The melancholic rhapsody - Decision Time.

Powerful, yet powerless.
Knowledgeable, yet cannot exploit that knowledge.
Happy, yet sad
Suicidal, yet want to live.
Living, yet dying.

Why does it have to be like this? he asks
Why did he not know this earlier? he asks
Why can he do nothing-absolutely nothing-about this? he asks
Why is he going through this? he asks
Why oh why? he asks

How powerful?
The revelation, for a start.
It works and he has proved it.
They know it works. They know the source.
They just will not or cannot help him.

How knowledgeable?
His whole life has been about acquiring knowledge by observing.
No doubt about that either, he has proof.
They know it and they know how good he can be.
They just will not or cannot help him.

Why is he so happy?
He has a good wife, patient mother, a blessed child and a supportive family.
He has crossed the spiritual Rubicon.
He has been handed a unique vision.
He shoulders the heavy responsibility of a generation, which saddens him.

Why suicidal?
The responsibility is heavy...very heavy.
He is tired...very tired.
He sees no end in sight, yet he can feel the end is near.
He wants to live...to see this through.

He is dying as he lives.
He must see it through.
He will see it through.
Then he thought: I know why the path seem closed.
He has to do something...something special.

He will start straight away.
Everything else: must wait.

Show me your good side

'Show me your good side' is a poem by James Smythe (c) 2009

v.1.

'Good and Evil are present in this world
and between the two there can be no compromise'
These were George Bush's last words
Is this why we are wagging wars around the world?
I will say that there is good and evil in everyone
No one is intrinsically good or evil

So, show me your good side
and I will show you mine.


v.2.

There is good and evil
If you show your good side most of the time
then you are probably good
and If you show your evil side most of the time
then you are probably evil
but no one is intrinsically good or evil

So, show me your good side
and I will show you mine.


v.3.

Show me your good side
and I will show you mine
This presupposes that you need to show me your good side
before I can show you mine
So if you don't show me your good side
I will only show my evil side

So, show me your good side
and I will show you mine.


v.4.

Check out the irony
What do I want to be?
Good or Evil
To be good, I need to show my good side most of the time
I cannot do this if I have to rely on you to show your good side
You can however help me by showing me your good side

So, show me your good side
and I will show you mine


v.5.

I will show you my good side
If it helps you show your good side
because it doesn't matter to me if I show my good side first
and I always want to engage with your good side
If I show my good side and you show your evil side
Remember there is good and evil in everyone

So, show me your good side
and I will show you mine


v.6.

'Between the two there can be no compromise'
Is this the rhetoric of an extreme ideology?
Lack of compromise assumes intrinsic ideology of good and evil
I don't buy that Mr Bush, I think you are wrong
No one is intrinsically good or evil
I want to engage with the good sides of even my enemies

So, show me your good side
and I will show you mine

The Bernard Madoff Case

The case of Bernard Madoff and the missing millions is very intriguing ( BBC News ). The true picture of what actually happened will only become apparent many years down the line after what will be countless investigations and prolonged litigations. What is however clear is that a lot of shirts have been burnt! $50 billion and counting ( Yahoo News ), a life lost ( Independent ) and countless depressing stories of lives ruined ( Telegraph ).

In the absence of the full facts of this case; and acknowledging that a lot has been written about this case already (and a lot more will undoubtedly be written by commentators, speculators, gossips, insiders and their ilk); I will now attempt to add my own speculative thoughts on this sorry case.

How could so many seemingly rational people and institutions have been defrauded to such a large extent?

Link
Access International Advisors
Axa
Spain's Banco Santander
Banque Benedict Hentsch Fairfield Partners SA
Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro’s charitable foundation
BBVA
BNP Paribas
Bramdean Alternatives Ltd
EIM Group
EFG International
Elise Wiesal Foundation for Humanity
Fairfield Greenwich Group
Fix Asset Management
GMAC chairman Jacob Ezra Merkin's Ascot Partners
Norman Braman
HSBC
Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation
Julian J. Levitt Foundation
Royal Bank of Scotland
Societe Generale
Yeshiva University
......and list continue to rise

I think it is safe to assume that for all these people to have gotten involved with this man, he must have had some endearing qualities and a strong value proposition to the investors. After all it is reasonable to assume that the fraud might never have seen the light of day had it not been for the credit crunch and global financial meltdown. The attempts now to vilify him now may therefore be premature.

