The Strange “D-Force” Phenomenon Proven to Hand Some Investors Gains of 315X

Reed Hastings was sitting in his office in California when the telephone rang.

It was the phone call he’d been waiting months for.

The voice on the other end said yes, the boys at Blockbuster would finally meet with him. But only if he’d be at their Dallas office at exactly 11:30 the next morning.

So, Reed Hastings did what any eccentric CEO of a startup would do…

He rented Vanna White’s private jet and booked it to Dallas.

That jet cost him $20,000 for the day. Which was a bundle considering his company was on track to lose millions that year.

But it was important that Hastings show up in style. After all, he was going to ask Blockbuster’s CEO, John Antioco, for $50 million.

Learning for a Living

Image courtesy of Davide Bonazzi/theispot.com

Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it.

The event was running over, the car was waiting, but the keynote speaker did not seem to mind. He was enjoying fielding questions from a large auditorium packed to the rafters with executives, aspiring entrepreneurs, and management students. “Get ready for an age in which we are all in tech,” he had told them, “whether you work in the tech industry or not.” The moderator called for one last question. “What’s the best way to get ready?” a woman asked. “Be great at learning,” he said without hesitation. “The moment you stop learning is the moment you begin to die.”

Calls for learning have long been common at corporate retreats, professional conferences, and similar gatherings. But with the furious pace of change that technology has brought to business and society, they have become more urgent. Leaders in every sector seem to agree: Learning is an imperative, not a cliché. Without it, careers derail and companies fail. Talented people flock to employers that promise to invest in their development whether they will stay at the company or not. And companies spend heavily on it. By one estimate, in 2018, corporate outlays on learning and development initiatives topped $200 billion.

Americans broadly accept climate science, but many are fuzzy on the details

That’s right, Americans remain insecure about the details of climate science, even though they are increasingly worried about human activity that warms the Earth, this is assured by a national survey conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) that tested the public’s understanding of climate change.

Thus, it should be noted that the growing alarm is one of the most dramatic findings of the survey. In just five years, the percentage of people who described climate change as a “crisis” increased from 23% to 38%.

Influence on the climate

Rex Murphy: A political travesty is unfolding south of the border

The days when it was obvious to all the oracles of the highest experts that Donald Trump was on a quixotic quest for the presidency, and when he signed up for the granite of fate that Hillary Clinton was going to hit the rampant stranger, some made a warning: what would happen if Trump, in violation of all the standards of American democracy, refused, after losing, as he surely would, to accept the outcome of the elections?

In this way, you could say that as expected, the answer was that it would be a horror, typical of Trump’s manic manner. The norm has always been: people vote, votes are counted, and save on the most exceptional and absolutely vivid demonstrations of open and blatant examples of fraud, the loser sighs and the winner continues to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Current panorama

A $100,000 round-the-world cruise -- by luxury jet

Around the world by air: If you want to travel around the world in Abercrombie & Kent's customized Boeing 757, it'll set you back at least $140,000. Justin Weiler/Abercrombie & Kent

It should be noted that earlier this year, the world’s longest passenger cruise ship departed from London. Thus, it is understood that this is a 245-day luxury trip in Viking Cruises that covers six continents, 51 countries, and 111 ports.

Likewise, it is appropriate to mention an attractive and convenient option for those who want to see multiple destinations in a global epic adventure, but lack the time or disposition for a long sea voyage. Well, there is always an air cruise. A specially configured chartered plane embarks on an itinerary of two to three weeks, often around the world, stopping at world-class destinations along the way, such as Easter Island, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal.

It is important to indicate that it is not cheap and that most products are for the few who can afford a vacation above the $ 100,000 mark, although some more “budget” options are beginning to appear.

A view of the travel market for 2020

Empirical evidence of declining global vulnerability to climate-related hazards

The number of fatalities and economic losses from natural hazards continues to increase in many parts of the world. In order to reduce the future impacts of natural disasters, it is crucial to understand the variability in the space and time of the vulnerability of people and economic assets.

