The Towing Path

Some Thoughts about getting Tough…

Terry Dashner…………………………Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

I spent the decade of the 1990s in law enforcement. I was a police officer in Tulsa, OK until 2003 when I retired. As a police officer, I spent the 1990s learning the pros and cons of Community Policing. The term essentially defines policing by a proactive means, getting to the root cause of the crime problem and solving it by enlisting the help of all community resourcesneighborhoods, schools, community service agencies, churches, politicians, and media.

Policing is still undergoing transformation from reactive policingrunning from call to call without getting to the heart of the crime problemto a proactive, community policing. To this day policing philosophies weigh in heavily toward one or the other. On the one hand it’s community policing and on the other it’s old fashion policingcatch them, lock ‘em up, and get back on the streets. Both philosophies have strong and weak points, but usually Community Policing generates the most heated discussion. Why? Because it gives the appearance that law enforcement personnel are soft on crime and cops don’t want to be perceived as being soft, but tough.

Does toughness in law enforcement work to reduce crime? Let’s look at some of the current research. Again I quote heavily from Mona Charen’s book, Do-Gooders (Sentinel 2004). She has done her home work and is to be commended for her fine read. Says Mona, “Thanks to self-described do-gooders, America went on a compassion binge in the 1960s. The compassion was extended toward the poor and minorities; unfortunately, among the prime beneficiaries of this tenderness were violent criminals who would go on to terrorize the very poor neighborhoods whose well-being liberals supposedly sought.

“An early signal of the sixties’ laxity could be found in the statistics on punishment. In 1950, the expected punishment for murder and negligent manslaughter was 2.3 years in prison. By 1970, this had dropped to 1.7 years. Liberal academics and public intellectuals persuaded the nation that we needed to address the “root causes” of crime such as poverty and injustice.”

Mona Charen continues, “In 1949, the Court declared that retribution was ‘no longer the dominant objective of the criminal law.’ With nave optimism, it declared that the goal of incarceration would henceforth be ‘reformation and rehabilitation.’”

In 1961 in Mapp v. Ohio, the US Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained without a warrant could not be used in state criminal trialsthe birth of the exclusionary rule. The exclusionary rule has done more to damage the innocent and reward the criminally charged than any other court ruling in the past 40 years. Mona points out, and I agree whole heartedlywhy not just punish the rogue police officer for abusing the system instead of punishing society by enacting an exclusionary rule? Why do good people have to suffer at the hands of a few rogue police tactics, and “knee-jerk” Court rulings while rewarding the criminal by releasing him on technicalitiesthe fruit of the poisoned tree? Such is the way of “over reacting.”

Charen writes, “There is no question that a liberal approach to crimeleniency in sentencing, greater procedural protections for the accused, rationalizations (poverty, rage, or frustration) for criminal conduct, and a tendency to blame society rather than the perpetrator for criminal actscreated a climate in the 1960s and 1970s that helped to boost the crime rate. Other liberal initiatives and ideas further weakened restraints on lawlessness: the decline of the family, welfare dependency, and the overall withdrawal of respect for authority.” It’s true that the middle class can move out of the bad neighborhoods but the very poor are stuck to bear the burden of criminal victimization. The poor have to rely on the police (who are held subject to search and seizure restrictions of the Fourth Amendment) and court systems to rescue them and keep them safe. Have you ever had to rely on the overly burdened court system for justice?

More on this later…Pastor T.dash…Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus alone is perfect justice.

About the Author

Pastors a small church in Broken Arrow, OK.

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Whether you’ve recently moved into your new house & could do with a whole range of home appliances & fittings; or you simply need a new kettle - John Lewis can be of assistance. It is typically accepted that the kitchen is the soul of every house, so it is necessary to have the correct domestic appliances after all, the wrong microwave can make all the difference.

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A patent is an official document given by a national
government to an inventor (or business or corporation) who
wishes to have sole rights over a product for a limited
amount of time. Once the patent is granted, no one else has
the right to make, sell, market, or profit from the
invention.

In the United States, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) allows inventors and patent owners (including
businesses and corporations) to protect their products and
identification from others. Information can be found at
http://www.uspto.gov

Not just anything can be patented. In fact, obtaining a
patent may prove difficult given the necessary paperwork,
research and signatures needed. In order to obtain one, the
invention has to be brand new. This new invention has to
also be useful, original, and not easily created. In the
United States, these products might be machines,
compositions or methods, and manufactured products. Ideas
cannot be patented, nor can products that have been
“improved” or which have “changed” in size.

