March Cycling Totals

Nothing to write home about: 253.5 miles on just 14 rides. I must start picking up the pace.

Year to date: 775.2 miles.

How to Cut Costs on Export Sales

My recent contribution for the American Express OPEN Forum through my relationship with Small Business Trends:

8 Ways to Cut Costs on Export Sales
by Laurel Delaney

Snippet:

1. Shift your production to a nation with lower labor costs. For example, if you currently manufacture in North America, try outsourcing to Vietnam, Indonesia or Malaysia, where the labor cost is cheaper and the quality acceptable. At the same time, examine potential transportation costs (refer to No. 7) to ensure you maintain, or even lower, that part of your overseas expenses.

What are some other ways in which you have tightened your belt -- reduced expenses -- on export sales to ensure you maintain decent profits?

TOP LAST.FM

1.THE STROKES - UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

2. [=] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
3. [=] The Strokes - Machu Picchu
4. [+2] The Strokes - Two Kinds Of Happiness
5.  [+2] The Strokes - Taken For A Fool
6. [-2] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
7. [+4] The Strokes - Gratisfaction
8. [+1] The Strokes - Games
9. [-1] The Strokes - You're So Right
10. [=] The Strokes - Call Me Back

TOP ITUNES WORLDWIDE

1. JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [=] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
3) [+1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
4) [+3] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
5) [-2] Rihanna - S&M
6) [+2] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)
7) [-1] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag
8) [-3] Bruno Mars - Grenade
9) [NEW] LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
10) [NEW] Diddy - Dirty Money - Coming Home

TOP LATINO

1.SHAKIRA - SALE EL SOL

2) [-1] Ricky Martin feat. Natalia Jimenez - Lo Mejor De Mi Vida Eres Tu
3) [-1] Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)
4) [+5] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
5) [+1] Camila - Besame
6) [+2] Shakira - Loca
7) [=] Carlos Baute - Quien Te Quiere Como Yo
8) [+2] Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
9) [-6] Enrique Iglesias feat. Wisin y Yandel - No Me Digas Que No
10) [-5] Don Omar - Danza Kuduro

TOP AUSTRALIA

1.JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [=] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag

3) [+6] Snoop Dogg - Sweat

4) [-1] Rihanna - S&M

5)[-1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way

6)[-1] Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

7)[-1] Diddy - Dirty Money - Coming Home

8) [=] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough

9)[-2] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
10)[+4] Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi - Beautiful People

TOP ASIA

1. LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY

2) [=] Justin Bieber feat. Jaden Smith - Never Say Never
3) [=] Avril Lavigne - What The Hell
4) [=] Rihanna - S&M
5) [=] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag
6) [+1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
7) [-1] Katy Perry - Firework
8) [+1] David Guetta feat. Rihanna - Who's That Chick?
9) [-1] Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
10) [+3] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor

TOP ESPAÑA

1.MALÚ - BLANCO Y NEGRO

2)[-1] Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris - Tonight
3)[+1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
4)[+1] Katy Perry - Firework
5)[-2] Maldita Nerea - Tu Mirada Me Hace Grande
6)[+1] La Musicalité - 4 Elementos
7)[+2] Bruno Mars - Grenade
8)[-2] David Guetta feat. Rihanna - Who's That Chick?
9)[-1] Michael Jackson feat. Akon - Hold My Hand
10)[NEW] Pablo Alborán - Solamente Tu

TOP UK

1. ADELE - SOMEONE LIKE YOU

2) [-1] Nicole Scherzinger - DOn't Hold Your Breath
3) [+12] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
4) [-1] The Wanted - Gold Forever
5) [-1] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag
6) [-1] Rihanna - S&M
7) [-1] Wiz Khalifa - Black & Yellow
8) [+1] Dr.Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
9) [-1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
10) [-3] Lady Gaga - Born This Way

TOP USA

1.LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY

2) [+1] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.

3) [+1] Rihanna - S&M
4) [-2] Cee-Lo Green - FU
5) [+17] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
6) [NEW] Glee Cast - Loser Like Me
7) [-1] P!nk - F**kin' Perfect
8) [+4] Chris Brown - Look At Me Now
9) [-2] Bruno Mars - Grenade

10) [+3] Jeremih feat. 50 Cent - Down On Me

TOP SOUTH AFRICA

1.ADELE - ROLLING IN THE DEEP


2) [+4] Linkin Park - Waiting For The End
3) [+1] Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris - Tonight
4) [+3] Nelly - Just A Dream
5) [-2] Prime Circle - Turning In My Sleep
6) [-5] P!nk - Perfect
7) [+2] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
8) [+4] Elvis Blue - Lighthouse
9) [+8] Greyson Chance - Waiting Outside The Lines
10) [-2] Neon Trees - Animal

Export-Import Bank Awards Small-Business Exporter of the Year 2011

According to Export-Import Bank of the United States, the small-business Exporter of the Year 2011 award winner is: Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Wallquest Inc.

