Archive for April, 2010
It is May 10th 1940 and Churchill is Prime Minister of Britain. The BBC, Guardian and other left liberal news outlets publish polls stating that 60 % of Britons believe that the war against fascist Germany cannot be won and that the French are an unworthy ally. The questions used in the poll were inadequate containing ambiguous phraseology but the news outlets don’t report this – just the summary results. Instead the media focuses on the hardships, the trauma and destruction of war and record pessimist Britain’s dismay in defeating the Wehrmacht and supporting the fast collapsing French army.
Most of the media is hostile to Churchill, and tired of his bombast. One of their favorites – Lord Halifax prevented from being Prime Minister because he sits in the Lords and not the Commons – convenes many press conferences informing Britons that appeasement with Hitler is the safest guarantor of the British empire. The media endlessly recycles Halifax’s editorials in which he states that fighting Germany contravenes international and British law, since the Jews and Poles provoked the current conflict. He maintains that the British empire has no reason to interfere in the internal politics of Europe and that the two empires can peacefully coexist. Such ideas resonate within the media and their polling affiliates. At the end of May 72 % of Britons feel that Halifax’s demand that peace be sought with Germany would be ‘appropriate’.
To support the anti-war group the BBC broadcasts the already long list of dead military, the perils of fighting Germany alone, portrays the Americans as avaricious Jewish dominated parasites unwilling to formally aid Britain, and proposes that Europe united under one state and one leader is a historical destiny, quelling troublesome feuds once and for all. On British state owned TV well known British music stars and actresses are seen meeting with Hitler in attempts to broker a peace settlement, some more of the more raffish lot are photographed sitting atop Panzer tanks and parading in Gestapo uniforms. Many try to convince the British public that continuing the war with Germany would be unconscionable and will kill millions of innocent children and that the British public must stop their domestic military-industrial complex. A top pop song elaborates that ‘Germans love their children too’. Polls in England state that Churchill has only 22 % general support and almost none amongst women, ethnic, environmental groups and gay rights organizations.
Sympathetic documentaries and films are hurriedly shown in England during May and June 1940, in theatres and on state owned TV, pointing out that Hitlerism and Nazism is nothing more than the realization of Germanic ambition and historical destiny. They focus on German discipline, literary and musical achievements and the valid German need for more land. Indeed Hitler is portrayed in such episodes as a great and noble leader, resurrecting a decrepit and shattered Germany. Nazism is depicted in editorials and on campuses as a uber-philosophy and historical life-force, based on great accomplishments, community-love, and national pride – it is the new world order. The destruction of freedom, life and liberal values are never touched upon. Hitlerism and fascism excites the media and academic elite which publish around the clock, sycophantic essays on the dialectical inevitability of fascist power.
When France falls in June 1940 more polls are published in a frenzy of worried activity revealing that 80 % of Britons are pessimistic or uncertain about the war’s outcome with an astonishing 90 % expressing some level of concern about the government’s performance. Some extreme editorials charge that Churchill lied about the nature of the war and the reality of fighting an invincible Germany during his May 1940 Parliamentary speeches. His speeches and statements are re-parsed, picked over and extensively criticized for their naivety, romanticism and extreme patriotism.
Political and media analysts carp about Churchill’s own past including his poor academic record, his dubious military escapades, and his criminal guilt in the battle of Omdurman in 1898 in the Sudan when black native fighters were destroyed by modern military technology. They also point out Churchill’s personal combat against the Boers, the Indians and Afghans, stating that bigotry and racial hatred are at the core of Churchill’s character. Talk shows abound with analysts and those who ‘know’ Churchill stating that Churchill’s past is inglorious and at odds with current post World War One modernity of enlightened thoughtful liberalism. Even his vain, womanizing syphilitic father, a political star that crashed through arrogance and illness is dragged from the history books to prove that genetically Churchill is an unstable character and the son of drunken political bore.
Churchill’s past and own drinking excesses are front page stories, with news analysts and experts linking Churchill’s terrible character with the losing war effort. Many call for not only Churchill’s resignation but his impeachment for not doing enough to prevent the fall of the British expeditionary army and the humiliation of Dunkirk. The BBC reports that Churchill and his Ministers are not only losing the war, but also profiting from war contracts through firms closely allied with the Conservative political effort and that Churchill has sent his own small fortune out of the country to Canada. No evidence is given on these allegations but no proof is asked for. New public polling puts Churchill with a 13 % approval rating and calls for his resignation echo more loudly each day.
The anti-Conservative and anti-Churchill media also stoke antipathy to Churchill’s new coalition government by focusing on the incapability of British forces to fight. While willful, manly Germany prepares for the invasion of the British Isles, the media is adamant that the government is doing nothing. The British Labor party, sensing Churchill’s political weakness, reveal documents which support the position that the government is disorganized and drifting with no rational plan to wage war. A recently demoted Cabinet member releases photos of a drunk Churchill slurring his words at a private dinner function while discussing war strategy, and publishes letters from Churchill to his War Cabinet which apparently prove that Churchill has no real plan of national defense. Clement Attlee leader of the Labor Party, along with Lord Halifax, holds a press interview on an important TV talk show criticizing Churchill for the Norway fiasco along with inadequate funding of the armed forces and a lack of strategic focus. Atlee contends that appeasing Germany for two to three years, would enable Britain to retool and rearm, and cites the Soviet-Nazi pact of 1939 as an example of judicious statesmanship. Indeed Atlee calls for a British-like ‘Stalin’ to take over the government and re-energize its martial spirit. The media gives Attlee’s criticisms wide coverage and some propose that an Attlee government would have a more nuanced and realistic appraisal of confronting Germany, and would be smart enough to elicit support from ‘allies’ and the international community. Media analysis and polls are produced showing Atlee as Briton’s top choice for Prime Minister.
