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April 25, 2006
Manufacturer of Reinstated Beliefs
In the wake of 9/11 and the military buildup that has accompanied the Iraqi and Afghani wars, numerous organizations have arisen to fill the void left by the inefficiencies of the public intelligence agencies. In this manner, the advantageous manipulation of current views -- mainly the perceptions of the Middle East and the Islamic religion -- along with the federal government contracting many defense companies, has created a self-perpetuating system of fear and build up. Today I will identify what I believe is a culpable organization that utilizes the internet for less-than-sincere purposes to enable ignorance and stereotypes in the American public.
The NEFA - Nine Eleven Finding Answers - Foundation is a private, non-profit organization conceptualized and created by individuals who desired to help in the fight against terrorism.
They list their objective as sharing their findings and data with intelligence agencies, media, and public in general. Yet this latter method is the only visibility of outreach -- no information can be found on their website about their activities related to the media, other NGO's and non-profits, or with the United States government.
However, a quick search on YouTube or GoogleVideo shows NEFA's contributions: videos of fringe Muslims in Western countries. The primary question one should ask is why does a ‘fact-finding’ intelligence non-profit engage it's audience by distributing videos of radicals acting like radicals?
A recent video of the Islamic Thinkers Society protesting in NYC provides the best substantiation. The evidence is not in the video itself, but the reactions and discussions facilitated by making such content available. With over 130 comments and 39,000 views, this is one of the more popular videos on YouTube. A sampling of the comments:
" Where's a suicide car bomber when you need one?" "This really does show just why it's our duty to go to Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. Innocent people need to be protected from hate and war mongers such as these, who chant about genocide and nuclear attacks in the street. There's no way we could forgive ourselves if we didn't stop them." "Islamic Thinkers Society may the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on your souls. Hell will be stoked up a few degrees hotter for your likes....."
From a group of five seemingly senseless youths in New York with no coherent message and no vehicle to spread their message emerges the ability to reinforce public beliefs about the West's relations with Islam. In a city of 10 million with a significant Middle Eastern population, a small group chanting random hatred hardly constitutes infiltration by a terrorist group in our midst (in fact, if you have lived or traveled to New York, random groups shouting on the street for random causes is a regular occurrence)
By acknowledging people better left ignored, NEFA creates an environment that encourages extremist behavior on both sides. Through showing these videos and filtering them through specific channels on the internet, NEFA draws significant attraction to extreme Islamic movements unrepresentative of their culture or religion, giving a platform that creates the illusion they are spokesmen’s of the whole. On the other side, anti-Islamic prejudices are nurtured and pandered to in the American perception, increasing not only simple misunderstanding, but distrust and disdain as well.
Though it is important to realize and expose the existence of fringe elements in Western society, it should be pursued in an objective manner that does not inflame strong responses. By perpetuating ignorance and reaffirming xenophobic and stereotypical beliefs, organizations like NEFA inhibit short and long-term policy through the distortion of American public opinion.
Posted by Alec at 2:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2006
Republicans play a little hardball
Hehe:
Starting this week, hundreds of young Capitol Hill aides will indulge in an annual rite of spring here by changing out of their business suits and heading over to the National Mall to play in the Congressional Softball League.Amid all the partisan rancor of congressional politics, the softball league has for 37 years been a rare case of bipartisan civility, an opportunity for Democratic and Republican aides to sneak out of work a bit early and take the field in the name of the lawmaker, committee or federal agency they work for.
This year, the league will be missing something: a lot of the Republicans.
During the off-season, a group of Republican teams seceded from the league after accusing its Democratic commissioner, Gary Caruso, of running a socialist year-end playoff system that gives below-average teams an unfair chance to win the championship.
The league "is all about Softball Welfare -- aiding the weak by punishing the strong," the pitcher of one Republican team told Mr. Caruso in an email. "The commissioner has a long-standing policy of punishing success and rewarding failure. He's a Democrat. Waddya' expect?" read another email, from Gary Mahmoud, the coach of BoehnerLand, a team from the office of Republican Majority Leader John Boehner.
The softball coup is a "reflection of how partisan and Republican this town has really become since Republicans took control," responds Mr. Caruso, a longtime Democratic aide who worked for congressmen in the 1980s and '90s. "Republicans come here and want to bash your head in. And if they don't get their way, they pick up the ball and go home."
