RSS« February 2007 | April 2007 »
March 2007 Archives
March 30, 2007
Bloody fuckers
Called to board meeting, Monday. Goddamned tickets, and I have to prepare in one fucking day. Mothefuckers and their desperate fucking scrambling. I should have told them to go to hell with this stupid job. Three goddamned days notice to prep?
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:26 AM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Perso Biz Notes
March 28, 2007
Economic Policy & Lessons for Maghreb: The pain in Spain will follow years of rapid economic gain
Although not directly MENA related, this is worthy of quick attention as it shows someone besides Hogan going for painful punditry, although with an underlying point, and because Spain is beginning to have a truly important influence in the North Africa - essentially Maghreb - region on an economic basis. As well, I would add, to a limited extent on a political basis.
So, here it is The Groan Worthy: The pain in Spain will follow years of rapid economic gain
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:50 PM
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Economics
,
MENA Region General
,
North Africa
,
The Maghreb
March 27, 2007
Fever & Negotiations
I spent today trying to negotiate a deal while running a fever of a rather extraordinary level.
It was interesting.
Luckily the big guys had asked for some deal breakers, my incoherence might have been the cause.
A deal might happen, but fucking need anti-bios... or something. Room is moving. Well at least the biz class lady knows me and will treat me like a baby.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:47 AM
| Comments (4)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Perso Biz Notes
March 23, 2007
My Staff
Can not write a damned marketing document in their own bloody language if their lives depended on it.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:40 PM
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Perso Biz Notes
March 22, 2007
Pissing off
Have to piss off for several days, business, unlikely to be posting.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 09:29 PM
| Comments (1)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Blog Notes - Admin
March 20, 2007
Rotted Dimwitted Bureaucrats
Perhaps it is my general poor humour, however I have just gotten off the phone from yelling at some dimwitted git of a fool in a certain consular service from the region. I need to, to have my ridiculously expensive visa approved to go to this shitty rubbish messed up ridiculous mess of a dictatorship, have a "Justifying Letter" establishing the reason I might want, in a fit of madness no doubt, visit said worthless piece of real estate.
So, the Director of my firm has to write the letter. At this point I go ballastic and point out that I am, in fact, the motherfucking director (actually I said bloody goddamned director), and what bloody point is there to me writing a letter for myself to justify myself making the decision to go, myself, to the capital of X?
The logic, if it can be called that, was "if something happened to me they [who "they" would be escapes me] would want to know why the visa was granted." What the bloody fuck? Why the bloody fuck would anyone care what some threadbare suit wearing chimpanzee of an underpaid petty dictator of a consular official did in granting the fucking visa? I don't come from a fucking police state, and in the other direction, contra the little retard's supposition, we don't give a bloody fuck if you've been "authorised by" someone.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:23 AM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
March 15, 2007
A Whiff of Idiocy, A Whiff of Bigotry, A Whiff of Cankerous Fear in his Dotage (Lewis, Bernard)
Unlike many of my fellow authors, I rather like the works of Bernard Lewis, or rather, the classic works of Bernard Lewis when he was a historian rather than a political dabbler.
Pity to see an old historian stretch himself into idiocy.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:21 AM
| Comments (15)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
MENA Region General
,
Politics - US FP
March 14, 2007
Development Investing & Indiscipline
I just came away from one of the most profoundly frustrating meetings in a while.
Talking with some local business people about potential financing for an investment project (in real industry, for a change).
Not a bad proposition.
Except for the life of me I can't get them to express their god damned concepts and value proposition.
Continue reading "Development Investing & Indiscipline"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:51 PM
| Comments (4)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Policy & Development
,
MENA Region General
March 13, 2007
Another Reason to avoid US placement: Israeli lobby & The hysteric anti-Iranian Jihad
I am not sure if I am amused or annoyed by this news from the FT that AIPAC has commenced a campaign lobbying to force US pension funds to divest from companies doing business with Iran.
