Game Over (Part 2)

The recent riots and anger of the Greek people signs a next step in EU dismantlement. The NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)  is still your friend, my dear Europe . The Greek financial-economical disaster is not a “pure” Greek product. Many Eastern-European countries including Italy. Germany, United Kingdom are co-responsible for the Greek’s mess. A European country that cheap to have holidays “hot deal” with low costs, no receipts in a large number of restaurants, bars and other facilities. We (the Western Europeans) were happy to have a cheap holiday liaison right next door in Europe.

Further the entrance of Greece into the EURO monetary union wasn’t tidy checked. Or should I say was “accepted” behind knowledge of some “rounded” numbers.

Greece is the first fine example of unconfined, wild-west financial speculation globally where few players hold all the cards and the countries are the poker money. Watch the US-based rating agencies firing down European and other countries due to their “opulent” debts. What about your backyard my US friend?

Let’s stop this illusion about a Europe in “five minutes” (why weren’t we so hot to enlarge the EU to 27 meanwhile we knew our differences not to be settled when we were only 12?). Who pushed Kohl, Ciampi, Mitterand and other leaders to stipulate and realize the EURO zone.

As long as Europe is still in NIMBY state all efforts will be vain.

What we need is younger politicians with innovative ideas. Why do we target on innovation on labour market, in economics but not in politics? Why do we need to support statements of  Old Men who already saved their big pensions for the next 2 generations.

And now look what all this is brinhing us to… People of an EU country burn the national flag of another EU country. My dear Europe, I think you have a big problem.

* * * * * * * * * *

To the Greek Ambassadors in all EU countries:

Dear Sirs,

I am indignant about the fact that Greek people burn the flag of my country. We, the people of Germany, often do not agree with our government and especially with tax rising decisions. I completely understand the anger and frustration the Greek people pass in these days. Further I do believe that your country is undergoing any possible solutions to light up the dark of debts your are swallowed in but. But burning in rage a nations flag is not an excuse to that. Think about we would burn your flag in German cities? Wouldn’t you tag us immediately “NAZIS” or xenophobists?

 

 

Game Over (Part 1)

Game Over
Now we hit the ground. No airbag, nor any other equipment of our ruined car called EU was able to protect us against this downfall. It’s like a car driver seeing the tree 5 miles ahead but pointing on it with 90 mph. A behavior the EU and it’s member states applied and apply in recent time. I call it “auto-determined and conscious distruction”. You know that pointing that tree with the high speed will harm you. But as a EU leader (and driver) you likely prefer to enjoy the minutes between the speed-rush and the impact rather than thinking about how to avoid the fatality.
Ups …. Sorry it was a videogame :=). But do you recognize the events lately happened to Europe struggling about sovereign debt anf high interest rates in treasure papers? My videogame console I can reset or change the game when I’m sucked with the current one. But economic and political reality isn’t that easy to reset, nor we are able to mutate situations with a Harry Potter wand trick.
Global players in economy have learned to cooperate to defy the big ones on their own grounds. They know that without coop you’re out of game. 11 single stubborn soccer kickers aren’t a team to face a game. But Europe fatally lets us know that our team (EU) is far from be united (neither is able to agree superficial terms!). NIMBY. That’s the slogan our EU governments printed on their shirts. Everyone with its own national flag on it and dressed different from the others. Would you attend a soccer game like that? Would you spend any money on a game played by such a dis-coordinated team…?
The same question is now running exchange halls force and back. Investors know they are responsible on this alternation of the markets but they are glad and thankful to Europe because they make it possible. Gambling from small to big. Nothing else exchange halls nowdays mean.
We need a global effort to solve global issues. Not only in economics, but also in social, religion, justice. As long as all players act as a “one-man-show” to attract the others we will never get a touchable positive result on it. And this will mean… GAME OVER!
Copyright © 2011 by Inboxfolder (inboxfolder(at)aol.com)

The Spill and its Bill

Recently we were all victims that huge cataclysm caused by humans have no limit. As long as we go on with our philosophy to be “greater and richer” despite the limited resources we have and ignoring the (must) security measures to apply to certain processes of resource exploiting icidents like this will ever happen again. What we need is to calculate the benefits, the risks and the ecological impact of our actions. As economy is driven my making money there is no space to think about precautions or similar actions. And as soon as things go well the benefit for all of us is tangible (Oil, Gas, my car runs!). But the grown competition and the consequently shrinking margins in earning money are tracking the way to strategies where conglomerates and big companies decide “in the twinkling of an eye” what to do to keep pace with competitors.

