Ah, Vienna!

We are now nicely settled in Vienna as of August the 1st.

We live in the centre of town, in a nice and quiet square, surrounded by palaces and Churches. We are also very near the canal and the attractions there, so we are being kept busy for the moment enjoying this fascinating city.

We have rented a modern penthouse, built on top of an old Vienna building. This seems to be rather common lately in Vienna. We have glass windows all over the place and in these first few days, my wife is getting worried we will have “ excessive light” and that it will affect our paintings and furniture. The mere fact of not having curtains is strange, specially for her, but the other buildings are very far away so we do not feel our privacy to be invaded by neighbors.

We hope that by the end of the month, we will also manage to set up the satellite dish and watch some TV, because here I have 99 cable channels and they are all in German!!! With no possibility of changing the language. So Discovery, NatGeo, etc are all in German, not to mention US films and shows which are also translated without keeping the option of listening to the original sound track. Rather stupid if you ask me. And they still argue and protest when I complain. I would rather they just accept they simply do not want to provide the service!

Ah, service! That is a concept totally absent in Austrian culture. What is important here is the protection and well being of the worker. This implies that they can shout and abuse you at will; they can and will overcharge you for the simplest of jobs and then ignore your complaints; and, yes, it also means that when I or you, the consumer, can take time to use their “ services” be it banking, shopping, etc, THEY, the workers have finished there day and are closed for the weekend.

Today, when I phoned my Bank, as I have done every day for the past week, to remind them that we are still waiting for my wife´s debit card ( in a country that refuses to accept credit cards as a general rule), the “ boss” who came on line, reprimanded me (!!) for failing to understand that it is August and that they have a lot of work.

But the best story, no doubt, is what happened to a friend of ours who was traveling on the Underground with his 4 year old child who, as they were leaving the train, disappeared! He had fallen down on the rails because of excessive separation between the train and the platform. So our friend sounds the alarm, and this employee, in full uniform ( don´t they like wearing one!) starts shouting at my friend and blames him for the time lost! My friend, who speaks good German, takes offense and proceeds to grab the employee by the neck, shouting murder at him. Police appear out of nowhere and they arrest my friend who can explain himself and demands, only then, help to get his child back safely on the platform. Only when he starts threatening with legal actions do the police and the employee fall back and calm themselves. Ah the land of the worker’s rights! F*ck the consumer!

On trams and trains in this country they have special seats reserved for old and pregnant people. These are clearly marked by the images of an old MAN, and a pregnant WOMAN. The other day I was seated in one, when this old lady comes along from the other side of the tram ( she was comfortably seated herself actually before this) and starts waving her umbrella at me because I was seated in the special seat. The fact that another 30 free seats were available in the tram seemed not to bother her. Once I get her to understand that I do not speak German, she continues her ranting in English. I respectfully point out that she is not on the list, the picture being of an old MAN! And that she looks like a lady even if she shouts like Hermann Goering. She tells me, in no uncertain terms, that the said sign refers to both ladies and gents. So I then point out to the pregnant woman picture and rub my own stomach and say, that if a picture of a man, applies to a lady who shouts like Hermann Goering; a picture of a lady with a swollen stomach must also apply to a man who looks like Hermann Goering ( that would be me) and that I suffer from sciatica. She then asks me if I think I am funny and that she will call the police, to which I say, please Hermann “ make my day”!!!! Then she hit me on the head with her umbrella…

So, as you can all see, we are having a nice time getting adjusted to our new life and neighbors… I am now going to send this post and go and wish good night to my neighbor from across the street who has clearly adopted us and now that the weather is reasonable in Vienna spends the whole day and most of the night in his terrace staring directly across at us. So far he has not expressed an opinion on the way we are decorating the house, but tomorrow I am definitely going to ask him for suggestions!

All the best

Wow!

Just realized I haven´t posted anything for the past weeks ( quickly becoming months). So this post is just to keep things open but has no value from any other point of view.

I will be back to my usual ranting later on hopefully.

The Red Gorilla and Christopher Columbus

Chavez, Venezuela´s Red Gorilla, has decreed that Christopher Columbus was guilty of genocide and has ordered any statue dedicated to him, to be removed from public places.

It is typical of people who ignore their past and history, to invent categories and live according to their inventions and imaginations. Venezuela, and its President, are a product of their ancestors, which by the way, are only in a small part of Spanish origin. Their country was ignored in Imperial Spain as a worthless territory ( Oil was not apart of the equation then), and the only people who could travel and settle their were those who were not allowed elsewhere in the South American colonies. That is mainly outcasts and thiefs, prostitutes and murderers who escaped from justice and arrived to a remote area with no known riches at the time.

