Disraeli: An unprincipled adventurer in politics Essay

â€Å"An deceitful explorer in politics.† How reasonable is this understanding of Disraeli in the period 1837-1846? first DRAFT Throughout the years, the political character of Disraeli has dumbfounded history specialists as much as it did his associates. Beforehand students of history, for example, Machin, had a tendency to acknowledge the perspective on his contemporary pundits which was regularly, that in the obscurities of his politically life preceding 1846, Disraeli was â€Å"An deceitful explorer in politics†, inspired by his very own aspiration rather that a convention of political standards. However as of late there has been an upsurge in the quantity of history specialists that trust Disraeli possessed an away from of thoughts. These standards started from Disraeli’s comprehension of English history and values, and that a craving to protect and understand his origination of England gave his profession soundness. Disraeli considered himself to be an adversary of risky cosmopolitan thoughts that were harming the national soul and making social conflict.1 Whilst Disraeli can be considered as unscrupulous in his techniques, Disraeli’s fundamental feeling of political reason, and the talk he used to advance his goals, never changed therefore demonstrating that he was really a principled legislator. In the mid 1830s Disraeli remained in a few races as a Whig, Radical and as an Independent. Be that as it may, Disraeli was a Tory when he won a seat in the House of Commons in 1837 speaking to the voting demographic of Maidstone. These regular changes of loyalty to the distinctive political gatherings would one say one are of the manners in which one can guarantee Disraeli to be corrupt yet right? Disraeli guaranteed that his change to conservatism was because of his confidence in the way that Conservatives safeguarded the interests of the individuals. This case for can be demonstrated by the way that in the 1822 the Tory party under Lord Liverpool’s organization contended for the privileges of Dissenters and even revoked the Test and Corporations Act which took into consideration protestant nonconformists to hold positions in open office. Likewise, in 1836 Disraeli composed and distributed the handout ‘Vindication of the English Constitution (1835). In this handout, Disraeli portrayed the Whigs as a gathering, attempted to corner the administration by oppressing the government during the eighteenth century. This proof additionally prompts Ian St John’s end that Disraeli was consistently a ‘Tory Radical’ who accepted that the Tory party was the genuine party since the Whigs sought after ‘a childish plan in light of a legitimate concern for a limited elite’2 . Furthermore, he asserted that the Tories had demonstrated themselves to be a really ‘national party’, speaking to the perspectives on ‘nine-tenths of the people’.3 This proof concurs with Disraeli’s own case that the Tory party was the genuine party of the individuals, and thusly one can say that Disraeli’s change to conservatism depended on a principled establishing. Further contentions that Disraeli’s change to conservatism depended on his rule and not on his very own aspirations are that during Disraeli’s prior endeavors for Parliament, he had consistently contended for horticultural help. This conviction shaped an essential piece of the Tory party’s principals since in 1815 a Tory government had presented the Corn Laws as a methods for shielding the British agrarian market from a convergence of modest remote corn. What's more, one can contend that Disraeli’s change to Conservatism could likewise be an outcome from the way that the Conservative party was the gathering Disraeli grew up around. During his childhood Disraeli had met George Canning who was a companion of his dad, also during the 1830s Disraeli was attracted to the Conservative’s party groups of friends. Through these capacities he was acquainted with Lord Lyndhurst (a previous Tory Chancellor) by Lady Henrietta Sykes.4 Therefore one can say that through his experience, central convictions and groups of friends, Disraeli was a characteristic Conservative similarly that Gladstone was a characteristic Liberal However, for some students of history these are not the principle reasons concerning why Disraeli turned into a Conservative MP. In 1834 Disraeli got Conservative budgetary help from Lord Lyndhurst who was his patron.5 This inseparably connected Disraeli to the Conservative party, particularly when one considers the way that Disraeli was not skillful with his local financial aspects and would in this manner always be unable to reimburse Lyndhurst. Taking everything into account one can say that Disraeli’s transformation to the Conservative party was for the most part a real switch despite the fact that it might have been impacted by the liberality of Lord Lyndhurst The character of Disraeli can likewise been believed to be principled in is by his conviction that rich citizenry have an obligation to poor people. This conviction was communicated in Disraeli’s response to the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. This Bill established a Poor Law Commission to administer the national activity of the Poor Law framework, incorporated the trim together of little wards into Poor Law Unions and the structure of workhouses in every association for the giving of poor alleviation. The demonstration was â€Å"Whig-Benthamite changing enactment of the period†6 passed by Earl Gray so as to discourage individuals from getting poor and needing to join the Work house framework. In 1840 Disraeli censured the New Poor Law and the Work house framework because of his conviction that the legislature should help the poor in a fatherly manner. This denoted the beginning of Disraeli’s confidence in one country Toryism. The possibility of ‘One country Toryism’ was available in Disraeli’s tale Sybil, where he depicted Britain as â€Å"Two countries †¦ the rich and the poor.† 7 Disraeli accepted that the philosophy of youthful England, the 1852 spending plan and the 1867 Reform Act. Subsequently this shows Disraeli’s dedication to a Romanticized adaptation of society where the high societies had an obligation to the poor was a stead quick standard of Disraelian legislative issues. Another manner by which Disraeli communicated his standards of saving social concordance and helping the poor was through his compassion to the Chartists. Chartism was a development built up in 1836 and constrained by working men who needed to accomplish parliamentary majority rule government as a stage towards social and financial change. In 1840 Disraeli was one of just 5 MPs who contended against the overwhelming disciplines given to Chartists. This was because of the reality Disraeli accepted that that political rights guaranteed social satisfaction. In his Chartist tale, Sybil or the two Nations, Disraeli gave the main anecdotal record of Chartism which comprehended the political requests of the movement8. This response to Chartism demonstrated Disraeli as being principled as his longing to help the poor was available in his 1852 spending plan since he needed to lessen aberrant tax collection on malt and tea, and toll the salary financial plan. This would have assisted with the common laborers who were more influenced by backhanded tax assessment than they were immediate tax collection as Gladstone would before long figure it out. What's more, one of the primary estimations of Disraeli’s Young England was the preservationist and sentimental strand of Social Toryism that incorporated the support of ‘noblesse oblige as the reason for its paternalistic type of social organization.’9 moreover, through his 1867 Reform Bill Disraeli additionally upgraded the establishment of the expert and white collar classes. In spite of the way that critical students of history, for example, â€- may see Disraeli’s endeavors to broaden the political field as a method of getting a Conservative political fortress, the line of felt that Disraeli was a ‘Radical Tory’ dissipates their case. This is on the grounds that Disraeli was radical as in he invited the Reform and needed to push British legislative issues towards a ‘democratic principle’ of government with ‘triennial races and the mystery ballot.’10 This thought of more extensive portrayal interfaces in with the past contention of why Disraeli turned into a traditionalist MP. By broadening the political guide Disraeli accept that the English Nation would be better spoken to as it would dissipate the oligarchical control that the Whigs held in Parliament. In this manner one can contend that Disraeli’s backing of Chartism shows him as a vital government official as it mirrors his confidence in a requi rement for change in the Victorian political framework. The instance of Disraeli remaining with his standards of a Romantic, paternalistic culture is additionally clear in Disraeli’s works of fiction and his enrollment of Young England. Disraeli had assisted with framing the Young England bunch in 1842 dependent on the that the white collar class presently had an excess of political force and a collusion between the nobility and the regular workers was expected to keep society working. Disraeli recommended that the privileged should utilize their capacity to help ensure the poor yet a social pecking order that ought to be maintained.11 Yet in spite of making these perspectives on paternalism apparent in his council, for example, the 1852 spending plan and his reaction to the 1843 Poor Law correction history specialists, for example, Ian St John consistently ask how genuinely did Disraeli respect youthful England? This is an inhumane inquiry. Youthful England was a significant apparatus of Disraeli’s as it helped him to expos e his political convictions and during 1842 they helped him assault the Poor Law, and the pragmatist arrangement of thought. Likewise, because of his offbeat training, Young England was additionally essential to Disraeli as it permitted him to organize inside the Conservative party in spite of the way that he was an outcast because of his Jewish ethnicity and white collar class foundation. One can likewise contend that Disraeli demonstrated an away from to the philosophies of Young England because of his compositions. Disraeli’s books Coningsby (1844), Sybil (1845) and Tancred (1847) all show worry about neediness and the foul play of the parliamenta

Loss of my Grandfather Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Loss of my Grandfather - Essay Example This conversation focuses on that the demise of the creator's granddad implied a disorder in their family framework. Since adolescence, granddad used to disclose to them that their more distant family was a passionate unit that could be reinforced by adoration and solidarity. Moreover, granddad had been exhorting the whole family against disconnection and conceit whereby individuals could get things done for individual or individual increase. Not long after the demise of granddad, family gatherings were not, at this point held as the bringing together factor existed no more. For instance, the creator's uncle migrated, auntie moved to her work spot to the city and my family settled on remaining on our grandfather’s ranch where they live with our grandma.   From this paper unmistakably granddad was a senior in their nearby church, and besides, we used to go to his congregation. He fabricated our otherworldliness as far as engaging in sorted out religion, taking part in diffe rent church services, going to chapel each Sunday and in any event, doing evangelism on ends of the week. When he kicked the bucket, there was sluggishness on Sunday as they go to chapel at whatever point they have an inclination that, they no longer take an interest in chapel services like they used to and they totally overlooked book of scriptures considers or in any event, imploring all together. The otherworldliness of their family was unfavorably influenced to the degree that they no longer give tithes like they used to do as a family.

