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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 9, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: equal pay, soccer ( 2 ), USWNT, wage gap, World Cup   

  Does the USWNT deserve more? 

  

  With the US Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) recently winning their fourth World Cup the topic of equal pay has been a popular talking point lately. It’s been well documented that the Men’s National Team (USMNT) gets paid a substantially larger wage than the women’s team. Many people will be quick to point out that many women’s professional sports just aren’t as popular as men’s professional sports. After all, it is all about ticket sales, merchandise sales, and sponsorships that earn sports teams their money. So the Men’s National Team must be more popular and successful than the Women’s team, right? Well, not exactly.

  As far as success on the pitch goes the Women’s National Team has won Four World Cups since 1991 with this year’s win being a back to back championship. The US Men’s Team has never won a World Cup. The closest they came was in 1930 when they finished in 3rd place. In the last World Cup which took place last year, the men’s team didn’t even make the tournament after being knocked out by Trinidad and Tobago in a qualifying round.

  So, is it all the merch that the Men’s Team sells that makes them all that extra money? Not really. The USWNT jersey is the best selling jersey of all time according to Nike.

  How about TV ratings? The Women’s Team has their male counterparts beat there too. This past Sunday’s win against The Netherlands was the highest rated soccer broadcast ever in the US.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vvWD21qoM%5D

  Then what about the professional soccer leagues in the US? Surely the men’s league must sell more tickets than the men’s. According to the Washington Post, the ticket sales between the two leagues are almost dead even.

  So is it any surprise that the USWNT are suing the US Soccer Federation over unequal pay?

  If there was true equity in the world the USWNT would be making not just the same as the men’s team but much more.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 8, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Alexander Acosta ( 5 ), child trafficking ( 7 ), Jeffrey Epstein ( 6 ), sex offender ( 5 )   

  Jeffrey Epstein arrested in NY for trafficking minors 

  

  Jeffrey Epstein

  If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Jeffrey Epstein, he is the billionaire hedge fund manager who was arrested in the 2000s for molesting underage girls in his Florida mansion under the guise of ‘massages’. It’s also believed that Epstein not only flew some of his victims to New York where he’s believed to have abused his victims in his Upper East Side mansion, but he may have also flown them out of the country and allegedly allowed some of his powerful friends to abuse the girls as well. Epstein received a virtual slap on the wrist by then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta who is now President Trump’s current Secretary of Labor. Epstein has escaped any real justice, until recently.

  Over the weekend, Epstein was arrested in New York by the FBI and the NYPD’s Crimes Against Children Task Force. These new charges come from a federal indictment which will be unsealed later today. However, it’s believed that the indictment will have Epstein facing federal charges of trafficking children. when Epstein made the plea deal in Florida he did so in order to avoid being prosecuted federally.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtBaXrApm3M%5D

  The next major hurdle for prosecutors will be Epstein’s bond hearing. Considering Epstein has a vast amount of wealth and a number of residences outside the US, if he’s not issued the proper amount of bail or no bail at all, It’s easily conceivable that Epstein could flee the country to avoid prosecution, much in the same way that infamous film director Roman Polanski has avoided prosecution for several decades. Considering the scope of Epstein’s connections and influence that goes all the way to the President how great is the potential that we could see another miscarriage of justice in Epstein’s prosecution? If we do see that kind of interference will those involved be then held accountable enough by the public? Only time will tell but we should know much more later today after the indictments are unsealed.
   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 5, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 4th of July ( 5 ), fireworks ( 5 ), missing pets ( 12 ), pets ( 17 )   

  How to get your lost pet back! 

  

  Hopefully, you had a safe and happy Independence Day. We especially hope your pets were safe yesterday as the 4th of July fireworks are one of the leading causes of missing pets. If your pet happened to vanish during t=yesterday’s festivities you have our deepest sympathies, however, we will do what we can to help you get your fur baby back into your home.

  If your pet is tagged with your home address and phone number or have been microchipped, you’re already ahead of the game. Contact your local animal control, animal shelters, and police departments. You may even want to contact those in neighboring towns or cities just in case your pet was able to get that far. Ask your neighbors if they’ve seen your pet and also ask your mail carrier as they tend to be familiar with some of the pets on their route.

