an anti-boycott , counter-boycott or buycott is the excess buying of a particular brand or product in an attempt to counter a boycott of the same brand or product .

anti - boycott

anti - boycott <EOT> the us even boycotts this boycott : american taxpayers fund a federal department called the office of anti - boycott compliance which can fine companies proved to have participated in any boycott of israel .

mr . dakwar is wrong , and his tweet is anti - semitic . jonathan greenblatt , ceo of the anti - defamation league , said at a symposium held at the united nations , “racism in all forms is intolerable . anti - zionism is anti - semitism . both are unacceptable . ”

it is little wonder , then , that opponents of the israel anti - boycott act feel the need to exaggerate what the act does . it only makes clear that the old and existing anti - boycott law applies not just to the arab league boycott , but also to the new foreign anti - israel boycotts , such as those being organized by the u . n . human rights council .

in response , the aclu , a civil liberties organization , has paradoxically come out strongly against this anti - discrimination bill , arguing in a letter they sent to senators that the israel anti - boycott act would violate the right to free speech .

any boycott fostered or imposed by any international governmental organization against israel or any request by any international governmental organization to impose such a boycott .

[ 3 ] ben cardin , setting the record straight : nothing in the israel anti - boycott act restricts constitutionally - protected free speech , medium , july 20 , 2017 , urltoken @ senatorbencardin / setting - the - record - straight - nothing - in - the - the - israel - anti - boycott - act - restricts - constitutionally - 13bfa7428d8 .

the israel anti - boycott act is not an effort to suppress free speech , but an important weapon in the fight against hate and intolerance . passing federal legislation now would send a powerful message : anti - semitism is not welcome in america and israel is our great friend and ally .

the israel anti - boycott act is a minor updating of a venerable statute that has been at the center of the u . s . consensus on israel policy — the laws designed to counteract arab states’ boycott of israel by barring americans from joining such boycotts .

is the aclu actually attempting to sway congressional debate against israel ? the red flags are alarming , including this recent tweet by jamil dakwar , director of the aclu’s human rights program : “israeli leaders exploit horrible acts of anti - semitism to encourage jews to move to israel . judaism ≠ zionism ; anti - zionism ≠ anti - semitism . ”

using multiple social media platforms involving a global community of israel supporters of all faiths , members of the buycott network can call for a buycott to support a store being targeted for anti - israel boycott action . activists then selectively purchase from that store to offset and swamp the boycott effort .

greenblatt and guterres would agree with me that anti - zionism equals anti - semitism . to deny this connection is to deny reality . greenblatt even confronted the aclu directly in response to its top “human rights” official making such a despicable statement .

it is beyond doubt that boycott , divestment and sanctions ( bds ) is not just a pro - palestinian - anti - israel movement . it is at its core , antisemitic . in july . . .

notably , the israel anti - boycott act does not change the list of prohibited actions . the same actions that have been forbidden since 1979 if taken with the improper motive would remain forbidden under the proposed law .

successes are widely publicized so anti - israel activists know their campaigns were ineffective . as a result of buycott , we have seen a marked decrease in the number of boycott actions aimed at israel over the last two years .

one hundred national and local civil and human rights organizations endorsed a joint statement to members of congress expressing strong opposition to the israel anti - boycott act and calling on lawmakers to reject - rather than amend - the bill .

so , in a way , the israel anti - boycott act , and the aclu’s opposition to it , are each a perfect response to the conversation about the bds movement itself : confusing , pandering , and above all , angry .

the israel anti - boycott act principally seeks to amend the export administration act of 1979 . that law prohibits “u . s . persons” — a term that refers to both individuals and companies — from taking certain actions to comply with or support a boycott imposed by a foreign country against another country that is friendly to the united states .

klein , jill g . , n . craig smith and andrew john ( 2004 ) , " why we boycott : consumer motivations for boycott participation , " journal of marketing , 68 ( july ) 2004 .

the complete and utter failure of the aclu to recognize anti - zionism as anti - semitism is unacceptable . that failure loans credence to those who say the aclu has become a political tool of the alt - left . given the storied history of this organization , that’s a genuine tragedy .

boycott agreements under the tra involve the denial of all or part of the foreign tax benefits discussed above .

while signing it , he made a statement , objecting to parts of the law that oppose boycotts of jewish israeli enterprises in the west bank and golan heights . ( the law’s anti - boycott protections apply to “israel” and “israeli - controlled territories . ” )

the 1979 law responded to the arab league’s boycott of israel . at the time , countries in the arab league would require u . s . businesses to boycott israel and israeli companies , and furnish information to verify the boycott , as a condition of doing business . to prevent foreign countries from dragooning u . s . businesses into these compulsory boycotts , the 1979 law prohibited u . s . companies from complying with foreign boycott requirements .

paying , honoring , confirming or otherwise implementing a letter of credit that contains any prohibited boycott requirement or request .

, “anti - semitism is a word that has been used throughout history when jewish people are judged and measured by one standard and the rest by another . so it is with anti - zionism ; the idea that all other peoples can seek and defend their right to self - determination , but jews cannot . ”

the arab league boycott of israel is the principal foreign economic boycott that u . s . companies must be concerned with today . the antiboycott laws , however , apply to all boycotts imposed by foreign countries that are unsanctioned by the united states .

the international trade team at holland & hart is well equipped to answer questions about current and proposed antiboycott regulations and how these regulations may affect your international operations . our team will provide updates on the israel anti - boycott act and the multi - state blockade of qatar as these situations develop .

by antónio guterres , the sectary general of the united nations , who told the simon wiesenthal center that the “denial of israel’s right to exist is anti - semitism . ”

the ear requires reports of receipts of boycott requests to be filed quarterly . reports may be filed electronically or by mail on form bis 621 - p for single transactions or bis 6051p for multiple transactions involving boycott requests received in the same calendar quarter .

indeed , the bds movement is highly disingenuous about this very ambiguity , refusing to define exactly what it is for and what it’s against . is the bds movement against israel’s occupation , or against israel’s existence ? is it for two states , or one state ? by refusing to clarify its aims , refusing to condemn terrorism , and refusing to silence the anti - semites within its ranks , the bds movement has left itself open to the right - wing charge that its anti - zionism is merely repackaged anti - semitism .

the threat of a boycott and its attendant publicity is probably far more important than the boycott itself . activists can now deploy an armoury of extra weapons to act as hard and soft levers on corporate behaviour , however . shareholder power is a growing force .

if you really want to hit amazon where it hurts , mulpuru - kodali suggested an anti - boycott . amazon often sells certain products like diapers and toilet paper at costs so low , the company actually loses money on them — especially if it has to deliver them directly to amazon prime customers’ doors in two days or less .

the israel anti - boycott act was introduced to reinforce bipartisan consensus that boycotting israel is inimical to u . s . foreign policy interests . the act simply extends existing u . s . law prohibiting participation in boycotts led by foreign governments against israel to include boycotts led by international governmental organizations such as the united nations and the european union .

violators of the israel anti - boycott act would face a minimum civil penalty of $ 250 , 000 and / or criminal penalties of up to a maximum of $ 1 million and 20 years imprisonment . these are the current penalty levels for violations of the antiboycott laws under the international emergency economics powers act ( “ieepa” ) . [ 1 ]

the tra does not " prohibit " conduct , but denies tax benefits ( " penalizes " ) for certain types of boycott - related agreements .

boycott agreements may involve the denial of foreign tax benefits , as well as a denial of export privileges , and possible exclusion from trade practices .

providing information to the u . n . about whether it does business with israel to support any u . n . - fostered boycott of israel

but even apart from limiting the right to boycott by refusing to purchase goods for political reasons , the bill infringes on pure speech . it prohibits even requests for information about whether a person is doing business in israel in order to support a boycott of israel , regardless of whether the requester is actually engaged in a boycott . this additional prohibition will chill people from seeking information about companies boycotting israel or engaged in business dealings in israel .

it looks like the boycotts have transferred the orbit of the nation . so even today , people regard consumer activism as an instrument to drive firms back onto moral tracks . but through researches , we surprisingly get to realize the weakening of the power of this type of consumer activism . the question is what happened to boycotts and what the problems hampering boycotters are . ? . consumer boycott basics a . what is a consumer boycott ? and for what purposes do we boycott ? to make it simpler , a consumer boycott , in plain words , is to show dissatisfaction by refusing to purchase something .

the act amends anti - boycott provisions of the federal export administration act ( eaa ) , enacted in 1979 . [ 1 ] those provisions prohibit specific actions taken to comply with or support a boycott of israel “fostered or imposed” by a foreign country . the sponsors of the new act propose to add new restrictions on boycotts “fostered or imposed” by an international governmental organization ( igo ) , such as the european union or the united nations . violations are punishable by exorbitant fines and up to 20 years in prison .

requesting information about whether any person is doing business in israel if doing so is intended to help a u . n . - fostered boycott of israel .

those actions include boycotting an ally nation and communicating to a foreign nation or governmental group steps taken to support or comply with boycott demands . this is where first amendment concerns arise because communicating boycott support or compliance is necessarily an act of speech . but this is also where opponents of the bill overstate their case .

potential buyers problem if you love your pet dogs so much , and you know a cosmetics firm is conducting experiments with dogs , will you buy those cosmetics ? the answer is definitely “no” . then will you join in a boycott against the firm ? yes , why not ? then here comes the problem . the people who are most likely to participate in this boycott are not potential buyers at all ! you will not buy it anyway no matter there is a boycott or not . as for those big buyers , they are the people who really need the cosmetics , thus the chance for them to join the boycott is slim !

