Fight Vanzandt

I need some help. I got a call from Aram. He's living in Wales and stays with an elderly gentleman named David. David has recently been scammed out of a LARGE chunk of change and they asked me to help.

Here's what I know:

A representative from the Vanzandt group called David and convinced him to pay them for shares in various start up companies (I've got a list of them below). The shares are worthless.

Smart Grid Systems, Inc
Seven waterfront Plaza 500 Ala Moana Blvd,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Telephone (702) 664-0042.
invest@smart-gridsystems.com
www.smart-gridsystems.com

Selva Resources Corp
565 Las Vegas Boulevard, Suite 723
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Green Energy Live, Inc
1740 44th Street, Suite 5-230
Wyoming, MI 49519
Phone:(866) 460-7336
Fax 616-582-5943
Karen Clark
President/CEO
Green Energy Live, Inc

http://www.greenenergylive.com

I have requested more info on Vanzandt itself and I'm currently waiting for that. According to the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), Vanzandt is not authorized to do business in the UK (http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Law/Alerts/overseas.shtml).

I did a little research and found out that this type of scam is refered to as a Boiler Room Scam.

Such firms are often involved in ‘boiler room’ activities and pose a high degree of risk to consumers. They frequently engage in tactics including cold-calling members of the public offering shares that later turn out to be worthless or high risk. - FSA

David's next steps are to file a complaint with his local police, the FSA and a City of London Police Task Force called Operation Archway.

David's ultimate hope is to recoup some of his money. To do that, as I understand it, his first steps are to find the country in which Vanzandt is registered and find out what the local laws are.

I know it's a long shot, but is there anything we can do?

Edit:

The VanZandt Group has phone numbers in Switzerland and are also listed on the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission)cold-calling blacklist and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority list of Invester Alerts.

Ph: 435 002 593 and 44 308 3535
Fax: 434 302 117

Towing Rage

On Saturday night, Brandy came to visit and tell us all about her trip to Brazil. I made pizza and Angie made a strawberry dessert. We laughed, we cried. The usual.

While we were socializing, Shamrock towing came and took Brandy's car away. Her crime was not having a parking pass for the neighborhood.

We should have learned our lesson when Sis' car was towed about a month ago. We did not.

Brandy had to call Shamrock. They quoted her $133, so I motioned for the phone:

Me: The sign says $90 towing fee plus $12 storage fee. That's $102. Why is
it $133?

Jerk Lady: There is a $25 administrative fee plus tax.

Me: Administrative fee? That's not on the sign. I demand that all fees be
written on signs.

Jerk Lady: It's Ohio Revised Code.

Me: Which one?

Jerk Lady: Look on the sign.

Me: No, I will not. You want to charge me $25, you should know the revised
code. What is it?

Jerk Lady: Look, I'm not the one who parked where I shouldn't have. The
code is on the sign.

Me: You don't have to be a jerk, lady. If I have to pay, I'd like to know
the code. I need to speak to your manager.

Jerk Lady: She's not in. You have to call Monday.

Me: What's her name? What's her number?

Jerk Lady: Her name is Manager. You can call this number.

Me: Oh, I will! And I will tell her all the jerky things you said to me. I
have written them all down so that I can quote you verbatim! You have met your
match this time.

Oh, yes I would fight the administrative fee with every breath I have!

That's what is called impotent rage. I was mad at the property management company for its stupid parking rules, I was mad at the towing company for towing Brandy's car, I was mad at Jerk Lady and her stupid $25, but mostly I was mad at myself for knowing the stupid rules and ignoring them.

I was furious. I mean I couldn't think of anything else.

I took Brandy to get her car and, as I drove home alone, I thought of ways to alleviate my feeling of rage. I came to a simple solution.

I called Jerk Lady - we could probably just call her Lady now - back and apologized to her for being a jerk myself. She didn't deserve to be the recipient of my anger. It's not like she gets to keep the $25.

It worked, too. Once I did the right thing, I felt better; no more impotent rage. I went home and went to bed without another thought about towing or administrative fees.

Satire

I stumbled across this article tonight written by an unidentified TARP wife. The commenters seem to suggest this is meant to be some sort of satire, but I must admit I don't find it.

Take a read and let me know what you think.

I was turned off early on by this:

It also means we’re part of the community of more than 400 companies that have
received government bailout funds, whose fall from grace has been
swifter and harsher than any since Mao frog-marched intellectuals into China’s countryside.

