Robert Soloway is characterized as one of the world’s top 20 spammers. He was arrested today in Seattle for illegal spamming activities.

Washington Post

The indictment charges Robert Alan Soloway and his company, Newport Internet Marketing Corp., with fraudulently selling broadcast e-mail products and services that amounted to spam. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Washington refers to Soloway as a “spam king,” for the volume of unsolicited commercial e-mail his company produced. He is charged with mail fraud, identity theft, fraud and money laundering,

Soloway advertised a mass e-mail service that sent messages to an opt-in list of addresses, but didn’t actually use such a permission-based list, the indictment said. He also sold software products that customers could use themselves to send out mass e-mails. However, the product often didn’t work and if it did, it sent e-mails using forged headers. He also failed to offer promised support services, according to the court documents.

In addition, when customers complained, Soloway threatened additional fees and referral to a collection agency.

Soloway is also accused of sending out tens of millions of e-mails, often using forged e-mail addresses and domains in the “from” line, advertising his services. As a result, some people who legitimately owned the e-mail address or domain were blamed for the spam and blacklisted by Internet service providers.

The indictment also said that Soloway used programs and many different proxy computers in an effort to hide the source of the messages.

Soloway conducted the spamming activities at least from late 2003 through early this year, the indictment said.

If convicted, Soloway faces fines of over US$772,000, which is the amount he illegally obtained from his activities, as well as forfeiture of other money and property.

HA!!! Glad he’s caught. I read he made millions on his internet schemes. However, I have noticed that my spam has not decreased by a single piece of spam today

Forbes

Soloway was indicted by a federal grand jury on 35 counts that include mail fraud, wire fraud, fraud in connection with electronic mail, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Consumers may not immediately notice much change in the amount of e-mail-borne spam, because there are other, even bigger spammers out there, Peterson said. But the long-term effect from Soloway’s arrest could be great, he said.

“The message it sends is going to have a much bigger impact than what we see in our in-boxes, which is undetectable,” Peterson said, adding that he have recently seen more aggressive efforts by federal authorities to combat the scourge.

Soloway is the first spammer in the nation to be charged with aggravated identity theft under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

It makes sense that there would not be an immediate noticeable difference in the spam level. I’m hopeful this article is right and there will be a decline over the time.

One of the things I found interesting in the article is that in 2004 94.5 percent of email traffic was spam. Currently, 76.1 percent of email is spam. Judging from my in-box, I believe it. But THAT is a LOT of spam!

1. Be realistic, plan for a miracle.
2. Successful people give more than they receive.
3. Happiness is a choice.
4. Trust your instincts.
5. The things you own end up owning you.
6. Spend your time with admirable, successful people.
7. The most important job you will ever have in your life is raising your children.
8. Forgive everyone and everything, including yourself.
9. Confront your fears. Overcoming them reaps rich rewards.
10. Let go of trying to control things you have no control over.
11. You can travel as far as you want, one step at a time.
12. Allow yourself to wallow in positive thoughts.
13. If you lay down with dogs, you get fleas.

The long awaited Agloco Viewbar is in limited use by a few who joined up very early. It will soon be available for the rest of us.

Think about it, television is paid for by the commercials that we view during whatever programs we are watching. The same concept is used for the internet. When you are surfing the internet you see thousands of ads. It doesn’t matter what sites you go to, what search engines you use, they make their money by showing you ads in one way or the other.

I look at some of the web-spaces that are used by thousands and thousands of kids (you know what I’m talking about) and I see the number of ads on those spaces. I KNOW the kids aren’t making the money off the ads. the people who created the program are making the money and the kids who are creating their own spaces are putting millions of dollars in the pockets of the programmers.

You are looking at the ads, why aren’t you getting any revenue from them? You are creating the websites/blogs/myspaces, you are uploading untold amount of revenue producing text, photos, photoshops, animations, and whatever else that you are not getting any income from. I think we should get a cut of the revenue if we participate in creating the data bases. Well, you can.

Agloco is a simple viewbar, like the other viewbars you have on your screen, that gives you credit for the ads you view while you are surfing the web. In other words, you get paid to surf the web.

It’s free.
It doesn’t require you do anything other that what you already do on the internet.
I’m excited about it.
I can’t wait to get my viewbar!!
Go get yours!

You have nothing to lose. Do it, now. I really don’t want to have to say ‘you shoulda’.

Here’s the link.

AP

BAGHDAD - Hundreds of Iraqi and U.S. troops cordoned off sections of Baghdad’s Sadr City slum Wednesday and conducted raids in an apparent effort to find five British citizens who Iraqi officials believed were abducted by the Shiite Mahdi Army militia.

