Saturday, January 25, 2020

Globalisation And Its Effect On Sovereignty

Globalisation And Its Effect On Sovereignty In essence, understanding the consequences that subsequently emerge from globalization and sovereignty depends on how we define both the globalization and sovereignty. Once defined it is much clearer to draw out the central themes concerning the relationship between globalisation and sovereignty. In this essay, the subject matter I have chosen to address pays focal attention to the three most palpable issues; political, economic and security-related safekeeping. In each case, I aim to demonstrate that globalization has both threatened sovereignty and strengthened it. Ultimately, I intend to show that whilst globalization has transformed our understanding of sovereignty it has progressed in such a way that globalization has, to a large degree, been structured around the Westphalian concept. If we are to understand how the consequences of globalization affect our understanding of sovereignty, we must first define what we mean when we speak of sovereignty and globalisation. For the sake of simplicity, I will offer a definition of both globalisation and sovereignty and proceeding from that basis draw out the consequences such a definition of globalization has on such a definition of sovereignty. Globalization is best defined as a relatively recent process of worldwide integration, cooperation and conscious building whereby an increase in the flows and trade of ideas, people, goods and services between national state borders is prevalent. Sovereignty is best defined as the recognised privilege of nation-states to legitimately hold and exercise complete authority over a territorialized jurisdiction, determine ones own destiny within ones territorialized jurisdiction and the freedom from external interference to dictate such domestic governing. Throughout human history, the globe has gone through a series of material epochs that have also brought with it a series of epochs concerning human political organization. The two most striking epochs shaping human political or ganisation in recent times have been firstly; the emergence of the modern state, and secondly; the emergence of an era many contemporary political analysts regard as the post-modern epoch. It is these two prominent concepts of human political organisation that have fashioned the debate of globalization and sovereignty. The era in which the modern state emerged can be expectedly traced back to the Westphalian Peace Treaty of 1648 where the idea of state sovereignty arose and set the foundations to the normative structure for international relations in the last several hundred years (McGrew, 2009: 23). As the sovereign state arose because of a particular conjunction of social and political interests in Europe (Mansbach, 2000: 59) so too have interests dictated that sovereign states be drawn into union in the post-modern era. The most defining interests of the post-modern era that have drawn sovereign states into union have centred on political, economic and security-related safekeepin g. International political relations in the 20th century have drastically transformed the way in which nation-states co-operate. Since the 1940s, substantial political integration has become so predominant that some political theorists believe that the idea of Westphalian sovereignty no longer pertains. Political interconnectedness via international and regional organisations such as the United Nations and European Union has meant that nation-states are increasingly coalescing and thus sacrificing their recognition as sovereign. Advocates of such a view argue that supranational entities such as the European Union demand unified conformity and thus gradually erode the individual legal characteristics set by the legitimate authority put in place to govern over a territorialized jurisdiction. As such, they argue member states of the European Union have forfeited their freedom to determine their own destiny by willingly granting external entities the privilege to interfere and dictate d omestic governing. A classic contemporary example we can take into consideration of where critics argue that the monopoly of domestic-retained governing is undermined and reduced can be found in the European Unions European Court of Justice. Via the European Arrest Warrant, the European Court of Justice issued an extradition order for British citizen and controversial historian Frederick Toben in 2008 for alleged denial of the Holocaust. Whilst the German government who had initiated the arrest warrant eventually abandoned the extradition order, critics of globalization would argue that the incident demonstrates that the extent of British integration into the European Union calls into question the definitive distinctions between state sovereignty and supranational interference. Conversely, however, advocates of British membership to the European Union would argue that the fact that the extradition order was dropped demonstrates that member states clearly still retain the legitimate monopoly to exercise complete enforcement of domestic laws. Nevertheless, whilst critics of globalization may perceive the consequences of globalization to be eroding the concept of state sovereignty, and political theorists such as Stephen D. Krasner accepts that state interdependence has somewhat reduced the Westphalian concept of state sovereignty when the domestic jurisdiction of sovereignty is taken into account, Krasner also argues that globalization is not necessarily eroding the concept of state sovereignty but evolving, enhancing and expanding the concept (Krasner, 1999). Supporters of this argument would point to international organisations such as the United Nations that stresses each member state recognise and uphold the principle of respect for the territorial and political jurisdiction of fellow states (Mansbach, 2000: 71). In this way, whilst some may see international organisations of this nature to have a negative influence on the idea of sovereignty, it is argued t hat such organisations in fact strengthen