Life in OUR America, Volume 2, The Livyjr Files Options

[jeffmoskin]

Livyjr., Jeff, A.B., etc.

I have been worried for many hours now about you guys with respect to the changes made on here.

Changes? What changes?

Changes?

Yeah? Like Livyjr said, what changes?

Date: September 27, 1994

Certified Transcript of Examination of county executive "little Johnny Biggg", by order of Federal District Court for Northern District of New York

LIVYJR: Now, on October 13, 1988, do you recall being interviewed by Chris Kapostacy for the Capital Region Report that was subsequently broadcast over Channel 13 television?

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: I remember being interviewed by a number of people.

I have a vague recollection of being interviewed by Chris Kapostacy.

LIVYJR: And do you remember referring to Livyjr in your conversation with Ms. Kapostacy as being a "poor man"?

LITTLE JOHHNY BIGGG: Poor man?

I don't remember that at all!

LIVYJR: Do you remember telling Ms. Kapostacy that there was a number of developers who were developing a large pool of money to use to run against you?

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: I don't remember saying that to Ms. Kapostacy, no.

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: NOTE MY OBJECTION to the record to this procedure.

I don't know what we're going to do here!

Presumably, we're listening to some type of tape that's not been identified.

SO!

Just note my objection for the record.

LIVYJR: This is an excerpt from a tape recording of a Channel 13 news broadcast, and we'll provide you with a copy of the tape.

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: I just placed my objection on the record as there being no proper foundation for this.

Nor is it proper procedure at a deposition.

But go right ahead and do it!

(Whereupon a portion of the tape was played)

LIVYJR: Do you recognize the voice?

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: I recognize the voice, yes!

Chris!

I don't know who the other guy was, though.

Yes!

I do!

Yes!

LIVYJR: And that is you?

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: Object to the form.

You can answer.

LITTLE JOHHNY BIGGG: It was tough to hear, but it sounds like my melodic voice, yes!

LIVYJR: Do you remember telling Chris Kapostacy about developers who were getting a fund of money up to run against you?

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: Object to the form of the question.

I think it's already been asked and answered.

If your question is, does the tape recording refresh his recollection, I'll pemit him to answer that.

LIVYJR: Okay.

Having heard this excerpt of the tape recording, does that refresh your recollection with respect to whether you told Ms. Kapostacy that there were developers who were saving a large amount of money to run against you?

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: Object to the form.

You can answer.

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: I remember -- well, that obviously refreshes my memory!

I didn't know I said it to her or not.

There was some general information like that from the developer's side.

And then there was the other side, which indicated they weren't too pleased with me, either.

LIVYJR: And what was the source of YOUR INFORMATION that the developers had a fund of $80,000 to run against you, or run somebody against you?

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: Note my objection to the form!

I don't know where that amount came from!

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: I don't know that, either!

FANCY LAWYER FOR BIGGG: But you can answer the question, GENERALLY!

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: To the best of my recollection, I think it came out of some of the public hearings and legislative hearings and just general rumor floating around.

I don't put much stock in that stuff!

LIVYJR: Did the fact that the developers were allegedly saving up a fund to run somebody against you have anything to do with YOUR DECISION to place Livyjr on leave of absence?

LITTLE JOHNNY BIGGG: OH, ABSOLUTELY NOT!

end quotes

Subsequently, the FANCY LAWYER went to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, and requested them to seal this record, ALL OF IT, which they did, which means that none of it can be used in future Federal court proceedings.

And so it goes!

They can't seal that!!! That's great stuff. We could EASILY get 13 episodes out of that story. Maybe get into International syndication.
Tee Shirts.
Branded Merchandise.
Breakfast Cereal.

All kidding aside, Livyjr, it's a rotten shame. I;m having my own personal battles with the US Government (theft of my property) which someday I may feel like posting. Makes you feel like all those wonderful stories about OUR America we learned in Elementary School were... well, FICTION.

[Livyjr]

Chris Kapostasy-Jansing to address NYSUT conference

April 7, 2003

ALBANY, N.Y. APRIL 8, 2003 - Chris Kapostasy-Jansing, formerly of NewsChannel 13 WNYT in Albany and currently an NBC News correspondent and anchor for MSNBC, will be the keynote speaker at a day-long conference designed to give teachers an opportunity to network about current professional issues.

Her address is titled "Education in the Real World - Journalism in the Classroom."

Education in the real world, indeed, and boy, was it ever - for me!

And that Chris Kapostacy was quite a teacher, that is for sure!

"There's the way things are supposed to be, Livyjr, and well, there's the way things are; and you are going to be gone!"

And Chris?

Well, she got an Emmy, and an award from the New York State Broadcaster's Association, to boot!

And that's the way it goes!

And I don't suppose, at this point in time, that anyone, outside of me, of course, would be surprised that people in the "CORPORATE MEDIA", like Chris Kapostacy, will actively work to bury evidence that makes influential and powerful politicians look bad, and then actively fabricate a complete and total falsehood so as to be able to actively use the "BULLY PULPIT" of the 6 o'clock news to smear and slander and discredit the one coming forth with the evidence, ALL AS A FAVOR to the influential and powerful politicians!

BECAUSE ....

Then they are "owed" a favor, for a favor done, and in this CUT-THROAT CORPORATE WORLD in which we all live, ONE NEVER KNOWS WHEN ONE IS GOING TO NEED A FAVOR BACK, now do we?

Or do we?

What about health officers, for instance?

Or licensed professional engineers with an on-going and continuous duty to act to protect and safeguard life, health and property?

What about them?

SHOULD THEY DO FAVORS FOR THE POWERFUL AND INFLUENTIAL POLITICIANS, well, you know because .....

And because of what?

Because then the politician will let the engineer or health officer keep his job?

WELL?

That's fair, isn't it?

Shouldn't one hand rub the other?

Shouldn't the engineer scratch the politician's back, since the politician is letting the engineer keep his job, for the moment, anyway?

And isn't that really the "AMERICAN WAY", to do what a powerful politician wants BECAUSE ....

Because if you don't the powerful politician can hurt you?

Destroy you?

SO!

Better do what they want, right?

Yeah, okay!

That's right!

IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, ANYWAY!

And if you don't, don't be surprised if YOU turn on the six o'clock news, ONLY TO FIND OUT that they are talking about you, and how you just went crazy, and how you were dangerous, and likely armed, to boot, and well ....

And if you don't believe it can happen, well, just get ahold of Chris Kapostacy and ask her about exactly what happened on the night of October 11, 1988, and ask her where all the evidence of public corruption in Rensselaer County in the corrupt Empire State of New York disappeared to.

It will be quite an interesting story, is what I think.

Right, Chris?

And, oh, yeah, while you are at it, be sure and ask her why she did not dig deeper into the story about the COUNTY EXECUTIVE, and the land developers and the "EIGHTY THOUSAND BIG ONES" ($80,0000), and just where that money ended up going, which, of course, she knew, since she was doing the hatchet job that the $80,000 bought and paid for!

FAVORS!

GOT TO DO THEM TO HAVE THEM OWED, and hey, you just never know, now do you?

Right, Chris?

[Livyjr]

Chris Kapostasy-Jansing to address NYSUT conference

April 7, 2003

ALBANY, N.Y. APRIL 8, 2003 - Chris Kapostasy-Jansing, formerly of NewsChannel 13 WNYT in Albany and currently an NBC News correspondent and anchor for MSNBC, will be the keynote speaker at a day-long conference designed to give teachers an opportunity to network about current professional issues.

Her address is titled "Education in the Real World - Journalism in the Classroom."

While acting as evening anchor for NewsChannel 13 WNYT in Albany, New York, Jansing was honored with numerous awards for excellence in journalism, including two Emmys - one for her coverage of the 1996 Olympic bombing in Atlanta, and a "Best Documentary" award from the New York State Broadcasters Association.

