Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Globalization - Essay Example Globalization as a phenomenon requires the imposition of certain types of values and traits which are mostly Western in their orientation. Such outcome therefore results into the diminishing of the local values and thus gradually erodes the local culture and replaces it with more modern Westernize culture. Appiah’s arguments therefore of relatively more important considering the fact that the systematic overhaul of the different social values may further result into discernment for globalization rather than generating a widespread acceptance for it. The universalization of the values under globalization therefore can create significant resistance to the same despite the fact that globalization can actually result into the transfer of economic and technological benefits for the developing countries. (Jameson and Miyoshi). Appiah’s arguments therefore are more critical considering the fact that globalization may adversely affect the local cultures and superimpose other cu ltures on local cultures thus creating so called moral disagreement between developed and developing countries. This moral disagreement therefore can result into the clash of civilization and globalization as a whole may fail to provide the desired results. It is also critical to understand therefore that in order to make globalization a successful process and phenomenon, it is critical to understand that globalization must support or allow local cultures and civilizations to grow with the global culture also. The mismatch between the two may create the critical differences between the nations and cultures and thus forcing globalization to fail to provide the desired results to the less developing countries. Foer’s arguments however, offer a deep and practical aspect of how globalization actually failed to erode the local culture. Considering the example of soccer, Foer presents the argument that the local culture associated with the global game of soccer has not changed over the period of time despite the fact that global clubs such as Manchester United and Real Madrid are considered as global icons being followed across the globe. The critical difference between the arguments of both the authors therefore provides a rare glimpse of the possible and concrete differences between theory and practice. Appiah’s arguments are more theoretical in nature suggesting the normative aspects of globalization and how this may result into the overcoming of the local culture through universalization of culture. Foer on the other hand however, has offered a different opinion regarding the failure of the globalization to actually overcome the local culture in its real settings thus potentially failed to achieve its intended aims. Foer believed that the soccer and the culture associated with it is actually a deep impression of the generations of the individuals who carried forward the tradition from generation to generation. However, soccer is also considered as anti-American because it is perhaps the only non-American trend which is dominating the world and which has remained purged from the increasing power of America and its value systems. In fact Soccer is seen as a threat in America because of its resilience to maintain its local cultural orientation. Western values therefore have failed to dampen the real spirit of soccer despite the fact that the sport as a whole has become more commercialized over the period

Conflict Scenario Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Conflict Scenario - Assignment Example On the other hand, Bryan clearly falls under a different type and finds it hard to accept Jane’s personality. On handling the conflict, Jane is assertive in her use of the competition mode. Although she is very experienced, she has little qualification, no technology know-how and feels threatened of being replaced and made redundant by more qualified, junior staffs like Brandon, to the extend of using her rank to justify her actions. It does not help that Brandon is well-liked by their boss. Likewise, Brandon is also assertive in his use of the competitive mode. To avoid conflict, both employees should cooperate using the collaboration mode as this offers a win-win situation for a long-term benefit. This mode offers effective cooperation from both sides by meeting the needs of each other and acknowledges everyone’s importance to the organization. As the supervisor, approaching both Jane and Brandon to discuss the situation is necessary. In addition, their roles should be set out properly to provide a clear distinction of each other’s task to avoid further conflict and misunderstanding. When tackling conflict, it is better to use emotional intelligence in resolving the

Mission San Diego de Alcala Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mission San Diego de Alcala - Essay Example The relocation of the Mission from Presidio Hill to the new site took place in the year 1774. Mission San Diego de Alcala is listed as a designated National Historic Landmark and not only that but also on the state level is recognized as a Landmark by the Californian regime. The heritage resource is something that can be easily tied in with the Mission San Diego de Alcala. It has a lot of viewers annually due to its significance in terms of the historic site as well as the enigmatic structure which is based solely on the religious angles. It is after all a place of worship and surely looks like one. The open spaces within the Mission clearly suggest that there is indeed a large space for the worshippers and the sense of ease and calm is something that can be