[ 4 ] although one provision of the eaa was upheld on commercial speech grounds , the law was never challenged for its restrictions on political speech . briggs & stratton corp . v . baldridge , 728 f . 2d 915 ( 7th cir . 1984 ) . as described in this document , the israel anti - boycott act would significantly increase the law’s infringement on political speech .

outline ? . introduction1 ? . consumer boycott basics1 a . what is a consumer boycott ? and for what purposes do we boycott ? 1 b . the criterion of success of a consumer boycott2 ? problems3 a . historical problems3 1 . the good old times for boycotters and the first obstacle : legality . 3 2 . post - world war ? : cpas and anti - cpas wars . 5 b . inherent problems . 5 1 . small - agent problem . 5 2 . marginal analysis problem6 3 . potential buyers problem8 4 . free - rider problem . 8 5 . restoration and immunity . 9 6 . counterproductive effect . 10 7 . time - inconsistency problem . 10 ? . the summary11

the aclu , the intercept and aipac are all yelling about a nothingburger of a bill that fights an imaginary boycott , and no one is making any sense .

some progressives are up in arms about a new law that would make it a crime to boycott israel . trouble is , there ' s no such thing .

the specific focus of the proposed legislation on international bodies is necessitated by the new and dramatic growth of international anti - israel movements that are attempting to use the un and eu as vehicles to promote economic boycotts against israel .

the column was widely shared by similarly outraged people on social media pledging to boycott the company as well . but in a delicious piece of irony that demonstrates just how hard it is to effectively boycott a company like amazon , they were breaking their own pledges by reading the article and breaking them again by clicking “tweet . ”

more amusingly , italian and greek consumer associations have been attempting to boycott the euro after suggestions that retailers used the changeover from the lira and drachma to raise prices .

“for the purpose of implementing the policies set forth in subparagraph ( a ) or ( b ) of paragraph ( 5 ) of section 4602 of this title , the president shall issue regulations prohibiting any united states person , with respect to his activities in the interstate or foreign commerce of the united states , from taking or knowingly agreeing to take any of the following actions with intent to comply with , further , or support any boycott fostered or imposed by a foreign country , or request to impose any boycott by a foreign country , against a country which is friendly to the united states and which is not itself the object of any form of boycott pursuant to united states law or regulation , or support any boycott fostered or imposed by any international governmental organization against israel or request to impose any boycott by any international governmental organization against israel . ”

the ear requires u . s . persons to report quarterly requests they have received to take certain actions to comply with , further , or support an unsanctioned foreign boycott .

let’s start at the beginning , which in this case is 1977 . in the throes of the arab boycott of israel , congress passed the export administration act , which made it a crime to participate in that boycott , or , for good measure , any other foreign - led boycott of a u . s . ally . this law is still in effect today , having been reauthorized several times . take a look at the website of the office of antiboycott compliance , which explains it to you in detail .

as the oac explains , while the law addresses all “u . s . persons , ” it is actually about corporations , which are forbidden from joining the boycott , or cooperating with the boycotters by furnishing them any information . exceptions are provided for companies that are effectively forced to cooperate to avoid the “secondary boycott” of countries who do business with israel .

as always , the first step in determining what a law would do is to go to the text itself . the proposed anti - boycott act would amend a 1979 law ( codified at 50 u . s . code § 4607 ) by expanding its prohibition on commercial boycotts directed at friendly nations in coordination with a foreign nation . the expansion simply includes boycotts directed at allies in coordination with an " international governmental organization . "

the blacklist is not a mere research project . it will serve as the basis for economic action against the listed firms . indeed , the unhrc has not been coy about its motives ; a year after passing the resolution calling for the database , it passed a resolution that in effect calls for a partial boycott against israel . ( existing federal boycott regulations make clear that a regulated boycott call need not be explicit . ) it is quite likely that u . n . agencies will begin avoiding business with companies because of those companies’ business with israel .

the scope of the ear , as defined by section 8 of the eaa , is limited to actions taken with intent to comply with , further , or support an unsanctioned foreign boycott .

refusing to employ or otherwise discriminating against a u . s . person , in deference to a boycott request , on the basis of race , religion , sex , or national origin ;

for immediate release november 5 , 2017 ottawa , on – today , an initiative to advance boycott - divestment - sanctions ( bds ) against israel was defeated at the students’ federation . . .

for immediate release october 25 , 2017 winnipeg , mb – today , a motion in favour of boycott - divestment - sanctions ( bds ) against israel was voted down at the . . .

by including within its purview the west bank , the israel anti - boycott act does not legitimize west bank settlements or represent a change in u . s . policy ; the bill itself provides that it shall not “be construed to alter the established policy of the united states or to establish new united states policy concerning final status issues associated with the arab - israeli conflict , including border delineation , that can only be resolved through direct negotiations between the parties . ”

the current prohibition against cooperating with foreign governments to boycott israel has withstood first amendment challenges , and so has hate crime legislation . if current law is constitutional , then so is the proposed law .

a new york times’ expose of working conditions at urltoken inc . was the last straw for stuart heritage , who penned a column for the guardian arguing it’s time to boycott the web retail behemoth .

the eaa lists a number of penalties for violations of the anti - boycott regulations . some of the penalties include a fine of up to $ 50 , 000 or five times the value of the exports involved ( whichever is greater ) , with a possible imprisonment term of up to five years . additionally , during times when the u . s . president invokes action from the international emergency economic powers act , the criminal penalties may double the length of imprisonment for up to ten years .

“what would you even boycott ? ” said sucharita mulpuru - kodali , an analyst at forrester research who covers amazon . “how can you clean yourself from amazon unless you take yourself off the grid entirely ? ”

the law does not criminalize communications of support or compliance with a boycott generally ; it criminalizes communications of support or compliance in the specific case where those communications are made with the intent to foster or comply with a boycott imposed by a foreign nation or international governmental organization . nor does the law punish solely for the expression of political belief , as the aclu claims , but rather prohibits a specific series of listed actions .

it is not just left - wing students who are now involved in consumer activism now . everybody is boycotting something , or threatening to do so . greenpeace’s action sought to plug into the global wave of anti - war protests that brought a record 1 . 5 million people onto the streets .

finally , it is hard to put into words the irony of watching many of the most celebrated and beloved congressional leaders of the anti - authoritarian resistance — gillibrand , schiff , swalwell , and lieu — sponsor one of the most oppressive and authoritarian bills to appear in congress in many years . how can one credibly inveigh against “authoritarianism” while sponsoring a bill that dictates to american citizens what political views they are and are not allowed to espouse under threat of criminal prosecution ? whatever labels one might want to apply to the sponsors of this bill , “anti - authoritarianism” should not be among them .

it is not just left - wing students who are now involved in consumer activism now . everybody is boycotting something , or threatening to do so . greenpeace ' s action sought to plug into the global wave of anti - war protests that brought a record 1 . 5 million people onto the streets .

buycott’s premise is that pickets and calls to boycott israeli products are used to isolate and demonize israel rather than to apply economic pressure . buycott takes a ‘judo’ approach , deflecting the energy of our opponents to generate support for israel .

more recently , there is a question as to whether the multi - state saudi - led blockade of qatar that began on june 5 , 2017 [ 2 ] implicates antiboycott laws . the antiboycott compliance office has stated that the u . s . administration reportedly views the saudi - led coalition’s conduct as a severing of diplomatic ties that does not rise to the level of a boycott , even while the saudi - led group refers to it as a “boycott . ”

most do not change much , however , apart from making participants feel better about themselves . a drop in coke sales is unlikely to lead radical change in bush’s middle east policy . what really changes things is when negative publicity arises from a boycott .

currently , 46 u . s . senators ( 32 republicans and 14 democrats ) and 249 u . s . representatives ( 185 republicans and 64 democrats ) co - sponsor the israel anti - boycott act bills . the bills , however , have recently drawn criticism from the american civil liberties union ( “aclu” ) , which sent a letter to all u . s . senators encouraging them to oppose and refrain from co - sponsoring the legislation due to first amendment concerns . senator cardin and several other co - sponsors have stated that they are open to amending the bill to address the aclu’s concerns .

the tra requires taxpayers to report " operations " in , with , or related to a boycotting country or its nationals and requests received to participate in or cooperate with an international boycott . the treasury department publishes a quarterly list of " boycotting countries . "

several condemnations followed . glenn greenwald , for example , said wednesday at the intercept that congress was set to “criminally outlaw support for boycott campaign against israel . ” greenwald went on to excoriate several members of congress for failing to immediately oppose the bill immediately .

