Tuesday, 25 January 2011

Brand Management & online reputation management

When vendors or folks fall prey to unfair competitors, irate ex-employees or disgruntled people, then a SERM gets to be critical inside the financial survival of the enterprise.

Firms like SERMs are important in keeping, and in some cases salvaging and restoring suppliers or person's status and decent title.




Online searches are one for the to start with details that contemporary day consumes do prior to shelling out income having a home business or person, and one particular bad click can signify financial disaster to get a business, in particular in this actually increasing cyber economic system. Reputation for these SERMs are rising by leaps and bounds using the realization it isn't prudent to attempt to conduct company on this cyber age rather than possess a SERM on retainer in addition to your accountant along with your lawyer.






Businesses are also appreciating the collateral benefit of possessing a Popularity Management agency on-board as an integral part of their internet business design, its wonderful promoting! Although securing a company's very good reputation and name on-line, it generates good press and constructive publicity that finally adds substantially on the bottom line of a company's stability sheet, creating the services to virtually shell out for by itself in many circumstances.




This tends to be an incredibly solid marketing level for firms at the same time as men and women, to understand that they are cleansing and protecting their reputations and cyber photographs, while simultaneously working a very efficient marketing initiative. At times businesses totally disregard their former marketing efforts via the internet and choose the benefits of Via the internet Reputation Management.




Acquiring a SERM firm in your aspect is not having a doubt the way to go within this cyber age. For additional information on online reputation management and corporate reputation management, Please visit us at http://removeripoffreports.net/

Monday, 24 January 2011

foreclosure statistics


Two years ago today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States.  Are you better off today than you were two years ago?

Numbers don't lie, and here are the data on the impact he has had on the lives of Americans:

...statistics show that despite Countrywide's representations, a much higher percentage of borrowers did not occupy the mortgaged properties:

...Overall, 18.3% of the loans sampled had recalculated LTV ratios of more than 10% higher than was claimed in the offering materials, and 6% of the loans sampled had recalculated LTV ratios of more than 25% higher than what was claimed in the offering circular. This overvaluation affected numerous statistics in the Offering Materials...For instance, the Offerings each made representations about the percent
of loans that had LTVs higher than 90% provide the lender little value
cushion to protect against borrower default and loss upon foreclosure.
However, the AVM indicates that a much higher percentage of the loans
had LTVs higher than 90%
.

The Offerings uniformly represented that none of the Mortgage Loans that collateralized the Certificates had LTV ratios greater than 100 percent, meaning that the size of the loan is greater than the value of the property. (aka: being "underwater") Loans with over 100% LTV afford the lender no equity cushion and leave the lender with inadequate collateral from the outset of a loan. Allstate's analysis has found that, despite Countrywide's representations, a substantial number of Mortgage Loans had LTVs greater than 100%, as follows:

Allstate has also analyzed the weighted average LTV of the Mortgage Loans in each pool and has found that the weighted average LTV was also overstated, because of the overstatement of individual Mortgage Loans within the pools.

All these lies, and much, much more, can be found detailed in the filing below. At the risk of cheeiness, this is just a sampling of the sampling. And it demonstrates as all those who purchased loans from CFC/BofA that were repped to be in order, will find, following sampling or loan by loan analysis, that Brian Moynihan's bank committed acts of fraud after fraud, putting not only itself, but its underwriter counsel at risk time again. In fact, if there was anything remotely close to a working legal system in the US, what happened to Lehman's Repo 105 auditor, E&Y, should promptly befall every single underwriter's counsel which is jointly liable in representing that the data set forth by the underwriter is correct. But just as importantly, it means that of the hundreds of hundreds billions in loans sold by BofA to hapless dimwits, arguably the bulk of it is now subject to putbacks, and is of far worse quality than previously expected. It also means that the GSEs: those infinite receptacles of mortgage biohazard, are lying consistently when representing the state of their own books, which are likely orders of magnitude worse than the monthly status reports will indicate. 

This is just starting to get interesting.

The full Allstate filing which is a must read for everyone is presented below.

