Contact

To contact me directly please email drumsnwhistlesATgmailDOTcom

  • Larry Bone

    Karoli:

    Regarding the case of Rebecca Riley and your post about parents getting a second opionion because these are strong drugs, a friend sent me an email about an apparently thoroughly researched documentary to be released in December of this year.

    Someone else might have emailed information on this film to you but I just wanted to make sure you know about in case you may have an opportunity to see it.

    I really appreciate your posting your thoughts on the Rebecca Riley case because I think it will give parents a resource to help them with their decisions and that it will help prevent another Rebecca Riley situation.

    Best,

    Larry Bone

    The link for information on this documentary is the following:

    http://kevinpmiller.blogspot.com/2007/10/generation-rx-examines-rise-in.html

    GENERATION RX, a new documentary by international award-winning producer Kevin P. Miller, examines the rise in psychiatric diagnoses among children and teens from 1980 to 2007. During that time, there was a mercuric rise in the use of ADHD drugs like Ritalin and unprecedented marketing of health services and mental health drugs directly to consumers. In GENERATION RX. Miller illustrates how this era of kids have been caught in the middle of this unprecedented change in Western culture. He employs the expertise of internationally respected figures from the fields of medicine, ethics, journalism, academia, and more — and asks whether we have allowed children to become the victims of shoddy — and often corrupted science — with profit as the main motivator.

    Ethics, or as Miller reveals, the lack of such, is a central theme of the film. As he investigated the culture of medicine, the producer was shocked to learn that a vast majority of psychiatric drugs being prescribed to millions of children worldwide have never been proven safe and/or effective for the very conditions they are purported to treat. In fact, he uncovered a pattern of collusion between drug manufacturers and their regulatory watchdogs at the FDA, who literally hid evidence of suicidal thoughts and violent acts long before these drugs were approved for the marketplace. The result of these covert actions was an astronomical spike in teen deaths and suicides — 2,000 in 2004 alone — and countless numbers of horrid, but predictable side effects.

    GENERATION RX is a film about children caught in the vortex of mind-bending drugs at the earliest stages of their growth and development. The goal of GENERATION RX is to provide citizens everywhere with the information they need in order to make informed choices about whether ADHD, antipsychotic and antidepressant medications are the right choice for children — or whether drug companies have merely created another market for their products without regard for safety.

    The film is slated for international release in December of 2007.

  • Julia Done

    I am looking for an mp3 player for my mother in law and found the ‘VI Player’ from Saks Electronics. It is British and I have emailed them to get more information on it. I need it to interact with MAC. It is designed for the visualy impaired but it looks as though it has larger button/dials.
    Hope this helps

  • jimmy

    PLEASE BEWARE OF THESE PEOPLE! I tried to cancel my contract with these people, the man got MAD, argued with me in a very rude way, told me I had to call another number to cancel, I tried that number, was given another number and nobody answered that one. Got another number again and it was the original number. NObody was home!! I had to cancel my credit card to get out from under this, after losing $199.00. Expensive lesson learned~ I’m speaking of automotive warranty advisors.

  • Debra

    thanks for your post on the scam auto warranty. I sensed it was since there was no real info on it. THhs is a good use of the internet!

  • Worried Parent

    My college kid is probably going to sign up to sell alarms for Pinnacle Security this summer. I am not at all happy about it and I wish I could change his mind, but you know how that goes. Did Pinnacle buy Firstline? How worried should I be?

  • http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/ Karoli

    Hi Worried Parent,

    As far as I know, the rumor about Pinnacle buying Firstline is just that –
    rumor. I don't really know anything about Pinnacle's products or sales
    contracts, so I can't tell you if it's a good thing for your son or not. I
    will say, however, that the problem I see with selling alarm systems in
    general is that they're a difficult sell. In order to close the deal, the
    saleman has to enter the house and point out the security weaknesses, which
    is something that most homeowners aren't especially willing to do. If
    Pinnacle's system is one where advance appointments are made with homeowners
    and then they send a salesman, that might work, but if I were selling a
    product door-to-door, security systems would not be my choice.

