...mistakes." George Soros, also known as “The Man Who Broke The Bank of England”, was born in 1930 in Budapest, Hungary. On September 21st 2011, Forbes declared that Soros, now at 81, is one of ten wealthiest Americans, with a net worth estimated at $22.0 billion. Besides being a business mogul, he is also an investor, philanthropist, chairman of Soros Fund Management and Open Society Institute. What inspire me most about him are his remarkable history when he did an excellent job on currency speculation in 1992, and also his own way of thinking. According to one of The Telegraph articles, Britain had its fell on European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, and George Soros thought the pound sterling should have been devalued since it had been struggling with the ERM too high at a rate. At that time, he also knew that the Bundesbank would agree to devaluate both pound sterling and the Italian lira since the terrible impact that British high interest rates had on asset prices. George Soros then thought of the way that he could get a profit from the devaluation situation. He borrowed pound sterling in a massive amount, approximately £6.5 billion according to the report. Next, he converted them into a combination of Deutschmarks and French francs. Then on 16 September 1992 or also known as Black Wednesday, his bet paid off. The British Conservative government was forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism because it surpassed its lower limit. George Soros...
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...The Crisis Scenario around the British Pound in 1992 By the time the United Kingdom joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) in October 1990, it was already living a severe economic recession. A drop in industrial productivity and high levels of unemployment struck the nation after the economic growth of the 1980’s (Table 1 and 2). Table 1 – Unemployment Rate in UK in % Source: Office for National Statistics (UK) Table 2 – Industrial Production in UK: Percentage change year-over-year Source: www.tradingeconomics.com During the prosper economic period of the 1980’s there was strong private investment on household, meaning that the mortgage credit rose significantly. In the beginning of the 1990’s the level of private debt was unbearable (Graph 1). Graph 1 - Debt to income ratio Source: Bank of England High rates of unemployment, high private debt and lack of macroeconomic surveillance tools have been pointed out as the main reasons for the economic recession of the early 1990’s. A sharper control over macroeconomic policies as well as an effective control of inflation and the defense of competitiveness of the sterling within Europe was some of the goals the British government aimed at by joining the ERM. A central exchange rate for each participating currency was established against the ECU, the artificial unit of account that set the pillars for the Euro currency. In practice, the participating currencies where actually pegged to the German...
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...guillotine on January 17, 1793 in Place du Reunion, the National Convention established a war dictatorship instead of a democracy. The war dictatorship government was lead by few men to govern the country and wage war during a time of crisis. The Convention created watch committees, which imposed strict regulations on foreigners and citizens. The new government imposed the Levee en Masse. It said that the government can conscript anyone in France and that everyone has a part in the war effort. By April 1793, the Committee of Public Safety came under control of Maximilien Robespierre, who led The Reign of Terror. The Committee of Public Safety was led by Terror 2 Robespierre, who executed ordered people executed to protect the democracy. George Danton, who led the 1792 uprising against the King, was another influential member in the Committee. Robespierre removed...
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...Napoleons Ambitious Reign In George Orwell’s allegorical novel, Animal Farm, Napoleon takes his dominate reign to a level of despair with his inhumane morals and the segregation he forces upon the animals. He builds himself up to an eminence beyond any other leader. He becomes a cynical and crazed pig with power after he banishes Snowball, who was the so called better leader. Although after all his hype was over, he becomes “untouchable” in a sense, with only having a few willing supporters. In the end it seems that Napoleon destroys what was once a harmless dream of Old Majors. Throughout the fable Napoleon was no democrat, with his twisted techniques of propaganda and forceful persuasion. He was not one for freedom of speech, and had no care for anybody but himself, although with Snowball still around he seemed unable to display his full leadership skills. Even with Snowball seeming to be the stronger leader, Napoleon had still managed to round up a clique of followers for himself. This group eventually grew as Napoleon became more bitter and demanding of the animals. He established this initial power by disagreeing so strongly with Snowball, which lead to arguments, thus leading to animals having to pick sides. With the commandments written on the wall and the second being “Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend” just shows how evil and cunning Napoleon becomes as he decimates Snowballs power. For example, with the starting idea of a windmill getting built...
