Posts by Cemil Alyanak

1%, yes 1%, of the wealthiest Americans own such a ridiculous high proportion of the US economy that the number is not worth repeating. You can look it up and feel as disgusted as I am. You can also look at other countries. There, you will find the same. Many Latin American countries, Asian countries…

I am an eternal optimist. I am also a realist. I aim to make things better but I realize that it’s not always easy to attain one’s goals. But clearly, some tasks are more difficult than others. Advocacy and campaigning are two such tasks. I used to think that if you had a worthy cause,…

Nope, there are no winds of change. I don’t feel it anyway. In fact, it feels really dry and calm. Despite a plethora of problems, we continue to act guided by political dogma, special interests and greed. We seem to be piling on the issues believing that we will never reach a breaking point. Obviously,…

It’s a big world out there. So much is happening in politics, development, culture and even sport. And yet, come to the United States, watch the news and you would not know it. I’m talking about all the news, the 24-hour cable networks such as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox or Headline News. I’m referring to…

As I mentioned in my previous post, we are running out of names and gimmicks to use to promote the public interest. There is one that confuses me more than most. UN.GIFT. When I first saw the ‘word’ I thought it was a url. So I typed it in only to find that there is…

I was surprised to notice that there was only one candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations. There were no other interested candidates? The General Assembly and the Security Council were in full agreement that Ban Ki-Moon was the absolute best choice? He might very well be, but only having one candidate…

I just got back from London. I saw a store that caught my attention. I want to share it with you. Before I do, however, I do want to warn you that I am not at all in favor of businesses that espouse a green message without backing up the statement with action. Howies stores,…

“Our energy will always be powered by your dreams.” is how this Enel advertisement produced by Saatchi & Saatchi leads. The phrase sounds like it was delivered by one of those brainstorming applications. I just cannot see the link between my dreams and energy. In some metaphysical way there might be a distant one but…

I love a wedding. I love relationships that make our lives better. I am happy for Prince William and Kate Middleton. I am just a little envious… No, I am not envious of Prince William, on that front I am fortunate. I am envious of the type of coverage they are receiving. Predictions are that…

This is good. This is what more media need to do. More media need to devote precious space or time to promoting a cause. I know, there is a danger. The danger is that they will choose to promote a partisan cause, a contentious cause or, worse, a divisive cause. But I think there are…