Political Science

Discrimination is a treatment taken against a person who belongs to a specific group and the consideration is based on a particular category or class. All forms of discrimination involve sort of rejection behavior. Examples of discrimination are age discrimination, gender discrimination, employment discrimination among others. Practices linked to employment discrimination include bias in promotion, termination, contracting, reimbursement and various types of harassment. Employment discrimination laws focus on preventing discrimination related to age, religion, sex, disability, nationality, color and race by employers. This paper analyzes the concept of employment discrimination under the following cases.

Foster v. Dalton, 71 F.3d 52 (1st Cir. 1995)
In this case, the Plaintiff-appellant Sharon C. Foster who was an African-American lady filed a suit against the Secretary of the navy on the basis that she was discriminated due to her race and denied a job in the Newport Naval Hospital. The court ruled in favor of the secretary. The job was instead awarded to a less qualified lady of the white race. Though the employer asserts that he chose the white lady on the basis of merit, that is, experience and knowledge, the plaintiff claimed that the employer had a hidden motive behind the action (Rothstein, et al., 2005).

The undisputed facts reveal that at the time of the dispute the plaintiff was employed at Tinker Air Force Base as a medical technician. The plaintiff did not get the promotion to the position of a budget analyst when the secretary appointed another person to the position. Betty Norton who was a white lady who held the position of a purchasing agent was employed as the budget analyst. The plaintiff filed the case on the basis of racial discrimination.

I do not agree with the courts ruling in favor of the secretary. This was a true of racial discrimination since the Commander Travis directed the civilian program analyst to manipulate the job description in order to make Berry eligible for the job. The description was further doctored in such a way that only Berry suited the job (Rothstein, et al., 2005).

Stopka v. Alliance of Am. Insurers, 141 F.3d 681 (7th Cir. 1998)
In this case, Stopka had filled a suit against Alliance of Am. Insurers on the grounds of discrimination on the basis of sex. Stopka claimed that she was underpaid compared to male colleagues in the same job grade. This case raised several questions on the issue of similar comparisons. The 7th circuit ruled that the plaintiff did not adequately prove that her position was considerably similar to positions by the male colleagues who were paid a higher salary than Stopka though in the same grade.

The 7th circuit has long realized that proof of discrimination against other workers is relevant only if the plaintiff is able to clearly show that the action taken against himher is based on the grounds of discrimination. Me Too evidence like in the case of Stopka is regularly though not always closely associated with the circumstances of the case in question. Under the circumstances, I only agree with the courts ruling since Stopka was unable to prove her conditions of discrimination. Employers should not discriminate their employees on the basis of gender especially where the workers are performing the same roles like the case of Stopka (Rothstein, et al., 2005).

McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., 513 U.S. 352 (1995)
This was a case of discrimination on the basis of age. The case was filed by the petitioner Christine McKennon who worked with Nashville Banner LTD. This was a case of whether a worker discharged from employment in breach of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is not entitled to any relieve if after the discharge the employer realizes that there was wrong doing that would have led to termination of the employees services on lawful or legitimate basis. Christine McKennon was discharged as part of the employers strategy to reduce cost considerations through labor reduction. Christine McKennon argued that she was dismissed due to her age which was 62 years at that time.

The ADEA bars any employer from dismissing any person or discriminating such a person in terms of compensation, benefits or privileges on the basis of age. Banner argued that had it discovered Christine McKennons misconduct then it would have dismissed her for that course. McKennon had acted in a questionable way by copying and removing insurance and protection details. Though Banner pleaded guilty of the discrimination offence, the District court awarded Banner a conclusive judgment on the grounds that her misconduct warranted her dismissal. In this case I disagree with the courts ruling since misconduct is immaterial whether McKennon was discriminated or not. This is thus a violation of ADEA of which Banner is guilty (Rothstein, et al., 2005).

Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337 (1997)
This case was filed by the petitioner against the respondent on the grounds of employment discrimination suit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When the suit was still pending in court the petitioner got a job with another organization and contacted the defendant for an employment reference. The defendant gave a negative reference in reprisal for his having sued the firm. The suit was filed on the basis of 704(a) of Title VII which bars employers from discriminating against employees or candidates for a position as a result of them seeking Title VIIs protections.

Though the district court ruled that the term employees mentioned in the Title VIIs protections only refers to current employees, the Supreme Court ruled that  the term as applied in the 704(a) of Title VII, includes previous employees, supplicant and can sue defendants for its supposedly penalizing postemployment actions. Although the term employee as used in the 704(a) of Title VII is ambiguous as it does not clearly stated the employees covered, the Supreme Courts ruling was justified since it is unfair to discriminate a former employee in revenge for filing a suit for protection (Rothstein, et al., 2005).

Conclusion
All discrimination cases are handled on individual basis. Failure to adhere to the federal antidiscrimination laws may result to adverse consequences to an employer. In return the benefit plans of the employees are affected. All employers should take time to review the plans to evade from violation of the laws. Employees ought to be treated according to the antidiscrimination laws.

Introduction
The political system of the United States is clearly stated in constitution of 1789 after declaration of Independence in 1776. It is a federal system which means the power is divided between the central government and the fifty states. The federal government consists of three branches legislative, Executive and Judicial branch. The legislative branch is composed of the house of representative and the senate. The executive branch consists of the President, cabinet and the federal department. In the judicial branch, there is the Supreme Court in charge of legal issues in general and the federal courts in charge of the legal issues dealing with each state (Manza Brooks, 1999).

How do national elections (for President, Senators and Representatives) differ in the American system compared to Parliamentary systems

The ability to cast vote or suffrage has changed over time. In the early years, voting was taken seriously on state governments and was restricted to men especially the ones who owned land. Unlike parliamentary system where elections of electorate are specific, in America electorate varies from state to state and direct election is allowed.

Today, the U.S citizens are allowed to vote at the age of 18 years irrespective of gender, race or wealth. The president is voted in by everyone in every state, senators are voted in by electorates belonging to the state being represented while the representatives are voted directly but only congressional representatives are not voted among the delegates.

How does the American political culture differ from the political culture in other constitutional democracies

Political culture can be defined as values, practices, ideals and beliefs that are considered important in a political system. American political culture is based on certain ideals that vary from liberation to conservative ideals. Compared to other states, American political culture is based on two proponents, the need for reforms and the status quo as compared to other democracies where the system is governed by one dominant principle, for instance, in Russia or Cuba where communism is dominant than capitalism (Manza Brooks,1999).

Even though the two principles are competing, conservatives have lost their agenda in line with the foreign policy. There is a constitutional decay characterized with scandals, movements and moral deviation among the youths. The centre of political culture is shifting with time for instance, there was no viable candidate among the conservatives, Bill Frist, Rick Santorum and George Allen are no longer active while McCain, Giuliani and Mitt Romney are no more into politics especially after the 2008 presidential election that was a blow to the conservatives. However, there is absence of dominant ideology which may lead to pragmatism in the future.

The world is currently under the global financial crisis which begun back in the year 2008.  In the global capital markets, the pricing of an individual country industry mixing determines the measure of its growth. This however, uses ratio in price earnings of the portfolios of global industry. The future of the GDP and its real changes is strongly predicted by the growth opportunities and the investment in a particular country. Also, the segmentation and integration of markets plays a great role.

