Barbara Boxer is the junior US Senator from California. She is a force to be reckoned with and is now the Chair of the Senate Environment Committee. She is up for re-election this year against a number of interesting Republican Opponents.
Of the three Republican opponents, the one I find the most qualified is Tom Campbell, the former Congressman and Budget Director under the present Governor. I also am fascinated by the candidacy of Carly Fiornia, the former HP and Lucent Executive who went on to found a lucrative consultancy and rose in Republican circles during the McCain campaign. I am discounting Chuck Devore because I don't think he would be able to win in a statewide primary simply because of the way California is right now.
The campaign has begun. The Boxer campaign and the California Democractic Party are focusing on Carly Fiorina and her "failed' tenure at HP. I think they are making a big mistake. What they need to understand that Carly Fiornia was not wrong in the vision she had. She was not an operations person per se. But, leaders are not necessary nuts and bolts people like her successor, Mark Hurd. But, her decision to push for the Compaq merger insured that HP emerged as one of the big three IT Players today. What the Democratic Party must do is to make sure they realize that what she represents is a throwback to the past of tax cuts, give aways to the rich and more power to big business. Simply attacking Fiornia is the wrong approach. Furthermore, the Democrats need to sit back and enjoy the Republicans slugging it out especially in light of the teabaggers and the Sarah Palin wing of the party.
Carly Fiorina gave a preview of what she envisioned when she talked about her potential candidacy at the Web 2.0 conference about the accomplishments of Barbara Boxer. That's the strategy that the Boxer Campaign has to push--a Senator who is seasoned, who speaks for all on Main Street who will do what needs to be done to represent California. Whether the political minds running the campaign for the Senator and at the Party level listen is another matter.
For those who doubted China's power, today's annoucement should dispel any notion. China just came out with an annoucement that it has overtaken Germany as the World's greatest exporter. Shanghai opened up 3%. There was a 17% increase in exports. On top of that, there were record car sales in China. I wonder how our little planet is going to be able to handle over 800 million cars!!!
As I tried to come to terms with China's continued march towards world economic domination, I remember an old friend telling me about not to worry about China and how China was going to choke on its' own development. China has some profound challenges. But, China is marching mightly towards its rightful place in the world. Anyone who ignores it does so at their own peril.
A Federal Judge has dismissed charges against the Blackwater guards. The Iraqi Government wants to prosecute them. As I saw Mouri Al Malaki's statement, my response was simple: yaaaaaaaaaaah right!!!
What the world needs to understand is that Blackwater, (now known as XE), enjoys sovereign immunity. So, that's out of the question. Furthermore, with the way things are in US courts it will be years before families see any compensation. The families who were wronged that day deserve to be made whole and achieve closure. But with Blackwater, it will never happen. I hope I'm wrong.
As we all bid farewell to 2009, I wanted to simply say thanks. I will be taking a few days off my regular write-ups to finish gearing up for 2010. I will be "back" in 2010 with a renewed vigour and focus on the key themes that I have focused on throughout the past year and a half and to hopefully continue my focus to hopefully help make a difference in our world. It is a world that is worth fighting for for the sake of our children and grandchildren everywhere.
Happy New Year!!!!
Mike Pouraryan
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