Banks to get access to your bills

Banks will be able access information about whether customers have missed payments on utility bills and loans under proposed changes to the Privacy Act.

Currently, lenders are allowed to know about a consumer's application for credit during the past five years but not if the borrower has been able to pay the bills.

Under the proposed changes, banks and lending institutions will have information about the number of loans a consumer has, how reliable they have been with repayments and how much they have borrowed.

Banks could then use that information to refuse additional credit.

"A simple change to the credit reporting laws will allow credit providers to check a borrower’s current credit commitments and repayment history before additional credit is granted," said Russell Evans of credit agency Veda Advantage.

Cabinet Secretary Joe Ludwig said on Wednesday the government would accept some privacy law changes proposed by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in August 2008.

"Today I am announcing the government's intention to effectively rewrite the commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 for the 21st century, the most significant reform to it since its inception," Senator Ludwig told a privacy professionals forum in Melbourne.

"Currently, Australia's credit reporting system provides only half the picture of an individual's credit report," Senator Ludwig said.

A spokesman for the ALRC said present consumer credit check laws were among the most restrictive in the world.

Mr Evans said the changes would enable lenders to make an "informed decision" on giving credit.

"Allowing access to better lending information on credit reports will help protect the lender and any vulnerable Australians who are at risk of being caught in a debt trap," he said.

Veda released data on Tuesday showing one in six Australians have trouble repaying their debt.

But Consumer Action Law Centre chief executive Catriona Lowe said giving lenders more information about a consumer's credit repayment history would only encourage them to lend more.

"Of course we agree that we don't want consumers getting into more debt," she told AAP.

"The question is whether these sort of reforms will have that effect."

Under the proposals, the Privacy Commission will also have the power to make public and private sector agencies develop a privacy code, or follow an imposed one, if lots of complaints are made about them.

Privacy policies are voluntary under the present system but the government wants the law changed so groups can be prosecuted for breaching their privacy codes.

Australian Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis said this would allow more flexibility in dealing with complaints.

The federal government accepted 141 ALRC recommendations of the 197 it responded to.

A spokeswoman for Senator Ludwig said public consultation on proposed privacy law changes would be held in early 2010.

money.ninemsn.com.au 15 Oct 2009

This is another step towards the gradual 'enslavement' of society.

All these proposals are geared so Corporations and Governments will have an unobscured view into your life.

There is NOTHING anyone can do about it.

The politics of globalisation (New World Order) are too strong for mere mortals to resist.

'Dangerous' to bail Puneet's mate: court

A prosecutor has warned it would be "diabolically dangerous" if the man who allegedly helped killer driver Puneet Puneet flee Australia was released on bail to live with a fellow Indian student.

Sukhcharanjit Singh was allegedly paid several thousand dollars by Puneet for his passport earlier this year.

Puneet fled Australia on June 12 using Singh's passport as identification.

Before leaving, Puneet celebrated his departure with friends.

On Thursday a bail application continued for Singh, who is charged with providing his passport to Puneet and has been in custody since his arrest in August.

Prosecutor Michael Tinney said the case against Singh was strong and it was too great a risk to release him on bail.

He said the idea of Singh sharing a bedroom with a fellow Indian student, who is also a prosecution witness, at his Melbourne home was unacceptable.

"It is a diabolically dangerous arrangement on the Crown submission," he said.

Magistrate Stella Stuthridge questioned how strong the evidence against Singh was.

"He has been quite lackadaisical with his passport," she said.

"He has probably even been reckless."

Puneet had pleaded guilty to culpable driving over the death of 19-year-old Gold Coast student Dean Hofstee.

Puneet had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.165 and was speeding at 148 km/h when his car slammed into Mr Hofstee who was walking on a footpath in central Melbourne in October 2008.

The hearing continues.

aap 15 Oct 2009

Australia does NOT need to import more criminals,

under the 'student' / 'refugee' / 'asylum seeker' banner.

Deport this human sewage back to where it came from.

How Billionaires Control Our Lives

Why should we care about the rich? Besides the obvious interest in their lavish lifestyles, everyone should care about the super wealthy because, in many respects, they control almost every thing we do, every hour of the day.

Don't believe it? Follow Alex, a fictional yuppie New Yorker who is admittedly lazy and a bit of a lush.

It's Monday morning, exactly 6 a.m. Alex wakes up in her apartment at Donald Trump's West Side Trump Place with a slight headache--the residual reminder of a Patron tequila-induced hangover (thanks, John Paul DeJoria) from a reckless Sunday night with friends. Her iPhone jingles, playing the latest iTunes download, courtesy of Steve Jobs. An hour later, Alex drags herself out of bed.

