Jumo

Chris Hughes, the cofounder of Facebook and organiser of the online presidential campaign for Obama, arrived at the decision to form a non-profit that would tap the power of the Internet to connect people and causes. Indeed, his latest project, Jumo, is a social network aimed for people willing to change the planet. It should be able to help people achieve their humanitarian goals. In fact, Hughes thinks that people do not mind helping each others but the connection needs to be made easy so that they will do it and the best way to achieve is to create a website that can associate the skills and interests of everyone with the organisations that need them. In addition, Jumo should be a platform able to help the small NGO which cannot afford to finance an advertising campaign to make themselves known to the public.

Does this mean that this network website is going to help NGO to recruit potential people? I, for one, would be curious to see how it will grow and how the community is going to use this tool. I can see the potential. If I am a bit sceptical toward Facebook and its capacities to make people stay in touch with each other, Jumo seems to have a professional flavour which might make it more credible and persistant.

-C

USSA

I take this line from a friend of mine who is liberal and has no trouble comparing the USA to the USSR. I find this somewhat frightening. He did so somewhat with amusement thinking this progress is good. By progress I mean, the passage of the health care bill in the US Congress. Health care reform is not all bad and actually a necessity in the contemporary climate but I have my reservations about its passage which I am sure sparks grumblings in my European friends.

I will not summarize the contents of the bill partly because I don't know much truth about it, which brings me to my first concern...

1) Why is the bill not viewable by the public? We are the government we should have access to such legislation especially when the President promised it to us. I cannot trust the media or the politicians to tell me what is in the bill.
2) Costs I believe are underestimated. Cost will go up with the government regulation (control) over supply.
3) Regulation can be a good thing but controlling the market diminishes incentive and limits the abilities of capitalism to work. I understand market failures and the need for government but whether or not this is the appropriate method is debatable for me.
4) The government will require every person to buy health insurance. This makes people pay the government just to live. It is human right to live not a privilege. We are granted life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness but I have to write a check to the government to live? The government now grants my life--controls it?
5) Taxes will be collected for four years prior to the payout of benefits. I understand the need to maintain a budget but this isn't about paying for the program later, it is about collecting more money now for excessive spending.
6) Legislators would not listen to the concerns of the people. Our representatives were granted powers as delegates, not trustees, and if people are concerned why not take time to educate them on why this is important and show them the benefits of the bill as opposed to saying that the American people will like it later. Hmmm. Don't put words in my mouth.
7)This last point leads to my next one. If government doesn't listen or respect its people and there concerns then I am concerned about more than the bill. I have enjoyed the benefits of socialized medicine in the UK and I will admit that there are advantages so education and analyzing appropriate methods would have been the best direction. People should understand the benefits of social welfare systems but they also need to realize that they have a price. Americans don't tend to understand this nor what 'socialism' is.

I opinion is that this was poorly organized and damages the image of American government. However, President Obama and his agenda were what won the election so this is the result. Have the people spoken?

A city inaccessible via road...

While watching a documentary on the Amazon, I heard about a city that could not be reached via road and thus only with planes and boats. Iquitos, located in Peru, is considered the biggest city in the world with this characteristic and somehow it sparked my interest. How could a city be built without any road to access it? What would be the point of such a city? And mainly how did people found this spot in the middle of the jungle? I do not aim to answer these questions because they would require much more time and research, however that is what pushed me to know more about this city.

Historically the original town was founded in 1757 under the name of San Pablo de los Napeanos, but the present centre was established in 1864. The local Indian people Iquitos have been slowly reduced in number and parked around this area. By the end of the nineteenth century it was, along with Manaus in Brazil, one of the great rubber towns. From that era of grandeur a number of structures survive, but during this century Iquitos has vacillated between prosperity – as far back as 1938, the area was explored for oil – and the depths of depression. However, its strategic position on the Amazon, which makes it accessible to large ocean-going ships from the distant Atlantic, has ensured its importance. At present, still buoyed by the export of timber, petroleum, tobacco and Brazil nuts, and dabbling heavily in the trade of wild animals, tropical fish and birds, as well as an insecticide called barbasco, long used by natives as a fish poison, Iquitos is in a period of quite wealthy expansion. Interestingly its history differs following sources as I have also read here that the city was established in 1858 on presidential order in order to have an outpost controlling the different rivers of the area.

