Consumer Advocates are GOOD for everyone - Elliott Confidential

Consumer Advocates are GOOD for everyone.

I love reading Elliott's stories, of how his agency corrected the oversight, delays, malfeasances, from Corporations, who for whatever reason(s), are NOT living up to their standards, their Terms, THE LAW, in the selected cases he shares.

Advocacy is important, and saves EVERYONE money. It's true. While bad employees may play narcissistic games with certain customers, or the corporation itself just dropped the ball in some way; while statistically their run-around, saves them money in their current cycle P&L, just wait long enough, and the Class Actions or Independent Civil Suit, costs them more than solving the problem in the first place, generally. The consumer's time can never be gotten back, but it's a small win for each customer who was wronged.

And it keeps corporations in check. All Corporate Problems are People Problems. So that means they have an employee, who is either failing or breaking the law, somewhere in the chain and sequence. Or a manager or leader, who is ignoring the bad egg on their team, or willfully committing fraud.

Having a problem, always costs more than prevention.
VC funded companies that I've worked at, have teams, and build prevention into their model, from day zero. These, are the best places to work for, and be a part of from my experience. Not a blanket statement about VC, as it also takes discretion. The companies I picked, the leadership team was honest.

Smaller companies can avoid fixing the problem, and this is often like the Movie Pyramid, Time v Money v Quality. The error ended up being BUILT-IN to their model, often due to:
(i) Their leader(s), being strong in one or more areas, but no one can know everything. That error, shows where they need to strengthen or shore up.
(ii) Not enough time; they're caught in a cycle with not enough employees, and too much work, and/or a previous "unexpected problem" that they're still trying to overcome. This problem, is fixed by carving out time for leadership training and reprioritizing. When the leader works with experts and re-evaluates their priorities, they start making different decisions daily, and their company begins to transform.
(iii) Not enough money. Often due to initial sticker shock. When they see the price tag of fixing the problem, it's an expense they feel they cannot afford. They have to change the timeline, to see the cost clearly, and how correcting it, is actually protecting them, saving them time and expense.

Elliott Confidential helps. If you believe in truth, freedom, oversight, and companies doing the right thing by consumers, please help them out by:

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How do you feel, when you support something that is bigger than you, that helps others? And how does that feeling, keep on giving back to you?

https://www.elliottconfidential.com/p/please-dont-let-them-pull-the-plug?r=1r2m2m&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Self Reliance in Extreme Circumstances

"1000 days spent evading is better than 1 day spent in captivity." John Hudson, British Military's Chief SERE.

Reading about harassment & murders (including kills made to appear as suicide), around the world: w/populations seeking refuge, or innocent country being attacked like Ukraine. Or all individuals who speak up & do the right thing, b/c it's the right thing.

67 members of press were killed in 2022. 28 '21. 32 '20. 27 '19. 57 '18. (Source: CPJ)

For all forms of oppression; anything on Power & Control Wheel; Brittney Griner's incarceration; Lt. Ridge Alkonis, who suffered Acute Mountain Sickness, severe medical emergency, and is now incarcerated in Japan. For all individuals who are victimized at work or home. For all targeted by local militia (like Proud Boys, ISIS, other militant groups / cults).

I feel grateful that some of the Capital Rioters faced sentencing.

I feel grateful that Britney Spears is no longer under conservatorship.

The illegal harassment of journalists is wrong. I do feel it's under-served. As well as a larger problem having systemic roots as well as some significant failures with public corruption related to Hate Crimes, Stalking by Proxy, Targeted Harassment.

Journalists who are experiencing this, I'm curious about the duration, and if it shifts / what makes it better (vs worse).

It appears to be normalized in some geographical areas, and this I believe to be deeply wrong, deeply systemic.

From the victims I interviewed in 2020 & 2021, any harassment I experienced, was huge for me, but if you translated the scale to their situation, then it was minute & localized, for me. Their experience, was persistent & pervasive.

I'm more aware of Modern Day Slavery & Threat Actors, than I have ever been in my life. I am more aware, of those who are innocent and/or those who are oppressed.

For me, threats have surged, motivated by finance & conviction. (I just won two parts of one case with more to go.)

