The International Debt Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The International Debt Crisis - Essay Example After World War 2, the Bretton Woods system was established and followed by many nations for years till is a collapse in 1971. The Bretton Woods system was related to fixed exchange rate; linked to the reserve of gold held by the country. The system operated as the value of the dollar was kept almost constant and any fluctuation in the exchange rates between the dollar and other currencies was accordingly countered by the central banks of the related countries.   If the dollar experienced a decrease in value, the central bank of the country would act so as to counter the effects of this fall in value by selling more of its own currency to decrease its value and maintain the value of the dollar to its previous level. This system functioned because of the willingness and ability of other nations to help maintain the value of the dollar. However, in 1971 when the United States experienced a fall in the value of the dollar the countries did not act to maintain the value of the dollar. ...  Finally, the Bretton Woods system was abolished in 1971 and the floating exchange rate system was introduced where the value of the dollar was allowed to fluctuate in the money market.   THE OIL PRICE HIKE AND ITS EFFECTS  The increase in the prices oil in the 1970s was massive enough to create a ruffle in the economies of many countries throughout the world. The oil-exporting nations experienced a huge capital inflow due to the increase in prices whereas the oil-importing countries (which included many developing nations) experienced noticeable capital outflow and oil inflation in their respective economies.

Irish Writing Nation And Imagination William Butler Yeats English Literature Essay

Irish Writing Nation And Imagination William Butler Yeats English Literature Essay Born William Butler Yeats in 1865, this poet can be regarded as the greatest poet of Irish Literature. As the child of protestant parents, Yeats was brought up in a time of political turmoil, during the rise of Charles Stuart Parnell, the civil war and the Irish Revival. Yeats began his literary livelihood early, at just aged twenty years, when his first work was published. It must be noted that Yeats was an unusual poet, as he defied any common expectations in relation to the climax in a poetic career; unlike many, Yeats career reached its heightened peak late in life, between the ages of 50 and 75. Perhaps due to this unusual aspect of Yeats history as a poet, his poetry evokes a changing nature. Yeats literature oscillates between the 19th and 20th centuries and thus, Yeats can be regarded, stylistically, as quite a unique poet. In the early years of Yeats poetry, he drew heavily upon Irish myth and folklore, while his later work dealt with much more contemporary issues. Yeats work shifts from the heavily ornamental, fantasy-driven early poems to the fascination with Irish myth and legend, which matured into the concerns of the Celtic Revival and the embrace of distinctly Irish culture. As an older but still unmarried man, he became more interested in contemporary social issues, though he never lost sight of the history which informed them. Late in life, his marriage revived his interest in mystical matters, accompanied by a burst in creative imagination, best exemplified by the gyres of A Vision and The Second Coming. (Website 2) Personally, Im someone who likes to resist the notion of dividing Yeats work into categories of early and late poetry. However, I acknowledge that many things have certainly influenced Yeats style and nature as a poet and as a result, upon the examination of the changing nature of his poetry, I find it necessary to do so. As a young poet in the 1880s, Yeats began to write in the romantic style. Such literary pieces followed the structure and conventions of romantic poetry, including rhyming schemes and metric patterns. His poems were lyrical, mystical and romantic in style, and he placed a key emphasis on love, loss and loneliness, and Irish myth and folklore. It could be suggested that his early poetry pieces were odes to the beautiful and mystical land of Ireland. It can be said that there are certain qualities of Yeats poetry which are significant to his early works. During an interview with James Flannery, Flannery expressed his love for the early poems of Yeats with their lyricism, their yearning for transcendence and their deployment of haunting imagery drawn from Celtic folklore as well as mythic and mystical sources and the sheer magic of the music in early Yeats:   the long, wavering breath-lines, the delicately syncopated rhythms, the lingering vowels and consonants, again directly carried over from Gaelic poetry and song.