A native of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, Jansing graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

What is the NYSBA?

The New York State Broadcasters Association, Inc.

The only statewide organization whose primary purpose and function is to promote and protect the interests and rights of the broadcast industry in New York State.

The NYSBA is a not-for-profit trade association consisting of radio and television stations representing all regions of the great state of New York.

The association also enjoys the support of over 100 Associate and Educational members.

Association policy is established at regular meetings of its Officers and Board of Directors and is maintained by a dedicated staff headquartered in Albany.

[jeffmoskin]

What is the NYSBA?

The New York State Broadcasters Association, Inc.

The only statewide organization whose primary purpose and function is to promote and protect the interests and rights of the broadcast industry in New York State.

The NYSBA is a not-for-profit trade association consisting of radio and television stations representing all regions of the great state of New York.

The association also enjoys the support of over 100 Associate and Educational members.

Association policy is established at regular meetings of its Officers and Board of Directors and is maintained by a dedicated staff headquartered in Albany.

And how many of those Broadcasting Stations are owned by either ClearChannel or Infinity/Viacom?

90%?

95%?

100%?

Does it matter?

YES IT DOES.

Broadcasters, under the Communications Act of 1934, were REQUIRED to serve the "Public Interest" in order to be licensed to broadcast.

Hey, the airwaves are a "Public Resource," to be "LEASED" not OWNED, by an operator for a 3 year term.

Perfectly reasonable.

Not to Michael Powell, Colin Powell's dimwitted sin, A.K.A. "Semi-Colon"

He caved to the "Financial Interests" over the "Public Interest."

And why are we not surprised?

And why are we not OUTRAGED.

For this is truly OUTRAGEOUS!

[Livyjr]

And how many of those Broadcasting Stations are owned by either ClearChannel or Infinity/Viacom?

90%?

95%?

100%?

Does it matter?

YES!

IT DOES!

You know, jeffmoskin, yesterday, for a while, I thought about just packing it in here, and saying to hell with all of this!

Yes, that's right.

Just turn around and walk away from here, and say to hell with it!

For what difference does any of this really make?

Nothing is "REAL" anymore, here in what is sure somebody else's America, BECAUSE IT IS NO LONGER MINE!

Everything is get all you can, grab all you can, push as hard as you can, etc.

Gas Chamber Syndrome!

Yup!

Gas chamber syndrome.

It's a psychological term or concept that came out of observations of "group behavior" in the Nazi gas chambers during WWII - the strongest and fittest were always found at the top of the heap in the gas chambers when they would open them up to clear them out for the next batch of "incoming"!

The strongest were always found to have climbed up on the bodies of the weaker ones who were the first to fall, looking for air.

They would be dead, of course, which was why the Nazis had the gas chambers, to rid their "PERFECT" Aryan society of "undesirable elements", but they would be dead at the top of the heap, instead of at the bottom.

Since that time, and maybe especially today, that type of behavior has been observed in "groups" over and over and over again, and perhaps, jeffmoskin, what you have posted above here hits on that, to a degree, anyway, especially the part about NO OUTRAGE over the fact that we are not getting "news" here in OUR America, anymore, NOT FROM CORPORATE MEDIA, anyway; what we are getting instead is lies, half-truths, outright fabrications, and this Kapostacy/Channel 13 business above is a case in point.

COMPETITION!

RATINGS!

CONTROL!

And that last really should be first, which is the conversation that Kapostacy and I had about 9:00 P.M. on the evening of October 11, 1988:

HE (or she) WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATION, CONTROLS!

HE (or she) WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATIONS ABSOLUTLY, CONTROLS ABSOLUTELY!

Those exact words!

And Kapostacy, and Channel 13, of course, WHICH IS A BUSINESS OUT TO MAKE MONEY, were for the absolute control part of the equation, which meant doing what the politicians wanted, rather than what the truth required.

In fact, the thought of the "truth" anymore, here in this America of nothing but lies and deceits, is almost a complete and total joke, since nobody seems to want it at all.

IT IS IN THE WAY; SPOON UP SOME PABLUM INSTEAD!

It'll keep people distracted, and well, people just want to be distracted.

People want to be told that they actually can be irresponsible, each and every day of their lives, SOMEBODY ELSE IS IN CONTROL, AFTER ALL, and still, despite being completely and totally irresponsible, why, they can have as long and happy a life as the next guy, thanks in large part to the pharmaceutical industry, of course, and well, modern science, which has given us the 300,000 square foot, wide-screen, rear-projection television with 35,000 channels of nothingness, and 350,000,000 watts of sound power, so that you can never even get off your couch, and yet, be there right in the middle of Iraq, watching as a 20 mm chain gun makes swiss cheese out of a hapless Iraqi woman and child who were "careless", and so got within sight of an American Army vehicle that happened to stop right in front of her house, stripping her of her liberty, and of course, her life, when she merely tried to live her life, IN HER OWN COUNTRY.

Americans must like that sort of stuff, the killing of minorities, and people who are "not like us", ELSEWISE, WHY WOULD IT BE HAPPENING?

And that answer is FOR THE FUN OF IT, FOR THE SPORT!

Got to have it, don't you know.

And that takes us back to this Kapostacy, who is now way high up there in the ranks of the "FOURTH ESTATE"!

I came across a "blog" recently where someone or other who "rates" CORPORATE MEDIA PEOPLE was giving Kapostacy very high marks indeed for her coverage of what was called "Gulf War II", which, of course, IS George W. Bush's HOLY WAR to steal the oil resources of Iraq, and when I read this, the thought came back to my mind that Kapostacy would be covering this HOLY WAR, BECAUSE SHE HAS PROVED HERSELF TO BE POLITICALLY RELIABLE, and that is really the name of the game today, as your post demonstrates.

Kapostacy "MADE HER BONES" back in 1988, when the politicians needed a breaking story of corruption right up into the highest ranks of New York State politics BURIED AS DEEP AS IT COULD BE, and she performed her part, admirably.

She was a "MADE WOMAN", after that, who could be trusted to propagandize on demand, and to bury, on command, BECAUSE IT IS NOT ABOUT THE "NEWS", IT IS ABOUT CONTROL!

Gas chamber syndrome!

In spades.

[Livyjr]

You know, jeffmoskin, yesterday, for a while, I thought about just packing it in here, and saying to hell with all of this!

Yes, that's right.

Just turn around and walk away from here, and say to hell with it!

For what difference does any of this really make?

Yesterday, we had a pretty good storm, where I am, with a lot of wind, and maybe a foot of snow, before it finally ended, which is really not a lot of snow, but when it is coming down hard, and you can't see where you are driving, and the driving is treacherous, well, you get the picture ........

Or do you?

Does anyone?

Because it is not real, is it?

It's virtual!

Everything in here is virtual!

Virtual reality, instead, of REAL REALITY!

Fake names, fake identities!

I can concoct up this story of being a disabled veteran who came back from Viet Nam and attempted to "re-integrate" into something very foreign to me, which was life over here "AS IT REALLY WAS", as opposed to how I thought it should have been, and how that "quest" ultimately ended up with me, or my character, anyway, being "assassinated", or "murdered", right in front of my own eyes, ON THE TV Six O'clock NEWS, as I sat watching in a state of horror and disbelief, and how I was then plunged into a state of abject poverty and despair that has me living in an unfinished house with no windows in it, no roof but plastic tarps over some of it, AND IT IS NOT REAL!

It's just another "story" on the computer, instead of on the TV!

Just another "TRUMAN show", with a bevy of high-priced script writers .......

