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lonelylife31 · 4 years

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CEMEX: Globalization “The CEMEX Way”.

Where is this happening? In which country? Describe the business environment of the places mentioned in the case.

The case is based, on a Mexican company called "Cementos de Mexico" for the acronym "CEMEX". It's a cement company which opened in 1982 and across 15 years’ operating they are located in a lot of countries like Spain, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Philippines, US and, in 2007 Australia. It is happening in Mexico all this process of internationalization where they apply a strategy called CEMEX way, which is based that you need to apply more advance management techniques to do things better.

In the 25 years leading up to the Rinker deal, CEMEX had evolved from a small, privately-owned, cement-focused Mexican company of 6,500 employees and $275 million in revenue to a publicly-traded, global leader of 65,000 employees with a presence in 50 countries and $21.7 billion in annual revenue in 2007. (Lessard, 2009)

When did it happen? Mention what was going on in the world at that particular time.

In those years of internationalization CEMEX at first started to export their goods, in this case, cement. They realized that it was business and, they were impacting a big market so, they decided to go further, go beyond what they wanted to do.

Well before its first significant step toward international expansion in 1992, CEMEX had developed a set of core competencies that would shape its later trajectory including strong operational capabilities based on engineering and IT, and a culture of transparency. It also had mastered the art of acquisition and integration within Mexico, having grown though acquisitions over the years. Between 1987 and 1989 alone, the company spent $1 billion in order to solidify its position at home. (Lessard, 2009)

It is well - known that the globalization arrives in Mexico in 1994 where the country decided to be part of the World Trade Organization giving space to the Free Trade Agreement, between Canada and the United States. Offer to Mexico an excellent opportunity to watch at their national companies’ talent and, starting to create alliances with the members of WTO.

What is the overall business situation? Describe it at length.

In its financial report, the company indicated that net sales in the first quarter of 2020 reached USD 3,085 million, a figure similar to USD 3,094 million in the same period a year ago.

However, the executive added, the company responded "quickly to this health crisis, focusing on three priorities": health and safety of employees and suppliers, customer support, and measures to protect the future of the company.

In addition, senior managers have voluntarily ceded part of their salary, and capital expenditures, operating expenses, production levels and inventory are being "suspended or reduced" in order to improve cash. (Infobae, 2020)

Due to COVID - 19, a lot of companies did not expect close through a long time and, begin their operations months later. Nevertheless, when CEMEX started its operations, it seems truly beneficial for them because compared to last year, they achieve a better utility for the company.

Like all the companies in the country, unfortunately, at the beginning of the lockdown, most of them close or even fail because of the situation of the country. In this case, CEMEX showed weak in the first months, but with good planning and handling means, they got their utility like one of the best. It varies with the other countries, most of them the per cent increase compared to last year but in another decrease.

The presence of these companies and the way they are working offering jobs it is nice to see it because in a country like Mexico where the pandemic hit harder, the fact that the economy needs to reactivate for the economic growth is such a task that the government and transnational companies that contribute to GDP must handle.

Thanks to this company who opened their operations, they could get better in the profits with a good balance between the countries where they are set.

Define the problem and list all the variables that affect it, explaining why?

Amid a sharp drop in the construction sector and the decrease in infrastructure works in Mexico, Cemex's net sales at the end of 2019 registered a 3% decline, consolidating $ 13.13 billion.

In its annual results report, the cement company reported that last year it registered an 11% decrease in its operating cash flow (Ebitda, by its figures in English), while the net profit of the controlling party fell 73%. (Expansión, 2020)

Lower public investment in infrastructure. In Mexico, on this new government, the money which must invest in public infrastructure it is not well administrated. Most of the money is like a gift for social causes for the vulnerable society in Mexico however, this thing generates conflict between companies and the GDP will be affected because there is no economic growth and this cause that the company reduce their operations with a cost opportunity.

Construction permit suspensions in Mexico City. Talking about the government too, they are the pillar of CEMEX's operations because their works must be allowed by them. If the government refuse to permit them, they will be no capacity to start their operations because there is legal stuff that they must follow.

Investment. CEMEX planned to invest in the company for a better resolution and to generate profits for them and give to the other companies located in the foreign market for a better profit increase. Remember that without investment, we can keep advancing with our company and started to the part of innovation, knowing that they are a transnational company.

Who else is involved? Mention all the people, companies and institutions that are involved in the whole situation, explaining the existing connections between them.

Government. In general terms, the permission, and the way the government are administrated for the leaders.

Capufe.

Provide comprehensive quality road services associated with the operation, conservation, administration, modernization and exploitation of roads and toll bridges as a concessionaire and contract service provider, which facilitate the movement of goods and people safely, comfortably, quickly and economically. , in an efficient, competitive and sustainable way with a framework of transparency and accountability, to contribute to the expansion and integration of the national network of roads and toll bridges, forming a human team that finds its motivation in self-improvement and the spirit of service. (CAPUFE, 2020)

The relation between CAPUFE and CEMEX is the part of permission too, however, in this case, is that this is the client potential where CEMEX lend its services and being stopped by this organism can be a problem.

Entering the world of business with CEMEX

Before we talk about CEMEX's company, let us have a review of the most successful business in Latin America. It is well - known that a company, is defined by its profits and influence in the market, how these companies use the innovation to be better every day and the way they grow through the years. Good administration is another factor of success.

Now, what is CEMEX?

A company focused on creating sustainable value by providing industry-leading products and solutions to satisfy the construction needs of our customers around the world. We strive to make the future better for our customers, our shareholders, and our communities by becoming the world's most efficient and innovative building materials company. (CEMEX, 2020) Strategically positioned across the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Their business environment is very complex; however, these are the most important factors in the company.

Business + Financial

Create value for our shareholders through a forward-looking growth strategy and disciplined fund allocation. Our vertically integrated portfolio of cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete—tailored to each market’s needs—provides us with the opportunity to manage our assets as one integrated business rather than as distinct businesses, further improving our operational efficiency and profitability.

CEMEX, remark that they adapt to the market needs and, in this way, they are creating value. There are a thousand of companies who dedicate to the same industry as CEMEX, but they are making the difference with the financial strategies because there is financial information for investors, so, they can decide if the company is profitable.

Relationship with costumers.

They are very close to their customers, adapting the product like in the business strategy they can be allowed to bring quality products and services for their needs on construction.

Sustainable Development.

Nowadays, companies have to implement sustainable development because the planet is changing through the years and the industries must be aware of the impact they are creating on the ecosystem doing social and environments actions to decrease the problems that the world are facing up the past few years.

Innovation

This goes handle with sustainable solutions because innovation allows us to be better, to improve what we have and offer it to the market by being different from competence. CEMEX is creating a cement that cannot harm the environment with laboratory investigations and tests.

Operational Efficiency

CEMEX constantly seek to improve our performance as an efficient, agile, and innovative company by identifying, sharing, and implementing best practices across our global network of plants and facilities.

They constantly create and develop methodologies that serve as the framework for our daily tasks.

Corporate Governance + Ethics

CEMEX committed to abide by the laws and regulations of every jurisdiction in which we operate. Nonetheless, we recognize that our strict adherence to the law is not enough to run a global organization. Beyond compliance, our commitment—to ourselves, our investors, and to all of our stakeholders—is to manage CEMEX with integrity. Everything we do rests on this foundation.

These are the essence of their business environment on the company we know that CEMEX is an international company set in a lot of countries creating agreements to be there. Their first step of international trade was the export of the cement when in 1985, Mexico entered the NAFTA and, CEMEX took advantage of it to starting look forward to entering on new foreign markets.

The way CEMEX could enter the foreign markets was by the acquisition way, where they bought firms to set the industry in those countries. There is a thing called "CEMEX Way" which refers to the strategy that they used and still using nowadays to set on a foreign market. The CEMEX way composes in these guidelines:

Efficiently manage the global knowledge base;

Identify and disseminate best practices;

Standardize business processes;

Implement key information and Internet-based technologies;

Foster innovation.

International CEMEX’s Presence:

USA, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Guyana, Egypt, UAE, Philippines.

Construction sector in Mexico.

According to the construction sector’s economic research centre (Centro de Estudios Económicos del Sector de la Construcción, CEESCO), the sector represents the fourth-largest value-added activity in the country. Ranked behind manufacturing, commerce and real estate services, it constitutes roughly 8% of GDP.

Construction is also the country’s second-largest source of employment, after agriculture, accounting for 15.7% of the workforce and creating 6m direct jobs. Moreover, CEESCO reports that the industry is closely linked with many other areas of the Mexican economy. For every 100 pesos spent on construction, 45 pesos goes towards purchasing goods and services from 176 of the economy’s other 262 productive branches. (Oxford Business Group, 2018)

As we can watch, the construction company is a fundamental part of the GDP in Mexico. The investment of infrastructure in the country is decreasing. However, the construction companies are open to the private and public sector it depends on their clients and who they will work too.

CEMEX in Mexico has 11 cement plants and mills and 95 land distribution centres with 8 marine terminals.

Every industry in the world is defined by its elements of primary, secondary and, the tertiary sector, which give us an image about what is their specialization and the process they make to be part of one of these sectors.

Primary activities of CEMEX:

Extracts raw materials from the land or at sea. The process of extracting mineral deposits must fit in with the government’s Regional Minerals Plan. This specifies how much material needs to be extracted to ensure a fair balance across the country.

Secondary activities:

Heating clay and chalk fuses the raw materials together. The resulting materials are ground to powder as cement. The cement plants need permits from the industry regulator, the Environment Agency. CEMEX also produces ready mixed concrete, asphalt and concrete products in specialist plants. These require planning permission from local authorities and are also regulated by the Environment Agency.

Tertiary activities:

Distributes raw materials and finished goods to customers for the construction of houses, schools, hospitals, bridges, offices and transport links:

Aggregates provide the base for all types of construction products.

Cement is sold in bulk to make ready mixed concrete and concrete products and in bags to builders’ merchants for individuals to buy.

Ready mixed concrete and concrete products are sold to residential, commercial, and public contractors. (Finantial Chronicles, 2020)

Culture and diversity:

Diversity is a relevant component of our Human Rights Policy, we support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights principles, as expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. CEMEX people are free to express their opinions, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and we support equal opportunity and treatment for all men and women. No individual should experience discrimination, marginalization or have their talents or contributions excluded because of conscious or unconscious bias. CEMEX’s commitment is to look for ways to provide all our employees with equal opportunities to pursue and advance in their professional and personal careers. (CEMEX, 2020)

Diversity and inclusion are aspects with a degree of importance nowadays because it is very clear that in some countries when you are going to apply for a job, you can be judged by the way you look, talk, gender, nationality, health, etcetera. In the 21st Century, those aspects started to decrease in companies, because that is a discrimination manner to our integrity as humans.

Like professional, we must be judged by our knowledge, experience, mentality, and personality, I mean, the things inside us not outside us like a physical way.

The United Nations Organization created 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Which are implemented in companies for help the most important problems in the world, for example, no poverty, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, life on land, life below water, etcetera. CEMEX apply these goals on its company join to the cause. The CEMEX SDGs are quality education, gender equality, reducing inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and partnership for the goals.

This is the current situation of CEMEX around the world:

One of the leaders in each of our core businesses: cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates

Strategically positioned across the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia

Trade relationships in 102 nations and one of the world’s top traders of cement and clinker

More than 40,000 employees worldwide

Not too bad for a company who's been in the market a long time ago and keep generating incomes around the world. Now, let's go for the most important case in this story, the numbers, one of the special things that investors like to check out. How well did CEMEX be a year ago?

The graphic is an imbalance of the last 5 years but for the numbers on the last board is not too bad for the company.

For a big company, these numbers are not bad, and we can watch that they maintain the financial system. Companies that can maintain like this are a few, CEMEX has been doing an amazing work through the years.

Like all the companies in the world, they must have policies that allow us to understand a better work environment and ethic of the company. This is a part where we realize how problems are solved and the way they deal with it too. These are a few that we found on their website so by the titles we can have a vision about the content of it.

Anti – corruption.

Anti – money laundering

Code of Ethics.

We realized that CEMEX is a huge company with an international presence in more than 30 countries they use sustainability for being a good industry that won't harm the environment. Their social projects are helping a per cent of Mexicans that are founded in a vulnerable situation. The expansion strategy is something that we can talk too.

Most of the Mexican companies should learn of CEMEX they handled a strategy that worked well on them now they are one of the companies who represent the country, is a part of the GPD and they contribute to the economic growth of Mexico.

