Sunday, June 16, 2013

COMMENTS - 2013/06/16



WEEKLY BLOG COMMENTS No. 68
DATES: 2013/06/09– 2013/06/16
ANALYST: Domingo Trassens
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Dear Friends:

The second week of June began with an explosive and unexpected cable from Hong Kong. Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old American till that moment unknown, revealed that he was who made public the information about the surveillance system of  the National Security Agency.

Mr. Snowden, technical specialist of a contractor of the NSA, fled to Hong Kong looking for safe refuge when he accused his country for the secret surveillance of the population and the cyber-espionage against China.

Another important subject of the week was the decision of the White House to send weapons to the FSA, Syrian rebel group that is fighting against the regime of President al-Assad.

Both issues generated extensive debates inside and outside the United States.

Some people pointed against Mr. Snowden as a traitor, while others said that he is a hero.

Meanwhile, Russia criticized the White House for their support of the Syrian rebels.

In Central Europe, the heavy flooding continued hitting cities, small towns and an extensive territory with serious damages.

In Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan and the police put on more pressure to stop the unrest of the protesters in Istanbul’s square.

On Saturday, the Iranians voted for a new president. Hassan Rohani, a moderate clergyman won the election. (Please read my comment in the “The World” chapter.)

Now I would like to share with you a series of comments posted by myself in the WSJ Journal Community and PBS through Twitter during the last seven days about the top news of the week.

The comments are organized in the following sections: NSA and Surveillance (special section), United States, Europe, The World (Asia, Africa, Middle East…), Latin America, Education and Economy, Business, Technology.

DAT
June 16, 2013

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NSA AND SURVEILLANCE

Sequence of main comments posted about the case of Mr. Snowden and the secret surveillance.



Subject: Edward Snowden, a technical specialist who worked for the NSA, points against the secret surveillance with the digital capture of personal data.
                       
My Comment: Everybody who works for the intelligence and security services has to sign a contract of confidentiality.

We believe that Edward Snowden signed this contract. He acted wrong knowing that he was acting wrong. He moved to Hong-Kong before he revealed secret information.

He has not the right to decide what was right or wrong about the NSA’s program, but he violated his contract of confidentiality.

He doesn’t act against one or another White House administrations, he acted against the national security of the country.

Conclusion: nobody has the right to disseminate classified information because he thinks that he is correct. (2013/06/12) 4 Recommendations


PBS - DEBATE AIR DATE: June 10, 2013
What Should Be Up for Public Debate When It Comes to Secret Surveillance?

Subject: In the middle of the debate about the secret surveillance, some people say that Edward Snowden is a hero due to his accusation about the secret system of NSA.

My Comment: The dilemma: Is Edward Snowden hero or traitor?

When somebody cares a lot for his country and thinks the government or authorities are acting wrong, the right way is to confront those authorities with courage and real arguments, assuming directly all the risks that imply speaking in public in his own country. Additionally, he has to act in the way that his declaration doesn’t produce more damage than positive results.

Mr. Snowden fled the country. After that, he spoke to the public through the forum that a foreign newspaper gave him. He didn’t act as a brave soldier for his belief. Worse, he revealed information that can put at risk the country from where he belongs. Definitively, he is not a hero.

Justice will have the last verdict about Mr. Snowden's actions. (By TWITTER) (2013/06/12) 1 Recommendation




My Comment: During the Congress’ hearing about the case of Edward Snowden, Sen. Dick Durbin asked “why someone such as Mr. Snowden would have been able to have access to classified information” and Gen. Alexander  (NSA’s chief ) replied: "Some of these folks have tremendous skills to operate networks."

If this statement is true, it shows that the NSA is in the “hands” of some folks with a lot of technical skill but without ethical principles due to its incapacity to manage the technology for itself.

It looks like a tragic-comedy. Our intelligence services wanted to have a very sophisticated secret system. After that because they couldn't operate it themselves, they hired external technicians who were only recruited for their skills without care if they were reliable people.

Similar case: you want to protect your secret system with a complex “password”, but after that, because you are not able to type it, you hire somebody to type your “password” without knowing who he is. Definitively, this is very vulnerable. (2013/06/13) 2 Recommendations


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UNITED STATES



Subject: Columnist Peggy Noonan talks about the “surveillance state” and criticizes the acquisition of technology to spy on people.

My Comment: It is obvious that an abusive "surveillance state" degenerates into a paranoia.

But we cannot blame the technology for the current "surveillance state". Technology is only a tool.