in response , the bill would include any un - led boycott within the 1977 law . never mind that there are no un - led boycotts ; for members of congress seeking to appear “pro - israel , ” striking back at a fictional one is sufficient .

most do not change much , however , apart from making participants feel better about themselves . a drop in coke sales is unlikely to lead radical change in bush ' s middle east policy . what really changes things is when negative publicity arises from a boycott .

since then , these laws and the many detailed regulations pursuant to them , have been the basis for a large number of investigations and prosecutions of companies for boycott activity . the laws are administered by a special unit of the commerce department , the office of antiboycott compliance .

after the boycotts were under way both companies severed their connections with the offending military activities ; however , in both instances the weapons activities continued under other corporate auspices , and , interestingly , the new owners were companies immune to boycott threats because they neither manufactured nor sold consumer good . ( friedman 18 ) just like cold viruses , no matter how strong your antibiotics are , there would always be some leftovers and those who survive must be immune to the antibiotics you used . when your boycott influences some firms , those who are not impacted are getting stronger .

current law prohibits u . s . entities from participating in or cooperating with international boycotts organized by foreign countries . these measures , first adopted in 1977 , were explicitly aimed at the arab states’ boycott of israel , but its language is far broader , not mentioning any particular countries .

let ' s not bring up the issue of anti semitism . palestinians are as semite as they come and they have rights too . no one in bds or the un is attacking israel or its alleged jewishness . the bds is targeting activities that are illegal under u . s . and international law , as demonstrated in confiscating occupied land to build illegal settlement and industries . that ' s it .

but there indeed exists a crucial turning point . john and klein built this equation to illustrate that fact . their model is based on a conception about marginal benefits and cost . just like doing other things , boycotts have costs , it would cost your time , money , leisure once generated by the goods you’re now boycotting , which could be gained , or spent somewhere else if not the boycott . the first people starts the boycott should be the one who is most injured by the product and thus whose marginal benefits overweighs marginal costs . then people start to join him or her .

furnishing information , in response to a boycott request , about the race , religion , sex , or national origin of a u . s . person or any owner , officer , director , or employee of a domestic concern or any of its “controlled in fact” non - u . s . affiliates ;

on july 1 , the mexican people elected andres manuel lopez obrador as their new president . during the campaign , mr . lopez obrador used harsh anti - american rhetoric and promises of open - ended migration to mexico to fuel his candidacy . however , with the campaign season now over , we need to remind ourselves of the long - standing friendship between our two countries and find ways to further strengthen ties between us .

i agree americans must be allowed to exercise free speech about our own or any other government , so i support the aclu on this . however , the bds movement ( and even the un ) so often border on and stoke the flames of anti - semitism while supporting dangerous palestinian leaders and methods , that i hope the aclu will recognize the danger this kind of free speech can pose to certain minority groups currently at risk .

in other words , it doesn’t penalize requesting general information about a boycott . it penalizes asking the un for information about the specific business activities of others . that provision is still problematic , but it is not at all what the aclu or greenwald — who didn’t respond to a request for comment — says it is .

greenpeace’s 1995 campaign against shell over its plans to dispose of the brent spar oil platform in the atlantic , triggered a slide in sales of up to 70 per cent in some countries . it led to a complete ban on the dumping of all oil rigs in the north - east atlantic . in the eighties , barclays , which traded in south africa , lost 10 per cent of its student customers because of the anti - apartheid campaign .

greenpeace ' s 1995 campaign against shell over its plans to dispose of the brent spar oil platform in the atlantic , triggered a slide in sales of up to 70 per cent in some countries . it led to a complete ban on the dumping of all oil rigs in the north - east atlantic . in the eighties , barclays , which traded in south africa , lost 10 per cent of its student customers because of the anti - apartheid campaign .

the law is not terribly complicated . it prohibits a list of actions taken with the intent to support or comply with a boycott imposed by a foreign nation or international governmental organization . put another way , to run afoul of the law a person or business would have to commit one of the prohibited actions with the improper motive .

i hope the aclu will take some time to better understand that individuals like mr . dakwar , far from being paragons of virtue and defenders of civil rights , are nothing more than the latest in a long line of hateful individuals , who twist facts and figures to hide their thinly veiled anti - semitism . the only thing noteworthy about them is their attempt to cloak their true intentions in the language of “civil rights , ” “liberation , ” and “intersectionality . ”

u . s . companies continue to report receiving requests to engage in activities that further or support the boycott of israel . u . s . companies may receive similar requests in the future . if you have questions , please call ( 202 ) 482 - 2381 and ask for the duty officer or you may contact us by email .

to repeat , this is the law today . it is against the law to join in a boycott of israel led by a foreign country . companies may be fined up to $ 50 , 000 or five times the amount of the contested transaction ( whichever is greater ) , and executives can be sent to prison for five years .

on its face , the bill appears to directly prohibit boycott activity that is protected under the first amendment . even if the bill could be interpreted more narrowly , as some of its supporters claim , its broad language could still chill protected expression by scaring people into self - censorship . either way , the bill would impose serious first amendment harms .

the recent uptick in troubling statements and tweets regarding jews and israel is obviously disturbing , but it should not come as a surprise . seen in the context of “intersectionality” and the rise of the alt - left , an upward trend in the use of this kind of language is to be expected . however , it is appalling to see one of the longest - standing and most venerated civil rights organizations in our country’s history disseminating misinformation , fomenting anti - semitism and lauding hatemongers .

within days , his piece had ignited a torrent of outrage among many of the store ' s liberal customers , inspiring a boycott of the company . by the end of last week , two major unions - - a group that mackey has had issues with in the past - - joined the fray , demanding that their members withhold business from the company .

u . s . antiboycott laws and regulations prohibit u . s . persons from participating in other nations’ economic boycotts that are not sanctioned by the united states ( the “antiboycott laws” ) . while u . s . companies are principally concerned with the arab league boycott of israel , the antiboycott laws apply to all foreign boycotts in which the united states does not participate .

even the bravest of organizations often steadfastly avoid any controversies relating to israel . yet here , while appropriately pointing out that the aclu “takes no position for or against the effort to boycott israel or any foreign country , ” the group categorically denounces this aipac - sponsored proposal for what it is : a bill that “seeks only to punish the exercise of constitutional rights . ”

among the co - sponsors of the bill are several of the politicians who have become political celebrities by positioning themselves as media leaders of the anti - trump # resistance , including three california house members who have become heroes to democrats and staples of the cable news circuit : ted lieu , adam schiff , and eric swalwell . these politicians , who have built a wide public following by posturing as opponents of authoritarianism , are sponsoring one of the most oppressive and authoritarian bills that has pended before congress in quite some time .

larry chavis , a business professor at the university of north carolina , said it is possible for consumer boycotts to be effective in certain circumstances . chavis studied the effect of a u . s . boycott of french wine in response to the country’s opposition to the 2003 iraq war and found sales dropped 26 per cent in the u . s . at the peak of the action .

the next paragraph requires the president to make a biannual report on boycott efforts , and the united states’ response to them . this is a pure reporting requirement . just because the president might disagree with congress about the merit of the activities being reported — he likes boycotts , congress does not — this in no way affects congress’s ability to require reporting . the reporting itself is entirely neutral .

boycotts have to compete with one another for attention . driving becomes difficult if both esso and shell are to be avoided . the popular campus campaigns against nike led people to adidas , but the german company is itself being boycotted by campaigners for using kangaroo skins . and it’s hard to boycott both unilever and procter & gamble , which are both on ethical consumer’s list , without sacrificing at least some conventional standards of hygiene .

boycotts have to compete with one another for attention . driving becomes difficult if both esso and shell are to be avoided . the popular campus campaigns against nike led people to adidas , but the german company is itself being boycotted by campaigners for usingh kangaroo skins . and it ' s hard to boycott both unilever and procter & gamble , which are both on ethical consumer ' s list , without sacrificing at least some conventional standards of hygiene .

the act’s chief senate sponsor , senator benjamin l . cardin , has written that the act does not target political boycotts . [ 3 ] instead , he claims , it merely expands preexisting law to prohibit u . s . businesses from complying with boycott requirements imposed by igos . in other words , he argues that the bill does not prohibit political speech but targets “commercial conduct , ” which is afforded a lower level of constitutional protection . [ 4 ]

in other words , everyone is wrong : the aclu , greenwald , aipac and the bill’s sponsors . the actual bill is a nothingburger that fights an imaginary boycott – which is exactly why its cosponsors said things to greenwald like “we have a different read of the specific bill language” and “this is the first time i have seen this issue raised . ” they thought this was yet another meaningless pander to the israel - first crowd – and they were right .

even if the government has in the past chosen to pursue penalties against corporations , not individuals , the bill’s language plainly applies to individuals . and even if the government promises not to prosecute individual consumers under the bill , such a promise can be changed at any time , at the whim of any presidential administration . because the bill applies to individuals , flesh and blood people have reason to be concerned that their own protected boycott activity and speech could violate the law .

