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Despite its humor, Fark.com does find some interesting stories out there. It is an on the ground view of what is happening in Egypt and the use of Social Media as a propaganda too. The one comment I found funny, “could you imagine Mubarak’s people trying to explain Twitter to him.” (He is 82 years old, after all). Here are the highlights:

1. It’s about economics, not religion
2. Everyone has its own propaganda spin on what is happening, even US news outlets and Al Jazeera.
3. Democracy is only a concept in the minds of Egyptians, it is not anything real to them. If they had it, what would they do?

What I found interesting was the idea that Social Media was being used as a propaganda tool by the opposition.

At first, no one took it seriously:

“For two weeks calls were made using new social media tools for a mass demonstration on the 25^th of January. Observers dismissed those calls as another virtual activism that would not result in anything. Other calls in the past had resulted in very small public support and the demonstrations were limited to the familiar faces of political activists numbering in the hundreds.”

Then, here is what happened, they used the tools to exaggerate their numbers:

“But beneath that, things were very different. The social media tools had given people something that they had lacked previously, an independent means of communication and propaganda. Hundreds of thousands of young Egyptians in a matter of minutes were seeing the demonstration videos being uploaded on youtube. For an apolitical generation that had never shown interest in such events the demonstration was unprecedented. More remarkable they were tremendously exaggerated. At a moment when no more than 500 demonstrators had started gathering in that early morning, an Egyptian opposition leader could confidently tweet that he was leading 100,000 in Tahrir Square. And it stuck.”

Read the whole article here.

A good one for sure.

The Christian Science Monitor wrote a piece on pointing out that Muslims have been the ones helping our intelligence communities stop the recent terrorist threats against targets. The article details out the story of a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner that provided the details on the printer cartridge bomb attempts.

In all cases, the intelligence gathered was from Muslims themselves.

The lesson for me is to remind myself that all societies has its fringe elements intent on causing troubles for the rest of us. Everyday,  we read in the paper about some whacko in this country that takes guns to schools, post offices and federal buildings.

Like some Christians, every religion has its groups that take themselves to0 seriously at the expense of others. In light of the instability in the world today, no society is immune to having extreme views that result in some violent attack against others.

My friends and family who are all Cable TV junkies are always down and out about where the country is headed. I even have one relative preparing for the upcoming revolution, if it would happen. (Note: He is not participating in any group, he is just preparing himself to protect his property). This is all foreign thought to me.

I was asked, what do you think? I pointed out that there are a lot of smart people in this country always generating new ideas for business. Business is happening. The problem is Cable Television is not reporting on it because good news does not conform to the “economy of fear and anger” ruling our flat screens. I conveyed a story about a friend who I had not seen in a while.  Last time we had met, he was involved in a startup dealing with medical informatics. I asked him how it was going, he says, “I sold that company. It got bought by a big company recently.  I am now onto building a new company.”

And, this weekend, there was the Startup Weekend at Purdue. It was a marathon event where 60 bright people came up with several ideas to start a new business. Out of Indiana, one idea has made it to the Global Battle.

Startup Weekend Indianapolis

“StartUp Weekend Indianapolis has brought together people with ideas and people with skills. A mix of seasoned vets, and lots of rookies are spending the weekend, building something truly exciting. .. The weekend is filled with opportunities to learn new things, try new things, and possibly even build something. Check out the Schedulee .. Busy this weekend? Join us for just the Pitches Sunday night and see who goes on to compete in the Global Battle.”

It is a national program where hope is ever present. Let’s take some ideas and build a new company from it.

It really is time to turn off Cable TV and the “Economy of Fear and Anger.”

Look around your community and I am sure you will find an economy of Entrepreneurs in your area. People who live to turn ideas into action. These people are your leaders. They are the ones that turn ideas into jobs. Here in Indianapolis, there are several groups specializing in supporting their industries. Techpoint, Indiana Venture Club,  and Bio-Crossroads to name a few. These groups support new businesses and ideas in our community.

Now, we have Startup Weekend.  How cool is that? Turn off Cable TV, look around, you will find there is Gold in your community.  Join the real revolution – Entrepreneurs building new industries. It’s the American Way.

We should have a national day of, “Turning off Cable TV”. We need to ween people off the we are all going to die channels and get people back into their communities actually solving problems.

It’s about the economy. Join your local Entrepreneurial group. Learn about new companies that need support. Find out where your local economy can engage into the global economy.

Our problems do not stem from minority groups or Mexican immigrants.  It’s because we moved all our manufacturing off shore along with the jobs. It’s because we need skilled workers today, not unskilled. It’s because our economy has been on a slow decline since the 1950s.

