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THE WASH RAG
published by Women Against Sexual Harassment
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Available on-line ASAP at http://www.washrag.org/ or
http://helenforelle.hypermart.net/WASH/
along with earlier issues
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Subscribe to e-mail version of this newsletter by sending an e-mail
to subscribe@washrag.org with "subscribe" in the subject.
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Issue 13, Number 1 March, 2005
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Contents

AN OVERVIEW OF GANGSTALKING
TARGETING OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT VICTIMS
BOOK ABOUT CHILD ABUSE — REVIEW
MOBBING IS . . . — REVIEW
LAW STUDENT ATTACKED BY DEAN
UPDATE ON STACY HOPKINS
CAROLYN PURVIS UPDATE
HOW TO CHECK YOUR WEBSITE TO SEE IF IT IS SAFE
NORMA DRAGO UPDATE
New Links

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AN OVERVIEW OF GANGSTALKING

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Gang stalking involves the use of multiple individuals to stalk,
harass and taunt a victim, as well as to vandalize personal
property. According to victims, this takes place for many years. It
appears that once a person is targeted, they are often targeted for
life. This topic is covered in the following book review of David
Lawson's book: Terrorist Stalking in America.
Techniques of psychological warfare are used against the target in a
methodical and well orchestrated attack that often leaves the target
a victim of ridicule among his friends and family because this
occurrence is so hard to believe. However, it does occur, and the
number of targets are increasing to the point that they can network
with one another and find out that the same tactics are used
everywhere. These tactics, also used in ritual abuse, are intended
to weaken the target to the point of physical and psychological
collapse.
The reasons why a person is initially targeted can vary. Sometimes
the person may be a political activist. Others may have been in the
wrong place at the wrong time. Corporations apparently have even
been known to hire these stalking groups to silence people who were
once in their employ. Many times these stalking gangs may be lied to
about the target, thinking that perhaps the person is a deviant who
needs to be driven out of town. The reasons are only limited to the
imagination. In some cases, according to Lawson, the person has done
nothing wrong but is used as a practice target or as an example to
others in the group to show what will happen to them if
they 'defect'. This serves to keep the members of these stalking
groups tied to the group through intense fear of becoming a target.
It is such a terrifying prospect because the gang members are
intimately aware that the lives of the targets are utterly
destroyed.
Many people ask, "Why would anyone engage in this kind of
activity?". The psychology behind it is at least, in part, that it
is a form of revenge. It may be that physically harming a person is
considered too extreme or too risky by the perpetrators. In fact,
psychological harm may be a far more effective form of revenge. It
can destroy a person's life while leaving little or no evidence to
incriminate the perpetrators.
There are added reasons that this goes on, for not every participant
in the harassment will know why a person has been targeted, nor will
the vast majority have any personal stake in harassing the victim.
Clearly from the expressions on the faces of the perpetrators who
come face-to-face with their targets, there is a vicious kind of
pleasure that they derive from bullying their victim. They like the
feeling of being "in control". Like any form of abusive or
controlling behavior, this is an addiction that needs to be fed, so
victims can remain targets for their entire lives. If they did not,
then the numbers of fresh victims needed to fill the perpetrator's
addictions would potentially attract too much attention. None-the-
less, the numbers of targeted individuals is increasing. Such is the
nature of the bottomless pit within them that thirsts, evermore, for
greater and greater thrills. To the perpetrators, their targets are
merely their prey, in a game that never ends. But make no mistake,
whatever the reasoning behind it, this is a hate crime.
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES
The types of activities which take place are often subtle, and
sometimes cannot be distinguished from normal everyday things that
go wrong. In the case of a target, however, there are certain
behaviors that are not normal or everyday in nature. It is the
anomalous activities that let a target know they are being stalked.
It is a psychological reign of terror intended to make a victim look
crazy and intended to keep him or her in a constant state of anxiety
and stress as to "what will happen next". There was a 1944 movie
called "Gaslight" about a husband trying to drive his wife crazy,
from which the term "gaslighting" was derived. According to Slang
City, "to gaslight someone is to drive them crazy by intentionally
confusing them. It comes from the 1944 movie Gaslight, in which
sweet heiress Ingrid Bergman marries creepy Charles Boyer, who hopes
to get her inheritance by driving her insane. He convinces her she's
