Given that the collapse of IBS-STL UK has largely been attributed to its failed SAP implementation, the following timeline (which undoubtedly has a few gaps) may prove helpful in formulating the questions that should now be asked in order to ensure that a disaster like this doesn’t happen again. The fact that SAP was intended to be a global roll out but stopped here in the UK also raises questions: I reflect briefly upon some of these at the end.

October 2007: Groupsoft announces the start of SAP implementation in the UK, the first phase of a proposed “multi-country” roll out:

Groupsoft starts IBS-STL SAP Retail Project in UK

IBS-STL is one of the largest Bible and Christian literature ministries in the world – they translate the Bible into world languages that have 1 million or more speakes and distribute the Bible—and evangelism and discipleship literature—to people who might never learn about Christ any other way.

Groupsoft is implementing SAP Retail ECC 6.0 – across their multi-country distribution systems – in US, UK, South Africa, India and China.

23 October 2008: STL UK website and order processing suspended for SAP installation.

28 October 2008: SAP goes live.

3 November 2008: STL Blog: Apologies are offered as problems rapidly become evident. Delays in order despatch and tracking are acknowledged:

As planned the system went live last Tuesday and we were able to despatch some orders. Orders continued to be despatched everyday last week, although it wasn’t until Friday that we experienced a relatively trouble free day and were operating at anything near full capacity. We do continue to experience some issues which may cause some inconvenience, e.g. the interface with Fed Ex is not yet operational and we are unable to advise you exactly where your order is once it has left our Warehouse.

5 November 2008: STL Blog: “some technical difficulties with a small number of orders” acknowledged. Problems with carriage charges on backorders noted.

6 November 2008: I report briefly on the situation from a retailer’s perspective: STL: Back Online but not Back Up to Speed

7 November - 11 November - 12th November 2008: STL Blog: “problems in moving stock from bulk to live racking” blamed for delays in order processing.

14 November 2008: Timing isn’t the issue – Mark Hurley: Decision to ‘Go Live’ with SAP in the run up to Christmas 2008 is defended as having been taken “at the highest level”. Trade customers express dismay as orders remain unfulfilled.

19 November 2008: Steve Mitchell presents SAP Go Live to the Booksellers Association Christian Booksellers Group (BACBG). In an open letter to trade customers, Graham Sopp apologises for ongoing problems, although problems are attributed to “business process bottlenecks” rather than to the software itself:

We originally planned to implement the new system in August. However as the date approached, it became apparent that further testing of the new system was necessary before we could commence training people in how to use the system. We were faced with a choice of going live in late October or waiting until January 2009. Unfortunately, we would have faced immense difficulties in standing down our external project team of consultants for three months while we prepared to go live and then to re-assemble that team in January. After extensive testing of the system we were confident we could start with, at most, minor disruption. So we took the decision to go live in October.

Most of the problems we have encountered over recent weeks are related to business process bottlenecks and are not directly related to software and, in fairness to the system team, could not have been anticipated by the extensive testing we carried out.

I report briefly on the BACBG meeting: STL: Light at the End of the Tunnel?

22 December 2008: STL Blog: In the face of continuing difficulties faced by trade customers, a detailed explanation and defence of the SAP implementation is offered: Why SAP and why now??

19 January 2009: Trade customers receive further apologies for delays in despatch along with the following explanation:

The reason for this is our team of consultants are still working on solving a number of bedding down issues in SAP where orders can get stuck in the system.

January/February 2009: Keith Danby takes control of UK operations and apologises for the problems caused by the UK SAP implementation. From Christian Marketplace, February 2009:

Asked about the recent difficulties which the trading arm of the charity had been experiencing in the UK, following the introduction of new systems at its warehousing operations in Carlisle, Danby said, “SAP has been a very big investment for IBS-STL. We made this investment because we believe this will ultimately give us a Global Enterprise System.”

With regards to the timing of the implementation he commented, “When we embarked on this project we wrote into the contract that we would not ‘go live’ during the autumn trading period. Originally, it was to be launched in the spring. Like all major computer projects, there was slippage and the revised date was then end of August which slipped to September and the finally to October. At one time we had over 20 SAP consultants working to keep deadlines.” He also stated, “It is important that you know that Graham [Sopp] was not asked to step down as CEO because of the SAP problems.”

Danby also made the point that had the system not gone live in October then the launch would have had to be held back to March 2009. “Delaying to March would mean the SAP consultants having to leave for 4-5 months … as they are all freelance consultants, getting them to come back as a team was regarded as unlikely.” The SAP software was successfully installed “and it works” said Danby, “but we encountered significant operational procedure problems”. He admitted that more time was needed for testing it with their operating procedures than had been anticipated.

“We have spent 21 years being committed to serving the UK Christian Retail trade”, he said. “We take failures like this very seriously and I say again we are deeply embarrassed and sorry.”

25 February 2009: STL Blog: Update given on returns, receiving and backorders:

Single line backorders are still occuring; however we have seen a substantial reduction in the incidence. Our team along with consultants from SAP are continuing to work on resolving the residual issues.

8 April 2009: STL Blog: Message from Keith Danby acknowledges ongoing unresolved issues “with the new IT system” and announces the appointment of Andrew Clyde as Director of IT with specific responsibility for SAP development work.

1 May 2009: STL Blog: Problems with SAP blamed for Invoices with 0% discount:

If for a new product a product group is selected on a discount matrix where no value is maintained then SAP will apply no trade discount to the order – the result on your invoice is 0% discount. So how could this happen? Well, SAP is not able to automatically check that for say a particular Authentic book the combination of product group and customer group is correct.

14 August 2009: STL Blog: Trade Announcement from Keith Danby states:

A number of factors including the SAP implementation have caused STL Distribution serious Supply Chain difficulties, which have resulted in severe cash flow problems.

16 November 2009: Biblica announces the sale of its UK operations and lays much of the blame for the crisis upon the problems with SAP. This is perhaps best summarised in Tania Mason’s report for Civil Society, Top-250 Christian charity to close, 18/11/2009:

David Young, the charity’s UK general manager, said the charity had been struggling financially for some time but the failed attempt to install an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in October 2008, that should have integrated all its warehousing, sales and customer services, was the nail in the coffin.

“We installed the accounting software a year earlier and on its own it worked fine, but the implementation of the ERP caused all kinds of problems with inventory and it was just as the recession hit. Those two things together gave us serious problems.”

They resulted in significant cashflow pressures, excess stock, and supply chain and service difficulties in the charity’s distribution and retail units. [...]

[...] SAP is yet to respond to IBS-STL UK’s criticism of its ERP system. A spokeswoman told Civil Society: “They are still talking about and trying to get to grips with the problem.”

18 November 2009: STL Distribution USA issues a statement — cited at Christian Book Shop Talk — to counter rumours that its operations are also under threat, advising customers (amongst other things) that

The US organization has not attempted to install the SAP software, and our systems are not affected by the attempted installation in the UK.

Concluding Reflections

The fact that the USA division (and presumably the other international divisions mentioned in Groupsoft’s October 2007 announcement) has not attempted to install SAP raises at least two questions:

• At what point was the decision made to discontinue the global roll out?
• Why, at that point, was the UK implementation not halted?

To an outside observer — judging purely by the extent to which the blame for STL UK’s crisis has been placed on the SAP implementation failure — it appears that IBS-STL UK, its employees and trade partners seem more than anything else to be paying the price for drawing the short straw: for being unfortunate enough to be first in a roll out that was part of a much grander scheme. If the implementation had first been attempted in the USA, South Africa, China or India, would it now be one of those divisions fighting for survival instead of the UK?

Clearly other factors have been at play, not least the state of the economy, but the SAP implementation had to start somewhere and it is a tragedy that Biblica, in the end, did not have the necessary resources to support the division that drew that terrible short straw.

• UKCBD Blog: Posts tagged SAP
• Google Search: IBS-STL and SAP
• STL Blog: Posts mentioning SAP

Transcreation is another concept which could easily be mistaken for a buzz word. In reality, it refers to vast areas of translation which have for ever been adapting content rather than simply translating it.
Like “Localisation” itself however, it seems to have been appropriated and reinvented by the Information Technology industry (2). So what do we mean by it and do methodologies really differ enough to warrant the use of this term?

Origins of the Concept

If you’ve grown up in an environment where English wasn’t the first language, chances are you have been exposed to transcreated content from a very young age. It may have been through entertainment, television, or advertising; most likely all of the above.