We have to blame ourselves due to our fears about all that is around us. (2013/06/16) 1 Recommendation



Subject: This story points against the “metadata” generated by phone calls and e-mails.

My Comment: Today due to the revelation of the secret system of NSA everybody is talking about the “metadata” behind each communication call or electronic mail, but since the introduction of the first mobile phones we know that the telecommunication carriers can track the calls and know exactly the location of who is calling.

Also from some years ago there are public utility programs that inform the receiver of electronic messages from where an e-mail was sent.

The crime movies show us how the police investigators can find the criminals through the trail of their phone calls.

In summary, everyone who makes phone calls or sends messages knows that they are "visible" and they can be located in seconds. For this reason, who are committing a crime or making something illegal doesn’t have to use phones or digital devices linked with the Internet. (2013/06/15)



Subject: Senate is working in the last details of the immigration bill.  One of the key issues: border security.

My Comment: Border security is a key issue of the new immigration law because the crime activities on the Mexican side of the frontier are out of our control but they have influence in the illegal immigration through this country.

We cannot stay pending of the different events that happen in Mexican territory. The new government promised to fight against the armed gangs that operate in the north of their country but the actions of its security forces are not directly linked with our immigration agenda.

Definitively, the Mexicans do not care if their gangs traffic in drugs and illegal immigrants on our territory. (2013/06/15) 3 Recommendations



Subject: After the summit between the American and Chinese Presidents some analysts showed some optimism from the conversations.

My Comment: In the politics, we have to be cautious. We can assume nothing with one or two facts…

It is premature to make a statement about the direction that Mr. Xi follows. We have to observe his next steps and see if he always walks in one direction or switches according to the circumstances. (2013/06/09) 


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EUROPE



Subject: The chief of the French telecommunications company is under investigation for corruption. He was linked with Christine Lagarde when she was Finance Minister in France.

My Comment: Stéphane Richard, someone of the “circle” of Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF and former French Finance Minister, is under investigation for corruption.

The Europeans say that others are corrupt, but the corruption is everywhere. (2013/06/12)


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THE WORLD: Asia, Africa, Middle East


Subject: Immediately after the knowledge of the results of the Iranian voting, some sources from the western countries talk to press Iran about its nuclear program.

My Comment: The victory of Hassan Rohani shows an important reaction of the Iranian voters against the hard line of conservative clergymen, but before any other consideration we have to observe his first steps when he assumes the presidency.

We cannot expect important changes from the Iranians in a short term. With certainty, the political apparatus of the country is full of people who grew during decades with a strong anger against the western countries.

Attention! Hassan Rohani could be a "Trojan Horse" of the Iranian supreme leader.  (2013/06/16) 1 Recommendation



Subject: Turkish police tries to clear Istanbul Park where the protesters remain.

My Comment: The “procedure” that the Turkish President Erdogan is using to stop the unrest is not the right way to calm the people and end the claims against him.

He is acting similar to the Syrian President al-Assad when two years ago the protests began against the regime in the neighboring country.

Frequently, the violent actions of the police generate more negative reactions in the population. After that, they will need to use more force and hardness to close the mouth of the people. (2013/06/16)



My Comment answering to another Journal member who says that Prime Minister Erdogan has 50% of people of his country with him: Everybody knows that the Turkish economy is growing well. There is not a discussion about what Prime Minister Erdogan did for his country.

However, in a democracy, the leaders of the government have to talk with the opposition and try to calm the protests without violent actions of the police.

Democracy is the government will the "will" of the people and their leaders have to deal with the differences of opinions by way of a dialogue. They must work like "architects" of politics to build "consensus" through the diversity of opinions including the dissent. (2013/06/16)



Subject: The coalition forces that operate in Afghanistan are transferring the security mission of the country to the Afghans.

My Comment: The transfer of the Afghanistan security to the Afghans is an important test for the coalition forces who trained the troops of this country.

However, if the Afghans don’t do a good job, President Hamid Karzai cannot blame the Americans because during the last few years his government created a lot of turbulence around the mission and activities of the western military. (2013/06/15)



Subject: After both Koreas agreed an agenda of peace talks, North Korea postponed the conference without any explanation.

My Comment: Probably, North Korea will launch a rocket before starting the formal dialogue with South Korea to show again that it is “strong”. (2013/06/11)



Subject: Mr. Erdogan continues showing his hard hand against the demonstrators.

My Comment: Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is generating more violence, instead of trying to pacify his country.

His attitude is very dangerous. He is using the same tactics used by dictatorship regimes to destroy the opposition and generate more power around the leader.

The Turkish police can “clean” the Istanbul square of protesters, but it will never “remove” the spirit of rebellion of these people through a violent way. (2013/06/10)



Subject: Some negative symptoms of the Chinese economy.

My Comment: The Chinese economy has a series of weak points:

- Corruption,
- Big gap between rich and poor people with very poor rural areas,
- Currency with fictitious value,
- Communist planning in a capitalist environment
- More….

If they don’t pursue a structural reform soon, they will have a serious problem. (2013/06/09) 2 Recommendations



My Comment answering to another member who said that despite the corruption and other weak points, China always was ahead: When you start from a zero level, it is possible that you grow despite your weak points, but when you are at the top of the hill, if you don’t fix your structural problems, the curve will push you down. This is a normal business cycle.

Always in the economic development of companies and countries there is an inflection point. Now
China is at this point.

The economy rules show that when somebody achieves the inflection point, the normal trend moves you down if you are not strong enough to continue climbing to another level. In that moment if you don't fix your structural problems, you cannot climb more and you will go down.
Read in an economy manual to know what will happen next if China doesn't fix its structural problems. (2013/06/09) 2 Recommendations


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LATIN AMERICA



Subject: Nicaragua returns to the Latin American headlines with the news that President Ortega signed an agreement with a Chinese company to build an inter-oceanic canal between the Pacific and the Atlantic.

My Comment: This issue is part of the Central American History of frustration. Always the projects of the construction of an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua end in nothing.

After the Sandinista Revolution, President Ortega had all the resources of the country under his control, but in his glory days, he didn’t push the inter-oceanic canal project to the top of his agenda. Now, the deal between Mr. Ortega and a Chinese construction company looks like the “last carrot” of the Sandinista regime to generate some dreams in the population, nothing more. (2013/06/14) 1 Recommendation


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EDUCATION

PBS - REPORT AIR DATE: June 7, 2013
To Lower Dropout Rates, Finding Potential Where Support Systems Are Lacking

Subject: Special report explains details of a program of a private institution – OneGoal - to help the public school to move down the dropout rates in Illinois.

OneGoal is a nonprofit educational organization that works together with Chicago public schools.

My Comment: The program of OneGoal is consistent with this mission to reduce the dropout rates to minimum levels.

The devoted work of efficient teachers is very important to reverse cases of dropout.

The teacher has to develop specific skills with the students to give them the possibility to be successful and can graduate:

- Ambition to achieve leader positions

- Integrity, personal honor

- Professional goals

- Resilience, ability to recover or adjust easily from the failures

- Creativity in the search of solutions

Normally, the high dropout rates are consequence of two main factors:

1) Negative environment at home and/or in the neighborhood where the students live.

2) Incapacity or negligence of the teachers to “motivate” their students who have difficulties to achieve their educational goals. (By TWITTER) (2013/06/14)


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ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY



Subject: Special evaluation written by Walter S. Mossberg, journalist of the Wall Street Journal describes features of a new family of Toshiba laptops named “Kirabook” based on Microsoft Windows with prices starting at US$1,600.-

Like the report remarks, in a time where the PC prices go down, the cost of this new family of computer looks expensive.

Mr. Mossberg says this Toshiba family of laptops is a non-Apple computer line with an Apple-price.

My Comment: With this price, Toshiba will only sell the new Windows laptop to its fanatics. (2013/06/13)



Subject: Amazon.com is competing against IBM for the development of a cloud solution for the CIA.

My Comment: Amazon.com is a young dynamic and innovative company who grew fast from the e-commerce to other technology segments.

However, IBM is a strong provider of information services, consulting and technology with an extensive background working for the government, universities, research centers and big corporations.

In this case, the question is: who could be the best provider for a CIA’s project?
Of course, Amazon.com knows that this kind of contract is like a door to the “Heaven”.

Although for very complex projects, IBM has an extraordinary foundation of technology. (2013/06/12) 1 Recommendation



Subject: Google is acquiring a young company expert in navigation technology for a high price.

Waze Inc. is a company founded by a group of Israeli experts in innovative technologies.

My Comment: The initiative of Google to strengthen its navigation technology is good, but the acquisition of Waze Inc. is expensive.

We know Waze is a very innovative company founded in Israel by a team of young people with background and potential, but the price of the transaction is high.

If somebody has to take money from his pocket, he will not pay more than $1 billion for a five-year-old company that till now has not a complete set of stable products in the market.

Frequently, Google, Yahoo and Facebook use the money of their investors in a crazy way. (2013/06/10)

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