Autopen used to authorize Patriot Act

The debatable Patriot Act has been given a new start once again, thanks to Obama. President Obama did not really sign the bill in the White House as he is in Europe. It was revealed the document was signed into law using an autopen, a pseudo-robotic gadget that replicates signatures, and this act has proved controversial.

Provisions allowing government surveillance renewed

Recently, certain key provisions of the Patriot Act, were set to expire unless a bill was created, passed by Congress and signed by the president. The controversial surveillance was passed and signed into law by Obama at the last minute. This was regardless of all the debate on it, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Even though Senator Paul tried to rally against the bill, the government can still use the internet, business records and wiretaps without a warrant whenever they want. However, according to CNN, brouhaha in Congress has started as the president used a robotic pen.

All about the autopen business

An autopen was used to sign the document since the president is in France right now and the signature was needed. A person’s signature is reproduced with an autopen. The difference between an autopen and genuine signature is almost extremely hard to tell. The machines, according to MSNBC, vary in complexity while in simply tracing a template to far more mechanically complex machines. Many sites are reproducing an interview with Bob Olding who is the owner of one of the two businesses that exists in the U.S. that makes the machines. Since the 1930s, the technology to do this hasn’t changed much, Olding said. ABS states that Olding owns Damillic Corp. He also stresses that Damillic goes out of its way to properly vet its consumers and make sure that his products are getting used ethically.

Nothing illegal about it

In the Constitution, it simply states that the president will sign a bill. “He shall sign it” is in there. The signature is valid, the Department of Justice claims. It simply has to be directed a document to be legal. As long as a president gives his consent of signature, it is legal and valid to auto sign something. This was the response the Justice Department had in 2005 when an autopen for President Bush was being looked into. Donald Rumsfeld was found to have used an autopen to sign letters of condolences to the families of troops killed in action in 2004, and former Vice President Quayle admitted to using one in 1992. Thomas Jefferson built a signature and letter duplication machine, or polygraph, in the 19th century. Government officials, astronauts and business executives all have used autopens in the past.

Articles cited

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0527/Patriot-Act-three-controversial-provisions-that-Congress-voted-to-keep

CNN

whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/27/rise-of-the-machines-autopen-puts-bill-into-law/?hpt=T2

MSNBC

firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/27/6731197-the-great-presidential-autopen-hullabaloo

ABC

blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/robama-is-it-ok-for-a-president-to-autopen-a-bill-into-law.html

Damillic Inc

realsig.com/index.htm

The coffee addicted men may be glad to know coffee helps prostate cancer

Men who drink a lot of coffee can revel in their habit, guilt-free. Coffee may ward off prostate cancer. A research is being unveiled that found higher coffee consumption, six cups a day or more, led to a lower instance of prostate cancer in men.

The plus side of being a caffeine fiend

MSNBC reports that there was a study released from the Harvard School of Public Health that will be good for those men who love caffeine. This study has determined that excessive coffee consumption may trigger the shakes, but it also is a great thing to do for endocrine health, as the most aggressive of guzzlers have a dramatically lower chance of contracting prostate cancer. CBS reports that there were 48,000 men in the study who were followed from 1986 to 2008. Those who drank six or more cups in a habit were not getting as several cases of prostate cancer. This was with all forms of the cancer.

Contrary results from research done previously

There was a research done in the Harvard School of Public Health 30 years ago. It was opposite of what this study said in its findings. However, the previous research was flawed due to its research methodology. Patients who had cancer reported coffee details better in the research from years ago since patients were asked about coffee habits. This is known as “recall bias.” It makes it so early outcomes are contaminated. Men had 60 percent chance less of prostate cancer and 20 percent chance less of deadliest forms of the cancer when drinking six or more cups of coffee a day, according to the study just unveiled. Those who drank three cups a day or fewer cut their chances by 30 percent, though it made no difference whether it was regular or decaffeinated coffee.

More studies needed

WebMD reports that the reason why there might be this impact isn’t known although there are theories with antioxidants. Many benefits, for instance low risk of heart disease and cancer, have been shown to correlate with dietary antioxidants. Other studies on the benefits of coffee consumption have credited coffee consumption with lower risks for Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and gout. One in six men is affected by prostate cancer making it probably the most common cancer in men. More than 30,000 deaths are attributed to prostate cancer in the United States each year.

Information from

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

Mega sense in human beings possible

What would it be like to have a “Spidey sense”? Or simply get an echolocation radar sense like any superhero? According to U.C. Berkeley neuroscientist Dr. Bradley Voytek, human beings may be able to use mega senses that aren’t developed yet.

How we get the super abilities

There are mega senses that human beings can develop, according to U.C. Berkeley neuroscientist Dr. Voytek. He said humans have always had access to them. Voytek explains the human mind has unimaginable powers. We are able to hear and see with membranes in our brain. There is not a basic degree of sensitivity in our brain although the cellular processes work with and without our conscious awareness.

Abilities according to Voytek

According to Voytek, our abilities are remarkable. The upper and lower thresholds are much farther away than we realize. Human beings are able to see two photons in the retina. That is the lowest a human can see. As such, it would be possible, in theory, to see a candle flame from miles away, provided the right landscape and weather conditions.

A human should be able to focus and hear the random movement of atoms in particle theory, called Brownian motion, although it is commonly considered to be from 20 Hz to 20,000 kHz.

As few as 30 molecules of something could be smelt by a human. That is another great thing.

Nobody using the ’super senses’

Too much attention is needed to use mega sense which is why human beings do not use them, according to Voytek. The amount of focus required is daunting for a lot of people. There are some tests on the physical limits of human senses. Other senses have to be ignored while doing the test though. Consciously tuning out stimuli from other abilities can raise focused abilities to what some would call super-human acuity. It is important to focus on perception. The longer we focus, the more 3-D images could be created.

Examples around

The abilities can become much better whenever you lose one or two abilities. Ben Underwood and Terry Garrett are examples. They are both blind. Underwood is able to get around however he likes with echolocation as a teenager. He can even roller blade and skateboard. Like a dolphin or bat, Underwood makes a clicking sound that enables his ears and brain to work together to create a Daredevil-like sonar sense. Both Garrett and Underwood are able to use sound to play video games also.

Dr. Voytek and other scientists will not give up until they have developed the understanding they need of the brain and the brain’s senses. We will continue to move forward until we know exactly how to acquire these super human senses.

Articles cited

CBS News

cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/19/earlyshow/main1817689.shtml

Oscillatory Thoughts

blog.ketyov.com/2011/05/we-are-all-inattentive-superheroes.html

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownian_motion

Wired

wired.com/gamelife/2011/04/blind-gamer-plays-zelda-by-ear/

Ben Underwood has overcome his blindness without surgery

youtube.com/watch?v=G1QaCeosUmw

When automobiles learn to speak

Soon automobiles may be able to communicate in order to warn drivers of forthcoming dangers. Automakers and the governments alike are both looking seriously at the new technology. If implemented, this system has the potential to greatly reduce highway accidents and fatalities.

System more accurate than radar

This new technology, which is reportedly more accurate than radar, uses specialized GPS and WiFi technologies. The system will communicate up to 900 feet 360 degrees around it with a signal every 10 seconds. With the technology, the driver is notified of possible hazards. There are lights and beeps used to do this.

Future of automakers

It has taken over a decade for Ford to get this technology figured out. Ford’s vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering is Sue Cischke. “Ford believes intelligent vehicles that talk to each other through advanced WiFi are the next frontier of collision avoidance innovations that could revolutionize the driving experience,” she said.

'Road Trains’ resting happening

Recently, Volvo was in a “road train” test. It was successful for the first time. Road trains, formed through a process known as “platooning,” involve autos that are electronically tethered so that they can mimic the action of one another. This provides for a more efficient and safe flow of traffic.

“Platooning offers the prospect of improved road safety, better road space utilization, improved driver comfort on long journeys and reduced fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions,” said Tom Robinson, spokesperson for the project.

Not as many individuals hurt

Peter Appel said “This technology has the potential to save a lot of lives.” Appel is at the DOT as the administrator of Research and Innovative Technology Administration. According to the DOT, the system might reduce traffic accidents considerably. Without narcotics and alcohol involvement, accidents could go down as much as 80 percent.

Cost factors

Adding the technology to the car doesn’t cost much at all. It can be as little as $100 per car to add. The system’s low cost would allow manufacturers to put it in both luxury and economy models.

Getting technology before 2013 possible requirement

Driver Acceptance Clinics will be done by the United States DOT starting in August in six United States cities. The DOT hopes to that the technology will be put in thousands of automobiles soon after the clinics are done. The technology could become mandatory as early as 2013, when federal officials are scheduled to make their decision.

Citations

MSNBC

editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1184897

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/25/AR2011012506232.html

Wired

wired.com/autopia/2011/01/talking-cars-are-coming-soon-to-keep-us-safe/

Tricks to keep away from rental auto gasoline penalties and other fees

Gasoline costs almost $4 per gallon average in the U.S. today. However if you are dealing with a returned rental car that you forgot to top off before returning, did you know it will cost you more than double? Don’t let this and other “hidden” fees burst your spending budget. Go to the rental car counter armed with knowledge and conserve.