The world trade fell by 12 per cent last year- the biggest drop since the Second World War According to the World Trade Organization (WTO).  The Financial crisis has shaken the Davos consensus on the supremacy of free market capitalization and the benefits of globalization. In Europe, the global economic crisis is eminent and the region is strongly affected.

This has led to increased interest rates in some countries. This includes Israel, Norway and also Australia in the late 2009.There is the raising of reserve requirements in both India and China and the tightening of the fiscal policy. This will try to control the overheating of the economy. The stagnation of the Germany economy in the fourth quarter with a 0.7 per cent growth in GDP has immense effect to the euro.

The European Union is stalled out where it expanded with 0.1 in the fourth quarter down from 0.3 in the previous quarter. For the euro era, the case was the same with 0.1 expansion, down from the 0.4 I the previous quarter.  In the fourth quarter, the Greece economy shrunk by 0.8, than in the third quarter whereas countries like Italy and Spain with big economies kept on contracting even more. The biggest threat to the global economy at the moment is clearly economic weakness. The Greece central bank said. While planning to address budget deficits, leaders shouldnt take their eyes off the ball.
China is currently the worlds leading exporter after its 17.7 increase, surpassing Germany in December. The imports increased by 15 and this drove high U.S trade balance to very high levels of40.2 billion, up from 36.4 billion. This led to the restrictions on imports from the EU and the USA. The EU restricted on shoes whereas the US did on tires. The US exports on car parts and poultry was then restricted in China.

The Chinese are contemplating on a 3 rise in their currency later the year if their imports keep on booming in the markets. China is experiencing a rapid economic growth. In recent months, the Chinese exports have growth between 30 and 50 to India, Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia countries.

In Dubai, there has been experienced a drop in benchmark index where it has become one of the worst performers in the Gulf region. The largest investment bank went to the lowest this February since May for more than three weeks. The financial market General Index declined to 1,569.63 which was the worst since January. Dubai is more externally focused than some of the other countries in the Gulf, said Paul Cooper, managing director at Sarasin-Alpen  Partners Ltd. The worry is that the strong economic recovery we have seen in the past six to nine months globally is coming to an end, he said.
There is the upward trend of the rising cost of the governments spending.  In the U.S this has led to a gloomy job forecast with extended unemployment.

This has also led to reduced lending in the U.S banks to allow the economy to recover. The top tier banks are recovering, but many are still stagnated.

Inflation has been in the past quarter century causing great instability in the worlds economy.
Calculation of Inflation involves the use of the measures of Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Retail Price Index (RPI). Considering there are basic needs that one cannot do without, inflation thus affects people way of living severely.

The consequences of inflation poses a great threat to the policy makers allover the world since it affects all businesses up to including the individual as a whole. It creates a difference in monetary policy as well.

This is creating widespread challenges ,where inflation drag below the target due to the downside risk to demand and output  thus unable to set the interest rates.

Inflation rate in developed countries lies from 1 to 4in the developed countries and that of developing countries is of 5to 20 with the worst hit country being Zimbabwe. Inflation in one way or another is driven by the policies. Good policy paves way for low inflation.  This calls for tax hike and cutting of spending.

What I will not welcomewhat I rejectis the same old grandstanding when the cameras are on, and the same irresponsible monetary and budget policies when the cameras are off, Mr. Obama said as he was addressing inflation. Its time to save what we can, spend what we must, and live within our means once again.  The White Houses estimate at 3, of economic growth from the fourth quarter of 2009 to 2010 in January was just slightly higher than the December months Blue Chip consensus forecast of 2.9. Its growth estimate for 2011, at 4.3 is rosier than the 3.2 forecast of private economists.

When we look at essential inflation, the poor households experienced a rise in the cost of living. The case was opposite in the rich households since their cost of living fell.

Inflation will rise from 1.5 per cent to about 3 per cent next year. It is expected to fall below the Bank of Englands 2 per cent target by the end of 2010. (Sakong II, 2010 as he was referring to the global financial crisis).

Monetary policies in the UK in times of stable and low inflation have been focused on price control for stability. This forced them to target the key stress alleviation that is as a result of the disruption in the financial markets.  UK GDP is expected to fall by 4.75 per cent this year. It will then grow by between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent next year and 3.5 per cent in 2011 and 2012.The inflation in the Bank of England is currently at 1.5 percent and is expected to rise to about 3 per cent over the year. It is expected to fall below the Bank of Englands 2 per cent target by the end of 2010.

The United States and U.K leaders are proposing taxes on the banks. This in the case would help to bail out the costs during the financial crisis.  The consumer prices in the U.S fell in January with the exception of food and energy. This is the report from the Labor Department. But the many debts being incurred by many governments and many households might welcome a little inflation.  The paying off and the burden of servicing would then be reduced. This would in turn raise the inflation, through the income generated to pay off. A higher inflation goal would have a fairly immediate and disruptive effect on markets, said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at J.P. Morgan Chase. There is a forecasted upward shift in inflation above the 2 inflation goal in the popular central bankers.

The economy crisis in the Malaysian economy has recovered and in the last quarter of the year a record three percent growth in GDP was experienced. This is expected to continue in the year following the increasing spending in public sector and private sector sustained consumption. The recovery in the global economy had improved further in the fourth quarter of 2009. the Malaysia central bank said. This positive trend is expected to continue in 2010, although the pace of the global recovery is expected to be gradual and uneven, The private sector demand is the major determinant for the global growth.

All the sectors in the economic sector with the exception of the mining on the supply side experienced positive growth.

The global growth incurs some risks that might lead to the growth of the economy then a recurrent recession. These risks includes First, the fundamental causes of this recession are not yet resolved due to the misinterpretation of the sources of the crisis. This in effect has led to the poor policy response. Most likely, this crisis is as a result of the accumulation of debt. This calls for the ease in the monetary and fiscal policies. The countries with account deficits need to address their household to increase on savings and reduce on the spending. The developed countries are more with the deficit. These include many European countries, the U., U.K, Ireland, Spain, Ireland and Greece.

Considering the damage in the financial system, the credit ease will have to take sometime. Some banks have already been severely hit leading to the closure or the merging. The corporate sector is not an exceptional. They are under severe financial stress this has led to the cutting down of employment due to reduced profits. If the global economy grows at sub-par rates in 2010-11, corporate revenues will grow slower than otherwise (World Bank, 2009). And if deflationary pressures remain across the world--given the glut of supply relative to aggregate demand--pricing power of firms will be limited and profit margins will be further squeezed. The public debt is on a sharp rise. In this case, the policymakers should take into consideration the inflation solution. There is increased unemployment and this has led to lose of skills. There is reduced human capital taking for example, in the advanced economies the unemployment rate might close at 10 in 2010 according to OECD. Unemployment directly leads to reduced consumption spending and thus reduced growth. In conclusion, resolving the structural weaknesses will play a great role I the recovery of the economy. This might as well lead to reduced potential growth in this year and next year. The macroeconomic and financial policy support on the other side are helping to stabilize the world economy but the recession is still not over. The recovery is thus expected to derail and a lot need to be done to rebalance the global demand.

