galtgulch

If you have seen the Ojo at www.ojophone.com and witnessed the quality which leaves webcams in the dust you may want to purchase an Ojo before the end of June because for a commitment of two years to pay $19.95 per month you get an Ojo Shadow for FREE. The number to call is 1.877-367-6965 and ask for the Mother's Day Special. Remember you do need an Ojo at each end of an Unlimited Video Call over broadband cable worldwide so get your loved one to get the Free Ojo Shadow at the same time. It is worth the pittance to enhance your relationship. Offer good only through the last day of June. galt

Barbara, Thank you so much for the wonderful links or rather the links to the wonderful singers. I will be listening to opera CDs on my way to and from work from now on. i have an hour commute each way at the moment and my Prius has the six CD changer with pretty good sound for a pretty quiet automobile with the windows closed. But the real reason I chose to reply was to enlighten you, and others if such there be, who might not yet know about the wonders of, wait for it.... www.tinyurl.com All you do is bookmark that site (www.tinyurl.com) then whenever you encounter a seemingly endless, or at least a lenghty link or webaddress or url just copy it and paste it on the www.tinyurl.com site which will then reduce it to a more manageable length. Your preposterously long url link vhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1110399738793405198&q=mario+lanza+nessun+dorma&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 is reduced : http://tinyurl.com/2lpvgb Thats funny, it always worked before but it doesn't seem to work this time. How embarrassing. Never mind! And the beauty of it is that it gets you to the same place! At least it does most of the time when it works. No need to thank me. I am not nearly as computer savvy as this tidbit of know how might suggest. You really should try it. I was moved more by Paul Pott than I was by Pavarotti although the latter was certainly more impressive. Each of us has his or her own place although you will never find me up on a stage singing anything at all, except in the shower or singing along in the car. Sometimes I do impress myself I must admit. galtgulch

As I understand the contract between SNAP and WGAT, there will be a fifty cent per minute amount which will find its way into WorldGate coffers for customer use of the SNAP video relay service (VRS). Evidently VRS usage has been rising steadily since 2002 and promises to continue to go up. WGAT will sell the Ojos to SNAP at cost but will accrue substantial fees for provision of the Ojo to use in the VRS offered by SNAP. Those who have used and compared webcams and the Ojo find there is virtually no comparison. The Ojo call is so realistc that it is like an actual visit. SNAP customers who receive an Ojo will encourage friends and family to buy an Ojo as well. But the major source of substantial revenue will be the service charge for VRS use. SNAP is also going to actively market the Ojo and expects that one year from now SNAP will have as many as 50, 000 subscribers. Once again i am not posting this thread to entice anyone to buy the stock. Rather i just wanted to make Objectivists aware of this awesome product which enhances ones relationships with loved ones who live at a distance. If the Ojo does become widespread the company will be successful. At this point however investment in it is very risky because of their financial situation. It remains to be seen if they will be able to keep going because they have a large payroll, seventy employees, the executives are paid as if the company were already profitable which it is not, they are in debt and in danger of delisting from the Nasdaq. High risk. But the product is sensational and must be experienced first hand to appreciate it. www.wgate.com Check out the ojosodes and testimonials Rumor has it that WGAT is on a multibillionaires short list or watch list and if WGAT were able to get a contract with a large telco the investor might buy many shares on the market and put his people on the board of directors in order to control the company as a major shareholder. I have no idea whether this is true or not. Reality will show! galt

