Maid Builds Mansion with Elderly Employer’s ‘Gift’
This is a sticky situation – not a new situation, it is timeless, and not unique to Kuwait – it is everywhere. People with elderly parents need to pay attention; the elderly can be so vulnerable. He may well have given his caretaker the money. His poor 108 year old mother!
Maid coaxes elderly sponsor to sell home, buys villa with cash
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 3: Police have arrested a Sri Lankan housemaid who allegedly duped a Kuwaiti man in his 70s, and lured him into selling his home, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
It is reported the woman, who was working for the old man, induced him to sell his home, and then took the money from him. She is said to be worth about KD 120,000. She has also built a mansion in her home country.
A security source said the man’s mother, who is about 108 years old, and his family have lodged a complaint at the police station. However, the maid claims the man had given the money to her of his own free will.
Young Adults Report Anxiety Overload
Young adults ‘anxiety overload’
No, it’s not just your imagination. And you are not alone – others in your age group are likely suffering the same anxieties you are, and covering it up.
You can read the entire article at BBC News
Young adults are suffering from “anxiety overload”, a UK charity warns.
A survey of 18-24 year olds found 66% feel stressed or anxious at least once a week, with money and job worries being the main cause.
Almost a third of respondents said they did not tell anyone of their worries, raising the need to teach young people “coping strategies”, said Rethink.
Women seemed most badly affected, with one in three suffering frequent anxiety, compared with one in 10 men.
The YouGov poll of 2,000 adults, 250 of whom were aged 18-24, found 33% of young women felt stressed or anxious most days or every day.
The Worst Scam Ever
This has got to be one of the worst scam-mails ever. From time to time, I get a scary one – something that looks and feels so genuine that it could fool someone not on guard against these phishing attempts.
This one is so poorly done, the grammar, the spelling – you have to wonder who sent it out and who on earth would respond???
Dear Nestle Beneficiary,
This is to informed you that Nestle Food has recently exposed their weak
Inconsistent to announce you as one of the 13 lucky winners on the ongoing
12 Years Nestle Food Promotion Award of the New Year Held on 1st of October
2009. Further more during electronic selected balloting of world wild email
Address for the promotion selected, your details (e-mail address) fall within
Our zone during the nestle food promotion as indicated in your Sending mails
and exchanging mails in the internet and your prize of ( 920,000.00GBP) this
will be released to you from the regional branch office in UK.
Your fund is now deposited with our delivery agent Company in United Kingdom
and it will be insured in your name after your information is provided.
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you you keep this award
from public notice until your claim has been processed, and your winning
Cheque has being sent to you or remitted to your account, as this is part of
our security protocol, to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking of
advantage of this program by participants, that has happened in the
past.http://www.nestle.com.my/Nestle+In+Your+Life/Promotions/
To file for your claims please contact our Uk online fiduciary officer with
the information
1. Full Name: _____________
2. Address: ____________
3. Age: ____________
4. Occupation: _____________
5. Phone: __________
6. State of Origin: ___________
7. Country: _____________
Agent: Name:
Mr.Rafidah Hawazin
EMAIL: nestlefoodonlinepromotionn@gmail.com
This is very advice able you reach contact via mail quickly.
http://www.nestle.com.my/Nestle+In+Your+Life/Promotions/
Mrs. Ann Ray
Your cencarelly Online Co-ordinator.
Exporting Trash to Poorer Countries
From The New York Times, where you can read the entire article on exporting trash by clicking here
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: September 26, 2009
ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — When two inspectors swung open the doors of a battered red shipping container here, they confronted a graveyard of Europe’s electronic waste — old wires, electricity meters, circuit boards — mixed with remnants of cardboard and plastic.
“This is supposed to be going to China, but it isn’t going anywhere,” said Arno Vink, an inspector from the Dutch environment ministry who impounded the container because of Europe’s strict new laws that place restrictions on all types of waste exports, from dirty pipes to broken computers to household trash.
Exporting waste illegally to poor countries has become a vast and growing international business, as companies try to minimize the costs of new environmental laws, like those here, that tax waste or require that it be recycled or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.
Rotterdam, the busiest port in Europe, has unwittingly become Europe’s main external garbage chute, a gateway for trash bound for places like China, Indonesia, India and Africa. There, electronic waste and construction debris containing toxic chemicals are often dismantled by children at great cost to their health. Other garbage that is supposed to be recycled according to European law may be simply burned or left to rot, polluting air and water and releasing the heat-trapping gases linked to global warming.
