Cap Phantom

Hasan Yahya, Ph.D

 As a tourist, you may think that Europeans have good knowledge about America and Americans. After few days, you discover some misconception as true, and other misconceptions are false.

This article will describe several misconceptions about America in general and Americans in particular. Some are true or closer to be true, while other misconception are not true. Americans are fatty people, they talk loud, America is careless toward other nations, especially the Europeans. They show that they are Americans, or short answer: USA, instead of saying the United States of America. Americans have no passports.  Americans are ignorant in geography like Europeans,  Americans usually do not answer a question, instead they ask question to the question. I am from Michigan, Americans say. When they are asked, Michigan where is it? They say the State as if persons know. The annoying phrase for South American and north American people is when Americans say I am from America, not from the USA.

However, there are misconceptions which can be described as false about America and Americans. For example, The social system in America is different from the European social systems. Americans are socialists, or having a dictator. People in Europe tend to think that Americans think as Europeans, but the president has the power of a dictator. For Europeans, America is imperial system and manifest destiny, where it take over other countries. In terms of freedom of speech, Americans can silence the president, the press and censor the bad comments. Europeans think that unemployment among Americans is high. That Americans have no common culture, because of immigration of different races. Europeans think that Americans have no religion like themselves and therefore, atheists. American speak Spanish. Look dumpy as Americans. Have little experience because they do not travel abroad. Their language is not ruled as classical English.

In terms of conspiracy theory, the Hollywood movies,   prove such theory. About women in America, all women have breast implants. They think that the world hates Americans, and deny Europeans have a problem with America. Furthermore, Americans are perceived  as cowboys with large hats on their heads which is not true. Finally, Americans have difficult times to have visas to enter countries in Europe or the other nations.  Which is not true. Americans, in fact are given more easy passing to almost all countries. (396 words) www.hasanyahya.com

Over time many families in Kashmir have migrated from one part to another in search of habitation and livelihood. Some of such families inhibited in a remote corner of Doda District (Bhalessa). When people of Bhalessa shared a belief in 1953, that how they can represent the democratic arena. One such family was the Batt family which migrated to the Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh while a few factions stayed in Bhalessa’s Soti village. The family at Soti took up peasant work. Ghulam Rasool (Azad) was born in the year 1916 to this peasant family.  Another family later which produced Munhshi Mohammed Anwer, traveled extensively from Kashmir by foot, as there was no transportation in place and the people had no access to information. Things were totally different in Bhalessa at that time. Munshi Sahib’s grandfather migrated to Changa village of Bhalessa to earn his living, accompanied by some family members. After some time, the family re-migrated to Soti (an adjoining hamlet) in search of a livelihood. Both Munshi and Azad Munshi Sahib studied at the Government Primary school in Kilhotran (the only school at that time) and then were sent to Bhaderwah for further studies. Unfortunately, Munshi Sahib dropped his studies and began to work as a labourer in the forests of Hamachal Pradesh. He got associated with Ghulam Rasool Malik who was a rich contractor of the then Doda.
Nevertheless, Munshi Sahib emerged as a big gun with a contractor ship and Azad sahib a revered educationist turned Politician.  Unfortunately, Malik’s business collapsed shortly afterwards and Munshi Sahib took up work with Jodhamal in Himachal Pradesh. Azad was  deputed to England for a DAATP training course, where as Munshi Mohammed Anwer was appointed as In charge National Conference Doda region. Owing to this training programme, Azad was enlightened with the  educational institutions in the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Thailand, West Germany, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, USA and France.  Lo and behold, the people like Ghulam Rasool Azad  and Munshi Mohammed Anwer came on the front to work for the welfare of the area.  In 1935, Ghulam Rasool Azad passed the graduate entrance examination from Jammu Centre. He graduated in Mathematics. He did his post graduation from Punjab University in 1943. During this period, he was appointed Publicity secretary of the Punjab University Students Union. To democratise the system of education and to familarise the poor farmers of Bhalessa with education, Ghulam Rasool Azad launched an intensive awareness mission to change their mindset. He would get children to make a pledge to education. In 1946, Gradually, he earned a good reputation and became his mentor and taught him a work ethic. Azad was appointed as a teacher in Shri Ranbir High School, Jammu. During his tenure, he strived hard and worked honestly. The salary was too small but Azad proved an ideal teacher. He started Jammu Provincial Teachers Association and pleaded the cause of teachers. Due to an indefinite struggle for the cause of teachers, Azad and his associates were dismissed from service in 1946 by the government. In 1947, Azad was entrusted the responsibility of looking after the welfare and prosperity of the masses of the Doda region. He reached out to every nook and corner of Doda to spread the massage of love and friendship. The need was to unite the scattered Hindus and Muslims. The government rewarded Azad for his outstanding contribution in that period.
Keeping in mind their political sense, he was appointed General Secretary National Conference in 1947 and in 1948 he was appointed as Assistant Inspector of Schools for Rajouri, Nowshera and Poonch. On the other Munshi Sahib was felicitated with the title of Chokidar of Bhalessa area by the Dogra rulers. When the Dogra rule ended and the State was handed over to the Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, Munshi Sahib was appointed the President of the National Conference, District Doda. He played a proactive role in uniting the Hindus and Muslims at that time. When Munshi became a leader, he appointed Munshi Ram Chand as his spokesman since Munshi Sahib was not in a position to speak fluently. Munshi Anwer acted as the brain and Munshi Ram Chand as his tongue to intensify their struggle for the sake of the people. Comparatively speaking, Azad was entrusted the responsibility of both educational and political governance of the state. In 1953, when Sheikh Sahib was arrested and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed was appointed Prime Minister of the State, Ghulam Rasool Azad and Munshi were living activists. Azad Sahib went to England for DAAP training and Munshi Sahib was inducted as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLC). As a member of the J&K legislative Council, Munshi Sahib acted upon the roadmap and proposal of Ghulam Rasool Azad for the immediate construction of Thathri Kilhotran road. Under his tenure as MLC, Munshi put forth the demand for construction of this road. Both Ghulam Rasool Azad and Munshi Mohammed Anwer worked as catalysts for the opening of this road and the government higher secondary school in Kilhotran. Intrestingly, the demand for construction of the road was highly endorsed by Ghulam Rasool Azad and Kotwal Chuni Lal. Munshi Sahib raised the demand in the house and the road was finally approved. In 1962, Munshi Sahib was mandated a ticket to contest election for assembly and was elected. In 1950, Azad was appointed as Field Publicity Officer, Jammu. From 1949-51 he was District Vice President National Conference of Rajouri. In the same period, he was appointed PA to the Director Education. He was appointed a member of the All J&K General Council NC. His top priory was to look after the welfare of the people, and for this he won a special place in the hearts of poor people. After his return from England, he was appointed to analyze the economic conditions of Doda, Poonch and Rajouri in 1956. He was appointed as principal of the Government Higher Secondary School, R S Pura, in 1956-1957. This was the only higher secondary school in Jammu region. Azad resigned from service soon after and contested election on the behalf of teacher fraternity. Ghulam Rasool Azad candidature from Hindu dominated Jammu and Dina Nath Nadim as candidature from Muslim majority constituency of Kashmir as MLCs from teachers quota is a glaring lesson that the leaders of the present time should emulate. To quote the couplet for these mass leaders deserve special mention here:-