Almost everyday newspapers carry news on the persisting problem of crisis in the Middle East and the violence associated with it. Despite the daily news clips and its continuing severity, very few people know about the real background of this conflict and very few credible resources are available, either on the print or electronic media which impartially records and analyses this ongoing war. The objective of this report is to briefly explain the history of this problem, analyze few peace initiatives which have been put forward over time and to give suggestions for the future course of action.

Background
The problem of Palestine is one of the longest running and most violent issues of modern times. According to the website of United Nations Department of Political Affairs, Palestine problem became an international issue towards the end of the First World War with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Palestine was among the several former Ottoman Arab territories which were placedunder the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the Leagues Covenant.

During theyears of the Palestine Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration, mainly from Eastern Europe took place with numbers swelling in the 1930s during the Nazi persecution of Jewish populations. The Palestinians started resistance to Jewish immigration and this led to a rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides during and immediately after World War II. Great Britain tried to implement various formulas to bring independence to a land ravaged by violence. In 1947, Great Britainturned the problem over to the United Nations.

After looking at various alternatives, the UN proposed partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war, expanded to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine. Israel also occupied the larger part of Jerusalem. Over half of the indigenous Palestinian population fled or were expelled. Jordan and Egypt occupied the other parts of the territory assigned by the partition resolution to the Palestinian Arab State, which did not come into being.

In the 1967 war, Israel occupied the remaining territory of Palestine, until then under Jordanian and Egyptian control (the West Bank and Gaza Strip). This included the remaining part of Jerusalem, which was subsequently annexed by Israel. The war brought about a second exodus of Palestinians, estimated at half a million. Security Council resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 called on Israel to withdraw from territories it had occupied in the 1967 conflict.

According to the website of MidEastWeb organization, wars broke out in 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982, and there were many terror raids and Israeli reprisals. Each side believes different versions of the same history. Each side views the conflict as wholly the fault of the other and expects an apology. Israel has occupied the West bank and Gaza Strip (about 2,200 square miles) since the 1967,the 6-day war, and has built settlements with a population of about 220,000, mostly in the West Bank. Palestinians demand withdrawal from all of the land conquered in the 1967 andevacuation of the settlements. Israel continued to expand settlements throughout the peace process that began in 1993 and continues to do so today.

The same website claims that about 726,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their homes in 1948 in the war that followed the creation of Israel, and again in 1967 with the 6-day war. There are now about 4 million Palestinian refugees. Many of them live in crowded refugee camps in poor conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Palestinians demand that these refugees should have the right to return to their homes in Israel under UN General Assembly Resolution 194. The Israelis, on the other hand, point out that an almost equal number of Jews fled Arab lands to Israel in 1948 therefore Israel wont consider a full right of return for Palestinians to Israel because this would be in direct contradiction to the idea of a two state solution, claims the Zionism  Israel Information Centre website. Benny Morris, in his landmark book, The Birth of Palestinian  Refugee Problem, presents a third hypothesis which says that although there were incidents in which all of these things have occurred the real cause of the refugee problem was an inevitable, unsought, result of war. In other words, no side and both sides are to blame.

Peace Proposals
Over the years various peace proposals have been formulated. Official peace plans include the quartet roadmap, and the Arab League initiative for Arab-Israeli peace. Various informal initiatives for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have also been proposed. The most popular is the Geneva Accord, under which Israel would return approximately the territories outside the current route of the security fence, and cede parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinians, and Palestinian refugees would return to the Palestinian state, but not to Israel. The Ayalon Nusseibeh Agreement incorporates similar principles but is much less detailed. No informal accord has either been approved by Israeli or Palestinian governments.

Road Map
According to Ami Isseroffs commentary on the roadmap, the Bush administration floated the idea of a roadmap, a detailed and interlocked schedule of conditions and events that would break the Palestinian-Israeli impasse end the violence and lead to a peace settlement. The outlines of this idea were contained in a speech given by President Bush in 2002. The US undertook roadmap as a joint US and European initiative. Representatives from the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia formed a group known as the The Quartet, which began to shape international policy toward resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet issued a statement regarding a road map for peace on September 17, 2002 that has since undergone several revisions. The program is an outline that is evolving over time.

According to the official roadmap document of May 2003, it is a performance-based and goal driven document, with clear phases, timelines, target dates, and benchmarks aiming at progress through reciprocal steps by the two parties. The objective of the roadmap was final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict by 2005. It sought a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through an end to violence, when the Palestinian people have a democratically elected leadership.

In its first phase, the roadmap, sought to end terror and violence, normalize Palestinian life and building Palestinian institutions. The second phase focused on the option of creating an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty, based on the new constitution as a step towards full settlement. Phase three objectives were consolidation of reform and stabilization of Palestinian institutions, sustained, effective Palestinian security performance, and Israeli-Palestinian negotiations aimed at a permanent status agreement by 2005.

According to an Israeli newspaper of March 17, 2003, senior Palestinian officials admitted that they have no choice but to express optimism about the road map for peace that was advocated by President Bush. But many Palestinians believe that the plan is really part of Bushs attempts to placate leaders in Europe and the Middle East on the eve of a war against Iraq (Haaretz). The Palestinian Authorities were also criticized for not implementing key provisions of the roadmap such as combating terror effectively, although they had originally accepted the roadmap. The Israeli government, on the other hand, accepted the roadmap, but with fourteen reservations but key undertakings were also not implemented, especially the freeze on settlement activity and removal of illegal outposts. According to the document of Israels response of the roadmap, following major conditions for progress to the second phase were set forth. It was demanded that the Palestinians will complete the dismantling of terrorist organizations (Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front Al-Aqsa Brigades and other apparatuses) and their infrastructure. All illegal weapons should be collected and transferred to a third party for the sake of being removed. Elections conducted for the Palestinian Legislative Council only after coordination with Israel. It was also demanded that the provisional Palestinian state will have provisional borders and certain aspects of sovereignty, it would be fully demilitarized with no military forces, but only with police and internal security forces of limited scope and armaments, it would be without the authority to undertake defense alliances. And lastly, specific references must be made to Israels right to exist as a Jewish state and to the waiver of any right of return for Palestinian refugees to the State of Israel. The document states that there shall be no involvement with issues pertaining to the final settlement.

The Arab Peace Initiative
Political analyst Ami Isserof points that the Arab Peace Initiative was originally floated by Saudi crown prince Abdullah at the Arab League summit conference in Beirut in March of 2002. The original plan called for peace with Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from all territories.While the plan as adopted by the League called for Israeli withdrawal from all territories occupied since 1967 and return of the Palestine refugees to Israel in return for recognition of Israel and normal relations. The difference between the original and the adopted plan was that more emphasis was placed on the refugee issue.

The Arab peace initiative also required Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights and their return to Syria. The MidEastWeb claims that the United States was not interested in supporting any peace process with Syria as long as the Assad regime remained in place, and discouraged Israel from pursuing peace with Syria. It was not surprising that the United States, as well as Israel, were not enthusiastic about this initiative. Several key dignitaries, the king of Jordan and president of Egypt, did not attend the summit while Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat was prevented from attending by the Israeli government, therefore making the plan less credible. Israeli reaction to the plan was lukewarm. Beginning in 2006, the Arab peace initiative assumed new importance, as Arab states tried to get the Hamas government to agree to the initiative, which would grant legitimacy to Israel if it met Arab terms. The peace initiative became a marker for moderate Arab opinion, says the website.

