07-05-2014, 01:52 PM
quote:
Originally posted by pahoated
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In fact, the original articles are being corrected, with Ellis' responses. As usual with flim-flam, the story keeps changing from the Ellis view. He now claims he is the corporation secretary for Village Green Society (another shell company) and he is not the land manager. Now, he says he did know about the illegal logging but didn't have anything to do with it. Guess we need to wait for next week for the next story.
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It is the job of the shill to spin doctor, so mission accomplished.
I also really don't appreciate being called a "shill."
Shame on me for thinking that, because I live right next door to Belly-Acres, and am far more impacted by their activities than nearly anybody else on Punaweb, I should have an opinion.
"Shill," "Flim-flam," and "shell companies" are all loaded words that are ambiguous enough to not be directly accusatory.
By definition, a shell company is one with no significant assets or operations.
VGS *owns* 10 acres, that everyone calls Belly-Acres. VGS stands for Village Green Society. It is a 501©(4). Thirty or so circus performers from around the world invested in it. So, it has an asset.
HVC is the Hawai'i Volcano Circus. It is a 501©(3) non-profit. It's a Kids Circus, for crying out loud. It owns a building: a pavilion that everyone calls SPACE. So, it has an asset AND an operation.
A "shill" by definition is someone who acts as an enthusiastic customer of a swindler to entice others, without disclosing the close relationship with the swindler.
Since I've disclosed that I'm a neighbor, and it's really no secret that I have kids in the circus, I don't see how you could call me a shill.
Hope you are well,
T.