EBAY - a den of thieves!

The online marketplace Ebay was established with the noble goal of allowing individuals to sell or buy items in an honest fashion.
Unfortunately, Ebay is infested with thieves. I would further argue that some of Ebay's policies are promoting and supporting the actions of thieves.
How do I know this? I myself have been a victim.
My first encounter with nefarious individuals on Ebay came when I was attempting to sell a cellular phone. Being a novice seller, I did not know the nuances that would allow blocking of certain bidders (for example, foreign purchasers if I didn't want to ship overseas, or bidders with low approval numbers). My phone auction was won by a scam artist, whose account was soon closed by Ebay after the auction completed. I was forced to fill out additional paperwork and wait several days before re-posting my item for sale.
My most recent encounter with an Ebay scammer is more horrible. I was looking for a MacBook Pro laptop. I was given a "second chance" offer by a seller in the UK, with the Ebay ID bigterry23. Ebay allowed this seller to list his item without any payment or shipping info. This seller than sent a "phishing" type email from "Ebay Buyer Protection Service" detailing a supposed protected payment method through Western Union money transfer.
Sad to say, I fell for it. I should have known better, but these guys are sophisticated. They put up an Ebay ID with 12 positive ratings, and sent a payment invoice that looked like a legitimate Ebay mail. If any Gadfly readers has any information on the following individual, I would encourage you to bring him to justice: Terri Manducav, 11 Elvaston Place, London, SW7 5QG, email manduc@europe.com
Am I angry? You bet. Whom do I blame - lots of parties. Myself, of course, the bastard thief, and also Ebay. Why can't Ebay clean its house? Why can't Ebay have a system of forcing sellers to detail payment and shipping information with each item placed on auction? Why can't Ebay crack down on phishing scams, and educate its buyers and sellers about potential scams. There should be a front and center page on Ebay dedicated to scams and how to avoid them as a buyer or seller.
Until Ebay cleans house, I will be avoiding doing any further business in a marketplace that has become a den of thieves.

Comments on Letter to A Chrisitan Nation

Just finished reading Sam Harris' Letter to A Christian Nation. Overall a very good read. It's refereshing to hear a level-headed response to the ridiculous views espoused by the supernatural embracing masses of Christians and other religions.
I did have a few comments and critiques on this book, however. One is that Sam may have stepped over his bounds in arguing that any human cell carries the potential to become a human being. We are not at the stage of successful somatic cell transfer and human cloning that this would entail. Yes, for sheep, cats, dogs, and some other mammals, we can successfully turn a differentiated cell into a cloned embryo, but for humans, we're not there yet.
Second is the lack of commentary by Mr. Harris on the issue of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the role that Christian fundamentalists in America have generated in siding unwaveringly with Israel based purely on their Biblical prophesies. The sad thing is that Israelis have embraced such support, even though the Christian fundies expect to see Jesus return and send all the Jewish Israelis to hell. Also, the root of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, in religion, with views of a God who acts as a real estate broker should be expounded further.
Overall, though, this is a great book for anyone who wants to take on the delusional hordes of Christian fundamentalism or even Christian moderation.

A vote for Republicans equals a vote for Government failure.

Why is the world shocked over the state of our veteran's health care system? The reality of the horrors of the VA and military health systems are open to anyone with eyes who cares to look around. Why was the recent Washington Post article on conditions at Walter Reed Army hospital viewed as a shocking revelation?
One thing that our country shouldn't be too shocked about is that Republicans have allowed this system to fester for so long. After all, Republicans hate Government. They argue that government should be trimmed down to its most essential elements - defense, in particular. Extending Republican rhetoric further, we could imaging by Republican standards, our entire military health care system would be outsourced to private companies and churches. Could you image the fate of a wounded veteran in the hands of Halliburton or the Roman Catholic church?!?
It's time that America stops acting so surprised. We voted, in 2004 at least, for a bunch of Republicans who clamor against government, then we whine when government fails us. We get what we vote for. We saw this in the 9/11 attacks, the Katrina disaster, and numerous other failures under Bush and Republican leadership.
Yes, the critical readers of the Gadfly might raise objection, that the VA health system was abysmal under Clinton's leadership as well. Yes, this is true. But, at least Clinton would never hide from reality, create wars under false pretenses, and produce hordes of wounded and dead veterans for a lost cause. Also, if Clinton had waged a war during his presidency, he would believe in the power of government to do good things and ensured a strong VA health system with appropriate oversight. Alas, perhaps even Republicans nor Democrats have enough sway to change the difficult, entrenched ways of the VA and military health care systems.
I would argue the first step in improving our VA health care system is to stop fighting lost cause wars, thereby stopping the hemorrhaging of otherwise good lives and a generation of wounded vets. By stopping the inflow of patients the system can't handle, we take the first step in trying to make sure every vet is appropriately cared for in the system.