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<p>Technology companies stung by the controversy over the National Security Agency’s sweeping Internet surveillance program are calling on U.S. officials to ease the secrecy surrounding national security investigations and lift long-standing gag orders covering the nature and extent of information collected about Internet users.</p>

When I heard Clinton was picked by the Obama administration to serve as the Secretary of State, I was curious if anyone in the Senate confirmation hearings would bring up her political ties with Ram Ranjan.And since her confirmation, Clinton has now put blame on Sri Lanka for the death of civilians. For those who don't know who Ram Ranjan is, he was involved with a political fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. Ram Ranjan is a supporter of the Tamil Tigers. The Tamil Tigers are considered a terrorist group. In the above hyper link you will find the following: Update II:...

Once again we think, Sarah Palin has hit the nail on the head. The fact is the Federal Government has in recent months stockpiled an enormous amount of ammunition. Much more than has ever been used in the past and much more than could ever be conceivably used in ordinary circumstances. So why are they doing it? Many people, including the Zombie Obama supporters just ignore the question. Congress ignores it and the Obama Administration refuses to explain their actions. But it goes without saying that there is a reason. And we just think Palin has as good an explanation...

Dear Dave, What do you think about the practice of credit card churning? Ethan Dear Ethan, I think it's a pretty dumb idea. The concept is to run up the balance on one card as high as you can, then flip the balance from card to card in order to get perks like airline miles. But if you want to go through all the trouble and hassle over such a small amount of money, be my guest. I've met thousands of millionaires, and none of them have ever credited their success to credit card churning. Think about it: With all...

A new rule going into effect Sunday could cost you more when shopping with a credit card at some stores. Visa and Mastercard have agreed to let merchants add a service charge equal to the cost of processing a credit transaction to the bottom line. The cost of processing is usually 1.5 to 3 perc cent, and merchants are capped at a 4 per cent fee under the agreement. The rule change was made as part of settling an antitrust suit brought by retailers. Merchants will still not be allowed to add a surcharge to debit card transactions. However, few...

To the question "Can you use a check ordering from Pizza Hut online?" We have this answer: You can only used a credit card or a Pizza Hut gift card to purchase online, no checks accepted. And, driving up to their window in South Central Texas, the same sign is posted. No checks accepted as of January 1. Wonder how many other establishments are going to do the same? I thought the economy was recovering....

Reference: ‘Anonymous’ is the name of a collective group of activist hackers who originally posted videos scheduling the Occupy Wall Street protests. These videos spread virally and played a significant role in the O.W.S. grassroots campaign. The hacker collective ‘Anonymous’ says it has stolen four thousand emails, passwords and credit card details from a US-based security think-tank “Stratfor”. Stratfor’s clients include the US Department of Defense, US Air Force, Apple, law enforcement agencies and media organizations. Anonymous said the list it had posted was a small slice of the 200 gigabytes worth of plunder it stole from Stratfor and promised...

The hacktivist group Anonymous “celebrated” the fifth of November (Guy Fawkes Day) through protest marches, defacing websites, and releasing the credit card information of law enforcement officers. The British holiday Guy Fawkes Day was popularized in the 2005 film "V for Vendetta", where a mask-wearing outcast overthrows a future totalitarian society. The holiday commemorates an actual historical event, where Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the British House of Lords in 1605.

The Obama campaign released news on Saturday morning of a holiday weekend, that it had raised a massive $181 million in September. It's a staggering sum heading into the final month of campaigning. It almost equals his fundraising for July and August combined. But details about Obama's fundraising windfall and a new report this morning from the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) raise troubling questions. Specifically, how much of this fundraising was illegal? GAI found that Obama's donation page doesn't use any industry-standanard card security measures. ...It isn't an oversight but a conscious decision to not use CVV security. In fact,...

