Global media giant News Corporation who already owns 100% of LNT, announced Friday May 30 that it has acquired the remaining part of TV Riga (TV5) and now this channel is also under full ownership of the conglomerate.

Latvia’s most popular channel LNT was acquired in May last year, together with 70% of TV5. As Dienas Bizness has reported, the experts say the deal was worth 18.5 million lats. And this week News Corp. has completed the TV5 acquisition process, resulting in buying out the remaining 30%.

Until then, the 30% of TV5 was owned by “Belokon News” Ltd. , whose shareholders are Latvian banker and Blackpool FC president Valery Belokon (90%) and Chairman of the Board at TV5, Mihaels Seitelmans (10%).

News Corporation besides various worldwide known media, also owns a social networking service MySpace.

If you have an original idea / business model / startup to kick off on the web, but feel short in cash or resources, then the perfect way for you to nail down a potential partner are OpenCoffee format meetups, which are now going to take place in Riga too.

That goes to investors as well - now you have an opportunity, in a totally informal setting, to consider the ideas while sipping coffee with their authors and negotiating on a potential partnership.

OpenCoffee welcomes all industry professionals as well, those who care about online presence of their business and would like to brainstorm on fresh ideas or just meet the thinkers alike.

Since the start of the last year, when first OpenCoffee meetup was held in London, such format meetings regularly take place all around the world. A few months ago I had a chance to visit the OpenCoffee in Tallinn, together with Maxim and Evgeny. There was very friendly atmosphere reigning in there, enterpreneurs were present, as well as people representing future and ongoing internet services (Skype, for instance), plus some bloggers and even a college professor. And last week, I heard through the grapevine that AlexR is getting the idea of OpenCoffee in Latvia through, which of course is extremely cool and hopefully this movement will become a tradition around here.

The OpenCoffee concept is as easy as it gets: in a previously agreed place, where good coffee and free Wi-Fi should be both a yes, on a previously agreed time, entrepreneurs, investors and all those who think they need to be there, are gathering. Usually, the place is a permanent venue, the time is also scheduled for no change (for example, each Thursday 10 - 12 @ Starbucks Elizabetes St.). It’s not important who comes, perhaps some days there ain’t gonna be anyone coming - people are just need to know that if they wanna meet, the place is here and the time is now. If you don’t make it this time - it’s not the end of the world! You’ll make it next time! That’s why these meetups should be regular. Maybe, if meeting each week for Latvia would be too frequently, then it could be, say, first Thursday of each month.

At this moment, the introduction meetup of Latvian OpenCoffee Club is scheduled for June 5 this year. As the time and venue are still discussable, I’ma vote for 10 AM. I truly believe that this type of gatherings will be way more serious and productive if we throw them up in the mornings, in spite of just the next one bloggers’ “after work” beer drinking evening. After all we are talking “work” here, aren’t we? The SunSet Bar seems to be OK, if not one thing - during the fall/winter off-season it’s not gonna be open in the mornings, and there’s actually no.. “good coffee” in there =) This can be lived with though, but those who know more than two types of coffee (black and white) will surely understand me.

Alrightie, so meet y’all soon, at the OpenCoffee!

For the first meetup, to increase the attendance and interest, there is a topic set up: “The Web 2.0 Evolution or Where is the Web Rolling?”, as well as a visual presentation of a new project to be launched on Latvian market will be held.

I was watching LNT’s morning show “900 Seconds” today, when I saw Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis speaking on inflation.

He has told that Government’s aim by fall ‘08 is to “come to inflation lower than a two-digit number. I can’t  tell you now, whether it’s seven or eight percents, but this is our aim”.

Obviously, Mr. Godmanis meant that the aim is to reach a single digit inflation - I guess 9.9% also falls in that category. I thought, well, sounds alright to me, at least not in the double digits - 9, 8, 7. Let’s see what it brings us to.

Later on, TV*Net came back with a screaming headline like “Godmanis: Our aim is 7 or 8 percent inflation”. Sensational. Let it be it though.

Still, that’s inflation. Unstoppable like a ninja sword, slicing its way through our wallets and bank accounts leaving nothing behind.

Let’s just trust that things are actually gonna get better, thanks to our new primie, the wizard-looking bearded Godmanis (I guess his last name means “good man”?). Don’t let us down G.

I see people getting crazy over Riga’s public transportation fare price rise. Now it has reached an astonishing limit of 40 santims (just over half a euro). How silly.

I know, other Latvian cities are still to catch up. I heard Vilnius, Lithuania buses are still cheap. But hey, this is something you can’t really stop. Inflation.

Everybody and their mama are dealing with inflation these days. If you live somewhere near Riga you must have felt the impact on your own butt. That’s why if you’re a company, you will not go out and spend more than you earn, right?

That’s just what Riga Transportation Authority does, it’s time they do the move.

Other issue is that I hear people consider dumb that if you ain’t got a ticket on boarding the tram (with no conductor), the ticket will be sold by driver for an impressive investment of 50 santims. Damn, I mean, that’s just 10 cents more! If you forgot to get a tick from a newsstand or whatever, then be ready to pay a lil bit extra, won’t ya? And it’s not the double price after all.

Such practice is employed in many cities around the world and as far as I know and been traveling, I don’t remember locals whinin’ and cryin’ over such type of ish.

Yes, the majority of Rigans are poor and can’t take it - you know everything but the salaries has been going uphill lately. I must confess I been suffering from the big “I” too, still some bills overdue.

But even being an every day car driver myself, having felt the gas price rise, I still consider inflation as something normal and see it as a process of developing. And a motivation to earn more.

So, hopefully, no one gets hurt or left without dinner after such New Year gift.

