ERM-BC-COOP: Offshore vendors Must comply With local, U.S. laws

 

NESTLE AND COSTCO share the dubious honor of being named in class action suits for allegedly selling products that "slave labor" was used to produce.

According to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

The Swiss food giant follows one last week accusing Costco Wholesale Corp. of selling farmed shrimp from Thailand, where slave labor and human trafficking in the fishing industry allegedly are widespread.

The slavery lawsuits follow the publication last month of the State Department's annual report examining human trafficking in 188 countries, in which the agency cited concerns about slave labor in Thailand's fishing industry and faulted the Thai government's record in fighting exploitation.

The suit against Nestle alleges that the Swiss-headquartered company that produces cat food in its Saint Louis plant, has effectively tricked millions of consumers into supporting and encouraging slave labor on floating prisons,"

How the plaintiffs arrived at the number "millions of consumers" was not specified.

The Post-Dispatch article noted that

Nestlé's Thai supplier gets its fish from trawlers whose crews often are men and boys who have been trafficked from Myanmar and Cambodia, according to Thursday's complaint. They are sold as slaves by brokers and smugglers to fishing captains in Thai ports and frequently resold out at sea, the consumers said.

Nestle is said to be working with a non-governmental organization "to identify where and why forced labor and human rights abuses may be taking place" in Thailand and southeast Asia.

THE BOTTOM LINE for Enterprise Risk Management practitioners is that they must investigate not only a vendor's ability to meet its Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or other contracts but they also must assure that the vendor's operation is in compliance with U.S. laws (as well as local-to-the-vendor laws).

Whether or not Nestle and Costco prevail in court, the businesses will lose money defending the accusations and money through lost productivity of employee witnesses. Even if they win, being sued always is a lose-lose situation. In addition to monetary loss, the companies will take an image hit, at least with some customers (e.g., the "millions of consumers" allegedly "tricked" into purchasing the Nestle cat food product).

Opuscula Nobody CARES

 

I SEE, AGAIN AND AGAIN, appeals to write (email) this person or that group to protest something that violates my sensibilities.

But I don't act on the request.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I believe my protest will end up before blind eyes (what used to be "deaf ears" when we communicated by voice).

I don't believe anyone even COUNTS the number of appeals to do or not to do something, not manually and not with the aid of a computer.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I am concerned that if no one sends an appeal the person or organization will think "No one cares so full speed ahead."

I care about a lot of things.

Iran getting the bomb. Obungler helping Iran get the bomb. Obungler & Company sending U.S. funds to support terrorist organizations such as the PA and UNRWA. Hillary Clinton dodging questions about her emails and Benghazi. State support of BDS against anyone.

Truly, a "Catch 22."

Before email, people had to take pen in hand, write legibly their concern, neatly fold the missive, stick it into an envelop, apply a stamp, and put the letter in a mailbox - in the U.S, there used to be one on almost every other corner; now they are harder to find that the proverbial hen's teeth.

The wealthy could send a wire, a telegram.

Mail or telegram, the end result was paper.

Most of the time the message content - if not the point - was unique. There were, of course, "suggestions" on what to write and sometimes pre-printed "clip-n-send" messages, but for the most part, individuals had to make a personal effort to praise of complain.

Now, "Click here to" oppose or promote this issue or that concern.

I concede that my once handsome penmanship has gone the way of the dodo, but I still can "write" cursive using Brush Script MT or Calligraph241 BT and similar fancy fonts if I want to create a missive with ersatz penmanship. (Pity Google's blog doesn't support fancy fonts.)

It's a toss-up.

I'd like to add my two cents, but I hate to waste my effort doing something I know in my heart will have zero impact.

I still write the unsolicited individual electronic note - I even occasionally mail a letter - to praise or, sadly more often, criticize; usually the topic is Customer (non)Support.

Sometimes I KNOW any message will be wasted effort; writing my Congresswoman is an absolute waste of bits and bytes.

Perhaps rather than sending a message protesting something I would be better served sending a message - and perhaps a donation - to an organization protesting whatever it is that bothers me.

But maybe not.

A quandary.

 

Dear writer,
I am in receipt of your letter.
I am in the smallest room in the house; your letter is behind me.

Opuscula PC trumps Free Speech In America

 

ESPN suspends broadcaster Curt Schilling for posting the following "racist" image on his Facebook page

In case the image fails to appear or nor is easily read, the text reads (above Hitler's image) It's said ONLY 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. (beneath Hitler's image") In 1940, ONLY 7% of Germans were nazis. HOW'D THAT GO? Click on the image to enlarge.

