An enemy is someone to study. During 27 years of captivity in South Africa, Nelson Mandela studied the Afrikaners, descendants of South Africa's Dutch settlers, who created the apartheid system that made blacks second class citizens in their own country. He learned their language, studied their leaders and made friends with their prison guards. South Africa no longer has an apartheid system.
My old home town of Chicago has a lot of local problems, a high murder rate is one. But Chicago also is enrolling more high school students in International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. (There also are IB programs for younger students.) These programs enable students to look out at the world with confidence, not fear.
Students who can trace the Yangtze River from the busy port at Shanghai to the lake district at Wuhan and westward to China's largest city, which IB students are apt to know is Chongqing, rather than Beijing, are not afraid to learn about China's economic and military expansion. They also know the Chinese Communist Party is struggling to block the exercise of constitutional guarantees, attendance at religious services, democracy protests in Hong Kong, tax evasion by its movie stars, Gobi Desert sand storms from adding to air pollution and climate change's rising seas from swamping its artificial islands.
International Baccalaureate programs, begun in 1968, originally were developed for the children of diplomats, military officers, and business executives frequently transferred to different countries. By satisfying rigorous IB standards, students are prepared to satisfy entrance requirements at colleges and universities wherever they might live. To learn more about IB programs and to find schools that offer them, go to ibo.org.
(Also see the earlier post "Introduce Disadvantaged Kids to the World.")
Monday, February 25, 2019
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Winning Oscars and Making Money at the Movies
Oscar-nominated films highlight the international contributions of the movie industry's directors, actors, and technical experts. This year, on Sunday, Feb. 24, a film-maker from Mexico, Alfonso Cuaron, or Pawel Paiolikowski from Poland could win two Academy Awards, one for best director and the other for best foreign language film.
As in the past, international filmmakers frequently are nominated in the categories: animated and live action shorts. These movies are not shown in many movie theatres, and that is not a loss this year, because, except for two films, they portray depressing themes not suitable for young audiences. Adults and children would enjoy the funny Animal Behavior, however. In this Canadian entry, a dog psychiatrist tries to cure a pig, praying mantis, bird, and other animals of their most annoying habits. A gorilla with anger management issues takes exception to the person in front of him in the "10 or Less" line who wants to count the five bananas in his one bunch separately. He reacts by tearing up her bag of frozen peas and says, "Now, you have a thousand."
Children already may have seen the Oscar-nominated Bao, a Chinese word for dumpling, that Pixar screened before Incredibles 2. On her second try, Bao's director, Domee Shi, was hired by Pixar as an intern. She is now the first female director in its shorts department. At age two, Ms. Shi migrated with her family from Chongqing, China, to Toronto, Canada. Her father, a college professor of fine art and landscape painter, recognized her talent for drawing, and her mother's dumplings sparked the idea of using food as an entry into understanding another culture. Japanese anime films and manga comics and graphic novels also inspired Ms. Shi, as well as the Mexican theme of the animated feature, Coco, that won an Academy Award last year.
China is among the growing number of countries joining Hollywood, India's Bollywood, and Nigeria's Nollywood in the film and music video industries. By 2019, however, authoritarian control by Chinese authorities was causing film investors to flee. On the other hand, filmmakers in Nigeria aided government efforts, when suspicious circumstances delayed a presidential election in Nigeria. A drone camera was deployed to record singing Nigerian film stars urging voters to remain cool in a video shown on social media. Off the east coast on the other side of Africa, the island of Mauritius is using the advantage of year round good weather to attract job-creating firm-makers.
Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin of the Dalian Wanda Group had high hopes for the 400-acre, 30 sound stage, $8 billion Oriental Movie Metropolis he opened in the east coast port city of Qingdao three years ago. Although offering to pay film-makers 40% of their production costs, producers were wary of censoring by China's State Administration of Press Publications, Radio, Film and Television. Other setbacks included: the failure of China's big budget film tribute to Tibetan mythology, Asura; social media references to Chinese President Xi's resemblance to Disney's Winnie the Pooh; and the ill-advised joint U.S.-Chinese film, Great Wall, starring Matt Damon as a mercenary soldier fighting with a secret Chinese army defending the Great Wall of China from monsters.
