Sunday, August 4, 2013

COMMENTS - 2013/08/04



WEEKLY BLOG COMMENTS No. 75
DATES: 2013/07/28 – 2013/08/04
ANALYST: Domingo Trassens
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Dear Friends:

The last week was marked for a series of different important subjects: homosexuality, diplomacy with non-friend countries, and the frustrating short advance of the job creation.

Pope Francis returning from Brazil to the Vatican with humility said that he cannot judge the gay priests.

Second, Russia gave a temporary residence to Edward Snowden acting against the request of the United States.

Third, on Friday, the U.S. Labor Department posted the jobs added during July and the small variation of the unemployment rate.

The three issues generated a lot debates, comments and also “quarrels” in the blog pages of Internet and columns of the news papers due to the different opinions the people have about the homosexuality in the society, the structural problems that hit the jobless workers and the international relationships with countries that always have a “No” for the requests of our foreign office.

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:
- United States
- Europe
- The World (Asia, Africa, Middle East…)
- Latin America
- Education
- Religion
- Economy, Business, Technology.

DAT
August 4, 2013

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UNITED STATES



Subject: Different information sources recognize that the United States is again under the threat of al Qaeda attacks.

My Comment: Everyone who thought the Osama bin Laden’s death was the end of al Qaeda, is naïve.

Terrorist groups like al Qaeda can survive despite the drone attacks and the persecution organized with thousands of troops and heavy weapons. (2013/08/03) 2 Recommendations



Subject: Due to the case of Mr. Snowden, a grand jury is analyzing how the contractors for national security are selecting.

My Comment: When we see now the attitude of Edward Snowden, we realize that those who hired him for NSA’s work were incapable to discover his "internal rebellion" against the institutions and his "anarchism".

In intelligence services, the professionals have to be highly skilled for their position, but they also have to be very loyal with the institutions. (2013/08/03) 4 Recommendations



My Comment answering to another member who said that Mr. Snowden acted according to the spirit of the U.S. Constitution and against the current president of the nation:  I have to remark that Edward Snowden didn’t betray current president of the nation (Democrat or Republican). He was not loyal to the institution who hired him.

When you agree to work for the intelligence services, you assume special obligations according the conditions of your contract.

If Mr. Snowden really was sure that NSA was acting wrong, he has other resources according to our Constitution to act as a good citizen, but he preferred to flee.

A good citizen complains about the bad practices of the institutions in the country, not fleeing to other countries. But Mr. Snowden has no guts. He is a coward. And more, he has shared secret information of the nation with China and Russia.

The American Constitution doesn't say that if you disagree with the institutions of the country, you have the right to go China and Russia to distribute the data that you stole on an official database. (2013/08/03) 1 Recommendation



Subject: Different sources say that the United States is over al Qaeda’s threat.

My Comment: We cannot live under a mattress. In this case, the government has to do all that is necessary to abort al Qaeda attacks on American targets. (2013/08/02) 2 Recommendations


PBS - ANALYSIS    AIR DATE: Aug. 1, 2013 - Despite Tension Over Snowden, U.S. and Russia Seem Reluctant to Upset Diplomacy

My Comment: XX, thank you for your comment. I appreciate your message.

About your question: “Did Snowden state that he wanted to live in total freedom?”

The best answer is the statement of the Snowden to “The Guardian”. He said: “I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded”.

Everybody knows that Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and the telecommunication carriers record our conversations and messages for different purposes (technical reasons, marketing, curiosity … security) across all the world (no only in the U.S.).

In other words, always somebody is looking at us and frequently they try to determine where we have to walk… We believe that we have the “freedom” to decide about our own life, but in a practical sense, we only have the “freedom” to decide among the 2 or 3 options that others put on the table.

