<< The Mars One project, the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Bas Landorp, plans to send a few willing pioneers on a one-way trip, with no chance of returning to Earth. The $6 billion project will use existing technology and be funded through sponsors and private investors.
Two weeks after the call for applicants went out, about 80,000 people from 120 countries have already responded in the hope of becoming one of the first four Martian settlers.
On its website, the non-profit Mars One group says the first four settlers would be followed by more groups, every two years. At first, the home base would be limited to provisions, oxygen and water, but would expand to everything the settlers might need, including solar panels.
Mars One says primary funding will come from an as-yet-unspecified "global media event" that will feature the astronauts and their preparation. One organizer bristled at the comparison to reality TV, and said she preferred to call it an educational project. >>
Clearly, there is no spaceship departing on a one-way trip to Mars. But the real scam, fueled by suckering people into following impossible dreams, is the registration fee. I was curious what they were charging per application (after all, that *is* the heart of the scam). It's US $33.00.
This is a relatively modern reboot of an age-old scheme, ideal for the internet. All you have to do is create a website, a terms & conditions PDF, and an associated PayPal account. The website does not even need to have much on it; the Mars One site has very little content and is only slightly above amateur-looking. I'm not sure what % PayPal takes per transaction but I suspect it is marginal. So the Barnumesque cat behind Mars One is pretty much pocketing a small fortune. How much? There's been 80,000 sign-ups (and counting). If the guy behind the curtain gets US $30.00 of each transaction, that is $2,400,000. So far. Not bad.
Unlike 18th-19th century Euroscammers selling vast acres of farmland, complete with houses and pots of gold, in the New World to suckers who boarded ships, crossed the Atlantic, and found there was nothing waiting for them, what this guy is selling actually is nothing; he's charging to simply apply. At least our ancestral fools ended up at their destination. And some of them did alright. Of course, there is considerably more arable land and animal husbandry options in North America than, say, the Elysium Planitia district of the Martian municipality.
Did the Swamp somehow miss this restaurant's incredible showing on Kitchen Nightmares and its subsequent Facebook meltdown? If so, check it out. It's fantastic.
Shirley wrote:Did the Swamp somehow miss this restaurant's incredible showing on Kitchen Nightmares and its subsequent Facebook meltdown? If so, check it out. It's fantastic.
That story can easily kill a work day if you're not careful.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:13 pm
by Scottie
Ah, yeah, the "all of my accounts have been hacked" defense. Right.
I watched that episode; first time Ramsay ever walked away because there was nothing he could do. The truly screwed up thing (well, there's many) is that they invited Gordon to fix things and basically told him he was dead wrong about everything; screaming at him and calling him incompetent all the while. The woman? Completely crazy bitch. One of the few times you'd use the word asshole to describe a woman. Even while the FOX crew were taking down the lighting and cameras, she continued to bitch them out.
Then there is that small matter of staff. "Amy's Baking Company" has gone through what? Something like 100 staff in the last 4-6 months? It's a staggering number whatever it is.
Right from the very beginning of that episode, the loonie woman was going off about "evil" food bloggers and reviewers that trashed her restaurant without ever having even been there. Yeah, sure. It was clear from the beginning that everyone under the sun but herself was to blame.
Paying the wait staff minimum wage and refusing to let them have any (any!) of the tips? Unconscionable.
Not sure if that was an ideal candidate for Ramsay. Sure, he'll get heavy ratings for it because the couple are complete psychos and America loves a train wreck. But he really likes his "happy ending" where he walks away having saved the day.
As for "Amy's", when that Kitchen Nightmares episode aired and they clearly looked like vile morons, the only option for survival they really had was to shut the fuck up. When asked about it? Say "I guess he didn't like us. It didn't go well." But to melt the fuck down like that on websites to which the entire world has access? Well, I wouldn't want to be around her at the best of times let alone what she's going to be like when that place goes out of business imminently.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:14 pm
by kranepool
Yeah, I saw this yesterday. It's rubbernecking TV at it's finest.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:32 pm
by howard
I'm on my way out, only watched 6 minutes. This is hilarious.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:41 pm
by Scottie
And, as they should have seen coming but did not, every amateur Internet sleuth out there is digging up dirt on them. One thing that keeps on showing up is claims of her conviction for felony identity theft (bank fraud and stealing Social Security numbers). This forum's comments are just one of a slew of sites going after her.
(Not an endorsement of the site; I know nothing about it having never seen it until today)
I've never seen an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. But I had seen this restaurant thing get flooded in my FB feed and elsewhere. I didn't realize they were on the show until my buddy with a culinary degree was raving about it. And I just watched the episode from the Buzzfeed link. Holy Shit. Stay classy, Scottsdale.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 8:28 pm
by govmentchedda
kranepool wrote:Yeah, I saw this yesterday. It's rubbernecking TV at it's finest.
Kranepool, you asshole! I've spent 30 minutes of my life watching that.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 8:35 pm
by The Sybian
Scottie wrote:And, as they should have seen coming but did not, every amateur Internet sleuth out there is digging up dirt on them. One thing that keeps on showing up is claims of her conviction for felony identity theft (bank fraud and stealing Social Security numbers). This forum's comments are just one of a slew of sites going after her.
