Current Issues on Bullying Essay

In all actuality I really think what’s causing children to bully and fight each other at school and when there is no authority taking place these days is because the media! Children watch TV and most have access to the internet every day. The shooting and violent video games they play are teaching and brain washing are kids to think and react the way they are now. The only way possible to cut down on bullying is to have parents that care. Have parents’ that are watching and knowing their children’s every day lives and what goes on in them. Just by asking â€Å"how was your day† shows your child that you are interested in what went on who’s who and what’s what. There is also a new way of what we call cyber bulling in this day and age, no longer is it in the school yard but now in your child’s bedroom with the door closed and him/her taking the punches and stabs while you don’t even know it. My mother as a child would always monitor my internet usage and what websites I would go on and who I would be communicating with at all times. I thank her f or that because I could have been a victim of cyber bullying. What kids don’t seem to understand is the ones who are doing the bullying it is so easy to sit at their computer and type the words not knowing what the other person that is being bullied is going through or feeling or expressions. So in closing I feel that where the correction starts on kids bulling is in the home and with the parents one on one always in the â€Å"know†. Sometimes its good to be the childs friend so they can always have a mom/dad to tell them when they are feeling angry, hostile or even being the one who’s being hurt.

Marketing the public libraries

This website bases its maps from the surveys conducted by the 2005 American community survey (http://www. nkca. ucla. edu). It explains what the survey is about which is to collect housing, demographic and socioeconomic data. This is done from the US households. The website highlights the fact that the American Community Survey (ACS) replaced the decennial census. It also points out that the ACS is more advantageous than the decennial census because it is conducted every year instead of every ten years (http://www. nkca. ucla. edu).The website also makes known the year that ACS was implemented which is 2005. It goes ahead to name those who were involved in the pilot project that involved special tabulations of geographies. It also notes that the center for neighborhood knowledge ensures that the knowledge is availed to the public. It also highlights the uses of the data gotten by the ACS and this includes developing as well as refining policies and also programs, supplement the data gotten from other sources and also to help in identifying the needs of the community and also prioritizing these needs.ACS has a vision of working with the Bureau of the Census to annually update their information. Albright K. S. May/June 2004 ENVIROMENTAL SCANNING RADAR FOR SUCCESS Information Management Journal Summary In this journal, the writer starts off by noting the importance of success in any organization. Albright goes ahead to explain what environmental scanning is and why it is done. She identifies the relationship that is found among the environment, markets and strategic planning in an organization.Once an organization has looked into its internal environment, it then looks at the external environment. The writer goes ahead and gives the reasons for this environmental scanning which are to â€Å"focus on customers, suppliers and competitors and their intricate relationships†(Albright K. S. 2004). There is an explanation of how environmental scanning works. It co nducts a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. This helps the organization in analyzing the community, which is the environment, and also helps it know how to advertise their services.The writer ends by identifying any barriers to effective environmental scanning. Marketing Plan 1. Kassel, A. 1999. How to Write a Marketing Plan (Vol. 13 no. 5). Retrieved on 13th Sept 2007 from http://infotoday. com/mls/jun99/how-to. htm Summary In this volume, Kassel identifies why the libraries have been forced to go for marketing in the effort to increase their amount of money they make and also their client base. This is because their biggest competitor is the Internet, which is deemed more convenient by students and researchers.The writer goes ahead to identify and outline seven steps that are necessary in the creation of a marketing plan. She outlines them in the following sequence: â€Å"prepare a mission statement, list and describe target or niche markets, descri be your services, spell out marketing and promotional strategies, identify and understand the competition, establish marketing goals that are quantifiable and finally monitor your results carefully†(http://infotoday. com).She goes ahead to give some tips and hints to those who are new to marketing. She urges them to concentrate on getting long-term customers, know why customers come back, to be focused on their targets and not waste their efforts with non-targets, to be persistent and prepared and finally to be never afraid of failure as it is bound to happen and when it does, the strategy used needs to be changed. The writer ends by assuming that this outline is actually a success plan. 2. Summey T.P If You Build it Will They Come? Creating a Marketing Plan for Distance Learning Library Services- 2004. The Haworth Press Inc. In this volume, Summey acknowledges the importance of people especially the distant students and also the â€Å"brand identity† which refers to a lot including services provided by the library in the expansion of library services people’s importance in the success of library services expansion (Summey, 2004). The writer goes ahead to explain what is a marketing plan and how it is created.The writer also identifies the objective of a marketing plan as being identification of marketing issues, development of goals and finally how to measure progress. The budget is also included in the plan; the plan is to consist of â€Å"the mission statement, library or community analysis, goals and objectives, marketing strategy and methods to evaluate results† (Summey, 2004). The plan is to begin with an executive summary, the table of content, a SEDT analysis, a description of the market, mission and vision, goals and objectives, implementation and finally assessment and evaluation.

The Tenth Amendment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Tenth Amendment - Research Paper Example Without the Tenth Amendment, the Federal Government can actually dictate all the states’ behavior and laws, and the Founding Fathers did not want a remote, strange power to rule them over from afar. As much as possible, they wanted to retain their local laws; the ones that they made specifically for themselves. However, after several years and loopholes, the idea of preserving the local laws against the powers of the federal government has changed. Many people want to secede the Tenth Amendment because the Federal Government is still on everyone’s lives even if the Tenth Amendment is still on effect. History of the Tenth Amendment To better understand the modern-day issue of the Tenth Amendment, one should look back at its roots and check out the reasons why it has been added in the Bill of Rights. One should remember that there was no United States before, only states (colonies) that were under the British Empire, and they rebelled together. These thirteen colonies gai ned their independence from the British Empire on July 2, 1776. Now as soon as they declared independence, these thirteen colonies immediately became sovereign states. ... It was Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who proposed to Congress on June 6, 1776 that â€Å"That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.† During the summer of 1777, the Congress studied the plan and the bill was ratified and formally adopted by Congress on November 1977. This was now known as the Articles of Confederation. With this article, each state had to choose whether or not it wants to be a part of the new Union or not. On March 1, 1781, Maryland was the last state to join the Union and has ratified the article. Thus, on that date, the thirteen states became one nation. The major reason why the people took so long to decide whether or not they want to become part of the Union was their fear of losing their local rights to a new government, which is now â€Å"national†. One must understand that they were just freed from an imperialist government, and they were tentative about forming a ne w one, for the fear making another tyrannical government that they will help create. Thus, they made an effort to control the powers of their new government. The Founding Fathers included this statement in the Articles of Confederation as the Article II: â€Å"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.† With this article, the Founding Fathers made it clear that they only wanted the Central Government to have limited power. However, this new form of government was so weak that it can’t even collect taxes that it eventually dissolved. In lieu of that, they made the Constitution of the United States. Like the Articles, the Constitution

Napoleon Bonaparte Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Napoleon Bonaparte - Research Paper Example This research paper describes life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Many historians appreciate and acknowledge Napoleon as one of the best and great men of all time. He was ruler of the French who strengthened and institutionalized a lot of restructuring of the French Revolution, that occurred during 1789 to 1799. Napoleon, even today, is considered to be one of the best military commanders of all time. This research pape is very well-structured and divided in 6 parts. The researche focuses most on describing Napoleon Bonaparte’s place in history, explores his controversial status as a hero or a villain, described Napoleon Bonaparte's years at St. Bernard and also deeply analyzed the biggest mistake in his life - the Russian Campaign. In this research paper full presentation on the Russian Campaign is given. It mentiones some important facts, such as Napoleon's confidence that he would win, the number of troops he had, war strategies that was used both by him and by Russians and his defeat. In conclusion of this research paper, author states that without the changes that Napoleon brought into effect in many countries, these nations might still be in the national devastation that they were prior to Napoleon taking over. The French revolution aroused and floated new ideas pertaining to parity, justice, liberty, and the very nature of social contact. Author concludes that the heroic efforts of Napoleon not only in battle, but also in the French society as a result of the French revolution should be remembered forever.

Check and Balance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Check and Balance - Assignment Example Furthermore, the contribution of his followers towards his narcissism and the effect of the same would also come under discussion. Lastly, the paper would also shed some light on what sort of organizational check and balances were missing in that situation. There are many proofs, which help us to reach the conclusion that Steve Jobs is a narcissist when it comes to leadership style, some of them are discussed below. First, Jobs appears to be one of the most overrated CEOs of the century. His attempts to capture the media, web, literature, telling schools what to teach and what not to teach and others, suggest that he is trying to catch more attention than he deserves (Maccoby, 2004). Second, jobs appeared to be satisfying one of the major criteria of narcissist leaders as they saw the bigger picture, and always moved forward with a vision in mind. Since these people focus on their own selves, they can always see the bigger picture rather than breaking things into small bits to understand them (Maccoby, 2004). Steve stands true on this criterion. Since the day one, he knew what is he was going to do with apple. He changed his title from interim CEO to iCEO indicating that he will work on iPhones and iPods (Gillam, 2008). Third, according to the official figures, Steve owns almost 6.1 billion US dollars and his name occurs in the list of top 50 wealthiest Americans, yet when it comes to corporate philanthropy, his record is one of the poorest compared to other billionaires. Furthermore, he also eliminated the corporate philanthropy division at Apple in 1997 and it has not been more restored until yet (Gallo, 2009).  

