The Real Burj Khalifa (In The Foreground)

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#Dubai 🦒

A post shared by Fazza (@faz3) on Nov 13, 2019 at 4:29am PST

Older Entrepreneurs Are Better (Research Finding)

there seemed to be this very consistent finding that the likelihood of entrepreneurial success rises with age....... age reflects many, many things in life. We know that with age, many benefits accumulate, including your social ties — your relationship with suppliers and potential hires and co-founders — as well as financial wealth and human capital that you gain from working in different companies. ....... You could have the Zuckerbergs and Sheryl Sandbergs on a team, where you have a very young entrepreneur and perhaps an older manager to balance out those views. ....... when you look at just the Zuckerbergs and Gates of the world, you’re really cherry-picking the examples that the media likes to show. When we look at those individuals and their career histories, there is some evidence that over time they get better as operators and entrepreneurs of real companies. Even in that example, we have reasons to think that age is still an advantage in terms of being an entrepreneur. ...... this link between entrepreneurship and age is a really strong one. ......

venture capital often favors the young

...... They may know what’s happening, but they also know that there’s greater bargaining power against young entrepreneurs. ...... I’ve spoken to many executive MBA students who are in their early 40s and late 30s, and I’ve heard many perspectives that it might be too late for them to become entrepreneurs. What we want to do is discourage and dispel that myth because what we’re finding is they actually might be in the best position to start new companies. ........ We’re looking at immigrant entrepreneurs and the role that they play in creating jobs in the U.S. economy versus the jobs that are perhaps being “taken” by new immigrants in the U.S., and really comparing those two streams.

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How does the “batting average” for creating successful startups change with age? The answer, based on research by Wharton’s Danny Kim, might surprise you.

A post shared by Knowledge@Wharton (@whartonknows) on Nov 24, 2019 at 12:19pm PST

Bill Gates, Elizabeth Warren, And Andrew Yang

Bill Gates is in news saying something like, I have already paid $10 billion in taxes, "more than anyone else," and you can have 10 billion more if you want, but if you want all of the 100 billion, I got a problem with that.

Now the media being what it is (they want a fight!) all sorts of brand name media outlets (this is not yellow, tabloid journalism, this is mainstream media, the kind that informs heads of state early in the morning) are saying Bill Gates prefers Donald Trump over Elizabeth Warren. After all, he is just another rich guy.

First off, Warren has never proposed taking all of Bill Gates' money. Her 2% wealth tax means Bill Gates would pay two billion, which is less than the 10 billion he has already offered to pay.

Second, someone who might be super smart in one niche might or might not be equally informed in another niche, or in the same niche in another era. We think Tesla was so smart, Elon Musk has named his most famous company after him, and Musk is today, and Tesla was indeed smart. But Tesla never bought into whatever Einstein was proposing. Tesla was a pre-relativity kind of guy.

Bill Gates is a PC-era guy. No tech entrepreneur who starts in 2020 can not buy into the idea of a Universal Basic Income (which I have never defined as American Basic Income). UBI is to the fourth industrial revolution what electricity was to the second and what the internet has been to the third. It is basic. It is infrastructure.

In all fairness, I did not hear Bill Gates say anything about UBI. I'd be very surprised if he was opposed to it. But if he is saying, you have already taken 10 billion from me, take 10 billion more, but don't take away the entire 100 billion, because I have a foundation to run.

Only the mainstream media can interpret that as an attack on Elizabeth Warren, or the idea of UBI. I can't.

I actually subscribe to Bill Gates' newsletter. So he has a tendency to show up in my inbox. He is a smart interesting guy doing good work, although it is my firm conviction 100 Gates Foundations will not be able to solve the problems of the world, what we need is a world government.

Bill Gates, Elizabeth Warren, And Andrew Yang https://t.co/emjXtgTwCV @BillGates @ewarren @SenWarren @AndrewYang @AOC @reshmasaujani @iam_preethi @deepikapadukone @priyankagandhi @priyankachopra @IlhanMN @RashidaTlaib @RepPressley @sunrisemvmt @VarshPrakash #UBI

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) November 8, 2019

Hillary Clinton called the wealth taxes proposed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren "unworkable" and said they would be "incredibly disruptive" if enforced. pic.twitter.com/BOJPZJokSX

— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) November 8, 2019

This whole “let’s all dunk on Bill Gates” thing is infuriating. Yep, dude is mega rich. But he’s also one if the greatest philanthropists the world has ever seen.

Dollar for dollar I’d wager his philanthropic investments are dramatically more efficient in their return vs. gov. https://t.co/efyBJWkkzO

— Matt Galligan (@mg) November 8, 2019

Has Softbank Gone Soft?

SoftBank: blind spots threaten Masayoshi Son’s $100bn Vision As the global business elite deserted a Saudi Arabian investment summit a year ago, after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, the founder of Japan’s SoftBank slipped into Riyadh for a discreet meeting.......... Masayoshi Son and his chief lieutenant, Rajeev Misra, were there to see Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince who had helped to make them the world’s most influential technology investors. Almost half of SoftBank’s $97bn technology-focused Vision Fund — the biggest pool of private money ever raised — came from the young royal’s sovereign wealth fund. ........... plans for a long-awaited sequel to the Vision Fund are in serious doubt. ....... Armed with Gulf capital, SoftBank poured into every corner of the digital economy and fuelled some of the world’s most richly valued private companies. Following Mr Son’s advice, many burnt cash in feverish pursuit of scale and market share above all else. ..........