Meanwhile a couple of like-minded web sites take the man to task for daring to share what anyone with a computer and access to a search engine can find.

Curt Schilling tweets, deletes awful meme about Muslims and Nazis - SB Nation

Curt Schilling's tweet comparing Muslims to Nazis is even worse than it sounds - Vox

No surprise; SB Nation is a Vox product according to Wikipedia: Vox Media Inc. (previously known as SportsBlogs, Inc and publicly known as Vox) is an American digital media company that currently has eight editorial brands: SB Nation, The Verge, Polygon, Curbed, Eater, Racked, Vox and recently Re/code. All Vox Media sites are built on Chorus, its proprietary digital publishing platform.

Schilling's post can be found all over the Web - except for this Facebook page which he took down to appease his masters at ESPN.

Imagine what ESPN would do to Howard "Tell It Like It Is>" Cossell. 'Course Cossell was a lawyer and trying to abuse his free speech rights might have brought the wrath of the courts down on ESPN. Cossell spent his time with ABC which may have wondered about its sportscaster, but - like his pal Muhammad Ali, nee Cassius Clay, it accommodated Cossell's "telling it like it is," a first in sports reporting.

Granted, there ARE limits to "civilized" free speech - only a black can call another black "The 'N' Word" and only a same ethic should tell an ethnic joke - but I think we have taken political correctness to an extreme.

Schilling's post did NOT claim ALL Muslims were extremists; indeed, it appeared that his graphic specifically targeted the 5-10% of Muslim who ARE extremist.

True or false?

Was the "7% of Germans who admitted to being nazis in 1940" true or false?

OK, being a former print reporter and editor, I would have demanded that Schilling cite his sources in the post. Just as I would have demanded that ESPN and Vox/SB Nation sits sources for taking such umbrage at Schilling's post.

I'd also like to know what Muslim groups found the post so offensive that they complained (pressured) ESPN to take action against an American's right of free speech.

What left-wing liberal groups - whose members probably stay far away from the hoi polloi who watch and participate in sports (other then croquet and lawn tennis, of course) - who insisted ESPN censure and financially chastise the nervy broadcaster who dared promulgate ideas other than those approved by the PC Police.

Like our politicians, we have gone to extremes. We either kowtow to the people who declare their desire to destroy us (i.e., Iran and its ayatollahs) or we offend large populations by broad-brush attacks rather than remarks targeted at the few who offend our sensibilities, e.g., Mexican criminals and foreigners who impose themselves on us by conveniently arriving on our shores to deliver "anchor babies," yet another non-PC term (as Jeb Bush learned to his dismay; he needs better handlers).

We dare not "tell it like it is" for fear of offending someone who may or may not be part of the group discussed.

In the PC world, people

Don't have handicaps

Aren't fat

Are never to blame for their problems

And never ever utter an opinion not sanctioned by the PC Police

 

Other Web sites displaying, and commenting on, the "offensive-but-true" image include:

TMZ

Washington Post

Aaron Gleeman on Twitter

Bleacher Report

Equality? Hardly Whose rights Should prevail?

QUESTION: If I own a bakery and a Christian won't buy my product because I am an atheist, should I sue the Christian for refusing to buy my products? Will the ACLU join as Friends of the Court? If I am black florist and a white person refuses to buy my flowers, can I sue that person? Will Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson bring the media to my shop?

 

IN WHAT APPARENTLY WAS NOT A HARD decision, the ACLU aligned with a gay couple who were refused a cake by a Christian baker.

According to the ACLU, Colorado state law prohibits public accommodations, including businesses such as Masterpiece Cakeshop, from refusing service based on factors such as race, sex, marital status or sexual orientation..

BUT CONSIDER

The Masterpiece Cakeshop is located in Lakewood CO.

The city has, according to Yelp*, are at least four bakeries in Lakewood that advertise cakes:

1. Cakes by Karen
2. Elegant Bakery
3. Masterpiece Cakeshop
4. Taste of Denmark

Lakewood is roughly 7.5 miles from Denver if Google Maps is accurate. Denver has multiple bakeries that specialize in cakes, including lé Bakery Sensual whose customers have some "interesting" things to say about their wares on the Yelp* review page. (CAUTION Some photos of the cakes on the bakery's page are "X" rated.)

I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY there are anti-discrimination laws; in particular I can understand why there are anti-discrimination laws relating to interstate commerce (e.g., bus, train, rail, and boat transportation where equal accommodations were not always available).