AGING IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN CANADA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

AGING IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN CANADA - Essay Example This author intends to reveal how the Canadian socioeconomic structure exploits immigrant women for their tax contributions, while depriving them of necessary health benefits to live quality lives. The author’s thesis in this study is to asses the facts supporting the life-cycle theory, which basically asserts that most immigrants are young upon arrival to this Canada, and there presence in Canada benefits native-born Canadians through a tax transfer system. The author’s research confirms the theory through the assessment of 1981 Canadian Census of Population data, and comparing the consumption of major public services to the payment of taxes by average immigrants and non-immigrant households. In this study, the authors seek to find if there is a pattern revealing that there is a double-Negative effect on the Earnings of Immigrant women. By double negative effect the authors are refereeing to a direct correlation between twice as low income for individuals who are both women and immigrants in Canada. They do find these two social stigmas to be a factor, but the patter does not stay consistent across the board, considering highly educated women, and immigrant men who they find are virtually exempt form this type of dual prejudice. Boyd, Monica, and Deanne Pikkov. "Gendering MIgration, Livelihood and ENtitlement: Migrant WOmen in Canada and the United States." United Nations Research INstitute for Social Development os (2005): 1-56. 3 June 2007 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~boydmon/files/research_papers/OP6_Boyd_Pikkov.pdf The authors assess the conditions of economic appropriation for immigrants within Canada and the United States. The research is basically done for the United Nations. The sum of their research concludes that while both the United States and Canada encourage immigrants to come to their country, it is often for jobs of which they are extensively over qualified. They find this leads many

A Comparison of the Education System in China and the USA Research Paper

A Comparison of the Education System in China and the USA - Research Paper Example It would be easier for working parents and provide children with a better education. The summer break often creates a situation that what has been learned the year before is not successfully retained, thus much of the next year is spent reviewing what had already been taught. This wastes time and children suffer for nostalgia for a system that no longer has a specific purpose. Another reason that this system prevails is that communities have complete control of their school systems, only complying with federal standards where financial incentives put pressure on the districts. Education is not universally standardized from one community to the next, thus there is no nationally recognized conformity. Certain standards are expected and assessed through tests which allow federal funds to become available, but the systems are still autonomous (Ravitch 105). The American systems are burdened by this autonomy with each community having a different set of expectations and standards that mus t then be set into a position to conform to state and then federal systems in order to qualify for funding that supplements the community’s own funding for the schools. While this helps community schools to have structure, it does not standardize education across that nation. This creates wide disparities from one educational system to the next. Pressures on students in American schools is most often assessed through per pressures as students compete in the social setting, immaterial to academic achievement. Students do not take their academic achievement near as seriously as the social pressures within their classes and their social structure creates classifications that stereotype each individual student’s experience.... This paper approves that both systems would benefit from a reconstruction of the way in which education is approached. Both systems tend to focus on the needs that the state puts forth for student achievement, rather than the purposes of education. The systems require cultural adjustments to how education is perceived. Both systems are subject to social beliefs that hamper the true purpose of education which is to increase the intellectual responses that students have to the world. Because of being stuck in cultural morays that dictate belief systems that are focused solely on financial success, a great loss of potential is experienced as the end is seen as the only goal, rather than the journey towards that end. Culture is getting in the way of meaningful learning. This essay makes a conclusion that while greatly diverse in cultural systems, the Chinese and the American school systems suffer from similar results that come from very different sources. The problems with the education in both systems are defined by the failures of the cultures to assess the true needs of students as they head towards the future. While the Chinese culture supports a more realistic foundation of the needs of success, the American system allows for the pursuit of more individuated goals and experimentation with outside activities. The nature of education, however, the ability to become resources for innovation towards a better future is stunted in both systems as students face pressures that are not about academics, but about beliefs that are defined by social pressure.

FEDERAL EXPRESS MODULE 1 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FEDERAL EXPRESS MODULE 1 SLP - Essay Example e the nature of the operations given the newfound understanding of operations management and productivity, and identify the strategy or global strategy of Federal Express. Federal Express operates under a variety of names depending on the product or service that the particular brand name provides. These include FedEx Corporation, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services Solutions and Technology, FedEx Trade Networks, FedEx SmartPost, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services, and FedEx Global Supply Chain Services. The company’s main line of business is shipping (Federal Express 2008). This paper will focus on the shipping services provided by Federal Express. According to the Federal Express website (2008, pg. 1), â€Å"The modern air/ground express industry was pioneered with the founding of Federal Express in 1971; the corporation was created in 1998 as FDX Corporation and became FedEx Corporation in January 2000.† The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and is led by CEO Frederick W. Smith. It has been listed on the NYSE as FDX since 1978 and pulled in $35.2 billion in revenue in 2007. Over 290,000 employees work for the company worldwide. The average daily volume for the company is â€Å"more than 7.5 million shipments for express, ground, freight and expedited delivery services ,† the service area covers, â€Å"more than 220 countries and territories, including every address in the United States,† and fedex.com sees, â€Å"over 15 million unique visitors monthly; more than 3 million package tracking requests daily and 15 million packages shipped via FedEx Ship Manager monthly† (Federal Express 2008). The company is already going global at a strong rate. Not only do they have locations in Canada, Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, but they also service a list of countries that is way too big to list in this paper. It appears that they have a very strong global strategy,

High Schools in Australia and China Essay Example for Free

High Schools in Australia and China Essay High schools play an important role in teenager education. Each country pays high attention on it, so they try their best to improve the high school education system. Because of different cultures, high schools have many differences in various countries. For example, comparing high schools in Australia and China, there are several similarities and differences in three areas, including the teaching styles, the curriculum, and the time spent. First of all, the teaching styles in high schools between Australia and China have a similarity, but they have many differences. The similarity is that both Australian and Chinese teachers expect students to ask questions and contribute to discussions, and they ask students who break the rules to leave class and wait outside as a punishment. However, teaching styles in China and Australia have many differences. Chinese teachers stand in front of the classroom during the class, while the Australian teachers move around the room and sit on the tables. Moreover, sometimes Australian teachers have class outdoors. Whenever Chinese teachers call the students, they use the full name, but the Australian teachers use the first name. The students in Australian who have a various table arrangements sit more free than the Chinese students, for Chinese students usually sit in a steady desk arrangement. The main reason causing these differences is that Chinese classroom atmosphere is formal and strict; however, Australian atmosphere is relaxed and informal. On the other hand, the curriculum in China is completely different from Australian. One difference is that they have various subjects. The academic subjects in China are English, Chinese, and Math, although the Australian is English. Chinese students usually choose the English as the second language, but Australian chooses the Japanese. After that, another difference is the exams. For instance, Chinese students have to attend the Senior High School Entrance Examination and the College Entrance Examination, in which they can pass into the senior high schools and universities; nevertheless, Australian students only have exams at years from ten to twelve. Finally, a comparison of time spent between two countries receives several similarities as much as the differences. Some arrangements in Australia are the same as the Chinese. For example, the students go to school from Monday to Friday; furthermore, they have physical education at least one hundred minutes, like the sport time every week. Then two countries both divide high school years into junior years and senior years. In China years from seven to nine are junior years; in contrast, years from ten to twelve are senior years. However, in Australia years from seven to ten are junior, though the years after ten are senior years. Every year Australia has four terms, while china has two. And Australian students spent about six and a half hours at school; still, Chinese students stay at school for nine hours. To sum up, it is clear that high school education various from China to Australia in three different areas, even though they have some similarities. China and Australia have their own history and culture so that they create their own education system. However, each system has advantages which are better than others.

