CUT-THE-CABLE.COM

May 14, 2010

Property Taxes Up 9.9% in Comcast Town

Filed under: Fubars,In the News,Rants — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 6:05 pm
In the news, May 14, 2010 from NBCs Philadelphia affiliate: If you live in Philadelphia, higher property taxes and a fee for trash pickup may be two things you’ll pay for next year.  Philadelphia City Council approved Mayor Michael Nutter’s $3.9 billion budget for 2011 with a vote Thursday evening.  To fill in a $150 [...]

In the news, May 14, 2010 from NBCs Philadelphia affiliate:
If you live in Philadelphia, higher property taxes and a fee for trash pickup may be two things you’ll pay for next year.  Philadelphia City Council approved Mayor Michael Nutter’s $3.9 billion budget for 2011 with a vote Thursday evening.  To fill in a $150 million budget gap, officials made several tax increases, the most notable being a 9.9-percent jump in property taxes, officials told NBC Philadelphia. That increase will only last for two years [That's what they all say].  The 9.9 percent temporary tax hike has to get final approval from council next week.  Council also passed measures that will institute a new, yearly $300 fee for trash pickup from small businesses, duplexes and apartment buildings and a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco.

Flash Back to November 2004

Comcast Center - Philly

Comcast was not able to get their new COMCAST CENTER at One Pennsylvania Plaza in Philadelphia designated as a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone (KOZ) even though they had the support of Pennsylvania Governor Rendell.   The KOZ designation would have exempted tenants from most taxes for fifteen years as a way to encourage development in disadvantaged areas.  This ploy did not get past House Republicans in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.  However, later that year Governor Rendell released $30 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Budget to Liberty Property Trust. Through the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, Comcast received $12.75 million that included a $4 million opportunity grant, $6.75 million in job creation tax credits, and $2 million in job training assistance. Despite their failure of receiving KOZ status, the project received $42.75 million in financial incentives from the state. [Hmmm, do you thing that Rendell owns any Comcast stock or just gets paid under the table?]

Jump forward to April 28th, 2010 (less than 1-month ago)

Comcast Corp (CMCSA) reports 4th quarter earnings.  Revenues are up 3.8% to $9,2 BILLION [with a capital "B" folks]. Comcast’s stock has risen around 12% this year but counterparts like Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have risen around 29% and 23 % respectively. [Translation: Comcast and the cable industry as a whole are robbing the public blind and are laughing all the way to the bank]

For those of you that have been following the bouncing ball, we have a clear illustration of some of the root causes of the  problems facing tax paying home owners in Philly today.

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship”  — Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee

May 12, 2010

Help Save the Internet from Comcast

Filed under: In the News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 2:32 pm
The gauntlet has been thrown down and a show down is brewing. On April 6th, A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously tossed out the FCC’s August 2008 cease and desist order against Comcast, which had taken measures to stop their  ‘management’ of BitTorrent transfers. Because the FCC [...]

The gauntlet has been thrown down and a show down is brewing. On April 6th, A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously tossed out the FCC’s August 2008 cease and desist order against Comcast, which had taken measures to stop their  ‘management’ of BitTorrent transfers.

Because the FCC “has failed to tie its assertion” of regulatory authority to an actual law enacted by Congress, the agency does not have the power to regulate an Internet provider’s network management practices, wrote Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. [But Your Honor, isn't the whole concept of Network Management as it pertains to the Internet contrary to the fundamental tenets of Net Neutrality?]

So, what is this “Net Neutrality” that everyone is making such a fuss about?  Here’s a quick and dirty video to give you the run down.

So that sounds simple enough, right?  Well here’s the rest of the story…

The April 6th decision could doom the whole initiative to empower the FCC along these lines.  Comcast (and other ISPs for that matter) can now BLOCK ANY AND ALL WEB SITES without any fear of repercussions and could eliminate the agency’s ability to write new open- Internet rules.