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...Assignment 1: Kodak and Fujifilm Gyongyi Molnar Professor David Penkrot Strayer University- BUS 302 November 3, 2013 Describe the history and core business of each company. Kodak, formerly known as Eastman Kodak Company, was founded by George Eastman in 1888. The company’s early success was based on the launch of its revolutionary camera which simplified the photo taking process (Kodak, n.d.). Kodak’s main focus was photography and imaging, and its products ranged from photography equipment to film, paper and color chemicals. By the 1980’s, Kodak’s market share reached an amazing 90%. Although they developed the basic technology for digital cameras in 1975, the idea was dropped due to fear that it would threaten the company’s film business (Williams, 2013). Because Kodak executives could not imagine the world without traditional film, they failed to realize how fast digital cameras would become common; the technology started to spread and film sales dropped considerably at the late 1990’s. The slow transition to digital technology, denial of the declining film usage, and competition from other companies eventually lead to Kodak’s loss of market share both in the United States and worldwide, placing Kodak at a 7th position. In January 2012, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and a year later the Court approved financing for them. Kodak sold many of its patents to a group of companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others. Fujifilm, a Japanese...
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...In American discourse separation of powers is more a name than a description. None of the three branches (legislative, executive, or judicial) of the national government are clearly separate from one another. Congress, for example, has an impeachment club to check the others; the president's veto power is plainly legislative in nature. No wonder James Madison in The Federalist, no. 47, undertook to answer the Anti‐Federalist charge that “The several departments of power are [not separated but] blended in such a manner as at once to destroy all symmetry and beauty of form, and to expose some of the essential parts of the edifice to the danger of being crushed by the disproportionate weight of other parts.” Madison's answer was that Montesquieu—the “oracle” of separation—did not mean that “departments ought to have no partial agency in, or control over, the acts of each other.” He meant rather that “the whole power of one department [should not be] exercised by the same hands which possess the whole power of another department.” The merit of “blending,” according to Madison, was that, along with bicameralism and federalism, it produced a safety net of “checks and balances.” A crucial problem is that split power inevitably entails split accountability. No wonder then that so many difficulties in American government spring ultimately from its divided power system. In contrast, the parliamentary system seeks safety in clear, direct lines of electoral accountability—and less in a...
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...I recently read the book authored by renowned historian Stephen Ambrose titled The Wild Blue: The men and boys who flew the B-24’s over Germany, which encompassed the journey of these young men. From start to finish Ambrose gave a great overall view of the trials and tribulations one would go through being a pilot or a crew member on a B-24 during WWII. The book focused primarily on the 741st squadron 455th bomb group. But in particular it focused on one of its pilots, Lt. George McGovern. While at times this book almost felt like a war biography of McGovern, it did touch on various other crew members and gave a great overall view of these boys journey from their early life to time spent overseas fighting. The book starts off by taking you through the background of these young men showing their upbringing. The majority of them came from humble beginnings and spent their adolescent life in small rural towns in America. Most were still teens when they enlisted and began their training. Ambrose commented on their age by saying that while someone that age today may be lucky enough to be handed the keys to the family car they were being sent off to defend the country. These boys generally were from blue color households in small towns and had previously never even been aboard a plane much less flown or navigated one. Once enlisted as potential pilots they were sent to flight training school. I found this portion as well as the first half of the book to be very slow. This was mainly...
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...they deliver outstanding value, innovation, and an exceptional guest experience. They offer an assortment of general merchandise and food assortment. They offer an expanded food assortment which includes some perishables and some additional dry, dairy, and frozen items. Target should be able to find many neighborhoods or locations close to city centers that have a higher customer popularity to generate sufficient revenue to justify their costs of the land. As they continue to grow in size, it will be able to continue to make an economic scale in advertising and out sourcing to make their products more competitive (Our Stores, 2011). History Target Corporation was founded in 1902, though it wasn’t always named Target Corp. at the time. George Dayton opened a store by the name of Good Fellows in downtown Minneapolis, which remains at the same location today. Over the next few years they continue to change the name. In 1962 the Dayton Company decided they wanted to venture out into the discount merchandising world when they opened the first target store. They continue to make improvements to the stores...