Causes of Chronic Migraines

Causes of Chronic Migraines Headache is pain in any part of the head that can occur suddenly or gradually and produce a varying amount of pain; in fact, it is the most common form of pain in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Headache is often divided into two categories, primary and secondary (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). A primary headache is one that is due to the headache itself, it is not caused by another problem (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). The three types of primary headache include tension headaches, cluster headaches, and migraine headaches (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Secondary headaches, on the other hand, are headaches that are caused by something else (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Examples of secondary headaches include headaches from an illness, headaches from a medication, sinus headaches, cervicogenic headaches (which are headaches related to an underlying neck condition, like degenerative disc disease), and headache due to a brain tumor or aneurysm (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Migraine headaches are one of the most common forms of headache (Davanzo, Bua, Paloni, Facchina, 2014). Migraines are considered a neurological condition (Schwedt, 2014; Silberstein, 2014). They often manifest as recurrent attacks of throbbing, frequently unilateral headaches with associated features, including: nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012; Schwedt, 2014). Migraines can be further subdivided into episodic or chronic (Schwedt, 2014). Episodic migraine sufferers have less than 15 headache days a month, whereas chronic sufferers have at least 15 headache days a month for at least three months, and at least eight headaches that have symptoms consistent with a full-blown migraine attack (Ferrari, 2013; Schwedt, 2014). Chronic migraine is a common disorder; it impacts people during their most productive years of life, has tremendous costs to the individual and society, and is associated with a variety of comorbid disorders (Schwedt, 2014). Chronic migraine typically develop through a process called migraine transformation, which is a slow increase in the frequency of headaches, usually over a period of months to years (Schwedt, 2014). Chronic migraine is diagnosed based on the patient’s symptoms by excluding other causes of headache (Schwedt, 2014). A general physical and neurological exam should be performed on each patient and attention should be paid to the patient’s neck, shoulders, temporal artery pulses, and tempromandibular joint; if any abnormalities are found on the neurological exam, a secondary headache should be suspected and the patient should undergo further evaluation (Schwedt, 2014). Many risk factors are associated with a higher likelihood of transformation from episo dic to chronic migraine and include obesity, excessive caffeine intake, low socioeconomic status, and major life changes like marriage or divorce, to name a few (Schwedt, 2014). Common conditions comorbid with chronic migraine include other neurological disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and cerebrovascular disease (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012; Schwedt, 2014). Compared to people with episodic migraines, patients with chronic migraine are twice as likely to have certain psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder (Schwedt, 2014). The pathophysiology of chronic migraine is complicated and not fully understood (Schwedt, 2014). It was once believed that migraines were simply a swelling of the blood vessels in the brain (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012). More recent experiments have shown that swelling of the meninges and/or extracranial arteries is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause migraine pain (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012). While such swelling is certainly often found during migraines, migraines are no longer assumed to be exclusively a disorder of blood vessels; rather, there are data to suggest that chronic migraine is associated with progressive brain changes, both in brain structure and brain function (Ferrari, 2013; Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012). Atypical modulation of pain is suspected to play a role in the transformation from episodic to chronic migraine by reducing the inhibition of pain in the regions of the descending pain modulatory pathway in the brain (Schwedt, 2014). Neuroimaging studies of patie nts with chronic migraine have shown both atypical structures of pain processing and atypical pain processing in the brain (Schwedt, 2014). Regions of the brain that participate in sensory discrimination, affect, and the cognitive appraisal of pain are also atypical in migraine sufferers (Schwedt, 2014; Silberstein, 2014). Many studies have found correlations among the extent of these abnormalities and the frequency and severity of migraine headaches, suggesting that these abnormalities could be precursor to the transformation from episodic to chronic migraine (Schwedt, 2014), but more research is necessary to determine the exact role and mechanism of these abnormalities. The trigemininovasular system is currently considered one of the major players in the role of chornic migraine (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012; Schwedt, 2014). The trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve in the body and is the main sensory nerve in the head (Fix Brueckner, 2009). Some researchers believe that the musculature around the trigeminal nerve branches become irritated, which leads to the swelling and pain caused by migraine headaches (Kurlander, Punjabi, Liu, Sattar, Guyuon, 2013). Presently it is speculated that a sensitization of the trigeminal system that innervates cranial tissues, specifically the meninges (which often swell during migraine attacks) leads to a lower threshold for activation (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 2012; Schwedt, 2014). A lower threshold for activation means the system becomes activated more easily, which leads to more migraine attacks, and more migraine attacks therefore increase the likelihood of a chronic migraine diagnosis (Pietrobon Moskowitz, 20 12; Schwedt, 2014). Another line of research that is currently being investigated is cortical hyperexcitability (Schwedt, 2014). The human nervous system is composed of billions of synapses and neurons functioning as part of a large, highly specializes system (Fix Brueckner, 2009). All aspects of behavior are informed by the nervous system, and it can rudimentarily be broken down into excitatory and inhibitory components that facilitate the communication among different neurotransmitters in the brain to determine the level of inhibition of excitation of each response (Fix Brueckner, 2009). Excitation in the brain is mainly associated with the neurotransmitter glutamate (Fix Brueckner, 2009). Recent transcranial magnetic stimulation studies on patients with chronic migraine have shown cortical hyperexcitability, particularly in the occipital cortex of the brain. The occipital cortex is associated with vision, and this makes sense to researchers as visual auras are often associated with migraine attack s (Fix Brueckner, 2009; Schwedt, 2014). A neurotransmitter of interest, particularly with the beginning phase of a migraine attack, is dopamine (Charles, 2012). Some research has shown that dopamine receptor agonists administered to patients produce some of the same symptoms that are experienced by migraine sufferers at the beginning of an attack (Charles, 2012). Conversely, dopamine receptor antagonists administered to patients can reverse those symptoms and have even been suggested to have the ability to prevent the onset of additional migraine attacks (Charles, 2012). While the exact role of dopamine in chronic migraine is unknown, it is certainly an interesting line of future study. Treatments for chronic migraine range from trigger identification and avoidance to risk-factor modification, and include both pharmacological and nonpharmacological components (Schwedt, 2014). A discussion of each type of treatment and the variety of treatments within is beyond the scope of this review, however, some of the most common pharmacological treatments will be highlighted. Pharmacological treatment for migraines can be divided into two categories: abortive drugs, which stop a headache after onset, and prophylactic drugs, which are taken on a regular basis to prevent the onset of a migraine (Davanzo et al., 2014). Those who suffer from chronic migraine are often on a prophylactic regimen, due to the intensity and severity of the headaches (Davanzo et al., 2014). While many drugs are used for chronic migraine prophylaxis, it is important to note that many are prescribed off label; in fact, the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic migraine is onabotulinumtoxinA (Schwedt, 2014). OnabotulinumtoxinA, more commonly known as Botox, has been popularized as a series of small injections in the face that reduce the appearance of crow’s feet and frown lines (Oliver, MacDonald, Rajwani, 2006). However, the injections are also used to treat chronic migraine (Schwedt, 2014). Botox is part of a class of medications called neurotoxins (Fix Brueckner, 2009). It has no direct effect on the central nervous system because it cannot penetrate the blood brain barrier, however, it can have some important indirect effects on the central nervous system (Fix Brueckner, 2009; Oliver, MacDonald, Rajwani, 2006). When used to treat chronic migraine, Botox is injected into different muscles in the face to block the nerve signals to those muscles (Fix Brueckner, 2009; Oliver, MacDonald, Rajwani, 2006). Specifically, Botox has been shown to inhibit sensitizations of central trigeminal nerves, which was previously discussed regarding the pathophysiology of chronic migraine (Ol iver, MacDonald, Rajwani, 2006). Triptans are another common class of drugs used for chronic migraine prophylaxis (Davanzo et al., 2014). Triptans are serotonin receptor agonists, meaning they bind to serotonin and increase the response of serotonin at the site of action (Davanzo et al., 2014; Fix Brueckner, 2009). Triptans have a vasoconstriction action on blood vessels, meaning they shrink the size of blood vessels, which is helpful in reducing the pain of migraines some of which can be attributed to swollen blood vessels in the brain (Davanzo et al., 2014). However, the desired effect of vasoconstriction is not limited to just the brain and also constricts other blood vessels, including those in the heart (Davanzo et al., 2014). As a result, patients with any coronary disease should use care when taking triptans (Davanzo et al., 2014). The most commonly prescribed triptan medication is Sumatriptan and is available in multiple forms including pills, injections, and intranasal spray (Davanzo et al., 2014). The inj ections and intranasal spray reach the brain more quickly and are therefore faster acting than the pill which must first get absorbed into the blood stream to take effect (Davanzo et al., 2014). Beta blockers, originally used for the treatment of hypertension and angina, are also often used for migraine prophylaxis (Davanzo et al., 2014). The beta part of beta blockers refers to receptors on blood vessels that are called beta receptors (Fix Brueckner, 2009). Therefore, beta blockers prevent the interaction of certain chemicals with this receptor (Fix Brueckner, 2009). The most commonly prescribed beta blocker for chronic migraine is Propranolol (Davanzo et al., 2014). Propranolol is likely successful in preventing migraine headaches by blocking beta adrenergic receptors, which inhibits swelling of arteries. Additionally, Propranolol may also exhibit its effect by preventing the platelets (the sticky elements of the blood) from sticking together and releasing substances that caused the blood vessels to constrict and dilate. A concern with pharmacological treatment of chronic migraine is the development of medication overuse headaches. These occur when a migraine sufferer uses migraine drugs too frequently, and develops a secondary headache as a result of the medication use (Schwedt, 2014). The treatment includes a drug withdrawal phase, during which time the patient would have to stop taking medication for his migraine or take a medication with different mechanism of action to allow the overused drug to leave his system (Schwedt, 2014). This response is paradoxical because sufferers of chronic migraine often rely on pharmacological treatments to alleviate their pain, but if they take too much they will actually end up exacerbating their pain. About half of chronic migraine sufferers are treated for medication overuse headaches at some point (Schwedt, 2014). A brief overview of the criteria for diagnosis, hypothesized pathophysiology, and pharmacology for the treatment of chronic migraine has been discussed. While there is still much to learn about the pathophysiology of chronic migraine, recent research has increased the understanding and opened up new areas of research to bring scientists closer to a more comprehensive understanding. While many data indicate that chronic migraine is a debilitating condition with great intensity and duration of headaches, and often lead to lost productivity and high costs on society (Schwedt, 2014), there are prophylactic and abortive drugs that can greatly ameliorate the problems caused by migraines. With attention to and modification of risk factors, often in addition to appropriate adherence to these medications, migraine sufferers can live normal, productive lives.

Not All Conspiracies are Imaginary Essay -- Conspiracy Theory Theories

Not All Conspiracies are Imaginary Almost as an article of faith, some individuals believe that conspiracies are either kooky fantasies or unimportant aberrations. To be sure, wacko conspiracy theories do exist. There are people who believe that the United States has been invaded by a secret United Nations army equipped with black helicopters, or that the country is secretly controlled by Jews or gays or feminists or black nationalists or communists or extraterrestrial aliens. But it does not logically follow that all conspiracies are imaginary. Conspiracy is a legitimate concept in law: the collusion of two or more people pursuing illegal means to effect some illegal or immoral end. People go to jail for committing conspiratorial acts. Conspiracies are a matter of public record, and some are of real political significance. The Watergate break-in was a conspiracy, as was the Watergate cover-up, which led to Nixon's downfall. Iran-contra was a conspiracy of immense scope, much of it still uncovered. The savings and loan scandal was described by the Justice Department as "a thousand conspiracies of fraud, theft, and bribery," the greatest financial crime in history. Conspiracy or Coincidence? Often the term "conspiracy" is applied dismissively whenever one suggests that people who occupy positions of political and economic power are consciously dedicated to advancing their elite interests. Even when they openly profess their designs, there are those who deny that intent is involved. In 1994, the officers of the Federal Reserve announced they would pursue monetary policies designed to maintain a high level of unemployment in order to safeguard against "overheating" the economy. Like any creditor class, they preferred a deflationary course. When an acquaintance of mine mentioned this to friends, he was greeted skeptically, "Do you think the Fed bankers are deliberately trying to keep people unemployed?" In fact, not only did he think it, it was announced on the financial pages of the press. Still, his friends assumed he was imagining a conspiracy because he ascribed self-interested collusion to powerful people. At a World Affairs Council meeting in San Francisco, I remarked to a participant that U.S. leaders were pushing hard for the reinstatement of capitalism in the former communist countries. He said, "Do yo... ...; Wade was quickly contradicted from the audience by Jack Ruby, who claimed that Oswald was a member of the leftish Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Del Valle, who was one of several people that New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison sought out in connection with the JFK assassination, was killed the same day that Dave Ferrie, another suspect met a suspicious death. When found in Miami, del Valle's body showed evidence of having been tortured, bludgeoned, and shot. 3 The bankers of the Federal Reserve System print paper money, then lend it to the government at an interest. Kennedy signed an executive order issuing over $4 billion in currency notes through the U.S. Treasury, thus bypassing the Fed's bankers and the hundreds of millions of dollars in interest that would normally be paid out to them. These "United States Notes" were quickly withdrawn after JFK's assassination. 4 See Mark Lane, Plausible Denial; Was the CIA Involved in the Assassination of JFK? (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1991). For testimony of another participant see Robert Morrow: First Hand Knowledge: How I Participated in the CIA-Mafia Murder of President Kennedy (New York: S.P.I. Books, 1992).

Microsoft: Trust or Antitrust? :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Microsoft: Trust or Antitrust? "Oh, come on, just trust me." Those six simple words have been the pleadings of many when, for whatever reason, they find themselves in a situation, where others don't give their actions or claims any credibility. They have nothing left to fall upon, except the hope that they can be thought of as trustworthy, and that others are willing to give them an opportunity. This is the situation Microsoft has found itself in, and in response, they have launched "Trustworthy Computing," a campaign to help gain credibility and respect in the marketplace. Why, you might ask, is a company that controls 90 percent of its market worried about public perception? Why would such a major influence in the computer industry shut down production of new software, in an attempt to correct countless errors? Why did Bill Gates hire Wieden and Kennedy, the advertising agency that gave us such things as the Nike Swoosh, to change Microsoft's public image? It is because the people at Microsoft have realized that consumers use their software not because they want to, but because they have no other choice. As I sit here writing my paper in Microsoft Word, listening to a CD play in Windows Media Player, surfing the internet for sources in Microsoft Internet Explorer, all parts of my Windows XP setup, it might seem that Microsoft has itself entrenched in my life and that of the computer industry. Yet, the powers that be at Microsoft aren't just sitting around watching their MS Office licensing fees come in, they've sounded the alarm. "There must have been a moment of crisis, either they were feeling insecure, or Microsoft was putting pressure on them," Erik Adigard, a former consultant for Microsoft, suggests. The root of the problem may be, as Sara Basse observed, "Programmers and system designers are often overconfident too, and do not give enough thought to the potential consequences of errors or poor design." Those oversights are the reason that Microsoft shut down most of its production of programs, and instead shifted resources to correct bugs and errors in pre-existing programs. One might then, wonder why Microsoft has sold programs with errors, and instead of taking the time to correct the mistakes of past versions, they have moved on to completely new concepts. It appears that Microsoft has gotten the message from its consumers. They have begun unprecedented disclosures of their codes to their competitors, so that they are better able to integrate their programs into Windows.

