This piece from the insightful Stratfor summarises the middle east situation.  Libya is sad but the key remains in the rich central oil states.  Watch for shifts there.  The $37Bn payment to Saudis is consequential in this debate. Watch for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States reaction. Stratfor Colin Chapman: George, what are the potential geopolitical implications of these events on the rest of the Middle East and beyond? George: The situation in North Africa has for the moment clarified itself. You’ve got a military junta running Egypt. It’s promised elections and we’ll see if they happen. Tunisia has settled … Continue reading Watch for Saudi Arabia and Gulf State reaction

In a follow up to Bank of America’s dumb url strategy idea noted late last year, one outcome is a new cottage industry described in this Finextra post, whereby people are creating facetious sites that refer to bankofamerica.com.  They must be chasing their tails in BofA marketing right now. Technorati Tags: finextra.com,bank of america Continue reading “Bank of America is the Bank of Satan” | Finextra.com

Interesting opinion and analysis piece from Danny Schechter on Al Jazeera.  US economics: One big Ponzi scheme | Al Jazeera For years, he went undetected by business journalists, who knew – or should have known – what he was up to. There are even questions about the speed with which he was sentenced, preventing him from being tried – a process which, through diligent cross-examination, would have brought us more information on the details of his dirty deals. The NY Times have a Madoff timeline here and this is a summary: arrested – Dec 11, 2008 charges – Mar 10 … Continue reading Who knew and when did they know it | Bernie Madoff facts still unclear

Nice article in the Baltimore Sun that perfectly summarises the last 3 weeks in the middle east, and how the American news stations have lost the place.  I love Al Jazeera but the quality it represents is a subset of a global problem. It’s Al Jazeera, then everyone else | Baltimore Sun It was fascinating Friday to watch how closely CNN seemed to be tracking or imitating — or maybe simply chasing — Al Jazeera. In the immediate wake of Mubarak’s resignation, the U.S. channels seemed to be content to mostly show images of Liberation Square while anchors and correspondents … Continue reading North America, Europe and the view of things in the world

Mubarak is gone, and a military council is in charge.  The senior leaders of the military now have the challenge to move the country from a military dictatorship under 31 years of military rule towards some type of democratic government.  There are many questions concerning political aspects, but it does not seem clear that the region, including Suez & Israel can expect some continuation of local peace treaties and inter country stability. Mubarak Resigns, Military is in Charge | Stratfor Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman delivered the following statement Feb. 11: “In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, … Continue reading A coup has taken place in Egypt with the military now in charge

The post on the BIV article was posted incorrectly here.  If you want to read it is here. Continue reading Article moved