Judas!† I barked. â€Å"Back down.† I put myself between them. I knew I could disarm the soldier easily, but not the legion that would follow him if I did. â€Å"Who sends you, soldier?† â€Å"I have a message from Gaius Justus Gallicus, commander of the Sixth Legion, for Joshua bar Joseph of Nazareth.† He glared at Judas over my shoulder. â€Å"But there is nothing in my orders to keep me from killing this dog while delivering it.† I turned to face Judas, whose face was on fire with anger. I knew he carried a dagger in his sash, although I hadn’t told Joshua about it. â€Å"Justus is a friend, Judas.† â€Å"No Roman is the friend of a Jew,† said Judas, making no effort whatever to whisper. And at that point, realizing that Joshua hadn’t reached our new Zealot recruit with the message of forgiveness for all men, and that he was going to get himself killed, I quickly reached up under Judas’ tunic, clamped onto his scrotum, squeezed once, rapidly and extremely hard, and after he blasted a mouthful of slobber on my chest, his eyes rolled in his head and he slumped to his knees, unconscious. I caught him and lowered him to the ground so he didn’t hit his head. Then I turned to the Roman. â€Å"Fainting spells,† I said. â€Å"Let’s go find Joshua.† Justus had sent us three messages from Jerusalem: Jakan had indeed divorced Maggie; the Pharisees’ full council had met and they were plotting to kill Joshua; and Herod Antipas had heard of Joshua’s miracles and was afraid that he might be the reincarnation of John the Baptist. Justus’ only personal note was one word: Careful. â€Å"Joshua, you need to hide,† said Maggie. â€Å"Leave Herod’s territory until things settle down. Go to Decapolis, preach to the gentiles. Herod Philip has no love for his brother, his soldiers won’t bother you.† Maggie had become a fiercely dedicated preacher herself. It was as if she had channeled her personal passion for Joshua into a passion for the Word. â€Å"Not yet,† said Joshua. â€Å"Not until Philip and Thaddeus return with John’s followers. I will not leave them lost. I need a sermon, one that can serve as if it was my last, one that will sustain the lost while I’m gone. Once I deliver it to Galilee, I’ll go to Philip’s territory.† I looked at Maggie and she nodded, as if to say, Do what you have to, but protect him. â€Å"Let’s write it then,† I said. Like any great speech, the Sermon on the Mount sounds as if it just happened spontaneously, but actually Joshua and I worked on it for over a week – Joshua dictating and me taking notes on parchment. (I had invented a way of sandwiching a thin piece of charcoal between two pieces of olive wood so that I could write without carrying a quill and inkwell.) We worked in front of Peter’s house, out in the boat, even on the mountainside where he would deliver the sermon. Joshua wanted to devote a long section of the sermon to adultery, largely, I realize now, motivated by my relationship with Maggie. Even though Maggie had resolved to stay celibate and preach the Word, I think Joshua wanted to drive the point home. Joshua said, â€Å"Put in ‘If a man even looks at a woman with lust in his heart, he has committed adultery.'† â€Å"Really, you want to go with that? And this ‘If a divorced woman remarries she commits adultery’?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Seems a little harsh. A little Pharisee-ish.† â€Å"I had some people in mind. What do you have?† â€Å"‘Verily I say unto you’ – I know you like to say ‘verily’ when you’re talking about adultery – anyway, ‘Verily I say unto you, that should a man put oil upon a woman’s naked body, and make her go upon all fours and bark like a dog, while knowing her, if you know what I mean, then he has committed adultery, and surely if a woman do the same thing right back, well she has jumped on the adultery donkey cart herownself. And if a woman should pretend to be a powerful queen, and a man a lowly slave boy, and if she should call him humiliating names and make him lick upon her body, then surely they have sinned like big dogs – and woe unto the man if he pretends to be a powerful queen, and – ‘† â€Å"That’s enough, Biff.† â€Å"But you want to be specific, don’t you. You don’t want people to walk around wondering, ‘Hey, is this adultery, or what? Maybe you should roll over.'† â€Å"I’m not sure that being that specific is a good idea.† â€Å"Okay, how ’bout this: ‘Should a man or a woman have any goings-on with their mutual naughty bits, then it is more than likely they are committing adultery, or at least they should consider it.'† â€Å"Well, maybe more specific than that.† â€Å"Come on, Josh, this isn’t an easy one like ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Basically, there you got a corpse, you got a sin, right?† â€Å"Yes, adultery can be sticky.† â€Å"Well, yes†¦Look, a seagull!† â€Å"Biff, I appreciate that you feel obliged to be an advocate for your favorite sins, but that’s not what I need here. What I need is help writing this sermon. How we doing on the Beatitudes?† â€Å"Pardon me?† â€Å"The blesseds.† â€Å"We’ve got: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; blessed are the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, the whiners, the meek, the – â€Å" â€Å"Wait, what are we giving the meek?† â€Å"Let’s see, uh, here: Blessed are the meek, for to them we shall say, ‘attaboy.'† â€Å"A little weak.† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Let’s let the meek inherit the earth.† â€Å"Can’t you give the earth to the whiners?† â€Å"Well then, cut the whiners and give the earth to the meek.† â€Å"Okay. Earth to the meek. Here we go. Blessed are the peacemakers, the mourners, and that’s it.† â€Å"How many is that?† â€Å"Seven.† â€Å"Not enough. We need one more. How about the dumbfucks?† â€Å"No, Josh, not the dumbfucks. You’ve done enough for the dumbfucks. Nathaniel, Thomas – â€Å" â€Å"Blessed are the dumbfucks for they, uh – I don’t know – they shall never be disappointed.† â€Å"No, I’m drawing the line at dumbfucks. Come on, Josh, why can’t we have any powerful guys on our team? Why do we have to have the meek, and the poor, the oppressed, and the pissed on? Why can’t we, for once, have blessed are the big powerful rich guys with swords?† â€Å"Because they don’t need us.† â€Å"Okay, but no ‘Blessed are the dumbfucks.'† â€Å"Who then?† â€Å"Sluts?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"How about the wankers? I can think of five or six disciples that would be really blessed.† â€Å"No wankers. I’ve got it: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.† â€Å"Okay, better. What are you going to give them?† â€Å"A fruit basket.† â€Å"You can’t give the meek the whole earth and these guys a fruit basket.† â€Å"Give them the kingdom of heaven.† â€Å"The poor in spirit got that.† â€Å"Everybody gets some.† â€Å"Okay then, ‘share the Kingdom of Heaven.'† I wrote it down. â€Å"We could give the fruit basket to the dumbfucks.† â€Å"NO DUMBFUCKS!† â€Å"Sorry, I just feel for them.† â€Å"You feel for everyone, Josh. It’s your job.† â€Å"Oh yeah. I forgot.† We finished writing the sermon only a few hours before Philip and Thaddeus returned from Judea leading three thousand of John’s followers. Joshua had them gather on a hillside above Capernaum, then sent the disciples into the crowd to find the sick and bring them to him. He performed miracles of healing all morning, then coming into the afternoon he gathered us together at the spring below the mountain. Peter said, â€Å"There’s at least another thousand people from Galilee on the hill, Joshua, and they are hungry.† â€Å"How much food do we have?† Joshua asked. Judas came forward with a basket. â€Å"Five loaves and two fish.† â€Å"That will do, but you’ll need more baskets. And about a hundred volunteers to help distribute the food. Nathaniel, you, Bartholomew, and Thomas go into the crowd and find me fifty to a hundred people who have their own baskets. Bring them here. By the time you get back we’ll have the food for them.† Judas threw down his basket. â€Å"We have five loaves, how do you think – â€Å" Joshua held up his hand for silence and the Zealot clammed up. â€Å"Judas, today you’ve seen the lame walk, the blind see, and the deaf hear.† â€Å"Not to mention the blind hear and the deaf see,† I added. Joshua scowled at me. â€Å"It will take little more to feed a few of the faithful.† â€Å"There are but five loaves!† shouted Judas. â€Å"Judas, once there was a rich man, who built great barns and granaries so he could save all of the fruits of his wealth long into his old age. But on the very day his barns were finished, the Lord said, â€Å"Hey, we need you up here.† And the rich man did say, â€Å"Oh shit, I’m dead.† So what good did his stuff do him?† â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"Don’t worry about what you’re going to eat.† Nathaniel, Bart, and Thomas started off to their assigned duty, but Maggie grabbed Nathaniel and held him fast. â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"No one does anything until you promise us that you’ll go into hiding after this sermon.† Joshua smiled. â€Å"How can I hide, Maggie? Who will spread the Word? Who will heal the sick?† â€Å"We will,† Maggie continued. â€Å"Now promise. Go into the land of the gentiles, out of Herod’s reach, just until things calm down. Promise or we don’t move.† Peter and Andrew stepped up behind Maggie to show their support. John and James were nodding as she spoke. â€Å"So be it,† said Joshua. â€Å"But now we have hungry people to feed.† And we fed them. The loaves and the fish were multiplied, jars were brought in from the surrounding villages and filled with water, which was carried to the mountainside, and all the while the local Pharisees watched and growled and spied, but they hadn’t missed the healings, and they didn’t miss the Sermon on the Mount, and word of it went back to Jerusalem with their poison reports. Afterward, at the spring by the shore, I gathered up the last of the pieces of bread to take home with us. Joshua came down the shore with a basket over his head, then pulled it off when he got to me. â€Å"When we said we wanted you to hide we meant something a little less obvious, Joshua. Great sermon, by the way.† Joshua started helping me gather up the bread that was strewn around on the ground. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you and I couldn’t get away from the crowd without hiding under the basket. I’m having a little trouble preaching humility.† â€Å"You’re so good at that one. People line up to hear the humility sermon.† â€Å"How can I preach that the humble will be exalted and the exalted will be humbled at the same time I’m being exalted by four thousand people?† â€Å"Bodhisattva, Josh. Remember what Gaspar taught you about being a bodhisattva. You don’t have to be humble, because you are denying your own ascension by bringing the good news to other people. You’re out of the humility flow, so to speak.† â€Å"Oh yeah.† He smiled. â€Å"But now that you mention it,† I said, â€Å"it does seem a little hypocritical.† â€Å"I’m not proud of that.† â€Å"Then you’re okay.