I postulate that this fraud is based on the human nature to do good and be seen to be doing good. The reason why I might want to do good will surely be different from why you (the reader) want to do good. However, we can converge on the notion that doing good has its merits. So Bernard approaches you to invest in this fund (this high performance fund) and also appeals to your charitable side. And if you are one of those that doing good translates to increasing your publicity or profile, then you are in because, Mr Madoff, a socialite, is very well connected in very high places. He was after all the former big cheese at the Nasdaq Stock Market and if anyone knows how to make money, he must. He convinces you to invest and you put all your life savings into the fund.

But there is a problem: Charity by their very nature is unlike other investment in which you expect a financial return. You put your money towards a good causes and you loose that money. The only return you will get is being recognised by the society for doing good work or just the satisfaction that your money is being deployed to help other people. I suspect the initial motivation of Mr Madoff to set up this fund was honourable but the other human nature: greed might have set in. Not necessarily greed from Mr Madoff himself but from some corporate and individual investors.

The greed issue:

It is possible that in the early days of this fund, Mr Madoff provided valuable return for his 'investors'. These returns may not be in form of direct cash growth on their investment but in terms of societal respect and clout. Making it more likely for the investors to succeed in their different business enterprises. However, as other see these, they want a piece of the pie! At this point Mr Madoff should have seen the obvious problem. The bigger the financial fund, the bigger the return to investors and without any substantial return backing up the fund, it is only a matter of time before the deck of card collapses. The scenario will then ensue whereby he will have to take from Peter to pay Paul! This case may have been sustained for a little longer had it not been for the fact that Peter and Paul, because of the credit crunch, want to be paid simultaneously. With no new Peter to take from, the whole system collapses (hence the Ponzi scheme analogy).

The Losers:

No matter the greater good that might or might not have motivated Mr Madoff, he has presided over a devastating fiasco. My concerns are neither with Mr Madoff nor are they with the individuals or corporate bodies which invested in these funds simply for self glorification and exploitation of the charity concept for their own individual financial interests. My deepest concerns and regrets are reserved to those important charities who cannot now continue with their good works. And also to those individuals who were motivated by the demonstrable good work some of the charities to an extent that they put their life savings into the fund. The division between those who genuinely wanted to do good and those paying lip service to doing good is difficult to disentangle but each person will know deep down within themselves. It is those who genuinely wanted to do good by investing in this fund that are the real losers of this sorry saga. I hope Mr Madoff will have enough time to reflect on the devastating impact of his action and inaction.

Going forward:

Doing good remains a laudable goal as humans and this saga should not deter anyone who wish to make significant charitable contribution to the world around them. However, when you go down that path you must surely disentangle what is charity from what is you legitimate right to strive for your financial security. Disentangling these two must be the first step. The idea of spreading your risks is a useful one when making an investment decision and due dellegence is imperative.

An open letter to the son of the Manse (Update)

In August, I wrote an open letter to the PM about a message I felt at the time. All in all, I have been very impressed with the way the PM has conducted the affairs of the state from those dark months when everyone attempted to vilify him. It is no doubt that the political rewards are apparent.

My attention now draws to the issue of how to help people during these hard times and one particular issue has come into sharp focus: The VAT issue! The reduction in VAT from 17.5% to 15% will have minimum effect on the spending behaviour of consumers. I rather like the proposal by Mr Cameron to differ VAT payment for small and medium businesses for up to 6 months. If we discard politicking, then this will have significant benefits to small businesses and jobs, who are after all suffering the aftermath of the excesses of the Banks. I suspect the PM is aware of this in any case.

A stroke of genius

As we move into the new year and the recession starts to bite even harder, it will be a stroke of genius if the PM and his Chancellor introduces this VAT deferral scheme. The scheme might work like this:

1. Small and Medium companies have their VAT differed for 6 months
2. At the end of the 6 months, if the VAT are not paid, then interest is charged at the Bank of England lending rates.