Rental vehicle gasoline at $9.29 per gallon

Car rental companies at 13 United States airports were studied by USA Today. It found out that $9.29 a gallon is what Hertz charges to top off your gasoline tank while $8.99 a gallon is what Dollar and Thrifty charges. This price could be reduced significantly if renters pay for a tank of gasoline ahead of time with the rental business, however the price gouging illustrates how add-on fees can strike after low base rates reel in consumers.

More rental auto fees added on

1. Additional driver fees – About $10 per driver is typically charged by rental corporations.

2. Insurance – You’ve no need to buy extra insurance if you already are paying for it every month. This is especially true when you have comprehensive on your insurance. To be safe, see if your charge card business insures against rental auto losses.

3. Early/late return fees – It is always important that you return the automobile on time. Every day that you are late, it can cost $10 or more. However, you need to also know that several rental companies charge about $15 for early returns.

4. Child automobile seats – When renting, it helps to have your own vehicle seat. Make sure you bring it with you if you have kids. For every child safety seat rented, you will pay about $7 a day.

5. Toll bypass – Some rental corporations will sell you an electronic toll road pass. Just say no if you don’t want one or already have one.

6. Mileage – Watch the mileage limit. Make sure you find an unlimited mileage rental if you’re going to be driving long distances for the time you have the auto.

7. Cleaning – Don’t smoke in the auto and clean up your mess. Cleaning fees could be sizable.

Finding cheap vehicles to rent

To discover the least costly rental vehicles, start by searching travel websites like Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, Priceline.com and Hotwire.com for deals on rental vehicles. Plan ahead and you also may even be able to discover a good rate that comes as part of a package deal with airline tickets and hotel. You may be able to conserve even more with entertainment coupon books and websites like RetailMeNot.com. Make sure you rent for what you need. Do not go any longer. As long as you do not have too much stuff, you may be okay with an economy compact which will get you there safely.

Citations

Bankrate.com

bankrate.com/financing/cars/rental-car-gas-costs-9-a-gallon/

MSNBC

today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23471992/ns/today-money/t/secrets-renting-car-without-overspending/

Dollar Rent-A-Car was caught red-handed

youtube.com/watch?v=ZY4A-EJAbZs

Error in advertising code opened Facebook logins to marketers

No matter who you talk to, online privacy is a large concern. For Facebook, these concerns are practically an everyday discussion topic. The discussion of Facebook privacy has reached a fever pitch. The latest reveal of potential abuse is causing significant concern. A hole in the way certain links were coded could have exposed millions of Facebook accounts.

Issues with security being seen

The security firm Symantec is very helpful. It provides software to individuals. A “spare key” flaw was noted in the Facebook programming which Symantec explained in a blog post. By the time Symantec revealed this flaw, Facebook had taken action. This spare key glitch revealed hundreds of thousands of passwords and pieces of personal account details. The key, if properly used, would have allowed advertisers to access accounts, chats and friend details.

How to protect yourself

Though Facebook has corrected the flaw that revealed hundreds of thousands of pieces of personal information, some of that data is still accessible online. As with all private data stored online, the first step to ensuring security is to use appropriate passwords. Numbers and letters are both in passwords and shouldn’t be used for any online accounts you have. You need to also regularly change your passwords to ensure that cached versions of your details that live online do not work indefinitely.

Best way to take care of the flaw as fast as possible

Unlike most computer-security exploits, this particular Facebook breach was found before it had been exploited. Facebook took care of the flaw quickly after being informed. Google and Apple are also both facing strong questions about their security procedures. The phones have operating systems on them that track information. Private information from users is being tracked with them. Personal privacy practices should be followed no matter what. Even in case you are very careful, it could be hard to keep private information safe on the internet.

Citations

Symantec

symantec.com/connect/blogs/facebook-applications-accidentally-leaking-access-third-parties

NPR

npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=136206758

Fewer earnings anticipated by student but they're still optimistic

Individuals of the age group of college students expect to earn less over their lifetime than their parents. However, they expect a greater degree of personal satisfaction. An AP survey of individuals ages 18 to 24 revealed that younger individuals, especially those saddled with higher amounts of student debt, expect a lower quality of life than their parents.

Less money and more happy in the younger generation

MSNBC states that many in college feel like they won’t be making any money although they’ll be happy still. Goals for instance raising a family and buying a home are considered more difficult than before for 40 percent of survey respondents which were 18 to 24 years old according to a poll done by Viacom and the AP. When it comes to life, 25 percent believed they’d have it simple. They assumed it would be easier than their parents’ lives were. About 90 percent of the survey subjects believed they would eventually discover a career they find fulfilling.

Increase in student debt

The increased costs making a harder living is what people in the AP survey said would take place. Student debt has increased a lot in this age group. The average college graduate has about $24,000 in loan debt, according to the New York Times, which at an interest rate of 6.8 percent demands a payment of $276 per month, and student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. According to the Department of Education, 65.6 percent of undergraduates from 2007 to 2008 got financial aid. Then, another 38.5 percent got student loans. According to the Department of Education, subsidized Stafford loans were taken out by 30 percent of undergraduates. Another 22 percent took out non-subsidized Stafford loans while at school.

Picking an investment

The bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average earnings with a college degree are $53,000 a year. Hardly anyone gets it quickly though. A college degree is not a guarantee of quickly falling into a healthy income, however it increases the likelihood that a person will earn a solid middle class income during their lifetime. The 2009 statistics showed that there’s a 4 percent lower rate of joblessness among college graduates than high school graduates. That means the chances of being unemployed goes down also. Now it is costing more to get a degree. Education does not come cheap.

Information from

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42643248/ns/business-your_retirement/

Department of Education

nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=31

New York Times

economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/how-worrisome-is-student-debt/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Bureau of Labor Statistics

bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm

Largest bond fund drops all government debt and then some

Cutting spending to reduce the deficit is too much for partisan politics to manage, according to the largest bond fund in the world. The Pimco Total Return Fund has gone into negative territory on U.S. Treasuries. This is also known as taking a short position on the debt piling up in the U.S. government.

What Pimco will do for the Treasury

The Nation’s triple-A bond rating may be endangered and Pimco is betting on the debt problem driving up rates of interest. To get to a short position on Treasury bonds, Pimco sold borrowed securities on a bet it can buy them back later at a lower price. United States government debt has been cautioned by Pimco head, Bill Gross. Gross sold all of Pimco’s treasury holdings in February causing lots of concern. In March he made $7 billion bet against the securities.

There was a drop from zero to negative three in the $236 billion Return Fund held in the U.S. Treasury of Pimco. The fund’s money equivalents rose to 31 percent of the fund’s assets, a $73 billion bet the good times are about to end in the markets.

The possession of Pimco as short

Gross has no faith that Congress will be able to solve the deficit problem. The government is “out of Greeking the Greeks,” according to Pimco’s April newsletter. Greece’s massive government debt forced its leaders to ask for a bailout from the European Union to prevent a global chain reaction of financial failure. Greece’s financial issues were only a fifth of the debt that America has.

Will market play into Pimco’s hands

Gross is assuming a sort position on U.S. Treasuries and hoping the market falls in his favor. John Carney at CNBC warns investors to regard Gross’s machinations with caution. Wall Street has been unreliable for some time now, and something that seems right, might in fact be “dangerously wrong.”

Articles cited

Associated Press

finance.yahoo.com/news/PIMCO-goes-short-US-rb-3790514655.html?x=0

Fortune

finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/10/pimcos-gross-betting-against-u-s-debt/

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0412/Bond-fund-and-many-others-bearish-on-US-debt

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-pimco-bonds-short-idUSTRE73A2IR20110411

Startup America Partnership promises millions more in help

Being an entrepreneur is tough, but a three-month-old private entity, supported by government partnerships, is aiming to make it just a little bit easier. Over a dozen new businesses have pledged $400 million to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Source of article – Startup America Partnership helps small businesses grow by MoneyBlogNewz.

About the Startup America Partnership

The privately funded Startup America has a partnership with the U.S. federal government. They work together. The Startup America Partnership is technically a White House initiative however is privately funded and managed. Startup America aims to provide discounts and special programs to entrepreneurs to help them start and grow a business. The partnership provides preferred pricing and discounts to members of Startup America as well as workshops, classes and business information that could otherwise cost thousands of dollars. Over 60 percent of U.S. new jobs come from small businesses which also account for 44 percent of U.S. payroll. The partnership is meant to help encourage more of these small businesses to grow and hire.