Yet, we can not look back to the 1950s. The advantage we had at the time is gone – a world devastated by war and rebuilding. The United States economy was the only one intact. Now, we have to compete again. Yet, today, we choose to compete with each other’s opinions about right and wrong – black and white – left and right – forwards and backwards.

Government can not solve the problems.  It can be part of the solution. Here in Indiana, laws holding us back were the inventory tax and daylight savings time. When the State Government repealed these laws, the logistics companies were able to take advantage of the Indianapolis being the Crossroads it always claimed to be. Government has a role. It can work towards the future without disrespecting the past.

This country was built on idea generation like no other in the world. You can still try anything you want here. You can succeed, but you are allowed to fail. Let’s stop arguing about social issues and encourage ideas, investment and creation of new industries. We are the only nation good at doing those things.

My favorite line from John Stewart, “We are not living in the “End of Times”, we are living in difficult times.” Let’s all stop whining and pointing fingers at each other.  If we lose hope as a nation, it’s too late to fix our problems.

Turn off the Cable Television and join a local Entrepreneurs group. If there is not one, start one because the future depends on it.

Paul is the President of Professional Blog Service. PBS works with clients making strategic investments into blogging, social media and search engine optimization.

I personally think the team that turned Major League Soccer into the hot property today was Toronto FC.  They had fans

from day one attending games and filling up their stadium.  They even added more seats this year and replaced their field turf with real grass.  Since TFC entered the league, other expansion teams have come into the league with similar support.

Do I feel sorry for their fans though.  The product on the field has much to be desired.  TFC brought Mo Johnston as their coach, but he decided to move into the front office where he can’t seem to find the right mix of players to play attractive Football on the field.

Last night was no exception.  The new Philadelphia Union were in town and pretty much owned TFC on the field for much of the 1st half.  TFC were lucky not to go down to 10 men after their right back went studs up tackle on a Union player.  Then TFC got a break as Danny Calif elbowed DeGuzman in the neck to receive a red card.

Eventually against 10 men, TFC ended up winning but not without help.  Both their goals were on set pieces and not in the run of play.  And, the fact that Philadelphia was only playing with 10 men helped.  In the end, I think Philadelphia was still the better team.

TFC’s style of play is so British.  Hoof the ball from the back to the front and have your forwards jump up for head balls.  Forgetting the fact that they have some of the best in DeRosario and DeGuzman to work the ball.  Midfielders are for defensive purposes.

I love Toronto as a city and think their fans are fantastic.  MLS owes those fans a lot of thanks for it was the Toronto franchise that got fans in the other MLS markets to step up and be heard.

Mo, put a decent product on the field for them.  You owe it to them, the league owes it to them.  Give those poor people something to cheer about.  They deserve it.

An earthquake in China took place today.  It was a doozy that registered over 7.0 on the richter scale.

Image is a copyright of the Associated Press

As I am going through and reading the reports, the news media are focused on the death and destruction of the event.  Reports are 400 dead and possibly 10,000 people injured.  The usual suspects causing the death and destruction – poorly built houses that are not earthquake proof.

Yet, in any of the reports, there is no explanation as to why there is an earthquake in the region in the first place.  See, the region where it has occurred is not on the edge of a tectonic plate.  So, why is the media not educating us why it happened and reporting on the geologic changes that are occurring underneath us? The earth is one big puzzle of pieces that collide and move.  Could the earthquake in Chile have transported energy to the Indian plate which then has pushed itself up against the Asian plate?

I guess we will have to wait for Pat Robertson to give us the explanation.  I am sure there was some ancient deal made where the Tibetans shunned Christianity to follow the bald headed guy in robes.  The earthquake is obviously a punishment from God.

With these natural events happening all over the world, couldn’t we put the death and destruction angle down for once and talk about the science behind it happening?  Not only are we a nation of geographically challenged, we are also a nation who are geologically ignorant.

Come on media, put some of the shock and awe away and include some education in your reports.  If you need the shock and awe at the beginning to grab attention, fine.   Put the education into the article to make us smarter for reading it.

My cousin in Hungary has renovated an old home in a small town north of Budapest called Göd. He did a fantastic job modernizing the home with a new kitchen to a 2 car garage with opener. It is a home that has a small moment in history as the last place that Admiral Horthy the leader of Hungary during the interwar period stayed before his exile to Portugal.

My cousin is selling the home because the kids are all grown up and they are downsizing. He asked me to post it on some Real Estate sites here to attract Hungarians that may want to move back. After all, since Hungary is no longer a communist country, there is an attraction for some to go back home.