By mid June 1940 Churchill is in a political quandary. He is now facing low poll numbers, a well funded and media generated appeasement bloc, blame for the Norway fiasco, the poor performance of the British navy and the fall of France. German U-Boat packs threaten to strangle the British economy and the reliance on overseas supplies of food and war materiel puts Britain in an extended and seemingly insuperably hopeless position. Unless the British can defeat the U-Boat threat and hold off the Luftwaffe they are doomed to suffer a crushing invasion. German dominated Europe has 400 million people, and the vast resources of the entire Continent at its disposal, with close airfield and rocket positions, which are easily able to reach major English population and military centers. The situation according to the media and experts, is utterly hopeless.
Military, economic and polling data don’t smile favorably on Churchill in June 1940. Press coverage presents the above problems as insurmountable and emphasizes other weaknesses: budget deficits, low gold reserves, inadequate military production, poor military technology, a contracting economy and shows footage of worried sometimes tearful mothers in their kitchens stating that a European war should not claim the lives of their sons unless the international community sanctions military action and proves that war is necessary. Indeed Atlee, the media and other ‘experts’, are adamant that pre-emptive action cannot be taken against Germany, since such activity violates international laws. The exact laws are never produced nor detailed, but the general concept of international law is accepted by all ‘experts’ and media analysts. Thus assured the media supported by polls, states emphatically that Britain must not provoke Hitler’s wrath.
To combat low polling numbers and bad PR, Churchill’s political handlers advise a change in policy and image. Churchill’s stance against Germany is deemed to be too xenophobic and unnecessarily rough. After all didn’t Hitler state that he admired the British Empire and wanted to cooperate with it? With 300.000 men safely back from Dunkirk Churchill can claim a victory of sorts and start to repair relations with the Nazi’s. Churchill’s handlers advocate a kindler, gentler centrist Churchill. Churchill must stop the anti-German rhetoric, open up trade ties with Greater German Europe, understand the importance of the Nazi philosophy in elevating society and developing human greatness, pay homage to the great artifacts of European culture developed by German genius, and admit that he was wrong about the handling of the war’s early period. They propose that Churchill meet Hitler in Paris to discuss the mutual benefices of cooperation and tolerance. Before doing so Churchill will be photographed at German intellectual institutions and gatherings in London and be seen reading Germany history and philosophy in order to show his sensitivity to German high culture.
In late June 1940 Churchill delivers a press conference clarifying the change in British policy, and stating that he was mistaken about Hitler and now admits he admires this ‘greatest of German leaders’. Churchill emphasizes that he wants to avoid war, bloodshed and societal destruction and resolve all disputes in a spirit of human rights, love, and cultural relativity. He calls for international arbitration and a ‘New League of Nations’ to adjudicate all disputes between German Europe and Britain. After all, as Churchill states during the press reading, no one can possibly imagine that an Anglo Saxon culture is superior to that of the Teuton. Indeed as provided by the media and sundry academics and the recent Hitlerian success it is clear that Germany is a superior civilization to that of Britain. Lastly Churchill offers peace and implores Hitler to grant humane and favorable terms so that, in Churchill’s words, ‘the great civilizations of German and English speaking peoples, can move forward together to broad sunlit uplands.’
The British public are jubilant. Polls reveal that Churchill’s support rebounds from 13 % to 44 % almost overnight. The press is enthusiastic in their praise of this ‘far-sighted elder statesman who takes the middle and centrist course eschewing death and war’. Atlee and Halifax taken by surprise grudgingly admit that Churchill has implemented most of their ideas, though they caution that ‘many details are missing’. International politicians call Churchill’s volte-face a brilliant and humanitarian move, which ensures peace and prosperity. Amnesty International and the Red Cross state that German dominated Europe does not suffer from human rights abuses or concentration camp murders and lend support to Churchill’s magnanimous gesture, stating that they see little in Hitler’s empire that should spark concern. British music stars and movie celebrity’s hold a gala in which British and German politicians and notables toast their respective empire’s health. Churchill’s handlers rush to provide photo-ops of Churchill shaking hands with assorted celebrities and to be seen chatting to Nazi intellectuals to better understand their civilisational philosophy. There is even one photo of Churchill crying while listening to a Wagnerian opera.
In early August 1940 Hitler and Churchill pose for photos in Paris, shake hands, and commit each empire to a 10 year truce with special economic arrangements. The British are forced to mothball the Royal Navy in a show of good will. Unilateralists are overjoyed and ‘peace missions’ to Germany, which are used to establish a bond of ‘trust and love between the two great peoples’, headed by environmentalists, human rights lawyers, and the well to do sons of the political and business elite, receive ample news coverage.
The media, experts and pundits all state that a world war is now avoided. However the Japanese fuelled by military fascism and jingoistic propaganda are convinced that a supine, lazy, stupid America is an easy target. Meeting in Hong Kong, Japanese and German strategists plan the destruction of US naval power. Hitler states in private meetings that the British can be destroyed after the Germans and Japanese annihilate the US fleet and shipping yards. Without US naval assistance Hitler reasons, Britain naturally falls. Tojo describes the Americans as ‘immoral consumerists and sensualists’, laughing at US culture and backwardness and predicts an easy time of wrecking the US navy. Hitler agrees that if Tojo destroys the US Pacific fleet he will immediately declare war and attack US Atlantic shipping and port installations. Hitler predicts that a combined German-Japanese naval attack will destroy the US navy within 6 months and shortly thereafter Britain can be invaded. Detailed German plans for the destruction of US Atlantic shipping assets is drafted.
