Sunday, February 10, 2013

COMMENTS - 2013/02/10




WEEKLY BLOG COMMENTS – No.50
DATES: 2013/02/03– 2013/02/10
ANALYST: Domingo Trassens
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Dear Friends:

Hello! I would like to share with you a series of comments posted by myself in the WSJ Journal Community during the last seven days about news related to politics, economy and business in United States and the rest of the world.

The special themes of this week are:

- United States: Gun Control

- United States: Weather

- Blocking Syrian Rebel Weapons

- The Post-PC Era Is Shaking

- Bloody Wounds from the Japanese Empire

- Iranian Nuclear Power

Next, you will find the other comments organized in the following sections: United States, Europe, The World (Asia, Africa, Middle East…), Latin America and Economy, Business and Technology.


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THEME: United States: Gun Control

PBS Story: “Obama Goes on the Road to Push for Gun Legislation”
By: Terence Burlij and Katelyn Polantz
My Comment (or My Story):

Gun Control or the Protection of Our Children

The story posted in PBS page says: “Obama Goes on the Road to Push for Gun Legislation”.

In every newspaper and media page we find thousands of articles about “gun controls” after the tragedy of Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 children and 6 adults in an elementary school.

Since that moment, the whole country is immersed in the debate of the control of guns and all related to weapons and magazines in hands of private people across the country.

Personally, I think that due to all the noise that we hear around us, we are losing focus.

Important question: Is really “gun control” the solution of our problem?

I do think not! Why? For the reason that the guns do not going alone to our schools killing children.

Who are going to our schools killing children? The criminals! Normally they are former students with any trauma of frustration, and other people with destructive mental sickness.

Okay, in front this gloomy panorama, what is our obligation as citizens with strong feelings for our children?

Our obligation and the obligation of our government is the protection of our children, teachers and schools against criminal actions against them.

Will we protect our children banning guns? I do not think the banning of guns and the control of the background of sportsmen who use the guns for hunting or the others that have guns for personal protection will give us a complete solution to problems like Newtown, CT slaughter.

We are focusing our solution in the wrong way. By the way, in a PBS interview, a policeman said: “We have to enforce the laws that we have” now and try to avoid the guns going to the wrong hands.

From my perspective, our problem: “the protection of our children, teachers and school” requires a complex package of actions including the following points:

1) To prosecute the criminals, nationally for each slaughter to end. (We have laws today about this point).

2) To heal the diseases of mentally sick people inclined to destructive or auto-destructive actions.

3) To give a severe warning to the apprentices of criminals who walk free across the streets of each city or town of our country.

4) To refocus our education system pushing the tools of “creativity” at the top and the frustrated evaluation tests to the bottom. We have to promote the development of creative learning projects in each classroom, in every school across our territory from the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic, and from the Alaska to Key West in Florida. If our children are engaged on creative projects, they will not think about “guns” to kill their own friends and teachers.

The last point is a key issue today that everybody wants to achieve a college graduation but without planning if you really have learned mathematics or only the “way” to dope better than others with the with the purpose of winning the cup of the inter-college championships.

Very important, through the school evaluation tests that try to show that all the students who don’t achieve a determine level are “dumb” and also with the sport events where doping is the only way to be the winner, we are generating a lot of frustration, a collective frustration in students and former-students that carry the frustration everywhere. All these students are more dangerous for our society than the weapons with big magazines in the hands of a hunter in the Rocky Mountains who never think that the “tool” he has in his hands are a “child-killing-machine”.

In summary, we have a lot of actions to take before we spend Congresses time in the gross debate of the “perfect law” for gun control. And certainly through all these actions – Pts: 1, 2, 3, 4 – we will achieve with realistic solutions in a short time and without the need to redefine the Second Amendment of our Constitution in the political way by many politicians in charge of our institutions.

Domingo Trassens – PBS page registered through Twitter – 2013/02/10


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THEME: United States: Weather



Subject: Snowfall across the country, in particular in the northeast. Press and weather analysts talk about “historic” records.

