Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes Essay

Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes - Essay Example States and other foreign countries have relaxed policies on prohibition of this plant. A large number of the U.S. population clamors for its legalization because of their need for the medical plant. 3) Economic benefits will be derived by the government in its implementation The use of marijuana was declared illegal under Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The historical account on â€Å"Why Marijuana is illegal† showed the reasons to be â€Å"racism, fear, and protection of corporate profits, yellow journalism, ignorant, incompetent, and/or corrupt legislators, personal career advancement and greed†.(Pete Warrant) Mathre, Marlyn who completed a study on the medicinal value of marijuana, referred to same reasons for 1937 Act. The events that took place are told below. Nothing has been mentioned that marijuana was illegal because of some dangerous effects found by the medical science and prohibition was made to protect the citizens. The plant was considered an important crop during 1600s because it was used as rope, food, incense, cloth and for other economic uses. Planting of the crop was encouraged at that time. Racism was the primary reason it was prohibited in California when in 1900s, Black Americans and traveling Mormons were found using it for smoke. Other states just followed this prohibition. Ignorance could also be stated as one of the reasons here that even without proper justification, a Senator made a generalized statement saying â€Å"that all Mexicans are crazy because of smoking marijuana†. Another ground was â€Å"Yellow Journalism† that spread exaggerated and fearful stories on Black Americans using the stuff to benefit readership of their newspapers; like saying that marijuana was linked to brutal behavior of users . William Randolf Hearst, the owner of the newspapers just hated Mexicans which was due to racism, plus the fact that he saw the hemp as a fierce competition to his timber plantation. Personal career and advancement were also the

Organisation Resource Management Ikea Commerce Essay

Organisation Resource Management Ikea Commerce Essay History is evident from the fact that for the success of any organisation is very vital to have an alignment between the strategic and human resource objectives of the organisation to ensure both short term efficiency which would ultimately lead to long term profitability. A concept by McKinsey stating 7 S which includes super ordinate goals, strategy, structure, systems, staff, skills and style was a spectacular approach towards setting up an organisations performance excellence criteria. Human resource management alignment with mission is simply combining people management with organisational ultimate goal achievement strategy, one way of doing is to grant access to human resources to be a part of planning phase as a company would always prosper if the employees or human resource is given equal importance and utilization as other sectors of decision making. Unlike the traditional strategic planning where human resource department was only considered to be a provider of personnel fa cility like staffing, pay, training where as sectors like research and development, finance, production and marketing were the major players to be carefully considered neglecting human resource significance completely but the concept was out ruled by the modern sense of strategic planning, in which the importance of human resource is realised together with the actualisation of the fact that the company is known by people it keeps, as the business world got into the era of intense competition the need for people training and development increased rapidly and time came when for a successfully run company it has to have properly trained and skilled people and also have a system of provision of more trained employees on regular intervals to continuously fill the gap caused by employment turnover, companies opted for the later concept noticed instant improvement not only in the performance level but also the motivational level of staff showed a rapid incline which realistically the only reason for the overall improved performance. It is evident that where ever people in organisation are involved then its inevitable to neglect the presence of HR elements, Human resource also plays a very vital role in bringing cohesion between the employees of any organisation which when achieved could do wonders in terms of goals achievement and has created history at several times. A retailer which stands by its name IKEA (Ingvar Kampard Elmtaryd Agunnaryd), a home furnishing retailer which was established in 1943, currently IKEA is not only a furniture retailer but a phenomenon, a name which is identified from its unified identity of