News for today's 2018: 11/04/12

Jayman the Great

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hola voters! The 2012 presidential election is almost over! And not a minute too soon either. I don’t think I can stand to see another political ad for or against anyone or anything. It’s all just too much. In fact, someday when I become benevolent dictator, the first thing I’m going to do is outlaw all political and advocacy ads except the ones reminding everyone what a great leader I am.</div><br />Just for the hell of it, here are some other things I would do …<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDS5Wl2ldiFetgbWajyotgoI3i9XSIVFJ_WfiZnMfQ0uFyovgm0bk1uwsAJ6prIZldKHEFm7e_br9NhNbA_Su-457NmMUfrlfxGJqAIRH2HzGL58snWz4Q74jqgv3krrY1vGX8yp7-Ps/s1600/Miley+Cyrus+Daisy+Dukes+Bad+Haircut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDS5Wl2ldiFetgbWajyotgoI3i9XSIVFJ_WfiZnMfQ0uFyovgm0bk1uwsAJ6prIZldKHEFm7e_br9NhNbA_Su-457NmMUfrlfxGJqAIRH2HzGL58snWz4Q74jqgv3krrY1vGX8yp7-Ps/s400/Miley+Cyrus+Daisy+Dukes+Bad+Haircut.JPG" width="170" /></a></div>- I would guarantee government subsidies for men trying to meet Asian chicks. <br /><br />- I would name Miley Cyrus the Secretary of Fashion.<br /><br />- I would outlaw all left turns unless you have a turn lane or a protection light. <br /><br />- I would lower the drinking age to 18, but raise the legal driving age to 21 to avoid teen drunk driving problems. <br /><br />- I would extend the base paths in baseball from 90 to 95 feet to eliminate all close plays. <br /><br />- I would outlaw all reality TV shows except Swamp People and that new show about the day to day lives of strippers that VH1 is supposedly doing. <br /><br />- I would outlaw all feminine hygiene ads, erectile dysfunction ads and ads where people talk about having gas or diarrhea.<br /><br />- I would also make whatever a person pays for lap dances a charitable deduction on his taxes.   <br /><br />- I would require BTR to rank more than one episode if multiple shows are still getting plays. <br /><br />- I would ban Celine Dion songs from being played on any radio station in the country. I will allow her to continue to perform in Vegas, but nowhere else! <br /><br />- I would also ban all sideline reporters in both NFL and College Football. Compete wastes of time. <br /><br />- I would also bad that Goddam prevent defense crap that coaches always do late in game when they have a precarious lead. It almost always leads to a loss. <br /><br />- I would move the presidential retreat from Camp David to a small fishing village in Mexico.<br /><br />- I would get rid of that bullshit tax exempt status that churches enjoy. <br /><br />- I would shut down the WNBA.<br /><br />- Cut two dollars in aid to Israel for every one dollar the republicans cut in social programs aimed at children. <br /><br />- Make it felony for people living in upstairs apartments to crank up their music to ridiculous volumes punishable by 37 years in prison. <br /><br />- Throw a big-ass blogger and podcaster party in Las Vegas that would be free for everyone. <br /><br />- Ban the McRib cause that’s some nasty shit man.<br /><br />- Gather all the world’s most brilliant scientists and have them find a way to make Pepperoni Lover’s Pizza with extra sauce, Mexican food, cheeseburgers and Pepsi totally healthy without losing the great taste. This will go down as my greatest contribution to humanity. <br /><br />- Oh and I guess I would make sure everyone had equal access to decent healthcare and all that kind of shit. Whatever. <br /><br />- Make kids go to school year round with only two weeks off around July 4th and Christmas. <br /><br />- Make any adjustments to any laws to improve my happiness and comfort level whenever necessary. I mean the happiness and comfort level of my loyal followers! Yeah, that’s it. <br /><br />As you can see, I would be a great benevolent dictator and I would make the world a much better place. I think we should all get busy making this happen as soon as possible. Thanks. <br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS </a><br /><br />In other news, Sunday’s episode of <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid" target="_blank">I’m With Stupid </a>was absolutely fucking hilarious. Well, it was to Matt and Jay at least. We talked about the upcoming Presidential election, made some predictions about what might happen we one side or the other loses, had lots and lots of fun at Dick Morris’ expense and generally mocked all these pretentious political pundits that we’re all sick and tired of seeing and hearing from all the time. It was a seriously funny show so check it out! <br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="105" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D3971677&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D3971677&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;">Listen to <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/">internet radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid">Im With Stupid</a> on Blog Talk Radio</div><br /></div>