† That evening, when we had all gathered again in Capernaum, Joshua called us to the fire ring in front of Peter’s house and we watched the last gold of the sunlight reflecting on the lake as Joshua led us in a prayer of thanks. Then he made the call: â€Å"Okay, who wants to be an apostle?† â€Å"I do, I do,† said Nathaniel. â€Å"What’s an apostle?† â€Å"That’s a guy who makes drugs,† I said. â€Å"Me, me,† said Nathaniel. â€Å"I want to make drugs.† â€Å"I’ll try that,† said John. â€Å"That’s an apothecary,† said Matthew. â€Å"An apothecary mixes powders and makes drugs. Apostle means ‘to send off.'† â€Å"Is this kid a whiz, or what,† I said, pointing a thumb at Matthew. â€Å"That’s right,† said Joshua, â€Å"messengers. You’ll be sent off to spread the message that the kingdom has come.† â€Å"Isn’t that what we’re doing now?† asked Peter. â€Å"No, now you’re disciples, but I want to appoint apostles who will take the Word into the land. There will be twelve, for the twelve tribes of Israel. I’ll give you power to heal, and power over devils. You’ll be like me, only in a different outfit. You’ll take nothing with you except your clothes. You’ll live only off the charity of those you preach to. You’ll be on your own, like sheep among wolves. People will persecute you and spit on you, and maybe beat you, and if that happens, well, it happens. Shake off the dust and move on. Now, who’s with me?† And there was a roaring silence among the disciples. â€Å"How about you, Maggie?† â€Å"I’m not much of a traveler, Josh. Makes me nauseous. Disciple’s fine with me.† â€Å"How ’bout you, Biff?† â€Å"I’m good. Thanks.† Joshua stood up and just counted them off. â€Å"Nathaniel, Peter, Andrew, Philip, James, John, Thaddeus, Judas, Matthew, Thomas, Bartholomew, and Simon. You’re the apostles. Now get out there and apostilize.† And they all looked at each other. â€Å"Spread the good news, the son of man is here! The kingdom is coming. Go! Go! Go!† They got up and sort of milled around. â€Å"Can we take our wives?† asked James. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Or one of the women disciples?† asked Matthew. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Can Thomas Two go too?† â€Å"Yes, Thomas Two can go.† Their questions answered, they milled around some more. â€Å"Biff,† Joshua said. â€Å"Will you assign territories for everybody and send them out?† â€Å"Okey-dokey,† I said. â€Å"Who wants Samaria? No one? Good. Peter, it’s yours. Give ’em hell. Caesarea? Come on, you weenies, step up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thus were the twelve appointed to their sacred mission. The next morning seventy of the people who we’d recruited to help feed the multitude came to Joshua when they heard about the appointing of the apostles. â€Å"Why only twelve?† one man asked. â€Å"You all want to cast off what you own, leave your families, and risk persecution and death to spread the good news?† Joshua asked. â€Å"Yes,† they all shouted. Joshua looked at me as if he himself couldn’t believe it. â€Å"It was a really good sermon,† I said. â€Å"So be it,† said Joshua. â€Å"Biff, you and Matthew assign territories. Send no one to his hometown. That doesn’t seem to work very well.† And so the twelve and the seventy were sent out, and Joshua, Maggie, and I went into Decapolis, which was the territory of Herod’s brother, Philip, and camped and fished and basically hid out. Joshua preached a little, but only to small groups, and although he did heal the sick, he asked them not to tell anyone about the miracles. After three months hiding in Philip’s territory, word came by boat from across the lake that someone had intervened on Joshua’s behalf with the Pharisees and that the death warrant, which had never really been formal, had been lifted. We went home to Capernaum and waited for the apostles to return. Their enthusiasm had waned some after months in the field. â€Å"It sucks.† â€Å"People are mean.† â€Å"Lepers are creepy.† Matthew came out of Judea with more news of Joshua’s mysterious benefactor from Jerusalem. â€Å"His name is Joseph of Arimathea,† said Matthew. â€Å"He’s a wealthy merchant, and he owns ships and vineyards and olive presses. He seems to have the ear of the Pharisees, but he is not one of them. His wealth has given him some influence with the Romans as well. They are considering making him a citizen, I hear.† â€Å"What makes him want to help us?† I asked. â€Å"I talked to him for a long time about the kingdom, and about the Holy Ghost and the rest of Joshua’s message. He believes.† Matthew smiled broadly, obviously proud of his powerful convert. â€Å"He wants you to come to his house for dinner, Joshua. In Jerusalem.† â€Å"Are you sure it’s safe for Joshua there?† asked Maggie. â€Å"Joseph has sent this letter guaranteeing Joshua’s safety along with all who accompany him to Jerusalem.† Matthew held out the letter. Maggie took the scroll and unrolled it. â€Å"My name is on this too. And Biff’s.† â€Å"Joseph knew you would be coming, and I told him that Biff sticks to Joshua like a leech.† â€Å"Excuse me?† â€Å"I mean, that you accompany the master wherever he travels,† Matthew added quickly. â€Å"But why me?† Maggie asked. â€Å"Your brother Simon who is called Lazarus, he is very sick. Dying. He’s asked for you. Joseph wanted you to know that you would have safe passage.† Josh grabbed his satchel and started walking that moment. â€Å"Let’s go,† he said. â€Å"Peter, you are in charge until I return. Biff, Maggie, we need to make Tiberius before dark. I’m going to see if I can borrow some camels there. Matthew, you come too, you know this Joseph. And Thomas, you come along, I want to talk to you.† So off we went, into what I was sure were the jaws of a trap. Along the way Joshua called Thomas to walk beside him. Maggie and I walked behind them only a few paces, so we could hear their conversation. Thomas kept stopping to make sure that Thomas Two could keep up with them. â€Å"They all think I’m mad,† Thomas said. â€Å"They laugh at me behind my back. Thomas Two has told me.† â€Å"Thomas, you know I can lay my hands upon you and you will be cured. Thomas Two will no longer speak to you. The others won’t laugh at you.† Thomas walked along for a while without saying anything, but when he looked back at Joshua I could see tears streaking his cheeks. â€Å"If Thomas Two goes away, then I’ll be alone.† â€Å"You won’t be alone. You’ll have me.† â€Å"Not for long. You don’t have long with us.† â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"Thomas Two told me.† â€Å"We won’t tell the others quite yet, all right, Thomas?† â€Å"Not if you don’t want me to. But you won’t cure me, will you? You won’t make Thomas Two go away?† â€Å"No,† Joshua said. â€Å"We may both need an extra friend soon.† He patted Thomas on the shoulder, then turned to walk on ahead to catch up with Matthew. â€Å"Well, don’t step on him!† Thomas shouted. â€Å"Sorry,† said Joshua. I looked at Maggie. â€Å"Did you hear that?† She nodded. â€Å"You can’t let it happen, Biff. He doesn’t seem to care about his own life, but I do, and you do, and if you let harm come to him I’ll never forgive you.† â€Å"But Maggie, everyone is supposed to be forgiven.† â€Å"Not you. Not if something happens to Josh.† â€Å"So be it. So, hey, once Joshua heals your brother, you want to go do something, get some pomegranate juice, or a falafel, or get married or something?† She stopped in her tracks, so I stopped too. â€Å"Are you ever paying attention to anything that goes on around you?† â€Å"I’m sorry, I was overcome by faith there for a moment. What did you say?† When we got to Bethany, Martha was waiting for us in the street in front of Simon’s house. She went right to Joshua and he held out his arms to embrace her, but when she got to him she pushed him away. â€Å"My brother is dead,† she said. â€Å"Where were you?† â€Å"I came as soon as I heard.† Maggie went to Martha and held her as they both cried. The rest of us stood around feeling awkward. The two old blind guys, Crustus and Abel, whom Joshua had once healed, came over from across the street. â€Å"Dead, dead and buried four days,† said Crustus. â€Å"He turned a sort of chartreuse at the end.† â€Å"Emerald, it was emerald, not chartreuse,† said Abel. â€Å"My friend Simon truly sleeps, then,† Joshua said. Thomas came up and put his hand on Joshua’s shoulder. â€Å"No, master, he’s dead. Thomas Two thinks it may have been a hairball. Simon was a leopard, you know?† I couldn’t stand it. â€Å"He was a LEPER, you idiot! Not a leopard.† â€Å"Well, he IS dead!† shouted Thomas back. â€Å"Not sleeping.† â€Å"Joshua was being figurative, he knows he’s dead.† â€Å"Do you guys think you could be just a little more insensitive?† said Matthew, pointing to the weeping sisters. â€Å"Look, tax collector, when I want your two shekels I’ll ask – â€Å" â€Å"Where is he?† Joshua asked, his voice booming over the sobs and protests. Martha pushed out of her sister’s embrace and looked at Joshua. â€Å"He bought a tomb in Kidron,† said Martha. â€Å"Take me there, I need to wake my friend.† â€Å"Dead,† said Thomas. â€Å"Dead, dead, dead.† There was a sparkle of hope amid the tears in Martha’s eyes. â€Å"Wake him?† â€Å"Dead as a doornail. Dead as Moses. Mmmph†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Matthew clamped his hand over Thomas’s mouth, which saved me having to render the twin unconscious with a brick. â€Å"You believe that Simon will rise from the dead, don’t you?† asked Joshua. â€Å"In the end, when the kingdom comes, and everyone is raised, yes, I believe.† â€Å"Do you believe I am who I say I am?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Then show me where my friend lies sleeping.† Martha moved like a sleepwalker, her exhaustion and grief driven back just enough for her to lead us up the road to the Mount of Olives and down into the Kidron Valley. Maggie had been deeply shaken by the news of her brother’s death as well, so Thomas and Matthew helped her along while I walked with Joshua. â€Å"Four days dead, Josh. Four days. Divine Spark or not, the flesh is empty.† â€Å"Simon will walk again if he is but bone,† said Joshua. â€Å"Okey-dokey. But this has never been one of your better miracles.† When we got to the tomb there was a tall, thin, aristocratic man sitting outside eating a fig. He was clean-shaven and his gray hair was cut short like a Roman’s. If he hadn’t worn the two-striped tunic of a Jew I would have thought him a Roman citizen. â€Å"I thought you would come here,† he said. He knelt before Joshua. â€Å"Rabbi, I’m Joseph of Arimathea. I sent word through your disciple Matthew that I wanted to meet with you. How may I serve?† â€Å"Stand up, Joseph. Help roll away this stone.† As with many of the larger tombs carved into the side of the mountain, there was a large flat stone covering the doorway. Joshua put his arms around Maggie and Martha while the rest of us wrestled with the stone. As soon as the seal was broken I was hit with a stench that gagged me and Thomas actually lost his supper in the dirt. â€Å"He stinks,† said Matthew. â€Å"I thought he would smell more like a cat,† said Thomas. â€Å"Don’t make me come over there, Thomas,† I said. We pushed the stone as far as it would go, then we ran away gasping for fresh air. Joshua held his arms out as if waiting to embrace his friend. â€Å"Come out, Simon Lazarus, come out into the light.