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Monthly Archives: March 2014

The Ukrainian Proxy War

It seems like the US has been rattling more sabres in the direction of Russia, and I am not sure why that is.  The US position is that Putin is a madman intent on conquest – the Russians say they are just looking after their interests.  This morning I ran across this article which typifies the American slant.

Interestingly, there is no mention of what motive Putin would have to invade the Ukraine.  The insinuation is because Putin is a madman.  As is so often the case, the best analysis in the article was in the article comments:

 

unkraineandputin

We will find out soon enough who is right, and if Putin is the demon being portrayed by the US Government.  If he invades the Ukraine, then I will understand the  concern.  If he does not invade in the next month or so, then maybe the fear should be the military industrial complex is responsible for our foreign policy.

We shall know soon enough.

March 29, 2014 Dan Leave a comment

Facebook and Oculus Rift

In January I wrote a post on gaming advancements on the horizon, and thanks to Facebook it looks like virtual reality has taken a step forward.  Mark Zuckerberg must think virtual reality is the future of gaming and perhaps other applications, spending 2 billion on startup Oculus Rift.

I am a big fan of the future of virtual reality, but I can’t see how Oculus Rift justifies a 2 billion valuation.  The good news for non Facebook shareholders though is this will spur even more research and advancement into virtual reality because it can  attract big money.  One reason I don’t think the valuation is justified is Sony just introduced its own virtual reality headset for the Playstation.  So the Oculus rift is not the only game in town, and the competitors are likely not far behind.

The biggest mystery is how Facebook will integrate virtual reality into it’s experience.  If Facebook does want to pivot a bit and become the hub for a virtual reality community and game center – maybe Oculus Rift will be a bargain.  It could be that Mark Zuckerberg is thinking a few moves ahead of everybody else.

March 26, 2014 Dan 3 Comments

The TPP

This article is a good backgrounder on why we should be afraid of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) = a trade deal that is being brewed up in the Obama Administration.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/on-the-wrong-side-of-globalization/

The TPP has been called NAFTA on steroids, and there is concern among many economists as to its effect on labor and markets.  To me the greatest concern is how the TPP is being formed:

Negotiations for the TPP began in 2010, for the purpose, according to the United States Trade Representative, of increasing trade and investment, through lowering tariffs and other trade barriers among participating countries. But the TPP negotiations have been taking place in secret, forcing us to rely on leaked drafts to guess at the proposed provisions. At the same time, Congress introduced a bill this year that would grant the White House filibuster-proof fast-track authority, under which Congress simply approves or rejects whatever trade agreement is put before it, without revisions or amendments.

The TPP is being authored by multinational corporations in concert with the government. It appears obvious that the creators of this plan want to ensure as little public understanding and involvement as possible.  What could be the motive to fast-track this plan?  Is a partnership being negotiated since 2010 in need of a fast track?

This article provides some insight into the effects of NAFTA, pointing out that the effects of the TPP could be much bigger:

The Labor Department’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which documents this trend, reads like a funeral program for the middle class. More than 845,000 workers have been certified under this one narrow and hard-to-qualify-for program as having lost their jobs because of offshoring of factories to, and growing imports from, Mexico and Canada since Nafta.  The result is downward pressure on middle-class wages as manufacturing workers are forced to compete with imports made by poorly paid workers abroad. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly two out of every three displaced manufacturing workers who were rehired in 2012 saw wage reductions, most losing more than 20 percent.

The fair trade argument that trade partnerships will help the middle class by providing cheaper goods is also refuted:

They [Center for Economic and Policy Research] found that American workers without college degrees had most likely lost more than 12 percent of their wages to NAFTA-style trade, even accounting for the benefits of cheaper goods. This means a loss of more than $3,300 per year for a worker earning the median annual wage of $27,500.

Last year, 33.5 percent of Americans ages 25 to 29 had at least a bachelor’s degree.  Can entry level employees at the bottom of the pay scale afford a bigger free trade agreement?   Tack on the growing loss of jobs primarily on the lower end of the labor market due to technological improvements, and this portends a bleak future for middle America.

Hopefully coverage of the TPP and its secretive development will be exposed, and a grass roots effort will arise to bring this agreement and how it was developed for public discussion.  If not, this could have long term effects on furthering the deterioration of wealth inequality in the United States.

 

 

March 16, 2014 Dan 1 Comment

Freemium And The New Microsoft CEO

I recently posted a new article on Seeking Alpha regarding my thoughts on free software and the new CEO.  Check it out at

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2068903-satya-nadella-knows-the-power-of-free

March 6, 2014 Dan Leave a comment

The Art of Blogging

I ran across a couple quick posts that shed some light on why people such as myself maintain blogs.  I have purposely not evaluated the cost / benefit of maintaining this blog, or how I would ever try to monetize  this (though feel free to support my advertisers!).

Sarah Peck had a post worth noting – that its not about the number of viewers -in fact perhaps in my case its best that readership stays small.

And James Clear  also had an interesting post about establishing a writing schedule, and not waiting for inspiration.   I think its a great point – too often I wait for inspiration – whereas I should just hunker down and not be afraid to create junk if I need to.

Writing for me is an ongoing learning process.  This blog has helped me frame thoughts and think about things differently. And thanks to the small readership, I have the luxury of posting whatever quality of content I have in a given week. No editors or deadlines.  What else could a writer hope for?

 

 

March 1, 2014 Dan 1 Comment

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