standardisation no matter what part of the world one steps into its big blue and yellow set of blocks which carries approximately more than 9500 range of home furnishing and relevant products with a restaurant facility as well provided under the same roof. Over the years it has evolved as an identity of its own, a simplified approach towards furniture making with excellent cost cutting strategies, which ultimately has a direct impact on the price offered to customer, price offered by IKEA stands out to be the cheapest in the market which has become so far the best unique selling point this brand can offer, but nothing is worth without a consideration of flat-pack concept back in early days which entirely change the image of furnit ure industry, it was planning ahead which now proves to be a convenience by coping up with the pace of present days working people life style particularly younger generation Ikeas vision is to create a better everyday life for many people is a complete reflection of how company perceives people in mind which not only includes customers but any stakeholder which has a direct or indirect link to the company operation e.g. customers, employees, suppliers etc. on the other hand IKEA follows a very careful path in the pursuit of its business mission which is to offer wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, excellent quality and durability at prices so low that the majority of people afford to buy them Therefore it is evident from the mission and vision that IKEA not only relates and base its overall operation to provide a better life for cheap but also focus on the quality and modernisation of the product it sells to keep it desired on affordable prices. The harmony between the organisational overall strategy and human resource strategy is achieved through a process which in present era been adopted and utilised by almost all the organisation realising the importance of integration of human resource element into overall strategy to ensure excellent results and motivated employees. To dig further deep it is very essential to realize the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal environment of IKEA which basically makes the basis of any strategic objective as external environment together with elements of internal environment that are strength and weaknesses would assist to evaluate ikeas corporate strategic situation which becomes the basis of ikeas strategic plan quite carefully phrased in it its vision and mission. Ranging from political stability. concern for society and social causes together with people concern, day to day technological advancement to overall economic recession faced by the company , the companies strategy to keep the cost low is a great tactic in these times of economic turmoil specially when the retail market is hit by vat increases starting from 04th of january,2011 low price policy with diversity in the nature of product range and business concepts referring to restaurant business IKEA has evolved as an intelligent set of brains and with inclusion of human resource strategy and other functional strengths to align with the overall mission has proved to be a successful and productive idea in terms of sales and employee retention as well. C) Merger: Its a kind of a take over when both the firms combine into a new firm with the due permission of the real owners of the company who possess the shares of the company therefore resulting in completely new official entity. IKEA first of all baring the largest share in the home furnishing industry doesnt find itself in an urgent need of a merger as among the main reasons for merger is the pursuit of better performance or avoidance from decline scale of performance, expansion behind ikeas one of the vital priorities in next few years might attract the concept of merger with some furniture retailer most probably on high street level to launch its high street outlet , but doing that would require certain changes which could include new payroll system, different pay and other remuneration schemes, new policies for training and development could be settled between the parties to the merger, new staffing methods, new policy could be formed for retirement scheme and benefits, disciplinary proc edures could be altered as well etc. in a nut shell relocation of resources is always a part of mergers which could also include relocation of human resources depending on which kind of merger does actually take place. Acquisition: In case of acquisition as well the whole set of human resource elements would be considered by party purchasing the other to suit their enhanced business and acquired work force requirements together with legal regulations, but in this form of take over if IKEA takes over any company it must be an intention to provide a helping hand to stakeholders of the acquired company, therefore