April 30th, 2011 by

Sam Antar was the former CFO of Crazy Eddie’s, his cousin’s electronics retail kingdom.
Sam is a much sought-after speaker on the lecture circuit these days, and his seminars can even earn CPE and CLE credits for the attendees.

That’s because he is a convicted fraudster.

Ethics continuing education courses are typically self-paced correspondence courses one takes at one’s own leisure as a part of maintaining one’s professional good standing.
Reading through Sam’s site on the worldwide web, however, is as educational as any structured academic account can be.

As the former CFO of Crazy Eddie’s, Sam presided over one of the most popular scandals in the chronicles of corporate crime.
He lays everything out, bare, raw, and unembellished by any of the normal self-serving rationaliziations frequently given to insiders’ accounts – all unadulterated on his website.

This is an ethics CPE study course like no tomorrow – if it were accredited as such.
As it is, it’s just a website – but oh, what a website!

White-collar law-breaking never seemed so exciting.
That’s because the Crazy Eddie’s scandal was at heart a soap opera featuring all the acquainted human foibles known to a Greek chorus – lust, greed, betrayal, as well as family.
Yes, family.

The familial element in this drama makes this type of corporate crime so – if the pun is going to be pardoned – familiar to lay readers, grabbing and holding their awareness where other accounts would lose them under a mountain / hill of technical information.
However, it isn’t that Sam offers no minutiae of his own; his very goal nowadays is to combat criminal activity, after all; it’s that these details, which would be so boring otherwise without the benefit of a human drama in which to place them in the appropriate perspective, come to brilliant life against the circumstance of a family power struggle that resonantes forcefully with everyone who’s ever underwent any semblance of sibling rivalry.

How’s that for an ethics CPE course!

April 29th, 2011 by

What can you do with wind chimes except hang them up somewhere?
Yet there are a very few musicians who are incorporating them into their very acts – live performances, actually.
That’s right – those things, made of stone, shell, wood, glass, or metal, used in actual music, as musical instruments in themselves.

What can you do with wind chimes except hang them up somewhere?
Yet there are a very few musicians who are incorporating them into their very acts – live performances, actually.
That’s right – those things, created from stone, shell, wood, glass, or steel, used in actual music, as musical devices in themselves.

Looks impossible, given their extremely limited acoustic capabilities, to enable them to be much of a contributor, melodically or rhythmically, but some clever musicians have been able to work them into their performances.
Usually, they are used in modern music and used as percussion instruments.
The use of wind chimes in this way have been quite varied, with David Sitek of the American rock band TV on the Radio hanging one at the end of his guitar to Oliver Messiaen using glass, wood, and seashell chimes in his opera about Saint Francis of Assisi.
Other composers using a wind chime in their works consist of Toshiro Mayuzumi, Giles Swayne, and Koji Kondo, who scores videogame soundtracks, such as those for Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda!

On the subject of things Japanese, there is even a Pokemon based on wind chimes, called – what else? – Chimecho!
In fact, it’s widely referred to as “the wind chime Pokemon” because of its light frame and power to produce a ringing, chiming cry.
This piercing sound can be amplified into ultrasonic shockwaves that knock back its foes.
Altogether, chimecho can make seven different tones to communicate with other chimecho.

But to return to musical instruments: no discussion on the subject could be complete without mentioning that a percussion instrument does exist which is often mistaken for a wind chime but is truly a mark tree.
The resemblance is pretty obvious, however, such that other names for it include chime tree or bar chimes!

April 28th, 2011 by

It isn’t necessary to be an industry insider like Isaac Toussie to know that different jurisdictions can handle real estate matters differently. It’s what makes real estate law so fascinating – and often so challenging! Look at Alabama, for instance. There, “buyer beware” is held in a very, very high regard by the courts, such that even in cases of outright fraud buyers may have no legal recourse anyway – since the property is recognized as being sold on an “as-is” basis. That’s right: Alabama case law believes in the ancient law of caveat emptor even more than any other on the books!!

A recent case determined that an as-is clause in the sales contract not superseded by another provision will be interpreted literally, or “as-is.” That’s right, it’s really been upheld that misrepresentations are entirely legal under that basis.. Normally, this would constitute fraud, but an Alabama court has ruled that as the as-is clause in the sales contract was not superseded by any other provision signed onto by both parties, the as-is clause will be taken literally!

That was an ambiguous situation in the eyes of Alabama law, but the law itself in Alabama is actually not quite as simplistically draconian as the quick snapshot of the case provided here would suggest. As if evidence of a peculiar regional preference for legal loopholes of all kinds, Alabama law will only hold such a strict view towards used property, not new ones. Such as-is clauses are also superseded in cases where the misrepresentation is not obvious and potentially harmful to health and safety.

Alas for the plaintiff in Teer v. Johnston, however, while the misrepresentation was not something obvious it was not deemed harmful to health or safety, constituting an inconvenient nuisance instead. What the buyer should have done was stipulating in the contract or the deed that pre-sale disclosures hold despite the sale!

