At the border, you completed the Form 1 which they submitted to RIV after you paid your fee.  You then have to wait for RIV to send you the RIV inspection form which identifies modification and inspection requirements specific to your vehicle.  Sometimes you have to wait a while, do not start making modifications to your vehicle until you receive this form, it will tell you what needs to be done.  Like I said before, it is usually only simple things like child tether anchorages and daytime running lights (if applicable).

You can track the status of your inspection form here and print it out to take to your inspection.

The RIV inspection is performed at most Canadian Tires throughout BC, it usually does not take a long time and they only look to make sure the modifications on the list have been satisfied.

The next step is getting your Provincial Inspection completed.  This can be done at Canadian Tire as well or at a plethora of other places such as body repair centers, car dealers/junk yards etc.  I would recommend getting it done at some backyard place because the people at Canadian Tire are sticklers and they wont let you pass unless the car is at 100%.  They will offer to make it a 100% for you though, for a small fee You get the picture.  If the brakes are a little worn, or the tires are a balding, or the wipers don’t work; they won’t pass you at Canadian Tire.  Usually the smaller guys are a little more lenient and you can at least register the car and perform the work needed at your own pace.  That is my experience.

Note:  If your car has any severe modifications done to it, i.e. huge lift kits, body kits, lowered, aftermarket brakes/suspension… they could hassle you.  At Canadian Tire, they probably will hassle you.  Things like that are deemed “unsafe” and you may have to revert your car back to factory specs for it to pass.  Of course, this is only in the extreme cases.  If your car has rims and an exhaust, i’m sure no one will bug you; but if it looks like a car from Fast and the Furious, you may be in trouble!

After the Provincial inspection, it’s off to ICBC.  If your a good organizer, you could make appointments and, assuming your car is safe, pass both inspections in one day.  The good news is you don’t need aircare the first time you register your out-of-province car.  Next year though, all the aircare rules apply!  So you just drive the car to autoplan, the agent may or may not get out to look at it (for the windshield, to see if its broken), and your done! Yay

You will get a decal in a few weeks which you have to put on the windshield of your car, it states that it has passed provincial inspection and you are all good.

Enjoy your car and your money savings!!!

Here is a big money saving tip, if you want to get ripped off…. I mean if you really want to get ripped off. Buy a car from a Canadian car dealer. Its no wonder that they are referred to as “stealerships” instead of dealerships because, literally; they earn a living off of screwing you. Canadian car dealers are importing cars by the semi-trailer, day after day. Why is that? Because the car and truck market in British Columbia is an inflated bubble, much like our real estate market. They buy cars in the United States, swap out the speedometers, and tack on an extra $7000. You can save 20% to 30% of your next car purchase by simply driving 30 minutes across the border. The last three cars I have owned, I have saved over $16000 combined by importing the cars myself and skipping the dealer. The best part is, the process is simpler than you think. If you follow the steps below, you can have your car across within a couple of days. I have helped my friends buy cars, helped with the transfer process, and I have saved them thousands.  I have brought dozens of cars across the border, and I want to help you save money too!

First step:

1. Check to see if the car/truck is admissible into Canada.  If the vehicle is older than 15 years (based on date of manufacture), it is admissible.  If it is not 15 years or older, then check to see if it is allowed.  I know, it is silly.  They automatically let the old relics in, but some newer vehicles are deemed inadmissible due to “safety concerns.”  But hey, give it a few years and once those vehicles pass the 15 year mark, they too are admissible.  Just another way for the government to make money.  Bureaucracy = $$$.  It’s for your safety of course

Aside from that, before even contacting the buyer, it is better not to waste each others time; check to see if the car you want to import is even allowed into Canada. It might seem like common sense that every car allowed in the US is also suitable for Canada. The answer is NO. Check to make sure that both the year and the model of your car are admissible.  That is an important one.  If you purchase a car that is inadmissible, they will not let you import it.  The good news is that there is a government run website (Registrar of Imported Vehicles) where you can check just that.  It is also updated periodically so you can assume the information on there is correct and current.  Again, if your car is not on the list, you cannot fight or appeal to import it.  There has never been a successful attempt and you will be denied.