We should move on and keep innovating our products or services to be at the same time equal or even better than the competence and raise the name of Mexico higher. Let us work together, let's make a better country, help your people, consume local things and, we will see how our companies keep growing to decrease the unemployment rate. It is up to you if you want to make a change in our environment. Where is this happening? In which country? Describe the business environment of the places mentioned in the case. The case is based, on a Mexican company called "Cementos de Mexico" for the acronym "CEMEX". It's a cement company which opened in 1982 and across 15 years’ operating they are located in a lot of countries like Spain, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Philippines, US and, in 2007 Australia. It is happening in Mexico all this process of internationalization where they apply a strategy called CEMEX way, which is based that you need to apply more advance management techniques to do things better.In the 25 years leading up to the Rinker deal, CEMEX had evolved from a small, privately-owned, cement-focused Mexican company of 6,500 employees and $275 million in revenue to a publicly-traded, global leader of 65,000 employees with a presence in 50 countries and $21.7 billion in annual revenue in 2007. (Lessard, 2009) When did it happen? Mention what was going on in the world at that particular time. In those years of internationalization CEMEX at first started to export their goods, in this case, cement. They realized that it was business and, they were impacting a big market so, they decided to go further, go beyond what they wanted to do.Well before its first significant step toward international expansion in 1992, CEMEX had developed a set of core competencies that would shape its later trajectory including strong operational capabilities based on engineering and IT, and a culture of transparency. It also had mastered the art of acquisition and integration within Mexico, having grown though acquisitions over the years. Between 1987 and 1989 alone, the company spent $1 billion in order to solidify its position at home. (Lessard, 2009)It is well - known that the globalization arrives in Mexico in 1994 where the country decided to be part of the World Trade Organization giving space to the Free Trade Agreement, between Canada and the United States. Offer to Mexico an excellent opportunity to watch at their national companies’ talent and, starting to create alliances with the members of WTO. What is the overall business situation? Describe it at length. In its financial report, the company indicated that net sales in the first quarter of 2020 reached USD 3,085 million, a figure similar to USD 3,094 million in the same period a year ago.However, the executive added, the company responded "quickly to this health crisis, focusing on three priorities": health and safety of employees and suppliers, customer support, and measures to protect the future of the company.In addition, senior managers have voluntarily ceded part of their salary, and capital expenditures, operating expenses, production levels and inventory are being "suspended or reduced" in order to improve cash. (Infobae, 2020)Due to COVID - 19, a lot of companies did not expect close through a long time and, begin their operations months later. Nevertheless, when CEMEX started its operations, it seems truly beneficial for them because compared to last year, they achieve a better utility for the company. Like all the companies in the country, unfortunately, at the beginning of the lockdown, most of them close or even fail because of the situation of the country. In this case, CEMEX showed weak in the first months, but with good planning and handling means, they got their utility like one of the best. It varies with the other countries, most of them the per cent increase compared to last year but in another decrease.The presence of these companies and the way they are working offering jobs it is nice to see it because in a country like Mexico where the pandemic hit harder, the fact that the economy needs to reactivate for the economic growth is such a task that the government and transnational companies that contribute to GDP must handle.Thanks to this company who opened their operations, they could get better in the profits with a good balance between the countries where they are set. Define the problem and list all the variables that affect it, explaining why? Amid a sharp drop in the construction sector and the decrease in infrastructure works in Mexico, Cemex's net sales at the end of 2019 registered a 3% decline, consolidating $ 13.13 billion.In its annual results report, the cement company reported that last year it registered an 11% decrease in its operating cash flow (Ebitda, by its figures in English), while the net profit of the controlling party fell 73%. (Expansión, 2020) Lower public investment in infrastructure. In Mexico, on this new government, the money which must invest in public infrastructure it is not well administrated. Most of the money is like a gift for social causes for the vulnerable society in Mexico however, this thing generates conflict between companies and the GDP will be affected because there is no economic growth and this cause that the company reduce their operations with a cost opportunity. Construction permit suspensions in Mexico City. Talking about the government too, they are the pillar of CEMEX's operations because their works must be allowed by them. If the government refuse to permit them, they will be no capacity to start their operations because there is legal stuff that they must follow. Investment. CEMEX planned to invest in the company for a better resolution and to generate profits for them and give to the other companies located in the foreign market for a better profit increase. Remember that without investment, we can keep advancing with our company and started to the part of innovation, knowing that they are a transnational company. Who else is involved? Mention all the people, companies and institutions that are involved in the whole situation, explaining the existing connections between them. Government. In general terms, the permission, and the way the government are administrated for the leaders. Capufe. Provide comprehensive quality road services associated with the operation, conservation, administration, modernization and exploitation of roads and toll bridges as a concessionaire and contract service provider, which facilitate the movement of goods and people safely, comfortably, quickly and economically. , in an efficient, competitive and sustainable way with a framework of transparency and accountability, to contribute to the expansion and integration of the national network of roads and toll bridges, forming a human team that finds its motivation in self-improvement and the spirit of service. (CAPUFE, 2020)The relation between CAPUFE and CEMEX is the part of permission too, however, in this case, is that this is the client potential where CEMEX lend its services and being stopped by this organism can be a problem.Entering the world of business with CEMEXBefore we talk about CEMEX's company, let us have a review of the most successful business in Latin America. It is well - known that a company, is defined by its profits and influence in the market, how these companies use the innovation to be better every day and the way they grow through the years. Good administration is another factor of success.Now, what is CEMEX? A company focused on creating sustainable value by providing industry-leading products and solutions to satisfy the construction needs of our customers around the world. We strive to make the future better for our customers, our shareholders, and our communities by becoming the world's most efficient and innovative building materials company. (CEMEX, 2020) Strategically positioned across the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.Their business environment is very complex; however, these are the most important factors in the company. Business + Financial Create value for our shareholders through a forward-looking growth strategy and disciplined fund allocation. Our vertically integrated portfolio of cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete—tailored to each market’s needs—provides us with the opportunity to manage our assets as one integrated business rather than as distinct businesses, further improving our operational efficiency and profitability.CEMEX, remark that they adapt to the market needs and, in this way, they are creating value. There are a thousand of companies who dedicate to the same industry as CEMEX, but they are making the difference with the financial strategies because there is financial information for investors, so, they can decide if the company is profitable.Relationship with costumers.They are very close to their customers, adapting the product like in the business strategy they can be allowed to bring quality products and services for their needs on construction.Sustainable Development.Nowadays, companies have to implement sustainable development because the planet is changing through the years and the industries must be aware of the impact they are creating on the ecosystem doing social and environments actions to decrease the problems that the world are facing up the past few years.InnovationThis goes handle with sustainable solutions because innovation allows us to be better, to improve what we have and offer it to the market by being different from competence. CEMEX is creating a cement that cannot harm the environment with laboratory investigations and tests.Operational EfficiencyCEMEX constantly seek to improve our performance as an efficient, agile, and innovative company by identifying, sharing, and implementing best practices across our global network of plants and facilities.They constantly create and develop methodologies that serve as the framework for our daily tasks.Corporate Governance + EthicsCEMEX committed to abide by the laws and regulations of every jurisdiction in which we operate. Nonetheless, we recognize that our strict adherence to the law is not enough to run a global organization. Beyond compliance, our commitment—to ourselves, our investors, and to all of our stakeholders—is to manage CEMEX with integrity. Everything we do rests on this foundation.These are the essence of their business environment on the company we know that CEMEX is an international company set in a lot of countries creating agreements to be there. Their first step of international trade was the export of the cement when in 1985, Mexico entered the NAFTA and, CEMEX took advantage of it to starting look forward to entering on new foreign markets.The way CEMEX could enter the foreign markets was by the acquisition way, where they bought firms to set the industry in those countries. There is a thing called "CEMEX Way" which refers to the strategy that they used and still using nowadays to set on a foreign market. The CEMEX way composes in these guidelines: Efficiently manage the global knowledge base; Identify and disseminate best practices; Standardize business processes; Implement key information and Internet-based technologies; Foster innovation. International CEMEX’s Presence:USA, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Guyana, Egypt, UAE, Philippines. Construction sector in Mexico.According to the construction sector’s economic research centre (Centro de Estudios Económicos del Sector de la Construcción, CEESCO), the sector represents the fourth-largest value-added activity in the country. Ranked behind manufacturing, commerce and real estate services, it constitutes roughly 8% of GDP.Construction is also the country’s second-largest source of employment, after agriculture, accounting for 15.7% of the workforce and creating 6m direct jobs. Moreover, CEESCO reports that the industry is closely linked with many other areas of the Mexican economy. For every 100 pesos spent on construction, 45 pesos goes towards purchasing goods and services from 176 of the economy’s other 262 productive branches. (Oxford Business Group, 2018)As we can watch, the construction company is a fundamental part of the GDP in Mexico. The investment of infrastructure in the country is decreasing. However, the construction companies are open to the private and public sector it depends on their clients and who they will work too.CEMEX in Mexico has 11 cement plants and mills and 95 land distribution centres with 8 marine terminals.Every industry in the world is defined by its elements of primary, secondary and, the tertiary sector, which give us an image about what is their specialization and the process they make to be part of one of these sectors.Primary activities of CEMEX:Extracts raw materials from the land or at sea. The process of extracting mineral deposits must fit in with the government’s Regional Minerals Plan. This specifies how much material needs to be extracted to ensure a fair balance across the country.Secondary activities:Heating clay and chalk fuses the raw materials together. The resulting materials are ground to powder as cement. The cement plants need permits from the industry regulator, the Environment Agency. CEMEX also produces ready mixed concrete, asphalt and concrete products in specialist plants. These require planning permission from local authorities and are also regulated by the Environment Agency.Tertiary activities:Distributes raw materials and finished goods to customers for the construction of houses, schools, hospitals, bridges, offices and transport links: Aggregates provide the base for all types of construction products. Cement is sold in bulk to make ready mixed concrete and concrete products and in bags to builders’ merchants for individuals to buy. Ready mixed concrete and concrete products are sold to residential, commercial, and public contractors. (Finantial Chronicles, 2020) Culture and diversity:Diversity is a relevant component of our Human Rights Policy, we support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights principles, as expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. CEMEX people are free to express their opinions, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and we support equal opportunity and treatment for all men and women. No individual should experience discrimination, marginalization or have their talents or contributions excluded because of conscious or unconscious bias. CEMEX’s commitment is to look for ways to provide all our employees with equal opportunities to pursue and advance in their professional and personal careers. (CEMEX, 2020)Diversity and inclusion are aspects with a degree of importance nowadays because it is very clear that in some countries when you are going to apply for a job, you can be judged by the way you look, talk, gender, nationality, health, etcetera. In the 21st Century, those aspects started to decrease in companies, because that is a discrimination manner to our integrity as humans. Like professional, we must be judged by our knowledge, experience, mentality, and personality, I mean, the things inside us not outside us like a physical way.The United Nations Organization created 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Which are implemented in companies for help the most important problems in the world, for example, no poverty, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, life on land, life below water, etcetera. CEMEX apply these goals on its company join to the cause. The CEMEX SDGs are quality education, gender equality, reducing inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and partnership for the goals.This is the current situation of CEMEX around the world: One of the leaders in each of our core businesses: cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates Strategically positioned across the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Trade relationships in 102 nations and one of the world’s top traders of cement and clinker More than 40,000 employees worldwide Not too bad for a company who's been in the market a long time ago and keep generating incomes around the world. Now, let's go for the most important case in this story, the numbers, one of the special things that investors like to check out. How well did CEMEX be a year ago?

Numbers say a lot about the company knowing that there are a lot of factors that made the company successful and attractive to investors, countries, and the stock exchange. Let's see CEMEX' sells through the years. The graphic is an imbalance of the last 5 years but for the numbers on the last board is not too bad for the company. For a big company, these numbers are not bad, and we can watch that they maintain the financial system. Companies that can maintain like this are a few, CEMEX has been doing an amazing work through the years.Like all the companies in the world, they must have policies that allow us to understand a better work environment and ethic of the company. This is a part where we realize how problems are solved and the way they deal with it too. These are a few that we found on their website so by the titles we can have a vision about the content of it. Anti – corruption. Anti – money laundering Code of Ethics. We realized that CEMEX is a huge company with an international presence in more than 30 countries they use sustainability for being a good industry that won't harm the environment. Their social projects are helping a per cent of Mexicans that are founded in a vulnerable situation. The expansion strategy is something that we can talk too.Most of the Mexican companies should learn of CEMEX they handled a strategy that worked well on them now they are one of the companies who represent the country, is a part of the GPD and they contribute to the economic growth of Mexico.We should move on and keep innovating our products or services to be at the same time equal or even better than the competence and raise the name of Mexico higher. Let us work together, let's make a better country, help your people, consume local things and, we will see how our companies keep growing to decrease the unemployment rate. It is up to you if you want to make a change in our environment.

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Saturday, February 20, 2021

One of Ten in U.S. May Have to Switch Occupations Post Pandemic (Bloomberg) One out of every ten U.S. workers—about 17 million, all told—will likely be forced to leave their jobs and take up new occupations by 2030 as Covid-19’s after-effects destroy huge swathes of low-paying positions in a labor market that was primed for disruption before the pandemic. “Covid is a big disruptor,” Susan Lund, a Washington-based partner at McKinsey Global Institute, the consultant’s research arm, said in an interview. The 17 million Americans are part of the more than 100 million people worldwide that the institute forecast will need to leave their jobs and enter new lines of work by the end of the decade. That will amount to about one in 16 workers in the eight leading economies covered by the study, which includes China, Japan, Germany and the U.K., as well as the U.S. In a more-than-130-page paper, the institute sees the pandemic accelerating three trends that will continue to upend the labor market in the years ahead: more remote work and working from home; increased e-commerce and a bigger “delivery economy;” and stepped-up business use of artificial intelligence and robots. The forces Covid-19 unleashed mean there could be a lot less demand for front line workers in food service, retail, hospitality, and entertainment.

Politics Is Seeping Into Our Daily Life and Ruining Everything (Reason) Is there anything that politics can’t ruin? The answer, it appears, is a resounding “no” as partisan conflict creeps into all areas of American life. Our political affiliations, researchers say, obstruct friendships, influence our purchases, affect the positions we take on seemingly apolitical matters, and limit our job choices. As a result, many people are poorer, lonelier, and less healthy than they would otherwise be. “Political polarization is having far-reaching impacts on American life, harming consumer welfare and creating challenges for people ranging from elected officials and policymakers to corporate executives and marketers,” according to a new paper in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing by researchers from Arizona State University, the University of Wyoming, and four other U.S. universities. People’s partisan identities influence the range of people with whom they are willing to have relationships, the brands they purchase, and the jobs they take. The finding that everything is becoming politicized builds on a growing mountain of data. Even before political tensions hit their current fever pitch, a 2018 survey found that “Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of consumers around the world will buy or boycott a brand solely because of its position on a social or political issue” (the number for the U.S. was 59 percent). In 2020, a separate survey reported that “83% of Millennials find it important for the companies they buy from to align with their values.”

Cracked Pipes, Frozen Wells, Offline Treatment Plants: A Texan Water Crisis (NYT) Power began to flicker back on across much of Texas on Thursday, but millions across the state confronted another dire crisis: a shortage of drinkable water as pipes cracked, wells froze and water treatment plants were knocked offline. The problems were especially acute at hospitals. One, in Austin, was forced to move some of its most critically ill patients to another building when its faucets ran nearly dry. Another in Houston had to haul in water on trucks to flush toilets. But for many of the state’s residents stuck at home, the emergency meant boiling the tap water that trickled through their faucets, scouring stores for bottled water or boiling icicles and dirty snow on their stoves. Major disruptions to the Texas power grid left more than four million households without power this week, but by Thursday evening, only about 347,000 lacked electricity. Much of the statewide concern had turned to water woes. More than 800 public water systems serving 162 of the state’s 254 counties had been disrupted as of Thursday, affecting 13.1 million people, according to a spokeswoman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Texas Good Samaritans Are Helping Out Those in Need Amid Deep Freeze (Newsweek) From owners turning their stores into warming centers, to a mystery man handing out $20 bills to shoppers in Houston, when faced with a crisis that has left 24 in the state dead, and millions without water and electricity, Texans have instinctively turned to helping others. One such figure is Raymond Garcia of Houston, Texas, who, upon realizing he had no power at home, decided to use his time helping others. He has been visiting people in his local community, helping with tasks such as fixing burst water pipes. "I'm just trying to help the Houston community," he told ABC13. "If I can help anyone else in my close range I will.” Garcia said he was inspired by the teaching of his mother, who died recently from COVID-19. "My mom always taught me, if you help and you give to people, God will always bless you," he said. "And you know what, I've been blessed." On Thursday, Jason Spenser, the Public Affairs Director for the Harris County Sheriff's Office tweeted about another remarkable character, a man dubbed a food 'angel'. When electricity outages meant the Foodarama near 18th Street and Ella Boulevard could no longer accept credit and debit card payments, the unidentified man began handing out $20 bills to people waiting in the line. Spenser estimated the man, who did not want to be photographed, handed out a total of $500. In Elgin, Texas, Monica Nava, owner of the Chemn Cafe, put in a big order just before the storm hit. Rather than see perishable items go to waste, she boxed them up with shelf-stable good into care packages estimated to have a value of $25 each. She gave the packages out to in-need members of the community and asked for those who could afford it to pay a donation.

