Under the heading of Even a stopped Watch etc., The New York Times does something very right, if true. This story details a retired military man signing over his pension in order to get his wife out of the Phillippines. The loan was made at 56% interest over five years---he borrowed $20K and has to pay back $60K. This is well worth reading since the practice of loaning money on this basis is illegal but our wonderful government has decided that these kinds of loans are merely collateralized loans. The military guy was well aware of the bad situation but apparently his wife was in danger of death and he was desperate to get her out of there. One article worth reading in that rag.