Check admissibility here and you should also call to confirm by phone if you are unclear.

EVEN IF THE CAR IS ADMISSIBLE, SOME VEHICLES REQUIRE MODIFICATIONS TO THEM SO THEY PASS THE TRANSPORT CANADA SAFETY INSPECTION. IT WILL SAY ON THE RIV WEBSITE IF/WHAT MODIFICATIONS NEED TO BE DONE.  SOME MODIFICATIONS MAY COST THOUSANDS, AND IT MIGHT NOT BE WORTH YOUR WHILE.  CHECK THE LIST CAREFULLY TO MAKE SURE THE YEAR/MODEL OF THE VEHICLE IS ADMISSIBLE AND NO MAJOR MODIFICATIONS NEED TO BE DONE.

In my experience, the only modification I had to do were daytime running lights on every car that I imported (Canada requires it, but not standard in most US cars).  I also had to install child seat tethers on a Dodge once (you can buy it as a kit from Chrysler).

IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you interested in importing MERCEDES-BENZ and BMW/MINI vehicles.  To get your vehicle inspected with transport Canada, you must obtain a recall clearance letter from the automobile manufacturer.  This is mandatory, you need this to pass the inspection.  Mercedes-Benz and BMW in their graciousness to squeeze every penny out of you, deny recall clearance letters to those who do not get the necessary modifications performed at their stealerships.  So they install daytime running lights, child seat anchorages, install metric speedo labels; charge you a couple thousand for a few hours work and still come ahead of the game.  Shame on the Canadian government for letting this happen, but what can you do.  My approach is to boycott them entirely. There are far better luxury cars out there in my opinion (Lexus, Acura, Audi) that don’t require you to go to their stealerships for the recall letter.  Anyways, there is more info about the recall letter later on in the inspections section.

2. The second step, if the car you are interested in is newer and still under warranty, you should check to see if it will be honored in Canada.  You can check it out here.  Some manufacturers will honor the US warranty in Canada and some will not.

3.  The third step is to see if their are any liens on the vehicle.  A lien is a notice that a loan has been taken out and the vehicle is being used as collateral.  A lien always stays with the vehicle, even if it is sold.  In other words, if you buy a car with a lien on it and the loan defaults, they can seize your car to pay for the outstanding amount owed.  You can order a carfax or see the title, either one should have the lien reported on it.  It is always  a good idea to check for a lien whether you buy a used car in Canada or the United States; you never know.

4.  Ok, so now you did your research.  The car is admissible, there are no liens, and you have come to an agreement on a price with the seller.  Once you sign the transfer papers, the car is in your name!  If anything happens to it, it is your responsibility.  Now is a good time to buy insurance for it. You cannot buy US insurance for the car unless you register it at the state DMV.  To register it, you have to pay state taxes.  In short, DO NOT REGISTER IT.  Call ICBC at 1-800-328-4484 or go to an autoplan broker if your in BC.  They will issue you an insurance binder which covers your vehicle so it can be driven back through Canada and the US.  This Binder expires as soon as you enter BC, after which you need to go to an autoplan broker and get a temporary operating permit before driving it across the border.

