WE ARE RULED BY GANGSTERS

30 December 2023 https://www.youtube.com/live/dlKuQ3r3Mwk?si=xSu817r0XOfgdB7LExactly, it's not so much that our leadership are incompetent, it's that they are corrupt - it is the practice of war that they love because it's good for business. But we want freedom and prosperity and we know that comes from peace and productivity and planning.So how is it that it's the bad people that get to the top? Because the system must be wrong,...

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A NEW POLITICAL DYNASTY FOR INDONESIA

1 December 2023https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-constitutional-court-ruling-democracy-political-dynasty-joko-widodo-gibran-rakabuming-raka-3851566READERS' REACTIONSSome reader reaction:"Very interesting article about the Supreme Court's reversal of the under 40 ruling." "It is a bit worrying when you see relatives bending the rule of law."ANALYSISThe court ruling didn't lower the min. age requirement, which is still 40, but it did open up opportunities for younger people who have executive governance experience. I can't see much...

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COLUCHE FOR PRESIDENT

15 December 2023 Coluche was one of those rare people where a single name is enough. He was one of the world's greatest comedians but unlike Billy Connolly his language couldn't translate outside his country of origin.In 1980, he decided to run for president of France and he had many original ideas on his program: there would be no work for anyone, there would be no school for the children, all drugs would be legalised and money abolished.In...

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR POLITICIANS - THE EXAMPLE OF PUTIN

15 December 2023 However much people here in The West hate Putin, the president of the Russian Federation, some of it must surely be to do with his success in bringing Russia back from the dead these last 20 years.Today, let's take a look at how he does it - and why. (If you've read the previous piece on livingintheair.org on basic communication skills that will be a help in understanding the technical side of Putin's communication...

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS 101

15 December 2023This is a technical piece on basic communication skills, with an emphasis on skills needed for success in the office.First, let's take a look at key communication skills. Once we have set this frame, let's look more closely at a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) for determining roles within a project team, your project teams.Effective communication skills Effective communication skills are crucial for success in the office,...

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THE TRIUMPH OF REASON OVER EMOTION

14 December 2923 I have always taken a "realistic" position on IR, but this growing world anger, and anger at home, the emotions or passions that drive everything, emotions esp anger seem more and more to be overriding reason and common sense.Look at Gaza. Any analysis would say that Hamas has performed an almost miraculous feat in getting this decades-old conflict back at the top of the world's priorities, and that there is little to...

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GREAT POWER POLITICS

9 December 2023 https://youtu.be/FgHAEBMfHK8?si=MhKMlpCjRPV9cn4sThe Tragedy of Power Politics. This skillful interview contains many fresh insights from Professor John J. Mearsheimer.The positive side of Nationalism can hold together a multicultural Liberal Society.Aswhere a Liberal believes that a program of economic engagement will bring other states on board and into the fold of democratic countries, a Realist believes that in...

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STRATEGY IN ACTION

8 December 2023 SUMMARYThis is an old block of flats that is no longer up to today's living standards. This is seriously affecting capital and rental values. One way to restore vale is to upgrade the outside and the public areas and facilities, but this would require more money than many of the owners are prepared to put in.Therefore the problem is how to convince these owners to join and fund a rehab program.First we need some data...

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DESPAIR AT THE FUTURE OF THE WEST

4 December 2023 Just to watch our foolish leaderships throw away what were once good hands. Fills me with despair. What can we do with our elites except remove them, how to do that? You judge a tree by its fruits. I don't want their media, their propaganda - I pay for and judge the meal in a restaurant, not the chef!And if we don't, if we can't get them out of office? What I think about is the real value of my savings - whether inflation...

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