tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75843521648305504822024-03-13T04:52:14.520-07:00Elina Juusola-HalonenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-47509289200666736392018-06-06T21:27:00.001-07:002018-06-06T21:32:26.909-07:00Romance Books: Experiencing Christine Feehan’s Ghostwalker Series in Mass <img id="id_63a2_8456_ac06_4389" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YxDYvYvDI9U/Wxi0FEAlMgI/AAAAAAAACWE/_oo5M_c02FAvDTxaRBJXPnUL9xsQ0M28ACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 454px; height: auto;"><br><br> <div>OK, so I’ve been traveling around Europe for a while but before long I was at home and relaxing. Suddenly, I felt the need to read some romance novels. Just to get that wonderful euphoria that comes with good story telling and a bit of fantasy. It is something I have lost in the world where serious talk surrounds me with fraud and scammers. They are people who are capable in tricking their victims or targets to part with their money through manipulating their romantic feelings. Books are safer and they can give a person some relief from the everyday reality of live. </div><div><br></div><div>So, I went to the library. That is the best place to start on romance books because there are plenty of them there. Everyone loves reading romance although they might not admit to it. Some romance books are cheap, even free to download on Amazons, iTunes or Kindle, but the books written by popular writers like Christine Feehan tend to be much more expensive. And if you want to read a whole series in mass, the cost will be in hundreds of dollars even if downloaded from Internet. Libraries stack them for free and you can always reserve them if they are not readily available on the shelf. I wanted to read one of the series Feehan has been writing that I have not read before, namely the </div><a href="https://www.christinefeehan.com/ghostwalker/index.php" id="id_22be_c959_ccb0_1702" target="_blank">Gostwalker Series</a><div><br></div><div>You see, a few years ago a friend of mine gifted me the first fifteen books of Christine Feehan’s Dark Series. I had so much fun with it. Of course my family was appalled that I would start with the book number fifteen. They always tell me to read books from the beginning, but I always tend to read the end first just to make sure that I like where the particular book is going. Since I have dyslexia, or maybe it has nothing to do with it, I keep forgetting the storylines of books and can enjoy them lots of time without bothering about the details. I just know that the book was worth reading and I do. It gives me that same good feeling every time. On the other hand, if I want to remember a book, I read it in great detail and can remember quotations with the page numbers for reference. But romance books that are read for relaxation only, don’t need to be remembered in their whole. Just the good parts. So, I started reading the Dark series from back to front and I really liked it. So, how about the Gostwalker Series.</div><div><br></div><div>I found five of the thirteen books from the library on my first try. That was great, I had the first one and the second last one of the series to start with. OMG, first I sort of made sure that the series was going where I wanted it to go. I like it even better as I get to know about the whole series at one go. Then I started reading the first book. A few days after I went to Brisbane and visited </div><a href="http://www.thereallygoodbookshop.com.au" id="id_dc68_81bf_ddfb_7997" target="_blank">The Really Good Book Shop</a><div><br></div><div>I found six additional used books for just a fraction of the original price and the game was on. I read the whole series in two weeks. Now, I am waiting for the three last books I have not read yet from the library. </div><div><br></div><div>I liked what I read. Some books more than the others. It took me two books to get into the series. It was slow go from the start and I had to read on and skip a bit to get myself where I wanted to go. But I trust Christine Feehan to get me there. After being introduces to the series, I specifically enjoyed the Norton brothers stories, The Conspiracy Game and The Deadly Game. </div><div><br></div><div>The next one was the Street Game, which I skipped because there had been no introduction to the characters before that in any other books. I read the Ruthless Game instead for that introduction. I liked it and by the time I had read that, I had gotten the books before that one. So, I went backwards to find out about the other characters I had missed. Then onward to the rest. Again, I specifically can pick out The Samurai Game for a very enjoyable read. And the next two books are really exciting as well. </div><div><br></div><div>I will not spoil the blot, only to say that the series is about people who have been taken as young orphans or military men by a mad scientist. He has physically and phycically enhanced them and then pared them to make a perfect warrior. And of course they rebel and want the control of their own destinies and do so by banding together. </div><div><br></div><div>All Christine Feehan’s series have similar themes and similar elements. They have their own worlds, though, that differ enough to warrant them autonomity from each other. I also like the Leopard Series where the characters are shifters. </div><div><br></div><div>I must say that I have had a very relaxing, fantastic time with this fantasy. I have experienced the highs and the lows with the couples. I see that Feehan has followed her times as even a genius with Asperger symptoms has been included. Lots of high IQ doctors and strategists. This series will be fun to follow, as I am definitely adding it to my watch list of books. The library is even buying that latest book for me. </div><div><br></div><div>So, this posting is an ode to libraries around the world. We should really use them more. It is a public service well worth its cost to the society. We should really take advantage of the great service it provides. And not just romance book but magazines, computers, reference, play groups and much more. Many libraries even have my book Sydän saaliina or in English,</div><a href="http://elinajuusola.com" id="id_6999_bed9_f094_acea" target="_blank">Love on the Line</a><div><br></div><div>Good reading everyone! <br><div><div><br></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-70058805402178891992018-02-21T18:50:00.000-08:002018-02-23T18:35:49.978-08:00Elina Juusola Helsingin Akateemisessa kirjakaupassa kansainvälisenä naistenpäivänä<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh, mitä kuulenkaan! <br />
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Olen osana Helsingin Akateemisen kirjakaupan kansainvälisen naistenpäivän <a href="http://www.akateeminen.com/fi/tapahtumat/tapahtuma/news/detail/News/83-kohtaamispaikka-helsinki/">kohtaamispaikka</a>-ohjelmaa. Olette kaikki lämpimästi tervetulleita kuulemaan kun Heli Bergius, <a href="https://www.docendo.fi/sydan-saaliina-romanssihuijarit-verkossa-elina-juusola.html">Docendon</a> taitava toimittaja, haastattelee minua <i><b>Sydän saaliina. Romanssihuijarit verkossa</b></i> -kirjani tiimoilta. Kuin tilauksesta kansainvälinen naistenpäivä onkin juuri kirjani ilmestymispäivä, vaikka saahan sen jo <a href="https://www.docendo.fi/sydan-saaliina-romanssihuijarit-verkossa-elina-juusola.html">ennakkotilata</a>. Ostin siis lentolipun Suomeen. <br />
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Ja sitäpaitsi, voitte myös nähdä minut<i> <b>Ylen aamu-TV</b></i>ssä perjantaina 9 maaliskuuta, heti naistenpäivän jälkeisenä päivänä. Ja myös ainakin ruotsalainen <i><b>Yle Vega</b></i> radio haastattelee minua ohjelmaansa seuraavalla viikolla. Siihen haastatteluun minun täytyykin vähän vetreyttää kielenkantoja kun täällä Australiassa sitä ei ruotsia tule puhuttua niin paljon.<br />
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<i><b>Me naiset</b></i>- lehti, joka ilmestyy juuri 8.3, eli siis kansainvälisenä naistenpäivnä julkaisee jutun romanssihuijauksista ja kuinka niistä voi selvitä tai enemmänkin kuinka niiltä voi välttyä. Toimin siinä asiantuntijana, että ostakaa vain pois kaikki <i>Me naiset</i> lehdet ja lukekaa hyvää asiaa. Muutakin on tekeillä, että voitte seurata Suomen vierailuni kulkua<a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/"> kotisivuiltani</a>.<br />
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Onpa mahtavaa ajatella, että olen Suomessa jo noin viikon päästä. Matkalaukun olenkin jo ottanut esille ja kovasti meitin, mitä ottaisin mukaani kun ilmaston muutos on todella huikea Australian hyvinkin yli 30 asteen kesäkeleistä Suomen talven keskelle. Mutta, kyllä se siitä suttaantuu. Talviset säät ovat minulla hyvässä muistissa.<br />
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Odotan kovasti lukijoitteni tapaamisia ja sitä, että saan kertoa tästä päivänpolttavasta huijaus-aiheesta omalla kielelläni, ihmisille, jotka sitä todella ymmärtävät. Toivon, että niin monet kuin vain on mahdolista tulevat minua tapaamaan, kyselemään ja keskustelemaan. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/markets/cybercrime-pandemic-may-have-cost-the-world-dollar600-billion-last-year/ar-BBJu4Mp?ocid=spartanntp">Gyper-rikollisuushan</a> on kasvanut maailmanlaajuisesti, räjähdysmäisesti, sitten vuoden 2014 ja ylittää jo 600 biljoonaa US dollaria. Että tästä aiheesta kyllä kannattaa puhua uudelleen ja uudelleen. Tähän astihan juuri romanssihuijaukset ovat olleet johtavassa asemassa, vaikka nyt finassi-huijaukset ovatkin saaneet yliotteen muista Gyper-huijauksista.<br />
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Itse olen jo pitkään tutkinut väkivaltaa naisia kohtaa, sen monssa muodoissa ja voin sanoa, että minulla on jopa vuosikymmenien historiallinen näkökulma siitä kuinka asiat on kehittyneet maailmalla. Tuo #metoo kamppanja kun ei ole tullut tyhjästä, vaan on vuosikymmenien pituisen naisliikkeen innoittama ja tukema. Nyt siis on todellinen naisten aika, ja tämän vuoden kansainvälinen naistenpäivä voi olla kertomassa naisten tarinaa siitä, kuin heidän voimaantumisensa on antanut mahdollisuuden yhä laajemmalle keskustelulle väkivallan syvistä juurista.<br />
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Niihin juuriinhan myös romanssihuijaukset luottavat. Ne tukevat niitä, jotka häikäilemättömästi käyttävät hyväkseen toisten ihmisten hyväntahtoisuutta ja luottamusta. Huijarithan kaappaavat kohteiltaan heidän aivoissa toimivan amygdalan. Tästä aiheutuu huijauksen uhrien voimakkaat tunnekuohut joden avulla huijarit manipuloivat uhrejaan lähettämään heille rahaa, yhä uudelleen ja uudelleen. Tämänlainen huijaus täytyy saada aisoihin, ja pian. Ihmisten tulee kouliintua käyttäytymään sosiaali mediassa oikein, välttyäkseen huijauksilta.<br />
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Minunkin kirjani tarkoitus on opastaa ja auttaa, antaa tukea ja innoitteita. Ja lopuksi varoittaa ja esittää parannusmalleja. Että siitä vaan, tällä mennään. Tulkaa siis Akateemiseen kirjakauppaan, Helsinkiin 8.3 ja seuratkaa medioita, mistä vaan löydäätte asiasta puhuttavan.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-16244933130107482102018-02-13T21:09:00.000-08:002018-02-14T16:01:46.196-08:00SUUR KIITOS: SYDÄN SAALIINA. Romanssihuijarit verkossa - kirja ja Uhrin ääni-mitalli maailman huijausten uhrien auttamisesta.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Voiko olla mitään
hauskempaa kuin tietää, että kirjani, <i>SYDÄN SAALIINA. Romanssihuijarit
verkossa</i>, jonka kirjoittamiseen ja levittämiseen olen antanut niin
paljon omasta itsestäni on saavuttanut menestystä maailmalla. Ja vielä niin
suurta menestystä, että minulla on ilo ja kunnia esitellä se uudelleen
toimitettuna ja laajennettuna painoksena omassa synnyinmaassani Suomessa.
Lukijakunta saa sen käteensä maaliskuussa 2018, kansainvälisenä naistenpäivänä,
DOCENDON kustantamana. Voit sen jo tilata <a href="https://www.docendo.fi/sydan-saaliina-romanssihuijarit-verkossa-elina-juusola.html">tästä</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">On loistava asia
kuulla myös, että suomalainen lehdistö ja TV haluavat puhua tästä vakavasta
asiasta, mikä aiheuttaa niin paljon surua niille, jotka ovat omakohtaisesti
kokeneet romanssi- tai muunlaisen huijauksen. Heitä on kaikkialla. Juuri pari
päivää sitten, hankkiessani lentolippua Suomeen, ja kertoessani, miksi olen sinne
menossa, matkatoimiston nuori virkailija, minulle lippua myydessään kertoi, että häntäkin oli kerran<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>huijattu. Niinpä me sitten vaihdoimme huijauskokemuksia ja yhdessä mietimme miten tulisi sosiaali mediassa käyttäytyä huijauksilta välttyäkseen. Ja lopulta hän otti kirjanmerkkini ja sanoi heti tutkivansa <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">kotisivujani</a> saadakseen
lisätietoa asiasta.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sitten vuoden
2014 ja kirjani <i>Love on the Line. How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation</i> jolloin itse jouduin romanssihuijauksen kohteeksi, olen kokenut samanlaisia keskusteluita,
melkein joka päivä. Kerronhan tietysti asiasta kaikille. Keskustelen ja kuuntelen.