An extra $400 million spent

Startup America made an announcement on April 20. Big-name businesses donated over $400 million to the organization. There was $125 million committed by American Express for Startup America corporations to get preferred pricing. About $100 million in Google Ad credits have been donated by Google. In May, “Startup Days” could be hosted by Facebook. HP is offering $100 million in discounts on products for startup businesses. There were several businesses involved in discounts as well. These involved Palindrome Advisors, The National Center for Women & Information Technology, LinkedIn, First Data, Ernst and Young and Cisco. Several partnerships with companies already existed. Included in this list are The Pearson Foundation, American Association of Community Colleges, Causecast, Intel, FirstData, Google, Intuit, Microsoft, Atisa, Cisco, Mass Challenge, IBM and Artists & Instigators.

Startup America takes anybody

The Startup America Partnership can help you in case you are a small company owner or have a business idea. Either before or after you’ve gotten unsecured loans to start your business, it’s as simple as signing up. Go to Startupamericaparternship.org, register, and start looking at deals. All the programs can be listed there, even though there are different needs for the different Startup America Partnership programs. You need to be able to conserve hundreds or thousands of dollars with the Startup America Partnership program dependent upon the business.

Information from

Startup America Partnership Website

startupamericapartnership.org/

SBA.gov

sba.gov/advocacy/7495/8420

Cash buyers hold a benefit in depressed housing market

Home values have fallen so far that more individuals are buying properties with cash. Most home buyers need a home loan. But increasingly that is going up against buyers that use cash as an advantage. However cash versus mortgage doesn’t necessarily have to be a done deal if the borrower does their homework.

Cold, hard cash is king

The National Association of Realtors reported an all time high in the number of deals in February in home sales done with cash. Cash buyers have become formidable opponents for many home customers financing their deal with a mortgage. The real estate market has more cash customers because many would rather have a home as an investment than stock. The investment in rentals has also been attractive to lots of people.

Last year, 59 percent of home customers purchasing as an investment paid cash. Since a seller knows that there probably won’t be difficulties with closing on the home, most are more willing to accept cash. When choosing between a buyer that needs financing and a lower cash offer, most are willing to take the cash. Cash usually wins when the bank is the seller. Banks choose the safest option when attempting to get homes off the books.

The best way to beat cash

In 2010, 25 percent of home sales were foreclosures. According to Fannie Mae, short sales increased also. This number increase 128 percent last year. Any seller with equity does not want a financed buyer. Cash customers are preferable. Equity holders are not under pressure to take whatever they can get and will wait for the best offer. Financing buyers can also compete with cash by getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Being prepared with a high down payment also evens the odds. When getting the home, do what the seller wants. This could help a lot. Make the deal clear by having a detailed contract ready while being respectful. When the time comes, act easily. Do not give up hope as a financing buyer. Cash deals aren’t always perfect either.

Financing or cash

Additionally to getting a better deal, paying cash to buy a home has several advantages. Sometimes the available returns on investments are lower than personal property rates. The interest money saved ends up being good for the buyer. The buyer only loses their own money if the value of the home goes down. A 10 percent drop can really hurt a mortgage with 20 percent down. Fifty percent of the down payment ends up lost.

There are advantages mortgages have though. Sometimes you purchase a home with cash. When this takes place, no other investments could be made with that money. There is also leverage here. If the value of the home goes up, the mortgage holder gains a higher percentage than the cash buyer. There are tax deductions for home loan interest too. The loan cost is lowered this way.

Citations

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com/story/how-to-beat-a-cash-bidder-in-the-housing-market-2011-04-13?pagenumber=2

WiseBread

wisebread.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-paying-cash-for-a-house

Short Sale Daily News

shortsaledailynews.com/short-sales-up-128-percent-in-2010/

Federal budget passes; fewer troops need military pay day loans

Congress has finally approved the federal budget for 2011. It took a long time, and there was quite the standoff. Many were afraid that a government shutdown would have sent military service members, among other federal workers, running for payday advance as they would not be paid during a shutdown. That said, a shutdown was thankfully avoided. The next trifle in government waits.

Problem shutdown would have brought on for deployed

For Fiscal Year 2011, Congress upheld a bill. There was a lot of stress about a government shutdown during all of this. Congress would have been paid still while several other government employees would have lost payment if there was a shutdown, which did not take place. Some would have been required to work still too. For instance, military members are always required to be on duty. They wouldn’t get paid during a shutdown though. Federal regulations prohibit service personnel from getting payday advance or comparable subprime credit products, and most service personnel, according to MSNBC, make close to the average wage in The United States, it would have been a devastating blow to military families.

Military personnel salaries

There are three in four individuals getting paid $31,000 or less a year in the armed services. The median earnings are at $36,587 in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mean is at $44,901, making it a little higher. Military personal are making less than the average person no matter which scale you take. Service families tend to have debt issues, the Washington Post reported a 2008 Department of Defense survey saying. There are also problems with bankruptcy as shown in a 2004 study the Government Accountability Office did. It showed that bankruptcy was filed by 1.2 percent of military members that are on active duty. Federal court statistics indicates that more than 1.5 million individuals filed for bankruptcy last year, which is 0.5 percent of the United States population.

Service the country is not worth all that much apparently

The people who elect to serve this country do not get rewarded much for their efforts. If service members get too much debt, they can lose their security clearance making it harder for them. With a shutdown happening, there would have been other possibilities. Luckily, the people do not have to worry over it. The Naval Federal Member Bank offered low interest unsecured loans to members in case of a shutdown, like other credit unions and banks for federal employees have done in previous shutdowns.

Information from

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42559366/ns/business-your_retirement/?gt1=43001

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/military-pay-faces-uncertain-future-troubling-for-financially-strapped-families/2011/04/08/AFHV311C_blog.html

Bureau of Labor Statistics

bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/nctb1346.pdf

U.S. Courts

uscourts.gov/uscourts/Statistics/BankruptcyStatistics/BankruptcyFilings/2010/0310_f2.pdf

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/new.items/d04465r.pdf

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/new.items/d04465r.pdf

Jesse Jackson Jr. says iPad is killing writing, costing jobs

Illinois Democratic congressman and iPad owner Jesse Jackson Jr. has turned on the gadget he used to love. Last month, Jackson gushed over how wonderful the iPad could be for the U.S. education system. Yet just Friday, Jackson said the iPad can be “responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs.” Post resource – Jesse Jackson Jr. says iPad is killing publishing, costing jobs by MoneyBlogNewz.

Jackson claims goodbye to publishing

Seeing the textbookless campuses growing and the bankrupt Border Books annoyed the Illinois junior congressman. He states it is the iPad’s carelessness.

“What becomes of publishing companies and publishing company jobs?” Jackson asked the House. “What becomes of bookstores and librarians and all of the jobs associated with paper? Well, in the not-too-distant future, such jobs simply won’t exist.”

Jackson made even more comments. He said that iPad parts come too much from China.

“There is no protection for jobs here in America to ensure that the American people are being put to work.”

United States receiving help

According to Business Insider, there are some things Jackson isn’t considering. He is forgetting the iPad has helped out many industries outside of Apple. According to MarketCues, there is so much the iPad can do. It can help get billion dollar industries going. Publishers could have many myriad opportunities making up interactive textbooks without costing too much to students because of the e-readers and iPad.

It was expected that traditional publishing was to change. According to @Craigmod, the evolution was needed. It could be more helpful to have e-books to conserve on paper and give the books instantly. Morgan Stanley points out that with the over $2 billion in revenue on the iPad every quarter, over 65 percent of owners use the device to read books.

Changing all to tablets

Unlike Jesse Jackson Jr., publishers are likely to have to adapt. Amazon already sells more e-books than print books (per late 2010 figures). iPad users are in support of it. YUDU Media states that iPad users, in comparison to desktop computer browsers, will spend 30 times more time on websites such as Wired.com, VanityFair.com and GQ.com. There were more Wired.com iPad apps sold than Wired print editions. This is what late 2010 figures showed.

The commercial for the iPad says, “It’s already a revolution, and it’s only just begun.” There is no longer an invitation for Jesse Jackson Jr.

Articles cited

@Craigmod

craigmod.com/journal/ipad_and_books/

The Hill

thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/148879-jackson-an-ipad-for-every-schoolchild

Huffington Post

huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/17/jesse-jackson-jr-ipad-unemployment_n_850227.html

Market Cues

marketcues.com/blog/2010/02/will-apples-ipad-impact-the-printing-and-publishing-industries/

Neiman Journalism Blog

niemanlab.org/2010/02/the-ipad-business-model-for-news-strategies-publishers-must-embrace/

Publishing Perspectives

publishingperspectives.com/2010/11/simba-releases-statistics-on-ipad-e-book-reading/

Real Clear Politics

realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/04/15/rep_jesse_jackson_jr_blames_the_ipad_for_killing_jobs.html

TSTC Publishing’s Book Business Blog

tstcpublishing.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/ipad%E2%80%99s-potential-impact-on-textbook-publishing/

YUDU Media

slideshare.net/yudu/the-apple-ipad-trends-and-statistics

Economies evolve, pontificators pontificate

youtube.com/watch?v=D5X8W7MgbhM

Gas and oil determined to drop as prices pinch customer demand

As oil and gas costs rise continuously, consumers are reminded of the gas shock of 2008. While supplies of gas and oil in the U.S. are more than adequate, speculators have succeeded in betting the price of oil up 21 percent since the year started. But the law of supply and demand is anticipated to prevail when consumers can no longer afford to sustain demand for gasoline. Post resource – Oil and gas destined to fall as prices pinch consumer demand by MoneyBlogNewz.

