Good Morning, Ms Soundele,
My name is Akouassi Yao, we have met in the elevator last Tuesday at Boston University. I would like to thank you for listening to what I had to say about the business of mangoes that I operate in West Africa.
As I told you, I have been in the business for two years now. I have noticed a real interest in dry fruits from Westerners. The demand has been increasing due to the fact that people are more bias to consume healthy food. Mangoes are great sources of vitamins but are rare in continents like Europe and the United States.
My business is thinking of expanding in those continents. Europe will be the first target because we have already established a good liaison in countries such as France and Spain. The next target will the United States, which will be slightly difficult to enter because they already have their fruits from Brazil. I said difficult but not impossible. The marketing director and myself have come up with plan to enter the US markets and get some shares. One marketing plan that I can share with you, Ms Soundele, is that we are thinking of selling our products at a lesser price compare to the Brazilian products. Asia already produce mangoes and are the first in the world, but since the population in Asia is the most dominant in the world, they are always in need of importation.
As I shared with you, we sell our products to distributors and companies that use mangoes in their products. In Europe, Asia, and the United States we are targeting big companies such as Ben and Jerry, Hagen Daz, Kellogs.
I am contacting you to thank you for your time, and follow up with the proposal that I have made you about becoming a partnership. I have faxed and mailed you over the business plan of the company and would like to invite you on the farm so you could visit our facilities and discover from yourself what we do.
I will have my secretary contact you and set up a date and time at your own convenience for you to come. I will put my chauffeur at your disposition.
Sincerely,
Akouassi Yao
Friday, July 31, 2009
Favorite reading
Have you ever read a book that you could say had changed your life. I had. Two years ago, while I was on a lunch break, I decided to go to Borders and browse over the books. I came across one book, I read the title, "the Alchemist", I read the back to learn about the book, but I did not catch my interest. I kept on browsing and I finally decided to go for "the Alchemist" with no real motivation to read it. As I started reading the book, I could not stop and I finished it in three days. I was really surprised, I had never read a book entirely before.
You might wonder how this book changed my life. In many ways. First I was not the type of person who love loved to read. This book made me read, enjoy what I was reading and understand on my own how important it was to read rather than being stuck in front of the television. Reading allowed me to be more creative, imaginative, I pictured the word in my mind, and I really loved it. I t was like watching my own show. This book made me discover another way to learn English, which is through reading. Reading can really improve someone vocabulary, either it is the first language or not.
The story plot is about a young Shepard who goes in search of his personal legend. After reading this book I asked myself, "why am I here?", "what is my personal legend". The personal legend is our mission on earth, our purpose. I still do not know my mission, but I realized that I needed to set my own personal goals instead of following the dreams that others wanted me to follow. This book made a new person out of me. I started to read more and get more knowledge about life in general.
As the professor once said, write about what motivate you when you write your blog, it will help you better improve your writing and it will be less boring for him to read. The way I put it, do what motivates you in life in order to see you abilities and better improve them.
You might wonder how this book changed my life. In many ways. First I was not the type of person who love loved to read. This book made me read, enjoy what I was reading and understand on my own how important it was to read rather than being stuck in front of the television. Reading allowed me to be more creative, imaginative, I pictured the word in my mind, and I really loved it. I t was like watching my own show. This book made me discover another way to learn English, which is through reading. Reading can really improve someone vocabulary, either it is the first language or not.
The story plot is about a young Shepard who goes in search of his personal legend. After reading this book I asked myself, "why am I here?", "what is my personal legend". The personal legend is our mission on earth, our purpose. I still do not know my mission, but I realized that I needed to set my own personal goals instead of following the dreams that others wanted me to follow. This book made a new person out of me. I started to read more and get more knowledge about life in general.
As the professor once said, write about what motivate you when you write your blog, it will help you better improve your writing and it will be less boring for him to read. The way I put it, do what motivates you in life in order to see you abilities and better improve them.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A Day Without the Internet
A day without the internet. Since the Internet exits, have you had one day where you could not use it, because of some problems with the connection for instance? Do you remember how you felt? On Friday afternoon, I decided to do my blog for the class that I am my taking at BU. While I was getting myself ready to log into the World Wide Web, I found out that my connection was not working. My first reaction was to call the service provider and I realized that I did not have my roommate's information, since the connection is under her name.I felt frustrated, as if without the internet, I could not do anything useful and I figured "what would I do if the internet did not exist? Nowadays, "people" creates needs that we need to have in order to fill our days. We feel as if we cannot run our lives properly without these needs that we have created.