On December 7 1941 the Japanese efface the US navy at Pearl Harbor and land paratroopers throughout the island chain, taking Hawaii in a few hours. The remaining US army and naval units in Hawaii capitulate. Tojo’s forces follow this easy triumph with concerted naval and land raids along the Alaskan and Californian coasts. The Germans now join in. During December 1941 the entire US coastline on both the West and East are subject to unrelenting Japanese and German raids and sporadic bombings. The psychological effect on the US is overwhelming. Though Roosevelt declared war immediately after December 7 1941, a section of Congress and the House wanted nothing to do with war or hostilities. Much like Churchill Roosevelt now finds himself under sustained media and political attack. The effective and coordinated Germano-Japanese attacks shake the US to its foundation.
Roosevelt’s war budget and war powers act in early 1942 fails to pass both Houses. The media calls for arbitration between the great powers of Japan, Germany and the US. Opposition politicians state that no international support exists for the US and it is time to negotiate. German and Japanese money, bribes and coercion have been effective in the third world. The Arab league with German money as an inducement, unanimously declares that Hitler’s Jewish policy is the only way to solve the ‘Semitic problem’. In exchange for military and economic support Germany receives favorable oil supplies and prices from the Arab League. Latin America, Africa, and Asia recipients of vast quantities of German and Japanese investments and political arm twisting all declare that Germany and Japan are liberators. The US media dutifully reports that most of the world is anti-american and laments about what can be done.
Regional and national groups in the third world publish a long list of Anglo Saxon crimes and refer to the newly created World Court, indictment terms against both Churchill and Roosevelt. The newly instituted ‘Latin American Freedom League’, and newly created ‘African Unity Bloc’ both proclaim the US and England racist colonial powers and call for the conviction in the World Court of both Churchill and Roosevelt on grounds of ‘the historical and modern destruction of non-white Anglo Saxon peoples and civilizations’. The World Court convenes in recently Nazi liberated Baghdad to hear evidence against the US and Britain. The hastily convened ‘New League of Nations’ sitting in Rome since January 1942 states that Germany and Japan are not guilty of war crimes and have only reversed Anglo-Saxon white imperialism. A proposal is forwarded in the New League of Nations by Germany’s ally Italy, which had just finished the subjugation of Ethiopia, Libya and Tunisia, to force the US and Britain to pay reparations for victims of African slavery. The proposition easily passes.
The media in the US and Britain report these proceedings in great detail and put forward theories elaborating the justness and goodness of the German and Japanese empires and why international institutions, cooperation and above all understanding, are vital. The US media and academic lectures relate statistics which purportedly show both Japanese and German GDP growth rising at about 8 % per annum, with unemployment at 2 %. Polling data shows happy and contented citizens in both German Europe and Japanese Asia. Domestic US and British polls reveal that most consider Germany and Japan to be the harbingers of the future and that both the US and Britain must pay for past crimes of imperialism. A US news poll states that 59 % of Americans believe that Hitler and Tojo have just grievances and historical rights to their empire while 67 % believe that Britain and America were guilty of criminal imperial conduct. Meanwhile US-British trade due to U-Boat embargoes and appeasement philosophies dissipates to 10 % of pre 1939 levels. High unemployment, low trade and investment, rationing, and loss of civic freedoms as both the US and British governments impose drastic security measures and censorship befall both nations.
Shortly after the convening of the New League of Nations in Rome and the expulsion of the US representative on the grounds that ‘US slavery of blacks cannot be condoned in a world body’ , Roosevelt faces domestic impeachment for war crimes for interning Japanese Americans. The thousands of US dead, a destroyed Pacific fleet and ruined communities on both coasts are ignored. The media runs endless recitations of Japanese internment camp footage and abuse. In addition the domestic US political opposition repeatedly and endlessly documents the elitist upbringing of Roosevelt, his avoidance of any military duty whatsoever, his persistent womanizing and whiskeying, and his crippling illness. Privately in back rooms Roosevelt is given an option – officially sign an armistice with Germany and Japan, pay reparations to the New League of Nations for past US crimes, or face impeachment. As well part of this deal includes the repudiation of Churchill and Great Britain and a stern denouncement of the evil actions of the British empire in times current and past. Roosevelt complies. The US media focuses on the terrible conditions of Germans interned in Britain and hails Roosevelt’s volte-face and pro-German policy as ‘far sighted and nuanced.’
In early March 1942 the US ratifies in both Houses a non-aggression pact and economic treaty with both Japan and Hitler. As part of the deal the US must destroy its navy and long range missiles and guarantee that it will not aid Britain in the event of war. Roosevelt signs the document citing poll numbers which state that 65 % of Americans do not like the idea of a war, and that 50 % of Americans do not trust Churchill or the British. The media publish stories on Churchill’s drunkenness, excessive European and German GDP growth and show US actors and writers in Tokyo, who document the perfection of Japanese solidarity and their amazement at Japanese economic success. One actress gushes that she will soon move to Tokyo to be at ‘the centre of man’s future’. The impeachment case against Roosevelt is dropped and the media stops running footage of Japanese internment camp abuses. Roosevelt is saved.