Recent films produced for China's domestic market are generating higher box office returns. Dying to Survive opened with a $200 million weekend by telling the story of Lu Yong, who took on the high Chinese prices of Western medicine by importing illegal cancer drugs from India. The Wandering Earth, a sci-fi thriller about the expanding sun's threat to Earth, trapped in Jupiter's gravitational pull, netted $440 million during the first ten days of China's New Year of the Pig. By downplaying its Warner Bros. connection, the U.S.-Chinese co-production, The Meg, a film about a deep sea diver who saved a submersible disabled by a prehistoric Megalodon shark, earned $528 million globally.
As in the past, international filmmakers frequently are nominated in the categories: animated and live action shorts. These movies are not shown in many movie theatres, and that is not a loss this year, because, except for two films, they portray depressing themes not suitable for young audiences. Adults and children would enjoy the funny Animal Behavior, however. In this Canadian entry, a dog psychiatrist tries to cure a pig, praying mantis, bird, and other animals of their most annoying habits. A gorilla with anger management issues takes exception to the person in front of him in the "10 or Less" line who wants to count the five bananas in his one bunch separately. He reacts by tearing up her bag of frozen peas and says, "Now, you have a thousand."
Children already may have seen the Oscar-nominated Bao, a Chinese word for dumpling, that Pixar screened before Incredibles 2. On her second try, Bao's director, Domee Shi, was hired by Pixar as an intern. She is now the first female director in its shorts department. At age two, Ms. Shi migrated with her family from Chongqing, China, to Toronto, Canada. Her father, a college professor of fine art and landscape painter, recognized her talent for drawing, and her mother's dumplings sparked the idea of using food as an entry into understanding another culture. Japanese anime films and manga comics and graphic novels also inspired Ms. Shi, as well as the Mexican theme of the animated feature, Coco, that won an Academy Award last year.
China is among the growing number of countries joining Hollywood, India's Bollywood, and Nigeria's Nollywood in the film and music video industries. By 2019, however, authoritarian control by Chinese authorities was causing film investors to flee. On the other hand, filmmakers in Nigeria aided government efforts, when suspicious circumstances delayed a presidential election in Nigeria. A drone camera was deployed to record singing Nigerian film stars urging voters to remain cool in a video shown on social media. Off the east coast on the other side of Africa, the island of Mauritius is using the advantage of year round good weather to attract job-creating firm-makers.
Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin of the Dalian Wanda Group had high hopes for the 400-acre, 30 sound stage, $8 billion Oriental Movie Metropolis he opened in the east coast port city of Qingdao three years ago. Although offering to pay film-makers 40% of their production costs, producers were wary of censoring by China's State Administration of Press Publications, Radio, Film and Television. Other setbacks included: the failure of China's big budget film tribute to Tibetan mythology, Asura; social media references to Chinese President Xi's resemblance to Disney's Winnie the Pooh; and the ill-advised joint U.S.-Chinese film, Great Wall, starring Matt Damon as a mercenary soldier fighting with a secret Chinese army defending the Great Wall of China from monsters.
Recent films produced for China's domestic market are generating higher box office returns. Dying to Survive opened with a $200 million weekend by telling the story of Lu Yong, who took on the high Chinese prices of Western medicine by importing illegal cancer drugs from India. The Wandering Earth, a sci-fi thriller about the expanding sun's threat to Earth, trapped in Jupiter's gravitational pull, netted $440 million during the first ten days of China's New Year of the Pig. By downplaying its Warner Bros. connection, the U.S.-Chinese co-production, The Meg, a film about a deep sea diver who saved a submersible disabled by a prehistoric Megalodon shark, earned $528 million globally.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Patterns of Fashion Business Success
Fashion retailers looking to compete with online warehouses need to consider playing up their hometown appeal. In Paraguay, a bank capitalized on local pride in a song about the country's Ypacaral Lake. During its 70th anniversary, the bank invited people to play the song on an installation of giant wind pipes. Visitors crowded around as soon as the display opened.
Even though Rob Bowhan's "August" shop in a college town carries international streetwear for students from around the world, he hosts occasional performances by local hip hop musicians, hangs paintings by local artists, and features student models and musicians wearing the shop's clothes in his promotions.