The internet is great, it is a great tool to have information about anything that exists, but do we really need the internet?
If I have to do my homework and put it on the web, yes, I need the internet. But let's say this homework is not going to be published on the internet. Let's say it is a journal that we have to maintain throughout the course period. The research could be done at the Library, or just by spending couple of hours outside just observing our surrounding, the people around us and write about it. With all those new technologies, I think that we have forgotten the cheapest and more human ways to have an idea and write about it or even to find information. Interacting with people, going to the library, observing what around us can be a great way to look for information just as the internet.
The internet is great, it is a great tool to have information about anything that exists, but do we really need the internet?
If I have to do my homework and put it on the web, yes, I need the internet. But let's say this homework is not going to be published on the internet. Let's say it is a journal that we have to maintain throughout the course period. The research could be done at the Library, or just by spending couple of hours outside just observing our surrounding, the people around us and write about it. With all those new technologies, I think that we have forgotten the cheapest and more human ways to have an idea and write about it or even to find information. Interacting with people, going to the library, observing what around us can be a great way to look for information just as the internet.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
This poem of Robert Frost untitled "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" is about a man and his horse who are passing by a wood and the man wonders "whose woods these are". He stops to appreciate what he sees while being afraid to be seen by the owner. On the other side his horse wonders why his master stops by these woods where there are no "farmhouse near". The man enjoy the woods but have to keep moving because he has not plan on stopping now.
In my opinion this poem is about determination and focus. He is seduced by the view but deep inside he knows that he had made "promises" to himself and he knows that he should not stop at this point. He might feel tempted to stop and enjoy what is around him but the voice deep inside him, reminds him that the place where he is at has nothing for him and his horse to feed themselves or even to shelter. The voice of the reason in my opinion represents the horse. Since in the poem he says "my little horse must think it queer", but how does he knows what he horse thinks if it is not him thinking it.
In life we may have a vision about doing something and finding ways to realize this vision. But while we are on the quest to this vision,we might be tempted by other things on the way that we have chosen. Now it is up to us to get focus and have some determination in order not to be distracted and in what we have decided to pursuit.
In my opinion this poem is about determination and focus. He is seduced by the view but deep inside he knows that he had made "promises" to himself and he knows that he should not stop at this point. He might feel tempted to stop and enjoy what is around him but the voice deep inside him, reminds him that the place where he is at has nothing for him and his horse to feed themselves or even to shelter. The voice of the reason in my opinion represents the horse. Since in the poem he says "my little horse must think it queer", but how does he knows what he horse thinks if it is not him thinking it.
In life we may have a vision about doing something and finding ways to realize this vision. But while we are on the quest to this vision,we might be tempted by other things on the way that we have chosen. Now it is up to us to get focus and have some determination in order not to be distracted and in what we have decided to pursuit.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Have you heard about Twitter? It is a new social media service just like Facebook. Jeff Sommer talks with Claire Cain Miller about how small businesses use Twitter now as a way to advertise and reach out to a bigger audience and attract more customers.
It is said that Twitter is more exciting than the other social media services that are available right now. It is among the top three and the difference with Facebook is that people can follow without having to wait for an approval of the group or the person they want to follow.
Small businesses use Twitter to advertise as well as big companies. It allows big companies to see the complains of some of their customers and answer to them, and even give coupons.
Social media service has been used as a way to connect people from same interest and now it is becoming a way to make money. With this economy, big and small companies are trying to find opportunities to grow their businesses and reduce their costs. For now Twitter can be seen as the new Facebook, the new social network where everyone who is already on Facebook, for example, as to join.
I really do not understand the purpose of all of these social network services that are being created. There are basically no real differences, it is the same concept and people gets exited about it just because it is new and it is the new "road to take". All those social networking services are great, do not get me wrong, but if the purpose of all of them is the same there will not be any interest to actually join a new one. At first it was Hi5, Myspace, Facebook and now Twitter. For a company it make sense to have a profile on all those social media services, but for an individual, in my opinion it does not make too much senses. Companies also have to have in mind that those social media services have become popular while in the recession so may be after the recession when people will have less time to browse the Internet, all of these social networking services will fade out.
It is said that Twitter is more exciting than the other social media services that are available right now. It is among the top three and the difference with Facebook is that people can follow without having to wait for an approval of the group or the person they want to follow.
Small businesses use Twitter to advertise as well as big companies. It allows big companies to see the complains of some of their customers and answer to them, and even give coupons.
