86 Isn't Enough

This is another installment in my "corporate greed" rant...

As if reaching 86 year of age is not enough, a close friend of mine just got another present in her mail. The "present" was a little notice from Chase, saying that her APR (Annual Percentage Rate) was going up on her credit card. The bank cited that "We are sending you this notice to let you know that we will be making some changes to your credit card account in response to market conditions and to maintain profitability on your account." Basically, these changes amounted to raising her finance charge on current and future balances by 2.24 percent. That may, of course, not sound like much, but, on a balance over $1,000 and over the time of the "loan" it really adds up... Luckily, my friend has her current balance of just under $7,000 in one of those promo APRs card companies have been issuing lately. This one is zero percent for six months and and then raises after. Some luck, huh... My thought all along has been the credit cards are inherently evil anyway... They hide out in places such as South Dakota and Delaware because these are the main States that have either weak or no "usury laws" meaning there is no cap on the interest rate that is charged. Check the return address on your statement, you may notice your credit card issuer is located in a State such as South Dakota or Delaware. There is even a top ten list of States where credit card companies are located. The federal government once had national usury laws that set a cap on the amount of interest that could be charged on a loan. After the Great Depression, it repealed them and some States put no new usury laws in place. That's why Citibank, the issuer of Mastercard, moved to South Dakota, which has no cap on interest rates. See the map below.
More to come...
Seraph

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Report, Korea News Service

Photo, Kim Jong Il

Just some interesting raw "news" from North Korea's KCNA news agency and Korea News Service (KNS) on how they are reporting about the present joint South Korean and USA military maneuvers. I guess the real news is all of the specific data they are including in this report.
Seraph

"KPA Supreme Command Orders All Its Servicepersons to Be Fully Combat Ready-
Pyongyang, March 9 (KCNA) -- The Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army released the following report on Monday as regards the madcap Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises for aggression kicked off by the gangster-like U.S. imperialists and the warmongers of the puppet military of south Korea:

The joint military exercises to be staged from March 9 to 20 will reportedly involve more than 26,000 U.S. imperialist aggression troops present in south Korea and overseas and hundreds of thousands of troops including the army corps, fleet command and units as big as flying corps of the puppet army of south Korea, super-large nuclear-powered carrier George Washington and Stennis task force of the U.S. imperialist aggressor navy made up of four Aegis cruisers, seven destroyers and nuclear-powered subs.

Prior to the exercises, the U.S. imperialists brought 12 F-16 fighter bombers and more than 400 air force personnel to the Suwon air force base in south Korea from their mainland earlier than scheduled and deployed dozens of overseas-based various type aircraft including fighter bombers, pursuit assault planes, electronic jamming planes and refueling tankers in the Osan and Kunsan air force bases.

B-52Hs, B-2As and F-22As have been deployed on Guam and other places around the Korean Peninsula to be ready to promptly go into action.

The U.S. imperialists and the warmongers of the south Korean puppet military more than doubled the period of the exercises as compared with that last year.

The exercises are something unprecedented in the number of the aggressor forces involved and in their duration. They are extremely adventurous ones for attack operation as they are characterized by arms buildup, infiltration into the rear, ground attack, coastal landing and surprise attack operations in contingency on the Korean Peninsula. They are, at the same time, a test war and nuclear war exercises for mounting surprise preemptive attacks on the DPRK from the land, sea and air.

A war will break out if the U.S. imperialists and the warmongers of the south Korean puppet military hurl the huge troops and sophisticated strike means to mount an attack on the DPRK while staging the above-said exercises.

The madcap Key Resolve and Foal Eagle are extremely adventurous and dangerous military provocations which can be seen only on the eve of a war and an undisguised military threat to the DPRK and a sort of a declaration of a war.

The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK have grown stronger thanks to the Songun politics under the care of the great illustrious commander of Mt. Paektu. They will never remain a passive on-looker to the prevailing situation now that dark clouds of war are gathering to hang over the homeland and armed clashes are imminent.

The KPA Supreme Command issued an order to all the servicepersons to be fully combat ready and follow every move of the aggressors with vigilance in view of the grave situation prevailing in the country and deal merciless retaliatory blows at them, should they intrude into the sky and land and seas of the DPRK even an inch.

This is a just measure for self-defence for protecting the sovereignty and dignity of the nation and Korean-style socialism as firm as an iron wall and a resolute stand and firm will of the strong revolutionary armed forces of Mt. Paektu to cope with the moves of the U.S. and the south Korean puppet warmongers to start a new war.