the value of sovereignty by including the idea as a central pillar to United Nations structure. Political integration is practically inseparable from economic integration. The latter has also been a historic product of globalization, specifically since the end of the Cold War. The internationalization of commerce, spreading global capitalism into all continents, has become so substantial that the issue of borders has become irrelevant and vanished as an effective control mechanism (Reynolds, 2000: 650-656). For national state sovereignty therefore, economic amalgamation has become an inevitable consequence to which many feel has both merits and demerits. International organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have played an extensive role in shaping intercontinental trade and thus created animosity and resentment in specifically non-Western states where it is properly accepted as an extension of Western ideolog y. In recent years, there has been some vocal opposition to the International Monetary Funds involvement in South Africa where the post-apartheid state continues to be indebted by International Monetary Fund loans dating back to the apartheid era. For many South Africans such colossal debt, they feel, has prevented them from making good their freedom in the post-apartheid era and ultimately restricted their ability to direct funds toward social programmes such as education, health and even policing within their territorial jurisdiction. In essence, many of those who resent economic integration feel The increasing internationalisation of national economies and the increasing transnational character of capital, suggests that policies designed to compete for inward investment favour transnational rather than national interests (Ralph, 2001: 158). However, advocates of global capitalism and the democratic peace theory argue that the internationalization of trade has not only created gre ater wealth (Osterhammel and Petersson, 2005: 121) but also lessened the prospect of military conflict among state actors that adopt liberal democratic political values and thus capitalist economics. Therefore, they argue, ensuring state stability on a global basis and accordingly reinforcing the effectiveness of state sovereignty, internally and externally. This is evident if one takes into account that since the 1940s, countries that have adopted liberal democracy and capitalist economics have not waged war against one another or had a civil war. Interlinked with state stability and sovereignty in a global era is the issue of security-related safekeeping. The issue of security-related safekeeping is also, like political relations, intertwined with the economic aspect. Technological advance in areas such as transport and communications has had an impact on sovereignty on a global scale so much so that it has shaped, if not dictated, greater co-operation among state actors in times of peace and in times of conflict. Conflict, specifically, has drastically changed over the last several centuries due to the global integration of both technology and communications. In contemporary international relations, state actors have been effectively forced to collaborate on related national security interests (Mansbach, 2000: 80-92). International relations in the 21st century has been commonly referred to an era whereby global cooperation between state actors will be crucial in managing the phenomenon of global terror (Eriksen, 2007: 134-138). This phenomenon of global terror has greatly benefited from the technological advance of transport and communications and thus revolutionized contemporary warfare. The War in Afghanistan, for example, was prompted not by any central authority in the nation-state but by non-state actors Al Qaeda. As a result of the September 11th Attacks the War on Terror has challenged the state sovereignty of numerous nation-states, predominantly Iraq and most recently Iran. Greater emphasis has also been placed on international stability and human rights. Thus, the globalization of terrorism has transformed the way in which we conceptualise the right to the privilege of sovereignty of other nation-state and the way in which we ourselves perceive our own sovereignty in the post-modern age (Arnold, 2008: 190-209). However, there are those that whilst recognizing that the art of war has changed over time, of which globalization has had an immeasurable impact upon, who argue that If we think of global politics today as unfolding in an arena without superordinate authority, in which overlapping groups compete with each otherand in which the potential for violence is present, then the politics of medieval Europe may not seem so alien (Mansbach, 2000: 43). Some would even go as far to say that the art of war, or rather terrorism, has only superficially changed (Baylis and Rengger, 1992: 229-230). In this sense, the Hobbesian view that the period in which the Westphalian concept of state sovereignty arose in Europe was a time where lack of security and the absence of clear centres of authorityerased the distinction between the domestic and foreign realms (Mansbach, 2000: 44) can be considered exceptionally relevant to how the Westphalian concept still remains a central pillar to the normative structure of inter-state security relations since its emergence. In conclusion, understanding the consequences that subsequently emerge from globalization and sovereignty depends on how we define both concepts. Proceeding from that basis there are three central issues that are instantly recognizable to such a discussion, namely; political, economic and security-related safekeeping. In each case, globalization has both threatened sovereignty and strengthened it. Ultimately, I consider that Since state evolution was gradual, states managed to monopolize the means of coercionToday, some states have surrendered that monopoly . This does not suggest that states will become irrelevant or disappear. Rather they must share pride of place with other actors and must co-operate with one anotherto cope with todays challenges (Mansbach, 2000: 59).