This strategy is no longer valid in a media long-term run. We the folks are partly responsible of this bloodshed global extraction companies apply to several sites on this planet, most of them in located in unique and sensitive ecosystems (see Louisiana).

I don’t know how many millions of gallons spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since the drown of Deep Water Horizon and what this means in economical impact for BP’s accounting. And the other side is how many money (if to reset all the mess might be payable by money?) is needed to clean the beaches and help out the wildlife and communities that live in the affected area. No one else than the government of the United States can be once more a forerunner to change global behavior and be more responsible to mother nature.

After the financial crack down and the bail-out ob billions of dollars, and under the scene of the oil spill disaster still to be calculated in financial and economical damage we are still not convinced to change from root (we the people) to give a chance to new approaches in living a better life now and in the future.

I think that BP will never be intentioned to pay the full amount in economical costs of the Oil Spill and I rarely believe that Washington will be able to impose a new policy to the oil industry to be more responsible. At the end the Spill-Out will be relayed to the taxpayer like we’ve seen with the financial Bail-Out. At the end it is partly blamable to the taxpayer itself because we all wanted to live a “real life” on credit and driving big cars consuming lots of gas.

Weak with Greek

In big trouble this time

Recent development in a Greece default are rising up as Standard & Poor’s dropped Greeks bonds to “junk-bonds”. This in another fine example of how the carnivorous free market is feeding itself with a big nutrient called speculation. And European leaders and policy are not even helpful at all as they are divided (what a gap!) on how to handle the Greek question. Many people knew that Greece when added to the EU currency union it’s economical and financial structure is not up to the state-of-the-art of other nations. Negligence and tax evasion did the rest. European financial observers were surely up to the view about Greek’s national debt and status. And they played with it on the stock exchanges. Then there were all the tourists going to Greece having cheap holidays in an EU country (=means you have the security and stability of an EU country and can pay with your EUR money). I think none of the vacationers to Greece ever thought about the cheap services and meals you could get there and why in many places small restaurants neither had a cash desk(!).

And so we did have Greece it’s own ongoing despite the “strange” issues it has inside. Politicians are very cautious about their arguments they put on table. As long as Greece was able to handle it’s enormous debt it’s own way everything was fine. And I cannot believe the ECB never thought (at least a bit) about the huge debt and deficit of the Greek economy. Then Lehman Brothers bought more decline to the fragile Greek economy, suffering the last 10-15 years. Greece (I supposed) was hoping in stability entering the EUR currency club. But with no strange austerity and new procedures of optimization in public administration and spending this positive effect never came to work.

Nowdays we are witness to the market ruling Greece it’s own way. Markets will have Greece to fail to speculate on it’s default.

Yes, we need to reprove Greece about it’s household’s over the last 10-15 years. Yes, we need to blame our EU politicians because they never took an eyeball deeper into Greece to understand maybe future risks. Yes, we need to condemn unlimited speculations on state defaults.

The latest shout-outs about a “kick-out” of Greece out of the EU currency union are ridiculous. Even Germany (I suppose) was basically informed about the Greeks economical, social and financial weakness and the policies that came to work in the Hellenic country. Policies that didn’t target on efficiency and saving in costs of public administration and health care. So Germany is right to invoke strict rules if any help package should be sent to Athens. And Athens itself needs to confess it’s sin not be have worked as recommended on it’s internal problems. But Germany cannot almost kick out Greece of the European Currency Union because they are near default. This kick out might be a huge damage to the EURO. In fact, many think that the EURO know is running it’s real challenge since introduction in 1999. To find mechanisms and control strategies to deny further ASAD “a-state-almost-default” events. But Bruxelles and it’s member states are not really willing to touch deep issues on how to deal with this “Greek geek”. The EU European Union) needs finally to stand tall as one entity and to find ways to point out long-term policy goals and to win nationalism in it’s member countries.

