Your communication rights - use them follow this link for the full crtc ruling . A move in the right direction for customers at long last - PR
Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-XX: "Your right to register a dispute or complaint
You have the right to dispute charges and to file a complaint about the service you receive. There are processes in place to assist you if you are having difficulties getting service or answers from your phone company.
Disputing phone charges
You have the right to dispute any telephone charges on your billing statement that you believe are incorrect. If you dispute a telephone charge, the phone company will investigate your claims, and will make the results of its investigation available to you. The phone company cannot consider the charges that you are disputing to be past due, but you are required to pay the undisputed portion of your bill.
As a general rule, the phone company cannot threaten to suspend or cut off your phone service over any amounts that you are disputing (see 'Your rights when the phone company wants to cut off your phone service' section).
Various scams and frauds exist that may affect your telephone service and could lead to additional charges on your phone bill. You are responsible for keeping yourself informed and protecting yourself against various scams and fraud. For more information about known scams and fraud, contact your phone company.
Complaints
You also have the right to complain to the phone company if you have any problems with the service you receive. If you have a dispute or complaint, the first step is to speak to your phone company. If the representative handling your call cannot resolve the problem to your satisfaction, you can ask to speak to the service manager or a supervisor in the customer service department.
If you are still not satisfied with the answer you are getting, you can contact the CRTC. The CRTC will ask the phone company to respond to your concern shortly thereafter. You should receive "
Thursday, August 31, 2006
CRTC unveils phone "Bill of Rights"
If you are tired of being abused by the telephone monopoly -It seems that you ahve some tools to fight back . Please do so
PR
CRTC unveils phone "Bill of Rights": "CRTC unveils phone 'Bill of Rights'
16 rights cover everything from rules about protecting privacy to right to service for disabled"
PR
CRTC unveils phone "Bill of Rights": "CRTC unveils phone 'Bill of Rights'
16 rights cover everything from rules about protecting privacy to right to service for disabled"
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Privacy advocates warn of Big Brother
Why do we bother with a bill of rights? PR Privacy advocates warn of Big Brother: "Internet and privacy experts also fear the federal government will revamp Internet surveillance legislation as early as this fall, giving law enforcement officials and Canadian Security and Intelligence Service agents access to personal information without a warrant.
Deisman, an Internet law expert, says Internet providers have been 'intimidated' into complying with the incoming surveillance act.
'There were even suggestions that Internet service providers would have to keep people on staff to respond to police warrants on a 24-7 basis,' he said.
'If we read between the lines of this legislation, this is how the government has scared them into doing this on their own.' "
Deisman, an Internet law expert, says Internet providers have been 'intimidated' into complying with the incoming surveillance act.
'There were even suggestions that Internet service providers would have to keep people on staff to respond to police warrants on a 24-7 basis,' he said.
'If we read between the lines of this legislation, this is how the government has scared them into doing this on their own.' "
Value for money? Which deadbeat are you happy with?
Ombudsman Rips Family Responsibility Office
Ontario’s Ombudsman, André Marin, released a scathing report today on the province’s Family Responsibility Office (FRO).The agency is charged with enforcing child support orders in the province and, Marin found, is fundamentally failing to do its job.Here are a few facts and quotes from Marin’s press conference.
Support payment arrears are at an “all-time historical high” of $1.35 billion because of the agency’s “lackadaisical” attitude toward collection.
Welfare payments are up $200 million as a consequence and “dead beats in this province have been having a free ride on the backs the citizens of Ontario,” he said.
Just 70 per cent of the 185,000 support orders filed annually with the office are compliant, which the FRO defines as someone who pays at least 85 per cent of order. Marin found one instance where a prison inmate was deemed to be “compliant” because he was in no position to pay, and thus took the agency’s numbers “with a grain of salt.”
When confronted with specific problems, FRO offered “platitudinous excuses or outright evasions,” Marin said.“I can tell you for the last decade it has been the bane of existence for overseers in this province,” he said.“It has been a money pit for the government and it has been the source of immense frustration for those receiving child support payments.”“We need to fix this and put it to rest once and for all,” Marin said.
Ontario’s Ombudsman, André Marin, released a scathing report today on the province’s Family Responsibility Office (FRO).The agency is charged with enforcing child support orders in the province and, Marin found, is fundamentally failing to do its job.Here are a few facts and quotes from Marin’s press conference.
Support payment arrears are at an “all-time historical high” of $1.35 billion because of the agency’s “lackadaisical” attitude toward collection.
Welfare payments are up $200 million as a consequence and “dead beats in this province have been having a free ride on the backs the citizens of Ontario,” he said.
Just 70 per cent of the 185,000 support orders filed annually with the office are compliant, which the FRO defines as someone who pays at least 85 per cent of order. Marin found one instance where a prison inmate was deemed to be “compliant” because he was in no position to pay, and thus took the agency’s numbers “with a grain of salt.”
