February 8, 2012

Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Archives for from

Compassionate Conservatism? An Open Letter to Newt Gingrich From the Child of a Janitor

January 10, 2012 By admin

Newt Gingrich has repeatedly shown that he is an existentially ugly person. Therefore, his repeated comments about the black poor, and “inner city” communities, where people “don’t have a work ethic” are not at all a surprise. Time has demonstrated that “compassionate conservatism,” an oxymoron if there ever was one, is not particularly kind, just, [...]

Related Stories

  • Republicans Try to Convert America into Pottersville
  • Iowa and Beyond: For the Tea Party GOP “Common Sense” Racism is the Road to the White House
  • Resolutions, Political Resolutions and Damned Lies

AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Sunlight-powered ‘bulbs’ made from plastic bottles light up homes

December 28, 2011 By admin

Green squircles
green

Image by mag3737
Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

Green squircles from my collection.

1. Green button, 2. Sticker, 3. Squirrel feeder, 4. Placemat, 5. Bertolli, 6. Brothers Cafe, 7. Utility cover, 8. Gecko Club, 9. Green onions, 10. Hose reel, 11. Hydrant, 12. OUT, 13. Ball, 14. The Third Day, 15. 56, 16. Turning Leaf, 17. Bagel Street Deli, 18. Store logo, 19. Water mug, 20. Waveform, 21. Laptop docked, 22. Slurpee, 23. Floor mosaic, 24. Yo-yo, 25. Contemporary Art Gallery, 26. Hub, 27. 10-lug wheel, 28. 12-lug wheel, 29. 8-lug wheel, 30. Find it, 31. Starbucks, 32. Mossball, 33. YVR art, 34. Cap, 35. Metro, 36. Utility cover

The Liter of Light project, launched to combat the rising cost of electricity in the Philippines, aims to provide 1 million homes with light

Around 25,000 low-income homes in the Philippines have been lit up after the launch of a scheme to fit sunlight-powered “bulbs” made from old plastic bottles.

In a country where 40% of the population lives off less than a day, the rising cost of power leaves many unable to afford electricity. Some use candles as a light source, but when generations of family members share a small, dark space in shanty towns, accidental and destructive fires are often the result.

The Liter of Light project was launched six months ago by the My Shelter Foundation, a Philippines-based NGO which aims to provide light to 1 million of the roughly 12 million homes who are either still without light or live on the threshold of having their electricity shut down.

The scheme uses plastic bottles filled with a solution of bleached water, installed into holes made in shanty towns’ corrugated iron roofs, which then refracts the equivalent of 55W of sunlight into the room – during the day, at least. It takes five minutes to make, and using a hammer, rivet, metal sheets, sandpaper and epoxy, it costs to produce.

Eduardo Carillo, a resident in one of Metro Manila’s many impoverished areas, said: “Before we had the bottle light, the walkways to our house were so dark and going inside made it even darker. The children are no longer scared – they are happy now and they laugh because they can play inside during the day instead of playing in the streets.”

The idea of using plastic bottles as a light source is not a new one – it was developed in Brazil by Alfredo Moser in 2002. But with the help of a group of MIT students, the solar bulb used in the Philippines has been modified to meet local needs.

My Shelter Foundation Founder and social entrepreneur Ilac Diaz explains: “We basically did a cheap kind of one-way lock using the metal sheet. Once you put in the bottle, it will not slip down anymore. That way even if the roof expanded or contracted with the heat, it would not affect the waterproofing and would keep the bottle intact for many years to com.”

Diaz believes in the importance of using “appropriate” green technologies for poorer countries:

“The challenge is how can the developing world come up with its own model to limit emissions of carbon- we cant afford to buy imported, patented or manufactured solutions from the developed world and can’t afford to wait until they become affordable.”

The programme is also creating jobs. What began with teaching and contracting one unemployed man to make the first 1000 bottles has evolved into an ongoing program that has creating more than 20 jobs in installing the bottles. “We wanted to prove one man could change his village,” said Diaz..

