Competition

The greatest business driver is competition.  This is clearly a different paradigm in an age where access to worldwide information is less difficult.  General Colin Powell spoke in an interview with Tavis Smiley that he grew up in an analog age but is adapting to digital grandchildren.  There was also the statement that education was such a necessity in his household that if he wasn't able to go through, that his parents would probably get another child.  Such is the competition for dollars where there needs to be particular emphasis on positioning and responsibility so that there is a greater and more impactful trenching to prevent other entrants.

While there is a great adage that 'He who has the dough makes the rules', the digital world has resulted in the enabling of independent competition in the form of independent publishing, web content and other similar endeavours.  Due to price scaling, the availability of these resources are different in different places.  The spread of public services to approach more universality is a difficult concept for some to grasp in the age of competition.  The established entrants are the ones who give the greatest exposure to the widest number of people and because the independents often lose traction over time to the established entitties, framing the argument that competition facilitated by more entrants is positive is good, does not necessarily hold water.

One particular agency had a person who decided that approaching a spin-off after being relieved of a position to target underserved communities was an immediate way of promoting competition.  How long will this last is yet to be seen, but there needs to be a concerted effort to approach the point where marginalization of this entity is not promoted to such a degree because of the established entrants reputation of occasionally envisioning dodgy service.

Choosing the right media to get your point across is also a very important mechanism along with timing.   Ingredients to catch one's attention and then satisfy one with useful outcomes is difficult.  To compete or appear to compete over time is a difficult task to be sure, especially when potential apparent conflicts of interest linger.

Compete Compete Compete  - 38 days to London 2012

Ownership

The thrill of youth often involves construction towards either renting an apartment, owning a house, buying a car or some other form of vehicle.  Often youth attempt to solve their transportation issues with the acquisition of a car or bike early and this has been thought to have an interesting.

There are a number of champions who have had car crashes. One into a fire extinguisher and the other into a rail near a major bus park.  Both have relatively good reputations and have excelled in their fields. The vehicles were a Buick and a BMW.  Both situations reflect the interesting situations for positive reinforcement of driving standards and more emphasis on following up on what was the route cause.

Now many youth are trying to find their stake in a world where there is a great pre-ponderance of joblessness, insecurity and uncertainty.  Growth is not as apparent as the 1990's and certainly the pace of innovation has been followed by acquisition and increased understanding.  The status quo is a weird concept to speak about as the seeming static nature of things while there is incredible change in the interim.  The regime changes of the past two years and municipal changes have charted the course of the second decade. Baby boomers are going into retirement and additionally, having just celebrated a long time of service by many heads of states, the status quo has changed to that being set by the youth and how they will use their tools (some new) to operate in the same environment as their ancestors.

The understanding that 50 years of television in most independent countries should change the viewpoint of the locally and internationally and how our individual views (I'd like to call it a vote) relates to us.  What we can see is in the public domain is important but not.  For example, Bill Gates recently went to India and has had appreciation for the eradication of polio among the population to the point where it is possible that it will soon be the case it may be declared that the country is polio free. There has been an increase in the infrastructure being put in so that there are more people with education that is translational and that there is a life-meaning force which translates into better use of basic resources. But I cannot completely vouch for this as this is his opinion. Trains are still crowded going home and there is still abject pollution and poor conditions.

As the youth of this generation attempt to translate how they are going to build their lives in a cross-defined era, it will be interesting to see the changes that are made.  Every-place is different and so are the theories behind it.  How can this translate into a better translation of how you view yourselves to others?

The Issue With Jobs

It has been one year since the death of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple with Steve Wozniak, and there has been a steady increase in Apple sales. Particularly, the release of the IPhone and the IPad are signifcant to the profit margin of the company.  Many mobile phone carriers have been recalcitrant to pick up Apple as a major subscriber because the customer money tends to be channeled into the product rather than into the mobile phone or internet service provider. Virgin has recently picked up a number of Apple products.

While Job's work continues, including a documentary in the 1980's featuring the stalwart, a number of companies have systematically changed their corporate structure to adapt to the new technology that abounds and creates more efficiences.