 




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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


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Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


bench craft company reviews bench craft company reviews

Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


bench craft company reviews bench craft company reviews

Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


bench craft company reviews bench craft company reviews

Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


bench craft company reviews bench craft company reviews

Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.


bench craft company reviews bench craft company reviews

Jack LaLanne dead at 96 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

American fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, according to his long-time agent, Rick Hersh. He was 96. The cause, said Hersh, was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

<b>News</b> Happening Now - KRQE

(KRQE NEWS 13) - As of 7:10 a.m. - President Barack Obama is putting the finishing touches on a State of the Union speech Tuesday that'll mostly be about one thing -- jobs. Comments. Latest Headlines. News Happening Now � Sunday News ...

Tucson Hero to Sit With Michelle Obama at State of the Union on <b>...</b>

Polson Kanneth reports: Daniel Hernandez Jr., one of the heroes of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago, tells ABC News that he will be sitting, along with his father, Daniel Hernandez Sr., with Michelle Obama at the.

Tuesday, 18 January 2011

Stock Making Money






It might have caught some onlookers at the Consumer Electronics show by surprise to see 50 Cent hawking a brand-new pair of headphones from a publicly listed penny stock distributor called H&H Imports, Inc. But after promoting its goods on CNBC and plugging the company to his 3.8 million Twitter followers, 50 Cent managed to make H&H Imports $50 million in one day, with the stock closing at a 240 percent jump yesterday. Go ahead and switch the style up. And if they hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up. Yesterday the rapper took a step back from the company in which he (and G-Unit Brand) invested $750,000 in shares and warrants in November, after details emerged about the company's potentially shady financials, especially in the high-risk realm of penny stocks, which trade at a low price and not on major market exchanges. Last year, the company lent $141,000 to "an entity in which our Chairman's brother is an officer and owner." It also claimed more than $1.3 million in losses in the last quarter despite short-term working capital loans from its CEO. H&H might not even specialize in headphones. Its Bloomberg profile describes the company as engaging "in the wholesale purchase and sale of women's handbags."



After yesterday's huge jump in stock, the rap mogul tweeted a word of caution to his eager Twitter followers, "I own HNHI stock thoughts on it are my opinion. Talk to financial advisor about it." Followed shortly by, "HNHI is the right investment for me it may or may not be right for u! Do ur homework." But hours after the warnings, he continued to retweet bullish followers, who crooned about his taking "the stock market to new heights. Talk about making history again! AND YOU KNOW IT" or being "The man of the century" for having, "Nice business moves &stock investments." As of about 10 a.m. this morning, the stock is down 20 percent. He, he get money. Even if you lose yours.



Get Rich or Die Tweeting: 50 Cent Plugs Sketchy Penny Stock, Shares Skyrocket [NYO]

50 Cent's Tweets Make A Staggering $50 Million In One Day [BI]

50 Cent Cautions Investors His Penny Stock May Not Be Right for Them [NYO]

[50Cent/Twitter]






Two years into the Obama presidency and the economic data is still looking grim. Don't be fooled by the gyrations of the stock market, where optimism is mostly a reflection of the ability of financial corporations -- thanks to massive government largesse -- to survive the mess they created. The basics are dismal: unemployment is unacceptably high, the December consumer confidence index is down, and housing prices have fallen for four months in a row. The number of Americans living in poverty has never been higher, and a majority in a Washington Post poll said they were worried about making their next mortgage or rent payment.



In a parallel universe lives Peter Orszag, President Barack Obama's former budget director and key adviser, who even faster than his mentor, Robert Rubin, has passed through that revolving platinum door linking the White House with Wall Street. The goal is to use your government position to advance the interests of your future employer, and Orszag and Rubin's actions in the government and then at Citigroup provide stunning examples of the synergy between big government and high finance.



As Bill Clinton's treasury secretary, Rubin presided over the dismantling of Glass-Steagall, the New Deal legislation that would have prohibited the creation of the too-big-to-fail Citigroup. He was rewarded with a $15-million-a-year job at Citigroup, where he became a leader in the bank's aggressive move into high-risk ventures. An SEC report in September claimed that Rubin as Citigroup chairman was aware that the bank failed to disclose $40 billion it held in subprime mortgages before the collapse.