Changes to the set context due to the system Essay

There will obviously have to be some changes to how the cinema is run because of ICT and the system. The system will have to be maintained and it will also have to be prioritised over other methods of advertising. The reason for this is because, this will soon probably become the most efficient and most used method to find out facts about the cinema. This is going to change many things in the cinema. The cinema is going to hire people who can manage websites and know how ICT works and are willing t put in extra effort to improve and maintain their improvements to the system. It is likely that someone is going to loose their job because of the switch from so called analogue to technological devices. The new posts will require candidates who have had experience with basic technical devices and know how things work. Therefore I believe that when coming to choose these new candidates we will soon realise the difference in job profiles and the different experiences which the candidates will have. The switch to technological devices will most defiantly see new posts created and jobs lost, but this is for the advantage to some and the disadvantage to others. The new kind of devices which could be introduced to the set context could be things like; 1. New tills 2. Bar code readers 3. Bar codes 4. Printing machines 5. New computer systems 6. New programs These are just a few of the things which might be changed because of the effect of ICT. The old people may not know how to operate the new devices, and it will probably be more worth while for the company to introduce a fresh face to the cinema with new staff who can carry out the tasks which the old were performing and also have the advantage over the old ones because of their knowledge on technical devices. The old staff may be reliable and worthy of their job, so the cinema might decide to offer training to certain individuals. This is a possibility for the cinema if they don’t want to loose some of their employees. The cinema also has to think about the fact that training is more expensive then replacing the old staff with new staff. It would be easier to do this, but the cinema doesn’t know how reliable the new staff may be. This could be an issue to think about. They might have all the knowledge but they might not be willing to work as hard of as efficiently as the old staff. This could affect business in a strong way. There are two possibilities; 1. Replacing the current staff 2. Training the current staff The system which I my self have created is a major fact to be considered in this decision on what to do with the staff. It is more then likely that new staff will have to be introduced to maintain the site or staff can be trained to do it. The current staff may have a small amount of experience with computers and different types of systems, but I believe that the new system which I have created for advertisement is completely different. The kind of things which have to be done to maintain and update the system is completely different to using the current system. The staff needs to learn how to use new programs and operate FTP programs. It is possible to offer new posts for certain jobs and to keep some of the posts which are already at the cinema. The new posts could be offered to the people who can do things which others can’t. For example, maintaining the system. The kind of jibs which can be kept would be selling tickets and refreshments. These are just a few of the changes which can be made. Training can be offered to those on the tills so that they can adjust to the new system. The reason why it is a good idea to keep some of the old staff and to get some new staff is because, if the majority of your staff are dismissed because they don’t know how to use technical devices then there is going to be a certain amount of anger towards the cinema, and this could potentially ruin the name of the company.

John Pope Paul Iii Movie Reflection

December 9, 2010 Reflection on Pope John Paul II movie I found the movie Pope John Paul II very interesting and spiritually moving. God tells us in the bible that following him is not free of tribulation. He comforts by telling us he will not put anything against us that we cannot overcome. Sacrifice is one the key ingredients that comes with following the Lord. Pope John Paul II is a wonderful role model to follow when it comes to sacrifice. When the Nazis were trying to put an end to religion Karol was busy studying Gods word. By doing this, he is willing to sacrificing his life, because if he was caught he would be killed.He spent much of his younger years with friends, teaching them about human dignity and God. Before his Cardinal Years Karol sacrificed having a wife and children so that he could follow his passion for the Catholic religion and become a priest. After many years he was elected Cardinal and then Pope of Poland. Another moral issue in this film is the commitment of many mortal sins. Murder is the main sin seen throughout the movie. The Nazi’s wanted the polish to be miserable and gave them little freedom. If anyone was found rebelling against their strict laws they would be beaten and killed.This sin is repeated numerous times a day, and in great numbers. Even after the war died down murder wasn’t over. This is seen When Pope John Paul II life was unexpectedly put in danger when someone shot at him while he was making an appearance in public. Pope John Paul II fought for his life and continued to try and bring peace among people. All in all this movie is a wonderful example of what it means to follow Christianity. Pope John Paul II is a delightful man who brought a sense of comfort with him when speaking to the people. I found this movie very enjoyable and would recommend it to many people.

Odwalla Case Essay

Odwalla Incorporate is known for high quality products and it takes pride in the way the juices are made. However, with E. coli crisis it has become extremely difficult to maintain that standard unless Odwalla designs a proper strategy to counter the effect. I will help you design a communication strategy for each stakeholder to emerge from this crisis, regain loyalty and improve brand image. Odwalla must take full ownership of this crisis and communicate to its stakeholders about the recall process, quality assurance policies and steps taken to resolve the issue. The timing and the process is extremely important to communicate effectively. Below are the list of key issues and the communication strategies for each stakeholder that will help get through this crisis. KEY ISSUES Some of the key issues that Odwalla face because of the E. coli breakout are: †¢Determining communication strategy to respond in the crisis †¢Identifying pasteurizing methods to maintain the same taste and quality †¢Maintaining current core competency – use of minimal production processes to deliver superior taste and nutritional values †¢Researching side effects of adding chlorine, as suggested by a quality assurance manager †¢Identifying ways to provide safe products in future †¢Identifying ways to maintain the customer loyalty †¢Identifying strategy to regain stakeholders’ faith †¢Handling lawsuits from affected consumers These issues will affect the company’s future business operations. Therefore, Odwalla must take immediate action to contain the breakout and find solution to avoid re-occurrence in future. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR EACH STAKEHOLDER Odwalla must communicate with all of its stakeholders. The following are the communication strategies for the nine most important Odwalla stakeholders – the affected customers, the public, the employees, the crisis management committee, the distributors, the retailers, the suppliers, the officials, and the shareholders/investors. Affected Customers †¢Apologize immediately and take full responsibility for the crisis to the affected consumers by contacting them by phone or paying a visit †¢Guarantee appropriate measures will be taken to fix the issue †¢Send condolences letters to all consumers who are affected by consuming the Odwalla juice and compensate them for medical costs and hardship Public †¢Launch TV, Radio and Internet advertisements to inform everybody about the crisis and seek apology †¢Regain consumer’s confidence by assuring that this issue will be resolved soon †¢Arrange factory tours for public assurance Employees †¢Call in for all-employee meeting to explain the crisis and ask employees for ideas to pasteurize the products by maintaining same taste †¢Send out a memo to all employees requesting them to contact crisis management committee with ideas and inquiries †¢Instruct all employees to direct any questions or inquiries from media to Internal communication department Crisis management committee †¢Identify the batch numbers of the affected products †¢Quarantine all the affected products †¢Develop the recovery plan and review with officials before implementation Distributors †¢Send memos to distributors with batch numbers and ask them to recall the products and freeze any supply going to the retailer †¢Tell distributors to dispose all the products matching the batch numbers given to them Retailers †¢Send memos to retailers with batch number and ask them to recall the affected products. †¢Work with retailers for any customer re-funds requests Suppliers †¢Suspend receiving of all the supplies from the suppliers †¢Ask suppliers to look for E. coli in their supplies and urge them to take appropriate actions †¢Discuss with supplier for ideas and methods to avoid any contamination even before the products get to Odwalla facility Officials †¢Communicate openly with the health agencies and law officials by cooperating with the investigation process †¢Explain the recovery plan developed by crisis management committee †¢Get certified for the process from the health agencies Shareholders/Investors †¢Call for immediate Board of director meeting and explain the crisis, recovery plan and cost of fixing the crisis NEXT STEP Odwalla must take immediate action to avoid damage to customer’s confidence level and lose faith in stakeholders. In order to resolve the issue quickly Odwalla must take following important steps: †¢Identify the contaminated batch numbers †¢Quarantine the contaminated products †¢Communicate with all stakeholders †¢Find the root-cause of contamination †¢Implement the solution from root-cause analysis †¢Get approval from health agencies †¢Keep consumers updated via advertisements – TV, Radio, Newspapers and Flyers †¢Organize factory tour for customer satisfaction FINAL WORDS Odwalla must communicate immediately by enforcing the communication strategies. The consequences for not communicating effectively are worse and will affect from losing customers to long lawsuits and filing bankruptcy. It will be very challenging to find a solution that will maintain the same taste and not to have pasteurized the products. However, you will find smart and effective ways of communicating with stakeholders in this memo that will not only help Odwalla regain the lost glory but also avoid any adverse implications. With every Core Competencies, there are rewards and crisis. Odwalla must embrace this crisis as a lesson learned and use this experience to come up with new tools and technologies for production process and live up to its vision: â€Å"Odwalla’s vision has always been to nourish people everywhere with the ineffably honest art and rhythm of nature’s offerings. We live on the principle of respect for our consumers who rely on us for consistent quality in taste and nourishment and respect for the earth on which we rely for holistic nourishment† I would like you to consider my communication strategies and be calm and patient in handling the crisis. Please feel free to contact me for any questions you may have.