What Every Writer Should Know Before Creating a Prologue

What Every Writer Should Know Before Creating a Prologue Arguably one of the most famous prologues in literature, Charles Dickens opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities is a perfect example of how to write a prologue. It is the most quoted line from the book, and has stood the test of time because it does exactly what it is meant to doâ€"make the reader want to continue reading.It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…Charles DickensFor any writer, creating a Dickens-like prologue is a daunting task. This is especially true for first-time novelists who are unsure of the process of writing a book from start to finish, and what it will entail. Theyll often make the mistake of starting with a prologueâ€"because its fun to start a story that wayâ€"without understanding the real purpose of those few pag es at the beginning of their story.The bad news firstWhen someone gives you the option between hearing good news and bad news, youll likely choose the bad news first, right? So here it is.Literary agents looking to represent another best-selling author generally dont like prologues. One reason is that theyve read a lot of them. Theyve seen it all for a books beginning, especially from authors who take 500 words to describe an approaching storm or use the prologue to do something different or cool, which usually only results in completely confusing the reader. With so many samples of work coming across their desk, they start to recognize tell-tale signs about you as an authorâ€"how you pace your story and the tone of your narrator. They ultimately want to represent an author who can sell books, and use simple metrics to help their decision on whether to represent you.Now to conclude the bad news, lets take a step back and ask the question: Do you hope to become a best-selling author and have your work accepted by big publishers? If the answer to that question is yes, then you might want to rethink a prologue entirely in the first place.Take a step back and determine whether your prologue would be strong enough to beat the odds of having your manuscript accepted.Advice from the prosElmore Leonard, bestselling western and crime fiction writer, who has also published tips for writers, suggests to do away with a prologue entirely. Sandwiched in between tips like never open a book with weather and never use a verb other than said to carry dialogue, he suggests that a writer avoid prologues. If avoiding a prologue lands in the Top-10 list of industry-wide standards for best practices, then it obviously is something to consider thoroughly before you begin the querying process to have your book published.Theres a valid reason why literary agents tend to avoid reading prologues when considering authors to represent. For example, Janet Reid is a literary agent at New Lea f Literary and Media in New York City. Her client list includes several New York Times Bestselling authors, and she knows how literary agents think. From a literary agents point of view, a big problem with authors sending in a prologue as a query is the fact that it doesnt give them an opportunity to see the writers true pacing and story-telling style. Prologues often contain vague references or back story, leaving the readerâ€"or in this case, literary agentâ€"with little knowledge about your talent and capabilities as a writer, but a lot of confusion trying to understand a prologue outside of the context of the manuscript as a whole.With multiple manuscripts to read daily, literary agents look for tale-tell signs of poor writing to help speed the process. In many cases, when receiving a query, an agent will skip past the prologue and start immediately on Chapter 1.In addition to that, many literary agencies ask for a query as an introduction to your work. Its standard for agents t o request that the author send in a query, with only 3-5 pages of the book as a sample. Since a prologue stands on its own, its a bad introduction to what you can do as a writer. A query is not the full manuscript and its certainly not the finished book, says Reid. Reading at the query stage is often skimming. Its not settling down on the couch with a cat and a cup of java for a nice read of an 800-page novel.Reid also suggest that writers ask themselves an important question before submitting a query containing a prologue. If you leave the prologue out of your query, she writes, will the agent be able to understand Chapter One? If so, leave it out of the query. Remember, you only have 3-5 pages most likely, or not many more, to catch an agents attention.She also advises that if you simply must have a prologue and have faith that it will stand out as extraordinary, remember that the point of the query is to engage the reader. It is up to the writer to determine if the prologue would do that best, or if Chapter One would be more of a hook. Be very critical in your assessment here, says Reid. If Im only going to read five pages, which ones are they?Reid is not alone in her feelings about prologues. Michelle Andelman of Regal Hoffman and Associates, another New York City-based agency, shares the same opinion. Im not a fan of prologues, she writes, preferring to find myself in the midst of a moving plot on page 1 rather than being kept outside of it, or eased into it. Andrea Brown of Andrea Brown Literary Agency puts it like this: Most agents hate prologues. Just make the first chapter relevant and well written. Laurie McLean of Foreword Literary writes, Prologues are usually a lazy way to give back-story chunks to the reader and can be handled with more finesse throughout the story. Damn the prologue, full speed ahead!Finally, the good newsWith the bad news out of the way, lets focus on the good, especially if your manuscript is already written and you know the p rologue youve included is perfect. Kristin Nelson, President and Founding Literary Agent of Nelson Literary Agency in Denver, has represented over 35 New York Times bestselling titles. She, unlike most in her field, doesnt completely discount the potential of a prologue. However, if youre going to send it out for agents to read, at least avoid some of the most common mistakes writers make in writing their prologue.According to Nelson, there are two definite mistakes to avoid. Ranking at #1 and #2 are writing a prologue for backstory so the real story can begin, or making the prologue too long. Both of those mistakes combined would, in her words, be the death of a manuscript.Another common mistake she has seen often is when writers present a prologue that is in a completely different writing style or voice compared to the rest of the book. A writer might do this for several reasons, perhaps to stand out or be different than the rest. Nelson writes, …then when Chapter 1 begins, read ers are left flummoxedâ€"especially if that style or tone of voice is never revisited.As for the perfect prologue, and its place in a novel, Nelson admits that a prologue can be a truly amazing tool for a writer and make a novel more successful. However, she also notes that extraordinarily written prologues are not the norm, and she can count the number she has seen on two hands. These odds might not be ones you want to face in your querying process.What makes an extraordinarily written prologue?If youre still convinced your manuscript needs a prologue and you can avoid the whole thing by not sending it out in queries, here are some best practices to consider as you write it.Make readers want more. As in Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, write a prologue that captures the readers attention so much that they simply cant put the book down until they know the story and its every detail. Thats the kind of hook you need to make a prologue work in an industry that doesnt really take well to p rologues in the first place.Use the prologue as the proverbial hook, but dont try to yank the hook forward by starting Chapter 1 in the same way. If youve written a dynamic prologue, slow the action down a bit when writing Chapter 1.Think of the prologue as its own unique part of the book. Instead of writing a snippet or snapshot of action that will take place later in the book, think of it as a short story that can stand on its own. If you do this, youll be more likely to give the prologue the attention it deserves.Dont make it too long. If your prologue is wordy and in any way bores the reader, its a useless device. You want to engage the reader and hook them into reading more, not run them away with a bad first impression.Write it in a voice that continues in the rest of your novel. Many writers make the rookie mistake of writing a prologue that is in the voice of the villain, or worse, a character who doesnt play a significant role in the rest of the story. This is not only conf using for literary agents taking a small glimpse of your workâ€"its confusing to any reader.Dont use your prologue for a lot of back story. Throwing in back story details is often more effective within the plots progression, and can be difficult for your reader to grasp if there are too many details included.Read a lot of prologues. Look at what other authors have done in writing their prologues. Compare how they use it to set up their story, or hook the reader in to reading more. A prologue doesnt have to be a bad thing if you do it right. The fact that there are many bestsellers on shelves that contain a prologue shows that the device still works. Look at what publishers liked (obviously, by publishing the novel), and dissect how other authors have managed it.