My Comment: Newspapers and media say that a “historic blizzard” is hitting the Northeast of country now during the first days of February.

During each winter normally the majority of states of the country suffer snow storms frequently with a strong wind and heavy snowfall.

I remember some years ago, one point the snowfall stopped the activities of Washington DC while all the government buildings were dressed in white and employees of Congress, the White House and other official departments remained isolated in their homes.

I think that in these circumstances the worst is the interruption of the services of electricity due to the fall of the power system.

Personally, I never make statistics about weather conditions and climate phenomena. For this reason, I cannot evaluate the differences between one winter and another related to the harshness of the weather.

But what is my point? Today I saw through the stories and articles of all the media the expression “historic”.

As I said before, I don’t have technical elements to determine if this winter is worse than the previous winter or the winter of 3 years ago or the winter of 50 years ago.

However, I believe the press is looking for new dramatic subjects after all the stories about drones, bombing attacks and gun controls.

Now newspapers and TV are looking for new “subjects” to build complete dramatic sceneries that will force government initiatives to help the victims after the storm has ended.

Is this “historic record”, the new subject to force the government emergency plans? (2013/02/09) 3 Recommendations


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THEME: Blocking Syrian Rebel Weapons


Story: Obama Blocked Rebel Arms – Part 1

Subject: President Obama blocked the sending of weapons to the Syrian rebels despite some members of his government advocated for the support of the rebels with heavy guns.

My Comment:
 It is my understanding, we don’t have to put more “instruments” of destruction and slaughter into the bloody battlefield that today is Syria.

Civil wars have more than one killer or “devil” and always from all sides - two or more rival groups - there is abuse, killing and horrible actions. In the case of
Syria there are also religious and ethnic components.

If you don’t believe me, go ahead and review the events and protagonist actions in every famous civil wars of last 100 years: Bosnia, Kosovo, North Ireland’s civil war, Spanish Civil War, Argentine Dirty War, the Tupamaros’ actions in Uruguay, a series of civil wars across Central America: Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua… and more.

Definitively, I agree with the decision to block arms for the Syrian rebels. And from other side, I have to remark again that the current events in
Syria are not exactly what the ingenuous international press says in public. Recently, in Europe, I had the opportunity to talk personally, face-to-face, with people who are coming from the Middle East and they paint a different scene. (2013/02/08) 3 Recommendations


Story: Obama Blocked Rebel Arms – Part 2

Answering to another member about my previous comment - These were the words of other Journal Community member: “Interesting. Your opinion is probably too nuanced for this tabloid, but would enjoy hearing more of your thoughts and accounts of what you've heard that diverges from the story told by international press
My Comment: Thank very much for your approach. When I write about something it is because I have some knowledge about the matter and I would like to make a humble contribution to others.

During my life, I traveled more than 1 million miles worldwide - not visiting embassies or selling bargains – but talking with the people, reading History through the “walls” of old cities and monuments or “dusty books” of the libraries and museums, asking the people about their experiences, their pains, their feelings, their fears... (This is "street university").

I had the opportunity to drive across the Moroccan desert in
North Africa and also on the same continent, through the Red Sea desert in Egypt, two magnificent experiences. By the way, outside a tourist resort in the Red Sea I was deprived of my freedom – kidnapped – at a checkpoint ()(of0by the Egyptian security forces.

Also I have had the experience of violence across all
Latin America. I survived directly a bombing attack and I had to disarm a bad guy who put his gun to my head when he was ready to kill me.

But the most important, I always talk with the people. I always respect the poor beggars of the fancy city of
Coral Gables in South Florida. I always help elders and children who fall in the street. And through all these experiences I always learn a lot from anonymous protagonists of our History.

