Tag Archives: ~ Culture & History

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Google -Official blog

10/19/2010 Nativegrl77

More transparency and control over location

Posted: 18 Oct 2010 11:10 AM PDT

We’ve always focused on offering people the most relevant results. Location is one important factor we’ve used for many years to customize the information that you find. For example, if you’re searching for great restaurants, you probably want to find ones near you, so we use location information to show you places nearby.

Today we’re moving your location setting to the left-hand panel of the results page to make it easier for you to see and control your preferences. With this new display you’re still getting the same locally relevant results as before, but now it’s much easier for you to see your location setting and make changes to it.

Your location setting is now always visible on the left side of the search results page.

We do our best to automatically detect the most useful location, but we don’t always get it right—so in some cases you’ll want to change the setting. At other times, you may want to change your location to explore information relevant to another area. For example, let’s say you’re at work in Mountain View and you’re making plans to see a movie in San Francisco (a common occurrence here at Google). You can change your location to “San Francisco” and search for [showtimes] to find movie listings in San Francisco or search for [restaurants] to find places to eat before the show. Similarly, if you’re planning a trip to Hawaii, you can change the location to “Honolulu” and start exploring the [weather], [hotels] and of course the [beaches]. The location you set can be as specific as a particular zip code or as general as an entire country, but more specific settings generally lead to better search results.

Click “Change location” to specify your location preference.

You used to be able to see and control your location settings, but it was a little clunky. To see your settings, you could click “View customizations” on the results page and to modify them you could click “Change location” next to a variety of search results, such as maps and movie listings. As time has gone by, more and more locally relevant information has come online, whether it’s local business listings or a blog from your hometown. Meanwhile, Google has become much better at presenting this locally relevant content—so it felt like the right time to make this setting easier to find.

The new interface is rolling out now and will be available in more than 40 languages soon. We’re not changing anything about how we use location information to improve search, so it doesn’t change our existing privacy policies. To learn more about our new interface and how we use location in search, check out our help center.

Posted by Mack Lu, Associate Product Manager

~ my 2cents ...

tempest Tuesday &some News

10/19/2010 Nativegrl77

FYI -Washington State ..King5 TV is providing a Voters info show tonight at 7PM so if you are having trouble with I1082, I1098, I1053 and 1100-1107 , Bill52, Res.4220 Res.8225 take some time and tune in.

Wow, so many well-known folks are on the West Coast this week! The President and Mrs. Obama will be holding rallies to move America forward on the left Coast reinforcing what folks should already know; Vice President Biden and President Clinton all in town to show solidarity to move America forward. The 2008 Presidential elections was only the beginning of what will be a long journey leading Americans not only into the 21st Century but a country we can all say works for everyone not just a select few, or for the extreme and or willing to throw everyone under the bus to regain power. It is important that we all realize even though Republicans refuse to admit it is that what happened to the US was a non-partisan reality. The Republican Tea Party chose in my opinion to abuse Americans and misuse their power of authority on the floor of Congress with filibusters, the 60-vote rule, stalling, blocking, and making the Senate scale back on Job Bills, putting in Amendments that no one would vote for to get legislation thrown out. After getting the facts, I cannot understand why anyone would want them to take over or part of Congress with all that they have done or to be more accurate what they have not done while supposedly representing “We the People.” We need people in Congress that will work not just for the people but allow the governing party to do just that; govern. But with comments from the likes of a Michael Steele who feels bipartisanship is overrated, that is in fact the way folks should behave in Congress when the impact of any crisis happens, it is their job to come together to make the corrections needed. If anyone out there is still undecided after 20 months of NO from the Republican Tea Party then i just do not know what to say.

I do know that the current topics of conversation by Politicians and cable heads are hot and when Congress comes back will create more conflicts among all who should be proud to represent all the people not just your state and stop behaving like children who continually have tantrums until they get their way. The American public is very tired of it and maybe it is not the way to govern but if needed i say to the left to the left