Returning to Riyadh last week for the latest Future Investment Initiative, known as “Davos in the Desert”, Mr Son was met by an almost-empty room for his panel discussion. The weary-looking billionaire, who at one point appeared to fall asleep, insisted he would keep offering capital to start-ups so they could “grow much bigger and quicker”. 

........ “We identify the entrepreneurs who have the greatest vision to solve the unsolvable,” he said. “They need to have the strongest passion. And then we provide the cash to fight.” ....... SoftBank shares have plummeted 26 per cent in the past three months. ......... The struggles have laid bare a sharp-elbowed culture within the Vision Fund, which is led by Mr Misra and seen as rife with mistrust, managerial disorganisation and clashes between executives. ......... Uber is now down 31 per cent from its listing price, with the Vision Fund sitting on more than $800m in paper losses since its investment. Other investments have suffered too: office messaging group Slack has dropped nearly 45 per cent since its first day of trading in June, while Vir Biotechnology has fallen 30 per cent since its mid-October listing. Only two Vision Fund-backed companies, Guardant Health and 10X Genomics, are trading above their IPO price.........

One hedge fund investor says backing from the Vision Fund is “an immediate cue to sell”.

...... The steady procession of IPOs was intended to validate the Vision Fund’s late-stage bets and lay the groundwork for juicy returns that would make big-money investors clamour to pour money into its next Vision Fund. The group would look to list at least two portfolio companies per month by 2020, Mr Misra said earlier this year. ......... The biggest blow, however, came from a company whose founder Mr Son has praised and lavished with billions of dollars since 2017, saying it would be worth a few hundred billion one day. ........ The close bond between Mr Son and WeWork founder Adam Neumann had begun to sour long before its disastrous attempt to list in September. ........ “We created a monster,” Mr Son has told colleagues. “We gave him all the capital.” ....... “WeWork is not the only one weak asset,” says Atul Goyal, an equities analyst at Jefferies. “We suspect there are many such questionable investments or assets within SoftBank Vision Fund’s 80-plus investments.” ........ Other bets, such as a $500m investment into UK virtual simulation start-up Improbable, are not expected to generate any returns. Fair, the car subscription start-up that partners with Uber, recently revealed plans to cut 40 per cent of its workforce as it struggles to become profitable. Wag, the dog-walking company backed by a $300m Vision Fund cheque, has been earmarked for sale. ......... “Money in the right hands, right founders and right potential long-term platforms works,” said

Nikesh Arora, Mr Son’s former heir apparent, who abruptly resigned in 2016

, at a CNBC event last week. “But it doesn’t work willy-nilly on every pet-walking and hotel room-renting website.” ....... It is hard to formulate a cohesive picture of SoftBank and the Vision Fund, in part due to Mr Son’s incessant dealmaking, and also because of the extreme levels of financial engineering employed by Mr Misra......... One of the most powerful credit traders from a pre-crisis generation of Wall Street bankers, the Indian former Deutsche Bank executive is considered by some as a pioneer of modern finance............ He was feted in April by Michael Milken, the junk bond king of the 1980s who was convicted of securities fraud and later imprisoned for two years. Talking to Mr Misra at a conference, Mr Milken, now a self-styled philanthropist, said: “There is no one that has the understanding of financial markets and capital markets and the hundreds of different types of instruments that you do.” .......... To others, however,

Mr Misra is a source of chronic instability who has stuffed the senior ranks of the Vision Fund with former Deutsche Bank colleagues and financial complexity.

...... “SoftBank and the Vision Fund are layers of leverage upon leverage,” says one banker who has worked closely with both. This person and others see parallels to what took place at Deutsche Bank, the now struggling lender whose lack of oversight and controls saw its balance sheet laden with risky products of the sort Mr Misra specialised in. ...... SoftBank is saddled with $160bn of interest-bearing debt and its bonds are rated non-investment grade. The Vision Fund has a unique structure — created by Mr Misra — where roughly $40bn of outside investor funds are in the form of preferred shares that work like debt and pay an annual coupon......... When Mr Misra looked to return capital to the Vision Fund’s backers earlier this year, he added yet more leverage, taking out a $3.5bn loan mortgaged against stakes in companes including Uber. ....... Under Mr Misra’s watch, the fund’s ranks have grown to more than 400 employees ...... “I’ll tell you the biggest change in two years. We are learning so much. It’s becoming sixth sense. We transfer that learning to our portfolio companies,” Mr Misra told Mr Milken, highlighting best practices shared across its holdings. ....... The growth inside the Vision Fund belies an environment where Mr Misra and his allies have jostled with those outside their inner circle. Critics say