When confronted with specific problems, FRO offered “platitudinous excuses or outright evasions,” Marin said.“I can tell you for the last decade it has been the bane of existence for overseers in this province,” he said.“It has been a money pit for the government and it has been the source of immense frustration for those receiving child support payments.”“We need to fix this and put it to rest once and for all,” Marin said.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Alberta Mounties retain jobs despite criminal convictions, investigation finds
are there different standards for government organizations? PR
Alberta Mounties retain jobs despite criminal convictions, investigation finds: "Alberta Mounties retain jobs despite criminal convictions, investigation finds
* * * * Jason van Rassel, CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, August 07, 2006
CALGARY -- Assault and impaired driving convictions led to reprimands and pay deductions but no firings for Alberta RCMP members disciplined in the past 18 months.
The Calgary Herald used access-to-information legislation to obtain written decisions involving 10 Alberta RCMP members who have been disciplined since the beginning of 2005 four of whom were also criminally charged in connection with their conduct.
During the past 18 months, nine officers and one civilian employee appeared before a three-member RCMP panel that hears cases alleging serious breaches of the force's code of conduct."
Alberta Mounties retain jobs despite criminal convictions, investigation finds: "Alberta Mounties retain jobs despite criminal convictions, investigation finds
* * * * Jason van Rassel, CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, August 07, 2006
CALGARY -- Assault and impaired driving convictions led to reprimands and pay deductions but no firings for Alberta RCMP members disciplined in the past 18 months.
The Calgary Herald used access-to-information legislation to obtain written decisions involving 10 Alberta RCMP members who have been disciplined since the beginning of 2005 four of whom were also criminally charged in connection with their conduct.
During the past 18 months, nine officers and one civilian employee appeared before a three-member RCMP panel that hears cases alleging serious breaches of the force's code of conduct."
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Creative approaches to age discrimination
Job search techniques: Smashing the gray ceiling
Article By: Virginia Bola
For decades, women have chaffed at the invisible glass ceiling which prevents their moving into the high executive brackets that their competence, knowledge and skills have earned. The same amorphous barrier confronts older workers both in terms of advancement within a company and, most especially, when a job change is required. There is an adage in the military that if a rank above major has not been obtained within 20 years, it never will be. The ranks of early military retirees are sprinkled with majors who knew that 10 or 15 more years would never bring a Colonel's cluster.
How can such "unwritten rules" be fought? No lawsuit can prove that you were the best individual for the job. No employer is unintelligent enough to state that your age is the stumbling block. You sense the discrimination, you become aware of the sideways glances and the emotional response of an interviewer, but you feel powerless to change their perspective and their bias.
Sitting across an interviewing desk, often facing an individual the same age as your son, your esteem erodes and your confidence self-destructs. Impotent, humiliated, and angry, you accept that nothing you can say is going to change anything. You continue job hunting with a mounting sense of frustration and an indisputable anticipation of failure.
If you have nothing to lose, why not attack the problem head-on? Prejudice and discrimination survive only in the silence of unexamined judgments and, often unconscious, illogic. Confront the situation and at least you create the opportunity for the white light of reason to enter the fray.
Try these approaches to prompt more honest interaction and possibly more rational conclusions.
1. You need to be the one to put the age issue on the table. Offer it gently, as one area of needed exploration regarding why you fit the employer's needs. Bring it up objectively, as something that can be discussed unemotionally, without triggering lethal interviewer defensiveness.
2. Acknowledge your age as a basis for emphasizing the experience of a lifetime and the value that such experience can provide to any employer. Concentrate on describing how business has changed over the course of years and how deftly you have adapted to those changes and incorporated new ideas and technical advancements into your work performance.
3. Acknowledge common misperceptions about the weaknesses of age: hard-to-break habits, lack of flexibility, technological ignorance, and distrust of authority, especially if young. Then use your sales ability to eliminate those misperceptions, probably already resonating in the interviewer's head.
Habits: Remind your host of the ability to adapt and reshape yourself which has kept your thinking young. Stress your relish for new challenges and innovative approaches. Cite some examples from your past about how smoothly you have been able to change to new workflows and procedures.
Flexibility: Discuss your dislike of unproductive routine and your preference for trying new methods of approaching tasks. Stress those times in the past when you were able to develop creative solutions to long-term problems and how your resourcefulness helped your previous employers.
Technology: Identify new technical advances within your field and address how you have internalized those changes. If you have successfully transitioned from dictating to a secretary to email and instant messaging, if you have moved from a manual adding machine to competent computer literacy, then small changes like learning new software or novel production systems should be a snap.
Authority issues: You have attained authority in the past and you have also worked under a variety of supervisors in your long career life. Clarify your relationship with power: the respect you extend to those who are knowledgeable, the loyalty and support you offer any leader of your team, the self-respect you enjoy which allows you to participate in group goals enthusiastically without feeling that you need to be in charge or command the top title.
4. Once you have demolished the myths of age, emphasize its strengths: reliability, mature judgment, lack of impulsivity, timeliness, a strong work ethic, and the ability to perform without outside distractions such as personal relationship problems, child commitments, and social responsibilities.
