"The opportunity expires to show the world that Putin is serious about helping."

Said : Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in a press briefing, CNN reported on July 19. 

More than two days after the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in Ukraine, the bodies still have not been removed from the crash site. The remains of the 298 people killed in the crash have not been secured. World leaders have complained that the recovery is not happening fast enough, mainly because pro-Russia militants control the crash site.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to force the rebels to allow full access.

"I want to see results in the form of unimpeded access and rapid recovery," Rutte said in a press briefing. "This is now priority number one." Rutte called images of people rummaging through the debris and belongings of victims "downright disgusting."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a news conference
at the Ministry of Safety and Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Friday. 

According to CNN, Rutte told reporters of what he called "a very intense conversation" with Putin on Saturday in which he told the Russian leader "the opportunity expires to show the world that he is serious about helping."

Nearly two-thirds of the people on the jetliner, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were Dutch.

More details at Read :

Furious Dutch prime minister tells Putin to exert his influence 

Dutch Premier Decries 'Utterly Disrespectful Behavior' At MH17 Crash Site
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warns Vladimir Putin of 'last chance' to help recover bodies

If you want it, you can't get it; if you can get it, you don't want it : Alibaba IPO

Rick Schmidt

Said : Rick Schmidt, portfolio manager at Bridgewater, New Jersey’s Harding Loevner, when asked about the forthcoming debut of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's IPO.

Harding Loevner manages $37 billion, primarily in international stocks, and Schmidt helps lead the firm’s $2.2 billion emerging markets fund.

Steve Schaefer of Forbes, spoke to Schmidt shortly before Alibaba formally filed documents to list in the United States, last month. "Schmidt lauded the company while lamenting that the deal would probably be priced too high to hold much appeal for him initially," Forbes reported.

In 2013, Ailbaba processed 11.3 billion orders worth $248 billion, well ahead of Amazon and Ebay combined, with its sales accounting for 84% of China’s online shopping.

Alibaba Group's corporate campus in Hangzhou, China

According to Schmidt, Alibaba's IPO has the typical characteristics of emerging markets IPOs where the appealing IPOs generally get too expensive thanks to growth-hungry buyers. “If you can get it, you don’t want it,” he adds. “If you want it, you’re not gonna get it.”

In Schmidt's opinion, the most-hyped IPOs draw demand that far exceeds the number of shares being offered, driving up price and shutting out all but the biggest institutions and most well-connected investors. "In the current landscape, with many high-flying tech stocks falling out of orbit, it’s worth remembering that even the hottest deals often revisit their IPO prices – Twitter has gotten close in recent sessions – and even those that don’t will go through trying periods that make for more attractive buying opportunities," he said.

Schmidt prefers to wait for some time before taking a call at a certain price in case things go sour either due to broader market headwinds or some kind of post-offering swoon. “The busts are the best,” he says. “There’s never more information asymmetry than an IPO – the company knows everything about themselves and only lets you know what they want you to through the filter of the investment banks. With time, every day we learn more and get a track record. I’d much rather wait.”

“This is a man who took us directly into Iraq. Please.”

John Kerry on Dick Cheney

Said : US Secretary of State John Kerry in reply when asked about former vice-president Dick Cheney’s assertion that President Barack Obama has been wrong all along about the Middle East, as per the Reuters report in Gulf News today.

The report quoted Kerry as saying : “We are interested in communicating with Iran. That the Iranians know what we’re thinking, that we know what they’re thinking and there is a sharing of information so people aren’t making mistakes,” in an interview on NBC News.

He said violence is on the rise in Iraq because Syria’s Bashar Al Assad, who has been under siege for at least three years, “is a magnet for terrorists of all walks.” He reiterated that air strikes have not been ruled out, saying that “nothing is off the table” in administration discussions. However, he made it clear that whatever assistance (from us) is forthcoming won’t necessarily be aimed at bailing out embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. The efforts will be “focused on the people of Iraq,” he said. Kerry warned that the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) is “more extreme than even Al Qaida and they are a threat to the US and western interests.”

Former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz criticised had President Obama in an op-ed that was published in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Their op-ed received very harsh criticism from the US media.

Amazon has the blessing of Wall Street to lose money as long as it is gaining market share

David Streitfeld

Said : David Streitfeld, who covers technology for The New York Times, in his news analysis titled "With an Amazon Smartphone, the Retailer Seeks a Tether to Consumers" published in today's edition. In 2013, Mr. Streitfeld was part of the team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.

David, in his analysis of Amazon's much hyped event on Wednesday in Seattle for a possible launch of a 3D phone, writes that by launching the so called phone Amazon "aims to close any remaining gap between the impulse to buy and the completed act" decoding a quote of an Amazon mobile executive who had commented a few years ago : “We’re trying to remove the barrier between ‘I want that’ and ‘I have it.’ ”

According to David, Amazon, known for directing all of its considerable energy to break up the usual way of doing things, has invested billions of dollars on multiple fronts: constructing warehouses all over the country to deliver goods as fast as possible, building devices as varied as tablets and set-top boxes, and creating and licensing entertainment to stock those devices." He calls Amazon's mobile venture "a wildly ambitious venture without precedent in modern merchandising." 

In his article, David has discussed the pros and cons of the mobile business for Amazon. He feels that the mobile phone - which is the last and most crucial link in this colossal enterprise (Amazon) - is a singular gamble for a company that, for all its technology components, is still primarily a merchant. Because even the smartest tech companies have trouble with phones. Giving examples, he writes : "A Google smartphone, the Nexus One, failed to catch on. Google next bought Motorola and then dumped it. BlackBerry, once the dominant smartphone maker, is struggling to survive. Microsoft’s Windows Phone has less than 3 percent of the global market. A Facebook phone stumbled last year." Referring the mobile ambitions of Amazon, David feels : "Now Amazon is giving this brutal business a shot."