the toxic culture

, which Mr Son has overlooked, could imperil the future of the fund. ........... Two senior SoftBank executives have had fierce run-ins with Mr Misra that have had an impact on the balance of power in the Vision Fund and the company. One, Alok Sama, SoftBank International’s former chief financial officer who was a critic of the WeWork investment, left in April........ Former Goldman colleagues and others described Mr Schwartz as a “moral compass”, who became fed up with the changing culture within SoftBank and concerns over governance at the Vision Fund, as well as its reliance on money from Riyadh. ........ A second Vision Fund would help Mr Son silence his critics. A rollout this summer of those plans were designed to showcase SoftBank’s ability to attract blue-chip investors such as Microsoft. But no outside investors have formally signed up yet. ........ Nearly half of the $108bn SoftBank hopes to raise is set to come from the Japanese company itself and senior employees. However, some of these employees have balked at what that entails: a “loyalty test” that involves taking SoftBank loans equivalent to as much as 15 times their annual salary. ........... Executives within and close to SoftBank concede that renewed commitments from Saudi Arabia and its neighbour Abu Dhabi are crucial if there is to be a second fund. Both have been slow to commit, even as SoftBank executives are counting on Prince Mohammed to reinvest up to $30bn with them. 

Everybody has a bad year. Every person, every company, every country. Some have two, some have three. Is this just a bad year for Masa Son? I'd argue otherwise. If the idea for the 100B Vision Fund is to give a 2X return or a 3X return in a five-year timeframe, that would still be excellent. A 10X return over a 10-year run is considered excellent in VC circles. It is so good the vast majority of VCs fail trying. They go out of business.

But the expectations on Masa are high. People look at his track record. He is the magician who harvested big from his bets on Yahoo and Alibaba. If he were to pull the same rabbit out of the hat, the 100B fund should become 10T. Will it? I doubt it.

Masa bet big on WeWork and Uber. Those two moves expose his thinking with the 100B Vision Fund. He thought both those companies were out of high-risk territories. They had already found product-market fit, the holy grail of tech entrepreneurship. Now all they had to do was scale. To him, it was like that Russian billionaire pumping 100M into Facebook when Facebook was already hotcakes. It was on its way to up and up and up.

Now we know that is not how it panned out.

Either Masa will go back to his roots of doing early stage (which can't be easy .... that is akin to saying Mark Zuckerberg should go launch another Facebook ... Mark can't .... he is incapable of) or he might have to make do with more modest returns. Right now the 100B Vision Fund delivering a 10X return over a 10-year timeframe looks ambitious. As in, not happening. But even 2X would be nice. 3X would be great. 5X would be congratulatory stuff.

Prince Salman gets to tag along. :)

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Of Dubai Has A Major Social Media Presence

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor is a name I came across early while I have been digitally exploring Dubai for the past several weeks. He is the founder of the Al Habtoor Group. What is striking though is that he has a major social media presence. He has taken to social media like duck to water.

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram

"A self-made man, he is Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group – one of the most successful conglomerates in the Gulf........ his extensive knowledge of international political affairs ...... he has long acted as an unofficial ambassador for his country abroad....... Writing extensively on both local and international politics, he publishes regular articles in the media and has released a number of books. Al Habtoor’s articles are available on www.khalafalhabtoor.net" 

He has an honorary doctorate from Illinois College.

As you can see, he is quite outspoken.

Trump’s dangerous policies imperil our world (2017) #America’s allies and adversaries are appalled by his decision to throw a grenade into the #Middle_East by unilaterally declaring #Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish State. ...... This reckless act by a dangerous/self-absorbed individual has killed all hopes of peace. ..... #Trump’s loyalties do not lie with #America’s interests or with #Israel’s. In fact, he has made the world a far more dangerous place for Israeli and American travellers by putting targets on their heads. His gross provocation is a gift to terrorist recruiters and could spark lone wolf attacks in Western and Arab cities. ...... #Trump is a ‘me-me’ man who uses every speech to trumpet his own achievements, both real and imaginary, or to disparage his presidential rival Democratic nominee #Hillary_Clinton with whom he harbours a weird vendetta-like obsession. ...... It was a populist wave that swept this underqualified president to power, giving him free reign on not only his country, but the entire world. ...... Initially his candidacy was written-off as a joke. Voters tired of political dinosaurs cast their ballots in his favour despite his often racist statements, disreputable behaviour towards women and acclaim from white supremacist groups. ....... Disappointed in former US President Barack #Obama’s pro-Iran stance and his affiliation with the terrorist #Muslim_Brotherhood, before I discovered the flaws in #Trump’s character I had high hopes that a businessman could invigorate #America’s economy and bring a fresh perspective to US #Middle_East policy.......... I quickly realized my mistake and wrote several columns strongly advising the American voters not to elect this erratic individual..........

the US is up there with the countries I most admire and many of my dearest friends are American.