During those years at Citigroup, Rubin financed the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project, an economic policy program, and named Orszag, a Clinton economic adviser, as its director. The Hamilton Project continued to celebrate Rubin's deregulation philosophy up to the point of utter embarrassment. Clearly, Orszag is not easily embarrassed, for upon taking his new job recently he boasted "I am pleased to be joining Citi, with its unmatched global platform and dedication to providing clients with service and advice."



The most damning comment on this corrupt syndrome was offered by former Citigroup co-chief executive John Reed, who had worked with Rubin to get Glass-Steagall reversed and now is a sharp critic of the result. "We continue to listen to the same people whose errors in judgment were central to the problem," Reed told Bloomberg News. "I'm astounded because we basically dropped the world's biggest economy because of an error in bank management." Reed estimated that the financial deregulation proposals contained in the Dodd-Frank bill and other reforms of the Obama administration represent only 25 percent of the change needed.



The failure to provide serious regulation of the financial industry to avoid future downturns is documented in devastating detail in that Dec. 28 Bloomberg report, written by Christine Harper:

"The U.S. government, promising to make the system safer, buckled under many of the financial industry's protests. Lawmakers spurned changes that would wall off deposit-taking banks from riskier trading. They declined to limit the size of lenders or ban any form of derivatives."



The reason for that failure is obvious from the president's choice of advisers featuring Rubin acolytes from the Clinton years. Harper writes: "While Obama vowed to change the system, he filled his economic team with people who helped create it," referring to, among others, Timothy F. Geithner, who had gone from the Clinton Treasury Department to head the New York Fed, where he presided over the salvaging of Citigroup and AIG. As Obama's treasury secretary he was quick to appoint a Goldman Sachs lobbyist as his chief of staff. Geithner's subservience to Wall Street was reinforced by White House top economic adviser Lawrence Summers, Rubin's deputy and then replacement in the Clinton administration who pushed through the repeal of Glass Steagall and fought against the regulation of derivatives.



And with the decisive assistance from both a Republican and Democratic president, all has worked out just as planned for the banks. Harper reports: "The last two years have been the best ever for combined investment-banking and trading revenue at Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Morgan Stanley, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."



It's all wonderfully bipartisan. Recently it was announced that Carlos Gutierrez, commerce secretary under George W. Bush, had been named to a high position at Citigroup. For President Obama, there's no cause for worry about the loss of indispensable talent from his administration. Orszag's replacement as head of the Office of Management and Budget, Jacob J. Lew, was both a member of Rubin's Hamilton Project and a former Citigroup executive -- thus insuring that government of the banks, by the banks, for the banks shall not perish from the earth.













Source:http://removeripoffreports.net/

Casting <b>News</b>: Anne Hathaway to Guest on &#39;Glee,&#39; Marissa Jaret <b>...</b>

Anne Hathaway must've made a good impression on 'Glee' creator Ryan Murphy at the Golden Globes this weekend, because he's already confirmed she will.

Modern &amp; Contemporary Design Platform / Good <b>News</b>/ Products <b>...</b>

so the user can be updated on the latest news, hopefully some Good news. Good news is made of 25mm lacquered oak veneer plywood. The product is "flat-packed" and is easily assembled by means of only one screw. ...

Perfect Market, <b>news</b> ad firm, lands $9 million in funding round <b>...</b>

Perfect Market Inc, a start-up that seeks to help news organizations make more money through online advertising, has won $9 million in new funding in a round led by Comcast Interactive Capital, the cable giant's venture arm.


Friday, 14 January 2011

Free rental agreement forms vardenafil

How do you usually start your morning? Lunatic rush, eternal lack of time, work, where we come sleepy, irritated and seedy? Delaying the time for getting up to the critical moment and again being late, we convulsively invent excuses about a stuck lift or traffic jams.

Getting up earlier you can clear up your head and thoughts. Morning hours carry silence and peace, which we are usually lack of during the noisy day. This is the time of solitude, when we can read, reflect, and just take a breath.


