Guerrilla Wafare Of Shivaji

Guerrilla Wafare Of Shivaji 106. This paper has put forward an argument that little has changed since the times of Kaultiya and Sun Tzu . Shivaji borrowed heavily from Kautilya , while Mao and Che have quoted Sun Tzu in detail. The only aspect that has been added to the modern day guerrilla war is religious fanaticism. Comparison 107. Guerrilla warfare as conducted by Shivaji , Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara will be compared on basis of the following aspects:- (a) Ideology. (b) Violent Means. (c) Non violent Means. 49 (d) Impact and Result. Ideology 108. Shivaji. Shivaji led the freedom struggle of the Marathas against Muslim rule in Deccan. His ideology was to establish Hindavi Swarajya and subsequent expansion of the Maratha Empire. This was partly responsible for re-establishment of Hindu rule and its re-emergent assertiveness throughout the mainland of present day India after being ruled and dominated by various Muslim dynasties for several centuries. The ideology of Hindavi Swarajya was in part the inspiration that propelled the succeeding generation of Marathas to establish independent kingdom in India prior to their eventual defeat by the British. He succeeded in establishing control of a well-defended segment of the present state of Maharastra in western India, during his lifetime. The prevalent practices of treating women as war booty, destruction of religious monuments, slavery and forceful religious conversions were firmly opposed under his administration. Shivaji was a religious Hindu, but showed respect toward other religions. Shivaji innovated rules of military engagement of that era. He pioneered Ganimi Kava (in Marathi), or guerrilla tactics, which leveraged strategic factors like demographics, speed, surprise and focused attack to defeat his bigger and more powerful enemies. 109. Mao tse Tung. Maos ideology was greatly influenced by Leninism, Marxism and Trotskyism. But soon he developed his own blend of communism , widely known as Maoism. Some components of Maoism are as follows:- 50 (a) Peoples War. The armed branch of the party must not be distinct from the masses. To conduct a successful revolution the needs and demands of the masses must be the most important issues. (b) New Democracy. In backward countries, socialism cannot be introduced before the country has gone through a period in which the material conditions are improved. This cannot be done by the bourgeoisie, as its progressive character is long since replaced by a regressive character. (c) Contradictions as the most important feature of society. Society is dominated of a wide range of contradictions. As these are different of nature, they must also be handled in different ways. The most important divide is the divide between contradictions among the masses and contradictions between the masses and their enemies. Also the socialist institutions are plagued with contradictions, and these contradictions must not be suppressed as they were during Stalins era. (d) Cultural revolution. Bourgeois ideology is not wiped out by the revolution; the class-struggle continues, and even intensifies, during socialism. Therefore an instant struggle against these ideologies and their social roots must be conducted. 110. Che Guevara. Che widely quoted Mao and Sun Tzu. He was highly impressed by Maos insurrection and his rise to power. Che propounded his ideology 51 known as Guevarism . His ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the United States and has fallen out of favour with its citizens. Guevara talked about how constant guerrilla warfare taking place in non-urban areas can overcome leaders. He introduced three points that are representative of his ideology as a whole, that the people can win with proper organization against a nations army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. 111. He had a dedication to foco techniques, also known as focalism (or foquismo in Spanish): vanguardism by small armed units, frequently in place of established communist parties, initially launching attacks from rural areas to mobilize unrest into a popular front against a sitting regime. Despite differences in approachemphasizing guerrilla leadership and audacious raids that engender general uprising, rather than consolidating political power in military strongholds before expanding to new onesChe Guevara took great inspiration from the Maoist notion of protracted peopleHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protracted_peoples_warHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protracted_peoples_wars war Violent Means 112. Shivaji. The times in which Shivaji lived were extremely harsh and trying ones. It was a period when Mughals , Adilshah of Bijapur, Qutubshah of Golconda and Nizamshah of Ahmednagar were at the peak of their power. Internecine conflicts between these powers were always bloody and violent. Shivaji established his 52 kingdom in this period. He had to fight very many bloody battles i.e. Battle of Purandar , Battle of Sinhagarh, Killing of Afzal Khan, Rout of Shahistakhan etc. He always tried to resolve issues as less bloodshed as possible. 