Since the cost of gas has been increasing a ton, automobile buying habits among Americans have modified accordingly. {However, American customers are not purchasing as several green vehicles for instance hybrids and electric cars as they’re compact and subcompact vehicles that sip the gas tank|That said, individuals are not buying more hybrids or electrics. Instead of green automobiles, people have been buying smaller compact and subcompact automobiles that sip daintily from the tank|Compact and subcompact automobilesare still much more popular than green cars, as individuals still want traditional cars that only sip from the tank| Subcompact and compact veh! icles are still more popular than green automobiles like electrics or hybrids, as traditional automobiles that sip lightly from the tank are selling much better than greener but more expensive and less useful options|Small

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Los Angeles Dodgers attempting to avoid the Brian Stow suit

The family of Brian Stow, the man who was beaten into a coma while he was at a baseball game a short while ago, is suing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stow, a Giants fan, went to the opening game at Dodgers stadium against the Giants, and was nearly beaten to death by Dodgers fans in the parking lot. Only one man has been arrested for the incident.

L.A. police’s recent arrest

The Los Angeles Times reports that an arrest in the Brian Stow beating case was recently made by the LA Police Department. Giovanni Ramirez, 31, was arrested by the LAPD on suspicion of being one of the two assailants that beat Brian Stow, who has remained in critical condition since he was attacked March 31. Two men were observed verbally taunting Stow until one blindsided him, evidently for the audacity of wearing a Giants jersey. He was kicked repeatedly after falling to the ground. Even after he became unconscious, the men still beat him. Ramirez has three prior felony convictions and is a known gang member. He is being charged, because he killed a victim to near death, with assault with a deadly weapon.

Dodgers face lawsuit

The Dodgers organization is being sued by the Stow family, reports ESPN. This is being done because there was not enough security. The Stow family attorney claims that the Dodgers are responsible for making sure the stadium is safe and has enough security. It obviously was not so. Right away after the incident, the Dodgers began hiring more security personnel, including previous LAPD officials to oversee security details. Other Dodgers supporters have been drunk and unruly in the past. Some say these “problem fans” are gang members that like to view the game. Ramirez was identified by his parole officer, who noticed he bore a resemblance to a sketch of one of the two assailants. The other man remains at large. Since then, Stow has been improving. He can open his eyes and move both his arms and legs, CNN reports.

Sports enthusiasts were violent in the past too

There is a long history of violence among sports enthusiasts. In 531 A.D., the Nika riots happened in Constantinople because of chariot racing for a week, states Wikipedia. Before the army killed the rioters, there were 10,000 deaths and half the city was burned down. For a while now, Europe has seen lots of violence with soccer. It is a common occurrence. Enthusiasts rioted at the end of April in Greece, according to Fox News, at the conclusion of the Greek professional soccer championship. Polish soccer enthusiasts rioted on May 3 after the end of the Polish Cup Final match, according to the Daily Mail, and had to be subdued by riot law enforcement after invading the field, setting the stadium on fire and assaulting players.

Information from

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dodgers-20110523,0,2773021.story

ESPN

sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=6584013&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

CNN

articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/justice/california.fan.beaten_1_billboard-campaign-brutal-attack-parking-lot?_s=PM:CRIME

Nika Riots

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots

Fox News

foxnews.com/sports/2011/05/02/aek-fan-club-torched-2-days-cup-final-riots/

Daily Mail

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383480/Concerns-hooliganism-Poland-football-cup-final-ends-mass-riot.html

Dangerous to get personal loans and go to for-profit school

Private, for-profit schools aren’t all created equal, and scholars should be persistent about any they might be considering. There have been numerous clashes between for-profit schools and the authorities, and profit driven school attendees have the highest loan default rates after graduating. Scholars should do their research before attending, though several for-profit schools are perfectly fine.

Donald Trump seeing Indictment in the future as a possibility

CNN reports the New York Lawyer General is investigating five companies that were for-profit universities. One of the schools involved is the former Trump University, the small for-profit school launched by Donald Trump several years back. After the New York Department of Education said that this was not a real school, it was renamed the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. There are four other schools involved, reports the New York Times. They contain Bridgepoint Education, Lincoln Educational Services, the Career Education Corporation and Corinthian Colleges. Charges have not yet been filed. They are all being investigated still.