† Nothing but stench came out of the tomb. â€Å"Come forth, Simon. Come out of that tomb,† Joshua commanded. And absolutely nothing happened. Joseph of Arimathea shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you about the dinner at my house before you got there, Joshua.† Joshua held up his hand for silence. â€Å"Simon, dammit, come out of there.† And ever so weakly, there came a voice from inside the tomb. â€Å"No.† â€Å"What do you mean, ‘no’? You have risen from the dead, now come forth. Show these unbelievers that you have risen.† â€Å"I believe,† I said. â€Å"Convinced me,† said Matthew. â€Å"A no is as good as a personal appearance, as far as I’m concerned,† said Joseph of Arimathea. I’m not sure any of us who had smelled the stench of rotting flesh really wanted to see the source. Even Maggie and Martha seemed a little dubious about their brother’s coming out. â€Å"Simon, get your leprous ass out here,† Joshua commanded. â€Å"But I’m†¦I’m all icky.† â€Å"We’ve all seen icky before,† said Joshua. â€Å"Now come out into the light.† â€Å"My skin is all green, like an unripe olive.† â€Å"Olive green!† declared Crustus, who had followed us into Kidron. â€Å"I told you it wasn’t chartreuse.† â€Å"What the hell does he know? He’s dead,† said Abel. Finally Joshua lowered his arms and stormed into the tomb. â€Å"I can’t believe that you bring a guy back from the dead and he doesn’t even have the courtesy to come out – WHOA! HOLY MOLY!† Joshua came backing out of the tomb, stiff-legged. Very calmly and quietly, he said, â€Å"We need clean clothes, and some water to wash with, and bandages, lots of bandages. I can heal him, but we have to sort of get all of his parts stuck back together first.† â€Å"Hold on, Simon,† Joshua shouted to the tomb, â€Å"we’re getting some supplies, then I’ll come in and heal your affliction.† â€Å"What affliction?† asked Simon. How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 28, Essay examples

Business organisation free essay sample

The limitation of marketing research used to contribute to the development of selected organisations marketing plans. Subway In this assignment, I will be looking at the limitation of marketing research. This will involves looking out how marketing research can help develop a marketing plan. Furthermore, I will be looking at the weaknesses of development in marketing plan. One reason can be that Subways research including questionnaire might be asked badly towards customers which would and can be misunderstand by customers. This might cause customers to give a different answer than Subway will expect to get from heir customers. Customers might give an answer that Subway might want but may be not as specific as Subway would like it to be. Subway can also misunderstand their customers answers and/or suggestions to the question in the questionnaires that have been made to get their customers opinions to their business. Another reason can be is that customers will have different opinions on different products that Subway sells or service, this means that Subway cannot be certain on the products/ sandwiches they are selling or would want to sell if there is not a majority on a product and service they provide and they sell. Subway having/employing mystery customers to check on the services Subway is providing might not be accurate all the time because you might not be able to find all the problem within their service Subway provide. Sometime customers might have a problem that a mystery customer cannot find within Subway business or premises. A different reason will be that the continuous change in the market. This would have an effect on Subway business, because they would not be able to sell any of their products sandwiches/ service on a long term basis as customers likes and dislikes would change along with arket. Subway have to think about what products sandwiches/ or service they want to sell as the trends will be changing constantly through the year in business. Finally Subway doing market research can help the business in a marketing plan, because it will give them precise and exact information on what is needed to create something successful. An example of this might take place in when Subway is introducing a new sandwich. They might be doing this because the old sandwiches are in decline and they are not selling anymore. Before Subway release their new products on their enus, they may need to be sure that the new products/sandwich will sell, so they do research as surveys, questionnaires, focus groups etc. within the information they have gather from the research, they then can bring out a products/sandwich that they are sure many of their customers would buy it. Also Subway will have to make sure that all of their products that they are releasing to the public are healthy and they are on low calories, as they may have claimed it to be. Because if customers find out that they have been let down by Subway, customer may no longer buy Subway roducts, because of the lack of reassurance and reliability to customers. Customers expectation will be nigh whenever they buy products/service in any ot Subway restaurant. Subway, it will be an obligation for them to find out what their customers want internal and external in the restaurant, a questionnaire might help Subway to find out what their customers want and how much they will be willing to pay for their products. Subway might hire a mystery shopper to find out prices of their competitors, and how the present service to customers, by doing this might help Subway decide the price of their products, if they should put it up or down. Subway creating questionnaire will help the business, as they are trying to analyse/ get customers opinion over the business. Subway doing this means that business will know exact where and why customers are happy or not happy with the service they receive from any of the Subway store. They may also want to analyse what products/ sandwiches their customers by often, in order to analyse this, they business introduce the Sub card which is free for any of their customers who wishes to take it, but also it encourage customers to go to any of Subway restaurant, as the Sub card ive points every time you buy any of Subway products, the company do this to persuade/attract more and more customers into the restaurant. Subway. Questionnaire- subway creating a questionnaire for their customers will take the business as long as three months, because taking them this long, it will give the business a firm reassurance of what their customers want, or if any of their customers have a negative thoughts over the business. It will also take the business three months, maybe more as they will have to give out the questionnaire to their customers, but also the company will have analyse the result when they have gather ll the data back, this is time consuming for Subway. The questionnaire also will give Subway a reliable of information from their customers, and also will give them valid information of customers opinion over the business. Sub card data- Subway Sub card will give the business an ideal of what products/ sandwiches customers buy often. This sort of information will take Subway information and technology team no more than one month to analyse the data that they have collected from their customers. This Job will cost Subway a huge amount of money as they may have to hire the right person to do the Job, but also in the long erm this information will give Subway a reliable form of data, because by then the business will know what products/sandwiches that their customers buy very often, and it will also give Subway a valid information and ideal of what they should spend their money on and what they should not spend their money on. Sales figure- according to Subway their sales figure is the most important data that they should monitor at all time, collecting/analysing this information will take half of the business time, and it will cost them more money, as the company will have to employ a specialist to analyse their sales fgure. These gives Subway reliable information from the data they may have gathered, as it will tell them where they are losing out in terms of their sale figure been badly. Definition of Marketing- Marketing is an action or a process to promote and sell products or services according to the customers requirements and expectations by identifying and predicting what customers would need, want and like to have. In marketing, products, place, price and promotion is used to help sell their products or services to customers. Products, price, place and promotion are also known as the 4 PS in marketing. Businesses use this a lot when marketing as it helps them to understand what types of products and services customers like to have which makes it easier for them to sell to customers. Doing this would help businesses make profits as customers would buy the products or services a lot. Product Customers like to buy the right product and/or service which suits them because customers would not want to buy a product or a service that is not right for them as they would have to have that product or service once they buy it depending on the rules, terms and conditions and the policies of the business the customer has bought the product from. Some businesses accept returns and/or exchanges and others do not accept it. Subway also provide leaflets in some of their shops/restaurants to advert their products to customers, by doing this customers would want to see the products that are on meal deals such as buy one get one free. I have decided to choose Italian BMT as my Sub product.. My Sub Italian BMT will contain Genoa salami, pepperoni, and black forest ham, your choice of veggies, cheese, and dressing on your bread of choice. Its by far my favorite subway sandwich. This is because from my marketing research most customers said they like Italian BMT, this means hat more customers would buy my Italian Sub as more and more customers prefer it and it would be cheat and affordable. The different between my products with other fast food businesses, will be that the healthy ingredients, because that I found out that most customers will buy my products because the products that I am offering them is a healthy products. Price Customers like to buy products and/or services at the right price. If the price for the products and/or services is expensive then customers would be put off and they would not or are unlikely to buy it. Customers would buy the products and/or ervices for the price the business has put it up for if the customers feel and know it is worth it. Sub Customers would most likely buy the businesses products that are on sales as all prices on products have been reduced. I have used a low pricing strategy on my products because, to market research that I did I know that more customers will buy my product on a low pricing and that they will not buy any of my products if products were high in prices, due to the inflation in the economy. Place Customers like to buy products and/or services from places they know are good and easonable as well as buying products and/or services from places that are easy to access.