Earlier this year, 35,000 postal jobs were on the chopping block speaking to closing of post offices across the nations primarily because of the cost to tax payers.  The move was stopped by lawmakers in the US and the planned refurbishment will be revised in order to alleviate unneccessary expenses in the Postal system.

The electronics industry has been particularly hit with 10,000 jobs lost with Sony, 2,000 jobs lost with Yahoo, 50 stores being closed by Best Buy, 30,000 jobs with Hewlett Packard, 2,000 jobs with Research in Motion and 2,700 jobs with Olympus.

The boost in technology in some places takes away the need for jobs and the profit margins of companies suffer when the number of paid employees who do not facilitate company development begins to take too much money from the revenue stream of companies.

Polaroid in 2001 decided to undergo a US$4.5 million dollar restructuring attempt, while ten year later Kodak has done the same with $8.5 million in restructuring involving 200 dowstream workers and 119 middle management workers.

It is maybe that the job market for some of these larger companies is indicative of a lagging economy for youth attempting to enter the workforce (even though micro, small and medium businesses tend to make up the bulk of the economy).

As Eric Schmidt the Google CEO said in a previous post during commencement addresses to both Cal-Berkeley and Boston University, turn off your mobile device for 1-hour a day and turn to the person that you love.  It might save jobs.

The Problem With Syria

The regime of Bashir Al-Assad has reached the point where Reuters pre-ponders that there could be an upcoming Civil War.  The importance of natural resources to meeting the basic needs of the people of the Middle East has become increasingly important.  As the world changes into a more open democracy (although all eligible voters do not get to vote) and there is an increased openness in communication between member countries, along with the launch of satellites for countries like India and China, there must be a need for greater focus on policies that allow countries to adapt to an increasingly international climate.  Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League Envoy, has come up with a six-point plan for Syria. The omission of the Syrian ambassador to the United Kingdom from the guest list of the April 29 Royal Wedding was significant enough to make news way before the 14 month conflict that has emerged until now.  The United Nations now has to deal with 1.5 million Syrians who are able to meet basic needs. The situation becomes even more unstable when the people of Syria are unable to meet needs for future generations.  Currently, the 59 UN monitors on the ground are going to explode into 300 monitors in the not-too-distant future.  Reports from the Middle East diginitaries that they think that Annan's plan will fall, and that is significant given the overarching experience that Mr. Annan possesses in International Affairs.  The six-point plan features some key points including freedom of the press including freedom to travel, implementation of humanitarian aid, bring about a cessation to the carrying of heavy weaponry and cessation of armed violence, a relay that carries messages from the Envoy to and from the government as well as an increase in arbitration.  The Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has called for the removal of Al-Assad, and as a number of countries may send missions including China, Russia, Italy, and the United States with the latter only obliging for 90-days till the Assad regime complies with U.S. regulations.  Given the geographic importance following events in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it is bodes that the conflict in Syria be pacified as much as possible. The former Security General needs to contain this through his diplomatic and peacekeeping efforts.  Hopefully the people of Syria will experience better times.
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Internet Security, Mobile Commerce and Commencement

The issue of internet security has arisen in a number of shapes and forms as this new medium of communication expands.  Just like other technologies before it, the younger generation have been said to adapt to it faster than the old, but one article in particular highlights the need for parents to get up to date and monitor their children's activity as well as mediate their own.  New laws have been placed through parliament which supposedly are to supposed to protect internet rights.  The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) Internet Securtiy Bill has been voted upon in the U.S. House of Representatives to a 248-168 final tally.  The Bill specifically looks at protecting against cyber attacks and investigating such attacks by sharing information concerning such security. Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was the predecessor to this bill and along with the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) Bill.  Both bills were under intense scrutiny by groups like Facebook and others which have attempted to stop the passage of such bills before proper and intense discussion about some of the clauses within the bill which was delayed by Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid and placed back into law.  http://tiny.cc/2ipoew

The African continent has increased it's use of monetary transfer by mobile phone especially in those areas where remoteness precipitates the need for greater interaction of business entities much like the Grameen initiative in Bangladesh. Kenya in particular is utilising mobile phones for business transactions for certain items. The widespread use of this is yet to be seen. http://tiny.cc/qhpoew

