Back at Work: They Are Today's Leaders

 

Dear Gentle Reader,

 

I am back at working and currently blogging about a conference that I am attending for Crain's Detroit Business.  The regular blog will be back next week with the last updates of the trip and my reintegration to the US and work-life!  Here is the next installment:

 

They Are Today's Leaders

 

Young talent is the key buzzword in the world of urban renewal these days. Over the past decade, the state of Michigan has been exporting one of its greatest assets, young college graduates to different parts of the country.  To try to stem the "brain drain" there has been a concerted effort to develop new initiatives to attract and retain young professionals in the state.

 

There are a number of exciting initiatives that are occurring in the Detroit area that are targeting young professionals.  The Detroit Chamber has developed a track at this conference for their young professional group, Fusion.  Fusion attendees have been given discounted registrations and a number of workshops targeted to their demographic.  It's a good component to the conference. 

 

I hope that next year that the Chamber will have a panel of young professionals as one of the major plenaries.  It would be good for business and political leaders to hear from these young leaders. If we are to make Michigan and Detroit more hospitable for young professionals, we need to hear what they need and want from our communities.  They are the group that will redefine Detroit and Michigan and their voice should be heard.

Back at Work: So why don't we treat the state government like a business?

 

Dear Gentle Reader,

 

I am back at working and currently blogging about a conference that I am attending for Crain's Detroit Business.  The regular blog will be back next week with the last updates of the trip and my reintegration to the US and work-life!  Here is the next installment:

 

 

So Why Don't We Treat the State Government like a Business?

 

One of the popular conversations overheard in the hallways of the Grand is about the state of the budget.  Every time the conversation comes up, the first answer out of anyone's mouth is the need to make more cuts.  The problem is that we have been doing that for the past eight years.  We have managed to use up $6 billion in fiscal reserves and have enacted $4 billion in cuts. 

If we were running the state government like a business, we would look at a combination of cuts, strategic investments and revenue increases.  We wouldn't be cutting our research and development arm when they have the potential to strengthen the bottom line in the future.  But here we are talking about cutting our universities and colleges when they are producing our next generation of workers and serving as economic engines for the regions that they reside in.  Instead of making key investments in our infrastructure, we put it off for another budget cycle. 

We would also examine our price structure or in government's case its tax system.  We would expand the base of services taxed by the sales tax like other states.  We would align our laws and sentencing guidelines with other Great Lake States to reduce the expenditures in the corrections  budget.  We would eliminate budget loopholes that don't bring anything to our bottom line.  Corporate tax breaks should create investment and build the economy and if they don't they should be eliminated.   We always say government should be more business like so let's get to it!

Back at Work: Are We in A Time Warp?

 

Dear Gentle Reader:

I have made it back to the US and to my home East Lansing, Michigan.  I will be finishing my posts about Israel next week.  I am jumping into my job feet first by attending a policy conference on Mackinac Island for the Detroit Chamber of Commerce.  I was asked to blog about my experience for Crain's Detroit Business.  Here is my first post.

My last Mackinac Conference was in 2007.  I was finishing my time at the Michigan Nonprofit Association and my term as mayor of East Lansing.  A few months later, I left the country for seventeen months as I traveled to forty plus countries and all seven continents.  Having just come back to the country over the weekend, I was wondering if I would feel out of touch.  The answer is no.  This all seems feel vaguely familiar.

 

I am wondering if we are really in 2009 or did I not really leave and it is still 2007.  I mean has anything changed?   The state budget is still in a mess.  Regional squabbles are still course of the day.  Policy makers all wish there was more revenue but are afraid to use the "T' word.  We are still debating a smoking ban. People are still trying to find a comprehensive transportation strategy. Everyone wants to talk about the new economy but are unwilling to make the tough changes to make it happen.  I mean even the Lions are still helpless and the Red Wings are skating well in the playoffs.  The longer I was gone the more things stayed the same.

 

I am hoping the urgency of our current situation in the State will result in a more open and honest dialog.  That the seeds for real fixes and long term strategies for rebuilding the economy are planted at the conference.  We can no longer ignore the structural deficits and regional isolationism.  It is time for political and business leaders to make the tough and unpopular decisions.  Let's let them know they can no longer keep fiddling while the Michigan burns.

