Saturday, April 11, 2020

An Analysis of a Real Fraud

Bernard Madoff, popularly known as Bernie, took the art of fraud to new heights after he defrauded investors off money in excess of sixty five billion dollars. This single scheme is one of the biggest frauds in the American history (Lenzner, 2008).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on An Analysis of a Real Fraud specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Madoff was an investor and a business consultant when he created his fraudulent scheme. After his arrest, Madoff actually admitted to constructing the fraud in the 1990s. The Federal Bureau of Investigations traced the scheme to 1970s. The Madoff Investment Securities Bernard Madoff Investment Securities outdid other companies at the Wall Street by eliminating various barriers between the customers and the business. Transactions occurred without any bureaucratic procedures leading to a massive increase in the number of interested investors. Madoff’s shady busine ss deals never received any significant attention despite exhibiting unusual behaviour. The lapse by investigators facilitated Madoff’s survival throughout several investigations and endured incriminating claims by skilled financial experts (Henriques, 2009). Indicators of fraud Madoff’s cover blew after financial experts expressed doubts about his business’s profit claim. Other companies in the same line of business to the Madoff Company avoided any transactions with it since they believed that the Company’s profile and scale of success did not reflect a possible legitimate investment. Although Markopolos, the financial expert who first detected serious anomalies in Madoff’s scheme made furious attempts to warn regulatory authorities and the relevant government departments of the fraud of a colossal scale, no one thought that Madoff’s investments needed scrutiny.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see i f we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another indicator to the covered scheme was the fact that Madoff did not have an accounting department or company capable of dealing with the massive scale of his investments. The first alarm taken seriously by federal police was when Madoff contradicted himself when talking to one of his sons. He claimed that he was in a financial crisis, and at the same time, wanted to reward his employees by paying them bonuses (Lenzner, 2008). While Madoff concentrated at making attractive deals for his customers, his employees were always busy preparing fake documentation for various transactions. In addition, they used computers to avoid the risk of making contradictory documentation. This way, the scheme lasted for decades. Madoff’s firm started in early 1960s when he accumulated enough finances from his plumbing job to invest. By the turn of the millennium, Madoff had made a fortune to the tune of a third of a bi llion dollars. Surprisingly, by that time, Madoff had very few staff members, a characteristic that raised concerns of the legitimacy of his business enterprises. In addition to having a phenomenally small number of employees for his immense investment, Madoff claimed that his profit margin, which was above 16 percent, was because of his sound financial planning. He added that informed business manoeuvres in the preceding two decades facilitated his success his success (Henriques, 2009).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on An Analysis of a Real Fraud specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Madoff survived by restricting his preferred clients to charitable organisations, which the government did not require to make annual payments to the relevant authorities like other private business entities. Virtual business and the deceitful profile Madoff gained confidence from his clients by offering attractive returns, and the claims to have a lucrative business at the stock market. Madoff had actually not performed any transaction in the stock market in the last decade of his business scheme. The criminal business dealing entangled him in a vicious cycle since he could not exit the business. The amount of funds required to pay his client’s counterfeit returns were beyond the actually available funds. Madoff had to remain in business with the all the skill and camouflage he could master. To avoid suspicion, Madoff avoided the abnormally high returns for all clients, a characteristic synonymous with all known ponzi schemes. He offered mild gains for some of his clients to simulate a genuine business environment and avoided scrutiny. In addition, he discouraged any intentions of a clear insight into his scheme by saying that ordinary people could not understand the complexity of his business (Lenzner, 2008). Since the prominent players in the investments business avoided trading with Madoffâ€⠄¢s company, he befriended certain wealthy Jews, and religious organisations to enter into business deals with him. Madoff avoided any suspicions of being a possible fraudster by avoiding direct communication with investors. His emissaries were the people at the front desk.