....... the Machiavellian bully Steve Bannon known for his incendiary anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rhetoric....... #Trump’s #America First mantra was disconcerting when the US has traditionally been seen as a force for good worldwide. I soon understood its core implications – the rest of the world does not count.......... Almost the entire international community was shocked and dismayed by his ditching of the Paris Climate Accord and since, his executive orders have illustrated his disregard for maintaining a healthy environment and preserving wildlife. ....... With all my respect to the American people and to their amazing nation, this time voters got it badly wrong. Donald #Trump does not think before he speaks and does not heed advice. The danger is that his mammoth ego could easily envelop not only the US but much of the planet in a nuclear conflagration. He is no aficionado in the Art of the Deal but rather an expert in the Art of Bullying......... the US is ‘taking a tougher stance’ against #Saudi_Arabia’s ‘role’ there, while urging the Saudi-led coalition to ‘completely lift the blockade’, and to wage its military campaign in a more measured fashion. That must be music to the ears of the Iranian mullahs and the primitive Houthi rag-tags who slaughtered former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh....... I must, therefore, appeal to the leaders of #Saudi_Arabia, the Emirates, #Bahrain, #Egypt and #Jordan to adopt independent policies free of American restraints or promises as long as the #Trump #White_House exists. ........ We must be united to project power in order to protect our part of the world that has suffered so terribly from foreign interference and we should show our displeasure by collaborating with other world powers while diversifying our suppliers of aircraft, weapons, technological items etc. ...... If Mr #Trump is hell-bent on keeping the US in a cosy bubble with #Israel, he cannot demand the loyalty of any other nation. He has created a dog-eat-dog atmosphere in which it is every country for itself....... In the meantime, we Emiratis should work closely with our trusted friends to repair the damage done by his folly to ensure #Jerusalem will always be the capital of #Palestine in our hearts – and, if God wills, in reality.



Putin’s leadership qualities outshine Obama’s (2014) It’s no accident of fate that #President #Vladimir #Putin’s approval rating hovers around 87 percent as opposed to #President #Obama’s which is at an all-time low of 34 percent....... #Obama has singlehandedly removed the word ‘super’ from the superpower........ the French #President Francois Hollande, is hobbling along with a 17 percent job approval....... a leader requires more than a glib turn of phrase, a Hollywood smile and a bespoke tailored suit to be effective. Charisma may help win elections but the public soon sees through the façade and demands tangible results.............. Neither #Putin nor Merkel can claim natural charisma; he’s cool and dour and portrays unfashionable machismo; she’s frumpy, unflappable and no-nonsense. Yet, they have won respect for doing what they say, for standing strong for what they believe........ As a man, I actively dislike him. He’s managed to collect a rogue’s gallery of allies who’ve greatly benefited from his military, diplomatic and economic largesse. #Russia’s protection of the monstrous Syrian dictator, Bashar Al Assad, directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of over 140,000 of his own people, is chilling. Humanity can never forgive Assad for his crimes, committed not only with #Putin’s approval but also Russian-made weaponry. Moreover, #Putin’s allegiance with the Islamic State of Iran that presents one of the greatest dangers to the region via its proxies and its divisive ideological dissemination igniting sectarian conflicts in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain, is nothing short of contemptible. ......... #Putin’s loyalties are misplaced. He’s guilty of prioritising national interests and a geopolitical power play over ethics and morality. ............ #Obama did nothing to counter Moscow’s annexation of Crimea except complain and, together with the EU, slap #Russia with sanctions which have boomeranged to shoot European economies in the foot........ sanctions should hurt the sanctioned side more than they hurt those doing the sanctioning.......... While Washington and Brussels discuss what further punishments to mete out to bring #Putin into line, Moscow has banned agricultural imports from the West and wasted no time in finding eager new suppliers. And if the situation turns any nastier, #Russia could turn off gas pipelines leaving #Ukraine and parts of Europe shivering in the winter. As a side effect to this icy relationship, Moscow and Beijing have reaffirmed ties with a US$ 400 billion deal for #Russia to supply the world’s most populous nation with 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually, expected to flow in 2018...............

Historically, sanctions rarely work.

...... unless the West is willing to light a match on World War III, #Obama and friends are virtually impotent to halt #Putin in his tracks........ In the unlikely event, my path ever crosses with #Putin’s, I would salute to him, saying, “I may not like you as a person and I don’t approve of your policies, but you have my appreciation for being a man of your word. You’ve taken some difficult decisions that only a leader who’s confident and strong can take and for that you’ve gained my respect”.



Saudi and the UAE, the ‘Shield of the Gulf’ Our region is war-torn and fractured. We are facing multiple threats of multiple kinds. This is the most dangerous era I have ever lived through ........ While almost the entire world is shining a spotlight on the so called Islamic State in #Syria and #Iraq, #GCC States must not take their eyes off our neighbourhood’s greatest threat – the Islamic Republic of #Iran and its militias in #Lebanon, #Syria and #Iraq......... those enemies are using slick propaganda for the purposes of making us doubt one another. They speak of rifts between the Kingdom of #Saudi_Arabia and the United Arab Emirates when there are none........ The relationship between the Kingdom and the Emirates is based on a shared history, culture and bloodlines. It is unbreakable. Threats to #Saudi_Arabia are the same which threaten the #UAE.

