Financial Crisis Essay Example for Free

Financial Crisis Essay Dear Grandchildren, The last two decades have seen important milestones being achieved, not only for America, but which also have global impact and implications. These milestones are in the technological, political, and financial arenas. They are also profound in the sense that life as was known before these changes would never be the same again. Below are some of the things I believe are the most significant, simply because they are a sign of the times and which have direct impact on our lives in America. Technologically, there has been a digital revolution, with the advent of the Internet on the world scene. The home computer is now a ubiquitous item, and easily replaces the television and radio as furniture, feature display, and entertainment console. It also provides business solutions, home office setups, a vast knowledge and information database, and connectivity with the rest of the world. There is virtually no chance for anyone to be a hermit anymore. Even we old folks have mastered the basic skills of emailing, skype-ing, googling, and Facebooking. What more can we ask for? These will keep us entertained for many more years to come. There will not be time and lack of interaction for us to grow senile. The array of gadgets is simply gorgeous! Mobile phones, netbooks, iPads, and LED TV screens are now the must-have items. They increase our productivity, schedule our lives, and keep us updated on the go. Social media has given us social convergence and brought us closer as a result; ironically, sometimes, they also cause us to be indifferent and insensitive to those physically closest to us. Politically, the United States has broken through the invisible ceiling and has installed for the first time in its history, an African American president. This is simply unthinkable, and had it not been for this moment in time, would not have happened at all. That said, it may herald the possibility for other minority races in the United States to reach the top spot. Barack Obama, at one stroke, has finally achieved that which had eluded activists all along. He has achieved the realization of emancipation for all African Americans. In his becoming President, he has been able to appease both the Democrats and the Republicans and thus far, he has been even-handed and circumspect. Financially, there has been a tremendous upheaval in both the American and global economies. There was the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 which channeled much of the wealth then to the United States and Europe. This was however, reversed in 2008 when Wall Street literally collapsed, with brokerages, banks, and state institutions falling like dominoes. This has caused untold misery to millions of homeowners in America who had their houses foreclosed. This situation should be seen as completely unique to our time, for the financial equations may no longer work so effectively as before. Coupled with fraud, lack of transparency, and the sheer number of complex financial instruments that flooded the market, the whole financial sector is way overdue for a bypass and cleanup. This is the darkest period since the Great Depression in the 1930s. How will these events influence the future? I believe that these milestones represent yet another great development in the history of America and humanity in general. Technology will only continue to be improved with ever-increasing speeds and frightful ingenuity. The political climate will continue to evolve and result in hopefully a fairer system of governance that will represent the peoples of America. And financially, let us hope that the scares we went through are enough to jolt the wheelers and dealers to the fact that long-term stability is much more desirable than short-term gains and profiteering.

Investigation on a variation of the Stroop test

Investigation on a variation of the Stroop test The role of automatic and controlled processing was examined in an experiment looking at the allocation of processing resources between the two. Previous research found that when a word is written in the same ink as the colour the word denotes, it takes longer to state the colour of these words than if the words are colour neutral i.e. not the name of a colour. In the present experiment the type of word used was manipulated, between colour associated and colour neutral words. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the completion times of the two conditions which provided further support for the idea that automatic processes can interfere with controlled ones. Introduction The cognitive process of attention is said by psychologists to be how an individual processes the information that they receive from their day to day environment and how it is selected to be stored. That is to say that not all information that we obtain from daily life is seen as important for storage, it is essentially a selection process in which the most relevant information is chosen to be retained. William James(1890) believed attention to be dependent upon an allocation of cognitive processing resources(James,(1890),p9). The idea that all actions implore the use of processing resources to some extent, and is reliant upon the amount of resources available to an individual is known as a controlled process. Up until more recent years it was believe that no