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Dear Friends:
Please take every possible precaution against contracting or transmitting the deadly Swine Flu virus. Read about what you can do. Let others know -- by email, social media, a telephone call... in any way that you can. Following is an information link:
douglascastleSWINE FLU OUTBREAK ALERT - I just finished a post on http://lifelinksiep.blogspo... about measures we should take. Please forward to all!less than 5 seconds ago from web.
Stay healthy.
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
SOME NOTABLE TRENDS AND SIGNALS: THE TRANSPARENT SOCIETY - April, 2009
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THE TRANSPARENT SOCIETY
Dear Friends:
THE TRANSPARENT SOCIETY
Dear Friends:Several trends and signals have come to my attention that I would like to share with you. Please use the information wisely, and conduct your own research (if you are so inclined) to confirm or debunk my observations and insights.
GLOBAL WARMING
This news item is fresh off the press at the NEW YORK TIMES:
"E.P.A. (the United States Environmental Protection Agency) to Clear the Way for Regulation of Warming Gases."
"The agency on Friday is expected to formally declare carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that threaten public health and welfare."
Please read more at http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na .
Upon second glance, this is actually a multiple message, and here are some of the threads to follow:
1. Global Warming has now been fully accepted by most of the world's governmental decisionmakers as an indisputable scientific fact -- that it is, indeed, a murderous juggernaut headed our way;
2. Regulators in the U.S. and G20 believe that human activities contribute significantly to Global Warming, and that by changing our ways and our standards, we will be able to either significantly mitigate or forestall the effects of Global Warming;
3. We should expect increased environmental compliance audits, expenses, penalties and taxes as a result of this conclusion and the ensuing regulatory intervention;
4. This should be seen as a major victory by environmentalists;
5. This should be seen as potentially economically discouraging to new and existing businesses (as it represents a signifcant element of increased compliance costs and prosecutorial risk), and as a slight, but possible, hindrance to economic recovery.
6. This may encourage some investment in the technological sector in terms of developing means of reducing or processing gaseous emissions. I do not, however, go so far as to predict an increase in the sales or share price of Beano, or other companies involved in similar businesses.
7. The imposition by the EPA of regulations on US businesses will affect trade viability in international commerce as international co-ventures and transactions will have to conform (whether inbound or outbound)to EPA guidelines. Expect the regulatory bodies of many nations to follow the example of the EPA.
If this trend toward governmental intervention and oversight helps prevent or mitigate the allegedly disasterous effects of Global Warming, it will have indeed been a positive one. If Global Warming is unaffected, it will just have been a further intrusion by government-at-large on the private sector, both in the US and Internationally -- this would indeed be an Inconvenient Truth.
My personal contribution toward staving off Global Warming will be to reduce the amount of CO2 I emit when I spout off hot air. I will also encourage others to minimize their exhalations and expulsions (from all manner of orifices), as well.
INTERNATIONAL STRIFE
There is significant opposing troop movement in the direction of Afganistan. Many US troops (being removed from a still-unstabilized Iraq), as well as other "allied" troops will be amassing forces in and around Afganistan. This will have to incite increasing hostilities between Pakistan and the nations of the West engaged in the interminable "War On Terror." This will also continue the trend of friendlier relations between the West and India, Pakistan's principal nemesis. Did someone once say "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"? Let's watch this play out.
Expect continued histrionics, threats and widely-heralded displays of military ineptitude (i.e., failed rocket, bomb and satellite tests) on the part of North Korea. Certainly not during the current regime, or any familial successor to it.
Darfur, and other emerging nations which are not regarded as politically significant, affluent, or oil-producing, will continue in unabated carnage and suffering while the world superpowers stay focused on economic (recession-related) and environmental issues, rather than on sociological and humanitarian ones.
