Chris Abraham » finance http://chrisabraham.com Because the Medium is the Message Sun, 27 May 2012 03:06:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 links for 2008-11-06http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/06/links-for-2008-11-06/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/06/links-for-2008-11-06/#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:27:19 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/06/links-for-2008-11-06/

PinExt links for 2008 11 06
PinExt links for 2008 11 06
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/06/links-for-2008-11-06/feed/ 0 Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:19:05 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/

PinExt Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!

On behalf of the International Medical Corps and Abraham Harrison, thank you so much for all of your support over the last four weeks to get the vote out to help get the International Medical Corps into the top-five of the Members Project and then for securing the $100,000 from American Express, to be used to feed hungry children worldwide. Here’s a thank you video blog entry from Paige Strackman, who was the PaigeS who submitted IMC in the first place under the title, Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.

Here’s the official, final, press release you can read, directly from International Medical Corps:

International Medical Corps Wins $100,000 Grant from American Express to Save Malnourished Children

October 14, 2008, Los Angeles, Calif. –International Medical Corps (IMC) has been awarded $100,000 through the American Express Members Project. The grant will be used to treat malnourished children worldwide. IMC is one of five organizations to receive funding in the nationwide campaign where American Express Card members submit and vote for projects that are meant to bring people and organizations together for positive change.

The funding will be used to implement the project, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.’ Submitted by American Express cardmember Paige Strackman, the project focuses on treating malnutrition through nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat food, which International Medical Corps provides to more than 35,000 children every month through a network of 215 supplementary and therapeutic feeding sites in some of the world’s most food-insecure environments, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. The project was selected by an elite panel out of 1,190 others and received more than 14,000 votes in the final round of competition.

“I submitted this project because, as a mother, I cannot ignore that five million children under five die every year due to malnutrition,” says Paige. “This funding will save thousands of malnourished children around the world who otherwise may not have been reached. I am so grateful to everyone who supported this project and helped make it a reality.”

While the project was submitted by one individual hoping to make a difference, it gathered public momentum. The project’s message was shared in the media from Los Angeles to New York, on nearly 200 blogs across the Internet, through thousands of emails and on social networking sites, including Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

The grant from American Express comes at an opportune time when rising food costs are driving millions deeper into poverty everyday while trying to afford basic staples. As a result, hunger and malnutrition kill more people each year than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

“We are incredibly grateful to Paige for not only submitting the project, but also for fueling it with the passion to make it so successful,” says Rebecca Milner, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “There are approximately 178 million children around the world who are malnourished and only 3 percent get treatment. This funding makes it possible for International Medical Corps to reach more of those children who desperately need our help.”

In Democratic Republic of Congo alone, International Medical Corps’ supplementary feeding centers admitted 3,500 new children in the past two months. At one center for severely malnourished children, IMC has a 35-bed capacity, but is accommodating 82. Another 30 children await treatment. This trend is symptomatic of the food insecurity affecting East Africa and much of the developing world. The World Food Program estimates that 15.7 million of those in need are in East Africa, and another 8.6 million are in Afghanistan.

With a mission that focuses on training, International Medical Corps works to empower individuals and communities, providing education on how to treat malnutrition, identify warnings signs, and intervene before malnutrition worsens. Health care workers and parents are educated on proper diet and hygiene, and communities are equipped to grow their own food and reduce their vulnerability to rising prices.

*The ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children’ project can be viewed here: http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/OZH1P1
**Videos of children’s dramatic recoveries from malnutrition can be seen on International Medical Corps’ YouTube Channel: http://ca.youtube.com/user/IMCMembersProject

For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.

Also, thank you to every single blogger and social media maven who was so generous as to help us spread the word out and get as much attention as possible for both the Members Project as well as for International Medical Corps as well. You were all more than generous and all of us at IMC and AHLLC would love to thank you for being so generous and selfless.

PinExt Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/15/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps/feed/ 0 All the Rumors are Truemorshttp://chrisabraham.com/2008/07/10/all-the-rumors-are-truemors/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/07/10/all-the-rumors-are-truemors/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:39:24 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/07/10/all-the-rumors-are-truemors/

PinExt All the Rumors are Truemors

Everything Guy Kawasaki touches is very cool.  Guy has been working on Truemors for a while now and has now moved on to AllTop, which is super cool as well.  Well, Truemors has been acquired, so all the rumors are truemors:

TechCrunch is reporting that NowPublic has acquired Truemors, a rumor site launched by Guy Kawasaki in May 2007. NowPublic bills itself as a”participatory news site.” The startup has raised two rounds of financing. Kawasaki will serve company’s advisory board as well.

Via Search Engine Watch, Guy Kawasaki’s Blog

PinExt All the Rumors are Truemors
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/07/10/all-the-rumors-are-truemors/feed/ 0 No Matter What They Say College is Not for Everyonehttp://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/#comments Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:11:53 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/

PinExt No Matter What They Say College is Not for Everyone

I have finally gotten around to catching up on all the Atlantics that have piled up in my absence in Berlin. One very compelling article is an anonymous essay written by “Professor X,” In the Basement of the Ivory Tower.

I am still trying to sort out my thoughts on this — please excuse the disjointed nature of this post. Would you be so kind as to comment?  Maybe a conversation is just what I need to sort this out.

The premise is that many of the colleges and universities that populate the United States are are not actually members of the Ivory Tower.

And, if they are part of the Ivory Tower, they are in the basement. As a professor at one of these “basement” schools, Professor X suggests that the majority of the students who come through his English class should not be there — that America’s obsession with college educations, graduate schooling, and professional degrees as de rigeur is seriously messed up.

Why?  Because not everyone is capable of becoming collegiate.

America is a land of opportunity where everyone is equal and all it takes is hard work and focus to do whatever  and become whatever one desires. According to In the Basement of the Ivory Tower, however, this is not so.  From his vast experience teaching remedial high school-level English classes in the guise of Introduction to College Writing (English 101) and Introduction to College Literature (English 102), Professor X believes that the vast investment of time, money, debt, and academic shame associated with going to college if you’re neither prepared or intellectually capable of doing so can be ruinous to the finances, ego, pride, and self-esteem of all of the folks who fail out, still saddled with relatively enormous loans and a send of abject failure associated — all for naught!

I never believed this, myself — all of my friends are bloody brilliant — but I have started to begin to believe, especially in light of the sort of comments I have been receiving in response to my series of incendiary posts about Whales:

I know. I can’t stop making fun — and that I am in fact an Awful Awful Man but I am actually starting to wonder what I can do to encourage these kids that actually saving whales requires a rigorous education and lots of training and support. Saving whales requires amazing copy writing skills and the ability to network, fundraise, and communicate.