demand was placed upon these resources when the processes were automatic i.e. occurring without conscious awareness. These automatic responses were thought to use up less processing resources due to the lack of conscious effort involved, thus leaving resources free to attend to other stimuli. Thus essentially attentional processing has to be divided between the two. This was termed the two-process theory by Shiffrin and Schneider((1977),p21). Researchers felt that this appeared to be a very useful concept as essentially it would leave more resources free but were interested to see at what cost. J.R. Stroop(1935) was one of these researchers(Stroop(1935),p21). He carried out an experiment into the relationship between automatic and controlled processes. This consisted of two conditions, in one participants were given a set of colour name words written in coloured ink but never matched to the colour ink they were written in. e.g. the word yellow written in blue ink. This is known as the Stroop condition. In the other the participants were given a set of neutral words e.g. the word rat all written in the same colour inks as in the previous condition. The participants were required to name the colour ink in which the words were written as fast as possible. It was found that participants could state the colour of the words in the neutral condition more rapidly than in the Stroop condition, leading Stroop to conclude that peopl e are inclined to read the colour the word is portraying rather than the one it is written in. This is said by Stroop to suggest that the automatic process of reading can hinder the controlled process of naming the ink. It also shows that automatic processes are not necessarily free as researchers once believe and can on fact be influenced by conscious strategies such as naming the colour in which the word is written. Many variations of the Stroop test have been carried out since the original to further test individuals attention and the allocation of resources in both controlled and automatic processing. One such variation is the reverse Stroop test.(Wikipedia) In this experiment there were still two conditions; one where the participant was given a list of colour words and had to point to a block of colour which matched the colour word stated. The second condition was the same as in the original Stroop test where the colour ink the word was written in had to be stated. It was found that it took on average 7 seconds longer to state the colours of the words aloud than it did to simply point to a block of colour that matched it. It was concluded that when the colour of the word stated differed from the colour ink it was written it the automatic process of reading the word again interferes with the controlled process of naming the ink colour. It was also discovered that this can be controlled but th at then a time delay is incurred. This idea that automatic processes do rely on resources just like controlled process, but that they occur without conscious awareness is still open to debate as despite the vast amounts of research done on this topic it still remains to be seen if the Stroop effect only occurs with colour words. The idea that it is not only colour words that cause an integration between automatic and controlled processes is explored in the present experiment, by testing a set of colour- related words against a set of non-colour related words rather than a collection of coloured words printed in either black ink or opposing colours. The hypothesis was that people take longer to state the colour ink in which 30 words are written when the words are colour- associated words rather than colour-neutral words. This is a one-tailed hypothesis. The null hypothesis is that there will be no difference in the time taken to state the words in each condition, and if there is it is due to chance. Methods Design The design of this experiment was within-participants as the same set of participants were used to acquire the data in both conditions. The independent variable was the colour associated words. This consisted of two conditions, a colour associated word condition (condition 1) and a non-colour associated condition (condition 2). In the colour associated condition (condition 1), participants were timed to see how long it took them to state the colour ink of 30 colour associated words when written in opposing colours. E.g. plum written in orange. In the second condition the same procedure was followed but with the participants stating the colour ink of non-colour associated words. E.g. plan written in blue. The dependant variable was the time taken to complete each task, measured with a stopwatch to the nearest second. Several things were done to try and control for any confounding variables. Firstly, all participants were given the same set of instructions in order to prevent them gain ing a different interpretation of what was being expected of them. Another thing that was done was to ensure that none of the participants could confer during the time in which the experiment was taking place, thus helping to prevent them from incurring demand characteristics. Participants also took the two conditions in different orders to help control for practice effects. Finally, all participants were shown the exact same copies of the stimuli which made it easier to ensure that this is not a reason for any differences that may have occurred. Participants Twenty five participants took part in this experiment. 