the export administration act ( eaa ) prohibits or penalizes u . s . individuals and entities from cooperating with international economic boycotts in which the u . s . does not participate . the purpose of such prohibition is to prevent u . s . organizations and entities from supporting or participating in foreign policies of other nations that run in a manner contrary to u . s . policy . boycott - related activities prohibited by the u . s . department of commerce include :

the bill’s operative provisions expand the 1979 law by prohibiting u . s . persons from boycotting israel and israeli businesses — including businesses operating in the occupied palestinian territories — in adherence to boycotts called for by international governmental organizations , such as the united nations and the european union . the bill would also prohibit u . s . persons from not only furnishing , but even requesting information about any person’s business relations with israel , if done to support a foreign country’s or international governmental organization’s call for boycott .

that ' s a lot more nuanced than what pundits have been howling about these last few days , and it suggests that perhaps the aclu is rethinking its position . but , to be fair , before the left got this bill wrong , the right got it more wrong . aipac , for example , heralded the law as a major legislative priority , saying it would “prohibit u . s . persons from cooperating with efforts by international organizations – including the u . n . – to boycott israel . ”

of course it is not that simple . there are motivations and causes behind every boycott , like political objectives , ethnic discriminations etc . but to define the term actually does not involve too much concern about the purposes . almost all the related books applied some version of the following definition , namely “an attempt by one or more parties to achieve certain objectives by urging individual consumers to refrain from making selected purchases in the marketplace . ” ( friedman qtd . in friedman 97 ) and one characteristic worth mentioning about this definition is that it did not clarify the objectives .

and as it is planed , they stop building . it seems that everything works perfectly . but the marginal analyses throw up this question : maybe , 25 students would be enough . maybe those extra 5 students should have joined the boycott , they would be better off without sacrificing their time and purchasing desires . those who participating are convinced that they all contribute to the collective goal , those potential boycotters who did not engage in all think they are beyond the turning point . the problem is , no one knows how many people would be just enough . 3 .

buycott is the world leader in grassroots on - line israel advocacy and , along with the size doesn’t matter campaign , has established cija as an internationally recognized leader in the area of new media israel advocacy .

the buycott program has been adopted by leading pro - israel organizations worldwide , including jewish federations , ajc , zoa , and jcpa , and it has been featured as a ‘best practice’ at global conferences on combating the de - legitimization of israel .

the bds movement is a coordinated international campaign by individuals and organizations to prevent people from buying israeli products or doing business with israel . the movement also encourages companies and organizations to stop investing in israeli firms and countries to curtail cultural exchanges , trade and cooperation with israel .

everything produced in israel , including life saving products and procedures - just because they’re israeli . canadians rely on hundreds of israeli products every day , such as voice mail , cell phone technology and cardiac stents . if bds wins we all lose , including residents of the palestinian territories who also depend heavily on essential israeli goods .

none . yet there are scores of nations throughout the world that , unlike democratic israel , are ruled by dictators who have denied their citizens the most basic human rights and abandoned the rule of law . bds proponents ignore these countries in order to question israel’s legitimacy instead .

bds supporters may say they just want to change israeli policy , but their actions say something else . bds activists have called on universities around the world to ban israeli professors from lecturing on their campuses , even though many of those they want to ban are critics of the israeli government . the bds movement has campaigned against artists performing for israeli audiences , even if those artists have also booked performances for palestinians as well . bds thinking considers all of israel as occupied territory and bds advocacy for the return to israel of several million palestinian refugees plus their children would dismantle israel as we now know it . the result ? two palestinian states and the destruction of the world’s only jewish nation

not at all . bds blocks exchanges between israelis and palestinians in every sphere of life , preventing dialogue and contact which sets a foundation for peace . but peace isn’t part of the bds equation . the real intention of the campaign is to demonize israel , isolate her and challenge her right to exist as a jewish state .

we need your support ! king solomon organic premium medjoul ( medjool ) dates at noah’s natural foods located at bloor street in toronto is currently being . . .

seventy years ago , after 2000 years of exile , israel was re - born . many see this miracle as fulfillment of biblical prophecy and as modern proof . . .

for immediate release monday , september 17 , 2017 montréal , qc – tonight , the board of directors of the student society of mcgill university ( ssmu ) ratified . . .

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it all began with an op - ed in the wall street journal . three weeks ago , john mackey , the ceo of whole foods ( wfmi ) , published an article outlining his problems with the national health care service being championed by president obama .

to put it mildly , there is a strange inconsistency when the ceo of a gourmet supermarket promotes a dietician whose regimen is almost gulag - esque in its austerity . it also raises an interesting question about mackey ' s new fans . in a recent , laudatory , episode of on the record , fox commentator greta van susteren interrupted her praise of the ceo to note " he is a lefty , though . that ' s the other thing , he is a lefty . " even beyond the conservative media establishment , however , the mackey affair has thrown some very odd allies together . van susteren ' s guest , dana loesch , described the mix of " buycotters " who descended upon a st . louis whole foods : " half of the group [ . . . ] were like ' we have never actually been here before , because we thought that it was really , maybe hippified . ' "

still , it appears likely that whole foods ' new tea party patrons may become permanent customers . as loesch went on to note , " we are going to make it a habit to come here every week , or at least twice or three times a month , and really incorporate whole foods into our buying routine . " it will be interesting to see how major , factory - farm producers of meat , corn , and other agricultural products react when they see a group that has traditionally been part of their political base migrating toward the michael pollan / organic produce end of the spectrum .

in the meantime , however , steve moore of the wall street journal stated that mackey is anticipating that the scandal will actually improve his company ' s sales , and one can imagine the health benefits that mackey ' s new customers will reap . in the meantime , trader joe ' s ceo don bane is hopefully keeping his head down and his opinions to himself .

the nanny ' s gut told her something was very wrong . then the dad watched the chilling cctv

forget the 30yr mortgage if you owe less than $ 679k ( do this . . .

new study says coffee will extend your life , but it also has . . .

teens are working less summer jobs than ever but if they hav . . .

these are the top 15 companies hiring for $ 100k + jobs in jul . . .

first two boys rescued from flooded thai cave , according to local of . . .

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during the mid - 1970 ' s the united states adopted two laws that seek to counteract the participation of u . s . citizens in other nation ' s economic boycotts or embargoes . these " antiboycott " laws are the 1977 amendments to the export administration act ( eaa ) and the ribicoff amendment to the 1976 tax reform act ( tra ) . while these laws share a common purpose , there are distinctions in their administration .

the antiboycott laws were adopted to encourage , and in specified cases , require u . s . firms to refuse to participate in foreign boycotts that the united states does not sanction . they have the effect of preventing u . s . firms from being used to implement foreign policies of other nations which run counter to u . s . policy .

agreements to refuse or actual refusal to do business with or in israel or with blacklisted companies .

agreements to discriminate or actual discrimination against other persons based on race , religion , sex , national origin or nationality .

agreements to furnish or actual furnishing of information about business relationships with or in israel or with blacklisted companies .

agreements to furnish or actual furnishing of information about the race , religion , sex , or national origin of another person .

forms for both electronic transmission and / or mail submission may be accessed from the forms request page . paper / carbon paper forms may be obtained by request to the office of antiboycott compliance / report processing unit at ( 202 ) 482 - 2448 .

tra reports are filed with tax returns on irs form 5713 . this form is available on pdf from local irs offices .

the export admnistration act ( eaa ) specifies penalties for violations of the antiboycott regulations as well as export control violations . these can include :

the penalties imposed for each " knowing " violation can be a fine of up to $ 50 , 000 or five times the value of the exports involved , whichever is greater , and imprisonment of up to five years . during periods when the ear are continued in effect by an executive order issued pursuant to the international emergency economic powers act , the criminal penalties for each " willful " violation can be a fine of up to $ 50 , 000 and imprisonment for up to ten years .

when the eaa is in lapse , penalties for violation of the antiboycott regulations are governed by the international emergency economic powers act ( ieepa ) . the ieepa enhancement act provides for penalties of up to the greater of $ 250 , 000 per violation or twice the value of the transaction for administrative violations of antiboycott regulations , and up to $ 1 million and 20 years imprisonment per violation for criminal antiboycott violations .

voluntary self disclosure ( vsd ) of violations of the antiboycott provisions of ear is provided for in part 764 . 8 of the regulations . if you believe you may have violated the antiboycott provisions bis urges you to disclose to the office of antiboycott compliance ( oac ) via the procedures described in part 764 . 8 . these procedures include : timing of the disclosure , requisites for initial notification , nature of the narrative account of the violation , documentation , and certification .


worlds of wonder or wow was a 1980s american toy company founded by former atari employees , including don kingsborough and mark robert goldberg .

worlds of wonder ( toy company )

worlds of wonder ( toy company ) <EOT> worlds of wonder inc . , the high - tech toy company that . . .

worlds of wonder inc . , the high - tech toy company that . . . - upi archives

donald d . kingsborough , who founded worlds of wonder inc . , a toy company that went into bankruptcy proceedings after two years of fast growth , has left the company .

