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
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
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
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)
