Almost random thoughts

The good (or bad?) thing about living in Marbella is that you have plenty of time to think. Here are a few thoughts on my mind these days:

- I just reviewed a text on the industrial revolution as part of my son´s homework. One of the pre-conditions to the revolution was the perception by the British people at the time that success could come from their efforts. Have too many people lost this perception in Europe, just when we are in the midst of a new technological revolution?

- I like the idea of measuring a country well-being by a coefficient of happiness instead of GDP per capita. See the results of a worldwide happiness study. If you rank countries according to people´s daily experience, the happiest are Panama, Paraguay, Iceland, Indonesia….

- French are word champions of pessimism (see worldwide poll). 61% think that 2011 will be a difficult financial year vs 28% on average in the rest of the world (22% in Germany, 41% in Italy, 48% in Spain et 52% in the UK). 37% of French people think their personal situation will worsen. It places France in the top 5 most pessimistic countries in front of Irak and Afghanistan.

- The reliance of French people on the State structures may explain this pessimism. Too many people may have given up a large control of their life to a model that shows its limitations.

- “The best way to predict your future is to create it” – Peter Drucker

- Why can´t I find a translation of Atlas Shrugged in French?

- I have never believed much in conspiracy theories, but why do I get the increasing feeling that our governments have too much to hide from us?

- Is wikileaks bringing to light the fact that much of the free press is superficial and self-censored?

- Despite inevitable shortcomings, are the USA still the best example of freedom of expression in the world?

- Is the major failure of our educational system that it prepares children to fit in a society of the past, and does not help them create their own future?

- Why is our educational system almost exclusively oriented towards working for a corporation, as opposed to working for oneself? Too little place is given to teach entrepreneurial spirit in schools and universities.

- Have political correctness and zero-risk tolerance gone too far?

- When I was in Ukraine in the early 90´s, I witnessed how the Soviet people experienced a revolution in personal values. This was profound and touched the core of a person´s beliefs. Sometimes I have the feeling that we are experiencing something similar in the West (although of minor proportions). So many established truths are being challenged. Either that, or I am getting older and my view of the world is changing….

Reading back this post, I concluded I definitely have too much time on my hands to think. Time to start a new venture.

The most peaceful decade since 1840

Financial crisis – uncertain future for our children – Irak – Afghanistan – immigration – global warming – religious fundamentalism – the Mayan calendar… It seems the world is going nowhere but down!

I have never been a nostalgic of bygone times, with the semblance of tranquility they bring through fading or misconstrued memories. So I was particularly pleased to read an article in Rue89, a French newspaper, about violence in history. And it appears that we just lived through the least violent decade since 1840! When you consider how much more populated the world is nowadays, it is an even more significant achievement.

So how is it possible that with 9/11, Irak, Afghanistan, the middle East, Congo… this was such a peaceful decade? Because it was much worse before!

During 2001-2010, there have been less than 1 million deaths from violent conflicts. Compare this with more than 2 millions deaths in all previous decades:
1990′s: Tchetchenie, Rwanda, Yougoslavia
1980′s: Ethiopia, Irak/Iran
1970′s: Vietnam, Cambodge, Angola, Bangladesh
1960′s: China/Inde, Vietnam, Indonesia, Congo, Biafra, Cultural revolution in China
1950′s: Corea, Indochina, Algeria, China’s “jump forward”
Before that we had the second (50 millions deaths) and the first (10 millions) world wars, the Soviet revolution and its excesses, the separation of India and Pakistan…

Apparently we must go back to the period 1815-1845 after the Napoleonic wars (1 millions deaths) to see a similar relatively peaceful period…

So remember these facts next time that you are down and have the urge to glorify the past. Don’t fear the future and embrace your time on earth!