This last reason might be a good reason why the city is not accessible via roads, however I still find fascinating to see that this city with its past glory can still boast 493,000 people (more than Lyon the 3rd biggest city in France with 472,330 inhabitants in 2007). Besides I would not be surprised if its population was in fact superior to 500,000 as the other numbers seems quite round and that it would be difficult to make a census in a city with slums. On the other hand, 366,472 is another number stated for its population in 2007 which seems more reasonnable as it is from a census made by the Peruvian government.

Obviously, not a lot of flights goes there and it is quite expensive to go there, indeed it cost around 1000 €/£ to go fly there from either Paris or San Francisco with 3 stops at least after checking lastminute.com. I did not look extensively how the boat performed however but it should be an interesting trip to do.

In 2008, an Englishman went through the city during an expedition starting from the sources of the Amazon to its estuary in Brazil. This man has been walking for 721 days (22/03/2010) and left on the 02/04/2008 and he is expected to arrive in august 2010. His blog is well-made with a lot of articles concerning his adventures. It shows that unlike what I thought, it is still possible to get the feel of what an exploration is although with GPS it should be slightly easier.

This article might seem written out of the blue especially since I have no real interest in Latin America so far. However the situation of this city is what I find fascinating and it is exemplified with the few and different informations available about it and its lack of "popularity" as it is a rare feat to have such a city built mainly thanks to boats. In addition, as a bonus I also noticed that I could read Spanish and understand most of it.

-C

To protect or not

The competition between Boeing and EADS/Northrop concerning the USAF tanker offer went to an end last week when Northrop decided to pull out. The whole story started back in 2004 after charges against Boeing were filed and some of its top executives fired as a result. The senator McCain wanted a fair competition on this contract. It was for EADS and Airbus a good opportunity to enter the US market and to diversify its production and source of income.  The contract is estimated at 35 billion dollars and is only the first part of 3 phases.

If EADS is a European company, the incorporation of Northrop, a Californian defence firm, was supposed to help with this negative image and it also planned to build a factory in the USA to manufacture the tankers based on a version of the civilian A330. On the other hand, Boeing would build its tanker, based on the smaller 767, in USA too; however it is arguable that the Boeing tanker would have an all American plane as most of its components are outsourced abroad.

This end of the competition is mainly due as what is seen as some form of protectionism by the USA in favouring Boeing. Indeed the first leg, in February 2008, of the competition was won by EADS/Northrop but Boeing protested that the plane of its rival was not conform, even though it was deemed better, to the contract. As a result the offer was remade and this time Northrop felt it had to pull out. Its CEO observed that this contract clearly favoured Boeing.

The EU commission threatened to bring the whole case in front of the WTO and the leaders of France and the United Kingdom Mr Sarkozy and Mr Brown, amongst others, showed their disapproval of such a behaviour especially since protectionism is “a policy that the USA usually warns other countries against.”

So what was the whole point of opening the competition to foreign companies? I could understand that the USA would keep their defence market closed, although they do not like to be put away on this basis abroad, but this opening of the competition showed that it was not the general feeling at the moment to do it this way. The EADS/Northrop joint venture would also create some jobs in the USA in a non-unioned company (Northrop) whereas Boeing is and thus is susceptible to strikes. Did the American leaders think that Boeing was so good at its business that no-one could do better than them and this competition was just a show for fair competition? It seems unlikely that the US leaders would be that naive. Is it favouritism from Obama as he was the former senator of Illinois and that Boeing has some of its offices in Chicago? That would be quite naive too.

However the facts remain that it is another feud between the EU and the USA in the trade sector.  This contract might have an influence on how the F35 JSF will happen. Indeed, it is overdue and its price still rising. If the USA does not act smoothly with its European allies, why should they expect them to continue to act in a polite manner? Even the United Kingdom, the best ally of the USA, is unhappy. Competition is rising everywhere in the world; I would not advocate starting a mini trade war between strong allies.

-C

Round One - Ding

The first round of French regional elections have shown that President Sarkozy's UMP party sits in second place. The Socialist Party took 29% whereas the UMP took about 25%. The BBC cited issues of low popularity and high unemployment. These are considerable issues impacting the strength of the party. However these issues would not impact the low voter turnout. Only 46% of eligible voters went to the polls which is significantly lower than the previous low of 57% in 1998 and 60% in 2004.