5. Now, you need to export the car from the United States.  This is a mandatory step required by the US government.  You need to submit the export documentation 72 hours prior to showing up at the border

The following is an excerpt of what you need:

REQUIRED EXPORT DOCUMENTS IN ADDITION TO ANY BILL OF SALE (19CFR192):

1. Original title, front & back. This includes flood, rebuilt, salvage, etc.
2. Copy of title certified by state DMV/DOL. Certifications by notary publics, Insurance agents, lending institutions, and other private organizations are not acceptable.
3. Original title abstract, printout, or letter issued by state DMV/DOL bearing an original state certification.
4. Original Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO) for newly manufactured vehicles not yet issued a title.
5. Written documentation that the vehicle does not require a title. A citation from state, motor vehicle regulations or a letter from a DMV/DOL official will satisfy. In addition, the exporter must certify in writing that the purchase is a bona-fide transaction and the vehicle is not stolen.
6. If the title shows ownership by any party other than the exporter and does not show release of interest, the exporter must provide an original letter of the owner’s lettehead granting permission to export. This letter must fully identify the vehicle and provide contact information for the lien holder or owner.

In other words, you need to present a bill of sale and the original US title of the vehicle for processing.  You should  read up on the details (hours of operation, where and when to check up on progress, etc…) here on this .PDF: blaine information packet

Then print and fill out this: blaine export worksheet

The main point you should know is that you need to submit the papers AT LEAST three working days before exporting and THE CAR HAS TO STAY IN THE USA DURING THIS TIME, NO EXCEPTIONS! You should call to make sure all the paperwork is done and everything is OK before showing up at the border.  I find the best way to do it is after you pay for the car, fax the worksheet, bill-of sale, and title right away.  Then, as the vehicle is in transit, the documents should clear.  All you need to do is show up with the vehicle being exported at the US border when all the docs are clear.  Someone will come out, check the VIN, stamp your form and you are good to go.  If the documents cannot clear before you arrive at the border, the car will need to stay in the USA until they do.  You can store the car for a small daily fee at Yorkey’s Gas Station in Blaine.  The location and contact info is in the information packet I have attached above.  That is where I have stored all the cars I have imported to date (when I had too).  Like I said before, you need to fax the papers to customs at least three business days before you plan to export. If you faxed the info on a Thursday, for example, including the weekend, you can probably export it by next Thursdays.  Its a pain but it has to be done.

6.  After getting the export form stamped, its off to the Canadian border.  Tell them at the border crossing that you are importing a car and they will steer you in the proper bay.  You will then pay the proper taxes (GST and PST), duty (if applicable) and a RIV fee (depends on what you import, but around $200).  You can pay this fee with debit, credit card, or cash at the border. They will inspect the car and issue a form 1.  Now you can drive your car home!  Make sure you went to autoplan before-hand and bought a temporary operating permit, the binder expires once you enter BC.

Note: Foreign built cars (cars that are not manufactured in North America) are subject to duty.  So if you are buying a domestic – Ford, Doge, Chevy, and some models of Honda, Toyota, etc that are built in North America- you do not pay the duty.  The rate varies from country to country of vehicle origin, so it best to call Canada Customs and check to avoid a surprise later on.

Congratulations, the vehicle is now in Canada!  The next section Inspecting and Registering your vehicle, will deal with Transport Canada and ICBC inspection procedures.

]]> http://cynicalpinnacle.com/?feed=rss2&p=65 0 http://cynicalpinnacle.com/?p=61 http://cynicalpinnacle.com/?p=61#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:41:44 +0000 admin http://cynicalpinnacle.com/?p=61

Starting July 1, 2010, the residents of British Columbia will be paying 7% extra on food, bottled water, drinks, and a plethora of other things that were previously exempt from the PST (provincial sales tax). Historically, consumers pay a mandatory GST (Government Sales Tax) of currently 5%.  Certain items such as food, primarily the important one for low income families, were not taxed the extra 7% of the PST.

The federal government is offering BC 1.5 billion dollars in an effort to implement the HST and streamline tax collection.  I support the fact that they want to eliminate a whole level of bureaucracy by amalgamating the GST and the PST, but I am outraged that, at the same time, they decide to strike a few key things off the non-taxable column.

Food is a basic necessity of life, it should not be taxed.  PERIOD.

Water is a basic necessity of life, it should not be taxed.  PERIOD.