As you can see, big institutions have the same behavior of human beings. We realize the “wrong” or the “emergency” only in case of it’s put into effect. So we skip smoking only when told by the medic we have lung cancer. Preventive measures we didn’t apply to avoid it. Ad that’s the same many deal recklessness with their money until one day the eviction letters flies in.

In big or small, we do it all (the same way like they do).

Italy’s Immigration Policy (2008)

Edited on May 22, 2008
Italy, at the southern edge of the European continent, faces a lot of illegal immigration.
People cross the Mediterranean Sea flowing in from Albania, North Africa and other confining countries. Others came from the Balkan area during the Balkan Wars in
Ex-Yugolslavia. Meanwhile refugees from the war afflicted Balkan States were mainly accepted by the Italian people, others like immigrants reaching the Italian southern
coastlines using boats or other departed from North Africa or Albania had mainly be refused. Shortly the new problem, on which also focused a session of the European
Parliament, is the inrush of Rom people. Roms are a minority of several nationalities, not only Romanians. They are gypsies. In times of standstill in the Italian economical growth,
raising tax pressure, stumbling politics many Italians are disappointed how things go on in their country.
Due to increased crimes committed by foreigners (as reported by Italian’s Interior Affairs Department) the Italian government passed a bill to ease the expulsion of EU
citizens as a large number of Rom people comes from Romania. Romania was admitted to the European Union in January 2007. The bill is applied to all EU citizen not able to maintain
themselves using legal sources (work, salary, etc) and could lead to expulsion if EU citizens are caught committing crimes or just having an illicit employment or if they lack
a residence in Italy.
Recently, media agencies, newspapers, TV news services and so on, are spotting on crimes committed by foreigners, especially Romanians. This behavior leads to an increasing
xenophobic position of the Italian people. If there is a rape committed by a foreigner you can see the headlines in first page with capitalized letters. If it happens vice-versa,
for instance a Romanian woman gets raped by an Italian, the only thing you can read (if you are willed to leaf through the newspaper) are few lines of it.
In the last decade, due to the increment of elder people (a trend going on in nearly all industrialized countries that has a huge impact on welfare costs) the request for domestic
assistance at home to care about them raised constantly as family members are not able to take care. A lack on qualified and willed personnel to do this job lead to hire immigrants
as caretaker for older people. Many Italians do not know that immigrants they dislike are the spine of a private domestic assistant market where many of them have a legal job and
without their assistance many older people might have been abandoned to themselves. These “immigrants” are the real complementary part of a non perfect Italian welfare system. A
system regularly hit by corruption, miss management and other reasons.
Crimes are committed either by Italians, either by immigrants. What we need to avoid is a generalization of immigrants tagging them all as “illegals” or “criminals”. The Italian
immigrant policy, passed as a “pre-bill” to deal with this emergency of crime, needs to be applied in a more specific way where every single individual should be screened if there
are conditions to kick him or her out. I do agree that immigrants filed with crimes need to be expelled no matter if they are EU citizens of Western countries like France or
Germany, or from Romania, Poland, North Africa, etc. The main threat is the tendency that pushes the Italian folks (and media is really nourishing that trend) to a more “xenophobic
position” against immigrants. The EU Parliament addressed a session to debate on Rome’s Immigrant Policy. And they do right when they “take an eyeball” on how Italy deals with
it.

Internet and Vericity

Edited on Feb 2, 2010, 11:50 PM

Recently you can observe a more raising debate about the freedom of speech and the exspression of individuality on the web as never seen before. The core question discussed is: “How to preserve truth-realted contents from false ones?”. “How to direct individual spreading power over the word wide web, without cutting the space of free opinion and individuality, in save to truth?” Whether it is linked or to democracy or religion, or racism and extreme solutions to social problems. The instrument we have on our home desks no days is a powerfull Megaphone able to create and amplify and even to destroy (sometimes annihilate) structures (real ones or virtual ones!). Big companies are more and more dictating policy on how to “traffic” the web and how to direct it’s taffic based on their protocols and Software/Hardware solutions. Barely space for individual invention. Even the platforms to use are chosen by CEOs and staff of media conglomerates or big media companies rather than by the folks. The folks later are questioned if the new service might be remunerative to the creators by launching these new services often well or less accepted. Internet grew up too string and to fast so that proper mesaures to rule it falied to be approved and applied in time and, that’s more important than all I mentioned above, the place an appropriate education in how to use this new power in a reasonable way. What we now need is to divide true information and value adding contents to the web community from other contents like fake blog entries, tweets amd so on. Lately a new discussion stream started on NY Times and the Italian Economcial newspaper Il Sole 24 ore (www.ilsole24ore.com) that reflects the serious concerns about the web’s future first of all in terms of fidelity and verity. Please let us have more true and competent content rather than google counter-linked websites seen by many users as the “answer” to their google “question”. I don’t mind to demonize Google, but even in the Google CEO floors they start thiking about new algorithms to authenticate contents and link them to their real Keywords in a more accurate way.

