Friday, January 24, 2020

We Must Not Treat Muslims as We Treated the Japanese Essay example --

We Must Not Treat Muslims as We Treated the Japanese The terrorist attacks on 9-11 have frequently been analogized to Pearl Harbor. In many ways, the analogy is apt. Just as that attack launched us into World War II, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have launched us into a new kind of war, against terrorism. But waging this sort of borderless war poses great risks, not only to the soldiers commanded to fight but also to core American values. In this way, Pearl Harbor raises other disturbing memories, those of the internment. Like the recent explosions on the East Coast, the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 12-7, shattered our feeling of national security. How could this have happened? Ordinary individuals, prominent journalists, and government officials soon started pointing the finger at the Japanese in America. Viewing these "Orientals" as incurably foreign, speaking foreign languages, perpetuating foreign cultures, practicing foreign religions (Shinto, Buddhism), American society could not distinguish between the Empire of Japan and Americans of Japanese descent. As General DeWitt, in charge of the Western Defense Command, put it, "A Jap's a Jap." In testimony, he elaborated: "[R]racial affinities are not severed by migration. The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second and third generation Japanese born on United States soil, possessed of United States citizenship have become 'Americanized' the racial strains are undiluted." As government reports rushed to the conclusion that Japanese American s aided and abetted the attack, the wheels of the internment machinery began turning. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which a... ...l happen if we make such mistakes today? Consider another analogy with the internment. In Hirabayashi, the Court noted that because American society had discriminated against the Japanese legally, politically, and economically, they had been kept from assimilating and integrating into mainstream society. Exactly right. But then, the Court went on the explain-in an entirely rational but still disturbing way-that therefore the Japanese posed a greater national security risk. This presents a horrible Catch-22: Because America has treated you badly, you have reason to be disloyal; therefore, America has reason to treat you still more badly, by restricting your civil rights. In our public and private response to the horrors of 9-11, will we force another group of Americans into the same impossible situation? I hope that by learning the lessons of 12-7 we will not.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Capital One Bank Evaluation

Bank Performance Evaluation Project Capital One Bank Capital One Financial Corporation’s headquarters is in McLean, Virginia and in the Federal Reserve district five, The Federal Reserve of Richmond, Virginia. It is number 89 in peer group one with their consolidated assets of over $300 million. Peer group one banks are institutions that have equal to or greater than $10 million in consolidated assets. Capital One Bank specializes in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, while providing banking and savings products.They are a Fortune 500 company and have paved the way for mass credit card marketing in the 1990’s. Since its inception in 1988, Capital One has acquired numerous smaller banks and has kept growing to become one of the most well know bank holding companies in the United States. Unfortunately in November 2008, Capital One Bank suffered devastating losses and received $3. 5 billion bail-out funds from the Federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. But by mid 2009, Capital One Bank had bought back over 3. 5 million of their preferred stock shares from the United States Treasury.Although Capital One Bank has experienced some economic hardships in the recent past, it seems to be holding steady after the wake of the 2008 financial system meltdown. If we take a close look at this bank’s performance report, we can find some interesting information about their biggest asset components. For Capital One’s assets their percentage for loans to individuals is relatively high, 36. 77 percent compared to that of the peer group average of 4. 98 percent. This is indicative of a company that produces a large number of loans to individuals in the form of real estate, auto, and credit cards.This also indicates that this bank is interested in making profits from interest on loans. Real estate loans for this company are high with 22. 26 percent compared to the peer group average of 32. 89 percent. Although this bank dabbles in commercial bank ing, it keeps its commercial and industrial loans to a minimum in comparison to its other peer one counterparts. There are a few areas where Capital one shows virtually no interest such as; agricultural loans, investments in mutual funds and equity securities, and fed funds sold and reverse repos which are purchased under an agreement to resell.Federal funds sold are used for overnight funds that â€Å"keep balances on deposits at Federal Reserve Banks for purposes of clearing daily checks and deposits†(Olsen Research Associates). A reason Capital One Bank does not use this practice may be because it does not want to risk losing assets in the event that the borrowing bank defaults. Because Fed Funds Contracts are not secured they are always subject to loss if the borrowing bank defaults (Olsen Research Associates). Capital One Bank has relatively average percentages of debt securities of less than or more than one year.A debt security can be bought or sold between two parties , has defined amounts, rates, and maturities. As a whole, debt securities are relatively safer than equity securities because they have a principal amount that is returned to the lender at a specified maturity date. Moving on to the liquidity and funding of Capital One Bank, the core deposits are above those of other peer banks at 64. 84 percent compared to 55. 17 percent. Core deposits are comprised of demand deposits, deposit accounts that are subject to negotiable orders of withdrawal or automatic transfer from the savings accounts.This section also includes time deposits of less than $100,000, money market deposit accounts, other savings accounts, and other non-interest bearing deposit balances. Banks count on core deposits to fund loans while offering advantages â€Å"such as predictable costs and a measurement of the degree of customer loyalty† (Core Deposits). Core deposits are less vulnerable to short-term changes in the interest rates than CD’s or money market accounts (Core Deposits). The net loans and leases percentages of Capital One Bank are high as well compared to their competing banks.This is due to the high number of loans this bank awards to individuals in the form of mortgages, car loans, personal loans, and credit cards. Credit card loans blow the competition out of the water with an extremely high 40. 9 percent compared to peer group one’s average of 2. 41 percent. The liquid assets of Capital One are slightly lower in comparison to their peers by about 10 percentage point; this is another indicator that this bank produces numerous loans and has its assets â€Å"tied† up.Turning the attention to the relative income statement and marginal analysis portion of the report will describe the key components of earnings relative to average assets, margin analysis ratios, the yields or returns of specific assets, and the cost of funds. The report shows that Capital One’s main source of income is interest income in cluding; high interest income equaling a higher net interest income. Adjusted operating income, which is net interest income plus non-interest income, for Capital One Bank is 7. 45 percent to the peer group average of 4. 74.This is almost twice the amount of income from interest over its competitors. After accounting for operating expenses and realized gains and losses, the company has a pretax net income of 1. 82 percent and a net operating income of 1. 38 percent. The company’s interest expenses are insignificantly higher than those of its peers. Capital One has made provisions for loan and lease losses which are monies set aside for default loans. These provisions are greater than the competitors by 1. 25 percent and represent the bank’s desire to survive if loans default.Looking at the margin analysis portion of this section, you can note that the net interest income to average earning assets is twice as high as its competitors in peer group one at 6. 49 percent. I t is safe to say that Capital One Bank receives the majority of its income from interest. â€Å"Capitalization is the long-term funding that allows a business firm to operate. It is the investment that the business owner and any other investors make in the firm. It is a financial term which refers to the sum of the stockholder's equity of the firm and the firm's long-term debt, such as bonds or mortgages† (Peavler).Capitalization is also a measurement of business value based on the share price and number of shares outstanding. This is generally the market’s representation of the company’s value (Ycharts). For Capital One Bank, there capitalization is relatively similar to its counterparts. Equity capital to total asset ratio for Capital one is 13. 13 percent while the average for peer group one is 11. 30 and does not represent a substantial difference. Although Capital One Financial has seen its ups and downs over the past few years, it reports their â€Å"thir d quarter net income jumped 47 percent versus the prior year quarter†.This increase in profits is credited to the acquisition of ING Direct a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance, and asset management services, and HSBC’s United States card business (Associated Press). Net income increased $357 million from this time last year and price per share went from $1. 77 to $2. 01, a 24 cent increase (Associated Press). Revenues also soared 39 percent to $5. 78 billion. Capital One Financial reports that it expects consumer demand to slow down soon, but they are prepared for what the future holds. ————————————————-Top of FormDec 10, 2012 12:17 p. m. ET| COF (Common Stock) | Exchange:NYSE (US Dollar)| Last Trade| $57. 77| Change| + 0. 70| | | | % Change| 1. 23%| | Volume| 1,167,465| Intraday High| $57. 80| | Open| $56. 91| Intraday Low| $56 . 78| | Minimum 20 minute delay Bottom of Form| | (Capital One: Stock Quote and Chart) Works Cited Associated Press. â€Å"News Summary:Capital One Posts Higher 3Q Profit. † Bloomberg Businessweek News. 18 2012: n. page. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. . â€Å"Capital One Financial Corporation Market Cap. Ycharts. N. p. , 06 2012. Web. 6 Dec 2012. . â€Å"Core Deposits. † Investopedia US. United States: 2012.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Film Analysis Of The Pianist - 1279 Words