Undoubtedly, there are individuals out there who have their own issues with hiring someone who reminds them of their father or who have had problems in the past with an underperforming older worker who was difficult to terminate. There will always be those you cannot reach, no matter how convincing your logic and your presentation.
There are many more who are open-minded and seek not to make rash judgments. Address their semi-conscious fears face to face and the interview may end successfully - for both you and your lucky new employer.
Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a respected Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and emotionally supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com/
Article By: Virginia Bola
For decades, women have chaffed at the invisible glass ceiling which prevents their moving into the high executive brackets that their competence, knowledge and skills have earned. The same amorphous barrier confronts older workers both in terms of advancement within a company and, most especially, when a job change is required. There is an adage in the military that if a rank above major has not been obtained within 20 years, it never will be. The ranks of early military retirees are sprinkled with majors who knew that 10 or 15 more years would never bring a Colonel's cluster.
How can such "unwritten rules" be fought? No lawsuit can prove that you were the best individual for the job. No employer is unintelligent enough to state that your age is the stumbling block. You sense the discrimination, you become aware of the sideways glances and the emotional response of an interviewer, but you feel powerless to change their perspective and their bias.
Sitting across an interviewing desk, often facing an individual the same age as your son, your esteem erodes and your confidence self-destructs. Impotent, humiliated, and angry, you accept that nothing you can say is going to change anything. You continue job hunting with a mounting sense of frustration and an indisputable anticipation of failure.
If you have nothing to lose, why not attack the problem head-on? Prejudice and discrimination survive only in the silence of unexamined judgments and, often unconscious, illogic. Confront the situation and at least you create the opportunity for the white light of reason to enter the fray.
Try these approaches to prompt more honest interaction and possibly more rational conclusions.
1. You need to be the one to put the age issue on the table. Offer it gently, as one area of needed exploration regarding why you fit the employer's needs. Bring it up objectively, as something that can be discussed unemotionally, without triggering lethal interviewer defensiveness.
2. Acknowledge your age as a basis for emphasizing the experience of a lifetime and the value that such experience can provide to any employer. Concentrate on describing how business has changed over the course of years and how deftly you have adapted to those changes and incorporated new ideas and technical advancements into your work performance.
3. Acknowledge common misperceptions about the weaknesses of age: hard-to-break habits, lack of flexibility, technological ignorance, and distrust of authority, especially if young. Then use your sales ability to eliminate those misperceptions, probably already resonating in the interviewer's head.
Habits: Remind your host of the ability to adapt and reshape yourself which has kept your thinking young. Stress your relish for new challenges and innovative approaches. Cite some examples from your past about how smoothly you have been able to change to new workflows and procedures.
Flexibility: Discuss your dislike of unproductive routine and your preference for trying new methods of approaching tasks. Stress those times in the past when you were able to develop creative solutions to long-term problems and how your resourcefulness helped your previous employers.
Technology: Identify new technical advances within your field and address how you have internalized those changes. If you have successfully transitioned from dictating to a secretary to email and instant messaging, if you have moved from a manual adding machine to competent computer literacy, then small changes like learning new software or novel production systems should be a snap.
Authority issues: You have attained authority in the past and you have also worked under a variety of supervisors in your long career life. Clarify your relationship with power: the respect you extend to those who are knowledgeable, the loyalty and support you offer any leader of your team, the self-respect you enjoy which allows you to participate in group goals enthusiastically without feeling that you need to be in charge or command the top title.
4. Once you have demolished the myths of age, emphasize its strengths: reliability, mature judgment, lack of impulsivity, timeliness, a strong work ethic, and the ability to perform without outside distractions such as personal relationship problems, child commitments, and social responsibilities.
Undoubtedly, there are individuals out there who have their own issues with hiring someone who reminds them of their father or who have had problems in the past with an underperforming older worker who was difficult to terminate. There will always be those you cannot reach, no matter how convincing your logic and your presentation.
There are many more who are open-minded and seek not to make rash judgments. Address their semi-conscious fears face to face and the interview may end successfully - for both you and your lucky new employer.
Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a respected Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and emotionally supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com/
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
The Epoch Times | Worse Than Any Nightmare�Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup
There is true evil in the world. Conentration camps flourish and prisoners organs are harvested for profit. Be aware , tell others of the horror and try to stop it PR
The Epoch Times Worse Than Any Nightmare�Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup: "Worse Than Any Nightmare�Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup
Over 6,000 Falun Gong Practitioners Detained in Secret Concentration Camp in China; 425 Bird Flu Patients in Two Facilities
Epoch Times StaffMar 10, 2006
A reporter from China who worked for a Japanese television news agency and specialized in Chinese news recently escaped to the United States after being wanted in China for reporting on controversial issues. (The Epoch Times)
[High-resolution image ] A long-time reporter who worked for a Japanese television news agency and specialized in news on China told The Epoch Times that some little-known and very frightening things are happening in China today. To protect his identity, The Epoch Times will refer to him as Mr. R."
