Criminology & Justice

Understanding Sexual and Technological Addictions. Are You Or Your Children Already Addicted? Part XIII

2012-06-01T00:22:00.000-04:00

Cerf speaking at the National Library of New Zealand. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

“The Internet lives where anyone can access it.”
Vinton Cerf

In the news the subject of how much time a child expends on the Internet is becoming a concern for many parents. This is one researcher’s analysis, “ According to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids and teens from the ages of 8 to 18 spend over seven and a half hours a

day watching TV, surfing the web (on computers and from their mobile phones), or listening to music on digital media players.”

The amount of time the Kaiser Family Foundation states kids and teens expend surfing the web seems low in the amount of hours. According to the University of Michigan study, 76 percent of U.S. children have computers and access to the Internet in their homes, and those between 12 and 17 years of age log in approximately five hours a week to use them. Comparatively, they spend up to 14 hours a week watching television. Statistically, time on the computer seems to be less than TV time. The New York Times cites a survey performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation of over 2,000 students. A third of the students had computers in their bedrooms with unsupervised Internet access.

The 33% of students who are unsupervised with having computers in their bedrooms and having access to the Internet is a major concern. Imagine if during the 5-7 hours which the two studies suggest that children and teenagers expend on the Internet were surfing pornography websites. This would bring about a different impression of what the children and teenagers were doing with their free time.

A decade ago the child or teenager would sit in the front room and watch their daily television shows. This was their entertainment. Access to the Internet was something most individuals could not afford or didn’t have the knowledge to access the Internet.

Today the child or teenager has moved their entertainment from the front room to the bedroom. The difference for the most part has been the lack of supervision of children and teenagers. The supervision which generally is hit or miss occurs because most parents believe the computer is being used for educational purposes.

The studies which are now being conducted will demonstrate in this authors opinion that the amount of time the child or teenager expends on the Internet will be twice the amount of time the two previous studies documented.

In the meantime, what is a parent to do about their child’s or teenager’s behavior when it comes to accessing the Internet using computers and Smartphones? To be realistic there is no way a parent can expend all their time walking in and out of their child’s or teenager’s bedroom to see if they are misusing the trust the parent has afforded them. The Free Dictionary.com defines trust as, “Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing; custody; care; something committed into the care of another; charge.”

2008 Taipei Computer Applications Show Pre-Show Press Conference: TransAVA T88 TV Phone. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maybe the first step in raising children is to explain to them what trust means to them and what they expect from their child. If the parent can lay the proper foundation just maybe the child or teenager will avoid the pornographic websites, which lead to either technological or sexual addiction or both. Generally, the two go hand in hand, because the individual can’t access the pornographic websites without using techno gadgets.

The child or teenager finds the “pleasure zones” to be a place where they can find sexual enjoyment, fantasies, and so many other sexual themes. It seems that if the sexual oriented websites continue to flourish then safeguards must be put in place so children and teenagers don’t become victims of addiction.

To rely specifically on trust is a mistake a parent shouldn’t make. Let us look at some reasonable and logical steps parents can take to assist their children from becoming technologically and sexually addicted. There are ten suggested steps a parent should consider implementing. They are:

1. Decide if you believe it is necessary to have access to the internet at your home. Some of the information is educational and legal, but some of it is not.

2. Without local, state, and federal laws to protect children, steps must be taken to assure the child or teenager doesn’t enter into a situation on the Internet where they are bullied, sexually exploited, or possibly commit a crime, although the Supreme Court has sided with those who have pornography on their websites. This situation may change someday, but right now it should be a major concern.

3. As a parent you must teach your child or teenager steps to keep them safe. Generally, it isn’t one thing which teaches children the rules which will keep them safe. The Internet is no different. Establishing boundaries is a must and trust between parent and child has to be discussed and practiced until the child or teenager understands it.

4. Children learn how to surf the Internet on their own by their peers. It is vital that as a parent you teach your children how to properly and cautiously surf the Internet. The dangers are at every corner as the pornographers advertise, have pop-up menus, and so forth. When viewing Facebook, they sell advertisement to sleazy companies and they have pictures of women with phone numbers telling the viewer that they are looking for a relationship. This is prostitution and the opening of a doorway where your child or teenager will become trapped.

5. Children suffer from what is called “social withdrawal” as the excessive Internet use affects their time doing their homework, outdoor or social activities, and withdrawing from the family. Children have become sedentary and later in life their decision to play today will result in them paying tomorrow.

6. The Internet is just the beginning of the child or teenager finding their way into a new world. Human trafficking is a 32 million dollar business and is the second growing industry in the world. Children do not know how to protect themselves because they don’t understand who to trust or who not to trust. Trust is a learning process and as discussed above parents must take the time to educate their child or teenagers what can happen if they begin giving out personal information to individuals who use email, chat rooms, bulletin boards, social websites, and any other ways to gain access to the child or teenager. These predators are everywhere. They have had success in the way they do things and children are victimized on a daily basis because their parents did not take the necessary time to protect them.

7. When children know how to locate and use their parent’s money, credit cards, and other financial methods to pay for usage of accessing social networks, pornography, the problems have just begun. Generally, the child or teenager is caught after a month or couple months of usage. How many times do individuals receive their monthly statements and not peruse their bill to ascertain who is charging their accounts.

8. It is important to identify any and all emails that your child or teenager has access to. There is Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, and so many other free email accounts available. Your child may have up to ten email accounts obtaining them by using different names and passwords. Their memory of which accounts they have, the passwords, and what they use the individual accounts for is something they can do with ease.

9. IMs have become very popular. A child or teenager can send an instant message or text within seconds and the response takes about the same amount of time. IMs and text are a replacement for notes in the classroom. Decades ago, children would pass notes back and forth. Now they IM or text one another. Some teachers have had built-in wall units constructed where students have to put their Smartphone into a cubby hole upon entering the classroom. This worked for a while until the students figured they could bring to school an old Smartphone they once used (which no longer works) put this in the cubby hole and keep the new and working Smartphone. Parents must assist teachers in keeping their child or teenager controlling their technological behavior.

10. The inadvertent exposure to pornographic sites generally occurs when the child or teenager is performing a search using a specific search engine. The Justice Department states the 71 percent of the unwanted exposures occurred while youth were surfing the web or using search engines.

The above ten steps parents need to take when it comes to protecting their child or teenager from becoming vulnerable should begin after the parents find out they are having a child. Unfortunately, there are evil individuals in society who prey upon children and take advantage of their innocence. Therefore planning today for tomorrow will limit the heartaches today’s parents are facing.

Planning ahead today, will be as successful as planning for your child’s college fund. Teach them the definition of trust and how it plays a significant role in protecting not only you as a parent, but your child or teenager’s safety. If you don’t take the time to plan and protect your child, they may fall victim to becoming the next child technological and sexual addict. If you don’t believe it is possible, the average age of those who surf pornography sites when it comes to children is 9-11 years of age. Thi

OLPC: XO internet access (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

s should be a warning to you that many problems lay ahead.

If you don’t have a plan for your child or teenager’s life course, take the necessary and needed time to read magazine articles, journals, books, listen to the experts, counselors, life coaches and consultants. Become an expert in how to protect your child or teenager from the potential dangers which lay ahead of them. If they do not understand what will take place they may open the wrong door and step in. The decision to evaluate and protect is a parent’s responsibility. It takes much time to be a protective and caring parent. Don’t allow you or your children to become the newest victim. You only have one opportunity to do it right the first time.