16 of these were recruited by a researcher at the Open University and consisted of their friends and family. The other 9 were recruited through asking friends and family of the researcher. The age of the participants ranged from 17 to 69 and was made up of 12 males and 13 females. Materials A stopwatch accurate to the nearest second was used to time how long it took each participant to state the colour the words were written in. The visual stimuli presented in each condition consisted of 30 words placed into two columns on an A4 piece of paper. For condition 1 these consisted of 6 different words (blood,plum,carrot,sky,grass and lemon) written in 6 different colours (red,orange,blue,green,yellow,and purple). The word was never written in the correct colour i.e. sky would never be blue. In the second condition a different set of 6 words was used (plan,sty,ledge,grade,career and blame). These were written in the same 6 colours as the words in condition 1. In each condition each word was used 5 times and presented in a random order. A set of each stimuli is shown in the appendicies (appendix 1). A set of standardized instructions was also used to explain what was required of each participant (appendix 2). Finally each participant was required to complete a consent form bef ore carrying out the tasks (appendix 3). Procedures Each participant was asked if they would be willing to take part in a psychology experiment looking at cognitive processes, that would take about 5 minutes of their time. The ones who agreed to were given a consent form to fill in stating that they were willing to take part. They were then tested one at a time with their age and gender being recorded before being read the instructions as to how the experiment would work. i.e. that they would be shown a list of words and were required to state the colour the word was written in whilst being timed to state all 30 colours. They were also told that there would be two conditions and that the same procedure was required for each. (instructions appendix 2). Once all of this was understood and the participant had asked anything they wanted to they were given the words for condition 1. The stopwatch was started as they stated the first colour and stopped after they had stated the 30th. This time was recorded in the same table as used to recor d the participants age and gender earlier in the experiment.. The same was then repeated for condition 2 and the time recorded. The order in which the participants carried out the two conditions varied. Once all of this was completed the participant was given a debrief about the nature of the experiment and asked if they wanted to ask anything or needed anything. They were also made aware again of their right to withdraw at any point after the experiment should they decide they are uncomfortable with their data being use, and of the fact that their data would remain anonymous should they allow it to be used. Results The one-tailed research hypothesis was that people take longer to state the colour ink in which 30 words are written, when the words are colour- associated words rather than colour-neutral words. This was measured with a stopwatch accurate to the nearest second (appendix 4 raw data). Table 1-Paired -Samples T-test data Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Colour associated words 25.6190 21 4.95456 1.08117 Colour-neutral words 22.9048 21 3.94848 .86163 As can be seen from table 1 above, the mean response time for the two conditions was fairly different with the mean for the colour- associated words being 2.7 seconds slower than the speed for the colour-neutral words. This difference can further be seen from the error bar chart below(graph 1). Graph 1 shows that we can have 95% confidence that the population mean for condition 1 (the colour associated words) will lie within :- 1.08117 x 1.96 = 2.12 Therefore the lower bound is 25.62-2.12= 23.50 seconds Upper bound is 25.62+2.12=27.74 seconds Or 25.6 2Â ± 2.12 seconds Graph 1 also shows that we can have 95% confidence that the population mean for condition 2 (the colour neutral words) will lie within :- .86163 x 1.96 = 1.69 Therefore the lower bound is 22.9 1.69 = 21.21 seconds Upper bound is 22.9 + 1.69 = 24.59 seconds Or 22.9 Â ± 1.69seconds Therefore, although it appears from the experiment that when condition 2 is used the individuals can read the words more quickly, this cannot be confirmed with any confidence. It is possible that in reality that condition 1 could result in those being test reading the words than under condition 2. For example, if the real mean of the whole population is towards the upper bound for condition 2 and towards the lower bound for condition 1, the individuals will be able to complete the test more quickly under condition 1.if there was no overlap between the bounds for each condition it would have been possible to say with 95% confidence that one condition allowed the individuals to complete the test more quickly. A paired t-test was conducted on the data which showed that (t(30)=4.214;p=

Japanese colonialism :: essays research papers

