Panama Papers

Panama Papers HUGE LEAK OF INFORMATION REVEALS WHAT WORLDS ELITE WANTS TO HIDE Tax evasion in the form of offshore accounts and companies has been relatively common among the wealthy elite for a long time. The Panama Papers have revealed the extent of the corruption involved. The law firm and corporate services provider Mossack Fonseca has been protecting its clients’ information for a long time, and there has been a tremendous offshore records leak as of late. The massive leak of documents that have come to be known as the Panama Papers, because Mossack Fonseca is based in Panama, have revealed that the world’s wealthy elite has been evading taxation and committing fraud to a degree that has stunned the whole world. These papers have provided authorities with information on 214,488 offshore actors. FINANCIAL REWARDS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN EMPLOYEE LOYALTY The People Implicated by the Panama Papers The Panama Papers are truly shocking in terms of their scope. There are 11.5 million records here, and they are full of the accounts of illegal activities of billionaires, drug traffickers, politicians, professional athletes, and celebrities. Football player Lionel Messi and famous actor Jacki Chan are among their ranks. There are at least 128 public officials and politicians involved, including the king of Saudi Arabia, six members of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, and the prime ministers of Pakistan and Iceland. More than two hundred people with American addresses alone have shown up in these documents. In many cases, the families of politicians were involved, such as the children of the Azerbaijan president. At least 33 of the people and companies that have been implicated have been involved with terrorist organizations, rogue nations, or drug lords. One bitterly ironic facet of the scandal is the fact that public leaders who have become famous for trying to end corruption have also been involved. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s family is connected to the documents, as is the father of British Prime Minister David Cameron. It is possible that some of these people are victims of circumstances and that they have not benefited from the shady dealings of their families, but it is equally possible that they partly managed to get away with what they did because it was through their family members. It does seem that a great deal of these people have been using trusted individuals to take the risk when it comes to laundering money for them, particularly people like President Putin. At this point in the scandal, some of the people accused or involved with those who were accused are coming forward. Overall, they have been trying to weasel out of their responsibilities. Vladimir Putin has said that the allegations were just designed to discredit the people involved and cause instability in Russia. The Icelandic prime minister has resigned over this scandal, and this scandal may change Iceland’s public image for a long time. HOW HUMAN DIGNITY IS VALUED WITHIN THE ACADEMIC SPHERE Mossack Fonseca’s Involvement In an International Corruption Scandal Up until recently, Mossack Fonseca was an obscure corporate service provider and law firm that was located in Panama but with a few dozen branches and offices throughout the world. It is the fourth largest offshore law firm in the world, but it never really rose to prominence in the general public consciousness. Today, this is a law firm and corporate service provider that is going to go down in history as being one of the most infamous and corrupt organizations in the world. There are lots of documents to go through that will illuminate exactly what Mossack Fonseca did for their clients. However, overall, they worked to keep a huge amount of information related to their clients’ financial records secret. They have removed paper records and erased electronic records in the wake of potential legal troubles for their clients. They backdate documents in order to help their clients cheat in financial transactions. In fact, clients have actually paid them to backdate documents, so there is no doubt that many of these clients knew about this practice and actively encouraged it. Law firms are allowed to give their clients a high degree of confidentiality, but it is safe to say that Mossack Fonseca has abused that privilege in every way. The International Community Responds to the Panama Offshore Records Leak The Panama Papers scandal is shaping up to be one of the defining moments of the twenty-first century. The international community has jumped on it. Journalists all around the world are working together in order to investigate Mossack Fonseca more thoroughly. This issue has managed to bring journalists together in a way that was completely unprecedented. Law enforcement officials from all over the world are launching their own investigations into Mossack Fonseca and everyone connected to the law firm. Brazil has been particularly active when it comes to uncovering the scandal and bringing the people responsible to justice. They are investigating former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and current president Dilma Rousseff may lose her position as a result of this scandal. Employees at the Brazilian office of Mossack Fonseca have been arrested, and Brazil is continuing to respond to this problem. Other countries that have Mossack Fonseca offices are launching more of their own investigations. ACADEMIC INTELLECTUAL IN POLITICS This scandal has tremendous implications for people all around the world. High London property prices have been linked to the fact that these wealthy people have been able to buy up the best properties in the area while evading the local taxes and using cached wealth. Some people have discussed this issue in terms of the Great Recession, wondering about the link between ongoing economic troubles and the Panama Papers. Of course, the scandal has also revived the old debate about privacy and access to information in a technological society, with some people raising concerns about the broader implications about the leak and not just the results of the leak. Other sources are celebrating the incident as an example of a new form of activism that is only possible in the Information Age, and which will stop the rich and the powerful from guarding all of their ignoble secrets. The situation raises all sorts of questions about the amount of wealth that has been siphoned away from governments all around the world as a result of all of this offshore tax evasion. Norway, Spain, Germany, Australia, and France are all looking into the issue from the taxation perspective, partly in the hopes of recovering some of the money that their respective governments are owed. There is no telling how all of the recovered wealth might affect the economy, or whether the costs of the investigation are going to counteract all of the potential financial benefits.

