Friends Book Sale Starts this Wednesday!

Liberty City "HUB" : December 11, 2014 (Miami-Dade County)

Business Power Lunch with Carolina Rendeiro: January 13, 2015

December 6, 2014 -Business Opportunity

Center for Hemispheric Policy-University of Miami- Forecast 2015-

Latin America Forecast 2015  Panelists Energy Outlook Jed Bailey Managing Partner Energy Narrative Cambridge, Massachusetts Trade Outlook Gary Clyde Hufbauer Reginald Jones Senior Fellow Peterson Institute for International Economics Washington, D.C. Political Risk Outlook Riordan Roett Sarita and Don Johnston Professor and Director of Western Hemisphere Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Johns Hopkins University Washington, D.C. Global and Regional Economic Outlook John Welch Executive Director and Emerging Markets Macro Strategist CIBC World Markets Toronto, Canada Tuesday, December 9, 2014 Location: Conrad Miami Time: 8:00 –  8:15 a.m. - Registration and Continental Breakfast Lisbon Room B 1395 Brickell Avenue 8:15 – 10:30 a.m. - Presentations and Discussion  Supporting Organizations: CAMACOL, Enterprise Florida, Inc., Georgetown University Club of Miami, Global Ties Miami, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, Interamerican Institute for Democracy, OWIT (Organization of Women in International Trade) - South Florida, Oxford University Society of Florida, University of Miami Center for International Business and Education Research (CIBER), Uruguayan American Chamber of Commerce (Florida) Inc. and Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce Media Partners:  AméricaEconomía, Hispanic Target Magazine, Latin Business Chronicle, LATIN TRADE, Latinvex and WorldCity                                                                 Program Fee:  $30; Academics and students – free admission with valid ID Two ways to register: 1)      To register and pay by check, cash or as a guest (academics and students with valid I.D.): Email registration form to chp-rsvp@miami.edu or fax registration form to (305) 284-9871. Payment by check:  Make check payable to Center for Hemispheric Policy. Mail check with registration form to: Center for Hemispheric Policy; P.O. Box 248297; Coral Gables, FL 33124-6535. Cancellation Policy: By email, fax or telephone, by 12:00 p.m., Monday, December 8, 2014. 2)      To register and pay by credit card:  Submit your registration and credit card information by clicking on the “Register and Pay with Credit Card” link for this program listing on the CHP website. Cancellation and Credit Card Refund Policy: Registration fees are refundable by sending the “Cancellation Request Form” by email or fax by 12:00 p.m., Monday, December 8, 2014. No refunds will be issued after that time. Credit card refunds are processed within two weeks. For more information, please call Michael Graybeal at (305) 284-9918, or visit our website at www.miami.edu/chp. Registration Form (275B) Latin America Economic Forecast 2015— Tuesday, December 9, 2014 Name                                                                                                Title   Company Address  City                                                                                                  State                                    Zip Telephone                                                                                       Fax                                       Email Payment method:                                                                           by mail                                 at door

FTC Sues Dating Site Over Fake Profiles (PCMagazine)

• BY STEPHANIE MLOT
• OCTOBER 30, 2014 

JDI Dating created fake profiles and contacted free users in order to get them to sign up for premium accounts.

The Federal Trade Commission is dipping its toe into the online dating pool—but only to sue an English company for creating phony profiles to lure users into paying more.

According to a settlement with the FTC, JDI Dating Ltd. must pay a $616,165 fine, and is now prohibited from using fake, computer-generated profiles to trick users into upgrading to paid memberships. The England-based company is also barred from charging members a recurring monthly fee without their consent.

"JDI Dating used fake profiles to make people think they were hearing from real love interests and to trick them into upgrading to paid memberships," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "Adding insult to injury, users were charged automatically to renew their subscriptions—often without their consent."

The company operates a worldwide dating service via 18 websites, including cupidswand.com, flirtcrowd.com, and findmelove.com.

Once users set up a profile and surf the site on the free plan, they receive messages from members living nearby, expressing a desire to meet. But in order to respond, they had to upgrade to a paid plan, ranging from $10 to $30 for one to 12 months of service.

But according to the FTC, those profiles were bogus - Virtual Cupids developed by JDI. A tiny "v" encircled by a "C" on the profile page was the only indication that the profiles were fake, the agency said, though users were unlikely to notice it, let alone understand what it meant.