My thought is that if there is greater dissatisfaction with government more people would vote and if more people are unemployed, more people have the chance to vote. However, this does not appear to be the case. I would then pose hypotheses about the declining voter participation. One, though people are dissatisfied, they no longer believe they can affect change, or they are too disgruntled to participate. Two, though people have more flexible schedules from being unemployed, they may have less capacity to get to the polling place.

These conjectures are just mere thoughts to provoke our resident Frenchman to explain this situation--hopefully before the next round of elections. I am also curious whether or not he took the time to vote in this election or whether he left it up to his compatriots to fulfill his civic duty.

Underemployment Poll

I have another addition to my discussion on unemployment. I will eventually change my tone and topics but I couldn’t help coming across some applicable data which I feel should be shared...

Finding this article was somewhat a coincidence. I have not been planning a piece on unemployment or underemployment (not being employed to full capacity or skill) and have been looking to other interesting topics. However, I was on the job prowl and looking at Gallup. I love statistics and thought that it might be a good place to start. This is when I saw the link to the article.

Basically, the article says that underemployed people are unhappy and more susceptible to anger, stress, sadness, and worry. Wow. I am amazed that they could figure this out! People that are not working to their full potential feel like they are struggling at a greater rate.

I wonder how much money they put into this study. It is nice to have data to back up what has always been observed but this is quite obvious and I don’t think it largely contributes. Gallup also poses a silver lining in all of this that the underemployed spend more time with family. Well, the underemployed are most likely living with them. Is this really a silver lining? Though being social and spending time with one’s family is important is it really a situation that brings a lot of happiness. I can see where stress might increase with increased family time.
~PB

Pursuit of Happiness

In connection with my previous post, I have found a little solace. I spent the other night watching the first two episodes of the John Adams miniseries. I was reminded of a few things and began to analyze how American government impacts my life.

My favorite politician, or the one that I find I am in most agreement with, is Thomas Jefferson. He has many admirable qualities but those are not the purpose of this discussion. I wish to address the Declaration of Independence—American independence that is. He was the author of the infamous document and used theory of John Locke to provide its foundation. John Locke claimed that innate rights of man included life, liberty, and property. Thomas Jefferson however did not fully agree as he claimed that man is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This last point is the one that I want to further discuss.

I, for one, might be unhappy with my unemployment or my personal situation but I am granted the right to pursue happiness. At first I found it quizzical that Jefferson just didn’t say that man should have life, liberty, and happiness. Why did he include the pursuit? In thinking further about it, I determined that Jefferson realized that happiness doesn’t come easily. There is struggle associated with pursuit. I think this struggle is the essence of even achieving happiness. In such an instance it is understandable why he included the phrase over ‘property’. The pursuit of happiness is not only my American right but my human right. Why then, would I not utilize my right and pursue happiness? Regardless of the economy, I can and should pursue the happiness that is granted to me. However in this, I acknowledge that it may not come cheap or easily—I must pursue it. Happiness does not fall into one’s lap (as far as I know) so I must endeavor to seize it. Thomas Jefferson must have also believed that this pursuit was highly important to level it with life and liberty. Whew, he valued this struggle as much as liberty or life itself. That makes me reevaluate what is really important in life.
~PB

Expressionists and Fauvists at the Marmottan museum

I went this weekend to see the exhibition on the Expressionists and the Fauvists at the Marmottan museum in Paris. The museum includes paintings by Claude Monet and some of his personnal effects such as his glasses or his paint palette. Other Impressionists like Berthe Morisot or Pierre Auguste Renoir are also represented. In addition, it also features some works from the Napolean Era. The museum itself is located in the old hotel of the Marmottan brothers in the XVIth arrondissement, it remains a nice place with its own garden and it is right in front of the Ranelagh park.

As for the exhibition, I was not impressed by the Expressionists and the Fauvists. It represented the collection from the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal. The expressionists were mainly represented by the two German artistic schools: Die Brücke and NKVM (Munich New Artist's Association). The most notable artists  included in the collection were Otto Dix, Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky. According to Wikipedia (don’t hit me because of the source..), the Expressionism "refers to art that expresses intense emotion. It is arguable that all artists are expressive but there is a long line of art production in which heavy emphasis is placed on communication through emotion. Such art often occurs during time of social upheaval." Indeed, the colours that they employ plus the style was most of the time making, for most of the painters, some unhappy compositions. It is fair to recognise that the times were not the most joyful, especially during the first quarter of the century in Europe. 