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One peculiarity with Madoff’s firm is that it never suffered any depression at any one time despite the fact that depression is a common characteristic of most businesses over time. Of interest, Madoff avoided withdrawal of investments by offering the best returns and stability. This was uncommon in his line of business. The clients would not withdraw their investments in fear that they would unable to invest again in the same firm. Madoff ensured a swift withdrawal of money for the few clients interested in this regard. The firm was able to support these few withdrawals for decades. Madoff befriended the securities industry, always offered contribution to SIFMA, and had a close relationship with the government in Washington. This strategy ensured that his company was a trustable virtual goldmine (Henriques, 2009). The fraud nature of Madoff’s company was primarily the fake documentation and the incorrect returns figure he would post. It is not viable or even feasible to post returns that the real profit could not support. For years, the company took in investors’ money, as the principle amount, never invested it, and withdrawals were from the existing pool of principal deposits. This pool would deplete at a rate proportional to the size of investments depending on the withdrawal rate. Owing to the attractive rates offered by the firm, the rate of investment was always greater than the rate of withdrawal. However, due to spending and paying out of returns, the total real pool of existing money was growing progressively lesser than the documented value that most investors believed existed. Eventually, this pool would have completely depleted leaving investors with no money. It could have taken so long for the pool to deplete that Madoff would have a guarantee of bankruptcy security in his lifetime. However, there was a possibility that the company could have gone bankrupt within twenty years. Madoff created satellite firms that persuade cus tomers to invest their money with his company. Most of the satellite firms were semiautonomous and partly owned by his long time employees or relatives. Some of the satellite firms were unaware of the fraud. Madoff had been consistent over years unlike other fraud scheme, which normally last a few years before spiralling into financial crises (Press, 2009). Successive investigations into Madoff’s business and the cordial relationship that existed between Madoff and SEC cast doubt on the ability of the regulatory body to deal with Madoff’s case. Prior to the fraud scheme’s exposure, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) posted a conclusion on the findings that a section of the fraudulent firm did not have any investors putting their money in it. It was obvious that the firm was running a fraudulent scheme if it could operate without any clients. Investors never questioned the firm’s capabilities as long it posted good returns for their invest ments. Downfall Financial experts expressed the belief that no company dealing with securities could go for more than a decade without a significant number of marked downward market trends. When the financial market started to exhibit signs of a downward trend in 2008, Madoff started to run out of funds, and was desperate for money from new clients. He started borrowing using partly hidden techniques. It was an unusual phenomenon that a successful firm of Madoff firm’s scale would borrow money for any reason through unconventional methods (Lenzner, 2008). The total value of the withdrawal claims from Madoff’s firm escalated exponentially to about seven billion dollars. Consequently, the firm could not pay the withdrawals promptly. Desperately trying to keep the scheme under control, Madoff borrowed from some old friends, and eventually tried to trick a Wall Street financier to lend him money to tackle the imminent bankruptcy. He did this by purporting to have a massive investment project that needed quick finances. Until his arrest, Madoff and a few of his trusted employees were aware of the fraudulent nature of the business. His sons caused his final fall when they demanded for an explanation regarding his plan to pay staff bonuses instead of paying investor’s withdrawal first. Madoff could not adequately explain his unusual order of priorities to his sons. Under pressure from his sons and the collapsing business empire, Madoff admitted that the whole company was a financial fraud. The authorities arrested him and moved him to a security facility as he waited for his trial. In his testimony, Madoff admitted to running the fraudulent setup. However, he claimed that he did not involve anyone else in the fraudulent scheme. This appeared to be a manoeuvre to protect his long time affiliates and relatives from the authorities. Investigators assessed that it