Knights Templars Essays - Philip IV Of France, Knights Templar

Knights Templars The Knights Templars was a religious military order whose secrets and wealth destroyed the organization. The order had several names, and the members had several titles. The Knights Templars started out as a small group of monks. Members had duties and certain lifestyles as Templars. The order rapidly spread across Europe. During the second crusade, the Templars fought for the Christian effort. After the second crusade the knights became very powerful and wealthy. The order was destroyed, yet it still lives on today. The Knights Templars were hidden in darkness and secrecy, and they will always remain a mystery. The Holy Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is the full name of the Order. Most paraphernalia refer to them as the Knights Templars. Some call the members just Templars, or warrior monks. The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is another name used. People back in the time of the crusade would have called them heroes. After the first crusade two new military orders arose in Jerusalem. One, the Knights Hospitallers, or Knights of Saint John, whose task was to aid the wounded in Outremer, or the land across the sea. Saint John's Ambulance Service derives from the Hospitaller legend. The second military order to arise was the Knights Templars, whose duty was to defend the pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. In 1118 Hugues de Payan and eight fellow knights went to Jerusalem and offered their services to the king, Baldwin 1. King Baldwin offered housing to the knights at the former mosque al-Aqsa, which was located on the site of King Solomon's great temple. The order received its name from this fact. Templars took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the Grand Master, or president. Each Templar wore a typical white robe with the red Maltese cross insignia. Chainmail armor was worn in battle. The Templars fought bravely against the Saracens, not leaving battle unless outnumbered three to one. The order received the blessing of the Pope in 1129, and the Templars soon got recognition as heroes. With the Pope's blessing, the Templars could now recruit members and raise money through donations. Donations came to the Templars in large amounts. The warrior monks were given wealth, jewels, and property. King Alfonso 1 of Argon gave the Templars one-third of his Spanish Empire on his deathbed. They owned land in France, Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Hungary, and other places. Men also went to the Templars to support their cause, and some in hopes of getting rich. The Knights Templars did have their critics though. Some felt they were unchristian, killing hundreds of people, including women and children. They held meetings in secret, which frightened some individuals. It was unknown what was held in their secret meetings. The second crusade was underway and the Templars fought on the Christian side. Military and financial support was given on their behalf. They fought an Islamic fanatical group known as the Assasins. The Assasins showed no mercy, they killed more than the Templars. Slowly but surely the Christians began to loose territory. In 1187, at the battle of Hattin, 25,000 Christians were defeated by 60,000 Islamic troops led by Saladin. The moors recaptured Jerusalem and the Templars relocated. They went to Acre and eventually left Outremer all together. The remaining Templars fled to Limassol, where they created a new headquarters. The Templars were no longer fighting, and they therefore sought a new task. The Templars owned houses all across the map, and they used that to their benefit. The Knights Templars became the first bankers. Travelers would deposit money at one Templar building, and travel, with a statement of deposit, to another city. They would then cash in their statement and receive the same amount of money at another Templar structure at their final destination. This was a very safe method, because the traveler couldn't get robbed. The Templars began to escort travelers on their fleets of ships. The Pope freed the Templars from loyalty to any ruler, from then on the order only answered to the Pope. The Templars became involved with politics. They served on royal committees and