It is interesting to find that only some political economists emphasize the fact that Japanese colonialism in Korea played a large part in the development of a high-growth economy. In both readings we get to see that Japanese colonialism greatly differed from European colonialism. In one way, this is because European colonialism rarely introduced heavy industry into the economy, or even pushed the economy with such a heavy hand. As well, Japan left Korea with a relatively high level of industrialization, not something we commonly see with European colonialism. In Kohli's article we see that Japan came into Korea at the very beginning of its colonial rule and transformed the state, not just when creating speedy economic growth. I liked this article in that Kohli took a very systematic approach to writing it, noting the many steps it took for Korea to industrialize, as well as noting extensively the extent to which Japan played a role. Bruce Cumings' article was different in that it looked more towards Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. In his article, he not only looks at Japan as a colonizer, but also an industrializer. I think that in both of the readings, it is amazing that each of the countries examined were able to industrialize so quickly. Northeast Asia industrialized in only decades, whereas it's taken the rest of the world centuries to do the same. In response to this, it is important to note the argument around the state's role in economic development, what Atul Kohli says is "the extent to which state intervention was 'market conforming' versus 'market distorting' or, to use a related set of concepts, the extent to which the state 'led' rather than 'followed' the market." In each article we see what factors went into each country's economic development. It is interesting to note that Japanese colonial governments were fairly harsh in ruling its colonies, but despite this, its subjects continued to work hard and obey. The stronghold Japan have over Korea was immense. Even wealthy landowners, the Yangban elite, were controlled by the state, and any political organizations and national movements that threatened the authoritarian state were squashed. Possible the fact that both Korea and Taiwan, as well as Japan, were fairly small countries amounted for something when struggling to industrialize late. Kohli suggests that land area might well be a factor in successful colonization. This is, he says, is one of the reasons for the lack of problems the Japanese had in establishing authority between the center in Seoul and the periphery. In Bruce Cumings' article he illustrates that Korea and Taiwan became "receptacles for declining Japanese industries." It is still interesting to see that Korea and Taiwan managed to industrialize so fast

American Foreign Policy :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1825, a group of American businesspeople announced the formation of a canal building company, with interests in constructing a canal system across the Isthmus. This project was to take place in an area now called Panama. The endeavor was filled with controversy. Though the canal itself was not built until the early 1900's every step toward the building and ownership, was saturated with difficulty. Walter LaFeber illustrates the dilemmas in a historical analysis. In his work he states five questions that address the significance of the Panama Canal to United States. This paper will discuss the historical perspective of the book's author, address pertinent three questions and give a critique of LaFeber's work, The Panama Canal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For proper historical analysis one must understand the importance of the Canal. The Panama Canal and the Canal Zone (the immediate area surrounding the Canal) are important areas used for trade. Even before the canal was built there were to large ports on both sides of the Isthmus. Large amounts of cargo passed through the Isthmus by a railroad that connected the two ports. The most important cargo was the gold mined in California before the transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States. It has strategic significance because of its location, acting as a gateway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This allows for rapid naval deployment between fleets in either ocean. These two facets make the Panama Canal very important in the region.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LaFeber notes that Panamanian nationalism played a large role in the creation of the canal and, consequently, the cause for the area's constant instability. The first expression occurred in the late 1800's with Panamanian struggle for independence from Columbia. The United States eager to build the canal, and control its operation, used and backed Panamanian nationalist. During the Roosevelt administration, not only did the United States manipulate factors isolating Panama from other world powers through the Monroe Doctrine; but it committed troops aiding the revolutionaries against another sovereign state. The reason this is a surprise is because the Roosevelt administration normally held a position favoring stability. The United States had no legal right to use force against Columbia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nationalism came back to haunt the United States. With the treaty signed and a 99-year lease given to the United States, the Canal was built. Since then, the United States has varied on its stance of ownership and the principles of sovereignty concerning the Canal.