is impossible for anyone to run a scheme such as that of Madoff without having any assi stance with the paperwork and enquiries by the customers. In addition, for the scheme to appear to run in tandem with the current market situation, someone must have monitored the situation continuously and reflected the dynamic nature of business in the scheme. Conclusion Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 139 years in prison for his fraudulent activities after the court dismissed his lawyer’s plea for a twelve-year sentence. The lawyer had requested for a shorter sentence on the grounds of Madoff’s age. Considering that Madoff run a colossal fraudulent scheme for more than two decades, it is advisable that the government establishes a regulatory body to monitor firms dealing with large amounts of client’s liquid cash. Evaluating the internal transactions of a company could help in ensuring that frauds do not emerge in future. Frauds such as the one perpetrated by Madoff endured the test of time since the company kept its internal operations secret. For eliminatio n of ponzi schemes, there must be a system to detect issuance of false statements and returns. References Henriques, D. (2009, June 29). Madoff Suits Add Details About Fraud. New York Times, p. B1. Lenzner, R. (2008, December 12). Bernie Madoff’s $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme. Forbes , p. 5. Press, A. (2009, July 29). Bernard Madoff describes details of fraud, attorney for victims says. The Times-Picayune , pp. 4-13. This research paper on An Analysis of a Real Fraud was written and submitted by user Marcus U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

movies and disability essays

movies and disability essays Some will argue that a film, being essentially a means of entertainment, can do little to change a national consciousness. Others, citing the power of the medium, will claim that motion pictures possess this rare and extraordinary ability. These two opposing viewpoints are about to be put to the test with a pair of films that, while different in so many ways, have a number of fundamental similarities. The Miracle Worker" seems to have been ahead of its time in its accurate portrayal of disability. The film shows us that the young Helen Keller (Duke), blind and deaf from infancy, was treated as little more than a family pet before the arrival of her teacher, Ann Sullivan (Bancroft). One of the central themes is how family attitudes tended to emotionally handicap young Helen. The movie effectively depicts the family's low expectations of their disabled daughter and gives us a look into how physical disabilities were equated with mental disabilities in an earlier era. The portrayal of Helen and the other characters is accurate and forthright. The filmmakers don't hold back to protect our sensibilities, and instead provide a no-holds-barred view of the tragedy and the triumph of growing up and overcoming severe disability. By the time Annie Sullivan came along in 1887 nearly blind herself, haunted by her upbringing in an asylum and convinced that people looked down on her because her parents had been Irish immigrants 6-year-old Helen was nobody's darling. Frustrated by her inability to communicate, willful and carelessly spoiled by people who no longer wanted to be bothered with her, she threw hurricane-level tantrums that terrorized the household. Annie taught her to finger-spell; demolished the barrier for Helen between the movements in her hand and the words, objects and ideas they represented; and opened up the world to her. Or did she? Controversy simmered throughout Helen's life over who was doing the thinking that...

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Economy of Ireland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Economy of Ireland - Essay Example Inflation rate is a low two percent (2.7%). Ireland has chalked up a strong annual growth in Gross National Product and Gross Domestic Product. The National Development Plans are giving the economy a boost. Ireland can be considered as a small, open, trade-dependent economy and is one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world. Its openness is reflected in the international mobility of capital and by encouraging levels of foreign direct investment. With low tax rates, Ireland presents a very attractive economic climate for international and local businesses. In the field of international trade, the UK is the most important exporter to Ireland accounting for thirty-seven percent (37.1%) of all the Irish imports. The second biggest exported is the US at three percent (3.8%). The third exporter is Germany at nine percent (9.2%). Finally, the Netherlands accounts for more than four percent (4.5%.) The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland (CBFSAI) consists of two entities. The first entity is the Central Bank, which carries responsibility for the monetary policy functions, financial stability, economic analysis