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Medvedev appears to have little role in setting policy in Russia, even though he has presented a different view of liberal groups and showed interest in pluralistic democracy and free expression of opinion. Putin has expressed a very different view about liberal groups, as representing foreign interests in Russia. The media remains tightly controlled in Russia, and elections are determined in the Putin way. A mayor picked by Putin won the Sochi elections even without campaigning, as many opposition candidates were disqualified or discredited before the campaign. He won with 77% of the vote. In this way elections take place in Russia but are conducted in a way which makes it very difficult for the opposition parties, and keeps media television coverage heavily pro-government.

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Joffe says one party regimes in the Arab world have let the Palestinian issue fester because it helped them to stay in power. It helped these regimes by diverting attention and hostility to "Palestine" as an issue and creating anti-Americanism. Meanwhile the real issues of economic stagnation and lack of freedoms to debate and decide their future in a pluralistic society were set aside. Arab peoples throughout the Middle East have simply stood up for their own rights and freedoms, free of anti-Americanism and eager for American and European support.

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Saying that these countries had significantly cut imports from Iran, the U.S. government gave exemptions from the sanctions on Iran to 10 European countries and Japan. Exemptions were given to Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. This leaves 11 countries facing possible sanctions including China, India and S. Korea, with negotiations underway with these three major importers. The sanctions law passed by the U.S. Congress gives the government room to avoid damage to global oil markets and U.S. allies.

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Charlie Hebdo weekly is part of a long tradition of satirical magazines that poke fun at leaders and organized religion including Catholicism and Islam. This dates back to the days of the French Revolution. The magazine received many threats from Islamists. In January 2015 attacks by 3 young terrorists killed 12 journalists, a policeman and a police woman.

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Intervew by Deborah Solomon with former Clinton era SEC Commissioner, Arthur Levitt, captures the mood of the public in the USA. Super skepticism and disbelief about public servants, including those of some stature in the past like Levitt. The questions are suggestive of the angst and loss of innocence, and willingness to ask the straight question right out. Solomon tries to get Levitt to take responsibility for what has happened under his and others watch. What do you feel Mr Levitt about the American economic landscape and see 401 K's going up in smoke? Have you changed your spending habits? Are you kicking yourself for not having caught Madoff at his game? After you left your SEC post what led you Mr Levitt to become an adviser to the Carlyle Group, which had ties to the Bush family and defense contracting? This question grates on Levitt. He responds that it is such a Michael Moore like exaggeration, that he was an adviser to the Carlyle Group before he went to Washington. And then Ms Solomon asks the question straight out, saying that frankly she can't understand why the SEC culls its leaders from the world of high stakes investment, when there is this "capture theory" that states that regulators get co-opted by the industries they regulate if one isn't very careful. And the response from Levitt is evasive as he talks about the patriotism of the 4,100 people who served with him at the SEC. Ms Solomon isn't accepting this and calls it boosterism, telling Levitt he hasn't answered her question. Levitt tries another escape route and talks about the European system of gray bureaucrats running government agencies forever, and how refreshing the American system of repotting private sector talent to bring fresh ideas is. Solomon's steers the dialogue in another direction. She reminds him about his father Arthur Levitt Sr. , who was the New York State Comptroller for more than 20 years. Yes, says Levitt Sr.'s son, his father was passionate about defending the interests of pensioners, and his mother was a schoolteacher for 38 years. That gets Levitt reminiscing about his growing up years with his grandparents in Brooklyn, when his grandfather would check 75 used bulbs to see if one worked before using a new one. What has thrift got to do with this Solomon starts to think, after all Levitt is an adviser to the Carlyle Group. Put that in your report, yes, says Solomon, I will. Ms Solomon is getting right down to the point by now. Levitt can reminisce about the thrift about the old days, but the public wants answers. Do you feel you should apologize, does this keep you up at night? Levitt's response: not really, I'll try not to think about it. See the link to Rubin's letter of resignation from his position at Citigroup to CEO Vikram Pandit. Rubin another Clinton era adviser and Treasury Secretary, is being asked similar questions....

