We would like to acknowledge the following contributors to this month’s STAE issue.
The Sterling Creations accessibility team, the Sterling Creations research team, Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison who are our resident business consultants, Scott Savoy our managing editor, Christian Robicheau our assistant editor, and Donna J Jodhan our president.
Meet Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison
Our resident experts with over 45 years of business consulting experience between them. These two are the authors of several books, articles, and newsletters. They are highly paid consultants to the US, British, and Canadian governments and they continue to “Walk the talk” on a daily basis.
Their first book “Secrets to financial success” was published in 2003 and sold over 100,000 copies in just one year. Their second book “Untapped wealth” was published in 2004 and sold over 225,000 copies in just 18 months. Next came their first edition of “Untapped wealth discovered” which was published in September 2005 and as of March 2007 this little gem sold over 400,000 copies. In April 2006 Marquis and Harrison followed up by publishing the second edition of “Untapped wealth Discovered” and as of March 2007 this power packed book was estimated to have sold over 320,000 copies. What a picture for this dynamic duet! To have sold over one million books in just a little over four years is truly a remarkable feat for this unbeatable combination.
Thanks to the American government, Marquis and Harrison are now very hard at work on their next book and you’re probably wondering by now why we’re so excited about it all. It’s very simple! These two authors have written best sellers that will show you how to make income safely, logically, and soundly. Their strategies are proven and thousands of business experts are saying that they make complete sense. In short, these two authors have written books that are free of smoking mirrors, broken promises, get rich quick schemes, and seedy scams.
They and their team of consultants work tirelessly to produce daily blogs that are jammed packed with up to the minute news wires and headlines from around the world, business news and trends, and current strategies. Marquis and Harrison are also motivational speakers and are booked solid till the end of 2008. They and their team also help countless businesses and individuals to research and write complaints and editorials so that the voices of their clients can be heard.
If you’re looking for ways to make lucrative income for the rest of your lives then please buy this very affordable book. If you’re seeking dynamic opportunities in markets that are safe, fast growing, and long lasting, then you need to pick up a copy of this book. If you’re serious about wanting to secure your financial future and at the same time realize personal satisfaction then this best seller is definitely for you.
You can purchase a copy of any of their best sellers from www.amazon.com, or from any other large bookstore. You can check out their daily blogs on the business desk page at www.untappedwealth.com as well as at:
I’d like to congratulate the hard working staff at the STAE magazine on reaching their second anniversary. In April 2005 Sterling Creations launched the free STAE online magazine and since then we’ve never looked back and we continue to go from strength to strength.
I’d like to thank all of our readers and contributors for all of their comments, contributions, and critiques for without all of you we could not have done it. We hope that you continue to enjoy our magazine as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!
Ask the expert
Safeway installs new equipment
April 2007
By the Sterling Creations accessibility team
Happy April to our readers. This month we’d like to publish an article that shows that there is at least one company out there that is thinking of the safety of blind and visually impaired shoppers. We are often asked by visually impaired persons if there are any companies that can provide them with the privacy and safety that they so desperately need when doing their shopping. Especially so when they need to carry out financial transactions while in a store or supermarket?
Many sighted persons take for granted that it’s so easy for them to pay for their purchases with a debit or credit card. All that’s needed for them is to produce their card, insert it into the slot of a machine or for it to be scanned, and bingo! It’s all completed. However, for someone without sight, it’s a different story. When you can’t see what’s going on around you, and there’s no way for you to know that your card has been successfully scanned or accepted, then safety and security becomes a problem.
We hope that the following article gives hope to our blind and visually impaired readers.
Have a wonderful April.
Safeway Installs New Equipment to Protect Financial Privacy of Shoppers With
Visual Impairments
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA October 31, 2006
Blind Community Leaders Applaud Safeway's Commitment
PLEASANTON, Calif.- In a move praised by state and national blind
organizations, Safeway (NYSE:SWY) today announced that it has begun
installing equipment to protect the privacy and security of Safeway shoppers
with visual impairments. The new devices plug into existing point of sale
payment machines and have tactile keys arranged like a standard telephone
keypad. They will allow Safeway shoppers who have difficulty reading
information on a touchscreen to privately and independently enter their PIN,
telephone number, and other confidential information.
