After reading an article about Joe Biden and the work that he’s been doing regarding US-international relations, I have more confidence in him and the direction that the current administration is taking to improve those relations. Today, while having lunch, I turned on the television and caught a Daily Show episode that had an interview with Joe Biden. The interview was conducted on November 17, 2009.

Part 1

Part 2

For me, the “perfect storm” of common knowledge has hit the globe and it is reflected in near simultaneous discussions of a very important topic- the future, the past, the present… how the heck did we make it work, and how the heck do we keep it going?

First, Forbe’s “The World’s Next Great Cities”. Distribution and controlling the supply chain is still very much important.

http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2008/10/23/cities-world-ten-forbeslife-cx_mw_1023cities.html?feed=rss_popstories

Second, The Motley Fool’s “Tech Bailout is Oxymoronic”. In this exercise, I want you to select the word that does not fit: venture capital, start-up, bailout, high-risk, high-reward.

http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2008/12/09/theres-something-oxymoronic-about-a-tech-bailout.aspx

Third, BusinessWeek’s “The U.S. Economy’s Best Bet: The Intangible Sector”. Dear Lord! Somebody gets it! Education and health care- two industries that live and die on innovation, or a lack thereof.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db2008129_060427.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

And finally, countless U.S. Americans sing in chorus, “I got it for cheap!” as depicted in BusinessWeek’s “2008: The Year of Living Cheaply”.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc20081210_696392.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

What does all of this mean? To me, it’s a reminder to the world that we got sidetracked- ‘caught up in the hype. And, even in a time of deep crisis, we should stop and think before taking action. I’m preaching nothing new here, but can we at least stop throwing money at fires? Last time I checked, money was made of trees and trees still burn. It’s not magic. It just happens.