Air is a basic necessity of life, it should not be taxed.  PERIOD. (Carbon tax???)

Do you see the trend?  Because I do….

I am appalled at the governments insolence and nonchalant attitude when it comes to the poor of this province.  They’re main arguing point over the HST is that it will save BUSINESSES billions of dollars in accounting and operating costs.  Ok, fair enough.  If you implemented the HST just as the PST and GST are now, exempting the same things, but charging one tax instead of two on the things that were previously exempt.  I could see how that saves time and accounting money.

Another arguing point is that when businesses save the extra $$$ they will pass it onto consumers as saving.  Don’t hold your breath on that one.

In a recent TD Bank survey of small business owners, they asked “…what changes, if any, their company made over the past year, small business owners in B.C said they reduced their operating costs (40%, same as national stat).”

Now would a business, struggling to stay afloat in the recession, trying to reduce its operating costs; offer a (lets be liberal now) 5% savings to consumers?  The answer is probably not.

Here is an excerpt from the Province of British Columbia website, and it states:

“Under the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) most taxes paid on business inputs are refunded to the business, and those savings can be passed on to consumers.”

Ok, now let me tell you how it really works.  The guy who installs your hardwood floors, windows, garbage disposal… instead of only charging you 5% GST on labor, he now charges you 12% HST.  At the end of the year, he would get a GST rebate from the government, but now since he charges you 7% more, he can claim more; therefore getting a larger rebate at the end of the year $$$.  The government,   always looking out for you, says “they will pass the savings down to you.”

And, once again lets assume that for the sake of argument, they DO pass the savings down to you.

Every single time you buy a hamburger.  Every single time you put food on your family’s table.  Every single time you decide you take your kids out for their birthday, you will be charged 7% extra.

Sounds like a good deal to me!

Food is a necessity, you cannot survive without it.  If you don’t have that extra 7% to pay you will starve, simple as that.  You wont care about saving on double paned windows, real wood flooring or if your toilets even work (that is if businesses, in their infinite righteousness, decide to pass any savings to you) .  You will care about feeding your family.

The 2009 holidays was a record year for food banks as they had a greater demand for food than ever.  That should tell the government something….

All in all, while a good gesture, the HST fails in many ways.  As if simple amalgamation would not have been enough, why not tax food as well. Open the door for the taxation of other things.  Maybe a Clean Water Tax (CWT) or a Clean Air Tax (CAT) it will save businesses billions (the ones who’s waste did it in the first place) and create thousands of jobs i.e. you get to keep your job instead of starving.

I plead to you, if you are the 98% who do not control the wealth in this province, DO NOT SUPPORT THE HST!  It is a cash grab disguised as a money saving front.  You will only stand to lose from it.

2010 will be an unprecedented tax year for Vancouverites as they prepare themselves for the upcoming HST and increased property taxes. But hey, we will have a retractable roof over GM place!

In a city where just a few blocks away, thousands of homeless people are freezing to death with a cardboard roof over their heads. Where libraries and schools are shutting down because we cannot afford to pay for teachers or books. In a city where hospital wait times are measured in hours…

We, in our infinite wisdom, decide to put a 458 million dollar roof on a structure that wasn’t designed to support that sort of roof in the first place. Forget the cost-benefit analysis, forget the fact that your trying to push a square peg through a round hole, forget using common business sense; lets do it in the familiar Vancouver fashion we’ve alarmingly accepted with little complaint. If they can do it, why not? That is their line of thinking. Sure, we can repair the existing roof; but that would only be a temporary solution. Albeit in the times we are in right now, maybe even the “smart” solution.

Lets see what other options we have:

• Repair the existing roof (~25 years old)
• Replace the old roof with a new one
  • Same as the existing one
  • Upgrade to a new style roof
• Demolish and replace BC place

Lets look at repairing the existing roof:  Estimates have suggested that repairing the torn roof  could be well into the tens-of-millions of dollars range.  The current roof is aging and could need replacement soon, so perhaps, it might not be the smartest choice.