Jayman the Great

Hola voters! The 2012 presidential election is almost over! And not a minute too soon either. I don’t think I can stand to see another political ad for or against anyone or anything. It’s all just too much. In fact, someday when I become benevolent d…

TURKEY IN THE MIST

7:10 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0tvSlOEX5kNe9JzBlJWF_DyoPAkles9uU-oDMLEPfottRK_q4vx3Ys2QovRtoO37yLtxo0HNNhyNWXWF32trrFMCo974uC7iVGtrfkGw_DheqCskz9cOqD6vsUnn6RJqH8aWxj4GKclW/s1600/MIST-Countries.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0tvSlOEX5kNe9JzBlJWF_DyoPAkles9uU-oDMLEPfottRK_q4vx3Ys2QovRtoO37yLtxo0HNNhyNWXWF32trrFMCo974uC7iVGtrfkGw_DheqCskz9cOqD6vsUnn6RJqH8aWxj4GKclW/s400/MIST-Countries.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY ENJOYS A DEMOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION THAT IS EXTREMELY FAVORABLE TO GROWTH</span></b></span></span><br /><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">plus Bac<span style="font-size: x-large;">kgrounder</span> </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ten years after coining the famous ‘BRIC’ acronym, Jim O’Neil has done it again. This time it’s the MIST countries: MEXICO, INDONESIA, SOUTH KOREA, and TURKEY.  And with its robust balance sheet of economic fundamentals, it should come as no surprise that TURKEY has officially been penned into the next round of global economic debutantes.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY’S position as one of the world’s next big emerging economies has become unassailable in the past fifteen years. Unlike the aging populations that characterize other economic powers in the region, TURKEY enjoys a demographic distribution that is extremely favorable to growth, (see: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/11/the-geopolitics-of-youth-unemployment.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/11/the-geopolitics-of-youth-unemployment.html</a>) and it will soon be benefitting from the ‘demographic dividend’ of a young population in much of the same way that countries like CHINA and BRAZIL are at present. And TURKEY’S population is not just young; at around 72 million it represents a sizable domestic market in itself. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY HAS THE METRICS OF AN ECONOMIC POWER IN WAITING</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: blue;">.</span><br /><br />Another critical difference between TURKEY and other regional powers is its relatively small debt-to-GDP ratio, currently hovering at around 40 percent. All of these factors combined to generate a record $22 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the lead up to the 2008 global financial crisis. This impressive level of FDI was no anomaly: TURKEY has the metrics of an economic power in waiting.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEget2pF5d_X6wTmUgiE-7AylC8i7Bqe9HaLzmYsWfZkALmj3-n3Q2EhPSBeK4KO-PgvtDmzkZwEDSJtPVlyCb7Cv7MAQidieOXnSGTGweymnBtoUJO1o1vKLTry9BvcBtB3BLXIrGzx1do5/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEget2pF5d_X6wTmUgiE-7AylC8i7Bqe9HaLzmYsWfZkALmj3-n3Q2EhPSBeK4KO-PgvtDmzkZwEDSJtPVlyCb7Cv7MAQidieOXnSGTGweymnBtoUJO1o1vKLTry9BvcBtB3BLXIrGzx1do5/s400/image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But will membership in a MIST grouping have any real influence on TURKEY’S geopolitical outlook? The answer depends on several variables, and first and foremost there’s the question of MIST itself. Currently, MIST is just a figment of our collective imaginations, lacking even the most preliminary institutional foundations that the BRIC countries have.<br /><br />Yet this relative immaturity makes the MIST countries grouping more pliable, and this may end up playing to TURKEY’S advantage. If Istanbul finds itself spurned in its entry into the EU, it will have to look elsewhere for economic partners, (see: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/06/does-turkey-really-need-eu.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/06/does-turkey-really-need-eu.html</a>) and it is here that MIST could end up playing an important role. Much like the BRIC countries built up their brand as a way to promote a multipolar international system, in style if not substance, MIST countries could use this brand to promote their own economic importance to private investors and drive real economic integration in their corresponding regions.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“MIST” DERIVED MUCH OF ITS IMPORTANCE FROM A POLITICAL MESSAGE, NOT AN ECONOMIC ONE</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Regardless of what might happen, governments across Mexico City, Istanbul, Seoul, and Jakarta are all interpreting the somewhat arbitrary birth of MIST as an outright blessing, if only because it helps build economic confidence via its indirect association with the BRIC countries.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">After all, economic branding is about the best that MIST countries can hope for with a membership spread across three continents, say nothing of the burning question of whether South Korea should even be considered as an emerging market at all (the OECD disagrees).</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Moreover, observers should think twice before predicting MIST to follow a similar track as the BRICS countries. The latter group derived much of its importance from a political message, not an economic one. And while there is no substantive economic or political integration occurring between the BRICS countries ( S stands for SOUTH AFRICA), the acronym gained traction because it came to symbolize the end of the post-Cold War ‘unipolar moment’ of the UNITED STATES.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgTong2zIV88midHEKA6BQ9IF1dILsyF7SIa5LM7Kxd0N4XNx3GVaYyywQnub1l14RTUSjbxcV2D0b7FubZzeZmlUFlwLXIxATb9VeaPzjY4wojgQWGK2upPHyFpz8CDLDPXRew7NtEHL/s1600/58Modern+Istanbul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgTong2zIV88midHEKA6BQ9IF1dILsyF7SIa5LM7Kxd0N4XNx3GVaYyywQnub1l14RTUSjbxcV2D0b7FubZzeZmlUFlwLXIxATb9VeaPzjY4wojgQWGK2upPHyFpz8CDLDPXRew7NtEHL/s320/58Modern+Istanbul.