Fortunately this is not the end.  The FCC may appeal the case, and may seriously consider placing Internet services into a stricter regulatory classification by moving Internet service under telephone rules which could happen with a simple simple majority vote within the agency. [To some this might seem like a step backward, but from a political standpoint, it may be a necessary evil to get the job done]

The large ISPs claim that such a reclassification of Internet service would have far-reaching and destructive consequences including years of investment-deterring uncertainty and litigation.  [Whatever!  The bottom line is that if we want The Internet to continue to be The Internet, then someone need to keep these big boys on a leash]

So what can you do you ask?  Go to “Save The Internet” which is sponsored by Free Press and sign the petition.  Let the FCC know that you are on their side.  Tell them that you want the regulations needed to insure that the Internet will not be turned into something else altogether.  Tell them you want regulated pricing for Internet services.  Let them know that we believe in the free market, but the large ISPs refuse to compete on price which creates an artificially inflated cost to the consumers.

Click here >>>> “Save The Internet”

[...and Thank You for your support]

March 12, 2010

Get Your $16 From Comcast Here

Filed under: In the News — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:31 am
Do you remember a little while back when Comcast was busted for blocking peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic?  Well, after a handful of lawsuits, class-actions, judgments and appeals where Comcast stacked the courtrooms with goons, the parties have settled and the result is that Comcast has reluctantly agreed to PAY $16 to each customer affected, up to [...]

Do you remember a little while back when Comcast was busted for blocking peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic?  Well, after a handful of lawsuits, class-actions, judgments and appeals where Comcast stacked the courtrooms with goons, the parties have settled and the result is that Comcast has reluctantly agreed to PAY $16 to each customer affected, up to $16 million…and of course Comcast doesn’t have to admit that they did anything wrong.

You must submit a valid Claim Form to be eligible for credit or refund. The claim verifies that you are a current or former Comcast High-Speed Internet service account holder who is eligible to make a claim because you either:

  • Used or attempted to use Comcast service to use the Ares, BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack or Gnutella P2P protocols any time from April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008 and were unable to share files or have reason to believe that the speed at which files were shared was impaired; and/or
  • Attempted but were unable to use Comcast service to use Lotus Notes to send emails any time from March 26, 2007 to October 3, 2007.

CLICK HERE ===> File Your Claim <==== CLICK HERE

…and be sure to donate to CUT-THE-CABLE to keep this site alive.

September 16, 2009

Comcast Announces More Price Increases

Filed under: Bully Tactics,In the News — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 7:00 pm
I’m back with more of your favorite topic.  Comcast is in the news again for bending over their customers.  Read this story at Multichannel.com  Comcast is increasing the monthly lease fee for cable modems to $5 nationwide — a 66% increase over the current $3 monthly fee — which the operator said is necessary to [...]

I’m back with more of your favorite topic.  Comcast is in the news again for bending over their customers.  Read this story at Multichannel.com 

Comcast is increasing the monthly lease fee for cable modems to $5 nationwide — a 66% increase over the current $3 monthly fee — which the operator said is necessary to offset the cost of rolling out next-generation services such as DOCSIS 3.0.  Comcast said the increases will occur market-by-market but in general will begin this fall.  Alternatively, customers may opt to purchase a cable modem instead of leasing one; for example, Motorola’s SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0.  but will Comcast support you if you do?  NOT!!!

At the end of June, Comcast reported 15.3 million high-speed Internet customers. That means the operator would stand to generate more than $200 million in additional annual revenue from the increase in cable-modem fees, assuming at least two-thirds of all subscribers lease modems from Comcast.

Hey, who couldn’t use an extra $200 million?  Those politicians aren’t getting any cheaper you know and we all can’t win the lotto.  So quit complaining all of you Comcast customers.  Just bend over and pay the ransome.  After all, what other choice do you have?

(***hint***) C-T-C

August 14, 2009

Comcast Fights FCC Net Neutrality Order

Filed under: In the News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:12 am
In spite of the public outlash and the resulting FCC order to discontinue throttling of peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic, Comcast feels that the FCC has over-stepped its authority and has filed an appeal to the ruling.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will be hearing the case and final briefs are due [...]