Four of the abducted men were security workers employed by a security firm out of Montreal, Canada. The fifth was a client of the firm. All were British citizens.

The five men were pulled out of a Finance Ministry office by about 40 heavily armed men in police uniforms in broad daylight Tuesday and driven in a convoy of 19 four-wheel-drive vehicles toward Sadr City, according to Iraqi officials in the Interior and Finance ministries.

One has to wonder how 19 vehicles with 40 heavily armed men got through security. Unless, of course, they had help from the inside …

Residents of Sadr City said hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops sealed off areas of the Shiite neighborhood overnight and carried out a series of arrest raids that lasted until dawn. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals for talking to the Western media.

The U.S. military said it had arrested five suspected militants and one suspected leader of a militant cell during early morning raids in Sadr City. Those arrested were believed part of a cell that smuggled weapons from Iran and sent militants to Iran for training, the statement said.

We have to keep in mind that this information is coming from ‘anonymous’ sources from within Sadr City. It’s hard to know if any or parts of what they report can be believed.

Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday’s abduction was carried out by men wearing police uniforms who showed up at the Finance Ministry data collection facility in 19 four-wheel drive vehicles of the type used by police. He said the band of kidnappers sped off across the Army Canal to the east. Sadr City, the Shiite Mahdi Army stronghold, is directly east of the canal.

“We are pursuing this case very vigorously, first to release them, secondly to establish the truth of what happened, who was responsible,” Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told BBC radio.

Zebari said that the government has long believed that its security forces were infiltrated by militia members.

“The number of people who were involved in the operation — to seal off the building, to set roadblocks, to get into the building with such confidence — (means they) must have some connection,” he said.

Ahhh, this is what I was saying, there has to be inside help. Well, yeah!! It’s long been known that the Iraqi security forces, police and military is infiltrated with terrorists. It’s a dangerous situation for the Iraqis and for our American Soldiers. Who can be trusted.

And yet, they are asked to trust them, even live in the same quarters with them. And when the terrorists strike, our Soldiers are expected to again put themselves in harms way to search for the hostages.

It seems to me it would be more productive to weed them out of the Iraqi army, police and security forces to begin with. Defeat then rebuild.

Meanwhile, our Soldiers are carrying the load and will continue to look for the British citizens. HOOAH!!!

This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Kathy

Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie
41 years old from Ann-Arbor, Michigan

Specialist Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie is a Iraqi American U.S. Army linguist soldier, from Ann-Arbor, Michigan who was kidnapped on October 23, 2006 in Baghdad and has not been seen since.

al-Taayie joined the Army in 2004 to help not only his country, the United States, but also his birthplace of Iraq and was deployed in 2005. On October 23, 2006 he was visiting his wife in the Karrada Shiite neighborhood in central Baghdad when he and his cousin were kidnapped by a group calling themselves Ahel al-Beit Brigades. His cousin was released shortly after. On November 2, 2006 al-Taayie’s uncle received a ransom demand of $250,000 for his return. Along with the ransom came a grainy video that showed a man beaten up who was identified as al-Taayie. No more has been heard from al-Taayie or his captures.

For more information on Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie you can go here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

The American chubby loser from California is back playing his role as pet puppet messenger for al-Qaeda to America.

What I noticed first in his video is that he’s a REALLY bad actor. He tried very hard to give a dramatic reading of his script, but it was a very amateurish acting job.

Aside from that, he is making threats on behalf of al-Qaeda to destroy America if we don’t meet their list of ‘legitimate demands’. They are non-negotiable he says. Of course, among their ‘legitimate demands’ are demands like cutting off Israel and destroying Zionist Christians as well. I don’t think that will go over well in the United States of America.

Fox News

CAIRO, Egypt — An American member of Al Qaeda warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape.

Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said Al Qaeda would not negotiate on its demands.

“Your failure to heed our demands … means that you and your people will … experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech,” he said in the seven-minute video.

Gadahn, who has been charged in a U.S. treason indictment with aiding Al Qaeda, spoke in English and the video carried Arabic subtitles. The video appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of Al Qaeda’s media wing, as-Sahab.

Gadahn, who appeared in an Al Qaeda video last September in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam, demanded that Bush remove all U.S. military and spies from Islamic countries, free all Muslims from U.S. prisons and end support for Israel. He said a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq alone would not satisfy Al Qaeda.

Ben Venzke at IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor that monitors Al Qaeda messages, said the group likely did not believe any of its demands would be met.