The benefits of this scheme will be these:

• Small companies will have to spend money (which will stimulate the economy) to take full advantage.
• Government will be lending money to small business through the 'backdoor' at a time when the Banks are busy building up their reserves and are less willing to support small businesses with cash.

I suspect that this is not news to the PM. I wonder if the plan is to try the VAT reduction route first (17.5% to 15%) to stimulate consumer spending, then go down the VAT deferral route to inject some capital to small businesses. By so doing, the PM and his Chancellor would have lessened the cost of the VAT deferral scheme by 2.5%! Maybe we can start putting that saving towards the repayment of the huge debt that Great Britain PLC will be saddled with over the next couple of years of hopefully not so deep recession.

eBay Adventure!

My last instalment on my eBay adventure is coming to 2 years in January 2009! Guess what? I have not gotten as far as setting up an account! A lot has happened in the last 2 years that has resulted in putting this to the back of my list of priorities. Maybe one day, I will get round to it.

For now, it is noBay not eBay...

Chronic Psychosis?!

I woke up today with the above word playing in my head. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia defines psychosis as "a loss of contact with reality, usually including false ideas about what is taking place or who one is (delusions) and seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations)".

What determines that reality to which a 'Psychotic' patient has lost contact? One may look to the immediate family. If the immediate family is dissatisfied with the current state of affairs and believes that the patient has an unrealistic or false sense of the reality, then the patient may be perceived as psychotic. The question then is how 'real' is the immediate family's reality? We hit an impasse.

If I were to broaden this, it will appear that society may offer a way out - Democracy. If we were to cast a vote on the state of mind of the patient, then a majority vote in favour of the patient's psychosis will be proof...or will it? In corporate parlance, a two-third majority in favour may be a better proof of the patient's psychosis. History however tells us that democratic majority have been wrong. It however, remains a weapon in our armoury of testing how 'real' is reality.

Some Psychotic episodes can more readily be diagnosed. For example if someone was going about breaking the natural laws of the land especially those laws that espouses right to life, right to dignity and capacity of humans to understand the difference between good and evil.

If we discount those easy to diagnose cases of psychosis and concentrate on someone who feels a 'divine' calling. Someone who has identified his purpose for being on earth and wish to achieve that purpose. He may hurt or upset his loved ones, he may alienate a vast sway of people but he perceives this to be his destiny. This destiny conforms with and re-enforces a great chunk of the natural laws. Shall we tag on him a label of Chronic Psychosis simply because we don't understand him?

That is a question for society but I am sure if a loss of contact with reality is the only measure of psychosis, then we have a lot of Chronic Psychosis patients out there: this writer included!

NICE is nice

NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) is nice

--

Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum)

--

please let NICE get on with the important work it has been tasked with.

reference:
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7557000/7557973.stm
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7557000/7557945.stm

An open letter to the son of the Manse

Gordon, or should I say Mr Brown, you don’t know me and I don’t know you but I have been asked to pass on a message to you. The message is simple: Be steadfast in whatever you believe is right. Do not sway from your core beliefs even if it costs you votes within your party or your prime ministerial duties.

Politics is a dirty game and you know that better than most. However, politics can be a way of making a true difference in people’s lives. The core beliefs I hold dear and my mind tells me that you do too, are: respect of self and others, having good work ethics and financial prudence. My God, Britain needs all these now more than ever. A lot of people’s lives are being impacted adversely but something miraculous is also happening in Britain of today.

Less of telephoning people at home to canvass their views but more of work on global poverty reduction, trades agreement efforts and adopting strategies that will put the ‘great’ back into Great Britain. For now at least, put politicking aside. Be firm on your team of advisers. Don’t suffer fools gladly.

So, get to work Mr Brown. Do what YOU think is right. Follow your faith. And let God be the judge of what happens next.

My Epiphany

I had what I can only term my epiphany in the last 2 weeks and I wish to share it. I only hope I can find the right words to capture what actually happened.