seeing and hearing things that don't exist, including the gaslights
(what they had before light bulbs) going on and off when he isn't
home." The subtle techniques used to make the wife doubt her own
sanity are the same techniques used by these gang stalkers to
unnerve a target. To see a book review by Eleanor White on the topic
at http://www.raven1.net/mobbook.htm
For example, the perpetrators (who appear to always have access to
their targets' homes) may sometimes come into the house while the
target is out and move things around a little bit. The target has
the feeling that something is wrong, but can't quite put his/her
finger on what has changed. This is a clear illustration that this
activity is a psychological game of cat and mouse, and has little to
do with any overt kind of damage that may be caused (such as burning
someone's house down or stealing valuables). In some cases, the
target doesn't know s/he is being targeted. It just looks as though
the world is full of very rude people, and everything s/he owns
breaks constantly ("bad luck"). According to Lawson, the
perpetrators don't need the target to know s/he is targeted in order
to fill the need within themselves that they are in control.
EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES
Junk thrown around the victims property repeatedly. Not huge mounts
of garbage, but, for example, one thing every day - candy wrappers,
tin cans, coffee cups etc.
Graffiti in the form of a pentagram, appearing near the target's
house.
Approaching the victim and making obscene gestures towards him/her
when he/she is on foot, such as giving the target the finger, or
similar hand gestures.
Vehicles in the area of the victims residence with people inside
doing apparently nothing. In one incident which occurred recently to
me, a limousine was parked outside my house (directly in front of an
elementary school) with the driver inside and the engine running. I
was crossing the street from my house to go to the school and had my
back to the limo driver, but I could hear him turning the car in a U
turn very quickly. As I climbed the steps to the school, I heard the
driver honk. When I turned around, he was giving me the finger as he
drove away. Note: the car was parked when I left my house, and it
drove away after giving me the finger. What was he doing there
parked? Evidently he was waiting to give me the finger. Only two
days later, a teenager walking along the street held his hand up in
front of my face and wiggled his fingers to get my attention. When I
looked at him, he too gave me the finger.
Dogging the victims footsteps when they are walking to arrive at the
same time as the target. The other day I left the house on foot and
a woman was rounding the corner near my house. We were walking
towards one another, and I crossed the street wanting to put some
distance between myself and her (on some level we often sense when a
person is a perp before they do the overt behavior). Without missing
a beat, she immediately crossed the road as well (the timing felt as
though she was mirroring me because I crossed quite suddenly and she
followed in a sudden jerking sort of way). There was nothing on the
side of the street I crossed to except the school (which she walked
past), so there was no reason to behave like that. I found this
slightly aggressive, but thought nothing of it until I was walking
back home 15 minutes later and there she was again in front of my
house, walking towards me on the same side of the road, but from the
opposite direction. Victims report this kind of behavior repeatedly -
including the mirroring behavior.
Staring fixedly at the target in a leering or mocking way - usually
with a smirk on their faces. This is not one incident in a blue
moon, but several incidents during a single day.
Personal knowledge about them that refers far too specifically to
something within their lives. For instance, I was recently
discussing with various people the possibility of counseling
targets, since I have training in counseling. While I was out at a
movie, someone said loudly as I walked by, "You can counsel me any
time!" One target said that she had been talking to her daughter on
the phone about the magnets that are inside a fridge when she
received a phone call from an unknown stranger who said to her, "So,
you have magnets in your fridge". Another target reported that a
complete stranger knew her dog Dusty's name and said under his
breath in a menacing, barely audible way, "I would rather have
Dusty". This is a highly effective way of letting the target know
s/he is somehow under surveillance without actually doing anything
illegal.
The victim's pets being tortured or poisoned to get very sick and
die of unknown causes, or they are directly murdered (i.e. with a
weapon). In each case, the target has left the animal on it's own
and returned to a very sick or dead animal.
Victims report that they get "crazies" coming up and yelling at
them. In my case I see 55 year old Caucasian men dressed like 13
year old boys-in-the-hood, wearing HUGE baggy jeans, and swaggering
by. It is an absurd sight if you happen to notice that the person
dressed like this has gray hair. Unnerving the target and drawing
attention to themselves is the name of the game.
Victim is exposed to any unusual or dangerous gestures you can think