Safeway operates stores across the country under the banners Safeway, Vons,
Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi's, Dominick's, Pak'n Save Foods and
Carrs stores. Every Safeway store in California has already been equipped
with several of the devices, and they will be installed across the country
over the next 12 months.
Today's announcement is the result of collaboration between Safeway and
major blindness organizations including the American Foundation for the
Blind, American Council of the Blind and the California Council of the
Blind. "ACB and CCB are membership organizations with thousands of members
across the country and in California who will benefit from Safeway's
commitment," said Jeff Thom, President of the CCB. Carl Augusto, President
and CEO of the AFB, also praised Safeway's announcement: "Today's
announcement by Safeway demonstrates the Company's commitment to the privacy
and convenience of its blind and visually impaired customers."
"Safeway has a long history of supporting our communities and people with
disabilities. This decision is one way we can help customers who are blind
or visually impaired experience a better shopping experience in every
Safeway store throughout the country," said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive
Vice President Chief Strategist and Administrative Officer.
According to the website of the American Foundation for the Blind, there are
approximately 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the United
Hey there! We hope that everyone is enjoying the lovely spring weather. This month we are going to venture into a very touchy topic if you could call it this. This topic revolves around class struggle.
America is a very wealthy nation, with an abundance of both pan power and natural resources. Each year, hundreds of thousands of persons choose to make America their home simply because of the enormous amount of opportunities to be had. However, what many of them find out later is that in order to take advantage of these opportunities they need to sacrifice a lot. Many immigrants to our country have to endure lots in order to obtain decent lives and class struggle is just one of the sobering facts of their lives.
We are going to publish the following article and let you be the judge. We’d like to thank Scott Harlock of New York for sending this article to us.
Class Struggle
By Jim Webb
Democratic Senator-Elect
Wall Street Journal, November 15 2006
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics
today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes
of which we have not seen since the 19th century.
America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the
past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a
different country.
Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their
loved ones to fight our wars. They own most of our stocks, making the stock
market an unreliable indicator of the economic health of working people.
The top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national income, up from 8% in
1980. The tax codes protect them, just as they
protect corporate America, through a vast system of loopholes.
Incestuous corporate boards regularly approve compensation packages for
chief executives and others that are out of logic's range. As this newspaper
has reported, the average CEO of a sizeable corporation makes more than $10
million a year, while the minimum wage for workers amounts to about $10,000
a year, and has not been raised in nearly
a decade.
When I graduated from college in the 1960s, the average CEO made 20 times
what the average worker made. Today, that CEO makes 400 times as much.
In the age of globalization and outsourcing, and with a vast underground
labor pool from illegal immigration, the average American worker is seeing a
different life and a troubling future. Trickle-down economics didn't happen.
Despite the vaunted all-time highs of the stock market, wages and salaries
are at all-time lows as a percentage of the national wealth. At the same
time, medical costs have risen 73% in the last six years alone. Half of that
increase comes from wage-earners'
pockets rather than from insurance, and 47 million Americans have no medical
insurance at all.
Manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Many earned pension programs have
collapsed in the wake of corporate "reorganization." And workers' ability to
negotiate their futures has been eviscerated by the twin threats of modern
corporate America: If
they complain too loudly, their jobs might either be outsourced overseas or
given to illegal immigrants.
This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its
beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on
hubris. When I raised this issue with corporate leaders during the recent
political campaign, I was met repeatedly with denials, and, from some, an
overt lack of concern for those who are
falling behind. A troubling arrogance is in the air among the nation's most
fortunate.
Some shrug off large-scale economic and social dislocations as the
inevitable byproducts of the "rough road of capitalism." Others claim that
it's the fault of the worker or the public education system, that the
average American is simply not up to the international challenge, that our
education system fails us, or that our workers have become spoiled by old
notions of corporate paternalism.
Still others have gone so far as to argue that these divisions are the
natural results of a competitive society. Furthermore, an unspoken
insinuation seems to be inundating our national debate: Certain immigrant
groups have the "right genetics" and thus are natural entrants to the
"overclass," while others, as well as those who come
from stock that has been here for 200 years and have not made it to the top,
simply don't possess the necessary attributes.
Most Americans reject such notions. But the true challenge is for everyone
to understand that the current economic divisions in society are harmful to
our future. It should be the first order of business for the new Congress to
begin addressing these divisions, and to work to bring true fairness back to
economic life. Workers already understand this, as they see stagnant wages
and disappearing jobs.
