Deception Point Page 1

Prologue Death, in this forsaken place, could come in countless forms. Geologist Charles Brophy had endured the savage splendor of this terrain for years, and yet nothing could prepare him for a fate as barbarous and unnatural as the one about to befall him. As Brophy's four huskies pulled his sled of geologic sensing equipment across the tundra, the dogs suddenly slowed, looking skyward. â€Å"What is it, girls?† Brophy asked, stepping off the sled. Beyond the gathering storm clouds, a twin-rotor transport helicopter arched in low, hugging the glacial peaks with military dexterity. That's odd, he thought. He never saw helicopters this far north. The aircraft landed fifty yards away, kicking up a stinging spray of granulated snow. His dogs whined, looking wary. When the chopper doors slid open, two men descended. They were dressed in full-weather whites, armed with rifles, and moved toward Brophy with urgent intent. â€Å"Dr. Brophy?† one called. The geologist was baffled. â€Å"How did you know my name? Who are you?† â€Å"Take out your radio, please.† â€Å"I'm sorry?† â€Å"Just do it.† Bewildered, Brophy pulled his radio from his parka. â€Å"We need you to transmit an emergency communique. Decrease your radio frequency to one hundred kilohertz.† One hundred kilohertz? Brophy felt utterly lost. Nobody can receive anything that low. â€Å"Has there been an accident?† The second man raised his rifle and pointed it at Brophy's head. â€Å"There's no time to explain. Just do it.† Trembling, Brophy adjusted his transmission frequency. The first man now handed him a note card with a few lines typed on it. â€Å"Transmit this message. Now.† Brophy looked at the card. â€Å"I don't understand. This information is incorrect. I didn't-â€Å" The man pressed his rifle hard against the geologist's temple. Brophy's voice was shaking as he transmitted the bizarre message. â€Å"Good,† the first man said. â€Å"Now get yourself and your dogs into the chopper.† At gunpoint, Brophy maneuvered his reluctant dogs and sled up a skid ramp into the cargo bay. As soon as they were settled, the chopper lifted off, turning westward. â€Å"Who the hell are you!† Brophy demanded, breaking a sweat inside his parka. And what was the meaning of that message! The men said nothing. As the chopper gained altitude, the wind tore through the open door. Brophy's four huskies, still rigged to the loaded sled, were whimpering now. â€Å"At least close the door,† Brophy demanded. â€Å"Can't you see my dogs are frightened!† The men did not respond. As the chopper rose to four thousand feet, it banked steeply out over a series of ice chasms and crevasses. Suddenly, the men stood. Without a word, they gripped the heavily laden sled and pushed it out the open door. Brophy watched in horror as his dogs scrambled in vain against the enormous weight. In an instant the animals disappeared, dragged howling out of the chopper. Brophy was already on his feet screaming when the men grabbed him. They hauled him to the door. Numb with fear, Brophy swung his fists, trying to fend off the powerful hands pushing him outward. It was no use. Moments later he was tumbling toward the chasms below. 1 Toulos Restaurant, adjacent to Capitol Hill, boasts a politically incorrect menu of baby veal and horse carpaccio, making it an ironic hotspot for the quintessential Washingtonian power breakfast. This morning Toulos was busy – a cacophony of clanking silverware, espresso machines, and cellphone conversations. The maitre d' was sneaking a sip of his morning Bloody Mary when the woman entered. He turned with a practiced smile. â€Å"Good morning,† he said. â€Å"May I help you?† The woman was attractive, in her mid-thirties, wearing gray, pleated flannel pants, conservative flats, and an ivory Laura Ashley blouse. Her posture was straight – chin raised ever so slightly – not arrogant, just strong. The woman's hair was light brown and fashioned in Washington's most popular style – the â€Å"anchor-woman† – a lush feathering, curled under at the shoulders†¦ long enough to be sexy, but short enough to remind you she was probably smarter than you. â€Å"I'm a little late,† the woman said, her voice unassuming. â€Å"I have a breakfast meeting with Senator Sexton.† The maitre d' felt an unexpected tingle of nerves. Senator Sedgewick Sexton. The senator was a regular here and currently one of the country's most famous men. Last week, having swept all twelve Republican primaries on Super Tuesday, the senator was virtually guaranteed his party's nomination for President of the United States. Many believed the senator had a superb chance of stealing the White House from the embattled President next fall. Lately Sexton's face seemed to be on every national magazine, his campaign slogan plastered all across America: â€Å"Stop spending. Start mending.† â€Å"Senator Sexton is in his booth,† the maitre d' said. â€Å"And you are?† â€Å"Rachel Sexton. His daughter.