Ja melkein aina, minulle kerrotaan joku uusi tarina kertojan tai hänen ystäviensä kohtaloista internethuijarien tai muiden huijarien parissa. Tapahtuuhan jossain maailmalla RomanceScamsNow.comin mukaan huijaus jopa joka viides sekunti. Rahaa liikkuu biljoonittain uhreita huijareille ja maasta toiseen huijareiden manipulaatioden myötä.</span></span></div>
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Internethuijauksista ja kuinka niitä voi välttää ja kuinka niiden aiheuttamasta traumasta voi selviytyä <span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">tulee puhua. Se, kuinka voi välttyä vaihtamasta huijausten tuottaman dopamiini-riippuvuuden johonkin toiseen, esimerkiksi huijareiden jahtauksesta aiheutuvaan riippuvuuteen on myös tärkeä puheenaihe. </span></span><span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mitä enemmän keskustelua ja koulutusta
suuri yleisö saa, sitä pienempi mahdollisuus huijareilla on saada kynsiinsä
haavoittuvassa tilassa olevia ihmisiä. Huijauksen uhrit myös ovat oikeutettuja saamaan apua ilman arvostelua. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ilokseni huomasin juuri saaneeni kunniakirjan
toiminnastani romanssihujauksen uhrien parissa the <i>Society of Citizens Against
Romance Scams</i> <a href="https://againstromancescams.org/">(SCARS)</a> - yhdistykseltä. Se on maailman laajin romanssihuijauksia vastustava organisaatio. Huomiointi, Uhrin ääni (Victims Voice) 2018, välityksellä saan taas lisää voimia jatkaa huijauksen vastaista toimintaani kaikkialla maailmassa. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Kohta, siis maaliskuussa 2018, se tapahtuu Suomessa. Kuinka hauskaa onkaan ajatella, että olen pian synnyinmaassani ja voin puhua asiasta missä vaan ja joka päivä, omalla äidinkielelläni. Täältä siis tullaan Suomi! Varautukaa ottamaan vastaan kirjani ja varatukaa puhumaan huijausasiasta vakavasti ja ennakkoluulottomasti. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="FI" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Annetaan siis huijauksen uhrien äänen kaikua varoituksena ja muille esimerkkinä. DOCENDOlle nostan hattua hyvänä ykkösenä, asian <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">eteenpäin</span> levityksestä. Kohta siis nähdään.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-1216521443617009792018-02-11T18:52:00.001-08:002018-02-13T17:17:16.402-08:00Sydän saaliina. Romanssihuijarit verkossa out on the International Women's Day (8.3) in Finland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is absolutely nothing that compares to the message I just got from my Finnish publisher <a href="https://www.docendo.fi/sydan-saaliina-romanssihuijarit-verkossa-elina-juusola.html">Docendo</a>. My new book<i><b> SYDÄN SAALIINA. Romanssihuijarit verkossa</b></i> (Heart as Pray. Romance Scammers Online) will be out on the International Women's Day in Finland. That is on Thursday the 8th of March! I am going! And it can be already preordered from <a href="https://www.docendo.fi/sydan-saaliina-romanssihuijarit-verkossa-elina-juusola.html">here</a>.<br />
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I am so stoked that they have chosen the International Women's Day as the publication date. I mean that it is my life's purpose to help especially women to empowerment, any way I can. And what day would be better than the International Women's Day to celebrate my new book?<br />
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This years theme for the day in <a href="https://unwomen.org.au/campaign/international-womens-day-2018/">Australia</a> is:<b> Leave No Woman Behind. </b>It<b> </b>reminds us that there is much suffering in the world. So many people face disasters. Especially women are struggling all over the world and even though that we might have it fine and dandy in our everyday life, others have it much worse and need our help. And it is not only the women in the so called developing countries, it can be happening in your own neighbourhood. I base my knowledge on research on facts when I say:<br />
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Apart from being a refugee or caught by a tsunami or war or some other disaster, someone might be suffering from domestic violence, or from sexual abuse. Many are, right next door! Or, someone has been scammed by a romance scammer who discuises himself (mostly) as a good person from his targets own neighbourhood. Some victims to fraud have lost lots of money to scammers. Some others who have fallen to the fraudsters manipulations have lost no money, but have a broken heart and cannot get over the trauma. It might take years or a lifetime.<br />
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This is where you as a WOMAN can come into the picture. Leave no woman behind! Engage yoursel! Call your friends, invite them to your life from their misery. Especially if you know that they might be a victim of violence or fraud. Make sure that you are caring and understanding to their needs. No advise should be given that places you above the victims of trauma.<br />
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If you, yourself feel strong and fine, it is great. If your own emotional world is strong enough to take the heat and delite the suspisious frauster looking mail, and social media friendship offers, good on you! If you are strong enough to leave a violent situation behind, even better. It places you to a position of power and you can use this power by helping to empower other women who feel emotionally downtrodden and vulnerable. No need to clout. Instead, offer them informed advise, based on true facts and research. Read my book. It is soon available both in English and in Finnish. Just go to my <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">Website</a> to get more information.<br />
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As a woman, I feel strongly about building women's communities around the world. I feel strongly that there should be space for us to discuss our troubles and get encouragement to be the best we can be. And it is with other women that I have experienced the empowering presence, the caring communal feelings and the dedicated mutual efforts to make this world a little bit better place to life for all of us. <br />
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Leave No Woman Behind. Lets make a conscious resolution to be more aware and to keep on educating ourselves about the burning women's issues of the world. Lets make a conscious resolution to engage and commit ourselves to helping other women to reach our full potential.<br />
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Start preparing for the celebration! Finland, start preparing for my book. It will be explosive and hopefully it will make you think, recover, heal, engage and act for other women, so that no-one is left behind.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-70325085493418412582017-10-08T22:23:00.000-07:002017-10-08T22:37:54.326-07:00Sydän saaliina. Romanssihuijarit verkossa. My new book will be published in Finland early in 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pS4-2qMaKg/Wdr5-YhbchI/AAAAAAAABvY/qxf0XEEMOCMYq4mpTng-t8gLxg9f1qHWgCLcBGAs/s1600/Syd%25C3%25A4n%2Bsaaliina%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pS4-2qMaKg/Wdr5-YhbchI/AAAAAAAABvY/qxf0XEEMOCMYq4mpTng-t8gLxg9f1qHWgCLcBGAs/s320/Syd%25C3%25A4n%2Bsaaliina%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here it is folks! Tässä se on!<br />
The cover for my new book, an extened and in my mind much improved Finnish translation of my first book<i> LOVE ON THE LINE. How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation,</i><br />
<br />
<i> SYDÄN SAALIINA. Romanssihuijarit verkossa.</i> (Heart as Pray. Romance Scammers Online). I certainly like the title. We pondered about it for a while. Everyone in my family got involved and voted, like they all voted for the best cover. Docendo then decided what was the best one from the marketing point of view. <i>Sydän saaliina</i> has been translated in the wonderful cooperation with my ex-husband Arto. It was a great experience working through Skype and the whole thing worked quite well. What was really, really exchausting was the rereading and correcting my spelling mistakes.<br />
<br />
Working on different systems can be a hardship since the Word works in different ways depending on the environment. Learning to do tracking changes and colour words. It certainly thought me a lot.<br />
<br />
In <i>Sydän saaliina</i> my audience in Finland can learn about my story. How I became a victim of a Romance Scammer and how I recovered by writing and changing the storyline to my own love story, complete with a happy ending..<br />
<br />
It is recommended that people who have gone through a traumatic experience write their story anew. I learned it a long time ago through the <i>Internsive Journaling</i> practice. During the writing of my book I heared it from the 2015 Sydney Peace Prize winner George Gittoes. And just this week I heard it from <a href="https://www.drsharadpaul.com/">Dr Sharad P. Paul</a>, when he was discussing his book <i>The Genetics of Health</i> with Matt Wells on his <i>Slacking Ambition</i> <a href="http://www.slackingambition.com/62-genetics-health-w-dr-sharad-paul/">radio</a> program. He also said that writing your own story will give you a larger view and context to your own life situation. This will help you to understand your traumatic situation better and help you to look for recovery methods. Seeing the bigger picture shifts your perspective and enables action.<br />
<br />
It worked for me and to help others in the same situation or those who want to educate themselves about fraud, I wrote my book. In fact my second book is almost there. I am very exited about writing my next<i> HEARTS BETRAYED</i> book. It is getting along as planned and expected to come out in 2018 as well .<br />
<br />
Watch this space for more information or go to my<a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/"> website</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-52411588143222339522017-07-15T00:09:00.000-07:002017-10-08T21:23:27.590-07:00Learning about Fraud Recovery through Translating My Love on the Line Book to Finnish <i></i><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RHf8WyyrPKg/WWm4rN6rUkI/AAAAAAAABtk/PubZNwqdBZkl0Ghbu4NEPR6hMZE8jwrWgCLcBGAs/s1600/Elina%2Bja%2BArto%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="480" height="190" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RHf8WyyrPKg/WWm4rN6rUkI/AAAAAAAABtk/PubZNwqdBZkl0Ghbu4NEPR6hMZE8jwrWgCLcBGAs/s320/Elina%2Bja%2BArto%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Docendo, my Finnish publisher asked if I would be willing to
translate my own book to Finnish. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘It would be published early next year (2018)’, they said. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was really hesitant to do it. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘You could work on it and improve on it’, the editor
suggested. ‘Some chapters could be extended and so on. It would be a new extended
edition, just for Finland’. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, I got excited about this possibility, but was still very
uncertain to begin on my own. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘I need a good editor’, I counted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘Well, you have one, right here’, the editor said. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What a relief! Finally, I could rely on someone to brush up my
spelling and grammar. If you have been corrected all your life, it truly leaves
you with low self-confidence. But I am determined to help others recover from
the trauma of fraud, especially romance scams, so I had to overcome my fear.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Despite that, my mind was somehow permeated with dread. How
could I cope? Would it take ages and ages to fit my two language boxed side by
side, in my head? I saw my dyslexia as a barrier, once again, in accomplishing
the task. It seemed like an endless highway of doubts and anxieties. I was
depressed – again. A low moment. Luckily, my ex-husband came to my rescue.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘I will help you’, he said through Skype from other side of
the world. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I knew his language skills were perfect. I am so grateful. And
so we have been working on it for about two months now and getting better at
it. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Skype is such a great working tool, I have learned. It
enables you to really be in the same room with your team despite the distance
of half the world. And translating something I had worked really hard on my
second language to my mother’s tongue has given me a whole new perspective to
my own writing. I am even getting to appreciate my own thinking patterns.
Sometimes I go like WoW! Did I really write that? And there are new words I
have learned, as well. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Language is such a wonderful thing. There are words that are
trendy, and translations that seem to get lost between languages. Sometimes
there are excitement with finding new words that have been created and learning
about them give you some delighted moments in time. You can really appreciate
the meaning behind the words. And your understanding had expanded a bit, once
again. Besides, you can learn a lot about yourself and about the subject matter
at hand. Mine is fraud, by the way.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bT4PAWmPdTo/WWm-79WutKI/AAAAAAAABts/SrfkeNjvs1QJPMCs5IjlziaBSZT614sEACEwYBhgL/s1600/Love%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bline%2Bquote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bT4PAWmPdTo/WWm-79WutKI/AAAAAAAABts/SrfkeNjvs1QJPMCs5IjlziaBSZT614sEACEwYBhgL/s320/Love%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bline%2Bquote.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The book I am translating is called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love on the Line. How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and
without Victimisation, </i>if you haven’t read my blogs before. I have gotten a
new kind of depth to my writing and I am understanding myself better now. My
ex, there on the other side of the world is really supportive and without his
skills and language competency I would be in trouble in remembering every
expression, after living in Australia for the last twenty odd years. How great
is it to remember! And how great is it to finally get an equivalent meaning to
a word like empowerment. (It is voimaantuminen, by the way). I had never even
really realised that before a couple of years ago, there was not a word for
this expression. Now, it is used very often in many situations. Some have even
commented that they are sick of it. It is such a positive word and used too
often, they complain. Does it go with the more downtrodden Finnish mind set? I
feel it does, and I am delighted to finally be able to freely use it. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Other things I have learned is that now, after two years
from writing my first book, I am still feeling the same. But I have evolved. My
recovery has truly moved to another level. I am eagerly writing my second book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love on the Line 2. How to Empower Yourself
after Recovery from Trauma</i>. And it is coming along very well. I am so very excited
about it as well. And extending some chapters for my Finnish readers feels like
this book is evolving with me. Now I know much more. Now I have contacts and a
whole community that is working for the same cause. I am a member of trauma and
fraud prevention support groups and know other people who are there and that
helps, not only me but others as well. Great development!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am trying to keep my <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">Website</a> up to date with information.
Sometimes it is lacking behinds some, due to my enthusiasm to get these books
on the go by the deadlines I have. So, thanks for being patient with me and
supportive and everything. Especially I am thanking my ex for he is a great
fellow and we are having such fun doing the translation. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What I am saying is: Watch this space! More will be coming,
soon. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-81236244255117100582017-05-18T19:20:00.000-07:002017-05-18T19:20:46.356-07:00Desperately Seeking Empowerment for the Victims of Fraud
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fAlTUUGduRU/WR5QBb2oETI/AAAAAAAABsQ/g4ppYAAuM8Mba9Mt9QTuApuR-2fHfeCawCLcB/s1600/Laptop2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fAlTUUGduRU/WR5QBb2oETI/AAAAAAAABsQ/g4ppYAAuM8Mba9Mt9QTuApuR-2fHfeCawCLcB/s320/Laptop2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is the last day of the National Consumer Fraud Week in
Australia (15-19.5.2017) and I am researching the concept of #empowerment for
my new standalone book </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love on the Line
2: How to empower yourself after surviving the trauma of fraud.</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (The book
will be out at the beginning of 2018 through Xlibris). I have been reading the
news articles about the new 2016 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
<a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/news/spot-social-media-scams-national-consumer-fraud-week-2017">report</a> on scamming which states that there has been a 47% increase in reporting
fraud in Australia. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-15/facebook-hunting-ground-for-social-media-scammers-accc-report/8519032">combined report</a> from the ACCC and the Australian
Cybercrime Online Reporting Network also states that Australians lost the whobbling
$200 million to Online fraud last year, including romance scams and financial
fraud. What news! And what can we say about this report that would be
constructive in helping the recovery of the fraud victims, especially for the
victims of romance scams. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First of all, the rise of the reporting can show us that
people are becoming more aware of the scammers on the social networks. That
might be positive but it can also be the same kind of hike as is seen in
Scandinavia with rape reporting. It is about the environment in which we live
in. In Scandinavia, the definition of rape is much more severe than in other
countries, like in Russia, for example, where there is not, any more, any
concept of rape in the marriage by law. In Scandinavia, there is also a more open
debate on the issue of rape, which allows the victims to feel safe in reporting
the crime. However, that is not the case with the scamming victims, especially
those who would like to talk about it on social media. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In Australia, it seem that at least the reporting and
anonymous victims are more aware and safer in their reporting of fraud. That is
not to say that they feel any safer at speaking out about scamming, especially
romance scams, as the victim blaming is so rampant on both the social media and
amongst the everyday talk about the issue. It is in the analogy with the rape
culture where the victims feel ostracised and the scammers feel virtuous. So,
who is being empowered, the victims of crime or the fraudsters who, in this world,
are so free to commit their discretions? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My understanding about empowerment comes from my feminist
background. The whole concept is fairly new because as a young feminist we did
not speak about empowerment but about emancipation. In my own language, which
is Finnish, I have only heard the translation to the world in the last three
years. And in the other language, Swedish, which I also speak, my understanding
of the translation has not yet kicked in either. So, how can you be something,
you have no real worlds for? But it does have to do with power, right? And
whose is the power?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Secondly, the report shows quite clearly, that the power
between the fraudsters and the victims and the international crime syndicates
and the law, still seems to be on the side of the criminal, despite a lot of
new information and a lot of effort from the police. And I am lucky to be a member
of the most supporting groups, both Online and in my State of Queensland in
Australia. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What we as victims of trauma are so desperately seeking is
recovery and after that empowerment. </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Because, when one has been a survivor or
fraud, especially romance scams, it will never leave him/her and will make the
world seem less safe. It sort of takes you out of the cocoon of being right
about everything and makes you humble in the face of the enormity and the
complexity of the crime and the scamming scene. What we need is more information,
more compassion and more awareness. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V6sH4NytusM/WR5QKpwrf6I/AAAAAAAABsY/tlu304lt5IMX_5YoGVirjxwfiIBLeO9fACEw/s1600/Scam%2Badvise%2Bby%2BRSN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V6sH4NytusM/WR5QKpwrf6I/AAAAAAAABsY/tlu304lt5IMX_5YoGVirjxwfiIBLeO9fACEw/s320/Scam%2Badvise%2Bby%2BRSN.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Luckily, there are methods that will help the person suffering
from the trauma. Self-help methods or Online methods, like </span><a href="http://www.romancescamsnow.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">www.romancescamsnow.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> where you can
find a lot of information. And in the wait of my new book, there is also my current
book, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love on the Line. How to recover
from romance scams gracefully and without victimisation</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And from my <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">website</a> you can also start
gathering more information for empowerment. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My mission is not to let the fraudsters win the race to
empowerment but learn to shift the power to myself and to the others who have
gone through a traumatic experience like mine. It can be anything. Luckily, at
the same time as the social media is presenting the fraudsters more
opportunities, it is also presenting the survivors opportunities for
resistance. It is the matter of acting. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Empowerment means the will to change, to shift
and to start the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in
controlling one's life and claiming one's rights. So, let’s act on it, shall we!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Just look at this ACCC report to be convinced.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2RvRXSxg1w/WR5VCHBtvsI/AAAAAAAABsk/lraSQynVdvwEikYJRJRKvvSh8NeKoxK1QCLcB/s1600/Targeting%2BScams%2B2016%2BACCC%2Breport.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2RvRXSxg1w/WR5VCHBtvsI/AAAAAAAABsk/lraSQynVdvwEikYJRJRKvvSh8NeKoxK1QCLcB/s320/Targeting%2BScams%2B2016%2BACCC%2Breport.PNG" width="99" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-14569605195111209972017-02-06T21:28:00.000-08:002017-02-06T21:28:45.640-08:00How to Get Educated about Internet Fraud?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkAo9Box0lI/WJlRByV4p2I/AAAAAAAABqQ/Uid6mRZ2vSA2bgpdd0rJVTE-W5q9Eiy_ACLcB/s1600/Chris%2BFiona%2Band%2BI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkAo9Box0lI/WJlRByV4p2I/AAAAAAAABqQ/Uid6mRZ2vSA2bgpdd0rJVTE-W5q9Eiy_ACLcB/s320/Chris%2BFiona%2Band%2BI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Going back one year of my life and it feels like a lot has changed. My book <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx"><i>Love on the Line.</i></a><i> How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation </i>was just published and here we stood, my friends Chris, Fiona and I posing with the new printed information. It was the definite start to my education on romance fraud, scamming and people who have been affected by this ever increasing global crime scene. <br />
<br />
I definitely loved the colour of my book, pink. Little did I know that one year from the publication of my book, fusain pink would be a new colour of the women activism of the world. Cheers for that! I am just about to knit my own hat. I feel this year I need one to upgrade my efforts to educate people about internet fraud and activism. For me, last year on the road, talking at 20 events, mostly libraries was an eye opener. And I started writing my second book as well. It will be about empowerment after surviving fraud. <br />
<br />
For me, it is important to continue the recovery from the traumatic experience and why? Because, it will never go away! It will always be there as an experience, nagging me to awareness. In one year, I have gone through such a learning curve that I never thought possible. I have totally re-evaluated my whole life from start to finish, from birth to this present moment in time, in relation to my experience as a survivor of Internet fraud. <br />
<br />
It has made me stronger. It has given me a new purpose. It has reconnected me with my own sources of strength. This years theme for the Women's Day <span style="color: #46286e;"><a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/">#BeBoldForChange</a> </span><span style="color: black;">truly applies to me. This year I have elevated from humbly starting to call myself an author, to Author, Speaker and Professional Anti-Scamming Activist. How great is that! You can see the upgrade on my <a href="http://elinajuusola.com/index.html">Website</a>. I feel so proud. </span>I am proud of myself, proud of all the people, friends, family and supporting networks that have contributed to my change. It has been profound. <br />
<br />
Yesterday, I was excited about my new ventures. Soon I will be going to Europe: Finland, Sweden and the UK. I cannot wait to talk about my book, and how to avoid Internet fraud and start the process of recovery and continue with the process of empowerment from thereafter. <br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xIcfDotHWQE/WJlQ8-wqNZI/AAAAAAAABqU/0LSpuPUpojA14huamrP_4QByvg2xPnWSQCEw/s1600/Cheers%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xIcfDotHWQE/WJlQ8-wqNZI/AAAAAAAABqU/0LSpuPUpojA14huamrP_4QByvg2xPnWSQCEw/s320/Cheers%2B2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here is a cheer to my new challenges, to my new adventures. I will report back. For now I am just so grateful. I recommend: get on with the program and get educated, buy a copy of my <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx">book</a>, for example, Read it to start with your own journey to recovery and further to empowerment and to a great life that is void of fraud, Become observant and aware of the hazards of the modern digital world. Be safe. Be an activist. Have a life.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-22431849870568420822016-12-04T20:29:00.000-08:002016-12-04T20:29:03.830-08:00How Long Does the Santa Claus Live?