Prices on oil

The sweet crude for May delivery went up to its highest amounts since Sept 2008 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It went up to $111.90 a barrel. This week, gas prices were an average of $3.70 a gallon. That is the highest also since 2008, the summer anyway. Many studied the rise in oil prices. There were many factors that brought on it. With the government shutdown occurring in the near future as a possibility, the dollar is becoming very weak. This means everyone on a different currency is more willing to purchase commodities based off the dollar. It does not seem like the Libya conflict is about to end. The country has already stopped producing most of its oil. The United States is awash in oil considering consumers are spending increasingly more purchasing gas each day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration explained that there was an increase in oil inventories in the U.S. in the week that ended April 1. There was a 2 million barrel increase. Crude refi! nery input rose to more than 14 million barrels per day.

Forgetting about supply and demand

The United States used to blame OPEC for its oil shocks, however OPEC’s role in higher oil costs has been reduced. There was an oil conference in Paris where the United Arab Emirates oil minister spoke. He said that costs have hardly any change any longer because of OPEC. Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli said that OPEC is providing the industry with the oil it needs. Traders are starting to bet on worst case scenarios which have caused a rise in oil costs, he said. The zero rates of interest from the Federal Reserve for hedge funds and pension funds are not helping. This just allows them to bet easier. Analysts estimate that due to speculators, oil futures are $15 to $20 higher than they should be. The next betting madness could be triggered by elections this weekend in Nigeria, where output of 2.2 million barrels a day might be disrupted by violence.

How much longer until an oil tipping point

United States customers may not be willing to pay much more for the gas and oil coming out. Demand for gas has gone down. In the last four weeks the drop was 3.7 percent. Unless there is another issue in the Middle East or in Nigeria, the oil prices might be getting to a tipping point. Before the Fed’s second quantitative easing plan (QE2) started last drop, oil was at about $90 a barrel. Crude oil may go down to $85 to $95 a barrel in June when oil and gas speculators change their minds.

Citations

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110408-707562.html

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/04/09/business/09markets.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Industrial Fuels and Power

ifandp.com/article/0010617.html

Fortune

finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/08/oil-at-the-tipping-point/

Personal loans do not trigger poverty

Jobs fight poverty. Having a job empowers customers to provide. But it seems that groups like the Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas have the wrong idea regarding how jobs should be treated in the current economy. The coalition told the Dallas Observer that payday lending jobs must be sacrificed, supposedly in the name of fighting poverty. Source for this article – Killing payday lending does not fight poverty by MoneyBlogNewz.

Getting poverty taken care of

The coalition is hoping to create ways out of poverty. This is what CitySquare CEO Larry James said in a press release to the media:

“The Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas is a new coalition that seeks to move 250,000 people out of poverty permanently by 2020 by coordinating efforts to keep people from falling into poverty and increasing pathways out of poverty,” writes James.

‘A treadmill of debt’

There’s a reason why the unsecured loan and quick installment loan industry is being attacked. James said that “a treadmill of debt” is created with them helping individuals into poverty. All zoning ordinances would be challenged with legislation like SB 253 and Texas HB 410 that would keep payday lenders out of the credit service organization category. By instituting a “strong zoning ordinance to decrease the clustering of payday and auto title lending stores,” the Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas believes the shackles of poverty would lift from the wrists and ankles of the poor citizenry. It believes that many would be better off with payday lending taken away from them. There is nothing that speaks to Wall Street or bad spending habits being involved. In truth, eliminating personal loan comp! anies limits customer choice and costs Texas jobs, both dire consequences in light of the recession-ravaged economy.

An indirect attack, at best

Industry experts are worried that more would come if zoning ordinances requiring installment and personal unsecured loan outlets to be at least 1,000 feet apart with ordinances for instance SB 253 and HB 410 that there would result in being more. When it comes to getting poverty fixed, it does not really make sense to attack payday loan lenders with 36 percent Annual Percentage Rate caps which would end up shutting down the businesses and putting more people out of work.

What “anti-poverty” coalitions really want is not shown in the zoning attacks. Charitable groups like this might discover better things to do if they, including the Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas, were only willing to understand the extant independent research that shows higher poverty in communities without short term installment loans.

Citations

Dallas Observer

blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/04/new_anti-poverty_coalition_to.php

Payday Pundit

paydaypundit.org/2011/04/12/flawed-plan/

Texas HB 410

capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=HB410

Texas SB 253

capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SB253

Texas Secretary of State

sos.state.tx.us/statdoc/faqs2800.shtml

Jobs fight poverty

youtu.be/w0v7OMt3vio

Executive payment increasing as income flat line

CEO pay in corporate America rose 12 percent past year to a median of $9.6 million. Corporate profits were up nearly 30 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest growth in more than 60 years. As CEOs padded their paychecks, middle class workers have had to make do with less as rising cost of living cuts into wages.

CEO pay rises at the expense of United States workers

The pay of CEOs has increased during the recession, while the normal hard working American’s has declined. Even as employment is increasing, employee pay isn’t, but CEO pay is. The pocket book of CEO’s is growing daily as stock prices rise, rather than hiring more of the 13 million individuals out of work. CEO’s have no reason to hire employees when they’re making do with who they have. Economic bailout sectors were given to CEO’s in 2010 at an average of 12 percent. Yet, private sector pay rose by about 2 percent. 8.8 percent was the average unemployment rate in March. Most economists predict the jobless rate will continue to remain high for years.

CEO stock opportunities on the rise

The highest paid CEO in the U.S. last year was Phillipe Dauman of Viacom who pocketed $84.5 million in just nine months. Ray Irani of Occidental Petroleum made $76.1 million past year, making him take the place of the second highest paid CEO. Forbes also states that Oracle’s Larry Ellison brought in $39.5 million making him the third highest paid. CEOs are gaining the largest raises since 2007, with stock choice thanks to Wall Street. Knowing that someday the market had to recover, CEOs took stock options when they had little value. The stock market has recovered and now the CEOs are cashing in and making the big bucks. USA Today reports that many of the CEOs cashing in their stock choices were making well over $20 million.

The increase in commodity prices hurts the middle class

Middle-class America is having a difficult time with these payments to CEOs since they have had trouble with pay increases. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states the average hourly wage for workers has not increased by a penny in so-much-as five months. While United States workers who still have jobs aren’t getting raises, employers in creating nations are hiring new consumers who are pushing up demand and prices for food, oil, cotton and other commodities. Costs of commodities and wages are essentially going in opposite directions. Any increases that workers have received go right into their gas tanks. The average U.S. commuter buys 12 gallons of gas a week. People have reported that filling a gas tank is costing $40 more per month than it did past year. Yet the average weekly raise only increased by about $18.

Articles cited

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/04/10/business/10comp.html?_r=2#38;ref=business

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2011-04-04-1Aoptions04_ST_N.htm

NPR

npr.org/2011/04/10/135272006/paychecks-cant-keep-up-with-rising-prices

Bigotry evident in continued bank redlining

African-Americans and Hispanics are beginning to lose ground when it comes to the use of traditional banking, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Redlining and similar methods of financial/racial discrimination haven’t faded away, regardless of regulatory efforts. Denial of short term installment loans and mortgages by banks to ethnic minorities in the United States suggest that the racial divide continues to gape wide. Article resource – Racial discrimination evident in continued bank redlining by MoneyBlogNewz.

Statistics show minorities are losing homes twice as fast as Caucasians are

Center for Responsible Lending President Michael Calhoun told USA Today that U.S. minorities have "received the worst treatment, at a very high cost." Estimates that 20 percent of African-American and Hispanic householders will lose their houses in the mortgage crisis – a rate more than double that of white householders – suggest the gap between the minority and the majority is growing.

African Americans are 41.7 percent more likely to be denied a traditional bank loan than a Caucasian person is according to a 2008 study done by Christian Weller called "Credit Access, the Costs of Credit and Credit Market Discrimination." Weller is of the Center for American Progress and the University of Massachusetts. The gap widened considerably when mortgages were in question.

The inequity of a ‘dual system of finance’

John Taylor is the National Community Reinvestment Coalition CEO. He said a double standard is present.

"It's about a dual system of finance," he says. "People of color do not have the same access that most American citizens enjoy.

The option when traditional banks deny low or middle-income minorities credit is frequently no credit check payday loans from personal loan companies. NAACP Senior V.P. for Advocacy and Policy, Hilary Shelton, explained that there are generally higher fees on these than traditional loans even though they’re convenient for a financial emergency. Mortgage loans aren't swapped out by payday loans either.