America's elites need to understand this reality in terms of their own
self-interest.
A recent survey in the Economist warned that globalization was affecting the
U.S. differently than other "First World" nations, and that white-collar
jobs were in as much danger as the blue-collar positions which have thus far
been ravaged by outsourcing
and illegal immigration. That survey then warned that "unless a solution is
found to sluggish real wages and rising inequality, there is a serious risk
of a protectionist backlash" in America that would take us away from what
they view to be the "biggest economic stimulus in world history."
More troubling is this: If it remains unchecked, this bifurcation of
opportunities and advantages along class lines has the potential to bring a
period of political unrest. Up to now, most American workers have simply
been worried about their job prospects. Once they understand that there are
(and were) clear alternatives to the policies that have dislocated careers
and altered futures, they will demand more accountability from the leaders
who have failed to protect their interests.
The "Wal-Marting" of cheap consumer products brought in from places like
China, and the easy money from low-interest home mortgage refinancing, have
softened the blows in recent years. But the balance point is tipping in both
cases, away from the consumer and away from our national interest.
The politics of the Karl Rove era were designed to distract and divide the
very people who would ordinarily be rebelling against the deterioration of
their way of life.
Working Americans have been repeatedly seduced at the polls by emotional
issues such as the predictable mantra of "God, guns, gays, abortion and the
flag" while their way of life shifted ineluctably beneath their feet. But
this election cycle showed an electorate that intends to hold government
leaders accountable for allowing every
American a fair opportunity to succeed.
With this new Congress, and heading into an important presidential election
in 2008, American workers have a chance to be heard in ways that have eluded
them for more than a decade. Nothing is more important for the health of our
society than to grant them the validity of their concerns. And our
government leaders have no greater duty than to confront the growing
unfairness in this age of globalization.
Mr. Webb is the Democratic senator-elect from Virginia.
Hey everyone! This month I’d like to send out a message of warning to all new Canadians as they are often referred to in Canada, and as a matter of fact to all new immigrants to North America.
Just recently there was a documentary on Canadian TV, (a W5 report on CTV), that highlighted how 1 individual managed to clean out the pockets of hundreds of new immigrants to Canada over a 10 year period. He did this by setting up bogus businesses and offering bogus franchises to new immigrants. At the end of the day he managed to rob these poor people of millions of dollars and as it stands now, these people may probably never see their life’s savings again, and he may never be caught let alone be prosecuted.
This scammer did his dirty work by setting up bogus Pizza franchises that included the 3 for 1 Pizza franchise, the Pizza One franchise, and the Pizza Uno franchise. Somehow, he charmed his victims into buying into his schemes whereby they gave him millions of dollars in return for empty promises of setting up Pizza outlets that would offer take out and delivery services.
The sad thing is that Canadian authorities are very aware of this scammer but for some reason they’ve not been able to catch and prosecute him. As I mentioned before, he preyed on new Canadians and I can assure you that he is not the only scammer to have gotten away with this type of scam.
There are literally thousands of scammers across North America who continue to take advantage of and aim their artillery at new immigrants. They find it easier to do so because in general, immigrants are more eager to strike out as entrepreneurs and/or small business owners. This is so because they believe that it would be easier for them to create their own employment rather than applying to companies.
Scammers also find it easier to entrap new immigrants because new immigrants are much less aware of scams, pitfalls, and murky schemes in North America. Everything is practically new to them and so they don’t expect to be taken for all their money in such an innocent and easy way. My parting words to any new immigrant to North America would be: Before you enter into any type of business venture, find someone in the know to check it out for you. Seek the advice of a lawyer or a bank official who is able to help you check things out. If for any reason you are skeptical about anything, then do not hesitate to report it to the appropriate authorities.
Do yourself a huge favor and spend the time to ensure that you don’t lose your hard earned savings. That extra time spent is worth the while. Don’t be to eager too get into a business venture that sounds too good to be true. Take your time and investigate till you are fully satisfied that the proposal before you is sound and legitimate. Finally, spend the time and a bit of money to investigate anyone who comes to you with a business proposal.