Much to media and academic amazement during 1943 fascist military autocracies take over the main nation states in Africa, Latin America, Mexico, and South Asia. The few critics who protested appeasement under the guise of the ‘domino effect’ are suddenly proved correct. For some weeks the US and British media appear confused. Then the political and media elite begin to recast the story. Indeed the spread of fascism excites the media and academic elite who are effusive of their praise of ‘these strong brave leaders, leading their countries to a better future.’ Only a handful of quasi-democracies remain and these, the mainstream media assures its public, are historical oddities. Ubermensch ideology and communitarian fascism are pronounced in editorials and classrooms as mankind’s future.
The German-American Club for Freedom and its President Henry Ford, explain to the US public that the German model is the society of historical destiny. Ford goes on an extensive public tour describing the massive business opportunities for Ford and other corporations in Europe and his respect for Hitler. After all Ford reasons, ‘Hitler has provided security and continuity – both are essential for business planning.’ On a popular TV talk show Ford describes his thrill in meeting the Fuhrer stating ‘never have I met such a great man. He is a monument of history.’ In contrast Ford describes his meeting with Churchill on the same trip as disappointing and describes Churchill as a ‘sodden, drunken relic of the British racist imperialist past.’ Orsen Wells produces a sycophantic film on Hitler, and George Orwell is first fined then imprisoned in England for writing anti-fascist essays. Environmental studies are published showing how careful Germany and Japan are with their natural resources and how green their societies are. The German idea of recycling plastic and paper using green bins becomes widely emulated. German pop music and Japanese dress become quite popular. Across the US and Britain political science courses dealing with ‘Dialectical Materialism and Fascist Destiny’ become the campus rage and German language enrollments blossom. Sensitivity courses on cultural differences are encouraged in high school.
In a private meeting of the great powers in Yalta in April 1943 Hitler threatens Roosevelt with a combined Soviet-German invasion of the US East coast unless the US increases its shipments in oil and key military-industrial technologies in exchange for bartered goods, labor camp produced product, and Russian wheat. Roosevelt without a Navy complies though he tells Hitler that the concentration camps and Jewish liquidation is creating domestic political problems in the US as reporters slowly report on these atrocities across Europe. Hitler replies that the camps and the elimination of the Jews are mere capitalist fantasies and that Roosevelt must silence such slander. Roosevelt is also non-plussed when Hitler demands, in exchange for decreasing European tariff barriers from 100 to 96 %, that the US limit its airforce to 10 squadrons available for domestic security. High unemployment, lagging industrial production and a world economy which is increasingly marginalized and closed off, dropping polling numbers and unrest in sensitive re-election states, convince the US President to sign the accord. Roosevelt is thus able to proclaim a great diplomatic and economic triumph to the US media forecasting a 15 % rise over 2 years in US exports to Europe. Roosevelt’s poll numbers move up to above a 55 % approval rating with many polls citing that by standing up to Hitler Roosevelt has proven himself to be a strong leader.
Meanwhile in England a confused, and angry Churchill loses his Conservative leadership in a coup plotted by Halifax and Anthony Eden. Tired of Churchill’s obstinacy and endless nagging over German aggression and fascist destruction of liberty, the moderate centrists of the Conservative party assemble a convention and on a one member-one vote basis, vote 78 % in demanding the resignation of the obstinate unrealistic Churchill. Churchill’s steadily anti-German policy is for the Halifax-Eden group not centrist or nuanced enough. The resolution against Churchill was particularly scathing about Churchill’s lack of compassion towards Germanic historical grievances, the role of the Jew in destroying German culture and Churchill’s apparent inability to appear sensitive in public alienating the female, gay and media voting blocs. The political destruction of Churchill according to media polls is favorably endorsed by 72 % of the population.
Weary, sick and dazed by what has transpired Churchill becomes ill and dies 6 months after being ousted from office. Roosevelt in great pain from his polio, fatigued and belittled by innuendo and conflicting poll numbers and media disparagement, quietly slips into death 2 weeks later. Charles Lindbergh takes over the leadership of the Democratic party and easily wins election as President with his party dominating in a landslide both the House and Senate. US polls cite the pro-German Lindbergh with 87 % popular support. Further polls state that 42 % of Americans feel that their best ally is Germany with 32 % citing Japan. Only 15 % believe that Britain is a worthwhile ally. TV media coverage documents the new era of ‘responsible American international orientation.’ Funding for the New League of Nations is doubled. Hollywood starlets burble about the alluring sensual mystique of pure Aryan Nazism. American women flock to Berlin seeking marriage with virtuous beautiful Nazi men and to escape the mongrel culture of America.
One year after their deaths both Churchill and Roosevelt are indicted by their national legislatures and the World Court in Baghdad as war criminals for imperialist crimes against humanity. Six months later Britain is invaded and conquered by a massive Euro-Germany army. In May of 1945 the US agrees to hand over its continental coastal territories in the west to Japan and in the east to Germany in order to avoid a direct invasion. As well the remaining nub of American sovereignty stops all military and nuclear arms production. The US media declares this a realistic foreign policy stating that 64 % of Americans feel that war is evil. A last poll cites 85 % of Americans as being confused and afraid with 75 % stating that they don’t trust the media or the political elite. After Germany and Japan reorder their new US based territories, all media transmission and polling data suddenly and dramatically, stops. It is unclear what percent of the population supported this action.
C. Read
http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/churchill-surrenders-roosevelt-appeases-the-ubermensch-dominate-698742.html
There are a numbers of speculations and anticipations before the start of World cup 2007. As the cricket world cup is mostly loved & viewed game world over. World cup is organized in every fourth year. Last time world was cup held in South Africa in the year 2003. This time West Indies has got honor to host World Cup 2007. The fever or mania for cricket world cup is so intense that can be seen even in layman who has least knowledge about it. Every one is trying to have accessibility to the medium of media to enjoy the uninterrupted and unrestricted coverage of cricket.
