Danger,Danger.

Being a 30 plus single person you may find it shocking that I might occasionally peruse the murky world of online dating.

However living in a home in the rolling foothills of El Dorado County, close to a winery and  with a newly installed wi-fi connection, the temptation was too great.

As a regular Facebook user and cheap skate, I noticed an application, called “are you interested.” The purpose of this is to match up various single Facebook users who are not already matched up. So with nothing better to do I decided to give it a try.

One of the suggestions was a 28-year-old woman from Colorado named Ema Witte.

After an initial e-mail reply asking about me, the poor grammar of phrases such as “I not in state” instead of  “ I’m not in the states” should have been an automatic give-away, even if she was claiming to be German?

The lady in question told a story that her parent died and she was living with a friend in Colorado when she ran off with a man to his home country of Benin where he robbed her and left her with a $650.00 hotel bill?

As it turned out this damsel in distress said she needed $375.00 to pay the hotel in Benin so she could have her passport returned to her.

My curiosity lead me to do a googel search of the name Ema Witte; I wanted to know why she didn’t know anyone after growing-up and living in America?

It turns out that there is a well-known scammer by the name of Emma Jane Witte.

I was directed to a site, delphifaq.com where several men in France and the United States had been victims of this person.

After seeing the Information I copied it and sent it to the lady in question with the title “I saw something interesting”.

I received a reply in which they thought it was “funny”.

I began to wonder, was there even a person named Emma Witte or Emma Witter?

Apparently there is a 19-year-old model in London, England named Emma Witter whose face looks strikingly like that of the Ema Witte who has e-mail myself and others on Facebook.

According to dangersofinternetdating.com one of the hallmarks of a Nigerian 419 scam as they are called is that the scammers download photos from models’ websites and then use them to set-up phony accounts.

In fact there are 10 Facebook accounts with the name Ema Witte, Emma Jane Witte or Emma Witter or some variation.

According to the FBI’s press release of 04/03/08, in 2007 there were over 200,000 complaints of inter-net based fraud. These reported scams netted a total of $240 Million dollars.

So after all this, one might listen to the old Waylon Jennings song "looking for love (in all the wrong places)", and wounder if in fact it is possibale to find genuine relationships in our cyber world of hustles & scams.

It's probably safer to just go to the local bar and buy someone a round.

9/11 Revisited

Thomas S. Ball

This week marks the Eighth anniversary of a day that has defined this decade. On Sept. 11, 2001 the United States was attacked for only the third time in 225 years.

In the days and weeks that followed, our nation was united in a manner un-parallel since the assassination of  president John F. Kennedy.

In streets and cities across America, fear gripped our country.

Citizens who had become jaded and disinterested in government suddenly yearned for leadership from the new administration of President George W. Bush.

While some critics have complained about Bush’s slow response to the events on Sept. 11 2001, such a crisis could confound the greatest of presidents.

In the aftermath the Bush administration launched a war on terrorism.

However after eight years are we any closer to defeating Islamic extremism?

I talked to to professor Afshin Marashi who has been in the field of Middle Eastern studies for 20 years.
Marashi said,“what you notice is that an event such as 9/11 happens and then there is an intense interest in a region like the Middle East for a while and then that interest fades.” Marashi also said “my position was created as a response to 9/11.”

For example “after 9/11 Sac St expanded the teaching of Arabic but because of the budget crisis 2^nd year Arabic has been cut.” Marashi says, “a professor in religious studies who taught Islam has not been replaced and without a full time instructor it will be hard to maintain the minor (in Middle Eastern Studies).”

Through out much of our history with the Middle East policy makers have taken a shortsighted approach.

When asked what the United States can do to combat Muslim Extremism Marashi said, “There isn’t anything the United States can do” according to Marashi “ what needs to take place in the Middle East is an internal discussion … this is a long historical process.”

In the weeks that followed 9/11 hate crimes against Muslim-Americans increased.

Basim Elkarra the executive director of the Council of American Islamic Relations in Sacramento, Ca. said, “According to C.A.I.R.'s civil rights reports there was a significant increase in hate related cases nationwide. The cases kept increases until last year where they have come down. Unfortunately civil rights abuses continue to increase. In 2006, there were over 1900 cases, in 2007 over 2400 cases, and in 2008.”

Elkarra said, “These include cases of employment and government discrimination.”

Since 9/11 the United States has spent over $1trillon in Iraq.

Elkarra said, “Many in the Muslim world believed that the two wars were wars against Islam itself.

At first some saw the justification at the war against Afghanistan in retaliation for 9/11 but after the U.S. attacked Iraq many felt that Islam was now under attack because Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.”

Since the election of President Barack Obama many in the Muslim community are hopeful that change in the region is possible.

According to experts such as Masarhi “ Obama has an opportunity that no other President has…” , Marashi says “He (Obama) symbolically undermines the history of colonialism…it is profoundly important that his middle name is Hessian; Because it makes it difficult for people like Bin Laden to demonize him and the United States."

For the United States to effectively combat Islamic fundamentalists such as Osama Bin- laden, policy-makers in Washington D.C. must stop trying to deny the effects of centuries of Imperial influence in the Arab world. This requires a sustained commitment to fostering relationships based not on the acquisition of resources but the development of opportunities for people in these impovershed nations.

Protest At Sac St.

Thomas S. Ball

“Well you say the budget’s cut, why don’t you tell me something new? I’ve been singing about the state budget cuts since 1992. Well it’s time to stop the nonsense and I’ve got some things that you can do, Cause we’ve got to work together to get out of these furlough blues.”--- The Furlough Blues

It’s that time of year again. As they start the fall semester, students used to being greeted with long lines at the financial aid office, and books not being in at the bookstore now are in for something extra.

This fall at Sacramento State and other CSU campuses students are being hit with a double whammy; 32 percent fee increases and a 10 percent reduction in class time.

This is a result of the new contract that the California Faculty Association agreed to as part of the budget agreement signed by Gov. Arnold Schwartsenegger and the Legislature on July 24.

According to the CSU budget office, in 2009 the average cost to under-graduate students will be $4,026.00, which is double what it cost students in 2003.

One of the provisions of the agreement, designed to save the state money, is the inclusion of Furlough days.

For many students this means classes being canceled and fewer days of instruction.

The Furlough day provision is at the heart of the current protests because they force teachers to take un-paid leave during the semester.

On Wed, Sept. 2. Students and faculty gathered together in the quad at Sac St. to protest the effects of the new contract.

Some of the protesters played instruments and sang protest songs, then they lead the crowd in chants of “they say cut back, we say fight back.”

CFA president Kevin Wehr said, “We’re talking to people spreading the message to the community that students & teachers need to be united and staff & students are paying 32percent more to get 10 percent less.” Wehr also said, “ we’re out here to make sure this doesn’t become bossiness as usual.”

The developments are vary troubling for students. One such Student is Kristina Lee who is the co-chair of the Progressive Alliance.

Lee said, “I understand the need to trim some fat from the budget, but I don't think that furloughs are the way to do it. I also think it hurts California in the long run because with decreased incomes, state workers will be buying and investing less. Additionally, stressing them out by decreasing their pay stresses them out, and (it) lowers (the) morale and productivity. Challenging state workers to come up with ways to decrease their departmental budgets and implementing viable ideas seems like a better way of cutting spending, even if it takes longer to do and costs a little more.”

As a result of the budget crisis Sac St, along with the other CSU’s, has already stopped accepting applications for new students in 2010. Un-fortunately it seems that now the students that are left are going to be receiving a lower quality of education at a higher price.