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 9:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2006
The Waiter Rule
USA Today has an interesting article on The Waiter Rule, which is this: You can tell a lot about a person's character by how they treat waitstaff (and other members of the service industry). This rule wasn't created by some disgruntled waiter. Bill Swanson, CEO of Raytheon, created the rule as management advice for fellow CEOs and businessmen.
"Watch out for people who have a situational value system, who can turn the charm on and off depending on the status of the person they are interacting with," Swanson writes in his book. "Be especially wary of those who are rude to people perceived to be in subordinate roles."
As a former waiter in a restaurant frequented by athletes, the occassional celebrity, and plenty of new- and old-money business-types, I completely agree with Swanson, who was a waiter himself in his pre-CEO days (There seems to be something about waiting tables that instills a certain bond and empathy with fellow waiters that stays with you for a long time).
The article says how others treat their waiter is like a magical window into the soul. What might you find if you gaze through that window at an expensive and popular dining establishment? Here's a little guide:
- The Godfather - This guy (typically male) has a lot of money and a lot of people that depend on him because of it. He likes acknowledgement that he's the Man, but not from you. The owner/manager will stop by and kiss up for a while. You, the waiter, are another member of his extended network of dependents who he wants to take care of. Standard tip: Act like you're doing your best and you should get a nice 20% tip on a very large bill. The Godfather likes to appear generous.
- The Godfather's Family - This can be a son, daughter, wife--any member of The Godfather's Family--who comes into the restaurant without him. They like to flaunt their money and power when away from the patriarch. They want specially prepared meals and they are often condescending. They'll say things like, "I'm friends with the owner. I could get you fired," if something goes wrong. You'll have to kiss ass like you've never kissed before, and it still won't be enough. Standard tip: Anything from very generous to virtually nothing.
- Mr. Business - Not quite C-Suite material, but recently successful with a pocketful of money, Mr. Business will try to sleep with you if you're a female, and if you're male, well, he (and his buddies) would rather have a young girl waiting on them. A waitress can do a little flirting and land a big tip (to go along with a little harassment), but try to stay invisible if you're a man. If you interrupt him at anytime he'll go on a super-alpha-male power trip and make your night miserable. When he's not in the restaurant with business buddies, he's having dinner with a woman who definitely isn't his wife.Standard tip: 15%-20%
- Mr. and Mrs. Awesome - This man or woman (or often a couple) probably have either waited tables at some point in their life or, most likely, have a child your age who is currently waiting tables. They want to know your life story: Where did you go to school? What was your major? They're nice and laid back, either retired or recent empty nesters. Standard tip: Probably 15% (they may think that's the standard) but 20% if they have a waiter/waitress in the family.
- Hal and Holly Wood - It's hard to know how a celebrity will act. It depends on a variety of factors like the level of fame, how long he/she has had it, their mood, etc. (there is actually a long algebraic formula for determining this, but my blogging font doesn't have mathematic symbols). If he/she comes in for a small dinner with the family, they'll probably be polite enough and not want too much attention. However, someone with newly acquired celebrity status and an entourage of followers may act a lot like The Godfather's Family. Standard tip: Probably 20%, but you may have to work very hard for it.
I know, this list is full of stereotypes, and it's by no means comprehensive. I didn't even start on the prom parties, the college kids, the really cheap old people, and the many personality variations that depend on the amount of people at dinner and the amount of alcohol consumed. The Waiter Rule was intended to give CEOs a gauge of character for potential partners and employees, so I've tried to include potential candidates in the list. I welcome any present or past waiters to add to it.
Thanks to Waiter Rant for the link.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 9:36 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 16, 2006
Followup: Cheap Digital Cameras
I just discovered that Newsweek will be running a story in its upcoming issue about cops using MySpace for investigations:
A growing number of ordinary officers are working a new beat, turning to MySpace—an online network of individuals linked through personalized home pages—to collect clues and crack offline cases.
Just remember where you first heard about it.
Posted by Potter at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 14, 2006
A belated Happy Birthday
I can't believe I missed Ablogistan's birthday. One year ago yesterday, April 13, I posted for the first time. If I hadn't completely forgotten about the anniversary, I would have compiled a year-in-review list of highlights. Oh well. The sitemeter has slowed down a little lately, but nearly 130,000 visits in the first year of a new blog isn't bad, in my opinion.
