Category: The Middle East

Observations, posts and pages relevant to the Middle East

  • Great People – Dean Karmen

    you can learn about a guy called Dean Karmen from a book called Project Ginger: about how Dean made the segway (and other neat inventions)

    It’s thanks to people like Dean Karmen that we get to experience marvellous “miracle” technology as “common place” after millions of dollars and millions of human hours have been spent perfecting it, both operationally and economically.  His Segway is an example of that. The LED lighting system that he put in his house is another example, invented by someone else, but requiring people like Dean to step up and pay to use it to keep development viable and ongoing. The system halves his power requirements!! Wow, how many power stations don’t need to be built if that was common place? Lots!!

    One of Dean’s most profitable inventions was the miniaturization of the kidney dialysis machine: from a huge bed side monolith to a small under the plane seat portable unit. He’s saved countless lives – the new one is much more reliable – and has give mobility to millions.

    Yeah, I admit it: I’m a fan of people who stretch to excel and change the world in the process. To the guy who developed the sonic tooth brush: thanks. My teeth have never been cleaner.  ;o)

    That’s one of the great things I love about technology: that it takes only one person, or a small team, dedicated and skilled, and thick skinned to plough into an idea or concept until its finished. Hey, wasn’t Thomas Edison like this to invent the electric light bulb.. How many prototypes… over 1,000??? And the cost of the early units… Whoa!! Momma mia!!

    I work in the heart of the post-modern industrial age: the Middle East, and I’m putting in more veins – pipelines – to keep the black blood flowing. It’s an amazing concept crude oil. Straight out of the ground. It’s so easy here there’s no need to pump it. There’s enough pressure to drive it all the way to the cleaning tanks. It’s actually a struggle just to keep the black gold in the ground!

    So primitive, yet so new, modern and well, essential to absolutely everything we do nowadays (the kind of essential like “Made in China” has become: cheap price always trumps chump quality). So I get a very good perspective on what’s going on technology-wise and how it affects the world. From Nokia Mobile phones made in China – now India (I have both. Used to have one made in Finland…) – to new a innovative ways to make stuff from crude oil (like the Rocky Mountain Institute have documented so very well, Google their web site), to crazy new ways to make renewable crude oil, and of course better ways to do what I do now.

    From the audio perspective, it’s the same. A great friend of mine and his team has cracked the electrostatic puzzle and now have a beautiful sounding – and beautiful looking – full room speaker (100% sweet spot: full live stage sound from any position in the room!) Just magic!! Nakamichi had signed them up for production just as the Japanese icon went sideways… ( God willing they will rise again, and we’ll get to read about them here. And I’ll tell you who they are

    Well done Dean. Go the innovators!

    Jeremiah Josey

  • Know your Army…

    Know your army before declaring War – Jamal Al Ajmi, Kuwait, 2009

    Jeremiah Josey

  • The surge of US troops in Afghanistan is fundamentally flawed

    Why? Because the strategy is short term focused, and forgets about what is really going on: a nation of disgruntled people with not much else to do, except wait for an exceptionally bleak future to roll over them. This disgruntled state is giving birth to the violent factions we now endeavor to “remove”.

    Sending in brute force to quell the institute tribes of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan is akin to the invasion of Vietnam by the US in the 60’s and 70’s. That particular war failed because the local embedded defence forces knew what they wanted: to defend their home lands from invaders, to win at all costs. To fail was to loose not only their lives, but the identity of their people, their nation, everything they stood for. Their lives were secondary in this battle. The Taliban – and Al Qaeda – will do the same. Suicide bombers, bombings of public places like bars and accommodation units occurred in Vietnam as well – a dear friend of mine still has pieces of a grenade coming out of his body from one such attack by a child. These acts weren’t called “terrorist activities”.

    The second much more fundamental reason for the failure that will become Afghanistan is the ancient knowledge that like-begets-like: bring in severe force against a group will only instil more retaliatory brute force in kind.

    Additonally, local support from non-violent groups will tend to favour the local tribes, rather than the “invading” occupying forces and as the war drags on, this support will increase.

    The World’s Fight Against Terror (it should be termed the “fright against terror”) means nothing to the people of Afghanistan. Food, basic shelter, education and a future to look forward to are their concerns.

    So what is the answer? Again an ancient saying: “turn the other cheek”. Some 2,000 years old in some texts. Now I don’t mean walk away. Far from it.

    Here is what will work: the US forces become a security force, an advanced form of police that enters the country with a specific task, not of attacking Taliban tribal groups (like Al Qaeda), but tasked with the defence of social and welfare infrastructure. This social welfare infrastructure is built in parallel – a Grand Master Plan – and defended by the defence initiative. This defence force will also protect the personal and private assets of individuals, thus allowing entrepreneurialism to flourish – a vital component of the establishment of a long term viable solution for the people of the region.