† How foolish of me, he thought. The resemblance was quite apparent. The woman had the senator's penetrating eyes and refined carriage – that polished air of resilient nobility. Clearly the senator's classic good looks had not skipped generations, although Rachel Sexton seemed to carry her blessings with a grace and humility her father could learn from. â€Å"A pleasure to have you, Ms. Sexton.† As the maitre d' led the senator's daughter across the dining area, he was embarrassed by the gauntlet of male eyes following her†¦ some discreet, others less so. Few women dined at Toulos and even fewer who looked like Rachel Sexton. â€Å"Nice body,† one diner whispered. â€Å"Sexton already find himself a new wife?† â€Å"That's his daughter, you idiot,† another replied. The man chuckled. â€Å"Knowing Sexton, he'd probably screw her anyway.† When Rachel arrived at her father's table, the senator was on his cellphone talking loudly about one of his recent successes. He glanced up at Rachel only long enough to tap his Cartier and remind her she was late. I missed you, too, Rachel thought. Her father's first name was Thomas, although he'd adopted his middle name long ago. Rachel suspected it was because he liked the alliteration. Senator Sedgewick Sexton. The man was a silver-haired, silver-tongued political animal who had been anointed with the slick look of soap opera doctor, which seemed appropriate considering his talents of impersonation. â€Å"Rachel!† Her father clicked off his phone and stood to kiss her cheek. â€Å"Hi, Dad.† She did not kiss him back. â€Å"You look exhausted.† And so it begins, she thought. â€Å"I got your message. What's up?† â€Å"I can't ask my daughter out for breakfast?† Rachel had learned long ago her father seldom requested her company unless he had some ulterior motive. Sexton took a sip of coffee. â€Å"So, how are things with you?† â€Å"Busy. I see your campaign's going well.† â€Å"Oh, let's not talk business.† Sexton leaned across the table, lowering his voice. â€Å"How's that guy at the State Department I set you up with?† Rachel exhaled, already fighting the urge to check her watch. â€Å"Dad, I really haven't had time to call him. And I wish you'd stop trying to-â€Å" â€Å"You've got to make time for the important things, Rachel. Without love, everything else is meaningless.† A number of comebacks came to mind, but Rachel chose silence. Being the bigger person was not difficult when it came to her father. â€Å"Dad, you wanted to see me? You said this was important.†

When Are the 2015 AP Test Dates

When Are the 2015 AP Test Dates SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you took an AP test back in 2015, you might be wondering when exactly you took that exam. Or perhaps you just want to know how AP test dates change each year. Check out our table below to get the AP test dates for 2015, andread on for our exclusive tips and advice for prepping for AP tests- no matter what year you take the tests. 2015 AP Exam Dates The tables below show the 2015 schedule for AP Exams. Note that many of the most popular tests, such as Calculus AB/BC, English Language, Chemistry, and US History, were offered during the 8 am slot. (The two exceptions are Psychology and Statistics, which were offered in the afternoon.) Week 1 May 4 (Monday) May 5 (Tuesday) May 6 (Wednesday) May 7 (Thursday) May 8 (Friday) Morning (8 am) Chemistry Calculus AB English Literature and Composition Computer Science A German Language and Culture Environmental Science Calculus BC Spanish Language and Culture United States History Afternoon (12 pm) Psychology AP Seminar Japanese Language and Culture Art History European History Chinese Language and Culture Physics 1: Algebra-Based Physics 2: Algebra-Based Week 2 May 11 (Monday) May 12 (Tuesday) May 13 (Wednesday) May 14 (Thursday) May 15 (Friday) Morning (8 am) Biology United States Government and Politics English Language and Composition Comparative Government and Politics Human Geography Music Theory World History Microeconomics Afternoon (12 pm) Physics C: Mechanics French Language and Culture Statistics Italian Language and Culture Latin Spanish Literature and Culture Macroeconomics Afternoon (2 pm) Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Source: Bulletin for AP Students and Parents, 2014-2015 How to Stay Focused During the AP Exam Period Looking at these tables (or, more specifically, the tables for your particular AP testing year) can be overwhelming. If you're taking more than one AP test, it can be tough to manage your time during May and feel prepared for each test. I’m used to stressful AP weeks. For my last three years of high school, I had multiple exams every May. Sophomore year I had three in a week, junior year I took two tests in two days, and senior year my tests stretched all the way from the first day of testing to the last day. So how do you cope? My biggest piece of advice is to memorize your AP test schedule now so you're mentally prepared for what May will be like. For example, if you realize you’re going to have three tests in three