In this tight American economy, and conservative Canadian economy (Western Canada, for example, has a healthy economy, and seemingly one of the most stable in the world right now – for example, the provinces have many companies hiring!) many home owners, business owners and timeshare owners are having difficulty selling. Or – are you one of the many businesses or consumers who have accounts payable, i.e. “bills” that you are having difficulty paying?
An old solution, may be your “new solution” to freeing up cash flow in difficult times. Barter, as a solution, has been around since biblical days, or before.
Barter companies, such as ITEX, or a local barter company like Trade Exchange Canada, may offer you a solution! This solution works best if you have a labour-intense business, or own a “re-usable” inventory business, such as a hotel / motel (Rooms can be turned over again the next morning, but could be sold on barter rather than standing empty), or a business with decent mark up on your service or product (Such as a restaurant that has to pay staff anyway, but may have slow times, and generally has a “3-times-market up” ), or any business where down-time is bound to occur on a regular basis.
Is It Legal? Yes. The federal government approved trade exchanges through the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. Trade Exchange (barter) companies are third-party record keepers of financial information, the same as banks and stockbrokers.
Real World “Costs” for Using Barter Instead of Cash: Barter dollars are used like cash – to buy other company’s business services or products. While your company may pay a small membership join fee (Or in the case of ITEX right now membership fees are waived), plus a small monthly admin fee of usually about $20/ month + $10 in trade (Is standard), and a 6% -7% transaction fee, the bottom line is you will end up saving a lot of money. Example: Do you want to take a vacation or open a new market for your business in another city, but can’t quite afford a hotel room on an ongoing basis? How would you like to stay at a decent hotel like a Best Western or Howard Johnson’s for under $11 US / night, double occupancy? How? The room fee of about $99 can be paid in trade dollars at some locations and you only have to pay the tax on check out. Even if it is the only barter transaction you do that month and pay an additional $20 in cash and $10 in trade, and $6 in admin transaction fees, this is a good deal. Most people would find (Doing the math) paying $37.00 for a $109.xx – including tax room a good deal. Barter dollars are a great way to stretch your cash flow. For someone looking for the ultimate escape, frequently luxury vacation spots are available on barter. (Anyone getting married in your family? Save the cash and use barter for the honeymoon location!)
Assets that are “Tradeable” on Barter:
Tangible Assets
your company’s products or services
raw materials
capital equipment
real estate (improved & unimproved)
leases, notes & TD’s, bonds
144 stock, options, due bills
scrip, trade exchange credits
cars, yachts, airplanes,
your inheritance
employees
distribution (database, customer mailing list)
copyrights, patents, trademarks
collectibles (art, coins, stamps, guns, etc.)
gems, jewelry
antiques
other __________________
unique background
knowledge
information, influence
experience
skills and talents
education
Selling Real Estate or Paying Off Debt with Barter Dollars: Just how do you “clear” your real estate or accounts payable on barter? Let’s take, for example, a company bought a timeshare to be used by the business employees, but it doesn’t make sense right now to hang on to it. It’s worth $28,000. This business has a monthly printing bill of $2,000 and monthly advertising budget of $7,000, and courier service fees of $5000 / month. Usually the company pays this out in cash. What is it is offered and bought on barter, instead? That timeshare condo was now put up for sale in the barter community, and sold on barter. Hard cost fees for closing, and any other hard cost fees, are paid in cash. Any taxes are due in cash. (In Canada, we pay tax on a real estate transaction.) You may even find an appraiser willing to take barter instead of cash. The bottom line, you have now sold your timeshare are full value, and not lost a penny of legal tender, as your normally-paid-for -in cash bills were paid on barter.
Tax Issue: All barter companies issue monthly statements. Business owners are responsible for their own tax filings. Barter companies encourage members to report “accurately”. Barter script or barter gift certificates issued by your company are tax deductible. If you end up barter-heavy, then donate some of your barter to a charity and get a charity tax receipt to help you lower your taxes. (Best of all the holders of script or gift certificates, about 25-33% of the time, never redeem them! Yet, your company has the initial tax write off, and has the credit extension to buy on barter!)
Accounts Payable: Does you business owe money on accounts that it has vendors threatening court action on to force collection? Or are you getting collection agency calls? This is a two-part answer. Collection agency calls – call the original company first, who held your contract agreement and find out if they wrote off your debt. If they did, then they have been paid through accounting business deduction taken against gross revenue earned. Check with your accountant to verify this, but this article may point you to at least check on this. Collection agencies do not, with extremely rare exception, hold the original contract, or have your original signature. The collection agency likely bought your account for pennies on the dollar, or is trying to collect on a contingency -payment basis (They won’t get paid unless you pay.) Always deal with the original account holder, and in writing. Secondly, try using the Bills of Exchange Act to your advantage. You can legally offer compensation in other forms, than cash. You may find that if this escalates to court, that by using this Legislation, the court will recognize that you have made sincere offers to pay in other forms of compensation, and may likely cancel your debt. Most importantly, there is case-precedent for paying debt with barter dollars! Yes, you can pay your bills now by genuinely offering future services. Examples of large debt pay-off’s using barter: Trans World Airlines and Lufthansa. Small players: small claims court debts for under $25,000 Canadian or about $5,000 U.S.D. for settlements such as in a divorce or small payments due, can be found online. This strategy may likely help you to clean up credit issues as well. Check out http://barternews.com/faststartnew.htm for more cases.