Wallquest Inc., a family-owned firm based in Wayne, Pa., sells wallpaper in more than 50 foreign markets, including China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the company’s exports rose 76% to over $17 million. The company’s growth since 2008 has been driven by the export market, according to Wallquest Vice President Jack Collins.

Learn more here.  Press release here.

Congratulations to Wallquest.  May their exports keep growing!

Photo credit:  Wallquest Inc. homepage

My First Nebo Ridge Training Ride of 2011

Last year, I stopped riding/racing at Nebo Ridge on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I felt that the rides had gotten too crowded, too fast, and too squirrely. I heard something similar about the first week of Nebo rides last week, when unseasonably good weather brought out upwards of 80 riders. Today was colder (with temps in the mid-40s), but dry, and my buddies talked me into coming out. The first six or eight miles heading out were fast but well-mannered.

As usual, the fireworks started after we crossed Hwy. 32. Riders were all over the road, trying to gain position in order to avoid "stretching the elastic" on the first set of 90 degree turns. I was keeping up pretty well, until a car came up from behind with horn blaring, while another car seemed to be approaching in the opposite lane. That was my signal to drop out of the group, and start my own ride back. Fortunately, I connected with a couple friends, Roger and Scott, and we rode in most of the way together. All in all, I enjoyed the ride and got a good workout, but I got a bit chilly on the way in.

I doubt I'll do a lot of Nebo rides this year, but it was fun seeing a lot of friends I hadn't seen in several months. Although I'm no longer a member of the Nebo Ridge team or club, its a great group of people.

Tomorrow, hill repeats are on the menu, if I can get home from a social function at school in time.

How to Establish Healthy Global Business Relationships On LinkedIn

Proceed with caution and use a critical eye when evaluating posts and search results on LinkedIn or any other social networking platform.

With this article for About.com's Import and Export site (full disclosure:  I serve as their guide), I provide examples of what to avoid and what to look for when identifying potential import/export opportunities.

Read:

LinkedIn:  How to Pre-Qualify Import and Export Opportunities on LinkedIn

Let's connect:  Laurel Delaney, LinkedIn

Illustration:  LinkedIn logo

Economists on the Budget Deficit

Recently, a group of 10 former Chairs of the President's Council of Economic Advisers (from both parties) signed an open letter (here) calling on President Obama and Congress to give "prompt consideration" to recommendations (here) the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (NCFRR), chaired by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles. Eleven of the 18 Commissioners voted in favor of the recommendations, but they have received almost no attention from either the White House or Congress. The former CEA Chairs do not necessarily agree with each and every recommendation by the NCFRR, but they are promoting them out of concern over the "unsustainable long-run budget outlook" that "is a growing threat to our well-being."

Today, another former Chair of the CEA, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, explained in no uncertain terms why he did not sign on to the group letter (here). In his view, the Commission's recommendations, if adopted, would constitute a "near suicide-pact" for the US economy. They would slow still sluggish economic growth and diminish tax revenues, while improving the deficit picture hardly at all.

What would Stiglitz do instead? He would increase jot-stimulating spending, especially on much-needed infrastructure improvements, raise marginal tax rates for the highest earners, who are the only taxpayers to have prospered during the past two decades, eliminate defense projects that the Defense Department does not need or want, and cut "corporate welfare" (the only form of welfare the Republican majority in Congress seems intent on maintaining).

My guess is that most Keynsians (like me) will stand with Stiglitz. Anti-Keynsians will likely side with the other former CEA Chairs, including those from the Bush Administration who are partly responsible for exploding the budget deficit and turning a blind eye to malfeasance in the financial sector.

Krugman on the Cronon Affair

In today's New York Times (here). Paul Krugman addresses the despicable Republican witch hunt against University of Wisconsin Professor William Cronon, about which I previously blogged (here). More than anything else, I was pleased to find that Professor Krugman shares my extremely high opinion of Professor Cronon's book, Nature's Metropolis.

News From Around the World

As reported from the Arizona Daily Star:

A 49-foot-tall head is fixed on a torso with cranes and integrated into a floating stage on Lake Constance near Bregenz, Austria. The stage is being prepared for the opera "Andre Chenier," which will premiere July 20 at the Bregenz Opera festival.

Photo credit:  AP/dapd/Felix Kaestle

More impressive photograph (same one -- larger) at the bottom here.

