Antiquated Nemesis

An in-depth study of the novel The Rebel by Albert Camus. This paper examines Albert Camus novel The Rebel. The paper discusses the philosophical concepts that are present in Camus writing and supports these ideas with other philosophers writing, such as Thomas Paine and Nietzsche. This paper is well-researched and written at a high level by bringing together philosophy and literature. Table of Contents I. A Child Prometheus: The Irrelevancy of Antiquity II. The Post-Apocalyptic Reflecting God III. The Monkey, the Man, Then the Gun: A Perusal of Modern Philosophy IV. The Meridian: The Atom of Eden The Rebel, by Albert Camus, is a distinctly modern book. There is very little written here that would have been defensive, or even coherent, in the light of the world as it was just 200 years ago. This is a book illuminated by the informed by the libraries of Nuremberg and illuminated by the fires of St. Petersburg and Hiroshima. It takes most of its subject matter from the intelligent and passionate perusal and perusal of the greatest works of romanticism, nihilism, and revolution in philosophy, art, and history. It seeks to comprehend and encompass physical and metaphysical history, yet with the entire goal of transcending it. Hence there is no set of teachings presented, no artwork or philosophy portrayed, which is not taken with a lovingly ironic grain of salt, approached not only with awe but also an expression of trembling hesitation. This transcendent discrimination is applied as surely and gently to Nietzsche and the Bible, and even extends its light to the classical works of which Camus is obviously so fond.

The Clask Between the FBI and the Branch Davidian Cult Research Paper

The Clask Between the FBI and the Branch Davidian Cult - Research Paper Example This concluded with an initiative from the FBI which involved gas grenades being thrown into the structure. At least 75 members of the cult died in the resulting fire. This essay considers the role which the FBI played in this confrontation, whether the results needed to occur the way they did, whether there was bias involved and who is to blame for the deaths. It is proposed that the FBI acted in a more violent manner than was needed and did not consider alternative options. As a consequence, the tragedy that occurred may have been avertable. History The Branch Davidians are a religious group that grew from the Seventh-day Adventist church. The cult was founded by Victor Houteff in 1930 following being exiled from the Seventh-day Adventists. Houteffin took the passage in revelation which reveals that 144,000 will be saved. The term Davidian came from Houteffin’s belief that he would establish a new kingdom in the manner to that of King David in the Old Testament, and that he himself was similar to David. This group existed as the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association until 1960. At this point in time Houteffin had been dead for five years and his wife had taken control of the association. She prophesied that the 22nd of April, 1959 was a day that was marked in revelation, which could possibly represent the return of Christ, the beginning of judgments on the world, and the beginning of the Davidic kingdom. The day passed without incident and this resulted in disillusionment by many of the followers, eventually resulting in the total collapse of the cult. Following the dissolution of the cult, Benjamin Roden built a faction claiming that the sign that was meant to occur on the April 22 was his arrival. He named this the Branch Davidians, and led the group until his death in 1978. Following this leadership passed to his wife, and then to their son, George, on her death. George considered himself to be divinely appointed, and eventually considered hims elf to be the messiah. Like Houteffin, Vernon Howell (also known as David Koresh) was originally from a Seventh-day Adventist Church. He entered the compound of the Branch Davidians in 1981, clashing consistently with Roden. The tension between the two eventually led to Koresh leaving the compound, and subsequently joined by other members of the group. The conflict did not cease, and in 1987 it culminated in a night raid by Koresh and seven followers of the Roden compound. Roden claimed that Koresh was attempting to murder him, yet despite this claim, Koresh and his men were not sentenced, while Roden was incarcerated for six months.This incarceration gave Koresh the chance to assume leadership of the compound. It was at this compound, in 1993 that a violent and bloody clash occurred between the Branch Davidians and the FBI. The Conflict On April 19, 1993 a confrontation took place between members of the Branch Davidian cult and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) at the Waco, Texas Branch Davidian compound. The aim of the raid was to look for evidence of child abuse by David Koresh, and to search for illegal weapons which were suspected to be on the premises. The raid resulted in violence and exchange of gunfire where six cult members and four agents were killed. This prompted a 51 day standoff between the cult members and the BATF, who were quickly replaced with the FBI. This stalemate was ended with a second raid, which resulted in the compound being burnt and at least 75 members of the cult were killed a third of which were children under the age of 15. Koresh was also killed in the fire .The outcome of the raid prompted many different responses, with some people blaming the FBI for the death of the cult members, while others considered that the Branch

The hedge fund and private equity capital raising environment in EU Essay

The hedge fund and private equity capital raising environment in EU - Essay Example Most hedge funds establish and organize themselves as limited partnerships because of the flexibility that it allows them. In order to withdraw funds investors have to give notice of 30 days or more. There are approximately 7,000 hedge funds with market values of US$1 trillion. According to McCaherty and Vermeulen (n.d.) hedge funds take a variety of forms and are characteristic of the pursuit of high returns and the use of leverage to enhance the return on their investment. In recent times hedge funds and private equity have come to represent a significant part of financial activities in the financial markets in Europe, USA and Asia. The sizes of these investments are large as they continue to grow. Fund managers use a number of strategies, traditional techniques and a number of instruments such as equity, debt, options, futures and foreign currencies. In recent times hedge fund managers have engaged in high risk investment strategies including currency trading, credit derivatives a nd restructurings in order to obtain above normal returns on their investments Private Equity Private equity fund managers invest mainly in unregistered securities. However, in recent times they have been engaged in taking private a number of publicly listed companies. They use a number of different investment strategies with varying levels of liquidity. Private Equity Firms are not only involved in providing funds for new and developing companies but they are also engaged in the provision of funds for corporate restructuring, management buy-out and leveraged buy-outs. One Writer attributes the emergence of the buyout fund as the dominant style of investment to favorable credit market conditions, a large supply of loan funds and low interest rates, changes in the preferences of investors, a large number of publicly listed private equity vehicles and the increase in the demand for alternative assets by institutional investors such as pension funds. Brigham and Ehrhardt (2005, p. 664) indicates that â€Å"in a going private transaction the entire equity of a publicly held firm is purchased by a small group of investors that usually includes the firms current senior management.† There are usually two ways in which this transaction is carried out. In one instance the managers acquire all the equity of the company and in the other it does so with a small group of investors who set the previous managers to manage. These are referred to as management buy-out (MBO) and management buy-in (MBI) respectively. This process normally involves substantial borrowings and is therefore described as Leveraged buyouts (LBO). Another term which is normally used is â€Å"taken private† which relates to a buyout of a public company and in the process removing it from the stock exchange listing, and therefore transforming it into a private firm (Fraser-Sampson, 2007). Public companies are normally taken private because they have the potential of providing substantial ca sh flows to investors as the shares are currently undervalued on the stock market. The managers see the potential of â€Å"significantly boosting the firm’s value under private ownership† (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2005, p. 664). This means that companies taken private have the potential of enriching not only the managers who take part in the buyout but the public shareholders who are often offered prices higher than the going market