Free rental agreement forms online cheap

Talk with your local branch banks. Credit unions are another great route to take and you should explore membership with a credit union to have more options open to you. The small, local branches are often more inclined to work with someone who has credit challenges. There is something special about the small-town effect when it comes to your relationship with the bankers.



online Free rental agreement forms

Blagojevich defense wants Obama subpoenaed - Chicago Breaking <b>News</b>

Attorneys for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich today asked a federal judge to subpoena President Barack Obama to testify in Blagojevich's upcoming corruption trial on charges that include allegations Blagojevich sought to sell Obama's former ...

Obama&#39;s Tucson Speech Fails To Accommodate Cable <b>News&#39;s</b> Attention <b>...</b>

Did you watch the memorial service in Tucson last night? It sure seemed to me to be a cavalcade of statemanship -- presidents of nations and universities and student bodies, governors new and old, political figures on the left and right ...

Breaking <b>news</b>: EPA vetoes Spruce Mine permit « Coal Tattoo

This news is devastating to the Southern Coal Fields and our entire state. The Spruce Number One permit was issued years ago after undergoing a comprehensive permitting process. It is hard to understand how the EPA at this late hour ...


Thursday, 13 January 2011

Making Money Internet


Bump Technologies makes an app that lets people bump their phones together to exchange things like business cards, photos and even money.


On Tuesday, Bump will announce that it has raised $16.5 million in venture capital. The firm Andreessen Horowitz is Bump’s newest investor, and its previous investors, including Sequoia Capital and Ron Conway, also contributed.


Bump started in 2008 as a way for people to exchange contact information without trading old-fashioned paper business cards. But in its newest incarnation, the start-up wants to become a mobile social network for exchanging photos and messages with family and friends.


Now, in addition to contact information, people with iPhones or Android phones can share photos, music, calendar appointments and location, and can also become friends on social networks and send messages to one another. Other apps also use the technology. PayPal, for instance, lets people exchange money by bumping their phones, and two apps trade sexual compatibility information.


The company is changing direction because people started using Bump more for social interactions than business ones, said two of its founders, David Lieb and Jake Mintz. For example, each day people now share about 40,000 contacts but almost a million photos.


“Bump just opens up a whole new landscape of social interactions and interpersonal functions and uses and photo-sharing and transactions, all based on physical proximity,” said Marc Andreessen, the Andreessen Horowitz partner who will join Bump’s board.


There are many other social networks that people already use on their phones to share photos, location and status updates, like Facebook, Foursquare and Instagram.


Bump is different, the founders said, because it enables private exchanges between two people, unlike others that are for publishing messages or photos to wider groups or the public.


“It’s a proximity-based social network, for people and things you’re actually physically interacting with,” Mr. Lieb said.


Bump is one of a group of mobile apps that give people a way to use Internet-connected cellphones to bridge the virtual and physical worlds.


That could become a way to make money, the founders said. For example, people could someday bump their phones to get information or coupons from businesses or brands. “That could be valuable to merchants,” Mr. Mintz said.


Other apps, like Shopkick, offer similar ways for businesses to reach customers. Bump is not making money yet, beyond a bit from other companies that license its technology.


Bump works by gathering several signals from phones, including location and motion detection. Those signals are sent to Bump’s servers, where Bump figures out if another phone in the same place just experienced a bump, then matches the two phones. It all takes place immediately.


Andreessen Horowitz has been busy. On Monday, the firm also announced that it invested in Groupon’s $950 million round of fund-raising. The firm invests in very small Web companies and very big ones, and the Bump and Groupon investments exemplify both ends of the spectrum.




California’s SB 1411, which adds a layer of criminal and civil penalties for certain online impersonations, goes into effect starting today. The consequences include a fine of up to $1,000, and/ or up to a year in jail. So don’t go and do something crazy like impersonate Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Facebook. There may be consequences.


The full text and a summary of the bill are below. There’s a good overview and analysis of it as well, on ZDNet. The state has created a new crime, and a new section is being added to the penal code.


There has to be intent to harm, intimidate, threaten, or defraud another person – not necessarily the person you are impersonating. Free speech issues, including satire and parody, aren’t addressed in the text of the bill. The courts will likely sort it out. Hopefully without my direct participation.


