An AI view of cold calling, carol singing and permission

 I asked about cold calling in the USA and UK

Is cold calling banned in the USA or UK?

No, cold calling is not banned outright in either the USA or the UK. However, in both countries, it is heavily regulated, and certain types of cold calling (or specific methods) are strictly illegal.

1. United Kingdom

• Legality: General telephone and doorstep cold calling are legal by default, but subject to strict rules.

• Key Regulations & Restrictions:

  • Telephone Preference Service (TPS): Companies are legally prohibited from making unsolicited marketing calls to individual phone numbers registered with the TPS (or corporate equivalents) unless the person has explicitly given consent.

  • Automated Calls: Pre-recorded or automated marketing messages are completely illegal unless the recipient has given clear, prior opt-in consent.

  • Specific Sectors: Cold calling for certain high-risk industries (such as pension schemes) is completely banned.

  • Doorstep Cold Calling: While ringing a doorbell isn't a crime on its own, ignoring explicit "No Cold Calling" signs or refusing to leave when asked makes the caller guilty of a criminal offense.

2. United States

• Legality: Human-to-human telephone cold calling is legal, but it is tightly governed by federal and state legislation.

• Key Regulations & Restrictions:

  • National Do Not Call Registry: Telemarketers must "scrub" their calling lists against the federal Do Not Call registry at least every 31 days and cannot call registered numbers without an exemption (such as an existing business relationship or explicit written consent).

  • The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA): This law heavily restricts the use of automated telephone dialing systems (autodialers) and artificial or prerecorded voice messages (robocalls) to mobile phones without prior express written consent. Violations carry steep fines per call.

  • Time Restrictions: Calls are restricted to local hours between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM.

  • Caller ID Mandates: Callers must accurately display their identity and a working callback number (anti-spoofing protocols like STIR/SHAKEN are enforced by the FCC).

I asked about cold calling and Singapore

Does Singapore ban cold callers and religious callers like Jehovahs Witnesses

1. Commercial Cold Calling

• Not Banned, But Heavily Regulated: Commercial cold calling and telemarketing are not illegal in Singapore, but they are strictly governed by the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry.

• Rules: Telemarketers cannot call numbers listed on the DNC registry unless they have explicit consent. Furthermore, calls are only permitted during allowed hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM) and are completely prohibited on Sundays and public holidays.

2. Religious Callers / Jehovah’s Witnesses

• The Group's Legal Status: The group Jehovah’s Witnesses is officially banned as an organization in Singapore (deregistered in 1972) primarily because its members refuse national service (conscription), salute the flag, or swear allegiance to the state.

• Door-to-Door Preaching: Because the organization is banned, their religious materials are prohibited, and public proselytizing or door-to-door preaching by them is illegal. If individuals are actively going door-to-door preaching or distributing banned materials on behalf of the group, it violates local laws, and residents can report them to the authorities.

• Other Religious Groups: Casual door-to-door visits by mainstream or registered religious groups (such as certain Christian denominations) do happen occasionally, but aggressive solicitation or causing a public nuisance can be dealt with under local public order and anti-harassment regulations.

Is Carol Singing Banned?

I asked AI - about carol singing and permission in the UK. I learned that some ring doorbells allow you to pre-record messages telling people to go away! Some allow you to speak to callers without opening the door. That same applies to some cameras on flats, apartments, which allow you to speak but only open when you press a button.

Ebay and other sites have signs you can print or display saying please do not knock. No Cold Callers, No Canvassers.

Key Legal Rules

Spontaneous vs. Arranged: Spontaneous carol singing in the street or a pub does not require a license. However, an arranged or ticketed public event may require a music or premises license under the Licensing Act 2003. 
Private Property: You need the landowner's permission to enter private land, gardens, or fields, and owners can ask you to leave. 
Charity Collections: If you plan to collect money for a charity, you generally need a street or house-to-house collection permit from the local authority or police (such as under the House-to-House Collections Act 1939 or Police, Factories &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916)
. Public transport networks like the Transport for London Charities program also require prior application and approval.
 