Impacts Of Poverty On Student’s Achievement Essay

Poverty is an issue faced by more children in our nation. Children face problems related to poverty during their schooling. The price that children pay out of poverty is incredibly high than anyone can imagine. Each year, schools admit large numbers of children with needs brought about by poverty which is an issue that the school is usually not prepared to deal with. Poverty is a risk factor in the process of student’s education. This paper examines the impacts of poverty on teaching and learning which determines the student’s academic achievement. The concept of being at risk This term refers to students who are faced by life’s social circumstances such as poverty that puts them at risk of underachieving in school. There are many risk factors which increases the chances of a student to failure. However poverty is regarded a major risk factor due to its compound effect. Some of the factors that are related to poverty and put a student at greater risk of failing include, very young parents, unemployment, low educational level parents, substance abuse, exposure to inadequate or improper educational experiences, dangerous neighborhood, mobility, abuse and neglect as well as homelessness. (Gromard, 2003) These factors affect the physical status of the children as in dressing, the type of food they eat, their personal effects are usually of low quality or cheap. The physical disparities in among the students cause a wide gap between the poor students and their peers from middle or upper class families. Sometimes the isolation of this group of students is automatic in that they themselves assume that others do not want to associate with them. Teachers may also contribute in perceiving students in accordance to their social classes. This is however a rare case because teachers are professionals. Nevertheless, there are some instances that the teacher may talk about an issue in the process of teaching and unintentionally touch the students from poverty stricken families. For example in studying population, the teacher may teach about demographics of poverty which is inevitable. This students may change their attitude towards the teacher and hence the subject. (Knapps, Shields, & Clementina, 2001) High mobility is a symptom associated with poverty in connection to other surrounding factors. Students who come from poor families may live in daily or monthly rent houses. This is makes them to move day in day out as their parents look for jobs or runs away from problems like abusive spouses, financial responsibilities or criminal records. This kind of situation may also put the poor family homeless. The conditions they live in affect their education achievement. This result from the emotional impact that moving impacts on children. The children also are forced to join new schools occasionally where they may find it very difficult to adapt. When this factor combines with other issues related to poverty, overwhelming effects on the students’ social, emotional and cognitive development are experienced. Students from poor families attend school irregularly. Transfers to new schools are a routine which brings about difficulty in socialization with new friends in the new school. This may make the student to become either withdrawn or hostile due to their experiences in their past attempts to make friends. The student may therefore develop an attitude of ‘why bother’ with regard to both social and academic aspect schooling as they will after all be moving soon. Due to the various reasons of moving, which are often abrupt, the student come to the new school without records from their previous school which makes it difficult for the school to track the records. As a result, teachers lack the slightest idea of what the student have or haven’t leant. It is a big challenge for the school to place the new students in a class and provide them with the additional services they may require. Even when the school succeeds in placing the new students in class and providing these services, these students will likely move within the school year. It is also difficult for teachers to teach these kinds of students something valuable as they rarely concentrate. Children from poor families become aware of the social economic classes that exist in the society at a very tender age. They grow being aware of their own class and that of their peers which make them to develop a class related attitude as early as in their elementary schooling years. This attitude id carried on throughout their lives in school. Inferiority complex or aggressiveness may be the end result of this effect of poverty in the student’s life. However teachers can help children build up caring and sensitivity towards various cultures including social classes. Lessons and activities in the school should be designed on how children perceive the world and themselves during the different stages of development. For example at the age of eleven, children can comfortably reflect on the causes and solutions to poverty. Achievement gap Achievement gap is the difference in academic achievement between children from various groups or classes in relation to ethnic, income or race. The achievement of students is generally lower than that of middle and upper classes. However at lower levels, children of poverty achieve more than their peers from well to do families. Children from low income families have more in their minds than quizzes, homework or extracurricular activities. As pointed out earlier in this work some may have spent their nights in the streets due to homelessness, at camps or compounds of their friends or relatives. Therefore they are often engaged in thinking about where they will spend that night as well as caring about their parents who go through hardships trying to look for a living for the family. This affects their concentration in class and other school activities hence affect their performance academically as well as socially. (Brown, 2000) The reason for variation in achievement of students is determined by the social environment the students come from and the education that they receive in school. Poverty influences the quality of student’s learning behaviors, their past experiences with education, home environment and sometimes the teacher’s attitude which greatly affect the individual student performance. Students from poor or low income families are generally worried too much about themselves. They usually feel out of place when interacting with children in other social classes. They may feel that the society is unfair by placing them in poverty. The students may decline from participating in class activities and this affects their learning in school. As proposed by Salvin 2001, schools impact on students’ academic achievements are powerful and the success of all the students regardless of their social economic class depend on the teachers’ perception of these students as at promise rather than at risk and at the same time preparing them to get to their full potentials in life. A good education that is focused is usually the only means of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty for the poor children. These children require an education founded in high standards with high expectation for all. The curriculum should be aligned to ensure that a meticulous and assessment go hand in hand with the standards. The curriculum should avoid a decrease in opportunities for the students from the poor background. What usually takes place in the classroom has influence on the achievement of the students and hence teachers should be careful when passing information to students. (Plumber, 2004) The teacher should avoid at all costs any activity that may discriminate students from poor backgrounds. The content of education should be of value and cultural relevant. Teachers should be aware that the instructional and classroom management methods do not necessarily work well for poor students. The teachers can help in closing the achievement gap.