    US money, UN money, world money, is spent to raise the standard of living for the Afghan people: to build and run schools, hospitals, sanitation, water supplies. Establish enterprises to grow and supply food, training, materials, trade, training. In short a future. Doing this will improve the living standard and the outlook for a people who presently have very little to look forward to, and will endear these people to those protecting them and this future.

    I’m talking about rebuilding an entire social environment, building a nation, something that will be sustainable for the next 1,000 years! (Why not? We know what works and what doesn’t).  (Sustaining the culture and lifestyle is an important element of this process).

    What will happen if this is done? Well the Taliban’s key strategy now: suicide bombings will dwindle and become defunct. Why? Because prospect recruits will have an alternative: a future, something to drive them to live, not to die. Right now they have a bleak future, and with the oncoming escalation of war, of violence, even less to look forward to. Thus, with my proposed alternative strategy, the Taliban, and Al Qaeda will shrink: 1) because they will use up their resources (by blowing themselves up), 2) because recruiting will become harder and harder, there is a better alternative, and 3) because their like will defect, because of the better lives they can see growing up around them. Ultimately the need for them existing as an extremist group will cease to have any purpose.

    Going in now with the intent to “crush the Taliban” will simply not work.

    US President, Barak Obama, yesterday or even today stated “we have a clear goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and prevent their return to either country in the future”. This is a futile and near sighted goal for the reasons I have outlined above.

    OK, so let’s answer another question: what about the financial benefits of waging war outside your homeland. I go into this in detail at this post: The Business of War.  The argument is that, in the short term, war makes is good financially for a nation.  Not in the long term.

    What is the main resistance to the build and defend strategy I have outlined? It is the status quo, inertia and simply human practice.

    Nation building is the newest and boldest of human strategies that we may – or may not – be ready for.

    Think of the increase in national GDP if public services were provided in foreign lands rather than the destruction, death and disarray brought by the mightiest defence force on the planet? (The US Navy is larger than the next 13 largest navies combined, and 11 of these are allies or partners).

    Will it be hard to stay focused? Yes. Will it be hard not to ignore the innocent deaths that occur whilst the building commences? (There will civilian companies engaged in the infrastructure building. Yes it will be. But in the long term the solution will be far superior.

    In Iraq right now (2 hours from where I sit), 1 in 3 people live without access to municipal water and only 1 in 5 have access to a sanitation service (sewage). Universities and schools are closed most days, doctors and teachers receive death threats telling them to leave the country, which most have. What is left? Now that the US are pulling out (yes they are – I see it most days on the roads here), what is being left behind? A victory? Bitter sweet indeed.

    Yet, a new goal: Afghanistan?

    Like the issues with Global Warming facing us, helping a disgruntled and deprived people, and building a nation for them – in their likeness, not ours – is a job for all of us and a challenge for our global society to shake from the shackle of brute force and isolated non-unifying solutions.

    Jeremiah Josey

  • The Business of War

    Waging war, being aggressive, using force is one of the oldest methods of trying to instil “obedience” or servitude in another. We do it between nations, inside our companies, our institutions, our schools and even within our families.

    On a national scale, of course you want to avoid damage to your own civil infrastructure because it’s demoralising for the local population and difficult to justify or manage the truth of the devastation and death that war inevitably brings.

    Let’s study the “economic” benefits of war, looking at the USA and the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    For every soldier sent to war outside of the US mainland, what is the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the country? How much in dollar terms is made, built, spent, acquired to send that single person away to wage war. What benefit does this bring the nation?

    Let’s assume that the figure is USD1,000,000 per soldier per year. So if 20,000 troops are deployed in say, Afghanistan that means the GDP of the US increases by 20 billion dollars per year.

    Now what does that mean? At a taxation rate of 30%, the government revenue is increased by USD 6 billion. This is more money to spend on health, infrastructure and other home base facilities. That’s good isn’t it?

    Assuming that the average US wage is USD30,000, and assuming that half of the USD20billion per year is labour costs (the other half is materials) then that’s 330,000 people who are employed in this process. Isn’t that good as well?

    In the short term yes. Very good.

    In the long term, no. It’s terrible. It’s a downward spiral into high personal taxation, lowering world living standards, and police states (how else do you hang on to your income source?)