Why Milwaukee free essay sample

â€Å"Where do you want to go to college when you’re older?† my parents asked â€Å"UW Milwaukee, of course,† was my immediate response. But why is that? Is it because it’s a well known business school? Or maybe it’s because both of my parents graduated from there? Oh, or is it the fact the school is in the city with plenty to do? I’ve always been interested in the word of business. I remember when I first saw my dad’s bank when I was 5. I was fascinated when I saw my birthday money go into my savings account and when I saw how the whole place ran behind the scenes. Ever since then I’ve wanted to be a businessman. Even today in my high school business classes I realize this is still the best choice. Not only do I enjoy business, the career choices are ideal. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Milwaukee? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And what better place is there to start this path than UWM? UWM is more than just a school to my family. When my grandparents came from Germany all they had was 250 dollars and no English knowledge. They worked hard to make it possible for my mom to get an education at Milwaukee. Both of my parents were the first in their family to complete college and they chose Milwaukee. If it wasn’t for the calculus class my parents met in at UWM I wouldn’t even be here. My parents hard work helped start the tradition of UW Milwaukee in my family and I want to keep it going. I’ve always loved the city. All of the action and things to do is exciting. When I first saw the campus in 4th grade I immediately loved the area. The lakeshore on a nice day is a perfect atmosphere. Then if you travel 5 minutes away you have a big city with museums, sporting events, restaurants, and tons more. What’s not to like about that? The city of Milwaukee is an ideal place to spend my college years in. There are plenty of colleges to choose from but Milwaukee stands out to me the most. The quality of the school, my family connection, and the location can’t be matched by any other school out there. So why Milwaukee? I think a better question is â€Å"How could you not want to go to Milwaukee?† `

The author J.K.Rowling

The author J.K.Rowling had captured the hearts of millions of readers worldwide and she comes back in the 4th book and does it again. The series is basically about an orphan boy whose parents were killed by an evil wizard called by other wizards only as 'He who must not be named'.This may sound like a fairy tale but trust me it's not. The twists and turns in this book will not let you put this book down. It will provide for hours of enjoyable reading. You can call it a mix of Enid blyton's humour and Agatha Christie's suspense. Harry finds out that he is a wizard in the first book and he is taken to a Wizard school by Hagrid, a giant, this book relates his experiences in his 4th yr at Hogwarts (the wizard school). This book is a thriller, a comedy, and a school life story all packed into one. Warner Bros who have bought rights for the first 4 books are going to come out with a movie based on the 1st book in November next year to coincide with the release of the 5th book which ! is in the same month. I just cant wait for the next book by this scintillating author.A small piece of friendly advice .Read the other 3 books before reading this one because it may spoil the surprises of the other books for you. Which book store did you buy the book from?: Fabmart Would you recommend this book to a friend?: Yes

Chalice Wine Essay Example for Free

Chalice Wine Essay Chalice Wine Group is a publicly traded company that, through numerous partnerships, owns and/or operates a number of vineyards and wine manufacturing companies in California’s Sonoma valley. Previously, they enjoyed a time of profitability. Yet in recent years, expansion has saw a decrease in their level of profitability, followed by a repeating period of net income losses. The goal of the case is to determine whether the operation of a small winery can be a profitable venture. Upon reading the Chalice Wine Case, the primary issue that I have identified, is that the management of the company has not crafted a clear and identifiable mission. †¢As currently structured, Chalice Wine Group is attempting to be a â€Å"vertically† integrated company. In this they are attempting to accomplish ever step in the wine business. They are making their own grapes, processing their own grapes, bottling, and lastly shipping them to various distribution outlets. This is fine, as long as they are able to create an extremely efficient model to do so. But unfortunately, as their results indicate, they are not efficient enough to make this current model work. There are a number of possible avenues that Chalice Wine Group needs to explore, among those are: -Why are they paying a price for grapes(from themselves! ) that is so in excess of the market rate? There are currently some transfer issues in place, management needs to explore these costs. -Pressing and manufacturing of the wine: The costs of the machinery involved, is extremely expensive. What is Chalice doing with their equipment during the time periods in which there is no production? How are they utilizing this excess capacity? They can either outsource this to another company, or utilize this capacity to process wine for others. -Shipping and distribution: Why are they handling this process themselves? This is easily something that should be handled outside. †¢Secondly, they wish to be a niche wine provider, by manufacturing a high quality, high cost product. The problem is that this statement essentially contradicts their company’s vertical structure. This is illustrated through examination of some of their shipping/bottling practices and part of their distribution chain. -They do not package and bottle their products according to the same quality standards. For example, they are using different quality bottles and boxes for different products. In this eyes of the consumer, this can be inferred as different levels of wine quality. -Next, the desire to be a small niche provider is a direct contradiction to the thought of distribution through food markets. This alone can allow the consumer to infer a mass marketed, broadly distributed product of lower quality. If they want to be a niche provider, they need to market and distribute themselves as such. Chalice Wine Group needs to decide what kind of company they want to be, and as such, needs to structure themselves in a way that will help best meet that mission and goal in the most efficient manner possible. Chalice Wine. (2017, Mar 18).

