Supertramp
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Ancient aqueduct discovered in Jerusalem
An ancient aqueduct dating back to the second century has been discovered by archeologists.
Crackdown on credit cards starts Monday
Bans on double-cycle billing, rate hikes among provisions aimed at deceptive tactics.
U.S. consumers will get long-awaited relief from some of the most costly and deceptive credit card tactics when the sweeping provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 finally kick in on Monday.
The CARD Act, which President Barack Obama signed May 22, dramatically changes the way card issuers can profit from plastic.
Instead of arbitrary rate increases, exorbitant fees and murky calculations of interest charges, card companies must now be more transparent in establishing and disclosing the terms of their offerings, and, as a result, more prudent in the way they manage credit risk.
In response to the law, most issuers already have introduced a host of new fees and rate structures to recoup some of the revenue they will lose under the new rules. The changes will make credit not only harder to get, but also more expensive.
For example, 35 percent of the card offers mailed to U.S. households in the fourth quarter of last year carried annual fees. That's the highest percentage in 10 years, according to the marketing research firm Synovate. Those offers had an average annual interest rate of 13.5 percent, the highest in five years.
The CARD Act won't silence all consumer gripes about credit cards, but it will save cardholders billions of dollars and usher in, for many, a welcome new era of tougher industry scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators, consumer advocates and customers.
"What this says to the card industry is, 'Look, Congress has reset the playing field. The rules of the game have changed. Some of these practices that we know were harming consumers have to stop,'" said Nick Bourke, manager of the Safe Credit Cards Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
"Now the ball goes back to the industry, and they have to decide how to evolve their product."
The first phase of the law took effect last August. It required card issuers to provide 45 days' notice on interest rate increases and that billing statements be mailed at least 21 days before their due dates in order for late fees to be applied.
The changes that will take effect Monday are much stronger. With the exception of cards that have variable interest rates, the new rules ban rate hikes on existing balances unless the cardholder is at least 60 days past due.
If delinquent cardholders pay on time for six straight months, the law requires that their higher penalty rates be lowered to their previous interest rates.
This will save cardholders at least $10 billion a year, Bourke said. It's the most important change for consumers because it bans a number of punitive rate hikes on existing balances, including the infamous "universal default," in which a late payment on one account can trigger a rate increase on another one.
It's important to note, however, that lenders can still impose universal defaults and other penalty rate increases on new purchases. The CARD Act exempts only existing balances from such increases.
The new rules also require that card payments above the minimum monthly amounts go toward balances with the highest interest rates. Consent from cardholders also is required before fees can be assessed on transactions that exceed cards' credit limits. The law doesn't affect fees for late payments, however.
The new law prohibits a practice called "double-cycle billing," using the current and previous months' balances to determine the finance charge. For people with prepaid credit cards, typically those with poor credit histories, the law also limits fees in the first year to no more than 25 percent of the starting credit limit.
Most cardholders already have seen the effects of the new law in their February statements, which now are required to show how much it will cost and how long it will take to pay off balances by making only the minimum monthly payments, as opposed to paying them off in three years. Statements also must provide contact information for credit counseling services.
All Haitian 'orphans' had relatives
There is not one orphan among the 33 children that a U.S. baptist group tried to take from Haiti in a do-it-yourself rescue mission following a devastating earthquake.
Full StoryMost common mistakes on tax returns
Most common mistakes on tax returns
You might be amazed to know some of the dumbest goofs people make every year.
Must-have features for modern cars
Must-have features for modern cars
Small details like the one-touch power window can have a surprisingly big impact.
How to make millions before graduation
But what about after graduation?
How to make millions before graduation
These entrepreneurs created thriving businesses before they even finished college.
How to eat pasta and still drop pounds
How to eat pasta and still drop pounds
Enjoy pasta and all your favorite carbs by applying these two simple rules.
Where to find real estate steals
Where to find real estate steals
Housing prices dropped 52% in one metropolitan area, and there are even deals in the nation's capital.
Real Time New Rules: The Tea Party Isn't a Movement, It's a Cult
From Crooks and Liars:
Real Time is back and Bill Maher takes on the Tea Baggers in this edition of New Rules.
Liars and Fools
Liars and Fools today are:
Faux News talking head Ken Blackwell lies - "What we are witnessing right now" [in the Obama administration] is an anti-Christian programmatic pogrom" (a word which means an organized massacre, esp. of Jews).