written home about as far as its architecture is concerned. The building rooms within the whole structure are not that tall but they provide space for a number of worshippers to be had within it. The roof at the lower level is covered in a very ancient looking manner which suggests that the traditional thinking was taken care of when it was being constructed. The official artistry of Mission San Diego de Alcala is in line with the religious places like a church or a mosque so to speak. The shades at the front end are supported by a number of pillars which form the support structure for the entrance at the anterior end. The reredos typifies the architecture of the Mission. The wooden structure has different small openings which hold the statues within it. Apart from this, the reredos gives support to the various mirrors which have their front ends with the large arch present towards the bottom sides as well as a smaller one being positioned on the faux and top columns side by side. The reredos is thus a structure that holds the complete statues positioning. Its location is somewhat of an interesting story since it is situated on the Friar’s Road, Murphy Canyon Road where there is a small lane

Mondrian :: Essays Papers

Mondrian " 'Everything was spotless white, like a laboratory. In a light smock, with his clean-shaven face, taciturn, wearing his heavy glasses, Mondrian seemed more a scientist or priest than an artist. The only relief to all the white were large matboards, rectangles in yellow, red and blue, hung in asymmetric arrangements on all the walls. Peering at me through his glasses, he noticed my glance and said: "I've arranged these to make it more cheerful."' "Thus Charmion von Wiegand on Mondrian's New York studio. In his Paris studio he had used flowers to make it more cheerful. One tulip in a vase, an artificial one, its leaves painted white. "As Mondrian was probably incapable of irony, the tulip was unlikely to be a wry joke about his having had to produce flowerpieces between 1922 and 1925 when he no longer wanted to because there were no buyers for his abstracts. It could, of course, have been a revenge for the agony a compromise of that sort must have cost him. More likely, it was simply a part of the general revulsion against green and growth which made him, when seated at a table beside a window through which trees were visible to him, persuade someone to change places. "The artificial tulip fitted in, of course, with the legend of the studio as laboratory or cell, the artist as scientist or anchorite. Mondrian felt it mattered that an artist should present himself in a manner appropriate to his artistic aims. A photograph of him taken in 1908 shows a bearded floppy-haired Victorian man of sensibility. A photograph of 1911 shows a twentieth-century technologist, cleanshaven with centre parting and brilliantined hair; the spectacles were an inevitable accessory. Soft and hairy becomes hard and smooth; one of the great landscape-painters of his generation, one of the great flower-painters of his generation, comes to find trees monstrous, green fields intolerable. "The loneliness of the artificial tulip with its painted leaves might seem to suggest that flora were admitted grudgingly, one plant being the next best thing to none. But it probably meant the opposite of that - was probably a sign, not of Mondrian's having become a different person, but of his having remained the same. When Mondrian had painted flowers, he almost invariably painted one chrysanthemum, one amaryllis, one tiger lily. His most personal paintings of trees are paintings of one tree; of architecture,

Anand Mahindra Profile

Anand Mahindra * Passionate innovator * I call myself a â€Å"right brained person. † * The whole feeling in this company has been one of trusteeship. * Innovators are non-conformists. Innovators and entrepreneurs are those who have immense confidence in their capabilities. * If educated properly, Indians are second to none in the world. * I worry when times are good. * It’s never only about the money, it can’t be. Otherwise I don’t think you can get outstanding results. Timeline 1955: Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra 981: Returned to India and joined Mahindra Ugine Steel Company (MUSCO) as an Executive Assistant to the Finance Director 1989: Became the President of this leading group 1991: Became the Deputy Managing Director of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group 1997: Became the Managing Director of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group 2003:Became the Vice-Chairman of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group 2004: Knight of the Order of Merit by the President of the Fren ch Republic. 2005: Person of the Year from Auto Monitor and Leadership Award from the American India Foundation. 006: Received the CNBC Asia Business Leader Award and Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Ludhiana Management Association. 