At age 17, when the British founder of House of CB, Conna Walker, launched her successful business, she hounded celebrities with emails asking them to wear her clothes and offering the outfits for free, if they managed to credit photos of them wearing her designs. Ms. Walker knew she wanted to dress curvy women who craved figure-hugging, covered but sexy clothes, often with revealing cutouts. Working with a neutral, not flashy, color palette and quality textiles, her bodysuits and clingy clothes manage to help women project a classy, not cheap, vibe. This House of CB titan knew she was lucky to find manufacturers willing to convert her drawings and explanations into technical directions and patterns. To spur future growth, she brings out new items every Monday, the way subscription cosmetic companies do. And she plans to open more stores and expand into an entire lifestyle brand with her own cosmetics and items for the home.
Instead of hounding celebrities to wear his clothes, Daymond John of TV Shark Tank fame badgered rappers to wear his FUBU brand. His growth plan led him to invest in other startups, to write motivational books, and to share his life lessons on the lecture circuit.
Even though Rob Bowhan's "August" shop in a college town carries international streetwear for students from around the world, he hosts occasional performances by local hip hop musicians, hangs paintings by local artists, and features student models and musicians wearing the shop's clothes in his promotions.
At age 17, when the British founder of House of CB, Conna Walker, launched her successful business, she hounded celebrities with emails asking them to wear her clothes and offering the outfits for free, if they managed to credit photos of them wearing her designs. Ms. Walker knew she wanted to dress curvy women who craved figure-hugging, covered but sexy clothes, often with revealing cutouts. Working with a neutral, not flashy, color palette and quality textiles, her bodysuits and clingy clothes manage to help women project a classy, not cheap, vibe. This House of CB titan knew she was lucky to find manufacturers willing to convert her drawings and explanations into technical directions and patterns. To spur future growth, she brings out new items every Monday, the way subscription cosmetic companies do. And she plans to open more stores and expand into an entire lifestyle brand with her own cosmetics and items for the home.
Instead of hounding celebrities to wear his clothes, Daymond John of TV Shark Tank fame badgered rappers to wear his FUBU brand. His growth plan led him to invest in other startups, to write motivational books, and to share his life lessons on the lecture circuit.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Grandmotherly Love
In a country of 16.5 million, Zimbabwe psychiatrist Dr. Dixon Chibanda suspected grandmothers could supplement the limited attention the country's twelve trained psychiatrists provided those with depression and mental problems.
What gave Dr. Chibanda the idea for his Friendship Bench organization was the way grandmothers took time to listen and guide, rather than tell people what to do. According to an article in TIME magazine (February 18 - 25, 2019), the medical journal, JAMA, in 2016 reported the positive benefits of the Friendship Bench approach to training grandmothers to provide role-playing and other behavior therapies.
For everyone who has tried to teach a grandparent to send an email or use a smartphone, the wisdom of elders seems outdated. In the area of interpersonal relations, however, who is a better adviser than someone married for 40 or 50 years? For some suffering mental anguish, "forgive and forget" might be the best message. But "forgive and remember tomorrow is another day" is often more appropriate.
Grandmothers offer immediate appointments, when the decision to live or not live is about to be made in the heat of the moment. They also serve cookies and tea or wine and cheese.
From their years of experience, grandmothers can dredge up examples of how they or their best friends have survived similar thoughts of suicide, being gay, having an abortion, killing screaming kids, gaining weight, growing older, or a spouse cheating on or ignoring them. They also know the child who says "I hate you" or "F... you" will need a hug or to borrow the car minutes later.
Grandmothers have suffered financial and overbooked woes that have eased or prompted a necessary review of priorities. They know someone who you never expected will step up when you need help, that prayer works, and that there's a way to handle almost anything, because, like the commercial says, they've seen a thing or two.
They know how to love. And they love you.
Grandfathers are great, too, but that's another story.
What gave Dr. Chibanda the idea for his Friendship Bench organization was the way grandmothers took time to listen and guide, rather than tell people what to do. According to an article in TIME magazine (February 18 - 25, 2019), the medical journal, JAMA, in 2016 reported the positive benefits of the Friendship Bench approach to training grandmothers to provide role-playing and other behavior therapies.
