THE FLAT TIRE SCAM:

Not all moving vehicle scams involve taxi drivers, suggests Robert Siciliano, head of IDTheftSecurity.com. “My wife was traveling in Spain and stopped at a red light,” he recounts. “Someone knocked on her passenger window and kept pointing towards [the car] and saying ‘tire flat, tire flat.’ She got out of the car to look and they opened up the passenger door and took her purse off the seat.”

THE TROJAN HORSE SCAM:

Tour guide Ann Lombardi of the Trip Chicks says she “recently watched a schemer in action in Frankfurt Germany train station” perform the classic hollow suitcase with rollers and frame trick, which Lombardi says works thusly: “A distracted tourist takes his eyes off his bag for a second. Behind the tourist lurks a guy with an enormous suitcase. In a flash, the thief lifts the enormous hollow luggage, puts it over the tourist’s bag, and calmly wheels away with his prized catch.” Avoid such schemers by always protecting your luggage between your legs while in crowded transportation areas, she says.

THE BASKSHEESH SCAM:

While in Egypt, longtime flight attendant Betty Thesky, author and podcast host of Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase, recalls that it was hard to look away when “a local man started yelling ‘Madam madam madam!’ and, when he had my attention, he pointed at a sculpture. I have eyes; I could see the sculpture, but because he pointed to it, he now considered himself my personal tour guide, and he wanted money. He followed me around saying, ‘Baksheesh, baksheesh, baksheesh!’ which means tip. The goal seemed to be to irritate me enough so that I would give him money just to make him stop,” Thesky says, which she did not do, though baksheesh man continued harassing her.

THE SPILL SCAM:

That ‘bird poop’ on your shoulder might very well be tube mustard that’s been squirted there by a scammer, says Lombardi, after which the scammer or an accomplice offers to “help wipe the offending matter off your clothing. Then swoosh! There go your wallet, passport, and other valuables.” Invest in a money belt, Lombardi suggests.

THE MONEY DROP SCAM:

Lonely Planet’s Reid observes that “Moscow toughs still try to play the mind-numbingly obvious, though apparently still successful, money-drop trick,” performed when “a guy rushes past a foreign visitor in the Red Square area and ‘accidentally’ drops a wad of hundred dollar bills. Another tough guy picks it up at your feet and offers to share it with you. If you do, the original guy will track you down and demand the full amount back.”

THE SKIM SCAM:

It’s not uncommon for a dishonest merchant to “add an extra zero or two when submitting his merchant’s copy of your signed credit card receipt to the card provider,” yielding an inflated charge that you’ll have to contest when you get home, says Lombardi, who recommends “writing long, dark horizontal lines before and after the charge amount on the receipt you sign overseas.”

Private investigator Jeff Stein says to look out for skimming, which involves a small electronic “skimmer” used to swipe the magnetic strip on your credit card and steal its information. “A skimmer can hold hundreds if not thousands of card holder account numbers,” Stein says, and “it used to be common for waiters and waitresses to use them.” Once you leave the restaurant, Stein says, the scammer can “retrieve the information from the skimmer and start placing orders with your account number.”

THE ATM RECEIPT SCAM:

How ATM users handle their receipts is a source of a perpetual scam, says John M. Wills, a former Chicago police officer and retired supervisory special agent for the FBI. Scammers “can spot out-of-towners [at ATMs] in a heartbeat,” Wills says, and “when they do see one, they will be on the lookout for how that ‘mark’ handles the receipt. If they leave it at the machine, or crumple it and put it in the nearby trash,” the scammers will retrieve the receipt to see how much you withdrew as well as your remaining balance. The rest, Wills says, is history. “The bad guys tail the man or woman until the opportune time presents itself to rob them of their money, force them to withdraw the balance of their account, or do both. It all works because people just aren’t aware of their surroundings. It’s easy money.”

THE POUR SCAM:

Stein says he’s often hired by bar owners and hotel and casino chains to root out bartenders “who will ring you up for the premium liquor, however they will use the house brand and pour the premium liquors to a future customer and pocket the cash without ringing it up on the register,” Stein explains. “Or they’ll charge you for the premium, but pour you the house brand and pocket the difference.”

THE SOB STORY SCAM:

Traveler Hali Chambers was sitting on a bench in the Seattle airport when a man approached her and asked for help.

