Month: November 2008

Read this report this morning. Not sure how much truth there is to this. Getting rid of recruiters is a sure sign that hiring is on the decline. In the current climate this is not surprising. But layoffs of actual employees at Google sounds a little surprising. If the guys who have for the last several years been literally “printing money” have to cut back on their staff then there is no greater scary sign for the economy. Lets hope this report is not entirely true!

The world is crumbling with an economic crisis. Yet Dubai seems to be in world of its own. The Antlantis opened this week in Dubai with $20 million bash!

The excesses of recent times are most visible in Dubai – endless constructions, eternal traffic jams, and mindless spending. No wonder Dubai is headed for some difficult times. Check out  report in the WSJ.

Dubai is the most “vulnerable” sheikdom in the Persian Gulf to a downturn in the economy amid concern over its real-estate industry and debt financing, Citigroup Inc. said in a report.

Another report suggests that Abu Dhabi might need to bailout Dubai!

Ok, add one more to the bail out queue!

Muhammad Sven Kalisch, a Muslim convert and Germany’s first professor of Islamic theology, fasts during the Muslim holy month, doesn’t like to shake hands with Muslim women and has spent years studying Islamic scripture. Islam, he says, guides his life.

So it came as something of a surprise when Prof. Kalisch announced the fruit of his theological research. His conclusion: The Prophet Muhammad probably never existed.

See this report in the WSJ for the entire article. Also check out. The Prof. is soon going to be publishing a book in English based on his research.

My position with regard to the historical existence of Muhammad is that I believe neither his existence nor his non-existence can be proven. I, however, lean towards the non-existence but I don’t think it can be proven. It is my impression that, unless there are some sensational archeological discoveries — an Islamic “Qumran” or “Nag Hammadi” — the question of Muhammad’s existence will probably never be finally clarified.

Also check this out for an online petition of support for the Prof. (the site is mostly in German). Not surprisingly given that his personal security is likely to be immediately at risk. Irrespective of whether there is truth to his conclusions or not, the Prof. deserves credit for speaking up despite the obvious risks to his personal security among other challenges.

The stock market is relieved to see Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang step aside. It’s not in the least bit surprising.  After turning down an offer from Microsoft at almost three times the current stock price, the only real surprise is that Jerry Yang survived this long!

The Yahoo! Board made a huge error in judgment by appointing Jerry as the CEO. Having been with the company since its inception and never having taken the job, its a clear sign that this was a job the Jerry never really cared for. In hindsight, when Terry Semel quit, it might have been far more prudent to name Jerry the interim CEO while continuing the search for a permanent CEO . This would have given both the Board and Jerry Yang a good chance to try and make some changes (or at least some plans) while the search was still on. Next, not making cuts sooner earned the wrath of Wall Street. Turning down the Microsoft offer simply made it worse. The “falling through” of the Google deal and the drop in the share price amidst the financial meltdown simply destroyed Jerry Yang’s hope of turning the company around.

Its sad to see Yahoo! struggle. Its even worse that it has a leadership crisis in the midst of these tough times. Will Microsoft (whose search strategy is yet to make a dent) step forward again given that it can possibly buy Yahoo at less than half its original offer?

Despite his extreme support for John McCain the Democratic party appears to have forgiven Joe Lieberman. After being the Veep nominee in 2000, Senator Lieberman has had quite a “ride” but appears to have survived. President-elect Obama is believed to have chosen not to “seek vengeance” and it appears as though the majority of the elected officials in his party have backed his stance despite their dislike for Senator Lieberman’s actions. The Democrats need every vote they can get, given that the filibuster proof 60 seats in the Senate is not likely at this point. Sen. Lieberman on the other hand wants to “hold on” to his Chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Govt. Affairs committee.

His survival does imply a marriage of convenience, but it most certainly an indication that the new President believes more in re-conciliation, than retribution and settling of scores. That in itself is a welcome, positive sign.

Since the defeat in the recent US elections, the Republicans have returned to the drawing board to do some serious soul searching. Some Republicans prefer to use “math” to console themselves. Meanwhile, several young faces strive to jump to the top of the list for 2012 starting with recently transformed “media loving” Sarah Palin. The Democrats would simply love to see Sarah Palin as the future of the Republican party as there is no better way to further marginalize the GOP.

Thankfully, there are still a few sensible voices in the GOP who believe that its time to reach out to the moderates among electorate rather than let the GOP become a marginalized party of the social conservatives. Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota raised another very interesting point (in a veiled reference to the party’s obsession with Ronald Reagan) when he said “But Ronald Reagan was president a long time ago. A lot has happened since then.”

It will be interesting to see where the GOP heads in the months and years ahead. The party could chalk out a more sensible direction or simply hope that the Democrats stumble and self-destruct sometime over the next few years.