BACKGROUND:

The last year has been very challenging in a number of ways for myself, my family and my work. However, I am taking steps to resolve each problem (or difficulties) in the rational ways that I am accustomed to. I couldn't help but ask why I have to deal with some of these problems.

I wouldn't consider myself religious but I have great links with Islam and Christianity. Overall, I strongly belief that the thread that binds the world's great religions is stronger than that which divides them. My believes have a strong moral underpinning and that the phenomena of this world cannot be explained by chance alone. Different groupings explain this in different ways but I will not go into that now. In my case, I believe in the existence of God or a Supreme Being.

WHAT HAPPENED:

I was just reflecting on the events of the past year and where I am today...and suddenly I looked up (to the sky) and asked God: why am I having to go through 'this'? The key point here is that I was not angry with God but just curious. The best analogy here is the way a Son might talk to his Dad; something like: why did you let me make those mistakes? I felt a smile (a smirk perhaps!) from somewhere deep. I can't explain it. The response was however, clear enough...'You are ready for this and I know you'll be fine'.

Don't annoy the aged - you will only have yourself to blame!

Another telephone prank....they are funny though!

Is a good work ethic enough?

BACKGROUND

I used to think that you can achieve anything if you have a good work ethic. Now I am not so sure. I have never consciously defined to myself what a good work ethic looks like but I tended to know it when I see it. However, I met someone recently who has what I will describe as good work ethic but I am not sure if he can achieve his objectives without 'something else'. I will use this medium to explore why good work ethic may not be enough and identify what that extra 'something' is that will help achieve desired personal objectives.

WHAT IS A GOOD WORK ETHIC?

The question of what constitutes a good work ethic is something I have never considered. Is it a nebulous concept? The following comments comes to mind when I think about a good work ethic:

1. Being prepared to work for your daily 'bread'.

2. Nothing great is achieved through laziness

3. If I work hard for something, the outcome is infinitely more satisfying.

4. Work is something we may not want but whilst we have to do it, we should do it well to the best of our ability.

5. Everything I have (which may not be much), I have worked hard for.

6. Having a good work ethics means being honest with yourself about work.

I will now proceed to consider what other commentators on work ethic have written on the subject:

• Wikipedia describes a work ethic as a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence...(and) may include being reliable, having initiative or maintaining social skills [ 1 ]. This entry in Wikipedia had to be qualified because of what it terms 'weasel words' which may (or maynot) compromise the article's quality.

• A commentator on work ethics described it to include 'not only how one feels about their job, career or vocation, but also how one does his/her job or responsibilities. This involves attitude, behavior, respect, communication, and interaction; how one gets along with others. Work ethics demonstrate many things about whom and how a person is' [ 2 ].

• Another commentator on work ethics stated the following:
  
  The so-called work ethic is generally construed to be a good and laudable thing. It fancies itself a virtue, but like most double-edged swords, it must be handled with care.
  
  An ethic, by definition, is a set of moral principles. The word derives from the Greek ethos -- which in turn is “the characteristic spirit or attitudes of a community, people, or system.” Applying work as a modifier, suggests that the work ethic is a characteristic attitude of a group toward what constitutes the morality of work.This can, unfortunately, be taken to extremes [ 3 ].

I will conclude here that the subject of work ethics polarises opinion. This is probably due to the hijack of the topic by 2 distincts groups: i) Those that want to do nothing; and ii) Those that want something tantamount to slave labour. However, for everyone else, there is something valuable to be said for a good work ethic. What looks good to me may be different from what looks good to you. However, if we are to work together, we must agree on what good looks like. I have no doubt that good work ethic remain a valuable tool for achieving your desired objectives but why am I coming to the realisation that this may not be enough?

IS GOOD WORK ETHIC ENOUGH?

If we assume that a good work ethics means simply that you are hard working, then this is not enough to achieve your personal objectives. If however, we broaden the definition of a good work ethic to include hard working and choosing the right attitude, right behaviour, respect of self and others and choosing appropriate communication and interaction with colleagues, then achieving personal objectives is very possible.

