Rights...... in the UK you have more rights when buying a kettle that proves faulty then buying a brand new house with a NHBC 10 year guarantee.

Iamon lyme: Even those with no law degrees or just plain 'dumb'?

MissDelish: Exactly. And if there is any doubt then don't buy. Signing on with credit card companies is especially bad, because until you get it all paid off they 'own' you.

Iamon lyme: ah, the old latin LOL..."Let the buyer beware" - in other words - read the fine print.

(V): "...Are YOU owed??"

caveat emptor

Artful Dodger: non confrontational discussions are awkward for you it seems.You seem to always be looking for an argument

and btw, use your own material re :"thanks for playing"

The Col: Yeah well, thanks for playing. Next time you might even win.

The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR and EURIBOR by other financial institutions and individuals is ongoing. The agreement requires Barclays to continue cooperating with the department in its ongoing investigation.

“LIBOR and EURIBOR are critically important benchmark interest rates,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Because mortgages, student loans, financial derivatives, and other financial products rely on LIBOR and EURIBOR as reference rates, the manipulation of submissions used to calculate those rates can have significant negative effects on consumers and financial markets worldwide. For years, traders at Barclays encouraged the manipulation of LIBOR and EURIBOR submissions in order to benefit their financial positions; and, in the midst of the financial crisis, Barclays management directed that U.S. Dollar LIBOR submissions be artificially lowered. For this illegal conduct, Barclays is paying a significant price. To the bank’s credit, Barclays also took a significant step toward accepting responsibility for its conduct by being the first institution to provide extensive and meaningful cooperation to the government. Its efforts have substantially assisted the Criminal Division in our ongoing investigation of individuals and other financial institutions in this matter.”

I think the word for today is manipulation!!

""Senior managers at Barclays have warned staff in an internal memo that the Libor scandal will envelop other banks.

The memo circulated on Friday said that revelations about its rivals would "put in perspective" Barclays' culpability.....

.....According to the Barclays' memo to staff: "As other banks settle with authorities, and their details become public, and various governments' inquiries shed more light, our situation will eventually be put in perspective."

The memo, from Mr Agius and other senior executives, admitted that customers, shareholders and regulators "all have a right to feel let down" by the bank after it admitted to manipulating Libor, and incurred a £290m ($450m) fine from UK and US regulators.

Several banks are currently being investigated, both in the UK and the US, for allegedly manipulating Libor.

On Friday it emerged that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York - which is responsible for overseeing banks in the US city - discussed concerns about the way Libor was being set as early as May 2008.

YO!! Americans .. It's time for some pay back.

"""A US regulator has fined the credit card provider Capital One Financial for misleading millions of customers into buying unnecessary products. Capital One has agreed to pay $210m (£134m) to settle the case and refund two million customers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said "deceptive marketing tactics" had been used. Consumers had to pay for extras such as payment protection and credit monitoring when they took out a card. CFPB director Richard Cordray said: "Customers were pressured or misled into buying credit card products they didn't understand, didn't want, or in some cases, couldn't even use."

"We are putting companies on notice that these deceptive practices are against the law and will not be tolerated," he added.

Capital One, on of the US's biggest issuers of credit cards, said it will refund customers $150m, pay a $25m fine to the CFPB and an additional $35m to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency"""

... $150,000,000 in refunds going.. Are YOU owed??

Homeland Security lets states access immigration database to aid voter purge

July 18, 2012

The Department of Homeland Security is opening up its immigration database to several battleground states that want to identify and kick off non-citizens from their voter registration rolls, NPR reported.

Homeland Security initially denied Florida's request to access the database, arguing it would violate voting rights laws, before a federal judge sided with Florida and forced DHS to open the database. Florida, Colorado, Nevada and other battleground states may soon start using the data to purge legal immigrants who have not yet become citizens from the rolls.

Florida notified 2,700 people--60 percent of them Hispanic--that their voter registration would be automatically revoked if they didn't prove their citizenship. The Florida officials relied on a state database that had out-of-date citizenship information, and most of the people contacted by reporters on the list have proven or stated their citizenship, according to the Miami Herald. Voting rights groups have criticized the purge for happening so close to the election, which gives people removed in error little time to re-register. Some Democrats argue the purges and voter ID laws intentionally discourage minority voters who tend to vote Democratic, but supporters argue that they're a necessary way to prevent voter fraud.

Artful Dodger: I don't think I commented one way or the other on your response

The Col: Yer welcome. Sorry if you don't like my honesty.

The Col: Kinda... But with the 'bad cop' coming from LA.

(V): good cop bad cop?

Wasn't it in South Park that the truth was told.

Conservatives need the Liberals in America so they can carry on being conservative without fear of the rest of the world seeing the US as an aggressive state who supplies weapons of death (WOD's) to as many warzones as possible.

N' as a country who keeps interfering with other country's.