Dispute being worked out

State governments and the federal government are beginning to come down on for-profit universities, and some previous students aren’t thrilled. Right now, Donald Trump is being sued by some students in California. They say they were misled by what is now Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. The investigation of Corinthian’s colleges consist of those found in many states. These states contain Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts and California. The Massachusetts Attorney General, according to the Boston Globe, is also investigating Apollo Group, the company that runs the University of Phoenix, also as the Kaplan Career Institute, which is operated by the Washington Post Company. The corporate parts of smaller private colleges are also typically not very stable. For instance, Alpine College in Spokane, Wash., recently closed its doors permanently in the middle of a term, leaving scholars holding the bag for thousands in unsecured loans and no degree to show for it.

Affording it is hard to do

Students have difficulty deciding which school to go to. Typically, cost is an essential thing to consider. Most for-profit universities are costly. They can cost more than they are worth. Reuters states that 15.2 percent of students who went to a for-profit college defaulted on student loans within a year in 2009, which is twice the 7.3 percent of students who defaulted after going to a public college. A default rate of 4.3 percent was shown for private, non-for-profit schools. Also, for-profit college scholars make up half of loan defaults. That’s a pretty high rate. It has been too hard for scholars to meet loan responsibilities after going to for-profit universities. Individuals have accused for-profit universities of not preparing scholars well enough. A new rule is being considered by the Department of Education. This wouldn’t allow schools with scholars that have a 35 percent or higher default rate to get federal loans for students.

Citations

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/05/20/news/companies/trump_university/index.htm

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/05/20/nyregion/trumps-for-profit-school-said-to-be-under-investigation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=education

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/education-forprofit-idUSN2028820820110520

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/us-education-idUSTRE74J55O20110520

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43130397″>MSNBC

Boston Globe

http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-17/business/29552871_1_college-access-success-college-students-schools”

Consumers trust banks much less than bankers know or believe

It’s hard to encourage the average U.S. taxpayer that banks that are “too big to fail” deserve their trust. The outcomes are easy to see in recent customer confidence polls, suggests Bankrate. Polls like the biannual Index of Bank Sentiment by consulting firm BAI & Finacle asked consumers “Do you trust your bank?” and customers replied with a resounding “No.” Bankers surveyed in that same poll seemed oblivious to the truth, as they trusted that consumers trust them.

Consumer and banker opinions divided

There was an Index of Bank Sentiment survey done. Over 2,500 U.S. banking consumers were surveyed in it. A huge divide, not difference of opinion, was shown with the gap between consumers who trusted their bank (77 points) and banks that assume they’re trusted (121 points), according to results. One hundred points on either side would look good. This would show reasonable confidence.

Some financial experts believe that the rise of non-traditional consumer credit products like payday loans supports the findings of the BAI & Finacle survey. It makes sense that a customer may be more interested in small loans at other financial institutions if they answer “Do you trust your bank” with no.

Trust not needed by banks

The Index of Bank Sentiment survey showed that 63 percent of respondents felt their banks were not trustworthy. Still, 64 percent said that a “good image and reputation” was still shown with their bank. Forty percent felt their bank was not looking out for their best interests.

About 85 percent of respondents did not think financial institution fees should be required for a checking account at all. A mere 44 percent found current bank fees to be reasonable.

Current Fortune 500 list banks

While community banks and credit unions have become increasingly popular with customers, large commercial banks still reign supreme when it comes to capturing consumer business. There were 20 commercial banks on the recently released Fortune 500 list of top United States businesses while the top 100 had seven commercial banks. When it came to the commercial banks, Bank of America Corp., was first while being ninth on the Fortune 500 list. The top five included 13th J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 14th Citigroup, 23rd Wells Fargo and 54th Goldman Sachs Group.

How other financial service businesses do with U.S. customers

Investment brokers and pay day loan corporations both are in the world of financial service corporations. This is outside of the banks. There is the Edelman Trust in United States Financial Services Survey on top of the BAI & Finacle survey. It showed that about half of customers trusted their financial service business less than they did in 2009 last year. About 20 percent of respondents said that they thought this was because financial services industry was responsible for the recession while 46 percent thought that it was because of corporate greed.

Articles cited

Bankrate.com

bankrate.com/financing/banking/do-you-trust-your-bank/

Shared Financial Success

sharedfinancialsuccess.com/fortune-500-who-should-you-trust-with-your-money/

Author Ramit Sethi on ways banks nickel and dime you

youtube.com/watch?v=b1wQYXYbxDs

Coffee could help prostate cancer

Drinking coffee may help to ward off prostate cancer, so guys who drink lots of it can rejoice for there may be health benefits. Men who drink six cups of coffee a day or more were found to have the lowest rates of prostate cancer, according to a new research.

