Tag Archives: USA

Obama’s Speech: Written for America, Applied to the World.

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“My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors…

Serious challenges

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

…

‘Era of peace’

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

…”

Barack Obama – 44th U.S. President. Speech to the Nation – Speech to the World.

A new fraud hits the financial world

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A new act of fraud hits the world of business and finance. It may seem unbelievable but Bernard Madoff has stolen $50 billion with the use of a complex system of hedge funds. This system imitates the Ponzi’s system and if manipulated it can be used to commit multiple fraudulent acts. However this illegal act is unfortunately not fool-proof.
Mr Madoff is an American citizen and 70 years of age – he is a famous trader and businessman but now he finds himself in a cell: he risks incarceration for 20 years and paying $5 million, though the victim’s losses far exceed his fines.
The breadth of this case encompasses banks from many countries including British firms. Here are some news cuttings from the British press:

Bloomberg reports the story and asks where all the money went. “Investigators are still trying to figure out where customers’ money went. Madoff, 70, told his sons last week he had as much as $300 million left, according to an SEC lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan. The agency is looking for additional money that may be recovered for victims, two people said. In a regulatory filing in January, Madoff’s firm listed $17 billion in assets under management”.

The Guardian.co.uk describes this as the worst fraud in history. “Madoff is himself regulated by the FSA, along with his two sons, his brother Peter and six other registered individuals, though his eponymous London-based offshoot. However, Stephen Raven, chief executive of London-based Madoff Securities International, said the firm was “not in any way part of” the New York company caught up in the alleged scam”.

The Timesonline.co.uk reports reports the list of the victims, a list that keeps increasing: Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Santander, the Spanish group that owns Britain’s Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley…

Number of women in top jobs falls in UK.

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Let’s talk about America for a second… Sarah Palin, Republican Vice-Presidential candidate fired-up her audience last night when she spoke of her intention “to serve the people” and how Barak Obama lacks the necessary maturity to lead the country. And John McCain believes in her. Coupled with the high profile of a certain Mrs. Clinton, women in the States are progressing into powerful roles within society.

In the mean time we discover the opposite for this country; the number of women in top jobs is decreasing. Today the Equality and Human Rights Commission underlines that professional women who want to reach the top are encountering much difficulty. Why? Not because of a lack of talent or ambition, since many believe the presence of women at the top is the solution! Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society that campaigns for women’s rights, tries to explain: “Rather, women in every sector of the workforce face unjust hurdles throughout their careers, and those hurdles are even higher for ethnic minority women. This is a fundamental matter of fairness and justice for women. And it has consequences for the whole of society. With so few women in power, the UK is wasting a colossal amount of talent and all sectors are impoverished as a result.”

In 2008, do women have to fight for their rights as hard as they had to in the past? Can we follow the example of America? Comment below and let us know what do you think.

Tea vs Coffee: a never-ending feud

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starbucks bits

I don’t drink coffee I take tea my dear – so Sir Sting tells us. And he likes his toast done on one side apparently – funny that. So Sting may have been An Englishman in New York but is the Big Apple as different from the Big Smoke as it used to be? Well, yes but we do seem to have adopted the decidedly American trend of coffee-shop culture. Do we have the TV show Friends to thank for that? We hope not – we prefer to think that it’s because a firm as large as Starbucks decided to explore cosmopolitan London through its multinational population.

But does the Breakfast Tea homeland still prefer drinking tea than coffee? The oldest and most famous coffee chain doesn’t agree. Starbucks doesn’t accept the old English tradition and makes efforts to engage new coffee drinkers. How? With a new coffee experience. For free. Since 1998, when it arrived in UK, the American chain has tried to be an affordable luxury – Starbucks now offers customers free refills!

The future is uncertain, but never give up! Even if the present economic crisis hits your breakfast table. In the last year Starbucks has fired many of its employees in USA and is closing many stores across the world, but as it has to get used the company try to limit the problems. The latest news say that Starbucks will close 600 stores in the United States and 61 (of the 84) in Australia. Also in UK the coffee company has recorded its first loss as a public company, surviving a terrible week, caused by an international halt of revenue growth. Starbucks was one of the most successful businesses of all the world, and it wants to survive to the big economic crisis and save its 670 shops in Britain.

And you can like it or not, love the coffee or not, but Starbucks is a good example of a successful business in times of trouble. We are also here to cover these stories for you – are Londoners rejecting coffee culture now?