Friday, January 31, 2020

Pharos Restaurant Essay Example for Free

Pharos Restaurant Essay At Pharos Restaurant, the appellants worked as waitresses. The facts are set out in the fall of 1982. Platy Enterprises Ltd. is the owner of Pharos Restaurant and also manages the same. The manager of the Pharos Restaurant was the President of Platy Enterprises Ltd. During the course of her employment, J witnessed sexual advances and undesirable encounters by another employee. Her efforts of trying to stop the same were in vain. The offender was, in fact, a cook and had no direct authority over the waitress. However, it was made to appear by the manager and the offending employee, that the latter could give instructions to the waitress J. Such conduct of alleged sexual harassment persisted for more than 30 days. Thereafter, J made a formal objection to such conduct by her co-employee. Post J’s making of such an objection, the aforesaid sexual advances and harassment stopped. However, this was replaced by excessively rude and uncooperative behavior. There was a case of excessive verbal abuse and reprimand without reason. Thereafter, a complaint was made by J to the manager regarding the same. However, the manager didn’t take any steps to prevent it or mitigate it. Such conduct on part of the offending employee continued. Finally, after some time J was dismissed by the manager. G, another employee in the same restaurant, soon thereafter also found herself at the receiving end of the same problems. She, too, complained to the manager after which although the sexual advances and harassment stopped, there was a continued spate of verbal abuses and non-cooperation at work along with unjustified reprimand. She was finally terminated by the manager. Subsequently, the present appellants approached the Manitoba Human Rights Commission and filed a complaint against Pharos Restaurant and Platy Enterprises Ltd. along with its owners, agents and servants. It was found that the appellants had indeed been subject to sexual harassment at work place as per to s.  6(1) of the Human Rights Act.  Therefore, exemplary damages and those for loss of wages were awarded. This decision was appealed before the Court of Queens Bench. The Bench upheld the adjudicator’s decision except as regards the amount of damages, and held that the harassment in the instant case was not based on discrimination based on sex, and therefore the employer could not be held liable. The present appellants are challenging this order of the Court of Queens Bench before the Supreme Court of Canada. ISSUES/QUESTIONS OF LAW The following are the issues that are raised by the appellants in the instant appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada   I. Whether the type of sexual harassment to which the appellants were subjected to is discrimination on the basis of sex? II. Whether the employer can be held liable for the acts, specifically sexual harassment by its manager? III. Whether the Court of Appeal erred in reducing the quantum of damages awarded to the appellants by the adjudicator? IV. Whether the Court of Appeal was correct in ordering costs against the Manitoba Human Rights Commission in regard to the adjudicatory proceedings before it? DECISION OF THE COURT On the aforesaid issues, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled as follows   I. The type of sexual harassment to which the appellants were subjected to is discrimination on the basis of sex, and this is not changed by the fact that only some women faced such harassment. II. The employer should be held jointly and severally liable for the acts, specifically sexual harassment, of its manager. III. The Court of Appeal erred in reducing the quantum of damages awarded to the appellants by the adjudicator as this case falls under the gamut of sexual harassment and in light of the nature of the complaints, the quantum should not have been reduced. IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Court of Appeal was wrong in ordering costs against the Manitoba Human Rights Commission in regard to the adjudicatory proceedings before it. JUDICIAL REASONING Sexual harassment is prohibited by law as it affects the efficiency of an employee at the work place.[1] Further, it is a direct attack against the dignity of an individual, and cannot be tolerated in the modern society. The instant act of harassment was indeed one based on sexual discrimination as only women were at potential risk of such harassment which included sexual advances by a heterosexual male.[2] Male colleagues were not at the risk of such harassment. The employer should be held liable as when complaints were made to it by the appellants, he failed to take any steps whatsoever to improve the situation and correct the problem. This would go on to show that the employer was also conniving with the offender employee and therefore the employer’s liability would be joint and several.[4] The Court of Appeal should not have reduced the quantum of compensation as this was a classic case of sexual harassment at the work place based on sexual discrimination. RELEVANCE/IMPACT This decision of the Supreme Court sends out a strong message to the civil society at large that sexual harassment at work place shall not be tolerated. Further, sexual harassment based on sexual discrimination is an even more serious offence, and invites a higher quantum of fine. Further, all employers should make sure that no sexual harassment is taking place at their respective workplaces, failing which, they would also have to share the liability of any such offence jointly and severally.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Secrets of Harry Bright :: essays research papers