Accounts Receivable: Does your business have long-term debt where businesses or consumers owe you? Offer them a creative solution. Many people don’t realize that barter can offer them a face-saving way to pay off a debt. The triangle: for barter: the company or consumer, who owns a business or has something that he/ she can offer on trade, has this asset held by the barter company, acting as a “bank”, and the barter company then will extend your company that value on trade, interest free. If “contra” is done, the companies directly swap assets or services.
Employee Bonuses: Barter dollars can also help businesses give non-cash bonuses to employees, when cash flow is tight.
Allowances and Gifts: Company owners can give their kids their allowance in barter dollars, all or a portion of their allowance. Every time when people offer “services” instead of a gift for example at a birthday, Christmastime, or for Mother’s or Father’s Day, this is a form of using barter. However, if you are a barter-member, you can buy that gift on barter now, and shop on line nationwide!
The Playing Level
Barter tends to operate at two class levels: the basic players end up with between $3- 5, 0oo dollars in barter trade – usually – as an account balance and need to work closely – for free- with their trade broker , who will help them market their business and spend their trade dollars, to make sure that they are happy barter members, and also do not take in more barter than their business can handle smoothly. Cash does have to still flow to pay some bills. Many barter companies offer a line of credit to get companies onto the barter play field.
How to Spend Barter Dollars: Companies find barter works well for not only advertising, but courier, janitorial, payroll services, answering services, accounting services, office rent, paging and answering service, janitorial service, accounting/bookkeeping, equipment purchase and rental, maintenance contracts (building and office equipment), landscape maintenance, security system, coffee service, bottled water, payroll services, secretarial service, pest control, travel expenses (accommodations, meals), staff incentives/bonuses (vacations, restaurant scrip, entertainment, event tickets), printing, graphics, advertising and promotion, computer programming and repairs, financial planning, medical reimbursement plans, carpet cleaning, building repairs (roofing, painting), parking lot repairs, customer gifts, auto repairs, banners, signs, flags, and products for your personal needs.
Basic consumer players / bonused employees find that they can spend barter on dining out, trips, hotel nights, hair salons, massage, limo service for night on the town, car repair, dry cleaning, clothes, for example. Suddenly, that $140 salon quality – job hair colour becomes very affordable for the tip + tax + 6% transaction fee. (about $33).
The higher rollers spend barter dollars to buy real estate, investments, jewelry, etc. While barter dollars are supposed to always equal $1 to $1 for trade, sometimes unique solutions can be offered by higher-pricing a product in order to accept barter. For example, car dealerships have been known to sell a car on full trade, but the price is marked up. The dealerships then turn around and spend the barter trade dollars, for example, on television advertising, or print media.
Barter works if you “work” barter. Balance is “key”. But especially in a time when U.S. banks are very slow to lend money for bridge financing, or for real estate purchases, barter may very likely offer a solution-rich experience.
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[Disclosure: Bevis Consulting recently joined both Trade Exchange Canada and ITEX. The founder had previous experience in barter, and years ago took in "too much barter" and learned that balance is key, as well as learning to work well in tandem with your trade broker. Barter can be "heaven" for business start-ups who need to, for example, advertise or do printing and have limited resources. See our services above at the "link", or in this article, and email us or call for more information.]
For More Information, Contact:
Martin Nubeler at ITEX: Los Angeles, CA: 818-506-2929, or
Scott Berg at Trade Exchange Canada (which also accepts American businesses): 604-294-5881 / 1-888-576-5881
When contacting them please mention this articles for “special consideration”.
Is this “break up” sending the ‘right message’? Hmmmm…maybe the ad campaign could use reworking, but can Tiger? Not so fast!
Here’s why:
When you go visit the Accenture website, you will see the Professional Services that the company offers:
Change Management
Customer Relationship Management
Leadership Talent Management
Risk Management
Strategy Consulting
Well, it seems to me, the Accenture company has had a six-year-long relati0nship with Tiger and he is like one of the Accenture Family at this point. But rather than support their beloved Gifted Golfer, when he needs them most to stand by him and give him time to work through his self-sabotaging “mess”, the company has dumped him.
I think that Accenture would send a stronger “professional services message” by keeping Tiger and giving him an opportunity to benefit from the Accenture in-house coaching.
Why not an ad campaign – “We stick with you, through good times and bad, and help you get on your feet again – or the golf course again? Just do a straight conversation, no gimmicks type ad, with Tiger talking. Play this right and this will be one of the most powerful ads in recent history, for any product or service.
Part of managing talent, or risk management is “managing bad publicity.” At one time or another, every company or key employee will face it. Tiger needs a good professional strategy right now, one which will hold him accountable, with measureable result key check-in points. Tiger is a leader who either: a) possibly is a sexual addict, b) Alpha Male personality who is a people-user (which up til now, never seemed to be a thought used in the same sentence with his name), or c) maybe there were problems in the marriage or d) we don’t know what we don’t know yet… and it likely isn’t our business anyway.