Wal-Mart Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example The competitors were using television advertisements to reach their customers, which was not effective because it was expensive. Wal-Mart obtained time in the television to display their products and to feature them at the low prices that make them very reputable (Soderquist, 2005). This worked because the customers knew the whole range of products and their prices when going to shop in Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is very popular amongst the low and middle-class income earners. Wal-Mart targets the blue collar and the middle class shoppers who are not used to frequenting the big malls (Soderquist, 2005). This is because of the low prices that they offer to this group of people. Wal-Mart has opened up many outlets including in areas that are normally ignored by other retailers. It is also estimated that approximately quarter of those who frequent Wal-Mart do not have credit cards and are limited to using cash. This is a clear indication that most of the customers who frequent Wal-Mart are the low and middle-income earners. Wal-Mart is also the biggest shopping entity with more than 4,000 stores worldwide, which is twice more than the next competitors have. Wal-Mart, therefore, targets the people with limited financial abilities and those in remote areas whereas most of the competition seeks to impress the upper class members of the society (Blanchard, 2005). What image do they want to convey? Wal-Mart intends to show that it is possible to sell goods cheaply by reducing the costs of production. How do they attempt to position themselves in the minds of consumers in the market? Wal-Mart has positioned itself as the leading retailer in the industry. The low prices that they offer to consumers and ease of accessibility to the consumers are the factors that have made them to be the biggest retailer worldwide. What is their current image in the industry and in the minds of consumers? Most of the consumers

Dimensions of Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dimensions of Health - Essay Example Even with ongoing debate for and against the definition proposed by WHO, it is clear from this definition that health is an entity with multiple dimensions. This definition envisages three specific dimensions, the physical, mental, and social. These dimensions appear separate, but in reality, they are dynamic and interact with each other. Human behaviour is a common theme in human health. Human behaviour is the resultant of physical and mental factors interacting in complicated ways. The broad categories of factors that may influence individual health behaviour include knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, skills, finance, time, and many others. It is important to give serious considerations to the social context, a particular behaviour occurs. Health behaviour refers to those activities that an individual undertakes to avoid disease. These behaviours are dependent on the environmental contexts as well as on emotions and feelings. Most importantly, health behaviour depends on the he alth needs (Hawks et al., 2008, 319-324). Attitudes are acquired characteristics of an individual that are considered to be more or less permanent ways of behaving. An attitude contains three components, a cognitive or knowledge element, an affective or feeling element, and a tendency to action. Thus attitude can be defined as a relatively enduring organization of beliefs around an object, subject, or concept that predisposes to a response in a preferential manner. Most human beings learn attitudes from social interactions, and once they are formed, it is very difficult to change. In the recent time, attitudes are being recognized as very important determinants of health behaviours, and consequently, psychologists and health care professionals are increasingly dwelling on attitude surveys and attitude measurements, since it is becoming clear that healthy attitudes gravitate from parents, teachers, religious leaders, and elders (Nielsen et al., 2004, 28-32). The beliefs and attributions that people hold can influence their health. This can influence health by affecting their behaviour such as food habits and by a direct influence on the physiological system. Although these two modes are not mutually exclusive for the patient, and there is another set of health beliefs and attributions from the health professionals that can affect the health of individuals. These beliefs may influence health decisions and also influence patients' cognitions. Healthcare professionals may influence the beliefs and attributions, hence behaviour of patients by giving them information and through expression of their beliefs about the patient's health and the best way to overcome a particular health problem. Hence health professionals' beliefs about a disease and its management are large factors in influencing the values of the patients and their approaches to the management of illness (O'hea et al., 2005, 705-717). Values are traits such as honesty, loyalty, intelligence, or talent. This is a set of instrumental values. The other conceptions of values as traits include instrumental and expressive tendencies. Values have also been defined as need strengths including achievement, affiliation, and dominance. The contemporary values point towards a person's value-directed preference for quality rather than quantity of life. The values ascertain the strength of

Constitution in Kenya Essay Example for Free

Constitution in Kenya Essay 1.1 INTRODUCTION The agitation for a new Constitution in Kenya was informed by various past historical injustices ranging from economic, social, cultural and civil to political matters. At the political level, issues on centralized and ironfisted governance kept popping year in year out. The passage of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 on 4 August, 2010 and its subsequent promulgation on the 27 August, 2010 arguably ushered in a new dawn in Kenya not only in governance but also in the various sectors of the Kenyan society.1 Its adoption has been taunted as the greatest milestone Kenyans have ever achieved other than attaining independence in 1963. 2 The joy at the enactment of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 could not be captured in any other better words than as Justices J. W. MWERA, M. Warsame and P. M. MWILU did in Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA-K) 5 others v Attorney General another3 where they stated: Only last year and in our early maritime history we constructed a great ship and called it our new Constitution. In its structure we put in the finest timbers that could be found. We constructed it according to the best plans, needs, comfort and architectural brains available. We tried to address various and vast needs of our society as much as possible. We sent it to the people who ratified it. It was crowned with tremendous success in a referendum conducted on 4th August 2010. We achieved a wonderful and defining victory against the â€Å"REDS†. We vanquished them. The aspirations and hope of all Kenyans was borne on 27th August 2010. We achieved a rebirth of our Nation. We have come to revere it and even have affection for it. We accomplished a long tedious, torturous and painful chapter in our history. We all had extraordinary dreams. It is a document meant to fight all kinds of injustices. It is the most sophisticated weapon in our maritime history. As Kenyans we got and achieved a clean bill of constitutional health. However, the honeymoon is over, it is time to do battle with it.4 However, at the launch of the 2011/2012 Annual Report of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC),5 Mr. Charles Nyachae6 remarked : When Kenyans voted for the Constitution of Kenya 2010, they voted for change and transformation in  the way delegated sovereign power is exercised by government. To achieve good governance, there is need for respect for the rule of law and a leadership that meets the requirements chapter six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity. There is no person or institution that is above the Constitution or is excluded from its requirements. All persons and all state organs are bound by the Constitution and its principles. It is therefore disturbing and a recipe for crisis to have individuals and state organs that have failed to respect the Constitution or the law in any form including judgments of the court. The name for such conduct is impunity and impunity is the antithesis for good governance. Thus, this paper delves into how the National Assembly remains the most blatant manifestation of impunity and impediment to the implementation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. In this paper, the term Parliament and National Assembly will be used interchangeably to refer to one and the same institution. 1.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF CONSTITUTION MAKING IN KENYA One of the institutions that were created when individuals entered into civil society is the Constitution. Mr. John Mutakha Kangu7 succinctly explains that having invented a life of civic and or political society, the next realization was the need for some form of law and government to regulate the manner in which human beings dealt with each other.8 He further points out that there was need for rules of engagement which could be used to regulate how members of the society relate, not only with each other but also with the common power.9 The Constitution therefore gives the terms and conditions between the people and the government and the relationship between the people themselves. At independence, Kenya adopted the Independence Constitution under the leadership of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. The most striking feature of this Constitution was the centralized system of government vested in the Presidency. The Executive dictated what was to happen in the other arms of Government, be it the Legislature or the Judiciary.10 With respect to the Judiciary, the President had the discretion of appointing the Chief Justice and the other members of the superior courts of record.11 It is for this reason that some scholars have argued that the appointment of judicial officers was shrouded in mystery.12 The legislature acted as a rubber stamp for any executive action.13 The agitation for a new Constitution began in  earnest in the 1980’s with demands for expanded democratic space at a time when Kenya was a single party state by law. Most of the civil society and human rights groups demanded the repeal of section 2A of the Constitution that made Kenya a de jure one party state.14 Former president Moi’s government bowed to this demand and amended s.2A of the repealed Kenyan Constitution thus ushering in a new era of multipartyism in Kenya. In the 1992 elections, the opposition was di vided thus ensuring Moi’s retention of power by a simple majority. The Ufungamano Group of 1997 is indicative of a serious demand by civil society groups, human rights activists, opposition leaders and members of the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) for a new Constitution in Kenya.15 The Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the umbrella regulatory body advocates in Kenya, provided Kenya with visual aid and making of the Model Constitution in November 1994 and the government’s opposition to the re-writing of the Constitution became weaker. However, it did not make a concession.16 The government had no trust in the ability of Kenyan lawyers to draft a Constitution for Kenya. It was on 1 January 1995 that president Moi announced that he was inviting Western Constitutional lawyers to assist the country in re-writing the Constitution. The government however did nothing despite the fact that the pressure for the review to begin was mounting.17 The Western countries were also concerned with the blatant laxity in the government towards Constitutional review yet a lot of agitation for review had been made. In May 1996 when the then United States Ambassador to Kenya, Aurelie Brazeal visited the then Attorney General, the Honorable Amos Wako, he ably convinced the government into conceding that the country needed Constitutional review as a matter of urgency. However despite this concession, no step was taken towards the review process.18 It was in 2000 when the government formed the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) to spearhead the Constitution review process.19 The commission began its work in earnest going all over the