changes like payroll, staff rotation, job rotation, combined training and development, it could also result in human expertise been sent to look after the acquired business resulting in lack of concentration on the main operation which indicated intense care is necessary while allocating the employees efficiently. Strategic alliances: This is now being seen in regular practice by various firms all over the world reason being either to achieve competitive advantage like Superdrug and the perfume shop etc. or to plan a reduction of operating cost because of shared resources or purely marketing reasons. IKEA faced by this type of situation would definitely face some changes on immediate basis including maintenance of healthy relationship between the organizations for the achievement of combined goals, changes would require in the decision making patterns in the favor of common interest, allocation of right people on the right job could raise argument between the relevant heads involved from both sides, a methods requires to be developed to ensure data protection of trade secrets which could be at risk if not handle with proper attention. Human resource strategy would also need a bit of alteration in terms of agreement on objectives as both the parties could have different set of overall objectives to follow. Joint ventures: It is a kind of project undertaken by the two firms for a common interest and share the rewards or losses from the particular venture, depending on the kind of joint venture the human resource would change to suit the requirement of the venture on both side to be conducted smoothly without bothering the overall objectives of both the firms and ensure all the relevant aspects like allocation of combine resources together with any training and development measures required to carry out the joint venture. TASK 2: EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT cultural multiplicity is one of the ikeas prime concern as far its recruitment policy is concerned, IKEA has always abide by the legal employment regulations and also exhibited a very responsible attitude towards its employees and potential employees, with the significance importance been given to the development of multi cultural environment at work place IKEA has established a very strong and constructive multicultural hub for people who IKEA believes only work for people. A suitable candidate is always the one with high motivational energy together with relevant experience or knowledge. EMPLOYEE RETENTION IKEA has a very smart process of communication in-between the employees who allow them express freely their concern about the business and the company, both ways communication is appreciated and practiced which is a prime reason for less percentage of employee turnovers. Together with fair and constructive pay system the company has gained its place in the hearts of its employees and with proper amount of training and development procedures creates a bond between the brand and its very own people. Proper exit interviews are conducted on the exit of any member and both the parties are left with a brilliant image on each other for future reference. TRAINING AND DEVLOPMENT It is a responsibility of an efficient organisation to have a complete provision of training and development facility at work in order to maintain the motivation level of the team and to fulfil the overall strategic objective of the organisation over all quality of work together with amount of loyalty are directly related to companys performance which are fully practiced in a routine culture of IKEA day to day operations. human resource department together with other functional heads and directors establish a strategy for training the team members over a given period of time to achieve future strategic goals with better preparations ensuring all the line managers of the departments are fully informed and trained for the training to be provided on the basis of individual performance and line of direction opted in the company, and together with the same line managers top management develops a plan in order to understand the needs for the relevant process. IKEA has very comprehensive set of performance appraisal system which is conducted on every regular interval constructively to ensure employee satisfaction ultimately leading to customer satisfaction. IKEA has design a unique format of trading and development pattern with the name of on the job training as organised by IKEA college for the seek of potential managers which could lead the brand to a new era an excellence. Task 3: PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL is a technique or a format to review the performance of the employees on one to one basis and comparing it to the company standards to evaluate the areas of strengths and weaknesses in order to improve the performance