We always talk about the important events around the world, but it is also very important to consider the happenings in Mexico. Mauricio Fernández, the new Mayor in San Pedro Garza García in Monterrey, Nuevo León, has caused controversy since his campaign at first stating his plan to clean the city of all narcotraficants and kidnappers.
A week ago, in a public declaration, Fernández reinforced his commitment against organised crime and declared the murder of El Negro Saldaña(a high-profile narcotraficant) and 3 other people 5 hours before the authorities in DF even found the bodies. The video presented talks about how the Mayor of San Pedro will be called upon to declare how he got this information.
He first stated that the Governor has tipped him of, comment that the Governor exposed as untrue. Then he declared he had an iformant, but how could this have been possible if not even the police had knowledge of the murder? This declarations, along with his plan to guarantee peace in San Pedro have led some to believe he may be linked to a certain cartel, to the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, wih which he made a deal.
We have to wait and see how this issue is resolved.
"Desata polémica plan de Mauricio ." Milenio.Com. 02 Nov 2009. Milenio, Web. 12 Nov 2009.
"Mauricio Fernández, narco y mentiroso." Informador.com.mx. 11 Nov 2009. El Informador, Web. 12 Nov 2009.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
HSBC The World's Local Bank
The bank we know as HSBC is relatively new to us. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation acquired the Mexican bank previously known as Bital in November of 2002. In January of 2004 (I personally remember it) we started seeing advertisements all over the cities, on tv, on the radio, in big cities in the metro, HSBC surrounded us and introduced a whole new concept of banking to us. Recognised as the world's largest banking group, it has now presence in over 119 countries and territories.
The HSBC image is one of values, mainly integrity and responsability. This bank's advertisements are well know and one of the newest ones is called Responsability:
"Advertising." hsbc.com, inc. 2009 http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/about/advertising
"HSBC." Wikipedia.Org. 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBC
Monday, November 2, 2009
Afghan Elections: NEW PRESIDENT
Yesterday after Abdullah Abdullah, former Presidential Candidate for Afghanistan, pulled himself out of the elections, a resolution has been made. Hamid Karzai has been declared the new President of Afghanistan. The reason Abdullah stepped back shortly after the first round was that he considered the elections as being fraudalent. This left Karzai as the only candidate for the post. In an attempt to save money, the second round of elections was cancelled, automatically declaring Hamid as President. Other arguments to support this decision were the insecurity of the first round elections and to prevent the destabilization in the country.
We can observe US intervention as they commented on their acceptance on the elections´result and expressed their wish to communicate with Mr. Karzai.
"Karzai declared elected president". BBCNEWS. 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8337832.stm
Friday, October 30, 2009
Most Influential Jews in History
Since we studied the Middle East, I considered relevant to mention the influence Jews have in our lives, even if we don't realize it. I think we can generally describe Jews as hardworking people.
Michael Shapiro, freelance writer, composed back in 1994 a list of the most influential Jews of all times. The first five places go as follows:
1. Moises
2. Jesus of Nazaret
3. Albert Einstein
4. Sigmund Freud
5. Abraham
Other familiar names are present on the list such as David, Salomon, Anne Frank, Franz Kafka, Levi Strauss, Harry Houdini, Steven Spielberg and Bob Dylan.
Also in this list is the creator of vitamins, Casimir Funk, the developer of the birth control pill Gregory Pincus and Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel.
I think it is also important to mention that 1/5 of Nobel Prize winners have been Jews, a very big fraction considering the entire Jewish population compared to the rest of the world (1% of the world)
To acess the complete list go to The 100 Most Infuential Jews of all Times
"As the Nobel Prize marks centennial, Jews constitute 1/5 of laureates". JWeekly.Com. 2009. http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/16556/as-the-nobel-prize-marks-centennial-jews-constitute-1-5-of-laureates/
"Guatemala book released, Nat'l Geo story wins award". MichaelShapiro.net. 2009. http://www.michaelshapiro.net/
"The 100 Most Influential Jews of All Time". Middle East Studies. 2009. http://www.middle-east-studies.net/?p=1629
Monday, October 26, 2009
Lessons from History
This video is an interview made to Niall Ferguson, a financial historian. In this interview he expresses his opinion on the current economical crisis we are facing, analyses the situation and gives some suggestions. I also think banks should be boring!!