and currency, and payment systems. The second entity is the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, which has the mandate of safeguarding the financial sector and providing consumer protection. The CBFSAI has a supervisory responsibility for over 1000 financial entities in Ireland, of which more than 80 are banks and around 400 are credit unions.The banking sector is a reliable contributor of the country's economic growth. The banking sector contributed six percent (6) to the Irish GNP in 2005 compared to three percent (3%) in 1998. Employment in banking has risen from 29,400 in 1998 to 37,700 in 2005, of which 82% represents retail banking. These retail banks have over a thousand branches and satellite offices. TOP IRISH BANKS The two major Irish banks, AIB Bank and Bank of Ireland, are both publicly listed companies. These companies have generated their capital through the Irish Stock Exchange. In each case, ownership is widely diversified, with over 100,000 shareholders, most of whom are private individuals with relatively small holdings. In the case of AIB Bank, 41 per cent of shareholders own fewer than 1,000 shares each, while in the case of Bank of Ireland this figure is 54 per cent. Taken as a whole, these small bank shareholders own only 1 per cent of the total bank shares. Moreover, the Irish clients normally transact with the bank branches for retail banking services. They continue to be the predominant form of access to banking services. The growth of new suburbs and the emergence of suburban shopping malls has led to the opening of bank branches in or near these centres. The top four banks in Ireland are Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, the National Irish Bank and Ulster Bank. Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. was formed in 1966 when three banks merged. The three banks had been established in 1825. The AIB's emphasis is on business banking in Britain in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the AIB formed a subsidiary, the FMB, which marked the

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Expression of Motivation to Become a Physician Assistant Personal Statement

Expression of Motivation to Become a Physician Assistant - Personal Statement Example First, whilst undertaking my undergraduate degree in Science and Biology from the Azad University of Tehran that is located in Iran, I was able to gain background knowledge about human health and ways through which the health of an individual can be improved or maintained in a desirable state. Secondly, in my pursuit to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge, and even make advancement in my career I undertook a postgraduate degree majoring in health administration. Through this postgraduate degree, I gained knowledge on leadership, management, and administration skills that are applicable in public health systems, and health care facilities. Additionally, I trained as a Pharmacy Technician at the Boston Reed College, in the year 2009 and in the period of 2004 to 2007, I completed 60 credits towards an associate degree in Nursing at the Glendale Community College. From my educational background, it is evident that I have a deep desire and I am highly motivated to advance in my medi cal career which includes becoming a PA. In regards to work experience, I have had the opportunity of working in the healthcare industry for the past eight years. For instance, I have been an intern at the Northridge Hospital medical center for the past year and as an intern, I was able to obtain practical knowledge and further learn routine practices of PA. I worked under the supervision of a safety officer to ensure that all joint commission guidelines for the physical environment of care at the hospitals remain compliant. I was also charged with the duty of ensuring safety and facility quality controls comply with local, federal, state regulations and further provided consultations. Prior to my internship at the Northridge hospital, I worked at the cardiologist office for seven years as a medical assistant where I interacted with patients and PAs, thereby becoming familiar with the roles of a PA.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Chemistry thermo lab, Hesss Law Essay Example for Free