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An exceptional journalism story of what happened on Sept 16 and September 17, 2008, and the aftermath, by Pulliam, Rappaport, Lucchetti, Strasburg and McGinty, when Morgan Stanley stock lost more than half its value and was at risk of collapsing. What caused the collapse in price? This article shows how the biggest names in financial institutions were buying protection with credit default swaps, and as the price of these swaps skyrocketed on Sept 16 and Sept 17, the shortselling in Morgan Stanley's shares also skyrocketed. Shortselling on Sept 17 reaching nine times the normal, with 39 million shares sold short adding to the 31 million shares sold short in the prior two days, according to trading records examined by WSJ. It was at this point, on the pleas of John Mack CEO of Morgan Stanley, the SEC stepped in to temporarily suspend short selling. It is hard to clearly isolate the shortselling that went on for protection, from the shortselling for speculation, but hedge funds were involved and some of the shortselling was done to make a quick profit. Citigroup has faced the problem of losing half the share's value in a couple of days in the week of November 17, and shortselling in Citigroup's shares contributed to the collapsing stock. See the 3 graphs setup to show the influence of credit default swaps on short selling, and the on share price for Morgan Stanley. On Monday November 24, the government announced a rescue plan for Citigroup. That the uptick rule has not been reinstated as yet, means that when one looks back at this period a few years from now it will show errors in handling this economic and financial markets crisis were made, different from that in the 1930's, but with serious consequences. ...

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Senator McCain and Senators Lieberman and Graham say the U.S. is squandering goodwill of people in the Middle East by not taking action to to help the democracy movement in Syria in its struggle with the Assad regime. They say this is a unfair fight as the rebels are lightly armed and face the artillery, helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft of a brutal regime. The lack of active U.S. and European support only prolongs the struggle and cost in human lives.

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A ZDF poll in Dec. 2016 shows 64% of the German people support chancellor Merkel's decision to run for fourth term. Of CDU supporters 89% support Merkel. If the election were held today CDU/CSU would win 36%, SPD 21%, Greens 11% and FDP 5%. Schulz is a lot more popular than Sigmar Gabriel in the SPD. About 51% of the German people support Martin Schulz, current head of the European parliament, Gabriel gets only 29%. With SPD supporters Schulz has 64%. Merkel could form a government with Greens and FDP support. See the related article on Greens and CDU positions coming closer.

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A government watchdog in Germany keeps track of what members of Germany's parliament the Bundestag earn in secondary income from speaking fees and other sources. The watchdog is called Abgeordnetenwatch or parliamentarian-watch. German parliamentarians are now required to list what bracket they are in with the highest at 250,000 euros with no ceiling set. One exception is for lawyers, consultants and farmers who can avoid transparency for upto 3.3 million euros. Unusually these professional backgrounds are left as exceptions. Still Germany is making an effort in this direction where such an effort is absent in the U.S. leading to a credibility gap for established parties and politicians, and leaving an opening for criticism from outsiders who can say they have no connection to lobbyists. German members of parliament earn an income of 9300 euros a month.

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U.S. auto sales including cars and light trucks reached 17.5 million in 2015, a 5.7% increase over 2014. Larger vehicles including pickup tucks and SUV's account for about half of all auto sales in 2015, with gas prices below $2.00 a gallon in Jan 2016 in most parts of the U.S. The average transaction price was up to $34,428, according to Kelley Blue Book. Auto incentives were up to $3063 per vehicle compared to $2809 ten years earlier, according to Kelley Blue Book. Analysts say automakers will reduce margins to subsidize zero interest loans in 2016 to increase sales. Lower sales are forecast after 2017 as the market will have caught up with much of the pent up demand by then. A plus for the automakers is the lower cost of steel and other material costs, and the better cost structures after bankruptcy, and renegotiated lower union pay scales. Additional plus is new management at U.S. automakers and at Toyota, and the technological advances this management is pushing, including fuel efficiency. Ride sharing, and other services developed by Google, are seen as disrupting the traditional car model to a limited extent. Countering this new development are millenials who are accounting for a quarter of Toyota sales in the last quarter of 2015, according to a Toyota executive....

