The answer to yesterday's Who Am I was the amazing Jane Austen.
Before we get into magic transportation I wanted to share with you an article about a whistleblower that was substantially rewarded.
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/ex-worker-cheryl-eckard-wins-96-million-for-blowing-whistle-on-glaxosmithkline/19691456?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec4_lnk1%7C180523
I was a whistleblower once. Instead of money I quit and got bad references. I couldn't find for about a year which led to me starting my own CPA practice. It worked out for me. When I was a whistleblower I was the VP Of Finance for a publicly held company. The President of the company was in a scheme to take the public company private. He was stealing inventory and using the inventory to purchase shares of capital stock. To make matters worse the company was borrowing from the bank using the inventory as collateral. They would fill out reports listing the value of their inventory (substantially overstated because the inventory that the president had stolen was till on the books) and then borrow eighty percent of the value of the inventory. Signing false reports submitted to a bank is a federal offense. I signed the reports before discovering the scheme. The minute I discovered the scheme I quit, alerted the outside accountants, the company attorney, and the bank. None of them did anything.The banker was in it with the president, the attorney couldn't do anything because of privileged communication, and the outside accountant followed the Enron plan for accountants. Once the banker quit the bank the scheme failed. Within two years of me quitting the company went broke. The person that replaced me went to jail for filling out false bank reports. The president of the company? He started up another dental manufacturing company under another name using the stolen inventory, screwing creditors in the process. Nothing happened to him. Well there was this quote in the local newspaper from a former friend of the president that went something like this "If they found the president in a garbage dump with a bullet in his head they would never solve the case because there is to many people standing in line wanting him dead." Yup that was the man I once worked for. I really wish I would have gotten some money for standing up for my principles but I kept my reputation and pride. That is priceless.
Do you think the whistleblower got to much?
Now the magic transportation. Both come to us from China. First up:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101028/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_eu_driverless_vehicle;_ylt=Asom9DupQyneKsmV0MSGexGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFoOTVjbTV1BHBvcwMxMjcEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl90ZWNobm9sb2d5BHNsawN3aXRob3V0ZHJpdmU-
Would you ride in a driverless bus? I have to give it more thought.
Next up:
http://translogic.aolautos.com/2010/10/27/magic-bus-could-ride-above-u-s-roads/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl10%7Csec4_lnk2%7C180675
Do think you we will see this in our lifetime?
Your comments are appreciated.
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4 comments:
Don't think I'd care to ride in the driverless van, but as a means of increasing auto and driver safety and information, it's an interesting concept.
The magic bus I like a lot. I think public transportation availability in this country is appalling, perhaps because I've only lived in areas where it was non-existent or deplorable, and visited London, where it was excellent. Theoretically, Mps, Juneau, Clearwater and G'ville had/have such. Yes, if you're willing to wait for a bus that picks up once an hour, maybe every thirty minutes, but routinely runs late, wait in cold and snow/rain, live in an area where the buses even exist. I'd love to be able to drive to TR, park and take public trans to downtown G'ville for dance, doctors and the like, but no such option. Get to the downtown area and there are buses and periodic bus stops, but most are a mile or more apart and the bus may or may not show up. We really do need to get it together. Will we see the magic bus in our lifetime? Not unless a lot of attitudes and priorities change.
As to the whistle blower, I admire her for doing what she did. I do think the settlement is a bit high, quite frankly. OTOH, if whistle blowers were rewarded, instead of punished (as is often the case), it might force some changes in corporate operating procedures.
I was not a whistle blower, in that I didn't go to higher ups, as I had no solid proof, only what I'd heard and seen. However, I did go to the division director and question letting of contracts to individuals who didn't meet the RFQ requirements and had poor performance records, at best. My "reward" for doing even that was to find my job didn't appear in the next year's budget. Fortunately, I did have a very good reputation and friends in other areas in positions high enough to get me transferred to another position, better pay and fewer hassles. IT was a difficult decision, in that, while I knew there was corruption and payoffs, I also knew they went all the way to the top of the department and I didn't have the contacts or clout in state gov't to make anything happen. And maybe there was some cowardice involved - state gov't was the only employment in Juneau, it's a small town (despite being the capital) and if one went to the wrong person, one might as well, literally, leave town. I did talk to a couple people I trusted about it and was advised I'd done what I could and would be better advised to leave it alone, since what I suspected was well known and ignored, from the department head to the legislature. Sigh. IF living well is the best revenge, what I predicted would happen with a couple of the contracts proved to be true and, in one case, even worse than I anticipated and I ended up in a better position and am now happily accepting the state-paid insurance coverage that comes with my pittance of retirement (I stayed only long enough to get vested, then left to care for Walt).
The whistle-blower article is very scary. Glaxo Smith Kline is a very big company, that was a good one back when it was Smith, Kline & French. But the various ways drugs got adulterated and that they were unwilling or unable to fix things should scare anyone who routinely takes their drugs. I'm happy I'm not among their number, at least at the moment.
I assume the huge award will be tied up in appeals for years.
I've never been a whistle-blower, but I quit one job, along with the biologist who worked there because we questioned the ethics of our doctor boss. He wasn't doing anything dangerous to patients, and it was so long ago (about 1957) that I've forgotten the details, but it had to do with overcharging and double-billing. We got up our courage and spoke to him about it. His response was that if we didn't approve, perhaps we should leave. So we did.
Good for you for blowing the whistle, even if you were the one who got had since too many were in on the scheme. I'm glad the guilty (or at least some of them) were punished in the end. Too bad it couldn't have been all of them.
Do I think she got too much? Well, first, she probably hasn't gotten a dime yet and may not for years. It's certainly a big award, more than anybody really needs, even if they can't get a job after being a whistle-blower. But I can't say I begrudge it to her. I just wonder who besides the lawyers gets the remaining $654 million.
Fascinating about the driverless vans. That's a LONG trip! I'd love to hear more about how/why one stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. I don't think I'll schedule one for my daily runs quite yet. The straddling bus looks like a very interesting idea, and I'd be more inclined to get on one of those than on a driverless one. This one looks possible, unlike those "flying cars" we were promised back in the fifties.
Hi DR
That makes it pretty much all of that wouldn't ride in the driverlesss van. I am also very fond of the magic bus. Even in Portland where we have great public transportation it would improve the commute time a lot. A lot of what you wish you could do there you can do here with a combination of lite rail, buses, and street cars.
I kind of thought the settlement was on the high side but if it prevents other companies from screwing us out of fear of large awards then I can be flexible on the amount and flexible on the high side.
I think under current federal guidelines you would be protected as a whistle blower by doing to a director or supervisor. I also think you could have raised a stinke when the job didn't appear in the budget. Living well is always the best revenge.
Bill
Hi Pat
You are write the artilce is scary and everyone that takes drugs should be forewarned that companies do things like this and often don't get caught. I not sure it will be tied up in appeals because the word "settlement" was used instead of "judgment" which often indicates all parties agreed to it.
I thing when you and the bioligist quit you were standing up for what was right. It very easily could have made it harder for them to find someone to work there. I know I would hesitate to go to work for a company if I knew two key people quit at the same time.
That is a darn long trip. I'm also curious about the hitchhiker for a number of reasons. I would get on the straddling bus in a minute because it looks like fun.
Bill
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