Today, my rant is about those issues like abortion, religious freedom just lying in wait until after the November elections and while some Politicians have edged over to bring up these topics those on the right who belong to the birther crowd demanding or questioning the validity of our President they are demanding people stay out of their personal lives. odd. The fact is, this do as we say not as we do Political Party has my blood boiling as the comments, complaints and vile talk about our President’s background, history and earlier behavior became major discussion on every type of media you can imagine. These same people who call themselves Republicans, Tea party and or libertarians continue to feel they are above the questions and not be held accountable, questioned or treated just like the President. These same people have accused President Obama of withholding information from the public yet they get offended when asked to provide more information please because they are running for public office. I feel their constituents deserve to know, the public and Americans deserve to know how these people will vote on issues of religion…will their beliefs dictate to how the vote and impact our constitutional rights. If you are listening and are paying attention conservatives and some conservadems are pushing the discussion of women’s rights, religion, race and gender preference up to the surface to rile their base but what has me confused is why is it mostly conservatives, mostly southern men who still have a need to control women and their bodies or healthcare needs in the year 2010. It’s bad enough that women on the Republican side mostly extreme tea party members say they are fiscal conservatives and want less government in their(our) lives yet topics like abortion, stem cell research/experiments and religious freedom have them not just flustered but their undies are in a bunch. I could not vote for a woman who feels I have no right to choose because they are pro-life because no one chooses an alternative options just because and if nothing else having a safe procedure is better than having a woman be desperate enough to take actions that would put her life at risk. It is my body and The Hyde amendment should be enough for folks on the right. I always want to scream hey, stay out of my life but here I am sounding off the alarm because they will be working on making it harder for women to have the right to choose will Congress comes back. Though we are in 21^st Century the ideology is barbaric and because the old school dogma crosses the line it solidifies how elitist the comments and behavior from Republicans as of late. If you live under a Republican State or conservative ideology, which promotes a class system, that feels they want government out of their lives but not the people they represent or practices systematic discrimination or blatant hate, you should think about the impact repealing, replacing and eliminating will have on his or her own families, friend’s co-workers. The idea that some Republicans want to go back to a time when women and people of colour had no rights sounds silly but before you laugh, take some time and listen closely.

just when I thought, we were all moving into the 21st century

-sigh

Other News …

**Shots fired at the Pentagon today,yesterday the history of the military museum was shot at -not word if they are tied

**Reports that 6-8000 construction jobs will start up with in the next few months/years throughout Oregon and Arizona

**Tax credit/rebates and appliance ends 12/31 -first come first serve

**French citizens continue to protest the increase in retirement age

**Homes in foreclosure …ask for all the documents on your home

CSPAN …

Pres. Obama Signs Executive Order on Hispanic Education Initiative
Today

State Department Press Briefing
Today

CSIS Discussion on Defense Industry with Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush
Today

NALEO Discussion on Latino Impact on 2010 Midterm Elections
Today

C-SPAN Debate Coverage of Campaign 2010 – Monday, October 18
Monday

State Department Press Briefing
Monday

Steven Rattner, Author, Overhaul
Monday

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Video: You look Asian, Sharron Angle tells Latinos (via Anderson Cooper 360)

10/19/2010 Nativegrl77

More on the CNN Political Ticker … Read More

via Anderson Cooper 360

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Kilmeade addresses comments, claims he “misspoke”

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

Kilmeade “misspoke” about “all terrorists” being “Muslims” — twice

http://mediamatters.org/research/201010180007

After repeatedly claiming that “[n]ot all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims,” Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade “clarif[ied]” his comment and claimed that he “misspoke.” In fact, Kilmeade not only made the claim at least twice in a single day, but he also questioned whether “moderate Muslims” need to prove “you’re not one of them,” which is in line with his history of bigoted and anti-Muslim statements.

Kilmeade repeatedly falsely claimed “all terrorists are Muslims”

Kilmeade: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” On the October 15 edition of Fox News‘ Fox & Friends, Kilmeade defended Bill O’Reilly’s comments on the October 14 edition of ABC’s The View by claiming the show’s hosts “were outraged that somebody was saying there’s a reason — there was a certain group of people that attacked us on 9-11. It wasn’t just one person. It was one religion. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.”

Later during his radio show, Kilmeade asserted that it’s a “fact” that “every terrorist is a Muslim.” On the October 15 edition of Fox News Radio’s Kilmeade & Friends, Kilmeade stated: “Not every Muslim is an extremist, a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. You can’t avoid that fact.” From Kilmeade & Friends:

KILMEADE: Muslim extremists, Al Qaeda, blew up those buildings — blew up the Khobar Towers, blew up the [U.S.S.] Cole, blew up the embassies, tried to blow up Times Square, tried to blow up the plane. The shoe bomber, the Times Square bomber, the underwear bomber — they have one thing in common. They are all extremists, and they are all Muslims.

Not every Muslim is an extremist, a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. You can’t avoid that fact. And that is ridiculous that we got to keep defining this — the people that equate Timothy McVeigh with the Al Qaeda terrorist organization, which is growing and a threat that exists.

Kilmeade also asked if Americans “have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, ‘Show me you’re not one of them.’ ” On the October 15 edition of Kilmeade & Friends, Kilmeade said: “From what we’ve seen from the Khobar Towers to the Cole bombing to the embassy bombings to the Times Square, the shoe bomber, do you think Americans have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, ‘Show me you’re not one of them.’ ”

Fox News VP says Kilmeade would “clarify” his comments on Monday. On October 15, The Huffington Post reported that Bill Shine, Fox News’ senior vice president of programming, said that Kilmeade would “clarify” his comments on Monday. From The Huffington Post:

Fox News SVP of Programming Bill Shine says Kilmeade will address the comments on Monday.

