‘Iraqi Government - Paralysis by Consensus’
By Paul
The latest edition of Foreign Exchange is up. The focus this week is on Iraq, fashion giant from Spain and continuation of the discussion with Franklin Foer on soccer and globalization;
- In the United States the debate has become quite fierce: Should the US pull out of Iraq or stay the course? Has the American military become part of the problem or is it holding the country together? To get an Iraqi perspective we sit down with Laith Kubba, currently Program Director of the Middle East and North Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy, but not long ago the spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrihim Jaffari
- In Part 2 of our discussion with Franklin Foer, author of How Soccer Explains the World, we discuss how national identities are manifested through sport and how globalization is changing the way teams play soccer all over the world.
- This week’s In Focus takes us to Spain to learn the secret of a fashion giant one competitor calls “possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world.” In an era when clothing retailers outsource all their manufacturing to developing countries, one company, Zara, is having enormous success doing things differently: Much of their production stays in the region, and they spend almost nothing on advertising ( they can move the whole production chain in 2 weeks or if need be in 48 hours).
- Less than 5% of American donations go overseas. By giving to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffet has chosen to be in the minority and focus on those less fortunate in foreign countries
Related;
- A discussion with Paul Markillie, Business correspondent of The Economist- “Could [companies] have become a little bit too lean and mean in their supply chains? They’re literally using vans and aeroplanes as their mobile warehouses. Could they have taken things too far and could there be risks in the system?”, authored the recent Survey on Logistics.