level and build-up the motivation level of the determined staff, but an alarm bell for below average performing members to come to know their areas of errors and rectify them in a given amount of time ends till next appraisal date which could be from 1 to 6 months depending on the urgency of it . Appraisal is a very vital tool for the employer being the one of its own kind to assist management of performance level. With the help of performance appraisal it is very easy for the employer to assess their potential inner-hierarchy growth in the company, therefore together with affecting the career path of the employees performance appraisal has also got a quite close relation with the salary increments as well. It is always recommended for an appraisal to be conducted with the immediate line manager to get the complete and comprehensive feed back for the sake of improvement over the next period of time, the appraisal process must be familiarised by the manager conducting it and be fair by all means as more the feedback being honest more chances of constructive development in an employee concerned provided the appraisal is conductive with ease and the employee has received all the feedback correctly without being offended. It is very beneficial for human resource department to develop policies also can be utilised to give a chance to employees to express their opinion about anything about their job they wish talk about. Human resource department can provide plenty of assistance and advice with the help of the appraisal form prepared by the HR keeping in view each and every segment of working employee. Overall a very useful tool for employer and employee in relation to performance levels. REWARD MANAGEMENT: The overall idea behind the reward management phenomenon is to support the human resource and mission of the company, it assist the company with patterns how to trains and develop the individuals which ultimately leads to employee motivation, rewards management system enhance the employer employee relationship and bring more harmony and determination among all of them as its about reward in return with self actualization , a proper reward management system has some legal implications to be made sure before drafting it and is also quite smartly looked after. Rewards: There are two kinds of rewards: 1) Financial 2) Non-financial Financial being classified as tangible reward, one could get a monetary return for services but several studies are evident that these type of outer level needs doesnt keep the person motivated for a long time therefore classified in basic needs scenario, but Non-financial are the ones which although has no material value but have done enough to make histories. Intrinsic rewards ensuring self efficacy, self recognition and self actualization etc. satisfies higher level needs which are also known as motivators. Contradicting to the reward definition in old days, money as matter of fact is only considered to be a material return to fulfill basic needs and then what really works for an employer is when the employee is provided a sense of achievement etc. for a better future for the company and employee as well.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Well Class of 2012, we did it! We are graduating. All the hard work we have done to graduate has paid off. All the final exams, the many steps we've taken up and down Gadd High's halls, to the gym for practice, up to the cafeteria to connect with friends, down to the library, up to the playing fields -- they're all over. After today, our lives will be changed forever. Before that happens, let's take a look at the last four years of memories and even go back to those memories from our elementary and middle school years and collect them into a book; our own book, our book of life. If, some day, people could read our individual book, what would they learn from them? Have you ever read a book you just couldn't put down? A book that was so exciting and interesting that you couldn't wait to see what happened next. Our lives are like chapters in that type of book. Each chapter is unique and special in its own way. Our lives represent the most exciting book we'll ever read. In fact, we should hope that our book becomes more exciting and interesting with each new day, that we read faster a...

Cause and Effects of Water Pollution Essay