The Epoch Times Worse Than Any Nightmare�Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup: "Worse Than Any Nightmare�Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup
Over 6,000 Falun Gong Practitioners Detained in Secret Concentration Camp in China; 425 Bird Flu Patients in Two Facilities
Epoch Times StaffMar 10, 2006
A reporter from China who worked for a Japanese television news agency and specialized in Chinese news recently escaped to the United States after being wanted in China for reporting on controversial issues. (The Epoch Times)
[High-resolution image ] A long-time reporter who worked for a Japanese television news agency and specialized in news on China told The Epoch Times that some little-known and very frightening things are happening in China today. To protect his identity, The Epoch Times will refer to him as Mr. R."
Monday, July 31, 2006
Court crisis?
Why not fix it ? How about regular business hours - and special courts to deal with less serious matters? PR
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Courts in crisis over judicial shortage
James Wallace
Queens Park - Saturday, July 22, 2006
For the past decade, a succession of elected officials helped butter their
political bread by announcing crack downs on all manner of crime.
They've targeted child pornographers, marijuana grow house operators, street
racers and even pit bulls.
They've put more cops on street, built more jails, not only to deal with
increasing and increasingly complex crimes but to cope with a population
that has grown by several million people over that time.
Inexplicably, the same politicians have resisted hiring more judges to hear
the inevitable increase in new cases created by their crackdowns and
population growth.
As a consequence, courts across Ontario are struggling with crushing
backlogs, Crowns are increasingly being forced to plea bargain, police are
letting petty criminals off the hook and children and families are being
forced to wait for justice.
'The whole system is off balance,' Heather McGee, president Ontario Bar
Association, told Osprey News.
'It's been running thin for so long that all it takes is one major trial or
an incremental increase in population and you lose the ability to deal with
things in a timely and effective manner,' McGee said.
The current and looming judicial shortage is a significant part of the
problem.
'Our judicial complement has been more or less static for the last decade,'
McGee said.
'I think the last time new positions were created was 1999, only two positions were created.' "
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Courts in crisis over judicial shortage
James Wallace
Queens Park - Saturday, July 22, 2006
For the past decade, a succession of elected officials helped butter their
political bread by announcing crack downs on all manner of crime.
They've targeted child pornographers, marijuana grow house operators, street
racers and even pit bulls.
They've put more cops on street, built more jails, not only to deal with
increasing and increasingly complex crimes but to cope with a population
that has grown by several million people over that time.
Inexplicably, the same politicians have resisted hiring more judges to hear
the inevitable increase in new cases created by their crackdowns and
population growth.
As a consequence, courts across Ontario are struggling with crushing
backlogs, Crowns are increasingly being forced to plea bargain, police are
letting petty criminals off the hook and children and families are being
forced to wait for justice.
'The whole system is off balance,' Heather McGee, president Ontario Bar
Association, told Osprey News.
'It's been running thin for so long that all it takes is one major trial or
an incremental increase in population and you lose the ability to deal with
things in a timely and effective manner,' McGee said.
The current and looming judicial shortage is a significant part of the
problem.
'Our judicial complement has been more or less static for the last decade,'
McGee said.
'I think the last time new positions were created was 1999, only two positions were created.' "
Words of wisdom
Classic Quotes by Milton Friedman(1912- ) US economist
A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ------------------------- Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it. ------------------------
- Governments never learn. Only people learn. ------------------------
- Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. ------------------------
- History suggests that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition. ------------------------
- I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible. ------------------------
- I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal. ------------------------
- Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation. ------------------------
- Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "
City man to face justice in U.S.
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Saturday, July 22, 2006 @ 01:00
Brantfords Shane Ferras has lost the last of his appeals in a bid to avoid being extradited to the U.S. following a Supreme Court decision Friday morning.
Ferras, now 41, soon will be moved from the Brantford jail, where he stepped into custody on Thursday evening, to New York State to face trial on charges of fraud and money laundering as part of a high-pressure stock brokerage in the mid-1990s.
He has no further recourse, Ferrass lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said in a telephone interview from Toronto.
Theyll transfer him to the United States and, hopefully, hell get a trial as quickly as possible so the matter is resolved.
Greenspan said his client is a relatively young man with a young family and a bright future.
Working hard
While fighting his extradition order, which was signed in 2002, Ferras has been working hard as a businessman in sales, said Greenspan.
The Brantford-born Ferras was a two per cent owner in a New York brokerage house clearing $2.3 million in his few years with the company, according to court documents.
On Feb. 15, 2001, all 29 of the companys stockbrokers were arrested, including Ferras, who was back in Brantford at the time.
Despite an order in 2002 committing Ferras to be extradited, his lawyers argued that their client shouldnt been sent to the U.S. based on a case relying on hearsay evidence some of it from alleged co-conspirators who have co-operated with the American investigation.
In a surprising move, this weeks Supreme Court decision agreed to some extent. "
The trial usge must consider the las and the facts and not just be a rubber stamp
City man to face justice in U.S.