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern Istanbul</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Thus, TURKEY’S membership in MIST is a powerful symbol, though it’s one of a safe economic investment in a stable middle power for the private investor and not the next big alliance in international society.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Zachary Fillingham via Geopoliticalmonitor </span><br /><br /><br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BACKGROUNDER: MIST COUNTRIES</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Back in 2001, Goldman Sachs analyst Jim O’Neill put his permanent stamp on the English language by grouping the four emerging economies of BRAZIL, RUSSIA, INDIA, and CHINA into one handy acronym- ‘BRIC.’ Ten years later, with economic signs abound that growth within the BRIC countries was about to come down to earth, Jim went back to the drawing board to recapture some of his old magic. The result: MIST countries, the newest emerging market club that boasts a membership of MEXICO, INDONESIA, SOUTH KOREA, and TURKEY.<br /><br />With the clarity of hindsight, we can now say that the BRIC countries   label has been significant. What began as a purely theoretical construct meant to move investment products ended up as a self-fulfilling prophecy after the BRIC countries seized upon the label and the global importance that it implied.<br /><br />But will the same eventually be said of the MIST countries? At this point it’s anyone’s guess, particularly since the cultural and political disparity that exists between the MIST countries makes the BRIC countries look like a cohesive bloc.<br /><br />The BRIC countries <span> </span>undoubtedly share a great deal of economic potential however, and this backgrounder will explain why.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MEXICO</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html"><span style="color: blue;">Population</span></a>: 114,975,406</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Age Structure:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">0-14 years: 27.8%</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">15-64 years: 65.5% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">65 years and over: 6.7%</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP: $1.155 trillion</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP Composition: Agriculture: 3.8% / Industry: 34.2% / Services: 62%</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Major Exports: manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee and cotton.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Transparency.Org Corruption Ranking: 100th (globally)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MEXICO has a strong demographic foundation for future economic growth; something it shares with many of the other MIST countries. With a population of over 112 million, Mexico has a sizable pool of labor to draw on, and critically, this labor pool is overwhelmingly young. Currently, there are <a href="http://csis.org/program/demographics-and-human-capital-development-mexico"><span style="color: blue;">nine children for every elderly person in MEXICO</span></a>. And unlike most of the developed world, MEXICO’S population is still growing. It reported a population growth rate of over one percent last year.<br /><br />MEXICO is also uniquely placed to pick up the slack in global manufacturing as wages in CHINA rise and reduce its competitiveness in the field of low value-added production. The average manufacturing wage in CHINA <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444318104577587191288101170.html"><span style="color: blue;">surpassed that of MEXICO</span></a> earlier this year, and MEXICO also benefits from reduced shipping costs to the critical US market owing to its geographic position and NATO membership. These manufacturing advantages have translated into MEXICO claiming an ever-larger slice of the US overall imports pie- MEXICAN imports amounted to 12% of US total imports last year, up from 10% in 2009.<br /><br />This doesn’t mean that MEXICO has supplanted CHINA as the motor of the global economy. CHINA, of course, still has its own sizable economic advantages. Rather, the numbers indicate that MEXICO is well-situated to eat into CHINA’S dominance of global low-cost manufacturing; a transition that CHINA itself is encouraging in order to boost domestic wages and consumption.<br /><br />The roadblocks threatening to keep MEXICO from realizing the economic potential implied by the MIST counties label are well-documented: a raging drug war and <a href="http://www.grailresearch.com/pdf/ContenPodsPdf/Grail-Research-MIST.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">persistent corruption.</span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">INDONESIA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html"><span style="color: blue;">Population</span></a>: 248,645,008</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Age Structure:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">0-14 years: 27% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">15-64 years: 66.6% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">65 years and over: 6.4% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP: $845.7 billion </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 14.7% / Industry: 47.2% / Services: 38.1% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Major Exports: oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Transparency.Org Corruption Ranking: 100th (globally)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Like MEXICO, INDONESIA has a demographic distribution that is conducive to rapid economic growth. It will experience a ‘demographic dividend’ over the next few decades, when its working-age population far exceeds elderly dependants.