    The real question your student needs to ask is what kind of support the
    company gives its sales force. Are there brochures, business cards? Do
    they take responsibility for state-required sales licensing requirements?
    Are they independent contractors who can set their own hours and schedules
    or are they expected to adhere to the company's set hours, like Firstline?
    What does the sales territory look like? (One of the disastrous outcomes of
    my son's experience was being dropped into Fresno, a city that has laws
    prohibiting door-to-door sales of alarm systems).

    Encourage your student to approach this opportunity as a business
    proposition. What can he reasonably expect to gain, and what are the
    downside risks? If it makes sense, then he should do it, but he should do
    it with his eyes wide open. At least, that's the lesson my son learned.

    Good luck!

  • http://web.archive.org/web/19991118033625/http://www.y2knewswire.com/ Anonymous

    On your August 31st, 2006 post, you question NewsTarget.com (now NaturalNews.com) and it’s author, Mike Adams. Mr. Adams’ is using this forum, the Internet, to play upon people’s fears and offer false solutions for his own profit. He has a long history of this activity. For instance, look at http://web.archive.org/web/19991118033625/http://www.y2knewswire.com/ . Back in 1998 and 1999, Mr. Adams promoted the idea of the Y2K doomsday and profited handsomely. In the run up to Y2K, he made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling fear and survival gear (through sites like Y2Ksupply.com). Mr. Adams is now using health and illness to perpetual fear, false solutions and profit. In the end, Mr. Adams was wrong about Y2K and his health advise is just as risky.

  • raymond mcinnis

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23394070/

    karoli, msnbc on cross over repubs for obama

  • HUFFDAHL = LAWSUITS

    This is a fact….. Jake Dahl is a dishonest man and I know this because he trained me to do shady accounts that were ADT accounts. Not only did he train me to say that i was ADT but he showed me how to forge signatures in place of customers when the paper work was needed to be replaced. I know he is working at APX and that doesnt surprise me because i hear his old buddy Tomio “the liar” Huffman is also there. I knew these two guys in the extension office in 2005 in Seattle. If you want a bio on tomio huffman just type in google Tomio huffman Firstline Security. You will find an entie news report on him in Washington DC handing cash money to a customer to pay her for lying about cost of the alarm system. I know also know tomio's cousin personally sued him for dicking him over in Oceanside and still to this day he does not talk to him and blames his cousin for all his 05 troubles and today troubles. You might want to ask him lead tech also who sued him and won in court for being dishonet. I have never known two dudes more dishonest then these two guys. APX beware of forgeries, lawsuits and news reports from Tomio and Jake, they both only care about the now money no matter how much legal trouble they might place the company or themsleves in. Fore more info just ask Freddy C, leo Anderson, Geo S, Dillion P, Roy T, Scott E, Eric A, Shawn P, and even his own brother Matt Huffman who would tell you the same thing in a dark room away from Tomio……. These guys really do need everyones help because they have a serious problem with dishonesty and it will only continue this year as well. What sucks for them is that this industry is just a joke and it is made for college drop outs and loosers who rely on fast money but no future with a real job………

  • HUFFDAHL = LAWSUITS

    But the money is damn good !!!!!!

  • HUFFDAHL = LAWSUITS

    dear worried parent….. your kid will be fine if he works hard….

  • Christy

    I'm not sure about the connection to McCarthy but I can say that Firstline has not provided me with the service promised, when I try to contact them they are unavailable and they have refused to respond to my complaints filed with the Washington State Attorney General's office, my certified letter indicating that I would like to cancel their services since they have not provided what they said they would and also they have refused to respond to American Express investigations. They have however continued to bill me every month and threatened to turn me over to collections should I not pay. Since they are headquartered far away from where I live legal action is more costly on my part than sucking up the 2grand or so they claim I owe them. I would not advise anyone to purchase this system.