Free Essays on Homosexual Adoption

â€Å"Everyone with the potential to successfully parent a child in foster care of adoption is entitled to fair and equal consideration regardless of sexual orientation or differing life style or physical appearance.† - North American Council on Adoptable Children (March 14, 1998) Through adoption, foster care, and artificial insemination, the United States, in the past 10 years, has experienced an increase in the number of lesbians and gay men shaping families and households. Estimated research shows that the total number of children being raised by at least one homosexual parent in the United States today includes anywhere from six to fourteen million adolescents. States all throughout the country are working to save the best interests of children with gay parents. At least twenty-one states have allowed gay and lesbian parents the right of second-parent adoptions. This process grants children the right to benefit having two legal parents. It principally keeps adolescents under the supervision of a legal guardian, should one of their parents die or become incapacitated. However, many parts of the country still do not allow homosexual men and women to become legal parents. Though adoption agencies may be full of children in desperate need of a home, many organizations do not believe that gays and lesbians are fit to parent children in the United States. Several states have used an individuals’ sexual orientation to deny them custody, adoption, visitation rights, and foster care for children. For example, in Florida and New Hampshire, laws have been accepted that ban lesbians and gay men from ever legally adopting children. In addition, Arkansas has just taken on a new policy that prohibits homosexuals and their families from allocating as foster parents. Many people will openly admit to believing that homosexuals are not fit to be parents. The ignorant misconception of many is that, in order for a child to grow up to b... Free Essays on Homosexual Adoption Free Essays on Homosexual Adoption â€Å"Everyone with the potential to successfully parent a child in foster care of adoption is entitled to fair and equal consideration regardless of sexual orientation or differing life style or physical appearance.† - North American Council on Adoptable Children (March 14, 1998) Through adoption, foster care, and artificial insemination, the United States, in the past 10 years, has experienced an increase in the number of lesbians and gay men shaping families and households. Estimated research shows that the total number of children being raised by at least one homosexual parent in the United States today includes anywhere from six to fourteen million adolescents. States all throughout the country are working to save the best interests of children with gay parents. At least twenty-one states have allowed gay and lesbian parents the right of second-parent adoptions. This process grants children the right to benefit having two legal parents. It principally keeps adolescents under the supervision of a legal guardian, should one of their parents die or become incapacitated. However, many parts of the country still do not allow homosexual men and women to become legal parents. Though adoption agencies may be full of children in desperate need of a home, many organizations do not believe that gays and lesbians are fit to parent children in the United States. Several states have used an individuals’ sexual orientation to deny them custody, adoption, visitation rights, and foster care for children. For example, in Florida and New Hampshire, laws have been accepted that ban lesbians and gay men from ever legally adopting children. In addition, Arkansas has just taken on a new policy that prohibits homosexuals and their families from allocating as foster parents. Many people will openly admit to believing that homosexuals are not fit to be parents. The ignorant misconception of many is that, in order for a child to grow up to b...

International Human Resources Practice in the United States Assignment

International Human Resources Practice in the United States - Assignment Example employees. Human resource managers tend to develop various strategies to improve the qualities of the employees through training and development. Traditionally, the role of human resource managers was associated with recruitment and selecting the right candidate for the job. However, modern day requirements are much higher than the traditional processes. The managers require developing strategies for the employees in order to support the overall organisational objectives. A few factors have influenced HR Managers while deciding upon the appropriate approaches to effective management of the employees. The external factors are influencing largely to the human resource practices such as recruitment, induction and customer service. These factors may include the cultural, political, social and economical situations of a country that largely need to be considered while practicing human resource management. Thus, these factors prevalent within the United States need to be assessed by the or ganisations before an appropriate model for optimum utilisation of human resources can be designed. As suggested by Mueller and Clarke (1998), the US based HRM approach is a merit-based reward system that focuses on the incremental compensation for the exchange of performance. They further added that this approach cannot be applied in all countries. It is the culture and nationality that play an imperative role in decision making and distribution processes. According to Armstrong (2006), the prime goal of human resource management is to enable strategic planning which will develop the employees to contribute on the organisations success. As observed by Hofstede (n.d.), through the 5-D model, the national culture of the US is individualistic in nature, which has influenced the organisational culture. Thus, it can be said that individualism prevails among the employees of the organisation. Furthermore, it can be assumed that HRM in the US is focussed on the individual employees, rathe r than teams. Thus, strategies that will benefit an individual employee, and motivate him/her for producing efficient working skills are designed by HR professionals. Internationalisation of companies has led to following various cultures based on the local culture of the US. The US is the headquartered to many international companies which are spread all over the world. Therefore, it can be assumed that the culture of US is followed in majority of the companies branches spread across the globe. Thus, it is equally essential for HR managers to find a healthy balance between the global organisational culture and local culture of the country. Cultural Aspects Related to International Human Resource Management Recruitment It has been observed that the initial stage in the International Human Resource Management (IHRM) process is the recruitment of the appropriate candidate exclusively for the job. This is an important task of the HR personnel as the candidate’s behaviour and kno wledge will be reflected in the working environment of the organisation. As observed by Denning (1998), cultural differences have embarked on the recruitment procedures of employees by HR professiona