Of course, after imagining yesterday that the non-real virtual winds ripped the virtual plastic sheets off my virtual roof, so that the virtual freezing rain, and then the virtual snow, came pouring in to soak the virtual plywood that I am trying to protect, why, like every other American of means sufficient to own a computer and have the "leisure time" to "chat" on the computer, why, I really could go home to my real luxury condominium somewhere in America, with my own REAL 35,000 square foot plush couch, etc. and be REALLY warm and fat and happy, instead of being virtually damn cold, and quite virtually miserable to boot, as I see myself sliding further and further backwards here in this land of alleged plenty, BECAUSE I CHOSE NOT TO LIE WHEN THE POLITICIANS MADE IT A REQUIREMENT OF MY CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEER IN THE CORRUPT STATE OF NEW YORK!

"Oh, Livyjr, that's not real!"

"This is America, that don't happen!"

"And if you are poor, well, you must want to be, because there is just so much money to be made over here, BY THOSE WHO WANT TO WORK!"

Yup!

Yup.

HHHmmmm.

Yeah, that must be so!

OR ...

It has to be a hoax!

Yeah, that's it.

A gig!

Everbody has to have a gig!

A way to get noticed!

Yeah, that must be it.

Create a screen name, create a screen identity, and get a gig, and be fat and happy, here in somebody's America.

And what got me going on like this?

Besides the virtual snowstorm, and the virtual wind damage to my virtual unfinished house, and being virtually freezing?

Well, a notice that came to me that now, I have to pay a fee to come in here and make a worthless cry for help!

Now, don't that just cut it, I thought!

On top of everything else, don't that just cut it!

IT IS AMERICA, after all, and you do have to pay as you go, and so ....

And now, of course, it is today, and to be truthful, I am still thinking as to where my life now heads!

Will I pay the "tax" to keep speaking in here?

I don't rightly know, to be truthful!

I did check into making the payment, which is not that much, BUT ....

The only way to pay, of course, IS WITH A CREDIT CARD, which since WE ARE ALL RICH IN AMERICA, everyone has, except .....

SO!

I guess the real question is what is poor white trash like me doing in here, where everything is now very, very UPSCALE!

And there is where it is.

LIFE in somebody's America, which sure is not mine!

[jeffmoskin]

You know, jeffmoskin, yesterday, for a while, I thought about just packing it in here, and saying to hell with all of this!

Yes, that's right.

Just turn around and walk away from here, and say to hell with it!

For what difference does any of this really make?

Nothing is "REAL" anymore, here in what is sure somebody else's America, BECAUSE IT IS NO LONGER MINE!

Everything is get all you can, grab all you can, push as hard as you can, etc.

Gas Chamber Syndrome!

Yup!

Gas chamber syndrome.

It's a psychological term or concept that came out of observations of "group behavior" in the Nazi gas chambers during WWII - the strongest and fittest were always found at the top of the heap in the gas chambers when they would open them up to clear them out for the next batch of "incoming"!

The strongest were always found to have climbed up on the bodies of the weaker ones who were the first to fall, looking for air.

They would be dead, of course, which was why the Nazis had the gas chambers, to rid their "PERFECT" Aryan society of "undesirable elements", but they would be dead at the top of the heap, instead of at the bottom.

Since that time, and maybe especially today, that type of behavior has been observed in "groups" over and over and over again, and perhaps, jeffmoskin, what you have posted above here hits on that, to a degree, anyway, especially the part about NO OUTRAGE over the fact that we are not getting "news" here in OUR America, anymore, NOT FROM CORPORATE MEDIA, anyway; what we are getting instead is lies, half-truths, outright fabrications, and this Kapostacy/Channel 13 business above is a case in point.

COMPETITION!

RATINGS!

CONTROL!

And that last really should be first, which is the conversation that Kapostacy and I had about 9:00 P.M. on the evening of October 11, 1988:

HE (or she) WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATION, CONTROLS!

HE (or she) WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATIONS ABSOLUTLY, CONTROLS ABSOLUTELY!

Those exact words!

And Kapostacy, and Channel 13, of course, WHICH IS A BUSINESS OUT TO MAKE MONEY, were for the absolute control part of the equation, which meant doing what the politicians wanted, rather than what the truth required.

In fact, the thought of the "truth" anymore, here in this America of nothing but lies and deceits, is almost a complete and total joke, since nobody seems to want it at all.

IT IS IN THE WAY; SPOON UP SOME PABLUM INSTEAD!

It'll keep people distracted, and well, people just want to be distracted.

People want to be told that they actually can be irresponsible, each and every day of their lives, SOMEBODY ELSE IS IN CONTROL, AFTER ALL, and still, despite being completely and totally irresponsible, why, they can have as long and happy a life as the next guy, thanks in large part to the pharmaceutical industry, of course, and well, modern science, which has given us the 300,000 square foot, wide-screen, rear-projection television with 35,000 channels of nothingness, and 350,000,000 watts of sound power, so that you can never even get off your couch, and yet, be there right in the middle of Iraq, watching as a 20 mm chain gun makes swiss cheese out of a hapless Iraqi woman and child who were "careless", and so got within sight of an American Army vehicle that happened to stop right in front of her house, stripping her of her liberty, and of course, her life, when she merely tried to live her life, IN HER OWN COUNTRY.

Americans must like that sort of stuff, the killing of minorities, and people who are "not like us", ELSEWISE, WHY WOULD IT BE HAPPENING?

And that answer is FOR THE FUN OF IT, FOR THE SPORT!

Got to have it, don't you know.

And that takes us back to this Kapostacy, who is now way high up there in the ranks of the "FOURTH ESTATE"!

I came across a "blog" recently where someone or other who "rates" CORPORATE MEDIA PEOPLE was giving Kapostacy very high marks indeed for her coverage of what was called "Gulf War II", which, of course, IS George W. Bush's HOLY WAR to steal the oil resources of Iraq, and when I read this, the thought came back to my mind that Kapostacy would be covering this HOLY WAR, BECAUSE SHE HAS PROVED HERSELF TO BE POLITICALLY RELIABLE, and that is really the name of the game today, as your post demonstrates.

Kapostacy "MADE HER BONES" back in 1988, when the politicians needed a breaking story of corruption right up into the highest ranks of New York State politics BURIED AS DEEP AS IT COULD BE, and she performed her part, admirably.

She was a "MADE WOMAN", after that, who could be trusted to propagandize on demand, and to bury, on command, BECAUSE IT IS NOT ABOUT THE "NEWS", IT IS ABOUT CONTROL!

Gas chamber syndrome!

In spades.

I watched a video of "Network" a few weeks ago, Paddy Chayefsky's 1976 CLASSIC about television and the beginning of "News as Entertainment"

This phenomenon is now at maturity - - there simply IS NO NEWS THAT IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT.

And entertainment is NOT neccessarily pablum, nosirree, Livyjr.

"If it bleeds, it leads," is a maxim of local news programming. Show us the bleeding body!

Show us the burning house! Shove the mike into the woman's face and ask her, "How do you FEEL, Mrs Murphy, now that you've lost everything you ever had?"

Zoom to close-up of the tearful woman.

"I...I...I don't know what I..."

"That's it from here Steve, now back to you."

"Thanks, Mary. Don't touch that dial, because we have Dick coming up with the weather right after THESE IMPORTANT MESSAGES...

And the "going out" piece has to be a feel good piece so you'll stay tuned for the next hour of drivel the station is serving up. No tragedy here, thank you very much.

300 channels, and not a one to watch.

That's why I've given up watching TV.

You can still "Inform yourself" via BBC radio, Pacifica Radio, occasionally NPR, and the web (thanks again, Al Gore) which I think is best of all.

Yes, there are a lot of lies out there on the web, but the days of Walter Cronkite are OVER. There are a lot of lies on TV!!!

"And that's the way is it, Wednesday, March 9th. This is Walter Cronkite saying, Good Night."

And Good Night to you, too Walter.

And to you John Boy.