#Iran’s ultimate goal is to seize our territories, strip-us of our natural resources and take control of the Holy cities of Mecca and Medina

....... As I write, highly-trained, battle hardened pro-Iranian Shiite fighters from #Lebanon and #Syria are heading to #Iraq to further destabilise #Iraq in support of their Iranian masters........ #Russia’s goal is to become the dominant regional power and to further his endgame President Vladimir #Putin is throwing his country’s weight behind #Iran. During his meeting last month with #Iran’s Supreme Leader, he presented Ali Khamenei with a replica of #Russia’s oldest handwritten Quran.......... #Putin, who has never recovered from the disbanding of the mighty Soviet Union, is on a roll following his illegal annexation of Crimea, a move met with little more than a slap on the wrist from the US and its allies. Emboldened, he is calling the shots in #Syria as though he is that country’s leader while ingratiating himself with the world’s greatest terrorist funder, #Iran, which due to its murky affiliations has escaped becoming a target of terrorism. Of course, even terrorists do not bite the hand that feeds them!........ We were burned by the overthrow of the elected government in #Yemen by the emissaries of Tehran and if we do not stem the growing threat in #Iraq, we will have only ourselves to blame........ If we imagine we can place our trust in global powers, that strove to empower and enrich #Iran via a nuclear deal, we are mistaken because they are driven solely by self-interest. .......... Our destiny cannot rest with fence-sitters or pretend friends..... The only significant forces in the #GCC are those of the United Arab Emirates and #Saudi_Arabia. We are the shield and the sword of all Gulf States ..... It is time for all regional leaderships to be transparent, and those suspected of playing both sides or of hiding their true intentions should be banished behind a virtual Trump-style wall.



It's time the Lebanese removed their shackles (2012) Al-Hassan is yet another prominent #Lebanese assassinated because murderous lowlifes objected to something he said or did....... I remembered with a shudder that terrible day, the 14th February 2005, when I learned that my dear friend former #Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri had suffered a similar fate and rushed to Beirut to offer my personal condolences to his widow and children. Al-Hassan was Mr. Hariri’s Chief of Protocol and a leading figure in the March 14th movement.........

When we think of Lebanon nowadays, our thoughts no longer dwell on spectacular God-given landscapes or the wonderful times we enjoyed in what was once our prime vacation destination. Now, the first thing that springs to mind is murder and mayhem.

........ Lebanon is supposed to be a democracy with a parliament made up of sophisticated, often glamorous politicians who put on a good show. Yet all their carefully-crafted speeches and promises of reform aren’t backed with action. Each time a good man is cut down in his prime for trying to make a difference, they make another plea for “national unity”. Unfortunately, unity doesn’t feature in the #Lebanese collective psyche. They’re privileged to live in a small gem of a country. They’re dynamic and well-educated. But rather than put those gifts that many people of other nationalities would die for to good use, they remain glued to a self-destructive path, strewn with vengeance and vitriol, that has brought them nothing but violence, civil war and damaging outside interference. As if they don’t have enough problems already, they’re fighting each other over Syria!!.................. many of the divisions and consequent bloodshed within Lebanon stems from the country’s vulnerability to outside influences........ It’s surely beyond time that the #Lebanese, whether Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims or Druze, refuse to permit their land to be used as a proxy battlefield and reject leaders who are little more than marionettes manipulated by foreign powers.......... the system of governance requires urgent overhauling. Lebanon’s citizens should quit labeling themselves according to their religious beliefs and become one people........ a nation smaller than Switzerland, consisting of just over 4,000 square miles with a population of well under five million, is not in a position to act as a surrogate regional player for other, far larger countries. Instead, it should declare neutrality. The #Lebanese should focus on prosperity, not others’ hostility............... Lebanon should be cleansed of all weapons and explosive materials except those in the hands of the #Lebanese military and state security forces. Militias and guerilla groups should be outlawed as they are in every other state that calls itself a democracy....... the #Lebanese were the first to ignite the ‘Arab Spring in 2005 when their demonstrations helped oust the Syrian occupiers, heralding a new era of independence. Now they must grab the bull by the horns once more to rid their country from politician wannabe ‘religious leaders’ and false guardians, purporting to be Lebanon’s ‘friends’. Only a popular storm can topple the current cabal that is leading the nation into darkness.......... I would appeal to the #Lebanese people, don’t be slaves to the will of self-interested, agenda-led politicians and religious leaders from all religions. They have misled you and manipulated you long enough



The West isn’t duty-bound to solve Arab problems (2014)

For decades, Arabs have looked to Baba America and its allies for protection, knowing full well that US foreign policy is geared solely towards its own security and geopolitical interests.

......... I have a fondness for the American people. Many have been unfailingly kind to me. But US policy is another matter entirely; it knows no friends, only interests........ “We [the US] are trying to cope with the cumulative consequences of multiple failures. Just about every American project in the #Middle_East has now come a cropper.”......... US “policies have nowhere produced democracy. They have instead contrived the destabilisation of societies, the kindling of religious warfare, and the installation of dictatorships contemptuous of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.”........ Washington is a good friend when its interests happen to coincide with ours or when there are coveted natural resources at stake. Heaping blame on the West for directly or indirectly triggering our woes has become an unproductive mind-set throughout the Arab World. We are wrong to blame the US for hesitating to come to our aid. America has its own economic and security priorities. ........ Our region would be well-served if Arab governments and peoples spent less time bashing America and more time learning how best to depend on ourselves........

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been writing articles appealing to Arab governments to deal proactively in ending regional conflicts and to become more diplomatically assertive.

We have well-trained armies, sophisticated intelligence apparatus and advanced weaponry; all it takes is enough will and determination to shake-off our victim mentality inherited from the Ottoman era, Western imperialism and security treaties with European powers. What will it take for Arabs to wake up to the fact that those days are long gone, and now we stand alone? ........ “Why don’t the Arabs…send in their armies to sort out Assad and ISIS?” .......