INTERNET SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook, Twitter and other social media are finding adherents, members and addicts in increasing numbers daily. While this represents an increase in the qualtity and diversity of Human communications, it also represents a continuing tendency toward "virtual" relationships and the de-personalization of business and human affairs. The art and leisure of socializing are being rapidly supplanted by terse, impersonal communications. These communications are readily accessible by government agencies and any interested (and persistent) third parties, so privacy is a fast-disappearing luxury. Welcome to the Transparent Society.
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:
globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...
globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...
Monday, April 13, 2009
YOUR INPUT REQUESTED, PLEASE
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THE THREE COMPONENTS OF EVERY BUSINESS – YOUR INPUT, PLEASE!
Bruce Newman of The Productivity Institute, LLC (www.prodinst.com) believes that every business enterprise, at its highest decision making level needs to re-evaluate itself using a simple program which Bruce and I have co-authored called CRITICAL FACTOR NEEDS ANALYSIS™ (“CFNA™”).
Similar to the concept of Zero-Based Budgeting, this evaluative approach is designed to objectively analyze any organization in terms of: 1) price and revenue sensitivity; 2) variable costs and profit contribution margins; 3) fixed costs – both productive and unproductive.
The end result of the process is to quickly develop and implement a plan to reduce the break even revenue level required in order for the business to maintain maximum survival flexibility despite external economic variables. This can be accomplished without compromising the organization’s ability to expand to meet a better economic climate. The plan can be implemented rapidly, and with minimal trauma involved.
The CFNA™ approach is built on basic cost-accounting principles, but is tightly structured in a very practical format for even the smallest organizations.
Please download Article 1 (in a series of 5) from http://www.mediafire.com/?2jw2ijyzz4z
And review it. We would like your input, ideas and criticisms. Attribution will be given prior to actual publication of the entire work. You can respond by posting here, or by emailing Bruce at info@prodinst.com
We welcome your input.
Douglas Castle
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com)
(Subscribe for free)
THE THREE COMPONENTS OF EVERY BUSINESS – YOUR INPUT, PLEASE!
Bruce Newman of The Productivity Institute, LLC (www.prodinst.com) believes that every business enterprise, at its highest decision making level needs to re-evaluate itself using a simple program which Bruce and I have co-authored called CRITICAL FACTOR NEEDS ANALYSIS™ (“CFNA™”).
Similar to the concept of Zero-Based Budgeting, this evaluative approach is designed to objectively analyze any organization in terms of: 1) price and revenue sensitivity; 2) variable costs and profit contribution margins; 3) fixed costs – both productive and unproductive.
The end result of the process is to quickly develop and implement a plan to reduce the break even revenue level required in order for the business to maintain maximum survival flexibility despite external economic variables. This can be accomplished without compromising the organization’s ability to expand to meet a better economic climate. The plan can be implemented rapidly, and with minimal trauma involved.
The CFNA™ approach is built on basic cost-accounting principles, but is tightly structured in a very practical format for even the smallest organizations.
Please download Article 1 (in a series of 5) from http://www.mediafire.com/?2jw2ijyzz4z
And review it. We would like your input, ideas and criticisms. Attribution will be given prior to actual publication of the entire work. You can respond by posting here, or by emailing Bruce at info@prodinst.com
We welcome your input.
Douglas Castle
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com)
(Subscribe for free)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
SOME THINGS TO PONDER
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Dear Friends:
Please accept my humble apologies for not having written in a long while. I have spent a great deal of time discussing the global economy with too many people. Most of them want to place blame -- or to complain about the failure of national governments (and the loosely-bound "world government") to properly rescue a world which appears to be both economically and emotionally depressed -- or to ask me what I personally would offer by way of a suggestion to solve the problem. My response to this last question is always the same: "First, you have to give the resources to change Human Nature..." That usually earns its fair share of eye-rolling or the use of the once-popular expression, "Sheesh!" I am a sentimentalist lexicographer, and I enjoy the use of this exclamation. My British friends have a wonderful alternative, which is "No! Get off!"
