From: Mvw
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2003
11:44 PM
To: Gary Gevisser
Subject: News from Davos
Hi Gary
What follows is the content of an email I received from a friend who is connected to a journalist for Newsday. It is basically her notes from attending the most recent world economic forum in Davos. She seem to have had pretty good access to the powerful with and without teeth who is trying to screw up the earth. The tone of it may be up your ally.
It is NOT an email about how the South Africans know how to party!
Marius
>Hi
Guys.
>
>OK,
hard to believe, but true. Yours truely has been hobnobbing with the
>ruling
class.
>
>I
spent a week in
>awarded
a special pass which allowed me full access to not only the
>entire
official meeting, but also private dinners with the likes the
>head
of the Saudi Secret Police, presidents of various insundry
>countries,
your Fortune 500 CEOS and the leaders of the most important
>NGOs
in the world. This was not typical press access. It was full-on,
>unfettered,
class A hobnobbing.
>
>Davos,
I discovered, is a breathtakingly beautiful spot, unlike anything
>I'd
ever experienced. Nestled high in the Swiss Alps, it's a three hours
>train
ride from
>snow-laden
mountains that bring to mind Heidi and Audrey Hepburn (as in
>the
opening scenes of "Charade"). The EXTREMELY powerful arrive by
>helicopter.
The moderately powerful take the first class train. The NGOs
>and
we mere mortals reach heaven via coach train or a conference bus.
>Once
in
>range
from B&B to ultra luxury 5-stars, all of which are located along
>one
of only three streets that bisect the idyllic village of some 13,000
>permanent
residents.
>
>Local
Davos folks are f
>a
5-15 minute bus ride away, depending on which astounding downhill you
>care
to try. I don't know how, so rather than come home in a full body
>cast
I merely watched.
>
>This
sweet little chalet village was during the WEF packed with about
>3000
delegates and press, some 1000 Swiss police, another 400 Swiss
>soldiers,
numerous tanks and armored personnel carriers, gigantic rolls
>of
coiled barbed wire that gracefully cascaded down snow-covered
>hillsides,
missile launchers and assorted other tools of the national
>security
trade. The security precautions did not, of course, stop there.
>Every
single person who planned to enter the conference site had special
>electronic
badges which, upon being swiped across a reading pad,
>produced
a computer screen filled color portrait of the attendee, along
>with
his/her vital statistics. These were swiped and scrutinized by
>soldiers
and police every few minutes -- any time one passed through a
>door,
basically. The whole system was connected to handheld wireless
>communication
devices made by HP, which were issued to all VIPs. I got
>one.
Very cool, except when they crashed. Which, of course, they did
>frequently.
These devices supplied every imagineable piece of
>information
one could want about the conference, your fellow delegates,
>Davos,
the world news, etc. And they were emailing devices --- all
>emails
being monitored, of course, by Swiss cops.
>
>Antiglobalization
folks didn't stand a chance. Nor did Al Qaeda. After
>all,
if someone m
>would
basically lose a fair chunk of its ruling and governing class
>POOF,
just like that. So security was the name of the game. Metal
>detectors,
X-ray machines, shivering soldiers standing in blizzards,
>etc.
>
>Overall, here is
what I learned about the state of our world:
>
>-
I was in a dinner with heads of Saudi and German FBI, plus the
>foreign
minister of
>had
70,000 members. Only 10% of them were trained in terrorism -- the
>rest
were military recruits. Of that 7000, they say all but about 200
>are
dead or in jail.
>
>-
But Al Qaeda, they say, is like a brand which has been heavily
>franchised.
And nobody knows how many unofficial franchises have been
>spawned
since 9/11.
>
>-
The global economy is in very very very very bad shape.
Last year
>when
WEF met here in
>recovery
is right around the corner". This year "recovery" was a word
>never
uttered. Fear was palpable -- fear of enormous fiscal hysteria.
>The
watchwords were "deflation", "long term stagnation" and
"collapse of
>the
dollar". All of this is without war.