The Yellow Wallpaper :: essays research papers

We Must Creep to be Heard   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s 2:00am and I cannot sleep. I toss and turn while the question, â€Å"Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?† keeps playing over and over in my mind. The picture in my mind of a subjugated woman who feebly attempts to fight against feminine oppression and her impending insanity is vivid and disturbing and continues to slap against the recesses of my mind with an angry hand. What was Charlotte Perkins Gilman attempting to convey to her readers when she wrote â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and created the characters of the narrator, her husband John, Mary and her sister-in-law Jennie? Obviously, in an exaggerated version of her own experience with post-partum depression and its prescribed â€Å"rest cure†, Gilman speaks of a world in which the female is forced into a role of the submissive counterpart to male dominance. In the following pages, I will describe how Gilman has effectively created characters that draw us into their vie w of control, dominance and frustrated silence against imprisonment in a paternalistic society, and how we are given a view into a perfectly healthy mind that goes awry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin with, Gilman created the narrator as a nearly anonymous identity; we know her only as John’s wife. This power imbalance extends to other areas of their relationship. John dominates her in a progressively patronizing manner. His character is displayed as strong, practical and stereotypically masculine and he seems skeptical of her seemingly weak, feminine condition. John diagnoses her problem, and prescribes the â€Å"rest cure† he believes she needs. The narrator has no say in her condition, and when she attempts to speak her mind, he treats her like a child and makes light of her voice. â€Å"John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that† (An Introduction to Fiction 572) which illustrates the role women are expected to play and accept in a marriage. Another main function Gilman gave of John’s control over the narrator is his inhibiting of her writing. Although she believes writing would help her condition, as I’m s ure Gilman did, John insists it would only debilitate her ailment further. He stifles her creativity and intellect, forcing her into the role of the submissive wife. She is forced to hide her writings, which frustrate her more â€Å"I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal—having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition† (572).

How the State Profits from War Essay

One of the most enduring misconceptions in economics is that war is beneficial to the economy (Moffatt, n. pag. ). This myth was further perpetuated by the economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who wrote: â€Å"Ghastly as it may seem, (the destruction of the World Trade Center) could even do some economic good†¦ the driving force behind the economic slowdown has been a plunge in business investment. Now, all of a sudden, we need some new office buildings† (Tracinski, n. pag. ). Indeed, bad economics reign in moments of crisis and or panic, when people are desperate for solutions. To refute the alleged benefits of the â€Å"War Economy,† critiques use the â€Å"fallacy of the broken window† (Tracinski, n. pag. ). When a vandal throws a brick through a shop’s window and the shop’s owner has to spend, say, $200 for the window’s repair, the people will think that the defacer has given a positive contribution to society. After all, the repair of the broken window meant an â€Å"instant boost in employment and economic activity† (Tracinski, n. pag. ). But what these short-sighted citizens didn’t know was that the $200 that was spent on fixing the window could have been used in ventures that might have advanced the shop owner’s enterprise. Unfortunately, proponents of the â€Å"War Economy† assumed that â€Å"(since) a broken window can stimulate the economy, (it must be better) when literally thousands of them are broken† (Tracinski, n. pag. ). For them, wars are crucial for the survival of modern economies (Cline, n. pag. ). â€Å"War Economy† advocates believed that almost every industry is involved with providing goods and services to the armed forces (uniforms, food, medicines, weapons manufacturing, etc. ). Hence, should war be eliminated, these businesses, particularly technology and manufacturing, will fold up. Another argument of the backers of the â€Å"War Economy† is that it is the fastest solution to an economic slump (Moffatt, n. pag. ). When the economy is undergoing recession, production is low and people are spending less than usual. But when the government goes into war, it will need weapons and equipment for its soldiers. Economic activity is therefore expected to increase due to the rise both in government spending and the private sector’s business transactions with the miliatry. Corporations will scramble for contracts that will allow them to supply uniforms, vehicles and bombs to the army. These companies will have to hire more workers to keep up with the increase in demand, lowering the unemployment rate in the process. There are even some workers who will be employed to replace those who volunteered as reservists abroad. Since the unemployment rate is decreased, consumers will spend more again. Increased consumption, in turn, will boost the retail sector. At the end of the day, there will be overall economic growth, thanks to the government preparing for war. However, critics contended that the above-mentioned projected economic advancement is at the expense of helpless civilians from Third World countries (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). In 2002, annual global military expenditures were estimated to be more than $800 billion (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). The United States was at the top of this list, spending $343. 