Keep on drinking that caffeine

Guys who are addicted to caffeine might be excited to hear the good news, states MSNBC. The Harvard School of Public Health just released a new research on it. It is great for health to drink a ton of coffee even though there may be some down sides. This was shown as the chance of getting prostate cancer was much lower with a male who drank coffee a lot. From 1986 to 2008, 48,000 guys were followed including their coffee habits. This was how the research was done, CBS states. The number of guys with prostate cancer was lowest among those with six or more cups.

Old research contradicted

There was a research done in the Harvard School of Public Health 30 years ago. It was contrary of what this study said in its conclusions. The study was flawed though. The research methodology was questionable. Patients who had cancer reported coffee details better in the study from years back since patients were asked about coffee habits. This is known as “recall bias.” It makes it so early results are contaminated. In the research that has just been released, guys who drank six cups of coffee per day or more had 60 percent less of a chance of getting prostate cancer and a 20 percent less chance of developing the deadliest forms of the disease. Anyone who drank 3 or less cups a day had 30 percent less chance. The caffeine made no difference to the research.

Findings unknown

WebMD states the reason why there might be this effect isn’t known although there are theories with antioxidants. Dietary antioxidants have been credited with myriad benefits over the years, including a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. Other studies have shown that drinking coffee can decrease risks for Parkinson’s disease, gout and Type 2 diabetes. The most common cancer in men is prostate cancer. One in six men is impacted by in in America. Annually, over 30,000 prostate cancer deaths occur. This is the U.S. rate.

Articles cited

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43065205/ns/health-cancer/

CBS

cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20063692-10391704.html?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.9

WebMD

webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20110517/coffee-may-lower-prostate-cancer-risk

Wisconsin State may make title lending legal again

Last year, Wisconsin became the final state in the union to regulate payday and title lending. The original bill could have prohibited banning vehicle title lending, but the governor vetoed that item to get rid of title lending. Now, a joint committee is taking action to end the ban on title lending, which would de-regulate the industry.

Regulation on payday loans in Wisconsin

Currently in Wisconsin State, short-term loans secured by an auto title are not legal. The selective vetoing of the 2010 legislation banned loans of this type. In Wisconsin State, the borrower’s monthly income must be much more than the cash advance. The loan can only be up to 35 percent of this monthly income. No extra interest can be charged when the loan is due, even with late payments. There are 529 short-term lender locations in Wisconsin. They lent out $600.5 million in 2009.

Changes wanted by Wisconsin Republicans

Righter payday loan regulation is something the U.S. Senate President wants. Mike Ellis, the president, is a Republican. Despite his surprise at the recommendation of the Joint Finance Committee, Ellis agrees that the recommendations should be debated on the merits, instead of as a knee-jerk response. Last year the governor vetoed so several times that it shaped the bill, which co-chairman Rep. Robin Vos commented on. He said, “You can make a case that it was done wrongly the first time. We’re correcting his error and actually adding some better provisions in.”

Not getting the same service with payday lending and title lending

Short-term financial solutions usually contain more than check cashing and payday lending. Typically title lending is also integrated in it. These financial products all cater to the under banked community, however they each do so differently. Payday loans are short-term loans intended to be paid back in two to four weeks. Collateral such as a vehicle is at risk with title lending since it offers high loan amounts. Check-cashing services charge a fee for cashing checks for consumers. All of these are different services. They need separate regulation.

Information from

WTAQ

wtaq.com/news/articles/2011/may/13/jfc-approves-measures-including-auto-title-loans/

JS Online

jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/121731299.html

After scandal, Dominique Strauss-Kahn cannot get bail

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been denied bail when arraigned on sexual attack charges. He allegedly tried to rape a maid in his hotel room, and was arrested and booked before he left on a flight to France. He is being kept at Riker’s Island for the moment.

Sexual charges for financer to face

The IMF head was brought into a NYC courtroom on Monday, May 16 and arraigned on charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment, states the Guardian. This will be one of the highest profile sex scandals in years to come out. He was accused of sexually assaulting a main in the Times Square hotel he was staying at, the Sofitel, which is why Dominique Straus-Kahn was detained Saturday for false imprisonment and sexual attack. According to Reuters, he was boarding a plan for France when he was detained. Monday he went before a judge. The attorneys that were prosecuting said he would be a flight risk. They said that if he had gone to France, the country would not have extradited him. He was denied bail and is now being held at Riker’s Island Correctional Facility.