  • Ethical and green living
  • Energy
  • Philippines
  • Asia Pacific
Sunshine Lichauco de Leon


guardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Environment: Ethical and green living | guardian.co.uk

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mazda2 First Look from Consumer Reports

December 26, 2011 By admin

Consumer Reports’ auto engineers take a first look at Mazda’s new economical hatchback, the Mazda2. It’s the smallest car Mazda makes. How does it stack up? Find out more about the Mazda2 and other small cars on our website: www.consumerreports.org
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Question by newtothisall: Is the consumer product industry to successful to be outrun by cruelty free products?
in other words, is the “tested on animals” industry too vast and consumer popular for the cruelty free industry to make a sizable impact and eventually become equal to or possible superior to the companies that do test on animals and maybe those companies would become cruelty free and stop testing on animals? this goes for the cosmetic industry, personal care industry, household product industry, etc.
thanks in advance :)

Best answer:

Answer by Crystalla
The answer is no and i am very happy for this.
More people every day chose to go cruelty free and use products from certified companies that do not do animal testing or buy materials from companies that do so.
We, the consumers ,are realizing the power we have in our hands: our voice and
of course our money.
Did you see how many companies are certified from the leaping bunny.org the last 3 years?
Their marketing advisers do understand the turn of the consumers to a “clean” cruelty free way of life and they want to take part of this growing market area.
L’oreal bought the Body shop for example…
Our cruelty free consumers page on facebook was reported lots of times…Why is that?
Scared? Who knows.
Yes our consuming choices can and do make the difference.
Happy cruelty free shopping and trust no other than this list:

http://www.leapingbunny.org/shopping.php

Add your own answer in the comments!

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , ,

New Government Protections for Consumers Seeking to Work from Home

December 10, 2011 By admin

Motorola – CES 2011 – Consumer Electronics Show – Las Vegas, NV
consumer

Image by David Berkowitz
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011 – Las Vegas, NV
(cc) David Berkowitz www.marketersstudio.com

The Federal Trade Commission has approved changes to its Business Opportunity Rule that will ensure that consumers have the information they need when considering buying a work-at-home program or any other business opportunity. The changes simplify the disclosures that business opportunity sellers must provide to prospective buyers. The simplified disclosures will help prospective purchasers assess the risks of buying a business opportunity, while minimizing compliance burdens on businesses.

In addition, the Final Rule, which will be effective on March 1, 2012, applies to business opportunities previously covered under the Rule, as well as work-at-home offers such as envelope stuffing and craft assembly opportunities. The final Rule requires business opportunity sellers to give consumers specific information to help them evaluate a business opportunity. Sellers must disclose five key items of information in a simple, one-page document:

  • the seller’s identifying information;
  • whether the seller makes a claim about the purchaser’s likely earnings (and, if the seller checks the "yes" box, the seller must provide information supporting any such claims);
  • whether the seller, its affiliates or key personnel have been involved in certain legal actions (and, if yes, a separate list of those actions);
  • whether the seller has a cancellation or refund policy (and, if yes, a separate document stating the material terms of such policies); and
  • a list of persons who bought the business opportunity within the previous three years.

Misrepresentations and omissions are prohibited under the Rule, and for sales conducted in languages other than English, all disclosures must be provided in the language in which the sale is conducted.

Consumers should use the disclosure document and supplementary information to fact-check sellers’ sales pitches. This information will be helpful to consumers like Teresa Yeast, a stay-at-home mother who purchased a craft-assembly work-at-home program from a company called Darling Angel Pin Creations. The FTC filed a law enforcement action against that company in February 2010 for allegedly claiming that consumers could make hundreds of dollars assembling angel pins at home. "It’s important to be skeptical and to be cautionary when you’re approached with … a business opportunity," Mrs. Yeast said. "I saw an opportunity that looked great, and took it. They took my money."

The announcement of a final Business Opportunity Rule completes the process that started when the Commission published an Initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and proposed creating a Business Opportunity Rule separate from the Franchise Rule. The FTC issued a Revised Proposed Business Opportunity Rule and conducted a public workshop, and the staff issued a Staff Report. At every stage of the Rule amendment proceeding, the Commission solicited comment on the economic impact of the Rule, as well as the costs and benefits of each proposed amendment. In issuing the final Rule, the Commission has carefully considered the comments received and the costs and benefits of each amendment.

Source: FTC

FMD Consumer News

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What makes a professional MiniDV tape any different from a consumer level MiniDV tape?

