Tomorrow, after President Barack Obama releases the final report following a 60-day review of U.S. cyber security policy, he will announce the creation of a "cyber czar" position, in order to protect the nation's computer networks living up to his presidential campaign pledge to
"elevate the issue of cybersecurity to a "top priority" and to appoint a national cybersecurity adviser "who will report directly to me."
$1 Billion dollars
ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros.
$1 Trillion dollars
Individualism - where everyone is expected to look after him or herself and his or her immediate family, and where it is believed that anyone, regardless of their status can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and raise themselves from poverty - is quintessentially American. It is what defines our culture, above all else, yet more than ever, Americans are falling victim to this "everyone for himself" belief system, generated by those (power elite), who most benefit from we the people's ignorance of this ideology's mythological proportions.
We rank highest in the world, on the individualism (IDV) index, which is part of the five dimensions of culture, created by Geert Hofstede, who conducted the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture, and after analyzing a large data base of employee values scores collected by IBM between 1967 and 1973 that covered more than 70 countries.
Placing so much significance on this one aforementioned dimension can be very destructive when government policy, not only fails to provide the level playing field required to make it work, but, in addition, sets up barriers that make it impossible, for all, but those with the luck of a jackpot lottery winner, to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, despite the lack of boots. Of course, then, those lucky individuals will serve as the token success stories that sustain the "bootstrap" mentality.
As more and more of our professional class find themselves facing situations - lack of health insurance, unemployment, foreclosure etc. - previously thought as something that only happens to slackers, the better the chances are that this "bootstrap" myth will be put to rest.
Fortunately, culture is not a fixed entity, rather, it is, or should be, dynamic and fluid, however this requires that we the people take off our blinders and refuse to live in denial or remain in a state of complacency, and instead develop a culture of cooperation, fairness and respect for the individual, regardless of that person's social status.
Hofstede's five dimensions of culture:
Power Distance Index (PDI) is how individuals interact with people with authority or status over them. It focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the country's society. A High Power Distance ranking indicates that inequalities of power and wealth have been allowed to grow within the society. These societies are more likely to follow a caste system that does not allow significant upward mobility of its citizens. A Low Power Distance ranking indicates the society de-emphasizes the differences between citizen's power and wealth. In these societies equality and opportunity for everyone is stressed.
Individualism (IDV) focuses on the degree that society reinforces individual or collective, achievement and interpersonal relationships. A High Individualism ranking indicates that individuality and individual rights are paramount within the society. Individuals in these societies may tend to form a larger number of looser relationships. A Low Individualism ranking typifies societies of a more collectivist nature with close ties between individuals. These cultures reinforce extended families and collectives where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
There are only seven (7) countries in the Geert Hofstede research that have Individualism (IDV) as their highest Dimension: USA (91), Australia (90), United Kingdom (89), Netherlands and Canada (80), and Italy (76).
Masculinity (MAS) focuses on the degree the society reinforces, or does not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power. Do values of assertiveness and competition dominate? A High Masculinity ranking indicates the country experiences a high degree of gender differentiation. In these cultures, males dominate a significant portion of the society and power structure, with females being controlled by male domination. A Low Masculinity ranking indicates the country has a low level of differentiation and discrimination between genders. In these cultures, females are treated equally to males in all aspects of the society.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity within the society - i.e. unstructured situations. A High Uncertainty Avoidance ranking indicates the country has a low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. This creates a rule-oriented society that institutes laws, rules, regulations, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty. A Low Uncertainty Avoidance ranking indicates the country has less concern about ambiguity and uncertainty and has more tolerance for a variety of opinions. This is reflected in a society that is less rule-oriented, more readily accepts change, and takes more and greater risks. Are unknown situations threatening or acceptable?
Strong: South Korea, Japan, and Latin America
Weak: US, the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain
Geert Hofstede added the following fifth (5th) dimension after conducting an additional international study using a survey instrument developed with Chinese employees and managers. That survey resulted in addition of the Confucian dynamism. Subsequently, Hofstede described that dimension as a culture's long-term Orientation.
Long Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation (LTO) focuses on the degree the society embraces, or does not embrace, long-term devotion to traditional, forward thinking values.
Long term cultures:
Supports a strong work ethic where long-term rewards are expected as a result of today's hard work.
High respect for tradition and family honor.
Avoiding shame and "Saving Face" is desirable.
Knowing true way of doing things important.
China; Hong Kong; Taiwan, Japan and India.
Short-term cultures:
Change can occur more rapidly as long-term traditions and commitments do not become impediments to change.
Focus on one's own reputation and security and pursuit of personal happiness.
Avoiding guilt is motivating.
Gaining status and wealth desirable.
Tolerance and diverse opinions are acceptable.
Britain, Canada, the Philippines; Germany, Australia.