days, plan to get all of your studying done before April ends so you can focus on feeling rested and ready in the days before all those tests. For most people, May means flowers and good weather. For you, it’s stress and prep books. Or say you're taking AP Chemistry, which (hypothetically) falls on the first Monday, and AP Human Geography, which (also hypothetically) falls on the last Friday. In this case, you should plan to do some intensive Chemistry studying in April so you’re ready to roll by the first test day- though you'll want to also keep studying for Human Geography. You could use the first two weeks of May to wrap up your Geography studying since it will be the only test you have to focus on. In short, it all depends on your particular exam schedule.Consult our other AP exams guide to learn more about the next AP test dates. Preparing for the AP Tests in May: 6 Essential Tips Once you know what the AP test dates are for your testing year and when your particular tests will be administered, use these six tips to help you prepare effectively for AP exam period. #1: Plan Ahead and Use High-Quality Resources First and foremost, make sure that you've learned all the major concepts and taken at least one practice exam for each subject before May. This should eliminate any need for panicked, last-minute cramming between AP tests! But what's the best way to learn major concepts? Besides using notes and homework assignments from your AP class, it's a good idea to useofficial prep materials.This way, you can be sure that you're working with AP questions and practice tests that are extremely similar to the real deal. For practice questions, use your test's Course Description PDFand itsFree Response questions (available for free for each AP test on the AP Students website). You should also utilize anyofficial full-length tests you can find for free online. If you're OK with spending a little money, you can also get practice AP tests by buying official prep booksvia the College Board store (though I recommend buying through Amazon, which typically offers them and other prep books at much lower prices). Some of these prep books are complete guides, whereas others are actual previously released exams. #2: Use Your Time Wisely If you have one exam that you know is going to be the hardest for you, considerprioritizing any extra time you have in May toward that test. That said, make sure you put in the time starting now to really devote yourself to mastering the main concepts and getting practice in so you don’t feel super-stressed come May. #3: Time Yourself on Practice Tests When doing practice sections in April and/or May- either multiple choice or free response- make sure you are timing yourself strictly so you are prepared for actual AP test timing. The exact test time will be written on the practice test and on your test's page on the AP Students website. #4: Remember to Rest If you have multiple exams in a week or two days in a row (or two in a day!), limit heavy studying during that time and instead make sure you’re getting enough rest instead. First of all, you won’t be able to do much quality studying in an afternoon after an AP test if your brain is already fried from taking an actual exam. Even if you can get yourself to focus, it’s just as important the night before a test to get enough rest so you’ll have plenty of energy the next day. Besides, you should have completed all your major studying way earlier than the night before the test! Don’t let this be you the night before your AP test. #5: Be Self-Reflective If tests make you super-stressed and anxious and you study like crazy (that was me!), actively make time for some fun and relaxation during the AP testing period. After all, 30 minutes of exercise or a full night’s sleep will likely benefit you more the night before test day than will going over a concept for the 10th time. But if you're having a hard time staying focused and studying, especially near the end of the school year, work in some short daily studying,such as vocab review or multiple-choice practice. This will help you feel mentally prepared for the test, even if you’re burned out. #6: Think About the Big Picture Take some time to remind yourself of your goals. Whether that’s acing AP Calculus BC so you never have to take calculus in college, or getting top scores so you can be competitive for the Ivy League, keeping your goals in mind will help you stay motivated up until test day. It can be tough to keep your motivation up during May, but it’s important to keep in mind the long-term impact exams like these can have on your academic future. Remember, you’ve already put the time in by taking the AP class all year long and studying. Does the AP Schedule Stay the Same From Year to Year? The AP test schedule doesn't change all that much from year to year, so the most recent year’s test schedule will always be a decent predictor of future AP schedules, especially over the next year or two.But you can’t