“Brian was talking about the events on ‘The View’ yesterday and was referring to the radical extremists who killed Americans on 9/11,” Shine told the Huffington Post. “Obviously, not all terrorists are Muslim and Brian will clarify this point on television and radio on Monday.”

Kilmeade addresses comments, claims he “misspoke”

Kilmeade: “I’m sorry about that, if I offended … or hurt anybody’s feelings. But that’s it.” On the October 18 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade stated:

KILMEADE: Meanwhile, on the show on Friday, I was talking about Bill O’Reilly’s appearance on The View, and I said this: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Well, I misspoke. I don’t believe all terrorists are Muslims. I’m sorry about that, if I offended or — offended or hurt anybody’s feelings. But that’s it. Now let’s go over to Stuart.

Kilmeade did not address the fact that he made the claim both on Fox & Friends and on his radio show, in which he stated it was simply a “fact” that “every terrorist is a Muslim.”

Kilmeade has a history of offensive and inflammatory comments regarding Islam and Muslims

Kilmeade: Muslims “have to understand” being profiled because of “the war that was declared on us.” On the November 10, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade told Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham: “You get a chance to talk to a lot of Islamic experts, Muslim experts, and people who understand the Quran, and I asked him one time, off camera, I said, ‘How do you feel about the extra scrutiny, clearly, you’re getting at the airports?’ And he said, ‘I’m all for it, because I want to get home to my family, too.’ And that’s really got to be the attitude. So, if you’re Islamic, or you’re Muslim and you’re in the military, you have to understand … and that’s just the fact right now in the war that was declared on us.”

Kilmeade asks if “it’s time for the military to have special debriefings” of Muslims, because “I’ve got to know the guy next to me is not going to want to kill me.” Following the shooting at Fort Hood, Kilmeade asked on the November 6, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends: “Do you think it’s time for the military to have special debriefings of Muslim Army civilians, officers, anybody enlisted, because if I’m going to be deployed in a foxhole, if I’m going to be sticking in an outpost, I’ve got to know the guy next to me is not going to want to kill me.” Guest host Peter Johnson Jr. asked Fox News legal analyst Geraldo Rivera, “You won’t countenance special screenings for Muslim officers, will you? … Will you countenance that?”

Kilmeade: “[I]f you’re a 20- to 30-year-old Islamic male, even if you have no evil intentions, expect to be delayed. We have to profile.” On the January 4, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “[N]inety percent of these terrorists are men, Islamic men, between 20 and 30. Why are we pretending that all of us should get equal training [sic]? Shouldn’t we just tell — if you’re a 20- to 30-year-old Islamic male, even if you have no evil intentions, expect to be delayed. We have to — we have to profile.”

Kilmeade reacts to Bloomberg’s Park51 support with anti-Muslim rant. On the August 25 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade played video of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s statement that “Islam did not attack the World Trade Center, Al Qaeda did. To implicate all of Islam for the actions of a few who twisted a great religion is unfair and un-American.” Kilmeade responded:

KILMEADE: That’s one way of looking at it, you could say just for a few. Those few have us bogged down really in two wars, one of which, I guess, is concluding. And then we have those few people in Yemen and those few people in Somalia and those few people that blew up in Madrid, and those few people that — those bus bombings in London. Besides those few, I don’t really see the problem.

Kilmeade asks if “Islamic community” is “gloating” by building Islamic community center near Ground Zero. On the May 26 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “Six-hundred feet from where World Tower One – World Trade Center One stood. Is this gloating on the part of the Islamic community?”

Kilmeade calls Islamic cultural center plans “an outrage” and accuses Muslims of “taunting” 9-11 victims. On the May 25 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said, “Let’s talk about what’s happening downtown, because this is an outrage and it gets worse,” referencing Park51. Kilmeade later claimed: “This is taunting. This is an absolute insult, especially to those 9-11 families. … And now across the street you’re going to have an Islamic learning center? If at the very least, it shows a crassness and callousness to the U.S.”

Kilmeade was also forced to apologize following statement that Swedes have “pure genes” because they don’t marry “other ethnics”

Kilmeade: Americans don’t have “pure genes” like Swedes because “we keep marrying other species and other ethnics.” On the July 8, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, while discussing a study on the relationship between marriage an Alzheimer’s, Kilmeade opined that “we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and … the Swedes have pure genes, because they marry other Swedes. Because that’s the rule.”