of on the road, except it happens every single time the target goes
out. This includes tailgating, being cut off, and other hostile
gestures.
The victim reports that someone has tried to run them off the road.
This also has been my experience. "Normal" people don't get drivers
coming up behind them very fast and then slamming on the breaks
while fishtailing behind the target. When this happened to me (late
last year), I called 911 on my cell phone and the driver came up
beside me and tried to side-swipe me while I was on the phone with
the police! After almost running into me several times, he gave me
the finger (once again) and drove off.
The victim is programmed to recognize that he/she is a target. One
target reports having people dressed in specific "colors" as a
signal of who they are. This is not much different than the old men
dressed like boys. It is a subtle way of getting the target's
attention. However, it doesn't take the target very long to be able
to spot the perpetrators before the behaviors occur. In some cases,
there is an air of cockiness about them that is often accompanied by
direct eye contact - think of the boys (a.k.a. demons) with the
hockey sticks in the movie "Dogma" and you get a sense for the way
these people carry themselves. This is not always the case - there
is also the case like the woman mirroring me on the street who had a
lank, zombie-like expression on her face. This is more common when
direct actions are taking place so that the target doesn't know for
sure if this is a perpetrator or just one of those incidents that
will happen every so often that are unrelated. The cocky expressions
usually accompany staring without any overt behavior. By keeping
actions subtle, the target is kept confused and doubting themselves
and their sanity.
The victim has an unusually large amount of problems with cars and
other machinery. When my car was still new, with only 50,000 km on
it, I had to have the engine taken apart at a cost of $2,400. It
was, oddly enough, about 1 month out of warranty when this happened.
The victim says that people have been sent to their homes. In one
victim's case, she had more than just a suspicion after the
following incident. She reports having scheduled to have her windows
cleaned by a company that she had used in the past. When the company
phoned and said they were going out of business and could they send
another company in their stead, she felt apprehensive but agreed.
When the people came to her house, they began an elaborate game of
trying to "psych" her out by telling her that a woman was passed out
in her back yard. This made no sense to her, so she didn't respond
to them. After several more attempts to have her go into her back
yard, she then overheard them talking about how to kill her. When
she picked up the phone to call the police the "window washers"
fled.
The victim is harassed by having people enter the person's "personal
space". I recently had this problem when I started aerobics classes.
Someone in the class was getting far too close to me, i.e. within a
few inches of me, moving as much as 10 feet across the room to
follow me. When I asked her to give me some room, she said, "You
move!" After I moved, she moved away from where she had been
crowding me leaving a 20 foot gap, but as soon as I moved back
there, she immediately moved back as well. It was a subtly hostile,
passive/aggressive kind of behavior that resembled the modus
operandi (MO) of the perps.
The victim reports the loss of item(s) that had sentimental value to
the target. For example, I don't wear any jewelry except a sapphire
ring that my father gave me many years ago. One day the ring
disappeared and I never saw it again.
The victim reports extreme fatigue, dizziness, headaches, abdominal
pain and muscle pain. Although the stress may be the only reason,
there may be other factors involved, including an electronic
component to the harassment. If you think this is the case, see
electronic harassment.
The victim has to endure various forms of torture. This involves
shining bright lights on the target - either from oncoming cars or
from neighboring houses. Since I became aware that I was being
stalked, in every single place I have stayed (three including my own
house which I fled), there has been a neighboring house with a
spotlight that was directed towards my bedroom window. In one case,
I knew that the neighbor was definitely not a perpetrator. However,
all that is necessary is for someone to re-aim the lights outside
someone's house - the perp doesn't actually have to be living there.
Also, if I am walking home after dark, 9/10 times a car will be
parked on the street (in the same spot every time) with the lights
on and facing me. It will drive away as I near the car.
The victim feels threatened because of unusual numbers of people
around him/her. I experience this on foot when walking home, there
will be an exorbitant number of cars on one small side street which
I walk down. It has happened so many times that it is no longer a
coincidence. The last time I was walking along that street, my son
was with me and it was close to 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night.
Without my ever having mentioned my own suspicions, my son
said, "There sure are a lot of cars around here for so late at
night". We were on the suspect side street when he said it. (The