Cruising Down the Nile

                      Pictured: The Temple of Kom Ombo.

Part of my trip through Egypt included a three day Nile Cruise. A friend of mine from college, Katie Armstrong, found me on Facebook and mentioned that she always wanted to go Egypt so I told her to organize a trip and I would join her.  Another of my friends, Beth King, was going to be in Egypt during the same time so it would be a gang of three.  Katie planned a pretty comprehensive ten day plan to see Egypt with the Nile Cruise being the highlight. In the end, Katie had to back out of the trip at the last minute because of work obligations.  I wouldn't have signed up for the cruise if I was on my own. As the trip ends, I have had to become more budget conscious but since others were involved, I just put it on the credit card.  So far that is the only thing that I have had to put on credit but it was worth it. 

                                                        Pictured: Spartan pride in Luxor.

It was a good way to see the sights and treat myself as we come to the end of the journey.  The ship had about 100 passengers and we were by far the youngest of the group.  The trip made a number of stops including at Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnak.  The history and allure of ancient Egypt is fascinating but after the tour was over, I had Pyramid and Temple fatigue.  Too much of a good thing!

                    Pictured: Abu SiImbel.

Blog Fan's--- I Need Your Help!!!!!

             

Dear Gentle Readers,

The last week of my journey is upon me.  I will continue to blog into the summer so you can get a sense of how I integrate back into the "real world."  As I get ready to head home, I am asking you to help with one last charitable event, a fundraiser for my local chapter of Habitat For Humanity.  We have a great chapter of Habitat for Humanity that is working to eliminate substandard housing and improving neighborhoods by working in partnership with local economically disadvantaged families achieve and maintain home-ownership.

Readers had been asking when I was going to have an East Lansing welcome home reception.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues but I wanted it to keep with the theme of my journey.  With that in mind, the reception will be a charitable fundraiser for the Lansing Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. I had the opportunity to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity International in India, Romania and Costa Rica during my journey and I thought this fundraiser would be a great way to come home and help the local chapter as well.  In addition, to the event we are doing a "virtual reception" for those readers that don't live in the Mid-Michigan region.

Virtual Welcome Home Reception

If you have found this blog to be entertaining or inspirational, I ask you to consider helping me support this charity.  If you have laughed at the stories, shaken your head in jealousy or enjoyed the pictures, help out the cause. I am hoping that loyal readers will consider gifts of $25, $50 or more.  In addition to your gift (see below), please send any thoughts or comments that you would want to be added to the actual reception guestbook to Robin Grinnell at rlgrinnell@yahoo.com.

Mid-Michigan Readers

If you live in the region, you are invited to attend the welcome home reception at Dublin Square Irish Pub in East Lansing on June 4, 2009 from 5-8pm.  Tickets for the fundraiser will cost $30. Your gift will be tax deductible and checks can be made out to Habitat For Humanity-Lansing.  Please RSVP for the event through Facebook (if you are on it) or to Robin Grinnell at rlgrinnell@yahoo.com.

We are also creating a host committee for the event. To be a sponsor of this event, it will cost $100 for an individual, $150 for couples, or $500 for organizations. Sponsorship includes a ticket(s) and my undying love! Please send me an e-mail if you are interested in being a sponsor at singhsam94@gmail.com.

How to Make Contributions 

There are two ways to make contributions. If you would like to mail a check, send it to Habitat For Humanity-Lansing --1941 Benjamin Drive Lansing, MI 48906.  Checks can be made out to Habitat For Humanity-Lansing.  Please put "Singh Reception" on the memo line.

You can also pay on-line.  Visit their website and in the one-time donation box, click on the Singh Welcome Home Reception in the drop-down menu and fill in the appropriate information.  It is a secure site that accepts most major credit cards.

Thank you for the support!

Petra--In My Top Ten Things of the Past 17 Months

 

I had taken the bus from Amman to the town of Wadi Musa, a few kilometers from Petra.  The night before I ventured to Petra, we watched the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at my hostel.  Petra is featured in the movie, near the end.  It was my favorite of the Indiana Jones movies and was all the preparation I needed to get pumped up for my visit. 