do long-term planning with it. The 2015 AP schedule above is already getting a bit old, so I don't advise using this to predict AP schedules in the coming years. Rather, it's best to refer to our guide on AP test dates, which we update with each new testing year. If you're curious about how much the AP schedule changes, check out the schedule from 2014 to see how it changed in 2015. All changes are highlighted in yellow: Week 1 (2014) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Morning (8 am) Chemistry Computer Science A Calculus AB English Literature and Composition English Language and Composition Environmental Science Spanish Language and Culture Calculus BC Afternoon (12 pm) Psychology Art History Chinese Language and Culture Japanese Language and Culture Statistics Latin Studio Art Week 2 (2014) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Morning (8 am) Biology United States Government and Politics German Language and Culture Macroeconomics Comparative Government and Politics Music Theory United States History World History Spanish Literature and Culture Afternoon (12 pm) Physics B French Language and Culture European History Italian Language and Culture Physics C: Mechanics Human Geography Microeconomics Afternoon (2 pm) Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Note that Computer Science A, Spanish Language and Culture, Calculus AB/BC, and English Literature were still offered during the first week in the morning, but they shifted around between Tuesday to Thursday. Similarly, Art History, Chinese, and Japanese are still in the first week afternoon slot, but shifted between Tuesday to Thursday. The biggest moves were English Language, German, and Statistics. English Language moved to the second week, whereas German moved up to week one. Statistics, meanwhile, moved later to Wednesday in week two. Note that only three exams were substantially pushed around the schedule, which is why you could have used the 2014 schedule as a decent predictor for 2015. (As a brief note, Studio Art now uses a digital submission format, so it has been taken off the exam schedule.) However, if you go back five or 10 years, AP test dates begin to change more- and the exams themselves change. Some tests are added (such as the Physics exams) and some are taken away, such as French Literature and Studio Art. Therefore, if you’re trying to predict the AP test schedule years in advance, it'll be hard to be accurate. What’s Next? Want to know more about AP tests? Get the rundown of how long AP tests areso you can learn how to deal with time pressure on exam day. Also, learn when the upcoming AP test dates are so you can prepare ahead of time. Need help with studying for the SAT or ACT?Get started on your prep by settinga target SAT or ACT score that's perfect for your dream schools. Hoping to nab a perfect SAT or ACT score? Our guides toscoring a 1600 on the SAT and a 36 on the ACTteach you everything you need to know to be successful on test day. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

tokaimura nuclear accident essays

tokaimura nuclear accident essays To understand what happens in accidents you must first understand how reactors work. All nuclear accidents are unique and are not usually caused by the same problem some for example some are caused by equitment failure like in the Three Islands Plant in Pennsylvania, and some are caused by ignoring a simple test which was not administered correctly at Cherynobyl. Whatever the cause may be nuclear energy is still too cost effective to stop for a few accidents. Tokaimura is another accident which was caused by human error and is the focus of this research paper. Tokaimura is the worst nuclear accident ever to occur in Japan How does a nuclear reactor work you might say well a reactor produces and controls the release of energy from atoms, by splitting the atomic nuclei nuclear fission: fission is the splitting of one atom usually of uranium or plutonium to produce two smaller but equally massive parts. The fission process releases a large quantity of thermal energy as well as gamma rays and two or more free neutrons. These free neutrons fission other uranium nuclei which in turn give off neutrons that split still more nuclei this is called a chain reaction. In a nuclear power reactor the energy released is used to generate electricity which then in turn is spread to anyone who needs power. This is where Einsteins theory of relation comes in a little mass times the speed of light squared yields lots of energy. Now what went wrong at Tokaimura on the morning of September 30th 1999? This morning was a normal morning not unlike any other in the past three workers at the plant were finishing up purifying the uranium oxide they were processing to mke fuel rods the fast Japan Joyo research reactor. The three were working with a 18.8 percent pure concentration of uranium 235 instead of the normal 5 percent pure so they were unexpierienced with the higher concetrated ...

