THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE - Douglas E Castle

REAL DEMOCRACY AND CITIZEN ACTIVISM

2012-01-24T13:54:00.000-05:00

I really don't like politics, but...

The following article extract comes to us courtesy of Truthout.org, an organization labelled by many as being "Progressive" (now a pejorative term when spoken by conservatives and Republicans) news source. And yes, I read The Liberty Digest, too (they tend to be called "right-wing" or "ultra-conservative" by many of those folks whom others are calling Progressives and Liberals. I read as much as I can, and I make my own decisions after gleaning insights from the full spectrum of politicized and cause-based media. I am what some people would call an "Independent Thinker." It even gets lonely. By our nature, we really can't have a club, except to beat each other with. And for goodness' sake, stop calling Independent Thinkers, Non-Joiners and Revolutionaries "Anarchists" -- we are anything but Anarchists.

Please read the article excerpt which follows, then hit the "BACK" button on your browser, and come back. We aren't finished with this discussion. It concerns all of Human Civilization internationally.

Sunday 1 January 2012

Populism Isn't Dead, It's Marching: What 19th Century Farmers Can Teach Occupiers About How to Keep Going

Ashley Sanders, War Is A Crime.org: "Not so long ago, Americans witnessed the beginning of a mass democratic uprising.... They did it to reject debt. They did it to fight foreclosures. They did it to topple a world where the 1 percent determined life for the other 99. And they did all of it against incredible odds, with a self-respect that stymied critics. The year? 1877. The people? Dirt-poor farmers who would come to be known as Populists."
Read the Article

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THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE COMMENTARY:

To have any type of democracy flourish, certain preconditions should exist, and should be sustained and vigorously defended. Any tear in the fabric of democratic principles invites unconscionable abuses and contortions of the very concept of "people working, through informed argument, compelling conversation and majority agreement, with tolerance and provision for those who may disagree, to operate in a synergistic manner which benefits as great a percentage of the participants as possible without any unnecessary restriction of essential freedoms." This is my ideal for a functioning democracy.

1) Free exchange of information, news and ideas through unrestricted communication across all demographic and geographical borders;

2) A reasonable standard of education for all. Education is crucial, and is too often neglected around budget season. Simply put, NO EDUCATION = NO DEMOCRACY;

3) A safe, accessible forum for direct voting on all issues of concern for all participants, and a vigorous turnout for these votes. No gerrymandering, electoral colleges, no delegation to 'greater minds' -- simply a direct, uncontrived vote, with an honest, audited, public count;

4) Limited laws, made by vote, which are based on the need for cooperative effort, or to prevent significant physical dangers to the entire population -- not laws for the purpose of creating jobs, granting privileges, regulating morality, and to keep politicians and other potentially parasitic intermediaries busy;

5) Equal treatment under those limited laws -- it would certainly help if each voting participant imagined himself or herself being prosecuted or persecuted as a lawbreaker, as opposed to the notion of controlling the behavior, beliefs and practices of others to conform to their own beliefs...laws should be made to protect and not to restrict or constrain;

And last, every world citizen should have the right to question authority, orders, demands, perceived abuses, pirating of democracy, and other potential cracks in the foundation of true democracy. Democracy cannot be be forced upon people. Democracy cannot be bought. Democracy does not equate to somnambulistic conformity.

Every citizen must be an activist, and an informed participant to deserve and to create a democracy. Democracy is a difficult form of civilization -- it requires relentless work, transparency and a great deal of open communication.

How many true democracies do you think that we have in our world today? Hmmm....I wonder.

Remember this, too. Democracy disintegrates if it is neglected. It requires vigilance; but I believe the benefits are truly worth the effort.

Douglas E Castle for THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE

EX-IM Bank Stimulating US-International Trade

2012-01-11T17:18:00.000-05:00

Every so often, EX-IM Bank takes decisive action (sadly with much expensive lobbying to precede it) to stimulate US-International trade, and to play a responsible role in the creation of U.S. jobs -- one of the understood purposes for which it was formed. I wanted to share this bulletin with all of my Internationalist friends and colleagues today. - Douglas E. Castle

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For Immediate Release – January 11, 2012
Media contact: Phil Cogan (202)565-3200

Ex-Im Bank Approves Export Financing for Power Generation Equipment Supporting 825 Jobs at Siemens North Carolina Plant

$638 Million Sale Contributes to Obama Administration American Jobs Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States at its Thursday (Jan. 5) meeting approved a $638 million direct loan to finance the sale by Siemens Energy, Inc. of gas and steam turbines to be installed in Saudi Arabia.

This is the second order being produced by 825 new highly-skilled workers at Siemens’ Charlotte, North Carolina facility. The plant was specifically constructed, and the work force hired, to produce American-made goods to serve markets around the world, from Latin America to the Middle East, from North America to Asia.

The announcement comes today as President Obama hosts a forum at the White House with CEOs of large and small companies to discuss efforts to bring jobs back to America. As part of this forum, the President will meet with business leaders to discuss the advantages of manufacturing in the United States and what can be done to encourage more companies to insource American jobs.

“This order represents a real vote of confidence in our Nation’s workforce,” said Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank. “Siemens, a global leader in manufacturing, has chosen to build a plant in the U.S. specifically to produce equipment for export. The skills and productivity of American workers are a big reason why that plant is there, and I’m proud that Ex-Im’s financing helped win this order.”

Ex-Im Bank financing helped Siemens win the sale against competition from Japan, Germany and Korea.

“Siemens-Ex-Im Bank partnership recognizes an all-important fact about America’s place in the global economy: the rest of the world is eager to do business with the United States,” said Randy Zwirn, President and CEO, Siemens Energy, Inc. “With a highly skilled workforce behind us, our newly expanded Charlotte energy hub will produce the world’s most technologically advanced gas turbines helping to meet the world’s growing energy demands.”

The turbines in this sale are part of an over $2 billion project involving the construction and operation of a combined cycle, gas-fired Independent Power Plan (IPP) with a capacity of 4,000 megawatts. It is located in Qurayyah on the eastern coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The project involves the export of ten Siemens Model F5 gas turbines, 18 gas turbine and steam turbine generators, ancillary equipment and services from the U.S.

The borrower is Hajr for Electricity Production Company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The project will sell capacity and energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Saudi Electricity Company. This is the second IPP that Ex-Im Bank has financed in Saudi Arabia.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past six years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers $3.7 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 -- an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales -- also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.

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The sad reality is that in order to get significant funding or guaranties for any major project from EX-IM increasingly requires the use of expert political lobbyists, which, of course requires a substantial investment of time and money on the part of the petitioning entity.

There are a few ways to navigate around this, and my suggestions follow:

1) Get the endorsement of a local politician (in the form of an enthusiastic letter) and attach it or include it with your first correspondence with EXIM in your region of the country;

2) Partner your opportunity with a larger, better capitalized entity which either has an effective lobbying machine in place, or can be counted upon to support one;

3) Bundle a regionalized group of companies with common trade objectives, and initiate your petitioning activity with EXIM with the premise of the aggregate economic stimulus and jobs creation that would be put into motion if EXIM were to participate. By the way, sometimes forming an informal Economic Development Committee is an attractant to political sponsorship and some lobbying in your favor by some political aspirants who would like to energize their own campaigns through your organizational efforts and EX-IM request.

Always bear in mind what the benefits to your local politicians would be if they were to "get behind" your request for financing or guaranties. Leverage their publicity lust for your success in obtaining what you require in financing. If you are even more ambitious, letters to some of the high-ranking officials in the Department Of Commerce, The Department of Labor and The Department Of State asking for their endorsement of your efforts (hopefully in the form of a response letter of commendation and support, and/ or a few telephone calls) will make an even more powerful impression. Aim high.

Douglas E. Castle for THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.

p.s. Help support our efforts by following as many of our Twitter accounts as you can without suffering a computer or psychological breakdown.

Go to http://TwitterLinksHubspot.blogspot.com to find a whole list of them --the more, the merrier. Thank you. Tweets and Re-Tweets are also most helpful. - Thank you.

International Business And Sleep Disruption

2012-01-10T20:07:00.000-05:00

The need for quality sleep has been established as important in helping us process information, resting our overburdened minds from either hyper-focus or the juggling that incessant multitasking can become. Rest and work each have their own respective places in our lives as international citizen ambassadors or as global businesspeople. We know that sleep is a necessity, but in dealing globally, across various timezones, our sleep is becoming increasingly disrupted.

For example, if I live in Sacramento, California in the United States, and I want to conduct business in Kuala Lumpur, I must bear in mind that my KL counterpart is 16 hours ahead of me.

If I have an associate in London, that person might be five to six hours ahead of me.

Our diversely-situated global contacts and the differences in time zones worldwide (refer to THE GLOBAL FUTURIST Blog) have made conducting an international business enterprise into a 24 hour per day, 7 day per week affair. Many of us are either suffering from sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality. The effect is not unlike being on a constant watch or standby alert, and it fatigues us emotionally and judgmentally.

Persons trading in international securities, currencies, commodities and other assets either on overseas bourses and exchanges, or dealing in arbitrage between multiple markets in multiple geographical locations have the potential for a 24 hour, seven day non-stop work week.

Because of VoIP, Agile, Scrum, Citrix, Google, GTD enterprise solutions and a plethora of communications and collaboration solutions for decentralized organizations, the complexity and costliness of conducting global transactions has declined dramatically over these past ten years. However, this doesn't solve the problem of dealing with a contorted sleep schedule. Inadequate quality or quantity of sleep leads to perceptual distortions of circumstances, impaired business judgment, moodiness and a multitude of health problems, especially if this persists over a prolonged period of time.

Combine this 24 hour "on call" status/ feeling with the economic worries which many individuals, businesses, bankers and investment managers have (the poor and volatile global economy has disrupted sleep and has created a pandemic of insomnia), and we have a recipe for fiscal and physiological disaster.

Time management, realistic scheduling and predictability are the best ways of addressing this growing problem.

If I may offer a few suggestions for your consideration as Fellow Internationalists:

1) Take turns accommodating your overseas counterparts when it comes to scheduling conferencing times;

2) Try to fix established, regular times for conference calls, with periods of low energy activities in between them;

3) Conduct as much business as possible using communications and collaboration software and facilities instead of just engaging in ongoing, informal conversations;

4) Establish a clear agenda and time limit for each verbal communication - and adhere to them;

5) Appoint some person to be the communications liaison officer at each geographical location; this individual's responsibility is to keep his or here team (at their geological position) fully informed;

6) Have the minimum amount of "need-to-know" parties on any scheduled conversation;

7) Be certain to have at least 7 - 9 hours of sleep in every 24-hour period. This sleep should be in intervals of not less than 3 hours each, and should not be interrupted. The periods of sleep should be consistent from week to week (i.e., Monday's schedule is set, Tuesday's schedule is set, etc.). Develop a pace and a pattern to which your baody and mind can become attuned.

