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September 2005 Archives

September 30, 2005

Poverty Moral Cowardice Development (edited, corrections)

As I write this it is Friday, mosque day.

As usual, heading off to lunch & past the jami', the Friday mosque, I run into the horde of beggars that come out for the main afternoon prayer. Old men, by their dress in rough djellaba and turban or tarbouche, from the rural and dryland south - land of the Chleuh. Old women and the very young, new mothers, perhaps abandoned, perhaps widowed in fact or by default with their young husband having left illegally to Europe - perhaps surviving the transit, perhaps not.

Their dress and speech marks them as southerners, Chleuh, the rural poor fleeing drought and declining productivity as population growth means ever smaller plots and ever more pressure on the land.

Continue reading "Poverty Moral Cowardice Development (edited, corrections)"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:50 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

September 29, 2005

Bloody Arablishisms

Working on some investment proposals (not particularly brilliant ones but that is another matter) submitted in Arabic; written by easterners. Stuck on one word in the bloody use of funds section describing intended use of capital. Shefel.

What the fuck is Shefel?

I go to town looking this thing up, it's clearly some piece of equipment, but what the bloody hell is it.

No sign of the goddamned word in any proper dictionary or even sketchy one.

This am in the shower it suddenly hits me.

Shovel. It's a motherfucking steam shovel! Shefel = shovel. Like Driwer = Driver.

Now the only question, what's the goddamned plural. Is is Shefelat? Or maybe Shefail.

I favour the later, if only for the pure perversity of it.

In other matters, looking through the portfolio of the proposed fund, I realise that this is not a happy portfolio. So, again it's a turnaround situ people are looking to me for. Well, I guess that's okay, indeed could be very interesting, presuming this is turn aroundable.

If not, I'll buy a shefel and driwer it around.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:39 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

September 28, 2005

Sexy Abaya wearing Arab Women, Assumptions: US Pub Diplo Meet in KSA

Returning to a subject more or less dear to 'Aqoul, women in the Arab world, for a moment, I wanted to draw attention to this intriguing article from the visit by US public diplomacy director Karen Hughes to Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Women Have Message for U.S. Envoy

Let me first say little in the article was surprising to me (including Ms. Hughes surprise that the "Sisters" did not look at their cultural heritage and mores in the same light as she expected), but it is a useful one for reflexion. Thus some comments on the article:

Update: The Financial Times also has this story. Better done actually.

Further update: Daniel Drezner has comments on the FT article and in comments I was amused by the commentator thinking that Saudis would be driving other Saudis as a general rule (or that middle class Saudis would find it a financial hardship to have servants...).

(crossposted from 'Aqoul)

Continue reading "Sexy Abaya wearing Arab Women, Assumptions: US Pub Diplo Meet in KSA"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:59 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Society & Culture

September 27, 2005

Among the mind numbing things that makes one want to drink heavily

Translating balance sheets from Arabic (with eastern style numbers) into English or French.

First, no one has yet to settle on standard accounting terms in Arabic, so every goddamned school seems to produce its own highly idiosyncratic phrasing which even though one can usually get the sense of it, is bloody goddamned irritating. As for example, I can make out that a certain word that in classical usage meant to be worn away is being used by some very special accountant for depreciation (or something like that), it's more than a bit arch to revive a classical phrase for this concept when there are more ordinary substitutes.

Second, not only is eyeballing those annoying eastern numbers irritating, but then flipping them into the column western style adds a new level of irritation. Above all as it is easy to confuse which column you're working off as even from page to page this annoying fuck isn't quite consistent.

Oh what I would not give for some dictator to impose some degree of standardization on Arabic in these senses (not that there are not dominant usages... but every little two bit Islamic school schooled semi literate git accountant seems to want to revive some dead term to show off).

Fuck it, going to get drunk. Although that motherfucking 7 am meeting tomorrow is very unsporting. 7 am, who the fuck meets at 7 am?

Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:02 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso-Expatedness

Random Observations on Things Not to Do (if hosting a business meeting)

Some observations from attending a high level meet between the principals for the Fund which may (if certain wrinkles are ironed out) become my new master. All in regards to hosting such things, if you are a resto or club or the like.

Continue reading "Random Observations on Things Not to Do (if hosting a business meeting)"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Biz - Private in MENA , Perso Biz Notes , Perso-Expatedness

September 26, 2005

Gulf Finance, Booms & Inefficiencies

Our friend and sometime contributor Waterboy draws attention to something obvious to all involved, and yet an item that remains out of control: overliquidity in the Gulf region and the consquent mad asset price boom in the Gulf. His observation is spot on, that there is

there's too much cash chasing too few investment opportunities in the region; too little oversight, regulation or transparency; too much exuberance - bear in mind, as Japanese bank Nomura pointed out, that Saudi Telecom's market capitalisation of US$74bn is worth more than BT (US$35bn), AT&T
(US$15bn), SK Telecom (US$15bn), and Telekom SA (US$9bn) combined - and far too many unsophisticated investors who think that having the names of a couple of ruling family members in the IPO prospectus is a valid alternative to a business plan - or, for that matter, an existing business.

No doubt about this at all. Some conversations I had over the past week painfully illustrated that. This aside, a key point of disequilibrium is the degree to which despite the asset valuations in the Gulf being absolutely looney to the point of surreal, the money is not flowing within the region to a reasonable degree.

Continue reading "Gulf Finance, Booms & Inefficiencies"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Biz - Policy & Development , Biz - Private in MENA , Business , Economics , Egypt , Jazeera-Arabia , MENA Region General , North Africa , Sham-Levant

Here and Back Again

I am back at home base, may take a few days to get into posting. Rather a lot of various business has piled up, and it's into quarterly reporting season for me.

However, I have come back to learn that the Biggest Cheese was in while I was gone and secured a "new client" with the government by making truly absurd promises that we can not in any way live up to.

Bloody comedy.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Blog Notes - Admin

September 19, 2005

Among the dangers of long business trips & meetings

is over-indulgence in expressos.

Or so I am remembering now after a good solid 8 hours of meets, greets, and the like.

I rather feel like my entire nervous system wants to jump out of my body and I have this weird disembodied feeling. I would call this cafiene poisoning. Staggeringly hard to achieve with me given how much I normally knock back ( I am, I confess, a cafe addict, sure it will produce an ulcer soon enough, but that's what doctors are for ), but managed it today.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:35 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso-Expatedness

Arab Blood and Arab Language

While I am on the road I thought I might find a moment to share one of the more typical Arab region interactions that I have (besides the Agency one). It is what I call “Arab Blood – Arab Language” assumption.

The conversation is always structured in the same way, and oddly almost always comes from Eastern Arabs although I get it not infrequently in the Maghreb as well.

As in the case that just brought it to mind, where the airport VIP escort fellow (part of the package on this particular trip, although I confess as I get older I get more inclined to such things as a recent hissy fit I threw with my woman because she only got me second class tickets sadly and most unflatteringly demonstrated) had an accent that suggested to me he was an Egyptian immigrant (or emigrant depending on the point of view), leading me to playfully respond to him in Arabic on a question. Leaving aside the poor bastard nearly jumped out of his skin (one should admit that my highly anglo name would not suggest Arabic speaking), he was all to happy to rap with me in Arabic (and I was in the mood being surrounded at the moment by a sea of idiot monolingual fatties for whom Arabic was scary).

Getting to the point, after having a real conversation for a bit that convinced him I actually do know the language, he then asked me what my “real” origins were. For my dear Egyptian the ability to speak more than bad kitchen Arabic had to be an indication of having Arab blood. The conversation always follows a very particular patter with Eastern Arabs, insistent questions as to whether I don’t really have Palestinian, Syrian or Lebanese blood. Certainly by physical type I could be from that region, but it’s the funny presumption that one has to have the blood to learn the language passingly well that always intrigues me.

