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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Information, Social Networking, and Sarah Palin

Did you ever see Gone with the Wind? Remember the scene where everyone gathers in Atlanta, waiting for the "death lists" to be handed out on slips of paper? I remember seeing this movie when I was younger and thinking to myself how hard it must have been for everyone involved - those waiting on the news and those anxious to get it out. Boy, "information dissemination" has come a long way since then, hasn't it? I call it that because you can't really call it news anymore. With most of the mainstream media in the "progressive pocket," i.e. the White House, it's hard to get away with calling it any more than opinion or commentary. With the advent of the Internet, information dissemination has gone from taking days to taking minutes, even seconds. I was commenting to my husband last night how much I loved Twitter. Almost instantly after hopping on and pulling up a few of my favorite hashtag streams, I can know exactly what the political pulse is and what the hot topics are.

My parents grew up in a generation where many accepted the printed word as fact. If it was in writing, it must be true. I remember an English teacher once telling me to be cautious of that. It was common for all of us to believe what we read as fact. The older I have gotten, the more I have come to realize this is definitely not true. I think the nation is finally waking up and coming to this realization as well. Print is not dead, but it takes on different forms. Print in the Internet and on social networking sites is now much more alive than the paper of days gone by.

Why do I bring this up? Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites have enabled us to instantly gather the information we need to make informed decisions. With bloggers (myself included) in the mix, we have fact as well as commentary at our fingertips. Sarah Palin gets it. She knows that one of the best ways to reach "the people," the real people, is to use the site they use to reach each other - Facebook. Once she was freed of her constraints as governor, she began using Facebook as a medium for passing on her thoughts, ideas, and fact-based informational writings. Others are trying to emulate this, but they just don't get it - part of the reason this works is because it's Sarah Palin, and not them, putting the information out.

Last night while watching Glenn Beck, I saw a clip of a left-winger talking about using Facebook as a way to get his message out. Gee, I wonder where they got that idea? I love how they talk about Sarah Palin without really talking about Sarah Palin. Part of the reason Facebook works for her is because the people who embrace her are ordinary folk who see her as just like them - ordinary folk. They trust her. They believe her. It is only those who are jaded by the political rhetoric and those who have been involved in politics too long that have a hard time even listening to what she has to say. To them she is just noise. To those of us in the know, she is the conservative oasis in our nation's liberal desert.

Sarah Palin is a ground breaker, a "think outside the box" kind of person, and continues to refuse to be cast out of the same mold as all the other politicians. She will continue to do things her own way and Facebook and other social networking sites will continue to work for her and serve her well. Maybe this is the "Hope and Change" we all need. My "hope" is that more will come to embrace Sarah because she is the "Change" we all need right now.

- Check out my conservative Alaskan blog at http://www.findingmyselfinalaska.com

Confirmed: Sarah Palin To Be Keynote Speaker At CLSA Investor's Forum In Hong Kong



Yes, I know, I am a tad late, but, as is policy, we don’t talk about Sarah Palin’s schedule unless Sarah or her spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, has verified that Sarah is indeed going somewhere.

There are just too many flaky promoters using Sarah’s name to sell tickets, without a verification from Sarah, who then try to blame her when she doesn’t show at an event she had never committed to in the first place. So we are not going to help them with that scam.

As we reported earlier, Sarah has almost 1100 invitations to speak at events, both paid and unpaid. Her attorney, Robert Bennett, announced this week that she is almost finished writing her book, so is now accepting invitations. Sarah will speak to various groups on a variety of issues that matter to America, and the world.

Sarah will also be speaking on behalf conservative candidates that share her vision for America, as well as for various charities, like those who support special needs children, and the military and their families.

Sarah will be speaking in Hong Kong at the CLSA Investor’s Forum, an annual conference of global investment managers. Previous speakers at the event include President Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan, and Al Gore. The forum is sponsored by the CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.





Their company spokeswoman Simone Wheeler said in a statement:


"Our keynote speakers are notable luminaries who often address topics that go beyond traditional finance such as geopolitics,".

"We just felt it would be a fabulous opportunity for CLSA clients to hear from Mrs. Palin," Wheeler said, adding that CLSA approached Sarah with the offer.