Biden repudiates Trump on Iran, ready for talks on nuke deal (AP) The Biden administration said Thursday it’s ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, in a sharp repudiation of former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” that sought to isolate the Islamic Republic. The administration also took two steps at the United Nations aimed at restoring policy to what it was before Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. The combined actions were immediately criticized by Iran hawks and are likely to draw concern from Israel and Gulf Arab states. The State Department announced the moves following discussions between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British, French and German counterparts, and as Biden prepares to participate, albeit virtually, in his first major international events with world leaders.

The Cuba bet (Foreign Policy) Cuba may still become Latin America’s first country to design a successful COVID-19 vaccine, with Phase 3 trials on one of its four vaccine candidates set to begin next month. If the shot performs well, it is expected to be exported to other Latin American nations. Cuba and Iran are partnering on Phase 3 trials of the Soberana 02 vaccine, and Mexico is exploring carrying out a Phase 3 trial as well.

It’s mud, mud everywhere in UK’s 3rd lockdown (AP) It’s apparently not enough for Britons to endure almost 120,000 COVID-19 deaths and face a new variant of the virus that scientists say is more contagious and more deadly. Not enough to struggle through a third lockdown in less than a year, a shutdown now in its ninth week in London with no end in sight. No, all of this has to come smack in the middle of Britain’s mud season, the time formally known as winter. While everyone in the U.K. is already lacking Vitamin D, the sun chooses to take a months-long work stoppage and named winter storms kept sweeping eastward across the Atlantic. Storm Bella marched in right after Christmas, bringing gusts up to 106 mph (92 kph) and rains that dumped 3.2 inches (80.2 mm) on a village in Scotland. A sodden, freezing version of a hurricane. Storm Darcy roared in last week from the opposite side, bringing an icy Arctic blast and the U.K.’s coldest temperature in 25 years. Unlike the southeastern U.S., which floods during the summer-fall hurricane season, Britain floods in the dead of winter, bringing hypothermia alongside germ-laden waters. Rivers across England and Scotland are bursting: 73 flood alerts were in effect on Friday alone. And this year, few gyms or schools are available for emergency housing for fear they will turn into COVID-19 factories. It’s a Dickensian time.

Spain arrests 80 in 3 nights of riots over rapper’s jailing (AP) Protests over the imprisonment of a rapper convicted of insulting the Spanish monarchy and praising terrorist violence were marred by rioting for the third night in a row Thursday. The plight of Pablo Hasél, who began this week to serve a 9-month sentence in a northeastern prison, has triggered a heated debate over the limits of free speech in Spain and a political storm over the use of violence by both the rapper’s supporters and the police. The rapper and his supporters say Hasél’s nine-month sentence for writing a critical song about former King Juan Carlos I, and for dozens of tweets that judges said glorified some of Spain’s defunct terrorist groups, violates free speech rights. Besides that case, the rapper has previously faced other charges or has pending trials for assault, praising armed extremist groups, breaking into private premises and insulting the monarchy.

Heating Up Culture Wars, France to Scour Universities for Ideas That ‘Corrupt Society’ (NYT) Stepping up its attacks on social science theories that it says threaten France, the French government announced this week that it would launch an investigation into academic research that it says feeds “Islamo-leftist” tendencies that “corrupt society.” While President Emmanuel Macron and some of his top ministers have spoken out forcefully against what they see as a destabilizing influence from American campuses in recent months, the announcement marked the first time that the government has moved to take action. It came as France’s lower house of Parliament passed a draft law against Islamism, an ideology it views as encouraging terrorist attacks, and as Mr. Macron tilts further to the right, anticipating nationalist challenges ahead of elections next year. Frédérique Vidal, the minister of higher education, said in Parliament on Tuesday that the state-run National Center for Scientific Research would oversee an investigation into the “totality of research underway in our country,” singling out post-colonialism. In an earlier television interview, Ms. Vidal said the investigation would focus on “Islamo-leftism”—a controversial term embraced by some of Mr. Macron’s leading ministers to accuse left-leaning intellectuals of justifying Islamism and even terrorism.

Myanmar protests stall fuel imports, drive up costs (Reuters) Myanmar’s refined fuel imports have stalled as protests over the Feb. 1 coup have shut the banks and government offices necessary for trade, while depreciation in the nation’s currency has driven up costs, four industry sources said. The economy of the Southeast Asian nation has been pulled up short by the biggest demonstrations since the “Saffron Revolution” of 2007, with protesters taking to the streets to denounce the military takeover and the unseating of a democratically elected government. Myanmar relies heavily on gasoline and diesel imports as its refineries are too small and old to meet its fuel needs. One of the sources said imports may make up as much as 98% of Myanmar’s fuel consumption. The “economy is almost at a standstill. Almost all government ministries are closed,” the source said. “Fuel supply is running low. (The country) might run out of oil in two months.”

Jakarta’s poor fear landslides from overflowing waste mountains (Nikkei Asia) The stench is overpowering, and it only gets worse as you approach the biggest landfill site in Southeast Asia. The green grass on the embankments of the road leading into the Bantar Gebang landfill on the outskirts of Jakarta quickly gives way to trash—stacked in piles as far as the eye can see, reaching the height of a 15-story building in places. Plastic bags, food packages, rubber wheels, cardboard, drink cans, and everything else that Jakartans consume and throw away can be found here—much of which turn to sludge when it rains. The site that constantly threatens landslides is also home to thousands of impoverished families. Around 20,000 people, according to an estimate by locals, make a living from collecting trash in Southeast Asia’s largest dump. More than 100,000 live in the landfill and its surroundings. Authorities are struggling to dispose of the massive amount of waste created by the 35 million people estimated by Statistics Indonesia to live the Jakarta metropolitan area. Landslides often occur at such sites. In February 2005, heavy rains triggered a slide at the Leuwigajah landfill, which serves the cities of Cimahi and Bandung in West Java, killing 157 people and swallowing two villages, Greenpeace Indonesia said. The Bantar Gebang landfill has also taken lives.

Israel expands its nuclear facility (The Guardian) Israel is carrying out a major expansion of its Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev desert, where it has historically made the fissile material for its nuclear arsenal. Construction work is evident in new satellite images published on Thursday by the International Panel on Fissile Material (IPFM), an independent expert group. The area being worked on is a few hundred meters across to the south and west of the domed reactor and reprocessing point at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, near the desert town of Dimona. Pavel Podvig, a researcher with the program on science and global security at Princeton University, said: “It appears that the construction started quite early in 2019, or late 2018, so it’s been under way for about two years, but that’s all we can say at this point.”

#headlines #news

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things2mustdo · 3 years

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The iPhone afterlife. Your next iPhone will cost much more. There are only two obvious ways to lose money: charity and stupidity. Leftism works by appealing to charity of stupidity-prone drones. From feminization of the general populace to European Union endorsement of Syrian invaders, Western governments have successfully metamorphosed from charitable to cuckold. The European youth need some deep introspection to solve this infiltration and betrayal, as do us Americans.

The American public has been sold out by its politicians, wealthy elite, and professional victims. But before we solve any social and cultural issues, we must first solve the American economy. After all, how can we revert to genuine charity when nobody has any money? Here are the five steps to reinvigorating the American economy:

1. Reduce “Made in China” imports and strive for a trade surplus

Factory manager holding monthly Walmart orders. For Chairman Mao!

There is common paranoia that our new Chinese overlords are inevitable. We run trade deficits with China so habitually that American defeatists just cry their way to Walmart. Of course, people always think the grass is greener in foreign pastures. The truth is that China is anticipating its own Baby Boomer pension collapse. During Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”, Chinese birth rates soared to meet his agricultural and manufacturing ambitions. He wanted each Chinese household to farm and smelt iron.

Mao’s economic policy failed, and China eventually enacted single child policies to relieve future pension burdens. It was too late. These Chinese Baby Boomers are now supported by China’s export-based trade surpluses. The Chinese are racing against nature’s hourglass, similar to our impending Social Security crisis. In order to avoid collapse, the Chinese economy depends on producing Gap khakis and Walmart toys, while rushing to switch to developed services such as finance and technology.

How does this relate to America? Our consumption of cheap textiles, toys and televisions is feeding their Maoist Baby Boomers. While nations like China operate on currency depreciation and mercantilist behavior, Western nations foolishly prop onto the moral pedestal of “free trade.” Western nations used mercantilism from the 1500’s until abandoning it after WWI.

Once we pull the carpet from under the Chinese and balance our trade ledgers, their welfare and pension bubble will pop. Once America revitalizes its manufacturing bases, the Chinese bubble of cheap export goods will burst. China will meet the same fate as late Rome.

How can we achieve this? The American government must offer tax incentives to corporations who shore employment to American workers. Forced employer-provided services, such as Obamacare, must be suspended. Finally, we must collect punishing tariffs on Chinese imports until they properly revalue their currency. It is time to play rough once again.

2. Reallocate foreign policy funds to subsidize nuclear power and renewable energy sources

Greatest place to build a nuclear power plant? The nation where four tectonic plates meet, of course!

Humanitarian aid and offering asylum are noble efforts, but should have no priority in times of economic turmoil. The most useful is energy, the fuel and lubricant of every economy. Israel loves boasting about their strength and independence, right? So American dollars are just scraps to them. If they are truly great allies of the American people, won’t they forgive that we can’t spare any missiles this fiscal year?

Liberals wet themselves over everything European, right? Well, the French get over 80% of their electricity from nuclear fission. Are Americans paranoid about nuclear power because of the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters? Firstly, engineered products of Communist regimes were always of infamously low-quality. Chernobyl was the result of “socialize losses, privatize profits.”

After all, why should an industrial firm under Communism innovate or guarantee product quality, when state owned enterprising dictates that failure is rewarded with research subsidies? Fukushima was in Japan, a nation atop multiple tectonic fault-lines, so an earthquake-induced disaster was inevitable.

The French have a perfect track record with nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants should utilized within inland states free of frequent natural disasters. The coastal and riverside states should receive research and construction subsidies for hydroelectric and tidal energy plants.

3. Strictly enforce immigration policies

She’s here for some English learning. If you don’t support it, you’re a misogynist.

All illegal immigrants share two characteristics. Firstly, they have propensity to break the law, as their presence is already evidence of laws already violated. How can I depend on a neighbor to be well-behaved, when they broke the rules to become my neighbor? Secondly, their presence skews economic and logistical calculations. Although they are not legal citizens, their presence interferes with census data, district allotment, and native wages. I won’t even start on the high rate at which they receive welfare.

Now contrast this with the characteristics of a foreign student graduating from an American university. A graduating student obviously bothered to learn the English language. This graduating student has shown an ability to pay (or will pay) tens of thousands of dollars of tuition, as well as ensure enough earning potential to not receive welfare.

However, we are rolling foreign students through our prestigious universities before forcing them back to their home countries. This process of “brain drain” is moronic and suicidal. Why do we expel the intelligent, stable, and studious members, while ignoring potential criminals entering our borders? We should therefore offer work visas or citizenship to foreign exchange students graduating from American universities.

4. Encourage electronics recycling within the United States

While we are distracted by subjective issues such as “equality” and “patriarchy,” there is an investment that garners no attention—American supply of precious metals. Precious metals, such as gold, copper, and lithium are found in everything. American manufacturing is based on highly sophisticated goods, such as Boeing aircraft.

As we demand smarter smartphones and missiles that fly further, demand for computer chips will skyrocket. However, for a pretty view and cheaper disposal costs, American electronics are dumped into Asian and African landfills. This is an issue where only pictures can show the magnitude:

There’s more copper in that bowl than all the pennies in the USA.

The iPhone afterlife. Your next iPhone will cost much more.

This bounty should have been ours. We are playing them dollars and precious metals, to charge us more dollars later.

Those foreign recycling firms scavenge and recycle these precious metals and resell them to American manufacturers at a decent markup. As these landfill nations emerge, they will either a) hoard these precious metals for domestic technology firms, or b) hoard these precious metals and charge American firms monopoly prices. If you think a replacement battery for your laptop is expensive now, how much will it cost if China’s landfills held 70% of the world’s lithium reserves?

5. Abolish affirmative action quotas based on ethnicity and gender

A woman trying to be even less productive.

The original purpose of affirmative action was in education for African Americans, rightfully justified by atrocities committed by a subset of Southern agriculturalists. It eventually included women and Latin Americans. Nowadays it has become the Olympiad of Victim-hood.

Let’s examine Rachel Dolezal. She was the white woman who tanned and changed her hairstyle for positions in Howard University and NAACP:

Leftists say race is a human construct and not real. All races are therefore equal.

Rachel Dolezal wasn’t allowed be Black. Leftists insist on separating Black and white.

“Separate, but equal” is also known as segregation.

So affirmative action is segregation.

Affirmative action disincentivizes both the “privileged” and “victim.” The “privileged” won’t be productive because of the threat of being displaced or plundered. The “victim” will receive the spoils of plunder or displacement regardless of productivity. The country thus loses two shares of productivity, all for some fairy-tale rendition of fairness, equality and sparkling unicorns. The American government needs to gradually abolish affirmative action policies, and start heading for meritorious rewards.

Conclusion

All these steps encourage self-dependence, abandoning unnecessary burdens, and accumulating resources for the future. We need a long-term energy source, a domestic manufacturing base and precious raw material. We cannot afford foreign aid, providing economic asylum or pandering to victim-hood.

I’m not saying to abandon charity or sympathy for the unfortunate, simply that it is dangerous for a government to contort economic outcomes for its own ideal of charity. It is time for America to stop feeding from the cauldron of guilt stirred by the Leftists. It is time for America to rise again.

Read More: Why The American Economy Needs The Beta Male

Our understanding of the beta male’s status as an underappreciated, and downright derided figure in modern American society is reasonably well developed, but what is his true utility? While an answer to this question has been touched on before, I posit that an even clearer resolution can be found through an examination of the modern American system’s consumerist imperative.

Our society starts adhering to this consumerist imperative by promoting the growth of rampant materialism amongst Americans from an early age, with the media as a main tool. Young Americans learn early on that “bigger is better,” regardless of whether it actually is. A celebrity-centric, materialist culture heavily focused on spending and the trappings of it (as well as how to look like you have it) is the result. Add American culture’s uniquely competitive and adversarial nature to this and you’ve got an even bigger phenomenon, with Americans all striving to outdo one another in this materialistic effort (“Keeping up with the Jones,” or Kardashians) and spending money they don’t have in the process.

Then the society uses a host of clichéd but heavily romanticized tropes about the “American experience” that are designed to reinforce all of this.

The first important trope is “The American Dream” (sizable suburban home, some land, fence, two $30,000+ cars, etc.), which is romanticized to an extent that many Americans can’t be satisfied with anything less as a long term goal. That, combined with the promotion of the rabid materialism mentioned earlier, makes them susceptible to overspending in order to reach that goal, ensuring that they never have much to save. Of course, thanks to the promotion of the trope, most Americans still feel it is all worth it even if they can’t afford it and go into debt.

Then you have another important trope involving work ethic. This stems from America’s puritanical roots, and is a key reason why Americans work more and vacation less than almost anyone else in the developed world. This is the type of trope that keeps the average American worker bee laboring almost constantly.