The president’s feature
Testing out new vision technology
April 2007
Sponsored by Donna J Jodhan
Hi there! Hope all is well with our readers. This month I’ve chosen an article that takes a look at new vision technology. I’m always interested in learning about new technology and I’d like to thank our research team for sending this my way. I am always asking them to send me articles on new technology and this month they’ve come through for me. Hope you find it interesting.
Testing out new vision technology
By EBONY LORD
Warrnambool Standard, Australia, November 16, 2006
Caption: Vision Australia's Michael Williams and TAFE student Erin Kumor at
the Vision Australia open day. Picture: ANGELA MILNE
VISION Australia has showcased new and innovative technology available to
the visually impaired at an open day in Warrnambool.
Yesterday's open day attracted a continual stream of people who were able to
trial the displayed technologies.
One of the highlights on display was myReader - the world's first low-vision
auto-reader.
Using advanced technology, the myReader scans any document and plays it back
at the desired speed.
Vision Australia service co-ordinator Meg Williams said the myReader
particularly helped those who suffered from macular degeneration and other
eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and cataracts. ``Vision
impairment is very specific to each person, they really need to come in and
have a look,'' Ms Williams said.
Low-vision consultant Scott Freeman said the myReader was unfortunately
still in the high-end price range due to the rarity of its technology.
``You're looking around $7000. It is the only machine in the world that has
the scanning and analysing features,'' he said.
The open day also highlighted John Gaeth's Barcode Scanner. The device, for
the totally blind, is worn around the neck and can scan any object with a
barcode and tell what it is.
``This involves anything with a barcode on it, so everything in a
supermarket and things you attach a barcode to,'' Mr Gaeth said.
``It would be very disappointing if you opened up a can of cat food for tea
that you thought were baked beans,'' Mr Gaeth said.
Hello all! This month I’d like to publish an article that focuses on a new device for diabetics. With the lightning speed in growth of diabetics around the world and the growing concerns about the growth of diabetes, I hope that this article would be of help to those presently afflicted with diabetes. I hope that you find this info of use.
New Talking Meter Now Available
By Daniel Trecroci
Diabetes Health Magazine, November 17, 2006
Distributed by Diagnostic Devices (DDI), Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina,
Prodigy is a talking glucose meter. According to DDI, the Prodigy line of
glucose meters all are "affordable, accurate, and easy-to-use."
"Before Prodigy, patients needing an audible glucose report had to purchase
an expensive [approximately $600], bulky and complex module for use with a
personal computer," says DDI. The Prodigy talking meter is available through
all Durable Medical Equipment providers. Patients can purchase a Prodigy
talking meter for under $30.
Prodigy AutoCode calibrates itself to Prodigy test strips automatically. In
addition, Prodigy Duo combines the features of the Prodigy glucose meter
with an easy-to-use, audible blood pressure monitor.
"The convenience, affordable price, and superior accuracy of the Prodigy
talking meters make them ideal for all persons with diabetes, and especially
for those who are visually-impaired," says DDI. ".The Company already has
been selling meters that speak English/Spanish and English/Portuguese, and
is adding English/French meters to the product line in the near future."
Hey there! Here are our tips for April. Hope you enjoy them as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing them to you. Enjoy the month of April.
Helpful tips for April:
Want to make sure that when next you're baking your goodies come out fresh and delicious?
Make sure that your flour, yeast, and baking powder are all in good order.
Check out the expiry dates on all three of these ingredients.
Nothing could be worse than having yeast that is stale,
baking powder that just does not cut it,
and flour that is also stale.
Having problems with a choked drain in your kitchen sink?
Any one of these non-commercial solutions could work.
Boil a kettle full of water and pour it down your sink.
Prepare a mixture of baking soda and boiling water and pour it down your sink.
You should include about three tablespoons of baking soda to one cup of boiling water.
Prepare a mixture of vinegar and boiling water.
Half a cup of vinegar to two cups of boiling water.
Pour this mixture down your sink.
Of course you could also try the good old plunger.
Another useful purpose for vinegar?
You can use vinegar to clean your glasses and windows.
Two cups of cool water to about a quarter cup of vinegar is a good measurement.
Which types of vegetables contain the most nutrients, fiber, and iron?
Most leafy and green vegetables will do it for you.
Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spin age, broccoli, coli flour, eggplant, and similar types of vegetables.
Some examples of foods containing healthy doses of potassium?
Bananas, tomatoes, and even good old coco cola.
Two types of vegetables that contain a high content of sugar?
