Tag: USA

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The US Citizenship conundrum

Mark Cathcart

It’s become a constant, “why aren’t they citizens?” Questions over immigration eventually always end up with a debate, almost always unproductive, sometimes angry about why people who live in the US have not become US Citizens. It’s my view, that people who pose these questions, do so mostly because they’ve never had to apply themselves. They have no idea how expensive the process is, how long it takes, and for many how difficult it is. I get a weekly email, it contains a 1-byte GIF, which is used for tracking. When the mail reader loads the .gif file via http, … Continue reading The US Citizenship conundrum

Life, Politics, politics, privacyLeave a comment

Privacy: Europe vs the USA

Mark Cathcart

On a day when the likelihood is you’ve been bombarded with GDPR emails from companies you’ve done business with, or just whose websites you’ve registered with, there is no better comparison of the difference between how the European Commision and the USA are dealing with our privacy. While the new General Data Protection Regulation comes into force tomorrow (May 25th), which isn’t as many think, a reaction to the Facebook privacy scandal, the regulation which took seven years of negotiation, and will force changes in a braod range of industries, including, but not limited to technology, advertising, medicine and banking. … Continue reading Privacy: Europe vs the USA

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There is no British history without the history of empire

Mark Cathcart

Off the back of the British government “Winrush” scandal, The right honorable, David Lammy MP, made the following speech. It exposes the myth of immigration for many, many millions of people. The same is true for the racial divide here in the USA. They had no choice, they didn’t want to go somewhere, they are all here, because “we” were all there. While it’s not an identical situation here in America, as much of the current immigration furore is about immigrants in the last 5o-years. There is no British history without the history of empire. I am here because you were … Continue reading There is no British history without the history of empire

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In The Heart Of Colorado’s Opioid Crisis, This Rural Doctor Is An Army Of One

Mark Cathcart

Overdose deaths in Colorado in general have grown in the last decade, according to the Colorado Health Institute. In 2014, San Luis Valley-area healthcare providers began limiting how opioid drugs are prescribed. But, as High Country News reported, the resulting decline in how often painkillers were prescribed was followed by a surge in heroin use. Here is a 3rd post in 2-days on the state of Rural America, I listened to this on Colorado Public Radio (CPR) on station KCFR to which I’m an evergreen subscriber. It is worth stating the obvious, that since rural counties as much more sparsely … Continue reading In The Heart Of Colorado’s Opioid Crisis, This Rural Doctor Is An Army Of One

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BBC Radio 4 – Faking It: Trump and the Media

Mark Cathcart

Time to take a step back from the precipice or increase the pressure? In this BBC Radio 4 audio program, Alan Rusbridger, former Editor of The Guardian, talks to journalists and news consumers across America in dispatches from President Trump’s ‘running war’ with the US media Alan asks why the media has been cast as Trump’s ‘opposition party’, how they are responding to the dilemmas and opportunities the new administration brings and whether the President is right to claim that the ‘mainstream media’ has lost the trust of the American people. Listen here: BBC Radio 4 – Faking It: Trump and … Continue reading BBC Radio 4 – Faking It: Trump and the Media

Life, Politics, politics, religion2 Comments

Sweden, Refugees and that Trump thing

Mark Cathcart

Even before the Trump administration, America has taken pitifully few refugees and asylum seekers from the crisis it started in the post 9/11 era. This is especially true when you look at it’s geographical size, and financial strength. At 20x the size of Sweden, and over 18x the GDP, America has taken just 10% of the refugees Sweden. By now anyone paying attention will have heard about the debacle of Trumps speech where he attempted to justify his Executive Order on Immigration by pointing to “what happened in Sweden last night”. If you have not, you can read the whole … Continue reading Sweden, Refugees and that Trump thing

politics, Politics, workLeave a comment

Organizational chaos or Conspiracy?

Mark Cathcart

[Updated: This post was updated at 11pm Central to include the link to Matt Macowiacks tweet as a great example.]It’s easy to fallback on the current debacle in the US administration as a massive conspiracy. Conspiracies work for people who are afraid, and lack experience, conspiracy theory assumes someone is in charge. Organization chaos theory was a big thing at the end of the 1980’s, Tom Peters book “Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for a Management Revolution” blazed a path of revolution for the newly minted management consultants through the mid-1990’s. I’ve no idea what they teach in business schools these days, … Continue reading Organizational chaos or Conspiracy?

Life, Politics, politics, tax3 Comments

Can America afford it’s rural communities

Mark Cathcart

We hear a lot about the “takers” in America, a classification for, usually inner-city people who survive on benefits, unemployment, housing, medical, food stamps and more. Mostly the venom about takers also contains a racial element, it’s directed at black and minority groups who many assume benefit from Government programs without paying in. It’s not often directed at the President himself, but as the New York times pointed out last year, Trump himself could be the ultimate taker. What we don’t hear much about is the affordability of rural towns, and even many of the suburbs. One of America’s greatest … Continue reading Can America afford it’s rural communities

Politics, politics1 Comment

How False Stories Spread And Why People Believe Them

Mark Cathcart

One of the most valuable lessons the administration will learn, is that they cannot control the media, or social media. Constantly making false or inaccurate claims, using false data, or more importantly watching something on cable news and then twisting it to fit your own agenda is a dangerous game. The more accurate and transparent the administration is, the less conspiracy theory talk there will be, the less time it will take to manage the media, the more the administration can focus on what they really want to do. This is a hard lesson to learn, but essential. Otherwise everything … Continue reading How False Stories Spread And Why People Believe Them