Gongol.com Archives: May 2016

May 2, 2016

Canadian Supreme Court recognizes Metis as Indians

The Metis, historically identified as the offspring of native or "First Nations" peoples and the French fur traders who arrived later, have long had trouble obtaining legal recognition. Part of the problem, naturally, is that the mixed ancestry of the Metis meant they didn't form a well-defined group. The definition part of the process isn't going to be simple, but the legal recognition is long overdue.

Russia and China close the "weapons gap" with the United States

Their military weapons are improving, and it's hard not to suspect that cyber-espionage against the US defense sector has played a role

Mark Zuckerberg enlarges his domain over Facebook

Investors who care about voting control might need to pay attention

Carnival-affiliated cruise ship docks in Cuba

At some point, Castro Communism has to fall. Will accelerating tourism and economic exposure help hasten that downfall? On a related note, the cruise is being conducted by a Carnival-owned startup cruise line promising that people can take a seven-day cruise and "transform lives". Seems like a stretch.

Nebraska tourism commission paid speaker $44,000 for 90-minute talk

Some quick math: $44,000 for 90 minutes is a rate of $29,333 an hour. At 40 hours a week times 50 weeks per year, that's an annualized rate of just a little shy of $60 million a year. There aren't a lot of people whose time is legitimately valued at that rate, nor is it easy to stomach the idea that a mere speaker could deliver that rate of value to a tourism conference. Seems like a case of spending other people's money on yourself, which Milton Friedman warned usually doesn't result in restraint.