Social media service has been used as a way to connect people from same interest and now it is becoming a way to make money. With this economy, big and small companies are trying to find opportunities to grow their businesses and reduce their costs. For now Twitter can be seen as the new Facebook, the new social network where everyone who is already on Facebook, for example, as to join.
I really do not understand the purpose of all of these social network services that are being created. There are basically no real differences, it is the same concept and people gets exited about it just because it is new and it is the new "road to take". All those social networking services are great, do not get me wrong, but if the purpose of all of them is the same there will not be any interest to actually join a new one. At first it was Hi5, Myspace, Facebook and now Twitter. For a company it make sense to have a profile on all those social media services, but for an individual, in my opinion it does not make too much senses. Companies also have to have in mind that those social media services have become popular while in the recession so may be after the recession when people will have less time to browse the Internet, all of these social networking services will fade out.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Elevator Speech
Oh! Good Morning Ms Soundele, how are you today? It is such a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Akouassi Yao, I own a business that operates in the region of Abidjan. We are specialize in buying and drying mangoes that we sell in supermarkets as well as ice cream shops.We are thinking of going international because the business of dry fruits is flourishing. We are targeting Europe, Asia and the United States because those countries have shown a lot of interest in dry fruits since there are healthy products. We are also targeting companies that use fruits in their products since those companies are concern about how to preserve their fruits. Right now we are looking for investors and since you already are in the agricultural business, it would be a great opportunity for you to invest in this growing company. We have been operating for two years now and our revenues as triple and we are getting more business. This is due to the fact that we are the only one in the country that delivers this kind of product.I will give you my business card so that we can set up a meeting at your own time to further discuss about this great investment. Can I have your business card as well?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Industry sector
Jeff Sommer talks with Louis Uchitelle about the manufacturing sector in the United States. The economy in the USA has been declining for the past years. It all started with the fall of the market due to different investment banks that were going bankrupt. Following the banks, the automobile sector starts to see some of its best going bankrupt, GM, Chrysler. In order to respond to this economical crisis, the Government started to step in by giving stimulus plan to those who were most in need, or "too big too fail". But the real problem, as it is said in the podcast, is that the USA consumes more than they produce, which create a trade deficit. The industrial production has decline to 17.3%, unemployment rate is still at its worse.
The Government has came up with manufacturing policies to help those companies and the suppliers, but the most important is to come up with a policy that will enhance the production as well as the consumption so that the trade deficit will decrease. The Obama administration has been working on it more than the Bush Administration had. Even though the USA is in a depression and the manufacturing industry is declining, it still has an importance part to play in the recovery of the Economy. The automobile industry are now focusing on the renewable energy to upgrade their cars and make them more competitive.
Every step that have been done to make the economy recovers will be seen sometime in the future. As it is says "thing has to get worse before they get better". The USA is in the worse part right now and lately we have seen that it started to get less worse, with banks that reported huge profit for the second quarter, GM, which is "out of bankruptcy", but the worse part is unemployment that still climbs up high.
The Government has came up with manufacturing policies to help those companies and the suppliers, but the most important is to come up with a policy that will enhance the production as well as the consumption so that the trade deficit will decrease. The Obama administration has been working on it more than the Bush Administration had. Even though the USA is in a depression and the manufacturing industry is declining, it still has an importance part to play in the recovery of the Economy. The automobile industry are now focusing on the renewable energy to upgrade their cars and make them more competitive.
Every step that have been done to make the economy recovers will be seen sometime in the future. As it is says "thing has to get worse before they get better". The USA is in the worse part right now and lately we have seen that it started to get less worse, with banks that reported huge profit for the second quarter, GM, which is "out of bankruptcy", but the worse part is unemployment that still climbs up high.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Ivory Coast
Let's imagine that you have just won a traveling package to one of the most exotic place in Africa, on the west coast to be more precise. You will be staying and visiting the main big cities of the country as well as discovering the culture trough food, places, beaches...I will give you some advice about the activities that you can do while being there so that you can enjoy your stay.
The Ivory Coast is located on the west coast of Africa, between Liberia and Ghana. There are two big cities that are well known because they comprise the main business center of the country. Those two cities are Abidjan and Yamoussoukro, which the Capital of the country.
Abidjan is not a touristic city because there are no monuments to visits or places that depict a particular story about the Ivory Coast. But it is a great to place to have some great fun. There are many restaurants that served the country main dishes, the best restaurant of all is called "AKWABA", which means in a local tongue from the country welcome. The special dish that all tourists should taste before they leave the Ivory Coast is called "sauce graine avec du foutou banane". This is a sauce made with palm accompanied with mashed banana plantains, very delicious. But I forgot to mention about the place where you should stay, before you can think of food, you will have to have a place to sleep first. In Abidjan there is a nice hotel name the "WAFFOU". The design of the hotel is such that guest have their own small apartment that lay on water. The hotel is on the coast of the sea and the service is remarkable.
