cool global BIZ

President Obama & the Great American Cultural Mash-Up, Or Will the Republic Survive?

 

DASHING AROUND THE Democratic National Convention in San Francisco in 1984, it seemed surreal and revolutionary to watch female v.p. candidate Geraldine Ferraro and black presidential candidate Jesse Jackson speak to the crowd and the nation. Few thought it would happen in the traditional, hidebound realm of U.S. politics.

The 1980s had exploded with diversity-related news and trends. Society was at the cusp of vast social change. Multiculturalism and diversity soon became dirty words, and a culture war and strong backlash against political correctness swept America.

Gays in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York were creating communities and gaining political strength.. Women and minorities were rising to political office and the corporate suite. Immigration, economic isues, the apartheid movement were making news. Ethnic studies in universities continued to grow and expose students to broader U.S. history. A former colleague, the late gay journalist Randy Shilts, was breaking the first stories on AIDs. I was writing stories on the Japanese American internment during World War II, including my family's history at Manzanar, and the political fight for monetary redress from the U.S. government. During the 1984 presidential race, I landed an interview with Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, the most controversial and polarizing figure of that election year.

The nation was divided. Volatile social issues seemed to be everywhere, and I wondered at the time if the country would ever change or heal.

Here's a Real Split Ticket: Barack Romney and Mitt Obama. Get Out and Vote.

 

HMMM, IN CLASSIC centrist fashion, I was planning to split my vote in the U.S. presidential election Tuesday between Barack Romney and Mitt Obama. Sorry, neither side ever has a monopoly on the wisest policies for our nation. I'll take a merger of many approaches over dead-set dogma and doctrine.

But hearing an off-the-record panel talk involving White House politicos at Stanford the other night may have swayed me in one direction. The panelists were current and former national security and foreign policy advisors, including those involved in the biggest global issues and news events of recent years. Not surprisingly, they were clear and convincing that the President was the right man to lead our country into the new and scary global future. Having said that, policy-makers and public servants on both sides are well-schooled in posing and posturing for the public -- in this case, well-heeled Democratic donors. Political spin? Say it ain't so.

I'm convinced, though, after listening to these learned panelists and watching them in action at a reception. I plan to cast my precious ballot tomorrow morning for . . . .

 

(Illustration, above) "The Fight 2012" by Cain and Todd Benson, under a Creative Commons license on flickr. These guys are good. They describe themselves as artists who pose questions, not give answers.

 

Bill Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative: "For Better or Ill, We Live in an Interdependent World . . . We Can't Escape Each Other"

 

The Clinton Global Initiative in New York this week. Video of earlier talk by Clinton, courtesy of CGI.

 

IN A WELCOME respite from the real world, the Clinton Global Initiative convened this week in New York, bringing together global dignitaries and U.S. President Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Regardless of your politics, you've gotta admit that Clinton aims to bring together folks. During his recent DNC speech, who else made it a point to praise presidents of both parties? 

Remember 9/11 and the Lives Lost

 

Editor's note: Here is a compilation of 9/11 photos from Flickr in recent years. This post originally appeared  on Sept. 11, 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Soldiers Remember 9-11" by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.

 

BOOKS: Fusion Entrepreneurs: Cross-Cultural Execs & Companies Revolutionizing the Global Economy by Edward Iwata

 

Updated Sept. 2012:  Fusion Entrepreneurs: Cross-Cultural Execs & Companies Revolutionizing the Global Economy, a new e-book by award-winning American journalist Edward Iwata, can be found at Amazon's Kindle Store, Apple's iTunes and iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Diesel eBookStore, Kobo, Mark Coker's Smashwords, the Sony Reader Store, and other e-book retail and library channels.*  Fusion Entrepreneurs is distributed by Smashwords, an independent e-book distributor in Silicon Valley.  Thank you for reading and supporting all digital and traditional authors, bookstores, and publishers.  Readers keep our craft alive.  