The point is: Tiger and Elin Woods are entitled to their privacy to work through their issues together. Everyone else – well, can’t we give them both a break for a few months? You hurt Tiger financially, you hurt his wife and his children, too.
Accenture, if you are truly a company with great professional skills in this area, why not create a win-win and help Tiger with professional services? Work in tandem with his agent. The message that you are sending right now is that your company bails when there is a “challenge”. As a business owner, I’m not impressed! Anyone else feel the same way? If you can’t handle creating some counter-intelligence public relations to help Tiger recover professionally, why would any business decision-maker ever take your company seriously again, to be able to create a strategy or help manage their company’s risk, or to be there to help when the going gets rough?
Tiger Woods has created a wonderful opportunity for your company to shine and showcase what it can do! Instead, you are bailing on Tiger. How pathetic and “woosy” of you! I don’t know who is the bigger “woos” – Tiger, or your company. I suspect, your company! You’ve used him, pure and simple.
It’s time for the Tiger Sponsors to just take a breather and count to ten. Tiger has brought in considerable earnings for you over any contract period that you have had. So, maybe you don’t need to broadcast his ads right now. Can’t you put them on hold for six months and re-evaluate?
Right now, we don’t know if Tiger is just weak in moral character, and lacking commitment to his marriage vows, or if he in fact has an addiction problem, or something else going on. The point: until the facts are known, isn’t a bit early to judge him? And – do we really need to know? If Tiger is able in six-months to give you a “by-when” date for when he is returning to golf, can’t that be “good enough? Then you can decide if it is soon enough for you.
I certainly do not support anyone married to cheat on the other spouse. However, I find it a bit strange that the first in line to throw stones are usually people or companies that don’t have their own morals or ethics in line. It’s that glass-house syndrome – are you sure you should be throwing “stones”?
Accenture, please consider re-working the Tiger campaign, or putting it on hold for a few months.
I’m not even a fan of Tiger’s or any other golfer. I don’t follow the sport. But, even I think, you could wait this out a bit instead of acting so “high and mighty.” How well would all your key employees hold up under the microscope if we media people started “checking”?
My thoughts – Sunday, December 13, 2009 two-hours after the announcement.
Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue”, apparently has reached platinum sales levels this morning, if reports are accurate. The question is ‘why’?
While some, who support her, may feel that she is a wonderful writer, dead-on in her delivery of the truth, I am suggesting there may be other reasons for why her book as reached a record book sales level that are in the “sub-text” – to use the term loosely. Ms. Palin’s book will be bought by some who: 1) want a good laugh at her expense, 2) historians, 3) the curious about what is really ‘up’ with her (I still think I fall in categories 2 and 3 ( she lands as ‘trying to hard to be liked’, insecure, egocentric, and well, strange…but more likable since Oprah had ‘the chat’), 4) people trying to learn just how many secrets she gave away about the Republican Party, 5) and maybe some who actually do like her.
First, I was not a fan of Ms. Palin during John McCain’s run for President of the United States…and I like, or liked, Senator John McCain, but favoured another candidate by a narrow margin, and just for ‘party reasons’. When Senator McCain chose Ms. Palin as his choice for VP, he threw my vote to the other party and candidate with the American -style batting of a home run! I wasn’t looking for a “soccer mom” for a VP…we’d just had eight painful years of Bush II. While I respect Ex-President George Bush, his son’s “apple” fell far from the tree.
I wanted a VP who would be respected and smart enough to be lead the country if something were to happen to the President. Sarah’s knowledge level, intellect, style, conceitedness, left me well, ‘unnerved’. Sarah was in the process of creating herself as a national ‘joke’. The packaging wasn’t working.
I also had had serious concerns how involved she could remain in her newborn son’s life; her son, Tripp, was born with Down’s Syndrome. Where would he fall in her list of priorities if she had the long hours of being a VP? Children with learning challenges need extra time in care in order to thrive. Personally, I just didn’t want to see Tripp’s care as being ‘delegated’ off to family and staff to carry most of the responsibilities. Who would Tripp bond with in the mother role if his mother was constantly seen leaving the room?
Second, when Sarah Palin appeared on “Oprah” in November, my opinion of Sarah Palin shifted almost 180 degrees, and I knew at some point I would come to read her book – but probably as a library loaner -as I also knew I wouldn’t be reading it to help boost her book sales. Instead, I would be reading it as it might just be an important book historically. From what she mentioned, and others have talked about, she reveals a lot of details on how the Republican Party attempted to “package her”, right down to selecting her wardrobe, then billed her when things “didn’t work out”. So, I might learn more about ‘political packaging styles’, ‘how much control is put on a political candidate’, etc., etc. My grandfather, now deceased, was in politics. I might learn some insight into what it was like for him, since I never had an opportunity to talk with him about this.
