Switzerland tops the list as the best country brand globally, according to the Country Brand Index, out today from global brand consultancy FutureBrand. As a symbol of economic, cultural and social stability in our tumultuous world, Switzerland “shows that the cultivation of freedom, tolerance, transparency and environmentalism can put a country’s brand ahead—even in difficult economic times,” says FutureBrand Global Chairman Chris Nurko. “On a human level, Switzerland is also a country geared around its people and their needs.” As a result, the country supplanted two-time leader Canada by scoring high marks in CBI’s Value System dimension, including impressive scores it the political freedom, environmental friendliness and stable legal environment attributes.
“Closed can not fight open. It can not find purchase to land a blow. Microsoft has fought a decades-long war against Linux, only to lose the battle conclusively as the world moves to smartphones (Android), and embedded devices (such as the Light) running Linux. Windows may remain dominant on the desktop for another decade, but computing has moved on. Linux won the long game. When we release the detailed designs to build your own Light – as we will do next week – we undermine any effort from any closed competitor to treat their intellectual property as anything other than ephemera that only has value only insofar as it helps others in their own efforts to hack light. We are not doing this as an intentional effort to destroy anyone’s business; we are doing it because we believe in openness. Yet openness renders closed business styles uncompetitive. Not immediately, and not completely, but gradually and largely.”
At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was denied. There were no communications problems at the annex, according those present at the compound. The team was in constant radio contact with their headquarters. In fact, at least one member of the team was on the roof of the annex manning a heavy machine gun when mortars were fired at the CIA compound. The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested back-up support from a Spectre gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights. The fighting at the CIA annex went on for more than four hours — enough time for any planes based in Sigonella Air base, just 480 miles away, to arrive. Fox News has also learned that two separate Tier One Special operations forces were told to wait, among them Delta Force operators.
Technologist Paul Carr recently described the term disruption as “the faddish Silicon Valley concept which essentially boils down to, “let us do whatever we want, otherwise we’ll bully you on the Internet until you do.” (So, answer: we fail because we’re self-interested.)
“There is continual disruption in our industry,” Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti writes, “and you are likely to fail if you get complacent or stop evolving.” (So, answer: because we stop caring.)
The word is everywhere, but it means less with each passing minute. Is there anyone out there actually trying to, as they like to say in corporate boardrooms, move the needle?
Pontin explores the idea in his lengthy feature, citing four reasons why we fail to, as they like to say in baseball dugouts, swing for the fences. (Can you write about disruption without employing cliches? Certainly, but there are so many invented specifically to speak to this very concept.)
Cities Taken By Islamists Click on Image to Enlarge
Algeria: The Algerian government has given tacit approval for an African-led military intervention in Mali so long as there are no troops stationed on Algerian soil.
Comment: This means that Algeria will try to help by sealing its border with Mali once the intervention begins [never mind the Tauregs behind their lines].
Mali: Update. News services reported today that the prospect of a war in northern Mali against fundamentalist Islamists and al-Qaida affiliates advanced significantly after European governments promised to back an international force to retake the region from Islamist groups, provided it is led by soldiers from African countries.
While preparations continue to retake the north, foreign jihadists reportedly are arriving in northern Mali to reinforce the Islamic militants.
Comment: This week's major development is that the Europeans promised to finance the operations. The problems of operating in northern Mali are enormous, requiring extensive resources just to sustain supplies of ammunition, fuel, food and water, not to omit coordination between forces from different states. The supply problems alone would tax a modern military force from a single nation.
A multi-national operation compounds the problems exponentially, especially if English-speaking and French-speaking forces try to cooperate. France and its NATO allies must provide the communications, maintenance, intelligence and supply backbone or this intervention will stand no chance of success. It looks like another Libya operation. No matter how the operations are presented to the public, the US will be doing much of the heavy lifting because no other nation in the world can. That is why the US has an Africa Command.
Below the line: various map images and airports with runway lengths.