Given the numerous commencement speeches that exist, the one that received a lot of attention is that of Eric Schmidt of Google where he said that the challenge to college graduates is to take their eyes off of the screen for at least an hour a day and turn to the person they loved.  The increased use of Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Tumblr and numerous other social networks consume many a college students days, so the importance of interpersonal interaction being imputed on these graduates says a lot about the challenges faced in communication but also because of the utilization of many different avenues of communication.
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Development Goals or Home Runs

Amidst abuse of the Earth, Earth Day was recently celebrated with much furor on the social networks, in the press and through celebrated world events.  Rio20+ or the Rio Earth Summit in June is the year's major event at which there is expected to be a binding agreement on Climate Change. This, after the much hyped agreement that should have been formed in Copenhagen and the rushed non-binding agreement that was drafted in Durban, much attention is being given to this event, particularly to the apparently possibility that some climate change goals may be shifted to 2020. Given Canada's stance as a detractor as well as the non-eagerness on the part of others to adapt their policies, the success of the summit is highly questioned.

As described in a recently read article, the term, 'Ecocide' could be adapted as the 5th crime against peace and is described as the committing of actions which lead to resource depletion, that maybe immediately precipitate to war. It was mentioned in a previous post that the Lebanese-Israel border has the potential to cause war based on infringement in demarcated zones.  The perspective of some European countries towards a large percentage of their energy originating from renewables by 2050 shows great promise. Such countries include Scotland and Denmark.  Significant ecological Earth events include; the Popocatepetl volcano awakening in Mexico, the Iceland Volcano spewing ashes over Northern Europe, the many earthquakes including that have occurred in Japan and Indonesia, and the droughts that have occurred in England over the past two years.  Sustainable practices should neither be evidently adapted in order to be anti-business or because abundance tells them not to, but also because it is the right thing to do for the individual's perspective contribution to society.
Link (http://tiny.cc/6cl8cw).

Much of the progress of the developing world (formerly the 3rd world) has rested in ingenious people trying to think of means of adapting global solutions to local situations.  The name Haiti comes from the Taino/Arawak word meaning mountainous. This has created historical difficulty in creating credible infrastructure (due to terrain issues) in Haiti resulting in the 2010 Earthquake.  The fertility of the soil made it a rich multi-culture economy, where there was an abounding amount of agricultural products as well as labour that was steady in amount.  What made it the more interesting was that through the ameliorative proposals of Code Noir, there were attempts at appeasement of the enslaved persons ('should not be called slaves') in the colonies.  Further, the dichotomy that existed between the blacks in the North and the coloured in the South in both racial harmony and wealth served to create an inbred culture of hate.

The Dominican Republic has consistently increased the number of baseball players headed to the United States.  Invented by Alexander Cartwright (and not Abner Doubleday), the sport has expanded to islands that have strong associative ties with the United States.  Particularly, Sammy Sosa who played from 1989-2007, was born in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, took to the sport as a kid. Others from that city included Luis Castillo, Rafael Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano.  Link (http://tiny.cc/n968cw).

A new documentary film call Baseball In The Time Of Cholera 'is the story of Joseph, a young baseball player, and a Haitian Lawyer fighting for compensation for the victims. As the epidemic spreads, the two stories intersect in the struggle for survival and justice'.    Link (http://tinyurl.com/cwv6zrs).

The incidence of diseases like Cholera in Haiti have been a terrible endemic, caused by improper sanitation and non-clean water. The cost of US$1.1 billion to eradicate the endemic allegedly caused by UN soldiers of Nepalese descent is both mortifying and questionable as has the question of allocation of aid and time resources for the commitants to aid in disaster relief.

The film is in English (hence anglophonic) and the concepts of people being appreciated for their humanity and not their statistical contribution could be seen as admirable. 7,000 out of 7 billion are featured as suffering, but as we still speak with high regard about Einstein, Newton, and Gallileo as just three human beings. The 7,000 sick are just as important, each in their own right.  Two years ago, a devastating earthquake shook, homes were destroyed, and food items (including government and foreign rice) rationed.  Films like this highlight a plight that many miss because the concentration of media coverage in places like Haiti often don't peak during non-crises times nor have the origination centralization to command attention to the outside world. Since these people have been historically marginalized in, what is described as dire circumstances, this film brings to light the trials of a representative group of people of the black Haitian population. A widespread vaccination programme is necessary, as well as, the commitment on the part of the representatives and the people to demand more humane conditions.  Link (http://tiny.cc/yc78cw).