Alex tosses on some mascara and lip gloss (Ronald and Leonard Lauder), then throws on some lingerie from Victoria's Secret (Leslie Wexner), a pair of slacks and a cute button-down shirt and sweater set she'd gotten with her mom at the Gap (Fisher family) last fall.

Breakfast is always a crisis of conscience: should she sit down at home and enjoy a honeydew melon and banana from Dole Foods (David Murdock)? Or hurry to work, grabbing a coffee and a Boston cream doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts (Tom Lee, David Rubenstein, Daniel D'Aniello, William Conway) on the way? Since it's Monday and her head is still throbbing, Alex decides on the latter.

Alex is the rare New York driver who avoids public transportation at all costs--any cost. After a silly mishap with her own car over the weekend, she's forced to drive a rented Enterprise sedan (Jack Taylor). She squints at the bright sunlight outside and slips on her Oakley sunglasses (James Jannard).

When Alex finally arrives at her Times Square office (Leon Charney), she has copies of the Daily News (Mort Zuckerman), New York Post and The Wall Street Journal (Rupert Murdoch) waiting for her on her desk. She turns on her Dell computer (Michael Dell), which runs with an Intel processor (Gordon Moore).

Alex is almost through the Page Six gossip column when her overbearing boss pokes his head in, asking her to generate a spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel (Bill Gates). Alex rolls her eyes, but it's 11 a.m. and she might as well start working. She calls a client on her cellphone, run on technology developed by Qualcomm (Irwin Jacobs).

By 11:30 a.m., Alex is hungry and bored. She searches on Google for a new restaurant while watching a hilarious puppy video on YouTube (Sergey Brin, Larry Page). After much ado, she decides to order pizza with her co-workers. Loaded on top: mozzarella cheese from Leprino Foods (James Leprino).

Feeling a bit lethargic after lunch, and not really in the mood for number-crunching or clients, Alex posts pictures of that embarrassing (though funny) Saturday morning car mishap on her Facebook page (Mark Zuckerberg). The digital pics were loaded on a memory card from Kingston Technologies (David Sun and John Tu).

It's 3 p.m. and her boss has gone off to a client meeting. Alex slips a (thin) issue of Vogue (SI Newhouse) from her purse and flips through it.

Later, after checking several stocks on the office Bloomberg terminal (Michael Bloomberg), Alex calls her Schwab broker to make a few trades (Charles Schwab). Great timing: The mailman delivers her paycheck from Paychex (B. Thomas Golisano).

Before getting off the phone with her broker, Alex has spent half her paycheck on self-help books and fitness DVDs on Amazon.com (Jeff Bezos). She considers spending the remainder at WalMart.com (the Walton family), but manages to restrain herself.

Finally, it's 6 p.m.--time to clock out. Alex stops at a gas station (George Kaiser) to refuel her rental car. Before heading home, though, she makes good on her New Year's resolution and goes for a quick jog in Central Park, sporting her brand new Nike gear (Philip Knight).

When she gets home, Alex turns on CNN to catch up on the day's news (Ted Turner). A football junkie, she heads to the neighborhood bar to watch the Dallas Cowboys (Jerry Jones) take on the New England Patriots (Robert Kraft) on Monday Night Football. After the game, she watches The Daily Show and Colbert Report (Sumner Redstone). The cable service is provided by Cablevision (Charles Dolan).

By midnight, Alex is ready to go to sleep. But as soon as her head hits the pillow she starts worrying about her performance review Tuesday, which she didn't prepare for at all. After much tossing and turning, she goes to sleep with the help of a generic sleeping pill bought at a pharmacy serviced by Kinray (Stewart Rahr).

As Alex falls into a deep slumber, hundreds of miles away, her Saturday night dinner is being prepared. Crops and meats are being processed in Ohio. (The Cargill and MacMillan families). Helping them grow faster, larger and stronger: fertilizer produced by Koch Industries (Charles & David Koch).

Meanwhile, documents she sent earlier in the day are being flown to London via FedEx (Frederick Smith). Her local grocery store is being restocked with food brought in on trucks owned by Schneider National (Donald Schneider).

In an hour, the cycle will begin again. This time, for breakfast, Alex will choose to enjoy the fresh fruit. And after the disastrous performance review, she'll decide she needs to spend more time working and less time fooling around.

By Keren Blankfeld, October, 2009

Why does not the mass media 'openly' talk about the secretive financial world,

of the Rothschilds, Rockerfellers, Rooservelts

or the meetings of the Bilderberg group of members.

Lihir says gold could reach $US1,500

Australia's second biggest gold company Lihir Gold Ltd says the price of gold could climb to $US1,500 per ounce.

Gold rose to a record high of $US1,062.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.