Different Types of Lying - 1731 Words

People lie a lot in their lives. Even though they know that it is morally and religiously incorrect, they do it all the time. Mothers lie to their children; children lie to their parents and students to their teachers. It is a huge part of people daily behavior. They do it for many reasons, like lying to gain certain things or lying to avoid responsibilities. For example, when a girl tells her friend she does not looks fat in her new dress but the truth she does, or when a wife tells her husband that she likes his new haircut, and the reality she does not. Also, people lie serious lies in more complicated situation; for example a witness lies about what he saw in the crime scene. Lying is usually telling a false statement with the intention that another person will believe what you have said is true (Mahon, 2008). However, we must know that all lies are false statements, but not all false statements are lies. Sometimes a person says something untrue, but he believes it is true according to his memory, in this case he is not lying but he gave a false statement. In another condition, saying false statements with additional conditions may not always be is telling a lie; for example making a false statement and adding some body language to make it clear that what you have said is not true. Like when I say I am from the Saudi royal family with a wink at the end indicates I am not serious. On the other hand, when I say I am from the Saudi royal family without any other additions,Show MoreRelatedThe Ways We Lie By Stephanie Ericsson1148 Words   |  5 PagesIn the essay The Ways We Lie, author Stephanie Ericsson writes in depth about the different types of lies used by most people everyday. While listing examples of them, Ericsson questions her own experiences with lying and whether or not it was appropriate. By using hypothetical situations, true accounts, and personal occurrences, she highlights the moral conflicts and consequences that are a result of harmless fibs or impactful deceptions. In an essay detailing the lies told to ourselves and othersRead MoreLying And Deception By William Shakespeare1510 Words   |  7 Pages Lying and deception have been present throughout all of human history. People lie about who they are, what they think, etc. Over the centuries the reasons for lying have stayed the same. When lying and deceiving people have always looked for some kind of reward, it can be money, fame or simply to avoid conflict. However, the methods we use to lie have changed with the creation of the internet. 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The Development Of The Basel 3 Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3144 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Basel 3 is refers to the new update of the Basel accords that is under development. Basel 3  is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. These measures aim to: improve the banking sectors ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, whatever the source improve risk management and governance Strengthen banks transparency and disclosures. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Development Of The Basel 3 Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The reforms target: Bank-level, or micro prudential, regulation, which will help raise the resilience of individual banking institutions to periods of stress. Macro prudential,  system wide risks that can build up across the banking sector as well as the procyclical amplification of these risks over time. These two approaches to supervision are complementary as greater resilience at the individual bank level reduces the risk of system wide shocks. The Basel Committees oversight body the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS) agreed on the broad framework of Basel 2I in September 2009and the Committee set out concrete proposals in December 2009. These consultative documents formed the basis of the Committees response to the financial crisis and are part of the global initiatives to strengthen the financial regulatory system that have been endorsed by the G20 Leaders. The GHOS subsequently agreed on key design elements of the reform pack age at its July 2010 meeting and on the calibration and transition to implement the measures at its September 2010 meeting. Basel 3 is part of the Committees continuous effort to enhance the banking regulatory framework.  It builds  on the International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards document (Basel 2). 1.2. DEVELOPMENT OF BASEL 3 ACCORD: 1.2.1. Summary of proposed changes in Basel 3: The consistency, transparency and the consistency of the capital is raised. The risk coverage of the framework is strengthened. The committee introduced the leverage ratio as a supplementary measure to the Basel 2 framework. The committee introduced a series of measures to promote to the buildup of the capital buffers. The committee is introducing the series of measures to the address procyclicality. Achieve the macro prudential goal of protecting the bank from the excess of the credit growth. Providing the stronger provisions. Th e committee is introducing a global liquidity standard for internationally active banks. 1.2.2. Basel 3 and Recent Efforts to Address Pro Cyclical Effects of Basel 2 In response to the recent Financial Crisis and to the realization that capital levels (which banks operated with) during the period of the Crisis were insufficient and also lacking in quality, the Basel Committee responded by raising the quality of capital as well as its level. Further consequences of the recent Basel reforms also include: A tightening of the definition of common equity Limitation of what qualifies as Tier 1 capital An introduction of a harmonized set of prudential filters The enhancement of transparency and market discipline through new disclosure requirements. The introduction of Basel 2 resulted in changes being made to the 1988 Basel Capital Accord to provide for a choice of three broad approaches to credit risk. This was introduced into Basel 2 in view of the realization th at the optimal balance may differ significantly across banks.The increased focus on risk (and particularly credit risk), resulted from growing realization of the importance of risk within the financial sector. The range of approaches to credit risk as introduced under Basel 2, and which also exists for market risk, consists of the standardized approach (which is the simplest of the three broad approaches), the Internal Ratings based (IRB) foundation approach and the IRB advanced approach. Under the standardized approach, regulatory capital requirements are more closely aligned and in harmony with the principal elements of banking risk owing to the introduction of wider differentiated risk weights and a broader recognition of techniques which are applied in the risks. The proposals defining the contents of the Basel 3 framework evolved during the crisis that started in 2007, and reflect the prudential regulatory lessons learned throughout the crisis. Based on these experien ces, including the success of various regulatory policies and tools used in mitigating and resolving the effects of the crisis on the banking system and the global financial system, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision outlined these new regulations. 1.3. BASEL COMMITTEE: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which sets rules that national banking regulators implement, announced a comprehensive reform package in September that raises capital requirements and, for the first time, sets global standards for overall borrowing, known as leverage, and liquidity. The Basel 3 rules are designed to make banks more resilient and prevent a repeat of the financial crisis, but several provisions combine to make trade finance, already a low-margin business, much less profitable. Portions of the leverage rule, new risk-weighting requirements and the rules for liquidity raise the costs of trade finance for banks. The combination could drive many smaller banks out of the market and prompt large banks to cut back their lending, bankers and policymakers say. Banking groups and policymakers are lobbying for changes to the proposals, as is Lars Thunell, head of the IFC, the World Banks private sector arm. They point out that outsourcing by companies in the developed world is a critical source of jobs and investment and trade finance is an essential part of the process. Mike Rees, chief executive of wholesale banking at Standard Chartered, the worlds second-biggest provider of trade finance after HSBC, says: If they want to promote economic growth, the Basel Committee should encourage trade finance, one of the few things that create jobs in a global economy. The Basel 3 reforms hit at trade finance in several ways. The rules sharply increase the risk-weighting of lending between financial firms an essential element of trade finance because it involves the importers bank lending money to the exporters bank, often through a letter of credit. The Basel 3 ru les risk making it uneconomic to provide transaction banking services, warns Brian Stevenson, head of transaction banking at RBS: Tougher operational risk capital and liquidity requirements could make the business of providing services to financial institutions inefficient if they went too far. Much of trade finance is also supported by export credit guarantees, which are essentially government credits and therefore in theory low-risk. But the new rules also tighten the definition of what counts as a government guarantee; some export credit agencies may not qualify. Simon Gleeson, partner at Clifford Chance, the law firm, says: An enormous number of letters of credit are guaranteed by a form of government support, which should mean they carry a zero per cent risk rating. But Basel 3 is much tighter about what can count as a government-backed credit and many export credit agencies have been privatized. Basel 3s new leverage ratio will also bring trouble for trade finance, wh en it takes effect in the latter part of this decade. The rule seeks to prevent banks from gaming the risk-weighting rules, by requiring banks to hold top quality core tier one capital equal to 3 per cent of their total assets, including those traditionally held off-balance sheet. The part of the liquidity proposals that would require banks to match long-term obligations with long-term funding and vice versa, could also penalize trade finance. Bankers say they understand why regulators are trying to crack down on dependence on short-term funding but they also say that it is unfair to lump trade finance which is well collateralized and not self-renewing with other short-term funding, such as working capital and liquidity guarantees. A transaction banking subgroup within the UK Bankers Association for Finance and Trade is lobbying the Basel Committee in an effort to persuade regulators to soften the rules. 1.4. Research objectives and questions: The research object ives of the study are: To focus on the liquidity risk from the wide range of risks available in Basel 3. To focus on the impacts of the Basel 3 proposals for Liquidity Risk.    Questions:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The purpose of the study was to discover the following: Does the liquidity risk break down the risk silos? Is the liquidity risk in the Basel 3 on the right track? Will the new rules in the liquidity risk will be helpful to improve the committees approach? Will the liquidity risk makes bank strong? Does the Basel committee understand the linkage between the liquidity risk and capital? Does the committee fail to understand the nature of liquidity risk? Is the Basel 3s approach to the liquidity risk missed the opportunity to break down the risk silos? 1.5. BASEL 3 IMPACT: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) has undertaken a program of substantial revisions of its capi tal guidelines. In particular, the changes envisaged in the so called Basel 2.5 guidelines will result in increased capital requirements for market risk; in addition, the so-called Basel 3 guidelines set new minimum capital ratios, revise the definition of Tier 1 Capital, introduce Tier 1 common equity as a regulatory metric, and make substantial revisions to the computation of risk-weighted assets for credit exposures. Implementation of the new requirements under Basel 2.5 and Basel 3 is expected to take place over an extended transition period, starting at the end of 2012. There continues to be considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of the Basel Committees new guidelines. Although certain important aspects of Basel 3 have now been finalized, other matters remain under discussion; in addition, the federal banking regulatory agencies in the United States have not yet issued draft regulations by which they will implement either Basel 2.5 or Basel 3 for banks and bank holdin g companies. Accordingly, the final regulations to which Goldman Sachs will be subject may be substantially different from our current expectations. In order to assess the firms position under the Basel Committees new guidelines, we have adjusted our computation of Tier 1 common equity and risk-weighted assets as of June 2010 to reflect our good faith estimate of the impact of the methodologies set out in Basel 2.5 and Basel 3. In addition, we have adjusted the June 2010 computation to reflect assumed changes in shareholders equity and risk-weighted assets at year-end 2012. In particular, shareholders equity has been increased from June 2010 levels by an amount equal to analysts consensus earnings expectations for 2010 less actual June YTD earnings, plus earnings for 2011 and 2012, which are assumed to be equal to consensus earnings for 2010. Risk-weighted assets have been adjusted to reflect the contractual and expected run-off of positions in our mortgage derivative and credit correlation businesses, both of which will be significantly impacted by the introduction of Basel 2.5. No other items have been adjusted, and this calculation should not be taken as a projection of what our capital ratios, risk-weighted assets, earnings or other results will actually be at year-end 2012.  1.6. STUDY OF THE RISK MANAGEMENT: The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision expects risks such as the credit risk, liquidity risk, operational risk etc to be recognized, addressed and managed by banking institutions in a prudent manner according to the fundamental characteristics and challenges of e-banking services. These characteristics include the unprecedented speed of change related to technological and customer service innovation, the ubiquitous and global nature of open electronic networks, the integration of e-banking applications with legacy computer systems and the increasing dependence of banks on third parties that provide the necessary information technology. While not creating inherently new risks, the Committee noted that these characteristics increased and modified Some of the traditional risks associated with banking activities, in particular strategic, operational, legal and reputational risks, thereby influencing the overall risk profile of banking.à ƒâ€š   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  In the following sections the liquidity risk is focused on risk management. LIQUIDTY RISK MANAGEMENT: The recent financial crisis involved a sharp decrease in market liquidity and growing distrust among market participants, resulting in serious (liquidity and solvency) problems for many banks. This led in turn  to reliance upon financial support from governments, often  under restrictive conditions or even nationalization. This lack of liquidity, the vast sums the central banks injected into markets and sovereigns provided for the support of tarnished institutes to alleviate the problems as well as the subsequent substantial impact on the real economy has brought  liquidity risk to the forefront of regulatory authorities priorities, and to the attention of the public in general. Dimensions of liquidity (risk) The term liquidity is used in the financial world in different contexts: liquidity as a measure of the salability of securities such as bonds or shares liquidity as a description of the financial solvency of individual institutions liquidity as a level of market activity liquidity as unhindered cash flows within an economy The primary objective of liquidity risk management remains the same: to ensure  an institutions ability to meet financial obligations as they fall due at all times for example, achievable by an adequate liquidity buffer consisting of unencumbered, high quality liquid assets. By its digital character (either a firm is able to meet financial obligations or it is out of business) liquidity risk takes on a unique position within the risk management; unlike other types of risk (market risk, credit risk, operational risk etc.) it cannot be covered entirely by regulatory capital requirements, but it has a significant emphasis on short term activities, requiring immediate but adequate reaction in stresse d situations.  Ãƒâ€š To successfully manage liquidity risk, one should consider all relevant factors: from the business structure which determines liquidity needs, the analysis of markets (market price, market liquidity and market depth), and finally the necessary level of funding diversification. This makes liquidity risk management a very complex and comprehensive topic. New regulatory requirements One consequence of the recent crisis is closer supervision and a tighter regulatory regime to be imposed upon the banks and financial markets by Government-sponsored regulatory authorities. Recent updates of the MaRisk (regulatory requirements in Germany, 08/2009) reveal the lessons learned through the financial crisis. The following innovations can be found: Specification of three types of stress scenarios (idiosyncratic, market-wide and combination of both) that have to be considered in the treatment of liquidity risk Updated requirements for the pro vision of liquidity reserves Separate analysis of liquidity per currency In general, the updated MaRisk requirements (regarding the coverage and the degree of specification) are significantly less stringent than those released by the UKs FSA, as described in the following section. In October 2009 the FSA (the UK regulatory authority) specified new regulatory requirements concerning liquidity risk management in the policy statement PS09/16 (Strengthening liquidity standards), thereby  finalizing a series of consultation papers (CP08/22, CP09/13 and CP09/14). The policy details new requirements such as the Individual Liquidity Adequacy Standards (ILAS) or the Liquidity Reporting. Crucial points are: enhanced system and control requirements for adequate liquidity risk management  Ãƒâ€š definition of principles of adequate liquidity and self-sufficiency multidimensional breakdown of contracts (e.g. currency, asset type or time buckets) s tress-test scenarios have to cover short-term and protracted stress scenarios (2 weeks / 3 months), institution-specific (idiosyncratic) and market-wide stress, as well as combinations of both all evaluated across 10 prescribed key risk drivers coherent interpretation of results and individual liquidity guidance (ILG) by the FSA new definition of liquid assets and risk-based buffer as well as the demand for a regular realization of a significant portion of the liquidity buffer New reporting regime: granular, frequent (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) and partially automated the Enhanced Mismatch Report has to be submitted weekly (with the ability to report daily) in an automated process. With regard to systemic risks  these standards do not only apply to UK firms only, but also to non-UK firms with branches in the UK. In order to keep the regulatory requirements to a reasonable  level, modifications and simplification on an individual basis are provided . In particular, non-UK firms with branches in UK may apply for a whole-firm modification in the course of which the supervision is mainly left to the parent firm and only a significantly reduced amount of reports at low frequency (but for the whole firm) has to be submitted. Based on their Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision published in 09/2008 the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) issued a new consultation document International framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring for comment in December 2009. Within this paper they propose amongst other things two new standards: Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR): ratio of the stock of unencumbered, high quality liquid assets  to the net cash outflows over a 30-day time period under an acute liquidity stress scenario (prescribed combination of idiosyncratic and market-wide shock). Net Stable Funding (NSF) ratio: ratio of the available amount of stable f unding  to the required amount of stable funding.  Ãƒâ€š The LCR is intended as a measure for the short-term (30 days) view in a stressed situation (prescribed by the supervisors), whereas the NSF ratio has a longer perspective (1 year) on the funding needs with respect to illiquid assets and securities held (regardless of accounting treatment). Furthermore, the paper recommends consistent monitoring tools; including contractual maturity mismatch, concentration of funding, available unencumbered assets, and market-related tools to monitor the liquidity risk profiles of supervised entities. Following the invitation of the BCBS to comment upon this document, the international discussion on sound liquidity risk management and corresponding supervision will continue, and further standards and requirements on national level will be developed. Liquidity risk management framework Prior to the crisis, the management of liquidity risks was not an issue because banks were  accustomed to a functioning interbank money market which usually was a reliable source for short-term funding. Nowadays sound liquidity risk management has gained significant importance and is emphatically required by public and regulators. All firms active in the financial  markets should be equipped with an adequate framework to identify measure, manage and monitor  their liquidity risks. The aims of a comprehensive liquidity risk management, based on a well-founded knowledge and understanding of the institutions liquidity profile, are included in (but not limited to) the following aspects: Securing the institutions ability to meet its financial obligations at all times, and  possessing a graduated and detailed plan for different stress situations at hand Creation of revenue possibilities by controlled maturity transformation and resulting in applicable steering recommendations Optimization of liquidity costs (e.g. the composit ion of the liquidity buffer) On  an organizational level, the liquidity risk management framework should be separated into a management and a controlling side. At the top level, the Board of Directors defines the risk appetite and sets the liquidity risk strategy which has to be approved, and will be continuously monitored, by the Supervisory Board. On  an operational level the Treasury department is responsible for meeting the short-term financial obligations of the firm. The risk controlling department assures that all Treasury operations stay within the liquidity risk strategy. Moreover, the risk controlling department defines modeling for liquidity risk analyses (e.g. for non-deterministic cash flows) and performs stress tests. Results emanating from  the risk controlling departments actions  on the liquidity situation of the bank may also serve as basis for regulatory reporting. We can see the liquidity risk in detail in the following chapters .

