Haiti Musings: Man is small in front of Nature

The recent calamity in Haiti and the aftermath makes one wonder about the best and worst of mankind that shows up at times of crisis. The good part is that most of the energy in emergency management, especially from western governments was galvanized to support victims in Haiti. However, the lawlessness boiling over seems to be bringing out the ugly side of some humans who look to benefit from a crisis.

The crisis also makes one wonder about other past ‘acts of god’and how societies and governments in the east and west respond to them:

* Tsunami in South Asia
* Hurricane Katrina devastating
* Cyclones in Bangladesh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa
* Floods in Gangetic plains
* Famines and drought due to monsoon failures

Bottomline: Even in a flattening world, with all the technology and global communication at our disposal, man is pretty small in front of the fury of nature.

The techie in me is intrigued by the ‘Tweeting’ fad. Obama’s first ever tweet happens to be on Haiti quake. Wonder if Obama’s administration seems to be going back to a tested strategy to revive Brand Obama using the internet. They were already quite hi-tech in using technology to reach out to Grassroots of Anytown America, bringing out the best of Obama during his presidential campaign a couple of years ago too!

Savita Bhabi, Google, China and India: impact on Net Neutrality

Media and Digerati are abuzz about Google’s spat with Chinese authority over web censorship and Google’s threat to pull out of China. Reuters reports “The press is abuzz this morning over the news that Google (GOOG) could pull out of China over a hacking attempt. The Wall Street Journal explains that the large-scale cyber attack “has been under way for weeks.” The paper continues, “Google said it suffered a ‘highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China’ in mid-December, which it said resulted in ‘the theft of intellectual property.’”

While this is happening, the media and bloggers in India are also abuzz on censorship in their backyard: banning online cartoon series, Savita Bhabhi, depicting a sexy sari-clad “porn star” by the Indian Government. The series is now hosted from overseas online on kirtu.com.
Mitra Kalita’s Wall Street Journal article “Savita Bhabhi: A (Sex) Symbol of Free Speech?” illustrates the subtleties in the censorship by China and the random censorship practiced in India.

While google’s threat to withdraw from China may just be posturing, it certainly brings to mind Net Neutrality. The technologist in me has begun musing about Net Neutrality this for a while.

The principle says that that if a given user pays for a certain level of Internet access, and another user pays for a given level of access, that the two users should be able to connect to each other at the subscribed level of access.
There is no direct correlation between censorship and Net Neutrality. However, if the net is not neutral, it will preclude censorship in many forms:

* It will be easier for governments and others to target individual ISPs and Net Service providers, block content or degrade network performance
* Corporations and organizations are increasingly using open internet backbone for corporate needs including data and voice communication requirements. In a scenario of non-net-neutrality, if a company, say XYZ Corp uses a certain service provider and that ISP or service provider is targeted by censors in a country where XYC Corp operates, their communication backbone would suffer, leading to business disruption. This disruption would not have anything to do with what XYC Corp did but more because they contracted with a certain Internet Service provider!

Proponents and opponents of Net Neutrality, and corporate users should closely observe the Net censorship by governments, especially in China and India, emerging global economies.

Global travel and weather

The recent snowstorm had the anticipated fallout: disruption in travel and flights. Residents of northern hemisphere, especially northern United States and Canada take a few snowstorms during winters as a given but I guess London is not as prepared. NYT summarized it thus “London, a city known for its low tolerance for snow, was buffeted by an unusually thick snowfall on Wednesday, the heaviest in more than 20 years.

While inclement weather disrupting travel is a way of life, it can have a ripple effect on air travel, thanks in part to the practice of overbooking by airlines. What’s overbooking? Check out the interesting article (10th June 2008 - "Sorry Miss - Your Flight is Overbooked") A few months ago, I was traveling from Chicago to Houston on a Saturday and the flight had been overbooked. When the ground crew called for volunteers, I went ahead to the counter: the offer was sweet: a travel voucher for $400 and rerouting to a flight that would arrive 3 hours later and a few food-vouchers.

However, such an offer may not be ‘sweet’ for those who have a prior appointment or would be traveling with the family. For example, a friend of mine traveling from London to Bangalore three days after this week’s snowstorm was at a similar receiving end. He was traveling with his wife and one-year-old baby. The friend and his family were forcibly offloaded and rebooked on a flight three days hence. The reason given was that British Airways was recouping with the backlog due to delay and cancellation of dozens of flights a few days ago. For my friend, the compensation and offer for rebooking was a bummer since the vacation plan with his family was in disarray.

With the global economic outlook thawing, the airlines are looking for a rebound in international travel. I guess overbooking, rebooking and being bumped off flights is going to continue to be a reality.

Indian student killed in Australia: Random violence or racist?

Death is tragic in any form, more so if it is violent, and all the more tragic if lost due to senseless violence. One such case is that of the recent killing of Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old student from india who was klled in Australia, apparently becoming “the first fatality of New Year in a spate of attacks on the Indian community members continuing from the past year.” (Hindustan Times).