@mrubin1971Two news stories from recent weeks, if true, should raise a red flag in the United States that Iran is preparing to use Hezbollah to strike at U.S. interests in Latin America, if not in the United States itself.First, this story from the Lebanese news portal Naharnet and sourced in part to Israeli radio. The Naharnet story was taken down shortly after it appeared: Hezbollah is using a training base established by Iran in northern Nicaragua near the border with Honduras, the Israeli radio reported on Thursday [September 6]. “The area is cordoned off and there are around 30 members...

The Biggest Financial Scandal In History?Michael SnyderJuly 5, 2012 We always knew that the financial markets were rigged, but this is getting ridiculous. It is now being alleged that 20 major banks have been systematically fixing global interest rates for years. Barclays has already been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for manipulating Libor (the London Inter Bank Offered Rate). But Barclays says that a whole bunch of other banks were doing this too. This is shaping up to be the biggest financial scandal in history, and criminal investigations have been launched on both sides of the Atlantic. What those...

This video is a follow-up to Adrian Murray’s facebook post over the weekend, in which he says that he donated to the Obama campaign as “Adolph Hitler,” occupation “Dictator” living at a German address. As you can see in the clip, citizen journalist George Scaggs of Austin tries the same thing at three different campaign sites, that of Obama, Romney and Santorum. Only the Obama site accepted the donation without the verification number. Let’s take a look at the three campaign websites mentioned in the video ... [graphics] The Obama campaign’s donation page for Americans living outside the US also...

Dear Dave, I want to keep one of our credit cards open and use the bill-pay option for utilities and other monthly bills. I want to do this so we can continue earning rewards points, and the way I look at it, we’d just be re-routing the money and paying it off every month. My husband doesn’t like this idea and thinks we should get rid of them all. Am I just asking for trouble by wanting to keep the rewards card open?CherylDear Cheryl,Yes, you are. Life never works out exactly the way you think it will. You can make...

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The Jihad Will Be YouTubed by Raffaello Pantucci December 15, 2011 FOREIGN POLICY - The AFPAK Channel SNIPPET: "While clearly the technology to make such videos is something that is universal, it does seem as though it is aspirant jihadists in the West who find it easiest to use. There was no evidence that Gul was being directed by foreign terrorist organizations to produce his material, and his case shows the continued existence of young Westerners producing radical material on their own. It may indeed be the case that the virtual armies have yet to fully emerge as active warriors...

There's a tiny 12-person startup churning out of Des Moines, Iowa that most people have never heard of. Dwolla was founded by 28-year-old Ben Milne, and it's an innovative new way of thinking about online payments that sidesteps credit cards completely. Milne has no finance background, yet his little operation is moving between $30 and $50 million per month, or about $350 million per year. We interviewed Milne about how he is building a credit card killer and Square rival from the middle of the nation where VCs and press are scarce. I'm told you're pissing off credit card companies....

After a rash of credit card identity theft schemes, the Durbin Amendment seems less tenable than ever. Interchange fees are, after all, levied to prevent and recoup losses after fraud. After Sony revealed that some PlayStation users’ credit card information was compromised, and arts and crafts chain Michaels reported that thieves had tampered with its debit card PIN pads, opponents of the Durbin Amendment used fraud costs as a rallying point. “[Michael’s] is a prime example of the role that debit interchange plays in ensuring the payment system operates smoothly and efficiently for consumers and financial institutions,” said Dan Berger...

The number of dollar bills rolling off the great government presses here and in Fort Worth fell to a modern low last year. Production of $5 bills also dropped to the lowest level in 30 years. And for the first time in that period, the Treasury Department did not print any $10 bills. The meaning seems clear. The future is here. Cash is in decline. You can’t use it for online purchases, nor on many airplanes to buy snacks or duty-free goods. Last year, 36 percent of taxi fares in New York were paid with plastic. At Commerce, a restaurant...

At an increasing pace, countries across the globe are implementing "chip-and-PIN" credit card technology, which could create more hassles for travelers from the United States, which has no to plans to convert -- at least for now. The so-called smart cards -- usually referred to as chip-and-PIN cards because credit cards have computer chips on them and cardholders, instead of signing for purchases, must punch four-digit PIN numbers into terminals -- have become standard in the U.K. because of their superior fraud-prevevntion abilities. Other European countries followed, and now countries in Asia, North America and South America are doing the...