worlds of wonder action max owners manual ( pdf ) - 0 . 62 mb

worlds of wonder inc . , the high - tech toy company that zoomed to the top of the toy industry before stumbling into bankruptcy , will go private under control of new york investor eli jacobs , the company said tuesday .

big trouble in toyland : debt - ridden worlds of wonder , the . . .

in re worlds of wonder securities litigation . this document relates to : all actions .

i visited worlds of wonder water park yesterday with my family . fun music and entertainm

the investors ' new company will acquire worlds ' assets for an undisclosed amount of cash , notes and preferred stock and will continue to operate as worlds of wonder at the company ' s fremont , calif . headquarters .

worlds of wonder : ‘ the talking snoopy ‘ ( ( 1988 ) ) – gogreenmachine . org

for the past two years , kingsborough has guided his fremont , calif . , toy company , worlds of wonder inc . , from a fledgling start - up to a challenger in the competitive $ 12 . 5 billion toy market .

the number of nintendo entertainment system consoles that toy stores had to stock to get access to worlds of wonder ' s other popular toys , according to giant bomb . nintendo got around the nerves of toy stores throughout the country with this method , and within a year , the nes was enough of a hit that it could break off the deal with worlds of wonder . that was bad news for worlds of wonder .

could it be that worlds of wonder simply needed to sell more crap ? god , i hope not .

in re worlds of wonder se | 814 f . supp . 850 ( 1993 ) | upp85011509 | urltoken

in re worlds of wonder securities litigation . rosetta miller ; walter untermeyer ; alan nisselson ; trud . . .

until its recent financial troubles , worlds of wonder was one of the fastest - growing companies in the toy industry , posting sales of $ 327 million in its first two years .

worlds of wonder , inc . v . vector intercontinental , inc . and new age communication center , inc . ,

worlds of wonder toys swot analysis | usp & competitors | brandguide | mba skool - study . learn . share .

here is a closeup of the drive wheel . worlds of wonder made a huge mistake here . on every worlds of wonder gt screamers set you will find the main drive tire is ruined and hard and oily compared to the other 3 tires .

worlds of wonder said it expected the cash and most of the stock received in the transaction would go to its secured lenders .

worlds of wonder v . veritel learning systems , 658 f . supp . 351 ( n . d . tex . 1986 )

" right now , don kingsborough and worlds of wonder have the hot hand , " said david liebowitz , an analyst who follows the toy industry for american securities corp . in new york .

worlds of wonder inc . , the toy maker known for its talking teddy ruxpin bear , said today that it had agreed to sell operating control of the company to eli jacobs , a new york investor , after the bankruptcy court approves its reorganization plan .

worlds of wonder took the toy world by storm two years ago with teddy ruxpin , a stuffed bear that " talked " with the assistance of a special cassette tape and retailed for a whopping $ 70 .

mr . kingsborough , 40 years old , formerly served as a marketing executive at the atari corporation . when he started worlds of wonder , he licensed a toy teddy bear , teddy ruxpin , from its creators , alchemy ii , a southern california company .

worlds of wonder v . veritel learning systems , 658 f . supp . 351 ( n . d . tex . 1986 ) : : justia

worlds of wonder certainly knew the apple - like moves . when teddy ruxpin became a hit , they did something that any good silicon valley company would do : they put their money into research and development .

worlds of wonder said that its banks are expected to provide financing over the next 60 days while a new operating plan is developed for creditor approval .

with that in mind , kingsborough said worlds of wonder is actively exploring toys that incorporate such high - technology areas as interactive video and artificial intelligence .

on the heels of teddy ruxpin came a second big success from worlds of wonder : lazer tag , a game with guns that shoot infrared beams at targets .

that ' s a familiar problem to worlds of wonder . its talking pamela doll was delivered late to toy stores last christmas . the talking dolls by galoob and playmates were big hits , but pamela was a flop .

the brandguide table above concludes the worlds of wonder toys swot analysis along with its marketing and brand parameters . similar analysis has also been done for the competitors of the company belonging to the same category , sector or industry .

stephen d . susman , susman godfrey , karen a . oshman , houston , tx , for defendants - appellees margolis and worlds of wonder shares partnership .

the toy industry is highly competitive . . . . the relatively low barriers to entry into the toy industry also permit new competitors to easily enter the industry . the company believes it has enjoyed limited competition to its teddy ruxpin product line . due to the success of teddy ruxpin , however , the company anticipates other companies will introduce talking toy products that will compete with teddy ruxpin and other new products announced by the company . such entrants might force price reductions or cause the company to lose market share , which events may adversely affect the company .

worlds of wonder inc . , the toymaker that declared bankruptcy late last year , has asked a federal bankruptcy court for permission to auction off $ 500 , 000 worth of surplus furniture and computer equipment , a company attorney confirmed friday .

worlds of wonder , inc . , a california corporation , plaintiff , v . veritel learning systems , inc . , and christopher j . daly , defendants .

by the end of world of wonder ' s first year , 1 . 4 million teddy ruxpin dolls had been sold . for fiscal 1986 , worlds of wonder posted sales of about $ 93 million for earnings of $ 8 . 1 million , or 43 cents a share .

its best - known toy , the teddy ruxpin stuffed talking bear , isn ' t a big seller anymore . the company is deeply in debt ; it recently fired half its work force , and it has put itself up for sale . analysts who follow the industry , in fact , wonder if the northern california toy company will last much beyond christmas .

worlds of wonder took the toy industry by storm in 1985 with the introduction of teddy ruxpin , a $ 70 talking bear . the company had another hit with its lazer tag pistols , but it was plagued by delivery problems , rising costs and an industry slowdown . the company filed for bankruptcy in december 1987 , citing assets of $ 313 . 6 million and liabilities of $ 312 . 1 million .

on paper , worlds of wonder makes toys that involve " electromechanical animation , " " infrared light " and " digital speech . " that ' s on paper . on the shelves of toy stores nationwide , kingsborough has cloaked technology beneath a cover of fuzzy fur .

with worlds of wonder and bushnell ' s axlon setting the way , it certainly felt like the start of a trend , even if it didn ' t end up that way .

staffed by former atari employees and with a big hit on its hands , worlds of wonder tried to ride teddy ruxpin to the promised land . they failed , fast .

investors , too , were dazzled . worlds of wonder went public in june , 1986 , at $ 18 a share , but eager stock buyers quickly drove its price up to $ 29 . now they ' re bailing out . worlds of wonder ' s shares closed friday at $ 1 . 25 in over - the - counter trading .

this case arises out of the demise of worlds of wonder , inc . ( " wow " ) , a high - technology toy company which sold its products to major toy retailers , mass merchants , and department stores . within a year of its incorporation , wow reached the peak of success for the toy industry when its first product , a talking teddy bear , became the nation ' s best selling toy . two years later , however , wow ' s sales had declined dramatically , and wow was faced with a serious liquidity crisis . wow filed for bankruptcy protection within three years of its founding .

browse marketing analysis of more brands and companies similar to worlds of wonder toys . the brandguide section covers swot analysis , usp , stp & competition of more than 6000 brands from over 20 categories .

mr . kingsborough could not be reached for comment . a secretary at worlds of wonder headquarters in fremont , calif . , said she did not know how to reach him .

with the strength of its line of toys worlds of wonder’s fortunes rose well beyond its assets . this culminated in a rather spectacular tumble as stock trades by company officers spooked investors . attempting to stem the tide , wow issued non - investment grade bonds , commonly known as

but teddy ruxpin was soon buried by an avalanche of talking toys from competitors . and worlds of wonder was unable to satisfy the initial burst of demand for lazer tag last christmas . demand later subsidied .

the problem continues : costly production difficulties have delayed shipments of radio - controlled muppet toys and wondervision videocassettes until next year . worlds of wonder ' s dancing little bopper dolls were delivered late .

two years ago , the start - up company made toy history with teddy ruxpin , a bear that talks with the aid of a special cassette tape . consumers were charmed and paid $ 70 each for the bears . with only teddy , the company had sales of $ 93 million that year , the most ever for a new toy .

the following christmas , lazer tag , a shooting game with infrared light beams , was a boon to sales , which shot to $ 327 million in the company ' s fiscal year ended march 1987 . that made worlds of wonder one of the fastest - growing companies ever .

san francisco — worlds of wonder , the once high - flying maker of talking teddy bears and other high - tech toys , on monday sought protection from its creditors under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code .

the shooting was believed to be a contributing factor to the demise of worlds of wonder , which first filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy just eight months later , and shut its doors for good in 1990 .

fremont , calif . - based worlds of wonder owes money to a group of hong kong manufacturers , as well as u . s . and foreign banks and suppliers , including the walt disney co .

according to worlds of wonder , the licensee , more than a million teddy ruxpin dolls will be sold by christmas . a spokesman for toys r us , the toy - store chain , said the teddy ruxpins are selling better than cabbage patch dolls did during their first year .

i have a worlds of wonder pamela doll . she talks on her own just fine . however , when i put a cartridge in her , nothing happens . am i doing something wrong ?

nearly 30 years earlier , a situation with many parallels to the crawford shooting played a contributing role in the failure of worlds of wonder . it didn ' t involve an airsoft gun , but a misunderstood game of lazer tag .

attorneys for worlds of wonder said they are negotiating for continued financing from bank creditors . " they are definitely planning a product line for next year , " said ronald s . orr of gibson , dunn & crutcher .