    So, from this perspective, a foreign war, in simplistic terms taking the short term view, is good for the economy. And business will do what ever it has to so that it can continue, indeed thrive in times of war. Remember that Coca-Cola, a US company, invented the drink Fanta and sold it through subsidiary owned companies in German during the Second World War. There was an embargo on doing business with Germany – pretty much what is in place now with North Korea and Iran – so they invented Fanta, using ingredients sourced in Germany, to sell because they weren’t permitted to sell Coke. Before April 1917 the US was a neutral power in the Great War (World War I, or the Great War of Europe: 1914 to 1918), and was supplying materials and equipment to both the British and the Germans, despite the blockade that Britain had placed against Germany. During this same Great War, the German company Krupp sold brass to British companies that was turned into shell casings that was used by the British in Europe against German soldiers!

    Jeremiah Josey

  • Lost in Translation

    I had a very interesting experience the other night when buying a Viva internet account here in Al Khout, Fahaheel, Kuwait.

    It was one of those small shopping kiosks you see spread along the center of the mall.

    After I establishing that I wanted a service with Viva and I just pay 24 KD per month, I was told that I would get a free USB wireless dongle. I thought “Great, but I’ve got two laptops…”.

    “Can I get two dongles” I asked and the answer was “yes, yes!”

    Talking further about the two laptops, it was then explained that a wireless router could be obtained for an additional purchase of 25KD. OK good to know. Not needed by the sounds of it though.

    OK, I understand: When I get an account. I get one free USB wireless dongle, apparently another free USB dongle if I ask for it, and if I pay 25KD I get a wireless router. The hardware would give me flexibility running the two X60 laptops my wife and I own.

    So I go for it: I set up the account and get my free USB dongle. 2 minutes. Halas. Done! I then ask what about the other one, the other dongle, and yes, I can have one, but that’s another account – another 24KD per month.

    Hang on, when I asked can I have another one, you said yes. Hmmm… OK, well that’s no good. I’ve got two laptops.

    Just give me the wireless router instead. No problems, 25KD plus 24KD per month.

    Huh?

    Yes, it’s another account

    But I only need one account. Just swap the USB dongle for the router and I’ll pay 25KD.

    No, you’ll have to pay 50KD because we’ll have to cancel the account – there’s a 50KD cancellation fee, didn’t you read the contract you just signed?

    But you said I’d get another USB dongle with the first account, and if I paid 25 KD I’d get a wireless dongle.

    Nope – one bit of hardware, one SIM card. One SIM card – one account. To change you need to cancel the account, paying 50KD, and it can be set up.

    But the account is only 30 seconds old?!

    Not my problem. Billing look after it now.

    Humph!

    What happened? I got my wonderful mandoup Bashar Alainieh to sort it out for me: cancelling the first account (the one with the USB dongle) set up a new account (with the router) and not pay the 50KD cancellation fee. I made a note on the new contract documents saying this.

    So what was lost in translation: Can I have another one? Of course, but you must pay for it too! 😮

    Jeremiah Josey

  • Is There Any Difference Between Islam and Christianity?

    Yesterday I was riding on the Storm Peak Express Ski Lift at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA, sharing that ride with a very felicitous beared fellow. He reminded me very much of the character “Chicken Joe” from that wonderfully light movie Surf’s Up (by Sony Pictures Animation, 2006). My ski lift riding companion was a boarder like his name sake (albeit on snow), and I suspect he may even have been from Wisconsin. ;o)

    The conversation began with him asking me “do I know how to relax?” I replied that yes I did, and coming to Steamboat from Kuwait was part of that. We talked some more, about my experience in the Middle East, and then he asked me about my understanding at an intrinsic level of Islam and how it was different to Christianity.

    After a few moments thought, I answered that intrinsically the religions are same [and reflecting now, they are similar to each other perhaps like no other religions]. I said that at the core each religion promotes ways in which to behave; towards others, towards ones self. They both promote how to act, how to eat, how to live, how to be. They were both life systems designed to manage the ones ego. They were both life systems spelt out many hundreds (thousands) of years ago by people who practiced what they spoke.

    It was a very enlightening conversation for me.

    Upon further reflection of the conversation it made me realise just how similar the two religions are. It helped put into perspective for me that the reasons the two religions appear so different is not because of their roots, but because of the layers of interpretation the various tribes and groups have placed upon them over the many years the practices have been in use. This has been influenced by many things: by the need for power, for control over others, by intermingling of local traditions and beliefs, and ultimately by the ego. Ironic because the systems are practices whose ultimate intention is to manage the ego. [I deliberately don’t use the phrase “control” the ego, for the ego cannot be controlled, much like a wave, representing the ego, cannot be controlled, it can only be surfed, or a slope, can only be skied, not changed].