[jeffmoskin]

VOTES PCT

Villaraigosa , Antonio 124,561 33.07
Hertzberg , Bob 83,420 22.15
Hahn , James (i) 89,189 23.68

[Livyjr]

I did check into making the payment, which is not that much, BUT ....

The only way to pay, of course, IS WITH A CREDIT CARD, which since WE ARE ALL RICH IN AMERICA, everyone has, except .....

And here I am back, for the moment, and since this morning I have been doing some research under the search terms "Paypal,scandal", which so far, has given me the following story.

And why am I now looking up Paypal?

Well, if you want to post in here, you have to go to Paypal to do so, and that name just rings bells and whistles and alarms in my head, as I recall some kind of scandal in my area involving what I recall as Paypal, although I want to have that information in hand before I say more.

The reason for my concerns should be apparent from the on-going Choicepoint scam, and a new one just today involving data theft or sales of OUR personal information to criminals, from or by LexisNexis.

There is also some new scam out there involving data theft called "pharming", where the scam artists, and boy, does that ever describe what America is chock full of these days, the scam artists, or "BID-NESS MEN" are able to mine data, about us, and thereby steal OUR identities, as Chris Kapostacy and TV Channel 13 did to me all those years ago.

THEFT PAYS, here in this America of George W. Bush's, AND HONESTY AND INTEGRITY DO NOT!

In fact, up here in the corrupt Empire State of New York, any overt attempts at honesty and integrity on the part of licensed professional engineers acting to protect and safeguard life, health and property will be met with extreme violence, and will be punished to the fullest extent the corrupt laws in this State allow the thugs and politicians to get away with!

In the meantime, back to this story about Paypal:

March 09, 2005 02:45 PM

Front Page Loudoun County, Leesburg, Virginia

"Town Leaders Pledge Probe In Credit Card Scandal"
Dan Telvock

Sep 18, 2003 -- No one on the Leesburg Town Council thought another person would improperly use a town-issued credit card after a 1999 scandal that led to the resignation of the town manager and a councilman.

But what they learned over the weekend was that it can, and did, happen again.

Two days after a Sept. 10 request from Leesburg Today to review credit card charges made by Information Technology Director Michel M. Agujia, Town Manager Robert S. Noe said Agujia notified town leaders that he had used his town-issued credit card to buy the services of an escort last year.

He resigned from his $92,700 a year job on Sept. 15.

No charges have been filed.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert D. Anderson said the case is under investigation.

Town leaders, some of whom were on Town Council when the credit scandal unraveled in 1999, made very similar statements as they did back then, pledging to make changes so that misuse of town credit cards does not happen again.

But Leesburg Mayor Kristen Umstattd, who was vice mayor in 1999, said she is not sure the town can prevent someone from tricking the system.

“We’re going to have to take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Umstattd said.

“... You do what you can but I am not sure any system you put in place is going to be fail-safe.”

Leesburg Today filed the Freedom of Information Request on Sept. 10 specifically for all of Agujia’s credit card records from Jan. 1, 2002, to the present date.

On Sept. 11, the town’s Chief Purchasing Officer Kathy S. Elgin replied by e-mail that she had collected the credit card information and offered several times and dates for the reporter to view the documents.

Elgin is normally the only town employee in the Finance Department who conducts the checks and balances of all of the approximately 80 town issued credit cards.

Finance Department Director Paul York sometimes checks the receipts.

Umstattd said York had previously spotted the escort service charge but thought it was mistakenly labeled and did not investigate it further.

York said Wednesday that he never spotted a charge that was specifically for an escort service.

“There was a firm in California, I think it was Voice Data Enterprises or something like that, but the receipts indicated it was for computer hardware,” York said.

“The description and the name of the company just didn’t match as being an escort service."

"It appeared there was an error in the way the vendor had been coded by the card company."

"There was no link there to indicate anything was suspicious.”

On Sept. 15, Elgin withdrew the offer to view the documents.

“I cannot provide the documents as requested in your September 10, 2003, FOIA request for the purchase card records of Michel Agujia."

"The commonwealth's attorney has directed that since there is a criminal investigation underway that the town should not release or reveal any documents requested,” she stated in an e-mail.

Agujia purchased the escort on Nov. 1, 2002, for $388.10.

The company which provided him the escort service, Romeo3Entertainment, is under investigation by federal authorities even though the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office last week dismissed the charges of accepting money from prostitutes and keeping a bawdy place against the operator of the business.

The owner of that company, Preston Jenkins, and his attorney have said that the business is legitimate and operates legally.

Jenkins said he will not operate in Loudoun County until the Sheriff’s Office sends someone to explain to his staff what is legal and illegal.

According to Noe, Agujia used the town-issued card twice to purchase an escort service but the town was only charged once.

Noe said the amount was paid back.

“To the best of my knowledge no one in the town knows about any other bonafide charges for an escort service,” Noe said.

“The town believes there were two charges for escort services, one of which was charged and immediately credited.”

Town Attorney William Donnelly said Tuesday that no one red-flagged the charge because Agujia covered his tracks by using an online charge system called PayPal and falsifying the purpose of the charge.

“To remedy that, [Monday] we instructed the bank, which is Wachovia, to no longer honor any PayPal purchases on the town’s [credit] cards,” Donnelly said.

“When you use the card to facilitate a purchase using PayPal, that bypasses or circumvents the limitations we have put on the card because the bank that processes the transactions, their computer sees a purchase from PayPal, which is not one of the prohibited purchases.”

The investigation arises just four years after allegations of misuse of town-issued credit cards led to the resignation of Town Manager Steve Brown and Councilman Joe Trocino.

It also resulted in the firing of Police Chief Keith Stiles, who drew the ire of some council members when he reported evidence of credit card misuse to Anderson.

Stiles filed a federal lawsuit over his termination.

He won the lawsuit and the case was eventually settled for a $2.325 million cash payment by the town.

Brown and Trocino were alleged to have used the credit cards for personal purchases, some of which had been repaid.

No charges were brought as Anderson negotiated agreements that resulted in the two resigning their public offices.

Donnelly said that certain steps were instituted after the 1999 scandal.

One of those steps was that two people check the credit charges—the department head and a staff member of the town’s Finance Department.

The department head is required to submit to the Finance Department justification for the charge or a statement showing all of the purchases made for the month, the amounts, and attachments of receipts and backup documentation for the Finance Department to double check, Donnelly said.

Because Agujia was the supervisor of his five-member department, he was able to cover his tracks by stating the purpose of the charge was for software and failing to provide additional receipts of proof by stating that they were illegible, Donnelly said.

“In hindsight, maybe a red flag should have gone up at that time,” Donnelly said, “but you know, there’s a certain amount of trust involved, particularly when it’s the department head.”

Dozens of charges were made by Agujia’s department using PayPal, Donnelly said, but “as far as we know, to this day all of them were legitimate except this one.”

The Loudoun County government has also taken steps to prevent a similar situation.

“We do not have [PayPal] as a specific area of denial, however, the general statement that all purchases must meet the criteria of being for the benefit of the county should indicate to the cardholder that it would be improper."

"I have instructed staff to be aware of both PayPal and Billpay and to flag the transactions for immediate review,” said Loudoun County Deputy Director of Financial Services Paul N. Arnett.

Anderson said his office, the FBI and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office are jointly investigating the incident and he would not comment on whether the investigation specifically targeted Agujia or if other employees may have used town credit cards for personal items.

He advised Noe to take custody of all credit card records Monday and said that the records will not be released because they are now evidence in an ongoing investigation.

In the 1999 investigation, Anderson encouraged the town to release the credit card records publicly, saying such disclosure would not hamper the criminal investigation and might actually facilitate it, according to a Leesburg Today report.

Anderson said Tuesday that he does not recall saying that in 1999.