country collecting and collating views of Kenyans on the Constitution review process. A National Conference was held at the Bomas of Kenya where a draft Constitution that was a product of intense deliberations, compromises and consensus was agreed upon. However, some persons in the Hon. Kibaki’s government retreated to Kilifi where with help of the then Attorney General, the Honorable Amos Wako, radically altered and mutilated the Bomas draft. In  the referendum carried out in November 2005, the government suffered a humiliating defeat as the proposed Constitution was overwhelmingly rejected. The impact of this development was a cabinet reshuffle that threw out all cabinet ministers who opposed the Constitution. These members formed a formidable opposition group preparing Kenya for the most hotly contested election in the Kenyan history. When elections were held in December 2007, very few Kenyans were anticipating the aftermath of that election. Violence engulfed the country immediately the result for the presidential election was announced on the 30 December 2007 leading to the death of more than 1000 persons and the displacement of thousands of others. Dr. Koffi Annan chaired negotiations aimed at reconciling the two warr ing parties, the Party of National Unity (PNU) led by President Mwai Kibaki and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) under the leadership of Hon. Raila Odinga. The negotiations yielded the grand coalition government. The government committed itself to the implementation of all the terms and conditions under which the coalition government was founded as dictated by the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, 2008.20The most reformative of this was the Agenda Four that demanded of the government to carry out comprehensive reforms on land, the Constitution and other sectors of the Kenyan society. The adoption of a new Constitution was therefore top of the agenda of the coalition government. The Constitution of Kenya Amendment Act, 2008 was enacted creating a body called the Committee of Experts (CoE) to lead in the writing of a new Constitution. Participation of Kenyans was also comprehensively provided for in the Act. On the 4 August 2010, the proposed Constitution of Kenya was subjected to a referendum receiving an overwhelming endorsement of 67 % of the voters. The promulgation of the Constitution on the 27th August 2010 indeed ushered in a new dawn in Kenya.21 One of the institutions that were apparently aimed at being regulated is the National Assembly. This was informed by the fact that the institution had been used and by extension allowed itself to be used by the powerful Executive arm to rubberstamp actions that were aimed at either mutilating the Constitution or gagging the rights of Kenyans.22 Even as late as 2003, the National Assembly wanted to impose a Constitution on Kenyans yet the foundation of a civilized society is that sovereignty belong to the people.23 Were it not for the intervention of the High Court, the National Assembly could have arrogated to itself the  power to adopt a new Constitution way back in 2004.24 PART II IMPLEMENTING THE CONSTITUTION OF KENYA, 2010 Many Kenyans sighed with relief when the Constitution was promulgated on 27 August 2010 but a few wise people cautioned that ‘adopting the Constitution is a move in the right direction, implementing it is the big deal.’25 It is noteworthy that one of the major players in the Constitution implementation is the National Assembly.26 The big question that this paper seeks to answer is whether the National Assembly has discharged that noble duty as expected. It will be noted that the National Assembly has confirmed the propositions of Karl Marx who in his theory opined that the rich uses the law to protect themselves. 27 WAYS IN WHICH PARLIAMENT HAS BEEN POSITIVE IN IMPLEMNTING THE CONSTITUTION It would be legally impossible if one was to argue that the National Assembly has done nothing in the implementation of the Constitution for to suggest so would mean the Constitution remains completely unimplemented. This part of the paper highlights the achievements of the said institution which have ensured that the letter and the spirit of the Constitution are effectively and faithfully implemented. 2.1 EXERCISING OVERSIGHT OVER THE EXECUTIVE One of the cardinal duties of the National Assembly is to exercise checks and balances over the other arms of the government in general and the Executive in particular.28 This follows from the foundation of a civilized society in which it was agreed that a government had to be formed so as to ensure protection of the welfare of all members of the society.29 It was however noted that if all the state power was left to be exercised by one person, then the said person was likely to be a tyrant.30 It for this reason that Baron De monthesque vehemently argued for a three-armed government so that each of the arms would be a watchdog over the rest.31 It is for this reason that the Constitution of Kenya provides that the National Assembly manifests the diversity of the nation and represents the will of the people.32 The will of the people is said to have been negated when one arm of government makes decisions that are tantamount to the spirit and letter of the Constitution.33 If there is one act by the Executive that generated more heat in the implementation of the Constitution is the President’s unilateral appointment of the Chief Justice (CJ), the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Controller of Budget (CoB) and the Attorney General.34 These appointments met strong resistance from the ODM side of the coalition which felt that the Prime Minister was not consulted. The press statement released by Hon. James Orengo tells it all.35 Hon. Orengo maintained that the Prime Minister had not been consulted and this amounted to a breach of both the National Accord and the Constitution.36 The bone of contention went from the legality of the appointments to a debate on the meaning of the word â€Å"consultation.† Those in support of the President maintained that consultations need not result in concurrence, whereas those in support of Hon. Orengo were of the converse position.37 The National Assembly through its chair, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Kenneth Otiato Marende, restored sanity by declaring that the appointments were unconstitutional as the President had not consulted the Prime Minister as required by the Constitution and the Accord.38 This marked a bold move from the legislature in reminding the executive that the law had to be followed. 2.2 VETTING CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICE HOLDERS It has been pointed out above that the people of Kenya exercise their sovereignty through representation by the legislature. Vetting involves interviews that are meant to ascertain if the proposed candidates satisfy both the professional and integrity thresholds set by the Constitution and the enabling laws.39 Public screening of such high ranking state officers40 such as the Chief Justice has seen improved confidence in the Judiciary. The vetting process has also reduced ethnic and regional imbalance in terms of appointments to public service. It has at the same time ensured gender equality in public appointments.41 Parliament’s Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) unanimously approved the nominations of Dr. Willy Mutunga and Ms.Nancy Barasa as the CJ and DCJ respectively.42 However, the committee faltered when it came to the appointment of Mr. Keriako Tobiko as the DPP. The Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs rejected Mumo Matemu, Prof. Jane Kerubo Onsongo and Irene Cheptoo keino as the Chairperson of the Ethics and Antic-Corruption Commission and deputies respectively and asked Parliament to do the same. The chairman of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Dr. Bonny Khalwale tabled documents claiming the Mr.Mumo Matemu had failed to collect sh.2.4 Billion in tax arrears from a company while at the Kenya Revenue Authority.43 This transparent process by the National Assembly marked a departure from the Opaque and non-accountable process of appointments in the past. 2.3 ENACTING LEGISLATIONS One of the major duties of the National Assembly is legislation. Implementing the Constitution demands the enactment of a number of legislations.44 One must give it to the National Assembly for having risen to the occasion and enacted laws at least at the right timelines. Questions have however been raised on the quality of some of those legislations.45 The point to note is the primary level is the enactment and the quality or otherwise of law is a secondary one depending on the lens of the critique. A key achievement of Parliament is the enactment of legislations required under the sixth schedule to the Constitution within the requisite timelines. These are legislations touching on matters of Election, security and devolution implemented according to their requisite timelines. However, the National Assembly extended the period prescribed for the enactment of the bills relating to Public Finance Management, Land and County Government. The extension of time was to allow time for more comprehensive public participation and to address what the respective ministries considered to be contentious issues. By 26 August, 2011 which was exactly a year after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, under the fifth schedule to the Constitution and the agreed schedule of bills, the National Assembly had enacted the following pieces of legislation: the Supreme Court Act, 2011,46 the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011,47 the Industrial Court Act, 2011,48 the Urban Areas and Cities Act,49 the Environment and Land Court Act, 2011,50 the National Gender and Equality Commission Act, 2011,51 the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2011,52 the Elections Act, 2011,53 the Kenya Citizenship and Immigrations Act,2011,54 the Commission on Revenue Allocation Act, 2011,55 the Power of Mercy Act, 2011,56 the Vetting of Judges and Magistrate Act, 2011,57 the Judicial Service Act, 2011,58 the Independent Offices(Appointment) Act, 2011,59 the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Act, 2011,60 the Commission on Administrative Justice Act, 2011,61 the Political Parti es Act, 201162 and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission Act, 2011.63 PART III PARLIAMENT AS A MANIFESTATION OF IMPUNITY AND IMPEDIMENT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONSTITUTION While Parliament has been instrumental in the production of some key reports and holding the Executive to account, it has however been averse to the processes and institutions which seem to be a threat to their selfish political interests. Having given the achievements of Parliament, hereunder are its chief failures. 