Here are several things to ponder. They are a short list of observations, acknowledgements, trends and other items that I think are important.
BANKING AND CREDIT
A true credit "Catch 22" is helping to fuel economic contraction worldwide. Banks are taking their government bailout funds and...buying government securities, instead of providing business loans and consumer credit. Credit access is being cut, and credit standards are becoming increasingly stringent, except in cases where a business is self-financing just to liquidate its inventory or to put sales on its books.
Many years ago Seth Godin promoted the importance of blogs ... I thought he was out of his mind.
Well, Seth was right on that one - and I was totally wrong.
Yes, I have my share of accurate predictions, but that was one where I had it wrong ...
Seth was right on another one that I predictedwould fail: his own website "Squidoo."
In fact, I am so willing to admit I was wrong that we are offering a new Cashmap you can downloadright now that will show you how to use Squidoo to get obscene traffic to your site:
http://www.simpleology.com/courses/squidoo/
So, this is an e-tip-of-the-hat to Seth Godin.
Mark
Mark Joyner
In closing, I wanted to wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season, and to visit with me at three locations. Click. Lurk. Favoritize. Subscribe. Enjoy...
Dear Friends:Please accept my humble apologies for not having written in a long while. I have spent a great deal of time discussing the global economy with too many people. Most of them want to place blame -- or to complain about the failure of national governments (and the loosely-bound "world government") to properly rescue a world which appears to be both economically and emotionally depressed -- or to ask me what I personally would offer by way of a suggestion to solve the problem. My response to this last question is always the same: "First, you have to give the resources to change Human Nature..." That usually earns its fair share of eye-rolling or the use of the once-popular expression, "Sheesh!" I am a sentimentalist lexicographer, and I enjoy the use of this exclamation. My British friends have a wonderful alternative, which is "No! Get off!"
Here are several things to ponder. They are a short list of observations, acknowledgements, trends and other items that I think are important.
BANKING AND CREDIT
A true credit "Catch 22" is helping to fuel economic contraction worldwide. Banks are taking their government bailout funds and...buying government securities, instead of providing business loans and consumer credit. Credit access is being cut, and credit standards are becoming increasingly stringent, except in cases where a business is self-financing just to liquidate its inventory or to put sales on its books.
Please take a quick glimpse at this article. Click on http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106716/How-to-Blow-Your-Credit-Limit-Without-Spending.
Synopsis:
The new credit card scheme
Credit card companies are cutting people's limits below their outstanding balances without notification. » Why?
Credit card companies are cutting people's limits below their outstanding balances without notification. » Why?
In a society where there is utter dependence upon credit for fuel, where savings are actually negative (e.g., where people have to pay for their ongoing expnses using borrowed funds), and immediate gratification is a consumption propellant, credit card companies have not only decided to drastically cut lines of credit (even for their very best customers), give belated (and embarrassing) notification of this bad news, and are almost universally charging over limit fees to customers who were not over their contractual limits. Without consumer credit, there can be no economic stimulus or recovery. Period. The credit card companies (affiliates of bailed-out and bloated banks) know this, of course, but it seems that they are not fully in accord to stimulate anyone's economy except that of their executives. If I were judgmental, I would call this type of action, immoral, illegal and treasonous....but, fortunately, I am not sitting in judgment.
If these institutions refuse to become reasonable, civilian credit facilities and a private lending and borrowing business will have to be cobbled together amongst entrepreneurs, vendors and suppliers to fund demand and growth. I would truly delight in seeing this type of a "grassroots" banking movement. Wouldn't you?
SOCIAL MEDIA
If Facebook were to become a nation, it would be the sixth most populous nation in the entire world. The trend toward social and business networking over the internet expands daily. The operators and hosts of these various media are very powerful indeed...we have entrusted them with virtually all of our personal and financial information, as well as with a large amount of our files and records. They offer us instant communication through cyberspace (Frank Herbert would have called it the "folding" of space in his celebrated DUNE series of science fiction books), which gives us a great deal of creative power -- but they hold the key to our destruction. How much do you trust these facilitators? What might make them turn into dominators or decimators? My career would evaporate in a millisecond if I were to be disengaged from social internet media. I sometimes worry about this.
