Thursday, June 18, 2009
China’s growing energy relationship with Saudi Arabia
I wanted to know more about China’s growing energy relationship with Saudi Arabia, which was mentioned in the Irish Times piece. For example, why, if China was worried about the irresponsible rhetoric of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has it since continued to protect Iran at the United Nations, refusing to allow for sanctions? Also interesting was China’s protection of countries like Sudan at the U.N., which was mentioned in The Economist. Another interesting topic, brought up the Washington Times piece, would be the policy debates within the defense and intelligence communities concerning China’s military buildup. How great is the difference of views? According to Gertz’s article, there are some who feel strongly, one way or the other. Posted by Moishe Alexander. Read more HERE
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Analysis and Perspectives on Domestic and World Affairs
Posted by Moishe Alexander
Economic experts and financial pundits are calling current economic conditions – a harsh recession similar to that of the early 80’s. The average worker, investor, and retiree are calling it another “great depression.” There is truth in both perspectives. The world-wide financial collapse which began last summer appears to be coming to a slow but eventual end with the first stages of a recovery (stabilization and recovery of the lending markets) already started – at least in the U.S. That is not to say hard times are over or more bad news is not in the offing. In fact more bad news and business closures will certainly occur before this ends and unemployment, which always lags behind in any recovery, is likely to hit levels not seen in over a half century. All recessions in Post WWII America have ended the same way; with the return of the America consumer. And that critical event has yet to happen. But the conditions that started this crisis – the meltdown of the lending markets – do appear to have ended. The next phase will be a resumption of normal lending to businesses. How long it will take before the rest of the economy catches up and how much of the economic landscape will be left is the $100K question. It could be another year before the U.S. free fall stops and another 4 to 5 years before a full recovery occurs. Longer than that, if more economic pillars are toppled or the financial lending recovery stalls or is reversed.
A number of U.S. institutions and possibly even whole industries may fall be the way side before this recovery is completed. What we will see in the coming days is the loss of some venerable institutions, a realignment of others and the creation of new industries. Several of the mega banks will probably not weather the storm and will either be sold off in pieces or be swallowed up by their more adaptable and financially sound competitors. The American automobile industry will survive in one form or another but it will never be the same. A smaller Ford will probably return to private holdings and GM will be greatly reduced in size in order to return to profitability. Chrysler will most likely continue its decline and then quietly fold when FIAT is done with it. The same consolidation and downsizing will occur in a number of other industries including the U.S. defense industry which is about to hit hard times. Read more HERE
Economic experts and financial pundits are calling current economic conditions – a harsh recession similar to that of the early 80’s. The average worker, investor, and retiree are calling it another “great depression.” There is truth in both perspectives. The world-wide financial collapse which began last summer appears to be coming to a slow but eventual end with the first stages of a recovery (stabilization and recovery of the lending markets) already started – at least in the U.S. That is not to say hard times are over or more bad news is not in the offing. In fact more bad news and business closures will certainly occur before this ends and unemployment, which always lags behind in any recovery, is likely to hit levels not seen in over a half century. All recessions in Post WWII America have ended the same way; with the return of the America consumer. And that critical event has yet to happen. But the conditions that started this crisis – the meltdown of the lending markets – do appear to have ended. The next phase will be a resumption of normal lending to businesses. How long it will take before the rest of the economy catches up and how much of the economic landscape will be left is the $100K question. It could be another year before the U.S. free fall stops and another 4 to 5 years before a full recovery occurs. Longer than that, if more economic pillars are toppled or the financial lending recovery stalls or is reversed.
A number of U.S. institutions and possibly even whole industries may fall be the way side before this recovery is completed. What we will see in the coming days is the loss of some venerable institutions, a realignment of others and the creation of new industries. Several of the mega banks will probably not weather the storm and will either be sold off in pieces or be swallowed up by their more adaptable and financially sound competitors. The American automobile industry will survive in one form or another but it will never be the same. A smaller Ford will probably return to private holdings and GM will be greatly reduced in size in order to return to profitability. Chrysler will most likely continue its decline and then quietly fold when FIAT is done with it. The same consolidation and downsizing will occur in a number of other industries including the U.S. defense industry which is about to hit hard times. Read more HERE
Obamas speech
Posted by Moishe Alexander
We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and co-operation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalisation led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of 11 September 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. All this has bred more fear and more mistrust.
 |  The words used most frequently by Barack Obama in his Cairo speech   Enlarge Image |
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the co-operation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
The Punche On World Affairs
They squabbled over how to prod Pakistan to deal with terrorist breeding grounds inside its borders. Obama said the United States had wrongly coddled the government of former president Pervez Musharraf, while McCain said Obama does not understand that Pakistan was a failed state when the former general took power.