Thus, based on a spatially explicit global framework that integrates the dynamics of the population and the economy into one of the most complete databases of natural disaster loss, mortality and loss rates have been quantified at all levels of income and in this way its relationship with wealth has been analyzed.

The results show a clear decreasing trend in both human and economic vulnerability, with average mortality rates and global economic loss that have decreased by 6.5 and almost 5 times, respectively, from 1980–1989 to 2007–2016.

Convergence in vulnerability

Conrad Black: Judging by the throne speech, Canada is en route to a train wreck

What is news, the throne speech in Ottawa on December 5 which there are those who consider was a very depressing occasion. In fact, the attempt of solemnity failed.

The Governor-General was kind and friendly and delivered the address in an exceptional way, yet the commentators compared him with the corresponding occasions in London and Washington. In neither of the two places is the camera crowded; language is not absurdly antiquarian; and the head of state who delivers the address does 98 percent of the verbalization and enters and leaves the state, not like a gear in an inelegant procession of mysteriously disguised officials.

Still, these were mere sounds and appearances. The text of the speech was very disturbing. In fact, it has been indicated as a sad succession of promises of expenses marked by recurrences to the call to war against climate change and, in international affairs, a prostration of this country before the United Nations.

Disaster everywhere

Terence Corcoran: Here are the signs of hope Greta's so 'desperate' for that show there'll be no climate apocalypse

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gives a speech at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid, on Dec. 11, 2019. Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images

In the dying days of the two-week United Nations’ 25th Congress of the Parties (COP25) in Madrid, a meeting described as Kafkaesque in one report, Time magazine Newsmaker of the Year Greta Thunberg said she and her Extinction Rebellion cohorts are “desperate for any sign of hope.” Well, here are two big signs of hope for today’s youth: The latest carbon emissions data and forecasts suggest the UN’s climate catastrophe scenarios are way off the mark.

Thirty years ago, when Time’s apocalyptarian editors declared Earth as Planet of the Year for 1988, they warned of the global environmental meltdown to come. Oceans will rise, deserts will grow, and human existence will be threatened. According to computer projections, claimed Time in late 1988, “the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere could drive up the planet’s average temperature 3 F to 9 F by the middle of the next century.”

Not happening. That temperature disaster (equal to an increase of 3 and 5 C) has been officially postponed at least 50 years. “If the current trend continues we may see temperature increases 3–5 degrees C by the end of the century,” the head of the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its 2018 report.

Justin Trudeau projected to be the largest debt accumulator in Canada’s history: Fraser Institute

Justin Trudeau projected to be the largest debt accumulator in Canada's history: Fraser Institute

Excluding Prime Ministers who served during a world war or a major economic downturn, Justin Trudeau is projected to go down as the biggest debt accumulating Prime Minister Canada has ever seen.

A new report from the Fraser Institute detailing federal spending by Prime Ministers shows that Justin Trudeau is projected to raise the federal debt per person by 5.6% by the end of his first term. Sir Mackenzie Bowell and Sir John Abbott are the only other Prime Ministers to have increased the federal debt without facing an economic downturn or global conflict.

Canada’s craven gambit for negligible power on a dysfunctional UN Security Council

Those who advocate for a Canadian Security Council seat – one such meeting seen here on Nov. 20, 2019 at United Nations headquarters in New York City – say it is preferable to have a seat at the table than none at all. MARY ALTAFFER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Among the many promises delivered in its Throne Speech last week, the government reaffirmed its commitment to securing a seat on the 2021–2022 UN Security Council. It’s one of the leftover pledges from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first term, when he declared that the peacekeeping country of our collective memories (or perhaps our collective imaginations) was “back.” Mr. Trudeau’s leadership was to see to a more progressive, honest-broker approach to foreign policy, which would be capped off in his second term with Canada reclaiming its seat at this ostensibly important table.

And that is, in the most literal sense, what Canada will win if it is successful in its bid for a non-permanent position on the Security Council. It will have a seat, possibly a name plate and one of 10 non-permanent member votes, which can be arbitrarily overruled by any of the five permanent members. Canada’s material influence at the table will thus be negligible, but our government will still engage in the cynical courting and vote swapping necessary to win, if only for bragging rights and a chance to sit in that chair.

