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By Stanley P. Gershbein
Brooklyn Daily
I received an official looking email from PayPal telling me that someone on a different computer was trying to gain access to my online account. The person entered multiple passwords with my user ID and, in order to protect me from fraud, it is now necessary to re-confirm my account information. If I do not send them all of the necessary information, including my current password, within 24 hours they “will be forced to suspend my Account Online Access so that it will not be used for fraudulent purposes.”
I have one problem with this request. I do not have, nor have I ever had, a PayPal account. Do you think the word ‘fraud’ has any meaning here?
OK. Let’s talk fraud. One morning last week I received an official looking message from YouTube with the website’s logo on it. It looked as authentic as anything I have ever seen on the internet before. The heading on this communication read, “YouTube service has sent you a message: Your video has been approved.”
Really? Hey, now. That’s great. All I have to do is confirm my account by sending them my name, address, and telephone number. They also want my password. Everybody wants my password! Again we can talk fraud. What video did they approve? Not from me. I never sent them a video.
From his pulpit, 19th-century English Preacher Frederick Robertson shouted “There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy — hypocrisy, tyranny, and fraud.” Our nation has some pretty strong laws but very weak penalties for breaking them.
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Do you enjoy watching political conventions? You should. You help pay for them. That is, if you are a taxpayer, you do. Thirty-five million dollars of our taxes go to both political parties for their conventions. There are very few restrictions on how the two parties can spend the money. Once again our money is being used to pay for lavish parties, alcohol, food, and almost anything. When one talks about the District of Columbia and trillions of dollars, $17.7 million to each party doesn’t sound like much, but it is still wasteful spending. Our tax dollars at work.
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So now that we know the religious beliefs of Dan Cathy and his feelings towards gay marriages, shouldn’t we have to learn the same about Emil Brolick, Bernardo Hees, and Don Thompson? Do you know who these gentlemen are? Take a minute and look them up. They and their beliefs are about as important to me as those of Mr. Cathy. I am more concerned about the fat content and calories of the products they serve and if you are a few pounds on the plus side, you should be as well. Having just lost thirty-five pounds and two inches on my sexy waist, I continue to look for delicious food to fill me up without bulking me up. There are loads of weight loss programs out there, but I’ve been successful without them for two reasons: I’ve been using a fairly new diabetic medication that slows the emptying of my stomach, and I have been receiving some great encouragement and recommendations from friends who have succeeded in slimming down.
The following is just one sliver of advice that helped put me on the right track:
Give me an everything bagel with gobs of Philadelphia cream cheese and lox with slices of onion and tomato. Double that for a major breakfast three or four times a week and I’m in heaven. Without looking it up, how many calories do you think there are in an everything bagel? According to the nutrition facts on the package of BJ’s bagels there are 410 calories in one. Add the extras and... well, you know the rest. Here’s the hint. Instead of the bagel, place the other ingredients on a well-toasted, crisp English muffin. Besides getting used to and enjoying the different taste, you will save 280 calories a sandwich. That’s 560 calories a breakfast.
I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net saying that I’d tell you more but I’m heading out now to buy some new slacks. The ones I’ve been wearing are much too large.
Read Stan Gershbein's column every Monday on BrooklynDaily.com.