Are these commenters “just young” or are they just “communicating casually?” I was pretty literate and intellectually curious when I was in 6-12th grade!

I was writing and researching and participating in my school’s newspaper from 7th grade (my high school spanned 7-12th grade).  So where all of my geeky, nerdy, intellectual friends, too.  I was a book worm. I preferred to spend my time in Hawaii at the library than I did the beach.

I think the problem lies in the incestuous nature of intellectualism, of the academy, of the Ivory Tower, and of the social network associated with urban centers, university towns, and professional and corporate communities.

I was at BlogPotomac the other week and everyone there said that they suffered from Social Network Burnout — but outside of the Social Network Maven world, most people may have a MySpace or Facebook profile, but that’s it — no digg, del.icio.us, reddit, Plurk, Pownce, or anything else!

The same thing happens with regards liberal Democrats in the USA — everyone in NY, DC, Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, Connecticut, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, only know Democrats, activists, and people who voted for Gore, Kerry, and who support Choice and evolution in schools — but that’s not America proper!

I mean, of course there is great diversity of belief, politics, and passion, but extrapolating personal beliefs and political, professional, and academic expectations can result in the sort of myopia that can not just leave children behind but might just well leave most Americans behind as well.

What is the current state of vocational training in America?  Why are our public universities, colleges, and community colleges so limited in their scope?  Should these publicly-funded places offer training and services for everyone, where everyone includes opportunity for lives wearing other collars than white!

I see this all the time in technology and the Internet — people just aren’t interested in being geeky. There is no interest there, even when I get into conversations with doctors and lawyers. I always took to being a geek. I always took to being a book worm. Mind you, my parents were both bookish and in the art world, so I guess my vector was partially chosen for me.

Much of the time, it all comes down to just not being interested. Not caring at all. The “I don’t have time for this shit” theory when you’re sitting in class wondering why you’re there instead of at your desk or in the store or at you job, making money for today, tomorrow, and for your family.

Life is messy and there is no need to make it any harder.  Yes, I understand that there is a lot of incentive for these college and universities to broaden their appeal to just about everyone, but my friends like to speak of “opportunity costs” — will going to business school and spending two years in school add to your marketability and brand more than staying in your current job?  What is the opportunity cost of attending a college, spending money you don’t have, and then fail out?  What is the opportunity when you try your hardest and can’t handle the stress or have too many things going on in your life to actually spend the time and attention required to thrive in academia.

I think one of the issue here has to do with our K-12 education. There are quite a few high school graduates who need to basically redo high school — especially if they are returning to college after years away as mature students.

Back in the day, there were all sorts of public services and night schools that were virtually free — they allowed people to take remedial course, to bone up before moving on, and to learn English as a second language.  Are these sorts of services still serving Americans or have they all become privatized into the sundry schools soliciting me late at night?

Please join me in the comments — I would love to continue the conversation and sort out my thoughts along with you.  Thanks in advance.

PinExt No Matter What They Say College is Not for Everyone
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/feed/ 1 Ramiro Miqueli: A Life Well-Livedhttp://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/28/ramiro-miqueli-a-life-well-lived/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/28/ramiro-miqueli-a-life-well-lived/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:07:38 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/28/ramiro-miqueli-a-life-well-lived/

PinExt Ramiro Miqueli: A Life Well Lived

“Ramiro Miqueli and Ramiro Miqueli’s brothers enjoyed a privileged, happy life until Cuba went through a Communist revolution that brought misery and chaos to the island in 1959. While Cuba had problems prior to 1959, the Ramiro Miquelis enjoyed democratic rights such as elections, liberty, equality, decency, justice, private property and freedom of the press, religion and travel. These rights were ruthlessly taken by one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world.” Via Ramiro Miqueli

Here’s the full official long bio of Ramiro Miqueli, which reads more like a powerful television drama than someone’s normal life:

Born in San Antonio de los Baños, Havana, Cuba in 1942, Ramiro Miqueli completed Ramiro Miqueli’s elementary and high school education and lived there until the age of 19. Cuba is the largest island of the Greater Antilles and is 90 miles from the USA between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. San Antonio is a typical small Spanish town located 18 miles south of Havana. The town is unique in that there is a river running through it, but this river does not run into the ocean. Instead, it submerges under ground into a cave, where it travels underground for miles to reach the Caribbean Sea.

Ramiro Miqueli’s family was from Spain of Italian ancestry. Ramiro Miqueli has been able to trace Ramiro Miqueli’s ancestry back to 1725 in Spain and Italy. Ramiro Miqueli’s Father, Miguel retired after 20 years as the Secretary of the Municipal Court in San Antonio de los Baños and began a successful career as an entrepreneur. Ramiro Miqueli’s father employed over 250 employees and owned a bakery, two tile factories and 15 apartment buildings in Havana. Ramiro Miqueli’s mother, Estela, was the matriarch of the family and dedicated her life entirely to raising five children: Jose, Miguel, Ramiro Miqueli, Oscar and Mario. Both parents and the youngest brother are now deceased.

Ramiro Miqueli completed elementary studies at a private school in San Antonio de los Baños, Academia Atenas, where Ramiro Miqueli was an honor student. Ramiro Miqueli completed Ramiro Miqueli’s high school education at another private school, Pitman Academy. Before starting electrical engineering undergraduate studies at the University of Havana, Ramiro Miqueli participated in sports. Ramiro Miqueli achieved a green belt in judo and practiced competitive sports such as basketball and swimming.

Ramiro Miqueli and Ramiro Miqueli’s brothers enjoyed a privileged, happy life until Cuba went through a Communist revolution that brought misery and chaos to the island in 1959. While Cuba had problems prior to 1959, the Ramiro Miquelis enjoyed democratic rights such as elections, liberty, equality, decency, justice, private property and freedom of the press, religion and travel. These rights were ruthlessly taken by one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world.

Fearing for the safety of the family, the Ramiro Miquelis decided to seek freedom and arrived legally as permanent residents in the United States in 1961. The Ramiro Miqueli family settled first in New York in 1961, but relocated to New Jersey in 1962. Ramiro Miqueli’s first job in New York was washing dishes. In New Jersey, the Ramiro Miquelis were successful in establishing jewelry stores. The entire family became American citizens after the required five years as permanent residents in the USA.

In 1964, Ramiro Miqueli responded to the call of duty and served active duty for two years in the US Army. Ramiro Miqueli spent a tour of duty in Vietnam with the Calvary Division and was honorably discharged from the US Army Reserve on February 28, 1970. After completing Ramiro Miqueli’s active duty in the US Army in 1966, Ramiro Miqueli attended New York University in New York and enrolled at St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, New Jersey, where Ramiro Miqueli graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1970.

