WALKING AWAY...

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

WALKING AWAY...

Dear Friends:

I have said it before: "Stop watering a dead tree."

Sometimes a limb is so badly infected that it cannot be repaired...it must be amputated. Sometimes something is so tragically broken that it no amount of effort, love or money can fix it...it must be scrapped and replaced.

When you cannot work within a system, sometimes you must work outside of the system --i.e., working on it instead of in it. And when you cannot win playing by somebody else's rules, sometimes you must make your own.

It takes time, but some special people arrive at a point in their comprehension of the way things are where they fully understand that the game is rigged, and that no matter what they do, they are slated to lose. It hurts to have been hustled or conned, but it downright kills you when you know that you are being hustled and that you are powerless to walk away. It erodes your self-esteem. It can embitter you.

When a socio-economic system is so inherently corrupt that it is cancerous, you can no longer work within its confines to reform it. You must pack your bags and leave, or perhaps, if you've the requisite courage (and artillery), you can get everyone else to clear out and play in somebody else's yard.

I frequently speak of the need for new beginnings, for fresh thoughts, for a clean slate. I frequently speak of the need to get people's attention - to shake them out of their hypnotic torpor. I frequently speak of collaboration and cooperation instead of confrontation and partisanship.

In my socio-economic model of the Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community as a new form of entity, I  do not see the need for stealing from others to enrich myself. I believe that if we work together, the inherent synergy produced will allow both of us to win, and to share in the prosperity. It saddens me to think that so many people have become brainwashed into believing that there are only winners and losers, and that winners can only become winners by stealing from the losers, leaving them to starve. We live in a time when people define morality to suit convenience.

I have come to understand how riots are incited and revolutions are born; how some people walk away from the trappings of "civilization" and disappear to live "off the grid."

I find it incredibly frightening, yet somehow encouraging, when a career politician walks away from the game because he becomes disgusted with its lies, rationalizations, destructiveness...its inertia and its hopelessness.

I salute US Senator Evan Bayh today for his taking decisive action instead of resorting to empty rhetoric. [cue drumroll]. He decided to say "no more."

Read this, brought to you by the Yahoo! News Blog:

Disillusioned Bayh advocates electoral “shock” to broken system

Tue Feb 16, 7:35 pm ET

In an interview on MSNBC this morning, newly retiring Sen. Evan Bayh declared the American political system "dysfunctional," riddled with "brain-dead partisanship" and permanent campaigning. Flatly denying any possibility that he'd seek the presidency or any other higher office, Bayh argued that the American people needed to deliver a "shock" to Congress by voting incumbents out en masse and replacing them with people interested in reforming the process and governing for the good of the people, rather than deep-pocketed special-interest groups.

Bayh's announcement stunned the American political world, as up until just last week he looked to be well on his way to an easy reelection for a third term in the Senate, and his senior staff was aggressively pursuing that goal.

But Bayh had apparently become increasingly frustrated in the Senate. In this morning's interview he noted that just two weeks ago, Republicans who had co-sponsored a bill with him to rein in the deficit turned around and voted against it for purely political reasons. He also stated repeatedly that members of his own party should be more willing to settle for a compromise rather than holding out for perfection.

"Sometimes half a loaf is better than none," Bayh insisted.
####

Bayh has taken a necessary first step -- acknowledging that something is just plain wrong, and walking away from it. But who will take the second step -- finding a better way for all of us? That remains to be seen... Pointing out a problem is helpful, but solving problems is what growth and progress are ultimately all about.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

About Douglas Castle 
Douglas Castle - LinkedIn Profile






*Follow TNNW on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TNNW_BUZZWORKS

*Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Join our GICBC and receive Your TNNW Newsletter and THE BLUE MONDAY REPORT! - Click HERE.

Labels, Tags and Terms: Evan Bayh, Problem-Solving, partisan politics, negotiation, compromise, collaboration, integrity, new social paradigms, TNNW, Articles by Douglas Castle,

Capitalism Without Zero-Sum Conflict: A Re-alignment for a New Era

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Capitalism Without Zero-Sum Conflict:
A Re-alignment for a New Era

Dear Friends:

I know, I know..... "oh what pride cometh before a fall."

Notwitstanding that cliche, I wanted to share the most recent [02.07.2010] Update Bulletin from The National Networker with you. Reading along, and through the self-promotion and back-patting, what I would like for you to notice is the tone, the sentiment, the flavor (if you are in the U.K., Australia or any former U.K. "colonies," this would be "flavour") of the writing; importantly, it reflects an increased focus on several important notions:

1. Internationalism, and the World viewed as a large community;

2. Rendering of services to clients as well as information and intelligence to members;

3. The proliferation of information, via e-media, internationally -- across government-imposed barriers, cultures and the differences that we too often permit to divide us instead of unite us. This is indeed good news;

4. The next socio-economic entity...the GICBC -- the Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community;

5. The direct (and implicit) references to members becoming stakeholders. One of the conflicts that is a destroyer of the unqualified idea of capitalism (which, of itself holds great promise for innovation, progress and the breaking of the timeless stigma of the caste system) is that the interests of stakeholders (owners) all-too-often conflict with those of customers, and the general public...the tax-paying citizenry. What if you could re-align the interests of stakeholders so that they no longer conflicted with those of customers? What if the consumers' interests became more precisely aligned with those of the corporations'?

