SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) would not only hurt free speech, it will give the US Government power to censor the web using techniques similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran. Please contact your representative and express your disapproval of this bill and let Congress know that you oppose internet censorship.

Those mass media representatives who have decided to talk about it like to paint the picture that Occupy Wall Street protesters are a bunch of uneducated, druggies, hippies, or trouble makers who have nothing better to do. The fact that multiple Occupy Protests have started appearing across the country such as Occupy Los Angeles and thanks to YouTube videos from the protest, the media now has no choice but to acknowledge what is truly happening.

What is the purpose of Occupy Wall Street

Now that the media is paying attention, the General Assembly known as Occupy Wall Street has released a statement stating what they are about and what they stand for. This is not a list of demands but a list of problems they see that need to be addressed. Problems that every American is subjected to and should be made aware of.

“As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies. As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members. That our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors. That a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people, and the Earth, and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.

We come to you at a time when corporations — which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality — run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here as is our right to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in workplaces based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is, itself, a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut worker’s health care and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams, but look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products, endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives, or provide relief in order to protect investments that have

already turned a substantial profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully kept people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners, even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City general assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble, occupy public space, create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard.”

I encourage all of you to learn more and visit Occupy Wall Street and see for your self, educate yourself and take a stand for our future.

For more information visit www. OccupyWallStreet.org, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Poor Quality with Charter Cable TV and Internet Service

A little background on my Charter Cable experience. I have had both my cable TV service and internet service with Charter Cable since June 2009 and have had nothing but problems ever since.

My wireless modem crapped out after 1 month so I have to plug in directly, my internet signal drops at least 5 times a week for 10 to 30min at a time, the cable signal drops a few times a month for up to 45 min at a time, their guide is always wrong and if I want to check the guide around midnight well good luck seeing descriptions because it takes them up to 30min to populate the episode descriptions for the next day.

All that, plus the volume level on each channel is different, their commercials are annoying and they always seem to cut off commercials in the middle of them.

Charter Cable has Horrible Customer Service

First off, I have to say, I have not dealt with a customer service representative as bad as the one from Charter Cable that I just had in a long time. I used to work where I received customer complaints so I understand where the caller is coming from. I understand the frustration when they have a simple question and just want an answer and the person on the other end just wont answer it. I also understand that sometimes the tier 1 support customer service representative just may not have the authority to do what is being asked by the customer. Most of all, I know that a pleasant attitude will go a long way in resolving the situation and making an angry customer happy.

Now that being said,  I received a billing statement today May 21, 2010 that that said:

• Previous Balance: $0.00
• Balance Due:        $82.73
• Due Date:           5/28/2010
• Late Fee Date:     6/03/2010
• Final Notice Before Disconnect!

Just looking at that, how can they be threatening to disconnect my service if I have no late charges, the bill isn’t due till 7 days later and isn’t late till 13 days from now? I go online to check my billing and see I have all my payments up to date but there is a late charge. How can there be a late charge if all my payments are up to date? I decided to call Charter Cable customer service to find out whats going on.

From the beginning the representative had a negative tone. Maybe she had a bad day at work, maybe she has personal issues in her home life, what ever it was it’s no excuse to give a customer a negative attitude.

She goes on to tell me I owe $196.00 including late fees. At this point I’m really confused as to how it suddenly jumped to such a high number. She insisted I was late and and was snapping that I pay my bill. I tell her I have the history of my payments from their online payment system up in front of me and in the 11 months (since June 2009) that I have been a customer all my payments add up. I asked her to show me where the late fee was because if it has only been 11 months that I have had service, and there are 11 payments accepted, then there can’t possibly be a missed payment. I guess that was too hard for her to figure out because she got even more upset and told me look you’re late you need to make a payment. This went on for about 15min where all I wanted was for her to show me which month was missing a payment. Finally she mumbles maybe there was a processing problem on their end but that I was still late and I need to pay my bill and then hung up on me.