Chemistry thermo lab, Hesss Law Essay Introduction: In this lab, we will be determining the change in enthalpy for the combustion reaction of magnesium (Mg) using Hess’s law. Procedure: 1. React about 100 mL of 1.00 M hydrochloric acid with 0.80 g of MgO. Note the change in temperature and any qualitative data. 2. React about 100 mL of 1.00 M hydrochloric acid with 0.50 g of Mg. Note the change in temperature and any qualitative data. Raw Data: Quantitative: Reaction, trial Mass ( ± 0.01 g) Initial temperature ( ± 0.1à ¢Ã‚ ° C) Final temperature ( ± 0.1à ¢Ã‚ ° C) Volume of HCl ( ± 0.05 mL) Reaction 1, Trial 1 0.80 22.0 26.9 100.00 Reaction 1, Trial 2 0.80 22.2 26.9 100.00 Reaction 2, Trial 1 0.50 21.6 44.4 100.00 Reaction 2, Trial 2 0.50 21.8 43.8 100.00 Qualitative: 1. Hydrochloric acid is colorless and odorless 2. Magnesium tape is shiny after cleaning it from oxidants, increasing its purity. 3. In both reactions, the solution became bubbly. 4. There was a strong odor from the reaction. Data Processing: Trial 1: Reaction 1: First, we have to calculate the ΔT by subtracting the final temperature by initial temperature: 1. 2. 3. Now we calculate the mass of the solution, assuming it has the density as water: 1. 2. 3. 4. Now, we can use q=mc ΔT to calculate the energy gained by the solution: 1. 2. 3. Therefore: 1. Now, we have to calculate the number of moles for MgO: 1. 2. 3. We can now calculate the change in enthalpy by dividing the q of the reaction by the moles of the limiting reagent: 1. Now, we do reaction 2, trial 1 so we can use Hess’s law to calculate the change in enthalpy of formation, but first we are going to calculate the uncertainty in this expression: First, we calculate the uncertainty for the: 1. 2. 3. Now for mass: 1. 2. As for the energy gained: 1. 2. Now for the energy of the reaction: 1. It is multiplied by an integer (-1) so it is the same unc. As for the moles: 1. 2. Finally, the change in enthalpy: 1. 2. 3. Reaction 2: First, we have to calculate the ΔT by subtracting the final temperature by initial temperature: 1. 2. Now we calculate the mass of the solution, assuming it has the density as water: 1. 2. 3. Now, we can use q=mc ΔT to calculate the energy gained by the solution: 1. 2. Therefore: 1. Now, we have to calculate the number of moles for MgO: 1. 2. We can now calculate the change in enthalpy by dividing the q of the reaction by the moles of the limiting reagent: 1. I will now calculate the uncertainties: First, we calculate the uncertainty for the: 1. 2. Now for mass: 1. 2. As for the energy gained: 1. 2. Now for the energy of the reaction: 1. It is multiplied by an integer (-1) so it is the same unc. As for the moles: 1. 2. Finally, the change in enthalpy: 1. 2. 3. Now, we use Hess’s law to calculate the change of enthalpy of formation: 1. MgO(s) + 2HCl(aq) MgCl2(aq) + H2O(l) 2. Mg (s) + 2HCl(aq) MgCl2(aq) + H2 (g) 3. H2(g) + 0.5 O2(g) H2O(l) (given) By reversing reaction number 1, we can get our targeted reaction: Mg (s) + 0.5 O2(g) MgO(s) Now to calculate the change of enthalpy, which will be the change of enthalpy of formation? 1. 2. Our final result is: 1. Mg (s) + 0.5 O2(g) MgO(s) Random error and percent error: We can calculate the random error by just adding the random errors of the component reactions: 1. 2. 3. As for the percent error: 1. 2. 3. Trial 2: Reaction 1: First, we have to calculate the ΔT by subtracting the final temperature by initial temperature: 1. 2. Now we calculate the mass of the solution, assuming it has the density as water: 1. 2. 3. Now, we can use q=mc ΔT to calculate the energy gained by the solution: 1. 2. 3. Therefore: 1. Now, we have to calculate the number of moles for MgO: 1. 2. 3. We can now calculate the change in enthalpy by dividing the q of the reaction by the moles of the limiting reagent: 1. Now, we do reaction 2, trial 1 so we can use Hess’s law to calculate the change in enthalpy of formation, but first we are going to calculate the uncertainty in this expression: First, we calculate the uncertainty for the: 1. 2. 3. Now for mass: 1. 2. As for the energy gained: 1. 2. Now for the energy of the reaction: 1. It is multiplied by an integer (-1) so it is the same unc. As for the moles: 1. 2. Finally, the change in enthalpy: 1. 2. 3. Reaction 2: First, we have to calculate the ΔT by subtracting the final temperature by initial temperature: 1. 2. Now we calculate the mass of the solution, assuming it has the density as water: 1. 2. 3. Now, we can use q=mc ΔT to calculate the energy gained by the solution: 1. 2. Therefore: 1. Now, we have to calculate the number of moles for MgO: 1. 2. We can now calculate the change in enthalpy by dividing the q of the reaction by the moles of the limiting reagent: 1. I will now calculate the uncertainties: First, we calculate the uncertainty for the: 1. 2. Now for mass: 1. 2. As for the energy gained: 1. 2. Now for the energy of the reaction: 1. It is multiplied by an integer (-1) so it is the same unc. As for the moles: 1. 2. Finally, the change in enthalpy: 1. 2. 3. Now to calculate the change of enthalpy, which will be the change of enthalpy of formation: 1. 2. Our final result is: 1. Mg (s) + 0.5 O2(g) MgO(s) Random error and percent error: We can calculate the random error by just adding the random errors of the component reactions: 1. 2. 3. As for the percent error: 1. 2. 