About your last point: now I am a temporary resident in
Germany where I met personally people who came from Syria recently. They gave me a magisterial lesson with coffee in only one hour. (2013/02/08) 1 Recommendation


Story: Obama Blocked Rebel Arms – Part 3

Answering to other members of Community who asked if the Syrian and Libyan cases received the same treatment from the President Obama administration:
My Comment: Thank you for your question. I appreciate a lot your interest to know my opinion about the subject.

Going to your question:

First, there are not two wars that are the same. When we are talking about the Arab Spring, we “wrap” using the same "label" a series of civil unrests, revolutions and civil wars with common points but different protagonists.

Second,
Libya is not Syria and Syria is not Libya.

-
Libya is an African country with a strong influence from a tribal political and social system.
- Syria is a Middle East country that was founded in a territory where through international and local agreements, they put together people from different ethnics and religions and they said: "You have to live together next to other people who you don't like and sometimes you hate...”

Third point: The “process” of the Libyan revolution was supported directly from countries that have a lot of experience in North Africa like France, United Kingdom... In that war, President Obama didn't want to take the lead. US gave strong support - very strong - but working together with other countries who knew they had to put the "tyrant" out. US didn't put "boots" on the Libyan ground during the revolution.

I know personally about this point, because I talked with journalists of German TV who covered the war working on the battlefield of both sides: the troops of the government and in the middle of different rebel groups who fought against the regime. My friends didn’t see any American flag on the ground.

During the operation Odyssey Dawn, the American commander was working from the USS KEARSARGE (LHD 3) located on the
Mediterranean next to the Libyan coast. I have direct testimonies about this point because my German friends were invited to the warship that is one of the Wasp class multipurpose amphibious assault ships that we have in our Navy.

But, okay: Did President Obama take the correct action during the Libyan civil war? I am not the father of History to judge the American intervention in the Libyan war, however I believe US did a good job. Personally, I enjoyed a lot an interview where US Defense Secretary Gates explained the role of the
US army in the Libyan war. I felt proud of our Defense Secretary.

About Syria, till now US hasn't shown a clear and unique message through the whole “process” and from my humble perspective, our foreign office didn’t have the capacity to sit together with the Russians and work hard and responsibly to end the tragedy in a fair way. (All the meetings between our former Secretary of State and the Russian foreign minister ended in nothing.)

For this reason, today I applauded when I knew that the Obama administration stopped the guns going to the rebels. I believe this first honest action to look for an “end”. But we cannot end this war if we don’t work together with the Russians. The other partners are irrelevant in this case.
(2013/02/08)



Subject: Reactions of Syrian regime against the Israelis when they hit convoy with heavy weapons from Russia in Syrian territory.

My Comment: I know the Bashar al-Assad is not stupid and probably he has more cards under the table. But he knows that he made a series of mortal mistakes during the last months.

Several years ago, I listened to an interview from an American journalist with al-Assad in English. I learned a lot from his astuteness in only 30 minutes.

Also, during the last year in
Germany I met a Catholic Syrian who is living outside her country and she painted me a short but very different story about what the Syrian problems and beliefs that we read in the newspapers. (2013/02/05)



Subject: The same that the previous comment.

Answering to another member from the Community about the distortion of images about the current situation in Syria:
My Comment: I agree with you that the picture that the western press paints about Syria is not the truth.

Last year in
Germany I talked with people – normal people from the Middle East – that showed me a different picture. (2013/02/05)



My Comment: About previous comments that I exchanged with members of Journal, I would like to add an additional explanation:

I know through my own conversation with the people of the country that the Syrian problem of today is more complex, more dramatic and more terrible because the politicians and other powers all together are driving it in the wrong direction.

During the last 2 years living in Europe I have had the opportunity to talk about the problems of the religious fanatics, slavery of the normal population, terrorist groups, dictatorships and more with people of different nationalities and beliefs

Definitively, our papers don’t explain to us the drama of a lot of people who cannot express themselves with freedom on this planet today. We have to go to the people and talk directly with them. Each conversation is a magisterial class of the "street university". They teach us with a lot of realistic content and we add our own experiences. (2013/02/06)



Subject: The Syrian Rebels blame the regime for the civilian massacre.

