Perspective by Stuart Knight

A good friend of mine shared this video with me a while back and I found its message to be very insightful.

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Scam of the Century?

In what many call the Scam of the Century, Bernie Madoff, a once highly respected man in the finance community confessed to misleading his investors and in the process cheating them out of an estimated $50 billion. To put his operation in perspective, Madoff managed to wipe out around the same amount of capital for his investors as the Enron mega-scandal that so many of us are aware of. What's more, he managed to go largely undetected by financial regulators for decades presenting himself as a pillar in his community by "lending his investment expertise" to various charitable foundations and initiatives.

Madoff used a method called a Ponzi Scheme in which investors are paid with the incoming cash that new investors contribute. His variation was slightly more involved but the same basic concept holds true.

(click the continue reading link)


There is really much to be said about the kind of man that can knowingly cheat individuals out of their hard earned money. To take it even further one can also question the type of society that indirectly encourages this type of behaviour. Recently the trend of financial scandals added the whole mortgage mess has done a lot to throw a wrench in the credibility of the financial system. The performance based culture we all live may be in some ways partially responsible, from CEOs playing with accounting records to meet profit targets to professional athletes using performance enhancing drugs to get or maintain an edge, the fact is that we as a society venerate winners and discard losers. This in no way attempts to find an excuse for Madoff's reprehensible actions but rather attempts to find an ounce of cause for what I to refer to as a crisis in credibility we as a society face. Sparing a more in-depth analysis I would just say although his untruthful ways are much to blame for what he did there were also other societal factors that also did their part too.

As I prepare to enter into the corporate world I hope that my ambition does not lead me into the situations similar to the ones mentioned. I have always admired individuals who count on their own hard work to propel them forward and in my experience such accomplishments are always sweeter victories.

If you're interested in learning more about the story behind the scandalclick here for a very good documentary explaining the Madoff affair . Highly recommended.



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Clever

via scaryideas.com



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Words of Wisdom

With graduation season upon us I felt that it was appropriate to dedicate a post to my fellow class of '09ers. Steve Jobs' 2006 keynote address to the Stanford graduating class has long been a speech that I found a great amount of encouragement in and with the less than ideal times that we are facing his message really hits home.

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News from Apple

For those of us wondering if the current economic climate would compel Apple to reduce its prices, an answer has finally been provided. At its software developer's conference on Monday the company announced that effective immediately the price of the current version of the iPhone would be lowered to $99USD. Price reductions on the MacBook Pro were also announced. The move came alongside the unveiling of the new version of the iPhone, dubbed the 3G S for its faster speed it includes some new features like an upgraded camera and a compass.


In my opinion I think this was a very good decision by the company. The lower price is expected to double demand and the new version is sure to keep Apple die-hards satisfied for the time being. It will also be interesting to see what strategic moves Apple make as it tries to grow its market share among business users and fight off new competitors.


Ftr. I'm a blackberry user and it would take a lot for me to make the switch. Although, if I were able to get Blackberry Connect running on an iPhone then Apple's case becomes a little more interesting.

(Bonus) New Iphone 3g S commercial below:

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A story of a very impressive young man...

At age 12 young Mustafa Ahmed has already started to make a positive impact on his community. As a spoken word artist he delves into issues that most children his age are unaware of. One of his recent poems, “A Single Rose” which is provided in the link below, earned him a standing ovation at the Hot Docs film festival from a crowd that was littered with industry elites.

Profiled in a recent edition of the Toronto Star, this young man’s story is a remarkable example of some of the truly positive things that are going on in our city. MITC commends Mustafa on his accomplishments thus far and hopes he continues to do positive things for himself and his community.

You can read the full article on Mustafa’s story here.

You can also view the video of him performing “A Single Rose” here.

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Congratulations! You are now one of the proud owners of GM!

Monday marked the historical demise of the former North American industry giant. Following much anticipation, the troubled auto maker sought bankruptcy court protection with hopes of subsequently emerging a more "leaner and meaner" force in the intensely competitive market for automobiles.

