Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook

Talking technology, computers, and the Internet… for the average computer user

Archive for category politics

Debt Help Online

Dec 23

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Internet, help, politics | Comments off

Toooooo much debt. Ouch! I am not alone in this. Most Americans, and most people in Western developed nations, have a large amount of consumer debt. This is in part because our governments and banking systems encourage debt, due to a skewered view of national wealth. It is believed that debt equals wealth, because debt supposedly equals worth. If you have debt, you have credit. If you have credit, it comes from the banks who have a high opinion of your financial wealth and worth.

However, over time and with inflation, everyone is in debt, has no savings, and owes money to the banks. This idea of debt equaling wealth is a very short-sided and unrealistic view of economics.

Nonetheless, we all find ourselves in this mess, so what are we going to do?

The Internet provides a lot of information. Of course, information can only take us so far; we must discipline ourselves to cut spending and increase income and savings. Yet a little information can go a long way. There are many, many websites and organizations that can help you understand the system, help you realize how you got into debt, and help you get out of debt and avoid bankruptcy. One such site is ClearDebt. They are a company in the UK, and have an excellent program called IVA, “individual voluntary agreements.” These are suitable for people who need to negotiate their debts with their creditors and make a payment plan. This can be a last scenario for people on the brink of bankruptcy.

ClearDebt does other things. They can help:

  • Slash your debt
  • Freeze the interest rates
  • Stop the creditors from harrassing you
  • Give free advice about debt management

ClearDebt does not give loans and they do not charge you for their advice. The website has lots of information; if you are needful of some advice and information about managing your debt, help is only a click away. Ah, the beauty of the Internet! Get help and let’s stop this vicious cycle! And let’s hope the governments stop it, too!

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The Information Age

Mar 1

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in Internet, blogs, networking, news, politics | Comments off

If there is anything I love most about the Internet, it is that information is readily available. At no other time in history has so much information, and disinformation, been available to a person. I am by nature inquisitive, so I reap many of the Internet’s benefits. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to wonder about something, and within ten minutes have an answer. It’s pretty amazing.

Another great thing about the Internet is that information is no longer solely in the hands of elite groups. I am referring to the major media. It’s a known fact that the media hides important news but releases only what they think will benefit them or their agenda. The Internet has leveled the playing field.

I recently came across an interesting website that made the bold statement “Atlantis Was America, Tampa Was The Royal City.” That’s a pretty powerful statement. They made a short video with why this is believed. It’s interesting enough.

Are you living in Atlantis? According to a new video, America was the Lost Continent of Atlantis and Tampa Florida was once the royal city. Now we know! Tampa’s history goes back over 11,000 years. Dennis Brooks has matched the terrain that Plato described to that found in Tampa Florida and the Americas. See the video.

Some of the information at the website has to do with the paranormal and myths, but some of it makes some serious claims and asks many important questions, like the WTC collapse, JFK’s assassination, and more. These are definitely important questions, and things that, for some reason, officials have been hiding or lying about. The website, Atlantis Kingdom, links to several videos from infowars (a favorite site of ours– we love Alex Jones!)

This is why I love the Internet. No one can hide anything anymore! And we who use the Internet can network and gather information and share it.

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Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Dec 20

Posted by Mrs. Mecomber in blogs, browsers, politics | Comments off

I was blog surfing this afternoon and when I tried to view one blog, up came this message:

You’ve reached this page because the site you were trying to visit now blocks the FireFox browser.

The Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm, the Mozilla Corporation, has allowed and endorsed Ad Block Plus, a plug-in that blocks advertisement on web sites and also prevents site owners from blocking people using it. Software that blocks all advertisement is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers. Numerous web sites exist in order to provide quality content in exchange for displaying ads. Accessing the content while blocking the ads, therefore would be no less than stealing. Millions of hard working people are being robbed of their time and effort by this type of software. Many site owners therefore install scripts that prevent people using ad blocking software from accessing their site. That is their right as the site owner to insist that the use of their resources accompanies the presence of the ads.

While blanket ad blocking in general is still theft, the real problem is Ad Block Plus’s unwillingness to allow individual site owners the freedom to block people using their plug-in. Blocking FireFox is the only alternative. Demographics have shown that not only are FireFox users a somewhat small percentage of the internet, they actually are even smaller in terms of online spending, therefore blocking FireFox seems to have only minimal financial drawbacks, whereas ending resource theft has tremendous financial rewards for honest, hard-working website owners and developers..

Since the makers of Ad Block Plus as well as the filter subscriptions that accompany it refuse to allow website owners control over their own intellectual property, and since FireFox actively endorses Ad Block Plus, the sites linking to this page are now blocking FireFox until the resource theft is stopped.

Netscape users can simply set their browser to IE mode to continue to enjoy the site that sent you here. FireFox users can use Internet Explorer, Opera or Netscape (in IE mode) to access it. FireFox users also have the option of using the IE Tab plug-in which uses the IE rendering engine to display pages, but also disables the Ad Block Plus plug-in.

If you are offended by the Mozilla Corporation’s endorsement of dishonesty please contact the Mozilla Foundation and ask them to stop empowering internet theft.

Whoa. So Firefox is blocked because it blocks ads.

Since when is ignoring ads considered “theft”? That’s screwy. There is no basic “right” of ad-viewing. If a website wants to force people to view ads, charge them to access the page.

It is the epitome of injustice in this world for a good browser to be reprimanded for blocking advertising, but another browser is not reprimanded for being a crappy browser.

As for me, and countless others, I had no real desire to view the website and all its ads, anyway. I’ll pick up my marbles and go visit another site. Without being forced to use Internet Explorer, thank you very much.

P.S. The whole reason I block ads is because they are extremely offensive. Some ads I don’t care about, but being forced to view naked women prancing around in a flash-ad is outrageous. Why doesn’t anybody complain about that? What about my rights? As they say when it comes to watching TV– if you don’t like what’s on, turn it off. I love Firefox because it turns the sewage off.

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