113. Mao tse Tung. Mao tse Tung led the insurrection of his people of his people by propounding Communism and established an everlasting communist rule in China. He started as an urban revolutionary first, but soon understood that real power lied with the peasants and gave a rural shade to his revolution. He was ruthless in dealing with the Koumingtang and also the Japanese. His use of violence was at times to the extent of being a sadist. Mao advanced further strategy and tactics of direct action by combining political and military strategy and war and revolutionary means. His long-range strategy, outlined in his essay On Contradictions, is based on a general proposition that change is determined by contradictions and conflicts. Of particular interest in this regard is Maos utilization of the Chinese peasantry and the Peoples Liberation Army in accomplishing the Communist revolutionary victory in China and in structuring post-revolutionary society. 114. Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a ruthless revolutionary who executed hundreds. He argued in his writings and speeches that hatred is good because it, transforms us into effective, violent, selective, and cold killing machines. He said , I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady, I am all the contrary of a Christ. I fight for the things I believe in, with all the weapons at my disposal and try to leave the other man dead so that I dont get nailed to a cross or any other 53 place. The consequences of building violent, selective, and cold killing machines is that these means lead to tragic ends that continue the cycle of violence and bloodshed. One example took place in the early morning hours of July 13, 1994 just six miles from HavanaHYPERLINK http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/96eng/Cuba11436.htmHYPERLINK http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/96eng/Cuba11436.htms sea wall, the Malecon, out in the ocean a tug-boat with more than 71 Cubans trying to head for sanctuary were attacked. These victims were met by other tugboats captained by Che, who used high pressure hoses to knock these refugees overboard into the sea and later rammed and sank the boat drowning 41 passengers. 21 of the dead were women and children. Che said in the UN General Assembly in 1964, HYPERLINK http://www.patriagrande.net/cuba/ernesto.che.guevara/discursos/19641211a.htmWe must say here what is a known truth, which we have always expressed before the world: firing squad executions, yes, we have executed; we are executing and we will continue to execute as long as is necessary. Our struggle is a struggle to the death.HYPERLINK http://www.patriagrande.net/cuba/ernesto.che.guevara/discursos/19641211a.htm Non violent Means. 115. Shivaji was the biggest proponent of non violent means amongst the three. He tried to avoid combat as long as the ends were being met by negotiations and guile. But one must not consider him weak due this practice of his. Whereas Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara are little known to have employed non violent means. Impact and Result 116. Shivaji had a far reaching impact on the psyche of India as a nation , he promoted the sense of independence from the Muslim rulers amongst several rulers of South India , Rajputs and Punjab. He was able to establish a free Maratha 54 kingdom in the Muslim dominated politics of his times. This kingdom was further expanded till Delhi by the Peshwas. 117. Mao established the Communist rule in China, which still exists , by ousting Chiang Kai Sheks Koumintang. Che Guevara was the romantic guerrilla, who helped Fidel Castro in taking over Cuba from Batista, but he is more remembered after his death. Relevance in Modern Times 118. The precepts propounded by Shivaji and theorised by Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara are relevant in the modern times. The new guerrilla, terrorists, are making full use of the theories laid by these three. Therefore to counter these threats, government have forces also have to resort to guerrilla warfare. 55 CHAPTER VIII CONCLUSION Insurrection by means of guerrilla bands is the true method of warfare for all nations desirous of emancipating themselves from a foreign yoke à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is invincible, indestructible. Giuseppe Mazzini 119. The leaders discussed in the paper are all of them charismatic characters. The aim was to illustrate as to how they adapted their guerrilla theories to their particular terrain and situation and developed new ideas as the struggle continued. An objective analysis of Shivaji, Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara proves that there was very little difference in the way they fought their war. Following conclusions are evident:- (a) They were all strong proponents of guerrilla warfare, due to the inherent asymmetry between them and their adversaries. (b) They were able to channelize the masses, so important for the revolution. (c) The principles of war employed by them are important today as armed conflict between belligerents is becoming asymmetric in nature day by day. 56 120. History shows that nineteenth-century guerrilla wars invariably failed to achieve their objectives except with the support of the regular army, domestic or foreign. A powerful impetus was given to guerrilla war after 1945 with the disintegration of colonial empires. The colonial powers no longer had the will to fight and even if the guerrillas were militarily ineffective, to combat them became so costly, that the imperial power had to withdraw. Guerrilla wars against domestic leaders have succeeded.