Originally: April 24th 2012

Sports and Revolution

Fields of no dreams have destroyed the lives of aspirants to sports that have recently taken on more international character. The story of Cambodian tennis is interesting because sports has served such a significant role in the development of the character of individuals, served to appease the competitive drive and allowed for the display of mastery and discipline simultaneously.  Imagine if all sports were eradicated from a country like the United States with revolution taking the country by storm. Imagine the sudden non-existence of the prized baseball game and American Football.  What of Europe, where the peradventure to sport is significant to the overlay of socialization, business and the integrally cultural need to exercise.  Well, Cambodia experienced this.

One of the top tennis players of the 1970's recounted the massacring of the top players in the country at a time when tennis was becoming more and more open with winners such as Arthur Ashe and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley. Having to quit the game and work in the fields while taking up football was an interesting tactic. The Khmer Rouge's ascension in 1975 prompted the desolution and destruction of anything Western, including changing concepts of agricultural practice and dismantling of certain structures.  The killing of minorities including the Cham Muslims featured as the heaviest human desecration. Intellectualism was seen as evil and associated symbols eradicated. Many ethnic Chinese were driven out.  The recent ascension to the Davis Cup through participation in a 'tie' and the possession of a ranked player on the ATP tour are signs that Cambodia is attempting to challenge their fighting spirit through clean and clear competition. The business class and younger Cambodians (including internet users) have taken to speaking English because of the large influx of English speaking tourists. With the rising star of Bun Kenny it is hoped that Cambodia's tennis fortunes can rise from the Ashes. (http://tinyurl.com/c2ou8zs).

Many African countries have had events cancelled and teams pulled out of competition because of revolutionary factions. Togo had to pull out due to a bus attack, which resulted in the deaths of the goal keeper, assistant coach and press officer. Emmanuel Adebayor, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, was on the bus and as a contracted member of a top English Premier League Football Club, much investment had been placed in him that had serious potential financial consequences for a club that is situated in a slow-growth area that featured prominently in the 2011 riots (http://tinyurl.com/6w2bjrp).

For what reason would a gentleman jump into the Thames in order the protest prompting officials to take a deeper look at security for the upcoming Olympics?  The after-thought by one spectator was that the interruption left the race unfinished. This was after an excellent media campaign particularly on the part of Oxford to show how difficult it is to be dedicated to such a dynastic battle.  The quieter in outside publicity, the better, I think.  As the London 2012 Olympics approach, where the escalated budget has been juxtaposed with readiness of many facilities and resumption of practice by national and international athletes well before the start of the games, security is obviously a concern.  The influx of visitors who are not used to the old-world charm remains a challenge to be seen and hopefully, protests will be made in the planning boardroom and not in the streets.  The protest against elitism from an LSE graduate named Oldfield is interesting, although one name Oldguard would have been better, especially as one rower described it as the culmination of his career.  A case of tiny revolution against the aristocracy, which he names at length in his blog, caused unusual headlines about a prestigious competition sometimes sleepily-perceived outside of the United Kingdom (http://tinyurl.com/csyzc9a).  

Simply put, sporting events can be the highlight of one's week in a world that can be filled be stresses of expectation, a need to drive growth and commerce as well as consequential and needfully repetitious example of the will to win.  The masses need alliances. In a world which is not overtly characterized by 'phased wars', the battlefield is sports and may the best man/woman/team win.


101 days to go to the next Revolution July 27-August 12!


Side Note:
Congrats to Dr. Jim Yong Kim, named 12th President of the World Bank on the 16th of April 2012. Hefty mathematics for someone who has dealt with youth as former president of Darthmouth College. (16-4=12 & 16+4 = 20  - nice nerdy appointment math). The sport of fencing applies in this case as the students of Darthmouth took to breakdancing to say to the medical doctor (not economist doctor) 'Let the force be with you!'