Top of mind, in no particular order…
“So much stuff (So Little Time).” – John Noir Smith, 2021.
Keeping in mind the afore quoted, some “kinda” one-liners and one “multi-liner…”
Immigration crises in the Americas (watch out Canada), Europe and elsewhere continue to severely impact economic, social, political and even moral constructs.
The worldwide quest for domination fueled by ownership of rare earth minerals — now and forever —continues. People are dying. Glad to unearth a two-hour interview I did on Ukraine TWO YEARS AGO. Corruption and greed continue to thrive while … people are dying.
Being immersed in the social, political, economic and moral tsunami that is the US — I am — Ryszard Kapuściński’s wisdom, a flashing cautionary yellow light, comes to mind: “Our nation will perish in the flames generated by the heat of its emotions.”
The unprecedented scale of corruption and fraud we are currently witnessing is unsustainable for any society or nation, including the formidable United States. This is neither the time nor place for an enumeration of over 100 instances of incomprehensible, in both nature and scale, rip-offs of the wonderful yet entirely uninformed population. Some of my favorites, just to start your own list, if inclined.
My own small and private survey, admittedly a relatively irrelevant survey size, although quality people… 90% did not know anything (including the continents) about 90% of the countries who received aid from the US last year. NOT ECONOMIC AID. Stuff that qualifies as unfathomable. For what and to whom?
What a sweet paradox. Fraud in the Social Security behemoth in the US may in fact be instrumental in saving [the otherwise bankrupt] system. There are 101,000 people in the US over the age of 100. There are about 100 people over the age of 110. Bless them all. However, last month, 12 million Americans received Social Security Retirement checks.
Now: that is a lot of very happy and financially secure dead people. As are the likely one million infants and toddlers (in diapers) who also got Social Security Retirement checks. Awesome start in their financial lives.
- About some “outfit” named Power Forward Communities… The bio for this gang is about as impressive as you can find. It purports to be s a coalition of some of the best known and most trusted nonprofit organizations. Last year, they reported revenue of $100.00. That is one hundred US dollars. Last year, the US EPA made them a grant of $2 billion. That is two billion dollars. Got that?? Wondering who will go to prison…
- The week would not be complete without a comment or two about the raging Signal chat scandal. Beyond stupid, arrogant and negligent.
“Sure, you want to send that? It is your funeral.”
Twenty-two years ago, a bigger competitor to one of our businesses was acquitting a smaller competitor of ours. My partner and I received the same email from a partner in the law firm representing the bigger company with the deal terms of their acquisition. The law firm was the biggest mergers and acquisitions firm in the US. We got those emails as a matter of absurd negligence on the part of the partner and courtesy of autofill. Both of us have rather common first names. Glad to share the [happy for us] economic ka-boom that caused.
That same day, I had my crack tech. team create a little three-level stop, review, accept routine in my email program. Came to be known as “Sure you want to send that? It is your funeral.” I would have to be either severely intoxicated or stoned, never because I do not drink and am essentially a drug-phobic, or have become entirely mentally impaired, thankfully not, to not stop and reflect and have the ability to check the destinations of my outgoing emails. Just, to use an American colloquialism, “little old me.” Not the mighty United States federal bureaucracy.
Come now, people!
And finally, just for fun, an acquaintance of years, multiple best sellers, endowed chairs in two world-class universities, a globally acknowledged thought-leader and columnist, just asked me for a complementary subscription to the MONDAY INFLUENCER®. Appears he was challenged by the $1 subscription to get started. Likely we shall not be chatting anytime soon.
Have a fun and productive week.