In any case, Mr Chavez, you have been independent for 200 years. If, in that time, you feel that not enough has been done for the indigenous peoples of the continent, I suggest you look for responsabilities at home. In those 200 years your people certainly have done very many wrong things. I myself cannot think of any good deed though...

Your ancestors ( if you know who they were that is) were the ones who emigrated to that small piece of the Empire, not mine. My family stayed back home and later had the good taste of moving to the US instead of into your mosquito ( the best of the land mind you) infested territory full of the most presumptous and unbearable people on earth. Like you, sir ( in low case, yes).

Mr. Chavez, you may be able to destroy statues of Columbus, but when you are long gone down the drains of History, good ol´ Cristoforo will still be remembered for what he did for the world, including laying the conditions for someone like you to enjoy brief notoriety for all the wrong reasons.

Why do things right...?

Spain has announced that Spanish  troops will be leaving Kosovo before the middle of the year. 

The very young and ambitious Minister of Defense, Carme Chacón, whose whole purpose in life is to have a photograph of her published daily, made the announcement while visiting the troops this week. 

She managed her purpose: her picture is everywhere. Every major paper and TV station in the world has carried it. 

But she also managed to surprise everyone. Secretary of State Clinton has ordered her Spokesperson to express that surprise in unusually strong terms. Once again, after Spain chickened out of Irak in 2004, serious doubts arise about how reliable an ally this country is to NATO and the US.

Zapatero ( remember he was the only leader to remain seated while the American flag paraded past him) has been trying for years to be invited to the White House. Maybe this time round, with Obama, he won´t be either. The good thing about the US is that an insult to a National symbol is an insult to the Nation as a whole. Nation is a concept Zapatero cannot understand.

Other NATO allies have also expressed their surprise and in some cases dismay. The Czech Presidency of the European Union has said that Spain is the wrong example to follow.

Once again Zapatero and his group of amateur leaders ( Carme Chacon went straight from the ailes of a Department store to the Ministry of Defense) have tried to prove that, if you try hard enough, they can accomplish the " leit motiv" of his Government since 2004: Why do things right when you can just as easily do them wrong?

Sarkozy is my hero!

Late last week, France announced that she would go back into the military structure of NATO. France left the organisation´s military branch because De Gaulle mistrusted the allies and developed his own nuclear arsenal. Up until then, the siege had been in France.

President Sarkozy said, replying to a question aboout his sudden departure from De Gaulle´s dogma, that France had to be represented where the real decisions were taken, rather than just having to go along with them.

Once again I have to express my admiration for a leader who does the job he is payed to do: lead his country! Not everyone in Europe is as lucky as a Frenchman in these times of crisis. Once again, France is blessed with a leader who has clear ideas about where their real interests are: the Transatlatic relationship.

The end of the newspaper

Last week the Rocky Mountain News folded. It shut down just 55 days short of its 150th birthday. There was nothing special about this paper, just its service to the Denver, Colorado area for so many years.

The New York Times has said that it will not be able to go on for long, in a situation where the cost of getting the paper to its million subscribers is over 600 million dollars. 

Is this the end of the printed press? If so, will it be missed?

I have heard it said that the newspaper simply has to go along with the times and go 100% digital on the web. Maybe, but is the web going to be able to raise enough money via paid ads to maintain the traditional newsroom? I don´t think so, and then, my last question for today: 

Who will pay for the investigative reporters who uncover scandals and corruption among our politicians?

I believe that a free and powerful press is essential to democratic government. If the current trend prevails, I think we shall have to do without it and then, who will control officials in our system?

Catch 22

Today is a big day in Spain. When I was young, it was called a Catch 22 situation.

Regional elections are being held in two areas of Spain, The Basque Country and Galicia. And whoever wins, Spain will lose.

If the Opposition wins in Galicia, their Leader, Rajoy, will come out of the process stronger and therefore will continue with his personal quest to prevent the Conservatives from coming back to power.

If the Socialists retain power, they will fell vindicated in their thrust to spend the way out of the economic crisis. We all lose. 

In the Basque country, there is, however a slight hope. If the Socialists come in front, they might do the sensible thing and oust the Nationalists from power for the first time in over 30 years, asking the conservatives to join them in the regional government. This would be a real change and we can hope that it will happen.

