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Mom Fined $535 After Daughter Saves Woodpecker
The article now says the fine was rescinded, and it was all an error.
Proposed NYC Law Could Send Buyers Of Knockoff Handbags To Jail
No, she's not joking, and I completely agree with her.
I am so disappointed by the replies on this thread. I expected that people here, of all places, would have done their research and be like "yeah!!! They're cracking down on counterfeiting!" but instead, it's full of people actually defending it- which is completely mind boggling.
And if more people actually stopped to look up this issue on this before posting all this "well if luxury goods weren't so expensive I wouldn't have to buy knockoffs" stuff, maybe they'd realize is IS a huge issue. It's not about "only the real good ones" being illegal- anything that represents itself as an actual, real product, but is not, is illegal. If this was about some graphic stolen by a big box retailer from some poor artist, the commenters here would be all over that, and on the artist's side. But, because it's snobby fashion houses getting screwed over, it's much easier to pick on them instead of looking at the real issues that stem from it, even though they are MUCH more harmful on a personal, national, and worldwide level. But until people can actually see through their dislike of people that actually buy luxury goods, it won't happen.
I'm sure this will all be pooh-poohed by all the witty "you're a moron for spending money on the real thing" crowd, but counterfeits are bad, in more ways than you can count.
Some links (not that I think I'll be anything but ridiculed for using "scare tactics" to spread "fear" and "paranoia" for posting these):
http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/feature-articles/the-fight-against-fakes-0109_
http://consumer-law.lawyers.com/consumer-fraud/Fake-and-Counterfeit-Goods-Are-No-Bargain.html
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00032:@@@L&summ2=m&
http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01706.htm
http://www.naw.org/govrelations/advisory.php?articleid=563
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/business/worldbusiness/12iht-fake.4569452.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article432410.ece
http://www.wisn.com/r/2191330/detail.html
http://www.interpol.int/public/icpo/pressreleases/pr2003/pr200319.asp
http://www.fraudaid.com/scamspeak/conprods.htm
This is just the tip of the iceburg. There's a ton more information out there if you look.
And on a side note, there is no way the majority of "tourists" buying knockoff handbags and movies from Chinatown think they're getting real bags. Sure, you can lie and say you didn't know, but seriously? Would it make you feel better to know you're carrying a fake? I've never met one who who was proud of their "real" Burberry or Louis Vuitton, but I've met plenty who think they're pulling one over on "the man" by buying a fake.
Palm Pixi Survives 45 Minutes Inside 450 Degree Oven
When I was getting my 9 month old out of my car at daycare last year, my purse fell out. I picked it back up and didn't notice anything missing, and went on my way. When I got to work, I couldn't find my 1st gen Droid. My husband, who works from home, drove over to the daycare to look for it. Someone had found it in the parking lot after I had run over it.
Surprisingly, even with a shattered screen, it worked perfectly. I got the screen replaced and it's been fine ever since, if a little battered around the edges. I have since turned if over to my 5 year old as a gaming device and got myself a Droid X, and even after being repeatedly dropped, thrown, and doused in various liquids, it's still happily chugging away.
iPhone Users Sucking Up 5 Times As Much Data As Blackberry Users
As much Pandora, youtube, and tv.com use I'm getting out of my Droid, I'm doing more than my part to catch up with the iphones. And since BB's weren't included in this anyway, that seems to defeat the purpose of the study, doesn't it?
The State Of Wisconsin Needs To STOP Printing Social Security Numbers On Mailing Labels
OooOOO the Mars Cheese Castle- the first place I ever had cheese curds. And summer sausage shaped like a Miller Lite Bottle. MMMMMmMmMm. I have to admit, it was the best summer sausage I've ever had, and it came with a piece of the best Wisconsin cheddar I've ever had, shaped like a beer mug. Such memories!
Would UPS Lie About Delivering Harry Potter To Stay In Amazon's Good Graces?
This is exactly the reason I didn't preorder this time- the Half Blood Prince came on time to my house, but so many other things have not that I just resigned myself to getting a copy when I could find one. Luckily, they were all over my local B&N yesterday.
And to the snobs on here- get over yourselves with the "I'm too good to read crap like Harry Potter" attitude. No true book lover, fantasy/sci-fi genre or otherwise, would be so incredibly judgemental. You don't like it, then don't read it. But don't be a jerk about it.
What The World Eats
If you like this kind of stuff, he also wrote a book called Material World that does the same kind of thing, but with the belongings of different families around the world. It's absolutely fascinating to read.
Wachovia Demonstrates How To Lose A Customer
I dropped Wachovia the time they somehow mixed up my account with my sister's. Everytime I bought something with my debit card, it came out of her account. This was after us both having separate accounts with them for more than five years. How they confused the two, we never figured out.
Time To Go Strawberry Picking!
It may be a little late for strawberry picking for anywhere south of Maryland. We went the first week of May this year(I'm in Virginia), and usually by the first week of June it's too hot for them, and those that are left are kinda icky. But blueberry season is about to start.
We usually pick about 10-15 lbs of strawberries whe we go (it's surprisingly easy to fill up those baskets they give you) and I freeze most of them to use over the course of the year. At $2.25-2.40 a lb. it's usually much cheaper than buying them from the grocery store. And you can stuff your face as you pick.
Comments from Elara
More Banks Going After Strategic Defaulters To Get Back Balance Of Unpaid Mortgages
I know someone who has done this twice. Once when she cosigned for her sister, to buy a house, and then they just stopped paying. And she's just done it again- not because she couldn't pay, but because they were upside down and didn't like the area, and her reasoning was that they could rent a townhouse on her husband's credit. Since her husband wasn't on the abandoned mortgage, in a few years they could buy another. They live in FL, and I really, really, REALLY hope the bank goes after her.