THOUGHTS ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE & SECURITY
AN SF TEAM ASSAULTING A PLANE
DECISIONS FOR SUCCESS
Woody Allen once said, “80% of success is showing up.” If that has any kernel of truth, then, perhaps most of what is left has to do with making decisions. Any decision, even wrong decisions are essential as it provides us an opportunity to learn and grow. That is where the maxim “fail fast” makes itself relevant. It makes the argument that deciding is better than not deciding at all. And that failure is an inevitable and circuitous path to success.
We all create our own systems and deploy it when making decisions in life. Often, we wonder how ours differ with those that successful people use to make theirs. Below is a list compiled by the World Economic Forum as a sort of a checklist to arrive upon the right decision.
01. What would happen if no decision is made?
02. Don’t waste time on small things
03. Trust yourself
04. Consider the source when consulting
05. Use a checklist
06. Go with your gut instinct
07. Throw up a trial balloon
08. Does it fit in with your values and those of your organization?
09. Does it meet corporate objectives?
10. What happened the last time?
11. Allow time for reflection before deciding
12. Look from 10,000 feet up
A FORECLOSURE CONUNDRUM
The snow that had accumulated around the house gave the appearance that it had been abandoned. The process server’s affidavit stated that the home once owned by the defendant Shirley Carson on Concordia Avenue was vacant, the garage boarded and had been without furnishings. The snow around the home had not been shoveled and no footprints were visible.
Plaintiff The Bank of New York Mellon (as trustee for Countrywide Home Loans) filed a complaint in the district court seeking to foreclose and sell the mortgaged property. The original loan balance taken out in 2007 was $52,000.00 but the loan had been modified after a series of late payments. Unfortunately, Carson had failed to meet her obligation under the new terms and the property had done into another default.
Several unsuccessful attempts to serve the complaint on defendant led to a publication in the local newspaper for alternative service. When the court entered judgment for plaintiff in the amount of $81,356.59, the complaint had gone uncontested. Records later showed that BAC Home Loan Servicing LP, the servicer for Countrywide Home Loans, had filed a “Milwaukee Registration of Abandoned Property in Foreclosure” on the subject property.
More than 16 months after the judgment, plaintiff took no action to sell the property, leaving it abandoned. According to filings, “It was repeatedly burglarized and vandalized. At one point someone started a fire in the garage. Despite an order from the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services to maintain the property, the Bank did not do so. Carson received notices of accumulated trash and debris, as well as notices of overgrown weeds, grass, and trees. The City imposed approximately $1,800 in municipal fines on her and she made payments of approximately $25 per month toward the fines.”
Subsequently, defendant Carson filed a motion in court seeking an amended order to determine the property abandoned and to have defendant sell the property five weeks after an order pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 846.102, which states:
“In an action for enforcement of a mortgage lien if the court makes an affirmative finding upon proper evidence being submitted that the mortgaged premises have been abandoned by the mortgagor and assigns, judgment shall be entered as provided in s. 846.10 except that the sale of such mortgaged premises shall be made upon the expiration of 5 weeks from the date when such judgment is entered.”
The motion was denied by the district court, justifying the ruling in such a manner:
“I can’t find anywhere in the statute [Wis. Stat. § 846.102] that I have the authority to grant the relief that [Carson is] requesting.”
It was appealed to the circuit court which agreed with Carson’s arguments, holding:
“the plain language of the statute directs the court to ensure that an abandoned property is sold without delay, and it logically follows that if a party to a foreclosure moves the court to order a sale, the court may use its contempt authority to do so.”
It arrived at the Wisconsin Supreme Court when the original plaintiff sought statutory interpretation, posing two questions to the justices:
1. Does Wis. Stat. § 846.102 authorize a circuit court to order a mortgagee to bring a property to sale?
2. Can the court require a mortgagee to bring a property to sale at a certain point in time?
The court frames the request in such a manner: “Our goal in statutory interpretation is to determine what the statute means so that it may be given its full, proper, and intended effect.” Further, they give a glimpse into their method: “Statutory language is given its common, ordinary, and accepted meaning, except that technical or specially-defined words or phrases are given their technical or special definitional meaning.”
DECISION:
“In sum, based on the statute’s plain language and context we conclude that when the court determines that the property is abandoned, Wis. Stat. § 846.102 authorizes the circuit court to order a mortgagee to bring a mortgaged property to sale after the redemption period.
We further conclude, consistent with the purpose of the statute, that the circuit court shall order the property to be brought to sale within a reasonable time after the redemption period. The circuit court’s determination of what constitutes a reasonable time should be based on the totality of the circumstances in each case.
In this case, the circuit court did not reach the issue of whether the property had been abandoned. Accordingly, we affirm the court of appeals and remand the case to the circuit court for such a determination and further proceedings.
By the Court.—The decision of the court of appeals is affirmed and the cause is remanded to the circuit court.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This decision is worth reading if for no other reason other than to give the reader an understanding of the meticulous process in which high courts undertake to interpret legislation. In this ruling the justices went into belabored detail to define words such as “shall,” “may” and “upon.” They also considered whether the language of the statute in question was permissive or mandatory, taking the literal and contextual meaning of phrases and sentences that make up statutes. The court even sought the explanation of the senator that wrote the law.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDO UNIT
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change” so goes the Darwinian maxim. In the fight against terrorism, where shifting tactics and strategies are necessary to react to the kinds of unconventional threats now being deployed by such groups, teamwork often becomes the difference between life and death. Individual attributes and enormous physical strength alone cannot cope with new challenges that arise in this type of asymmetric warfare. It requires copious amounts of the tried and true warrior discipline, a hat full of tricks and the masterful use of team tactics to rise to the occasion.
The Snow Leopard Commando Unit is a component of the People’s Armed Police of the People’s Republic of China. As a domestic defense force, they are deployed for counter-terrorism, riot control, and other special tasks including anti-hijacking, bomb disposal and obstruction removal. They have recently caught the attention and the respect of warriors the world over after winning the Annual Warrior Competition held at the KASOTC in Amman, Jordan two years in a row. In 2014, they bested 35 teams from 18 different countries.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDO (WIKIPEDIA)
WARRIOR COMPETITION LIST OF WINNERS
OFFICIAL KASOTC WEBSITE
JOINT EXERCISES RUSSIAN SPETSNAZ & SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDO
OTHER CHINESE ANTI-TERRORISM PROGRAM
IMAGES KASOTC ANNUAL WARRIOR COMPETITION
ROBERTS|JUSTICE 
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