Tomorrow, the saga continues with researching and finding new methods and techniques to protect your children from becoming technological and sexual addicts. It isn’t too late to begin today. Make it a point to take inventory of the steps I have outlined that parents need to examine, evaluate, and change whatever their child or teenager may have done, is doing, and may do. Remember, today’s child or teenager is having fun surfing the Internet, tomorrow they may become a technological or sexual addict. What category does your child belong in?

To learn my own simple framework for creating a more enjoyable life, see my books Battles of The Flesh 2ed, It Could Happen To You and Code of Conduct on Amazon/Kindle.

If you'd like to talk to me about personally coaching you into a happier, more successful and fulfilling life, go to www.steppingstones.ws and drop me an email or call me. You'll also find information on my coaching work at www.steppingstones.ws.

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The Blessings of the Black Economy

2012-05-31T07:08:00.000-04:00

Some call it the "unofficial" or "informal" economy, others call it the "grey economy" but the old name fits it best: the "black economy". In the USA "black" means "profitable, healthy" and this is what the black economy is. Macedonia should count its blessings for having had a black economy so strong and thriving to see it through the transition. If Macedonia had to rely only on its official economy it would have gone bankrupt long ago.

The black economy is made up of two constituent activities:

1.. Legal activities that are not reported to the tax authorities and the income from which goes untaxed and unreported. For instance: it is not illegal to clean someone's house, to feed people or to drive them. It is, however, illegal to hide the income generated by these activities and not to pay tax on it. In most countries of the world, this is a criminal offence, punishable by years in prison.

2.. Illegal activities which, needless to say, are also not reported to the state (and, therefore, not taxed).

These two types of activities together are thought to comprise between 15% (USA, Germany) to 60% (Russia) of the economic activity (as measured by the GDP), depending on the country. It would probably be an underestimate to say that 40% of the GDP in Macedonia is "black". This equals 1.2 billion USD per annum. The money generated by these activities is largely held in foreign exchange outside the banking system or smuggled abroad (even through the local banking system). Experience in other countries shows that circa 15% of the money "floats" in the recipient country and is used to finance consumption. This should translate to 1 billion free floating dollars in the hands of the 2 million citizens of Macedonia. Billions are transferred to the outside world (mostly to finance additional transactions, some of it to be saved in foreign banks away from the long hand of the state). A trickle of money comes back and is "laundered" through the opening of small legal businesses.

These are excellent news for Macedonia. It means that when the macro-economic, geopolitical and (especially) the micro-economic climates will change - billions of USD will flow back to Macedonia. People will bring their money back to open businesses, to support family members and just to consume it. It all depends on the mood and on the atmosphere and on how much these people feel that they can rely on the political stability and rational management. Such enormous flows of capital happened before: in Argentina after the Generals and their corrupt regime were ousted by civilians, in Israel when the peace process started and in Mexico following the signature of NAFTA, to mention but three cases. These reserves can be lured back and transform the economy.

But the black economy has many more important functions.

The black economy is a cash economy. It is liquid and fast. It increases the velocity of money. It injects much needed foreign exchange to the economy and inadvertently increases the effective money supply and the resulting money aggregates. In this sense, it defies the dictates of "we know better" institutions such as the IMF. It fosters economic activity and employs people. It encourages labour mobility and international trade. Black economy, in short, is very positive. With the exception of illegal activities, it does everything that the official economy does - and, usually, more efficiently.

So, what is morally wrong with the black economy? The answer, in brief: it is exploitative. Other parts of the economy, which are not hidden (though would have liked to be), are penalized for their visibility. They pay taxes. Workers in a factory owned by the state or in the government service cannot avoid paying taxes. The money that the state collects from them is invested, for instance, in infrastructure (roads, phones, electricity) or used to pay for public services (education, defence, policing). The operators of the black economy enjoy these services without paying for them, without bearing the costs and worse: while others bear the costs. These encourages them, in theory to use these resources less efficiently.

And all this might be true in a highly efficient, almost ideal market economy. The emphasis is on the word "market". Unfortunately, we all live in societies which are regulated by bureaucracies which are controlled (in theory, rarely in practice) by politicians. These elites have a tendency to misuse and to abuse resources and to allocate them in an inefficient manner. Even economic theory admits that any dollar left in the hands of the private sector is much more efficiently used than the same dollar in the hands of the most honest and well meaning and well planning civil servant. Governments all over the world distort economic decisions and misallocate scarce economic resources.

Thus, if the goals are to encourage employment and economic growth - the black economy should be welcomed. This is precisely what it does and, by definition, it does so more efficiently than the government. The less tax dollars a government has - the less damage it does. This is an opinion shares by most economists in the world today. Lower tax rates are an admission of this fact and a legalization of parts of the black economy.

The black economy is especially important in times of economic hardships. Countries in transition are a private case of emerging economies which are a private case of developing countries which used to be called (in less politically correct times) "Third World Countries". They suffer from all manner of acute economic illnesses. They lost their export markets, they are technologically backward, their unemployment skyrockets, their plant and machinery are dilapidated, their infrastructure decrepit and dysfunctional, they are lethally illiquid, they become immoral societies (obligations not honoured, crime flourishes), their trade deficits and budget deficits balloon and they are conditioned to be dependent on handouts and dictates from various international financial institutions and donor countries.

Read this list again: isn't the black economy a perfect solution until the dust settles?

It enhances exports (and competitiveness through imports), it encourages technology transfers, it employs people, it invests in legitimate businesses (or is practised by them), it adds to the wealth of the nation (black marketeers are big spenders, good consumers and build real estate), it injects liquidity to an otherwise dehydrated market. Mercifully, the black economy is out of the reach of zealous missionaries such as the IMF. It goes its own way, unnoticed, unreported, unbeknownst, untamed. It doesn't pay attention to money supply targets (it is much bigger than the official money supply figure), or to macroeconomic stability goals. It plods on: doing business and helping the country to survive the double scourges of transition and Western piousness and patronizing. As long as it is there, Macedonia has a real safety net. The government is advised to turn a blind eye to it for it is a blessing in disguise.

There is one sure medicine: eliminate the population and both unemployment and inflation will be eliminated. Without the black economy, the population of Macedonia would not have survived. This lesson must be remembered as the government prepares to crack down on the only sector of the economy which is still alive and kicking.

Operational Recommendations

The implementation of these recommendations and reforms should be obliged to be GRADUAL. The informal economy is an important pressure valve for the release of social pressures, it ameliorates the social costs inherent to the period of transition and it constitutes an important part of the private sector.

As we said in the body of our report, these are the reasons for the existence of an informal economy and they should be obliged to all be tackled:

a.. High taxation level (in Macedonia, high payroll taxes);

b.. Onerous labour market regulations;

c.. Red tape and bureaucracy (which often leads to corruption);

d.. Complexity and unpredictability of the tax system.