For example, you are an American citizen and the registration of your computer and software is in U.S.; but you travel and stay temporarily in Germany, in that moment, Google sends you all the messages in Deutsch (German)…and after that you go to France, and Google sends you the messages and advertisement in French… and if you refuse to confirm your temporary residence where you are (Germany, France, Poland, Italy…), they block your computer. I have lived through this experience a lot of times and it is terrible that they send you messages in a language that you don’t know and require confirmation of your phone. Sometimes, after you re-changed all the texts to English, you receive again new messages in German or French or Italian…

In summary, we are living in a world with a “freedom” ruled by others… For this reason, the ideas of Snowden are only a fantasy. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/02)


PBS - ANALYSIS    AIR DATE: Aug. 1, 2013 - Despite Tension Over Snowden, U.S. and Russia Seem Reluctant to Upset Diplomacy – Part 1

My Comment: I agree that Edward Snowden will not be a free man in Russia.

They will spy on him every minute, also when he sleeps or in the bathroom.

And if he does something wrong, he will learn in his own skin the difference between the punishment in Russia and U.S. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/02) 2 Recommendations


PBS - ANALYSIS    AIR DATE: Aug. 1, 2013 - Despite Tension Over Snowden, U.S. and Russia Seem Reluctant to Upset Diplomacy – Part 2

My Comment: If Edward Snowden returns to U.S., he will go to jail for a long time.

However, in Russia he will be monitored every minute. Definitively, he is not in the paradise where he wanted to live with total freedom. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/02) 1 Recommendation



Subject: The White House expressed the “extreme disappointment” for the Russian’s asylum for Mr. Snowden

My Comment: The story says: “U.S.: ‘Extreme’ Disappointment…” When we know the answer will be “No”, it is frustrating that the U.S. Secretary of State calls the Russian foreign minister asking for his intervention. The best attitude is to put down the case. (2013/08/01) 1 Recommendation



My Comment: We cannot force the Russians to act in one or another direction, but when we know they will not follow our request, the best posture is to put down the case.

Every time that John Kerry talks with the Russian foreign minister or President Putin, the Russians move in a contrary direction. These are diplomatic defeats. (2013/08/01) 4 Recommendations



Subject: The U.S. Secretary of State lauds Egypt military for “restoring democracy”

My Comment: The function of the U.S. Secretary of State is to build and support good relationships with other countries, reducing “friction” with our enemies and the regimes that have different ideologies than we have.

However, our Secretary of State has to be cautious in public comments and actions that imply compromise with foreign leaders and countries that only try to use us to their benefit, but we don’t know what their real intentions are.

In the case of General Sisi, he is acting like other military leaders of the world that before brought down civil governments with apparently “democratic intentions” but in the end, they used the new civil authorities as “puppets” for their own interests.

In summary, we have to be “friendly” with everyone who acts in a friendly way with us but this attitude doesn’t imply sleeping in the same bed… (2013/08/02) 1 Recommendation



My Comment: In the current circumstances, it is not appropriate that the U.S. Secretary of State makes public comments about the internal politics of the Egyptians.
Nobody knows the real intentions of General Sisi. Nobody knows if there is a “secret plan” behind the new “democratic process”. (2013/08/01) 4 Recommendations



My Comment: Now Edward Snowden will learn the Russian language and the basics about the Communist “paradise”.
Meanwhile, all his steps across Russia will be reported to President Putin and the Russian secret services.

After that, probably he will realize that he was an ingenuous and candid guy when he said: “I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded” and he took the wrong route for his “freedom” and “independence”.

From Russia, the distance to his “fantasy world” is longer than from America. (2013/08/01) 1 Recommendation



Subject: Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy.

My Comment: Pfc. Bradley Manning is a caricature of what a soldier has to be. If he didn't have guts to be a soldier, he should have left the institution before acting against it. (2013/07/30) 3 Recommendations



Subject: The White House is showing a lot of anxiety about the Egyptian events.