3.1 MUTILATION OF THE CONSTITUTION One of the sad stories of Constitution making in Kenya has been the blatant mutilation of the Constitution by the very same authority that is supposed to protect and defend it. Some have argued that the independence Constitution was one of the most progressive Constitutions of the time64 yet Parliament in its intention to amass power and please the Executive amended it severally.65 One of such amendments is the 1982 amendment to the Constitution that made Kenya a de jure one party state.66 The net effect of this amendment was decreased democratic space which subsequently led to curtailment of other rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of  speech, and freedom of association. It is noteworthy that Parliament allowed itself to be used by the executive to propagate the authoritarian agenda. It was a great expectation that the enactment of the Constitution of Kenya on 27 August 2010 would be an incentive to Parliament to live by the spirit of the law. It has however dawned on Kenyans that enacting the Constitution was just a single step in reforming Kenya. The bigger and challenging step is a comprehensive implementation of the Constitution. If the number of sub-standard legislations that have been passed by Parliament is to be used as a test on whether Parliament has truly lived up to its duty to protect and defend the Constitution, then Kenyans have been taken for a ride. For instance, when Kenyans found it fit to include a chapter on integrity in the Constitution, they expected that the Legislative arm of Government would actualize its implementation by passing laws on integrity that would satisfy the requirements of chapter six of the Constitution. However, as Karl Marx in his Marxist theory puts it: the ruling class has continued to use the law to propagate its dominance over the lower class; Kenyan Members of Parliament (MPs) gave a practical application of the Marxist theory67 by watering down the spirit and effect of the Integrity Bill.68 The spirit of the Bill was to ensure that only persons of unquestionable character and integrity are appointed or elected to public offices.69 It is a reasonable presumption that only persons of high integrity will respect, protect and implement the Constitution yet the current Kenyan MPs intend to preserve the status quo70 by ensuring that the law serves them.71 The other legislation that was meant restore sanity by bring discipline in the democratic space in Kenya is the Elections Act. In that regard, one of the historical injustices meted against Kenyans by politicians was the culture of party hopping.72 Party hopping not only encourages indiscipline in political parties but also constrains development of political parties in Kenya. As one of the roles of political parties is to nurture democracy, allowing politicians to join political parties and leave at will is a sure ticket to the road leading to death of democracy in Kenya. S.34(8) of the Elections Act, 2011, required that a member should be in the party list on which s/he intends to contest the elections three months before that list is submitted to the Registrar of Political Parties. In other words, one was to be in the party list by 3 October 2012. However, the amendments by the MPs to s. 34(8) of the Elections Act, 2011 now require parties to submit their lists not later than 4 January 2013. In essence, the amendment means that MPs are free to change political parties until 3 January 2013 which is two months to the elections. The chief mover and champion of the amendment to the Elections Act, Hon. Isaac Ruto, submitted flimsy arguments in support of the amendments. He is one record as having said restricting persons from changing their political parties was tantamount to their rights to freedom of expression and association and if the Elections Act was not amended it would affect MPs and Councilors.73 He stated : Considering the large number of legislators and councilors that may be affected, this provision left unamended is likely to distort if not paralyse these key institutions of governance.74 Reasonable as these arguments may sound, they reflect a failure to understand the import of restricting party hopping. It goes against the principle that one cannot have their cake and eat it at the same time. 3.2 ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE THE ELECTION DATE Article 101 (1) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 expressly provides that a general election of members of Parliament shall be held on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. Kenyans unanimously voted for the Constitution of Kenya 2010 on the understanding that the first general elections under the new constitutional dispensation would be held on 7 August 2012. However, three groups emerged with different dates of the first general election under the new Constitution. The first group was of the view that the date of the election is in the year 2013 and specifically between 15th January 2013 and 15th March 2013.The second group was of the view that the  date of the first elections is on the second Tuesday of August 2012 while the third group favoured an election date between October 2012 and December 2012. Meanwhile, Parliament was in the process of enacting the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2011which inter alia sought to amend articles 101(1), 136(2), 177(1)(a) and 180(1) so as to alter the date of the next general elections from the second Tuesday of August to third Monday of December. Thus, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) filed in the Supreme Court of Kenya Re Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission75 seeking an advisory opinion on the date of the general elections under the new Constitution. The Supreme Court considered the matter before it and in its ruling delivered on 15th November 2011 stated, in part, as follows: We will be guided by certain principles which have clearly emerged from the submissions: the High Court is, by Article 165(3) (d) of the Constitution, entrusted with the original jurisdiction to hear and determine any question entailing the interpretation of the Constitution; it is the obligation of the Supreme Court, as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution to protect and reinforce the conferment of first-instance jurisdiction upon the High Court especially when the matter in respect of which an advisory opinion is being sought, is pending before the High Court; subject to those principles, the Supreme Court will exercise its discretion appropriately, on a case-to-case basis, in accepting requests for an Advisory Opinion. We hereby order and direct as follows: (1) We decline to declare that the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to render an advisory opinion in the instant matter, but decline in exercise of our discretion, to give such an opinion with regard to the date of the next general election. (2) We reserve the reasons to be set out in a ruling upon notice. (3) Responding to the High Court’s request of 13th October 2011 for directions, High Court Petition Nos. 123 of 2011, 65 of 2011 and 185 of 2011 shall be placed before the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of that Court, for hearing on priority and on a day-to-day basis. (4) The aforesaid petitions shall be listed for mention and directions before the Head of the High Court‘s Constitutional and Human Rights Division on 18th November, 2011.† At the same time, three Petitions were filed at the Constitutional and Human  Rights Division of the High Court with the intention of having the High Court determine the date of the first general election under the new Constitution. The three Petitions were consolidated by the order of Honourable Justice Isaac Lenaola, the Head of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court on 18 November 2011 into John Harun Mwau v the Honourable Attorney General and 2 others.76 The three Judge bench77 after considering the submissions of counsels for the petitioners, respondents and interested parties, held inter alia: The date of the first elections under the Constitution is determined by reference to section 9 and 10 of the Sixth Schedule as follows; (a) In the year 2012, within sixty days from the date on which the National Coalition is dissolved by written agreement between the President and Prime Minister in accordance with section 6(b) of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, 2008; or (b) Upon the expiry of the term of the 10th Parliament on the 5th Anniversary of the day it first sat which is designated by Legal Notice No. 1 of 2008 as 15th January 2008. The term therefore expires on 14th January 2013. The elections shall be held within sixty days of 15th January 2013. (c) The body entitled under the Constitution to fix the date of the first elections within sixty of the expiry of the term of the National Assembly or upon dissolution of the National Coalition by written agreement between the President and the Prime Minister in accordance with section 6(b) of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, 2008 is the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. In view of the court’s finding on the election date, the court did not find it necessary to express its view on the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill, 2011 as it also dealt with other issues that were not germane to these proceedings before the court at that particular moment. As legislature was seized of the matter, it would take guidance from the court’s decision or act within its constitutional mandate as it may lawfully wish to do. The Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister accordingly withdrew the Constitutional amendments that were hoped to be achieved by the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill, 2011 given that IEBC had settled for 4 March 2013 as the date of the first general elections under the new  Constitution. 3.3REFUSING TO PAY TAXES One of the salient features and characteristics of the duties and obligations of Parliament before the coming into effect of the Constitution was the Constitutional right of MPs not to pay taxes.78 The Constitution has now done away with that scenario by expressly providing under Article 210 that every person in Kenya must pay tax.79 The Constitution further expressly prohibits any legislation that waives the duty of every person in Kenya to pay tax.80 Some of the proponents of the non-payment of tax argue that by demanding MPs to pay tax, it would be a violation of their rights under the Constitution. They are of the opinion that the National Assembly Remuneration Act81 had to be amended to obligate them pay the taxes. The Hon. Kenneth Marende, the chief proponent of this argument argued that the law was to be followed if MPs were to pay tax. The opponents of the Mps-crusade of non-payment of tax argued that the Constitution is as clear as a crystal with respect to MPs obligation to pay tax.82 The Government appeared divided on this as the then Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, the Hon. Mutula Kilonzo agreed with those who heckled the view that Mps had no obligation to pay taxes until after the first General election is held under the Constitution. Other lawyers such as the Supreme Court Lady Justcie Njoki Ndungu were of the view that Mps were not exempt from paying taxes. The blame must squarely lie on Parliament because they refused to provide leadership on this crucial issue. It is even disturbing because the Speaker joined the bandwagon of those opposed to MPs payment of tax. The refusal to provide leadership and by extension the failure to amend the relevant legislations to give effect to the provisions of the Constitution on payment of taxes amounts to impunity exercised against the Constitution and the people of Kenya. A sober reading and interpretation of the Constitution obligates every  person, MPs included, to pay taxes. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and all other laws must be consistent with it.83 Similarly, the transitional clauses under Clause 7 of the Sixth schedule which reads; â€Å"All laws in force immediately before the effective date continues in force and shall be construed with the alterations, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions necessary to bring it into conformity with this Constitution.† The effective date refers to the date on which the Constitution was promulgated, that is the 27th August, 2010. The National Assembly Benefits and Remuneration Act is subject to the Constitution hence the MPs have a duty to pay taxes. 3.4 ILLEGAL INCREMENT OF MPs SALARIES AND BENEFITS Parliament has for some time now been the only institution that can decide to hike their pay to preposterous amounts without consulting anybody. With the coming into effect of the Constitution, the power to decide the salaries and other benefits of all state officers has been given to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.84 Members of Parliament are classified as sate officers under the Constitution hence their salaries must be decided upon by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. The Mps decided early this year to award themselves with hefty send-off packages amounting to Kenya shillings Nine Million per MP with the pretext that they had the right to such monies as a way of thanking themselves for the good work they have done in the past five years.85 It was with the timely intervention of the President that the taxpayers were spared the burden of paying such lofty amounts of benefits to the Mps. 3.5 SUSPICIOUS REJECTION OF PARLIAMENTARY REPORTS The Kenyan Mps have perfected the art of either amending reports or rejection such reports provided those adversely mentioned in the reports either directly or through proxy give out handouts to the MPs. When Parliament debated on the Parliamentary Report on the Sale of Kenyan Embassy in Tokyo Japan, there were glaring accusations that some MPs had been bribed to kill the report.86 The MPs are said to have taken bribes to amend the Report of the depreciation of the Kenya shilling in which report the Governor of the Central Bank had been adversely mentioned.87 The demeanor of some of the MPs told it all as most of those who are normally perceived as talking on behalf the common mwananchi joined the bandwagon of those who supported the amendments to the Report. If the Mps can stoop low as to take bribes of Kenya shillings 5,000, it must be the worst betrayal of the Constitution. 