Women in Viking Society

Women in Viking Society Role of Women in Viking Society Upon hearing the word â€Å"Viking†, a specific image is usually conjured in the mind’s eye. More often than not, it is of a group of big, burly men, pillaging helpless English villages and sailing across fjords, but there has always been more to the Viking people than wielding axes and braving treacherous water, especially when it comes to the women, who are commonly left out of this stereotypical picture entirely. Vikingar, the Old Norse word for viking, was solely in reference to the men, who were the ones who primarily participated in trips to Great Britain, Europe, and the East. According to most sources, the women within Viking society did not partake in those two activities and were delegated to more domestic tasks back home. It was known that many women participated on journeys to explore, though, and eventually settle in places such as Iceland, which was uninhabited and required that women travelled there to help create a permanent population, and Finland. According to the Judith Jesch at BBC News, â€Å"Most journeys from Scandinavia involved sea-crossings in small, open ships with no protection from the elements. Families heading for the North Atlantic colonies would also have to take all the livestock they would need to establish a new farm, and the journey cannot have been pleasant. The Viking colonists settled down to the farming life in their new home, or established themselves as traders and became town-dwellers.† There is also evidence that the women within Viking society could make a living in commerce. There have been merchants’ scales and weights discovered within the graves of women in Scandinavian countries, marking an association between women and trade. According to a ninth-century account of a Christian mission to Birky, a Swedish trading center, recounts the conversion of a rich woman by the name of Frideburg, as well as her daughter, Catla. Though by law, Viking women were under the authority of the men in their lives, primarily their father or husband, and they did not enjoy the same legal status as the men within their society. These women could inherit as much as their brothers would or, depending on the region wherein they lived, would not inherit anything at all. At a Þingi meaning a â€Å"thing† which was an assembly of the free men of a province, country, or a hundred the women were unable to bring forth a case unless a man would take over the prosecution on her behalf. Girls were usually between the ages of twelve and fifteen when they were married and were expected to run the household. When entering a marriage, the bride would have a dowry which would consist of materials such as linen and cloth, as well as a spinning wheel and a bed. Girls from more affluent families could also bring silver and gold jewelry, animals, and sometimes even farms. While she brought all of these things as part of her do wry, they still remained her personal property and never became a full part of her husband’s estate and it would be her children who’d inherit it. Once married, gender roles were even more clearly defined and the women were in charge of making sure that the family’s food would last throughout the long winter and they would make butter and cheese, as well as dried and smoked fish and meat for storage. Also, as a wife, a woman was expected to have knowledge of what herbs were good for taking care of the sick and wounded. In her husband’s absence, she was in charge of running the farm and even when her husband was not away, the animals were one of her responsibilities. Often, if she was from a rich family, she would have slaves and servants to help her and, as a sign of authority, she would wear the key to the food storage chests. She also would cook, clean, and make clothing for everyone. When it came to clothing for themselves, Viking women liked to dress as well as they could, in woollen dresses. Sometimes they would wear an article of clothing called an over-dress, material that was wrapped over their dress and a round the woman and held up by shoulder straps, fastened with brooches. They would often wear leggings or socks and a scarf to cover their hair. When it came to jewelry, they wore pieces made of silver and gold with intricate designs. Despite many obvious shortcomings that came with being a woman and a wife in Viking society, a woman could file for a divorce from her husband. If she became displeased with her husband in any way that the Vikings found substantial enough reason if her husband was lazy and did not work to provide for the family, if he treated her or their children poorly, or insulted the family that she came from she was allowed to divorce him. To achieve this, and in the presence of witnesses, she would declare herself divorced at the end of the bed her and her husband shared and as her front door. Upon divorcing him, she could reclaim her dowry and keep any younger children with her, while any older children would be divided between the two parents depending on the status and wealth of the parents’ families. Since most women’s lives were centered around the home, they managed to have a great influence within that sphere and, as a result, many women were buried with things that symbolize the importance of those roles and influences, as well as their responsibility and control over the