Even with this + other cases that I have won in the last some years (I filed reports; my data was good); I can see no end in sight, in the United States.

With high rates of mental illness, prison populations, gangs, civilian militia, drug users, computer criminals, religious cults trafficking kids via adoption & utilizing resources within this paragraph....

From my perspective, Robert Herjavec is right: Threat Actors being the largest escalating problem facing business today. Not to mention all else I wrote.

Actors are people, and while worldwide, I've studied the ones in the USA since 2011.

I know research is not over, but I feel fairly done with this area. I'm looking forward to being invited to a safer country for work. Did I mention I just won part(s) of a case which was related to Corporations that Traffic? Threats still rampant. But bringing awareness to their crimes: TOTALLY WORTH IT.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=how+to+survive+by+john+hudson&crid=31KX8BCDEB3BH&sprefix=%2Caps%2C225

Max Benson

Wow. Max Benson trial March 3rd, after more than four years.(These are the kind of timelines, that I'm used to for work. Truth wins in the end, and it's important to treat these cases, and life, like you're training for a marathon. Those who are corrupt, use a myriad of tactics to exhaust the innocent parties who speak up for accountability & reform. Self-care, fortitude, and stamina, are important.)

When I read this, I immediately signed the petition. You can too, in support.
CHANGE.org CAMPAIGN (sign here) https://lnkd.in/eWZqb9QJ

I know the truth, is always more than what is published. The CBS article, seems reasonable, as does TIME.
CBS NEWS https://lnkd.in/e-K4iGeA
TIME MAGAZINE https://lnkd.in/eQJi8iuj

I am outdated on ABA. I do know that when I was in it, for a year and a half, the students, they were moderately-severe, and it was 1-1. There was no restraining. In the boy I was the ABA Therapist to, he only escalated twice in that time, and NO violence. It is shocking to read about the Teachers in Max Benson's case, and the Nurse.

I know about El Dorado, and this case is interesting to me as well because it occurred there. I went to El Dorado in 2017, to handle a false DMV Citizen's Claim, that was thrown out of court, twice. In 2009 it was dropped; and in 2017, it was illegally put back on the docket (one cannot file beyond the 1 year statute), and dismissed a second time. That is one example, of corruption at play. In 2017, the Attorney who was "defending" actually told me she worked with children, and it was her game of "chess" to get them stricter sentences than they deserved, especially the innocent ones. I recorded the conversation, and reported her. She no longer practices in California, and can no longer abuse her position & hurt California juveniles.

That Attorney though, told me she knew who I was, and that she was connected to a Teacher who worked with Disabled Kids, who I had reported to the police for violence against Laura, his student. That man, told me he got off on manipulating and hurting his disabled kids, and that it was the perfect crime, because they could not express themselves to others in any way that would invalidate the teacher.

That Attorney & that Teacher, are typical Narcissists: Glib, Charming. You have to know what to look for + see details to observe that they're wolves in sheep's clothing. There must be better due diligence, and these archetypes must be removed from positions in teaching, healthcare, leadership.

One more thing about El Dorado. The city I went to in that County, the Town Square had a statue of a black man being hung. I was shocked. I asked a local about it, and they smiled, proud of it. NO THANK YOU. That is wrong. I wish that statue would be removed. I want Max's family to get the results that are most beneficial.

https://www.change.org/p/ban-the-use-of-deadly-prone-restraints-in-california-schools?cs_tk=AkkbM_4WzlCnS7sSAmQAAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvPtbvFRNl9ZUu73-paMhB-Y%3D&utm_campaign=71972a43b9294dbfa833a85058572aa6

Building Responsiveness into the understructure & meaning of communication

Building Responsiveness into the understructure & meaning of communication, creating implicit and evocative response.

Shifting from the Informative Channel as an Expert, into the Evocative Channel to produce rapport & response (change work).

This style, creates connection, and ultimately, empowerment.

Unleash your untapped potential; auto-suggestion from Dr. Milton Erickson by Dr. Zeig

Unleash your untapped potential; auto-suggestion from Dr. Milton Erickson by Dr. Zeig.

2009-10 I was Financial Controller for Joby Energy, which merged with Google. I exited the company. I went on retreat in New York to meditate under Roshi David, then returned to San Francisco and started a Master's program under Dr. Marlene Mulder & Randal Churchill. I chose this, for multiple reasons, many not listed here.