All of these things, combined, help to ensure that the average American is always spending, never saving, and constantly producing with relatively less leisure. The wage slave, the majority of the USA’s populace, can’t save and thus can’t stop working. The average American is, in essence, a slave to consumerism.

The tropes noted are particularly important, since they essentially cover the bases even for most of the minority of Americans who earn more (upper middle class or above) and could in theory end up saving more. Because materialism and consumerism are so heavily promoted and “bigger is always better,” those who make more rarely use the surplus to save or build any real wealth—they just spend more.

Thus, you have a game in which nobody really wins. Even when you do “win” (read: succeed as a capitalist and gain a high income), you end up losing because you spend it all trying to outdo everyone else and live up to the materialistic ideals that have most likely been drilled into you (and if the consumerist impulse doesn’t get them, then absurdly high school debts will). In the end, even a good number of these high-earning individuals have nothing more to show for it than those below their income level (unless, of course, they’re aware of these tropes, which most Americans aren’t).

This is actually kind of an intricately brilliant formula, and would probably do wonders for anybody at the top of society looking to maintain hegemony. Such individuals may maintain an ethos of inter-generational wealth (read: controlled spending, prudent wealth-building investment, etc.) that preserves their status and allows them to maintain control of America’s financial and industrial life.

This entire system counts on one crucial piece, however, without which things would likely grind to a halt.

The Indispensable Beta Male

Seeing through the rigged nature of the sexual marketplace is as hard as seeing through the larger economic game. In fact, I think a lot of the tropes associated with our modern sexual marketplace are intimately related with the consumerist and materialist tropes we’ve been talking about. Yes, it is true that the vast majority of the grunt work that keeps the foundations of our society sound (e.g. infrastructure maintenance, defense, law enforcement, etc) is carried out by beta males. I’ve written about that before, but the beta’s usefulness to the economic system goes well beyond that.

Married men make for vastly superior wage slaves, and the beta male is the most common and most useful of all married men—they form the backbone of this entire system. Their instilled “duty” to their wives and family is easily co-opted and exploited to fit the rigged materialist game. Now it is not just about competing with other individuals, but rather outdoing other families (bigger houses, two or three nicer cars in driveway, bigger vacations, better and more expensive private schools, etc.). The element of family just makes the stakes a lot higher, and it is the beta’s support that makes such an increase possible: his labor and devotion facilitate vastly greater sums of expenditure (he’s got a lot more to pay for), while subsequently freeing those he supports (wife and children) to focus almost entirely on consumption. He’s doing all of the producing, ensuring that they are free to lay back and take more than they give without much thought.

The ability of a betatized and married man to see through the game and avoid its pitfalls is much lower than that of a disconnected single guy, especially when said single guy is anything like Roosh, Heartiste, or any other number of manosphere men. Because he is a devoted beta, he’ll see few other options aside from slaving away into eternity and going into debt to provide the American Dream for those he loves, who are free to benefit immensely from said labor and consume absent much thought to how much of a contribution they themselves will make.

The game knows that the consumerist ethos it promotes is especially effective on women, who shop and consume more often and more leisurely than men do and are much more wary of their social status relative to one another (which means they’ll want to compete more with other women, spending more in order to do so). Modern marriage serves to link the beta male to these women. Result? He is likely to face a lot more pressure from his wife to push further and further (bigger house, money for shopping, bigger cars), pressure he’d be less compelled to give in to as a carefree bachelor. Women are often a little less willing than the average guy to drop out of the consumer culture and generally more willing to invest deeply in it. By linking these women with devoted betas who are willing to provide at all costs, the game helps to keep men in the fold more firmly. If those men were on their own, they’d be far less likely to play.

The presence of a wife will also make it more likely that more of his income goes into consumer purchases than it would on his own. Women do much of the shopping in these families, and thus control how much of total household income is spent. All of this is key to keeping the worker bee in line, and also ensuring that there will be more future worker bees (kids = much more money spent come Christmas time and many other occasions = even more indebted and dependent worker bees = profit).

In the case of divorce? The game has a simple solution: shift laws in women’s favor so as to guarantee that, more often than not, they will garner a larger sum of the male’s income (alimony, punitive child support, etc.). The game realizes that women are more prone on average to their message of consumerism, so it seeks to ensure that a decent sum of money still remains in their hands in all scenarios.

Thus, the sexual marketplace is geared to create more married, beta males and, in doing so, shift a larger portion of the nation’s money supply into the direct or indirect control of those more likely to spend it (women). The game needs devoted, married betas in order to work, and they’re the main force holding it all together. If too many men start going their own way and forgoing marriage (and the expensive duties now intimately linked to the institution), the game might lack for players.

Will enough of the male population remain invested in order to keep everything going? This remains to be seen.

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showfay · 4 years

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best 20 Cheap Suppliers to Wholesale Costume Jewelry do not miss

I: What Type of Costume Jewelry Should You Sell?

II: 8 Wholesale Costume Jewelry Suppliers from China

III: 7 Wholesale costume jewelry Suppliers from the USA

IV: Sure-Fire Tips that Should Boost Your Costume Jewelry Wholesale Business

V: Frequently Asked QAs

Are you a jewelry merchant looking for cheap suppliers of wholesale costume jewelry for resale? Well, you definitely are at the right place.

In addition to looking at top trendy jewelry suppliers in China, the US, UK and India, we shall also explore the products, business growth and finally common Q&As.

What Type of Costume Jewelry Should You Sell?

Let us explore the different types of jewelry that are available for wholesale.

A. Gold/Silver costume jewellery wholesale

It belongs to the luxury jewelry category and comes at an expensive price. Nowadays it is rare to find jewelry purely made out of these precious metals. Rather most of it is ectroplated with a thin layer of this material to give a similar feel and appearance albeit at a lower price.

B. Original fashion jewelry Wholesale

Original fashion jewelry can be defined as a type of premium jewelry category made in original designs and quality materials. Most of this jewelry comes in unique brands such as S warzoski and fetch premium prices in the international market.

C. Cheap imitation jewelry wholesale.

Cheap imitation jewelry is identical to original fashion jewelry although the quality varies a lot. Most manufacturers make use of low-quality materials such as tin alloy, copper, nickel and brass. They go for very cheap prices and usually used for decoration.

D. Antique costume jewelry

Various non-precious materials such as diamante, rhinestone, faux Japanese pearls, Bakelite, Lucite and Trifanium. Charms and lockets belong to this category of jewelry; they fetch high prices today due to their sentimental value.

E. Over Stock of Manufacturers for costume jewelry

Overstock wholesale costume jewelry is of low-price and derived from various sources such as customized products rejected by customers, leftover products from manufacturers and products with various mistakes. The go at a tenth of the original product price and some can be sold by weight.

There are various factors that determine the kind of jewelry you need to be selling your customers. These include:

★ Purchasing Power- If your customers have a high purchasing power they will most likely want expensive and luxury costume jewelry. Clients with a low purchasing power may prefer imitation products.

★ Client tastes- What you sell can also depend on your clients prevailing tastes. While sophisticated clients may opt for vintage, gold/silver and original costume jewelry, those with simple taste may not have a problem with imitation and overstock jewelry.

★ The Region of Operation- Your choice will also depend on the region you operate in: developing regions of Latin America have different needs to developed areas such as North America.

8 Wholesale Costume Jewelry Suppliers from China

Wholesale Jewelry Suppliers

Minimum Order Amount

Shipping

Delivery Times

Experience

China Brands

No Min.

Worldwide

24 hours

7 years

Xuping Jewelry

No Minimum

Worldwide

1 – 7 days

28 years

showfay jewelry

No Minimum

Worldwide

3 – 8 days

28 years

Aliexpress

No Min.

39 Countries

7 – 15 days

8 years

Alibaba

$10

Worldwide

5 – 7 days

19 years

Guangzhou IO jewelry

Depends on the Product

Worldwide

2-5 days

12 years

Guangzhou Miss jewelry

Depends on the product

Worldwide

7-15 days

7 years

YLY Jewelry

50 Pieces but cost Depends on Product.

Worldwide

30 – 40 days.

19 years

Xuping Jewelry.

With over 28 years existence in the Chinese jewelry industry, Xuping jewelry is one of the more experienced wholesale costume jewelry suppliers in the country. The fact that they are a stratetigic partner to Swarovski: a household brand in the jewelry industry.

Xuping jewelry products such as pendant, earring, ring, bracelet, necklace, anklet, bangle and garment accessories. They guarantee customers affordable prices, and fast turnaround with their over 10 production lines and 3000 employees.

showfay jewelry.

showfay jewelry main strength lies in its having its own manufacturing plant which makes delivery of product after order very fast. This also means they can have the advantage of customizing customer orders according to their specification no matter how complicated without any additional costs. Another exciting aspect of showfay jewelry is that they have quality inspection officers who ensure everything is of high standards.

Aliexpress.

Aliexpress is a conglomerate of small businesses from China and other south East Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore who offer various products to buyers all over the world. You can buy just about anything on Aliexpress with more safety and accuracy guaranteed.This site should therefore should rank highly as a top supplier of wholesale jewelry for your retail business.

Alibaba.

Alibaba is an online platform that serves millions of buyers and suppliers all over the world from jewelry, apparel, consumer electronics and more. They are a leader in wholesale costume jewelry for resale whom you can trust when trying to import from China. Indeed their mission is to make it easy for people across the globe to do business.

Guangzhou IO Jewelry.

Located in the Guangzhou region, IO Jewelry is one of the top jewelry manufactures in China. They mainly specialize in 925 sterling silver and 316L stainless steel jewelry. They are famed for they expertise in making skull designs, crystal jewelry, gem stone items and enamel jewelry kinds. With their strict quality control you can trust IO Jewelry to supply you with quality charms, rings, earrings, bangles, necklaces, pendants and bracelets among other accessories.

Guangzhou Miss Jewelry.

Miss jewelry is a Chinese supplier for cheap wholesale jewelry. They have been in existence since 2012 and are located in the famous jewelry hub of Guangzhou. Not only are they a major producer of hip hop jewelry but also deal with beaded bracelets and beads, iced out pendants, gold-plated chains and rings. About 90% of their products are meant for export in overseas markets of North America, Europe, and East Asia.

YLY Jewelry.

Established in 2000 YLY Jewelry is one of the most experienced wholesale costume jewelry suppliers in china. Indeed, it a leader in the silver and brass jewelry as well as widely acclaimed for its research and development ventures in this niche.

The company mainly produces cheap bracelet, pendant, earring, ring and jewelry set. Because YLY jewelry owns its own production facilities, they take custom orders on jewelry from clients. Additionally, their products are crafted from eco-friendly materials that meet European standards.

Import Cheap Costume Jewelry Now

7 Wholesale costume jewelry Suppliers from the USA

Wholesale Jewelry Suppliers

Category

Drop Shipping

Delivery Times

Fashion Bella

Jewelry & Fashion Accessories

Yes

1 to 2 Days

Stuller

Jewelry

Yes

Contact for Specifics

Trendywholesale.com

Jewelry

Yes

Contact for Specifics

Cheap Wholesale Jewelry

Jewelry

Yes

2 to 4 Days

JewelryMax

Jewelry

Yes

24 hours

Ruby Imports

Jewelry

Yes

Contact for Specifics

UrEnternity

Jewelry

Yes

1 to 3 Days

Fashion Bella.

The versatility of Fashion Bella is manifested by their wide range of clothes and bags of the latest fashion that are well complemented by the contemporary jewelry designs that they have in stock.

Stuller.

Trendy Wholesale

Cheap Wholesale Jewelry.

JewelryMax.

Ruby Imports

UrEnternity.

Sure-Fire Tips that Should Boost Your Costume Jewelry Wholesale Business

1. Venture into diamonds

2. Go for Gold plated jewelry

3. Consider Leather Jewelry

Import Cheap Costume Jewelry Now

Frequently Asked QAs

1. Where can I find wholesale jewelry suppliers for my boutique store?

There are various places you can find suppliers of wholesale costume jewelry for resale at your boutique store directly from china:

● Online wholesale website: such as showfay jewelry and Alibaba (B2B) are good place for any sice of business.

● Jewelry trade forums. You could visit local jewelry markets in Yiwu or Guangzhou where you will find different suppliers that match your needs directly if you need small amounts of product.

● For large amounts of product in bulk form, it would be wise to contact large jewelry factories who have their own designers and can even customize your jewelry accordingly.

● Visit famous Chinese trade fairs and shows such as the Canton and Hong Kong Global sources Fair to meet the different suppliers and source their products from there.

2. What are the largest wholesale markets for fashion jewelry in China?

The largest wholesale markets for fashion jewelry in China has got to be in the three cities of Guangzhou. Yiwu and Qingdao.

Additionally, suppliers only allow bulk orders which makes it a bad choice for retailers looking to order small quantities.

3. Where can I wholesale fashion Indian jewelry?

There are various places that you can source for wholesale fashion Indian Jewelry:

EIndiawholesale: This website specializes in traditional Indian jewelry especially those own during weddings. They also ship outside India with the minimum order going for RS 2000.

TradeIndia.com: This is a jewelry trading platform that is home to various different suppliers and vendors with varying products. Some sell real gold jewelry while others deal with imitation ones.

IndiaMart: It is a B2B trading platform that deals with many commodities including jewelry. Here you will encounter many suppliers who deal with real gold ornaments as well as the imitation ones.

4. Where Can I find some trendy costume jewellery wholesale Suppliers in the uk?

There is a list of quality costume jewellery wholesale Suppliers in the uk that you can buy wholesale.

Mainlysilver: Shipping to worldwide

Miss Milly: Shipping to worldwide

Jewelry World: only ship to UK and Europe

Amber Jewelry: only ship to UK and Europe

In addition, you can find some verified wholesale costume jewelry distributors and suppliers in forum and directory, such as esources, the wholesaler uk.

Over to You

Check here for suppliers who wholesale silver jewelry that are fashion and quality or wholesale fashion jewelry .

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nicolasmatamoros6675 · 4 years

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Microcars Market 2020 Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast 2030

Microcars Market: Introduction

According to the report, the global Microcars market is projected to reach ~US$ 12.7 Bn by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of ~15% during the forecast period. Growing environmental concerns, increasing fuel prices, and traffic congestion globally have laid emphasis on improving transportation facilities. Thus, vehicle manufacturers are focusing on the development of comfortable, affordable, and fuel-efficient small vehicles. This is likely to boost the microcars market during the forecast period.

Rapid increase in vehicle penetration in developing countries and rise in investment in research & development activities are key factors that are estimated to drive the global microcars market during the forecast period. The microcars market is likely to perform well soon due to the rise in the demand for hybrid cars in Asia Pacific, owing to their affordability as well as low maintenance, along with the decrease in the micro electric vehicle’s battery cost, which is likely to propel microcars market in Asia Pacific.

Rise in government initiatives for the development of microcars as well as vehicle manufacturers are integrating advance technology, including advance drive assist (ADAS) and connected vehicle, which is likely to enhance the microcars market across the globe. Moreover, in the U.K., the government offers several tax benefits to people who use microcars. Increase in smart car culture among the young population, rise in export opportunities for microcar manufacturers, and a surge in disposable income are anticipated to boost the microcars market across the globe.