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sndU8CVVQUQ/WETm0sT3FnI/AAAAAAAABpM/JRnV0MoAS_ME82a57JJ1b9r18t2Z21f-wCLcB/s1600/ChristmasLego3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sndU8CVVQUQ/WETm0sT3FnI/AAAAAAAABpM/JRnV0MoAS_ME82a57JJ1b9r18t2Z21f-wCLcB/s320/ChristmasLego3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Santa Claus or Joulupukki as I know him in my own Finnish
language has been a continuing presence in my life since my birth during the
1950s in Lapland, Finland. I am a Christmas child myself who was born in a city
that resides both the Santa Claus’ Main Post Office at Napapiiri at the Arctic
Circle and the long tradition of tourist industry around Santa/Julupukki,
including the official University courses in Elf Profession. Just check <a href="http://www.santatelevision.com/santa-claus/santa-claus-live-inside-office/">here</a> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
to believe it. I am not telling you fibs. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once in a while, or quite often actually, researchers do
tell you that Santa is a lie, check in <a href="http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/academics-argue-parents-are-damaging-their-kids-by-lying-to-them-about-santa/news-story/0e9b54fe5033e5808ae61c90e02efe20">here</a> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and if you still have doubts <a href="http://yle.fi/uutiset/3-9315109">here</a> it is in Finnish. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every
now and then we are also reminded that adults think too much. I mean in no
respect to demean the two articles presented here but I am convinced that
whatever we believe does construct our reality, including the metaphysical reality
of Santa. Check my previous 2010 posting <a href="http://elinajuusolahalonen.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/contemplating-santa-claus-and-world.html">here</a> about what is the history of the
Santa tradition I believe in. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kor1OGHBZe8/WETmS2vlTFI/AAAAAAAABpA/-EZ4UuE6x9IjfOC_8t1g13-tIuzOguhaACEw/s1600/Christmas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kor1OGHBZe8/WETmS2vlTFI/AAAAAAAABpA/-EZ4UuE6x9IjfOC_8t1g13-tIuzOguhaACEw/s320/Christmas1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year, like every year, it has come to pass that people
are considering Santa and their Christmas traditions, including its political
correctness and the commercialisation surrounding the modern practice of giving
enormous amounts of presents to everyone. It boosts the economy, say the
economists and many, if not all the shops rely on their Christmas sales to
cover much of their yearly expenses. This makes it understandable that we keep
on staring the Christmas markets earlier and earlier in the year. And who
wouldn’t like to boost the economy? Or maybe not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I live in Australia and find that the Christmas for me
starts with the decorations at the shopping center, because otherwise, it is
summer. The season comes as a great contradiction to my birth home of
Rovaniemi, where the winter snow falls plentiful and it is freezing cold. In Australia</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, in the heat and the sun, it is
quite hard for me to think about Christmas in the way I used to as a child. Now
my traditions much come from having fun with the grandchildren and imagining
with them how Santa would ride the skis from Lapland to deliver the presents
Downunder. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-upcyi0BiI2A/WETmwF0HF_I/AAAAAAAABpI/XFYGr1T3vuEAN-GVJhWR9uhbx-gYSM5rQCEw/s1600/ChristmasLego1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-upcyi0BiI2A/WETmwF0HF_I/AAAAAAAABpI/XFYGr1T3vuEAN-GVJhWR9uhbx-gYSM5rQCEw/s320/ChristmasLego1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My
grandchildren know very well, where the line of the fairy-tale and the reality
lies. They think that it is ‘cool’ that they, for example, know exactly where
the North Pole is: that it is at Rovaniemi, Finland. And why do they know is
because they have been there themselves. My six-year old granddaughter insists
on this. “Mummu, I have actually been there twice.” There is no buts about it.
She does not think about it philosophically, or in any metaphorical way. For
her North Pole is where the Santa lives and because she knows the Santa,
Rovaniemi for her is the North Pole. It is possible for children to think about
Santa philosophically as well. At the age of five, my elder son asked me how
long I thought Santa would live and when I answered: “As long as you believe in
him”, he immediately said: “Oh, just like God!” That was also clear at one go
and the end of the discussion.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh no, my
granddaughter thinks about it all as a great potential for performance. She
needs the right costume, and the right music and the right atmosphere and we
are on. This will be the best Christmas ever performed. I bet it will include
the music from the movie <i><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=trolls+trailer&form=EDGNTC&qs=AS&cvid=df179384b00b491bbcaefffbac95c526&pq=trolls">Trolls</a></i> as for her it is the best dancing <a href="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Trolls+2016+Soundtrack&&view=detail&mid=341F6846251828F71A14341F6846251828F71A14&FORM=VRDGAR">soundtrack</a>
possible to imagine. </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bl-wBupSGOM/WETmibf7G_I/AAAAAAAABpE/CUs99wcyYzg39xyh89QHdm9QcieIJbBlgCEw/s1600/Christmas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bl-wBupSGOM/WETmibf7G_I/AAAAAAAABpE/CUs99wcyYzg39xyh89QHdm9QcieIJbBlgCEw/s320/Christmas2.jpg" width="240" /></a>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;">The other
way, I get my Christmas spirit rising is through technology and internet. I
plan on talking to my family situated around the world, especially the other
granddaughter in London. We are planning on maybe decorating our Christmas
trees together, at the same time, through connecting on Skype. At least we will
build Lego Christmas decorations together in our weekly get-togethers. We will
show and tell about all the little decorations I have collected and placed in
our tree. They come with different memories of my family for generations.
Before this tree decorating used to be on the 13<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of December,
because the Saint Lucia’s Day was my mother’s day. The family tradition carried
to us from Sweden through the WWII when my mother was a refugee as a child
there. We remember, I can tell it all to my grandchildren in my mother tongue,
in Finnish. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;">This year,
though, like last year, my grandchildren are in a hurry, and so am I. So, we
might decorate the tree during the first week of December, already. The
artificial trees that last and last make this longer season possible. The
positive part is that we can even choose the colour of the tree as we fancy.
This year it will be black. And from there on, sitting quietly, watching the
lights on that tree reminds me of the Christmases past, present and the future.
Baking cookies and the Karelian Pies with kids makes my Christmas real.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PCwx0SLmA4w/WETqyb2Ev_I/AAAAAAAABpU/-d775AJOn9Qo-bZ4RRFKO4SY7-VEixOUwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PCwx0SLmA4w/WETqyb2Ev_I/AAAAAAAABpU/-d775AJOn9Qo-bZ4RRFKO4SY7-VEixOUwCLcB/s320/IMG_0514.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;">Our
Christmas or Yule/Joulu traditions as I say it in Finnish might change and
adjust into new technology, new environments and blend with new traditions. Still,
for us the message of Santa remains the same: compassion, kindness, light, fun
and caring. To me, it is no lie, it is a reality worth sharing with my family
and friends and passing on to children and grandchildren. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px;">If the
spirit of Santa grows into a figure of a jolly old man or a strong grandma like
woman, it might not be so bad to imagine that it is the spirit of the ages, all
the good parts from Odin to St Nicolaus and many other unimaginable realities
blended together into a consideration of others and their plight. It is not
always about us. Mostly it is about the truth. So, how long does the Santa
live? I still say that wherever or whenever you are, it depends on your own
capability to imagine.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
</div>
</span><div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
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</span>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-90332885716871833862016-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:002016-11-13T20:56:36.948-08:00Considering the Truth about Female Desire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2z3ImKWfj7s/ViiaFde40zI/AAAAAAAABBE/XjMabNk3Was/s1600/tanssi.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2z3ImKWfj7s/ViiaFde40zI/AAAAAAAABBE/XjMabNk3Was/s320/tanssi.png" width="236" /></a></div>
Just a few days ago I was watching a Canadian program on the Australian SBS channel called <i>The Truth about Female Desire. </i>Interesting to watch to say the least. It stated that women have been freed from their previous chains of prudence in expressing their sexuality. According to the program, especially women of over 50-years of age are now expressing their sexuality in a very different way from before. This change was possible with the invention of the pill, the program further claims. Now we are free to digitally hook up through apps and Internet sites with whoever we want, whenever we want without having to consider pregnancy as a result of our behaviour. I am considering if there is a downside to this freedom from the point of view of my research to pornography and violence against women during the last 30 years,<br />
<br />
I have just finished writing a book about romance scams and how to recover from them with dignity and without victimisation. In my book, I consider the modern digital lifestyle that allows us to hook up with everybody with ease and without needing to leave the comfort of our own home. Interestingly, I have had two types of experiences with online dating myself. The most surprising to me were the Internet dating sites that allow people to meet with people around the world and start a romance with them without ever even seeing them alive, not even on Skype.This resulted in me becoming a victim of a romance scam of which my book is about. The second type of experience has been the kind this program is talking about where you hook up with people near you that are available to chat and meet you, if you so desire. Zoosk, for example is big on hooking you up with real people of the opposite sex quickly and with varying results. Still I am left skeptical about the statement about the freedom of sexual expression. See, I was there thirty years ago as well. Now, I am considering the boundaries of where the so called freedom of sexual expression has led us. I am left wondering about what is the definition of freedom when talking about sexual desire.<br />
<br />
The women interviewed in this particular program are very convincing. One of them is now free to express her masochistic side better than before. This is due to the world wide sensation of the book <i>Fifty Shades of Grey. </i>This particular book has now been given the dubious credit of freeing the female sexual expression and desire from its dormant captivity. Interestingly, I have read the <i>Kama</i> <i>Sutra</i> and seen the pictures as well, and I have had that book since the early 1980's myself. I just cannot believe that we have been so innocent before either.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In 1984, I attended a seminar on pornography in Danmark. There I met a woman who was a hooker, by her own definition and a masochist by her own definition, as well. I always thought that it was somewhat bizarre that her best masochistic fantasy was to have her man force her to ride a bicycle to the shop without having underwear. Well, <i>Fifty</i> <i>Shades</i> <i>of</i> <i>Grey </i>certainly<i> </i>topped that one for me. However, I have totally missed the sexual freedom part of the equation. I still do not see that the freedom of sexual expression has emancipated anything worth considering as free. Rather, it has been digitally reprogrammed to make the women play to the male model even more than before. Where is the freedom in that? What I really would like to see is the freedom to build compassionate relationships between people with no underlying double morality. Unfortunately it has not played out like that at all. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Instead, even the Playboy magazine will now stop featuring the nude centerfolds as an expression of good business decision. According to the editor, we have bypassed the need as the Internet is now providing all that is required for those who want to look at porn or express their sexual freedom. Instead we now can be free to have more casual sex hook-ups than ever before. And that is considered freedom. Where is the truth about female desire? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'd rather go dancing with my love and express my sexual desire in passionate acts of love and love making than count how many hook-ups I can have in a week. I'd rather look at it from the point of view of making the world a bit more compassionate through less conflict and more hugs. I'd rather people express their desire in any form they choose instead of being boxed in a model that is restraining to their soul even though it might fleetingly feel freeing to their body. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that is the truth of that!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-44783607340267963732016-10-03T05:51:00.000-07:002016-10-03T05:51:33.930-07:00Love is an Online Battlefield<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3rLHTwxwSxs/V_I7LOGcN2I/AAAAAAAABec/HIHFL5Sh6N8CrKhCqtPM2P2DlM7FQZrwgCLcB/s1600/DSCF6879e4a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3rLHTwxwSxs/V_I7LOGcN2I/AAAAAAAABec/HIHFL5Sh6N8CrKhCqtPM2P2DlM7FQZrwgCLcB/s320/DSCF6879e4a.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Picture is taken by Aila Peteri at the 'Sydney Sister's Event, Feb. 2016</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
For a few months now, I have been traveling around the South East Queensland visiting libraries and giving talks titled: <i><a href="http://elinajuusola.com/img/gympietimes_20January2016.png">Love in an Online Battlefield</a></i>. Meeting so many people who have been interested in my book <i><a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx">Love on the Line, How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation</a></i> has truly been an inspiring and an exciting experience. Sharing the story of my recovery as a victim and a survivor of a romance scam has opened my eyes to a much wider understanding of how our new digital world works in relation to adapting itself to the old and already well established social and cultural though patterns that have already been built into the structures of our society. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The included picture depicts perfectly my surprise and my feelings of devastation after relising that I had been targeted by a fraudster, who not only had used identity theft in obtaining pictures for his already false profile and made up storylines but who also expected me to part from my money in order for him to come and see me face-to-face. Turned out that I was a victim of false promises by a false profile with a false picture to boot. As an after thought, it is quite horrifying to think about how vulnerable and foolish I did feel myself after finally realising that what I had thought to be a wonderful and trusting experience had tuned out to be fake and a huge mistake.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Luckily, I had my elder son to lean on when he told me to concentrate on my positive feelings instead of the negative and hateful ones. That suggestion became my Muse helping me to write my book about the experience. Since my book was published in January 2016, I have learned that my experience and my recovery has been quite a miracle, statistically speaking, as there are so few people who actually recover and this being indifferent to the amount of money they lose as a survivor. It is only the general perception of scamming that equates the money lost to the scammers with the worth of the experienced grief as more valuable that just losing a lover. The victims and survivors themselves, at least those who have since shared their stories with me feel that it is the loss of the relationship that is more important and longer lasting than the loss of the money, however much that may be.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QqQCBSg0WZ4/V_JFy-HAe4I/AAAAAAAABew/sM8hXZLRqOI-69DRNL4pZlFXS-cgYShjACLcB/s1600/SCARS%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QqQCBSg0WZ4/V_JFy-HAe4I/AAAAAAAABew/sM8hXZLRqOI-69DRNL4pZlFXS-cgYShjACLcB/s320/SCARS%2B1.png" width="238" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The report card from <a href="https://againstromancescams.org/">SCARS</a> (The Society of Citizens against Romance Scams) gives its grim statistic that is only 'the tip of the ice-berg' about the state of the romance fraud in the word today. Some of my <i>QLD Police Fraud Prevention and Support Group's</i> discussions have revealed that up to estimated $7-13 billion has been lost to fraud, including the financial and romance fraud only in 2015 alone. It is huge numbers. And not only that but I have found that my speculations about the connection of scamming with the messages imbedded in the idea of pornography that gave impetus to me starting to write my book have now become even more direct. I have found through the stories that have been shared that there is a true connection with violence and scamming.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkgxob7HzKc/V_JFepKzS9I/AAAAAAAABe0/0a1Y-N_kwfAlLhr2ya7gaQDbkKadrw-fACEw/s1600/ROMANCE-SCAMS-ARE-VIOLENCE-AGAINST-WOMEN.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkgxob7HzKc/V_JFepKzS9I/AAAAAAAABe0/0a1Y-N_kwfAlLhr2ya7gaQDbkKadrw-fACEw/s320/ROMANCE-SCAMS-ARE-VIOLENCE-AGAINST-WOMEN.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This <a href="http://romancescamsnow.com/">RomanceScamsNow.com</a> picture says it all. In my experience romance scams are not only violence against women but are thoroughly based on the violent behavior patterns inbuilt in our society in many levels, starting from violence against women and continuing permeating every possible sociocultural paradigm that can be found through the ideas that are implicit in pornography and prostitution as an example. But why not come and listen to my talk, if you happen to be near Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia or Logan, in the Brisbane area. This week is my <a href="http://elinajuusola.com/">SUPER LIBRARY WEEK</a>, seven libraries in four days between Wednesday the 5th and Saturday the 8th of October, 2016. Go to my <a href="http://elinajuusola.com/">Website</a> to learn more.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Next week, starting from Tuesday the 11th of October, at five libraries at Sunshine Coast, you can follow my thirty-five year journey as a researcher and feminist and hear how my career has shaped my desire to make a difference titled: <i>Modern Sexual Exploitation</i>. You find all the information from my <a href="http://elinajuusola.com/">Website</a> as well. </div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIgD-c3lWmw/V_JOwnl77LI/AAAAAAAABfE/sqsDAAAjS7E7764dLnq2YJni8VLAiaiJQCLcB/s320/Love%2BOn%2Bthe%2BLine%2Bbook.png" width="245" /></div>
But most of all I recommend you to read my book. Ask for it at your library or at your bookstore. Or just order it online through my publisher <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx">Xlibris</a>. Mostly, see you at the library talks at the library near you. You can also find out more by visiting my <a href="http://elinajuusola.com/media.html">Media</a> page.<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-43816032246060261972016-08-16T03:27:00.000-07:002016-08-16T03:30:36.895-07:00Love on the Line TV Conversations with Patricia Meister in 2 Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WuJo6NEi9yQ/V7LltC7akAI/AAAAAAAABak/V_X_B-RO_vYvDfITQJHpgvSkYY6D_FDTACLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252814%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WuJo6NEi9yQ/V7LltC7akAI/AAAAAAAABak/V_X_B-RO_vYvDfITQJHpgvSkYY6D_FDTACLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252814%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Welcome to a new and interesting Love on the Line TV
Conversation. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This time I have the pleasure to introduce to you Patricia
Meister, from Bundaberg, Australia who is a great example of a person who had a
positive outlook in a dare situation. Namely, she is a victim of fraud, of a
Romance Scam to be exact. Though her experience, she has suffered a substantial
loss of money but that is not the most important part in this conversation. She
has lost a lover, someone, who she thought was nearing what could be a
soulmate, forever. It feels like death, losing someone you trusted to a scam.