West Indies cricket world cup 2007 is inviting huge viewer ship whether it for television or readership of newspaper. The ongoing world cup is set to bring prosperity as business will increase this year manifold. Cricket fans world over are enthusiastic to take pleasure of matches played between some toughest team. World cup 2007 is spreading the feeling of patriotism to citizen of their country. The fervor for World cup has always been great. This has contributed adding innumerable fans in the list of cricket fans each year .
This world cup will bring some good news as well as some bad news. While one team will win the world cup, some veteran players may announce their retirement after the West Indies World Cup 2007. Performances of some new faces can get them suitable places in their team that can change the future prospect of player permanently at least for two- three years.
Every World Cup has witnessed new records being created, so some new records are being expected from this World Cup too. Some new teams have qualified for this World cup to be played. Cricket experts have prophesied some extra ordinary performance from few players. However they have ruled out any sure victory or loss for any player or team as this is said to be game of chance. Cricket coaches are going through great pressures to get their team win to have world cup.
West Indies is country of beaches. Antiqua, Caicos and Caribbean are very famous for exotic locations. This will give a flavor of refreshment to the cricketers at the time of pressures. Onlookers thronging all over the world to West Indies can, also get pleasure of those beautiful locations. West Indies World cup 2007 will be the biggest event of the year that will bring not only fame, name or pleasure to those connected directly or indirectly but will develop brotherhood and peace among the nations.
The hosting country has tremendous task to carry out in view to arrange security for huge VIPs & visitors. It becomes vital issue when the possibility of some terrorist attack looms over. It is very challenging to devise a strategy to ensure safety and security for visiting people. In view of world cup the intelligence agencies of world have been put on extra alert to deal with unprecedented happenings. Some countries are more cautious regarding the safety of their citizen but the prime responsibility comes over the country organizing the event.
Ella Wilson
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/west-indies-world-cup-2007-is-the-years-most-exciting-event-121922.html
First you would have to get a license for your trucking business. Then you would have to find a building for your trucks and what ever you want to do. After that, you would need to find whatever it is you want to deliver and you would have to find custumers.
Visitors to South Africa can enjoy a wide variety of tours and safaris – viewing everything from whales to the Big Five, touring wine farms and engaging in a spectacular range of adventure, sport and leisure activities.
Something that is unique to the country however is the emergence of the ‘Township Tour’. Townships are the informal settlement residential areas of South Africa which developed over the apartheid era. Since the dawn of democracy in 1994 township tourism has grown as locals and visitors alike began to flock to these previously ‘no-go’ areas (at least for ‘whites’) to see how the other half live.
In fact the majority of township tourists are foreigners as locals have grown up with a fear of entering the settlements – a deep-rooted fear that has been hard to overcome.
Today Township Tourism is massive – a multi-million rand business which saw close on 320 000 foreigners pouring into settlements throughout the country last year. According to Cape Town’s tourist office more than 80 percent of its 250 licensed tour operators offer these “cultural experiences.”
So what can one expect to see and experience when embarking on a township tour in Soweto, Johannesburg or Langa, Cape Town?
Francois L. Botha
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/township-tours-96103.html
At only 17, one young man from Sweden made a decision that would define the rest of his life. He started a small business in his home where he initially started selling pens, wallets, picture frames and other little products and he also sold by mail order. The business was founded in 1943 and today, it is the world’s largest furniture manufacturer having 278 stores in 36 countries. The young man I’m talking about is Ingvar Kamprand the founder of IKEA which is an acronym. I and K stand for the initials of his name while E and A mean Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd which are the names of the farm he grew up in and the country he was born in which is South of Sweden respectively. The stores are very popular in Europe, Asia, United States, Canada and Australia. They have also established stores in Israel and other countries in the Middle East and going into this markets is a huge achievement. Today, they retail household items like flat pack furniture, bathrooms and kitchen products and accessories.
The first ikea store to be opened outside of Sweden was in Norway in 1963 and another store followed in Denmark in 1969. In the 70s many stores emerged in Europe and a momentum had started. It is however vital to note that this company is a total stranger to developing countries and they have not expressed their desire to venture into continents like Africa and South America. Their motto is really simple and it is ‘to create a better everyday life for the many people’ they have certainly made life for people better by providing not only quality but, affordable products. The layouts of their stores is quite contemporary and it is a large showroom where a customer can view everything there is to see. The stores have a theme color and they are usually very large blue buildings. After the customer has viewed the products they are led to a warehouse that is just nearby where with their trolley, they pick up the product that was of interest to them then, they take it to the cashier to make payments.
Ikea stores, especially the new ones are never dull. They have more glass and natural light that improves the mood and the general impression of the self service store warehouses. The stores provide for negotiations on discounts and there is also a policy of no returns. Therefore, goods once sold cannot be returned. In many ikea stores that you visit in the world, you will notice that they are located outside city centers and this is deliberate. This is because of the traffic access and the land cost. City centers present a huge challenge for affordable space. The major distinction with ikea furniture and other products is that they are sold unassembled. This is the meaning of flat pack. The consumers therefore assemble for themselves and this cuts the cost considerably to the store. To sell themselves, they publish catalogs annually and produce a magazine which is translated in 13 languages. They also have a discount card which you can get and it is called the Ikea family card. Clearly this is a business that has risen above the rest and it will not stop.
Muna wa Wanjiru
http://www.articlesbase.com/furniture-articles/did-you-what-ikea-is-all-about-463870.html
February 27, 2007
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RED CHINA, INC.
Does Communism Work After All?