“It essentially allows Al Qaeda to say that it has provided fair warning and is thus no longer responsible for the outcome,” Venzke said in a statement.

Gadahn, a California native, is the first American to be charged with treason in more than 50 years and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also was indicted on a charge of providing material support to terrorists.

Gadahn refers to the United States with terms like ‘crusaders’, ‘mercenaries’, ‘empire of evil’. Our allies are loyal but stupid. Does that rhetoric sound familiar? Yep, our friends at Daily Kos and the like use the same terms.

I thought it was interesting that he talks of a global war. He refers to the opening battles of the war many years ago in Mogadishu and the Sudan. I believe he is right about this aspect. This war didn’t begin with 9/11, it just took 9/11 to get our attention and still we’ve lost focus. Gadahn states very clearly that the dye has been cast and only offers these ‘legitimate demands’ as a possible method of reducing the blood that will be spilled in America. The result of our not meeting these demands will be an attack that will dwarf 9/11, so he says. But then he talks about how hard they have been fighting us and they will continue to fight us that hard till no American is left in muslim lands. That seems a little contradictory to me.

As for the demands? They, of course, are ridiculous and I’m quite sure there is no expectation for America to meet these demands.

So, we are warned. Now what?

We know that al-Qaeda has the means and the will to wage war against us on our own land. They proved that on September 11, 2001. They have continued to fight us relentlessly ever since.

We will not make an attempt to meet these ridiculous demands and I’d be ashamed of us if we did. So we will see if this is an attempt to make us afraid or if they are considering this fair warning.

And why did Adam turn against his own country? His own people?

So what’s the deal Adam? Couldn’t you get a girlfriend in high school? Did the jocks in school make fun of you? Were your parents too lenient with you or were they uninterested? Do you think joining a cult will make everything all better? Do you feel accepted by the al-Qaeda?

You are nothing but a useful tool for them now. You can speak our language. Not just English, but our cultural language. You know how to communicate with Americans (bad acting aside). So that makes you useful. They can hold you up as an American who has converted to their side. Whoop-tee-do.

When your usefulness to them declines you might just find yourself with your head cut off. Because, after all, you aren’t REALLY one of them. Not to mention, no one trusts a traitor. They aren’t fools, they know if you turn against your own people you might just turn against them.

Too bad that our fine young men are being tortured, mutilated and left in the Tigris river while you are the toast of those who do these horrible acts. I so hope that our Soldiers find you alive so that we can watch you tried and receive your just consequence.

Previous: Adam Yahiye Gadahn American Traitor

Video at LGF
More at The Blotter

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MyFitnessPal.com is a free diet and fitness website. The program provides a free calorie counter that is easy to use. Calorie counter program is geared towards each individual’s needs with a program that learns from your eating habits and helps you to fit your favorite foods into your diet in a more healthy manner.

I’ve always found calorie counting> to be very tedious. But with this program makes tracking your food intake quick, easy and helps you develop a program towards health that is workable for YOU.

From MyFitnessPal website:

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It’s completely free so there’s nothing to lose from trying it, except those excess pounds.

Check it out …

Mexican Tourism

Thanks to Prying1

Cindy Sheehan has announced she will no longer be the public face of the anti-war movement.

Forbes

“I’ve been wondering why I’m killing myself and wondering why the Democrats caved in to George Bush,” Sheehan told The Associated Press while driving from her property in Crawford to the airport, where she planned to return to her native California.

“I’m going home for awhile to try and be normal,” she said.

In what she described as a “resignation letter,” Sheehan wrote in her online diary on the Daily Kos blog: “Good-bye America … you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.

“It’s up to you now.”

Cindy was the perfect face for the anti-war left. Her son was killed in battle during his second tour of duty in Iraq. She had left leanings and was easily malleable. She was willing to say and do whatever was prescribed to keep the anti-war movement in the headlines. She played her part well, at first.

The problem is that she went farther than many of the media outlets were willing to go. She cozied up to socialists dictators, especially Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. She used the progressive rhetoric of the outrageously far left. It’s not that the media minded it so much, it’s just that they wanted to keep their own noses clean. They had to hedge their bets. The media started backing away from covering her sad, pathetic gatherings.

When Sheehan first took on Bush, she was a darling of the liberal left. “However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the ‘left’ started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used,” she wrote in the diary.

She said she sacrificed a 29-year marriage and endured threats to put all her energy into stopping the war. What she found, she wrote, was a movement “that often puts personal egos above peace and human life.”