SB 1411, Simitian. Impersonation: Internet.

Existing law makes it a crime to falsely impersonate another in

either his or her private or official capacity, as specified.

Existing law also makes it a crime to knowingly access and, without

permission, alter, damage, delete, destroy, or otherwise use any

data, computer, computer system, or computer network in order to

devise or execute any scheme or artifice to defraud, deceive, or

extort, or wrongfully control or obtain money, property, or data. For

a violation thereof, in addition to specified criminal penalties,

existing law authorizes an aggrieved party to bring a civil action

against the violator, as specified.

This bill would provide that any person who knowingly and without

consent credibly impersonates another actual person through or on an

Internet Web site or by other electronic means, as specified, for

purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening, or defrauding another

person is guilty of a misdemeanor. The bill would, in addition to

the specified criminal penalties, authorize a person who suffers

damage or loss to bring a civil action against any person who

violates that provision, as specified. Because the bill would create

a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local

agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the

state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that

reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this

act for a specified reason.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


SECTION 1. Section 528.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

528.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person

who knowingly and without consent credibly impersonates another

actual person through or on an Internet Web site or by other

electronic means for purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening,

or defrauding another person is guilty of a public offense punishable

pursuant to subdivision (d).

(b) For purposes of this section, an impersonation is credible if

another person would reasonably believe, or did reasonably believe,

that the defendant was or is the person who was impersonated.

(c) For purposes of this section, “electronic means” shall include

opening an e-mail account or an account or profile on a social

networking Internet Web site in another person’s name.

(d) A violation of subdivision (a) is punishable by a fine not

exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and

imprisonment.

(e) In addition to any other civil remedy available, a person who

suffers damage or loss by reason of a violation of subdivision (a)

may bring a civil action against the violator for compensatory

damages and injunctive relief or other equitable relief pursuant to

paragraphs (1), (2), (4), and (5) of subdivision (e) and subdivision

(g) of Section 502.

(f) This section shall not preclude prosecution under any other

law.

SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to

Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because

the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school

district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or

infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty

for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the

Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the

meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California

Constitution.



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Monday, 10 January 2011

Business Making Money

I have never been a gambler.


I pay attention to horse racing twice most years, and three times at most. I find out the winner of the Kentucky Derby (though usually not by watching the actual race) and then, when the Preakness rolls around, I check to see if the same horse has won both races.


If so, I pay just enough attention to learn if that horse also wins the Belmont Stakes, taking racing’s prestigious Triple Crown. The last time a horse actually won all three races was in 1978, so since then my excitement over the Belmont Stakes has been pretty limited.


In spite of all that, I thought I knew at least one thing about the gambling world: The house always wins. But it turns out that’s not the case when New York City or New York State takes the bets.


In early December, after about 40 years in business, New York City’s Off-Track Betting Corporation (OTB) closed its doors when it failed to receive a hoped-for legislative reprieve. In its last full fiscal year, ending March 31, the state-controlled corporation operated at a loss of $37.2 million after handing over the money it was required to give to the state, local governments, and race tracks. At the time of its closing, OTB had also racked up a pension bill that, together with health benefits promised to retirees, could be greater than $600 million.


This is a pretty astonishing feat considering that OTB’s business consisted of taking money from people and then giving some of it back to them. This is a business which was previously handled by neighborhood bookies, who never seemed to have a problem making money at it. To be fair, the bookies probably had a less generous pension plan.


Yet both New York City and New York State managed to fail to make money in the business of taking money for nothing. The city finally gave up in 2008, when it handed its mess over to the state.


Officials have tried to blame OTB’s collapse on decreased interest in horse racing. Speaking with The New York Times, John D. Sabini, chairman of the State Racing and Wagering Board, referred to off-track betting as “an industry that’s having a tough time…in a tough economy.” But while decreased demand is a fine excuse for not making much money, a gambling outfit should still be able to avoid losing money. All you have to do is reduce expenses to match revenues.