In spite of the public outlash and the resulting FCC order to discontinue throttling of peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic, Comcast feels that the FCC has over-stepped its authority and has filed an appeal to the ruling.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will be hearing the case and final briefs are due by Nov. 23, 2009.

In Comcast’s corner will be: (The Profiteers)

  •  The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)
  • NBC Universal
  • Qwest Communications International Inc

On the side of the FCC are: (The Public)

  • Vuze Inc.
  • Consumers Union of U.S. Inc.
  • Consumer Federation of America
  • Free Press
  • Public Knowledge
  • The Open Internet Coalition

Please contact any or all of these organizations standing on the side of the FCC and show your support.

August 12, 2009

Comcast vs Godzilla

Filed under: In the News — admin @ 2:56 pm
No, this is not a spin-off of the classic “Bambi vs Godzilla”.  This time we have an honest-to-God show down battle of the titans.  The Tokyo-based company that owns the rights to Godzilla is suing Comcast and its ad agency for allegedly misappropriating the fire-breathing lizard in one of its ads earlier this year.  The [...]

No, this is not a spin-off of the classic “Bambi vs Godzilla”.  This time we have an honest-to-God show down battle of the titans.  The Tokyo-based company that owns the rights to Godzilla is suing Comcast and its ad agency for allegedly misappropriating the fire-breathing lizard in one of its ads earlier this year.  The suit also claims that Comcast promised to stop running the ad April 11 but that it remained on the air through May.

Comcast said: “Comcast does not believe there has been any copyright infringement.”  Uh…that’s not GODZILLA, that’s COMZILLA.  Yeah, that’s it.

That sure looks like GODZILLA to me

Sing it with me folks!  Speeding forward loop-hole hopping. Always cheating never stopping C-O-M-C-R-A-P

August 11, 2009

Comcast Layoffs After Strong Profits

Filed under: Fubars — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 9:58 am
The one last redeaming quality of Comcast being the number of people they employ throughout the country has now ben tainted by their announcement that they will be laying off 160 employees in New Mexico in spite of strong profits recently reported. This shocking news came as Comcast made the decision to consolidate several areas [...]

The one last redeaming quality of Comcast being the number of people they employ throughout the country has now ben tainted by their announcement that they will be laying off 160 employees in New Mexico in spite of strong profits recently reported.

This shocking news came as Comcast made the decision to consolidate several areas of their workforce.  Although some people were let go today, Comcast will likely begin the majority of layoffs in rounds, and many of those that will be affected won’t be unemployed until October or November.

Let’s look at the bright side…it looks like we’ll have 160 new fans joining us here at our site !

July 23, 2009

Comcast Internet Customers Still Surfing in the Blind

Filed under: Bully Tactics — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:24 pm
Read the entire story at Gadgetell.com When Comcast placed a 250GB Internet Bandwidth Usage Cap on their customers back in October, they did so without providing them with any means to monitor their usage.  The company was supposed to have a web-based tool available by January but that date came and passed.  A representative of Comcast says it’s still [...]

Read the entire story at Gadgetell.com

When Comcast placed a 250GB Internet Bandwidth Usage Cap on their customers back in October, they did so without providing them with any means to monitor their usage.  The company was supposed to have a web-based tool available by January but that date came and passed.  A representative of Comcast says it’s still “not ready for primetime” and will not be released to the public anytime soon.

Comcast hasn’t given any reasons for the constant delays and foot dragging, but some may speculate that they don’t want to help potential bandwidth hogs stay just under the cap.

Don’t wait for Comcast to give you a reason, let me give you a few:

  • With Comcast gearing up to offer TV content over the Internet, they don’t want their customers to scale back their usage…they want them to use more & more, which will justify them creating different classes of residential Internet services based on usage.  That way they can just charge more rather than have customers monitor their usage to make sure they don’t have to pay for the next level.
  • Since the vast majority of Comcast customers that subscribe to Internet services also subscrive to CATV services, if they see how easy it is to monitor usage on the internet, then there might be an outcry for METERED CATV USAGE Pricing and A LA CARTE CHANNEL OFFERINGS.
  • but really, let’s not over-think this.  Just ask the simple question “What’s in it for Comcast?” If it doesn’t add to their profit margin then it’s not a priority…it’s just that simple.

