Mark Scheffler's Notebook:

Obama's speech: The view from sweet home Chicago

How did Obama’s big Cairo stopover play in the corridors of Chicago’s foreign policy intelligentsia?

“I thought it was a really brave speech,” said Middle East expert Dr. Rachel Bronson, vice president of programs and studies at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

For Bronson, a former director of Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the speech was all about the American president essentially trying to rewrite the terms and framework of the discussion.

It’s Obama’s soft power vs. Bush’s hard, and “it has a better shot in the long-term,” Bronson says. “We have tried to say we won’t deal with undemocratic leaders. What we’ve found is: we can’t sustain that policy and it’s not successful.”

Bronson says that in choosing to address the Israeli-Palestinian issue third, and starting instead with the issue of extremism, Obama was recontextualizing the American perspective. “He didn’t lead by saying this was the all-encompassing issue. I thought that was appropriate.”

She was surprised the president took on Hamas so directly. “He was surprisingly direct and hard-hitting on Hamas in a way he didn’t have to be.” But in so doing, she says, he “charted out a nonviolent political strategy for Palestinians.”

Obama’s litany of historical references to Muslim achievements was a rebuke to Al-Qaeda, Bronson says, which argues that there’s no history between the 600s, the era of Muhammad, and now, and that Bin Laden’s movement needs to recreate that history. “Obama is creating a truer and more helpful narrative that moderates can get behind.”

Obama’s pre-Cairo visit with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was also telling Bronson says. “Presidents have gone, but they don’t go right out of the gate. To go so early and so visibly is extremely unusual.”

The visit conveyed that Obama was going first where the Muslim world was born, but also where the levers of power in the modern Arab world are located. “What’s America’s challenge? Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, followed by Iraq. In all those issues Saudi Arabia is key to getting it right.”

Overall, the Cairo speech was an act of reconciliation, one that recognized that toxic anti-Americanism prevents the U.S. from building coalitions. Obama laid down a marker: It’s no longer “You’re either with us or against us." It's more like "we’re all in this together.”

Previously “Al-Qaeda set the terms,” Bronson says. “Obama is setting up a different conversation. It does what we all said was necessary: it empowers moderates. It makes anti-Americanism less easy. That will reverberate.”

The Nano's burning rubber

It’s the Little Engine That Could.

Tata today announced it has 203,000 booked, fully paid orders for the Nano, it’s small uber car — bringing the company, India’s largest vehicle maker, a $500 million cash infusion.

70 percent of the cars were financed and the rest were paid out in cash.

The tiny Nano will hit the streets later this summer, further clogging the arteries that are India’s roads.

But that $500m is not all bankable income — yet. The 203,000 orders are double what Tata can build in its initial production run. So the big question now is whether the company can in fact meet its obligations on the supply side.

All 203,000 customers who placed orders will go into a lottery to choose the first 100,000 customers. These lucky Nano pioneers will get their cars by the end of June or early July.

Those not part of the first rollout can either cancel their order, or keep the cash advance they paid with the company to earn 8.5 percent interest for the first year.

So before Tata goes on a joyride with its $500 million, it’s got some cars to crank out.

Swine flu: breathe easy?

When an outbreak like swine flu hits, certain public areas can start to feel more like scenes from "The Toxic Avenger."

Denizens start donning surgical face masks in the hope of avoiding the affliction. Remember the SARS virus? The masks flew off the shelves, particularly in east Asia.

Politicians are calling for calm. But the virus has done some damage: it is suspected in more than 150 deaths. And in the U.S., it has killed an infant in Texas and been confirmed in at least 94 people in 11 states.

One big-name standing to reap some benefits from all this is 3M, a major distributor of the N95, the type of mask recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

These protective devices are typically worn by guys wielding jackhammers on dust-plagued construction sites.

3M doesn't give out numbers on units shipped, but they have said that they have seen demand increase and are boosting production.

"We're adding more shifts," said a spokesperson, Jacqueline Berry.

They sell for between $3 and $5 a piece. 3M is fielding requests from all over the world, from health organizations to hospitals. "We have more orders than we can fill," Berry said.

The drug store chain Walgreens is also reporting a spike in sales.

But there's some conflicting information as to whether the CDC recommends donning the
"ER"-esque face masks in swine flu situations.

The CDC website says the following: "Very little is known about the benefits of wearing face masks and respirators to help control the spread of pandemic flu."

Medical Supplies Depot in Alabama, which earned some press during the SARS era, sold out of their supply of the N95s, and said they were told by their supplier that there was a three-month wait for more.

"The estimated time of arrival was August 10," said Julie Fields, who works in accounts receivable.

Until the situation flares up — or if the situation flares up — the best advice might be to breathe easy.
 

A pirate's dozen

There's been plenty of action on the pirate front again today:

• A French warship captured 11 Somali pirates some 550 miles east of the Kenyan port of Mombassa.
• Other pirates released a Greek ship, and 24 crew members, that had been held since March 19.
• The United Nations special envoy for Somalia — Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah — said pirate attacks are threatening international peace.
• U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to bring Somali pirates to "justice."

To help you better understand the complexities of this ongoing story — pirates, global commerce, the long history of crime on the high seas — we've put together "Piracy 101: 13 things you need to know," culled from the best sources in the world and on the Web, as well as our own reporting here, here and here:

1) Global navies need not apply

Author (and former USAF special operations pilot) John Robb has got it bad for decentralized warfare: the way small bands can make big impacts. He’s riffed on Niger Delta saboteurs who blow up oil pipelines and send the price of crude reeling, for example. He says Somali pirates represent another manifestation of the prowling banditry of 21st century warfare. Here’s Robb on why the idea of Great Nation navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden won’t cut it.