Communism? Socialism? - Neither! The world's simplest and best employee-ownership incentive plan does not defy or deny capitalism by a long shot. It just eliminates the zero-sum game that pollutes capitalism and destroys motivation. Capitalism does not require victims and victors. Its inherent synergy can provide more than adequate rewards for all parties involved. 

Enjoy what follows, with my compliments, and with my hopes.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
---------------------------------------

Free Membership and Subscription? Click HERE.
Free RSS Newsfeed? Click HERE.
Free Daily Email Supplement? Click HERE.

Dear Friends:

This is the TNNWC Update Bulletin! for the first week of February, 2010. We have made incredible progress since our inception five years ago as the first "Consumer Reports" of the Networking Industry. The first subscribers to the TNNW Newsletter signed on because of their sharing Adam J. Kovitz' vision of the potential in networking, connecting and building Relationship Capital. Adam and his wife, Wendy, recruited our first writers, as well as our first readers and sponsors by themselves, as a labor of love. They published the first issue, and have overseen the publication of every single issue since.

Fast forward five years ... We are now The National Networker Companies, with:

• Two publications -- The National Networker Newsletter and The Blue Tuesday Report;
• A growing media machine -- with radio programs, news releases, special featured reports, multiple RSS feeds, Buzzworks, Blogworks and The National Newspicker Page -- we have the full complement of widgets, blidgets, buttons, feeds, with growing marketshare, higher visibility, both in the United States and internationally... we have been re-published in The Wall Street Journal [Europe], the BNI Newsletter [New Zealand] and in a tremendous number of e-media venues;
• The world's very first Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community (GICBC), destined to set a new socio-economic model for a world in need of some serious attitude adjustment;
• A Suite of the best, most unique and most useful (did we neglect to mention most cost-effective?) Professional and Business Development Services for all of our Members. Basic Membership is still free, as are our publications;
• Fabulous writers representing all types of vertical specialties from around the world... Alaska, Africa, China, France... we have a phenomenal crew of brilliant, edgy, opinionated and outspoken writers (but we don't mean to brag).

To say that we have made progress is an understatement.

Our mission has changed - The National Networker Companies, as a group, is a provider of news, intelligence, unique content and business development services to the professional, corporate and entrepreneurial sectors.

Our orientation has changed - Networking is only the beginning - TNNWC is not just about "networking" (which has become a vast term with multiple meanings to many people; where every person believes that he or she is an "***EXPERT***") -- we are all about increasing revenues and productivity by creating viable, real connections; building partnerships (domestically and globally); providing interactive forums; and furnishing services to increase your roster of clients, your buzz, your branding, your market presence (in existing and new, emerging and potential markets) and your sales by every means possible. We live to inform, assist, interact with and promote every member's business, practice or cause.

Our structure has changed - We are an information producer, cross-media broadcaster and a promotion mega-machine. We make things happen for our members, and for our clients.

We've got some things for you to look at, too - the items which follow have been posted, re-posted, tweeted, digged (dug?) and otherwise promulgated. Read them. Click on a few links. Then come back here. We're patient. We'll be waiting...

1. Before you fill that prescription... http://twitlik.com/DrugWatch. Through our Links 4 Life public service site, we have now formed a strategic alliance with Drugwatch.com. TNNWC is a major provider of Public Service Announcements in the interest of promoting exemplary corporate citizenship. Peace, Prosperity and Health.

2. Hot, highly buzzed TNNW themes and fresh ideas from BlogCatalog, a blog search engine. Visit them at http://twitlik.com/TNNWHeat . Our ideas about jumping the turnstiles of the status quo, being unique, being proactive and being collaborative are getting us attention. That's the point, isn't it?

3. TNNW is ever-grateful to Graham Southwell of BNI New Zealand, and Dr. Ivan Misner (the Founder of BNI and the father of organized business networking) for talking about the need for activism amidst apathy. http://twitlik.com/BNI . They are re-publishing some of our most exciting content.

4. We recently had an article about The Ten Essential Principles of Networking published in the Wall Street Journal (European Edition). It is a "must read!" at http://www.wsje-flp.com/articles.php/65/business-networking-ten-essential-principles. Going further, we are building a fabulous relationship with the international leaders of the future through our budding alliance with THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE FUTURE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE.

5. The articles in this week's issue of The National Networker Newsletter... they're coming up.


Help us build the world's biggest subscriber list -- Forward this article (or this email) to a friend, colleague or business associate.


As always, thank you. You've let us become a part of your life. Through our GICBC (details unfolding rapidly), you will be able to become a stakeholder in The National Networker Companies. Our Growth Will Guarantee Yours.


With All of Our Best,


Adam J. Kovitz and Douglas Castle





Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free, and get your BLUE TUESDAY REPORT, too. - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies

####

Radical New Ideas, or the Return of Old, Sensible Ones?

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Radical New Ideas, or the Return of Old, Sensible Ones?

Dear Friends:

Ideas constantly go in and out of fashion, depending upon the culture and concerns of the times. Many of these ideas are simply too seemingly radical to be acceptable given the prevailing and socially entrenched beliefs and protocols of the times. Many of them simply go out of fashion because they become part of the body of conventional wisdom, and they no longer need to be stated.

Human Beings always fancy the notion of progress, and so they tend to leave both the good and the bad teachings and principles behind, without much discrimination or differentiation...it is almost as if "old" means "obsolete" and "new" means "improved" -- that is unless we are dealing with antiques.