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IMF research by Ocampo and Erten shows that when adjusted for inflation since the 1970's, the prices of metals have remained about the same, food prices down 58%, and energy prices up 163%.

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Arango takes a look back at the history of Iraq- the 400 years of Ottoman rule and the role of Gertrude Bell in defining Iraq's current borders under British rule. Saddam Hussein, Maliki and Islamic State pitted Sunnis against Shiites and Sunnis against Kurds for the last 40 years, leavig a divided country. The current effort to put Iraq together as a country with different faiths and communities under prime minister Abadi will take many years after so much bloodshed. Northern Ireland shows that it can be done after much pain and loss, when all realize putting the past behind is the only way forward.

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WSJ's Trofimov talks to some of the 2.5 million refugees and displaced people in the sectarian conflict in Iraq in 2015. He finds a mood of despair and resignation to a permanent partition of the country following sectarian conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. The situation is being dictated by the facts on the ground as the refugees see little prospect of returning to their homes, and the different regions controlled by Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish forces with borders.

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Zalmay Khalizad, a former diplomat to Iraq, reports from Iraq after discussions with prominent Iraqis, describes the state of U.S. relations with Iraq under the Abadi government. He says the Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq prime minister Abadi, and Iraqi public opinion, now favor improved relations with the U.S. following the sectarianism promoted by prime minister Maliki and Iran's expanded role in Iraq. Other reports show Iraqi opinion in transition as the U.S. withdrawal promoted by Maliki has led to 2 million refugees, and huge dislocation of people with the expansion of Islamic State from Syria into Iraq. The change in opinion is also towards promoting better relations with Sunni countries. People in the region do not see a bright future with an increase in religious tensions that only lead to more destructive behaviours and increase in refugees. Towards the end of the Bush administration there was some hope that Iraq would see a bright future, only to see this reversed under Maliki's sectarian policies. U.S. public opinion has shifted away from any involvement following the failure of the people in the region to resolve differences and live peacefully. The cost of the wars with little gained as a result of the failure of the people in the region to work together in the common interest is a part of the public debate in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. Sectarianism in the region is the root cause of the growth of the Islamic State and the expansion of the war in Syria, and this has not only worsened the situation for the people in the region, delayed economic development given large oil resources, and left the region worse off than before. It has also led to the refugee flow into Europe worsening the situation in the European Union, adding to tensions in European societies such as France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, following terrorist attacks and political parties promoting fear of immigrants. What started as a U.S. response to terrorism originating in this region in New York, followed by the war in Iraq, has led to more convulsions in this region, a huge number of refugees, whole country populations displaced, and requires a fresh rethinking about what people in the region can do to live and work together and promote the peaceful participation of people in their own development and growth, before Western societies consider further involvement. The statement about lost to Iran in the title also suggests framing of statements in the old way that are the root of the problem. When the dust settles years from now Iranians, Iraqis, Saudis, Yemeni, Turkish, Pakistani, Indian and other Muslim societies may want to look back at this period as reflecting the dangers of getting caught up in the geopolitics of world powers, letting religious sentiment override calmer thinking, and reflect on the brighter aspects of the common Islamic heritage in Iran, Turkey, India, expressed humanly as it is always is in different ways and forms. They can also take hope and confidence in the fact that European societies have struck the same rocks and emerged calmer, wiser, and better than before....

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Under a new agreement reached between the new Iraqi government of prime minister Haider al-Abadi and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, Kurdistan will export 250,000 barrels of oil a day in 2015, and the province of Kirkuk will export 300,000 barrels a day. Exports will be made under the Iraq national oil company, SOMO (State Organization for Marketing of Oil). Kurdistan will get 17% of Iraq's budget expenditure, Kurds will sit on the SOMO board, and Kurdish Peshmerga army will get direct monthly payments from Iraq's budget. Earlier in 2014 talks had broken down under the Maliki government- Kurdistan began exports using a pipeline to Turkey and the Iraqi government cut off budget payments to the Kurdistan Regional Government. Iraq's oil minister Abdul-Mehdi said in Vienna after an OPEC meeting in November that Iraq has set a production target of 3.8 million barrels a day for 2015. This is an increase of 500,000 barrels a day compared to production in Oct. 2014.