But I am hard pressed to understand why the government's heavy hand comes down on small business people who have competition nearby. If I don't like the way I am treated, or if someone refuses to sell something to me I might be - being polite now - "upset" and grumble to all my acquaintances about what a jerk that vendor is, but in the end I would go elsewhere, to someplace that wants my business and my money. I would not run to the ACLU - which, I think, ought to be on the bakery's side against the burdensome government law - nor would I hasten off to my friendly Member of the Bar.

Assuming, of course, that I found reasonable accommodation (in the fullest sense of the word) within a reasonable distance and at a competitive price.

In other words, I think the "You have to serve me" pendulum has swung too far.

Just like politics, there seems to be no effort to seek compromise; we are too enthusiastic to pick a fight for the sake of the fight.

What we have in Lakewood and elsewhere is a battle between individual rights.

If the homosexual couple can't get a cake from one store, GO TO ANOTHER. The owner of the store also has rights, albeit those rights are being trampled upon by the ACLU and Colorado's too broad anti-discrimination laws.

In this case, the business owner is the victim of discrimination.

There are other cake bakeries in the area. Certainly there are cake bakeries that would create a cake uniquely for the homosexual couple.

BY THE WAY, there is a "flip side" to this coin.
Under the headline 13 Gay Bakeries Refuse to Bake Cake for Heterosexual Christian Man on the D.C. Clothesline web site tells of bakers who would not bake a cake with a possibly politically incorrect, albeit NOT in violation of any law, statement.
What's good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander, at least in the politically correct U.S.A.

All generalities are lies More in U.S. prisons Than any other nation

 

CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR OF "MEET THE PRESS" said it - the U.S. has more people in prisons that any other country - so it MUST be true.

Tv people ALWAYS get their facts right. Sometimes? Occasionally?

And even if they fail the fact check, they manage to ignore those nasty things that could mitigate their position.

AS EXAMPLES

CHINA which, after a show trial, shoots its convicts in short order.

SAUDI ARABIA, likewise, has few prisoners per capita because it prefers to send criminals on their way to a better place with a swift whack of a sword across a person's neck. Lashes also are often deadly, Offending the royal family or besmirching the Prophet's name or morals is a capital crime in the Kingdom.

IRAN, which the incumbent of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue considers a trustworthy partner, often stones people to death - bury them in the ground with only their head showing and throw rocks at the person until they are dead. At least there is neither prison over-crowding or prisoner maintenance dragging down the state's budget.

SYRIAN jails are pretty empty as one or another militia - freedom fighters like ISIS - empty the cells of their friends and execute their foes.

Committing a crime in TURKEY can be a deadly experience for the alleged criminal. But Turkey, under Islamic law, treats thieves better; it lops off the offender's hand.

ISRAEL coddles its prisoners even more than the U.S. and frequently caves into pressure from the "Palestinian Authority" headed by the terrorist Abu Mazen. Five hundred prisoners for the body on one Israeli. Not a bad ratio - for the terrorists. While in Israeli prisons the inmates can get their PhD and buy extras from their PA salaries. Israel, unlike China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and others in the area, lacks a death penalty, although there is a push to instate capital punishment for terrorists.

The U.S. DOES have capital punishment and there were 3,002 inmates on death row in the U.S. in 2015. A breakdown is found on the Death Penalty Info.org web site.

Will they all be executed? Hardly.

Due to the appeals procedures, some will be found innocent and released,

Others will have their sentence commuted.

A few will die of natural causes, and a few will die at the hands of fellow prisoners.

Prisoners in the U.S., as their counterparts in Israel, can earn a PhD on the taxpayers' dime, and in most places the only negatives about prison life are loss of freedom of movement. Prisoners cannot be made to work. They CAN have some privileges removed - e.g., no television.

Unlike some countries, the probability of a sadistic guard having his - or her - way with a person convicted and incarcerated in a U.S. jail or prison is unlikely.

Perhaps the tv talking head is correct that the U,S. has more people in its prisons than "any other country," but it pays listeners to be skeptical and to try to find out why there are so few prisoners in other country's gaols.

Perhaps the other nations simply lack the appeals process that prisoners enjoy in U.S. jails and prisons.

It's hardly perfect, but I suspect most residents of U.S. jails and prisons would prefer to be where they are rather than in a jail in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, or even Mexico. Unless, of course, they are a jihadist who would be considered a hero in some countries.

Life in South Florida W I M P S

 

I GREW UP IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

Moved here in the early 1950s.