By Andreas Lorenz and Wieland Wagner
China is securing an ever-bigger share of the world market with the methods of a planned economy. Competitors and economists alike are astounded by the country’s seemingly unstoppable march to becoming a global economic superpower. The development has left many wondering: Does communism work after all?
Boom City Shanghai: President Hu Jintao and his Communist Party are experiencing explosive success across the country.
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Boom City Shanghai: President Hu Jintao and his Communist Party are experiencing explosive success across the country.
Nine men dressed in dark tailored suits meet behind high, Red walls. Their secret meeting place in downtown Beijing is called Zhongnanhai, or "Middle and Southern Lake." Once part of the Forbidden City, Zhongnanhai was a place where emperors, concubines and eunuchs would spend their days concocting court intrigues. Some of the buildings from those feudal days are still standing today, joined by functional, gray and white structures built when the Chinese Communist Party established its headquarters here.
The nine men — who constitute the Standing Committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo, the most-powerful political body in the Middle Kingdom — meet in the southern section of this refuge. Their discreet meeting is businesslike. The group’s members were not elected by the people and they are not interested in being observed while governing. Cameras are banned and there is a conspicuous absence of jovial pats on the back or ready smiles for the evening news.
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None of the members of this sombre squad is known for his charisma. President Hu Jintao, 64, the head of state and Communist Party leader, and his eight colleagues are stiff technocrats. Hu, the son of a tea merchant from Jiangsu Province, holds a degree in hydroelectric engineering. The others are trained in fields like electrical engineering, metallurgy or geology.
But the discussions and decisions made here within the ranks of China’s Politburo affect the well-being of 1.3 billion Chinese — and increasingly the rest of the world. If the Middle Kingdom were not a country, but rather a giant company — let’s call it Red China, Inc. — then the Politburo would be its all-powerful board of directors.
And if Hu were not a communist official but rather a capitalist corporate boss, he would find himself inundated with job offers worldwide. Competitors in the capitalist West can only dream of the successes he and his fellow communist leaders cum business executives have achieved.
Hardly a day goes by on which Asia’s giant, Red corporation does not report new and dazzling business figures. And the more helplessly Western heads of state — from United States President George W. Bush to German Chancellor Angela Merkel — attempt to reform their traditional market economies, the more enviously the capitalist world eyes China’s frenzied growth, all the while asking itself: Does communism work after all?
China’s speedy ascent to become a global economic superpower is troubling to many: to the industrialized nations of the West because they fear for their jobs; to politicians because the global balance of power is shifting; and, last but not least, to economists because it is so puzzling to them.
Red China, Inc.: Does communism work after all?
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Economists’ theories are based on the recognition that market forces alone drive economic growth. The state’s only role is to ensure that competition functions and that no one is able to abuse his power in the marketplace to an inadmissible degree.
A Midas touch
For these economists, the fall of the Iron Curtain offered glaring proof that their hypotheses were correct. Indeed, planned economies in Soviet bloc countries were failures, creating poverty instead of affluence and leaving industrial wastelands in their wake. Yet China is flourishing. With a blend of a planned economy and unbridled capitalism that you won’t find mentioned in any textbook, the country is capturing world markets and achieving double-digit growth year after year.
Hu and his Red board of directors appear to have something akin to the Midas touch. With their country, which amounts to a gigantic, low-cost factory, they have already managed to accumulate more than $1 trillion in foreign currency reserves. In theory, at least, the communist People’s Republic of China, has now joined the United States, the global capitalist superpower, in deciding the fate of the world’s leading currency.
In 2005, China leapfrogged over France and Great Britain to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. The country’s new spot in the rankings came as the result of an omission on the part of its communist bosses: Already blessed with so much growth, they had simply forgotten to include a large portion of their giant service sector in China’s economic statistics.
American sinologist Roderick MacFarquhar is astonished by China’s performance. "Never before," says MacFarquhar, "has so much wealth been created by so many people in such a short time span."
If China continues to grow at the same pace, it will oust Germany as the world’s third-biggest economy in only two years, perhaps even dethroning the United States from its leading position one day. In 2005, China was already the US’s second-largest goods supplier and Japan’s largest. Not satisfied with being No. 2, Beijing’s strategists are continuing their plans to shower the world with inexpensive products such as T-shirts and DVD players — and, increasingly, with Chinese high technology.
A fast-developing tech sector
China recently surpassed Germany in the number of patents it registers. With its latest five-year plan, the country’s Communist Party has set itself an ambitious goal of catapulting China to world-class heights in the fields of science and technology. According to the plan, Chinese probes will orbit the moon next year and land on it by 2010. China’s space ambitions also include a bizarre aural spectacle: Its lunar orbiters will transmit 150 pop songs back to earth, including a Chinese tune titled "We Love our China."
Photo Gallery: China’s Celestial Ambitions
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Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (8 Photos)
The Communist Party’s economic successes aren’t its only impressive achievement. Chinese cities are safer than places like São Paulo or Bogotá, and they seem cleaner and more orderly than the slums of Nairobi or Soweto in South Africa. Beijing and Shanghai boast a lively cultural scene, and broadband Internet access is already taken for granted in the country’s major cities. Mobile phone reception is even available in small villages.
Communist Party leader Hu and his Politburo colleagues aren’t the only ones behind the changes that have swept across this vast country. True, they are responsible for coming up with the overriding strategies behind China’s economic miracle, and for this task they take the necessary time — hours that Western politicians waste doing the rounds on talk shows. But the Politburo also routinely solicits advice and reports on the latest global trends in science and business — on issues running the gamut from biotechnology to health insurance — from academics in so-called "study sessions." This being a communist land, these sessions would of course be incomplete without the requisite lectures on China’s revolutionary history and Marxist theory.
