HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: fedrick@tigger.cs.Colorado.EDU (Kelvin W. Fedrick)
Subject: Re: Illegal telephone recording
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 05:59:41 GMT

In article <1993Jan23.182242.4557@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> fcrary@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Frank Crary) writes:
>
>As I understand these laws, the idea of the crime can not be initially
>suggested by the government. If the individual had never considered
>child prostitution, never seen an ad on the subject, saw the 
>government's ad and became "sold" on the idea; that would be entrapment. 
>If, however, the government could show that the same magazine had run
>other, similar ads for child prostitution and/or that the idea had
>already occured to the accused, then it wouldn't be entrapment.
>
 Maybe this is so in principle but not in practice. Remember Mayor Marion
 Barry being video taped doing drugs? The tapes clearly showed his female
 aquaintance repeatedly (suggesting?) trying to get him to take a puff.
 He finally did after initially refusing several times. He still got
 convicted. Perhaps the difference is that the woman was not a police
 officer so she wasn't considered 'employed' by the government. The fact
 though is that she was acting under the instructions of the police. The
 point is that it doesnt always matter what's on paper, there are methods
 of getting around the 'rules' and the police use all of them successfully.
 So 'entrapment', no matter how broadly it seems in writting (especially
 to legal laymen) is really much more narrowly defined and used in practice.

-kelvin
From: rinehart@aramis.rutgers.edu (Mark J. Rinehart)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re:  Need help in resolving lawyer's bill dispute!
Date: 27 Jan 93 15:58:05 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

In article <1k4ckvINN15o@mojo.eng.umd.edu> georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark) writes:

> In article <9301262110.AA23638@cs.utexas.edu> asa@STL-07SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin on 7000) writes:
> >I thought most local bar associations had arbitration and complaint 
> >panels to review just this sort of dispute...
> 
> That's a good point. Arbitration is an alternative, but the lawyers I know
> would rather sue their deliquent clients. Suing them, smearing their
> credit history, and destroying their personal lives is more gratifying,
> especially when your dealing with some deadbeat who doesn't respond to
> past-due notices, and won't even pay the undisputed part of a bill.

The way it works in NJ - You take the offensive scumbag to
arbitration. If the fee really was outrageous, you will most likely
win, and get a reduced fee. I believe the attorney-scum must refund
you any difference, if you already paid him. The lawyer-scum cannot
sue you or do anything else to you, as long as the proceedings are
kept confidential. 

2 cases I know about. A friend of mine died. His wife had to pay an
attorney $3000 to execute his will. She felt that fee was excessive,
and took the slimeball to arbitration. The arbitor reduced the her
bill to $500. In the other, an attorney charged another friend of mine
$3500 for closing fees involving the sale of a house. She took the
attorney to arbitration, and got the fee reduced to $850. My
girlfriend is currently going thru the arbitration process because her
attorney charged her $2900 for a house closing. I expect she'll win
also, seeing how the attorney has refused to supply her with an
itemized statement of charges. I believe the attorney involved (her
husband's attorney for the divorce) probably buried her ex-husband's
divorce fees, in with the closing fees, expecting that she wouldn't
figure it out.

> The number of delinqent clients at a typical law firm is significant, and
> they deserve the harsh consequences they are given.

I'm not surprised by the number of delinquent clients you speak of.
Attorney's are just about the lowest form of blood-sucking life on
this planet. It might be interesting to see what might happen if every
single delinquent client was able to have his or her case looked at by
an arbitration panel. I'd bet a years salary that the attorney would
receive a significantly reduced fee in 90% of the cases. Just watching
my girlfriend go thru a divorce and the sale of the marital home, and
purchase of another home, where the buyer AND seller of the respective
homes were both attorneys, was outrageous enough to make me want to
shoot all the bloodsuckers involved right between their beady little
slimy eyeballs. 

