Congratulations, President Bachelet!
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
filed under ladyamedeus, politics
Chile’s new president, Michelle Bachelet, waves to supporters as she leaves the congress after being sworn in as president in Valparaiso, Saturday, March 11, 2006. Bachelet was inaugurated as Chile’s first female president. (AP Photo/Aliosha Marquez)
“South America has changed,” Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, said. “A worker is president of Brazil—there comes [Luis Inacio Lula da Silva]; an Indian is president of Bolivia [Evo Morales]; a woman is president of Chile, and in Venezuela, a revolutionary soldier, which is what I am [Hugo Chavez].”
A new journal for a specific reason
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
filed under 5reasons, ladyamedeus, meta
I have created a new personal journal, ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
5reasons. In light of recent events in my life, I feel it necessary to keep a positive outlook. It is a public journal, so anyone can read it and anyone can post replies.
Please feel free to post YOUR five reasons in the comment section.
Day One
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
filed under 5reasons
- Clean, cold water.
- A warm bed and soft pillows.
- My name, which no one else has.
- My little sister, Katy Lou.
- The beautiful day today.
Explanation
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
Explanation of this journal can be found on the info page.
Initially inspired by Rachelle Arlin Credo and the Power of Five.
Please feel free to post YOUR five reasons in the comment section of any post. All comments are allowed, but I screen them in an effort to maintain an uplifting atmosphere.
Pay too much and you could raise the alarm
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
filed under finances, ladyamedeus, politics
By BOB KERR
The Providence Journal
28-FEB-06
So the Soehnges live in Scituate now and Walter sometimes has breakfast at the Gentleman Farmer in Scituate Village, where he has passed the test and become a regular despite an accent that is definitely not local.
And it was there, at his usual table last week, that he told me that he was “madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail.”
He says things like that. Texas does leave its mark on a man.
What got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have learned to accept small infringements on their freedom as just part of the way things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It’s that “everything changed after 9/11″ thing.
But not Walter.
“We’re a product of the ’60s,” he said. “We believe government should be way away from us in that regard.”
He was referring to the recent decision by him and his wife to be responsible, to do the kind of thing that just about anyone would say makes good, solid financial sense.
They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.
And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges’ behavior was found questionable.
And all they did was pay down their debt. They didn’t call a suspected terrorist on their cell phone. They didn’t try to sneak a machine gun through customs.
They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance. And they learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast.
After sending in the check, they checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit on their account hadn’t changed.
So Deana Soehnge called the credit-card company. Then Walter called.
“When you mess with my money, I want to know why,” he said.
They both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking.
They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn’t move until the threat alert is lifted.
Walter called television stations, the American Civil Liberties Union and me. And he went on the Internet to see what he could learn. He learned about changes in something called the Bank Privacy Act.
“The more I’m on, the scarier it gets,” he said. “It’s scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy.”
Eventually, his and his wife’s money was freed up. The Soehnges were apparently found not to be promoting global terrorism under the guise of paying a credit-card bill. They never did learn how a large credit card payment can pose a security threat.
But the experience has been a reminder that a small piece of privacy has been surrendered. Walter Soehnge, who says he holds solid, middle-of-the-road American beliefs, worries about rights being lost.
“If it can happen to me, it can happen to others,” he said.
(Bob Kerr is a columnist for The Providence Journal. E-mail bkerr@projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)
Originally from: http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06
Freaking scary, man. Seriously… I think the government has their claws in a LITTLE too deep.
PotC2!!
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
filed under entertainment, ladyamedeus
YAY!!!
more YAY!!!
even more YAY!!!
and yet still more YAY!!!
Also,
Spring Break
by V.E. on March 11th, 2006
filed under ladyamedeus, personal, school
And so, Spring Break has begun. I am staying at school until Tuesday morning so I can get some work done. Yager laughed at me when I said that, but I really want to actually do some work. I’ve been evilly sick and have been sleeping all day, though, so the work might not happen. I’d rather be well when I travel than get all my work done and be sick on the train/plane/whatever.
Bennett went home today. He was really nervous about meeting his parents again… says he’s afraid they’ll find out he’s not doing too well in school and he’ll have to take another semester/year off. I have a feeling if he leaves again he won’t be coming back. It worries me, but I don’t know how to help him. I suppose I can only be there to support him when he’s down and lend a hand when he asks… the rest is up to him. I can’t make him succeed, even though I want him to so badly, and I know he could if he got it together enough to do his work and whatnot. It’s not that he’s not trying–he is. I don’t think he knows HOW to overcome his fears, though, and it’s literally crippling him. He doesn’t even know if he wants to be a doctor any more… It’s like he’s lost and doesn’t even know where to start to help himself be found. Hmm… I worry about him.
Anyway, my flight is Tuesday afternoon around 1:30 or 2:00 pm eastern time. I have it written down somewhere but don’t want to go look just now. I should be home that day around 9:30 or 10:00 pm pacific time. Since I have to take a train to Philly to catch my flight, I’ll be traveling all day. I’m REALLY not looking forward to traveling for 17 hours (that is, 8 am ET to 10 pm PT = 14 hours + 3 hours for the time change = 17 hours). Ugh. Boo to long travel times.