The problem is that, if Zapatero allows this to happen, he will lose the support of the Nationalists in  Parliament and his government may fall. So once again, Zapatero will have the dilemma between doing the right thing or taking the wrong turn. He has proven he is capable of making more mistakes than any other politician in Europe in the shortest possible time. He will do it again!

That is a Catch 22 situation if I have ever seen one!

Is no news good news?

Zimbabwe´s new government has been in office now for slightly over a week. We hear relatively little of what is going on in the country. Is that good news?

I don´t think so. I still believe that the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai have been tricked and pressured into a lose-lose situation. Mugabe and his cronies, have kept all the key ministries, where real power resides.

Morgan and his followers, winners outright in the last elections, one might add, have the " social" ministries. That is, Mugabe has destroyed the country, and now Morgan is called upon to rebuild it, under the watchful eye of Mugabe himself!

The only real recourse Morgan has is to turn to the West and ask for help. Will we come to his rescue? Humanitarian aid is needed and will be, no doubt provided, but I think that none of us will accept that a man-made disaster goes without accountability, even retribution in some cases.

I have done it again! Write about Zimbabwe. It is on my mind far too much. Poor people....

And Hugo Chavez got his way!

Hugo Chavez finally managed to impose his will on the people of Venezuela. He tried once in December 2007 and was beaten. It actually took a firm stand by the Military to get him to acknowledge he had lost the referendum. 

So what he did was start to prepare the next one. This time round he got his way. He will be able to stand for re-election for as long as he wishes. And he will win. I was in Venezuela when he won the first election in 1998. Ever since he has followed the same route as most demo-dictators. He has called for a ballot every odd year he has been in power. For one reason or another. He is permanently in campaign.

He makes believe he is a democrat. My foot! He uses and abuses all the powers and monies of Venezuela in his personal favour. He has “invested” in the people of Venezuela more than the total debt of Latin America and Africa added together. Has the situation of his people changed? Not really. It is true than some people now have access to health treatment and education, if the system he has implemented can be called education and health care.

But the majority of Venezuelans are nevertheless happy. He provides beer ( Polarcita), entertainment in the form of baseball, and doesn’t expect them to work for a living. What more could the people hope for? It is usually an accepted fact that countries have the leaders they deserve. 

I will go one step further. I think countries, if given the choice, usually elect leaders who are exactly like themselves! Hugo Chavez is not a democrat, he is not a serious leader, he is not even funny or amusing: exactly like the majority of Venezuelans!

Expectations

So, yes, Obama has made the first of what I guess will be many efforts to tackle the situation, and he has failed to live up to my expectations. I thought so! and I said so! His Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner came out and said... nothing. And the markets lost nearly 5%.

This poses further questions. Do we know the quantity of toxic assets? Have we been told the truth up to now?

I must say I am extremely disappointed. I have written before that we need Obama and strong leaders as much as the US does, over here in Europe. And this is his first go at the problems that still await us ahead this year and the next.

The press coverage has been tremendous. Most believe that the plan was not well thought out. It is probably better if this is true. The other side of course, is the possibility that nobody wants the influx of money the Administration is wanting to pump in the system.

This has happened in some European countries also. In Spain, banks have been very reluctant to accept the money injected via auctions by the Government.

Governments are complaining that banks are failing to meet demand for credit. Banks, on the other hand, have started saying out loud that they would be irresponsible if they lend to those demanding credit now, and that solvent businesses and individuals are not among those demanding credit in these times.

Moving jobs!

I have just noticed that my last three posts were dedicated to Zimbabwe. I must confess this country has been a great part of my live. I have enjoyed myself there. But I now must start looking forward.

I had an interesting job before me for the next few months. I have been a victim of a preemptive strike by a bunch of bureaucrats whose life depends on titles and what it says on their business cards. I have not had the necessary support from my superiors and have resigned.

I am now awaiting a decision on my future. I hope to go back to my basics and work on European Union affairs.

BTW I travelled to Switzerland this weekend. They are supposed to be in Schengen, you know the no borders in Europe agreement. But THEY, as usual, have to be different. So they still have passport control at their airports. They want to be different and the rest of us allow it. Why?

Gideon does it again!

Only yesterday I commented on Zimbabwe´s hyperinflation, and the measures Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank took while I was there, to try to cope. Today I wake up to the news that he has slashed a further 12 zeroes off the currency. Added to the 10 five months ago, and 3 zeroes before that, it amounts to a total of 25! ( follow the link on the title for news coverage).