Friday, January 17, 2020

Corporate Social Responsibility Task

The partnership is employee owned (these employees are Often called members or partners) and so they state that their purpose is â€Å"the happiness of all our members, through their worthwhile, satisfying employment in a successful business† The next business researched was McDonald's which is the largest global fast food restaurant in the world. It has over 34000 stores located around the world that serve around 68 million people a day (equivalent to the population of the K). McDonald's has often been criticized for its effect on the environment and its customers due to its low quality products.Its main competition is KEF and Burger King although to combat this McDonald's offers a larger product range with KEF mainly focusing on chicken and Burger King mainly offering burgers. To help promote their food to children they use a clown mascot that they also use for their charities that support children e. G the Ronald McDonald House charity which offers temporary homes for famil ies with close relatives who are in a distant hospital. The Final business researched was SAD which is owned by Wall-Mart, the largest private employer in the world and the second largest public reparation in the world.SAD got its name from the merger of Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Limited and Acquits (a small chain of supermarkets) with the AS coming from Acquits and the DAD coming from Dairies. SAD has had various problems with false advertising in the past usually due to showing items in adverts for sales that are not included in the sale. SAD manufactures and sells its own range of clothes called George. SAD employs 175,000 employees and 565 stores in the ASK. Its mission statement is â€Å"to be Britain's best value retailer exceeding customer needs always. All of these organizations have been put under pressure in recent years to act responsibly and show good corporate social responsibility. The main pressure on these businesses comes from pressure groups which are group s such as Greenback who put pressure on businesses who damage the environment. These groups can have a substantial effect on a business as they can use various protest methods to reduce the profits of a business. These methods include calling for boycotts, deterring ethical consumers, picketing and even suing the business.All these methods cause negative publicity for the equines which deters customers from going to the store as its actions may not follow their ethical beliefs. Negative publicity can also affect share prices as this publicity can be an indicator that the profits of the business fall drop soon due to some of their customers being deterred. The main organization have researched that has been effected by this is McDonald's who has been targeted by various environmental groups in the past and is now being targeted by PETA who has done investigations into McDonald's and has set up whom. Cruelty. Com which publicizes how McDonald's mistreats animals. This is likely to det er customers from going to McDonald's and cause it to lose a small amount of its market. Although it is being targeted negatively by some pressure groups, other groups have recently sat reed to us port its new CEO-friendly initiatives and employment strategies which has improved the company's image a lot. Another organization that has been effected negatively is SAD who have been targeted by Labor Behind the Label and War on Want who have shown various suppliers of SAD to be underpaying workers.This would affect ethical consumers as they would be deterred from supporting SAD and its u pliers by buying their products and some may protest against SAD in other ways. Pressure groups can also help a business if it shows advancement in particular CAR fields. The John Lewis Partnership is the main business that I've researched that has benefited from positive publicity from pressure groups as it has received various awards from pressure groups for having good suppliers and caring for the e nvironment.One of their recent awards, the good pig award, allowed the company to advertise that they sourced their pork products from high welfare farms which would increase the likelihood hat an ethical consumer would purchase that product. Many of the Actions taken by pressure groups would not work without ethical consumers. Ethical consumers are people who purchase goods based partly on them being ethically right.An example of this is people who buy fair trade products which are often more expensive than non-fair trade products but help support the producers of those products. These consumers are very important for the pressure groups as it can allow them to get customers to boycott certain products or retailers. This also allows pressure groups to influence the decisions of a business as they can reduce the profits of a business or alternatively if the business is doing well in some aspect of CAR they can give them an award that will attract ethical consumers to them.An example of the power of ethical consumerism is that McDonald's has been forced to alter its view on the environment with it being linked to rainforest's destruction and over packaging of products whereas now it has some of the best packaging in the fast food industry and has decreased its effect on the rainforest's. The main way ethical consumerism has affected SAD is through the reduces it sells with them now stocking a large range of fair-trade and free range products to encourage ethical consumers to go to SAD instead of its competitors.This has caused SAD to decrease its profit margin on these products as these products cost more