I never knew, nor did it matter to me, that Musclor was not He-Man’s real name. A more famous example of very liberal marketing translation is the story behind the Mitsubishi Pajero’s alternative name in Spanish-speaking countries. I’m also pretty sure that Smurf is not a literal schtroumpfation for Schtroumpf. Spider-Man: India seems a successful example of a multi-national company truly embracing a local culture.

This phenomenon does not only relate to the “Americanisation” of western-culture or even to the intense globalization of this century. Research (3) has shown that forms of Transcreation have been used in Indian poetry and religious writing, where form and content have always been adapted to some of the many cultures and languages of India.

There, is the key to Transcreation in my opinion: recognising the need to become part of a local culture rather than simply communicate in its language.
While translators always aim to reach out to their audience, the software industry often bounds them to the demands of technical content. Transcreation in its modern sense signals the releasing of these bounds, and gives the explicit brief to stray from the source message in favour a better way to communicate the same idea to the target audience.

Videogames Localisation

The term Transcreation is often attributed to Carmen Mangiron and Minako O’Hagan (1). They were among the first to use it in the context of IT, more precisely of the gaming industry.

They recognised the fact that with most games developed in Japan or the U.S., yet targeting truly global markets, there was an inherent need to free translators from the source text in order better connect to local gamers everywhere. In fact even some of the functionalities of games are sometimes adapted to the local culture: the amount of violence, explicit language etc. is not only changed to meet age ratings, but in cases to actually comply with the cultural and legal requirements of different regions of the world.

Countries such as Germany have laws which regulate video game content and manufacturers are faced with the choice of adapting their games or not being commercialised.

Advertising, Copywriting and SEO

The localisation of advertising, or copywriting is an area where the idea of Transcreation is also very apt.
While in a lot of cases translators are not copywriters themselves, they are given instructions to be creative with their work. Rather than just delivering the meaning in a grammatically correct manner, they have the task to also deliver in a form which creates the same reaction in the potential customer.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) copywriting and translation are a further extension of this, where the translator even has to select the words in a very strategic manner. SEO is of course more than just selecting keywords, but even this part of optimisation has to be translated in ways which achieve the best search engine rankings in the target languages, not the source.

Measuring Quality

But is all this really that progressive an idea? Aren’t all translators always trying to come up with the best possible translation anyway?

Things get complicated when you try to measure or monitor the quality of translations where the translators have been asked to stray from the source in order to convey a marketing campaign’s message in the best possible way.

This becomes a highly subjective exercise where chiefly, the client is right.

Here comes the next hurdle: localisation clients rarely have marketing staff in all the countries they market to. So vendors have to come up with processes which ensure that the product delivered meets those sometimes subjective requirements. This in my mind can only be achieved through a durable relationship between the clients and their translators/reviewers. Processes must transcend the limitations of the outsourcing model and recreate the fuzzy feeling of enlightened ownership once only common to the now endangered species of the in-house translator.

Such is the challenge of Transcreation: creative translation requires creative quality management.

References:

(1) Game Localisation: Unleashing Imagination with ‘Restricted’ Translation
Carmen Mangiron and Minako O’Hagan, Dublin City University, Ireland

(2) On the Translation of Video Games
Miguel Bernal Merino, Roehampton University, London

(3) Elena Di Giovanni “Translations, Transcreations and Transrepresentations of India in the Italian Media” (2008), in Klaus Kaindl and Riitta Oittinen (eds), The Verbal, the Visual, the Translator, special issue of META, 53: l. Les Presses de l’Université de Montreal, pp. 26-43.

Many thanks to Carmen for the tips.

Des experts, chargés de conseiller l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) auraient, aux dires de certains médias, reçu de l’argent des laboratoires pharmaceutiques, pour que soit déclarée la pandémie de grippe porcine. L’OMS a instauré le niveau 6, pour la première fois en 40 ans.

Après avoir annoncé une pandémie de grippe porcine dans le monde, l’OMS a exhorté tous les pays à utiliser le Tamiflu de fabrication suisse et dont le risque d’effets secondaires fait l’objet d’une polémique.

Ces allégations doivent faire l’objet d’une enquête. Si elles devaient être confirmées, la Russie pourrait se retirer de l’organisation, a déclaré Igor Barinov, membre de la commission anti-corruption à la Douma de Russie.

Selon lui, la Russie a consacré plus de 4 milliards de roubles à la lutte contre le nouveau virus, somme qui aurait pu être allouée à d’autres problèmes urgents.

Le parlementaire rappelle que personne ne remet en cause l’action de l’OMS dans la lutte contre le paludisme, la variole, le VIH / SIDA au 20e siècle, mais à présent la question se pose de savoir si cette organisation a été gagnée par le virus de la corruption, dans quelle mesure ses recommandations sont-elles justifiées et si l’on peut lui faire réellement confiance.

Les fabricants russes semblent avoir été mis à l’écart du marché des médicaments, alors que la Russie s’était opposée à l’instauration d’un monopole des médicaments étrangers.

27/11/2009

I’ve conducted an informal opinion poll amongst those of my friends who have spent more than six months at a time in a different country and we came up with the following list of things we wish we had known before ever coming up with the brilliant idea to live abroad in the first place!   Because no matter how much you want to explore other countries and other cultures, there are going to be some tough times out there…

This is just a short bullet-point type list.  I have written a more detailed report about this which will be available on my website shortly.  http://www.theculturebroker.co.uk/free/

1.  Culture shock will hit you.  It may not be when or how or how much you expect it to hit you, but it will come as surely as night follows day.

2.  Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.  You cannot avoid culture shock entirely, but you can prepare for it and thereby minimise its devastating effects.

3.  Don’t just survive, learn to thrive.   Some people hate their time abroad so much that they go into minimal resistance mode, just keeping their head down until they can go back home.  Don’t let that person be you!

4.  Build your own expat support network…  After all, they are the ones who understand best what you are going through.

5. But learn to let go of the expat community.  Don’t live in an exclusively expat bubble, or you’ll feel your time abroad has been wasted (in more ways than one).

6.  Be curious about individual people and you will start to understand the culture better.

7.  Understanding is not unquestioning acceptance. YOu don’t have to agree with everything you see or hear.

8.  But understanding does breed respect.

9.  It’s OK to make mistakes.  And when you do, handle it quickly, sensitively, and don’t be afraid to admit when you are puzzled and need help.

10.  It’s the little things that matter.  The two things people most miss about their home country when they go abroad are: food and the weather.  Regardless of how wonderful the cuisine and climate may be in their adopted country (and how rubbish it may have been back home), there will always be some little things that provoke strong loyalties and nostalgia – how else can you explain the fish’n'chips and baked beans pubs in Spain?  Or me wolfing down a cheeseburger and fries in McDonald’s (a place I normally avoid) after several months in Japan?  But what I am trying to say is that it’s not decadent or culturally obtuse to miss the little things, and if we can make our lives easier by indulging in some of these luxuries, why not?

What do you think of our list?  Are there any other things you would have found useful (with the benefit of hindsight)?  What little things do you miss most of all?

I was asked to answer a few questions at a talk I gave last week at the Nationwide Networking Event. It was aimed at Small businesses with the topic about new media and the advantages of being small. I thought it was a nice snippet of ideas worth sharing here.

Q: What type of changes can we expect from media in 2010 and how do we need to prepare for it as business professionals?

A: Media will fragment further, it’s increasingly like fashion with new ideas appearing daily. The art of value, like with fashion is by going with the classics and choosing the right style for the brand you want to build. Match your environment, by being involved in the right channels.

Q: Where do you see the role of the blog in the future?

A: Increasingly important. Blogs are a trusted source, because bloggers become, or are an expert on their topic of choice. This is because all good blogs are topic specific. And people want to deal with experts.

Q: What can we expect from the evolution of twitter and our capacity to use it as a marketing medium?

A: If we use it as a marketing medium we’ve already lost. It’s a conversation…. Conversation can turn into business, but it is primarily a conversation. First we need to be a resource. A resource to others, from which we can build trust and valued relationships. These may eventually lead a business relationship.

Q: What trends are coming from America that we need to be aware of?

A: Trends are global now. We don’t have to look overseas to see it. Things arrive simultaneously. It’s not like it was 20 years ago where our friends return from sojourns overseas to tell us all about the cool things they saw, and we have to wait for them to appear in our market a few years later. Now it’s on our desktop the day it happens. This is been further facilitated by web tools such as Springwise, Twitter and Youtube.