side street had a dead end, and all the cars went towards the dead
end. I never watched to see exactly what they did when they got
there. I will have to next time.) Other people experience this while
in their car - some have reported being surrounded by a convoy of
cars.
Many of the above activities are mentioned in David Lawson's book
Terrorist Stalking in America.
Also, see two Toronto Star articles on extremist group vigilante
type behavior which follows the same model as described above.
[Note: the Toronto Star is a mainstream respected newspaper].
SENSITIZATION: HOW IT HAPPENS
Be careful of assuming that people are perps. Familiarize yourself
with the concept of "sensitization" because this is how they
condition you.
It is like a row of dominoes, where you only have to push the first
domino down and the rest fall by themselves. These people are
capitalizing on human psychology. Here is an example.
For a period of time, perhaps 1 month, they send many perps around
you with laptops. They do some obvious things like stare at you for
very long periods of time, or smile mockingly to get your attention,
or even do bizarre hand movements - something out of the ordinary to
grab your attention. As a result of this "blitz" campaign, the
laptops then become associated with perps in your mind. This is the
intention of the perps. You are now sensitized". (Or the first
domino has been pushed down by the perps).
After this, they can reduce the number of people around you who are
carrying laptops to the point where they may stop altogether.
This is because now you ASSUME that anyone carrying a laptop is a
perp. (The rest of the dominos fall by themselves). The problem is
that a certain part of the population naturally carries laptops with
them. However, if they have conditioned you so well that you forget
that, you are going to be anxious every time you see a stranger with
a laptop. The more laptops you see, the higher your anxiety (and
anger) will climb. If you are very stressed, then they can have the
added benefit of watching you attack someone carrying a laptop, and
maybe even get you charged with something. In the end, it doesn't
matter if that person is a perp or not - you are conditioned to
think he is.
This applies to any kind of conditioning. It could be white vans
that they condition you to. It could be red t-shirts that they
sensitize you to. It doesn't matter because once you are sensitized,
YOU will be your own worst enemy.
On the other hand, there are activites that are designed
specifically to let you know that someone is a perp. They need to do
this in order for you to know that you are being stalked. For
example, let's say that for a period of time you saw people with
compasses everywhere, and then it stopped. This is not sensitization
because virtually no portion of the population carries compasses
with them and uses them randomly in public (you are not in a
campground or at a Scout meeting when this happens). So when you see
someone using a compass, it is to let you know that the person is a
perp. It would be a rare case indeed if someone was using a compass
who was not a perp.
Similarly, someone who gives me the finger is 99.9% likely to be a
perp, since I am not doing any behaviors that would cause someone to
give me the finger, such as driving aggressively or even looking
disapprovingly at someone (that's stretching it a bit, but just to
illustrate that it is not a "provoked" finger).
We have to be constantly vigilant to distinguish between a
sensitizing attempt and a blatant statement that someone is a perp.
The two are not the same.
HOW WE CAN FIGHT THIS
The only way to fight this is by getting together and supporting one
another. By keeping the victims isolated, the perpetrators have
little fear of their activities being discovered. But together we
have strength. Little by little we can raise the awareness in the
public that this is happening. In therapeutic circles this is
called "normalizing". That is what happens when someone says, "It's
OK for you to say you are being gang stalked because it is taking
place".
In other words, something considered "abnormal" by a skeptical
public is made "normal" by the weight of our testimonies. Like women
who once were too ashamed to tell people that they had been raped
because it carried a serious social stigma, people who are gang
stalked are seen as immediately crazy without being given the
benefit of the doubt. What will give us the credibility and
acknowledgement that we have a right to is the "normalization" of
the idea that gang stalking happens.
There is a risk in networking because of the nature of the
perpetrators to overwhelm victims, but we can't let that stop us.
Otherwise, we may wait a very long time to be believed, if ever.
There is an online forum created by Eleanor White
(www.multistalkervictims.org). Eleanor is a dedicated activist who
works relentlessly to get the word out to people that this is
happening. Please see her site for the instructions to join the
forum. On my other site Electronic Harassment: www.eharassment.ca, I
have created a victim's network to help people network with one
another. Almost all victims of electronic harassment are also
victims of gang stalking. I'm not sure how much the reverse is true.
I've spoken to many victims of both.
waltertribe1@yahoo.com