Welcome to the real world Cindy. It’s difficult to grow up and realize that powerful people have powerful egos. It’s difficult to grow up and have our childhood illusions of a ‘pretty’ life crushed. It’s difficult to grow up and realize that life is not fair and that regardless of what we do we can and will have difficult lives. That’s the nature of the beast.

With her time in the spotlight behind her, Cindy says she’s going to go home and start paying more attention to her other three children. That’s something I suggested she do a year or more ago.

The left wanted a poster-mother for the anti-war movement and she fit the bill. When her usefulness diminished they started backing away from her. Now Cindy has to deal with the issues that made her their darling to begin with. Belatedly. Sadly.

I sincerely wish her well.

Previous:

Others reporting: Uncooperative Blogger, Captains Quarters, Blogs of War, Blackfive, Leaning Up Straight, Public Eye, Conservative Cat, Right Voices, 7.62 Justice, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Pirate’s Cove, Bottom Line Up Front, The Anchoress, StikNStien, Tidbits and Treasures, Cozy Reader

I saw these pictures associated with an AP story about the Monday homicide bombing in an Iraq market. I thought the pictures were very telling.

The pictures reminded me of what I have read and heard about the final days of the European theater of World War II. When the Germans were defeated and trapped between the Russians and the British and Americans they attempted to surrender to the Americans and Brits rather than to the Russians. If you think about it a minute, it is obvious why they would prefer to be captured by the Americans and British.

In spite of the propaganda spewed out by our own news outlets that Americans are occupiers and bullies the world really knows that’s not true. Even when our own Senators call our Troops ‘cold blooded killers’, the world knows that’s not true.

The ‘progressives’ in our own country seem to be the only ones with such a low opinion of our countrymen. And, Nancy Pelosi seems to be the only one who doesn’t realize that al-Qaeda is fighting us in Iraq, and all over the world.

When the bomb went off in the market, the little boy in these pictures knew where he would be safe. He wasn’t afraid of this Soldier. He instinctively knew the American Soldier would protect him.

A young boy seeks shelter behind a soldier with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne division after gunshots rang out at the scene where just a few minutes earlier a suicide car bomber blew himself up in a busy commercial district in central Baghdad on Monday, May 28, 2007, killing at least 21 people and wounding 66, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed )

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I have never paid much attention to Alexa until the last few days. I first paid attention to the rating service when I applied for some affiliate programs and scored pretty low on the reimbursement levels because of my Alexa rank. My other ratings were pretty good - well okay anyway. But the Alexa rating is, well, not good.

The fact that rating was keeping me from getting better reimbursements from affiliate programs got me to trying to figure out how to get a better Alexa rating. In my looking around the internet I noticed that some blogs that do not have as many links or traffic as mine have better ratings, which I found frustrating. I realize this isn’t a ‘big blog’, but still ….

I’m told the ratings are pretty inaccurate - which makes me feel a little better - because the program measures through tracking how many users have installed the Alexa IE toolbar. That’s a problem for me since I use Firefox. But not to despair!

Well. I have been lurking around over at Connected Internet ever since I downloaded this blog template. After downloading the template I read some of the articles there and realized I liked what the guy writes. While lurking over there earlier today I ran across a series of articles at on just this subject.

He is conducting an experiment on ways to increase your rating with Alexa. His suggestions are listed as follows:

1. Document your current rate (I added that).
2. Install the Alexa toolbar or Firefox’s SearchStatus extension and set your blog as your homepage. This is the most basic step.
3. Add an Alexa rank widget on your website.
4. Encourage others to use the Alexa toolbar. This includes friends, fellow webmasters as well as site visitors/blog readers.
5. Use Alexa redirects on your website URL. Try this: http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?www.bluestarchronicles.com. Replace bluestarchronicles.com with the URL for your website. Leave this redirected URL in blog comments as well as forum signatures. This redirect will count a unique IP address once a day so clicking it multiple times won’t help.

Again from Connected Internet

If sufficient numbers of your readers join the experiment and follow steps 1&3 then your Alexa Rank should definitely increase. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone sees any improvement from adding the Alexa rank widget.

I’m giving it a try - I hope you will too. This evening I have downloaded the Firefox SearchStatus extension. I’ve added the Alexa widget to my sidebar with the embarrassing ranking of 496,606. BAH! Why does that feel like telling your weight! I’m encouraging you to do the same. The only thing I haven’t done is add the redirects, which I will do tomorrow (the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise - as they say around here).

So we’ll see what happens.

One of my favorite General John Stark quotes is:

Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!
~ John Stark at the Battle of Bennington in 1777