  Posting fliers around town never hurts either. Just make sure the posting is not too cluttered but be sure to include the important details. You may want to also add a note on the flier asking people to check their backyards as well. Put the fliers in mailboxes, on telephone poles and ask local businesses if you can post the fliers in their windows.

  Even the digital world can be of assistance too in helping to find your lost pet. You can post notices on classifieds sites, neighborhood sites and apps like Nextdoor, and sites and apps specifically designed for missing pets. However, this can open you up to missing pet scams where people claim to have your pets. These scammers will try to get you to send them money to deliver your pet back to you. If you take the digital route, make sure the person claiming to have found your pet sends you a picture of your pet. These scammers will try to get you to send them money to deliver your pet back to you.

  Even though the 4th of July may be over since it’s become a four day weekend this year the fireworks may continue well into Sunday night. Keep your pets inside as much as you can to better protect them from the loud noises and hopefully, you’ll be able to keep them at home.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0EGOi0Wcok%5D

  Below are more resources to better help assist you.

  What to do if you lose your pet
  More Tips for Finding a Lost Pet
  Clever Ways to Find Lost Pets

   
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  Geebo 8:08 am on July 3, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Air Max 1 USA, Arizona ( 12 ), Colin Kaepernick, Flag, Nike   

  Nike pulls shoes over Kaepernick protest! 

  

  Former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick is obviously no stranger to controversy. In 2016, Kaepernick famously started kneeling during the playing of the National anthem prior to NFL games. He did this in protest of police shootings against black victims while the police involved would receive little to no punishment. Many say this is what has kept him out of the NFL since his contract expired with the 49ers. Even though Kaepernick was no longer in the NFL, he remained a spokesman for Nike shoes sparking even more controversy in a 2018 advertising campaign. While many consumers protested that campaign, Nike’s sales shot up by 31%.

  

  So it should really come as no surprise that Kaepernick has courted controversy once again, and again it has to deal with Nike. The shoe manufacturer recently pulled its Air Max 1 USA from store shelves after a complaint from Kaepernick. The shoes are adorned with the original American flag of the 13 colonies with 13 stars. Kaepernick asked Nike to pull the shoes since he believes that the flag represents an era of slavery in America. Not only that but more recently the flag has been taken up by some white supremacist groups.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFl6ifq5eNk%5D

  In response to Nike’s recall of the product, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) announced he was withdrawing some of Nike’s financial incentives in his state. Considering that Ducey represents the party of the free market this can be seen as somewhat hypocritical since the market has spoken mostly in favor of Nike’s actions with Kaepernick in the past. What’s more important to the state of Arizona, the jobs that a proposed Nike plant would bring to his state or a silly squabble over an outdated flag?

   
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  Geebo 8:06 am on July 2, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Google ( 33 ), HIPAA ( 4 ), lawsuit ( 48 ), University of Chicago Medical Center   

  Did a major hospital expose medical records to Google? 

  

  Last week, The University of Chicago Medical Center and Google had a class action lawsuit filed against them. The suit contends that when the Medical Center entered into a partnership with Google it allegedly exposed hundreds of thousands of medical records to the search giant. At the heart of the lawsuit is the allegation that the medical records provided to Google contained identifiable patient information which violates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA as it’s better known.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY1l5s8ED5c%5D

  According to reports, The University of Chicago Medical Center entered into this partnership with Google in order to assist with Google’s artificial intelligence researchers. The researchers are looking for a way to help doctors better diagnose patients with the help of AI. The medical records provided to Google were said to be stripped of all identifiable information which is permitted under HIPAA. However, the lawsuit claims that the dates of service the patients were seen at the medical center were contained within the medical records. The law firm that has filed the suit states that Google could easily identify a patient with just the dates they were seen because of their knowledge of their users’ search histories.

  So is this a legitimate concern or is this a frivolous lawsuit filed by a paranoid patient? While theoretically, it could be possible for Google to determine a patient’s identity through the records received and their own resources it doesn’t make sense for them to do so. Google has an incalculable number of users and many of them don’t even sign into Google when using the service for search. It also makes no financial sense as Google would not only be open to lawsuits like this but the wrath of the government as well. HIPAA violators tend to be fined very heavily and right now, the government and Google aren’t exactly on the best of terms. So until there is better evidence that Google acted maliciously, it appears that your medical records are currently safe.
   