2 billion yearly (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). Canada earned more than $3 million from selling weapons in the same year (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). According to the United Nations Platform for Action Committee – Manitoba (UNPAC-Manitoba) article The Economics of War (n. d. ), â€Å"a large part of the economies of all of the world’s wealthiest countries derives from the sale of weapons† (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). From 1996 to 2000, the US exported $54 billion worth of arms – 45% of the total amount of weapons that was exported around the world (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). Russia came second at $21 billion (17%), followed by France ($11 billion or 9%), the United Kingdom ($8 billion or 7%) and Germany ($6 billion or 5%) (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). As a result, says the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2002, 500,000 firearm-related deaths occur annually (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). Each year, land mines kill 15,000-20,000 children and adults (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). Iraq’s cancer rates rose to 700% between 1991 and 1994 due to chemical weapons, while 86 million people have perished in hostilities after World War II (http://www. unpac. ca, n. pag. ). The Iraq war in 2003 was the latest example of how the US turned war into a money-making venture. It was â€Å"rooted in the logic of global monopoly capital, specifically American capitalism, to expand into an empire† (Barona, 33). Despite being packaged as a â€Å"terrorist war,† (to instill fear among detractors) it was brought about by the globalization policies of American multinational companies, particularly the US oil industry and the military-industrial complex (MIC) (Barona, 33). Iraq is one of the world’s biggest oil reserves – it, along with other OPEC countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, has 79% of the world’s total oil supply (__________, 16). For the US to have unlimited access to Iraq’s oil, it simply had to remove Saddam Hussein, a staunch US opponent, from power. Back home, the US economy was sustained by military spending – the injection of fresh capital was necessary to revive an economy that would continue to deteriorate if left to the â€Å"free market† (Barona, 33). But the Iraq war proved to be disastrous for the US economy. The US spends $200 million daily just to be able to continue its military operations in Iraq (Wolk, n. pag. ). Even if the US finally decides to pull its troops out of Iraq â€Å"within another three years, total direct and indirect costs to US taxpayers will likely by more than $400 billion†¦the total economic impact at up to $2 trillion† (Wolk, n. pag. ). Economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz (a well-known castigator of the Iraq war) claimed that the total cost of US military intervention in Iraq is a â€Å"staggering $1 trillion to $2 trillion, including $500 billion for the war and occupation and up to $300 billion in future health care costs for wounded troops† (Wolk, n. pag. ). Stiglitz added that further expenses include â€Å"a negative impact from the rising cost of oil and added interest on the national debt† (Wolk, n. pag. ). These astronomically huge sums of money came from taxes – funds that should have been diverted to basic social services such as education, health and housing. While ordinary American citizens were suffering from the economic catastrophe brought about by the Iraq war, a few individuals and corporations cahsed in on the said conflict. In 2007, Lockheed Martin (the leading weapons manufacturer in the US) had a profit increase of 22% (Scheer, n. pag. ). In the same year, the profits of its competitors Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics rose by 62% and 22%, respectively (Scheer, n. pag. ). Boeing’s profits, meanwhile, increased by 61% (Scheer, n. pag. ). Below are some personalities who were said to have also profitted from the Iraq War: a) Former US President George W. Bush, Sr. – Shareholder and former Senior Advisor in the Carlyle Group, a defense contractor with ties to the Saudi royal family and the Bin Ladens. b) Former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci – Member of the RAND Board of Trustees and co-chair of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy Advisory Board. Also the chairman of the Carlyle Group. c) Former Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury James Baker – Former Carlyle Senior Counselor. d) White House Budget Advisor Richard Darman – Carlyle Managing Director e) US Vice President Dick Cheney – Head of Halliburton Co. , an oil enterprise that traded with Libya and Iran through foreign subsidiaries (Lynch, n. pag. ). Thanks to the hysteria brought about by the â€Å"War on Terrorism† and the Iraq war, taxpayers were swindled into funding the â€Å"War Economy† that made millionaires out of Bush and his ilk. And as long as the absurd propaganda of â€Å"The War on Terrorism† and the Iraq war continues to exist, ordinary Americans will spend their entire lives paying taxes not for basic social services, but as a â€Å"tribute† to Bush and his sort for them to be able to live like kings. Works Cited â€Å"The Oil Equation in the US Bid against Iraq. † Education for Development October 2002: 15-16. Barona, Caesar.â€Å"Technology, Power and the ‘War against Terrorism. ‘†The National Guilder July 2002: 32-33. Cline, Austin. â€Å"Economic Benefits of War. † n. d. About. com. 18 February 2008 . Lynch, Colum. â€Å"Firms Iraq Deals Greater Than Cheney Has Said. † 23 June 2001. Global Policy Forum. 19 February 2008 . Moffatt, Mike. â€Å"Are Wars Good for the Economy? † n. d. About. com 18 February 2008 .

