‘Masters’ of negotiation

Iran

There is a new blog post entitled, “War with Iran may be inevitable.”

International Crisis Group, “Averting the Middle East’s 1914 Moment,” August 1, 2019, https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/iran/205-averting-middle-easts-1914-moment


Kashmir

There is much more to this[1] than I can take on right now. I will say this: It is a catastrophe in multiple ways.

Niha Masih, “India revokes special status of Kashmir, putting tense region on edge,” Washington Post, August 5, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/india-revokes-special-status-of-kashmir-putting-tense-region-on-edge/2019/08/05/2232fcd0-b740-11e9-8e83-4e6687e99814_story.html


Uber

See my previous blog entry entitled, “Watching the ridesharing shit go down the toilet.”

Edward Helmore, “Will Uber ever make money? Day of reckoning looms for ride-sharing firm,” Guardian, August 4, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/04/uber-ride-share-lyft-ipo-earnings


Guns

As of today (Aug. 4), we are 216 days into 2019. In the US over that time, more than 1,300 people have been injured or killed in mass shootings, according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive.[2]

216 days. 292 mass shootings.[3] Thanks, Donald Trump. Thanks, Mitch McConnell.

Katherine Ellen Foley, “The 292 mass shootings in the US so far this year, mapped,” Quartz, August 4, 2019, https://qz.com/1681082/the-292-mass-shootings-in-the-us-so-far-this-year-mapped/

Valerie Bauerlein, “Mass Shootings in El Paso, Dayton Leave 29 Dead,” Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/mass-shootings-in-el-paso-dayton-leave-29-dead-11564962534


Trade

Between Brexit[4] and Donald Trump’s attempt to bully China,[5] I see a lot of arrogance.

Now, I wouldn’t consider myself a master negotiator by any means. But I’ll tell you all a secret based mostly on my B.A. and M.A. in Communication: Approaching any negotiation with arrogance is likely to piss off other side, leading it to dig in its heels. And here, call this a two for one deal: The line between a constructive attitude toward a negotiation and arrogance isn’t even remotely a fine line.

It also helps if, unlike how the Trump administration is handling Iran,[6] one is clear about what one’s goals are in the negotiation.

What we’re seeing instead isn’t even remotely what you can call “being tough.” It’s called “being stupid.” Which seems pretty much to be how the stock markets are seeing it.[7]

David J. Lynch et al., “Treasury Department designates China a ‘currency manipulator,’ a major escalation of the trade war,” Washington Post, August 5, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-lets-currency-plunge-below-7-a-decade-low-after-trump-adds-new-tariffs/2019/08/05/c7415db6-b754-11e9-8e83-4e6687e99814_story.html

Akane Otani, “Stocks Fall Sharply as Yuan Reels and Trump Jabs at China,” Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/stocks-yuan-drop-sharply-as-trade-spat-intensifies-11564981961


  1. [1]Niha Masih, “India revokes special status of Kashmir, putting tense region on edge,” Washington Post, August 5, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/india-revokes-special-status-of-kashmir-putting-tense-region-on-edge/2019/08/05/2232fcd0-b740-11e9-8e83-4e6687e99814_story.html
  2. [2]Katherine Ellen Foley, “The 292 mass shootings in the US so far this year, mapped,” Quartz, August 4, 2019, https://qz.com/1681082/the-292-mass-shootings-in-the-us-so-far-this-year-mapped/
  3. [3]Katherine Ellen Foley, “The 292 mass shootings in the US so far this year, mapped,” Quartz, August 4, 2019, https://qz.com/1681082/the-292-mass-shootings-in-the-us-so-far-this-year-mapped/
  4. [4]David Benfell, “The hatless mad hatters,” Not Housebroken, August 4, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/08/04/the-hatless-mad-hatters/
  5. [5]David J. Lynch et al., “Treasury Department designates China a ‘currency manipulator,’ a major escalation of the trade war,” Washington Post, August 5, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-lets-currency-plunge-below-7-a-decade-low-after-trump-adds-new-tariffs/2019/08/05/c7415db6-b754-11e9-8e83-4e6687e99814_story.html
  6. [6]International Crisis Group, “Averting the Middle East’s 1914 Moment,” August 1, 2019, https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/iran/205-averting-middle-easts-1914-moment
  7. [7]Akane Otani, “Stocks Fall Sharply as Yuan Reels and Trump Jabs at China,” Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/stocks-yuan-drop-sharply-as-trade-spat-intensifies-11564981961