Well, I am glad that none of my money is invested with schemes which these Religio-Nationalist zealots can touch.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:44 PM
| Comments (4)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
Euro & Islamophobia all in a charming package
Without terribly much comment, a bit of hysteria, repackaged and sent on down the line
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:41 PM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Politics - Islam(ic)
Iran Hype & Intel Ops
Not of the greatest real interest, but I thought I would share the following two artys from the FT on the recent blithering on about a claimed (in certain places) Iranian 'defector' which are mostly of interest to me as how spin works given the second hand adequately if credulously summed here. In particular given how an underlying Arabic arty (if I read the right one) reporting Israeli intel spin, got spun into an Arab report....
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:36 PM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Iraq
,
Politics
Go East Old Man, Go East: Halliburton to Dubai
An interesting article, or rather an article on an interesting development that is difficult to assess. From the FT, entitled Risky Locations, on Halliburton's queer decision to move its CEO to Dubai.
I am, to be frank, puzzled. Comment below.
Continue reading "Go East Old Man, Go East: Halliburton to Dubai"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:35 PM
| Comments (7)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
,
Jazeera-Arabia
,
MENA Region General
March 12, 2007
Bombings, Bombings...
Well, looks like I am in for tightened security with the Maghreb getting its own indigenous self-proclaimed al Qaeda, to go along with the Machreq.
And the Americans continue to fiddle....
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:08 PM
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Perso-Expatedness
March 07, 2007
Imperial America: Iran & Sanctions on 3rd Party Hydrocarbon Sector Investment
The Financial Times has an interesting, if infuriating (from its content, not writing) article on the Imperial American pretension to regulate other's investment in Iran. What irritates here especially is that I know from experience the slightest hint of similar actions by EU or similar parties touching on American interests provokes paroxysms of incoherent rage on the part of Americans. I confess readily knowledge of this, as well as my conviction that the US efforts here are posturing and will end up merely alienating without any real achievement, adds to my deep sense of irritation.
Now, mind you, the concept of the effort does not offend, and my snide swipe at Imperial America is most explicitly not from your usual Lefty whinging "evil capitalist America" tripe sort of point of view. No, It's about over-reaching, and clumsy over-reaching. I am a strong believer in avoiding too much obvious hypocrisy. One reason the overdone language the Americans and the French tends to engage in in their precious self-fellating rhetoric over their respective civilisations irritates.
Operationally, for many of the same reasons I predict that it will be the Chinese and similar parties that will reap the Iraqi hydrocarbons windfall, I strongly believe the US sanctions are an example of cutting off your nose to spite your face, which for some reason the current American administration seems to find to be a queerly enjoyable activity.
Continue reading "Imperial America: Iran & Sanctions on 3rd Party Hydrocarbon Sector Investment"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:43 PM
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
,
Iraq
,
MENA Fringe
,
MENA Region General
,
Politics - EU FP
,
Politics - Local
,
Politics - Other FP
,
Politics - US FP
March 06, 2007
Hijab et Football, FIFA et Reaction
While it doesn't surprise me that personages as fearful and ill-informed as Andrew Sullivan confuse the Hijab and the Niqab (a recent posting of his on the issue of the Hijab in Europe had a pic of a full out Saudi ninja gear woman), it does seem rather disappointing (if the blog got it right) that FIFA confuses the issue as well.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:00 PM
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Society & Culture
Opportunity Cost
I just had an amusing, even hilarious for me, lunch with my attorney who was ranting on about how his local clients have to be brow-beaten (and we're talking corporates, name brand even) into conveying timely information, to him, their attorney, for work they've demanded.
I actually have the exact same experience. It's amazing, really, what it takes to get the simplest fucking things done in this region. Efficiency. What's most irritating and yet in some ways puzzling (in others not when you think about internal organisational structures and incentives) is the foot dragging raises their costs as much as mine (or the attorney's). Of course the constant whinging on about costs etc when they sit down with a bill makes this even more infuriating.