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Expansion of Microcars Market

The surge in trade volume, owing to rising bilateral trade among countries is projected to boost the microcars market during the forecast period. China witnessed a surge in both general trade volume and proportion, rising to 15.66 trillion Yuan. China trade volume accounted for 56.4% of total foreign trade. Major trading partners of China are the U.S., the European Union, and ASEAN. Exports of China to the U.S. further rose by 15.2% year-on-year. Based on drive, the global microcars market has been segmented into 2WD/1WD and AWD. AWD is likely to be highly lucrative segment during the forecast period. This is primarily due to the rise in use of sports utility vehicles and increased need for stability and control of vehicle. Legislation regarding AWD in vehicles across developed countries, including the U.S., China, and Japan, is likely to boost the microcars market. In terms of fuel type, the electric segment dominated the market, as an increase in the demand for electric vehicles due to enactment of emission regulations is driving the demand for microcars. Moreover, major vehicle manufacturers are likely to shut down the production of diesel engines due to the enactment of stringent rules and regulation regarding emission, which is estimated to boost the demand for electric microcars. This, in turn, is anticipated to boost the microcars market across the globe.

Regional Analysis of Microcars Market

In terms of region, the global microcars market has been segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific dominated the global microcars market in 2019. It is anticipated to hold a leading share during the forecast period due to the rise in sales and production of vehicles in China and ASEAN. Thus, rise in demand for electric vehicles across the Asia Pacific is anticipated to further boost the microcars market in the region. Prominent players operating in the global microcars market include BMW AG., Mazda Motor Corporation, Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. , Daimler AG, Group PSA., Honda Motor Company, LIGIER Group., Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, Groupe Renault SA, Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd., Piaggio & C. Spa, Subaru, and Suzuki Motor Corporation.

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Global Microcars Market: Segmentation

Microcars Market, by Fuel Type

Microcars Market, by Wheel

Microcars Market, by Drive

Microcars Market, by Region

Petrol/ Diesel

Hybrid

Electric

Others (Alternate Fuel)

3-wheel Microcar

4-wheel Microcar

2WD/1WD

AWD

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

Latin America

About Us

Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information.

Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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foxhenki-blog · 4 years

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The Black Meat

The Māori have nearly two hundred names for mushrooms endemic to New Zealand, but as of 2005 most of the traditional knowledge of this fungi has been disrupted. The primary vehicle of ethnomycological knowledge, as we have seen in other explorations form this project in Asia and Latin America, is through oral tradition. In the case of the Māori, these links have been eroded. It should be noted, however, that the ‘kingdom of fungi’ as a class of entities was not recognized by the Māori until recently. This could mean that those researchers that are attempting to uncover traditional knowledge about fungi are asking the wrong questions. The term ‘Harore’ is the modern generic name for fungi. It was and is considered a ‘starvation food’ or at the very best, not considered a delicacy but just another part of the edible landscape of New Zealand. Other uses are as tinder and fire-carrying materia — a usage that we see in paleomycological investigations that has survived to the present day. One would be forgiven for thinking of brackets and other fire-carrying mushrooms as kin to Prometheus and all that hero represents. One of the most significant usages of fungi, however, is absolutely sacred. Cordyceps robertsii, a predatory mushroom that preys on local caterpillars, is used (along with the caterpillar) to create the pigment for Tā moko (traditional Māori tattoos). (Fuller et al, 402).

Another fungi commonly used by Māori today are the Laetiporus portentosus, known as ‘Te pūtawa’ in Te reo (‘the language’ in Māori), which is used to protect wounds from infection by using it as a type of antibiotic pad.

Pekepekekiore, or Hericium coralloides, is one of the few where still extant oral tradition refers to the ancestors of modern Māori using it as a forest food.

New Zealand forests also contain the Wood Ear fungus known as Auricular cornea or ‘Hakeke’ in Te reo. While prized in some parts of the world, Hakeke is almost certainly a starvation food for the Māori, even being featured in a song captured by the colonialist Sir George Grey in 1853:

“What, what shall we eat? Wood ear fungus that clings to the karaka or, convolvulus that stretches over the land? Who will dig the convolvulus in the winter?”

Because it does suit the taste of New Zealand’s Asian neighbors, it is the only fungus that is wild crafted and exported. This practice is not modern, however, the ancestors of contemporary Māori having established trade with China in the fungi in the 19th century.

Agrocybe parasitica, known to the Maori as Tawaka, is a food, medicine, and magical agent. It is given to individuals to reduce fever and for the general health of expectant mothers. It can be used (either intentionally or otherwise) as a malefic agent as well. It is reported that if an individual consumes Tawaka and walks among gardens growing gourd plants that the gourds will decay or otherwise not mature. Similarly, an individual who has consumed the mushroom will reduce other’s chances to catch fish.

The ubiquitous Puffball (Lycoperdon utriforme), called Pukurau in Te rea, is used medicinally in much the same way as it is the world over — as a successful agent utilized to stop bleeding from wounds and for reducing pain from burns. The prevalence of puffballs on nearly every continent and the fact that it is used in identical or similar ways by indigenous communities all over the globe is strong evidence that the Puffball has been humankind’s ally since some point deep in prehistory. The town of Waipukurau in Central Hawkes Bay, New Zealand is reportedly named after a strong colony of Puffballs. This area is also central to Māori culture, in particular the Rangitāne tribe (Whenua et al, retrieved from https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/image_maps/72-matauranga-maori-fungi-as-food-and-medicine).

Let’s return for a moment to Awheto, the Cordyceps mushroom that grows from the caterpillars of two specific moths in Aotearoa. The caterpillar carcass and mushroom are collected and fired into charcoal and pulverized into a black powder, which is then used in the production of sacred tribal tatooes. This connection between insects and mushrooms is important for our current investigation as it will open up doors to different facets of our archetype. In 1952, the entomologist David Miller published a paper in the Journal of Polynesian Studies titled ‘The Insect People of the Maori.’ In this work the author captures the genealogy of Māori gods and spirit-forms that make up the foundation of their cosmogony includes all living things except humans and is known as the Te Whanua a Torohuka. Part of the Te Whanua a Torohuka are the Aitanga Pepeke, or the Insect People. The tribe of Aitanga Pepeke properly consists of spiders, mites, sand-hoppers, sandlike, crayfish, shrimp, crabs, woodlice, slugs, snails, worms, millipedes, and centipedes (Miller, 2). Miller separates the Māori spirit genealogy into 5 branches. The first four have a very similar structure to Greek or Roman genealogies, which should be familiar to many readers. The fifth, begun by a spirit-form named Haumia — the Lord of Uncultivated Foods, stands alone as its own branch, unconnected to the rest. The Insect People are direct descendants of Haumia through his descendent, Te Monehu — the Patron of Fern-Root. Also among this taxonomy are beings with extra-normal origins that are of broader interest to our investigation. These are Putehue, who begat the Gourd-Plant. The Gourd-Plant having origins outside of the traditional spirit ecosystem and being weak against the sympathetic presence of the Poplar Mushroom is a potentially valuable data point. A celestial being named Nuhe begat the Sphinx Moth Caterpillar — one of the two endemic creatures specifically targeted by Cordyceps robertsii and ultimately ending as materia for sacred Māori tattoos (the Ghost Moth caterpillar being the other). Flies and cicadas also are considered to have a lineage from outside those that rule over Aotearoa (Miller, 4). This causes one to wonder if these classifications indicate a type of invasion of a non-indigenous species at some point in deep time. Alternate, or perhaps more specific, origins of the tribe of Aitanga Pepeke are also recorded by Miller. A descendent of the Lord of the Ocean, Punga, begat Tutewanawana who in turn begat Tutangatakino — a singular evil diety and Lord of the Human Stomach and all of the pains originating from that area of our anatomy. Tutangatakino’s decedents are recorded as vermin (which were largely introduced by colonizers), insects (in general), spiders, lizards, and centipedes. Their lineage stemming from a recognized evil marks them as malefic entities in the Māori spirit-ecology (Miller, 5). Towards the conclusion of Miller’s paper is a glossary of terms that will be of great assistance to us in our investigation. The specific spirit form we are investigating is the Pekepekekiore, a mushroom that goes by the common English name of Coral Tooth Fungi and the scientific classification of Hericium coralloides. The term Pekepekekiore isn’t specifically defined in any of the references that mention it, but Miller’s glossary contains names with the same phonemes.

Pekepeke Haratua is the Māori name for Macromastix holochlora — commonly known as Daddy Long Legs. It is the only term in the glossary that contains a reduplication of the phoneme ‘peke.’ Pekeriki is the name for both lice and invasive vermin. Peketua is the name of the centipede, who is referred to in the glossary as the progenitor of all other insects, lizards, and spiders (Miller, 55). Pete also means ‘to jump,’ and is the word to describe arms and legs. The reduplication 'as in pekepeke' is a common feature in some indigenous languages to describe 'more then one.' Kiore can be used to describe a mouse, a later usage as mice and rats came with colonization. It also has notes that are relevant to hanging or climbing, which relates back to the first two phonemes if they are to be interpreted as 'limbs.' The ‘Many-Legged One’ is a possibly very good interpretation of the Māori name for the Coral Tooth Fungus when attempting a direct translation of its name and considering its connections centipedes endemic to New Zealand like the Cormocephalus rubriceps — which can grow up to a massive 10 inches in length.

The Many-Legged One is often found on decaying beech and in beech ecosystems, tying him (as so many other mushrooms are) to the Gallo-Roman/Proto-Basque/Celtic deity Fagus — who rules over the beech, red-haired humans, and child birth. Hericium coralloides has been proven to grow on freshly cut beech logs, decaying beech (in the wild), and even on living beech (with assistance). The mycelia of Coral Tooth Fungi has also been observed as being more ‘combative’ in the wild then many other types of mushroom mycelia (Crockatt, 9) — loaning it an aggressive and fiery ambience as an archetype. In the Northern Hemisphere, H. coralloides typically fruits in its chosen beech ecosystems from early September to late November, depending on the severity and quickness of the coming winter. On occasion, The Many-Legged One is also found on ash trees, on occassion. His affinity for beech extends into the Upside-Down as well, being found primarily on Southern Beech in New Zealand, for example.

One primary method of cultivating this spirit-form is through the use of colonized oak dowels and freshly cut beech logs. It is recommended that an electric drill and a bit sterilized with alcohol spirits create a series of staggered hole 1/3 in in diameter, and approximately 1 in deep. Colonized oak dowels can then be hammered into the beech. This method has also been proven to work (albeit somewhat less consistent then when using cut beech) on living beech trees. If colonization of a living beech is successful, however, the resulting growth has been reported to be prolific (Crockatt, 78). Spores of Hericium corraloides can remain viable for up to 24-30 weeks (Crockatt, 80). Cultures of Hericium corraloides spores have been observed to grow the best on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (Julian et al, Abstract). Hericium coralloides shares many of the nutraceutical effects of its kin, Hericium erinaceus. The Many-Legged One, however, has unique metabolites that achieve these effects. These metabolites have been shown to follow different metabolic pathways as well, marking Coral Tooth Fungi as a powerful synergistic supplement to H. erinaceus. These corallocin metabolites include an isoindolinone derivative (a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered nitrogen-containing ring that is quite complex and rare from natural sources) that has demonstrated nerve growth and neurotrophic (molecules that support the growth, survival, and diversity of neurons) activity. Corallocin B has also shown to have antiproliferative effects on cancer cells and the ability to regulate endothelial function, which has implications for those suffering from coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia (Wittstein et al, 1). Pekepekekiore, the child of Peketua — the giant New Zealand centipede, through the mechanisms of its corallocin metabolites is a potent neurotrophic agent and can be connected to The Black Meat, a drug described by William S. Burroughs in Naked Lunch. In that work we are first introduced to The Sailor, a Meat Eater, as he interacts with a shoe shine boy in the sprawling Interzone. The Sailor is described as having cold eyes the color of depths of the sea that reflect an imminently foreign perspective to the warm-blooded shoe shine boy’s relationship with the world. The Sailor can be imagined as the descendent of Tutangatakino, the evil entity ultimately descended from the Lord of the Ocean. He exists in an ficto-ecological niche with other insectoids like ‘Fats’ Terminal, an employee of the infamous ‘Meet Cafe’ who is described as possessing blank periscopic eyes (Burroughs, 51). This is another of Tatangatakino’s children for he begat all members of the Insect People of Māori, the Aitanga Pepeke Tribe. This niche of spirit-forms, the Insect Tribe, can be assumed to imbricate over the magical niche of the Kingdom of Fungi through non-western taxonomies that see no boundaries to combining lizards, moths, centipedes, and fungi into the same genealogical group. Further into the chapter of Naked Lunch entitled ‘The Black Meat,’ we follow The Sailor, our embodiment of the Meat Eater. He is described as manipulating a leaden tube with fibrous pink fingers reminiscent of the Pinking Things from Lovecraft’s Whisperer in the Dark. The Sailor cuts the end of this tube with a little curved knife — an archetypal tool of the mushroom forager — and a mist taking on the rolling image of boiling fur flows into his face, distorting and pulling it out of phase, only to bring it back into ‘unbearable focus’ a moment later (Burroughs, 52-53). This capture the metaphorical experience of the nerve growth and synaptic sharpening provided by Coral Tooth Fungus’ primary nutraceuticals. The ‘Traffickers in the Black Meat’ are described as youths dressed as women in gowns of burlap and rotten rags. This connects Hericium corraloides with the origins of drag in deeptime — from Two Spirit individuals in American Indian/Native American culture to the Roman literature and Chinese theater. As spirit form, our mycospirit is a patron of the LGBTQ community. The materia of their gowns are representative of poverty. This is a multi-faceted concept; poverty of spirit, poverty of time, poverty of food choices and nutrition, a poverty of social power, and a poverty of wealth. The ‘dealers,’ which we can also assume to be a representation of the beech ecosystems so beloved by the Coral Tooth fungi and many others in the Kingdom, are said to appear as crustaceans camouflaged against black rocks and among shining lagoons the color of muddy rivers (Burroughs, 52). Old Bill Lee represents the Meat Eaters and their dealers as a type of tribe, a tribe whose role is the consumption of the children of Haumia, the Māori Lord of Uncultivated Food — a natural deity to pray to when foraging for rare mushrooms like The Many-Legged One. It is in the reflection of the this chapter of Naked Lunch that we can see smoky glimpses of Anna Tsing’s matsutake hunters in the Pacific Northwest. The dealers and the hunters existing in a synergistic cosmic waltz. The clan of the Eaters of the Black Meat, a subset of the larger (and growing) tribe of the mycomage, are painted as the ‘black marketeers of World War III.’ We are traffickers in the subversion of materialist values. The Third World War is one of culture — the re-enchanted versus the media-fed undead. We are the ‘servers of fragmentary warrants’ constructed of asemic writing. We, the 21st century magic-user, are serving warrants to the materialists, the Dream Police (who would keep us from realizing our lives outside of their multifaceted prisons of poverty), for their crimes against the spirit world. We all live in Burroughs’ unconstituted police states — living in a state of oppression without realizing. We take in The Black Meat and our bodies react to these ancient spirits, to their medicine. We react in ways the Dream Police never intended and fear the most. The mycomage is hand-in-hand with the dealers of the Black Meat. We are the brokers of unregulated dreaming and the travelers on the paths of retrocausative enchantment and Lovecraftian hypernostalgia. As we advance on our enemy:

“The Dream Police disintegrate in globs of rotten ectoplasm swept away by an old junky, coughing and spitting in the sick morning.” (Burroughs, 55)

as we consume the ‘overpoweringly delicious’ flesh of the Many-Legged One (reported to taste of the camouflaged crustaceans revealed in Burroughs’ narrative) we become like him and the divine centipedes that spawned him. Tutangatakino is kin to Ōmukade, a Japanese Yōkai. Yōkai is a term used to describe spirits that is represented by an ideogram that combines the terms ‘bewitching,’ ‘attractive,’ and ‘spectre.’ Another, perhaps more familiar, term for yōkai is mononoke. Ōmukade is a giant centipede that resides in the mountains and eats humans, yet is reportedly weakened by human saliva. Sepa is the Centipede God of the Egyptians whose cult was centralized in the area surrounding Kheraha, north of Memphis. This is now known as Old Cairo, as an embodiment of Interzone we are ever likely to see in-the-real.

