| Do Not Call List Announced for Campaign Ads
If your phone has been ringing off the hook this political season, rest assured, you are not alone. Thousands of Las Vegan's have been pulled from the sofa, dinner table and even out of their beds at night to answer the phone -- only to hear an automated political campaign ad. Now that the caucus is over the calls have dwindled away but you can be sure that in a few months, when both parties have their nominee for president, the calls will start again. Some Las Vegans have already had enough and the Secretary of State has a way you can stop the political ringing in your ear. "I think it got a little tiresome after a while picking up the phone," said voter Bill O'Mahoney. "I said "you know you guys are just like telemarketing, I am having dinner and I have to listen to you.'" Thousands of campaign calls have flooded homes in the valley and residents say it's really a pain in their ear.
FTC fines telemarketer $180,000
A California telemarketing firm has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to settle charges that it made 46 million illegal calls, a government agency said Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department said in a complaint that Voice Mail Broadcasting Corp. and its owner, Jesse Crowe, violated federal telemarketing rules by making 46 million automated calls since October 2003. The prerecorded calls pitched debt consolidation, mortgage services and other financial products, the agency said. When consumers answered, the calls were either terminated or the prerecorded message played. The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule requires that calls answered by individuals be connected to a live sales representative within two seconds. Under the settlement, Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Voice Mail Broadcasting and Crowe were fined $3 million, the FTC said in a release.
Court fines telemarketer $180,000 for making 46 million irritating ...
A California telemarketing firm has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission that it made 46 million illegal calls. The original fine was $3 million all but $180,000 will be suspended based on the defendants' inability to pay. According to the complaint filed by the Department of Justice, since October 1, 2003, Voice-Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) and its owner, Jesse Crowe, have used automated dialers to “blast" consumers with prerecorded telemarketing pitches, the FTC stated. The calls pitched products from debt-consolidation services to mortgage brokerage services and other retail and financial services. When VMBC's telemarketing calls were answered by consumers rather than answering machines or voicemail systems, VMBC either immediately hung up, leaving consumers with “dead air," or played a prerecorded message.
Marketing outfit made 46 million illegal calls
A CALIFORNIAN telemarketing company which used automated gear to annoy the world with pre-recorded telemarketing pitches has been fined $180,000 for its antics. The Federal Trade Commission that Voice-Mail Broadcasting Corporation (VMBC) made 46 million illegal calls using the equipment. The FTC wanted to fine the company a million dollars but worked out that VMBC and its owner Jesse Crowe had no way to pay such a steep fine. The calls were flogging debt-consolidation and mortgage brokerage services and other retail and financial services. According to Network World, the equipment was supposed to leave messages on answerphones and it hung up if it got a human. This is illegal, as the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rules say that calls should be connected to a human sales representative within two seconds.
Engaging Somalia Via The Road Least Traveled
The report card is in, and the end of the year accumulative grade indicates miserable failure. Worsening conditions for the ailing nation of Somalia, costly quagmire for Ethiopia and political wild-goose chase that produced a new hotbed of Anti-Americanism in the Horn for the US.
So now is the time for all, especially for Washington, as the most influential contributing force blamed for the current humanitarian catastrophe, to ponder the mistakes made, opportunities missed, and ways to constructively reverse course toward order and lasting peace.
Framing the right policy hinges not only the objective analysis of the current situation, but the political dynamics that paved the way for the Washington-backed Ethiopian invasion and the subsequent occupation of Somalia.
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