Archive for the ‘Politics & Economics’ Category

Incentives or punishment, what works better?

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

From running a business to society in general, motivating others to do something can be done in two ways, through incentives or through punishment. Which is better?

At the moment, the discussion about the evolution of (human) cooperation is on a rather theoretical level. The main aim is to understand under which circumstances individuals tend to cooperate with each other and to which extent they behave selfishly.
Using a game theoretic model, a new study showed that rewards are very effective in increasing cooperation but, ironically, increased cooperation makes rewards expensive. At some point punishment becomes more efficient.

I loved reading this article as it reminded me of the conclusions I drew in investigating the role of trust in strategic alliances through game theory. What role can incentives and punishement play in trust and reciprocity. The dynamics are quite interesting. You can check out my thesis here

The role of favors in politics

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

I’ve been so busy that I never found the time to make a good comparison on Obama’s promise’s before the election and what he has actually delivered so far.

Still, I’d like to share with you this article (Obama’s nuclear policy takes one step forward and two steps back) as there is a paragraph in it that reminded me on how dependant our actions are on the reciprocity factor.

On one hand Obama managed to bring down the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenal from just above 20000 to just below 20000 nuclear warheads. In my view an effort that’s symbolic at best. On the other hand he provided $8 billion in loan guarantees for the building of nuclear reactors in the U.S. (for the purpose of generating power domestically), and proposed another $40 billion more.

Why such a decision? Here’s a line from the Scientific American article above: “Obama has been pro-nuclear-energy since his days as an Illinois state senator and U.S. senator, when he accepted donations from the giant Illinois-based nuclear utility Exelon.”

Two top Exelon (nuclear plant corporation) officials, Frank M. Clark, executive vice president, and John W. Rogers Jr., a director, are among Obama’s largest fund-raisers. So. Would that have something to do with the decisions he’s taking?

I believe that many politicians have great, clean, and visionary ideas when they are young and not in power. But by the time they actually make it to power, they will have received so much support (mostly in terms of I’ll scratch your back and you promise to scratch mine), that they become puppets, not directly of the people they are indebted to, but of their own feeling to reciprocate to the wishes of their (by then) friends..

Is that what politics are? The art of compromising at the cost of ideology, authenticity, and vision?

Is THE ROBIN HOOD TAX a good idea?

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

A friend of mine sent me an email highlighting the Robin Hood Tax initiative, an idea how a crisis for the banks could turn into an opportunity for the world. I loved the idea at first sight, but then it got me thinking…

I voted NO, and think the Robin Hood Tax is a BAD idea for the following reasons:

1) To begin with, I believe banks would find a way to compensate for any loss in margin on their side. So what, as long as some of their money is used for good? Well, I can’t be sure, but one, or perhaps even any clever way by which they compensate their loss, would result in the printing of more money. And more money flowing around certainly will not solve any problems in the long term – in my view it will just contribute to the bubble-build bubble-burst trend the global financial system seems to be following.

2) Another reason why I think the Robin Hood tax is not such a good idea is the fact that it would directly link such good causes, as tackling poverty and climate change, to something as philosophically dubious as credit derivatives trading. With that, it would only strengthen the role derivatives trading plays in the global economy – an illusion already engulfing so much of world’s energy and creativity – and for what?

Concluding Note

Is there an alternative, ‘solve poverty and stimulate climate change’ solution? So much creativity in the world… I’m sure we can come up with something better that another piece of chewing gum that would majestically fix the leaking roof.

I think the solution to poverty does not lie with banks at all, and if so, certainly not in giving banks more authority, responsibility, or even functionality. In my eyes, banks need to go back to their original function of guarding true value, and redistributing wealth and opportunity, if they are to be part of any solution.

Are you for or against the Robin Hood Tax and why? Leave a response below…

International Justice?

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Hi all, I haven’t posted much lately. I’m quite busy with preparing my first workshop on Mental Tennis Skills – the Dutch speakers can check it out at www.slimtennis.nl.

I couldn’t resists posting some quick fresh news on the below however, as it regards my country of origin…

Florence Hartmann, a French journalist, a well-known defender of Human Rights, was advisor for the Balkans to the ICTY prosecutor Carla Del Ponte when she published her book called Peace and Punishment. In this book she explains a deal that was made between Serbia and the judges of the ICTY in charge of the trial vs. Milosevic.