(Website 2) Published in 1893 in Yeats second book of poems The Rose, The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a prime example of this yearning for transcendence. This lyrical poem expresses Yeats desire to escape from the pavements gray and to elope to a small cabin built there. The poet is wistful and passionate as he yearns for escape to this idyllic location and through his use of imagery and tone he suggests this. The sheer music of the tranquil and peaceful hideaway is created by the hexameters which recreate the rhythmic pulse of the tide. (S. notes) The simple imagery of the quiet life the speaker longs to lead, as he enumerates each of its qualities, lulls the reader into his idyllic fantasy, until the penultimate line jolts the speaker-and the reader-back into the reality of his drab urban existence: While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey. (Spark notes) To Yeats, tradition is oral, the continuity of voice from generation to generation (Yeats, Denis Donoghue) Always in his work he sought to recreate the half-conversational quality which was another legacy of the Gaelic tradition in singing, the recitation of poetry and in daily speech.(Web 2) One can clearly see Yeats voice to the ordinary people in an ordinary language in Lake Isle of Innisfree. Yeats, himself, once said, Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people. (WB Yeats) The language elicits an almost conversational quality and by using phrases such as I will, I hear, and I stand, the poets explicit thoughts can be understood by the people, even if only the first layer of meaning is understood. Personally, I feel that this is one reason to why Yeats is regarded as one of the greatest Irish poets; his poems appeal to the ordinary. The Second Coming is one of Yeats later poetry works. It was written in 1919 and it deals with the contemporary issues associated with the aftermath of First World War. Yeats believed that art could serve a political function: poems could both critique and comment on political events, as well as educate and inform a population.(Web 1) The Second Coming subtly includes the idea of Irish nationalism. In this poem, a sense of cultural crisis and conflict seeps through, even though the poem is not explicitly about Ireland. By using images of chaos, disorder, and war, Yeats engaged in an understated commentary on the political situations in Ireland and abroad. Yeats active participation in Irish politics informed his poetry, and he used his work to further comment on the nationalist issues of his day. When compared to one of his earlier works, such as Lake Isle of Innisfree, even on the basis of topic, one can see that Yeats poetic career has evolved and flourished. A continuous use of such techniques of imagery and symbolism remain to be seen throughout Yeats work. However, the main development in his work can be said to be his development in theme and topic. This contemporary poem has many vivid images such as that of seas of blood and drowning, all in which reflect the aftershock effects of the war. Blood- dimmed tide and Ceremony of innocence is drowned. Yeats is picturing in this poem a society turned upside-down and headed toward self-destruction and chaos.(Website 1) In contrast to the romantic and lyrical poems of the early W.B. Yeats, through examination of the use of imagery only, this poem deals with a much more serious and universal issue; one of brutality and loss of life. A shape with lion body and the head of a man(The Second Coming) offers no sense of personification or love in which one could be drawn to, but instead one is repelled as one feels this creature coming closer to us, like death. This offers a contrast to Yeats early poetry as this is quite the opposite to that of a warming and lyrical poem. Unlike Lake Isle of Innisfree, the reader is not offered a sense of hope or escape; in this poem, a sense of doom lingers. As Yeats grew, as a poet and an individual, he acquired relationships with the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Irish National Theatre, Irish Literary Society, and indeed, Maud Gonne. Yeats evolved as a romantic poet and his focus was shifted from mythical odes to contemporary politics. This manifested a distinct political theme, as seen in The Second Coming, in Yeats poetry during this time in his writing career. It could certainly be said that the beautiful, Irish patriot and revolutionary Maud Gonne, was a key inspiration for Yeats early literary works. When Yeats met her for the first time in 1889, he fell in love with her immediately, but, unfortunately, she did not return his love. It could be suggested that because of his love for the politically active Maud Gonne, Yeats devoted his energy, in the early years of his career, to the Irish Revival and Irish Patriotism. Finally and most significantly, Yeats relationship with the changing nature of literature in the early twentieth century resulted in the development of Yeats as a modern writer. As a poet, he learned and incorporated modernist styles and conventions into his own poetry. Yeats was influenced by the modernist structure and form and their aggressive engagement with contemporary politics. Modernist poets challenged the previous literature traditions and they rejected the idea that poetry should be lyrical and admirable. Ultimately, modernist literature had a distinct influence on Yeats and his work and from examination of his poetry, his work from