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.