Individual’s behavior Free Essays

The individual’s behavior is shaped through his/her experiences in life. He may react on something based on the circumstances he/she is experiencing at the present. If an individual experiences pressure frequently and intensively, it may cause him to break down and react negatively. We will write a custom essay sample on Individual’s behavior or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, other individuals who seldom experiences pressures may react differently in more composed behavior. This explanation is premised on the idea that human behavior is determined by forces within the individual; thus, individuals make their own behavior. Human behavior is not characterized by unanimity but by differences in expressions and emotions (Alland, 2003). Proponents assume that human behavior is guided by emergent norms. Individuals who come together have divergent views, some act spontaneously with each other, others express what they feel and still others are restrained in their behavior. These people interact with each other guided by symbols, and an emergent norm comes about (Loy, 2001). In the process of responding to each other, a revised definition of the situation comes about and then individuals act in terms this definition. So, in rallies, riots, mobs or demonstrations, there are some participants who are highly excited, expressing anger, hate, or fear, and there are some who are more contained in the expression of their emotions. Moreover, the norm may also define limits to their behavior. Reference: 1. Loy, James D. Understanding Behavior: What Primate Studies Tell Us about Human Behavior. Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2001. 2. Alland, Alexander Jr. Evolution and Human Behavior. Publisher: Natural History Press. Place of Publication: Garden City, NY. Publication Year: 2003. How to cite Individual’s behavior, Papers

Macroeconomics Gross Domestic Product

Questions: 1. Explain why real GDP might be an unreliable indicator of the standard of living. 2. Why does unemployment arise and what makes some unemployment unavoidable? 3. Consider the following statement: When the average level of prices of goods and services rises, inflation rises? Do you agree or disagree? Explain. 4. What is the aggregate demand (AD) curve and why does it slope downwards? Explain. 5. What is the long run aggregate supply (LRAS) curve and why is it vertical? Why does the short run aggregate supply curve slope upwards? Answers: 1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the summation of all the services and goods produced within the domestic territory of a country calculated for a year. Mathematically, GDP is written as the sum of consumption (C), investment (I), government expenditure (G) and Net export (NX). The equation is: GDP = C+I+G+NX GDP can help us in interpreting the economic growth of the nation. But there are some serious drawbacks of this measurement (Blanchard and Leigh 2013). The reason can be summed up as follows: GDP misses out the depth and distribution of the economys output amongst its people. A country having very high level of GDP may also at the same time show high level of poverty as the amount of production is not distributed proportionately amongst its population. GDP misses out on the psychological aspect of the people. Some people may remain happy working for less hours and making them work for long hours to raise GDP may affect their productivity. The increase in GDP may also come at the cost of depletion of the environment. It can be said that if many industries are established in a country it will enhance the economic output and influence the GDP but it does all these at the cost of creating pollution. The basic elements of economic well-being are left out in the GDP. Peoples health condition, their level of education, their lifestyles is beyond the GDPs capacity of measurement. These factors are very important as it ensures that the country is walking in the path of development (Fleurbaey and Blanchet 2013). 2. The situation where a person who is willing to work does not get suitable jobs and thereby remains idle is known as unemployment. It occurs in the economy due to several reasons (Hobson 2013). They are: Lack of information: Often it has been observed that there are jobs in the market but still people remain unemployed. It is because people are not well informed about the existing jobs. Lack in the information system creates this fuss. Lack of resource utilization and inefficient allocation: There are several instances where the inefficiency in allocating the resource in the production process has led to unemployment. Even if they are properly allocated resources are not utilized up-to their full productive capacity due to inefficiency of the workers. Technological advancement: Modern technology requires less of manpower and produces high quality goods at a faster rate. Use of these technologies requires shirking off the excess manpower thereby creating unemployment. Full employment is a utopian situation. The reasons behind the existence of this unemployment in the economy are as follows (Gordon 2013): In any particular phrase of time the number of people searching for jobs fluctuates as some people gets jobs while others enters the market for job hunt. People may not get the job that they find suitable and hence continues with their job search and remain unemployed. Unemployment is inversely related to the phenomenon of inflation. Any economy that has high level of unemployment faces low level of inflation and vice-versa. Hence, it is feasible for an economy to have some amount of positive of natural rate of unemployment at low level of inflation called the NAIRU. 3. No, I do not agree with the quoted statement in the question. The basic notion of inflation states that it is the situation where there has been a constant rise in the overall level of prices. There are two types of inflation, namely the cost push inflation and the demand pull inflation (Hansen 2016). The former one occurs due to an increase in the prices of the components especially raw material required to produce the goods. Demand pull inflation occurs as a result of excess demand in the economy which cannot be met up by the supply of that period. The very definition itself suggests that for an inflation to occur there are two different criteria that needs to be matched. They are: Increase in the overall level of prices in the economy. The increase is measured through some consecutive period of time. This statement has been disagreed because there may be situations where the price in goods has suddenly increased due to some market distortions (Blanchflower et al. 2014). There may be some warfare in other country due to which the price of goods has increased. Also some natural calamities like drought or flood may have resulted in the rise of the average prices. At the same time this increase in the price did not persists for long. Then it cannot be termed as inflation. 4. The curve which shows us the total production of the economys goods and services is known as as aggregate demand curve. Just like the normal demand curve this Aggregate demand curve also slopes downwards (Caes et al. 2012). It is also known as domestic final demand curve. The diagram below highlights the same. Figure 1: AGGREGATE DEMAND CURVE Source: Created by the Author The downward slope of the curve indicates the fact that with the increase in the prices of the services and goods, there will be a decrease in the quantity demand of those goods. The reasons behind this aggregate demand curve to be downward sloping can be viewed from three perspectives. They are: Mundell-Fleming effect, Pigou effect and effect on the interest rate as suggested by Keynes (Gali 2013). According to the Mundell-Fleming a decrease in the price-level within the economy is associated with the decrease in the interest rate of the country. This leads to the depreciation of domestic currency and thereby increases the net export of the economy. Net export being a component of AD increases the same. The wealth theory of Pigou suggests that due to a fall in the price level people feel that they have become wealthier as the same amount of money now can fetch them a bigger basket of goods. Thus they demand more goods and thereby this inverse relationship occurs making the curve downward sloping. Keynes theory suggests that a decrease in price level is associated with excessive supply of loanable funds thereby reducing the interest rate and inducing currency depreciation. Again through the systematic method the net export increases increasing AD. Hence the inverse relationship results in the downward curvature. 5. The long run is a situation where none of the factors of production are assumed to be fixed. All of them are variable. The graphical representation of the relationship established between such long run prices and the level of output is known as Long Run Aggregate Supply (LRAS). This curve is vertical in nature. This is because in the long run the potential output of the economy is shown through this curve (Varian 2014). It is assumed that the economy is in its full employment stage and it cannot produce any more output by any other combination of the factors of production. The figure below shows the vertical LRAS. Figure 2: LRAS Source: Created by the Author The figure above denotes the generally accepted LRAS. But analysis from Keynesian and Classical viewpoint fetches a different scenario. Under them the LRAS looks like the following: Figure 3: LRAS II Source: Created by the Author The SRAS curve is upward sloping because in the short run all the factors that are needed for production are not variable (Canto. Joines and Laffer 2014). The producers have a scope to increase their production with the increase in the price level as that increases their level of profit. The theory of Sticky-price and Sticky wages model can help in the understanding of this scenario. References: Blanchard, O.J. and Leigh, D., 2013. Growth forecast errors and fiscal multipliers.The American Economic Review,103(3), pp.117-120. Blanchflower, D.G., Bell, D.N., Montagnoli, A. and Moro, M., 2014. The Happiness Trade?Off between Unemployment and Inflation.Journal of Money, Credit and Banking,46(S2), pp.117-141. Canto, V.A., Joines, D.H. and Laffer, A.B., 2014.Foundations of supply-side economics: Theory and evidence. Academic Press. Case, K.E., Fair, R.C. and Oster, S.M., 2012.Principles of economics. Prentice Hall,. Fleurbaey, M. and Blanchet, D., 2013.Beyond GDP: Measuring welfare and assessing sustainability. Oxford University Press. Gal, J., 2013. Notes for a new guide to Keynes (I): wages, aggregate demand, and employment.Journal of the European Economic Association,11(5), pp.973-1003. Gordon, R.J., 2013.The Phillips curve is alive and well: Inflation and the NAIRU during the slow recovery(No. w19390). National Bureau of Economic Research. Hansen, B., 2016.A Study in the Theory of Inflation. Routledge. Hobson, J.A., 2013.The Economics of Unemployment (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. Varian, H.R., 2014.Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach: Ninth International Student Edition. WW Norton Company.

