OFFBEAT MAIL

War veterans cry foul over mail fraud Surviving on a measly monthly social pensions from the federal government, many war veterans here have fallen prey to fraudulent transactions mostly done through direct mails by unscrupulous people across the United States. The normal modus operandi appears to be legitimate because the unsuspecting victims would receive mails that looked like their names have been luckily picked up in a lottery draw which in fact was done somewhere else. A case in point was that of Fortunato Magno , a disabled war veteran living in Carson, who got a mail that proclaimed him a lucky winner of a US$10,000 in a lottery draw made many years ago. But the catch was that he wouldn't be able to receive the full amount unless he sends some amount to a certain address as processing and service fee. "Believing to myself that I was lucky enough, I sent a check to the addressee mentioned in the letter," Magno said. Instead of receiving the promised amount, h

It is common knowledge that illegal drugs are keeping international terrorism alive. Alone, the billions of revenues that are generated from its vast production in Afghanistan and the Golden Triangle is more than enough to finance all sorts of terroristic activities that Muslim extremists can do to destroy innocent targets they consider as infidels. The latest video, whereby forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was perhaps a gross neglect of its duties to stop further proliferation of poppy plantations in Afghanistan, whose by-products are illegally marketed throughout the world, particularly Europe and the United States. And sadly, the billions of revenues from the sales are used to buy guns and ammunition to sow terror in and outside the Middle East. It was surprising to note that NATO forces were seen searching for possible terrorist suspects in one of the hinterlands of Afghanistan. In the process, they stumbled on one of the biggest poppy plantations in the

The U.S. government is in the process of strengthening its biometric identification measures against citizens of the 27 countries that have participated in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program to avoid another 9/11 incident in the country, where more than three thousand people were killed. In this way, Muslim terrorists coming from countries with whom the U.S. has waiver visa programs can be identified based on the fingerprints that are appearing on the passport information they supplied upon arrival at any of the entry ports in the United States. In a CNN broadcast today , Clark Kent Ervin , former inspector of the Department of Homeland Security, said that this move is expected to flush out those citizens coming from countries where the U.S. does not allow them to secure visas before entering the country. He cited United Kingdom as one of the countries whose citizens are not required to apply for a visa when coming the United States for a visit. The official said that this waiver program cou

There are people who look normal on the outside but in fact, weird on the inside. There actuation , feelings, perceptions and beliefs are out of this world. But like wild mushrooms in the forests, these weirdos are fun and intriguing to be with. And the sad thing is that some of them feel that they can still find the Elixir of Life and extend their sexual libidos forward. But how do weirdos live and survive? Abnormal as they are, they are still a big part of the population who breath fresh air, eat fresh foods, gamble, dance, and cavort in the sun. Of course, others could hardly stand on their own but have to be committed somewhere else for health reasons. Noticeably, there are some whose sights are poor enough to read the daily stock results in the newspaper, but still try to keep themselves up-to-date using the magnifying glass to see if the share prices went up or down. Perhaps, they think that they have the superpowers to haul their excess wealth to heaven or hell, considering

After an Australian company Acrux developed a special spray containing male sex hormone testosterone, scientists have again discovered a pill that could enhance females’ libido. BBC reported that hormone-releasing pill was tested to female monkeys who showed more mating behavior and ate less. “When it was given to monkeys, they displayed mating behavior such as tongue-licking and eyebrow-raising and tail-wagging to the males,” the report said. The experiment surfaced after psychologists have noted that 40 percent of women experienced lack of sex drive while in a relationship. The Edinburg medical team is expected to test the results of the experiment to women. According to the Medical Research Council’s Human Reproduction Unit in Edinburg, the pill could be made available in the next decade. The efforts will be in partnership with a pharmaceutical firm.

Providing efficient care for at least seven million people suffering from HIV/AIDS worldwide is a costly undertaking. And many countries are still grappling as to what measures to make in order to stave off the stigma that ostracize millions from their children and families, especially those currently locked up in many health care facilities so that they wouldn't have the chance to spread further the dreaded diseases. For instance, in many African countries, where political struggles and wars have stunted economic growth and sending millions as refugees, HIV/AIDS has been identified as the number one killer. With no efficient medicine discovered yet to cure such disease, people have been vulnerable to contracting it, especially through sexual intercourse. Safe sex has been spread around as part of concerned governments and non-government organizations' information drive to further educate more people on how to avoid the spread the of the disease. In Africa alone, countless c

