i first heard this song about 5 years ago in a leadership training that i attended. it took me awhile last night (and a lot of searching on the internet using some words that i recall from the song - Walls of Jericho, wealth, South Africa…) and finally I got it.

A lot of us are still being marginalized, really.

Sadly, even in the supposedly meritocratic business-world.

Decisions and judgments based on race, on gender, on sexual orientation, on nationality, on the color of the skin, on appearance, and on age are being made in spite of equal-opportunity employment policies and similar ‘principles’. All these decisions are hidden behind so-called “management prerogative” and “strategic business decisions”.

Let’s call these decisions as what they really are: irrational, non-meritocratic decisions.

Let’s not pretend and be hypocrites about it.

In his own words, on a facebook note about the protest, Chris wrote:

Chris Pesto and Michelle Deferio

Today (Wednesday, November 18th) I left my voice lesson and noticed two adults on campus holding signs that said “Homosexuality is a sin”. First, I would just like to say that I support people with their own opinions. I think that everyone is entitled to their right to think what they want. However, when someone comes on my campus, where I pay tuition to live, I don’t think it’s appropriate to rub such a hateful sign in someone’s face. I decided that because this woman thought it was okay to make me feel uncomfortable in my home, I would retaliate and make her feel just as uncomfortable, if not more.

This woman was wearing a ankle-length corduroy skirt, which, as we all know, is a fashion nono. So, in order to make her feel uncomfortable, I stood next to her and held a sign that said Corduroy skirts are a sin! I don’t think I have ever drawn so much attention in my life. SO many people asked to take a picture with me, I got laughs, high fives and there were the few that even cursed off the woman standing behind me.

As I drew interest to what was going on with myself and the woman with the hateful sign, I started to draw a crowd that stood with me in support. Before I knew it I had 100+ people holding signs for gay rights asking people to honk their horns to support. I was interviewed by a news station, and more than 5 student organization papers, and the post standard of syracuse.

I never expected anybody to come stand by me and support and I appreciate it so much that everyone came! It meant so much and it proved to those ignorant people that we aren’t afraid, and we will put up a fight.

I’m proud that Syracuse has such a homosexual friendly community.

Sin! Sin! Sin! :D

Posted on November 21st, 2009 - 7 Comments

i do this in jest…

then again… hmm.

The United Nations has been asked by a senator to pressure and “seriously” hold the Philippine government accountable for the deaths of more than 50 people in Maguindanao province.

Senator Loren Legarda made this request in a letter dated November 26, 2009 to Navanethem Pillay, high commissioner for the office of UN human rights based in Geneva, Switzerland.

“As a United Nation’s office mandated to promote and protect human rights, may I request you to take this matter up with your constituency of nations in order to put pressure and to seriously hold the government of the Republic of the Philippines accountable for immediate justice to the victims of the massacre as well as to mete out punishment to the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” Legarda said in the letter.

“Whatever the motive is behind the massacre, we condemn this brutal and barbaric acts, all the more that it was committed against the most vulnerable sector of society, women, some of whom were reportedly raped before being executed,” it further said.

Of course, melt ups—like so many trends that involve investor psychology and behavioral economics—are, by definition, almost always unpredictable. Who is to say that investors haven’t been rendered so skittish by the repeated heartbreaks from U.S. stocks that they would make their bets on companies in China, Brazil, and beyond before getting reacquainted with Citigroup (C), General Electric (GE), and Microsoft (MSFT)? Or that the full-fledged return of the individual investor, should it come, to the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq wouldn’t actually be a red flag for the smart money to bail?

Indeed, the last time financial pros talked of the prospect of a melt up was in early 2007, when buyout shops were snapping up companies left and right and hedge funds were putting everything else in play. Money was cheap; risk seemed overrated. So much so, in fact, that the prevailing worry then was that investors would realize there simply wasn’t enough stock to go around to accommodate the flood of buy orders that were supposed to prompt a renaissance for the American stock market. It all ended in tears, of course. Wall Street cratered and took the world economy down with it.

Few are predicting a reprise of the U.S. and global market collapse of 2008 that destroyed trillions in wealth around the world. Yet until this rally attracts a broader base of investors and is supported by robust economic fundamentals instead of short-term trading strategies, it is hard to see a multiyear bull market taking hold.

Q. So what’s that quality you just described?

A. It’s work ethic. You could see the guy had charted a path for himself to make it work with the situation he had. He didn’t ask for any help. He wasn’t victimized by the thing. He just said, “That’s my dad’s business, and I work there.” Confident. Proud.