OTB could have easily closed down many or all of its betting parlors and relied on a small staff to manage Internet and phone traffic. For some businesses, atmosphere is everything, but OTB considered it a major upgrade in “customer amenities” when it installed restrooms and seating in 1993. It seems safe to say then that, while some may have enjoyed a sense of camaraderie in the storefront parlors, most people didn’t turn to off-track betting for the luxurious environment. With the cost savings from closing physical locations, OTB could have done some advertising to try to boost demand. That is what any rational manager would have done.


Unfortunately, instead of having rational managers, OTB had New York City and then New York State.


OTB was designed to function as a public benefit corporation, an entity that operates like a private business but turns over its profits to the state. However, everyone knew that OTB, being affiliated with New York City, was almost certain to become a bastion of patronage, if not corruption, and probably would never admit to having any profits to give back to the government. So lawmakers decided to have the corporation pay the city, and later also the state, a portion of its gross revenue, rather than its net profits. As Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow of Mount Vernon succinctly explained: “If they’re allowed to pay on the net there would be nothing left over.”


This structure meant that the state was sure of getting some money, but it also meant the government had little reason to encourage OTB to cut costs. Meanwhile OTB had no assurance that it would have enough money after paying the state and the city to actually cover its operating costs, let alone reinvest in its business. The result was inevitable. Now that inevitability has come to pass.


It may take some skill to lose money collecting bets, but it’s the kind of skill New York has in spades. When it comes to the sport of mismanagement, there’s no doubt about it: The people who run the Empire State are thoroughbreds.


For more articles on financial, business, and other topics, view the Palisades Hudson newsletter, Sentinel, or subscribe to my daily opinion column, Current Commentary.


Martin,



While I respect your efforts to warn would-be entrepreneurs about illegal schemes, your observations regarding multilevel marketing (MLM) are ignorant and unjustified. Please understand that I am not using the term "ignorant" derogatorily, but rather to describe your commentary as being ignore-ant of readily available historical, mathematical, and legal information about this industry and profession.



First of all, as a successful distributor, consultant, advocate, and court certified expert in the field of multilevel marketing, I am offended by your reference to my profession as a pyramid scheme only by a "matter of degree". There are well over 1,000 such companies in the U.S. alone, which is one of 80+ countries where it's recognized as a legal and legitimate form of business. You assert that they "all" sound like "get rich quick schemes" to you. How many of these several hundred MLM programs have you researched and evaluated? This business model has existed for 75 years, and includes not only Mary Kay and Lia Sophia, but also Shaklee, Avon, Discovery Toys, Watkins, Tupperware, Pampered Chef (owned by Warren Buffet) and many other good corporate citizens (over 20 of which are publicly traded). Your characterization of this profession does a grave disservice to the 30 million world-wide distributors, 20,000+ employees, hundreds of vendors, and thousands of investors associated with this industry.



You state "…the essence of an entrepreneur is creating something new and innovative, whereas an MLM is a traditional formula on an existing product…". And a typical Starbucks or McDonald's franchise is not? But this argument is academic considering the wide array of innovative products that have come from, or been popularized, by the MLM industry. For example, no one even heard of Mangosteen, Noni, Goji or Acai ten years ago. Today these "super fruits" make up a billion dollar world wide market, both within and outside of the MLM industry. Yes, some marketers of these fruit drinks do over-hype their products, and many untrained, unprofessional distributors do make unsubstantiated claims about them. But let's be clear in that this is an issue with how MLM is often packaged, not with the content.



Yet, you go on to claim that an upfront requirement to purchase marketing and training material (which is typically less than $50) that will better educate the new rep on how to properly promote their business is an "unnecessary and are inappropriate" red flag.



You go on to site online material such as Van Druff's “What's Wrong With Multi-Level Marketing?” as a credible source of information. This is in spite of the fact this article was originally written 21 years ago by an individual who has never participated in the profession he criticizes. This is one of the most ill-conceived and debunked anti-MLM article in existence, as is evident here: http://www.marketwaveinc.com/viewarticle.asp?id=7



Your suggestion to look for a formal home office street address is valid, however the existence of a toll-free number is virtually meaningless considering the ease in which one can now be obtained, and considering Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC had one. Furthermore, the BBB routinely issues low grades to MLM companies due to the "industry in which this business operates" – that is, until the company pays for BBB membership. Then the BBB will have no concern about the "industry in which this business operates" and will unconditionally award it at least an "A-" grade.