"Whether the SNAP order will save the day remains to be seen but it is a source of hope." Well that didn't take long! Here is an announcement of a deal between SNAP and WGAT which involved an initial order of ten thousand Ojo video telephones to begin to address a huge backlog of orders by subscribers to SNAP who have signed on to receive an Ojo from SNAP as they are hearing impaired or deaf. The stock of WorldGate surged in volume to over 1.1Million shares for the day and the pps rose eleven cents or twenty two percent to close at sixty cents a share. This on a down day for the general market. Here then is the PR: [June 20, 2007] WorldGate and Snap Telecommunications Partner to Expand Video Relay Service Business Using Ojo Video Phone TREVOSE, Pa. & PEARL RIVER, N.Y. --(Business Wire)-- WorldGate Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: WGAT), a leading provider of personal video phones and related technology, and Snap Telecommunications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aequus Technologies Corp. and a provider of Video Relay Services (VRS) that enables deaf and hard-of-hearing customers to improve the connection with people in their personal and business lives, today announced that they have expanded their relationship to work to become the premier providers of technology and services to the over eight million people in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. WorldGate and Snap will work to identify the most desired Ojo features and capabilities that will provide the best video phone experience for the VRS user community and that will enable Ojo to be the preferred VRS video phone. WorldGate will provide development and engineering resources to accomplish these features and capabilities. As a result of Snap's utilization of the Ojo network, WorldGate will receive from Snap a usage network service fee. Snap has also placed a purchase order for 10,000 Ojos to begin to fill the current Snap order backlog. During the last nine months, Ojo and Snap have worked together to enable Ojo to communicate with video phones using H.263 and G729 video and audio codecs and to be able to utilize the H.323 communications protocol. As a result of this successful joint effort, Ojo and Snap are extending their relationship under a new six-year agreement. This relationship provides for the use of the Ojo video phone, which offers high-quality, real-time, two-way video communications, to further expand the growing VRS market, to broaden the opportunities available to hearing impaired users in the workplace, and to expand Ojo's availability to the friends and families of individuals that are deaf and hard-of-hearing. VRS is a form of Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) that enables persons with hearing disabilities who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment, rather than through typed text. Video equipment links the hard-of-hearing VRS user with a TRS operator - called a "communications assistant" (CA) - so that the VRS user and the CA can see and communicate with each other using ASL in signed conversation. Because VRS enables the hard-of-hearing customer to communicate in ASL, their native language, VRS is becoming an enormously popular form of TRS. "We are very excited about the prospects of significantly servicing the VRS market and we are convinced that using the Ojo video phone will allow us to make a meaningful difference to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community," said Richard Schatzberg, CEO of Aequus Technologies, Corp. Mr. Schatzberg continued, "We believe that this new partnership with WorldGate, which is the clear technology leader in video telephony, will result in the development of unique video phone capabilities for our VRS customers and in our technical and innovation leadership in this space. We already have a large backlog of orders for Ojo, and we are only just beginning our marketing and outreach efforts to the community that we proudly serve." "Snap has been very visionary and aggressive in establishing a strong business platform to provide the best possible VRS service to the deaf and hard-of-hearing including the establishment of a best-in-class service orientation, strong and reputable management and, of course, the best video phone - Ojo," said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO of WorldGate. "We are excited to further our relationship with Snap. The potential of this natural market for the development of video telephony is a definite foundation block for establishing video telephony and in achieving success for Ojo and WorldGate." About WorldGate Communications Inc. WorldGate Communications, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes the Ojo line of personal video phones. Ojo video phones offer high quality, real-time, two-way video communications with video messaging. The Ojo video phones are designed to conform to industry standard protocols and utilize enhancements to the latest technology for voice and video compression to achieve superior quality at data rates as low as 80 Kbps. WorldGate has been awarded patents for its distinctive design and technology and has other patents pending. This unique combination of functional design, advanced technology and use of broadband networks provides real-time video communication experiences that bring families and friends closer together, and for the first time provides consumers with a high-quality, affordable video phone. WorldGate is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol WGAT. WorldGate and Ojo are trademarks of WorldGate Service Inc. Any other trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, expressions using the terminology "may," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "forecasts," and expressions which otherwise reflect something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. No obligation is undertaken to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