Lastly, try to reserve two days per week to have a full 8- to 9-hours of uninterrupted 'deep recovery' sleep.

In a global time working environment, you must create your own schedule, your own rules, your own rest times, and enforce them consistently. Develop a viable routine to survive and thrive through the rigors of international business and global markets.

Douglas E. Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com]
The Internationalist Page

Export Resources For US-Based Businesses

2011-12-27T18:52:00.000-05:00

There is a tremendous amount of assistance available small to mid-sized U.S. businesses which manufacture commodities (especially durable business or consumer goods) and wish to export them to other countries. Most of these resources are provided by U.S. governmental agencies (SBA, EX-IM Bank, FCIA, OPIC , USAID, and numerous others), the United Nations (through a variety of trade and project development programs, and through a number of NGOs) the representative agencies, embassies and consulates of other countries to either the U.S. or to the U.N., which are primarily located in New York City or Washington, DC.
An article excerpt and link follows from Entrepreneur Magazine which candidly assesses some of the real-world challenges in dealing with export:

Overcoming the challenges of exporting
Exporting to other countries can allow small businesses to grow, but getting involved in foreign markets can be a complex and challenging proposition. For example, Hudson Pecan had a hard time getting a loan while trying to extend its reach into Asia. To solve the problem, the company's president, Randy Hudson, formed an intermediary company in Hong Kong. Entrepreneur.com

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The best place to start is by clicking on each of the above links to find out what these different organizations do, and then by Googling to find further information and directories of the providers of these services. They are best contacted at first via email, with a telephone call to follow, and then (phew) with an email to follow. In every case, you must get an individual contact's name at an organization, or you'll make very little progress. Usually, you'll find yourself repeating the same questions over and over again to people who will put you on hold and never reappear with any answers. Have a conversation with the right person. The names of these individuals can be found on the websites or in the directories for each branch (many are regionalized) of each organization.

As an additional resource, I've posted some potentially helpful websites and related articles below to further your research. Exporting is not easy - but it can be enormously profitable and is truly worth the investment of time.

Three Ways to Export into New Markets (entrepreneur.com)
Small firms see barriers to exporting (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
EFACW Announces Push to Increase Bank Lending to Washington Businesses (worldtradedaily.com)
Business insurance holders to boost exports? (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
U.S. Exports Hit Nearly $180 Billion in October (prnewswire.com)
Five Small Business Exporters Split $39,000 in Awards (johnlizotte.com)
Ex-Im Bank Announces FY2012 Advisory Committee Members (prnewswire.com)
Small business insurance holders to export? (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
Why Small Businesses Should Pursue Free Trade (openforum.com)
Small Business Administration Infographic - An Advantage to Exporting (michaelhartzell.com)
Minority Business Centers Receive $7.8M in Grants (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
New funding available for Maine exporters could be a boost to economies for local communities and the state (thevalleyvoice.org)
Elizabeth Littlefield of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation: An In-depth Interview (forbes.com)

Some links and link collections (from Google) worth exploring (please ignore the numbering and irregular margin spacing):

Resources For US Exporters

Purchase Order Financing | premiertradesolutions.com www.premiertradesolutions.com

Factoring & PO Finance Programs. Call 877.787.3062 for a fast quote!

Trade finance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_finance
Trade finance refers to financing international trading transactions. In this financing arrangement, the bank or other institution of the importer provides for paying ...
International Trade Finance, Currencies
fita.org/trade_finance.html
Find trade leads, country profiles, market reports, jobs, useful links, newsletter on the website of the Federation of International Trade Associations.
Export Credit & International Trade Finance Services
www.exportfocus.com/international-finance.php
Finance Services for International Trade and Taxation.
International Trade Financing
drakefinance.com/
International Trade Finance - Looking for reliable trade finance companies? International trade financing firm, Drake Finance Group, provides finance programs ...
International Trade Finance
www.usbank.com/cgi_w/cfm/small.../import_export_ps.cfm
We recommend meeting with our International Sales Representatives to further assess your situation and determine the best solution for your company. ...
International Trade and Finance Association
www.itfaconf.org/
The International Trade and Finance Association (IT&FA), founded in 1988, is a multidisciplinary association for academics and professionals, interested in ...

OPIC: Overseas Private Investment Corporation
www.opic.gov/
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is an "independent" U.S. Government agency that sells investment services to assist U.S. companies investing in ...
1. Purchase Order Financing | PO Financing Rates made Affordable
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  Purchase Order Financing rates made affordable. Call (800) 385-0660 today to learn about our competitive PO Financing rates in the USA, UK , Canada ...
  
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  May 27, 2009 – What is Purchase Order Financing, PO financing is a short-term commercial finance option that provides capital to pay suppliers upfront so your ...
3. Purchase Order Financing Blog | Factoring, PO, Trade & Export ...
  www.purchaseorderfinancing.com/blog/
  Purchase Order Lending Times continue to be tough and businesses are still in need of financing for a variety of reasons. That's where purchase order lending ...
4. Purchase Order Financing - Great PO Financing Terms - Fast ...
  www.ccapital.net/html/purchase_order_financing.html
  We offer purchase order financing, po financing in the USA and in Canada at competitive rates. Call toll free (877)300-3258 for a purchase order funding quote.
5. Purchase Order Financing from 1stcommercialcredit.com
  www.1stcommercialcredit.com/purchase-order-financing/
  1st Commercial Credit offers a broad selection of purchase order financing for your manufacturing, domestic or international trade financing needs. Purchase ...
6. Purchase Order Financing - Affordable PO Financing Rates - USA ...
  factoring.qlfs.com/html/purchase_order_financing.html
  Purchase order finance company. We offer po financing, purchase order financing, po funding and purchase order funding. Affordable finance rates. Offices and ...
7. We specialize in Purchase Order Financing and PO Funding ...
  www.paragonfinancial.net/how-it-works/purchase-order-financing
  Need cash now? Try Purchase Order Financing or PO Funding with Paragon Financial.
8. iBank - Purchase Order Financing
  www.ibank.com/Business-Loans-Center/.../Purchase-Order-Financing
  A purchase order is a financing tool used by millions of small businesses to defer ... Purchase order financing is a vital tool for small businesses with cash flow ...
9. Purchase Order Financing - Business Finance
  www.businessfinance.com/purchase-order-financing.htm
  Purchase Order Financing - What is purchase order financing? What problems can purchase order financing resolve? What are the three steps for purchase ...
10. KingTradeCapital - Flexibility. Expertise. Speed.
  www.kingtradecapital.com/
  Purchase Order Financing is our specialty. We offer competitively priced letters of credit and are the only company to offer full production finance. We work ...
  
  Export Insurance Services, Inc. Our Company
  www.exportinsurance.com/company.htm
  Our Company. Export Insurance Services, Inc. ("EIS"), and its network of affiliates, are specialists and acknowledged experts in providing insurance services for ...
  
  Foreign Credit Insurance Association (FCIA)
  www.referenceforbusiness.com › For-Gol
  The Foreign Credit Insurance Association (FCIA) is an independent association of insurance companies that issues export insurance to exporters of American ...
  You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 9/4/11
  
  Export Insurance | Export Import Insurance
  www.rja.com › Business Insurance
  Any company that imports or exports products or conducts any kind of business overseas should be concerned with international business insurance exposures. ...
  
  Export Credit Insurance - Foreign Receivables Insurance
  meridianfinance.com/export_credit.html
  Export Credit Insurance: Protect your company's foreign receivables and be confident of getting paid with an export credit insurancepolicy....
  
  How to Find and Use an Export Management Company
  www.powerhomebiz.com/vol7/export.htm
  Direct exporting is one of the most profitable small businesses. In fact, small businesses represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods in the United States.
  
  What is export management company? definition and meaning
  www.investorwords.com/7281/export_management_company.html
  export management company - definition of export management company - Independent private firm that acts like an export department for several ...
  
  J.D. Honigberg International - Export Sales and Management ...
  www.jdhintl.com/
  Export Management Company, exporting all over the world, International trade. ... is an innovative leader in international sales and export management ...
  
  Tradewinds Global: Export Management and Marketing Company
  tradewinds-global.com/
  Tradewinds Global is an award winning export management and marketing company located in Honolulu, Hawaii. We serve connect companies with Asian ...
  
  Export Management Company - Amex International Sales Outsourcing
  www.amexinc.com/
  Experienced export management company for Midwest technology companies, Amex, Inc. builds world-class distribution channels, revenues, and market share ...
  
  Sefco Export Management Company - International Freight ...
  www.sefco-export.com/
  Sefco Export specializes in the international shipping of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats, oversized construction equipment, military vehicles, sailboats, ...
  
  The Opportunities & Challenges Of An Export Management Company
  www.hawkexports.com/export-management-company
  This creates the need for import and export management companies. A good export management company can facilitate a company's products and ...
  
  CARICAP, Inc. - Export Management Co.
  www.caricapinc.com/
  An Export Management Company is defined as a private firm that serves as an export department for several manufacturers.
  
  XM Works - International Sales and Export Management
  www.xmworks.com/
  XM Works international sales & export management - specializing in international ... international hit products from the world's top export management company. ...

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While I do not endorse any of the above organizations or their services, reading about them will provide you with an greatly expanded insight into the export process and possibilities.

There's much more to discuss, and we'll be discussing specific topics relating to export, including aspects of logistics, Customs regulations, tariffs, establishing connections, trade financing, project financing, international credit guaranties, purchase order financing, terms of trade, documentation, trade instruments, and flowcharting the whole process.

Douglas E. Castle for The Internationalist Page

International Marriages Of Convenience: "Most-Favored Nation" Trade Status

2011-12-19T12:16:00.000-05:00

Better than an armed conflict, but less than a ribbon-cutting. -DC

We've heard all of the cynical expressions before in reference to many types of scenarios... "Politics makes for strange bedfellows"..."I keep my friends close but my enemies closer"... "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"..."If you can't beat 'em, then join 'em." All are said haplessly. Each refers to a one-sided convenience or protection. There is a wonderful example - a genuine case-in-point to found in the recent one-sided warming of relations between Pakistan (the olive branch presenter) and India (barely noticing the branch, and too busy building its promising future). Yet, despite the skepticism surrounding the gesture, the outcome may prove to be positive in a number of ways for a number of parties.