International Monetary Fund continues operations

Regardless of the head of the organization’s imprisonment, the International Monetary Fund is still carrying on, according to the Los Angeles Times. Kahn missed a meeting with several finance ministers in Europe in Brussels because he was in arraignment. This meeting discussed the chance of a joint bailout package for the Portugal debt crisis between the European Union and IMF. There is still a Greece debt crisis. The topic of sending more aid was to be discussed as well. The headline “the chambermaid blocks Greece!” was shown in an Athens newspaper while the austerity measures in the country that were forced already have been bad for Strauss-Kahn. During all of this, Strauss-Kahn is stuck in The Tombs holding cells waiting for his next hearing. He is near the Riker’s Island Courthouse.

Reaction to scandal

Current president Nikolas Sarkozy was designed to have Strauss-Kahn as competition in the coming election as he is a significant figure in the Socialist party in France. It is possible that Francois Hollande or Marine Aubry will replace him. The Telegraph reports that his job at IMF is up for grabs. Many individuals are ready to take the position too. Even though current P.M. David Cameron won’t endorse previous English prime minister Gordon Brown, he really wants the job. Axel Weber as a former finance minister of Germany is a possibility for the job. Christine Lagarde is also in the running as the current France finance minister.

Information from

The Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/finance/dominique-strauss-kahn/8517119/Christine-Lagarde-and-Axel-Weber-front-runners-for-Dominique-Strauss-Kahns-IMF-role.html

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/05/ron-paul-imf-dominique-strauss-kahn.html

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/16/us-strausskahn-arrest-idUSTRE74D29F20110516

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-euro-talks-20110517,0,2339845.story

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/17/dominique-strauss-kahn-court-appearance

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/15/strauss-kahn-arrest-hits-french-elections

Launch of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau marred by bills to cut powers

In July, a new federal agency is going to launch. That Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been in the planning stages for years. Regardless of strong consumer support, three new House bills are attempting to weaken the CFPB. None of these bills have become law yet. All three, however, have been approved for House debate.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau status

The Dodd-Frank Act started the CFPB to “promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, charge cards and other consumer financial products and services.” July, 2011 is when the bureau will start. There still is not Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director that has been added, regardless of the deadline. Without a director, the CFPB will continue to run. It will be under the direction of the Security of Treasury.

Which bills would affect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

In the United States House of Representatives, three separate bills to weaken the CFPB have been introduced. HR 1121, called the Responsible Consumer Financial Protection Regulations Act of 2011, would replace the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with a five-member commission. HR 1315, called the Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Act, would give the Financial Stability Oversight Council of the Department of Treasury the right to overturn any rules made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The last bill is HR 1667, or the Bureau of Customer Financial Protection Transfer Clarification Act. It would make it extremely hard for the agency to start without a director. These three bills have been approved by the Financial Services Committee and will be debated in the House.

All the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has to do

Though the duties and responsibilities of the CFPB may change, there are several things the Bureau will likely remain responsible for. Financial products will be monitored, with consideration of consumer protection, by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau first. Second, existing federal financial laws would be enforced with the assistance of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Customers will be able to get information from the Bureau too.

Articles cited

Treasury.gov

treasury.gov/initiatives/Pages/FSOC-index.aspx

WalletPop

walletpop.com/2011/05/12/5-things-the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-will-do-for-yo/

House.gov

house.gov/

Mississippi river crests as most detrimental is finished for Memphis

The American southeast is being battered by the Mississippi river, which has been enlarged and flooding for several weeks. Memphis, Tenn., has been inundated with heavy flooding, but the river has crested near the Music City, signifying the most severe is over. Flooding should begin to subside, however other areas farther down the river are still at great risk.

Tennessee landmarks just fine

There are finished 1,000 homeless people now. Still, nothing in Tennessee that was considered a landmark was hurt. BBC states that Music City’s Beale Street district wasn’t hurt by floodwaters at all. Elvis Presley’s home in his life until he passed away in 1977, Graceland, was not touched once by the Mississippi. Even if people had to “charge hell with a water pistol,” they would keep Graceland safe. This is what a Shelby County Emergency Management Agency official explained. Flash floods in the Memphis area are a significant concern, reports CBS. About 1,300 homes were evacuated because of this fear. Normal water will take a while to get. It may be a while before every little thing goes back to normal.