The value of gold has soared in recent weeks as the US dollar experienced weakness, China restocked and investors looked for a hedge against inflation.

Lihir Gold chief executive Arthur Hood said he expected the price of gold to continue to rise.

"There's been talk this week about $US1,500 and I see that as perfectly achievable," Mr Hood told ABC's Inside Business on Sunday.

Mr Hood said the gold price had doubled over the last five years.

"There's been a constant upward trend and we're not surprised by this at all."

He said there were a range of factors contributing to pushing up the gold price.

"On the supply and demand side, there's gently declining mine supply but physical demand for gold is staying constant or actually increasing."

He said buying by central banks was also adding to demand.

"As China's reserves increase, its proportion of gold stays the same, so that in its own right will increase demand from central banks.

"There are a number of central banks who have variously said that they're increasing their percentage of gold reserves and the rate at which central European banks have been selling gold has dropped."

Mr Hood said Lihir, which mines for gold in Papua New Guinea, was also expanding its operations in Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa.

"West Africa is the hot spot in the world now for new gold discoveries.

"We've already added a million ounces of resources in West Africa around our Bonikro mine."

He said Lihir would focus on organic growth and was "not worried about acquisitions at the moment".

Lihir dipped four cents to $3.13 on Friday.

ninemsn 11 Oct 2009

Boy, 9, punched, dragged teacher by hair

A NSW primary school teacher was attacked by a nine-year-old student who threw rocks in her face, called her a slut and dragged her by her hair to the staffroom floor.

Teacher Margaretta Slingsby, who says the incident left her with post-traumatic stress and unable to work, is suing the Department of Education and Training for negligence, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Ms Slingsby was working at Lismore Heights Public School in north eastern NSW when the alleged attack occurred in 2005.

Her barrister, Andrew Lidden SC, told the District Court the student involved — referred to as only as B — had a history of violent behaviour but that the school did not have any plans in place to manage this.

The principal at the time, Trevor Pryor, told staff the boy had come to the school for a new start but said he did not have any records from his previous school.

Ms Slingsby, who taught Italian, was verbally abused by the student in the playground and reported the incident to Mr Pryor.

Two months later, she saw B chasing a girl into the library, screaming, ''You f---ing slut, I'm going to get you," the Herald reports.

Ms Slingsby and the librarian tried to restrain him but he kicked them both and punched the librarian.

After being taken away by the principal, B returned again to attack Ms Slingsby.

''He came up behind me and tried to push me down the stairs,'' she said.

''He grabbed me by the hair and was dragging me ... I could feel my hair being ripped out of my scalp.''

B punched a female staff member who tried to help and threw rocks and dirt into Ms Slingsby's face.

Later she was sitting in the school staffroom when the boy "came tearing in" with the principal chasing after him.

The boy ''grabbed me by the hair and he threw me down on the ground'', Ms Slingsby told the court.

The case continues.

31 Oct 2009

The 'politics' is NOT to do anything.

Quite simply put loser parents breeding.

The Chemical Castration policy of the United States would have been better employed in this situation.

Rogerson has 'no regrets' about shooting

Disgraced former detective Roger Rogerson has returned to the Sydney street where he shot drug dealer and rapist Warren Lanfranchi — and revealed he has no regrets.

In an interview to air on A Current Affair tonight, he also admits that at times he turned a blind eye to corruption while he was senior detective with the NSW police force.

Speaking from the Chippendale street where he shot Lanfranchi dead in 1981, Rogerson described the killing in detail.

''He's gone backwards and he's reaching down the front of his pants and suddenly he comes out with a revolver ... I knew he was going to pull the trigger, so I fired twice,'' he said.

''I don't really regret that … I regret what happened as a result of shooting him but the actual circumstances of my shooting him, it just had to happen that way.''

Rogerson, nicknamed ''The Dodger'', earned a reputation as arguably Australia’s most corrupt cop and was associated with other criminal figures including convicted murderer Neddy Smith.

He was dismissed from the police force in 1986 and later found guilty of perverting the course of justice over two false bank accounts totalling $111,000.

The coroner initially found Rogerson had carried out the shooting in the line of duty but Lanfranchi’s girlfriend Sallie-Anne Huckstepp it was retribution for robbing another heroin dealer.

Rogerson was also charged with the attempted murder of fellow police officer Michael Drury in 1984 after Drury allegedly turned down a bribe but he was later acquitted.

Much of Rogerson’s reputation was formed from the 1990s miniseries Blue Murder which depicted him as shooting an unarmed Lanfranchi.

But now at age 68 he is hoping his book —The Dark Side which launches this week — will take some of the sting out of his public notoriety.

