Credit Card Rip Off

While the NDP in Canada is challenging the immoral usury of bank service charges and ATM charges, in the U.S. the Democrats in the Senate are also challenging the big bank oligopolies and the immoral usury charged on Credit Cards.

I hope in Canada the NDP will expand its challenge to the Banking Monopolies to include their collusion over credit cards, as well as service charges and ATM fees. Just as I would hope the Democrats in the Senate would expand their credit card investigation to also include service charges and ATM fees.

Credit cards have become a ubiquitous and indispensable part of the culture, with an estimated 640 million cards in Americans' wallets and more than $1.8 trillion charged on them in 2005. Many depend on them to pay their bills and buy groceries or gasoline. But consumer groups and other critics say that fees are excessive and that information provided to consumers is confusing.

A study by congressional investigators released in October found that fees for paying credit card bills late averaged $34, up from $13 in 1995, while some card issuers impose penalty interest rates of more than 30 percent on consumers who pay late or exceed the credit limit.

Among other practices cited at Thursday’s hearing:

_Some credit card issuers use a billing method that charges interest on credit card debt already paid by the consumer.

_The massive solicitations mailed to consumers _ an estimated 6 billion in 2005 _ and targeting of college students and the elderly.

See

Service Charges

ATM

Bank Profits

Credit Cards



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Compare and Contrast

Sometimes it's just impossible to seperate the right wing from the right wing, in this case, as with the recent debate in the blogosphere over minimum wages, some Liberal blogs at Progressive Bloggers sound just like Blogging Tories on the issue of the NDP calling for an end to bank service charges and ATM's.

Which shows, once again, that despite the catcalls from the right the Liberals are no more progressive or left wing than the Conservatives.

See

Service Charges

ATM

Bank Profits

Progressive Bloggers



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I Fear For Democracy

Gee I thought the Conservatives represented all the Western Farmers.....

Ken Larsen, a grain farmer from central Alberta, said he thinks farmers will be the big losers if the wheat board collapses.

"I think if we lose the wheat board, we're going to lose a lot of income," said Larsen, who held up a pro-wheat board placard.

"I don't like the way (federal Agriculture Minister) Chuck Strahl has put forward such a manipulative and dishonest question on the barley plebiscite."

Stewart Wells, president of the National Farmers Union, got a loud ovation at the rally as he accused the federal Conservatives of being underhanded in their attempt to end the wheat board's marketing monopoly.

"We've had this endless stream of dirty tricks and manipulation and the gag orders and the firings," Wells told the cheering crowd. "For the first time in my life, I'm actually afraid for democracy in this country."

But then there is always a silver lining.....

Stephen Harper's Conservatives are going to lose farm votes on the Prairies over their ideologically driven assault on the Canadian Wheat Board, says fired Wheat Board boss Adrian Measner.

Measner told reporters yesterday that the Harper minority government will pay for its campaign to end the board's monopoly when it goes to the polls.

"I have talked to a lot of farmers who say they are unhappy with what has happened," he said. "They voted Conservative in the last election, but won't in the next election."

Meanwhile the Harpocrites have failed to pay their own CWB CEO appointee his salary.

THE Canadian Wheat Board will pay its new chief executive officer just as soon as the Harper government enters discussions on what the president's salary should be, says a Manitoba farm leader.

"I think (Agriculture Minister Chuck) Strahl has led people to believe we're unwilling to pay our CEO, which is not true," said Bill Toews, one of two farmer-elected board members from Manitoba.

New wheat board CEO Greg Arason has not been paid in five weeks, ever since Strahl fired Adrian Measner and appointed Arason without consulting the board.

Hey Bill Toews wouldn't be related to Vic Toews would he?

And he is right Chuck is saying it ain't his fault. And who do you think he blames? Why the Wheat Board Directors of course.

The Wheat Board is the Tories favorite scapegoat. Not because the Harpocrties represent farmers, far from,it because they represent a small political special interest group and lobbyists for big agribusiness.

And because of these old Reform Party alliances they will continue to engage in this partisan attack on the Wheat Board despite the fact it makes money for the majority of farmers and is important in maintaining Canada's grain sovereignty in the world market.China wants Canadian Wheat Board to stay

See:

Wheat Board

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Crimes of the Rich and Powerful

Are against women.

Angry crowd attacks suspected serial killers outside Indian court
NEW DELHI: An angry crowd outside an Indian courthouse severely beat a wealthy man and his servant on Thursday after they attended a court hearing on charges of raping, killing and dismembering more than 20 women and children.

Beleaguered Israeli President will not resign
JERUSALEM -- Furiously proclaiming his innocence in the face of a string of expected sexual-assault charges, Israeli President Moshe Katsav asked yesterday to be suspended from his position, but defiantly refused calls from across the political . Mr. Katsav strenuously denied the allegations, which involve four women. He said he is a victim of conspiracy, and said he will resign only if he is formally indicted.

Putin scathingly praises sexual power of Israeli President Katsav ...

Russian and foreign press comments on the recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The official meeting between the two leaders started with Putin’s request to say hello to Israeli President Moshe Katsav. Those words became the most unexpected moment of the entire meeting, The Jerusalem Post wrote.