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TARGETING OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT VICTIMS

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There have been more and more complaints by sexual harassment
victims that they are being followed and harassed after filing
sexual harassment complaints. I feel that it would be irresponsible
not to call attention to some of the methods that perpetrators use
to harass victims. Since this has been discussed at length by
Walter Tribe, I'll include his discussion rather than re-invent the
wheel.
I find Walter's description extremely accurate as far as it goes.
He welcomes additions.
The question begs to ask, why are people targeted? My own
impression is that it is simply because they will not unequivocally
bend to the will of the perpetrators. In the case of sexual
harassment victims, they wouldn't supply sex on demand to someone.
In the case of Walter Tribe (I don't know the gentleman, I can only
guess) he may have given one of their children a bad grade in a
course he taught. Perhaps someone wants to get rid of a competitor
for a promotion or key personnel in a rival business. This is a
serious issue. If it is not addressed by law enforcement, we may
end up living in a world ordered by terrorists.
Janet Leih

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BOOK ABOUT CHILD ABUSE — REVIEW

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Bernice Jepson - Author of I'm not that way anymore
16117 440th Ave, Frazee MN 56544
218-334-4284
corinthians57@loretel.net
a newly published author whose book deals with child abuse, child
molestation, and domestic violence
"A frank and honest look at a life many would stay in denial over.
This book may be of hope to others who have gone through dark
periods in their lives through abusive parents or other factors.
Read this and see that you're not alone - and what you can do about
it." - Craig McGill, author of Do No Harm:
My work in this area is to be a voice for all victims. There is no
greater voice then those who are the ones who have experienced what
I can only seek to express on their behalf.
Bernice Jepson's words convey perfectly the pain that we as
advocates seek to protect children from. Within her words that she
has taken great courage to share, is the reason why.
Her book is a light for all who need to know that there is both hope
and healing in such courage and I highly recommend her wisdom to
anyone seeking to understand. Denise Marhoefer The Defense
Foundation for children USA
In a caring heart it is the silent cries that are heard the loudest
www.defensefoundationforchildren.com

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MOBBING IS . . . — REVIEW

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MOBBING: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace
Noa Davenport, Ph. D., Ruth Distler Schwartz, Gail Pursell Elliot
CIVIL SOCIETY PUBLISHING
P.O. Box 1663 - Ames, Iowa 50010-1663
Illustrated, 216 pages, Paperback, ISBN 0-9671803-0-9, US$ 14.95,
CAN$ 21.95
EMOTIONAL ABUSE in the workplace. "Ganging up" by co-workers,
subordinates or superiors to force someone out of the workplace
through rumor, innuendo, intimidation, humiliation, discrediting,
and isolation. Malicious, nonsexual, nonracial, general harassment.
Other possible words for MOBBING are: Bullying or psychological
terror at the workplace, hostile behaviors at work, workplace
trauma, incivility, or psychological aggression and emotional
violence.
MOBBING is an emotional injury that impacts a target's mental and
physical health. MOBBING is a workplace safety and health issue.
This site informs about the MOBBING phenomenon. You will find
information about the book "MOBBING: Emotional Abuse in the American
Workplace" and information about services and resources that help
targets of mobbing or organizations deal with the phenomenon in a
constructive fashion.
Dr. Heinz Leymann (www.leymann.se), an industrial psychologist and
medical scientist with an M.D. in psychiatry, has pioneered the
research on MOBBING in Sweden in the 80's. MOBBING has since become
a household word in several European countries.
Awareness is slowly growing in the U.S. and in Canada about the
darker side of work and the devastating effects that mobbing and
bullying can have on the self, health, organizations and society.
Our colleagues in North America, though still rather few, do their
part to contribute to the growing interest. For example: Three
conferences on the topic have been organized in the U.S. since 2000,
in California, Massachusetts and Iowa; the Department of
Environmental Quality for the State of Oregon has established the
first anti-mobbing policy in the U.S.; efforts to add new anti-
mobbing legislation are under way in California, other states and in
Canada; and several new Internet self-help and advice groups and
websites address specific professional groups or aspects of
incivility at work. In the aftermath of the Columbine and other
school shooting tragedies, the media has increasingly discussed
bullying in the schools, thus raising awareness of adult
bullying/mobbing in the workplace.
The authors continue to present about workplace mobbing to the
media, corporations, and professional organizations; and act as
expert witnesses in legal cases. And, last but not least, our book
has been used as required reading in several college courses.
Parallel to these developments in the U.S., pro-action keeps growing
around the world. For example, a major international conference was
held in early 2002 in Australia and a symposium on the topic is
planned for 2004 in China. In January 2002, France enacted an anti-
mobbing law; and most importantly, in Germany, workplace mobbing has
been acknowledged in the medical establishment as an ill-making
condition and is recognized in the European Union as an occupational
safety and health risk. Our book has raised interest in Japan and
Turkey .
While this book does not address sexual harassment, those of us who
have experienced sexual harassment know that once the victim has
filed a sexual harassment complaint, a perpetrator will resort to
general harassment including, as Stacy Hopkins narrative documents,
preventing the victim from getting another job in a discipline in
which they have outstanding credentials. Don't ask me about it, I
would end up writing a tome. Janet Leih