Q: How do we (small business people) benefit from the changes in the media landscape?

A: Barriers to entry have been removed so anyone can play. But it requires a long term consistent effort. New media requires a low financial investment, and large human capital input. Where as old media requires a large financial investment with little human effort. At least now we have to choice. In addition large companies have been (so far) pretty bad at using new media. It creates an advantage for us.

Q: How can we better utilize technology tor reduce our costs and increase our profits?

A: Shift from being doers, to becoming project managers. Outsource where ever possible. It’s easier now with all the tools we have at our disposal like elance and skype. Why do we even need an office? Is it because we need to, or because we don’t trust the people we work with?

Q: Your blog has 50,000 readers a month, how did you do that?

A: Two simple things. One blog entry every day. Staying on topic (entrepreneurship / startups). Then wordpress and Google did the rest. It’s not a trick, it just takes consistent effort.

Q: What is the meaning of micro brand building and how would it be relevant to soloprenuers?

A: Build your personal brand first. That’s the first part of micro branding, becoming known for something. Having a skill you can share with others. Then eventually cross fertilize to your business brand.

Q: What are the simplest things we can do to build a micro brand?

A: Have a tight focus area of interest. Share our lessons honestly and openly. Frequency of output.

Q: How do we protect our brands?

A: Not with IP and legal stuff…. Most of that is a simple waste of money.  We protect it with customers, innovation and reliability.

Q: What one piece of advice would you give to those of us that need clients and need them quickly?

A: Cold call. Not on the phone, but turn up and talk.

Q: What books have influenced  you?

The Cluetrain Manifesto

The Purple Cow

The art of the start

22 Laws of marketing

Q: What marketers / speakers have influenced you?

A: Steven Wright (comedian) he taught me how to flip my perspective for alternative solutions.

Wir leben in einer Welt, in der ungerechte Dinge geschehen. Grausame Dinge, die jeden Menschen normalerweise dazu bringen sollten, viel zu weinen und nur wenig zu lachen.

Die Anzeichen dafür, dass etwas gewaltig schief läuft in unserem global vernetztem System, sind dermaßen klar ersichtlich, dass selbst ein blinder sehend werden und  in der Lage sein müsste es erblicken zu können, denn die Welt schreit vor Ungerechtigkeit.

Die meisten Menschen jedoch sind nicht in der Lage, es zu sehen, weil ihre Herzen erhärtet sind und die meisten Menschen nicht mehr in der Lage sind, menschlichkeit zu zeigen. Um ihre Herzen herum und auf ihren Augen und Ohren liegen Schleier. In ihren Herzen ist dass Licht erloschen. Sie haben kein gewissen mehr und sie folgen wissentlich dem offenbar falschen. Sie dienen ihren Gelüsten und nehmen diese zu ihren Göttern.

Niemals werden sich die mächtigen dieser Welt ändern. Denn sie haben ihre Seelen verkauft für Reichtum und ein bisschen Macht. Für materielle, irdische Güter. Sie sind von der Illusion dieser Erde getäuscht worden. Sie haben sich geoutet. Sie gehen über Leichen, um ihre niederen Gelüste zu befriedigen und um ihre Ziele zu erreichen. Sie wollen stets mehr und mehr Macht und sie dienen nur dem Bösen, denn alles, was sie tun ist böse, heucherlisch und verlogen. Sie sind der Abschaum unserer Zeit, die beführwörter des Globalismus und Kapitalismus.

Dass ganze globale System baut auf ungerechtigkeit auf. Denn vom globalismus profitieren nur die Reichen, die armen stattdessen werden immer ärmer. Und umso ärmer die Armen werden, desto stärker werden sie unterdrückt, und umso stärker wächst die Armut auf der ganzen Welt, den der globalismus dient nur den reichen Industrieländern, die armen dieser Welt werden vom Kapitalismus und Globalismus ausgebeutet, unterdrückt und versklavt.

Wie funktioniert Globalisierung?

Im Grunde genommen ganz einfach. Großkonzerne beauftragen kleine Firmen in Entwicklungsländern, um z.b. Futter für Vieh anzuliefern. Die Kleinfirma im Entwicklungsland beauftragt dann wiederum je nach dem, in welchem Maß die Produktion stattfindet, entweder einen Bauern, der die Rohstoffe gewinnt, wie z.b. Soja und Weizen, oder die Kleinfirma selbst besitzt ein größeres Feld, auf dem die Rohstoffe abgebaut werden.

Gehen wir davon aus, dass mehrere Bauern die Kleinfirma mit den Rohstoffen beliefert. Diese geben ihre Rohstoffe, die sie in einem langen Zeitlauf angebaut und mit größter anstrengung gerntet haben, für einen hungerpreis weiter an die Kleinfirma. Der Bauer bekommt geradenoch genug, um mit dem Geld überleben zu können. Die Kleinfirma verpackt dass Gut anschließend in Säcken und bezahlt ihre Mitarbeiter nur mit Peanuts, von dem sie unmäglich überleben können.

Mit den wertvollen Resourcen wird dann dass Vieh im Massenbetrieb gefüttert, damit der “moderne” Barbar der westlichen Zivilisation nicht auf sein billiges Fleisch vom Discounter verzichten muss.

Nochmal festgehalten; Wertvolles Getreide und Soja wird nach Europa und Amerika verschifft, um Mastvieh zu füttern, währenddessen jeden Tag 40.000 Menschen in Entwicklungsländern an Unterernährung sterben!

Es ist einfach grausam und es ist ein Verbrechen an der Menschheit.

Und wer hier wirklich einen Gewinn rausholt, dass ist einzig und allein der Betreiber dieser Kleinfirma im Entwicklungsland und der Auftraggeber im Westen, der die Futtermittel bestellt hat, um die Masttiere in den Massenzuchtanlagen zu Füttern. Es ist nicht anderes, als Sklavenarbeit, die hier betrieben wird. Die Menschen in Armutsländern werden dazu gezwungen, Sklavenarbeit für diese Korrupten Konzerne zu leisten, denn durch dass verfluchte globale System werden die ganzen Arbeitsplätze Rationalisiert, um die Profitmaximalisierung zu gewährleisten, damit die Konzernchefs noch mehr Kassieren und noch mehr Macht bekommen.

Dies alles läuft darauf hin, dass wir bald in einer Konzerndiktatur Leben werden, wenn wir dass nicht bereits schon tun, denn die großen Mächte gehen nunmal von den Konzernen und der Regierung aus. Es ist also praktisch logisch, dass Konzerne und Regierungen miteinander verschmelzen werden, um ihre Macht somit zu vervielfachen. Für die normalbürger wird dass in Sklaverei enden und die meisten werden noch nicht einmal mitbekommen bzw. bekommen es garnicht mit, dass sie versklavt und ausgebeutet werden. Es sind also nicht nur die Armutsländer betroffen, sondern auch die westlichen Industrieländer, die im Begriff sind, sich zu einem Sklavenstaat zu entwickeln. Alles läuft darauf aus, dass die Normalbürder dann von den Supermächtigen “regiert” oder besser VERSKLAVT werden.

Wenn wir also weiterhin unsere Augen vor den Problemen verschließen und weiterhin diese ungerechtigkeiten gegenüber den Menschen, die in Armut leben, zulassen, wird dies alles uns selbst auch betreffen, früher oder später.

Doing Business in Brazil.

Bellow, I selected some charts from a Presentation from the Brazilian Central Bank that shows a clear vision of the current evolution of the local economic scenario.

Different from the older posts related with Doing Business in Brazil, I hope that this one is more friendly to have a quick vision of what is happening here.

If you would like to have the Presentation, at the end of this post it is a link, from the Brazilian Central Bank, to make the download.

Link to download the Presentation from the Brazilian Central Bank.

Which is more appropriate for the Travel Industry?

Since the launch of Apple’s iPhone the mobile industry has been in a state of flux. It has witnessed lot of innovations since then. Today, more choices are available to the user than ever before which has resulted in a fragmented market. It has complicated matters for every organization which wants to reach out to their consumers through mobile devices. There are too many platforms to be supported and there is no standardization. Some industry segments have not made any significant move to reach out to their consumer through mobile platform and are playing a waiting game – waiting for the technology to mature. However, the travel industry cannot afford to do that.

A mobile phone is a personal device – more personal than the “personal” computer. You might lend your PC to coworker or a friend for few hours but can you imagine lending your mobile phone?