Not only is the federal government borrowing 40 cents of every dollar it spends, it has also accumulated a national debt that is nearly 70 percent of the U.S. annual economic output. That is expected to be 100% be the end of 2011 if a new direction is not taken.

Sexy Eastern European women dubbed "B-Girls" seduced touristy businessmen at a half-dozen South Beach nightclubs, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on their credit cards for expensive bottles of champagne and other booze without their knowledge, federal authorities said Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) -- American Express said Wednesday it plans to close a service center in Greensboro, N.C., and cut 550 jobs as more of the credit card company's transactions are handled online and on mobile devices. The moves will lead to charges that will reduce fourth-quarter earnings. New York-based American Express said work now handled in Greensboro will be transferred to other locations in the U.S. A broader consolidation plan also will transfer work from a center in Madrid, Spain, to sites in the United Kingdom and Argentina, and shift service support for Japanese card operations from Sydney, Australia...

Cyberwar: If there was ever any doubt WikiLeaks is a criminal enterprise, it has vanished now that hackers have attacked MasterCard, Visa and Amazon.com. This is the work of organized crime, not spontaneous dissent. For years, WikiLeaks has claimed that its release of stolen U.S. classified documents over the Internet fosters democracy, transparency and informed public discourse. For such public-spiritedness, it's been lionized by the Economist magazine and Amnesty International and showered with left-wing foundation money. Now the mask is off, and the reality is far uglier. Embittered by MasterCard, Visa and Amazon.com's refusal to do any business with WikiLeaks...

Credit card thieves deliver costly lesson December 3, 2010 By Fran Eaton I wish this column was just a public service announcement on being careful about your credit cards during the Christmas shopping season, but it isn't. This week I was victimized by a thief while my credit card remained safe in my wallet in my purse. Or, rather, I thought it was safe. It wasn't until I got a call from a slightly irritated husband asking why our card was declined when he tried to use it for a purchase that I had reason to double-check our account. I...

PatPending writes "A 10-page Powerpoint presentation (PDF) that security and privacy analyst Christopher Soghoian recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Act Request to the Department of Justice reveals that law enforcement agencies routinely seek and obtain real-time surveillance of credit card transactions. The government's guidelines reveal that this surveillance often occurs with a simple subpoena, thus sidestepping any Fourth Amendment protections."

NEW YORK (AP) -- More than 8 million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year. The decline stems from a combination of consumer choices and bank actions. An analysis by credit reporting agency TransUnion found that use of general purpose credit cards bearing MasterCard or Visa logos, or issued by Discover or American Express, fell more than 11 percent in the third quarter, compared with the July to September period last year.

St. Petersburg, Florida - If you had any doubt that someone could steal your credit card numbers by simply walking past you, a few minutes with Walt Augustinowicz will probably chance your mind. "Wow that is crazy. It kind of makes me nervous," said Reina Monsour after watching one of Augustinowicz's demonstrations. "Technology is getting scarier and scarier," added Ivan Marik after watching another demonstration. By simply using a credit card scanner attached to a battery pack, Augustinowicz shows how easy it is to grab sensitive information from an unsuspecting person.

NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote: International Hacker Arraigned After Extradition Elaborate Scheme Stole over $9.4 Million from Credit Card Processor ATLANTA, GA—SERGEI TŠURIKOV, 26, of Tallinn, Estonia, has been extradited to the United States. TŠURIKOV appeared today and was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield III, on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft. TŠURIKOV was indicted by a federal grand jury on these charges on November 10, 2010, along with VIKTOR PLESHCHUK, 29, of St. Petersburg, Russia; OLEG COVELIN,...