Here's to another year.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 11:16 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Cheap Digital Cameras = Big Brother is Watching?
Quoth Bill Nye: “Please, consider the following…”
- The Abu Ghraib atrocities were only brought to light after personal photos taken by soldiers made their way to the press.
- Students, both high school and college, are more regularly being busted for hazing and alcohol violations due to party photos shared online.
These incidents show that the proliferation of digital cameras and photo sharing websites is having a notable effect on law enforcement. No longer doe the police need to hope for a tip from some disgruntled person before they know about an infraction. Now they can just long on to any number of popular sites and search by keyword for photos of the illegal acts.
In a similar vein, a woman who’d previously been convicted of having an inappropriate relationship with one of her middle school students, was recently arrested on a parole violation. I’d not been following this but it seems the teacher created a MySpace account that police believe was intended to put her back in contact with the student. There are too many bizarre facts in this case to address them all, but suffice it to say that creating a profile on the 10th most popular website was not the best idea in the world.
Stepping back from these which are the worst case scenarios, there are still times when basic privacy issues are raised by these photo sharing sites. We’ve all been to events and parties where people were taking photos. Now those photos can quickly find their way online freely available to employers, family and complete strangers.
I will admit that I am quite paranoid in regards to having my information online. For quite some time I was very active in making sure that no photos of me were placed online. However, over the years it has become next to impossible to keep this up. I am left will little recourse but to allow my photo to be posted in this very public forum without any say in the matter.
Yes, one should always act with proper decorum so that if any photos are taken they are not cause for embarrassment (or arrest). But how many times do you pose doing something funny/bizarre/non-PC, or get caught off guard and, out-of-context, the photo looks worse than it is? These are they types of things that give me pause.
All of this falls under the general premise of information security, a topic on which I am rather keen (and have discussed previously). Though quite foreign to the general public, issues of information security are something with which they should be increasingly concerned. MySpace’s recent hiring of a former prosecutor to act as an online security officer to educate users is evidence of the importance of this idea. Safety online is something that must be looked into much more seriously than it is now.
4/16 EDIT: Newsweek story on this very topic to be published in the upcoming issue.
Posted by Potter at 10:39 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 13, 2006
Russia: The Iran Effect
One of the nuances of the rising crisis of Iran's pursuit of nuclear ambitions is the parallel pressures being felt by Iran and it's key ally, Russia. While Iran has felt a more strong rebuke from the international community, Russia has had a very negative year diplomatically, stemming from it's perceived negative involvement in supporting corrupt elections in Belarus, extorting money from former Soviet republics for oil, and pursuing less-than-democratic reforms in the media.
The EU and America, both working together to end Iran's nuclear movement, have also seen a decline in their relations with Russia. From Pavel K. Baev:
Every recent election in Europe has severed a connection with Moscow, allowing Russia to drift further and further away from the rest of the continent. Italy is the latest point in this trajectory since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's defeat this week signifies for Russian President Vladimir Putin the loss of a key European ally and the end of a carefully cultivated personal friendship (Vremya novostei, April 11; Gazeta.ru, April 13). The March 26 parliamentary elections in Ukraine, inconclusive as they are, have confirmed Kyiv's European vector and shown the steady retreat of the pro-Russian forces in the multi-colored political arena (Lenta.ru, April 11). Presidential elections in Belarus on March 19 and the swift suppression of public protests against the crudely manipulated voting left Putin, who rushed to congratulate Alexander Lukashenka on his victory, alone against the broad European condemnation of this authoritarian regime (Ekho Moskvy, April 11). Even the elections in the Palestinian Authority fit the pattern, since Moscow's readiness to embrace the Hamas leadership has generated mild disapproval in Europe and bitter acrimony in Israel (Kommersant, April 12).Each setback with elections in the near and far neighborhood, however, increases Putin's distaste regarding the proposition that his tightly hand-managed system of power should be subjected to the test of competitive -- even if only formally -- decision-making by the general population. This entirely unnecessary procedure goes directly against his self-perception as the CEO and the chairman of the board of a corporation comprising all structures of the Russian state. This self-perception, which in fact is not that different from how Berlusconi had seen himself until last weekend, probably informed Putin's first words to the "captains" of business that were gathered in the Kremlin last month: "Dear colleagues" (Vedomosti, April 4). Russian state/corporate culture could be quite relaxed and the discipline in the hierarchy should not necessarily be draconian, but the idea that the top management must be exposed to electoral choices of the "lower ranks" is simply alien. Berlusconi's scandalous resistance to his removal from a position of power only reinforces the conviction among Putin's entourage that undesirable surprises must be prevented at any cost.