    So, in essence, Islam and Christianity are identical life practices. Both promote simple practical means to achieve peace and harmony in ones life, with others and espcially with ones’ self.

    This quote summarises the practice very well.

    Spread love everywhere you go, but first and foremost in your home. Love your children, your spouse, your neighbour… Let no one who comes to you, leave without being better and happier. Be the living expression of goodness, be it the goodness of your face, goodness of your eyes, goodness of your smile or the goodness of your warm welcome.

    Mother Teresa

    Helping me to remember:  Become conscious.  Meditate.  Be with God.

    Jeremiah Josey

  • The Advantages of the Middle East

    The Middle Eastern culture has more or less been continuous for close to three thousand years (from roughly 9th century BC). Islam, adopted by the Arabs from the early 7th century AD is a comparative new addition to their rich culture. Islam has never-the-less had a significant impact today across around 400 million people. A high quality of life and comfort has always been a keen interest for the Arab culture. With wealth brought with oil and gas in the Middle East, this has emphasised the appreciation for the finer things in life.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab

    So, what does this suggest?  It suggests a diverse and rich culture emphatically focused on maintain dignity and solace.

    Simple understanding between people is the answer.

    Jeremiah Josey

  • Understanding the Current Situation in the Middle East

    I’m working my way through a great book right now. It’s called “The Assault on Reason”, written by Al Gore. Al does a wonderful job following on his “An Inconvenient Truth”, where in common language he helps us to understand the critical and devastating impact that we are having on our planet due to global warming.

    This latest treatise, published in 2007, I purchased during a recent trip for Dubai – capitalist center of the Middle East. I was hooked when I read a small section:

    We know that Cheney himself [Vice President under Bush], while heading Halliburton, did a considerable amount of business with Iraq – even though it was under UN sanctions at the time. And we know that Cheney stated in a public speech to the Institute of Petroleum in London in 1999, more than a year before becoming vice president, that over the coming decade the world would need, in his opinion, fifty million additional barrels of oil each day.

    Where is it going to come from? Cheney asked, and then, answering his own questions, he said: “The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies”.

    Then, in the spring of 2001, when vice President Cheney issued the administration’s national energy plan, the one that had been devised in secret by corporations and lobbyists that he still refuses to name, the report included this declaration: “The Persian Gulf will be a primary focus of U.S. international energy policy.”

    So with that I have been reading – and learning – about a whole series of interrelated events that do a very good job in explaining exactly what is happening in the region right now.  It really is amazing stuff.

    Jeremiah Josey

  • You know you’ve been in the Middle East far too long when…

    You’re not surprised to see a goat in the passenger seat
    You think the uncut version of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ is provocative
    You think every one’s first name is Al
    You need a sweater when it’s 40 degrees celsius
    You expect everyone to own a mobile phone
    Your idea of housework is leaving a list for the houseboy
    You believe that speed limits are only advisory
    You expect all police to drive BMWs or Merc’s
    You know whether you are within missile range of Iran
    You believe that the definition of a nanosecond is the time interval between the time the light turns green and the time that the guy behind you begins to blow his horn
    You can’t buy anything without asking for a discount
    You expect all stores to stay open till midnight
    You understand that ‘wadi bashing’ isn’t a criminal act
    You make left turns from the far right lane
    You send friends a map instead of your address
    You understand why huge 4x4s must slow down to a snail’s pace whilst crossing a speed bump yet hurtle through a wadi at 100kph
    You think that ‘Howareyou’ is one word. So is ‘Mamsir’
    You think it perfectly normal to have a picnic in the middle of a round-about at 11pm
    You know exactly how much alcohol allowance you have left for the month
    You have a moon phase predictor on your computer
    You never say Saturday instead of Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday anymore
    You accept that there is no point in asking why you are not allowed to do something
    You expect queues to be 1 person deep and 40 people wide
    You realise that the black and white stripes in the road are not a zebra crossing, just bait to get tourists into the firing line
    Seeing guys welcome each other with a kiss and hold hands while walking no longer distracts you
    You carry 12 passport size photos around with you just in case
    You can tell the time by listening to the local mosque
    You think its a good night if there are fewer than 10 men for every woman in a bar
    Phrases like ‘potato peeler’, ‘dish washer’, ‘coffee maker’ and ‘fly swatter’ are no longer household items but are actually job titles
    You start to say ‘Insha’allah’ when you actually mean ‘Never!’
    Habibi isn’t just the ex-president of Indonesia
    You overtake a police car at 130KM/HRA
    Problem with your car AC or horn is more serious to you than a problem with the brakes

    Jeremiah Josey

Jeremiah Josey