2007: Received the Inspiring Corporate Leader of the Year Award from NDTV Profit. Background (From films to business) Anand Mahindra, 50, was schooled at the Lawrence school in Lovedale. He completed his graduate studies at Harvard College in Arts, following it up with an MBA from Harvard Business School. His paternal uncle, Keshub Mahindra, is the current chairman of the company.He is married to Anuradha Mahindra, who is the famous editor of the magazines ‘Verve' and ‘Man's World' and is the Editor-in-Chief of Rolling Stone India. The couple together has two daughters. A communist in his college days You don’t find a Harvard graduate who earned a summa cum laude (Latin for â€Å"with highest honour†) in film, heading one o f India’s largest auto businesses. A self-confessed ‘right-brained person, Anand Mahindra believes this honour from Harvard was a cathartic experience and marked the end of his rebellion.It also proved to sceptics that he could establish himself in a field where his family was not present, rather than walking the easier path of joining and running an inherited family business. Anand, also a Communist party member in his college days, firmly believes that innovation and creativity are mindsets and one needs to constantly question one’s direction in life – something he says he doesn’t see in today’s youth, who he believes are focused and know what they want from day one.Anand began his career in a group company – Mahindra Ugine Steel (MUSCO) – taking it through the stormy early-eighties negotiating with labour unions in the steel business, a period he calls a â€Å"trial by fire†. Anand eventually joined M;amp;M in 1991, an d became the Managing Director in 1997. He has a strong sense of pride in the work he does, and believes given the right education Indians are second to none in the world. The Scorpio success factor Not surprisingly, the Scorpio remains Anand’s biggest achievement.Or, as he puts it, â€Å"The scale of risk we took is our biggest achievement†. The Scorpio, interestingly enough was born, not as a specific SUV project, but as an idea from a 26-year-old engineer who was part of a team building a 13-seater Utility Vehicle. The imposing Rs6bn budget for developing the Scorpio was a huge risk to take and a hurdle to cross. Anand took the bet, convincing the Board that it was the way forward. The rest, of course is history. Real estate – changing the way people liveAnand cites driving innovation across M;amp;M and the entire Mahindra Group as another key achievement. His idea of setting up unique world class complexes (â€Å"World Cities†) that holistically integ rate the needs of work and family is a case in point. Despite opposition from the board (â€Å"For five years people thought I was mad†), Anand held his stance that â€Å"We’re changing the way people live in these townships. † Sure enough, Mahindra Gesco (the holding company) currently has orders worth Rs15bn and takers like Infosys for it’s Mahindra World City, Chennai project. The bluechip criteria† The fact that the Mahindra Group consists of a myriad of companies seems to question the entire concept of focus. However, Anand believes that he already â€Å"chopped the deadwood† in 1994 (exiting businesses like nuclear engineering, oil drilling, etc) and set six areas as key focus businesses for the group. Each of these groups has to meet â€Å"the bluechip criteria,† which means the business must: (a) be a leader in its industry; (b) have innovation as a key model; (c) have global potential; and (d) deliver on demanding financial go als.Six focus areas for the group With Anand removing himself from active management (â€Å"kicking myself upstairs†), all the businesses were given dedicated presidents to provide managerial focus. He believes giving managerial and financial independence to these businesses is what sets them apart from the conventional conglomerate structure that tends to focus on top-management control. Anand is now moving forward to list each of these businesses, which are as diverse as Mahindra-British Telecom (IT), Club Mahindra (time-share holidays) and M;amp;M Financial Services. All of these will be IPOed and will therefore become independent. † The five cylinder engine in autos At the same time, Anand also resisted pressure to carve out M;amp;M’s auto business into a separate company. â€Å"If we do it right, I have a better chance of turning Mahindra as a globally recognised cult brand, than I do, trying to turn it into General Motors. † Anand sees M;amp;M as a t hree-cylinder engine, consisting of UVs, tractors and components. He is focusing on building M;amp;M as an â€Å"auto competency group† by creating verticals sharing the same platforms such as logistics, procurement and ngineering. His philosophy for M;amp;M is â€Å"When you build more verticals you simulate the scale and get a larger company without losing the niche focus. † With the recent tie-ups with Renault and International Trucks, Anand believes he has now created a â€Å"five-cylinder engine†. Benefits for M;amp;M’s core auto business are already flowing in – for example M;amp;M is now tapping into Renault’s global procurement systems. Clear targets for each businesses Anand has clear targets for each of M;amp;M’s three cylinders.UVs – to be a globally recognised brand, tractors – to be a dominant player, and auto components – to be the largest automotive component conglomerate in India (â€Å"We’ d like to be a Dana, Spicer or a Lear. †). Similarly, for the group Anand doesn’t believe in one single goal. He chooses, instead to focus on leadership, innovation, a global presence and delivering on the financials. Everything else, including size, which he believes doesn’t matter, will then follow. What he does with his free time Anand spends as much time as he can with his family and those near and dear.A friend once told him that life is like a bunch of rubber and glass balls that you have to juggle all the time. You have to know, which are the glass balls, and you never drop those. The rubber ones keep bouncing and you can pick them up along the way. A voracious reader by his own admission Anand does not read business books since they become obsolete. He prefers business magazines such as Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek and Fortune. In fiction, Anand is a big fan of the Booker Prize winning author, Ian McEwan.