Water Quality is very much in the news these days and it is also a growing public concern. Water is one of the most important resources on the planet and affects nearly every aspect of life. The Great Lakes watershed contains a large percentage of the world’s fresh surface water. The Lakes support the water needs, and jobs of millions of people and poor water quality is an increasing frustration. Description: Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes and the fifth largest in the world, with the most irregular shape of any of the Great Lakes. Even its largest island, Manitoulin, is wider than the State of Rhode Island, and has five small lakes of its own. The lake is connected with its neighbor, nearly same-sized L. Michigan, only by a narrow straight called the Straights of Mackinac, which is spanned by an 8 km-long bridge, the Mighty Mac. (International Lake Environment Committee) Water pollution is defined as a change in the chemical, physical and biological health of a waterway due to human activity. Unfortunately, this definition applies to the waters of Lake Huron and has had a negative impact on the people who use and rely on this body of water. (Study mode 04, 2012) Although there are many causes of Lake Huron’s pollution, most fall under three categories: 1) Point-source pollution; 2) Nonpoint-source pollution; and 3) Air pollution. Point-source pollution refers to mercury, fecal matter, and sewage, from treatment plants or industrial facilities, being dumped into the Lake. Nonpoint-source pollution refers to runoff of polluted water from crops or lawns which contain contaminants. These contaminants may be oil, sand, and salt from roadways, agricultural chemicals, and nutrients and toxic materials from urban or rural areas (The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, 1998-2012). There are many different causes for the pollution in Lake Huron. Some pollutants found include chemicals and metals, nutrient enrichment, pathogens and bacteria, and calefaction. (Cause and Effect of the Pollution of Lake Huron. Anti Essays. Retrieved February 21, 2013) Most of these pollutants come from urban areas. As populations grow, so does the amount of urban areas. The urban areas are constructed with a lot of impermeable materials used to lay roads and build houses. With impermeable materials covering most of the ground, there is no place for rain water to sink in. All the rain water, along with all the chemicals it washes away, runs off in a gutter system. This in turn flows into a stream or the lake itself. This type of runoff includes chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and suspended solids. (Cause and Effect of the Pollution of Lake Huron. Anti Essays. Retrieved February 21, 2013) www.lakescientist.com Effects of water pollution: Water pollution affects the health of the waterway, the health of the organisms living in and around the waterway, and, eventually, the health of humans. The effects of water pollution can range from aquatic deformities to contaminated fish to â€Å"dead† lakes. Thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/10/31 www.lakescientist.com/2011/lake-huron-salmon-fish Microbial contamination Pathogens refer to bacterial organisms (microbes) typically found in the intestinal tracts of mammals, capable of producing disease. Sources of nutrients include municipal wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, and agricultural runoff. Areas of Lake Huron where pathogens are of concern are Saginaw Bay, Severn Sound, and the southeastern shore of the Lake Huron Basin. Effects of pathogens in these regions have included localized beach closings due to E. coli contamination. (Human Health and the Great Lakes April 29, 2003) Chemical contamination Contaminants to Lake Huron originate from a number of sources, including industrial and municipal discharges, spills, landfills, storm sewers, and agricultural runoff. Contaminants enter Lake Huron through a variety of pathways including direct discharges, atmospheric deposition, and tributary discharge. In comparison to Lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario, contaminant concentrations are relatively low in Lake Huron. Nevertheless, public health advisories exist regarding consumption of trout from the open lake and all Areas of Concern. (Human Health and the Great Lakes April 29, 2003) www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/june2008 Economic Cope Zone Definition: Zone A – Water level regimes that are acceptable and within the tolerance and expectations of a sector. Acceptable levels may vary by sector and location, but are generally within the historical range and not at the extremes. Minimal economic impact. ïÆ'ËœZone B – Water level regimes at which stakeholders can cope under existing policies and infrastructure, but conditions are less than ideal. Stakeholders may suffer negative impacts and may incur additional costs to minimize impacts in this zone. Marginal conditions but generally survivable. Moderate economic impact – short to moderate term. ïÆ'ËœZone C – Water level regimes at which stakeholders can’t cope using existing policies and infrastructure. Sustainability is threatened – for example: marinas to go out of business, commercial shipping is severely curtailed, coastal properties are destroyed, significant damage to infrastructure. Severe economic impact – long-term permanent lo ss. www.glisaclimate.org/wiki/hrwc-economics-impacts. Sources: World Wide Web: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/211875.html The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, 1998-2012. www.lakehuron.on.ca Human Health and the Great Lakes http://www.great-lakes.net

