A record number of 186 – voted on Tuesday for the abolition of the U.S. embargo against Cuba.  At the meeting of the UN General Assembly, Washington was supported only by Israel and the Republic Palau.

According to Cuban authorities, the total losses from the embargo to the Cuban economy since the early 1960s were $ 104 billion.

However, the U.S. representative who was at the meeting, said that the financial problems of the island, is a result of Havana’s irresponsible policy and not the embargo that was made by Washington.

Unilateral American trade and economic embargo against Cuba works since 1961. In January 2009, when Barack Obama came to power, he proclaimed the intention to soften the policy regarding Havana. In April 2009, Washington has canceled numbers of restrictions for Americans. Now US citizens are allowed to travel to Cuba and to transfer money to the island.

However, the United States upheld the unilateral trade embargo regarding Cuba. Washington wants Havana to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners from jails and to respect the fundamental rights of Cuban citizens.

I still can’t understand. How Cuba was supposed to survive? What planet was Cuba supposed to trade with? What country was Cuba supposed to trade with? USA is an “incredible” country, it amazes me.

Recently, it is been known that Apple won Samsung in “Patent War”, in which, the Korean company had to pay Apple billions of dollars. One of the main reasons was that Samsung illegally copied the design of icons: a square with rounded corners. However, at this time Apple went even further and patented the general form of its tablet devices – “rectangle with rounded corners”. (LOL) It means that Apple now has rights to sue almost everyone who produces the tablets, because almost all companies produce tablets with that shape.

In my opinion, it is absolutely unfair to patent a simple form – a rectangle, as it contradicts common sense, because rectangle is known by humankind since the big “bang times”. Now, it is not clear whether the patent covers all tablets with rounded corners, or it is only related to those tablets with 4:3 proportions, while most competitors produce in 16:9 or 16:10 proportions. Anyways, Apple now has a powerful weapon against its competitors and obviously they will try to use it.

Perhaps the need for that strategy was due to the fact that Apple has “some” problems on the stock market: Apple’s tablet market share has dropped from 65% to 50.4%, which is associated primarily with the release of the budget tablet Nexus 7 from Google. Moreover, since iPhone 5’s release Apple’s share prices have fallen from $ 700 to $527, while sales of its main competitor – Samsung Galaxy S III, only increased.

Well, now Apple has a great chance to revenge on its competitors, because every TV set, monitors, and even cutting boards have a form of “a rectangle with rounded edges”. (LOL) 

It looks like the iPhone 5 is a fail than a triumph for “Fruity” company. Apple shares reached $700 for the first time ever a few days after the iPhone 5 was announced. Since then, “the company’s stock has declined on fears about iPhone 5 supply constraints — most recently from reports of a strike at Foxconn, Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partner”. As of November 18^th, the company’s market capital fell down to $497 billion. As a result, Apple lost about $162 billion in market capital from the peak reached on the day the iPhone 5 was launched. As a comparison, that’s more than the current market capital of these companies altogether:

• EBay – 60 billions.
• LinkedIn – 10 billions.
• Sony – 10 billions.
• Nokia – 10 billions.
• TD – 70 billion (YES IT IS TORONTO DOMINION BANK).

As of November 18, Apple’s stock was trading at around $527 a share, valuing the company at $497 billion.

So, why the company loses its share price? Here are two assumptions of mine:

1. Left hook – Kindle Fire HD which is cheaper than Ipad mini, has a better resolution and a faster processor.
2. Right uppercut – Google’s new product line. The most dangerous are new Google Nexus smartphone and IPads’ 10 inch analog. Google’s products’ specs are better than Apple’s; moreover Google’s products are cheaper. Just look at the upper chart.

Wall Street Journal says that Google thinks about the possibility to start providing mobile services. Google has already held talks with the satellite TV provider Dish Network about partnership.  It intends to compete with companies such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T. However, the talks between Google and Dish Network have not yet led to any agreements.

Verizon Wireless and AT&T are the two largest mobile operators in the United States. Verizon Wireless has over 111 million users, while AT&T serves more than 105 million customers, as of the second quarter of the current year.

