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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.
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 06, 2007
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
January 07, 2007
Parisian Serving Soup un-Kosher, un-Halal
A queer little article from the Financial Times on the Conseil d'Etat of France decision forbiding Solidarité des Français from distributing its soup containing pig ears, feet and tails to Parisian homeless
I have to say it has an only in France air to it, but gives one a moment to reflect on French approaches to "integration" and a tendecy to favour form over substance. It will surely be an occasion for the Phobics to rail on about "Eurabia" and their fevered imaginings regarding an Islamic threat in Europe.
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:46 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 08, 2006
Poodle Bis: Servile Foolishness
I see the Poodle is still humping Bush ibn Bush, the Cretin hereafter's leg. Pity.
I await with impatience a Conservative government, but it is a pity the avalanche of realism has not jerked either the Cretin or the Poodle into reality.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:06 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
October 03, 2006
On Nation Building & American Magicalism
Prompted by an somewhat typical George Will column, The Leaders [Americans] Have
Aside from this amusing closing (whose connexion with the remainder of the opinion piece is a bit obscure)
"Where's the leader?" Bush, according to Woodward, has exclaimed in dismay about the Iraqi government's dithering. "Where's George Washington? Where's Thomas Jefferson? Where's John Adams, for crying out loud?" For a president to ask that question about Iraq, that tribal stew, is enough to cause one to ask it about the United States.there is Will's foolish comment:
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:33 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
August 13, 2006
End Game or maybe not
As our very own Tom Scud has summarised, the UN 1701 fig leaves and the online world of whankers reaction, I have little to add at the moment, having spent part of this weekend trying to rebrown myself (as camoflage) and internalise the new recommends GIPS guidelines as I write a profile for a fund. However, I do have a question for the more asture observers out there. The Sixth War is one of the monickers on the Arab Sats (at the moment I can't recall if it's al Jazeerah or al Arabiyah, things tending to blend at the moment). Anyone want to breakout the war accounting there for me as I can't get Six wars - depending on how I break it up I get one more or less. Oddly this irritates me.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:06 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 24, 2006
Poodleness Bis
While not my usual remit, I can not resist citing this entertaining and sadly accurate take on the Blair-Bush convo from the Guardian: [link fixed]
There's no question which exchange is most enjoyable for those with contempt for the Prime Minister. It is the moment that makes Mr Blair look like the poodle of popular caricature. Worse, he comes over as a poodle who can't even beg his master to toss him a dog biscuit. It is the same bit of the encounter that has caused the most wincing among the Prime Minister's friends.
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:56 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 19, 2006
On Poodleness and Servility
Moving away from pure MENA commentary, I wanted to signal my amusement with this satirical comment in The Times:
RORY BREMNER must feel like giving up. For years he’s done his best to parody George Bush’s strangled syntax and Tony Blair’s White House poodle act, yet here he is, on the night, completely outclassed by the guys themselves. The Bush-Blair cross-talk, picked up by a lurking microphone at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, was beyond satire.Can you imagine Bremner allowing a line like “Yo, Blair, how are ya doin’?” into his script? He’d be laughed off stage. As for Mr Blair’s stumbling attempt to justify a trip to the Middle East in advance of Condoleezza Rice, it is surely too cringe-making to be allowed on television. I’m not even sure if readers of The Times can bear to hear it again, but here goes: “Well, it’s only if, I mean, you know. If she’s got a, or if she needs the ground prepared, as it were. Because obviously if she goes out, she’s got to succeed, if it were, whereas I can go out and just talk.” As a bleak definition of British diplomacy and its limitations today, that takes a lot of beating.
Servile, but there is no small amount of truth. One does rather have the sense that Blair wants Bush to play with him just a bit too much, whereas Bush is just a vulgar whanker, but that is hardly news.
So, contra my old CIA mate, some whores still want to be seen with you.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 14, 2006
Leb Land and Israeli bloody mindedness
Some thoughts on this escalating madness.
First, it really is painful to watch CNN fellating the Israeli point of view. Really bloody hell, a bit of critical analysis, not soft-ball questions to Netanyahu. I expect American media to be pro-Israeli, but critically so.