How about revisiting these ideas?:

1. Instead of "networking," let's have socializing, introductions, and making new friends;

2. Instead of "connecting," let's have building bonds of trust through becoming familiar and investing in getting to know eachother;

3. Instead of "collaboration," let's have a team effort toward a common goal -- sharing the work, and sharing in the rewards;

4. Instead of "Internationalism," let's have global conversation, communion and sharing;

5. Instead of "celebrating diversity" (which is pallid and empty slogan, with neither teeth nor heart), let's become educated about eachother, find our areas of commonality and our areas of difference, let our great areas of commonality become the common denominator to create stronger bonds of respect and friendship between us, while we capitalize on our fascinating areas of difference by seeing them in terms of complementarity, greater knowledge, greater opportunity and an expanded set of survival skills to be shared by all. Maybe we could invest some time in getting to know eachother, instead of forming little ghettos of "pure" and stagnant culture. Maybe we should befriend eachother instead of begrudgingly tolerating eachother.

Perhaps we should cease our failed habit of conjoining the terms of discrimination and bigotry. Let's let bigotry be closed-mindedness and prejudicial exclusionism, while discrimination could simply mean (as it did many, many years ago), making the best choices. Remember phrases like: "Only the discriminating eye can see the difference in quality."?

We can keep the same contemporary terminology (after all, new terms are fun -- a good lingovation always warms my heart), but let's re-evaluate the meaning and significance behind these terms. Let's strive to keep them in mind, too.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

p.s. Maybe we should also bear in mind that "progress" is movement toward an objective. How can we indiscriminately refer to any movement or change as "progress" when it might actually be taking us away from our proper trajectory? And, more importantly, how can we progress toward a goal which we have not clearly identified and agreed upon together?

About Douglas Castle 

Douglas Castle - LinkedIn Profile

The National Networker Companies

Braintenance - Stay razor sharp.

The Internationalist Page - A world without barriers.

The Global Futurist - Revealing trends.

Taking Command! - Mastering your fate.

Follow Castle on Twitter 

Follow TNNW on Twitter

Join us! With your free membership, you'll receive THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report. Click on: http://twitlik.com/IN. You'll also want to get your free RSS feed or Daily email delivered to your inbox -- just click on http://twitlik.com/Daily and make your selection.

________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS, LABELS AND ORGANIZATIONS:


globalism, internationalism, cartels, CFR, NGO, UN, EU, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls, The National Networker, Artificial Intelligence, AI, symbiosis, Interworked Cooperative Business Communities, ICBC, Lingovations, commerce versus combat, trends, analysis, imagination, innovation, introspection, exponentialism and the mastermind, exponentiality, predicting the future, shaping the future, adaptation, evolution, twitter, google, social media, networking groups, tendencies, statistics, joint venturing metrics, prediction, strategic interdependence, communications technologies, skype, New World Order, The 1% Rule, Mutually Assured Destruction, imperialism, fuedalism, freedom, peace, prosperity, demography, allocation of wealth, Digg, Zimbio, TNNW BUZZWORKS, Articles by Douglas Castle, search engines, entreprenership, business tools, networking, relationships, convincing, negotiating, energy, parapsychology, systems, chaos, complexity, perspective, entropy, behavioral psychology, systems of government, sovereignty, ethics, objectivisim, subjectivism, relativism, multidimensionalism, perspective, inflation, recession, valuations, intellectual property, trust, balance of power, balance of trade, balance of trade, gross domestic foreign investment, indexing, growth industries, commodities, options, exhanges, control strategies, risk evaluation, survivalism...


Subscribe Free to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter and the BLUE TUESDAY REPORT.

A Quick Comment On Strategic Interdependence

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

IN PRAISE OF STRATEGIC INTERDEPENDENCE
This Article originally published by author Douglas Castle in THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE on October 1st, 2009

Dear Friends:

The premise is a simple one. each of us, as an individual, and as a businessperson, is a potential international ambassador, exerting influence upon persons by sharing our thoughts, our differences, our stories and our tremendous areas of common interest and concern. The things that unite us far outweigh those things that divide us.

The greater the percentage and proliferation of smaller, international, entrepreneurial and internet-based businesses, the closer we all move as Humanity United toward world peace. It is increasingly difficult to willfully hurt someone whom you regard as a friend, or someone upon whom you have come to depend for things. Depersonalization, the hate-mongers' weapon of choice in initiating such activities as pograms, ethnic cleansing, enslavement and all brands of genocide, becomes very difficult to mobilize when all parties 1) have become interpersonally familiar with eachother, and 2) have come to depend upon one another. Reducing this to commerce as metaphor:

"I will not attack my customers. I will not attack my suppliers. I will not attack my strategic business partners. To do so would not make economic sense."

I am cautiously optimistic that such organizations as THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES and numerous other non-governmental business networking and social media conduits will facilitate the development and frequency of more individualized civilian communications and international entrepreneurship.
_____________________________

Some recent news headlines, accumulated principally through the United States and UK Public Media during the course of these past three months will give my readers a feeling about where the world's alleged most powerful nations and institutions are headed. These are signs...signs point to trends...and trends pave the road to the future. Please take note of these media items, which are arranged in no particular order, to formulate your plans:

UBS to divulge 4,450 account names, more expected

Dentists Step Up Marketing as Patients Skip Their Visits

Was Oil Part of a Deal for the Lockerbie Bomber?