April 28th, 2011 by

It’s a tough assessment, but that’s possibly for the best since an eternity of continuing expert education awaits the publicly certified accountant.
Referred to as CPE for CPAs, these courses ensure that bean-counters stay on top of the most recent changes in the law so that last year’s legal loopholes are used if only still applicable!

But technical matters are not the only concern of such lessons.
A big element of modern CPE for CPAs is ethics.
Yes, that’s right – plain old right and wrong!
Somewhere across the line it’s been forgotten in a major way, ethics.
Then again, unethical dealings have been part and parcel of the occupation ever since the Middle Ages, when its Italian founder spotted common accounting frauds already prevalent even back then!

All the same, ethics CPE for CPAs is surely a good thing – specifically for course authors!
For they are more likely to ever run out of fascinating topics to discuss.
Many a former white-collar offender still shakes his head at the lax practices still so prevalent in the industry, almost ensuring another round of scandal, scandal such as what had brought them down once.

Take the case of Sammy Antar of Crazy Eddie’s fame.
A CPA and former CFO of his cousin’s legendary retail electronics business, Sam now rails against accounting fraud of the sort which he used to practice for above a decade.
The truth is, he is now a speaker who gives classes on how to catch white-collar criminals.
Moreover, folks can certainly earn CPE and CLE credits for attending his talks!
But the very idea that he should still have something to say – something for which audiences still gather to hear – underlines the regrettable currency of accounting fraud.

Needless to say, ethics deal with morality rather than mere legality.
It may be hard for numbers-crunchers to think in deeply philosophical , but that’s exactly why continuing education is a need!

April 28th, 2011 by

Community backing has always been important to institutions such as hospitals and medical schools. Even most medical research facilities have had some significant amount of communal support, especially in the form of philanthropic dollars. Oftentimes, these generous donors can be found contributing to more than one institution, as is the case with Isaac Toussie and family when it comes to the top two leading lights of New York in healthcare education and practice, Weill Cornell Medical College and the North Shore-LIJ network of hospitals and research centers.

Weill Cornell is named after a pair of its best benefactors, Ezra Cornell, of Western Union fame, and Sanford I. Weill, the onetime chief of Citigroup, Incorporated. As one of the most selective medical schools in the United States, it admits only about a hundred hopefuls out of the nearly six thousand that apply each year. Furthermore, Weill Cornell was first to accept women right alongside men as well as the first American medical school to establish its own premises abroad, just by the capital of Qatar, Doha. It can also claim a long line of famous alumni, doctors like C. Everett Koop, U.S. Surgeon General; Robert C. Atkins of Atkins Diet fame; Nobel Prize winner Robert W. Holley; and Henry Heimlich of Heimlich Maneuver fame. The North Shore-LIJ Health System is the second largest healthcare network in the country as measured by the number of beds and the largest in New York State based on patient revenue. It serves over seven million people a year through more than forty-two thousand employees – the single largest employer on Long Island and ninth largest largest in the City of New York.

These two institutions owe much of their success to vigorous community support, whether in the form of financial contributions from leading businessmen and women or non-monetary offerings such as time and expertise by community volunteers such as those from civic or religious organizations. Indeed, despite a budget in the multiple between them, vigorous local support will never be unnecessary for the health of Weill Cornell and North Shore-LIJ!

April 27th, 2011 by

“Boys Town” and its sequel, “Men of Boys Town,” are American movies based on the world-famous American juvenile home.. Founded in 1917 by a Roman Catholic priest, it was an orphange that pioneered progressive methods of juvenile care. Thirteen Boys Town locations are now established throughout the country, but Father Flanagan’s original facility remains its heart and soul. And prominent people from business, politics, and entertainment have headlined its fundraisers for almost a century, people such as real estate developer Isaac Toussie and Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Dalely. That’s on top of all those from the surrounding communities who donate time if nothing else to help Boys Town achieve its goals.

Almost certainly some of this success can be attributed to the positive publicity generated from the movies, movies which have made its mission of rescue such a part of American popular culture that passing reference is often employed as a kind of synecdoche or shorthand for orphanages in general. Starring industry leading men Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney in charismatic roles, the movies managed to win Oscars for Best Actor and Best Original Story despite heavy competition. While making for some good drama, the stories depicted actually had little to do with any real-life situations at the home, however. On the flip side, they do reflect typical problems encountered by those involved in juvenile care; for instance, peer abuse and youth homelessness were actually highlighted in the second film. Yet onscreen or off, Boys Town works tirelessly on behalf of children and families, inspired by Father Flanagan’s belief that there is no such thing as a bad boy, only a troubled one who need care.

April 25th, 2011 by

Wine racks are a sign of the serious oenophile, or wine conoisseur.
Which is “racks,” plural, mind you – rows and rows of them, most likely inside a climate-controlled basement cellar, furthermore!

So how exactly does one get going?
A number of fairly good introductions can be found online.
Prior to purchasing wine racks and other paraphernalia of the hobby, do a simple Google search and peruse as many as possible to get a good all-round education.