I wrote to an executive at SNAP who replied that they are in the final stage of their interoperability solution and that they have sufficient numbers of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. He stated that shipping of the Ojo video telephone will be shipped 'very soon.' It is evident that a solution to interoperability issues has been devised and has passed initial and intermediate testing and is now in the final stage of testing. An announcement of commencement of actual shipping of the Ojo from SNAP is therefore imminent. Once this is announced one might anticipate it will have a positive impact on the share price of the company which created the Ojo, WGAT, which closed today at forty nine cents per share. The actual impact will be a function of whether the actual numbers of Ojos shipped is made explicit in the announcement and if so just how many Ojos are involved in initial shipments. Until this tidbit of info came along there has been uncertainty as to whether the interoperability issue could be resolved or whether it proved unsolvable. Likewise the question lingered as to whether competitors had some sort of lock on the number of qualified ASL interpreters and if so whether SNAP would ever have enough qualified ASL interpreters to go ahead with deployment of the Ojo. So this information sheds considerable light on the situation with SNAP and removes the uncertainty which had prevailed until now. The information contained in an email from SNAP in response to an email request from me a couple of days ago was to my knowledge not made public in any announcement from SNAP but it was common knowledge that they were toiling away at interoperability issues and that they wanted to be sure they had enough qualified ASL interpreters in order to provide quality VRS or video relay service. My boat is loaded to the point it is virtually swamped but if I had any spare change I would be pouring it in about now. But one must be cautious because it is clear that the company is simultaneously running out of cash as the burn rate is high and cash on hand is barely enough to meet payroll for another month if not another quarter. It has been a cliff hanger to see if actual orders of sufficient size to generate enough cash flow to become profitable would materialize in time to avoid the otherwise inevitable. There are announced deals from or with communications companies all over the world but no visible substantial orders. Another eagerly awaited event is the consummation of a deal with British Telecomm which also might happen any day or who knows when? So before committing any hard earned money here I would urge anyone to read the Prospectus available on the company website, www.wgate.com or www.ojophone.com, consult with your financial advisor, only invest an amount you are willing to lose altogether, be sure your significant other knows what you are doing, do not use your children's college fund nor your own retirement savings and certainly do not mortgage the farm as many investors in this stock have done much to their regret, so far. I am not a financial advisor and have only started this thread to make fellow Objectivists aware of the Ojo video telephone which might be of personal value if you have a loved one or two who live at a distance and whom you would like to actually see when you call them on a telephone. The quality of the product is superb but that is no guarantee that an investment in the company which created it will succeed as a glance at the chart of the performance of the stock will readily make evident. The chances of success depend upon potential customers discovering its existence and its quality which is happening slowly by word of mouth as the company lacks the funds for a national advertising campaign. I am not privy to the business plan nor the marketing plan but it appears the hope has been that the advertising would be done by the various communications companies with which the company has announced deals not to mention alleged deals in various stages of negotiations with companies as yet unannounced. Whether the SNAP order will save the day remains to be seen but it is a source of hope. galt

Rather than wade through the plethora of posts both positive and negative on the Yahoo Message Board for WorldGate Communications, the creator and distributor of the Ojo video telephone, I have discovered who the more positive and enlightening posters are and will supply you with a link to all their posts : Here are two shareholders who share my positive outlook for the Ojo: http://tinyurl.com/35bga5 http://tinyurl.com/2eo3ta galt

What follows is a recent post on the Yahoo Message Board for WGAT by someone whose posts are generally positive as is this one: >>>"This really is an exciting time to be part of the video telephony revolution that is taking place around the world. The recently signed agreement with BAB Communications is in my opinion a significant step in bringing Ojo video phone technology toTurk Telekom, and one more step in spreading Ojo across the entire world. Turk Telecom is the 13 largest telecom operator in the world, with over 19 million subscribers, and over 55,000 employees. WorldGate’s management and BAB representatives have been meeting with Turk Telekom and others in Turkey as discussed in the recent press release. Turk Telecom which was previously state owned, is now controlled by the Saudi Oger Group, and their subsidiary, the giant Oger Telecom which paid $6.6 Billion and now owns 55% of Turk Telecom. Oger Telecom is a newly created joint venture controlled by the Saudi-Lebanese group Saudi Oger Limited. Together they now control over 27 million fixed line and mobile lines in four countries around the world. Telecom Italia is also a partner in the joint venture and the world leader in video telephony deployments with over 1.5 million. The many deals that are under contract negotiations with every type of provider of communications services, including VoIP providers, Telco’s, and Cable MSO’s, is just amazing. The interest level from the major players to deploy video telephony has never, ever, been at the level that it is today, and not just in the US but around the entire world. The next few years are really going to be a blow out for video telephony and Ojo will lead the revolution around the world."<<<