The Geneva Accord
In 2003, Israeli opposition leaders, led by Yossi Beilin and Palestinians led by Yasser Abd-Rabbo, negotiated a draft agreement which is now known as the Geneva Accord. It stated that Palestinians will give up right of return of Palestinian refugees. While Israel gives up sovereignty over the Temple Mount and evacuates many settlements. Access to the Temple Mount would be regulated at the discretion of the Muslim committee. Israel gets to keep the Wailing Wall, the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus and the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem, as well as Maaleh Edumim and the Gush Etzion settlement block and settlements around East Jerusalem. The implementation of the accord would be overseen by an international committee, which would also ensure access to holy places,and security would be the responsibility of a multinational force, as stated by the document on Geneva Accord on the MidEastWeb.

Under the agreement about half of the 220,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank would have to evacuate their homes while the other half live in settlements that would be incorporated into Israel. The agreement makes no provisions whatever for Israeli Arabs living in portions of Jerusalem that will be given to the Palestinian authority. The Geneva Accord apparently intends to say that Palestinian refugees will be compensated and will be resettled in Palestine or other countries, with only a few coming to live in Israel. Some Palestinian negotiators immediately denied that the document gives up right of return. Eventually most Palestinian organizations condemned the Geneva Accord for giving up right of return. Israels government and the prime minister were quick to condemn the document. Yasser Arafat and the Fatah leadership cautiously welcomed the document. Jews objected to losing sovereignty over the temple mount and viewed it as excessive territorial concessions and ambiguous provisions regarding the right of return for Palestinian refugees, as pointed by Haaretz and other Israeli newspapers. Jews feared that if large numbers of refugees were allowed into Israel, they will constitute a majority because of higher Palestinian birth rate, and would put an end to Israel as a homeland as a Jewish people. Palestinian refugees, on the other hand, rejected the accord as they had to give up their right to return to their homes. Israeli Jews have also raised the issue of compensation for over 600,000 Jews who were forced to flee Arab countries and lost their property when the State of Israel was created. The Israeli government slammed the accords because they conceded much more than the government is willing to concede, and because they attempted to leapfrog the roadmap process,which was not supposed to discuss final status until a much later phase, says the document.

The Road Ahead
The true solution to the Palestinian refugee problem seems like an academic debate as no side is simply willing to give any room to the other. Israel has no motivation to push for peace as it has the upper hand in this conflict. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have nothing to lose, as anything gained in the process will be termed as progress. And as the time progresses, only one logical conclusion come to mind that Israel will slowly occupy all the territory and the water resources while the future generations of Palestinians will either be assimilated in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. It almost seems that only divine intervention in the holy land can break the current impasse.

Of the three peace proposals, the Road Map seems to be more objective and relevant specifically to the cause of refugees. It happens to be the most recent peace initiative which had the backing of United States, European Union (EU), United Nations and Russia or the Quartet as it became known. The Palestinians and Israelis also accepted the proposals albeit with major reservations. By dividing the proposals into clear cut phases it had a built in evaluation mechanism but instead of giving time lines performance should be the sole condition for progress between phases and for progress within phases, as pointed out by the Israelis in their response.

But all this does not means that only the Road Map peace proposals should be followed, going forward. First of all, common areas should be sought out in light of the previously signed accords and only those proposals should be put forth where there was no opposition from the either side.  In this way significant public approval can be gained. Israel should be made to comply with the agreement and its outlandish demands should be rejected. Continuous building of settlements on occupied territories has to be stopped immediately. Palestinian Authorities, on the other hand, have to empowered in order for them to function freely and to help de-escalate the cycle of violence spread by extremist organizations.
Also, in order to make the Israelis buy any peace measures in the future, specific incentive package has to be devised which should take into consideration Israels economic, social and security needs. Unless and until Israel is not compelled or coaxed, the road map for the future of Palestinian state looks bleak.
Unless and until the quartet does not put forth a serious and concerted effort this conflict is all set to linger on. Only when an equitable and just solution is put forth whereby the Palestinians are given their due share, will this peace process be deemed as a success.

There is also a strong need for people to people consensus on the future peace initiatives. Previously, almost all the accords were either put forward by various leaders but in the future, for any peace accord to be successful it has to be owned by the people. Therefore, a larger role is required for the non-government organizations both on local and international levels.

One more aspect has to be considered here, the Palestinian refugees have suffered since decades in refugee camps. Poverty and illiteracy has bred haltered against the Israelis and violent movements keep emerging from these camps. In order for any peace initiative to function in the future, economic stability and quality education have to be provided to these refugees. Israels demand for an immediate end to violent groups cannot be met by the Palestinian authorities simply because a weak authority cannot prevail over terror. This is an issue which will not go away in a couple of years as generations have lived and perished in this environment of hate and mistrust.

Moreover, as a prelude to peace, United Nations observers should be deployed along the Palestinian-Israeli border to monitor the cross border violations this step has long been resisted by the Israelis.
Now time is running out for both the Palestinians and the Israelis. While Israel keeps on suppressing Palestinians, the radical Muslim world deems this conflict as a religious war or jihad, whereby inciting more hatred amongst the faithful in order to pursue their own agendas.

Politics plays a significant role in our lives, more so as it is politics. Political thought, particularly that of gratification toward political realism which was accomplished at the beginning of the modern era and is associated with the name Machiavelli, is constantly arrested by that passage the prince which Machiavelli himself speaks out, the guiding principles underlying the whole of his observations. It is from such observation that such celebrated personalities as Machiavelli, who is commonly revered to due to his political epic as the prince and Aquinas, who in practice was more of a theologian than a philosopher, express their ideas in the captivating political piece On law morality and politics.

Exploring their position on both politics and religion, it is instrumental to assert that both men had unique observation of the core dispositions of politics as well as religion. It is on such analysis that ethical considerations are viewed on the context of reasons and principles that men find tolerable. It is prudent to state that Machiavelli in his capacity as a political writer rejected some of the common virtues linked to both man and God, hence, he cajoled that what men strive to get in religion is practically impossible. His conviction rested on the presumption that politics, not religion had the capacity to provide the much needed breakthrough. Thus, unlike Aquinas who dwelt more on principles of religion, and more so viewed virtue as one of the principal pillars of human dignity. While holding that, political philosophy is, in one reverence, simply that fraction or expansion of moral philosophy which reflects on the kinds of preferences that should be made by each and every one who share the accountability and ability of choosing for a society.

As a political theorist, Machiavelli noted Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been long established or they are new. Therefore, even matters pertaining to religion or virtue are imbedded in an individual from his roots. Thus, what the men of valor desire to achieve in the society, or the society they desire to build becomes impossible due to the vetted interests which can be as a result of these principalities or family ties which might be against.

To my knowledge, Machiavelli reflected on the dual concepts of religion and politics, his argument illuminated the subtle genesis of Christian virtues which are strongly imprinted in our social lives but makes it hard for a man to achieve his desires without the engagement of political authority in one way or the other. For instance, exploring the dissemination of the thoughts Aquinas had, it is variably established that he looked back, examined numeral social basics and more so raised some of the rudiment questions regarding humanity, including such issues as human nature, ethics and equally the precepts of law and politics.