The Secrets of Harry Bright by Joseph Wambaugh This book is titled, The Secrets of Harry Bright by Joseph Wambaugh. It was published in 1985. I have read other novels by Joseph Wambaugh. He is a very intriguing author. He has a way of capturing his audience that is paralleled with few authors. In essence, he relates his writings to everyday life woven into crime, drugs and sex. It appeals to a more mature audience, which can appreciate Wambaugh’s rough portrayal of urban life. My first thought of the book was it lacked historical significance. Upon further thought it became apparent to me that history isn’t simply war or catastrophes; it’s an accumulation of everything that has preceded the time we live now. This novel made many references to Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and even William McKinley. It also viewed America as it was in the 1980’s. A time sometimes forgotten or often neglected to be mentioned. Through this novel you begin to grasp this time period and develop a sense of appreciation for it, because it did take place and is apart of our history. I believe Joseph Wambaugh is one of the forerunners in enlightening the American Public on a period, which deserves more recognition. And I believe strongly that Wambaugh set out to highlight this decade in our history and he most certainly succeeded.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mineral Springs and Palm Springs, two cities near Los Angeles, is the setting of this novel. A wealthy businessman named Victor Watson has hired to LAPD detectives to solve his son, John Watson’s, year-old murder case. John was shot and killed in his father’s Rolls Royce that was in flames when investigators arrived on the scene. No leads were ever formed and this case was never solved and eventually put to rest. Victor couldn’t deal with the stress of his son’s death, because even though he was a multi-millionaire he had lost all those he loved and was contemplating suicide. Sidney Blackpool was mentioned to be a top-notch detective and certainly the man for the job. Victor offers Blackpool a two-week, luxury vacation, and is free to do investigating as he pleases. Blackpool enlists the help of his old friend Otto Stringer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mineral Springs police department, which consists of nine men, decides to lend the two detectives any resources they need concerning the murder. They basically follow a couple of bum leads, play a few rounds of golf, and soak up the peace and quiet of their surroundings.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Black Hawk Down Analysis