Situational Analysis:

Pakistan, in an act of extreme, rapidly-growing desperation and insecurity, has opened its doors to free and open trade with India, its long-time nemesis, and has granted India "most Favored Nation" trading status.

Could it be that this sudden outpouring of friendly spirit might have been motivated by any of the following circumstances?

India's economy is thriving, its allies and trade agreements multiplying, while Pakistan is in a state of economic decline, accelerated by a slowdown in the influx of funds from the United States;
India is a nuclear superpower, but has been non-aggressive in its approach to military sabre rattling. Pakistan needs power, and it would be logistically advantageous to purchase it from neighboring India;
Pakistan has lost considerable support and credibility with the United States after Osama Bin Laden was found living in an enormous and conspicuous compound inside of Pakistan. Fueling this issue, a number of Pakistanis who cooperated with US Navy Seals in the raid on Bin Laden have been prosecuted by the Pakistani government. India, in the meanwhile, enjoys a good relationship with the United States.

Potential Consequences And Opportunities:

Pakistan might be able to stimulate its economy by trading, however small at first, with India;
Pakistan might be able to improve its political and social standing with both the United States and the United Nations by this gesture, if it withstands ethnic tensions and tests;
India might be a triangular trade partner for nations which are hesitant to do do business directly with Pakistan and any of its ideological allies. This is a situation which is roughly analogous to Americans who purchase Cuban cigars via Canada.

This presents an interesting potential opportunity, in theory at present, for expanded international trade and economic stimulus to Pakistan and its surrounding countries, many of which are economically destitute and politically unstable -- but it also might be a way, by accidental diplomatic proxy (i.e., via India), for some nations to trade with other nations with whom they are either restricted from direct trade, or with whom overt trading would prove "politically embarrassing" at this time.

We'll have to wait and see.

Douglas E. Castle for The Internationalist Page

Douglas E. Castle | BlogCatalog - Thank You

2011-12-08T00:58:00.003-05:00

Updated at 12.19.2011

Image via CrunchBase - a tremendous informational resource.

Blog Catalog has recently picked up a number of my articles from my Daily Burst Of Brilliance The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist and one or two of my other blogs (you can access many of them by clicking on the RSS 3-D style icon below). I want to thank BlogCatalog for honoring me with their re-publication of my material [which is published under decastle or Douglas Castle], and to recommend them as a wonderful directory for fine articles, RSS feeds and other information on a variety of topics. I am also hopeful that they will feature more articles about international commerce, global production and consumer trends, geopolitical economics, citizen ambassadorship and worldwide joint venturing.

If you should chance upon one of my articles on Blog Catalog (henceforth, you'll have to look me up under either under Douglas Castle or DouglasECastle1, my soon-to-be-new-username) when you've gotten to the BlogCatalog site, please re-tweet it or forward it. It might be a wonderful idea if you were to rate the article (they have a 5-star system) as highly as you believe warranted. The greater the number of viewings, the higher the ratings, and the more re-tweets, he more that the subject matter category will become a higher priority focus in their directory.

Lastly, but most importantly, I want to thank my readers and colleagues for your encouragement, inspiration and support -- I am forever in your debt.

Please also Google or otherwise access BlogCatalog to boost their prominence, as they have boosted mine in terms of the causes of worldwide prosperity and peace through increased civilian communications (are you listening, Skype?), import/export, transnational co-venturing, and citizen ambassadorship. This sacred mission cannot be left to international agencies, sovereign governments or mainstream media -- we must use the blogosphere and social media in order to create a shift in destructive zero-sum thinking, and paradigms that are hopelessly outdated. Please continue to help me -- together we can move mountains.

I will give you my spanking new BlogCatalog direct url address as soon as I've received it. The old one will still work, but it will no longer be active -- my contributions will be to the new address.

Douglas E. Castle

Major Banks: The World's Rulers.

2011-12-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

Image via Wikipedia - The IMF

The world's central banks and those powerful individuals and dynastic families which either run them, or own them (DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY) are the ultimate rulers, or oligarchs of the global economy and every self-proclaimed sovereign economy. They set foreign exchange rates (FOREX), they set interest rates, they control the money supply, they set credit and lending standards which can either cause the economy to grow beyond its means of eco-structural support, or can decimate smaller businesses and consumers whom they choose not to favor.

Major banks, acting in tacit or overt collusion have financed wars (often both sides involved in the conflict), created and pierced economic bubbles, addicted an entire species to the notion and necessity of credit, enslaved the declining middle class by helping to fan the flames of credit dependency, price inflation, and reducing disposable personal income for families spending an increasing percentage of their limited income servicing their indebtedness to banks.

Major banks which are an extension of the investigative, regulatory and executive/ enforcement functions of government cannot possibly be regulated by the governments whom they finance, and with whom they cooperate as principal informants.

This article excerpt below appeared several weeks ago courtesy of The New York Times:
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As European Nations Teeter, Only Lenders Get Central Bank's Help
By JACK EWING, The New York Times

The biggest fear, however, is not that a bank will succumb to a liquidity crisis, but that an entire country in the euro zone might do so.

[Note: The italicized emphasis on the words "Lenders" and "bank" in the above article outline was placed there by the author of this blog, with an element of obvious bias and sarcasm noted].
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Sadly, as banks have become increasingly internationalized, and had diversified their lines of business (i.e., have insinuated themselves) into all manner of industry, creating ever-increasing elements of business risk at the expense of their depositors and investors, they have become increasingly powerful, increasingly profitable (in fee-generating businesses and not through the prudent extension of credit).

They hold our limited savings hostage and make us pay fees to get them back. They defy every toothless regulation imposed upon them by regulators who are lamely trying to palliate an increasingly-disillusioned citizenry. Banks have they power to create opportunities and vast fortunes for those clients they prefer, while simultaneously putting entire industries (and their employees) out of work. And, ironically, substantially all banks are taxpayer-, depositor- and customer-subsidized.

That's correct: They can gamble away our savings, foreclose on our homes, repossess our automobiles and reduce us to beggars in an instant -- and the governments which harbor these institutions, can force us to pay even more of our decreasing incomes to rescue these banks when they lose our savings and shut down our credit because they have breached their assumed fiduciary duty.

Certain banks, such as the IMF, Worldbank, the various EX-IM banks, and the large regional development banks manipulate international politics as part and parcel of their operations.

I am not trying to defame banks: they are extraordinarily successful at coin that for themselves -- all I am saying as a customer, an Internationalist and as an economist, is that the international fraternity of giant banks is failing, and that the citizens of the world are becoming increasingly subject to the ramifications associated with this civilization-threatening failure.

Yes. I used to be a banker.

Douglas E. Castle for THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE

A Generation Of Decreased Viability - A Deadly Trend

2011-11-22T09:52:00.000-05:00

Futurescape: An overpopulated, under-qualified, potentially unsustainable race inhabiting a planet with limited resources. A growing world population where more individuals will each have to settle for less, with an ever-wealthier but smaller (in terms of percentage) group of "entitled parties" increasingly keep subsisting based upon an increasingly 'acceptable' enslavement of the uneducated, overworked poor. And one of the best ways to keep them poor is to them struggling to pay off their enormous debts and to allow their minds to suffer the the atrophy, institutionalization and complacency which comes of a lack of education. I shudder when politicians speak of cutting back on education -- this is clearly diminishing potential quality of the future of the species in inequitable of the engorgement of the small wealthy, well-educated population of dynastic, wealthy families and other exclusive groups.

Perhaps the idea (whether consciously maleficent, or simply a function of a poverty of vision) is to keep the bulk of the general populace too busy working to even have time to be thinking about bettering themselves. The citizenry continues to look to governments and their agencies as being responsible to provide jobs and benefits. The sad irony is that the governments, for the most part, are bankrupt, interested in their own neoplastic growth, and tend to reward compliance and conformity instead of extemporaneous and spontaneous creative thought.

My view from miles above (my macro-perspective) and as a trend-watcher and Global Futurist is that we are all becoming increasingly complacent at the prospect of "letting the future take care of itself." But in truth, the seeds of the future must be planted in the fertile soil of the present. This requires education, incentives to innovation, and inducements to entrepreneurship. An interesting article follows:

From the UN Newswire, October 27th:

UNFPA population report warns of a squandered generation

Governments around the world should increase investments in education, infrastructure and job-creation programs to maximize the potential of a growing population, the United Nations Population Fund says in a report released days before the global population is expected to hit 7 billion. Failure to act decisively could leave the world's 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24 unable to contribute effectively to development in the future. [*italics and underlining inserted by Douglas E. Castle for emphasis] Click here to view the Guardian's ongoing "Crowded Planet" series. The Guardian (London) (10/26)

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In all reality, the most powerful parties in the world today (not those merely vociferous albeit well-intentioned ones such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, and various grassroots movements and organizations which have Humankind's future earnestly and passionately at their core, but the ones which have a consistent history of increasing their relative proportion of the world's wealth with every massive economic tragedy).

The prioritization and allocation of the world's resources through a tacitly understood partnering of major monopolistic industry, the military and the governments 'charged with protection the very people who have entrusted them with the power to attend to the most critical aspects of their lives and of the lives of their offspring for generations to come') is much more favorably disposed toward protecting institutional greed, pyramiding unsupportable monetary schemes thorough the banks (and the script which they mass produce) and having the world's populace continue to work ever-harder at lower wages and longer hours to subsidize the existing plutocracy.

Education, and the inquiries and innovations which it brings, can only foment discontent, and ignorance, as proven through the sad course of history, helps to sustain the entrenched and entitled elite. Education, you see, is an investment in change and in the future -- apparently (speaking a bit, I know, like a paranoid conspiracy theorist), the bulk of us are not meant to participate in it. Frightening, as it is unreasonable from the prospective of the Human species, the tried and failed status quo is struggling to sustain itself at the cost of the future of generations... Cry the beloved species, indeed. Neglecting education is failing to invest in the permanence and improvement of the species. It is not unlike anticipating a long, cold winter, and failing to stockpile firewood in the spring and the fall.

Education provides preparation, innovation and is one of the essential keys to the survival of our species.

Douglas E Castle

Broadband Access Must Be Global. - Douglas E. Castle - The Internationalist Page

2011-11-05T10:30:00.002-04:00

Broadband access to the full use of the communications, commercial and social networking capabilities of the Internet is increasingly critical to the economic, educational and social welfare of the World's populace. Peoples in geographical areas without this lifeline resource are suffering, and will increasingly continue to suffer a growing disparity with their 'better connected' counterparts.