Mark
From: bhjelle@carina.unm.edu ()
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: PEPSI CLEAR & TAB CLEAR
Date: 25 Jan 1993 17:28:57 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: carina.unm.edu

In article <1k10npINN399@dayub.dayton.saic.com> Tom Haberlandt <haberlat@ccmail.dayton.saic.com> writes:
>In article  Tom G. Krajna, krajnatg@infonode.ingr.com writes:
>>Okay, it's clear that no one seems to like the new stuff.  But am I
>missing
>>something here about it *tasting* so different?  Didn't they just ditch
>>the coloring, leaving the flavor alone?  Can you identify Pepsi Clear in
>>a blind taste test vs. Pepsi Unclear?
>
>What really seems to suck is Pepsi's marketing. Nearly every 
>person posting expected it to taste like Pepsi - it doesn't - so
>naturally everyone thinks it sucks !
>
>The articles in the newspaper seemed to indicate that Pepsi
>Clear (or whatever its called) is a new recipe.  It does not
>have caffeine, coloring, or the carbonation that Pepsi has.
>
Is this really true? If those are the missing ingredients,
only the carbonation would be expected to alter its palatability-
although not its "taste". I wonder if the posters who have
tasted it and don't like it are really responding to the
lack of coloring, ie, strictly "placebo effect". Can anyone
prove that the recipe itself was altered?

Brian
From: mjc+@cs.cmu.edu (Monica Cellio)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Auto insurance laws in different states --
Date: 22 Jan 93 18:47:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: NL.mjc.727728428
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

>>A complete driving history?  Shouldn't drivers who have injured cyclists
>>and pedestrians with their cars pay more?  (I think they should be behind bars
>>but that's another subject.)

>There's no way I can let this go.  While I myself am a cyclist and am
>annoyed by the attitude by the average motorist toward cyclists (as
>well as motorcyclists), I have seen (several times) accidents that
>were definitely *caused* by a bicyclist.  I don't feel one bit sorry
>for them, in fact, I feel bad for the drivers in the cars who are now
>most likely to get higher insurance rates for the mistake of the
>cyclist.  

Hear, hear.

In September of 1990 I hit a pedestrian at an intersection.  I had a green
light; she had a red light and a "don't walk" sign.  She did not look for
traffic before running into the street; she admitted this to the police.
I swerved (nearly colliding with another car) but hit her anyway; she only
gave me about 10 feet in which to react (at 20mph).

She was 15 at the time -- old enough to know better but young enough to
be legally not responsible for her actions.  (In other words, I couldn't
sure her and she didn't have any relevant insurance.)

I reported the accident to my insurance company immediately.  I later found
out that the damage was approximately equal to my deductible, so I did not
actually receive any money from my insurance company.  They refused to go
after my deductible because there was no other insurance company they could
nail.  (This was State Farm.  Avoid them.)  The only thing they did right
was to decline to pay the pedestrian's medical expenses.  (She had health
insurance anyway.)

Nevertheless, that accident has been screwing up my rates for the last 2.5
years and will probably do so for another 1.5 or more.  (Around here they
usually ask for accidents within 3.5 years, not 3 -- and one company I called
asked for my record for the last 5 years.)  I have no recourse.  Between
the higher rates and the repairs from the accident, I'm out at least $1000.

Oh by the way, I've had many near-misses with law-breaking cyclists (and
happily shared the road with law-abiding ones), and I was once hit by a 
law-breaking cyclist.  This pedestrian was not a fluke.

Yes, there are bad and irresponsible drivers out there; I am neither.  There
are sane and reasonable cyclists and pedestrians; this one was not.  To
categorically state that drivers are automatically responsible and should
pay for these accidents, as the original poster and State Farm did, is
ludicrous.