Fox News (FNC) Continues to Outdraw Every Other Cable News Network (see below)
Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for September 23, 2009 . Considering Fox's political orientation ("Fair and Balanced, as long as we're all the way to the right"), this says something 1) either about the underlying feelings of the average US viewer despite the alleged lawlessness and destructiveness of the Bush/ Cheney Administration, or 2) about the entertainment value of the newscasters, commentators and pundits on Fox versus the other more centrist or less conspiuously politicized networks).


P2+ Total Day
FNC – 1,524,000 viewers
CNN – 609,000 viewers
MSNBC –377,000 viewers
CNBC – 236,000 viewers
HLN – 375,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 2,910,000viewers
CNN— 1,017,000 viewers
MSNBC –817,000 viewers
CNBC – 441,000 viewers
HLN – 648,000viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC –433,000 viewers
CNN –197,000 viewers
MSNBC –131,000 viewers
CNBC – 92,000 viewers
HLN- 188,000 viewers


25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 814,000 viewers
CNN – 343,000 viewers
MSNBC –286,000 viewers
CNBC – 215,000 viewers
HLN – 239,000 viewers

35-64 Total Day
FNC – 729,000 viewers
CNN – 278,000 viewers
MSNBC – 195,000 viewers
CNBC – 116,000 viewers
HLN – 226,000 viewers

35-64 Prime Time
FNC –1,379,000 viewers
CNN – 473,000 viewers
MSNBC –427,000 viewers
CNBC –215,000 viewers
HLN –356,000 viewers
-----------------------------------------
Are Exchange Controls Coming to the USA?

Pfizer Pays $2.3 Billion to Settle Marketing Case (while the case is interesting, the mere fact that Pfizer had $2.3 Billion of cash on hand to settle a "sensitive issue" is quite revealing...and perhaps a bit frightening, as well).

How Many Troops to Secure Afghanistan? (This is an interesting academic question, for which there is actually no answer -- it is merely a matter of conjecture, and a loud signal that things are heating up in Afghanistan, despite the installed puppet government, and the casual cooperation of Pakistan. I think that this question is reminiscent of the golden oldie about "How many angels can dance onb the head of a pin?")




Fed Considers Sweeping Rules on Bank Pay

Well, friends throughout the world...such has been the news. A bit frightening, yes?

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

 __________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:


globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

ISSUES OF TRUST AND CREDIBILITY

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Dear Friends:

I believe that trust is the most critical ingredient to any operation requiring more than one person. Trust binds us, yet it frees us. It allows us to focus on accomplishing what needs to be accomplished, instead of wasting time and energy trying to secon-guess the other individual's motives or "hidden agenda." Trust is becoming a rarer and rarer commodity in these times of depersonalization, cyberconferencing, text-messaging and, in general, limited physical person to person contact.

Trust between people. Trust between groups. Trust between organizations. Trust between nations. Trust between individuals and institutions. Trust between citizens and their own governments...

If you establish a record of trust, you build your credibility, and with that, your Relationship Capital Quotient (refer to numerous articles and interviews by, or featuring, Adam J. Kovitz, of The National Networker Companies). A simple example: I trust my life insurance agent -- he carries a high Relationship Capital Quotient. If I need a referral to another professional, I will phone this fellow because I trust that he would only refer me to a trusted colleague. He has, unbeknownst to him, become a moral surety on all of the persons he refers to me. He is also becoming more and more indispensable to me. He is trusted; he has credibility; he is valuable.

During the Bush administration in the United States, the US lost a great deal of credibility with the International Community (and the US citizenry lost a great deal of trust for their government and leadership). Secretive, hard-line, callous administrations...those who dictate terms and carry out their plans despite any opposition, difference of opinion, or the objections of their own people tend to be looked on very negatively. Be a powerful, determined leader by all means...but do not put on blinders to the reservations and opinions of others, and don't intimidate all of those who oppose your unilaterally chosen course of action. You cannot afford to be selfish, completely unyielding, oppressive and too secretive -- this conduct breeds suspicion and mistrust.

A brief exerpt from the NEW YORK TIMES follows to illustrate this point:

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 -- 9:38 PM ET-----

Outsiders Were Hired as C.I.A. Planned to Kill Jihadists

"The Central Intelligence Agency in 2004 hired outsidecontractors from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate topoperatives of Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials.

Executives from Blackwater, which has generated controversy because of its aggressive tactics in Iraq, helped the spy agency with planning, training and surveillance. The C.I.A.spent several millions of dollars on the program, which did not capture or kill any terrorist suspects."

Read More:http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

-----Now get New York Times breaking news alerts sent to your mobile phone. Sign up by texting NEWSALERTS to 698698 (NYTNYT)
####

An article which I had recently written about trust also follows, printed in full, for your review. while this article centers on events in The United States, it can easily be generalized to global matters...matters common to us all.



IN ______ WE TRUST?


Note: This article, written by Douglas Castle, was originally published in HUMANITAS MAXIMUS (http://HumanitasMaximus.blogspot.com)



Dear Friends:



When it comes to banking nowadays, we would all be wise to adhere to a policy of "Let the Customer" beware. Count your change. Put your hand over your wallet. Reconcile every statement.