It is imperative to get all of the world connected as rapidly as possible in order to reduce the incidence of poverty, ignorance, enslavement amongst those without access. Correcting this inequity would go a great distance toward narrowing the dangerous divide between countries and cultures -- the type of divide that historically has fomented wars.

Broadening broadband would help to reduce many of the dividers between members of the international community which lead to hostilities. And for those of you who are strictly pragmatic capitalists... this would lead to the opening of new markets and labor forces. Simply stated, "How can you reach prospective customers and employees who cannot receive your signal?"

A brief report from some time ago (courtesy of the UN Newswire) cites the United Nations' goals with respect to the proliferation of broadband access.

UN commission sets new broadband goals
Governments around the world need to ensure half of the world's poor are connected with broadband access by 2015 and that at least 40% of households in developing countries are connected, according to targets set by the United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development. The commission calls on governments to work with the private sector to meet the targets. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (10/25)

####

Douglas E Castle for The Internationalist Page and The Global Futurist.

Export Import Bank (EXIM) Update - Reading Between The Lines

2011-10-30T17:55:00.000-04:00

I've taken several weeks to analyze the implications of EXIM's Chairman's Quarterly Newsletter, cited below. On the surface, it "feels" positive -- at least in terms of its artful, bulletized roster of achievements.

But let's not forget that that EX-IM exists largely for the purpose of assisting smaller, entrepreneurial enterprises in getting trade financing, credit enhancements, guaranties, and project financing to make it easier for them to enter the global marketplace. This should, in theory, create export, joint venture and project development opportunities for US businesses throughout the world, for the benefit of the US small business sector, the other nations interacting with these businesses, and the US economy-at-large in terms of the balance of trade, the balance of payments and employment. Noble objectives all.

Yet, very large companies, like Caterpillar are the recipients of the greatest percentage, by far of EX-IM funds and credit enhancements. It would seem to be as if EX-IM simply helps big winners continue to win. In other cases, many of the loans and guaranties issued to "small businesses," are actually issued to separately incorporated subsidiaries or affiliates of much larger businesses - like Halliburton Corp, or even ENRON Corp. (in days past) for example. It is not an easy process for a small business to navigate its way through the mountain of compliance and reporting paperwork required by EX-IM. It is only natural then, for large companies to use their resources and expertise to use certain small businesses (particularly those with some minority or special status) as proxies for them to obtain this inexpensive financing.

Too many "small businesses" truly qualify as such only superficially, with most of the recipients of funding and benefits being extensions of much larger businesses with greater resources and lobbying power. While this does benefit the Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments for the United States, it hardly promotes new jobs creation in the US. Sadly, too much of the largesse of the EX-IM Bank does not actually 'trickle down' to the independent US small businesses which would generate the greatest returns in terms of employment and taxable profits... nor does this benefit the smaller businesses internationally which might gain a market advantage or edge by either importing a US product, or by partnering with a peer-sized US company.

Truly independent US-based small businesses need an easier, less-complicated route to EX-IM's resources and programs; at the same time, I believe that EX-IM might do more to qualify those smaller businesses which are not not looking for less-expensive financing -- but those that would, of necessity, use a limited infusion of capital most prudently and efficiently.

The Quarterly Newsletter follows:

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The following information is from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). It is being sent to subscribers to the Bank's email list for those interested in learning about Ex-Im Bank's activities.

Export-Import Bank of the United States

Office of Communications

CHAIRMAN'S QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
October 18, 2011
---

Ex-Im Reports Record-Breaking Year

Ex-Im Approves Over $32 billion in financing for FY2011; $6.0 billion in financing to small business

For fiscal year 2011, Ex-Im Bank approved over $32 billion in financing, an all-time record for the Bank and up 110% from 2008. These financings supported approximately 300,000 U.S. jobs and included more than 3,000 small business transactions - up nearly 20%. Fiscal year 2011 marks the third consecutive record-breaking year, with significant growth seen in industries such as aircraft, renewable energy, and infrastructure as well as key markets including Colombia, India, Turkey, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ex-Im Bank is steadfast in achieving the goals of the President's National Export Initiative (NEI) in doubling exports by 2015. In addition, significant progress was made in accomplishing Ex-Im Bank's goals to add 5,000 new small businesses to the Ex-Im Bank portfolio, double the small business volume to $9 billion, and approve $30 billion in total small business transactions.

Add a total of 5,000 new small businesses to the Ex-Im Bank portfolio
1500 as of 9/30/11
5000
Double its annual small business volume to $9 billion
$6 billion as of 9/30/11
$9 billion
Approve $30 billion in total small business transactions
$15.3 billion as of 9/30/11
$30 billion

Preliminary FY'11 Highlights Include:

3,750 transactions
1,019 companies new businesses to Ex-Im portfolio
$6.0 billion in small business export financing, an all-time record
$719 million in minority- and woman- owned export financing
$720 million in renewable financing, up from $30 million in 2008
Over $1.3 billion in Sub Saharan Africa - first time we have passed the billion dollar mark in Africa
$2.9 billion increase to India, a direct result of the President's efforts to build a strategic alliance

Ex-Im Bank Issues Over 100 Express Insurance Policies

Since its launch at Ex-Im Bank's 2011 Annual Conference, express insurance has proved to be a much-needed short-term export insurance product, which is available only to small businesses. One hundred and twelve exporters purchased an express insurance policy in fiscal year 2011 leading to over $50 million in authorizations. Thirty-two of our insurance broker partners distributed more than 90% of the express insurance policies, with Trade Acceptance Group of Minnesota and Global Business Solutions of North Carolina tied for the most express policies sold.

SEE THE ENTIRE PUBLICATION OF THIS QUARTERLY REPORT IN A NEW WINDOW AT http://www.exim.gov/newsletter/volume6/newsletter_October18.cfm
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It would also seem to make sense for the US Small Business Administration (SBA) to work in closer coordination and cooperation with EX-IM to better serve the purposes of these little 'employment and innovation engines' than what is being done at present.

Douglas E Castle

Global Shortage Of Teachers: Critical.

2011-10-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

A global problem concerns the ever-growing shortage of teachers. This is attributable to a combination of factors, including reduced governmental funding of educational programs; the reduced correlation (in the industrialized nations) between the level of education and the assurances of employment and compensation; a lack of funding, vision and enthusiasm for teaching teachers, and for teaching as a professional career (inadequate compensation, increased controversy and politics in schools, decreasing student enrollment, to name a few...).

This shortage is a sort of time-bomb. Ultimately, every industry and profession will have to deal with the aftershocks of a shortage of teachers and a lack of education - declining literacy; generalized incompetence in basic reasoning, mathematical and communications skills; a shortage of professionally- and technically-trained experts. In brief, the quality of the labor force, general skills, and of innovation (entrepreneurship) will steadily decline.

If left unaddressed, this shortage (which is actually an insidiously creeping MegaTrend [in the Futurist's parlance]) will ultimately cause a stagnation of Human progress and an unraveling of civilization. This is taking a backseat to discussions and lobbying about other, seemingly more imminent problems facing the Global Village.

An excerpt from a UN Newswire brief follows:

Excerpted from The U.N. Foundation Newswire by Douglas E Castle for THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE at http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com

World facing shortage of 8 million teachers, UN says

The world is facing a shortfall of some 8 million teachers, especially in primary schools, undermining chances of reaching the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015, according to a UNESCO report. Of that number, an estimated 1 million will need to be recruited over the next three years merely to meet the growing numbers of primary school students in sub-Saharan Africa, while 6.2 million teachers will be needed to account for attrition. The Guardian (London)/Data Blog (10/7)

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Education, at the collegiate level has become prohibitively expensive; instead of being viewed as a necessity for social and career advancement, it is now, more than ever, being viewed as a very expensive option. In many cases, students graduating from universities face very limited employment prospects, and huge student loans to repay.

Education is an investment in the future of Humankind. If we fail to re-evaluate our priorities, and place education closer to the top of the list, the International Community will suffer the consequences. We need more incentives to motivate people to go into the teaching professions, and more compelling reasons for students to begin to value education. Education is the mind's and civilization's sustenance; it is not a luxury - it is a necessity.

Teaching and learning must be appreciated, affordable and accessible.

Douglas E Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com]
THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE [http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com]

Shortage of men in primary schools (mirror.co.uk)
Four Corners Teacher Preparation Project Addresses Shortage of American Indian Educators (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
Chinese Rural Substitute Teachers Earn Little & See No Future (chinasmack.com)
Exercise link to test scores (theage.com.au)
Susan B. Adu's Group : Sierra Leone (kiva.org)
Global teacher shortage threatens progress on education (guardian.co.uk)
Refocusing the teacher-quality debate (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Angola is facing a teaching crisis that seems without end | Alex Duval Smith (guardian.co.uk)
Teacher quality - and their preparation - important to economic future (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Great teachers (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Shortages of school supplies hamper Harrisburg teachers (pennlive.com)
The problem of male teachers (newteachersblog.wordpress.com)
No male teachers at 4,500 primary schools, figures show (telegraph.co.uk)
France: Math Teacher Immolates Herself (abcnews.go.com)
Obama's Weekly Address: Education Reform (abcnews.go.com)
Education Nation and The Human School (technorati.com)
Shortage! Accountants, Financial Analysts, And Others. (infospherebusinessalerts.blogspot.com)
BIG PROBLEM Faced By Public Education (technorati.com)

Transnational Movement Changing The Worldscape

2011-10-05T10:41:00.001-04:00

Transnationalism refers to a socio-political movement (with economic consequences) toward disregarding sovereign borders and political differences in order to collaboratively and cooperatively focus on working toward goals and solving common-to-all problems which simply transcend geography or entrenched governmental policies and inculcated xenophobia. Transnationalism is a major step in uniting the world citizenry for causes which require cooperation beyond national borders.

The parties to benefit will ultimately be the global populace and Humankind as a whole. The parties who are feeling increasingly threatened are governments and their agencies, who have a proven obsession and insecurity with respect to seizing and keeping power. No politician wants to be rendered irrelevant. No professionally-schooled career ambassador or other representative feels fully at ease with the prospect of have mere civilians represent their own interests on their own terms.