I could not insert the video correctly.. but here's the link:
http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/business/2009/10/26/biz.clinic.yoon.hkong.ferguson.cnn
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Middle East Interactive Maps
To those of you who want to analyse the Middle East in more detail, here are some interactive maps. I found them very interesting, you can do closeups, there's some written information, and they show different perspectives and dates. Hope they're useful!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Great Depression = Happy times?
I came across this article in CNN, which studies the positive aspects of the Great Depression, the impact it had on the people that lived in that time.
This research actually concluded that in times of depression, like there's a lot of unemployment, people get to spend more time with their families, they do not stress out, reasion why they do not recur to alcohol and drugs. Opposite to time of economical growth, where people get stressed out because of work.
Before reading the article, with just the title I imediately thought "but what about the suicides?" The rate actually did go up, but surprisingly, life expectancy grew 8.8 years. Also, during times of industrial and economical expansion. More pollution is produced, tampering with our health.
The study also shows that the increase of life expectancy is actually a pattern that can be found in many other countries during economic crisis. Examples of this are Japan, Spain and Sweden.
I think that we can conclude from this article that the Great Depression was a difficult time in the US and world economy, the people can deal with it and overcome the difficulties. Also, there had to be a positive side to things.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/09/29/great.depression.benefits/index.html
Jose Angel Gurria
I think we all remember having heard about the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) in class. And I think it's important to know that the current Secretary-General, Jose Angel Gurria, is a Mexican.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Former Minister of Finance and Public Credit, he has been a promoter of reform and internal modernization within the OECD.
He is also responsible for the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He was part of the cabinet in Zedillo's period, during the '94 crisis.
He is a very prepared person. Having studied Economics in UNAM, he completed his Masters Degree in Leeds University in the UK. He speaks: Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Italian and some French.
Here's a video, dated Mars, in which he ansers some questions related to the London Summit.
http://www.oecd.org/document/46/0,3343,en_2649_201185_36665710_1_1_1_1,00.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ApZXp2EQhM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_%C3%81ngel_Gurr%C3%ADa
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Crisis of '94
We were all little and we do not remember, but I think everyone has at least once heard their parents or relatives mention something about the crisis occurred in 1994. But we do not really know the details, and as it is an event that happened around the time Mexico signed the NAFTA agreement it is relevant to what we are studying. We cannot point out and say exactly the cause of the crisis, because more than a single event that provoked it, it was a series of different situations that led to the finally devaluation of the Mexican peso.
As it has happened with many other countries, the careless use of credit, the depreciation of the peso against the dollar. Remember that at that time, the dollar had a fixed price, no matter what the situation of the market, the price was always the same. This was suposedly intented to help stabilize the economy. The rise of US interest rates also helped along. There is also an important event, the assasination of the Presidential Candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is also considered to have helped the provoked the crisis.
This crisis represented a huge setback in the economy that affected most sectors of the population. And I consider it's important to know about it to understand how to deal with crisis.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj17n3-14.html
Monday, September 28, 2009
CEMEX
Cemex
Lorenzo Zambrano Treviño
Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León in 1945. Leader of Cemex.
He studied Mechanic Engineering in the ITESM, and then his master’s degree and PhD in Stanford. He began working in Cemex, a small local business which his grandfather owned. Since 1969, the year Zambrano entered Cemex, he began buying other cement companies, first in Mexico, then in nearby countries, increasing his capital. He now owns over 51 plants in eleven countries and four continents, with sales that exceed 5, 600 millions of dollars a year. The Ernest C. Arbuckle Prize was granted to Lorenzo because of his administrative excellence.
He participates in many organizations, such as the Junta Directiva de Pemex and the Consejo Consultivo Internacional de Citigroup. He also chairs the Consejo de Administración de Enseñanza e Investigación Superior, A.C of the ITESM and the Consejo del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, among many others. He’s number 292 in the raking of the richest men and Cemex is in third place, both classifications at a world level.
I consider Lorenzo Zambrano Treviño as a very successful person because he achieved to expand his capital at an international level, Mexican capital, when usually other Mexican companies are financed by foreign investors. I think he’s a great example to us all as a Mexican.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Recent News
A meeting of the Security Council took place yesterday (Thursday) and was presided by Obama, the first US president to do so. In this meeting, a very important resolution was approved: a nuclear-safeguards resolution. It has as a main purpose to stop nuclear proliferation and taking special attention on the case of Iran.
The first Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed in 1968 was considered ridiculous, but now, matters have been taken more seriously. "We must demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties must be enforced," the U.S. president declared. (ctd in U.N. Passes Nuclear-Safeguards Plan).
