After reading Madeline Weedle’s blog about the hockey company Bauer, I found it very interesting to see they are expanding into lacrosse. I have been playing ice hockey for the past 15 years and Bauer is my brand of choice. I have used 12 pairs of Bauer skates and more than 50 Bauer sticks during the past 6 years and I would not change brands. The company has the ability to earn large profits entering the lacrosse equipment industry.

While growing up and playing hockey, a very large portion of my teammates would spend the hockey “off season” playing lacrosse. Not only did my peers do this, but it is a trend all around the hockey world as seen in this article.

For the large number of hockey playing lacrosse players, the brand Bauer will already have a competitive advantage over other brands. Even though Bauer is new to lacrosse the hockey players are very familiar with the company and know the quality of equipment they make. This gives Bauer a huge edge on other start up brands, and enables them to make a large impact in the industry immediately. A very smart move for a brand that produces high end products.

Dave Watson a medical marijuana grower does not think home grow operations will boom. He states “If it was easy, a lot more people would already be doing it.”  Growing of marijuana was illegal before, so why would a lot of people be already doing this? Thus Mr. Watson’s theory behind why home grow op’s will not boom cleary makes zero sense.

In fact legalizing marijuana in the first place makes zero sense. What is the point of legalizing marijuana? More money for the government? Over the past year I have had the oppurtunity to learn about illicit drugs through drug addicts, rehab doctors, and downtown Vancouver City Police members that specialize in the downtown east side drug problem.  The number 1 lesson from all of these individuals was simple “say no to drugs“. They all stated marijuana to be the “gateway drug” meaning the drug people start with before trying harder drugs. Now marijuana will be sold easily, made easily, and best of all LEGAL! Why not legalize something that has caused so many issues in health around the world.

Would it be too much to try and come up with an ethical method of making money for the State?

According to Ben Morgan’s blog about the Nutella lawsuit, Nutella will pay around 2.5 million dollars to settle the lawsuit which “objected to advertisements suggesting the spread was a healthy food”.  However, I believe that the company isn’t the only party to blame.  Anyone purchasing any kind of food should take responsibilty for their purchase. They should be aware of what they are purchasing and consuming. All pre-packaged foods in Canada must contain a nutritional label and a list of all the ingredients.  A quick glance at the Nutella packaging would quickly indicate that the product was not a healthy choice.

It comes back to the old saying “don’t believe everything you hear”. Politicians can make promises and not follow them.  Stock market advisors can tell you to purchase a certain stock and the stock may crash.  However, not everyone will vote for the politician, and not everyone will buy the suggested stock. Why? Because people make decisions based on many factors, not only on what they hear. So why, when Nutella says something that is technically truthful, are they liable, particularly when the packaging contained all of the relevant information? Why can’t consumers be responsible for their own decisions when purchasing food, like they are when they vote for a politician or invest in stocks?

The owners and the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, have locked out the league yet again. The players want to play, the fans want to watch, and the owners are greedy. Even with record revenue earnings last season, the owners still want more money.

What the owners and Bettman don’t seem to realize, is that the players have been reasonable and have previously settled for less on many issues. The players have offered to drop their salaries from 57% of hockey related revenue to 52%. This is a 5% decrease in each players’ salary but Bettman, along with the owners, currently refuse to settle for anything greater than 49%.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-cancels-first-two-weeks-of-regular-season/article4589396/

It is the owners turn to give.

Respect the players. The players dedicate their lives to hockey, they sell the game with their efforts on the ice. They are the reason fans come to watch and why the fans buy merchandise. The owners must give in and accept the compromises the players have made to continue to play the sport that they love.

Dear Bettman and owners,

Make the right decision and give the players and fans their league back.

The company Blackberry (BB) is set to launch its Blackberry 10 in early 2013. Blackberry has seen stocks diminish in the past couple years, as companies such as Apple and Google have taken over the smart phone industry in North America.

Although the companies stocks have dropped, Blackberry is still the leading smart phone brand in Southeast Asia, South Africa, the Middle East, and South America. As well as 95% of Fortune 500 companies use BB.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/video-defending-the-blackberry-brand/article4582034/

However, Can Blackberry regain momentum in the developed world?

After researching the Blackberry 10 and the company’s new platform I think it will be the best product ever released by RIM. The innovation and user friendly appeal of both Google’s Droids and the IPhone have made consumers fall in love with those products. Now blackberry has adapted to what the consumers want by incorporating just this and what the company calls FLOW. (below a link to new BB10 features including “flow”)https://www.youtube.com/user/blackberry?v=mmND2-fkUD0&feature=pyv&ad=27664005223&kw=blackberry%2010&CPID=KNC-kw826798_p7&HBX_PK=rim|0a32275d-a291-4448-53d7-00000d6add7c

Consumers will ultimately decide whether they are willing to give Blackberry a second chance, enabling the company to regain momentum. Will they be “cool” if they buy a new Blackberry instead of the new IPhone? Can BB be cool again?

The tragedy at Hillsborough occurred 23 years ago.  It was soccer match in the FA Cup between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, being played in the neutral venue of Hillsborough.  A Liverpool FC crowd filled up a section of the stadium to well above its capacity; This caused the literal crushing of hundreds and hundreds of fans as a result injuring 766 individuals and claimed the lives of 96 people.

The police then filed false reports blaming the cause of the deaths and disasters on the Liverpool’s fans. This was believed for 23 years up until now.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/sep/12/hillsborough-disaster-inquest-prosecutions-report?newsfeed=true

Ethically speaking, to think that after such a devastating tragedy, the Police would create a sophisticated plan to write statements placing blame away from them and onto an innocent group is simply disgusting. The families of the victims have been lied to about reasons of their loved one’s deaths, and now it has also been discovered that potentially 41 of the fatalities might have been saved if emergency response was quicker.

Liverpool FC organization and fans have had to live with this terrible reputation up until now as they have now finally been “fully exonerated of all blame“.

LFC Captain Gerrard’s opinion:http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/09/12/liverpools-steven-gerrard-lashes-out-at-authorities-for-hillsborough-coverup/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3tmM2u23_o

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