Have a nice time battling controllers like in Good Ol’ Soviet times, after riding with ticket handed by another passenger on exit.

Sike.

Я вернулся с моим первым постом на русском. Привет, мир!

Как достойный моряк, хоть и привязан к стенке мой галеон вот уж несколько лет, не могу быть не обеспокоен происходящими в последнее время авариями на море.

Керченский пролив - халатность капитанов в штормовых условиях и критических обстоятельствах. Неопытность? Нарушения при оценке технического состояния судов судовладельцами и судоверфями? В любом случае, за один день - четыре судна затонули, шесть сели на мель, получили повреждения два танкера. В море - 2 тысячи тонн мазута, 7 тысяч тонн серы.

C Exxon Valdez’ом, конечно, не сравнится, но всё равно - неприятно.

Участь последнего постигла и круизный лайнер Explorer, натолкнувшийся на этой неделе на айсберг у берегов Аргентины. Все 150 человек эвакуированы, спасательная операция, насколько я видел по телику, проведена на славу.

И, что радует, наших однополчан, земляков-латвийцев-доблестных моряков в списках пострадавших в упомянутых авариях нет, но вот, что произошло сегодня, заставило меня задуматься - CNN сообщает о пожаре на нефтяной вышке в Северном море.

Не без помощи семи вертолётов, а также соседних нефтяных вышек, около полусотни человек были эвакуированы, так что спокуха, никто не пострадал.

А я бывал в тех краях не раз и избороздил побережье как Шотландии / Великобритании, так и Норвегии. Мимо вышек частенько ходить доводилось, конечно, благо в Северном море их уйма, и, разглядывая в бинокль с крыла, всё время думалось: “Ведь и кто-то из наших же там есть”.

Работа опасная и тяжёлая. Хорошо оплачиваемая, безусловно, что и является главной причиной миграции из Латвии, которую я упоминал в одном из постов. Но стоит ли подвергать семя огромнейшей опасности, да ещё и жертвовать стабильностью семьи, общением с друзьями, нахождением подолгу вдали от дома - и всё ради болотного цвета изображения мёртвых американских президентов..

Думаю, нет.

Pēdējā laikā saasinājies šis jautājums, šķiet, lielākai sabiedrības daļai.. Un tieši tai, kas ir jauna, aktīva, hm.. maksātspējīga - vārdu sakot, progresīvākai un perspektīvākai mūsu mazās valstiņas daļai.

Palikt vai nepalikt? Latvija vai Īrija? Lielbritānija? Var būt Spānija? Tur vismaz siltāk..

Šādas domas rodas nepārprotami, apdomājot gan politisko krīzi, jezgu valdībā, inflāciju, gan arī pēdējās ziņas par to, ka turpmāk visus astoņpadsmitgadīgos, redz, bez viņu piekrišanas ieskaitīšot bruņoto spēku rezervē.

Kādas vērtības var sniegt man šī valsts? Jau tā daudzi ir aizbraukuši, var būt arī man pievienoties viņiem? Pavisam noteikti šis jautājums ir apciemojis teju vai katra jauna cilvēka, kas uzsāk savas gaitas skarbajā Latvijas realitātē, prātu.

Bet ja tā visu noliek uz svariem, ja tā visu riktīgi apdomā, tad nemaz nav tik traki. Ir bijuši grūti laiki mūsu senčiem pirms daudziem gadsimtiem, nav bijis viegli pirms dažiem gadu desmitiem, grūti un smagi laiki ir cilvēkiem daudzviet pasaulē arī šodien - jāpateicas Dievam par to, ko Viņš dod, tas jau ir daudz! Un, galu galā, dzīve taču turpinās!

Pēc vakar Turībā notikušās Jāko Lehtonena lekcijas par Latviju kā brendu, par valsts imidža nozīmi nācijas mārketingā, gribās tikai ar optimismu raudzīties nākotnē un ticēt, ka tikai mēs - visi kopā - spēsim padarīt mūsu dzīvi labāku, gan sev pašiem, gan mūsu bērnu mazbērniem. Un bēgšana prom lai paliek viena no gļēvuļu opcijām.

Holandes siers pa Ls 10 kilogramā? Crazy. (I mean, kādreiz bija cik? 3?)

Sagaidījām augstas algas, jā - bet cenas jau arī uzkruķītas tā, ka maz neliekas. Algu inflācija reizē ar cenu inflāciju, beigās jau izrādās nekāds labums no lielākas algas nav. Cenas kāpj. Un vēl pie tam tas nav viss. Būs VĒL dārgāks gan piens, siers un maize, gan arī gaļas izstrādājumi.

Līdz ar to tiek patērēts vairāk tas, kas ir ar atlaidēm. Cilvēki stāv un pie veikalu plauktiem un reāli meklē mazāku cenu, meklē atlaides, aizmirstot, par brendiem, kvalitāti un iespējamām produktu vērtībām. Un akurāti liek iepirkumu grozos lētākas akcijas preces, nevis tās, kuras patīk.

Īstenībā, tas var veicināt vēl straujāku cenu kāpumu, kuru mēs nu nekādīgi vairs neapstādināsim. Dažs labs gudrs ražotājs un tirgotājs, vērojot tendenci, mākslīgi paaugstinās cenu un ieintegrēs atlaidi, lai sekmētu pārdošanas apjomus. Tas jau tā notiek arī tagad, bet nu, šķiet, inflācijas mašīna ir kā sniega bumba, if you know what I mean.

Atliek tik būt uzmanīgiem šajā galvu reibinošā piedāvājumā, ar dzeltenām akciju cenu zīmēm, ar sarkanu svītrotām cenām un lieliem atlaižu cipariem, kas auksti uzrunā mūs no lielveikalu plauktiem.