Sarah Palin is probably a lot smarter from going through the VP marketing experience. If anything, she convinced me more than ever that the Party chose her thinking she’d be a ‘cute arm ornament’ versus a serious support for John McCain, should he win. And, if that was the case, then was, or is, the Republican Party indirectly saying that ‘it wouldn’t matter if Sarah Palin had become President if god-forbid President McCain had died in office – that even if Sarah became President, a “shadow government” would be running the day to day government, anyway, so she could ‘do no damage’? The ’shadow government’ theory has been floated around in intellectual circles for years, and if you follow C-Span or You Tube audios or videos of live Congressional sessions, if anything I would suggest you may form your own opinion and your opinion might support the theory that there “is” a shadow government.
Back to Sarah’s book: naivete dies a slow death. My guess is that she has exposed ‘a lot’ without realising that she may have brought many consequences on herself from the Party ….or ….did she write the book so that she ‘wouldn’t have to ‘hide”?
“Going Rogue” is one book, though, that may be passed on from reader to reader, versus a lot of ‘new sales’, or may show up on the Amazon “used books” list fairly quickly. Only time will tell.
As for the Oprah Show…
…if you had a big-screen tv, you probably caught that the only time Sarah Palin grimaced and became tight lipped was when Oprah asked about Levi Johnston and pressured her for a Thanksgiving peaceful reunion. Oprah shows here in Vancouver three times a day — and I caught it twice for just that segment – as I wanted to double-check what I saw. Interesting… I still have hopes that Sarah may realise that Levi just might be trying to get a solid high-paying career going so he can support his son, rather than trying to lamely convince the world he wants to be a porn star. As for Oprah, I felt this was a conversation that should have happened in the green room. I wonder if she regrets pressuring Sarah like that on a live show.
Ms. Palin, you don’t need my advice, but I will give it to you anyway.
Dr. Phil McGraw made a very helpful suggestion on a recent show about dealing with people that you ‘don’t like’ in your life. Paraphrased, he said that ’sometimes you have to just put your differences aside in sort of a ‘compartment’ and ‘just don’t go there in conversations or in dealing with that person’. It doesn’t mean you condone the other person’s past or present actions or words or lifestyle, it just means you are ‘willing to find a common ground in order to have situations like family dynamics be smoother.’ I’ve had to do this in my life, but I didn’t know that was what I was doing, consciously, at the time. It works if you let it work.
Levi isn’t going anywhere. He’s your grandson’s Dad. Life can come full circle. You have no idea where Life is taking you or your family. You all may really need Levi in your lives now or in the future. When you judge Levi, you judge your daughter’s taste in men. This can drive a wedge between Bristol and you . You also may be judging your grandson’s ability to grow into a strong, healthy, responsible, likable person…half his gene-pool is Levi’s DNA. Make peace with Levi, and his family. Stop judging a nineteen -year-old teen man-boy by the standards and experiences of a grown-middle-aged woman. It just isn’t fair. Give Levi some time to grow into who he will become as a man.
And that’s my thoughts for Wednesday, December 2nd 2009.
[Disclosure: The following is written by a non-lawyer. Nothing in this blog post should be taken as legal advice for use in the United States or Canada, or anywhere else in the world. It is the opinion of a investigative journalist. If you need legal advice, contact a lawyer. Legal Referral services are in the U.S. and Canada and offer free referrals to lawyers in your area. Usually you can meet or talk with a lawyer, for free to a maximum of $25.00 for about 30 minutes of consultation - and you can receive more than one referral, i.e. to more than one lawyer, for the same issue.].
NOTE: This blog-post does not address any rumours circulating that Tiger’s wife may have attacked him about allegations of an affair.
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Sadly, it is taking Tiger Woods “unintentional mishap” with a water hydrant and tree to re-educate the American public – by example – on “how to exercise your 5th Amendment Right: “The right to remain silent” – “to avoid any possibility of self-incrimination” and to refresh our memories looking at the wording of Miranda Rights. Tiger, thank you for taking a stand and being a teacher to all who will open their minds to learn from you. My goal here is ‘not’ to interfere with a police investigation. I just happen to agree with Tiger Woods: what happened is a private issue and as a “natural person”, he has the right to remain silent, and he has probably been told that ‘anything he says can be used against him’.
At the end of this blog, I will post a link up to a You Tube video for anyone who hasn’t seen it. It explains in detail ‘why it is never a good idea to give a statement to police. Ever.’ , according to Police Officer George Bruch, who have interviewed or interrogated thousands of suspects or witnesses. The Wikipedia references can all be found at the end of this blog post:
Secondly, media isn’t reporting, at least not yet, that in addition to Tiger not talking to the police, yet, that he is not only “not required to” by law, he also can “make that statement through a third-party, such as a lawyer”.
In the U.S., people are innocent until proven guilty, or that is the way it is supposed to be. So, ‘Tiger not talking’ doesn’t mean anything more than “Tiger isn’t talking”. Anything after ‘that’ is “story” that “we as third-party-neutral news watchers or water-cooler-speculators are adding to the what happened”, for which we have no direct knowledge.
The point: Tiger is entitled to privacy. Not because he is famous; it’s because he is a U.S. citizen. Interesting to note: U.S. residents do not have the ’same rights’.:
“If you are not a United States citizen, you may contact your country’s consulate prior to any questioning.” – Wikipedia
Excerpt from the Fifth Amendment: “No person …shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” [The 5th Amendment is also the Amendment that addresses "double jeopardy", and property seizures without compensation.]
