|
|
PATH: BS | PT Barnum
|
Katrina Conference Organizers Duped By Fake Government Official
Posted by Pile
(9371 views)      [E-Mail link]
|
 |
 A man claiming to be a high-ranking federal housing official addressed a conference Monday on public housing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, claiming the government was reversing its policy.
Following speeches by Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin, a man who said he was the "deputy assistant secretary" of the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a total reversal in the government's policy on public housing in New Orleans, claiming HUD would halt plans to demolish thousands of public housing units.
Turns out this was the work of an activist/theatrical group called The Yes Men. Their web site states, "We have impersonated some of the world's most powerful criminals at conferences, on the web, and on television, in order to correct their identities."
What's even more brilliant about this farce is that the company producing the event, Equity International claims to be "The center for homeland security" that specializes in "Winning the global war against terrorism." And they didn't have the aptitude to check to find out if one of their primary speakers, on stage with both the mayor and governor, wasn't a total imposter. |
READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article |
|
From Inside the Luxurious Pyramid
Posted by Pile
(10027 views) [E-Mail link]
|
[Get-Rich-Quick]
|
| On April 19, 2001, a man named Alyn Waage was arrested at the airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with $4.5 million in his briefcase. Waage had boarded the Learjet intending to fly to Belize to pick up an employee who worked at the mail forwarding office there, then fly on to Vallarta where his company, the Tri-West Investment Club, was based, and then to Latvia where he intended to buy a bank he dealt with. The first two steps of this schedule he completed, but he wanted to deposit some of the money in the bank himself so he took a few million and stuffed it in his luggage. When the jet landed and the customs officials asked to look through his bags, the jig was up. |
READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article |
|
The Perfect Mark
Posted by Pile
(12856 views) [E-Mail link]
|
[Get-Rich-Quick] |
 "Late one afternoon in June, 2001, John W. Worley sat in a burgundy leather desk chair reading his e-mail. He was fifty-seven and burly, with glasses, a fringe of salt-and-pepper hair, and a bushy gray beard. A decorated Vietnam veteran and an ordained minister, he had a busy practice as a Christian psychotherapist, and, with his wife, Barbara, was the caretaker of a mansion on a historic estate in Groton, Massachusetts.
Worley scrolled through his in-box and opened an e-mail, addressed to CEO/Owner. The writer said that his name was Captain Joshua Mbote, and he offered an awkwardly phrased proposition: With regards to your trustworthiness and reliability, I decided to seek your assistance in transferring some money out of South Africa into your country...
Still, Worley, faced with an e-mail that would, according to federal authorities, eventually lead him to join a gang of Nigerian criminals seeking to defraud U.S. banks, didn’t hesitate. A few minutes after receiving Mbote’s entreaty, he replied, "I can help and I am interested."
The New Yorker has a great story about a prominent Christian leader who lets his greed overcome his commmon sense. His reward? Two years in prison and more than $600,000 in fines. When you read those goofy Nigerian e-mails, you think, "Nobody is stupid enough to fall for this stuff right?" Well, it seems that Christians are one of the scammers' favorite targets. They have the right combination of naivety and greed that makes them, "The Perfect Mark." |
READ MORE | 1 comment since 2010-04-20 09:43:32 | Comment on this Article |
|
Bumper Sticker Store
How do you explain crypto currency to your kids?
The Discovery Channel's obsessive quest for ratings has caused one of its most popular series of programming: shows about sharks, to veer deep into bullshit territory. Now the channel routinely just makes stuff up and doesn't apologize for it. Check out this expose of the Discovery Channel's foray into deception..
If you have not been annoyed by this operation, consider yourself lucky, but many people know what it's like to get the "Rachel from Cardmember Services" (Bridget or another phony name) robo-call repeatedly to their telephones. The group behind this operation uses social engineering to con random callers out of their credit card numbers, SSN and other personal information under the guise of helping them get a lower interest rate on their credit card debt.
Those that believe Jesus is coming any day have probably not taken time to consider a very important quandary: Little Fluffy won't be joining you alongside our heavenly father upon your ascension. Yes, Heaven has a "no pets" rule according to scripture. 
Apple recently pulled an application from their online store called, "I am rich". This $999 program users could download and install on their iPhone seemed to do nothing more than add a glowing red icon to their display. But this didn't stop 8 people from buying the application, including six people from the United States, one from Germany and one from France.
Cracked has put together a list of the most retarded "fuel economy"-increasing devices being marketed. Hopefully you and your friends have not wasted money on these goofy, fraudulent gadgets.
He might be the most celebrated stock picker on TV, but many say Jim Cramer got it wrong and some have renewed an older criticism of the television host: Small investors who follow Cramer stand to lose big.