Mark Joyner, a personal development consultant, prolific writer and powerful internet marketer (the inventor of Simpleology) recently sent out a mailing to subscribers to his courses which made the point about social media wonderfully. You have to respect Mark Joyner:
If Facebook were to become a nation, it would be the sixth most populous nation in the entire world. The trend toward social and business networking over the internet expands daily. The operators and hosts of these various media are very powerful indeed...we have entrusted them with virtually all of our personal and financial information, as well as with a large amount of our files and records. They offer us instant communication through cyberspace (Frank Herbert would have called it the "folding" of space in his celebrated DUNE series of science fiction books), which gives us a great deal of creative power -- but they hold the key to our destruction. How much do you trust these facilitators? What might make them turn into dominators or decimators? My career would evaporate in a millisecond if I were to be disengaged from social internet media. I sometimes worry about this.
Mark Joyner, a personal development consultant, prolific writer and powerful internet marketer (the inventor of Simpleology) recently sent out a mailing to subscribers to his courses which made the point about social media wonderfully. You have to respect Mark Joyner:
####
Douglas,
Douglas,
Many years ago Seth Godin promoted the importance of blogs ... I thought he was out of his mind.
Well, Seth was right on that one - and I was totally wrong.
Yes, I have my share of accurate predictions, but that was one where I had it wrong ...
Seth was right on another one that I predictedwould fail: his own website "Squidoo."
In fact, I am so willing to admit I was wrong that we are offering a new Cashmap you can downloadright now that will show you how to use Squidoo to get obscene traffic to your site:
http://www.simpleology.com/courses/squidoo/
So, this is an e-tip-of-the-hat to Seth Godin.
Mark
Mark Joyner
Founder of Simpleology
####
THE NEW WORLD ORDER (AGAIN)
Everyone (including Dan Brown, David Icke, Robert Ludlum) loves the notion of a conspiracy. Whether its government cover-ups, traitorous acts, or other manner of domination and puppeteering, it is always interesting to think about. A friend told me that it would not be surprising (Sheesh!) if certain world elitists had "planned" and orchestrated this global financial meltdown just to pave the way toward a New World Order. He mentioned the usual suspects...The Bilderbergers, Skull & Bones, The Trilateral Commission, The Council On Foreign Relations...he stopped short of naming the Illuminati, The Priory of Sion [Zion], and any former U.S. Presidents who had ever been peanut farmers.
Interestingly, the recent G20 Summit started stirring up ideas about neo-globalism and The New World Order. A wonderful article in the Financial Times weekly magazine brought this up for discussion. You'll find this article by going to http://pages.update.ft.com/us/newsletter/april-2009/us-default.htm, and you can download a .pdf of the whole edition of the magazine by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?ungcg2ozmjm. I believe that we will see a continuing trend toward globalism, a decreasing dominance by the United States, and an increasing firming up of the EU Members as a sub-alliance within this new G20 organization. Once an organization, subsidized by its constituent governments (and their respective ability to collect taxes), is created, it grows. G20 will grow into something bigger than the WTO or the UN, but these latter two will continue to exert their influence on world events.
INTERNET CONTROLS
Some years ago, there were pay toilets in the United States. There are still a number of gasoline stations who charge for air (the kind that surrounds us, but that we sometimes need to put into our tires). In Illinois (in the U.S.) there is serious talk about restricting internet access for young people -- someone always wants to contol access, tax or regulate anything that promises to permit the free flow of information. I believe this is because many of us believe that the people around us are as dangerous as we believe ourselves to be...and that we can even exploit them with punishment and payment. Censorship, like slavery, is about as likely to vanish from contemporary society as are toll booths on bridges.
