Archive for August, 2007

Australian Man Kidnapped in Internet Bride Scam

A farmer from South Australia has been released by kidnappers after being duped in an online scam where he believed he was going to marry a woman in Mali, Africa. He was held hostage in the country for 12 days.

FarmerFarmer Des Gregor also thought his bride was coming with a US$86,000 dowry. Instead, he was held for the same amount in ransom and threatened with a machete. Gregor’s bride-to-be was a refugee from Liberia in her 20s.

The Australian government fooled the gangsters in return, convincing them to let Mr. Gregor pick up the ransom money at the Canadian embassy, where he was consequently rescued.

Australian taken hostage in Mali

A south Australian farmer has warned of the perils of falling in love over the internet, after an online bride scam almost cost him his life.

Des Gregor, 56, has arrived back in Adelaide after being held hostage in the African nation of Mali for 12 days.

He had gone there expecting to marry a woman he had met over the internet, and pick up a US$86,000 (£43,000) dowry.

But instead he was held hostage, with his kidnappers demanding US$86,000 from him in ransom.

‘Blinded by love’

Mr Gregor, a sheep farmer, set off to Mali on what he hoped would be an exotic adventure, during which he would not only meet his African bride but pocket a huge dowry in gold.

The target of his affections was a woman purportedly called Natacha, a Liberian refugee in her twenties whom he had met and fallen in love with over the internet.

Mr Gregor was picked up at the airport by men claiming to be Natacha’s relatives but who turned out to be gangsters.

After taking him to a flat in the capital, Bamako, they stripped him naked, held a gun to his head and threatened to chop off his limbs with machetes.

They also demanded $86,000 as a ransom, or else he would be killed.

His relatives sounded the alarm when they started receiving strange e-mails asking for money.

At that point the Australian authorities decided to lay a trap of their own.

They managed to persuade the kidnappers that Mr Gregor could pick up the ransom money at the Canadian embassy.

It was there that he was rescued by the Australian federal police after being held for 12 days.

West African internet scams are not uncommon and many of his fellow Australians have wondered why the farmer was so easily duped.

His relatives say he was blinded by internet love.

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The Top 100 reasons it’s great to be a guy

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
Movie nudity is virtually always female.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five day vacation requires only one suitcase.
Monday Night Football.
You don’t have to monitor your friends sex lives.
Your bathroom lines are 80% shorter.
You can open all your own jars.
Old friends don’t give you crap if you’ve lost or gained weight.
Dry cleaners and haircutter’s don’t rob you blind.
When clicking through the channel, you don’t have to stall on every shot of someone crying.
Your ass is never a factor in a job interview.
All your orgasms are real.
A beer gut does not make you invisible to the opposite sex.
Guys in hockey masks don’t attack you.
You don’t have to lug a bag of useful stuff around everywhere you go.
You understand why Stripes is funny.
You can go to the bathroom with out a support group.
Your last name stays put.
You can leave a hotel bed unmade.
When your work is criticized, you don’t have to panic that everyone secretly hates you.
You can kill your own food.
The garage is all yours.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
You see the humor in Terms of Endearment.
Nobody secretly wonders if you swallow.
You never have to clean the toilet.
You can be showered and ready in 10 minutes.
Sex means never worrying about your reputation.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
If someone forgets to invite you to something, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $10 for a three pack.
The National College Cheerleading Championship
None of your co-workers have the power to make you cry.
You don’t have to shave below your neck.
You don’t have to curl up next to a hairy ass every nite.
If you’re 34 and single nobody notices.
You can write your name in the snow.
You can get into a nontrivial pissing contest.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be president.
You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger seat.
Flowers fix everything.
You never have to worry about other people’s feelings.
You get to think about sex 90% of your waking hours.
You can wear a white shirt to a water park.
Three pair of shoes are more than enough.
You can eat a banana in a hardware store.
You can say anything and not worry about what people think.
Foreplay is optional.
Michael Bolton doesn’t live in your universe.
Nobody stops telling a good dirty joke when you walk into the room.
You can whip your shirt off on a hot day.
You don’t have to clean your apartment if the meter reader is coming by.
You never feel compelled to stop a pal from getting laid.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
You don’t give a rat’s ass if someone notices your new haircut.
You can watch a game in silence with you buddy for hours without even thinking (He must be mad at me)
The world is your urinal.
You never misconstrue innocuous statements to mean your lover is about to leave you.
You get to jump up and slap stuff.
Hot wax never comes near your pubic area.
One mood, all the time.
You can admire Clint Eastwood without starving yourself to look like him.
You never have to drive to another gas station because this one’s just too skeevy.
You know at least 20 ways to open a beer bottle.
You can sit with your knees apart no matter what you are wearing.
Same work….more pay.
Gray hair and wrinkles add character.
You don’t have to leave the room to make an emergency crotch adjustment.
Wedding Dress $2000; Tux rental $100.
You don’t care if someone is talking about you behind your back.
With 400 million sperm per shot, you could double the earth’s population in 15 tries, at least in theory.
You don’t mooch off others’ desserts.
If you retain water, it’s in a canteen.
The remote is yours and yours alone.
People never glance at your chest when you’re talking to them.
ESPN’s sports center.
You can drop by to see a friend without bringing a little gift.
Bachelor parties whomp ass over bridal showers.
You have a normal and healthy relationship with your mother.
You can buy condoms without the shopkeeper imagining you naked.
You needn’t pretend you’re “freshening up” to go to the bathroom.
If you don’t call your buddy when you say you will, he won’t tell you friends you’ve changed.
Someday you’ll be a dirty old man.
You can rationalize any behavior with the handy phrase “F*#k it!”
If an other guy shows up at the party in the same outfit, you might become lifelong buddies.
Princess Di’s death was almost just another obituary.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
You never have to miss a sexual opportunity because you’re not in the mood.
You think the idea of punting a small dog is funny.
If something mechanical didn’t work, you can bash it with a hammer and throw it across the room.
New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
Porn movies are designed with your mind in mind.
You don’t have to remember everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries.
Not liking a person does not preclude having great sex with them.
Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with: “So…notice anything different?”
Baywatch
There is always a game on somewhere.

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