“He launched into a story about how he had a fight with his girlfriend and she took off without him and he had no money to take the shuttle,” Chambers recalls. “He was waving a shuttle schedule at me. I extended my hand and said, ‘Hi, I’m Hali. What’s your name?’ He said, ‘Sean.’ And then I said, ‘And your girlfriend’s name?’ He didn’t answer right away, but then said, ‘Jennifer.’ The man started in on her again with his story, at which point Chambers asked him if he was from around there. His response? “Are you going to give me the money or not?’” She didn’t.

Thanks to FoxNews for these tips… One must always be aware it seems. Also don’t for get this scam which is popular in certain countries:

THE CUT OF AMERICAN TOURIST’S HEAD WITH A RUSTY KNIFE SCAM:

Once this one has been pulled on you you really won’t care anymore… Watch for it!

March came in like a baby lamb on Monday after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. There were some great moments.

February and March have also proven to be difficult times for me as a parent. I won’t share the details here (and if you know them, please don’t comment on them in this forum). Suffice it to say that teenagers can be very tough on their parents. Nuf said.

I have been suffering from a bout with pneumonia for the last two weeks. It has taken a toll as I have been forced to catch up a little with The View and Oprah (not really). My work has suffered and I am weeks behind and may never get caught up. That will not stop me for gearing up for JuggFest on 3-19 which happen to correspond to the 50th annivesary of the birth of Yarbz. Two weeks and counting.

On Wednesday, I caught a few minutes of the Tyra Banks Show. Why this woman has her own TV show/podium/soapbox is beyond me, but I digress. They had two girls on who were models and promoting something they called BIO. It stands for Beauty Inside and Out. The two teen models had both prepared videos for the show. The first featured a young Caucasian woman who took off her jewelry and her make up during her video and said that people from her “generation” would be making consumer decisions based on how women were featured in advertising. Those products whose adverts used women as objects would be ignored and boycotted. The second video was made by a young African American woman whose message was basically the same, but she had a real attention grabber at the beginning of her video that started by her saying the words “bitch” “ho” and “slut”. She asked if the music industry was listening because any commercial enterprise that featured women degrading themselves and “bouncing around while dollar bills were being thrown at them” was destined for failure due to the new BIO efforts. I report this only because of the delicious irony that immediately followed when the show went to a commercial after Ms. Banks had gushed all over these two and lavished them with praise for “the cause”. Note this was coming from one of the world’s most famous supermodels. The commercial that immediately followed had a beautiful women coming out of a pool while adjusting the front of the bottom portion of her very skimpy bikini. God, I love truth on TV. I wanted to throw dollars at it. Hypocrites piss me off. And let’s not forget that Ms. Banks also has another show that compares the assets of various women who want to be America’s Next Top Model, a show I find to be cruel and humilitating to the contestants (but I have only seen a few moments of it). Is she trying to look stupid or just trying to make herself feel better that she is part of the problem (if in fact there is a problem, cause I ain’t real sure).

Twenty three year old Jeremiah Scott leads our list of Fucktards this week. OMG.

In a story that combines both hypocrisy and Fucktardary, check out this one on CA State Senator Roy Ashburn.

One more this week: Jessie Canfield. Another OMG for this young Fucktard.

Here is a little tidbit for Yarbz: Cuse #1 for first time in 20 years. I still think Kansas will be the team to beat in the tournament that begins soon.

Is gun ownership a fundamental right in America? I certainly think it is and so did the founding fathers.

In case you were wondering, It’s official: An asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.

Enjoy your freedoms and happy healthy weekends to all.

Are you brave enough for Chat Roulette? I am reluctant for some reason.

This woman, Amy Bishop Anderson, has to be the lead Fucktard of the Week this week. How uncommon is it that we have a female shooter in situations like this? I bet Trench knows. Did I read that she shot her brother when he was 18 and the gun “accidentally” discharged? Three times? There are no accidental discharges, only negligent ones. Three times? And she was a suspect in a pipe bomb case? She is a lunatic and has had other problems in the past..

But that was last week, wasn’t it? I was too ill with bronchitis to publish a WIR for week 7, so we got a new FTOW challenger: A pediatrician in a small town who molested over 100 kids. Kill him without delay.

Twenty seven year old soldier Joshua Tabor is a Fucktard for waterboarding his four year old. OMG.

Mr. Samson Ojo has to go on the list of Fucktards this week for leaving a family movie in a theater, only to rape a woman in an adjoining theater and returning to his seat as if nothing had happened. Wow.

Buh-bye to Evan Bayh, who is retiring as Senator from Indiana. Thanks Indiana! Mr. Bayh now paves the way for hope and a real change. Number 42 is on the way folks. Maybe it will be John Mellancamp? Oh please no.