''It's about 90 percent bulls*** … I'm not saying that I was an absolute 100 percent dyed in the wool Christian police officer, I turned a blind eye to certain things as part of my job,'' he said.

aap 12 Oct 2009

Man dies after cancerous lung transplant

A British veteran of the war in Iraq has died after receiving cancerous lungs from a heavy smoker in a transplant, media reports say.

Matthew Millington, 31, a corporal in the Queens Royal Lancers, had the operation to save him from an incurable respiratory condition, The Times reported on Monday.

But the organs were from a donor who was believed to have smoked 30 to 50 roll-up cigarettes a day.

A tumour was found after the transplant, and its growth was accelerated by the drugs Millington took to prevent his body rejecting the organs.

Under hospital rules, as a cancer patient he was not allowed to receive a further pair of lungs.

The soldier died at home in Stoke-on-Trent in February last year.

His widow, Siobhan, said: "All Matthew wanted was another set of lungs".

"He said: They have given me a dud pair, get me another set. He thought he could beat it, but his condition deteriorated so fast from then."

Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, Britain's main heart and lung transplant centre, carried out the operation but said early X-rays on the organs to be transplanted did not find any signs of cancer, The Times reported.

An inquest was told last week that an internal investigation at Papworth pinpointed a string of problems and in Millington's case a radiographer had failed to highlight the growth of the cancerous tumour.

The hospital defended using smokers' lungs for transplants, saying that all organs were screened rigorously.

ninemsn 12 Oct 2009

More lies, and time for a HUGE cover-up, as

admitting fault = liability = FINANCIAL LOSS.

If they were screened rigorously as claimed, the patient would NOT have died.

Rock star namesake to appeal sentence

An Adelaide man who took the name of a rock star while defrauding $25 million from financial institutions has dropped a bid to appeal his conviction.

The South Australian District Court last year jailed Romeo Pacifico for 16 years - the longest sentence for fraud handed down in the state.

Pacifico pleaded guilty to 19 fraud charges after obtaining cash loans for more than $25 million to prop up his failing business and fund a lavish lifestyle.

At one stage, Pacifico changed his name to Richie Sambora - a guitarist with world renowned rock band Bon Jovi.

In the SA District Court on Monday, Pacifico's lawyer George Mancini said his client's application to appeal his conviction had been dismissed.

But, Mr Mancini told the court, Pacifico still wanted to appeal his sentence, with a date for that hearing yet to be set.

aap 12 Oct 2009

This is how the legal system FAILS the general public ON PURPOSE.

A similar crime, one committed by a lone 'criminal', the other (Eugene Kukuy Russian/Jewish migrant, aka - Henry Kaye), with the support of Bankers, Realtors, Lawyers and politicians, a law suite the was filed for $52,000,000 which Eugene fled from with the aid of the law, by them giving him a passport.

What a 'JOKE' (you have got to be part of the 'boys' club) the criminal justice system is.

Federal Court finds Henry Kaye misled over 'millionaires' advertising:

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/598164/fromItemId/621575

'You're not smart enough to get married'

WOMAN with mild learning difficulties forced to undergo intelligence test to prove she is smart enough to get married.

SOCIAL workers have banned a young woman from her wedding 48-hours before she was due to walk up the aisle after deciding she was not intelligent enough to get married.

Kerry Robertson, 17, who is five-months pregnant was preparing to marry Mark McDougall when social services told her she would have to cancel her big day because she "did not understand the implications of getting married".

She told the Daily Mail: "I am still so upset about everything. I know what marriage is. It is when two folks want to spend the rest of their lives together. I love Mark and I want to get married to him."

Miss Robertson has mild learning difficulties and has been in the care of her grandmother since she was nine-months-old after her parents were unable to look after her. Her welfare is overseen by social workers at Fife council.

In January this year, she met Mr McDougall, 25. The couple moved in together decided to marry when they found out Miss Robertson was pregnant.

Mr McDougall told the Daily Mail social workers from the council came to the couple’s flat two days before the wedding and told them if they went ahead, they would be breaking the law

"Despite arguing with the social workers that we loved one another and didn't want our baby to be born to unmarried parents, they wouldn't budge,” Mr McDougall said.

Under Scottish law, a registrar may refuse to marry a couple if he believes one or both the parties lack the mental capacity to understand what the institution of marriage is about.

Ms Robertson will undergo a psychologist's assessment to determine if she is too unintelligent to get married. The couple said they are concerned their baby may be taken away from them if the council decides they are not smart enough to be parents.

Mr McDougall said Miss Robertson's learning difficulties are not severe and the decision was cruel.

'It's true she is not very academic,' he said. 'But she is nowhere near as stupid as social services are making out.

"She is a loving caring person. She can also read and write, although not very well, and was going to college to catch up.