While attending college, Ramiro Miqueli met Mary, who was attending Rutgers University and graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature in 1970. They were married on August 30, 1970 and lived in New Jersey for 26 years.

While holding a full time job, Ramiro Miqueli earned a Master’s Degree in Management Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey in 1977. Ramiro Miqueli later attended St. Peter’s College again to study Accounting during 1993 to 1995.

Ramiro Miqueli’s early career was at AtlanticRichifield, Inc., a $20 billion dollar oil company where Ramiro Miqueli worked in Management Information Systems as a Programmer/Analyst in New York. As part of the development team, Ramiro Miqueli participated in the development of a new Payroll System.

In 1972, Ramiro Miqueli joined Schering-Plough, Inc., a $14 billion pharmaceutical company with operations in 30 countries, as a Lead Analyst and Project Leader in Sales and Accounting Systems. After completing Ramiro Miqueli’s post-graduate studies in 1976, Ramiro Miqueli was transferred to Corporate Audits, where Ramiro Miqueli was involved in assessing accounting and manufacturing systems. This position required extensive travel to Latin America and Europe. Ramiro Miqueli oversaw multidiscipline audits of operations in USA, Latin America and Europe, supervising 19 auditors.

In 1981, Ramiro Miqueli joined CBS Inc., the largest broadcast network in the USA with revenues now exceeding $50 billion annually as a Regional General Auditor of International operations. At CBS, Ramiro Miqueli excelled in auditing, accounting, finance, business development and sales. Ramiro Miqueli traveled extensively throughout the USA, Latin America and Europe. Ramiro Miqueli successfully orchestrated audit plans and schedules to protect Company’s assets and ensure compliance with policies and procedures, as well as reduced outside audit costs by 15%. Ramiro Miqueli oversaw financial and operational audits after CBS/Westinghouse merger and performed due diligence on two major acquisitions, as well as developed much-needed methodology to tighten risk-based controls for a 40-country, $30 billion organization.

After almost 20 years at CBS, Ramiro Miqueli was considered one of its key employees. Ramiro Miqueli’s latest position was as the Executive Vice President & General Manager of CBS TeleNoticias, a TV cable company with 260 employees that broadcasted in Spanish and Portuguese to 19 different countries.

While at CBS TeleNoticias, Ramiro Miqueli led the growth of US Hispanic and LATAM sales from $2.5 million to $4.5 million in six months. Ramiro Miqueli also played a major role in international cable TV network, which reached 50 million households. Ramiro Miqueli’s greatest accomplishment at CBS TeleNoticias was the development of the Portuguese-language cable network, CBS Brazil, to broadcast in Portuguese to Brazil from Miami.

Ramiro Miqueli retired from CBS, Inc. in 1999. With several partners, Ramiro Miqueli started UnoDosTres.com, which offered television and radio programming on-line in Spanish to the Hispanic population and to Latin America. Ramiro Miqueli and Ramiro Miqueli’s partners successfully raised $3.1 million in capital from private investors and secured partnership agreements worth $250 million in advertising and programming content. After two years, Ramiro Miqueli sold Ramiro Miqueli’s shares of UnoDosTres.com and embarked in other ventures.

During the last nine years, Ramiro Miqueli has been involved in developing emergent private companies such as UnoDosTres.com. The most recent ones of note are IPP of America, Inc. and InterTransfers, Inc.

Ramiro Miqueli joined IPP of America, a company specializing in providing payment solutions to people without access to bank accounts, the so-called under-banked community. While at IPP, Ramiro Miqueli introduced new products and services which contributed over 20 percent profit margin and implemented cost-saving plan, slashing 80% ($3.2 million) of in-house maintenance expense.

In May 2004, Ramiro Miqueli joined InterTransfers as an officer and as the President and Chief Executive Officer. InterTransfers is an American company that is incorporated in Florida. It provides currency exchange, money transfers, wire transfers and wholesale check cashing. At InterTransfers, Ramiro Miqueli has full responsibility for directing day-to-day operations; for increasing sales and profits; and for ensuring compliance with all regulations and internal controls. Ramiro Miqueli increased revenue by $6.0 million and profits by $4.5 million during first year and penetrated new markets in Florida, Georgia., Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and South Carolina, as well as the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany.

Using the services of InterTransfers, Latin Americans can send money to their loved ones back home in a fast and reliable way to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay y Venezuela. The services are also available to the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany, where payments are made in Euros, British Pound or Swiss Francs.

Together with other qualified and experience executives, Ramiro Miqueli devoted many hours of hard work during several months to establish a robust anti-money laundering program and a strong Compliance Department. InterTransfers is in full compliance with its regulatory requirements and has a functional compliance program in place to reduce the risk associated with money laundering and other illicit activity.

Ramiro Miqueli is currently in the process of completing the acquisition of a major money transmitter company in the United States. InterTransfers is waiting for the approval of the different states for the change in control. This acquisition is expected to be completed by May 2008 and will add another 200 agents to InterTransfers.

Ramiro Miqueli was a former member of the Board of Directors of the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (2000); former Director of the Spanish Mercantile Federation, Union City, New Jersey (2003-2004); and served in the Board of Directors of IPP of America, Inc. (2007).

While Ramiro Miqueli has been a successful executive, Ramiro Miqueli maintains that Ramiro Miqueli’s greatest enjoyment and accomplishment in life is creating a family. Ramiro Miqueli has been married to Mary, a senior executive in advertising and marketing, for 37 years and was blessed with two handsome sons, one grandson and one granddaughter.

Ramiro Miqueli resides with Ramiro Miqueli‘s wife Mary in Palmetto Bay, Florida and spends long week-ends with Ramiro Miqueli’s sons and grandkids.

Ramiro Miqueli is a multilingual senior executive with over 35 years of international and domestic experience in Fortune 500 management, pre-IPO startup, operations and finance spanning alternative financial services, broadcasting, entertainment, publishing, manufacturing and Internet operations.

PinExt Ramiro Miqueli: A Life Well Lived
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/28/ramiro-miqueli-a-life-well-lived/feed/ 0 Shamelessly Stoking the Amero Memehttp://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/27/shamelessly-stoking-the-amero-meme/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/27/shamelessly-stoking-the-amero-meme/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:07:50 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/27/shamelessly-stoking-the-amero-meme/

PinExt Shamelessly Stoking the Amero Meme





This wonderful, delicious, conspiracy via Memes.org










Amero and North American currency From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe North American currency union is a theorized economic and monetary union of the three principal countries of North America, namely Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Implementation would probably involve the three countries giving up their current currency units (Canadian dollar, U.S. dollar, and Mexican peso) and adopting a new one, created specifically for this purpose. The hypothetical currency for the union is sometimes referred to as the Amero. The concept is modeled on the common European Union currency (the euro), and it is argued to be a natural extension of NAFTA and the SPP. Conspiracy theorists contend that the governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico are already taking steps to implement such a currency. No current members of any country’s government have stated a desire to implement a “North American Union“.