(i) One had to do with travel, as planes made me nervous before. That pseudo "phobia" got resolved in 2010, and Q4 2022, I found out specifically why I'd had that reaction in the past, from events in 1985.
(ii) I wanted to feel more free in the kitchen, before I launched the start-up I'd invested in, a cooking school. That was wildly successful; turning 40K into multiple million.
(iii) I wanted to anchor the accumulation of therapy certificates I'd earned over the years, into a Master's. I achieved that, and became a member of The American Council of Hypnotist Examiners (which is currently expired).

These experiences, also clarified things for me. I was into hypnosis, for me. I AM into meditation, for me, and everyone who likes it too. I AM hooked, on Neuro-Linguistics. That was the direction, that I kept on growing with. (My NLPP certifications & membership, is current.)

(iv) I did NOT know that my subconscious desires related to Story Telling. Learning from Dr. Mulder, unlocked many profound things, to me, and transformed certain aspects of my work, from 2010 forward.

Every day, I daydream about making real stories relatable & transformative. Every month, I work on producing at least one presentation. (Most work to date, has been case work, so not generally available to the public.)

Dr. Milton Erickson, is a Psychiatrist, who achieved better results in change work, than many of his esteemed peers. He did this, due to several notable aspects, including:

• RAPPORT. He matches and mirrors, and meets the other person, where they currently are.
• AWARENESS. He sees them clearly, for who they are, and how they're showing up. (In contrast, some practitioners, are concerned with their agenda, and making the client fit into their box. This, is always wrong, in my book.)
• LISTENING. He listens to the person. REALLY listens. They give him the details, and the answers, about what is happening, and what is inside of them. Because he listens, and feeds it back to them, he gives them recognition, and helps build a bridge, for the journey they're about to take.
• UTILIZATION. He builds the other person up, including strengths & tools, they already have, already possess, are already inside. There are many ways to get to a goal, or new plateau. He works WITH the person with what is relatable and useful, instead of trying to change them.

Erickson's tools, are super fun, and I find them, exceptionally valuable. He & Dr. Bandler, utilize neuro-linguistics, a practical tool, that assists in improving people & outcomes.

Sunshine Week (Open Government)

I have a deep love and appreciation for our government, from the the family who raised me, as we had former presidents who were in leadership, who were close. (Clinton, Cheney.)

I'm into prevention & knowing what you're going to get, which is why I like government. I've had fun geeking out over policy manuals. I love the due diligence and due process. I also love the oversight, where anyone in house can file a complaint, and know it will be processed. Also where any journalist or citizen, can request and obtain much information. And where any citizen can attend open meetings, contact their representatives, and have a voice in our Democracy. These aspects, I value.

I had been Interim Co-Controller for Reality Digital Inc in San Francisco for one of their series fundings round. The CEO, Cynthia, was brilliant, and she thought differently than any other Leader I've met. She was a whole-brain thinker, thinking creatively, in systems, utilizing her exceptional education, training, background, and she also cared about people, in the most human way I have ever witnessed from a CEO. That part, where I saw her be strong and stable, holding space for the actual human element, which seemed to be from her heart (not her emotions nor head, as it came across), was the most impressive thing to me.

I'd seen other start-up CEO's be too passionate, and that passion, creates blind spots. I'd seen even more CEO's, be too cold, and only seem to care, when they were being glib, which means that if you scanned their brain, they'd probably have low empathy (the charisma was for social effects, not heartfelt, i.e. narcissistic or sociopathic). No one wants a cold leader. No one wants to be lied to. People want leaders they can respect, who lead with consistency, and who can help, in relatable ways.

After Reality Digital was acquired, Cynthia moved onto OpenCities. https://lnkd.in/eaZ-mYnF

Their current purpose is: "We empower local governments to create better web, intranet and online service experiences that last."

But before that, along the way, over the last many years, I had seen a post from OpenCities about their purpose in making the Government more Transparent. At the time it had been written, I felt impressed, and it deepened my appreciation for Cynthia.

