email scams

Just read an article in the Advertiser about email scams and all the "usual suspects" were mentioned.  I have had my share of FedEx, FBI, the dying lady with no next-of-kin, even a speeding ticket from New York City!!! Now all of these are obviously scams and hopefully, would only con the very stupid or very greedy.  What does worry me though, are the ones that at first glance, look genuine.  In the past couple of months I have had one claiming that I owed EBay $19.38.  This is clever, because it is a small amount and people who do a lot a eBay transactions might get caught out.  I didn't fall for this one because the scam email arrived the day after a legit email from eBay telling me that the amount owing on my account was $0.00.  I rang eBay, they asked me to forward the scam email and I was later informed that their fraud dept. had traced the offenders and closed them down.  Then last month, I received one claiming to be from Paypal, telling me that my account has been "limited" because of fraudulent activity with my credit card.  Once again, at first glance it looked OK, but when read a second time, things started to look suspect.  Firstly, the spelling and English grammar was atrocious and secondly, I do not own a credit card, so it could not have been used fraudulently.  Once again, I sent off a copy to paypal "spoof" dept. (twice) but nothing - no acknowledgement, reply or reassurance that things are being looked into and that my account is safe.  I'm assuming it is, but would be nice to have that confirmed, e.businesses owe that to their customers.

What is a Refugee?

What is the definition of a refugee?  I always assumed a refugee was (through no fault of their own) a displaced, persecuted or homeless person.  At any given time, there are many tens of thousands  of these people sitting in refugee camps in various parts of the world.
Some of these people have applied to Australia and other countries for refuge.  They have done everything by the book, filled out the correct forms, their identity papers are in order so there is no doubt about their age, nationality etc. and now, with their families they wait, and wait, and wait.....
Meanwhile, single men have paid large sums of money to queue jump into Australia, then when they arrive, have mysteriously lost their papers, won't reveal their country of origin and try to convince us they are under 18.  Some people that we have taken in, have been known to return to the very country they were fleeing for a holiday!!!!! If it is now safe to return, why are people still coming?
It will never happen, but how about this for a radical idea?  For every person who arrives here illegally and without papers, be traded for a family from a refugee camp.  Surely they can't complain if all they wanted in the first place, was to escape from their own country.

Power Company Greed

Our politicians may be against it, but it seems that our power and water supply companies are supporters of euthanasia, at least for the poor, the elderly and the frail and vulnerable amongst us!  We even get to choose - do we turn off our heating in the winter and die from hypothermia, or do we wait for summer where hyperthermia and dehydration is an option.
Having said that, I do not have sympathy for these households that have multiple appliances going 24/7 and then complain that their bill is approx. $1000 per quarter.  I am referring to those working poor who do not qualify for any government rebates, self funded retirees and those on pensions etc., - the very people who make up a large portion of our population.