Basis and origin

The idea for a North American currency union was first proposed in 1999 by Canadian economist Herbert G. Grubel. A senior fellow of the conservative Fraser Institute think-tank, he published a book entitled The Case for the Amero in September 1999, the year that the euro became a virtual currency. Another Canadian think-tank, the C.D. Howe Institute, advocates the creation of a shared currency between Canada and the United States.

After the report came out, centre-left nationalist groups in Canada expressed their opposition to any currency union because they view it as an attempt by American businesses to gain access to Canada’s extensive natural resources while dismantling the nation’s social services. The 100,000 member strong Council of Canadians, a progressive advocacy group, has declared one of its central issues to be the threat of “deep integration”.

The idea envisioned is a currency union of the US dollar, Canadian dollar, and the peso, or the dollarization of Canada and Mexico.

Support

Canada

One argument is that it would save up to $3 billion in currency transactions. The same authors also stated that Canada’s GDP could rise by up to 33 percent in a 2-year period given the adoption of a single currency.

The idea of a common currency has historically received more support in Quebec than in the rest of Canada; in a 2001 poll over 50 percent of respondents favoured the idea.

Mexico

The possibility of a monetary merger has also been discussed in Mexico as a natural step to take after the NAFTA. Former Mexican president Vicente Fox echoed that view and expressed his hope for a greater integration of Canada, Mexico and the United States, including an eventual monetary union, while on a 2007 promotional tour for his book “Revolution of Hope.”

Support in other regions

Lower levels of currency cooperation have been practiced in the Americas before. A number of nations, such as Argentina, Brazil, and Canada, have at times tied their currency to the U.S. dollar. Quite a few, such as Aruba, Barbados, and Cuba, still do.

The U.S. dollar is officially accepted alongside local currencies in El Salvador (since 2001) and Panama (since independence in 1903), although in practice these countries are fully dollarized. In 2000, Ecuador officially adopted the U.S. dollar as its sole currency.

Unofficially, the U.S. dollar is treated as a de facto secondary currency in much of Central America and the Caribbean.

Criticisms and problems

Opposition to a North American currency union exists high up in the governments on both sides of the Canada–United States border. Herbert Grubel, the first proponent of the amero, admits that American officials show no interest in the topic. He concedes that “there wouldn’t be very much benefit for the United States” in an amero. Likewise, the Canadian Department of Finance strongly opposes the creation of a common currency with the United States, citing the loss of economic sovereignty. In briefing documents to Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, finance officials concluded:

“A North American common currency would undoubtedly mean for Canada the adoption of the U.S. dollar and U.S. monetary policy. Canada would have to give up its control of domestic inflation and interest rates.”

Trade-offs

From the point of view of the Canadian and Mexican governments, a major obstacle to the creation of a unified currency is the sheer dominance of the United States in any such union. Unlike any country in the EU, the USA has a larger economy than the rest of its respective continent/union combined.

A University of California, Santa Barbara paper puts forward the idea that the United States simply has too many advantages from the status quo to move toward a single currency. The United States dollar already acts as a global currency, meaning any transition to a ‘new’ currency would risk compromising this position and could cause a shift toward the euro or yen. The U.S. dollar is currently being used in over half of all the world’s exports, double the total United States foreign trade. The adoption of the amero could threaten the seignorage that America currently gains from its American dollar. While seignorage would still be gained from the amero, this would be shared among the Bank of Canada, the Federal Reserve, and possibly the Banco de México. Therefore, even if the amero were used just as much as the U.S. dollar, the advantages would be shared among two or more countries, and not exclusively earned by the United States.

Differing economic policies & situations

Several problems could arise in regards to macroeconomic management. By submitting to a common currency, the countries would lose considerable autonomy in the management of the currency itself, including the setting of interest rates. Amongst the three potential participants, there is considerable difference in policy which would have to be reconciled.

Debt is a factor affecting currency prices. As of 2008, the debt of the United States continues to increase, while the debt of the Canadian federal government is being reduced. This is a clear advantage for Canadians, and it would not be reflected if the currencies were to merge. The importance of commodities also factors into this equation.

One possible problem with a North American currency union is the differing economic situations between each country, while the Eurozone is broadly similar being service-based economies based on high public spending (compared to the United States), high taxes and wealth being created by the sale of goods and services. North America on the other hand has three distinct economies, one based mainly on agriculture and manufacturing, with a demand for free trade (Mexico), one based on services such as retail, with low taxes and low public spending (United States), and an another based on services with higher taxes and higher public spending, with a large sector in primary goods such as oil, mining and lumber (Canada).

Political mandate

Lou Dobbs, a reporter and commentator for CNN, has posited that the formation of a “North American Union” is being approached without the knowledge and consent of the majority of the people who would be affected by this.

Conservative Caucus Chairman Howard Phillips, WND columnist and author Jerome Corsi, activist Phyllis Schlafly, among others, have formed a coalition against the amero. On January 22, 2007, Republican Representatives Virgil Goode of Virginia, Tom Tancredo of Colorado, Walter Jones of North Carolina, and Ron Paul of Texas were among the 43 federal lawmakers who introduced H. CON. RES. 40, a resolution that expressed:

“The sense of Congress that the United States should not engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System or enter into a North American Union (NAU) with Mexico or Canada.”

Constitutionality

Some assert that having a single North American currency would be unconstitutional under the current U.S. constitution under Article 1, Section 8; which states that the United States Congress has the right to: “coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;”

This concern rests on the contention that the Federal Reserve, created in 1913, is unconstitutionally issuing and regulating American currency as it is a quasi-government entity and not part of the legislative branch of the United States government. While physical U.S. dollars are issued by the Department of the Treasury (in paper form by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in coin form by the U.S. Mint), most dollars in existence are not in physical form, and the value of the dollar is largely controlled by the actions of the Federal Reserve in lending and purchasing government securities.[citation needed]

In the arts and literature

Rumors of “amero coins”

In August 2007, rumors and conspiracy theories began circulating across the Internet regarding alleged United States Treasury issued “amero” coins.

The inspiration behind these rumors may have the posting of images of medallions created by coin designer Daniel Carr. Carr, who designed the New York and Rhode Island 2001 statehood quarters, sells medals and tokens of his own design on his commercial website, “Designs Computed” (also known as “DC Coin”). Among his designs are a series of silver and copper fantasy issues of “amero coins” ranging in denomination from one to one thousand. The coins have the legend “Union of North America” on the back with his company’s logo, a stylized “DC”, in small type. Concerning his “amero” designs, he mentions on his website:

“My goal with these coins is not to endorse a Union of North America or a common “amero” currency. I fully support the United States Constitution, and I would not welcome (in any form) a diminishment of its provisions. I expect that these coins will help make more people aware of the issue and the possible ramifications. I leave it up to others to decide if they are in favor of, or against a North American Union. And I encourage citizens to voice their approval or disapproval of government plans that impact them.”

Unauthorized postings of images taken from his website have been reposted widely across the Internet, often being used as supposed “proof” of the amero coinage. Notably, Internet radio talk show host Hal Turner ran a full article on the “amero coin”, claiming to have arranged for a United States Government minted “amero” to be smuggled out of the Treasury Department by an employee of that organization.

Following Turner’s assertions of federal minting of ameros, a web site marketing the curio coins released a statement debunking Turner’s claims of a government cover up regarding Daniel Carr’s amero products. The debunking website Snopes also ran a further debunking of Turner’s claims, stating:

“Neither the U.S. Mint nor the U.S. Treasury has a hand in creating these ‘ameros’. These coins are merely collectibles offered to the buying public by a private company in the business of manufacturing such curiosities.”

See also

PinExt Shamelessly Stoking the Amero Meme
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/27/shamelessly-stoking-the-amero-meme/feed/ 0 Suna No Onna (Woman in the Dunes) is a Masterworkhttp://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/16/suna-no-onna-woman-in-the-dunes-is-a-masterwork/ http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/16/suna-no-onna-woman-in-the-dunes-is-a-masterwork/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:59:34 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/16/suna-no-onna-woman-in-the-dunes-is-a-masterwork/

PinExt Suna No Onna (Woman in the Dunes) is a Masterwork

womaninthedunes Suna No Onna (Woman in the Dunes) is a MasterworkWhen my mom was 27 she dated a boy in NYC who was obsessed with Japan. He was in finance but was doing graduate work in Japanese so that he could continue his banking in Japan for work. When they dated, he would take her out to sushi dinners and then to Japanese films — well before most of the West was eating sashimi.

My mother was so moved by the Hiroshi Teshigahara masterpiece, Suna No Onna (Woman in the Dunes), that she has been looking to see the movie again as the film was burnt indelibly into her memory. Mom found the DVD on Netflix and moved it to the top of her queue and it arrived yesterday and we watched it together last night.

The film is visually stunning. The psychology of the film reminds me a little of nihilism and existentialism but has obviously influenced modern film-making.  The same sort of desperation, struggle, frustration, aggression, resignation are used again and again in shows that are suspenseful and surreal — productions such as television’s Lost — films that are often obtuse, dense, and open for interpretation.

This is a brilliant movie, especially since if you spend some time with the academic film critique — the Video Essay by James Quandt — that is available on the Criterion Collection DVD, which I highly recommend since it is a complete version and not the version that was screened in the US, missing 20 minutes.


Woman in the Dunes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woman in the Dunes (Suna no onna, also translated as Woman of the Dunes) is a novel by Kobo Abe and a film based on the novel directed by Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara. The novel was published in 1962, and the film was released in 1964. Kobo Abe also wrote the screenplay for the film version.

The surreal, and at times absurd, nature of Woman in the Dunes has drawn many comparisons to such major existentialist works as Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit and Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days. Aside from its intriguing premise, this film is notable for the life that Teshigahara brings to the ever shifting sand, which almost becomes a character in its own right.

Synopsis

An entomologist named Niki Junpei (played in the film by Eiji Okada) is on an expedition to collect insects in an area of sand dunes. When he misses the last bus back, a group of locals suggest he stays the night in their village. They send him down a rope-ladder to a house at the bottom of a sandpit, where a young widow (played by Kyoko Kishida) lives alone. She has been tasked by the villagers with digging sand to be sold to the cities, mostly under the table (sand with salt should not be used for construction purposes), and with preventing the sands from destroying the house (if her house succumbs to the desert then the other houses in the village will be threatened).

When Junpei tries to leave the next morning he finds the ladder removed. The villagers inform him that he must help the widow in her endless task of digging sand. Junpei initially tries to escape, upon failing he takes the widow captive, but is forced to release her when the house almost collapses after several days of sand build up outside.

Junpei eventually becomes the widow’s lover and resigns himself to his fate. Through his persistent effort on trapping a crow for messenger, he discovers a way to draw water from the damp sand at night. He thus becomes absorbed in the task of perfecting his technology and adapts to his “trapped” life. The focus of the film shifts to the way in which the couple cope with the oppressiveness of their condition, and the power of their physical attraction in spite of – or possibly because of – their situation.

At the end of the film Junpei gets his chance to escape, but he chooses to prolong his stay in the dune, in part because the woman is already pregnant with his child. A report after seven years declaring him missing is then shown hanging from a wall, written by the police and signed by his mother Shino.

Awards

The film adaptation of Woman in the Dunes won the Special Jury Prize at the 1964 Cannes film festival and, somewhat unusually for an avant-garde film, was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in the same year (losing out to Italian film Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow). In 1965 Teshigahara was nominated for the Best Director Oscar (finishing behind Robert Wise for The Sound of Music).

Woman in the Dunes

Hiroshi Teshigahara

394 feature 350x180 Suna No Onna (Woman in the Dunes) is a Masterwork

Film Info | Cast & Credits

Synopsis

One of the sixties’ great international art-house sensations, Woman in the Dunes was for many the grand unveiling of the surreal, idiosyncratic worldview of Hiroshi Teshigahara. Eija Okada plays an amateur entomologist who has left Tokyo to study an unclassified species of beetle that resides in a remote, vast desert; when he misses his bus back to civilization, he is persuaded to spend the night in the home of a young widow (Kiyoko Kishida) who lives in a hut at the bottom of a sand dune. What results is one of cinema’s most bristling, unnerving, and palpably erotic battles of the sexes, as well as a nightmarish depiction of everyday Sisyphean struggle, for which Teshigahara received an Academy Award nomination for best director.

Film Info

1964
147 minutes
Black and White
1.33:1
Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Not Anamorphic
Japanese

Cast

Junpei NikiEiji Okada
The womanKyoko Kishida
  

Credits

DirectorHiroshi Teshigahara
Story from the novel byKôbô Abe
ProducersKiichi Ichikawa, Tadashi Ono
CinematographyHiroshi Segawa
Original musicToru Takemitsu
Art directorsTotetsu Hirakawa, Masao Yamazaki
EditorFusako Shuzui
  
  

Release Info

Catalog Number: CC1702D
ISBN: 1-934121-42-8
UPC:

PinExt Suna No Onna (Woman in the Dunes) is a Masterwork
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/16/suna-no-onna-woman-in-the-dunes-is-a-masterwork/feed/ 0 Tweeterboard is Pretty Darn Coolhttp://chrisabraham.com/2007/12/13/tweeterboard-is-pretty-darn-cool/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/12/13/tweeterboard-is-pretty-darn-cool/#comments Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:16:43 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/2007/12/13/tweeterboard-is-pretty-darn-cool/

PinExt Tweeterboard is Pretty Darn Cool

I spend a lot of time Twittering over at twitter.com/chrisabraham. I have journaled my first days in Berlin and my continuing experiences in Berlin on Twitter. Well, I just discovered Tweeterboard and am not surprised by the rankings. Chris Brogan, Jim Long, and Robert Scoble dominate, of course. I am not nearly as impressed by my Twitterings, alas. You can see how I get love and how I give love, too. Very intense and a little spooky. The Tweeterboard is yet another top-100 list I am not on. Tweeterboard even tracks all of the links that I have dropped into Twitter:

  1. How Did Leonid Rozhetskin Get to Sundance? Finance! | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  2. » Wombagging – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  3. » Shamsparency – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  4. » Search Moptimization – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  5. » Formalizing Our AHLLC Menu of Services – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  6. Sundance Selects L+E Productions’ Hamlet II < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  7. A Leonid Rozhetskin Film in Sundance | Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  8. Our Top 20 Favorite Memes of All Time | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  9. Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses | culture, science, technology, politics, religion, and conspiracy through a memetic lens

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  10. » The Value of Earned Media Over Paid Media – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 13 2007

  11. Caught at Schneerot Bar: Libia, Kike, Frank, and Me < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 12 2007

  12. » Follow up on Otto vs. Amazon – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 12 2007

  13. » Paradigm shift, stage of life, or a bit of both? – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 12 2007

  14. Catch Today’s Favorites on Memes.org! | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 11 2007

  15. 9/11: A Revolution in Military Affairs | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 11 2007

  16. Twitter Updates for 2007-12-07 < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  17. » Online will be the biggest BtoB growth area in ‘08 – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  18. » Facebook is forgiven (sort of) – Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  19. Marlo Furniture is a Washington-Area Landmark and Anchor | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  20. Marlo Furniture Is a Washington Landmark < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  21. Is Marlo Furniture Still a Washington Tradition? < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  22. Marlo Furniture Is a Washington Landmark and Tradition | Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  23. Bottom Shelf Books

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  24. “The Christmas Truce” – When Men Said No To War | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  25. Bank Tells Man He Owes $211 Trillion | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  26. » » I think I just opted out of Facebook Beacon – I think Marketing Conversation – New Marketing and Social Media by Abraham Harrison LLC

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 10 2007

  27. Energy Bill 2007 Collected Resources and Assets | Memes.org Memes are Mind Viruses

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 9 2007

  28. Chris Abraham > Because the Medium is the Message

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 9 2007

  29. ooVoo and the Long Tease < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 9 2007

  30. Today Was an Amazing Day (and Night) in Berlin < Chris Abraham

    First posted by chrisabraham on Dec 8 2007

PinExt Tweeterboard is Pretty Darn Cool
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2007/12/13/tweeterboard-is-pretty-darn-cool/feed/ 1 Rubbing Shoulders with Hollywood Producer Leonid Rozhetskinhttp://chrisabraham.com/2007/11/11/rubbing-shoulders-with-hollywood-producer-leonid-rozhetskin/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/11/11/rubbing-shoulders-with-hollywood-producer-leonid-rozhetskin/#comments Sun, 11 Nov 2007 06:44:03 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=4162

PinExt Rubbing Shoulders with Hollywood Producer Leonid Rozhetskin

Being a Very-Minor-Almost-Imperceptible-Celebrity, I sometimes get to hang out with Very-Major-Totally-Obvious-Celebrities such as the Hollywood mogul and movie producer Leonid Rozhetskin of L+E Productions. What a cool dude. Via Chris Abraham Online

Leonid Rozhetskin was born August 4th, 1966 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Leonid Rozhetskin is an international financier and lawyer credited with bringing significant financial and legal advances to modern Russia. Leonid Rozhetskin currently co-owns L+E Productions, a movie production company in Los Angeles, California.

Early Life and Education of Leonid Rozhetskin

Leonid Rozhetskin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1966. Leonid Rozhetskin’s family immigrated to the United States in 1980. Leonid Rozhetskin attended high school in New York City.

In 1987, Leonid Rozhetskin received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University with distinction. In 1990, Leonid Rozhetskin graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Legal Career of Leonid Rozhetskin

From 1990 to 1991, Leonid Rozhetskin was a law clerk for Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a federal judge in Los Angeles, California. From 1992 to 1994, Leonid Rozhetskin worked as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case, both U.S. law firms. In 1992, Leonid Rozhetskin returned to Russia to open his own law firm, representing clients such as the International Finance Corporation (a division of the World Bank), Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell, and The Moscow Times.

Career in Investments, Mining and Media of Leonid Rozhetskin

In 1995, Leonid Rozhetskin’s focus shifted from the law to financial ventures. Leonid Rozhetskin was part of a group that founded Renaissance Capital, Russia’s largest and most successful domestic investment bank. While with Renaissance Capital, Leonid Rozhetskin led the firm’s participation in listing the first Russian company on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1998, Leonid Rozhetskin left Renaissance Capital to co-found the independent venture capital firm, LV Finance. The advisory clients of LV Finance included international financier George Soros and founder of CNN Ted Turner. The company invested in a number of highly successful start-up ventures in the media and telecommunications industry, most notably, MegaFon, the third largest mobile phone operator in Russia. Leonid Rozhetskin sold his interest in LV Finance in 2003.

From October 2001 until January 2005, Leonid Rozhetskin served as Executive Vice Chairman of Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s largest mining company and the world’s largest miner of nickel and palladium metals. Leonid Rozhetskin led the company’s efforts on transparency, corporate governance and external investment, including the acquisition of a controlling interest in Stillwater Mining Company, a U.S. miner of platinum and palladium metals. Leonid Rozhetskin also pioneered an investment of $1.2 billion to acquire a 20 percent interest in Gold Fields of South Africa. Leonid Rozhetskin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel.

Leonid Rozhetskin is also a board member and founding shareholder of City A.M., London’s first free daily business newspaper which covers news on the markets, global and local business as well as contemporary lifestyle features. City A.M. is read by over 100,000 professionals throughout London.

Movie Production by Leonid Rozhetskin

In 2007, Leonid Rozhetskin co-founded a movie production company, L+E Productions, with Eric Eisner. Eisner is the son of Michael Eisner, the former Chief Executive Office of The Walt Disney Company. Leonid Rozhetskin and L+E Productions‘ mission is to finance and develop feature-length films.

Personal Life of Leonid Rozhetskin

Leonid Rozhetskin has one son and divides his time between London and Los Angeles.

Awards Won by Leonid Rozhetskin

Leonid Rozhetskin was awarded for the 1989-90 academic year, a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University for his special contribution to teaching the undergraduates of Harvard University and Radcliffe Colleges.

Leonid Rozhetskin External links

PinExt Rubbing Shoulders with Hollywood Producer Leonid Rozhetskin
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2007/11/11/rubbing-shoulders-with-hollywood-producer-leonid-rozhetskin/feed/ 0 Will Subliterate 17-Year-Olds Save the Whales?http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/#comments Sun, 20 May 2007 00:11:44 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=4002

PinExt Will Subliterate 17 Year Olds Save the Whales?

I received a very subliterate comment from Zayna in response to my blog entry, Don’t Save the Whales, which states, subliterately,

“your stupid!!! dont say dont save the whales because you need to save yourself first. i love whales and im trying t save whales and im only 17 i have loving parents who are also trying to save whales and were not disfunctional or falling apart or any thing you said were just fine and to generalize that all people who try and save our planet are neglecting their families is BULL. your just pissed that you cant save the world and you probably cant fix your own family.”

With writing and communication skills like these, the whales are doomed.

PinExt Will Subliterate 17 Year Olds Save the Whales?
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/feed/ 3 New Media Strategies Was New Media Before New Mediahttp://chrisabraham.com/2007/01/29/new-media-strategies-was-new-media-before-new-media/ http://chrisabraham.com/2007/01/29/new-media-strategies-was-new-media-before-new-media/#comments Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:30:45 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=3640

PinExt New Media Strategies Was New Media Before New Media

I spent nearly three-years living the life if an “NMSer.” It is where I got trained up in the art of new media strategy and new media marketing. I had an amazing experience working there and I am also happy to share the latest post-Meredith purchase in the form of a very nice article, Tracking Who’s Saying What About Whom: New Media Strategies’ ‘Online Analysts’ Scour the Web for Mentions of Opinion-Sensitive Clients, by Kim Hart, on the Washington Post. Simply put, co-founders Pete Snyder and Aaron Earls are truly visionaries, deserving of their notable success.

Tracking Who’s Saying What About WhomNew Media Strategies’ ‘Online Analysts’ Scour the Web for Mentions of Opinion-Sensitive Clients

By Kim Hart

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 29, 2007; Page D01

Moira Curran starts her day at the office by skimming several dozen blogs, occasionally firing off instant messages to her co-workers with links to juicy bits of celebrity gossip.

Then she listens to podcasters chatting about the latest episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Lost.” In the afternoon, she keeps an eye on soap operas on the television set that hangs above her desk.

Ashley Duncan, left, Carrie O’Malley, center, and Jenni Collins are among the New Media Strategies employees who comb the Web for clients that want to protect their brands and public images. (By Ricky Carioti — The Washington Post)

About 70 colleagues, scattered across two floors of an Arlington high-rise, spend eight hours a day doing much of the same. Some of them are also playing video games, watching movies and cruising around MySpace.

That’s exactly what the clients of New Media Strategies, an online marketing company, pay the employees to do. Companies ranging from movie studios and television networks to automakers and burger chains hire these professional Web surfers to scour the Internet for any mention of their brands. Over the past few years, the “online analysts” have helped the companies track their reputations, found ways to get their products noticed and joined online conversations to help steer them the way clients want them to go.

More recently, as the explosion of blogs, social networks and video-sharing sites has driven big companies to recognize the role of Internet image in protecting their bottom lines, traditional media companies and private investors are seeking to buy Web-savvy start-ups that have a toehold in cyberspace.

That’s what happened to New Media Strategies this month, when it was acquired — with two Los Angeles-based online marketing firms — by Meredith Corp., a Des Moines-based media company known for its sturdy lineup of traditional magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies’ Home Journal.

“I see the Internet as the world’s largest focus group,” said Pete Snyder, a former media consultant and political pollster who started the company out of his Capitol Hill apartment eight years ago. He had received a few casual offers to buy the company, but interest spiked in the past year. “So many companies have been so deeply entrenched in old media. . . . Now they’re looking to plow into the Web 2.0 world.”

Evidence of that world abounds in the Arlington office, brightly painted in red, orange and yellow. A podcast studio occupies a corner office, and conference rooms are named “.com,” “.net,” “.gov” and “.org.”

Posters from the movies the company has helped promote line the walls — so many that passersby sometimes ask if the office doubles as a theater. Framed albums from Black Sabbath and several seasons of “American Idol” hang next to a flat-screen television reserved for “product viewing.”

Many of the online analysts wear headphones all day and chat with bloggers via instant messages. Their job is to be the clients’ eyes and ears online, said Clay Dunn, 28, a brand manager who monitors what is said about video games and movies.

He watches for rumors and alerts his Hollywood clients if online coverage goes awry. Once, for example, backstage photos from a movie set surfaced and spoiled a sneak preview already in the works.

Curran, another brand manager who trolls the Web on behalf of television clients, corrects errors published in blogs. If rumors spread that someone’s been fired from the cast of HBO’s “Entourage,” for example, she’s there to set the record straight. If an angry viewer bashes a network for a violent scene in a prime-time show, she’s there to post a rebuttal. She watches soap operas so she’ll be able to chat knowledgably with the rest of the online audience.

“Every day, I’m an absolute sponge,” said Curran, 25.

Curran said she is careful to acknowledge her connection to clients when it’s required. All online marketers have to walk a fine line when they work the blogosphere. Federal Trade Commission rules require them to identify their roles when they’re making a point on behalf of a client, but if they’re gossiping about the latest episode of “Desperate Housewives” they can legally be as anonymous as anyone else.

Ashley Duncan, left, Carrie O’Malley, center, and Jenni Collins are among the New Media Strategies employees who comb the Web for clients that want to protect their brands and public images. (By Ricky Carioti — The Washington Post)

The New Media Strategies employees are young, self-identified tech geeks whose goal is to know the Internet inside and out — an increasingly daunting task as hundreds of new blogs and Web sites crop up every day. They try to stay a few strides ahead of online developments — or at least only a step or two behind.