“the thing with toy box always was ‘oh , this isn’t iron man . this is a toy of iron man ! ’” said the source , “which gave us a lot more liberty in terms of approvals and all that stuff . having a toy box story mode would give us more free reign . ”

if an investor doesn ' t step forward to bail out the company , worlds of wonder may not be around next year , says barry rothberg , an analyst with mabon , nugent & co . in new york . " in no way can it salvage this year , " he says .

worlds of wonder , with $ 327 million in sales during its last fiscal year , isn ' t much of a factor in the $ 12 . 5 - billion toy industry . it is dwarfed by larger and long - established giants such as hasbro and mattel , which each have sales that exceed $ 1 billion .

to date , the company has marketed from a single product line , the world of teddy ruxpin . the product life cycle of a toy line is relatively short . successful new products and new product lines may therefore be crucial to the success of the company ' s business . . . . the company has only limited experience in product introductions , and product line expansion will place great demands on management and other company resources . if the teddy ruxpin product line loses market acceptance , or if new product introductions are unsuccessful , the company ' s business would be affected adversely .

" having a lot of toys is not what worlds of wonder is about . what children gain from our toys is social value . lazer tag teaches them to play with each other , and teddy ruxpin teaches bravery and friendship . "

by merging modern technology and old - fashioned toys and games , worlds of wonder is cutting a path in the world of " techno toys " and has produced two of the best - selling - - and most talked about - - toys of the holiday season .

before he started worlds of wonder , founder donald kingsborough had worked at atari , as did many of his employees . and he wasn ' t alone : his primary competitor in the talking toy space was nolan bushnell , kingsborough ' s old boss at atari and a man who had experience with anthropomorphic characters as the founder of chuck e . cheese .

the company ' s cash flow from operations , existing bank lines of credit and the proceeds of this offering may not be sufficient to provide the working capital required beyond the end of fiscal 1987 . thereafter , the company may have to obtain additional working capital from expanded bank borrowings or through additional debt or equity financings . if the company is unable to obtain adequate working capital from these sources on acceptable terms , its operations would be adversely affected . a significant portion of the company ' s working capital is composed of accounts receivable . the company believes the toy industry is characterized by accounts receivable on extended terms , especially in the summer months , and as a result a material portion of the company ' s accounts receivable are aged longer than 90 days . the company ' s liquidity may be adversely affected by excessive aging of its accounts receivable .

worlds of wonder went public and became an overnight darling of wall street as its price shot up . unfortunately , in a brief three and a half years the company filed for protection from its creditors in 1987 . large r & d , advertising , production , distribution , logistical , and repair costs hampered the company ' s ability to grow as quickly as it wanted to and it soon owed payment to many creditors . over the next two years , the company reorganized . worlds of wonder went on creating new products until 1991 , when it closed its doors for good . its products were licensed to hasbro , which continued to sell teddy ruxpin until 1997 . to date , over 40 million teddy ruxpins have been sold - - enough to populate a small nation .

- company , best known for its teddy ruxpin talking teddy bear and lazer tag gun game .

that cost , which would be a hard - to - swallow $ 156 . 55 today , was an immensely expensive price for a state - of - the - art toy . but tens of thousands of people paid around that much in its first month on the market , turning worlds of wonder into an overnight success story—one that initially didn ' t have the benefit of a saturday morning cartoon .

bernard shapiro , a los angeles attorney who represents a committee of the company ' s unsecured creditors , said proceeds from the auction will likely go into the company ' s coffers , not creditors ' pockets .

“the way i explain toy design to students is , don’t think about the toy as an object , ” says krystina castella . for the past 24 years castella has taught in both the graduate industrial design ( grad id ) and the product design departments , and these days her most popular course is toy design . “design an experience , ” she continues , “and think of the toy as the tool to bring about that experience . ”

still in early access , lego worlds is the company’s answer to minecraft . a natural next step for lego , the game aspires to become the ultimate creative sandbox for the next generation . in worlds , players explore and customize infinitely variable worlds , as well as create and play within structures and environments of their own design . “it’s like a cleanly organized bin of virtual lego bricks , ” says winger of worlds , which his group developed and handed over to another team . “it offers unlimited access to everything , plus no more sorting to find that red 2x2 slope in the pile . ”

i just love worlds of wonder’s class act line of school products ( as i have already mentioned here ) . i finally managed to get my hands on what i consider to be the flagship of the line , the express - it locker answering machine . here’s an unboxing .

kingsborough said worlds of wonder could not produce the talking teddies fast enough to meet the demand - - despite having chartered jumbo jets to deliver planeloads of teddy ruxpins from manufacturing sites in hong kong , china and taiwan to ensure an ample supply for the holidays .

1 . the company was big brand name 2 . diverse line of franchises in its portfolio 3 . the products were of high quality

this action arises out of the collapse of worlds of wonder , inc . ( " wow " ) , a high - technology toy company . plaintiffs , a class of purchasers of wow stock and debentures , brought an action under the federal securities laws against various individuals and firms involved in wow ' s securities offerings . on january 20 , 1993 , this court entered an order granting summary judgment in favor of every defendant ( the " order " ) . see page 850 . plaintiffs now move the court to reconsider its order . 1

7 . a company ' s liquidity , or immediate access to cash , is evidenced by factors other than total sales , such as the company ' s ability to collect accounts receivable and the amounts of cash available on existing bank credit lines . it is common for a company to disclose these factors in a prospectus .

jordan said the new investors intend to keep the company ' s 120 employees and its fremont headquarters .

mr . kingsborough , a graduate of the university of california at berkeley , was a salesman for several years before forming dk marketing in 1976 , which did some work for atari . in 1983 mr . kingsborough sold dk marketing to atari and joined the company as head of sales and distribution . he left in 1984 and founded his toy company the next year .

mr . jacobs recently led a group that acquired the baltimore orioles baseball team . the propective new management group for worlds of wonder also includes franklyn s . barry jr . , the former president of fisher - price toys , and david edelman , the former president of ingram software .

worlds of wonder general counsel anne jordan said the vast majority of the purchase price will go to wow ' s secured creditors , algemene bank nederland n . v . and a group of five banks lead by first national bank of chicago . together , the secured lenders are owed about $ 100 million .

( by the way , about that $ 70 price tag : it could have been a lot worse . according to fortune , when the company first showed off the toy at a toy fair , it was a $ 150 prototype . they had to nickel and dime it into something that was at least somewhat reasonably priced . )

but its latest financial report , for the quarter ended oct . 31 , showed a record loss of $ 43 million on declining sales of $ 49 . 7 million . worlds of wonders ' products include teddy ruxpin , a talking bear , and lazer tag , an electronic toy .

the two incidents , while having much in common , were each defined by their respective eras . in the crawford incident , the police officers received much of the criticism from the public . but in the death of leonard falcon , much the blame was largely directed toward worlds of wonder .

2 . debentures are unsecured debt , as opposed to bonds , which are secured by the assets of the issuing company .

in addition to the bank line of credit , the company recently negotiated a $ 35 million unsecured import financing line which expires on december 31 , 1987 . as of june 3 , 1987 , the company had standby letters of credit of approximately $ 32 million outstanding under this line .

the company ' s development of its management information system and other systems and control procedures has at times lagged behind its growth . while the company continues to upgrade its systems , procedures and controls to meet the demands of its expansion , there can be no assurance that the company can successfully implement these enhancements or that these enhancements will keep pace with growth .

" the way we ' re able to do it is pretty simple , " kingsborough said . " it ' s my opinion that too many toy companies build a toy first and then convince kids to buy it . we spend thousands of hours asking kids to imagine what they would like in a toy , and there are some pretty far - fetched things . "

this christmas , the company is depending on sales of julie , a $ 119 talking doll with sensors that allow it to " read " special storybooks or " feel " cold . the company is shipping 150 , 000 this christmas .

worlds of wonder staff members continue to frequently poll school - aged children to learn what they prefer in a toy , and , according to kingsborough , the greatest response is that they want to be able to fly . " i don ' t think we ' d literally make kids fly , " he said , " but if we could , that would be a hot product . "

worlds of wonder chose not to comment on falcon ' s shooting when it took place , and when called by jerry rubin , the southern california coordinator for the national stop war toys campaign , he said that he was " shocked by their insensitivity " to the incident .

alchemy ii is also earning royalties on a just - released teddy ruxpin talking doll , a hot item despite its steep $ 70 retail price . the toy is made by a fremont , calif . , company through a licensing agreement .

worlds of wonder can survive an industry shakeout , he argued , because its toys have lasting appeal . talking toys aren ' t a fad , he argued , but a category that will last for years . " there will always be a teddy ruxpin , " he says .

seasonality of quarterly results . . . . the company anticipates that net sales for the quarter ending june 30 , 1987 will be less than those for each of the prior three quarters , and the company expects to report a loss for the quarter . . . .