My Comment: With the fear to commit new mistakes, the White House continues making mistakes in its relationships with Egypt.
First, it was with Hosni Murabak. Next, former President Morsi used the U.S. only in the way he wanted, while he was spreading his revolution. Now, General Sisi is asking for his new toys (the F-16s), but he doesn’t take obligations. Meanwhile, we lose time and money. (2013/07/30) 4 Recommendations


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EUROPE



Subject: Spanish Prime Minister Mario Rajoy accussed the party treasurer for a pending case of corruption.

My Comment: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy accuses the former party treasurer with the intention to protect his own back.
Who really can say that Mr. Rajoy is clean? “Corruption” is always a “sin” that involves more than one. (2013/08/01)



Subject: Italian Supreme Court upholds Mr. Berluscon tax-fraud conviction.

My Comment: I am not sure that we can say “Adios Silvio” or “Ciao Silvio” because till now Silvio Berlusconi has a lot of power and influence.

Through the media, Mr. Berlusconi can shake the fragile coalition that is ruling Italy in the way to demolish the government. The former prime minister has experience in this dirty business to hit his rivals and enemies. (2013/08/01) 1 Recommendation



My Comment: Several days ago, when Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud, we expected an immediate reaction from the loyalists of the former premier minister.

Now the news says that the Berlusconi’s followers ask for his “pardon” and they talk about a possible a “civil war”.
Personally, we don’t think Mr. Berlusconi needs a “civil war” to shake the political apparatus of Italy.

The former Italian Premier Minister continues to managing the media. With this "tool", he can put in jail those who accuse him because a lot of them are corrupt too. (2013/08/04) 1 Recommendation



Subject: The EU authorities say the unemployment rate fell in the euro-zone region but some countries like Spain continues with high rates.

My Comment:  The European Union report about jobs says the unemployment rate of the euro-zone fell in June, but the 26.3% of Spain shows a terrible picture.

Ten or eleven years ago, in the start of the euro-zone, the Spanish people who were traveling across the world making business said: “We are running better than the Germans”. 
Now, if we compare the rates of Germany (5.4%) and Spain (26.3%), the gap between both countries is huge. (2013/07/31)



Subject: In Germany, the elections for a new chancellor are creating different question marks.

My Comment: Peer Steinbrück - the most important rival of Chancellor Angela Merkel - is a politician with strong experience in government issues, but he is not a charismatic leader. Frequently his attitude is arrogant and unfriendly. He enjoys making comments that hit others. Recently, he criticized Sigmal Gabriel - Social Democratic Party leader - from the party who selected him for the new elections. (2013/07/30)


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THE WORLD (Asia, Africa, Middle East…)



Subject: President Mugabe declared himself the winner of the Zimbabwe elections.

My Comment: In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe will remain in power according to the results of the presidential election (61% of the vote). The opposition says the voting was a “sham”.
Outside Zimbabwe, who really cares if the election was fraudulent? The entire world knows that in this African country, democracy is not democracy. In 2008, it was exactly the same. In the end, nobody pushed Mr. Mugabe out of power. (2013/08/03) 8 Recommendations



My Comment: The complaint of Morgan Tsvangirai that the current voting was a “huge farce” after five years of the famous institutional crisis of Zimbabwe shows that nothing changed during this period for the African country.
President Robert Mugabe is older than before but he continues controlling all the structure of the power. (2013/08/01) 1 Recommendation



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LATIN AMERICA



Subject: Argentine entrepreneur is trying to develop the nanotech industry in South America.

My Comment: Argentina always has good entrepreneurs and professionals who believe in the potential of the country in innovative business niches and high level professional projects.
The problem is the political framework. From the times of the first presidency of Juan Peron in the 40s, the government system is interventionist independently of the president who is in the Pink House. With frequency, the political and economic authorities try to interfere in domestic and international transactions of the private businessmen with rules and laws that suffocate good initiatives.