For everyone who has tried to teach a grandparent to send an email or use a smartphone, the wisdom of elders seems outdated. In the area of interpersonal relations, however, who is a better adviser than someone married for 40 or 50 years? For some suffering mental anguish, "forgive and forget" might be the best message. But "forgive and remember tomorrow is another day" is often more appropriate.
Grandmothers offer immediate appointments, when the decision to live or not live is about to be made in the heat of the moment. They also serve cookies and tea or wine and cheese.
From their years of experience, grandmothers can dredge up examples of how they or their best friends have survived similar thoughts of suicide, being gay, having an abortion, killing screaming kids, gaining weight, growing older, or a spouse cheating on or ignoring them. They also know the child who says "I hate you" or "F... you" will need a hug or to borrow the car minutes later.
Grandmothers have suffered financial and overbooked woes that have eased or prompted a necessary review of priorities. They know someone who you never expected will step up when you need help, that prayer works, and that there's a way to handle almost anything, because, like the commercial says, they've seen a thing or two.
They know how to love. And they love you.
Grandfathers are great, too, but that's another story.
Monday, February 11, 2019
Corruption Haunts Every Nigerian Presidency
According to the final vote tabulation on February 27, 2019, President Buhari, who had promised to fight corruption, won re-election by a wide margin. He asked his voters not to gloat, since victory was prize enough. As expected, his opponent, Mr. Abubakar, claimed the vote count in some areas was suspect, and he said he would contest the election in court.
Nigeria's February 16, 2019 presidential election had been rescheduled to February 23. Leading candidates, current President Muhammadu Buhari and wealthy businessman Atiku Abubakar, both Fulani Muslims from northern Nigeria, blamed each other for the delay as an attempt to rig the election in their favor. The National Election Commission claimed weather conditions prevented all the ballots from reaching Nigeria's 120,000 polling places.
There was general agreement that either winner would have to deal with: Boko Haram terrorists determined to eliminate Christian influences, conflict between cattle herders and farmers, restructuring representation to provide greater balance between Muslims in the north and southern Christians, unemployment over 20%, economic hardship from volatile oil export revenue, crushing public debt, and corruption.
Buying votes and rigging elections are features of local, governor, party primary, and presidential elections, but they are far from the only sources of corruption in Nigeria. The state-owned Ajabkuta Steel Company, which has received $8 billion and "employed" 10,000 over a 40 year period, has never produced any steel, according to The Economist (February 9, 2019). Carnegie's Endowment for International Peace identified corruption as the greatest obstacle preventing Nigeria, with Africa's largest economy and population, from achieving its enormous potential.
Contract fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, bribes, and other forms of corruption siphon off billions from every economic sector: petroleum, trade, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, energy, banking, and the environment.
Bureaucratic corruption channels funds into questionable departments. Nigeria has three space agencies that only have managed to launch five satellites into orbit.
Politicians also pocket funds meant for hospitals and clinics. In the areas of health, education, and humanitarian aid, corruption prevents international organizations from providing development and emergency assistance.
Authors of books on trust in business, Barbara Brooke Kimmel and Charles H. Green, note "the most powerful form of trust is personal." They know words require backup by action. Nigeria may lay claim to democracy, security, and progress, but these words have no meaning as long as corruption undermines every personal transaction.
Nigeria's February 16, 2019 presidential election had been rescheduled to February 23. Leading candidates, current President Muhammadu Buhari and wealthy businessman Atiku Abubakar, both Fulani Muslims from northern Nigeria, blamed each other for the delay as an attempt to rig the election in their favor. The National Election Commission claimed weather conditions prevented all the ballots from reaching Nigeria's 120,000 polling places.
There was general agreement that either winner would have to deal with: Boko Haram terrorists determined to eliminate Christian influences, conflict between cattle herders and farmers, restructuring representation to provide greater balance between Muslims in the north and southern Christians, unemployment over 20%, economic hardship from volatile oil export revenue, crushing public debt, and corruption.
