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The Federal Trade Commission has failed to curb SPAM in the last two-years since the CAN-SPAM Act was introduced. There is slightly less SPAM then before but this is hardly due to any efforts by the FTC. More so we can thanks folks like Bill Gates and Microsoft than anyone else for aggressively going after the SPAMMERS. When the George W. Bush, President of the United States of America signed into law the CAN-SPAM Act, he assigned authority to the FTC to go after illegal SPAM.

The Federal Trade Commission put its best people on the problem and what did they do? They held meetings and spent months and months defining what SPAM is. They spent time holding meetings around the country inviting Lawyers and start-up companies to figure out what should be done. We all know what happened? They finally came up with a definition and then filed 60 cases which is not even .1 % of the number of high profile SPAMMERS. We now find out that they embellished their complaints in court and attacked companies, which really were not the part of the larger problem. Why? Because they needed to make it look like they were doing something.

Today we have more SPAM now coming from overseas, which the CAN-SPAM cannot control. So what has the Federal Trade Commission been doing for two-years with regards to SPAM? Not a darn thing, but waste our taxpayers money and do a Public Relations Road Show to make them look good, but why bother? Well, next years budget will appropriations are coming. I recommend we cut the FTC budget by 50% this coming year and another 50% the following year of what is left. Why? Because they are a waste of panty space and blowing our taxpayer’s money on public relations and specially placed stories in the media to make themselves look good.

Let’s fire every Federal Trade Commission employee who worked on the SPAM issue in the last three years and if they are lawyers revoke their licenses. All should be let go without extended benefits or pensions. It is borderline treason the their assertion that they have taken a bite out of SPAM, all they have done is proven they cannot do anything very well and emboldened the SPAMMERS. Those who are the biggest in the SPAM area know the FTC is incompetent and hide under cover of darkness and laugh at all the media stories about how the FTC is attacking SPAM? Let’s face it the FTC have failed and they need to get the axe. No more wasted taxpayer’s money should be allotted for this agency. Think on it.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

If you would like to take full advantage of the chances for buying on the web then you will need a method of settlement which is acknowledged by the vendors and financial institutions. Many online stores and tickets suppliers will be able to accept credit cards provided with the Visa and Mastercard logo. If you have one or more of these then you will be fine. Determined by which country that you are from then you may likely have the possibility to make use of different payment cards which are valid in your location including Maestro for example. It might also be feasible to utilise alternative payment methods like Paypal, Moneybookers plus direct bank transfer with some stores.

If you are not able to get a credit card thanks to a bad rating then you can try a prepayment card. These cards can be found using the Visa and Mastercard logos and have absolutely no credit checks necessary. You’ll be able to either buy your preloaded credit card, or get one which you’ll be able to reload as you go. These commonly work just as effectively for all online purchases.

Among the list of issues which might influence people who shop on a regular basis on the internet is delivery. This can bring about headaches as things can go missing or take a long time to turn up. Certain retailers can also be very strict on the subject of their delivery policies and will only ship to certain nations and only to the purchasing cardholders address. If you’re not in your home country when you try to create a web-based purchase this can additionally cause you difficulties as the merchant may question the transaction as they may think it is fraudulent. Your locale will be spotted by the vendor and if it does not tie in with your home address they may cancel your purchase because they feel it is being done with a compromised or copied credit card.

A different concern to consider when shopping online can be the potential of paying import duties in your state. For instance for anyone who is in the European Union and you order from a vendor inside that area then you will have no fees. However if you buy from outside Europe, the USA as an example, then you can be charged customs duty on your transaction. You might well get a unpleasant surprise when the postman requires a big payment while he delivers your package of women’s coats!

When the economic times got tough, Trilegiant kept going.

Trilegiant President and CEO Nathaniel Lipman revealed company growth figures that revealed its strength and resiliency despite the undesirable economic environment experiences by its various affinity partners. Now operating under the name Affinion Group as a subsidiary, the Norwalk, Connecticut-based firm deals in affinity marketing, a version of direct marketing where affinity marketers are contracted by partner institutions to market their products, build customer relationships using their brand name, customer contacts, and even billing. Through this business model, Trilegiant’s 5,300 affinity partners acquire additional revenue because of direct marketing, telemarketing and online marketing schemes.

Affinion Group has fared well despite the economic trials suffered by its partners. According to Lipman, “In spite of one of the most challenging economic environments our affinity partners and their customers have experienced in some time, our results for the quarter were strong, and confirm the resiliency of our business model and strategy.”

In his financial report ending June 2008, Trilegiant’s net revenues indicate gains. Compared to last year’s second quarter revenue of $333.3 million, net revenues for the second quarter of 2008 totaled $354.3 million. Lipman attributed this to increased revenues in the Loyalty and Membership divisions particularly in the International and North American markets.