Gamer: violent video games Essay

Everyone nowadays plays video games. From kids to adults, we all go through the phase of video games. Some are violent others aren’t. So which ones are good for you and which aren’t? Well I believe that video games in general are just games. They do not harm anything or anyone. Violent video games do not cause violent behavior. Just because you go around shooting people on a television doesn’t mean your going to run around the street killing people. This misconception is often misunderstood. It’s just a game. Your sitting next to your television pushing buttons on a controller. Let’s say your playing a violent war game like Medal Of Honor. This game is based off of World War One and World War Two. Of course there is a lot of killing involved, but during a war isn’t that what you expect? Besides the whole killing factor I personally believe that these kinds of games are benefitial. You get to learn what weapons were using during that time period, you learn key events, and most of all you get a historical background of the time period covered. To me this is a unique way of learning. The younger generation tend to play war-like games, which in my opinion is really good. Young kids like shooting and action, but what they don’t know is that they are actually getting more than just that. They are learning what made the United States today. People often look past all those details and just argue that violent video games cause violent behavior, but I am at disbelief. Another reason why I think violent video games don’t contribute to violent behavior is because there is actually no scientific proof. There is no proof out there that violent games cause violent behavior. So what’s wrong with a little bit of machine gun action? Nothing. Nothing at all. In fact some studies show that violent video games actually help with stress and help you relax. Lets say your coming home from work and you had a miserable day. Your boss made you angry because he made you stay late. So you turn on your video game system when you get home ,and decide to shoot some people in the game to help you deal with your stupid boss. So instead of fighting your boss you get to take it out in the video game. It helps you meditate and get your feelings out in an unrealistic envirnment. It’s just too much fun. Who wouldn’t want to run around in a game and blow stuff up? I mean it’s not like I can just go down the street to the store and ask if I could purchase an rpg. Violent video games don’t affect people that way. Ask someone next time, what is the difference between a violent video game and a violent movie? There is none. Only difference is in a video game you have more control than a movie. More control is more fun, and more fun is always good. Just think about how many people just purchased the new GTA 5. That game is probably the most violent game ever produced, and yet people are still staying sane. In my opinion, violent video games have nothing to contribute to violent behavior. Violent behavior is adopted from real violent experiences or encounters. If someone wants to go run down a street and kill someone they will. A video game does not determine that, and never will. We have plenty of pshycos in this world to worry about some video games. Let the people who want to play them. play them. Violent or not at the end of the day it’s just a game.