You can download an article about this Illinois sensation at http://www.mediafire.com/?1oztyo00qzw. Parents want to protect their children from predators, obscenity, violence and bad influences. The easiest solution (since it is difficult to personally invest time in monitoring and mentoring children, and instilling values in them by virtue of example) is to keep them off of social media. This is rather like stopping terrorism by blocking overseas telephone calls. It is not likely to be successful.
What is likely to be successful is for governments worldwide to find innovative ways of taxing internet access -- right now we worry about cable, telephony and connection fees, but soon (within the next three years) internet access will be taxed; there are so many users, and so much dependence that governments will find this an irresistable solution for the repayment of all of the debt created by the global bailout of the failing private sector by the public sector.
LEADERSHIP AND GREATNESS
Intelligent leadership and intelligent writing are dying arts, and are subject to ever-diminishing standards and expectations. A new writer for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (you can get a free subscription to this wonderful organization's newsletter by going to http://thetnnwomnigadget.blogspot.com/ , has written a passionate, plainly human essay on the topic of greatness. Yossi Feigenson, who will be a Featured Columnist with TNNW [A column titled, "REAL ESTATE - AND OTHER THINGS OF VALUE"] is a professional real estate broker -- but his also an apt student of Human behavior and a delightful conversationalist. Download Yossi's essay by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?2mgyiymynlw. He poses an interesting question: "When the opportunity to do something important arises, will you be ready?"
CAREER SURVIVAL SKILLS
The greatest civilizations in recorded history have been built on the efforts of the middle class, of middle management and middle children. The middle world has historically been a stabilizer and a buffer between the immoral robber barons and the indigent sucklings at the government's nipple (some of these latter people hate some of these former people, and vice versa).
The middle class, and middle management are fast disappearing. They are increasingly unemployed, without credit, without direction and without economic financial skills. The latchkey kids of the streets and the super-rich have wonderfully-honed survival skills, and cultivated resources. Unemployed middle management folks have very limited entrepreneurial and social skills. They are so used to conformism and dependencies that they have been rendered defenseless without a conventional career-to-retirement path to follow. These people have very limited alternatives; they can join the increasing ranks of the poor; they can become innovators and self-employed titans; or, they can cease to live. My bet is that many will join the ranks of the poor, and that many will come to hate the institutions that they once served and counted upon for protection from the realities of tight budgeting, salesmanship, fierce competition and cold fear. Expect a rise in violent crime, identity theft and pockets of anti-government groups forming their own hives and re-inventing their ideas about social structure.
The only portion of the middle class that will be given a pass from intolerable hardship and gut-tearing disillusionment will be those who go to work for the government in some form or fashion. As unemployment continues to rise, expect an increasing perecentage of the "middle" population to working for government agencies, government contractors and other public sector positions of bureaucratic creation and taxpayer funding. The ultimate tax base will be government employees simply tithing a portion of their paychecks back to the government -- this is reminiscent of waste recycling. We need private sector entrepreneurs, and we need them soon!
####
THE NEW WORLD ORDER (AGAIN)
Everyone (including Dan Brown, David Icke, Robert Ludlum) loves the notion of a conspiracy. Whether its government cover-ups, traitorous acts, or other manner of domination and puppeteering, it is always interesting to think about. A friend told me that it would not be surprising (Sheesh!) if certain world elitists had "planned" and orchestrated this global financial meltdown just to pave the way toward a New World Order. He mentioned the usual suspects...The Bilderbergers, Skull & Bones, The Trilateral Commission, The Council On Foreign Relations...he stopped short of naming the Illuminati, The Priory of Sion [Zion], and any former U.S. Presidents who had ever been peanut farmers.