This situation forces an expensive “lobby” to open the doors of officials who want to have an "income" for signing the okay. (In the vocabulary of the Buenos Aires’ streets: “recibir una cometa”…)

Eduardo Eurnekian has experience in all the “tricks” that an entrepreneur has to manage to deal with a “caste” of immoral politicians and officials. He is in the media business for a long time. Certainly he knows exactly the doors of the economic authorities that he has to open if he wants to be successful in the nanotech business. (2013/08/03)


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EDUCATION



Subject:  South Korea has a 93% high-school graduation rate and the search for good teachers and educators in this country is growing.

My Comment: Talk about “The $4 Million Teacher” looks like a dream from someone who imagine how the education is paid in another planet.
In general, across our planet, teachers are professionals who don’t earn a lot of money. Sometimes, they have to take two jobs for make a living.

The story talks about the top teachers in South Korea where their students are consider “among the best of the world.”

We know that in South Korea good English teachers are paid with excellent salaries.

But we will not discuss the details of the story written by Amanda Ripley and posted in Wall Street Journal.

However, we think the payment of good educators has to be re-considered by the educational authorities in the United States and the countries that want to have the top leaders and the higher qualified professionals.

We cannot accept anymore that the teachers and professors who develop the “brains” of the managers of our companies and the workers of our factories earn less income that the graduates educated by them. (2013/08/04)



My Comment answering to a member of the Journal Community who affirms the U.S. teachers linked with the unions don’t deserve more salary: XX, thank you for your comment. Your observation is good but you are talking about the teachers linked with the unions here in the United States. I am talking of the “good educators” here and everywhere who really develop the “brains” of the managers, employees and workers who move the economy of the countries.
I agree with you that the teachers who only work under the umbrella of the unions everywhere in the world are teachers who only do the minimum to perform their jobs. Frequently, they don’t care if the students learn; they only care for the “statistics”.

But for me, TEACHERS are REALY the educators who put first the learning of their students, before the “statistics”.

My observation is about the TEACHERS who work with the “brains” of their students in the right way to open their intellectual functions to knowledge and then guide them on the correct road of practice. I was one of those TEACHERS in another country and now I don’t have at least a coin in my pocket for my educational effort. (2013/08/04) 1 Recommendation



My Comment answering again to a member of the Journal Community: XX: Thank you for understanding my point. I appreciate again a lot your words.
When I was studying the art and science of education, I learned that I never have to leave alone the student till he/she is in condition to build his/her own road. During my years in the university in another country and here in the United States as a volunteer in the Fort Lauderdale, Main Branch library I never left alone my students until they were in condition to act for themselves.  
The teacher has to put all his heart, feelings and intelligence into the classroom not only because each student is a potential manager or CEO... The teacher is like a sculptor of adult human beings, but he is also like a master engineer who helps build the road for his students.

But because a lot of teachers put the "statistics" first, in the end they really don't perform their first duty: "teaching". (2013/08/04) 1 Recommendation


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RELIGION


Subject: Pope Francis gave signals of openness to gay priests.

My Comment: Pope Francis began the big changes for the Catholic Church. (2013/07/29) 1 Recommendation


PBS – REPORT - AIR DATE: July 29, 2013 - Pope Francis Strikes Tolerant Tone in Remarks on Gay Catholics

Subject: Pope Francis talks in a tolerant tone about on Catholics who are gay.

My Comment: "Love everyone, without judging" is a good sentence that reflects the true Jesus' teaching. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/03) 1 Recommendation


PBS - ANALYSIS    AIR DATE: Aug. 2, 2013 - Brooks and Marcus talking about the Catholic Church and homosexuality.

My COMMENT: I disagree with the position of David Brooks in relation with the statement of Pope Francis about homosexuality.

Of course, David is a political analyst and this issue is not political. It is a religious issue with social and human connotations.

However, after centuries of condemning homosexuality as a big sin, if the Pope of the Catholic Church says that he has not the right to judge homosexuals; this statement marks a huge change in the way of thinking of someone who is ruling the institutions of the Church now. Definitively, this attitude of humility exceeds the frame of the religious environment.