Because of this the International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yougoslavia (ICTY) sentenced Florence Hatmann to a € 7000 fine in order to basically send a strong message to those who plan to question their mode of functioning.

Personally I see the logic from the standpoint of the law and the functioning of the ICTY. However, I also do believe that justice and transparancy are above the law. For this reason I signed a petition in favor of Florence Hartmann.

If you would like to express your commitment to the values of International Justice, sign this petition!

Good luck and regards,
Ajdin

Obama & Iran

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Recently I posted some challenging information on the Green Revolution in Iran. As an addition to that I’d like you to take 15 minutes in order to view that same information in a different way, namely through the below PowerPoint presentation by Deepjournal’s Daan de Wit. It is in Dutch, although there are some quotes in English as well.


Iran – De Volgende Oorlog
door DeepJournal

I’d like to write my next post about Obama, and what changes his administration has brought. Please notice the remarks hinting certain things in the above presentation as well.

Do note that my intention is not to present my belief of what the Iranian political situation stands for, or should be. I’m merely trying to present an alternative perspective of looking on the situation and how it is being dealt with. A perspective in which thinking is very strategic, stakes very high, and measures hard to comprehend. The tool of it all: manipulation of the masses, propaganda.

I’d love to read your comments..

Regards,
Ajdin

How Iranian is the Green Revolution?

Friday, July 24th, 2009

A few days ago I received this video from a friend. She is Iranian and very passionately involved with the current situation in Iran. The video is a marketing master piece and makes a strong emotional call to action.

I was moved, and decided to contribute by doing some research and posting a Fresh News Blog. In my research I was amazed by the international support for the Iranian Green Revolution; from CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, to Amnesty International, and even the Dutch government.

Then I ended up asking myself the question, “who organizes and funds all these initiatives?”

In 1928, Edward Bernays presented his book Propaganda, the result of extensive scientific research in the techniques of shaping and manipulating public opinion. Reading this book is rather scary when considering how well it describes the mass-manipulative actions of governments and corporations. “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” – Edward Bernays, Propaganda

Why do I find this relevant?

All governments use techniques to manipulate the masses, the masses that stand to loose everything and gain very little in any regime change, the masses that carry most of the risk I believe.

Without passing judgment on the Iranian elections, the demonstrations, the way Iranian current government is handling the demonstrations, the rights and desires of the Iranian people, and without sharing my own belief of what would be good for the Iranian people, I would like to present some sources of information that will hopefully provide a DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE to the mass-media information about the Iranian Green Revolution than that we are being presented with.

  • Overthrowing regimes is not a set of spontaneous actions organized from within a country. Non-violent overthrowing of regimes is a technique considered as an alternative to war and is consciously used by the western government. In documentary A Force More Powerful by Steven York you can watch how exactly this goes into effect. One example is the training and financing of students and protesters who lead the demonstrations.
  • The Netherlands and the USA are the only countries in the world that actually have budgets assigned to stimulating political changes in Iran. E.g., take a look at this NRC Handelsblad article. How much money? It regards numbers such as 85 million USD from the USA and 15 million EUR from the Netherlands in one year. Check out Daan de Wit’s DeepJournal articles on The West and the Iranian Green Revolution 1 >>, 2 >>, and 3 >> for more on this funding of Iranian regime change.
  • US intelligence agents are on the ground in Iran. Are they helping the protesters? Check out this video for an answer on that.
  • Going back to Daan de Wit and his DeepJournal of which I’m a big fan, the subtitle of his Journal is “News Behind the News”. I believe it is exactly that, which we should be looking for in order to truly understand any situation or to at least escape the trickeries of propaganda manipulation that are being used on us. Daan has also written a book called The Next War, The Attack on Iran: A Prelude (translated from Dutch) about which you can find more information here >>.

I’m sure most of us will agree that going to war in order to change a regime shouldn’t be an option. There are of course exceptions, and strangely these exceptions are very often our “leaders” at the highest levels. However, considering the above information, how far do you think Western governments should go in order to change the regime in Iran?