My Comment: Today Syria is immersed in a civil war with religious and ethnic connotations.

Always, in these cases, the massacres come from different sides. For this reason, we cannot say that only the troops of the government kill others. The panorama looks chaotic. (2013/02/04)


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THEME: The Post-PC Era Is Shaking…



Subject: Reaction from important Dell’s investor because now Dell Inc. is going private.

My Comment: The story says: “The shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management Inc., which says it owns approximately 8.5% of Dell's shares outstanding, voiced its opposition to the leveraged buyout in a strongly-worded letter to the Dell's board of directors.”

I agree with the vote of Southeastern Asset Management Inc against the decision of Michael Dell to privatize Dell Inc for the following reasons:

1) During the last years of the 90s and before 2005, Dell Inc was a company with a strong potential, a brilliant star in the computer business. By the way, I remember during that time I checked its market value in the service of Wall Street Journal offers to know what is the real price a public company and it was sure more than the $24.4 billion deal that Mike agreed to during the last week.

2) The decision to go private will not solve the disease of Dell. Why?

2.1) Because since at least before 2005, Michael Dell knew that its original business model as a PC maker was dead.

2.2) 2005 was the year where IBM sold its IBM PC unit to Lenovo. Was IBM stupid when it made the decision to sell its “jewels” of the ThinkPad mobile technology to a Chinese company? No! Everybody who really was in the computer business knew in 2005 that the growth of the PC market was declining dramatically.

2.3) Why since 2005, Michael Dell didn’t work in the right direction to increase or at least maintain the market value of Dell Inc.?

2.4) In 2010, when I was analyst of a small technical publication, Dell Inc invited me to a press conference in the environment of the Dell Conference where periodically Mike met partners, resellers and big customers in Austin. In that opportunity, in a humble way, I said to Mr. Dell: “Be careful! The PC computer business is changing fast. You have to change your business model from a PC computer maker to an information system solutions provider before the value of your company declines a lot and you have to deal the “price” of your company as a “bargain”. In that moment, Mike only smiled and probably inside him he said: “This stupid analyst wants to give me a business lesson. Who does he believe he is?”

In summary, definitively, Southeastern Asset Management Inc is right when complains against all the “theater” that Mr. Dell made during the last few days made to show for hundred time that he will rescue Dell Inc. (2013/02/09) 1 Recommendation


PBS – NEWS WRAP – February 5, 2013 through Twitter
ABOUT DELL IS GOING PRIVATE
Subject: Dell Inc is going private due to its PC sales declined during the 10 last year and Michael didn’t have the inability to solve the business problems of his company as a public company in Nasdaq.
My opinion: In the 90s before the decline of the PC business, the potential of Dell Inc. was huge, more than a $24.4 billion deal.

Michael Dell didn’t make the right move to remake Dell Inc. for a post-PC era in the right time and the right way.

During the 2010 Dell Conference – with customers and partners - in
Austin, I talked personally about this subject with Michael. The press office of Dell Inc. invited me for a press conference.

It was great, because I had the opportunity to meet in person the famous Michael Dell who grew in short time from selling PCs in a university dormitory to become the big entrepreneur of the PC of the 90 decade, the most powerful personal computer market after Compaq and HP.

I talked personally with Mr. Dell. I said: “Michael: The PC business is changing. You will have serious problems if you are only trying to grow selling boxes. My suggestion is that your company moves in the direction of information systems solutions.

The PCs are going to be “commodities” and everybody with less structure than you will have the possibility to compete against you and due to cost-income relationships, they will push down your business.

“Today in technology, the essential are not the “boxes”. The essential is the information systems, the “tools” (software and hardware) to implement these systems and the solutions for different business sectors: government (where you have a high participation in equipment), education (where you are selling a lot of PCs), retail, banking, industry, transportation, manufacturing, and more.”