How Christians Belief about Jesus Guides them to Confront Evil Essay

How Christians Belief about Jesus Guides them to Confront Evil - Essay Example In Romans chapter twelve verse seventeen, Christians are told; â€Å"repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all† (Rom 12: 17). When abiding by this command, in real life, Christians choose to forgive and forget. Take an example of this situation. Jane and Catherine have been friends since childhood. They live together and share expenses. They contribute the same amount to pay rent, do some shopping and buy other household items. One time, the two decided that it was time for them to live separate lives. To help each other, they agreed to buy the household items in two phases, using the money they had saved. Jane was to receive the first batch, and Catherine the last. This, however, never happened since Jane bought the first batch and left with all the money to an unknown location. This is a painful experience for Catherine, and naturally, she may feel the urge to revenge. The Christian way, however, advocates for forgiveness. They use so many of Jesus’ teachings and others from the Bible to justify forgiveness. In this case, they could argue, that the â€Å"wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord (Romans 6:23).† This is according to Romans chapter six verse twenty-three. If one is a believer in Christ, he or she should refrain from acting against his teachings. Doing so is a sin, and that means death. Evil is not only through revenge. Evil is multi-faceted and dealing with it is also complex.

Phylogeny Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Phylogeny - Research Paper Example According to recent studies involving molecular analysis of 18S rRNA/DNA, paraphyly was evident in Porifera. It showed that Calcarea (calcareous sponges) appear to have closer affinities to other metazoans than fellow poriferans the siliceous sponges (both Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) which inevitably showed a great amount of radiation between these two groups (Adams, McInerney and Kelly 34). These new findings actually go a long way in supporting earlier calls for the subdivision of the phylum into two. More empirical data on molecular analysis in particular of 18S rRNA/DNA was provided which showed that there is a stronger affinity between calcareans and ctenophorans than that which is between calcareans and other poriferans. Poriferans (sponges) have always been regarded as the basal living metazoans that are monophyletic as far as phylogenetic studies are concerned. The various relationships of organisms at the metazoan tree base remain largely unknown despite the fact that n ew trends of triploblast systematics are emerging which provides a clear picture of the lineage. According to previously done classifications, these basal metazoan organism have been put in different relationships using several markers except one relationship; monophyly. Earlier analyses of the basal metazoans (sponges, placozoans, cnidarians and ctenophores) have almost unanimously agreed that cnidarians and ctenophores have more close ties or relations with triploblasts than they have with the sponges (poriferans) (Hooper and Willenz 11). In traditional phylogenetic schemes the ACANTHOCEPHALA, ENTOPROCTA, GASTROTRICHA, GNATHOSTOMULIDA, KINORHYNCHA, NEMATODA, NEMATOMORPHA, PRIAPULIDA and ROTIFERA were grouped together as aschelminths or pseudocoelomates. Discuss why we no longer support a taxon of ASCHELMINTHES and discuss how those phyla are now grouped. Aschelminthes was used to refer to assemblage of polyphyletic meiofaunal sized animals which included several phyla. However the legitimacy of Aschelminthes as a taxon was questioned on the basis of lack of morphological as well as molecular evidence. Currently, these organisms have been declassified into separate phyla. It is sometimes useful to use the term Aschelminthes to refer to all previously organisms that were classified under it. On top of this, it has not been agreed upon whether the formerly known organisms in this group make up a monophyletic group. To complicate matters further, it has not been decided on which phyla to place the Aschelminthes. According to recent morphological studies, the Aschelminthes was described as possibly having two clades (Aguinaldo 490). The two clades are gnathiferans that are hypothesized to contain a newly formed taxon Micrognathozoa while the other clade is Introverta. The second clade of Introverta is thought to be a possible link between Scalidophora and Nematoida. There is a possible remote relation between the introvertans and the panarthropods but for the gna thiferan clade, it has not yet been established if it falls within the bilateral organisms for certainty. Both gastrotrichs and chaetognaths phylogenetic placements are equally unsettled owing to unsettled issues in phylogenetic analyses. There has been a relation between Gastrotrichs and Nematoida, gnathiferans and introvertans. However, more close affinity between Gastrotrichs and introvertans than the others has been recognized and led to the formation of a clade called Nemathelminthes or