Reporting Requirements and Transparency

a.. All banks should be obliged to report foreign exchange transactions of more than 10,000 DM (whether in one transaction or cumulatively by the same legal entity). The daily report should be submitted to the Central Bank. In extreme cases, the transactions should be investigated.

a.. All the ZPP account numbers of all the firms in Macedonia should be publicly available through the Internet and in printed form.

a.. Firms should be obliged by law to make a list of all their bank accounts available to the ZPP, to the courts and to plaintiffs in lawsuits.

a.. All citizens should be obliged to file annual, personal tax returns (universal tax returns, like in the USA). This way, discrepancies between personal tax returns and other information can lead to investigations and discoveries of tax evasion and criminal activities.

a.. All citizens should be obliged to file bi-annual declarations of personal wealth and assets (including real estate, vehicles, movables, inventory of business owned or controlled by the individual, financial assets, income from all sources, shares in companies, etc.).

a.. All retail outlets and places of business should be required to install - over a period of 3 years - cash registers with "fiscal brains". These are cash registers with an embedded chip. The chips are built to save a trail (detailed list) of all the transactions in the place of business. Tax inspectors can pick the chip at random, download its contents to the tax computers and use it to issue tax assessments. The information thus gathered can also be crossed with and compared to information from other sources (see: "Databases and Information Gathering"). This can be done only after the full implementation of the recommendations in the section titled "Databases and Information Gathering". I do not regard it as an effective measure. While it increases business costs - it is not likely to prevent cash or otherwise unreported transactions.

a.. All taxis should be equipped with taximeters, which include a printer. This should be a licencing condition.

a.. Industrial norms (for instance, the amount of sugar needed to manufacture a weight unit of chocolate, or juice) should be revamped. Norms should NOT be determined according to statements provided by the factory - but by a panel of experts. Each norm should be signed by three people, of which at least one is an expert engineer or another expert in the relevant field. Thought should be dedicated to the possibility of employing independent laboratories to determine norms and supervise them.

a.. Payments in wholesale markets should be done through a ZPP counter or branch in the wholesale market itself. Release of the goods and exiting the physical location of the wholesale market should be allowed only against presentation of a ZPP payment slip.

Reduction of Cash Transactions

a.. Cash transactions are the lifeblood of the informal economy. Their reduction and minimization is absolutely essential in the effort to contain it. One way of doing it is by issuing ZPP payment (debit) cards to businesses, firm and professionals. Use of the payment cards should be mandatory in certain business-to-business transactions.

a.. All exchange offices should be obliged to issue receipt for every cash transaction above 100 DM and to report to the Central Bank all transactions above 1000 DM. Suspicious transactions (for instance, transactions which exceed the financial wherewithal of the client involved) should be duly investigated.

a.. The government can reduce payroll taxes if the salary is not paid in cash (for instance, by a transfer to the bank account of the employee). The difference between payroll taxes collected on cash salaries and lower payroll taxes collected on noncash salaries - should be recovered by imposing a levy on all cash withdrawals from banks. The banks can withhold the tax and transfer it to the state monthly.

a.. Currently, checks issued to account-holders by banks are virtually guaranteed by the issuing banks. This transforms checks into a kind of cash and checks are used as cash in the economy. To prevent this situation, it is recommended that all checks will be payable to the beneficiary only. The account-holder will be obliged to furnish the bank with a monthly list of checks he or she issued and their details (to whom, date, etc.). Checks should be valid for 5 working days only.

a.. An obligation can be imposed to oblige businesses to effect payments only through their accounts (from account to account) or using their debit cards. Cash withdrawals should be subject to a withholding tax deducted by the bank. The same withholding tax should be applied to credits given against cash balances or to savings houses (stedilnicas). Alternatively, stedilnicas should also be obliged to deduct, collect and transfer the cash withdrawal withholding tax.

a.. In the extreme and if all other measures fail after a reasonable period of time, all foreign trade related payments should be conducted through the Central Bank. But this is really a highly irregular, emergency measure, which I do not recommend at this stage.

a.. The interest paid on cash balances and savings accounts in the banks should be increased (starting with bank reserves and deposits in the central bank).

a.. The issuance of checkbook should be made easy and convenient. Every branch should issue checkbooks. All the banks and the post office should respect and accept each other's checks.

a.. A Real Time Gross Settlement System should be established to minimize float and facilitate interbank transfers.

Government Tenders

a.. Firms competing for government tenders should be obliged to acquire a certificate from the tax authorities that they owe no back-taxes. Otherwise, they should be barred from bidding in government tenders and RFPs (Requests for Proposals).

Databases and Information Gathering

a.. Estimating the informal economy should be a priority objective of the Bureau of Statistics, which should devote considerable resources to this effort. In doing so, the Bureau of Statistics should coordinate closely with a wide variety of relevant ministries and committees that oversee various sectors of the economy.

a.. All registrars should be computerized: land, real estate, motor vehicles, share ownership, companies registration, tax filings, import and export related documentation (customs), VAT, permits and licences, records of flights abroad, ownership of mobile phones and so on. The tax authorities and the Public Revenue Office (PRO) should have unrestricted access to ALL the registers of all the registrars. Thus, they should be able to find tax evasion easily (ask for sources of wealth- how did you build this house and buy a new car if you are earning 500 DM monthly according to your tax return?).

a.. The PRO should have complete access to the computers of the ZPP and to all its computerized and non-computerized records.

a.. The computer system should constantly compare VAT records and records and statements related to other taxes in order to find discrepancies between them.

a.. Gradually, submissions of financial statements, tax returns and wealth declarations should be computerized and done even on a monthly basis (for instance, VAT statements).

a.. A system of informants and informant rewards should be established, including anonymous phone calls. Up to 10% of the intake or seizure value related to the information provided by the informant should go to the informant.

Law Enforcement

a.. Tax inspectors and customs officials should receive police powers and much higher salaries (including a percentage of tax revenues). The salaries of all tax inspectors - regardless of their original place of employment - should be equalized (of course, taking into consideration tenure, education, rank, etc.).

a.. Judges should be trained and educated in matters pertaining to the informal economy. Special courts for taxes, for instance, are a good idea (see recommendation below). Judges have to be trained in tax laws and the state tax authorities should provide BINDING opinions to entrepreneurs, businessmen and investors regarding the tax implications of their decisions and actions.

a.. It is recommended to assign tax inspectors to the public prosecutors' office to work as teams on complex or big cases.

a.. To establish an independent Financial and Tax Police with representatives from all relevant ministries but under the exclusive jurisdiction of the PRO. The remit of this Police should include all matters financial (including foreign exchange transactions, property and real estate transactions, payroll issues, etc.).

a.. Hiring and firing procedures in all the branches of the tax administration should be simplified. The number of administrative posts should be reduced and the number of tax inspectors and field agents increased.

a.. Tax arrears and especially the interest accruing thereof should be the first priority of the ZPP, before all other payments.

a.. All manufacturers and sellers of food products (including soft drinks, sweetmeats and candy, meat products, snacks) should purchase a licence from the state and be subjected to periodic and rigorous inspections.

a.. All contracts between firms should be registered in the courts and stamped to become valid. Contracts thus evidenced should be accompanied by the registration documents (registrar extract) of the contracting parties. Many "firms" doing business in Macedonia are not even legally registered.

Reforms and Amnesty

a.. A special inter-ministerial committee with MINISTER-MEMBERS and headed by the PM should be established. Its roles: to reduce bureaucracy, to suggest appropriate new legislation and to investigate corruption.

a.. Bureaucracy should be pared down drastically. The more permits, licences, tolls, fees and documents needed - the more corruption. Less power to state officials means less corruption. The One Stop Shop concept should be implemented everywhere.

a.. A general amnesty should be declared. Citizens declaring their illegal wealth should be pardoned BY LAW and either not taxed or taxed at a low rate once and forever on the hitherto undeclared wealth.