If you need to have some sun and relax away from the city of Abidjan, I suggest that you go to the beach. There are many beaches in the Ivory Coast. On of the most famous one is located an hour away from Abidjan, in Assini. At Assini there are many options for tourists to stay for the weekend and more and have a relaxing time. There are many chalets that can be rented out for as long as you want. There are very luxurious, upscale. Those houses are just on the beach, the view is priceless. There are many restaurants around that served nice sea food as well as grill food. There are also many souvenirs shop to buy nice handmade statuette, and African clothes. In Assini you can also visit the Colonial houses, where the colonizer used to live.
The other main city is Yamoussoukro, the capital. Yamoussoukro is famous because you can visit the biggest Basilica in the world. The first president of the Ivory Coast wanted to build a monument for its country that will attract tourists but also make it known by the outside world. He decided to build a basilica that will be bigger than the one in Rome. He was able to but sadly it did not attract as many tourists as he would have wanted and it did not make our country well known.But it still a nice place to visit.
Back in Abidjan for you night life, there are many places where you can go and have some fun. If you really want to get a taste of the culture trough amusement, it is better to go to the "maquis", which are pubs, where people drink, dance and eat. It is not an upscale place but it is very entertaining.
After spending some time at the Waffou hotel, eating at AKWABA restaurant, spending some time at Assini beach and visiting the basilica in Yamoussoukro and dancing with the people in the "maquis", you will want to make this part of the world, a vacation place for the winter.
The Ivory Coast is located on the west coast of Africa, between Liberia and Ghana. There are two big cities that are well known because they comprise the main business center of the country. Those two cities are Abidjan and Yamoussoukro, which the Capital of the country.
Abidjan is not a touristic city because there are no monuments to visits or places that depict a particular story about the Ivory Coast. But it is a great to place to have some great fun. There are many restaurants that served the country main dishes, the best restaurant of all is called "AKWABA", which means in a local tongue from the country welcome. The special dish that all tourists should taste before they leave the Ivory Coast is called "sauce graine avec du foutou banane". This is a sauce made with palm accompanied with mashed banana plantains, very delicious. But I forgot to mention about the place where you should stay, before you can think of food, you will have to have a place to sleep first. In Abidjan there is a nice hotel name the "WAFFOU". The design of the hotel is such that guest have their own small apartment that lay on water. The hotel is on the coast of the sea and the service is remarkable.
If you need to have some sun and relax away from the city of Abidjan, I suggest that you go to the beach. There are many beaches in the Ivory Coast. On of the most famous one is located an hour away from Abidjan, in Assini. At Assini there are many options for tourists to stay for the weekend and more and have a relaxing time. There are many chalets that can be rented out for as long as you want. There are very luxurious, upscale. Those houses are just on the beach, the view is priceless. There are many restaurants around that served nice sea food as well as grill food. There are also many souvenirs shop to buy nice handmade statuette, and African clothes. In Assini you can also visit the Colonial houses, where the colonizer used to live.
The other main city is Yamoussoukro, the capital. Yamoussoukro is famous because you can visit the biggest Basilica in the world. The first president of the Ivory Coast wanted to build a monument for its country that will attract tourists but also make it known by the outside world. He decided to build a basilica that will be bigger than the one in Rome. He was able to but sadly it did not attract as many tourists as he would have wanted and it did not make our country well known.But it still a nice place to visit.
Back in Abidjan for you night life, there are many places where you can go and have some fun. If you really want to get a taste of the culture trough amusement, it is better to go to the "maquis", which are pubs, where people drink, dance and eat. It is not an upscale place but it is very entertaining.
After spending some time at the Waffou hotel, eating at AKWABA restaurant, spending some time at Assini beach and visiting the basilica in Yamoussoukro and dancing with the people in the "maquis", you will want to make this part of the world, a vacation place for the winter.
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Road Not Taken
"The Road Not Taken" is a poem written by Frost Robert in 1916.
This poem literal interpretation is about a traveler who is faced with a choice between two roads. He has to make a choice and decide which road to travel on. He picked one road, one that has been less traveled by, because "it was grassy and wanted wear". Between the two roads, he picked the one that was "less traveled by".