this period in his career can be described as edgier and more concise. A significant change overcame Yeats poetry as regards tone and style, but he never discarded the conventions of his earlier poetry. In conclusion, I think that a changing nature is evident in Yeats poetry, and I feel that this has made him become the highly admired and regarded poet that he is today. This unique aspect of Yeats poetry makes his literature interesting and enticing, and thus, Yeats is one of my favourite Irish writers. As I have explored in this essay, there are many possible reasons for this change in poetic nature but ultimately, in my opinion, life experience is truly the reason behind the metamorphosis of Yeats poetry. As with most of us, life became more and more complex for Yeats as he matured.   But the greater the obstacles he faced, and the more cruel and destructive the losses he suffered, so, in a miraculous way, grew Yeats imaginative power and his ability as a poet to give sublime expression to all that he experienced.   (Web 2)

Social Order Versus Personal F :: essays research papers

Social Order Versus Personal Fulfillment In the regal, and superficial high-class New York world presented in The Age of Innocence there is one particular, unchallenged rule of social order. This rule of complete social grace has been, instead of branded in stone, been impounded deeply in the minds of every generation raised under the canopy of money and fashion. The desire for etiquette is so overwhelming that it manages to suppress the simple human yearnings for personal fulfillment, otherwise enjoyed by those not imprisoned by clothes or cash. This conflict between society and human emotion is extremely prevalent. From the beginning of the tale, the description of old New York and its inhabitants seems rigid. The people are bent on their customs and beliefs. From the promptness of the Beaufort Ball, the inflexibility of decorum (including dress, meals, and room presentation), and all relationships, personal or business. The severity of the conformity makes the presence of radicals such as Ellen, Mrs. Mingott, and even Newland, fodder for subversive scandal and gossip. But these radicals are merely people who are unyielding to the harness of the rich. They have attempted to achieve their own satisfaction, however unsavory to the rest of the order. Ellen and Newland's personal feelings for each other are passionate, burning, and intensely primitive. The impact an unmasked relationship would have is extremely far-reaching. It would be devastating to Newland's wife, May. The waves would also be felt internationally by Ellen's husband in Poland. Newland and Ellen would be ostracized by the entire upper-rank, ruining not only their own lives, but others' as well. The complex set of rules and regulations that accompany living in such a society is analogous to a house of cards. If one card is disturbed, the entire thing may crash down. The effect of diversion is foreshadowed by the treachery of Julius Beaufort. He debauches the whole system and gains the scorn of all the other elitists. Further scandal is achieved by Mrs. Regina Beaufort when she abandons her husband in time of crisis and attempts to get the backing of her maiden family. The rules are broken and the aftermath felt far and wide. Similar catastrophe would follow if Newland and Ellen decide to fulfill their personal desire. They do realize the consequences and therefore remain reticent about their affair, and eventually gave up all hope and stay within the confines of

Promoting Unity

We have been an independent nation for more than 70 years. In the early years of the post independence era, the various races worked hard to develop the country. The progress that we see and enjoy today would not have been possible if not for the hard work of our forefathers. As the older generations would attest, race or religion was never an issue. Our country was, in fact, a fine example to the world on how racial and religious tolerance should be. However, of late, there have been some disturbing developments that threaten our unity in diversity. The time has come to find ways and means to strengthen relations between the various races and prepare ourselves to face the multiple challenges as our nations progresses. Racial unity should begin at home. Since parents are closest to their children, they should be at the forefront and sow the seeds of racial and religious tolerance among children. Parents should encourage their children to mix freely with their peers of other races and religions. This will allow children to understand the different traditions and cultures and be tolerant of those from other faiths and beliefs. Once parents are able to instill values of racial and religious tolerance among their children, it will take off naturally. Schools are the best places for students of different races to mingle freely without prejudice and suspicion. Students should learn about the different festivals their friends celebrate, their rites and rituals and their places of worship. It is only when they understand how others live will they also know how