We choose to be, or not to be, in the Aristotelian sense of what makes us distinctively human, in that we are not bound by nature, as is - as far as we know - the rest of the animal kingdom. If we "refuse" to make that choice, or refuse to be aware that such a choice exists, taking the "ignorance is bliss" path, by default, we choose to remain rats (beast) cloaked in human flesh.
Why rats? Well, ask yourself why scientists substitute rats for humans when trying to improve our quality of life? Consider, out of the entire animal kingdom, the rat's diet most closely mirrors our own diet, hence the reason why where goes our garbage, goes the rats. And, as the old saying goes, we are what we eat.
"The difference between humans and rats is that it isn't as easy to get humans to exercise. Put an exercise wheel in a rat cage and a rat will zoom around on that thing all the time, unless it's sleeping. But putting an exercise machine in your family room doesn't mean you're going to use it." -- A researcherFor this very reason, transcendence is my favorite word. Without that word or concept, to be "human" would mean nothing more than existing at the level of a rat, and I don't know about you, but I hate rats. In other words, transcendence is the gift - or curse depending on how you look at it - that allows us to shrink or rid ourselves of the rat that lurks just below the "man" flesh that so beautifully - or sometimes not so beautifully - camouflages our ratly essence, so that we may become fully human.
The body is yours - but is not you. The body is a garment that you are wearing, a machine that you are using, a vehicle that you are driving. The body is your possession. Just as a person does not identify himself as being the shirt he is wearing, he should also not identify himself with the body that he is wearing. - Chris ButlerNevertheless, ratly essence is so comfortable, that many of us fake it, and pretend as if we're striving to be fully human, when in reality, we're nurturing the rat to the point - that if we live long enough - the small, squinty eyes, and naked, scaly tails will begin to emerge, revealing our ugly essence
"Thomas Aquinas adopted Aristotelian biology to explain the biology of the human being. Aristotle thought that human beings were animals, and Aquinas affirmed him on that. According to both, the organizing structure (or form) of the human being was the soul, which was both immaterial and inseparable from the body (unlike Plato who thought the soul was imprisoned in the body). In the Aristotelian view, the human soul had three levels. The most primitive level was the vegetative level that allowed the human being to do plant-like things like grow through cellular division or use energy. The next level of the soul was the animalic level, which allowed the human being to do animal-like things like hunt down food, attack in self-defense, and mate with other human animals. But where humans were distinct from their fellow animal kingdom members was that they had a third level of their soul—the rational part–which allowed them to do things like think, ponder, form communities, create moral codes, resist animal instincts, and wonder about God. Most importantly, it is the rational part of the soul that allows the person to have free will, that is, the ability to act voluntarily and intentionally. The idea of the soul as having multiple levels allowed Aristotle and Aquinas to conceive of the human person as both an animal and more than an animal."How do I know that this is true? I don't, but I had a dream that the doctor told me I was really a rat after he did an MRI, and then told me how to transform myself into a human. I failed miserably, and in the end, I was eulogized as a rat. Freaky.
If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we'd live like animals or angels in the happy land that needs no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all … why then, perhaps we must stand fast a little--even at the risk of being heroes.--Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons)Read more...
Aside from greed, stupidity, and corruption, it's clear that today's economic meltdown has much to do with a general lack of transparency, deregulation of the financial system, excessive leverage, the financial engineering of overly complicated and opaque securities, compensation mechanisms that in the words of James Surowiecki, "even when people recognized the possibility of dragons, they decided it was in their short-term interests (even if it wasn't in their company's interests) to run the risk of getting incinerated anyway", and a blindly or naively optimistic view of free market capitalism that ignores the inevitability of market imperfections.
Despite all the evidence, many of the conservatives are trying to market their own version of why our financial system crashed, and that is that the crash is actually the fault of government regulation. However, there are a few "free market" cheerleaders who have reversed their Panglossian ideas about laissez-faire economics. One of those men is Ronald Reagan appointed, Judge Richard Posner, author of A Failure of Capitalism The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression
The conservatives believe the depression is the result of unwise government policies. I believe it is a market failure...Without any government regulation of the financial industry, the economy, would in all likelihood, be in a depression. We are learning from it that we need a more active and intelligent government to keep our model of a capitalist economy from running off the rails. The movement to deregulate the financial industry went too far by exaggerating the resilience—the self-healing powers—of laissez-faire capitalism.I greatly admire Judge Posner's willingness to rethink some of his fundamental beliefs about free market capitalism, however, after listening to Robert Reich, who I respect immensely, and the Judge discuss it on Tom Ashbrook's On Point radio show, I'm not sure he (Judge Posner) is fully convinced. Read more...
The depression has hit economic libertarians in the solar plexus because it is largely a consequence not of the government’s overregulating the economy, by doing so fettering free enterprise, rather innate limitations of the free market.” -- Judge Richard Posner, appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and one of the nation’s most prolific legal defenders of free-market economics.