Work together

Be on track again

despite the tackle the actual President Of The United States, Obama, has to admit we need to review our Western-lated expectations to rule him. US democracy ideas introduced to Europe starting from Wilson are no more valid to rule a complexity evolved world we have to face today. As we all know Americans did a lot to free Europe twice the 20th Century to put it back on track. From there America did receive a lot of accusations to tamper domestic affairs in local countries in Europe and abroad. But we still need to admit that no more than US is able up to these days to guide the line of global policy. This rule of “Global Policeman” to the US hasn’t been accepted ‘til now by many countries. Neither Western-related, nor western enemy-classified ones. The hegemony of the US presence on the global catwalk is not at last due to the dominancy of US initiatives in base of their military power. What we need here in Europe (indeed all the Western countries) is to improve our rule in managing global issues. The last 15 years US was forced to intervene due to incapacity of their NATO allies in Europe. US-ruled missions to save global status need more than farytale tellers. Both parts of the Atlantic Ocean need to reassess their basics how to work together without threatening their historical links they have worked for. Even as Europe and the US after WW2 and Clinton after the Cold War we all need to point out new ways to put peace into things and people. The whole world is getting more and more inter-connected. And we need not only the unilateral decision of the White House to keep up better, but more than ever a global teamwork.

Don’t hope that much he’ll be the “All-Fixer”
http://mysays.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/dont-hope-that-much-hell-be-the-%E2%80%9Call-fixer%E2%80%9D/

The Bail-Out or the Pump-Out
http://mysays.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/the-bail-out-or-the-pump-out/

These links contain content of the author and are freely published here.

Andreas Ahlen
mysay (at) inbox.com

Don’t hope that much he’ll be the “All-Fixer”

As I wrote to be afraid of in my article “Bail-Out or Pump-Out” got real with bonus payments to AIG managers. And I also mentioned in the past that the Obama administration can’t be seen as the “all-things healer”. Obama needs to reassess a big part of the global economy. And many choices won’t pass easily or at congress or at public surveys. Even his own party is blaming the 1st black President of the US (it smells like revenge to his “against-the-lobby” speech he addressed 2 or 3 weeks ago?) making it not easier for the oval office man to continue on his way to save the country from a recession. “Change!” was his keyword and change will come. But even a holy saint with many superpowers could not fix all the mess of 30-40 years of over liberalized rules in the financial sector that ruined also real economy sectors when the bubble of toxic assets exploded. But media and Republican forces (assisted by some Dem’s as well) now fire against Obama because of the bonus payments he didn’t stop. Why did Rep’s and Dem’s in the past never ruled the markets to impose more tranparency and supervision? Maybe they were directly involved to gain profit?   I think the bonus payment is due to 2 reasons: 1) Obama didn’t take an eyeball on these contracts and their due time as needed; 2) Geithner wasn’t able to check and correct the issue in time. Now folks, opposition forces and media now have new more strings on their bow. People need a sinner to sentence, Rep’s need to inflict damage to Obama’s administration as much as possible and media was and is always the middle-passthrough to mix-up the “real” information people need (no more serious journalism to tell the things they really are = more quantity and sensationalism than quality?). I do not defend Obama when he is making wrong and the AIG bonus payment was “partially” his own failure (or his staff’s), but as I told you at the beginning, humans are no saints and no one can be the “All-fixer” and recover a whole economy like the US is; doing fast, reliable, without mistakes and without deceiving anyone. Tell me one person who would be able to do that… and I’ll give ‘em the job!

Andreas Ahlen
mysay@inbox.com

Michelle du bist…. zu “offen”?!