The Tax Code

a.. To impose a VAT system. VAT is one the best instruments against the informal economy because it tracks the production process throughout a chain of value added suppliers and manufacturers.

a.. The Tax code needs to be simplified. Emphasis should be placed on VAT, consumption taxes, customs and excise taxes, fees and duties. To restore progressivity, the government should directly compensate the poor for the excess relative burden.

a.. After revising the tax code in a major way, the government should declare a moratorium on any further changes for at least four years.

a.. The self-employed and people whose main employment is directorship in companies should be given the choice between paying a fixed % of the market value of their assets (including financial assets) or income tax.

a.. All property rental contracts should be registered with the courts. Lack of registration in the courts and payment of a stamp tax should render the contract invalid. The courts should be allowed to evidence and stamp a contract only after it carries the stamp of the Public Revenue Office (PRO). The PRO should register the contract and issue an immediate tax assessment. Contracts, which are for less than 75% of the market prices, should be subject to tax assessment at market prices. Market prices should be determined as the moving average of the last 100 rental contracts from the same region registered by the PRO.

a.. Filing of tax returns - including for the self-employed - should be only with the PRO and not with any other body (such as the ZPP).

Legal Issues

a.. The burden of proof in tax court cases should shift from the tax authorities to the person or firm assessed.

a.. Special tax courts should be established within the existing courts. They should be staffed by specifically trained judges. Their decisions should be appealed to the Supreme Court. They should render their decisions within 180 days. All other juridical and appeal instances should be cancelled - except for an appeal instance within the PRO. Thus, the process of tax collection should be greatly simplified. A tax assessment should be issued by the tax authorities, appealed internally (within the PRO), taken to a tax court session (by a plaintiff) and, finally, appealed to the Supreme Court (in very rare cases).

a.. The law should allow for greater fines, prison terms and for the speedier and longer closure of delinquent businesses.

a.. Seizure and sale procedures should be specified in all the tax laws and not merely by way of reference to the Income Tax Law. Enforcement provisions should be incorporated in all the tax laws.

a.. To amend the Law on Tax Administration, the Law on Personal Income Tax and the Law on Profits Tax as per the recommendations of the IRS experts (1997-9).

Customs and Duties

a.. Ideally, the customs service should be put under foreign contract managers. If this is politically too sensitive, the customs personnel should be entitled to receive a percentage of customs and duties revenues, on a departmental incentive basis. In any case, the customs should be subjected to outside inspection by expert inspectors who should be rewarded with a percentage of the corruption and lost revenues that they expose.

a.. In the case of imports or payments abroad, invoices, which include a price of more than 5% above the list price of a product, should be rejected and assessment for the purposes of paying customs duties and other taxes should be issued at the list price.

a.. In the case of exports or payments from abroad, invoices which include a discount of more than 25% on the list price of a product should be rejected and assessment for the purposes of paying customs duties and other taxes should be issued at the list price.

a.. The numbers of tax inspectors should be substantially increased and their pay considerably enhanced. A departmental incentive system should be instituted involving a percentage of the intake (monetary fines levied, goods confiscated, etc.).

a.. The computerized database system (see "Databases and Information Gathering") should be used to compare imports of raw materials for the purposes of re-export and actual exports (using invoices and customs declarations). Where there are disparities and discrepancies, severe and immediate penal actions should be taken. Anti-dumping levies and measures, fines and criminal charges should be adopted against exporters colluding with importers in hiding imported goods or reducing their value.

a.. Often final products are imported and declared to the customs as raw materials (to minimize customs duties paid). Later these raw materials are either sold outright in the domestic or international markets or bartered for finished products (for example: paints and lacquers against furniture or sugar against chocolate). This should be a major focus of the fight against the informal economy. I follow with an analysis of two products, which are often abused in this manner.

a.. I study two examples (white sugar and cooking oil) though virtually all raw materials and foods are subject to the aforementioned abuse.

a.. White Sugar is often imported as brown sugar. One way to prevent this is to place sugar on the list of LB (import licence required) list, to limit the effective period of each licence issued, to connect each transaction of imported brown sugar to a transaction of export, to apply the world price of sugar to customs duties, to demand payment of customs duties in the first customs terminal, to demand a forwarder's as well as an importer's guarantee and to require a certificate of origin. The same goes for Cooking Oil (which - when it is imported packaged - is often declared as some other goods).

a.. All payments to the customs should be made only through the ZPP. Customs and tax inspectors should inspect these receipts periodically.

a.. All goods should be kept in the customs terminal until full payment of the customs duties, as evidenced by a ZPP receipt, is effected.

Public Campaign

a.. The government should embark on a massive Public Relations and Information campaign. The citizens should be made to understand what is a budget, how the taxes are collected, how they are used. They should begin to view tax evaders as criminals. "He who does not pay his taxes - is stealing from you and from your children", "Why should YOU pay for HIM?" "If we all did not pay taxes- there would be no roads, bridges, schools, or hospitals" (using video to show disappearing roads, bridges, suffering patients and students without classes), "Our country is a partnership - and the tax-evader is stealing from the till (kasa)" and so on.

a.. The phrase "Gray Economy" should be replaced by the more accurate phrases "Black Economy" or "Criminal Economy".

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Understanding Sexual and Technological Addictions. Are You Or Your Children Already Addicted? Part XII

2012-05-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in 1921 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
Albert Einstein

Over the past couple months I have identified the serious problem sexual addiction is not only in your home, but worldwide. The many evaluations, examinations, suggestions, and ideas I hope have led you to a new understanding about technological and sexual addict. So let us look at a new perspective of technological and sexual addiction; solutions, resolutions, recovery, and treatment.

You just discovered that your child is a sexual addict, because the mobile telephone and computer you purchase for him to utilize for emergencies and home work; instead the child has been using these techno gadgets to access pornographic websites.

It is time to turn that knowledge into having knowledge about the addictions to trying to understand and find a way to mend people’s heart. It takes much work to find methods and techniques which will work for each child.

Children gathering potatoes on a large farm, vicinity of Caribou, Aroostook County, Me. Schools do not open until the potatoes are harvested. (LOC) (Photo credit: The Library of Congress)

The solutions you have are plentifully but the step by step process is basically an individual process which you need to deal with. Each individual has their own way of dealing with what will be their solution in how to resolve being technologically and sexually addicted or related to someone who is addicted. Let us look at some of those areas of resolution and solutions:

Children

1 . To stop the exposure and use of the techno gadget is simply not a reasonable nor logical approach to addressing the problem. The techno gadget may have a purpose i.e. homework, work, and so forth. If this is the reason for having the child use the techno gadget then there must be some type of accountability and responsibility by the parent, employer, teacher, and so forth to monitoring the child’s use of the techno gadgets.

2. The surfing of the Internet for pornographic websites must come to a stop. The purpose of locating “pleasure zones” has no place in a child’s life and is inappropriate. The parent must take steps to monitor this behavior.

3. A couple steps that the parent can take to monitor the child’s behavior in using the techno gadget are to have the child use the techno gadgets in the living room where everyone is and child’s activities can be monitored. Further, have a time limit for the child to utilize the techno gadget.

4. Setting boundaries is a must when it comes to anything the child does with their time. There must be rules which the child must adhere to.

5. The parent must seek a professional i.e. a counselor, life coach, or consultant who specializes in technological and sexual addiction. At the beginning of meeting with the professional, the child should have counseling sessions with the professional at least 2-3 times a week until the behavior curtails or ceases completely.

