] From Dan Mulvihill, another individual investor: "This is
] unlike any war we have ever been in. We are in a bear
] market with very overvalued stocks, our public and
] private debt is bloated beyond any measure in history,
] and we have a faltering economy that has been stimulated
] to unprecedented levels by enormous money creation and
] government spending. And our dollar is sinking fast."
]
] Anita McCormick weighs in with this: "War is a market
] plus? Let's see, what happened to the economy after Iraq
] War I? It tanked, along with Bush No. 1's approval
] ratings and hopes for a second term."

As war looms, many express relief and 'fiscal fear'

Lattes aren't the only steamy things at Starbucks these days. Much to the chagrin of Seattle-based Starbucks Corp., Playboy Magazine has issued an alert: "Calling all coffee-making cuties!" to pose nude for an upcoming issue featuring the "Women of Starbucks."
With the application process already percolating, the chain of more than 6,200 coffee shops worldwide, is anything but thrilled with the cattle call by the adult magazine to its coffee-making employees, known as baristas.

Playboy Looking for 'Women of Starbucks'

] In addition, U.S. intelligence sources reported that some
] trenches around Baghdad appear to be designed to be
] filled with oil to generate smoke. The first one already
] has been tested. Smoke could obscure the ability of the
] United States to use laser-guided weapons to attack
] targets in Baghdad.

That will not slow down a B-52 carpet bombing you Saddam.

Security Council holds closed Iraq meeting

So, what's wrong with PayPal and why is this site here?

PayPal Sucks is an anti paypal site to expose the nightmare of doing business "the paypal way." Post your complaints, troubles, fraud stories, lawsuits, and other dissatisfaction in the forums. Read the links & faq pages for help in resolving your paypal troubles and complaints. Read the options page to find an alternative to paypal, perhaps even get yourself your own merchant account to access credit cards directly. To enumerate the complaints:

1. Their customer service is horrible. They hide their telephone number, (intentionally - by their own admission) and only provide support via "form" emails:

As for the customer service, Sollitto said they intentionally make the phone number very difficult to find in order to save costs."

If you have a problem, you are at their mercy! (And you will eventually have a problem.)

2. Their terms of service are not completely disclosed upon signup and some key "conditions" are not disclosed. No place do they openly tell potential members that their money is 100% at risk. That PayPal can, will, and has in the past, completely cleaned out customers' accounts, (including your checking or savings account) with no appeals process available.

3. If PayPal feels your actions are questionable, PayPal is the investigator, judge, jury and executioner. "Telling your side" of what happened, in most cases seems to be irrelevant. They also refuse to provide you with the details of their investigation and withhold documents they relied upon to make their decisions. Your only contact will be an email that says:

Thank you for contacting PayPal. We apologize for the delay in respondingto your service request.

After review, the decision has been made to keep your account locked. Thisdecision cannot be appealed.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email.

That will be end of it as far as PayPal is concerned. You can email back, but you'll just get more of the same.

4. If you are a bona fide, up-standing individual with hundreds of successful transactions, but someone pays you with a stolen credit card, your account (by PayPal's own admission) is immediately flagged as being "criminal behavior" and any money in that account is confiscated. If a customer "disputes" the charge, same thing happens. (See email above.)

5. PayPal's fees are now up to 2.9% plus $.35 per transaction. A money order costs $.50 to $1. The bank charges most businesses $.05 to $.12 per check. A good credit card merchant account is about 2.3%. (Plus you can contest chargebacks and have merchant rights.) On a $100 item, PayPal's fee is over $3. At one time, PayPal was the cheapest way to send money, but they are now one of the most expensive, plus you totally at their mercy in regards to chargebacks.

6. Money sent from PayPal account to PayPal account is subject to the exact same fees credit card purchases are. Thus every transaction makes PayPal money, but it's nothing more than an entry in a computer database on their system. No money has actually moved.

PayPalSucks.com is where you will learn the abuse, fraud, & evil behind the PayPal system!

] To be an American is to receive a continuing education on
] race. But one does not, perhaps, expect to receive
] lessons from a dog. Then along came Percy, a young pit
] bull friends of mine found in Brooklyn's Fort Greene park
] last summer. The couple had little dog experience between
] them, but Percy appeared at that point in a relationship
] when increasingly large gestures of commitment are
] required (the engagement would come five months later),
] and he was taken in on a probationary basis. He proved to
] be sweet-tempered, if excitable, goofy and energetic,
] easily house-trained. In balance, a lot of fun. There's
] just one problem: Percy is a racist.

Can a Dog Be Racist? - The case of the prejudiced pit bull.

] A rare snow storm swept across the Middle East Tuesday,
] cutting off power and closing roads and schools in
] Israel, Palestinian territories, Syria, Lebanon and
] Jordan.
]
]
] The storm was expected to continue until Wednesday,
] delivering the heaviest snow the region has seen since
] 1950.
]
]
] By midmorning Tuesday, one foot had fallen in Jerusalem.
] Snow also covered northern Israel, the hills of the West
] Bank and the mountains of Lebanon.

Hell finally froze over

] Need a pair of basketball shoes? You may want to head for
] the beach.
]
] Thousands of Nike basketball shoes are drifting through
] the Pacific Ocean toward Alaska after spilling from a
] container ship off Northern California.

Soggy shoes head for Alaska

] President Bush today outlined an expansive vision of a
] postwar Iraq, speaking of toppling Iraqi President Saddam
] Hussein as a lesson to other American foes and of turning
] the country into a model of Middle East democracy and
] prosperity.
] ...
] At a time when the administration is facing nuclear challenges
] from North Korea and Iran, Bush spoke of using Hussein's undoing
] as an example to others. "By defeating this threat, we will show
] other dictators that the path of aggression will lead to their
] own ruin," he said.
] The president's remarks stepped up an effort begun in recent days
] to demonstrate to critics the U.S. commitment to rebuilding a
] postwar Iraq. "A free Iraq can be a source of hope for all the
] Middle East," Bush said today. "Instead of threatening its
] neighbors and harboring terrorists, Iraq can be an example of
] progress and prosperity in a region that needs both.

Decius and I were just talking about this last night. What will happen to that region is there is a "free" country to live in.

Bush: Iraq Can Be Lesson to U.S. Foes (washingtonpost.com)

] The Bush administration plans to take complete,
] unilateral control of a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, with an
] interim administration headed by a yet-to-be named
] American civilian who would direct the reconstruction of
] the country and the creation of a "representative" Iraqi
] government, according to a now-finalized blueprint
] described by U.S. officials and other sources.

Full U.S. Control Planned for Iraq (washingtonpost.com)

] Covad Communications lost nearly half its value Thursday
] when federal regulators ruled to institute a three-year
] phase-out of the discounted network lines the company has
] enjoyed. The selling continued apace Friday.
]
] But some say the decline has been too steep.
]
] "The selling is absurd," said Vik Grover, an analyst at
] Kaufman Bros. "From my perspective, this is not a game
] ender, it's a game changer."

Covad selling may be overdone