I think that this meeting will not solve completely all the issues related to nuclear weapons’ programs in the world. But it will create a compromise of all the countries that participate in the UN to work for the responsible use of nuclear weapons.
Weisman, Jonathan. “U.N. Passes Nuclear-Safeguards Plan” The Wall Street Journal. 25 September 2009 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125380573185037961.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Condoleezza Rice
To those who read the Foreign Affairs article, I thought it would be nice to have certain background on the author. And to those who did not read it, it won't do any harm:).
Condoleezza Rice
Former National Affairs Advisor in the 2001-2005 Bush Administration and Former Secretary of State in the 2005-2009 Bush Administration, Rice is an example to us all. Althought some find her measures questionable, her capability is undeniable.
Originally a professor in Stanford University, she came to be part of Boards of Directors of several very important enterprises. She is a Republican.
She was the first black woman, second African American, and the second woman to hold the post as Secretary of State. She has won to fo the highest teaching honours Stanford University offers: the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1984 and the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1993.
After the end of her term in the White Office as Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice returned to her teaching posts in both Stanford and the Hoover Institution.
Here's an excerpt from a 2008 video in which Rice discusses nuclear weapons in Iran, the United States' relationship with this country and the USA position towards it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/commencement/ricebio.html
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Sum of all Fears
Only after I finished my last post was that I remembered the film "The Sum of All Fears", a movie with Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, that describes an scenario in our times of what would happen if a nuclear attack took place. Was it the Russians? Could this start a war? How would diplomatic deals work?
I leave the trailer here and also the link to IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164184/
If any of you are interested I have the film!
Cold War effect on culture
As other people have also talked about the Cold War propaganda. I started to realize how much Cold War had influenced culture. Specially American culture. In my opinion, the United States has a very unique way in conveying history, placing themselves as the good guys. And as most people are more likely to watch a movie than read a book, people believe that.
Because of our age, we have no real experience on the topic, but what we see it in films and tv shows. Movies like the James Bond series, and Mission Impossible are obvious examples, but there are series like The Company and Cold War. Also videogames like KGB, where your character is a Russian spy. And of course, every now and then, we see a chapter of the TV series of the moment make an allusion the Cold War. Examples of this are Episode 11, Season 1 of Lie To Me, Episode 19, Season 3 of Boy Meets World.
References:
“CNN, the Cold War, and the Controversy” Carnegie Mellon. 2009. Carnegie Mellon University. Aug 31, 2009 http://www.cmu.edu/coldwar/cnnseries.html
“Ex-Soviet Spy's Bizarre Death and the Culture of Espionage”. Blog Critics.org. 2009. Technorati, Inc. Aug 31, 2009 http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/ex-soviet-spys-bizarre-death-and/
“I Was a Teenage Spy”. TV.com. 2009. CBS Interactive. Aug 31, 2009 http://www.tv.com/i-was-a-teenage-spy/episode/17855/summary.html?tag=search_results;title;4
“KGB”. Answers.com. 2009. Answers Corporation. Aug 31, 2009 http://www.answers.com/topic/kgb-game
“The Company”.TNT. 2009. TNT.tv. Aug 31, 2009 http://www.tnt.tv/series/thecompany/
“Undercover”. TV.com. 2009. CBS Interactive. Aug 31, 2009 http://www.tv.com/lie-to-me/undercover/episode/1262810/summary.html?tag=ep_guide;summary
Friday, August 28, 2009
Life and Death in a Trench
As I read the blog I was remembering previous classes and one doubt came into my head. How different would my life had been if I had lived in time of war, let's say World War I? And yet how much more different it would have been if I were American, French or even German and I HAD to fight for my country? So I searched for info or memoires from WW1 and found a very interesting article that describes the life in the trenches. This article really paints a live, but not pretty, image of a trench. Yes, we all know from our history lessons that life in trenches were conquered by death, and that it was a not-so-good life, but for example: did you know about a popular medical condition that trench men suffered, which eventually led to feet amputation? Or about the rat infestation of trenches? Not only did soldiers had to live among carcasses but they also saw how the rotten bodies of their dead comrades were slowly devoured by rats. The webpage also offers a lot of information from WW1, everything you need is found there; it is really good. Hope it helps.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Pearl Harbor
For the quiz on pearl harbor, check out this link: http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ax/frameset.html it's great! I found it in National Geographic and it has an animation similar to the WWII power point. It has a lot of information, it's very interesting and useful.
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