I was not a big fan of them in general because of this feeling of misery that they tried to convey in most of the cases, I do not like painting that use a majority of brown and dark colours and the style is not harmonious; finally the expressionists often paint portraits, as expressions are best exhibited through portraits I assume, and I prefer landscapes. Notably Otto Dix and his portrait of the so-called Leonie, poor woman...On the other hand the work of Franz Marc is much more lively thank to the heavy use of bright colour in a balanced manner, especially with der Blaue Fuchs.

As for the Fauvists, a group of early 20th century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism (Wikipedia again.. ). I do not like them either and notably the liberal use of the colours. I find it sometimes a bit flashy but I cannot generalize and I guess i would appreciate some of their work although I have never been eager to look for them.

In the end, and this may be derived from my “classic” education, I prefer the Impressionists or the others before them, notably Turner. I prefer the themes that they painted and their colours and also their style which I find to be a bit more realistic

-C

Unemployment Woes

The problem with finding a job is not so much that there is no income (though this is a problem) it is quite frustrating and for lack of a better word, embarrassing. Following the completion of a master’s degree from a reputable university, I moved back in with my parents. I thought more education meant less future dependency on others—I guess the key word is ‘future’. I have enjoyed my education and I have marketable skills but the first thing anyone asks you is “so what are you up to” or “what have you been doing”. I can’t very well answer “absolutely nothing”. It becomes necessary to fabricate my life in a way that somewhat sounds respectable or appealing. Luckily, I have a few things up my sleeve that sound cool enough and distract conversation away from my employment doom and failure. I have started taking French lessons and dedicate about an hour a day to its study and I am trying to get into shape and lose weight. I have already lost 5 pounds (darn what is that in kgs?). I have spent time reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen in awhile and have just returned from travels in Europe.
Can’t you see the bountiful amounts of questions that can come from this discussion? All of which are distracting from the inevitable feeling of disappointment. I don’t have to even return to the unemployment conversation because the discussion can easily go another way but still, there is something lacking in myself that I can’t avoid it. I am not the only one who is unemployed or underemployed. I know that the market is a difficult one, thanks for all the reminders, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I have an education—an expensive education both in time and finances—and that I cannot use my skills. Why am I to blame? I am asking people, companies to allow me to work but they don’t want the skills that I have. I think the new wave of thinking should not be directed at individual failure but the failure of society and the economy to compensate. Why are people who have already worked 50 or even 60 years of their life still working and clogging up the system? I know that they need income and no one can really depend on Social Security anymore but why aren’t we blaming the poor grannies that are working well beyond their years when there is ample supply of skilled workers waiting to enter the market and pay for their pension benefits. I am willing to work and therefore not to blame. I think the market needs to adjust to accommodate new workers, which unfortunately may mean gramps needs to go on a cruise and take a well deserved break!

All aboard the Trans-Siberian from..your armchair!

It is now possible to enjoy one of the greatest travels existing in the world from the comfort of your armchair in your house. Indeed, the Trans-Siberian railway is available on googlemap. Not only is the whole trip filmed, but are also available a mini map where it is possible to select your favourite part of the journey. To add to the ambiance, a radio delivers a multitude of Russian tunes from the balalaika (I have a personal preference for the balalaika tune “Polnote, rebyata”) to the current Russian radio stations; in addition, it is possible to listen to a few Russian masterpieces such as Tolstoi’s War and Peace or simply to the rumble of the wheels of the train. However the possibility to get more related tunes via youtube or other streaming websites would have been great.

It is likely that no one will ever vision the whole part of the railway but I believe that it is a good way to enhance the renown of this mythical trip. Although the video is not always great, right now I am stuck next to the Lake Baikal watching some wagons in a train station, and is one sided which thus offer only half of the trip, it remains a considerable achievements.
I think that such initiatives should be welcome. In fact, not only the video of the journey is available but the effort to include something more authentic to the ambiance with music is a really good point of this webpage. I appreciate the simplicity of the page without any advertisement but I also believe that it remains a formidable marketing tool and that a links to specialised websites on the Trans-Siberian would not hurt either.


It is obvious that it cannot replace the full experience, which I believe is rather long. Everyone having travelled to an exotic place will know that a virtual experience cannot fill the role of an actual experience; however this page remains fun and informative. I hope that other great railways such as the Railways in the Andes, the Transcontinental American Railway or the Orient Express will be added with the same realism and sense of detail. If these webpage cannot compete with the experience of actually doing the trip, it is a great way to push people doing them.

-C