Interestingly, the recent G20 Summit started stirring up ideas about neo-globalism and The New World Order. A wonderful article in the Financial Times weekly magazine brought this up for discussion. You'll find this article by going to http://pages.update.ft.com/us/newsletter/april-2009/us-default.htm, and you can download a .pdf of the whole edition of the magazine by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?ungcg2ozmjm. I believe that we will see a continuing trend toward globalism, a decreasing dominance by the United States, and an increasing firming up of the EU Members as a sub-alliance within this new G20 organization. Once an organization, subsidized by its constituent governments (and their respective ability to collect taxes), is created, it grows. G20 will grow into something bigger than the WTO or the UN, but these latter two will continue to exert their influence on world events.
INTERNET CONTROLS
Some years ago, there were pay toilets in the United States. There are still a number of gasoline stations who charge for air (the kind that surrounds us, but that we sometimes need to put into our tires). In Illinois (in the U.S.) there is serious talk about restricting internet access for young people -- someone always wants to contol access, tax or regulate anything that promises to permit the free flow of information. I believe this is because many of us believe that the people around us are as dangerous as we believe ourselves to be...and that we can even exploit them with punishment and payment. Censorship, like slavery, is about as likely to vanish from contemporary society as are toll booths on bridges.
You can download an article about this Illinois sensation at http://www.mediafire.com/?1oztyo00qzw. Parents want to protect their children from predators, obscenity, violence and bad influences. The easiest solution (since it is difficult to personally invest time in monitoring and mentoring children, and instilling values in them by virtue of example) is to keep them off of social media. This is rather like stopping terrorism by blocking overseas telephone calls. It is not likely to be successful.
What is likely to be successful is for governments worldwide to find innovative ways of taxing internet access -- right now we worry about cable, telephony and connection fees, but soon (within the next three years) internet access will be taxed; there are so many users, and so much dependence that governments will find this an irresistable solution for the repayment of all of the debt created by the global bailout of the failing private sector by the public sector.
LEADERSHIP AND GREATNESS
Intelligent leadership and intelligent writing are dying arts, and are subject to ever-diminishing standards and expectations. A new writer for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (you can get a free subscription to this wonderful organization's newsletter by going to http://thetnnwomnigadget.blogspot.com/ , has written a passionate, plainly human essay on the topic of greatness. Yossi Feigenson, who will be a Featured Columnist with TNNW [A column titled, "REAL ESTATE - AND OTHER THINGS OF VALUE"] is a professional real estate broker -- but his also an apt student of Human behavior and a delightful conversationalist. Download Yossi's essay by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?2mgyiymynlw. He poses an interesting question: "When the opportunity to do something important arises, will you be ready?"
CAREER SURVIVAL SKILLS
The greatest civilizations in recorded history have been built on the efforts of the middle class, of middle management and middle children. The middle world has historically been a stabilizer and a buffer between the immoral robber barons and the indigent sucklings at the government's nipple (some of these latter people hate some of these former people, and vice versa).
The middle class, and middle management are fast disappearing. They are increasingly unemployed, without credit, without direction and without economic financial skills. The latchkey kids of the streets and the super-rich have wonderfully-honed survival skills, and cultivated resources. Unemployed middle management folks have very limited entrepreneurial and social skills. They are so used to conformism and dependencies that they have been rendered defenseless without a conventional career-to-retirement path to follow. These people have very limited alternatives; they can join the increasing ranks of the poor; they can become innovators and self-employed titans; or, they can cease to live. My bet is that many will join the ranks of the poor, and that many will come to hate the institutions that they once served and counted upon for protection from the realities of tight budgeting, salesmanship, fierce competition and cold fear. Expect a rise in violent crime, identity theft and pockets of anti-government groups forming their own hives and re-inventing their ideas about social structure.
The only portion of the middle class that will be given a pass from intolerable hardship and gut-tearing disillusionment will be those who go to work for the government in some form or fashion. As unemployment continues to rise, expect an increasing perecentage of the "middle" population to working for government agencies, government contractors and other public sector positions of bureaucratic creation and taxpayer funding. The ultimate tax base will be government employees simply tithing a portion of their paychecks back to the government -- this is reminiscent of waste recycling. We need private sector entrepreneurs, and we need them soon!
