From Marty:
Not really trademark law but may be of interest to those in communications or those who drink water and eat fish.
I read an Associated Press report reprinted in Forbes magazine on the Japanese earthquake and came across the following:
“Tokyo Electric Power Company also said about 400 barrels containing low-level radioactive waste at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant were knocked over, and the lids had come off 40 of them, as a result of Monday’s deadly 6.8-magnitude quake. The announcement revised the company’s earlier estimate of 100 tipped barrels.
“We made a mistake in calculating the amount that leaked into the ocean. We apologize and make correction,” Tokyo Electric said in a statement. Spokesman Jun Oshima said the amount of radioactive water that leaked into the Sea of Japan was still “one-billionth of Japan’s legal limit.”"
Ok, tell me if I’m off-base here.
Sometimes immediate analysis is ‘begged’ by the information being reported. Without it you’re a steno service for information that doesn’t make sense.
So would we assume that barrels of radioactive waste, especially barrels stored near flowing water, would be constructed in a such a way that the lids don’t come off if the barrels are knocked over.
If so, then the report that 40 barrels of radioactive wastes were knocked over and the lids came off BEGS for a follow up sentence as in:
1. the lids were built to withstand X force and this was 2X; or
2. it is unclear at this time why the lids came off.
So to not have either sort of sentence is to put out a faulty product on the part of the Associated Press (AP) and Forbes.
Investigating is work and when you can do it without getting caught, why do it?
Example:
Dentists charge over $1,000 per crown or veneer. If they can get a crown made in China for $45.00, why should they pay a lab in the US $95.00? I personally invented a dental appliance the media called snap on teeth that patients can wear all the time (not the plastic ones that showed up soon after my story was aired, and the reporters who reported the story did it without any investigating, which caused many patients to be scammed.)
My appliance can permanently restore the whole mouth for $3,000. I’ve been wearing my appliance that restored the vertical with metal onlays for six ears and the appliance makes me look ten ears younger. I remove the appliance twice a day for brushing and since I started wearing it, I had no cavities or gum related issues. The following are comments from patients that spend their money on the plastic snap-ons:
“I saw your e-mail to Mr. Saunaitis, who is the true inventor of Snap On! I did not know about him before I went to NYC and wasted $1500 for a lower piece that looks like a toy for Halloween. I was fitted for them and had to pay up front then waited five weeks for them to arrive. When I went to pick them up and had them placed in my mouth, the whole office staff as though they were actors playing their rolls, were raving about how real and beautiful they looked. I didn’t say what I felt and left with them. However, the more I looked them, the more I hated the appliance. It also hurt. When I removed it I though my original teeth were going to fall out. I called the next day and said I wanted to return them and get my money back. I even offered to pay the office visit and lab fee. They asked me to just give it a try for a while. I did and still couldn’t handle how FAKE they looked and my family and friends agreed. I called back after a few days and said I tried and I still don’t want them. They then asked me to come in and they would make an adjustment on the appliance so it fits better. I said NO, I just don’t want them. I went to the office and everyone was so different. The Dr. was a jerk, he lied in the first place. How dare he sell a piece of plastic toy for $1500. To make this miserable long story short, he would only refund me $500 and I had to sign a paper. I would have loved to take him to small claims court, but since I would have to go to a court in his area, I know I would not win. I was the big loser here and he gets to sell these and advertise this and lie about being the inventor. What a shame. I hope he gets caught and exposed real soon. I won’t say his name, but since there are only a couple of them using the same appliance and story, I would hope they all meet with law suits soon. I work hard for my money and I feel I have been robed and he got away with it and continues to do so. BEWARE of dentists selling (for a huge amount of money) NYC Snap On Smile Teeth” You can find then in a “Party Store.
“Hi Guys I live here in New York and was very interested in the snap ons until I went to see Dr “I will not go back to him again”. I was totally turned off when I saw how money hungry they are. 1st of all they told me that the consultation visit was free but after having to wait almost 2hr for the Dentist to come in and check my mouth, he told me I was a good candidate for the snap on (all in less than 2 minutes). Then he vanished into another room and the office manager came in with a sale pitch. She told me that it will cost me 2,700 for the upper and lower snap on and that I will have to pay up front, no refunds. Then I asked her if I could see a snap sample and she told me they had none but handed me a photo album of so called “happy clients”. To make a long story short, I told her that because of their no refund policy I will have to think about it. She told me no problem and charged me 100.00 for the 2 minutes consultation. One thing I know for sure is that I will not go back to that Posh Dental Office in Midtown Manhattan because they are too money hungry and I can see way they need to pay for all the luxuries like Flat Screen TV on the Dental chair, super high rent etc.”
“These are a complete joke. Don’t waste your time or your money unless you want to look like a circus freak or Jim Carrey. I’ll be lucky if I get back even half of my bill. I called the dentist 4 hours after leaving because granted the time I allowed to get used to it, I still hate them every time I look at them. I had to take them out. Point in case: Snap on teeth are just that; Snap-On teeth. So if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”
“They look like a big hunk of white plastic stuck to your mouth.”
“They are not worth the money, I wasted mine. And I am angry.”
“I heard that they could make it look like any celebrity’s teeth (or maybe that was something else) Well, I live near New York, and I heard that “Snap on teeth” actually look like “Snap on teeth”. And after seeing them, I was really disappointed.”
Back to where I left off:
After my breakthrough was broadcasted on the NBC news stations in 2004, (Video URL: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=&vid=5c90e5bc-31e5-4e37-9d23-9884be1846d1) it quickly gained popularity. However, after dental manufacturers refused to assist me in producing equipment to simplify production (my invented appliance would cut into the big profits made on crowns and veneers), and I was unable to find dental technicians to help me construct the appliances, (most capable partial denture dental technicians already left the dental industry), I decided to walk away from the dental industry and present my story in a book.
This is comment #2805. It was posted in reply to comment #2719 on U.S. News & World Report discussion forum. “I believe you should approach a journalist and ask that an article be run in a newspaper asking the public to write in, if they have had a similar problem with any dentists in the City. Get names of the dentists concerned. Then the letters should be compiled and sent to the FDA or similar body for investigation. Even though you have been forced to sign a `default’ agreement and were `paid off’ with $500 the dentist is still in business as no one stands up to him. I don’t know the legal implications, but newspapers are powerful allies, it is worth a try.”
Is there a journalist out there who is willing to get to the bottom of this quick fix dental scandal?
This is an excerpt from New York Daily News – “You can grin like a star!” Thursday, March 24th, 2005- BY TANYANIKA SAMUELS, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER -
“Golub-Evans, who first started making prosthetic teeth for theatrical performances, has been fitting his patients with perfect pearly whites for about two years now.
Manhattan dentist Marc Liechtung is another of the few dentists nationwide who offer the prosthetics, which cost $1,000 to $1,500 per set. He has been fitting his patients with the snap-on teeth for about three months.”
I don’t get it. If Dr. Liechtung claims that he is the inventor of the snap on teeth and Dr. Evans says he has been making them almost two years before Dr. Liechtung , how is this possible? Can someone connect the dots?