What critical behavior interviewing does is get at people’s character, and you get to see where work fits in their value system, where pride fits in their value system, where making hard decisions or sacrificing fits in their value system. I mean, you sacrifice and you’re a victim, or you sacrifice because it’s the right thing to do and you have pride in it. Huge difference. Simple thing. Huge difference.

Q. How has your leadership style evolved?

A. I used to be an orchestrator from behind the scenes. I could make stuff happen, but I never wanted to be on point. I could connect dots. I could catalyze activity. I could get other people to do things without being in the front. I sort of engineered it from the back.

Q. And you preferred it that way?

A. At the time I was comfortable with it because I was never comfortable with the spotlight. I took great pleasure and pride in seeing things get done that I knew I had made happen, and when it came time to taking bows, I didn’t do the bow-taking part. I felt good about myself for that because it’s just sort of where I came from. Now I lead a lot more from the front. I have a better appreciation of what people are expecting of me and how people are counting on me.

Q. How have you adjusted your leadership style based on feedback you’ve received?

A. I needed to beef up my operator skills because I’m an instinctive and intuitive guy. I listen, I synthesize, I process, I make judgments. There’s another school of thought — that’s analytics, and I needed to turn the dial a little more toward analytics and a little away from seat-of-the-pants. I didn’t have to turn it a ton, but I have. I have purposely tried to get better grounding in the analytics behind the decision-making and used that to check to see if there was a huge disconnect between what my instinct told me and what the analytics told me.

This is a very interesting read - and the above made me think, specially the part about the “behind-the-scenes” orchestrator who Mr. Green was, before evolving eventually into becoming the face of the company.

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 3) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led an international outcry against the “brutal” violence in southern Philippines, where more than 40 civilians were killed in relation to the upcoming local elections.

Ban condemned “this heinous crime” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice in a statement issued by his spokesperson and released by the UN Manila office.

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, also condemned the killings in Maguindanao.

“I call for calm in the period leading up to the forthcoming elections scheduled for May 2010. In the face of this atrocity, the rule of law and democracy has to prevail,” she said in a statement released by the EC Delegation to the Philippines.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie gave a similar statement.

“I condemn this brutal massacre of innocent civilians, including women, journalists and lawyers. I hope that the authorities in the Philippines will take urgent action to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent further escalation of violence in the run-up to next year’s elections here,” the ambassador said.

“Effective action will be crucial in maintaining confidence in the Philippines’ commitment to protect human rights,” Lillie said.

The United States, through its embassy here, also denounced the killings “in the strongest possible terms.”

All four extended profound condolences to the families of the victims.

“The Secretary General extends heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and hopes that no effort will be spared to bring justice and to hold the perpetrators accountable,” the UN statement said.

The UN, the EU, and the British embassy have a number of programs on human rights in the Philippines.
.
EC’s Ferrero-Waldner was optimistic that justice will prevail in this case. “I note with satisfaction the declaration of the President of the Philippines, that all will be done to bring the perpetrators to justice,” she said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao province, among other areas, following Monday’s killings, which have been described as the worst election-related violence in the nation’s history.

Declaring a state of emergency isn’t enough. Do something about it.

filling up the room quietly now…

A good run has been posted from March 2009, with a minor setback in Jun-Jul - but yet again another upwards race - though once again trending down…

Gee. One wild ride.

But its presence - again - in Asia could at least in the short-term provide some opportunity for 3-6month investors. BUT there is danger of some bubbles in the real-estate industries in Asia too, given the strength of the local currencies versus the US dollar and other major currencies.

OK. I am still not convinced we’ve seen the best of Citigroup. I think it’s got really pummeled like hell - and perhaps, rightly so. But it seems that we may be undervaluing the strength of the stock.

Its presence in Asia is surely not being considered by investors in the US. Most likely, if investors see that viewpoint, we just might see some action on the stock.

But in the short-term, I expect that the stock will be sluggish at best, potentially lingering in its current 4.00-5.00USD trading range.

Oh. When the government talks about TARP repayments - and how C responds? Watch out for this stock - it could go… either way.

seems like excitement about KFN is starting die down a little bit - though the EMA(20d,50d) lines still indicate a strong deviation from the 100day EMA. Fast stochastics are indicating a potential opportunity to sell - but I think in the long-run, this stock still has some steam to it. Probably not in the next week - but in the next month or two.

[I have not reviewed the released business results so far - and its ‘moat’. I also have to review the credit-debt sec markets just yet, so I am not sure yet.]

It seems that the SP500 still have some steam for a good run… Might will be in for a good run till the end of the week.

I love this video - taking risks in business is critical. But knowing which ones to take and managing the risks that are inherent in them - that’s the critical bit.

I love these videos from UPS.

More!