But there are clear organisation incentives to non-performance in the typical MENA company, nothing shocking that doesn't exist in the West of course - see Dilbert. But as always, these things are a question of degree, and indeed the weakness of countervailing incentives.
In some ways it's a good way to look at the failures of Iraq, since the American decision makers innocently assumed the exact same incentive structures, decisional processes and worst yet, reactivity. And being arrogantly blinded to the sometimes (indeed often) subtle differences - any one of which may be individually trivial, but cumulatively is fatal - were unable to react, to adjust and change at once tactics and conceptual strategy in ways that actually responded to the real incentive structures.
I've noted in places like our fool Andrew Sullivan (and even more egregiously chez the Moustache of Understanding) comments tending to indicate that Arabs (or Muslims, en grosso modo) don't value / want / desire Liberty, etc. etc. That's bollocks - but the operational incentives for making changes to achieve those things require different approaches, and realisation that the near term incentive structure is weighted towards avoidance of decisions etc. - nails get pounded down - unless one has a means to control - as in guns.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:53 PM
| Comments (1)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
,
Economics
,
MENA Region General
,
Politics - EU FP
,
Politics - Foreign Policy
,
Politics - Local
,
Politics - US FP
,
Society & Culture
March 05, 2007
Iraq Oil Law Discussion
Somewhat tardily, but at reader request, a note on the new Iraqi oil law bill in cabinet, as reported in the FT.
My quick reaction: meaningless bollocks. My longer reaction, motherfucking meaningless bollocks just like the fucking schools painted and other such nonsense that only idiotic innocents with no fucking sense of fucking reality will get exceited about.
Reader reactions welcome.
Continue reading "Iraq Oil Law Discussion"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 09:41 PM
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Externalities: Some Uses for Scum
Externalities.
In haircuts. Now that the authorities have shut the Khaliji whoring hotel across the street from my overly expensive hair cutter, the visual quality of the support staff has noticeably declined.
Continue reading "Externalities: Some Uses for Scum"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:27 PM
| Comments (4)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Perso Biz Notes
,
Society & Culture
Emerging Markets Attention
This week is looking interesting, my friends in Asian markets are all in a panic although I am rather sanguine since it's better to have these moments periodically than not and I don't think we're on the edge of a market collapse as such.
It's interesting to watch the local market actors, who are relatively inexperienced (not that I am really wiser than they, but I haven't had the habit of letting my head get all that big), meanwhile my dear little Wasta boy seems to have negotiated his 50% of zero - he's out. Idiot. Instead of 15% of a very profitable ongoing proposition with regional development perspectives, because he wanted a big chunk to sit his ass on, he got nothing.
Terribly typical attitude, kills lots of development - no vision of growth, just fighting over the pie as initially presented.
Of course, that's not unique to MENA - quite the contrary, it's pretty typical globally. But MENA business community is really terribly provincial.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:09 AM
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
March 04, 2007
Prefering 50% of 0 to 10% of rather more than zero
Among the items prevernting me from enjoyable blithering on about the MENA region, I have a fine project for a new financial sector development - greenfield, very profitable. Here in region of course, I am a glutton for punishement.
Now, this will be a brilliant thing to finance, if the actors can get serious. It should not really be that hard, except my good friend, one of the local partners (proposed) seems to believe that because he's related to X, Y and Z, who are key to getting an operating license, that this means he should not only get a job in management (fine by me, not a Sr. job, but I think everyone would feel fine giving him a growth position) and get a sweat-equity stake (although I had to explain the concept, including the concept that he actually had to put some work into the sweat part), but that he should get a controlling interest.
Continue reading "Prefering 50% of 0 to 10% of rather more than zero"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:55 PM
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
March 02, 2007
New Month, Old Tradition
But overwhelmed I is.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:29 PM
| Comments (4)
| TrackBack
Filed Under:
Blog Notes - Admin
