Mikhail Khodorkovsky was a businessman who paid a lot of taxes. Now he is a convicted criminal. He didn't flee his country, but tried to defend himself against the allegations made against him, trusting the system would, in the end, validify his actions.
Now, many feel he is being sacrificed because he dared question the system. He dared criticize a system that ended up destroying his business.
Regardless of all the hype that journalists may report, there are - obviously - many judicial details that we can't yet know all about. But nonetheless it is high time to ask the question: "Is the era of Glasnost over?"
Mikhail S. Gorbachev started a difficult process of reform, but now it does seem like much is lost due to pride and power struggles. Much like we see power struggles in the West, but still with a somewhat surprising turn in the sense of Khodorkovsky being sentenced to a work camp. Not worthy treatment of a former Deputy Minister of Fuel and Energy...
What are your thoughts on all of this? You are welcome to leave a comment.
Happy New Year everyone. :-)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Obama - The Revolution That Never Really Happened
When Barack Obama was elected President, everyone could feel the buzz. Comparisons to Kennedy, change, renewal, growth, optimism and "new beginnings" were flying through the air. Everyone thought we would finally have the ultimate gift for modern politics.
In one sense it did happen. It was an election that introduced social media, primarily through Twitter and Facebook, and the internet in general as new channels for political debate. That change is historic.
What is much less historic are the catastrophes that have occurred:
All of the above points are missed opportunities. The efforts made in Afghanistan rely heavily upon military effort alone - and actual help projects to rebuild the country have proved in vain, at best, and seem almost bordering fraud at worst.
The financial crisis wasn't taken seriously enough, and consequently didn't result in as much job creation as hoped - and certainly not in the groups desired.
Financial regulation is still missing. Many of the speculative elements of big business are STILL a challenge for stock exchanges on a global scale.
And, finally, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a disaster where everyone was more busy washing their hands instead of getting to work - and involving all sources available. I wrote about this on June 20th in the article "The Oil Spills - There Is a Better Solution"
All of the above points are just part of the picture. There HAVE been improvements, but certainly not at the levels promised. I think it's fair to conclude that it's much like turning a supertanker. There are a lot of valves in the engine that have to work together.
Will Obama be ready for reelection, or will Sarah Palin become the first female President? That is a very good question.
In one sense it did happen. It was an election that introduced social media, primarily through Twitter and Facebook, and the internet in general as new channels for political debate. That change is historic.
What is much less historic are the catastrophes that have occurred:
- The oil spill in the Mexican gulf
- The lack of better focus in Afghanistan
- The financial crisis
- Financial regulation still missing
All of the above points are missed opportunities. The efforts made in Afghanistan rely heavily upon military effort alone - and actual help projects to rebuild the country have proved in vain, at best, and seem almost bordering fraud at worst.
The financial crisis wasn't taken seriously enough, and consequently didn't result in as much job creation as hoped - and certainly not in the groups desired.
Financial regulation is still missing. Many of the speculative elements of big business are STILL a challenge for stock exchanges on a global scale.
And, finally, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a disaster where everyone was more busy washing their hands instead of getting to work - and involving all sources available. I wrote about this on June 20th in the article "The Oil Spills - There Is a Better Solution"
All of the above points are just part of the picture. There HAVE been improvements, but certainly not at the levels promised. I think it's fair to conclude that it's much like turning a supertanker. There are a lot of valves in the engine that have to work together.
Will Obama be ready for reelection, or will Sarah Palin become the first female President? That is a very good question.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Obama and Medvedev Friendly Meeting
President Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia hold a joint press conference after meeting at the White House.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
General Stanley McCrystal
An important question comes to mind when the subject of General McCrystal is mentioned. One can only wonder how Stanley McCrystal could be so "foolish" as to speak his mind so openly, and yet one can also wonder why Obama didn't handle this in a much more professional way.
Petreus may be a fine general and he should get a fair chance to show what he is made of. But it is felt that these nice words are still given to "hide" the fact that he reacted based on feelings.
The oil spill in the gulf of Mexico is tragic, but leadership should focus on the issues at hand. At times there is a need to refocus - and there should be room for some disagreement, although I fully understand that the President would have preferred that any disagreements be held within the confines of personal meetings.
So it was a necessary step in many ways - but we can only hope that President Obama will renew his commitment to creating CHANGE in this presidency instead of fighting wars we can't win.
Just my 0.02$ on the matter. :-)
Petreus may be a fine general and he should get a fair chance to show what he is made of. But it is felt that these nice words are still given to "hide" the fact that he reacted based on feelings.
The oil spill in the gulf of Mexico is tragic, but leadership should focus on the issues at hand. At times there is a need to refocus - and there should be room for some disagreement, although I fully understand that the President would have preferred that any disagreements be held within the confines of personal meetings.
So it was a necessary step in many ways - but we can only hope that President Obama will renew his commitment to creating CHANGE in this presidency instead of fighting wars we can't win.
Just my 0.02$ on the matter. :-)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Oil Spills - There IS a Better Solution
See this video. You're going to be shocked as to why they don't want to use this solution.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Oil Spills - What Lessons Should We Learn?
We are all aware that the Obama administration moved very quickly to try to rescue the shores and beaches from the effects of the oil spills. But sometimes being quick isn't enough.
We MUST change the way we look at oil. Oil MUST be something we free ourselves from, and we need to make a conscious decision to stop the madness of our constant reliance upon oil.
Not only will it send shockwaves through oil rich nations, but it will also send clear signals to oil companies that the sunshine is over. Litigation doesn't solve anything for the thousands of animals that will die as a result of this oil spilling into the Mexican Gulf. Neither will it save the beaches from the after-effects for many years to come when people chose to hold vacations elsewhere.