The army and people of the DPRK love peace and do not want confrontation and war.

Whenever the U.S. and the south Korean puppet authorities staged joint military exercises targeted against the DPRK, it drew their attention to their danger and served them warnings enough to help them understand it, repeatedly urging them to stop their reckless preparations for a war.

They, however, responded to our sincerity by blatant challenge and finally started the said madcap exercises aimed at launching the second Korean war.

All facts go to clearly prove that "stability" and "peace" on the Korean Peninsula touted by the U.S. imperialists are nothing but sophism and they are war maniacs seeking the escalated tension and war only and the arch criminals prodding the north and the south into armed conflicts.

This clearly proves once again that the pro-U.S. conservative group and warmongers of the puppet military of south Korea are a group of traitors seized with confrontation and war hysteria, staking their fate on outsiders in utter disregard of reconciliation and unity among Koreans, peace and reunification.

War maniacs should be dealt with arms, not with words.

Upon receiving the order of the KPA Supreme Command all the servicepersons of the KPA are fully determined to throw overboard the rubbish of history by fully displaying the inexhaustible mental power of the strong revolutionary army of Mt. Paektu and the might of the powerful arms built up under the Songun leadership.

There is no limit to the retaliatory measure of the KPA and no one can predict or evade it.

If the warmongers dare launch a war of aggression defying our repeated warnings, our revolutionary armed forces will counter it with resolute and merciless just war for reunification."

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Another Country Going Nuclear?

Iran has reportedly just tested an air to ground missile. This missile has a range of about 70 miles or 110 km and is to be carried primarily by Iranian fighter jets. Iran announced that it is to be used against attacks from ships near to Iran. That, of course, is only one use. The outspoken enemy of Iran, the government of Israel, is quaking in their boots at the thought that Iran would have such a weapon. The reason being, that this missile could deliver a nuclear strike at such a time that Iran goes nuclear. Iran also has had a ground to ground missile for some time now that can reach Israel. This all sounds a bit out of control until you see more of the full picture. The always in the media complainer (might I add, "big baby"), Israel, is nuclear and has threated states like Iran for years. They have sucked many billions out of countries like the USA to get war machines and there seems to be no limit. This tiny state, works overtime to bully the whole world. I am, of course, talking about the government of Israel and not the many peoples who live there. This is not a religious editorial, I repeat, NOT religious.
Below is from /www.sott.net/
"The outspoken president of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday accused the United States of demonizing Iran's president and criticized the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Sudan's leader for war crimes in Darfur."

"Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a Roman Catholic priest from Nicaragua with openly leftist views, also reiterated that the more he thinks about the conditions that Israel imposes on the Palestinians, the more he tends to think about apartheid..."
More Here
More later...
Seraph
for
NBMC

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Melt Down Or Profits Up?

So what about this "financial crisis?" Who started it, why and what do they gain? As, said and said across the media and by politicians, "plenty of blame to go around," but wait... Executives still jet around and banksters are on lavish paid vacations. So what could be going on in the background?? It is just good old fashioned GREED... I wrote earlier about the oil industry and now here I go with finance. As long as individuals and businesses need money, there will be some others who lay in wait to pad their own pockets. Take your pick as to whom these villains may be. Just add unscrupulous to their name... Sure, business is business and financial "institutions," need to get paid too. I like that word, "institution," don't you, it sounds so rock solid... Guess that is why they chose to use it. Getting paid for services rendered is one thing but as the TV show reporter says, "give me a break." One thing that has gone way wrong is the ability of banks and other money companies to gobble up others. As in the rest of corporate business, when powerful fish eat too many other less powerful fish they get an upset stomach and spit up on everyone around. In other words, their gluttonous greed poisons everyone. I could go on and on about this but I will close for now with just one more thought. My thought is, what do you think about all of this so called financial crisis. Contact me at my contact link or comment below.
Seraph

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Scan Me Up "Scotty"

Recently I watched a mini-series on PBS television where the fictional theme of the show was England in the not too distant future. In this future was a total police state where everyone was constantly and completely monitored. Citizens would be stopped on the streets and their hand scanned for identification. Instantly the police could know everything about the person being scanned. If that person was not liked for any reason by the government, they were detained and or arrested. Cameras with face recognition software were everywhere, including hidden in homes and businesses. People could not travel anywhere, even in their own city without permission. Well folks, welcome to that future, today... Now there is a fingerprint and palm scanner that is like the one in that "fictional" show. You can see one in the photo above. Very soon a small one, about the size of a cell phone, and wireless will be introduced. Face recognition cameras are being installed everywhere as I write this. Legislation giving birth to the US "National Id Card" with it's smart chip for tracking has been passed. This Id card will be everywhere in about 2010 to 2012.
Seraph

Here are some professions being scanned already.
Industries and professions who are currently required by law for employment verification and licensing. Some of those professions are:

* Adoptive Parents
* Certified Nurse Assistants
* Coaches
* Daycare Employees
* Driving Instructors
* Foster Parents
* Insurance Industry
* Nurses
* Realtors
* Teachers
* Bail Agents
* Notary
* Ambulance Drivers
* Attorneys
* HAZMAT Carriers
* Indian Gaming
* LCSW
* Lottery Ticket Sales
* Medical Field Technicians
* Pest Control Workers
* Pilots
* Pharmacists
* Psychologists
* Security Guards
* Stock Brokers
* Vehicles- Dealers
* Volunteers working with Children, Elderly or Handicapped

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Bright Congressional Ideas

Photo:
King Gov. Site


Rep. Peter King of New York, shown above, has introduced a bill,H.R.414 the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act, to congress that would make it mandatory for new camera phones to make a sound when a photo is taken... Come on, are there not more pressing issues? This is a man that likes to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic and wants you to stay on board to hear the band play... He also voted yes on January 22, 2009 to H RES 58 which was the ALL IMPORTANT issue of: "Commending the University of Florida Gators for winning the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game." Along with the rest of congress, he is right on top of things important to the USA...
Seraph
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Dumb and Dumber

Dumb and Dumber should be the new name for Washington, DC. Thanks be that DC is not a State because then we would have to take them seriously... When the founders conceived the Territory of Columbia, now known as the District of Columbia, it was intended only to be a central military base for the defense of the union and nothing more. After all, DC is only a ten mile square. So what went wrong??? Given enough time and neglect, most anything can get out of hand. My title and theme of Dumb and Dumber springs both from a reference to the idiots that "govern" from there and to the ignorant public who let them lord over them. The true founders of the union had had their fill of powerful central governments and certainly did not intend to form another one. It was and is people being led down the garden path by those who do not believe in "We The People" that has those founders spinning in their graves. By founders, I do not mean the "classic" ones that are held up and quoted daily. The founders that I speak of were the original ones that sat next to fireplaces in taverns and private homes dreaming and forming ideas for a totally new union. They did this long before the Revolution because even by the time of the war to break with Brittan, certain people were already tampering with the original intent for the union. The U.S. Constitution even set the groundwork for the mess the union is in today. In the case of the Territory of Columbia, it took less than a generation for it to slide right into the ditch, pulling the States with it. Instead of sticking hard to the concept of States rights to govern in a flexible union and leaving DC as non-governmental, just the opposite started to happen. Generation upon generation of citizens have ever since been duped into thinking that the United States of America "needs" a central government. The result, a nightmare and never ending night terrors for the entire planet from a run-a-muck schizophrenic monster. Need I say more???
Seraph
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Exxon Et al Have Record Profits

Photos, wikipedia.org

In the never ending quest for more consumer, business and government dollars, oil companies are reporting record profits for 2008. While almost all other companies are struggling and or going under lately, these companies thrive. One reason, of course, is we all need fuel and fuel bi-products. The other more blatant reason appears to be outright price gouging. If you go to the pumps today you will see increasing prices once again. Those prices are going up even when the cost of crude oil goes down. Reasonable thinking would tell you that if it costs less to acquire a raw product these companies should be able to sell for less. They bring up the cost of refining fuel as an issue. The real cost of refining is actually more of a constant, remaining much the same regardless of the cost of the crude. As an irony, refining costs only go up in relation to the final cost of refined fuel and oil going up at the retailers. I.e, if costs at the retail outlets goes up, then it costs more to transport fuel product, plus, refinery workers want higher pay to offset their own driving costs and on and on. To be fair, oil companies are not entirely to blame for crazy pricing. Wall Street, banks and others are also in the mix of this price gouging/fixing. Folks, greed did not end with the 80s... As a final thought, in a time when taking a bottle of water or a tube of toothpaste onto a plane is considered a national security threat, holding America to the fire with fuel price gouging is passed off as just fine... In other words, huge profiteering during a global financial crisis on a commodity that no one can do without is something that should be considered a national security threat.
Seraph
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The New York Stock Exchange
looking all so "respectful."