It is worth noting that Google is actively involved in the creation of public wireless internet connection hot spots. For example, company currently offers free Wi-Fi access in Mountain View, where its headquarters are located. It allows you to connect to the network for free.

Earlier it was reported that Google has decided to diversify its activities and become an Internet service provider. Google says that its internet speed a hundred times faster than conventional offerings from providers. The first connection to Google’s fiber optic networks was Kansas State.

Now, does everything Google is doing mean that Larry Page and Sergey Brin are trying to create a super IT conglomerate that will bring tons of money by selling the information about us to advertising companies? Or does that mean that Google will sell all information about its customers to CIA, so CIA can control the masses?  You can make an analysis by yourself:

1. Google Maps – is able to find your location. If you are an “unnecessary” element for the government, CIA will be easily find your location and make you to disappear.
2. Google Search engine – is able to gather the information about your interests.
3. YouTube – is a mass media. It is known that mass media is able to delude the masses.
4. If Google will launch its mobile services, it will mean that Google will be able to tap our phones.

The list can go on and on. We don’t know whether it’s true or not. You decide. In my opinion either ways are not ethical. If Google is really selling the information to CIA it is immoral and it should be stopped.

Kumtor is a gold mine in Kyrgyz Republic which is operated by Centerra Gold Inc. (Centerra is a Canadian mining company  TSX: CG). The mine and the output of the mine 100% belongs to Centerra. Kyrgyz government and Centerra revised the contract in 2009, which gave to government a 33% of stocks in the company(it was ). According to the Telegraph, “The Kumtor mine accounts for more than half of [Kyrgyzstan’s] industrial output and generates about an eighth of its national income.”

In 2012 some Kyrgyz politicians (btw.I am from Kyrgyzstan) claimed Centerra that they are over polluting the environment in Kumtor area, and it is going to lead to the ecological disaster across the country, so they want to close the enterprise. Basically, what these politicians are trying to do is to kick Canadians out of the country and then to nationalize the mine, so that is why they are making up all kind of complaints. It is obvious that even if Canadians will leave the country, Kyrgyzstan will continue to operate the mine and nothing is going to change. However, in July 2012, Kyrgyz parliament voted against nationalizing Kumtor.

In my opinion if Canadians will leave the country (they will not), we will not be able to operate the mine and we will be bankrupted. Moreover we will lose faith of all foreign investors. If Kyrgyzstan will lose investors, we will not be able to develop the economy. There are 3,738 workers on Kumtor mine. What is going to happen if all of them will lose their jobs? It means that 3,738 families will be left without food. As many other deputies, I am against of nationalizing Kumtor.

 “Let them work, do not bother them!”(me)

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/25/trouble-in-kyrgyzstan-centerras-kumtor-gold-mine-is-under-political-attack/

 “Hey, I just bought new Galaxy S3 and it is made by the 14 years old Chinese guy, who worked 10 hours just to get a piece of bread, but whatever Idon’t care…cuz I’ve got my brand new S3 ”

Samsung – well known, top rated high tech Manufacturing Corporation that sells its products across the world. Consumers, who all around the world use Samsung’s phones, computers, tablets and even Samsung cars, don’t even know how Samsung produces its products. It is appeared that the highly innovativecompany does not compliance with law. The New York-based NGO China Labor Watch says that “employees working more than 100 hours of overtime in a month; children under 16 working in factories; failure to provide safety clothing where appropriate.”  Workers on the factories of Samsung want to have more overtime. It does not mean that the things in those factories are going well and people are happy to work there. Samsung pays miserable salary to its workers, so workers want more overtime. Samsung purposely pays them poor salary, so employees literally beg them to get more hours to work. Now let’s look at the Apple’s case, where Apple orders some parts of their gadgets to the Chinese manufacturing company named Foxconn. Foxconn does not compliance with law as well. The environment where Foxconn’s employees work is terrible, but Foxconn is not Aplle, so Apple not guilty here. Now, let’s return to Samsung again, in comparison to Apple, Samsung has its own factories and its own workers. It means that Samsung should be responsible for the workers, so we can say that Samsung earns their money by using mean ways. They earn their money by the hands of little children. So it is a big business ethics issue