• WALL STREET REGULATION MAY FINALLY BE COMING. After years of stalling, Federal agencies are now giving serious consideration to“stricter oversight” of the big banks – including restrictions on Proprietary Trading, Hedging, customer Market-Making, and Private Equity deals. The new regulations (“a toughened version of the Volcker Rule”) could cost the big banks over $60 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, Bank of America has just completed a $14.6 billion “settlement” with Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac for ten years of misclassified mortgage loans it sold those quasi-government agencies. [THE WEEK – Dec 13, 13]
  •  IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ARENA, THE TERM ‘BEST PRACTICES’ is “high on the list of overused and nearly meaningless phrases that get thrown around… But there are no ‘best’ practices – just things that work for you in the right scenario.  What’s important is trying to ascertain what those are… The attackers are getting better and more organized. If you’re a target of opportunity, you just have to be better than average.  But if you’re a target of choice, you better be really good at detection and incident response.” DCG can help you avoid lots of anguish. [THREATPOST.COM- Nov 21, 13]
  • “A CD-ROM WAS SUPPOSED TO LAST FOR A HUNDRED YEARS, but many fail in ten,” and spinning hard drives, flash memory, etc aren’t much better. The most durable way to store electronic data is probably to “engrave it on a piece of platinum and bury it in the desert… But even the most indestructible data storage won’t be of any use if no one can decode the contents,” and archivists today follow no consistent protocol in preserving the programs or languages utilized in saving information. “Old fashioned paper has done very well by comparison…500 years or more.” [POPULAR SCIENCE – Dec 13]
  •  A MAJOR FLAW IN HIRING NEW EMPLOYEES is job candidate reference-checking – often, surprisingly, overlooked. Beyond simple confirmation of work history, positions and work relationships, references can provide perspective on “successes, failures, and how the candidate responded to such situations, for deeper understanding” as to the likely fit with existing employees and company culture. Queries which yield optimal value often include: What roles reported to the person; Who did the candidate report to; Key achievements or discrepancies in responsibilities or performance; How regarded by superiors, peers, subordinates, clients, customers and/or outside contacts; Significant strengths or weaknesses; and/or How was the candidate best managed?  DCG can assist if/when this role is delegated to an employee with little skill or expertise in performing the critical function.  [OPENVIEW LABS.COM – Nov 21, 13]
  • CHILDREN BORN IN 2012 “WILL COST THEIR PARENTS UP TO $241,000 EACH BY THE TIME THEY TURN 18, according to U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture. Meanwhile in California, as a result of “low-skilled immigrants who flocked to take low-paid jobs,” some eight million people (over 25% kids) live hand to mouth, “income inequality is higher than in any other state… with more unemployed/ underemployed/ discouraged workers” than any state except Nevada… and California hosts one-third of America’s welfare recipients.” In Los Angeles County (which boasts America’s largest population), the ‘Poverty Rate’ is around 27% based on Census Bureau measure of $23,500 annual income for a family of four.  [THE ECONOMIST – Nov 30, 13]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE YEAR END:    “Although less than 1% of Americans suffer from celiac disease (an auto-immune disorder that requires them to avoid gluten) almost one in three people say they are cutting back on products containing the protein found in wheat, barley and rye… and consumption of flour is at a 22-year low.” A major marketing success for Gluten!

By the time a person in the United States is 65 years old, he/she would have seen an estimated two million television commercials, not counting those which TIVO/DVR allowed them to avoid.

Bellevue College in Washington state, hoping to attract ‘gender-variant’ students, now offers applicants seven different options: “Feminine, Masculine, Androgynous, Transgender, Gender Neutral, Other, and Prefer Not To Say.”

For an exceptionally introspective, candid and clever analysis on the sad current state of Islamic culture’s global invasion, take a deep breath before viewing:  http://dotsub.com/media/b5ee5ada-5b37-4b0b-9916-e0896337ec4b/e/m