Credit cards appear to be the reverse Robin Hoods of the financial world. A new paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston says merchant fees and reward programs offered by many credit-card issuers essentially take money from those who have the least and give it to those who have the most. The imbalance may have to be remedied via government intervention, the authors, Scott Schuh, Oz Shy and Joana Stavins, argued. The paper was published as part of the bank’s Public Policy Discussion Papers on Monday. It comes amid big changes for the financial industry, as the nation’s bank...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/news2010/harrison.ind.htm JULY 9, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BLACK MARKET TRAVEL AGENTS 38 DEFENDANTS INDICTED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD LOCAL INVESTIGATION EXPOSES NATIONWIDE NETWORK THAT USED STOLEN IDENTITIES, CREDIT CARDS TO PURCHASE AIRLINE TICKETS KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 38 defendants from across the United States have been charged in a series of indictments that allege an extensive network of black market travel agents who used the stolen identities of thousands of victims as part of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme...

Subscribers to Classmates.com might be surprised to learn that they’ve agreed to an automatic renewal clause. It happened to me. I learned about it after finding a $39 renewal charge on my credit card. My credit card company subsequently gave me a $39 conditional credit based on my complaint; but that credit was revoked after Classmates disputed it. In their paperwork, Classmates writes that members may …“terminate Subscription Services at any time by contacting our Member Care Department via email or via our live chat representative.“ I'm now at an age where “who needs it?”; but I was late in...

Please Watch: http://www.thefoxnation.com/president-obama/2010/04/22/massive-govt-takeover-feds-monitor-checking-accounts-credit-cards

Karl Rove discusses the current Obama-Dodd financial reform Bill. - video "It creates a new office and monitors every finanical transaction in the United States"

Capital One Financial Corp's U.S. credit-card defaults rose in March in a sign that consumers may still be under stress. In a regulatory filing, Capital One said the annualized net charge-off rate -- debts the company believes it will never collect -- for U.S. credit cards rose to 10.87 percent in March from 10.19 percent in February. However, accounts at least 30 days delinquent -- an indicator of future loan losses - declined to 5.30 percent from 5.51 percent. For U.S. auto loans, Capital One's charge-off rate was 2.10 percent in March, down from 2.50 percent in February, and the...

As banks shy away from making risky consumer loans, a mediocre credit history just won't cut it anymore. To get the best rates on mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, you need a killer score. Your FICO score is a numerical measure of your creditworthiness that ranges from 300 to 850. While there are a few different credit scoring systems available, it's the FICO score, created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, that most lenders look at when they check your credit. Lenders have already raised their standards by about 20 to 40 points this year, according to Barry Paperno, consumer...

Debit cards have different protections and uses. Sometimes they're not the best choice. Sometimes reaching for your wallet is like a multiple choice test: How do you really want to pay? While credit cards and debit cards may look almost identical, not all plastic is the same. "It's important that consumers understand the difference between a debit card and a credit card," says John Breyault, director of the Fraud Center for the National Consumers League, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. "There's a difference in how the transactions are processed and the protections offered to consumers when they use them." While...

Just sent my last electronic payment for my last credit card.

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Credit-card debt has been falling for 16 straight months but consumers aren't paying off their financial obligations as much you might think. Instead, they're walking away from the debt, forcing credit-card issuers to write off as much as 90% of that reported drop, according to a new report by CardHub.com. U.S. banks charged off a record $83.3 billion in credit-card losses last year. That makes up the bulk of the $93.2 billion drop in outstanding credit-card debt that was reported by the Federal Reserve for 2009.

2010 credit card reform The majority of new regulations go into effect Feb. 22, 2010. The new credit card reform laws were created to protect consumers. The majority of these reforms prohibit credit card issuers from changing the terms of a consumer’s credit card. Below is a summary of the changes you can expect as a result of the credit card reform: __________________>> Significant changes to the terms of your credit card must be given 45 days prior to the change taking affect. Under current rules, credit card companies only needed to give 15 days notice prior to making certain...

