Banks... Oldie is not happy with you

Some of you know I want to buy a cheap motorcycle for a Gap Year.. been saving but it will take forever at this rate due to the value of the bike I want suddenly skyrocketing after xmas last year.. seems a lot of old farts want this particular brand of bike now days.

Four months ago I found a lot for sale with fairly low miles and plenty of after market additions to improve the bikes.. all were for sale in Queensland. All other Aussie states had ridiculous prices for the same kind of bike with similar mileage.. and Toowoomba, just up the road from me had the highest prices in Queensland for the same bike... nothing new there since they all think their old shit is worth gazillions.

So, last week I go into my bank to see about a measly little 5 grand loan... repayments of only $153 per month.. almost the same as my internet and phone costs.. so all good I thought, I can easily repay that over four years..... No says the Loans Manager.. YOU can't afford it based on the bank's figure for the cost of living for everyone in this district!!!

WTF??? That's only $38 per week.. two packets of smokes... a week's worth of Iced Coffee.. two night's Take Aways.. yep.. a tiny drop in the bucket.

So Friday I return to the bank to discuss the 7 year loan for that measly 5 grand.. and this time the loans manager is more friendly... she says YES you can afford to repay this laon, and you can afford to put more on to reduce the term length, etc. Do you want Contents Insurance while you are here?

Hmmm.. thinking that might help sweeten the deal in my favour I say Yes please, let's do this. And we all sit happily smiling about the loan and me being able to go buy a bike soon.

Then late last night I get an email from the Bank...... Rejected!!

Why? Because I did not meet their minimum income requirements.

WTF??? I thought we worked through all the garbage about whether I could afford to pay off the loan and found I could easily do it.. as I had been telling them all along.

So what to do now?

Well.. I am being a bit of a bastard about it.. tomorrow I go in and close all my accounts.. take the offered cooling off period on the Insurance deal andf take my business to the Credit Union and see if they will lend me that measly 5 grand for my much needed bike.

I can tell you, last night when I thought all hope was lost except to save for years and years to try and catch up with the increasing prices on this bike.. which wil never happen and so Oldie is really, really, really, pissed off right now.

Can't imagine not buying a bike and having some enjoyment before I die.. so something has to give to make this happen for me.. or I think I will just give up, not bother trying and just go away quietly and drag through the next few years of being pissed off with everything.

Obscene Bank NET PROFITS

Wow.. look at the amount of first quarter and half year NET Profits being posted by all the Banks.. millions and millions of dollars.

And at the same time that all the banks put up their interest rates well over the CPI/RBA figures, and also while some are talking staff layoffs.

I know what this tells me.... something like.. the BANKS do not give a shit about you... they only care about massive profits.. not just a couple of million per year... but a couple of million in the first quarter.. and a lot more by half year.

Not forgetting also these figures show NET profit.. that means the amount they have left after ALL costs are accounted for!!

I'm becoming a little fed up with asking this same quesiton over and over and over etc, ad nauseum...

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT ?

Not Valentine's Day again.

I was casually reading a RALPH article on Valentine's Day and was shocked at what I was reading. The article was called "Why Men Hate Valentine's Day", so I was expecting to have a good giggle instead of being surprised by the crap written there.

So, instead of offering sagely advice on how to break out of the Sheeple Mode, it focused on ways GenY males can improve how they DO Valentine's Day.

It focused on the American BS we have been inundated with since the 50's.. that EVERYONE is an Office Worker. And so it suggested being Dishonest, Manipulative and stirring up a shitload of trouble on Facecrap and Twits-here.

Honestly, I could not believe my eyes. Ralph has turned into an online magazine for pussies, Mummies-boys, Metros and other such not-men types. To cut a long story short, here was my response.. if they post it...

This day is only another Shopping Drive by Industry to get you to spend money on more garbage you don't need.

You have 364 more days of a year to let someone know how you feel.. you don't need to FOLLOW the Sheeple all the time do you?

And the advice in the article is to BE DISHONEST, Manipulative and a Trouble Maker.. the very things WE need to stop doing in order to be more balanced and effective human beings who can stand up and say.. enough of this BS brainwashing.

Oh, and before I forget, most real workers are not in offices, they are on the factory floor, building sites, panel beaters, slaving away doing REAL hard work, so please stop FOLLOWING the US lead of everyone is an office worker. Its all BS.