Plant patents, which protect non-pollinating plants,
utility patents that protect regular, new inventions, and
design patents, which protect the look or creativity of a
tangible product, are examples of the types of patents that
exist under the USPTO.

Patents give an inventor or business corporation the legal
right to own their invention. This means the patent holder
now has a legal monopoly and can do with it, what s/he
desires for the life of the patent. U.S. patents are good
for twenty years from the date the patent was requested.
This can be extended, but is difficult to do. And, payments
to the government must be made throughout the life of the
patent (usually 20 years).

An inventor may sell all their rights to the patent, or may
opt to sell only a certain part of it. When the patent
holder licenses his or her product to a manufacturer, for
example, he or she receives royalties based on the sale of
the product or invention.

The phrase “patent pending” has no legal hold, but simply
means that an individual or corporation is in the act of
patenting a certain product. If an item already has a
patent on it, then the copying of this item is
infringement. The patent holder can file a claim to sue the
accused.
===========================================================
Discover valuable advice and information about patent
searches and applications. Website contains useful articles
about us patent searches & applications
Click ==> http://www.us-patentsearch.com/

About the Author

Paul Johnson works as a software developer. Over the last
ten years, he’s made a variety of inventions which he’s
patented. He shares his experiences and advice in a series
of articles about us patent searches and patent
applications.

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Investing in a corporate entity is fairly standard practice in our society. Problems arise when you own a small percentage of shares, but disagree with the direction the majority shareholders are taking the entity. As a minority shareholder, do you have any way to fight “the man”, to wit, the majority shareholders?

Minority Shareholders

A couple of your friends come up with a great business idea, but need start-up capital. You agree to provide $10,000 for 30 percent of the shares. A corporation is formed, but the friends take the business in a direction you don’t like. What can you do?

The first step for a minority shareholder is to look at the bylaws of the corporation. If careful planning was taken when forming an entity, there should be clauses that detail your rights to object. If the corporation was formed through one of those $99 online sites, well…I wouldn’t hold out much hope. Heck, the entity may not even have bylaws!

If no relief can be found in the bylaws, a minority shareholder may be saved from themselves by their state. In every state, you will find legal codes laying out the rights of a “dissenting” shareholder. The laws are typically found in the “corporate” or “civil” codes, depending upon the state. Simply go to your local law library and ask a librarian for help.

Each state’s dissenter laws are going to be slightly different. Despite these differences, you should be able to find provisions that give a minority shareholder the right to throw a fit…err, seek justice. Generally, the dissenter rights are going to include some mechanism whereby you can force the corporation to buy back your shares.

While a “buy back” may sound great, it almost always lead to litigation between the majority and minority shareholders. The litigation typically focuses on a nasty argument over the value of the shares.

You, of course, are of the opinion the shares have increased in value. Your former friend have an opposite view. Since it is unlikely the stock is traded publicly, a valuation brawl ensues whereby appraisers are brought in, attorneys argue and judges roll their eyes in exasperation. In the end, you are awarded $15,000, pay your attorney $20,000 and lose two friends.

In Closing

If you are a minority shareholder, make sure there is some provision in the bylaws to protect you. If you don’t, you could be in for a very rough ride.

About the Author

Richard Chapo is with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - Go to our article section to read more business law articles.

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A business requires so many types of insurance, you may
think “just one more” means “one too many.” There’s Worker’s
Compensation and other liability insurances — required by
law. There’s health, major medical, dental, vision — vital
parts of an adequate benefit plan. There’s even “key
personnel” insurance that pays if certain members of the
team are unable to work due to illness or injury.

And, now, there’s a new twist called prepaid legal plans –
“courtroom insurance” you could call it. If you think that
this is the “one too many,” you are risking everything as
certainly as you would if you dropped your current
insurance.

The American Bar Association says: “Americans have come to
view legal assistance as a necessity [and] the best way for
the majority of Americans to be able to assure themselves of
legal assistance when they need it… is through a prepaid
legal plan.”

Although this kind of protection is just catching on in
America, it’s a proven commodity in Europe, where some 40
percent of the population has some type of protection. When
there’s easy access to good legal advice, people more often
settle their problems without a court fight. Your business
can have that same security, because you’ll know your rights
will be protected, whether it’s an unfulfilled contract, a
defective product, damaged shipment or whatever!