"I didn't even know she had learning difficulties until we'd been dating for two months.

"For the first time in her life Kerry was truly happy so we cannot understand what all the fuss is about

news.com.au 13 Sep 2009

So .... She was allowed to breed but NOT get married.

Raising a child requires more 'smarts' than getting married.

But then again who cares about the child, certainly NOT Child Services.

A mildly retarded child may make a great slave for the industry, i.e. cheap labour.

The agency DOES NOT CARE for her child.

By the same attitude, if she is not allowed to be married she should be sterilised.

Missing officer's son slams police

The son of missing north Queensland police officer Senior Sergeant Mick Isles (illustrated) says he has been inundated with tales of bullying and intimidation within the Queensland Police Service since taking his father's story public.

Steven Isles on Saturday used a Facebook page dedicated to finding his father to issue a call to police across Queensland and interstate to come forward and "eradicate" a police culture of "victimisation and bastardisation".

He said more than a dozen serving and former police officers had already come forward to share their stories, but most were reluctant to go public because of fears of recrimination.

"The thing that we lack as police is the ability to stand up and tell our story because the culture dictates that as soon as you stand up you become a target," he told AAP on Sunday.

"The overwhelming number of people coming to me are saying that we want to unite and we want to talk but their nerves are very raw."

Steven Isles, who is employed as a police officer in the Northern Territory, said the internal culture of the police service had become more toxic since the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption.

"The Fitzgerald Inquiry actually drove this culture further underground and it's actually worse today than it ever was before," he said.

Sen Sgt Isles, the officer in charge of Ayr police station, south of Townsville, has been missing since September 23.

The highly respected officer, described by former colleagues as "straighter than straight" had returned to work two days early following 13 months of investigations by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMA) and the police into allegations he was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

All allegations were dismissed. (Because the implications would be far greater if the people were exposed, corpau)

Sen Sgt Isles' supporters say the delay in finalising the investigation and his treatment by senior police took a heavy toll on him and led to his disappearance.

The CMC last week blamed the delay in finalising the investigation of Sen Sgt Isles' refusal to speak to the corruption watchdog, though his family says he was willing to co-operate with investigators.

11 Oct 2009

It is a FACT rather than a figment of Stephen Isles' imagination, that there ARE police involved in Drug Trafficking, money laundering, extortion in prostitution, organised car thefts, BUT these are generally swept under the table.

'Certain' members of the police force are on the payroll of criminal gangs. This is a FACT.

The judicial system dismisses these allegations, as the corruption is MUCH higher up the political ladder, and it is only if you have become uncomfortable that you make the headlines:

Top Cop Imported Machine Gun parts :- So this was an isolated incident ??? !!!

Executive salary caps ruled out

SALARY caps are not the answer to tackling excessive executive salaries, according to a new report, but the Rudd Government should introduce laws strengthening the role of shareholders in determining pay.

The Productivity Commission today released its proposals for change, including a "two strikes, you're out policy" forcing boards to face re-election if they fail to act on shareholders' concerns on executive pay, reports The Australian.

Executive pay grew by 250 per cent in real terms since 1993, before falling in 2007-08, the commission found. Among the top 20 CEOs, the average pay is $10 million a year or 150 times average earnings.

But it's a different story among the smallest 100 companies, where pay averages $180,000 or just three times average weekly earnings.

While the Greens are calling for a $5 million salary cap for executives, Financial Services minister Chris Bowen rejected the idea today.

"We don't live in an economy where the Government can come in and put a cap on executive remuneration but what we can do is ensure that the right signals are in place," he told ABC radio....

In a draft discussion paper on Executive Remuneration, the Commission's chairman Gary Banks has also concluded that "the way forward is not salary caps, which would be unworkable and have harmful economic impacts".

"Rather, regulatory and corporate governance reforms are needed to strengthen the integrity of pay setting by boards and ensure that they engage effectively with their shareholders," he said.

The commission's reform plan includes barring executives from sitting on remuneration committees, requiring pay consultants to report to boards independent of management and banning executives voting their shares and any undirected proxies on pay issues.

Mr Banks said the strong growth in pay had as much to do with the strong growth in the economy in the last decade but conceded there had also been “episodes of excess and poor pay practices”.

“Some pay outcomes, particularly the more egregious cases of `rewards for failure' appear inconsistent with an efficient executive labour market and could reflect weak or complicit boards,” the commission says.

The Australian. - AAP30 Sep 2009

These people at the TOP of the financial food chain are part of the elite 'boys club' in Freemasonry.

Their peers are Law Makers, Politicians, and other people place highly in the socio-economic scale.

Their 'friends' will NOT make laws to their detriment.