Typically, most of the cynical courting for a rotating Security Council seat happens behind the scenes — with trips, gifts, promises and alliances — but the Trudeau government made a most obvious gesture last month when it voted in favour of a United Nations resolution recognizing Palestinian self-determination and criticizing Israeli settlements.

Exposing The Promoters Of Climate Anxiety

There is a special place in the underworld for those who promote anxiety, desperation, and terror in the most vulnerable. A place where the infernal warmth is particularly torrid.

And one does not have to spend much time looking for candidates for this netherworld--the front page of the Seattle Times will do fine.

On Sunday, our local tabloid featured a story about fearful/desperate folks dealing with their apocalyptic fears about climate change.

Courtesy of the Seattle Times

We Pioneered a Technology to Save Millions of Poor Children, But a Worldwide Smear Campaign Has Blocked It

On left, a picture of white rice next to Golden Rice, and on right, a girl who lost one eye due to vitamin A deficiency. (Photo Credit: Golden Rice Humanitarian Board)

It is necessary to talk about a project which has been independently praised as one of the most influential projects of the last 50 years. Where individuals discovered how to make rice produce a source of vitamin A, and rice turns golden instead of white.

Likewise, one could say that the objectives of the project have been admired by some and vilified by others. It has directly involved teams of highly motivated people from a handful of nations, both from the public and private sectors. However, success, so far, has eluded everyone. Since the story of their frustrated efforts is a tragedy that is expected to soon, finally, reach a milestone of potentially profound importance to humanity.

Specific objective

Diane Francis: The inevitable Trudeau recession will ravage the West and the middle class

Diane Francis: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has mishandled Canada’s relationship with the United States and the Canadian economy as a whole. Blair Gable/Reuters files

It is necessary to indicate that Trudeau’s “hot mic” video mocking President Donald Trump behind his back at the NATO conference is a great diplomatic mistake. In addition, we must not forget that Trudeau has mishandled Canada’s relationship with the United States and in some ways the Canadian economy in general.

No doubt it is extremely important that Trudeau knows that, as the Prime Minister of Canada, his main foreign affairs work is to ensure Canada’s relationship with the United States. In fact, whether people like it or not, good relations with the United States are one of Canada’s two most important assets. The other is the spectacular endowment of resources in the country.

Certainly, there are many opinions that agree that Trudeau has degraded the value of both assets to the detriment of all Canadians. All this will be very expensive as the country faces a recession due to a global slowdown combined with the damage inflicted on the country’s oil industry.

Pressure that will increase

Charles Schwab CEO reveals how he tests job candidates by taking them to breakfast, having restaurant mess up their order

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The CEO of Charles Schwab has revealed how he evaluates job candidates by taking them to breakfast, causing the restaurant to ruin their order.

Certainly, the character of a person is revealed in moments of great pressure and anguish. In this way, it could be considered as an excellent way to prove someone’s character is to observe how they react when things do not go according to plan.

Thus, there are ways for employers to evaluate candidates for the job and compare how each one reacts to the nasty curveballs. Taking into account the aforementioned, the CEO of Charles Schwab Corporation, Walt Bettinger, has created such a system. Earlier this month, he shared his secret with the New York Times.

The proof to obtain the contract

Five reasons why raising the capital gains inclusion rate could be devastating for the economy

In the last election, the NDP proposed moving the rate to 75 per cent, from 50 per cent currently. Getty Images

It should be noted that there are many investors who are worried about possible changes in the capital gains inclusion rate these days. And it is that in the last elections, the PND proposed to move the rate to 75 percent, from the current 50 percent. This means that 75 percent of your capital gains would be subject to taxes.

In this way, liberals even with a minority government can consider the inclusion rate as a possible negotiation tactic to obtain the support of the PND to obtain the approval of a future budget.

Undoubtedly, actions are much more fun than politics. Still, it must be made clear why increasing the rate of inclusion of capital gains would be bad, very bad. Therefore, some of the reasons that make this clear are presented.