It is utterly amazing these NAZIS keep spouting the same nonsense and thinking no one notices - they are still working on the 'final solution' and to throw people off they accuse everyone else of what they in fact themselves are doing.
Wingnuts don't see anything wrong when nice white, anti-government lunatics try to kill people.
They aren't 'colored' that's why.
Radicals on left and right coming to round up Beck, O'Reilly, Huffington, Olbermann and "shoot us in the streets" lies Faux's Glen Brick.
OK, from the right it is a distinct possibility - from the left, not so much
Faux News talking head Ken Blackwell lies - "What we are witnessing right now" [in the Obama administration] is an anti-Christian programmatic pogrom" (a word which means an organized massacre, esp. of Jews).
It is utterly amazing these NAZIS keep spouting the same nonsense and thinking no one notices - they are still working on the 'final solution' and to throw people off they accuse everyone else of what they in fact themselves are doing.
Wingnuts don't see anything wrong when nice white, anti-government lunatics try to kill people.
They aren't 'colored' that's why.
Radicals on left and right coming to round up Beck, O'Reilly, Huffington, Olbermann and "shoot us in the streets" lies Faux's Glen Brick.
OK, from the right it is a distinct possibility - from the left, not so much
Guns will be allowed in our national parks starting Monday
Loaded guns will be allowed in Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and other national parks under a new law that takes effect Monday.
The law lets licensed gun owners bring firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges as long as they are allowed by state law. It comes over the objections of gun-control advocates who fear it will lead to increased violence in national parks.
The national parks law takes effect in a climate that favors advocates of gun rights. The debate shifted dramatically in 2008, when the Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., and declared that individuals have a constitutional right to possess firearms for self-defense and other purposes.*****
And with the way the court is consistently wrong these days it will only get worse.
Woman Finds Unclaimed Insurance Check From 1978
An 85-year-old South Florida woman who went looking for a photo of her ex-husband says she found a $17,500 insurance claim check from 1978 instead.
*****
Want to be bet they won't honor it.
Want to be bet they won't honor it.
Paralyzed patient can't talk after all
It was heralded as a medical miracle.
After spending more than two decades in a vegetative state, Rom Houben, a Belgian man in his mid-40s, was suddenly able to communicate, news reports trumpeted last November.
Full StoryLiberals responsible for cleaning up conservatives' fiscal mess ...
... sound familiar?
No, no, no, not in Washington - in Athens.
Prime Minister George Papandreou’s Socialist government inherited this debt crisis. Over the previous five years, the conservative government recklessly expanded public payrolls. That kept unemployment down but ruined public finances and forced Athens to borrow more and more to pay the rising wage and pension costs.
Let's hope the Greeks do a better job than Democrats in the states of reminding their people, every single day, just who created this mess.
Humpty Dumpty's missing word
KKK Plans to Rally at Noon
Teabaggers by another name ...
The Klu Klux Klan is planning to gather in southern Georgia today.
KKK Plans to Rally at Noon
The Klu Klux Klan is planning to gather in southern Georgia today.
KKK Plans to Rally at Noon
The kangaroo court is now in session
The New York Times has an excellent investigative piece on the small-town judges of New York State. These judges are elected to office, need no legal training, have no oversight (many don't even keep court records), and have the power to imprison people for up to two years (and some accused have been kept in jail for many more years, waiting for a judge to call their cases), and collect millions in (unaudited) fines and penalties. The system is a shambles, and there have been calls for reform since the 1920s, with no movement to do anything about it, despite racist remarks, blatant violations of law, pursuit of personal vendettas from the bench and other grave misconduct. Judges send abused women back to their spouses ("Every woman needs a good pounding every now and then," quipped Donald R. Roberts, a former state trooper, now a judge in Malone, NY), lock up children, deny accused counsel, find accused guilty without a trial or a plea.
Reading this piece, you get the sense that the reporters struggled to winnow down the list of horrific abuses to fit the space -- the litany of absolutely nightmarish judicial behavior goes on and on and on and on.
And several people in the small town of Dannemora were intimidated by their longtime justice, Thomas R. Buckley, a phone-company repairman who cursed at defendants and jailed them without bail or a trial, state disciplinary officials found. Feuding with a neighbor over her dog's running loose, he threatened to jail her and ordered the dog killed...