Did some Fucktard actually assault the potential future leader of the free world on an airplane? Speaking of incidents on airplanes, Silent Bob (Director Kevin Smith) had something to say about his recent run-in with Southwest airlines about being too big for one seat.

Did you wear black for Cash today?

We can thank Ariana Huffington and her Post for the Most failed funny headlines.

Robert Pattison is allergic to vagina. Say what? Allergic to vagina? Something is bad wrong with that guy and not in a vampire kinda way either.

The Winter Olympics have been pretty cool these last two weeks Congrats to all of the medal winners. There have been some great stories; Lindsey Vonn, Joannie Rochette and more… The US has been kicking all form of ass in the games and medal contests.

Check out this slideshow of dolphins surfing near South Africa. Perhaps they were trying to warn us about what might happen when you put killer whales in theme parks.

From the “no shit?” headlines of the week comes this one: School Shooting Suspect Troubled. Ya think?

This story about Carnival in Rio had me recalling the last time I was at Soldier Field for a Bears game.

Enjoy your freedoms and happy healthy weekends to all.

He can’t drink water anymore and he has a tough time swallowing… I imagine it’s like if I had a super bad sore throat. He has been unable to clean himself like he used to… He was a meticulously clean cat. He was crusty and stinky yesterday so Mariann and I gave him a warm bath and shampooed him. After he was dried he seemed to be very happy with how he looked. It’ll be real tough at the vet office but we both know we’re doing the right thing… He is just beginning to be unhappy and unable to function. Our other cat, Ella, doesn’t give a crap…

Anyway, that is what is happening on this 35 degree rainy Wednesday morning…

About The Online Tax Revolt

“The Online Tax Revolt is open to every American who believes taxes and spending are out of control, harmful to our country and a threat to our nation’s future,” said Campaign Chairman Ken Hoagland. “Our economic future and that of future generations is at stake. We need taxes that are lower and a tax structure that’s fair.
“We’re in serious trouble and it falls to us to get the nation back on track. This march is a wake-up call to everyone in Washington that the American people won’t be ignored any longer,” said Mr. Hoagland.

http://www.onlinetaxrevolt.com/

Sensible Gun Registration Plan That Will Work

Vermont State Rep. Fred Maslack has read the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as Vermont ’s own Constitution very carefully, and his strict interpretation of these documents is popping some eyeballs in New England and elsewhere.

Maslack recently proposed a bill to register “non-gun-owners” and require them to pay a $500 fee to the state. Thus Vermont would become the first state to require a permit for the luxury of going about unarmed and assess a fee of $500 for the privilege of not owning a gun.

Maslack read the “militia” phrase of the Second Amendment as not only affirming the right of the individual citizen to bear arms, but as a clear mandate to do so. He believes that universal gun ownership was advocated by the Framers of the Constitution as an antidote to a “monopoly of force” by the government as well as criminals. Vermont ’s constitution states explicitly that “the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State” and those persons who are “conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms” shall be required to “pay such equivalent.” Clearly, says Maslack, Vermonters have a constitutional obligation to arm themselves, so that they are capable of responding to “any situation that may arise.”

Under the bill, adults who choose not to own a firearm would be required to register their name, address, Social Security Number, and driver’s license number with the state. “There is a legitimate government interest in knowing who is not prepared to defend the state should they be asked to do so,” Maslack says Vermont already boasts a high rate of gun ownership along with the least restrictive laws of any state .. it’s currently the only state that allows a citizen to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. This combination of plenty of guns and few laws regulating them has resulted in a crime rate that is the third lowest in the nation.

“America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”

This makes sense! There is no reason why gun owners should have to pay taxes to support police protection for people not wanting to own guns. Let them contribute their fair share and pay their own way.

America Home of the free, BECAUSE of the Brave.

Ooh my little pretty one, pretty one.
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona?
Ooh you make my motor run, my motor run.
Gun it comin’ off the line Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona…

MY REPLACEMENT TRIBUTE VERSE:

Ohh I had a tumor man, a tumor man
Why’d I have to die so young, Carcinoma!
Ooh I fought it really hard, oh really hard.
But I couldn’t beat the damn Carcinoma
Gave it my best shot, no give up.
Such an evil thing. Thought I’d live to be eighty five
or even ninety five. My my I die to soon. Da Da Da Damn Carcinoma!

Rip Doug, I hope you find some cool dead guys to play with…