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LAW STUDENT ATTACKED BY DEAN

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I successfully contacted a female student at UC Berkeley's law
school (Boalt Hall) who personally knew and supported the woman law
student who was sexually assaulted by the dean. After attempting to
assassinate her character, he finally resigned in response to the
university's Title IX officer initiating an investigation after the
student graduated. She wrote me that she'd put me in touch with her.
The woman who was assaulted currently works as an attorney in a
public interest law firm in San Francisco, and I am hoping to work
with her to organize resources for women students in these
situations and together with your organization, as her colleague
noted to me that the major problem that she had to face was the
profound lack of legal resources and support available for women in
this situation.
Anne
harassment_retaliation@yahoo.com
This is good news indeed. We rejoice over every woman who has
overcome a sexual harassment situation. The key here may have been
that she had support from the community. Lacking that, she may also
have failed.
We should learn from that and attempt to create a network of
advocates who will find innovative solutions to support harassment
victims. One way to start is to list your name on our international
list as a Regional Director so victims can contact you. E-mail
JanetLeih@washrag.org.

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UPDATE ON STACY HOPKINS

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Hi my name is Stacy . I wrote a story in Issue 12.4 about my sexual
harassment case with a big retail company. Let me tell you after I
filed the complaint with the state my life has been a nightmare. I
have not been able to get a job to save my life. I applied at Lowes
3 times , and every time they had a sign on the door , hiring. No
luck. I applied at a pharmacy company 3 times because every one kept
telling me its the easiest place to get into , no luck there. I
applied at Ollies, a local retail store, 4 times and every time they
were supposedly hiring, no luck. I even applied at a local little
restaurant, and I hate waitressing, no luck. This is all within 8
months. I was stupid enough to put my past employer on the
application as a job reference, because I have a signed legal
document that states that they agreed to give me a good reference!!!
I would love to find out if they did. Well my next step in my case
is I'm hoping to file a civil suit against my former boss. Anyone
know a good attorney?? Mine is "thinking " about it. He doesn't
think it would be a good step. He thinks it would hurt me more. Well
I want the creep that did this to me to pay. He has ruined my life
and almost cost me my marriage. My ex-boss's wife has no idea what
is going on and I thought about telling her but he would charge me
with harassment , I'm sure of it. I am in a no win situation, I have
no idea what to do now. If anyone out the has any advice please feel
free to email me at sad8690@yahoo.com. I hope that no women out
there ever has to go thru what I'm going thru but the sad truth is
it happens everyday. I wish it didn't , but it does. The biggest
thing I learned thru this whole hell is not to talk to anyone about
your case except your lawyer. And if some one tries to be your
friend and wants you to talk about it so you'll "feel better", don't
fall for it like I did. It was all used against me in court. Well
that's another chapter to my sad life . Stacy
We referred Stacy to www.badreferences.com
They may be able to determine if she is getting bad references.