Elections, however, remain a source of grave risks and the possibility of a sudden shift in the electorate's mood cannot be eliminated. Amassing "administrative resources" and employing every available "political technology," the Kremlin still cannot overcome the pervasive fear of elections. While perhaps not entirely rational, this feeling is driven by growing mistrust among Putin's courtiers and rooted in their common knowledge that the Russians indeed have very good reasons not to trust any of them. The only way to exorcise this fear is to spread it not only through the business elite, which constitutes less than 1% of the population, but also across the middle entrepreneurial class that has grown to about 20% (Kommersant, April 12). Uncertainty about the immediate future, which can bring any kind of semi-official offer that cannot be refused, including the sell-off of prime assets, is an irreducible feature of Russian business climate. Fear is the main instrument of establishing dominance of the 1.462 million strong army of bureaucrats, which increased by 10.9% in 2005, over the oppressed, abused, and potentially hostile class of middle and small business (Lenta.ru, April 12; Ezhednevny zhurnal, April 11).
This instrumentalization of the fear factor creates various distortions in Russian economic activities, from the increase of "informal taxation" to the speculative growth of the Moscow property market. Such respected experts as Yevgeny Gavrilenkov and Yevgeny Yasin have argued this week that the abnormally low level of investment affects the dynamics and the quality of economic growth and generates huge inflationary pressure (Nezavisimaya gazeta, April 11). Entrepreneurs have no confidence in their own businesses and are reluctant to invest, so money flows into the stock market, which expanded by some 20% since the start of the year, or into the accelerated growth of consumer imports. Corporatist politics invariably translate into deformed and stagnant economics. Putin's team of managers may try to hide their fiasco by doctoring accounts and spinning new slogans, but Berlusconi was a grand master of these tricks -- and they helped him only so far.
While the nuclear winter has stemmied efforts to draw Iran into the international table, Russia's geopolitical interference has created a freeze over relations with the Western world.
Posted by Alec at 4:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 10, 2006
Monday Numbers
A sobering perspective from the BBC to begin the week:
- Men in Zimbabwe (the country with the lowest life expectancy) on average do not live past 37
- Women do not live past 34, on average
- This disturbingly low number has fallen by two years in the last 12 months
- The 10 countries with the lowest life expectancies all are in Africa
- Japan has the highest, with people there living on average until 82
It is strange to think that if I had simply been born in Zimbabwe rather than the U.S. (whether because of the alignment of the stars, an act of God, etc.) I would, at 23, already be middle-aged and the entire generation of Baby Boomers, to which my parents belong, would be practically nonexistant.
Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 9:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 7, 2006
Geopolitical Russia
The Big Russian Bear is up to its old tricks, mostly involving squeezing out agreements with its neighbors to give Russia hegemony over oil access in it's former republics. The latest comes from Belarus, a heavily Russian-influenced country that recently had it's elections condemned by everyone but Russia (a pro-Kremlin candidate was elected):
GAZPROM SQUEEZING BELARUS
Addressing an international energy conference on April 4-5 in Moscow, Gazprom Vice-Chairman Alexander Ryazanov threatened to raise the price of gas to Belarus to "at least triple the present level" after December 31, 2006, so as to bring the price for Belarus "in line with European prices that keep rising" (Interfax, April 5). Simultaneously with that energy event, ironically, Moscow hosted a festive conference greeted by President Vladimir Putin on the tenth anniversary of the formation of the Russia-Belarus Union (which exists on paper only).
Gazprom's warning aims to force Belarus to speed up the handover of the national gas transport and distribution company, Beltransgas, to Gazprom. If that happens, the Russian side would concede a sweetheart price for gas to Belarus, at least temporarily. Any major price increase could drive Belarusian industries to the verge of bankruptcy, potentially setting the stage for takeovers by Russian capital. Gazprom gave Belarus until April 30 to respond with regard to Beltransgas.
Continued...