distribution of clothing and food within the household. Though this was the most common way women in Viking society obtained notoriety, some were well known for different reasons. The Oseberg â€Å"queen†, buried with an ornately-decorated ship and high-quality goods was one of the richest buriest of the Viking Age, showcasing her prestige. There was also the grave of the Pagan Lady of Peel Castle, which was discovered in a Christian cemetery on the Isle of Man. To this date, it is one of the richest Viking burials for a woman found outside of Scandinavia. The Pagan Lady of Peel’s grave is solid proof of powerful women and of a high status during the Viking Age. One of these women was th e daughter of a Norwegian chieftain from the Hebrides, named Aud, who married a Viking based in Dublin. Upon the deaths of her husband and son, Aud took control of the fortune that the family held and had a ship bring her and hers remaining daughters to places such as Orkney, Iceland, and Faroe. Later, she settled in Iceland and distributed land to most of her followers. While it can be difficult to find records about many actual women within Viking society, it is much easier to find them within legend and folklore, where they often took the role of shieldmaidens (women who fought as warriors). There are very few historical accounts that say that women took part in warfare, but according to a Byzantine historian named Johannes Skylitzes, women may have fought in battle when Sviatoslav I of Kiev attacked the Byzantines in 971 in Bulgaria. The Varangians were defeated, but the victors were surprised to discover women among the fallen, armed as warriors. Even Leif Erikson’s pregnant half-sister, named Freydà ­s Eirà ­ksdà ³ttir, was said to have taken up a sword of her own and scared away Native Americans, according to the Greenland saga, though she is never explicitly referred to as a shieldmaiden. Even with a couple accounts such as these, it is difficult to prove that these shieldmaidens existed outside of Norse mythology. Though there are many shieldmaidens of legend, including Brynhild, Hervor, and the princess Thornbjà ¶rg, but they were largely members of the aristocracy. By the 11th century, Scandinavians began to be â€Å"Christianized.† With this mass conversion, the women were given the opportunity to take on new roles within society; these roles are often seen in the rune stones from that time. Through depictions of the Nativity, the Dynna stone, found in Norway, memorializes Astrid, the daughter of Gunnvor. Similarly, the Stà ¤ket stone, hailing from Sweden, commemorates a woman who went on a pilgrimage named Ingirun. In addition, Queen Emma of Normandy, daughter of Duke Richard of Normandy, descended from Normandy’s Viking founder Rollo. She married two kings of England and gave birth to two others, but it was during her married to the Danish Cnut that she was a notable patron of the Church. Upon the death of her husband, she had a record of the Danish kings who, in the 11th century, were in England written up. She called this work the Encomium Emmae and it had a portrait of Queen Emma within the manuscript. Women in the Norse wo rld were far more open to Christianity than the men were and, in religious matters, women were highly regarded, as shown in the Edda, the main source of Medieval skaldic tradition and word itself maybe even meaning â€Å"great-grandmother†. It is no coincidence that the very first church built within Greenland was built by Thjodhild, the wife of Erik the Red and mother of Thorsten and Leif Erikson. Though despite the advances that women were able to make through the Christianization of Viking society, practices such an infanticide, the killing of newborn babies, were still practiced nearly exclusively on female babies. In Viking society, sons were of much greater value for they could participate on raids and in trade, which would increase a family’s fortune and land, as well as their honor. Daughters were more of a burden to a family, having to be married off and provided with dowries and having to raise fewer females would also mean that even fewer babies would be born in the future, which would then save the household from having even more mouths to feed. While we know only a small amount of the women in the Norse world, we know even less of the lives lead by any female servants and slaves, who were the ones that more frequently took care of the children. There is very little known about women who were raised and lived within smaller households. While life for women in Viking society was far better than for women throughout the rest of Europe, gender roles were still clearly defined. The role could shift depending on certain, specific circumstances, or in fictional sagas, but it remained a fact that the Norse world was a patriarchal one. Bibliography Jesch, Judith. Viking Women. BBC News. BBC, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. Harrison, D. Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fà ¤lth Hà ¤ssler, Và ¤rnamo. Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology, translated by Jean I. Young (University of California Press, 1964) Judith Jesch, Women in the Viking Age (New York: The Boydell Press, 1996), 107-108. Andrew Dennis, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans., Laws of Early Iceland, Grà ¡gà ¡s (Winnipeg, MB: University of Manitoba Press, 1980), 51.