So, folks ponied up the cash for a subscription, unaware that their dues would be renewed automatically, and their account charged, until they canceled. The automatic renewal feature was buried, the FTC said, in multiple pages of densely worded text inside the Terms of Conditions—which most people don't read, anyway.

Once the Commission got wind of JDI's practices, it sued, arguing that JDI Dating and owner William Mark Thomas violated the FTC Act by "misrepresenting the source of the communications from fake profiles and failing to disclose the automatic renewal terms."

JDI Dating did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.

Classmates.com faced a similar lawsuit back in 2008. A San Diego man sued Classmates.com for lying in order to get him to pay for a subscription. He signed up for a free profile in 2007 and subsequently received e-mail alerts that said former classmates were trying to find him. But Classmates.com would not reveal who was looking for him until he signed up for a paid "gold membership" account. When he did—no messages. Classmates.com settled for $9.5 million in 2010.

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland

Democracy in the Americas 2014 (November 6,7-2014) Miami

Video en NTN 24:   Democracy in the Americas 2014 

Africando 2014: October 29, 2014

Center for Hemispheric Policy-University of Miami- November 7u, 2014

Hemispheric Security Challenges in a Globalized World Panelists China June Teufel Dreyer Professor Department of Political Science University of Miami Russia and Non-State Actors Doug Farah President  IBI Consultants Washington, D.C. Cuba-Venezuela-Iran Jaime Suchlicki Director Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies University of Miami Friday, November 7, 2014 Location: Conrad Miami Time: 8:00 –  8:15 a.m. - Registration and Continental Breakfast Vila Real Room 1395 Brickell Avenue 8:15 – 10:00 a.m. - Presentations and Discussion  Supporting Organizations: Beacon Council, Bolivian-American Chamber of Commerce, CAMACOL, Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Florida, Inc., Georgetown University Club of Miami, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, Interamerican Institute for Democracy, OWIT (Organization of Women in International Trade) - South Florida, Oxford University Society of Florida, University of Miami Center for International Business and Education Research (CIBER) and Uruguayan American Chamber of Commerce (Florida) Inc. Media Partners:  AméricaEconomía, Hispanic Target Magazine, Latin Business Chronicle, LATIN TRADE, Latinvex and WorldCity                                                                 Program Fee:  $30; Academics and students – free admission with valid ID Two ways to register: 1)      To register and pay by check, cash or as a guest (academics and students with valid I.D.): Email registration form to chp-rsvp@miami.edu or fax registration form to (305) 284-9871. Payment by check:  Make check payable to Center for Hemispheric Policy. Mail check with registration form to: Center for Hemispheric Policy; P.O. Box 248297; Coral Gables, FL 33124-6535. Cancellation Policy: By email, fax or telephone, by 12:00 p.m., Thursday, November 6, 2014. 2)      To register and pay by credit card:  Submit your registration and credit card information by clicking on the “Register and Pay with Credit Card” link for this program listing on the CHP website. Cancellation and Credit Card Refund Policy: Registration fees are refundable by sending the “Cancellation Request Form” by email or fax by 12:00 p.m., Thursday, November 6, 2014. No refunds will be issued after that time. Credit card refunds are processed within two weeks. For more information, please call Michael Graybeal at (305) 284-9918, or visit our website at www.miami.edu/chp. Registration Form (272B) Hemispheric Security Challenges in a Globalized World — Friday, November 7, 2014 Name                                                                                                Title   Company Address  City                                                                                                  State                                    Zip Telephone                                                                                       Fax                                       Email Payment method:                                                                           by mail                                 at door

Foster...Adopt...Volunteer...Give

CONDO CRISIS COALITION: jueves, Octubre 23 de 2014

CONDO CRISIS COALITION, tiene el placer de invitarle a celebrar nuestro Cuarto Aniversario, contaremos con la presencia de activistas comunitarios, abogados expertos en temas de condominio y representantes de la política local.

C.C.C. es una Organización sin fines de lucro la cual brinda orientación de sus deberes y derechos a propietarios que se encuentran bajo una asociación de condominio.

Lugar: Restaurante las Américas.

700 S. Royal Poinciana Boulevard Suite 102, Miami Springs, FL, United States 33166

Fecha: jueves, Octubre 23 de 2014

Hora: 06:00 a 9:00 p.m.