Boonen Takes Field Sprint in Gent-Wevelgem

Tom Boonen showed that he has reattained top form by holding off Danieli Bennati and Tyler Farrar to take the field sprint in today's Gent-Wevelgem race. No doubt, Boonen is looking forward to Paris-Roubaix in a couple weeks' time. He may the one guy capable of sticking to Fabian Cancellara's wheel on the pave of Arenberg. You can see the video replay of his sprint from earlier today here (with Flemish commentary).

When Spartacus Attacks...

no one can hold his wheel. Here's the attack on video from yesterday's E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. What the video does not show is that the other riders did not see Cancellara again until the podium. It's also worth noting that before Cancellara buried the peloton, he suffered two punctured tires and another mechanical that forced a bike change. Each time, he had to expend energy to chase back up to the group.



In the wake of Cancellara's dominating victory, Team Garmin-Cervelo manager Jonathan Vaughters explains (here) the need for his team, which is built for the Spring classics, to change tactics for next week's Tour of Flanders: they will have to focus their entire race on marking a single rider, which is perhaps the ultimate compliment to Cancellara.

The World In Words

How to stay on top of the word:  Typomaps.net.  Combines the elements of geography with typography.  Created by German designer Dirk Schaechter.  Cool.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

A Few Interesting Papers I Read Today

It was a hectic first week back from Spring Break, but I had time to read a few of the several interesting articles that have been stacking up on my desk as of late.

R.E. Kenward et al., "Identifying governance strategies that effectively support ecosystem services, resources sustainability, and biodiversity," PNAS Early Edition (2011).

Conservation scientists, national governments, and international conservation groups seek to devise, and implement, governance strategies that mitigate human impact on the environment. However, few studies to date have systematically investigated the performance of different systems of governance in achieving successful conservation outcomes. Here, we use a newly-developed analytic framework to conduct analyses of a suite of case studies, linking different governance strategies to standardized scores for delivering ecosystem services, achieving sustainable use of natural resources, and conserving biodiversity, at both local and international levels. Our results: (i) confirm the benefits of adaptive management; and (ii) reveal strong associations for the role of leadership. Our work provides a critical step toward implementing empirically justified governance strategies that are capable of improving the management of human-altered environments, with benefits for both biodiversity and people.

Most interestingly, neither private ownership nor state ownership showed significant associations in any of the models.

Scott E. Masten and Jens Prufer, "On the Evolution of Collective Enforcement Institutions: Communities and Courts," TILEC Discussion Paper, DP 2011-017 (March 2011).

Impersonal exchange has been a major driver of economic development. But transactors with no stake in maintaining an ongoing relationship have little incentive to honor deals. Therefore, all economies have developed institutions to support honest trade and realize the gains of impersonal exchange. We analyze the relative capacities of communities (or social networks) and courts to secure cooperation among heterogeneous, impersonal transactors. Our main finding is that communities and courts are complements: They support cooperation in different types of transactions. We apply our results to the rise and fall of a medieval enforcement institution, the Law Merchant, concluding that progressive reductions in the risks and costs of transportation over long distances, driven in part by improvements in shipbuilding methods, increased first the value and then the composition of long-distance trade in ways that initially favored and later undermined this institution.

Among other interesting tidbits I learned from this paper was that states, including England, initially were reluctant to take over the task of contract enforcement as trading expanded beyond the market towns where the  (highly variable) Law Merchant applied.

John E. Parsons and Luca Taschini, "Stocks and Shocks: A Clarification in the Debate Over Price vs. Quantity Controls for Greenhouse Gases," CEEPR, 11-002 (Mar. 2011).

We construct two simple examples that help to clarify the role of a key assumption in the analysis of price or quantity controls of greenhouse gases in the presence of uncertain costs. Traditionally much has been made of the fact that greenhouse gases are a stock pollutant, and that therefore the marginal benefit curve must be relatively flat. This fact is said to establish the preference of a price control over a quantity control. The stock pollutant argument is considered dispositive, so that the preference for price controls is categorical. We show that this argument can only be true if the uncertainty about cost is a special form: all shocks are transitory. We show that in the case of permanent shocks, the traditional comparison of marginal benefits vs. marginal costs is mis-measured. The choice between quantity and price controls becomes ambiguous again and depends upon a more difficult measurement of marginal costs and benefits. The simplicity of the examples and the solutions is a major element of the contribution here. The examples are readily accessible and the comparison of results under the alternative assumptions of transitory and permanent shocks is stark.

Simply put, those who prefer carbon taxes over cap-and-trade simply based on the fact the climate change is a "stock" problem are jumping the gun.

Blacks Slowly Leaving Cities: Good Thing or Bad Thing?

Blacks Moving From North to South.

Should there be black communities?

Should blacks just totally spread out and integrate themselves into the general American population?

Although there is black pride in black communities (because whites run as blacks move in), are they practical?