Nuisance and Obstruction: Excessively loud, prolonged amplified music or blocking public pavements can create a public nuisance or a police offense. 
Copyright: Traditional carols whose composers died more than 70 years ago are in the public domain, but modern arrangements or newly written secular Christmas songs may still be protected by copyright. 
AI can make mistakes, so do your own research. But consulting AI is a good way to find signposts to ideas connected to your topic.


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Easy Spanish Signs

 

Contenido - content

Spanish - English

A bordo - on board

Danza - dance

De - of (the same as French)

estudio - studio (the letter e goes in front of S at the start of Spanish words)

Garaje - garage

Isla - island

Nacional - national (the adjective follows the noun in Spanish, like French)

Parque - park

Policia - police

Servicios - services / toilets

Bilingual videos on Fred Olsen ferries:

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Get help in Spanish speaking countries, swimming

Swimming pool (piscina in Spanish) at a Parador hotel on La Palma. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Spanish - English

ambulancia - ambulance

ayuda - aid / help

cara - face (I remember a in face and cara, like two cheeks, letter a twice)

caro - expensive (I remember, oh no, too expensive, ends in Spanish with the letter o)

gorro de baño - bath cap

Gorro de ducha - shower cap

necesito - I need

no - no / don't

no fumar - no smoking )literally no to smoke - infinitive

sombrero de natación - swimming hat

policia - police

¿tienes? - Do you have ... ?

English - Spanish

bath cap - gorro de baño

life guard - socorrista (life guard running to help, letter r twice, like the English word succour)

shower cap - gorro de ducha

swimming hat - sombrero de natación

Useful phrases are in

translate Spanish (google)

Wikitravel phrasebook Spanish (without ads)

Wikivoyage phrasebook Spanish (with ads)

See my previous post on mouth ulcers and a pharmacy in La Palma, in the Canary islands

The DIY Dolls' House Or Theatre For Holidays

Kleenex Tissue Box House or theatre. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Kleenex Box Theatre

Here's a game for a dolls' house or theatre made on holiday. I have used an almost empty Kleenex tissue box. The had a dozen white tissues at the back form a backdrop. No need to remove them.

Ring Box Display

Inside is the lower half of a heart shaped plastic ring box. The lid broke. I was wondering what use I could make of a ring box with no lid. To display a ring handily on holiday, by a bathroom wash basin? On the bedside table? 

I found some tiny Guatemalean dolls, fingernail size. They stick upright in the slit intended for a jewellery ring. 

You can use an open ring box during the day for play whilst the ring is on your finger. Retrieve the box at night for the ring when the children have gone to bed.

Shoe Box House

You could also make a theatre or dolls' house from one or two shoe boxes, with an upright cereal box for the side staircase. Cut square or round windows using a cup or glass or coins as a template. Behind the window place a holiday brochure showing the sea or mountains or city skyline.

For afternoon entertainment, or bedtime, you could read my poem.

Alternatively, simpler, make a theatre with a stage. Make two dolls or puppets from silhouettes cut from a magazine.

Dolls' House comical poem by Angela Lansbury

 Ava had a little dolly

And the dolly's name was Molly

Molly had a taller sister

And her sister's name was Elsa

The sisters lived in a big house

Which had a dog, a cat, and mouse

A front garden, pots with flowers

A sundial clock counted hours

 

Outside was small blue car

If dolly wanted to go far

And a train in the train station

And police in the police station 

In the hallway was a rug

Where Molly met you with a hug

In the hallway by the window

Was a long inviting settee

When you had nowhere to go

Shut your eyes, dream of the sea - or tea

In the kitchen the best honey

Which had cost a lot of money

In the kitchen was a cook

With an apron, bowl, and book

Upstairs was an attic bed

A pillow where you put your head

And a box with lots of toys

But the toys made no noise

And a wardrobe with a mirror

Where dollies could dress for dinner

And some pictures on the wall

With blue gum to fix them all

On the roof a helipad

Where you could land a little plane

Some of the roof was sloping

Made a runaway for the rain

The roof had statues of a dog

A Noah's ark, tortoise and frog

A cow, a horse, even a bear

A monster with a lot of hair

On the roof the cat with claws

Sat beside the Santa Claus

He hid on the roof all year

Waiting to deliver Christmas cheer

Yes, dolly did have a brother

And a father, and a mother

Dolly-sitter Ava came to stay

When dollies' Dad went on holiday.