>
>-
If the
>quick
surgical strike (lasting less than 30 days), the economists were
>all
predicting extreme economic gloom: falling dollar value, rising spot
>market
oil prices, the Fed pushing interest rates down towards zero with
>resulting
increase in national debt, severe trouble in all countries
>whose
currency is guaranteed agains the dollar (which is just about
>everybody
except the EU), a near cessation of all development and
>humanitarian
programs for poor countries. Very few economists or
>ministers
of finance predicted the world getting out of that economic
>funk
for minimally five-10 years, once the downward spiral ensues.
>
>-
Not surprisingly, the business community was in no mood to hear about
>a
war in
>Tories
and some
>anti-American
mood. Last year the WEF was a lovefest for
>year
the mood was so ugly that it reminded me of what it felt like to be
>an
American overseas in the Reagan years. The rich -- whether they are
>French
or Chinese or just about anybody -- are livid about the
>crisis
primarily because they believe it will sink their financial
>fortunes.
>
>-
Plenty are also infuriated because they disagree on policy grounds. I
>learned
a great deal. It goes FAR beyond the sorts of questions one
>hears
raised by demonstrators and in UN debates. For example:
>
>-
If Al Qaeda is down to merely 200 terrorists cadres and a
>handful
of wannabe franchises, what's all the fuss?
>
>-
The
>settlement
between
>energy
should be focused on placing painful financial pressure on all
>sides
in that fight, forcing them to the negotiating table. Otherwise,
>the
ME may well explode. The war in
>that
core issue, at worst may aggravate it.
>of
the "desperate search for hope".
>
>-
Serious Islamic leaders (e.g. the King of Jordan, the Prime
>Minster
of
>world
must recapture the glory days of 12-13th C Islam. That means
>finding
tolerance and building great education institutions and places
>of
learning. The King
was passionate on the subject. It also means
>freedom
of movement and speech within and among the Islamic nations.
>And,
most importantly to the WEF, it means flourishing free trade and
>support
for entrepeneurs with minimal state regulation. (However, there
>were
also several
>opposite.
They believe bringing down Saddam Hussein and then pushing the
>Israel/Palestine
issue could actually result in a Golden Age for Arab
>Islam.)
>
>-
>cannot
behave in partnership with its allies -- especially the Europeans
>--
it risks not only political alliance but BUSINESS, as well. Company
>leaders
argued that they would rather not have to deal with US
>government
attitudes about all sorts of multilateral treaties (climate
>change,
intellectual property, rights of children, etc.) -- it's easier
>to
just do business in countries whose governments agree with yours. And
>it's
cheaper, in the long run, because the regulatory envornments match.
>War
against
>
>-
For a minority of the participants there was another layer of
>AntiAmericanism
that focused on moralisms and religion. I often heard
>delegates
complain that the
>we
block all treaties and UN efforts that would support sex education
>and
condom access for children and teens. They spoke of sex education as
>a
"right". Similarly, there was a decidedly mixed feeling about
>Ashcroft,
who addressed the conference. I attended a small lunch with
>Ashcroft,
and observed Ralph Reed and other prominent Christian
>fundamentalists
working the room and bowing their heads before eating.
>The
rest of the world's elite finds this American Christian behavior at
>least
as uncomfortable as it does Moslem or Hindu fundamentalist
>behavior.
They find it awkward every time a
>"faith-based"
programs. It's different from how it makes non-Christian
>Americans
feel -- these folks experience it as downright embarrassing.
>
>-
When Colin Powell gave the speech of his life, trying to win
>over
the nonAmerican delegates, the sharpest attack on his comments came
>not
from Amnesty International or some Islamic representative -- it came
>from
the head of the largest bank in the
>
>I
learned that the only economy about which there is much enthusiasm is
>
>But
the honcho of the Bank of China, Zhu Min, said that fantastic growth
>could
slow to a crawl if
>Currently
400 million Chinese are urbanites, and their average income is
>16
times that of the 900 million rural residents. Zhu argued
>urbanize
nearly a billion people in ten years!