 I have had the opportunity to be "wowed" by many things over the past seventeen months so I didn't think that I would be as moved by seeing another UNESCO World Heritage Site.  But Petra is something to behold.  The intricacy and the scale of the temples and building carved into the mountain is mind blowing.   I am still in awe as I write about it today.  Part of the allure of the site is getting there.  You have to walk about 25 minutes through a natural gorge that winds through the area before you get to a clearing.  As you exit the gorge, this is the site that you first see.



Petra was the impressive capital of the Nabataean kingdom from around the 6th century BC. The kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire in AD 106 and the Romans continued to expand the city. An important center for trade and commerce, Petra continued to flourish until a catastrophic earthquake destroyed buildings and crippled vital water management systems around AD 663. After Saladin's conquest of the Middle East in 1189, Petra was abandoned and the memory of it was lost to the West.

The ruins remained hidden to most of the world until the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised as an Arab scholar, infiltrated the Bedouin-occupied city in 1812. Burckhardt's accounts of his travels inspired other Western explorers and historians to discover the ancient city further. The most famous of these was David Roberts, a Scottish artist who created a number of accurate and detailed illustrations of the city in 1839.

The first real excavations of the site were in 1929 after the forming of Trans-Jordan. Since that time, Petra has become by far Jordan's largest tourist attraction, partially due to the exposure by the Steven Spielberg movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in 1989. Due to the fantastic engineering accomplishments and well-preserved dimension of Petra, the archaeological site was chosen in July 2007 as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.  (Wiki Travel- Petra Travel Guide.)

 

Flat Mallory's Last Stand and Syria Round Up

Flat Mallory's Last Stand

As I was finishing up my tour of Syria, I had an e-mail discussion with Mallory's father, Steve, about getting Flat Mallory home.  Mallory's project was due on April 30 and Flat Mallory needed to be back in Owosso for the festivities.  I was initially thinking that I would send Flat Mallory home after my trip to Petra in Jordan.  Then I started thinking about it.  Sure, Flat Mallory had been to many cool places.  It is likely she has been to more countries than you have been to. But do third graders know where Palymra is?  Do they know what Petra looks like? Probably not but they all know the pyramids of Egypt.  I ran a plan by Steve that would get Flat Mallory to the Pyramids and back to Owosso in time for the event.  All I needed to do was change a few plans and hope everything worked out. 

Yes, a paper doll was dictating my itinerary.  We went to Petra and then worked our way south towards the Gulf of Aqaba.  We took the ferry over to Egypt and then a seven hour bus ride up to Cairo.  The next day I took Flat Mallory to the Pyramids of Giza.  Mission Accomplished.  Unlike our former President, I didn't put up the banner just yet.  I needed to get her to DHL so she could go home.  DHL is closed on Fridays in the Middle East so I would need to send it the next day.  I went to the DHL office on Saturday and it was closed.  I walked three miles to the Federal Express office.  It was closed.  Why? It was a national holiday in Egypt.  Whoops! 

The next day I was on a flight to Abu Simbel and I would be getting into Aswan in the late afternoon.  The city only had a DHL office and it closed at 5pm.  It was our only window.  If it went out the following day, Flat Mallory would miss the event.  Now gentle reader, I am pretty laid back but knowing that you could disappoint a third grader who was depending on you is pressure.  We got to Aswan after 3 pm and by the time I found the DHL it was well after 4pm.  I am quite sure the manager at DHL thought I was crazy to be using a courier service to send a paper doll back to the US.  I made him promise me three times that Flat Mallory would be back in time.

As Rule #1 of Singh Around the World states everything will work out in the end.  It did.  Flat Mallory survived a vicious attack by an ostrich where she lost her arm.  She had been folded a dozen different ways over the months.  She survived a kidnapping at the hands of some young backpackers in Tanzania.  She survived on her own when I left her at an internet cafe by accident.  In the end, she made it back home in time for the class activity.  I am quite sure she was the furthest traveled by thousands of miles then any of her counterparts.  Flat Mallory, I shall miss you.