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...Imperialism Affects the Oppressed as Well as the Oppressor Hidden within a great book come many different messages, but one important example in George Orwell's Shooting the Elephant shows imperialism affects the oppressed as well as the oppressor. Because it is an immoral relationship of power, it compels the oppressor to act immorally to keep up appearances that he is right. George Orwell realizes that the British Raj which he serves is "an unbreakable tyranny" (Orwell, paragraph 2) yet despises the people he oppresses for allowing him to do so. On the one hand he is regarded as a wise ruler, but on the other he knows he is wrong in what he does but must behave in such a way to disguise this. There have been many situations like this throughout history, where a person or group of people have to go against what they feel is moral, or right, in order to gain respect and/or power. I feel like it happens all too often in the world today and even throughout the past. People’s ideas about right and wrong generally reflect their own selfish interests or the interests of the group they belong to. Groups with conflicting interests often have different ideas about right and wrong, and these differences can escalate into power struggles. When the struggle for power is not restrained by laws or morals, then whichever group gains power will usually try to further its own interests at the expense of everyone else. The powerless and oppressed can try to resist, but unless they can...
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...28 August 2013 America in 1963 The year of 1963 was not only a gruesome, dark year for the U.S. but it was a pivotal point in Civil Rights Movement. I know it’s hard to believe that America was in a horrible state then it is now but it’s true. For example can you believe that segregation was a common thing back then? Matter of fact in January Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, delivered a speech that segregation was something that was needed for the nation. Shortly a couple of months after civil rights activist took to the streets to protest but that turned into one of the most horrific scenes in our nation history. They were viciously attacked by dogs and sustain by fire hoses. A few weeks after this there was a small incident at University of Alabama were two black students were not accepted in by Gov. Wallace but he was overruled by President John F. Kennedy. He also gave a speech that same night saying he was going to present a civil rights bill to the Congress. Just as things were looking for Civil Rights Movement one of their infamous and one of their major leaders, Medgar Evers, was murdered outside his Mississippi home by the KKK that same night. But on August 28, 1963 the whole world would change as we know it because on this day Martin Luther King Dr. delivered the famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the March on Washington. This is probably one of most influential speeches ever given in American History. Just as things were looking like they were about to change...
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...Moral Politics: How Our Parents Have Influenced Our Political Minds How was your childhood? A question frequently asked when encountering new acquaintances. The human mind is very inquisitive, and with that said you can tell a myriad of things about a person based on their childhood. Professor George Lakoff, a Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley has crafted together an insightful collection of information based of two different child-rearing models. The Nurturant Family Model which is the Progressive Worldview, and the Strict Father Family Model known as The Conservative Worldview. Exploring these two very diverse models Professor Lakoff believes that you can determine what type of political mind a child will have based on their upbringing. Which do you think you were? To be succinct, The Nurturant Family model is one of being cared for and cared about, having one's desires for loving interactions met, living as happily as possible, and deriving meaning from one's community and from caring for and about others. With that being said, Professor Lakoff feels that the child will have the highest moral values such as empathy and responsibility; effective nurturing is imperative based on these two moral values. In society, nurturant morality is expressed as social responsibility. This requires cooperation rather than competition, and recognition, and recognition of interdependence. Nurturant morality is help don’t harm approach. The Nurturant Family model is characterized...