6. The child needs to set new goals to find something which is constructive and productive. Something which provides a new direction for the child to build upon. The use of techno gadgets are something that are utilized by society, but anything can be abused.

7. Parents must take time to expend whatever time necessary with the child to stop the current acting out.

8. Parents need to set goals and be positive about the milestones the child accomplishes along the way.

9. The child needs to be in a group with other children who have the same problems. The child needs to know they are not the only individual who has this problem. The child needs to feel that they can share the reasons they are obsessed with using the techno gadget and the need to surf the Internet for “pleasure zones.”

10. The child needs to be tested by a psychologists to identify any psychological problems the child may have i.e. obsessive compulsive disorder. The need to continually use the techno gadget maybe an organic problem. Medication may curtail or stop the behavior.

11. The child needs to find alternatives to using the techno gadget e.g. using the library and searching for information by using books, journals, articles, and so forth.

There are many other steps which a parent can take to curtail the use of the many techno gadgets available to children. Techno gadgets have become a way the child can socialize. A parent doesn’t want their child to become an odd ball or outcast because they are not allowed to socialize with their friends.

Child 1 (Photo credit: Tony Trần)

The future socializing networks such as Facebook are beginning to consider charging everyone for the use of their system. Only time will tell if the social networking companies are willing to take the chance to limit their audience to only those who can pay for the services. Currently there are

700 million users on Facebook and more to come.

The alternatives to limiting the child to utilizing the techno gadgets are abundant, but the parent and child need to be creative, innovative, and willing to make life style changes which are positive.

There are no fast and easy answers to these problems and it will be a learning process for the child and parent. When changing the way you socialize with others will be difficult, but doable. The need to surf the Internet for “pleasure zones” needs to be completely stopped. There are no reasons why a child should be on the Internet surfing for pornography, sex chat rooms, and so many other “pleasure zones.”

Tomorrow, children are those who are being victimized by major corporations. Once exposed to the new techno gadgets the child will pursue the newest and brightest gadgets. The cost to the parents can be astronomical. There is only so much a parent can do to curtail and stop a child from acting out, ask them to abide by the rules, limit the amount of time to utilizing the techno gadgets, and so forth. It is so important that the parent realize that the obsessive behavior demonstrated in utilizing the techno gadgets and surfing the Internet for “pleasure zones” may mold the child into a world which may befall the child of their future.

To learn my own simple framework for creating a more enjoyable life, see my books Battles of The Flesh 2ed, It Could Happen To You and Code of Conduct on Amazon/Kindle.

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The question of giving children

The human trafficking business is growing at an unbelievable rate. A 32 billion dollar business it is the second growing business in the world. In 2007 Shared Hope International and the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, they provided a roadmap

Special Economic Zone: A Boon For Indian Economy

2012-05-30T07:27:00.000-04:00

It is a trade capacity development tool, with a goal to promote rapid economic growth by using tax and business incentives to attract foreign investment and technology. By offering privileged terms, Special Economic Zones attract investment and foreign exchange, spur employment and boost the development of improved technologies and infrastructure.

In India, Special Economic Zones are being established in an attempt to deal with infrastructural deficiencies, procedural complexities, bureaucratic hassles and barriers raised by monetary, trade, fiscal, taxation, tariff and labour policies. Since country-wide development of the infrastructure is expensive and implementation of structural reforms would require time, ( Special Economic Zones/Export Processing Zones) are being established as industrial enclaves for expediting the process of industrialization.

One of the earliest and most famous Special Economic Zone was founded by the government of the People's Republic of China under Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s.

Government of India in April 2000 announced the introduction of Special Economic Zones policy in the country. As of 2007, more than 500 Special Economic Zones have been proposed, 220 of which have already been created. This has raised the concern of the World Bank, which questions the sustainability of such a large number of Special Economic Zones.

Tracing Indian economic reforms In India several attempts have been made to liberalize the system of economic management. In 1980s, the Indian Government focused on reorganizing low-efficient state-run enterprises and partial disinvestment, relaxing the control on private enterprises and foreign capital, introducing competitive mechanisms, reducing protection for domestic industries, promoting and importing advanced technological equipment from abroad etc.

In 1991, the reformed trade and industrial policy eliminated licensing requirements for private domestic and foreign investment in certain industries and relaxed the restrictions under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act on expansion, diversification, mergers and acquisitions by large firms and industrial houses. Special Economic Zones came in pursuance of this export led growth strategy.

Special Economic Zones were announced by the Government of India in April 2000 as a part of the Export-Import policy of India. The government realized the need to enhance foreign investment, promote exports from the country and at the same time provide a level playing to the domestic enterprises, while ensuring manufacturers to be competitive globally.

The Special Economic Zones as announced by the Government of India in 2000 were deemed to be foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations, duties and tariffs. These zones were to provide an internationally competitive and hassle free environment for exports. Units were allowed be set up in Special Economic Zone for manufacture of goods and rendering of services. All import/export operations of the Special Economic Zone units were on self-certification basis. Anything could be imported duty free but sales in the Domestic Tariff Area by Special Economic Zone units were subject to payment of full Custom Duty and as per import policy in force. Further Offshore banking units were being allowed to be set up in the Special Economic Zones. The policy provided for setting up of Special Economic Zones in the public, private, joint sector or by State Governments.

On 31st August 2004 the Department of Commerce announced the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 to create an appropriate institutional framework and policy environment for facilitation and growth of external trade. The basic objective of this policy was to double India's share of global merchandise trade by 2009 and make exports an effective instrument of economic growth and employment generation. The Special Economic Zone Act, 2005 and the Special Economic Zone Rules, 2006 were introduced under this policy, to regulate and promote the development of these industrial enclaves.

The Act designated the Special Economic Zones a duty free enclave to be treated as foreign territory only for trade operations and duties and tariffs. Under the Act, no license is required for import and no routine examination is to be conducted by the custom authorities of the export/import cargo. To aid backward and forward integration of the economy, the Act provides exemptions to Special Economic Zone units and Special Economic Zone developers from all indirect taxes, including basic customs duty, countervailing duty, education cess, and direct taxes while at the same time domestic sales are subject to full customs duty and import policy in force. The Act provided the freedom to subcontract. It also permitted manufacturing, trading and service activities in the Special Economic Zones.

India and China : Whether on a Level Platform Success stories of large and small developing countries can be explained by the growth of world trade and opening up of these economies with market based deregulation. But from any in-depth scrutiny one finds that the reform package under the broad heading of "liberalization" is very different from country to country. There is no standard recipe of a "reform package". A lot of factors influence the performance of Special Economic Zones in a country e.g. economic history, location, industries, state policy etc. Since India has adopted the idea of the special economic zones from China it becomes pertinent to study the history of economic development in India and China.

China's success can be ascribed largely because of its effective population control. In the pre-reform days, both in China and India top priority was given to equity, removing poverty and increasing the social aspects of standards of living. This, however, was attempted in China under a total state-controlled economy and in India with the public sector playing a dominant role along with the market forces. Both the economies adopted a strategy of import substitution and heavy industry growth. China over time, realized that maintaining high standards of living becomes difficult unless efficiency in the use of resources is increased. Its attempt to maintain equity through forced saving and administered directives resulted in social unrest, which came to a breaking point after the controversial Cultural Revolution. The key objective of present reform in China is to bring incentives back in the economy by increasing the role of the market with minimum changes in their political i nstitutions. This is defined in China as an experiment in a socialistic market economy.