wonder . the 1980’s was full of it . the ‘80s were an era of wonder . they were for me ; i was just coming of age in the mid - ‘80s and found wonder wherever i looked . they were for others as well . many people likewise found wonder wherever they looked , so many that a coworker of mine once commented on it . sometime in 1999 , he contrasted the ‘80s with the ‘90s in this way : “in the ‘80s , we thought everything was high tech even though it wasn’t . in the ‘90s , everything was high tech and we didn’t notice . ”

net sales . . . . because sales of toys are highly seasonal , the company would generally expect net sales to be lower in the first half of the calendar year . the company ' s net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 1987 were lower than net sales in each of the preceding two quarters . similarly , the company expects net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1988 to be lower than sales for each of the prior three quarters . at the same time , the company is continuing to expand its operations in anticipation of the christmas selling season . as a result , the company expects to report a net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 1988 proportionally greater than the net loss reported for the first quarter of fiscal 1987 .

it is " an extreme example of a company that has gone too far , too fast , " says john e . klauer . he is chief financial officer of axlon , a 2 - year - old silicon valley company that has stopped making high - tech toys .

details of the bankruptcy filing were not immediately available . the move was precipitated by a " cash shortage resulting from an inability to get timely collection from customers , " said stephen kaplan , an attorney with the firm of gibson , dunn & crutcher , which is representing the toy maker . customers slowed payments as word of the company ' s problems spread , he said . officials of the company could not be reached for comment monday .

forsse found cost - effective ways to shrink disney ' s animatronic technology to toy level . a texas heiress contributed $ 15 million to the effort on the condition that the toys would be designed to enhance the quality of play for all children , providing an alternative to the violence in video games , television and movies . the company established to employ forsee ' s inventions , " worlds of wonder " , was headquartered in fremont , california . its first product was teddy ruxpin , an animated , talking teddy bear . it was an overnight success .

and went through a series of layoffs . the creditors continued to operate the company in receivership until finally closing its doors in late 1990 .

see in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 694 f . supp . 1427 ( n . d . cal . 1988 ) ( dismissing plaintiffs ' complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with federal rule of civil procedure 9 ( b ) ) [ wow i ] ; in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 721 f . supp . 1140 ( n . d . cal . 1989 ) ( dismissing in part plaintiffs ' amended complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to federal rule of civil procedure 12 ( b ) ( 6 ) ) [ wow ii ] ; in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 1989 - 90 fed . sec . l . rep . ( cch ) p 95 , 004 , 1990 wl 61951 ( n . d . cal . 1990 ) ( certifying plaintiffs ' class as those who purchased wow securities between june 20 , 1986 and november 9 , 1987 ) [ wow iii ] ; in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 1990 fed . sec . l . rep . ( cch ) p 95 , 689 , 1990 wl 260675 ( n . d . cal . 1990 ) ( denying shareholders ' initial motion for summary judgment on the insider trading claims ) [ wow iv ] ; in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 1992 fed . sec . l . rep . ( cch ) p 97 , 018 , 1992 wl 330411 ( n . d . cal . 1992 ) ( granting plaintiffs ' motion to quash defendants ' subpoenas of absent class members ) [ wow v ] ; in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 147 f . r . d . 208 ( n . d . cal . 1992 ) ( denying officers ' motion to quash plaintiffs ' subpoena to securities exchange commission for documents from an investigation of wow ) [ wow vi ] ; in re worlds of wonder sec . litig . , 147 f . r . d . 214 ( n . d . cal . 1992 ) ( denying plaintiffs ' motion to compel deloitte to produce internal audit manuals ) [ wow vii ]

one of the few times kingsborough ever tried to say no , osterhout recalls , was when the toymaker brought him an ordinary - looking toy car .

the company said that it would file the plan shortly and that it expected to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings by early may .

" maybe ' toy valley ' will become a reality here , " kingsborough said in a 1985 interview with the new york times .

meanwhile , worlds of wonder no longer has the " talking toy " market to itself . such competitors as mattel , playmates inc . , lewis r . galoob toys , coleco and ideal have talking toys . the market is so crowded with toys that burp , cough , sneeze and hiccup that no one is expected to do well . richard sallis , a marketing vice president at playmates inc . in la mirada , predicts a shakeout .

worlds of wonder - 6 , 156 photos - 19 , 177 reviews - amusement & theme park - entertainment city | sec - 38 a | entry from gate no . 11 , adjacent to gardens galleria mall / the great india place mall , noida - new delhi / ncr , noida , india 201303

in this appeal , we consider the saga of worlds of wonder , inc . ( " wow " ) , a toy company that sold $ 80 million of " junk bonds " to the investing public in june 1987 . when wow defaulted on its very first interest payment and filed for bankruptcy just six months later , rendering the securities worthless , a class of disappointed investors filed this securities - fraud action , naming as defendants wow ' s officers , directors , auditors , underwriters , and major shareholders . the district court granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants and the investors appealed . after considering a myriad of issues , we affirm in part and reverse in part .

worlds of wonder said it expects to file a reorganization plan with the u . s . bankruptcy court in late april or may . if the court approves the plan , jacobs and a management team lead by frank barry , former president of fisher - price toys , and david edelman , former president of ingram software , will take over almost immediately .

the plaintiffs next argue that the following debenture prospectus description of wow ' s internal controls was materially misleading : information systems and control procedures . the company ' s business has grown dramatically in the last year , and the company ' s development of its management information system and other systems and control procedures has at times lagged behind this growth . while the company continues to upgrade its systems , procedures and controls to meet the demand of its expansion , there can be no assurance that the company can successfully implement these enhancements or that these enhancements will keep pace with the growth .

on the toy front , the non - iron man highlights were hot toys’ 1 / 6th - scale figurines of captain america and an evil version of the previous christopher reeve superman .

when a company fails , it does not automatically mean that a violation of the securities laws has occurred . there are a number of risks involved whenever one invests in any company . . . . the securities laws do not insulate investors against stock downturns which are caused by events not foreseeable to the company ' s management , nor do they provide insurance against risks that were disclosed to investors at the time they purchased the securities .

and the fact that worlds of wonder thought it could charge that much reflects two things : the product probably cost a lot to build on a per - unit basis ( rks design , which helped formulate the talking bear , puts the cost at " under $ 20 , " but the fact that a design firm had its fingerprints on the product in the first place highlights that this was no ordinary toy ) , and it was also marketed a lot .

wow ' s fortunes took a drastic turn for the worst shortly after the debenture offering . financial results for the quarter ended june 30 , 1987 were below the company ' s internal projections , even though the company had already predicted a substantial loss for the quarter . wow ' s management hoped that the decline in sales was due to the normal seasonality of the toy business , where most sales occur during the christmas season .

disney infinity ’s toy box mode is different from playsets , which are franchise - specific slices of missions and environments . playsets have licensing restrictions , stopping players from using whatever toy they want to . in other words , star wars characters can’t play with marvel ones in the level packs made about marvel movies .

the company missed an opportunity with lazer tag , too . the toy , a game with guns that shoot infrared beams at targets , was a big hit last year . but many shipments didn ' t arrive until after christmas , and retailers were left with unsold gun sets .

. . . . at june 3 , 1987 , the company had outstanding borrowings of approximately $ 80 million , representing the maximum amounts available under the borrowing limits of its bank line of credit .

but its high - flying status on wall street and its recent dive continue to make it a company to watch in silicon valley .

following the ipo , wow continued to grow rapidly . wow ' s second major toy was lazer tag , a game involving toy weapons that used infrared technology . lazer tag , like teddy ruxpin , was wildly successful when it first hit the market . it was the best selling toy for the 1986 christmas season . also , teddy ruxpin maintained its popularity for the most part during 1986 . in lazer tag and teddy ruxpin , wow had two of the ten best selling toys for the 1986 christmas season . at the beginning of 1987 , wow was the toast of the toy industry , having recorded net sales of over $ 327 million for the previous fiscal year .

worlds of wonder ' s creditors include a five - member group of banks led by first national bank of chicago . the group , whose members are barclays american business credit , centerre bank , first national bank of louisville and chicago - tokyo bank , is owed a total of $ 79 million , according to attorney patrick a . murphy , whose firm - - murphy , weir & butler - - represents the banks .

the toymaker filed for protection under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code in december , following lackluster sales and mounting costs due to a rapid expansion of the company ' s business .

today , rahardjanoto works as a creative director for goldieblox , a toy company dedicated to “leveling the playing field” with its construction sets designed for girls , with the ultimate goal of getting more girls interested in the field of engineering—a perfect fit for the designer . “i’m back to empowering future generations through new toys , ” she says .

osterhout will unveil what he hopes is that next great idea - or rather , several of them - at toy fair 2000 in february in new york . he and his team have been tinkering away in the odg labs , turning more of his childhood fantasies into real - world prototypes that the big toy companies then turn into must - haves .