Deregulation in banks

There were entire minority neighborhoods that were not able to get bank loans, mortgages and insurance in the 1990s which got many people noticing. The practice of redlining started with banking and utility deregulation because of this. While regulators installed such mechanisms as the Community Reinvestment Act and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to help combat redlining, further loosening of the oversight belt allowed the practice to continue in various forms (for instance reverse redlining, where short term bank loans are offered in minority neighborhoods, however at prohibitive rates). This ultimately led to the Wall Street crisis, from which the U.S. is nevertheless recovering.

Changes regulators are making

• A two-year short term loan program is being piloted by 28 banks. The FDIC suggested this.
• The Department of Justice has created a fair lending unit to police redlining.
• July 2011 can be the start of the CFPB.

Articles cited

Peri

peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_151-200/WP171.pdf

IBEW

ibew1613.org/library/redlining.html

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/perfi/general/2011-04-04-real-estate-financial-discrimination.htm

Did banking deregulation stack the deck against minorities?

youtube.com/watch?v=FDYXAywWWdk

Apple no longer to weigh so heavily on Nasdaq-100

To temper the volatility of Apple shares, Nasdaq officials will rebalance the Nasdaq-100 index in May. Apple stock, in its rapid growth, has started to weigh too heavily on the index. Nasdaq rebalancing cuts the ratio of Apple stock to the total value of the Nasdaq-100 by 50 percent. The artificial impact of Apple rumors set in motion be hedge funds to impact the entire index with the weight of Apple shares is likely to decrease, while investors who may have avoided Apple stock due to its volatility and outrageous price could really own some of it. Resource for this article – Nasdaq rebalancing reduces hedge fund manipulation of Apple stock by MoneyBlogNewz.

Percentage of Apple on Nasdaq to drop

An increase in Apple stock has also been a rise in the Nasdaq-100 in the last few years. Since the industry bottomed out in 2009, the Mac, iPhone and iPad have driven Apple shares skyward more than 250 percent. There has been another 150 percent increase more than the 20 percent of the Nasdaq-100 total value in Apple stock since then. Nasdaq officials spoke on Apple stock. In the index, it is twice what it should be. On May 2, Nasdaq will rebalance everything. This will make, on the Nasdaq-100, Apple shares only 12 percent. The adjustment to correct for Apple realigns the ratio for the company's stock and outstanding shares with the way the Nasdaq-100 is calculated. The change also lessens weighting for 81 many businesses. Some Apple rivals will gain. A Microsoft raise is expected. It should go from 3.4 percent to 8.3 percent total. Other increases are expected in companies. Intel will get to 4.2 percent, Google to 5.8 percent and Oracle to 6.7 percent.

Huge manipulation of industry with rumors about Apple

A lower ratio for Apple shares on the Nasdaq-100 should shield the stock from future manipulation by hedge fund traders suspected of shorting Apple and spreading rumors that send the entire Nasdaq-100 down. Recently, there was an instance where Apple stock swung in price because of Apple rumors, in accordance with Jason Schwartz at Seeking Alpha. There was a rumor that the iPad 2 would be postponed until June in February by hedge fund Yuanta Securities when Apple was trading at $360. The rumors spread very easily. Soon, Apple shares were shorted by Yuanta Securities to make money. Apple stock went down $20 just two days after trading. Shortly afterward, Steve Jobs, who was given six weeks to live by bloggers, declared that the iPad would go on sale March 10. Several investors felt like they lost on a simple rumor. At the same time, Yuanta made bank. The Nasdaq-100 was affected because of this.

Getting rid of the Apple rumor impact

The Nasdaq rebalancing doesn’t take effect until next month, however money managers are already rebalancing their holdings. A drop occurred on Tues in Apple stock during this. It brought on a $4.19 decrease from $337 to $341.19. There has already been less hedge fund able to use Apple to manipulate the market. The iPhone delay rumors are, more than likely, not true. It won't impact the stock though since it is already going back up and is $15 below its high. Apple is expected to do better than anticipated in first quarter earnings while investors and traders can trade Apple shares.

Articles cited

Fortune

tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/05/a-good-day-to-buy-aapl/

Mac Observer

macobserver.com/tmo/article/nasdaq-100_to_cut_apples_index_share_nearly_in_half/

MSN Money

money.msn.com/market-news/default.aspx?feat=e52a3c86-3053-48e5-91eb-970765febdcc

Seeking Alpha

seekingalpha.com/article/260887-hedge-funds-bloggers-and-the-origin-of-apple-rumors

Supreme Court hears sex discrimination lawsuit towards Wal-Mart

A class action suit seeks to extract billions from Wal-Mart over allegations of sex discrimination. The largest lawsuit ever linked to gender discrimination in the workplace was argued before the Supreme Court Tuesday. Conservative justices questioned the legitimacy of the suit as a class action.

Discrimination Wal-Mart suit to change the rules

The rights of workers versus corporations could be looked at, likely by the Supreme Court, in the Wal-Mart sex discrimination suit. Almost every employer in the United States might have to change because of this. There were fewer chances of promotion and less payment given to previous and current 1.6 million Wal-Mart employees, in accordance with the lawsuit. Back pay and punitive damages are being asked for. In San Francisco, a U.S. Court of Appeals court let the case proceed. It was one trial for a multiparty lawsuit. The Supreme Court must choose whether all the women who worked for Wal-Mart since 1998 can indeed sue together in a class action.

Suit might be bad for business

Granting class-action status would greatly increase Wal-Mart’s potential liability in the sex discrimination suit. One small ruling against Wal-Mart could be really hard on the business. It may end up needing to settle out of court after all. The plaintiffs may end up filing individual suits against Wal-Mart if Wal-Mart's side is chosen which would, in the end, make it so Wal-Mart might win. Employee advocates and United States corporations have been following the Wal-Mart sex discrimination suit because of the implications it might have. There could possibly be a ton of workers going into court for lawsuits. All corporate boards in the nation are waiting for the answer though. It would be great for them if Wal-Mart wins.

What is being questioned

The Supreme Court was not sure if the discrimination really happened which was pointed out during Wal-Mart sex discrimination lawsuit arguments on Tues. There were 3,400 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores that had promotion and decisions affected by the corporate culture for women according to the layer for plaintiffs. The comment Wal-Mart said explained that it’s not legal to do a class-action lawsuit for all female employees considering there have only been discrimination instances in some stores by some managers. The claim of systematic discrimination was questioned based on the one fact that Wal-Mart managers are allowed to pay men or women whatever they please at their discretion. It won’t be long before a decision is made. It is anticipated to occur in June.

Information from

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/news/sc-dc-walmart-discrimination-20110329,0,3119421.story

CNN

cnn.com/2011/US/03/29/scotus.wal.mart/index.html?npt=NP1

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbOXzrZv6IDB2xzX5jdDJegcXkug?docId=879cbb4c18b44a338291cb69015c93db

New jobless claims drop; employers might be hiring

The government has declared in recent publications that initial jobless claims have started to drop recently, according to the federal government. Drops in both short term and longer term joblessness were observed. Good news on the joblessness front is always welcome. There are optimistic signs that employers might start hiring a lot of people this year.

Fewer joblessness claims filed

There was some information released by the United States Department of Labor. This was job industry information by the week. Initial jobless claims, or brand new applications for unemployment benefits, dropped in the week that ended on March 26, in accordance with CNN, though the decrease was only by 6,000. There was a 3,000 increase in joblessness benefits in the four-week average of original jobless claims. The number of new people claiming joblessness benefits was increasing for few weeks, however then turned right around and dropped. USA Today states that layoff announcements are decreasing among private corporations.

Best with a slow and steady decrease

Short term joblessness claims aside, long term unemployment claims — the number of individuals continually filing for unemployment benefits — fell by 51,000 during the week that ended March 19. There are fewer individuals as of March that continually need joblessness since the four week average had a decrease of over 31,000. Hiring has started to happen again, especially in smaller private businesses. Payroll administration business Automatic Data Processing, Inc., observed more than 201,000 new jobs on payrolls in the private sector. There has also been a rise in factor jobs in the U.S. This means more manufacturing jobs are accessible, states Reuters. Even incredibly wealthy firms are setting out to have a rosy outlook on hiring, as multiple news outlets reported that a survey of CEOs of large corporations revealed that more than 50 percent of the respondents were intending to hire individuals during the coming year.

Less in paydays to those doing more

There is good news that came from the few years of high joblessness. MSNBC reports that it caused Americans workers to become more productive. Employment has not been increasing although output in The United States is almost too where it was before the recession. It’s great because it means there are fewer employees. The same amount of work can get done though. There are fewer people getting paid and lower salaries. However, if the recent trends in employment data are signs of growth returning, that means some of the overworked and underpaid might become less overworked in coming months. They’ll likely stay underpaid, however.

Articles cited

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/31/news/economy/initial_claims/index.htm

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-03-30-hiring-picking-up.htm

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/03/31/us-usa-economy-idUSN3027570820110331?pageNumber=1

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/42349181/ns/business-world_business/

Dodd-Frank will cost almost $3 billion, states Government Accountability Office

What will the cost of consumer financial reform under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act be? With any governmental undertaking, there’s a financial burden taxpayers shoulder. In fact, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed in a report that it will cost $2.9 billion over five years. Article source – Dodd-Frank will cost nearly $3 billion, says GAO by MoneyBlogNewz.