Simply put, a pre-paid legal plan does for attorney bills
what an HMO does for doctor bills. The monthly fee –
premium, if you wish — varies by type of coverage and
locality, but is typically less than $1 per day. A small
sacrifice for the knowledge that you’ll receive quality,
comprehensive legal services to protect your rights and
provide you with peace of mind.

About the Author

James Brown is an Independent Associate with Pre-Paid Legal
Services®. For nearly 30 years, PPL has provided legal plans
to businesses,families and individuals across the US and
Canada. To check for availability and rates in your area,
visit http://prepaidlegal.com/go/jamestbrown or contact
James at mailto:jamestbrown@prepaidlegal.com

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Being injured or hurt in an accident or industrial accident can be a frightening and stressful experience. Here is some basic information about personal injury law as pertains to the State of Georgia.

If you were injured as the result of an accident, you may be entitled to damages. The first thing that you will need to do is to determine the cause of the accident, which will help you to decide on which lawyer is best for you. For example, was it a car or boat accident? Were you injured while riding your bike? Was it a ’slip and fall’ accident? Perhaps you were injured due to malpractice, or perhaps injured by slander or libellous statements. If so, then you most likely will need a Georgia personal injury attorney, who specialises in personal injury law, in the State of Georgia.

Maybe the act was intentional rather than the result of an unintentional act. If so, you may be entitled to punitive damages, as outlined by the laws in Georgia. Examples of this type of injury include assault, defined as reasonable harm that occurred, or battery, which refers to the intentional harming of another person, like hitting or striking. Defamation is an area of personal injury that is often overlooked. This type of assault, if you will, is often the result of hateful or intentionally harmful communication, like verbal or written commentary about you or your character.

Once you’ve decided which type of Georgia personal injury attorney you’ll need for your lawsuit, you need to find one. There are numerous databases available online, to help you with finding a Georgia personal injury attorney, which are designed to help you find the best attorney for your individual case. Likewise, you can also contact your local legal association or state Bar association, which will most likely be happy to provide you with a referral.

Being injured or slandered is never a pleasant experience. If you have suffered because of someone else’s negligence or intentional acts, you may be entitled to damages.

Dave Hoffman is the founder of Personal Injury Atorneys a website providing information on personal injury law

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I’m sure by now you’ve heard most of the professional players; both men and women actively participate in golf workouts. It’s no secret. But why then do most amateur golfers ignore this? Is it because it seems like work? Or, does the thought of actually breaking a sweat get you tired already?

Either way…the proof is in the bag. The number one player in the world, Vijay Singh, does his golf workouts all the way through Sunday of each tournament. Does it look like it’s hurting his game? I don’t think so. Back in 1997, a young, very athletic golfer came on the professional scene and blew everyone away. I think you know who I’m talking about.

Tiger took golf to another level. A real eye-opener for the veteran players who were hitting the 19th hole after every round…and the last thought on their mind was “exercise”. What a wake-up call to be totally dominated by a player who was only 20 years old at the time.

How about the year Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 and totally dominated the LPGA? Do you know what she attributes it to? Golf workouts! She hired a trainer and got serious about her fitness. And look what happened? She hasn’t looked back since. She just recently came out with an instruction book and devoted a chapter to golf workouts.

To my recollection, that’s the first women’s instruction book to include golf workouts. Working out to playing better golf isn’t just for the guys; Annika has proved that. Now more LPGA players are working out to try and catch her, just like the guys did with Tiger.

How about the senior tour? Now players are realizing they can still make good money, even after they’ve turned 50 and can’t really compete with the young guys anymore. With the money at stake, they too are all working out. This group of players both amateur and pro is the biggest demographic that needs it the most.

With age comes a decline in both flexibility and strength. When the body declines, the swing goes right along with it. The result is a big loss in yardage, more mishits, and ballooning scores. The end result…frustration! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played with and received phone calls from older golfers who are just about ready to quit the game.

They are SO frustrated at this rapid decline, that golf’s not fun anymore. But there is hope. The answer? Get your body moving just a little better. How? By participating in golf workouts that focus on golf-specific strength AND flexibility. It’s amazing to see golfers in this age bracket dramatically improve their driving distance, accuracy and scores.

You don’t have to accept that with age, your body declines. No way! You’ve got to fight it all the way! I’m dead serious. The ones who do, are the ones who are enjoying the game again and taking all the money in their foursome.