According to the U.S. Census count released this week, the number of black New Yorkers dropped 5%, the first dip in that group since 1860.  The Census put the city's population at 33.3% non-Hispanic white, 28.6% Hispanic, 22.8% non-Hispanic black and 12.6% Asian. New York's non-Hispanic black population dropped by 100,859, a 5% decrease, with Brooklyn losing the lion's share.  Keeping in line with national urban trends, New York's black population declined over the past decade—joining Detroit, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

The number of African Americans residing in the District declined by more than 11 percent during the past decade, with blacks on the verge of losing their majority status in the city for the first time in half a century.  Barely 50 percent of the District’s population was African American in 2010 — a remarkable shift in a place once nicknamed “Chocolate City.” The black population dropped by more than 39,000 over the decade, down to 301,000 of the city’s 601,700 residents. At the same time, the non-Hispanic white population skyrocketed by more than 50,000 to 209,000 residents, almost a third higher than a decade earlier. The loss of blacks comes at a time when the city is experiencing a rebound, reversing a 60-year-long slide in population and adding almost 20,000 new residents between 2000 and 2010.

America's blacks are leaving big cities in the Northeast and Midwest at the highest levels in decades and are returning to fast-growing states in the South in search of better job opportunities and quality of life.  The South - places such as Atlanta, Dallas and Houston - accounted for roughly 75 percent of the population gains among blacks since 2000. The gains came at the expense of Northern metro areas such as New York and Chicago, which posted their first declines in black population since at least 1980.  In all, about 57 percent of U.S. blacks now live in the South, a jump from the 53 percent share in the 1970s.  (WSJ, 3/25/2011, WashPost, 3/24/2011, AP/WKRG News 5, 2/15/2011)

Competitive Import/Export Intelligence

In case you missed this, there are three online resources (that I am aware of) that offer import/export trade data, competitive intelligence and more.

Learn all about them here.  Sign up for the newsletter while you're there.

Zakaria on US and International Intervention in Libya

Fareed Zakaria has a very interesting and, I think, insightful take (here) on the challenges and strategic implications of the US role in the Libyan civil war. I agree with him that the Obama Administration's multilateral approach, especially the support of the Arab League, is a very important development. I also share his concern that the limited goal of the military intervention - humanitarian protection of Libya's citizens against their own brutal dictator - does not necessarily imply the regime change that President Obama says that he wants. The big question is whether the military intervention in Libya will ultimately be accomplish either aim.

Increase Sales By Exports

EPA Administrator at BET's 'Leading Women Defined' Event‏

FULL SPEECH

Excerpts

If we hope to be leadership defined, it is critical that we empower every community to act on the issues that affect them. It is critical to show people that – though they may not think of themselves as environmentalists – environmental issues play a role in their health and their prosperity. As the first African American Administrator of the EPA, I’m proud to be the voice that says to these low-income and minority communities that their issues are our issues."

But my message today is that this is not all we can do. EPA can provide opportunities for African American women and girls to engage in STEM learning and environmental protection. But nothing will inspire the next generation of women leaders like the example of this generation.

We don’t have to look any further than Dr. Dorothy Height, the woman we honor with this lunch today, to recognize the truth in that. Whether you were directly inspired by Dr. Height, or benefitted from the advances she helped make possible, we all owe her a debt of gratitude.

See also: BET

Healthy and Productive Global Citizenry

Douglas Besharov and Douglas Call co-author an article for The Wilson Quarterly, "The Global Budget Race," which talks about how the United States must make tough choices in order to climb out of its current debt crisis.

Snippet:

Those countries that do a better job of bringing revenues and spending into balance—in a way that fosters a healthy and productive citizenry—will have a competitive advantage in the global economy, and they may be able to avoid economic decline.

Read the entire article (Autumn 2010) here.

William Cronon on Wisconsin's Progressive History and Reactionary Governor

William Cronon is a great environmental historian and writer (and a professor at the University of Wisconsin). In fact, he is among my very favorite non-fiction writers regardless of field. In today's New York Times (here), he has a wonderful op-ed about Wisconsin's history of progressive government, the shift in party domination from Republicans to Democrats in the wake of Senator Joseph McCarthy's lunacy, and what current Governor Scott Walker has in common with Senator McCarthy.

For those who enjoy reading history, I recommend most highly two of Cronon's wonderful books: Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (Hill and Wang 2003) and Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West (W.W. Norton 1992).

UPDATE: Apparently, Cronon has now become a target of Republican leaders in the State of Wisconsin, who have filed a claim to obtain all of his e-mails referencing various political issues since the start of this year under Wisconsin's open records law (see here). Not only is this a deplorable act and an abuse of the state's open records law, it is a McCarthy-style tactic that confirms the associations Cronon drew in his New York Times op-ed.