The real problem in that country is whether the political agreement works. Why would Mugabe have changed his mind? It is now nearly one year since Morgan Tsvangitai won the elections outright. There is absolutely no doubt about that. Nobody was expecting it and " independent" pollers couldn´t believe it, so they hinted that maybe, he had not reached 50% of the votes cast. Mugabe and ZANU-PF took 3 weeks to react, but when they did, they rushed through this small opening and have been riding high ever since. 

I would ask Morgan not to enter the government. Time is on his side. I don´t agree with those who think that he should accept because the people are suffering too much. Mugabe is to blame for the suffering, not Tsvangirai. 

I would ask Morgan not to trust Mugabe. He has proven he is unworthy of the respect the world placed on him and his government in 1980. Let him fade away, Morgan, so that your country may rise again.

From Hyperinflation to Deflation

I have just lived in a hyper-inflationary situation for a few years. A a matter of fact, Zimbabwe has probably been the country with the highest rate of inflation in History. The actual rate is unimportant, when a loaf of bread costs 30 trillion dollars, the problem for the ordinary citizen lies elsewhere. 

When one thinks that it was less than six months ago that the Reserve Bank cut 10, that´s right, ten zeroes off the currency and for a few brief days, the dollar US hovered around 4,500, then things start getting funny. 

Again, not even 2 years ago, the Reserve Bank cut another 3 zeroes off the currency of the time. That is a total of 13 zeroes off, and still a loaf of bread is 30 trillion Zimbabwean dollars.

But the real problem is that the salary of a Teacher, or a Nurse, is also 30 trillion. That is to say their monthly salary doesn´t cover a single loaf of bread. The ZANU-PF solution: you simply make bread unavailable. You can´t find bread in Zimbabwe today.

After that experience, I come back home to Europe and find myself in a deflationary situation. All in a matter of hours! Prices of nearly all goods and services are falling quite sharply, and people are still not buying. Most European governments´ solution: spend their way out of recession and deflation. Wrong choice again! 

As one of my favorite blog writers reminded us all yesterday, Margaret Thatcher once said:  “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”

Today I have to think that something is really very wrong with this world we live in. 

Zimbabwe once again!

Once again I have to write about Dear Zimbabwe. Everyone knows that what is going on there is tragic, a man-made humanitarian disaster. Let us hope that someday those responsible will be held accountable and judged by their peers.

If you read the link on the title of the post, this article I found in the New York Times is a good description of what is happening to those who vote with their feet, since their ballot votes do not count and are not respected by their own government or their neighbours, and decide to try to get to South Africa and work.

South Africa itself is going into elections. I fear Zimbabweans are going to be easy scapegoats for politicians trying to get elected. And I fear that violence will ensure.

Today I also got an email from a Catholic Missionary in Zimbabwe. A portion of cornmeal is 30 trillion, the same as the monthly salary of a school teacher. Can we be surprised if people try to leave?

For some of us who have invested so many years in Africa, Mugabe and his brutal regime are such a disappointment. Now just imagine for the people living in this land blessed by nature and cursed with their leaders. Since the beginning of times one might add. Bad leadership is not something of the past few years in Zimbabwe.

Dim economic outlook!

Prieur du Plessis who I read every day and have come to respect, extensively quotes today from a report from Albert Edwards, strategist for Societé Generale. You can read the full report if you click on the title of this post. 

Prieur´s blog, Investment Postcards is accessible from my Blog roll on the sidebar next to this post as always.

And it certainly makes for interesting reading! 

Edwards’s “Global Strategy” report is sub-titled “Technicals say it is time to bail out. Cut exposure and prepare for rout. US depression looking likely. China’s 2009 implosion could get ugly.” 

What has really impressed me of his views is the mention to the possibility of China imploding and the internal situation turning into chaos. Their exports have been so drastically reduced that they could be tempted, to avoid internal violence and riots, to devalue the yuan, thus starting a 1930s style Trade War.

There are, however, still indications that Chinese officials are prepared to go along doing the " right thing". They have too much invested in our markets to want to go it alone. But China is also a political dictatorship and one has to wonder the extent they might be prepared to go to to maintain the regime in place if things start going very wrong....

Zimbabwe: SADC´s sad failure

At the time of writing these few words, there are still conflicting reports on whether a SADC Summit held in Pretoria has finally managed to broker a deal on power-sharing in Zimbabwe. I have just landed from South Africa myself, even though I was not involved in this meeting or issue at all.