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Saturday, July 22, 2006 @ 01:00
Brantfords Shane Ferras has lost the last of his appeals in a bid to avoid being extradited to the U.S. following a Supreme Court decision Friday morning.
Ferras, now 41, soon will be moved from the Brantford jail, where he stepped into custody on Thursday evening, to New York State to face trial on charges of fraud and money laundering as part of a high-pressure stock brokerage in the mid-1990s.
He has no further recourse, Ferrass lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said in a telephone interview from Toronto.
Theyll transfer him to the United States and, hopefully, hell get a trial as quickly as possible so the matter is resolved.
Greenspan said his client is a relatively young man with a young family and a bright future.
Working hard
While fighting his extradition order, which was signed in 2002, Ferras has been working hard as a businessman in sales, said Greenspan.
The Brantford-born Ferras was a two per cent owner in a New York brokerage house clearing $2.3 million in his few years with the company, according to court documents.
On Feb. 15, 2001, all 29 of the companys stockbrokers were arrested, including Ferras, who was back in Brantford at the time.
Despite an order in 2002 committing Ferras to be extradited, his lawyers argued that their client shouldnt been sent to the U.S. based on a case relying on hearsay evidence some of it from alleged co-conspirators who have co-operated with the American investigation.
In a surprising move, this weeks Supreme Court decision agreed to some extent. "
The trial usge must consider the las and the facts and not just be a rubber stamp
Friday, July 21, 2006
Sell the World Who You Really Are
Sell the World Who You Really Are: "Sell the World Who You Really Are
by Don Sexton, PhD
Bedrock marketing insights from the author of Trump University Marketing 101
When I was growing up, my family had a business installing water systems for country clubs, farms and housing developments. Whenever I went and worked alongside my father at those places, I could see how much people respected him for his honesty and integrity. He delivered what he promised. If a system failed at any time of the day or night, his customers knew they could call him and he would arrive promptly to fix the problem.
At that time, I had no idea what marketing was. I certainly had no idea that my father, through his honesty and integrity, was actually marketing on a very high level. But he was - and as effectively as any Fortune 500 company.
Today, I teach state-of-the-art marketing techniques at Columbia University and Trump University. But even the most advanced marketing approaches are closely tied to what my father was doing. Through his actions, he told the world that he had something special to offer.
Stop for a moment and think about the businesses in your area. There are dry cleaners, hardware stores and the rest. But are some of them known for doing something special? Is a certain dry cleaner known for its ability to get a spot out of any kind of fabric? Is a certain hardware store known for having experts on staff who patiently answer questions from do-it-yourselfers? Local merchants who differentiate themselves in that way are miles ahead of other businesses that just open their doors and wait for customers to arrive.
That ability to be special, which I learned from my father, is actually the bedrock of good marketing.
Effective marketing does not live or die on clever ads or databases. It hinges on your ability to tell customers that you have to sell that makes you different. It is a way of telling the world what you have to offer, and who you really are."
by Don Sexton, PhD
Bedrock marketing insights from the author of Trump University Marketing 101
When I was growing up, my family had a business installing water systems for country clubs, farms and housing developments. Whenever I went and worked alongside my father at those places, I could see how much people respected him for his honesty and integrity. He delivered what he promised. If a system failed at any time of the day or night, his customers knew they could call him and he would arrive promptly to fix the problem.
At that time, I had no idea what marketing was. I certainly had no idea that my father, through his honesty and integrity, was actually marketing on a very high level. But he was - and as effectively as any Fortune 500 company.
Today, I teach state-of-the-art marketing techniques at Columbia University and Trump University. But even the most advanced marketing approaches are closely tied to what my father was doing. Through his actions, he told the world that he had something special to offer.
Stop for a moment and think about the businesses in your area. There are dry cleaners, hardware stores and the rest. But are some of them known for doing something special? Is a certain dry cleaner known for its ability to get a spot out of any kind of fabric? Is a certain hardware store known for having experts on staff who patiently answer questions from do-it-yourselfers? Local merchants who differentiate themselves in that way are miles ahead of other businesses that just open their doors and wait for customers to arrive.
That ability to be special, which I learned from my father, is actually the bedrock of good marketing.
Effective marketing does not live or die on clever ads or databases. It hinges on your ability to tell customers that you have to sell that makes you different. It is a way of telling the world what you have to offer, and who you really are."
Saturday, July 01, 2006
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A little gift for us
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A little gift for us: "The tax cut will benefit everyone and will make a small dent in the overall tax burden suffered by Canadians. Almost every time we make a purchase, we'll keep some cash that otherwise would have been sucked into the bottomless money pit that is the federal government. That is a good thing.
The Harper Tories promised the GST cut as part of their election platform and, to their credit, they managed to make good on it quickly, despite presiding over a minority government.
It's no accident that the tax cut is taking effect on Canada Day.
The symbolism is just too good for the government to pass up. What better day is there for the Harper government to demonstrate in a real and meaningful way that it's committed to reducing taxes than on our nation's birthday?