“Wo loag kia they jo dushmani main waqar rakhthey they dosti ka,

Ye loag kia hain jinhain saliqa na dosti ka na dushmani.”

USA Insurance Market Intelligence “The US insurance market is regarded as one of the best markets in the world, given its wide range of products and excellent customer service. Insurance regulation in the country is fragmented among state authorities but it is coordinated through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The insurance market in the US primarily functions through two broad categories; namely life and non-life insurance. The non-life segment is relatively broad. Apart from these two categories, there is specialty insurance that includes title insurance, surety bonds, financial guarantee and mortgage guarantee insurance.

The life insurance premiums witnessed a slight decline in 2008 on account of economic slowdown, rising unemployment and loss of income. The P&C segment has witnessed growth mainly on account of two mandatory lines third party automobile insurance, and workers’ compensation (for work accidents). Although, the insurance industry did register a slight growth in premium income (mainly due to health & pension) in 2008, the impact of the financial crisis was visible on the insurance industry in Q109 when it recorded a slowdown in premium earned. The US P&C sector is highly fragmented with State Farm Group and American International Group being the largest insurers. Significant catastrophe losses in 2008, coupled with the decline in investment income due to the 2008 financial turmoil in credit and equity markets will continue to affect earnings of the US insurance market in the coming quarters.

The present report gives an overview of the US insurance market along with the analysis of the American political structure and economic growth. The report provides an insight into the market size and trends in insurance premiums of life and non-life insurance sectors. Insurance premiums are discussed in terms of life and non-life segments and the density and penetration levels. The various developments and drivers are also discussed and finally the projections regarding premium growth are given.

By combining SPSS Inc.’s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables and tests.