to treat them with respect and understanding. There are numerous activities in schools that provide opportunities for children to integrate such as sports and competitions. The various festivals celebrated by the different races are excellent opportunities to sow the seeds of unity. The concept of open houses is a unique feature that augments unity. The intermingling of the various races will contribute towards enhancing national unity. Despite more than 7 decades of independence, the country is still grappling with issues concerning race relationships. we must remember that these decades of nation-building can be erased if we allow racial tensions to build. Unity among the various races is vital for the progress of the nation as the saying goes, ‘Untied we stand, divided we fall

College sports gambling Essay

With all of the controversy of gambling in college sports, why is the issue still an issue? The answer is money. There were actions taken towards this by Congress, but the problem is that it was never completely abolished. Congress had made the mistake of creating a way around it. It is now commonly referred to as â€Å"the Las Vegas loophole. † They outlawed the betting nationwide with the exception of one state, one state that is the capital of gambling, Nevada. This has caused few changes, with the exception of the ever-growing revenue that it generates. Another reason the legality still remains is one not frequently mentioned, but the question of the ban being constitutional. But no matter what the law, is there realistically ever going to be silence or content? To trace the tracks to the start of mending this problem, we need to go back to 1992. This is the year that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act took precedence. This law restricts gambling on amateur sports in 46 states and essentially leaves Nevada as the only state that can take bets on those games. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) and Rep. Lindsay Graham (R-S. C. ) are striving to get two separate bills passed, both of which are targeted at prohibiting gambling on amateur sports. The bills were introduced a year ago, and at the time, were heavily favored. The bills would legally put a stop to betting on NCAA games, the oh-so-notorious March Madness (the NCAA Tournament), and wagering on all college sports for that matter. Las Vegas casino lobbyist have turned offensive. Who wouldn’t, if there were possibilities of losing a $700 million cash cow, with approximately $70 million on March Madness? The money that is generated from sports betting both legal and not, is much too vast to be eradicated. Nevada is the tree trunk for which sports gambling is derived. The casinos are complete with giant electronic boards that offer information on daily events ranging from odds to player injuries. This is the basis of most sports wagering. Nevada generates $2. 3 billion a year on legal sports betting , where as, betting on college sports revenue in Nevada accounts for $650 million of the amount. This is far from the issue though. If betting on college sports in Nevada is made illegal, I find the impact to be very small considering that illegal sports gambling has been estimated at $80 billion to $380 billion a year. At the least, 40 times the legal revenue generated seems very minute. In addition, studies have shown that for every dollar bet on sports in Vegas, $100 is bet with bookies and on the Internet. Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev. ), says that there is nothing backing up that legal gambling in Nevada is â€Å"in any way responsible for the illegal sports wagering that plagues our nation’s college campuses. † Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), said that no problems would be solved by eliminating legal bets any more than â€Å"suggesting that outlawing aspirin would stop the sale of illegal drugs. † A poll done by Gallop from March 18-20 (between the first two weekends of this year’s NCAA tournament) found that Americans were divided on issue. The poll stated that 49% believe that college sports gambling should be illegal and 47% believe that it should not. Strikingly, college basketball fans are stuck on 48% on both stand-points. The possibility of abolishing gambling on college sports is not very likely nor does it hold much hope of bettering the problem. If the betting was banned, there’s no possibility of it just disappearing. The figures and dollar amounts of illegal gambling are much too high now, and it is still legal. What happens when Congress puts this law into effect and everyone ignores it? It surely does not say much about our society and its morals. Howard Shaffer, director of the Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School, said â€Å"If we pass legislation that we cannot enforce, it will undermine authority in general and young people don’t need any more laws that nobody respects. † Shaffer added, â€Å"If it’s unenforceable, they will come to see other legislation as unenforceable and then we’ll have problems where we don’t necessarily have them today. People of all kinds are in agreeance that the