Thursday, February 20, 2014

And President Obama Said...

“And President Obama said…”

Mexico is planning to restructure its oil industry.
America is seeking oil independence
China is shifting from coal to oil
OPEC will need o review protecting future revenue
Emerging nations have growing energy needs.

China has been making economic and diplomatic overtures to Africa and expanding its global diplomatic and economic initiatives.  And remember this: it was not too long ago that President Obama pointed to China and said, “That used to be us.”

If The President meant China is becoming more successful, he was right. However, if he meant China is embracing a paradigm that we have long ago abandoned, he is offering great insight into the future—one that we had better heed.  To understand why, we must look at “American Exceptionalism.”

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

From the death of President Lincoln to the death of President Kennedy, American Exceptionalism arose from three areas:  Our blessings, our workers, our iron-fisted empire builders.  What we have witnessed since, is the dissolution of America from the death of Kennedy forward.  Technology and innovation and entrepreneurs cannot reverse the trend until America puts Americans back to work.  Here is a brief and focused look at American business, commerce, and industrial exceptionalism:
Edison: The light bulb.
Edison:  The movie camera
Edison:  The phonograph
Edison:  The electric car.
The Wright Brothers: The aeroplane.
Steve Jobs: The personal computer.
Samuel Morse:  The telegraph.
Henry Ford: The assembly line.

Then we have:
Rockefeller: Oil
Carnegie: Steel
Morgan: Finance.

And, Labour!
Coal miners
Autoworkers,
Police officers
Firefighters,
Truck drivers,
Brick layers,
Steel workers
Iron workers,
Plumbers
Electricians
Carpenters
And, of course
FARMERS: NO FARMERS, NO FOOD.

The US is the world’s largest economy.  China is the world’s fastest growing economy.

“China will succeed because China will do as we did, not as we say.”  
The Quotations of Slim Fairview.

A metaphor to explain what we are doing is this simple:

Remember the old canard about the man banging his head against the wall.  When asked why he does it, he replies, “Because it feels good when I stop.
From this we learn two things:

1.  That it will feel good when he stops.
2.  That he will stop.

We no longer recognize that paradigm in the US.  What we are doing is banging out heads against the wall embracing the belief that eventually it will feel good to bang our heads against the wall.


China is embracing a new paradigm. China is no longer looking inward. China is looking outward.  And, China was never a colonial power.  And, the rest of the world is tired of doing business with people who look like us.  What do we look like?  Rich!  For example, from the song: spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountains majesty above the fruited plains.

China will do as we did and not as we say.  And therein lies the secret to China’s success.

Warmest regards,

Slim.

Further reading






Copyright © 2014 Slim Fairview Robert Asken
All rights reserved.









Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Emerging Nation Economic Union

Emerging Nations--Alternative to Failure.

You've heard of OPEC and you've heard of the EEC.  Now, I propose an Economic Union of Emerging Nations--EMEC. This is to help emerging nations to both leverage your position with the rest of the world, and to avoid the mistakes of the past Communities.



  • The OPEC oil embargo hurt the economies of the OPEC nations.
  • The Single European Currency hurt the European Economic Community.
  • The success of Germany was the result of the deficit spending of the Southern Nations:  Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

The EMEC--Emerging Nations Economic Community--can join together to increase the potency of its negotiating power, and benefit from size to level the playing field with the rest of the world.  The industrialised nations.


HERE WE GO:


1. Identify those among you who are Emerging Economies.

2. Identify, classify, and inventory your assets: What you have to sell.

3. Identify, classify, and inventory your present and future needs: What you want to get.

4. Calculate the cost of your needs.

5. Price out your assets and the value to your customers.

6. Invite purchasing nations to a Nation to Nation Trade Conference: N2N Conference.

7. Prepare to negotiate CPCI: Cash Payments + Capital Investment.


Example of Assets:  Oil, Minerals, Chemicals, Ports, Stability, Location.

Example of Needs:  Agriculture, Health, Microfinance, Energy.


1st: The Leaders of Emerging nations must identify themselves to each other.