And a better question yet, are there alternatives to their actions? Dare to ask yourself that before getting swooped up by propaganda in any shape or form.

I’d love to read your comments…

Warm regards,
Ajdin

The Netherlands, A Tax Haven?

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

Yes, a few months ago the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) did put the Netherlands on a tax-haven blacklist. It took a day of very high-up political interventions before it was taken off the list again. Does that show the seriousness of OECD’s tax-haven initiative? Here’s a view on this by a German Spiegel-International journalist in article The World’s Shortest Blacklist.

And just to put things in perspective, the fight against tax-havens is supposed to be part of G-20′s agreed plan for a new cleaner global financial system.

So, why was the Netherlands put on that list? I mean, don’t we pay a lot of taxes in this country?

Well, “we” do, but multinational corporations are allowed to make deals with tax officials. More than 80 such agreements make sure that 8 times the Dutch Gross National Product (GNP) flows tax-free through company holdings incorporated in the Netherlands.

And how do “we”, the average Joe’s and Jane’s, or better yet Joost’s en Marieke’s, make up for it? Here’s just one example:

Actual price of gas: EUR 0,55
Consumer tax (accijns): EUR 0,706
Total excluding VAT (excl. BTW): EUR 1,256
VAT (BTW) 19%: EUR 0,239
Total including VAT (incl. BTW): EUR 1,495

Which means that for 1 liter of gas, costing EUR 0,55 we pay EUR 0,945 taxes. Please also notice that we pay VAT (BTW) on the consumer tax (accijns), which means that we get taxed on a tax. Isn’t this strange?

Can I conclude then that the only way “we” don’t get USED by the system is when we USE the system?

:) Hope you got something to comment on this.. You can do it in the box below.

Thanks and regards,
Ajdin

USA & Iran

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Almost 2 months ago US President Barack Obama issued an unprecedented video appeal to Iran offering a “new beginning” to diplomatic engagement with America. In his special video message he addressed, in Farsi, all those celebrating Nowruz, or “New Day.”

Meanwhile however, Obama has extended sanctions against Iran for one year, saying it continues to pose a threat to US national security (source >>).

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed President Barack Obama’s New Year’s greeting to the country, saying that despite Mr. Obama’s words, the U.S. hasn’t shown any sign of “genuine” change in its “hostile” policies toward Iran (source >>).

To me, these two facts do put Obama’s message in a different perspective. If you’d like to read a more in-depth view on this topic, please read article The Next War: Donkerdoorn vs Daan de Wit on DeepJournal.com.

You can also take a look at this TED video of Bruce Bueno de Mesquita predicting Iran’s future through use of a Computer System based on Game-Theory Mathematics.

Let me know what you think about it.

Warm regards,
Ajdin

What is Money?

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Did you also believe that money is created by the government?

I’d like to invite you to set aside your assumptions and beliefs about MONEY, and spend a bit of time watching the below YouTube videos. Then, decide for yourself what you WANT to believe about money.

Money As Debt (1 – 5):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC720Cl3N-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUChuUo0ZhY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg5N_QSoojw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjbnqeQKEnM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czZiPkcpL5Q

“The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled.”
John Kenneth Galbraith, Economist

Most of us believe that banks lend out money that has been entrusted to them by depositors. Easy to picture. But not the truth. No, the modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing.

Peter Joseph created a masterpiece that brings forward the truth of how the money system really works. Watch this award winning documentary on Google Video:
Zeitgeist: Addendum

“Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”
Mayer Amschel Rothschild, International Banker

I encourage everyone, no matter what your profession is, to watch the above videos…

G20: a new world order?

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

The G-20 Leaders’ Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy was held in London on 2 April 2009. For more on the G20 Summit you can visit the Wikipedia G20 link here >>.

G20 Summit Members

G20 Summit Members

It seems that during the summit the best answer the G20 could come up with for the economic crisis is the creation of special drawing rights (SDR), a form of basket “currency” used by the International Monetary Fund. You can read more about it in this Financial Times article here >>.

I wonder though, I wonder how this creative way of pumping more money into the system can solve our problem in the long term? The problem that is so nicely illustrated in the below video:
DOWNLOAD Glenn Beck – Printed Money >>

Perhaps someone would care to comment or explain that to me…