Now, lets look at replacing the roof:  For another roof to be installed, similar to the one already on BC place, the costs would be 100 to 15o million dollars based on preliminary estimates.  The project would have fallen well within these numbers because it would be a “bolt off – bolt on” type of thing.  The buildings original design was that for an “air supported” roof.  Now it doesn’t take a civil engineer to realize that an air supported roof weighs virtually nothing compared to steel.  The part that people overlook is that the original BC place was designed for just that, an air supported roof.  Installing a retractable roof would be like ripping the roof off your sedan and replacing it with a convertible top.  Yes, it is that silly!  Imagine all the extra bracing you would have to install just to make the car safe and drivable.  Would it be worth your while?  Of course not!  You could just buy a new convertible for the same cost of converting your car! Which brings me to my next point….

Replacing the building:

Lets do a case study, for sake of argument.  Did you know that the former RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN was the sister building to BC place?

The RCA Dome was faced with a similar predicament and, as a result, was torn down in 2008.  In its place, the city erected the Lucas Oil Stadium and expanded the Indiana Convention Center.  The total cost was in the 720-million USD range.  Keep in mind, that this is now a state-of-the-art facility, expected to generate 2.25 billion in economic benefit to the region and add thousands of jobs.  The venue also hosts a NFL foot-ball team which contributed 150-million to its construction.  Also, Lucas Oil products purchased the naming rights to the venue for another 120-million.  That is 270 million that tax payers don’t have to pay; which…… brings the price down to about, you guessed it, 450-million!

Almost the same price as replacing our roof, and for what?  We still have a substandard venue, the building is still almost 30 years old, it will have to be “updated” soon as well.  For those of us who have done renovations in the past, we know that updating doesn’t come cheap.  Sometimes you are better off to build new than to update a deprecated structure.  Oh, and by the way, the new Lucas Oil Stadium features… you guessed it- a retractable roof!

Of course, even before we look at possible “smart” alternatives, we have to consider some sort of budget.  Above all, one should keep the interests of tax payers in mind before anyone.  We are the ones paying the bill expecting some sort of future benefit in return.

Imagine a teenager whose parents offered to buy them a car.  Given an unlimited budget, the teen will surely go for the luxury sports car over the economical alternative.  After all, are not the parents to blame?  It is their duty as principals to know what is the best choice. Give a monkey an unlimited budget and eventually he will build Rome, that is not the point. How long will be stand by and watch our money be wasted away by the brainless politicians running this province. What grand benefit will we reap as a civilized society with the addition of a half-billion dollar roof to BC place.

BC Place is a provincial business and it should be run as such.  Do you think the employees of PavCo.  (the crown corporation that operates BC place) want BC place torn down and replaced with a new structure.  Of course not, many of them will be out of high paying jobs for years until the new dome is complete.  And, of course, I digress… I forgot the Olympics!  Without BC place to host the opening ceremonies, where would be!  Why not though, since the public is paying anyway, spend horrendous amounts of money replacing the roof with an unneeded, unsightly, half-a-billion dollar monstrosity.  Who cares if none of us who are actually paying for it, benefit from it!  I can see the future now, to my dismay that is.  The 450-million dollar roof will surely run into construction over-runs, like I said before- the building was never designed for a roof such as the one they want to install.  It will cost somewhere in the 500-millions.  Five years down the road, BC place will be sold to a private American company for pennies on the dollar… CN Rail, BC Hydro ring a bell?  And as always, the taxpayers will be left paying the debt for the next 20 years.

Even now I can see the drivel frothing at the mouth in anticipation of all the Madonna concerts and auto shows that will grace our province.  The new roof will do nothing to attract new business and events, other than those they already host.  Seriously, you think BC Place will be the only stadium with a retractable roof?  Ill let you decide which of the above options is the smart way to go.