Family assessment paper Essay

Family Assessment Paper 2382 Instructor Introduction The family just recently moved to my neighborhood and we casually said hi to each other. I went to their house and introduced myself and informed them of my intentions. I explained to the family that I was going to perform a family assessment and that this was about assessing the family processes and interactions and identifying both the weak and strong points in the family. I further discussed with the family that the purpose for this assessment was purely academic, confidentiality will be maintained and no diagnostic tests of any kind will be made. Permission was given before scheduling the interview and verified again prior to start. This was verbally consented and there was no need to sign any papers. Therefore, we set up the appointment for 5 o’clock in the evening on Saturday February the 11th 2012 and the interview was going to be at their home in the living room. As of my plan I wrote and grouped my interview questions. I was to interview the kids first and then finish up with the parents, the mother being the very last because of the abuse questions and assessment. I had the abuse assessment forms in envelopes for them to fill out at the end of the session. I planned to get the genogram with both the parent. So on this day of interview all the five family members were present. We gathered in their living room and being covered with all the information, the environment was tens free. I interviewed the kids first. And theirs was general, and I mostly wanted to know what their roles were in the family as a whole. Structural Assessment Family composition/ separate genogram attached The family consists of three kids, ages 15, 13 and a 6month old. The Kids’ names are Pt, Ks and Ax. None of the parents have been married before. This was their first one. They also have two large dogs and a small cat that they  recently adopted. Nobody else lives at home with the family Home and community environment. They live in a single family house. Pt has his own room, ks has her own room too and the parents share the room with baby Ax. They stated to don’t know many people yet in the neighborhood but so far it is a calm environment. They live near a community park, library, the kids’ school and day care is just a couple of blocks away, a hospital, dental clinic, a fire department nearby as well as a shopping center. Occupation and education background Mother is pursuing a RN. nursing degree and works 1 day a month in a nursing home. Father is a truck driver and is gone most of the week. He is mostly in Texas and Chicago. They both attained an equivalent of a high school diploma back in Poland. Mother is mostly the caregiver in the house while the father is the provider. This is a family that moved from Poland ten years ago, they lived in California before moving to Minnesota six years ago. Kids Assessment The oldest kid, a teenage boy just said he loved helping in the house especially since the baby came and he has been doing a lot of that. He does dishes, helps younger siblings with their assignments (mother is very busy with school and sometimes does not understand English very well). He said he wishes his dad would be home more but he also understood that he had to provide for them and pay the housing. He was a very calm young man and pleasant to talk to. Next I interviewed the 13 year-old girl, I had to talk about fashion at some point to get her attention and it worked. Morbidly obese and she said she has been trying to lose weight but she can’t stop herself from eating anything sweet she lays her hands on. She said she really wanted a girl sibling when her mom first said she was pregnant but when her baby brother was born she got over it fast .She is very helpful with the baby too and loves him dearly. Sometimes offers to sleep with him so her mother can get some sleep. Structural family relationship- Bb’s family is from Poland and she does not have any relatives in the United States. Rn is also from Poland. His brother lives in Chicago thus he can’t  help with the new baby and daycare is too expensive. So for now Bb has to stay home and watch baby Ax. However, she also goes to school and when she is gone to school; she has a lot of trouble finding help with the kids. She is doing evening classes so that Pt and Ks can help babysit after school. And that has been working out so far but would love to find a permanent solution. Cultural and religious tradition The family is white from Polish background. Bb and Rn were born and raised up in Poland. Their first two kids, Pt and Ks were born in Poland but have grown up mostly in the US. They speak multiple languages but more articulate in English. The family is a staunch Catholics and they go to a polish church in Minneapolis. They celebrate religious holidays like Easter and Christmas. They value Christianity and believe that Church is the basis of spirituality. The family also believes in baptism and eating sacrament so they have all their kids baptized. Functional Assessment Family interaction and roles Bb does not work much, but just once in a month. She stays home with the kids; she wishes she could work more because they are falling behind on the mortgage and can’t afford to buy things that she would want to have. For instance she wants a newer car but she can’t afford one now. However, they are managing although they have been able to cut back on other things that they were used to, before, such as family trips. Baby Ax was an accidental pregnancy and they were all much