DBQ Federalists and Democratic-Republicans Essay

Thesis: It would appear that the assertion that Democratic-Republicans were strict interpreters of the Constitution while Federalists were not are only somewhat accurate. The Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval is of particular interest because Jefferson outright states â€Å"†¦I know also, that the laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind†. This is somewhat different from the traditional image of Jefferson interpreting the constitution as absolute under any circumstances. The fact that he himself writes that the constitution must be adapted to the times suggest that Jefferson, like the Democratic-Republican party as a whole, was not such an absolutist. Jefferson also states that â€Å"I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which would seem to indicate that He also believed that a change to the constitution was a serious thing not to be taken lightly much like the historical image of the Democratic-Republicans. Jefferson believed that amendments would eventually become necessary to preserve the constitution as a credible document, however he also believed such changes should only be made when absolutely necessary. The fact that this idea about the constitution (that it was not perfect and would eventually need change) contradicts the historical image of strict and absolute interpretation of the constitution that Democratic-Republicans, and by extension Jefferson himself, are given. -While Jefferson shows sympathy towards eventual change on issues such as slavery he did not follow through in the least as president. -Jefferson is sometimes portrayed as the first great president by historians. -Jefferson actually helped sign in the constitution with many of the men who would go on to be federalists. -Jefferson made many of his statements against slavery and absolute interpretation of the Constitution later in life which could suggest that much of these writings were out of hindsight of his actions as president and the unofficial leader of the Democratic-Republicans One document that might suggest that Federalists were not all so supportive of the federal government over the states was the speech that Federalist  Daniel Webster delivered before Congress on december 9th 1814. Webster states â€Å"If the secretary of war has proved the right of Congress to enact the law enforcing a draft of men out of the militia into the regular army, he will be able at any time be able to prove quite as clearly that Congress has the power to create a dictator†. This quote is loaded with sentiments normally expected from a Democratic Republican rather than a Federalist. States rights, negative sentiment towards Federal authority over the states, and the assertion that this expansion of Federal power is a step towards tyranny, are all opinions typical of a Democratic Republican, not a Federalist. This clearly suggests that not all Federalists were loose interpreters of the constitution since states rights is an argument usually made by someone advocating for a strict interpretation of the Constitution. – It would appear that this speech was relatively pointless to affect the conflict at hand considering that the war of 1812 (Mr. Madison’s war as dubbed by Federalists) was only fought for a few more weeks before it was officially concluded. – Federalists were quite against this war with Britain which could mean that Webster could have come to this argument more out of anger over the war than actual ideals. – It is interesting that the measure Webster is referring to took place in 1814 considering that the Democratic-Republicans, who would have been against drafting militiamen into the national army, controlled the Congress, Senate, and the White House. -1814 was the last year that Federalists had a major role in Congress given their attempt to secede from the union in 1815 in the Hartford Convention. The report and resolutions of the Hartford Convention serves to demonstrate how Federalists did support a loose interpretation of the constitution. In the resolution the participants (of whom many were Federalists) proposed that several amendments to the constitution be adopted by the states. While this may seem fairly insignificant the fact that they were trying to conform state laws to national law shows a very strong leaning towards Federal authority over state authority. This was very much in line with Federalist principles and loose interpretations of the constitution since they are proposing three changes to several state constitutions. The Federalists are taking a stance against state rights which are guaranteed in the  constitution and requesting that the states conform to federal law which can be seen as a rather loose interpretation given that powers not afforded to the national government are given to the states by the tenth amendment. -The three proposed amendments seem to inhibit the power of the government which is more in line with Democratic-Republican ideals, which could suggest that this was meant to gain bipartisan support in the states. – The Hartford Convention was also famous for being the unofficial demise of the Federalist party considering that the resolutions also threatened to declare New England independent from the union