>
>I
learned that the
>and
only a handful of nations have sufficient internal growth to thrive
>when
the
>
>The
WEF was overwhelmed by talk of security, with fears of terrorism,
>computer
and copyright theft, assassination and global instability
>dominating
almost every discussion.
>
>I
learned from American security and military speakers that, "We need
>to
attack
>preemptively,
as part of a global war.
>campaign
that will last years, taking out states, cleansing the planet."
>
>The
mood was very grim. Almost no parties, little fun. If it hadn't been
>for
the South Africans -- party animals every one of them -- I'd never
>have
danced. Thankfully, the South Africans staged a helluva party, with
>Jimmy
Dludlu's band rocking until
>freely,
glass after glass after glass....
>
>These
WEF folks are freaked out. They see very bad economics ahead, war,
>and
more terrorism. About 10% of the sessions were about terrorism, and
>it's
heavy stuff. One session costed out what another 9/11-type attack
>would
do to global markets, predicting a far, far worse impact due to
>the
"second hit" effect -- a second hit that would prove all the world's
>post-9/11
security efforts had failed. Another costed out in detail what
>this,
or that, war scenario
>Would
do to spot oil prices. Russian speakers argued that "failed
>nations"
were spawning terrorists --- code for saying, "we hate
>
>greater
asymmetric threat: nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
>
>Finally,
who are these guys? I actually enjoyed a lot of my
>conversations,
and found many of the leaders and rich quite charming and
>remarkably
candid. Some dressed elegantly, no matter how bitter cold and
>snowy
it was, but most seemed quite happy in ski clothes or casual
>attire.
Women wearing pants was perfectly acceptable, and the elite is
>sufficiently
>Multicultural
that even the suit and tie lacks a sense of dominance.
>Watching
Bill Clinton address the conference while sitting in the hotel
>room
of the President of Mozambique -- we were viewing it on closed
>circuit
TV -- I got juicy blow-by=blow
>from
a remarkably candid head of state. A day spent with Bill Gates
>turned
out to be fascinating and fun. I found the CEO of Heinekin
>hilarious,
and George Soros proved quite earnest about confronting AIDS.
>Vicente
Fox -- who I had breakfast with -- proved sexy and smart like a
>---
well, a fox. David Stern (Chair of the NBA) ran up and gave me a
>hug.
>
>The
world isn't run by a clever cabal. It's run by about 5,000
>bickering,
sometimes charming, usually arrogant, mostly male people who
>are
accustomed to living in either phenomenal wealth, or great personal
>power.
A few have both. Many of them turn out to be remarkably naive --
>especially
about science and technology. All of them are financially
>wise,
though their ranks have thinned due to unwise tech-stock
>investing.
They pay close heed to politics, though most would be happy
>if
the global political system behaved far more rationally -- better for
>the
bottom line. They work very hard, attending sessions from dawn to
>nearly
>to
be the best available in the entire world. They are impatient. They
>have
a hard time reconciling long term issues (global wearming, AIDS
>pandemic,
resource scarcity) with their daily bottomline foci. They are
>comfortable
working across languages, cultures and gender, though white
>caucasian
males still outnumber all other categories. They adore hi-tech
>gadgets
and are glued to their cell phones.
>
>Welcome
to Earth: meet the leaders.
>
>Ciao,
>Laurie
From: Mvw
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003
1:00 AM
To: Devin
Cc: Gary S. Gevisser
Subject: Sea Monsters
Hi Devin
I'm South African, but feeling a little stateless at the moment - globalization at work.
I thought things got quite speedy on hover crafts at some point - not 100 knots though.
According to a recent article I read in Wired magazine ( I think), conceptual work is been done on the largest plane ever to take the "sky". It will rely on the surface effects at play when flying very low altitude, thus maximizing cargo capability. I think it referred to your sea monster, but a quick search has not revealed the article.