Ancestry of Barack Obama Family Tree and Genealogy

Ancestry of Barack Obama Family Tree and Genealogy Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Kenyan father and an American mother. According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, he was the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the first African American President. First Generation: 1. Barack Hussein OBAMA was born on 4 August 1961 at the Kapiolani Maternity Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein OBAMA, Sr. of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Stanley Ann DUNHAM of Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while both were attending the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. When Barack Obama was two years old, his parents divorced and his father moved to Massachusetts to continue his education before returning to Kenya. In 1964, Barack Obamas mother married Lolo Soetoro, a tennis-playing graduate student, and later an oil manager, from the Indonesian island of Java. Soetoros student visa was revoked in 1966 because of political unrest in Indonesia, breaking up the new family. After graduating with a degree in anthropology the following year, Ann and her young son, Barack, joined her husband in Jakarta, Indonesia. Obamas half-sister, Maya Soetoro was born after the family moved to Indonesia. Four years later, Ann sent Barack back to the United States to live with his maternal grandmother. Barack Obama graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he met his future wife, Michelle Robinson. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Second Generation (Parents): 2. Barack Hussein OBAMA Sr. was born in 1936 in Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya and died in a car crash in Nairobi, Kenya in 1982, leaving three wives, six sons​,  and a daughter. All but one of his children live in Britain or the United States. One of the brothers died in 1984. He is buried in the village of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya. 3. Stanley Ann DUNHAM was born on 27 November 1942 in Wichita, Kansas and died 7 November 1995 of ovarian cancer. Barack Hussein OBAMA Sr. and Stanley Ann DUNHAM were married in 1960 in Hawaii and had the following children: 1 i. Barack Hussein OBAMA, Jr. Third Generation (Grandparents): 4. Hussein Onyango OBAMA was born about 1895 and died in 1979. Before settling down to work as a cook for missionaries in Nairobi he was a traveler. Recruited to fight for colonial power England in World War I, he visited Europe and India, and afterward lived for a time in Zanzibar, where he converted from Christianity to Islam, family members said. 5. Akumu Hussein Onyango OBAMA had several wives. His first wife was Helima, with whom he had no children. Second, he married Akuma and they had the following children: i. Sarah OBAMA1. ii. Barack Hussein OBAMA, Sr.iii. Auma OBAMA Onyangos third wife was Sarah, the one often referred to by Barack as his grandmother. She was the primary caregiver for Barack OBAMA Sr. after his mother, Akuma, left the family when her children were still young. 6. Stanley Armour DUNHAM was born on 23 March 1918 in Kansas and died 8 February 1992 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is buried in Punchbowl National Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii. 7. Madelyn Lee PAYNE was born in 1922 in Wichita, Kansas and died 3 November 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Stanley Armour DUNHAM and Madelyn Lee PAYNE were married on 5 May 1940, and had the following children: 3. i. Stanley Ann DUNHAM

Tourette Sydrome essays

Tourette Sydrome essays Tourette Syndrome Genetic diseases are diseases passed down through heredity and genes. Tourette Syndrome is one of the more common genetic diseases. Although it is made fun of in television and movies, Tourette syndrome is a very serious disorder. Tourette Syndrome, or TS, is an inherited, neurological disorder characterized by repeated involuntary body movement (tics) and uncontrollable vocal sounds. The cause of TS has not yet been established completely; however scientists do know its inher ed as a dominant gene or genes. Scientists also know that it stems from an abnormal metabolism of atleast one brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called dopamine. TS causes different symptoms in different family members. A person with TS has a 50% chan of passing the gene to each child with each pregnancy. The sex of the child helps to determine the expression of the gene. There is a 3-4 times more chance of a son having the gene than a daughter. Only about 10% of TS patients get severe enough t o quire medical attention. Some cases arent inherited and are called sporadic TS. There are no absolute figures that exist as far as the number of people in the world suffering from Tourettes because many people living with Tourettes have yet to be d gnosed. The official estimate of Americans suffering from TS is about 100,000 people. TS was first seen in 1825 in the Marquise de Dampierre, a noblewoman, whose symptoms included involuntary tics of many parts of her body and coprolalia(vocal outbursts). Georges Gilles de la Tourette is the French neurologist who discovered and named e disorder in the early 1800s. In 1992, the British Medical Journal published an article by Benjamin Simkin speculating that Mozart had Tourette Syndrome. An Associated Press story about those articles was picked up by newspapers all around the world ausing an international sensation. The article was later retracted, but there ...

You are what you eat. American food culture and traditions Around the Essay

You are what you eat. American food culture and traditions Around the word - Essay Example The participants of the contests are the ones who eat the hot dogs in this occasion while other people get entertained by the contest. Nathan Hot dog eating contest is a competitive eating event held annually on 4th July in America at Nathans’s Famous Corporation and in other famous restaurants. The significance of this event is to establish the most patriotic citizen. The victor of the competition is considered the most patriotic citizen of the year. The first competition was held in 1916 and the event has gained momentum since then by attracting many participants from all over the state (AmericaBooks, LLC, 2010). The media has broadly covered this event, and this has given it a lot of fame across the continent and elsewhere. The ancient meat used in making hot dogs was beef and pork, but chicken and turkey have been used in the recent time. Oven-roasting hot dogs by preheating the oven to a temperature of four hundred degrees, slicing the hot dogs into halves and put the slices in a roasting pan. The roasting oven containing the hot dogs is then placed in an oven for fifteen minutes and then serves them on the bun. Grilling involves putting the hot dogs on a hot grill and turning them until they attain the color of your choice before serving them. Microwaving this is prepared by putting the hot dog in a microwave-safe bowl with water and then placing it safely in the microwave for two to three minutes (AmericaBooks, LLC, 2010). After removing the hot dogs from the microwave they are then served in a bun after cooling for about a half a minute. Boiling hot dogs are put in a saucepan with sufficient water and then place the pan on fire and give it time to boil. Deep the hot dogs into the boiling water and reduce the amount of fire. Wait for the hot dogs to boil for three to six minutes, and then serve to eat. Contesters use different methods to eat the hot dogs. There are some who break the hot dog into two pieces and

LAB one Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

One - Lab Report Example Upon a thorough analysis of the lab, the following is what was found out (Sanders 2007). It is vital to note that, I firstly noticed that, the number of packets captured was dependent on the size of a particular URL. That is, the smaller the URL the lower the number of packets and the bigger the URL, the higher the number of packets. Additionally, I perceived that the first two packets in the beginning of trace are in most cases made up of equal size while the third one is of the smallest value compared to the other two. Furthermore, I noted that when the value (200 OK) appears in a trace result, then, it means that the fetch operation of a particular URL or website site must has been successfully executed (Sanders 2007). Lastly but certainly not the least, regarding the lengths of the network packets, the following is what was captured. The first one is of the length 76 units. The second one was of the same size at the first one, which is 76 units. The third one is of the length, 64 units (Sanders