As global climate change threatens to bring flooding to some areas, and drought to others, the southeastern U.S. is in the grip of the worst drought in decades. One small town in Tennesse has completely 
The Discovery TV show Man vs Wild shows a charismatic ex-British Special Forces soldier, Bear Grylls, as the ultimate survivalist, braving everything from volcanic lava to river rapids using his wits and a few basic items. Or perhaps not?
The soft drink giant Pepsi has been forced to make an embarrassing admission: Its bestselling Aquafina bottled water is nothing more than tap water. Last week, Pepsi agreed to change the labels of Aquafina to indicate the water comes from a public water source.
The Hummer H2, one of the largest penis enhancements currently on the road today, looks rugged and tough-- like it could take on any piece of road and eat competitor's cars for dinner (a much manlier meal that that wussy breakfast). When recently stacked up against a car made in 1921, however, the Hummer went a bit... limp.
While you're browsing the beauty magazines in the checkout, do you ever wonder if the photo on the cover is ANYTHING like reality? Jezebel.com shows us truth and beauty magazines are quite a ways separate.
Hey, has your house burned down, or maybe you need $265 for a headstone for your brother's cemetary plot? Maybe you just need $10,000 for some equipment to make movies? Just get behind your computer and go to the Internet's newest site where, in exchange for your dignity, you can pander for cash...
What first seemed like a vast "left-wing conspiracy" as reported by some weirdo conservative bloggers has turned into a windfall for some opportunists in select Southeastern states. The U.S. Mint has accidentally let about 50,000 new gold Washington $1 coins get into circulation without the words, "In God We Trust". Collectors and godless heathens are snapping these things up on eBay with the $1 coins going for as much as $600.
Fidel Castro, that lovable scamp who ruled communist Cuba until July, when he had to "temporarily" cede power to his brother Raul (which is a much better name for a despot) because he went under the knife for intestinal bleeding is not (repeat, NOT) dead, dying, or really even feeling all that bad. This is according to U.S. lawmakers who were told this by Cuban officials during a trip to the island nation that ended Sunday. They were not, however, allowed to see or speak to Fidel "Not Dead" Castro. They weren't even allowed to speak to his brother.
Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?
Paul's Place, an English disability charity, has just finished development of the first-ever disabled nude calendar to raise money. I think I'd rather just give them money than try to explain to every person who comes into my home why I have a picture of a naked lady with Down's syndrome on my wall. Maybe that should be their tactic--give us money or else we'll mail you a calendar for which you will have a lot of explaining to do.
The U.S. Army recruited more than 2,600 soldiers under new lower aptitude standards this year, helping the service beat its goal of 80,000 recruits in the throes of an unpopular war and mounting casualties.
They advertise their product as "The toughest glue on earth." Really? Well, it took a competitor, Elmers, to challenge this claim and take it to the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau. Gorrilla, if you're making that claim, you can back it up right?
When it comes to President Bush's approval rating — the number that measures his political health — one factor seems more powerful than any Oval Office address or legislative initiative.
A man in Belgrade, Serbia, decided to take the advice of a local witch doctor to cure his problem with premature ejaculation. His prescription? Have sex with a hedgehog...a spiky European relative of the porcupine. The witch doctor promised "total discretion" and said the cure was guaranteed 100 percent. The European hedgehog is about the size of a guinea pig, and though it has spikes like a porcupine, the spikes do not generally come loose and are not as sharp as porcupine quills. When threatened with inappropriate sexual advances, hedgehogs roll themselves up into a spiky little ball.
Randall W. Harding sang in the choir at Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, Calif., and donated part of his conspicuous wealth to its ministries. In his business dealings, he underscored his faith by naming his investment firm JTL, or "Just the Lord." Pastors and churchgoers alike entrusted their money to him.
Police are on the lookout for members of a machete-wielding gang in angry clown make-up after a rampage that left nearly two dozen people injured in a park in Washington state.
If you're tired of wiping your butt on plain white or printed toilet paper, a Portugese company has come up with a tres chic all black designer toilet paper for $3+ a roll. Just what we've all been waiting for!
Online dating is a huge industry now. So big that some claim it's a huge marketplace for fraud and scamming, which is prompting lawmakers to consider passing legislation to regulate more of these activities.
Remember that 
Exhausted Japanese workers in need of a pick-me-up will soon be able to get a hit of canned oxygen at their local convenience store.
"I never used to believe in powers of darkness, but now I do. If you are willing to buy it, please let me know. I take no responsibility for what may happen afterwards and for god's sake don't keep it anywhere near children.... There are indeed things in this world that are best not meddled with or even thought about, because sometimes all they need is an opening. I'll start from the beginning, it's the only way to tell the story..."
The story begins with an industrious guy taking a single red paperclip and trading it for a fish pen, then a doorknob, then a camp stove, then a small portable generator. The "pay it forward, upsize" approach, he figures will eventually result in bigger and better trades, leading him to his goal of a new house.