Exam question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exam question - Essay Example In the depression period of 1930s, the economy in majority of the countries was down and cases of massive corruption were reported all over. Canada at this period became centralized in order to consolidate all its resources for easier distribution to everyone and it did this through social welfare system. The Canadians at this point were unemployed and the new government under the rule of Bennet came up with Dominion Unemployment Relief, a legislature meant to provide people with relief as a form of social welfare service (Ferguson 34). Social services like hospital care and insurance, old age services offering people work at minimal wages in relief camps were provided by the government in order to ensure everyone got the services despite the depression looming at this point and unemployment being the order of the day. After the Second World War, people lost their jobs and had nothing more to do until the Korean War. The government therefore as a way to sustain its people continued with the centralized government and also continued with the social welfare it had carried out during the depression period. The family allowance Act ensured that parents received monthly payments to take care of their children. The government had provided social welfare services to its citizens after the depression by giving them employment and this also took place after the Second World War. People still wanted the government to continue with the social welfare program after the Second World War, and this put pressure on the government to continue. Under the governance of Louis St. Laurent which is the one that experienced most of the social pressure, there was initiation of social welfare services like public housing, federal hospital grants and also assistance programs for the disabled in the society. Changes in the pension and old age security and where even the aboriginal people were offered cash benefits were also experienced. The private charities which were offering

Article # 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article # 1 - Essay Example There has been a need by health care providers to eliminate duplication, reduce hospitalizations and improve coordination; this has also played a role in escalating cost of financing health care operations. Introduction of point-of-care management case has been crucial in lowering the operational cost in health care facilities as there are few hospital readmissions. Anna (2012) indicates that the strategy has given solid return on investments. Health care providers with strong market heft can negotiate better on high physician services, unlike independent doctors. Despite efforts to conserve energy, there is still a high rate of energy consumption by health care providers, this leads to escalating operational cost because energy is a necessity in the provision of health care (Anna, 2012). Making a personal opinion, the health care facilities will cut down their operational cost by changing their business model to accommodate the changes in technology and the high patient rate. On a rather positive note, there has been a downwards forecast on the spending of Medicare, and this trend will continue for life sciences. Health care operations costs have been on the hike rating the increase at about 50 percent. Partnering by the health care providers would help lower costs and the quality of services (Anna,