As far as we're concerned, then, it's just one more reason to celebrate living in such a great nation that's full of fantastic people and beautiful landscapes.
And if all goes according to plan, we hope to get another Canada Day birthday present in the years ahead, as the Tories have promised to reduce the hated tax by another one point, to 5%, within five years. With any luck, that would be as soon as next year. "
The Harper Tories promised the GST cut as part of their election platform and, to their credit, they managed to make good on it quickly, despite presiding over a minority government.
It's no accident that the tax cut is taking effect on Canada Day.
The symbolism is just too good for the government to pass up. What better day is there for the Harper government to demonstrate in a real and meaningful way that it's committed to reducing taxes than on our nation's birthday?
As far as we're concerned, then, it's just one more reason to celebrate living in such a great nation that's full of fantastic people and beautiful landscapes.
And if all goes according to plan, we hope to get another Canada Day birthday present in the years ahead, as the Tories have promised to reduce the hated tax by another one point, to 5%, within five years. With any luck, that would be as soon as next year. "
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
All about the ta assessment rip off -PR
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Despite that worry, Haggart said the move had to be made.
�The whole system needs to be re-evaluated. It always was hard to explain. Each time I get questions from a taxpayer I take a shot at it. They look at me while I�m talking and say, Yeah, sure.�
�It�s so confusing nobody believes anything they see or what they�re told. That�s why the system needs to be fixed.�"
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Despite that worry, Haggart said the move had to be made.
�The whole system needs to be re-evaluated. It always was hard to explain. Each time I get questions from a taxpayer I take a shot at it. They look at me while I�m talking and say, Yeah, sure.�
�It�s so confusing nobody believes anything they see or what they�re told. That�s why the system needs to be fixed.�"
Monday, June 26, 2006
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tories earn healthy mark
And now if we can just clean up the provincial messes and we might be in for a real service for the public or people by the government. Hmmm- lets start with an accountability act for the justice system and get our basic liberties back-food for thought . PR
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tories earn healthy mark: "Harper took us all by surprise with his well thought out top-secret visit to rally the troops in Kandahar, where he also met with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In mid-April, his government scored a diplomatic coup when it negotiated an end to the decades-long softwood lumber dispute with the U.S.
And in May we got a budget that, while short on the kinds of tax cuts and spending restraints we'd prefer, at least offered a variety of targeted cuts plus a $100-a-month allowance for parents with preschoolers.
We have also seen the government deliver on its key campaign promises, including a GST reduction that takes effect in a week, an accountability act to prevent a repeat of odious events like the sponsorship scandal, legislation to get tough on crime and a bill to dismantle the costly and pointless gun registry.
Opposition parties, meanwhile, have been unable to mount any kind of meaningful attack against the government. In one memorable moment they collectively dozed off and missed the passage of a budget they had vowed to fight.
Overall we'll give the Tories a B-plus for a strong first term. Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois members will have to settle for a collective D. "
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tories earn healthy mark: "Harper took us all by surprise with his well thought out top-secret visit to rally the troops in Kandahar, where he also met with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In mid-April, his government scored a diplomatic coup when it negotiated an end to the decades-long softwood lumber dispute with the U.S.
And in May we got a budget that, while short on the kinds of tax cuts and spending restraints we'd prefer, at least offered a variety of targeted cuts plus a $100-a-month allowance for parents with preschoolers.
We have also seen the government deliver on its key campaign promises, including a GST reduction that takes effect in a week, an accountability act to prevent a repeat of odious events like the sponsorship scandal, legislation to get tough on crime and a bill to dismantle the costly and pointless gun registry.
Opposition parties, meanwhile, have been unable to mount any kind of meaningful attack against the government. In one memorable moment they collectively dozed off and missed the passage of a budget they had vowed to fight.
Overall we'll give the Tories a B-plus for a strong first term. Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois members will have to settle for a collective D. "
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Stick to the plan, Stephen
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Stick to the plan, Stephen: "We think governments, at whatever level, ought to be providing basic services and letting the private sector take care of the rest.
That approach means the government can leave more money in the pockets of ordinary taxpayers to spend as we see fit.
The alternative -- and we've seen plenty of examples how it works -- is for government to tax, tax, tax and then spend, spend, spend on programs that inevitably grow out of control. "
That approach means the government can leave more money in the pockets of ordinary taxpayers to spend as we see fit.
The alternative -- and we've seen plenty of examples how it works -- is for government to tax, tax, tax and then spend, spend, spend on programs that inevitably grow out of control. "
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Guilt beyond Guite?
And the fall guy is -take your pick ! Bureacracy the new form of despotism. As usual nobody is in charge when it comes to accepting responsibility. PR
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Guilt beyond Guite?: "Is it true?
So we'd like to hear from the Liberal candidates. Do they agree with Chretien that the 'system' is working? If not, what are they going to do when they become leader to ensure that every person responsible for AdScam, has his (or her) day of reckoning? "
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Guilt beyond Guite?: "Is it true?