Travel is also a personal activity. Nobody else can do it for you. Unlike retail shopping you cannot get your friend or family member to do it for you. Though you might get somebody to do the planning for you, it is necessary for you to be aware of the logistics when you travel.

So, the match between travel and mobile seems to be a match made in heaven where a personal device meets a personal activity. Naturally, there is a lot of interest in travel industry on reaching out to the customer through the mobile. In this fragmented technology scenario, one of the following two strategies can be followed.

1. Take the shortcut and extend your web site and make it accessible from the browser in the mobile phone
2. Do it the hard way by incurring the cost of developing a native application for multiple mobile platforms

Advantages of Browser Based Mobile Application (Mobile Web)

• The variability across different types of handset is minimal compared to mobile application. You have to take care of only browser specific differences and the difference of screen size – unlike mobile app where the total programming environment including the programming language is different
• No need for the user to download and install any application on the handset – this can be a stumbling block for first time user
• The existing web site with modifications can be extended to the mobile – unlike mobile app where the application has to be develop ground up

Advantages of Native Mobile Application (Mobile App)

• The application can be location aware – unlike a mobile web application which do not have access the location information
• Offline working is possible – availability of internet connection and bandwidth cannot yet be taken for granted, especially for a traveler
• Can access the native mobile functionality like phone book, calendar & camera – for an application to be effective on a device which is personal, it needs to interface with functionalities which gives the device the personal flavor

What about a Hybrid Approach?

There are several possibilities:

1. Invoke the browser for the native application and show a specific web page – the problem is you lose control
2. Make a browser instance within your application and show the page – you have better control but all mobiles do not support this feature

None of these alternatives reduce the headache of having to maintain different applications for different platform.

A way forward in the future may be to access handset specific functionality from the browser through browser plug-in? Please correct me if I am wrong, but to the best of my knowledge it is not possible yet.

What is the Future?

Though predicting the future is always hazardous, the following can be predicted without too much risk.

• Smart phones will become much more powerful
• Network access speeds will become faster
• Touch screen and multi-touch will become standard
• Mobile will remain a personal device and it will become an extension of us

Unlike PC, which can be thought of as a dumb terminal accessing applications in the cloud, mobile phones cannot be treated that way. It already behaves as an extension of our memory and it is also going to act as our identity.

So, the conclusion – I do not see native mobile applications going away – especially when we are on the move!

1. Menschlichkeit, Liebe und Frieden verbreiten

Die neue Weltordung sieht für die Menschen vor, in voller Leere und Gefühllosigkeit zu versinken. Für die Mächtigen dieser Welt sind wir nur wertloses Vieh, Objekte, die man austauschen und ersetzen kann. Sie versuchen schon seit Jahrzehnten die Liebe aus uns auszutreiben. Unter anderem mit Gehirnwäsche und Manipulationen in jedem erdenklichen Bereich unseres Lebens (siehe weitere Punkte).

Unsere Aufgabe und unsere Pflicht ist es, Liebe und Gerechtigkeit zu verbreiten, dass schlechte zu verbieten und dass gute zu gebieten. Wir dürfen bei ihrem Spiel, Hass zu verbreiten, nicht mitmachen. Dass erste und absolut wichtige ist, seine menschlichkeit zu bewahren und anderen gegenüber gerecht zu sein, egal in welcher Lage wir uns auch befinden mögen und sei es auch nur eine kleine, scheinbar unbedeutende Angelegenheit. Was sie nähmlich gerne wollen, ist es, dass wir uns gegenseitig hetzen und uns gegenseitig nicht Respektvoll gegenüber stehen. Dass fängt damit an, andere in der Schule von begin an zu mobben, sich über andere Menschen fremder Herkunft lustig zu machen, seine eigene “Rasse” zu bevorzugen. Patriotismus ist ein Teufelswerk. Länderstolz ist etwas niederes. Warum bist du stolz ein deutscher zu sein? Warum sind die Türken so stolz auf ihr Land? Sind wir zurecht stolz auf unsere Nationalität? Hier beginnt nähmlich schon die Rassentrennung. Länderstolz ist niederer Stolz und endet oftmals in Rassissmus. Wir müssen gegen diesen Rassissmus ankämpfen. Und vielmehr müssen wir an unseren Gemeinsamkeiten festhalten und damit meine ich keine Gemeinsamkeiten äußerlicher Natur. Was nähmlich einen MEnschen ausmacht, ist sein Herz. Wenn dass Herz des Menschen gut ist, dann ist der ganze MEnsch gut. Ist sein Herz jedoch verdorben, so ist der ganze Mensch verdorben. Es kommt darauf an, was ihr in eurem Herzen trägt, nicht was für eine Fahne ihr in euren Händen haltet. Liebe, Frieden und Gerechtigkeit sind Privilegien, die jedem einzelnen Menschen zustehen und unsere Aufgabe ist es, diese für jeden einzelnen Menschen zu schützen, zu respektieren und durchzusetzen. Fragt euer Herz, es wird euch eine Antwort geben, sofern es vorhanden ist.

2. Manipulation/Gehirnwäsche

Ein weiteres, von absoluter wichtigkeit für die neue Weltordnung, Werkzeug ist der Fernseher oder allgemein die öffentlichen Medien. Einigen wenigen unter euch ist es vielleicht schon aufgefallen. Wir werden im Fernsehen nur noch mit Müll gefütert. Mit sinnlosen Gerede vollgequatscht und mit überflüssigen Informationsmüll überschüttet. Die wirklich wichtigen Geschehnisse, die auf der Welt stattfinden, werden uns vorenthalten. Stattdessen werden wir am laufenden Band Manipuliert.

Trink eine Coca, gönn dir mal ein bisschen Luxus, schau dir die neuesten Filme im Entertainment Comfort Paket an, Kauf dir sinnlosen Modekram und Schmuck, folge dem Trend und lass dir deine Meinung von den Medien bilden und in dein Gehirn Pflanzen.

Die Medien tun alles erdenkliche, um uns vor dem Fernseher zu fesseln und uns Handschellen anzulegen. Fernsehn ist heutzutage zu einer Sucht geworden, die normalerweise ärztlich behandelt werden müsste, denn die meisten Sesselfurzer tun den ganzen Tag lang nichts anderes, als in die Glotze zu schauen, bis sie viereckige Augen bekommen.

In den Nachrichten werden wir mit Lügen und Desinformationen bombadiert. Hetze wird in den öffentlichen Medien betrieben, die zu Hass führen. Gefährliches Halbwissen und dreiste unwahrheiten werden schamlos berichtet. Nahezu permanent werden uns Gelüste über die Flimmerkiste direkt ins Gehirn übertragen. Sexistische Werbungen, leicht bekleidete Moderatorinnin in Minirock mit sexy Strumpfhosen und eine Top mit weitem Dekoltee. Nackte Brüste am Vormittag bis spät in die Nacht. Unterschwellige, manipulative Botschaften durch Musik und Werbung. Die Liste könnte ewig weiter gehen.

Der Punkt ist, wir müssen uns von der Matscheibe distanzieren, denn sie manipuliert uns Massiv. Sie bestimmt praktisch schon unser Leben. Jeder deutsche schaut im Schnitt 4 Stunden pro Tag fern. Die Flimmerkiste hält uns ab von wichtigeren Dingen. Durch dass ständige Fernsehen vernachlässigen wir Dinge wie Familie, Kinder und Freunde. Kümmern uns nicht mehr um andere Menschen. Verlieren dass interesse daran, uns selbst Fragen zu stellen, wie z.b. über unsere Existenz, wo wir herkommen, was unsere Bestimmung ist und wieso wir eigentlich überhaupt leben.

Der Fernseher und die Medien wollen uns vermitteln, dass wir dazu geboren sind, um zu konsumieren und Nutzen für die Marktwirtschaft zu stiften. Für die Regierungen sind wir nichts weiter als Objekte, Arbeitsmaschinen.

Früher stand in den Personalausweisen der Begrif Person, heute wurde dieser Begriff von der Regierung umgeändert auf PERSONAL. Wir sind für sie nichts weiter als Arbeitskräfte, die der Wirtschaft dienen müssen. Die dem Geld untertan sein müssen. Durch dass TV werden wir auf eben dies hingelenkt. Unsere Gedanken drehen sich nur noch um Konsum, Unterhaltung und materieller Reichtum.

Es ist sowas von offensichtlich, aber leider können viele Menschen weder sehen noch verstehen.