Working class individuals do not always determine financial stability

The Wall Street Journal reports the Dodd-Frank Act won’t need taxpayer dollars completely to work although taxpayers feel like this is the case. Of the 11 agencies that will be responsible for putting the Dodd-Frank laws into practice, six are either fully or partially funded by revenues and assessments from businesses and/or entities the Dodd-Frank agencies oversee. Revenues such as assessments are used to pay for other ones. These include the three that congressional appropriations covers and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that the Federal Reserve will fund.

Banking institutions will pay the government more

All of the Financial institutions will pay more in government taxes to the United States This is what the Dodd-Frank laws dictate. GAO report findings have been used by Republicans to show that Dodd-Frank won’t be good for the economy because of these concerns of over-regulation.

To be able to support the 11 agencies in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, $975 million will be needed. This is a statistic the GOP loves to remind everyone of. The five year tag is closer to $2.9 billion. There will need to be a total of 2,600 full-time workers employed for the laws. This includes a total of 1,225 workers for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau being started.

The other stuff the GAO report has to show

The Journal explains that these things were noted in the GOP presentation to the House Financial services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations:

• A Fed estimate from earlier this year projected a cost of $77.5 million to pay 290 full-time staff dedicate to Dodd-Frank implementation. The Dodd-Frank laws need three offices to help it run better including the Financial Market Infrastructures Risk Analytics, Financial Market Infrastructures Oversight and the Office of Financial security Policy.
• There will be seven full-time staffs implemented in the beginning of 2012's fiscal year with the Financial security Oversight Council. This will cost $7.9 million.
• To be able to perform Dodd-Frank duties, the Office of Financial Research needs to hire 135 full time staff in the fiscal 2012 paying $74.5 million.

Citations

Senate

banking.senate.gov/public/_files/070110_Dodd_Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_comprehensive_summary_Final.pdf

Government Accountability Office

gao.gov/

Wall Street Journal

blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/03/28/dodd-frank-2-9-billion-over-5-years-gao-says/

GOP on what Dodd-Frank might cost small businesses

youtube.com/watch?v=6iB2fWk7Rho

Minnesota finishes Islamic law compliant mortgages

In Minnesota, mortgages targeted to increase home ownership have been ended. Pawlenty ended the program upon learning that the program was compliant with Sharia law. The loan program only provided three mortgages between being set up by the Minnesota state housing agency and getting shut down by the governor. The mortgage program offered Shairia compliant loans that did not charge interest. Pawlenty cited constitutional religious protections when shutting down this program. Resource for this article – Sharia-compliant mortgage program in Minnesota ends by MoneyBlogNewz.

Minnesota avoiding paying interest

In early 2010, Minnesota’s state housing agency partnered with the African Development Center to create a loan program targeted toward low- to moderate-income individuals who follow Sharia law. Called “Islamic mortgages” or “Sharia mortgages,” these loans helped the borrower keep away from paying interest, which is against their religious law. The borrower would pay the state for the home at a higher rate than the state would buy the home. Payments are the exact same as a 30-year fixed mortgage would show. Still, there is no interest being paid on them. Another program that was meant to increase minority home ownership in Minnesota was the large program this came from.

Sharia loans are ridiculous according to governor Pawlenty

The Sharia loan program was one Governor Pawlenty found out about. He ordered that it stop immediately. This decision had several asking questions. Pawlenty's spokesperson said:

“This program was independently set up by the Minnesota state housing agency and did not make any mention of Sharia Law on its face, but was later described as accommodating it,” he wrote in an email. “As soon as Gov. Pawlenty became aware of the issue, he personally ordered it shut it down. The United States should be governed by the U.S. Constitution, not religious laws.”

A government decision on how tax dollars are spent comes only from the government. That is its right. The Sharia-compliant financial products aren't outlawed by the governor in this. There can't be state programs that support this. He doesn't think it is right.

Sharia law in accordance with a judge

Disputes can legally be settled with Sharia law for Muslims. This was what a Florida judge ruled in the courtroom. This decision has raised concern for several lawmakers. Several states are considering legislation that would ban the use of Sharia law; some commentators are calling the recognition of this religious law tantamount to “silent jihad” against the U.S.. The reality is, however, that the U.S. recognizes Christian, Jewish, Sharia and other religious laws as long as the laws don’t violate standing state and federal law. Sharia, along with other religious law, is not against the Constitution when it comes to obeying it. As long as the religion isn't being imposed on someone, it is fine. Pawlenty himself said, "The Constitution was designed to protect individuals of faith from government, not to protect government from individuals of faith." In the case of the Sharia-compliant mortgages, seems like that Pawlenty does not want his state taxp! ayer dollars used to offer home ownership to religiously compliant Islamic residents.

Citations

Swamp Land

swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/03/25/is-there-a-double-standard-in-tim-pawlentys-disavowal-of-sharia-compliant-mortgages/

Minnesota Public Radio

minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/02/28/islamicfinancing/?refid=0

Colorado short term installment loans bill HB 11-1290 up for debate

Payday loan lenders and the Colorado economy as a whole felt the pain when Colorado HB 10-1351 passed, in accordance with state Rep. Liston. In response to the controversial legislation, Colorado legislators have introduced HB 11-1290, which would fill the gap created when pay day loans were banned by requiring a full payment of origination fees up front, rather than allowing for a pro-rated amount should the client pay off their installment loan early. Article resource – Colorado short term installment loans bill HB 11-1290 up for debate by MoneyBlogNewz.

Getting Colorado House Bill 11-1290 to the committee

Introduced Friday on the floor of the legislature, Colorado House Bill 11-1290 might be debated as early as this week, reports the Colorado Statesman. The lender can make up to $75 on a maximum of $500 loaned after an short term installment loan origination fee of $20 for every $100 loaned up to $300 and $15 for every $100 loaned after that. In addition, a monthly maintenance of $7.50 per month per $100 and a finance charge of 45 percent can be charged according to Colorado law.

Loan providers suggest the full origination fee that HB 11-1290 supports is needed to continue business while Colorado loan providers cannot any longer do two-week payday advance loans.

HB 11-1290 sponsors predominantly voted against HB 10-1351

The legislation has 10 co-sponsors in the House, including Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge, who voted "no" on HB 10-1351, also as Rep. Ed Casso, D-Commerce City, who favored HB 10-1351. U.S. Senate sponsors contain other anti-HB-1351 legislators for instance Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, and Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Adams County.

Said it is a technical correction

There are many Colorado supporters of House Bill 11-1290. They say that last year's HB 10-1351 is being corrected technically with the bill and origination fees. Rich Jones of the Bell Policy Center disagree:

"It’s an incentive for the lenders to get customers to pay off their loans early and then take out more loans," Jones told the Statesman Friday.

Articles cited

DORA

dora.state.co.us/Financial-Services/pdf_forms/Revised HB10-1351_2.pdf

State Bill Info

statebillinfo.com/bills/bills/11/1290_01.pdf

Colorado Statesman

coloradostatesman.com/content/992687-payday-lender-bill-being-fast-tracked-through-house

‘Steering Colorado’s economy back on course’

youtube.com/watch?v=3mHOl-S6F1s

Shortly, SSDI will go bankrupt

By 2005, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) fund was cashing checks its tax body couldn’t money. As almost half a million individuals went on Social Security past year, an obvious financial issue arises. This has led experts to predict that Social Security Disability Insurance will exhaust surplus funds in 4 to 7 years, states the Wall Street Journal.

Paying out $22 billion more than it makes with Social Security

By 2015, projections indicate that Social Security will spend $153 billion in benefits and other costs. That’s $22 billion more than it is expected to take in, underscoring a problem that many Americans will shortly face. It is expected that Medicare will last until 2029. The Social Security retirement fund is anticipated to go much longer to 2040. Government auditors explain that change has to happen. This is the only way that SSDI can be able to last more than seven years.

Social Security: Drowning in applicants

The Social Security program got more applicants than normal with the recession. There has been a huge increase in the last decade of the number of people getting Social Security. This number increased to 10.2 million individuals from 6.6 million. The Social Security Disability Insurance funds are needed by a lot of states and territories that the United States owns. In the last 10 years, there has been an 85 percent increase in Texas enrollment while, at the same time, New Hampshire has had a 69 percent growth. As a percentage of total population, West Virginia receives more Social Security Disability Insurance money than anywhere else.

Health troubles linked to manual labor are believed to be the cause, a common theme among states where agriculture and manufacturing are vital. Social Security is needed quite a bit in United States territories such as Puerto Rico considering military bases and factories keep closing. The highest joblessness is generally reported in these states also. Puerto Rico politics are another issue. There’s a lot of corruption.