It is a huge betrayal.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Luckily, Patricia has taken a positive approach to her own
recovery and is doing everything to get on top of her disappointment. She has
done everything possible to educate herself and others: joined support groups,
both face-to-face like the QLD Police Fraud Prevention Group and also many Online
groups which can be found on Facebook, especially through the
<a href="http://romancescamsnow.com/">RomanceScamsNow.com</a> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was privileged to drive up to Bundaberg and have this
conversation with her. She told me the story of her complex scamming experience.
Afterwards, we discussed romancing, recovery strategies and possible happy
endings. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You can find this Love on the Line TV Conversation in two
parts from my YouTube Channel:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxuAlDas5gg">Part 1</a> & <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL7T_wyERkA">Part 2</a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And if you want to also read it. Here is the transcript of
our conversation. Both part 1 & 2</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Please enjoy and remember to subscribe to my YouTube
channel, so that you do not miss our other conversations. You can also follow
me on my blog to make sure you receive every story. Also check my <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">Website</a> for
news, like the Love on the Line South East QLD Book Tour continuing on Tuesday September
the 13</span><sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> at Logan Hyberdome Library at 10 am. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here is the script:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS WITH PATRICIA MEISTER </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Welcome to Love on the Line TV Conversations. This is a
special conversations from up state QLD in Bundaberg. In this winter sun shine,
which is a little bit on our face, actually. And, I am here talking with
Patricia Meister. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am very honored to have you talking with me and thank you
and welcome Patricia.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Thank you. I am honored to have you speak to me as well.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: It is so interesting how we met, isn’t it?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: It is, indeed</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: and we met through the QLD Police Recovery Group</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yes, that’s where we met.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: And it is, in my opinion, quite interesting, how
sometimes when you have been scammed like this. I mean like have. We’ve been survivors
of scamming. You actually make new very, very interesting friends. Don</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">’t you? </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: It’s
opened a whole new door for me, in terms of meeting new people. So, in that
way, it’s been a really positive thing. There is a positive thing.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, and
there are thing that are happening. It’s online. You had bought my book before.
And I was really, really intrigued when you told me this is how you met that
group. And there was another person there as well who said oh, they had
listened to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Love on the Line TV
Conversations</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> and that’s how they found the group. So, we might as well say
that this group meets every second Sunday of the month at the Qld Police Headquarters.
So, if you happen to be listening to us or looking at us. Then, here are two
people you find who have actually found this group through meeting and reading
books.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yeah</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Well.
Tell me about your story. It is quite complex and we actually counted about ten
scams. So, I’ll give it to you. Tell me.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: My story
is complex. I did actually, by accident, come across my scammer online. He
groomed me for probably a good four weeks before he really started to ask me
for any money. In that time, he romanced me. He gave me music. He gave me
poetry. He spent a lot of time priming me, if you like. And so, the first
request for money was actually not a huge amount. He had supposedly entered
Malaysia with a large amount of money and had his goods confiscated by
emigration.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: I see</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Then
after series of events trying to get the goods back. The first request was for
living expenses because his credit card supposedly didn’t work in Malaysia. So,
the first request for money was round about $600. And, even though it felt wrong
to me, I went ahead and I did that transfer. And that was the first transfer I
made to Malaysia. It was probably the beginning of a series of events that lead
me on an incredible fantasy journey that ended up relieving me off a large sum
of money, in the end. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The second
request came to get the goods out of emigration and then after that money was
sent, which was quite sizable sum. The next amount of money was then because
the goods then went to the head man of emigration. So, there was another large
amount of money required, there. Then at that time the money was supposed to be
deposited back to me. However, it never happened because the bank was funny
about the amount of money. So, the next step was that we would send it by
diplomatic courier. So, the diplomatic courier then delivered this supposed
consignment of money. It was very professional and I, I couldn’t pick that it
was fake. It had its own tracking menu. It had tracking sheets that I could
access. However, then the money went to the courier company which then
supposedly, the money then went to the Kuala Lumbar Airport where it was held
up because, we then required an exit clearance fee.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Oh
right. And a large one.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: That was
a large one. That was around about $25000. So, after that amount of money was
paid, I was then told that to make it completely safe to come back here, we
would then require a Diplomatic Red Stamp. So that was another amount of money,
of course.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And, all
the while now, I was starting to be very concerned about this consignment in
that he had sent me an application form from Malaysian internal affairs that he
had filled out with the address listed as the address of my business. And by
that time I was so far in that it was very hard to get out because in my mind I
had a consignment of money siting at Kuala Lumbar Airport that was listing me
as a recipient. However, there was no consignment as we found out in the end. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But, it
then sort of led into a Red Stamp situation where that was more money. So,
then, finally, the money was acquired to get this Red Stamp and the consignment
supposedly was on its way to Australia. And then I had a tracking sheet telling
me that the consignment was in New Zealand and then there was another tacking
sheet to tell me it was now at the Melbourne Airport. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">At the same
time, I got a SMS message from supposed diplomat with an Australian phone number,
telling me that the consignment had now been held up at the Melbourne Airport
and required an entry clearance fee of another $25000. So, at this stage, I
guess, I was still believing that this was a reality, though I was starting to
think: ‘OMG, so many stories. How can there be so many dramas?’ And you know,
money was getting harder to get, by this stage. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: And what
was the thing that tipped it over?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: The
tipping it over in terms of me realising that I’d been scammed?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Well. I
got the entry clearance money together. That week my scammer was supposed to be
coming back here. We were also supposed to be doing Skype that week. And he was
supposed to be picking up the entry clearance money from the bank that morning,
to deliver it to the courier company and book his flights. End of story. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yeah?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Well, of
course that never happened. And I got a phone call at work, on that Monday
afternoon and I had a rather, shall we say, unpleasant… He was an Asian man. And, he then said to me
that my scammer had been involved in a very serious car accident with his
lawyer.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Oh </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Of
course, the lawyer was the main player in this scam all the time. The lawyer
was the one that he dealt with emigration. The lawyer was the one, whose bank
account I was supposed to be paying into. At the end it did appear that the
lawyer was a Malaysian woman who worked with telecommunications. And, that was
what I found, when I Googled that name which was a very unusual name. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Anyway, he
was supposed to be in a critical condition. And all the while I was then
getting emails from a so called Wellness Clinic. And being that I have a
background in Medical Science, I started to sort of think to myself that if you
are in a critical car accident, you are going to be in intensive care in a
major hospital in Kuala Lumbar and I would not be getting an email from a
wellness medical clinic with an Outlook email address. So, my son actually
alerted me. He said: ‘Mom, there is no Wellness Medical Clinic in Kuala Lumbar.’
And he directed me to an embassy sight: US Embassy in Malaysia. And so, I went
there and had a look and OMG, there was my story.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Ooh</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: You
know. Almost. It was business man working overseas. He was a widowe. Scammers
have incredibly bad luck. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: I just
wanted to ask you what really tipped you over. We counted now about nine
different kinds of scams, which were one after the other, which your scammer,
you know, tried on you and actually was quite successful. So, what was the
tenth one that actually tipped it over?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: It was
the car accident. It was just one too many stories and I had read about people
getting scammed because of accidents occurring and because of medical reasons.
So, that really rang a bell for me. I wasn’t so savvy about the courier company
and consignment and the confiscation of goods by emigration. I really was
unaware of those kinds of scams but I had heard about the medical. And I used
to keep thinking to myself, ‘well I haven’t had medical issue yet. So, when
that happened, it just rang a huge bell with me. At that moment when I got that
phone call from the Wellness Clinic, so called, I thought: ‘well, he is going
to be in the major hospital, anyway. I would have a doctor phoning me.’ </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: yeah</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: I
wouldn’t have some incognito person giving me a ring. And, at that moment, I
just kind of. I think, my heart just dropped to my shoes and I just though ‘OMG,
I’ve been scammed’.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yeah and
by the time you counted the money, you had nearly lost a six figure sum,
already.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yes</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: So, it
is quite a wakeup call. Is it?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: It was a
wakeup call. It was like. Actually, for the day. I couldn’t even finish my day
at work. I was just OMG, you know.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Hmm. You
also said you confronted your scammer?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yeah, I
did. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">After the
accident. You know the scam didn’t end there, because then they did try and hit
me up for medical expenses. And by that time, wow, I was just out of money. So,
then whilst he was supposedly in hospital, I then got hit up by the courier
company for another $25000 for the entry fee which I refused to pay. They had
then threatened they were going to hand the consignment into the Australian
authorities. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And, I end
up getting legal advice on that actually. My lawyer told me that I’d been scammed
and there was no consignment, so ‘don’t pay any more money’.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yeah,
it’s quite interesting how long time. it went on for a quite a long time, six
months you say? </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yeah,
six to eight months</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">PART 2</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Now,
what I am very interested of course is the romancing. You said before that you
liked my book because it was positive and I remember that because my son told
me that, you know, ‘block him out, do all that, but remember the romancing’ and
it was such a wonderful high. And I’ve heard you talking about it, too. And I
think that we have there the common link that how on earth, you know, it is
possible for a scammer to just crab your brain so much. So, what were your
feelings about that?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: I think
that he groomed me very well. He found out as much as he could about me. I was
at the time of my life where I was probably missing something in my life. And I
was working very long hours. So, I didn’t really get out and about and socialise
a lot. And, I’d never really gone online for anything like that and so. It sort
of happened by accident in my life, really. It had its positives and negatives
and I think that the thing I will say is that he was very polished. He was very
educated man. He was incredible good with his grooming and his romancing. And he,
I guess they tell you what you want to hear.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: It hit
every nerve?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: It did
and as you have said it in your book that it releases endorphins in your brain
and they are basically the feel good hormones. And I think, for couple of
months, until the money issue became a big issue for me. For the first few
months of the scam, it became almost like an addiction. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: His
words of love. The beautiful music he would send, the poetry he would send. He
really awakened a side of my personality that I had thought had died.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yeah, I
think that there is quite a lot of women who feel the same. This is what I
would also say, that it woke up me into this world and I suddenly realised how
strong this kind of thing is when you are getting your hormones and you are
getting this high. And it is very much like a romance books. When you now read
what he said, do you think that it is very much like from a romance book you
read before?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Oh yes.
When I do read back over it, I sometimes think: ‘OMG. How on earth did you ever
get to the point that you did with this, because?’ But then when I read back
over it and I think, well, he just made me feel like I was the most precious
thing, ever.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, I read
some of the text messages what you got and I must say that, you know, they are
very nice and very polished. And I would, even as, like an outsider, when I
would read, I would like: ‘oooh, aah’. ‘That’s what he said to you’. That is
true. I also had some of the very similar, like you know: ‘I never find anyone
like you. You are the best and I love you so much’. And this was like you know,
again and again and again in the text messages. And you had lots of emails. Oh
no, no, they were not emails, they were on Facebook</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: I had
and incredible amount of time put out for me. I wasn’t and easy snare, to be honest.
I questioned everything. All the time. And he would come back with this
incredible romancing and of course. When the money was there, the romancing
would just become more and more intense.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Of
course</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: There
would be more music sent and more poetry sent and more dialog. And sometimes he
would then want to be online with me, you know, not just once a day but twice a
day.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, to
make sure that everything went well. Did you have some mess ups with sending
things, like I did?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Initially,
the bank security phoned me and more or less asked me how I had met this man,
because it was out of character with my banking history, to be sending money
overseas. And, they actually did say to me that they were problems with sending
money to Malaysia and that they actually thought that I was being scammed. And
I chose to ignore their warnings.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And the interesting
thing was that right through the middle of it all, where the amounts were much
higher that I was sending. They didn’t really question those. But they
questioned the very first transfer and the last one. And they phoned me twice
over the last one and said: ‘are you definitely sure you want to send this
money and I said: ‘yes’. And, you know, even at that time, I was kind of
starting to feel that things weren’t right. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, I
understand completely. But then he has tried to come back again. A few times
and more romancing. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: The
downpour of romance, and songs and the poetry was intensified on the second
round. And, it was, I guess, because I haven’t taken a bait this time.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I hadn’t
heard of him. He just fell off the side of the cliff, if you like and I was
just left dangling there without the ledge to stand on. The phone number I’d
been using in Malaysia was no longer working. The contact through Facebook
stopped and virtually I did send him an email, at that stage, telling him that
I knew he scammed me. And, I knew it didn’t bunch because it didn’t come back. So,
I pretty much just sort of thought: ‘Well, I made a mistake. I financially
almost kind of ruined myself’. Though I did keep my head to a degree with that
and I didn’t let him take everything from me.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: But, he
took enough to put me in dire straits for a short period of time. And I was
lucky because I did have support systems around me that sort of helped me to
get through that time, because it was a pretty devastating time for me. And, all
of a sudden, it was like a withdrawal from all, because he just disappeared.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, and
then he comes back and asked for more. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: The
first real contact that I had back with him was about four weeks later. And I
had a message sent to me: ‘Hello honey. It’s not what you think.’</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, then he
followed through with that story. He always built a story out of a story. And
he was so good at doing that. The next story was that he had been contacted by
the FBI that I was quite correct in assuming that the courier company was fake
and crooked. That the FBI had confiscated the consignment.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: This
was, like, also in the end, there was an identity theft with the FBI. That’s
right? They wanted to have your IDs and even your passport?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yes</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: How
about recovery, then? What kind of recovery strategy you have now? Because, now,
you are now at the stage where you know it is a scam but you are still a little
bit into it. He is trying to get back to you and trying to involve your brain
and your emotions into it. So, what know of recovery strategy are you thinking
to do now?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Well, I
have had to learn that I have to completely block everything, to do with him.
So that I will then not have any contact whatsoever. Or he cannot contact me.
And once I’ve actually achieved that goal, then, I will be able to move forwards
a lot better, I Think, in my life. I’ve been very lucky with my recovery
because I do have a business and my work that I really enjoy doing. And I do get
to talk to people all the time, every day. So, I do have social contact there. And,
I also have a number of different projects that I’d like to pursue.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: I know
that for me, writing my book distanced myself from the scammer and I had
something else to think about and then, in that way I sort of lost the contact.
And even the will to in any way be interested in him. And you have lots of
lovely things happening.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yes, and
I think that the will to be interested does go at the time when you discover
that you’ve been scammed, because it is such a huge betrayal of the trust. But
on the other hand, as we talked about before, it is a type of addiction that
you have. And so, you really need to fill that void.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: That’s
right. And you do have background in this.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: You need
to fill that with something different in your life. And for me, it’s opened up
a whole lot of new direction for me that I could follow. And that’s been a
really positive thing for me as well. So, I have managed to put together a
tribute in the art gallery here for my mother’s talents as a dress designer in
the 1940s and that’s something that I have wanted to do since she in 1999. So,
that did occupy a lot of my time </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, and
lots of possibilities there, too. I’ve seen the designs and they are fabulous.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: There’s
a lots of opportunities there to market these things in very productive
fashion. And then, of course, I would really like to write a book on the
experience but it is going to take some time. And I need to be a little bit
distanced from it to really I think write it in a way that really is going to
be appropriate. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, you
can join in our conversation in Happy Ending on how to rewrite your story which
we are going to start here and have even eCourses and stuff like that, which
are like according to what I had. What was my strategy in my book. You are very
welcome to be part of that.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yeah. I
do find that it’s a bit raw now still. To go back and read over the dialog and
think: ‘OMG and think: how did you ever? What were you thinking?’</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: What
were you thinking? What did you have in mind? How did you imagined your happy
ending would be?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: My happy
ending was. I guess. I’d had found this most wonderful man, who was going to be
my soulmate forever and that we walk off into the sunset together.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yeah,
like today.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Which,
of course, is not reality based. Real life is not full of romancing and fantasy
journeys, is it?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: No, it’s
not a romance book. I think that romance books are a real exaggeration but they
do get your brain and they get your endorphins going. So, at least some of that
should be. We should be able to have right in our lives, I recon. Yeah, so,
hopefully, we’ll find the new somebody who would be.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yeah. Hopefully, you never know what’s round the
corner. And, I guess, maybe there is, sort of, you know, someone out there, that
I’ve yet to find. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Well,
thank you very much for coming and thank you very much for talking to me. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">P: Yeah.
Thank You.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: (to the
audience) You’ve been watching the Love on the Line TV Conversations special
edition with Elina Juusola and Patricia Meister. And this is in Bundaberg.