Schalte deinen Fernseher aus. Werf ihn am besten gleich aus dem Fenster raus. Wenn du von Verstand bist und diesen Rat befolgst, wirst du in Zukunft glücklicher werden, ohne ständige Manipulation und Desinformation.

Du wirst die Welt mit vollkommen neuen Augen erblicken. Beschäftige dich mit der Natur, den Lebewesen, die diesen Planet bewohnen, die Permakultur, den Kreislauf des Lebens und Frage dich und dein Herz nach deiner Bestimmung, nach deinen Wurzeln, befrage dich selbst über deine Schöpfung und erkenne dich selbst, als dass, was du bist. Ein Geschöpf Gottes.

Denke darüber nach. Denke über dass Wunder deiner Existenz nach. Denke nach über dieses gewaltige Wunder und Wach auf aus deinem Tiefschlaf, sofern du noch nicht erwacht bist und Kämpfe für die Wahrheit, für die Liebe und für den Frieden. Wachse in deinen guten Taten und wachse in deinem Herzen.

3. Die Wahrheit verbreiten

Du weisst bereits, dass etwas gewaltig schief läuft auf dieser Erde? Du hast bereits Kenntnis genommen von der Korruption und der Täuschung, der wir auf dieser Erde ausgesetzt sind. Du hast bereits Erfahren von den Verbrechen der Konzerne und Regierungen. Du kennst die Gründe für dass Elend und die Armut auf dieser Erde und weisst, wie man sie bekämpfen kann? Du weisst, wohin all dies hinauslaufen wird, wenn die Menschheit nicht endlich etwas dagegen unternimmt?

Dann ist deine Zeit gekommen, die Wahrheit zu verbreiten. Dies kannst du dank dem Internet auf viele verschiedene Arten tun. Eröffne einen Blog, erstell dir ein Konto auf Youtube oder einer anderen Video Community oder gleich auf mehreren, drehe informative und aufklärende Videos und warne andere Menschen vor den grausamkeiten des 21. Jahrhunderts.

Es reicht nicht aus, dass wir uns einfach bloss informieren. Wir müssen die Menschen da draußen wachrütteln, damit endlich etwas geschieht gegen diese Ungerechtigkeiten, gegen diesen immerwährenden Krieg, gegen die Menschenverachtung und dem Rassismus.

Klär die Menschen auf. Leite sie zur Liebe und zum Frieden. Zeig ihnen den Weg zur Gerechtigkeit und leiste deinen Beitrag zum Guten. Denn dass gute ist stärker als dass Böse und die Wahrheit ist größer als die Illusion.

4. Bescheidenheit und Bodenständigkeit

Die neue Weltordnung und ihre Beführworter sehen es für den Menschen vor, dass sie ihre moralischen Werte von sich weisen. Sie wollen ein Gefühlloses, entmenschlichtes Wesen haben, dass nach mehr und immer mehr schreit. Sie wollen, dass die Menschen wie die Schweine konsumieren und dass Essen, was man ihnen zum Fraß vorwerft. Sie wollen die Gier und den Egoismus im Menschen sehen. Sie wollen, dass die Menschen abhängig werden von den Großkonzernen und von der Globalisation. Sie wollen euch in vollkommene abhängigkeit bringen und dies kann man am besten tun, wenn man die MEnschen süchtig macht. Wenn man sie süchtig macht auf Waren und Konsumgüter, auf feine Schokolade oder auf Modeartikel, Tabak, Drogen, Alcohol. Umso mehr der Mensch konsumiert, desto abhängiger wird er vom System. Wir müssen aufpassen, dass wir nicht irgendwann die Grenze vom MEnschen zum seelenlosem etwas überschreiten. Wir müssen dringend darauf acht geben, dass wir uns nicht dem System anpassen und zur Ausrüstung dieses Systems werden.

Manchmal, bzw. meistens findet man in den kleinen Dingen dass, wonach man Sucht. Manchmal bzw. meistens ist weniger mehr.

Bescheidenheit und Bodenständigkeit führen zum wohl der gesamten Menschheit.

Gier, Profit und Egoismus führt nur dazu, dass andere Menschen im Elend versinken, nur damit wenige einzelne wie die Schweine im Luxus leben können. Wir müssen aufpassen, dass wir nicht zu diesen Schweinen werden.

Sie denken zwar, dass sie auserwählte seien, dass sie die besten Menschen, die Spitze der Gesellschaft seien, aber in wirklichkeit sind sie die niedersten Lebensformen, noch niederer als Maden. Nur, sie wissen es noch nicht, aber sehr bald schon werden sies erfahren, doch dann wird es zu spät für sie sein.

5. Achte darauf, was du konsumierst, denn du bist was du konsumierst

In unserer global vernetzen Welt verlieren wir zu oft den Überblick über die Realität, den in unserer global vernetzen Welt geschehen schreckliche Dinge, und für viele dieser Dinge tragen die meisten von uns sogar bei, ohne es überhaupt zu bemerken. Denn wenn wir unbedacht einkaufen gehen und uns gerade dass Kaufen, was uns unter die Augen fällt, ohne uns darüber zu informieren, wie dass Produkt entstanden ist oder woher es kommt, auf welche weise es produziert wurde etc., begehen wir schnell eine Ungerechtigkeit gegenüber Menschen auf der ganzen Welt.

Durch die Globalisation wird nähmlich die Sklaverei gefördert. Denn durch global entstehende Produkte profitieren nur die Geschäftsmänner und Konzernchefs. Sie lassen arme Menschen die ganze drecksarbeit erledigen und bezahlen sie mit einem Hungerlohn, mit dem sie sich noch nicht einmal genu zu essen Leisten können. Diese armen arbeiter, zumeist in Entwicklungsländern, gewinnen die Rohstoffe und verarbeiten sie in einem anstrengenden, Kräfteraubenden Prozess und ackern sie halb zu Tode für ein Paar groschen in der Woche. Diejenigen, die Profitieren, sind die Konzernchefs, die die fertigt verarbeitete Waren aufkaufen und u.a. weiterverarbeiten und die Geschäftsmänner, zumeist aus dem Westen, welche die Waren für kleine Preise aufkaufen und Teuer weiter verkaufen.

Deswegen sollte man nach möglichkeit immer Local hergestellte Lebensmittel einkaufen bzw. local hergestellte Kleidungen und wie in Punkt 4 schon angewähnt, sollte man wirklich nur dass Kaufen, was man auch wirklich zum Leben benötigt, denn durch Maßlosen Konsum ensteht Ungerechtigkeit. Überschreitet niemals dass Maß, wenn ihr bessere Menschen sein wollt.

Worauf ihr noch achten solltet, ist, dass ihr möglichst keine Fleischprodukte aus Discountläden kauft, bzw. wenn ihr welches kauft, dann achtet darauf, dass es ein Biosiegel trägt oder informiert euch darüber, wie die Tiere in den Höfen gehalten werden. Kauft niemals Fleisch aus Massenzüchtugen, denn auch Tiere sind Lebewesen und verdienen genauso Respektvoll behandelt zu werden, wie auch Menschen behandelt werden.

Die globalen Mächte wollen einen gefühlskalten Menschen, einen Menschen ohne Gewissen, der nicht lange herumflackert und die Befehle der satanischen Elite ausführt. Deswegen behandelt die Tiere gut und behandelt sie mit Respekt und Würde. Denn zum gut sein Menschen gehört es auch, Tiere und Lebewesen aller Art gerecht zu behandeln.

Ein Mensch der grausam zu Tieren ist, kann kein guter Mensch sein. Dass bezieht auch den Konsum von Massenzucht Fleisch mit ein. Genauso ist es mit Milch und Eier Produkten.

Zudem sollte man auch darauf achten, woher die Nutztiere ihr Futter herbekommen, denn die Massenzuchtanlagen beziehen alle dass Tierfutter aus Entwicklungs und Armutsländern, weil sie dort dass Futter am billigsten einkaufen können. Unter anderem beziehen sie Soja und Weizen aus den Armutsländern und andere Getreidesorten, sowie Maismehl etc.

Es ist ein Verbrechen an der Menschheit. Sie beuten Länder aus, in dennen tausende von MEnschen tag täglich, ja sogar stündlich verhungern, klauen ihnen ihre Lebensmittel, damit sie hier in den Industrieländern ihr Vieh füttern können. Und wofür? Genau, damit wir lecker Fleisch auf den Teller bekommen.