Expect governments to continue to fight transnationalism, even as its notion and visbility become increasingly prominent and influential. Nobody likes to surrender control of any commodity, including communications access and the ability to create legislation which prefers some, and discriminates against others. This promises to be a fascinating phenomenon to observe... the unfolding of transnationalism.

Following is an excerpt from an article which appeared int a Truthout.org newsletter which speaks about this grassroots movement as it applies to one particular aspect of Human concern.

==============

Transnational Peoples Movements Form to Respond to Transnational Injustice

Matthew Cappiello and Kevin Zeese, Truthout: "Transnational citizens' movements are developing to respond to transnational political and economic elites. Some of the most famous American voices for peace and justice have signed a solidarity statement with top Egyptian activists, in order to affirm common goals and principles required to bring real change on both sides of the globe."

Read the Article

Expect Transnationalists to invoke the wrath of legislators and governmental policymakers who are heavily invested in a divided, terrritorialized world, where they have been profiting by holding the information and communication garden hose and crimping it at will, and by controlling supply as demand expands.

Douglas E Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com]

Internationalists: Pause For Design Upgrade

2011-10-04T05:00:00.001-04:00

Apologies, dear readers and respected colleagues! We are currently in the process of re-constructing our blog templates in order to improve your reading, learning and interactive experience at each site. We should be able to resume a normalized, more frequent posting schedule by Wednesday evening, 5th October.

Thank you in advance for reading me. And more than this, thank you for your encouragement, support, responsiveness, constructive feedback and loyalty.

Your patience is deeply appreciated.

Faithfully and with respect,
Douglas E Castle

p.s. If you would like something quite interesting to read in the meantime, I would be delighted if you would have a look at http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/2011/10/man-versus-machine.html, and let me know your thoughts.

I would also appreciate your feedback on my most recent post (today) on a blog which has been too-long neglected and is now being reconstructed and re-activated. Visit http://BloggingTipsTricksAndTools.blogspot.com. The blog title is quite misleading (and more than a bit ironic), as you'll notice.

- DC

The Fate Of Humankind - Crossroads.

2011-09-23T16:11:00.001-04:00

Humankind stands at a crossroads. We must choose wisely, lest we, as desperate individuals living in desperate times, tear apart the fabric of Humanity which sustains us all. The notion of "The Greater Good," does not have to be at conflict with the maximum benefit to the individual person. It is our blindness to this simple, but persistently elusive possibility that causes history to repeat itself, with more entropy and deterioration at every societal reincarnation.

If we permit this to persist, the tenuous bonds which hold us together as a civilization and as a collaborative living creature will stretch to the extent of irreparable brokenness, after which our chapter in the Book Of Eternity will become reduced to a questionable legend -- a mythology for some other sentient species to contemplate in the distant future.

A Sermon by John Donne

John Donne was a man of almost unfathomable brilliance, insight, and prescience. Through his intuitive understanding of our conflicted nature , i.e., the zero-sum dynamic of what benefits each ‘discrete’ individual versus what works to the benefit of achieving the ‘Greater Good’ of the Human Collective, he extrapolated and quite accurately predicted our arrival at the socio-economic crossroads facing us today, 23 September 2011, coinciding the occasion of the Harvest Moon. Symbolic of the reaping of the seeds which we have sown through the years, it is a time of introspection and retrospection…a celebration of abundance, of enjoying the fruits of our toils. Yet there is a somber undertone of death – the coming of the Grim Reaper, calling upon us to account and to pay for the feast. What we might fail to see is that this death carries in its wake, a chance for rebirth and redemption; a fresh canvas upon which to paint a new life based upon lessons learned by our experiences in the last one. It is a second chance, embodying a choice to either spiritually and socially evolve, or to repeat and perpetuate a cycle of loss.

In this particular sermon, he spoke of the engineered interconnectedness of every Human Creature (something that we too often fail to realize until a great catastrophe, like a grand and forceful messenger of the Collective Consciousness, makes it abundantly clear to us that we must learn to live together and to help one another). This is not to the detriment of each of us, as individuals – on the contrary, what benefits the whole of Humanity may truly be to the advantage of each individual constituent of the grand and diverse multicellular organism to which we, each of us, undeniably belongs.

Douglas E. Castle

John Donne's profoundly insightful and visionary sermon (which he called a 'meditation,' and which has been translated to reflect Modern English spelling) follows:

Meditation XVII, John Donne

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” – Meditation XVII, John Donne

ABOUT JOHN DONNE, Courtesy Of Wikipedia:

John Donne (21 January 1572 – 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially as compared to that of his contemporaries. John Donne's style is characterised by abrupt openings, various paradoxes, ironies, dislocations. These features in combination with his frequent dramatic or everyday speech rhythms, his tense syntax, and his tough eloquence were both a reaction against the smoothness of conventional Elizabethan poetry and an adaptation into English of European baroque and mannerist techniques. His early career was marked by poetry that bore immense knowledge of British society and he met that knowledge with sharp criticism. Another important theme in Donne’s poetry was the idea of true religion, which was something that he spent a lot of time considering and theorising about. He wrote secular poems as well as erotic poems and love poems. Donne is particularly famous for his mastery of metaphysical conceits.[2]

Despite his great education and poetic talents, he lived in poverty for several years, relying heavily on wealthy friends. He spent much of the money he inherited during and after his education on womanising, literature, pastimes and travel. In 1601 Donne secretly married Anne Moore with whom he had 12 children.[3] In 1615 he became an Anglican priest although he did not want to take Anglican orders. He did so because King James I persistently ordered it. In 1621, he was appointed the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London. He also served as a member of parliament in 1601 and again in 1614.

*****

Douglas Castle's Blogs And RSS Feeds: Click on the icon below.

The Internationalist Page: Shrinking World, Growing Resources.

2011-09-19T19:20:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers:

When you are able to find a quick moment, I would be deeply appreciative if you would be kind enough to visit the actual site for this blog, located at http://TheInternationaistPage.blogspot.com and take some time to explore the site and look through our extensive library of links and our trends, breaking news and RSS feeds sections. It is our intention to provide excellent articles (original content which you'll not find elsewhere, but also to be a resource, research and reference center for you to bookmark as one of your favorities.

If you have additional links to resources (websites or blogs) or to RSS feeds which yoiu think would be of benefit to other of our readers and colleagues, please suggest them in a comment of this post, and I will see to it that they are given serious attention. Your input is heartily encouraged.

As always, thank you for reading me, and for your referral of this site to your friends and associates.

Faithfully,

Douglas E Castle
Other Blogs And RSS Feeds By This Author: A comprehensive list of blogs and RSS feeds on various subjects written or moderated by Douglas E Castle may be found by clicking on the orange icon below.

The U.N. - Becoming Obsolete? Irrelevant?

2011-09-14T12:29:00.001-04:00

The United Nations has been changing its composition (membership), its group of 'controlling' or most influential countries, its focus (more health, environment, sustainability and education issues than resolution of member disputes), its methods (i.e., resembling government, it spends a great deal of time on semantics, political correctness and making somewhat unenforceable proclamations and sanctions), and with a decreasing thrall over its membership.

The UN has been called many things, among them: a "toothless tiger," a "bully pulpit," a "house of rhetoric with little precipitous action," and "an anachronism". Despite fear-fueled discussions about a UN military to enforce the purported agenda of the New World Order at odds against sovereign member states (and creating a question of conflicted loyalties between UN Peacekeeping troops and the individual soldiers, each patriots of their respective countries, but being required to enforce the directives of a "higher authority"), each country still makes its own decisions.

I believe that the UN might indeed be becoming irrelevant directly, and becoming more the puppet of the many NGOs which have cropped up around which act like lobbyists on the US' Capitol Hill. These Non-Governmental Organizations* are increasing in number, financing and influence.

* Some information regarding NGOs follows, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Non-governmental organization, or NGO, is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations (UN), and is normally used to refer to organisations that do not form part of the government and are not conventional for-profit business. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the organization. The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue some wider social political aspects, but that are not overtly political organizations such as political parties. Unlike the term "intergovernmental organization", the term "non-governmental organization" has no generally agreed legal definition. In many jurisdictions, these types of organization are called "civil society organizations" or referred to by other names. ####

For additional information on NGOs, here are some additional highly-informative websites:
http://www.ngo.org/
http://www.ngo-monitor.org/index.php
http://www.wango.org/resources.aspx?section=ngodir
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In addition to the growth in the influence and power of NGOs, which are not unlike cause-based nations unto themselves, the two other threats to the UN's relevance and potency are the 1) proliferation of global social media (the immediate and viral flow of information across the globe at a grassroots level), and 2) the increase in citizen ambassadorship, where citizens, as individuals and as operators of their own businesses conduct communications and commerce with minimal intermediation and intervention by their respective governments.

In summary, the three principal factors contributing to the UN's potential decline in relevance are these:

Growth in the power, influence and role playing of the increasing number of NGOs;

Growth in the proliferation and utilization of rapid-fire social media for grassroots, unofficial (and uncensored) communication of observations and ideas;

Growth in the role of citizen ambassadors as independent arbiters of their own relationships and policies as they relate to generating income (profit motive) and accumulating wealth - for example as a citizen ambassador, I become more concerned with peaceful relationships between my home country and the countries where my joint venture partners, distributors, manufacturers, suppliers and customers reside. In effect, as we become increasingly internationalized through the reduction of barriers to entry (it's far cheaper to import, export and co-venture globally than ever before, with the advent of telecommuting, VoIP [Skype is a sensation] and inexpensive but enhanced collaborative media platforms integrating screen sharing-and web conferencing... Go To Meeting, anyone?).

Actionable Items:

1) Keep abreast of the activities of the NGOs -- these are advanced 'telegraph signals' of where the UN is heading. The NGO agenda is a predictor of UN focus and activity;

2) Keep abreast of developments involving large international and multinational companies, as they become more like nations beyond geographical borders;

3) Keep up-to-date on all advances in communications and conferencing technology, as well as in social media proliferation and the emerging spate of applications.

Possibilities:

This might be a very good time to consider becoming involved in international and transnational partnerships, and in becoming attached to one or more suitable NGOs. In fact, it might not be a bad time to consider chartering an NGO with other like-minded individuals. There is tremendous power in judiciously managed and positioned not-for-profit entities.

Douglas E Castle

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com

http://BusinessAndProjectPlanning.blogspot.com

http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://InfoSphereBusinessAlerts.blogspot.com

The Secret Underworld Of Internationalism

2011-09-03T13:38:00.001-04:00

Internationalists strive to unite the world, to exponentialize global collaboration and to positively leverage the infinite possibilities for communication and commerce across all cultural, political and geological barriers -- all of this, for the benefit of Humanity and the preservation and advancement of civilization.