The more I see each day on where the human race is going, the more I lose any confidence that it is heading in the right direction. Seems it is speeding towards some sort of meld between "1984", "Brave New World" and the original.. and banned at the time (in 1979 to 1980 something).. before it was re-edited and unbanned.. "The Cosmic Conspiracy".

When Industry is brainwashing Men into wearing make-up, to use women's Face Creams rebranded for Men, and other Beauty Regimes.. we are heading in the wrong direction totally.

How are these so called Men going to handle a world with no electricity, no shops, no fuel for cars, a world where they will have to hunt and grow food to eat, a world where they will have to Defend others against swarms of low-lives.. if they are not taught how to be Men ?

There is no hope for humanity as far as I can see. Maybe I should try to forget the worry about where we are all heading and just focus on getting my Motorcycle and heading out on the road again until I succumb to old age or the front of a Mack ?

Satisfaction.. maybe.

I got heard!!

The Telstra lady heard me this time.. and she said she has fixed it all up now and I will be getting what I wanted in the first place.

Time will tell.. or the Ombudsman will get the second call from me.

Telstra.. what a Rip off !!

I read this today...

Telstra said net profit for the six months to December 31, 2011, came in at $1.468 billion, up 22.9 per cent from the prior corresponding period.

It's no wonder if my latest expeprience is anything to go by.

So.. I went into the Telstra shop after closing my account with Optus for my Mobile phone as I had done some research over the past 6 months to find a way to save some dollars on the cost of my internet connection... which I was already paying $69.95 per month for with Basic Home line cost of $23 for Line Rental.

Bastards are make a killing out of that in my area since they REFUSE to add the small infrustructure to the Exchange in order to offer Naked DSL Here... and every time I have asked about over the pst 4 years they tell me there is no plans to offer that service.. full stop.

I explained to the young man at Telstra that I wanted the $49.95 per month, 50GB ADSL2 plan which as far as I knew required a full service home phone and a mobile in order to get the internet for that price.

My phone then would not boot up with the new sim card in it.. so I had to take a New Galaxy S2 instead, which the young man said would only cost me an extra $10 per week with its $59 Cap giving me $550 on call credits.

I of course thought that meant I only had to pay the $10 per month and was not aware that the $59 Cap meant it would ADD another $59 to the Bill.. I thought it was covered in the Deal I was about to sign up for... because it was not explained to me that it was an extra cost.

So... after 1.5 weeks AI got the first Bill... holy crap!! $207 !!

I went straight down to the Telstra shop to sort it out but was told the guy I had spoken to was busy for the next 2 hours so I shold phone the number I was then supplied with.. I have come across this sort of being Fobbed-Off before by Big W over a Playstation I bought that was faulty... and they were trying to put me off until the Warranty ran out.

Well, I phoned that number and over ther next hour an Australian Telstra employee tried to convince me to change over to a more expensive plan. We alsmot got into an argument every time I told her I only wanted the $49.95 50GB ADSL 2 Deal on the webpage, plus suitable phone line access to obtain that price.

"I can't get to the webpage as we are having computer issues at the moment.", she told me. But she was able to get to the webpage detailing Bundle Deals on the Telstra website... how curious I thought.

At the end of that call I was still not being HEARD about what I wanted. The women said she would call me back the next day for an answer... so when she called again I told her I had not decided and wanted to look at what the Cooling Off periods are and gather more information about what I could do, etc.

I then rang the Telecommunications Ombudsmans Office in Melbourne. a free call by the way... and explained my situation and was told I had a good case to go forward with !! I was asked if I wanted to progress my complaint further.. and I said I would wait until I talked again with the Telstra women when she calls me back on Friday this week.

Oh, and only Cold Calls have a Cooling Off Period.. walking out of a Telstra shop with new Contract in hand has NO Cooling-Off period at all !!!!!!!!!!

So.... I will be telling the Telstra women that I ONLY WANT the original deal I thought I was signing up for.. and not the $69.95 per month deal I was being charged for on the new Bill. And I will tell her they can take the Galaxy S2 back as I will use my old phone and get a Pre-Paid $20 per month credit going on it in order to bring my costs down to what is cheaper than what I was paying before.. and since they new contract came into play.

If I have no satisfaction from Telstra I will then be going back to the Telecommunications Ombudsman to go ahead with my complaint.. stay tuned for the Big Shit Fight to come.

Radiation giving Full Body Scanners in OUR Airports???

 What next?

Seriously.. what stupid thing that America does are we going to copy next?

