| College Given Green Grade of A-
The Sustainable Endowments Institute recently published their annual report card. The report card examines how successful the 200 universities and colleges in the United States and Canada with the largest endowments are at instituting environmentally friendly practices. This most recent report card put Dartmouth College at an A-, the highest grade given out. Only five other schools also received the same grade: Harvard University, Middlebury College, University of Washington, University of Vermont, and Carleton College. Only four schools received an F: Juilliard School, Howard University, Regent University, and Samford University. What singled Dartmouth out as better than the other 97% of schools? Each school was given a grade in 8 different areas: Administration (B), Climate Change & Energy (B), Food & Recycling (A), Green Building (A), Transportation (B), Endowment Transparency (A), Investment Priorities (B), Shareholder Engagement (A).
US 'secretly helps Pakistan guard nukes'
The United States is implementing a top secret program designed to help the beleaguered Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf guard its nuclear weapons as unrest spreads across the country, The New York Times has reported on its website. Citing unnamed current and former senior government officials, the newspaper said the administration of President George W. Bush has spent almost $US100 million over the past six years on the program. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte warned Mr Musharraf that Washington will review its military aid to the country unless he lifts a state of emergency, diplomats said. Mr Negroponte met Mr Musharraf for talks overnight, which diplomats said were used to send "a very strong message'' to end the two-week-old emergency rule. Western diplomats said Mr Negroponte told Mr Musharraf "military aid would be under review" if he did not quit the army, hold elections on time, lift curbs on the media and release political prisoners.
Keeping Your Identity a Secret
Shoulder surfing, dumpster diving and phishing, actions performed by criminals that invade, violate and steal a person's identity. Each year millions of consumers have their identities stolen. The result is time consuming and costly; on average victims spend close to 30 hours and up to $500 cleaning up their personal information after a theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There are several actions you can follow to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. Following the recommendations below, courtesy of Universal Protection Service, is the first step to taking a proactive approach to securing your identity. However, if the unfortunate does happen and your identity is stolen it is important to react quickly.
Better Business Bureau - Top Company Complaints
Each quarter, the Better Business Bureau releases a list of its top 20 inquired-upon industries, as well as the top 20 complained-about industries. The BBB encourages consumers to carefully review companies when making purchasing decisions. Consumers may obtain a reliability report on any company they intend to do business with by contacting the local BBB, either by phone at (503) 212-3022 or online at www.bbb.org. Click here for top 20 complaints and inquiries for Oregon. .
Thwart thieves by freezing credit
When it comes to keeping a thief from obtaining credit in your name, consumers have a tough weapon in the form of a so-called security freeze. When you freeze your credit report, you thwart would-be thieves by preventing creditors from checking your credit history. Few lenders will lend you – or a thief – money without first checking your credit report. Texans got added muscle in September, when a new law took effect that allows consumers to freeze their credit report without first having to have a police report. Previously, Texans couldn't freeze their credit reports unless they were victims of identity theft. .
Builders see worse times ahead
Home builders' confidence stayed at record low levels in a November reading released Monday, as a slight uptick in buyer traffic was balanced out by a slightly more pessimistic view six months down the road. The overall National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index was 19, which was the same as the upwardly revised October reading. The index measuring how builders view buyer traffic edged up to a reading of 17 from 15 in October. But the subindex measuring builders' view of the market six months from now slipped to a record low 25 from 26 a month ago. The survey of builders found 57 percent now expect a poor market for new homes six months from now. Only 5.7 percent are looking for a good housing market that soon. "The message from today's report is that builders do not see any significant change in housing market conditions as compared to last month," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders.
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