Artful Dodger: thanks for playing

The Col: Well like I said it depends on what YOU mean by right wing extremists. Using the definition I have in mine I'd say no. They don't love America. They love their screwed up ideology.

Carrying this further: Does Obama love America? No. He wants to fundamentally change American from what it is to what it is not. He can find that in Venezuela.

Artful Dodger: I meant the right wing equivilant
of my original question

The Col: Depends on who you mean. I know some right wingers that are the same. They want freedom for themselves but not so much for others. But if you mean the tea party, they are patriots. They want to restore the US to what we are Constitutionally. But some extreme groups just want their ideology to command regardless of laws or Constitution principles.

Artful Dodger: How about on the reverse side, the right wing extremists?

The Col: No I don't. Moderates maybe but not the progressives. They love their ideology and want only what's best for their screwed up view of the world. They want to fundamentally change America. They should move to Cuba. There's a fundamental change for ya.

Artful Dodger: You don't think Liberals love their country, and want what they think is best for it?

rod03801: Liberals are good at running things into the ground. They won't be satisfied until they've demolished everything. Then they will still blame everyone else for what they themselves have created. They are the party of blame.

rod03801: Because of their advertising. Still now they make out their products are perfectly healthy in the UK.

"How about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?"

Many do, but some are taught to hand it over to an invisible being!!

"It just HAS to be SOMEONE else's fault. "

Like the government?

I'd say the Romans.. but unless your a Monty Python fan..

(V): Why in the world should McDonald's be blamed for obesity?

How about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Pathetic how so many people can't take responsibility for their own bad habits. It just HAS to be SOMEONE else's fault.

Foolishness.

... Cuban Revolution?? Those companies were treating the Cubans like those in Texas treat illegal immigrants these days!!

Iamon lyme: The NHBC 10 year guarantee is a supposed guarantee on new houses of all types.. including 'exclusive' builds.

"So in other words, you support sweat shops that contribute to child labour deaths because you don't make your own clothes?"

Hey.. I though I was supposed to be the twister here... now I think I'll pass the virtual crown over to you!!

"And today he single handedly runs all the businesses involved in making internet access available to you."

No... he thought of the standard system that all the businesses now use to communicate over the internet.

"And you built all the parts and components from scratch, from rocks and dirt......."

Nahhhh, But no kid built it.

"You even built a running wheel to generate your own electricity."

Nope.. that is the UK governments fault.. our electric that is. If they hadn't standardised the voltage, plug design and built the national grid...

(V): "Mcdonalds has a lot to answer for regarding the obesity problem."

I blame McDonnalds for my weight problem. I never go there, but it's all their fault... I blame Bush too.

"The use of sweat shops, child labour deaths?"

So in other words, you support sweat shops that contribute to child labour deaths because you don't make your own clothes?

"Asbestos? The NHBC 10 year guarantee being worthless??"

You choose to live in substandard housing..

"...internet easiness was invented by someone working at CERN. IE a government paid scientist."

And today he single handedly runs all the businesses involved in making internet access available to you.


Did some kid build a computer in his garage and then give it to you?

"No I built it."

And you built all the parts and components from scratch, from rocks and dirt. And from tree branches and twigs you hand carved using a knife you made from raw iron ore heated by a fire you made from rubbing two sticks together. No evil business made anything you used to build your own computer. You even built a running wheel to generate your own electricity.

... The illegal arms trade?

HSBC provided a conduit for "drug kingpins and rogue nations", according to a US Senate committee investigating money laundering claims at the bank. Its report said suspicious funds from countries including Mexico, Iran and Syria had passed through the bank.

The committee is hearing from HSBC officials, one of whom said he found it "painful and embarrassing" to talk about the bank's shortcomings. HSBC's head of group compliance, David Bagley, stepped down at the hearing.

Mr Bagley told the committee that the bank had "fallen short of our own and regulators' expectations but that a major overhaul of the bank's compliance activities was underway and that HSBC had "learned a lot of valuable lessons".

He said despite being head of compliance he had not had full authority to act over all parts of the bank.

The bank said it was in the process of closing 20,000 accounts in the Cayman Islands as a result of the investigation.

Senator Carl Levin said HSBC's lack of controls at its US and overseas units had been "a recipe for trouble". Mr Levin is chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which is looking into HSBC's activities between 2006 and 2010.

Its report also says that some HSBC bank affiliates got round US government rules prohibiting financial transactions with Iran and certain other countries, in some cases assisting terrorism.

We can blame them therefore for supporting terrorists and drug barons??

... That was one thing about the 2012 Olympics .. the two biggest supporters are the two biggest suppliers into the food chain of products that are bad for your health.

Does anyone supersize now?

Iamon lyme: .....

"You can blame them for the food you eat."

Mcdonalds has a lot to answer for regarding the obesity problem.

"You can blame them for the clothes you wear."

The use of sweat shops, child labour deaths?