November 24, 2011 By admin

Question by Jean Michel Jarre fan: What makes a professional MiniDV tape any different from a consumer level MiniDV tape?
As above, I noticed that professional are more expensive than the standard consumer level MinDV cassettes. Alright, so what makes that mighty difference?

Secondly, would there be any point investing in these more expensive cassettes for a consumer-cum-prosumer?

Best answer:

Answer by Little Dog
If you are referring to the “special” HD tapes, the oxide formulation and binding agents are different.

But a decent miniDV tape – like the Sony “Premium” tapes at about each (Frys has 8-packs for .99 and tapestockonline sells them cheaper in quantities) – and don’t re-use the tapes, and you’ll be fine. I’ve been using them for 5+ years and have not had a problem.

Give your answer to this question below!

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Shadow Economies: Harvest Organs From The Poor For The Rich

November 7, 2011 By admin

Living in abject poverty, ,000 is a beguiling promise. All you have to do is give up one kidney. It’s ok, you have another one. But a Bloomberg Markets Magazine investigation shows how gangs around the world prey on the poor and use threats and violence to get them to give up their organs, which they can then resell for upwards of 0,000. This isn’t just happening in some ice-filled bath in China: this week, a Brooklyn man plead guilty to selling black market kidneys to people in New Jersey.

Around the world, the organs are transplanted by doctors who don’t ask questions into patients who have the money to pay for them. Meanwhile, the people the organs were harvested from are left to suffer the aftereffects of rushed surgery that can leave them ill, or dead. From Bloomberg Markets Magazine:

Dorin Razlog, a shepherd with an eighth-grade education who lives in Ghincauti, says recruiters for a trafficking ring told him cash for a kidney would lift him out of poverty. After doctors in Istanbul cut out the organ in August 2002, they paid him ,000 — ,000 less than they’d offered. Of that, ,500 was in counterfeit bills, he says.

“They told me they would send people to destroy my house and kill my family if I went to the police,” Razlog, 30, says. Today, the money is long gone, and he sleeps on a musty mattress inside the rusting hulk of an abandoned Russian van next to a pigsty. At the end of some days, Razlog says, he’s writhing from pain in his remaining kidney.

“The only way out is death,” he says.

Horrifying, and with the payouts so high, black market organ-trafficking is unlikely to go away, no matter how hard authorities work. The best thing that can happen is for countries to make it safe and easy for individuals to become legal organ donors. Increasing the supply and availability of organs will decrease the economic incentives driving this harvest of human flesh.

Organ Gangs Force Poor to Sell Kidneys for Desperate Israelis [Bloomberg Markets Magazine]
Brooklyn man pleads guilty to trafficking black market kidneys to N.J. residents [The Star-Ledger]

The Consumerist

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Court Finds Defendant in Contempt for Violating Prior Court Order That Prohibited Him from Making Credit Repair Pitches to Consumers

October 31, 2011 By admin

The Consumers
consumer

Image by ghwpix
The Consumers
» Their MySpace page
» Their official website

Spartanburg, SC
Spring Fling 2009
Saturday, May 2

Responding to charges by the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has found a credit repair seller in contempt for violating a previous court order that required him to stop promoting worthless credit repair products and services to consumers. The contempt order finds Rick Lee Crosby, Jr. in civil contempt for violating a permanent injunction against him, requires him to reimburse consumers, and imposes a fine against him for each day he continues to violate the permanent injunction.

Despite a final order issued against Florida-based RCA Credit Services, LLC and its principals Rick Lee Crosby, Jr. and Brady Wellington, the court found that Crosby continued to market and sell credit repair services, including e-books, videos, and counseling sessions advising consumers with poor credit how to improve their credit score by using websites such as www.creditambassador.com and www.legalcredit.com. Also, by referring customers to other credit repair services, he violated the final order’s prohibition against assisting others in offering credit repair.

The contempt order stems from a complaint the FTC filed in October 2008 as part of the agency’s crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress. According to the complaint, until they were ordered to stop, RCA, Crosby, and Wellington ran deceptive online advertisements that claimed RCA could “Boost Your Credit Score Into The 700s in as little as 30 days,” and could remove “ANY or ALL Negative Accounts From Your Credit Report.” They further stated that a credit expert would “coach you on ways to remove negative remarks and unpaid debts from your credit report while adding new positive reporting accounts to your credit file.”