Beginning in the 1950s, in the U.S., hundreds of thousands of patients with severe psychiatric disorders (Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder). were discharged from public mental hospitals, under the banner of deinstitutionalization.
Despite good intentions, the emptying of psychiatric hospitals over the last five decades has become one of the biggest social disasters in recent history. It lead to an increase in suicide, homelessness, victimization of the mentally ill, and acts of violence brought on by a small sub-group of the severely mentally ill, chiefly because of neglect. Once released, as sick as they were, they received no treatment, no proper care, ultimately left to fend for themselves.
The Insanity Offense: How America’s Failure to Treat the Mentally Ill Endangers its Citizens. By: Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, outlines the tragic consequences of deinstitutionalization and alerts Americans to the real need for reform.
Dr. Torrey is donating the royalties for the book sales to the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), which he founded. The TAC is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illnesses. They promotes laws, policies, and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of innovative treatments for and research into the causes of severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder."
“As for me, you know that I shouldn’t precisely have chosen madness if there had been any choice, but once such a thing has taken hold of you, you can’t very well get out of it,” -- Vincent Van Gogh wrote from a psychiatric hospital in 1889. Less than a year later, he committed suicide.
On June 4, Georgia executed Curtis Osborne. Osborne's defense lawyer at trial was racially biased against him and failed to do the most basic investigation that might have saved his client's life. The attorney repeatedly referred to Osborne with a racial epithet, saying, "that little n____r deserves the chair." At the time of the murder that sent Osborne to death row, he was suffering from mental problems and his family had a history of mental illness going back for 3 generations. However, Osborne's attorney failed to raise this issue. His story is recounted in a video prepared by his defense attorneys.
Drawing by David Rooney
Multinational corporations, who make up more than 60% of world trade, are not supposed to gain tax advantages by playing the shell game, they often play, by moving their operations to no-tax or low-tax, tax havens, off-shore. These international corporations are supposed to pay taxes on the profits they earn, here, in the U.S., but they don't, thanks much in part to the manipulation of "transfer pricing"- the way multinational corporations shift profits from higher tax jurisdictions to no or low tax jurisdictions, even when they do little to no business in that jurisdiction. In other words, the abracadabra corporations use to make it appear as if profits were earned in low-tax countries, and costs incurred in high-tax countries.
Globalization has greatly increased this practice, and since President Obama, according to the New York Times, missed this "elephant in the room" tax loophole - in his attempt to level the playing field, in his hopes of raising approximately $210 billion over 10 years by curbing corporate loopholes- abusing transfer pricing will only continue to grow at the speed of light.
However, Obama does plan to hire close to 800 new IRS agents, economists, lawyers and specialists to staff international enforcement within the IRS, thus increasing the IRS' ability to "crack down on offshore tax avoidance and evasion, including through transfer pricing and financial products and transactions such as purported securities loans."
The US tax authority has established a special transfer pricing council to help coordinate the IRS’ efforts in the area. Barry Shott, [LMSB deputy commissioner (international)], chairs the council.But, will 800 new IRS employees be enough to police transfer pricing? And is policing the solution? Or should we redefine "transfer pricing" completely, and replace the current, complex set of rules that currently govern this practice with more effective ones?
After 171 years of doing business, it's safe to say that the company Procter & Gamble (P&G) stands out as a strong survivor, not to mention, "thriver" in the cutthroat world of business. P&G is one of only nine companies from the Fortune 50 from 1955, to remain on that list. The other eight companies - six oil companies, Boeing, General Electric - may partially owe their survival to what's often called the "Military-industrial complex (MIC)", rather than their philosophy, way of doing business, reputation, "out of the box" thinking, and Value-Based Leadership.
According to Bob McDonald, current Chief Operating Officer of P & G, it’s not buildings, employees, brands, technology or product that qualify as the scarcest resource in today's world...it's leadership, because nothing happens without leadership. And by leadership, he means distributed leadership, in other words, leadership that's not designated by a person’s title or position, but an environment that fosters the idea that everyone can be a leader and that the leadership shifts depending upon what the issue or situation is.
McDonald believes discovering your purpose is essential to good leadership and to do that one must examine his values by, in his own words, “getting in touch with my culture, experiences, education, family” and that “leading a life driven by purpose leads to a more meaningful and rewarding life than meandering without direction.”
Once discovered, reassessing those core vales and beliefs by self examination, and focusing on the capabilities that you do not have, are absolutely necessary to thrive and survive in this "volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous world."
In addition, he uses as an example of why some companies don't survive, the parable of the boiling frog, which is basically to remain alert and responsive to gradual changes all around you.
“Character is the most important trait of a leader -- defined as always putting the needs of the organization above your own. The officer eats last. ... If your ambition is for the organization, people will follow you. If you’re a leader whose ambition is all for your self, people will figure that out.”Read more...
Robert (Bob) McDonald
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