Small World Experience in Syria
I was at an internet cafe in Damascus "skypeing" with a few of my colleagues at Public Policy Associates.  I have started to prepare myself for the working world during the past two months.  Near the end of our call the electricity went out.  I looked at the women at the computer terminal next to me in frustration and we started talking.  She told me that she over heard me talking about Battle Creek and the Kellogg Foundation and asked if I knew her old boss, Rick Little.  I started laughing. I didn't know him well but I had met Rick when he was the CEO of the International Youth Foundation. After the internet cafe, we had dinner that night and found out there were at least four or five other people we knew in common.  She had done some work with Rick on a project called the League and I had served on its founding board when it was just a small program in Michigan in the mid 1990's.  Another small world experience!

Don't Eat Here

I went to this restaurant for lunch one day in Damascus.  It was a decent meal of chicken, salad, hummus and bread.  I got the bill and was surprised at the cost.  It seemed very high but I went ahead and paid it.  While I was waiting for my change, I did the math in my head.  It was three times the amount I had thought it should be.  When the waiter came back, I told him that there was something wrong with amount.  He looked at me blankly claiming not to speak English.  I asked for the menu and made a gesture for it.  He went back to the front of the restaurant and was gone for five minutes.  He eventually came out with a menu.  I turned to the page where my meal was written and the price was crossed off with a pen and written over it was a new price.  It was comical.  I don't know if he thought it would work but I looked at him and just stared.  He put his head down realizing that he had been caught.  He went back and got me the right change.  It was the only negative experience that I had in Syria.

The Pope's Visit in Jerusalem Gets Mixed Reviews

We stop this blog to give you a perspective on the Pope's visit to Jerusalem since it is in the news right now.

Media Reaction
I decided to stay in Jerusalem a few extra days so I could get a sense of the historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  There was plenty of buzz about the pontiff's first visit to the Middle East.  Jerusalem was using it as an opportunity to boost tourism, the media was looking to see if the visit would help move the peace process forward and the Israeli people were wanting to hear him on a number of issues.

The Pope had angered many in the Jewish community earlier this year when he reinstated the ex-communicated Bishop, Richard Williamson.  The Bishop is a holocaust denier and that doesn't bode well for the Catholic/Jewish relationship.  The initial reports from his landing in Israel were positive.  The people seemed pleased that he forcefully attacked the rise in antisemitism in his opening remarks.

The trouble started during the remarks of the Pope during a ceremony at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem's Holocaust Museum.  Though some people might call it semantics, people were disappointed with the fact the Pope didn't come out stronger about the holocaust and many people were hoping to hear him say that Vatican should have done more during World War II to protect the Jewish people.  A leading Jerusalem-based Rabbi said in the media that he was disappointed in the Pope's language.  He was critical in the Pope's use of the word "killed" instead of murdered and not specifically mentioning the Nazis.  In the end, the media and many political leaders were looking for more and short of an apology of the Vatican's lack of action, they might not have been satisfied.

Also, many people are feeling very pressured by the renewed push for the "two state" solution in the peace process.  The past week the Obama administration reiterated their support of it, the UN renewed their call and the Pope added his voice to the chorus.  The media and the new conservative administration feel that the calls are premature and they added this to their concerns with the Pope's visit. 

The Pope and Singh Around the World

                     Pictured:  The Pope is in one of the three cars.  Your guess is as good as mine!

I was hoping to get a glimpse of the Pope during his two days in Jerusalem.  My hostel was in a prime location because it was in between two sites that the Pope was going to be visiting while he was in Old Jerusalem.  The day before the Pope arrived in the country, the presence of the police and military was remarkably increased.  People were asking questions on where you were going and asking for passports or identification.  The day that the Pope came to our side of the city, we were contained to our hostel and one block of businesses.  We were not allowed to leave that area for four hours.  Our hostel has a good balcony and we were hoping to see the motorcade as they came through.  Unfortunately, when they came through, there was no "Pope-Mobile" but rather cars with tinted windows.  We did see a number of the delegation and security forces but no sighting of the Pope himself. 

A Quick Tour of Syrian Ancient Sites

The Quick Tour
                       Pictured:The Qala'at ibn Maan castle overlooking the Temple of Ba'al-Shamin.

After spending a few days in Damascus, I made a quick tour of three historic areas in other parts of Syria.  My first stop was the ancient city of Palmyra. 

Palmyra (Arabic: تدمر Tadmor‎) was in ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 120 km southwest of the Euphrates. It has long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert.