And for those who wonder why Amazon has to keep playing with - and investing in - unconventional and brutal business plans, David has a wonderful observation : "Most of all, Amazon has the blessing of Wall Street to lose money as long as it is gaining market share — although recently the enthusiasm has dimmed a bit. The stock is about 20 percent off its peak."

To further strengthen U.S.-India defense ties, I plan to play an active and very personal role

Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, US, speaking
at the 13th IISS Asia Security Summit in Singapore

Said : Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, US, in his speech at the 13th IISS Asia Security Summit (Shangri-La Dialogue) held from 30 May-01 June 2014 in Singapore. He was speaking on "The United States’ Contribution to Regional Stability" during the First Plenary Session on May 31, 2014.

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) was founded in the UK in 1958 with a focus on nuclear deterrence and arms control. Today, it is also renowned for its annual Military Balance assessment of countries' armed forces and for its high-powered security summits, including the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Hagel reiterated President Obama's vision on the next phase of America’s foreign policy - particularly when the country has come out of 13 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hagel said : "President Obama made clear we will balance our diplomacy, our development assistance, and military capabilities, and that we will strengthen our global partnerships and alliances," as a part of implementing its strategy of rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific. "The rebalance is not a goal, not a promise, or a vision – it’s a reality," he added. 

Narendra Modi

15th Prime Minister of India

"The United States looks forward to working with India’s new government led by Prime Minister Modi. We welcome India’s increasingly active role in Asia’s regional institutions, which strengthens regional order. We also welcome India’s growing defense capabilities and its commitment to freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean."

Hagel described President Obama's comprehensive partnerships with Vietnam and Malaysia, over the last year, as steps in this direction. He also mentioned President Obama's summit with Chinese President Xi, and his visits, in April, to five regional treaty allies – Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines – as well as Malaysia. 

Hagel described India as "one of the United States’ most important, democratic partners – and a country with historic influence across Asia," giving indications that America’s global partnerships also reach across the Asian continent. 

On the possible partnership with India, he said "The United States looks forward to working with India’s new government led by Prime Minister Modi. We welcome India’s increasingly active role in Asia’s regional institutions, which strengthens regional order. We also welcome India’s growing defense capabilities and its commitment to freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean. To further strengthen U.S.-India defense ties, I am directing the Pentagon’s Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to lead the U.S.-India Defense Trade and Technology Initiative with India’s new government. I plan to play an active and very personal role in expanding this initiative because it is a centerpiece of America’s defense cooperation with India, and it should reflect the trust and confidence President Obama and I have in our nation’s relationship with India. To reinforce this effort – and to drive even more transformational cooperation – I hope to visit India later this year."

"Mr. Modi has appointed a world class finance minister"

MSc in Mechanical Engineering – MIT
Awarded the Padma Bhushan
(Indian equivalent to British Peerage)
by the Government of India in 1983.
Elevated to the British Peerage in 1996.

Said : Lord Swraj Paul, 83, founder of the multi-billion-pound Caparo Group and one of the richest individuals in Britain, in an interview with Prasun Sonwalkar published in today's Hindustan Times under the title "Corporate-politics nexus should be killed : Swraj Paul."

The interview, published in the Q&A format, lists Paul's eight expectations from the new government. When asked to list the main problems in doing business in India, he said : "The government should make different policies; one for investment in the stock market and another for investment to put up new industry which creates very stable jobs. The two must be monitored differently and reported separately."

"The policies in future should be clearer and more transparent. People everywhere are looking for places to invest, so India should not worry about attracting investment. All that needs to be done is that when the investors come into India then they are treated fairly. No decisions should be made on a case by case basis or different things for different people," he said. 

On whether Modi can bring about the changes he has promised, the high expectations he has raised......

"I certainly hope so and believe so and I wish him all the luck. The whole of India wants him to succeed and whole world will envy him if he does." - Lord Swraj Paul

Lord Paul stressed on the need for creation of jobs and production of goods. Making a veiled attack on the stock market, he said : "Stock market money is in and out. It basically doesn't create any long term worth for the country.  In my view, stock market investment should not even be treated as investment, it is just speculation. India has an active stock market and people can invest in it. Government must make clearer and very transparent rules so that nobody can abuse the system."

"I certainly hope so and believe so and I wish him all the luck. The whole of India wants him to succeed and whole world will envy him if he does," was his reply when asked what he thought whether Modi could bring about the changes he has promised, the high expectations he has raised.

I don't have the slightest doubt that LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari and Ananth Kumar, were against Modi becoming the PM, it is true. Specially Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.

Said : Ram Jethmalani, a renowned lawyer and politician who has served as India's Union Law Minister and as Chairman of Bar Association. 

"Narendra Modi is keeping his enemies close to him by alloting them key ministries," he added.  

He revealed these facts in an interview with Krishna Kumar which is published in the Economic Times of 29 May, 2014.

When asked about his absence at the swearing ceremony of Narendra Modi as PM, Jethmalani said : "I had got an invite but chose not to go, I clearly wrote to Modi that I don't want to be in the presence of these people because it would bring out anger and contempt in me." 

"I think he appreciated my reason for not coming," he said acknowledging that he had received a call from Modi after he wrote to him.

Two years ago, Jethmalani wrote an article titled "The rise and rise of tomorrow’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi,' in which he quoted : 

"Today, vast sections of civil society see in Narendra Modi the next Prime Minister of India. I hope he will plant more visible footprints on the international seashore. He has to speak of peace and a durable solution to the Kashmir problem with the rulers of Pakistan."

"I felt fulfilled the day Modi took oath as Prime Minister and on 16th when the results were announced," Jethmalani said in yesterday's interview.