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There is cramped space for renters and limited supply of housing space per capita in Shanghai, China. After a decade of hyper building China still lacks affordable housing space. The residential space per capita in Shanghai is only 183 square feet or 17 square metres per person- about the size of a small room. And estimates by GK Dragonomics Research show one third of China's 225 million households lack kitchens and plumbing. At the same time housing is increasingly unaffordable for the middle class. Government restrictions on price increases reflect growing concern with the fact that the average Shanghai residential home sold for about $276,000 in 2011, even though annual per capita income in Shanghai is about $13,000. Prices for homes in Shanghai increased 2.6 times in 5 years, according to the Shanghai Urban Real Estate Surveyors Company. With the slowdown in construction developers are working through inventories, and more homes were sold than built in 2012, compared to about 1.5 units built for every unit sold in 2011. ...

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Muhammad Azhar Ali, factory manager for National Foods plant near Karanchi, Pakistan, describes what it is like running a manufacturing operation in Pakistan. National Foods is the largest manufacturer of pickles and other spice products in Pakistan. A big problem is the lack of security and terrorism. This remains a constant cause of anxiety for business people in Pakistan. Its like being in a war zone says the National Foods chairman Abdul Majeed. Another major problem is lack of reliable electricity supplies. Supply of electricity is only one third of national demand in Pakistan. Larger companies such as Lucky Cement generate their own electricity, with Lucky Cement producing 150 megawatts from its plants. Smaller companies like National Foods rely on diesel generators. To conserve electricity many factory, floor office and bathroom lights are turned off. For workers the lack of electric supplies and high inflation affect lives in many ways. National Foods has a weighing department and assesses workers picked up from many parts of Karanchi to see if they are fit for work or are unduly stressed from poor living conditions. This is a side of Pakistani life that is rarely touched on-the daily lives of workers and managers. Ali works harder than other production managers in other countries because of the power shortages and lack of security. He would like to devote time to increase productivity and be more like other production managers. The war with the Taliban has cost Pakistan $68 billion in destroyed infrastructure, security costs, lost foreign investment according to one estimate. ...

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Libyan lawyer and human rights activist Azza Kamel Maghur, fled earlier this year to Canada with his 3 year old daughter. He writes about the people of Tripoli rising up against the Gaddafi regime. At the same time rebels were closing in on Tripoli in the third week of August 2011. He describes the Al Zuhur neighborhood of Tripoli on the day when the evening call to prayer from the Ben Nabi and Buhmeira mosques rang out longer than usual. This time a signal for people to take to the streets. Some of the youth were shot by snipers from rooftops of buildings. The struggle to free Tripoli was taking place. The carefully planned signal was coordinated with the rebels advance and NATO airstrikes. It enabled the rebels to advance quickly into the city.

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The vote count in Indonesia for 13 million election ballots shows Joko Widodo with 53.15% of the vote and Prabowo Subianto with 46.85% of the vote. Voter turnout was 70%. The margin for Widodo was 8.5 million votes according to the elecion commission. Former president Yudhoyono served a maximum term of 10 years since his election in 2004. The democratic period began in 1998 with the fall of army general Suharto who ruled Indonesia for several decades.

