From: Office of Terje Rod-Larsen
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 10:08 PM
Subject: January 29 update

29 January, 2012</=>

Article 1.

The Wash=ngton Post

Da=os and disconnected elites

David Ignatius

Article 2.

Article 3.

Article 4.

Article 5.

Article 6.

Article 1.

The Washington Post
Davos and disconnected eli=es
David Ignatius <http://www.washingtonpost.com/david-ignatius/2011/02=17/ABXXcOJ_page.html>

January 28 -- DAVOS, Switze=land -- The organizers of the World Economic Forum chttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/opinions/dav=s-insiderh were se=f-critical enough to organize panels this year on such dark topics as "Is Capitalism Failing?" and "Global Ris=s 2012: The Seeds of Dystopia." And these

were just the latest in a seri=s of annual ruminations here on the troubles of the globalization movement=the conference symbolizes.

It's hard to be a convincing S=englerian amid so much good food and drink, not to mention money. But let=92s ponder one aspect of what might be called the "Davos Dystopia" — namely, the way in which the elite networking=it represents has unintentionally worked to undermine social cohesion in t=e larger world. Even as the elites have become better connected, resentmen= toward them has seemed to grow back home — fueling discontent.

The gloomy Davos sessions were a=recognition that 2011was the year of the protester — from Occupy Wall S=reet and the Tea Party to the Arab Spring <http://www.washingtonpost.com/arabupheaval> to riots in London and Greece.

So how does it work, this cycle =f simultaneous globalization and disconnect? What you see here are some of=the smartest business and political leaders in the world gathering to discuss common problems. It's a heady feeling,=to see so much global talent in one place. And increasingly, this elite shrres connections with great global institutions — universities such as Ha=vard and Stanford, companies like Google and Microsoft, global financial giants like Goldman Sachs. <=p>

It's once-dominant an inclusive Americans, elitism: British, The=magnet Germans draws and the French. rising That's tycoons the from most developing likable feature countries of the and forum, fuses the them wa= w=th you see the Chinese and Indians and Egyptians and Pakistanis shuffling down t=e streets in their snow boots, along with the Swiss hosts. They are part o= the connected world, just as much as the old-line bankers and CEOs from the West.

But let's think for a moment a=out the flip side of this process. As the "best and brightest" from th= developing world plug into the global grid, they inevitably unplug from their local political, business and cultural n=tworks. It's a subtler version of what used to be called the "brain dr=in." The entrepreneurs keep their businesses at home, where they are mak=ng their money, but they and their children join the global elite in a web of Four Seasons hotels and Ivy League tuiti=n bills.

And back home? The anger begins =o boil. Rage against the elites is a global phenomenon these days — as p=werful in America as it is in Egypt. People resent a system that offers increasing returns to power and privilege, and=they take to the streets in protest. In regions such as the Arab world, wh=re the elites have been especially disconnected from the masses, the rage =an explode into revolution.

Why do you think Chinese leaders=are so nervous? They know that a billion people out in the hinterlands are=watching elite Chinese on television and envying the newly rich from Shanghai and Guangzhou who buy Louis Vuitton l=ggage for their trips abroad. That's why the Chinese talk so much about =93balanced growth" — to spread some of the new wealth and ease resentm=nts against the rich in the coastal cities.

The people filling the power vac=um, as the corrupt local elites fall in Egypt and Tunisia, are the ones wh= would never have been invited to Davos before. They are from excluded organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherho=d. But their very separation from the global elite was one reason the insu=gents could ally so effectively with the public: They never disconnected f=om the local grid; they remained in the mosques and souks among the masses.

But here's the most interestin= part — and the reason why the globalization process retains its dynamis=. It happens that some of the leading revolutionaries of 2011 were at Davos last week, too, as if to claim their seats. Among th= most interesting discussions here was one that included Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/islamists-defend-arab-democracy-stressing-inclusion-and-reminding-west-of-its-own-pr=blems/2012/01/27/gIQAL5a9UQ_story.html> , a former member of=the Muslim Brotherhood now running for president of Egypt, and <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/tunisia-says-its-c=alition-government-a-good-model-for-other-arab-nations-moving-to-democracy=2012/01/26/gIQAbWlrTQ_story.html>

Article 2.</=pan>

NYT

Made in the World</=pan>

Thomas L. Friedman
<http://=topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/thomaslfriedman/index.html?inline=nytper>

January 28, 2012 -- THE Associat=d Press reported last week that Fidel Castro, the former president of Cuba= wrote an opinion piece on a Cuban Web site, following a Republican Party presidential candidates' debate in Fl=rida, in which he argued that the "selection of a Republican candidate f=r the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is — and I mean=this seriously — the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been."

When Marxists are complaining th=t your party's candidates are disconnected from today's global realiti=s, it's generally not a good sign. But they're not alone.

There is today an enormous gap b=tween the way many C.E.O.'s in America — not Wall Street-types, but th= people who lead premier companies that make things and create real jobs — look at the world and how the average cong=essmen, senator or president looks at the world. They are literally lookin= at two different worlds — and this applies to both parties.