2) Anti-piracy measures du jour

At every warmonger’s favorite blog, aka Wired’s “Danger Room," helmsman Noah Schachtman has the rundown of the range of current defensive measures — few of them good.

3) Same story; different ocean

For a pirate story half a world away from the Middle East, I’m reminded of a great Slate series by Kelly McEvers called “How (Not) To Find a Pirate in the Strait of Malacca." In it, McEvers tries to find an Indonesia pirate who would talk on the record. But it’s also a gripping yarn about the otherwise mundane lives of these would-be high-seas rollers.

4) WaterWorld: An Introduction

Regards to Abu Muqawama for directing us land dwellers to two indispensable resources for understanding the maritime piracy mess: First is Martin Murphy, who examines the links between piracy and organized crime. The second is “Information Dissemination" a site that pulls together great data like how many attacks occured in the Gulf of Aden last year (180), and how many have happened so far in 2009 (80).

5) The South African scenic route

Vessels wishing to bypass the mayhem in the Gulf of Aden can go the way ships used to travel before the Suez Canal opened: down around the tip of South Africa and back up the west coast of the contintent. According to Kevin Sterling, an analyst at Stephens, Inc., a ship traveling from, say, China to Rotterdam that opted for this route would add 10 days to the journey. But with the recent drop in fuel costs, and the rise in rogue seas, it might be an option. “When fuel was at $700 a ton, you couldn’t justify it,” he says. “But now that it’s at about $300, you can.”

6) It’s just like being there! Gulf of Aden edition

Here’s a more or less real-time link to piracy in action, courtesy of NATO.

7) Turning pirates from their evil ways:

What about giving pirates the financial incentive to work for their country instead of the black market? That’s a concept floated by Nikolas Gvosdev in the National Interest that works along the lines of turning former drug dealers into undercover cops.

8) From the Department of Duh

One thing that’s easy to overlook: the Somali pirates have zero interest in the non-human cargo on these boats. Why? Somalia has no ports that can handle large oil tankers.

9) Smile for the camera

This photo sideshow from the New Republic offers glimpses of the pirates who look nothing like Johnny Depp or Captain Hook.

10) Is Danish shipping company Maersk falsely impersonating an American one?

U.S. shipping comprises a measly 3 percent of the total of all ships afloat, according to Peter Schauer, CEO of Orion Marine Corp, a Chicago-based shipping logistics company. But when industry giant Maersk, which is a Danish company, ships cargo for the U.S. military it does so under a U.S. flag. They’re happy to do it, of course, because they charge more.

Schauer, who specializes in getting cargo to scary places like Congo and Sudan, has nothing but kind words for the government waste this incurs: “The wise men in Congress have so decreed it. In their infinite wisdom, we can’t entrust a foreign flag to ship our tanks to hotspots. As a result we as taxpayers are paying 3 to 5 times the rate if we went with another flag or carrier.”

11) A solution without the body count

Not sure how effective the Spider Man approach is, but this “non-lethal” net-casting concept, courtesy of the Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions, seems like an interesting deterrent:

12) “Terrorists of the Caribbean” just doesn’t have the same ring

Time for a new nomenclature? So says Annie Lowrey at FP’s Passport blog.  The problem according to Lowrey: When people think of “pirates” they think of Captain Hook or Jack Sparrow — quaint, endearing and with an element of high-seas mystique. Houston, I think we have a branding problem.

13) The pirate cheat sheet

Finally, our good friends at the Council on Foreign Relations have this comprehensive round-up of need-to-know data about piracy.

Happy hunting.

Indian Bribe Terminology: An Introduction

DELHI — India’s economy is booming, but a big part of doing business here involves schemes, bribes, payolas, quid pro quos, etc.

So while India's entrepreneurs are buzzing with brio and great ideas, they're often thwarted by bureaucratic hassles.

The country ranks 85th on Transparency International’s “Corruption Perceptions” index, which measures the “abuse of public office for private gain.” (For what it’s worth, Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden are the top three. Iraq and Myanmar take up the bottom of the list with Somalia last at 180. The U.S. is 18th. China is 72nd.)

A recent study on entrepreneurship conducted by National Knowledge Commission here in India was based on interviews with 155 entrepreneurs from across the country. About 60 percent said they faced corruption at some time during the course of conducting (or setting up) a business.

A World Bank report called "Doing Business in South Asia 2007" said it takes 35 to 52 days to start a business in India. The costs (fees, obtaining registration documents, etc.) are high and the process involves a byzantine 13 procedures.

With all this mind, I've culled together a little list based on the premise that getting things done in certain parts of the subcontinent is about who you know, what you say and how much you can pay. The following phrases — euphemistic gems all — were collected from various business owners I’ve spoken with over the years. They signal that a situation is ripe for a bribe, and if you want to get that license or those papers or that project greenlighted, the best thing to do might be to reach for your wallet:

"You haven't added any wheels to file. How's the file going to move if it doesn't have any wheels?"

"You haven't made any arrangements for the tea and water."

"You haven't paid the facilitation charge."

"How about something for the kids?"

"How about the UTT allowance?" (UTT=under the table)

"You haven't added the LPC." (L=lassi (buttermilk); P=Pani (water); C=chai (tea)"

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