Angels Demons Chapter 7073

As soon as they’d arrived, Chinita and Glick had seen a veritable army of young men pour out of the Alpha Romeos and surround the church. Some had weapons drawn. One of them, a stiff older man, led a team up the front steps of the church. The soldiers drew guns and blew the locks off the front doors. Macri heard nothing and figured they must have had silencers. Then the soldiers entered. Chinita had recommended they sit tight and film from the shadows. After all, guns were guns, and they had a clear view of the action from the van. Glick had not argued. Now, across the piazza, men moved in and out of the church. They yelled to each other. Chinita adjusted her camera to follow a team as they searched the surrounding area. All of them, though dressed in civilian clothes, seemed to move with military precision. â€Å"Who do you think they are?† she asked. â€Å"Hell if I know.† Glick looked riveted. â€Å"You getting all this?† â€Å"Every frame.† Glick sounded smug. â€Å"Still think we should go back to Pope-Watch?† Chinita wasn’t sure what to say. There was obviously something going on here, but she had been in journalism long enough to know that there was often a very dull explanation for interesting events. â€Å"This could be nothing,† she said. â€Å"These guys could have gotten the same tip you got and are just checking it out. Could be a false alarm.† Glick grabbed her arm. â€Å"Over there! Focus.† He pointed back to the church. Chinita swung the camera back to the top of the stairs. â€Å"Hello there,† she said, training on the man now emerging from the church. â€Å"Who’s the dapper?† Chinita moved in for a close-up. â€Å"Haven’t seen him before.† She tightened in on the man’s face and smiled. â€Å"But I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.† Robert Langdon dashed down the stairs outside the church and into the middle of the piazza. It was getting dark now, the springtime sun setting late in southern Rome. The sun had dropped below the surrounding buildings, and shadows streaked the square. â€Å"Okay, Bernini,† he said aloud to himself. â€Å"Where the hell is your angel pointing?† He turned and examined the orientation of the church from which he had just come. He pictured the Chigi Chapel inside, and the sculpture of the angel inside that. Without hesitation he turned due west, into the glow of the impending sunset. Time was evaporating. â€Å"Southwest,† he said, scowling at the shops and apartments blocking his view. â€Å"The next marker is out there.† Racking his brain, Langdon pictured page after page of Italian art history. Although very familiar with Bernini’s work, Langdon knew the sculptor had been far too prolific for any nonspecialist to know all of it. Still, considering the relative fame of the first marker – Habakkuk and the Angel – Langdon hoped the second marker was a work he might know from memory. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, he thought. Earth they had found – inside the Chapel of the Earth – Habakkuk, the prophet who predicted the earth’s annihilation. Air is next. Langdon urged himself to think. A Bernini sculpture that has something to do with Air! He was drawing a total blank. Still he felt energized. I’m on the path of Illumination! It is still intact! Looking southwest, Langdon strained to see a spire or cathedral tower jutting up over the obstacles. He saw nothing. He needed a map. If they could figure out what churches were southwest of here, maybe one of them would spark Langdon’s memory. Air, he pressed. Air. Bernini. Sculpture. Air. Think! Langdon turned and headed back up the cathedral stairs. He was met beneath the scaffolding by Vittoria and Olivetti. â€Å"Southwest,† Langdon said, panting. â€Å"The next church is southwest of here.† Olivetti’s whisper was cold. â€Å"You sure this time?† Langdon didn’t bite. â€Å"We need a map. One that shows all the churches in Rome.† The commander studied him a moment, his expression never changing. Langdon checked his watch. â€Å"We only have half an hour.† Olivetti moved past Langdon down the stairs toward his car, parked directly in front of the cathedral. Langdon hoped he was going for a map. Vittoria looked excited. â€Å"So the angel’s pointing southwest? No idea which churches are southwest?† â€Å"I can’t see past the damn buildings.† Langdon turned and faced the square again. â€Å"And I don’t know Rome’s churches well enou – † He stopped. Vittoria looked startled. â€Å"What?† Langdon looked out at the piazza again. Having ascended the church stairs, he was now higher, and his view was better. He still couldn’t see anything, but he realized he was moving in the right direction. His eyes climbed the tower of rickety scaffolding above him. It rose six stories, almost to the top of the church’s rose window, far higher than the other buildings in the square. He knew in an instant where he was headed. Across the square, Chinita Macri and Gunther Glick sat glued to the windshield of the BBC van. â€Å"You getting this?† Gunther asked. Macri tightened her shot on the man now climbing the scaffolding. â€Å"He’s a little well dressed to be playing Spiderman if you ask me.† â€Å"And who’s Ms. Spidey?† Chinita glanced at the attractive woman beneath the scaffolding. â€Å"Bet you’d like to find out.† â€Å"Think I should call editorial?† â€Å"Not yet. Let’s watch. Better to have something in the can before we admit we abandoned conclave.† â€Å"You think somebody really killed one of the old farts in there?† Chinita clucked. â€Å"You’re definitely going to hell.† â€Å"And I’ll be taking the Pulitzer with me.† 71 The scaffolding seemed less stable the higher Langdon climbed. His view of Rome, however, got better with every step. He continued upward. He was breathing harder than he expected when he reached the upper tier. He pulled himself onto the last platform, brushed off the plaster, and stood up. The height did not bother him at all. In fact, it was invigorating. The view was staggering. Like an ocean on fire, the red-tiled rooftops of Rome spread out before him, glowing in the scarlet sunset. From that spot, for the first time in his life, Langdon saw beyond the pollution and traffic of Rome to its ancient roots – Citt di Dio – The city of God. Squinting into the sunset, Langdon scanned the rooftops for a church steeple or bell tower. But as he looked farther and farther toward the horizon, he saw nothing. There are hundreds of churches in Rome, he thought. There must be one southwest of here! If the church is even visible, he reminded himself. Hell, if the church is even still standing! Forcing his eyes to trace the line slowly, he attempted the search again. He knew, of course, that not all churches would have visible spires, especially smaller, out-of-the-way sanctuaries. Not to mention, Rome had changed dramatically since the 1600s when churches were by law the tallest buildings allowed. Now, as Langdon looked out, he saw apartment buildings, high-rises, TV towers. For the second time, Langdon’s eye reached the horizon without seeing anything. Not one single spire. In the distance, on the very edge of Rome, Michelangelo’s massive dome blotted the setting sun. St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican City. Langdon found himself wondering how the cardinals were faring, and if the Swiss Guards’ search had turned up the antimatter. Something told him it hadn’t†¦ and wouldn’t. The poem was rattling through his head again. He considered it, carefully, line by line. From Santi’s earthly tomb with demon’s hole. They had found Santi’s tomb. ‘Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold. The mystic elements were Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The path of light is laid, the sacred test. The path of Illumination formed by Bernini’s sculptures. Let angels guide you on your lofty quest. The angel was pointing southwest†¦ â€Å"Front stairs!† Glick exclaimed, pointing wildly through the windshield of the BBC van. â€Å"Something’s going on!† Macri dropped her shot back down to the main entrance. Something was definitely going on. At the bottom of the stairs, the military-looking man had pulled one of the Alpha Romeos close to the stairs and opened the trunk. Now he was scanning the square as if checking for onlookers. For a moment, Macri thought the man had spotted them, but his eyes kept moving. Apparently satisfied, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. Almost instantly, it seemed an army emerged from the church. Like an American football team breaking from a huddle, the soldiers formed a straight line across the top of the stairs. Moving like a human wall, they began to descend. Behind them, almost entirely hidden by the wall, four soldiers seemed to be carrying something. Something heavy. Awkward. Glick leaned forward on the dashboard. â€Å"Are they stealing something from the church?† Chinita tightened her shot even more, using the telephoto to probe the wall of men, looking for an opening. One split second, she willed. A single frame. That’s all I need. But the men moved as one. Come on! Macri stayed with them, and it paid off. When the soldiers tried to lift the object into the trunk, Macri found her opening. Ironically, it was the older man who faltered. Only for an instant, but long enough. Macri had her frame. Actually, it was more like ten frames. â€Å"Call editorial,† Chinita said. â€Å"We’ve got a dead body.† Far away, at CERN, Maximilian Kohler maneuvered his wheelchair into Leonardo Vetra’s study. With mechanical efficiency, he began sifting through Vetra’s files. Not finding what he was after, Kohler moved to Vetra’s bedroom. The top drawer of his bedside table was locked. Kohler pried it open with a knife from the kitchen. Inside Kohler found exactly what he was looking for. 72 Langdon swung off the scaffolding and dropped back to the ground. He brushed the plaster dust from his clothes. Vittoria was there to greet him. â€Å"No luck?† she said. He shook his head. â€Å"They put the cardinal in the trunk.† Langdon looked over to the parked car where Olivetti and a group of soldiers now had a map spread out on the hood. â€Å"Are they looking southwest?† She nodded. â€Å"No churches. From here the first one you hit is St. Peter’s.† Langdon grunted. At least they were in agreement. He moved toward Olivetti. The soldiers parted to let him through. Olivetti looked up. â€Å"Nothing. But this doesn’t show every last church. Just the big ones. About fifty of them.† â€Å"Where are we?† Langdon asked. Olivetti pointed to Piazza del Popolo and traced a straight line exactly southwest. The line missed, by a substantial margin, the cluster of black squares indicating Rome’s major churches. Unfortunately, Rome’s major churches were also Rome’s older churches†¦ those that would have been around in the 1600s. â€Å"I’ve got some decisions to make,† Olivetti said. â€Å"Are you certain of the direction?† Langdon pictured the angel’s outstretched finger, the urgency rising in him again. â€Å"Yes, sir. Positive.† Olivetti shrugged and traced the straight line again. The path intersected the Margherita Bridge, Via Cola di Riezo, and passed through Piazza del Risorgimento, hitting no churches at all until it dead-ended abruptly at the center of St. Peter’s Square. â€Å"What’s wrong with St. Peter’s?† one of the soldiers said. He had a deep scar under his left eye. â€Å"It’s a church.† Langdon shook his head. â€Å"Needs to be a public place. Hardly seems public at the moment.† â€Å"But the line goes through St. Peter’s Square,† Vittoria added, looking over Langdon’s shoulder. â€Å"The square is public.† Langdon had already considered it. â€Å"No statues, though.† â€Å"Isn’t there a monolith in the middle?† She was right. There was an Egyptian monolith in St. Peter’s Square. Langdon looked out at the monolith in the piazza in front of them. The lofty pyramid. An odd coincidence, he thought. He shook it off. â€Å"The Vatican’s monolith is not by Bernini. It was brought in by Caligula. And it has nothing to do with Air.† There was another problem as well. â€Å"Besides, the poem says the elements are spread across Rome. St. Peter’s Square is in Vatican City. Not Rome.† â€Å"Depends who you ask,† a guard interjected. Langdon looked up. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Always a bone of contention. Most maps show St. Peter’s Square as part of Vatican City, but because it’s outside the walled city, Roman officials for centuries have claimed it as part of Rome.† â€Å"You’re kidding,† Langdon said. He had never known that. â€Å"I only mention it,† the guard continued, â€Å"because Commander Olivetti and Ms. Vetra were asking about a sculpture that had to do with Air.† Langdon was wide-eyed. â€Å"And you know of one in St. Peter’s Square?† â€Å"Not exactly. It’s not really a sculpture. Probably not relevant.† â€Å"Let’s hear it,† Olivetti pressed. The guard shrugged. â€Å"The only reason I know about it is because I’m usually on piazza duty. I know every corner of St. Peter’s Square.† â€Å"The sculpture,† Langdon urged. â€Å"What does it look like?† Langdon was starting to wonder if the Illuminati could really have been gutsy enough to position their second marker right outside St. Peter’s Church. â€Å"I patrol past it every day,† the guard said. â€Å"It’s in the center, directly where that line is pointing. That’s what made me think of it. As I said, it’s not really a sculpture. It’s more of a†¦ block.† Olivetti looked mad. â€Å"A block?† â€Å"Yes, sir. A marble block embedded in the square. At the base of the monolith. But the block is not a rectangle. It’s an ellipse. And the block is carved with the image of a billowing gust of wind.† He paused. â€Å"Air, I suppose, if you wanted to get scientific about it.† Langdon stared at the young soldier in amazement. â€Å"A relief!† he exclaimed suddenly. Everyone looked at him. â€Å"Relief,† Langdon said, â€Å"is the other half of sculpture!† Sculpture is the art of shaping figures in the round and also in relief. He had written the definition on chalkboards for years. Reliefs were essentially two-dimensional sculptures, like Abraham Lincoln’s profile on the penny. Bernini’s Chigi Chapel medallions were another perfect example. â€Å"Bassorelievo?† the guard asked, using the Italian art term. â€Å"Yes! Bas-relief!† Langdon rapped his knuckles on the hood. â€Å"I wasn’t thinking in those terms! That tile you’re talking about in St. Peter’s Square is called the West Ponente – the West Wind. It’s also known as Respiro di Dio.† â€Å"Breath of God?† â€Å"Yes! Air! And it was carved and put there by the original architect!† Vittoria looked confused. â€Å"But I thought Michelangelo designed St. Peter’s.† â€Å"Yes, the basilica!† Langdon exclaimed, triumph in his voice. â€Å"But St. Peter’s Square was designed by Bernini!