Just wanted to share this op ed www.aynrand.org The following op-ed was published on June 11 at Businessweek.com at http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/arc...rsal_healt.html By Onkar Ghate The cause of the U.S. health-care mess is governmental interference. The solution, therefore, is not more governmental control, whether via nationalized medical insurance or a government takeover of medicine. Health insurance costs so much today because the government, on the premise that there exists a "right" to health care at someone else's expense, has promised Americans a free lunch. When a person can consume medical services without needing to consider how to pay for them--Medicare, Medicaid, or the individual's employer will foot the bill--demand skyrockets. The $2,000 elective liver test he or she would have forgone in favor of a better place to live suddenly becomes a necessity when its cost seems to add up to $0. As the expense of providing "free" health care erupts accordingly, the government tries to control costs by clamping down on the providers of health care. A massive net of regulations descends on doctors, nurses, insurers, and drug companies. As more of their endeavors are rendered unprofitable, drug companies produce fewer drugs, and insurers limit their policies or exit the industry. Doctors and nurses, now buried in paperwork and faced with the endless, unjust task of appeasing government regulators, find their love for their work dissipating. They cut their hours or leave the profession. Many young people decide never to enter those fields in the first place. What happens when demand skyrockets and supply is restricted? The price of medicine explodes. What was once to serve as a free lunch for everyone becomes lunch for no one. The solution? Remove all controls. Recognize each citizen's right and responsibility to pay for his or her own health care, and return to insurers the entrepreneurial freedom to come up with innovative products. True freedom would bring health care into the reach of the average U.S. citizen again--just as it has done for other goods and services, such as computers, cell phones, and food. Dr. Onkar Ghate is a senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. Copyright © 2007 Ayn Rand® Institute. All rights reserved.

Here is a link to a positive article and review of the Ojo video telephone: http://lastheplace.com/?p=943&akst_action=share-this galt

Objectivism is totally at odds with quantum physics which is the best physical theory every devised by humans. Objectivism is mired in an Aristotelean swamp. If you look into it Aristotle got just about everything wrong about matter and motion. Objectivism is also totally at odds with modern mathematics which is the cutting edge tool of physics. There is a good reason for this: Rand was ignorant of science and mathematics. L.P. has no competence in these areas either. Science and technology are the areas of intellectual accomplishment that matter. Anything at odds with them (other than better science and technology) is seriously flawed. Ba'al Chatzaf Ba'al reminds me of the mythical god worshipped at the time of Abraham. Any relation? Your post smacks of ad hominem. You do not mention any of the actual tenets of Objectivism and fail to show the alleged flaw. For example Objectivism holds that Existence exists as an axiomatic concept. Are you suggesting that because of advances in science and mathematics that this concept is untrue? A derivitive Objectivist concept is that each human being possesses a Right to his or her own Life. Are you suggesting that is not true either? You suggest a "seriously flawed" "anything at odds with...science and technology." What is the flaw? Objectivism logically derives a concept of individual rights of each human being after birth. Are you suggesting that there is something amiss with Aristotelian logic altogether? Just because generations of Aristotle worshippers failed to count the number of teeth in a horse's mouth and instead believed Aristotle's mistaken count does not invalidate Aristotelian Logic to my way of thinking. Methinks you are guilty of the "stolen concept" and should, if you will pardon the expression, "Check your premises!" And while you are at it, please advise just what it is you are trying to accomplish with your attacks on Objectivism? galt, true believer, natch!

" BT reseller, Intersonic for the first time, is now offering both the Ojo PVP 1000 and PVP 900 Shadow on their new Online Store. The BT certification process that Hal discussed on the recent CC must have been completed as both phones are now being offered for sale. Intersonic is a BT provider that orders their Ojo's from BT directly." http://www.int2one.com/demo/erol.html#52... +++++++++ BT refers to British Telecomm which signed a deal with WGAT to offer the Ojo to BT customers in 66 countries. Hal is the CEO of WorldGate Comm, creator of the Ojo video phone. Stock "up" today to $0.55 a share. Caveat emptor! Do your own DD. Not too late to call ojoservices at 1 877 367 6965 and ask for the Mother's Day Special: Commit to two years paying $19.95 a month (or pay annually and save another month's fee) and get the Ojo Shadow free! (before the end of June 2007) Yes you do need an Ojo at each end to enjoy UNLIMITED PROFOUNDLY REALISTIC VIDEO CALLS WITH AUDIO SYNCHRONY OVER BROADBAND CABLE WORLDWIDE on a large LCD screen which measures 7inches on diagonal. www.ojophone.com www.ojoworld.com www.snapvrs.com