But the dolly girls went to school

And the school had lots of rules

About the times when you could play

The long weekends, and holidays.

At bedtime with a sigh

Dolly had to say goodbye

But Dolly was here to stay

Ready to play another day

So Ava shut the door, the house

Put in the cat, put out the mouse

She said, 'dear dollies, please sleep tight

I wish you, both, a very good night'.

-ends-

This poem should have been on my blog on comical poetry but I saved it quickly onto this blog by mistake. Tomorrow I shall add pictures to the version which I have now saved to my poetry blog. 

Toys and DIY

It would be easy to print a tiny list of rules for a school wall, or dolls. house kitchen. Six point type. Or a psotage stamp size piece of white paper with your best calligraphy. Or a piece cut from one of those irritating instruction books in tiny print in multiple languages. Or a postage stamp with the head of the president or king or hero or your country or the country you visit on holiday.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Travel safety and avoiding confrontation with animals and the armed police

I remember the first time I went to the USA from the UK and saw police with guns. I did not know whether they were real guns or fancy dress. The guns were real! I was very wary of police, very polite, very careful not to do anything which might attract their attention.

 I just read in July 2023 a sad story about an event in France where a young man drove away from a police stop and was shot dead. As the British royals famously said, accounts vary.

Naturally, if somebody points a gun at you, or threatens you, your instinct is to run away. Is this the safest action? If the person with a gun is a policeman?

Only if you can be sure of getting away.

I used to be puzzled when reading of similar incidents again and again. People were chased by the police and killed. 

They were chased by animals and killed. In the USA. In the UK. All around the world. 

People run from the police and get overtaken and shot. People run from bears and get killed. People run from dogs and get attacked.

Then I read a story about bears and another about dogs which cast a new light on danger and safety.

Some dogs are attack dogs and are trained to run after somebody fleeing. Some dogs, terriers I believe, instinctively do this. Stay still and they do not attack. But turn and run and they jump. 

The same might apply to cats and mice.

I have also read about a lion on a leash, jumping at a woman who was going to pose for a photo, but she slipped on wet leaves and fell in front of the lion. The sudden movement made the animal leap at her. (This happened in Malaysia. I never pose for photos with a wild animal.)

Think about such situations. Imagine you are the person holding a weapon. Somebody who you suspect, or don't suspect, suddenly jumps, either towards you or away from you. Your instinct is to run after them and throw something at them to stop them.

Why not let them get away? You might give up, from inertia, or hope that trouble has been alerted.

On the other hand, with adrenalin and instinct, you might still be in fight mode.

Using rationality, you might say, danger averted, stop chasing and fighting. 

On the other hand, using rationality, or instinct, you might think this is just a ruse, a lull, and that it is an omen of worse to come or an ongoing fight. What if a person on foot who has burgled your house leaves the front and comes round to the back or side of the house? What if they are now in fight mode and come back tomorrow, or tonight after dark, intending to take you by surprise, to continue whatever trouble they were up to (if no trouble they would have stopped and smiled and spoken softly or politely). What if they come back, angry, bent on revenge? Or just to prove that they are better, having been the victim or lose once, they now want to be the aggressor or winner?

If it's a traffic stop and they race away, maybe they are a criminal or terrorist. Maybe they have guns or weapons in the car. Maybe they have  a bomb. A dead body. A kidnap victim. Burglary tools. False documents, lack of insurance, a stolen vehicle. Under age. Drunk driver. Subnormal. A nutter. 

An experienced person, or a trained person, knows that to calm a situation you should remain calm, listen to the other person, be polite, agreeable, helpful, co-operative.

Unfortunately, the opposite view also prevails. 

One thing echoes in my mind. Fight or flight? If you cannot fight, keep still and quiet and do not antagonize the animal or human being. Do not make sudden movements which will make them instinctively jump at you.

 At least, with extra knowledge, you have more options.