“It doesn’t sound consistent with anything I would have done,” Anderson said about the 1999 statement.

“In this case, we don’t know what we have."

"If we were to release that information it could jeopardize the rules of discovery.”

In a typed statement, Noe said he met with Anderson and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Owen Basham on Monday to reveal the possible misuse of the credit card, which Agujia is reported to have admitted to on Sept. 12, two days after the FOIA request was made.

Noe stated that he reported the incident to Umstattd and other council members over the weekend.

The incident was also reported Saturday to Leesburg Police Chief Joseph Price.

“He [Agujia] didn’t tell me what precipitated him coming to me last Friday and I don’t know the answer,” Noe said.

Agujia was hired on April 19, 1999, at a salary of $63,000.

The following year he received a raise of $6,506 and then his salary jumped to $81,020 in May 2001.

At the time of his resignation, he was being paid $92,685.

Town Councilman Robert J. Zoldos, who served on the council in 1999, said he was upset that the mayor did not call a special meeting to discuss the issue immediately.

Zoldos said he has not forgotten the 1999 scandal and vowed that the council would not sit idle on the issue.

He called the most recent incident “embarrassing.”

“I found out Sunday when Noe briefed me,” Zoldos said.

“If I was mayor, we would have had an open session and discussed it right then.”

Noe said he is taking steps to figure out how to improve the town’s credit card charge review process.

He said Tuesday that he intends to review the final report by Robinson, Farmer and Cox, which handled the review of the town’s 1999 scandal, to make sure the recommendations that the company made were implemented.

Secondly, Noe said he plans to personally review every town credit card account to check for what purposes each cardholder is allowed to use the card.

Finally, Noe said he will take the information he gathered and will decide then what needs to be done internally to prevent a third incident.

“I have some suspicion that we may not have the proper internal control,” Noe said.

He said he has full trust in Elgin’s checks and balances but wondered if it is asking too much of one person to have responsibility over every charge.

As part of his research, Noe said he will talk with members of the accounting industry to see what is done to prevent credit card misuse.

“There’s somebody in the industry that’s an expert on this and I am going to find out what they have to say,” Noe said.

“Our own auditor may be able to tell us.”

York said the credit cards use codes that are assigned by the bank to different businesses and that the town can block certain codes from being charged.

He suggested the town block more business codes.

“If you looked at the information that he submitted to us, unless you knew specifically what you were looking for it would have been difficult for someone to raise a question with those specific charges,” York said.

“We need to assign more blocks obviously to other types of businesses.”

The town is currently being audited and Noe said if the credit card charge was to be spotted, it would have been done during this review.

Umstattd said that a very strict review of the town credit card policy will be undertaken in the wake of the current investigation.

She has asked the town’s auditor to review all credit charges—something she said that is not typically done.

One change she said that was made in 1999 was switching to a “purchase card” system instead of using normal credit cards, so that the town could prohibit certain charges for items like alcohol or meals.

“I thought we had taken the steps we could [in 1999] but it’s like hackers in the computer world,” Umstattd said.

“You put up computer software on your computer and hackers come up with another virus."

"Every system is going to be vulnerable to intelligent people who know how to get around it."

"... There’s not always a whole lot you can do if an employee decides they are going to take what isn’t theirs."

"You potentially are always going to face that kind of trouble.”

Councilman James F. “Frank” Buttery Jr., who also served on council in 1999, said he was disappointed when he heard about the incident over the weekend.

“At this time, can you prevent people from doing an illegal act?"

"I wish I had the answer to that,” he said.

Buttery said the town took the 1999 scandal seriously and “there’s no place in government or business for anyone misusing the trust that has been placed in them.”

Zoldos questioned why there are so many town-issued credit cards.

“We don’t need 80 credit cards,” he said.

“Good grief."

"That’s silly.”

Necessary actions, whatever they are, will be taken, Zoldos said.

“Bottom line is if you commit fraudulent use of government credit cards then you’ve got to pay the consequences,” Zoldos said.

“I thought we had this resolved after the ‘99 occurrence."

"We don’t.”

1 East Market St. Leesburg VA 20176 Telephone 703-771-8800 Fax 703-771-8833
P.O. Box 591 Leesburg, VA 20178

[Livyjr]

And here I am back, for the moment, and since this morning I have been doing some research under the search terms "Paypal,scandal", which so far, has given me the following story.

And why am I now looking up Paypal?

Well, if you want to post in here, you have to go to Paypal to do so, and that name just rings bells and whistles and alarms in my head, as I recall some kind of scandal in my area involving what I recall as Paypal, although I want to have that information in hand before I say more.

The reason for my concerns should be apparent from the on-going Choicepoint scam, and a new one just today involving data theft or sales of OUR personal information to criminals, from or by LexisNexis.

There is also some new scam out there involving data theft called "pharming", where the scam artists, and boy, does that ever describe what America is chock full of these days, the scam artists, or "BID-NESS MEN" are able to mine data, about us, and thereby steal OUR identities, as Chris Kapostacy and TV Channel 13 did to me all those years ago.

THEFT PAYS, here in this America of George W. Bush's, AND HONESTY AND INTEGRITY DO NOT!

In fact, up here in the corrupt Empire State of New York, any overt attempts at honesty and integrity on the part of licensed professional engineers acting to protect and safeguard life, health and property will be met with extreme violence, and will be punished to the fullest extent the corrupt laws in this State allow the thugs and politicians to get away with!

In the meantime, back to this story about Paypal:

March 09, 2005 02:45 PM

Front Page  Loudoun County, Leesburg, Virginia

"Town Leaders Pledge Probe In Credit Card Scandal"
Dan  Telvock

Sep 18, 2003 -- No one on the Leesburg Town Council thought another person would improperly use a town-issued credit card after a 1999 scandal that led to the resignation of the town manager and a councilman.

But what they learned over the weekend was that it can, and did, happen again.

Two days after a Sept. 10 request from Leesburg Today to review credit card charges made by Information Technology Director Michel M. Agujia, Town Manager Robert S. Noe said Agujia notified town leaders that he had used his town-issued credit card to buy the services of an escort last year.

Town Attorney William Donnelly said Tuesday that no one red-flagged the charge because Agujia covered his tracks by using an online charge system called PayPal and falsifying the purpose of the charge.

“To remedy that, [Monday] we instructed the bank, which is Wachovia, to no longer honor any PayPal purchases on the town’s [credit] cards,” Donnelly said.

“When you use the card to facilitate a purchase using PayPal, that bypasses or circumvents the limitations we have put on the card because the bank that processes the transactions, their computer sees a purchase from PayPal, which is not one of the prohibited purchases.”

Dozens of charges were made by Agujia’s department using PayPal, Donnelly said, but “as far as we know, to this day all of them were legitimate except this one.”

The Loudoun County government has also taken steps to prevent a similar situation.

“We do not have [PayPal] as a specific area of denial, however, the general statement that all purchases must meet the criteria of being for the benefit of the county should indicate to the cardholder that it would be improper."

"I have instructed staff to be aware of both PayPal and Billpay and to flag the transactions for immediate review,” said Loudoun County Deputy Director of Financial Services Paul N. Arnett.

And here is yet another article involving scams associated with Paypal, although not perhaps directly attributable to Paypal:

http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters86.html

2 New PayPal Scams:

2 new PayPal scams, dirty politics, new viruses, and Yahoo IM:
Internet ScamBusters™ #86

Internet ScamBusters™
The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud

By Audri and Jim Lanford
Copyright © Audri and Jim Lanford
All rights reserved.
Issue #86

Hi Everyone,

Phishing scammers, virus writers, and email hoaxes are getting more clever.

Today, we have another 'Snippets' issue primarily on these topics -- with some very timely advice.