Millennium vs Wikileaks

- Action starts in Sweden
- An obscure publishing company unveils secrets threatening the basis of democracy and the trust in the institutions
- Internet and new technologies play a central role
- Main characters are accused by the government of sexual deviance and alleged murders
- International search warrants are issued
- Despite mustering all governmental forces, the main character is not to be found.
- When arrested, character manages to get access to Internet.
- A loose network of hackers get involved.
- Secret services and official mis-information are central to the plot
- The established press talks a lot about it, but does little to really establish the truth
- Individuals and companies assisting the publisher are under surveillance and pressured not to help
- The story is captivating

And finally, justice prevails and democracy is saved???

Too many questions about Wikileaks

The Wikileaks story is turning the political powers upside down. It is all over the news, yet I have so many questions about it:

* If Wikileaks is illegal, why can’t governments stop it through a judicial process? It is feasible to issue an injunction to stop publishing a book, but impossible to legally stop a website publishing top secret information?

* If Wikileaks is acting legally, is political pressure acceptable in the democratic world?

* What should we think about this obvious persecution which is apparently not based on legal grounds but purely insidious pressure? Why did Amazon, Paypal suddenly drop Wkileaks? Why can’t French hosting companies offer their hosting services to Wikileaks?

* Is Wikileaks putting some people in danger, or is it the hypocrisy of politicians and their actions that are really at the source of the problems? Aren’t we in a situation of blaming the messenger?

* Anyways, are there any big surprises in the Wikileaks stories? Israel pressuring the USA to bomb Iran – a surprise? Berlusconi’s partying getting out of control – a surprise? Clinton telling officials to spy – a surprise? Even Saudi Arabia pressuring the USA to bomb Iran – is it really a surprise? Anybody following the news would have gathered all this already.

* So is all the fuss about politicians not being able to cover “half-truths” anymore? Is anybody in the diplomatic world naive enough to take public statements at face value. I don’t think so. So is it just embarrassing?

* No doubt that people have a looser language in private, politicians also. We know that. In the end, isn’t Wikileaks the equivalent of the yellow press for diplomatic circles?

* Politicians claim that there will not be trust and confidential exchange anymore. Was it there in the first place? And why did they write about it and let hundred of thousand government agents have access to it if it was so confidential?

* Isn’t this also embarrassing to much of the media that are not doing their inquisitive role thoroughly?

*Isn’t it strange that Sweden issues an arrest mandate against Wikileaks’ founder days after the publication of controversial documents, for two alleged offenses that took place in August?

Finally, don’t you think there is an eery parallel between the Millennium trilogy and the Wikileaks affair? Who did you like better in the book: the SAPO or the Salander/Blomkvist tandem?

Air control in Spain

If cursing works, the families of the 2000 Spanish air controllers are in for a long time of suffering in eternity. The unexpected strike of only 2000 people paralyzed the country and pushed the Spanish government to decree a “State of Alarm” and send the military to the control towers.

On TV, the whole world turned against the controllers. The media showed images of distraught passengers, of the government acting firm, complaining about these spoiled workers, claiming that some made up to 900,000 euros a year… but we have heard very little from the controllers. How is that?

Is it because they are such a small number? Is it that the press is not playing its role of analyzing events and it is toiling the official line?

I have always been against salvage strikes but I still want to hear a proper analysis of the situation, without demagogy and simplistic claims from the government. What I have read on various blogs tend to indicate that the situation is not as clear cut about responsibilities. Here is a link in Spanish about the controllers’ side of the story. You make up your own mind.

Democracy needs a more incisive, impartial press (did I mention wkileaks?). I just wonder how the Spanish media would have reacted if it was a right-wing, and not a socialist government, which would have decreed this state of alarm….

We need WikiLeaks!

I find very disturbing the news that the Swedish Authorities issued and retracted a search warrant against WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange after only one day!

The fact that this warrant had been issued just after the leak of confidential documents about the war in Afghanistan was highly suspicious anyways. I do not know anything about Mr Assange, but the authorities have lost all credibility in my books and are reinforcing my view that we need websites like Wikileaks.