An Internationalist can love his country, as a patriot, but he is sensitive to the interconnectivity of all members of our species. A patriot does not have to be a xenophobe; he doesn't have to choose between his homeland and the planet -- he belongs to both, comfortably and without conflict.

Global business (reference: http://www.tnnwc.com and go to ICS -- International Connections Service) fosters a kind of friendly interdependency between businesspeople (as citizen ambassadors) residing in different countries.

Conceptually, as a slightly selfish businessperson, I would not want my country to declare war on the country where my supplier is located, where my clientele is based, or where my joint venture partner resides.

War becomes an act of economic self-destruction.

With a rudimentary knowledge of history and of behavioral psychology, I can safely say that if peace becomes significantly more profitable than war, the pendulum of Human action will swing toward peace. Peace AND prosperity [in the same sentence].

Part of this globalization and alliance-building process has been initiated by inexpensive VoIP communications, the growth of telecommuting, and the wildfire that is social media. But that technology takes us no further if we cannot trust one another. In cyberspace with the social media bullhorn blasting multidirectionally, dirty secrets are increasingly difficult to keep, and lies ("and the lying liars who tell them") are increasingly easy to unmask. In a word..."Wikileaks."

Trust can only be developed through transparency and consistent integrity demonstrated and reinforced over time.

A major impediment to constructing this bridge of trust is the flood of revelations becoming de-classified about certain unholy alliances, certain "social experiments," covert operations and some incredible deception and crime in some very high places. The unveiling of this "Secret Underworld Of Internationalism" is slowing down the process of building trust.

Some examples, courtesy of Yahoo! News, follow:

TODAY - September 03, 2011

CIA collaborated with Gadhafi's regime

The discovery of sensitive documents could spark tensions between Libya's new rulers and the U.S. 'Dark chapter'
####

And another...

Exposed: Uncensored WikiLeaks cables posted to Web

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER - Associated Press | AP – Thu, Sep 1, 2011

FILE - In this July 14, 2011 photo, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange talks to members …

LONDON (AP) — Uncensored copies of WikiLeaks' massive tome of U.S. State Department cables circulated freely Thursday across the Internet, leaving a whole new batch of U.S. sources vulnerable to embarrassment and potential retribution.

The United States, meanwhile, denied ever cooperating with the anti-secrecy group, and blasted Wikileaks for allegedly threatening national security and the safety of confidential informants. [read whole article]

####

Until the stories of the "Secret Underworld Of Internationalism" are fully (and painfully) aired out, behind us, and espionage is no longer perceived as more desirable [profitable] than "overt operations" (i.e., cooperation and collaboration in good faith), Internationalism will have some stubborn and powerfully-entrenched opposition.

We have our work cut out for us, indeed.

Douglas E Castle, for The Internationalist Page Blog

http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://MadMarketingTactics.blogspot.com
http://Links4LifeAlerts.com
With special thanks to TNNWC Management Consulting Services

Inside Gaddafi's secret underworld (rt.com)
I Spy (coopersview.wordpress.com)
Covert US forces, private contractors used in Libya (futuredispatch.com)
Petraeus and the Internal Culture of the CIA (volokh.com)
Social media could render covert policing 'impossible' Not even police officers can hide due to online information and use of biometrics, says ex-AFP commissioner Hamish Barwick (Computerworld) (imullins89.wordpress.com)
Charges Filed in Greek Wiretap Scandal (foxnews.com)
Prosecutor: 5 SKoreans arrested over espionage (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Spying (crisskross.wordpress.com)
Comets Honda and Elenin fulfill Mayan, Hopi and Christian Prophesies as the Mayan calendar approaches its end on October 28, 2011 (jhaines6.wordpress.com)
Former Akamai employee pleads guilty in espionage case (comsecllc.blogspot.com)
FBI warns businesses to protect their trade secrets and information (comsecllc.blogspot.com)
Globalism And International Trade: How Do We Encourage It? (theinternationalistpage.blogspot.com)
GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURS - Trending: A Favorable, Pro-Internationalist Push To Reform The UN Security Council. (theinternationalistpage.blogspot.com)
Emerging Markets and the Economics of Internationalization (technorati.com)
The secret to keeping your customers off the warpath (smartbrief.com)
Details of Secret CIA Rendition Program Revealed in Lawsuit (ibtimes.com)
Covert teams from US, NATO boost rebel forces (msnbc.msn.com)

Crowdsourcing To Predict And Build The Future - ACES

2011-08-16T15:46:00.000-04:00

The Internationalist Page Blog Update: Applied Research Associates, Inc. recently launched the Aggregative Contingent Estimation System (ACES), a website that lets members of the public test out methods to crowdsource intelligence predictions.

Funded by Iarpa, the intelligence community’s advanced research shop, ACES invites users to try their hand at making predictions and sharpening up their forecasting skills. The resulting data, ARA and Iarpa hope, will let spooks find out if the crowd can build a better crystal ball for the intel world. The project will test out crowd-based forecasting for the intelligence community by testing its methods out on a website.

“We’re trying to make good use of everybody’s individual opinions and trying to determine what aspects of them might be important and would lead to a good forecast,” says Dr. Dirk Warnaar, the principal investigator for the ACES project at Applied Research Associates.

--------------

I would invite all of my Internationalist Page, Global Futurist and TNNWC Management Consulting Services Group colleagues, clients, readers and friends to aggressively participate and share your input into this wonderful collaborative project. Any tool which can be used to divine the future, or to even help shape it, is important to develop.

This project has been well announced throughout the United States, and, to a lesser extent, several other countries -- but this is simply not good enough. I believe that the sources of input should be ethnically, culturally and geographically diverse, and to the greatest extent possible. We are all participants in the future, and it is only appropriate that we share our views to allow for a more comprehensive forecast picture.

Some weblinks follow for your use. Please... let your voices -- all of our voices be heard. Let's make the statistical sampling of participants' views of the future be more genuinely indicative of the world, as a whole. It takes collaboration to build a better database.

Note: For those of you who are slightly (and perhaps justifiably) paranoid about surveys, censuses and the like, or who feel a sense of intrusive government conspiracy -- you may well be right in terms of the nefarious intentions of those users of the aggregated information. However, I believe that this information can be shaped to our (i.e., the global populace of citizen ambassadors) advantage by the nature of our input. In this way, we may very well help ourselves, despite the questionable motives of those who intend to use this data. Most importantly -- we shape the database by our input.

This is a particularly important opportunity for those American citizens who have an interest not only in patriotism, but in globalism, as well.

Thank you.

Douglas E Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com]

Links To Explore Regarding ACES, IARPA, OSI And Related Intelligence/ Prediction Opportunities:

http://www.forecastingace.com/

http://www.iarpa.gov/open_solicitations.html

http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/7-high-tech-programs-want-pick-your-brain-283?page=0,0

Human Civilization: Case Study In Management.

2011-08-12T14:18:00.001-04:00

The best terms to succinctly describe the state of civilization today might be "unraveling," "decaying," and "disintegrating." This is neither breaking news nor a newly-emerging trend. This is the predictable product of prolonged indolence, indifference, ignorance, instant gratification (without regard for the future consequences) and neoplastic cupidity. Based upon one of Sir Issac Newton's fundamental laws, the more we slide down this slope, the more we accelerate -- until it is too late for the brakes to hold.

We've established some dangerous momentum in the wrong direction, and the further we go, to harder it is to get back on a survivable, sustainable course. Is it possible that things can change significantly in time to save ourselves from becoming a myth for some future civilization to debate about? It is not.

But the timing is not the issue. The issue is one of getting enough force pushing in the right direction, in full cooperation and coordination so that we can change our trajectory. This requires the fundamental organizational skills of leadership, team-building, discipline (negative reinforcement), rewards (positive reinforcement) and a clear vision of a newer, better objective to serve as a gratifying, magnet and a beacon.

We are here (at a precipice overlooking a drop which appears bottomless) because of being a badly-managed society. Many otherwise decent, responsible people have become so disillusioned with what they have learned about some of the excesses and foolishness of the people and the institutions which they trusted in to safeguard and protect their interests that they are reeling about from too many rounds in the ring. They feel outnumbered. They feel endangered. They feel isolated and completely helpless.

Civilization is a business. If we insist on wasting assets, accumulating liabilities, rewarding thievery and discouraging innovation, we generate growing losses. We are living in our own waste. And we are too engorged and atrophied to clean it up. We need energy and initiative. We need new, capable leaders -- leaders who believe that improving our future is a noble and great thing, and that civilization in this world is worth saving. These new leaders have to be activists who will not so easily tolerate compromise when it comes to the future of our investment in our own species. They must be able to distinguish between ambition and greed. And they must be able to work on a deferred compensation plan.

Yes. Civilization is a job for turnaround experts and indefatigable optimists.

Civilization, whether it prospers or perishes, is the same as any other large international business conglomerate with a large number of employees, divisions, operating redundancies, and a desperate need for improved communications and better responsiveness. If our civilization is worth saving, we cannot continue on our present course.

There is no more creative accounting to cover staggering losses. It's time for transparency, responsibility and collaboration across all borders, political, geographical and cultural. And by my watch (a Movado), the time is now.

This is not academic -- this is real world, in real time. There is so much at stake, but there is much more to gain. We are, each and all of us, investors, shareholders, consumers, vendors and employees in this big business of civilization. If you look around, you'll notice that all we have is each other.

Let's salvage what we can and replace what we cannot salvage. There is a chill in the air and I think we are dangerously close to an iceberg.

In Friendship,

Douglas E Castle, Internationalist and Global Futurist

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com

In words of a sermon by John Donne, "No man is an island, entire unto itself..."

Tags, Labels, Search Terms, Keywords And Categories: Civilization, Future, Internationalism, intelligent management, Civilization as a business, TNNWC Management Consulting Services, Douglas E. Castle, Activism, Management

Attitudes - Mixed Signals Individually, Nationally And Globally

2011-08-08T18:56:00.000-04:00

Through our communications (oral, written and non-verbal), business and social networking, and other interactions, Human Beings are constantly reaching out, and trying to establish connection with other members of our species. While selfishness, to a limited extent can be necessary for survival, we form groups, clubs, colonies and cooperatives for survival as well.

These mixed survival signals wreak havoc in each of us; and they also create problems between nations, which are social/economic/political creatures unto themselves.
There is always that dynamic balance, or imbalance (more appropriately) between isolationism and alliance formation when it comes to international affairs.