Society of Professional Journalists is partnering with NLA for SunshineWeek. I'm excited to discover more about what dark recesses exist. I know when I reported technology used to commit financial trafficking to Texas Government, they were responsive, and ultimately helpful. The problem with the corruption that existed, was not with government directly, but yet, some employees of Government, did approach me, and did threaten me over that case. It was not the Government; it was people who worked for the Government. All corporate problems, are people problems. There are individuals in every entity type, that should not be there.

Society of Professional Journalists41,072 followers

1d • 1 day ago

SPJ is partnering with the News Leaders Association to host #SunshineWeek, March 12-18. Sunshine Week aims to promote open government and shine light into the dark recesses of government secrecy. Visit https://bit.ly/3lUeuoX for more information. 

This Video Has 61,060,401 Views

I stumbled across this video Q4 2022 and fell in "love". I watched it to the end, and then a few times, which is something I rarely have time, nor TAKE the time for. It may have been the mountains in the background, symbolism that means something to me. It was about the math, and the results of said math.

I read a post from Jason Feifer, of Entrepreneur, about trust regarding social media views. I agree with him in general, but not in totality. Here's why:

Feifer said he didn't trust an individual due to disconnect between likes & comments. I'm paraphrasing. He is brilliant, in his position for a reason, so when you dig into the details, I'm sure there were other clues he saw & recognized, which contributed to his assessment that the person's Likes weren't real. He also mentioned their associations, which yes, is a great filter (they were claiming connection to a convicted felon).

I want to comment on a subset of semi-public figures, where there may be a disconnect between followers/likes v comments. I'm one of them, but I'm not the only one, as my favorite high profile creative geniuses, seem to be similar to this, too.

I initially wanted to grow a following from relationship writing, 2004-2009. I started to get traction, but my market was the wrong demographic. I was writing about the SCIENCE of RELATIONSHIPS + PREFERENCES. It was research. It was also a little bit dark comedy. It was for grad studies + a social commentary. My followers ended up being polyamorous Burning Man folk, where to each their own, but I'm out of alignment w/their relationship behaviors (I'm a straight serial monogamist, independent yet protective of people & relationships). I ended up deleting the blog, which I thought was valuable, after some mentally ill poly men who also used poly tech to stalk, were pissed I said NO to them. (The writing is always on the wall.) This was my first taste at a smaller but still significant Bay Area following.

My real success, came next, in 2010, when I invested in Celebrity Chef Cooking Classes to 12/31/12 when the company closed. We went out to 1M+ people & kept doing promotions of that size for 2yrs. I was also writing as part of HARO, earning 170+ media publications in 1yr 2011-2012. My followers got up to Influencer Level.

In 2012, a crime occurred, and I'd worked with the DA in SC in 1998, but this time it was different. I ended up choosing caution when it came to publicity, doing several things. I cleaned up my online followers, blocked many people, who might have associated with individuals who had records of convictions. I also kept writing, but no longer had a budget for a marketing team. Which means, I stopped interacting with any followers. No interaction, and people learn not to comment.

Other creatives I know, who are int'lly acclaimed, also have a following, but little interaction, because they're creative, not marketers, a lower budget, less bandwidth.

Algorithms can also get real likes. Tom Scott, he's cool.

Commander in Briefs

Thanks Tom Scott, for this post about our former "Commander in Briefs", Bill Clinton.

I'm into Barack Obama's answer to this question. What about you?
https://lnkd.in/e3HhBQGG

Feel free to discover more content by Tom Scott here:
https://lnkd.in/eqkp7j53

(Bill Clinton was friends with my former employer, Janet Lishman's brother, and I was grateful to sit in on their call re: early 2000's Vaccination Research, with Clinton. I also read the report before it was published; I'm incredibly grateful for that.)

Vaccine's save lives, absolutely do not nor ever have, caused Autism. The Thimerosal in some vaccines, Mercury, we know is a toxin. A metal, it settles. Janet said as vaccines were created in vats, the doses taken from the bottom, may have higher amounts of mercury than the others, and this would be damaging to sensitive individuals, and/or ANY individual, if amount were high enough, which she said probably wasn't the issue for most kids, only sensitive individuals. I do not know how MMR are being made today, but in 2003, the solution for this potential concern, was to ask for a more expensive Thimerosal Free Vaccine.