South Africa´s President Motlanthe has announced that the leader of the Opposition Morgan Tsvangirai, will be sworn in as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on February 11th.

Tsvangirai himself has, however, denied the agreement and criticized the outcome of the Summit.

In any case, why would someone who has won the elections, ( Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the fairest of the polls held in that country last March) and who has the majority in Parliament, be still called the leader of the Opposition? 

This just shows what countries in Southern Africa really think of democracy and “ one man, one vote”.

African leaders should once and for all abandon the idea that in order to lead a country you have to have had direct involvement in the “ liberation struggle”. If the people choose another way, it seems they believe it is easier to simply ignore the results of the vote, and go on with business as usual.

The problem in Zimbabwe is that this means death to some people, be it through political violence and repression or disease. This attitude is costing human lives and suffering.  Not that SADC leaders seem to care that much. And what makes things worse is that these same leaders have several millions of their own Nationals living in Zimbabwe and therefore suffering along the Zimbabweans who still remain in their country.

Apuntes iberoamericanos: Obama y el bloqueo a Cuba

Yes I know it is in Spanish, but this is a good opinion about President Obama and Cuba by someone who knows very well what he is writing about. If you can understand the language, I recommend this post.

Apuntes iberoamericanos: Obama y el bloqueo a Cuba

Give it a try on all things form Latin America!

A happy man!

 

Yesterday I was attending the Biannual Meeting of a small Intergovernmental organization of 13 member states of which four account for 80% of the regular contributions and 100% of the voluntary contributions, for a total of 99.99% of the total funds this organization spends in its annual budget.

 

We spent most of the afternoon session discussing a small increase in the salaries of the Directors of the four Research Centers whose activities are funded 100% by the four countries I mentioned earlier, all of them European.

 

For a couple of hours we had to listen to very opinionated delegates who had to take the floor a number of times each. And the four countries who pay for the activities, myself included, listened patiently to all this senseless ranting.

 

Now, why would a country whose total annual contribution to the organization doesn’t suffice to pay for the monthly salary of ONE of the Directors whose stipendium we were discussing, warrant the use of the floor of a reputable organization with lots of other things to discuss, I really wonder.

 

But I did discover something. I was thinking lately that I was growing old. I found out yesterday that I still have the will to fight in me. I grabbed the microphone and stated clearly that I supported the small increase, the first in over 5 years, and that my country would pay for the whole thing. That should keep them quiet, I thought.

 

One of the delegates came back to me saying that this was democracy at its best and that we had to listen to everyone’s opinion. I answered that, with all due respect, his country in no way accorded it citizens back home the right he was so strongly defending at the meeting and that he should perhaps have the humility to acknowledge that being loud and omnipresent does not make you right.

 

Last night, at a miserable little hotel in the middle of nowhere in a small town in Central Europe, I went to bed a happy man, and I slept soundly. I think I had deserved it!

Shameless boasting!

 

Please allow me to boast shamelessly today. If you read yesterday´s post, before President Obama became the 44^th in our history, I sort of hinted that the Euro was a mistake, and certainly not such a good idea if we place our hopes in it.

 

Now, today I wake up to find a column by Paul Krugman, (yes that one!) saying the same thing about Spain, very close to me. (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/) .

 

Please understand this is the first time ever, that I have actually thought and written about something which agrees with what an Economist like Mr. Krugman believes.

 

What he says, and I only hinted, is that economies of the  likes of Spain, Ireland, Greece and Italy need, desperately, to become more competitive. Since the Euro zone discards devaluation, the only other solution is to drastically reduce salaries. So, we will have to face that indebtness is only part of our predicament in Europe. Competitiveness is a lot more crucial in these times.

 

That is what I called yesterday in my post, having to pay for the party we have had for these past years when we all thought we were rich people, with lots of money to spend.

 

The problem is that in a Socialist environment like in most of Europe, once you have obtained something by whatever means ( at the beginning it was through revolution now it is called “ social benefits”) you can never, by principle, go back. They become “ Human Rights” with ease and are no longer open for debate. At least that is the principle that European Socialists uphold. That is why they have this obsession with spending their way out of recession, thus worsening the problem they want to solve in the medium run.