impact of this law would hardly be worth the effort. John Shelk, vice president of the American Gaming Association, also stated â€Å"It’s not like Congress is going to pass a law that bans legal gambling, and students across the country will say, ? Oh my God, I can’t gamble anymore because it’s illegal. ‘† Sen. McCain, co-author of last year’s Senate bill, had countered his opinion to ESPN.com by saying, â€Å"I don’t think we have to choose between enforcing existing laws on illegal gambling and closing the loophole on legal gambling. † McCain added, â€Å"we can do both. † McCain and others claim that eliminating legalized gambling in Nevada would be â€Å"an essential first step† on stopping the college sports gambling. Critics disagree. They believe that the attempt to chip away at illegal sports gambling â€Å"isn’t a logical first step,† at all. The fact of the college sports gambling, is that there is too much publicity, popularity, and money surrounding this particular gambling sport. In the beginning there was a problem with popularity. From 1951-1974, there was a 10% excise tax levied by the Federal Government on the amount of sports wagers. The tax made the business unprofitable since the profit margin was generally 5% or less before the tax. In 1974, Congress was persuaded by the Nevada congressional delegation. From this persuasion, Congress ended up cutting the tax from 10% to 2%. From there, the boom took off. It took a little time but the pay off was great. Wagers on professional and college sports were totaling $1. 3 billion by 1988. After the new wave had taken off, professional sports teams and the NCAA became concerned. One outspoken supporter was Bill Bradley, a former basketball star and Democratic Senator from New Jersey. Bradley expressed, â€Å"state-sponsored sports betting could change forever the relationship between the players and the game, and the game and the fans. Sports would become the gamblers’ game and not the fans’ game, and athletes would become roulette chips,† he pleaded in 1992. Bradley and others apparently made quite an impact because Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which was noted earlier as the â€Å"Nevada loop hole. † Again, the conflict elevated from there on out. Realistically though, as much as the NCAA wants this legalization stopped, there is an issue that’s never discussed, but could legally keep the association from doing anything. It is another loophole that Nevada has found, and is a little more concrete. It is the 10th amendment, which delegates powers to the states not to the federal government. This means that if the bill becomes a law, the state of Nevada will definitely have grounds to contest it. The popularity of college sports gambling has continued to grow over the years. When the NCAA tournament begins to roll around each year, Nevada gets hard at work. March Madness, is virtually a madness. It’s a craze that is so very wide-spread, it would literally be impossible to get rid of it. Brackets and spreads are created, and almost anybody with vision can say that they have seen the NCAA tournament bracket. It is so popular now that some media devote entire sections of newspapers to the event. It’s inevitable that readers are able to find the bracket listed, and usually bold and in full color. You can even find the bracket displayed at bars, restaurants, and even work places. More popular is the office pool that seems to have grown so much that women and even non-sports fans find them selves anteing in at a shot on the pool. If this legislation is to pass, how are things like the office pools going to be regulated? Can any one realistically imagine the day that cops and or Federal agents busting bars and business environments for illegal gambling all over the country? The idea of the regulation is ridiculous. In addition to the casual gambling in offices and such, what about the vast expansion of gambling and sources of it on the Internet? The Internet is full of sites devoted to college sports and gambling of it. As far as the NCAA goes, it has what most would consider a hypocritical view on the situation. The NCAA claims to be firmly against the legal betting, but when it comes to the Tournament and other advertised events, one might think differently about the beliefs. In congressional testimony the NCAA says it â€Å"opposes all forms of illegal sports wagering. † Well, if anyone has heard of a little network called CBS, they might be able to recall a small tournament, in correlation with the network, called the NCAA Tournament. These two were in conjunction for this years tournament, but somehow the NCAA had no problem with CBS repeatedly pointing viewers to CBS. Sportsline. com, all throughout the broadcast. Additionally, CBS. Sportsline. com owns Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Some authorities estimate that over 80% of Las Vegas sports books subscribe to â€Å"the line,† set by this firm. During the tournament, this web site offered a free â€Å"Bracket Pool Manager,† in addition to odds, points, spreads, over/unders, and so on. You can’t gamble through the site, but what other