So we'd like to hear from the Liberal candidates. Do they agree with Chretien that the 'system' is working? If not, what are they going to do when they become leader to ensure that every person responsible for AdScam, has his (or her) day of reckoning? "
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tax freedom? Yeah, sure
Discusting - time for change
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tax freedom? Yeah, sure: "In other words, when you tally up all the taxes -- income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, as well as profit taxes, health, social security and employment taxes, import duties, licence fees, sin taxes on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, natural resource fees, fuel taxes, hospital taxes, and a host of other levies -- you turn over almost as much to various governments in a year as you keep for yourself. Or to be precise, 46%.
Is it any wonder that we taxpayers are in a grumpy mood? Particularly when we look around and see almost daily examples of how governments at all three levels are wasting our money.
Every so often they make "
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tax freedom? Yeah, sure: "In other words, when you tally up all the taxes -- income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, as well as profit taxes, health, social security and employment taxes, import duties, licence fees, sin taxes on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, natural resource fees, fuel taxes, hospital taxes, and a host of other levies -- you turn over almost as much to various governments in a year as you keep for yourself. Or to be precise, 46%.
Is it any wonder that we taxpayers are in a grumpy mood? Particularly when we look around and see almost daily examples of how governments at all three levels are wasting our money.
Every so often they make "
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Terror suspects strike back at anti-terrorism law
And the price of freedom is? Seurity certificates are a bad precedent.PR
Terror suspects strike back at anti-terrorism law: "Society's interest in employing the best available truth-determining mechanisms is greatly elevated in the tumultuous struggle against terrorism,'' Paul Copeland argues.
``While the courts have generally deferred to governments on the issue, the reality is that national security claims and privilege claims have frequently been made to shield government or government officials from appropriate and necessary oversight.''
In the last 25 years, the federal government has issued about two-dozen security certificates, most of which have been upheld by the Federal Court and used to deport refugees and landed immigrants alleged to have terrorist links"
Terror suspects strike back at anti-terrorism law: "Society's interest in employing the best available truth-determining mechanisms is greatly elevated in the tumultuous struggle against terrorism,'' Paul Copeland argues.
``While the courts have generally deferred to governments on the issue, the reality is that national security claims and privilege claims have frequently been made to shield government or government officials from appropriate and necessary oversight.''
In the last 25 years, the federal government has issued about two-dozen security certificates, most of which have been upheld by the Federal Court and used to deport refugees and landed immigrants alleged to have terrorist links"
Monday, May 15, 2006
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
With all the real health services that they could fix- the ministry of health parasites have decided to go after farmers markets and other "free"markets". Stop them now before they cause more damage and hardship-PR
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "
Province Targets Farmers' Markets
James Wallace for the Osprey News Network
Queens Park - Saturday, May 13, 2006
On any given weekend, thousands of Ontario families hike out to a local farmers' market to shop for vegetables, crafts, meats, furniture, maple syrup and the usual soup to nuts piled on wooden stands and displayed under linen tents.
They have been enormously popular with urban and rural consumers for decades, serve as important tourist attractions in many communities, contribute significantly to regional economies and put a few bucks into the pockets of farmers, craftsmen and local merchants.
So it should come as absolutely no shock whatsoever that the provincial government is contemplating plans to regulate, red tape and otherwise drive farmers' markets out of existence.
Proposed food safety guidelines in a 48-page draft document prepared in March for the Ministry of Health will require farmers' markets to meet the same stringent measures applied to restaurants, grocery stores and large scale commercial food producers and distributors.
They contemplate, for example, lab tests for home-made jelly, that honey made by local bees contain no more than 17 per cent moisture, recommendations that every market have two bathrooms (one for staff, one for the public), sinks and hand-washing facilities, log books to record food thermometer temperatures during cooking and that farmers and merchants take courses to become certified food handlers.
Bob Runciman, the MPP for Leeds Grenville, said the reach of the proposed measures also won't end at farmers' markets.
'It's pretty expansive,' Runciman said. 'They'll be"
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "
Province Targets Farmers' Markets
James Wallace for the Osprey News Network
Queens Park - Saturday, May 13, 2006
On any given weekend, thousands of Ontario families hike out to a local farmers' market to shop for vegetables, crafts, meats, furniture, maple syrup and the usual soup to nuts piled on wooden stands and displayed under linen tents.
They have been enormously popular with urban and rural consumers for decades, serve as important tourist attractions in many communities, contribute significantly to regional economies and put a few bucks into the pockets of farmers, craftsmen and local merchants.
So it should come as absolutely no shock whatsoever that the provincial government is contemplating plans to regulate, red tape and otherwise drive farmers' markets out of existence.
Proposed food safety guidelines in a 48-page draft document prepared in March for the Ministry of Health will require farmers' markets to meet the same stringent measures applied to restaurants, grocery stores and large scale commercial food producers and distributors.
They contemplate, for example, lab tests for home-made jelly, that honey made by local bees contain no more than 17 per cent moisture, recommendations that every market have two bathrooms (one for staff, one for the public), sinks and hand-washing facilities, log books to record food thermometer temperatures during cooking and that farmers and merchants take courses to become certified food handlers.