Wir haben ja aus den USA schon einiges gehört, aber die neuste Diskussion über den Look (das Aussehen) der 1. schwarz-afrikanischen (und vor allem attraktiven, oder nicht?) First Lady, setzt dem Fass doch die Krone auf (und das bei all den anderen Brennpunkten in der US-Gesellschaft, voran die Wirtschaftskrise). Zu viel „Armfreiheit“ oder nicht? Sieht man nicht ein wenig zu viel der oberen lateralen Extremitäten? Ein Thema welches das Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten anscheinend (laut den Medien) in Zwei Teile gespalten hat. Ich denke mal es gab auch schon vorher (Kennedy?) gut aussehende Fist Ladies die nicht vorhatten, nur weil sie jünger und weltoffener waren als ihre Vorgängerinnen im Wieén Haus, in einem Schwesterkostüm (und womöglich in Abstineny?) zu enden. Die Zeiten ändern sich. Wieso soll sich eine attraktive und selbst bewußte Frau wie Michelle Obama nicht gemäß ihrem persönlichen Stil kleiden können? Wieso kommt gerade hier der prüde Ami rüber (nicht alle, aber einige) der sich sonst um das Eine und Anderen einen feuchten Kericht kümmert? Vielleicht weil man in den Tiefen des wirtschaftlichen „Freien Falls“ versucht sich ab zu lenken (Gossip, oder wieder einmal eine Republikaner-Attacke?)? Weil sie es ist – stimmt ja sie ist eine FARBIGE! – die 1. Nicht-Weiße Ehefrau eines erstem schwarzen (ääh…farbigen) US-Präsidenten? Michelle Obama wird in Zukunft mit Adleraugen beobachtet. Sie sollte als Vorbild für viele Frauen (nicht nur Farbige) in den USA stehen aber ihre rapräsentative Aufgabe dabei nicht vernachlässigen. Was hier zählen sind alleine symbolische Fakten. Michelle Obama im Vogue Magazin, OK! Aber dann sollte die Hälfte der Gage gespendet werden. Sie könnte sich wie viele andere Vorgänger-First-Ladies im Charity (Hilfsorganisationen) Bereich engagieren und vor allem ein Zeichen setzten das ihr Ruhm und Gagen nicht alles im Leben sind. Eben den Bedürftigen helfen, Hilfs-organisationen unterstützen (nicht nur in den USA sondern überall auf dem Globus) und als Signal den Leuten zeigen das es auch andere Werte außer jene ökonomischer Art gibt (Ist sie nicht Mutter von Zwei Kindern?). Das wäre ihre Chance. Bleibt abzuwarten was sie daraus macht. Author: mysay@inbox.com

Letter to the Editor Chicago Tribune: Why I would endorse Obama

It’s been a long time I’m pondering on whether endorsing Obama or not. As a European citizen, German, living in Italy since 2000, I achieved a much larger view of problems inflicting not only European countries but also the United States. Progress in free market in based on competition, isn’t it? But political progress never got linked to the progression. In fact, politicians often ruled (and are still ruling) market success or failure.

Barak Obama is seen as a person not be able to sit on the US-President’s chair in the oval office. We know that he got launched from provincial or state politics to nation-wide and international issues when accepting to run for the white house. I’m not sure if he will fulfill all the expectations people have tagged on him. In addition he won’t be the “one-man” ruler to decide future American decisions. Congress, Senate and other institutions will advice, guide and guard him. He won’t never be in the position to initiate “ad personam”.

The key fact we have here is that Obama is “new”. And human nature (due to education or just by the way we live our existence) is always considered a threat to the “normal schedule” every one has to complete day by day (Society, Points of View, etc.).

If the US still believe to be the leader then a courageous decision must be taken. Europe and other Western-oriented countries still receive waves the “American-Way-Of-Live” is sending out. This opportunity might be the right way to guide the US back on it’s railway track to a more “American-Spirit” way, the spirit that spread democracy, equality and freedom to the Western world….

Missing this railway track could lead to a more hostile environment, not only for the US, but for all of us children of Democracy.
Source: Chicago Tribune Opinion

Andreas Ahlen
Email: mysay@inbox.ocm
Web: www.andyancona.com