“Say hello to your president. What a strong man! He raped ten women! I never expected that from him! We all envy him,” NEWSru Israel quoted Putin as saying. Mr. Olmert was obviously confused with those remarks. Ehud Olmert said that it is not the right time to envy the Israeli president, who will most likely have to face the trial on rape and sexual abuse charges

CFL's HIV sex scandal to play out in Regina court
The sexual assault trial of former Saskatchewan Roughrider linebacker Trevis Smith, accused of having unprotected sex with two women without disclosing his HIV-positive status, begins today in Regina

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Rape

Serial Murder




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Sexism in Academia

Quick someone inform Bev Oda that women are still not equal in Canada, or in the hallowed halls of academia. Unfortunately the Tories will dismiss this as just complaints from a special interest group.... Female profs lag in pay, promotions

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Feminism

Status of Women

Bev Oda

Tory Cuts


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Worried

This After A Year In Power, Tories Still Tied With Liberals In Polls leads to this; Wary Tories rip Dion in TV ad blitz






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Thank The New Canadian Government

Hamas, Fatah power struggle claims more lives

Thanks to Hapers New Canadian Government being the first to declare the Hamas government in Palestine as terrorists and cutting off funding for the Palestinian authority.

Meanwhile as this internecine battle duplicates those currently occuring across the Middle East in Lebanon and Iraq, thanks to the real American Road Map, which is to destablize the region in favour of Israel. And ironically most of these recent disputes occured immediately after Peter MacKay's visit to the region.

Israels newest ally Canada remains silent on its complicity in this mess. Which results in this; MacKay's deputy quits post

As our Foreign Affairs Minister was only to quick to point out when he said he was visiting the region last week, riding on Condi Rices coattails, he too loke her was there to listen.

What Peter MacKay Missed: The Little Things That Make an Occupation

Oh yes and to bring hockey to Israel. We aim to increase and diversify economic partnership. We have even brought hockey to the farthest reaches of Israel.

We would be forgiven for thinking this is just another New Canadian Government Kahn job.


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Israel

Palestine

Lebanon

Peter MacKay


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Presumption of Innocence

Lingering suspicion about Arar troubling says Jim Travers in the Toronto Star.

As I and others have pointed out it is troubling, especially when it comes from the Conservative Blogosphere.

They for whom the state is all, while individual liberty is to be sacrificed for the good of the nation.

Wait a minute, I thought the conservatives were supposed to be libertarians and support the individual and their rights against the state.

But of course their ne0-libertarianism is just a cover for their real politick which is the State Right Or Wrong. When it is no longer convinient it is quickly abandoned for Fuehrerism.


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Arar


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Poor Protest Against WSF

Following up on the Global Warming conference which the UN held in Narobi, the movers and shakers of the anti globalization movement also held their World Social Forum this year in Nairobi, Kenya. And ironically this progressive alternative to the Davos World EconomicForum, happening at the same time, faced more grass roots protests than the ruling class conference in Davos....

The left wing has become the mirror of capitalism itself.

The Davos forum is an economic boom for this tourist town.

And now that it is no longer a secret meeting of ruling class cabals, it has become a voice for the social reform of the worst excesses of capitalism.

The World Social Forum travels the world and is an economic boom for the region it is held in.

The Davos Economic Forum promotes captialism including the need to ameliorate the worst aspects of capitalism.

The World Socisl Forum promotes amerlorating the worst aspects of capitalism while promoting a more humane capitalism.

There is no difference.

Charities working in Nairobi's slums have complained about slum dwellers being required to pay to enter the Moi International Sports Stadium in Kasarani, where the World Social Forum was taking place.


Meanwhile, protesters raided two food stalls operated by five star hotels at the venue of the World Social Forum. The last two days had been marked by protests over the high cost of food at an event meant to discuss issues of poverty.

"I am a hawker. We are harassed in town. We came here to present our problems, but we found the big bosses selling food at exorbitant prices, and yet this function is meant for the poor," said one of the protesters.

Another one said: "The hotels are selling food at a price we cannot afford, and yet the forum belongs to the poor. That is why we invaded. We are going to eat all the food meant for the rich." The protesters grabbed the food which they then ate as the hotel staff watched in disbelief.

Kenya: World Social Forum - Just Another NGO Fair?

The World Social Forum, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya for the first time in Africa, was supposed to be a forum for the voices of the grassroots. But despite the diversity of voices at the event, not everyone was equally represented.

But to describe only the diversity would be to miss the real, and perhaps more disturbing, picture. The problem was that not everyone was equally represented. Not everyone had equal voices. This event had all the features of a trade fair - those with greater wealth had more events in the calendar, larger (and more comfortable) spaces, more propaganda - and therefore a larger voice. Thus the usual gaggle of quasi donor/International NGOs claimed a greater presence than national organisations - not because what they had to say was more important or more relevant to the theme of the WSF, but because, essentially, they had greater budgets at their command. Thus the WSF was not immune from the laws of (neoliberal) market forces. There was no levelling of the playing field. This was more a World NGO Forum than an anti-capitalist mobilisation, lightly peppered with social activists and grassroots movements.

See

Globalization

Davos

Workers Control Vesus Trade Unions

Bilderberg

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CN Profits From Accidents

Last year after a record number of dangerous and toxic accidents CN promised to plow money into improved safety. It was just a good press release.

This year we again suffered more dangerous accidents with CN.

Because safety was sacrificed for the bottom line....again.

Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR CN): Canada's largest railroad said fourth-quarter net income climbed 16 percent to C$499 million ($422.8 million), or 95 cents a share, from C$430 million, or 78 cents, as it raised prices and held down costs. The Montreal- based company also boosted its quarterly dividend 29 percent to 21 cents a share.

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