Banks are cutting credit lines (arbitrarily and capriciously, despite your actual credit history), destroying credit ratings left and right, charging record fees for overlimit expenditures and late payments, giving us the runaround when we try to "restructure" our mortgages, denying both individuals and businesses any credit facilities, foreclosing without a second thought, and enjoying the pleasure of government-infused taxpayer money. The Fed is not exactly forthcoming with the truth about the financial condition of banks and other credit institutions. The percentage of the population either unemployed or incarcerated continues to grow. The IRS is all but turning its agents into bounty hunters. A growing number of U.S. citizens are without healthcare insurance -- yet the insurance companies seem to be doing fairly well -- their health is certainly better than the average overstressed, overburdened and struggling citizen's. Unpaid insurance claims are piling up while premiums rise like the waters of Hurricane Katrina. There is desperation in the air, like the tinge of ozone before a major thunderstorm. When you telephone any major company for answers or explanations, you get a recorded menu of choices -- and when you've finally made your selection (*after going through any entire decision-tree matrix of choices), you are put on hold. Every possible impediment has been placed between humans to prevent real interpersonal interaction. And we are all suffering the consequences.



Here's a terrific (in a sad sort of way) story and some sideline articles, courtesy of Yahoo! News:



Bank's big auction blunder
A woman returns home to find a stranger demanding she leave "his" house. » Sold by mistake -NBC Miami
Find how to fight bank errors
Mortgage delinquency at all-time high



The question to ask yourself is, "Does it still make sense to give anyone the benefit of the doubt?"



The greatest challenge facing each of us is finding someone in whom (or something in which) we can trust. Trust is the glue that holds every relationship together. In point of fact, trust is the cement that keeps a society "civilized."



This is indeed a time for trusted friends to rediscover eachother, to reconnect with eachother, and to rebuild society from the smallest fundamental elements of the partnership and the team. Person to person, real space, real time.


Faithfully,


Douglas Castle
http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com

p.s. I write for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. Get your free subscription at http://twitlik.com/OK .

####

In the coming months and years, Trust and Credibility are going to become more and more difficult to come by, and increasingly difficult to achieve for ourselves. Based upon the the simple economics of supply and demand, this would indicate that Trust and Credibility, and those special people who possess them, are going to become increasingly valuable.

Invest in building your own Trust and Credibility.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle, Internationalist.






__________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

FROM THE NATIONAL NETWORKER NEWSLETTER

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Dear Friends, Colleagues, Subscribers, Members, Vendors, Advertisers and Affiliates [phew!]:


Whether or not you are a citizen of the United States, Happy Independence Day.

I believe that Independence Day should become celebrated as the first Internationalist Holiday. We have some things for which to be thankful... and many, many more that we should join our hearts, heads and hands and aspire to:

1. The world as a single nation, united in cyberspace, and beyond the impediments of time, distance and those despots who profit at the sport of dividing us instead of uniting us;


2. The rise of a new, exciting entrepreneurial culture from the rubble and ashes of an economic system that had become unconscionably wasteful, short-sighted and outmoded;


3. The opportunity to enjoy peace and prosperity simultaneously.


Thank you all for being a part of my world, and for letting me into yours. I am grateful to Adam J. Kovitz for his friendship, as well as for his having cleverly conned me into partnering with him in this amazing and wonderful endeavor. Every second is the beginning of time, and the dawning of opportunity.

Enjoy the articles.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle, for
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER
Subscribe for the TNNW Newsletter today - absolutely free. http://twitlik.com/OK

*****

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
TNNW Continues to Evolve
Adam J. Kovitz

TNNW UPDATES!
July, 2009, Week #1



TNNW Spotlight:
BEING THERE WHEN IT COUNTS
Will Your Customers and Prospects Next Purchase be From You or a Competitor?
Rick Itzkowich


CONNECTING IS NOT ENOUGH
It’s a Question of Trust
Andy Lopata



Columns

THE REHUMANIZATION OF NETWORKING
Walking On Eggshells
Douglas Castle

SALES & MARKETING
Appreciation Marketing
Bill Doerr

THE BOOM IN BOOMER NETWORKING
Tails From the Old Dawg
Elaine Ingis

BECAUSE I CAN
Why Givers Don’t Always Gain and Why the “Law” of Reciprocity is Bullsh!t
Adam J. Kovitz

DEEPENING NETWORKING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Lessons From Busy Networking Professionals
Christine Sotmary, M.S., L.Ac., CPC

POWER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Building Powerful Relationships, Part 1
Patricia Parham, Ph.D.



Regional Reports
SOUTH AFRICA
Seek First to Understand
Karl Smith

U.S., NEW ENGLAND
The Dream Party is a Unique Form of Networking
Noelle Southwick


We ARE Networking

THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW):
PRESS OUR BUTTONS & CLICK OUR LINKS...

__________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

EXPECTATION MANAGEMENT AND PERCEPTION - The Democrats must properly "Network" the American Public

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Expectation Management and Perception

If the Democrats are to sustain their circumstantial advantage, they must acknowledge and apply some rudimentary behavioral psychology.

--From an Article Written By Douglas Castle for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER NEWSLETTER and originally published on June 14, 2009.

This article © 2009 by Douglas E. Castle and The National Networker : Reprinted with permission. This article has been substantially edited from its original form in order to fit the format of this reprinting. The author expresses his gratitude to Linked In for providing the networking and communications forum which made this article possible and to BUZZFLASH for kindling the spark which inspired its creation. The author is neither a Democrat nor a Republican and is not affiliated with any political party. ~

Preamble:

In any relationship of trust or responsibility, management of your counterpart’s or charges’ expectations is crucial. When networking (as every political administration has done with the American People en masse), you must be perceived as honorable, competent and consistent. President Barack Obama and the newly-installed Democratic party has an initial advantage, since the previous Republican administration is currently in a leadership vacuum and is greatly suffering from the public perception that its actions, or inactions, precipitated the current economic crisis. The Democrats have to rapidly upgrade their networking skills in order to keep and hold their influence and to sustain their circumstantial advantage.