unprepared for it. It was especially hard on the family when Bb had to stop working because she had HTN and gestational diabetes. She was on bed rest for most of the pregnancy. The family has been through a lot lately and they are not doing well with the baby. Rn is complaining paying all the bills and finds it very hard to help with the baby. Power decision making/problem solving The family believes in authoritative rearing of kids and parents work well with the kids when they have done something undesirable. They do not believe in whipping the kids but discipline in denying privileges and giving time outs. Mother is mostly the disciplinarian. According to Bb, they agree on  punishment according to what the kids have done and they both support each other in disciplining the kids. The power and decision making is the father’s role and they will consult with him even when he is far on matters that need his attention. Abuse assessment. I used the abuse form that I had prepared from the questions on (Varcarolis, 2007 pg. 591) to interview the mother on abuse. I asked her the four questions from the abuse assessment screen (figure 26-2). 1. Have your ever been emotionally or physically abused by your partner or someone important to you? 2. Within the last year, have you been hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt by someone? 3. Within the last year has anyone forced you to have sexual activities? 4. Are you afraid of your partner or anyone you listed on the assessment list? The mother denied being abused physically emotional or sexually in the past year. She denied feeling unsafe. She denied being threatened and said she felt safe in the home. Her verbal and nonverbal communication was congruent. Father also denied any kind of abuse and really expressed lots of appreciation about the wife instead. I also asked the following questions regarding their kids on (Varcarolis, 2007 pg. 598). 1. What arrangements do you make when you have to leave your child alone? 2. How do you discipline your children 3. When your infant cries for a long time how you do get him to stop? 4. What about your child’s behavior bothers you the most? These questions were to assess the possibility for children abuse and neglect but the results were negative regardless of the stressors the parents disciplines their kids fairly as I mentioned earlier in the power decision making / problem solving. They never leave the baby alone in the home and they attend to the crying baby promptly and calm him down by meeting his needs. Generally, the rationale for the screening is to ensure consistent and accurate assessments and protection of all individuals and or families at risk for domestic violence, maltreatment and neglect. (Varcarolis, 2007 pg. 587) On the same note women are victimized about six times more often than men (Varcarolis, 2007 pg. 586). Communication Different communication techniques were used during this interview, it  included open ended questions, seeking clarification, focusing and summarizing. There were also some non-verbal communication such as silence, nodding of the head, eye contact, smiles, movement of hands, looking up unto the roof, looking down onto the floor and movement on the seats. Active listening played a major role in data generation. There were also some interruptions with the kids seeking attention, dad and mom at different times taking breaks to smoke and a couple incoming phone calls. Expression of feelings/individuals: The family showed respect and peace among themselves members listened to each other’s opinions. No curse words to each other during the interview and I was very impressed with the respect to one another overall. Even though the father is away, he calls 3-4 times a day to talk to the kids and his wife. They are a close-knit family and try to stay together even during a crisis. Dad said love, patience and peace is the key to their long lasting marriage of their18 years. Regardless of all the stress they are going through, financially and with the baby care, they are clinging together still. Mother also expressed a nonverbal communication congruently in support dad’s statements Self-destructive behavior: Both parents smoke in the home and this is very unhealthy for the kids and to themselves. Father also drinks a lot on the days when he is off. This family eats out a lot too even with the limited finances, this in itself is expensive and choice of foods are not always the healthiest considering the fact that the family members are obese or overweight. Stages: (Friedman) Observation of family member’s interactions: Positive interactions were seen within the family members. The children were seen playing and interacting very well, and occasionally coming to the parent for attention and seeking clarifications on what to eat and not to eat. Leadership/Submission: Leadership and submission characteristic are evident within the family system. Though at times parents have episode of arguments, but they are always quick to come to a compromise. Father enforces rules and advices the wife to follow suit in order to have a common voice. Activities shared: Both  parents stated â€Å"we take them on a walk and sometimes biking and occasionally weekend trip when the time permits but we are barely surviving so we have not done anything for a longtime now. Emotional Support: Emotional Support was observed when the mother heard the last baby crying, she hurriedly rush to the scene to see what went wrong. Household chores responsibility: Household chores mainly domestic in nature rest primarily on