Critical Review of The Balanced Scorecard -Measures That Drive Essay

Critical Review of The Balanced Scorecard -Measures That Drive Perfornnance - Essay Example This essay declares that BSC helps to identify what does not work so that corrections to the communication plans may be made immediately. Long-term communication policy can be ascertained and the communications strategy can be streamlined with the corporate strategy. This paper makes a conclusion that the BSC was initially developed as a comprehensive measurement system that incorporated a set of financial and non-financial performance measures which covered different organizational functions and perspectives. However, as organizations started using it, several factors came to light. It was found that it is not viable for smaller organizations because of the costs involved and because they do not have a corporate strategy in place. For larger organizations, it is essential that the different business units are pursuing the overall corporate strategy. The BSC has been successfully implement on both private and public sector organization, in businesses as well as in the health care and the education sector. However, The BSC does have certain critical success factors. These include the involvement of members in the team having diverse skills sets. The scorecard must be linked to the corporate goals and objectives without which the reports generated may not serve the purpose. The senior management should have a clear view of the potential of the BSC because it has been found that unless they are sure of the benefits, they would not be involved or would not be able to encourage others to use it.

Management Dissertation Proposal Proforma Research

Management Dissertation Proforma - Research Proposal Example Yes Degree Programme: MBA in Finance & Accounting Specialization Track: General _______ Finance ---X--- Marketing_______ [Please check as appropriate] Other___________________ (please specify) DATE: January 10, 2012Aims of dissertation Background of the research Financial markets across the world have been reporting increasing integration within the as well as across different boundaries. There are several factors that have drastically grown the financial markets in the last decades particularly in the developing countries and some of these factors are globalization, deregulation and advancement in technology (Abraham, Seyyed, and Al-Elg, 2001). Financial markets around the world are not uniform and this is the reason why an investor is able to make more profits then he should have by capitalizing on the opportunity created because of differences in prices (Masih, and Masih, 2002). Gain of one investor would result in the loss of another. However, if these markets are integrated and made uniform then an investor would not be able to make such gains (Stulz, 1981). With the passage of time, financial markets around the world have being integrated among themselves. The term market integration is referred to as a market where there are no obstacles for investors like legal restrictions, taxes, transaction costs etc (Solink, 1974). There are several advantages or benefits for integration among stock market and this is the reason why investors, financial analysts as well as policy markets have been paying considerable attention towards this subject. Some of the most important advantages of market integration are that investors investing in different parts of the world would expect the same amount of return from the investment as arbitrage opportunities would not exist. Also as the expected return would be the same therefore if an investor would like to earn higher return then it would have to take more risk and thus reward to risk ratio would be balanced. Also becaus e of market integration, the overall economy becomes more stabilized. It also encourages more people to make investment as there would be fewer chances of loss of investment as the overall productivity of the country would improve. If the Kuwait market is integrated with the global financial market, then the overall productivity and efficiency of the country would improve and more investment opportunities would emerge in the country. Also this would encourage more local business as well as foreign investors to invest in this market thus the GDP of the country would improve. These are the most important benefits that Kuwait market or any other market would experience if the financial market is integrated with the global market. Integration of financial market has become an important topic in today’s world as investors are able to invest in different markets in order to make the most of the opportunities prevailing in different regions (Kearney, and Lucey, 2004). Different scho lars and researchers have been focusing on this topic and considerable amount of research has already been done in order to analyze the impact of