While much of the international waste trade is legal, sent to qualified overseas recyclers, a big chunk is not. For a price, underground traders make Europe’s waste disappear overseas.
After Europe first mandated recycling electronics like televisions and computers, two to three tons of electronic waste was turned in last year, far less than the seven tons anticipated. Much of the rest was probably exported illegally, according to the European Environment Agency.
Paper, plastic and metal trash exported from Europe rose tenfold from 1995 to 2007, the agency says, with 20 million containers of waste now shipped each year either legally or illegally. Half of that passes through this huge port, where trucks and ships exchange goods around the clock.
When we were blogging about pirates in Somalia, a Somali wrote in that part of the problem was that rich western countries were dumping toxic trash off the coast of Somalia and damaging the traditional fishing wealth of the country. Once trash is exported, there is no telling where it will be dumped, or what problems we are causing for our descendants down the road. I can’t help but think that we reap what we sow – and that we need to be paying attention to what we are dumping and where we are dumping it.
Future Airline Seating Plan
When I first saw this, I was horrified. As I read the article on AOL News and discovered that it is for short-length commuter planes, it made sense. No overhead bins, seating like on the metro or a bus . . . is this the wave of the future?
I don’t see any seat belts – I am guessing that seat belts would be a must – and I can’t imagine sitting for an hour in the middle, with no seat back.
Can the seating arrangement in an airplane lead to more affordable fares? Apparently, the answer is yes. A new aircraft seating design is being developed in the UK for just that reason.
According to a September 22 report by the Telegraph, the new arrangement has been developed specifically for budget airlines offering short flights. The article states that the design “could lead to a 50 per cent increase in the number of passengers on board with a saving of up to a third per seat,” according to the UK-based developer, Design Q.
The design features flip-up benches and face-to-face seating that call to mind the inside of a train car.
Design Q said that the configuration is “loosely based on the way some soldiers travel to battle zones,” according to the Telegraph. In the article, the company also pointed out the design is aimed for short-term flights where passengers are not as concerned about comfort.
The director of Design Q, Howard Guy, told the Telegraph that one advantage of the design is that passengers will be able to exit quickly once the plane lands. Furthermore, the exclusion of bulky seats makes the plane lighter and as a result more fuel efficient.
On September 22, The Daily Express quoted Guy as saying, “[i]t is like taking the idea of traditional transport like a train or bus and asking: ‘Why can’t we do this on a plane?'”
The article also notes that the planes would be able to carry up to 10 per cent more passengers, so long as safety approval is granted.
Eid Confusion
After writing that I don’t get a lot of phone calls, my VOIP started ringing. Four times, it was AdventureMan – we always have a lot to talk about. Once, my Mom, who calls just because she can and because the number we got is her area code, so it is like calling next door, and we all like that. Last, one of my friends in Kuwait – we have discovered we can call VOIP to VOIP. It’s like double the trouble – VOIP phones don’t always have the best connection, sometimes they are echo-y, sometimes one person can hear and the other can’t, sometimes you get other people on the conversation with you – so when you talk VOIP to VOIP, you have double the risk of technical difficulties, but still, an cost-per-phonecall that encourages long conversations (if you can hear and understand one another.)
“Has Eid started in Kuwait?” I asked at one point.
“I don’t thing so,” she replied. “I think it starts like Monday or so.”
It’s confusing to me. I know that Ramadan started four weeks ago tomorrow, so it is likely Eid will be 28 days later, like tonight or tomorrow or Sunday. But Kuwait started the Eid holidays on Friday, the official holidays, so that people will have nine full days of Eid celebration. (two weekends and a five day week). I don’t know if it is the same in Qatar.
It is also confusing as to just who gets the Eid holiday. When I lived in Tunis, lo, these many years ago, the entire country got every celebration. Those of us at the Embassy were doubly blessed; we got all the American holidays AND we got all the Tunisian holidays. So did just about everybody; the country shut down. For at least three days, no restaurants were open, no stores were open – you had to know about this in advance and bring in provisions to last until the Eid celebrations were over.
I wonder, did it used to be that way in Qatar? In Kuwait? That everything shut down, at least for the first day of Eid, and often longer?