What has happened? I have had some legitimate inquiries into the home from people I am trying to attract. Hungarians that are looking for a nice home back in Hungary.

However, I have also attracted the most bizarre scams. I like this one from a gentlemen professing to be a Colonel Glen Parent of NATO forces in Iraq. There is a real person name Glen Parent who is in NATO, but this guy is just too funny. He obviously has taken on the persona. HIs English is a lot to be desired.

Here is his message to me:

“Hello ,

Ives Galacerp has written a very detailed account of the recovery of Charlie Davies, a US National Soccer Team forward who was

Photo by ISIphotos.com

involved in a terrible car accident back in October. He woke up 3 days later in the hospital and did not know where he was and thought he was in Honduras having his organs harvested.

His accident happened in October 2009.  He broke most of the bones in his right leg.  Fractured bones in his face.  And, fractured bones in his elbow.  He also injured his posterior cruciate ligament.  The miracle is his bones have healed and he is on the treadmill already.  He has one more surgery to remove the plate and screws from his elbow.  He is schedule to return to France and start training with his club Sochaux at the end of February.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is freaking unbelievable.

You can read the full article here at Soccer by Ives and his published article at ESPN Soccernet.

I have to admit, I was one of the people guessing we have to scratch Charlie Davies from the World Cup.  Let’s hope he can continue on his recovery.  He was one of the bright spots in US Soccer in 2009 as we led up to the World Cup.

I worked for American Airlines when Bob Crandall was running the company. To this day, I love to read or hear what it is he has to say. He is a tell it like it is kind of guy and always has been. The the difference between Bob Crandall and a lot of so called, “Tell it like it is guys today”, his commentary on the airline industry is based on fact and experience.

I was in International Sales at American Airlines in the early 90s. When we started running flights Internationally, we hired the Israelis to provide us with security consulting. The 5 layers of which he speaks, American Airlines has been doing since 1990 on International flights. If you research the shoe-bomber case, the AA security people in Paris red flagged Richard Reid and did their job.

Bob Crandall is right. it is about finding the people, not the things. The security theater we all experience at the airport actually puts us at risk because the time they are checking the little old lady, they may miss the real threat getting on a plane. This point was made at the beginning of the report when bomb making material made it on a plane as a test as carry on because the screener missed it. Which does not surprise me. An eyeball can not be mindful of details on a screen for a prolonged period of time.

Good security is about intelligence and human behavior.

Bob Crandall is right. Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but today, most terrorists are Muslims. It is a fact.

President Obama, hire Bob as your new Transportation Secretary. He would do it to serve his country, just like Mr. CR Smith did for President Johnson in the 1960s. He is right, we need Managers running these large organizations not political appointees. If we have an inefficient transportation system, this economy will continue to suffer and the terrorist have won. (This problem is not a Democrat or Republican issue, they both do it wrong).

Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security Chief is touting the $150,000 scanners on national TV. His firm happens to represent the company that makes the scanners. Boo to Mr. Chertoff. Let’s just add some more tax to your airline ticket to pay his consulting fee and his client’s new boat.

Ok, so my wife tells me, “I got you and Andrew concert tickets for “Star Wars in Concert” for your birthday.“ I have to admit, I did not jump up and down. “Ok”, I said with a one eye brow raised.

If you have kids and you have kids that love music, take them! It is kind of expensive at $65 a ticket, but it was worth it.

We saw the concert at Conseco Field House. Surprisingly, the sound was excellent. I leaned over and ask my son, “Is this live, or is this Memorex?” He gave me a puzzled look of course because he is not familiar with the old Aretha Franklin commercials from the 1970s-1980s.

The real point of this post is, “Community Orchestras can learn something from the Star Wars in Concert series.” The concert combined visual montages with the music. People were clearly entertained. (I am still shaking my head at the quality of the sound. The orchestra was so tight).

I remember when classical music was taught to me. I finally learned about classical music while on a study abroad program in Austria. Our Professor taught us the significance of Mozart, Beethovan, Hadyn in the context of their time. He was so enthusiastic about the music that I finally go it.

John Williams film music is very easy to get because we have the visual support of the film to help convey what the music is saying.

What if Symphonies started applying some of the same techniques to traditional Mozart, List, or Beethoven pieces. After all, we are an easily bored society. People want to be entertained by our standards today which include video or visual stimulation. Maybe we should have a video running that accompanies the music being played by the Orchestra.

Think I am crazy? Well, Conseco Fieldhouse was full. So, something tells me people are ok with orchestrated music. They just want to be entertained with it.

It was a great concert. I recommend it to anyone.