<br /><br />INDONESIA also benefits from its geography. As SOUTHEAST ASIA’S largest economy, it is well placed to take advantage of the ASEAN-CHINA Free Trade Area, and it has done just that- recording three consecutive years of GDP growth over 6 percent from 2009-2012.<br /><br />The INDONESIAN economy stands out among the MIST countries because of its high levels of domestic consumption. INDONESIAN consumers account for over <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19144786"><span style="color: blue;">60 percent</span></a> of the INDONESIAN GDP (<a href="http://www.tradingfloor.com/posts/asia-macro-is-3-years-of-6-growth-a-dream-no-its-indonesia-205803285"><span style="color: blue;">in CHINA, it’s 35 percent</span></a>). Robust domestic consumption has allowed INDONESIA to weather the brunt of the Great Recession and continue to grow at a steady clip.<br /><br />Yet the INDONESIAN economy is still connected to the wax and wane of the global economy. Its exports are dominated by commodities and natural resources, primarily heading to CHINA, so it stands to reason that the INDONESIAN economy would suffer in the event of any CHINESE slowdown. Like MEXICO, INDONESIA also has a problem with corruption.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html"><span style="color: blue;">Population</span></a>: 79,749,461</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Age structure: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">0-14 years: 26.2% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">15-64 years: 67.4% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">65 years and over: 6.4% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP: $778.1 billion</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 9.3% / Industry: 28.1% / Services: 62.6% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Major Exports: apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Transparency.Org Corruption Ranking: 61st (globally)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY’S position as one of the world’s next big emerging economies has become unassailable in the past fifteen years. Unlike the aging populations that characterize other economic powers in the region, TURKEY enjoys a demographic distribution that is extremely favorable to growth, and it will soon be benefitting from the ‘demographic dividend’ of a young population in much of the same way that countries like CHINA and BRAZIL are at present. And TURKEY’S population is not just young; at around 79 million it represents a sizable domestic market in itself.   <br /><br />Another critical difference between TURKEY and other regional powers is its relatively small debt-to-GDP ratio, currently hovering at around 40 percent. All of these factors combined to generate a record $22 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the lead up to the 2008 global financial crisis. This impressive level of FDI was no anomaly: TURKEY has the metrics of an economic power in waiting.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SOUTH KOREA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html"><span style="color: blue;">Population</span></a>: 48,860,500 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Age Structure:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">0-14 years: 15.1% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">15-64 years: 73% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">65 years and over: 11.9% </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP: $1.116 trillion</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GDP Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 2.6% / Industry: 39.2% / Services: 58.2%</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Major Exports: semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Transparency.Org Corruption Ranking: 43rd (globally)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SOUTH KOREA is somewhat of an exception within the MIST countries, but not for any lack of economic dynamism. It stands apart because it can, in many respects, already be considered a developed economy, and it is often classified as such by everyone from the lowly student to the massive bureaucracy like the OECD.<br /><br />By most indications, SOUTH KOREA is a developed economy: it boasts a per-capita income of US $27,000, its economy is export-driven and powered by high value-added manufacturing, and it has mature political institutions that help reduce corruption.<br /><br />SOUTH KOREA’S advanced position on the economic development arc means that its population is also substantively different than other MIST countries. It is the smallest population in the club and thus represents the smallest domestic market, and in terms of age distribution it is markedly older than the other MISTs. It should also be noted that the rapid ‘graying’ that historically follows a demographic dividend will be more pronounced in SOUTH KOREA. It has a population growth rate of just 0.2% (176th in the world) and is known for having some of the strictest immigration laws within the OECD.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Conclusion</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /><br />The MIST acronym was born of one singular desire: to move Goldman Sachs investment products (particularly the N-11 Equity Fund). Yet that doesn’t mean it can’t teach us something. There is a solid economic argument to be made for any member of the MIST countries being the next big launch pad for global economic growth (except for SOUTH KOREA, which arguably has already launched). But grouping the four of them together and implying that they’re a cohesive bloc should be avoided at all costs. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Zachary Fillingham via Geopoliticalmonitor </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