for SAD to buy which may have lost them money for a short time but would increase their sales due to greater Customer retention. The John Lewis Partnership has benefited a lot from ethical consumerism with many of its products aimed at ethical consumers and a lot of its customers choosing to shop their because of their view on business.This allows them to main tain a good customer base as ethical consumers are likely to keep shopping at John Lewis Partnership stores so long as they continue to make ethical decisions. Often the main way a business promotes it is being socially responsible is through its investments. This helps to maintain a good relationship with pressure groups and advertises the business to ethical consumers. An example of this is McDonald's who promote their investment into fuelling over 50% of their trucks with bodiless and continually researching ways to reduce their packaging waste.Most socially responsible investments made by a business have other benefits too such as the bodiless they make themselves which reduces fuelling costs and decreasing waste packaging means they don't have to buy as much of the raw materials for the packaging. The John Lewis Partnership promotes its socially responsible actions a lot. An example of this is that it has invested into an awards program called the Waitress Supplier Awards which rewards suppliers for improving their environmental performance. This has helped Waitress improve its suppliers so that ethical groups will continue to support Waitress.This also advertises to consumers that Waitress are trying to improve the CAR Of their suppliers and not just their stores. SAD gain substantial benefits from advertising its socially responsible actions. One way it has benefited is through better employment as it advertises its employment benefits, such as access to its skills academy, to gain a better standard of employees. It also benefits by advertising the various things it is doing for the local community, such as supporting a local athlete, which would help the local community see some of the good aspects to having an SAD in their community.All 3 of the businesses I have researched have benefited from their positive CAR which has helped them grow. The John Lewis Partnership has benefited a lot from the good publicity it has received from various organizations that report on CAR to the extent that it has become the industries leader for ethical consumers. This has allowed their stores to offer their goods at a higher price than their competitors as their customers are willing to pay more for an ethically sourced product.As they have a history of ethical consumerism they have been able to maintain customer loyalty as it is less keel for them to make an unethical business decision. John Lewis has also used its employment benefits to maintain a good work force with it giving its employees a large percentage of the profits (usually in the form of a bonus worth 2 months pay). These benefits increase employee loyalty and make the John Lewis Partnership a more attractive option for job seekers. This allows the stores to be more selective when employing new members of staff so that they can get the best person for the job.This also allows them to create a more diverse workforce so that they can find out bout different ways to market products tow ards people of a different age, culture, ethnicity, sex and background. McDonald's has benefited from the positive publicity from its socially responsible actions a lot because in the past many pressure groups have given McDonald's negative publicity on its effects on the environment, its packaging and its effects on the consumers health. Over recent years though it has advertised what it has done to combat these issues to such an extent that it has now won a lot of environmental awards.This has helped to increase its ethical consumer customer base and in turn increase its profits. The main area McDonald's has benefited from good CAR is in its recruitment. Due to McDonald's offering its employees a good range of benefits it has been named one of the Auk's top employers. This helps promote McDonald's to potential employees and helps retain employees which is essential for McDonald's as most Of their franchise owners are previous employees. SAD has benefited a lot though the loyalty o f its customers. This is due to them maintaining a good price for their products while still doing a lot for their CAR.This has meant that the business has not had to invest in club cards which it says cost â€Å"hundreds of millions of pounds† and only reward â€Å"people who can afford to spend the most†. Instead it explains that it uses that money to reduce the cost oftener products â€Å"across the board for everyone. † This allows them to advertise that they have more products cheaper than Deco's than Deco's have of SAD. This draws in new customers and maintains customer loyalty as customers believe it is the best option for them to shop there. SAD have offered a lot of benefits to employees with cheaper stock offerings and various qualifications available. Corporate Social Responsibility task One thing it has done is source a lot Of its products from local suppliers e. G. All Waitress fresh chicken, beef and pork, bacon, duck and goose are sourced room the [J which helps local communities as it increases the profits of the local suppliers and allows them to expand which allows them to increase their workforce. Increasing the suppliers workforce helps the community as it decreases unemployment rates and increases the amount of money that stays in the community.This is very important to local communities as usually 95% of a