if the government did not comply which the largely Democratic-Republican populated nation viewed as treasonous. – One of the amendments proposed made it illegal to enforce an embargo for longer than 60 days which is interesting considering that leading up to the war with Britain, many Federalists were advocating ignoring the embargo on Britain. – Although the Democratic-Republicans controlled Congress, the Senate, and the presidency prior to the Hartford Convention, the negative reaction to the resolutions layed out by the Hartford Convention ensured what could be described as a near one party rule for the Democratic-Republicans through the mid 1800’s. One Final Document that would serve to demonstrate how there was a large grey area in how Democratic-Republicans and Federalists interpreted the Constitution is actually another speech made by John Randolph in 1816 before Congress. Randolph himself was a very strict interpreter of the constitution but what makes this speech interesting is who he is calling out in this speech and why. â€Å"We have another proof that the present government (the Madison administration) have renounced the true Republican principles of Jefferson’s administration on which they raised themselves to power†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Randolph is calling out the Democratic-Republican president James Madison, for â€Å"renouncing† the policies laid out by Thomas Jefferson who is seen as  the establisher of many of the ideals of the Democratic Republican Party. Madison is accused of â€Å"aggravating the burdens of the people for the purpose of favoring the manufacturers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Essentially he is being called out for raising taxes on the middle class. Why this demonstrates how Democratic Republicans could have taken a loose interpretation to the constitution is because raising taxes is something that many Democratic-Republicans believed to be a state by state issue even though the Constitution gives the government the power to levy taxes. However Madison is going against that ideal and raising the national tax rate which given the Democratic-Republican interpretation of only allowing states to raise taxes, is a very loose interpretation. -Madison was known to have changed his opinion on these matters several times as a politician which could explain why he was raising taxes. -Randolph also linked Madison to John Adams who was also a loose interpreter of the constitution and rather unpopular amongst the Democratic-Republicans because of it. – Madison was very much influenced by Thomas Jefferson who would have definitely disapproved of raising taxes on the middle class. – Madison was the first president to preside over the â€Å"Era of Good Feelings† or the time period where the Democratic-Republicans enjoyed a near one party rule in the government. This tax would have been a very unusual interruption in the usual lack of debate and argument that was apparent in Congress and the Senate.

Government Enforced Cyber Security, a Public Good? Essay

We all know that cyber security is something of great importance to anyone trying to protect their network assets, customer assets, and personal assets. The list of possible risks associated with neglecting to practice good cyber security are endless, and the dangers lurking out in cyber space too numerous to imagine anyone who is controlling any type of company network to ignore; but the question here is whether or not the government should become the cyber security enforcer not only within in its own government sector but also within the private sector as well as a public good. Before we get into the discussion of whether or not the government should play this role, I believe we should have a short discussion on what â€Å"public good† actually means. Generally speaking â€Å"public good† is a loose term used to justify some kind of action one is taking, by saying that it is in the best interest of the general population to do so. The implications behind the use of the term â€Å"public good† is that #1 the action is beneficial to a majority of the population; and #2 that the majority of the population is either too ignorant, or incapable for some reason of performing the action for themselves. The use of the term is also handy because it is non-specific as to WHO is actually benefiting from the actions; is it the general consumer, the small businesses, big businesses, the government, a special interest group, all of the above, none of the above, Who? Who is actually benefiting from the act? By using the term the â€Å"public good† one does not have to account for who is actually benefiting. Nor do they have to identify who might be harmed or negatively affected by the action either. Additionally by using the term that it is for the â€Å"public good†, by default the concept of how much will it cost, and who is going to pay for it, is seemingly automatically a non-concern. So by the very nature of the term for â€Å"the public good† the user of said term has attempted to write themselves a blank check, quantifying and justifying any and all actions they mean to implement and enforce. The term â€Å"public good† has been used by various entities throughout history to accomplish some of the most horrendous crimes