In the 1990s, Somalia is undergoing a famine along with a civil war. Many civilians have died as a result of the war, and so the UN has intervened and started a peacekeeping operation there, with a base just outside Mogadishu. Unfortunately, the Somalis, distrusful of the UN, have declared war on everyone involved in the operation. In response to this, the US army deploys Delta Force to aimed at undermining the power of the president of Somalia. They plan a mission to capture Omar Salad Elmi and Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdiid, two of the President’s top advisers.The operation is planned out, and everything seems foolproof. Before they leave however, a lieutenant is removed from duty due to a seizure, and so a less experienced soldier must take his place and lead the crew. Delta Force is deployed to capture the two men in Mogadishu, and all goes according to plan. Helicopters are flown in over the city, and they can see tires burning, which is the Somali’s signaling that the y were coming. They then convince a taxi driver to show them where the two men will be, and they go in with helicopters and armored vehicles.They successfully capture the two advisers, and wait for the extraction team to come pull them out of the hostile territory. On the way, the extraction team takes heavy fire, and one of the helicopters is hit with an RPG. It goes into a tailspin and hits a rooftop before crashing into a street. Two of the passengers in the helicopter crawl out and away, but the other two have extensive injuries and have to stay in the helicopter. Another helicopter is told to take the place of the one that went down.This helicopter is quickly shot down as well, but lands with less injuries. At this point the armored vehicles are diverted from the path of retrieving the two captured men and told to go to the first crash site, retrieve the soldiers there, and then move to the second crash site and secure it. On the way to the crash site, one of the armored vehicl es is hit by an RPG, and men are thrown out of it. The convoy stops and retrieves the wounded, but in the process another soldier is shot. Throughout the mission, the armored convoy is being given directions by a plane overhead.At this point, the confusion is too great and the directions are inaccurate. Roadblocks are being set up by the Somalis, which makes it impossible for the convoys to reach the crash sites. Unbeknownst to the ground forces, the convoys give up trying to reach the crash sites and head back to the UN safe zone, in the stadium. Meanwhile, ground forces are also trying to reach the crash sites. A group of men reach the first crash site, and set up a defensive perimeter around it, with the base inside the house that the helicopter crashed into.They attempt to treat the wounded soldiers, and hold back Somali forces. At the second crash site, two snipers are dropped in by helicopter to try to retrieve the wounded. They find one soldier injured and alive, but as night falls, both of them are killed and the injured soldier is taken captive. Under cover of darkness, the Somalis attack the first crash site, but air support from the military holds them back until help can arrive. A relief convoy arrives and rescues the wounded, but many of the soldiers are forced to run back to the stadium.As they arrive, they are greeted with hundreds of smiling and cheering Somalis. In the end, there were 19 American, and over 1,000 Somali casualties. The injured soldier that was captured at the helicopter crash site was released almost two weeks later. The two snipers that went in to retrieve the injured soldier were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. Soon after, the president of Somalia was killed in a battle with a rival group. The following day, the general in control of the operation resigned. In terms of accuracy, most of this movie is biased toward the Americans.In the beginning, there is a scene where the Americans are flying over the UN food supply trucks that were sent in to feed Somalia, and in this scene, Aidid’s men mercilessly gun down civilians in order to take the food trucks. In reality, that event never even happened. Throughout the whole movie, director Ridley Scott added and took away events to delude the viewer into believing that the Somalis were evil people who had no motive, and just wanted to be in control. When this war actually happened, there were two phases of UN involvement.The movie mixes them together in a way that suits its purpose. Phase one was actually a benevolent move by the UN; food trucks were brought in an attempt to feed the starving citizens of Somalia. This lasted for awhile, but not forever. Then came phase two, which was the violent phase. The US Army came in to the city with a, â€Å"military campaign to to install a fresh political system in Somalia. † The Somalians resented this. Another, more blatant inaccuracy was when the movie announced onscreen that â€Å"Aididâ€℠¢s militia first killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and then began to target US troops.†The opposite of this is actually true. US troops were targeting Aidid before the Pakistanis were killed by a Somali mob. The UN interfered with Aidid’s affairs before the events of the movie even took place. This omission of information is meant to convince the viewers that the attack on the US troops was unprovoked and aggressive, to indicate that the US was in the right and Aidid’s army was in the wrong. Also, the movie makes it seem as though this is the first time US troops had engaged in any kind of action in Mogadishu.In actuality, the Delta Force had flown in over Mogadishu many times before to harrass Aidid and his supporters. US troops â€Å"rotor-washed† houses and people in downtown Mogadishu, meaning they would hover above the town in helicopters and blow down structures with the force of the wind from the rotors. The final and most glaring piece of evidence still remains. Through the entire film, it is not explained why the US troops and Delta Force were met with such violence and antagonism on the streets of Mogadishu.The movie plot and the way the characters are presented leads the viewer to believe that the Somalians are just naturally aggressive and ferocious people. The real reason is that months before, on July 12, 1993, the dominant groups in Mogadishu held a meeting to discuss a peace proposal from a main official at the UN, Jonathan Howe. Many prominent leaders of groups opposed to Aidid were also there. During the meeting, US helicopters attacked the building that the gathering was in, and slaughtered Somali religious leaders and elders.This enraged the Somalis, and so when they met the US troops in the streets of Mogadishu, they took out their full anger and ferocity on them in retaliation for what was done at the meeting. This film is skewed to favor of the US, in order to sway viewers to believe that what the UN did was entirel y justifiable, that the Somalis have short fuses and will fight, unprovoked, at the drop of a hat. The viewers of this movie would naturally be led to have a negative attitude toward Somalia, and ultimately in future engagements, be biased towards the US military as heroically on the side of justice.The US military establishment was more than pleased with this depiction of the October 3, 1993 raid on Somalia, in which 18 US soldiers lost their lives and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed. As evidence, thousands of videotapes of the film were sent to US military bases abroad and the producer of the movie, Jerry Bruckheimer was widely quoted as telling General John Keane, â€Å"General, we’re going to make a movie that you and your army will be proud of. † After seeing the film, General Keane told reporters â€Å"He did that, and we thank him. †

Monday, January 6, 2020

Economists Estimate Wealth And Poverty - 1736 Words

Bishoui Fahim Prof, Brian Curtis English Comp 2 April 23, 2016 Wealth and Poverty Economists estimate wealth and poverty in many ways. The most three common measures are income, possessions (accumulated wealth in the form of money, securities, and real estate), and socioeconomic metrics. Actions in the last category go beyond financial data to account for health, food, infant mortality, sanitation, and other phases of human well-being. Usually, wealth and poverty measured regarding income. Information on income is readily available, credible, and relevant, particularly in discussing poverty in the United States, wherever the inherited wealth is a small factor, and most people live on wages and salaries. It s beneficial to think of wealth and poverty about one another. That s because income inequality is truly the underlying issue in poverty, particularly in developed countries. In the economic talk, income inequality indicates to the variation of revenue between and among several groups of people and households in an economy. Frequently the diff erences in wealth that effect people feel wealthy or poor. In a developed country, any family inside a house with indoor plumbing, decent food, and clothes, running water, and education and access to health care. This kind of life will be considered as a luxury. In the United States, millions of people who are enjoying these things are considered poor people, and those things constitute the essentials in America. In developedShow MoreRelatedPoverty in the U.S.961 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to a 2013 article in the Economist, the US currently boasts the highest post-tax level of income inequality of any high-income country in the world (Economist 2013). 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