business's income is taken away from the local community but by altering its supply methods and improving its employee bonuses John Lewis removes a lot less. Another way the John Lewis Partnership has had a positive impact on the coal community is through its employee bonuses which are substantially larger than most other supermarkets. This helps the local community as it gives the employees more disposable income which is likely to be spent in the local community.It also helps employees to maintain financial stability through the Christmas period which would help the community as there would not be as many community members in debt after Christmas. The John Lewis Partnership has also helped the local community through its community matters scheme which offers its employees the opportunity to work with the community on local projects. This combined with their investment of Ell million into the local community has benefited their local communities a lot.This helps the local community as it not only gives them the funds to make a change but access to a large workforce to get it done. The final way the John Lewis Partnership helps the local community is by using diverse recruitment methods which helps different parts of the local community to learn about each other's cultures and helps people who would find it hard to get a job. An example of this is their elderly recruitment which provides jobs to elderly people who normally would fi nd it hard to get a job.This would also set an example for other business in the area and so increase diverse recruitment methods in other businesses. The John Lewis Partnership also has a negative impact on local communities as its Waitress products are often a higher price than other supermarkets which could cause problems for people with money troubles as they would not be able to afford as much. This may also cause a class divide in some areas as some would be financially able to shop at John Lewis or Waitress whereas other would not and so this may split the community.The John Lewis Partnership has also been linked to an increase in house rises as people are willing to pay more for a house located near a Waitress. This effect has been noticed by estate agents in areas that a Waitress has been built nearby with some claiming it increases house prices by up to 25%. This would affect people who want to move into the area as they may find fewer houses in their budget. This would al so affect the diversity of the local community as it would reduce the amount of people who have a lower income in the area.This would however have a positive impact on people already living in the area as their house value would increase. The final negative impact that Waitress has had is that in some communities it has caused traffic problems as people from the local area flock in to use the store. This would affect the environment as some of these people would have driven further than normal so that they can use Waitress rather than a different store. This would also affect the local area which would become more congested and would have to spend Moore to maintain the roads.Overall I think that the John Lewis partnership is good for the local community as it offers the local community a range of high quality products and has advanced ethical consumerism a lot. Also the main negative impacts John Lewis has are difficult for them to change and they are still trying to improve on thes e effects such as offering a value range to make Waitress a more affordable option and looking to decrease its impact on congestion such as at its Guilford site which is located near a large junction they have paid for the council to improve the roads.McDonald's McDonald's is probably the most improved business I have researched as it has received a lot of negative publicity on its CAR choices in the past but is now trying to improve its public image. One way it has done this is by advertising its various green schemes that reduce the impact they have on the environment. The most visual form of this environmental change is their packaging which has been altered so it is now more biodegradable and smaller.This helps the local community as it makes it easier for the council to deal with any litter that is dropped by a customer and it reduces the amount of waste McDonald's contributes to the local land fill. Another way McDonald's green schemes have helped the local community is that i t has increased its local product sourcing. This decreases the air miles of he food and reduces the amount of money that is removed from the local community. This helps support local agriculture which is at threat due to other companies sourcing products from overseas.This also helps to support the local economy as a transnational corporation usually removes a lot of money from local communities and so the more money it spends on local produce the less impact it has on the local economy. McDonald's also helps the local community by bringing a lot of jobs to their community and hiring people with little or no experience which helps some members of the local community improve their ability to work. This also helps people in higher education as often McDonald's working hours are quite flexible and so they can work their without it affecting their education.The final way they are trying to help the local community is by decreasing the amount of litter found around the community. They ar e doing this by funding local council bins and putting litter bins outside of their restaurants. This helps the local community as it makes it a cleaner place and improves its image which would increase the amount of people who would want to visit