Sepa the Centipede God is the adversary of Apophis the Serpent and Lord of Disorder. In this ancient juxtaposition we can see the role of the Many-Legged One’s medicine where it can heal or stem the tide of neurodegenerative diseases — staving off the disorder that is visited upon humankind when ravaged by those diseases. Rituals or spells directed against disorder or chaos (especially when traveling) or the other spheres of influence ruled by Apophis can begin with the invocation:

“He is Sepa — he is on his way to Heliopolis…” (retrieved from https://henadology.wordpress.com/theology/netjeru/sepa/)

The ‘Road to Sepa’ is a spiritual path that centers on the worship and patronage of the Great Centipede and is synonymous to the Clan of the Eaters of the Black Meat. The Maya had an entire era dedicated to the centipede, the Waka Dynasty that spanned from the fourth to the eight century AD. Curiously, the Snake/Centipede - Apophis/Sepa dynamic is present here as well with the first queen of the Waka Dynasty being known as ‘Lady Snake Lord’ (retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/09/ancient-maya-king-tomb-spd/). Much like the Māori, the Mayan had an evil entity known to scholars only as God A’ or ‘Akan’ that ruled over the realm of the dead and alcohol; he is often depicted as a flying demonic insect in a state of self-decapitation and has in his entourage the centipede, spiders, and all the same members of the Aitanga Pepeke that were begat by Tutangatakino. The 1901 treatise on Māori Magic by the ethnographer Elsdon Best states that the ancestral Māori had three primary causes of death; death on the battlefield, death from sickness, and death from witchcraft. Māori witchcraft is not only an active malefic force between a sorcerer and a victim (or another sorcerer) but can also be what is described as ‘semi-passive’ or ‘semi-active’ magic — that which is only dangerous when it is interfered with (Best, 69). This includes spirits of place, enchanted places, or magically-imbued natural entities that use magic as a type of natural defense mechanism. This could easily include fungi or, at the very least, protected trees inhabited by fungi. Another class of Māori magic is what is called ‘makutu,’ which translates to the Western concept of witchcraft. Makutu is reported to be a non-aggressive or defensive practice that includes spells to protect the life, spirit, and health of the practitioner. If we were to imbricate mycomancy onto the Māori system, it would certainly imbricate over the practice of makutu. Counter-spells are also present and are considered a varietal of makutu. Counter-spells are wards that nullify the effects of aggressive magic — three generic terms for this practice are momono, parepare, and whakataha (Best, 69). The author of ‘Māori Magic’ also dives into the origin stories surrounding how magic came to the Māori. According to the paper there is an archetypal magician by the name of Te Mahoi-hoi, a direct descendent of Maui whose children lived among the Māori. The term mahoi directly translates to the Western concept of spirit or rather, the essence of a human or god’s soul. Te-Mahoi-hoi begat the ‘little people’ of Aotearoa, whom are called the Te Tini-o-te-mahoihoi by the author. These are roughly equivalent to the elves and fairies of European tradition (Best, 71). Māori magic in its passive and aggressive distinctions, are recorded as being associated with direction and gender. Tama-tane, aggressive magic, is affiliated with the East and the male gender while Tama-wahine, passive magic, is of the West and aligned with the feminine. Tama-wahine is reported as the more powerful form. In this, we are also aligned with mycomancy, which, as has been previously discussed in this investigation, is a feminine magic and the spirito-medicinal properties of the mushroom archetypes form this system are ultimately passive and defensive in nature. Tama-wahine is used primarily to protect oneself and those places that serve and are productive for the individual. Magic is used to protect a forest or a productive tree through the use of charms, invocations, or other magic meant to conceal the wealth or value of these places (Best, 76). Using this same metaphysics, a mushroom can easily be used to protect the tree from which it sprung or the entire forest that houses the foodsource. This use of natural materia as a component of sympathetic magic to protect the natural environment is intuitively extremely powerful. If one’s land is attacked or afflicted, we are offered a specific rite that can be adapted to the purposes of the mycomage. Take for example a situation where a particular tree or grove is very productive in terms of producing mushrooms. Perhaps this is a secret morel patch deep in the woods. You find that someone else has found your patch and poached your morels or you are the victim of aggressive magic that has reduced the productivity of this food source for you. ‘Māori Magic’ recounts a spell that can be used to ‘destroy the enemy wizard.’ For our purposes, begin with a mushroom from the place you wish to protect. The mage is to use a wand, what type is not divulged, and tap the ‘body’ of the forest (the mushroom) and recites the following:

”To ara Haere i tua, haere i waho Haere te maramatanga Haere i nga kaupua o te rangi Haere i nga kapua o te rangi Haere ma hihi ora Ki te whai ao, ki te ao marama Ko rou ora Haere i a maona nui Haere i a moana roa Haere i a maona te takiritia Ki te whai ao, ki te ao marama Ko rou ora”

The mycomage then sprinkles water on the body of the place and places it with a meal in an oven at dawn. Once the food is cooked, the mage checks the ‘forest body’ and if it too has been cooked through the poacher or enemy magic-user is considered defeated (Best, 78). Protecting crops, fish, and forest products through the use of magic is a widespread practice, a near universal custom of the Māori, according to the paper. Another method of protective magic is to erect a post and tie local ferns, weeds, and other local materials to it. One piece of this materia is special and is referred to as the ‘whatu,’ or ‘kernel,’ which absorbs magical power directed at the place (Best, 90). This could be coupled with the rite of mātapuru which consists of tying green flax around the body, arms, and legs and reciting the mātapuru momono (incantation):

“Monokia te waha o te tipua Monokia te waha o te tahito Me puru to waha ki pari a nuku Me puru to waha ki pari a rangi E ki mai na koe, he tahito koe He koeke, he kai-ure” (Best, 95-96)

The sigil of the Many-Legged One… the Coral Tooth Fungus… the Black Meat is to be invoked for any individual seeking to grow beyond their current intellectual capacity. This can be in conjunction to studying towards a degree or even attempting to gain access to higher education from a lower socio-economic strata. He is in opposition to the snake as an archetype of evil, and thus, can be used when contacting Lucifer/Satan/The Devil as a talisman of protection.

Pekepekekiore is a friend of the forest ecosystem and if found in the wild, along with its sigil, can be used in protective rituals as the metaphorical spirit of place. Plagues of insects are rendered powerless in the face of this spirit-form. The magico-medicinal metabolites of Hericium coralloides are proven as effective agents in stemming the blinding storm that is cognitive decline, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Its sigil along with modified Osirian rites, the Māori spells listed above, or any similar magical practices will enhance its already powerful effects. Sigil courtesy of Ghostly Harmless’ Sigilizer

References Best E (1901) Maori Magic: Notes upon Witchcraft, Magic Rites, and Various Superstitions as practised or believed in by the Old-Time Maori. Auckland Institue. 69-99 Burroughs W S (1959) Naked Lunch. (First Evergreen Black Cat Edition, 6th Printing) Grove Press, Inc. New York, NY. Crockatt M (2008) Ecology of the rare oak polypore Piptoporus queyrcinus and the tooth fungi Hericium cirrhatum, H. coralloides, and H. erinaceus in the UK. Cardiff University. pp 1-129 Fuller, R, Buchanan P and Roberts M (2005) Medicinal uses of fungi by New Zealand Maori people. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms (7) pp 1 Julian A V, Wright C A, and Reyes R G (2018) Prelude to successful cultivation of Hericium in the Phillippines: Understanding its mycelial growth response on different culture media and its antibacterial activity. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Allied Sciences (7,2) pp 1-7 Miller D (1952) The insect people of the Maori. The Journal of the Polynesian Society (61, 1) pp 1-61 Whenua M, Stewart G, and Buchanan P (2020) Mātauranga Māori: Fungi as food and medicine. Retrieved from https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/image_maps/72-matauranga-maori-fungi-as-food-and-medicine Wittstein K, Rascher M, Rupcic Z, Lowen E, Winter B, Koster R W, and Stadler M (2016) Journal of Natural Products. pp 1-6 Mushroom Images Agrocybe parasitica from Ian Dodd Auricular cornea from ucera Cordyceps robertsii from Richard Hartland Hericium coralloides from Lisa Kimmerling and Alan Rockefeller Laetiporus portentosus from Ian Dodd Lycoperdon utriforme from Thomas Laxton

#Hericium coralloides

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markdanalundy · 4 years

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Cuenca: The Athena of Ecuador

March 10, 2010

Click here to view photos from some of our adventures in this post.

We are so fortunate to have been able to spend time in Cuenca, Ecuador and to share some of our adventures with our friends Alyson and Brad as well as with Flat Stanley. We now understand why the official nickname of Cuenca is "The Athena of Ecuador". It's due to the city's rich architecture and culture!

Nestled in the Andes mountains, Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador, and is rich in culture, the arts, and natural beauty. With its cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, historic churches, many museums, and natural parks and rivers running through the city, it was easy for us to explore, learn, and simply enjoy all we discoved and experienced.

There are a number of things that stand out for us as we think of Cuenca - the colors of the markets, the grandiosity of the surrounding mountains, the rich heritage that remains via the indiginous populations and the citiscape, and the kindness of the people we met and had a chance to interact with. And, of course, the joy and revalry that was ever-present during the city's Carnival celebration.

Carnival in Ecuador is a national holiday and something not to be missed. Filled with music, dancing, water and foam, people from throughout the country come together to mark the passage from winter and darkness to spring, fruits and fertility. It's the Mardi Gras of Latin America and it celebrates excess and abundance. Here's a short video showing what happened when friends and we were invited to join a celebration at a local school. (Too much fun!)

There was never a lack of things to keep us busy while we were in Cuenca. Some of the highlights include:

Amaru Biopark: This animal rescue park is perched on the top of a mountain on the outskirts of the city. Amaru hosts rescued animals that can no longer return to their habitat. Care is taken to create spaces as close as possible to each animal's natural environment. A few of the animals we saw were the Spectacled Bear, Pumas, the Andean Condor, a Black-bellied Eagle, Jaguars, Caimans, Macaws, different species of amphibians and monkeys. We normally don't do zoo

Devil's Nose Train Ride: Still recognized for its impressive engineering, this zig-zagging part of the Trans-Andean railroad goes up/down the Devil's Nose mountain which has almost perpendicular walls. It climbs more than 1/3 of a mile in just over 7.5 miles.

Incapirca Ruins: Ingapirca is the largest site of Inca ruins in Ecuador. During a visit here, one learns about both the Inca and the Canari cultures and customs.

Museums: Three of the many museums that we enjoyed during our stay were the Museo del Sombrero, Museo Pumapungo, and the Museum of Modern Art. Each of the museums are open for the public to visit at no charge, and provide insights into the cultures of the times. We were particularly surprised to find out that the Panama Hat originated in Ecuador, not Panama!

Churches: Cuenca is known for its many and interesting colonial churches - 52 in all (one for each week of the year)! Two of the most famous are known as the Old Church and the New Cathedral. The Iglesia Sagrario (or the Old Church) is now a religious museum. Among other items, there are murals that spread from floor to ceiling, a representation of the last supper with almost life-sized statues, the ancient organ, and crypts. But considered by some to be Cuenca's piece de resistance is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (or the New Cathedral). It's stained glass windows, Italian marble, and impressive blue domes, make this church an architectural masterpiece. Taking over 100 years to build, the bell towers remain unfinished to this day, as cracks in the structure prevented construction of the Cathedral from continuuing.

Markets and Parks: It is not possible to visit Cuenca without spending time roaming and enjoying the many markets and parks. At the center of the Cuenca's old city is Calderon Park - which is simply for sitting and enjoying views of the surrounding buildings and people-watching. A block away from the park is the Cuenca flower market, where you can buy 1 dozen roses for $1.00 (after all, Ecuador is one of the leading cut flower exporters in the world) and which has been rated the best flower market in the world. And, within short walking distances of Cuenca's epicenter there are countless indiginous artisan markets where handicrafts can be found, and mercados where local foods and goods are sold. On the right days, you can even find healers at the mercado who are happy to provide you with a spiritual cleansing.

With mixed feelings we had to shorten our visit to Cuenca. But we thoroughly enjoyed our 3 weeks in this city and can imagine returning to experience even more of what this part of the world has to offer.

#cuencaecuador #ecuadorcarnival

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rootsooman · 5 years

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When are we going to acknowledge that plenty of African food staples are already vegan (AND gluten free)?

With dairy not being the most ancient food staple for *most* tropical and savannah Africans, plenty of various African food staples are already vegan because of that fact. Everything from gari to fufu to injera to tiger nut milk to agundai fitfit and shiro to jollof rice and chapatis... those plus dishes from Africa's diasporic cuisine in the West Indies and Latin America.... are absolutely RIFE with already vegan and gluten free options and here are some of the obvious reasons:

1. The abundance and ubiquity of starches in warm environments. Starches are filling, swell and carry water, and are abundant in warm hot climates and easy to prepare and store for long journeys too. Yams, non-European grains (millet, sorghum, teff, kamut) and other starchy vegetables, tubers, fruit and grains are super-staples that are curiously missing from the superfoods hype list despite their nutrition and accessible pricing. Just 3.5oz of millet contains 11 grams of protein. It prevents diabetes, lowers triglycerides, is packed with vitamin B6 and Manganese too. It's gluten free just like teff. These are affordable grains.

2. Spices gone wild! Spices make vegetables and savory fruits very very agreeable to the palate, resulting in simple dishes like collard greens or calaloo with nightshades being jam-packed with flavor, making it easy to forget that you're just eating leaves. You would think that with the abundance of spices and flavors that appeal to most tastes, these diverse cuisines would be hyped up.