***
In closing, I wanted to wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season, and to visit with me at three locations. Click. Lurk. Favoritize. Subscribe. Enjoy...
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:
globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...
globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
THE SHOES OF THE PHISHERMAN - And A Word About Integrity
Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .
Dear Friends:
We all need to be reasonably careful in all of our written and sound communications -- especially when we are working "over the wires" or "over the airwaves." (If you only work Under The Boardwalk, or Somewhere, Beyond The Sea [with apologies to the Drifters and to the Estate of Bobby Darren] thos shouldn't really concern you. But it concerns most of us who are subjected to all manner of computer fraud every single time that we log on.
Three suggestions are in order:
1. Beware any solicitation or notification which you receive, especially if it asks for perwsonal information, and even if it looks quite official. If it is from Nigeria and tells you a sob story about a corrupt bank manager who needs your help to dislodge a sum from a client who died in a terrible plane crash, just toss it. If it says "CONGRATULATIONS - LOTTERY WINNER" toss that one too. There are more legitimate ways for people to authenticate their correspondence and allow you to verify their legitimacy before giving any personal information at all.
Here's an example of a baloney-laden "PayPal" notification which I received earlier (click to download, and to enjoy a laugh at my expense): http://www.mediafire.com/?kz2vqoyvzgn
2. We live in a society where virtually every communication is recorded and analized (for our own protection, of course). whatever you say is on the record, so avoid tasteless terrorist jokes and threatening language, lest you be put in the position of serving coffee to two or more surprise early-morning visitors from some intimidating agency of the federal government. You are always on the record.
3. Something else -- When you write and when you speak to anyone, anywhere and at anytime, speak as if you were making a politically-sensitive statement to Congress or to the press. Avoid subterfuge, backbiting and being insincere. As I have found, anything that you say can be overheard or repeated to the wrong person. As a general policy, speak as if the subject person of your conversation where standing in front of you. Integrity is a rare, but powerful tool. It' worth cultivating.
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:
globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...
Dear Friends:
We all need to be reasonably careful in all of our written and sound communications -- especially when we are working "over the wires" or "over the airwaves." (If you only work Under The Boardwalk, or Somewhere, Beyond The Sea [with apologies to the Drifters and to the Estate of Bobby Darren] thos shouldn't really concern you. But it concerns most of us who are subjected to all manner of computer fraud every single time that we log on.
Three suggestions are in order:
1. Beware any solicitation or notification which you receive, especially if it asks for perwsonal information, and even if it looks quite official. If it is from Nigeria and tells you a sob story about a corrupt bank manager who needs your help to dislodge a sum from a client who died in a terrible plane crash, just toss it. If it says "CONGRATULATIONS - LOTTERY WINNER" toss that one too. There are more legitimate ways for people to authenticate their correspondence and allow you to verify their legitimacy before giving any personal information at all.
Here's an example of a baloney-laden "PayPal" notification which I received earlier (click to download, and to enjoy a laugh at my expense): http://www.mediafire.com/?kz2vqoyvzgn
2. We live in a society where virtually every communication is recorded and analized (for our own protection, of course). whatever you say is on the record, so avoid tasteless terrorist jokes and threatening language, lest you be put in the position of serving coffee to two or more surprise early-morning visitors from some intimidating agency of the federal government. You are always on the record.
3. Something else -- When you write and when you speak to anyone, anywhere and at anytime, speak as if you were making a politically-sensitive statement to Congress or to the press. Avoid subterfuge, backbiting and being insincere. As I have found, anything that you say can be overheard or repeated to the wrong person. As a general policy, speak as if the subject person of your conversation where standing in front of you. Integrity is a rare, but powerful tool. It' worth cultivating.
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:
globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...
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