The Hoax Of Personalities Mark Twain s The Adventures...

The Hoax of Personalities In Mark Twain s the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the true identity of an individual is questioned countless times between three central characters. Along with identity, one’s self pride can also be at task. The inheritance of money, faking death, and the will to be free are at hand to become a true successor in the journey northward. With â€Å"help† from the so called King and Duke, their mission to Cairo is put more at risk rather than if Huck and Jim remained alone. Before the trip even started, Huck had to escape the imprisonment of his cruel and abusive father, Pap. Huck’s idea of a good father was far from what Pap was, a drunk. Pap had kidnapped him because he claimed Huck was more advanced personally; he could read, write, and he had money Miss Watson gave him. Huck’s only chance of a life outside abuse was an escape. â€Å"I took the axe and smashed in the door- I beat it and hacked it considerable, a doing it. I fetched the pig in and took him back nearly to the table and hacked into his throat with the ax, and laid him on the ground to bleed† (Twain 25). In cases as such, faking death, or fraudulency in general can be used for good. If escaping a bad life can get you into a better one, many would say go for it, however; now that Huck is â€Å"dead† he must cover up his identity to save his true self. In 2013, a film known as Identity Thief , is about a woman in Florida that steals a man by the name of Sandy Bigilow Patterson s personal

A Symbol Of Ideological And Political Clash - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2325 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/05/18 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Berlin Wall Essay Did you like this example? The Berlin Wall embodies the ideological and political clash between two world powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. It was a symbol of the stark differences in opinion between these two former Allies. Once World War II was over, the Soviets and Americans no longer had a shared purpose to hold them together, which led to further chaos in the war stricken nation of Germany. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Symbol Of Ideological And Political Clash" essay for you Create order Initially, the allies definitive aim had been to rebuild war torn Germany which had been devastated by the allies war against the Nazi regime. The Soviet Union and the Western allies, which consisted of the United States, France and Great Britain, broke ranks when their differences with the Soviets could no longer be contained. The Western allies wanted to spread democracy and capitalism throughout Germany, while the Soviet Union was busy setting up communism and socialist policies in eastern Germany. Reparations were a huge factor, as the Soviet Union lost millions of men and their country was devastated when the Nazis attacked them. But according to the Potsdam Agreement, each occupying Power was to take its reparations mainly from its own zone and German assets abroad. But the Soviets, who had been promised half the total of all German reparations, were to be allowed a sixth of the surplus established in the Western zone. Many Germans feared the worst, and as Mary Fulbrook describes it, [S]ome [former communist] Germans longed for liberation and the possibility of a radical transformation of Germany; others felt fear and ambivalence about future retribution. In fact, the Soviet policy was harsh, there was a rush to dismantle the factories and the industrial facilities that once facilitate the nazi regime with economic prosperities. Although they decrease their production output, the Soviets were able to accumulate tremendous wealth from reparation payments and occupation cost. The Soviet experienced a net advantage in resources which drained the eastern sector of desperately needed assets to rebuild. The fast paste of factory and industrialized equipment, seemed as though the Soviets had no long term plan to remain in German soil for long term purposes. By shipping both equipments and experts from East Berlin, it seemed as though that the Soviets were interested in their own economic interest within their own soil. By 1955 the total value of goods and services taken by the Soviets was in the order of $30 billion, as against an agreed figure of $10 billion. A divided nation was on the verge of creation: a democratic conservative on the West, and a hardline communist state in the East ripped Germany apart. There were even differences within the Western allies that sometimes would emerge as confusing to the newly democratic Western Germany, who did not themselves understand democracy, as the system was foreign to them after 12 years of nazism. American film director Billy Wilder, recalled a conversation he had with a post war, German driver and this is the kind of dialogue that would develop between us: ?about this British election now that this Atlee has defeated Churchill, what is Churchill going to do? ?I guess he will stay in politics. Or he will write a book, or paint. ?Maybe he is going to make a Putsch, night wahr? ?I dont think so. ?You mean he is not even going to shoot Atlee? ?No, he is not. ?Are you sure? ?Look man, Wilkie did not make a Putsch