I am all for the respect of differences but have we gone too far? This is the “footnote” from a company looking for new staff:
The [Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, domestic partner status, ancestry, national origin, weight, height, physical or mental handicap, pregnancy, medical condition, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, veteran status, or age.

This is when I feel like I am a European that does not take a micro-community perspective on each thing. And not a legalistic one too!

Two news today that drive me crazy:

1. Venezuela blows up pedestrians bridges between its territory and Colombia’s, claiming smugglers and militia cross it. Yes, maybe, but do you really want to destroy expensive infrastructure in a poor country? Is there a not another way to stop the alleged presence of smugglers? I am sure there is. Come on, let’s brainstorm Mr Chavez, before you bring your country even more backwards. Caudillos will remain caudillos.

2. Egypt witnesses violent incidents after losing a football game to Algeria and not being qualified for the 2010 world football cup. There is enough already to comment on the stupidity to burn flags for the loss of a football game - as important as that game was. There is enough to comment about the son of the president saying that his country’s “dignity” had been “insulted”. Hey, what if the players of your country suck at football? Would that be a reason why they lost?

The real question in this last case is two-fold:
A. Why doesn’t Egyptian society behave like a grown-up society, that accepts a defeat at a game, identifies the reasons for the loss and deals with them? And, no, that does not include attacking the embassy of the other country, nor recalling ambassadors.

B. Why does the Egyptian youth revert to such actions, which are essentially the same as when they read Danish newspapers? Because these young men are bored, unemployed and because their dictator has not done anything to create a future for them, outline a vision for this important country.

Today more than ever, societies cannot waste time to determine their future and care for themselves and their neighbors. Destroying infrastructure or letting bored young groups wander around for years is pure folly.

A great op-ed in the New York Times on a persistently-forgotten group in the Middle East comprehensive peace plan: Jews kicked out of Arab countries.

When I was a grad student, my history professor gave us a test of what he called “heuristic method”. He would give us a one line sentence - usually a statement from a world leader that would seem trivial at first glance - and we would have to infer and explain how this statement would play within the broader historical context. For example, I got a statement from then U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry about the Yugoslav wars, which in fact was the discrete announcement of America’s intervention in Bosnia against the Serbs.

I wonder if this professor will give the following “episode” of U.S.-China relations to his future students. The fact that Chinese students laughed at Secretary Geithner trying to re-assure Chinese authorities that their dollar assets were safe is very revealing of a superpower slowly losing its shine and force, on the economic front at least. This visit will be seen as a key moment in the passage of power between the two countries. The slide had already started a few years back but I think that this deep economic crisis of 2008-2009 is accelerating that momentum between the big debtor and the big creditor.

This little quiz from the Financial Times should keep me busy on Sunday morning. I have already about 70% of the names, and really surprised to see Asia so under-represented. Seriously, we could have done without Segolene Royal and add Suharto, Pol Pot, Bhutto or Koizumi (granted, easier than Imelda Marcos…)

Two good articles on China and global monetary policy and where things will increasingly get decided. Not always anything new for those who read regularly on the topic but worth a quick scan - Nouriel Roubini writes in the New York Times, and the Economist gives its point of view too.

Since the information is publicly available, you should also find it here. For a few weeks now, I have been helping the Bay Area Council Economic Institute to coordinate Bay Area proposals to benefit from Obama’s stimulus package. These proposals come from anyone - public, private sectors - and the survey to submit those ideas was open until a couple of weeks ago. The San Francisco Business Times had a story on this last Friday.

My friend Lance points his readers to this post by Chris Blattman at Yale who asks whether development agencies should fly business class.

Valid question. I remember, as a kid, having trouble understanding how a French friend of the family, member of the Communist Party for many years, could live in one of the most fancy streets of Paris and still claim to fight for the people, be a member of a party asking for increased taxation of the rich, etc. For him though, there were no contradictions. In fact, living in a nice area and driving a big car should be one of the goals of the community. “It’s not because I am a Communist that I should drive a small Peugeot” he then said. “Ultimately, everybody should be able to afford driving a Rolls Royce”. Sounded great when I was a kid. And totally unrealistic of course.

Same question the other day when I met someone who had just been laid off from its job in the finance industry, but who had landed 2 job offers just a few days/weeks after, whose wife doesn’t work because they don’t need two incomes and lives very comfortably. The problem? He signed up for unemployment benefits and was very happy to receive cash while taking a break in between 2 jobs. Ethically, I have a problem with that. This guy must have made $200K or $250K a year, excluding bonuses. Why does he need extra help in between jobs (the definition of benefits)? Does he not have any savings? Is he really in dire need of cash? Will the $2000+ a month that he receives from the government help him keep his lifestyle? NO! It’s just easy money. And I am sure he claims that since he contributed to it, he is entitled to it. Ah, that famous entitlement thing so dear to the finance industry.

In these times of crisis, unemployment benefits should really go to those who need it most and we know many middle-class people have been thrown back in the ranks of the poor due to this recession. This person should have refused unemployment benefits (or not signed up for it) simply because there are other people who need it more than he does. It’s not about wealth distribution or entitlement, it’s about ethics.

Obama’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ dinner - pretty ballsy, I think. I wonder how many countries could have a President tease rivals and make fun at its administration (including itself) in public.

First, second and third parts

I love this! A part of truth, as in anything that is funny. Thanks to Lance for the link.