Table of Contents :
” “1. Industry Snapshot

1.1 Industry Structure

1.1.1 Insurance Regulation Fragmented Among State Authorities
1.1.2 Supervision of Insurance Market by NAIC
1.1.3 Classification of Insurance Companies According to SIC Codes

1.2 Market Overview

1.2.1 Market Size & Growth

1.2.1.1 Strong Annuity Sales and Pension Funds Driving Life Insurance Business
1.2.1.2 P&C Segment Boosted by Automobile Insurance Business
1.2.1.3 Rise in Combined Ratio of P&C Insurers Due to Losses and Catastrophic
1.2.1.4 Deteriorating Premiums of P&C Insurers in Q109

1.2.2 Market Segments

1.2.2.1 Non-Life Segment Dominated by Mandatory Third Party Automobile Insurance and Workers’ Compensation
1.2.2.2 Catastrophic Losses Eroding Profits of P&C Insurers
1.2.2.3 Introduction of Competitive Products, Such as Universal Life, Variable Life and Variable Annuities
1.2.2.4 Specialty Insurance as Another Segment

1.2.3 Market Density & Penetration

1.2.3.1 Decreasing Trend of Insurance Penetration
1.2.3.2 US Ranks 9th Globally in Terms of Insurance Density

1.2.4 Market Share

1.2.4.1 Fragmented Nature of the US Insurance Industry
1.2.4.2 Non-Life Players less Sensitive to Economic Strains than Life Players
1.2.4.3 Introduction of Competitive Products for Tapping Customers

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It happened last year, during the month of December in the city of Warsaw, Poland which has been my adopted home town since 1994 and though the precise day escapes my memory the conversation never will. I had just been introduced to a well known stage actor from Congo in Poland by the name of Christian Emany, who though perhaps not a household name in most countries is not a complete unknown as far as the theatre stages of Warsaw are concerned. He after all has been in many a play with some of Poland’s top theatre actors and actress such as my personal friend Ewa Kaspzyk. This the lady for whom I translated Almodovar’s “Patty Diphusa”, for her to perform on stage in English.

Christian and I spoke about many a topic, naturally in French given that Congo (previously Zaire) is a French speaking nation though in all frankness the two of us could have also had our conversation in English or Polish. This due to the two of us being fluent speakers of these languages. Christian told me he was born in Zaire (in the days when it was still referred to as such) but as child had spent time in many countries, given his father was a diplomat, whose job of representing Zaire abroad kept his family moving from country to country.

Christian and I after having gone over a list of many topics from football, to films, to music eventually made our way to politics and Barack Obama, whom Christian had heard was running for the presidency of the United States. I found it strange that Christian, a black man from Africa felt that Obama had no chances of winning. A reaction which made me wonder why someone would think so, which prompted me to ask why he doubted not that a black man would become president of the United States but that a black man even stood any chances of doing so. His answer was not far from what I expected that it would be difficult for a black man to become the president of the United States as Caucasians in America; who number more then Negroes would for the most part vote for those of their own race.

It was then that my response came, which was that I felt it was possible for Obama to win, which of course did not necessarily mean he would but there was a chance after all if he could enter the race then it was just a matter of him convincing enough voters that he was the right man for the job. Christian of course was aware that blacks could run for president in the United States as Jesse Jackson had done back in the 80s and there had even been a black candidate among the republicans in 2000. A man whose name I can not remember though I can not forget something interesting he said regarding abortion. It being that he would not vote for anybody who supported abortion and he did not a see any difference between somebody who supported it and someone who said he did not but felt it was OK if the woman having the abortion was his daughter. As to him it amounted to the same because if one thinks of it from a purely logical point of view, every woman is somebody’s daughter, meaning why should that person’s daughter be the exception. This African American who had served as American ambassador to Japan seemed like an intelligent man and one who also had a certain sense of humor when speaking which showed when he answered a question on campaign reform which he did so by saying “in every election candidates put millions of dollars in to their campaign funds and then act surprised when it is discovered that the money is there”.

Christian was aware that blacks in America could run but felt that being able to present one’s candidacy and win, were to different things which of course they are but then I asked the following question with a certain bit of frustration after seeing how little faith he had that it could even happen. “If the United States has black senators, mayors, governors, judges on the supreme court (notably Marshal), and at present an attractive Secretary of State by the name of Rice, who in fact is the second African American to serve in the post why would it be impossible for it to have a black president?”. Christian then started thinking that at least in theory it could be but most likely it would not be and to this I said that I as a Republican would not want it to be unless he were a Republican.

It, I must admit was an interesting conversation and as we talked more and more; we got to know each other better and I got to see for the first time (though this I had known) how black people from diverse countries are different from each other much in the way whites are. Christian also got to see how Italian Americans are in a way different then Italians living in the old country as he went on to tell me that I was the first Italian American he had met who actually spoke Italian.

Well, needless to say; for it is known by most of the Earth’s population that Obama came to be elected President of the United States of America which has surprised many a person not only outside the US but inside as well. This being something that the media perhaps like it does with most things has blown out of proportion, even asking how a nation that could elect George W. Bush in 2000 could elect Obama in 2008. I however ask why this seems strange; after all was it not Bush who nominated the first African American as Secretary of State when he gave the job to Collin Powel upon being elected president? In regards however to elections; Americans to a certain extent are a bit inconsistent. For instance a presidential Republican candidate has not carried the state of California in a general election since Reagan did so in 84 and yet this state at present has a Republican governor, (Schwarzenegger) who is serving his second term. All of which should lead us to the realization that American politics have their unique features with another one being Warren Buffet; who supports both Schwarzenegger, a Republican and Obama, a Democrat.