Please subscribe so that you won’t miss any other of our conversation. And have
a wonderful week. Thank you so much for listening and watching.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Both: Thank
You </span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-32989905545313430732016-06-18T22:34:00.000-07:002016-06-18T23:02:34.060-07:00Love on the Line TV Conversations with Sharon Armstrong in three parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhUjAmZDiAA/V2YjE0xlIyI/AAAAAAAABXk/dg7CEqJ_WVgckShppcXOvGrf_Cro7D4DACKgB/s1600/IMG_2254.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QhUjAmZDiAA/V2YjE0xlIyI/AAAAAAAABXk/dg7CEqJ_WVgckShppcXOvGrf_Cro7D4DACKgB/s320/IMG_2254.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I have promised you a Love on the Line TV Conversations special interview with Sharon Armstrong. And if you have not read my previous blog about her. Click <a href="http://elinajuusolahalonen.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/has-fraud-touched-your-life-sharon.html">HERE</a> and then you can also read the previous blog about the <a href="http://elinajuusolahalonen.blogspot.com.au/2016/06/special-report-on-tainted-love.html">Tainted Love Symposium</a> that recently was held in Brisbane. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now that you are up to date with the latest on the Australian romance fraud scene, here is the treat.</div>
<div>
The Love on the Line TV Conversations with Sharon Armstrong in three parts:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnQnxvedwLQ">Part 1 Sharon Armstrong story</a> (as recorded at the Tainted Love Symposium</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7cT1GhywEY">Part 2 conversation about Sharon's recovery</a> in her unique situation as a prisoner in Argentina</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7r1Gnuj4lg">Part 3 conversations on shame, humiliation and the importance of family</a> in the recovery process</div>
<div>
and of course that was not all we talked about. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was truly delighted to have this conversation with Sharon Armstrong. It is in three parts due to the YouTube posting time limits for individual accounts, but in this way you will get it all.</div>
<div>
Her campaign Standup2scams if on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Standup2scams-403640199826611/">Facebook</a> and on <a href="https://twitter.com/standup2scams">Twitter</a>. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And if you feel that watching it is too much because of my beautiful Finnish accent and Sharon's New Zealand one is sometimes hard to follow, here is the whole conversation for you in words. I am sure it will be an eye opener for you, just as it was for me:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Part 1</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Hello everyone and welcome to the Love on the Line TV
Conversations. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">On the 31</span><sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> of May, there was a special symposium
in Brisbane, called the Tainted Love Symposium. My last posting was the report
from that symposium. If you have missed it, you can go back and find it and
look at it. However, after the symposium, I am delighted to say that I was able
to record a special conversation with Sharon Armstrong, who was one of the
keynote speakers, who so generously shared her story.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now we have here three parts to this conversation. The first
part is her story as I recorded it from her own lips from the symposium. The
second part is our conversation about recovery and how she got through two and
half year imprisonment in Argentina after being scammed, through a romance scam
to becoming a drug mule. The third part is our conversation about shame and
humiliation, about forgiveness, gratitude and the importance of family in the
recovery process. And a little bit about the future and maybe a happy ending in
the end. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So without further a due, I present to you Sharon Armstrong:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I left a great career in New Zealand to be with my family on
Brisbane and 2010. The next few months were about looking for work. I was
consistently told that I was over qualified for various positions and over the
next six months, I became more and more despondent. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">At the end of October, a well-meaning cousin of mine signed me
onto a dating site: match.co. I was not overly happy with this and found it
overly creepy, actually, so I decided that I would unsubscribe from the site.
My profile was to remain alive for a further three days. It was in this time
that I received a message from a very handsome looking man, Frank Mark Linus.
His first message to me had me hooked like I’d never been before. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We seemed to have so much in common although there were a
lot of differences as well which made it all exciting. He only lived about only
45 minutes from where I was living at the time. He told me, he was a civil
engineer. His fiancé had been killed in a car accident some years earlier and
his mother had worked for the UN in Human Rights but had died eight years
previously. He was an only child and had loved his mother dearly and had spent
most of his childhood living in various countries around the world. He was
alone and told me, he loved my strong commitment to my family and he could tell
that I was an honest person with the same values as him. He would talk about how
excited he was to be part of such a loving family. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We were meant to meet about a week after we first started
talking. However, on the big day, he rang, most upset to say he had been called
to Sydney for job interview. If successful, it would mean a contract in London.
He later called me that he had landed the contract and if I supported his
decision to go, he needed to leave immediately. Of course, I said go; he needed
work. He made contact as soon as he arrived in London.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, I am being groomed over a period of five months. The
journey consisted many heights and probably just as many lows. His contract
fell over by Christmas and the first request for money came.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While, I initially responded to him saying that I was
concerned he had asked me for money and that maybe this was all too good to be
true. He came back, saying: It’s not all about the money, honey. And don’t
worry about sending it. He’d find another way to pay his workers. So, I ended
up feeling guilty. Guilty that I hadn’t believed in him and sent off the first
of many money transactions.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He then begins to warm me up to the idea of doing some
contracting work with him which may involve having to travel. He tells me I
would be his PA, really his fiancé, he says. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Throughout January, there was one issue after another that
required him needing more money, from his previous workers threatening him due
to money they were owed, through to him falling gravely ill and ending up in a
hospital and remaining there for three weeks, ensuring an ever increasing list
of problems arising. By this stage, he was consuming my life in every thought.
We would text message and talk on the phone on a daily basis. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In February, 2011, I was offered a short term contract back in
New Zealand. Timely really, because by this stage, I had already sent most of
my savings to him by Western Union, a service I had never previously used. So, job
meant that I could support him, while he secured another contract. By the end
of March, he tells me, he has secured a very lucrative contract doing some
civil engineering type work in London. Then he convinces me to travel to South
America as his PA to pick up his contract and take it on to London for him to
sign. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Meanwhile, the love of my life continues to charm me and
tells me of the time when we will meet for the first time, how we will spend
our time in London before returning with me to New Zealand and then to
Australia to meet my family. And if all went well, returning to London with
him, while he completed his contract. Why wouldn’t it go well? We’d known each
other intimately. We’ve been speaking for five months and shared things that I
had never shared with anyone. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, I make arrangements, all exited and apprehensive at the
same time about finally meeting him face to face and beginning our life
together as he had promised. I organized some work commitment I had and finally
tell my family. They weren’t happy about me going, but hi, at 53, no-one was
really going to tell me what to do.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The organization sends me my airline tickets. I am flying to
London, stopping over in Argentina to pick up his contract. Originally, only
stopping over for a couple of days at most, suddenly, everything changes and
they want me to fly to Switzerland to pick up more papers, then to travel by
train to Madrid before finally arriving in London. By this stage, I was feeling
very anxious, in a foreign country, waiting for the papers to be delivered and
then to have the plans keep changing, my stress was skyrocketing. In comes my
savior. He says to me: Don’t worry, honey! Dale, day was his … who was a
secretary to the organization Frank was going to work for, can pick up the
papers in Switzerland. You just bring the documents to London and I will fly to
Spain, sign them and return in time for your birthday. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A week later, a night before my flight to London, I am given
a suitcase, which I immediately checked. It was empty. Frank tells me, they had
hidden the contract in the lining of the suitcase. I question both himself and
his friend as to why the papers have been hidden. They come up with a variety
of excuses including the fact that the contract is worth a lot of money. I am
still feeling anxious about this when Frank tells me, if I am still concerned,
lift up the lining and check out the contract. With this response, I think:
You’re just being paranoid, Sharon, because you trust this man and he is
telling you, how wonderful and fabulous our life together will be. Also upon my
arrival in London, he was going to take the document on to Spain, sign them and
return to me within 24 hours. So, I think that of there were anything sash in
the bag, he wouldn’t be offering to take it on to Spain. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, the next day, I turn up at the airport and make it
through the customs. While waiting for the boarding announcement, my name is
called and I am asked to identify my bag. Which I do. Eventually, this all
leads to me being arrested at around 3 pm , on Wednesday the 13</span><sup><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> of
April, 2011 and spending the nest two and half years locked up in a prison in
Argentina, a victim of a scam that involved romance, money and drugs.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here you have Sharon’s story to the point when she was
arrested in Argentina. Now further on, the second part is about recovery and
how she got through this two and half years in imprisonment and the third part
directly after that. Thank you for
watching part ONE of Love on the Line TV Conversations, a special conversation
with Elina Juusola and Sharon Armstrong. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">PART 2:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Welcome to Love on the Line TV conversations, and I am
really, really stoked and suer </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Welcome Sharon. I am really, really super excited to be here
with Sharon Armstrong, from New Zearland, who has a very, very deep experience
with romance scams.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Welcome, welcome Sharon. I am really, really happy to have
you here</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Thank you Elina </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yesterday we went, and we were part of a very exiting
symposium in Brisbane. It was called the Tainted Love Symposium and you were
one of the key speakers I just wanted to recall on how we met.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Well, I think it must have been in the middle of October
last year when I was invited to speak at the QLD fraud and recovery support
group. And, you were in attendance there and after that I had given a bit of my
story and what had happened to me, we sort of chatted afterwards and you wrote
a blog and we sort of stayed in touch in social media ever since.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: That is right. We were also connected by the social media
which is very interesting because we are talking about something that happened
online and so. And many people say that you are on social media and you never
really connect but we have</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Absolutely</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: And this is what happens with romance scams: people
connect online. And, so. We have a very different experience about romance
scams but I was deeply taken by your story and because my story is so very,
very brief and basically it just woke me up into this world. You story is such
a huge story. It was 2012, right?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: It was 2011 when I
was arrested</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: and then you came back after</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: I’ve been home now for just over two and half years and I
was locked up for two and half years. So, it happened, April 2011</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: OK. Would you say that your recovery started already when
you were in Argentina or did it really start after you came home? Which/what
would you say?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Ah No. I believe my recovery started fairly early on
after my arrest. I think, one of the unique things about my situation and
recovery was that because I was removed from society and had no access to
technology, therefore, you know, any form of media. It was almost like I had
the opportunity to look in deep. I wasn’t dealing with the normal day to day
things that many victims of these types of scams are left to deal with. Still
having to get on with their lives, still having to get up and do the same
things they did before this traumatic experience happened. Whereas for me, you
know, I just had myself and my thoughts at that time.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes,</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Yes, I have a close family and I was in touch with them,
but essentially, I was only responsibly for myself. So, I believe that my first
step towards recovery was realising that I needed to express how I was feeling
to the scammer and the impact that that had had on my life. And I sat down one
day and wrote this letter to him knowing that he would never receive it and
that I was never going to post it but it was more a step in the healing that I
needed to do. So, I did. I wrote about the impact to myself personally, to my
family, the situation that I found myself in. And then after I’d written it I thought:
do I destroy this? But no, I’ve held on to it. I still have it.</span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "calibri";"> Yeah,</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> I believe that
that was the beginning of me accepting. Even though I wrote it to him, it was
to the him that I believed was real, at that stage. Of course I knew that he
didn’t exist. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, and did you then, after that keep a journal?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Yes, well I started my journal prior to that. Probably I
started my journal a week after my arrest when I first got some pens and I just
started recording and writing about the day to day things that was happening in
prison. Times when I was probably feeling very upset, sad, very lonely. I would
write a bit about that, but I tries to use it more as a way to keep myself
stimulated and to start to create some focus around to where I wanted to go.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, I understand that fully because I also did a lot of
journaling, but of course I was able to talk to all these people and I was on
social media and that is a big difference between us, like you know, your
healing has to happen at the same time as you are actually confronted with the
social media. And very often, what I have found, is that it sort of leads into
a little bit of an addiction. That you sort of change from being addicted to this,
what happened in your brain and being high with the scammer - into the chasing of
scammers. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Yes, yes,</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: And how did you feel when you came back home? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: You mean in terms of the scammer?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yeah, and how your recovery then proceeded. After that
point when you were home, when you were able to use all the resources you would
have? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Yeah. I think that because I was there two and half
years. I think that by the time I left prison, I was in a good space. I could
think about the scam and not feel like, you know, I wasn’t feeling anger, I
wasn’t feeling grief for the loss of the relationship or anything like that by
that stage. So, coming home was really more about making some decision around
where to from here. It wasn’t easier, easy because there was still media
interest and I chose under the guidance of a very wise media person to then
just stay away from any media contact for 18 months. In hindsight, it was a
very good thing to do. It gave me a change to just slip back into doing a bit
of work. But I reached a point where, and I knew this when I was still locked
up in prison, that I would do something with the new knowledge that I gained
and my experience and what I had been thought and my learnings. So, it was
really just how that would manifest more than anything.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes. Last year when we met first time and you were
talking about #standup2scams and that was how we connected online and
afterwards you started that one, but then now, you started the Mule</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Yes, #standup2scams sort of came about: I was approached
for about 15 months ago by a journalist from New Zealand who wanted to do a
story of what had happened. So, when this documentary first came out, I
thought. Well, now is a good time to try to set up a social media campaign.
That is something I’ve never done before. So, I decided I check out how to do a
page on Facebook, which I did. We came up with the name #standup2scams because
I really wanted something, in term of the campaign that portray a strength, a
position of strength rather than from a victim point of view. So, the
#standup2scams was really about taking back the power and being able to stand
up and talk about what had happened to me. So, I set up #standup2scams on
Facebook and on Twitter. And, as you mentioned earlier, I found it incredible
in terms of establishing relationships. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, through that, I’ve got some other relationships now with
other likeminded people across the world which has been very advantageous. But
from there, actually at around the same time, I was contacted and speaking with
an international human rights lawyer, who actually I knew twenty or so years
ago from my day with in corrections. He is very involved in law aid
international and slave scenes. He was the first person who put to me that he
believed that I was also a victim of human trafficking. Which I found very
interesting at the time because, for me, at that point, when I thought of human
trafficking, I thought of women had been kidnapped and sent overseas and
trafficked to wealthy businessmen for, you know, a variety of sordid things.
So, or children being trafficked across borders. But when I actually looked at
the definition and explanation of human trafficking, it is about the
exploitation of people, generally across other jurisdictions</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And so, we’ve been going and operating for some 11 months
and currently not receiving any funding but we haven’t actually, actively sort
it. But we offer free advice to people that may find themselves arrested
overseas, particularly as unwitting drug mules, and unwitting money mules. We
also provide services to those who might think they have been scammed, who are
being scammed, who are in recovery, who just wish to talk to someone</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, and you know, it is very individual. We know that
this problem is huge and is just getting bigger and bigger and bigger, like
$339 million in 2015 was, this is only in Australia, went into internet fraud. So,
that’s a huge… Even though romance scams was only $23 million and that had gone
down a little bit but that doesn’t really say anything because it is just the
tip of the ice-berg. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: And what’s even more frightening for me is that area is
that they are the once that we know about</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Exactly, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: There are so many, and I’ve had many people that have
contacted me that have unfortunately been to the police but have got no
further. There has been nothing they can do and this is New Zealand that I am
talking about. Or, they just have nowhere to turn. And some of them haven’t
even told their families. They are dealing with it themselves. And I find that
very sad that we are not better structured in a way that we are dealing with
this situation. I mean I was blown away yesterday. There are some very good
things happening here in Australia. And I suspect that some of the initiations
are probably leading in the world in terms of what has been done in this
particular area. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: I was very, very taken by that, by the symposium. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Part 3 of the discussion:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: What I wanted to ask you next was in leading there was
about the shame. When you came back from your imprisonment and the confronted
the whole media and everything and the both shaming and the victim blaming which
I find is a huge thing. Or is it self-censorship, do you think?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: I think it is probably a combination of things. I think
that firstly, that as a society, we’ve always tendered to victim blame anyway.
I am talking about the incidents of domestic violence and incidences of rape,
whereas as a society, you know, we have victim blamed. Well, why do we do it? I
think, it’s easier. Because to blame a victim takes a level of responsibility
away from society having to do something about the issue. So, it’s about we
just tell the victim to fix themselves. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So I think that it is an attitudinal societal issue that
needs further exploring. I do see, it’s starting to turn. I, you know,
yesterday was empowering to me in the fact that, as you said, there’s these two
high powered Government officials who had a level of genuine empathy. Who
totally realised, that, you know, that victim blaming is not the solution. For
me, in terms of my own shame and humiliation. I. That was amidst those few
weeks and months after arrest and it was all to do, it just got to a point with
me where I thought, you know: This isn’t healthy. It is not healthy to stay in
this state. I now understand that actually we as victims, or when we were
victims. You know, we did not do anything wrong. And then, you know, I began to
realise: if we did nothing wrong, why are we feeling the shame? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Exactly, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: You know, because the shame is not ours. Shame needs to
lie with the scammers. With those that are corrupt.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Well, I’ve been researching pornography a long time and
that’s what I realised when I sort of woke up, that the patterns are exactly
the same.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: The other interesting which is relative in all of these
issues is that there is a market. So, while there is a market for pornography,
while there is a market for drugs, while there is a market for money laundering,
you know, the corrupt behaviour of scammers will continue. So, it’s no point
our energy into trying to stop that, because it is not going to stop. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Exactly</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: What we have to focus our time on is those that end up in
being the unwitting victims, those that end up being caught up in the cycle in
some way or another. So, there isn’t one solution. I think that the most
empowering thing for a victim is to be able to tell their story and feel like
they are being heard, without being judged. And again, as a society, it is hard
for people not to judge, you know. Even if you don’t verbalise it. You have a
thought. That is a judgement and it’s hard not to judge. Trust me, I have been
trying to really hard. My experience in prison thought me I needed to. You
know, the women that chose to be drug mules. I need not to judge them because I
didn’t walk in their shoes. I hear people say, and they are well meaning. And I
know they care. But they say something like, you know: ‘Look, I know it wasn’t
your fault but do you regret some of the silly decision you made? And that’s
because we have been conditioned into thinking that. For me, as I suggested
yesterday. You know, there is a lot of work to do but I think that there is
some people out in there with the right intention and I think that we just need
to. If we can start to create those safe, respectful, nonjudgmental
environments where victims are able to tell their stories, there way. And to just
have people to continue to respect them and to have a relationship with them, I
am sure, it will be far more empowering than a lot that is going on currently.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: You said before that forgiveness, gratitude and family.