  • SACREDTHUG

    I AM THE ADVERTISEEING DIRECTOR OUT OF THE SAN ANTONIO TEXAS OFFICE. IM AM SO HURT BY THIS COMPANY AS,
    PART OF THE PRODIGY TEAM THE PROMISE IS A TOTAL LOSS. DURING THE MONTH OF AUGEST I HAD TO RETURN TO MY HOME CITY ON A MOMENTS NOTICE AS THERE WAS A MT GRANDMOTHER WAS GREATLY ILL…
    I SIGNED UP 50 ACCOUNTS BEFORE LEAVEING, HOWEVER???
    I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO GRAB MY THINGS AND TRUSTED MY MANAGERS TO GATHER MY THINGS AND SEND THEM TO ME. MY CONTRACT WENT TO THE SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA OFFICE IN THE EXTENTION TO MAKE MORE MONEY..
    ADAM KAPLAN AND JOHN WILEY CLAIMED TO BE SECOND YEAR REP. WOULD NOT AWNSER MY PHONE CALLS,SO!!
    I CONTACTED FIRSTLINE SPOKE TOA LEAVEL 1 MANAGER AND DIDN'T HEAR BACK FROM ADAM KAPLAN UNTIL 1MONTH LATER. THEN HE FINALY CALLED AND SAID HE LEFT MY THINGS IN TEXAS AS HE MOVED BACK TO WASHINGTON.
    TOTAL VIOLATED MY BUSINESS BREIF CASE, BOOKS,I HAD BEEN WRITEING,3 CELLPHONES, 8THREE PICE SUITS,
    EXPENSEVE. STOLEN LET THUS BE PUBLICY KNOWN THE PRODIGY AND FIRSTLINE (I AM SUEING YOU) ALSO THOSE CIVILE INVOLVED ….. MY LAWYERS ARE ONIT…………

  • john

    from a Victem of Firtline
    you forgot the cool off time,the door to door person tells you that you have 30 days to cancel the service in reality you have 3 days.
    then their is the automatic withdrawls of $99.00 ad another $50
    the 99 comes in 3; 33 dollar instalments and a 50 dollar hit [lets not forget overdraft fees]
    then you havean hour hold time just to talk to someone who knows nothing [i have recoarded calls and they knew i was]

    then the “Pump and Dump” part to all this as they are now bankrupt
    “fist line” name is a mask for SAI anoher security company which is yet anoher mask for alarm.com

    Firstline Security Inc
    Ms. La Shonda Hill
    500 South Geneva Road
    Orem, UT 84058
    [email protected]<<<no longer valid
    so the only one i have is [email protected]

    Security Associates International, INC,
    Ms. Erica Dyes
    2101 south arlington Heights road, suite 150
    Arlington Heights, IL 60005-4142
    http://www.sai-inc.com
    Attn: Walter Anderson Collections Manager

    Alarm.com
    1861 International Drive
    McLean, VA 22102
    (877) 389-4033
    [email protected]

    from a victems stand point you need to know FCC regulations and FTC regulations. If you have been victemised by this company handel them like this : get their location rep id and name of their supervisor record the calls let them know you are if they do not want it recoarded thentell them you will not speak with them then hang up. change your bank account number ; or i my case banks , and do not pay.

  • john

    also remember pe`on's dont rule the world

  • john
  • john
  • john
  • http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/ Karoli

    when you say victims, are you talking about other consumers or other salesmen.

  • codytim2

    I wish I had seen this earlier. I contacted to get more info gave vin and cell that's it I am concerned that they can use this info for something illegal. My question is can they?

  • Paul

    On October 7th, 2007 you made a post to “DR. FESTLER MN” stating that you would not allow his comment to be posted. My name is Paul Festler. My brother's name is Daniel Festler. The person who calls himself DR. FESTLER MN (DANNY FESTLER, DANIEL FESTLER, KING FESTLER, and multiple other names, including vulgarities and racist/sexist slurs) has been using my brother's name (as well as our families surname) for many years in hateful posts throughout what seems to be hundreds of different forums, blogs, and social sites. I'm writing to let you know that I appreciate your decision not to post his comments and would also appreciate any future denial of posts made from anyone who use FESTLER in a slanderous way within their name or comments. Finally, I'd like to ask if you know of anyway to take legal action toward eliminating this problem. Thank you.