Buying votes and rigging elections are features of local, governor, party primary, and presidential elections, but they are far from the only sources of corruption in Nigeria. The state-owned Ajabkuta Steel Company, which has received $8 billion and "employed" 10,000 over a 40 year period, has never produced any steel, according to The Economist (February 9, 2019). Carnegie's Endowment for International Peace identified corruption as the greatest obstacle preventing Nigeria, with Africa's largest economy and population, from achieving its enormous potential.
Contract fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, bribes, and other forms of corruption siphon off billions from every economic sector: petroleum, trade, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, energy, banking, and the environment.
Bureaucratic corruption channels funds into questionable departments. Nigeria has three space agencies that only have managed to launch five satellites into orbit.
Politicians also pocket funds meant for hospitals and clinics. In the areas of health, education, and humanitarian aid, corruption prevents international organizations from providing development and emergency assistance.
Authors of books on trust in business, Barbara Brooke Kimmel and Charles H. Green, note "the most powerful form of trust is personal." They know words require backup by action. Nigeria may lay claim to democracy, security, and progress, but these words have no meaning as long as corruption undermines every personal transaction.
Friday, February 8, 2019
Celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday Mar. 2. Form a "Play Date" Book Club
Valerie and I have been friends ever since we sat on the floor in a little local library reading and whispering about Betsy Tasy books, when we were ten years old.
On "Book TV" last weekend, I saw convicts who looked like they should have been playing in the Super Bowl reading and discussing a book in a Washington, D.C. prison.
At any age, getting together to read and compare thoughts about books has the same kind of bonding effect and opportunity for open communication as old time quilting bees and barn raisings.
Inviting one or more friends to bring the same book over for a discussion is just the thing when it's too cold or too hot to play outdoors. Besides stimulating discussion, books might also inspire children to write their own rhymes, draw illustrations, or make up stories. Many kids probably already have Doctor Seuss, Whimpy Kid, and Harry Potter books. One of my favorites, Madeline, might introduce a foreign culture and invite comparisons with school life at home and abroad. A "keyword" internet entry, like "new children's books," could suggest another selection book club members would like to buy.
Today on the internet, I found Everybody Is Somebody by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and Come Find Me by Megan Miranda. At their book club, the Washington, D.C. convicts began their meetings by reading a short passage selected by a moderator who also asked a question to begin the discussion. An adult could open a children's book club the same way. In the case of Everybody Is Somebody, I'd be curious to know what young book club members would do if authors were going to visit their schools, and the day they were coming, the book club members were asked to host and introduce the authors at an assembly, but they never had read the authors' books and didn't know anything about the authors or their books.
Come Find Me is described as a thriller about a teen brother and sister. With trafficking and the case of Jamie Closs in the news, it would be interesting to discuss what students would do if a classmate suddenly disappeared. What would they assume happened to their classmate? What would they do differently, if they made different assumptions?
Not only friendships, but critical thinking, also can begin with a book.
On "Book TV" last weekend, I saw convicts who looked like they should have been playing in the Super Bowl reading and discussing a book in a Washington, D.C. prison.
At any age, getting together to read and compare thoughts about books has the same kind of bonding effect and opportunity for open communication as old time quilting bees and barn raisings.
Inviting one or more friends to bring the same book over for a discussion is just the thing when it's too cold or too hot to play outdoors. Besides stimulating discussion, books might also inspire children to write their own rhymes, draw illustrations, or make up stories. Many kids probably already have Doctor Seuss, Whimpy Kid, and Harry Potter books. One of my favorites, Madeline, might introduce a foreign culture and invite comparisons with school life at home and abroad. A "keyword" internet entry, like "new children's books," could suggest another selection book club members would like to buy.
Today on the internet, I found Everybody Is Somebody by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and Come Find Me by Megan Miranda. At their book club, the Washington, D.C. convicts began their meetings by reading a short passage selected by a moderator who also asked a question to begin the discussion. An adult could open a children's book club the same way. In the case of Everybody Is Somebody, I'd be curious to know what young book club members would do if authors were going to visit their schools, and the day they were coming, the book club members were asked to host and introduce the authors at an assembly, but they never had read the authors' books and didn't know anything about the authors or their books.
Come Find Me is described as a thriller about a teen brother and sister. With trafficking and the case of Jamie Closs in the news, it would be interesting to discuss what students would do if a classmate suddenly disappeared. What would they assume happened to their classmate? What would they do differently, if they made different assumptions?