If there is anyone to blame for the worsening sectarian violence in Iraq, it should be Iraqi President Jalal Talabani , who appointed Nouri Jawad Al- Maliki as the country’s Prime Minister after Saddam Hussein was toppled a few years back. It comes as a surprise that the Iraqi Parliament has picked someone from Kurdistan Province, if only to make the political landscape in Iraq look neutral to the local population and the world. But things have turned negative because the outcome did not seem compatible with the aspirations of the Iraqi people considering that Maliki is a hardline Shia himself, wherein majority of the Sunnis do not trust him as their prime minister. If we take a look at the political set up in Iraq, it is clear that most of the government officials Maliki appointed to sensitive posts were mostly Shias , a move that was viewed by the Sunnis and the Kurdish as favorable to their political interests. How did Talabani came into the Iraqi political circle? Well, Ta

Despite its robust economy, the United States is poised to feel the labor crunch as manifested by the recent job cuts imposed by big corporations just to keep their sagging operations afloat in keeping with their remaining resources. Independent economists have predicted that the problem will be exacerbated further by the emergence of globalization which puts millions of American jobs at risk in the coming decade or so. Expected to suffer the impacts of free trade are the estimated two million jobs in the fields of accounting, bookkeeping and auditing, which can be done using the latest communication technology, says Alan Blinder, the former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in a report posted at Wikipedia . This development is a pinch on the U.S. labor market where unemployment rate is causing unease among American workers because some big corporations opted to shift their production to China and other locations in Southeast Asia, where labor is cheap and tariffs on imported

Known to have one of the world's military mights, North Korea is looking forward to getting some 400,000 tons of rice from its generous neighbor-South Korea. International observers viewed the new food shipment as another form of generosity from a democratic country that is threatened by a nuclear attack from its communist neighbor. And they have expressed doubts that the humanitarian aid will ever go where it is supposed to go. As gleaned in the past, relief goods are diverted to enterprising people close to the regime. While the food aids were believed to have been set aside to feed its military men who are ever loyal to the Nokor leader, rather the millions of its citizens, most of whom are dying of hunger and famine. In fact, video footages aired over international television recently showed that malnourished children picking food leftovers along the side streets. While relief goods supposed to cloth the impoverished are seen being sold in market stalls for profits. For whom?

It is hard to resist the magic spell of a summer day at the Redondo Beach Pier. Surely, it is something that any mortal soul would look for at any given day. And it doesn't matter at all if it is morning or afternoon because ultimately the choice is yours. From afar, the Pier juts out into the open sea, bedecked with sturdy wooden planks enough to withstand the big waves and the swells; benches where lovers idle their time away, and birds on their feeding frenzy mingle together, absorbing the slithers of the salty breeze as it wafts upon your languid faces in reverie. Like anywhere else, the place is accessible via Torrance Bus No. 3 that plies its daily route from Long Beach. Or hop in the Metro Bus coming from downtown Los Angeles to reach the Pier. Simply walk down the concrete alley leading to the entrance to the Pier, where a variety of food establishments greet the visitors. Go farther and find a favorite spot where you can witness how anglers launch their variety of fishi

It is sad to know that Japan, one of the highly industrialized countries in the world, produce more quality and fuel-efficient cars than children. As such, it baby boomers are increasing fast more than it expected. With the fast pace of industrialization and the constricting space that Japan experience at the moment, people are left without a better choice but make do with whatever they can to survive in a dog-eat-dog competition such as that of Japan. Sometimes, many people are puzzled if the impacts of progress has something to do with population growth? If it does, then we can say that indeed it is true as what is happening right now, not only in Japan, but other developed countries like the U.S. and other Scandinavian countries for that matter. Mind you, these countries have the highest standards of living. Alone, keeping the basic needs of the families is all it takes to keep oneself very busy to survive. And living in Japan is so expensive and no ordinary workers can ill-afford t

Picture out barefoot and malnourished children roaming the streets, begging for alms from passing motorists. As early as dawn, they are already out there, sans breakfast but dreams that they would be able to cope with the daily grinds of life. Hands outstretched, knocking at every window glass of cars stalled on traffic in the hope that any loose coins would trickle onto their tin cans. Day-in and day-out, this is their routine. Some of them, as young as four, while others are in their early grades, are already out-of-school. Reason? The parents can't afford to send them even to a public school. With jobless parents around, these children are left without a choice but to fend for themselves, anything that would keep them survive in the world's dog-eat-dog competition. The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and so with various international organizations, have done their best to reach out for these street children, most engaged in drudgery just to survive, eve