Christmas & New Year 2008: A Time for Reconciliation and Renewal

Celebrating the true meaning of Christmas

Given that Christmas and the New Year holiday season are just "around the bend", this may be a most propitious occasion to share some personal feelings, after having conducted some serious and protracted "soul searching ":

The climate is simply not as fun and enjoyable as it used to be.

As some of my closest friends and colleagues in this industry have known for some time, I've become somewhat jaded towards some recent and unhealthy trends emerging online over the latter portion of this year.

Some have been of the form of certain "content" appearing on the Internet consisting of:

• alleged "performance" videos serving as "hit-pieces" and masquerading as reviews
• certain discussion forums on which opinions proffered by individuals all-too-often appearing to have hidden agendas [ultimately to promote potentially illicit and/or patent-infringing products to the US market or gray market products on lowest price]
• cowardly forum posts [from those] who need to hide behind fake names or who act as grossly-immature "loose cannons" having more invective than any useful/informed knowledge while typically sporting [fashionably] despicable message signatures replete with product and/or individual character assassination(s)
• cowardly forum posts by proxy/anonymous/shill users [who use their anonymity in a most cowardly fashion] to conduct their "hit-pieces" as part of a sleazy and ill-conceived "marketing campaign" to make a quick buck (ultimately at the expense of the unsuspecting consumer and the industry at large) pointing to websites with hidden domain registrations for unauthorized "dealers" attempting to sell "illicit" and/or "unauthorized" products [routinely] below MAP guidelines established by the manufacturers to protect [their] legitimate authorized retailer and distribution networks.
  
• the use of outright stolen material, copied content or writing and reviewing styles [without permission from the original author] for exploitive and imitative knock-off design

Note: If the domain registration is with an inexpensive registrar (like Go-Daddy) and is either registered as private, hidden, incomplete/bogus, otherwise unknown or by proxy (like Domains by Proxy), be very cautious. Unscrupulous organizations and/or individuals with criminal backgrounds can hide behind such domain registration types.

Online tools for doing so is located below:

• http://www.netwPublish Postorksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp
• http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx

The collective fallout from all of this corrosiveness and negative karma is bad for the entire industry.

This is especially [true] for the "good guys" who are continuing to do the right thing [and have been doing so for years] and who don't put mere profit ahead of everything else (like integrity).

I used to regard U.S. national politics of the 90's as being a "blood-sport" (much as the politics of personal destruction is still as pervasive today, I am afraid) and so it is my feeling with the overall jammer [and to a somewhat lesser extent, the detector] industry.

Perhaps its high time that we relegate this situation (both in Washington and in our own industry) to the scrapbook of history of things that looked-better-on-paper than in actual execution.

On certain levels it is becoming more difficult for even someone as well versed in the subject as myself to fully recognize and understand the truth and get to the bottom of some things in this often negative and routinely destructive climate, despite the increased access to "raw" and "unfiltered" information that the Internet provides.

If it is difficult for me, it's damn-near impossible for the "layman" consumer.

Absolute truth is often the first casualty in any "warfare" or a propaganda/smear campaign intended to manipulate and persuade, as opposed to inform and educate.

Unfortunately, this industry [and that includes radar detector manufacturing/retailing] has had a collective of "historical" baggage which has been serving to undermine the ability of this industry to inure and grow [to the benefit of all its participants] and to provide effective solutions efficiently to us drivers, for the future.

As part of my New Year's Resolution and with the help of our fellow Speed Trap Hunter members, of which some of you may already be, I hope to improve this climate in whatever ways I/[we] can.



In the final analysis, we would all be the ultimate beneficiaries of such an outcome. (are you listening Washington?)

In my book, knowledge without understanding and perspective is of little value.

Sure, we can look at one thing and come away with many different opinions, that's what makes us collectively great, but we must all share this one essential opinion: each of us can be agreeably disagreeable to another.

With the right to freely express one's opinions, comes the moral obligation to use our sacred right responsibly and ethically.

Our mission, at Speed Trap Hunter, is to create and foster this unique and healthy dynamic.

Please consider joining us, and becoming a force for positive change or, at least, consider the overall tone of your messages on any forum (to which you are a member) before pressing the post button by asking yourself, how would you feel if you were on the receiving end of the message that you are about to post.

As it is Christmas (and especially since our collective society, of late, has a propensity for political correctness and moral relativism—where there is a lack of absolute moral clarity), please accept this humble Christmas gift (brief online video presentation).

Merry Christmas and have a safe an prosperous New Year!

And may GOD continue to bless us all.

Veil Guy