WEEKLY BLOG COMMENTS
DATES: 2013/09/16 – 2013/09/22
ANALYST: Domingo Trassens
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Dear
Friends:
During the
last few days, the political environment was very active in the national and
international levels.
In the United States, some Republican lawmakers lead by
Senator Ted Cruz began a strong campaign to stop the start of the Obamacare on
2014.
In the
international sphere, the German federal elections generated a lot of
expectations due to the important role of this country in the European Union
and euro-zone.
Pope
Francis talked again about the role of the Catholic Church in the society and a
new spirit of respect for gays and people who defend the abortion.
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
- Religion
-
Immigration
- Education
- Economy,
Business, Technology.
DAT
September 22, 2013
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UNITED
STATES
PBS -
ANALYSIS - AIR DATE: Sept. 20, 2013: Brooks and Dionne Discuss Conflict
in the GOP, Confronting Gun Violence
Subject: New York Times columnist David
Brooks and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne discuss the week's top
political news, including prospects of a government shutdown, conflict and
leadership within the Republican Party and other subjects.
My
Comment: Your
target in the last two sessions was Senator Ted Cruz. You are putting him in
the list of the lawmakers who are not lawmakers.
Did not you
think that probably Ted is right?
Ted has in
his paternal blood the “rebellion” against injustice, oppression and the
Establishment. His father is a Cuban who fought against the two Cuban dictators:
Batista and Castro.
About the
current situation, Ted knows about the disappointment of a lot of people from
the entire American universe against Obamacare. Some Republican lawmakers don't
want to be marked by the White House as anti-American. Ted doesn’t care.
We can
agree or disagree with Senator Ted Cruz, but we have to agree that the
Republican Party needs a strong shake to return to the lead.
The nation
needs Republicans and Democrats with hot blood in their veins. Perhaps the
action from Ted will wake up the Republicans who are tamed by the current
political regime.
We have to
observe and see… (By TWITTER) (2013/09/22) 1 Recommendation
My
Comment: Always
somebody who is in charge misses the warnings… (2013/09/19) 1 Recommendation
My
Comment: About your
comments related to Barack Obama’s modus operandi, my observation is President
Obama is a politician who believes that he is the owner of the truth. He
doesn’t want to work together with the opposition to find common points for
mutual agreements.
In a
democracy, the president has to work with the opposition even when others are
wrong. (2013/019/19) 1 Recommendation
My
Comment: In the
politics, we always have to act cautiously when an enemy comes to us as a tame
lamb. Before any statement, we have to observe if it is not a wolf disguised as
a lamb.
I agree
that the release of 11 political prisoners and activist is not enough to show
important political changes (2013/09/19) 2 Recommendations
My
Comment: Frequently
during the last few years we saw this “tug of war” between Republicans and
Democrats. (2013/09/18) 2 Recommendations
PBS -
ANALYSIS AIR DATE: Sept. 14, 2013 - Will the Syrian Chemical Weapons Deal Work?
Subject: Anthony Cordesman of the Center for
Strategic and International Studies talked about the deal between the US and Russia on Syria's chemical weapons and what effect
the removal of such weapons may have on the Syrian civil war.
My
Comment: Anthony
Cordersman shows a very interesting picture of the uncertain future of Syria.
The
agreement between U.S. and Russia about the destruction of the
chemical weapons is till now only on “paper”. Its implementation is very
difficult and it will not resolve the more serious problems of the country. (By
TWITTER) (2013/09/15)
My
Comment: Through
the Benghazi case, we learned that Susan Rice is
not the right person to unwrap "explosive" packages. (2013/09/15) 1
Recommendation
My
Comment: The
statement: “The Fed needs a chairman who is politically independent” is good,
but in practice nobody is “politically independent”. (2013/09/16) 3
Recommendations
My
Comment: With
certainty, Lawrence Summers wants to avoid the
possibility of be included in the losers list on the voting. It would be a bad
antecedent in his personal curriculum.
One less
fight for the FED's seat in a moment when is very difficult to earn
“glories”.
(2013/09/16)
1 Recommendation
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EUROPE
My
Comment: Angela
Merkel built her current foundation through her strong political career.