Iran that openly boasts that its proxies now control four Arab capitals – Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad and Sana’a

...... We have enemies without and within plotting to invade our homes. ...... From the perspective of US policy-makers, oil rich Arab nations may have outlived their usefulness. ......... the US is now not only energy self-sufficient but has a surplus. American production of shale oil has surpassed the outputs of Saudi Arabia and Russia’s crude. Today, America is the world’s number one producer of gas and, next year, is set to take the top oil producer’s slot......... the Gulf “is where international oil prices are set” and “without stability in West Asia, the global economy is also unstable.”........ ...we can no longer live like ostriches pretending Washington, London and Paris are concerned with the safety of our peoples or working to further secure and stable societies. ........ the underlying message from Western capitals is basically, “Thanks a lot; it was nice knowing you”. ....... ....I won’t be surprised to wake up one day to find the Iranian Supreme Guide has been tapped to be our de facto governor, just as the Shah was until he became too big for his boots.......... My concerns rest with what we plan to do when Daesh is on the rampage against Sunnis. What steps are we going to take to thwart the takeover of Yemen by Shiite Houthis knocking on the gates of Saudi Arabia and Oman? How much longer will we give the Assad regime a free pass to continue its cancerous rule which, a few years ago, could have been cured with a dose of chemotherapy before its metastasis?......... Only our future trajectory is alterable. We can shape tomorrow, and we must, else the tears of our children and grandchildren will be our legacy of shame.



America! Don't dim your inspirational light (2013) #America, whose people I consider to be amongst the most enlightened on earth....... Our young people have graduated from American universities, our families have been treated in American hospitals; many cured thanks to your medical advances. We have adopted your business practices and banking systems. The aircraft carrying us beyond our borders are products of American innovation and it is thanks to your finest minds that today we take instant communications via mobile phones and the internet for granted. Several Arab countries continue to rely upon US military aid and training programs. It’s undeniable that without #America’s outstretched hand, we might have remained captive to the 20th century......... I value my personal friendships with Americans from all social and political strata, from hoteliers to shopkeepers, businessmen, doctors, celebrities, diplomats and politicians. I frequently visit the US to spend quality time with my American friends who often travel to Dubai to see me.........

the White House and Congress consistently fail to understand our traditions, our way of life and our style of communication. It’s as though they wilfully remain in a bubble of ignorance when it comes to Arabs.

.........

Americans famously question ‘Why don’t they like us?’

.......... a bungling engineer unequipped to run one of my construction companies, let alone a country of 90 million people.......... religious ideologues without an ounce of loyalty to their country, a group bent on destroying the region to create an Islamist caliphate? ...... As a friend to the United States, I have often been invited to speak in your universities to bridge the gap between Arabs and Americans. I explain the age-old systems of governance within GCC states to eager students, systems that don’t depend upon ballot boxes but are geared towards the well being of citizens who are cared-for 100 percent with the provision of homes as well as cost-free medical treatment and higher education both at home and abroad. Our governments even cover wedding expenses for low-income couples. There are no beggars on our streets. I tell those students that our systems are beyond democratic because when our leaders make promises, they actually deliver on those promises............ Allow our neighbourhood to solve its own problems – and believe me, left alone, we can do it. By staying out of our affairs, anti-Americanism will dissipate when young Arabs and young Americans would be free to bond as equals in an ambience of mutual respect.......... You make #Egypt your business, but neglect #Syria where up to 100,000 have been deprived of life. We understand the game plan you and your colleagues have cooked up for the Middle East but, frankly, we are tired of being manipulated by a country thousands of miles away which treats us like minors without a say in our own future........ #America’s nurturing of the Ayatollah Khomeini to replace its former best friend the Shah was abhorrent. George W. Bush’s use of false pretexts to invade Iraq was unconscionable. This former great Arab nation, the Cradle of Civilization no less, was turned into a hellish land, a magnet for terrorists where people are being blown up because of their religious beliefs. The US is responsible for nurturing Sunni-Shiite hostilities that did not exist under the former regime. Then, adding insult to injury, Iraq was parcelled-off to the ayatollahs in Qom. ........... so that our children and grandchildren are no longer separated by misunderstandings and hurts......... (comment) Intervene in a country, and everyone hates you, don't intervene, and everyone blames you.



Egypt needs ‘tough love’ to reject Iran’s overtures (2013) Talk about the pot calling the kettle black when Iranians are among the most downtrodden people on earth! ........ ..the Arabs of Ahwaz and Iranian Sunnis that have been persecuted and treated like second-class citizens for decades. Iran’s treatment of its Arab and Sunni communities is a disgrace and its ‘concern’ for Syrians nothing but a sham. .......... the Sheikh Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayyeb told the visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not to interfere in Bahrain or attempt to influence #Egypt’s Sunni majority. .........

We are used to Iranian aggression but the fact that this violation of our sovereignty occurred in #Egypt, which used to be considered “the heart of the Arab World” when Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak were at the helm, makes my blood boil.