I don't have any love for Mao or his crazy policies, but, if he had marched this woman off the the countryside for a little re-education, I can't imagine complaining too much.

It's difficult to sympathize with a woman (or an entire group of charlatans) whose biggest concern is being seen getting into a taxi laden with shopping bags. Mind you, not concerned because she can't afford it, but rather that someone will see her.

This recession hurts everyone equally, I guess.

About the Bailout

You must read this article.

I am not a fan of Rolling Stone's political pieces, but this article is the most informative one I've read about the collapse of AIG and what it means for the financial system.

It's eight pages, but I recommend reading it through.

The mistake most people make in looking at the financial crisis is thinking of it in terms of money, a habit that might lead you to look at the unfolding mess as a huge bonus-killing downer for the Wall Street class. But if you look at it in purely Machiavellian terms, what you see is a colossal power grab that threatens to turn the federal government into a kind of giant Enron — a huge, impenetrable black box filled with self-dealing insiders whose scheme is the securing of individual profits at the expense of an ocean of unwitting involuntary shareholders, previously known as taxpayers.

I should not that it's not for sensitive eyes; Rolling Stone is 'edgy' and we all know 'edgy' means fowl language.

New Year's Warning

I am looking for meaningful activities for New Year's. I don't know exactly what I mean, but I figure I'll know it when I see it. Something along the lines of making a list of next year's goals, but fun.

If you can think of anything, please leave a comment.

In my Internet searching, I came across a list of New Year's superstitions at Snopes.com. Here's the most important part:

Other "lucky" foods are lentil soup (because lentils supposedly look like coins), pork (because poultry scratches backwards, a cow stands still, but a pig roots forward, ergo those who dine upon pork will be moving forward in the new year), and sauerkraut (probably because it goes so well with pork).

Another oft-repeated belief holds that one must not eat chicken or turkey on the first day of the year lest, like the birds in question, diners fate themselves to scratch in the dirt all year for their dinner (that is, bring poverty upon themselves)

Gasp!

I eat chicken EVERY New Year's Day. That certainly explains a lot.

I'm not superstitious, but you won't find me eating any birds on Thursday.



**Programming Note: Christmas pictures can be found at everybodylovesnila.blogspot.com**

I Killed This Today

Q: What other names are Potato Bugs known by?
A: The common Potato Bug is also known as the Jerusalem cricket. Our Native American friends call him “Woh-tzi-Neh” (Old Bald-Headed Man). In Latin America, he’s “niña de la tierra” (child of the earth). Other names include: Satan's fetus, the Devil's spawn, the Devil's child, the Devil's baby, the Devil's fetus, evil fetus, bald devil fetus, bald fetus of Satan, and earth fetus.

Q: Do potato bugs bite?
A: They gnaw.

Q: Why are potato bugs so ugly and frightening? Why do they look part human? Where did they come from?
A: The most widely held belief is that God didn’t create potato bugs. It was Satan’s work. And amongst evolutionists and non-religious types, the consensus is that potato bugs came from outer space.

Q: I have potato bugs in my vegetable garden. How can I rid myself of these pesky critters?
A: Drench your entire yard with gasoline and set it ablaze. Once the fire has burned itself out and the ground has cooled, cultivate the soil to a depth of seven feet, saturate the area with battery acid and top the surface with gasoline. After a few minutes, most of the surviving potato bugs, now irritated, will burrow up for air. Set the yard on fire again, and let it burn itself out. The remaining bugs should be crisped. Add water. Only then, and only maybe, will you rid yourself of potato bugs.

Q: When I sleep, I have recurring dreams about potato bugs. Nightmares, really. Should I be concerned?
A: No. We all have nightmares about potato bugs. Try not to drink alcohol right before bed.

Q: Does alcohol consumption increase the chances of potato bug nightmares?
A: No. Potato bugs are drawn to the smell of alcohol, so when you drink late at night they’re more likely to infest your bed. They may gnaw your cheeks while you sleep, trying to get at the smell of the alcohol on your breath.

Q: I have never even seen a potato bug. Where would I be likely to find one?
A: Consider yourself very lucky, click away from this website, and forget you ever asked that question.

Q: Do potato bugs eat potatoes?
A: Potato bugs eat your cheeks.

Thanks to PotatoBugs.com for all of this priceless information. I didn't expect to be confronted with this evil monster today, but some people are born great while others have greatness thrust upon them...