What is a golf workout anyways? Is there such a thing? You bet there is. The golf swing is an awkward movement that puts a tremendous amount of stress on the body. To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible specific to the swing.

I could spend dozens of pages describing what this entails, but for the sake of this concise article, let’s keep it simple.

The golf swing is a rotational movement, with your body in golf posture. Slight flex of the knees and a bending forward at the hips. Since the golf swing is primarily rotational, wouldn’t it make sense to focus on rotational strength and flexibility? That is improving your turning ability related to range of motion and speed.

So anything involving twisting with resistance such as a medicine ball, a dumbbell, or even a weighted club would work. You need to have a resistance to take your body beyond where it normally goes.

For instance, if you took a club and placed it behind your neck, got in your golf posture and rotated back and forth; do you think that by itself would improve your range of motion or power?

No, you need to add resistance to accomplish this. Take a weighted club and make golf swings. Now you’ll be making a bigger turn AND improving your power. Same thing with a medicine ball. Make turns back and through holding a 4 to 6 pound ball and you’ll see a BIG improvement.

In fact, most of your abdominal work should be rotational. Doing straight crunches won’t improve your driving distance. Doing rotational movements with added weight will. This is where I could go on and on, but I won’t overload you.

I hope I’ve convinced you to take a real serious look at what all the other successful professional players are doing to stay at the top of their game. Doing golf workouts can and will dramatically change your game forever. Now get out there and get it started. No procrastinating. Do it right now!

Mike Pedersen is a respected golf fitness expert, and the author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, numerous golf fitness tips and founder of several online golf fitness sites. For more information on his new, cutting-edge golf fitness e-book, go to http://www.ultimategolffitnessguide.com.

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Oftentimes, you may have a need to set up a ‘joint venture’ with a third party. These collaborative businesses can be extremely profitable for all parties involved, but you must ensure on the way in to such an agreement that you have done your due diligence, and that everyone understands exactly what the terms and conditions of the venture are.

For this reason, we here at www.lawyersbench.com have put together a quick 15 point checklist that will help you determine that you have all the bases covered. This is more important than you may think - after all, mid venture is NOT the time to be arguing about basic terms and conditions!

1. Identity. Confirm in writing exactly who is involved in the joint venture.

2. NDA. Do you need a Non Disclosure Agreement to be signed? (typically if one party has a great idea, and the other will be involved with manufacture or promotion).

3. What are the responsibilities of each party? List in writing what each of you will bring to the ‘party’.

4. Is the enterprise global, or limited in geographical scope?

5. Are there any legal considerations related to setting up the business (are licenses required from the Government etc)

6. Structure of the joint venture. Is it a partnership or a Company, or simply a JV contract between 2 parties? If it is a company, who sits on the board and how are they appointed? What classes of shares are in circulation, and under what conditions? How are minority shareholders protected?

7. Financing. Who supplies the capital for the venture? Is it split in some way between the Joint Venture parties or does it come from an outside source, such as a Bank or venture capital firm? Is the investment in cash or goods or services?

8. If a Company structure is to be used, what exit provisions are needed? For example, if one side wanted to sell their shares, what conditions apply? Will the other party have first refusal to buy? Can they also demand to be bought out at the same time? How is a shareholding to be valued? Will new incoming shareholders have the same rights and responsibilities as the existing shareholders? Is there a right of veto?

9. Non competition. Will the parties to the venture be prohibited from competing directly with the new business? Is it restricted territorially?

10. Sharing of information. What rights do the partners have to know about the internal workings of the venture? Are regular management accounts to be provided? For example, would www.lawyersbench.com have rights to a product developed by a JV partner, even if we had no direct involvement in the day-to-day running of the venture? What about independent auditing?

11. Profit sharing. How are profits to be distributed? When? Under what conditions? Can one party force a distribution of profits?

12. IPR. What Intellectual Property Rights will the new venture acquire? DO they revert to any particular party if the venture is dissolved? Who owns new IPR developed by the venture?

13. Employees. How many employees will be needed, and how will they be organized? Will there be share options, or other incentives? Transferring employees from one business to another will almost certainly involve you in taking legal advice on the process and the related employee rights. At www.lawyersbench.com we would always have relevant ‘key-man’ insurance policies in place for special employees.

14. Administration. Map out who manages the venture, who the bankers will be, who will audit the business and who is responsible for regulatory compliance?

15. Exit. Does the venture have a defined life-span, or is it open-ended? What circumstances can force it to end prematurely? If this happens, how are the assets to be distributed (including cash and IPR). If there are liabilities, not assets, who do they devolve onto?