A recent article in BUZZFLASH spoke of the decline of the G.O.P. But the deterioration of its reputation following the Bush administration, leadership issues and apparent blame for the precipitation of the current economic crisis are still not enough to keep the Democrats in the good graces of the increasingly wary American People, who are looking to the Democrats as their last hope for a restoration of a “normal” United States.

The G.O.P. badly mis-networked the populace. Despite this, the Democrats need to sharpen their leadership and public relations skills, especially in the areas of expectation management and perception, if they are to remain in power and reap the political rewards of having helped to solve a frighteningly real economic crisis – and a still unresolved crisis of confidence.

Please download this article (either for reading or for printing) in its entirety from http://twitlik.com/EXPECTATION .

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

Some Key Terms: Networking the American Public, politics of perception, confidence, image-building, networking, Linked In, BuzzFlash, MediaFire, Articles by Douglas Castle, economic recession, TNNW, crisis of confidence.







__________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

EXIM BANK UPDATES - YOUR OWN VIRTUAL EXPORT DEPARTMENT

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Dear Friends:


The U.S. Government is doing its best (such as that is at this moment) to encourage export activity in order to: bolster domestic employment and entrepreneurial opportunities; supply trade and project financing, as well as international credit guarantees which are not readily being provided by U.S. or international banks and insurance companies; bring the Balance or Trade and the Balance of Payments to better levels; encourage investment by foreign countries in the United States; improve the international standing and reputation of the United States (ostensibly through citizen ambassadorship); and to increase direct funding to the entrepreneurial/ private sector to stimulate innovation and ingenuity.

While I have included two announcements from EXIM, the first of these contains a belated reminder to attend a webinar which has already taken place...In my opinion, these presentations are, generally, speaking, a waste of time. If you are established in exporting, you won't glean any useful knowledge here, and if you are an eager neophyte, the information is not put together in a way that is readily understandable, or, more importantly, applicable. The most important aspect of the letter is simply its tone. It is worth reading for that much alone.



YOUR OWN VIRTUAL EXPORT DEPARTMENT:



Every U.S. entrepreneurial enterprise or company wishing to expand globally on an immediate basis at minimal cost by creating a virtual export department (requiring no addional staffing or corporate infrastructure at all) should visit THE NATIONAL NETWORKER'S INTERNATIONAL AGENT/DISTRIBUTOR PROGRAMS site immediately. It can be accessed at http://TNNW7.blogspot.com .

THE NEWS FROM EXIMBANK [OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS]:

1. The following information is from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). It is being sent to subscribers to the Bank's Exporter News email list for those interested in learning fresh strategies for entering new markets, increasing sales, and reducing risks.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Webinar: Competitive Financing for International Buyers (May 19)
Many U.S. businesses lose international sales because their buyers either cannot obtain financing, the interest rates are too high, or their foreign competitors have arranged loans. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) assists U.S. companies by guaranteeing financing to creditworthy international buyers, both public and private sectors, for purchases of U.S. capital goods and services.
The guarantee for the commercial lender loans to foreign buyers covers 100 percent of principal and interest against both political and commercial risks of nonpayment. Medium-term guarantees (up to seven years) cover the sale of capital items such as trucks and construction equipment, and engineering services. There are flexible financing options and repayment terms and no limits on transaction size.
Buyer financing can make or break your next transaction so register now!Date: May 19, 2009 Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT Price: $50 Register: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePublic/newWebinarRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=9Q7Z >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You are receiving this message because you have asked to receive information from the Export-Import Bank of the United States regarding the Bank's activities.
If you would like to be ADDED to the Bank's email distribution list regarding general Ex-Im Bank activities, or any of the other email publications, please visit http://www.exim.gov/lists/subscribe.cfm
If you would like to MODIFY your email address visit http://www.exim.gov/lists/edit.cfm to revise your subscription preferences, or to DISCONTINUE receiving these general news items from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, please send a blank email to leave-enviroexports-list-63999P@lists.exim.gov.
If you use an anti-spam program or service, add Ex-Im Bank's news and information e-mails (sent from Newsdesk@exim.gov) to your safe or permitted sender list. For details: http://www.exim.gov/lists/whitelist.cfm.

2. The following information is from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). It is being sent to subscribers to the Bank's Country Limitation Schedule (CLS) email list for those interested in receiving information about changes and updates to the CLS.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Country Limitation Schedule (CLS) issued by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has been updated. The new CLS is effective MAY 14, 2009.
The new CLS may be accessed on-line on MAY 14, 2009 at: http://www.exim.gov/tools/country/country_limits.cfm. The CLS and Cover Letter are also attached as PDF files.
The CLS indicates where Ex-Im Bank is "open for cover" and where Ex-Im Bank is "off-cover". The "open for cover" designation refers to the possibility, rather than the certainty of Ex-Im Bank support in particular cases. Where the CLS presents an X mark, Ex-Im Bank is "off-cover", and is therefore not willing to consider approval of routine transactions. These "off-cover" determinations are due to economic and/or political risks associated with the country.
For more information on the Ex-Im Bank, please visit our website at http://www.exim.gov.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You are receiving this message because you have asked to receive information from the Export-Import Bank of the United States regarding updates or changes to the Bank's CLS.
If you would like to be ADDED to the Bank's email distribution list regarding general Ex-Im Bank activities or any of the other email publications, please visit http://www.exim.gov/lists/subscribe.cfm.
If you would like to MODIFY your email address visit http://www.exim.gov/lists/edit.cfm to revise your subscription preferences or to DISCONTINUE receiving these general news items from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, please send a blank email to leave-cls-list-63998K@lists.exim.gov.
If you use an anti-spam program or service, add Ex-Im Bank's news and information emails (sent from Newsdesk@exim.gov) to your safe or permitted sender list. For details: http://www.exim.gov/lists/whitelist.cfm.

