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14. august 2007
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Der Spiegel changes its tune on Iraq.
Ramadi is an irritating contradiction of almost everything the world thinks it knows about Iraq -- it is proof that the US military is more successful than the world wants to believe. Ramadi demonstrates that large parts of Iraq -- not just Anbar Province, but also many other rural areas along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers -- are essentially pacified today. This is news the world doesn't hear: Ramadi, long a hotbed of unrest, a city that once formed the southwestern tip of the notorious "Sunni Triangle," is now telling a different story, a story of Americans who came here as liberators, became hated occupiers and are now the protectors of Iraqi reconstruction.
You should absolutely read David's comments on this development.
11:06:47 PM 
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It's been a bad day for Barbie, but a worse one for China.
Mattel recalled 9 million Chinese-made toys Tuesday, including Polly Pocket play sets and Batman action figures, because of dangers to children from lead paint or tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
Even as the massive recall was announced, company officials warned that it could grow as Mattel implemented more rigorous testing measures to ensure toy safety as the industry gears up for the holiday-buying season.
The government warned consumers to check at home and make sure their children were not playing with any of the recalled toys. [...]
In a conference call with reporters, Mattel chief executive Bob Eckert said the company is stepping up its oversight and testing in its production processes. As a result, he noted, more recalls may occur.
"There is no guarantee that we will not be here again and have more recalls," Eckert said, adding "we are testing at a very high level here."
I am quite sure Mattel will, in the long run, benefit greatly from choosing what in business speak is called a proactive strategy in this issue, which could be very dangerous for the brand.
An important case study in what to do when a busines is hit with a confidence-threatening crisis is what Johnson & Johnson did when Tylenol was targeted with cyanide by some lunatic.
For an example of the opposite, you will probably recall the hammering Merck has been taking over the Vioxx scandal.
Mattel executives appear to having learned the right lessons.
A lesson many corporations may well take away from this and too many other cases is that Chinese goods are unsafe. Chinese authorities appear to take this issue seriously by now, but with corruption and robber baron 'captalism' encapsulating the economic superpower, I doubt that chopping off a few corrupt heads will be sufficient to reassure consumers worldwide.
10:53:35 PM
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Karl Rove, George Bush' chief strategist and architect of many electoral victories, surprisingly announced his resignation yesterday. Newspapers in this country keep reminding us about his Norwegian descent, but as his political views and methods leave little doubt about, there is little of Norwegian politics in Rove. As for his legacy, I think David Frum has a good summary in the start of his NYT article.
AS a political strategist, Karl Rove offered a brilliant answer to the wrong question.
The question he answered so successfully was a political one: How could Republicans win elections after Bill Clinton steered the Democrats to the center?
The question he unfortunately ignored was a policy question: What does the nation need — and how can conservatives achieve it?
Coming up with sensible policies to rule a vast superpower and winning electoral battles are two different things. Maybe if Bush had an architect for policy as brilliant as Rove was in the election campaigns, or more importantly, a "prime minister" able to put together a good team to see these policies through, things would have been different.
Frum also has an interesting comparison with the "netroots" movement and its attempts to drag the Democratic party to the (by US standards) far left.
The outlook is not, however, entirely bleak for Republicans. I notice that much of the Democratic party, and especially its activist netroots, has decided that the way to beat Rove Republicanism is by emulating it. They are practicing the politics of polarization; they are elevating “framing” above policy; they have decided that winning the next election by any means is all that matters — and never mind what happens on the day after that.
Eventually, what always happens to the ruling party in a sound democracy is that they get too arrogant, makes too many mistakes, and pisses off too many people on too many issues. Then the opposition gets its time to make the same mistakes. Maybe the genius of democracy is that it prevents any one group from actually putting too many of its policies into action.
10:35:07 PM
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© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.09.2007; 12:36:04.
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