Leider ist es so mit der Fleischproduktion. Und umso größer der Fleischkonsum ist, desto höher steigt die Armut weltweit an. Deswegen an dieser Stelle wieder: Bescheidenheit und Bodenständigkeit. Dass ist ein wichtiger Punkt und zudem sollte man generell aus moralischen und gesundheitlichen Gründen Prinzipiell nicht zu viel Fleisch essen.

Im Islam heisst es unter anderem: Macht eure Mägen nicht zum Grab der Tiere.

Zügelt euren Appetit und greift stattdessen öfter zu Obst, Gemüse und Weizenprodukte.

Dass beste, was ihr machen könnt, falls ihr die möglichkeit dazu habt, ist es, einen eigenen Garten anzuschaffen und einen Teil der Nahrungsmittel selbst zu erwirtschaften, im eigenen Garten.

Falls ihr euch keinen eigenen Garten leisten könnt, dann pachtet euch einen Garten günstig im Gartenverein in eurer nähe.

Dass bringt unheimliche viele Vorteile. Zum einen verbringt ihr Zeit in der Natur. Denn in der Natur fühlt der Mensch mit Herz sic geborgen und in der Natur hat man seinen Frieden und kann über dass Wunder der Schöpfung nachdenken. Man kann sich gedanken machen über dass Wunder der Blühenden und sprießenden, wachsenden Pflanzenarten, Manigfach in ihrer Vielfalt.

Zum einen kann man praktische Erfahrung mit Gartenarbeit sammeln und wieder eins mit der Natur werden, so wie es unserer Natur entspricht, denn die moderne Zivilisation mit ihren Großstädten und zubetonierten Boden, mit dem ganzen Elektrosmog und den abgasen, den bunten lichtern und den ganzen Plakaten, den ganzen schimmernden Monitoren in der Großstadt, dem Verkehrtchaos etc. DAss ist alles andere als natürlich. Es ist unnatürlich und künstlich geschaffen. Es ist wie ein Gift, ein Gift der im Begriff ist, uns zu ertränken.

Und zu guter letzt bringt ein Garten ein gutes Stück unabhängigkeit im gegenzug auf unser verfluchtes System, dass von Gier, Kapitalismus und unmenschlichkeit bestimmt wird.

hinduism is one of the oldest traditions of the world dating back to the indus valley civilisation.one of the major characteristics of this religion is the fact that it is not a religion but a way of life.that means anyone who follow the ‘indian’ way of life can be considered a hindu.this interpretation of hinduism gives scope for millions of different beliefs and traditions,so a malayali like me or a punjabi or a gujrati are hindu though our beliefs and most importantly gods vary.even the epics we hear may vary from one another this is the beauty of being hindu.

but after independence and especially from the 80s due to the vigorous efforts of some vested interests particularly from the north the religion or the hindu beliefs have begun to get homogenised.we in kerala started to get more into the rama and krishna cult and started abandoning the traditional gods and godesses.more importantly the ancestral worship which was an important aspect of our tradition is slowly dying out. the ‘adianthiram’  which used to be a yearly affair is now  observed once in two or some cases in three years.’adiyanthiram’ is a ceremony that is conducted in these parts to honour the dead , the day is marked by special pooja conducted by a priest who is nonbrahmin not to any idols but to a ‘peedam’ or a small wooden stool and a plantain leaf.this ritual is supposed to feed the ancestors who are represented by the stool for one year.the ritual also involves sacrifices (cock) and offering of toddy or alcohol to appease the ancestors. this tradition is slowly dying out mainly due to the aforesaid homogenization of hinduism,where the northern beliefs are forced on us and we  are made to abandon our tradition.

another of such case is the ‘naga pooja ‘and’ puluvan pattu’ ,where the snakes are worshiped.kerala have a long history of snake worship and every home used to have sacred grooves called’ pambin kavu ‘or snake temple. the naga poojas seldom happen these days and the sacred grooves are destroyed.the art form of puluvan pattu associated with this is also dying out.

the problem of homogenizing hinduism is felt in every community which have traditions different fro the north indian ones.i have read about’ balinese hinduism’ and its dilemma whether to adopt this new brand of hinduism or stick to their traditional ones. the propagators of this phenomenon must understand that diversity is the character of hinduism that differentiate it from other religions and this diversity is the only reason why it have stood the test of time.

The past couple of books I have written ‘Who Moved my Job?’ (Lulu 2008) and ‘Global Services: Moving to a Level Playing Field’ (British Computer Society 2008) have both been published under license for South Asia by Viva in Delhi.

Viva took a look at my most recent book – Talking Outsourcing (Lulu 2009) – and said they are not interested in publishing it because they don’t feel it connects to the reader in the same way as the other books I have written.

That’s fine. They have their opinion. Only I think they are wrong.

Here’s why.

I don’t think they understand that this was a book of a blog. This book is drawn from the best of my ‘Talking Outsourcing’ blog in Computing magazine, featuring blog entries from 2006 to 2009. It’s written and presented as a chronological business diary. Everything that’s going on in the world of services globalisation and outsourcing from my point of view over that three year period.

It’s worth pointing out that the British national tech magazine Computer Weekly thought so highly of my blog, they shortlisted it for blog of the year in their IT Blog Awards 2009. The launch event at London South Bank University was also very successful – take a look at the video here.

Clearly there are a lot of people involved in the hi-tech service sector in India and I am sure they would like to see this book.

It highlights the issues, the trends, the failures, and the successes of the past three years in the global hi-tech industry and India gets a fair share of that business.

Sure, it’s a book of a blog and not written with a new narrative focused on a single topic, but that’s part of the idea here. Take the content from the blog and make it work in a different way by putting it all in one place, so it can be quickly skipped through.

If you are a publisher in India and you are interested in the South Asia rights for this book then get in touch with me. I’m planning to be there in February so if you move fast we could do some personal appearances around the launch. You can reach me here…

Aggressive and exclusive military alliances like NATO should be disbanded

by Alan Mackinnon
First Published: Nov. 17, 2009 – Scottish Left Review

The world of war is today dominated by a single superpower. In military terms the United States sits astride the world like a giant Colossus. As a country with only five per cent of the world’s population it accounts for almost 50 per cent of global arms spending. Its 11 naval carrier fleets patrol every ocean and its 909 military bases are scattered strategically across every continent. No other country has reciprocal bases on US territory – it would be unthinkable and unconstitutional. It is 20 years since the end of the Cold War and the United States and its allies face no significant military threat today. Why then have we not had the hoped-for peace dividend? Why does the world’s most powerful nation continue to increase its military budget, now over $1.2 trillion a year in real terms? What threat is all this supposed to counter?

Britain’s armed forces are different only in scale. For generations our defence posture has emphasised the projection of power to other parts of the world. And today our armed forces have the third highest military spending in the world (after the United States and China) and the second highest power projection capability behind the United States. The Royal Navy is the world’s second largest navy and our large air force is in the process of procuring hundreds of the most advanced aircraft in the world. And then there is Trident, Britain’s strategic nuclear ‘deterrent’ – the ultimate weapon for projecting power across the world. None of this is designed to match any threat to our nation. It is designed to meet the ‘expeditionary’ role of our armed forces in support of the policy of our senior ally, the United States.

This military overkill cannot be justified by ‘defence’ unless we extend its meaning to the ‘defence of its interests’ across the world. And this gets us closer to the real explanation for this military build up. US and UK companies comprise many of the biggest transnational companies. Twenty-nine of the top 100 global companies by turnover are US and seven are UK-based. And the top five global companies are all US or UK based. Both economies share many of the same strengths and weaknesses. Both have seen major erosion of their manufacturing base as compared with economies like Germany and Japan. Both have become increasingly dependent on banking, privatised utilities and financial services, hence their vulnerability in the recent banking collapse. But both retain dominance in certain key areas such as oil and gas and arms manufacturing. In the case of the UK we can add mining. Of the top 10 global companies, all but three are in oil and gas, with British companies Royal Dutch Shell and BP coming first and fourth on the list. The world’s three biggest mining companies – Anglo-American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billington – are UK-based.

Today Britain continues to export capital on a scale unmatched by any other country apart from the United States. By 2006 British capital assets overseas were worth the equivalent of 410 per cent of Britain’s GDP. This is the highest of any major capitalist economy. Much of this investment is in the United States and Europe, but a significant amount continues to be invested in extractive industries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. An even greater amount of money from abroad (mainly US) is invested in British financial and industrial companies, many of them now under external ownership. It is this interlocking of capital between the UK and the much stronger US economy which helps to bind UK and US foreign policy together. Britain’s oil and gas giants, its mining companies and its arms manufacturers have a powerful and ongoing relationship with government and an effective lobbying influence in the office of successive Prime Ministers.