Monica
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: andy@balr.com (Andrew Little)
Subject: Homestyle Books/QPB
Organization: Balr Corporation
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 15:23:30 GMT

My wife is having a problem with the Homestyle Book Club and needs to
get a phone number for them.  They only list a PO Box in their
mailings.  I seem to remember seeing the phone number for the Quality
Paperback Book (QPB) club posted, and Homestyle is affiliated with
them.  If anyone could post or mail me numbers for ether or both of
these places I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Andy Little                     BALR Corporation
andy@balr.com                   Software Solutions in Real Time
Organization: Sponsored account, Civil Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 00:20:25 -0500 
From: "Rudolph R. Zung" <ru+@CMU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Car Phone Experiences Wanted
	<1993Jan26.163728.12919@cs.uwp.edu>
Distribution: usa

> ... deleted prolog...
>The main reason I'm posting though is Today this morning had someone on
>who was convinced that cellular phones are causing brain cancer in CEOs of
>major companies.  The person from University of Wisconsin said he had been
>on a committee that set up standards and had compiled various studies and
>then set a power rate 10 times less than what they thought was dangerous
>and then cut that by 50 times for individual use and the phones in use now
>use even less power.  He said there's less danger than a garage opener,
>but there will always be somebody that's on the other side.

The thing about causing brain cancer is not so much using a cellular phone
as it is where the antenna is located. There is much advice indicating that
in the use of a handy-talkie Ham radio and portable CB radios, the antenna
should be as far away from the head as possible, since if is from the
antenna that the RF emanates. It would seem that use of a portable cellular
phone would be more dangerous than the use of a mobile cellular with its
antenna mounted on the rear window.

--
...Ru     Names and places have been identified to protect the anonymous.
   mcmxcIII
   Make the world a better place.
   Give the gift of kindness.


InterNet: ru+@cmu.edu          BITnet  : rz02+@andrew 
UUCP    : ...!{ucbvax, harvard}!andrew.cmu.edu!rz02+         
R Zung \ (412) 681-6468 \ CMU Box 231 \ Pittsburgh PA 15213

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jung@base.bellcore.com (Eric Jung)
Subject: Re: KMart's policy if items scan at the wrong price.
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 18:12:38 GMT

In article <1_k3+rp@rpi.edu>,  wrf@ecse.rpi.edu (Wm Randolph Franklin) writes:
|> Here's an analogy.  Suppose I applied a bar code sticker for another
|> item with a price of $1.42-$.35=$1.07 to that product.  If Kmart caught
|> me, they might not think that an offer of $.35 was sufficient
|> restitution.  In fact, they might detain me in the office and not allow
|> me to leave.  They then might make me sign an admission that I was a
|> thief, on the threat of laying a criminal charge.  Then they might bring
|> a civil suit against me for $100 damages.

Yes, they would detain you.  No, they won't *make* you sign anything.
Some stores may ask you to give a voluntary statement, which will include
the phrase "knowing that I need give no statement at all, I wish to make
the following statement".  Whether or not you give a statement has little
bearing on whether you get prosecuted.  If you get prosecuted, the *court*
may fine you $100, but the (criminal) court keeps the $100.  There's no
damages to sue for, unless the $.35 needs to be recovered.

Eric
-- 
Eric C. Jung                    Bellcore Advanced Software Environment
(908) 699-4684                  444 Hoes Lane  RRC 1S-222
jung@base.bellcore.com          Piscataway, NJ  08854
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: dwn@bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Insurance question
Reply-To: dwn@bnl.gov
Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 12:22:51 GMT

In article K79@news.cso.uiuc.edu, acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng) writes:
>
>In article <1993Jan21.025025.3938%jim.uucp@wupost.wustl.edu>, mike%jim.uucp@wupost.wustl.edu (Mike S.) writes:
>>Every life insurance policy I have had required a blood test.
>>I also believe the insurance companies check medical databases
>>to see what medical treatment you have had recently.
>
>What do you mean?  I thought my medical record is private.  Or
>did you mean they check with my doctor(s)?

Nope.  They check with the Medical Information Bureau which has
very extrnsive records on anyone who has had medical treatment.

Insurance companies (medical, life, etc.) routinely do this.

Dave

---
Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093


Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jung@base.bellcore.com (Eric Jung)
Subject: Re: Stores can't "detain" shoplifters
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 17:59:45 GMT

In article <C1HoCw.FLp@boi.hp.com>, tommy@boi.hp.com (Tom Peterson) writes:

|> It sounds like a definition of excessive physical force is required for 
|> such circumstances.  If I were hassled by a store employee to the point
|> where I felt I needed to press assualt charges, I would make certain
|> a bunch of people found out just how upset of a customer I am (whether
|> I was guilty or not).