Graphic: The Government System of the People’s Republic China
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Graphic: The Government System of the People’s Republic China
The State Council, China’s cabinet — headed by the pedantic and schoolmaster-like 64-year-old Prime Minister Wen Jiabao — deals with the day-to-day business of government. The cabinet meets at least three times a month, as required by law, in a building located a stone’s throw from the offices of the Politburo. Meetings are graced with tall beauties dressed in red outfits and white gloves, who serve cabinet members green tea from the Wuyuan district in Jiangxi Province.
Red China, Inc.’s central nervous system
In addition to Wen, this inner circle of the Chinese government includes four deputy premiers, five members of the State Council (including one general) and a secretary general. Comprised of eight men and two women, the group directs and coordinates the work of 28 ministries and commissions, including the country’s central bank and its central auditing authority. It also presides over an immense number of government agencies, including China’s official news agency, Xinhua, the Academy of Sciences, the customs agency, the weather bureau, an agency in charge of grain production and distribution and — not to be overlooked — the Administration of Government Offices, which provides high-ranking officials with living quarters, cars and vacation homes.
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All the elements in the network that make up Red China, Inc. come together in Wen’s State Council. The body controls daily life in China with a plethora of decrees, memorandums, plans, measures and responses. In the month of September alone, it issued a decree on the "Administration of Payment of the Automobile Sales Tax," approved "Basic Regulations for the Electricity Market" and organized "Safety Inspections of Dams that include Power Plants."
A decade and a half after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a communist country appears to be relentlessly transforming itself into an economic superpower. Its recipe for success is, at first glance, the five-year-plan — one which dismayed Western politicians have routinely dismissed for such features as its ban on private ownership of land and its manipulation of currency exchange rates.
Having your cake and eating it too
But five-year plans are only one side of the coin in China’s vast realm. The other is a wildly unfettered capitalism geared solely toward naked profit. And when it comes to turning a profit, hardly anything seems sacred anymore, not even for China’s communists. The Great Hall of the People in Beijing is a case in point. If the National People’s Congress doesn’t happen to be in session or President Hu isn’t using the magnificent building — with its more than 300 rooms and enormous paintings depicting scenes from the revolution — to receive foreign dignitaries, the government simply rents it out. Recently, US automaker Ford used the building to unveil its latest line of car models, and fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken opted for the elegance of the Great Hall to hold a meeting of its more than 2,100 Chinese restaurant managers.
Ironically enough, while economists in Europe and the United States advocate "less government" and "open markets" as a response to globalization and the Chinese challenge, the Marxist-Leninist party that rules China blatantly avails itself of every advantage of capitalism while steadfastly refusing to give up state control over the economy.
Graphic: Awakening Giant
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Graphic: Awakening Giant
ICBC, a major Chinese bank, recently conducted the biggest initial public offering in financial history, floating shares worth the equivalent of $22 billion on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. In a win-win situation for China’s communists, the bank’s value rose to more than $200 billion, and yet Beijing retains control over ICBC. The country’s three largest telecommunications companies are also state-owned. Two years ago, the Communist Party simply reshuffled senior executives among the three companies.
Is China, one of the most undemocratic nations on earth, setting an example for democratic countries on how to effectively solve problems? Do China’s successes fly in the face of every critic and skeptic who believes that Marxism-Leninism and capitalism are as incompatible as the devil and holy water?
" A social market economy with Chinese characteristics">>
: Blogs discussing this story
First of all, communism, as a porduction method, doesn’t exist since the dawn of men. What China, Russia, and all the former ‘red’ nations live by, or lived by, it’s socialism, an hybrid of pure communism.
Now, going back to the China issue. China’s more capitalist that many of us want to acknowledge. Remember Karl Marx used to talk about how the basis of capitalism was to generate plusvalue through the exploitation of the labor force, something China’s proven to do perfectly with it’s low wages and control of inner market.
I see China as a two-faced country. On one side, you have Hong Kong, Shanghai, and all those fancy cities were progress and industrialization are present. And you have the rural China, wre things haven’t changed much since the times of Mao.
So the success of a mode, or way, of production depends on the culture, traditions, and behaviour of the society were they’re imposed. I’m sure socialism would be ghastly for the USA, but alo there are places in the world were ful-on capitalism has brought poverty and huge social differences.
Hope I helped a little bit. Sorry if my english is bad.
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Child porn ring uncovered in Austria By VERONIKA OLEKSYN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Feb 7, 7:08 AM ET
VIENNA, Austria – Austrian authorities said Wednesday they have uncovered a major international child pornography ring involving more than 2,360 suspects from 77 countries, including hundreds in the United States, who paid to view videos of young children being sexually abused.
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The children were under the age of 14 and screams could be heard, said Harald Gremel, an Austrian police expert on Internet crime who headed the investigation.
Interior Minister Guenther Platter said the FBI was investigating about 600 of the suspects in the United States. German authorities were following leads on another 400 people, France was looking into about 100 others, and at least 23 suspects were Austrians, he said.
Platter said videos downloaded from the Internet and seized by Austria’s Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau included images that showed "the worst kind of child sexual abuse."
Gremel said "girls could be seen being raped, and you could also hear screams." Although officials initially said the children ranged in ages from "0 to 14," Gremel later said no infants were seen in the videos.
No Austrian suspects were yet in custody, authorities said, adding that they shared their information with law enforcement in other countries in hopes that suspects could be investigated and charged. Gremel said he could not provide details about investigations outside Austria, but noted that cooperation with Russian authorities had intensified over the past two weeks.