TOP LAST.FM

1.THE STROKES - UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

2. [-1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
3. [NEW] The Strokes - Machu Picchu
4. [-1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
5.  [-3] Radiohead - Lotus Flower
6. [NEW] The Strokes - Two Kinds Of Happiness
7. [NEW] The Strokes - Taken For A Fool
8. [NEW] The Strokes - You're So Right
9. [NEW] The Strokes - Games
10. [NEW] The Strokes - Call Me Back

Judge Puts California Cap & Trade Program on Hold

Francisco superior court judge Ernest H. Goldsmith has put California's law, known as AB 32, to curb greenhouse gas pollution on hold, saying the state did not adequately evaluate alternatives to its cap-and-trade program.  In a 35-page decision, the judge said the Air Resources Board (ARB) had failed to consider public comments on the proposed measures before adopting the plan, which affects a broad swath of the state's economy. In particular, the judge noted, officials gave short shrift to analyzing a carbon fee, or carbon tax, devoting a “scant two paragraphs to this important alternative” to a market-based trading system in their December 2008 plan.

AAEA disagrees with, and opposes, the judges decision.  The Center also opposes carbon taxes or carbon fees.

The Air Resources Board appealling the judge's decision, which was filed late Friday and released Monday.

AAEA supports the ARB appeal.

In the November election, Californians voted down a oil-refinery-sponsored ballot initiative (Proposition 23)  to delay the state's global warming law, which is touted as a spur to California’s fast-growing renewable energy industry. The 2006 law requires the state to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The California lawsuit against ARB was filed by six environmental groups that represent low-income communities, including the Association of Irritated Residents, based in the San Joaquin Valley, and Communities for A Better Environment, which fights pollution around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The groups contend that a cap-and-trade program would allow refineries, power plants and other big facilities in poor neighborhoods to avoid cutting emissions of both greenhouse gases and traditional air pollutants.  The environmental justice-oriented groups believe that cap and trade means that oil refineries, which emit enormous amounts of greenhouse gases and contribute to big health problems, cannot simply keep polluting by purchasing pollution credits, or doing out of state projects.  The Center believes the trading system can be leveraged to create innovative energy efficieincy jobs.

The board’s attorneys will meet with plaintiffs about complying with the order without halting all aspects of its global warming plan. Besides the cap-and-trade program, which covers 600 industrial plants, the plan includes rules to curb the carbon intensity of gasoline production and distribution, slash motor-vehicle emissions and control potent greenhouse gases such as refrigerants.

The green groups Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council and AAEA backed a cap-and-trade approach, and did not join the lawsuit by environmental justice groups.

If all actions under AB 32 are suspended, that might mean that California's rules requiring utilities to provide 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources are suspended, or that the state's low-carbon fuel standard is in question.

The rules were drawn up under AB 32, which requires that California's greenhouse gas emissions be cut to 1990 levels by 2020, a drop of about 15 percent from current levels.

The particular issue regards a document called a Functional Equivalent Document (FED) prepared to assess environmental consequences of the Scoping Plan, which sets out cap-and-trade goals. The Superior Court case is Association of Irritated Residents vs. California Air Resources Board, CPF-09-509562.

Conservatives have defeated national cap-and-trade proposals in Congress, but the California legal challenge comes from a different direction - grassroots "environmental justice" groups that consider the plan too weak.

(Silicon Valley Mercury News, 3/21/2011, Reuters, 3/21/2011, L.A. Times, 3/21/2011, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/22/2011)

As It Relates to Global Business, What Is a Triple Bottom Line?

This commentary is really about:  is it harder to run a business in China than America? That should draw your interest! But take a good look at how contributor Liam Casey, founder and CEO of PCH International, covers what a "triple bottom line" is and how it can help companies achieve a successful and sustainable global business model.

Read the entire piece here.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

TOP ITUNES WORLDWIDE

1. JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [=] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
3) [=] Rihanna - S&M
4) [=] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
5) [=] Bruno Mars - Grenade
6) [+1] Jessie J - Price Tag
7) [NEW] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
8) [+2] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)
9) [NEW] Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
10) [-4] Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris - Tonight

TOP LATINO

1.RICKY MARTIN - LO MEJOR DE MI VIDA ERES TU

2) [=] Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)
3) [+4] Enrique Iglesias feat. Wisin & Yandel - No Me Digas Que No
4) [-1] Shakira - Sale El Sol
5) [-1] Don Omar - Danza Kuduro
6) [-1] Camila - Besame
7) [-1] Carlos Baute - Quien Te Quiere Como Yo
8) [=] Shakira - Loca
9) [+9] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
10) [+4] Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me

TOP AUSTRALIA

1.JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [+1] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag

3) [-2] Rihanna - S&M

4) [=] Lady Gaga - Born This Way

5)[+4] Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

6)[-1] Diddy - Dirty Money - Coming Home

7)[=] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song

8) [-2] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough

9)[NEW] Ke$ha - Blow

TOP ASIA

1. LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY

2) [=] Justin Bieber feat. Jaden Smith - Never Say Never
3) [=] Katy Perry - Firework
4) [=] Avril Lavigne - What The Hell
5) [=] Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
6) [=] Rihanna - S&M
7) [+3] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag
8) [=] Taylor Swift - Back To December
9) [-2] Bruno Mars - Grenade
10) [+1] David Guetta feat. Rihanna - Who's That Chick?