GM's decline wasn't a sudden fall, in fact, the automaker had long been suffering from a shrinking market share and a shift in consumer preferences to more fuel efficient cars brought on by the recent spike in energy prices. The credit crisis and the recession that followed sealed the company's fate. To prevent the collapse of the company and the catastrophic chain reaction it would have caused, the Canadian and American governments invested capital that would see them own approximately 72% of the company. In return for a 12% stake, Ontario and the Federal government provided about $9.5 billion in relief of which an estimated $7.8 is expected to be forgiven. Industry experts calculate that for the governments to recover their investments the company would need to be worth about $69 billion, a valuation which is a long way from where they are at currently.

I'm always all for a genuine success story where the underdog triumphs against adversity and comes out victorious at the end. The prospects for this one to me, however, don't seem too promising for a number of reasons. Despite my pessimistic viewpoints, I truly hope the management succeeds in turning the company around, after all, since we as taxpayers now have an ownership stake I'm certain we'd all like to see some kind of return on our investment.

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Gnarles

This is a live rendition of one of my favourite Gnarles Barkley songs done at the legendary Abbey Road studio. Cee-Lo absolutely kills this performance.

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When money stopped the world from going around...

Since it became headline worthy the Credit Crisis is a term that we have been bombarded with from every imaginable media outlet. Even though the problem originated and is mostly felt in the States, the global nature of our economy prevented us from being immune to its effects. The complexity of the whole process left many of us clueless as to how it actually happened and what, if any, implications it would have on us. The video below does an amazing job of clearly explaining the events that lead up to and the culprits responsible for the mess. Hopefully our leadership succeeds in rescuing the economy from this disaster and prevents anything of this magnitude from happening again.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

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Rawseee

Banger! Had this shit on repeat for the last hour. This should have definitely been on the album.

Tyga been going hard too these days

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"Enjoy Every Sandwich..."

Self-admittedly, I am aware that I often ignore some of the minor things in life, throughout the course of attempting to achieve my goals. Although this results-driven approach has served me well in terms of attaining some of those targets, I am conscious of the fact it has caused some of the other aspects of my life to lag. 

Last night I came across a quote by rock singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. In the final stages of his battle with terminal lung cancer when asked if there was anything about life that his imminent death had allowed him to gain a better understand about, he replied, "... just how much you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich." 

Hearing his response did not induce an immediate epiphany followed by a sudden change in attitude. Rather, it allowed me to better realize that ambition in many cases is not without consequence. In my view, if an individual understands and accepts these consequences then any lamenting about the lost opportunities down the line should fall on deaf ears. That being said, the subjectiveness of the quote leads to a number of different interpretations. Whether it caused you to think like I did, or think nothing at all, just thought I'd share.

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We Are L.A.S.E.R.S.

Lupe Fiasco has been one of the few artists in hip-hop to successfully balance the very difficult task of delivering thought-provoking content while simultaneously maintaining his commercial appeal. In a recent blog posting in relation to his forthcoming effort entitled, "L.A.S.E.R.S" he released a manifesto which may be an indication of the underlying themes the album will touch on. Although I'm sure most would agree the list includes all noble causes, I just don't see some of them happening in my lifetime. In any event, I am still anxiously anticipating the album's release. You can check out the manifesto below.

THE L.A.S.E.R.S. MANIFESTO

To Every Man, Woman & Child...

1. We Want An End To The Glamorization Of Negativity In The Media.

2. We Want An End To Status Symbols Dictating Our Worth As Individuals.

3. We Want A Meaningful And Universal Education System.

4. We Want Substance In The Place Of Popularity.

5. We Will Not Compromise Who We Are To Be Accepted By The Crowd.

6. We Want The Invisible Walls That Separate By Wealth, Race & Class To Be Torn Down.

7. We Want To Think Our Own Thoughts.

8. We Will Be Responsible For Our Environment.

9. We Want Clarity & Truth From Our Elected Officials Or They Should Move Aside.

10. We Want Love Not Lies.

11. We Want An End To All Wars. Foreign & Domestic (Violence).

12. We Want An End To The Processed Culture Of Exploitation, Over-Consumption & Waste.

13. We Want Knowledge, Understanding & Peace.

14. WE WILL NOT LOSE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOSERS, WE ARE LASERS!!!

Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.
Lasers Are The Future.

We're Not Losers...We Are L.A.S.E.R.S.!!!

Love Always Shines Every-time Remember 2 Smile!
-LF

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