Those who follow Sarah Palin know she has a lot of foreign trade experience to draw from. Obviously, Palin worked close with the Canadian government to put together her signature achievement, the natural gas pipeline, but she has had many dealings with nations throughout the South Pacific as well as Russia and Canada.

Back in January of this year, as part of the big kick off to Alaska’s 50th birthday celebration, Sarah hosted a large contingent of dignitaries including Sergey Kislyak, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, who was making his first visit to Alaska.

Ambassador Kislyak proclaimed:



"I am so pleased to be here this weekend. As discussed in my meeting with Governor Palin, it is encouraging to note the similarities between Alaska and the Russian Far East. Our existing commercial connections and the mutually beneficial nature of our professional partnerships can only help provide a measure of stability as, together, we face the global economic challenges that lie ahead."





Others attending the event were Yuri Gerasin, Consul General of the Russian Federation; Julian Evans, British Consul General; John Mataira, Consul General of New Zealand; Balazs Bokor, Consul General of Hungary; Sten Arne Rosnes, Consul General of Norway; Haryong Lee, Consul General of Korea; Fred Santos, Consul of The Philippines; Mel Knight, Alberta's Minister of Energy; Marvin Schneider, Alberta's Executive Director of the U.S. and Americas; and Haijun Wang, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of China's Heilongjiang Province. Mr. Wang is leading a four-person delegation from Heilongjiang Province, a sister province to Alaska, and China's northernmost region.

Members of the Alaska consular corps also participating in the weekend events were: Karen Matthias, of Canada; Hideo Fujita, of Japan; Hee-chul Kim, of South Korea; and Jose Luis Cuevas, of Mexico. They will be joined by honorary consuls of the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, Seychelles, and Norway.

Obviously, we are happy to see that Sarah is starting to accept speaking engagements. This is a very great way for her to get her message out to the world, make a lot of new friends, and build relationships.

It’s a good to remember that many leaders do this. Former Vice President Richard Nixon, after losing to John Kennedy in 1960, went on the speaking circuit and used that to propel him into the White House, and the great Ronald Reagan was a prolific speaker taking many engagements both before he became Governor of California as well as afterward. This helped Reagan become President of the United States, as well.

Below is the press release from the CLSA:

Hong Kong, 31 August 2009 - CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, Asia's leading independent brokerage and investment group, will host the former Governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, in her first international speaking engagement outside North America.

Palin will address CLSA clients and delegates in a keynote speech at the 16th CLSA Investors’ Forum to be held in Hong Kong from 21-25 September. Palin joins a list of noted global leaders including Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Alan Greenspan who have chosen the CLSA Investors’ Forum as their platform of choice to reach global institutional fund managers and CEO’s of Asia’s leading listed corporations.

CLSA Chairman and CEO Jonathan Slone said: "As the first female governor of Alaska and the youngest person ever elected governor of that state, Palin has broken new ground in US politics and we are delighted that she will make her first visit to Asia to present at the CLSA Investors’ Forum."

"CLSA consistently sets the benchmark for original and thought-provoking content, and aims to present global political and industry leaders whose policies and platforms have influenced global markets."

Joining Palin, are more than 40 keynote and specialist speakers including Niall Ferguson, Harvard professor and author of the bestseller The Ascent of Money; Robert Fisk, Middle east correspondent for The Independent and one of the few Western journalists to have interviewed Osama bin Laden; Sir Ken Robinson author of The Element: How finding your passion changes everything; Satyajit Das author of Traders, Guns and Money; David Roche, economic and political analyst; and Marc Faber, investment contrarian and author of Tomorrow’s Gold.

Now in its 16th year, the CLSA Investors’ Forum is Asia’s premier investment conference providing unrivalled corporate access to 1300 global fund managers from 32 countries, representing more than US$10trillion in funds under management. Over five days, they meet with more than 400 CEOs and CIOs of Asia’s leading listed corporations in 2500 group and private meetings. Simultaneously, a seven-track schedule offers over 200 keynote, specialist, CLSA analyst and corporate presentations.

The CLSA Investors’ Forum is CLSA’s annual flagship event and one of six held throughout the year. Participation is by invitation only.