TURKEY IN THE MIST

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

4:18 PM Tukiyooo 0

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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Open House!

2:51 PM Tukiyooo 0

Open House!

We have a lot of exciting events taking place in the house in the next few weeks. In two weeks we have a photographer from a UK magazine visiting to take photos of the house. Exciting!!! Ciaran, myself and the dog will also be featured! Then in D…

Covering Sandy

12:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

While I'm not surprised at the Manhattan-centric nature of the cover of <a href="http://nymag.com/nymag/letters/hurricane-sandy-editors-letter-2012-11/">New York Magazine's forthcoming issue</a>, I must admit the photograph by <a href="http://www.iwan.com/">Iwan Baan</a> is exceptional. It certainly doesn't summarize the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, but it does a great job showing how a chunk of the island lost power for close to a week.<br /><br /><img alt="nymagcvr121105_710.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/nymagcvr121105_710.jpg" title="New York Magazine cover" /><br />[New York Magazine cover by Iwan Baan | image <a href="http://nymag.com/nymag/letters/hurricane-sandy-editors-letter-2012-11/">source</a>]<br /><br />As explained by the editors: <br /><blockquote>A photograph taken by Iwan Baan on Wednesday night, showing the Island  of Manhattan, half aglow and half in dark, was the clear choice [for the cover], for the  way it fit with the bigger story we have tried to tell here about a  powerful city rendered powerless.</blockquote>

Covering Sandy

While I'm not surprised at the Manhattan-centric nature of the cover of New York Magazine's forthcoming issue, I must admit the photograph by Iwan Baan is exceptional. It certainly doesn't summarize the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, but it does a great…