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CAROLYN PURVIS UPDATE

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[Issue 12.3]Well, the old story of mine regarding the apartment
break-ins.....well....I have learned the person whom was taking care
of me was also a part of the break-ins. As a result of finding
out.....my life has been threatened on several occasions over the
phone. Funny, he told me one time I should write a book based on
what I've been through. Then he gave me an example: Sleeping With
the Enemy. The only thing different was that I was not sleeping
with anyone but my enemy was basically taking care of me. Well,
what the heck....I guess I got a moment. He had called at my house
and told me that he signed my old cell phone into his name. I asked
him if he was currently talking on it. He said, "Yes." I then
asked him "Who is Perez Florez?" He said he did not know. I told
him that on my ID it said Perez Florez. He got nervous and kept on
back tracking to the conversation about the phone later on in our
conversation. He told me he was worried about that. He told me he
signed onto the phone in January 2004. But again that was false. I
had kept a phone book that was left in my apartment during one of
the break-ins and fraudulent phone installations into my apartment
which later led to anonymous phone calls where no one would speak
but would only listen when I picked up the phone. Guess who it
was? Robert. Here he was obsessed with me. He had stated one time
long ago he was going to kill himself because his mother died. In
different conversations he said she was dead, she was alive, he was
visiting her, and I almost killed myself but luckily my friend Carol
was there to save me. He was looking for my sympathy all along. He
even fraudulently signed out my medical records from the VA Hospital
of Puerto Rico. Well, today old thoughts came into mind about
everything I've been through in Puerto Rico. I probably spoke too
much. I am trying to apply to colleges but instead I start talking
about my past. Well, I was accepted to the university but now I
have gotten no response back. I talked really bad about the VA
system and how I was left on the road homeless and want to go back
to school to get a steady job with no legal issues with the
environment, economical issues of fraud, or what ever the case may
be. I will probably hear no more from the college. No one here in
the states would ever understand what goes on overseas where it is
out of peoples virgin eyes and ears. I don't mean to talk bad about
everything but I cannot seem to help it because I never found
justice in our U.S.A. All I cared about was snorkeling and minding
my own business. Why did I have to get caught up in all this
government stuff? If people would do things right in begin with, I
would have never suffered like I did. And I am now still paying for
someone else's neglect. All I ever wanted was justice. What is so
hard about that? Can't I move on with my life already? Well, I am
having an investigation done on Robert. I'm not trying to be the
bad guy. I never did anything. Sometimes I think I should learn
how to keep my mouth shut but I cannot stand people running over me
and getting away with murder. My mother is like that but I'm not.
If I'm raped, I am not going to keep my mouth shut. Why is it a sin
to speak up?!!! Shhhhh!!!! Shhhhh!!!! Everyone says......They told
me that on the airfield on my first day of work when I could see the
fumes in the air and the work office had fuel with no ventilation.
I was told...."Do not talk about it or you'll be fired." I was not
overly concerned but I was concerned as to whether there was danger
to being exposed to so much aircraft fuel. And yes there was.
Because I had to keep quiet....I SUFFERED NOT THEM!!!!! THAT IS WHY
I DO NOT AGREE TO BEING QUIET! HOW WOULD THEY LIKE TO FEEL LIKE
GASOLINE IS POURED ALL OVER THEM AND LIT WITH A MATCH? THAT IS WHAT
IT FELT LIKE AND I FEEL BAD IF ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE IS EXPERIENCING
WHAT I HAVE......AND THEY TOO ARE HARASSED. I know I said too much
today to someone I do not even know and to someone who lives near
here. I need to burn my anger sometimes. But other times I am
O.K. I would be much happier if I only had my normal life back
where I used to live but I was chased away from there and I can
never think of going back. It is now bad there. I must resolve to
living with my parents "forever!" because I am so financially
insecure and cannot get a legal resolution to anything. After
all.....Class Action Suits are now going into the gutter. I
understand to some extent it makes sense with these lawyers taking
all their clients money....But make a law against that.....not
against the rights of people whom were harmed by asbestos etc....I'm
sick and tired of all of that.
clpurvispr@yahoo.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOW TO CHECK YOUR WEBSITE TO SEE IF IT IS SAFE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you have a website, and you are concerned about whether hackers
have compromised it, there are several things you can do. The first
is to run a tracert on it.