No air conditioning

• In cars
• In homes
• In most stores
• In schools

Burdines had two signs in the display windows of its Miami Avenue and Flagler Street store.

One read "Se habla espanol" ("Spanish spoken")

The other read: "Conditioned air"

Now, 2015, Mike Lang of Air Around the Clock tells us that "Air conditioning is a necessity, not a luxury" and he amuses us with signs reading "Your wife is hot, better get you’re A/C fixed" billboards. (The sign also is seen in Texas for another company.)

I WENT THROUGH elementary school, junior high school and high school sans air conditioned classrooms.

We had windows that opened and sometimes fans - occasionally ceiling fans and occasionally stand fans. But no A/C. Not even swamp coolers.

What's a swamp cooler? Wikipedia defines the device thusly:

An evaporative cooler (also swamp cooler, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from typical air conditioning systems which use vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycles. Evaporative cooling works by employing water's large enthalpy of vaporization. The temperature of dry air can be dropped significantly through the phase transition of liquid water to water vapor (evaporation), which can cool air using much less energy than refrigeration. In extremely dry climates, evaporative cooling of air has the added benefit of conditioning the air with more moisture for the comfort of building occupants.

When you sweat - perspire for the well-to-do - your body acts as a swamp cooler, with any breeze evaporating the moisture and giving you the temporary feeling of being cool.

When I graduated from a bicycle to my first car - a well-used 1950 Oldsmobile 76, yes Virginia, "76" - the car had "4/40" air conditioning - going 40 mph with all four windows rolled down. I can't remember when I finally had a car with A/C, but it was well after my time in the Air Force in the early 1960s.

A round trip in a 4/40-cooled Buick between Orlando and Miami almost got me court marshaled for severe sunburn on my left arm - the arm that was hanging out the driver's side window. I reported for duty and avoided further punishment (the sunburn being sufficient).

While A/C in cars was unheard of when I was a youngster, many cars sold in south Florida also lacked heaters. These cars were sold mostly to folks relocating to "warm, sunny Florida" from "up north." Crackers and anyone who lived year-round in the Sunshine State knew that for a few days the temperature took a serious drop. (In mid-state, freezing or near-freezing temperatures were an annual fact of life.) But, heating, like air conditioning, was absent in most Florida buildings.

You always could tell a newcomer. The first winter it was short sleeves every day. The second winter the newcomer had "acclimatized" and realized that a sweater or light jacket in south Florida was appropriate wear.

NOW most folks would agree with Lang that, in south Florida, "Air conditioning is a necessity, not a luxury".

I confess that when I am home alone and when the thermometer shows more than 84 or above I DO turn on the A/C; otherwise, it's open the windows and turn on a fan - one is blowing on my back as I key - can I still truthfully write "write" - this trivia.

'Course the problem with opening the windows and turning on a fan is south Florida's "liquid sunshine." While currently only teasing with brief showers, summer used to - and we hope will again - bring brief torrential wind-driven downpours. Unless a building had old-fashioned hurricane awnings, an open window invites the rain inside.

Before A/C became ubiquitous, visitors from "up north" accused Floridians - in fact anyone who lived south of the visitor's home town - of being lazy and slow moving. Now, with Florida Power and Light (FPL) generators working almost at peak, Floridians - at least those working indoors - are as "efficient" as anyone from the frozen north.

It’s hot and it's humid here in south Florida.

Maybe I'm nuts - a roasted nut? - but I love the heat.

I also love the fact that from the state line south, there are NO road sings telling me "Bridge freezes before roadway".

I happily suffer the heat and humidity to know that, while I DO have a light jacket, it only is needed a few days each year. I lived in snow country as a child and as an adult; enough is enough.

Sorry, Lang, this semi-cracker does NOT consider that "Air conditioning is a necessity, not a luxury".

Opuscula Call it "ripple" Call it "domino" Effect's the same

 

WEST COAST PORT delays are at least partly to blame for cargo congestion at Chicago's O'Hare International airport, according to a Wall Street Journal report heded Shipping Woes Grow at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

"Many companies opted to redirect shipments of goods such as consumer electronics and automotive to avoid delays at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and some of them have continued using air because of its convenience, industry officials say.," the WSJ reports.

What we now have is "intermodal cargo." Perhaps "multi-modal cargo" would be a better term, but either way, the cargo is being transported via several conveyances - ship, plane, rail, truck.

Delays, snafus, bumps in the night can happen anywhere along the way caused by any number of threats: Accident, Strikes/work actions, Weather, and the always popular, "Ubiquitous Other."