2nd: Leaders must meet to agree to embrace the paradigm of an Economic Union.

3rd:  Proceed as indicated above.


WARNING: DANGERS AHEAD.

As a metaphor, if everyone in the district worked for the Big Company,  the employees would have no place to spend their money.  This abuse was seen in "The Company Store" in the United States a century ago.

Microfinance is crucial to spread the opportunities among all the people in the district to help create a base--a middle class.

China: Rising middle class, rising economy.
India: Rising middle class, rising economy.
Soviet Union: No middle class, no Soviet Union.
United States: Declining middle class. Follow the path of the trajectory.

In the early days of America, the pioneers, built their own homes, farmed their own land, made their own furniture, made their own tools, made their own clothes.  In time, the division of labour resulted in many trades and crafts: potters making pots for cooking, The School Marm, The Preacher, The Blacksmith, The Butcher, The Baker, The Miller, The Barber, and so on.


DO NOT SURRENDER POWER

Old Chinese Saying

"Never underestimate the power of a symbolic gesture."


The Quotations of Slim Fairview

"The power of the symbolic gesture resides with the people making the gesture."



WESTERN TRICKS TO CONTROL EMERGING NATIONS



Invitation to Address a Committee


Committees do not solve problems. Committees create problems.  The first trick is to invited EMEC Leaders to address a committee.  This is a carrot and a stick.  It suggests that if you address the committee, you may receive what you want. If you do not, you won't.  The motive of the committee is to gather information about what you are doing to benefit the members of the committee and their friends--not you.


Creating a List of Activity


This trick is to keep you busy in an effort to impede your efforts to accomplish your goals.  This give the appearance of progress toward your goal, but in fact introduces the need for an inflated bureaucracy to dilute your efforts.


Gathering and Providing Mass Quantities of Data


This gives rise to:


  • The appearance of assistance.
  • Creating the appearance of the need for assistance.
  • Justifying the need for more people to join the efforts.
  • Validating the act of forcing people upon you.
  • Creating a massive project to keep you obligated to the people exploiting you.
  • Making you lose focus and lose site of your goals to infuse their agenda and advance their goals.

Crowding the Project


This trick involves inviting as many people as possible to work on grand plans to dilute the potency of your position.  There will be delays and distractions to benefit the interests of other people--not you--others.


Lies, Propaganda, Disinformation, and More Lies


This trick involves distracting you from your efforts to accomplish your goals by attacking the warnings.  The tricksters will accuse their critics of:

  • Showing you disrespect
  • Insulting your intelligence
  • Marginalising your culture

This is to mitigate the warnings and to advance their schemes to benefit themselves at your expense.



Putting You in Charge to Reduce Your Control


This is a devious trick.  It is a form of divide and conquer.  Different leaders will be separated to take charge of different projects.  The projects will be crowded with people, burdened with excessive data, and cause delays and distractions.  You are in charge, not them.  Caveat: Do not let them put you in charge of what they want you to do. 


Wasting Money by Spending Too Much on Their Agendas.


This is another devious trick.  There will be more and more money for fewer and fewer projects, until the focus is on the projects they want to fund and the projects you need go unfunded and your goals are never achieved.



SOME PROTECTION:


  • Do not listen to anyone who praises you or flatters you.
  • Discuss only business.
  • Speak to only those people who have the power to: 

  1. Negotiate the deal.
  2. Approve the Agreement
  3. Sign the Agreement
  4. Spend the Money.

Do not accept their invitations to socialize with them. Socialize away from them and discuss--freely and openly--the progress of your efforts.


Further Reading on This Topic


The Unspoken Understanding  More about the tricks of manipulation.


Mr. When's Chicken  to explain to The West why Emerging Nations do not like us.


And President Obama Said...  This explains China's success and offers insight into American Exceptionalism.  In Short:  "China will succeed because China will do as we did and not as we say."  The Quotations of Slim Fairview. (c) 2014.


Solving the Emerging Crisis  This offers some of the mechanics of the project.



Warmest regards,

Slim




Copyright (c) 2014 Slim Fairview & Robert Asken
All rights reserved.