Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Princess Ouadraogo Writes To Intlxpatr for Financial Help, Risk Free

For the most part, I have stopped even sharing these, but this one is too funny. My message to those of you who have helpful hearts – any time a person who doesn’t know you, wants to share a fortune with you, and who requests:

“also i will like you to send all your bank informations where the fund will be transfered and your internatinal passport or driving licence and also send your photograph”

DON’T DO IT! IT’S A SCAM!

Hello and Greetings to you…

I am writing this letter in confidence believing that if it is the wish of God for you to help me and my family, God almighty will bless and reward you abundantly and you would never re-great this.

I am a female student from Burkina Faso University Teachings Hospitals (BUTH) Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. I am 28 yrs old. I’d like any person who can be caring, loving and home oriented. I will love to have a long-term relationship with you and to know more about you.

I would like to build up a solid foundation with you in time coming if you
can be able to help me in this transaction. Well, my father died earlier eight
months ago and left I and my junior brother behind. He was a king, which our
town citizens titled him over sixteen years before his death. I was a princess
to him and I am the only person who can take care of his wealth now because my
junior brother is still young and my mother is not literate enough to know all
my father’s wealth.

He left the sum of $10.000,000.00US dollars. (TEN MILLION ) in a security
company. This money was annually paid into my late fathers account from Gold
Development Company (spdc) and chevron Oil Company operating in our locality
for the compensation of youth and community development in our jurisdiction. I don’t
know how and what I will do to invest this money somewhere in abroad, so that my
father’s kindred will not take over what belongs to my father and our family, which
they were planning to do without my present because I am a female as stated by our
culture in the town.

Now, If you can handle this project sincerely and also willing to assist me
in lifting this fund, kindly reach me immediately. Reasons. Please, note that
this matter is 100% risk free and i hope to commence this transaction as quick
as possible, and also i will like you to send all your bank informations where
the fund will be transfered and your internatinal passport or driving licence
and also send your photograph for me to built more trust on you. As soon i
recieve all these informations together with your photo then i will foward my
photograph and datas informations to you immediately.
yours sincerely,

Yours sincerely,
PRINCESS JANNIFA OUADRAOGO.

July 18, 2009 Posted by | Africa, Crime, Financial Issues, Fund Raising, Lies | , | 2 Comments

Eliot Pattison: Prayer of the Dragon

As you can see, I am into some serious reading. Not heavy reading, but books like carrots – I am the donkey, plodding way, packing my boxes, sorting, weeding, throwing out – it is time consuming, and it is pitiless work. I need the promise of a great excape at the end of my day to keep me going.

Prayer of the Dragon was a GREAT carrot. I like all of Eliot Pattison’s Inspector Shan Tao Yun series, set in Tibet. In his very first book, we meet Shan as he is still in the Tibetan prison camp, imprisoned for exposing corrupt officials in China. He learns a huge appreciation, in prison, for a different way of thinking, and his treasured companions become the Bhuddist monks with whom he is imprisoned. If you want to read this series, you can read any book as a stand-alone, but it helps to read them in order, starting with The Skull Mantra. The Chinese eventually free Shan; they find him useful – as long as he is not exposing corruption in the Chinese bureaucracy. He is free on parole; he lives with the sword over his head. At any time, if he crosses an important person, he can be sent back to the merciless gulag.

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In The Prayer of the Dragon Inspector Shan finds himself involved in a series of murders on the mountainside, in a small mining village. The village headman has a great scam going, skimming the miners take, charging passage on the mountain trails, and keeping his village hidden from the Chinese bureaucracy.

Here is what I learned that surprised me. There appears to be a connection between the American Navaho nation and the native Tibetans. They share some body-prototype similarities, and they share many symbols and earliest legends. An first-nation Navaho and his niece are exploring similarities, and commonalities, when two members of their party are murdered while sleeping. The Navaho is charged, by the headman, with the death, because he survived although he is covered in blood. It doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t have to. The headman needs a scapegoat, and he chooses the Navaho.

It is a fascinating read. Here is an excerpt from a conversation Inspector Shan has with the local director of Public Security:

“I know your type so well, Shan, ” Bing said. “God, how well I know you. I was responsible for ten barracks of prisoners, like you – pathetic, morose creatures with no vision, only bitterness about the past. They would sit in reeducation classes and copy out slogans from the little red books like robots, praising the Chairman, reading aloud apologies printed in other books, using someone else’s words. Never a one among them with the balls to stand up and say Fuck the Chairman, screw the Party secretaries, and screw the limo drivers who brought them to town.”

“I tried at first,” Shan replied in a weary voice. “They sent me to a special hospital for the criminally insane.”

“Unfortunately,” Bing said soberly, “you are the sanest person I have ever met.”

AdventureMan knows I love these books. “Do you want to go to Tibet?” he asks me, and I say “No, if I went I would want to hang around with Inspector Shan and his gang of monks, not do tourist things allowed by the Chinese.” These are great reads, Pattison is doing a great job of bringing the plight of the Tibetans to the conscience of his readers, depicting, in graphic, horrorific detail how the Chinese are systematically crushing and obliterating every shred of Tibetan culture, while claiming they are not. I think one of the very worst things they have done is taking over the Tibetan monastery system and corrupting it into something it was never meant to be, a cruel, ugly deformity.

I can hardly wait for the next book to come out. I am on the waiting list for The Lord of Death, yet another book about Chinese bureaucratic corruption and the adventures Inspector Shan has in Tibet confronting and evading all its manifestations.

May 15, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Books, Bureaucracy, Character, Crime, Cultural, Detective/Mystery, ExPat Life, Fiction, Interconnected, Law and Order, Leadership, Lies, Living Conditions, Political Issues, Social Issues | | 3 Comments

Blog Comment Scam

I’ve noticed a random few times recently that frequent commenters have double comments. When one showed up today with the same added line of a previous one, different commenter, something like “forgot to say – great post!” it made me look a little closer. Like someone who comments says they like your post, what’s to check, right? But when it shows up, exact same working, it’s time to check.

First time, Daggero, second time, exact same comment but “great post” added – only it’s some cell phone salesman, if you follow the blue hypertext on the name. Today it was 1001 Nights, but the copy-cat was selling acai berries.

If you get these duplicate comments showing up, no matter how flattering, check them out. It’s likely some scammer, trying to get you to their site to sell you something.

April 27, 2009 Posted by | Blogging, Lies, Marketing | , | 6 Comments

Horseback Riding Camp

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“Whatever you might have heard from your kids” the camp director started, and AdventureMan and I looked at one another with concern, “it is just rumors. The counselors did not have a big drunken party, and we have the situation under control.”

We hadn’t heard anything. We were there to pick up our son and his best friend from Horseback Riding Camp. They were eight years old and this was their first time away. We had dropped them off a mere week before, at the clean clean little chalet camp in Southern Germany, where they would learn to ride and take care of their horses.

“So, son,” AdventureMan starts with that casual voice grown-ups use with their children when about to launch an interrogation, “tell us about the camp!”

We were driving back, and wanted to get a campers-eye-view of the week. Our eight-year-old son was exhausted and not very talkative; it was only during the following week that most of the details came out.

He hated horseback riding. He hated taking care of horses. The instruction they got was minimal to non-existent. Most days they missed their horse riding lessons because the counselor overslept. The kids got up and got their own breakfast – cereal – until the milk ran out, and then they ate it dry.

Horrors. We had done everything right. We had checked the camp references, had visited and inspected the camp before deciding to send him there, had met the counselors – horrors! In fact, our son enjoyed the week, but mostly because they had a TV, and no supervision. They spent most of the week watching TV.

In the following years, he went to other camps – adventure training camp, karate camps, Space Camp (that was the best organized) and then became a camp counselor himself, teaching karate. Our most graphic memories as parents, however, are of picking him up at horseback riding camp and learning how loosely organized and supervised it was, compared to what the brochure said and the inspection visit promised.

April 25, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Cultural, Customer Service, Education, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Germany, Leadership, Lies, Living Conditions | 2 Comments

Diwaniyya Where No Candidates are Welcome

LOL, he is making his point in such a gentle and delightful way!

Staff Writer
From today’s Al Watan

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KUWAIT: Kuwait”s newspapers have been covering the opinions of various former MPs and candidates about the elections and their programs, but the real news and discussions are available in one Kuwait”s oldest traditions, the diwaniya.

Diwaniyas are frequently targeted by political hopefuls to discuss various issues of concern. However, not Bu Hamad”s diwaniya, a retired Kuwaiti customs official who worked at the Salmi and Abdali ports.

Bu Hamid says that that politics is no longer a concern of his after so much disappointment, so it is little wonder that in his own diwaniya in Bayan, Bu Hamid has a large poster clearly saying” “Welcome honorable guests and apologies for not receiving any candidates. May God bless Kuwait. Bu Hamid”s Diwaniya.”

One cannot ignore the sign and equally not be intrigued by its curious message.