Gothic Culture And Modern Fashions Cultural Studies Essay

Gothic Culture And Modern Fashions Cultural Studies Essay Towards the end of the seventies there emerged a new youth subculture that stemmed from the fragmenting Punk scene commonly referred to as Goth. Goth appeared to assume the trappings of Gothic literature and film which was primarily based on Baroque art. As such, members of the Goth subculture converted the characteristic features of this literature as well as film wherein they transformed them into a form of resistance to suburban Britain. Subsequently, this resistance by the Goth migrated to other regions including America as well as Australia which were presumably perceived not only to be small minded but also dull. The link between the Goth subculture and Gothic literature is not clear. This is because the translation of literature into street style has often been approached with bemusement or simply overlooked by a significant number of scholars. However, the two subjects draw a strong relation through the medium of fashion. In these respect, the designer Gareth Pugh has emerged out as one of the most interesting as well as unique figures in the world of fashion from London. Pughs style entrenched in Goth subculture quite clearly depends on a spectacular style or sets of styles from which the artist invents his identity. This primarily represents another characteristic feature of Gothics preoccupation with clothes and as such fashion. It is the presumption of this paper that the Goth sub-culture has had tremendous influence on fashion that has changed the way in which clothing is represented in Gothic discourses. Goth History A significant chunk of the Goth subculture and the resurgence of interest in this way of life emphasizes on the mutation of Goth into an autonomous youth subculture towards the close of the seventies. This explains the relatively young age of proponents such as Gareth Pugh who further the ideal of the Goth sub-culture through fashion. During the seventies, the Goth culture was led by post punk groups including the Birthday Party, The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhus, Siouxsie and the Banshees (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). The groups led other Goth adherents to the Goth style that combined the graveyard exorcism of 19th century mourning costume and perverse sexuality of fetish with the nihilism of Punk to create a macabre aesthetic. The garments that the adherents adorned were predominantly black. However, according to Spooner and Spooner, (2004)these were accessorised with memento mori motifs and vampire makeup as fig. 1 illustrates. Fig. 1 Gothic Fashion Although the main period of the popularity of the Goth Spanned in the eighties, the culture has proved to be remarkably long living as it has persisted both in the 1990s and ultimately into the twenty first century. In the mid eighties towards the late 1990s, there however emerged cultural figures that began heralding the revival of the Gothic culture by pointing out the increased number of bands that were largely influenced by the Goth subculture including Garbage, Marilyn Manson together with their black dressed acolytes (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). Commentators also often cited the resurgence of the Goth sub-cultural influence in haute couture, film, literary fiction, as well as fine art and other derived genres of music including hip-hop and techno. Toward the end of the twentieth century, critical discourses that surrounded the Goth subculture illustrated a significant shift away from psychoanalytical methods towards historicism. In this regard, this discourse exhibited an increased level of self-consciousness in relation to the processes of textual and fashion production. Baldwick and Minghall, (2000) pointed out a trend in which 20th century theorisations of the Goth subculture focused on the irrational, the spiritual as well as the subversive at the expense of accurate historical analysis. Such a strategy frequently constitutes a kind of idealisation whereby Gothic subculture is privileged with whatever contravening roles generally associated with the critic. Arguably, such a process of canonical rehabilitation as well as critical appropriation has recorded an increase with the advent of millennium celebrations (Stevens, 2000). Gothic art has developed a trend in which it resurfaces at the fin de sià ¨cle whereby as the fin to end all siecles approaches swiftly, the fervour of the subculture reaches a peculiar climax (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). This aspect was captured well by Grunenberg, (1997) who postulated that the modern society exists in a particularly dire time. This period according to Grunenberg constitutes the Gothic period of fear, moral disintegration, horror as well as the perverse indulgence in extreme pleasures. Gothic fashion as such, has evolved to be a quid pro quo for disturbing and sombre moods, events and places as well as cultural by products of the contemporary society in America (Steele and Park, 2008). Despite the fact that a low number of individuals carried with them the expectation of the world ending at the turn of the 21st century, a true fin-de sià ¨cle feeling wrought with elements of cultural pessimism as well as spiritual malaise permeated society at the time. This spirit persists in modern day societys fashion. The Goth Culture One problem that arises when discussing the Goth subculture is that it draws a profound connection to punk and also emphasizes on dramatic visual style (Spoooner and Spooner, 2004; Polhemus, 1995). Ultimately, this has resulted into the Goth subculture being regarded as a spectacular culture despite it being a fan culture as well. Fan communities have to a significant degree been regarded in relation to media texts for instance, the Star Trek series. However, there exist various similarities between communities described by Jenkins, (1992) and common practices usually associated with the Goth sub-culture. Fan communities actively develop their own ways of life from fragments and scrap that are usually scavenged from the media. Jenkins, (1992) describes this process of creative appropriation as textual poaching. Much in the same light, Goth fashion as an element of Goth subculture is particularly focused on consumption. This consumption does not only constitute clothing, but also incl udes cinematic and literary narratives, sub-cultural commodities and music. Much in the same way that television series fans like Doctor Who or Star Trek develop their identities through their love for the aforementioned series, Goth such as Pugh suture their identity from a complicated system of cinematic and literary affiliations through integrating several archetypes and characters they meet during their fantasy lives, ultimately realizing them through costume or fashion. While some Goths may come across as more literate compared to others in the overall tradition of Gothic representation, all have to either a lesser or greater extent constructed their identities, Frankenstein like, from the fragments and scraps of that way of life. This process of developing identity is demonstrated by Tim Burtons early short film by the name Vincent. In this production, Vincent Molloy, a seven year old boy imagined himself as taking the identity of another person, Vincent Price whereby he condu cted himself as Price would. This fan tribute to the oeuvre of Price does not draw any contradictions in relation to attitude and the kind of fan fiction produced around fantasy series and science fiction. However, this does not imply that Goth is a fan culture in any straight-forward way. This is because it is possible for an individual to be a fan of horror films or Gothic novels without necessary being a Goth. On the contrary, Goth is a combination of the elements of spectacular culture and fan culture ultimately creating a monstrous hybrid between the two ways of life. The resulting culture is one in which symbolic resistance is not only enacted through fashion or spectacular style but also embraces narratives that are generally perceived to be dangerous and as such, falling out of general societal conventions. The development of Gothic as an anti-canonical marginalised subgenre as such, propels the cultures sense of resistance to a cultural hegemony of the bland (Hannaham, 1997). Such acts of self-definition constitute the concurrent definition of a mainstream that has been developed as the other by its respective subculture. According to Thornton, (2008) this fantasised mainstrea m may or may not bear any link to what is real. However, it is the product of the subculture out of a desire for difference. Thornton contends that vague opposition can be outwardly stated to be that questioning the number of members of youth subcultures characterising their own activities. Significant to note is the fact that youthful discourses can not be taken literally. This is because these discourses are not mere transparent windows that reflect on the world. A significant number of cultural critics have been insufficiently critical of sub cultural ideologies. This trend is firstly attributed to the fact that they were diverted by the task of contesting and puncturing dominant ideologies and secondly owing to the fact that their biases have tended to agree with the anti mass society discourses of the youth sub-cultural groups they study. This is to say, while the formulations of power in given subcultures are potentially fertile topics for research, investing in subcultures that have been known for their transgression as well as subversion has often proved to be problematic. This is because research in addition to leading to a better understanding of the phenomenon under study, also highlights such phenomenon from obscurity. This implies that aspects that were overlooked in the past owing to the low degree of societal subscription to such doctrines have the potential of becoming famous. This new-born fame is often attributed to researchers. Due to the fact that society loathes aspects of subversive and transgressing elements, researchers have the tendency to steer away from such elements and cultures including Goth. Holmes, (1997) illustrates this element in Gothic culture in his essay coming out of the coffin. He contends that punk and Goth cultures in contrast to exhibiting stability as many would like them to, exi st by way of suturing both the anti-canonical and the canonical as well as the high and low, the romantic and cynical in addition to the straight and the queer. Embracing these aspects in most circumstances is through the Gothic tradition in general as well as through one of the cultures prominent figures, the vampire (Fig 2) (Auerbach, 1995; Goddzu, 2007). In many ways, this is an accurate evocation of Goth, capturing the complexity of its several poses. Fig 2. Barnabas Collins, Vampire: Jonathan Frid in the television series Dark Shadows Costume Gothic fashion is a form of clothing that is usually associated with members of the Goth subculture. It is a dark form of art which sometimes tends to be highly insensitive and morbid with some quarters terming it as an eroticised form of fashion or style of dress. In its typical form, Gothic fashion is characterised with black hips, dyed black hair, and black clothes (Grunenberg, 1997). Additionally, both male and female members of the Goths subculture wear dark fingernails as well as dark eyeliners. The function of clothes within Goth subculture is largely dependent on who is wearing them (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). It was custom for the 1980s middle class individuals to enact rebellion only through implicit and stereotyped ridiculous dress codes while the avant-garde classless individual of the modern day fashion like Gareth Pugh is stylishly subversive of convention. Gareth Pugh as a new generation figure is both glamorous and confident. Pugh is constructed as an individual that is always aiming for the top and forward as opposed to relying on the past to provide him with a referral page for his design. In fact, his world of design is framed in a way that it conforms to utopian principles where both intellectual and irrational forces intermingle in the creation of form. When Gareth Pughs work is perceived under a lens with such an understanding, it takes on a new significance for the designers fans. The implication here is that other designers subscribe to conventional lines of thought and as such, design. An individual that adorns Pughs design on the contrary is stylish and belongs to the new variety. In other words, wearing Pughs design has the capability of transforming an individual from a conventional person to a Gaultier Goth (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). Design in itself is an artistic impression integrated with certain tastes that the artist fancies as ideal (Gardner, Kleiner and Mamiya, 2005). These impressions as expressed in garments draw from a wide history in the long established tradition of art. As such, artists such as Pugh have the tendency to look back at elements that were embraced in the past to which they base their form of art. Subsequently, art and design integrate, ultimately combining inflatable garments, black and white colours as well as geometric shapes in addition to materials such as PVC and plastics (Fargis, 1998). These forms are characteristic of classical Gothic and baroque art. Fig. 3 Conclusion In conclusion, the complexity of Gareth Pughs images is accompanied by an increasing sense of Gothicism in the design themselves. The designer has deliberately courted the Gothic in his work frequently returning to themes of automata, prosthesis and automata (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). While garments that were featured in earlier images in the 90s would be reasonably wearable by most of consumers in the mainstream, most of Pughs are increasingly perverse and esoteric Fig. 3. These later images however particularly resonate Gothic themes. These are not only limited to the characteristic features of imprisonment, vampirism and torture but upon a closer scrutiny also resonate with the kind of structural conventions Eve Sedgwick identifies as characteristic features of Gothic literature (Spooner and Spooner, 2004). Vampirism as portrayed in these images is ostentatiously a surface effect implying no illusion of realism. By conflating the penetrating gaze with the penetrating fangs, Pugh s designs seem to have undergone what Sedgwick referred to as contagion or the manner Gothic literature contends that aspects of a given element are transferred to another. List of figures Fig. 1. Gothic Fashion., Otherclothing.co.uk, online Fig. 2 Barnabas Collins, Vampire: Jonathan Frid in the television series Dark Shadows by William Patrick Day (2002), p.37 Fig.3. Vogue.com (2008) Wicked with a capital W by Gareth Pugh in Vogue Magazine Autumn/Winter 2008-9, online