3.6 DISREGARD OF THE MANDATE OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONSTITUTION (CIC) AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC)88 is a Constitutional mechanism established to monitor, facilitate, co-ordinate and oversee the implementation of The Constitution of Kenya 2010. As provided for in the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) Act, 2010,89 the mandate and functions of CIC is to: monitor, facilitate and oversee the development of legislation and administrative procedures required to implement the Constitution; co-ordinate with the Attorney-General and the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) in preparing for tabling in Parliament, the legislation required to implement the Constitution; report every three months to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee on progress in the implementation of the Constitution and any impediments to its implementation; and; work with each Constitutional Commission and Independent Offices to ensure that the letter and spirit of the Constitution is respected and; exercise such oth er functions as are provided for by the Constitution or any other written law. Regrettably, a number of bills were approved by the Cabinet and subsequently passed by Parliament without being reviewed by CIC. Also, some of these bills were not subjected to public participation as required by the Constitution. A number of Private Members Bills were also published and subsequently debated in Parliament without review by CIC yet they had a direct bearing on the implementation of the Constitution. 3.7 INCLUSION OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS IN PIECES OF LEGISLATION AND DISREGARD OF THE  DUE PROCESS There were instances in which Parliament introduced unconstitutional provisions in the bills. A case in point is the introduction of unconstitutional provisions in the County Government Bill 2012, which, subject to the operational command structure set out in the National Police Service Act90 or any other National Security legislation, purported to give the Governor the power to chair the County equivalent of the National Security Council as provided in Article 239 (5) of the Constitution.91 This provision contravened Chapter Fourteen of the Constitution, which places the National Security Council under the National Government. Further, National Security is not among the functions of County Governments as set out in Part Two of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, hence there is no County equivalent. PART IV 4.1 CONCLUSION From the introduction, parts II and III of this contribution, it can be deduced that the implementation of the Constitution is not just about the enactment of laws. The principle behind legislative oversight of Executive activity is to ensure that public policy is administered in accordance with the legislative intent, and by inference, the citizens’ aspirations. In this context, the legislative function does not cease with the passage of a Bill.92 It is, therefore, only by monitoring the implementation process that parliamentarians uncover any defects and act to correct misinterpretation or maladministration.93 Implementation involves the promotion of Constitutionalism94 and securing the observance by all state organs of democratic values and principles. The task of implementing the Constitution requires the collaboration and co-operation of state and non-state actors.95 Mr. Charles Nyachae at the launch of the 2011/2012 Annual Report of the CIC observed that the greatest danger to the Constitution is posed by Constitutional organs and state officers who ironically carry the greatest responsibility of implementing it.96 He further observes that it is a Constitutional organ and its individual state officers that seek to pass  legislations that clearly violate the Constitution that they swore to protect and some of the laws that they have passed are enemic to the Constitution. However, Kenyans should be cognizant the fact that article 1 of the Constitution of Kenya vests all sovereign power on the people of Kenya and the sovereign power is to be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution. Kenyans may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives.97 No state organ especially the National Assembly should forget that sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Be that as it may, the implementation of the Constitution brought about increased transparency and accountability on the part of the Legislature as well as the Executive. Increased participation by Kenyans in the development of laws and policies marked a key milestone in the implementation process.98 Public participation in the formulation of public policies is a major gain and represents a paradigm shift from the previous dispensation where most public policies were formulated in a boardroom setup devoid of the people’s input.99 In conclusion, as observed by Mr. Charles Nyachae at the launch of the 2011/2012 Annual Report of CIC, even if we had the most perfect laws in the world, in the absence of a culture of constitutionalism, such laws would be rendered useless and become tools of oppression. All laws, regulations and guidelines on ethics and integrity are of little value if individual Kenyans as well as their leaders fail to ascribe in practical terms to ethical values and principles proclaimed in those instruments. He also observed that in the end, it is a sum total of our individual behavior and character that will reflect the nation’s ethics and integrity. 4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS Though Parliament remains the most blatant manifestation of impunity and impediment to the implementation of the Constitution, there are some steps that can be taken so as to ensure that the Constitution is faithfully and effectively implemented. These steps include: 4.2.1 CIVIC EDUCATION It is worth noting that a greater percentage of the Kenyan population is ignorant of the legislative process as well as the Constitutional implementation process. The same explains why some members of Parliament have on several occasions passed pieces of legislations which they later on admitted that they were not aware of what they were voting for. Civic education among the Kenyan citizenry as well as members of the Parliament will go a long way in creating and increasing public awareness on the opportunities, procedures and the rights relating to participation in legislative policy and other Constitution implementation processes. 4.2.2 INCREASING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESSES Public access and participation is envisaged in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Article 118 (1)(b) provides that Parliament shall facilitate public participation and involvement in the legislative and other business of Parliament and its committees. However, the clandestine manner in which Parliament has been conducting its affairs especially when it comes to increasing its salary and awarding itself hefty send-off packages is what has caused Kenyans to resort to the streets and camp outside the Parliament with a view of having Parliament change its view. Increased public participation in the affairs of Parliament will ensure transparency and accountability. It will also help in fostering confidence and acceptability of the legislations passed by Parliament. 4.2.3 ELECTING GOOD LEADERS The choice of electing leaders lies in the hands of Kenyans. The leaders that Kenyans should chose in the forthcoming elections so as to represent them should be leaders with proven track records. They should be devoid of corruption and unquestionable integrity. This is because it is only leaders of impeccable characters that will ensure the Constitution is implemented to its letter and spirit. 4.2.4 INCREASED VIGILANCE AMONG THE KENYAN CITIZENRY Kenyan citizens should rise to the occasion and promote a culture of Constitutionalism. They should be relentless in their quest of defending the Constitution. This includes the necessary vigilance which will ensure the faithful and effective implementation of the Constitution to the letter and the spirit. Whenever the citizens feel that certain actions of members of Parliament or pieces of legislations contravene the provisions of the Constitution, they should not hesitate to move to the Court to have such actions or legislations declared null and void. With the reformed and revamped Judiciary, the citizens are assured of a fair and just determination by the courts. 4.2.5 ENSURING ALL DRAFT BILLS ARE REVIEWED BY THE CIC At the launch of the 2011/2012 Annual Report of CIC, the Commission recommended that all draft bills are reviewed by the Commission. This is aimed at ensuring that the Acts of Parliament that are enacted conform to the provisions of the Constitution. It is at the same time aimed at ensuring unconstitutional provisions are not included in pieces of legislation as was the case in the introduction of unconstitutional provisions in the County Government Bill 2012. 4.3 REFERENCES 4.3.1 LEGISLATIONS 1. The Constitution of Kenya 2010. 2. The Repealed Kenyan Constitution. 3. The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Act No.7 of 1982. 4. The Constitution of Kenya Review Act No.5 of 2000. 5. The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution Act No. 9 of 2010. 6. The National Accord and Reconciliation Act, 2008 7. The National Assembly Remuneration Act, CAP 5, Laws of Kenya. 8. The Constitution of Kenya Amendment Act, 2008. 9. The Political Parties Act No.11 of 2011. 10. The Elections Act No.24 of 2011. 11. The National Assembly Remuneration and Benefits Act, CAP 5, Laws of Kenya. 12. The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2011. 4.3.2 CASES 1. Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA-K) 5 others v Attorney General another [2011] eKLR. 2. John Harun Mwau v the Honourable Attorney General and 2 others (2012) eKLR. 3. Re Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Supreme Court Constitutional Application No. 2 of 2011. 4. Rev. Dr. Timothy Njoya 6 Others v Attorney General 4 Others (2004)1 KLR 261. 4.3.3 BOOKS 1. Baron de Montesquieu, (1748). The Spirit of the Laws. 2. Gibson Kamau Kuria, Building Constitutionalism: Defining the Jurists Province and tasks: How to Mobilize a Constituency of Citizens, pp 47 3. Paralegal support Network, The Paralegal’s Handbook. 4. The Kenya Human Rights Commission in Lest we Forget : Faces of impunity in Kenya (2011) 5. Lloyd of Hamsted Freeman, MDA Lloyds Introduction to Jurisprudence (8th ed, 1957) 1129-1199. 6. PLO-Lumumba, ‘Some Thoughts on Constitutional Principles in the Review Process’ in T.O. Ojienda (ed), Constitution Making and Democracy in Kenya, (2003). 7. Prof. Hamilton Okoth-Ogendo, H.W.O. (1996) â€Å"Constitutions without Constitutionalism: Reflections on an African Paradox†, in Zoethout, C.M. et al (eds), Constitutionalism in Africa. A quest for autochthonous principles, Gouda: Quint Deventer , pp 3-25. 4.3.4 JOURNALS 1. Korwa G. Adar and Isaac M Munyae, ‘Human Rights Abuse In Kenya Under Daniel Arap Moi, 1978-2001,’ African Studies Quarterly. The online Journal for African Studies. 2. Mutakha Kangu ‘Social Contractarian Conceptualization of the Theory and Institution of Law and Governance,’ (2007) 2Moi University Law Journal. 4.3.5 INTERNET SOURCES 1. Alphonce Shiundu and Peter Leftie Why Kenyan MPs will not pay tax on allowances yet September 24 2010 at 22:00 Daily Nation Online Edition. Available at http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Why-Kenyan-MPs-will-not-pay-tax-on-allowances-yet-/-/1064/1017710/-/item/1/-/14gkivv/-/index.html. . 2. Alphonce Shiundu , Shakir Shabbir: MPs were bribed to save CBK boss, Saturday Nation. Saturday, March 10 2012 at 22:30. Daily Nation Online Edition. Available at http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Shabbir-MPs-were-bribed-to-save-CBK-boss-/-/1064/1363750/-/item/1/-/x639yvz/-/index.html . 3. John Ngirachu, Vetting: Tobiko scrapes through Thursday, June 9 2011 at 15:02 Online Nation Edition. Available at http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Panel-clears-MutungaBarasa-and-Tobiko/-/1056/1177764/-/ioc088/-/index.html. 4. Justice Isaac Lenaola Public Participation in Judicial Processes .Available ata