In the Catskills, Stanley Yusko routinely jailed people awaiting trial for longer than the law allows -- in one case for 64 days because he thought the defendant had information about vandalism at the justice's own home, said state officials, who removed him as Coxsackie village justice in 1995. Mr. Yusko was not even supposed to be a justice; he had actually failed the true-or-false test...
In Mount Kisco, people who asked for the court's sympathy were treated to sarcasm: Justice Joseph J. Cerbone would pull out a nine-inch violin and threaten to play. Mr. Cerbone phoned one woman and talked her out of pressing abuse charges against the son of former clients, state records show. But it took eight years, and evidence that he had taken money from an escrow account, before the State Court of Appeals removed him in 2004 after a quarter-century in office.
The commission twice disciplined the town justice, Paul F. Bender of Marion, for deriding women in abuse cases. Arraigning one man on assault charges, he asked the police investigator whether the case was "just a Saturday night brawl where he smacks her and she wants him back in the morning..."
In 11 years as justice in Dannemora, in the North Country, Thomas R. Buckley had his own special treatment for defendants without much money: Even if they were found not guilty, he ordered them to perform community service work to pay for their court-appointed lawyers, although defense lawyers and the district attorney had reminded him for years that the law guaranteed a lawyer at no cost.
"The only unconstitutional part," he told the commission before it removed him in 2000, "is for these freeloaders to expect a free ride."
A headbutt spells danger in bee talk
The strange ritual warns fellow hive mates of danger at a food source.A headbutt spells danger in bee talk
Town to start billing $300 for 911 calls
From the "WTF!!!" Department:
Tracy, California residents will now have to pay every time they call 9-1-1 for a medical emergency.
But there are a couple of options. Residents can pay a $48 voluntary fee for the year which allows them to call 9-1-1 as many times as necessary.
Or, there's the option of not signing up for the annual fee. Instead, they will be charged $300 if they make a call for help.
"A $300 fee and you don't even want to be thinking about that when somebody is in need of assistance," said Tracy resident Greg Bidlack.
Residents will soon receive the form in the mail where they'll be able to make their selection. No date has been set for when the charges will go into effect.
Tracy, California residents will now have to pay every time they call 9-1-1 for a medical emergency.
But there are a couple of options. Residents can pay a $48 voluntary fee for the year which allows them to call 9-1-1 as many times as necessary.
Or, there's the option of not signing up for the annual fee. Instead, they will be charged $300 if they make a call for help.
"A $300 fee and you don't even want to be thinking about that when somebody is in need of assistance," said Tracy resident Greg Bidlack.
Residents will soon receive the form in the mail where they'll be able to make their selection. No date has been set for when the charges will go into effect.
Fewer people falling behind on home loans
The number of borrowers falling behind on their mortgage payments dropped at the end of last year, an early sign the foreclosure crisis could be ebbing.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday that the percentage of borrowers who missed just one payment on their home loans fell to 3.6 percent in the October to December quarter, down from 3.8 percent in the third quarter. The decline was especially remarkable because delinquencies usually rise at that time of year due to higher heating bills and holiday spending.
The Carolinas also saw declines although the level of 30-day delinquencies among the states’ homeowners remain higher than the national average.
The decline in late payments is significant because it means the number of people going into foreclosure could slow this year. And that is important for all homeowners in areas where cheaply priced foreclosures are bringing down neighboring values.
Jay Brinkmann, the trade group’s chief economist, said the report likely marks “the beginning of the end” of the wave of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures that started more than three years ago.
Still, more than 15 percent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage have missed at least one payment or are in foreclosure, a record for the 10th straight quarter. The Carolinas also saw increases in total delinquencies.
“The bad news is that we still have a big problem,” Brinkmann said. “The good news is it looks like it may not get much bigger.”
There will be, however, more short-term pain. The number of borrowers who were at least three months behind continues to soar. Nationally, more than 5 percent of borrowers fell into that category in the fourth quarter, up from 4.4 percent in the third quarter.