Banks pledge 'no more greedy rates'

THE big four banks agree to keep interest rates steady until the RBA raises the official interest rate.

THE big banks have given unprecedented undertakings that should stop them raising rates beyond official increases.

There is increasing speculation the Reserve Bank will lift its benchmark cash rate before Christmas.

In recent times, the banks have been willing to raise rates even without moves in the central bank's position, but banks pledged this week not to do this in the near future.

The new rate commitments from ANZ, NAB, Westpac and St George follow Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris saying earlier this week he would be surprised if any bank raised rates beyond official increases.

The ANZ stated: "Funding costs are still high but there is no pressing need to review the standard variable rate out of cycle at present and we have no plans to do so."

Decoded, that means "we will do what the RBA does", an ANZ spokeswoman said.

An NAB spokeswoman said it would match that position.

A spokesman for Westpac, which also owns BankSA, said it "has no plans to move its standard variable rate outside any RBA changes".

St George chief executive Greg Bartlett said the bank "does not have plans to shift our standard variable rate outside RBA changes", while BankSA general manager Chris Ward said: "We have no plans to move our standard variable rate outside of RBA changes."

Research shows banks face mounting dissatisfaction among home-loan customers. Consumer group Choice has found more mortgagees are unhappy with the Big Five than four years ago.

In 2005, 79 per cent of St George customers were satisfied with their home loan. Now it's only 66 per cent - a drop of 13 percentage points.

And St George's new owner, Westpac, has an 11 per cent decline from 70 per cent to 59 per cent.

ANZ has shed 6 points to 63 per cent; NAB has lost 3 percentage points to 57 per cent while CBA is down 1 per cent to 61 per cent.

The interest rate futures market has a 0.25 percentage-point rate rise next month priced as a 100 per cent certainty. A week ago it was a 60 per cent chance.

That market also indicates the dose will be repeated in December, February and March.

Investors are anticipating a full 2 percentage points of increases by November next year, adding nearly $400 a month to repayments on a $300,000 home loan and more than $660 a month for a $500,000 mortgage. -

The Daily Telegraph 3 Oct 2009

What a joke this story is, at the expense of the public's intelligence.

Banks ARE greedy, that's how HUGE profits are made (naturally for the shareholders and the CEO's HIGH pay packets), AND they obtain profits FRAUDULENTLY.

SOME GET 'CAUGHT' MOST DO NOT.

One in five cloned by ID hackers

DESPERATE times have created desperate people, with credit cards and bank accounts hacked.

ONE in five Australians is a victim of credit card fraud or computer hackers.

The identity crimes report, which was commissioned by credit company Veda Advantage and conducted by Galaxy Research, found more than 1.5 million people's credit cards had been skimmed and 1.2 million people's bank accounts were illegally accessed.

Many more people's mail containing PINs and other information that can be used to create a false identity was stolen, The Daily Telegraph reports.

ID fraud in Australia is up at least 23 per cent this year compared with a year ago and experts believe it is because Australia has been slow in deploying anti-fraud technology.

Experts also blamed the economic slowdown, with tens of thousands of workers made unemployed or having their hours reduced.

"Desperate times create desperate people," Veda Advantage's Kelvin Kirk said. "Higher unemployment creates more crime, we know that.

"But people are simply not aware how common (identity fraud) is.

"Even everyday mail of bank statements or utility bills can be enough for criminals to gain access to your accounts or apply for credit in your name."

Mr Kirk said there were thousands of incidents in which people had applied for personal loans in other peoples' names, then run off with the cash.

The first thing the victim knew about it was when they applied for a loan or mortgage and were refused.

"Then they try to prove they didn't apply for the fraudulent loan which turns into a nightmare" Mr Kirk said.

Credit card crime is by far the biggest single fraud issue, with almost 10 per cent of those surveyed falling victim to card theft or skimming.

While Veda urged its customers to take steps to combat fraud such as registering their cards with Veda's security service, other experts said Australians were easy prey because of lax security systems.

"We have had a massive surge in credit card fraud right from the start of the year" Australia's largest credit card issuer GE Money's managing director Skander Malcolm said.

"The problem is that really effective systems such as chip and pin have been deployed in Asia and the UK but only partially rolled out in Australia.

"Fraud will migrate to the point of least resistance and if you're the last country to adopt the latest technology the fraudsters will target you because you are the easiest pickings."

The news will be an embarrassment to the banks, who repeatedly claim that their systems are secure.

Police, meanwhile, rarely investigate incidents of ID theft because it is regarded as a "low priority" crime.

Most victims are simply referred back to their banks or credit provider where they are compensated.