TOP ESPAÑA

1.ENRIQUE IGLESIAS FEAT. LUDACRIS - TONIGHT

2)[+1] Malú - Blanco y Negro
3)[-2] Maldita Nerea - Tu Mirada Me Hace Grande
4)[+2] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
5)[=] Katy Perry - Firework
6)[-2] David Guetta feat. Rihanna - Who's That Chick?
7)[+1] La Musicalité - 4 Elementos
8)[-1] Michael Jackson feat. Akon - Hold My Hand
9)[+1] Bruno Mars - Grenade
10)[-1] Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)

TOP UK

1. NICOLE SCHERZINGER - DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH

2) [-1] Adele - Someone Like You
3) [NEW] The Wanted - Gold Forever
4) [-2] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag
5) [-2] Rihanna - S&M
6) [-1] Wiz Khalifa - Black & Yellow
7) [-3] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
8) [+1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
9) [+2] Dr.Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
10) [NEW] Parade - Louder

TOP USA

1.LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY

2) [=] Cee-Lo Green - FU

3) [+5] Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - E.T.
4) [-1] Rihanna - S&M
5) [=] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor
6) [-2] P!nk - F**kin' Perfect
7) [-1] Bruno Mars - Grenade
8) [+1] Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris - Tonight
9) [+11] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends

10) [-3] Ke$ha - Blow

TOP SOUTH AFRICA

1.P!NK - PERFECT

2) [-1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
3) [+5] Prime Circle - Turning In My Sleep
4) [+9] Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris - Tonight
5) [+1] La Vuvuzela - If I Could
6) [-2] Linkin Park - Waiting For The End
7) [+3] Nelly - Just A Dream
8) [+4] Neon Trees - Animal
9) [+6] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
10) [+1] Liquideep - Alone

Ignorance is Not Bliss. It is Shameful and Dangerous.

Thomas Jefferson believed that an educated electorate was the key to successful democratic government. He wrote:

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." On the other hand, "whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." (quoted in Saul K. Padover, Thomas Jefferson on Democracy. New York: Appleton-Century Co., 1939, pp. 88-9).

According to this article in Newsweek, Jefferson would despair for the state of our democracy. Unfortunately, ignorance seems to have developed its own political interest group, thanks to what we might call "ignorance entrepreneurs," who seek power by denigrating education and enlightenment.

How a Calamity Can Create Positive Change

The tragedy in Japan caused by a magnitude-9 earthquake and turbo-charged tsunami leads one to think the unthinkable:  Will Japan recover?

With a culture like this (refer below), how can they not slowly rebuild?

In the face of calamity, a decent people has proved extremely resilient: no looting; very little complaining among the tsunami survivors. In Tokyo people queued patiently to meet their tax deadlines. Everywhere there was a calm determination to conjure a little order out of chaos. Volunteers have rushed to help. ~ The Economist, Japan's hydra-headed disaster:  The fallout

Read the entire article here.

And Mr. Howard Stringer, chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corp. writes a commentary for The Wall Street Journal (3/18/11) that I wish I would have written.  I so agree with his sentiments about the Japanese having a national spirit of grace, generosity, and common cause that just never gives up.

Read the entire article:  Howard Stringer:  The Japanese Will Persevere and Never Give Up

A recent article I authored before the Japan crisis for About.com (Import and Export):  Japan Business:  5 Ways to Build Harmony With Japanese Customers

And an old piece about my experience doing business in Japan reflecting my love of the country and its people:  An American Trader in Japan.

Posted by:  Laurel Delaney, The Global Small Business Blog

Sunday Ride

Just what I needed after another difficult week: a 2-hour Wilkes/Raynor group ride down to Pittsboro and back. Thanks to David, Karl, Jonas, Brian R., and Ken. Based on my computer data, PerfPro tells me that "more aerobic work may be needed," which is undeniably true. It's time to start ramping up the miles and the intervals.