Its about time someone took accountability for their actions.  How long will we stand back and let our investments be mismanaged?  Its time we do something to secure our future, rather than turn a blind eye to benefit from the present.

The answer to today’s question is none what so ever!

Vancouver is now facing a 20-million dollar budget deficit coming into 2010. Over 150 layoffs to the city’s workforce is expected, along with closure of the children’s petting zoo at Stanley Park and the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park.

To cover the massive shortfall, the mayor of Vancouver’s controversial 2010 budget proposes an increase in residential taxes to offset the impacts of the recession on Vancouver’s business community. Ironically, Mayor Gregor Robertson is a business owner himself, creator of B.C.’s Happy Planet Foods. The move aims to give businesses a tax break in rough times while offsetting operating costs to the public.

Vancouver home owners are expected to shoulder a 4% increase in property taxes while, at the same time, absorbing cuts in public services. Effectively, residential taxes will increase 2%, while business taxes will decrease 2%.

Timing is everything….

The Olympic supporters are quick to pull out their trumpets and applaud the visionary talents of our politicians when beautifully written statistical graphs show herds of black arrows, all pointing up. Pretty pie-charts and elaborate graphs highlighting optimistic trends. All promoting the hundreds of ways BC businesses will benefit from the Olympics and their spending. 2010 was touted as being a record year for local businesses, and now this?

As if the HST wasn’t enough, as if the record high real estate prices are not enough; now we are being punished by giving a tax break to businesses in a year when they are expected to reap record profits. This, of course, is to create new jobs. Specifically, the budget’s aim is to help “small businesses.”

I hate to break out the statistics, but math never lies. How many of us are small business owners? According to BC stats, only 1 in 5, or about 20% of the workforce are self-employed and/or small business owners, or 425000 out of 2.3 million in the workforce.

In reality, this new budget proposal will help the privileged 20%, the 20% who make the most in the first place, and place the burden on the other 80% that work for them. Need I mention the minimum wage in this province is a joke, $8 per hour (the lowest in the country) with arguably the highest cost of living. (5% of the BC workforce earns minimum wage btw). So the next time you pay your abhorrently high property taxes, and your boss leaves you with a stack of papers on his quarterly trip to the Bahamas… think of this article.

And remember, voting is like picking your favorite cancer.

Not surprisingly, on June 1^st 2009, General Motors Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  It was only a month before that its smaller rival, Chrysler LLC did the same.  GM and Chrysler are two of the “Big Three” American car manufacturers, with Ford Motor Corp. being the third.  The outcome was inevitable.  GM has failed to turn a profit since 2005 and along with being overwhelmed with an enormous debt load; failed to sell enough products to pay for their obligations.

This follows after the US government, under the Obama administration, gave GM Corp. 20 billion dollars of taxpayers’ money in part of a structured bankruptcy plan in which, according to the terms, another 30 billion is soon to come.  In a recent telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports, only 21% of voters nationwide support a government funded bailout and an astounding  56% say that it would be better to let GM go out of business.

Obama is quoted as saying in a speech about the bankruptcy that current Americans are making a sacrifice so future generations can “grow up in an America that still makes things, that still builds cars.”

The problem with what he is saying is that GM has an international operations base; unlike Chrysler LLC which is predominantly North American based.  In this article from Autonet, it states that GM plans build cars in China to sell in the U.S.   The article is quoted as saying that, “By 2014, exports would triple to more than 51,000 [cars].”  Up from the roughly 17000 units it plans to sell by 2010.

Like Obama, I too would like an America that still builds things.  After all, how do we, the tax payers, benefit from products built in China? The simple answer is we do not.  Our tax money goes to bail out GM, which than slowly shifts its manufacturing base from North America to China.  Americans lose thousands of jobs while fronting 50 billion in tax dollars to pay for foreign labor and executive salaries.  It is not in our benefit to merely have a corporate head office in the United States.  If the manufacturing is outsourced, which will likely be the case, the bailout money will not be coming back into our pockets.