If you answer all these points adequately, you should be well on the way to a sensible well structured joint venture. As always, take legal advice before committing to any legal arrangement.

About the Author

Jeff writes article on the day’s legal issues for the public, and often contributes to website www.lawyersbench.com the free site for useful legal advice and tips.

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A relatively new source of financing is now available for both individuals and business owners. It is called lawsuit financing, often referred to as lawsuit loans or lawsuit funding. But these are not loans because the money does not have to be paid back unless the case is won.

Lawsuit financing (loans) help clients who are having financial difficulties. Lawsuit funders do not require credit checks, monthly payments, notes, or any other security.

Frequently, claimants have missed work or lost their job and can no longer meet their rent or automobile payments. In the past, these claimants have needed to accept lesser settlement amounts due to pressing financial difficulties. Now, clients can sustain their personal lives and give the attorney the necessary time to achieve the full value of the case.

Often times, individual claimants and commercial litigants require financial loan assistance prior to settlement or judgment. Types of cases that qualify are:

• Personal Injury: Automobile Accidents, Any Type
• Malpractice: Medical-Legal, Accounting, Construction,
• Wrongful Termination
• Discrimination
• Harassment: Sexual/Rape, Any Type
• And much more

There are a handful of companies that provide lawsuit funding. For more information on these lawsuit loan companies please visit http://www.fredcoutts.com/indexlawsuit.htm. Each company provides funding that is specific to their criteria. All lawsuit funding companies will provide funding for personal injury lawsuits. But there are only a couple that will fund commercial and other non- personal injury lawsuit cases.

Rates will vary depending upon the risk. Lawsuit funding companies will generally finance up to 10-15% of the potential settlement value. For example, if the case has a potential value of $100,000, you can expect a funding offer of $10,000 to $15,000. Lawsuit funding companies carefully analyze the cases they choose to fund. They must like the lawyer as well as the potential settlement value.

Lawsuit funding is available in most states and can be a very beneficial source of funds.

For more information please contact the author Fred Coutts at http://www.fredcoutts.com/indexlawsuit.htm.

About The Author

Fred Coutts,CPA, CMA. Since 1980, Fred has been crafting powerful cash flow solutions for businesses and individuals alike, from entreptreneurs to “Fortune 500″ companies. He has built a solid foundation of financial and operational experience through many executive roles, including those as CFO and Controller. Fred is well versed and experienced in finance, accounting, and business operations.

Over the years Fred has developed relationships with funding connections nationwide, both traditional and non-traditional sources to help you meet your cash flow needs.

Fred@FredCoutts.com

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The B & B "Cave Canem", is found to 100 mt from the Sanctuary of the Blessed soul Vergine in Pompei and to 100 mt from the main income of the Ruins of Pompei .
Situated to the center of the city perfectly it is connected with all the tourist zones more important than Naples, Ercolano, the Vesuvio, the Coastal Sorrentina, the Coastal Amalfitana through the net of average publics (Trains, Bus) that the destinations concur with the tourist to catch up all easy.

The Rooms
The structure is comfortable and pleasant and it is composed from n°3 matrimonial rooms , with possibility of an additional bed, all equipped of angle baking and bath in room.

The cleaness of the rooms happens every day from 10,00 to 16,00 (p.m.)

The owners are very hospitable and careful to the reavirements of the own hosts, they will be able to offer you all informations about cultural events tipycal products and storees for shopping.

The arrival is previewed between the 16,00 and the 22.00. If there will be a change, please communicate it for time. You must leave the room within 10,00 of the fixed day for the departure, except for particular agreements.

Enclosed services:
- Conditioned air
- TV sat (HOTBIRD - ASTRA)
- DVD Reader
- Internet Connection
- Angle baking with refrigerator
- Bath in room
- First breakfast

Extra services:
- Transfer from/to airport Capodichino(Napoli)
- Transfer from/to station trains FS of Naples
- Packages for visits of museums

Location
In the surrunding can find every kind of service: banks, travel agencies, pharmacies, supermarkets, post offices pubs, trattorie, typical pizza’s.
During the stay there are not problems of timetable in order to enter or to exit from the bed and breakfast.

Other than B&B Cave Canem, you can browse our offers for other in Pompeii, pls visit our catalogue of hotels in Pompeii, from cheap to luxury, togheter with Tours in Italy

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