In conclusion I would say that it should not really surprise anybody that Obama won the presidential election for this was long in coming if one looks at all the high positions some African Americans were holding, not all of which were in Democratic administrations. It serving as prove to what a comedian by the name of Chris Rock said, who in all honesty I know very little about other then his being African American and his claiming that the problem in America is not that blacks do not have opportunities but they unfortunately do not always use them. I for my part believe that Obama’s election should prove to African Americans that they have these opportunities, for gone surely are the days when they did not and this I made clear to Christian when after the elections I sent him an SMS saying “I told you Obama could win”.

This makes me wonder how a Muslim state as Pakistan often considered and criticised by the west as a nation whose women have no equal rights and are oppressed.Has to its credit of having twice elected a female Prime Minister which of course was the late assassinated Mrs.Benazir Bhutto.Who took up the reins of one of the largest Party of Pakistan namely the,Pakistan Peoples Party after her Late father and Prime Minister.Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto death.The same party today is the ruling party, in Pakistan with Mr.Asif Zardari ,spouse of Benazir Bhutto as the President.

It appears they have surpassed US and the west in this department !!Even their Speaker of the National assembly (lower house) is a women,Mrs.Fehmida Mirza.

Strange then why does the west criticise them ? It is sheer hypocrisy and propaganda by the west against the east.

The fact is that women in South Asia and South East Asia have more equal rights to their opposite gender then the western females!Specially judging from the names like,Indira Gandhi  (India),Bandranaike (Sri Lanka),Hasina Wajid(Bangladesh) and Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan).

Some are of the view and consider that the above ladies got where they did because of being the close relatives of famous male political personalitys like ; Benazir being the daughter of a man who had charisma you either loved or hated, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, there was no mid way with him and Benazir had been groomed by him and had the same kind of following. Indira Gandhi’s father, Nehru, another charismatic person, India has yet to outgrow the Nehru family. Hasina Wajid daughter of another charismatic leader, Mujibur Rehman. Bandranaike took over after her husband died.

So even if all these ladies had very successful men behind them, but fact of course was the voters gave them their votes, despite the fact that they were women. I don’t think that men in South Asia are prejudiced against women, how can they be when in their early years they are ruled by their mothers and in the later years by their wives.

Being sibling of illustrious personalitys is no crime or matter of shame.If winning due to that without them having their own personal abilitys was the only factor,then Miss.fatima Jinnah wouldnt have lost the general  elections against Field Marshal.Mohd Ayub Khan,in early 60′s. After all she was the sister of the founder of Pakistan Jinnah.George Bush Jr was the son of a formers US president.Hillary Clinton lost the elections inspite of being the former 1st lady as wife of President.Bill Clinton ?.

Possibily,USA may need someone so charismatic and strong to be in that post. The era from which USA is seeing itself passing can be handled by a wise and committed leader. Woman Leader can be carrying that attributes as we see.I think USA’s citizens have not yet found any such leader yet otherwise they may had chosen someone for this seat long ago!! I don’t know if there is any legal or legislative binding exists, but the only reason I see is the absence of any such Woman leader in the history of USA.   But ,it would amount to being naive to say that out of 50+ states of one of the most powerful,advanced and literate nation like the US, not one or two woman matching above stated characteristic for a leader has yet taken birth ! Secondly there isnt any legal or legislative binding or restraining females to stand for the Presidential election.

I feel,this show that sexism exists more there then the South Asian and South East nation countrys as propagandized by them and the west.It is a fact that nations less in all respect to the US have been within decades of some of their nations inception produced such female head of states,namely.(late) Mrs.Indira Ghandi,(late) Ms.Benazir Bhutto,Mrs.Hasina shaikh Wajid,Mrs,Bandranaike.

The question is if these small nations were able to find such talented charismatic female leaders in decades not forgetting western countrys like Uk , with reference to Mrs.Margaret thatcherformer Prime Minister of England and the Chancellor of Germany etc .How come US since its inception in centurys have been unsucessful ?   The truth is that there isnt any dearth of brilliant females to be worthy candidates to their opposite genders in America.The problem as I see it is that the average American males are possibily chauvinists in mentality.They have that phony machoism attitude towards the females in that country.They dont want their women folks beyond a certain level of public office.   Probably,If they had their way completely they would restrict the women folks to the extent of their bed and not any further.Lol

What a shame ! I hope that the emancipated, enlightened,educated,intelligent and brilliant but naive and simple females of the american population would now realise that they are not as free as they believe themselves to be.!!!