2013/09/22)
My
Comment: The
leaders of FDP knew they were going down, but they did make nothing to reverse
the fall. Really, they deserve this defeat. (2013/09/22)
My
Comment: In the
Greek political "zoo" we can find all the specimens, including
killers. (2013/09/21)
My
Comment: FDP (Free
Democratic Party) is one of German smaller parties in trouble.
In recent regional and local elections, FDP lost representation and its future in the federal parliament is at risk.
Its current leaders are not charismatic and its political platform is not in the mainstream now.
FDP is a pro-business party that promotes the free market economy and individual liberty. (2013/09/21)
In recent regional and local elections, FDP lost representation and its future in the federal parliament is at risk.
Its current leaders are not charismatic and its political platform is not in the mainstream now.
FDP is a pro-business party that promotes the free market economy and individual liberty. (2013/09/21)
My
Comment: During the
eight years of government, Angela Merkel surpassed very difficult tests and
gained the respect of her rivals at home and across the EU.
However, if
she wins the new election, her new term will be not easy because the business
community and the normal people expect new initiatives in different areas of
the government.
First at
all she has to build a new stable alliance to continue in power during 4 more
years. FDP, the current junior partner of CDU/CSU, doesn’t look with fresh
ideas to assume new government responsibilities. (2013/09/19)
My
Comment: Peer
Steinbrück is a very controversial politician. He believes that God gave him a
special gift for hard criticism against everybody.
Here we
have only two samples:
1) In
February 2013, according to Reuters, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano
cancelled a dinner with him because he described the former Italian premier
Silvio Berlusconi and comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo as
"clowns".
2) Before,
in December 2008, when he was finance minister for Angela Merkel , he ridiculed
the U.K. policies because he disagreed with
some financial initiatives of the government of United Kingdom. (Sources: BBC).
Both cases
created political frictions with foreign countries.
Frequently
he has not had friendly expressions with different members of the German
political community. For example, one time he tried to mock Wolfgang Schäuble,
current German Finance Minister in a Parliament session.
In brief,
Peer Steinbrück has no diplomatic manners to express opinions about others.
Additionally,
he makes his good living through expensive fees for his speeches to bankers and
business people, something that is not the best way of acting as a socialist
leader. And he expects to increase his salary if he is elected chancellor.
2013/09/20) 0 Recommendations
My
Comment: The French
initiative to push for new Europe-wide regulations and tax rules on U.S.
Internet companies is a way to build a new “Wall”, in this case between America and Europe.
France is wrong because it is looking for the isolation of Europe in a moment that the companies of this continent are losing the brilliance of other times. (2013/09/19) 6 Recommendations
France is wrong because it is looking for the isolation of Europe in a moment that the companies of this continent are losing the brilliance of other times. (2013/09/19) 6 Recommendations
Subject: Analysis of the German political environment before the
federal elections of September 22.
My
Comment: In the
general elections of Germany, the two real options are Angela
Merkel and Peer Steinbrück.
The Greens
and FDP are losing ground because their current leaders are not charismatic
enough to generate adherence of new voters.
Die Linke
has only the support of a segment of left voters.
The other
parties are not significant in the general elections.
Peer
Steinbrück (SPD) doesn’t want to be the No. 2 of Angela Merkel (CDU). For this
reason, it is very difficult to build a coalition between both parties.
From the other side, Mr. Steinbrück doesn’t want to make an agreement with Die Linke.
The alternative is that Peer Steinbrück moves to the side and gives his “seat” to Sigmar Gabriel, the current chairman of SPD who is more flexible to build alliances.
From the other side, Mr. Steinbrück doesn’t want to make an agreement with Die Linke.
The alternative is that Peer Steinbrück moves to the side and gives his “seat” to Sigmar Gabriel, the current chairman of SPD who is more flexible to build alliances.
The option
of the current elections is AfD (Alternative für Deutschland), a newest German
party, but it has the ambition to produce a political earthquake in this
country.
AfD was
founded on April 14, 2013 by a professor of macroeconomics at
the University of Hamburg – Bernd Lucke – with a group of
intellectuals who are against the euro or at least they want that Germany leaves the euro zone.
Since the Greece crisis, a lot of Germans are
complaining against the most corrupt European countries that want to live with
support of the disciplined countries.