-----------------------------------------------

If you are a U.S. -based business, this is a wonderful time to export. The U.S. Dollar is at a relatively low rate of exchange versus other currencies...EXIM is "loosening up" its credit parameters while U.S. and international banks are tightening theirs...and, your advantage over U.S. businesses who are not actively seeking out global markets is greater than it has ever been in U.S. history. This is an unprecedented opportunity to grow a global business while other enterprises are struggling to court U.S. consumers who are becoming increasingly inaccessible due to rising unemployment (and the accompanying insecurity regarding expenditure), and due to the continuing unavailability of consumer credit and business capital. The irony is that it is easier for a small U.S. company to get international trade and project financing than it is to get financing for continuation of domestic operations and growth.

It might serve you well to let your business follow the flow of money availability at this time.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle, INTERNATIONALIST

__________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

THE WORD FROM THE GLOBAL FUTURIST

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Dear Friends:

Please accept my humble apologies for not having written in a long while. I have spent a great deal of time discussing the global economy with too many people. Most of them want to place blame -- or to complain about the failure of national governments (and the loosely-bound "world government") to properly rescue a world which appears to be both economically and emotionally depressed -- or to ask me what I personally would offer by way of a suggestion to solve the problem. My response to this last question is always the same: "First, you have to give the resources to change Human Nature..." That usually earns its fair share of eye-rolling or the use of the once-popular expression, "Sheesh!" I am a sentimentalist lexicographer, and I enjoy the use of this exclamation. My British friends have a wonderful alternative, which is "No! Get off!"

Here are several things to ponder. They are a short list of observations, acknowledgements, trends and other items that I think are important.

BANKING AND CREDIT

A true credit "Catch 22" is helping to fuel economic contraction worldwide. Banks are taking their government bailout funds and...buying government securities, instead of providing business loans and consumer credit. Credit access is being cut, and credit standards are becoming increasingly stringent, except in cases where a business is self-financing just to liquidate its inventory or to put sales on its books.

Please take a quick glimpse at this article. Click on http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106716/How-to-Blow-Your-Credit-Limit-Without-Spending.

Synopsis:

The new credit card scheme
Credit card companies are cutting people's limits below their outstanding balances without notification. » Why?

In a society where there is utter dependence upon credit for fuel, where savings are actually negative (e.g., where people have to pay for their ongoing expnses using borrowed funds), and immediate gratification is a consumption propellant, credit card companies have not only decided to drastically cut lines of credit (even for their very best customers), give belated (and embarrassing) notification of this bad news, and are almost universally charging over limit fees to customers who were not over their contractual limits. Without consumer credit, there can be no economic stimulus or recovery. Period. The credit card companies (affiliates of bailed-out and bloated banks) know this, of course, but it seems that they are not fully in accord to stimulate anyone's economy except that of their executives. If I were judgmental, I would call this type of action, immoral, illegal and treasonous....but, fortunately, I am not sitting in judgment.

If these institutions refuse to become reasonable, civilian credit facilities and a private lending and borrowing business will have to be cobbled together amongst entrepreneurs, vendors and suppliers to fund demand and growth. I would truly delight in seeing this type of a "grassroots" banking movement. Wouldn't you?

SOCIAL MEDIA

If Facebook were to become a nation, it would be the sixth most populous nation in the entire world. The trend toward social and business networking over the internet expands daily. The operators and hosts of these various media are very powerful indeed...we have entrusted them with virtually all of our personal and financial information, as well as with a large amount of our files and records. They offer us instant communication through cyberspace (Frank Herbert would have called it the "folding" of space in his celebrated DUNE series of science fiction books), which gives us a great deal of creative power -- but they hold the key to our destruction. How much do you trust these facilitators? What might make them turn into dominators or decimators? My career would evaporate in a millisecond if I were to be disengaged from social internet media. I sometimes worry about this.

Mark Joyner, a personal development consultant, prolific writer and powerful internet marketer (the inventor of Simpleology) recently sent out a mailing to subscribers to his courses which made the point about social media wonderfully. You have to respect Mark Joyner:

####
Douglas,

Many years ago Seth Godin promoted the importance of blogs ... I thought he was out of his mind.
Well, Seth was right on that one - and I was totally wrong.
Yes, I have my share of accurate predictions, but that was one where I had it wrong ...
Seth was right on another one that I predictedwould fail: his own website "Squidoo."
In fact, I am so willing to admit I was wrong that we are offering a new Cashmap you can downloadright now that will show you how to use Squidoo to get obscene traffic to your site:
http://www.simpleology.com/courses/squidoo/
So, this is an e-tip-of-the-hat to Seth Godin.
Mark
Mark Joyner

Founder of Simpleology
####

THE NEW WORLD ORDER (AGAIN)

Everyone (including Dan Brown, David Icke, Robert Ludlum) loves the notion of a conspiracy. Whether its government cover-ups, traitorous acts, or other manner of domination and puppeteering, it is always interesting to think about. A friend told me that it would not be surprising (Sheesh!) if certain world elitists had "planned" and orchestrated this global financial meltdown just to pave the way toward a New World Order. He mentioned the usual suspects...The Bilderbergers, Skull & Bones, The Trilateral Commission, The Council On Foreign Relations...he stopped short of naming the Illuminati, The Priory of Sion [Zion], and any former U.S. Presidents who had ever been peanut farmers.