While I agree with your "red flags" #2, #3, and #4, when evaluating whether more income is coming from purchases of downline reps, per #5, you must also consider that, according to several states as well as the Federal Trade Commission, those downline reps can count as bona fide customers. As can be gleaned from this FTC letter to the DSA here, http://www.marketwaveinc.com/FTC_Letter.pdf, the FTC considers only the motive for buying the product, not what percentage is sold to non-distributor customers. And, in fact, many retail customers do choose to become reps, and most MLM reps are passionate, often to a fault, about their products.



You state, "you will need lots of family and friends to make it work" yet just a few sentences later you state "The Internet has made it so easy now. In the old days you had to actually visit people, or at least call them, to pitch your fabulous new opportunity." Your first statement is utterly false, while your latter statement is quite correct. While exposing one's product or opportunity to a friend or family member is still common (with the majority of industry leaders training to lead with the product), the majority of marketing is now done online and directed towards one's "cold market".



You further theorize that "Multi-Level Marketing” and “Network Marketing” were "sanitized terms" invented after Amway and others were charged with “pyramiding” back in the early 1970s. What you failed to mention was that the courts ultimately ruled Amway, and thus the MLM compensation model, was NOT an illegal pyramid. Furthermore, the term “Network Marketing” was coined in the early 1990s.



Finally, you do concede "there must be something to the business model" since "some big business icons like Donald Trump are joining in the MLM parade". Besides Trump you can include the afore-mentioned Warren Buffet, as well as Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, Paul Zane Pilzer, Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, and Bill Clinton (http://www.youtube.com/DirectSelling411) as supporters of this profession.



Martin, pyramid schemes do often try to disguise themselves as legal, legitimate MLM operations – because they want to be perceived as legal and legitimate. And yes, we do suffer a guilt by association with illegal pyramid schemes, but this is due precisely to wholly inaccurate portrayals within the media such as yours.



Thank you for considering, an allowing me to present, an opposing point of view.



Len Clements

Founder & CEO

MarketWave, Inc.
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Friday, 7 January 2011

About Making Money



Two years into the Obama presidency and the economic data is still looking grim. Don't be fooled by the gyrations of the stock market, where optimism is mostly a reflection of the ability of financial corporations -- thanks to massive government largesse -- to survive the mess they created. The basics are dismal: unemployment is unacceptably high, the December consumer confidence index is down, and housing prices have fallen for four months in a row. The number of Americans living in poverty has never been higher, and a majority in a Washington Post poll said they were worried about making their next mortgage or rent payment.



In a parallel universe lives Peter Orszag, President Barack Obama's former budget director and key adviser, who even faster than his mentor, Robert Rubin, has passed through that revolving platinum door linking the White House with Wall Street. The goal is to use your government position to advance the interests of your future employer, and Orszag and Rubin's actions in the government and then at Citigroup provide stunning examples of the synergy between big government and high finance.



As Bill Clinton's treasury secretary, Rubin presided over the dismantling of Glass-Steagall, the New Deal legislation that would have prohibited the creation of the too-big-to-fail Citigroup. He was rewarded with a $15-million-a-year job at Citigroup, where he became a leader in the bank's aggressive move into high-risk ventures. An SEC report in September claimed that Rubin as Citigroup chairman was aware that the bank failed to disclose $40 billion it held in subprime mortgages before the collapse.



During those years at Citigroup, Rubin financed the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project, an economic policy program, and named Orszag, a Clinton economic adviser, as its director. The Hamilton Project continued to celebrate Rubin's deregulation philosophy up to the point of utter embarrassment. Clearly, Orszag is not easily embarrassed, for upon taking his new job recently he boasted "I am pleased to be joining Citi, with its unmatched global platform and dedication to providing clients with service and advice."



