Thursday, June 30, 2011

Can America Win Global Tech Race?

Can America win the global technology race when even some of our leading institutions are lagging in adopting cutting edge technology...?

For example. I know of a vital technology that would protect every home and office in America from damages caused by storms and burglars to their weakest link, something that would pay for itself while also providing much needed solar heat relief.

Yet it remains relatively unknown in the U.S. even by U.S. architectural professionals. America and our States are in jeopardy of losing the global tech race. In the global high tech 21st Century tech race, we cannot win without being cutting edge.

Yet I discovered in my research that it has been around 40 years. I met a man from Northern Ireland who told me that they starting using security window film in Northern Ireland as a means to protect people from flying glass caused by IRA car bombs.

Unlike Al Qaida, IRA bombers phoned in a two minute warning. So after getting a call, authorities could have sirens sounded. At that point people ran away from windows, which burst into flying shards of death in the blast wave.

Security window stopped that threat by capturing the glass in its adhesive web. Even if the pressure overwhelmed the film, at least it would be just one large flying piece instead of a thousand jagged shards of lethal flying glass. Bonding film to the frame made the system sufficient to deflect an explosive blast wave, which you can see on video at www.ArmorGlass.com

Yet in the USA, this relatively "old" but highly effective and needed U.S. security technology remains unknown outside Florida and Washington DC.

It cuts a person's power bill, protects them from burglars and hurricane debris (and water damage), and the best part --it pays for itself over time!

What else have you bought that ever paid for itself? Nothing, right? My car, etc. cost money, they don't cut my power bill. Security window film like Armor Glass does both - pays for itself and provide security you don't have today. It helps the rich and poor alike, equally.

Do you remember the story about the three little pigs: how one built a house of straw, one built a house of wood and one with brick? When the bad wolf came along along only the pig in the brick house survived.

To survive, Armoring Your Glass is necessary as a first step. Your glass is your building's weakest link. Anyone can go through it in seconds. A break allows water intrusion and mold issues to become major costs. Armor Glass film would avoid those damages.

True story. Armor Glass film was recently put on a lady's house. Five days later someone tried to break in. He failed. Only because of Armor Glass film.

She said the burglar easily broke the outer pane that had no protection on it but only managed a 2 inch x 4 inch hole on the inner pane attached to our film. Then he gave up and went away. Imagine the difference between that and having all your stuff stolen?

Check it out at www.ArmorGlass.com as a security measure that also makes economic sense in these times. If it provides security AND saves money on energy enough to pay for itself. Can anything get better than that in these days?

Using it would also put Americans on the cutting edge of technology once again. It would create a whole new clean green job industry and make a lot of people sleep better at the same time...

Friday, June 24, 2011

3 million unfilled U.S. jobs - America's SKILLS shortage

This interesting report shows something NEW that most American's don't know -- America doesn't have a jobs shortage as much as it has a SKILLS shortage. Over 3 million jobs in America are unfilled because AMERICANS don't have the skills to fill them! 3 million!

THIS is what Congress should be focusing on. Students are getting art history degrees and other degrees that are useless on the skilled job market. Others think they can get these jobs without a degree at all.

So WHO will invest to provide the training to fill these jobs? If we don't then they will go to foreigners who do have the skills, either here or overseas. We can't afford that.

THAT should be the debate in Congress. Cutting education and training is NOT the answer to our job problem. Nor will those cuts keep us world leaders in technology...TRAINING will.

So WHERE is Congress on this?....

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Is America Ready for Another Texas Governor as President?

24 June 2011
Global American Series

Texas Governor Rick Perry is considering a run for the GOP nomination for President in 2012. Is America Ready for Another Texas Governor as President?

We are going to look at Gov. Perry’s record during the past ten years in Texas – to see what that would mean for the USA if he were elected President. What has happened in Texas in the last 11 years that Mr. Perry has been Governor? How does it compare to former Gov. Bush’s record?

That is this week’s subject on “Global American Radio” hosted by Michael Fjetland, a Texas resident for over 40 years, entrepreneur and former Fortune 500 international negotiator. The program will air at 9 am Central time on Business 1110 AM, which you can also hear at that time on your computer via the Internet at www.Business1110KTEK.com and Podcast 24/7 on www.GlobalAmerican.org (click “Favorite Programs” and look for the above title).