In Kuwait and in Qatar, occasionally – like the first day of Eid – the stores will be closed a day – some just half a day. So many workers here are non-Muslim that it makes it possible to keep places open without intruding on someone’s celebration of Eid, in fact, I would think being able to go to restaurants and pick up a few items in the stores enhances the Eid experiences. I know most of my friends in Qatar are leaving town, just as I am getting back, beating feet for Europe, for Africa, for the Maldives, celebrating by traveling.
All the same, I am not sure when exactly Eid is expected to start officially, like according to the lunar calendar. Anyone?
Second New Twist on an Old Scam
This one cracks me up – the names make it sound so credible, right? WRONG!
Offer Coming From U.A.E
This letter must come to you as a big surprise,
but I believe it is only a day that people meet
and become great friends and business partners.
I am Mr.Andre Sayegh, Chief Executive Officer with a reputable bank here in U. A. E. I write you this proposal in good faith, believing that I can trust you with the information I am about to reveal to you. I have an urgent and very confidential business proposition for you. On November 6, 2000, an Iraqi Foreign Oil consultant/contractor with the CHEVRON PETROLEUM CORPORATION, MR MOHAMMAD AL NASSER made a (Fixed deposit) for 36 calendar months, valued at US$17,500,000.00 (Seventeen Million Five hundred Thousand Dollars only) in my bank and I happen to be his account officer before I was moved to my present position recently.
Upon maturity in 2003, as his account officer and as well the Planning & Financial officer, it is my duty to notify him on the maturity date so I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but the letter was returned undelivered. After sometime, I tried sending back the letter, but it was again returned and finally I discovered from his contract employers, Chevron Petroleum Corporation that .Mr. Mohammad Al Nasser died as a result of torture in the hand of Saddam Hussein (former Iraqi President) during one of his trips to his country Iraq, as he was accused of leaking information to the Americans. On further investigation, I discovered that Mr. Al Nasser’s family wife and two sons died during the Gulf War in Iraq and was the reason why he did not declare any next of kin or relation in all his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank and did not leave any WILL.
This sum of US$17,500,000.00 have been floating and placed under dormant/unserviceable account by my bank management since no one have heard from the owner since 2003. I wish to let you know that all the investigation I have made so far, my bank management is not aware of it, I am the only one that have the information. With the recent change of government in my country and with their efforts to support the United Nations in checkmating terrorism aid in the U. A. E. By end of this year, the government will pass a new financial control law which will give the government authority to interrogate account owners of above $5,000,000.00 to explain the source of the funds, making sure it is not for terrorism support. If I do not move this money out of the country immediately, by end of the year the government will definitely confiscate the money, because my bank cannot provide the account owner to explain the source of the money.
I cannot directly transfer out this money without the help of a foreigner and that is why I am contacting you for assistance. As his Account Officer to late Al Nasser, coupled with my present position and status in the bank as Head of Business Planning & Financial Control, I have the power to influence the release of the funds to any foreigner that comes up as the next of kin to the account, with the correct information concerning the account, which I shall give you. All documents to enable you claim this fund will be carefully worked out and there is practically no risk involved, the transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of law, beside U. A. E is porous and anything goes. If you accept to work with me, I want you to state how you wish us to share the funds in percentage, so that both parties will be satisfied. If you are interested, contact me as soon as you receive this message so we can go over the details.
Thanking you in advance and May God blesses you. Please, treat with utmost confidentiality. I shall send you copy of the deposit certificate issued to Al Nasser when the deposit was made for your perusal.
I wait your urgent response.
Regards,
Mr.Andre Sayegh
A New Twist on an Old Scam
Got this one – as Intlxpatr – today. Hee heee heee, I grinned thinking of a big check made out to “Intxlpatr” packed in a box marked “old African cloths.”
Good Day!
I have been waiting for you since to come down here and pick your Cashiers Cheque but did not hear from you since that time. So i went to the bank to confirm if the draft is getting close to expire and the Manager of the bank told me that before the draft will get to your address that it will expire. Then I told him to help me and cash the bank draft of $1.5 million to cash payment.
However, The Bank Manager have successfully cashed the draft and packaged your Cash in a Diplomatic Cargo box and had registered it in the FEDEX EXPRESS COURIER COMPANY here in Benin Republic because i am travelling to see my boss and will not come back soon.
