Whisper Campaign

A whispering campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo is spread about the target. The source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them. In open societies its mainly considered unethical, particularly in matters of public policy. The media has created an easier way to be able to succeed as well increase the public awareness. Whisper campaigns are defended in some circles as an efficient mechanism for underdogs who lack of other resources to attack the powerful. Many alcohol and tobacco companies use whisper campaigns to promote their products since the early 20th century.

AIG

    The American International Group, AIG, almost went bankrupt in 2008. The cause as to why they failed was never fully discovered, but there are many hypotheses as to why it happened. The biggest reason researchers think AIG failed was because they owed a lot of collateral to their credit default swap partners. AIG was making deals with these credit default swap partners and in trading of loans, they eventually had to pay them money. However, AIG did not think they would ever have to pay the money because AIG only had to pay the money back to the credit default swap partners if their credit rating level went below a certain level. AIG trusted their credit rating level not to get below a certain point, but eventually, it did and AIG had to pay collateral, that they didn't have, to their credit default swap partners.


    AIG was so connected among American companies that if it collapsed it would bring down other major investing companies. Therefore, the government decided to bail out AIG with a $85 billion two-year loan. Also, the government took 75% of the company and was able to veto any important decisions made by the new members of AIG management. AIG paid $165 million in bonuses to its executives after receiving the loan. Many people were angered at this and even sent death threats to the executive. Finally, the US Treasury Department, in 2012, sold all of its shares of AIG and made a $22.7 billion profit.

Bernie Madoff

    Bernie Madoff is responsible for the world's largest Ponzi scheme. Madoff pulled the stunt off as the head of the Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities. A Ponzi scheme is where Madoff would promise employers huge payouts if they invested in him, but then Madoff would back out at the right moment and take all the money with him. The scheme was going well until the Great Recession during the late 2000s exposed Madoff. The Great Recession proved to his employers that he didn't actually have all the money he promised people he had. Madoff is currently serving the 10th year of his 150-year sentence.

    Madoff began his career as a penny stock trader which he paid for by working as a lifeguard and a sprinkler installer. From there, Madoff receiver a 50K loan from his father-in-law and began his business of Bernard L Madoff Investment Security. His firm functioned as a third-market provider such that he could bypass exchange specialist firms by directly executing ordering over the counter. Madoff also had government connections because his parents served as leaders of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. The SIFMA served as the primary securities industry organization. Madoff also funded a lot of federal candidates and in return received got partially reimbursed for his support.

Enron Scandal

At its peak Enron boasted over 100 billion dollars in revenue and its price per share was $90.75. However on December 1, 2001 Enron declared bankruptcy and the price per share dropped all the way to $0.26 which affected thousands of employees and Wall Street. The reason why Enron collapsed over night was because the leadership lied to regulators about their earnings. They would hide any financial losses from investors. For example Enron would build an asset and immediately claim the projected profits from the asset when in reality the asset didn't make any money yet. With this tactic Enron appeared to be a no risk investment for investors.

Former CEO of Enron Jeffery Skilling

Linda Brown

A young girl named Linda brown who was about 7 year old who lived in Topeka, Kansas had a tough time getting to school. At first she had to walk a mile to get to the bus stop, but the bus ride took awhile to get to school and she had to do this every morning which she was confused about because there was another good school about 7 blocks from her house but little did she know that the school in Topeka was segregated. The school closest to Linda was a white school but Linda is black, so her father finally had to do something, The court system and civil rights activists started to take care of the segregated schools.

Segregation in American Life

Racial segregation have been known throughout everywhere. Black people were forced to behave in an uncertain matter, they were treated like a lower class and wasn't respected as an equal. Black people around other black people they can act normal but when it comes to talking or interacting with white people, they feel inferior to them and can't do anything about it. Even if people black people tried to make eye contact with white people, they tend to look at the ground or if they accidentally touched/bumped into white people, black people would be charged with "innapropriate behaviors". So black people had to adapt on how they were being treated and moved on with their lives because they could not do anything about it and they just accepted on what happens to them.

The Assassination of Bin Laden

Nearly a decade after 9/11, the United States Military was finally able to track down and kill Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011. The operation took place after years of calculated planning and training. In 2007, US intel officials found the name of one of Bin Laden's couriers, who was suspected of involvement with the alleged terrorist. 3 years later in 2010, analysts had linked the courier to a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Air footage of the compound showed unusual and extensive security features, which prompted suspicion that it may have been one of Bin Laden's hideouts. On April 29, 2011, Seal Team 6 was authorized to carry out a practice raid on a life-size replica of the compound in Pakistan. Finally, Operation Neptune Spear was launched in the early morning hours of May 2, 2011. The mission in itself began at 3:30 pm. Only 9 minutes later at 3:39 pm, Bin Laden was located on the third floor of the compound and was shot dead in the head. The operation resulted in no casualties on the side of the United States and was considered very successful. The death of Bin Laden affected the world on a global scale and represented for many Americans the justice that was served for what happened on 9/11. It was also a turning point of the war because Bin Laden was a symbol of Al Qaeda and wiping him out would greatly advance the war in favor of the United States.

Below is a picture of the compound in which Bin Laden was hiding from an aerial view.