purpose does a Bracket Pool Manager and other such emminities serve besides gambling. When you link all of these things together, it just doesn’t make any sense. There has to be an approval by the NCAA for all of this to have taken place, therefore, it is indeed to some extent, condoning this action that it claims to be so against. So what do you think that the NCAA can do or say? Would it be feasible for them to say â€Å"no, you can’t say that or broadcast our tournament anymore†? NO! CBS accounts for 90%†¦ yes, 90% of the NCAA operating revenue. I seriously doubt that the NCAA is so consumed with its beliefs, that it will just discard the whole money issue that goes along with it. The National Association of Basketball Coaches, Official Athletic Site believes that the NCAA has many problems that it needs to address and correct before jumping the gun to Congress. Marc Isenberg’s article on the site stated that, â€Å"The NCAA cannot even begin to educate athletes and other students-or even congress-until it does the following: 1. ) demand that CBS cut its ties with CBS. Sportsline.com and Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which are a major part of the infrastructure of gambling on college sports 2. ) prohibit corporate partners from using bracket promotions or contests connected to the outcome of games 3. ) refuse to credential media outlets who publish lines and accept ads from tout services 4. ) fund a gambling education program on college campuses that addresses the problem of gambling, not just shaving. Can the NCAA tear itself away from its ? Show me the money’ outlook to conduct such a campaign? † The answer is â€Å"No. † The truth remains, that nobody especially not the NCAA wants to go back to the unpopular, no money-making ways of the past. There is an undeniable problem with betting in college sports, mainly when it comes to students. This is the NCAA’s major concern, but namely, point shaving. In general, point shaving is done by players that intentionally miss shots to change the outcome of the game. The NCAA has a very justifiable reason for the abolishment in terms of this actual concern. Over the past view years, there have been many cases in which athletes got involved in the negative aspects of gambling. This would often times result in owing bookies so much that they would get sucked into the point shaving problem. One student made his mark when he got involved with his roommate, who was also a popular bookie that was being investigated by officials. The student was Teddy Dupay, a basketball player for the University of Florida Gators. Dupay had shared winnings with his friend Kresten Lagerman, 23, after giving him inside information about whether the Gators could cover point spreads. Florida had also endured a 2000-2001 season filled with injuries. There were also many instances of injured players returning much sooner than expected. Following this discovery, Dupay was dismissed from the team. Another student, a running back at the Northwestern University had become the school’s rushing leader. He had become involved in gambling so in-depth that he fumbled the football at the goal line to ensure his $400 wager on the point spread of his own game. These are the instances that are worthy of the abolishing desire. Still, the fact remains that these examples and 99% of sports gambling is done illegally or under the table. The truth of the matter is that, this is another back-and-forth issue (like abortion) that will never have silence nor contentment. There are serious problems with players and the ethics of the game, but no matter what, a ban on sports gambling will never solve one-single problem. The fact remains that 99% of all sports gambling is done illegally. Since it is currently legal, is there any truth to solving the problem by abolishing it? College sports gambling is truly not the real issue. There are too many other factors at play. When it comes to the players getting involved, I believe that they are able to make their own decisions. If they have difficulty doing that, there must be somewhat of a different issue- Ethics. Apparently, the NCAA should concentrate more on its players than Nevada. With the problem of these players, it doesn’t leave much meaning to the idea â€Å"may the best man win. † Bibliography Barlett, Donald L. and James B. Steele, â€Å"Throwing the Game,† Time, (September 25, 2000) Gillespie, Mark, â€Å"Americans Split on Whether Gambling on College Sports Should Be Banned,† The Gallup Organization, (April 1, 2002) Isenberg, Marc, â€Å"Gambling on College Sports: The NCAA’s Solution is Part of the Problem,† National Association of Basketball Coaches, Official Athletic Cite, (April 25, 2002) Jansen, Bart, â€Å"Big name coaches support ban on amateur sports gambling,† The Detroit News, (April 25, 2002) Pells, Eddie, â€Å"Complaint: Dupay received money for sharing info,† Slam! Basketball, (September 14, 2001) Rovell, Darren, â€Å"Congree could trump Vegas on college book,† ESPN, (March 15, 2002) Sauve, Valerie, â€Å"Issues Committee holds discussion on illegal sports wagering in NCAA,† The Daily Beacon, (March 5, 2002).