Research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Research proposal - Essay Example the companies, government organizations, and individuals are able to follow all the legislative requirements regarding the creation and governance of pensions1. This paper analyzes the extent in which the costs of pension are able to affect the value of a company. This research mainly concerns itself with companies operating in the United Kingdom. It is important to understand that this area of pensions is an area that has been greatly researched, not only pensions in relation to the government employees, but also pensions in relation to private companies. Most researchers aim at finding out the benefits of this pension schemes, and the role they play in the economy (Gustman, Steinmeier, and Tabatabai, 2014). Researchers are motivated by the fact that pensions are useful in helping the aged people to have the capability of satisfying their basic needs. Another reason as to why there is considerable interest in this area of pensions is based on the desire by the UK government to decrease the old age poverty in the country. The government has noted that one of the most efficient methods of reducing old age poverty is restructuring the pension system in the United Kingdom2. This new measures must have the capability of addressing new and emerging needs. On this basis, research on the pension systems is developed to address these needs, and provide a framework for policy formulators to develop a policy that would help the citizens of UK fight old age poverty (Mullen, 2010). Pension is defined as an amount of money, paid on a regular basis for purposes of preparing the payee for retirement. Pensions are a very useful welfare programs, and this is because they normally help the aged to meet their daily needs. However, the pension system has always been accused of failing to remove the aged from poverty, since the amount given is always small, when comparable to the standards of living (Gustman, Steinmeier, and Tabatabai, 2014). This is mainly specific to retired

Qatar Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East Essay Example for Free

Qatar Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East Essay Qatar is located in Arabian Peninsula in boarders with Saudi Arabia, with only 225,000 citizens in a population of 1. 7 million. Qatar follows a conservative religious ideology, Wahhabism. While some refer to Qatar as the â€Å" Second Wahhabi Emirate,† it is traditionally known as â€Å"the most boring place in the gulf† or â€Å"the country known for being unknown (Roberts, 2012). † However, Qatar emerged as a strong state actor with extended networks of alliances in the world. The mediator role that Doha plays today is crucial in the region, particularly after the Arab Spring (HRW, 2013). Indeed, Qatar supported the Arab Uprisings across the region in 2011. In addition, Qatar invested between $65 billion and $100 billion to the FIFA world cup that it will be hosting in 2022. The Emir founded a number of humanitarian projects in Sudan, South of Lebanon, Gaza and Asia. In this paper, I attempt to answer the question of what are the driving motives of Qatar’s foreign policy in the Middle East? And why, unlike its neighboring countries, Qatar’s leadership supported the Arab appraisals of 2011? Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, stated, â€Å"we support those who demanded justice and dignity,† when asked about his country’s role in the Arab revolutions in an interview in 60 Minutes . In response, President Barak Obama thanked the Emir for promoting democracy in the Middle East (Al Thani, 2012). Ironically, Qatar is an absolute monarchy described as an â€Å" authoritarian regime† that is ranked 138th out of the 167 countries by Democracy Index 2011. In addition, the Freedom House lists Qatar as â€Å" not free† (freedom house), (Democracy Index, 2011). Therefore, Qatar’s lack of rule of law, freedom of speech and political rights contradict â€Å"the Emir’s efforts to promote democracy† and delegitimizes his political statements. In relevance to this hypocrisy, Qatar’s foreign policy in general and its support of democratic transitions in the Arab region in specific serves its ambitions to secure itself from threats, maintain its status quo of an independent state and take a leadership role in the region. Political Emancipation and the Saudi Threat: Al Thani family ruled Qatar for more than 150 years. Qatar attained its independence in 1971, when the British-mandate came to an end and after its refusal to join the United Arab Emirates federation. Since that date until the 1990s, Saudi Arabia acted as the de facto protector of Qatar. Consequently, the Emir took policy directions from Al Saud. However, this relationship witnessed a change in the early 1990s as tensions in bilateral relations between the two countries began to arise. After the invasion of Kuwait and Sadam’s threat to attack the Suadi kingdom, Saudi quickly reached out to western coalitions in aim of protection. As Suadi presented itself as weak and unable to defend itself, the Qataris began to doubt Saudi’s ability to protect the Qatari entity and decided to pursue a strong alliance with the US. Therefore, between 1990-1992, Qatar signed a military agreement with the United States to host its military base in Al-Odead. In response, Saudi worked to block Qatar’s pipeline exports of gas to