We focus on two new Paypal scams (one almost fooled us and the other did fool a very savvy friend of ours), dirty politics emails, a new brand of virus that is making its debut, another virus that is particularly nasty, and the answer to whether Yahoo is really shutting down its Instant Messenger system on August 17.

Time to begin...

We've recently seen two very clever new PayPal scams we want to alert you to.

The first one almost fooled us (until we looked more carefully and saw all the typos).

Here is part of it -- it looks very official and is supposedly from the 'Security Center' at PayPal:

--- Begin PayPal Phishing Scam ---

Subject: PayPal Security Advisory

Military Grade Encryption is Only the Start

At PayPal, we want to increase your security and comfort level with every transaction.

From our Buyer and Seller Protection Policies to our Verification and Reputation systems, we'll help to keep you safe.

We recently noticed one or more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address and we have reasons to belive (sic) that your account was hijacked by a third party without your authorization.

If you recently accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you.

However, if you are the rightfull (sic) holder of the account, click on the link below, fill the form and then submit as we try to verify your identity.

==> (URL that looks like it goes to the PayPal Security Center)

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choise (sic) but to temporaly (sic) suspend your account.

We ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recommend to verefy (sic) your account in that time.

Etc.

--- End PayPal Phishing Scam ---

If you receive this email, delete it.

Do NOT click on the link or fill out the form.

You'd be giving your private info to a scammer in Hungary.

The second PayPal Scam is a bit different.

It comes from a company in Florida that sent out at least 5,000 different $200 invoices to PayPal users for supposedly sending out spam to Florida residents.

At least one very savvy Internet user was fooled by this hoax.

--- Begin Excerpt from PayPal Scam #2 ---

Failure to remit the ammount [sic] due, in full, may result in further collection proceedings, up to and including actions taken before the courts for collection of
outstanding debt...

Florida Law provides Civil and Criminal Penalties for Unlawful access to Computers within the State of Florida, including the unlawful access and use of e-mail servers
located in the State Of Florida.

--- End Excerpt from PayPal Scam #2 ---

The company has since sent out notices that these invoices are bogus and that they were sent by an employee.

However, we doubt that this will be the last time we'll see this type of scam...

end quotes

And with that said, especially where the second scam involved people WHO WERE PAYPAL USERS, which begs the question of how the scammers got actual Paypal information, on its users, I wonder why the "management" of THIS PARTICULAR FORUM, which prides itself on not being involved with this kind of crap is now sending us to, of all places, Paypal, in order that we might continue posting in here.

Might I say that to me, it stinks to high heaven?

[Livyjr]

http://www.antivirus.about.com/cs/emailsca...blebayscam5.htm

"eBay & PayPal phishing" From Mary Landesman,

Scams target popular institutions

Emails claiming to be from eBay or PayPal try to trick recipient's into divulging sensitive finanacial or personal information.

Known as phishing, these scams are used by criminals for credit card fraud and identity theft.

Even email worms are used to illicitly gain the desired info.

When users open the attachment, or follow a link contained in one of these phishing email, the information the user enters is then sent to criminal.

Both eBay and PayPay provide fraud information about these scams via their website.

To view information on or report an eBay phishing scam, visit the eBay Security Center.

PayPal provides limited information regarding these scams, but victims can report the fraudulent email at https://www.paypal.com/ewf/f=sa_fake.

Example of Mimail.I email worm message (italics are for emphasis only and are not found in the original message):

Dear PayPal member,

PayPal would like to inform you about some important information regarding your PayPal account.

This account, which is associated with the email address <recipient's email address> will be expiring within five business days.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but this is occurring because all of our customers are required to update their account settings with their personal information.

We are taking these actions because we are implementing a new security policy on our website to insure everyone's absolute privacy.

To avoid any interruption in PayPal services then you will need to run the application that we have sent with this email (see attachment) and follow the instructions.

Please do not send your personal information through email, as it will not be as secure.

IMPORTANT! If you do not update your information with our secure application within the next five business days then we will be forced to deactivate your account and you will not be able to use your PayPal account any longer.

It is strongly recommended that you take a few minutes out of your busy day and complete this now.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE VIA EMAIL! This mail is sent by an automated message system and the reply will not be received.

Thank you for using PayPal.

Example of Mimail.P email:

Dear PayPal.com Member,

We here at PayPal.com are pleased to announce that we have a special New Year offer for you!

If you currently have an account with PayPal then you will be eligible to receive a terrific prize from PayPal.com for the New Year.

For a limited time only PayPal is offering to add 10% of the total balance in your PayPal account to your account and all you have to do is register yourself within the next five business days with our application (see attachment)!

If at this time you do not have a PayPal account of your own you can also register yourself with our secure application and get this great New Year bonus!

If you fill out the secure form we have provided PayPal will create an account for you (it's free) and you will receive a confirmation e-mail that your account has been created.

The Mimail.P email then promises the same offer for friends and family who wish to participate.

Of course, opening the attachment infects the recipient, spreads the email worm to others.

Any information entered into the form is sent to the criminals.

Following is an example of a standard PayPal phishing email:

Dear PayPal user,

We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your PayPal account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party.

Protecting the security of your account and of the PayPal network is our primary concern.

Therefore, as a prevention measure, we have temporarely limited access to sensitive PayPal account features.

Please click on the link below to confirm your information:

https://www.paypal.com/fraudcheck/secure/bill.html?sl=070304

For more information about how to protect your account, please visit PayPal's Security Center, accessible via the "Security Center" link located at the bottom of each page of the PayPal website.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire PayPal system.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
The PayPal Team

The display link in the above phishing example actually points to a directory on a Korean website at http://smba.swu.ac.kr.

That site also 'hosts' an eBay phishing scam.

The criminals appear to be using DynaForm to send any information entered in the form fields to the following email address: vinmails@secureroot.com.

[Gabrielle]

Changes?

Well said!

[Gabrielle]

Not to worry, Gabrielle.

Of course, I can only speak for myself, But I'm not going anywhere unless the Lord taps me on the shoulder and says words to the effect of " A.B. , your time is up. "

In which case, it would be useless to argue.

In regards to your having some worries, Gabrielle, I can only pass on to you the very old bit of advice given to me many years ago.

Two rules for worry free living.

Rule # 1. " Don't sweat the small stuff. "

Rule # 2. Everything is small stuff.

Remember, Gabrielle, you are a big part of our team now, so stick around.

BTW - In case you hadn't noticed, I answered your question on post # 353.

A.B.

Just now going back to 353, A.B.

[Gabrielle]

The display link in the above phishing example actually points to a directory on a Korean website at http://smba.swu.ac.kr.

That site also 'hosts' an eBay phishing scam.

The criminals appear to be using DynaForm to send any information entered in the form fields to the following email address: vinmails@secureroot.com.

Scary...

[Livyjr]

And while those scams involving Paypal are on-going, here in George W. Bush's version of what America is to him, but not necessarily to us, we have this following other scam involving that BID-NESS LexisNexis, and its contribution to that quintessential American BID-NESS, identity theft, which I think is really fueling this "economic growth" here in America that the Bush Co.'s are touting today!

Between war and identity theft, George W. Bush has got this American "economy" of his stoked right on up here!

Now, if only you are a killer or a crook, you can make out real good here in America these days!

Except for the killing part, of course, you might have to re-locate to Iraq, or Afghanistan, where the open season on people who do not look like us is still open!

As to the theft/scam opportunities, why those are available to you right in your own home.

SO!

Crank it right on up, and keep America's economy strong - FOR GEORGE W. BUSH, and his!

Spam, Scams & Viruses

"Another big data broker reports breach - LexisNexis says records on 32,000 people accessed"

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:22 p.m. ET March 9, 2005

NEW YORK - Using misappropriated passwords and identification from legitimate customers, intruders got access to personal information on as many as 32,000 U.S. citizens in a database owned by LexisNexis, the company's corporate parent said Wednesday.