“With the “energy” that you have today, with your capacity of making PC business, you put off-business a lot of other PC makers. One day, one Chinese competitor – till now only assembling PC compatibles in
Asia - will enter in the international market with new energy and it will “eat” your business.”

By the way, in 2005 the Chinese Lenovo entered into the international business buying the IBM PC unit and the ThinkPad technology. After that, step by step, it was cutting the market of Dell.

When Lenovo bought the rest of the IBM PC business, nobody believed that the Chinese will put the IBM PC unit up again.

In 2005, I also had the opportunity to talk personally with the Lenovo chairman in another press meeting in
New York. Yang Yuanqing is a very smart guy with a Chinese accent but with the “brain” of a world entrepreneur. Today Lenovo is second in the PC market advancing to be the number 1 and Dell is asking for money from private investors with the intention to be a “survivor” of the pos-PC era.

In summary, Michael Dell lost 10 or 12 years of his career trying to maintain alive his company with “formulas” that didn’t work.

The technology business is not only to satisfy the anxiety of the Wall Street investors. It requires periodically rethinking processes of the business model and goals every time that your model is going to be out-of-date and you are losing profitability.

In the end of a short conversation, Mr. Dell only smiled. But he didn’t pay attention to my humble suggestion.  (2013/02/06) Posted in PBS page through Twitter



Subject: Microsoft came to the market helping in the financial way to its customer Dell Inc but without care about the impact of its attitude in the relationship with other key partners like HP and Lenovo.

My Comment: The financial contribution of Microsoft to Dell is a very risky move from the software company, father of the Windows platform.

In particular, from now Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo – Nr.1 and Nr.2 of the PC market – have the right to put new business conditions to Microsoft as provider of Windows.

From the other side, it is giving to Google the opportunity to enter more directly into the current market of PCs hitting the business of Microsoft with the Chrome operating system and all its software platform.

If my software provider helps my rival in a preferential and public way, why would I continue following its initiatives and exhibiting its software in the first line of my shelves (my machines)?

Why would I invest in implementation of its software in machines?

Why would I invest in training of my engineers in its software?

Why would I care for its software licenses like my own assets?

Why would I recommend its software to my customers?

And more!  (2013/02/06)



Subject: HP reactions after the deal between Dell and Microsoft and the cautious attitude from the Wall Street investors.

My Comment answering to another Journal Community member: You are right. The HP’s board of directors made “huge mistakes” during the last ten years because those who were seated on the board only were thinking of their personal interests, ambitions and the animosity against other members of the company. The affairs and intrigues in HP look worse than the fiction of Dallas TV series. (2013/02/07) 1 Recommendation



Subject: The same as the previous comment.

My comment answering the comment from another Journal Community member: Your suggestion is right. But during the last ten years HP changed a lot of times their “heads” (CEOs, chairmen and members of the board) without a real improvement of its top management and company politics. (2013/02/07) 1 Recommendation



Subject: The same as the previous comment but also with an update the WSJ journalist made about the reactions of the Hewlett-Packard ‘s management related with the deal between Dell and Microsoft.

My Comment: The current problem of HP is very serious, but I don’t agree with the idea to divide the complete corporate package into other companies. Each part (new company) will have less “value” than the whole package (the current HP).

Also, in the case that HP decides to split itself into other companies, some of these new companies will go to directly to the “hands” of the Chinese because today few companies in the rest of the world have experiences like HP has in niche of technology business such as: printing systems, storage systems, Unix servers.

The Chinese are smart enough to know the technology richness that each business package that I mentioned before has.  They will buy the complete individual companies as a “bargain” and after that they will rename or “wrap” them as Chinese technology companies.

My only suggestion is to “cut” some departments or units that are not the “core business” of HP business and also don’t produce a lot of revenues today. In this point, HP has to act like IBM acted during the last ten years cutting marginal business units.

By the way, during the first ten years of the new Millennium, IBM sold:

1) IBM PC unit to Lenovo,
2) Its hard disk unit to Hitachi,
3) and a “package” of commercial printing systems to Ricoh. Before, in the 1990s IBM had sold its laser and matrix printers to a group of investors from Kentucky who founded Lexmark International.