Interestingly, the recent G20 Summit started stirring up ideas about neo-globalism and The New World Order. A wonderful article in the Financial Times weekly magazine brought this up for discussion. You'll find this article by going to http://pages.update.ft.com/us/newsletter/april-2009/us-default.htm, and you can download a .pdf of the whole edition of the magazine by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?ungcg2ozmjm. I believe that we will see a continuing trend toward globalism, a decreasing dominance by the United States, and an increasing firming up of the EU Members as a sub-alliance within this new G20 organization. Once an organization, subsidized by its constituent governments (and their respective ability to collect taxes), is created, it grows. G20 will grow into something bigger than the WTO or the UN, but these latter two will continue to exert their influence on world events.

INTERNET CONTROLS

Some years ago, there were pay toilets in the United States. There are still a number of gasoline stations who charge for air (the kind that surrounds us, but that we sometimes need to put into our tires). In Illinois (in the U.S.) there is serious talk about restricting internet access for young people -- someone always wants to contol access, tax or regulate anything that promises to permit the free flow of information. I believe this is because many of us believe that the people around us are as dangerous as we believe ourselves to be...and that we can even exploit them with punishment and payment. Censorship, like slavery, is about as likely to vanish from contemporary society as are toll booths on bridges.

You can download an article about this Illinois sensation at http://www.mediafire.com/?1oztyo00qzw. Parents want to protect their children from predators, obscenity, violence and bad influences. The easiest solution (since it is difficult to personally invest time in monitoring and mentoring children, and instilling values in them by virtue of example) is to keep them off of social media. This is rather like stopping terrorism by blocking overseas telephone calls. It is not likely to be successful.

What is likely to be successful is for governments worldwide to find innovative ways of taxing internet access -- right now we worry about cable, telephony and connection fees, but soon (within the next three years) internet access will be taxed; there are so many users, and so much dependence that governments will find this an irresistable solution for the repayment of all of the debt created by the global bailout of the failing private sector by the public sector.
LEADERSHIP AND GREATNESS

Intelligent leadership and intelligent writing are dying arts, and are subject to ever-diminishing standards and expectations. A new writer for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (you can get a free subscription to this wonderful organization's newsletter by going to http://thetnnwomnigadget.blogspot.com/ , has written a passionate, plainly human essay on the topic of greatness. Yossi Feigenson, who will be a Featured Columnist with TNNW [A column titled, "REAL ESTATE - AND OTHER THINGS OF VALUE"] is a professional real estate broker -- but his also an apt student of Human behavior and a delightful conversationalist. Download Yossi's essay by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?2mgyiymynlw. He poses an interesting question: "When the opportunity to do something important arises, will you be ready?"

CAREER SURVIVAL SKILLS

The greatest civilizations in recorded history have been built on the efforts of the middle class, of middle management and middle children. The middle world has historically been a stabilizer and a buffer between the immoral robber barons and the indigent sucklings at the government's nipple (some of these latter people hate some of these former people, and vice versa).

The middle class, and middle management are fast disappearing. They are increasingly unemployed, without credit, without direction and without economic financial skills. The latchkey kids of the streets and the super-rich have wonderfully-honed survival skills, and cultivated resources. Unemployed middle management folks have very limited entrepreneurial and social skills. They are so used to conformism and dependencies that they have been rendered defenseless without a conventional career-to-retirement path to follow. These people have very limited alternatives; they can join the increasing ranks of the poor; they can become innovators and self-employed titans; or, they can cease to live. My bet is that many will join the ranks of the poor, and that many will come to hate the institutions that they once served and counted upon for protection from the realities of tight budgeting, salesmanship, fierce competition and cold fear. Expect a rise in violent crime, identity theft and pockets of anti-government groups forming their own hives and re-inventing their ideas about social structure.
The only portion of the middle class that will be given a pass from intolerable hardship and gut-tearing disillusionment will be those who go to work for the government in some form or fashion. As unemployment continues to rise, expect an increasing perecentage of the "middle" population to working for government agencies, government contractors and other public sector positions of bureaucratic creation and taxpayer funding. The ultimate tax base will be government employees simply tithing a portion of their paychecks back to the government -- this is reminiscent of waste recycling. We need private sector entrepreneurs, and we need them soon!

***

In closing, I wanted to wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season, and to visit with me at three locations. Click. Lurk. Favoritize. Subscribe. Enjoy...

http://braintenance.blogspot.com/.

http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/

http://douglascastleiep.blogspot.com/

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, CIOF, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, LinkedIn, singularity, transportation, IT, intelligence, complexity theory, energy sources, shortages, climatic change, pop-culture, survivalism, mergers and acquisitions...

__________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...