......... Abdullahian went on to tell the press that he had held a “constructive discussion” with Al-Araby with whom he “exchanged views especially on Bahrain, #Syria and Palestine.” How dare this Iranian official equate the issues of Bahrain and Palestine with the tragedy unfolding in #Syria! Bahrain’s problem arises from an Iranian fifth column on the island, instigating traitors to rise-up against the monarch. ............. The extent of Tehran’s meddling in Arab matters has reached an intolerable level. Why has Al-Araby and #Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamel Amr provided Tehran with a free pass to express its dissatisfaction with #Arab_League positions? .........When the Muslim Brotherhood’s man President Mohamed Morsi first moved into the Al-Ittihadiya Palace offices last year, I adopted a wait-and-see attitude. ‘Let’s give him a chance’ I thought based on his speeches and statements pledging that #Egypt would remain the Arab World’s heartland and the guardian of Arab interests......... Initially, he talked a good talk and promised to be a president for all Egyptians regardless of their religious or political affiliations. Yet, not only has he let down the Egyptian people, driving the country towards bankruptcy and internal conflicts, he has laid out a red carpet for Iran’s ayatollahs, ministers and the secretive Revolutionary Guard Al Quds Force, which, by the way is grossly misnamed. Iran has no right to name a terrorist organization, currently murdering Syrians, after one of Islam’s holiest places, Jerusalem, site of the Haram Al-Sharif and it’s a mystery to me why the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the #Arab_League and Muslim leaders haven’t voiced their objections. .......... GCC leaders and the few remaining true Arab leaders must take a firm stand against #Egypt which is sinking under the Muslim Brotherhood’s regime before our very eyes. Constructive intervention is urgently needed before it’s too late. Today, Tehran’s representatives are strutting around Cairo presiding over press conferences and there are numerous flights arriving from Iran packed with “tourists” eager to visit #Egypt’s tourist sites. Iran estimates as many as 2 million Iranian “tourists” will head to #Egypt annually. Tomorrow, we’ll see the nation’s Sunni mosques flying Shiite flags and Khomeini’s portrait on billboards like in Lebanon............ Egyptian cleric Safwat Hijazi told Al Arabiya that Iranian tourists won’t come simply to enjoy what the country has to offer, but will actively spread religious doctrine. Iran tends to “stir problems wherever it exists” like in Iran and #Syria, he rightly noted........... The time for coddling Cairo with billions in financial aid/loans should end as long as it embraces Iran, which, by its actions in Iraq, #Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain, has proved an enemy of Arab states. ........ An iron hand must be used to push Cairo in the right direction; they must choose – them or us?



GCC must react to the Pentagon’s ‘Total war on Islam’ (2012) I used to believe that the Obama administration had a policy of reaching out to the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims in an effort to mend fences incinerated by George W. Bush’s wars. I was gratified by his efforts because, like many Muslims and Arabs, I have been working to bridge the gap between east and west and in a small way have striven to bring all of the Prophet Ibrahim’s children together in peace; notably with my gift to Dubai the Al Farooq Omar Ibn Al Khattab Mosque and Centre that welcomes visitors of all faiths and the #Khalaf Al Habtoor Leadership Center at Illinois College and through many other efforts. Just recently, I hosted one of the college’s students in Dubai – his prize for coming second in an essay competition I sponsor – and he later wrote that his negative preconceptions of Arabs had been replaced with admiration.............. Dooley based his instruction on the premise that there is no such thing as “moderate Islam”. “This barbaric ideology will no longer be tolerated,” he said. “Islam must change or we will facilitate its self-destruction”.

His solution included nuclear attacks on Mecca and Medina without any regard for civilian lives

............ the FBI has been driven to vet its own course materials when it was discovered that counter-terrorism agents were being taught that “American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers” whose charitable donations equate to a “funding mechanism for combat”. FBI materials refer to the #Prophet_Mohammed (PBUH) as a “cult leader”.......... ....as revealed by the New York Times, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has been infiltrating mosques and Muslim community centers. The department’s officers were shown a documentary called “The Third Jihad” contending that the Muslim leadership in the US harbors ambitions to “infiltrate and dominate” in which the NYPD’s chief participated. The film was also endorsed by NYC former mayor Rudolph Giuliani. ........... In the #Arab_world we’ve become used to dismissing crimes perpetrated by US soldiers in #Iraq, #Afghanistan and Pakistan as ‘mistakes’ that run counter to official US policy............. The idea that the US government knew nothing about this philosophy of hate sounds like the most fantastical fairy story............ We need answers from the White House, the Pentagon and Congress. These latest exposes could merely constitute the tip of the iceberg. Just how deep does the contagion go? Soldiers who burn holy books, humiliate Muslim detainees or urinate on Muslim corpses can hardly be blamed if their officers are advocating using nukes to wipe Muslims from the face of the earth................. as to Washington’s true geopolitical goals. How hard do we need to be hit on the head before we get the message? ....... Given the turmoil in Arab countries ostensibly in pursuit of American-style democracy that was partly instigated by US Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the potential for slicing apart of #Iraq and Libya in the same way that Sudan has been split, and the possibly orchestrated divisions between Sunnis and Shiites (to the detriment of Sunnis), it’s possible that the U.S. has a clandestine policy of inciting Arabs to destroy each other as a continuation of imperialist Britain’s ‘Divide and Rule’. .......... in accordance with America’s policy of hate towards Muslim, reflected by the invasions of #Afghanistan and #Iraq that resulted in up to one million deaths..........

the #GCC must unite, become a federation and build an independent, powerful military capability.