To use "tracert" on your computer, you need to first of all, know
the IP address for your domain. The host for your website can tell
you what it is if you don't already know. It may be on your
account, or you may be able to find it out by calling their
support. All of my web sites have had two IP addresses for each
one, on various registrars and hosts.
If you have Windows XP, when you are on-line:
Select "Start"
Select "programs"
Select "accessories"
Click on "command prompt"
A screen for msdos will come up.
On my computer, it comes up in "documents and settings". If your
the command prompt does show something besides
C:
Being a purist (this may also be necessary), I have to go to the c:
prompt. You can do this by entering
cd C:\ [after whatever you see on the screen] And hit enter.
you should see
C:
on the screen
You can then enter your tracert command:
C: tracert <ip address> where <ip address> can either be a numeric,
like 121.34.225.9, or a named domain.
tracert ("trace route") shows the hops (intermediate servers)
between you and the address you type in. They MAY differ between
attempts
For example, I would enter
C: tracert www.tesseractpublications.com
and wait. It takes a while to run tracert, but the last item should
be one of your IP addresses. If it is, your traffic and/or e-mail
are probably not being diverted, otherwise, it may be being
diverted.
Close the command prompt by clicking the "X" in the upper right hand
corner of the command prompt screen.
You can use whois to check it out as well. Go to
http://www.geektools.com/whois.php and enter your domain name,
tesseractpublications.com in my case. This should also give you
your IP addresses at the end. If it does not, and you have not
requested that your information be hidden, then there is a chance
that your traffic and/or e-mail are being diverted.
If either or both of these do not return your IP address, you may
want to try to go to your registrar and view your account.
This can be frustrating, because nobody knows what all those
abbreviations and symbols mean. But once again, some red flags
might be DNS information that is different from your IP addresses,
zone files with information filled out because most people do not
use zone files (I believe these might be used to send traffic in
different areas to specific sites, large operations might have
different web sites for different parts of the country. For
example, the registrar may be sending traffic from where you live to
your web site, but traffic from other zones to a different IP
address.), sub-domains created if you have never done so, etc. If
you have any questions, call the domain support or your host support.
You can not print directly from msdos when running tracert, and
sometimes I have had problems printing from web sites. If you want
to, hold down on CTL and hit the prt scr/sysrq key at the top of
your keyboard. Open Microsoft paint and hold down on CTL and
hit "v" or select paste under edit. You can then manipulate the
screen, save it, or print it as you wish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NORMA DRAGO UPDATE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Original story in issue 12.4, Norma lives in PA, worked in NJ for a
labor union.] I am still in the middle of my lawsuit (finally we
are deposing the last male involved - Drago vs. CWA). The trial
should be scheduled sometime this year. I am told that you put a
blurb out somewhere about my lawsuit in one of your newsletters. I
don't think i have r/c any of them. Could you possibly send me some
of your newsletters? I would love to read them. are they email or
regular subscriptions?
thank you and keep up the good work! Norma J. Drago
strawhat@comcast.net
You can get on the e-mail list at no charge by requesting at
subscribe@washrag.org, for print copies see information at
washrag,org in the "back issues" area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Links

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forward unsolicited commercial e-mail to
spam@uce.gov

Report internet fraud to
www.ftc.gov
www.fraud.org
www.usdoj.gov

You can get a free scan of your computer by XOFTSPY at:
http://www.paretologic.com/

Javacool has a free firewall for tracking cookies which can be
downloaded at
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Threatening or harassing phone calls
If you are getting unwelcome phone calls, contact your local
telephone company. This is illegal. Qwest has a feature so you can
either get the phone number of the party that has called you by
dialing *69 after the offending call, or report unwelcome phone
calls by dialing *57 after the offending call. Whether other
systems use the same system for reporting these kinds of phone calls
I do not know, but you can try these numbers on your system, the
worst that could happen would be that they would not work. After a
specific number of *57 complaints, they will be prosecuted by the
company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WE'RE ON THE WEB
http://www.washrag.org/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
copyright 2003 Tesseract Publications, P. O. Box 164
Canton, SD 57013-0164 (605) 987-5070.
ISSN: 1068-2449