the area. This also helps reduce the cost for the council when dealing with an areas litter problem. McDonald's has had substantial negative impacts on the local community as well.The main impact it has had is on the health of the local people as many of their best selling products are unhealthy and the products that are healthy have been criticized as they often do not appeal to their customer base. This is shown in a daily mail article called â€Å"McDonald's shares fall as customers shun new healthier items on the menu† that links recent price drops to customers rejecting the healthier McDonald's products. Although McDonald's are trying to combat litter in their local communities, they are one of the main causers of it. This is s hown by a 2009 survey that McDonald's packaging makes up for a third of the Auk's litter.Also a lot of their delivery packaging contributes to local landfills which if filled would have to be expanded or a new local site would have to be created which would decrease the appeal of the local area. Overall I think that McDonald's is bad for the local community as although it is trying to reduce its impact on the local community it still has a strong impact on the local populations' health and the cleanliness of the surrounding area. This would decrease the appeal of the area which may lead to problems such s a decrease in house prices, less tourism and less people visiting the area to use the local shops.As I have mentioned above, McDonald's is often criticized for it negative effects on the customer's health and its low sales in its healthy options. To decrease these negative effects McDonald's should look to invest in research on improving the nutritional value of their food. This re search should include trials of various food ideas in some of their stores so that they can work out which ones to spread chain wide and which to improve on. After improving the healthiness of their product range they should then Penn a large amount of money on a new advertising campaign that advertises the largest changes e. . A large decrease in calories or saturated fat in their burgers. This should also include a look at their Other positive improvements such as their care for the environment and anything else related to the welfare of their customers and the environment they live in. Due to McDonald's advertisement of its healthier product range the company's image should improve. This should help to set up a business deal with a new healthy food partner such as Real Foods, Weight watchers, Wellness Foods or another healthy food company who would be happier to e associated with a healthier McDonald's.With one of these healthy food company McDonald's should work with them to try and improve the taste of their healthier product range so that it seems a more attractive option to customers. This would allow McDonald's to gain a larger customer base as then only other large fast food chain that can advertise the healthiness of its food is subway who McDonald's could take customers from. This could also be used to try and appeal to a larger customer base as some organizations, such as weight watchers, offer their own food range for people who are dieting.If they sold weight watchers dieting products or certified some of their own products as recommended by a healthy food company then they would probably attract a lot of new customers as their main competition, KEF and Burger King do not offer any specific dieting products. Another benefit of this is that they could work with a company such as Real Foods to increase the amount of special diet foods on their menu. This would increase their customer base as it would attract people that are vegetarian, vegan or hav e an allergy to things like gluten or wheat.This improvement would greatly improve McDonald's image as they would come the market leader in healthy fast food which, with its environmental work, would alter the view of groups such as PETA who would not target them as much. This image change would also increase the amount of children (one of their prime demographics) that go to McDonald's as parents would be happier to take them if they had healthy food. SAD SAD benefits the local community mainly through its SAD foundation program which supports a lot of small charities located around the ILK.This is especially helpful to the local community as most businesses only support arguer charities but as SAD has this program it can donate to smaller charities that need the money to improve their functionality in the local community. So far this year the program has donated almost E3000000 to a wide variety of charities which often offer specialist support for members of the community. Anothe r way SAD is helping the local community is through its new plan to give Store space to local authorities, businesses, voluntary groups and educational services.It is giving this space as a lot more customers are buying online and so the stores do not need as much space for stock. This helps the local community as it means that customers are more likely to find out about various groups and community projects in their community. The final way SAD has had a positive impact on the local community is through its community life program which offers customers the opportunity to vote on what SAD should do with the money it plans on investing in the local community. This helps the local community as it increases the relativity of the changes for the local community.This also encourages other groups to consult the community more due to the increased advertisement they receive from voters. SAD has also had a negative community due to where it's building. A lot of