There seems to be a food hierarchy that literally pushes the media-fed lie that certain people groups don't eat and have nothing to contribute to veganism and thus need to be "saved" by veganism. This ignorance bolsters the fallacious idea that veganism and food in general must be handed out or "taught" to them, which actually continues and validates the current colonial capitalist order that veganism is tiptoeing around with its shortsighted activism.

3. Lack of (or relatively late) non-human Animal Slavery. Due to a lack of total reliance on domestic bovids, many (but not all, I repeat, not all) African countries and cultures do not prioritize dairy, (with many many exceptions of course). Dairy is not exactly a base in most African cuisine. That includes the areas close to Mediterranean Europe (even nearby Greek and Italian food have plenty of dairy free options). Camels and dairy cows were not always present on the continent. They were actually introduced, so you'll find that a lot of very ancient dishes are dairy free. Nigeria actually has been drinking nut milk (tiger nut milk, coconut milk etc) for centuries! Why aren't vegans talking about this? The world NEEDS to know that nut milk is neither new nor unusual to human beings.

Mainstream veganism tends to fetishize Asian food in the same way Asian women are fetishized, and this hyping up of third world Asian countries for rich western vegans also has a problematic angle, because those same places (Thailand etc) have a big sex tourism industry as well as rampant rape culture that I am afraid is being swept under the rug due to it not happening to non human animals. See the whole Durianrider controversies....

This "ripe for the picking" attitude amongst elite vegans is eerily similar to the colonizer mindset. We do not, as vegans, need to fetishize one or two regions unsustainably. Central America and Southeast Asia are not to be plundered. Please spread out your interests and boost other economies too. Vegans should be first in line NOT to over-harvest specific regions of the world where indigenous folk are being pressured. Africa's economies are ripe for support and desperately need to EXPORT and make some money rather than be forced to import poisonous American food that wipes out local, native economies.

So next time you go to a small grocery store, pick up a box or bag of fufu, gari, cassava flour or groundnuts from an authentic, African brand. Let's show some support to these untapped markets and help introduce the world at large to the vegan foods so many people have been sleeping on for ages. Please try to promote accessible, affordable vegan food. Not every meal has to include avocados or açai berries. Sometimes the humble plantain is enough.

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idyoma · 5 years

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The 10 Most Useful Languages for The Global Marketplace

Most Useful Languages

The world is a big place and there’s way more languages about than you can hope to learn.

So how do you decide what to start with?

Sometimes you fall in love with a language; something about it just eats into your bones and buries itself deep inside you.

For some, though, which language to add to their bow can be a much more calculated and logical decision.

If that sounds like you, then keep on reading.

In this Idyoma article, Pauline Farris is looking at which languages are most useful in the global marketplace, for business and travel.

It’s a small world after all

In 1964, Disney featured a ride at the New York World’s Fair. That ride was titled, “It’s a Small World,” and a singing group, the Sherman Brothers, wrote a song of the same title to be played during the ride. Visitors got into boats and traveled through scenes of children from all over the world, animated and in native dress.

That was 1964, and the world was really not such a small place. Certainly, there was international trade and travel, but businesses remained headquartered in their native countries.

The world has indeed become “small,” as the song stated. Today, international business is as commonplace as white bread. Consider just the following:

American retail enterprises have factories all over the world that produce their products (e.g. Nike in China)

American car manufacturers have plants in several foreign countries, and Japan has assembly plants in the U.S.

Consumers use Internet shopping to purchase products from all over the planet. And companies that want to reach foreign consumer markets must market their products and services in those markets.

Large enterprises have staff placed in strategic locations/offices ion countries in which they have business interests.

Companies are involved in importing and exporting raw materials and products among any number of nations and must communicate and collaborate with suppliers, customers, and partners in those other countries.

Job seekers often look for positions in foreign countries and then take up residency or even apply for citizenship in those countries.

With all of these international associations and the need for clear and understandable communication, language obviously becomes a critical factor in business success.

With that in mind, it might be important to take a look at the most important languages that will dominate international business now and in the near future.

Our list of the most useful languages:

Mandarin

Russian

German

Hindi

Arabic

Spanish

Japanese

Portuguese

French

Korean

Most useful languages: 1. Mandarin

While there are many variations of the Chinese language, Mandarin is the most widely spoken (about a billion speakers).

And here is the important thing to remember about China: It has the second-largest economy in the world. Predictions are that it will surpass that of the U.S. in the not too distant future.

The Chinese have expanded their business reach throughout the world, and it will be a rare country that does not feel that reach.

Learning Mandarin would be a wise choice for those who wish to work within the Chinese market place. And as pointed out by The Word Point, a major translation agency, the demand for Chinese translators is growing at a far more rapid rate than for other language experts.

Many companies are now hiring full-time Chinese businessmen and women in key positions, in order to have a better and more productive relationship with Chinese companies with which they do or intend to do business.

The challenge, of course, is that Mandarin is one of the hardest languages to learn for those who are native to the romance languages. On the other hand, Western business-people who are able to speak it will certainly impress their Chinese counterparts.

Most useful languages: 2. Russian

Russia, and its earlier counterpart, The Soviet Union, has wielded great political and economic power throughout the world for a long time. And as the world’s largest producer of oil, it is a force to be reckoned with.

Beyond oil, Russia has economic and political interests all over the world and has business relationships with many major Western enterprises.

It is estimated that about 260 million people in the world speak Russian, including many in countries that became independent when the Soviet Union was broken up. And within these former parts of the Soviet Union (mainly Eastern Europe), there are a large number of business opportunities in the engineering and IT industries.

Russia is also a major market for the U.S. and other Western countries’ goods. Because trade and business dealings will only increase with Russia and other Russian-speaking countries, having good translators or key staff who are fluent in the language is important.

It is another language that is very challenging to learn.

Most useful languages: 3. German

This is, without doubt, a major language of business in Western Europe. Unlike American students, most who grow up in European schools learn a few languages. While English is certainly one of them, German is as well.

Germany also enjoys the best and largest economy among European nations, and it looks as if it will remain in that position for years to come. Any company that is or has plans to enter the German and, indeed, the European market would do well to have its own people fluent in the language. On the other hand, German is not that difficult a language to learn.

Most useful languages: 4. Hindi

If you’re based in America, it is probable that you do not know one student who is studying Hindi, or a high school that is offering it.

Hindi is now the fourth most spoken language in the world, a result of the huge and growing population in India.

While it is still considered a “developing” nation, it is still considered one of the world’s fastest developing economies, and recently surpassed the United Kingdom and France in terms of raw GDP. The numbers of young people earning degrees and entering the global workforce are rapidly growing, and these will be the business leaders of the near future in the country.

Learning Hindi is one thing. Understanding the cultural segments and nuances is quite another. For this reason, companies that do business in India will need not just fluent Hindi speakers but, as well, natives to the culture.

Most useful languages: 5. Arabic

With about 300 million speakers of this language, spanning 27 countries, this language is an obviously important one.

There are plenty of areas in which the U.S. and other Western enterprises have major holdings, business interests, and collaborations across the Middle East and, as such, there are many opportunities for native English speakers to work in the area.

Equally many wealthy Arabic-speaking businessmen have holdings and business interests in Western countries; buying up real estate and investing in major Western corporations.

The Middle East has become a major importer of Western goods as well. As those populations get younger and more modern, and as some of the more traditional cultural standards are being relaxed, the demand is increasing exponentially.

While Arabic is a difficult language with many dialects, companies who do business or who wish to do business either with Arabic language-based businesses or consumers, are well-advised to get great intermediaries or employ Arabic-speaking natives, if they intend to collaborate and/or market effectively.

Most useful languages: 6. Spanish

Not only is the Spanish-speaking population of Latin America growing, but increasingly Spanish-speaking consumers and businesses are moving throughout the Americas.

This language is so prolific in the United States, for example, that now most phone calls taken by American businesses provide the option for English or Spanish.

And there is an increasing Spanish-speaking population throughout Europe as well. Some predict that Spanish-speakers will make up a full 30% of the U.S. population by 2050, and it is currently the official language of some 20 countries.

The business potential in Central and South America has long been realized by any number of American and other Western businesses. It has been an area for manufacturing of goods sold by American companies. But as Latin America continues to develop, there are far more collaborative business opportunities on the horizon.

And Spanish is such an easy language to learn, for those whose native languages are romance. It just makes sense for business leaders to take the time to learn the language, or, barring that, employ a strong staff of native speakers.

If you want to read more on learning Spanish you can read our articles:

Best Way to Learn Spanish: A 6 Month Process That Works for You

The Best 12 Spanish Movies to Immerse Yourself in the Language

Most useful languages: 7. Japanese

Japan continues to be a key player on the international business stage.

Its prowess in the electronics and gaming sectors are almost unmatchable. But more recently, robotics has become a major economic sector. And given that robotics is virtually impacting every major industry worldwide, being a leader in this niche puts Japan at the top for international business. Wikipedia says that Japan currently employs well over a quarter of a million robotics workers and that figure is expected to rise to well over a million by 2025, with revenues upwards to $70 billion.

Japan is one of the world’s largest economies and though Abenomics has come under strain post-crash, the economy continues to increase in productivity and grow in size. Japan are a major world player and their cultural impact globally has increased significantly in recent decades.

While many Japanese business leaders do speak English to some extent, companies would do well to employ Japanese-speaking pros on their teams. It’s a difficult language to learn, but a very popular one at the moment as a surge of Western youth take up the challenge.

Most useful languages: 8. Portuguese

Most people think of Portuguese as a language spoken only in Portugal and Brazil.

Actually, there are about 250 million native speakers in these two countries, and it is the official language in seven more.

But by far the most opportune area of international business is in Brazil, with its population closing in on about 225 million alone. And because over 60% of Brazilians are under 30 and increasingly educated and establishing and/or taking over businesses, the potential for investments, collaborations, and partnerships with foreign enterprises is significant.

Given that Brazil is now by certain metrics the 7th largest economy in the world, a source for significant raw materials, as well as a country coming into its own in industrial sectors, it will greatly help foreign companies to be prepared to deal in the language.

Portuguese is very close to Spanish and is not a difficult language to learn, but getting native-speakers on board now will enhance a company’s ability to get a foothold in this growing economy.

Most useful languages: 9. French

At one point, French was considered the international language of business, but that time has long since passed.

Still, given its colonial history, French is spoken all over the world, on every continent. It is second only to German within the European mainland languages. In all, there are about 350 million French speakers throughout the world, and many businesses, especially in Africa, the Mediterranean and the former Indochina prefer to use it.

As a romance language, French is not terribly difficult for English-speakers to learn, and it is taught throughout high schools and colleges in the English-speaking world. Any business hoping to move into markets that are heavily French-speaking would be advised to get some French-speakers in key positions.

Most useful languages: 10. Korean

The Kia and the Hyundai – both manufactured in Korea. Samsung – another multinational enterprise based in Korea. Within the technology and automobile sectors, Korea is a major player. And it is continually seeking collaborations and partnerships with enterprises all over the world – as distributors, assemblers, etc.

The need for business cooperation between South Korea and enterprises in other countries is significant. And Korean cultural mores demand a personal relationship with any business partners. Having Korean-speaking natives on your team will go a long way to establishing those trustful relationships that are such a priority.

It doesn’t have as many Western learners as Japanese or Chinese languages, but interest is higher now than at any point before.

Isn’t English the most useful language?

While English is still the most widely-used language of business in large parts of the world (there are well over 300 million people who speak English as either their native or second language), things are evolving.

The good news is that businesses will be able to find English-speakers in almost any country into which they wish to expand. But speaking only English can result in disadvantages too. There are cultural relationships to build too, and having speakers of the target business language can break down lots of barriers.

English is incredibly useful and that bodes well for those of us who are native speakers, but we have a great deal to gain from being able to effectively communicate in another major world language.

The global marketplace is becoming increasingly competitive. Businesses that want to move or continue to move into foreign markets would do well to provide some manner to communicate with businesses in their native languages. It breaks the ice, fosters better relationships, and indicates that those organizations are valuable and respected.

What languages do you believe are most valuable in the global marketplace? What’s your plan for learning them? Let us know in the comments below!

This guest post was from Pauline Farris. Pauline speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and Italian. She travelled the world to immerse herself in new cultures and learn languages. Today she is proud to be a voting member of the American Translators Association and an active participant of the Leadership Council of its Portuguese Language Division.

Check out some more of our articles:

The 14 Best Language Learning Apps for Fluency in 2019

The 7 Best Language Learning Software of 2018: The Awards!

The Best 12 Spanish Movies to Immerse Yourself in the Language

Best Way to Learn Spanish: A 6 Month Process That Works for You

Or download Idyoma, the number 1 app for local language exchange, on the AppStore or Playstore today:

Idyoma on the AppStore

Idyoma on the Playstore

#most useful languages #best languages to learn #english #mandarin #russian #german #hindi #french #spanish #arabic #portuguese #japanese #korean #idyoma #disney

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okpara-blog1 · 5 years

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Proposal to establish plantain orchard.

PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH PLANTAIN ORCHARD. Agriculture remains the largest sector of economy because it employs about 60% of the nations population especially those living in the rural areas and contribute about 50% of the country gross domestic product(GDP). One major problem facing developing countries in the tropics is the production of sufficient food and shelter for the large population.Food production is very important in the economies of many developing nations which can be achieved through agriculture. Agriculture remains another means of generating income for the country now that the price of oil has fallen in the world market and to also check the trend of unemployment and youth restiveness.Plaintain belong to the family of permanant crops with scientific name MUSA app.They are perennial crops with diverse cultiver that take the apperenace of trees as they mature. It believed that it originated in southeast asia but their introduction into Africa is unclear plaintain is a major staple food in Africa,Latin America and Asia.It is usually cooked and not eaten raw unless it is very ripe,it is more important in the humid lowlands of West and central. Hundred of varieties of plantain grow deep in the African rainforest,Plantain important food crop in the sub-Saharan African,producing more than 30% of the carbohydrate and 15% of the calories of approximately Twenty million people in the region. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF PLANTAIN. plantain is a profitable agricultural venture someone can go into and it's profit cannot be overemphased. 1.It increase food production. 2.It will help in rural development by providing job opportunities for rural dwellers. 3.Market is no doubt guaranteed as plantain are consumed by.A bunch of plantation that sell for #400 in those days now being sold between #800 - #900 respectively. This can be attributed to population increase and decline in production level. 4.It also has export potentials. 5.It can be procesed into flour and chips. 6.It can also improve country's economy. HEALTH BENEFIT. It also has health benefit which includes 1.It contains vitamin C,vitamin B,minerals and dietary fibres. 2.Good for someone that is debatic. 3.It cures erection dysfunction. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY. To establish this orchard,there is need to have a suitable land that has the following features. *Humid low land 30°c *Well distributed rainfall of about 100mm per month. It must be noted site for project should be visited by experts to ascertain their suitability or otherwise, after land procurement either By purchase or hire.This is followed by purchase of suckers. Planting is done by digging holds of about 30cm wide and deep after which the sucker are placed in the holes.The spacing between crops should be about 3meter.After planting herbicide can be applied to control weed growth. Cultural practices involve fertilizer application at 6month interval,regular weeding removal of unwanted develops well and produce desirable bunches.It takes a months for the crop to mature. COST ESTIMATE. To establish the plantain plantation,5 hectares of land can be use for a start. All projections are based on 5 hectares of land. REVENUE TURN IN. If the plantain suckers are managed very well,one suckers planted will in turn in produce one bunch of plantain per annum.This will rake in total sum of #8.1million per annum.Cost of maintenance per annum is estimated at #600,000.Investors will rake in the sum of #6.75million as profit every year. Plantain plantation can last for a very long time under good management and proper funding. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE/OPERATING EXPENSES. Land #600 Land preparation #350,000 Suckers (9,000)@ #100 each #900,000 Planting. #200,000 Herbicides #200,000 Employment of farms hands #380,000 Procurement of fertilizer #100,000 Miscellaneous Expense, farm tools #150,000 Transportation. #150,000 Farm tools #150,000 Wheelbarrow #100,000 Total #3,380,000 PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH PLANTAIN ORCHARD. Agriculture remains the largest sector of economy because it employs about 60% of the nations population especially those living in the rural areas and contribute about 50% of the country gross domestic product(GDP). One major problem facing developing countries in the tropics is the production of sufficient food and shelter for the large population.Food production is very important in the economies of many developing nations which can be achieved through agriculture. Agriculture remains another means of generating income for the country now that the price of oil has fallen in the world market and to also check the trend of unemployment and youth restiveness.Plaintain belong to the family of permanant crops with scientific name MUSA app.They are perennial crops with diverse cultiver that take the apperenace of trees as they mature. It believed that it originated in southeast asia but their introduction into Africa is unclear plaintain is a major staple food in Africa,Latin America and Asia.It is usually cooked and not eaten raw unless it is very ripe,it is more important in the humid lowlands of West and central. Hundred of varieties of plantain grow deep in the African rainforest,Plantain important food crop in the sub-Saharan African,producing more than 30% of the carbohydrate and 15% of the calories of approximately Twenty million people in the region. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF PLANTAIN. plantain is a profitable agricultural venture someone can go into and it's profit cannot be overemphased. 1.It increase food production. 2.It will help in rural development by providing job opportunities for rural dwellers. 3.Market is no doubt guaranteed as plantain are consumed by.A bunch of plantation that sell for #400 in those days now being sold between #800 - #900 respectively. This can be attributed to population increase and decline in production level. 4.It also has export potentials. 5.It can be procesed into flour and chips. 6.It can also improve country's economy. HEALTH BENEFIT. It also has health benefit which includes 1.It contains vitamin C,vitamin B,minerals and dietary fibres. 2.Good for someone that is debatic. 3.It cures erection dysfunction. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY. To establish this orchard,there is need to have a suitable land that has the following features. *Humid low land 30°c *Well distributed rainfall of about 100mm per month. It must be noted site for project should be visited by experts to ascertain their suitability or otherwise, after land procurement either By purchase or hire.This is followed by purchase of suckers. Planting is done by digging holds of about 30cm wide and deep after which the sucker are placed in the holes.The spacing between crops should be about 3meter.After planting herbicide can be applied to control weed growth. Cultural practices involve fertilizer application at 6month interval,regular weeding removal of unwanted develops well and produce desirable bunches.It takes a months for the crop to mature. COST ESTIMATE. To establish the plantain plantation,5 hectares of land can be use for a start. All projections are based on 5 hectares of land. REVENUE TURN IN. If the plantain suckers are managed very well,one suckers planted will in turn in produce one bunch of plantain per annum.This will rake in total sum of #8.1million per annum.Cost of maintenance per annum is estimated at #600,000.Investors will rake in the sum of #6.75million as profit every year. Plantain plantation can last for a very long time under good management and proper funding. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE/OPERATING EXPENSES. Land #600 Land preparation #350,000 Suckers (9,000)@ #100 each #900,000 Planting. #200,000 Herbicides #200,000 Employment of farms hands #380,000 Procurement of fertilizer #100,000 Miscellaneous Expense, farm tools #150,000 Transportation. #150,000 Farm tools #150,000 Wheelbarrow #100,000 Total #3,380,000 PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH PLANTAIN ORCHARD. Agriculture remains the largest sector of economy because it employs about 60% of the nations population especially those living in the rural areas and contribute about 50% of the country gross domestic product(GDP). One major problem facing developing countries in the tropics is the production of sufficient food and shelter for the large population.Food production is very important in the economies of many developing nations which can be achieved through agriculture. Agriculture remains another means of generating income for the country now that the price of oil has fallen in the world market and to also check the trend of unemployment and youth restiveness.Plaintain belong to the family of permanant crops with scientific name MUSA app.They are perennial crops with diverse cultiver that take the apperenace of trees as they mature. It believed that it originated in southeast asia but their introduction into Africa is unclear plaintain is a major staple food in Africa,Latin America and Asia.It is usually cooked and not eaten raw unless it is very ripe,it is more important in the humid lowlands of West and central. Hundred of varieties of plantain grow deep in the African rainforest,Plantain important food crop in the sub-Saharan African,producing more than 30% of the carbohydrate and 15% of the calories of approximately Twenty million people in the region. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF PLANTAIN. plantain is a profitable agricultural venture someone can go into and it's profit cannot be overemphased. 1.It increase food production. 2.It will help in rural development by providing job opportunities for rural dwellers. 3.Market is no doubt guaranteed as plantain are consumed by.A bunch of plantation that sell for #400 in those days now being sold between #800 - #900 respectively. This can be attributed to population increase and decline in production level. 4.It also has export potentials. 5.It can be procesed into flour and chips. 6.It can also improve country's economy. HEALTH BENEFIT. It also has health benefit which includes 1.It contains vitamin C,vitamin B,minerals and dietary fibres. 2.Good for someone that is debatic. 3.It cures erection dysfunction. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY. To establish this orchard,there is need to have a suitable land that has the following features. *Humid low land 30°c *Well distributed rainfall of about 100mm per month. It must be noted site for project should be visited by experts to ascertain their suitability or otherwise, after land procurement either By purchase or hire.This is followed by purchase of suckers. Planting is done by digging holds of about 30cm wide and deep after which the sucker are placed in the holes.The spacing between crops should be about 3meter.After planting herbicide can be applied to control weed growth. Cultural practices involve fertilizer application at 6month interval,regular weeding removal of unwanted develops well and produce desirable bunches.It takes a months for the crop to mature. COST ESTIMATE. To establish the plantain plantation,5 hectares of land can be use for a start. All projections are based on 5 hectares of land. REVENUE TURN IN. If the plantain suckers are managed very well,one suckers planted will in turn in produce one bunch of plantain per annum.This will rake in total sum of #8.1million per annum.Cost of maintenance per annum is estimated at #600,000.Investors will rake in the sum of #6.75million as profit every year. Plantain plantation can last for a very long time under good management and proper funding. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE/OPERATING EXPENSES. Land #600 Land preparation #350,000 Suckers (9,000)@ #100 each #900,000 Planting. #200,000 Herbicides #200,000 Employment of farms hands #380,000 Procurement of fertilizer #100,000 Miscellaneous Expense, farm tools #150,000 Transportation. #150,000 Farm tools #150,000 Wheelbarrow #100,000 Total #3,380,000

#business

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fatehbaz · 4 years

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On soil degradation and the use of non-native plants as weapons to change landscapes and sever cultural relationships to land; and on the dramatically under-reported but massive scale of anthropogenic environmental change wrought by early empires and “civilizations” in the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and ancient world (including the Fertile Crescent, Rome, and early China): I didn’t want to add to an already long post.

This is a Roman mosaic, from when Rome controlled Syria, depicting an elephant (presumably the Asian species, Elephas maximus) interacting with a tiger (the Caspian tiger, a distinct subspecies of tiger, lived in Mesopotamia, the shores of the Black Sea, and Anatolia up until the mid-1900s). This mosaic is striking to me, because I guess you could say that this is clear evidence of the higher biodiversity and more-dynamic ecology of the Fertile Crescent in the recent past, until expanding militarism and empire led to extensive devegetation. After all, does the popular consciousness really associate elephants and tigers with the modern-day eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia? Not really. But for the majority of human existence, lions, tigers, elephants, and cheetah were all living alongside each other in Mesopotamia. Pretty cool.

Anyway, I wanted to respond to this:

Which was in response to a thing I posted:

Pina: Thanks for the addition! I don’t know much about the technicality Rome’s devegetation of the Mediterranean periphery, but - like you - I’ve read some cool articles about it, and then forgotten to bookmark them. (I know that I have at least one good article in print form, about Roman devegetation; I’m going to try to find it.) I’m glad you mentioned it!

The first image is in the public domain and depicts a rhino-shaped ritual wine vessel made of bronze, from about 1100 to 1050 BC, during the Shang era. (The piece is housed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.) The second image is another bronze wine vessel from a site in Shaanxi Province, this time inlaid with gold and hailing from later in history during the Western Han period, about 205 BC to 10 AD. (Photo by Wikimedia user Babel/Stone.) The rhinos in both of these pieces are depicted with two horns, meaning that they likely depict the Sumatran rhinoceros; this is corroborated by the existence of fossil remains of Sumatran rhinos from across China prior to 1000 AD.

On devegetation in the ancient world:

Yes, it feels like the ecological effects of empires prior to the Middle Ages are not just “under-discussed,” but dramatically overlooked. Some “quintessential and iconic African fauna” like lions and cheetahs lived throughout the Fertile Crescent, until devegetation during the late Bronze Age and, a few centuries later, the ascent of Rome. Caspian tigers (a distinct subspecies of tiger) also lived nearby, in Anatolia, the Caucasus, the shores of the Black Sea, and Persia - right up until the 20th century, in fact! (Other iconic species present on the periphery of ancient Mesopotamia were Asian elephants; leopards are still present.) Aside from the devegetation of the Fertile Crescent and the later landscape modifications of Rome, I also don’t see a lot of popular discussion (there is academic discussion, though, obviously) of ecological change in Zhou-era and early imperial China, either. While early Mesopotamia is famous for the amount of social prestige ascribed to irrigators and engineers, who were evidently essential to maintaining the domesticated crops so important to “hydraulic civilization,” early China (apparently) also revered irrigators and engineers. At least according to folklore and written histories, before the Han period, seasonal floods, especially in the Yangtze watershed, would regularly destroy human settlements. Also, there far more tigers, leopards, rhinos, and elephants present; rhinos and elephants lived as far north as the Yellow River until empire really expanded, and the animals lived as far north as the Yangtze River into the European Renaissance era. So, those people with the technical expertise to “tame the wilderness” by damming rivers or calming floodwaters were given prestige and sometimes treated as folk heroes. [Chinese history is not a subject that I really know a lot about. I’m just relaying the observations made in one of the better books on environmental history in East Asia, which is Mark Elvin’s The Retreat of the Elephants - 2006.]

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On empires’ use of soil degradation to “sever connections to land” and “indirectly” destroy alternative or resisting cultures:

Seems that empire uses ecological degradation to enact a “severing of relations” (in Zoe Todd’s words). Basically: If you destroy somebody’s gardens, then they have to come to you to buy food. Furthermore, destroying someone’s connection to land will also harm their cultural traditions rooted in that land, eliminating a threat to the imperial cultural hegemony and erasing “alternative possibilities and futures” from the collective imaginary. (And destroying the imagination doesn’t just harm the invaded cultures, it also prevents the relatively privileged people living in the metropole or imperial core from “achieving consciousness” or whatever, wherein someone living in 150 AD Rome or 1890s New York City might imagine an alternative system and potentially dismantle the empire from within.)

It’s violence; destroying soil, cutting forests, it’s violence. But when empires destroy soil, they get to maintain a little bit of plausible deniability: “Ohhh, it’s not like we outright killed anybody, we just accidentally degraded the soil and now you can’t grow your own food. Damn, guess you have to rely on our market now, which also means you have to assimilate/integrate into our culture.”

Europe, the US, and the World Bank did this in West Africa after “independence.” They said “oh, yea, sure, we’ll formally liberate you from colonial rule.” But since the palm and sugar plantations were already installed, and many of the ungulate herds of the savanna had already been killed, what were new West African nations supposed to do? Miraculously resurrect the complex web of microorganism lifeforms in the soil? So what the US and its proxies are essentially doing is saying: “If you want loans, you have to keep the plantations and also install supermarkets to sell Coca-Cola.”

Todd: “The Anthropocene as the extension and enactment of colonial logic systematically erases difference, by way of genocide and forced integration and through projects of climate change that imply the radical transformation of the biosphere. Colonialism, especially settler colonialism – which in the Americas simultaneously employed the twinned processes of dispossession and chattel slavery – was always about changing the land, transforming the earth itself, including the creatures, the plants, the soil composition and the atmosphere.” [Heather Davis and Zoe Todd. “On the Importance of a Date, or Decolonizing the Anthropocene.” ACME An International Journal for Critical Geographies. December 2017.]

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On the use of non-native plants as a sort of “biological weapon”:

The use of non-native plants and agriculture to enforce colonization and empire is the whole focus of this influential book from Alfred Crosby. (I have some issues/criticisms of some of his work/theories, but his work is generally interesting.) Crosby popularized the term “neo-Europes,” and he proposes that European empires attempted to subjugate the native ecology of landscapes in Turtle Island, Latin America, Australia, etc., while attempting to introduce European species, cattle ranches, pastures, dairy farms, gardens, etc. in an effort to “recreate” a European landscape.

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Speaking of Rome’s devegetation of the Mediterranean: One of the famous cases of Roman devegetation that made the rounds recently was that of silphium. A couple of excerpts:

[From: The Original Seed Pod That May Have Inspired the Heart Shape This historical botanical theory has its roots in ancient contraceptive practices.” Cara Giaimo for Atlas Obscure, 13 February 2017.]

Silphium, which once grew rampant in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, in North Africa, was likely a type of giant fennel, with crunchy stalks and small clumps of yellow flowers. From its stem and roots, it emitted a pungent sap that Pliny the Elder called “among the most precious gifts presented to us by Nature.”

According to the numismatist T.V. Buttrey, exports of the plant and its resins made Cyrene the richest city on the continent at the time. It was so valuable, in fact, that Cyrenians began printing it on their money. Silver coins from the 6th century B.C. are imprinted with images of the plant’s stalk -- a thick column with flowers on top and leaves sticking out -- and its seed pods, which look pretty familiar:

[End of excerpt.]

Silphium is extinct now. There is a lot of conjecture about what, specifically, caused the extinction. But it looks like the expansion of Rome across the North African coast of the Mediterranean, and Rome’s development leading to soil degradation, is a likely cause.

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Thanks @pinabutterjam :3

The scale of ecological imperialism’s effects ... planetary, no escape. It’s exhausting.

#long #sorry #sorry sorry #thank you pina

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