the mom. But husband agreed to help whenever he is home. The children are also very helpful especially when their dad is gone. Caregiver- Shared or primary: Mother is the primary caregiver. Division of tasks: Mother is the one mainly doing chores in the house, when the husband is around he does not do much because he is â€Å"always tired†, mother’s statement. Stressors/strengths The mother sometimes feels unappreciated because she is taking care of the home and the kids while husband is away and wishes the husband would recognize how tough of a task this is. She feels like the house is not always clean and she loves to keep her house clean and neat but also understands that the baby is priority now. She gained 50 pounds with the pregnancy and she wants to lose it fast, she worries with her age she might never look the same again. The children are very well mannered and they understand that there is time for everything. They will follow instructions on when to go to bed and when to turn off all their gadgets (I-pod).Father hates his job but is willing to do it for as long as he can support his family. He realizes that it’s the sacrifice he has to make. Their financial situation is a big stress. The whole family has had to cut back on a lot of things and become very frugal in their spending. They would love to get ahead with the bills and be able to afford some holiday, but that is not going to happen soon so they try to do fun things in order to forget about their situation. Rn being gone is also a stressor for all the other family members and him. The baby is a joy but also a stressor since they have to make a lot of changes to take care of him. Their main strength is spirituality and lots of patience with one another. They get their strength from having good communication techniques. Clinging together unto their marriage is one of the big strengths in this family. Most families break up during situational crises that bring so much stress until couples can’t put  up together any longer. Mom stated â€Å"it is and has been very difficult but out we won’t fall apart.† So much patience was expressed. Thinking in Action journal This assignment was one of the most complex and challenging one so far in this semester. When we were given the instructions during clinical orientation, as well as in the 2381 lab, I thought it was going to be a simple assignment of which it wasn’t. However, at first I had more fun preparing for the interview, going up and meeting the family. Setting up the interview appointment was itself very exciting to me and this really incited me to looking forward to that scheduled day of 02/11/12. Before I knew it, the day of the interview was here and I arrived at the interviewee family home right on time so that do not interrupt with any of their plans. Amazingly they were all set in their living room ready for me. It started all well with open ended question since I had given them all the information prior and had verbally consented the interview at the time of scheduling. All went well with therapeutic communication and I gathered as much information as possible. I observed all their non-verbal in congruent with verbal communication. I demonstrated active listening a lot which of course enabled them to provide more information. I was amazed with how much they opened up for me. They answered all my questions in details without any signs of hesitation. This confidently revealed to me the big strength of my therapeutic communication giving me the feeling of empowerment and trust winning as a student nurse. At the end of the interview I was glad that I answered their all questions and gave them all the information as needed. I enjoyed this day and I will always remember it!!. As I started writing my paper, it was a little more challenging to organize all the data I collected appropriately, but eventually I managed. Although it was time consuming, it also was a very good learning experience. Works Cited Ackley, J. B., & Ladwig, B. G. (2011). Nursing Diagnosis Handbook. St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby, St. Louis. Varcarolis, E. M., & Halter, M. J. (2010). Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. St.Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier. Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress Management  Techniques: evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health Science Journal, Child Care Assistance for postsecondary Students. www.getreadyforcollege.org/pdfGR/ChildCare.pdfSimilar

R. Buckminster Fuller, About a Visionary Designer

Famous for his design of the geodesic dome, Richard Buckminster Fuller spent his life exploring what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity. Background: Born: July 12, 1895 in Milton, Massachusetts Died: July 1, 1983 Education: Expelled from Harvard University during freshman year. Received training at the U.S. Naval Academy while enlisted in the military. Fuller developed an early understanding of nature during family vacations to Maine. He became familiar with boat design and engineering as a young boy, which led him to serve in the US Navy from 1917 to 1919. While in the military, he invented a winch system for rescue boats to pull downed airplanes out of the ocean in time to save the lives of pilots. Awards and Honors: 44 honorary doctoral degreesGold Medal of the American Institute of ArchitectsGold Medal of the Royal Institute of British ArchitectsNominated for Nobel Peace PrizeJanuary 10, 1964: Featured on the cover of Time magazine 2004: Featured on a commemorative stamp by