Canada: Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section 11 of the Charter states that one cannot be compelled to be a witness in a proceeding against oneself.
11. Any person charged with an offence has the right … c) not to be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against that person in respect of the offence…
An important distinction in Canadian law, vs. U.S. law, is that this does not apply to a person who is not charged in the case in question. A person issued subpoena, who is not charged in respect of the offence being considered, must give testimony. However, this testimony cannot later be used against the person in another case. Section 13 of the Charter states:
13. A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence.
Criminal Code:
Miranda Rights:
A Miranda warning is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody, or in a custodial situation, before they are interrogated. A custodial situation is one in which the suspect’s freedom of movement is restrained (judged by the “free to leave” test), even if he is not under arrest. An elicited incriminating statement by a suspect will not constitute admissible evidence unless the suspect was informed of his/her “Miranda rights” and made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of those rights. . . The Miranda warnings were mandated by the 1966 United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Miranda v. Arizona as a means of protecting a criminal suspect’s Fifth Amendment right to avoid coercive self-incrimination (see right to silence). The reading of the Miranda warning might be omitted during arrest, such as if the evidence is already sufficient to indict, or if the suspect is talkative and volunteers information (without being asked). -Wikipedia
When Police want to ‘talk to someone’ in my opinion, the goal is to determine if there is ‘criminal intent or action’, vs. civil. In this case, perhaps the police may want to know did Tiger hit the hydrant and tree out of anger? Frustration? Suicide attempt? (Suicide is “illegal” in the country…but who do you arrest if the person was successful? One of our stranger laws on the books.).
Every U.S. jurisdiction has its own regulations regarding what, precisely, must be said to a person arrested or placed in a custodial situation. The typical warning states:
“
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?
”
The courts have since ruled that the warning must be “meaningful”, so it is usually required that the suspect be asked if he understands his rights. Sometimes, firm answers of “yes” are required. Some departments and jurisdictions require that an officer ask “do you understand?” after every sentence in the warning. An arrestee’s silence is not a waiver. Evidence has been ruled inadmissible because of an arrestee’s poor knowledge of English and the failure of arresting officers to provide the warning in the arrestee’s language. – Wikipedia
Do you notice in the above Miranda Rights reading that it says “Anything you say or do can and will be used AGAINST you” – it doesn’t say “to clear your name”. It is never to clear your name. No one pending arrest has ever talked a police officer out of arresting them. If I am wrong: state your case!
So- why should Tiger “talk” to the police – if anything he says could be used against him – but not to ‘help clear him’?
Canada:
Since many Americans may be planning to trek north for the Olympics and may otherwise also be interested, here is Canada’s version of the Miranda Rights. It is under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Under the Charter, an arrested person has the right:
to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;
to retain and instruct counsel without delay and be informed of that right;
to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful.
The Canadian Charter warning reads (varies by police service): “You are under arrest for _________ (charge), do you understand? You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. We will provide you with a toll-free telephone lawyer referral service, if you do not have your own lawyer. Anything you say can be used in court as evidence. Do you understand? Would you like to speak to a lawyer?” – Wikipedia
Note that the one obvious difference: in the U.S.: “a lawyer will be appointed for you, if you do not have one or can’t afford one”. In Canada, “you make a phone call to Lawyer Referral and hope you can get a referral to a pro bono (free) lawyer who can help”. In this sense, I can tell you the U.S. system is ” much better”. While lawyers are encouraged to do pro bono work in Canada, there is no guarantee you will find one when you need one.
Wikipedia has postings for other countries as well.
Some police officers attending an “accident” scene are better than others at ‘note taking’. Having had some experience in a former career taking witness statements and interviewing police in relation to accidents, and seeing oh-so-many filed police notes, usually the notes are rough at best. I can’t think of any cases that I worked on, where the officer’s notes came close to fully documenting witness accounts for ‘what happened’. With this said, witness accounts change over time, memory does strange things over time and changes details, and the officers were likely all dealing with chaotic situations when they did their best to take notes. In some cases, the officers bias was strong against certain people, and later the determination was not so ‘clear cut’. Mostly I do think the police try their best to get situations ‘right’. However, sometimes how things are intended as said by the statement -maker, is very different from how the information ‘lands’ with statement -taker. One only has to look up the insurance industry “bloopers” on some strange statements made by people who had “accidents”. Such as “the tree came right up to my car and attacked it.”, etc.
New Vocabulary Words From the Above:
Do you “think” about words and ‘what the words mean – outside of common everyday usage? Did you know that common words, when used in criminal and legal matters, can have definitions other than what you may think?
accident (in terms of motor vehicles): Have you ever looked up the definition of “accident” in law for your jurisdiction? In some jurisdictions it means “INTENTIONAL collision” – i.e. if you report that you had an “accident”, or were “in an accident”, it means that you are admitting some percentage of being at fault. Before filling out any “accident report” be informed on what the word-definition means in your jurisdiction. Don’t ask your insurance company. Ask a lawyer. I can’t tell you ‘what it means where you live. I can tell you ‘find out’.
understand: The word ‘understand’ in law can have a different meaning other than in general talking. You need to also find out in you area, ask a lawyer, for example, what ‘understand’ can mean in court, or contract law. ‘Understand’ can mean the worst possible definition under English dictionary useage: “that you agree”. Thus, any statements made to police, or law enforcement, where you are asked “Do you understand?” – perhaps after you’ve been told of their speculations? – could mean that you are ‘agreeing’ with their spectulations.