against Roosevelt and Dewey did not shoot Truman. ?Thats funny. ?Its hilarious, its democratic! With the Western powers settling in their zones, while the Soviet Union initiated its distinctive policies in their Eastern zone. Therefore, with free elections in the Western zones, rebuilding Germany was fast paced, as economically it would help spread democracy, and most importantly, trade (with Western powers). Indeed in 1948, the United States spent $13 billion to restore the economies of sixteen Western European nations. Meanwhile, in the East a one party system was formed. As Mary Fulbrook describes it, a group of Moscow-trained German Communists under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht had been flown in to the area which was to be under Soviet occupation. The Soviets were manifestly ahead of the game and without disruption, they implemented their policies under the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) party, which had opposed the Nazis prior to the war and the majority of whose members were imprisoned. It was fully rehabilitated by the Soviets and merged with the also formally n azi outlawed social democratic SPD to create the ?Socialist Unity Party SED. The SED was used to take over key positions in the local administrations throughout the East. In a strategic move the Soviets, used a non-Communists in local communities, with no or little history of political affiliations for major positions, but with communist control behind the scenes. The Soviets also experimented with open competitive elections, but when the SED failed to win local elections in 1946, the experiment was abolished and they decided to not risk their chances within their control. The SED no doubt enjoyed special privileges in the new Soviet zone. Meanwhile, members of the rival parties were arrested: Between 1948 and 1950 there were 597 documented cases of CDU members being arrested. The new German Democratic Republic (GDR), was born in 1949, was from the start a Soviet Union controlled totalitarian regime. Life in the Soviet zone was not as privileged as in the West, where Germans were prospering and Americanizing. Although, according to American journalist Joseph Wechsberg, in 1964, People live a lot better than five years ago and a little better than last year, but it is probably correct to state that East Germany is ten years behind in consumer goods and the comforts of life. Even though the East Germans were proud that they produced more motorcycles than the West, this was true because, Western Germans saw motorcycles as no longer fashionable, and preferred cars. By the same token, Wechsberg observes, the wife of a Communist official grumbled because she couldnt get the latest-style shoes which shed seen in an Eastern German fashion journal. Eventually the stores will have them, but by that time theyll be old hat in the West, and we wont be happy. The bitterness and jealously East Germans felt was constant. The perception was that the West was being helped by the Americans and the East Germans had to work as hard for less. The Russians buy East Germans goods at prices considerably below the world market prices, in repayment for loans, and when they send raw materials to be finished in D.D.R. factories, they charge more than the world price for their own deliveries. Even though East and West Germans were able to visit either side, preventative measure were gradually put in place to curb the traffic. East Germans could enroll in West Berlin Universities, but were placed in menial positions in retaliation, away from educated East Germans, so as not to contaminate them. A crisis were brewing as East Germans were fleeing from the East to the West and registering as residents of the West. Many others crossed to the West without being registered and something had to be done in order to keep track of things. From August 14th to the end of 1961 a further 51,624 were registered. Between 1949 and 13 August 1961 nearly 2.7 million refugees had been registered. Roughly speaking, the GDR had lost a population which was the equivalent of that of Albania, or Israel, or New Zealand, or the Republic of Ireland. Already, Measures had been taken to secure the frontier between the two Germanies in May 1952, when villages were torn apart and crops destroyed to make way for watch-towers, barbed wire, minefields and free-fire zones, turning the Churchillian gibe about the Iron Curtain into grim reality. This created chaos and confusion, and many were questioning the future of West Berlin, which acted as a sort of escape hatch from where East Germans could travel to Western Europe. Even though Berlin was one city, it was divided into four sectors. The Western sectors represented an island of democracy behind the iron curtain. United under the Socialist Unity Party (SED), Berlin would have been a rich prize both psychologically and economically this was according to the Soviets. On the other hand Independent, West Berlin represented a magnet, spiritual as well as physical, for the East Germans. in April 1948 that the time had come to make a bid to end Berlins anomalous situation. Tensions were flaring on both sides. The West was distributing the Deutsche (D) Marks within its zones after withdrawing the Reichsmark. The Soviets interpreted this as an economic ploy to undermine