While there is the usual political posturing* over this death, and authorities will conduct their investigations and Nitin’s body will be flown halfway across the world for final rites, we are left with more questions than answers:

* Are young students from South Aisa who migrate west suciptable to racism and attacks?
* Are these stray incidents or forming a pattern?
* Do western universities that attract foreign students, who pay big $$$s, have a responsibity to lobby local governments and authorities to provide save environment for their foreign guests?

Nitin Garg, RIP!!

* The stabbing of the Indian student is brutal and I hope the Australian government will take necessary action and not force India to look to other ways," Krishna told reporters in Bangalore. . . The latest attack comes barely two months after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited India and assured that "full force of law" would be used to protect Indian students in that country.

Other blog reactions
on the murder of Nitin Garg overland literary journal
True Blue Aussie: Racist immigrants blamed for fatal stabbing
Indian youth Nitin garg fatally stabbed
Views on Indians in Australia

Musings on War and Peace: In the age of Globalization

On a recent cross-country flight between Atlanta and Phoenix, I witnessed what has now become an all-too-common sight: US Army soldiers flying to/from their base in battle fatigues. It has become customary for airlines and crew to extend a few small courtesies, to the soldiers. On this flight there was a single lady in Army BUD. Towards the end of the flight, along with other announcements, the stewardess made a special mention of thanks to the men-and-women in military, serving and ensuring the freedom of the nation, including the brave soldier seated in Seat 21 F. The cabin erupted in spontaneous cheers and applause.

Soldiers traveling to/from their deployment in a BUD or uniform, carrying gear a routine enough scene in many parts of the world . . . so routine that we don't even pause to think of the cost of wars and peace in twenty-first century.

On this flight, observing the spontaneous applause for the unknown soldier, I also began thinking of Mr. Obama’s Nobel Prize acceptance lecture where he begins the talk by taking on the issue of war and peace head on:

For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince Al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

The (military) "might is right" thinking by western superpowers has not gone unnoticed in the east, perhaps the reason why the formerly “Non Aligned” India of has woken up to ask for an entry into Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) club as a nuclear-weapon state!

I guess any debae for or against size of militaries or even defense spending is moot since militaries around the world are a huge source of gainful employment for millions. War strategists also justify the economics of war and make the argument "a war gives the economy a boost"

There is nothing new in justifying war to bring peace, but it does make one reflect on the argument for effective policing to ensure peace or freedom for the rest of us. I guess we have to accept the dichotomy of globalization of war along with the globalization of our lives and economies.

Up in the Air: Movie on Travel and being Glocal

I generally go to the movies to experience an hour or two of entertainment and come out forgetting the plot and cast, so much so that I rarely contribute to discussions on movies/actors when it comes up in social settings. Up in the Air that I watched over the weekend will probably join the list of good/great /interesting movies I have seen over-the-years-but-cannot-recollect soon but I thought I’d capture my two cents in the blog.
The story is about a corporate downsizer in his travels and follows his isolated life and philosophies, along with the people that he meets along the way. The plot and theme of the movie hits home to globe-trotting road-warriors, self included: Mileage points, elite status, upgrades, a dose of downsizing, Glocal and the eternal philosophical question: why do we do it? in a sense the movie is about having to travel hopefully than to arrive.

The philosophy of the protagonist, Ryan Bingham espouses is to “Travel Light” physically and metaphorically by not carrying any baggage in live more than needed. Having lived for extended periods around the world, I can relate to the idea of how “liberating” it is to literally throw everything that does not fit into a backpack (or in my case checked in suitcases). I have done this more than a few times in my working life: moving from Bangalore to Welwyn Garden City, Hartfordshire, on to Frankfort, Kentucky and then to Colorado Springs, CO, a stint back in Bangalore to Mississauga, ON, traveling to Anytown USA, Basel, Switzerland and then again traveling between a base and Anytown USA.

The film features heavy product placement, with either American Airlines, Hertz, or Hilton Hotels prominently featured in almost every scene. While Ryan is a big fan of American Airline, going on to get one of the most coveted ultra elite (don’t-remember-name) status, I havent been that lucky. My business travels are eclectic and my employer, like most others doesn’t promote a specific airline. Which means that my miles (and loyalty) is spread across Delta, Continental, United and American Air (with their affiliate international partners). Bottomline: evern after clocking a few international flights and scores of domestic flights, I will not start the new year as an ultra-elite in with one airline.

On the hotel front, I have a bit more control though. While Rayan plugs Hilton, I am Platinum with InterContinental’s Priority Club and stick to their Hotels when possible (Crowne Plaza Resort Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites …).

I had an experience similar to Ryan Bingham’s Wisconsin hotel episode, though at that time it didn’t feel that much funny being at the receiving end. I had checked in at RExyz (upscale chain) near Philly Airport with colleagues for 3 nights. Our group was promised premium access that includdaccess to their Concierge lounge on the 12th floor: Breakfast in the mornings and sundowners, appetizers in the evenings. I happened to extend my stay by a day after my colleagues left and was surprised when my key-access to Concierge lounge didn’t work. I called the reception and was told politely: I was not an elite member in their program. I tried reasoning that I already had the concierge access during the current stay and that I was an ultra/platinum member at their competitor. The gatekeeper at the reception refused to hear me out.