against their people, and to extort unimaginable amounts of wealth and goods from their populations. Anytime the term â€Å"public good† is used to ask for justification for an action from any entity it should be immediately critically examined with a very find tooth comb to find what the motivations for such a kind gesture might be, as well as analyzed by a staunch accountant to find out where the money is, and where it leads in the proposition. The term â€Å"public good† more than any other term I can think of, is more often than not the very term used to lead more sheep to their own quiet slaughter then any war cr y ever has. It should always be approached with skeptism and caution when used, especially in conjunction with the word government. Is Enforcement of Cyber Security a Public Good? Should the enforcement of cyber security be considered a â€Å"public good†? This is a very difficult question to answer. In theory, on the surface, enforcement of cyber security seems like it might be a very viable public service. As viable as other protections offered as a public good such as the services of military and police protections. But then you begin to look a little deeper into the subject and you realize that enforcement of cyber security protections has many more layers then the enforcement of physical protections such as military and police. In order to enforce cyber security an entity would have to do much more than simply provide, train, and fund forces to patrol the physical areas that are in danger. Enforcing cyber security is much more akin to forcing a draft of military service on the general population and forcing them to pay for their own room, board, training and service expenses while they are in the military to boot. In order to enforce cyber security you must force each person who has any interaction with the cyber world, into becoming a cyber security guard, whether they wish to be one or not. Additionally you force any entity whether it’s a multi-billion dollar corporation, a single person running a business out of their basement, or a member of the general population at large trying to access the internet, into funding not only the physical equipment and software required to be a good cyber security guard, but the endless training and education expenses associated with it as well. It would be like an entity not only suggesting that people should have locks on their doors, but enforcing it with requirements for double steel enforced 12 inch wide doors with a minimum 3 locks on it. One of which had to be specialty ciphers lock, and penalizing those that do not have said door, by taking away their entire house. This â€Å"public good† if done the way it would be required to be done to actually be minimally effective, has now become a universal burden just like taxes, who’s only community quality would be the unified contempt the â€Å"public† would have for its enforcing entity and enforcement policies; very much like the contempt the general public has for the IRS. This all being said, I think it safe to say that calling the mandatory enforcement of cyber security a â€Å"public good† is about as accurate as calling the mandatory taxes we pay a â€Å"public good†. Most people when left to speak of their own analysis as to whether or not taxes are really something that is good for the majority of the public would tend to beg to differ. Should government enforce cyber security in the private sector? The government of the United States has many roles. Some of these are roles it was intended to have by the Founding Fathers, as written into the Constitution, and most others were assumed, inherited, given, or seized by some means still unknown to me. One of the proper roles of the government is to provide protection to its citizens by the creation and enforcement of laws that protect the people, ie..Murder is a crime punishable by death; and the creation of protection entities/forces such as police, fire, and military, to physically patrol the areas our citizens inhabit to protect the lives, and property that they own, which is inclusive of the land they occupy as a nation. These concepts were pretty cut and dry, although our congress still found a way to somehow muddy them; but until recently with the invention of the internet and cyber space it was pretty easy to tell where the borders of our nation ended and another’s began, and what constituted a criminal action against a nother person’s being or property. At least the common man could tell these things, lawyers, judges and politicians can be excluded from that statement. In cyberspace, there are no boundaries. The line of what to protect and what is outside the realm of required government protection is very gray. Therefore the government up until now has restricted its enforcement of cyber security to its own government networks. This level of protection is the proper responsibility of the government, because it is protecting its networks in the interest of national security. The department responsible for the protection of its citizens as well as national security is the Department of Defense. The past 15 years with the explosion of Information Systems the DOD has found that its workload and responsibilities have increased dramatically with the government use of