Bob Runciman, the MPP for Leeds Grenville, said the reach of the proposed measures also won't end at farmers' markets.
'It's pretty expansive,' Runciman said. 'They'll be"
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Tax relief is needed- PR
Sun, May 14, 2006 Time for gov't gouging to stop By TOM BRODBECK
If you want to find out how much the federal government has been over-charging us as taxpayers, check out the latest 2006 budget papers.
There's a whole section on how Ottawa has consistently been racking up massive budget surpluses since it balanced the books in 1997.
That in itself is no great secret. We've heard about larger than anticipated surpluses for years.
But what the budget does this year is take a closer look at the issue, including what can be done to end this perpetual over-charging.
Every year since 1997, the federal government has projected a modest surplus, including a $3-billion contingency fund which, if not used, went to pay down the debt.
It was good policy. And debt has been paid down to some extent (although we've still got a very long way to go).
Trouble is, because of high taxation -- including more than a decade where tax brackets weren't indexed to inflation -- and the massive employment insurance surplus racked up every year, Ottawa was taking in billions more a year than it projected.
Which simply means we were over-taxed.
On average, since 1997, the federal government's surplus was a staggering $5.6 billion more than projected. Over eight years, that's nearly $45 billion.
It's a massive amount of money. And it came right out of our pockets.
Instead of giving it back, though, they spent most of it, usually in a year-end frenzy to shore up political support.
Polite way
"This reduced the scope for parliamentarians and Canadians to have an informed debate on how these fiscal dividends were allocated," the 2006 budget says.
That's a polite way of putting it.
Another way of putting it is that taxpayers were screwed.
We paid far more than we should have.
There are valid reasons why government can have unanticipated surpluses. The economy can do better than expected, for example, generating more tax revenue than estimated.
That's fine. It's going to happen.
But when it happens every year, and at such high levels, there's a systemic gouging going on that has to stop.
The explanation in the budget, based on an independent review by the International Monetary Fund, is that the federal government's fiscal projections have been more cautious than other countries since the mid-1990s.
In plain English, that means Ottawa was deliberately underestimating its revenues in order to keep taxes high, knowing full well that by the end of the year, they would be awash in taxpayer dough.
And why would they do that?
Because if you believe in big government, if you think government should play a significant role in people's lives, you need the money to spend on big, universal programs, such as the so-called national child-care program.
By consistently underestimating revenues, government every year had a whack of money to splurge on all kinds of federal programs, with the hope of winning political credit for their efforts.
What they should have done is used realistic projections and given us our money back by way of broad-based tax relief.
At the very least, we should have all received rebate cheques in the mail.
If you want to find out how much the federal government has been over-charging us as taxpayers, check out the latest 2006 budget papers.
There's a whole section on how Ottawa has consistently been racking up massive budget surpluses since it balanced the books in 1997.
That in itself is no great secret. We've heard about larger than anticipated surpluses for years.
But what the budget does this year is take a closer look at the issue, including what can be done to end this perpetual over-charging.
Every year since 1997, the federal government has projected a modest surplus, including a $3-billion contingency fund which, if not used, went to pay down the debt.
It was good policy. And debt has been paid down to some extent (although we've still got a very long way to go).
Trouble is, because of high taxation -- including more than a decade where tax brackets weren't indexed to inflation -- and the massive employment insurance surplus racked up every year, Ottawa was taking in billions more a year than it projected.
Which simply means we were over-taxed.
On average, since 1997, the federal government's surplus was a staggering $5.6 billion more than projected. Over eight years, that's nearly $45 billion.
It's a massive amount of money. And it came right out of our pockets.
Instead of giving it back, though, they spent most of it, usually in a year-end frenzy to shore up political support.
Polite way
"This reduced the scope for parliamentarians and Canadians to have an informed debate on how these fiscal dividends were allocated," the 2006 budget says.
That's a polite way of putting it.
Another way of putting it is that taxpayers were screwed.
We paid far more than we should have.
There are valid reasons why government can have unanticipated surpluses. The economy can do better than expected, for example, generating more tax revenue than estimated.
That's fine. It's going to happen.
But when it happens every year, and at such high levels, there's a systemic gouging going on that has to stop.
The explanation in the budget, based on an independent review by the International Monetary Fund, is that the federal government's fiscal projections have been more cautious than other countries since the mid-1990s.
In plain English, that means Ottawa was deliberately underestimating its revenues in order to keep taxes high, knowing full well that by the end of the year, they would be awash in taxpayer dough.
And why would they do that?
Because if you believe in big government, if you think government should play a significant role in people's lives, you need the money to spend on big, universal programs, such as the so-called national child-care program.
By consistently underestimating revenues, government every year had a whack of money to splurge on all kinds of federal programs, with the hope of winning political credit for their efforts.
What they should have done is used realistic projections and given us our money back by way of broad-based tax relief.
At the very least, we should have all received rebate cheques in the mail.
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