A Game of Thrones Chapter Forty-six

Daenerys The heart was steaming in the cool evening air when Khal Drogo set it before her, raw and bloody. His arms were red to the elbow. Behind him, his bloodriders knelt on the sand beside the corpse of the wild stallion, stone knives in their hands. The stallion's blood looked black in the flickering orange glare of the torches that ringed the high chalk walls of the pit. Dany touched the soft swell of her belly. Sweat beaded her skin and trickled down her brow. She could feel the old women watching her, the ancient crones of Vaes Dothrak, with eyes that shone dark as polished flint in their wrinkled faces. She must not flinch or look afraid. I am the blood of the dragon, she told herself as she took the stallion's heart in both hands, lifted it to her mouth, and plunged her teeth into the tough, stringy flesh. Warm blood filled her mouth and ran down over her chin. The taste threatened to gag her, but she made herself chew and swallow. The heart of a stallion would make her son strong and swift and fearless, or so the Dothraki believed, but only if the mother could eat it all. If she choked on the blood or retched up the flesh, the omens were less favorable; the child might be stillborn, or come forth weak, deformed, or female. Her handmaids had helped her ready herself for the ceremony. Despite the tender mother's stomach that had afflicted her these past two moons, Dany had dined on bowls of half-clotted blood to accustom herself to the taste, and Irri made her chew strips of dried horseflesh until her jaws were aching. She had starved herself for a day and a night before the ceremony in the hopes that hunger would help her keep down the raw meat. The wild stallion's heart was all muscle, and Dany had to worry it with her teeth and chew each mouthful a long time. No steel was permitted within the sacred confines of Vaes Dothrak, beneath the shadow of the Mother of Mountains; she had to rip the heart apart with teeth and nails. Her stomach roiled and heaved, yet she kept on, her face smeared with the heartsblood that sometimes seemed to explode against her lips. Khal Drogo stood over her as she ate, his face as hard as a bronze shield. His long black braid was shiny with oil. He wore gold rings in his mustache, gold bells in his braid, and a heavy belt of solid gold medallions around his waist, but his chest was bare. She looked at him whenever she felt her strength failing; looked at him, and chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed. Toward the end, Dany thought she glimpsed a fierce pride in his dark, almond-shaped eyes, but she could not be sure. The khal's face did not often betray the thoughts within. And finally it was done. Her cheeks and fingers were sticky as she forced down the last of it. Only then did she turn her eyes back to the old women, the crones of the dosh khaleen. â€Å"Khalakka dothrae mr'anha!† she proclaimed in her best Dothraki. A prince rides inside me! She had practiced the phrase for days with her handmaid Jhiqui. The oldest of the crones, a bent and shriveled stick of a woman with a single black eye, raised her arms on high. â€Å"Khalakka dothrae!† she shrieked. The prince is riding! â€Å"He is riding!† the other women answered. â€Å"Rakh! Rakh! Rakh haj!† they proclaimed. A boy, a boy, a strong boy. Bells rang, a sudden clangor of bronze birds. A deep-throated warhorn sounded its long low note. The old women began to chant. Underneath their painted leather vests, their withered dugs swayed back and forth, shiny with oil and sweat. The eunuchs who served them threw bundles of dried grasses into a great bronze brazier, and clouds of fragrant smoke rose up toward the moon and the stars. The Dothraki believed the stars were horses made of fire, a great herd that galloped across the sky by night. As the smoke ascended, the chanting died away and the ancient crone closed her single eye, the better to peer into the future. The silence that fell was complete. Dany could hear the distant call of night birds, the hiss and crackle of the torches, the gentle lapping of water from the lake. The Dothraki stared at her with eyes of night, waiting. Khal Drogo laid his hand on Dany's arm. She could feel the tension in his fingers. Even a khal as mighty as Drogo could know fear when the dosh khaleen peered into smoke of the future. At her back, her handmaids fluttered anxiously. Finally the crone opened her eye and lifted her arms. â€Å"I have seen his face, and heard the thunder of his hooves,† she proclaimed in a thin, wavery voice. â€Å"The thunder of his hooves!† the others chorused. â€Å"As swift as the wind he rides, and behind him his khalasar covers the earth, men without number, with arakhs shining in their hands like blades of razor grass. Fierce as a storm this prince will be. His enemies will tremble before him, and their wives will weep tears of blood and rend their flesh in grief. The bells in his hair will sing his coming, and the milk men in the stone tents will fear his name.† The old woman trembled and looked at Dany almost as if she were afraid. â€Å"The prince is riding, and he shall be the stallion who mounts the world.† â€Å"The stallion who mounts the world!† the onlookers cried in echo, until the night rang to the sound of their voices. The one-eyed crone peered at Dany. â€Å"What shall he be called, the stallion who mounts the world?† She stood to answer. â€Å"He shall be called Rhaego,† she said, using the words that Jhiqui had taught her. Her hands touched the swell beneath her breasts protectively as a roar went up from the Dothraki. â€Å"Rhaego,† they screamed. â€Å"Rhaego, Rhaego, Rhaego!† The name was still ringing in her ears as Khal Drogo led her from the pit. His bloodriders fell in behind them. A procession followed them out onto the godsway, the broad grassy road that ran through the heart of Vaes Dothrak, from the horse gate to the Mother of Mountains. The crones of the dosh khaleen came first, with their eunuchs and slaves. Some supported themselves with tall carved staffs as they struggled along on ancient, shaking legs, while others walked as proud as any horselord. Each of the old women had been a khaleesi once. When their lord husbands died and a new khal took his place at the front of his riders, with a new khaleesi mounted beside him, they were sent here, to reign over the vast Dothraki nation. Even the mightiest of khals bowed to the wisdom and authority of the dosh khaleen. Still, it gave Dany the shivers to think that one day she might be sent to join them, whether she willed it or no. Behind the wise women came the others; Khal Ogo and his son, the khalakka Fogo, Khal Jommo and his wives, the chief men of Drogo's khalasar, Dany's handmaids, the khal's servants and slaves, and more. Bells rang and drums beat a stately cadence as they marched along the godsway. Stolen heroes and the gods of dead peoples brooded in the darkness beyond the road. Alongside the procession, slaves ran lightly through the grass with torches in their hands, and the flickering flames made the great monuments seem almost alive. â€Å"What is meaning, name Rhaego?† Khal Drogo asked as they walked, using the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms. She had been teaching him a few words when she could. Drogo was quick to learn when he put his mind to it, though his accent was so thick and barbarous that neither Ser Jorah nor Viserys could understand a word he said. â€Å"My brother Rhaegar was a fierce warrior, my sun-and-stars,† she told him. â€Å"He died before I was born. Ser Jorah says that he was the last of the dragons.† Khal Drogo looked down at her. His face was a copper mask, yet under the long black mustache, drooping beneath the weight of its gold rings, she thought she glimpsed the shadow of a smile. â€Å"Is good name, Dan Ares wife, moon of my life,† he said. They rode to the lake the Dothraki called the Womb of the World, surrounded by a fringe of reeds, its water still and calm. A thousand thousand years ago, Jhiqui told her, the first man had emerged from its depths, riding upon the back of the first horse. The procession waited on the grassy shore as Dany stripped and let her soiled clothing fall to the ground. Naked, she stepped gingerly into the water. Irri said the lake had no bottom, but Dany felt soft mud squishing between her toes as she pushed through the tall reeds. The moon floated on the still black waters, shattering and re-forming as her ripples washed over it. Goose pimples rose on her pale skin as the coldness crept up her thighs and kissed her lower lips. The stallion's blood had dried on her hands and around her mouth. Dany cupped her fingers and lifted the sacred waters over her head, cleansing herself and the child inside her while the khal and the others looked on. She heard the old women of the dosh khaleen muttering to each other as they watched, and wondered what they were saying. When she emerged from the lake, shivering and dripping, her handmaid Doreah hurried to her with a robe of painted sandsilk, but Khal Drogo waved her away. He was looking on her swollen breasts and the curve of her belly with approval, and Dany could see the shape of his manhood pressing through his horsehide trousers, below the heavy gold medallions of his belt. She went to him and helped him unlace. Then her huge khal took her by the hips and lifted her into the air, as he might lift a child. The bells in his hair rang softly. Dany wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face against his neck as he thrust himself inside her. Three quick strokes and it was done. â€Å"The stallion who mounts the world,† Drogo whispered hoarsely. His hands still smelled of horse blood. He bit at her throat, hard, in the moment of his pleasure, and when he lifted her off, his seed filled her and trickled down the inside of her thighs. Only then was Doreah permitted to drape her in the scented sandsilk, and Irri to fit soft slippers to her feet. Khal Drogo laced himself up and spoke a command, and horses were brought to the lakeshore. Cohollo had the honor of helping the khaleesi onto her silver. Drogo spurred his stallion, and set off down the godsway beneath the moon and stars. On her silver, Dany easily kept pace. The silk tenting that roofed Khal Drogo's hall had been rolled up tonight, and the moon followed them inside. Flames leapt ten feet in the air from three huge stone-lined firepits. The air was thick with the smells of roasting meat and curdled, fermented mare's milk. The hall was crowded and noisy when they entered, the cushions packed with those whose rank and name were not sufficient to allow them at the ceremony. As Dany rode beneath the arched entry and up the center aisle, every eye was on her. The Dothraki screamed out comments on her belly and her breasts, hailing the life within her. She could not understand all they shouted, but one phrase came clear. â€Å"The stallion that mounts the world,† she heard, bellowed in a thousand voices. The sounds of drums and horns swirled up into the night. Half-clothed women spun and danced on the low tables, amid joints of meat and platters piled high with plums and dates and pomegranates. Many of the men were drunk on clotted mare's milk, yet Dany knew no arakhs would clash tonight, not here in the sacred city, where blades and bloodshed were forbidden. Khal Drogo dismounted and took his place on the high bench. Khal Jommo and Khal Ogo, who had been in Vaes Dothrak with their khalasars when they arrived, were given seats of high honor to Drogo's right and left. The bloodriders of the three khals sat below them, and farther down Khal Jommo's four wives. Dany climbed off her silver and gave the reins to one of the slaves. As Doreah and Irri arranged her cushions, she searched for her brother. Even across the length of the crowded hall, Viserys should have been conspicuous with his pale skin, silvery hair, and beggar's rags, but she did not see him anywhere. Her glance roamed the crowded tables near the walls, where men whose braids were even shorter than their manhoods sat on frayed rugs and flat cushions around the low tables, but all the faces she saw had black eyes and copper skin. She spied Ser Jorah Mormont near the center of the hall, close to the middle firepit. It was a place of respect, if not high honor; the Dothraki esteemed the knight's prowess with a sword. Dany sent Jhiqui to bring him to her table. Mormont came at once, and went to one knee before her. â€Å"Khaleesi,† he said, â€Å"I am yours to command.