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  Geebo 8:01 am on July 1, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gift cards ( 108 ), influencers ( 2 ), Scams ( 1,652 ), Snapchat ( 13 ), social media ( 89 )   

  This Snapchat scam can cost you thousands! 

  

  When you hear the term ‘influencer’ thrown around today you’re almost certain to roll your eyes. While the term may make the person claiming to be an influencer sound vapid, it can be pretty lucrative if you’re successful at it. Depending on how many followers you have on your social media platform of choice, you could have advertisers lining up at your virtual doorstep hoping that you’ll promote their product or service. Many of these influencers have been able to turn their social media presence into a successful full-time job. However, for those just starting out, there are those who will look to take advantage of you.

  Once again, the Better Business Bureau is reporting a scam targeting young would-be influencers. The scam is said to be specifically targeting users of the photo-sharing app Snapchat. The scammer will offer a Snapchat user an advertising opportunity but will ask the user to pay for this opportunity by sending the scammers gift cards. If that wasn’t a big enough scam the scammers will then ask for the user’s login information before changing the login information essentially locking the user out of their own account. Then posing as the user, they’ll invite the user’s friends and followers to the same phony advertising offer perpetuating the cycle.

  As you’ve probably figured out by now, any time someone asks you to pay for something in gift cards, it is most definitely a scam. However, the younger social media users among us may not yet be aware of the gift card scam. If you buy any type of gift card and give the card’s ID number to a third-party, they can quickly empty that card and disappear without a trace. If you see one of your friend’s or followers on social media offering one of these bogus opportunities, their account may have already been taken over by con artists.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 28, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: censorship ( 4 ), First Amendment ( 4 ), r/The_Donald, Reddit ( 4 )   

  Is Reddit’s quarantine of r/The_Donald censorship? 

  

  For those of you who may not know, Reddit is a website that calls itself ‘the front page of the internet.’ It’s essentially a repository of message boards that discuss just about every subject imaginable broken down into what they call subreddits. For example, if you were to be a pro-wrestling fan then the subreddit called SquaredCircle is said to be the premier place to discuss sports entertainment with other fans on the internet. However, as with most internet communities, with the good comes the bad.

  Reddit is also home to the largest group of supporters of President Trump. Their subreddit is known as ‘The_Donald’ and is said to be the largest subreddit on the site. This past Wednesday The_Donald was quarantined by Reddit. This means it was effectively suspended by the site. How long it will remain offline is unclear. The reason it was reportedly taken offline was that a number of the group’s members threatened violence against police.

  Some users had apparently encouraged violence against law enforcement, angry that officials in Oregon were trying to bring back GOP state senators who fled the state to avoid voting on a climate-change bill.

  This is not the first time that Reddit has had to quarantine or outright ban some of their more tasteless or controversial subreddits.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uJBaGB_JDE%5D

  Since President Trump was elected there has been a theory among conservatives that social media outlets have been actively censoring conservative speech and ideas. Is this another instance of conservatives allegedly being silenced? To put it bluntly, no. First off, Reddit is a privately owned company and is free to choose what language it considers objectionable. Secondly, Reddit is not a branch of the government so your First Amendment Rights are not being violated. You are free to go to any other website that may tolerate such kind of speech. Lastly, even under the First Amendment, threats are not a form of protected speech. You may have heard the phrase ‘yelling fire in a crowded theater’. It’s a lot like that.

  So maybe if the r/The_Donald’s members could have better behaved they wouldn’t have had these problems.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 27, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Scams ( 1,652 ), student debt ( 16 ), student loans ( 17 )   

  Is student loan debt consolidation a scam? 

  

  Student loan debt has been a hot topic in public conscience for a number of years now. It doesn’t only affect the recently graduated but those who have been out of school for years as well. Many college graduates go for most of their lives just trying to pay the interest off from these loans. It’s bad enough that these graduates face mountains of debt due to predatory practices performed by the lenders but now an army of scammers are looking to capitalize on their hardship.