Probably, we will not see immediate effects in a short time because the old-fashioned cardinals like the former Pope Benedict will not change their minds, but in long term the Catholic Church's liberalization will have implications in the human attitude of the western civilization. And surely, it will stop the current discrimination against gays. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/03) 2 Recommendation


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ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY



Subject: U.S. Labor Department posted the Job Report of July 2013.

My Comment: If the situation continues like now, the salary of the low level employees and newcomers will be worse than the Chinese wages.
Today, in educational and health organizations, a lot of professionals work as volunteers with the goal to gain merit for paid positions. (2013/08/03) 2 Recommendations


PBS - ANALYSIS    AIR DATE: Aug. 2, 2013 - Brooks and Marcus talking about the July Job Report.

My COMMENT: The analysis of Ruth Marcus doesn't show the true situation on the street:

- First, we cannot wait until 2020 to fix the dramatic situation of a lot of jobless workers who are tired of knocking on doors that are locked with more than two bars.

- Second, from the moment the Internet took the lead in the job search business, a lot of job agencies are posting thousands of fictitious jobs on the pages of work that create a fake scenario related to this crucial economic variable.

- Third, like David says, there are deep structural problems in the current job market. A lot of work positions and professions that were good jobs ten years ago, today they are dead. The technology changed dramatically the equations of the economy in less than 10 years.

And the monthly Job Report of the U.S. Labor Department is only a set of statistics that don't reveal the real problems of jobless workers. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/03) 1 Recommendation



Subject: The discussions about the Dell buyout continues and the deal didn’t achieve to a final point.

My Comment: Till now, the negotiation for the buyout of Dell is a long game without a clear final…
Surely, after a period as a private company, Michael will want that his company returns to Wall Street to earn more money for the people who believe in the technology industry. (2013/08/02) 2 Recommendations



Subject: Apple is looking for a new manager for its retail stores after the resignation of the previous manager responsible for their own stores across the world.

My Comment: The retail stores of technology need periodical refreshing according to the moment, in special when they don't have announcements of new products that will generate a rush of customers and enthusiastic visitors.
For this reason, it is important that Apple names a manager full-time dedicated to the management of its stores

Apple has to extend its "moment" with glow and intelligence if it doesn't want to lose sales. The original idea to open retail stores focused on the "mantra" of the company was great. (2013/08/02)



Subject: Toyota posted new good financial results after a period of declination of its profit.

My Comment: After some serious problems Toyota lived through the last years ago, the figures of its last quarter (April-June 2013) reflect a good recovery.
According to the information, in the last quarter, the Japanese car maker posted a net profit of US$5.6 billion, up 94% compared with the same period of the previous year.

This is a positive signal in relation with the series of faded numbers that other companies have posted in recent days, including energy companies, car makers and technology leaders. (2013/08/02)



Subject: Google introduced a new digital tablet. A technology journalist from WSJ posted a short analysis of its main features.

My Comment: The analyst who evaluated the Nexus 7 mini tablet wrote:

- Positive: “impressively sharp screen”
- Negative: “its battery life disappoints.”

In a digital tablet, the battery life is a key element.

We cannot enjoy “an impressively sharp screen” when frequently the battery says: "No more!"  (2013/07/31) 2 Recommendations



Subject: Peugeot again posted bad financial results in the last quarter.

My Comment: This news is not new. For more than one year, each quarter, we are reading about the poor financial results of PSA Peugeot Citroën.
From the other side, according to different testimonies, we know that the maintenance of its vehicles is expensive and its technology is very sensitive. The French cars have to visit the mechanic shop very frequently. This is a historic problem of Peugeot Citroën. (2013/07/31) 2 Recommendations


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SOURCES:

1) External Sources: Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and PBS NewsHour

2) Own Sources: My own research for previous publishing projects: TTT of Comlab Corp, Spanish English Club online.



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