“The Internet used to be our oyster,” Curran said of the days just a few years ago when there were only chat rooms and message boards to monitor. “It still is, but we have to reassess the things we pay the most attention to.”

New Media Strategies’ entertainment practice was the first to take off; Hollywood has long been willing to spend money to influence the online world. Over the past few years, Coca-Cola, Burger King, AT&T, Dodge and Ford joined the client roster. Most recently, public affairs has become the fastest-growing area for the company.

“Before, we could barely get a politician to spend money on a Web site, let alone a massive Web campaign,” Snyder said from his Arlington office. “The world across the river is waking up to this.”

So are buyers and investors. Media companies are starting to show strong interest in adding interactive firms to their portfolios, said Seth R. Alpert, managing director of AdMedia Partners, a New York investment bank that facilitates deals between advertising and marketing companies. AdMedia represented New Media Strategies in its recent acquisition.

“Serving advertisers is now seen as being more broad than putting ink on paper or building Web sites,” Alpert said.

British marketing giant WPP Group, which includes established advertising firms Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam, has acquired several interactive-media firms. Nielsen Media Research combined three online-research companies to create Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which analyzes online markets.

In the Washington area, private investors recently put money into another start-up — Clarabridge, a Reston company whose software crawls Web sites, recording what people say about specific products or brands and tabulating the occurrence of positive or negative words to help clients assess their cyberspace images. For example, it tracks recommendations and criticisms about certain airlines on travel sites.

The company calls the process “online intelligence.” It is currently working for pharmaceutical companies to get a sense of how consumers feel about the drugs the clients make.

“This can shape how they spend that million dollars to launch a product,” said Sid Banerjee, co-founder and chief executive of Clarabridge. “There are enough mainstream consumers making decisions on the Internet that they represent a meaningful sample of the market.”

Last week, the company took in $7.2 million in venture capital funding from Intersouth Partners, based in Durham, N.C., and Reston, bringing its total financing to $10 million since it started in 2005.

Cymfony, a Boston interactive-media firm and a competitor of New Media Strategies and Clarabridge, has received $24 million in venture capital cash in the past seven years.

Cymfony got its start doing research for intelligence agencies but decided to use its text-mining software to monitor the consumer-generated Web. Its business has doubled as advertisers take to the Internet, said chief executive Andrew Bernstein.

“There’s too much media online and no one knows where to turn,” he said. “So they turn to us.”

“Pete Snyder, Founder and CEO, New Media Strategies, Inc.: Pete is the Founder and CEO of New Media Strategies, the industry pioneer and market leader in online intelligence, brand promotion and brand protection, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Drawing on his background as a pollster and media consultant, Pete founded New Media Strategies in 1999, establishing a new industry in market research, brand marketing and communications. New Media Strategies uses technology to tap into the power of the Internet and the blogosphere, helping leading corporations and causes, including some of the biggest Hollywood brands, to promote and protect their brands and bottom lines, online. As CEO, Pete has guided New Media Strategies’ success and rapid organic growth. Over the past six years, New Media Strategies has built a blue-chip client base that features some of the best known brands and corporations in the world, including among others: ABC, AOL Time Warner, Atari, Boston Beer Company, Burger King Corporation, Dodge, Disney, EA, Elektra Records, HBO, Levi’s, McDonald’s, Monster, Northwest Airlines, Paramount Pictures, RCA Records, Red Bull, Reebok, Revlon, Sci-Fi Channel, Sony, USA Network, and Wyeth. Pete was recently honored as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and New Media Strategies was recently recognized on the “Inc. 500″ listing of the Fastest Growing Companies in America. Proving that a company can focus on fast growth, profitability, and fun, New Media Strategies has been recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as one of “50 Great Places to Work” in Washington, and the Washington Business Journal recently honored New Media Strategies as one of Washington’s Best Places to Work. A former political media consultant and a pollster to New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Pete regularly appears as a commentator on the Fox News Channel and has served as a marketing and political expert on CNBC, The News with Brian Williams, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, and Fox News Channel’s Your World with Neil Cavuto, Hannity and Colmes and Fox and Friends. New Media Strategies has appeared in national media publications including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and the Hollywood Reporter.”

PinExt New Media Strategies Was New Media Before New Media
]]> http://chrisabraham.com/2007/01/29/new-media-strategies-was-new-media-before-new-media/feed/ 0 In Response to September 11http://chrisabraham.com/2006/11/07/in-response-to-september-11/ http://chrisabraham.com/2006/11/07/in-response-to-september-11/#comments Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:20:54 +0000 Chris Abraham http://chrisabraham.com/?p=3225

PinExt In Response to September 11

September 14, 2001 — I believe that what has happened on Tuesday [9-11] might have been the best-case scenario, the result of a very vigilant FAA and Intel community.

We are beginning to realize that faux pilots, cell agents, and crack forces were rebuked by observant operators. Nobody got out of DCA or JFK and it seems to me that Boston and Dulles were real weak points.

My opinion is that there was some sort of blood oath. Each member of each cell is going to incessantly try and try again until killed — in action, by a “board of director” of the oversight of the cell or by an ERT agent or some sharp NATO ninja.

Either killed in action or in shame. Tora tora tora kind of stuff. This is not about Nation, its super-national; this is not about bin Laden or the PLO, its super religious. This is I think a direct super national response to multinational corporations and global finance.

To me, I am starting to believe that what the Afghanis, Pakistanis, and Palestinians officially say is true: they did not do it (despite their people’s dancing in the street and handing out candy to all the kids, celebrating their joy).

Some consider it to be inspired and others, like Arafat, are giving blood as a symbolic gesture; but The Usual Suspects did not orchestrate it. I believe this is a set up. I believe this is a bait and switch in order to kick-start a superheating and quick meltdown.

An Esu Elegbara moment when the trickster poke poke pokes us into a tizzy and we wild on those around us.

Special forces are advised to sterilize themselves before an incursion behind enemy lines. To be rife with Arabic paraphernalia is too obvious. Its such an obvious set up! The timing is perfect! The enemies certain. Any insurgent worth his salt would never leave such a paper trail.

In this case, we need to kill the messenger or discover who the message was from, really as opposed to who it says its from. Maybe it says its from bin Laden, but methinks the truth is that this is a shrewd forgery.

Obvious, but shrewd.

The only image I can think of is the short dirty man in the elevator behind a leggy blond and his company’s senior executive. If the short dirty man is nice and shrewd he can both cop a satisfying feel as well as direct the wrath to the Exec, whom he hates. I believe this is the scenario and we need to discern this before we go slapping the wrong man.

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