(Not an endorsement of the site; I know nothing about it having never seen it until today)
Apparently this isn't her first crazy train rodeo, either:
Old dude certainly stuck his dick in crazy, eh? I'm going to put on my amateur Psychiatrist hat and label her with Borderline Personality Disorder. He just has Stockholm Syndrome.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 8:45 pm
by Sabo
REMOVED story link because it's bogus.
Thanks, Max.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 9:22 pm
by kranepool
govmentchedda wrote:Kranepool, you asshole! I've spent 30 minutes of my life watching that.
Might as well go the last 11:00 now.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 9:22 pm
by Scottie
The Sybian wrote:Old dude certainly stuck his dick in crazy, eh? I'm going to put on my amateur Psychiatrist hat and label her with Borderline Personality Disorder. He just has Stockholm Syndrome.
She also tells Ramsay, at the beginning of the show (a couple of times) that she bakes all of those deserts you see in the display case. Later she admits that it's all "repackaged", meaning they get it elsewhere and she's flat-out lying. Sami, meanwhile, believes Ramsay is coming to tell the customers how good the food actually is rather than correcting anything because, well, everything is already as perfect as could be, right? Even the guy whose pizza never shows up, after a couple of hours, that's somehow his fault and those whackjobs try to throw him out and charge (!) him for it. Amazing. "Call the police! Call the police!"
Pretty sure I've seen every episode of that show, both the UK and US versions. Blame that on my wife. The worst idiot I had ever seen was in episode one, season one, of the US version. A place called "Peter's" in Babylon, New York, run by this slime-soaked Jersey guido douchebag. Worst, that is, until Samy and Amy Bouzaglos last week. I doubt even heavy doses of lithium would do her any good, she's completely fucked.
There is little on this planet that annoys me more than shitty, passive voice writing.
Other Side of Amy’s Baking Company Controversy in Scottsdale To Soon Be Told
SCOTTSDALE, AZ. MAY 15, 2013 -- Amy’s Baking Company will host a Grand Re-Opening on Tuesday night, May 21, following unflattering portrayals on national television.
Customers will be able to decide who is correct: a famous celebrity chef or the marketplace that has supported the small, locally-owned business for six years.
When re-opened, a portion of proceeds will benefit a charity organized to bring awareness to cyber bullying.
Diners will also have the opportunity to meet, and judge for themselves the character of owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, who have devoted their lives to and earn their living from their small restaurant. The Bouzaglos have been married for 10 years, after Sammy emigrated from Israel.
The owners will likely be holding a press conference before the Grand Re-Opening and answer falsehoods depicted on a reality television show, including assertions that the restaurant confiscates tips from servers.
In fact, wait staff is paid $8-$14 per hour, two and half to nearly five times the standard hourly wage for servers.
Questions will also be answered about what happened to their Facebook page.
Amy’s Baking Company was recently featured on the hit PBS show “Check Please” and has received A+ reports from CBS 5 for kitchen preparedness.
“We are very upset by what has taken place, apologize about the acrimony that has ensued but now must fight back to save our business. We hope and believe much good can result from what has transpired. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we begin to tell our side of the story,” Samy Bouzaglo said.
It's a nice primer for folks who haven't had a Korean experience, as it were. One great point that the author makes is that the desire for Korean reunification resides in the generation that had family divided between the two nations when the Korean War was, shall we say, put on pause. That generation, which saw brothers isolated on opposing sides of the DMZ, has grown old and is dying off. The younger generation doesn't care nearly as much; the sense of family between the two nations is becoming obsolete, making reunification seem less likely than ever. The rest of the article is a nice Daehan Minguk panorama.
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 3:26 pm
by degenerasian
Scottie wrote:There's no "long reads" thread anymore, is there? Don't believe so. This article about South Korea would belong there, if that was the case.
It's a nice primer for folks who haven't had a Korean experience, as it were. One great point that the author makes is that the desire for Korean reunification resides in the generation that had family divided between the two nations when the Korean War was, shall we say, put on pause. That generation, which saw brothers isolated on opposing sides of the DMZ, has grown old and is dying off. The younger generation doesn't care nearly as much; the sense of family between the two nations is becoming obsolete, making reunification seem less likely than ever. The rest of the article is a nice Daehan Minguk panorama.
Yup a very consistent power, not the new phenomenon that are the BRIC countries whose bubble may burst anytime.
How much did it cost West Germany to take in East Germany? Does North Korea even have traffic lights? How much money and manpower will it take to educate 25 million people?
Re: Swamp 6 Link Dump Extravaganza
Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 4:21 pm
by howard
degenerasian wrote:How much did it cost West Germany to take in East Germany?
A lot, but I think less than expected. Ameliorated by lending the people and firms in the East money so they could buy shit manufactured in the West. Same trick they did with Greece, Spain, Italy, et.al. which worked great. For a while.