 

However they don’t really have to care that much, because the investment in infrastructure they so loudly proclaim as the solution to most of our current problems, is bound to create a few jobs for workers coming from the housing sector and low level manufacturing sectors. But those are going to be more prone to vote for the Left anyway, whereas in the services sectors, at the very least hiring’s are coming to are halt, and layoffs, though still relatively limited, may grow in the next few months. But they happen to have fewer voters amongst these citizens anyway.

 

Who knows, if in Europe we keep down this road for long enough through this crisis and recession it may well be that Socialism will disappear once again from the political map. For a couple of decades at least. This is what happened after the crisis of the 70s in the UK with the coming to power of Thatcher and in the US with Ronald Reagan. Sort of a vaccination.

 

Just to add a little bit of spice to the whole issue of flexibility of the different developed economies, in his recent analysis, Andrew Garthwaite, Global Strategist at Credit Suisse, ranks 44 countries regarding their flexibility to adjust to cost reduction. It is no surprise to see that the most flexible country and therefore the one with the highest probability to regain its competitive status is the USA. Perhaps it is no surprise either to see that the last, number 44, is Spain. It ranks as the least flexible economy regarding labor costs. Therefore, it has the least chance to be able to regain competitiveness in a limited period of time, if ever.

 

There are worse examples and the IMF is all over them in the European Union. Take Hungary and Latvia for example.

 

But also take the differences between President Obama´s constant praise of his country and his people and the capacity we Americans have to work harder and come out of the crisis stronger than ever, and the small talk, yes small talk of some leaders who refuse to go to their Parliaments and prefer talk shows and You Tube videos to ask their countrymen to “ shop more intensely in this traditional sales month!!!”

 

In any case, I digress. The main purpose of this post was to share my pride at having got it “right” this time and to go along with  Krugman, an American Liberal, from someone like me who certainly is not one of those.

 

The fact is we are, at some time, going to have to tackle the competitiveness problem head-on. And without the possibility of devaluation, and politicians not wanting to accept that salaries and standard of living is going to have to come down substantially ( the IMF suggest a 5% cut in the public sectors of a few European countries), the only other way economists can think off is via exports.

 

But is this  a sensible thing to propose in an environment where manufacturing has being decreasing for decades, and these countries owe most of their GDP to the housing sector and services? I somehow don’t think so. 

The Big Day

Today is the big day. I, like tens of millions of people around the world, will spend the evening ( in Europe) watching President Obama´s every move and every word.

In the current world context and the bad news we get on a daily basis, we have to count on our leaders, and as I have written before, expectations are high regarding Obama´s capacity to steer us out of the current mess.

Since Ronald Reagan´s Inauguration expectations have not been as high. I hope we won’t be disappointed. I don’t think the US and the rest of the world could take it.

But, back home, we now we are back to thinking that maybe our money is not so safe in the bank. States are guaranteeing deposits, but now we learn that a number of European States would actually need to leave the Euro to be able to become competitive again, before any one of them defaults.

Can States default? They certainly have done so in the past. Some more than once under the same ruler. So are Ireland, Greece, Spain, etc any safer than those other countries? If so, why?

And we see that some leaders still believe that a country can spend its way out of a recession. Since when has this worked? I have not found a single example of this. I have, however, found a few of exactly the opposite, during the crisis of the 70s. Ask the British Labour Party for instance.

What has happened to a sound monetary policy and a responsible fiscal policy? Can they be maintained in a Euro zone in which internal differences are still so high?

I still remember ( it was only ten years ago after all) how proud I was when, on January 1^st early, I took my three children to line up at the bank ( yes they were open on that day!) to exchange their savings into Euros. Is it possible that all this will end being a bad dream?

And yet, if we dedicate ourselves to party and to live like rich people, someone, someday, is going to present us with the bill. And we will have to pay for it. We, or worse still, our children, those that stood in line to exchange their money into Euros. 

Africa: an excellent blog

I have found, and I link on my blog page, this excellent blog on all news and issues African. It is maintained by Senior blogger Derek Catsam who is an assistant professor of history at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

I have been reading it for a while and not always agree with what he says, but I would certainly recommend a look into its content which is updated daily.

http://africa.foreignpolicyblogs.com/

A European Mac user

Yesterday Steve Jobs, Apple´s CEO, announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence for six months. This after his absence from the recent Macworld Expo, where Apple has traditionally revealed its new products for years. I do not own any Apple stock, and I have no intention to buy. For me Jobs has the right to cure himself. After all it is not the first time he has to leave the company because of his health.

