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Recently folks at MIT distinguished themselves for doing something better than anyone else. Finding some balloons. Perhaps this exercise can be put to a better purpose. Here is one link I found with no effort - may I ask you to examine the issue? CLICK HERE
THE CHALLENGE
" This Saturday, December 5th, DARPA will be deploying 10 large, red weather balloons at 10 fixed locations in the United States. (more info)
DARPA is giving $40,000 to the first team of people to find all 10 balloons. Join the MIT team, invite your friends and you can win money, help science, and help charity! (see how it works) "
Read more CLICK HERE to see the reward they collected.
Can we all agree we have shared problems? Can we identify, say one problem, then having agreed that it is one we all share, decide to focus our collective power as citizens on this problem to force action? (PSST - The answer is YES)
OK - let's say, for the sake of argument, that we can all agree that the credit card companies in general - but perhaps one specifically is abusing us.
Combining the ability of the folks at MIT to "get the word out" to take action toward a specific defined goal at a specific time of a specific description - is it reasonable to collectively say - hey - let's get the word out that on such and such a day we will target such and such credit card company - and do X?
This may seem radical - but it is certainly peaceful. Just some food for thought.
As far as the specifics - bring the ideas on and let's see what we can do together.
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Have you done any study of the group known as anonymous?
ReplyDeleteThey've been pretty good at mobilizing internet users around a common goal. It seem like it would be pretty easy to do a realtime test. Post information regarding a time and a blog to go meet and see what happens. Find a site with big bandwidth and a counter... check the site for a few days previous to establish what an average number of users are at the site and then launch the meet-up. It seems even if most weren't posting comments (if you had a big group, it would be impossible) you'd still have an idea by watching the counter scrolling of the effectiveness of this.
I wonder how many blogs you'd have to post the information on before it went viral?
I think this is possible, but I'm pretty dumb about the way computers and the internet work, so I might just be blowing smoke out my keister.
DaveS
Hi Dave - great talkin' to you!
ReplyDeleteThey were able to get the word out about those balloons - I know they could get the word out about this. And I know the public has had it with the credit card companies, generally speaking - but certain ones in general. They are obviously robbing all of us - we all know it - this can be done and they would hurt bad - and fast. Then if they didn't get the message the first time - rut roh - the second wave would probably sink their battleship.
Certain ones in general? One of these days I will read things before I hit "post comment" but oh well. My point is that there are good lenders out there - I can name a few specifically - here's one:
ReplyDeleteI had a BMW financed vehicle back in 2001, September 11 to be exact - and I remember vividly - BMW gave us a month payment off - out of respect for that great tragedy. In my opinion - this is not a lender I would mess with because they are not part of the problem.
So let's move on to some other names and talk about their practices.
I can't remember the name of the C.C company, but it was posted on WRH within the last two weeks that they would be rolling out 79% cards to get around a new law regarding initial fees. Countrywide or something, they send pre-paid offer scams nationwide.
ReplyDeleteObviously Goldman-Sachs - who is a partial owner of the Federal Reserve and also always has a CEO member or former CEO member as Head of the fed and Treasury Secretary - enjoyed their largest profit in a long time - due to receipt of bailout money.
Then of course there's the IMF - who rapes 3rd world countries worldwide.
Who Can forget the BIS - Bank of Internation Settlements - set to become the central bank of the world government and also the policy setter currently for the Federal Reserve , Bank of England, etc etc. In other words print mony as debt that can never be repaid and saddle every nation with it until they submit to the beast.
I saw this also on WRH just now -
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/1/92957/20516 (NOTE: UNTRUSTED SITE BUT A GOOD IDEA)
"Of course the people who most need this access to credit will be paying 29.9% or higher. After all, through whatever challenges and difficulties they face, the fact is that these fellow citizens have been flagged for having less than perfect credit.
So if bad luck or bad decisions mean someone is less credit worthy, they should pay more for the funds they need to get by.
So I propose that effective Monday, all outstanding TARP and stimulus funds to the BTBTF immediately move to 29.9% annually. They have proven to be bad credit risks. I have no problem with them receiving the money they need. But the taxpayers should receive the higher interest rate for providing funds to these less than credit worthy institutions."
Why didn't Congress do something like this so that it would COST them to pocket this taxpayer handout as PROFIT? - Because every one of them (well maybe except Ron Paul and Jim Bunning and a few scattered others) got a cut of it, thats why.
I Think It Is Time We Learned from the Banks To Big To Fail
ReplyDeleteby bocjonah
Digg this! Share this on Twitter - I Think It Is Time We Learned from the Banks To Big To FailTweet this submit to reddit
Fri Jan 01, 2010 at 06:29:57 AM PST
Let's assume that the Banks Too Big To Fail are paying what seems to be outrageous bonuses because their leadership is clever, successful, and understand the best way to run businesses. I always want to try to learn what I can from successful people. So my modest proposal is that we implement the lessons from the Banks Too Big To Fail (BTBTF).