Reasons not to increase the inclusion rate

Conrad Black: Chasing seat on the dysfunctional UN Security Council is a waste of Canada's time

A vote at the United Nations Security Council in 2017. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

What is clear is that chasing the seat in the dysfunctional UN Security Council is a waste of time for Canada

It should be noted that from any point of view one could say that the great foreign policy effort of the semi-re-elected federal government is to win a two-year term in the United Nations Security Council. Which for some could be established as a useless political objective as it could be devised. Being that, in addition, there are those who think that the UN is a dying and corrupt organization that, instead of providing the first step for world government, is the primary shout therapy for the poorest and most poorly governed and despotic countries in the world.

Thus, it is appropriate to mention that according to the UN figures themselves, 91 of the 192 UN member states have average per capita incomes of less than 10 percent of those in Canada.

Likewise, approximately half of the member states do not seriously comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, accession or, at least, the credible ambition to achieve the objectives that are supposedly a criterion for being a member of the UN.

Very interesting question

Why Apocalyptic Claims About Climate Change Are Wrong

Climate scientists are speaking out against grossly exaggerated claims about global warming. GETTY

It should be noted that journalists and environmental defenders have made in recent weeks a series of apocalyptic predictions about the impact of climate change. Bill McKibben suggested that the fires caused by the weather in Australia had made the koalas “functionally extinct”. Extinction Rebellion said “Billions will die” and “Life on Earth is dying”. So Vice claimed the “collapse of civilization may have already begun”.

Certainly, sometimes, the scientists themselves make apocalyptic statements. “It’s difficult to see how we could accommodate a billion people or even half of that” if Earth warms four degrees, said one earlier this year. “The potential for multi-breadbasket failure is increasing”, said another. If sea levels rise as much as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts, another scientist said, “It will be an unmanageable problem”.

Undoubtedly, apocalyptic statements like these have impacts in the real world. A clear example of this is that in September, a group of British psychologists said that children are increasingly anxious about the terrifying discourse about climate change.

Honesty and precision above all

We must strengthen our Canadian Armed Forces now

It has been expressed that Canadians like to think that they live in a sovereign nation, insofar as they have control of their own destiny and likewise make their own decisions. However, that has become increasingly doubtful.

And it is necessary to take into account an important aspect, probably the most important aspect, of being a sovereign country is to have the ability to defend your own nation. Certainly, if you don’t have that, nothing else really matters.

Thus, for a country like Canada, having heavily equipped armed forces would not really be a great challenge, considering their high relative wealth as well as their high level of technology. And yet, the Canadian armed forces are in bad shape.

Problems that must be solved

China's Belt and Road Initiative: Where it goes and what it's supposed to accomplish

Security personnel stand guard near a "Golden Bridge on Silk Road" decoration for the Belt and Road Forum outside the China National Convention Center in Beijing earlier this year. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

What is news, economic power is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects worldwide. In this way, it is important to remember that in 2013 when the United States and many other countries were still recovering from the Great Recession, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced perhaps the most transparent and ambitious foreign policy of the new century: the Belt and Initiative Road.

Thus, it is considered that this name is a nod to the Silk Road, the old network of trade routes that connected China with the Roman Empire and many intermediate societies. Likewise, it has been indicated that the modern version provided by Xi goes even further.

And it is that China is financing infrastructure projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars, including ports, roads, bridges, railroads, power plants, telecommunications networks and much more, in partner countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and more there.

Purpose established

Peak Irony: Fed Paper Admits Fed Policy Can Lead to Economic Ruin

Maximum irony and another level, the Fed’s role admit that Fed policy can lead to economic ruin. And it is that in an article by Scott A. Wolla and Kaitlyn Frerking for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warns that the Federal Reserve’s own policy could lead to “economic ruin”.

The aforementioned document has been entitled “Making Sense of National Debt” and explains the pros and cons of national loans in the typical Keynesian way. Simply put, a small debt is a good thing, but too much debt can become a problem. Even so, in the process of explaining the national debt, Wolla and Frerking come across a truth and that the impression of money from the Federal Reserve can destroy the economy of a country.

This is where an important question arises, when does the national debt become a problem?

Unsustainable Change