Let me be perfectly clear -- those who charged me with assault were
found guilty of shoplifting!  I never beat up an old lady to get a 
receipt for her hair curlers, or anything like that!  Store detectives
have a simple rule -- only stop shoplifters.  NEVER be wrong.  "When
in doubt, let them out!"  But once a person has been convicted of shop-
lifting, the store doesn't much care how upset he is.  Note also that
force is only used in maybe 1 of 50 cases, and some stores have policies
against using any force.
 
|> unclear whether he was beaten or ?, but he died of a coronary in
|> the HOMEBASE parking lot.
|> 
|> It seems to me that whether this man was quilty or not, excessive
|> force was used and contributed to his death. 

How is this a logical conclusion?  If he died of a blow to the head,
you'd have a clear case, but people have heart attacks!  If a mugger
had a heart attack while you defended yourself, would you feel 
responsible?

Thanks for making an interesting discussion.  I certainly don't mean
to make a personal attack!

Eric
-- 
Eric C. Jung                    Bellcore Advanced Software Environment
(908) 699-4684                  444 Hoes Lane  RRC 1S-222
jung@base.bellcore.com          Piscataway, NJ  08854
From: tquinn@heartland.bradley.edu (Terry Quinn)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Stores can't "detain" shoplifters
Date: 25 Jan 1993 20:41:47 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
Reply-To: tquinn@heartland.bradley.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu



Dave says . . . 
 
> As far as I'm concerned, I'll never step foot in another Disney Store
> again.
> 
> If we were detained and the mall's security section and the local 
> police were called, I'd be filing a humoungous lawsuit against the 
                                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Disney Store and the mall itself.
 
I believe that in a lawsuit, you have to demonstrate that the 
amount for which you are suing must in some way relate to actual 
damages, including a reasonable amount for pain and suffering.  
While you can sue for anything, I doubt you would win a 
"humoungous" amount for simply being detained.  
 
Fortunately, the legal system is not always the lottery that some 
people think it is, even though tele-lawyer-vultures would have us 
believe differently.
 
 

--
                                    Terry Quinn
                                     Germantown Hills, IL
                                      tquinn@heartland.bradley.edu
from Compuserve . . .                  >INTERNET: tquinn@heartland.bradley.edu
From: georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Stores can't "detain" shoplifters
Date: 23 Jan 1993 19:30:44 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland
NNTP-Posting-Host: rome.eng.umd.edu

Stores have every right to detain by physical means, if necessary, anyone
suspected of shoplifting. There are two conditions: a) They must have
probable cause. b) They cannot detain a person for more than a
reasonable length of time, usually one hour.

The same applies to private citizens, in general. Any citizen has the
right to detain by physical means, if necessary, anyone suspected of
committing a crime. The crime doesn't even have to be a felony.

Stores often instruct their employees not to physically retrain a
shoplifter, however, but this is only to reduce their liability risk,
either from an injured employee, injured suspect, etc. These policies
have nothing to do with the store's legal rights.
From: green@wharton.upenn.edu (Scott D. Green)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Gevalia Kaffe Offer
Date: 21 Jan 93 18:20:37 GMT
Distribution: na,local
Organization: none

In article <1993Jan21.100309.1@mcvax4.d48.lilly.com> kroin@mcvax4.d48.lilly.com writes:
>I just got this wonderful offer in the mail from an outfit called
> Gevalia Kaffe.  $10 for a trial offer in which you receive a European style
> automatic drip coffee
>maker(4cup) and a pound of really wonderful (i am reading this) coffee. It's
>one of those we'll keep sending you coffee at probably $10 a pound until you
>tell us not to. You keep the coffee maker whatever you decide. You don't get
>the next shipment for six weeks and may cancel by letter or phone before then.
> I would really be interested in the offer if the coffee is that good. If not,
>I could still console myself with the free coffee maker. The co. is based in
>Sweden and has local importers.Anyone dealt with them or have any info about
>this offer? Thanks, Stan -- 

Well, the coffeemaker is *excellent*, made by melitta, its perfect for one's 
office.  The coffee itself is pretty good, too.  But, when all is said and 
done, (P&H), the regular shipments come to about $10/pound!  Now, I enjoy a 
good cup of coffee as much as Anyone, but I find it difficult to justify 
that price when I can get fresh roasted beans, *when I need them*, locally 
for a few dollars/pound less.