Want some real info about the health risks with these scanners?

Okay then here you go...    

The radiation may be measurable to that of a mobile phone, but the difference is a mobile phones radiation permeates and travels through our body, the radiation given off in these scanners enters the skin (less than 15%) meaning more than 6 times the radiation. This puts anyone over 65, pregnant women, young children and breast cancer prone women in danger, as well as HIV and melanoma patients it higher danger. My source stems from the study taken by John Sedat Ph.D & Marc Shuman MD. An easy example is like placing a baby in a bath without supervision because 'there isn't as much water as a pool' Thanks Australian Government...   

 and this by Dr. Deborah Harmes..

This is simply appalling to see that Australia is introducing Full Body Scanners that are being banned, removed, or cancelled in Europe due to medical studies and health concerns over the effects of cumulative radiation. If the countries in the EU do not consider this to be safe for their citizens, why is this being foisted onto the Australian public and international travellers under the guise of 'the war on terror' with no real mention in the Australian media of the verified health risks? Are we meant to just blindly follow the rather questionable lead of the American government with no regard for what is appropriate for our own citizens? I am writing to MPs, Senators, GetUp, various media such as this, and my full list on Twitter and Facebook while trying to spread the word before it is too late. I am currently living in Europe and would rather not return home later this year to an Australia that has fallen in line with the drummed up paranoia of other so-called 'Super Powers' who fancy themselves the leaders of the free world. If you object to this, dear readers, SPEAK UP before it is too late!    And that's only two I found i a few seconds. I could now go to ATS and find a lot more of the facts from the American experience for you if necessary. 

 We do NOT need these invasive radiation machines in our airports... we are not under attack by Terrorists except our own Government.  Wake the fuck up people and get off your arses and DO SOMETHING before it is way too late for anything you could do.

Updating this post with more infor from a Doctor..

Retired doctor of Adelaide 

1. As a retired GP, I agree with all who assert that body scanners pose serious health risks, such as cancer. Note the EU ban on new scanners based on this concern. 2. I recently went through Manchester airport, which has mandatory scanning for selected passengers. People are separated to be scanned- including young children. I saw a boy about 7 separated from his mother, in a glass enclosure waiting to be scanned. He was terrified, screaming, and collapsed to the floor of the scanning booth during the scan, so the staff made him do it again- two scans, more sobbing on the floor of the booth. He was taken through to the security officer and patted down, still no mum able to get to him. Finally his aunt made it through to be scanned.He ran back to her, into the booth, while she was being scanned- three scans, (then she had to be rescanned because of the interference). At what point is this child abuse? 3. When people like those commenting here avoid interstate trips because they don't want to subject themselves or their children to the risks of scanners, what happens to our struggling tourist industry? Even in America, you can opt out of being scanned. It's called civil rights...

Come on Aussies.. don't take this laying down.. PLEASE!!

Poor little rich kids......

See what happens when you bring kids up in a lifestyle with far too much wealth??

Didn't you read about G. Rinehart's two adult daughters today? You are going to get a good laugh then when you do.

It seems one of these women is down to her LAST $60,000 and wants Mummy to provide Security/Bodyguards, Cook and Housemaid.. and the other is following along with the same demands.

Three of Ms Rinehart's four children are challenging their mother's right to continue acting as trustee of the family's multibillion-dollar trust.

What's that quote from the news today tell you?

Yep.. spoiled rich kids want a shitload more money to continue living The Lifestyle they are accustomed to... in fact, they want it ALL and they want it NOW.

I wonder if they have heard how most people work their butts off for their money?

I wonder if they know that most Adults learn to stand on their own two feet in the world?

I wonder too why Mummy doesn't just say.. "Grow up, work for your money and wait till I die for your inheritance."

But NO.. these spolit rich kids don't want to wait.

I can't imagine what it must be like being DOWN TO YOUR LAST $60,000.. I've only ever been down to my last $2 and worried over how to buy Milk and Bread for my little girl, or how to pay the Doctor when she was sick... those poor rich adult kids!

How did they ever make it through life with all that money?

Someone needs to wake these rich kids up with a solid dose of reality.. you get NOTHING for FREE.. you have to work hard for anything, you have to be generous with others before you can accept generosity from others.

Gina.. if you ever get to read this.. I am sorry that your kids are putting you through this.. still. I do hope the courts will side with you and insure your poor little rich kids learn the most important lessons in life now.

Money does not make happiness.. being happy makes happiness.