  • Nick

    25/24/08
    I have been receiving the notices of impending warranty lapse for months. One car 9 years old long out of warranty, another one year old 5 years to go. Sure I just fell off a turnip truck. Obviously a scam.

    Now I have the FINAL NOTICE. Customer ID number is an obvious invention, year/make is “REGISTERED VEHICLE! . Small type . ” If you extended your factory warranty at the time you purchased your vehicle, please disregard this notice. This notice is mailed to all vehicle owners regardless”

    That says it all

  • jbs

    receved -Automotive warranty department Manufacturer's Direct Warranty Sevice , Inc. po box 60516 Las Vagas NV 89160-0516 or toll free 18666511902
    says: ” Final Notice auto warranty dept has been notified that your vehicle's warranty coverage may have expired or will expire soon.” :( So my 1979, 1990 or 1995 Vehicles warranty are or have yes a lonf time ago ha ha ..

  • Jurgen

    Hi there,

    I was touched by your obituary to your father… I'm (age 34) suffering my father being with a very dominant woman at the moment, and she is blocking all possible intimacy because she requires to be “included”. Since I can't include this stranger into my intimate griefs and fears – I risk loosing my father too. It's been over 5 years now. Luckily I still find the courage to call every now and then – basically keeping on the surface – after giving up fighting for some private time with him. Every now and then, I think of giving that up too – letting him call for a change. It doesn't happen.

    I see how different the situation is, but still… it opened my eyes to what could happen if I give up the tiny string still connecting us at present. Your story told me that I better keep that opening – just hoping some day things will change for the better… and in the mean while, he's welcome here. And his wife will be tolerated, as long as she keeps put.

    I want to condole in your grief – and wish you soothing people around you.
    I want to thank you for sharing this converted anger with me.
    (oh yes, and I really do like your photographs)

  • http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/ Karoli

    Thank you for your condolences. I'm glad that my post helped you in some way and strengthened your resolve to keep calling even though yes, you're right…he should call you once in awhile.

    It's a hard process, but one worth doing.

  • cmb557

    Thank you for saving me from a scam. I talked to these guys today. I gave them my credit card number. I did not tell them to start this warranty however. They list their hours from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. I just called them back after reading all these blogs, at 7:05 p.m., of course to tell them I wasn't interested. They were not closed yet, I talked to the same guy I talked to earlier and made sure he knew I was not interested. It worries me about giving them my credit card number. Should I just watch my statements? Is there anything else I can do about them having my credit card number?

  • http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/ Karoli

    I'd suggest notifying your credit card company, too.

  • cmb557

    Thank you for saving me from a scam. I talked to these guys today. I gave them my credit card number. I did not tell them to start this warranty however. They list their hours from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. I just called them back after reading all these blogs, at 7:05 p.m., of course to tell them I wasn't interested. They were not closed yet, I talked to the same guy I talked to earlier and made sure he knew I was not interested. It worries me about giving them my credit card number. Should I just watch my statements? Is there anything else I can do about them having my credit card number?

  • http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/ Karoli

    I'd suggest notifying your credit card company, too.

  • residentfl

    Got 2 scam mails today. From AWS and Motor Vehicle Services. I knew it was a scam. I have been getting this kind of mail every so often. One thing though, that the dealer try sell this warranty to you ( just happened recently to me), I wrote a letter to the dealer president that I was uneasy about this practice. I had a bad experience with this extended warranty, when I purchased it for my daughter in Boston a few years ago. I better take chances than getting screwed up again.

  • residentfl

    Got 2 scam mails today. From AWS and Motor Vehicle Services. I knew it was a scam. I have been getting this kind of mail every so often. One thing though, that the dealer try sell this warranty to you ( just happened recently to me), I wrote a letter to the dealer president that I was uneasy about this practice. I had a bad experience with this extended warranty, when I purchased it for my daughter in Boston a few years ago. I better take chances than getting screwed up again.