• PHISHING E-MAILS ARE THE START-POINT FOR OVER 90% OF CYBER ATTACKS and a third of all successful breaches, according to Deloitte. With digital communication being our everyday technology for connection and workflow, the problem is that humans consistently fall for phishing scams because we’re “busy juggling scores of pending tasks where taking quick action – automatic, unconscious & fast mode thinking with little rationale – is the most effective way to get through the day… Attackers target us with social engineering techniques which bypass Links altogether, and themes that connect with our fears & anxieties – Covid, late payments, IRS notices, worthy cause donations, and so forth.” Many individuals & organizations have yet to implement safeguards like multi-factor authorization and security programs to spot anomalies (like trusted senders, requests for immediate data or funds coming/going to new email addresses). DCG can help.  [CPO MAGAZINE – 2/25/21]
  • AMERICA IS ON IT’S WAY TO RE-JOINING THE PARIS ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ ACCORD adopted in 2015 by nearly 200 countries to ‘control’ Global Warming. The U.S. dropped out when former President Trump determined that while our country even exceeded commitments, the funneling of U.S. dollars to other countries who did little if anything to curtail pollution (particularly the biggest offenders China & India who were ‘exempted’ until 2030) made no sense – especially since the ‘science’ projecting long-term planet warming and severity is still fuzzy. For three decades, scientists warned of the earth COOLING from the effect of aerosols; in the early 1970s, they were predicting an ‘ICE AGE’ soon coming. Then, “based on analysis showing increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, the perspective in scientific papers changed from prediction of COOLING to a WARMING trend from greenhouse gasses – the result of human activity… Now it’s “Glacial Melting’ which is confusing most forecasts of temperature direction & timeline.”  Nonetheless, our new guru Climate Czar, John Kerry, has announced a return to international funding, after announcing that “we now have only nine years left to avert a climate catastrophe, and there is no room for B.S.”  [RED STATE – 2/20/21]
  • TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICITY OVER A BEAM OF MICROWAVES INSTEAD OF POWER LINES – which radiate 24/7 in all directions, cause of major forest fires when downed in windy weather, and are ugly – may soon be commercially viable. ‘Power-beaming’ through a process similar to kitchen microwaving but surrounded by ‘laser curtains’ to avoid accidents & danger to humans and animals, this technology may be soon operational for armed forces, satellites and then population centers. [ECONOMIST – 2/27/21]   In the meantime, electricity requirements continue to expand dramatically. One new reason is the cryptocurrency world where ‘mining’ involves heavy computer calculations; according to a Cambridge University study, Bitcoin alone consumes more electricity each year than it takes to power the entire country of Argentina. [THE WEEK – 3/5/21]
  • ‘RACIAL INEQUALITY’ POLICIES ARE NOW HOLDING BACK HIGH-PERFORMING ELEMENTARY STUDENTS in Boston public schools because “not enough members of another group were able to perform as well” on a nationally-recognized, standardized test for admission (via lottery, if qualified) to advanced level 4th – 6th grade classes which “require more schoolwork and home study to push students’ critical thinking, writing skills, and ability to solve real-life challenges.” However, since advanced classes serve ‘disproportional racial groups’, with only 30% of participants currently black & Hispanic, the testing and lottery selection process is “obviously racist, so their decision is to hold back high-performing students until under-performing students catch up, in the name of ‘racial equity’… What effect does that have on the growth, mindset, and overall well-being of students who excel? Should we apply the same ‘logic’ to law school or medical school? Why is it not child abuse?”  [RED STATE – 2/27/21]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: Flashback for boomers: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QoDXTAajEzY?rel=0

           The Sesame Street Muppet Show replays now being streamed by Disney+ channel begin with an ‘Offensive Content’ warning about “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.”