Nothing good to see in the credit card arena. Capital One's January annualized net charge offs hit a record 10.41%, while 30-Day delinquencies stayed at the highest of the past 3 months. ---SNIP---

If you have bad credit in the new era of credit card regulation, be prepared to pay -- dearly -- for the privilege of using credit. That's the message underlying recent credit card offers that feature jaw-dropping interest rates of up to 79.9 percent. The sky-high rates may be a sign of things to come in the market for so-called subprime credit cards as issuers who lend to the riskiest of borrowers try to figure out how to stay in business and comply with the new credit card reform law. "We need to price our product based on the risk...

The Market Ticker Anecdotal report thus far....On the forum there is a report of a number of merchants dropping credit card processing entirely due to rampant (and bogus) chargebacks.Does anyone remember my Tickers on "Is The Government a Felon or a Cop" posts? Go read 'em again.One of the more recent had this to say: If the people cannot find justice within the government's apparatus, are they to sit quietly and ask "Please Sir, may I have another (beating, rape, robbery, take your pick)?"Or should we expect that at some point - perhaps not now, but perhaps not far down the...

Friend or foe? Banks hope you'll think of them more kindly this year by offering a slew of new products aimed at making life easier for customers. But that convenience, along with pretty much everything else your bank offers, will likely come at a price. In fact, consumers should expect to spend a lot more on fees this year as banks look to replace the money they expect to lose once new credit card rules go into effect next month. Come February, the Credit Card Act of 2009 will be put in place. The act is generally considered among personal...

Note: The following text is a quote: Alleged International Hacker Indicted for Massive Attack on U.S. Retail and Banking Networks Data Related to More Than 130 Million Credit and Debit Cards Allegedly Stolen WASHINGTON – Albert Gonzales, 28, of Miami, Fla., was indicted today for conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and stealing data relating to more than 130 million credit and debit cards, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Ralph J. Marra Jr. and U.S. Secret Service Assistant...

Uncle Obama has gotten ahold of your credit card. And he's amassing charges on it that - you - not he - are liable for. You can call the fraud line, you can call the police, you can call any politician or government agency, and they will all tell you the same thing. Shut up and pay up.   Since misery loves company, you might feel better knowing that you're not the only one being extorted. Uncle Obama and his buddies have the credit and debit cards of every man woman and child in America. And they're charging up a...

Credit cards get their licks in now before consumer law takes effect Rate hikes, fees take effect before new law

The offer could tempt anyone buying holiday gifts: Open a store credit card and save 20 percent on your purchase. The smiling sales clerk makes it sound like a no-brainer, and explains there are absolutely no fees. You'll even get alerts about special sales and promotions. What won't be so eagerly volunteered is the high interest rate, or the impact applying can have on your credit score. Store cards are also limited and shouldn't be confused with co-branded cards. The latter carry Discover, Mastercard or Visa logos and can be used wherever those cards are accepted. There are times when...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cash was king for consumers who shopped over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to survey results released on Sunday, and that factor could have cost retailers additional sales. Only 26 percent of people who shopped over the weekend said they used credit cards for their purchases, according to a poll conducted for Reuters by America's Research Group. "That's an amazing shift in consumers' habits," said Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group. Consumers shunning credit cards is a bad sign for retailers, since people who buy gifts with a credit card tend to spend anywhere from 20 to...

When convenience-store owner Dave Sutey looks at his bottom line, the second-largest expense is one you might not guess: Fees paid to credit-card companies and banks, to process credit-card purchases in his stores. “That’s ahead of rent, lease and payroll taxes,” says Sutey, whose 14 Thriftway Super Stop stores in southwest Montana have paid $312,000 in these fees the first 10 months of this year. “The profit of our entire industry is one-half of what the credit-card fees are.” Sutey and his allies in the retail industry, from gas stations to department stores, say they don’t mind paying something in...

NEW YORK — For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement. Those who meet the spending minimum — in some cases $750 a month — will be able to get a rebate on their total interest charges for that month. The rebate could cover some or all of the interest rate hike. Customers also need to make payments on time to qualify for the rebate. Without giving specifics, Citi said the monthly spending requirements and interest rate hikes will vary depending on the cardholder's credit...