But the problem is simply getting worse and many critics said more resources should be poured into fighting card crime to deter criminals. -

The Daily Telegraph 1Oct 2009

Cashless Society equals Government Slavery

One of the roles of ANY government, that being the evil Chinese Communists or the purveyors of democracy fairness and equality (self proclaimed media propaganda) of Western Nations, is that of insight / control of its citizens.

This has been a primary objective since the earliest inceptions of governments through history, none being more realistic that in today's modern era.

One of the items on the agenda is Cashless Society.

This is sold (pushed) to the general public under the banner that it is safe and secure, which beings a warm and fuzzy feeling to the masses.

This process is taking painstaking too long for the governments to accept. In order to hurry things up a little, businesses are on the bandwagon to help speed this process up a bit.

The Australian Telco, TELSTRA (previously a government body) has decided that it will punish the peasants (fining them $2) for using hard currency to pay the telecom bill. This move IS supported by the government, and there is NO visual opposition. The people DO NOTHING about it.

The government wants an unobstructed view into YOUR life, and to achieve this it will be aided by 'the Cashless Society' Scheme.

This is already beginning by the use of microchips in health care, Public Transport is on the agenda and Social Security payments / transactions will be next.

These steps will insure that you WILL be monitored at every single stage of your existence, obviously under the official banner of National Security, Health or any other pretext the government's think tank has conjured up.

Solar Storm of 2013 to cull Humanity?

NOAA: Mild Solar Storm Season Predicted

Although its peak is still four years away, a new active period of Earth-threatening solar storms will be the weakest since 1928, predicts an international panel of experts led by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and funded by NASA. Despite the prediction, Earth is still vulnerable to a severe solar storm.

Solar storm.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

Solar storms are eruptions of energy and matter that escape from the sun and may head toward Earth, where even a weak storm can damage satellites and power grids, disrupting communications, the electric power supply and GPS. A single strong blast of “solar wind” can threaten national security, transportation, financial services and other essential functions.

The panel predicts the upcoming Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013 with 90 sunspots per day on average. If the prediction proves true, Solar Cycle 24 will be the weakest cycle since number 16, which peaked at 78 daily sunspots in 1928, and ninth weakest since the 1750s, when numbered cycles began.

The most common measure of a solar cycle’s intensity is the number of sunspots—Earth-sized blotches on the sun marking areas of heightened magnetic activity. The more sunspots there are, the more likely it is that solar storms will occur, but a major storm can occur at any time.

“As with hurricanes, whether a cycle is active or weak refers to the number of storms, but everyone needs to remember it only takes one powerful storm to cause huge problems,” said NOAA scientist Doug Biesecker, who chairs the panel. “The strongest solar storm on record occurred in 1859 during another below-average cycle.”

The 1859 storm shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe, sent readings of Earth’s magnetic field soaring, and produced northern lights so bright that people read newspapers by their light.

A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a storm that severe occurred today, it could cause $1-2 trillion in damages the first year and require four to 10 years for recovery, compared to $80-125 billion that resulted from Hurricane Katrina.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

The panel also predicted that the lowest sunspot number between cycles — or solar minimum — occurred in December 2008, marking the end of Cycle 23 and the start of Cycle 24. If the December prediction holds up, at 12 years and seven months Solar Cycle 23 will be the longest since 1823 and the third longest since 1755. Solar cycles span 11 years on average, from minimum to minimum.

An unusually long, deep lull in sunspots led the panel to revise its 2007 prediction that the next cycle of solar storms would start in March 2008 and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012. The persistence of a quiet sun also led the panel to a consensus that the next cycle will be “moderately weak.”

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is the nation’s first alert of solar activity and its effects on Earth. The Center’s space weather experts issue outlooks for the next 11-year solar cycle and warn of storms occurring on the Sun that could impact Earth. SWPC is also the world warning agency for the International Space Environment Service, a consortium of 12 member nations.

As the world economy becomes more reliant on satellite-based communications and interlinked power grids, interest in solar activity has grown dramatically. In 2008 alone, SWPC acquired 1,700 new subscription customers for warnings, alerts, reports, and other products. Among the new customers are emergency managers, airlines, state transportation departments, oil companies, and nuclear power stations. SWPC’s customers reside in 150 countries.

“Our customer growth reflects today’s reality that all sectors of society are highly dependent on advanced, space-based technologies,” said SWPC director Tom Bogdan. “Today every hiccup from the sun aimed at Earth has potential consequences.”

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

8 My 2009 : NOAA: Mild Solar Storm Season Predicted

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/324/5935/1640

Westpac loses tax battle with New Zealand

Wespac is facing a $NZ918 million ($A753 million) bill after losing a tax battle with the New Zealand authorities.

The bank's shares, which were placed in a trading halt yesterday pending the court ruling, were dragged lower by the news this morning.