The most damning comment on this corrupt syndrome was offered by former Citigroup co-chief executive John Reed, who had worked with Rubin to get Glass-Steagall reversed and now is a sharp critic of the result. "We continue to listen to the same people whose errors in judgment were central to the problem," Reed told Bloomberg News. "I'm astounded because we basically dropped the world's biggest economy because of an error in bank management." Reed estimated that the financial deregulation proposals contained in the Dodd-Frank bill and other reforms of the Obama administration represent only 25 percent of the change needed.



The failure to provide serious regulation of the financial industry to avoid future downturns is documented in devastating detail in that Dec. 28 Bloomberg report, written by Christine Harper:

"The U.S. government, promising to make the system safer, buckled under many of the financial industry's protests. Lawmakers spurned changes that would wall off deposit-taking banks from riskier trading. They declined to limit the size of lenders or ban any form of derivatives."



The reason for that failure is obvious from the president's choice of advisers featuring Rubin acolytes from the Clinton years. Harper writes: "While Obama vowed to change the system, he filled his economic team with people who helped create it," referring to, among others, Timothy F. Geithner, who had gone from the Clinton Treasury Department to head the New York Fed, where he presided over the salvaging of Citigroup and AIG. As Obama's treasury secretary he was quick to appoint a Goldman Sachs lobbyist as his chief of staff. Geithner's subservience to Wall Street was reinforced by White House top economic adviser Lawrence Summers, Rubin's deputy and then replacement in the Clinton administration who pushed through the repeal of Glass Steagall and fought against the regulation of derivatives.



And with the decisive assistance from both a Republican and Democratic president, all has worked out just as planned for the banks. Harper reports: "The last two years have been the best ever for combined investment-banking and trading revenue at Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Morgan Stanley, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."



It's all wonderfully bipartisan. Recently it was announced that Carlos Gutierrez, commerce secretary under George W. Bush, had been named to a high position at Citigroup. For President Obama, there's no cause for worry about the loss of indispensable talent from his administration. Orszag's replacement as head of the Office of Management and Budget, Jacob J. Lew, was both a member of Rubin's Hamilton Project and a former Citigroup executive -- thus insuring that government of the banks, by the banks, for the banks shall not perish from the earth.













Not really. TD has always said that piracy is against the law. What Mike and others often aregue, is that the laws should be changed in favour of the consumers, not faceless megacorps.



I think you're right in that TD often encourages more sane laws in favor of the public vs corporations, but as far as piracy goes, my take on the TD line is that legality is a non-issue now that technology makes it hard NOT to copy something, what's important is finding a way to make money in spite of it. Pragmatism is the name of the game.



Now the *comments* on TD run all over the map. There's a lot of soft endorsement of illegal distribution, along with people who are outright loud about it. There are people who seem to think that artists are lazy chumps who want a free ride, and people who apparently have a problem with anyone exercising any legal muscle. Luckily there are some dissenting voices of reason, who are neither "IP Maximalists" nor "Freetards". (All these phrases and sloganeering are dumb as hell and only serve to trivialize how complicated these issues really are. "Pooperty" anyone? Let's cut out this ad campaign for issues and appeal to people through their reason and intellect)



I do kind of wish they would bring in some writers with more varied opinions. For instance, I agree with the criticism that TD loves to dispense business advice for musicians without any real clear idea of what goes into a musical career. The complicated web of credits and legalities that go into bringing multiple creative people together with their own input to and ownership of a project (We're not all solo artists!), the insane logistics of performing on a consistent basis and taking it on the road, the idea that fans just buy the hell out of merch, the notion that the internet has made distribution *easier* (it's not, it's *cheaper*, but only to get started), and the idea that grass roots projects can "bubble up" to the surface without a professional PR push and management team (Amanda Palmer works with a publicist and several managers, besides the fact she's "married" to Neil Gaiman, one of the most popular writers of the last 20 years. She's not a model for future musicians). But the reality is that even a no name blogger is pitched music by major labels every day, so not having a professional management/publicist team to pitch you, more importantly to give you legitimacy, means your emails most likely will never be opened.



Now, it is true that some artists will in fact bubble up, but it's mostly going to be boring mid-level talent with an interesting story behind them. Meh. I'd trade a thousand Susan Boyles/Ted Williams/Homeless Flavor of the Month for just one Jim Croce or Leonard Cohen.

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