What do I think?

Well I will agree with the broader definition of good work ethic and will therefore stay with my original belief that a good work ethic is integral to achieving a personal objective which is lasting. And that there is no need to search for that special 'something' to complement a good work ethic.

In the case of the person I met recently, I mistook being hard working to be equivalent to having a good work ethic. And being hard working is definitely not enough.

Not my kind of victory!

Sorry to use this medium to express my innermost thoughts about the kind of week I have had. As I sit here with a glass of my Argentinian Chardonnay, let us call it therapy!

For obvious reasons, I cannot go into any details. However, I say this: If someone ask you to give up what is rightfully yours, he damn well must be willing to negotiate and compromise! If, however, he uses his position to get his way, then he might loose something greater in the process.

This is Pyrrhic victory...he won the battle but lost the war...alas, not my kind of victory.

My eBay adventure - 2nd instalment

'By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail' - Benjamin Franklin (from Brain Quote).

As I embark on my 'cyberventure' into eBay, I clearly haven't prepared. Normally before I embark on something like this I will do some ground work. In this case I will search Google (and any of the other major search engines) and blog sites to see what problems other people have had with eBay in order that I may avoid some of the pitfalls. I might even want to see if there are sites out there which offer better services. No, No, No..not this time! I will just dive straight in - after all I have to clear my loft (and fast!).

What is eBay anyway?

A site that helps you sell?
An auction site (I am indifferent to auctions - maybe because I have never partaken in one before)?
A merchant?

Well eBay claim to be: 'The World's Online Marketplace®, enabling trade on a local, national and international basis. With a diverse and passionate community of individuals and small businesses, eBay offers an online platform where millions of items are traded each day.' That sounds great to me...

Will keep you posted on how I'm getting on...

[amendment: It is 'eBay' not 'e-bay' - what do I know?]

Children's Mutilation by our Canine friends - Will somebody do something?

Yet another case of an innocent child being killed by a dog ! Over the last 6 months in the UK, there has been a number of reports of children being killed by dogs (1, 2). Although cases of this nature has occurred in the past, anecdotal evidence may suggest that this is an increasing trend! Why then is someone not doing anything about it?

From a rational standpoint, the actions of 4 main actors might have contributed to these tragedies: The dog, its owner, the child and his/her parent(s). In all the above cases the children were less than 5 years old. It is therefore unreasonable to lay the blame on the children. What about the other actors?

The Dogs

Undoubtedly some breeds of dogs are more aggressive than others. The following are the breed of dogs which caused the mutilations in some of the cases: Rottweilers (x2 cases) and Bull Terrier (x2 cases). The strengthening of the Dangerous Dogs Act may now be required, although the DogsTrust may disagree.

The Owners

The owners of these dogs must shoulder a significant responsibility for these unfortunate incidents. It has been suggested that the lack of appropriate care for these animals has contributed to these attacks (3, 4). A mandatory custodial sentence must be considered for owners who has demonstrated a stark lack of onus.

The Parents

As a young parent myself, I will avoid putting my baby in an environment where this is likely to happen. Most parents will act responsibly but these tragedies are sometimes unavoidable. As long the parents have taken reasonable steps, then there is nothing more to say.

What is not excusable is the irresponsible owners of a dangerous dogs with small children. These group of owners must be sent to jail and the keys thrown away...

An e-bay account setup - How hard can it be?

I consider myself to be IT savvy, but the e-bay 'thing' passed me by. I just wasn't interested. Too much hype, I thought.

Well, as part of my new year resolution, I wish to get rid of a number of stuff with minimum fuss. I don't have too much time, so I am devoting a day to get all my gear on e-bay - how hard could it be? It will have to be done with military precision.

The critical factors for me are:

1. Time it takes to get the stuff online
2. Time it takes to sell the stuff

I hope e-bay will live up to the hype and deliver. I will be starting on a blank canvass i.e. read all the online instructions etc. I'll let you know how I get on.

Surely if I am disappointed, it will neither be because I am a technology novice nor because I am selling the wrong sets of goods...