The Big Russian Bear is up to its old tricks, mostly involving squeezing out agreements with its neighbors to give Russia hegemony over oil access in it's former republics. The latest comes from Belarus, a heavily Russian-influenced country that recently had it's elections condemned by everyone but Russia (a pro-Kremlin candidate was elected):
GAZPROM SQUEEZING BELARUS
Addressing an international energy conference on April 4-5 in Moscow, Gazprom Vice-Chairman Alexander Ryazanov threatened to raise the price of gas to Belarus to "at least triple the present level" after December 31, 2006, so as to bring the price for Belarus "in line with European prices that keep rising" (Interfax, April 5). Simultaneously with that energy event, ironically, Moscow hosted a festive conference greeted by President Vladimir Putin on the tenth anniversary of the formation of the Russia-Belarus Union (which exists on paper only).
Gazprom's warning aims to force Belarus to speed up the handover of the national gas transport and distribution company, Beltransgas, to Gazprom. If that happens, the Russian side would concede a sweetheart price for gas to Belarus, at least temporarily. Any major price increase could drive Belarusian industries to the verge of bankruptcy, potentially setting the stage for takeovers by Russian capital. Gazprom gave Belarus until April 30 to respond with regard to Beltransgas.
The Russian and Belarusian governments had agreed in principle in July 2003 to turn Beltransgas into a parity joint venture. More recently, Moscow seemed to aim for a full takeover. Gazprom estimates the total value of Beltransgas at $700 million, based on Belarusian prices. Official Minsk, however, has recently estimated that Beltransgas is worth at least $5 billion, based on international market prices. The sides have agreed to ask a "neutral" consulting company to appraise Beltransgas, but have not yet found a mutually acceptable appraiser.
Belarus pays $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas in 2006, under a one-year contract signed on December 27, 2005. This price is the same as in 2004, and the last case of Russian one-sided preferential treatment of any gas-importing country in the CIS. Gazprom is to deliver 21 billion cubic meters of gas to Belarus this year, amply covering the country's requirements. However, Gazprom pays ridiculously low fees for the transit of its gas to European Union territory via Belarus: only $0.75 per one thousand cubic meters per one hundred kilometers through Beltransgas pipelines, and a mere $0.46 per one thousand cubic meters per one hundred kilometers through the Belarus stretch of the Yamal-Europe pipeline (Interfax, March 31).
On January 27 and March 7, the two governments signed a framework agreement on Belarus' fuel and energy balance and Russian deliveries from 2006 through 2020, whereby Russia would increase gas deliveries to 26 billion cubic meters annually. This nonbinding agreement of intent, as well as the price for 2007 and thereafter, is linked to the sale of Beltransgas to Gazprom and advancement toward institutionalization of the Union State (Belapan, January 30; Interfax, March 7).
To press its point, Gazprom had reduced gas supplies by 30% during the period of freezing temperatures in January-February of this year. The cuts forced Belarus' state electricity company to generate electricity using oil fuel, which is much more expensive than gas (Belapan, January 23). Starting in January, a joint working group is discussing options for Belarus to transfer industrial assets to Russian control -- apart from Beltransgas -- in return for continuation of low-priced gas deliveries.
Gazprom shows interest in acquiring the Hrodna Azot fertilizers factory, the electrical power-generating plant in Belaazyorsk (Brest region), and the Khimvolokno artificial fiber plant. These gas-intensive plants -- if re-equipped through Gazprom-financed investments -- have the potential to become profitable exporters to EU markets. "Joint use" and expansion of storage capacity for Russian gas in Belarus for export to the EU is also on the working group's agenda.
In 2005, Gazprom exported approximately 41 billion cubic meters of gas through Belarus, including some 22 billion through the first trunk line of the Yamal-Europe pipeline, and the remainder through Beltransgas. The Yamal-Europe trunk line is supposed to become fully operational in 2006 at its design capacity of 33 billion cubic meters annually, but work on compressor stations lags behind schedule. Belarus last year recognized Gazprom's ownership of that pipeline on Belarus' territory and granted Gazprom a long-term lease on the land along the pipeline. However, these steps have only resulted in a short-term reprieve from the Russian side, which seems intent (as in Armenia -- see EDM, April 7) to take over some the country's main economic assets, using Gazprom's position as a monopoly supplier.
Posted by Alec at 1:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack