We continue to be bombarded with stories of executives committing ethical violations.

The latest fiascos involve inappropriate relations and resume falsification, resulting in bad press for companies, destroyed reputations and disgust by the public, who must endure an endless parade of disgraced chief executive officers. These business leaders think the rules do not apply to them, and their behavior tarnishes the good CEOs.

The CEOs of Yahoo and Best Buy, along with Best Buy's founder, were recently forced to step down. Here's what happened. Yahoo's CEO was caught falsifying his resume while Best Buy's CEO and its founder were both forced to step down over the CEO's inappropriate relationship with an employee and the founder's failure to report the issue.

You have to wonder what these individuals were thinking. You just can't do these things, even if you're the CEO or chairman of the board. Everyone must understand that there are consequences to one's behaviors and no one is immune ever. These guys didn't get the message.

Best Buy founder Richard Schulze was forced to step down as the company's chairman of the board after it was revealed that he failed to inform the board when he learned that CEO Brian Dunn was having an improper relationship with a female employee. Dunn resigned and Schulze ultimately did too.

Once again, careers were destroyed and a company reputation's harmed because key executives did dumb things one having a relationship with a subordinate and the other for failing to report it after receiving a written statement about it, in clear violation of their company's policy.

Best Buy acted appropriately in accepting both "resignations." The company's internal audit showed Dunn's behavior was inappropriate and negatively impacted the work environment. It turns out this (apparently) consensual relationship was not a secret at Best Buy, as the consenting partner spoke openly about her friendship.

As for Schulze, his 46-year career at Best Buy ended because his failure to report this incident "exposed the employees to potential retaliation and the company to potential liability," according to the company.

While there has been no claim of sexual harassment, the potential exposure was there. All executives and managers should learn from this and take the necessary steps to protect their companies from similar embarrassments:

As for Yahoo, Scott Thompson, the former president of Yahoo, falsified his resume when he was a candidate for the job. Thompson stated he had a degree in computer science, when he did not. When he got caught, he blamed the recruiter. And for all that, he lost his job. Senseless.

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When hubris and personal responsibility clash

Hope Solo talks about her upcoming autobiography, "Solo: A Memoir of Hope," and the process of opening herself up to share her life stories.

What follows is an excerpt from "Solo: A Memoir of Hope," the upcoming autobiography of U.S. women's soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo, co-written by Ann Killion, on sale on Aug. 14, published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2012 HarperCollins Publishers.

Chapter One: Life Behind the Smiley Face

My first memories are a kaleidoscope of happiness: A small red house surrounded by a wooden fence; my free-spirited mother, Judy; my big, outgoing father, Gerry; my older brother, Marcus; and me, Baby Hope.

On the outside of the fence, for everyone passing by to see, was a giant yellow smiley face. On the other side was a yard with a sandbox and a jungle gym. An English sheepdog named Charlotte. Rabbits and turtles and kittens. Out back we played Red Light! Green Light! and had Easter-egg hunts and birthday parties. Inside the house, my mother, a budding photographer, set up a darkroom to develop film, as well as a workout room where she practiced karate. I snuggled with my parents in their bed and watched TV. The cozy kitchen was where we had family spaghetti dinners.

Smiley face on the fence, happy people in the house.

But as with so much of my life, the truth is a little more complicated. Clutterplastic toys, yard equipment, bikes, an old jalopyfilled up our side yard. The neighbors complained, so my parents were forced to put up a fence to hide all our crap. My mom didnt like thinking the neighbors had won some kind of victory, so she painted that garish yellow happy face as tall and as wide as the fence would allow. The smiley face wasnt a reflection of internal happiness. It was a big (expletive)* you to our neighbors.

II.

How did we all arrive there, in a tract house on Marshall Street in Richland, Washington?

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Hope Solo gets personal in autobiography

Lesley Young/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Jennifer Milburn, 40, of Cordova, dropped from a size 14-16 to a size 4 while working with a personal trainer three days a week and working out on the stationary bike and elliptical machine by herself two to three days a week.

"I saw myself, and I was so depressed," Jennifer Milburn says of weighing 190 pounds. She promised her herself she would do something about, and she did.

Jennifer Milburn hated having her picture taken, even on a family trip to Walt Disney World

"I saw myself, and I was so depressed," said Milburn, 40.

When she returned from Florida that March of last year, she promised herself and her husband she would do something about it.

"I sat down with Joe (Solomito) at Results (Personal Enhancement Studio) and told him I would do whatever he told me to do," Milburn said.

Weighing in at 190 pounds, she met with Solomito three days a week at the Cordova gym for weight lifting and 30 minutes of cardio exercise.

"I had a very bad knee, so I used the bike because it strengthens the knee," she said. "I also noticed it strengthened my butt."

On other days, Milburn spent 30 minutes exercising on the elliptical machine and 30 on the stationary bike on her own.

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Success Story: Promise turns into career change

Really, I dont know why so many people are annoyed with President Obama for saying that personal success is almost always a product of our system in America, with the benevolent federal government leading the way. Certainly, thats true, and I will attempt to prove it based on a brand-new investigation of very successful folks.

New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey was once a mediocre performer, but he became a star by perfecting the knuckleball. Word is that Nancy Pelosi took the pitcher aside and demonstrated just the right spin to put on his delivery. The former Speaker of the House is too modest to take credit, but she does want to tax Dickey at a higher rate now that hes a 1 percenter.

Did you know that Clint Eastwood was a struggling actor until California Gov. Jerry Brown taught him to squint and say things like, Feeling lucky, punk? Apparently, Brown learned that phrase from a former girlfriend, singer Linda Ronstadt, and generously passed it along to Eastwood. However, there is no truth to the rumor that Browns autobiography will be entitled: Dirty Jerry.

She wont admit it, but Lady Gagas career took off when New York Sen. Chuck Schumer advised her to lose the poker face and loosen up a little. Taken aback by the blunt advice, the former Catholic-school girl took it to heart and replaced her blue blazers with ripped fishnet stockings and rhinestone halter-tops.

The rest, of course, you know. But what you might not know is that Schumer was the inspiration for the Gaga hit: Born This Way.

Likewise with Simon Cowell. The Englishman was looking for a TV niche when he ran across Congressman Barney Frank, who advised him to insult just about everybody and wear tight undershirts in public. After watching Frank on cable TV, Cowell adopted his scorched-earth verbal style and ever since has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars. Fortunately for Cowell, when Frank told him to invest in Fannie Mae, he declined, believing Fannie was an obscure rapper.

But the topper is LeBron James. As a kid in Akron, Ohio, LeBron was directionless, wandering around the boulevards looking for something to do. Then one day a suave stranger showed up on the playground and began shooting hoops with LeBron and his crew. The man showed the youngsters a variety of basketball moves, including the fade-away jump shot. From the jump, LeBron was enthralled and thus began his steady climb to basketball greatness. That strangers name: Barack Obama.

And now you know the rest of the success story.

Veteran TV news anchor Bill OReilly is host of the Fox News show The OReilly Factor and author of the book Pinheads and Patriots: Where You Stand in the Age of Obama. To find out more about Bill OReilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at http://www.creators.com. This column originates on the website http://www.billoreilly.com.

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Now you know the rest of the success story

Eden Hazard has set his sights on a successful season with Chelsea and hopes to build on last year, when the English giant won the Champions League and FA Cup.

The versatile attacker joined the Blues from Lille in the summer transfer window and he is keen to become a key figure at his new club.

"Chelsea's goals for the new season? We have not discussed it with the coach yet, but I guess that we want to do as well as last season," Hazard stated to reporters. "I do not really have any personal objectives. I just hope to play as many games as possible. I am not the type of person to set certain goals. The most important thing for me is to get regular first-team action and do well."

The attacker then went on to discuss Salomon Kalou's move from the Blues toles Dogues, and Hazard hopes the Cote d'Ivoire international can help his former side to Ligue 1 glory again.

"His move is a good thing. He is a great player, a big star. I hope that he can do at Lille what he did at Chelsea, and help the team to more trophies."

Lille was crowned Ligue 1 champion in 2010-11, but had to settle for third spot last term.

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Hazard aiming to help Chelsea repeat 2011-12 success

By Malcolm Manness - July 22, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, XRX | 0 Comments

Malcolm is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Understanding Apple #2: Success = (O +V) * F

Why are Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) products so successful? The answer is simple and complex.

You may love Apple and their products, or hate them to the core, but what cannot be denied is that Apple now has the highest market cap of any company, their products are trend setters, and currently they are trading at rather low multiples, especially regarding forward earnings.

Warren Buffet has the maxim: Invest in what you know! So, for those who want a unique perspective on Apples success, I have a series of articles 'Understanding Apple.' I hope you will find them helpful and provocative. Part-1 was a brief outline of Apples history.

In Part-2 I discuss the reasons for their success. Part-1 listed mostly indisputable, historical facts. Here I am more subjective, giving readers my unusual viewpoint. Though not entirely original, Ive been saying this for many years.

Why are Apple products so successful? The answer is quite simple.

Of course the investor wants to know how they accomplish this. So the real question is How do they do this?

I suggest:

Excerpt from:
Understanding Apple #2: Success = (O +V) * F

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Butte College is presenting a workshop on Introduction to Facebook on Monday, July 23, 2012, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, at the Small Business Development Center at Butte College, 2480 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico. The cost is $20.00 per person pre-paid or $30.00 per person at the door.

Facebook can be a great marketing platform for businesses, but in order to be successful, you must learn the basic elements of how customers use Facebook. Since starting with a personal profile on Facebook is recommended for business success, this workshop will cover how to: Build a personal profile; Find friends, post pictures and links and; Interact successfully with others. Key terms will be explained including groups, pages, fans, tagging, & newsfeeds. After attending this workshop, you will be ready to take our more advanced class, Advanced Facebook Marketing For Business

Pre-registration is required. Please call the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Butte College at 895-9017 to register and for more information

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Butte College is presenting a workshop on Introduction to Facebook on Monday, July 23, 2012, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, at the Small Business Development Center at Butte College, 2480 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico. The cost is $20.00 per person pre-paid or $30.00 per person at the door.

Facebook can be a great marketing platform for businesses, but in order to be successful, you must learn the basic elements of how customers use Facebook. Since starting with a personal profile on Facebook is recommended for business success, this workshop will cover how to: Build a personal profile; Find friends, post pictures and links and; Interact successfully with others. Key terms will be explained including groups, pages, fans, tagging, & newsfeeds. After attending this workshop, you will be ready to take our more advanced class, Advanced Facebook Marketing For Business

Pre-registration is required. Please call the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Butte College at 895-9017 to register and for more information

Excerpt from:
Cloudy

SAN GERONIMO, CA--(Marketwire -07/23/12)- Virogen Inc. (VRNI), a holding company specializing in data security and encryption technology, today provided an update regarding the development of a consumer data tracking solution as part of its ongoing discussions with a major worldwide retail chain to include this new solution in its laptops and PCs.

Virogen's wholly-owned subsidiary, Tiger Team Technologies "T3", is developing this new consumer product that will serve as a data protection and tracking solution for personal credit card transactions online. T3's new product will provide consumers' laptops and home PCs with a tool that will track all of their visits and transactions online and then communicate that record in an encrypted method to the company's secure servers where the consumer can access all of this information via a secure login and password.

Since first announced by the Company in March, T3 has continuously made modifications and improvements to its consumer data tracking solution and anticipates that development of this product will be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2013. Virogen continues its discussions with a major worldwide retailer to offer the company's new consumer data tracking technology with its laptops and PCs, thus bundling its computer hardware division's product offerings and remains confident that an agreement can be reached.

"We are very excited to continue our consumer product development and discussions with a large retailer for the marketing of this solution as part of their computer hardware. This reinforces the company's belief that there is no solution on the market that consumers can use to specifically provide protection and tracking of personal online credit card transactions that provides the level of protection that our new solution will," commented Paul Hogan, CEO of Virogen, Inc.

"We continue to be very optimistic that these discussions will lead to a future agreement that would strategically position our consumer data tracking technology in the marketplace and potentially provide significant revenue for the company."

About Virogen, Inc.

Virogen, Inc. is a technology holding company. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Tiger Team Technologies "T3," has developed a very unique suite of copyrighted tools to address the network and database security needs of enterprise level companies and corporations. T3's risk management offering provides an unprecedented level of security and liability protection, positioning it as the only company with a comprehensive solution to data security breaches for its clients. T3's primary markets include medical service providers, financial services firms, brokerages and currency transaction platforms, consumer credit card companies, banking entities, retailers, defense and government related operations.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Virogen, Inc. and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

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Virogen Provides Update on the Development of Its Consumer Data Tracking Solution and Discussions With a Major Retailer

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

After two years of research and development - Jackie Fame, the leading kid/teen social network, launches its personal care line FAMEbody today. FAMEbody, an all natural, 100% Australian made product line consists of a full range of professional beauty salon products as well as a number of body and bath products targeting its core demographic at a very reasonable price.

The FAMEbody collection comes in a number of irresistible, fresh natural scents including grapefruit, pear, berry, mango, and lime and all natural products ranging from natural lip balms to natural and organic handmade body soaps bursting with soothing moisture from natural oils.

In its contemporary packaging, FAMEbody offers merchants a high quality, stylish and affordable range of products which easily sells in beauty salons, specialty gift stores and all quality retail outlets.

How are FAMEbody products unique? The power of the FAME network behind every product differentiates FAME. FAMEbody products have a direct connection to the fastest growing kid/teen social network, Jackie Fame. The unique direct marketing resource behind every FAMEbody products means increased traffic to online and brick-and-mortar retailers. That translates to sales. The connection between the social network and the FAMEbody products creates a win-win relationship in this unique retailer/supplier partnership.

About Jackie Fame:

Jackie Fame (www.JFame.com), the leading kid-teen social network continues to expand its Jackie Fame brand with the national retail launch of the FAMEbody personal care and cosmetic lines, BrandFAME apparel lines, FAME50.com merchant platform; and Face-the-Fame, FAME America!, the online music and talent contest. In 2013, FAME is launching its FAMEgirl salon in selected cities.

The mission of the Jackie Fame Network is to be the leading teen social networking destination with the largest, most engaged audience and community. The network will be supported by its unique position as one of the strongest, most valued brands focusing in the highly coveted kid-teen audience.

Jackie Fame is a privately held company and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina with offices in Los Angeles, Calif.

Jackie Fame, FAME50, JFame, FAMEbody, Face-The-Fame, FAMEit, FAMEgirl and FAMEVision are registered trademarks of Jackie Fame Inc. All other trademarks acknowledged.

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Jackie Fame launches FAMEbody Personal Care Line at ECRM Las Vegas

There is a great deal of enthusiasm -- usually outside of formal university settings -- for the potential of online post-secondary education. It is sometimes thought that online courses available for free or for very low tuition can allow anyone in the country or the world to gain a top-notch baccalaureate education, and the escalating costs of existing universities will be squashed. Colleges face the revolution that has already hit music and book publishers -- the Internet swamps traditional methods of transmission and publication, and whole new consumer experiences and business models are created. An engineer for a major computer company I talked to on a plane recently caught this mood exactly, when he said to me, "I'm sorry for you -- your industry is doomed. College education will soon be purchased through the iTunes store as an app."

This impression is perhaps supported by developments in the past year -- the extensive free course offerings available through iTunes University, the partnership created by several leading universities under the umbrella of Coursera, and Salman Khan's teaching videos at the Khan Academy. It is certainly true that there are rich, well-developed course materials available in these Internet neighborhoods and elsewhere.

So what is wrong with this picture? Is it possible to gain the education and the intellectual development associated with a traditional bricks-and-mortar university curriculum through a largely online course of study? Or are there large defects in the learning model associated with online instruction that mean that the quality of educational outcome is inevitably lower on average?

A couple of things seem fairly clear. First, people learn in many different ways. Abraham Lincoln had only a few months of formal schooling, but he spent several years of study in the Library of Congress as a Congressman from Illinois, and he read literature and history very intensively. So his understanding of politics, agriculture, religion, war, and economy all derived from self-directed study. The resources available on the Internet are stupendous, and there is no doubt that highly motivated, intelligent young people throughout the globe can learn an enormous amount through self-directed study using the resources now available. The Internet can be for a few of us what the Library of Congress was for Abraham Lincoln.

But this is a high standard for the student. It requires discipline, sustained commitment, and a plan of learning that most young people probably do not possess (and of course, most of us did not possess when we were 18 years old either). This is one of the key advantages of a university education. A college curriculum, guided by professors who stimulate and coach the student, makes it possible for a much wider range of young people to make this intellectual transition.

Second, simply having access to bodies of knowledge through a repository of books or web pages, whether it is a library or the full resources of the Internet, is not the same as an extended and developing educational experience. A young person needs to gain a handful of meta-level skills through his or her development following high school -- creativity, imagination, collaboration, analytical powers, ability to reason and communicate effectively -- and cultivating these skills in the young person is one of the most difficult assignments we give the college professor. The professor needs to design a classroom experience and a body of work materials that help to bring out these skills in the young person over time. This process is more similar to the process of coaching a ballet dancer than it is to drilling French grammar exercises and conjugations.

Moreover, there are very large differences in the learning process depending on the discipline and the nature of the content of the field. It may be that learning accounting principles is reasonably amenable to online education, because of the factual and problem-solving content of the discipline; whereas learning to analyze and discuss complex literature and philosophy is least amenable to online education, because of the need for substantial interaction and dialogue in developing the relevant skills.

One way of encapsulating my own hesitations about online education is by referring to the distinction between the absorption of content and the maturation of intellectual abilities. If the goal of a certain field of education is that the student should become familiar with a discrete body of facts and problems, perhaps online education is well suited to this field. If the goal is to develop the student's intellectual capabilities, however -- asking the right questions, formulating a hypothesis, pulling together the basis for a compelling argument or explanation -- then merely exposing the student to a list of materials and quizzing him or her on the content will not suffice.

None of these points is intended to show that online education is a false start. In fact, in my own teaching I'm inclined to favor a blended approach that uses the power of the Internet to expose students to a much broader range of materials that a traditional course syllabus can do, while at the same time maintaining the personal interaction and dialogue that stimulates the development of the students' own thinking skills. In fact, incorporating video lectures from iTunes University seems like a very fruitful way of deepening study of particular topics. But I think the evidence does not support the techno-optimism expressed by some that online packaged course systems can replace the professor-mediated learning experience of the traditional university classroom and laboratory.

(There is a good degree of overlap between these concerns and those expressed about current shifts in American expectations from higher education in Martha Nussbaum's recent book, Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. I don't think that the outcomes that Nussbaum is looking for are likely to ensue from a largely online education.)

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Daniel Little: Is Online Education the Answer?