Moral of my story: I had to travel to Philly about 8-10 times this quarter and my patronage , and money shifted back to the hotel chain where I was recognized and continue to get elite status. Stuff loyalty is made of I guess.

On the tech front too the plot of the movie hits home. I have written extensively about maturing-but-lack-of-adoption of Video Conferencing technologies in my blog and corporate blog entries. This is a point the story also drives home the point when Natalie’s GloCal idea of leveraging Video Conferencing technology to ‘virtually’ fire people backfires.

• Musing on Travel, Business Meetings and Videoconferencing
• Video Conferencing technologies and Offshoring (Part 1)
• Video Conferencing technologies and Offshoring (Part 2)

Other blogs and reviews:

• Salon: "Up in the Air": Take the next flight
• Wikipedia
• WSJ In the Air: Up, Up and Away
• Scott Mendelson: Huff Post Review: Up in the Air (2009)

Dubai Burst : Is Emiratisation to blame?

The recent Dubai Debt Debacle perhaps dispelled most doubts about the globalized nature of businesses and commercial world. It started with Dubai World asking for a six month delay in paying back its debt (to the tune of billions of dollars) and sent ripples through the global financial sector. The only silver lining was that the US markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and some bit of sanity prevailed when markets opened on Friday.

While most analysts are looking at the 'cause' and reflecting on Dubai’s hi-flying culture of developing oasis and paradises in the desert, are we missing a link here: the role of Emiratisation in the crash?

During past decades, generations of young workers from South Aisan descended in Dubai and the Gulf states, lured by easy jobs, work-visas and promise of Petro Dollars. Yes, the majority of them were from the working class – laborers, carpenters, construction workers and the like – but many were also white-collar professionals: accountants, nurses, doctors, financial analysts, businessmen, managers and Software Professionals.

Many modern societies that attract immigrants, especially white collar professionals do so with the implicit (if not explicit) intent of paving the way for permanent residency and eventual naturalization. The US has its famous H1 and Green Card program, UK has its Tier-1 and HSMP program, Canada, Australia, Singapore and even Europe have their share of (liberal) immigration programs targeting working professes. Guest Workers are attracted by the prospect of earning in Dollars, Pounds, Euros etc and also by the prospect of permanent residency and eventual Naturalization (Citizenship) in their host country. This symbiotic relationship between Guest-workers-turned-immigrants vests them into the system and adopted societies though some may occasionally think of returning back to their native lands (Reverse Migration)

The Gulf countries, Dubai included, on the other hand are perusing Emiratization, a movement by the governments to proactively employ its citizens in the public and private sectors to reduce its dependence on foreign workers. In principle, Emiratisation is not a bad idea; most nations and cultures promote opportunities for their Sons of the Soil (Ladies: I don’t intend to be sexist here). Remember the failed Immigration legislation debate in US last year when there was a proposal to legalize millions of undocumented workers? However, the restrictions on legal immigrants to western societies, especially after they land and get assimilated into the mainstream are minimal.

This is not the case with immigrants in the Gulf. Thanks to restrictions on life, liberty and pursuit of opportunities, attributable to Emiratization, many workers in Dubai and Gulf nations realize that there are few avenues to explore moving up the Maslow's hierarchy of needs

I guess the key word here is Esteem factor. When white collar immigrant workers and professionals in the Gulf interact with their cousins, friends and peers who migrated to other western nations, they realize that unlike in the west, they are unable to integrate into the mainstream of their adopted land. For instance, their kids may be able to go to good schools but will remain Indian or Pakistani. This unlike their cousins in the west who will be considered American (or Asian-American). This topic would require another blog or series of blogs, but you get the idea. Perhaps the reason scores of South Asian Immigrants migrate from Dubai to other western nations when opportunities arise (ref: recent debate in online forums on Dubai Debacle).

The point here is that unless the professionals are vested in the society, their contribution and is also going to be transient. To put it bluntly, the thinking is probably along the lines of "Why should I care about the long term interests of the business-government-society? I am just transient here in Gulf!

Cause and Effect? There are probably scores of Desis, South Asians working as advisers analysts and others in upper echelons of Dubai World and other financial institutions in the Gulf. Wonder if their ephemeral thinking of life in Dubai also permeated their decision making?

Links of interest

• My book review: Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai
• Dubai tries to stem panic as financial crisis shakes investors around
• David Beckham and Brad Pitt among celebrities caught up in Dubai
• Bollywood worried over Dubai debt crisis
• The Geopolitics Of The Dubai Debt Crisis: Its Iran vs. The United States
• Dubais Debt Problems Cast Shadow Over Entire Region
• Expatriates speak of a changed Dubai
• Dubai World crisis bad for us: Kerala finance minister