Sad's stores are deliberately located near another supermarket to try and reduce its profits. The problem with this is that often they can't find a suitable site near enough and so use planning loopholes and other methods such as paying for an improved transport system to secure sites that aren't meant to be built on.This affects the community negatively because it is likely that there would have been a reason for the council not wanting the supermarket being built there (e. G. The site had natural beauty). This also effects where the average shopper purchases goods as many of these stores are located out of town or on the edge of towns many people are drawn away from the shopping area Of the town and so are less likely to purchase something from that area. Due to Sad's delivery service many of their Lorries have to go into smaller towns to make deliveries.This poses problems for the local community as they may not have the infrastructure needed for Lorries to travel through their town which could cause damage to the roads and congestion. This effects the local community as the council would have to pay for any damage one to the road and the local people may find it harder to get to their destination. Like other supermarkets, SAD cause 2 main problems, increased traffic and a decrease in business for local shops.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Classification Of Wines Of Wine - 929 Words

Classifications of Wines Today, many different types of wine are sold in grocery stores and in specialty stores. Wine is made from grapes but not from the kind of grapes that can be found in stores where other fruit and produce is sold. It is made from grapes that are specifically cultivated to produce wine. These types of grapes have thicker skin and contain seeds. Even though there are several hundred, perhaps even a thousand different varieties of wine, there are basically two main groupings: single varietal and blends. There are also many styles of wine including: dessert wine, ice wine, rose’, sparking wine and table wine. Diverse wines are specifically produced from grapes grown in particular regions of the world. There are five†¦show more content†¦Common Types of Wine Within the two main groupings, there are a few common types of wine. These include: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. These are of course, single varietals and blending one or more will creates an entirely new flavor in the wine. Each of these are is not only meant to be savored but also when paired with specific foods, increase the flavor intensity of the wine. As a general reference, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon wines should be enjoyed with meats such as lamb, beef, pork and cured meats, while Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay wines should be enjoyed with chicken, shrimp, scallops and salmon. Only Pinot Noir type wines, which are milder than most other red wines, are less full bodied and are fruitier, could cross to accompany foods normally being served with white wines. Styles of Wine Different styles of wine are created from changing something in the production or harvest or storage of the wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that have been left to freeze on the vine, while dessert wine is made from extremely sweet grapes and where the fermentation process is stopped before all of the yeast has converted the sugars to alcohol. Rose’ wines are made from crushed grapes where the skins of the grapes are permitted to soak with the fruit juices for a short period of time. Table wines

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Blues People By Leroi Jones - 1773 Words

In his seminal book, Blues People, Leroi Jones (AKA Amiri Baraka) indicated that at any given time in history you can tell exactly what’s going on in the African American community by listening to their music. This observation was written back 1963 when Black music was still subject to the musicians who drew their much of their inspiration from their life experiences, creating soul-stirring music that connected their listeners on various levels. On a visceral level, music served as a form of primal therapy that allowed the African American community (particularly the poor and working class element of the community) a much needed chance to relieve the stress of living in a world hostile to their existence. On a cerebral level, Black music was a form of communication connecting various groups of people to one another and re-affirming their life-experiences by telling their story through notes, vocal intonations that produce a catharsis. In a sense, the music becomes the audience ’s ultimate witness I and lyrics that bared witness to our plight in the emotional court of human drama. As the music industry began to see huge profits in the 1970s, it changed the way the music business operated by taking on a corporate outlook. In the early days, a good number of record execs and A R reps had a genuine passion for music despite the fact that they were exploiting the musician and by extension the African American community as a whole. Not anymore. As the music industry becameShow MoreRelatedEssay about Jazz and Culture1460 Words   |  6 Pagesthat suggests that talking about music is like dancing about literature. What words are sufficient to explain your favorite album to a person who cannot hear? There are none. James Baldwin, in his story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† does as well as anyone can: â€Å"Creole began to tell us what the blues were all about. They were not about anything very new. 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