For further reading and listening on this topic, and related topics, here are a few websites.
[Disclaimer: I am not endorsing these websites, nor the speakers connected with these websites. I have colleagues who are directly familiar with the content of their talks, or seminars. Occasionally, you may find speakers that seem to be more on a ‘rant’ or a bit “off”, however, there legal research may be quite sound. So please do your own due diligence research on any information that you read or hear. My opinion: when doing research, ask a third-party-neutral person, or lawyer, and do not ask someone or an office or company that has something to gain / vested interest by supporting your present belief system, which might be faulty. Explore information neutrally for both sides. Make your own decisions on what you want to believe.
Americans: Please may want to watch the Canadian videos, as well, especially, “Security of the Person”. Much of this information on the ‘meaning of the word “understand” and being read your Rights, or talking with police, could also could apply to the U.S.
U.S. Web Videos:
Here is the complete one – hour version for “talking to the police by professor James Duane”, Regent’s Law School. He is a former criminal defense attorney. Watch all the segments. Officer George Bruch, of the Virginia Beach Police Department lectures law students on ‘why’ you should never talk to the police. http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8167533318153586646#
Think Free Canada: Has the videos: “Security of the Person”, “Bursting Bubbles of Government Deception”, “Magnificent Deception”, “With Lawful Excuse”. These videos links go to Google Videos. Pay close attention in “Security of the Person” on “How to file a ‘Notice of Protest” before speaking with police.
Late last night, yes – on a weekend – the House of Representatives in the U.S. passed a Healthcare Reform Bill which would have virtually all Americans insured or guaranteed to be able to get some form of health insurance by 2013. Did the House ‘get it right’?
The following article is authorized to be ’shared’ and so it is posted here for your reading. My concern is that still some aspects seem to be missing:
General Questions:
1. Time is of the Essence: “If I need health care coverage ‘now’ and am out of work – what good does 2013 do me – that is four years away? Will I live ‘that long’?”
2. Pre-Existing Conditi0ns – Can Insurance Companies Charge ‘More’ – Making Insurance Cost Prohibitive? ” The way the Bill is written, an insurance company can not deny me coverage for a pre-existing condition. Does it also ’say that the companies can no longer charge ‘more’ for someone with a pre-existing condition – so that the person cannot afford the insurance even if offered?”
3. Deductibles and Insurance Company Present Procedures: “Does the Bill stop insurance company, what seems like game-playing, raising rates mid-year or creating new cut-offs, so that I my deductible shift mid-calendar year and I have to start paying out of pocket to meet a new deductible mid-year?”
4. Insuring Ex-Pats Returning to the States: “I’m an ex-pat wanting to come home… how to do I get insurance? I am a small business owner and would need time to re-establish back in the States.”
5. Surgical Priority Listing???? Will surgical wait-lists bump people to the top of the list that have better insurance? Or who are willing to pay ‘more’?
#5 is an issue is being proposed in British Columbia, for example, and encouraging ‘medical tourism’. The goal here is to encourage out of province people or Americans to come to BC for surgery. Shocking to many BC residents, as we have long waits for surgeries here. The provincial “logic” is that people willing to pay will creating funding to open more surgical suites for residents. Please ensure that the Bill that passes does not have ‘inside -out logic’…your constituents will not be ‘happy’.
Speaker, Pelosi, or to the House, please help with these questions as well. Thank you for your good work and long hours trying to create possibility to save lives in the U.S.
10 ways the House bill would change health care
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091107/pl_mcclatchy/3351547By David Lightman, McClatchy Newspapers David Lightman, Mcclatchy Newspapers – Sat Nov 7, 4:57 pm ETWASHINGTON — These are some of the changes in the way health insurance would work in the United States if the House bill were to become law:
1. Creates a government-run plan, or “public option,” to offer insurance coverage to compete with private sector insurance companies.
2. Sets up health insurance “exchanges,” or marketplaces, where consumers can easily compare coverage and rates.
3. Requires nearly everyone to obtain health insurance coverage starting in 2013.
4. Ends blanket exemption for insurers from anti-trust laws.
5. Provides federal financial help for lower and middle income consumers so they can obtain coverage.
6. Bars insurers from denying or limiting coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
7. Bars insurers from imposing lifetime limits on coverage.
8. Expands Medicaid coverage to more people.
9. Imposes a 5.4 percent surcharge on adjusted gross incomes of more than $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for joint filers.
10. Imposes penalties on people and businesses who fail to comply with the new law.
Courtesy of Yahoo News today – Warning for parents for their kids and use of “hand-sanitizers” .
Yahoo News is reporting by video on news stories about hand sanitizer safety issues. The hand sanitizer products, such as Purell, are so heavily in demand due to the H1N1 flu scare. However, parents and teachers are being warned that while students and pre-schoolers may use the product, watch that they do not overuse the products, or misuse the product.