United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. As a result, tensions between the two countries intensified. Later, in 30 September 1992, Saudi attacked the Qatari boarders leaving three soldiers dead (2012). However, the clashes did not stop there. In1995, Shiekh Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince back then, seized power after a bloodless coup d’etat against his father. Of course, Saudi Arabia did not welcome the coup d’etat because of Hamad’s known strong motives to maintain his country’s autonomy. Instead, Saudi financially supported another coup against the current Emir. Then, Qatar detained a number of Saudi and Qatari citizens who cooperated with the Saudi government to bring the ousted prince back into power. These tensions led the Saudi-Qatar relations into a deep freeze until rapprochement happened in 2008 (2012). Since then, Shiekh Hamad Al Thani led the modernization process to create a brand name of Qatar. In its foreign policy, Qatar adopted diplomacy as a foreign policy tool that allows it to take on the mediator role in a number of regional disputes. In addition to its diplomatic activism and small size, the Qatari wealth that is invested in mediation efforts paves the way for Qatar to be a head in the political game today. A Theoretical approach on Qatar’s Mediation: The tribal nature of the Qatari society and the hierarchal system of the government lends the leadership absolute power to form the country’s economic-political agenda and foreign policy. The major two agents that determine the political strategies of Qatar’s foreign policy are its national security and its desire to establish a brand name for itself. Hence, the main key element of Qatar’s foreign policy is mediation, which is apparently is not a new political tool as the â€Å"early Al-Thanis were forced to become experts negotiators quickly in anarchic corner of the Middle East (Roberts). According to Jacob Bercovitch in his book, Studies in International Mediation, countries engage in mediation for various reasons that include â€Å"(a) a genuine desire to change the course of a long-standing conflict to promote peace, (b) a desire to gain access to major political leaders and open channels of communication, (c), a desire to spread one’s ideas and enhance standing and professional status, (d) the wish to preserve intact structure of which they are part, (e) viewing mediation as a way of extending and enhancing their own influence and gaining some value from the conflict (Roberts). Therefore, from this perspective, Qatar’s employs mediation for the enhancement of its professional status and the acquirement of power. From here, Qatar mediated a number of disputes in the region including the Hezbollah dispute with the Lebanese government, the rebellion disputes with the Northern Sudanese government and the Huothis dispute with the Yemeni government. Moreover, Participation in mediations between states is of great advantage to Qatar. Internationally, it promotes a peaceful image as a peacekeeping state in an attempt to gain worldwide respect (Roberts). Peterson argues in his work, Qatar and the World, â€Å"The fundamental advantage, however, is that it assures the legitimacy of the micro state. This in turn leads to the single most important factor: increased awareness of and legitimacy accruing to Qatar- in domestic and external terms- enhances the prospects of the states’ survival†(Roberts). Qatar neutral position and its small size makes non-threatening to other state to except negotiation with compare to Saudi which has interests in regional conflict, which leads political parties to refuse its negotiation, e. . Saudi support of the government in Yemen and rivalry with Hezbollah. On the other hand, Qatar established diplomatic relations with almost everyone. Qatar’s Foreign affairs minister, Shiekh Hamad bin Jasem Al Thani, in an interview on Al –Jazeera, was asked by Ahmed Manosur, Al Jazeera presenter, â€Å"I just want to understand one thing! In Qatar you have relations with the devils and the angels, with the Iranians and the Americans, with the Israelis and Hamas, he continued, how can we understand this policy? (Mansour, 2012). Today, Qatar unlike other state in the region, calls Tehran in the morning and Tel Aviv in the afternoon â€Å"(Roberts). It was the first state in the gulf to host trade office of Israel, established good relations with Hamas, opened communications with Hezbollah, the Emir of Qatar was the first to invite Ahmadinejad to attend the 28th Gulf Cooperation council summit in 2007. While other Arab states alienated Islamists, Qatar was in good terms with Arab oppositions, particularly Islamic groups. For example, Yusuf Al Qaradawi is an influential Islamic leader, resident of Qatar since 1960s is the main guest who taken the Qatari citizenship is Al Jazeera chief religious show. Also, other Arab political dissidents were welcomed and took Qatari citizenship such as Mohammed Hamed Al Hamari from Saudi Arabia who organized Youth Role in Change in the Arabic Gulf; young activists from across the gulf attended the conference (Al Qassemi, 2012). Al Jazeera as foreign