According to this article by CNN, GM will temporarily shutdown 13 of its 20 North American plants for the summer; a result of too much inventory.  It has already permanently shutdown many of its “boutique” plants that cater to special models such as the Pontiac Solstice.  In order to prevent further permanent shutdowns, GM will have to sell off their burgeoning inventory.   If history repeats itself, despite all the restructuring and bailouts, and they fail to sell their product; GM will be picked apart at last.  It is up to the tax payers to continue buying GM products for the company to survive.  The problem with that scenario is that nothing has really changed from last year to now.  Without new technologies and products being introduced, how will GM convince buyers to purchase their product instead?  They cannot stick to their old business plan and hope for a miracle.  From what I gather, they simply hope to outsource production, eliminate unsuccessful models and survive with the extra money they earn doing this.  The real victims in this whole sham are the unemployed factory workers and taxpayers whose money will fund another blunder.  The current administration should listen to tax payers and let capitalism take its course.  It is not the first time, and surely will not be the last, when a large corporation will dissolve.  GM had its chance; you reap the seeds you sow.

Background History:
The Korean War was a direct result of a North Korean invasion of the South after attempts to reunify Korea under a central government failed.  Each side was supported by external powers and the conflict expanded, becoming a proxy war in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.   Chinese forces entered the war and allied with the North to repel the joint U.S. and South Korean counterattack.

North Korea stated today that is was officially discarding the 1953 armistice agreement signed at the end of the 1950 to 1953 Korean War.  The Armistice is a signed agreement between the United Nations, the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers.  It technically signaled the cease fire and the end of the Korean War, but neither party has ever formally signed a peace treaty.  It was primarily instrumental in the establishment of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at approximately the 38^th parallel.  The DMZ is a 2 mile wide, 160 mile long buffer zone between North and South Korea.  For the most part, it exists to prevent the occurrence of incidents which might lead to a resumption of hostilities.  It is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world.

An official statement issued by the North Korean state-controlled news agency threatened military action in response to South Korea’s decision of joining a United States naval effort to intercept and possibly seize freighters that are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction.  Adding fuel to the fire, Seoul’s government announced that it was joining the Proliferation Security Initiative aimed at prohibiting nuclear, chemical and biological weapons shipments.

North Korea interjected with the statement, “Any hostile act against our peaceful vessels including search and seizure will be considered an unpardonable infringement on our sovereignty and we will immediately respond with a powerful military strike.”

Tensions are already high after the UN scrambled to impose a new round of sanctions on Pyongyang in response to the successful detonation of a nuclear weapon device.

“We are going to add to the consequences that North Korea will face,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

It is interesting to note that throughout a span of almost 50 years, the US has detonated over 1150 nuclear devices. It is the only country with tactical nuclear missiles outside its borders; deployed in seven different NATO countries.  And more importantly, is the only country to have used nuclear weapons on human beings in the history of warfare, killing over 220000 people; the overwhelmingly majority of which were civilians.

According to Russian sources, the North Korean underground blast was approximately as strong as the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  It was only a month ago that the North successfully fired a multistage intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of hitting a target thousands of miles away.

Unconfirmed media outlets in the South report that North Korea has restarted its nuclear fuel reprocessing at Yongbyon, which was supposed to have been dismantled in return for massive aid for its people.

The fact is, lying is part of everyday human life; a condition of life. Newly dating couples lie to each other in about a third of their interactions. People tell lies to make one another feel better. All of us have lied to a friend at one point or another. Everyone can think of a lie that they told to make their friends feel better; it even might make you feel better. All of us have told lies to our parents, even at a young age. College students lie to their mom in one of every two conversations. People tell lies all the time and sometimes they don’t even know it. I bet that you would rather tell your boss that a traffic jam was the reason you are late, even though you might have slept in.