Hand sanitizers have a very high content of ethanol alcohol. So, in addition to drying out skin, the problem comes if kids lick their hands, or eat the product – they can get a form of alcohol poisoning.
Also, be careful about ‘rubbing your eyes’ or touching or sensitive body parts with hand sanitized hands as it could cause irritation.
Additionally, the news videos are warning that due to the alcohol content in the hand sanitizers, be sure to keep them away from flames or fire – the product is highly flammable.
It is recommended that hand sanitizer dispensing is only distributed to kids by adults.
And of course, what isn’t good for kids to eat, is not good for your pets to eat, either. Watch that pets do not lick hand sanitizer -hands – even if the product has dried.
“Privacy Watchdog Approves See-Through Scanners”
Travelers coming through airport security will now have their own naked holographic image viewed by airport security. The following is an excerpt from the above article.
“Chantal Bernier, the assistant federal privacy commissioner, said Friday the national air security agency has successfully answered her office’s questions about the project. The system, tested in British Columbia at the Kelowna airport, allows a screening officer to see whether someone is carrying plastic explosives or other dangerous items.
The proposal has stirred controversy because the scanner produces a three-dimensional outline of a person’s naked body.”
. . .
Under the plan approved by the privacy chief, the officer would view the image in a separate room and never see the actual traveler.
Only people singled out for extra screening would be scanned, and they would have the option of getting a physical pat-down instead.
Bernier said the holographic image generated by the scanner makes it difficult to identify the traveler’s face.”
For more information, read the article at the link above.
[Interesting sidenote: While the article is written by By Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, he uses the words "Canada's privacy czar". Perhaps I am mistaken....I haven't been seeing "czar" show up in Canadian government titles, but I have seen this Russian title being used more frequently in the United States in the past couple years. Has Canada decided we need "czars", too, vs. "Ministers" or "Commissioners"?]
Warning to all “contest” designers and the contest applicants:(Universities, colleges, radio and television shows, and party goers:
October 30, 2009 – Entercom’s radio station, KDND-FM, in Sacramento, California, Defendant, lost in a water intoxication lawsuit when a contestant, Jennifer Strange, who came in second, died hours later after the contest ended, throwing up after drinking too much water. Strange died January 12, 2007.
According to the CNN transcript from the “Larry King Show” (see below), 19 participants competed in the contest. The contest was held at the radio station, using the community kitchen. The top contestants drank approximately a gallon-and-a-half of water. No nurse was on duty. Callers in to the live radio program, who spoke live with the DJs, included health professionals warning that the contest was dangerous.
Contestants were offered concert, theatre, or movie tickets if they dropped out. Eventually Jennifer Strange accepted tickets, in lieu of the Wii.
KDND-FM DJs had joked on air – during the contest - about “how little research” they had done before creating this contest where contest participants drank water, and avoided going to “pee” in order to win a “Wii”. While HLN didn’t make this clear, it seems this “joking” took place during the contest, not following the death of the contestant.
After the contest ended, the DJs interviewed Jennifer and jokingly commented on “how she looked three-months pregnant” as her “belly was sticking out”. (CNN – Transcript)
The jury of 12 put the blame squarely on the radio station, and not on the participant, who had signed a liability waiver. The liability waiver was thrown out by the court.
What I found interesting in this case, with what limited details which were covered in HLN Prime Time News with Mike Gallanos this early morning on October 31, 2009 (likely a taped playback of an earlier broadcast on October 30, 2009) was that the jury didn’t blame the participant for not using “common sense”.
Mrs. Strange was 28 years old and a married mother of three young children. HLN did not state whether or not the makers of the Wii, or the radio station, gave a Wii surviving family members, following the death of the wife and mother.
KDND-FM fired 10 workers after the incident.
For more on the story see the following websites:
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/30/crimesider/entry5460584.shtml
(October 30, 2009 – posting)
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/17/lkl.01.html
(January, 2007 – following the actual event – “Larry King Live” – CNN Transcript)
Why are “expiration dates” on butter a mystery????? Why is it so hard to find out ‘when’ the expiration date is?
Today, October 27, 2009: I found a leftover package of Lactantia butter this morning, and wanted to use it for cooking breakfast. Reading the six-sided label, I noticed that there was no expiration date. I made a call to Lactantia, and the first interesting thing was that the “Questions / Comments” phone number on the package, well, it rings to an extention that then just says “The person at this extention does not subscribe to this service. Goodbye “- and disconnects.
Okay….went to the computer, looked up the Lactantia company website. Filled out the Contact Us” form. Hmm…it doesn’t work either. “Communications error. Retry later.” However, there was another phone number, so I called it. It starts out the same way….suggesting that people who want to speak French can hit “neuf” (nine). After at least a half-dozen suggestions to just leave a message (with no indication that I would be called back), I eventually reached a nice woman who took the information. However, she informed me that even she would have to “look up the expiration date, as the butter industry is the most complicated industry in Canada….that they aren’t supposed to put expiration dates on butter, and don’t put them on most margarines. …If you don’t like this, contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.” A few minutes later she returned to the phone to tell me that my butter had expired at the end of June this year (so that, in this case only, I think, made this butter possibly ‘good’ for about six months).
