What the Ashley Madison Hack Reveals About all Social Networks

When recently revealed that only 1,492 female users on Ashley Madison even checked their messages, it became clear that faking social activity is a phenomenon many people are susceptible to. Although despicable, the Ashley Madison site does teach us some lessons about social media participation. With Facebook, users are undoubtedly real for the most part though the company admits having found a multitude of fake profiles. The same cannot be said about every social network. Moreover, all social networks are greatly susceptible to a particular scam that goes something like this:

A user makes believe he or she has interest in your posts by following your blog, Google+ page, etc. Flattered, you either follow that user back or at least try to give that person a few +1s or "likes". After reciprocating, the user that followed you originally either unfollows you or mysteriously stops paying attention to your posts though you continue to see their posts. This scam is especially prevalent with attractive women that use the trick to create a large following. For all we know, these girls may not even be real.

Although Google does warn people about following strangers, it's human nature to be social. Fortunately, being somewhat antisocial, I don't have that problem much. Nonetheless, it is nice when someone actually reads my posts for a change.

Beware of Lump Sum Payments

Everyone dreams about winning the lottery and how they would spend the money. Would you take the jackpot in one lump sum payment or opt for structured monthly payments? What most people don't realize is that many lottery winners actually go bankrupt in a few years because it is human nature to overspend. The situation becomes more critical when money is awarded from a malpractice or similar lawsuit. To protect recipients who have medical conditions resulting from another party's actions, the concept of structured settlements was born.

Structured settlements pay the settlement over time usually in fixed monthly payments. While the system works for many, some prefer a single upfront or lump sum payment even if that payment is less than the original amount paid over time. For people in severe debt, sometimes this appears to be the only viable option. Sounds fair right? Buyer beware, where money is involved, predators will always find a way to steal what you have coming.

When a settlement is made with an insurance company, that settlement can be purchased by a third party to supply all the money upfront in a single payment. In return, the investor will typically offer less for the settlement to reduce risk in case the person dies and the payments stop. This seems reasonable until you find out just how much less some companies offer and the deceptive practices used to lure in victims.

In cases of lead poisoning for example, an alarming trend targets people considered "competent" enough by law to sign away their structured settlements in favor of lump sum payments. The word "competent" is murky at best as some individuals even with minor brain damage find themselves caught by legal loopholes where just having a drivers license can work against the person. Proponents argue that if the individual managed to make it through high school and has a drivers license, learning disabilities are insufficient grounds for incompetence. With legal agreements often hard to decipher even by people without disabilities, foul play cannot be ruled out. Moreover, in many cases, the lump sum payment often works out to paying only a tiny fraction of the original structured settlement. Suspiciously, minorities with less education are often targeted the most. Although one cannot assume every company that offers such services is shady, being aware of this practice is the best defense against those that prey on unsuspecting victims.

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Hong Kong - Your Taxpayer Dollars Hard at Work

The China Project: American Taxpayer Dollars Hard at Work!

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Our uneven trade agreements more often than not seem to benefit other countries more than us. Hedge fund managers of course don't mind because they have the money and means to manipulate foreign markets. That's great for them! I hope they all get rich at our expense.

Is NASA Making a Historic Blunder with Europa?

"After walking away from a previously planned joint mission to Jupiter, NASA has asked the European Space Agency if it can furnish a lander or ice-penetrating probe for a rejuvenated U.S.-led robotic spacecraft to visit Jupiter’s moon Europa."

source: http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/04/10/nasa-invites-esa-to-build-europa-piggyback-probe/

Translation: Once again, we'll put up most of the money and build the rocket to get them there so Europe can steal the glory again just as they did with Titan. Most of the time when you hear about the Huygens probe, it's a great achievement for the ESA (European Space Agency) and if NASA's involvement with Cassini is even mentioned, we're lucky to get a footnote. When the ESA discovers life on Europa, that will be a great moment for them. Why don't we just put a Russian rocket on the mission to make our humility complete?

Not only could NASA have easily built the Europa landing/ice-penetrating probes but private enterprise here would have greatly benefited too! But I guess that would make too much sense after spending countless billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars and decades searching for life!

See Also: http://roberthaskell.blogspot.com/2015/07/americas-contributions-to-space-race.html

Frivolous Lawsuits Making Lawyers Richer at the Country's Expense

Life without parole plus fourteen years, no David Sweat. Having already cost the state of NY an estimated $58.6 million in overtime costs in a 23 day epic manhunt, we now get to enjoy the next phase of his folly - racking up legal fees! Is there any point to dragging this on further than it needs to be? Sure the Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial but how much clearer does it need to be? Do we really need to go through the whole long drawn out process when it's already clear they're going to lock the door and throw away the key?

At best, maybe he could cooperate and spend less time in solitary confinement. Cases like these should be expedited to keep costs down. It may not pay for every lawyer's house in the Hamptons but tough times demand sacrifices on us all. Read more at:

http://pix11.com/2015/08/15/new-york-manhunt-cost-state-nearly-1-million-a-day-in-overtime/

Lice Where you Least Expect it

As reported by CNN, a lice infestation kept reoccurring in a household because of a general failure many of us are susceptible to - we don't always read the directions! Lice can be difficult to control but a simple over-the-counter lice shampoo will often work provided the instructions are at least followed. In the case study, the family looked everywhere but the mother's hair. Regardless of whether a person is the queen or just the queen bee, lice do not care! No one is impervious to parasites and even a good hygiene regimen is not always enough.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/18/health/mutant-lice/index.html

9-1-1 Faces Tough Dilemma

By law, disregarded mobile phones must still provide 9-1-1 assistance. The twenty year old rule was designed to ensure that all people regardless of financial circumstances have access to emergency assistance. The theory is good until 9-1-1 operators find themselves overwhelmed by crank calls that inhibit emergency responses. Although 9-1-1 has the ability to track calls to a certain degree, it is simply impossible to pinpoint every call particularly if that individual does not want to be tracked. With phone carriers reluctant to help narrow the field, federal regulators are left with no choice but to consider changing the regulation.

Law officials argue the change is necessary to free emergency response teams despite the need to help people with disabilities. Regardless of how an individual feels about the issue, the bottom line is that these crank calls cost billions of dollars annually. If 9-1-1 is to continue at the same level of operation, ultimately the benefits we gain from providing greater accessibility may be too high of a cost for the program to remain solvent.