The program includes quotes from Barbara Bush (wife of the first President Bush), poll numbers from the nonpartisan Texas Lyceum, and verifiable facts and figures on today’s economic situation and what has happened in Texas the last ten-plus years under Governor Perry.

What have been the Governor’s top priorities during this legislative session? What was the Texas budget situation like? Is there something Americans can learn from the Texas experience? What controversies has he been involved in?

In the final segment we look at all the 2012 GOP candidates on one key issue impacting America’s future. What qualifications should a candidate have to be America’s No. 1 official? Who is offering real solutions to America’s problems?

Tune in Saturday at 9 am. If you miss it, you can still find it on our 24/7 Podcast at www.GlobalAmerican.org where you can also sign up for our Global American newsletters or click to “Follow” our Global American blog. Our focus is what is best for America, based on honest facts and truth…

Michael Fjetland
Global American Series
http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican/

Comments welcome at our Global American Blog:
http://globalamericanvalues.blogspot.com/

Sponsored by Armor Glass International, Inc.
www.ArmorGlass.com
“Armor Glass” is now an officially registered trademark of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Follow our Armor Glass blog at:
http://armorglass.blogspot.com/

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Creating Jobs - Infrastructure Bank

This is a great article on how to create American jobs AND upgrade our crumbling infrastructure at the same time.

"Around 24 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed (the latter in part-time jobs that average $19,000, half the median wage). If these people don’t find jobs soon, they will lose skills and work habits and become permanently unemployable, with grim consequences for their families, communities and the country. And if employment growth does not pick up significantly, tax revenue will stay depressed, unemployment costs will rise and the deficit will balloon well beyond current projections."

He goes on to say (rightly): "Washington needs to find ways to employ the millions of workers whose jobs disappeared with the housing bust. The simplest way to help them, and the country, would be to create a national infrastructure bank to repair and rebuild America’s infrastructure — which is in a shambles and ranks 23rd globally, according to the World Economic Forum — down from sixth only a decade ago."

Doing nothing is not an option. Cutting spending be itself will only increase unemployment and won't rebuild roads and bridges. Check it out.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Hardening Your Space in a More Dangerous World

Global American Series

10 June 2011

WHAT causes a house to explode in a hurricane or tornado? What technologies are available to protect occupants of buildings facing the ultimate threats from Mother Nature’s relentless attacks to burglars and intensifying solar heat 365 days/year?

The latest Hurricane reports are for an “above average” season for hurricanes threating the nearly 54% of our population who live near the coasts. By 2025 two thirds of the world’s population will live within 100 miles of a coast. This comes as we have an abnormal DOUBLING of deadly tornadoes in the U.S. The AP reports that the conditions this season are similar to 2005 – which produced Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, storms that Gulf Coast resident still remember and fear.

The week’s Global American radio program explores these questions and provides some answers. HOW do we armor our spaces (houses and work) from these increasingly dangerous threats? What does each technology achieve versus its cost? What technology has been overlooked that could save property and lives?

We have been witnessing some of the most dangerous, weird weather not just in the U.S. but worldwide -- breaking decade’s old, and historic, records globally. From freak Tornado monsters a mile wide with multiple vortexes staying on the ground for hundreds of miles, turning cities like Tuscaloosa and Joplin into matchwood while sucking debris 18,000 feet into the air and dropping it over 60 miles away.

We have seen unprecedented freak tornadoes appearing in Massachusetts – fierce hurricanes and droughts worldwide, sweeping from Australia in the southern hemisphere to Russia in the north. The first four days of June Houston had record 104 and 105 degree temperatures. This week Minneapolis hit 103 (how close to Canada can you get?) and New York 99 degrees – August weather -- and it is not even summer yet!

Are people prepared for the bigger storms generated by the greater heat of an Atlantic ocean that is 2 degrees hotter, which produces larger storms? Is your personal space secure from the increasingly freak storms of greater intensity? Or from human intrusion?

Get the facts, and solutions, on this timely, unique program. Even FEMA has benefited from --and funds -- hazard mitigation technology that it fails to mention it in its preparedness reports!

Will global warming, regardless of the debate of whether it is “normal or manmade,” make today’s freakishly hot and violent weather the “norm” we have to prepare for?

For details and answers, tune into the Global American radio program on Saturday at 9 am central US time on Business 1110 AM, streamed on www.Business1110KTEK.com and Podcast 24/7 on www.GlobalAmerican.org (click on ‘favorite program’ and click the title above).