Tlfs. (786) 439-80-63 / (786) 487-47-92

 

Richard Noriega

Presidente.

Condo Crisis Coalition

8249 NW 36 St. Doral Fl. 33166

Tlfs. (786)439-8063

        (786)487-4792

AT&T to Pay $105 Million for Bogus Cell Phone Fees (PCMagazine)

BY CHLOE ALBANESIUS OCTOBER 8, 2014

AT&T will pay $80 million to the FTC, which will be used for refunds, and $20 million to the states and Treasury

AT&T has agreed to pay $105 million for adding unauthorized cell phone charges to its customers bills, the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission announced today.

AT&T will pay $80 million to the FTC, which will be used for customer refunds; affected customers can go to ftc.gov/att to seek a refund. AT&T Mobility will also pay $20 million to state governments participating in the settlement, and will make a $5 million penalty payment to the U.S. Treasury.

At issue are bogus charges for monthly subscriptions to things like ringtones, wallpaper, and text messages with horoscopes, flirting tips, celebrity gossip, and more. Most of these charges were $9.99 per month, though in some cases they were as high as $60 per month.

In many cases, customers did not agree to these charges, which were hidden on phone bills, the FTC said. Meanwhile, AT&T colluded with these third-party services to make sure users did not get refunds since AT&T got a 35 percent cut of all sales.

"AT&T told these companies that it would 'help lower refunds' by only providing refunds up to two months worth of charges," Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman of the FTC, said during a Wednesday press conference.

The move comes several months after the FTC filed suit against T-Mobile for failing to stop bogus charges on customers' bills, also known as cramming - charges T-Mobile denies. Will other carriers - like Sprint or Verizon - get also be hit with cramming charges? "Stay tuned," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said today.

Chairman Wheeler said the deal is the largest cramming settlement and largest FCC enforcement action in history. It is notable, he said, because it is co-signed by 51 state attorneys general.

"For too long, consumers have been charged on their phone bills for things they did not buy," Wheeler said today. "It's estimated that 20 million consumers per year are caught in this type of [cramming] trap, [but] it stops today for AT&T."

"Today, we reached a broad settlement to resolve claims that some of our wireless customers were billed for charges from third-parties that the customers did not authorize," AT&T said in a statement. "This settlement gives our customers who believe they were wrongfully billed for PSMS [Premium Short Messaging Services] services the ability to get a refund."

AT&T pointed to a pledge it made alongside Sprint and T-Mobile last year to stop charging for spam or "premium" texts.

"In the past, our wireless customers could purchase services like ringtones from other companies using Premium Short Messaging Services (PSMS) and we would put those charges on their bills," AT&T said. "While we had rigorous protections in place to guard consumers against unauthorized billing from these companies, last year we discontinued third-party billing for PSMS services."

When asked about that pledge today, Chairwoman Ramirez said that "the carriers agreed to stop the premium text messaging services as of January 2014," but today's settlement "applies to all forms of billing...like direct-carrier billing, so this continues to be an issue."

As part of the deal, AT&T committed to the FCC that it will obtain express consent from consumers about third-party billing going forward, and revise its billing practices so consumers can easily see what they are paying for, and offer the option on block all third-party services.

The Plight of Pepito...October 15, 2014 6:30 pm

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	Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 6:30 p.m. Miami Dade College Wolfson Auditorium, Room 1261 300 N.E. Second Ave. Downtown Miami Reception to follow. RSVP here. Watch trailer here.		Join us as we revisit WTVJ’s 1961 news special that examined the rapidly growing community of Cuban exiles in Miami. Focusing on 6-year-old “Pepito,” a newly arrived refugee, the broadcast followed the boy and his parents as they sought shelter and support in their new home and encountered the challenges faced by Miami’s Cuban exiles. The Wolfson Archives will screen a rare kinescope of the live broadcast, along with related film and video. The real Pepito, Orlando Lopez, will be present for a discussion of his participation in the show.
For more information, call 305-237-7731 or email info@wolfsonarchives.org.
Complimentary parking is available in the Wolfson Campus parking garage (Building 7) on N.E. Second Avenue with entrances on N.E. Fifth and Sixth Streets. Please print and present this invitation to the garage attendant.