WorldGate Announces Agreement with Veteran Retailer to Heighten and Expand Its Overall Retail Strategy Initial Efforts are Directed at the Upcoming 2007 Holiday Season TREVOSE, Pa. - June 6, 2007 - WorldGate Communications Inc., (NASDAQ:WGAT - News), one of the world's leading providers of video phone products and related technology, today announced that it has contracted with Marvin Jemal and his team of marketing and sales professionals. Together, Jemal and WorldGate will further develop an aggressive retail distribution plan that is intended to position and showcase WorldGate's Ojo video phones and services through the marquee Big Box Retail (BBR) and specialty stores in North America. Mr. Jemal is recognized as a pioneer in creating one of the most successful BBR consumer electronics retailers, having been the CEO and founder of Nobody Beats the Wiz, one of New York's most respected consumer electronics retail chain accounts. Nobody Beats the Wiz was sold to Cablevision Systems Corp. in 1998. The efforts of Mr. Jemal's team will complement the efforts of WorldGate's current staff, and with this heightened and expanded focus WorldGate plans to establish and deliver significant new marketing initiatives that are designed to increase both the trade and consumer interest to market, sell and purchase Ojo video phones. The Ojo video phone has received respected media and trade interest, including being a featured product on the CBS primetime serial drama, NCIS. The immediate goal of the expanded retail team will be to focus their attention on bringing a new awareness to the Ojo line. "We continue to see new interest in the consumer’s desire for a state-of-the-art video phone. Ojo has all the key features to excite and capture the consumer’s attention and positively impact their daily lives," said Hal Krisbergh, CEO of WorldGate. "The opportunity to add Marvin and his team only reinforces our goal to increase Ojo's exposure within the retail channels. We believe that big box retailers are ready to experience and accept the Ojo offering as we heighten and expand the brand’s communication platform. The addition of Mr. Jemal and his team should uplift both the brand and the category in which Ojo can become the category leader in the growing consumer electronics industry." "We are convinced that the market is primed and ready to accept a full trade and consumer effort to purchase the Ojo video phone product, which is secure, dependable and easy to use," said Marvin Jemal. "My team and I are very encouraged by what we see as a true partnership of delivering smart technology supported by a most reliable and dependable consumer experience that can immediately enrich the consumer’s daily lives when they purchase and use an Ojo video phone." +++++++++ Stock "up" today to $0.56 a share. Caveat emptor! Do your own DD www.ojophone.com www.ojoworld.com