They got sharp with one another over talking to Iran. Obama defended his view that the United States should be willing to talk directly with Iranian leaders, but McCain mocked his rival as he imagined how a conversation between Obama and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might go.
"So let me get this right. We sit down with Ahmadinejad, and he says, 'We're going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,' and we say, 'No, you're not'? Oh, please!"
But Obama argued that while McCain has resisted talks, many others have supported them and that isolating dangerous nations, as he said Bush has done, has only made things worse.
McCain gained strength as the debate wore on, pressing his argument that Obama is naive and inexperienced and doesn't understand a dangerous world. "There are some advantages to experience, and knowledge, and judgment," he said. "And I honestly don't believe that Senator Obama has the knowledge or experience and has made the wrong judgments in a number of areas.To read more from Moishe Alexander click here
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Did Twitter take over the universe?
It may have been the celebrity gossip headline that alleged Jennifer Aniston broke up with singer John Mayer because he was spending all his time on Twitter.
Or maybe it was the MSNBC story about someone whose Twittering may have cost him employment after he wrote: "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."
Or possibly it was the photos a smiling, bandaged Lance Armstrong couldn't wait to post on Twitter after busting his collarbone during a nasty spill from his bicycle.
All of that buzz within a few days last week made me wonder: When did Twitter take over the universe? Or put another way, when did a Web service that transmits messages of 140 characters or less, that apparently makes no money and is used by 3 percent of the U.S. population (and probably less than that) become the greatest thing since mint chocolate chip ice cream?
Don't get me wrong. I like Twitter. It has evolved into a fascinating stew of the macro and the micro - real-time news from around the world and small-scale chatter from around the block. It's one of the more useful toys on the Internet. And at least for now, it's free.
But it's one of those technologies that mystifies people even as they become addicted to it, sort of in the way that people began calling their BlackBerry their "crackberry," acknowledging their unnatural obsession for it.
"More people are hearing about it than actually using it," Nicholas Carlson, an editor for the Web site Business Insider, said of Twitter. "A lot of people using it are professional media who already love to talk for a living. We had CNBC on yesterday, and we counted and they said 'Twitter' 24 times. The media used to say, 'If it bleeds, it leads.' Now if it tweets, it leads."
In his blog post "100 Things More Popular Than Twitter," Carlson included Niagara Falls, AARP's magazine and the summer TV filler America's Got Talent. In fact, "Catwoman the movie was even more popular than Twitter," Carlson noted. It's been estimated that Twitter has 7 million users, although Twitter does not release its usage figures.
As Twitter continues to grow at a rapid pace, its duel identity as both cultural obsession and national punch line was brilliantly captured by a cartoon clip made for Current TV, the tech-savvy channel started by Al Gore and others several years ago.
Since airing on Current TV nearly two weeks ago, the cartoon has been watched 1.2 million times on YouTube and spurred more than 3,500 comments online. It led pop star Katy Perry to opine about it on her blog, "This is pure real life truth. Swallow it!"
In the 4 1/2 -minute cartoon titled "Twouble with Twitters," a young man is aghast that his co-worker is unaware of Twitter and exhorts, "You are a young, hip, tech-savvy, 20-something and I will not let you turn into your father." The co-worker remains unimpressed and can't see the value in exchanging "detached, bite-sized yippety-yap" with people he barely knows. In a modern twist on The Emperor's New Clothes, the "Twitterverse" crumbles when the unimpressed co-worker informs all the Twitterers that they've been deluded into thinking Twittering is like real friendship.
Even one of the inventors of Twitter found it a riot.
"That video was hilarious!" Biz Stone, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, wrote in an e-mail response to a question about whether he'd seen it. "Very well done."
Josh Faure-Brac, 35, the animator who came up with the cartoon, can't get over the reaction. He scripted and drew the cartoon last fall in preparation for the recent launch of Current TV's "Super News" segment on Friday nights. He even feared Twitter would be passe by the time the cartoon aired. No such problem.
"Our timing couldn't have been better," Faure-Brac said. "The irony is that in making fun of Twitter, Twitter users have made me a Twitterlebrity."
His spot-on satire was based on his introduction to Twitter by an enthusiastic colleague.
"Her reaction was 'You don't know Twitter? It's amazing.' I signed up and started following people I work with and was instantly confused. It was people in short form telling me they ran out of Raisin Bran that morning or they were taking their dog for a walk. I don't know what to do with that information. What's cool about the Twitter community, though, is they seem very self-aware of the silliness of it. It's just good, clean fun."
Andrew L. Russell, a Johns Hopkins University doctoral graduate who teaches history at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., said ambivalence about "micro-blogging" echoes the empathy movie audiences felt 70 years ago when they laughed at Charlie Chaplin's slapstick depictions of the work world getting carried away with automation in the silent film Modern Times.
