Once Upon a Time...When a Revolution Evolved to a Civil War in Syria

This paper gives an overview of how the conflict in Syria has evolved from a revolution into a sectarian civil war. Power is maintained by the ruling Assad family through promotion of the Alawite minority within the government and military. Methods of persecution on the Sunni majority by the Assad government are discussed as well as a policy of strategic expulsion of the Sunni enclave to Idlib, a city on the outskirts of Syria (bordering Turkey)

Spatially Resolved Gas Kinematics within a Lyα\alpha Nebula: Evidence for Large-scale Rotation

We use spatially extended measurements of Ly$\alpha$ as well as less optically thick emission lines from an $\approx$80 kpc Ly$\alpha$ nebula at $z\approx1.67$ to assess the role of resonant scattering and to disentangle kinematic signatures from Ly$\alpha$ radiative transfer effects. We find that the Ly$\alpha$, CIV, HeII, and CIII] emission lines all tell a similar story in this system, and that the kinematics are broadly consistent with large-scale rotation. First, the observed surface brightness profiles are similar in extent in all four lines, strongly favoring a picture in which the Ly$\alpha$ photons are produced in situ instead of being resonantly scattered from a central source. Second, we see low kinematic offsets between Ly$\alpha$ and the less optically thick HeII line ($\sim$100-200 km s$^{-1}$), providing further support for the argument that the Ly$\alpha$ and other emission lines are all being produced within the spatially extended gas. Finally, the full velocity field of the system shows coherent velocity shear in all emission lines: $\approx$500 km s$^{-1}$ over the central $\approx$50 kpc of the nebula. The kinematic profiles are broadly consistent with large-scale rotation in a gas disk that is at least partially stable against collapse. These observations suggest that the Ly$\alpha$ nebula represents accreting material that is illuminated by an offset, hidden AGN or distributed star formation, and that is undergoing rotation in a clumpy and turbulent gas disk. With an implied mass of M(<R=20 kpc)$\sim3\times10^{11}$ $M_{\odot}$, this system may represent the early formation of a large Milky Way mass galaxy or galaxy group.Comment: Accepted to ApJ; 25 pages in emulateapj format; 15 figures, 4 table

Taxation of Income on Professional Team Athletes

Taxation of income for the average person can be a daunting task. However, for professional athletes, this task becomes even more tedious. Professional athletes face the jock tax. This means that athletes have to pay taxes in every state in which they play a game, practice, and perform a service that is part of their contract. Professional athletes, like every United States (U.S.) citizen, are required to pay both federal and state income taxes. Since professional athletes are constantly traveling, their state of residence becomes even more important when allocating their income to the respective state. Many question the constitutionality of the jock tax. Nonetheless, professional athletes need to strategically plan to maximize their profits, while factoring in the implementations of the jock tax

The Snake that Devoured Gullitsur Bay: A Novel in Progress

This thesis contains the first nine chapters of a work in progress novel(lla) entitled The Snake that Devoured Gullitsur Bay. Over the course of these chapters, Jewish journalist Benjamin Lassaro uncovers the sinister truth behind a series of disappearances in his town. He discovers that the divine beast, the Leviathan, has taken residence in their waters and is attempting to destroy their home. With the aid of protection amulets from his rabbi and sister Ruth, he confronts the monster in the hopes to save his failing journalism career