Protectionism

Protectionistic policies from the US is nothing new, there has long been a conflict with the European Union regarding tariffs for imported goods. In a similar way the US tariffs has resulted in similar tariffs in the EU. The chinese government has long been criticised for keep the exchange rates for the yuan artificially low. The reason for this policies is obviously to protect the domestic industry. The problem with this is that it helps industries that otherwise have lost their competitive advantage, and would need to develop. Protectionism may help in the short term, but for long term gains free trade would is preferable.

Isn't it ironic?

The US house of representatives is criticising the chinese protectionistic policies regarding the yuan by adopting extra fees for chinese products.

[Free Trade] [Protectionism] [USA] [China] Share on Facebook

Corruption

 In most countries people would raise their eyebrows, if the major of a large city was making his wife enormously rich by awarding her company large building contracts. In Russia corruption seem to a part of everyday life, so when this happens in Moscow it is not really a big surprise. This has been going on for quite a while and it has not been kept a secret.

Now the major, Jurij Luzjkovs has been fired by president Medvedev. So there must be some logic behind that this happens now. Speculations has arisen about a possible conflict between president Medvedev and prime minister Putin. In a Russia where mainstream media is not free and under heavy control it is logic that media was used to discredit Luzjkovs and to serve Medvedev's purposes. It is obvious that he has been corrupt, so nothing wrong there. But the way it has been handled does not tell a story of a true democratic society.

It is obvious that a conflict between Medvedev and and Luzjkovs, perhaps Putin is also involved somewhere. The first thing that comes to mind is some sort power struggle, where Luzjkovs may have some sort of power ambitions or has challenged the ruling duo. I guess the last thing is not yet said in this matter...

[Russia] [Corruption] [Democracy] Share on Facebook

Big Brother

The paranoid American government is now looking to formalise the internet surveillance by forcing software companies to build a backdoor through which government agencies can get information. This backdoor should be used to decrypt information, I assume it will be used on the same vague premises as the rest of the war on terror package.

The internet is already being controlled in many ways all over the world, often without laws regulating the control systems. This law is however something new, as it is forcing software to decrypt information. So, how will this be done? Are the software companies forced to send keys to their encryption?

I will assume a lot of individuals and companies will oppose this. From a corporate prespective this would increase risks of industrial espionage and leaks of sensitive information. From an individual prespective it will impose even more threats on personal integrity. 

As I see it, the problem with the internet and law is largely based on a generation gap. The generation controlling the laws do not understand the internet, whereas the generation understanding the internet is not making the laws.

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War games

In front of a computer screen sits a young man, he uses a joystick to aim and shoot. So far nothing strange, it happens all over the world. What is new is that this time a man really dies when he shoots. This is the newest weapon in the American arsenal. They are usually refered to as drones, unmanned small aircrafts with advanced weapon systems. You may say it is war, people die in wars. However, this is problematic in several ways.

The killings do not really take place in a war. The killings are more like death penalties for suspected terrorists without any trials and they have hit innocent civilians. Furthermore, this takes out the personal aspect of war, one guy presses a button and another guy in another part of the world dies. To me it is very disturbing. According to New America Foundation over 1000 have been killed in drone strikes, many of which are civilians. The U.N.'s senior official for extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston, said the United States should explain the legal rationale for the CIA's campaign of drone strikes in northwest Pakistan, which he characterized as "a vaguely defined license to kill" that has created "a major accountability vacuum."

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The Pope

The pope is visiting the UK and will meet lots of protests. There are two very good reasons for this, firstly the conservative Catholic view on homosexuality. The Pope's view on homosexuality should have been abandoned long ago, but I guess you cannot teach an old dog to sit. In an organisation where the highest position is elected from a group of very old men that are not in touch with the real world, it may be unevitable to get a modern view on society.

Secondly, the Catholic pedophile scandal that has unraveled lately. Apparently this has been going for a long time and at a rather large scale. This obviously is totally unacceptable and making matters worse is the church's attempt to keep it quite and to gloss it over. The pope would have needed to publicly announce that it is terrible and unacceptable, which he has not.

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Landmine Detector

In many countries in Africa and elsewhere landmine kill and severly hurt people long after a conflict is solved. Furthermore, they make land unfarmable and unlivable. Thus, in addition to the obvious danger of them, they are also increasing the poverty in many areas.

The little fellow in the image above is an African Pouched rat, he is trying to help solve these problems. After training theses small animals are doing excellent work in finding landmines that can later be defused. The training of rats is very cost efficient compared to mine-sniffing dogs; training a rat this way costs about a third of what it costs to train a dog. Hopefully, they can keep up their work and save lifes.

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A step towards peace

 Yet again peace talk between Israel and Palestine are in progress. To me it seems rather obvious that there must be a two-state-solution. However, the details around such solution are very delicate and the situation is extremely infected. Making matters worse during the negotiations are the Israeli plans for more settlements in the West Bank territory. Furthermore, the Israeli occupants need to open up borders for trade and start by expanding the list of allowed imports.

Opening up for imports would be a good way to reduce Palestinian hostility towards Israel and decrease the power of Hamas. By allowing imports, smugglers will be cut out and opportunities for work and improved standard of living for Palestinians.

As of now Palestine is more or less a prison and Israel is the prison guard. This need to be solved, not only for the people of Palestine and Israel, but for the stability of the whole region.

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