Usually, the first thing to do would be to sample some wines.
Again, using the internet ought to be a good starting point: check to see whether any wine tasting events are being held in your area, whether sponsored by a club or a merchant or even – especially – a local vineyards!
Once you develop your own perception of your own tastes, you may be ready for those wine racks for your own home!

No, not a full-fledged expert cellar such as described at the outset, however, but simple decorative fare good for your kitchen or den or, even, study!
A cornucopia of options is available for the rest of us who can’t afford dedicating our basements to storing wine.
Racks can be made out of just about any material currently, into almost any design.
Some aren’t even immediately recognizable as such without actually holding a bottle or two of wine!

But you are not done yet.
Should you really get into wine, you might “wine” up getting a hundred-dollar wine newsletter – Robert Parker’s famous “The Wine Advocate.”
He’s the premier wine critic in the business, so much so that what he says will actually have an effect on the market!
But one thing to always remember, no matter how far along you go in this hobby: trust your own taste buds.
Never feel like a thousand-dollar bottle of wine is supposed to taste good!
If you enjoy the twenty-dollar bottle, that’s what you like – period.

April 24th, 2011 by

Blu-ray disc – or oftentimes spelled “Blu Ray disk” by those who enter that into the search engines – is the hottest new thing in home entertainment these last few years. Each standard single-layered disc offers 25GB of storage capacity, which translates into much sharper video and much better sound. From the under-500 lines of resolution offered by the DVD format, the 1,080 lines available with Blu-ray disc is an extraordinary development. That’s significantly more than half of what’s available! Nothing to write home about? Well, think about how it would be if your eyesight somehow got better to the same degree – and you could see much more than twice as far away, with much more than twice the detail! It’s home entertainment meant for the 21st Century!

April 22nd, 2011 by

So it turns out that Jesse James likes Nazi paraphernalia.
No relation to the iconic Wild West figure, the only claim to fame that this latter-day Jesse James has is to be married to Sandra Bullock, one of the most beloved actresses of our time.
Certainly, she has been crowned “America’s Sweetheart” by the celebrity press for not just her good-girl roles but for her legendary off-screen generosity, donating millions at a time, most especially in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the catastrophic trifecta of earthquake-tsunami-nuclear-crisis that has recently hit Japan.

So how could she have tolerated such an obvious lout?
They were always one of the most startling couples in Hollywood, a bad-boy/good-girl pair right out of central casting and screenwriters’ workshops.
What could they possibly have provided their guests for wedding favors?
Almost sounds like the perfect set-up for one of Tinsteltown’s formulaic romantic comedies.
However, the real life version that has played out up to now more resembles tragedy for the Oscar-winning celebrity.

As for the bad boy, he’s now happily married to tattoo model Michelle McGee, who’s also posed in Nazi regalia.
In fact, McGee has the acronym “WP” etched prominently on her legs, letters which imply “white power” in racist sectors but which she claims only describes a component of the female anatomy that’s wet!

One can only picture what was introduced as wedding favors to their guests.

Of a particular perverse fascination to a lot of observers, however, remains the concern of what Bullock knew and the follow-up ones of how can she not have if she really did not and why would she tolerate such racist hobbies if she actually did know.
Many hypothesize that perhaps she was just too harmless and generous, naive when it came to the white supremacist imagery long favored by biker culture and generous whatever the case towards such naughtiness in a “bad boy” – again, straight outside of central casting: you can’t make this stuff up!

Yes, better to gossip about wedding favors instead.

April 22nd, 2011 by

Taking online CPE courses is more convenient than ever, but it’s still something that one would have to take seriously.
Those unfamiliar with continuing professional education may suppose it’s just some type of nonsense or they may think it’s like school all over again.
The truth is, however, somewhere in the centre.

Online CPE courses help make it even less like school, and for all the seriousness involved they can be almost fun.
A well-written course can help make things seem less onerous – as anything obligatory often tends to be – but of course if one is a specialist then one will do whatever has to be done regardless of the fun factor!

Still, it’s pleasant to know that not all online CPE courses have to be as dull as traditional mail correspondence courses were.
No need to make a chore even more of a chore, after all!
Hopefully, staying on top of developments in one’s field, whether it be the law or medicine or any other occupation, could well be exciting enough in and of itself.

Frankly, if undergoing continuing education would be a issue, then there is no reason to enter such occupations in the first place, regardless of the prestige and the higher income.
(And, regarding lawyers, the higher income is nowhere near as guaranteed as for the other professions!)
These days, even personal fitness trainers are required to take continuing education courses.
That’s right – those guys and gals at the gym!

Chalk it all up to an ever increasingly competitive job market, where credentials mean getting a foot in the door.
Naturally, it’s not just market pressures, as the scope of knowledge in a area like medicine is always growing with each new discovery.
However, while something like the law can also be subject to constant change, it simply does not command the same kind of rates these days as it once did.
Law graduates have actually gone on to file class-action lawsuits against their alma maters, putting those legal abilities to the simply use they can find in this economy!