the US Postal Service. The artwork was the painting of Fuller by Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965), an image that originally appeared on Time magazine. Important Works: 1926: Co-inventor of a new way to manufacture reinforced concrete buildings. This patent led to other inventions.1932: The portable Dymaxion house, an inexpensive, mass-produced home that could be airlifted to its location.1934: The Dymaxion car, a streamlined, three-wheeled automobile that could make extraordinarily sharp turns.1938: Nine Chains to the Moon 1946: The Dymaxion Map, showing planet Earth on a single flat map without visible distortion of the continents.1949: Developed the Geodesic Dome, patent in 1954.1967: Biosphere, the US Pavilion at Expo 67, Montreal, Canada1969: Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth1970: Approaching the Benign Environment 1975: Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking (read Synergetics online) Quotes by Buckminster Fuller: Whenever I draw a circle, I immediately want to step out of it.You must choose between making money and making sense. The two are mutually exclusive.We are blessed with technology that would be indescribable to our forefathers. We have the wherewithal, the know-it-all to feed everybody, clothe everybody, and give every human on Earth a chance. We know now what we could never have known before--that we now have the option for all humanity to make it successfully on this planet in this lifetime. Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment. What Others Say About Buckminster Fuller: He was really the worlds first green architect and was passionately interested in the issues of ecology and sustainability....He was very provocative—one of those people that if you met him, you would learn something or he would send you away and you would pursue a new line of inquiry, which would later turn out to be of value. And he was totally unlike the stereotype or the caricature that everybody assumed he was like. He was interested in poetry and the spiritual dimensions of works of art.—Norman Foster Source: Interview by Vladimir Belogolovskiy, archi.ru [accessed May 28, 2015] About R. Buckminster Fuller: Standing only 52 tall, Buckminster Fuller loomed over the twentieth century. Admirers affectionately call him Bucky, but the name he gave himself was Guinea Pig B. His life, he said, was an experiment. When he was 32 years old, his life seemed hopeless. Bankrupt and without a job, Fuller was grief stricken over the death of his first child, and he had a wife and a newborn to support. Drinking heavily, Buckminster Fuller contemplated suicide. Instead, he decided that his life was not his to throw away—it belonged to the universe. Buckminster Fuller embarked on an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity. To this end, the visionary designer spent the next half century searching for ways of doing more with less so that all people could be fed and sheltered. Although Buckminster Fuller never obtained a degree in architecture, he was an architect and engineer who designed revolutionary structures. Fullers famous Dymaxion House was a pre-fabricated, pole-supported dwelling. His Dymaxion car was a streamlined, three-wheeled vehicle with the engine in the rear. His Dymaxion Air-Ocean Map projected a spherical world as a flat surface with no visible distortion. Dymaxion Deployment Units (DDUs) were mass-produced houses based on circular grain bins. But Bucky is perhaps most famous for his creation of the geodesic dome—a remarkable, sphere-like structure based on theories of energetic-synergetic geometry which he developed while in the Navy during WWII. Efficient and economical, the geodesic dome was widely hailed as a possible solution to world housing shortages. During his lifetime, Buckminster Fuller wrote 28 books and was awarded 25 United States patents. Although his Dymaxion car never caught on and his design for geodesic domes is rarely used for residential dwellings, Fuller made his mark in areas of architecture, mathematics, philosophy, religion, urban development, and design. Visionary or Man With Wacky Ideas? The word dymaxion became associated with Fullers invention. It was coined by store advertisers and marketing associated, but is trademarked in Fullers name. Dy-max-ion is a combination of dynamic, maximum, and ion. Many concepts proposed by Buckminster Fuller are ones that today we take for granted. For example, way back in 1927, Fuller sketched a one-town world, where air transport over the North Pole would be viable and desirable. Synergetics: After 1947, the geodesic dome dominated Fullers thoughts.  His interest, like any architects interest, was in understanding the balance of compression and tension forces in buildings, not unlike the tensile architecture work of Frei Otto. Like Ottos German Pavilion at Expo 67, Fuller showcased his Geodesic Dome Biosphere at the same Exposition in Montreal, Canada. Lightweight, cost-effective and easy to assemble, geodesic domes enclose space without intrusive supporting columns, efficiently distribute stress, and withstand extreme conditions. Fullers approach to geometry was synergetic, based on the synergy of how parts of things interact to create the whole thing. Similar to Gestalt Psychology, Fullers ideas struck the right chord with visionaries and non-scientists especially. Source: USPS News Release, 2004 Architects on US Postage Stamps: 1966: Frank Lloyd Wright2004: Isamu Noguchi, Landscape Architect2004: R. Buckminster Fuller2015: Robert Robinson Taylor, Architect