Carrots and pumpkin.
Accessibility news
Venezuela Legislature passes disability rights law
April 2007
By the Sterling Creations research team
Hi there! This month we’d like to focus in on what’s been done for the disabled in Venezuela. Hope you find this article of interest.
Have a fun filled spring.
Venezuela's Legislature Passes Disability Rights Law
By: Steven Mather Venezuelanalysis.com - Caracas,Venezuela, Nov 17, 2006.
Caracas (Venezuelanalysis.com)- The Venezuelan National Assembly yesterday passed a new Law for Persons with Disabilities that will guarantee disabled people medical assistance and will ensure they are adequately represented in the work place. The law includes physical, hearing, mental, and visual disabilities.
Under the law employers will have only 3 years to ensure that disabled people hold at least 5% of positions in their companies. Prior to this the previous law only required 2% and even then that only applied to companies with more than 50 employees.
The law also requires public and private media to include "mechanisms" such as sign language in their programs and that public transport includes facilities that make it easier for the disabled to use. The law means that handicapped people will join with diabetics, heart and liver patients to receive preferential treatment in the health system.
Mission Barrio Adentro IV to be Launched Providing 16 Brand New Hospitals in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced yesterday that Barrio Adentro IV would be launched in just a few days. The new project will involve the opening of 16 new hospitals across the country.
Speaking at the opening of a new health centre named Dr. Salvador Allende in Caracas, Chávez said the hospitals would be built in various parts of the country where currently access to health services are in poor.
Barrio Adentro IV is part of the governments "integral health program." The first stage was in 2003 when community clinics, staffed by Cuban doctors were set up in poor neighborhoods, giving people living there access to basic health services for the first time. They were mainly for preventative care. Barrio Adentro II & III were programs for curative medical treatment and hospital repair respectively.
Mission Smile was also launched yesterday, which has the goal of providing free dental treatment to Venezuelans. Seven out of ten Venezuelan over the age of 25 have lost teeth, which implies that 10 million Venezuelans need this treatment. President Chávez called on dentists around the country to join and help in the program.
I’d like everyone to know that Aberdeen is a very accessible city. We take pride in how we treat those who need help. The blind, the sightless, those requiring assistance with their toddlers, those in wheelchairs, and the elderly. We are extremely conscious of our civic duties and I just want everyone to know this.
From Paul Colins of Milwaukee:
What I’d like to know is where on earth does our government get off sending our boys to war and when they come back injured, with losing their limbs and all, or some serious injury, we’re not treating them right. My neighbor’s son just returned from Iraq without his right arm and do you know what he was told? No help available for him to be fitted with an artificial limb. What a crying shame! I bet if the president had a son who was injured you’d see how quick everyone would be jumping to help him. When you’re just an ordinary Joe Blow nobody cares. That’s right! Nobody cares about the ordinary man on the street.
From Kurt Creigher of Vancouver British Columbia:
Did you know that the CNIB has been quietly closing most of its tech aids stores across Canada? This organization has done more harm than good for Canadians and I won’t be sorry to see them go down the tubes.
From Janis Endicot of Washington DC:
I recently bought Untapped Wealth Discovered and the authors have done a super job at showing us how to find niche opportunities. There are definitely markets out there loaded with opportunities. I say buy this book fast and get in on the action.
From Rick Scofield of New York:
This magazine should be giving us more articles on how to open up small businesses. If they’re promoting these two authors then why not print more articles on small business opportunities.
From Dana Mede of Boston:
Could Donna Jodhan the president take a bit more time to address women’s issues? It would be nice to have some women’s content in this magazine.
If you’d like to send us your comments then please do so at info@sterlingcreations.ca and we would be delighted to print them. No offensive language please.
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Notes
If you would like to contribute an article to our magazine then please contact us at:
Comments to the editor can be submitted free of charge.
All submissions are reviewed and you will be notified if yours is chosen. If your submission is chosen we will print it upon receipt of payment.
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If you are looking for new business ideas for yourself, your kids, or even a friend then visit www.untappedwealth.com and there you will be treated to a collection of free ideas and information and you will have an opportunity to purchase either a hard or electronic copy of “Untapped Wealth Discovered” written by Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison. You will also find up to the minute information on the business desk page, a list of very informative articles on some really important strategies on the top business strategies page, plus much more.