A new deal by WorldGate consummated: BroadVoice Enters Into Agreement with WorldGate to Purchase Ojo™ Personal Video Phones via COMTEX June 5, 2007 Ojo Provisioning Package used for quicker and easier launch TREVOSE, Pa. & BILLERICA, Mass., Jun 05, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WorldGate Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: WGAT), a leading provider of personal video phones and associated technology, and BroadVoice Inc, a leading provider of high-quality, feature-rich broadband phone services to consumers and businesses, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to utilize WorldGate's Ojo™ and Ojo™ Shadow personal video phones provisioned with WorldGate's new service provider software package. The initial order is expected to ship within the next few weeks. The new software enhancements have permitted BroadVoice to easily provision their Ojo personal video phones on their technology platforms, enhancing their capabilities and increasing their speed to market. The enhancements also provide for Ojos purchased by BroadVoice customers to immediately enjoy the Ojo personal video experience utilizing an automated activation process. This will give BroadVoice the ability to maintain standard inventory and reduce the need for and cost of unique inventory. The companies have also agreed to work together to develop marketing approaches that will allow customers to take advantage of the full array of features and services offered by BroadVoice. "We have been working with WorldGate on their new service provider package to define the best user experience, and found that the Ojo personal video phone connected to the BroadVoice network outperformed our expectations in all respects," said Les Berry, President of BroadVoice. "The Ojo will allow us to enhance our product offering, and give BroadVoice a competitive advantage with both consumers and businesses." BroadVoice is focused on maintaining high quality across their open access Voice-over-IP (VoIP) communications network. With their "bring your own device" plans, customers can choose from the broadest possible selection of VoIP communication gear, including IP phones, softphones and phone systems. "The opportunity to align Ojo with such a well-respected and strong player in the new world of communications is another major step for Ojo," said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO of WorldGate Communications. "BroadVoice's market penetration and customer base can be a key driver for sales of the Ojo video phone." Mr. Krisbergh continued, "We are also extremely excited that our new service provider package was instrumental in accelerating our ability to conclude negotiations with BroadVoice and schedule immediate shipments." Ojo is the first broadband video phone to feature a friendly and intuitive display that facilitates realistic, face-to-face, personal communication experiences over DSL and cable broadband networks. Ojo is connecting families, friends, colleagues and their customers in 56 countries worldwide. +++++++++ Stock "up" today to $0.55 a share. Caveat emptor! Do your own DD www.ojophone.com www.ojoworld.com

Here is a link to the website of Global Touch with whom WorldGate Comm has a signed contract to include the Ojo in its offerings to VOIP companies with which it does business. Global Touch is also a sponser of upcoming Internet Trade Shows which feature internet telephony and VOIP etc. http://www.globaltouchtelecom.com/videophone.asp?op=19 No doubt Global Touch will facilitate the spread of awareness and marketing of the Ojo. galt

Gentle readers, Just in case any of you know anyone who is either deaf or hearing impaired you might want to make them aware of a special offer of a free video phone being offered by SNAP (www.snapvrs.com). The Ojo phone has received rave reviews from deaf and hearing impaired folks who were involved in the testing process. The Ojo enables them to use either American Sign Language or to read lips. The picture on the Ojo has smooth motion and audio synchrony and operates over broadband cable or DSL or certain satellites. SNAP is accepting applications and once interoperability issues are resolved shortly will begin to ship Ojos. More info on the Ojo available at www.ojophone.com and www.ojoworld.com galt

I am disheartened that no one has chosen to comment and this thread is about to disappear from the list of new posts. That is why I am responding to my own post to put it back up on the top of the pile. Objectivists are supposed to value individual freedom and due process of law with objective laws based on the rights of the individual. I suppose no one cares but I think that such cases should give the "mentally ill" person the choice of a hearing in front of a jury or a judge. The outcome might be the same but I think more convincing might be necessary for a jury before committing a person to one year in a psychiatric prison hospital. galt

Michael, I am surprised that no one has mentioned Lysander Spooner in this context. In his Constitution of No Authority he points out that the US Constitution was signed by a number of men who existed at the time of its adoption but that all of us are held to it and to the laws passed by men sworn to uphold it but who also didn't formally sign it and none of subsequent generations have signed it either. I think there might be a formal ceremony when one reaches "voting age," similar to a Bar or Bas Mitzvah in which one reads the Constitution aloud in front of family, or selected portions of it, or tops it off with a reading of the Bill of Rights, including Prohibition and its repeal, and then celebrating by signing it in public. Otherwise the "secret band of robbers and murderers" to which Lysander Spooner referred will continue to enslave us. galt

