• “DIMINISHING CLASSROOM PLAYTIME COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RISE OF ADHD.” Playtime has been the basis of scientific discoveries (even Einstein’s special theory of relativity, after he imagined himself “chasing a beam of light”) and it’s well documented that play is an absolute requisite to mastery of skills. “Even the most talented performers need a minimum 10,000 hours of intense practice to attain elite status in their field, whether volleyball, violin or chess… Teen gamers spend that average time by age 21… Play stimulates development of the cerebellum which coordinates movement, and the frontal lobe which regulates decision-making & impulse control… facilitates communication skills (preschoolers use more complex language while playing ‘make believe’)… and provides children with a psychological means of coping with extreme anxiety.” [DISCOVER – July/Aug 14]
• SILICON VALLEY “IMPORTS ITS BRAINS” FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT VIRTUALLY NONE FROM CALIFORNIA. Over half the workforces are Asian-Americans recruited from 48 other states and Washington DC. Based on a five-year analysis of their 100 ‘top sources,’ others came globally from many obscure spots, over half of whom “speak a language other than English exclusively at home.” [BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK -Jun 5, 14]
• IT’S JUST ANOTHER PROUD ENDORSEMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, where even grossly ineffective teachers receive ‘tenure’ after less than two years on the job with only a one-in-125,000 chance of ever being fired for incompetence – since “the worst teachers, even after being removed from classrooms, are often still paid to do nothing and when they rape students are often defended by the teachers’ unions; the process can take ten years and cost a school district up to $450,000.”  One glimmer of potential for change: a recent judicial decision (surely to be appealed) “which struck down tenure laws as unconstitutional… exposing the public education system as a corrupt enterprise…which discriminates against children by sticking them with bad teachers and therefore an inferior education.” But, for now, the situation is still bleak and student scores continue to rank last place among the 50 states.  [COMMUNITIES DIGITAL NEWS – Jun 12, 14]
• MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVE FROM A SUCCESSFUL MILLENNIAL COACH:  Gen Y, age 15 to 35ish, “is the most educated and innovative generation in U.S. history, but also the most unemployed, depressed and in debt. Raised with a belief that ‘finding your passion’ is necessary to a happy career, millennials are distracted from a more significant journey: finding who they are… Too many are trying to do work that aligns with what they love, minimizing their passion into a 9-to-5 job, rather than preserving it as a prized hobby.” They instead could/should focus on intrinsic gifts – “what they’re good at” – as a primary career guide, and on “what’s holding me back?” as the first obstacle to overcome.   [ASHLEY STAHL – THE DAILY CALIFORNIAN – Jun 4, 14]
• ‘NANOSATS’ ARE SATELLITES AS SMALL AS FOUR-INCH CUBES WEIGHING BELOW THREE-POUNDS, a hundred of which now circle the earth gathering data for small companies, startups and university departments, constructed at costs “down in the tens of thousands of dollars…sometimes raised on crowd-funding websites,” which are relatively cheap to launch (reportedly soon as little as $8000). Within five years, another thousand nanosats are expected for uses including tracking of ships & aircraft, monitoring of crops, measuring & predicting weather, even studying the sun. The problems include adding to the collection of ‘space junk,’ risk of military use or privacy-invasion, and only one-year lifespan before burning re-entry. [THE ECONOMIST – Jun 7, 14]
• THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:     Check out this Islamofascist Victory Party: graphic, violent, pathetic, disgusting!  But view if you want a reality check on the world that global political correctness is fostering. http://www.asgraphic.org/videos/video382/index.htm.
• And/or, to see the reality impact of a capitalist-turned-social state, watch this CBN-TV Report on France’s “Brain Drain and Capital Flight” – a foreboding prediction of the direction America is headed.  http://cbn.com/tv/3255110732001
•  Then cringe at IRS is paying out tax “refunds” in the multi-billions to illegal aliens who use bogus addresses and claim dependent credits for real or imaginary relatives who live in Mexico. Check out this investigative report: http://videos2view.net/tax-fraud.htm  
• DUITCH CONSULTING GROUP – UTILIZING GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TO PROVIDE OPTIMAL STRATEGIC, FINANCIAL, OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT PLANNING & POSITIONING