• MANAGING ‘RISK’ EFFECTIVELY IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO UNLOCK BUSINESS GROWTH.  With risks ranging from financial and macro events to geopolitical and supply chain disruptions, financial officers are now tasked with keeping their organizations secure — not only managing financial arenas including credit risks, investment losses, and cash-flow issues, but also protecting the company’s assets from fraud and the increasing risk of cyber-attack.  Reality is that every category is affected by cyberattack disruption of IT networks & threats of both financial losses from ransomware attacks as well as reputational harm if/when private customer data gets leaked on the Internet. DCG affiliates can help provide this strategic protection.
  •  BRICS IS A SUBSTANTIAL BLOC OF TEN COUNTRIES which represent 45% of the world’s population and over a third of its purchasing power. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) have grown to include Egypt, Iran, UAE, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia + 40 more countries considering joining. It evolved after the 2008 global financial crisis that originated in the U.S., when American regulators failed to prevent the crisis, exposing the inefficiency of existing institutions and Western political ‘sanctions’ to balance international financial transactions. China is the driving force, hoping to at least share global leadership and protect itself from U.S. pressure & sanctions. So far, the U.S. and G-7 western powers have avoided taking BRICS seriously, but the bloc will likely shape global order with a ‘basket’ of currencies which greatly reduce the value of our American Dollar. [FOREIGN AFFAIRS – 9/24/24]
  •  92% OF AMERICANS RECEIVE TAP WATER THAT IS FAR SAFER THAN BOTTLED WATER. Studies report that while municipal control systems meet CDC health standards at all times, up to nearly eight in ten bottled waters “contain contaminants including microplastics and chemicals to make plastics more durable – all associated with oxidative stress, immune system dysregulation and changes in fat levels, as the chemicals leach in from plastic bottles… Additionally, with one million bought every minute around the globe and most ending up in landfills or incinerators, plastic bottles make up the second most common ocean pollutant, only behind plastic bags – with some studies also estimating that up to two-thirds of bottled water in the U.S. is repackaged tap water anyway.”  [BBC SCIENCE FOCUS – 9/24/24] 
  •   —-From Elon Musk on X (9/28):       “Very few Americans realize that, if Trump is NOT elected, this will be the last election. Far from being a threat to democracy, he is the only way to save it! Let me explain: if even 1 in 20 illegals become citizens per year, something that the Democrats are expediting as fast as humanly possible, that would be about two million new legal voters in 4 years. The voting margin in the swing states is often less than 20 thousand votes. That means if the “Democratic” Party succeeds, there will be no more swing states!! Moreover, the Biden/Harris administration has been flying “asylum seekers”, who are fast-tracked to citizenship, directly into  swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Arizona. It is a surefire way to win every election. America then becomes a one-party state and Democracy is over. The only “elections” will be the Democratic Party primaries. This already happened in California many years ago, following the 1986 amnesty. The only thing holding California back from extreme socialism and suffocating government policies is that people can leave California and still remain in America. Once the whole country is controlled by one party, there will be no escape. Everywhere in America will be like the nightmare that is downtown San Francisco.”

                                                  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

  •  Who needs actual democracy when we can just have the illusion of it, relying on pollsters who claim to speak for the ‘silent majority’ by relying on small samples from phone calls or texts to determine who the people prefer?  Once upon a time, candidates campaigned in person at the same locations, then on a specific date went to polling places, to mark their choice on a ballot or push buttons, where by end of the day their collective choices would show majority preference – like an Election. “The process has evolved to a game of political theater, where real winners are campaign strategists and the media outlets cashing in our misplaced trust. Who needs a fair and transparent process when we can embrace chaos and uncertainty from relying on 30-second newsclips as an effective way to make informed decisions about leadership of our lives.”  [RED STATE]
  •  “One persistent and absurd theme coming from the Democrats is that Trump, if elected, would become a dictator and ‘end democracy,’ likening him to despised autocrats from Mussolini to Hitler…But Who are the ones doing mass surveillance? Systematic censorship? Ideological indoctrination in schools and in the media? Targeting and criminalizing political differences, dissidents and opponents? Attempting to lock up the leader of the opposition party in an election year? Who launched the Russia collusion scheme with full cooperation by the Obama administration and media attempting to portray Trump’s election as illegitimate and he as a traitor in league with foreign powers? This is how dictatorial regimes act; it’s what they do!  So, WHO are the dictators??”   – Dinesh D’Souza – 9/25/24]
  •  “Inflation is made in Washington because only Washington can create money. And any other attribution to other groups of inflation is wrong. … What produces it is too much government spending and too much government creation of money and nothing else.”  – economist Milton Friedman