Only allowed Social Security Disability Insurance if a doctor states so

Social Security and Medicare are both age-based programs. SSDI, on the other hand, is about medical opinion over other things. Local medical officials don't have any reasons to stop enrollment since somebody else pays for it. Government benefits are given with SSDI benefits although they are around $1,064 a month on average in 2009. Working class individuals end up picking up the tab. About $300,000 per person in these benefits with the additional programs are paid out to regular Social Security Disability Insurance patients, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology's SSDI expert David Autor.

Is possible to have higher taxes?

In the short term, the only way Congress can save Social Security Disability Insurance without tax increases is to fold it to the main Social Security fund. Retirees would lose benefits pretty easily since the retirement fund would be lost. Nancy Altman is in the Social Security Works activist group. She claims something has to be done about this.

“This is a program of crucial importance to every working American and his or her family,” she said.

Citations

ssdi, social security, social security disability insurance, social security bankrupt

Where will Social Security Disability be in 4 years?

In 2005, the Social Security Disability Insurance fund began to dish out more money than it was bringing in via tax receipts. Considering that nearly half a million new Social Security recipients went on the dole last year, the impending issue is magnified. According to the Wall Street Journal, Social Security Disability Insurance will be empty in 7 years or fewer. Source of article – Social Security Disability Insurance may go dry in 4 years by MoneyBlogNewz.

Social Security will spend $22 billion more than it makes

There’s a $153 billion projection for Social Security on benefits and costs. This will hit by 2015. There will be a $22 billion deficit from what is being taken in. Americans are going to have to deal with this issue. It is expected that Medicare will last until 2029. The Social Security retirement fund is expected to go much longer to 2040. Government auditors explain that change has to happen. This is the only way that Social Security Disability Insurance will be able to last more than seven years.

Number of applications Social Security has

Due to the recession, more individuals have wanted Social Security. They have been applying like crazy. There has been a huge increase in the last decade of the number of individuals getting Social Security. This number increased to 10.2 million individuals from 6.6 million. The SSDI funds are needed by lots of states and territories that the United States owns. In the last 10 years, there has been an 85 percent increase in Texas enrollment while, at the same time, New Hampshire has had a 69 percent growth. Measuring the amount of Social Security Disability Insurance a state gets is done with the percentage of total population that has it. In this way, West Virginia gets more SSDI than any other state.

Health problems related to manual labor are believed to be the trigger, a common theme among states where agriculture and manufacturing are vital. United States territories like Puerto Rico heavily depend upon Social Security, considering the rash of factory and military base closures in recent years. Not coincidentally, such states also tend to have the highest unemployment numbers. There are lots of problems with political corruption in Puerto Rico too.

SSDI what a doctor decides

Unlike age-based programs like Medicare and Social Security retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance is closely tied to medical opinion. Local medical officials do not have any reasons to stop enrollment since somebody else pays for it. In 2009, payments were around $1,064 in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits although they can be modest. David Autor works at the MA Institute of Technology as an SSDI expert. He said that regular SSDI benefits to one person can add up to about $300,000 over a lifetime.

Should we expect higher taxes shortly

Without increasing taxes, Congress could help Social Security Disability Insurance for a short time. The Social Security fund would have to be used for this. Retirees would lose benefits fairly quickly since the retirement fund would be lost. Nancy Altman is in the Social Security Works activist group. She states something has to be done about this.

“This is a program of crucial importance to every working American and his or her family,” she said.

Citations

Social Security Online

ssa.gov/disability/

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703752404576178570674769318.html

Milton Friedman on Social Security: Save your money

youtube.com/watch?v=rCdgv7n9xCY

Social Security Online

ssa.gov/disability/

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703752404576178570674769318.html

Milton Friedman on Social Security: Save your money

youtube.com/watch?v=rCdgv7n9xCY

Fewer people using credit cards but still borrowing money

Increasing quantities of individuals are borrowing money, however more people are getting personal loans instead of using credit cards. The Federal Reserve recently published data on consumer borrowing for the month of January. Borrowing increased by several billion dollars for that month, however people were mostly using non-revolving sources of credit. The report also covered use of credit cards. People are paying off their credit card debt in droves.

Consumer borrowing occurring more often leaving to higher debt amounts

Americans are borrowing cash from loan providers again, and it is reflected in the recently released report by the Federal Reserve detailing economic activity from Jan. of 2011, in accordance with Business Week. The January debt increase came from sources for instance auto loans and personal loans that are non-revolving credit sources. The revolving lines for instance credit cards weren’t the reason for this. Non-revolving debt increased by $9.26 billion, however consumer debts increased overall by an estimated $5 billion, in the fourth straight month of increasing numbers of individuals going to lenders for credit. For the sixth straight month, auto lending went up. This is what led experts to believe the increase came from auto sales, reports MSNBC.

Using credit cards less likely

Credit card use has been plummeting for some time, as the amount of debt held by Americans on credit cards declined by $4.25 billion. For the first time since Dec. 2008, charge card debt has increased in December 2010 although it went down 28 of the last 29 months. Credit card charge-offs, or debts written off by charge card businesses, declined to 7.45 percent for January 2010. Delinquencies and charge-offs have been declining for the past five consecutive months. A Dec. shopping spree was done though which credit cards seemed to be used for, although that was paid by Consumers quickly. There have been increases in charge card interest rates noted. Banks and businesses have not been able to add fees and change interest whenever they want causing them to have high interest rates and fees to start with.

More debt taken out by students

There was a $24.9 billion increase in student loans from the federal government in January 2011 as part of the non-revolving debts increase. Faster or later the students will have to borrow from private investors instead of from the government. This is because federal budget cuts will decrease capital available more than likely. The federal spending budget recently submitted by the House of Representatives cut more than $5 billion from the Pell Grant program, according to the Christian Science Monitor, though the Pell Grant program is expected to run a $20 billion deficit starting next year. When it comes to investments, a lot of people still consider college educations one of the most essential. Still, college costs have gone up a ton in past years.

Articles cited

Business Week

businessweek.com/news/2011-03-07/consumer-credit-in-u-s-increased-5-01-billion-in-january.html

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/41954342/ns/business-consumer_news/

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0225/Washington-trims-Pell-Grants-How-will-students-pay-fall-tuition

The 4 basics of leasing out your space

The rental market is becoming huge. Renting out any extra living space you already have is one way to make money. In fact, many people do help meet their mortgage payments by doing this. If you’re going to rent out space, you should take a few steps to protect your sanity. Source for this article – The four basics of renting out your space by MoneyBlogNewz.

1-Think about your market

Make sure you research before renting out any space. Take a look at places comparable to yours on Craigslist, online services and newspaper ads. Look at other places to see what is offered in leasing contracts. Decide how much money you have to bring in. Then, you can decide what your rental price is.

2-Make sure you understand the laws

States and cities usually have laws. These landlord/tenant laws have to be followed. Make sure you know the laws, even if it is only for one room with your house. Most areas have at least one landlord association that offers information on the fundamentals of the law. Landlord/tenant law can dictate everything from what you need to provide as part of your rental to how much notice you have to give before entering the rented area.

3-What about credit scores?

There aren't always people that have great credit. Sometimes credit is an issue. Your job as a landlord means deciding what is required for potential renters. This could contain a credit check sometimes. When looking at a credit history, it will show the history of someone's spending. This involves bill paying. You’ll end up paying between $75 and $100 whenever you run a credit rating though. A credit check is not required to rent your place out. Still, you might want to do it just to make sure the renters can pay for the place. It can be easier just to call references and check employment history.

4-Take a look at the documents with deposits and leases

Make sure you’ve the right documents to rent the place out. Both of you are protected well when documents is there. It can help prove residency and is good documentation. You can find standard rental agreements for state online or through landlord’s associations; read through the agreement carefully and make edits as you see necessary. Being the renter's friend does not mean anything. Make sure you nevertheless get a deposit. If something goes wrong — regardless how good of a friend your renter is — cleaning up after a renter moves out can be costly, and a deposit can pay for that.

Make sure the price of your place is right when considering the renter's finances and documents, even if it’s just one single room. It is very easy to get just a little bit of extra money inside your pocket every month if you do all the work.

Much more carry-on baggage means major costs for Transportation Security Administration

In accordance with the WA Post, airline passengers who do not like how much luggage check-in fees have ballooned are increasing the number carry-on baggage that must be inspected. The costs for inspecting the additional carry-ons are forcing the Transportation Security Administration to flex its spending budget to the max, which will eventually mean that taxpayers might be footing the bill. In accordance with Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, the influx of carry-on baggage is costing approximately $ 260 million per year.

More carry-on luggage demands much more safety

So long as carry-on baggage fits an airline’s parameters, travelers have the right to bring it aboard. Sen. Mary Landrieu is the Senate Appropriations subcommittee chairwoman. Napolitano said to her that nothing comes free:

“When you have to pay to check a bag, it increases carry-on luggage, and that means there is more to inspect at the gate and so forth for passengers to get on planes,” she said.