The Obama administration will have to send a strong signal to stop oil companies from thinking the bad press will disappear. We should maintain and enhance our funding of and research in solar panels, electric cars, wind energy etc.
If President Obama wants to take a stand, he can. History will prove he had a unique chance when people really have the consequences of continuing before them.
We NEED change. Will we get it?
We MUST change the way we look at oil. Oil MUST be something we free ourselves from, and we need to make a conscious decision to stop the madness of our constant reliance upon oil.
Not only will it send shockwaves through oil rich nations, but it will also send clear signals to oil companies that the sunshine is over. Litigation doesn't solve anything for the thousands of animals that will die as a result of this oil spilling into the Mexican Gulf. Neither will it save the beaches from the after-effects for many years to come when people chose to hold vacations elsewhere.
The Obama administration will have to send a strong signal to stop oil companies from thinking the bad press will disappear. We should maintain and enhance our funding of and research in solar panels, electric cars, wind energy etc.
If President Obama wants to take a stand, he can. History will prove he had a unique chance when people really have the consequences of continuing before them.
We NEED change. Will we get it?
Friday, April 30, 2010
From UK Elections: Politics 101
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing elections next week. In the process he met a lady who asked some rather nasty questions — questions he didn't like to answer. After entering his car, he made a rather nasty remark about Ms. Gillian Duffy. When he realized what happened, he went by Gillian Duffy to apologize, and afterwards he gave this interview to the press:
As anyone can see, it's a person who realizes the seriousness of the matter. Any amount of respect anyone may have had for Gordon Brown disappeared in a matter of seconds. That should be an important lesson in Politics 101: "Never say things you wouldn't want to hear again."
On May 6th 2010, the English people will have a chance to punish Gordon Brown for this stupid act, and the real losers are actually the British people. Gordon deserves a kick in the backside for his obvious lack of respect for political opponents, and Gillian Duffy just exposed a character trait which in no way befits ANY politician who dreams of continuing to represent the British people.
Gordon Brown is no Winston Churchill. He doesn't have nearly the guts to say things to people's face, and he has shown cowardice to an extent that you really can't have any respect for his handling of the situation. Winston Churchill was well-known for his loud and clear statements when faced with opposition.
One example:
Another example:
Such abilities to master the English language, and standing by your opinions has made these quotes world-famous among people who are interested in British politics.
Gordon Brown can never rise to that level until he learns to give proper answers and show his statemanship by being CLEAR and to-the-point in his communication with people.
But after the UK elections, he may be the former British Prime Minister, and Labour would be better served by finding a new leader for the party. His PhD in history SHOULD have given him a better sense of what the office of Prime Minister entails, but apparently he did have flaws in his knowledge of political history.
The British people deserve a Prime Minister who serves them instead of insulting them!
Have a good weekend everyone. :-)
As anyone can see, it's a person who realizes the seriousness of the matter. Any amount of respect anyone may have had for Gordon Brown disappeared in a matter of seconds. That should be an important lesson in Politics 101: "Never say things you wouldn't want to hear again."
On May 6th 2010, the English people will have a chance to punish Gordon Brown for this stupid act, and the real losers are actually the British people. Gordon deserves a kick in the backside for his obvious lack of respect for political opponents, and Gillian Duffy just exposed a character trait which in no way befits ANY politician who dreams of continuing to represent the British people.
Gordon Brown is no Winston Churchill. He doesn't have nearly the guts to say things to people's face, and he has shown cowardice to an extent that you really can't have any respect for his handling of the situation. Winston Churchill was well-known for his loud and clear statements when faced with opposition.
One example:
Lady Astor: "Winston, if I were married to you, I'd put poison in your coffee."
Sir Winston Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."
Another example:
Bessie Braddock: "Winston, you're drunk."
Churchill: "Bessie, you're ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober."
Such abilities to master the English language, and standing by your opinions has made these quotes world-famous among people who are interested in British politics.
Gordon Brown can never rise to that level until he learns to give proper answers and show his statemanship by being CLEAR and to-the-point in his communication with people.
But after the UK elections, he may be the former British Prime Minister, and Labour would be better served by finding a new leader for the party. His PhD in history SHOULD have given him a better sense of what the office of Prime Minister entails, but apparently he did have flaws in his knowledge of political history.
The British people deserve a Prime Minister who serves them instead of insulting them!
Have a good weekend everyone. :-)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Obama Should Be More Than Health Care
The Obama term should be about more than "just" Health Care. More than "just" the closing of Camp Guantanamo. There are so many BIG issues that need to be dealt with...
And yet, it seems like Afghanistan, Iraq and many other potential bombs are just lurking below the surface. The ambition of the US government was to get more STABILITY, but we have in fact had far more INSTABILITY than ever before.
One could say that the final years of this first term will determine whether it was hot air, or there will actually be ACTION. Action against speculation that cost people their retirement funds, action against discrimination and action against the root CAUSES of today's problems.
What is YOUR impression of the first term up to now? Are you satisfied with what the President has achieved, or are you also looking for more long-term signs that a fundamental change HAS happened in the US?
Feel welcome to comment. :-)
And yet, it seems like Afghanistan, Iraq and many other potential bombs are just lurking below the surface. The ambition of the US government was to get more STABILITY, but we have in fact had far more INSTABILITY than ever before.
One could say that the final years of this first term will determine whether it was hot air, or there will actually be ACTION. Action against speculation that cost people their retirement funds, action against discrimination and action against the root CAUSES of today's problems.
What is YOUR impression of the first term up to now? Are you satisfied with what the President has achieved, or are you also looking for more long-term signs that a fundamental change HAS happened in the US?
Feel welcome to comment. :-)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
