CAUGHT BETWEEN CHOOSING a Sunday under clear blue skies and a Sunday with dead trees, I went for a short look at the Financial Times Weekend edition and made a Qik video: http://url.ie/76ag Fact is, many Irish journalists are on hoidays at the moment and if anything is under their bylines, it's rewarmed or reflective. I never expect more than silly news from Irish titles in August but here are some issues worth reflecting upon.
Blackberry Encrypted Data May Be Stored Locally. It doesn't help RIM when international investigators have shown the effective use of the Blackberry in planning terrorist activities. Career criminals in Ireland also use the secure RIM services, as do politicians. Expect to see RIM arrange for local data service hosting or watch more countries impose bans on the use of Blackberries inside their borders.
Russian Wheat. Wildfires in Russia have already jacked up prices for grain on the commodities markets, making 2010 a profitable year for many Irish farmers. I will pay more for my breakfast cereal boxes this winter.
Tapas. Rebecca Seal has a lovely story in the FT about tapas in San Sebastian. She has found the jewel of tapas platters, as far as I am concerned.
Crisis in Middle Class America. This is the most-read item from the Financial Times in the past fortnight. David McWilliams is tweaking the theme for Ireland. If the trend holds, the American Middle Class enjoyed its most comfortable days sometime in the 80s and it's downhill from there. I think you can map the same effect onto Ireland and say the Celtic Tiger days were the top of the mountain with the rest of the 21st century being a gradual leveling off of the comfort expected by the Irish middle class. First to be cut: two short breaks a year, because banks won't loan the money anymore.
Moral Hazards. Richard Waters explains why American boardrooms are becoming less tolerant of sexual harrassment, inappropriate relationships and largesse in corporate entertainment. Waters also explains why ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd got a $40m pay-out when resigning from the company.
Power Surge. Tom McCarthy's "C" retraces historical moments and personages from 1898 onwards. It's a book that seems to be fit for purpose on an "Emerging Trends and Technologies" module I teach at http://www.TippInst.ie
Sent mail2blog using Nokia E90 O2-3G Typepad service from the banks of the River Liffey, Celbridge, Co Kildare, Ireland.
Direct link to http://qik.com/m/v/10732451