All of these strands come together with the drive for ‘energy security’ by the US and UK governments. It is the desire to protect overseas investments and control the strategic materials such as oil, gas and minerals that drive the foreign and defence policy of both countries. Britain no longer has the global military reach to defend its overseas investments. Increasingly it depends on the United States for this. The unwritten agreement is that, in return, the British government supports US policy around the world. The same is true for Britain’s biggest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems. It has grown rapidly in recent years to become the second biggest arms manufacturer in the world, mainly through the acquisition of other US companies. It now gets more business from the Pentagon than the MoD. UK support for America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan certainly helps to oil the wheels of the UK arms business.

That becomes a greater imperative in a rapidly changing world where US power is being challenged by banking collapse and growing indebtedness at home, the rise of the economies of the east, a political challenge to its hegemony in Latin America, and unwinnable wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. With the steady increase in demand for oil across the world, especially from the rapidly growing economy of China, the emergence of Russia as an oil and gas giant to rival Saudi Arabia, the creation of an Asian Energy Security Grid placing up to half the world’s oil and gas reserves outside US control in a network of pipelines linking Russia, Iran, China and the countries of Central Asia, that US strategy to control the arterial network of oil is now in crisis. The Gulf area still accounts for up to 70 per cent of known oil reserves where the costs of production are lowest. So it is no surprise that US policy continues to focus on Iran which has the world’s second largest combined oil and gas reserves.

The US response has been largely military – the expansion of NATO and the encirclement of Russia and China in a ring of hostile bases and alliances. And continuing pressure to isolate and weaken Iran by a campaign of sanctions orchestrated through the IAEA and the United Nations with the threat of military action lurking in the background. The danger is that, even under the presidency of Obama, an economically weakened United States will tend to use the one massive advantage it has over its rivals – its global war machine.

Of course the battle to secure control over strategic materials does not explain everything that happens in the world today. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not *purely* about oil. In the Middle East the US strategy is about changing the balance of forces against the Palestinians, establishing US client states in Iraq and Iran and leaving an expansionist Israel as the only surviving military power (although even that is ultimately connected with control over Middle East oil). The wars in central Africa (especially the Democratic Republic of Congo) are not *purely* about strategic minerals. But behind the rival guerrilla groups vying for control of these assets and the rival African neighbouring states who support them, stand the mining companies and their nation states.

And what is not directly connected to the battle for strategic resources is the wider agenda of free trade, open economies, deregulation and privatisation which the US and its allies are trying to impose on every country in the world through the IMF, the World Bank, the EU and NAFTA. Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed on countries as the price for ‘forgiving’ or rescheduling debt allow US and UK transnationals to prize open and penetrate the economies of the poorest countries with catastrophic consequences for the people.

In short, to understand the world of war, we need to understand the nature of modern imperialism, and how nation states act internationally to help maximise the profits of their biggest companies. Directly and indirectly these policies generate conflict and war on a daily basis. Moreover, the problem is compounded by arms manufacturing firms, generously supported by state funds, who sell lethal weapons around the world to allow wars to be fought. In 2007 the world’s leading 100 defence manufacturers sold arms worth $347 billion, an increase of 45 per cent in the past 10 years. Britain’s ‘champion’, BAE Systems, is currently under investigation for corrupt practices in several countries and has sold all kinds of weapons across the world, including to countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel who have a record of human rights abuses.

As we have seen, British defence policy is geared to fighting wars overseas in support of the United States. Our four nuclear submarines and their payload of 160 warheads, are really an extension of America’s strategic ‘deterrent’ and could not be used independently. But there is an alternative. The overwhelming majority of countries, including some who have the technology and wealth to do differently, do not have nuclear weapons and do not seek them. They do not invest in power projection or the expensive platforms or transport systems which will allow them to fight wars thousands of miles from their own borders.

If our concern is really the defence of the nation’s land and coastal waters we could make deep cuts in our ‘defence’ spending without compromising our security one iota. Indeed, withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Germany would dramatically reduce the threat of terrorism and reduce tensions in Europe. It would also save us a lot of money. So would cancelling the two new aircraft carriers, and the F-35 aircraft which are designed to fly from them, the Type 45 Destroyers and the Astute-class attack submarines. Our Trident submarine force is useless, dangerous and expensive and should be scrapped. None of these are required for real defence. Instead we could invest in coastal patrol vessels, early warning aircraft and relatively cheap sophisticated anti-tank, anti-ship and anti-aircraft radar guided missile launchers. Dispersal of these mobile but effective weapons would ensure that a heavy toll can be taken of any potential attacker. A fraction of the money saved could be used to tackle climate change by harnessing wind, wave and tidal energy and insulating millions of homes. We could radically cut the size of the navy, slim down the airforce and army and still have plenty of forces left over to help in any genuine humanitarian intervention led by the United Nations.

In today’s multi-polar and ‘asymmetrical’ world the only threats are from terrorism and unstable states (none of whom could remotely pose a military threat to Britain or the United States). Real security comes from strengthening and democratising the United Nations and developing collective security arrangements in all parts of the world that involve all countries in the region. Aggressive and exclusive military alliances like NATO should be disbanded. Mediation and diplomacy should be used to settle international disputes. A global ban on nuclear weapons as proposed by Obama and the UN Security Council would be an excellent place to start.

Alan Mackinnon is Chair of Scottish CND

Source: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16210

Related:

US Military Spending vs. The World, 2008

The Pentagon Budget: Largest Ever and Growing

Global Warfare USA: The World is the Pentagon’s Oyster

The IMF: Raping The World, One Poor Nation at a Time

US-NATO Using Military Might To Control World Energy Resources

DOCUMENTAY– New Rulers of the World, by John Pilger

DOCUMENTARY– War by Other Means by John Pilger

DOCUMENTARY – Arsenal of Hypocrisy (59 mins.)

This continues my musings from last week. 

Despite some misgivings about which language to speak with my children on a day-to-day basis, I have no doubts at all that it is hugely beneficial for them to grow up with more than one language.  So here is a quick summary of the top ten tips that I have learnt from parents, educators, linguists and children too about growing up with many languages.

1)  Speak your mothertongue with them from the start (preferably even during pregnancy)

2) If you aren’t fluent in a foreign language, don’t give up – just build a good support system around yourself.  There are so many resources out there (books, DVDs, CDs, games, neighbours and babysitters) – use them creatively.

3) It doesn’t have to be expensive – many things are available from the library.  You can also do online skillswaps – there are plenty of language classes available in exchange for other skills.

4) There is no single right way to do it – each child, each family, each situation is different.  Find what works best for you.

5) Don’t be intimidated by the science – if you have the willpower and the motivation, you can do it.

6) Motivation is more important than natural talent – any child can learn an additional language if they are exposed to it early enough and if it’s fun enough.

7) Consistency is hard – there are so many reasons to give up, but persevere even when you get discouraged.

Confusion is normal – children will throw in words from different languages, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know the difference.

9) It’s never too late – yes, it does help to start as early as possible, but you can learn a language really well even later in life (you will just have to work harder at it).

10) Enjoy the journey – relax!  Even if your child doesn’t become perfectly bilingual, they will still have a passive language base that they can reactivate and improve at any stage in life.

What experiences have you had in growing up multilingual or raising your children multilingually?  Are there any other top tips you would like to add?

The underground Cyberspace Dictatorship

The human biological phenomena of advertising is the most powerful and sustained system of propaganda in human history and its cumulative cultural effects, unless quickly checked, will be responsible for destroying the world as we know it.

It has taught us how to live, what to be afraid of, what to be proud of, how to be beautiful, how to be loved, how to be envied, how to be successful.. Is it any wonder that the American population tends increasingly to speak, think, feel in terms of this jabberwocky? That the stimuli of art, science, religion are progressively expelled to the periphery of American life to become marginal values, cultivated by marginal people on marginal time?”

Kids are among the most sophisticated observers of ads. They can sing the jingles and identify the logos, and they often have strong feelings about products. What they generally don’t understand, however, are the issues that underlie how advertising works. Mass media are used not only to sell goods but also ideas: how we should behave, what rules are important, who we should respect and what we should value.