However,
AfD didn’t have enough “propaganda” during the current campaign to come to all
the Germans who disagree with the euro zone. It is probable that a lot of
voters don’t know about its platform and the alternative that Bernd Lucke and
his partners suggest.
The classic
newspapers didn’t talk about this new alternative and in small towns and a farm
nearby nobody goes to the Internet to learn about the political options for
voting and the platforms of the new parties. (Till now a lot of elders and
people over 50s don’t have a clue how to turn on a personal computer, but every
day at 6 am they start reading the local newspaper.)
By the way,
some months ago, Germany had local elections in some cities.
I remember a voting list of an important city. This list included a lot of
parties, but when I read about the results, the majority of the small parties
didn’t have more than 1 or 2 votes; the 90% of votes was shared between SPD and
CDU.
About the
AfD, it is important to remark that it needs 5 percent of the votes (as
minimum) to earn representation in German parliament. (2013/09/17)
My
Comment: The
victory of Horst Seehofer (CSU) in Bavaria was unquestionable, but the
political geography of the federal election of September 22 is very different.
(2013/09/16) 1 Recommendation
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THE
WORLD
My
Comment: It is good
that the new Iranian president is changing the attitude of his country with the
West, but we know that behind him there are other clergymen who think very
different.
The question is: Why Mr. Rouhani is in a hurry to talk? Please, step by step… (2013/09/22) 1 Recommendation
The question is: Why Mr. Rouhani is in a hurry to talk? Please, step by step… (2013/09/22) 1 Recommendation
My
Comment: The report
that comes from China about the trial and sentence of Bo
Xilai is very short and it doesn’t give elements for a deep analysis.
We only can
read: “A Chinese court sentenced Bo Xilai to life in prison on Sunday after
finding the once powerful Communist Party insider guilty on charges of bribery,
embezzlement and abuse of power.”
We know
about the corrupt behavior of Bo Xilai. The international press also talked a
lot about the scandal related to the murder of a British businessman.
However,
this heavy sentence “life in prison” looks also like a political purge.
Probably in the future we will learn more about all the details behind the
scene. (2013/09/22)
Story: Bo Xilai Found Guilty, Sentenced to Life in Prison
– Part 2
My
Comment answering to another Journal Community member : XXX: You are right “… corruption
causes bankruptcies like in the west and not growing prosperity like in China.”
Corruption
is one of the bigger sicknesses of the economic world that unbalance the normal
growing of countries for the benefit of a group of individuals without ethical
principles. It generates a cruel poverty worse than the natural poverty of
people who always lived in the middle of nothing. (2013/09/22) 3
Recommendations
My
Comment: Today no
place in the world is 100% safe. For the terrorism there aren't frontiers.
(2013/09/21) 1 Recommendation
My
Comment: When we
visit the luxury international hotels of Cairo and the tourist resources of the Red Sea, we imagine Egypt is a country with good economic
level. But we don’t need to drive long distance from the capital to realize
that poverty sprouts from everywhere. Driving from Cairo downtown to the Pyramids of Giza we
find hundreds of houses that reflect the painful lives of a lot of Egyptians.
Also the
poverty was one of the factors of series of massive protests from the moment
that President Mubarak left the power.
People with
hunger are good as “fuel” to spread riots. They can be used by Islamic
extremists and other groups to propagate political commotions. (2013/09/18)
My
Comment: The last
events showed that President Putin always finds ()(the)a way to protect
President al-Assad.
And Mr.
Putin is in a good position now. He is not at risk. If the Syrian regime
doesn’t follow some of the conditions of the agreement about chemical weapons,
the Russian President will find a way to stop again the western intervention.
(2013/09/17) 1 Recommendation
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LATIN AMERICA
My
Comment: In other
times, Acapulco was the paradise of the American tourism. Now, all is mud.
(2013/09/21)
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RELIGION
PBS - REPORT AIR DATE: Sept.
20, 2013: In Egypt, Coptic Christians Become Target
for Attack in Times of National Stress – Part 1
My
Comment: According
to this story, the Muslim Brotherhood was involved in the recent rampage
against Christian churches.