The Pianist is a film released in 2002 by Roman Polanski and was based on a 1946 memoir of Szpilman by the writer Jerzy Waldorff. It follows the perspective of Wladyslaw Szpilman and how he survives the abundance of destruction from the Nazis in WW2 with only the comfort of his love of music. This film depicts the harrowing journey of Wladyslaw and how as pivotal events occur, the more desperate he is to survive when he is faced with deadly encounters and inhumane living conditions. Polanski portrays desperation through specific shots and framing, dramatic auditory and visual components that induced heart wrenching emotions, and mise en scene that shows the main characters depressing journey. The perspective of Szpilman in the film†¦show more content†¦The adversity that Wladyslaw experiences is apparent in his eating habits when he is in hiding. Food becomes scarce and he becomes desperate to eat anything somewhat edible. A prominent example of this is when he is cooking th e potato and beans. Roman exhibits how he has to ration the food in order to survive over weeks by filming close ups of the food. The close up shows that potato is dark and rotten but he eats it due to the desperation for something to sustain him for a bit longer. As Szpilman cooks the beans, the camera focuses on the pot and Wladyslaw placing a very small amount of beans in the pot, representing his little resources. Polanski successfully utilizes frames and shots throughout the whole film to powerfully interpret the hardship of WW2 and how massacre and destruction leads to oppressed members of society, similar to Wladyslaw, developing reckless behaviour and desperation for any sustenance to keep on breathing. Polanski applies the use of mise en scà ¨ne to epitomize the characterisation of the protagonist in both direct and indirect ways; Szpilman is directly shown as a well-known lighthearted pianist living happily but as the film progresses, he is indirectly portrayed as a weak traumatised man who has experienced a grievous struggle and led to his desperate acts of survival.Show MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Alan Irwin Menken, An American Film And Musical Composer, And A Pianist1319 Words   |  6 PagesComposers of film music are mostly forgotten about by the audience as they concentrate on the movie itself. However, without the music, the films will not be able to grasp the audience and anchor the emotion of enchantment. It is the song that allows the mood and atmosphere to be set. Alan Irwin Menken, an American film and musical composer, and a pianist, was born on July 22, 1949. 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