Westpac had been fighting the NZ Inland Revenue Department over nine controversial financial transactions it made between 1998 and 2002.

The NZ High Court ruled that Westpac's transactions were "tax avoidance arrangements entered into for a purpose of avoiding tax," the IRD said.

"The Commissioner has correctly adjusted the deductions claimed by Westpac in order to counteract its tax advantage gained under an avoided arrangement," Justice Harrison said in the official ruling yesterday.

The initial dispute centred around taxes of NZ$586 million ($430 million), but interest accumulated over the period would see this pushed to NZ$918 million ($753 million).

The court's judgement was made public this morning.

Westpac's NZ chief executive George Frazis said he was "very disappointed" and may look to appeal the decision.

"The length of the trial, the time taken to consider arguments, and the time taken to get to this stage, clearly demonstrate the complexity of the issues being contested," he added.

Mr Frazis insisted that the tax charge would not impact the group's day to day operations.

money.ninemsn.com.au 8 Oct 2009

ALL Banks do it (trade fraudulently with YOUR money) ,
it's just a 'mystery' why this came out.

The Pirate Bay

The Swedish Court of Appeal has denied three requests put forward by the defendants in the Pirate Bay case. They had hoped that a ruling from the European Court would be forthcoming in advance of the appeal to indicate the Bay is a legitimate search engine. That, and other requests asking for changes in locations and dates for the appeal, have been denied.

The Court of Appeal has denied a trio of requests made by the Pirate Bay defendants who were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of $905,000 last April.

The defendants – Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström – had hoped that they could get a ruling from the European Court of Justice (EC) before their appeal is heard in November.

Time and again during the original trial The Pirate Bay was compared in functionality to Google, so the defendants lawyers wanted to know if the EC would classify The Pirate Bay as a legitimate search engine.

Jonas Nilsson, the lawyer for Fredrik Neij (TiAMO), now says that the Court of Appeal does not want a decision made by the EC as they hope that the issue will be addressed by the Court of Appeal itself.

If, however, the Court of Appeal makes a positive interpretation of e-commerce law in favor of the site’s legality as a seach engine, Nilsson says the four could go free.

The defendants also made a request for the trial to be moved to a new court in Skåne in order to get new judges, this following a growing lack of confidence in Stockholm’s Court of Appeal.

That request has also been denied by Judge Ulrika Ihrfelt, who said that the court had seen no reason to have the trial in any other place other than Stockholm.

A further request by the defendants to change the date of the appeal for personal reasons, was also denied. The appeal will start next month, as was previously scheduled.

corpau response:

It’s NOT so much about getting ‘rid’ of TPB, but political move to use them as an example to others.

The justice system IS corrupt, and if you’re not part of the ‘boys’ club, you lose.

In Australia the legal system is Anglo-Masonic, and as general rule non-masons DO NOT see large victories in the Court. This fact is NEVER talked about in the ‘mass media’.

The same ‘crime’ a corporation does vs an individual, the individual does JAIL TIME whereas the CEO’s get multi-million dollar pay packets.

Because the ‘boys’ are up against the ‘Hollywood Financiers’ their legal battle is futile, as ANY victory is a precedence, and they must be made an example of to instill F_E_A_R so others will NOT follow lead.

Newsprint, the stuff that shapes peoples lives is in the hands of a few, come the digital age, and information is beyond ‘their’ control.

The POLITICS now is to shut down / censor information NOT conducive to ‘their’ thinking, now matter how technically impossible the task may seem.

Australia is in the forefront of digitally enslaving its people.

Google: Pirate Bay booted off search by mistake

Google said on Friday that an error caused the search engine to remove The Pirate Bay from its search pages.

"Google received a (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) take-down request that erroneously listed Thepiratebay.org, and as a result, this URL was accidentally removed from the Google search index," Google said in a statement. "We are now correcting the removal, and you can expect to see Thepiratebay.org back in Google search results this afternoon."

Later, Google updated it's statement: "The removal appears to be an internal error and not part of a DMCA request."

Separately, The Pirate Bay's site appeared down Friday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. PT, at least in many U.S. areas.

Google didn't provide any details about what caused the error but at this point it doesn't seem to be some kind of orchestrated effort to bring down The Pirate Bay--at least on Google's part. According to Google, it was just a goof.

The DMCA's safe-harbor provision is designed to shield Internet service providers from being held liable for copyright infringement committed by users. But the provision has a certain set of requirements that ISPs must meet, and one of them includes promptly removing infringing material.

The case is a bit ironic, in that it's well-established that The Pirate Bay does not store any unauthorized copies of films, music, TV shows, or other content.

So..... that error ONLY happened to The Pirate Bay, yes ??? !!! ??? Google?