In the mid-first century, Palmyra, a wealthy and elegant city located along the caravan routes linking Persia with the Mediterranean ports of Roman Syria and Phoenicia, came under Roman control. During the following period of great prosperity, the Aramaean and Arab inhabitants of Palmyra adopted customs and modes of dress from both the Iranian Parthian world to the east and the west.Graeco-Roman. Tadmor is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Second Book of Chronicles 8:4) as a desert city built (or fortified) by the King Solomon of Judea, the son of David. (Wikipedia)  

                      Pictured: Crac des Chevaliers from its fortification wall.

The next stop was the famous castle of Crac des Chevaliers. Crac des Chevaliers is a Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military castles in the world. The castle is located east of Tripoli, Lebanon, in the Hims Gap, atop a 650-metre-high hill along the only route from Antioch to Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of many fortresses that were part of a defensive network along the border of the old Crusader states. The fortress controlled the road to the Mediterranean, and from this base, the Hospitallers could exert some influence over Lake Homs to the east to control the fishing industry and watch for Muslim armies gathering in Syria. (Wikipedia)

                 Pictured: The ruins of Apemia, Syria.

The last stop on the three day tour was the ruins of Apemia.  As I was exploring the sites, two bus loads of school children had come to visit as well.  It was a national holiday, Syrian National Day.  A few of the young boys approached me and started to ask me questions in English.  "What is your name?"  "What is your favorite subject?"  "What is your favorite sport?"  "Where are you from?"  They loved the fact that my name was Samir.  They started parading behind me chanting my name. "Samir! Samir!"  Every once in a while their friends would come over, the leader would tell them that I was from America or that my favorite subject was history.  Soon I had thirty kids following me chanting.  Eventually, a very embarrassed teacher came running over and started yelling at the kids.  I told him that everything was fine but he kept apologizing for their behavior.

An American in Syria

I was at a cafe in Damascus having lunch when an older German women said something to me in German.  I understood the gist of what she was asking but I responded in English.  She looked at my with a puzzled look and asked me where I was from and I told her, "the USA."  She said in a sarcastic way, "I thought you Americans were not allowed to visit countries that are part of the Axis of Evil."  I quickly replied, "Well technically Syria is not an Axis of Evil country, it is a rogue nation.  It is like being a little brother and never getting any recognition and having to go to bed early."  She continued to look at me in a puzzled way as she walked away from my table.  Obscure political humor never goes over well but it amuses me and that's all that counts.

I found everywhere that I went that Syrians and other travelers were surprised that I was from America.  Other than tour groups which are usually quite isolated, there are not many independent travelers that hail from the USA in Syria.  People were very nice and always had questions for me. "Did I like their country?" or "Did I like Obama?" but I was surprised when one Syrian asked me why "Americans hated his country."  We had a long conversation about Americans not hating his country but how we were concerned with the actions of the government.  I had to laugh when he responded, "Oh, we are the same then.  We have many questions about our government too."  Too often we cloud the actions of one's government with its people. 

I am not sure where our foreign policy will go with Syria over the next year but it will be one that has to be delicately crafted.   I am not opposed to sanctions and direct rhetoric with Syria but I can't imagine creating comic book categories for countries is effective foreign policy.  I am not sure former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton's adding Syria to the category of "Rogue Nations" was effective but at least Superman, Batman and the other guys at the Justice League now know who the bad guys are. 

As President Obama's envoys engage in their second visit to Syria since the beginning of the year, a decision on whether we will reinstate our US Ambassador in Damascus will be on the table. Not having an Ambassador leaves an important void of American influence in this region.  Just at the end of the week, Obama announced that he would continue the sanctions that were instituted during the Bush administration. The action squarely announces that if the Syrians want to change the relationship, they will have to show meaningful change and not the status quo.

In the end, it is really time for Syria to decide which direction they want to head.  They can not continue to play both sides of the fence. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is often quoted about wanting a stronger relationship with the US and peace with Israel but then the next day he is promoting a nuclear Iran.  If Syria was serious about stabilizing the region, they could be a key mediator and instrumental in the process.  Their influence with Tehran is an important piece of the puzzle, as we work on direct diplomacy with Iran.  The next few months will be telling which direction Syria and the US will head under the Obama administration.