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 20

â€Å"Ohhhh.† Bonnie melted back into the bucket seat. â€Å"It was like†¦kapow! Zap! Zowie! Like†¦fireworks.† â€Å"You're smirking.† â€Å"I am not smirking,† Bonnie said with dignity. â€Å"I am smiling in fond remembrance. Besides – â€Å" â€Å"Besides, if you hadn't Called him, we'd still be stuck in that horror of a room. Thank you, Bonnie. You saved us.† Abruptly Meredith was at her most serious and sincere. â€Å"I guess Elena was maybe right when she said he didn't hate all humans,† Bonnie said slowly. â€Å"But, you know, I just realized. I couldn't see his aura at all. All I could see was black: smooth hard black, like a shell around him.† â€Å"Maybe that's how he protects himself. He makes a shell so no one can see inside.† â€Å"Maybe,† Bonnie said, but there was worried note in her voice. â€Å"And what about that message from Elena?† â€Å"It says that Tami Bryce is definitely acting strangely and that she and Matt are going out to check out the Old Wood.† â€Å"Maybe that's who they're going to meet – Damon, I mean. At 4:44, like he said. Too bad we can't call her.† â€Å"I know,† Meredith said grimly. Everyone in Fell's Church knew that there was no reception in the Old Wood or the cemetery area. â€Å"But go ahead and try anyway.† Bonnie did, and as usual got a no-service message. She shook her head. â€Å"No good. They must already be in the woods.† â€Å"Well, what she wants is for us to go ahead and get a look at Isobel Saitou – you know, because she's Jim Bryce's girlfriend.† Meredith made a turn. â€Å"That reminds me, Bonnie: did you get a look atCaroline's aura? Do you think she has one of those things – inside her?† â€Å"I guess so. I saw her aura, and yuck, I never want to see it again. She used to be a kind of deep bronzy-green, but now she's muddy brown with black lightning zigzagging all through. I don't know if that means one of those things was inside her, but she sure didn't mind cuddling up to them!† Bonnie shuddered. â€Å"Okay,† Meredith said soothingly. â€Å"I know what I would say if I had to make a guess – and if you're going to be sick, I'll stop.† Bonnie gulped. â€Å"I'm all right. But we're seriously going to Isobel Saitou's house?† â€Å"We're very seriously going there. As a matter of fact, we're almost there. Let's just brush our hair, take a few deep breaths, and get it over with. How well do you know her?† â€Å"Well, she's smart. We didn't have any classes together. But we both got out of athletics at the same time – she had a jumpy heart or something, and I used to get that terrible asthma†¦.† â€Å"From any exertion except dancing, which you could keep up all night,† Meredith said dryly. â€Å"I don't know her very well at all. What's she like?† â€Å"Well, nice. Looks a bit like you, except Asian. Shorter than you – Elena's height, but skinnier. Sort of pretty. A little shy – the quiet type, you know. Sort of hard to get to know. And†¦nice.† â€Å"Shy and quiet and nice sounds good to me.† â€Å"Me, too,† Bonnie said, pressing her sweaty hands together between her knees. What sounded even better, she thought, was for Isobel to be not at home. However, there were several cars parked in front of the Saitou house. Bonnie and Meredith knocked on the door hesitantly, mindful of what had happened the last time they had done this. It was Jim Bryce who answered, a tall, lanky boy who hadn't filled out yet and stooped a bit. What Bonnie found amazing was the change in his face as he recognized Meredith. When he'd answered he'd looked awful; his face white under a medium tan, his body somehow crumpled. When he saw Meredith, some of the color came to his cheeks and he seemed to†¦well, to smooth out like a piece of paper. He stood taller. Meredith didn't say a word. She just stepped forward and put her arms around him. He clutched at her as if he was afraid she'd run away, and buried his face in her dark hair. â€Å"Meredith.† â€Å"Just breathe, Jim. Breathe.† â€Å"You don't know what it's been like. My parents left because my great-grandpa's really sick – I think he's dying. And then Tami – Tami – â€Å" â€Å"Tell me slowly. And keep breathing.† â€Å"She threw knives, Meredith. Butcher knives. She got me in the leg here.† Jim plucked at his jeans to show a small slit of a hole in the fabric over the lower part of one thigh. â€Å"Have you had a tetanus shot recently?† Meredith was at her most efficient. â€Å"No, but it's not really a big cut. It's a puncture wound, mainly.† â€Å"Those are exactly the kind that are most dangerous. You need to call Dr. Alpert right away.