RCA Credit charged from 0 to more than ,000 for its “services” and required at least partial payment up-front. In many instances, the FTC charged, the defendants provided consumers no services at all. The FTC also charged them with violating the Credit Repair Organizations Act by failing to provide, before contracts were signed, a written statement of “Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law;” failing to include conspicuous statements in their contracts about consumers’ right to cancel without penalty or obligation within three business days; and failing to provide a written “Notice of Cancellation” form.

On October 15, 2010, after a trial, the court issued an amended final order permanently shutting down RCA. The order bans Crosby and RCA from providing any credit repair products or services, prohibits them from making false credit repair claims, bars certain misrepresentations, and requires them to pay more than 0,000.

The order against Crosby finds him in civil contempt for violating the terms of the court’s final judgment and permanent injunction issued last year. It requires him to pay ,935 and will allow the FTC to use the money to provide refunds to consumers he defrauded. Finally, the order imposes a 4 fine for each day that Crosby fails to comply with the terms of the amended final order, with the fines continuing to accrue until he has proven to the court that he is complying with its terms.

The civil contempt order was issued on October 5, 2011, by Judge James D. Whittemore of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

Source: FTC

FMD Consumer News

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FTC Settlement Bans Alleged Spammer from Sending Unsolicited Text Messages

October 12, 2011 By admin

ScamsAn operator who allegedly sent millions of illegal spam text messages to consumers is banned from sending any unsolicited text messages, under a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission entered by a federal court.

According to the FTC complaint filed in February 2011, the marketer sent a “mind-boggling” number of unsolicited commercial text messages pitching mortgage modification services to consumers, and misrepresented that he was affiliated with a government agency. The FTC alleged that many consumers had to pay fees to their mobile carriers to receive the unsolicited text messages. The FTC also alleged that the marketer advertised his text message blasting services by sending consumers illegal spam. The agency charged him with violating the FTC Act and the CAN-SPAM Act.

The complaint states that the text messages instructed consumers to respond to the messages or visit various websites advertised in the messages. One of the websites, loanmod-gov.net, claimed to provide “Official Home Loan Modification and Audit Assistance Information,” and displayed a photo of an American flag. The agency alleged that the defendant collected information from consumers who responded to the text messages – even those who responded by asking to be removed from his list – and sold it to third parties, claiming the consumers were “debt settlement leads.”

The settlement order bans the defendant, Phil Flora, from sending or helping others send unsolicited commercial text messages, and bars him from making false or misleading claims about any good or service, including misrepresentations that he, his representatives, or any other person is affiliated or associated with a government agency. The order also bars him from violating the CAN-SPAM Act. The settlement order imposes a judgment of ,946.90. Based on sworn financial representations made by Flora, the judgment will be satisfied when he turns over ,000. If it is determined that the financial information he gave the FTC was not true, the full amount of the judgment will become due.

Source: FTC

Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff v. Phillip A. Flora, also known as “Phil P.,” Defendant
(United States District Court for the Central District of California)
Case No. SACV11-00299-AG-(JEMx)
File No. 102-3005

FMD Consumer News

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Q&A: How do conflict diamonds from Africa get to consumers?

October 2, 2011 By admin

Question by Daniel: How do conflict diamonds from Africa get to consumers?
I need to make a diagram that shows how conflict diamonds from Africa get to consumers. I need at least a six step process. So if you people could could please help it would be greatly appreciated.

Best answer:

Answer by Raven C
There is a great diagram on this website:

http://www1.american.edu/TED/ice/congo.htm

Give your answer to this question below!

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , ,

Mixed impact on consumers from Fed’s ‘Twist’ – Forbes

September 23, 2011 By admin

The Associated Press
Mixed impact on consumers from Fed's 'Twist'
Forbes
If the initiative succeeds in helping the economy regain momentum, Operation Twist may be as important for what consumers don't experience – another recession – as for what they do. "The impact on consumers is pretty minimal," says Greg McBride, …
Mixed impact on consumers from Fed's 'Twist'The Associated Press
What Fed's 'Operation Twist' means for youUSA Today

all 4,458 news articles »

consumers – Google News

Filed Under: Consumer Economic News Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Older Posts

Powered by Yahoo! Answers