Emerging Issues Archive
Vintage Cars Rock as Hard Drive on Wheels may be Hell on Wheels
March 12th, 2010. By Hunter West
I have a prediction: this whole Toyota mess is going to spawn a re-birth of vintage cars.
I have a friend who has a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. An original Veedub. It was made at the original Wolfsburg factory in Germany, has a carburetor and no pollution controls. It coughs, and wheezes. Despite the obvious fact that it’s loads of fun to drive, my pal has had it parked for a few years now due to his attempt to respect the environment—even though legally he can drive it as is—given the fact the car is so old it is grandfathered and is not governed by modern-day pollution control standards. 
He would sit there, at the red light, an obvious Old-World stench belching from the exhaust pipe, cowering under the scorn of other drivers sitting behind the wheels of their gleaming Toyotas that didn’t stink so much.
So he parked the car. There it sits in the garage, replaced by a more modern vehicle. He’s aware there are others in the vintage car communities who have done the same. They’re driving their vintage cars less, if at all, out of respect for the environment. Besides, newer cars are that much safer.
Or, are they?
Don’t be surprised if you see more old cars out on the road now. Cars that drive by mechanics, not electronics. The only circuit you’ll find is the battery that connects the starter, the headlights, the horn, the wipers and the radio.
That’s it. Cars according to KISS: ‘keep it simple, stupid…”
Are cars getting too complicated?
Toyota has been beleaguered with trouble. We all know that. We’ve all heard about the recall, and the sticky pedals. We’ve all heard that Toyota said it was NOT electronics that were at fault, then say they weren’t sure, and then say again as late as this week that in their view the electronics are fine. It’s sticking pedals and floor mats that are causing unexplained acceleration.
And yet we hear of reports where Toyota owners have experienced more incidents whereby their recalled cars have sped away seemingly under their own power AFTER the safety repairs were made. This week a guy driving a Prius is lucky to be alive after his car sped up along a California Interstate. He said the pedal stuck and wouldn’t let go. He even tried to pry it free with his hand. It wouldn’t budge. Floor mats were not the issue.
His car wasn’t on the recall list.
On Wednesday a woman was just heading out of her driveway when her Toyota suddenly lurched forward, sped up and she slammed into a retaining wall across from her property. 
Okay, so is the problem mechanical? Or electronic? Or a combination of both? Do you ever recall a 1964 Impala doing this kind of stuff?
Most agree that cars are getting increasingly complicated. Some say, too much so. Well if that’s you, then you don’t want to ever meet up with the 2010 Lexus HS 250h, manufactured by Toyota.
More computing power than a moonshot
Here is a car that can literally drive itself. Roman Mica, a reporter and producer for CNN reviewed Toyota’s latest marvel, calling the Lexus HS 250h a technological ‘tour de force.’ You don’t drive the car any more,
US Open Food Servers Serve up Double Fault Class Action
March 11th, 2010. By AbiK
For all the presentation and promotion that attempts to position tennis as a pastime of the hoi polloi, it just can’t seem to get over a bit of an elitist image. It’s not the professional players that make it so—heck, many have come from the hoi polloi themselves and have in their own way given the finger to some of the elitism (recall Agassi’s earlier days…McEnroe’s outbursts…Venus and Serena’s new fashion rules). And this year, you—yes YOU—can even register to compete for a wild card into the US Open Qualifying tournament.
So what gives? Well, if you’re part of the army of food service folks who work the Open, you might be thinking the elitism comes from the country club set who show up at the US Open outfitted in Lacoste or Brooks Brothers toting a casual & sporty—yet appropriate!—Vera Bradley or Lily Pulitzer (LL Bean if quieter propriety’s your thing) bag as they head to their box seats at the Open. See, those food service folks actually work their tails off to serve—as the 2010 US Open site describes it—”innovative menus” that feature “superb cuisine of impeccable quality and freshness” to the social set sitting in the Luxury Suites at Arthur Ashe stadium. Yeah, you’re not seeing that fare if you’re sitting Loge. Luxury Suites, by the way, will set you back $10,000 - $63,000 for a package—hey, parking’s included, catering isn’t (that’s an $1,800 minimum).
Work their tails off? Oh, but surely they make decent money, right? Surely more than the peons working those concession stands outside on the “grounds”?
Well, according to a class action lawsuit filed on March 3rd in Brooklyn federal court, those servers may not be getting paid all that much for the hours they put in serving, as the New York Post calls them “celebrities, trust-fund kids and captains of industry”. The Post quotes one worker who’s also a plaintiff, Daniel Yahraes, as saying he worked more than 100 hours a week and was paid based on his $17 an hour pay rate—no overtime pay (that’s fault #1)—and, while clients were apparently charged an additional 21 percent “service charge”, that fee was not passed along to the “service” (that’s fault #2, and shades of Cipriani?). I have to imagine that some of those workers received cash tips, but still, overtime is overtime and for Yahraes, that would arguably mean he lost out on quite a bit of cash.