Some people who study technology aren't sure Twitter will endure.
"Frankly, I think a lot of twittering is somewhat faddish, whereas I never thought Facebook was. ... People I interviewed and surveyed would talk of serious feeling of deprivation without Facebook and I've hardly heard anyone say that about twitter," Zeynep Tufekci, an assistant professor who teaches the sociology of technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, wrote in an e-mail. "Will people Twitter five years from now? Perhaps, but I would not be surprised if they did not, or at least as much."
But Twitter has grown so fast, it must be relevant at some level. It has touched a nerve.
"I cannot envision that this tool is just a fad; it's far too powerful and still has so much potential," said Tracy Gosson, a Twitterer and president of Sagesse, a Baltimore marketing firm. "If they continue to innovate, I would put it close to the evolution level of Google. My elevator pitch for Twitter is that that Facebook keeps you in touch with people you know. Twitter connects you with people you didn't know you needed to know."
"This real-time ability to understand what is happening at the moment, it's a sea change," said Jeff Pulver, a technology entrepreneur who has been involved in Internet telephony. "This is not just geeks. This is decidedly ungeek."
Pulver is working to organize a conference about Twitter at an off-Broadway theater in New York in June where he hopes to assemble 140 "characters" - meaning people - to discuss Twitter's influence and possibilities.
He said he'd love to get Aniston there.
Or maybe it was the MSNBC story about someone whose Twittering may have cost him employment after he wrote: "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."
Or possibly it was the photos a smiling, bandaged Lance Armstrong couldn't wait to post on Twitter after busting his collarbone during a nasty spill from his bicycle.
All of that buzz within a few days last week made me wonder: When did Twitter take over the universe? Or put another way, when did a Web service that transmits messages of 140 characters or less, that apparently makes no money and is used by 3 percent of the U.S. population (and probably less than that) become the greatest thing since mint chocolate chip ice cream?
Don't get me wrong. I like Twitter. It has evolved into a fascinating stew of the macro and the micro - real-time news from around the world and small-scale chatter from around the block. It's one of the more useful toys on the Internet. And at least for now, it's free.
But it's one of those technologies that mystifies people even as they become addicted to it, sort of in the way that people began calling their BlackBerry their "crackberry," acknowledging their unnatural obsession for it.
"More people are hearing about it than actually using it," Nicholas Carlson, an editor for the Web site Business Insider, said of Twitter. "A lot of people using it are professional media who already love to talk for a living. We had CNBC on yesterday, and we counted and they said 'Twitter' 24 times. The media used to say, 'If it bleeds, it leads.' Now if it tweets, it leads."
In his blog post "100 Things More Popular Than Twitter," Carlson included Niagara Falls, AARP's magazine and the summer TV filler America's Got Talent. In fact, "Catwoman the movie was even more popular than Twitter," Carlson noted. It's been estimated that Twitter has 7 million users, although Twitter does not release its usage figures.
As Twitter continues to grow at a rapid pace, its duel identity as both cultural obsession and national punch line was brilliantly captured by a cartoon clip made for Current TV, the tech-savvy channel started by Al Gore and others several years ago.
Since airing on Current TV nearly two weeks ago, the cartoon has been watched 1.2 million times on YouTube and spurred more than 3,500 comments online. It led pop star Katy Perry to opine about it on her blog, "This is pure real life truth. Swallow it!"
In the 4 1/2 -minute cartoon titled "Twouble with Twitters," a young man is aghast that his co-worker is unaware of Twitter and exhorts, "You are a young, hip, tech-savvy, 20-something and I will not let you turn into your father." The co-worker remains unimpressed and can't see the value in exchanging "detached, bite-sized yippety-yap" with people he barely knows. In a modern twist on The Emperor's New Clothes, the "Twitterverse" crumbles when the unimpressed co-worker informs all the Twitterers that they've been deluded into thinking Twittering is like real friendship.
Even one of the inventors of Twitter found it a riot.
"That video was hilarious!" Biz Stone, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, wrote in an e-mail response to a question about whether he'd seen it. "Very well done."
Josh Faure-Brac, 35, the animator who came up with the cartoon, can't get over the reaction. He scripted and drew the cartoon last fall in preparation for the recent launch of Current TV's "Super News" segment on Friday nights. He even feared Twitter would be passe by the time the cartoon aired. No such problem.
"Our timing couldn't have been better," Faure-Brac said. "The irony is that in making fun of Twitter, Twitter users have made me a Twitterlebrity."
His spot-on satire was based on his introduction to Twitter by an enthusiastic colleague.
"Her reaction was 'You don't know Twitter? It's amazing.' I signed up and started following people I work with and was instantly confused. It was people in short form telling me they ran out of Raisin Bran that morning or they were taking their dog for a walk. I don't know what to do with that information. What's cool about the Twitter community, though, is they seem very self-aware of the silliness of it. It's just good, clean fun."