At the airport, the problem is not just on the tarmac; it expands to the roadways leading into the airport and the airport's own road system. Both are crowded and traffic is slowed as trucks try to maneuver other vehicles.

The delay in critical product arrival to the manufacturer or wholesaler should fall under the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) umbrellas.

How so?

Vendor management.

An organization's purchasing department needs to be alert to any potential delays in a product's delivery date. The Purchasing people need to know where there are historic bottlenecks.

They also need to know - and have the authority to act - when bottlenecks occur and how to avoid them.

This is where the ERM practitioner gets involved.

The practitioner should assure that the Purchasing people are aware of all real or potential bottlenecks and how to maintain awareness. If shipments are via shipping companies or freight forwarders, the Purchasing people need to keep on top of these vendors and be prepared to authorize alternate shipping options.

Obviously senior management must cooperate by authorizing Purchasing personnel - as many as deemed necessary but not less than two people - to make rerouting decisions without delay.

Products destined for a struck or "work to rule" port can be diverted to another port on the ship's route. Likewise, freight can be rerouted to any international airport that can accommodate the freight carrier's aircraft. "International" simply means that the airport includes a U.S. Customs station. (If not O'Hare, perhaps Midway International or Gary (IN) International if the product's destination is in the Chicago area.)

The freight can be transferred to a motor carrier (truck) or train to its final destination.

There ARE ways to avoid bottlenecks and it behooves the ERM practitioner to assure that Purchasing has the tools to be alert to potential and developing bottlenecks - port strikes and slowdowns typically are newsworthy - and to diplomatically convince senior management to authorize Purchasing personnel to do whatever necessary - within established Policies and Procedures - to assure that critical products are delivered in time, if not exactly on time.

ERM, BC, COOP: Devious defecator case Opens DNA Pandora's Box

 

Thanks to Advisen FPN, I came across The Case of the Devious Defecator.

Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie), Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers), Miss Marple (Agatha Christie), Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler), Sam Spade (Dashiell Hammett), Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle), and even Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Blake Edwards) could not solve this case. ^{See Famous sleuths, below}

But it did cost the defendant $2.25 million (that may be reduced on appeal).

THE CASE REVOLVES AROUND the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

I am not a lawyer and I don't play one on tv, but after a quick scan of the Act it seems to be somewhat ambiguous.

A food vendor repeatedly found feces in the warehouse. In order to determine who (or what) was making these "deposits" a number of actions were taken, leading the defendant (the vendor) to two primary suspects.

The vendor asked the two suspects to allow a cheek swab to compare their DNA with DNA from the evidence. The DNA proved the two suspects were innocent.

However, the two men filed suit claiming the taking of their DNA samples violated the provisions of the Act. Georgia Federal District Judge Amy Totenberg agreed.

The sequence of events is laid out in a Washington Post article titled Test for ‘devious defecator’ was unlawful, judge rules. The defendants told the court that they felt compelled to submit to the DNA swabs in order to keep their jobs.

The following is a cut-n-paste from the Act:

(4) Genetic information (A) In general The term ‘‘genetic information’’ means, with respect to any individual, information about—
(i) such individual’s genetic tests,
(ii) the genetic tests of family members of such individual, and
(iii) the manifestation of a disease or disorder in family members of such individual.

(7) Genetic test (A) In general The term ‘‘genetic test’’ means an analysis of human DNA, RNA, chromosomes, proteins, or metabolites, that detects genotypes, mutations, or chromosomal changes.
(B) Exceptions The term ‘‘genetic test’’ does not mean an analysis of proteins or metabolites that does not detect genotypes, mutations, or chromosomal changes.

§ 2000ff–1. Employer practices

(a) Discrimination based on genetic information It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer
(1) to fail or refuse to hire, or to discharge, any employee, or otherwise to discriminate against any employee with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment of the employee, because of genetic information with respect to the employee; or
(2) to limit, segregate, or classify the employees of the employer in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive any employee of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect the status of the employee as an employee, because of genetic information with respect to the employee

According to the defendant, the DNA testing performed to confirm or deny a match between the suspects and the feces did not violate the law since it did not consider genotypes, mutations, or chromosomal changes.

