'Dump Trump': Tens of thousands join global march

'Dump Trump': Tens of thousands join global march
Demonstrators arrive on the National Mall in Washington, DC, for the 'Women's March on Washington' on January 21, 2017 (AFP Photo/Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

March for Science protesters hit the streets worldwide

March for Science protesters hit the streets worldwide
Thousands of people in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday kicked off the March for Science, the first of more than 500 marches around the globe in support of scienceThousands of people in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday kicked off the March for Science, the first of more than 500 marches around the globe in support of science

Bernie Sanders and the Movement Where the People Found Their Voice

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."
"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)


Hong Kong's grandpa protesters speak softly but carry a stick

Hong Kong's grandpa protesters speak softly but carry a stick
'Grandpa Wong' is a regular sight at Hong Kong's street battles (AFP Photo/VIVEK PRAKASH)
.
A student holds a sign reading "Don't shoot, listen!!!" during a protest
on June 17, 2013 in Brasilia (AFP, Evaristo)

FIFA scandal engulfs Blatter and Platini

FIFA scandal engulfs Blatter and Platini
FIFA President Sepp Blatter (L) shakes hands with UEFA president Michel Platini after being re-elected following a vote in Zurich on May 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Michael Buholzer)
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Wall Street's 'Fearless Girl' statue to stay until 2018

Wall Street's 'Fearless Girl' statue to stay until 2018
The " Fearless Girl " statue on Wall Street is seen by many as a defiant symbol of women's rights under the new administration of President Donald Trump (AFP Photo/ TIMOTHY A. CLARY)



“… The Fall of Many - Seen It Yet?

You are going to see more and more personal secrets being revealed about persons in high places of popularity or government. It will seem like an epidemic of non-integrity! But what is happening is exactly what we have been teaching. The new energy has light that will expose the darkness of things that are not commensurate with integrity. They have always been there, and they were kept from being seen by many who keep secrets in the dark. Seen the change yet?

In order to get to a more stable future, you will have to go through gyrations of dark and light. What this means is that the dark is going to be revealed and push back at you. It will eventually lose. We told you this. That's what you're here for is to help those around you who don't see an escape from the past. They didn't get their nuclear war, but everything else is going into the dumper anyway. … “

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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Wonga to pay £2.6m compensation for fake debt firm letters

FCA orders payday lender to compensate 45,000 customers after it sent threatening letters from non-existent companies

theguardian.com, Rupert Jones, Wednesday 25 June 2014

Wonga has apologised for the poor practice, which was uncovered by
the OFT Photograph: David Levene

Britain's best-known payday lender, Wonga, has been ordered to pay more than £2.6m compensation after it was found to have sent threatening letters to customers from non-existent law firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Wonga had been guilty of "unfair and misleading debt collection practices" after it emerged the lender had created fake law firms using the names of employees who in some cases still work for the company. The regulator said the firm would be compensating around 45,000 customers who received the letters, which threatened legal action over outstanding debts.

However, the firm escaped a potential financial penalty or worse because the FCA only started policing payday lenders in April 2014, and these practices occurred while the now-defunct Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was in charge.

Between October 2008 and November 2010, Wonga sent letters to customers in arrears under the names Chainey D'Amato & Shannon and Barker & Lowe Legal Recoveries – leading customers to believe that their outstanding debt had been passed to a law firm or another third party. Legal action was threatened if the debt was not repaid. The communications were typically headed up "Urgent message" and began: "We have been instructed by Wonga to recover from you a debt of £X ..." 
 
In fact, said the regulator, neither Chainey D'Amato & Shannon nor Barker & Lowe existed. Wonga was using this tactic "to maximise [its] collections by unfairly increasing pressure on customers", it added. In some instances, Wonga also added charges to customers' accounts to cover the administration fees associated with sending the letters. It is a criminal offence for anyone to call themselves a solicitor or act as a solicitor if they are not one, but it is thought the offending letters and emails from the fake firms did not use the word solicitor.

Wonga, which is well-known for its TV adverts featuring puppets of older people, is the UK's biggest payday lender; in 2012 it made nearly four million loans to more than one million customers.

Earlier this month it emerged that a founder of the company, Errol Damelin, had quit asa director, just seven months after stepping down as chief executive.

To compound the company's woes, it has also been disclosed that Wonga will have to pay compensation to many current and former customers after it discovered that "system errors" had resulted in the miscalculation of some people's balances. Almost 200,000 customers overpaid Wonga as a result, the majority by less than £5, the company said. This occurred over a period of several years, though "a greater number" underpaid and will not be asked to repay the shortfall, said a spokesman.

The use of fake law firms was uncovered by the former consumer credit regulator, the OFT, in 2011, after Wonga was asked to disclose information about its debt collection practices.

This is not the first time the firm has been in trouble for its debt collection activities.In 2012 the OFT told it to clean up its act after it sent letters to customers accusing them of fraud.

The agreement with the FCA states that the lender must identify and pay redress to all affected customers. Some customers will receive cash, while others are likely to have their outstanding balance reduced. The regulator has appointed a "skilled person" to oversee the process and ensure customers get what they are owed.

In terms of the compensation relating to the threatening correspondence, there will be a flat-rate £50 settlement offer to all 44,556 customers sent letters, to reflect the distress and inconvenience they have suffered. Some will also receive a refund of the charges incurred for being referred to Barker & Lowe or Chainey D'Amato, which has been estimated at £400,000, and will be provided to customers who paid these fees. In some cases there may be extra compensation payments based on individual circumstances.

Where customers have overpaid Wonga, this will be reimbursed with interest, though the 8% rate - in line with the rate used by the Financial Ombudsman Service, said the firm - contrasts starkly with the 5,853% "representative" APR that the lender charges, as quoted on its website.

The process will start by mid-July, and compensation payments are likely to be paid from the end of July. Wonga has also disclosed that some customers' credit ratings "may have been impacted" by the systems errors.

Clive Adamson, director of supervision at the FCA, said: "Wonga's misconduct was very serious because it had the effect of exacerbating an already difficult situation for customers in arrears. We are pleased Wonga has been working with us to put matters right for its customers and ensure these historical practices are truly a thing of the past."

Tim Weller, Wonga's interim chief executive, said: "This is not the proudest day in Wonga's history ... We would like to apologise unreservedly to anyone affected by the historical debt collection activity and for any distress caused as a result. The practice was unacceptable and we voluntarily ceased it nearly four years ago."

The company said "all the people directly involved in those practices are no longer with the business and have not been here for some time". It revealed that some of the names used to create the fake law firms "were people at the time who were in the business ... In some cases they are still at the company but they have no responsibility for this at all".

Weller added: "I would also like to apologise to customers affected by our system errors. We fully accept the impact on customers was negative in many cases and our priority is to ensure we deal quickly and fairly with customers who've been impacted, again in conjunction with the FCA."

Martin Lewis, founder of consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com, said he welcomed the action being taken, adding: "Using lawyers as fake as its puppets, then having the stomach to charge people for it, is a thuggish tactic, aimed at scaring and intimidating people who are already struggling."

It appears some sharp-eyed customers may have rumbled Wonga's tactics years ago; a MoneySavingExpert post dating from February 2010 states: "I have received an email from Wonga's email address saying they are Barker & Lowe, but when I googled their number and name, nothing is found. Just wondered if anyone had heard of them or whether my suspicions are right, that this is just Wonga's own made-up company to try to scare people a little."

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