My question is this: “When did things become SO complicated after leaving the cow?”
At a time when people are hyper-sensitive to health and medical issues – is it too much to ask to have products labeled with an accurate phone number for Consumer Questions and and expiration date?
Lactantia is not the only company out there with this customer service / consumer relations problem. It just seems the ability to reach quality customer service quickly, and in the home country, at many companies is a thing of the past. I usually have a bias thinking this is a U.S. problem mostly as so much of the customer service has been outsourced to third-world countries. Thus, phone calls get disconnects, or workers who hardly speak English, or who won’t help elevate a problem to the next level up.
I am finding problems like the above coming up more frequently in Canada: busy signals, disconnected calls, or being told that due to such “high call volumes” they can’t take a call, or that as a caller you never get through, or that ask either for “your mailbox number please”, or you are told that “the subscriber doesn’t subscribe to this service” – when the switchboard rings over to the person who is supposed to be taking calls.
Is Quality Customer Service dying in North America????
Should a consumer have to call each company to find out an ‘expiration date’? That certainly will bring in higher call volumes.
Meanwhile, if you do need to check on an “expiration date” chances are you will need the bar code numbers and any other numbers stamped on the package.
And – if the Canadian Food Inspection Agency doesn’t want butter or margarine labeled with an expiration date – why?
………….
Canadian Food Inspection Agency: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml
The first thing I noticed on the above website is that it prominently posts the latest warnings about food recalls. I wonder how many people know this is a website that possibly should be “bookmarked”?
I called in to the Agency at 1-800-442-2342 / 1-613-225-2342. I was referred to the Fair Labeling Department. 604-666-6038, to leave a message for callback or call to Victoria, BC at 250-363-3455 where I could directly reach agents. I was referred to Burnaby, BC 604-666-6513. [I don't mind being transferred here - I am reaching real people, not voice mail.] Burnaby transferred me to the Fair Labeling Dept. Consumer Product Section: Labeling and Composition issues with Canadian products. That department has a message saying that they return calls between 2-4pm, Monday – Friday. So…stay tuned.
More information on product “expiration date” labeling is available on the Agency website:
http://inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/tipcon/date.shtml
………..
Trivia other interesting information on Canadian Food Inspection Agency – if you have questions on health food products, the number to call at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is: Health Foods Questions: 604-666-335
CBS Network, in apparently a fear-based effort to do possible damage control, decided to have a cutoff tolerance level for the David Letterman confession stories airing onUTube. It apparently did not want clips of the Letterman confession going viral.
David Letterman, who recently exposed an unfavourable news story on himself in about as a mature, honorable way as possible – directly with his show viewers and owned up to his actions, apparently has more maturity about the situation than the CBS Network.
This story posted tonight on Yahoo News. Finally CBS has given evidence of corporations direct control and ability to create news blackouts.
The irony is that even David Letterman didn’t want to block the news.
“On the Web, videos of Letterman’s confession were hard to find. CBS, which has an agreement with YouTube, hadn’t posted any clips of the segment as of late Friday. It also didn’t have the episode available on www.cbs.com.
The demand was clearly there. Throughout Friday, videos of his revelation were posted on YouTube without CBS’ permission. Whenever they gained thousands of views, CBS had them removed.”
Co-workers meet, date, fall in love, co-habitate or marry on a way-of-life basis almost worldwide, excluding perhaps nations with arranged marriages. This has happened as long as women have worked. David Letterman meeting and dating or playing around with co-workers – was this really an unusual news story, or a lame attempt for extortion?
While the full details have not come out (and do these details even need to come out?) did David Letterman do anything wrong? If all the people involved were consenting adults, then was there a problem? Was there such an implied imbalance of power it was improper for him to do this? Is there a distinction between what a late-night talk show host should consider ethical behavior and what is ethically okay between SAG actor talent and IATSE or Teamster support crew on a film shoot? There are many stories in the news of actor talent meeting and falling for production assistants, people in wardrobe or hair /make-up, etc., or producers marrying actors that they met on a shoot. Are there different rules for similar situations?
If you think of the workplace as a pyramid, the David’s of the world are at the top of the pyramid, and crew and staff are on the platforms of the pyramid leading up to the top. It can be lonely at the top. When you add in the sheer extensive number of hours it takes to produce a show, chances are most people involved in a show are going to meet people that they want to date, or hook-up with, at work. Should the David’s at the top be excluded from the meet-up opportunities?
While I am not a fan of the Letterman show (too silly for my liking, most nights), but will watch it from time to time in channel surfing, depending on his guests that night, I do defend David Letterman’s right to personal freedoms guaranteed by U.S. laws. As long as he did not abuse his power position, at the time these events happened, and unless some other illegal activity was involved, then I don’t see much of a story here – other than the one about the extortion attempt.
I do appreciate Conan O’Brien taking the high road and not commenting on the situation, and Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon going easy on the jokes, jokes even David Letterman might find harmlessly funny.
The one thing that definitely remains true about the American culture, Americans seemingly are far more up tight about where their people get sex – and somehow figure it is “everyone’s business” - than the rest of first world country cultures.
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