The way I understand this poem is that this traveler has decided to take a step, a step for a change may be is his life. Now he is faced with two choices regarding the path that he should take. This path is depicted here as two roads, one that has been traveled a lot and the other less, but they are both "worn ...about the same". This traveler does not seems enthusiastic by the change that he has decided to encounter. He does not seem confident about his choice, this can be implied in the stanza where it is said " then took the other, as just as fair". If it was because he wanted to, he would have been more forceful about the reason why he took this path. The doubt can also be seen by the vocabulary that is being used in this poem, "perhaps", "doubted". Not only that he has made his choice with no confidence, he is not sure about going all the way to the path that he has chosen.
For him taking the road that he had taken "has made all the difference". The difference in what? Is it the difference in his way of choosing? Does he follow now his instinct instead of following the mass?
Choices, we are all faced with choices at least once a day and sometime some choices seem to be more important than others. And we are face with our own image in the mirror and have to decide which path to follow. At this point we either listen to the voice inside us or we listen to the "voices outside". But we have to make a choice and assume this choice until the end. Sometime it seems easier to follow the mass, thinking that this is the only way. But we tend to forget what is pulling us, we tend to forget what matter to our "individual" instead of caring about what other would do or would think. And it is only when we are face with ourselves that we can really see who we are and decide what is best for us, without following what seems to be the ideal path.
This poem literal interpretation is about a traveler who is faced with a choice between two roads. He has to make a choice and decide which road to travel on. He picked one road, one that has been less traveled by, because "it was grassy and wanted wear". Between the two roads, he picked the one that was "less traveled by".
The way I understand this poem is that this traveler has decided to take a step, a step for a change may be is his life. Now he is faced with two choices regarding the path that he should take. This path is depicted here as two roads, one that has been traveled a lot and the other less, but they are both "worn ...about the same". This traveler does not seems enthusiastic by the change that he has decided to encounter. He does not seem confident about his choice, this can be implied in the stanza where it is said " then took the other, as just as fair". If it was because he wanted to, he would have been more forceful about the reason why he took this path. The doubt can also be seen by the vocabulary that is being used in this poem, "perhaps", "doubted". Not only that he has made his choice with no confidence, he is not sure about going all the way to the path that he has chosen.
For him taking the road that he had taken "has made all the difference". The difference in what? Is it the difference in his way of choosing? Does he follow now his instinct instead of following the mass?
Choices, we are all faced with choices at least once a day and sometime some choices seem to be more important than others. And we are face with our own image in the mirror and have to decide which path to follow. At this point we either listen to the voice inside us or we listen to the "voices outside". But we have to make a choice and assume this choice until the end. Sometime it seems easier to follow the mass, thinking that this is the only way. But we tend to forget what is pulling us, we tend to forget what matter to our "individual" instead of caring about what other would do or would think. And it is only when we are face with ourselves that we can really see who we are and decide what is best for us, without following what seems to be the ideal path.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Prescription drugs
In an article from CNN.com, Madison Park reports on prescription drugs, which people think are more safer than street drugs because there are prescribed by a doctor and approved by the FDA.
Nowadays we see lot of actors who die of overdose of prescription drugs. Those drugs, which are used to treat anxiety, pain as well as sleeping deprivation as become a killing machine in the American society. It was reported that in 2005, non medical use of pain killers contributed to the death of more than 8500 people, most of whom are young people from the age of 13 to 18. Those young people organize what they call a "pharming party", which consist of taking medicine from the home medicine, putting them in a bowl and picking which one to consume with alcohol.
Most people are afraid of street drugs because it illegal but, in reality those medicines that attenuate the pain, or help sleep are just like heroin, morphin, they are simply addictive and can cause serious problem to those who abuse them. Some of the side effects are decreased in breathing, respiratory arrest, reduce of oxygen in the brain.
People who needs those prescription drugs have found ways to never run out of it, by going to different doctors from different states, by using different names on the prescription, by lying about the fact that they have lost their medicine.
Now 38 states had passed a law to create a database for physicians and pharmacists to prevent abusers from obtaining multiple prescriptions. Maybe this will help in the short term, but about in a long run. An addict will always find ways to get his/her drugs.
Nowadays we see lot of actors who die of overdose of prescription drugs. Those drugs, which are used to treat anxiety, pain as well as sleeping deprivation as become a killing machine in the American society. It was reported that in 2005, non medical use of pain killers contributed to the death of more than 8500 people, most of whom are young people from the age of 13 to 18. Those young people organize what they call a "pharming party", which consist of taking medicine from the home medicine, putting them in a bowl and picking which one to consume with alcohol.