I called back and this time, I get a very helpful gentleman who easily looked over my account and said that I wasn’t late and that I am current and had no idea where the other person got her numbers from. At this point I was content and decided to go online and make my monthly payment like I always do because I didn’t want to pay the “convenience fee” to make a payment on the phone with the customer service rep. Sadly I should have made the payment with them, but more on that in a minuet.

Charter Cables Online Billing System is a Rip Off

I log into my online billing system with Charter Communications and go to the “one time payment” option to pay my bill. I choose to manually make my payment each month because with all the problems I have had with Charter Cable; well honestly I just don’t trust them to set up an automatic withdrawal payment and this is the perfect example as to why.

I fill in the amount to be paid, my credit card information and hit send. I get my confirmation number and everything looks fine. I go back to my recent activities section and I notice there are 2 payments to be processed from the 1 payment I just made. I didn’t click the button twice, I didn’t refresh the page or resend the information. Their system literally processed my payment twice. Even the confirmation number for the payment was the same. If I made 2 separate payments then there would be two different confirmation numbers right? Obviously their billing system screwed up.

So now I’m back on the phone, for a 3rd time tonight with Charter Communications customer service, telling them the situation and asking them to cancel one of the payments because I did not authorize the second one. The person informs me that they are not capable of canceling the payment. I tell them it was just made, they haven’t even processed it and that I did not make two payments, their system made a mistake and I would like one of the payments canceled. Again she tells me that because I made the payment online; which is Charters preferred way for customers to make payments, they are not capable of canceling my payment. If I had made the payment over the phone (for an additional convenience fee of course) they then would have been able to cancel one of the payments. What a sneaky and convenient way for them to steal money from their customers.

I find this hard to believe that they can’t remove this payment just because it was made online so I ask to speak with her supervisor. After a 10 min hold the customer service rep comes back on the phone and says they can not cancel the payment. At this point, with all I have gone through I decide to be a little more stern with her. I tell her “I asked to speak with a supervisor, not to be told an answer to a question, please put me through to your supervisor.”

Poor Service from Charter Communications Supervisor

Suddenly the supervisor is available and pics up the phone. I tell him the situation, that their system took an unauthorized payment from me and that I would like that canceled. He tells me he can’t do that. The normal procedure is for the customer to fax over a copy of their billing statement that shows the double payment and then put in a request to have it refunded. Considering there is a “normal procedure” for this type of “mistake” only leads me to believe that this is not anything new and that they have had this problem of double billing before.

I proceed to tell him I do not have access to a fax machine, I do not have a billing statement because the charge hasn’t gone through yet and that I don’t want it to go through because I am on a very tight budget and can’t have any extra charges or I’ll be thrown into the red. The manager continues to just tell me about the normal procedure. I tell him that obviously if that is the normal procedure and this isn’t a normal situation then there must be an alternative procedure. How can they have the ability to cancel the payment if I made it over the phone but can not do it because it was a technical issue on their online billing. He admitted that there was an issue with their online billing and that he will put in a service ticket for IT to look at it but refused to cancel the payment, I have to wait for it to go through. Again so they can get their greedy hands on money that is not owed to them. Probably in hopes that the customer will forget about it or feel that the situation is hopeless and just let them keep the money.

Out of curiosity I ask where he was actually located and to my surprise he says Mexico City. I asked him if he thinks its right for a company to knowingly have an online payment system that double charges its customers and then is not able to cancel the payment until they already take the money out, and that the only way they can refund it is if it is made over the phone but they charge extra for that service and really pressure the customer to make the payment online which gives the possibility of the customer being charged twice?

I guess he finally understood that it’s a rip off and admitted that it wasn’t right but he was not authorized to cancel the payment. I asked for his supervisor or who ever was authorized to cancel it and of course, he was “in a meeting” and suddenly hung up on me.

After all the effort’s Charter Communications go’s through to take unauthorized money from their customers, and the only person, in another country, that is able to cancel the payment is in a meeting, at 7:30pm on a Friday night seems just a little too convenient and highly unlikely to me.

