With morality laid out so clearly in the Tolkien Ring books (the pitfalls of greed and the lust for power, represented by a Ring), the lawsuit over the outrageous profits from the Ring movies is steeped in irony.

Things may not have seemed so heinous on the part of the filmmakers, if those seeking a share in the profits of those blockbuster films were anything but a charity. It does make one wonder what the defendant, New Line Cinema, thought might be the result if they thrashed a case all the way through court, even IF they had succeeding in retaining rights to all profits.

One is wise to evaluate the potential consequences of actions, including legal actions. New Line Cinema might have been better off if it had considered the ramifications of not only their original action (retaining all profits), but the effects of fighting a case all the way to the end as well, if challenged.

For anyone, identifying and weighing the impacts of risks should they occur, is a valuable exercise. In this Hobbit case, most of the risk seems centered on public perception. It is the public who make films successful or not. While legal courts may make final decisions and settlements, it is the court of public opinion that can have far greater impact on a company's future. However, other risks also underly potential actions.

Imagine if New Line Cinema had considered the following risks in terms of potential impact:

Each bad enough. Some worse than others. If thought through and sorted out, far less potential for damage.

Think of what might have been gained, if New Line Cinema took the initiative at the time the films were made, and announced profit-sharing with the charity, thereby reinforcing an image of "doing good works"...albeit indirectly. A penny given, a more positive image earned.

monster.com, jobspider.com and hotjobs.com are but part of the job hunting solution.

We were asked by a good friend to help them in contemplation of one of life's big decisions. Changing jobs after decades with one company. Such a decision is not just about a job, or about comparing one's current job with an opportunity that suddenly appears.

Embedded in all important life decisions are unique underlying elements that define one's own particular philosophy of life. Qualities or aspects for an individual that make "life good." Without clarity of these elements and their relative importance, one runs the risk of moving from job to job, and of having one's life defined for one, instead of choosing one's own path.

A job can appeal for being a "stepping stone" or because one "needs the money." Such reasons need to be viewed in the overall context of one's desired happiness in life. The argument against such contemplation, especially during tough economic times, is that it is a luxury. One hour for one's happiness? A small luxury indeed. The framework one creates structures the discussion of the particulars of any job. Without it, a job selected may not be part of a chosen "path" to the future. One may indeed be only taking the next step to "wherever one winds up." Big difference.

One hour. Write down what is important in one's life, not just one's job. Determine the relative importance of each statement written. Assess job opportunities in terms of those statements. Which opportunities are most supportive, cumulatively, in helping achieve all your desires? In tough economic times, temptation will be strong to take the job offering the most money. But roads "diverge in the yellow wood," and we know that things "lead on" from choices made. It may not always be an option to retrace one's steps. Better to know the desired destination, and have it frame the choice one makes and the paths one chooses.

The "cash for clunkers" program stimulated the Asian automakers more than our own. Although the nation gave 700,000 people a break on a car purchase, did the program meet the objective of creating American jobs? Was significant progress made towards the objective to eliminate the nation's dependency on foreign oil? Has it helped the U.S. economy get back on track for sustained growth? Did this bit of news surprise anyone?

Actions that are undertaken without assessment in terms of a complete set of weighted objectives, usually have a small positive effect for a few, often for merely the near term only. Rarely do they live up to the expectations of the many.

At this juncture, it would be wise for the Big Three to document and weight the criteria by which automotive customers decided to buy Toyotas over American-made cars. Additionally, these customers should be asked what their criteria will be for their NEXT purchase five years from now. The manufacturers need to align their processes to produce with an eye to satisfying such criteria, as weighted by the customer.

Of course, this should have been done decades ago (the 1980s) when "Japanese manufacturing" was the buzzword rage and American CEOs from all industries were heading to Toyota to personally "drink from the well." The pity has been that the returning manufacturing pilgrims seemed to have learned new buzzwords, and merely "talked the talk." Programs were implemented instead of needed cultural changes in thinking. Each succeeding generation used but a new name for the same good ideas, countering their actual effectiveness by inadvertently causing them to be viewed as "flavors-of-the-month." "Quality," "CQI," "Lean," etc. With "spin" being manufactured, the products themselves fell behind.

With only words changing, did anyone really expect something different?

Health care reform discussion, particularly about "end-of-life" medical care, has put center stage a subject about which many Americans are phobic. Death. I know many otherwise highly intelligent people who do not have wills or trusts (including persons with children). Still others do not even wish to discuss fatal illness when it occurs. This avoidance merely allows others to manipulate one through fear, and worse, make decisions for one.

It appears many people have also forgotten the fiasco over Terry Schiavo. It prompted many, at the time, to draw up an "end-of-life" plan or directive for their own medical care. It seemed, for a moment, that we were getting wiser. Simple forms exist in many states to be completed when one enters an assisted living facility or hospital. At these points it is still somewhat late in the day for such planning. Much wiser to think through the aspects of such a decision before it is thrust upon one.

Many forms for medical directives have a box to check that states "choose quality of life over longevity." The difficulty remains for the individual completing such a form to define clearly for a medical team what "quality" of life is for oneself, reflecting one's own unique perspective. Many aspects unique to each person comprise a personal view of "quality of life."

List the aspects of "quality of life" for you. Depending on one's age, longevity could be one of the criteria. Ascertain the relative importance of those elements . This will then be a clearer framework for assessing types of medical treatments, while one is still in health, or at the time when a medical team needs to follow your instructions.

Those who must carry out your directive will be most grateful. And your desires will be less likely to be interpreted by others with possibly differing value systems.

A 2008 legal settlement gave Google the rights to create a Book Rights Registry, and to digitize works whose rights-holders are unknown (50-70% of books published since 1923). Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo recently countered by joining the Open Book Alliance led by the Internet Archive . The three companies' objections have largely centered on potential lost profits and market share. The non-profit Internet Archive speaks more about open public access and free availability.

An additional concern exists. Software applications (such as Photoshop) not only have provided us with enormous ease to achieve "perfection," but they have engendered in us an acceptance for alterations. Private, personal and innocuous manipulation.

Alteration, however, has gone public. The love handles of a French President disappear, a magazine changes the swimsuit color of a U.S. President . It still seems innocent enough.

Less innocuously, the Bush adminstration cut the embarrassing "Mission Accomplished" banner from the video of that speech for the then-White House site's version of that event. Others with the original film clip ensure that piece of history remains intact.

Pressure was put on the TV media to adopt government terminology for the reporting of the war in Iraq and upon businesses who held information. A step further, revising what is written, would effectively create Orwell's Ministry of Truth.

Cause-and-effect thinking is essential to promoting good use of technologies, at the same time prohibiting misuse... in business planning, passing of regulations, and at the time of legal settlements. Technology solutions should be assessed using a disciplined, transparent integration of multiple constituencies' rights, responsibilities, desires and concerns. Finding common ground for business, public, and government interests. Seeking to balance viewpoints, honoring values and rights.

Profits as a factor in determining access to on-line writings is an important issue. Integrity of those writings as authored is a still more important issue. Plato stated that "Those who tell the stories rule society." A balance is fundamental for all voices to be able to speak--one of our most precious rights. Monopolies are the antithesis of balance.