Asked about the reasons behind his ban of candidates, Bu Hamid said that in the previous election he discussed an issue of traffic safety near his home, which many candidates promised to sort out.

“I had previously asked candidates who became MPs later to set up speed bumps and traffic lights in front of my diwaniya which overlooks the highway in Bayan, which is notorious for traffic accidents.

“None had carried out their promise after they became MPs. They were only seeking their own interests and the interests of their close circle,” he explained.

“They are good for nothing. They are good for nothing,” he declared.

Bu Hamid expressed his amazement at the MPs whom he has voted for since the 1960’s that continually failed to meet the public’s demands. He is now “fed up with them and their tactics,” adding that when candidates need the voters they are available, “but the minute they become MPs they hardly recognize voters or even bother to meet them, as if they don”t remember them.”

He therefore decided to keep away from candidates and their campaigns.

“I will not cast my vote. I will never vote for any candidate. I have been casting my vote since 1960 and I have seen nothing from them.”

Last updated on Monday 6/4/2009

April 6, 2009 Posted by | Humor, Kuwait, Lies, Living Conditions, Political Issues, Relationships, Social Issues | Leave a comment

MP Al-Muhaibi Condemns Male Teaching Female Students

From today’s <a href=”“>Al Watan

MP Jaber AlـMuhailbi condemns school incident
Staff Writer

KUWAIT: MP Jaber AlـMuhailbi has denounced the fact that grade 12 girls at AlـSabahiya High School are being taught by a foreign, male teacher. According to him, “the incident reveals a great amount of recklessness on the part of the Ministry of Education,” which he says disregards the traditions and values of Kuwaiti society.

AlـMuhailbi expressed his apprehension that there might be forces planning to replace the conservative educational system in the country with a system that openly encouraged ”mixed” schools for boys and girls.

He held Minister of Education Nouriya AlـSubaih solely responsible for the incident, said that it proved she was incompetent to shoulder her responsibilities as a minister.

He finally announced that he would put forward a number of questions concerning the aforementioned incident to the minister, and would inquire as to whether this was an occurrence seen in other schools, and asserted that there were plenty of female teachers capable of teaching female students in Kuwait.
He expressed his displeasure about the presence of a male teacher in a girls” school, calling it “unacceptable.”

Last updated on Tuesday 17/3/2009

12th grade? Isn’t that like the year girls graduate and go on to university classes (God willing/insh’allah) where they will be taught, as likely as not, by male professors?

Do these girls go to restaurants with male waiters?

Do they shop in stores with male cashiers? Male customer service agents? Male managers?

Learning self-control is like any other skill; it requires practice. You practice by confronting the realities of the situation. Society – in and out of Kuwait – is mixed. We sit next to each other on airplanes, we are seated next to one another in restaurants, our paths cross, daily. Kuwaiti girls are well brought up and can control themselves; they also have skills at turning aside the unwanted attention of the rare teacher who might overstep.

Mr. MP, we must be suspicious of those who see sexual issues lurking in every corner; what is in the heart of a man who sees sex everywhere? Give these girls a little credit. They are after an education, not some male teacher.

March 17, 2009 Posted by | Character, Cultural, Education, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Kuwait, Lies, Living Conditions, Mating Behavior, Women's Issues | 13 Comments

Problems with PayPal

Intlxpatr didn’t even know I had a PayPal account! Whoda thunk?

Dear Member,

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You must renew it immediately or your account will be closed.
If you intend to use this service in the future, you must take action at once!

To continue click here, login to your PayPal account and follow the steps.

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Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a respons. For assistence, log in to your PayPal
account and click the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

PayPal Email ID PP3812

When I clicked the link, knowing this is a pfishing link, but wanting to print the website here, so anyone with a lot of free time can go mess with them, I got this warning:

pfishwarn

Don’t you totally love it? I do!

March 16, 2009 Posted by | Crime, Education, ExPat Life, Financial Issues, Interconnected, Lies | , , , | Leave a comment

Masks: Quote from AWAD

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)

Interesting thought, especially to those of us who are hiding behind a mask of anonymity. What do you think? Are we more free to tell the truth when we blog anonymously? Do we tell the truth? Or does anonymity encourage us to stretch the truth? embellish the truth? strain the truth?

Hmmmmmmm. What do you think?

March 3, 2009 Posted by | Blogging, Character, Communication, Community, ExPat Life, Free Speech, Humor, Kuwait, Lies | 6 Comments

The Great Kuwait National Holiday Challenge

We have a wonderful week coming up – Liberation Day and Kuwait Independence Day, back to back. If you haven’t already made the trip downtown to see all the fabulous lights, go for it. There is also a house along Highway 30 (Fehaheel Highway) with a HOUSE SIZED flag on it, and many many houses with huge flags – it is a stirring sight, seeing so much love of country demonstrated.