The Market for Philosophy

Over at Crooked Timber (here), Ingryd Robbins has an interesting post on efforts to close down Philosophy departments at various universities in the UK. This is part of a disturbing trend I have posted about previously (see here). Here is one very good paragraph from Robbins' post:

I think the tendencies are clear. If you are teaching/doing research in a field/discipline that can not easily show (quantitatively, please!) to policy makers & bureaucrats that you will make a significant positive contribute to economic growth, your very existence is at stake. Never mind that you’re opening up minds, teaching logic or the arts, passing on history to the next generations. Either someone on the market should be willing to pay for what you’re doing, or else you are at mercy of the benevolence of your government. The University as a public good? That’s an old fashioned idea from premodern times, obviously.

West Brom 2 - Arsenal 2

Yet another match I was unable to view live, but Arsenal again stumbled in their quest to catch Man U at the top of the Premier League table. They played more like a team trying to avoid the drop, than one contending for a title, especially on defense. And this time, they had no referee's decision to blame for anything. Instead, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger blamed the pitch (see here). Sounds like he's beginning to run low in the excuse department. Next thing you know, he'll be blaming my friend Andy, who became an Arsenal fan just after they won their last piece of silverware (I believe he also became a Chicago Cubs fan in 1909).

Arsenal are now 5 points adrift of Man U in the title hunt, albeit with a game in hand. My sense is that Man U's lead is pretty safe.

What I'm Reading Now

Ken Binmore, Rational Decisions (Princeton 2008). A wide-ranging exploration of standard theories of choice and belief under risk and uncertainty. Binmore argues, in a way accessible to readers who are not mathematically inclined, that the standard Bayesian approach to knowledge is inadequate; and he offers an extension to that theory based on what he calls "muddled strategies" in strategic interactions. Fascinating stuff.

Saul Bellow, Herzog (Viking 1964). I am re-reading this epistolary novel, one of the great achievements in 20th-century American literature. That I am re-reading Bellow, rather than reading something new, should not be taken as a commentary on the state of American literature today. I just had a hankering for Bellow. Enough said.

World Power

“Power is not alluring to pure minds” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney, power grid in Tinley Park, IL; laying on the ground looking up while taking the photo.

Heidi W. Durrow

Cohost of Mixed Chicks Chat

and

Author of The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

Her site

Her NPR interview

Brazil Wants Balance With the United States

The United States wants to (re)strengthen its ties with Brazil and Brazil is all for it.  Recently, China overtook the United States as Brazil's biggest trading partner in 2009.  China became Chile's leading export market in 2007.

The United States imported $27 billion from Brazil in 2008, compared to China's $16 billion, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. 

Read more here about how the United States will most likely restructure its partnership with Latin America -- soon.

Bobby L. Rush on Nuclear Power

“I personally believe that nuclear energy must be part of any portfolio of renewable energy sources that will fuel this country moving forward.”

-- Representative Bobby L. Rush of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  (NYT, 3/16/2011)

My Favorite Time: St. Patrick's Day

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

Everyone the world over is Irish on St. Patty's Day!  Have a happy one.  This one's for you dear Dad, Thomas S. Delaney (God rest his soul January 8, 2011).

EPA Publishes Proposed Rule on Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants

EPA has finally gotten around to seriously regulating toxic mercury emissions (as well as other toxins) from coal-fired power plants. The announcement is here. A fact sheet on the proposed rule is here. The full proposed rule is here.

Mercury is of special concern because exposure (mainly through consumption of contaminated fish) can cause damage to nervous system development in fetuses, infants, and young children. Other toxins to be regulated under the rule include arsenic, nickel and chromium, all of which are known carcinogens. The rule will impose emissions standards (under section 112 of the Clean Air Act), which will effect 1,350  power plants nationwide. It aims to reduce their mercury emissions by 91%.

The rule, which will take effect (unless withdrawn or amended) after a 60-day public-comment period, is expected to avoid (by 2016) between 6,800 and 17,000 premature deaths, 4,500 cases of chronic bronchitis, 11,000 nonfatal heart attacks, 12,200 hospital visits, 11,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 850,000 missed work days, and 120,000 cases of aggravated asthma.

Industry is already complaining about the gross costs of the rule, which could amount to $10 billion per year (see here). But, according to the proposed rule's Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) (here), it will yield annualized net benefits (in 2007 dollars) ranging from $42 billion to $120 billion (using a 7% discount rate), or $48 billion to $130 billion (using a 3% discount rate), not including several difficult-to-quantify benefits. The benefits of the rule outweigh the costs, according to EPA's estimates, by a factor of 13-to-1 (using a 3% discount rate) or 5-to-1 (using the 7% discount rate).

If the RIA is anywhere close to accurate, this rule is a no-brainer. Of course, that won't stop the anti-brainers in Congress from trying to stop it.

What Does Import Duty Evasion Look Like?