Bottom line is that Charter Cable has horrible customer service and customer support and obviously, getting a payment stopped or canceled through Charter Cable is an impossible task. I can only hope I’ll be able to cancel it through my credit card company before Charter gets their greedy little hands on my money.

Anyway, sorry for this rant but I had enough and this all had to be said. Time to look up packages and rates with Direct TV.

5Zigen

5Zigen has proven themselves on the track in numerous JGTC and N1 Endurance races, in real world situations where every little bit of extra horsepower or gas mileage management makes the difference in being the first to win or the first to loose.

5Zigen doesn’t reserve this mind set only for their race cars, they build it into every component they make for the amateur and professional racer.

5zigen ProRacer ECON Review

The ProRacer ECON from 5Zigen is no exception. It is designed to boost the electrical output of your cars battery, improve power distribution and helps to provide more stable electrical current (about 130% of normal electricity) to the ignition. This helps to improve gas mileage and keep a steady current needed to power all the electronics that are necessary to run a championship race car or that high power stereo in your daily driver all without sacrificing any power.

Our friends over at WiredOnHonda.com have done an excellent review of this product so be sure to read the full 5Zigen ProRacer ECON review to learn about the increase in fuel economy and installation, complete with detailed instructions and pictures.

While most everyone in the county is aware of the scarce employment opportunities job seekers face, there’s another, more silent problem people are finding themselves in. That is the problem with student loan consolidation and debt.

Whether its a private school, public university, community college or a tech school, going to college is a very expensive endeavor and not everyone can afford it.

That’s where student loans come in. Companies like Sallie Mae and AES have been offering student loans to help people go to college for years, usually at a decent rate. But lately, even these major loan companies are feeling the crunch of the economy and have raised their rates and requiring inflated repayment plans.

Its not uncommon for recent college graduates, who were told they would be paying anywhere from $50 to $120 a month after graduation to be facing student loan bills in the $300 to $600 range all of a sudden. These higher bills, combined with the lack of available jobs to pay them is making student loan consolidation a more favorable option to consider.

About Student Loan Consolidation

While the idea of a consolidating student loans sounds like a simple quick fix, not doing your homework can get you in more debt and trouble then you would think. There are many loan consolidation companies out there that boast they have the lowest student loan consolidation rates around but be sure to read the fine print.

Student loan companies, such as Sallie Mae do offer their own consolidation programs for both federal student loans and private student loans, which is probably your best bet when it comes to the best possible rates and not ruining your credit history.

Student Loan Forgiveness

Let’s face it, receiving a college education is more important then it has ever been. The state of our economy has made finding a decent job, let alone a great paying job more difficult then most people could have ever imagined. In light of the recent Bank Bailouts, student loan bailouts have been a popular idea that has been floating around the country. Although the idea of a student loan bailout does have a following, it doesn’t seem like this will be a reality anytime soon; school loan consolidation seems to be the only available option for the time being.

The massive amounts of layoffs across the country these past couple years have resulted in the job market being flooded with seasoned professionals gunning for the same jobs as freshly graduated college students.

Remember, the main problem is that while the amount of people looking for work has increased, sadly, the amount of available jobs has decreased significantly and at times the only deciding factor in who gets the job is the one who has the college degree.

I’m not trying to justify his actions but the truth is, Mel Gibson did what he did and said what he said almost 4 years ago. He paid his legal price to society and even more so then most people in the public’s eye usually have to. Hell, all he did was say some drunken remarks, Chris Brown beat the crap out of Rhianna and society has already forgiven him.

As far as for the “A-hole” comment at the end of the interview, maybe Mr. Gibson could have waited to make sure the camera was off, or maybe he was just doing what every human’s reaction would be when broadsided with an interview from a reporter with ulterior motives.

Our society has become so dependent on technology and organized city structures, most people do not have the necessary survival skills that we once had just as little as 100 years ago.