THE BOTTOM LINES for the defendant are two:

1. The police DO have the authority run DNA testing and what the defendant SHOULD have done was report the frequently found feces to the police and let the police investigate.
2. Seek legal advice before doing anything that has not been cast into legal concrete; if a law can be interpreted, seek the opinion of a "higher authority." In this case, the EEOC. The EEOC enforces the federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination, including Title II of GINA. See 42 U.S.C. 2000ff. The EEOC published a final rule implementing the statute on November 9, 2010. See 29 C.F.R. part 1635 (2011) titled PART 1635—Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Of 2008,

 

Famous sleuths: Excerpted from Top 10 Fictional Detectives; tv detectives (e.g., Jim Rockford, Lt. Columbo, and Sgt. Joe Friday to name just three.

Pandora's box, alternatively, Pandora's jar: Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation in Hesiod's Works and Days. The "box" was actually a large jar given to Pandora ("all-gifted", "all-giving") that contained all the evils of the world.

Today the phrase "to open Pandora's box" means to perform an action that may seem small or innocent, but that turns out to have severely detrimental and far-reaching consequences.

Opuscula One issue voters Bain of elections

 

AS THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS approach I am sadly reminded that most Americans who vote or "single-issue" voters.

Most voters in the U.S. reading this have Israel as THE issue.

Never mind any other issues such as (alphabetically)

    Abrogation of civil rights

    Economy

    Education

    Military spending

    Social justice

And one hundred and one others.

THERE ARE MORE issues for each candidate than the one each voter has as "THE" issue.

As citizens, we SHOULD be more than "one issue" voters; we need to consider more than just our particular pet issue.

In truth, usually several issues are related; intertwined with one another like the strings on a tallit or the braids of a girl's hair.

Israel, for example, is tied to the economy - military expenditures, direct financial aid. It is connected to the nation's defense - does the U.S. put "boots on the ground" to chase after ISIS and the like or does it train and arm potential enemies of the U.S. (and Israel) as it did in Afghanistan. The economy again - what will the government steal from the "protected" Social Security budget and Medicare, funds already reduced thanks to Obama Care.

Government is not a one-issue affair and it behooves voters to expand their awareness of the things that impact on their personal pet issue. It is not simple and taking a simplistic approach probably will generate dissatisfaction with whomever is elected.

While there are niche media - some focusing on Israel, others on the economy, still others on Constitutional guarantees - it pays to take time to heed more than just the issue that is at the top of your personal list.

 

MEANWHILE , if you want to hear how the DNC chair defines the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgnqRxtZrtI&feature=youtu.be. The lady really knows how to answer the question.

On the road Drink & drive To stay sober?

 

AN ARTICLE from the Fleet Owner web site caught the attention of the Advisen FPN editors and then mine.

The article, Truck drivers' paradox: Not drinking is like drinking applies not only to truck drivers but to everyone who drives any vehicle.

IT SEEMS THAT DEHYDRATION can have the same effect on drivers as drinking intoxicants.

The article states that

Truck drivers are especially prone to dehydration. Many truckers don't drink enough water because they don't want to stop for frequent bathroom breaks. And while there's no evidence that caffeinated drinks cause dehydration, they can be a mild diuretic in large amounts.

While the A/C may feel good, that cool breeze sucks moisture from the air and your body.

Even being mildly dehydrated is the same as driving drunk in terms of making errors in judgment and performance, according to researchers at Loughborough University in Loughborough Leicestershire, UK.

That little island off the coast of Europe is hardly known for hot weather, nothing compared to summer in the U.S.

National Digital Forecast Database map

Drivers are well advised to either make frequent water stops or to carry water in a vacuum bottle (a/k/a Thermos) to drink between stops.

According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of mild dehydration include:

• Dry, sticky mouth
• Sleepiness or tiredness
• Decreased urine output
• Dry skin
• Dizziness or lightheadedness

According to Web MD,

Besides guzzling water, milk is a top choice to refuel. Sodas, even diet ones, get a bad rap for lacking nutritional value, but they can still be hydrating. Juices and sports drinks are also hydrating -- you can lower the sugar content by diluting them with water.

Coffee and tea also count in your tally. Many used to believe that they were dehydrating, but that myth has been debunked. The diuretic effect does not offset hydration.




Image from http://tinyurl.com/or3p9bu

Fruits are an excellent source for water. Watermelon is 90% water, so it ranks highest on the list. Oranges, grapefruit, and melons like cantaloupe and honeydew are also strong contenders.

Vegetables, though not as full of water as fruit, can also provide a nutrient-rich water source. Stick with celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, and Romaine lettuce.

Bottom line: Stay sober by staying hydrated. Fruits and veggies provide hydration and roughage, and they don't make a mess if they spill, unlike that cup of coffee or bottle of juice from the last fuel stop.