Most people are afraid of street drugs because it illegal but, in reality those medicines that attenuate the pain, or help sleep are just like heroin, morphin, they are simply addictive and can cause serious problem to those who abuse them. Some of the side effects are decreased in breathing, respiratory arrest, reduce of oxygen in the brain.
People who needs those prescription drugs have found ways to never run out of it, by going to different doctors from different states, by using different names on the prescription, by lying about the fact that they have lost their medicine.
Now 38 states had passed a law to create a database for physicians and pharmacists to prevent abusers from obtaining multiple prescriptions. Maybe this will help in the short term, but about in a long run. An addict will always find ways to get his/her drugs.
Monday, July 13, 2009
UBS vs the IRS
UBS AG, which is the largest Swiss bank by assets is being sued by the US Government. In an article from Bloomberg.com dated July 13, David Voreacos reports on the matter.
This case, which is a very complex has set some feuds on the Swiss Government as well as the US Government. The situation is this, the US Government is accusing UBS of facilitating tax fraud by top Americans earners and now want the name and the accounts of those accounts holders. On the other end UBS has to violate Swiss criminal laws of protecting bank secrecy by giving out those names and accounts.
At this point the bank is trying to settle out of court, discussion has been undertaken by the Swiss Government and the US Government. The US sued UBS on February 19 and UBS agreed to pay $780 million to "defer prosecution for helping wealthy Americans evade taxes".
The US Government even intend to seized UBS assets that are in the US if they do not comply with their request.
This case is very delicate, because it is about two laws that have been broken. Swiss law recognizes tax fraud and not tax evasion as a crime. The IRS law recognizes tax fraud as well as tax evasion as a crime. Any settlement would force the Swiss law to change or either the US law to change when it comes to tax fraud.
UBS has admitted helped Americans evade US taxes by opening accounts in tax havens, and making the beneficiary of those accounts non existent companies.
As it is said in the article it would be best for UBS to settle out of court especially that those fraud were made on US soil. Judge Skarlatos who is in charge of this case said in the article," Swiss laws don't apply when you actively violate the laws of the United States". If the bank does not want to see all its assets that are in the US being seized they will be better off giving out those names.
This case, which is a very complex has set some feuds on the Swiss Government as well as the US Government. The situation is this, the US Government is accusing UBS of facilitating tax fraud by top Americans earners and now want the name and the accounts of those accounts holders. On the other end UBS has to violate Swiss criminal laws of protecting bank secrecy by giving out those names and accounts.
At this point the bank is trying to settle out of court, discussion has been undertaken by the Swiss Government and the US Government. The US sued UBS on February 19 and UBS agreed to pay $780 million to "defer prosecution for helping wealthy Americans evade taxes".
The US Government even intend to seized UBS assets that are in the US if they do not comply with their request.
This case is very delicate, because it is about two laws that have been broken. Swiss law recognizes tax fraud and not tax evasion as a crime. The IRS law recognizes tax fraud as well as tax evasion as a crime. Any settlement would force the Swiss law to change or either the US law to change when it comes to tax fraud.
UBS has admitted helped Americans evade US taxes by opening accounts in tax havens, and making the beneficiary of those accounts non existent companies.
As it is said in the article it would be best for UBS to settle out of court especially that those fraud were made on US soil. Judge Skarlatos who is in charge of this case said in the article," Swiss laws don't apply when you actively violate the laws of the United States". If the bank does not want to see all its assets that are in the US being seized they will be better off giving out those names.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Heath care debate without Edward M. Kennedy
In an article from the boston.com, Wagsness and Milligan reports on the difficulties that congress and the lawmakers are facing in order to change the health care system without the assistance of the Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy.
Edward Kennedy who has been absent in the Capitol since April for health reason has been missed by everyone who are directly concern with the health care debate. The Massachusetts senator is known to have a great ability to convince people in a debate as well as getting people together to work and make positive outcomes. As it stated in the article, he is known to have a great negotiation skill, and a good knowledge on the heath care policy.
Even though he is battling with his life, he still dedicates some of his time to work. But people are aware that his absence is not the entirely reason why no agreement has been met when it comes to the health care debate.
There are so many division among Republicans and Democrats that two negotiation groups have been formed. One is the "coalition of the willing", which regrouped four Republicans and two Democrats. And the other negotiation group is known under the "Blue Dog" Democrats, which ignore the Republicans.
The health care overhaul has been an important topic since the President Obama has been elected. There have been proposals from every party but as well as division. The Liberals want to give the consumers the opportunity to choose to buy a coverage instead of being forced to, but opponents see this as a treat to private insurance industry, which will be force to decrease their prices.
Another issue that Congress is divided about is the cost of the health care bill, which could account trillion dollars or more.
With the absence of Kennedy, Senator Chris Dodd is now in charge of the health care bill but has also other priority that he has to face as well as personal issues.
Edward Kennedy who has been absent in the Capitol since April for health reason has been missed by everyone who are directly concern with the health care debate. The Massachusetts senator is known to have a great ability to convince people in a debate as well as getting people together to work and make positive outcomes. As it stated in the article, he is known to have a great negotiation skill, and a good knowledge on the heath care policy.
Even though he is battling with his life, he still dedicates some of his time to work. But people are aware that his absence is not the entirely reason why no agreement has been met when it comes to the health care debate.
There are so many division among Republicans and Democrats that two negotiation groups have been formed. One is the "coalition of the willing", which regrouped four Republicans and two Democrats. And the other negotiation group is known under the "Blue Dog" Democrats, which ignore the Republicans.
The health care overhaul has been an important topic since the President Obama has been elected. There have been proposals from every party but as well as division. The Liberals want to give the consumers the opportunity to choose to buy a coverage instead of being forced to, but opponents see this as a treat to private insurance industry, which will be force to decrease their prices.
Another issue that Congress is divided about is the cost of the health care bill, which could account trillion dollars or more.
With the absence of Kennedy, Senator Chris Dodd is now in charge of the health care bill but has also other priority that he has to face as well as personal issues.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
GM coming out of bankruptcy
In the New York Time Podcast by Jeff Sommer, Micheline Maynard talks about the new strategy being used by GM to get out of bankruptcy.
After going bankrupt on June first, General Motors is "coming out" of it by creating a new structure that will help the company.
This company that is being created was done under what it is called "section3 63 sales". This is basically taking good assets and putting them together to form a new version of the company. GM will be compromised by four brands, which are Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. On top of this consolidation there will be less dealers as well as a cuts down in payroll.
GM is owned by the US Government, the Canadian Government, a Union Health care trust and ten percent of the old GM that still remains in bankruptcy.
Now that GM has a new CEO named Fritz Henderson, some restructurings have been undertaken by him to bring the company back to its feet. The government, which also own GM has already named a new chairman of the Board of Directors of GM named Edward Whitacre.
The difficulty that the company is facing at this point is the fact that the automobile market is at its lowest, forty percent down, the demand for GM vehicles has been low has well. The fact that GM had filed for bankruptcy will undermined the image of the brand, because investors have lost confidence, and the fact that GM has sold some of its products such as Saturn will create some confusion as well for the customers.
The Government had said that it will give thirty billion to GM to help GM get out of bankruptcy, even though there is no accounting records on how much GM has spent so far, GM was able to "shed its debt" as well as its liability to the employees when it comes to health care.
The Government possible exit strategies for GM is to have an IPO of GM's stocks by next year but this will depend on how well the economy as well as the market are doing. And the UAW,which oversee the heath care trust, told their members to held their shares for several years because it will take time to have the stock price of GM to go to a "normal value".
After going bankrupt on June first, General Motors is "coming out" of it by creating a new structure that will help the company.
This company that is being created was done under what it is called "section3 63 sales". This is basically taking good assets and putting them together to form a new version of the company. GM will be compromised by four brands, which are Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. On top of this consolidation there will be less dealers as well as a cuts down in payroll.
GM is owned by the US Government, the Canadian Government, a Union Health care trust and ten percent of the old GM that still remains in bankruptcy.
Now that GM has a new CEO named Fritz Henderson, some restructurings have been undertaken by him to bring the company back to its feet. The government, which also own GM has already named a new chairman of the Board of Directors of GM named Edward Whitacre.
The difficulty that the company is facing at this point is the fact that the automobile market is at its lowest, forty percent down, the demand for GM vehicles has been low has well. The fact that GM had filed for bankruptcy will undermined the image of the brand, because investors have lost confidence, and the fact that GM has sold some of its products such as Saturn will create some confusion as well for the customers.
The Government had said that it will give thirty billion to GM to help GM get out of bankruptcy, even though there is no accounting records on how much GM has spent so far, GM was able to "shed its debt" as well as its liability to the employees when it comes to health care.
The Government possible exit strategies for GM is to have an IPO of GM's stocks by next year but this will depend on how well the economy as well as the market are doing. And the UAW,which oversee the heath care trust, told their members to held their shares for several years because it will take time to have the stock price of GM to go to a "normal value".
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was and still is an Icon of the American Pop music. He lived from August 29, 1958 to June 25, 2009.
Now that he is dead people around the world are either mourning him or remembering the scandalous publicity that was around him.
His family are fighting over his estates. Despite the fact that he has a written will, there have been some turmoils about executing his will. The executors of the will which are, John Branca and John McClain, will now decide how the will should be executed as stated in Michale Jackson's will.
Since Michael Jackson is loved by so many people around the world,even his memorial day is used to make profit. To prevent people to make money on the tickets for the memorial service, a lottery has been established that give the opportunity of dear fans of Michael Jackson as well as friends the opportunity to be part of this sad but at the same time celebrating day.
But even with those precaution, some people admitted selling their extra tickets. A lady who did not want to divulged her identity admitted selling her extra tickets for $35,000.
Now that he is dead people around the world are either mourning him or remembering the scandalous publicity that was around him.
His family are fighting over his estates. Despite the fact that he has a written will, there have been some turmoils about executing his will. The executors of the will which are, John Branca and John McClain, will now decide how the will should be executed as stated in Michale Jackson's will.
Since Michael Jackson is loved by so many people around the world,even his memorial day is used to make profit. To prevent people to make money on the tickets for the memorial service, a lottery has been established that give the opportunity of dear fans of Michael Jackson as well as friends the opportunity to be part of this sad but at the same time celebrating day.
But even with those precaution, some people admitted selling their extra tickets. A lady who did not want to divulged her identity admitted selling her extra tickets for $35,000.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Fourth of July
The independence of the United States was celebrated yesterday, Saturday July 4th. The weather has not been nice for the past days, but especially for this celebration day the weather gives us a break, and we were able to appreciate the sun and the nice weather.
I spent that day with my friends and family. We organized a Barbecue at my uncle place in Brockton and we had friends who came and enjoyed that day with us.
It was really nice just being with family and friends and socializing and talking about everything.
Children were having fun playing soccer, and adults were either enjoying their foods or drinks.
At dawn we watched the fireworks, we mainly heard the noises and saw some fireworks.
It was a great day and a great week end!!!!
Hope you enjoyed yours as well.
I spent that day with my friends and family. We organized a Barbecue at my uncle place in Brockton and we had friends who came and enjoyed that day with us.
It was really nice just being with family and friends and socializing and talking about everything.
Children were having fun playing soccer, and adults were either enjoying their foods or drinks.
At dawn we watched the fireworks, we mainly heard the noises and saw some fireworks.
It was a great day and a great week end!!!!
Hope you enjoyed yours as well.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Bridge Rehabilitation Project
MEMO
Date: June, 30,2009
To: Bruce Berman
From: Akouassi Yao
Re: Observations from the Public Meeting regarding the Boston University Rehabilitation Project
Content of the meeting
The meeting was from 6.30pm to 8.00 pm, the Director of the Accelerated Bridge Program, Mr. Jonathan Gulliver did a presentation about the historic of the Bridge and the reasons why it was imperative that it get renovated.
He showed the prevision for the project in term of time, remodeling of the road as well as the bridge and the impact this project will have on the citizens of Cambridge, Brighton, the BU community, and the economy.
Assertion #1
The second part gave the opportunity to the participants to actually express their concerned, give their opinions and even suggestions. It was very controversial because people had concerned on many points, and were dissatisfied about how this meeting was advertised.
The people who are the most concerned about this project are the bicyclists, who find the model of the bridge in disadvantage to them, people from Cambridge feel that they have not been consulted in this change that will affect their commute for the next five years.
Date: June, 30,2009
To: Bruce Berman
From: Akouassi Yao
Re: Observations from the Public Meeting regarding the Boston University Rehabilitation Project
Content of the meeting
The meeting was from 6.30pm to 8.00 pm, the Director of the Accelerated Bridge Program, Mr. Jonathan Gulliver did a presentation about the historic of the Bridge and the reasons why it was imperative that it get renovated.
He showed the prevision for the project in term of time, remodeling of the road as well as the bridge and the impact this project will have on the citizens of Cambridge, Brighton, the BU community, and the economy.
Assertion #1
The second part gave the opportunity to the participants to actually express their concerned, give their opinions and even suggestions. It was very controversial because people had concerned on many points, and were dissatisfied about how this meeting was advertised.
The people who are the most concerned about this project are the bicyclists, who find the model of the bridge in disadvantage to them, people from Cambridge feel that they have not been consulted in this change that will affect their commute for the next five years.
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