Going again to review the HP case today:

- Hewlett-Packard has some units that are equivalent to the units that IBM sold in a series of special deals.
- In those cases where one-business unit is part of other bigger unit but it has its own identity, they can cut this unit, wrap it as a “package” and sell it in the market.

I am a believer that it will be healthy for HP to cut “secondary business packages”, but the “surgery” has to be made with intelligence and balance.

Nevertheless, Hewlett-Packard has to make a major effort. It has to redefine its core business model in an integrated way. And for this, HP needs a top management and a board of directors who really work together in only one direction with responsibility and “feelings” of the technology enterprise that long time ago was founded by two friends Hewlett and Packard in small garage of Palo Alto, California. (2013/02/07)


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Theme: Bloody Wounds from the Japanese Empire



Subject: After the friction of China and Japan for problems between both countries, Russia showed the “teeth” to the Japanese.

My Comment: Frequently the “wounds” of bloody wars don’t heal. The Japanese Empire was the “devil ‘wars” across South Asian seas for a long period.

The children and grandchildren of all the enemies that the Japanese had beheaded during their invasions and assaults were born with the “genes” of frustration and hate for something that was terrible. (2013/02/07) 3 Recommendations



Subject: Military hostility of the Chinese against the Japanese in the sea near Japan.

My Comment: The problem is not China, it is not Japan. It is a common problem of two nationalities who hate each other with long historic roots. Both countries have responsibilities in their current problems.

Probably the Japanese from today don’t remember how many Chinese soldiers were beheaded when they invaded
China. The atrocities of the Japanese Empire to dominate China were terrible.

This is in the “blood” of the new Chinese generation. (2013/02/05) 14 Recommendations



My Comment answering to another member that put in same level the dramas China-Japan and East Germany-Russia: Eric, thank you for your approach, but we disagree. I am American citizen but during the last year I stayed in Germany. Also my roots are German.

The cases of China-Japan and East Germany-Russia are very different.

From the other side, the East German citizens gained their freedom from the Russians due to a difficult process during more than 3 decades in different scenery.

I have passion for History and when I don’t understand the facts through the newspapers (media) or books, I go to the street and talk with the people directly. During the last 2 years I had opportunity to talk with more than 100 Germans who come from
East Germany, for the former DDR.

About the atrocities of the Japanese Empire – here in
Germany – I talked with Koreans who also suffered like the Chinese the oppression of the Japanese Empire and brutality. All the countries have memory: China, Korea... (2013/02/06) 7 Recommendations


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Theme: Iranian Nuclear Power



Subject: Iranian leader Ayatohah Ali Khamenei accuses US of aggressor.

My Comment: I do not perceive symptoms of change in the new statement posted Ayatohah Ali Khamenei, Iranian supreme leader.

The tactics of accusations against the United States are not new, but they are the ”way” to show to the rest of world that Iran is the “victim” and US is the “devil”.

Mr. Khamenei knows that across the world there are people who don’t like
America. He is talking to these people and the governments who are not aligned under western politics: China, India, Russia, Brazil and others.

With this framework, the Iranian engineers have more time to continue the development of the country in the direction to becoming a nuclear power. Definitively the Iranian ambitions are:
- To be seated in the “nuclear club”
- To use the nuclear technology in dirty business operations
- To spread the Iranian revolution everywhere. (2013/02/07) 3 Recommendations



Answering to another member of the WSJ community who said that Iran leader didn’t pursue aggressive attitude against US and western nations. 
My Comment: Thank you for your approach, but we disagree.

My opinion is not based in the normal comments of the international press. I have other fundamentals.

During the last years I have lived temporarily in
Germany and here I have had the opportunity to talk with a lot of Iranians from different profiles, ages and beliefs.

Everybody agrees the problem of
Iran is the regime, not the country itself.