Let’s talk about them a little bit in here. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: So, forgiveness became very important to me not to live
prison bitter and twisted and wanting to string my scammer up and to, you know,
crave a shotgun and you know, go after a group of scammers. I, you know, that’s
just not a way of me being able to move forward. So, I had been thinking along,
for a long time how was I going to do this. So, I watched a movie that has
Nelson Mandela in it, called Invictus and it’s a very good movie and it’s got
some very good messages in it. And one of the things that Mandela said to his
staff when he was first elected as Prime Minister and they were refusing to
work with their white collogues. He brought them all together and he talked to
them and said, you know: ‘Forgiveness liberates the soul.’ And I thought: how
true is that. And I thought that well, OMG if Mandela can forgive the country,
then who am I to hold on to, you know to these negative feelings. I needed to
forgive and. So, I did. And actually, once I had that almost epiphany, I
realised that, you know, forgiving the other person isn’t about them, you know.
Because it may have no impact on them. But it’s all about yourself. So, in
order to forgive someone else, you know, it does liberate your soul. You are
then in a position to be able to move forward. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In fact, I tweeted a tweeter a while ago about a story where
they had actually caught some scammers. And while that was great and positive.
I said it’s like stepping on an ant. Because that is what it’s like. You squash
one, but there are millions to follow. And it’s very much the same as this. So,
I do believe that a lot of the answer lies in the Internet, even though that
was, you know, the vehicle in which is used, nowadays to scam many people. That
doesn’t mean that I am against the Internet or that I am against technology.
Not at all. No, I think that we can use that to our advantage, just as easily
as the scammers use it to their advantage. I guess when said all that</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ah, that the other one, that we talked about was gratitude.
And, you know. This probably occurred within days of my arrest that, I became
grateful that I had never made my destination. What would have happened, I
would have been met by someone that I would not have recognised. May have been
the person I was talking to but it wasn’t the person I’d fallen in love with.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: You know, what would they have done with me? Because by
that point, I guess, I would have known that it was a hoax</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: and already trafficking </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: That’s right, and I was already a drug trafficker. And,
you know. That in itself would have been hard enough to deal with. I was
grateful for that but I was also grateful, you know, for the fact that, you
know, my family were not still searching for me some five years later and not
finding me because I had my throat slit and was on a back street of an alley in
London somewhere.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As time went by, I became grateful that I wasn’t locked up
in a country with the death penalty for drug trafficking. I became grateful for
the fact that there were internationals in the prison with me from a variety of
countries around the world that spoke English. But, you know, at the end of it,
I was most grateful for the support of family</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, that’s that I have found quite a lot now, afterwards,
talking with different people, going into different libraries, meeting people
that, actually, what makes the most difference is the family backing and is
that you have your family behind you and they are not leaving you behind. I
always want to say like in this movie: Lilo and Stitch where the Hawaiian say
that it is a family and the family is the unit and you never. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Leave them behind</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes. I found that myself. Do you agree?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Oh, totally. You know, I think in many ways this whole
experience has probably been harder on them than it has been on me. My family
had to deal with and still had to go to work and you know, create an income and
figure out the way that they were going to pay a </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: After you came back and then what had your backing, I saw
them there, yesterday. I have the same thing. So, I feel that that shame is
somehow taken away because of that. And that makes all the difference there. I
don’t care about anybody else. How about you?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Yeah. Totally. I mean, my family was my whole reason for
surviving. You know, they are my reason now for standing up and talking about
it, because I saw the impact on them. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: They often say that your worst experiences turn out to be
your best experiences. How has this whole thing changed you?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Well, I certainly have become far more knowledgeable
about how the scammers operate. And all about those things.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: How about inward? As a human being?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: I guess, and I tried to write this the other day. On the
lines that I realised that many of the experiences, and I am not saying this as
articulately as I like to but… You know, the experiences that we have in life,
we do have the opportunity to determine how these experiences impact on us. So,
we can choose to take a negative or a positive experience, in our lives and we
can determine the outcome. Now, by that I mean, I knew, I wanted some good to
come out of this. And if that good is by sharing my story, by, you know,
working on campaigns, working with Mule, helping others, standing up and speaking
and advocating on behalf of other victims. I guess, I was just speaking to my
daughter last night, I was saying, I’ve always. My work has always been
something that can easily consume me.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S; You know, not just this that I am doing now but even in
my past. So, I guess in that respect, I haven’t changed. Just my focus has
changed. And, you know, six years ago, I would never have thought that. I mean,
I never would have thought what I went though, I went through. But this isn’t
an issue that may never have crossed my path. So, I feel by the mare fact that
it did, a some sort of indication that I need to, that I am on the right path.
That I need to work in this area someway or another. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, cause, you can never forget something that is so, so
big. In my book, Love on the Line, I’ve written, like you know, two short
stories because I wanted to recreate the ending to be the happy ending. Cause I
do believe in happy endings, still and I believe in romance and in there I even
compare what the scammers did, like, you know, how they got our, us into this
romantic mode. Which was exactly similar to the romance books that many people
love in that way. So, in this way do you
believe that you are going to contribute to getting your own happy ending and
what does that look like?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Well, you know. I am not quite sure what that would look
like. Right for the here or now, it is the ability to be able to pay my way in
the world again. You know, I have struggled to find work.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Yes, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: I am writing a book. I am writing a book, as you know. To
share my experience and my learnings. Things I do to be grateful for, but also
I’ve got some contributions from others who are going to write about their
knowledge in this particular area. More so, not to substantiate what I am
saying, but more to put a bit of, almost like evidence behind. Because, you
know, there is research being done now. There are, as we know Dr Cassandra Cross
and I am excited about her research coming out. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You know, the book isn’t necessarily for those that are
sceptics. I would like to think that if they read it, because often sceptics
don’t read it, but if they read it, they may get a bit of an insight, but more
it’s for those, you know, sitting on the fence. And little bit not sure.
Hopefully, it may give them some signs to recognise if it’s happening amongst
their friends and family. I am not doing this for them. I am not doing this to
change the minds of those that are judgmental and critical. You know, I am
doing it for those that are sitting on the fence or for those that want to know
more about the subject.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Exactly. Well this is the reason that I wrote my book
too. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, I did write a book about it. Now, since we are in this
new era of the digital world, I will give you a digital version of my book as
thanks. If you don’t mind.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: Thanks you</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: That’s a digital version, so you can download that to any
of your devices. Now that you in the world and not cut anywhere. And I really,
really thank you for coming and talking with me and I am sure in the future we
are going to do quite a lot of work together.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">S: I am sure. Thank you, Elina</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">E: Thank you for watching and goodbye.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-71236564357525648372016-06-06T06:23:00.000-07:002016-06-07T00:02:41.825-07:00Special Report on the TAINTED LOVE. Exploring the Reality of Romance Fraud. Symposium in Brisbane 31/05/2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CsdnGasNu-k/V1VbhQG-xUI/AAAAAAAABWc/suo1Ybr4LSsHtmCWuMjWiHMeSUbD8WBJwCLcB/s1600/IMG_6060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CsdnGasNu-k/V1VbhQG-xUI/AAAAAAAABWc/suo1Ybr4LSsHtmCWuMjWiHMeSUbD8WBJwCLcB/s320/IMG_6060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Delia Richard, Sharon Armstrong, Dr Cassandra Cross, Davis Hillyard and Prof Reece Walters</span><br />
This report here is the written out version of my LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS, SPECIAL REPORT on the TAINTED LOVE Exploring the Reality of Romance Fraud SYMPOSIUM. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R2RZ-0u2pw">The YouTube Love on the Line TV Conversations Report</a><br />
<br />
Here is the script:<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am really pleased to welcome you to the Love on the Line
TV Conversations SPECIAL REPORT on a very exciting event. Namely, the ‘Tainted
Love’. Exploring the reality of romance fraud. A Symposium that was held in
Brisbane last week. (31/05/2016)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Symposium was organized by Dr Cassandra Cross and hosted
by the Crime and Justice Research Centre at QUT. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was privileged to be in attendance and display my book </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="http://www.loveonthelinebook.com/">Love on the Line</a></span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> at the symposium, of
which I am really grateful for. Because, we need more of the stories of the victims of
romance fraud to be shared amongst the public. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What I am showing you here are the highlights of the
Symposium as I experienced them. It is my take on the issue of romance scams.
Especially about the prevention and support of the victims to enhance their or
our recovery as I myself am one of the survivors. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If later my report inspires you to listen or see some of the
whole speeches given at the symposium, the link to the recordings will appear
below when it comes available. But you can check the QUT Crime and Justice
Research Centre’s <a href="https://www.qut.edu.au/research/our-research/institutes-centres-and-research-groups/crime-and-justice-research-centre">Website</a> through the link. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I should warn you, though, that this report does not give you all the
details of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Standup2scams-403640199826611/?fref=ts">Ms Sharon Armstrong’s</a> plight when she was scammed to becoming a drug
mule through a romance scam and arrested in Argentina and imprisoned there for
two and half years. You can read all about it by clicking the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-30/romance-scam-woman-shares-story-of-being-conned-jailed/7456300">links</a> provided.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What I heard and am reporting here is how I relate to her
personal survival and recovery story from the incident which started several
years ago and has impacted her whole life and will impact just about every decision
she makes from here on. I am very pleased to have recorded a separate Love on
the Line TV conversation with her. So, stay tuned and subscribe so that you
will not miss is for it is in the making.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is warming to my heart to witness such compassion in an
event of this kind and willingness to practical action in order to resolve
issues around romance fraud although we know how ineffective our work sometimes
is as there are more and more scammers appearing. But what is the most
important issue that is being touched here at the symposium and can be changed
is the way the victim survival and recovery is handled. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sharon Armstrong’s story has touched me deeply. We met the
first time last year when she was invited to speak at our QLD Police Headhunters
for the Fraud Prevention Support group. This group meets every second Sunday on
the month. Then, I blogged about her. Just click the <a href="http://elinajuusolahalonen.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/has-fraud-touched-your-life-sharon.html">link</a> to read it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sharon’s story has similar kind of elements to mine. She
fell fast and hard, just like me. She is a person who has had previous
experience about similar situations which could have applied to her scamming
circumstance if she would have known to see the connections. Just like me she
did not.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">His first message to me had me
hooked, like I never been before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">To cut a very long and </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">sordid story short, I fell hard and fast.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I should have recognised the grooming
that was accruing. I mean in a previous life, I had worked within corrections
and I had had many of encounter with sex offenders and opportunities to study
their technique. But no, I had my rose coloured classes on. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">With the benefit of hindsight, I
now believe, the scammers respond to your insecurities, your desires and your
kindness. They look for those who are trusting, compassionate, and looking
either consciously or subconsciously or unconsciously for someone, or something
to fulfill, what you feel will enrich your life in some way. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The fraudsters are clever and can change their technique as
quickly as the need occurs, because when Sharon at first was anxious about the
situation and just about nearly told the scammer that the situation with him
and her was ‘too good to be true’. He told her that it was not about the money.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He tells me I would be his PA.
Really, his fiancée, he says. How funny is that? I think now. Me, who has never
held any intention of ever marrying again was being excited by the thought of
this man wanting to marry me.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sharon’s story is very moving. To me, it is very incredible
that a woman of this caliber would be able to be scammed and framed like she
had been. But thinking of how I too fell and was duped although my experience
was just a brief encounter compared to hers, I now understand better the depth
of the betrayal, she went through. She did all the right things, checked all
the right sources, including the man’s said company, although she did not know then
that later it was taken off the Internet. Luckily her family was her backbone, though.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I remember promising them that I
would cope and I would get through this, regardless of the consequences. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I went through feeling of huge
shame. The knowledge that my family was suffering and that I should have known
better was overwhelming. Most days, I kept torturing myself as to why I hadn’t
seen all the signs that now seemed so obvious. Finally, I reached the point
where I knew that these thoughts were not healthy. I didn’t want to feel like a
victim - anymore. I came to realise that I would survive this and come out with
new knowledge and understanding of how these things happened. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, how did I achieve this?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Family, friends, strangers support
and unconditional belief in me, prayer, humour, positive thoughts, remaining
focused, routine, working within the prison and knowing ther is always someone else facing tougher challenges. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Listening to Sharon made me deeply grateful to know that
there are people who have taken up the fight for the survivors of romance scams.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The next speaker was Dr Casandra Cross herself. I have been
impressed by her research, both previous and the new one. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dr Cassandra Cross:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Just to give you context. I’ve been
researching in this area for just over eight years now. In the previous life, I
actually worked for the QLD Police service and that was where I was introduced
to the problem of fraud. And that is when I started to talking to people like
Sharon, who were brave enough to share their stories. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When we think about romance fraud;
what exactly is it? I know I’ve had lots of questions, I guess from a lot of
media, I’ve done. How is romance fraud different to just a bad relationship?
And, I think they are both bad relationships. I think many people would agree
with that.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, the victim is defraud through
the guise of a legitimate relationship and I think this is what’s problematic,
because as we heard Sharon say. She was in that relationship and while she was
questioning, she was blinded. I guess, had the blinkers on about the person and
how she felt about him and how she thought he felt about her.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, there is research on this that
the Internet facilitates a more intense relationship. That people ate more open
on the Internet. And can develop what is perceived to be a more intimate and
intense relationship online than face to face. And the main finding to come out
of this is the double headed victimisation.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I can certainly say from the
victims that I have spoken in this current research that it’s the loss of the
relationship that is actually , I think harder to take, sometimes, than the
loss of the money. Because that is what has the significant impact on them.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dr Cassandra Cross stressed again and again that the impact
of romance fraud is far greater than just the money. The feeling of shame and
the blaming the victim looks to be one of the main problems of the victims not
coming forwards and sharing their stories. The new research Cassandra is taking
on will be explaining romance fraud from the framework of domestic violence.
That is certainly my understanding and experience that there is a direct link
there to be found. So, I am especially excited about the coming research and am
looking forwards to having a Love on the Line TV conversation as well.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The two Government Officials who were in attendance and
speaking at the symposium were very compassionate people and I was so happy to
meet them. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Delia Richard spoke of all the interesting action the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/">Australian Competition and Consumer Commission</a> is taking. She said that the romance fraud
is a number one priority with the <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/">Scamwatch</a>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">She also addressed the misconception about who and which
gender was more targeted by the scammers. According to her the ACCC statistics
show that it is about 50/50 but that men lose a bit more money. Delia praised
Cassandra’s new research as very important because it will connect the romance
fraud with the domestic violence and many victims ‘not so uncommon’ past
relationship experience with violence in the family they grew up with. It can
easily predispose the victims accommodating behavior as the keepers of peace in
their relationships. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Lastly, David Hillyard who talked about the very successful
<a href="http://www.scamnet.wa.gov.au/scamnet/Fight_Back-Project_Sunbird.htm">Project Sunbird</a> in Western Australia. I had previously heard a lot about this
project and was very excited to hear what he said.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Part of this was touched by Sharon.
It’s about that perfect business model and that perfect business model about
low inputs but big outtakes. One of the other essential elements of this
criminal behavior is that you can confuse the authorities both in one country
or one state, or across the world. And this sort of scam is that perfect model.
It falls between the cracks everywhere. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I said before, the earlier we
intervene, the less losses people sustain but we are not stopping it. Programs
that are out there that the scammers are operating, the criminal groups that
are operating out there are recruiting as fast as we stop it. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, I guess our last message is:
They are still coming. And they don’t stop coming.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">David finished with: “It’s a strange old world we are
working with.” And I am certain he knows and has great experience in working
with those people who need convincing about the fraudsters being what they are.
Luckily he also said that by sending letters to people that have been sending
money offshore, progress is being made. So we ended up with a hopeful note on
all accounts. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I certainly learned a huge amount about romance fraud and I am
able to go forwards to work on my own small way to raise the awareness about
romance scams around the place. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I very much thank the speakers and you all for watching and
listening. This will all be in my blog and on YouTube so keep subscribing.