† As the caravan of Alpha Romeos tore out of Piazza del Popolo, everyone was in too much of a hurry to notice the BBC van pulling out behind them. 73 Gunther Glick floored the BBC van’s accelerator and swerved through traffic as he tailed the four speeding Alpha Romeos across the Tiber River on Ponte Margherita. Normally Glick would have made an effort to maintain an inconspicuous distance, but today he could barely keep up. These guys were flying. Macri sat in her work area in the back of the van finishing a phone call with London. She hung up and yelled to Glick over the sound of the traffic. â€Å"You want the good news or bad news?† Glick frowned. Nothing was ever simple when dealing with the home office. â€Å"Bad news.† â€Å"Editorial is burned we abandoned our post.† â€Å"Surprise.† â€Å"They also think your tipster is a fraud.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"And the boss just warned me that you’re a few crumpets short of a proper tea.† Glick scowled. â€Å"Great. And the good news?† â€Å"They agreed to look at the footage we just shot.† Glick felt his scowl soften into a grin. I guess we’ll see who’s short a few crumpets. â€Å"So fire it off.† â€Å"Can’t transmit until we stop and get a fixed cell read.† Glick gunned the van onto Via Cola di Rienzo. â€Å"Can’t stop now.† He tailed the Alpha Romeos through a hard left swerve around Piazza Risorgimento. Macri held on to her computer gear in back as everything slid. â€Å"Break my transmitter,† she warned, â€Å"and we’ll have to walk this footage to London.† â€Å"Sit tight, love. Something tells me we’re almost there.† Macri looked up. â€Å"Where?† Glick gazed out at the familiar dome now looming directly in front of them. He smiled. â€Å"Right back where we started.† The four Alpha Romeos slipped deftly into traffic surrounding St. Peter’s Square. They split up and spread out along the piazza perimeter, quietly unloading men at select points. The debarking guards moved into the throng of tourists and media vans on the edge of the square and instantly became invisible. Some of the guards entered the forest of pillars encompassing the colonnade. They too seemed to evaporate into the surroundings. As Langdon watched through the windshield, he sensed a noose tightening around St. Peter’s. In addition to the men Olivetti had just dispatched, the commander had radioed ahead to the Vatican and sent additional undercover guards to the center where Bernini’s West Ponente was located. As Langdon looked out at the wide-open spaces of St. Peter’s Square, a familiar question nagged. How does the Illuminati assassin plan to get away with this? How will he get a cardinal through all these people and kill him in plain view? Langdon checked his Mickey Mouse watch. It was 8:54 P.M. Six minutes. In the front seat, Olivetti turned and faced Langdon and Vittoria. â€Å"I want you two right on top of this Bernini brick or block or whatever the hell it is. Same drill. You’re tourists. Use the phone if you see anything.† Before Langdon could respond, Vittoria had his hand and was pulling him out of the car. The springtime sun was setting behind St. Peter’s Basilica, and a massive shadow spread, engulfing the piazza. Langdon felt an ominous chill as he and Vittoria moved into the cool, black umbra. Snaking through the crowd, Langdon found himself searching every face they passed, wondering if the killer was among them. Vittoria’s hand felt warm. As they crossed the open expanse of St. Peter’s Square, Langdon sensed Bernini’s sprawling piazza having the exact effect the artist had been commissioned to create – that of â€Å"humbling all those who entered.† Langdon certainly felt humbled at the moment. Humbled and hungry, he realized, surprised such a mundane thought could enter his head at a moment like this. â€Å"To the obelisk?† Vittoria asked. Langdon nodded, arching left across the piazza. â€Å"Time?† Vittoria asked, walking briskly, but casually. â€Å"Five of.† Vittoria said nothing, but Langdon felt her grip tighten. He was still carrying the gun. He hoped Vittoria would not decide she needed it. He could not imagine her whipping out a weapon in St. Peter’s Square and blowing away the kneecaps of some killer while the global media looked on. Then again, an incident like that would be nothing compared to the branding and murder of a cardinal out here. Air, Langdon thought. The second element of science. He tried to picture the brand. The method of murder. Again he scanned the sprawling expanse of granite beneath his feet – St. Peter’s Square – an open desert surrounded by Swiss Guard. If the Hassassin really dared attempt this, Langdon could not imagine how he would escape. In the center of the piazza rose Caligula’s 350-ton Egyptian obelisk. It stretched eighty-one feet skyward to the pyramidal apex onto which was affixed a hollow iron cross. Sufficiently high to catch the last of the evening sun, the cross shone as if magic†¦ purportedly containing relics of the cross on which Christ was crucified. Two fountains flanked the obelisk in perfect symmetry. Art historians knew the fountains marked the exact geometric focal points of Bernini’s elliptical piazza, but it was an architectural oddity Langdon had never really considered until today. It seemed Rome was suddenly filled with ellipses, pyramids, and startling geometry. As they neared the obelisk, Vittoria slowed. She exhaled heavily, as if coaxing Langdon to relax along with her. Langdon made the effort, lowering his shoulders and loosening his clenched jaw. Somewhere around the obelisk, boldly positioned outside the largest church in the world, was the second altar of science – Bernini’s West Ponente – an elliptical block in St. Peter’s Square. Gunther Glick watched from the shadows of the pillars surrounding St. Peter’s Square. On any other day the man in the tweed jacket and the woman in khaki shorts would not have interested him in the least. They appeared to be nothing but tourists enjoying the square. But today was not any other day. Today had been a day of phone tips, corpses, unmarked cars racing through Rome, and men in tweed jackets climbing scaffolding in search of God only knew what. Glick would stay with them. He looked out across the square and saw Macri. She was exactly where he had told her to go, on the far side of the couple, hovering on their flank. Macri carried her video camera casually, but despite her imitation of a bored member of the press, she stood out more than Glick would have liked. No other reporters were in this far corner of the square, and the acronym â€Å"BBC† stenciled on her camera was drawing some looks from tourists. The tape Macri had shot earlier of the naked body dumped in the trunk was playing at this very moment on the VCR transmitter back in the van. Glick knew the images were sailing over his head right now en route to London. He wondered what editorial would say. He wished he and Macri had reached the body sooner, before the army of plainclothed soldiers had intervened. The same army, he knew, had now fanned out and surrounded this piazza. Something big was about to happen. The media is the right arm of anarchy, the killer had said. Glick wondered if he had missed his chance for a big scoop. He looked out at the other media vans in the distance and watched Macri tailing the mysterious couple across the piazza. Something told Glick he was still in the game†¦ Angels Demons Chapter 7073 As soon as they’d arrived, Chinita and Glick had seen a veritable army of young men pour out of the Alpha Romeos and surround the church. Some had weapons drawn. One of them, a stiff older man, led a team up the front steps of the church. The soldiers drew guns and blew the locks off the front doors. Macri heard nothing and figured they must have had silencers. Then the soldiers entered. Chinita had recommended they sit tight and film from the shadows. After all, guns were guns, and they had a clear view of the action from the van. Glick had not argued. Now, across the piazza, men moved in and out of the church. They yelled to each other. Chinita adjusted her camera to follow a team as they searched the surrounding area. All of them, though dressed in civilian clothes, seemed to move with military precision. â€Å"Who do you think they are?† she asked. â€Å"Hell if I know.† Glick looked riveted. â€Å"You getting all this?† â€Å"Every frame.† Glick sounded smug. â€Å"Still think we should go back to Pope-Watch?† Chinita wasn’t sure what to say. There was obviously something going on here, but she had been in journalism long enough to know that there was often a very dull explanation for interesting events. â€Å"This could be nothing,† she said. â€Å"These guys could have gotten the same tip you got and are just checking it out. Could be a false alarm.† Glick grabbed her arm. â€Å"Over there! Focus.† He pointed back to the church. Chinita swung the camera back to the top of the stairs. â€Å"Hello there,† she said, training on the man now emerging from the church. â€Å"Who’s the dapper?† Chinita moved in for a close-up. â€Å"Haven’t seen him before.† She tightened in on the man’s face and smiled. â€Å"But I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.† Robert Langdon dashed down the stairs outside the church and into the middle of the piazza. It was getting dark now, the springtime sun setting late in southern Rome. The sun had dropped below the surrounding buildings, and shadows streaked the square. â€Å"Okay, Bernini,† he said aloud to himself. â€Å"Where the hell is your angel pointing?† He turned and examined the orientation of the church from which he had just come. He pictured the Chigi Chapel inside, and the sculpture of the angel inside that. Without hesitation he turned due west, into the glow of the impending sunset. Time was evaporating. â€Å"Southwest,† he said, scowling at the shops and apartments blocking his view. â€Å"The next marker is out there.† Racking his brain, Langdon pictured page after page of Italian art history. Although very familiar with Bernini’s work, Langdon knew the sculptor had been far too prolific for any nonspecialist to know all of it. Still, considering the relative fame of the first marker – Habakkuk and the Angel – Langdon hoped the second marker was a work he might know from memory. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, he thought. Earth they had found – inside the Chapel of the Earth – Habakkuk, the prophet who predicted the earth’s annihilation. Air is next. Langdon urged himself to think. A Bernini sculpture that has something to do with Air! He was drawing a total blank. Still he felt energized. I’m on the path of Illumination! It is still intact! Looking southwest, Langdon strained to see a spire or cathedral tower jutting up over the obstacles. He saw nothing. He needed a map. If they could figure out what churches were southwest of here, maybe one of them would spark Langdon’s memory. Air, he pressed. Air. Bernini. Sculpture. Air. Think! Langdon turned and headed back up the cathedral stairs. He was met beneath the scaffolding by Vittoria and Olivetti. â€Å"Southwest,† Langdon said, panting. â€Å"The next church is southwest of here.† Olivetti’s whisper was cold. â€Å"You sure this time?† Langdon didn’t bite. â€Å"We need a map. One that shows all the churches in Rome.† The commander studied him a moment, his expression never changing. Langdon checked his watch. â€Å"We only have half an hour.† Olivetti moved past Langdon down the stairs toward his car, parked directly in front of the cathedral. Langdon hoped he was going for a map. Vittoria looked excited. â€Å"So the angel’s pointing southwest? No idea which churches are southwest?† â€Å"I can’t see past the damn buildings.† Langdon turned and faced the square again. â€Å"And I don’t know Rome’s churches well enou – † He stopped. Vittoria looked startled. â€Å"What?† Langdon looked out at the piazza again. Having ascended the church stairs, he was now higher, and his view was better. He still couldn’t see anything, but he realized he was moving in the right direction. His eyes climbed the tower of rickety scaffolding above him. It rose six stories, almost to the top of the church’s rose window, far higher than the other buildings in the square. He knew in an instant where he was headed. Across the square, Chinita Macri and Gunther Glick sat glued to the windshield of the BBC van. â€Å"You getting this?† Gunther asked. Macri tightened her shot on the man now climbing the scaffolding. â€Å"He’s a little well dressed to be playing Spiderman if you ask me.† â€Å"And who’s Ms. Spidey?† Chinita glanced at the attractive woman beneath the scaffolding. â€Å"Bet you’d like to find out.† â€Å"Think I should call editorial?† â€Å"Not yet. Let’s watch. Better to have something in the can before we admit we abandoned conclave.† â€Å"You think somebody really killed one of the old farts in there?† Chinita clucked. â€Å"You’re definitely going to hell.† â€Å"And I’ll be taking the Pulitzer with me.† 71 The scaffolding seemed less stable the higher Langdon climbed. His view of Rome, however, got better with every step. He continued upward. He was breathing harder than he expected when he reached the upper tier. He pulled himself onto the last platform, brushed off the plaster, and stood up. The height did not bother him at all. In fact, it was invigorating. The view was staggering. Like an ocean on fire, the red-tiled rooftops of Rome spread out before him, glowing in the scarlet sunset. From that spot, for the first time in his life, Langdon saw beyond the pollution and traffic of Rome to its ancient roots – Citt di Dio – The city of God. Squinting into the sunset, Langdon scanned the rooftops for a church steeple or bell tower. But as he looked farther and farther toward the horizon, he saw nothing. There are hundreds of churches in Rome, he thought. There must be one southwest of here! If the church is even visible, he reminded himself. Hell, if the church is even still standing! Forcing his eyes to trace the line slowly, he attempted the search again. He knew, of course, that not all churches would have visible spires, especially smaller, out-of-the-way sanctuaries. Not to mention, Rome had changed dramatically since the 1600s when churches were by law the tallest buildings allowed. Now, as Langdon looked out, he saw apartment buildings, high-rises, TV towers. For the second time, Langdon’s eye reached the horizon without seeing anything. Not one single spire. In the distance, on the very edge of Rome, Michelangelo’s massive dome blotted the setting sun. St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican City. Langdon found himself wondering how the cardinals were faring, and if the Swiss Guards’ search had turned up the antimatter. Something told him it hadn’t†¦ and wouldn’t. The poem was rattling through his head again. He considered it, carefully, line by line. From Santi’s earthly tomb with demon’s hole. They had found Santi’s tomb. ‘Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold. The mystic elements were Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The path of light is laid, the sacred test. The path of Illumination formed by Bernini’s sculptures. Let angels guide you on your lofty quest. The angel was pointing southwest†¦ â€Å"Front stairs!