 

(Cover art by Edel Rodriguez, an acclaimed Cuban American artist/illustrator whose work can be found in the Smithsonian Institution, private galleries, the New Yorker, Time magazine and the New York Times.)

 

* Note:  If you're new to e-books, ideally you'll need an e-reader device or tablet (an Amazon Kindle, a Barnes & Noble Nook, an Apple iPad, etc.) from your favorite e-book retailer. Or you can download free reading "apps" (small software applications) from the stores right into most laptops, desktop computers, and mobile devices.  This will let you read e-books bought from those stores.  Like anything else, this is only confusing the first time for non-techies.  After you get hooked, it's smooth as butter.

 

Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker: "China Remembers Its Friends"

 

FOR MODERATES TIRED of political pissing matches, it's always refreshing to hear consensus-builders such as former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, a former Democrat and White House chief of staff during the Reagan era. Respected by anyone who aims dead center, Baker is a master deal-maker who builds trust between parties, rather than divide them. Among other negotiations, he persuaded Russia to stand with the United States in condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the 1990s, when Iraq was an ally and "client" of Russia. Imagine Baker helping the U.S. and China join forces in the 21st century as economic partners and military allies. Baker spoke recently at the Asia Society in Houston, Texas, on the Pacific Century:

If Jeremy Lin Runs for President, He Can Take On the New World Order and "Pax Pacifica"

 

MOST OF US don't see the megatrends until they suddenly surface and smack us. Geopolitical experts have been saying for years, decades even, that the world economic order is shifting, that U.S. dominance will be challenged this century by our allies and rivals in Asia. Some in the West scoffed at the idea, or stayed stuck in denial. The latest blunt warning comes from former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. The era of Pax Americana will be succeeded by "Pax Pacifica," he recently  told the Asia Society in New York.

"The world today is approaching a turning point of truly historic proportions," Rudd said. "Historical trends are by definition slow to emerge. They then gather pace, often with a sudden burst of momentum . . . often well before the political community and broader public opinion has fully woken up to the fact. And so it is with the global economic power of the United States of America. For the last 130 years the United States has been the world’s largest economy. Within the current decade, that will no longer be the case when China takes its place."

Honor Our U.S. Military Veterans

 

Spend some time today honoring our military veterans and their sacrifices over the past century. We're fortunate. Many more are not.   

 

 

"Marines remember those lost in Vietnam" by United States Marine Corps. Vietnam veteran Tom Burns looks for fallen Marines from the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, during a ceremony last year at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

 

CoolGlobalBiz, November 11, 2011

 

Will the BRICs Rule the Waves, Like Britannia of Centuries Past?

 

 

British patriotic song "Rule Britannia!", based on an 18th-century poem by Scottish poet James Thomson and set to music in 1740 by British composer Thomas Arne. Video courtesy of ColonelHarry's channel on YouTube.

 

WILL THE BRICS rule the waves, like Britannia of centuries-old lore? Their rise as global players has led to much pomp and hype. But they don't seem ready to pitch in and help other countries in the interlocking economy, says BusinessWeek. Much of Great Britain and U.S. political and economic rule was fueled by common ideology. In contrast, the BRICs are a mash-up of rising powers, a motley crew of many models. Their neat acronym won't stamp out those annoying problems that plague modern nations like buzzing mosquitos: Debt. Poverty. Inflation. Pollution. Too much corruption. Not enough innovation. And those pesky proles, always wanting jobs, food and housing. What else? The BRICs need a catchy, imperialistic tune. Hail, BRICania! BRICania rule the waves . . .

In Remembrance of 9-11, A Decade Later

 

Editor's note: This is a compilation of 9/11 photos from Flickr in recent years. Several have appeared in earlier blog posts, while others have been added September 2011. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"9/11 Memorial" by Nellies78, under a Creative Commons license on flickr. Nellies Beemster-Klaucke is a New York-based photographer at vanuitnewyork.com/.