Today, I would like to touch on a topic that i hold very dear to my heart. Whilst sitting in my room reading wholeheartedly written internet posts that the present generation of Hong Kong have shared all over social media, I feel a strong surge of patriotism rising within me. For the first time in a long while, I have felt that the people of Hong Kong have united together, sadly, for a cause that will ultimately end dismally for both sides.

I regret not being able to participate in the current protests, to support and fight for Hong Kong’s most important ideals. However it is gut wrenching to watch citizens fight against police who are binded by their duty to follow orders and more importantly, their responsibility to maintain public order.  Many officers were not allowed breaks and have stood their ground for 12 hours straight, some even without food whilst the government sit in their air conditioned room “discussing” in their meetings.  Therefore I salute and pay my respects for those fighting and for the police on the other side.

However, there is something that I cannot accept and absolutely despise about this rally. There are people who simply jump on the band wagon, joining rallies to skip school, skip work to promote the wrong ideals. I strongly disagree with purposefully “shutting down” Hong Kong. These people with empty words disrupt the real message that is being conveyed and furthermore, its reflects negatively on the belief that the people have which they have devoted so much effort and time into conveying.

The sheer amount of people willing to rally and protest on the streets shows the heart and pride that each of us has. The Central Government has crossed a line by denying our rights to vote, this must be reprimanded. Stop this injustice.

I urge everyone to support this cause by participating in the following events:

UBC Yellow Ribbon Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/283429298523881/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

White House Petition:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/support-hong-kong-democracy-and-prevent-second-tiananmen-massacre-hong-kong/dfdCpQZz

Fight for the future,

Fight for democracy,

Fight For Hong Kong.

As of today, investors have estimated a value proposition of approximately $215 billion USD. To put this into perspective, that is the value of Amazon and Ebay added together!

How and why?

Firstly, Alibaba’s profit margin is at a whopping 44%, which puts the company leagues ahead of any competitor in terms of net income. The second significant advantage that Alibaba has is its customer base. There are currently already more internet shoppers in China than the US. Furthermore, as access to technology is more and more common, there is also a lot of potential for Alibaba to expand its market.  Also, the unique feature that Alibaba provides is contact with manufacturers, which allows bulk buying as well as single item shopping, catering a larger range of consumers. Altogether, these factors contribute to why Alibaba’s growth rate also places first among other competitors.

Apart from its competitive advantage, Alibaba has also made good decisions in terms of strategically and also in their private investments. Alibaba are large shareholders of multiple up and coming companies in different industries including Youku and Weibo which are popular Chinese social network sites.

Alibaba has recently made a strategic gesture to convert itself to public company. Within a short time, its share prices has jumped up to $100 per share. There are multiple reasons why this is an excellent move. It raises capital to which the company can expand internationally and also promote itself, thus building a brand image in the global market.

Personally, I have purchased from TaoBao (founded by Alibaba) multiple times in the past and can vouch that prices are generally lower than foreign internet shopping sites (all hail cheap labour!). Being able to provide lower average priced goods is also a contributing factor to the rapidly expanding customer base.

Will this expansion plan be unstoppable? Look out for Alibaba in the future as they dominate the global market!

http://www.privco.com/alibaba-is-worth-100-share-private-company-stakes-worth-billions-infographic

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/081214/5-things-know-about-alibaba-ipo.asp

“Fighting anorexia since 2005!”

Never have i thought that such a feat was possible but the Heart Attack Grill have proved me wrong. The restaurant, known also for its Guinness World Record winning burger that weighs in to nearly 10000 calories, is notorious for multiple ethical violations such as, producing and promoting incredibly unhealthy foods with the addition of “scantily dressed nurses” to sell sex appeal.

Owner “Dr. Jon (Not a real doctor)” has already experienced numerous heart attacks at the restaurant and recently, even death. However, he claims this as positive publicity to the restaurants image (?!). Also not to mention about the possibly offensive conducts in the restaurant e.g. hiring a grown stunted lady to drive a mini cart around selling beer, spanking customers on the butt and  pushing customers on a wheel chair if they finish their burger. Many may argue that this is completely against what is socially acceptable in terms of ethics and morality.

However, the question is, “is this an unethical business or simply great marketing?”.  Yes, its true that what Dr. Jon does in his restaurant violates several moral codes. However, at the end of the day, contrary to many of his competitors, he is marketing his product in a unique way with all the added benefits (nurse waiters) to entertain the customer! Consumers who choose to dine at the restaurant are consciously making the choice, knowing the health risks.

What do you think? Is this man a genius or a borderline sociopath?

Source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqf_SIQ3JAk (2011 ver.)

http://www.heartattackgrill.com/

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