You have to contact FEDEX EXPRESS COURIER COMPANY to know when they will deliver your package to your address.
CONTACT FEDEX EXPRESS COURIER COMPANY WITH THE INFORMATION BELOW/
NAME: DR UGO ODILI
CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: +229-97555256
E-MAIL: ( fedex_ccltd@sify.com)
Please, Send them your contacts information to able them locate you immediately they arrived in your country with your Diplomatic BOX.
This is the information they need from you.
1. YOUR FULL NAME.
2. YOUR HOME ADDRESS.
3. YOUR CURRENT MOBILE NUMBER.
4. YOUR VERIFICATION CODE – (PX002)
Try to contact FEDEX EXPRESS COURIER COMPANY as soon as possible to enable them release your consignment to you. I gave them your delivering address but you have to reconfirm it to them again to avoid any mistake in the delivery.
I have paid for the delivering charges. Also ask them how much the insurance fees will cost you. The only money you have to send to them is their INSURANCE FEE to receive your package which will be a token. I could have paid for the insurance fees, but due to some prevailing circumstance beyond my control.
Note; I didn’t tell FEDEX EXPRESS COURIER COMPANY that it’s money inside the box, I registered it as a package of an African cloths/Family Valuables. This is to avoid delaying or any upfront problem during the delivery, So do not let them know that the package contents money inside until you have received it in your house address, this is the code which you will send to them for verifications (PX002).
You call the Director of the company with this line:+229-97555256
Do let me know as soon as you received your package. Contact me by email as i am travelling out side the country today.
Best Regards,
Mr Melvine Parker (ESQ)
My / Your New Best Friend
Back when I was studying conversational Arabic, sometimes I would slip. I was supposed to say “Ana Taliba” (I am a student) when asked what my profession was, but in my exam, I slipped and said “Ana Taliban” which sent my teachers into gales of laughter. I was so embarrassed.
So Abdul Kareem Talib caught my attention this morning, by his name, but, sadly, I cannot take advantage of his kind offer. He doesn’t even have the courtesy to call me by name! And he includes his phone number, so I encourage any of you with too much time to kill to give him a call and chat him up. His e-mail is also there; for some reason he doesn’t mention he is writing out of Hong Kong.
Dearest
Compliment of the day ,I am Abdul Kareem Talib the son of Lt Colonel Deng Aluk Naeem Talib Of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)led by Late Lieutenant Colonel John Garang Hinga can read moreon: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/spla.htm about the war and problems ,having two distinct major cultures–Arab and Black African–with hundreds of ethnic and tribal divisions and language groups, which makes effective collaboration among them a major problem that led to several wars that is still going on now.
I am contacting you for the investment of the sum of US$7,300,000.00 [Seven Million and Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars] which was inherited by me ,before the unpleasant situation in my country that is going on now, have made up my mind to invest under your directives and financial control.
Please, I need your urgent reply, here is the telephone number you can reach me+66-8-45-666910 and reply by my e-mail.
Awaiting for your respond.
Best Regards.
Abdul Kareem Talib
abdulkareem.talib@yahoo.com.hk
Barnes and Noble Reward
I’ve been so good. I haven’t spent much money at all, I have kept my shopping under control, even though there are things I see in the stores that make my blood run faster and give me the urge to pull out my credit card.
So I rewarded myself. I knew Philipa Gregory had a new book out called The Other Queen and so I allowed myself a trip to Barnes and Noble. I only came out with four books, and one is for someone else! Woooo HOOOOO on me!
A long time ago, I read a book by Katherine Neville called The Eight. It’s kind of like the Da Vinci Code would be if it were written by someone who kept track of his plot thread, researched his topic a little better and had something important to say about how international finance operations are run. I’ve read it more than once, I like it so much, so I am eager to see how this one works out. I like her characters, I like how they develop insight and put the puzzle pieces together.
Philippa Gregory writes total page-turners, and I always hated English history, but she makes it come alive, makes all those historical characters into flesh-and-blood human beings, so I feel like I know them. (Some of them I want to throttle. That’s a good author!)
LeCarre – he is amazing. He is brilliant. Have you read The Constant Gardener? This man has something to say, and what he says is deep, and troubling.
The Will Shortz New York Times Puzzle book is for someone a lot smarter than I am.
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