We all know that the U S Constitution's Bill of Rights, Amendment VI states that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed..." etc Also the Bill of Rights Amendment VII states that "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, a right of trial by jury shall be preserved" etc. Now a person, a citizen or not, who resides in these United States, having been arrested and charged with a crime, but where his or her competency to stand trial is in question, may, in some states be committed by a judge to a hospital for psychiatric and forensic evaluation and treatment, and recommitted for up to one year at a time, for continued psychiatric treatment, as long as a judge continues to find such a person not competent to stand trial for his or her initial charges. Notice that the person may continue to lose his or her freedom, which certainly has a value in excess of twenty dollars, when incarcerated for up to six months or one year, again and again, without "a right to a 'trial or hearing' in front of a jury of his peers." I am aware of no case where a person in such a situation has even requested a trial by jury instead of a hearing in front of a judge. However I should think that the Seventh Amendment cited above in part, does guarantee a trial by jury. But I am told that there is no basis in Common Law for a mentally ill, or presumed mentally ill person ever had a right to a hearing or trial by jury before being committed for treatment of the mental illness to a hospital. On the surface this appears to be an unconstitutional action by the courts which appears to put the citizen who is "mentally ill" in a special category to which the Bill of Rights does not apply. Admittedly the outcomes might be the same even if heard by a jury as with a judge. The question might be moot because there is plenty of precedent for what is being done to continue to be done. The same question does apply to cases where the person is found to be Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity and continues to be recommitted year after year by a hearing before a judge and not a jury. I would appreciate any enlightening commentary. My attempts to find any case law on the subject has been in vain. It appears that once it was decided that "mentally ill" prisoners or defendents had a right to an attorney, that there were cases brought to enable those attorneys representing them to be paid. Any lawyers or judges here? I'll settle for a Constitutional scholar or just rational discussion. Admittedly I am at times naive and have always assumed that the Bill of Rights applied to each and every one of us, and it doesn't make sense to me that someone who is mentally ill loses his or her rights at least to a jury before losing his or her freedom. What am I missing here? galt

WorldGate Comm announced deals with communications companies including British Telecomm, Israel Comm, Mototech in Taiwan, Novatech in Japan, Express Telecomm in Russian, Global Touch for VOIPs, SNAP/VRS for Deaf, and others which are in various stages of negotiation. Here is a link to an Internet Service Provider called Intersonics in England whic uses British Telecomm lines. Shareholders expect that BT is close to a launch of the Ojo to its customers in 66 countries around the world: http://www.intersonicltd.com/int2one/newojo1.html The stock price is at a two year low of forty eight cents a share and is high risk because they only have enough cash on hand to cover expenses for another two or three months. Financing for additional funds in being sought. The CEO stated that he is confident in the future of the company asserting there is plenty of activity with additional deals and anticipated orders to occur shortly. I just think that the product is sensational which is no guarantee of success. I hope that anyone who has a loved one who lives at a distance might find this Ojo video telephone to be a boon. Given the state of the economy gold and silver are undoubtedly safer investments. galt

In my effort to endeavor to keep readers of this thread up to date of the goings on i want to mention a couple of things which happened today. Worldgate Communications accepted a new board of directors member who is a shareholder who built up a stake of over 3M shares representing over nine percent of outstanding shares. there is a press release on the www.wgate.com site about this gentleman who lives in Venezuela and is a business man who evidently shares the vision and enthusiasm of shareholders like myself who consider this product to be revolutionary and very promising with potential to make a modest investment life changing if and when the Ojo becomes ubiquitous. SNAP also issued a press release today announcing that they gave two free Ojos to a subscriber within the deaf community and assuring others that thousands have applied for a free Ojo and that as soon as interoperability issues are resolved Ojos will be shipped. PR can be seen at www.snapvrs.com galt

"24" is enjoyable if you like plot twists and turns every five minutes. I know there are those who would prefer to wait to get the DVD so they can watch several episodes at once. I like the occasional heroics of Jack Bauer especially when he defies those in authority. I knew all would end well and that even the last episode would end in an anticlimax as it did. I wish there were DVDs of The Practice which I could watch over and over with enough time in between to forget what happened. Looking forward to early dementia. galt

if you want to get an idea what the Ojo video telephone is capable of and how appealing it is to people who have bought Ojos to enable them to keep in touch with loved ones check out the ojosodes which have been posted on the www.wgate.com website: Here is the link: http://www.wgate.com/community/ojosodes Notice that a couple of them use satellite rather than broadband cable or DSL. Also notice that once someone experiences the remarkable quality of the Ojo that they spread the word. galt

I wonder if anyone else has any favorite non musical videos from Youtube such as these by Christopher Hitchens who is a remarkable and courageous human being. Here is a link to just one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yyMbxlbfM8 And just one more on religion: galt