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...George Knightley Is one of the most important figures in the book, during much of the time he is in the background of events. He is the only one strong enough to impress Emma with critical good sense, and he is the only logical one that she can marry. Mr. Knightley tells Emma what he thinks she needs to hear – even if it means that she dislikes him for it. Emma dsoent like anyone to crtique her but she trusts mr knightly opinion, Mr. Knightley always manages to warn her of potential social improprieties. Like Mrs. Weston,.We know that Emma’s screwing up because Knightley tells us she is Miss Bates She is like a boring non-stop talker. She is, indeed, one of the most kindhearted and thankful persons imaginable; is also capable of being hurt and of forgiving. Miss Bates is sweet, generous and kind person. She might like gossip a bit too much, but then again, so does just about everybody in Highbury Miss Bates grew up as a gentlewoman, provided for by her father and well-respected by all of Highbury. When her father and brother die, however, Miss Bates has no one to support her the Misses Bates (mom and daughter) live largely off the charity of others. It’s a hard life for them, especially since Miss Bates can remember a time when everybody – including Emma – looked up to her. Now Emma makes fun of her at parties Fortunately, Miss Bates actually does have a heart of gold. She may not say intelligent things, but she’s more than willing to forgive anyone who slights her...
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...How does George Eliot represent the relationship between the individual and community in Silas Marner? George Eliot represents the relationship between the individual and the community in the novel Silas Marner (1861). Written in the Victorian era, Eliot sets this novel within the Regency era, early 19th century. This period was characterized by the influence of the French revolution, crowning of the Prince Regent after the confirmed insanity of King George III and rise of meritocracy opposed to aristocracy through service in the military. Eliot empathizes with the poorer people in rural areas and scrutinizes the Aristocracy seen through the gentry. She depicts the transformation of the roles of women and beginnings of industrialization. Relationships between the individual and community is shown through the characters of Silas; how he integrates into society, the character of Dolly; who depicts the role of women in the community and through reaching out to silas and finally through the location; The Rainbow in bringing the community together as a place for rest after work and to help people in crisis. The connection between the individual and the community is seen through the character of Silas and his transformation from being a recluse to an active member in society. Silas is a solitary figure who self excludes himself from the community of Raveloe due to his past experiences in Lantern Yard. This had extremely detrimental effects on Silas and as a result he becomes...
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...“Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all” George Washington. This quote was said by one of the most intelligent, ambitious military genius; George Washington. Washington used his mind in fighting war instead of just brute force. He turned the battlefield and the art of war into a chess match. Washington’s efforts in the Revolutionary War were very significant I that they ultimately help lead to the American victory in the Revolutionary War. “Washington’s genius lay in his understanding of power, both military power and political power, an understanding unmatched by that of any of his contemporaries.” (Morgan, p6) Washington’s military tactics where showcased in many battles of the Revolutionary War, such as the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, and the Battle of Yorktown. During these battles Washington was able to out think and out whit the British by devising schemes that led him to victory in each of these battles. So, how significant were George Washington’s military strategies in winning the Revolutionary War? George Washington was the oldest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington. He was born on February 22, 1732 in present day Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington spent many of his early days on the family estate on Pope Creeks along the Potomac River. While he was there he received somewhat of an education learning different subjects such as mathematics...
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...Pontificia Universidad Catolica De PR Ensayo Tema Libre Peter A Santiago El PORQUE DEL DIA DE LOS PRESIDENTES El tercer lunes de febrero de cada año se celebra el día de los presidentes. En su origen este feriado era en particular para conmemorar al primer presidente de los Estado Unidos de América, Jorge Washington, quien cumplía año el 22 de febrero. Naturalmente, era para la nación un simbolo de la celebración de la democracia por ser éste su primer mandatario elegido por un systema de la representación del pueblo. Este día fue instituído como un día federal celebrado por toda la nación y así obligatorio el mismo. Pasado los años, después de la guerra civil entre los estados, en una gran parte de los estados sureños y luego otros comenzaron a celebra el día del cumpleaño de Abraham Lincon, décimo sexto presidente de la nación, natalicio el día 12 de febrero. Con los años el clamor de los estadounidense comenzó a causarles inquietudes del porque solamente se celebraraba el natalicio de el primer presidente de los Estados Unidos . Esto basado en la teoría que cada uno de los presidentes aportaron a la fomentación, continuación, y promulgación de la base constitucional democratica de la nación americana y en particualar Abraham Lincoln. El debate no cesó y el cabildeo del pueblo quien año tras año a la fecha conmemorativa seguía cuestionado la inequidad de la celebración de un solo presidente. Ante el fervor y calmación del pueblo, el Congreso de los Estados Unidos...
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