Read the whole article @ Comfortnetworks.nl

http://gino.comfortnetworks.nl/index.php/2009/11/27/commercial-child-exploitation/

This evening three doctoral students of the K.U.Leuven’s Faculty of Theology presented at the Forum for Liberation Theologies perceptions on the global climate crisis from the perspective of the geographical contexts.

Mathew Saji Kanayankal from Kerala, India, brought narratives about water depletion due to poor people’s struggle for existence and to the abuse of ground water reserves by transnational enterprises, e.g. in the case of the so-called Coca-Cola crisis. He emphasized the importance of the real struggle of the people in the face of the failure of policy makers who are involved with the interests of such transnational enterprises. The struggle, which started with a slogan as “Fresh air … Fresh water … Our birthright,” caught the attention of the local and international media and led to protest marches that resulted in the so-called Plachimada Declaration. It clearly states that water is not a commodity.

Jude Likori from Kenya told us the story of the Mau Forest Complex, a very important region for its trees, its water resources that feed Lake Victoria and through it the Nile region, its rich variety of animal species, and its wonderful “friends of the forest,” the Ogiek people who care for the forest while they live in them. Governmental tribal policies lead up to an invasion of the forest areas, massive cutting of the trees and eviction of the Ogiek people, who are considered to be squatters. This creates a critical humanitarian situation, for which foreign humanitarian help is then requested. In the meantime, animals suffer and there is an increasing desertification of the Rift Valley. This crisis requires that the government be called to accountability and to answer both on the humanitarian level and structurally.

Reynaldo Raluto from the Philippines discussed the effects of global warming on the so-called Ring of Fire bordering the Pacific Ocean, especially in the Philippines, where the increasing extreme weather conditions (e.g. taiphoons, rains, accelerated sea level rise, increasing land and sea temperatures) are made even worse by human-induced disasters. Several actors, amongst which the government and several members of civil society, the press and the Roman Catholic Church (the bishops’ conference of the Philippines was the first to publish, in 1988, a letter on environmental challenges: “What is happening to our beautiful land,” that was the occasion in 2008 for a new pastoral letter, “Upholding the sanctity of life”). Rey also referred to the important work done by two Jesuit institutions: Environmental Science for Social Change, and the Manilla Observatory.

In the conversation that followed these three presentations, the discussion focussed on the complex international situation, political and financial, with regard to the environmental challenges. Indeed, the crisis is a crisis of global governance and there is a real danger that the money flows generated to increase the environmental resilience of poor countries become trapped in corruption and abuse. Several participants highlighted the importance of initiatives coming from the people and from civil society, in the awareness that people and governments can be mobilized to act seriously.

The evening was particularly worthwhile, because the resource persons, through very concrete narratives, illustrated complex political, financial and entrepreneurial issues. Several participants to the Forum also emphasized the importance of religion, theology and spirituality, but there was not enough time left for debating those perspectives.

People intested in receiving posts from the listserve of the Forum for Liberation Theologies, can contact me at my e-mail address: jacques@jesuits.net .

Grand Paris ou grand écart ? La ville de l’après-Kyoto ne doit pas être celle de l’avant-Mumbai !, par Isabelle Baraud-Serfaty

A force de controverses répétitives sur le Grand Paris et d’instrumentalisation politique, on finirait presque par se lasser de ces débats devenus finalement très parisiens. Et on se dit que les vrais défis urbains sont ceux de ces mégalopoles d’Amérique du Sud ou d’Asie qui, chaque année, doivent trouver les moyens d’accueillir plusieurs centaines de milliers d’habitants supplémentaires. Prenons le cas de l’Inde : l’agglomération de Mumbai, dont la population devrait passer de 19 à 27 millions d’habitants d’ici à 2025, est aujourd’hui écartelée entre deux extrêmes : d’un côté, son ambition de devenir une “ville globale” selon le modèle Shanghaï, de l’autre le poids de la pauvreté et de ses bidonvilles qui accueillent plus de la moitié de la population. Rien à voir ? Si justement, et c’est cela qui est passionnant. Car, avec ses enjeux urbains exacerbés, Mumbai fonctionne comme un miroir grossissant de l’évolution des plus grandes villes mondiales, et nous ramène à… Paris.

Le Monde.fr

Précédemment

• Patrick Guyennon.fr – L’ambition nationale du Grand Paris, par Christian Blanc
• Patrick Guyennon.fr – Michel Bourdeau : “L’horizon de la ville n’est pas un mirage d’architecte”
• Patrick Guyennon.fr – Paul Chemetov : “Les mirages annoncés du Grand Paris se sont dissipés”
• Patrick Guyennon.fr – Le projet du Grand Paris est menacé de s’enliser dans la confusion, par Jean Nouvel

A lire !

• La globalisation, une sociologie. Par Saskia Sassen (Gallimard, 2009)

CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, has announced that ITMA 2011, to be held in Barcelona (Spain) from 22 to 29 September 2011, will be the world’s most comprehensive, one-stop platform for textile and garment makers.

Showcasing the entire value chain from spinning to garment making, textile processing, technical textiles, logistics and distribution, the exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of the ITMA brand. The slogan of the 2011 show, ‘Master the Art of Innovation’, underscores CEMATEX’s commitment to help the world’s textile industry innovate and face up to the challenges of globalisation and sustainability, and the event offers manufacturers a vital solutions platform that will keep the industry focused and competitive.

In line with this value proposition, the ITMA 2011 Index of Products has been revised to include the very latest technologies. The garment making and textile processing sector has been expanded to sharpen its focus, and embroidery and braiding equipment now have their own separate sectors.

Highlights to draw global community
To encourage the global textile and garment making community to the event, CEMATEX, together with their organiser MP International, are planning a series of highlights, some of which will be launched as part of ITMA’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

Among these are special ITMA awards which will pay tribute to top industry achievers, an enhanced Research & Education Pavilion, an ITMA Forum and targeted workshops for knowledge sharing and networking. Detailed information will be released in due course.

Said Ms Sylvia Phua, Chief Executive Officer of MP International, “Moving forward, ITMA as the driver for industry innovation will be transformed into the international business hub of the textile and garment industry.”

More Textiles Association Org News – Spain

In the last decade, Sciences Po, Paris, has transformed itself from a political science academy to train the French elite to an international social sciences institute. As many Indian universities plan to globalise their approach to education, Francis Vérillaud, vice president and director of international affairs and exchanges, Sciences Po, talks to KUNAL MAJUMDER about the importance of internationalisation in higher education.

The Indian government wants to globalise the education system here, with more international exposure in the sector of higher education. As a representative of one of the most respected French education institutes, what advice do you have?

Have you ever used a cloud computing service?

Many of you may give a negative answer to this question but in reality if you have ever searched the web using a search engine like Google, you would have used cloud computing service. The search engine takes a set of search terms from you, searches its index of web pages, and returns a list of matches as the search result. The process, which is essentially a piece of software, runs on one or more computers connected to the internet cloud somewhere in the world – you as a user have no idea where it is. This is the essence of cloud computing; one will be able to use a piece of software productively but not know the physical machine that is actually running it.

As you can see cloud computing has been around for more than a decade. Lately, cloud computing services are receiving lot of attention primarily because of advancement of technology in two specific categories:

1. Parallelization: The ability to split a software task across many machines and seamlessly add or remove machines from the task
2. Virtualization: The ability to split one physical machine into multiple virtual machines and ensuring that they run independent of each other

These technologies allow the cloud computing service providers leverage economy of scale and more efficient use of server hardware thereby providing more value for money.

Cloud computing also provides a neat solution to two major hurdles faced by an emerging entrepreneur:

• In the case when an emerging enterprise is small, it may still require access to complex IT solutions to run efficiently. Such solutions are normally very expensive and can only be cost effective for very large enterprises. However, cloud service providers can offer such solutions in shared mode thereby significantly reducing the cost of ownership through a model of pay per usage and not ownership.
• Emerging enterprises that have IT systems as the backbone of their core offering, will always have the dilemma on how much to invest on IT infrastructure. If they invest too little scalability may be a future issue whereas Investing too much upfront may have negative impact on the cash flow and even jeopardize the viability of the venture. With cloud computing it becomes easy to start small and seamlessly grow as much as necessary.

Cloud computing services can be offered in different flavors. Here are the 3 main categories:

A point to note: A cloud is not a solution to all problems nor is it useless technology and it will take a couple of years to mature.