† Glick exclaimed, pointing wildly through the windshield of the BBC van. â€Å"Something’s going on!† Macri dropped her shot back down to the main entrance. Something was definitely going on. At the bottom of the stairs, the military-looking man had pulled one of the Alpha Romeos close to the stairs and opened the trunk. Now he was scanning the square as if checking for onlookers. For a moment, Macri thought the man had spotted them, but his eyes kept moving. Apparently satisfied, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. Almost instantly, it seemed an army emerged from the church. Like an American football team breaking from a huddle, the soldiers formed a straight line across the top of the stairs. Moving like a human wall, they began to descend. Behind them, almost entirely hidden by the wall, four soldiers seemed to be carrying something. Something heavy. Awkward. Glick leaned forward on the dashboard. â€Å"Are they stealing something from the church?† Chinita tightened her shot even more, using the telephoto to probe the wall of men, looking for an opening. One split second, she willed. A single frame. That’s all I need. But the men moved as one. Come on! Macri stayed with them, and it paid off. When the soldiers tried to lift the object into the trunk, Macri found her opening. Ironically, it was the older man who faltered. Only for an instant, but long enough. Macri had her frame. Actually, it was more like ten frames. â€Å"Call editorial,† Chinita said. â€Å"We’ve got a dead body.† Far away, at CERN, Maximilian Kohler maneuvered his wheelchair into Leonardo Vetra’s study. With mechanical efficiency, he began sifting through Vetra’s files. Not finding what he was after, Kohler moved to Vetra’s bedroom. The top drawer of his bedside table was locked. Kohler pried it open with a knife from the kitchen. Inside Kohler found exactly what he was looking for. 72 Langdon swung off the scaffolding and dropped back to the ground. He brushed the plaster dust from his clothes. Vittoria was there to greet him. â€Å"No luck?† she said. He shook his head. â€Å"They put the cardinal in the trunk.† Langdon looked over to the parked car where Olivetti and a group of soldiers now had a map spread out on the hood. â€Å"Are they looking southwest?† She nodded. â€Å"No churches. From here the first one you hit is St. Peter’s.† Langdon grunted. At least they were in agreement. He moved toward Olivetti. The soldiers parted to let him through. Olivetti looked up. â€Å"Nothing. But this doesn’t show every last church. Just the big ones. About fifty of them.† â€Å"Where are we?† Langdon asked. Olivetti pointed to Piazza del Popolo and traced a straight line exactly southwest. The line missed, by a substantial margin, the cluster of black squares indicating Rome’s major churches. Unfortunately, Rome’s major churches were also Rome’s older churches†¦ those that would have been around in the 1600s. â€Å"I’ve got some decisions to make,† Olivetti said. â€Å"Are you certain of the direction?† Langdon pictured the angel’s outstretched finger, the urgency rising in him again. â€Å"Yes, sir. Positive.† Olivetti shrugged and traced the straight line again. The path intersected the Margherita Bridge, Via Cola di Riezo, and passed through Piazza del Risorgimento, hitting no churches at all until it dead-ended abruptly at the center of St. Peter’s Square. â€Å"What’s wrong with St. Peter’s?† one of the soldiers said. He had a deep scar under his left eye. â€Å"It’s a church.† Langdon shook his head. â€Å"Needs to be a public place. Hardly seems public at the moment.† â€Å"But the line goes through St. Peter’s Square,† Vittoria added, looking over Langdon’s shoulder. â€Å"The square is public.† Langdon had already considered it. â€Å"No statues, though.† â€Å"Isn’t there a monolith in the middle?† She was right. There was an Egyptian monolith in St. Peter’s Square. Langdon looked out at the monolith in the piazza in front of them. The lofty pyramid. An odd coincidence, he thought. He shook it off. â€Å"The Vatican’s monolith is not by Bernini. It was brought in by Caligula. And it has nothing to do with Air.† There was another problem as well. â€Å"Besides, the poem says the elements are spread across Rome. St. Peter’s Square is in Vatican City. Not Rome.† â€Å"Depends who you ask,† a guard interjected. Langdon looked up. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Always a bone of contention. Most maps show St. Peter’s Square as part of Vatican City, but because it’s outside the walled city, Roman officials for centuries have claimed it as part of Rome.† â€Å"You’re kidding,† Langdon said. He had never known that. â€Å"I only mention it,† the guard continued, â€Å"because Commander Olivetti and Ms. Vetra were asking about a sculpture that had to do with Air.† Langdon was wide-eyed. â€Å"And you know of one in St. Peter’s Square?† â€Å"Not exactly. It’s not really a sculpture. Probably not relevant.† â€Å"Let’s hear it,† Olivetti pressed. The guard shrugged. â€Å"The only reason I know about it is because I’m usually on piazza duty. I know every corner of St. Peter’s Square.† â€Å"The sculpture,† Langdon urged. â€Å"What does it look like?† Langdon was starting to wonder if the Illuminati could really have been gutsy enough to position their second marker right outside St. Peter’s Church. â€Å"I patrol past it every day,† the guard said. â€Å"It’s in the center, directly where that line is pointing. That’s what made me think of it. As I said, it’s not really a sculpture. It’s more of a†¦ block.† Olivetti looked mad. â€Å"A block?† â€Å"Yes, sir. A marble block embedded in the square. At the base of the monolith. But the block is not a rectangle. It’s an ellipse. And the block is carved with the image of a billowing gust of wind.† He paused. â€Å"Air, I suppose, if you wanted to get scientific about it.† Langdon stared at the young soldier in amazement. â€Å"A relief!† he exclaimed suddenly. Everyone looked at him. â€Å"Relief,† Langdon said, â€Å"is the other half of sculpture!† Sculpture is the art of shaping figures in the round and also in relief. He had written the definition on chalkboards for years. Reliefs were essentially two-dimensional sculptures, like Abraham Lincoln’s profile on the penny. Bernini’s Chigi Chapel medallions were another perfect example. â€Å"Bassorelievo?† the guard asked, using the Italian art term. â€Å"Yes! Bas-relief!† Langdon rapped his knuckles on the hood. â€Å"I wasn’t thinking in those terms! That tile you’re talking about in St. Peter’s Square is called the West Ponente – the West Wind. It’s also known as Respiro di Dio.† â€Å"Breath of God?† â€Å"Yes! Air! And it was carved and put there by the original architect!† Vittoria looked confused. â€Å"But I thought Michelangelo designed St. Peter’s.† â€Å"Yes, the basilica!† Langdon exclaimed, triumph in his voice. â€Å"But St. Peter’s Square was designed by Bernini!† As the caravan of Alpha Romeos tore out of Piazza del Popolo, everyone was in too much of a hurry to notice the BBC van pulling out behind them. 73 Gunther Glick floored the BBC van’s accelerator and swerved through traffic as he tailed the four speeding Alpha Romeos across the Tiber River on Ponte Margherita. Normally Glick would have made an effort to maintain an inconspicuous distance, but today he could barely keep up. These guys were flying. Macri sat in her work area in the back of the van finishing a phone call with London. She hung up and yelled to Glick over the sound of the traffic. â€Å"You want the good news or bad news?† Glick frowned. Nothing was ever simple when dealing with the home office. â€Å"Bad news.† â€Å"Editorial is burned we abandoned our post.† â€Å"Surprise.† â€Å"They also think your tipster is a fraud.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"And the boss just warned me that you’re a few crumpets short of a proper tea.† Glick scowled. â€Å"Great. And the good news?† â€Å"They agreed to look at the footage we just shot.† Glick felt his scowl soften into a grin. I guess we’ll see who’s short a few crumpets. â€Å"So fire it off.† â€Å"Can’t transmit until we stop and get a fixed cell read.† Glick gunned the van onto Via Cola di Rienzo. â€Å"Can’t stop now.† He tailed the Alpha Romeos through a hard left swerve around Piazza Risorgimento. Macri held on to her computer gear in back as everything slid. â€Å"Break my transmitter,† she warned, â€Å"and we’ll have to walk this footage to London.† â€Å"Sit tight, love. Something tells me we’re almost there.† Macri looked up. â€Å"Where?† Glick gazed out at the familiar dome now looming directly in front of them. He smiled. â€Å"Right back where we started.† The four Alpha Romeos slipped deftly into traffic surrounding St. Peter’s Square. They split up and spread out along the piazza perimeter, quietly unloading men at select points. The debarking guards moved into the throng of tourists and media vans on the edge of the square and instantly became invisible. Some of the guards entered the forest of pillars encompassing the colonnade. They too seemed to evaporate into the surroundings. As Langdon watched through the windshield, he sensed a noose tightening around St. Peter’s. In addition to the men Olivetti had just dispatched, the commander had radioed ahead to the Vatican and sent additional undercover guards to the center where Bernini’s West Ponente was located. As Langdon looked out at the wide-open spaces of St. Peter’s Square, a familiar question nagged. How does the Illuminati assassin plan to get away with this? How will he get a cardinal through all these people and kill him in plain view? Langdon checked his Mickey Mouse watch. It was 8:54 P.M. Six minutes. In the front seat, Olivetti turned and faced Langdon and Vittoria. â€Å"I want you two right on top of this Bernini brick or block or whatever the hell it is. Same drill. You’re tourists. Use the phone if you see anything.† Before Langdon could respond, Vittoria had his hand and was pulling him out of the car. The springtime sun was setting behind St. Peter’s Basilica, and a massive shadow spread, engulfing the piazza. Langdon felt an ominous chill as he and Vittoria moved into the cool, black umbra. Snaking through the crowd, Langdon found himself searching every face they passed, wondering if the killer was among them. Vittoria’s hand felt warm. As they crossed the open expanse of St. Peter’s Square, Langdon sensed Bernini’s sprawling piazza having the exact effect the artist had been commissioned to create – that of â€Å"humbling all those who entered.† Langdon certainly felt humbled at the moment. Humbled and hungry, he realized, surprised such a mundane thought could enter his head at a moment like this. â€Å"To the obelisk?† Vittoria asked. Langdon nodded, arching left across the piazza. â€Å"Time?† Vittoria asked, walking briskly, but casually. â€Å"Five of.† Vittoria said nothing, but Langdon felt her grip tighten. He was still carrying the gun. He hoped Vittoria would not decide she needed it. He could not imagine her whipping out a weapon in St. Peter’s Square and blowing away the kneecaps of some killer while the global media looked on. Then again, an incident like that would be nothing compared to the branding and murder of a cardinal out here. Air, Langdon thought. The second element of science. He tried to picture the brand. The method of murder. Again he scanned the sprawling expanse of granite beneath his feet – St. Peter’s Square – an open desert surrounded by Swiss Guard. If the Hassassin really dared attempt this, Langdon could not imagine how he would escape. In the center of the piazza rose Caligula’s 350-ton Egyptian obelisk. It stretched eighty-one feet skyward to the pyramidal apex onto which was affixed a hollow iron cross. Sufficiently high to catch the last of the evening sun, the cross shone as if magic†¦ purportedly containing relics of the cross on which Christ was crucified. Two fountains flanked the obelisk in perfect symmetry. Art historians knew the fountains marked the exact geometric focal points of Bernini’s elliptical piazza, but it was an architectural oddity Langdon had never really considered until today. It seemed Rome was suddenly filled with ellipses, pyramids, and startling geometry. As they neared the obelisk, Vittoria slowed. She exhaled heavily, as if coaxing Langdon to relax along with her. Langdon made the effort, lowering his shoulders and loosening his clenched jaw. Somewhere around the obelisk, boldly positioned outside the largest church in the world, was the second altar of science – Bernini’s West Ponente – an elliptical block in St. Peter’s Square. Gunther Glick watched from the shadows of the pillars surrounding St. Peter’s Square. On any other day the man in the tweed jacket and the woman in khaki shorts would not have interested him in the least. They appeared to be nothing but tourists enjoying the square. But today was not any other day. Today had been a day of phone tips, corpses, unmarked cars racing through Rome, and men in tweed jackets climbing scaffolding in search of God only knew what. Glick would stay with them. He looked out across the square and saw Macri. She was exactly where he had told her to go, on the far side of the couple, hovering on their flank. Macri carried her video camera casually, but despite her imitation of a bored member of the press, she stood out more than Glick would have liked. No other reporters were in this far corner of the square, and the acronym â€Å"BBC† stenciled on her camera was drawing some looks from tourists. The tape Macri had shot earlier of the naked body dumped in the trunk was playing at this very moment on the VCR transmitter back in the van. Glick knew the images were sailing over his head right now en route to London. He wondered what editorial would say. He wished he and Macri had reached the body sooner, before the army of plainclothed soldiers had intervened. The same army, he knew, had now fanned out and surrounded this piazza. Something big was about to happen. The media is the right arm of anarchy, the killer had said. Glick wondered if he had missed his chance for a big scoop. He looked out at the other media vans in the distance and watched Macri tailing the mysterious couple across the piazza. Something told Glick he was still in the game†¦