In India, heavy import substitution lead to increased inefficiency in production and generation of surplus for maintaining the tempo of equity measures as a result social development became impossible. This led to heavy borrowing, culminating in a balance of payments crisis. To meet the crisis, this new economic policy in India was initiated.

China's success in attracting foreign direct investment and becoming one of the top exporting countries of the world hinged on the careful implementation of its Special Economic Zone policy. Size, location, flexible labour laws and stable policies were the factors primarily responsible for making Chinese Special Economic Zones attractive to foreign investors. In India, the fiscal concessions being offered to developers and units are the primary driving force.

Chinese government started building Special Economic Zones way back in 1979. The idea behind the Special Economic Zones was to experiment with liberal policies in certain ear-marked regions while insulating the rest of the economy from their influence. The government identified huge tracts of land, near the coastal region, and started building mega cities with all required infrastructure. Stringent labour laws applicable in China were relaxed in these regions and foreign investment was encouraged by offering concessions and promising of stability.

In 1980 four Special Economic Zones namely, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen were opened up. In 1984, fourteen coastal cities were opened up as a further step. In 1985, three delta areas along the Yangtze River and Pearl River and in the southern part of Fujian province as well as several other places were opened up. In the following years, Hainan Island, Pudong New Area in Shanghai, five big cities along the Yangtze River, eighteen provincial capitals and a part of inland and border cities were opened up. These zones were created initially as experimental stations to adjust and watch their operations vis--vis open market interactions.

Though India had a head-start in the direction by building its first export processing zone in 1969 with certain minimum infrastructure and fiscal sops, it could not muster enough political will to build full-fledged Special Economic Zones with foreign territory status in the matters of international trade till the turn of the century. As opposed to five mega Special Economic Zones built by the Chinese government (the largest being Shenzhen built over 49,500 hectares), India opened its doors to private players and allowed sector-specific Special Economic Zones to develop on just 10 hectares of land. As a result, more than 500 Special Economic Zones have been proposed, 220 of which have already been created. The economies of scale, which seems to have worked so well in China by reducing production costs, may not have the same effect in the Indian Special Economic Zone s.

In China, the government chose the location for Special Economic Zone s with a lot of thought with all five located near the coastal region. This made it easier for the Special Economic Zone units to export their products and import inputs. In India, Special Economic Zones are being built all over the country, wherever land can be acquired by the developers. This has also led to allegations of land-grabbing and conversion of productive agricultural land by developers. As a result, Centre has made it mandatory that all proposals should have a certificate from the state governments notifying that the land being used is non-agricultural for at least 90%.

Flexibility in labour laws, which played an important role in attracting foreign investors, is absent in the Indian Special Economic Zones. This is one of the prices India has to pay for the advantages of a federal democratic government. India has, however, tried to make up for all the disadvantages by offering attractive fiscal sops. Tax holidays for Special Economic Zones in India are longer and steeper than those given by China. This had given rise to some dissent from the finance ministry which had complained that the fiscal loss would be immense. In fact the scheme has generated a difference of opinion between the Finance and Commerce Ministries. While the former is voicing its concerns about possible revenue loss from the tax privileges for the Special Economic Zones, the latter is stoutly defending the policy with statistics suggesting minimal losses and highlighting eventual gains in terms of employment and revenues

Reserve Bank of India has also expressed its concerns about the revenue losses and the uneven pattern of development. Reserve Bank of India insisted on factoring the revenue implications of the taxation benefits. The revenue loss for the Government in providing incentives may be justified only if the Special Economic Zone units ensure forward and backward linkages with the domestic economy. Also, as resources are being diverted from the less developed, growth will not be uniform.

One of the most basic difference between the Special Economic Zone model adopted in China and India is that the Chinese Special Economic Zone initiative is government driven, whereas Indian Special Economic Zones are driven by private sector . In China , the State acquires the land and develops the required infrastructure, while private enterprises are invited to set up units. Under such a system, land continues to be under the ownership of the State. In India, however, private entities are being involved in developing the Special Economic Zone infrastructure. As a result, Land is being acquired by the State and handed over to private developers.

Current Controversy The Economic Survey of 2006-07 highlighted the fact that Special Economic Zone s are testing grounds for the implementation of liberal market economy principles. At the same the survey emphasized on some apprehensions against the Special Economic Zones: Generation of little new activity as there may be relocation of industries to take advantage of tax concessions, Revenue loss, Large-scale land acquisition by the developers, may lead to displacement of farmers with meager compensation, Acquisition of prime agricultural land, having serious implications for food security, Misuse of land by the developers for real estate and Uneven growth aggravating regional inequalities.

The Survey also mentioned that many of these apprehensions, however, could be addressed through appropriate policies and safeguards. A major controversy surrounding the implementation of the Special Economic Zone scheme has been the ruthless manner adopted for acquiring land. News reports highlighted protests across the country against acquisition of lands for the purpose of establishing Special Economic Zones. The "SEZ No More" campaign gained momentum after the bloody chapter in Nandigram.

Since, developing Special Economic Zones involves massive displacement of farmers, it is essential that a systematic approach should be followed for ensuring balance of interests. Consequently, state governments have been advised that in land acquisition for Special Economic Zones, first priority should be for acquisition of waste and barren land and if necessary single crop agricultural land. If perforce a portion of double-cropped agricultural land has to be acquired to meet the minimum area requirements, especially for multi-product Special Economic Zone, the same should not exceed 10 % of the total land required for the Special Economic Zone

The government has also announced the new National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2007. This policy would provide land-for-land compensation for acquisition of land for development purposes, including Special Economic Zones, and employment to at least one person from each affected family. A National Rehabilitation Commission would be set up by the Central Government, which would be duly empowered to exercise independent oversight over the rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families. Further, wage employment would be provided to the willing affected persons in the construction work in the project. The policy also ensures housing benefits including houses to the landless affected families in both rural and urban areas.

Adequate provisions have been made for financial support to the affected families for construction of cattle sheds, shops, working sheds; transportation costs, temporary and transitional accommodation, comprehensive infrastructural facilities and amenities in the resettlement area including education, health care, drinking water, roads, electricity, sanitation, religious activities, cattle grazing, and other community resources.

The benefits expressed in monetary terms have been linked to the Consumer Price Index, and the same shall also be revised suitably at appropriate intervals. Special provision has been made for providing life-time monthly pension to the vulnerable persons, such as the disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, abandoned women, or persons above 50 years of age (who are not provided or cannot immediately be provided with alternative livelihood).

A strong grievance redressal mechanism has been prescribed, which includes standing R&R Committees at the district level, R&R Committees at the project level, and an Ombudsman duly empowered in this regard. The R&R Committees shall have representatives from the affected families including women, voluntary organizations, Panchayats, local elected representatives, etc. Provision has also been made for post-implementation social audits of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes and plans.

For effective monitoring of the progress of implementation of R&R plans, provisions have been made for a National Monitoring Committee, a National Monitoring Cell, mandatory information sharing by the States and Union Territories with the National Monitoring Cell, and Oversight Committees in the Ministries/Departments concerned for each major project.

For ensuring transparency, provision has been made for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information shall be placed in the public domain on the Internet as well as shared with the concerned Gram Sabhas and Panchayats by the project authorities. This policy aims at striking a balance between the need for land for development purposes and protecting the interests of land owners and other displaced people.

