Junaid’s posterous

This is a prime example of wasteful spending by a government that does not answer to the masses ... nor plans before acting.

Georgetown University's Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, like any good institution, knows that the way to steer publicity toward their work is to make a list. This is the only possible explanation I can conjure up for their report on the world's top 500 most influential Muslims.

Somewhere, Prince Al-Waleed must be pleased that he's getting his money's worth from the $20 million donation he made to establish the Center. Headlining the list is his uncle, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. One can, of course, legitimately argue that Abdullah is the world's most influential Muslim -- he is the custodian of Mecca and Medina and Saudi Arabia has done more to spread its version of Islam than any other state. However, it's hard to read the description of King Abdullah's reforms as anything other than a press release. The report lauds Abdullah for "his ability to enact multiple landmark reforms to fight corruption, balance the Saudi budget, tailor the education system, [and] address women's and minority rights." This, in a country where women cannot drive.

Looking at the list more broadly, there is also a clear bias towards the Middle East (using a broad definition including Iran and Turkey). The top 14 Muslims all hail from the Middle East, and only six out of the top 40 are from outside of the region. Perhaps only a third of the world's Muslims live in this area, giving them an outsized influence on what it means to be "Islamic" in today's world.

The list is also weighted very heavily toward invidividuals who represent more conservative forms of Islam. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah clocks in at number 17 and Hamas's Khaled Mashaal is included at number 34, but PA President Mahmoud Abbas and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei -- who no doubt consider themselves good Muslims -- are nowhere to be found in the top 50. Even Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an adherent of the Alawi sect, is considered too heterodox for this list. That's without mentioning hugely influential figures outside politics such as Mohamed El-Erian, Fareed Zakaria, and Muhammad Yunus, who didn't make the cut.

To be fair, these figures are mentioned later in the report -- a list of 500 names gives room to cover all the bases. The report's title is something of a misnomer; it provides a ranking ofthe top 50 influential Muslims, and then organizes the remaining 450 by subject field without attempting to impose a hierarchy. Nevertheless, it is instructive that the individuals headlining the report are filled almost exclusively with rulers and conservative theologians from the Middle East. In the end, this report tells us very little about the world's most influential Muslims, and a great deal about what Georgetown's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding believes constitutes a good Muslim.

(Above: German free style motocross champion Hannes Ackermann performs in front of Istanbul's Blue Mosque in 2008)

MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images

Nov 11, 2009 -

Who’s got the time and energy to interview people these days? My buddies Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon, authors of I Hate People!, came up with this solution for this problem: Watch how they cross the street.

If you can’t arrange for an interviewee to cross the street to get to your building, arrange for the interview at a Starbucks, cafe or restaurant—preferably in Manhattan during rush hour, but any reasonably-sized city will do. Watch carefully. Secretly videotape it, if at all possible. These few seconds will tell you more about their workplace capabilities than an hour of tough questions.

Here are five types of crosswalkers and how they would perform in the workplace:

1. Matador. Fearless, the Matador thinks nothing of daring the cars and taxis with his elegant dance through traffic. Crosswalks are just paint to a Matador. Red lights are mere suggestions. Nor does the Matador care whether the oncoming traffic shows no sign of stopping. After all, what’s a little glancing blow? Best Positions: Entrepreneurs, super salesmen, and financial mavericks.

2. Wader. Bold but not fearless, the Wader is eager to cross, demonstrating ample initiative but a little more common sense. Waders may phone and text while on the move…but not when venturing into traffic. They recognize that getting struck by any part of a car is a bad thing. That’s why they let the Matadors run interference. While the hotshots are busy tempting fate, the Wader is getting to the other side first. Best Positions: Excellent CEOs, vice presidents, software designers, project leaders and design heads.

3. TextWalker. Having mastered typing, talking and walking at once, the TextWalker tends to forget that crossing a car-clotted street is real life while tapping keys on a little plastic box is not. TextWalkers may appear on the surface to be Waders or even Matadors, but with one critical distinction—progress in their case is often an illusion. The Textwalker tends to meander, drift, and even pause midway. They lack the presence of mind to stay on task. Best Positions: Creatives and lower-level programmers. They exhibit flashes of talent but are ill-suited for management or higher-level responsibilities.

4. Light Jumper. Though a Light Jumper starts out determined to follow the letter of the law, when the crosswalk light turns yellow he can’t help but jump the curb. Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde. A Light Jumper is not above shouting and glaring at motorists who narrowly miss him even though they still legally have the right of way. Best Positions: Dependable but ballsy attorneys, independent CPAs and trusty managers with hidden tattoos.

5. CurbHuggers. No matter how empty the street, CurbHuggers would never dream of leaving the sidewalk for the crosswalk a second earlier than the law (or the “Walk” sign) allows. Ironically, CurbHuggers rarely make it across before the light turns and, by playing it safe, are often sitting ducks for signal-jumping taxis. Best Positions: Accountants, statisticians, or rules-based occupations. Excellent at scheduling and attending meetings, especially when the purpose is to schedule new meetings.

While you’re at it, you should think about how you cross the street, too. You might learn something about yourself—and what you’re communcicating about your outlook on life.

While Canada and European countries not included in EU15 are excluded from the dataset above, it is still fairly revealing. It appears that Asia has been growing at Europe's expense while the rest of the world has remained relatively flat.

The question is, what happened to all the oil wealth in the Middle East? And to Africa's potential?

According to Booz & Company the recession had at least one major upside: it forced companies to improve their innovation. Many invested more in R&D, while others streamlined costs. What is clear, however, is that most of them see innovation as the way to rebound from a tough market.

How much did the top companies spend on R&D in 2008? Toyota and Nokia share the top of the list at just under $9 billion.

An interesting podcast from Consumerism Commentary.

While I am more interested in lending clubs as a social welfare vehicle, I believe it can be made in a to a profitable venture - though I would do it the Islamic finance way and enter into VC like arrangements with the 'borrowers' for greater sharing of risks and returns.

Right now biodiesel is capturing widespread interest. Duane Johnson, an independent consultant with many years of experience in the biodiesel and biofuel markets, said that even though the biodiesel market appears slow right now, “We are seeing a tremendous interest in biofuels.

While there will always be debate on whether we should focus on crop-based fuels as an alternative, much of this debate misses an important point. Majority of the engines that run the world today are diesel based and replacing them would only come at a significant cost.

Unless, of course, we can find a way to make diesel in a sustainable and energy efficient way. And that exactly why biodiesel is here to stay.

Major oil companies and midstream companies face some changes in how they do business if biofuels production expands at the rate required by the US renewable fuel standards (RFS), a credit rating agency reports.

“The potential for advanced biofuels remains robust as long as the government-mandated demand remains in place,” Standard & Poor’s Rating Services analyst Mark Habib said in an October research note.

Currently, RFS-mandated volumes are almost 10% of US liquid fuel demand. The RFS requires increasing production of grain-based biofuels and advanced biofuels at a pace that could more than triple current biofuel production by 2022, he said.

“More than half will come from second-generation biofuels, primarily cellulosic biofuel which the EPA defines as an advanced alternative having at least a 60% greenhouse gas reduction compared with petroleum,” Habib said.

While I don't believe that the oil and gas companies face a major threat from the biofuel start-ups, I do believe that the traditional oil and gas companies--with their resources and reach--will play a major role in research and development of biofuels. We are already seeing traditional mega oil companies spending significant resources in developing alternative fuels. I would say, given the finite supply of oil in the ground, it is about time they start look at alternatives ... even if the oil in the ground is good for another few centuries.