For the record, nobody (including the US State Department) has claimed that the leaked documents were not real. Wikileaks apparently publishes true, although controversial information. The same cannot be said about the authorities which are apparently interested in misinformation. One up for Wikileaks!

I am not an avid believer of conspiracy theories, but this makes you wonder. In our world where governments continuously increase their level of control on all aspects of life, it is essential that we maintain and support some avenues to decry the excesses of power.

I am just finishing reading the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson, a thoroughly enjoyable story, and cannot help draw some parallel with the Wikileaks story. Let´s hope that at the end, the good guys will keep winning and the Swedish Authorities will put their house in order.

International Day of Internet

Five years ago, a Spanish association of internet users launched an initiative to celebrate the Internet World Day every May 17th. Since then, they have been actively working to encourage Internet Day in other countries and coordinating its celebration worldwide.

Interestingly enough, The European Internet Safety Network decided that we should all celebrate Safer Internet Day every February 19th and, for 8 years now, a British organization has been calling for an International Internet-Free Day every January 27th.

Confused?

Why should you be? This is right in line with the global market place for information, products, influence, self-promotion… that is internet. With a little ingenuity and perseverance, anybody can promote anything. The burden is on the users to be discerning, exert some common sense and make relevant decisions and choices. And all is well that way. Internet is a bowl of fresh air and freedom, in a world where political correctness and zero-risk policies are leading us to an environment where many people shy away from basic responsibilities.

For purely geographic and biased reasons, we will encourage all to support the May 17 Spanish initiative by writing an encouraging note to Telefonica (the monopolistic ADSL provider in Spain) every time your internet speed exceeds 50% of the speed you have contracted and you are paying for… Judging by my experience, there is no risk of an over-stuffed mailbox at Telefonica!

Everything’s Amazing – Nobody’s Happy

“Give a second! It’s going to space!” Hilarious. People take everything for granted!

Marbella Family inspiration for 2010

Amazing video. The last lecture…
Live your life. Have fun. Be a Tiger. Anything is possible in 2010!

Political Correctness gone wild?

Civility, order, respect for each other are all needed to live in community. However, in the last few years, the politically correct (PC) trend has become to infringe on basic liberties, traditions and plain common sense. Most of the changes promoted by PC adepts stem from logical arguments but, pushed to the extreme by principles and sometimes demagogy, the rhetoric often leads to ridiculous outcomes.

In Marbella, we have a typical tourist attraction in the center of town threatened to lose most of its charm: the horse carriage city tours. The City Council has submitted an ordinance bringing more regulations on the horse-drawn carriages. Among them we note that drivers will have to wear a uniform, won´t be able to use a whip on the horses and carriages should be equipped of a device to recover the animals excrement. The argumentation for these changes is logical and goes with the times. Nobody can contest that some drivers are dressed poorly, that they sometimes use a whip to direct the animals through traffic and that the horses dirty the roads… but somehow I feel this will leave Marbella with less character and charm. I am not sure that tourists visiting Spain want a sanitized, flavorless driver behind a horse wearing a diaper in an aseptic Marbella town… They can probably find that closer to home.

In the US, CNN is reporting that ¨many of the nation’s Santas want to be given priority for the H1N1 vaccine… The group also urged its members to use hand sanitizer and hope to encourage children to do the same… The 200 or so Santas who volunteer to visit sick or grieving children through Santa America will be washing their suits daily instead of weekly and will not be wearing gloves this year so they can wash their hands frequently…¨ Nobody can argue the risks of catching a flu when in contact with little kids, but does this sound right? Should a kid´s wish to Santa be for the hand sanitizer? Didn´t previous Santas survive the flu season to come back the following year?

I personally always encourage progress and rarely think that things were better before. However, in the search of minimizing risk, unpredictability, chance, and preventing offenses, slights, snubs, affronts, I often feel these days that we are turning our world into a uniform society, devoid of charm, atmosphere, mood and flavor.