My adopted mother, was reluctant to vaccinate me, but was forced to for US school enrollment. As an adult, through an MD in San Francisco, I found out that some of my childhood vaccines had been missed, so went through vaccination in 2015. Before then, it was my "normal" to get sick 1-3x a year. Also, I was susceptible to infection when I traveled. Getting current + travel vaccines in 2015, changed my life. I stopped getting sick. Now I get vaccinated annually, and never get the flu. I was on top of it with COVID, not out of fear, as I tested negative, don't have the gene, and have a strong immune system (now). It was prevention, and concern for my fellow humans.

Have a laugh about our president's responses to this intimate question.

Be smart about research and sources where you're getting your health information from vs misinformation. (All misinformation, is either ignorance, dogmatic, or Power & Control, therefore abuse. Including all ERW propaganda. Vaccines have never caused Autism. The research has never lied to us. It's clearly stated Thimerosal is dangerous as it's mercury, but that wasn't the problem with vaccines, and sensitive individuals can request Thimerosal free vaccinations.)

SIDEBAR: My research into the forensics of technology used to commit financial crime produced traffickers, and that produced missing kids. Some of the newspaper articles & case files, mentioned various drugs used for abductions, and later on for "parenting" or "control" of that child. I've researched some of the effects of those drugs, and to me, some of it looks like ASD. Please stop blaming vaccinations, for a different agent, that can cause harm. For example, kids dosed with Halcyon, can have symptoms that look like narcolepsy or ADHD, when it's not those disorders, but the after effects of a drug.

https://waxy.org/2023/01/lost-media-finding-bill-clintons-boxers-or-briefs-mtv-moment/

HONESTY v SHORT-CUT v CHEATING

In one of the documentaries about NXIVM (I watched related to forensics investigation into tech used to commit crime, as one Anthem Data Breach Actor worked for Bronfman), Raniere talks about cheating, and I believe he is coming from his experience in Poker. He stated that cheaters always win, unless/until they're caught.

What do you think? True, untrue, something in between, something different?

Would you ever cheat?

AND, let's dig into cheating a little bit, by defining it. What is your definition?

CHEATING RE: LAW / INTEGRITY
For example, I would never cheat and have never cheated (never with people, relationships, neither childhood board games). I'm honest to a fault.

I have had to learn to withhold that which is not immediately relevant; which has proven to be a necessary strategy in work & socially.

(Unless it's a legal requirement to withhold, where it's easy to refrain since it's data & protecting IP; it otherwise can be difficult but necessary, to omit, as it feels like lying by omission to me. I'm a whole brain thinker, knowing the inter-connected parts & how they relate. This type of data, is generally too much for most people, unless they're science minded or a whole brain thinker too.)

I view cheating as breaking the rules in any way that would be illegal, threaten the safety of a person, or integrity of an entity/structure. How would you state it?

CHEAT, SHORT-CUT, OR HACK?
If you change the dynamic to be cheating regarding process steps, then you enter a different zone, which is not black-and-white, and I'm curious what it is, for you.

For example, in physical fitness sports training, it's important to follow the routine; i.e. leg/back, arms/core. If you skip steps or "cheat" when it comes to nutrition, water, work-out, repair, your body suffers. Anyone who trains, knows this. In this world, there is a huge difference between skipping steps, cheating, and actual chemistry + fitness hacks that work to help you get too & maintain, your edge.

NEXT LEVEL HACKS, INVALIDATION OF RESULTS OR CRIMINALITY?
In work, there are various hacks. For example, in accounting, there are usually 3-4 ways to get to the same result in QuickBooks. In Tax Law, there are generally 2-4 ways to do something, legal when planned in advance, but illegal if done after the fact.

In work, "hacks", for productivity, performance, end-result, could be viewed as "beneficial". But if work is a science experiment, there are strict regulations, and all hacks and deviation from process steps, if found out, would be viewed as illegal, invalidating the experiment, therefore project, therefore funding, corporate integrity, relationships with others. Certain hacks, in certain industries, are always illegal, and carry a huge weight for the person who commits them, all people they're connected to. (All people who cheat, I hope corporations let them go.)

Where do you draw the line?

What would and wouldn't you do?

Is it simple for you? Or is it complicated?