The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Archives for January 2009

Gaza Continued

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There is so much that could and should be said about the situation in Gaza and the hypocrisy exhibited by so many. We could go round and round in circles about the nonsense. We could ask why those who protest the war are not protesting the brutal treament of Palestinians by Palestinians, but what fun would that be.

Instead we’ll share a collection of links that you might find to be of interest:

CNN: Palestinians: 1,300 killed, 22,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza (What this story doesn’t say is how many of those who were killed were terrorists and how many buildings housed weapons or were used as launching pads.

It also doesn’t talk about how Egypt turned a blind eye while allowing tons of weapons to be smuggled into Gaza.

WSJ: Israel Scored a Tactical Victory

Telegraph: Analysis: Hamas did not win conflict but did Israel? (Good questions here. It remains to be seen.)

JPost:‘Hamas torturing Fatah members in Gaza’ (You just had your ass kicked up and down the street, so what do you do. Oh, I know, let’s go terrorize other Palestinians and see if it makes us feel better.)

JPost: Iran renews efforts to supply weaponry to bruised Hamas (Will the world just watch as the leader fomenters of terror continue to try and wreak havoc. My guess is the answer will be yes.)

And now for some blog posts to review:

Mere Rhetoric: Opps! Al Arabiya Accidentally Airs Description Of Hamas Firing Rockets From Al Arabiya’s Own Studio

Yourish: More threats, lies from Saudis

Seraphic Secret: Chaos

Solomonia: Hamas children’s propaganda film reinforces illusion of war victory

My Parents and My Blog

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This past weekend my father was admitted to the hospital again. He has a couple of health issues that are creating some other issues. The docs decided that the most effective way of treating these would be to run a battery of diagnostic tests upon him so that they could determine what the appropriate next steps would be.

While hanging out around the big guy’s bed we engaged in a bit of small talk about this and that when all of a sudden my mother asks me why she can’t read my blog. I looked at her and said that there was no reason why she can’t read it other than the fact that I am anonymous.

She smiled and asked me how her almost forty year-old son could have so many secrets. I told her that it was as a result of my joint CIA and Mossad training and that my handlers would never allow me to reveal my secrets. Thus, it was for my own safety that I was preventing her from reading my words.

She frowned and told me that it was clear that I still have a very active imagination. I suggested that if she hung around long enough I could develop Alzheimers and my imagination would really amaze her. She frowned again and made a comment about ridiculous comments from me.

I smiled and asked her if she preferred that I get Alzheimers or be hit by a bus. She smiled and said that in my old age I was losing my ability to change the subject. I smiled and said that I wasn’t losing it in the slightest.

But I did say that at the moment I prefer my anonymity. In turn she said that she knew that my name was Jack something or other. I laughed and said that she was close but that I still wasn’t going to give her the URL.

On a serious note it is not that I can’t talk to my parents about what I write. I can share anything and everything with them. But there is some material within these walls that I prefer not to discuss with them, at least not now.

Truth is that sometimes I miss having complete anonymity.

We Leave The Toilet Seat Up

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Before we begin the exciting topic of what position to leave the toilet seat in let me share some of what I have been listening to this evening.

God Only Knows– The Beach Boys
My World Is Empty Without You– The Supremes ( I prefer the original- no time to search)
Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major– Bach (Played by Yo Yo Ma)
Gimme Three Steps– Lynrd Skynrd
No Leaf Clover– Metallica

Ok, let’s move on to the incredibly interesting topic of what position to leave the toilet seat in, up or down. I have to give credit for the topic to the illustrious Therapydoc. If you tool on over there you can see that she and I engaged in a bit of back and forth about whether the toilet seat should be left up or down.

Having grown up with more sisters than you can shake a stick at (I tried that once. Bad idea, my father had none of it and, well let’s say that I only did it once.) I learned that women have this funny idea that the toilet seat must always be left down so that if they decide to use the powder room it will be ready for them.

I take a different position and I hope that my fellow men will join me in overthrowing the tyranny of the toilet seat. It is time to force these dames to do as we do and learn how to look at the seat before sitting down upon it. Somewhere my mother is beginning to grimace and squirm, she has this weird knack for sensing when I am going to cause trouble.

And yes I am well aware that suggesting that we don’t have to put the seat down is a recipe for a fight. But ladies I ask you if you would consider crossing the street without looking both ways. You would not. You don’t drive with your eyes closed and you usually take a moment to check yourself out in the mirror before leaving the house.

So I ask why you who are capable of so many things claim to be incapable of determining what position the toilet seat is in. It makes no sense.

We can take this from a different position too. Every now and then we men have to respond to a need that requires sitting upon the toilet. We haven’t any problem checking the position. I have no more interest in falling into the toilet than you do.

Ok, that is about as much energy as I am willing to lend to this topic.

In the Works

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Busy working on an original song written in honor of the Shmata Queen. Question is will I actually sing it for her and if so, will it be done in a falsetto or baritone.

Decisions, decisions.

Nigerian Scam Artist

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I used to really wonder if anyone ever fell for any of the Nigerian email scams. On more than one occasion I have had moments of fun by playing with them. Long time readers may recall reading about some of them. Perhaps when the Shmata Queen returns from her vacation I’ll ask her to share her favorite one.

In the interim if you haven’t gotten a chance to review any of my antics here are a few links to review:

I am Rich Again- How Much Luck Do I Deserve
More About My Good Fortune
Give Me Time and I will Be Rich, Rich, Rich

That leads into a story I just read about a boy who was taken in by these scammers. Let’s look at two excerpts:

“A Leamington man has fallen prey to international scam artists who strung him along for more than a year with the promise of millions in cash, but ultimately bilked him and his family of $150,000.

John Rempel said he quit his truck driving job, lost friends, borrowed money and rossed the globe in pursuit of a non-existent inheritance, after he was contacted by e-mail in what is known as a Nigerian 419 scam.

Rempel said he borrowed $55,000 from an uncle in Mexico and his parents gave him $60,000 on credit to cover fees for transferring $12.8 million into his name.”

and

“The man then told him he had to pay $2,500 to transfer the money into his name. Then there were several more documents. Some cost $5,000.

He was told to open an account at a bank in London. That required a $5,000 minimum deposit. The crooks later sent him an e-mail with a link to what he was told were details of his new account. Some money had been transferred there for “safe
keeping.”

“Everything was good,” said Rempel.

Then he got an e-mail from a government department — he’s not sure which country — saying he owed $250,000 on tax on his inheritance. Rempel spoke to his contact, who told him they negotiated the fee down to $25,000.

Rempel went to Mexico where his uncle owns a farm. His uncle gave him $10,000 cash and money for a plane ticket. He was going to London to make sure it was legitimate.

“I had $10,000 in cash in my pocket and my uncle sent another $25,000 when I was over there.”

In London, Rempel met some people and handed over the $10,000.

They met Rempel the next day with a suitcase. They said it had $10.6 million in shrink-wrapped U.S. bills. Rempel wanted more proof. His new friends pulled out one bill and “cleansed” it with a liquid “formula,” which washed off some kind of stamp.
Rempel was told that process made the money “legal tender.”

I sort of feel bad for the guy, but I have to wonder about the rest of the family as well. Sounds like an entire family fell hook, line and sinker for this. Sometimes you have to use common sense.