the Soviet East and considered it a breach of the Potsdam Agreement. There, it had been decided that Germany wa s to be treated as an economic whole. What was even more alarming to the Soviets, was that the West announced its intention to distribute the newly printed D-Mark with a B for Berlin into Berlin itself. The Soviets were outraged and infuriated by this announcement. They claimed it was breaching the Allied agreements and they took their next drastic step. The infamous, Berlin Blockade. The Soviets had already made it difficult for Berliners to travel, and trains had been mysteriously re-routed to by-pass West Berlin. Traffic was banned in and out of Berlin. Within a short time, all routes became unavailable. Claiming fuel shortages, Eastern power stations near enough simultaneously ceased to supply electricity to the Western sectors of Berlin. The Soviets were evidently trying to starve the West of resources, and around midnight on June 24th, the official Berlin Blockade started. The only way the Western allies could get into Berlin was by air. Even though the Russians doubted that the West could supply Berlin by air, the West proved the Soviets wrong. There were discussions amongst the allies and they came up with two alternatives to an airlift, either an allied military strike of force which would open a route, but which may have led to war, or, surrender and face an international humiliation which could have consequences worldwide, and West Berlin may have led t o the spread of communism, and more tension worldwide. This could be detrimental to the Truman Doctrine which called for the containment of the spread of communism. As Fulbrook puts it, America was formally committed to a world policy of stemming what it saw as the tide of soviet expansionism, wherever it might occur. The airlift was the only viable way to help West Berlin survive, and to prevent communism from spreading there. The American supply operation was codenamed Operation Vittles, and the British Knicker and then Carter Patterson. Despite numerous chaotic situations which occurred during the airlift, the Western allies were successful and no war took place between the Soviets and the allies. Close range flying by both sides created a lot of confusion and conversations about a possible war, but none of this happened as both sides was not prepared to go to war. The Western allies were able to successfully deliver supplies to West Berlin with only a small number of casualties. But for the first time, the West Berliners felt cared for by the allies. As news of airlift deliveries saturated the West German media, changed German attitudes towards Americans as well. American music and films began playing a vital role in the West, especially Jazz, which was considered the sound of democracy. The United States sponsored West Berlin media created by the Americans was used as a tool to reach the Soviet zone which also had a large audience. It is not forbidden to listen to Western radio programs provided one doesnt incit e others to listen. You may tune in RIAS, the American station in West Berlin, but you mustnt turn on your radio full blast and put it on the windowsill. Meanwhile, Berlin mayor, Ernst Reuter, and thousands of anti-communists gathered in front of the Reichstag where Reuter gave a popular speech. We Berliners have said No to Communism and we will fight it with all our might as long as there is a breath in us . . . the Magistrat and the City Assembly together with the freedom-loving Berlin population will build a dam against which the red tide will break in vain. Within five years, East Berlin was ripe for an uprising against the Soviet Union, East Berliners down tools and demonstrated throughout Eastern Germany, the Soviets allowed them to protest, but kept a close eye on the demonstrators, On the morning of June 16, when Waldemar Schmidt (SED), then President of the Police in East Berlin, asked the Soviet authorities for permission to disperse the as yet relatively small crowd of demonstrators on the Stalin-Allee and to arrest their ringleaders, he was forbidden to do so. Even though the strike leaders repeatedly indicated that the strikes were against the SED and not the Soviets and not the SED, the Soviets declared a state of emergency to deter the protesters, but with careful consideration of not creating a bloodbath that might engage the West to act on the East Berliners behalf. There was continued tension in a city torn apart between east and west, and it was evident that something more should be done to create law and order. It was a symbolic move by Soviet Zone that erected a famous wall, known as the Berlin Wall, dividing the East from the West. This was a bold move that came in at night like a thief. With most of Berlin asleep, it was round-the-clock workers, the professional night owls, who first realized that the East-West border was being closed: transport workers, police officers, [and] journalist. The premeditated creation of the wall amplified tensions in global diplomacy. For twenty eight years, the human race was on the brink of extinction between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. Germany became not only divided by political and social differences, but now a wall of which lasted over twenty-eight years that signified at large, a divided world.