Ex-Comcast Employee Offers a Great Deal

Filed under: In the News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 2:47 pm
Check out this lovely one out of Dekalb county, GA found on AJC.com and reprinted here in its entirety. The number of Dunwoody residents canceling their Comcast cable service has increased by 30 percent, according to the company. The city’s police department thinks it knows why.  Rony Chery, 26, was arrested Wednesday after he attempted to [...]

Check out this lovely one out of Dekalb county, GA found on AJC.com and reprinted here in its entirety.

The number of Dunwoody residents canceling their Comcast cable service has increased by 30 percent, according to the company. The city’s police department thinks it knows why. 

Rony Chery, 26, was arrested Wednesday after he attempted to sell cable service to an undercover Comcast employee (hmmm, did you know that Comcast has UNDERCOVER EMPLOYEES?  One could be living right next door to you!  And you thought he was just a CIA operative…LOL) at an apartment complex. He is charged with criminal attempt to commit theft of services.

Chery, a former Comcast employee, allegedly passed out pamphlets advertising a $50 fee for cable service, with no additional monthly fees, according to Sgt. Mike Carlson with Dunwoody police.

“Once he received the payment, Mr. Chery would disconnect the customer’s cable and reconnect it with another existing Comcast account,” Carlson said in a statement.

If you have purchased cable service from this individual, call Dunwoody Det. Kelly Gobely at 678-382-6914.

LOL!!!  What is it with this company that turns their people into hardened criminals as also seen with the home invasions in Portland and the more aggresssive check-cashing store robbery.  I have some theories:

  1. Maybe Comcast has based their operations procedures on the ones used by THE TALIBAN, or;
  2. Could it be that they pay their slaves minimum wages that force them into a life of crime, or most likely;
  3. They have seen first hand how Comcast gets away with robbing the public, so they thought they would give it a try.

For whatever the reason just be warned.  If you see a Comcast van rolling into your neighborhood…RUN and HIDE  The next victim could be you!  However, Comcast needs to take a clue from their ex-employee who obviously has a better understanding of CUSTOMER SERVICE and PROVIDING VALUE TO THE CUSTOMER.

July 8, 2009

Comcast Tech Robs A Check-Cashing Store in Portland

Filed under: In the News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:28 pm
From OregonLive.com Investigators suspect a Comcast technician cut the phone lines to a Southeast Portland check-cashing store to trick a clerk into letting him in to fix the service. Instead, police say, the man violently clubbed the woman in the head with a crowbar and robbed the store. By mid-afternoon, robbery detectives had arrested Comcast [...]

From OregonLive.com

Investigators suspect a Comcast technician cut the phone lines to a Southeast Portland check-cashing store to trick a clerk into letting him in to fix the service. Instead, police say, the man violently clubbed the woman in the head with a crowbar and robbed the store.

By mid-afternoon, robbery detectives had arrested Comcast employee Michael Clarence Hagen, 25, accusing him of attempted aggravated murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree assault.  Police confiscated a metal weapon and more than $3,000 in stolen cash from the cable van, robbery Det. Chris Traynor said.

Michael Hagan - Comcast Tech in Portland for 5-years

Michael Hagan - Comcast Tech in Portland for 5-years

Hagen, a Comcast technician for five years with no prior criminal record, does face multiple civil liens and judgements dating back to 2006, public records show. Comcast placed him on leave Wednesday.

Make that about a 20-year leave, then promote him to VP since he has experience with robbing people.  Hey Portland, could this be the same guy that we reported to you back in April in the post PORTLAND BEWARE?  Once the Portland police solve this case, then maybe they can look into how Comcast is robbing the rest of us.

There is however a silver lining to this story.  The US Postal Service now has a new poster for building morale:

New US Postal Service Motivational Poster

New US Postal Service Motivational Poster

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