* bocjonah's diary :: ::
*
Our family has been very lucky. We haven't been late with a credit payment in years. Still, we have seen our credit card rates go from 9.9% to 12.9% to 19.9%. According to the letters we receive from the BTBTF, they are having to raise our rates so that they will be able to continue to provide their services at this important time.
Of course the people who most need this access to credit will be paying 29.9% or higher. After all, through whatever challenges and difficulties they face, the fact is that these fellow citizens have been flagged for having less than perfect credit.
So if bad luck or bad decisions mean someone is less credit worthy, they should pay more for the funds they need to get by.
I can learn from this. I may disagree with it, but as that's the way it is.
So I propose that effective Monday, all outstanding TARP and stimulus funds to the BTBTF immediately move to 29.9% annually. They have proven to be bad credit risks. I have no problem with them receiving the money they need. But the taxpayers should receive the higher interest rate for providing funds to these less than credit worthy institutions.
Unlike the BTBTF, however, I have a loophole that helps these institutions out.
Instead of my initial draconian suggestion, let me suggest that their interest rate should be no higher than the .05% lower than the highest rate they charge on credit cards. They can make a little profit. I can support that as a taxpayer.
I know, they haven't had any warning. But neither did our family and neighbors when their rates increased.
So Monday, let's work on the Federal Deficit while learning from the hard working, highly paid financial leaders who are doing God's work. Let's choose to play the game they way they do.
Happy New Year.
I had a problem a few years ago with a credit card company. It ended up in court and by the time all was said and done, I'd paid the amount owed by over three times.
ReplyDeleteIn discussions with the landshark who was the cc company's attorney I'd asked him what every happened to the idea of usury? He laughed and said he thought the card companies were going to be able to soon charge 46%... 46%!
I think the above post's idea is a good one, how do we implement it?
DaveS
Forward this URL to 10 people,
ReplyDeleteand ask each of them to do the same:
http://www.supremelaw.org/sls/31answers.htm
It has already been filed in several
State and Federal courts without any
rebuttal(s) by any opposing party(s).
After only eight (8) iterations,
10^8 = 100 million
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, B.A., M.S.
Private Attorney General, 18 U.S.C. 1964(a)
http://www.supremelaw.org/decs/agency/private.attorney.general.htm
Criminal Investigator and Federal Witness: 18 U.S.C. 1510, 1512-13
You go Paul!
ReplyDeleteSent it to most of my email list (some of my contacts aren't smart enough to even begin to comprehend... sigh) Thank you Paul for the good work.
I wonder what would happen if everyone were to ask the IRS a question at their website say, 4:20 eastern time on a thursday? Inquiring minds want to know :)
Thankfully I have to post twice to post once, 'cause I had a thought I wanted to add:
I'm not against taxes... even reasonable income taxes (boo, hiss) but I feel our republic, and our lives would be much improved if we were allowed to designate where, and how, our taxes are spent. It would be simple and if implemented I see a future where the air force is holding bake sales to buy bombs...
DaveS
Rule #1.
ReplyDeleteI have an easy protest that doesn't take a computer to engage in:
ReplyDeleteHave a day without television... see how many knuckleheads would be willing to shut the damn idiot box off for a day, a whole day.
How about a week?
DaveS
Dear MIT geniuses,
ReplyDeleteDoes it take DARPA to get your brain cells functioning? If so - perhaps you need to consider the position of FOLLOWER, DRONE, LEMMING, GO-ALONG-TO-GET-ALONG, or maybe just plain useless gutless cowards.
Oh well, perhaps that is what nerds are for - doing the bidding of their puppetmasters regardless of the consequences.
Von Braun didn't have to be tortured to jump onto the side of America after WW2 did he? Perhaps when America and the Bill of Rights become waste-basket filler you can jump onto the side of the thugs running this country. I hope you enjoy your ride.
JR-
ReplyDeleteRemember it was Einstein that helped america realize nuclear weapons, yet he is continually quoted as some peacenik. Scientist are children with much bigger dreams. They want to see something happen, damn the cost.
Science is a lot of things, but it's not moral. Not moral at all. Which doesn't make it all bad, but don't confuse the halls of science with the isles of a church. Remember scientist are the guys that used to dissect lizards, for fun.
Also never forget scientist are experts, and experts are people who know more an more about less and less...
DaveS
DaveS,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that our present situation attests to the validity of your comment. The scientific community has proven that they are mostly cowards. Look how just a few have spoken out against the myths while the rest just sat there in silence watching their colleagues burn. It really is a pathetic lot - out "great" scientific community.
And now, as the latest radiation scanners are put into place in our airports to hose everybody down with yet another form of damaging radiation they remain silent for the most part. The radio talk shows continue spreading the fear and the myths - but the scientific rebuttle is mostly absent.
Perhaps the most recent CT study that came out of this years RSNA - regarding hazards of radiation being more damaging than previously thought is telling. We find out later what damage something causes - but where is the medical community on the scanners at the airport? Did they learn anything about not exposing humans to radiation? What about mammography? What about first do no harm? What about speaking up?
I learned that the best protection from radiation is distance. So now I'm supposed to willingly walk through a radiation scanner to be safe?
Yes indeed DaveS - your comment makes a lot of sense to me.