Information Technology systems. In the past 5 years alone the cyber security workload on the DOD has more than doubled. Although the U.S. DOD is probably the most secure and efficient government entity in the world, it is far from ideal on levels of security, and it lacks the manpower and r esources to keep up with its own demands of cyber security implementations. I have worked in the DOD for over 10 years now, and can tell you first hand that security incidences occur daily, and the security risks to our government networks is a constant ebb and flow of action/reaction. Rarely does the department get a chance, have the time, or the resources to be pro-active instead of re-active. Ultimately as well, with the very best security technologies in place, even the government must remain dependant on the human elements to protect the networks, and information. The Wiki-Leaks internet postings are a perfect example of that dependency gone badly. It may or may not have been a technical mis-security that allowed that government employee access to all that sensitive data, but it was ultimately several human failures that allowed for that information to be posted on the internet. The failure of the trusted government employee to keep the information he was entrusted with secret, and the failure of how many internet web site owners to work at protecting sensitive national data of the country some of them were actual citizens of. The idea that the current DOD could even enforce cyber security in the private sector is not only laughable, but also an extremely menacing and terrifying concept. The government enforcement of cyber security in the private sector, â€Å"for the public good† of course†¦would be nothing more than a ruse to cover its real aim; which would be regulation of the internet, or to put it bluntly the control of the last totally unregulated vestige of free speech. Besides the obvious issue of lack of integrity behind its intentions there are numerous reasons why the U.S. Government should stay out of the business of regulating the enforcement of cyber security in the private sector. The government, as stated above does not actually have the time, or the resources to manage or enforce any other security implementations outside of itself. †¢ The government already spends most of its time in reactive mode on the security frontier; trying to find additional time to analyze or validate the security set ups of private sector companies as well would be near impossible. †¢ The government does not have the money. Funding for such things as IT equipment hardware and software upgrades is already spread extremely thin. Many times government offices and system are running on hardware and software that are years behind the current releases due to replacement funding issues. †¢ The government lacks the technical expertise in its ranks to be able to support or even audit / validate the security implementations in private businesses. Over 80% of the technical workforce working on government systems are contract workers, hired in because of the lack of security/tec hnical expertise in the government employee workforce. The government does not have within its scope the right to enforce cyber security implementation within the private sector. †¢ The government scope as outlined by the constitution is to protect its citizens against foreign attack on its own sovereign soil, as well as to protect its citizens from physical attacks and destruction of their private property within the boundaries of its nation. There are no boundaries to cyber space; therefore when a citizen of the U.S. chooses to enter into the boundary less area known as cyberspace, they are choosing to inhabit an area that is outside the scope of their countries ability to protect them. They do this at their own risk. If these same citizens left the safety of the U.S. and put themselves willingly into the middle of Egypt right now, they are taking their chances full well knowing that they are willingly giving up the safety and protection of the U.S. If they are taken captive, the U.S. will attempt to negotiate for their release, but it cannot, and will not guarantee it. If it can secure their release or do anything at all for them, it will, but many ti mes it can do nothing so far outside its jurisdiction; just ask Nicholas Berger, the American beheaded in Iraq several years ago. †¢ The government’s responsibility to provide protections to its citizens is a provision of protections that are within reason. Although the government provides police, fire, medical and military services to their citizens; I for one do not have my own personal police officer, or doctor escorting and to attend to me in case I should run into a mugger on the street or get a sniffle in the middle of the night. The services provided are broad, sweeping, and for the use of the general population to both reduce and deter its own population from being criminals as well as to protect and serve its own population. Cyberspace is not its own population. †¢ The government was never given authority to regulate business, in any way, shape, or form; not for the â€Å"public good† or for its own expansion. Not in the name of protections for its people, and not with its intent to create legal monopolies, or cater to