Not only friendships, but critical thinking, also can begin with a book.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Unmask Inscrutable Chinese Intentions
China has an uncanny ability to describe what the United States wants to hear while pursuing the future Beijing is determined to create.
At a 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Obama the Pacific Ocean was "broad enough to accommodate the development of both China and the United States." A year later, China declared it had no intention of militarizing its artificial islands in the South China Sea. Today, China has radar installations, reinforced concrete bunkers, and missiles on three of its artificial islands and claims "indisputable sovereignty" in their adjacent waters.
In 2017, the Taiwan-based Chinese company, Foxconn, arrived in Wisconsin offering to create 13,000 new jobs in a State, where then Republican Gov. Scott Walker had failed to deliver on a campaign promise to create 250,000. In return for the increase in employment and plant investment that Foxconn agreed to bring to Wisconsin, the State offered the company generous tax credits said to be anywhere from $3 billion to $4.5 billion.
During the past two years, Foxconni 's Technology Group changed its original plan to manufacture TV liquid crystal display panel screens in Wisconsin. While holding to its contractual obligation to employ 13,000, Foxconn now claims three-quarters of the jobs in Wisconsin's 6G "technology hub" will be in research, development, and design, rather than in blue collar manufacturing jobs.
In Manhattan, Mayor Bill de Blasio said any attempt to change the terms of the agreement that brought Amazon's second headquarters to the city would nullify the contract. How can Foxconn alter plans for its operation in Wisconsin without any consequences?
Whether there are 9,750 employees with skills to handle the 6G tasks Foxconn now expects to perform in Wisconsin is doubtful. In 2018, Foxconn did not qualify to receive any tax incentives, because the company only created 178 of the 260 positions it agreed to fulfill in that period. Were these 178 positions filled by Wisconsinites? Since an audit in December, 2018 found the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has a policy of awarding tax credits for employees who do not work in Wisconsin, it seems possible Foxconn even could receive tax credits for 6G jobs performed by Foxconn employees in China.
I do not pretend to know how a 6G (sixth generation) network works, but I doubt Gov. Tony Evers and the GOP legislature that approved the Foxconn contract do either. I do know 6G networks are designed to facilitate the IoT
(Internet of Things). If home appliances and office electronics with display panels instantly transmit everything they see, an advanced ultra-high frequency 6G network is needed to instantly transmit an enormous amount of data. And memory chips are essential to this technology.
By locating in the United States, Foxconn can purchase memory chips from U.S. companies, such as Qualcomm, and avoid the export ban that nearly put ZTE out of business in China, when Congress initially prohibited the exports it needed. (See the earlier post, "China's Domestic Economic Belt.")
Chinese scientists suggest how lovely it would be to use 6G technology to share a holiday dinner with friends and relatives thousands of miles away. Benign 6G applications in driverless cars, aviation, and medicine do seem beneficial. But you only need to imagine paying China for devices that allow Beijing to look into every home and business in the United States to recognize problems and the need for government regulation.
U.S. officials already indicate they consider the practices and equipment of China's telecom firms a national security threat. Huawei, which builds networks in 170 countries, is charged in the U.S. with flaunting sanctions forbidding exports of memory chips to Iran, stealing intellectual property, and improper banking disclosures. After Canada arrested Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, Washington asked for her extradition to the United States. To date, no evidence reveals Huawei's smartphones or networks have been used for spying, but the fear that they, or their 6G successors, could be used for that purpose persists. As long as Huawei offers good service at a lower price than competitors, U.S., European, and other companies will not shy away from buying their products. In China, President Xi is determined to eliminate dependence on, and influence related to, chips supplied by U.S. companies.
At a 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Obama the Pacific Ocean was "broad enough to accommodate the development of both China and the United States." A year later, China declared it had no intention of militarizing its artificial islands in the South China Sea. Today, China has radar installations, reinforced concrete bunkers, and missiles on three of its artificial islands and claims "indisputable sovereignty" in their adjacent waters.