Until recently, little or no psychological studies were done pertaining to the complex and very common phenomenon of lying. Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, wrote little or nothing about the subject. Nietzsche mentions deception as a “… legitimate technique of — indeed, even as a sign of — the higher type of human being.” We can rationalize that natural selection favors calculated deception. After all, a complex brain and intricate thought patterns are required to weave elaborate lies.
The question still remains whether lying is a product of deliberate choice or just plain instinct. Scientists need not look further then the Chimpanzee, the closest living relative to a human, to find evidence of deliberate deception and subterfuge. Chimps in captivity have been observed at faking an injury in order to trick their opponent that they are hurt. Some have even held out there hand, a friendly gesture, before attacking with their other one. Like humans, they deliberately choose to lie in order to trick one another.
There is clear evidence that, despite their reduced cerebral capacity, many other animals and even insects deceive to survive or get ahead.

The Piping Plover, a small long legged shorebird, is known to pretend it is injured to lure predators away from its nest and young. When the predator is distracted with the prospect of an easy meal, the Plover gets up and flies away. The Plovers also hit the ground with their feet, tricking worms into thinking the noise is rain. The worms then slither up to the surface where they are eaten by Plovers.

Families of birds called the Brood Parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and do not provide any parental care to their offspring. The unsuspecting host bird is left to patiently incubate the eggs and feed the young until they are ready to fend for themselves. Some Parasites lay eggs in the nests of other Broods in the same species while others lay eggs in the nests of other species and have completely lost the ability to construct nests and incubate eggs. Some species of Cowbirds even remove some of the host eggs to give their bigger, stronger offspring a better chance.

Western Scrub Jays are known to cache food for future consumption when hunting is scarce. Other Scrub Jays are famous for stealing these caches, thereby getting a free meal at the cost of others. Scrub Jays have adapted by remembering which individual watched them when they buried their cache, coming back at a later time to rebury the food in secret. They also alter their caching routine accordingly in the presence of other Jays; to minimize theft.

A good example of simple minded trickery is that of the male Scorpion Flies. They first acquire a dead insect, a mating gift, which they hold in their hind legs and fly from female to female; advertising their success. If the female is impressed with the offering, she starts to feed on the insect while the male copulates with her. They are sometimes tricked into losing their gift when other male Scorpion Flies, imitating and posing as females, steal their prey. Thinking they are giving a gift to a prospective mate, the losing male relinquishes his prize. The thieves then use the insect to attract a mate of their own, often with more success than the loser.

These are just some of many cases that suggest deception being a product of natural selection rather than choice. It is even suggested that humans who lied and deceived were far more likely to survive and pass on their genes then those who did not. Lying, and the ability to tell if someone is lying, is part of the reason our brains are so complex.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu states that, “All warfare is based on deception. Never will those who wage war tire of it… Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.” Whole wars are fought and empires have fallen based on lies. Hitler’s false flag attack, the burning down of his own Reichstag, was pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany. It gave Germany a reason to declare war and persuaded the German people that a Communist revolution was on the horizon.

Governments spend fortunes on foreign espionage, which is essentially based on deception and coercion. Most of us are familiar with the terms double, or triple agents; someone who pretends to spy on a target organization on behalf of a controlling organization but in fact is loyal to the target organization. Lying is an art form to some; it takes a certain skill to intricately weave stories on demand.

Researchers at UCLA have evidence that self deception, or lying to yourself, is an important part of mental health. Those of us who suffer from depression are less likely to tell lies and more likely to detect when we are being lied too. This is because they perceive reality with far greater accuracy then others. Depressed people delude themselves far less than those who are in good mental health.

No matter why we do it, lying will forever be an integral part of human life. One can say that we are inherently flawed because of this but can you imagine a life where everyone is always honest? It would be difficult, at best, to maintain any sort of relationship and we all know that some things are better off unsaid.