Forgive me for reposting Michael Russell's post about the death of JF. But to me Christopher Hitchens is music to my ears. Gotta love Christopher Hitchens! Hitchens on Anderson Cooper's show. Hitchens takes on Hannity and the hypocrite Reed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yyMbxlbfM8 They are utube videos of Hitchens which you may have missed. Once there be sure to treat yourself to the other videos of Hitchens who is outspoken. I wonder if he is at all aware of the existence of Objectivism? galt

>>>"What will this product be worth to its owners if the company goes out of business? It seems no more sensical to buy this for $500 than to buy 1000 shares of the stock for the same price. In fact, the stock might be a much better deal."<<< --Brant, Actually the product is quite valuable to those who already own one or more and who appreciate how communicating with loved ones has been enhanced because of the Ojo. As i have indicated in previous posts one can obtain an Ojo for no upfront cost if willing to commit to paying $19.95 per month for two years. There is normally a monthly fee of $9.95 so the additional expense is nominal. The only catch here is that one has to have someone in this world who means enough to yourself, and vice versa, so that one would use and appreiciate frequent "visits." That is why I think this will be a success. The world is filled with such people to whom others matter. Those who use free SKYPE on their computer are often disappointed with it because of inferior quatlity, absence of lipsync, and that it ties up their computer for calls. When they use the Ojo they are invariably sold on the Ojo's superiority. It is not unusual for start ups to require financing until they become cash flow positive. This product is superb, it has patents on design and its video system, its price keeps coming down, customer satisfaction is high, monthly fee is peanuts compared to long distance international phone calls, it has won awards at the Consumer Electronics Show, Best of Innovations, there are now two models with additional models being created, enhancements can be and have been downloaded to existing owners, e.g. up to twenty minutes of video messaging, the picture is at eye level for face to face encounter with audio synchrony making for a profoundly realistic picture, etc. It remains a Wow product. I do consider it in the category of Reardon Metal in at least one respect, it has to overcome resistance to its acceptance as a new way of doing something which has been tried by major companies who spent many millions on trying to do what WGAT has achieved. Its cost will come down even further as it incorporates the latest Texas Instrument's digital processing unit, called DaVinci in newer models. Yes there is a risk that it may not succeed as the company may not be able to raise enough money to continue in business. That is only one of many risks spelled out explicitly in the Prospectus available on the WORLDGATE website, under SEC documents. www.wgate.com No one should buy stock in this company until they have read the Prospectus and understand the risks. As I have indicated i primarily want to make fellow Objectivists aware of the Ojo, not the stock. Naturally I have an interest in the stock performance myself because I do own shares and have added recently. One of the company directors also recently added substantially to his stock holding. The success of this company will not depend on whether a handful of readers here buy the product. In order for the company to succeed it will have to sell hundreds and millions of Ojos around the world. There are fifty six countries in which Ojos have sold and are being used. The company has deals with communications companies on every continent. As other entities enter the video telephony market they will only enhance the acceptance of video telephony and the Ojo will be able to attract its share of the market which is enormous. I encourage anyone who might be interested in exploring the Ojo product, not the stock, to visit www.snapvrs.com to see it there, visit www.wgate.com to see it there, visit www.ojoworld.com to see it there, visit www.hsn.com click on electronics then customer picks, to see it there. At the www.wgate.com site you can find out if there is a retailer near you where you might see an Ojo in person and see it used. If you think you would like to be able to see your loved ones, parents, siblings, children, friends or business associates, it is worth a look As self serving as I may sound remember that one can offer to help others in a non self sacrificial way if they are in one's hierarchy of values, as Objectivists are to me. I have found something of value to me and just want to enlighten others who may find it of value to them. I have no idea whether the company will ultimately succeed or become profitable. I am not encouraging anyone to invest in the stock. I expect that if the company goes out of business that the rights to the product and its patents will be sold and the service willl continue by the new owner. When I spoke with www.ojoservices.com with whom one registers your phone number for your Ojo, the fellow there said that the Ojo is selling, has been selling, that he talks with people all over the world who own an Ojo, and he believes the company would have gone out of business if the Ojo were not selling a long time ago. galt