Very peculiar, not sure where it comes from. The alternate presumption that one is Muslim makes rather more sense, but rarely get that directly (although I suppose it might be partially embedded in the Levantine assumption).

Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:13 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso-Expatedness

September 15, 2005

Geographic ignorance

Setting up some conference stuff today for a potential attendance next month in the US of A, in some steamy southern crappy city with fat bankers.

I'm emailing the twit in New York about the detials and I get a note, copying some other potential participants, saying "Although Mr. Lounsbury has been indicating the conference is in Charleston, SC, it is in fact in Charlotte, NC. I just wanted to avoid confusion. I’m sure this was just a typo as we’ve discussed this more than a few times."

Ah. The shame. Well two bloody cities in the Carolinas both start with C. What can I say?

My reply was quite simple: "Bother, two bloody cities in the bloody Carolinas, all the bloody same to me."

Nevertheless, I was amused. In fact I always confuse the two. Might as well be the same city to me.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:26 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso-Expatedness

September 12, 2005

On Petrol

I filled up the Lounsbury Black Secret Car recently, my it was painful.

Thankfully the German engineering, my aversion to driving, my utter hatred of local drivers, and the fact I can walk to work all lead me to only rarely fill up.

70 euro equivalents for a full tank. And this with subsidies. Although perhaps the subsidies don't apply to my particular blend.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso-Expatedness

Apparently I am too literary

In corresponding with someone on business matters, I just got a reply wherein the fine chica on the other end notes "I had to look up scofflaw in the dictionary." (I was calling myself a scofflaw for not sending a document on time).

Ah the pain.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:18 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

Underdevelopment as Dilettantisme: Why MENA Does Not Attract Capital, Reason No. 5

While sadly behind on my ability to comment substantively, I thought a bit of a comment on dilettanstisme would be worth a quick intervention (and it being all I have time for, it's what one gets).

The comment is provoked by a series of convos over the past few days in regards to a certain MENA country (which for various sensitivity reasons shall remain unnamed) and its hosting of a MENA region investment conference. Let's say that our certain MENA country is not exactly a star performer in the realm of attracted FDI, per capita or in gross. Of course neither is the region.

Continue reading "Underdevelopment as Dilettantisme: Why MENA Does Not Attract Capital, Reason No. 5"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Biz - Policy & Development , Biz - Private in MENA , Business , Economics , MENA Region General

September 09, 2005

Gone a bit [update]

Audit being done, must concentrate on various business items. I am going to be fucking around on business and away from 15 Sep through to 25 Sep. Have to meet the Partners of the Fund and rap about certain issues of mutual interest, such as how expensive I am. Going to be a brutal schedule and need to do some prepping as well for this and a queer meeting with the US Amb.

[added]
Rotted. Just learned that the sort of weekender add on I was planning for this has been fucked. Have to meet with some of the principals in another city (fucking bedouine, motherfuckers should sit still); meaning for the umpteenth time in a row I have to cancel on the woman for that 'romantic get away' weekend thing she's been hounding me about for a year now. I'm really going to have to engage in some major bribery on this. Bloody hell, it's not even scheming on my part.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:24 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Blog Notes - Admin

September 05, 2005

In other matters

Audit this week, the annoying people from Central are in. The annoying killjoy accountants have already begun posing such questions as "Where can I get a bagel, they have bagels don't they?"

My Jefe's strategy is have them not talk to me very much, which is wise. I might start ranting.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:27 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

Random question to the financial journos

Small question really of trivial interest:

Continue reading "Random question to the financial journos"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

On Sex & MENA: The Local Porn Industry

I have a longish reflection on this very subject, and on the issue of prostitution, general dress and the like. It needs editing (and has for months), but this week's report in La Gazette, a mainstream weekly, and some observations I made this weekend while shopping in my tres chic office-shopping mall complex provoke me to a small interim observation:

First, of course, I am not surprised that the article I cited, entitled "L’industrie du film X au Maroc" was published, given recent scandals in Agadir and hints of the same in Marrakech. Poverty combined with lack of opportunity combined with vast wealth differences always produces these kinds of things (although that has nothing perhaps to do with the Euro porn stars cited as having come to Marrakech).