There is more to come with the Love on the Live TV Conversations. Next it will
be that conversation with Sharon Armstrong I promised before, so stay tuned.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Have a very good day for now and keep fighting and
#standup2scams as Sharon has put it. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">USEFUL TWITTER HANDLES:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">@ejuusola @standup2scams @CrimeJusticeQUT @DrCassCross @Scamwatch_gov @ConsumerWA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">Website</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorelinajuusola/?fref=ts">Facebook Page</a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-87551020004001517642016-05-13T19:11:00.000-07:002016-05-13T19:11:03.139-07:00Welcomome to LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS: Episode 1. Behind the Book<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KYCciuzlvQc" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, I
get to welcome you to my new venture: LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS on
YouTube. I have been planning to start a YouTube project for quite some time. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This has
been one of those things that has been nagging at me but due to some
unidentified fear factor has only manifested itself after some help from good
friends and friendly professionals. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The final
impulse to getting my new channel out was a 7 day video Facebook challenge I
took part in just a few of weeks ago with Rachel Dunn and Michael Hole and
their <a href="http://www.girldirector.tv/">Girl Director</a> Company. It is just little things that make all the difference. My
friend Janet Blake has been a marvel in supporting and helping me to get over
the live. She has promised to make conversation videos with me on regular basis
which means that there is much to look forward to. There are also lots of other
wonderful people who have said yes to conversing with me about many issues
concerning us today in relation to LOVE ON THE LINE.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are
many topics that come under this flag, so to say. There are also other subjects
in the planning. One of them being my SAGA HEALING JOURNALING AND RECREATING
YOUR STORY FOR RECOVERY eCourses that are in development. My head is just
spinning with all the new things I need to learn.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is all
for the good cause, I say. The goal is to highlight HOPE, RECOVERY and HAPPY
ENDINGS possibilities for trauma recovery. Of course, all this stems from me
becoming a target of a romance scam and writing a book about it. It has
developed into a lot more that I thought possible.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, now it
is over to you. Please enjoy Episode 1 of the LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS
with Janet Blake and I. It is the so called behind the scenes approach. I have
included the full script here so that you may also read the conversation if you
so prefer. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you
for reading, listening and watching. </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">FULL SCRIPT
OF THE CONVERSATION Episode 1 LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS: Behind the
Book.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This be our
trial one, taking about where we are at and talking about book launches and
LOVE ON THE LINE, even if it is in the tree.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Welcome to
the LOVE ON THE LINE TV Conversations with Janet Blake and Elina Juusola</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Janet: And
Elina is the author, in case you haven’t heard about it somewhere along the
line. In the, shall we say, momentum, leading up to this, of Love on the Line</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Elina:
Here’s the book</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Her
first book. Before we just have a bit of
a chat. You have just written a book</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E; I have,
and it’s actually been published</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: And you
know what, from listening to you. Congratulations on that. This book, you are
welcome, has been what twenty something, maybe longer in the making or
incubating?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: And this
whole process has been nurtured by a number of people?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J:
Including, perhaps, finally, coming to terms with yourself and honouring and
respecting that deep inner sacredness of what was deep inside of you, what
would come out.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes, it
was. It was like.</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, this
book, particularly, LOVE ON THE LINE is about Internet Romance Scams and
because I was a victim of one, although I don’t call myself a victim. I call
myself a survivor, or I was involved in one of these scams as a target. So,
that woke me up to that I needed to do what I needed to do</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And so, I
mean, the shock of being a victim, or a target of this kind of scam when I was
not even able to believe that it would be happening to me, because I am pretty
knowledgeable about things. Or, I mean, as I said before, I’ve researched
pornography, prostitution, violence against women for over 35 years. You would
think that, you know how these things go, but they don’t, you don’t. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J:
Listening to you and you know, the time we share before, life perhaps has
positioned you as an expert in this field and with the hindsight. Do, you think
that that has actually created a huge blind spot</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes. I
think because, as a person I am still, even though that I have been doing a lot
of research for a number of years, I still look at the world with a very, very
blue eyes, maybe. And I still think the best of all the people. So, I am not
suspicious, so I am probably exately one of these people who would fall into a
scam. Because, I would read an email and say, OK this is a nice person. I wouldn’t
go on expecting this person to be a scammer. There are a lot of people who do,
but I don’t. So, I mean. It can take you unaware. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J:
Remember, I think, it was Albert Einstein who said that one of the fundamental
questions we have to come to terms with, and this isn’t the exact quote whether
the Universe is a friendly place or not. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Right,
and in my mind Universe is a friendly place and in my mind, humanity is better
that what we think.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I look at
it as a lesson and I look at it as if this is probably why I was able to feel
that now I have to look into this scamming, I have to research and see the
bigger picture and see what was my relationship to the scam and how it came
about and that’s why, for example, I started journaling and I started writing
down my experience in the way. And then, like you know, the book became a
narrative healing experience and from there on it has developed even more, because
I am now writing the sequel.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: So, when
you dream, do you dream in different languages</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes.
People speak the language I know them from.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: So, when
you write your narratives. What language you write them in?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: English</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Because?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Because,
that’s the language they will be published in.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Haa</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: And then
I need to have somebody who is a skilled person, who understands me. Like I had
Chris Henderson, from Women Howling at the Moon</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: And she
is fantastic</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes, and
she took me in, and she has interpreted and she changed the structure because I
might be writing in English, but it still might have a Finnish syntax. And not
only her, but before the book was published, I still had the context editing.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First I
write. Sometimes, I plan in Finnish, whatever happens. And then I plan and I
write and it comes, quite a lot from my, automatically, what I write and I
write very much as I speak. And then I have a person who looks at my language
and changes it and maybe come out with some words which I think I knew but I
didn’t remember</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then the second tie, is the context
editing and then there is the product. Perfect product.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Which
just happen like that! </span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Exactly!
It did take nearly one and half years.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Yes, and
all that time leading up to it, incubating. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The word
scamming is used a lot. So, here is a question for you. And maybe it’s in
another language, I am not sure. What would be another word or a string of
words that you would use to describe the picture of scamming? </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: I would
say, when you are thinking in the bigger picture. And that we live in… First of
all we live in a society where we don’t always know what’s happening where the
thought forms and the thought patterns of this society, they have been
ingrained in our brain, so that that we, actually, automatically, behave in a
certain way.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Like
Pavlovian dog</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yeah, we
are very, very predictable as people</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, we have
our culture, we got our language. We have our environment, where we are. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And some people
can also use these kind of thought patterns and though forms against us. And so
the scammers do that. People who are trying to, trying to get something from us
for their own behalf.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Do you
think there is also an aspect or, in terms of scammers and us, that they see
the wound that is crying out to be healed?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes, the
scamming is all about emotions and it is about catching that weak, vulnerable
moment of the target.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Aha</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: So,
let’s say that in my case, I was really ill, already, because my mom had died, </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: and I
had developed fibromyalgia, so I was so ill that I even thought that my life is
going to end at 60 instead of 110 which I had already predicted that I would be.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: uhyy </span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Thank
you, that’s my plan</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Part of
your ongoing bigger narrative</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes,
exactly. So, I was caught in that very, very vulnerable moment and what happens
in your brain is that you then go from this rational thinking into your
emotions and I was having, just marvellous time. I tell you.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s
incredible to have this kind of emotional high. And I had not, honestly, felt
like that in a long time. And what I realised with this scamming experience is
that I could change myself. I could live in my emotions. Deeply. I could go,
without any drugs, like enhancing it. That I could do it myself. I could make
myself happy and the oxytocin and the, what else, the hormones just start
flowing your brain. And I realised that this is the kind of thing what happens
with scammers. They want you to be in that moment so that you automatically
work in that way. And then they ask for money and when they ask for money, at
least the first couple of times, it comes unaware and you automatically help
because it’s in your nature. But what happened with me was that the moment I
pushed the button, when I sent my first money, I knew that there was something
fishy about it. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Ah, did
you, but you still did it. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Well, after
I sent it, I went like, ah this is something I’ve done. What did I do! </span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> And then I went and I sent an email
to my son and he found that it was a Ghana scam and then he said to me. Well
this is what he said: well here are all the links but do not click on these
links because you don’t need to read all that crap that there has been about
this person. Just keep the good memories and particularly the romantic
memories. And this is how writing this book came about </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Yes. So,
for me, just watching the process unfold, in terms of launching your book and
what you have been talking about the editing and pulling together. And the
story actually has evolved even during that process and it has evolved even earlier
as were talking earlier over tea and coffee </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yeah</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: One of
the keys or, if you like, the highlight of the book was when your son told you,
just to hang on to, hold on to. It was a bit more than just a good bits, but the
bits where he made you feel alive, awake, and fantastic and it was even a bit
more than that, because it was enhanced awareness and those things. So hold on
to that state and you didn’t say it in so many worlds but remember that the
messenger is not the message. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: What
happened there was that </span></span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> we actually started making, having ideas of
what kind of documentary we would do. Like you know a documentary about the
scammers who are working in Ghana, in their call centers pretending to be the
military in Afghanistan as a militant. And then you have this person, this this
person, who is actually the target, the romantic person that is there and we
had so much fun. Not only with my elder son but also with my younger son. You
know. So, it became like a sort of an inspiration and a muse.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: M-U-S-E
so the essence of that whole, what shall we say, event.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Exactly!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Exactly,
and from there we can go into storytelling and If you would be looking at your
life from the deep dept. You could be tracing your emotions from one place to
the other. You could be journaling. How could I say it? At this stage, we have
this new kind of consciousness coming in, where. we are now being able to
create our own world. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: AHA</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: like the
quantum theory says. And the quantum
thought patterns, they now are telling us that we are not stuck in our own
ways, we are not stuck into these thought models. We can actually create our
own life. So, this is like my storytelling that we could create a happy ending</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Yes.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: to our
story. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: And we
could create lots of endings</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Exactly.
That it’s not the same. The happy ending is as likely as a bad ending. So, like
you now, we can be part of the creation of our own story.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: cool</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: And in
that way we can break this generational victim idea. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: And we
can rewrite our scrips in terms of our life story, can’t we? (The book falls)</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And that
might be the end of it because the book fell off our wonderful bookshelf.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes, and
thank you very much for listening to us. This was the episode one of our
conversations with Janet and Elina and we aim to do more. So, just keep up,
subscribe</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Once a
week. The subscribe button might be down there. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yeah, do
it. Once a week, we will have a new conversation about</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: Life,
the Universe and everything</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: Yes, and
about Love on the Line. And it is called LOVE ON THE LINE TV CONVERSATIONS</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J: OK, so
magic week for all of you in your life and explorations of</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">E: LOVE ON
THE LINE</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">J & E
Goodbye </span></span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-80501022097655034152016-05-03T02:14:00.000-07:002016-05-03T02:23:55.281-07:00Launch of Author Elina Juusola Book Tour of Libraries <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-62BLJDPNQ30/Vyhk0ZbPTbI/AAAAAAAABV8/dtyt6-EdMEwft6QRc7wDoSe2YdjHx3lmACLcB/s1600/DSCF6876e2a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-62BLJDPNQ30/Vyhk0ZbPTbI/AAAAAAAABV8/dtyt6-EdMEwft6QRc7wDoSe2YdjHx3lmACLcB/s320/DSCF6876e2a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Picture by Aila Peteri<br />
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The year 2016 has been very exciting for me as many people know. Firstly, my book <em><a data-mce-href="http://www.loveonthelinebook.com/" href="http://www.loveonthelinebook.com/" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Love on the Line.</a> How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation</em> was published in January with the hugely successful book launch at the <a data-mce-href="http://avidreader.com.au/" href="http://avidreader.com.au/" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Avid Reader Bookshop</a> in Brisbane. There was another launch at my local <a data-mce-href="https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/whats-on" href="https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/whats-on" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Gympie</a> Library in February. I was also able to speak about the book in my mother tongue Finnish a few times, at some of our community events, the largest being the <a data-mce-href="http://suomipaivat.com.au/" href="http://suomipaivat.com.au/" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Suomipäivät</a> (The Finnish Festivall This was not only in Queensland but also in Sydney with the Sydney siskot (Sydney sisters).We know that romance scams are the top #1 fraud crime in the world. It is a huge issue and we need to talk about it as much as possible. <br />
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I am really proud to say that my book has gotten a wider audience lately. All the reviews have been very positive. I am now launching a Library Tour first in Queensland and then interstate to further fraud prevention and specifically to help the people who have been targeted by romance scams. <br />
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My tour will start on the 6th of May at the <a data-mce-href="http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/library-upcoming-events" href="http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/library-upcoming-events" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Hervey Bay Library</a> at 10 am. Everybody is welcome. Just remember to register. In June I will be at the <a data-mce-href="http://www.redland.qld.gov.au/RecreationFacilities/RedlandLibraries/Pages/LibraryEvents.aspx" href="http://www.redland.qld.gov.au/RecreationFacilities/RedlandLibraries/Pages/LibraryEvents.aspx" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Victoria Point Library</a> on Friday the 24th of June and then at the <a data-mce-href="http://loganlibraries.org/documents/WhatsOn_LCCL_May-July2016.pdf" href="http://loganlibraries.org/documents/WhatsOn_LCCL_May-July2016.pdf" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Logan North Library</a> on Friday the 15th of July, both at 10 am. Then after an overseas trip, we start again in September in Logan and Gold Coast. The schedule will be on my <a data-mce-href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/" href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Website</a>. I am also planning on new ways to spread the word about love and fraud prevention and recovery from targeted through <a data-mce-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYCciuzlvQc" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYCciuzlvQc" rel="nofollow" textform="false">LOVE ON THE LINE TV</a> on YouTube and online eCourses on Narrative Healing Journaling. So, look for them on my website as well. For now here are some very interesting resent links about me and my book:<br />
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ABC Wide Bay Radio <a data-mce-href="https://soundcloud.com/abcwidebay/elina-juusola-interview" href="https://soundcloud.com/abcwidebay/elina-juusola-interview" rel="nofollow" textform="false">interview with Trudie Leigo</a> aired on the 3rd of May at 10.13 am. It was also aired on 612 Brisbane State-wide later in the Drive program and there was a very <a data-mce-href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-03/online-dating-scam-victims-helped/7359668" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-03/online-dating-scam-victims-helped/7359668" rel="nofollow" textform="false">nice article</a> included in the ABC Local Top stories as well. Please, enjoy them and comment on them. Links are also posted on my Facebook page. <br />
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I wish you all the best. Especially I want to thank a Sydney artist Aila Peteri for the lovely picture.<br />
Looking forwards to seeing you around in the library near you.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-28324415586611874242016-03-24T20:46:00.001-07:002016-04-07T13:14:56.606-07:00Embarrassing or Empowering: Choice is Yours to Speak Out and Recover <div>
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Lately, I have been talking to a lot to people about my book<i> Love on the Line, How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation</i>, It has been a huge learning curve for me about how to best advocate to my audience the importance of recovery as a surviving method from romance scams. My method has been writing through healing narrative. I have been surprised to find how hard the recovery really is because so many people feel embarrassed by their own experience. </div>
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There are many reasons for embarrassment from loosing money to not really believing that such a thing could happen to me. Sometimes it is hard to face yourself and admit to the vulnerability that is within everyone of us. Sometimes it is hard to be confident to know that it was never your fault, even though the victims are often blamed for the crime, What is certain is that anyone can become a target of a scammer. <a href="http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/raymentc/">Dr Cassandra Cross</a> from the Queensland University of Technology, while talking at my book launch in January 2016, put it as it is:</div>
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"The reality is that anyone could become a victim of scammers. We all have vulnerability. We have to respect that the offenders know exactly how to find that vulnerability and weakness. That is their profession."</div>
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She also said that people like me who come forward and speak out are rare. I was not really aware how rare, before I started to really engage with my readers and interested audience. I also found that many websites or groups that take on the issue of scamming have to work in secrecy or very privately to keep their members protected from treats. It was a schock to understand how many people are affected by scamming.</div>
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Wouldn't it be the ideal that our world would support the victims of scams. Instead, many feel isolated and afraid. Many feel devastated and disillusioned with the world. Luckily, there is hope, healing and recovery to consider. There are those who have spoken out about it, like<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonarmstrong1"> Sharron Armstrong</a> with her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Standup2scams-403640199826611/?ref=br_rs">#standup2scams</a> community. There are people like John with his W<a href="http://romancescamsnow.com/">ebsite</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/RomanceVictimsGroup/1060375913983322/?notif_t=group_activity">Facebook group</a> who want to help. There are bloggers like <a href="https://thoughtsfromjas.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/like-a-version-favourites/">Jas</a> who write about inequality and how to engage yourself in making the world a better place, Last, but not least, there e people like <a href="http://www.chrishendersoncoaching.com/">Chris</a> and Glenda who have made it their primary purpose to help others, in <a href="http://westsidebusinesswomen.com/">business</a> and <a href="http://www.chrishendersoncoaching.com/events--blog.html">in person</a> to get over it and act on it. I feel it my duty to spread the word of hope and positivity through writing.</div>