† She patted the stuffed horsehide cushion beside her. â€Å"Sit and talk with me.† â€Å"You honor me.† The knight seated himself cross-legged on the cushion. A slave knelt before him, offering a wooden platter full of ripe figs. Ser Jorah took one and bit it in half. â€Å"Where is my brother?† Dany asked. â€Å"He ought to have come by now, for the feast.† â€Å"I saw His Grace this morning,† he told her. â€Å"He told me he was going to the Western Market, in search of wine.† â€Å"Wine?† Dany said doubtfully. Viserys could not abide the taste of the fermented mare's milk the Dothraki drank, she knew that, and he was oft at the bazaars these days, drinking with the traders who came in the great caravans from east and west. He seemed to find their company more congenial than hers. â€Å"Wine,† Ser Jorah confirmed, â€Å"and he has some thought to recruit men for his army from the sellswords who guard the caravans.† A serving girl laid a blood pie in front of him, and he attacked it with both hands. â€Å"Is that wise?† she asked. â€Å"He has no gold to pay soldiers. What if he's betrayed?† Caravan guards were seldom troubled much by thoughts of honor, and the Usurper in King's Landing would pay well for her brother's head. â€Å"You ought to have gone with him, to keep him safe. You are his sworn sword.† â€Å"We are in Vaes Dothrak,† he reminded her. â€Å"No one may carry a blade here or shed a man's blood.† â€Å"Yet men die,† she said. â€Å"Jhogo told me. Some of the traders have eunuchs with them, huge men who strangle thieves with wisps of silk. That way no blood is shed and the gods are not angered.† â€Å"Then let us hope your brother will be wise enough not to steal anything.† Ser Jorah wiped the grease off his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned close over the table. â€Å"He had planned to take your dragon's eggs, until I warned him that I'd cut off his hand if he so much as touched them.† For a moment Dany was so shocked she had no words. â€Å"My eggs . . . but they're mine, Magister Illyrio gave them to me, a bride gift, why would Viserys want . . . they're only stones . . . â€Å" â€Å"The same could be said of rubies and diamonds and fire opals, Princess . . . and dragon's eggs are rarer by far. Those traders he's been drinking with would sell their own manhoods for even one of those stones, and with all three Viserys could buy as many sellswords as he might need.† Dany had not known, had not even suspected. â€Å"Then . . . he should have them. He does not need to steal them. He had only to ask. He is my brother . . . and my true king.† â€Å"He is your brother,† Ser Jorah acknowledged. â€Å"You do not understand, ser,† she said. â€Å"My mother died giving me birth, and my father and my brother Rhaegar even before that. I would never have known so much as their names if Viserys had not been there to tell me. He was the only one left. The only one. He is all I have.† â€Å"Once,† said Ser Jorah. â€Å"No longer, Khaleesi. You belong to the Dothraki now. In your womb rides the stallion who mounts the world.† He held out his cup, and a slave filled it with fermented mare's milk, sour-smelling and thick with clots. Dany waved her away. Even the smell of it made her feel ill, and she would take no chances of bringing up the horse heart she had forced herself to eat. â€Å"What does it mean?† she asked. â€Å"What is this stallion? Everyone was shouting it at me, but I don't understand.† â€Å"The stallion is the khal of khals promised in ancient prophecy, child. He will unite the Dothraki into a single khalasar and ride to the ends of the earth, or so it was promised. All the people of the world will be his herd.† â€Å"Oh,† Dany said in a small voice. Her hand smoothed her robe down over the swell of her stomach. â€Å"I named him Rhaego.† â€Å"A name to make the Usurper's blood run cold.† Suddenly Doreah was tugging at her elbow. â€Å"My lady, † the handmaid whispered urgently, â€Å"your brother . . . â€Å" Dany looked down the length of the long, roofless hall and there he was, striding toward her. From the lurch in his step, she could tell at once that Viserys had found his wine . . . and something that passed for courage. He was wearing his scarlet silks, soiled and travel-stained. His cloak and gloves were black velvet, faded from the sun. His boots were dry and cracked, his silver-blond hair matted and tangled. A longsword swung from his belt in a leather scabbard. The Dothraki eyed the sword as he passed; Dany heard curses and threats and angry muttering rising all around her, like a tide. The music died away in a nervous stammering of drums. A sense of dread closed around her heart. â€Å"Go to him,† she commanded Ser Jorah. â€Å"Stop him. Bring him here. Tell him he can have the dragon's eggs if that is what he wants.† The knight rose swiftly to his feet. â€Å"Where is my sister?† Viserys shouted, his voice thick with wine. â€Å"I've come for her feast. How dare you presume to eat without me? No one eats before the king. Where is she? The whore can't hide from the dragon.† He stopped beside the largest of the three firepits, peering around at the faces of the Dothraki. There were five thousand men in the hall, but only a handful who knew the Common Tongue. Yet even if his words were incomprehensible, you had only to look at him to know that he was drunk. Ser Jorah went to him swiftly, whispered something in his ear, and took him by the arm, but Viserys wrenched free. â€Å"Keep your hands off me! No one touches the dragon without leave.† Dany glanced anxiously up at the high bench. Khal Drogo was saying something to the other khals beside him. Khal Jommo grinned, and Khal Ogo began to guffaw loudly. The sound of laughter made Viserys lift his eyes. â€Å"Khal Drogo,† he said thickly, his voice almost polite. â€Å"I'm here for the feast.† He staggered away from Ser Jorah, making to join the three khals on the high bench. Khal Drogo rose, spat out a dozen words in Dothraki, faster than Dany could understand, and pointed. â€Å"Khal Drogo says your place is not on the high bench,† Ser Jorah translated for her brother. â€Å"Khal Drogo says your place is there.† Viserys glanced where the khal was pointing. At the back of the long hall, in a corner by the wall, deep in shadow so better men would not need to look on them, sat the lowest of the low; raw unblooded boys, old men with clouded eyes and stiff joints, the dim-witted and the maimed. Far from the meat, and farther from honor. â€Å"That is no place for a king,† her brother declared. â€Å"Is place,† Khal Drogo answered, in the Common Tongue that Dany had taught him, â€Å"for Sorefoot King.† He clapped his hands together. â€Å"A cart! Bring cart for Khal Rhaggat!† Five thousand Dothraki began to laugh and shout. Ser Jorah was standing beside Viserys, screaming in his ear, but the roar in the hall was so thunderous that Dany could not hear what he was saying. Her brother shouted back and the two men grappled, until Mormont knocked Viserys bodily to the floor. Her brother drew his sword. The bared steel shone a fearful red in the glare from the firepits. â€Å"Keep away from me!† Viserys hissed. Ser Jorah backed off a step, and her brother climbed unsteadily to his feet. He waved the sword over his head, the borrowed blade that Magister Illyrio had given him to make him seem more kingly. Dothraki were shrieking at him from all sides, screaming vile curses. Dany gave a wordless cry of terror. She knew what a drawn sword meant here, even if her brother did not. Her voice made Viserys turn his head, and he saw her for the first time. â€Å"There she is,† he said, smiling. He stalked toward her, slashing at the air as if to cut a path through a wall of enemies, though no one tried to bar his way. â€Å"The blade . . . you must not,† she begged him. â€Å"Please, Viserys. It is forbidden. Put down the sword and come share my cushions. There's drink, food . . . is it the dragon's eggs you want? You can have them, only throw away the sword.† â€Å"Do as she tells you, fool,† Ser Jorah shouted, â€Å"before you get us all killed.† Viserys laughed. â€Å"They can't kill us. They can't shed blood here in the sacred city . . . but I can.† He laid the point of his sword between Daenerys's breasts and slid it downward, over the curve of her belly. â€Å"I want what I came for,† he told her. â€Å"I want the crown he promised me. He bought you, but he never paid for you. Tell him I want what I bargained for, or I'm taking you back. You and the eggs both. He can keep his bloody foal. I'll cut the bastard out and leave it for him.† The sword point pushed through her silks and pricked at her navel. Viserys was weeping, she saw; weeping and laughing, both at the same time, this man who had once been her brother. Distantly, as from far away, Dany heard her handmaid Jhiqui sobbing in fear, pleading that she dared not translate, that the khal would bind her and drag her behind his horse all the way up the Mother of Mountains. She put her arm around the girl. â€Å"Don't be afraid,† she said. â€Å"I shall tell him.† She did not know if she had enough words, yet when she was done Khal Drogo spoke a few brusque sentences in Dothraki, and she knew he understood. The sun of her life stepped down from the high bench. â€Å"What did he say?† the man who had been her brother asked her, flinching. It had grown so silent in the hall that she could hear the bells in Khal Drogo's hair, chiming softly with each step he took. His bloodriders followed him, like three copper shadows. Daenerys had gone cold all over. â€Å"He says you shall have a splendid golden crown that men shall tremble to behold.† Viserys smiled and lowered his sword. That was the saddest thing, the thing that tore at her afterward . . . the way he smiled. â€Å"That was all I wanted,† he said. â€Å"What was promised.† When the sun of her life reached her, Dany slid an arm around his waist. The khal said a word, and his bloodriders leapt forward. Qotho seized the man who had been her brother by the arms. Haggo shattered his wrist with a single, sharp twist of his huge hands. Cohollo pulled the sword from his limp fingers. Even now Viserys did not understand. â€Å"No,† he shouted, â€Å"you cannot touch me, I am the dragon, the dragon, and I will be crowned!† Khal Drogo unfastened his belt. The medallions were pure gold, massive and ornate, each one as large as a man's hand. He shouted a command. Cook slaves pulled a heavy iron stew pot from the firepit, dumped the stew onto the ground, and returned the pot to the flames. Drogo tossed in the belt and watched without expression as the medallions turned red and began to lose their shape. She could see fires dancing in the onyx of his eyes. A slave handed him a pair of thick horsehair mittens, and he pulled them on, never so much as looking at the man. Viserys began to scream the high, wordless scream of the coward facing death. He kicked and twisted, whimpered like a dog and wept like a child, but the Dothraki held him tight between them. Ser Jorah had made his way to Dany's side. He put a hand on her shoulder. â€Å"Turn away, my princess, I beg you.† â€Å"No.† She folded her arms across the swell of her belly, protectively. At the last, Viserys looked at her. â€Å"Sister, please . . . Dany, tell them . . . make them . . . sweet sister . . . â€Å" When the gold was half-melted and starting to run, Drogo reached into the flames, snatched out the pot. â€Å"Crown!† he roared. â€Å"Here. A crown for Cart King!† And upended the pot over the head of the man who had been her brother. The sound Viserys Targaryen made when that hideous iron helmet covered his face was like nothing human. His feet hammered a frantic beat against the dirt floor, slowed, stopped. Thick globs of molten gold dripped down onto his chest, setting the scarlet silk to smoldering . . . yet no drop of blood was spilled. He was no dragon, Dany thought, curiously calm. Fire cannot kill a dragon.