The Iranians are good people but they are under a religious dictatorship and they cannot express their ideas and act with freedom inside the country.

More, last year I met a young Iranian who fled from his country after terrible experiences during the days of unrest that
Iran lived several years ago.

For this reason, I believe that now is the moment that we have differentiated the country, the people and the regime:

- I do not have anything against
Iran as a country.

- I do not have anything against the Iranians as a people.

- But because myself I also was a victim of a dictatorship, I don’t like the attitude of Khamanei. If he is right, he has other ways to show to the world that he is right. Nevertheless, his regime is a dictatorship and everybody who is against him has problems in
Iran. (2013/02/08)



Subject: Iranian president came to Cairo to visit the new President Egyptian in crucial moments for both countries.

My Comment: Here again we have a new sample of real facts. The Egyptian visit of the Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his reception from Egyptian Morsi shows us that all the bad guys are together.

I saw last night images of the arrival of the Iranian President in
Cairo on the German TV ARD. Both presidents happy to meet together in these crucial moments they are living:

- Mr. Ahmadinejad is trying to continue with his plan for the nuclear development of
Iran despite international pressure.

. Mr. Morsi is trying to advance with the implementation of a religious dictatorship in
Egypt despite that he knows that the “smart observers” of the rest of the planet have knowledge enough to follow his steps.

Why Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting Mr. Morsi exactly in this moment? The reason is because both need to help each other.

Meanwhile the rest of the leaders of the world don’t have any clue about the correct action to take in both cases: Iranian nuclear power, Egyptian religious dictatorship.

And this was my point that I expressed with a lot of respect, when I remarked days late that despite all the efforts of Hillary Clinton in charge of our foreign office, we lost 4 years without concrete results in issues that really are crucial to our position in the world and for our security.

By the way, since Mr. Morsi is the Egyptian President, he made two key moves that probably a lot of us didn’t see. Weeks late after Mr. Morsi assumed as the new Egyptian President, he made his first presidential trip to
China. And now he is kissing and hugging his friend Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Cairo. But he didn’t have time till now to come to the White House to visit President Obama and say: “Mr. President, thank you for all the efforts that your foreign office made to facilitate my arrival to the Egyptian Presidential Palace. (2013/02/06) 2 Recommendations



Subject: Iranian reactions in front the international pressure about the nuclear program of Iran.

My Comment: This is a perfect game of “the cat and the mouse”. The Iranians are walking in the direction they want. Meanwhile they play as ‘innocent guys” with the rest of the world. They know the “route” and the way to distract the external observers. 1 Recommendation (2013/02/03)


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THEME: Europe



Subject: For second time in less than two years a minister of the German government was forced to resign due to evidences of plagiarism in her/his “doctorate title”.

My Comment: The case of Annette Schavan - former German education minister – is only one more demonstration how corrupt intellectual professionals of the Old Continent come to the top of the summit in functions that demand honesty, decency and crystalline behavior using bad tricks.

Till days ago Ms. Schavan was one of the most important members of the German cabinet and the “head” of education and culture of this European country.

How a professional who captured a “doctorate title” through the tricks of plagiarism can rule the education and culture of a prestigious country of the western world like
Germany?

What kind of “moral” is the moral of top politicians and cultural leaders of the current world who open their road with the rotten technique of the “cut” and “paste” and destroying the real intellectual creations of others?

We really applaud that Annette Schavan lost her “doctorate title” and was forced to quit the German government. (2013/02/10) 1 Recommendation



Subject: French President calls for a common policy across the EU members on foreign exchange. Some months ago, when Mr. Hollande assumed as French President didn’t show enthusiasm for the common initiative of the European Union.

My Comment: It is good that President Hollande thinks about common problems of the European Community.

We hope that he acts as a partner of the other Europeans and not as the “Napoleon” who won in 3 or 4 weeks the Malian war. (2013/02/05)



Subject: French troops will end the Malian campaign soon. Nobody explained till now if they will ask US for troop transportation.

