Gaddafi...A Sad Story Indeed

Well I come to you this week with a rather different approach to the Gaddafi ordeal, as many celebrate the leaders death, I had to question those outside of Libya for any pleasure or reassurance they felt upon hearing of the leaders demise. Why you ask? Well I will deliver a brief history of the Europe and America's relationship with Libya and let you decide for yourselves. And please do read on...I do believe he was wrong to oppress his people but he did a lot of good for Africa and Libya.

Gaddafi has for a long time been a strange dictator that many have either liked or disliked...kind of like Marmite. I for one am quite an odd admirer, but please do read on before passing judgement! The EU has always maintained a healthy relationship with Libya, even the UK who has had its difficulties with Gaddafi in the past have gotten past it, Blair convinced Gaddafi to dismantle all his WOMD and the two countries have had healthy trade relationships for a long time. so what went wrong, these videos can put it into words better than i can. And as someone who studied a little economics and has double checked these facts they are indeed...facts!

                             
                             Link to full sized video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuqZfaj34nc

Well it certainly put into place what i already presumed. I mean why didn't anyone intervene in any of the poorer, less mineral rich countries that even as we speak are being slaughtered as they fight for democracy? Well I think the answer is pretty obvious.

More Great Video's From the RSAnimate Team

Ok so today I thought i'd upload some videos of some interesting talks animated by the RSAnimate team. Here are my favourite three so check 'em out whenever you have a chance, as I guarantee it is worth your time!! I will also link to the YouTube pages where you can watch them in full screen; Enjoy:

Changing Education Paradigms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Crisis of Capitalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0&feature=relmfu

20th Century Enlightenment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo&feature=related


I hope you all enjoy these as much as I did. Even if they get us thinking a little bit about the current system. I'll be back later in the week with some more light hearted entertainment!

Banksy

So its a Sunday evening and i thought id try and track down some sweet Banksy wallpapers to add to my collection and here is what i stumbled upon. This one I like as it's a pretty accurate depiction of Parliament:

And then there are these which I think are pretty relevant to current movements taking place world-wide:

                                                             Happy Sundays Everyone!

Something to Think About: What Motivates and Drives Us?

I found this great video from the RSA Animate team (Royal Society of Arts) which discusses the various tools and incentives that companies use to motivate employers and whether this actually works. Check out the video below. (for a full sized version visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc)

After watching the Video myself i would say that the speaker Dan Pink has some good points especially concerning the freeware programmes and shareware such as Skype and Linux. I think this forward thinking could help create a better system in the future. Unfortunatley most corporations will probably use this to fuel their own greed, marketing it as a great way to motivate employees when in reality they seek to enhance sales from employees ideas. Lets just hope that a change in the right direction happens, from the shitty situation the world's in now surely our thinking towards business and how we act has got to change??

Why Globalisation Doesn't Work and the Euro-Zone is Doomed to Failure.

So basically after spending 3 years studying business and economics I understand a little how the world of global economics works and why globalisation will not work. To see a great example we just have to look at the European Union and the Euro. Despite the growing rate in which the world is becoming connected, with people all over the world starting to share common interests and hobbies, just look at Facebook as an example, throughout the world in every country (where they are not banned) there will be people who have a Facebook account.

Despite this each country is still very different in terms of culture, lifestyle habits and commercial laws. The major flaw in the Eurozone is that some countries are far too small to keep up with the larger countries within the EU. Lets look at Portugal as an example. Pre-Euro Portugal was 300% cheaper than it is nowadays. The introduction to the Euro meant that prices for all goods rose due to the strength of the Euro and in keeping with inflation. This would have been fine, except that the national minimum wage hardly rose and is currently €2.50 per hour. The average monthly salary is just €500 per month. This is where the problems lie as the people of Portugal no longer have any money to spend, as they work to pay rent and buy food to live, they cannot afford any other non essential items. This in turn means that shops lose business, leading to job losses and bankruptcy, leading to even less spending, and it is a never ending viscious cycle leading to more and more debt.

The only viable solution I can see is for the member states of the EU to reform back to their previous currencies at the exchange rate given when it was first introduced. Countries will also have to adjust costing on goods, so that consumers can afford to consume, and the countries within the EU should maintain their trade agreements so that there are no negative consequences for leaving the Euro-Zone.