Absorbing costs is important for the TSA to continue to function. Deciding who will cover the carry-on baggage costs is important right now. It will either be the airlines or United States working class individuals. Putting higher airport safety fees on airline tickets was a suggestion Napolitano had for Sen. Landrieu. Simply adding $5 to $10 a ticket would significantly help pay for the Transportation Security Administration. Napolitano states that $600 million a year would be added this way.

Decision from Congress on airport security fees hasn't come through yet

It is not new to put on an airport safety fee. Everyone has dealt with them. Annually it is proposed. It first started in 2002. However, Congress has not approved the airline ticket cost increase. The first profitable year since 2007 for the airline industry was reported due to fewer flights, higher ticket prices and other charges. Government estimates place 2011 airline profits at $5 billion and $5.6 billion in 2012. Perhaps Congress doesn’t want to push its luck with much more fees.

Luggage policies for economy air carriers

Check the baggage policies of your airline. You will want to know this before you get to the gate. It is really essential to know what is free and what costs money. Make sure you keep up with this. Generally wheelchairs will not count towards luggage and are free. Certain airlines allow children’s strollers for free without counting as part of the baggage allowance. Most don't allow extremely heavy baggage. This counts anything over 100 pounds. Most economy air carriers have these baggage policies:

• Southwest- Two checked bags up to 50 pounds each are free. Extra and oversized luggage ranges from $25 to much more than $100.
• JetBlue- One bag weighing 50 pounds or less might be checked for free. The second checked bag costs $50. Up to a 40-pound carry-on luggage piece is also free. One can be checked for free. Excess or oversized pieces run $50 to $100.
• Virgin America- First checked bag costs $25 and may weigh up to 70 pounds. Subsequent check-ins up to 50 pounds is $25. Excess and oversized bags run $10 to $50 each.

Articles cited

About.com Air Travel

airtravel.about.com/od/whatyoucancantpack/a/stuff2.htm

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030305679.html?wprss=rss_print/asection

Cenk Uygur vs. Ana Kasperian on carry-on luggage

youtube.com/watch?v=vrM2eOnheo0

Gasoline prices unlikely influenced by using United States oil reserve

The U.S. strategic oil reserve is being eyed by some members of Congress as a remedy to increasing gas and oil prices. The United States has an abundance of oil and gasoline on hand apart from the strategic reserve, yet some lawmakers think an additional infusion of supply will lower prices. Gas costs haven’t risen high enough yet to tap the reserve, according to the administration, which contends that such a move would send further panic through international oil markets.

The reason Congress would like this/span>

The largest oil reserve in the world is the United States strategic petroleum reserve. About 727 million barrels of oil are in there. Nationwide, the average price of a gallon of gas has risen 28 cents in the past 10 days. Selling a part of the strategic oil reserve was suggested by Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., as the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He said this would help keep oil costs stabilized. Other politicians are saying that in addition to tempering upward pressure on gas prices, selling some of the strategic oil reserve would raise billions of dollars for deficit reduction and help fund programs to reduce United States oil consumption, such as tax breaks for electric vehicles and hybrids.

United States not running low on oil/span>

The Obama administration objects to tapping the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve as a response to the current spike in gas and oil costs, even though its 2012 spending budget proposal calls for selling $500 million worth of oil from the reserve to fund certain programs. What the administration believes is that, when the U.S. is not at all running short on oil, it would send a panic that is false to customers. A major oil storage facility in OK that supplies the interior U.S. has record inventories. From Canada, the United States is getting gasoline while North Dakota is beginning to produce. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that there is an abundance of oil in the crude oil inventories. It has reached 346.4 million barrels. U.S. gasoline inventories are at 9.86 billion gallons. Both inventories are at above-average levels for this time of year.

Solving the oil and gas price problem/span>

The Obama administration is making a good decision, oil industry analysts suggest. It would make individuals driving up the gasoline prices more fearful while doing nothing else to oil and gasoline prices. The supply of oil is not the problem, many suggest. They think a shortage of surplice production capacity is the issue everybody is facing. Continuing troubles in the Middle East will be the issue. The surplus oil production will stop. Without a surplus oil production capacity, there are many issues. The real troubles with oil price would begin. The oil markets will be better if the capacity to produce oil settles instead of attempting to temporarily stop the problem.

Information from/span>

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/03/04/business/energy-environment/04oil.html?_r=1

Foreign Policy

oilandglory.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/04/the_weekly_wrap_march_4_2011

UPI

upi.com/Business_News/2011/03/03/Crude-oil-supplies-fall-slightly/UPI-22221299189942/

Large businesses present wish list for consumer finance legislation

Big business has July 21, 2011, circled in the calendar. That’s the day the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will officially be the United States consumer finance regulatory board of the land. According to CNN Money, expectations have led big business to appeal to the Obama administration with a "wish list" letter of hopes for how ongoing consumer finance regulation will unfold. While focusing on bank regulation is considered a top priority, the notion of the CFPB proposing new financial reform before confirming a director is unpopular.

Chances CFPB director can be Warren

Elizabeth Warren is a candidate to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as she, as an Obama administration advisor and Harvard University professor, came up with the idea. Warren is extremely for the consumer and against Wall Street though. This makes Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act co-founder, think that she wouldn't be a good choice. Warren has had to meet bank executives, lobbyists, chambers of commerce, consumer groups and investors while getting the agency staffed even though this is the case.

“They were wary, but polite, and quite surprised,” Warren said Monday of the meetings. “Some were sure I’d walk in with blood dripping from my fangs.”

Request of big businesses

In order to keep away from burdensome or regulatory duplication, business groups are clamoring for the CFPB to approach banking and finance legislation with laser-like precision. Already Dodd-Frank is too ambiguous, Jess Sharp told CNN as the director of the United States Chamber of commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must do more.

“Targeted regulation to weed out bad actors is good for consumers, but there’s huge and ambiguous authority granted under Dodd-Frank,” Sharp said. “That can lead to huge regulatory burdens for Main Street businesses.”

The CFPB would be able to supervise all of the corporations besides financial institution with Dodd-Frank such as payday cash advance companies. The Obama administration got a letter from business groups though. Obviously they do not like this idea.

“Deferring an expansion of supervision and examination requirements would allow businesses to devote resources to job creation rather than save them to cover what might well be unnecessary regulatory compliance costs,” the letter reads.

Charge card business praise

Warren was happy with the credit card industry, reports Charge card Studio, because of their own measures taken to improve customer/credit card business relationships even though there’s a lot the mortgage industry still needs to do. Regulations from CFPB are probably not needed. This was another thing mentioned.

“The data we have assembled indicates that much of the industry has gone further than the law requires in curbing repricing and over-limit fees,” Warren said. “Leaders in the industry deserve credit for moving in the right direction.”

Articles cited

Advisor One

advisorone.com/article/deputy-secretary-wolin-outlines-treasurys-steps-implementing-dodd-frank?page=0,1

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/01/news/economy/chamber_consumer_bureau/

Credit Card Studio

creditcardsstudio.com/news-article/the-card-act-one-year-later/

The CFPB: Arresting the development of a new financial meltdown

youtube.com/watch?v=1V0Ax9OIc84

Libya to receive sanctions as United States shuts down embassy

The U.S. Embassy in Libya has closed, because of increasing physical violence and instability in the North African nation. The regime of Gadhafi is fast losing its grip of the country. Deadly reprisals in opposition to Libyans have done little to quell demonstrations against his rule of more than four decades. Economic sanctions will increase in opposition to Libya until the situation is resolved. Article resource – US embassy in Tripoli shuttered with Libya sanctions pending by MoneyBlogNewz.

Chaos in Tripoli during Gadhafi's rule

It has been really hard to handle Libya for dictator Moammar Gadhafi that everybody wants to leave. In fact, the battleground for control of the country is occurring in Tripoli. Gadhafi loyal army members are firing upon protesters and keeping the place dangerous. Still, protesters refuse to leave when their lives are in danger. A chartered ferry was used to get embassy personnel out of Tripoli as the U.S. State Department has stopped all American Embassy operations, says Reuters. This is due to the protests going on in the country. Most workers have been evacuated already even though the embassy is still open.

Considering sanctions in opposition to Libya right now

The White House has affirmed that economic sanctions could be levied against Libya, in response to the brutal tactics used by Moammar Gadhafi in addressing the unrest in the country he has ruled for more than four decades. These sanctions will be considered in a meeting with Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, CNN states. All U.S. cooperation with military has been cut off from Libya already. Obama has previously been criticized for taking too soft a stance on the situation in Libya.

Gadhafi should leave, international leaders recommend

The New York Times states that International leaders have been asking that Colonel Gadhafi quit. President of France Sarkozy said that Gadhafi needs to resign while "the world will hold you to account" was what British Prime Minister David Cameron had to say. Gadhafi is going to "die a martyr" before leaving. This is what he has said, that he will not be alive when he leaves if it takes place.

Articles cited

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-libya-usa-idUSTRE71K6D520110225?pageNumber=1

CNN

cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/25/libya.us.reaction/

NY Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/26/world/middleeast/26diplomacy.html