stingy
AIG needs its money for its own problems, people, and doesn't want to have to share with
insurance claimants! That's why they've
fought every request from John Woodson, a man who lost a leg, an eye, and 70% of the vision in the remaining eye while working as a contractor in Iraq. He told ABC News, "You constantly are worried about who is going to pay these bills, who is going to take care of me? Because you can't rely on AIG to come through for you. I don't understand how a company of their size and their magnitude, with government bailouts and money and support, I don't understand their not taking care of the individuals that were injured."
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incompetence
Reader Nicholas is in the military, and while he was serving in Iraq, AT&T decided to give his phone number to another customer. When he returned, he asked for the number back, but was refused. The rep then convinced him that he needed to sign a new 2 year contract in order to reactivate his number. Naturally, right after he did this, his phone broke, and now AT&T is telling him that he'll have to wait until 2009 to get a decent upgrade.
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auto insurance
[Update: Progressive responded and clarified that the fine print does NOT mean they will use military service to give you a higher rate.] We got this email tonight from Ceaser, who wants to know why his military service would negatively affect his car insurance:
While searching for new car insurance on progressive and sadly other insurance carriers, figuring what the rate check would be I answered a few questions. Some questions asked were if I was currently in the military and in college, I am both. As an Iraq war Army vet I am currently going to school with the GI bill, and tuition assistance from the Air national guard, so I put that I am both a student and national guard.
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stupid
While Jeff Cannizzaro was off fighting in
Iraq, he was also fighting Sprint. Jeff suspended his phone while overseas, but left some money in the account. While he was away, Sprint kept deducting small amounts from his balance. His wife kept calling and writing emails, trying everything they could think of to get Sprint to stop deducting the money. Nothing worked.
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early termination
Mark writes in,
My son recently was deployed to Iraq. His cell phone carrier is Alltel. Prior to leaving for Irag, he cancelled his cell phone coverage before the completion of his 2 year contract commitment. As his father, I telephoned Alltell, explained the situation and asked Alltel to have the $200 early termination fee waived. Alltel explained they only waive the $200 early termination fee if the party is DECEASED.
Seriously, that's just messed up.
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lawsuits
A woman who filed a civil lawsuit against Halliburton for being the victim of a gang rape by her coworkers in Iraq will have her day in court, kangaroo court, thanks to the mandatory binding
arbitration clause in her employment contract. Jamie Leigh Jones says she was drugged and raped by her fellow workers, then imprisoned inside a shipping container and left without food or water until the US embassy came to rescue after the State Department got calls from her father. She says she was told she would be fired if she sought medical treatment.
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public storage
Back in January a solidier returned from
Iraq to find that Public Storage had sold everything he owned. As a settlement they offered him $2,500, but the soldier estimated his stuff was worth about 8k.
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mcdonalds
According to a new article in the
Engineering Economist, Americans use 938 million more gallons of fuel per annum than in 1960 as a direct result of their increased weight.
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french fries
House of Representative Republicans will just have to choke down the greasy taste of semantic defeat: the ludicrous 'Freedom Fries' debacle is over.
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cub
"With her son stationed in Iraq, the last thing Maria Gonzalez needed was a collection agency hounding her about a $1,027 cell phone bill she didn't deserve."
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fashion
While "torturer" and "genocidal dictator" are not terms that cause our hearts to glow with unblinking admiration, one has to admit that Saddam Hussein is what Max Beerbohm might have deemed "quite the dandy". Say what you will about him, the man has fashion sense, causing the entire Muslim fashion world to tune in to his trial with keen interest. "What will Saddam wear today?" they ask. And what he wears is usually as expressive of his current legal tact as it his inherent dapperness.
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