"You can blame them for the materials and labor that went into making your home."

Asbestos? The NHBC 10 year guarantee being worthless??

"You can blame them for your computer and for easy access to the internet. (I blame them for that)"

uh uh.. the internet easiness was invented by someone working at CERN. IE a government paid scientist.

"By the way, do you grow your own food"

Yes.. not all.

"Did some kid build a computer in his garage and then give it to you?"

No I built it.

(V): "I'm still waiting for a list from a conservative on this board on what we can blame on businesses."

You can blame them for the food you eat.
You can blame them for the clothes you wear.
You can blame them for the materials and labor that went into making your home.
You can blame them for your computer and for easy access to the internet. (I blame them for that)

Those are just a few examples. There's plenty of blame to go around, and no end to the products and services we can complain about.


By the way, do you grow your own food and make your own clothes? Did you build your own home and do you generate your own electricity? Did some kid build a computer in his garage and then give it to you?

Iamon lyme: Yes, I know I did... The big hint that I did was that those figures were in my post.

"You make it sound as though they got away with it."

They did for ten years.

"some people will try to cheat and get away with it. Is that really such a big surprise?"

Nope. Just another one in the long list of cheating companies.

I'm still waiting for a list from a conservative on this board on what we can blame on businesses.

Cheating customers seems to be one!!

(V): How does paying hefty money settlements translate into them being "allowed to rip people off"? You make it sound as though they got away with it.

The only real point you can make here is that some people will try to cheat and get away with it. Is that really such a big surprise?

(V): "As money makers they are allowed to rip people off."

"LG Display.. to pay $380m"
"Samsung paid $240m"
"Toshiba is to pay $21m"
"AU Optronics is to pay $170m."

You posted these facts, not me.

LG Display has agreed to pay $380m (£246m) to settle an LCD panel price-fixing case in the US.

The company denied doing anything wrong, but said it had agreed to a settlement to avoid "the expense and burden of protracted litigation".

It was the largest amount paid by any of the 10 companies that have settled the case, including Toshiba, Samsung, Sharp and Hitachi.

They were accused of fixing the prices of LCD panels between 1996 and 2006.

The money will go to US consumers and state governments. The alleged price fixing would have increased the prices of devices using LCD displays such as televisions and laptop computers.

Samsung paid $240m to settle the case in December, while Toshiba is to pay $21m and AU Optronics is to pay $170m.

>>>>>>> But it's ok, they make money. As money makers they are allowed to rip people off.

At least that is the Conservative American view!!

MissDelish: Because I'd thought you might wanna reply in the first party for a change!!

25 January 2012, New York

After today’s decision by the Federal Reserve to maintain the target fed funds rate at zero to 25 basis points, Swiss Re’s Chief Economist, Kurt Karl, commented: “Weak economic activity, moderating inflation and fiscal tightening will keep the Fed on hold through mid-2013, perhaps longer.”

Karl added: “Since last summer, the US economic prospects have proved to be resilient to the euro debt crisis. Growth continues, though still at a fairly moderate pace. Headline consumer price inflation has eased from 3.9% year-over-year in September to 3.0% in December. Fiscal stimulus will be weaker this year than in 2011, so growth is unlikely to accelerate substantially this year. Nevertheless, vehicle sales and residential construction, particularly of multi-family homes, will support growth this year. The euro debt crisis, coupled with Operation Twist, has bolstered demand for long-term Treasuries. In addition, the new set of forecasts from the FOMC members should help calm markets and provide guidance on expected future Fed policies. As a consequence, we have lowered our forecast of yields on the 10-year Treasury note to 2% - 2.5% by end-2012."

He continued: “In Europe, further steps continue to be taken to contain the crisis and stabilize the situation. This has been, encouragingly, sufficient to lower yields on Italian and Spanish government bonds from recent peaks. However, the problems are far from solved and it will take more time to implement needed structural and fiscal reforms. Despite some improvements, the Euro Area is most likely currently in recession. In the UK, fiscal policies continue to restrain growth and a mild recession now looks likely. On the other hand, Japan’s economy is recovering from the tsumani, so will support the global economy this year with real GDP growth of 2.2%. China's recent shift to expansionary monetary policy may have already begun to pay off, with Q4 growth a bit stronger than expected. Growth this year is expected to be 8.5%, lower than last year, but still robust.”

The Col: my prerogative :) being a woman that is.

MissDelish: women......

why am I the only one being picked up on "clever?" when both ArtfulDodger and LamonLyme both thought it was clever also.

MissDelish: Clever??

Iamon lyme: sure it wasn't looking like this....

http://php.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/images/d/df/Stage7.jpg

Iamon lyme: that is so clever....

Artful Dodger: "someone is very clever!"

Oh, you mean the painting of a kid looking up at a "spaceship"! I thought it was clever too. It's in the same style as the old Norman Rockwell paintings.