30 Days of Google #4: Back up your Blogger blog

10:27 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7XjAZbjfDB8F2ADOMcUo_N5hKRTFStsw7MveEHNIxFp_aanwiiVrcE6IAdpANvf5ElaLAaAwNHXvCUUouJoL-P8uyUaFADrObqZgGUqg4HMt8xiuIdwld5Uz4XlnFSCZwshbxepVM04/s1600/blogger2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7XjAZbjfDB8F2ADOMcUo_N5hKRTFStsw7MveEHNIxFp_aanwiiVrcE6IAdpANvf5ElaLAaAwNHXvCUUouJoL-P8uyUaFADrObqZgGUqg4HMt8xiuIdwld5Uz4XlnFSCZwshbxepVM04/s320/blogger2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-size: small;">Submitted by Fiona Beal</span></span></i><br />Recently I was opening my Blogger blog when I was directed to a message from Google saying that people in two parts of the world (Austria and Sweden) were trying to access the blog. Google gave the IP address of the devices concerned  They had refused permission to these unknown people but wanted to know if I wanted to give them access – good old Google<span style="font-size: small;">!</span> They advised me to change my password in case it was someone trying to compromise my account…which of course I did. So I knew it was time for me to back up my blog!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other reasons for backing up a blog</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I remember Richard Byrne on this blog <a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/" target="_blank"><i>Free technology 4 teachers</i></a> urging his read<span style="font-size: small;">ers</span> one time, as a weekend project,  to back up our blogs; so I crossed over to his post for guidance.  He gives some good reasons for backing up a blog, '<i>The fact of the matter is, if we rely on a free web-based service we should be aware of the possibility that it could shut-down or move to a fee model at some point. To that end, we should be in the habit of periodically creating offline back-ups of our data.’</i></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to back up a blog?</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is a relief to know that nothing happens to the original blog when you backup!  I have put the steps I took into a Slideshare. It was rather nerve-wracking at first as I imagined how it would be if something went wrong and I lost the whole blog! To allay that fear I practised on a not-too-important previous blog and all went well.<span style="font-size: small;"> So here is what I did...</span></span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/15020172" style="border-bottom: #ccc 0px solid; border-left: #ccc 1px solid; border-right: #ccc 1px solid; border-top: #ccc 1px solid; margin-bottom: 5px;" width="427"> </iframe>  <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><b><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/back-up-your-blogger-blog" target="_blank" title="Back up your Blogger blog">Back up your Blogger blog</a> </b>from <b><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">Fiona Beal</a></b> </div><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What else can be done with the exported file?</span></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you decide to change blogging platforms you can import the xml backup files to the new blog. Amazing! The other thing you can do with the xml file is convert it to a PDF and make it into a book using <a href="http://www.blogbooker.com/">BlogBooker</a> – a free service! It takes about 5 minutes. Imagine how nice it would be to do this for your students’ blogs at the end of a year!  BlogBooker points to some public examples on the web to look at<span style="font-size: small;"><b>.</b></span></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cvfRBnOs7R-O_-tFcA4i0OJs6tBPMDI6FOyJtBnzYdusqlVCpFBcsPGDGtIxZ9uuBNsFNkDB6viUDp4ZWn4611_ystDqsZnXNufOE4iJsntciJBz1TnqqbtJ8IawtWEz__EWndZ90UQ/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefR7T0QsvXrqeBbh_Jc8ztZ_ctL-ktPSVUVYkRKY9Gp5lV7vziRaHU7-Qrcn8LL1RPVN83vJJZ-afyNYVdQ9kbw8dYNDWbha9RYJzYisf0yNDhJWDTkbkIXJ_jGMR9CpbVxBbRodEyqY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can also get this done professionally on the web into a hard cover book using <a href="http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html">blog2print.</a> I have seen one of these <span style="font-size: small;">at a friend's house </span>and they are lovely.</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSWGQJKdDcz4B0lvH-37IhrLZcoN416jlBUQABnuG_jyyjn0GRNFPQvQ2ZZjaONWSTPjXBYPoKrmkEj20vCSLmWN-8fJ8FKQuSZKL9mvtoml-wj7z81Dn7mALERnFAE0KWbHzbVLrJyY/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxWpCn0BeCuTCGot5izAb2LWhv1nEFEu4JYjCqdxp07S8pUQzXdhmNvC4TzLdno4MBwO7Z19EJ_uYlokKSo2v1s6zEDslxMeWaw6swp04-_uD78Ck_h55_cG5gB0a2yUXO0WTV4gez0M/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you are the proud own<span style="font-size: small;">er of a Blogger<span style="font-size: small;"> or</span> Edublogs/Wordpress blog please think about backing up your blog. It would be a terrible plight to lose all those hard-earned hours of work just like that!</span></span></span><b> </b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Further reading</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1) <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/7-tips-for-turning-your-blog-into-a-book">7 tips for turning your blog into a book</a><br />2) <a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/12/how-to-back-up-your-blog-and-why-you.html#.UJaoscXjRuY">How to back up your blog and why you should</a></span></span></div>

30 Days of Google Slideshare Tutorials 30 Days of Google #4: Back up your Blogger blog

Submitted by Fiona BealRecently I was opening my Blogger blog when I was directed to a message from Google saying that people in two parts of the world (Austria and Sweden) were trying to access the blog. Google gave the IP address of the devices con…