Kilmeade later apologized for those comments. On the July 20, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade apologized for his remarks, saying he had “made comments that were offensive to many people. That was not my intention, and looking back at those comments I realize they were inappropriate. For that I sincerely apologize.”

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

• Bankrate.com -Debt merry-go-round & Shopping for a home equity loan

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

Jumping off the debt merry-go-round

Dear Debt Adviser,

Jumping off the debt merry-go-round By Steve Bucci

I have around $15,000 in credit card debt from college. I’m approximately five to six years from my last use of these two cards, which have since been charged off. Assuming the seven-year point rolls around, what are my steps to ensuring these charges don’t follow me?

I understand the immorality of not paying a debt, but I haven’t been able to save enough to really make a substantial effort in paying it off. I fear I will get caught in a never-ending, $100-a-month payoff plan.

— Kyle

Dear Kyle,
It sounds like you need some help with your savings plan. My guess is that if you haven’t been able to save enough in five or six years to pay off your credit cards, then I’ll bet you haven’t been able to save very much at all. So, let me tackle your savings issue first, and then I’ll get to your very correct fear of a long-term, dysfunctional relationship with the collections process.

Saving money is not optional. If you want to be successful today, you can’t just save what’s left over at the end of each pay cycle. You need to have a plan to spend, a plan to save, and you need to do the saving before you spend. Low savings will force you to use credit, and in your case getting new credit may be problematic every time you hit a bump in life. A car accident, mechanical repair, illness, leaky pipe … you name it. Without savings, how do you handle it? Not well. Especially as you get older and accumulate more bumps in the road of life.

My suggestion is to immediately begin to put away a set amount each pay period based on a spending plan that includes savings. Every time you get a raise, promotion, tax refund or birthday gift of money, I want you to put half in the emergency savings fund and keep half for current expenses. Saving money that you don’t have yet is my favorite way of accumulating six months of expenses in an emergency account.

Now, on to your debt situation: The seven-year period you are referring to is the time frame for reporting your credit card accounts on your credit report. Negative information generally must be removed after seven years. But you still owe the money.

Collections businesses are big in the United States. There is a large and active market in uncollected debt that is sold and resold as the debt ages to increasingly aggressive buyers. So you can expect to hear from debt collectors for a very long time after the seven-year reporting period is over.

Another time frame you will want to be familiar with is the statute of limitations, or SOL, for collecting debt in your state. However, if your debt is beyond the SOL in your state, collectors can still call you and mail you in an attempt to collect what is owed. You can tell them you know about the statute in your state and you have no intention of paying. However, they can just resell your debt to the next collector.

As I see it, you have several choices. You can wait for the statute of limitations to run out and ignore the phone calls and collection attempts from the collectors, you can deal with the collectors on your own or through an attorney, you can file bankruptcy or you can work out a way to pay what you owe.

For complete closure on this part of your financial life, I suggest saving as much money as possible for the next six to 12 months and then contacting the creditors to explore a settlement for the amount you have saved. Be sure to get any settlement agreement in writing before you make a payment. Should you be contacted by collection companies regarding the accounts that were settled, you will need to simply forward them a copy of the settlement agreement. Whatever you do, start saving seriously and you won’t have to fear collectors ever again.

Get weekly advice on slashing debt and debt consolidation tips. Subscribe to Credit Card News.

Ask the adviser

To ask a question of the Debt Adviser, go to the “Ask the Experts” page, and select “Debt” as the topic. Read more Debt Adviser columns and more stories about debt management.

Bankrate’s content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate’s Terms of Use.

Tips on shopping for a home equity loan

By Donna Fuscaldo • Bankrate.com

Plummeting home values and tougher lending standards make getting a home equity loan tougher than in the past. But it isn’t a lost cause if you improve your credit score and shop around cautiously.

Qualifying for a home equity loan and getting the best rate depend on several factors, including your home’s current value and your credit score. The better your credit score, the better your chance of getting a home equity loan.

To improve your credit score, avoid making late payments, pay off your credit cards and be patient. The longer you can prove you are a responsible borrower, the more faith the lender will have in you.

Don’t forget to check periodically to make sure everything on your credit report is accurate. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to dispute any inaccuracies on your credit report.

Keep trying

Don’t just assume that because one bank turned you down, you’re out of luck. Try several banks. Many community banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations also have cash and want to lend.

When looking for a home equity loan, be mindful of high-cost lenders or what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. calls “predatory lenders.” If the offer is unsolicited or seems too good to be true, chances are it’s not true.

Before signing a home equity loan, contact multiple lenders and rely on recommendations from family and friends. Comparison shopping is one of the best methods of protecting yourself when shopping for a home equity loan.

Create a news alert for “home equity”