Five companies are named in the lawsuit, including Restaurant Associates and the suit covers the past six years.
Study says LA surpasses NYC, Chicago in Wage Theft
March 8th, 2010. By AbiK
Every so often there’s a little news story out there that doesn’t get as much attention as it perhaps should. Take a story by Max Taves at LAWeekly.com not long ago. The headline: Unscrupulous Employers Skim $26.2 Million. Ok, surprise, surprise. But the real headline hits you when you read the subhead: That’s per week, from lower-income Angeleno’s paychecks.
$26.2 million per week? Rack that one up on an annual basis and now you’re talking over $1 billion in alleged wage theft.
Taves’ article (2/18/10) is based on a study co-authored by UCLA sociologist, Ruth Milkman, and Victor Narro. The 69-page study, Wage Theft and Workplace Violations in Los Angeles, concludes that 17% of LA county’s poorest workers are basically ripped off to the tune of $26.2 million each week—money they never see in their paychecks. Money that they should see in the form of minimum wage pay, overtime pay for time-and-a-half overtime worked, and rest and meal breaks. The reason, the authors argue, is that employers in LA county “know there’s no enforcement.”
What’s interesting in this study—aside from the sheer numbers involved—is that when the authors compared LA to those in NYC or Chicago, they found that LA low-wage workers were more likely to be
New Meaning to “Shut Up and Drive” Cell Phone Bumper Stickers
March 8th, 2010. By AbiK
As Maine continues to debate a proposed bill that would require cell phone manufacturers to put warning labels on cell phones and packaging stating that they can cause brain cancer, particularly in children, it’s a good time to review some tips—some of which may surprise you—on how you can try to reduce your risk of radiation exposure from your cell phone.
The bill, by the way, is sponsored by Rep. Andrea Boland—and has strong supporters on both sides of the debate. Boland was quoted in an Associated Press article as saying that the US lags behind other countries that have either mandated similar warnings or endorsed policies warning the public about cell phone use. The article also quotes supporters of the bill as referring to continued unregulated cell phone use as “playing Russian roulette”, and that ”We can do nothing and wait for the body count.”—likening the situation to big tobacco. Meanwhile, those in opposition to the bill cite lack of conclusive scientific research.
The following list of tips for reducing cell phone radiation exposure is from the Environmental Working Group (EWG):
1. Buy a low-radiation phone. Do your research—EWG publishes lists of the highest and lowest cell phones
Parents: Is your Kid on Isotretinoin? (aka Accutane)
March 3rd, 2010. By AbiK
Yes, Roche stopped selling acne drug Accutane back in June 2009. But that was a decision made by that company—not the FDA. And, that decision was made (insert raised eyebrow here) for “business reasons”—not for any safety issues. Ahh, but here’s the thing… those “business reasons” included competition from generics. And guess what? You can still get those generics. Other than Accutane, isotretinoin is sold as Sotret, Claravis and Amnesteem.
I imagine a number of parents of acne-ridden teens breathed a sigh of relief when Roche stopped marketing Accutane. After all, what parent wants to consider putting their teenage daughter on some form of guaranteed contraception in order to be put on a drug proven to cause birth defects just so they can clear up their zits? Beyond that, reports of depression, suicidal thoughts, possible gastrointestinal problems—and labelling that also warns of a potential sudden decrease in night vision (mom, can I have the keys to the car?)—don’t exactly add up to a drug you want your child on.
But let’s face it, internet-savvy teens have no problem beating the system and finding ways to order isotretinoin online—particularly when the promise of clear skin in on the line. Enter a recent study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology (January 2010) titled Availability of Oral Isotretinoin and Terbinafine on the Internet.
The study, by Jason P. Lott and Carrie L. Kovarik, MD, looks at the proliferation of websites that sell certain medications without a prescription—specifically dermatologic medications. In their study of websites readily found via Google search, they categorized the websites into four groups: Illicit Commercial (those that offered purchase without a prescription); Legitimate Commercial (US licensed pharmacies requiring prescriptions); Informational (those offering only information, not sale); and Other for those not fitting into the other above categories.
What did they find? For their search on “no prescription Accutane”, 66% of the sites returned on search were categorized as Illicit Commercial. Translation: you could buy Accutane from them without a prescription.
Lott and Kovarik state that they did not go through and actually purchase any oral isotretinoin via the sites they studied—so it’s not certain that the medications would actually be received or if they would be authentic. That said, the authors of the study indicate that the US Government Accounting Office (GAO) reports that 94% of all online opioid purchases result in delivery of the drugs as advertised.
If the GAO report is true, I’d be checking my kid’s backpack.
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