 By exploring them through the scope of Christian faith in tandem with ancient philosophy, he attempted to restore the sovereignty of nature and reason, in total harmony with Christian faith. But unlike Aquinas who foresaw the dignity of Christian virtues as the greatest possibilities of building great societies, Machiavelli in his own right as a political theorist argued that

I answer that the principalities of which one has record are found to be administrated in two different ways either by a prince, with a body of servants, who assist him to rule the kingdom as ministers by his favour and permission or by a prince and barons, who hold that decorum by antiquity of blood and not by the elegance of the prince. Such barons have states and their own subjects, who distinguish them as lords and hold them in natural affection. (Machiavelli 1965)

Thus, he observed that political possibilities, not Christian virtues helped men to realize their dreams of a society. It is instrumental to argue that Machiavellis political theory represents a concerted effort to exclude issues of authority and legitimacy from consideration in the dialogue of political decision-making and political judgment.

This comes out very clearly in his treatment of the relationship between law and force. He acknowledges that good laws and arms constitute the dual foundations of a well ordered political system. However he also asserts that since coercion creates legality, he will concentrate his attention on force. He says that, Since there cannot be good laws without good arms, I will not consider laws but speak of arms (Machiavelli 1965, 47). This implies that the legitimacy of law rests on the threat of the coercive force and for him authority is impossible.

He asserts that it is always preferable to affection in subjects, just as violence is, and deception is superior to legality in effectively controlling them. He also observes that, one can say this in general of men they are ungrateful, disloyal, insincere and deceitful, timid of danger and avid of profit. Love is a bond of obligation which these miserable creatures break whenever it suits them to do so but fear holds them fast by a dread of punishment that never passes (Machiavelli 1965, 62).

 Machiavelli is not a friend to any religion and he particularly hated Christianity to the apex. His writings connote that conventional Christianity saps from human beings the vigor required for an active and civil life.

The Prince denotes with equal parts disdain and admiration about the condition of the church and its pope. (Machiavelli 1965, 44). Scholarly work has indicated that Machiavelli was profoundly antichristian, and favored the pagan civil religions of ancient societies such as Rome which, he said, fitted these societies and what they practiced in terms of culture.  Parel (1992) proposed that Machiavellis cosmos takes a pagan view towards life and is essentially against any form of Christianity.
However Sebastian (1989) has tried to help Machiavelli out of the criticism that he is against Christianity by writing that most of the writings of Machiavelli take a biblical teaching because he uses the lexical items the heavens and fortune which shows that he understands something to do with Christianity. Cary Nederman (1999) develops and adds weight to the assertions of Grazia by connoting how such central Christian theological doctrines as grace and free will be part of crucial elements of Machiavellis conceptual structure.

The philosophy of Aquinas displays several interesting issues when he is trying to illustrate the extent to which philosophy is a dialogue with thinkers from the past and in this way it is situated within a tradition. He has synthesized the Aristotelian philosophy towards Augustine. The Aquinas theory presents with doctrines that are to be adhered to and clearly to serve as guidelines to the Roman Catholic Church and those proclaiming for theology. Aquinas epitomizes the character of medieval thought and in doing so, exhibits the way thought reflects the socio-historic context of its generation. In the medieval period when Aquinas was writing this work, politics was dominated by the relationship of the church and the state.

All authority to govern any state was embedded in what the state thought of as good to the society and the church. The church therefore had a prime role in formulating rules and regulations that prevail in society. The highest good for Aristotle is found in the contemplation of truth and he believed this was the highest part of peoples because of humans dependence basically on intellect.

Aquinas took the contemplation of truth a notch higher by postulating that man, through seeking his end, participates in the very nature of God. This participation for Aquinas is the one connoting Grace and a person in the state of Grace posses certain powers which are referred by other people as virtues. Moreover, if they are infused virtues then they can be grouped into two i.e. theological values and cardinal virtues.

University was a school where citizens learnt displines like law, medicine and arts. The monks also learnt here and those who wanted to practice priesthood. All the students who were learning in universities were supposed to have some courses in religion because it was the way of life. Aquinas was brought up in times when the church had a lot of power in the society and later on, his writing were used to draw the university curriculum. Aquinas attached no importance to politics and believed that if people were to be guided by the biblical teachings then there was to be no need of any governing authority. And even if any existed then it would not be having any functions, as every citizen would be law abiding.

He highly criticizes the secular way of living and advocates that those who trudge in the road towards the same are not likely to proclaim the heavenly kingdom, therefore the works of Aquinas are more of theology and less of philosophy. Machiavelli is convinced that what are commonly thought of as the central Christian virtues, whatever their intrinsic value is, are insuperable obstacles to the building of the kind of society that he wishes to see a society which, he assumes, is natural for all normal men to wantthe kind of community that, in his view, satisfies mens permanent desires and interests.

Machiavelli also believes that it is not simply a question of the un-attainability of an ideal because of human imperfection, original sin, bad luck, ignorance, or insufficiency of material means. It is not, in other words, the inability in practice on the part of ordinary human beings to rise to a sufficiently high level of Christian virtue that makes it for them impracticable to establish and even to seek after the good Christian State.

The world economy has along history most of which has been dictated by prevailing economic thoughts of the times. Many economic thoughts have failed the test of times and have been irrelevant in solving various economic crises. Many countries have come to realize the importance of mutual relationship and global integration to achieve their economic goals. It is on these ground world has experienced major global economic shifts.

Over the last 30 years the world economy has experienced various economic shifts. U.S the world largest economy had many conflict with Soviet Union especially during cold war (1945-1991). The tension between these two superpowers was mainly on political, military and economic issues. Each of these countries endeavored to establish relations with as many countries as possible in the world. US sought to have allies especially with Western Europe and many developing countries in Africa and Asia. It is the activities of these two superpowers that dictated many shifts in the world economy.

The recent economic up rise of China also has a apart to play in world economic shifts. China has sought to intensify its economic relations with many countries in the world. The nowadays flow of China goods and services especially to African economies speaks a lot about China  efforts to create more economic relations with Africa  which constitute a large market to many of her products. Many countries have become members of various economic and political blocs which have regional and international scope. Many economies have realized that they cannot make it on their own. International trade among members of various international bodies has been intensified. Great innovations have also occurred due to high competition among different world economies.

Global Economic Shifts
Hill (1999) postulate that various global economic shifts have taken place over the past 30 years. The protectionism ideologies have no place in our current world economies. Many countries have liberalized trade and eliminated most of barriers to trade. Embargos, legal restrictions, tariffs and custom duties have been lightened to allow free flow of goods and services. Capital flow among various world economies has also been intensified.

Trade and investment across world economies has greatly increased. Developed economies like U.S, Germany, Britain, Italy, Sweden, Japan and Spain have been trading with developing economies especially with many African and. Asian countries which have deficit in capital stock. The integration of national economies to a global economic system is on progress. All players in international trade are being aided to exchange goods and services in the easiest way possible in terms of time and cost. Telecommunication has gradually been improved to ease communication among various people who are many miles away from each other.  Telecommunication systems have been improved a great deal. An economic agent in Africa can trade online with an economic agent in America.

Hill states that the liberalization policies and market mechanism have been embraced by many economies. Restrictions and regulations that hinder international trade have been reduced or scrapped off. Foreign investors are faced with fewer regulations from the host countries. Government controls have been minimized to a level that will ensure smooth flow of economic activities without compromising free market mechanism.

Shifts and global economy
It is apparent that many global economic shifts have been characterized with great transport and telecommunication innovations. One of these innovations is the development of microprocessor. The   functions of computers Central Processing Unit are incorporated in a microprocessor. Microprocessors have been used in information processing and carrying out various functions like calculations and arithmetic which has made work easy. Microprocessors have improved information processing. Huge data entered into a microprocessor can be

Processed into meaningful information in seconds. This has aided in making decisions concerning international trade.

The development of internet has also aided globalization of world economies. The internet simply defined as the worldwide interconnection of computers has converted world into a global village. Many economic agents in different economies have utilized trade opportunities offered through internet. An economic agent located in Asian economies can post hisher orders in the internet. These orders can be processed online by an economic agent located in U.S and transactions made online and international trade take place.
 
The development of jet air travel has reduced travel time. International trade on highly perishable goods like flowers has been made possible. Transportation of goods and people has been made faster. International labor mobility has been improved and made faster.

The change in world order
The democratic revolutions against communism saw the fall of Soviet Union which was dissolved by the former Russian president Boris Yeltsin in 1991. East Germany was reunited with western Germany and communism rule was done away with. Communism rule could not withstand great revolution in countries like Poland, Hungary Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Romania. The revolution against communism regimes was lead by political groups and civil societies who were opposed to the communism ideologies. U.S. policies to hinder expansion of Soviet Union in eastern and central Europe had succeeded. This marked the end of cold war. U.S economy has since sought to expand its economic and political relations with the countries which were under Soviet Union. She has been intensifying her support in terms of scientific and information technologies. Her culture has also been imparted to these countries. Many countries which were under Soviet Union have become independent. They are also no longer one political bloc. Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Belorusse, Estonia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Russia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan are no longer under Soviet Union. Czechoslovakia also split into two states which are Czech and Slovakia republics. Yugoslavia was split in 1991 after Slovenian and Croatia declared their independence. Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro were also formerly part of republic of Yugoslavia which was allied to Soviet Union. All these marked the disintegration of the powerful Soviet Union. Since then, U.S has become a superpower and she has a great influence to world economy.

Major non  violent demonstrations have occurred in China and Latin America. In China the civil activists have been pressurizing for more political freedom, extension of individual rights and shaping of national policies. They have been resisting forceful invasion and occupation by oppressive by communism regime. In Latin America many non-violent revolution have been witnessed. These revolutions have been pressurizing for political reform, eradication of corruption and dictatorship. Non-violent demonstration in Ecuador saw the overthrow of Lucio Gutierrez as a president. This pressure has lead to embracement of political systems which are more democratic. Free market economies have consequently been embraced in these countries. Free market economies on the other hand has encouraged global trade and eradicated many trade regulations.

The cease of U.S Domination Era
In our contemporary that many multinational companies have U.S as their mother country. In fact 60 to 70 percent of international business has been dominated by U.S. originated companies. These constitute 23 of direct investments to foreign countries by the US. However things have changed especially by 2002.The world has seen the rise of multinational companies from some developing countries which have also offered employment to people of the host countries. China and Brazil has contributed to this by 30 and 7.6 respectively.

Mini-Multinationals corporations have also been on rise. Their involvement in global trade has been on increase. Some multinational companies have been specializing in luxury lifestyle groups i.e. quintessentially. Multinational company like Lingo 24 has been offering translation services in various languages with employees in European countries, China, New Zealand and Parma. China, Brazil, India and Russia are examples of economies which have remarkably challenged US dominance in international trade.
China and India
 Much of today manufactured goods, services and employees are offered by either India or China. In fact big multinationals corporations like Adidas, Reebok and Nike have China as their country of origin. China is rated number three in export of auto manufacturing in the world.

The chain of global innovation also has much to count on Indians. HP, Cisco System, Computer simulation with3D, Google principal lab in Bangalore, General Motors, Boeing Co. and Motorola   are some of these innovations. These innovations are playing a great role in global economy.

Russia and Brazil
These two countries   have gradually been dominating raw materials supply. Russia is rated among the largest producers of gas, oil and aluminium which are spearheaded by Gazprom, Lukoil and RusAl respectively. The dominant producer of iron ore and soy is Brazil. DuPont, Dow Chemical Company and Monsanto Company uses soy beans from Brazil in manufacturing of chemical.

Conclusion
It is apparent that for the past 30 years notable global economic shifts have taken place.  Market mechanism has been developing in many economies of the world. The past world order with U.S and Soviet Union as contending super powers is gone. Great innovations in transport and communication sectors have made the world to be like a small village where transactions can be carried within a second. Regional and international blocs have been formed to enhance economic integration. The change in world order following disintegration of Soviet Union has enhanced economic globalization. The period of US Dominance Era has been widely being threatened and in fact its existence have become a thing of past. Developing economies have registered big growth in global economic contribution. The futures that await the world is world of high quality goods and services, great integration and dependence, great innovation and inventions

According to Roth (2008), we are entering a world historical situation where all track switches of social-economic and political life are newly aligned.  It is not unknown to anyone how small our world has come to feel or how we all become familiarized with the term globalization. Because of the growth in world trade and the business activities that accompany it as well as the developments of advanced technologies and telecommunication tools, it has become easier to travel around the world and communicate with people from every corner of the globe. This makes us perceive that the world has become smaller, where differences between countries and nations are vanishing continuously (Clark and Mathur, 2003). It is the process called globalization. Because the world has become so much smaller, one part of the world suffering from economic drawbacks can easily affect another part, especially if it comes from the country known to be a superpower, the United States. Another result of the heightened globalization of the world leads to the creation of the global culture. The global financial crisis should therefore have implicating effects on the global culture.

Global Culture
As a result of globalization, the McDonaldization theory claims that the culture of the United States has influence that flows from the country to the rest of the world to form a global culture. In other words, the emergent global culture is simply the exportation of the American culture to the rest of the world. According to Zwingle (1999), the process is not that easy. Global culture emerged because goods became easier to move around the world, which led to people moving around the world as well.

Consequently, ideas move making it possible for cultures to change into one global culture. The results of a global culture can be seen in the languages spoken around the world. It has been estimated that the numbers of living languages are decreasing significantly and by the 22nd century, half of the languages still being spoken today, will be lost (Davis, 1999). However, as the number of languages spoken increasingly decreases, the top 10 indigenous languages have become the languages of half of the worlds population. Instances where people around the world cannot understand each other by using any of these languages have become rare. People from the West can talk to the people of the East in some form of English, more or less. People can travel anywhere in the world and still find some ways to communicate with the locals and be understood through a certain language either learned by the traveler or the native. In fact, it is being observed that English is quickly becoming the most commonly taught second language for the emerging global culture, while other languages such as Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese are quickly catching up. This is a clear trend that there is a shift to the direction of fewer languages with greater geographic coverage, hence, forming a global culture (Bird  Stevens, 2003).