Infant and youth furniture resource Kid Brands fired two executives from its LaJobi subsidiary (notice recalls here) in response to alleged evasion of paying import duties in the wood bedroom furniture antidumping case.

What did they do wrong?

• Applied import duties incorrectly to products imported from various Chinese resources, a violation of antidumping regulations.
• Practiced unfair pricing tactics.
• Misidentified the manufacturer and shipper of products.

Read the entire story here to get a feeling of what import duty evasion looks like and to learn how to avoid these import problems on your own transactions.

And, I would be cautious with the LaJobi brand for your loved ones. 

Ezra Klein Eviscerates the ex-Republicrat from Indiana, Evan Bayh

Here. Bayh's only real knack as a politician was his ability to gain election (admittedly a very important quality in a politician). Unlike his vastly more imaginative and commendable father, he never showed any aptitude either as a policy maker or a political leader.

House Energy Committee Votes Against Climate Science

Today, the House Energy Committee voted 31-3 to send H.R. 910 to the House floor for a vote. The bill would repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that climate change endangers public health and the environment under the Clean Air Act, thereby preventing the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other major sources. All Republicans on the committee and three Democrats voted in favor of the legislation. Nearly all of the Republicans on the Committee are on the record as "climate deniers" and have publicly attacked climate scientists.

It is, of course, a vanishingly small possibility that climate deniers are correct about anthropogenic climate change. Ironically, the bill they voted for today has about the same chance of ever becoming law. To do so, it must be enacted by the Republican-controlled House (which is probable), the Democrat-controlled Senate (which is highly unlikely), and then either signed into law by the President (which is virtually inconceivable, although with President Obama's recent record on climate change, one begins to wonder) or enacted over his veto by a 2/3 majority of Congress (which is also inconceivable).

However, even if everyone believes the bill is going nowhere, we should beware of drawing facile conclusions about the actual beliefs and intent of House Republicans concerning climate science and policy. Legislators may simply be pandering to their base. Even if that's true, however, their willful anti-scientism and ignorance of facts is both appalling and deplorable.

How To Take A Company Global by Laurel Delaney

This piece was published four (4) years ago yet most of the links not only still work but also shed light on how to take a company global.

So if you are a newcomer to this blog, dig in -- this one's for you.  For everyone else who's been with me since 2004, you might re-visit this piece because I am certain there's something you missed and could use to grow your business global!

50 Ways to Go Global
by Laurel Delaney

TOP LAST.FM

1.ADELE - ROLLING IN THE DEEP

2. [-1] Radiohead - Lotus Flower
3. [+7] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
4. [-2] Radiohead - Codex
5.  [-2] Radiohead - Bloom
6. [-1] Radiohead - Little By Little
7. [-3] Radiohead - Morning Mr Magpie
8. [-1] Radiohead - Give Up The Ghost
9. [-3] Radiohead - Feral
10. [-2] Radiohead - Separator

TOP ITUNES WORLDWIDE

1. JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL - ON THE FLOOR

2) [-1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way
3) [+1] Rihanna - S&M
4) [-1] Adele - Rolling In The Deep
5) [+1] Bruno Mars - Grenade
6) [+2] Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris - Tonight
7) [+3] Jessie J - Price Tag
8) [-3] Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
9) [=] Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette - Hello
10) [NEW] Snoop Dogg - Sweat (David Guetta Remix)

TOP LATINO

1.RICKY MARTIN - LO MEJOR DE MI VIDA ERES TU

2) [=] Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)
3) [+4] Shakira - Sale El Sol
4) [+1] Don Omar - Danza Kuduro
5) [-2] Camila - Besame
6) [+4] Carlos Baute - Quien Te Quiere Como Yo
7) [-3] Enrique Iglesias feat. Wisin & Yandel - No Me Digas Que No
8) [+1] Shakira - Loca
9) [-3] Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)
10) [+12] Gloria Trevi - Me Rio De Ti

TOP AUSTRALIA

1.RIHANNA - S&M

2) [=] Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On The Floor

3) [+19] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag

4) [-1] Lady Gaga - Born This Way

5)[=] Diddy Dirty Money - Coming Home

6)[-2] Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough

7)[+3] Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song

8) [-2] Alexis Jordan - Happiness

9)[+5] Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On

10)[-3] Avril Lavigne - What The Hell

TOP ASIA

1. LADY GAGA - BORN THIS WAY

2) [=] Justin Bieber feat. Jaden Smith - Never Say Never
3) [=] Katy Perry - Firework
4) [=] Avril Lavigne - What The Hell
5) [=] Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
6) [=] Rihanna - S&M
7) [+3] Jessie J feat. B.o.B - Price Tag
8) [=] Taylor Swift - Back To December
9) [-2] Bruno Mars - Grenade
10) [+1] David Guetta feat. Rihanna - Who's That Chick?