3. Processed data: Trial 1 Trial 2 of reaction 1 -104 kJ/mol ( ± 2.10%) -99 kJ/mol ( ± 2.19%) of reaction 2 -463 kJ/mol ( ± 0.509%) -446 kJ/mol ( ± 0.525%) of MgO -645 kJ/mol ( ± 2.61%) -633 kJ/mol ( ± 2.72%) Conclusion and Evaluation: In this lab, we determined the standard enthalpy change of formation of MgO using Hess’s law. First, we reacted HCl with MgO for the first reaction and got -104 kJ/mol ( ± 2.10%) for trial 1 and -99 kJ/mol ( ± 2.19%) for trial 2. As for reaction 2, where you react, I got -463 kJ/mol ( ± 0.509%) for trial 1 and -446 kJ/mol ( ± 0.525%) for trial 2. When we use Hess’s Law, we have to reverse reaction 1 to get the targeted equation, Mg (s) + 0.5 O2(g) MgO(s), and we get an enthalpy change value of -645 kJ/mol ( ± 2.61%) for trial 1, and -633 kJ/mol ( ± 2.72%) for trial 2. For trial 1, my value got a percent error of 7.14%, which is not that bad considering the weaknesses this lab had that will be discussed in the evaluation. However, in trial 2, I got a better percent error, which is 5.15%, we got a better value because we had a bigger ΔH values thus when adding them (since one of them is positive and the other two is negative) we get a smaller value for the enthalpy change of formation thus bringing us closer to the theoretical value. The biggest weakness in this lab was the impurity of the substances, the assumptions that we made about the HCl solution, for example, we assumed that the specific heat capacity of the solution is the same as water, which is an assumption that is not a 100% accurate and affected our ΔH values for both reactions and eventually our final ΔHf value. To fix this, In the different range of specific heat capacity values, 4.10 j/g k would have been more appropriate to get closer to our theoretical values, as you get a bigger qrxn values thus bigger ΔH values. Another thing that I noticed is that the theoretical value that I got was the â€Å"Standard† enthalpy change of formation. Standard meaning at standard conditions which are at 293 K and 101.3 kPa for pressure. These weren’t the conditions in the lab when I did the experiment. This might alter the experimental value closer to the theoretical value reducing the percent error.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Abraham Lincoln Essay -- essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln, from the backwoods of Hodgenville Kentucky, rose to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States. During his attempt to keep the Union in the Civil War, he gained more power and authority than any president before him. A excellent politician, Lincoln was always looked upon for leadership for he put reason and thoughtful decisions behind his word.Abraham Lincoln, born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hawks on February 12, 1809, was conceived in a log cabin built by his father. Abe had one older sister, and a younger brother that died as an infant. The Lincoln family moved a lot, from Kentucky to Indiana, and back to Kentucky. Abe read a book titled Mason Locke Weems's Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington, this book mad a lasting impression on him that persuaded him throughout his life. By the time he was nineteen Abe reached his full grown height of six feet four inches. He held small jobs such as a clerk, postmaster and a few others through his early twenties. Then in 1832 he ran for county candidate against 13 others. Only four were to be elected and Lincoln finished eighth. In '834 he ran for a representative to the Illinois legislature, by this time Lincoln was well known and he got the election.Abe began to study law, and in 1836 became a licensed attorney. In 1837 he made his first public stand against slavery, Lincoln avoided extreme abolitionist groups though he was greatly against slavery.On November 4, 1842 Lincoln married Ma...

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Birago Diop’s Vanity Essay

Birago Diop: He was born in 1906 at Dakar, Senegal. He was educated in Senegal and in France where in qualifed in veterinary surgeon. VANITY is one of his many poems he used in expressing the presence of the ancestor. THE POEM VANITY If we tell, gently, gently All that we shall one day have to tell, Who then will hear our voices without laughter, Sad complaining voices of beggars Who indeed will hear them without laughter? If we roughly of our torments Ever increasing from the start of things What eyes will watch our large mouths Shaped by the laughter of big children What eyes will watch our large mouth? What hearts will listen to our clamoring? What ear to our pitiful anger Which grows in us like a tumor In the black depth of our plaintive throats? When our Dead comes with their Dead When they have spoken to us in their clumsy voices; Just as our ears were deaf To their cries, to their wild appeals Just as our ears were deaf They have left on the earth their cries, In the air, on the water, where they have traced their signs For us blind deaf and unworthy Sons Who see nothing of what they have made In the air, on the water, where they have traced their signs And since we did not understand the dead Since we have never listen to their cries If we weep, gently, gently If we cry roughly to our torments What heart will listen to our clamoring, What ear to our sobbing hearts?