Aside from the languages, a global culture can be evidenced by the presence of products known and consumed by the whole world. The most obvious example of this is the Coca-Cola products. It is a world-renowned brand, and everyone knows Coca-Cola. In fact, according to Coca Cola (2002), the income it derived within the United States was only 30, and the rest comes from the different parts of the world. Another brand is Nestle. It proclaimed itself to be the Food Company of the World, and somehow, this is true. Almost every single country carries Nestle products (Nestle, 2003). The products are consumed all over the world. Same goes with Toyota. However, the Toyota Company did not originate in North America or even other Western European countries, it came from Japan. Still, it is presented on almost every market in the world (Toyota, 2003).  All these products, whether from the United States or not, reflect how the world has become smaller, where everyone finds the same products to fuss over and where peoples tastes have become streamlined. There are no more unique cultural tastes when it comes to soft drinks, ice creams or cars, so to speak.

Of course, an emerging global culture cannot be concluded just from having the similarities in tastes for food, drinks or cars. What is more significant is that the world seems to be moving towards a single worldview. This is largely what the media corporations are doing, such as the CNN, Wall Street Journal and many others. All these media outlets often spread common messages throughout the world. Even if they are attune to local needs and interests, and they regionalized themselves, the messages they send throughout the world often contain a single central voice. Same holds true for the worlds entertainment sources. Hollywood blockbusters are often well-received not only in America, but all over the world, and they dominate the theaters and video outlets more compared to the local films. In short, it could be seen here that even if diversity is not being restricted, the world is becoming more unified in various ways and becoming a homogeneous entity (Bird  Stevens, 2003). The global culture reflects people all over the world sharing commonalities in their daily experiences, from what they speak, wear, drink, eat, drive to what they believe in. Through shared experiences, a common culture is learned worldwide.  However, the explanation of how the global culture emerged cannot be dependent on these factors only. With mere exposure to the same things that are shown with the increased access to television, radio and other channels, a person does not immediately acquire a global culture (Bird  Stevens, 2003).

For example, even though an individual understands the Chinese culture and he or she is Filipino, this does not make him or her adopt the Chinese culture, no matter how desensitized he or she is with Chinese products, the Chinese language, Chinese movies and television shows and many other things. However, with the global culture, everyone seems to have acquired a penchant for English, Hollywood movies, American foods and others. This seems to suggest that some cultural attributes are more attachable than others, and some people are more prone to believe in certain cultures and adopt them rather than others. In other words, members of the global culture have attachments to certain individuals which is a matter of choice. It is up to a person to choose to be attached to certain members of the global culture and therefore become members of the global culture as well. Those, who are not willing to do so, will not be members of the global culture. The notion of the global culture comes from having shared experiences with other people from other parts of the globe and then deciding to adapt to these common experiences (Bird  Stevens, 2003).

According to Osland (1995), the expatriates could be said to be the real members of the global culture. The global culture gives the expatriates a common lens through which they can understand the world, and have a common set of values, norms and attitudes. Each expatriate understands what other expatriates feel, because they all share similar experiences of being an outsider, and then trying to adjust and fit in. Even though she focused on expatriates, the global culture is not limited to those who have moved from their origins (Bird  Stevens, 2003).

It is a myth to say that those who adapted to the global culture rejected their national cultures. In fact, they still behave within the cultural milieu they were born and raised in. However, people who have adapted to the global culture have certain common characteristics. These are being educated, well-informed and definitely knowledgeable about the world and the international affairs. These people are connected more than others. They possess the means to travel and communicate with other people from different parts of the world. If they possess the means to travel occasionally they physically interact with people of other race or culture, or they have the means to be connected via the net and virtually interact with everyone in the whole world. It can be both.

The people are naturally self-confident as well. They are equipped with the experiences of conducting themselves properly in the global world, and they already experience being successful at these endeavors so they feel self-assured. Since they feel that they have seen the world and others have not, and know the challenges and rewards from these experiences, they feel that they have the capability to overcome more challenges and obstacles that they will meet in their lives. They are also more pragmatic. They do not pay attention to theories, even though they know their importance. They rather accomplish things by acting immediately and find novel ways to solve problems.  Because they are more aware of what is happening in the world and they have elevated self-confidence, they do not view the differences between their culture and the others as obstacles to be intimidated about. These individuals tend to adhere to the democratic and participatory principles. They expect other people to be this way too. People who embrace the global culture tend to be more individualistic yet they are inclusive too. They know their identities more and they can act comfortably alone. However, all the actions they take are more geared towards the good of the more people rather than just a few. What is more, they rather include other people in their initiatives rather than exclude. They are flexible and open, and often trust people in the onset when initiating relationships because their experiences and knowledge of the world make them more tolerant to people from all walks of life (Bird  Stevens, 2003).

The global culture is seen as threatening to native culture (Harrison and Huntington , 2000). As the global culture grows bigger, many feel that the national culture is bound to disappear, such as the languages that are disappearing. A national culture is composed of a group of peoples sets of deeply held values and beliefs, with regard to what is good and proper in the world. For these people, this is the worldview. However, when this is threatened strongly from the outside, the only option they have is to adjust to the threats or collapse. Furthermore, the very fabric holding the national culture is being threatened by the tension between members and non-members of the global class. There is tension between the two groups because those who are not members of the global culture feel alienated from the larger world, yet they do not want to be incorporated in the larger world at all, which members of the global culture cannot understand them. Because the non-members of the global world do not possess the knowledge and experiences of those who are members, they do not receive global influences easily. Instead, they fear global influences and see these as alien and interfering. The global culture threatens national culture because it is overwhelming the national culture. Movements toward globalization are pushing national cultures away toward the periphery of irrelevance. Some critics claim that it would not be possible that one day, all people will be saluting to one flag and that nation states would be of no importance. In fact, as early as now, the increasing fragmentation of states and societies is already suggesting that the national culture is quickly decaying and making way for the global culture (Bird  Stevens, 2003).

Effects of Financial Crisis on Global Culture
From 2007 to 2009, the world was wracked with the biggest economic downturn ever have experienced in scale. It started in the United States, where the failure of the small-prime mortgage market essentially led to the failure of the whole economic system.  As increased economic interdependence among countries and the spread of global culture promote the spirit of cooperation and solidarity among states on the international stage, the crisis taking place in the United States quickly spread to other countries. Risk tolerance worldwide plummeted and the crisis spread to other global countries having global impact on various countries such as China and Japan. In the first quarter of the year 2009, Japans GDP suffered a 4 decrease while China, although was able to keep its year-on-year growth of 6.1, was already the first to respond with a major stimulus program to achieve this feat. Nonetheless, the target of 8 GDP growth was missed and the 10.6 rate achieved a year earlier was not seen any more (Petri  Plummer, 2009).

The global financial crisis is what everyone is now contending with, although the worst was over. People left and right were and still are losing their jobs, their houses, their savings, and their lives because of the crisis (NY Times, 2007).   The financial crisis that started from the worlds superpower had transferred from one country to another, and now in every corner of the world everyone is affected. The trigger for this credit crunch was the increasing defaults among the US holders of subprime mortgages starting from the last quarter of 2006 and towards the early 2007, which led to the failure of several large mortgage brokers from February to March 2007. This is no sudden matter, the credit crunch came as the climax of a long period of gravity-defying global imbalances and asset bubbles. Fear of recession had prompted the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low in 2001 up until the year 2006, and this in turn led to cheap and easy loans. The worlds financiers and business leaders looked to the US householders, the consumers of last resort, to maintain the global boom. With a wrong move, since very similar to Asian Financial Crisis, all these bubbles were set to burst at one point. However, sightings of these dire circumstances were only observed in the late summer. The first bank to report a problem was Deutsche Bank, when it was forced to bail out two property-based funds in July. At first the solution thought was to ask three of the Wall Streets largest banks Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and the Bank of America to set a fund so that a clear value for threatened assets can be established. However, this did not work (NY Times, 2007).