Conclusion A study conducted by Aradhna Aggarwal on the Impact of Special Economic Zones on Employment, Poverty and Human Development indicated, that Employment generation, both direct and indirect, has thus far been the most important channel, through which Special Economic Zones have impacted on human development and poverty reduction in India. However, the role of Special Economic Zone s in human capital formation and as an engine for promoting new knowledge, technologies and innovations through technology transfers and technology creation appears to be relatively limited. With new generation Special Economic Zones emerging, the scope of human capital formation and technology upgrading effects will widen. It is therefore important for the government to play a pro active role in strengthening these effects.

For the contribution of Special Economic Zones to various aspects of human development to be realized, it is important to forge linkages between the domestic economy and Special Economic Zones. Systematic efforts need to be made to help zone units forge links with the outside units. Also, the effects of Special Economic Zones are contingent upon the success of these zones in attracting investment, in particular, Foreign Direct Investment. A comprehensive policy framework is required to attain this. The government has to ensure that strategies are developed in a timely manner to strengthen the opportunities that are likely to emerge, protect interests of the Special Economic Zones workers, and forge linkages between Special Economic Zones and the domestic economy. Such a regulated and monitored approach is the only means of attaining the actual potential of these Special Economic Zones.

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Understanding Sexual and Technological Addictions. Are You Or Your Children Already Addicted? Part XI

2012-05-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

robots (Photo credit: Seth W.)

Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

“I hate when I’m texting while laying down and I drop my phone on my face.” Unknown

In the world of sex nothing is impossible for those who dream about sex and have sexual fantasies. Recently, the idea of having robo-prostitutes has become a new sexual tool in the sex toy world where you can buy about anything you want to find those “pleasure zones.”

If you want to buy the robo-prostitute it generally will cost you anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000.00 depending on what sexual features you want it to have. As an expert in sexual issues I find it amazing that just when I think I have heard and seen it all, someone builds a sex robot.

Any sane person has to ask the question, “Are you kidding me, a sex robot?” It is true; I am not making this up. In a recent article written by The Daily Caller, it states that by 2050 because of these sex robots, hanging out with the lady of the night will be a thing of the past.

At an adult entertainment expo in 2010, the US Roxxxy was introduced in the $7,000.00 to $9,000.00 price range…that the sex robot can be programmed to act out sexually to the owner’s liking.

Research on the sex robots is being conducted at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. The word from the university is that the sex robots may be better than real-life prostitutes.

The research conducted by and the paper was written by two professors from Victoria University, Ian Yeoman, a management professor, and Michelle Mars, a sexologists. The paper called “Robots, Men And Sex Tourism” was published in the journal the Futures.

A swarm of robots in the Open-source micro-robotic project (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The theory behind the paper written by Yeoman and Mars is that by 2050 in all red light districts you will be able to have sex with different ethnicities, body shapes, ages, languages, and sexual features. Further, that instead of pursuing prostitutes you will be able to receive a massage, sex with the robot and have all the other sexual amenities, for a price, with a sex robot.

The future appears to make sexual addiction a possibility for years to come. Just when professionals in the technological and sex industry are turning to recovery and treatment, technology begins developing a sex toy which will take care of men sexually.

It seems that the ‘crossroads’ between technology and sex is ever expanding. It isn’t just the sex robots which create the argument, it is the continual techno gadget which uses sex as a tool to sell their products or have access to products.

Sex has been selling to the public since the beginning of time. The forms of how a man and woman engage in sex have definitely changed, due to the technology of sex toys and knowledge about sex, which has accumulated over the last 8000 years.

Children as well as adults are target by the business and media industry to sell the new technology and so many other products. Billions of dollars are made off of children and adults who have the need to have the newest techno gadgets.

Ten states have passed laws that anyone texting while crossing the street is illegal. More are to come because there has been an increase in accidents. “On the University of Arizona campus it’s a swarm of multi-tasking students with their heads down and fingers moving,” according to America Now. They further state that, “in parking lots a lot of people walk in to poles. I mean, it’s kind of funny, “says student Megan Brenna.

So what are we doing when it comes to the need to be texting and sexting our friends? Too many people are engaging in a world where they have no business being in. If there isn’t a technological and sex police checking and balancing the system then people would do whatever they wanted, when they wanted to.

The new injuries seen in the emergency room because the person was texting and sexting has increased by a 1000 percent. Let us look at statistics documented by Edgar Snyder & Associates about distracted driving statistics:

2011 Distracted Driving Statistics

Most adults who drive admit to engaging in distracted driving behaviors, according to a Health Day poll from November 10-14, 2011. More than 2,800 American adults responded to the poll. Results showed the following statistics:

· Approximately 86% of drivers said they ate or drank while driving at some point, and 57% said they do it “sometimes” or “often.”

· Over 1/3 of drivers (37%) have sent or received text messages while driving, and 18% said they do it regularly.

· Forty-one percent of adult drivers have set or changed a GPS system while driving, and 21% do it “more frequently.”

· Many adult drivers (36%) have read a map while driving, and 10% do it “sometimes” or “often.”

· One in five drivers have combed or styled his or her hair while driving. One in ten does it regularly.

· Have you ever seen a driver putting on makeup? Approximately 14% have done it once, and 7% do it frequently.

· About 13% of adult drivers have surfed the Internet while driving.

· Results of the poll showed that younger drivers were more likely to engage in distracted driving. Men were more likely to drive while drowsy, drive after drinking, read a map, use a GPS system, and use the Internet.

· A large percentage of the people said they know distracted driving is dangerous, but do it anyway.

The above statistics speak for themselves. As I am writing this article just think about how many serious bodily injuries and deaths are occurring because of the new technological gadgets which don’t come with a warning sign i.e. “Using this technological gadget inappropriately may cause serious bodily injury or death if used in a neglectful manner.”

Tomorrow, the world has turned the corner in such a way that technological manufactures are in the process or have made sexual toys for those to find their “pleasure zones.” The world of texting and sexting and other technological gadgets i.e. GPS systems, as seen by the above statistics may cause an accident which causes serious bodily harm or death.

To learn my own simple framework for creating a more enjoyable life, see my books Battles of The Flesh 2ed, It Could Happen To You and Code of Conduct on Amazon/Kindle.

Find me on Facebook: www.steppingstones.ws
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com (@lifecoachLD)

The question of giving children

Travel health insurance

2012-05-28T14:14:00.000-04:00

Travel health insurance has never been a part of the insurance priority list of people, who travel abroad. However, the fact of the matter remains that possessing a comprehensive health insurance while globe trotting helps us to deal with any kind of untoward incident that needs emergency medical assistance, in a new country. Today, a insurance policy can be purchased online, at affordable rates from reputed online insurance companies. The benefits of this kind of health insurance are,

Access to better medical help

International travel health insurance provides you access to skilled medical professionals and health care providers in the area you reside, in a foreign country. The task of finding the best doctors in a different nation during an emergency situation can be daunting, which is made considerably easier by this insurance policy.

Mitigating the health care costs

Ordinary health insurance coverage will offer a comprehensive coverage in the native country only, but the same plan cannot cover any kind of medical costs in another country. An international insurance, on the other hand will substantially reduce the costs associated with health care charges abroad that can be extremely expensive, otherwise.

Provision of additional coverage with the right plan

A good health care insurance policy not only allows you to reduce medical expenses overseas and to manage health emergencies but also to safeguard your belongings like laptop and camera among others. A perfect international travel health care insurance chosen by you can protect other belongings, along with health. You can even avail group international health care insurance.