Flooding after storms are finished

After the snowfall near record on the East Coast of the U.S., the Mississippi river has gotten very high. Memphis’ floodwaters were just 10 inches lower than the 1937 record hitting 48 feet. Memphis’ worst danger is nearing an end. Still, other Mississippi river cities need to be cautious. There have been problems with the flood in the rest of the Mississippi river system and river delta. Still, precautions are still being taken. MSNBC reports the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway recently to help relieve New Orleans’ levees pressure. There are already floodwaters flowing through the delta. Still, there are measures being taken in preparation.

Terrible flooding

A flood in 1927 killed hundreds of individuals and cost millions to fix. The Christian Science Monitor reports the flood levels aren’t that bad. There is more than 2,000 miles of levees that were constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to the 1927 floods. The water always has to go somewhere though. That means that the Mississippi water has to flood somewhere else when the spillways are opened. Floods in Arkansas farmland is anticipated while the water gets closer to the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, 900,000 acres of farmland are anticipated to flood.

Information from

BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13337548

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42973616/ns/us_news-environment/

CBS

cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/09/travel/main20061138.shtml

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0509/Mississippi-River-nears-crest-in-Memphis-but-concern-shifts-south

May 21, 2011, has been penciled in for Rapture

Predictions of when doomsday and apocalypse will come to Earth are old hat for religious beliefs by now. May 21, 2011, will reportedly be the day of the Rapture. WFMY 2 News in Greensboro, N.C., states that billboards are heralding the grand day of judgment.

Suggesting that ‘The Bible guarantees it’

Harold Camping, a Family Radio network founder in Oakland, California, put on billboards to “Cry mightily unto God,” since May 21, 2011 is going to be Judgment Day. The over 150 Family Radio affiliates are going to broadcast the program from 8:30 to 10 p.m. on May 21.

Camping believes May 21, 2011, will be the Rapture, when true Christians are gathered together in the heavens to meet with Jesus Christ. Five months later on October 21, 2011, Camping believes God will destroy the Earth and the universe entirely. In Sept, 1994, these same events were forecasted by Camping.

Hard to figure out when Doomsday will appear

Camping is not unlike the many before him who predicted the end of the world. They have all used the Bible to figure it out. Doomsday is decided based on the fact that seven days is equal to seven millennia where mathematical calculations are needed. Camping used the Hebrew calendar to determine when 7,000 years from the day God told Noah judgment would be is. He decided it was May 21, 2011.

“The Bible has given us absolute proof that the year 2011 is the end of the world during the Day of Judgment, which will come on the last day of the Day of Judgment,” says Camping on FamilyRadio.com.

Four memorable end of the world prediction failures, Caucasian blend

For your end of the world pleasure, here are four of many notable apocalypse reservations that were broken:

The 1806 The Prophet Hen of Leeds

Allegedly, there was a hen that laid eggs saying “Christ is coming” in 1906 in the English town of Leeds. This was proven false when viewing the egg laying process.

Followers of April 23, 1843 called the Millerites

End of the world was expected in a one year span by New England farmer William Miller. He thought someplace between March 21, 1843 and 1844 would be when the ending of the world came. His followers, the Millerites, helped him figure out an exact date. This is how April 23, 1843 came about. Many followers sold their worldly possessions for naught. Some did go on to found the Seventh Day Adventists, however.

In 1910 the Halley’s Comet would hit

Astronomers in 1881 determined that Earth would pass through the cyanogens-laden tail of Halley’s comet in 1910. Stories about mass extinction via poison gas made the front page of the New York Times, but by 1910, scientists knew better.

Heaven’s Gate, 1997

There was a mass suicide with the Heaven’s Gate cult. There were 39 members that perished. The appearance of the Hale-Bopp comet in 1997 was interpreted as the coming of an alien spaceship. Paradise would only be accessible to those who left their bodies behind. This is how Heaven’s Gate leader Marshall Applewhite persuaded all the fatalities.

Information from

FamilyRadio.com

familyradio.com/index2.html

LiveScience

livescience.com/7926-10-failed-doomsday-predictions.html

WFMY News 2

bit.ly/ksDgPL

Wikipedia entry for Harold Camping

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Camping

Doomsday and apocalypse (Beware: Contains scripture)

youtube.com/watch?v=djH4NZo78Rw