interest groups. Regulation of any business interests, including the enforcement of cyber security on business networks is outside of what the government is supposed to doing, and a conflict of interest to the type of government that was originally established for the country which was a democracy. The government does not have the flexibility to efficiently enforce, and manage the cyber Security regulations and compliancy of the private sector, and in trying to do so, would only hinder the progress of the cyber security technologies industries, and protections implemented by the private sector. †¢ Cyber Security is a MOVING target. The government is a lethargic beast. Government bureaucracy consumes easily 60% of all the time, money and resources spent by the government. Time being the biggest issue on this point. Cyber security in order to be the most effective has to be able to be tweaked, re-configured, and updated as fast as your average cyber criminal can re-invent ways to penetrate. The higher value the data is that you work with as a company, the quicker and more flexible you must be to maintain a secure network status. An individual with little valuable data on their system does not need to be all that concerned with the security posture of their system. Not all systems, businesses, and networks can be considered the same, and each ones security posture is going to be based on the value of what they are trying to protect. All cannot and should not be regulated the same. †¢ Creating any type of tiered regulation for cyber security enforcement will add layer s of bureaucracy and therefore delays in actual implementation. Once again being counterproductive to the enforcement in the first place. Who is going to pay for the government to take on this further endeavor? I don’t know about you but I pay enough in taxes for useless programs, counterproductive government measures, misrepresented & abused government powers, and generally overall government meddling in the private sector, both businesses and personal. Even if they charge the businesses for their â€Å"services† the cost will ultimately end up on the general population. This is where the cost always ends up; and this will be no exception. What is the point of the government enforcing cyber security regulating the portion of the internet that runs through the U.S. internet gateways and DNS servers, when it has absolutely no control, or jurisdiction to control anything outside of it. All you would be doing is creating a black market for â€Å"foreign† internet feeds; creating yet another flourishing criminal market. Does â€Å"prohibition† – the very act that gave the organized mob their greatest power and fastest wealth windfall, or the more modern â€Å"war on drugs† that is only serving to create some of the most vicious cartel wars seen, why†¦ because the attempt to regulate and control it only serves to make it an even more profitable illegal industry. Shouldn’t the government stay focused on where it should be focused? Especially since IT has the largest network, with the most valuable and sensitive data in the country on it. Protection of this data actually falls within the scope and responsibility of the government, in the interest of national security. The data on its network actually does have life and death consequences to people. Very few other enterprises process data with such importance and consequence. So shouldn’t the government worry about its own house and worry about maintaining it; instead of trying to regulate the private industry which is not only outside of their scope of responsibility, but is also a project with so much less importance then their own. It seems insane to wish them to focus on anything other than their own networks, and data. The one exception would be for them to have a level of standards required of any business network that was allowed to connect directly to them. I am happy to report, these are relatively few. What would be the impact of government enforced cyber security in the private sector? There would be numerous impacts to the private sector if government tried to enforce cyber security regulations. Many I can name right now, and numerous I am sure would be unexpected results. †¢ The price for such regulation would ultimately fall on the average citizen to bear. †¢ The price for such regulation would drive numerous smaller companies unable to bear the cost (and also processing information not much worth hacking) out of business. †¢ The overall security posture for the private sector as a whole would be reduced- business that needed increased security then government standards would even out with businesses needing very little security carrying all kinds of security they don’t need. †¢ The rights of a business and the people to use their own judgment to decide the amount of security needed on their enterprises is once again diminished, and compromised, as well as them to suffer the consequences of misjudgments nullified. Building dependency on the government for critical thinking and analytical skills as well as basic survival skills is continued. †¢ A flourishing and profitable black market for â€Å"non-regulated† internet feeds is created. †¢ The integrity of the biased lean of the information being â€Å"regulated† through