The investigation began in July when a man working for a Vienna-based Internet file hosting service approached authorities at the Interior Ministry to say he noticed the pornographic material during a routine check, Gremel said.
The man blocked access to the videos while recording the I.P. addresses of people who continued to try to download the material, and gave the details to authorities. Neither the man nor the Vienna company were identified, and police said neither was implicated in the case.
Within a 24-hour period, investigators recorded more than 8,000 hits from 2,361 computer I.P. addresses in 77 countries ranging from Algeria to South Africa, Gremel told reporters.
The videos were posted on a Russian Web site, and users had to pay $89 to access the material, Gremel said.
He said investigators believed the videos, which included images of girls and boys up to age 14, were made in Eastern Europe and uploaded to the site from somewhere in Britain.
Germany had the largest single number of suspects in Europe, Gremel said.
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I read this and I’m absolutely sickened by it. Nothing is going to be done to stop this, you know. There is an evil current in this world and these devils do whatever they like, without any reprisals from anyone. After a few more shock treatments in the media, this horror will get swept under the rug, like the rest of the filth in our society. Our children will continue to be brutalized and nobody will do a damn thing about it. This is the problem with the masses: they sit back and wait for somebody else to do what they should do themselves. Yes, I’m sickened!
Sefapane Lodge & Safaris: introduction Safaris (short). Music clip. A general atmospheric introduction of the Safaris in Kruger National Park & on the Olifants river that are organized by Sefapane Lodge & Safaris, located near Kruger National Park in Phalaborwa, South Africa (Limpopo Province). Address : Copper Road PO Box 1621, Phalaborwa 1390, South Africa; telephone : +27 (0) 15-780 6700; fax : +27 (0) 15-780 6711; e-mail : reservations@sefapane.co.za / sales@sefapane.co.za; website : www.sefapane.co.za. Sefapane Lodge & Safaris is situated 1 km from the Phalaborwa Gate, the central gate to the Kruger National Park, on a beautiful parcel of unspoiled bushveld. The 4-star luxury lodge is owner managed and consists of 32 fully serviced, deluxe traditional African style thatched rondavels. The rondavels, situated under shady trees, are fitted with air-conditioning and en-suite bathroom. On our new estate area we have 20 excellent safari houses, situated around the dam, where a brilliant birdlife is. The safari houses are suitable for 4 till 8 persons, selfcatering, but also able to use all the lodge facilities. Next to the splendid freshwater swimming pool is a sunken bar. The restaurant, with open kitchen, serves filling breakfasts, lunches and divine à la carte dinners. The Indaba lounge offers a quiet place to read a book, watch television or sit by the fireplace. Alternatively it can host small conferences, workshops and private dinner functions. A rustic dam on the property allows guests to watch the colourful birdlife undisturbed. Sefapane Lodge & Safaris organises safaris within the Kruger National Park guided by experienced FGHASA qualified guides and in special designed gameviewing safari vehicles. The day, river and evening safaris as well as the bush walks are all conducted under the guidance of experienced rangers. The well-known 18-holes Hans Merensky Golf Course plus the centre of Phalaborwa is only a few minutes drive away from Sefapane Lodge. Languages spoken; the reception staff speak English, Afrikaans, German, French, Dutch, Northern Sotho and Zulu. Description Location: Kruger National Park 1 kilometre, Airport Phalaborwa 5 kilometres, Centre Phalaborwa 3 kilometres, Hans Merensky Golf Club 2 kilometres, Airport Hoedspruit 50 kilometres. Accommodation of the rondavels: • Twenty seven single or twin rondavels. These one-room chalets are fully serviced and have en-suite bathroom. • Three family rondavels. A family rondavel is a chalet with two separate bedrooms, a lounge and sharing bathroom. • One family house, with 2 bedrooms en 1 bathroom and a separate extra toilet. More self catering facilities. Optional excursions & Safaris: Using Phalaborwa as a base, some time can be spent exploring parts of the Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga. Sefapane Lodge & Safaris has compiled a selection of half-day and day excursions. These optional excursions and safaris can be arranged on arrival at Sefapane Lodge. For self-drive excursions guests have the option to either use their rental cars or to rent an AVIS car for the day. Sefapane Lodge & Safaris will provide the guests, making use of this option, an elaborate route planner.
This videoclip is produced by: Libra Films BV, the Netherlands (www.libra-films.com). Camera: André IJsendoorn. Camera assistant: Lieselot IJsendoorn. (c) Libra Licensing BV, ’s-Graveland, the Netherlands. For downloading of documentaries (travel, wildlife, nature, Camera: netherlands), musicfilms and -clips, visit our online videotheque: www.reistv.nl. For DVD sales: www.reisvideo.nl. For business to business applications (such as sublicensing video materials/footage, films, clips, narrowcasting, audiovisual productions and other services) you can contact us via our website: www.libra-films.com
Duration : 0:2:28
Simon Reeve visits South Africa to meet a group of Afrikaaners who have reported crime problems since the end of Apartheid, and tries shooting an AK47. Interesting video from BBC travel show Tropic of Capricorn.
Duration : 0:4:2
Ten3 Market and Cultural Intelligence Studies: What Ten3 Courses Business People buy in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, South America – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, Netherland, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Swtizerland, United Kingdom, United States.
Education areas: Self-Improvement, Leadership, Business Development, Top Management, Entrerpeneurship, Market Leadership, Business Process Management, Strategic Management, Innovation Management, Cultural Intelligence
Duration : 0:3:17