The end of 2007 noticed no change in the credit crunch situation, in fact, it got worse. The central banks all over the world are now trying their best to pump in money and stimulate liquidity. It has worked temporarily but was quick to go back to the ugly financial situation. Moreover, the banks are still unwilling to lend each other, and soon all the banks were in the same murky pools of bankruptcy and paralysis. A major credit crunch followed immediately (Summers, 2008). The consequences of the crunch led to deteriorating economic conditions, and hastened the United States toward an economic recession that was comparable to the Great Depression.

The consequences of the global financial crisis were severe because the effects did not correspond to one country but rippled throughout the world. A collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market and the reversal of the housing boom in other industrialized economies have had a ripple effect around the world (Shah, 2009). This led to the surfacing of several other weaknesses in the global financing system wherein products or instruments that were used financially were discovered to be quite complex and twisted, and when unraveled led to the further deterioration of the system. Banks started lending with higher interest rates and people who were enjoying their affordable mortgages started to get shocked at the turn of events. Some were not even ready. They began to find their mortgages harder to pay, or even impossible, yet they could not do anything about it because remortgaging could become more expensive. Recent home buyers started to feel regrets in their decisions to buy the house because the values of their homes are likely to fall and this means they are going to be left with a property which value is in negative equity. Other sectors, because of the credit crunch and higher costs of borrowing, started to impose job cuts. The natural tendency of consumers to cut back on their expenses would aggravate the situation even more as the businesses will struggle to survive from decreasing sales and profits. This would also lead to further job losses as companies close down or reduce their labor expenses (Shah, 2009).

The effects of the crisis were so severe ( and still are) that after the failure and buyouts of major institutions the Bush administration decided to offer a 700 billion bailout plan to revive the US financial system. It was not widely accepted at first, and even caused a lot of controversies. The public deemed that this bailout would only benefit the culprits while the ordinary people would be left to pay for their mistakes and misjudgments. Despite the hostile reception of the US people regarding the bailout, the whole world was still shocked that the US House of Representatives actually sided with the people and initially rejected the package. It was eventually passed but already add-ons to the bill to get the additional congressmen and women to accept the plan (Shah, 2009). The 700 billion bailout plan did not really change things much because even with its presence, banks were still reluctant to lend. As a result, the US as another attempt to revive the economy, announced another 800 billion stimulus package at the end of November, in which 600bn is marked to buy up mortgage-backed securities while 200bn will be aimed at unfreezing the consumer credit market (Shah, 2009).

Fast forward to year 2010, with the new President it gives a new hope that the global financial crisis would soon be over. The new president signed a stimulus package immediately.  However, his first action to revive the ailing economy is not without controversy. In fact, several economists were split in their views, and some of them rained the new President with criticisms left and right. The fiscal stimulus was intended to improve the economic activity during the time of economic weakness, which is to be made possible through increasing short-term collective demand. This package addresses different angles in a troubled economy. This is the centerpiece of the new U.S. government promising income tax cuts, reduction in Social Security withholdings, bolstering consumer spending, modernizing the economy, education and health care, among others. This is the most expansive unleashing of the governments fiscal firepower in the face of a recession since World War II (NYTimes).

The global financial crisis is far from over and the world is far from safe from another big shock. The United States and the rest of the world however are optimistic in their anticipation that this would smoothen out very soon. Of course, citizens all over the world are typically skeptic, but are now more or less adjusted to their new way of living. However, it is in the wishes of everyone that the economy would correct itself already, either by itself or by the decisions of experts and let them have their old lives back.

Because of their strengths, countries such as China, Japan and the United States have the ability to take advantage of their policy capacity to undertake expansionary measures. They conducted structural interventions in finance as well as various approaches of monetary and fiscal easing. The rest of the world was not that lucky. Eichengreen and ORourke (2009) showed that in comparison with the rest of the world, after the worst was over, the three economies looked very strong compared to the other countries. This reflects their ability to implement economic policies. The currencies of other countries, for example, Korea and Indonesia, the UK and the Eastern Europe have depreciated substantially (Petri  Plummer, 2009).

The global financial crisis tells us that the world economy is a very vulnerable structure.  The shock experienced by the world economy tells us that there are already high levels of interdependence in the world, yet there are still low levels of policy cooperation and oversight. It highlights global culture that was quickly emerging, which adds to the quick contagion effect of the crisis. Although the United States, China and Japan were able to recover their economies, the other countries are left behind. The US, China and Japan have worked together to counter the effects of the crisis from becoming more aggravated, yet it has been observed that their cooperation with each other was just ad-hoc and uncoordinated. Therefore, there were concerns of the vulnerability still of the world economic system, especially if they are the only countries that can probably withstand such shocks again (Petri  Plummer, 2009).

It has been argued that the economic crisis highlights the lack of cooperation that would allow for the reduction of the risk of future crises, and for managing the various challenges that could possibly emerge in an interdependent global economy. Each economy is getting smaller, and they are getting more vulnerable to risks from collective shocks. The world should invest in greater cooperation and international surveillance. Therefore, it can be said that although the financial crisis has become global because of the great interdependence of the countries with each other, this cooperation should still be increased because it is the only way to avoid further shocks, this time with increased international surveillance. Some nations would abhor being subjected to external intrusion or intervention in their policy space, but the financial crisis showed that all countries, even the United States, can benefit if there is greater external scrutiny of their policies (Petri  Plummer, 2009).

Because of the economic crisis, a pattern of negative homogenization may be perceived (Roth, 2008). The working and living conditions have deteriorated throughout the world, however the regional differences in proletarian living standards have also deepened significantly. Multicultural workers in the metropolitan neighborhoods are perceived to be better off than those who work in the outskirts of the cities.  Negative homogenization can ensure out of the hardships the global financial crisis has brought. People will be more inclined towards fixation on religious promises of salvation, and the submitting to mafia-type of patronage. A new global culture based on these can emerge. These tendencies can fortify the inclinations toward patriarchal and ethno-political regression in the whole world (Roth, 2008).

Another effect of the global financial crisis is the acquiring of new sets of beliefs, values and behavior that would constitute as a new global culture. The emerging global culture has been more about the values of the United States being exported to other nations. Because the crisis has originated there and showed that there are some forms of instability in the United States, they might be more appealed to another emerging culture. Some cultures are more adaptive at being economically successful, and usually these are the cultures that people become adaptive to because their population movements often go there where the money is as well as the greener pastures. It has been the case that national cultures being shed for the global culture only take place more in countries where poverty is heightened. A national culture that could not deliver economic success would be viewed as less successful than another culture that is more wealthy and prosperous economically. Therefore, although this would not take place overnight, the fact that the United States has crumbled at some point and some people will adapt to other cultures that deem stronger, a new form of the global culture could possibly take place (Roth, 2008). It could be concluded therefore that even with the financial crisis, the global culture would not just disappear overnight even people find it the main reason why the crisis has spread all over the world quickly. It can only change in form, but there is still a possibility that the national and regional cultures would still be on their way to obsolescence.