My Comment: We have to hope that the French have enough fuel for their troop transportation airplanes. In other case, the troops will have to return home riding camels. (2013/02/04)



Subject: The Spanish leader looks like is involved in a not clean financial deal in a moment that Spain’s population suffer unemployment and serious personal economic problems.

My Comment: When something about “money” smells rotten, the decent politicians have to resign. The others create fairy tales. The question is how many decent politicians we have on this planet named Earth today. (2013/02/03)


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THEME: The World: Middle East, Asia, Africa


Subject: Despite a new economic start, the Vietnam’s government continues using oppression practices against dissidents.

My Comment: The economy of Vietnam is going up, but the level of “freedom” continues under the line of zero. (2013/02/05)


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THEME: Latin America



Subject: Mexican capital was shook for a strong explosion at Pemex headquarters. External observers believe the explosion is linked with actions of the bad gangs that hit the country.

My Comment: During the last years, Mexico rarely gives us good news. All is drug traffic, killing, cops who make justice without justice and now the explosion at Pemex headquarters. It is really sad that this great country doesn’t find a way to show a better image. (2013/02/03) 1 Recommendation


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THEME: Economy, Business and Technology



My Comment: The last few years were a bad time for everybody in the niche of the electronics retail stores.

By the way, in recent months, BestBuy complained about its bad luck, despite till now it is the bigger electronic retail store in the
US.

For this reason, we understand the efforts of Radio Shack to maintain its business with a reasonable balance sheet and push its famous stores across the
US.

In summary, the initiative to name Walgreen as Co.executive with Joseph C. Magnacca looks good because he is a man with a strong career in the retail niche. Also he has a different business approach from the previous CEOs. (2013/02/09)



My Comment: Everybody who is in the telecommunication business knows that the departure of CEO Ben Verwaayen will not solve the problems of Alcatel-Lucent.

The French American company is like a “child” who was born sick due to the genetic diseases of their parents.

Before the marriage of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies, both companies had a lot of problems as a result of the incapacity of their leaders to keep their feet on the ground.

With idealistic dreams of big “mega-companies”, fantasies of
Paris-New York marriages, plus an extreme dose of arrogance, they cannot stay up in a market with hard competition.

More, the current moments are dramatic in the telecommunication industry since the “dragons” like Huawei Technologies are devouring all they find in their route with more power than the monster with millions of tentacles from a series of electronic games.

We feel sorry for these heroes of the industry who didn’t learn from their mistakes in the correct time. (2013/02/07) 3 Recommendations



My Comment: I think Twitter is working well. It has a professional style that I like.

As a social network, it acts more respectful to the users than the top leader of the sector today.

I hope it continue growing in the future for the best of the new generation of social media users.

For this reason, I will believe they can work in the direction of an IPO. (2013/02/06)



My Comment: I believe this case continues without solution because nobody wants to recognize responsibilities for business reasons.

Boeing will not say its system doesn’t work with the battery because it will show that when their engineers selected the manufacturer and made the specification of the battery that its airplanes needed, they didn’t make it work correctly.

The Japanese battery maker will not say that its batteries set fire to vehicles because this company is lead provider of sport vehicles and it will lose its customers. The motto of the Japanese GS Yuasa that produces the batteries for Boeing is “The fun starts here”.

It looks like both players don’t want to end the “fun”. (2013/02/05)



My Comment answering to another Journal Community member who said that my previous comment about Boeing’s battery was cynical: It is not cynicism. The point is:

1) Both are technical companies with a lot of experience in their products and technologies. They know they made “mistakes” in the specification, development and implementation of the complete system, but they cannot recognize in public their mistakes because it is bad “propaganda” in front of their customers.

2) The “mystery” helps both parts to show they are working painful to find the causes of the problem.

3) When more “time” is needed to find the causes of the problem, they spread a big “mystery”. This is a “game”.

4) This is a “game” to protect the business interests of both parties. This is fun!  (2013/02/05)

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