capital requirements . . . . to meet seasonal working capital requirements , the company has borrowed , and expects to continue to borrow , substantial amounts . . . . the company anticipates that the proceeds of this offering , together with cash flow from operations , existing lines of credit and new bank credit facilities presently being negotiated , will provide sufficient funds to meet the company ' s capital needs through march 31 , 1988 . however , if the company is unable to obtain adequate capital from this offering and such new bank credit facilities on acceptable terms , its operations would be adversely affected . . . .

whether it’s one element of a $ 1 billion brand or a stand - alone product , the ultimate purpose of a toy , as castella points out , is to bring about a desired experience .

electronic toys now account for more than half of the $ 20 billion toy business , and the tech - toy gold rush has set off a mad scramble involving market leaders hasbro and mattel , subsidiaries like tiger and sound bites ( both owned by hasbro ) , and a handful of independent players like playmates , bandai , radica , and takara . " the toy companies are all screaming for cool tech that they can sell at the magic price , " says osterhout . " they ' re desperate . "

angelo m . pezzani ; donald d . kingsboro ; richard b . stein ; john b . howenstein ; barry h . margolis ; deloitte & touche ; smith barney , harris upham & co . , inc . ; dean witter reynolds , inc . ; josephine e . abercrombie ; worlds of wonder shares partnership ; and robinson interests , inc .

disney’s cancellation of its lucrative toy - centric disney infinity series is even more shocking given the tantalizing plans for the series that two sources close to the project have shared with kotaku .

the company ' s existing bank lines of credit and import financing line expire september 30 , 1987 and december 31 , 1987 , respectively . to meet seasonal working capital requirements , the company has borrowed , and expects to continue to borrow , substantial amounts under these lines , both of which it expects to replace or extend prior to expiration . the company anticipates that the proceeds of this offering , together with cash flow from operations , existing lines of credit and new bank credit facilities currently being negotiated , will provide sufficient funds to meet the company ' s capital needs through march 31 , 1988 . however , if the company is unable to obtain adequate capital from this offering and such new bank credit facilities on acceptable terms , its operations would be adversely affected . see " management ' s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations—liquidity and capital resources . "

it ' s kind of sad , they had the foundations of a great game that could have grained massive amounts of potential , but what killed it is the fact you could use most of the characters in the worlds , only in the toy box area , i wanted to play mickey mouse in the incredible world . if they had the use any character in any world , i ' m sure it would have survived

and those high tech worlds of wonder products could not be limited to the play room or living room . no , they infiltrated the class room as well . in 1987 , worlds of wonder released a line of high tech school products . this line included sack - it ( a backpack ) , book - it ( a day planner ) , stack - it ( a locker organization system ) , stuff - it ( a binder ) , and , at the crème de la crème , express - it ( a locker answering machine ) . high tech . oh yes . high tech indeed . so high tech that they were not only rocking a theme with the names of their products ( making everything “something - it” ) but doing so years before apple did .

plaintiffs are a class of purchasers of stock and debentures issued by worlds of wonder , inc . ( " wow " ) . plaintiffs have sued several officers of wow , two members of wow ' s board of directors , wow ' s independent auditor , the underwriters of wow ' s securities offerings , and several major shareholders of wow stock . plaintiffs allege federal claims under section 11 and section 12 ( 2 ) of the securities act of 1933 , and also section 10 ( b ) of the exchange act of 1934 and rule 10b - 5 of the securities and exchange commission promulgated thereunder . in addition , plaintiffs allege state law claims of fraud and negligent misrepresentation .

6 . " professional investors , and most amateur investors as well , know how to devalue the optimism of corporate executives , who have a personal stake in the future success of the company . "

when a company fails , it does not automatically mean that a violation of the securities laws has occurred . there are a number of risks involved whenever one invests in any company . the function of the federal securities laws is to provide investors with full disclosure of these risks , and to prevent fraud . the securities laws do not insulate investors against stock downturns which are caused by events that were not foreseeable to the company ' s management , nor do they provide insurance against risks that were disclosed to investors at the time they purchased the securities .

the court fails to see the logic in plaintiffs ' argument . the amount of revenue posted by a company during a prior year is a number that exists only on paper to reflect total sales during that year . the amount of actual cash the company has access to at the moment is not necessarily related to its total sales in the previous year . this is a separate issue , and investors are savvy enough to look in places other than the company ' s statement of revenue to find out the relevant facts on the company ' s immediate access to cash . 7 the market would not interpret wow ' s running out of cash as a signal that its revenues for the previous year were overstated .

osterhout ' s crash - and - burn episode with machina hasn ' t shaken the faith of his true believers outside the company , either . his agent at william morris , paul bricault , still has big hollywood plans for him . bricault wants to hook him up with directors and screenwriters in need of gadget ideas , then use him as bait to get major toy companies behind a film . " hasbro is going to be more interested if we ' ve got a movie and ralph is attached as the toy designer , " says bricault .

his departure as chairman and chief executive was part of an agreement with banks and unsecured creditors and was approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing the chapter 11 proceedings , the company said .

the officer defendants have submitted testimony that they believed the decline in lazer tag sales to be due to the normal seasonality of toy sales , which was adequately disclosed in the debenture prospectus . the officer defendants also offer testimony that they believed sales of lazer tag would increase by the christmas season , which was reasonable given that lazer tag was a best selling toy during the prior christmas season .

there can be no assurance that the company will successfully complete the development of its new products or that it will be successful in manufacturing . . . or marketing the products in the face of intense competition ;

since its inception , the company ' s internally generated cash flow has not been sufficient to finance accounts receivable , inventory and capital equipment needs , as well as support its growth . the company has met its capital requirements to date primarily through borrowings under bank lines of credit , the private and public sale of equity securities and borrowings under subordinated notes payable to shareholders .

this is a rare worlds of wonder promotional video showing footage of prototype hector , baby teddy ruxpin and grubby ( grubby was never released ) , mickey mouse and goofy , and the lil ' bopper ' s set . special thanks goes to my friend mathue taxion for finding this for me , as well as urltoken for originally hosting the video and allowing me to share it on here . you guys are so awesome : d

heading into this christmas season , kingsborough , 39 , is riding last year ' s success of teddy ruxpin , the talking teddy bear , and is counting on lazer tag , an infrared version of the childhood game of tag , to become the hot shot of the 1986 toy season .

but tiger had plenty of bad ideas like this ( looking at you , r - zone ) , and they never took down the company , because they could always rely on their lcd consoles .

the marvel presence was awe - inspiring at stgcc – its booth was constantly swarming with visitors and participants ( the free flow of gifts also helped ) and almost every toy maker capitalising on iron man - ia .

what tickles masilko is that bloom essentially replicates a style of play that’s existed since the ice age , but enables it to happen from a distance . “the imagination and fun that happens comes from the two people using the toy , ” says masilko , who posits commercial toys are sometimes so plugged into a company’s branding and story portfolio that it constrains play . “sure , you can create all this media and software that updates , but that might actually mean less space for open - ended play . in some ways you might be better off with a simple metal toy car . ”

while the company believes that the technical risks in the development of [ the product line ] are well controlled , the product cost objectives are very aggressive and there is no assurance they can be achieved .

this case is before the court on the motion of plaintiff worlds of wonder , inc . ( " w . o . w . " ) for a preliminary injunction against defendants veritel learning systems , inc . ( " veritel " ) and christopher j . daly ( " daly " ) . upon review of the motion , memoranda , affidavits and exhibits , the court is of the opinion that plaintiff ' s motion is meritorious . consequently , for the reasons stated below , plaintiff ' s motion is granted . [ 1 ]

welcome to the silicon valley ' s latest riches - to - rags story . bolstered by the success of teddy ruxpin , the company poured money into development of more than 100 high - technology toys . only a few have paid off .

although his business philosophy may sound simple , kingsborough has managed to carve out a niche in a battlefield of 700 players dominated by such giant toy makers as mattel toys inc . , coleco industries inc . and hasbro bradley inc .

osterhout is ailing - he has a mild case of pneumonia - but that doesn ' t seem to faze him . he ' s hemorrhaging arcane toy information , peppering the engineers with questions that he usually ends up answering himself .

los angeles - - onald kingsborough traded a career in personal computers for talking teddy bears and toy guns . but don ' t think for a moment the former atari corp . executive regrets the decision .

another less public challenge for the disney infinity project was the balancing act of collaborating with the other disney - owned stakeholders marvel and lucasfilm that led to overreach . one said that when the developers wanted marvel’s guardians of the galaxy included , they had to include a full range of characters , including a toy for the blue - skinned yondu , a relatively minor character from the film . yondu’s inclusion may have been a well - intentioned gesture to represent the full cast , but the toy was a flop .

within three years , the company employed over 400 workers . follow - on innovations included the microprocessor powered interactive dolls pamela and julie , gt super screamer race cars and the laser tag game .

this warm spring day finds her at toymaker mattel’s headquarters in the city of el segundo , about three miles southwest of lax . artcenter students enrolled in a sponsored project are busy presenting their concepts for the future of vehicles—of the 1 / 64 die - cast variety—to an auditorium packed with the company’s designers and executives , many of them college alumni .