An Attempted Robbery

One evening when the sun was about to set, my mother asked me to go and buy some onions and salt from the nearby sundry shop. The shop is run by Samy, a jovial middle-age Indian man with a huge pot-belly. His wife and two young children, a boy and a girl, help him run the shop. It was almost completely dark when I reached the shop. Samy had switched on the lights in his small but adequately stocked shop. He was alone at the time and I was the only customer. Samy greeted me with a huge smile. I always wanted to ask him how he kept his teeth so sparkling white but I was afraid to ask. Anyway I told him what I wanted to buy and he went about getting the things for me. Next door to Samy’s shop is a coffee shop run by another Indian man. It was still open at the time. From the coffee shop emerged two men. They came into Samy’s shop and I could smell the overpowering smell of beer coming from these two men. Both of them were young but from the way they half-walked half-staggered into the shop it was obvious they had a bit too much to drink. I kept a safe distance from these men. It is never a good idea to be near drunks. One never knows what they will do next. True enough, my caution was justified, for the next moment, without any warning, one of the men swept a pile of tinned goods from a table onto the floor. In a second the neat rows were reduced to utter chaos. The man who did it roared out in laughter. I could see Samy’s anger rising. He raised his voice. As if in reply to his retort, the two men started shouting obscenities at him. Then suddenly a knife appeared in one of the men’s hand. The man that held the knife was small and wiry and judging from the muscles in his hand I had no doubt he was very strong. The knife-man lunged and in a flash he had the point of his knife at Samy’s throat. Samy froze and his face paled. I was so overwhelmed by the suddenness of events that the next thing I knew I could not move my hands, nor the other parts of my body. I was held in a vice-like grip by the other man. I did not even see him coming. I struggled but all I could do was to make the grip tighten more. I got difficult to breathe. I heard a lot of shouting and I could see the knife-man slapping Samy. Reluctantly Samy opened the drawer where he kept his cash and the knife-man leaned over and made a grab for the cash. That was a big mistake he made. For a fleeting moment his knife was forgotten and in that short moment Samy seized his chance. Samy’s huge right hand came down hard over the back of the leaning man’s head. The force of the blow carried the man’s head right down hard onto the table. There was a sickening thud when face met table. The knife-man’s head rebounded like a rubber ball from the table and I could see blood all over his face. He was badly hurt. The knife dropped from lifeless hands on the floor. Moving with surprising speed, Samy grabbed a bottle of tomato ketchup from a shelf and broke it over the man’s head. Red tomato ketchup splattered all over the place. I could not distinguish how much of the red stuff on the man’s face was his own blood, or tomato ketchup. Slowly he sank to the floor and lay still. I struggled to get loose. I felt so easy. Then I realized that hands no longer held me. I turned around and saw the dark figure of a man running out of the shop and disappearing into the semi-darkness. I was about to go in pursuit but Samy stopped me. He said it was useless pursuing somebody in the dark. Moreover the man could be armed and that would be dangerous. Ten minutes later the shop was filled with curious people all wanting to know what had happened. The knife-man was herded into a police car. Samy and I had to give our statements to the police. When I arrived home half an hour later, my mother was waiting impatiently for me. She was about to lecture me about being so slow in getting a few things but she stopped and listened dumbfounded while I related the recent events to her. When I finished she smiled and said that she was glad I was not injured.