Sunday, September 1, 2013

COMMENTS - 2013/09/01



WEEKLY BLOG COMMENTS
DATES: 2013/08/26 – 2013/09/01
ANALYST: Domingo Trassens
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Dear Friends:


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
- Economy, Business, Technology.

DAT
September 1, 2013

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UNITED STATES



Subject: President Obama seeks congressional approval to attack Syria.

My Comment: The news says: “At the last minute, Obama alone made call to seek congressional approval. Change in president’s thinking confounded White House insiders.”
1) Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, President Obama has changed frequently his way of thinking about the right action that his administration has to take in this case.

2) From the other side, normally, the decisions of U.K. have influence in the decisions of President Obama.

3) Additionally the name “Putin” acts as a “bad ghost” when President Obama wants to act in a direction where he will have to fight against the Russian leader.

And the last, we have to remember that when the Arab Spring started, the White House applauded the "pro-democratic" movements from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and Syria without paying a lot of attention about who were behind these movements. Doubtless, this attitude weakened the United States in the way to intercede in front of the governments of these countries to make possible peaceful transitions from dictatorial regimes in new democratic countries. (2013/09/01) 1 Recommendation


My Comment: South Korea, Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia push U.S. for action according to this story. Will these countries put soldiers, weapons and money to attack Syria or are they only blah, blah? (2013/08/31) 3 Recommendations



My Comment: is truth that “to work” is something essential for the life of the human being like “to pray”. For this reason, the frustration of the jobless people is terrible.  (2013/08/30) 3 Recommendations


My Comment: Are these evidences real or they were pre-fabricated by al Qaida militants? (2013/08/30) 7 Recommendations



My Comment: From my point of view, U.S. should not act alone in Syria. Everybody condemns the use of chemical weapons, but nobody wants to send their soldiers into hell to be the loser. (2013/08/30)



My Comment: After we learned that the background check of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was inadequate, the normal question is: How many other background checks were not correct? (2013/08/28) 1 Recommendation

Old Comment: After we learned that the background check of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was inadequate, the normal question is: How many other background checks are not adequate too? (2013/08/28)



My Comment: Presidents Obama and Hollande and Prime Minister Cameron agree they have to attack Syrian government but till now nobody says how they will stop the advance of the Islamic extremists and al Qaeda militants.
They have to think that in this case, the enemy of our enemy is also our enemy. (2013/08/28) 2 Recommendations


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EUROPE



My Comment: I agree that the Syrian civil war is "between bad actors" and any intervention will consume our tax dollars.
But from the other side, it is non-sense to shout like Prime Minister Cameron and Presidents Obama and Hollande did, if after that, they don't know what they want to do. (2013/09/01) 4 Recommendations



My Comment: After the “No” of the United Kingdom Parliament, everybody looks for a collective decision.
Surely, President Bashar al-Assad is smiling with President Putin at his side. (2013/08/31) 3 Recommendations



My Comment: For previous experiences, Russia learned that massive wars are costly and bloody and nobody can predict a good end. For this reason, its compromise with Syrian government is not total.
We also have to learn to measure all the possibilities before to jump into the battlefield. (2013/08/30) 1 Recommendation



My Comment: If British Prime Minister David Cameron is sure that it is necessary for action in Syria, he has to talk personally with Russian President Putin to avoid a negative reaction from Russia on the military field. (2013/08/29)



My Comment: Probably, there are more people involved in the Edward Snowden’s business of leaking secret information of the government.  (2013/08/26)


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THE WORLD (Asia, Africa, Middle East…)



My Comment: U.K. is very optimistic if it thinks that Russia and China will vote in the U.N. Security Council for military action against Syria. (2013/08/28) 4 Recommendations



My Comment: It is not the first news about the difficult situation that the Alawite minority is living in Syria. Frequently, the rebels kill the Alawite people with total cruelty for the only reason they don’t fight against President Assad.
The irony is the Western powers are helping the killers of the Alawites.

In a civil war, we find criminals and good people on both sides. For this reason, the external observers have to act very carefully when they try to put their “noses” in the battlefield. (2013/08/27) 8 Recommendations



My Comment: Surely, al Qaeda will be happy if the Western countries attack Syrian President Assad. (2013/08/26)



My Comment: This is a quarrel between two Arab groups. It is not good that other countries participate directly in the fight. (2013/08/26) 3 Recommendations


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LATIN AMERICA



My Comment: Some months ago, after a trip across different Latin American countries, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden put Colombia on the list of the good samples of Latin nations.

50,000 troops to stop protests in Bogota is not a good sample of a country model. If really these soldiers are needed to fight against the Colombian farmers, this is not the Colombia that Mr. Biden saw in his Latin American tour. (2013/08/30) 1 Recommendation


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EDUCATION

PBS - REPORT: Aug. 29, 2013 - How to Train and Retain Great Principals in Struggling Urban Schools

SUMMARY: Urban schools often face great challenges, low test scores and high dropout rates. Eddie Aruzza of WTTW in Chicago reports on programs that train principals to improve learning despite the odds. Ray Suarez continues the conversation on the importance of principals in troubled schools with Will Miller of the Wallace Foundation.

My Comment: The training of the principals is important but it is not enough to develop good leaders of the schools. In this job, the practice and long experience on the ground are fundamental. (By TWITTER) (2013/08/30)



My Comment: It is great that most of the states are implementing "tougher math and reading standards”. However, also they have to focus the attention on key subjects of our foundation as a free and independent nation, in the way to develop citizenship principles in every student in our educational system.

Schools, colleges and universities have to educate the younger generation with solid professional skills and strong patriotic feelings for the country. (2013/08/27) 1 Recommendation


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ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY



My Comment: We have to hope that Verizon will not empty its customer pockets to collect $130 billion. (2013/09/01) 4 Recommendations



My Comment: It is normal that the Wall Street investors fear that Syria will be a military adventure without end or a drama for American families who will lose their fathers, sons and daughters in an armed quarrel of others. (2013/08/30) 3 Recommendations



My Comment: Apple is preparing the ground for the introduction of its new iPhones. It wants to have a successfully start of the new cycle. (2013/08/30)



My Comment: When companies plan colossal mergers they don’t think about the pocket of their customers. They only think with the ego of the CEOs and chairmen and the honors of the top rankings of the industry. (2013/08/30) 



My Comment: Drones to fight against wildfire is better than drones to kill people. (2013/08/29) 1 Recommendation



My Comment: It looks like Mr. Tavares points to bigger car makers than Renault, but the culture of General Motors and Ford Motor are different from the European and Japanese manufacturers. (2013/08/29)



My Comment: Microsoft has to find a new “avenue” where it can use its experience, resources and background in the best way. This doesn’t imply to try to compete with everybody.
When a technology company wants to be the No. 1 of all the niches of industry, in the end, it doesn’t make well the job that it knows.

Probably, there are others brilliant executives who can make better work than Bill Gates despite his is co-founder of the company and was its previous CEO.  (2013/08/28)  



My Comment: The story says the new CEO has to fix the Microsoft’s culture.
I see differently the current problem of Microsoft. For me, it is not about “fixing Microsoft’s culture”, it is about redefining the goals and priorities of the company according to the new times of the technology industry. (2013/08/27)


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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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