We can’t rely on fair-weather friends to protect our peoples. Sleeping while our enemies pretend to be our friends even as they plot our destruction is no longer an option. If our leaders fail to take ‘Total war on Islam’ with the seriousness it deserves, we are doomed.



Al Arabiya should vet its guests for brains (2012) With tens of professional Arabic TV channels to choose from, over the years, I have narrowed my viewing down to just two –

Al Jazeera and #Al_Arabiya

. Why? Because in my opinion those have evolved into our Arab world’s trusted flagship network providing viewers with comprehensive reporting and balanced viewpoints. ............ She said she’s visited two mosques in the US that advocated an Islamic White House and says British Muslims are out to convert the monarchy to Islam which, according to Ms Darwish, explains why Islamophobia is rampant in the West........ There’s an Arabic saying that says it all. When a man called Hanoun, who had a reputation for being useless, converted to Islam, people around said

‘Hanoun did not enhance Islam and neither did he damage Christianity’.

I could say the same about Ms. Darwish who’s no loss to Islam and no credit to Christianity. ........



Ignore Trump’s bigotry at your peril! (2015) Donald #Trump is smashing red lines at the rate of knots ........

The more vulgar and offensive he is, the more the voters love him.

........ He is successfully exploiting people’s fears of ‘the other’ with racism and bigotry his tools of trade,

echoing the strategy of a certain Austrian painter, who was democratically-elected as the president of Germany with catastrophic results

. .......... The voices of Republican presidential candidates may be muffled but what I find baffling, not to mention highly disturbing, is the silence from the #Muslim and #Arab leaderships. The world’s 1.7 billion Muslims are under attack by an individual aiming to be the ‘Leader of the Free World’. #Muslim-Americans say they are fearful. #Islamophobia is on the rise.......... #Britain’s Prime Minister #David_Cameron has characterised #Trump’s statement a “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong”. #France’s Prime Minister #Manuel_Valls tweeted, “Mr. #Trump, like others, fuels hatred: our only enemy is radical Islam”. #Canada’s Foreign Minister #Stephane_Dion said, “It’s something we cannot accept in #Canada… We have never been as far removed from what we’ve just heard in the #United_States”.......... Britons have launched a petition to ban #Trump from entering the #UK which has garnered over half a million signatures requiring its demand to be debated in Parliament......

#Arab leaders have responded with deafening silence.

........ Profits aside, how can anyone of good conscience continue to do business with this person or his companies when #Trump the man and #Trump the brand are one and the same? I will repeat what I told journalists over the past days, if he turned up at my office I would not let him in. How dare he bolster his bank account from business ventures in predominately #Muslim countries when he is engaged in disparaging all Muslims as potential terrorists!.............. We Muslims are the target. Our faith is under attack. Non-Muslims around the world are appalled and they are speaking out. But we are behaving like lambs to the slaughter – and I suspect that if #Trump has his way, we would be slaughtered.......... And now he wants all #Muslim visitors barred from entering his country, while brushing off questions as to the logistics when most passports do not indicate the holder’s religion........ Almost one-fifth of #Daesh (#ISIL) terrorists are nationals or legal residents of Western states........

During the period 2001 – 2013 (the most recent CDC data), 406,496 Americans died from firearms on US soil, as opposed to 3,380 who died from terrorist attacks, a figure that includes the victims of 9-11.

......... I have received calls from some great friends of mine in the US asking why the governments of #Muslim states are not banning #Trump from our countries.......... “It’s time to recognise this is really happening…Tick Tock!” ......



Ends up, he was one of those people who did warn us about Trump!

I am an avid blogger myself.

Formula For Peace Between Israel And Palestine

A Creative Solution To The Palestine Problem
The Stupidity Of The Ayodhya Dispute
Saudi-Iran: Imran Is The Only One Who Can
The Dubai Sheikh Is A Business School Case Study
South Asians Working In The Gulf

Jassim Mohammed Al Seddiqi: Renaissance Man In The Gulf
My Real Estate Tech Startup Has A Loan Investment
To: The Crown Prince Of Dubai
Elon Musk's Giant Blind Spot: Human Beings
Dubai's Remarkable Economic Transformation

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Of Dubai Has A Major Social Media Presence https://t.co/GCM6HAcnge

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) November 5, 2019

Corporate Values Are Make Or Break

Your corporate values can NOT evolve over time @jack 30-30-30-10: A More Thoughtful And Egalitarian Formula For Equity Distribution In Tech Startups For The Age Of Abundance https://t.co/i9ufBFYq9H @Twitter @facebook @Google @amazon @Apple @AlibabaGroup https://t.co/88zqpv0kFt

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) November 4, 2019

.@jack breaks down the elements of company culture and identifies the most important thing to get right: alignment around a common purpose. Read more of Jack’s advice for founders on building culture in the early days. #SevenQuestions

— Sequoia (@sequoia) October 9, 2019

A princess turns into every giant sequoia in Khartoum.

— Magic Realism Bot (@MagicRealismBot) November 4, 2019

FinTech

Local people in China can immediately tell that Gong is a Chinese living abroad, as he – from time to time – still uses the small banknotes and coins in his wallet long since discarded by locals.