Policy tool Part of â€Å"Brand Qatar† project, is to spread ideas and enhance Qatar’s status. The establishment of Al-Jazeera in 1996 came to serve that goal. Al Jazeera is an important tool of Qatar foreign policy, with its slogan the â€Å" The Opinion and the other Opinion† and the channel shameless criticisms to Arab leaders and programs on democracy and political rights. Al Jazeera soon gained the respect of Arab public compare to other media alternatives that are state sponsored (Khtib, 2013). The channel broadcasted the revolutions across the Arab spring countries – except the appraisals in Bahrain . The spread of revolutions were feared by Arab states, yet Qatar seemed to support the revolutions through Al Jazeera. That is said to be reason that inspired the youth in Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen to rebel against their governments and demand freedom and dignity. Nevertheless, The channel neutrality was under question, during the Egyptian elections, Al Jazeera hosted members of MB like Khirat Al Shater, and Moahhmed Mosri. Sultan Al Qassimi, a, wrote about Al Jazeera’s Arabic love ffaires with MB, he discussed some of his observations, that Muslim Brotherhood supports were given the chance to express their views on through the channel while critics towards Muslim Brotherhood were barely heard in the channel (Al Qassemi, 2012). Recently, Waddah Khanfar the director – general of Al Jazeera was replaced with Shiekh Ahmed bin Jasem Al Thani, who holds degree in petroleum (Al Qassemi, 2012). This suggests that Al Jazeea is becoming less free to represents Qatar’s government preferences and its support to Muslim brotherhood. Apparently, Qatar calculations towards the Arab spring were opposite to its neighbors who supported Mubarak regime. It saw an opportunity to ally itself with revolutions to promote for its image as â€Å"Pro- Arab public † and play regional role in Arab-Arab relations despite the policy risks its taking incase these revolutions were not successful. Through Qatar’s Money, Al-Jazeera, regional mediations and international pressure, Doha was successful in making the Arab Spring an opportunity so that it plays valuable role and take a leadership role in the region. Qatar in the Arab Spring: Qatar natural position had to be changed when it realized that change will topple the former leaders to stay at the head of the game head of Saudi, After Mubarak’s fall, Qatar supported Muslim brotherhood in Egypt. Shiekh Hamad Al Thani, the foreign minster of Qatar state that his country won’t allow Egypt to go bankrupt, Doha transferred five billion dollars to Egypt to meet its financial obligations. In addition to the financial support, Al Jazeera members’ Muslim brotherhoods are regularly interviewed to spread their influence. Middle Ease Scholar, Alain Gresh calls Al Jazeera the mouthpiece of Muslim brotherhood (Khatib, 2013). Furthermore, Rashid Al Ghanushi of Al Nahdha party of Tunisia, stated in an interview with Al Arab newspaper that Qatar is a major partner of the Arab spring revolutions hence it’s also a partner in next period of democratic transition and development since it offers development projects to support the economy of the Arab spring states (2012). Qatar had to intervene in Libya and Syria to sustain its leading regional position. It was the first country to lead the international action against Gaddafi. Qatar supplied the rebels with total US$2billion. On the other hand, Qatar involved in arming Syrian rebels like the Free Syrian Army. Also, it was successful in unifying the Syrian opposition. The importance of Qatar involvement in the latter is to counter Iranian influence by allying with opposition while Assad regime is backed by Iran (Khatib, 2013). In contrast to this, Al Jazeera was silent towards the uprisings in Bahrian. Qatar has been selective in backing uprisings there. The reason behind that, is Saudi Arabia influence that views the situation as â€Å"Shi’a uprising â€Å" and regional rivalry with Iran, hence any intervention from Qatar’s side in Bahraini issue would result tensions (Roberts, 2012). In conclusion, Qatar had different view towards the Arab Spring compare to its neighbors. Its objective to play a valuable role in the region, made Doha change its position as neutral state and take foreign policy risks. Although the question of weather Qatar made the right policy decisions or not remains unanswered yet. However, Doha succeeded in playing regional role a head of regional power like Saudi and influenced the Arab countries to take collective action towards Libya and Syria. In addition, Qatar foreign policy faces challenges; among these challenges is the reliance on money donations to support Post Arab Spring countries that would hinder progress in Qatari diplomacy. On the other hand, the lack of democracy and rule of law domestically puts Qatar legitimacy to promote for democracy under question. Moreover, making policy changes internally such as guarantee of political and civil rights to citizens hold parliamentary elections and protection freedom of speech will give Qatar legitimacy and enhance its image in international community.