† Old Dr. Alpert was an institution in Fell's Church: a doctor who even made house calls, in a country where carrying around a little black bag and stethoscope was pretty much unheard-of behavior. â€Å"Ican't . I can't leave†¦.† Jim jerked his head backward toward the interior of the house as if he couldn't bring himself to say a name. Bonnie tugged at Meredith's sleeve. â€Å"I have a very bad feeling about this,† she hissed. Meredith turned back to Jim. â€Å"You mean Isobel? Where areher parents?† â€Å"Isa-chan, I mean Isobel, I just call her Isa-chan, you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's all right,† said Meredith. â€Å"Just say what comes naturally. Go on.† â€Å"Well, Isa-chan only has her grandma, and Grandma Saitou doesn't even come downstairs much. I made her lunch a while ago and she thought I was – Isobel's father. She gets†¦confused.† Meredith glanced at Bonnie, and said, â€Å"And Isobel? Is she confused, too?† Jim shut his eyes, looking utterly miserable. â€Å"I wish you'd go in and, well, just talk to her.† Bonnie's bad feeling was only getting worse. She really couldn't stand another scare like the one at Caroline's house – and she certainly didn't have the strength to Call again, even if Damon weren't in a hurry to get somewhere. But Meredith knew all this, and Meredith was giving her the sort of look that couldn't be denied. It also promised that Meredith would protect Bonnie, no matter what. â€Å"Is she hurting anybody? Isobel?† Bonnie heard herself ask as they crossed through the kitchen and toward a bedroom at the end of the hallway. She could hardly hear Jim's whispered, â€Å"Yeah.† And then, as Bonnie groaned internally, he added, â€Å"Herself.† Isobel's room was just what you'd expect from a quiet and studious girl. At least one side was. The other side looked as if a tidal wave had picked everything up and thrown it down again randomly. Isobel was sitting in the middle of this mess like a spider on a web. But that wasn't what made Bonnie's gut churn. It was what Isobel was doing. She had laid out beside her what looked a lot like Mrs. Flowers' kit for cleaning out wounds, but she wasn't healing anything. She was piercing herself. She had already done her lip, her nose, one eyebrow, and her ears, many times. Blood was dripping from all these places, dripping and falling onto the unmade sheets of her bed. Bonnie saw all that as Isobel looked up at them with a frown, except that the frown was only half there. On the pierced side, the eyebrow didn't move at all. Her aura was shattered orange with black lashings through it. Bonnie knew, all at once, that she was going to be sick. She knew it with the deep knowledge that overcame all embarrassment and which sent her flying to a wastebasket she didn't even remember seeing. Thank God, it had a white plastic bag lining it, she thought, and then she was completely occupied for a few minutes. Her ears recorded a voice, even as she was thinking she was glad she hadn't had lunch. â€Å"My God,are you crazy ? Isobel, what have you done to yourself? Don't you know the kind of infections you can get†¦the veins you can hit†¦the muscles you can paralyze†¦? I think you've already pierced the muscle in your eyebrow – and you shouldn't still be bleeding unless you've hit veins or arteries.† Bonnie retched dryly into the wastebasket, and spat. And just then she heard a meaty thud. She looked up, half knowing what she would see. But it still was a shock. Meredith was doubled over from what must have been a punch in the stomach. The next thing Bonnie knew, she was beside Meredith. â€Å"Oh, my God, did shestab you?† A stab wound†¦deep enough into the abdomen†¦ Meredith clearly couldn't get her breath. From somewhere a bit of advice from her sister Mary, the nurse, floated into Bonnie's mind. Bonnie pounded with both fists on Meredith's back, and suddenly Meredith took a huge gulp of air. â€Å"Thanks,† she was saying weakly, but Bonnie was already dragging her away, away from the laughing Isobel and a collection of the world's longest nails and the rubbing alcohol and other things that she had on a breakfast tray beside her. Bonnie got to the door and almost collided with Jim, who had a wet washcloth in his hand. For her, she supposed. Or maybe for Isobel. All Bonnie was interested in was making Meredith pull up her top to make absolutely, positively sure that there were no holes in her. â€Å"I got it – out of her hand – before she punched me,† Meredith said, still breathing painfully as Bonnie anxiously scanned the area above her low-rise jeans. â€Å"I'll have a bruise, that's all.† â€Å"She hit you, too?