I have recently switched over to Mac computers, after a lifelong struggle with Windows. The only thing I have to say is that, after six months of intense use, I still have not managed to freeze OSX once, whereas with Windows in that period I would have had to reinstall the system a few times. My last Windows laptop, belonging to my employer, awaits at home until I have the time and the courage to take it back to the IT Department for them to reinstall the operating system or, if my dream comes true, to issue me with a new one. All I use this laptop for is to manage two 1TB external disks on my home network. It still manages to screw itself up from time to time, with no help from me.

It really is unimportant if us Mac users are 8%, 12% or 20% of total computer users. When I travel to the US, I feel at home with my white macbook. With very few exceptions, Mac users are welcome and well taken care of by network administrators al over the US. Mac friendly wifi access are everywhere.

In Europe, the situation is exactly the opposite. Whenever I have a problem at a hotel, or with a network admin, when I mention I have a macbook, a smirk comes to their face. “ Ah!!! there you are. You ( yes I) are not compatible! “ 

There is nothing they can or will do for me. This phrase sounds even worse in French! Europe has very few Apple Stores. Spain doesn´t have one. China and Australia do.

I therefore feel like a minority when I carry my macbook around Europe. But not a respected minority like in the USA. In Europe we mac users are still discriminated against.

Our Leaders and the crisis

There are many differences between Europe and the US as far as perceptions go. Part of the reason I am writing this blog is to try and highlight some of these differences so that we can hopefully understand each other better.

The US now is up to 7% unemployment rate. This rate skyrockets in some European countries. In Spain, for instance, it is nearly 14% and growing at an alarming rate. That is double the US rate, but in Spain people seem less concerned about this.

They seem to believe that a social “ cushion” still exists in Europe. That family and its ability to help out in a crisis period is going to be able to cope as was the case 20 years ago. I think they are wrong. European society is now much less vertebrated than in the past. A lot less than some of us would have liked to see in our lifetime. This is the result of political choices, mistakes one could argue, of so many years of socialism.

People also tend to forget that public resources are limited and that the money people on the dole receive every month they are out of a job has to be paid by those of us who still are employed, and by our children.

Another main concern is the capacity of our leaders to steer us out of this crisis. Present European leaders are of the “ optimist” category. They are all very capable as long as we have favorable winds. They cannot acknowledge the gravity of the situation. They have to speak about the recovery, which they label as “ speedy”. 

I believe we lack “ pessimists” in government in most countries. Most European leaders are no Churchills. And a Churchill is probably what we most need now in Europe. Someone has to tell us that “ blood, sweat and tears” is what we can expect in the near future. And that the recession is going to be lengthy rather than speedy. In other words, we need to be told the truth from the people whose job it is to know the truth.

I am in no position to judge President-Elect Obama. I do not know if he is a “Roosevelt” or not. But I will be following closely, because, in Europe, we also need his leadership as much as we need our own leaders to stand up and fight for us.

Emerging powers

Today I am going to rant about the “ emerging countries”. There seems to be a big public opinion campaign in favor of the “ new powers”, namely South Africa, Brazil and India. They even want to be permanent members of the Security Council. At least the present members ( USA, UK, China, France and Russia) pay for the activities of the organization in which they rule supreme.

But these other countries want to come in via the front door. They claim that they have grown into World powers. Really? Nothing could be further from the truth.

We may have changed our perception of these countries, but they certainly have not changed. In each and every one of them, millions, that’s right, millions of their citizens, go to bed hungry, every day!

What happened to “ no taxation without representation”. Shouldn’t we change the order of the phrase: “ no representation without taxation”. If they want influence on a world scale, let them be prepared to pay for it.

The problem is that for the countries with true global interests, the issue is not really that important. The US, for instance, needs those 3 countries as allies and, since the US is not going to let go of its policy and interests, it really is no big deal whether the 3 become “ world powers” or not.

Other countries, those who really do pay for the UN, Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, Holland, etc, seem to believe that they have lost the battle and that they will have to see those “ emerging powers” take a prominent place in the world order and they will have to pick up the tab.

But, questions must be asked and answered. After the past two years in the Security Council, when South Africa has supported actively every rogue regime in the world, refusing over and over again to condemn Mugabe in Zimbabwe, to accept criticism of Iran, or North Korea; Do we really want this country to play a leading role in defining and defending the world order?

Brazil and India also actively share this “ See no evil” foreign policy. They eagerly take Western credit for their needs of advanced technology and equipment, and they then sell there less sensitive equipment to anyone who is prepared to pay for their planes, trains, weapons, etc. which then, in turn, are used against their own people.