Reed Elsevier Group PLC said the breach of its recently acquired Seisint unit was being investigated by staff and U.S. law enforcement authorities.

LexisNexis is based in Dayton, Ohio.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Seisint stores millions of personal records including individuals' addresses and Social Security numbers.

Customers include police and legal professionals and public and private sector organizations.

Reed Elsevier bought Seisint — which provides data for Matrix, a crime and terrorism database project funded by the U.S. government that has raised concerns among civil liberties groups —for $775 million in August.

The breach at Seisint is the second of its kind at a large information provider in recent months.

Rival data broker ChoicePoint Inc. said last month that the personal information of 145,000 Americans may have been compromised in a breach in which thieves posing as small business customers gained access to its database.

In the ChoicePoint scam, at least 750 people were defrauded, authorities say.

The case in the United States fueled consumer advocates' calls for federal oversight of the loosely regulated data-brokering business, and Capitol Hill hearings are due to be scheduled on the issue.

In the Seisint breach, information accessed included names, addresses, Social Security and driver license numbers, but not credit history, medical records or financial information, Reed Elsevier said in a statement.

The company will notify affected customers soon, said Kurt Sanford, president and chief executive of LexisNexis corporate and federal markets.

It will provide them with ongoing credit monitoring "and other support to ensure that any identity theft that may result from these incidents is quickly detected and addressed," he said.

The company also is enhancing ID and password administrative procedures and requirements, he said.

"The U.S. law enforcement agencies have asked us not to say too much as they are in the process of trying to track down the people who are responsible," said Catherine May, a Reed Elsevier spokeswoman in London.

The spokeswoman said the breach was discovered during internal checking procedures of customers' accounts.

The company played down the effect of the security breach on its profits, reaffirming its target of higher earnings and at least 5 percent growth in revenues excluding acquisitions.

Reed Elsevier specializes in the education, legal and science sectors, publishing more than 10,000 journals, books and compact discs, as well as almost 3,000 Web sites and portals.

It also organizes 430 trade exhibitions.

[Gabrielle]

Gabrielle, in trying to jog this old memory of mine, the following thoughts seem to pop out.

I believe almost everyone sort of knows, and always did know, that most people in positions of power are to some extent " on the take ". A litle graft here, a little corruption there, some ' payola  ' when the opportunity arose. Favors given, favors taken. Hardly anyone is immune to this sort of thing.

It is never condoned, but always overlooked. ( Until someone gets caught red handed ) This goes for the people on the lower rungs of the ladder and on up, i.e. your councilman, your county commissioneers, mayor, state reps, governor, congressmen, senators, all the way up to the top.

Many of us console ourselves by comparing our power people with those in other parts of the world who are much worse, much more blatant, and not at all concerned with who knows what they are doing. Just a way of life.

I am not trying to defend that type of thinking on our part.

But, to get right to the point, Gabrielle.

My real awakening came with the actions of Richard Millhouse Nixon, who actually could have been an outstanding president.

My naive and trusting feelings were shattered with his actions in the Watergate episode which rather than my taking up reams of space explaining, I suggest to anyone who wants to know more of this to type in " Watergate " on Google.
You will get more that than you want to know.

Even prior to that was the scandal of his vice president, Spiro Agnew, who was one of those caught " red handed ' accepting bribes. Again, I refer anyone to Google, our all knowing electronic encyclopedia.

Since that time, I have never fully trusted ANYONE in government.

At this point, with this set of personal agenda driven people in charge, there is absolutely no trust at all.

I wish it were not that way.

Thanks for asking, Gabrielle. Perhaps in your lifetime, this situation may change for the better.

A.B.

And thanks for answering, A.B. I don't have much hope that it's going to get better. Billfmsd has pointed to the fact that it's the system that's broken, not any one particular set of people. Until the last year or so, I thought it unimaginable that politicians and big corporate interests would scheme to make wars to further our interests. And a million other things. But this is life. This is reality. I've got to face facts. And then try to make it better in whatever small way I can.

Learning the media in the U.S. is not actually free and balanced was a big shocker for me. I always thought it was. I mean that's what we were taught in school.

What I've learned changes the way I see everything. The world looks different. Starker. More naked. Dirtier.

[Abu Beacon]

Well Mr. Livyjr. I have made the decision to play devil's advocate to this last posting of yours.

The reason for that is -- I disagree with much of what you have written.

I definitely do not want to over react to your words and thoughts, but I do not feel that these sentiments you are expressiing are very Livyjr like.

You know, jeffmoskin, yesterday, for a while, I thought about just packing it in here, and saying to hell with all of this!

Not a good way to go. That is only done when something is totally unworthwhile.

Yes, that's right.

Just turn around and walk away from here, and say to hell with it!

For what difference does any of this really make?

Any time a person has an opportunity to cause others to think, to look below the surface, as you have been doing, it makes a difference to THEM.

Nothing is "REAL" anymore, here in what is sure somebody else's America, BECAUSE IT IS NO LONGER MINE!

Sorry, you can't disown Our America so easily. Warts and all, it is OURS and you, through your writing about it, has kept it yours and made it more real to all who have read what you have to say.

Everything is get all you can, grab all you can, push as hard as you can, etc.

Not everything, not everybody. Not you. Not jeffmoskin. Not me. Not a lot of people. Hopefully, not the ones that count to you.
Gas Chamber Syndrome!

Since that time, and maybe especially today, that type of behavior has been observed in "groups" over and over and over again, and perhaps, jeffmoskin, what you have posted above here hits on that, to a degree, anyway, especially the part about NO OUTRAGE over the fact that we are not getting "news" here in OUR America, anymore, NOT FROM CORPORATE MEDIA, anyway; what we are getting instead is lies, half-truths, outright fabrications, and this Kapostacy/Channel 13 business above is a case in point.

Not true, Livyj. There is PLENTY of outrage over the shenanigans going on. Perhaps not enough. And that's the reason people like you are needed to keep the message out there that the way things are now, are WRONG and there is a better way. You have been blessed with a huge talent in expressing yourself Livyjr. Don't even think about not using that talent.[/COLOR


HE (or she) WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATION, CONTROLS!

HE (or she) WHO CONTROLS COMMUNICATIONS ABSOLUTLY, CONTROLS ABSOLUTELY!

[COLOR=red]You are absolutely right about control. And control starts with each of us controlling what we think, what we say, what we do. And in my way of thinking the worst thing to do in most cases is to do nothing. Not in every case, but in most.


In fact, the thought of the "truth" anymore, here in this America of nothing but lies and deceits, is almost a complete and total joke, since nobody seems to want it at all.

Livyjr, what goes around, comes around. I believe that to be true always. Knowing that, makes it easier to be patient. The time will come. And we, you, can hasten the day by doing whatever we can do to make it happen sooner.

IT IS IN THE WAY; SPOON UP SOME PABLUM INSTEAD!

It'll keep people distracted, and well, people just want to be distracted.

People want to be told that they actually can be irresponsible, each and every day of their lives, SOMEBODY ELSE IS IN CONTROL, AFTER ALL, and still, despite being completely and totally irresponsible, why, they can have as long and happy a life as the next guy, thanks in large part to the pharmaceutical industry, of course, and well, modern science, which has given us the 300,000 square foot, wide-screen, rear-projection television with 35,000 channels of nothingness, and 350,000,000 watts of sound power, so that you can never even get off your couch, and yet, be there right in the middle of Iraq, watching as a 20 mm chain gun makes swiss cheese out of a hapless Iraqi woman and child who were "careless", and so got within sight of an American Army vehicle that happened to stop right in front of her house, stripping her of her liberty, and of course, her life, when she merely tried to live her life, IN HER OWN COUNTRY.

Americans must like that sort of stuff, the killing of minorities, and people who are "not like us", ELSEWISE, WHY WOULD IT BE HAPPENING?

There are a whole lot of evil people in the world. There are also a whole lot of " good " people in the world. Who will outlast who?


And that takes us back to this Kapostacy, who is now way high up there in the ranks of the "FOURTH ESTATE"!


Kapostacy "MADE HER BONES" back in 1988, when the politicians needed a breaking story of corruption right up into the highest ranks of New York State politics BURIED AS DEEP AS IT COULD BE, and she performed her part, admirably.

She was a "MADE WOMAN", after that, who could be trusted to propagandize on demand, and to bury, on command, BECAUSE IT IS NOT ABOUT THE "NEWS", IT IS ABOUT CONTROL!

It has happened, Livyjr. It was a rotten thing for Kapostacy to do. You took the fall for her to make some " points ". She went up, you went down. Even so, would you rather that you did what she did? I don't think so. Do your best to forget about that incident. Something like that has happened to all of us. Perhaps, on a smaller scale. As the French say, " C'est la vie " ( That's life. ).

These are my true feelings Livyjr. You are a VERY good man in MANY ways.

NEVER, NEVER, give up. NEVER!

A.B

[Livyjr]

And while those scams involving Paypal are on-going, here in George W. Bush's version of what America is to him, but not necessarily to us, we have this following other scam involving that BID-NESS LexisNexis, and its contribution to that quintessential American BID-NESS, identity theft, which I think is really fueling this "economic growth" here in America that the Bush Co.'s are touting today!

Between war and identity theft, George W. Bush has got this American "economy" of his stoked right on up here!

Now, if only you are a killer or a crook, you can make out real good here in America these days!

Except for the killing part, of course, you might have to re-locate to Iraq, or Afghanistan, where the open season on people who do not look like us is still open!

As to the theft/scam opportunities, why those are available to you right in your own home.

SO!

Crank it right on up, and keep America's economy strong - FOR GEORGE W. BUSH, and his!

Spam, Scams & Viruses

"Another big data broker reports breach - LexisNexis says records on 32,000 people accessed"

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:22 p.m. ET March 9, 2005

NEW YORK - Using misappropriated passwords and identification from legitimate customers, intruders got access to personal information on as many as 32,000 U.S. citizens in a database owned by LexisNexis, the company's corporate parent said Wednesday.

Reed Elsevier Group PLC said the breach of its recently acquired Seisint unit was being investigated by staff and U.S. law enforcement authorities.

LexisNexis is based in Dayton, Ohio.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Seisint stores millions of personal records including individuals' addresses and Social Security numbers.

Customers include police and legal professionals and public and private sector organizations.

Reed Elsevier bought Seisint — which provides data for Matrix, a crime and terrorism database project funded by the U.S. government that has raised concerns among civil liberties groups —for $775 million in August.

In the Seisint breach, information accessed included names, addresses, Social Security and driver license numbers, but not credit history, medical records or financial information, Reed Elsevier said in a statement.

The company played down the effect of the security breach on its profits, reaffirming its target of higher earnings and at least 5 percent growth in revenues excluding acquisitions.

The company PLAYED DOWN THE EFFECT OF THE SECURITY BREACH ON ITS PROFITS, reaffirming its target of higher earnings and at least 5 percent growth in revenues excluding acquisitions!

WELL!

There we are, America!

DON'T WORRY, folks, regardless of exactly how slip-shod the operation really is, and regardless of how much it fails US, the American people who are being harmed by this information ON US, being given out freely or more likely sold to criminals, so that they can victimize us further, MONEY WILL BE MADE, by the company, Reed Elsevier!

AND THAT IS ALL THAT IS IMPORTANT, IS IT NOT?

THAT PROFITS BE MADE, from victimizing US?

Isn't that really the HALLMARK of this Bush Co. regime, scams and BID-NESS?

"Any one in MURKA who wants to be a BID-NESS MAN, well, you have my blessing, and if you don't have money of your own to be in BID-NESS, the gummint will just take some more away from the MURKAN people and GIVE IT TO YOU, 'cause I like BID-NESS!"

I DON'T LIKE PAYPAL!

[Abu Beacon]

http://www.antivirus.about.com/cs/emailsca...blebayscam5.htm

"eBay & PayPal phishing" From Mary Landesman,

Scams target popular institutions

Emails claiming to be from eBay or PayPal try to trick recipient's into divulging sensitive finanacial or personal information.

Known as phishing, these scams are used by criminals for credit card fraud and identity theft.

Even email worms are used to illicitly gain the desired info.

When users open the attachment, or follow a link contained in one of these phishing email, the information the user enters is then sent to criminal.

Both eBay and PayPay provide fraud information about these scams via their website.

To view information on or report an eBay phishing scam, visit the eBay Security Center.

PayPal provides limited information regarding these scams, but victims can report the fraudulent email at https://www.paypal.com/ewf/f=sa_fake.

Example of Mimail.I email worm message (italics are for emphasis only and are not found in the original message):

Dear PayPal member,

PayPal would like to inform you about some important information regarding your PayPal account.

This account, which is associated with the email address <recipient's email address> will be expiring within five business days.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but this is occurring because all of our customers are required to update their account settings with their personal information.

We are taking these actions because we are implementing a new security policy on our website to insure everyone's absolute privacy.

To avoid any interruption in PayPal services then you will need to run the application that we have sent with this email (see attachment) and follow the instructions.

Please do not send your personal information through email, as it will not be as secure.

IMPORTANT! If you do not update your information with our secure application within the next five business days then we will be forced to deactivate your account and you will not be able to use your PayPal account any longer.

It is strongly recommended that you take a few minutes out of your busy day and complete this now.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE VIA EMAIL! This mail is sent by an automated message system and the reply will not be received.

Thank you for using PayPal.

Example of Mimail.P email:

Dear PayPal.com Member,

We here at PayPal.com are pleased to announce that we have a special New Year offer for you!

If you currently have an account with PayPal then you will be eligible to receive a terrific prize from PayPal.com for the New Year.

For a limited time only PayPal is offering to add 10% of the total balance in your PayPal account to your account and all you have to do is register yourself within the next five business days with our application (see attachment)!

If at this time you do not have a PayPal account of your own you can also register yourself with our secure application and get this great New Year bonus!

If you fill out the secure form we have provided PayPal will create an account for you (it's free) and you will receive a confirmation e-mail that your account has been created.

The Mimail.P email then promises the same offer for friends and family who wish to participate.

Of course, opening the attachment infects the recipient, spreads the email worm to others.

Any information entered into the form is sent to the criminals.

Following is an example of a standard PayPal phishing email:

Dear PayPal user,

We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your PayPal account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party.

Protecting the security of your account and of the PayPal network is our primary concern.

Therefore, as a prevention measure, we have temporarely limited access to sensitive PayPal account features.

Please click on the link below to confirm your information:

https://www.paypal.com/fraudcheck/secure/bill.html?sl=070304

For more information about how to protect your account, please visit PayPal's Security Center, accessible via the "Security Center" link located at the bottom of each page of the PayPal website.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire PayPal system.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
The PayPal Team

The display link in the above phishing example actually points to a directory on a Korean website at http://smba.swu.ac.kr.

That site also 'hosts' an eBay phishing scam.

The criminals appear to be using DynaForm to send any information entered in the form fields to the following email address: vinmails@secureroot.com.

Livyjr -----

The forum suggested using PayPal. Would you be willing to send the above information on to them?

A.B.

[Livyjr]

And thanks for answering, A.B. 

But this is life. 

This is reality. 

I've got to face facts. 

And then try to make it better in whatever small way I can. 

You have a good heart, Gabrielle, that's what makes you who you are.

All good things that you do in life start right there.

As to making the world better, the best way to do that is not contribute to making it worse!