Protection for senior citizens with health complications

These kinds of policies become essential for senior citizens who have pre-existing medical complications that may require immediate help, if their physical condition worsens during travel or during their stay in another country. Nevertheless, it is essential to understand the policy completely, owing to the possibility of the claim being denied, if the physical problem of the senior tourist has a different kind of health scare, unrelated to his pre-existing condition.

Purchasing a travel insurance policy, allows you to enjoy the foreign trip, without being worried about facing unfavorable episodes, with regards to a sudden deterioration in health, surgery, hospitalizations, medical evacuation or an accident. Choosing and buying a comprehensive travel health care policy from the right insurance firm allows you to experience hassle free globe trotting.

HDS Insurance Service is an insurance agency specialized in providing the best Short Term Medical Plans, limited medical plans, critical illness plans, accidental insurance plans and benefits. The site is so committed and devoted in proving valuable service to provide long lasting relationship with clients.

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Understanding Sexual and Technological Addictions. Are You Or Your Children Already Addicted? Part X

2012-05-28T03:00:00.000-04:00

Cover of Mark Twain

Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

“When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart

no man much respects himself.” Mark Twain

Most spouses and partners don’t understand that when they begin surfing the Internet that they will somehow end up at a pornographic website. This unintentional find is something men and women come across and somehow the “pleasure zones” i.e. places which sexually stimulate the individual becomes a home where the individual can sexually find excitement, joy, pleasure, and so much more.

However, there is a price to be paid, if not mentally, emotionally, and immediately financially the individual becomes engulfed into a world they never knew existed. Somewhere down the road after years of paying thousands of dollars and finding instant sexual gratification they are either caught by their spouse or partner or they openly admit they have a problem.

Moving forward, the spouse, or partner learn from their spouse or partner that they have a serious sexual problem and they need help. In an earlier article I documented that upon learning that their spouse or partner had a sexual addiction problem a study demonstrated that 36% of the female spouses or partners left the relationship and 28% of the male spouses left the relationship.

Once the spouse or partner learns of the sexual addiction they have several options. They are:

1. They may have the spouse or partner move out of their home until such time the sexual addiction is in the recovery stages or he/she has control of the sexual problem.

2. They can permanently or temporarily leave the relationship.

3. They can stand by their spouse or partner and assist them in the recovery and treatment of the addiction.

4. They can use the sexual addiction as a tool to control, manipulate, verbally and emotionally abuse, limit intimacy, and so forth.

5. They can call all their friends and family and tell them that their spouse or partner is a sexual addict.

6. They can attend counseling with their spouse or partner and be there for the spouse or partner when their spouse or partner begins to have inappropriate sexual needs or urges.

7. They can pray for their spouse or partner and ask God for a miracle healing.

8. They can take control of the finances so the sexual addict has no access to money which was previously being spent on pornography, prostitution, sex chat lines, and so forth.

9. They can ask others to pray for their spouse or partner and support them in their spiritual journey back to their relationship with God.

10. They can either respect that the spouse or partner came forward and disclosed that they have a sexual addiction or they can turn away and not support them. Disrespect can only create and cause one avenue for the sexual addict to follow and that is to engulf themselves into the world of sexual fantasies, pornography, and so forth.

So the question which needs to be considered is does the non-sexual addict have the mental and emotional ability to be a part of the recovery and treatment of their sexually addict spouse or partner? If not, the sexual addict will have a difficult time getting back to some type of normalcy.

It is not that uncommon for the non-sexual addict spouse or partner to have several issues of their own and when the sexual addict spouse or partner comes forward and discloses his/her problem this only enhances the problems of the past for the non-sexual addict spouse or partner.

Considering if the sexual addict should receive the respect of the past, needs to be considered by the non-sexual addict spouse or partner. The lack of respect will cause the sexual addict to withdraw from the relationship even though they are struggling with the sexual addiction if they become focused on respect and non-respect issues.

There are several professionals who provide advice about how the non-addict spouse or partner should treat or respect their sexual addict spouse or partner during the recovery and treatment. They are:

1. Respect him/her verbally, intellectually, and physically.

2. Although traumatized by the news of the sexual addiction, have a positive attitude and demonstrate care, grace, and love at all times.

3. Don’t blame or place blame during discussions or disagreements towards the sexual addict spouse or partner about their sexual addiction and what the addiction has done to their relationship.

4. Pray for him and with him on a daily basis, morning and at bedtime.

5. Journal your feelings in your journal and jointly journal your feelings.

6. Make a list of the qualities of your husband that you respect. Don’t focus specifically on the sexual addiction. This does not mean you ignore the elephant in the room. There is a place and a time for dealing with the sexual addiction.

7. Tell your spouse or partner that you appreciate him/her as a spouse or partner and as a father or mother.

8. Never criticize your spouse or partner in front of your children. This advice speaks for itself.

9. If you have specific concerns about the sexual addiction, then discuss these concerns with him/her. Do not keep issues inside until the steam comes out of your ears. Be open and honest about your feelings but demonstrate respect in your approach.

10. Even though you may have been his/her spouse or partner, sit down with him/her and find out what he/she is interested in. Ask him/her what his likes or dislikes are about your relationship; specifically about the issues surrounding sex. This may be difficult because this could be the reason he/she went somewhere else to find their “pleasure zones.”

These ten steps may make the difference about how the spouse or partner responds to reinstituting the relationship to a place where it appears to be normal. The difference may be in the way each non-addict spouse or partner respects the sexually addicted spouse or partner. Demonstrating the appropriate respect can go a long way in mending the relationship.

Tomorrow, the need to explore and examine the effects of how sexual addiction affects the relationship has a multitude of facets and aspects I have not discussed or touched upon. As I continue with this series it is my hope to continue to be informative about technological and sexual addiction.

To learn my own simple framework for creating a more enjoyable life, see my books Battles of the Flesh 2ed, It Could Happen To You and Code of Conduct on Amazon/Kindle.

If you'd like to talk to me about personally coaching you into a happier, more successful and fulfilling life, go to www.steppingstones.ws and drop me an email or call me.

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Special Courses - Athena Academy

2012-05-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

English: time delay improvised explosive device mounted in Phone transmiter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We came across Athena Academy while on Linked In and thought that our readers would benefit from knowing about this service. Check out the other classes and services that they offer!
C & J Shtaff!

Special Courses - Athena Academy

Terrorism is by far, the number one threat, not only for Middle East countries but also USA and Europe. Terrorist groups are operating now internationally, with more and more terror cells popping up on US soil and have been raising terror by using various modern forms of explosives, improvised explosive devices (IED’s), and suicide bombers.

Athena Academy is groud to bling you a two-day workshaup designed specifically for Lawa Enforcements, Military and Security Officers to increase your skills in understanding and preventing terroristic attacks. This course will be taught by one of the industries best, Mr. Samuel Bashan, bringing with him over 20 years of experience dealing with terrorism and counter terrorism in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

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SUICIDE TERROR AND THE THREAT OF EXPLOSIVES INTERNATIONALLY2-DAY COUNTER TERRORISM WORKSHOPSEPTEMBER 8-9th, 2012*Athena Academy: Atlanta

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SUICIDE TERROR AND THE THREAT OF EXPLOSIVES INTERNATIONALLY
2-DAY COUNTER TERRORISM WORKSHOP
SEPTEMBER 8-9th, 2012*
Athena Academy: Atlanta