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Interview with Honda CEO Takeo Fukui. In June Honda will rollout a new hydrogenpowered fuel cell vehicle called the FCX Clarity. Its powered with electricity produced by combining hydrogen and oxygen in batterylike fuel cells. Honda will have this vehicle available for lease this summer in California and aims to deliver about 200 of these cars by 2010. Fukui's attitude is refreshing when compared to that of other automakers when answering a question by John Murphy of the WSJ about why try to build a hydrogen car when the stations to power the cars do not exist yet. He tells Murphy if you asked were there any gas stations when Henry Ford came up with the Model T, there weren't any, lets build the cars first and the infrastructure will follow. And Honda is working on the technology that will make it possible to charge hydrogen into fuel-cell vehicles at home . He sees it happening first in California and some other states, and in Japan and Europe. And he sees it taking about 10 years to get some sort of infrastructure in place. Considering the long term nature of the demand side with the gradual inclusion of billions of people in China and India as well as Brazil and Russia into the world economy as well as people in other developing countries this is a solution that takes patient and focused development of technology which Honda is setting out to do. He does not see a safety issue in use of hydrogen vehicles as he is confident Honda can develop the expertise to handle the safety issue for hydrogen. What is his thinking on green vehicles? What happened to the Insight the first hybrid car that Honda introduced? The Insight was never intended to be a mass seller, only to establish Honda's record as having the best record in fuel efficiency. What is Honda doing in this area. Honda does see a problem in this area. Toyota he says developed a green image largely on the back of one car the Prius. Honda will come up in 2009 with a dedicated hybrid vehicle to match the Prius. And Honda is setting the bar high for this Honda hybrid, saying that his feeling that this model will have to overwhelm and overtake the Prius. He goes on to say that this is key for us. Honda he says will take on the challenge and compete with Toyota with its products, its technology, and its racing spirit. This gasoline-electric hybrid will be introduced early next year in the USA, Japan, and Europe, and it will be the first of 4 hybrid models Honda will introduce by 2015. Regarding price the company says it will be "affordable". Honda's goal is to sell 500,000 hybrid vehicles a year. Toyota aims to sell 1 million hybrid vehicles early in the next decade and is working on developing its own hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Is Honda developing electric cars? Takeo Fukui thinks the practical feasibility of the electric vehicle is very limited. The two biggest issues in his view being driving distance and recharging time. The FCX Clarity can be recharged in one minute, compared to the several hours for an electric vehicle. In his view the electric vehicles will be uselful only for restricted applications like golf carts. Nissan and General Motors are planning to launch electric vehicles. What is Honda's environmental strategy? Honda being a smaller company has to focus its resources wisely with strategic choices. His focus is on the hybrid as the core product, and after that comes fuel cell and clean diesel as the core products to tackle fuel eficiency and CO2 issues. Takeo has spent more than a decade on Honda's racing teams. He drives a CR-V and enjoys driving up and down the mountains, does not race but does get on Honda's test track once or twice a year. And what has he learned from all the years in racing. When he was fully engaged in the motorcycle racing teams he says the pressure was very high and if they did not do well they got bashed by managers and the media. And actually the results were disappointing for years and the teams kept losing. For hime the series of difficulties and challenges was something that he feels everyone should experience because in some ways he acquired wisdom and creativity to get through these experiences. This is some thing Honda and Fukui will need as they try to develop their own hybrid to take the lead from Toyota and come up with industry leading technology in tackling fuel efficiency and CO2 issues. His own approach to management? Two things he always keeps in mind are take time to keep up good communication with associates at work, and testing Honda's own products with his own hands. What does he think about the auto industry in 2008, is it a turning point? He says it has becom clear in 2008 that a company has to have the technology to deal with carborn dioxide and fuel efficiency issues. And its clear that smaller vehicles are more attractive than larger vehicles. And its possible he says that we may go back from automobiles to motorcycles. In fact in India Honda is promoting motorcycles in a big way, while Tata is developing the Nano for mass market, so Takeo is talking about something that Honda sees happening in some places. ...

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Over 60% of GM revenues in North America come from larger vehicles and SUV's. This is the situation as oil prices are rising and change is sweeping across the Middle East. Another problem is overcapacity in the auto industry. The overinvestment is highlighted by the recent decision of Geely to invest $10 billion in Volvo to double production to 800,000 units over 5 years. The car industry can produce 94 million cars the Economist magazine estimates, and demand worldwide is only 64 million. One estimate shows production capacity could reach 40 million in China by 2015!