During the course of these next few years, this international pulse between behavioral poles, or extremes, will be even more pronounced.

On the Internationalist Front, as individuals are more aggressively and spontaneously reaching out to other individuals and groups through the use of mobile media, VoIP, and other technological advances which make communications easier and far less expensive than ever before, nations and their political leaders may well act in the opposite manner -- being xenophobic, scapegoating other nations, shaming and blaming ethnic groups or cultures, and becoming more territorial.

This may be largely due to a clinging to the last vestiges of the power of sovereignty necessary to political profiteering and the perpetuation of an antiquated paradigm.

China and Russia have both been maligning the United States (which has always been a popular sport, but which was once ostensibly considered to be caused by jealousy) since Standard and Poor's Credit Rating Services downgraded the credit (and credibility) of the U.S. Treasury's debt instruments and the U.S. Dollar -- formerly the world standard for a 'hard currency".

As it is in the U.S., so it will generally be for the rest of the industrialized world. Sadly, this is not because the U.S. is setting the standard for others to follow --- it is merely the downward cascading effect of having so many foreign nations and their constituents as creditors and holders of U.S. Dollar-denominated debt.

When any debtor shows signs of fiscal weakness (America's "Jobless Recovery" is a terrible attempt at a semantics 'workaround'), creditors begin to grumble. This grumbling just happens to be on a global and potentially cataclysmic scale.

The paradox of paradigms will be between the world of individual civilian ambassadors (importers, exporters, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, suppliers, consumers, friends, social media connections and the like) and their respective governments. This is quite a conflict.

This fascinating piece follows from the MondayMorningMemo, produced and published by the iconic Roy C. Williams, the self-proclaimed (and occasionally very insightful) "Wizard Of Ads." His words ring ominously true upon the ears of every true futurist, trend-watcher and socio-economic forecaster.

History, like a bad lunch, has a tendency to repeat itself. And history tends to swing from extreme to extreme (the pendulum effect) in various astonishingly predictable waves and cycles of time. These reactionary paradigm shifts are not predicated upon the extrapolation of "cause and effect" logic, but on periodicity -- certain lengths of time. Remember the movie "Groundhog Day"?

Ironically, some of these predictable swings can be foreseen by checking your calendar without even taking a look at trending news. Like the life cycle of a Human Being, it would seem that the World has a rhythm of its own. And it would seem that this rhythm is exogenously determined by a force beyond our individual or collective consciousness or abilities to control. I will leave this contemplation to the reader, as it involves issues well beyond my depth, expertise or certainty.

I would ask that you stop (before you go off moping) to appreciate one offsetting and positive possibility. We are sentient creatures with some element of free will. By knowing what is happening here, and by being proactive instead of reactive, we might all get out battered, but we can get out alive and a bit better-prepared for the next bout with this killer wave.

Douglas E Castle

http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com
http://www.TNNWC.com

You'll find Roy's treatment of this subject as fascinating as you will find it frightening......

####
"Let me start at the beginning:

We see the world through the lens of an entirely different set of values every 40 years. We become a different people.

We are pulled 20 years up from the tipping point to the zenith of a “We” (1923 to 1943.)
We swing 20 years down to the next tipping point (1963.) Tipping points are interesting times.

We are pulled 20 years up to the zenith of a “Me” (1963 to 1983.)

We swing 20 years down to the next tipping point (2003.)

Eighty years is a complete cycle but there are only 40 years between the extremes. (The 1943 zenith of “We” to 1983 zenith of “Me.”)

We’re nearly halfway up to the next zenith of “We" (2023.) 2011 is 1931 all over again. But instead of being gaga over a thing called “radio” we’re gaga over this thing called “online.”

A new set of values every 40 years...

On one side are the values of “We,” the team, the tribe, the group working together, staying connected.

On the other side are the values of “Me,” the individual, unique and special and possessing unlimited potential.

“Me”

1. …demands freedom of expression.
2. …applauds personal liberty.
3. …believes one man is wiser than a million men, “A camel is a racehorse designed by a committee.”
4. …wants to achieve a better life.
5. …is about big dreams.
6. …desires to be Number One. “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
7. …admires individual confidence and is attracted to decisive persons.
8. …leadership is, “Look at me. Admire me. Emulate me if you can.”
9. …strengthens a society’s sense of identity as it elevates attractive heroes.

“We”

1. …demands conformity for the common good.
2. …applauds personal responsibility.
3. …believes a million men are wiser than one man, “Two heads are better than one.”
4. …wants to create a better world.
5. …is about small actions.
6. …desires to be a productive member of the team. “I came, I saw, I concurred.”
7. …admires individual humility and is attracted to thoughtful persons.
8. …leadership is, “This is the problem as I see it. Please consider the things I am telling you and perhaps we can solve this problem together.”
9. …strengthens a society’s sense of purpose as it considers all its problems.

“Me” and “We” are equal-but-opposite attractions that pull our perspective one way, then the other. Western society swings like a pendulum from one set of values to the other every 40 years with the regularity of an old and reliable grandfather clock.

“Me” and “We” values are equally good, but we always take a good thing too far.

If history is to be our guide, the next 20 years will be when we move from our agreement of mutual brokenness, “I’m Not Okay – You’re Not Okay,” to embrace a self-righteous indignation, “I’m Okay – You’re Not Okay.”

Sanctimonious vigilante-ism will become popular as indignant leaders demonize their enemies and rally their followers by appealing to their inborn sense of rightness and social obligation, “Let’s clean this place up and to hell with compromise. They are entirely wrong and we are entirely right. They are stupid. We are wise. They are evil. We are good.”

The last time we went through this, America formed a committee in Congress called the House Un-American Activities Committee (1938) which later watched with glee while Senator Joseph McCarthy destroyed countless careers by recklessly branding his enemies as “Communists” and creating the infamous blacklists.

This sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? I know it does. I'm writing because I want you to be able to look back and recall how absurd this all sounded when I first told you what was on the horizon if history can be trusted.

A self-righteous nut with a gun killed dozens of people in Norway and believed he was doing the right thing.

That’s the problem with self-righteous nuts; they always believe they’re doing the right thing.

Roy H. Williams
####

Castle's Commentary:

Observation 1: Futurists and Prognosticators --- We cannot predict or prepare for the future without taking into account these "temporal Pendulum swings" and cycles. An accurate forecasting model or algorithm requires that these seemingly exogenously-determined or caused cycles be given inclusion and proper weighting.

Observation 2: Internationalists and Citizen Ambassadors --- While we are on the cusp of a long-term cycle, we can work together to get through some very rough waters by being aware of what is happening to us, bearing in mind what is at stake, and by being more highly proactive in our watchfulness of our respective national governments in their proclamations and policies. Governments should serve the needs of their individual citizens, and not the opposite. We've seen far too much of that lately.

The pendulum swings the other way.... (tagg-lines.com)
The pendulum of behavior (rafaelcorrales.com)
Mesmerizing Pendulum Waves (neatorama.com)
Natural Environmental Factors That Affect Business (thinkup.waldenu.edu)
You Might be a Marxist (nortonbooks.typepad.com)
Fixing the economy: we need long-term solutions (openitstrategies.com)
The Evolution Of The Tech Bubble (businessinsider.com)
Robert Teitelman: Frydman and Goldberg's Beyond Mechanical Markets (huffingtonpost.com)
An Urgent Memo to the World (thenaturaleye.wordpress.com)
Showtime: Pendulum Waves (wired.com)
Political Posturing Versus Honesty - Domestic And International Sabotage (douglascastle1.wordpress.com)
Reps' mixed signals highlight problems for Obama (laaska.wordpress.com)
We're not going to have a jobless recovery. We're going to have a jobless future (buzzmachine.com)
World reacts to U.S. credit downgrade (cnn.com)
Dollar Weakens to Record Versus Franc as S&P Lowers U.S. Rating (businessweek.com)
Nationalist Economics: Realism Versus Capitalism And Socialism (liverpoolbnp.wordpress.com)
China's Conundrum: Trapped in Treasurys (online.wsj.com)
The End of American (Economic) Exceptionalism (blogs.hbr.org)
Credit Downgrade Aftermath: Falling Markets, Raging Opinions, Mixed Reactions (alternativenewsreport.net)
Political Parties versus Fiscal Responsibility: Standard and Poor's Reacts First (yumaprogressive.wordpress.com)
Stretching Your Global Mindset (blogs.hbr.org)
Markets Live transcript 8 Aug 2011 (ftalphaville.ft.com)
Special Report: S&P's News Worries Asian Markets - Christian Post (news.google.com)
Georges Ugeux: Are Rating Agencies Acting in the Name of God? (huffingtonpost.com)
Brazil Said to Keep Foreign Reserves in Dollars After Downgrade (businessweek.com)
Gloating China Says "Has Every Right To Demand US Address Its Debt Problem", Asks For New Global Reserve Currency (zerohedge.com)

Globalism And International Trade: How Do We Encourage It?

2011-08-04T12:41:00.000-04:00

Globalization is the highest and best form of arbitrage, collaboration, cooperation, breakthrough acceleration, exponentialized intelligence and profitable, peaceful international commerce and friendly dialogue. Yet this obvious opportunity has still not truly caught fire with many firms...even though so many of them have a desire to explore and to positively exploit the possible potential.

What is the reason for this hesitancy? What can those of us involved in international trade and citizen ambassadorship do to move globalization forward in a responsible and sustainable way? How do we create the necessary momentum to "push the paradigm?"

Part of the answer is educating the small- to medium-sized business participants about the ease with which the Global Marketplace can be accessed. The other part, which is more difficult, has to do with overcoming socially and politically-ingrained xenophobia and government doctrines of protectionism coupled with media propaganda discouraging private sector international relations.

Please read what follows from the great minds at BigThink. You'll find it to be a wonderful succinct analysis. You'll enjoy this.

Many thanks.

Douglas E Castle for TNNWC - ICS (International Connections Service) Division

Bloglinks To This Author: The Internationalist Pagehttp://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com), The Global Futuristhttp://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com), Business And Project Planninghttp://BusinessAndProjectPlanning,blogspot.com), and, of course... Infosphere Business Alerts And Intelligence (http://InfosphereBusinessAlerts.blogspot.com)

BigThink Article:

MARKET SOLUTIONS
Secrets of Successful Globalization

For all our talk of living in a globalized world, there is far less international exchange of people, goods and information than we would expect. How can we encourage globalization?