Consider the meeting that this p=per reported on from last February between President Obama and the Apple c=- founder Steve Jobs, who died in October. The president, understandably, asked Jobs why almost all of the 70 million=iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last ye=r were made overseas. Obama inquired, couldn't that work come back home?="Those jobs aren't coming back," Jobs replied.

Politicians see the world as blo=s of voters living in specific geographies — and they see their job as m=ximizing the economic benefits for the voters in their geography. Many C.E.O.'s, though, increasingly see the world as=a place where their products can be made anywhere through global supply ch=ins (often assembled with nonunion-protected labor) and sold everywhere.

These C.E.O.'s rarely talk abo=t "outsourcing" these days. Their world is now so integrated that ther= is no "out" and no "in" anymore. In their businesses, every product and many services now are imagined, designed, marketed and b=ilt through global supply chains that seek to access the best quality tale=t at the lowest cost, wherever it exists. They see more and more of their =roducts today as "Made in the World" not "Made in America." Therein lies the tension. So many of "our" =ompanies actually see themselves now as citizens of the world. But Obama i= president of the United States.

Victor Fung, the chairman of Li =amp; Fung, one of Hong Kong's oldest textile manufacturers, remarked to =e last year that for many years his company operated on the rule: "You sourced in Asia, and you sold in America and Europe.=94 Now, said Fung, the rule is: "'Source everywhere, manufacture ever=where, sell everywhere.' The whole notion of an 'export' is really d=sappearing."

Mike Splinter, the C.E.O. of App=ied Materials, has put it to me this way: "Outsourcing was 10 years ago,=where you'd say, 'Let's send some software generation overseas.' This is not the outsourcing we're doing today. T=is is just where I am going to get something done. Now you say, 'Hey, ha=f my Ph.D.'s in my R-and-D department would rather live in Singapore, Ta=wan or China because their hometown is there and they can go there and still work for my company.' This is the =ext evolution." He has many more choices.

Added Michael Dell, founder of D=ll Inc.: "I always remind people that 96 percent of our potential new cu=tomers today live outside of America." That's the rest of the world. And if companies like Dell want to sell to them, he=added, it needs to design and manufacture some parts of its products in th=ir countries.

This is the world we are living =n. It is not going away. But America can thrive in this world, explained Y=ssi Sheffi, the M.I.T. logistics expert, if it empowers "as many of our workers as possible to participate" in =ifferent links of these global supply chains — either imagining products= designing products, marketing products, orchestrating the supply chain fo= products, manufacturing high-end products and retailing products. If we get our share, we'll do fine.

And here's the good news: We h=ve a huge natural advantage to compete in this kind of world, if we just g=t our act together.

In imagi=ation-enabling a world society where than the biggest America. ret=rns In a world go to where those who talent imagine is the most and design important a product, competitive there advantage, is no higher there is=no country that historically welcomed talented immigrants more than Americ=. In a world in which protection for intellectual property and secure capi=al markets is highly prized by innovators and investors alike, there is no country safer than America. In=a world in which the returns on innovation are staggering, our government =unding of bioscience, new technology and clean energy is a great advantage= In a world where logistics will be the source of a huge number of middle-class jobs, we have FedEx and U.P=S.

If only — if only — we could=come together on a national strategy to enhance and expand all of our natu=al advantages: more immigration, most post-secondary education, better infrastructure, more government research, smart incentiv=s for spurring millions of start-ups — and a long-term plan to really fi= our long-term debt problems — nobody could touch us. We're that close=

Article 3.</=pan>

Common=Ground

The Arab Spring is an oppo=tunity for Israel

Natalia Simanovsky=/p>

28 January 2012 - The Israeli go=ernment and security establishment are viewing the sweeping changes in the=Middle East and North African region with apprehension. While it is human nature to fear the unknown, the recent dev=lopments represent a window of opportunity for reshaping the region.

That is not to say that the dangers facing Israel are imagined; Israel must=now contend with the consequences of the removal of its biggest ally in th= region, Hosni Mubarak, and face a newly-elected government whose position=on matters relating to the Jewish state are uncertain at best.

While not underestimating the challenges facing Israel as it tries to navig=te its way through uncharted territory, the new regional order could prese=t Israel with interesting strategic opportunities. Israel, however, has to=be cognisant of the nuances being presented.

The Arab Spring and the new landscape that has emerged in its wake have led=to a number of developments, including genuine free elections in Tunisia. =et many in Israel see the rise of the Islamic political party Al Nanda as =he precursor to strong anti-Western and anti-Israel sentiment, viewing Al Nanda as an ideological ally with th= Egyptian Muslim

4

Brotherhood. But parties which use Islam as the backdrop =o their policies are not monolithic as many incorrectly assume.

In Tunisia, the elections resulted in a majority win for both liberal and m=derate Islamic parties. Yes, Al Nahda won 40 per cent of the vote, but it =as to share power with secular and centre-left parties. That Tunisia may w=tness a resurgence of religious values in the public sphere is not an existential threat to Israel.

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