Your challenge for this week: Go forth and show us what you see. Show us the faces, show us the lights, show us the celebrations. Show us the “arda” (I might not have spelled it right, the war dance done with swords), show us the children, show us the hooligans. Show us the weary cops. Show us the multiple facets of Liberation Day/Kuwait Independence Day.

The prize, as usual, is recognition by your fellow photographers, and photography connoisseurs. We vote, but the voting can be heavily influenced by mass manipulation and politicking, so the photos we share, we share for the love of the challenge. If you haven’t played before, it is easy.

You send your photo or photo to me, Intlxpatr@aol.com, 550 pixels maximum in any direction, and I will print them with your name. At the end of the challenge – I am arbitrarily saying March 7th – I will post a poll and people can vote, but the major part of the fun is taking the photo and having your photos posted so your fans can make encouraging comments.

Show us what you see this week. 🙂

February 21, 2009 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Community, Education, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Kenya, Kuwait, Lies, Living Conditions, Poetry/Literature | | 8 Comments

FaceBook and 25 Things About Me List

The New York Times has published an article called 25 Random Tips for the Busy Facebook User by Amy Harmon

They talk about FaceBook, and FaceBook users, and give the following guidance for preparing the “perfect” list of 25 Things about me:

How to exalt your achievements while appearing humble? How to convey your essential originality while coming off as reassuringly familiar? How to illuminate without oversharing?

A Times analysis of 2.5 million lists (okay, maybe more like six or seven) yielded the following formula for the perfect list, which we offer in the interest of – well, which we offer, anyway, in case someone wants to read it.

1. Say that you hate things like this, and are doing it only to get the (oh, so many) friends clamoring for your list off your back.

2. Describe “embarrassing” high school incident that makes you look cool.

3. Confess to crush on a) third-grade teacher b) obscure indie actor or actress c) your significant other, especially if he or she is on Facebook.

4. Identify real, but minor, flaw.

5. Identify major flaw by suggesting how it may also be major virtue.

6. Cite mean nickname you were given as a child.

7. Follow with offhand mention of receipt of high professional honor or athletic or artistic achievement.

8. Describe meeting a celebrity and how it a) disillusioned or b) thrilled you or c) if it’s a really good celebrity just the name will do.

9. Mention small adversity, like long commute or annoying neighbor, and the unexpected, preferably funny, way you overcome it.

10. Cite an actual random thing that comes to mind while writing this list.

11. “Admit” that you always identified with weird ancillary character on popular TV show in 7th grade, as if you didn’t know that everyone in retrospect agrees that was the best character.

12. Expose something genuine and poignant about yourself, such as untimely death of close relative or rare genetic condition.

13. Express heartfelt thanks to friends or family for helping you through #12, or just for being there, or whatever.

14. Conclude sentimental portion of list by citing the scene in movie X that always makes you cry. Could also be a lyric, or a memory, so long as it involves crying.

15. Something about drugs.

16. Tell a story of how you stood up to authority. Dwelling on descriptive details can help it not seem like you are making yourself out to be a hero even though you are.

17. Recount a dramatic moment, like having your heart broken or getting arrested, but withhold details, forcing readers to ask for them in your “comments’’ section. In case you didn’t know, comments equate to status on Facebook even more than number of friends.

18. Make one up.

19. Say “one of these is completely made up.”

20. If you have kids, a) cite weird names you wanted for them and how your more rational, if less creative, spouse rescued them from a lifetime of torture,

21. and/or b) relate story that appears to expose your inept parenting while in fact highlighting their precocious brilliance. If you don’t have kids, relate a cute anecdote from your early life to show everyone that you’re still a kid at heart.

22. If you have a pet, you have one item only through which to convey its superlative nature. If you don’t have a pet, talk about how much you yearn for an obscure breed of cat/dog/reptile or, alternatively, how much you hate animals and the people who love them.

23. Something about parents.

24. Name skill that you are proud of by recounting unexpected way you acquired it.

25. Close with the unusual: a) recount a genuinely traumatic event you witnessed or b) name an exotic location that is your favorite place on earth or c) cite a dubious world record that you performed.

26. This is important: Do not add “bonus” items.

February 8, 2009 Posted by | Blogging, Communication, Humor, Lies, Marketing, Mating Behavior, Relationships | , | 4 Comments