to the general population is immediately under question; resulting in further distrust of the regulating entity†¦ie government. †¢ Overall to both the businesses being regulated and the businesses that produce technology instruments and devices the impact would be negative. Should private industry have the responsibility to protect national security? Private industry has a duty to protect national security when it’s a situation that is a direct action to do so. For example, a company that processes government information has a duty to protect that information. A company that sells porcelain dolls has no responsibility to protect the national security. Just as they would not load up their employees with camouflage and weapons and send them out to a base to somewhere to â€Å"assist† the troops for a day every week, they don’t have a duty or responsibility to practice cyber security out on the internet like some kind of mercenary. It is good business sense for them to practice some level of cyber security that is appropriate to the sensitivity and value of the data they process but that is an act of self interest; and a show of good business intelligence. Not only does private industry not have a responsibility to protect the national interest by practicing cyber security, but once again should protect their own interests and leave the national interest to the appropriate experts. Only companies that process government information, or connect to government systems should be attempting to apply cyber security in the name of national interest. Those are the only people who have that duty and the only people properly schooled in the expertise to do so, and should have an interest to. Any other business or entity should remain concerned with their own business interests, or be brought under suspect for spying or espionage; they have no business being concerned with the national defense and should stay out of it. References: Tuutti , C. (2010, September 13). Cyber experts: espionage, apts, malware among most dangerous cyber threats. Retrieved from http://www.thenewnewinternet.com/2010/09 /13/cyber-experts-espionage-apts-malware-among-most-dangerous-cyber-threats/ Stenbit, John.P. Department of Defense, Command, Control Communications and Intelligence. (2003). Information assurance implementation (8500.2). Washington, DC: DISA. Bavisi, J. (2010, July 26). Biggest national security threat: cyber attack. Retrieved from http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/07/26/biggest-national-security-threat-cyber-attack/ Dhamankar, Dausin, Eisenbarth, King, Kandek, Ullrich, Skoudis, Lee, R., M.,M.,J.,W.,J.,E.,R. (2009, September 09). The top cyber security risks. Retrieved from http://www.sans.org/top-cyber-security-risks/ Aitoro, J. (2010, August 17). Employees still pose biggest security threat, survey finds. Retrieved from http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100817_1347.php Bishop, M., & Irvine, C. (2010). Call in the cyber national guard! IEEE Computer and Privacy, 8(1), Retrieved from http://www.computer.org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/portal/web/csdl/abs/html/mags/sp/2010/01/msp2010010056.htm Clarke, R.A. (2010). Cyber war: the next threat to national security and what to do about it. New York, NY: Ecco.

Essay on My Perfect Dream Vacation Theres No Place Like...

My Perfect Dream Vacation: Theres No Place Like Home Almost everyone has their own idea of a dream vacation. Its the perfect place to get away from the reality of every day life and the stress that goes along with it, and the choices and ideas of the â€Å"perfect vacation† are as varied as the people who dream about them. Some fantasize about lazing on a warm, sunny beach with soft ocean breezes and a cold exotic drink at their side. Some dream of forests and wildlife, cool running streams, and fresh mountain air that is thick with the scent of pine. There are those whose ideas of the perfect dream vacation involves the thrill of stock car racing mixed with the roar of the crowd, the smell of fuel and hot asphalt thats†¦show more content†¦Scented candles are a must and will add a relaxing atmosphere to any pampering session. All that serious pampering is sure to work up a bit of an appetite so now its time for a light lunch. If you have planned your meal times in advance then there are no worries about what to fix, or where to go if you planned on eating out. If not, just decide what you would like to eat at the moment and go from there. There, really, is no right or wrong when you vacation at home. Once lunch is over, its time to just sit back and let all your cares and worries drift away, while you escape into pleasant daydreams. My perfect vacation takes place during the warm summer months so a hammock in the back yard is the perfect place for daydreaming. There is nothing more relaxing than lying in a hammock under a shade tree while the gentle breeze of summer drifts over you and your mind wanders, either lost in carefree thought or traveling through the pages of your favorite book. If you dont have a shade tree or a back yard, or if your vacation takes place during a cold time of year, a ny comfortable place where you can sit back and relax will work. 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