The irony
is that one year ago, President Obama congratulated former President Morsi,
member of the Muslim Brotherhood when he assumed the Egyptian government. In
that moment a lot of people believed the Muslim Brotherhood wanted to drive Egypt in respect of the human rights and
freedom of worship. (By TWITTER) (2013/09/21) 4 Recommendations
PBS -
REPORT AIR DATE: Sept. 20, 2013: In Egypt, Coptic Christians Become Target
for Attack in Times of National Stress – Part 2
My
Answer to another member that says that the burning of churches is immoral: These acts of violence are really
criminal and they have to be punished.
The Muslims
also were burning Christian churches in Iraq during the last few years. (By
TWITTER) (2013/09/21) 5 Recommendations
My
Comment: The new
focus of Pope Francis is a positive signal from the top leader of an
institution that during centuries was condemning everybody who didn’t say
“Amen”.
The
Catholic Church has to bring “mercy” to everybody without discrimination.
(2013/09/19) 1 Recommendation
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IMMIGRATION
My
Comment: America is a nation built for immigrants,
however till now the discrimination persists because the children of immigrants
don't feel in their own skin the difficulties that their parents lived when
they arrived to these lands. (2013/09/22) 1 Recommendation
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EDUCATION
PBS
-REPORT AIR DATE: Sept. 9, 2013 - Opening the Door for Low-Income Students to Overcome 'Aristocracy'
of Higher Ed – Part 1
Comment
from another member:
“Embedded in this story are a set of values regarding education that should be
challenged and debated. First, it treats education at community college and
vocational career trajectory as by definition inferior to the experiences to be
had at an expensive, selective university. Second, it ignores the many
excellent public universities, especially the land-grant schools…”
My
Comment: XXX: Your observation is great. This story
ignores public universities because it is subliminal (hidden) advertising to
the "opening" of expensive and selective universities through LEDA.
PBS
-REPORT AIR DATE: Sept. 9, 2013 - Opening the Door for Low-Income Students to Overcome
'Aristocracy' of Higher Ed – Part 2
Comment
from another member:
Bravo! Well said. Public colleges serve the entire country and provide
tremendous value and life changing opportunities for the students they serve.
Elite
colleges serve the elite. The students they accept are either so well prepared
or so well connected that they would be successful even if they learned nothing
in their four years at college.
My
Comment: XXX: I
agree “elite colleges serve the elite” but not necessarily do they help to
develop the country in the right way. (By TWITTER) (2013/09/15)
My
Comment: The news
says that in Mexico “teachers can no longer sell their
jobs or give them to a family member.”
What kind
of teacher could buy a “teacher position” without the right credentials to
teach?
It is
incredible that till now this “dirty business” was possible in Mexico. But how many other more similar
corrupt “transactions” are possible in that country?
We hope the
new education-reform legislation starts a firm war against corruption.
(2013/09/16)
0 Recommendations
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ECONOMY,
BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY
My
Comment: When
corporations and business customers invest in technology, they are buying more
than some devices and/or software packages. They are buying technology
solutions that imply technical support, consulting and a technology platform
for their business operations.
In the
current situation, BlackBerry cannot really offer a safe partnership and a
strong business compromise to its customers because as a technology provider it
looks unstable. (2013/09/22) 4 Recommendations
My
Comment: The
introduction of the new iPhone in this moment is the big Apple test of the
Post-Steve-Jobs’ era. (2013/09/21)
My
Comment: Sad end of
an innovative company that made History in the mobile phone industry.
(2013/09/18) 2 Recommendations
My
Comment: Normally,
the cities that grow like factories of the economic booms, when the economy
declines, they become cemeteries of buildings and trash. (2013/09/17)
My
Comment: This story
shows only a partial view of the job market after the 2008 crisis.
The
job-problem is not only a problem of the young generation. No companies want to
give work to older people than 60 independent of their background and a lot of
elders need to continue working.
During the
2008 crisis, the companies cut professional contracts and freelance work or
directly canceled work orders from one moment to another. These factors hit
professionals and technical workers who lost their normal incomes. The big
“wave” destroyed the personal finance of a lot of people over 60. (2013/09/15)
14 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.
Website: http://world-rethink.blogspot.de/
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