Answer the questions in Bold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Answer the questions in Bold - Essay Example Clinicians can gain recognition for quality care knowledge of conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. They may also take obtain acknowledgement of quality in other aspects of the profession, such as providing patient-centered, up-to-date practice. Employers can receive accreditation for quality health plan coverage, and a variety of care organizations (HMOs, diabetes care, promotion) can received extensive evaluations that are tailored to the quality standards associated with each area of the medical industry (Pawlson, & Lee, 2010). Patients/consumers are necessarily impacted by virtually every service provided by the NCQA, being the end users of the entire profession. While there are understandably no accreditation or recognition programs available for the public, there are materials and projects that are directly aimed at the general population. The NCQA works directly with the government at both state and federal levels to work toward providing the highest quality of health services throughout the country. In addition, there are a variety of educational resources available through the association that serves to inform the public of the many challenges and improvements associated with the delivery of health care. As should be expected from any organization concerned with quality, the NCQA is regularly and repeatedly evaluated. They use a standard formula of measurement, analysis, improvement, and continual repetition. This system is important for both regulation within the organization, and in the development of quality assurance programs. The measurements used to judge their own performance comes from a variety of national health care indicators. Given the scope of the NCQA, data from throughout the nation is valuable in the assessment process, and may come from a number of sources. The organization conducts its own

Academic Models in Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic Models in Strategic Management - Essay Example There are numerous techniques and approaches that support strategic decision making, like PEST, SWOT, portfolio matrixes, life cycles, value chain concepts and many others. The most important aspect of these academic tools is to â€Å"what extent [these tools] enhance or inhibit creative competitive strategy making in organizations† (Clark, 1997, p. 417). Some authors argue (Eilon, 1980, cited by Clark, 1997, p. 418) that there is an absence of strong focus on academic tools because they play a secondary role being â€Å"the means to an end, not an end in [itself]†. Still, the usage of academic business models should not be underrated, because these promote the development of â€Å"strategic thinking in organizations† (Clark, 1997, p. 418). Strategic management tools perform basically a â€Å"support role† (Clark, 1997, p. 418) in the strategic management process. This is so, because academic instruments offer useful insights into the benefits of different strategies and suggest a more systematic approach towards strategy implementation. These tools provide information generation, framework for analysis, also coordination and control mechanisms (Clark, 1997, p. 418). Further on, schemes and visualized models have the benefit of presenting ideas, model relationships and help management identify opportunities and co nvict others about the usefulness of suggested strategies. 2. The use of tools during the different strategic management stages Academic models are visible throughout the strategic management process, from planning and defining of mission and purpose to crafting different strategies and strategy execution and evaluation (Thompson et al, 1996, p. 3). Situation analysis Analysis of the business environment is regarded "as a fundamental part of the strategic management planning process" (Pickton, 1998, p. 102), because academic strategists have realized that environmental changes are constant and unavoidable. A research undertaken by Clark (1997) points out that for many companies environmental analysis includes evaluation of remote environment, meaning PEST analysis; and evaluation of the companies' operating environment, meaning competitors, customers, markets, suppliers and stakeholders. PEST and Porter's five forces model are basically similar tools for environmental audit and are ranked in the top set of tasks in UK (Clark, 1997, p. 423). In an increasingly diverse competition, industries are no longer viewed as isolated independent markets. This makes the application of the Porter's model insufficient, because it "tends to be focused on the single industry or strategic business unit", which means that it's much narrower in its scope. Another largely used academic tool is SWOT analysis, which is regarded as the simplest "easy-to-use technique for getting a quick overview of a firm's strategic situation" (Thompson et al, 1996, p. 92). SWOT is praised for its simplicity and practicality and is widely adopted uncritically (Pickton et al, 1998, p. 101); it underscores the basic principle that strategy must be a good fit between a company's internal capabilities and its external situation. Authors like Farjourn (2002) observe that SWOT is only suitable to a stable and predictable world. Too simplistic adoption of SWOT is reflected by the fact that most academic papers review it as a static strategic framework (Pickton et al, 1998, pp. 102-103); academicians simplify it to a list of factors and fail to conduct further analysis, which limits the usability of the model. Another tool, the value chain concept is a "primary analytical tool of strategic cost analysis"; it identifies costs and value drivers for primary and