  You may hear these commercials on the radio, see the fliers in the mail, or see the signs along roadways promising student debt relief or consolidation. A number of these so-called services promise to get you a better interest rate or lower your payments. All you have to do is pay a nominal fee to get the ball rolling. But instead of getting a better rate, these con artists just take your fee and disappear leaving you with more debt than when you started.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TjSI4Q6ztQ%5D

  The Better Business Bureau recommends that if you’re having trouble paying back your loans that you should contact your lender directly to try to negotiate a lower payment. Also, you should never pay up front for any debt service until they give you results first. Never give a debt consolidation service power of attorney as they can use this to take over your loan and make your payments even greater. While there is no quick and easy solution to alleviating the ever-mounting student loan debt problem, keeping these tips in mind will prevent you from it becoming an even bigger problem for you.
   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 26, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: alternative medicine, cancer ( 3 ), dementia, drugs ( 6 ), healthcare ( 45 ), lawsuit ( 48 )   

  Hospitals suing patients over bills and more! 

  

  Today we’re bringing you some healthcare news that could not only affect your wallet but your overall well being too.

  First up is a story from NPR about a number of non-profit hospitals that are taking their patients to court for unpaid bills. In the legal sense, these hospitals do have the right to pursue unpaid medical expenses, however, the majority of people being sued are those who are already struggling to cover expenses as it is. These are the same people who usually only seek medical help if it’s absolutely necessary or life-threatening due to the financial strain of just a routine doctor visit. This practice is said to betray the spirit of many of the early hospitals in our country. Many of those hospitals were opened by churches to provide medical treatment to anyone who needed it regardless of social status. Now, some of these hospitals are just adding to the suffering of many low-income families.

  The Washington Post brings us a report about the misleading health information that can be found on many social media outlets. The article specifically talks about many of the supposed all-natural remedies that claim to cure cancer. One woman who had posted videos on her ‘cures’ later succumbed to cancer, yet her family left the videos up believing in the power of snake oil over medicine. You’ll find this on just about all social networks with claims that everything from baking soda to essential oils, to small doses of bleach, can cure cancer. They can’t. There is no cure for cancer and it can only go into remission with treatment from medical professionals. There are diets that can help fight cancer but they can’t stop cancer alone. If you want good medical advice, turn to your doctor and not social media.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68-iriARQio%5D

  Lastly is probably the most worrying story for today. The New York Times tells us about a study that claims the use of several well-known medications could lead to dementia in older patients. The most notable of these medications are diphenhydramine, better known as Benadryl, and the antidepressant Paxil. It needs to be mentioned that the study doesn’t claim that these medications and others like them will definitely lead to dementia, however, if you’re 55 or over and take one of the medications mentioned in the study regularly, you may want to consult with your doctor about potential risks and other treatments.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 25, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: collusion, drug prices ( 2 ), drugs ( 6 ), pharmaceutical companies ( 4 ), pharmacies ( 8 ), price fixing ( 2 )   

  Are drug companies colluding to raise prices? 

  

  Previously, we’ve discussed a lawsuit against the country’s generic drug makers by 44 state Attorney’s General. The AGs claim that the pharmaceutical companies in question are colluding to keep the prices of generic drugs at the same inflated rate. Normally, when a patent expires on a brand name drug, it allows other drug manufacturers to make the exact same drug for cheaper. However, the lawsuit states that at least 20 companies are conspiring to keep generic drug prices from being competitive.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs7MG7N8mMA%5D

  Yesterday, the full details of the federal lawsuit were made public and included a number of codewords that the pharmaceutical companies used in discussions between each other. For example, ‘fluff pricing’ would refer to one of the companies charging a much more exorbitant price for a particular drug to maintain an illusion of competition. Whereas ‘playing nice in the sandbox’ allegedly referred to the companies not making trouble for each other. The lawsuit even alleges that the companies have tried to cover their tracks by instituting a no email policy and that they only communicate by phone.

  Artificially inflated drug prices can also affect the facilities that carry them and the insurance carriers that try to help pay for them. However, in the end, it’s inevitably the patient who has to shoulder the brunt of the cost. If the allegations in the lawsuit are true then the people in true need of these medications become nothing more than hostages paying an ever-increasing ransom to crooked companies.