I should note that the physical version of this article is rather more graphic and rather longer.

Continue reading "On Sex & MENA: The Local Porn Industry"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:12 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Filed Under: North Africa , Politics - Islam(ic) , Politics - Local , Society & Culture , The Maghreb

Iraq, the silly Iraqi Dinar currency speculators again, more amusement

I stopped by what has become my weekly source of amusement, investorsiraq.com to see what sort of lies were being pimped to the gullible this week.

I was quite amused to see this: complete fabrication regarding Agency valuation of the currency, as of course the claim the Agency (which is hardly an economic analysis bureau) does not actually exist on said pages. Pure outright lying to the gullible. Amusing although sad in many ways.

Continue reading "Iraq, the silly Iraqi Dinar currency speculators again, more amusement"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Economics , Iraq

New Orleans & MENA Coverage & Lessons (updated)

A number of comments and an email or two asked me about what I was seeing in regards to coverage of New Orleans.

A quick characterisation, with the following caveats: (i) recall, I am businessman, I consume media here for my own purposes, not as a full time media or political blitherer, (ii) I tend to consume only the useful mainstream media - the weird fringe papers and Salafi lunacy online is not part of my world, although I do not what I consume tends to reflect what "average Mohammed" might consume if he's not a loon or whatnot.

With those caveats, my note on coverage on New Orleans is that it largely was marginal until Saturday. The bridge massacre/catastrophe in Iraq, elections in Egypt, the grinding blithering on about Isreal-Palestine all (although especially the thousand odd dead in Iraq) tended to push the US off the radar.

On the weekend, as the astonishing incompetence of the US response to its own disaster became ever clearer (and the Iraqi catastrophe especially began to fade in the news cycle), New Orleans cropped up. I am chary to over-characterise the coverage as I had others things to worry about and did not pay terribly close attention, but the major themes from the Arab Sats struck me as (i) Incompetence, (ii) Racism - very much played up, (iii) Violence.

Unsurprising themes - note I refer here to the normal news and not to editorial content programs - which fit into the typical (and after New Orleans, perhaps one has to admit not baseless) stereotype of America as a racist violent society unable to control itself.

Nothing particularly new or interesting there. The incompetence angle - the feet of clay as it were - however is newish. Well, at least no one brought up how fat the average Louisianna resident appears to be.

[updated:]

I thought of a seperate post but rather than cluttering, this one should suffice as I hardly need to add to the New Orleans chatter any further.

Continue reading "New Orleans & MENA Coverage & Lessons (updated)"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:02 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Society & Culture

Negotiations

Ongoing. The phrase that my mentor (who is involved in this, let's call him a sponsor here) recited to me years ago (bloody hell it's been a bloody long time) - "want a friend, get a dog."

Four sided negotiations with lots of lawyers and money involved. Well, what can I say other than I am in like Flynn if the lawyers don't fuck things over.

That is a non-trivial risk. End of year earliest it appears for closing.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

September 01, 2005

And here I thought the whole planning thing....

Breaking my self imposed silence on actual current employment issues I note that we've gotten early note from one of the Big Swinging Dick Directors (BFI hisself) that despite all that hullabaloo during the strategic planning pow wow I had to suffer through as we decided how to rearrange deck chairs, and his new roles, etc. etc., he's now taking on "new roles" in the organisation to fit "different interests."

Hmmm as he was in theory going to be in charge of the business line that supposedly is the best, can I not suspect that "different interests" may be translated in interesting ways.

Continue reading "And here I thought the whole planning thing...."

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Perso Biz Notes

The New Month Pretension I Give a Fuck About My Readers Post

Well, the title says it really.

But it is a tradition, and I like my traditions.

Otherwise, I note my complete lack of motivation of late in regards to proper work.

Continue reading "The New Month Pretension I Give a Fuck About My Readers Post"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:07 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Blog Notes - Admin