Many of those borrowers are still being evaluated for help under the Obama administration’s $75 billion mortgage relief effort.Health News
From BBC-Science
 |  | Progesterone - the sex hormone used in the first contraceptive pills - is to be tested on brain injury patients in a major US trial. |
Instant Karma
John Lennon's single "Instant Karma" was released on February 20th in 1970 ... it ranks as one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history, recorded (at London's Abbey Road Studios) the same day it was written, and coming out only ten days later. (As Lennon remarked to the press, he "wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we're putting it out for dinner.")
President Obama's Weekly Address
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
February 20, 2010
The other week, men and women across California opened up their mailboxes to find a letter from Anthem Blue Cross. The news inside was jaw-dropping. Anthem was alerting almost a million of its customers that it would be raising premiums by an average of 25 percent, with about a quarter of folks likely to see their rates go up by anywhere from 35 to 39 percent.
Now, after their announcement stirred public outcry, Anthem agreed to delay their rate hike until May 1st while the situation is reviewed by the state of California. But it’s not just Californians who are being hit by rate hikes. In Kansas, one insurance company raised premiums by 10 to 20 percent only after asking to raise them by 20 to 30 percent. Last year, Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield raised rates by 22 percent after asking to raise them by up to 56 percent. And in Maine, Anthem is asking to raise rates for some folks by about 23 percent.
The bottom line is that the status quo is good for the insurance industry and bad for America. Over the past year, as families and small business owners have struggled to pay soaring health care costs, and as millions of Americans lost their coverage, the five largest insurers made record profits of over $12 billion.
And as bad as things are today, they’ll only get worse if we fail to act. We’ll see more and more Americans go without the coverage they need. We’ll see exploding premiums and out-of-pocket costs burn through more and more family budgets. We’ll see more and more small businesses scale back benefits, drop coverage, or close down because they can’t keep up with rising rates. And in time, we’ll see these skyrocketing health care costs become the single largest driver of our federal deficits.
That’s what the future is on track to look like. But it’s not what the future has to look like. The question, then, is whether we will do what it takes, all of us – Democrats and Republicans – to build a better future for ourselves, our children, and our country.
That’s why, next week, I am inviting members of both parties to take part in a bipartisan health care meeting, and I hope they come in a spirit of good faith. I don’t want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points. Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that’s been with us for generations.
It’s in that spirit that I have sought out and supported Republican ideas on reform from the very beginning. Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs. Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas – so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people. I hope Democrats and Republicans can come together next week around these and other ideas.
To members of Congress, I would simply say this. We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system. We know where the broad areas of agreement are. And we know where the sources of disagreement lie. After debating this issue exhaustively for a year, let’s move forward together. Next week is our chance to finally reform our health insurance system so it works for families and small businesses. It’s our chance to finally give Americans the peace of mind of knowing that they’ll be able to have affordable coverage when they need it most.
What’s being tested here is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem. Right now, Americans are understandably despairing about whether partisanship and the undue influence of special interests in Washington will make it impossible for us to deal with the big challenges that face our country. They want to see us focus not on scoring points, but on solving problems; not on the next election but on the next generation. That is what we can do, and that is what we must do when we come together for this bipartisan health care meeting next week. Thank you, and have a great weekend.
Today is ...
Today is Saturday, February 20, the 51st day of 2010.
There are 314 days left in the year.
Today In History February 20
Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:
Northern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day,
Clam Chowder Day
and
Love Your Dog Day
There are 314 days left in the year.
Today In History February 20
Today's unusual holidays and celebrations are:
Northern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day,
Clam Chowder Day
and
Love Your Dog Day
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
London, England, United Kingdom
Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
as well as Germany, Scotland, and the United States
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
London, England, United Kingdom
Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
as well as Germany, Scotland, and the United States
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
Someone who's near and dear to your heart has been acting strangely.
You're not sure what's up, but it doesn't feel good.
To make matters even more intense, and even more puzzling, someone you're not sure you trust will feel the need to tell you what they think is going on.
Don't shoot the messenger -- but don't take the message seriously just yet, either.
Who knows?
This third party might have an ulterior motive.
Ulterior motives ain't cool.
Someone who's near and dear to your heart has been acting strangely.
You're not sure what's up, but it doesn't feel good.
To make matters even more intense, and even more puzzling, someone you're not sure you trust will feel the need to tell you what they think is going on.
Don't shoot the messenger -- but don't take the message seriously just yet, either.
Who knows?
This third party might have an ulterior motive.
Ulterior motives ain't cool.
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