Andrew L. Russell, a Johns Hopkins University doctoral graduate who teaches history at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., said ambivalence about "micro-blogging" echoes the empathy movie audiences felt 70 years ago when they laughed at Charlie Chaplin's slapstick depictions of the work world getting carried away with automation in the silent film Modern Times.
Some people who study technology aren't sure Twitter will endure.
"Frankly, I think a lot of twittering is somewhat faddish, whereas I never thought Facebook was. ... People I interviewed and surveyed would talk of serious feeling of deprivation without Facebook and I've hardly heard anyone say that about twitter," Zeynep Tufekci, an assistant professor who teaches the sociology of technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, wrote in an e-mail. "Will people Twitter five years from now? Perhaps, but I would not be surprised if they did not, or at least as much."
But Twitter has grown so fast, it must be relevant at some level. It has touched a nerve.
"I cannot envision that this tool is just a fad; it's far too powerful and still has so much potential," said Tracy Gosson, a Twitterer and president of Sagesse, a Baltimore marketing firm. "If they continue to innovate, I would put it close to the evolution level of Google. My elevator pitch for Twitter is that that Facebook keeps you in touch with people you know. Twitter connects you with people you didn't know you needed to know."
"This real-time ability to understand what is happening at the moment, it's a sea change," said Jeff Pulver, a technology entrepreneur who has been involved in Internet telephony. "This is not just geeks. This is decidedly ungeek."
Pulver is working to organize a conference about Twitter at an off-Broadway theater in New York in June where he hopes to assemble 140 "characters" - meaning people - to discuss Twitter's influence and possibilities.
He said he'd love to get Aniston there.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Moishe Alexander’s Analysis of World Affairs and Current Issues
Canadian Funding Corp Review and Comments by Moishe Alexander On Various World topics
December 22, 2008
George Bush and the Shoes, President Mugabe, Afghanistan and its New Governor, Kennedy in the Senate, Hamas Declares Cease-fire is over in Israel
George Bush and the Shoes
On Sunday December 14, 2008, an Iraqi journalist Mumtadhar al-Zaidi tossed his shoes at President Bush in an obvious publicity stunt, which has degraded and reduced the Iraqi cause to nothing more than a display of childish behaviour. It is an earmark of the Iraqi society.
This shoe-throwing incident was intended to be the “greatest insult of all,” towards US policy in the Middle East, specifically in Iraq. However this comes from a society and people who were once oppressed by Saddam Hussein and who cried out to the world for help.
Yet, when that help arrives and they get their freedom, this is how the Americans and the rest of the world are repaid.
President Mugabe
It was reported in the Toronto Star on December 20, 2008 that the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer said, “we think that the person who has ruined the country….that he needs to step down.” This is an obvious signal from the US government that this oppressive president must step down before Zimbabwe is completely destroyed.
In response to this ovious signal, President Mugabe responded at a party meeting in Bindura that “I will never surrender.” As we all recall, President Mugabe at the beginnibg of his dicatorship stated that he wanted to take back the land from the white people and give it to the black people. However it is an uncontradicted fact that Presidnet Mugabe and his cohorts have seized all the land for themselves since he came to power in 1980.
Kennedy in the Senate
As reported in the Toronto Star on December 19, 2008, Caroline Kennedy is seriously considering an appointment to the US Senate providing Hilary Clinton is confirmed as Barak Obama’s Secretary of State.
Ms. Kennedy attended a lunch with Reverend Al Sharpton at Sylvia’s – a harlem soul food restaurant on Thursday December 18, 2008 obviously to attract media attention and test the waters.
Some of Ms. Kennedy’s recently hired consulting firms that are also former advisors to Mr. Chuck Schumer specifically Josh Isay to run her behind the scenes bid for the Clinton seat.
The obvious concern to all is the safety of Ms. Kennedy. We hope and pray that Ms. Kennedy is safe should she receive the appointment as senator of New York. She brings with her a wealth of family and political experience and obviously the support of the people.
Hamas Declares Cease-fire is over in Israel
As reported in the Toronto Star on December 19, 2008, Hamas declared the “cease-fire” with Israel over with and began firing rockets into Israel simultaneously. The Israeli air force launched a series of air strikes against rocket launchers and munitions factories in retaliation.
Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha said “the calm is over.” This has ended weeks of speculation as to whether or not Hamas would want to renew this truce with Israel.
However Israel has steadfastly maintained that they wish to extend the truce and find an overall solution. It was also reported that the Egyptian government is holding some Hamas-linked group members in response to the Brotherhood’s campaign against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip. This is also reported in the December 19, 2008 edition of the Toronto Star. Both of these articles can be read online
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