However, don't let the prospect of subsequent hi-priced shipments stop you.  
The intro offer is a great deal and I have never had a problem with turning 
the service off after receiving the intro deal.  They do have an 800 number 
for customer service.  They've got some other neat premiums that they'll 
tempt you with some time after you cancel the first time.
From: darren@zikzak.apana.org.au (Darren Brett Gower)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: PEPSI CLEAR & TAB CLEAR
Date: 23 Jan 1993 23:50:01 +1100
Organization: Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne Australia
NNTP-Posting-Host: zikzak.apana.org.au

poulsen@sp91.csrd.uiuc.edu (David K. Poulsen) writes:

>Well, since everyone else has said all the obvious bad things about Pepsi
>Clear, let me add a more interesting (and inflammatory) one:

>I thought it was absolutely lousy, because it tasted exactly like Coke!

>(don flame-retardant suit now)

>Really, the stuff does taste like Coke to me.

>DP

I was of the opinion that the coloring in these drinks was a separate
ingredient to the *flavorings* - ie, I thought the color did not
have an effect the taste at all. Is this incorrect?

regards,
Darren.
-- 
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Darren Gower               | "I'd be careful who you call smart or    |
| - The Executioner          |  not smart.  Smart isn't knowing how to  |
| darren@zikzak.apana.org.au |  save six bytes.  Smart is knowing WHEN."|
|                            | - Peter Cherna,                          |
| Zikzak public access UNIX, |  Operating Systems Development Group,    |
| Melbourne, Australia.      |  Commodore-Amiga, Inc.                   |
+----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
From: bparrish@rose.hp.com (Bill Parrish)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: How to fight telemarketers
Date: 22 Jan 93 16:41:36 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: HP - Systems Technology Division
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.8 PL6]


Continuing this discussion on telemarketing...

Last night I got a call soliciting money from an organization called the
Police Officers Research Association (I think it was... definately had
the word Research... so I was guessing they were doing a survey).

The guy said they are the largest organization advocating rights for
police officers... After I told him I knew several police officers,
and none of them had ever mentioned the organization to me, they
finally went away... but I'm curious... is this legit?  If not, maybe
a scam alert is called for.  

(as an aside)... for some reason this time of year (mid January) always
brings a rash of these sorts of calls in our area.  Maybe the new directory-
by-phone-numbers comes out in January... we are not in the street-address
directory because we unlisted our address with Pac Bell to prevent exactly
this sort of thing.

Bill Parrish
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:22558 rec.food.cooking:25956
From: npm@dale.cts.com (Nancy Milligan)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.food.cooking
Subject: Re: Black and Decker Handy Steamer
Date: 25 Jan 93 23:49:11 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Titan Linkabit Corporation
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

Linda Snow (lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM) wrote:
> Does anyone have one of these and if so do they work well?  How about
> on very small quantities (1 cup) of vegetables or rice?  And are they
> easy to clean.  Also if you have a different brand I'd be interested
> in hearing about it -- I'm having trouble finding a B&D in stock anywhere.

I have the Rival steamer, I was also intrigued by the B&D one, but I already
own the Rival one.  Anyway, I got the Rival because it is mostly plastic
and can go in the dishwasher.  Mostly I use it for rice, but lately I've
been steaming new and different things, like yams.  Plus I invented 
"steamed apples with currents and brown sugar and spices".  That tastes
really yummy.
 
Let me know how you like the B&D.  The Rival is rather large for just
one person.  I think the B&D was smaller, probably easier to store.

--
Nancy P. Milligan 				npm@dale.cts.com
Titan Linkabit		San Diego, CA		cts!dale!npm
		  Gravity is no laughing matter.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers