Sunday, January 08, 2006
Blog a part (back to "globish")
As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said it so well in their edition of dec 28th 2005, "ein Blick auf Amerika belegt, dass der Strukturwandel hin zur Deinstleitungswirtschaft jetzt zwangslaeufig ist". No, I won't move to german language now, just to bring the topic of the year 2005 and show that it has now become a concern for all european countries. The subject came after the paper listed the top 30 massive lay-off programms worldwide. Beside Ford and GM, 5 german companies were among the top10 list (all above 10.000), including Deutsche Telekom and 3 car makers, Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and Opel (only 1 french company in the top 30, France Telecom, but for how long?). The challenge for Europe is clearly now to create in services and new technologies more jobs than delocalisation or low-cost country competition are destroying. And what happens when you have a look at the budget of the EU?
40% traditional agriculture (some gossip even say that Albert of Monaco and the Queen of England are getting the 2 biggest checks...)
30% structural fund (infrastructure in poor regions, mainly new joinees from Easter Europe now)
15% research and education
15% operating costs
The third line is really worrying for a community that is condemned to innovate. No jobs will come from agriculture (at least not traditional, more from bio-technologies). So why not moving from 40/15 to 15/40 and giving subsidies only to small farms? I think Tony Blair raised the right questions during the budget 2007/2014 discussions and hope this will increase the awareness of France and European Union on the subject.
That's for the creation. About destruction : As long as the innovation motor has not reached full speed, the best way to slow-down the job destruction is to have some civic discipline when consumming manufactured products, getting a bit less but "made in EU". That is requesting some cross-branch solidarity : the Renault employee will not only buy Renault but also [...] a Thompson-TV, (To be extended to European level). You noticed my hesitation, because when it comes to manufactured products, the awareness of what is made where is not available and frequently the choice "made in EU" is already gone : garnments, electronic,... It would take a national web-site and beyond that a european one to be aware of the european-made brands. That focus if of course employment oriented, so doesn't concern the products manufactured outside Europe by european companies!!!
So I am back in Chennai city, after cool winter holidays in Europe with family for X-mas (starring Nicolas Sonnette), including nice pre-new year party with Christian in Favela Chic (excellent music and good crowd), surrealistic new-year road-movie to Saint-Malo's club 109 with JS (room 109) and PEP (room 110) and speedy after-St Sylvestre diner at the art-deco brasserie "Julien" with Lim, Pierre, Valerie & Balto. Thanks to all for the good time.
On my way back I watched "Wallace & Gromit and the were-rabbit" in the plane. Outstanding, brilliant, with hundreds of great ideas every minute. I appreciated the machine supposed to make rabbits (called nicely "fluffy things" by the red haired landlady) hate vegetables "don't eat veggies", "no carrots, cabagge for you" , programmed on a plane full of South-Indians on their way home, the most radically vegetarian indian state...
In Chennai, nothing changed. In my flat, I crashed 2 or 3 big 1-inch corkroaches that forgot to be discrete after 15 days of calm, and offered them to the flat's red ants to their greatest delight. Corkroaches are the most stupid insects in the world. They catch themselves by falling on their back (like in the Kafka's "Metamorphose"?) and not being able to stand-up on their own!!! The same ants started to dig holes in the dry sausages -saucissons- I brought back from France after 2 days of free exposure!!!
Else people are still sharing their lives between family, work, temple, cricket and movie theatre. Oh yes, the only change in Chennai is a cool new place called "mocca", where you can smoke "huka" (water pipe) with apple taste under palm trees with good music.
Yesterday was "sports-day" for Saint-Gobain Glass India. The Nehru stadium booked for one day, almost more security, catering, even management staff than employees... For next blog. I will try also to warn you about he danger of having gekos (the lezards present in every flat) falling or even simply shitting in your soup!!!
40% traditional agriculture (some gossip even say that Albert of Monaco and the Queen of England are getting the 2 biggest checks...)
30% structural fund (infrastructure in poor regions, mainly new joinees from Easter Europe now)
15% research and education
15% operating costs
The third line is really worrying for a community that is condemned to innovate. No jobs will come from agriculture (at least not traditional, more from bio-technologies). So why not moving from 40/15 to 15/40 and giving subsidies only to small farms? I think Tony Blair raised the right questions during the budget 2007/2014 discussions and hope this will increase the awareness of France and European Union on the subject.
That's for the creation. About destruction : As long as the innovation motor has not reached full speed, the best way to slow-down the job destruction is to have some civic discipline when consumming manufactured products, getting a bit less but "made in EU". That is requesting some cross-branch solidarity : the Renault employee will not only buy Renault but also [...] a Thompson-TV, (To be extended to European level). You noticed my hesitation, because when it comes to manufactured products, the awareness of what is made where is not available and frequently the choice "made in EU" is already gone : garnments, electronic,... It would take a national web-site and beyond that a european one to be aware of the european-made brands. That focus if of course employment oriented, so doesn't concern the products manufactured outside Europe by european companies!!!
So I am back in Chennai city, after cool winter holidays in Europe with family for X-mas (starring Nicolas Sonnette), including nice pre-new year party with Christian in Favela Chic (excellent music and good crowd), surrealistic new-year road-movie to Saint-Malo's club 109 with JS (room 109) and PEP (room 110) and speedy after-St Sylvestre diner at the art-deco brasserie "Julien" with Lim, Pierre, Valerie & Balto. Thanks to all for the good time.
On my way back I watched "Wallace & Gromit and the were-rabbit" in the plane. Outstanding, brilliant, with hundreds of great ideas every minute. I appreciated the machine supposed to make rabbits (called nicely "fluffy things" by the red haired landlady) hate vegetables "don't eat veggies", "no carrots, cabagge for you" , programmed on a plane full of South-Indians on their way home, the most radically vegetarian indian state...
In Chennai, nothing changed. In my flat, I crashed 2 or 3 big 1-inch corkroaches that forgot to be discrete after 15 days of calm, and offered them to the flat's red ants to their greatest delight. Corkroaches are the most stupid insects in the world. They catch themselves by falling on their back (like in the Kafka's "Metamorphose"?) and not being able to stand-up on their own!!! The same ants started to dig holes in the dry sausages -saucissons- I brought back from France after 2 days of free exposure!!!
Else people are still sharing their lives between family, work, temple, cricket and movie theatre. Oh yes, the only change in Chennai is a cool new place called "mocca", where you can smoke "huka" (water pipe) with apple taste under palm trees with good music.
Yesterday was "sports-day" for Saint-Gobain Glass India. The Nehru stadium booked for one day, almost more security, catering, even management staff than employees... For next blog. I will try also to warn you about he danger of having gekos (the lezards present in every flat) falling or even simply shitting in your soup!!!