I think it is time that we should tell the rest of the world that power has to be paid for or at least earned on a daily basis. If the “ emerging powers” want to play a key role, they will have to earn the International Community’s respect with their stand on world issues. As long as they keep supporting tyrants, they will need to accept a secondary role in world events. 

Cartoon

I have found this funny cartoon in a blog I follow and that I recommend for its insite on the economic situation.

 Try http://www.investmentpostcards.com it really is worth it. 

Prieur du Plessis writes from Cape Town in South Africa, and manages what I am tryingto do with this blog of mine: to contribute what sometimes will be a different perspective from what people read back home in the States...

A snowy day in Madrid and the Palestinian Tragedy

Today it is snowing in Madrid.  It must have been 20 years since I last saw snow in my back yard.  it makes one wonder about climate change and global warming. Maybe one of these days I will come back to the subject. The fact is that the city is completely collapsed, all the radio  shows recommend people to stay at home. That is exactly what I have done.

 From the nice, warm, peace and quiet of my home, as I watch the snow falling from my window,  I am reflecting on the tragedy going on in the Gaza strip, in Palestine, while I wait for the Israeli ambassador to Spain, Raphael Schutz, to come up on the web for a live chat on the situation in the Middle East.

 According to press reports, the death toll is over 700 people. It is easy to assume that most people in the United States back  Israel regardless of reason; and that most people in Europe sympathize with the Palestinians, also regardless of reason. This has long been the tendency of the majority of the people on both sides of the Atlantic.

 However, listening to a number of talk shows in Spain lately,  one can think that, perhaps, some things are changing in European public opinion. 

Most of the listeners who bothered to come forward with an opinion, understand Israel’s position towards terrorism, and point out that most of the Palestinian or Arab public figures have not come out to support Hamas this time round.

Some also  mention that both Jordan and Egypt never fulfilled their promise to turn over Palestinian land to the Palestinians when they could do so, before 1967. That  year, Israel occupied the territories which they then took a long time to hand over to the Palestinian authorities. But the fact remains, that Israel and only Israel, has provided the Palestinian people with land of their own, even if they have not been very forthcoming about it or even generous.

 I was very impressed on January 1st  when listening to the New Year concert from Vienna on TV. The Argentinian conductor, Daniel Barenboim, himself Jewish, expressed the wish to see human justice come to be in 2009 in Palestine. I agree fully with that sentiment. I believe Israel could do a lot more politically, socially, and economically. I also believe that after thousands of years of conflict, it is the day to day living together, working together, and having the same economic interests, the only chance that we might see a bright future in the area.

 At the end of the day it is slightly over 6 million Israelis, and a similar number of Palestinians ( of which only 3 million actually live in Palestine) holding the whole world hostage in its quest for peace.  

   Finally the Ambassador is up on line and he has put forward an interesting thought which I will share with you. He points out that in the last 60 years, Israel has managed to grow into a modern and democratic society, with economic progress for all living there. In those same 60 years, the Palestinians have received total  aid exceeding the amount of the Marshall plan for Europe after the Second World War, but their economy and infrastructure continue to be in shambles. He puts the blame on the corruption of Palestinian officials. 

I don’t think anybody could argue  with that. Corruption has been and is a fact of daily life in Palestine. However, I think that part of the responsibility lies within Israel itself. Israel has consistently taken advantage of economic and trade benefits given to the Palestinians by the European Union among others, and has profited from Palestine’s agriculture and small industrial base.

 I will never forget many years ago in the 90s, when Europe decided to increase the quota for oranges coming from Palestine. Israel’s immediate reaction was to close the border for agricultural exports through their territory, and they then proceeded to sell the entire Palestinian contingent through their own commercial channels. There are many other stories of abuse in fisheries and other sectors. They therefore share part of the responsibility and  they should acknowledge this fact sooner rather than later.

 But the fact remains that Hamas was elected into power mainly because of corruption issues and that they have decided to use their resources against Israel, instead of working for the betterment of the Palestinian society in the Gaza strip. It is really amazing to see that there seems to be no shortage of ammunition on the Palestinian side, while they complain that the closing of the border by Israel is forcing people into starvation and the deprivation of medical care. It would be far more reasonable to see the resources, both economical and human, dedicated to the supply of weapons and ammunition to the militia in Palestine, change their efforts to supply food and medicines to the general population.

And here in Madrid, snow keeps falling....