I saw people-only ferries running between the Greek Isles that relied on some kind of ski-like mechanism to elevate itself above the water as it gathered speed. This was 10 years ago, and its general appearance was not that new at the time. I don't know how well they worked, but I vaguely remember a speed figure of 30 knots. I have a rough concept based on that and more which I could run by you if interested. I have no idea what might have been tried and/or discredited with that kind of system though.
Your saucer sounds very interesting. I hope there shall soon be something to see. At the very least you can make the cover of the National Inquirer!
Cheers,
Marius
From: Devin
[devin@quasark.com]
Sent:
To: 'Gary S. Gevisser'; 'Mvw'
Subject: RE: Mice and men
Hi Marius:
Primarily funding issues rather than
technical.
Of course, any vessel which remains on the
surface will have challenges dampening waves in extremley elevated sea states.
An easy way to avoid that is low level
flight as the Russians do with their Ukranian Sea Monster.
We in fact have a saucer shaped VTOL which
we have flown in scale model; but the political hurdles of aircraft development
are horrific.
In the short term, we are trying to
alleviate the pain caused by the impact of serious vertical acceleration shocks
which our sailors are
subjected to, to say nothing of the fuel
savings associated with friction reduction.
The CE)/technologist is perfecting a scale
demonstration model which we intend to secure the necessary funds to finish the
full scale prototype,
and, or to sell the IP to one of several
defense contractors with which we have already established good relations.
Whichever comes first.
Dutch, Belgian or South African?
Ciao,
Devin
Devin S. Standard
President
QuasArk America, Inc.
Tel: 858 337 1802
Fax:619 544 0993
Devin@quasark.com
From: Gary S. Gevisser [mailto:
Sent: 17. februar 2003
To: Mvw
Cc:
Subject: Mice and men
Marius, Marie and I both felt your
positive waves best reflected in the photo taken by the photographer who went light on the
quality of his film. No doubt nothing could dampen our spirits this V Day after
deciding to stop by your spot for a “last call”
where Marie was undoubtedly the “show stopper” although her moves
at Deco’s earlier in the evening got the uptight feeling even more
depressed. No doubt this world needs more blues music with dancers who have all
the right moves, two left-footed types like me need much help in making the right
moves. I plan to enquire into dancing lessons this week.
I’m copying
Problems seem to begin when one relies on
one’s government to throw money at projects taking the inventiveness out
of inventors much the same way leaving a large inheritance dampens the enthusiasm
of the next generation. The more I look at uptight engineering types like those
folks who spent millions to get the ink in a pen to defy gravity while working
in outer space, turning a blind eye to their Russian counterparts who had to
make do with pencils as their government poured out the vodka dummying the
masses, money without a “Gold Standard”
simply a means to keep the downtrodden on the wrong sides of the track, the
more convinced I am that in the process of the intellectual elite letting their
formal education interfere with their learning they essentially opened up the
aperture exposing their darkened mind to the bright lights, turning brains
cells into poop that with gravity and the spine as a ladder ends up down the
drain with “joy ride” specialists getting it in the shorts;
mice-lice pretty much the same in terms of how they probably poop,
wouldn’t you agree? Chunky cheese will do it, cellulite to
boot[1].
By the way is it true that a drain turns
differently south of the equator than it does north to mention little of what
the brain drain has caused to places like
I will also let Devin know that you have
an interest in water craft to mention little of your “Stellenbosch”
engineering credentials and with a name like Mari-us that
couldn’t dampen Marie’s face that with each passing day seems to
smile more and more, fakes to boot; soon a “wake up” call for
everyone.
Ps – below are some more photos of
the evenings outing.
From: Mvw
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Hi Gary
Saturday night with you and Marie was short, but invigorating. Never know what can happen when someone needs room next to you for leftovers.
I checked out QuasArk with interest. It looks promising, but did they hit some waves the system couldn't dampen? Shortage of money and/or technical problems perhaps?
Hope we shall communicate.
Mvw