Michael Fjetland

Global American Series

Opt in/out (your call)

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Comments welcome at our mirror site/blog:

http://globalamericanvalues.blogspot.com/

Sponsored by Armor Glass International, Inc.

www.ArmorGlass.com

“Saving Energy and Protecting Your Weakest Link from Breach by Burglars, Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Solar Heat”…

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Path to Prosperity

This is an excellent article on what we can do to grow our economy and jobs again. Check it out - retraining, setting up a Tourism office and making it easier for tourists to come here, an Infrastructure Bank - all great ideas to help our economy grow.

The only thing it doesn't mention is "Green Jobs" - which is another growth sector we need to develop. My company Armor Glass is one of the companies that is producing green jobs - our product saves energy and protects the weakest link of every building from intrusion by burglars, hurricane and tornado windborne debris. It is just one example of another billion dollar industry waiting for us to develop and grow.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

A Tale of Two Oil Economies – Texas and Norway

A Tale of Two Oil Economies – Texas and Norway

3 June 2011

Global American Series

Norway is the Texas of Europe – it is Europe’s biggest producer of oil and gas (mostly in the North Sea). I just spent a week in Norway and wanted to know: “How does Norway compare to Texas in handling its oil wealth?” Read on and ask which path your state is on?

That is the subject of this week’s “Global American” radio program. The program starts with the little-known story I discovered on my trip about how a few Norwegians in WWII kept Hitler from getting the Atomic bomb, which would have won him the war and made London the first Hiroshima. It was made into a movie starring Kirk Douglas called “The Heroes of Telemark.”

Norway has been investing its oil wealth in the country’s medical and education sectors. Texas originally dedicated large portions of land to its Permanent University Fund, primarily for the University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems. But things have changed over the years.

Norway ranks as one of the best countries in the world to live with the highest standard of living. Unemployment is just 3%. Life expectancy is nearly 81 years. Voter turnout is 77%. When asked “Who became rich from oil in Norway?” a Norwegian diplomat said: “Nobody and everybody.” Oil raised all boats equally. Norway’s public education system is one of the best in Europe and the general level of education is higher than the European average. Tuition is free all the way through University, even for international students.

Texas has a different story. In 1999, when Governor Bush was still in office, Texas ranked 25th in per pupil expenditures. After 11 years of Governor Perry being in office, Texas now ranks 43rd -- out of 50 states. In 2005 (during the ‘boom times’), Texas was the only state to cut average per pupil spending.

From 2002 to 2007, the Texas state budget was cut in terms of real dollar per-student funding for universities by almost 20% (35% for community colleges). Tuition costs

While Norway has one of the most transparent systems for tracking its investments, Texas has turned over its $23 billion Permanent School Fund (PSF) to an elected State Board of Education (SBOE) which has no financial expertise. The majority of the SBOE members are ideologues who insist on rewriting history books to put the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in a more favorable light and dismissing the issue of slavery in the Civil War. Those books are then used by schools across America. Recently it changed advisors to NEPC, which had invested other pension funds in Bernie Madoff’s pyramid schemes.

The move cost Texas hundreds of thousands of dollars. When the PSF comes up short on funds needed for education, the taxpayers have to pick up the difference. Texas is the only state that allows an education board to control investments instead of just setting policy.

Yet Texas has legislators, like Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, who said “schools will have to live with what they get, not what they need.” This is hardly a vision for success in a global, high tech economy. This is a recipe for disaster at a time when hundreds of thousands of high tech jobs remain unfilled because Americans lack the skills needed to fill them. Where have the Texas visionaries gone, men like Hugh Roy Cullen, Walter Fondren and Sid Richardson?

Is Texas going down the path of Nigeria, which squandered its oil wealth? It certainly isn’t following Norway’s example.

Tune in at 9 am Central on Business 1110 AM, streamed on www.Business1110KTEK.com and podcast 24/7 on www.GlobalAmerican.org

Which path in the global high tech 21st century is your state taking – Norway’s or Texas’?

Michael Fjetland

Global American Series

Opt in/out (your call)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican/

Comments welcome at our mirror site/blog:

http://globalamericanvalues.blogspot.com/

Sponsored by Armor Glass International, Inc.

www.ArmorGlass.com

A 21st Century technology that saves energy and protects people from Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Burglars and Solar Heat