† Jim said in dismay. Except that he didn't say it. He whispered it. You poor guy, Bonnie thought, finally satisfied that Meredith wasn't perforated. What with Caroline and your sister Tami and your girlfriend, you don't have the first idea of what's going on. How could you? And if we told you, you'd just think we were two more crazy girls. â€Å"Jimmy, youhave to call Dr. Alpert right away, and then I think they're going to have to go to the hospital in Ridgemont. Isobel's already done permanent damage to herself – God knows how much.All those piercings are almost certainly going to be infected. When did she start this?† â€Å"Um, well†¦she first started acting weird after Caroline came to see her.† â€Å"Caroline!† Bonnie blurted, confused. â€Å"Was she crawling?† Jim gave her a look. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"Never mind Bonnie; she was joking,† Meredith said easily. â€Å"Jimmy, you don't have to tell us about Caroline if you don't want to. We – well, we know she was over at your house.† â€Å"Doeseverybody know?† Jim asked miserably. â€Å"No. Just Matt, and he only told us so that somebody could go check on your little sister.† Jim looked guilty and stricken at once. The words poured out of him as if they'd been bottled up and now the cork was out of the bottle. â€Å"I don't know what's going on anymore. All I can tell you is what happened. It was a couple days ago – late evening,† Jim said. â€Å"Caroline came over, and – I mean, I never even had a crush on her. It's like, sure, she's good-looking, and my parents were away and all, but I never thought I was the kind of guy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Never mind that now. Just tell us about Caroline and Isobel.† â€Å"Well, Caroline came over wearing this outfit that was – well, the top was practically transparent. And she just – she said, did I want to dance and it was, like, slow dancing and she – she, like,seduced me. That's the truth. And the next morning she left – just about the time Matt came. That was the day before yesterday. And then I noticed Tami acting – crazy. Nothing I could do would stop her. And then I got a phone call from Isa-chan and – I've never heard her so hysterical. Caroline must have gone straight from my house to her house. Isa-chan said she was going to kill herself. And so I ran over here. I had to get away from Tami anyway because me being there at home just seemed to make it worse.† Bonnie looked at Meredith and knew that they were both thinking the same thing:and somewhere in there, both Caroline and Tami propositioned Matt, too. â€Å"Caroline must have told her everything.† Jim gulped. â€Å"Isa-chan and I haven't – we were waiting, you know? But all Isa-chan would say to me was that I was going to be sorry. ;;You'll be sorry; just wait and see,' over and over and over. And, God, Iam sorry.† â€Å"Well, now you can stop being sorry and start calling the doctor. Rightnow , Jimmy.† Meredith gave him a swat on the behind. â€Å"And then you need to call your parents. Don't give me those big brown puppy-dog eyes. You're over eighteen; I don't know what they can do to you for leaving Tami alone all this time.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"But me no buts. Imean it, Jimmy.† Then she did what Bonnie knew she would, but was dreading. She approached Isobel again. Isobel's head was down; she was pinching her navel with one hand. In the other, she held a long, shining nail. Before Meredith could even speak, Isobel said, â€Å"So you're in on it, too. I heard the way you called him  ¡Ã‚ ®Jimmy.' You're all trying to take him away from me. All you bitches are trying to hurt me.Yurusenai! Zettai yurusenai! â€Å" â€Å"Isobel! Don't! Can't you see that you're hurtingyourself ?† â€Å"I'm only hurting myself to take away the pain. You're the one who's really doing it, you know. You're pricking me with needles inside.† Bonnie jumped inside her own skin, but not just because Isobel suddenly gave a vicious thrust of the nail. She felt heat sweep up into her cheeks. Her heart began to pound even faster than it was already going. Trying to keep one eye on Meredith, she pulled her mobile phone out of her back pocket where she'd stashed it after the visit to Caroline's house. Still with half her attention on Meredith, she went on the Internet and rapidly entered just two search words. Then, as she made a couple of selections from her hits, she realized that she could never absorb all the information in a week, much less a few minutes. But at least she had a start. Just now, Meredith was backing away from Isobel. She put her mouth close to Bonnie's ear and whispered, â€Å"I think we're just antagonizing her. Did you get a good look at her aura?† Bonnie nodded. â€Å"Then we probably should leave the room, at least.† Bonnie nodded again. â€Å"Were you trying to call Matt and Elena?† Meredith was eyeing the mobile phone. Bonnie shook her head and turned the phone so Meredith could see her two search words. Meredith stared, then lifted dark eyes to Bonnie's in a kind of horrified recognition. Salem witches.