Do you know how to hunt? Do you know how to farm? Do you know how to make shelter or do you know how to tell the difference between wild growing berries and plants that are safe to eat or deadly to you? Can you purify water to make it safe for drinking? Remember the human body can survive 30 days without food but only 7 days without water. Do you know what to do?

Supplies Would Be Scarce

Supplies would be difficult to come by. The interstate trade of food, water and other goods would become more and more scarce if not stopped altogether. No local deli’s, no super markets, no fast food or fresh water. The power stations would shut down, the lights would go out. No sanitation services to manage our sewers or trash. More people would be sick. More people would die. No services to clean up the mess or even remove bodies. People would be lay dead rotting in the street and inside their homes thus more diseases would spread.

No cell phones, television, radio or internet for you to communicate with people or learn the fate of friends, family or even the rest of the country. Short wave radios would be the only source of long range communication but honestly how many people do you know who have a short range radio?

There would be mass looting. Gangs and roaming groups of “not so nice people” would quickly take advantage of the opportunity with the lack of law enforcement and unfortunately would find it more easy to steal, rob or hurt the average person, thus making them a constant factor to worry about.

Money would quickly become obsolete because face it, without electricity you cant access your bank accounts, credit cards are pointless and ATM’s wont dispense any cash. People will start to go back to the barter system. Precious metals and other useful tools would become the source of major trade.

Medicine that we are used to having access to wouldn’t be available. Hospitals would close, no paramedics to come save you. A simple cut on your hand could become infected and spread to the rest of your body and turn to something worse, possibly killing you.

Self preservation and protection would become the only thing that is important. Everyone would become armed with weapons. Most would have hand guns or rifles but blunt objects and fixed blade weapons such as knifes, swords, machetes and ax’s would become more practical. Bullets run out and guns jam. A fixed blade can be used for self defense as well as a tool for farming or irrigation.

So What Is There To Do

Basically everything we are used to and have come to expect in our day to day life would be gone. We would have to relearn how to live. We would have to learn how to survive off the land like the settlers of the 1800’s.

With all of these things to think about it would be smart to read a survival book or at least buy one that you can take with you and use if you ever find yourself in any of these scenarios. Possibly even prepare a couple backpacks and clothes with supplies to take in case you ever have to evacuate your city.

Keep in mind, a virus could spread in a mater of hours across a city and days across the country with the social life style of our culture. One person sick in a theater or shopping center can spread it to any number of people. One person on a plane can transfer the virus across state lines in just a couple hours.

Remember SARS, Avian Bird Flu and most recently Swine Flu. Anyone remember the Black Plague of Europe or Smallpox? This has happened before and can happen again. Knowing what to do and how to survive is the only way you will survive if society collapses.

Do you think you would be able to survive?

Most women never wish to have breast cancer but one Texas woman went out of her way to fake having breast cancer in hopes of raising money for her breast implants.

Trista Joy Lathern, age 24, of Waco, Texas successfully was able to fool over 100 concerned citizens, friends and family members to believe she was suffering from breast cancer and actually raised over $10,000 in donations at the same time.

Lathern said that she needed the money for her reconstructive breast augmentation procedure to help cover the cost of her breast implants because she didn’t have health insurance and had no way to pay for them. She even went as far as to shave her head to help simulate the results of chemotherapy.

McClennan County Sheriff investigators said that when she went in for a breast augmentation consultation with a local plastic surgeon; who just happened to know about her recent fundraiser, she never mentioned having breast cancer.

This caught the doctor by surprise considering breast cancer is a serious medical condition that one would disclose and have on her medical records.

The surgeon quickly notified his attorney who in turn notified the local Sheriffs Department.

Lanthern then went to a second Houston breast augmentation specialist in Texas for her procedure which ended up costing $6,800. She was arrested on Nov 4, 2009 but was able to make bail and was released.

Additionally she was later arrested on an out standing warrent and is now being charged with the crime of “theft by deception” and is currently awaiting a court date.