Second, the escalation is begining to worry me. Yesterday I was inclined to think this would blow over, but now the number of (American and Israeli) security types out pimping the line that Israel has to move into southern Leb Land to insure its security strikes me as a worrisome indicator of both American and Israeli thinking in the decision making circles. Of course, the last time they ran this, it was decades long disaster that made Hizbullah what it is today.
Third, Israeli actions while not unjustified are Pyrrhic. They are going to drive a rally-round-the-flag effect and doubtful they are going to generate what is wanted.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:11 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 28, 2006
NYT & US SWIFT 'spying' prog bis
I noted that Kevin Drum has linked to an intriguing but I think rather wrong-headed discussion at Crooked Timber with respect to the SWIFT program. How the author at Crooked concludes that the Central Banks were not the proper authorities for SWIFT to communicate with truly escapes me, as in most jurisdictions they are precisely the authorities that most jurisdictions have regulating payment systems, and for most GAFI compliant countries, have dedicated staff for these kinds of issues...
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:40 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
June 27, 2006
Regarding Italy
May they be buried. Catching last night that gross little bit of play acting that got them their entirely undeserved goal (well maybe not entirely) only confirmed my intense hatred of the Italian team.
Now, this evening, I have Spain vs France. A toughie really. Machinations and a vague desire to see the aging Zidane make me incline to France. On the other hand, Spain is more interesting and more of a sporting bet. Dilemas.....
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 08, 2006
Amman, very nice
Lots of Embassy closures, and Embassy (which still can't quite understand I am not in Amman at present) has usefully sent me a note asking me not to get blown up. Thoughtful.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:08 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
On Syriana
Having just seen this film, I thought I might make a comment or two.
Overall, a very interesting film, I rather liked it. Somewhat on the dramatic side, as relatively large budget film has to be, but very nicely done overall. I shall not pretend to review the film as a film reviewer, but some thoughts on its MENA subject matter and small details that pleased me (as well as displeased), from someone who operates in this kind of world.
What follows will have direct reference to the film’s events, “spoilers” to use that silly precious little phrase. Don’t want to read them, don’t read on. For those who may want to see the film, my summary is I found the film to be a very nice rendition of affaires here in my region, although to be sure dramatised.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 09, 2005
On Arabic II: Training, Translation & Intelligence
I nipped by "Liberals Against Terrorism" (an atrocious name I may add that never ceases to irritate me) and found Pratike commenting on Arabic again, on indeed financing of Arabic studies by the United States.
That incited me to comment.
First on the financing issues, given what I saw when learning Arabic in the dark ages there certainly could be (and here I refer to the Anglo world not being in any way conversant with actual teaching materials elsewhere - except in terms of in MENA region, which are regardless of language (including Arabic), risible) better finaning of efforts to develop better pedagogical materials - preprepared texts, targetted vocabularies and all the sorts of things I recall from German (although this was wasted on me, after I decided I loathed German) and French (although in this case I was young and impressionable).
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Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:28 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
July 07, 2005
London: Bombings 7 Jul AM
This looks really unpleasant:
Explosions cause chaos across London
By Matthew Jones and Christopher Adams
Published: July 7 2005 09:48 | Last updated: July 7 2005 11:02
Multiple explosions on the London Underground and on three buses have left dozens with terrible injuries and caused services to be suspended across the city in what appears to be a co-ordinated terrorist attack.
Have to email the friends.
updated
Well, no one I know was involved.
Rather expect serious death toll in the end.
Interesting exchanges on items, talked about the IPO the head of the small cap exchange, who was glad to hear some positive news, given his offices were evacuated and he was trying to run things from off site. Promised to send couscous. Had a surreal meeting with an asset manager in town prospecting for clients (probably should have done his homework on the capital controls here before coming, but no matter. Talked about Abraaj and the like); convo turned to his London meetings next week and the awkward question of whether any of his contacts might not be available.
One rather suspects an al-Qaeda connexion here, but should not jump to conclusions.
Had the usual fights about our quarter report, which central wants to get out early - why the fuck they have to do these things in such a disorganized manner escapes me, but growing used to it. Remains a puzzle their bizarre management style, devolving shit to the field and micro-managing.
Very tired, bit drained from this London nonsense. Odd how draining these things can be. Stressful I suppose.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