Maximizing Your Global Opportunities (blogs.hbr.org)
Trade Technologies Announces Record Transaction Value for 2010 (prweb.com)
Will Euro Replace The Dollar as The Global Reserve Currency? (socyberty.com)
The Seven Secrets of Successful Globalization (blogs.wsj.com)
Powerful E-commerce Platform, Website Forge, Announces Strategic Alliance with Bongo International (prweb.com)
Global Business (socyberty.com)
Trade Is International And Complex (iansdesk.wordpress.com)
Trade News: Emerging Markets In The New Global Economy & New Opportunities For Exporting (worldtradedaily.com)
World Trade Center Spotlight: San Diego (worldtradedaily.com)
How barriers to global trade lower our prosperity (theglobeandmail.com)
Trade News: Exports Creating New Jobs; Resources & Tools Offered (worldtradedaily.com)

Click on the above image for a high-resolution version of the TNNWC - ICS banner, which is truly a thing of beauty.

The UN, Global Business And Citizen Ambassadorship

2011-07-18T18:01:00.001-04:00

The UN Security Council is one of most politically influencial bodies in the international community. Its pronouncements and policies have a profound effect on relationships among many countries, as well as effects on the respective economies and internal political stability of those countries which it cites or sanctions. This is a Global Community Business News Update regarding the progress, to date, of the UN Security Council Reform Movement, and some brief conjecture about the future of the UN itself.

The membership of the Council has been hotly contested, as have many of its decisions and pronouncements, principally because its exclusive membership (some very powerful nations, both economically and militarily) it is not viewed by the vast majority of the nations which are "mere" members as being fairly representative of those member nations as a whole. Many of these nations feel as if they were merely impotent witnesses to proceedings (and occasionally theatrics) completely beyond their control.

This is analogous to a situation in which a large, publicly held corporation is run by a "bully pulpit" board of directors whose interests and policy decisions are strictly self-serving, and not representative of the sentiment of the shareholders as a collective group.

The Internationalist Page blog as well as TNNWC view the developments described below (courtesy of the UN NEWSWIRE) as being powerfully positive, pro-internationalism and potentially stimulating for global business.

TNNWC's International Connections Service (ICS) is extensively involved in providing services to small- to medium-sized entrepreneurial companies who have wisely chosen to enter the global marketplace -- exporters, importers, co-venturers and strategic investors. We will be keeping our readers and Clients apprised of how this ongoing movement might be leveraged to their ultimate advantage.

While we hope that these bold petitioners have the tenacity to be stay the course in order to be fairly represented (i.e., by a Council that truly tends to the interests and exists for the betterment of all participants), there is little in the way of substantive progress to report as of this date, due in large part to the Council's focus on crisis management with respect to the ongoing and expanding threat of terrorism.

While the issue of terrorism is certainly one to be taken seriously, it is seriously detracting from the focus of the reform effort and its sponsors. For your reference, a link to the original article from the UN Wire follows under my signature, below.

On the positive side of the movement toward reform, the U.S.'s increasingly obvious disenchantment with and mistrust of Pakistan (since the Killing of Osama Bin Laden at his rather conspicuous operating headquarters right inside of Pakistan) will likely strengthen India's voice -- as well as the U.S.'s ability to hear it in connection with both India-US relations, and with respect to the India-UN relations.

It is my thinking that with the rapid expansion and acceptance of social media communications from individual persons to large groups throughout the entire world (call it citizen news reporting, if you wish), and with the expansion of international trade through a combination of growing e-commerce sites and increasing multinational co-ventures which are encouraging unofficial but highly active person-to-person citizen and corporate ambassadorship, the UN stands a good chance of allowing itself to become irrelevent, if not extinct, within the frame of these next three to five years if it is unable to truly show exceptional value to all of its participants and to the court of international public opinion.

Imagine the threat of it: individual persons and companies representing themselves -- not by UN proxy, but directly, without limitation and distortion of the truth. This is being seen, and will continue to be seen by many governmental regimes and international bodies as being a threat (think of recent examples of international Blackberry bans, and internet censorship attempts by challenged and troubled despots in countries where rebellions have become increasingly bold and vociferous) to their ensconsed elite (i.e., the ruling class, the party in power, or the ambassadors, lobbyists and other traders in information and influence).

I believe that the UN, as if it were a nation unto itself, runs the same risk of being bypassed as an information broker and a decision-making body.

It would seem that international politics are giving way to interpersonal relationships.

Somehow, I do not see that as a negative thing. Many of us prefer a straight story from the source rather than a self-serving distortion or representation by an unfair, dishonest or ethically compromised broker with a hidden agenda.

Faithfully,

Douglas E Castle
http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com
http://www.TNNWC.com

July 1, 2011 | News covering the UN and the world

Plan for Security Council reform gains momentum

The governments of more than 100 countries reportedly have already lent their support to a plan that, in principle, would reform the UN Security Council by expanding the number of permanent seats. Japan, Brazil, Germany and India are lobbying widely for permanent membership on the powerful body. Google/The Associated Press (6/30)

Dilemmas of Sovereignty and Intervention (richardfalk.wordpress.com)
UNAMI likely to be extended another year; Ban Ki Moon committed to Iraq's CH VII exit (currencynewshound.wordpress.com)
'Stand Up and Take Action!' with Skype, Ustream and the UN Millennium Campaign (share.skype.com)
UNICEF hails Security Council Resolution protecting schools and hospitals from attacks (lexdih.wordpress.com)
You: Pakistan slams UN report containing 'unwarranted' information on country's situation (nation.com.pk)
Grand corruption (dailykos.com)
'Ask Brazil, South Africa and India to help stop the bloodshed in Syria' (kafila.org)

Reality Versus Perception - Real Trends Versus "Aftershock" Reactions

2011-07-14T18:31:00.001-04:00

Reality Versus Perception - Real Trends Versus "Aftershock" Reactions

We, as Human Beings, are never particlarly good at making objective decisions, judgments or plans. We are sensorially barraged by overlapping discordant waves of staccato advertisements, promotions, and news which is more about entertainment and propaganda (spin doctoring) than it is about reporting of factual information. We are bombarded by the noise (and accompanying sensorial fatigue) that envelops us, and are shaped, in every aspect, by the external environment.

This having been said, we are each burdened by the imposing filter of his own perception. Even if we are given the right raw data or raw material, we may misinterpret or mismanufacture. This comes from inside of us.

Carried to its logical conclusion, it is very difficult for us to differentiate between what is real (and lasting), and what is imaginary (ephemeral and incorrect). We tend to live our lives in a reactive and defensive state, and it is easy to be misled. It is a tough paradox that rules the way in which we think -- i.e., can a psychotic truly know, with any degree of certainty, when he is hallucinating and when he is not?

Every trend-spotter, forecaster, futurist, strategic planner, entrepreneur, investor and street-crosser must work hard to separate reality from perception. Our inherent subjectivity and our brief, rushed lives stand between us and intelligent conclusions.

It is increasingly difficult to know what indicia signify a "fad" or a "knee-jerk response" from a trend that is meaningful with serious consequences.

There are three big uber-variables at play in the world, and we are constantly being demanded to choose sides, to take action, or to "feel" a certain way about each.

One is government, and all that it involves;

One is capitalism, more often than not confused with "greed," and generally being associated with the privileged political "right."

One is sustainability, more often than not confused with, or lumped indiscriminantly in with, environmentalism, ecological sensitivity, and the political "left."

What I am about to state is merely my own opinion about the above three items, rendered in simplistic terms:

Sustainability might just be here to stay; but then again, capitalism (despite some highly negative press) is not expected to make an exit anytime soon, and government (and divisive, partisan politics) will always be a part of our lives as long as there are more than two people on this planet.

Yours Faithfully,

Douglas E Castle

p.s. If you would like to read an article about how two of these uber-variables, Sustainability and Capitalism, might actually co-exist to the benefit of those supporting either side (there are really no "sides"... there are just generalizations and convenient categorizations), please click on the article link below:

http://expertadviceandinsightsfromtnnwc.blogspot.com/2011/07/sustainability-fueled-by-intelligent.html

---------------
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Entrepreneurs and Growing Companies - Increase Your Revenues, Profits And Opportunities by Going Global.

2011-07-04T20:47:00.001-04:00

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International Connections Service (ICS™) is a special, scalable interpersonalized service offered exclusively through TNNWC Group, LLC to clients who would like to multiply their marketing prospects, increase revenues, and grow greater profits by rapidly and inexpensively making a credible entrance into the International (Global) Marketplace.

We give you pre-qualified access to new and untapped consumer markets, distributor and dealer relationships, agents and representatives, suppliers, consumers and strategic joint venture partners through our diverse and flexible program offerings.

By utilizing ICS’ Virtual Export Division™ or Virtual Import Division™ services, you can become a part of the global marketplace for opportunities without adding new personnel, without travelling, at minimal expense – right from your own offices – with only a computer, VoIP (telephone) capability and some healthy ambition.

Faithfully,

Douglas E Castle
Chairman
TNNWC Group, LLC

CONTACT TNNWC’s ICS™ Professionals

To get a jumpstart from one of our highly-qualified and client-friendly Service Representatives or Advisors, simply send us an email with your inquiry and communications information to TNNWC by clicking on: CONTACT TNNWC. We’ll get back to you straightaway – and we’re prepared to listen to you so that we can create a mechanism which exactly suits your specialized needs, objectives and budgetary considerations. We’ll guide you through the entire process.

If you’re eager to learn some more details first, put on your scrolling gloves, take out your magnifying glass, and get ready to read a very long list of the many ways in which we provide access to the entire world for our Clients!

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To read a very detailed list of unparalleled service offerings, simply click on: http://wp.me/p1hTtg-hc

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NOTICE: This article is Copyright © 2011 by author Douglas E Castle with all rights reserved. It may be republished without permission provided that it is published in full, with all hyperlinks and exhibits left intact, and with full attribution given the author. This article does not contain or constitute medical, health, psychological, legal, regulatory, investment, securities, financial, tax, or any other form of professional advice -- the reader acknowledges and accepts this disclaimer. Further, the reader indemnifies and holds harmless both the author and all publications in which this article appears of any damages, claims, loss, responsibility or liability emerging from the reader’s utilization of any information contained herein.

About This Author: Further information regarding this author’s professional experience, expertise and service offerings can be found at ABOUT DOUGLAS E CASTLE

Other Blogs And RSS Feeds By This Author: A comprehensive list of blogs and RSS feeds on various subjects written or moderated by Douglas E Castle may be found by clicking on the orange icon below.

THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE - Douglas E Castle

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