In 2017, the Taiwan-based Chinese company, Foxconn, arrived in Wisconsin offering to create 13,000 new jobs in a State, where then Republican Gov. Scott Walker had failed to deliver on a campaign promise to create 250,000. In return for the increase in employment and plant investment that Foxconn agreed to bring to Wisconsin, the State offered the company generous tax credits said to be anywhere from $3 billion to $4.5 billion.
During the past two years, Foxconni 's Technology Group changed its original plan to manufacture TV liquid crystal display panel screens in Wisconsin. While holding to its contractual obligation to employ 13,000, Foxconn now claims three-quarters of the jobs in Wisconsin's 6G "technology hub" will be in research, development, and design, rather than in blue collar manufacturing jobs.
In Manhattan, Mayor Bill de Blasio said any attempt to change the terms of the agreement that brought Amazon's second headquarters to the city would nullify the contract. How can Foxconn alter plans for its operation in Wisconsin without any consequences?
Whether there are 9,750 employees with skills to handle the 6G tasks Foxconn now expects to perform in Wisconsin is doubtful. In 2018, Foxconn did not qualify to receive any tax incentives, because the company only created 178 of the 260 positions it agreed to fulfill in that period. Were these 178 positions filled by Wisconsinites? Since an audit in December, 2018 found the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has a policy of awarding tax credits for employees who do not work in Wisconsin, it seems possible Foxconn even could receive tax credits for 6G jobs performed by Foxconn employees in China.
I do not pretend to know how a 6G (sixth generation) network works, but I doubt Gov. Tony Evers and the GOP legislature that approved the Foxconn contract do either. I do know 6G networks are designed to facilitate the IoT
(Internet of Things). If home appliances and office electronics with display panels instantly transmit everything they see, an advanced ultra-high frequency 6G network is needed to instantly transmit an enormous amount of data. And memory chips are essential to this technology.
By locating in the United States, Foxconn can purchase memory chips from U.S. companies, such as Qualcomm, and avoid the export ban that nearly put ZTE out of business in China, when Congress initially prohibited the exports it needed. (See the earlier post, "China's Domestic Economic Belt.")
Chinese scientists suggest how lovely it would be to use 6G technology to share a holiday dinner with friends and relatives thousands of miles away. Benign 6G applications in driverless cars, aviation, and medicine do seem beneficial. But you only need to imagine paying China for devices that allow Beijing to look into every home and business in the United States to recognize problems and the need for government regulation.
U.S. officials already indicate they consider the practices and equipment of China's telecom firms a national security threat. Huawei, which builds networks in 170 countries, is charged in the U.S. with flaunting sanctions forbidding exports of memory chips to Iran, stealing intellectual property, and improper banking disclosures. After Canada arrested Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, Washington asked for her extradition to the United States. To date, no evidence reveals Huawei's smartphones or networks have been used for spying, but the fear that they, or their 6G successors, could be used for that purpose persists. As long as Huawei offers good service at a lower price than competitors, U.S., European, and other companies will not shy away from buying their products. In China, President Xi is determined to eliminate dependence on, and influence related to, chips supplied by U.S. companies.
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Winter Is Not Only Coming; The Polar Vortex Arrived
A wall of ice and "winter is coming" are not just fictions from Game of Thrones. According to a climate scientist from the University of Wisconsin, polar bears are not the only ones who suffer from the global warming that reduces the size of ice bergs. Collapsing glaciers should raise concern, not just entertain, tourists to Alaska.
Once a glacier's ice wall cracks, it enables a swoosh of Arctic air to rush south. The polar vortex that crippled the midwestern United States last week can result. Frigid temperatures also cause frost quakes like the one experienced near Lake Michigan in Chicago. When sections of underground water freeze, they can crash together with a loud bang and cause slight tremors similar to an earthquake.
If you've ever tried to function when it is minus 20 degrees with a wind chill that makes it feel like minus 40 or 50 degrees, you will see how serious a glacier break can be. People freeze to death. Systems equipped to heat homes in Wisconsin only handle minus 16 degrees, and last week they did not heat homes well enough to prevent the need to wear gloves inside. Water mains break; fighting fires becomes even more hazardous; buses cannot run because diesel fuel turns to gel; car batteries don't start.
If we add the effect of frigid weather to that of burning heat caused by global warming, or if you want to call it climate change, the future of life on planet Earth looks bleaker and bleaker.
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