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So, join me in empowering yourself by using hashtags like #stanup2scams and my new one #speakoutandheal in your social media postings. Also tags like #empowerment #endviolence #positiveaction and #recoveryispossible would be good. And you can make up your own as you go. Blogging is also an effective and easy way to get your meaning accross to a wider audience. Sometimes, there might not be a huge readership, at first but we are working towards a long time result so every little action is a welcome addition to the movement. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And if you have some good ones, please feel free to comment and and suggest down below, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I am currently developing writing workshops and also a newsletter. My new W<a href="http://www.loveonthelinebook.com/">ebsite</a> for Love on the Line Book is alive and there is <a href="http://www.loveonthelinebook.com/blog/">a blog</a> that is all about those important question that has come fort during my book signing and event tours. Feel free to get involved. My main <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">Website</a> should get you everywhere. The book can be bought through <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=Elina+Juusola">Xlibris</a> or any other main distributor like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_seeall_1?rh=k%3Aelina+juusola%2Ci%3Astripbooks&keywords=elina+juusola&ie=UTF8&qid=1458876733">Amazon</a>. Ah, and do like my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorelinajuusola/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf">Facebook Author</a> page, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I wish you all a great Holiday Break from Australia.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-35649115650748077282016-03-07T05:20:00.001-08:002016-03-11T18:53:31.743-08:00How to Become a Key Person of Influence (KPI): Revisited and Revised Conference<div>
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I think that every person who is interested in entrepreneurship should know about the book called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Key-Person-Influence-Five-Step-Industry/dp/1781331162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457749040&sr=8-1&keywords=Key+person+of+influence">Key Person of Influence</a></i> and about <a href="http://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/event/au/">KPI Business Brand Accelerator seminars</a>. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Personally, I got to know about them 18 months ago, when I first attended a seminar in Brisbane. I was completely mesmerised by what I learned that day. I even attended the strategy session that was held the day after. It was there that I decided to write a book. </span></div>
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At the time, I was still thinking about what my book would be about but the day solidified my thoughts and gave me clear purpose. I decided that my experience as a survivor of a Romance Scam was important enough to share with others. However, we honestly looked at it with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/glencarlson">Glen Carlson</a> and decided that I did not quite fit the program. However, on that day I did meet a person who would became an important partner for me. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.chrishendersoncoaching.com/">Chris Henderson</a> ended up becoming my coach and helping me to break some very solid barriers that I had imagined I had. The moment I knew that there would be another KPI seminar, I bought a ticket straight away. I was curious to know how the people who had started with the program were doing and was not disappointed in any way. They were doing fantastic, thank you very much. How wonderful is that!</span></div>
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One and half years ago these guys were good. Now they absolutely blew my mind by their presentations and by their wit. It is extremely well done when you can happily laugh with the other attendees and comfortably share little silliness alongside of an important futuristic message. In my mind I always rate the success of a venture by the ease, showmanship and the confidence I see the MC displaying. Glen has certainly been a wonderful leader. The results speak for themselves. Before it was a good day, now I think I should be on the program.</div>
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We heard the same speakers as last time, speaking about the same topics as last time. Then, they were inspirational. Now, they all were much sharper and more refined. This time, I never looked at the clock and wonder when the next break would be. I did not sense a moment of hesitancy from any of them. Saying this in a blog seems like a trivial thing to notice but I feel it is not. See, last time, I also found them incredibly inspirational. Now, they were even better. This time you knew that they had been successful beyond their own expectations and that confidence showed like a beam of light sighting through. You can even read it from the new and revised version of the book.</div>
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What <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpriestley">Daniel Priestley</a> before called a Five-Step Sequence has now become a Method. The Internet that he, just a few years ago pinpointed as the most influential 'game changer' has been further sharpened in the term 'digital' and that in its turn is explained as 'revolutionary stuff'. He now gets his own point and tells it through a story of a microphone. I love his explanation about the concept 'micro-niche' applied to his method. His explanations fits the theory of my favorite economist Thorsten Veblen's 1901 model of how the consumption process runs, from the elite to the masses and from the bulk to the specified, macro to micro and so on. Here, he is explaining the communication system enhanced with the development of technology. I have explained just about anything from scamming to dolls through the same theory. It fits. How clever is that. And new trends just keep on emerging.</div>
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So, the story of the KPI Business Brand Accelerator has clearly matured in the few years that I have followed their progress. It is an interesting thing to witness. I am really happy that I went. I definitely got a lot of new inspiration from the day. I thank all the speakers: Glen Carlson, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalewicz">Matthew Michalewicz</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/griffithsandrew">Andrew Griffiths</a>, Tim Dwyed, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/khoovalerie">Valerie Khoo</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jobcapital">Jo Burston</a> for the new focus.</div>
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And since it just has been the International Women's Day when I am writing this blog post, I leave you with a picture. It is of Jo Burston, Founder of Inspiring Rare Birds, an international network of women entrepreneurs. She is talking about the importance of the positive mindset. This half of a sentence: "And by the way, you are waterproof", stuck with me. For women, it certainly means a lot. Here it is, enjoy and please, check the links. They might save your business, if not your life.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-45250258883147518952016-02-29T18:17:00.000-08:002016-02-29T18:28:31.632-08:00Imaginary or Real Life Relationships? That is the Quiestion.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Why is it so hard to build a relationship in real life? What happens when we meet someone and feel the attraction? Does it go both ways and if it does, how long does it last? What is the attraction of Apps like Tinder? And what does Twitter and texting has to do with our rewards system in the brain? To start to answer these questions here is a picture I found from <a data-mce-href="https://www.facebook.com/Scammer-Memes-1529046250758483/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf" href="https://www.facebook.com/Scammer-Memes-1529046250758483/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf" rel="nofollow" textform="false">Scammer Mimes</a> Facebook page that got me thinking. It states:</div>
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“You were much more interesting when you were online.” Does that sound about right?<br />
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I recently met a man through an online dating site. He was perfect. His picture was perfect. His profile was perfect and in our messaging and texting, he insinuated that he was truly interested in the same things that I am. He was also very supportive to my writing career. I had written about scamming and he thought that it was appropriate. He said that he did not want losers, he wanted for us to support each other in whatever we wanted to achieve in life. It all sounded wonderful and I allowed myself to think and imagine what we could do together. And that in its turn was a great turn on for me. It was as if I had actually met him and as if we had already built our relationship. My dopamine hormone got me high just thinking about it. I am good at that. We messaged for a good two weeks and then decided to meet in person. We would meet at a popular café, about half way from each other. And that we did.<br />
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When we met, it was like instant connection. It was as if my expectations were thoroughly met by this man walking down the street to meet me. He was handsome, and he walked in a manner a confident man walks. The moment he said hi and smiled produced a high in my brain. Wow, this was going somewhere and fast. Instant attraction, instant connection and I knew it was mutual. And we had not met through Tinder, so I thought that it was not about sex, at least not entirely. So, we talked and walked and cuddled and after I left, I crashed. I got stressed, depressed and anxious and felt like running away and very quickly at that. So what happened?<br />
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My brain suddenly reacted by increased production of the stress hormone cortisol as well as the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline, which caused a mental fog. I got thoroughly confused about what I should do. My decision-making capabilities were at cero. So, I went home and soothed my brain by checking on Facebook and then on Twitter. I checked all my emails and deleted most of them, so that I would feel like I had done something worth mentioning. And then I saw that someone had posted an article about what happens in your brain when you multitask. And it all clicked into place. Once again, I had used my literary, imaginary capabilities to make my dream date perfect and could not see the forest from the fog afterwards. <br />
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<a data-mce-href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/modern-world-bad-for-brain-daniel-j-levitin-organized-mind-information-overload" href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/modern-world-bad-for-brain-daniel-j-levitin-organized-mind-information-overload" rel="nofollow" textform="false">This article</a> explains it:<br />
“[By] asking the brain to shift attention from one activity to another causes the prefrontal cortex and striatum to burn up oxygenated glucose, the same fuel they need to stay on task. And the kind of rapid, continual shifting we do with multitasking causes the brain to burn through fuel so quickly that we feel exhausted and disoriented after even a short time. We’ve literally depleted the nutrients in our brain.”<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VegoaHb3zA4/VtT5psSFGGI/AAAAAAAABRc/PJnXwEszCZ0/s1600/Love%2BOn%2Bthe%2BLine%2Bbook.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VegoaHb3zA4/VtT5psSFGGI/AAAAAAAABRc/PJnXwEszCZ0/s320/Love%2BOn%2Bthe%2BLine%2Bbook.png" width="245" /></a></div>
But what happened, I ask. Why did I react the way I did in the first place?<br />
Well, I wrote that pink book called<em><a data-mce-href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/" href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/" rel="nofollow" textform="false"> Love on the Line.</a> How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation</em>. And my rational mind recognised the signs although my emotional brain went on producing the high and enjoying the ride as well. So, I sort of baked the cake and ate it as well. <br />
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It is good to know that I have learned something from my own mistakes and experience. However, that has not yet resulted in my brain building all new neural pathways that would immediately prevent me from making bad decisions. I still do make them and afterwards I regret. The man I met wanted just sex, after all and when he got only reluctant kisses and cuddles during our walk, he turned nasty. He insulted me and my mother, my daughter and couple of other well-chosen words came out of the same mouth that had previously told me how beautiful I looked and how attractive he found me. Luckily, the situation ended there and he did not follow when I turned around and walked to my car and left. So, what should I do?<br />
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Should I stop looking for love and believing in the good in everyone or maybe just keep reading romance books, like I have always done? It is a hard question and in this new instant digital world we live in, a valid question as well. Building real relationships in the instant gratification real life is hard. Particularly, when the other party only wants what he thinks he is entitled to get after pretending to be nice online. That is why he is more interesting there. And I might leave him there, at least just for now, while I gather my positivity after the crash and find the things that I should be grateful about, like that I once again survived, not an online dating scam but a real life personal treat. <br />
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I recon we should think about that for a while and just stay on course to see what could be done to somewhat heal this broken world and the broken dreams it carries and offers to those who like to always think the best of everything.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-36035948648541787912016-02-20T21:57:00.001-08:002016-02-26T18:44:40.403-08:00What PornHarmsKids Symposium Thought Me about Pornography and Harm in the New Millennium<div>
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It has been 21-years since I attended a conference on Human Trafficking, Prostitution or Pornography. I quit for a while because after 15-years of researching these topics, traveling the world and talking about it, I had become disillusioned about the world. I actually related to just about anything through my research on pornography. I saw the patterns of power-over and subjugation everywhere.<br />
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Now, I realise that it is because our memory is built through patterns and anything outside these patterns we notice and remember. For me, there was nothing outside the patterns of violence I detected around me. My brain had been collecting material since a very young age and at that time I could relate everything, including children's play and dolls through the dichotomy of power over and subjugation that can be found at the heart of the idea of the pornographic message. I felt I had to get out and save myself from too much harm. Luckily, moving to Australia was the solution and a new career in age care and community building was the salvation. But how long can it last before the universe provides new impetus for thought for someone who is trying to ignore it the best she could? Not long. Somewhere in my subconsiousness, I did keep up with the issues and the connections kept adding up. Then I found myself a target of a romance scam and wham, the world made sense again. </div>
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My book <i><a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">Love on the Line</a>. How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation</i> is a result of that shock of becoming a victim of a scam. Through it I explain the bigger picture that I see through the patterns built in my brain about power over and subjugation through pornography, romance book reading and scamming. Now I am detecting scams in everything, especially in how we relate to each other as human beings. I am already in the process of writing a sequel. But before it my mission was to update my knowledge about pornography and harm it brings to us in the new Millenium.</div>
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Luckily, I saw the online add for the <i>PornHarmsKids Symposium</i>. It was held at the University of NSW on the 9th of February. I got my plane ticket and donated in my fee as advised and all and all, I was a little late but got there anyway. And this is what I learned on one day listening to very professional speakers and discussing the topics with other concerned attendees:</div>
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Unfortunately, I learned that nothing much has changed in 20-years I have not been active in this field. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Or maybe everything has changed, depending on your view of things. I now, hold a personal 35-year historian view based on my own research about how the message of pornography harms human beings; women, men and children; those that are vulnerable and being used as pawns to earn money for those others with callous minds or otherwise disruptive behavior thought patterns about the matter of power-over and subjugation. I'll be frank. </span></div>
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The most profound change is visibility. Or maybe not! Remember the billboards? We drive past them with the family everywhere. Well, during the 1980's porn was plastered directly on them. It's message was interfering with our lives most anywhere, I remember those sexualised women sitting on some fancy cars on billboard and I remember having to explain all of it to my son and my daughter. Even porn magazines were advertised along with alcohol and tobacco. We fought them down in Europe, USA and Scandinavia and the world followed through. The argument was: porn is everywhere. And it was. Unfortunately, just as the solutions for those times were put in place, Internet appeared and the visibility shifted to homes and anywhere with access to it. The message remained unchanged. Though, now we could view it from the comfort of our own space and more of us could find and watch porn without interruptions.</div>
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The other profound difference has come through brain research, actually. For now we KNOW, what we only had an inkling about during the 1980's. Our brain is affected by what we see. It builds patterns and our actions follow through, if we let them. And, now we also know that it take around 25-years to grow a fully functioning frontal cortex with the ability to rationalise. So, we know that young brains are affected and harmed the most by what they pick up along the growing process. PornHarmsKids Symposium was all about how to tackle that huge problem we are faced with by free access to online pornography. There are some alarming sign detected about our behaviour as human adults and kids in relation to how we see the world and act on impulses of the ideas that are presented to us. This can be really bad news for women and girls as our lives are heavily affected through vulnerability and conditioning. I am not saying that the men and boys are not affected. They are but the power-over and subjucation clause of pornography clearly points to the victim as female. It is hard to detect, I know. </div>
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In fact, one of the speakers at PornHarmsKids Symposium, Dr Tucci, actually theorised that the different way the boys and the girls react to pornography points to inequality. He said that he could not understand what it was in that in boys, porn trickers their arousal response, while this does not happen in girls. Conditioning perhaps, he suggested. Well, I know! After all we live in a patriarchy and the messages in porn are molded to mirror the power-over and subjugation clauses inbuilt in the very structures of our society. Not a very hard thing to draw a conclusion from there. </div>
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For me the rest of the symposium was about finding what practical advice, each and every speaker could give in order to best tackle the problems at hand. Three big ones come to mind:</div>
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<a href="http://melindatankardreist.com/about/">Melinda Thankard Reist</a> forwarded the messages that young girls want to say to boys about relationships:</div>
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And the @Cypercop1 <a href="http://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/more-about-susan.shtml">Susan McLean</a> gave advice to parents who are struggling to cope with the ever expanding world of pornography and how to explain and guide their children to avoid abuse and hate.</div>
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And lastly, <a href="http://collettsmart.com/">Collett Smart</a> gave us the 10 Body Safety Rules that can help a child to recognise where the boundaries lie:</div>
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There is an excellent <a href="http://pornharmskids.org.au/">PornHarmsKids</a> website to go to for more information. From there you can get the videos and the articles that keep coming about the symposium and about the issue. I am really pleased that I went. Meeting all these brave and courageous people has given me hope. Also look up the Twitter handles @PornHarmsKids and @CollectiveShout. I <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">know that young people themselves are very concerned and they will come up with some solutions of their own, once they are educated about this issue in an open and nonjudgmental atmosphere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Until that time, it is our responsibility to keep working at it. It is our responsibility to insert hope, recovery and happy endings positivity to the world. Hopefully you'll follow along and take action for the betterment of the situation and the world. Every era needs their own solutions. Let's find the ones that work now in the new Millennium. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-50889181621321131702016-02-04T19:22:00.002-08:002016-02-04T19:43:58.234-08:00Riding My Book Home: Thank You for Reading and Spreading the Word about Romance Scams<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What is the most exciting thing about book writing is that it is an adventurous journey to get your book out there to the world. What a very satisfying feeling it is, to be standing there on the podium at the <a href="http://avidreader.com.au/events/elina-juusola-love-on-the-line">Avid Reader Bookshop</a> reading from my book to the audience of attentive listeners. It is worth looking back one year and summing up my experience.<br />
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One year ago, I had moved to Gympie in order to live near my grandchildren. I am utterly grateful to my wonderful son-in-law for suggesting that move. It gave me the creative space I needed for writing. I would never have thought of it myself. I was sort of stuck in the idea of staying in my own ecological house for the rest of my life. But no, instead, the move proved to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. About that time I had also attended <a href="http://www.chrishendersoncoaching.com/women-howling-at-the-moon.html">Chris Henderson's</a> coaching first ever intensive two day retreat with a few other eager women looking for real and valuable change in their lives. This all prompted me to really start developing the depth to my <em><a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx">Love in the Line</a></em> book storyline. I had been thinking the issue important enough to share with the world but had been unsure about how to truly confront my fears of putting words on paper. The retreat was the catalyst that prompted me to really start writing. My biggest challenge was my language barrier. <a href="http://elinajuusolahalonen.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/how-to-become-author-for-english.html" rel="nofollow" target="">Writing a book</a> in my second language came to fruition with great support from my coach. I learned that everyone needs a guiding hand and a support group.<br />
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I found my support group in the <a href="http://www.chrishendersoncoaching.com/women-howling-at-the-moon.html" rel="nofollow" target="">Howling at the Moon</a> women's community in Brisbane. It is great to have a healthy support system that strengthens your aspirations and lets you be yourself with no judgement. At the meetings on every full moon, it is a wonderful feeling to be able to share my thoughts with others who care about taking action for change. I can full heartedly recommend for every woman to take on a challenge of finding their own network of achievers who actively support you and your goals. Rest was just writing.<br />
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I would not say that it was a ride in the park. Having a dear friend and my long time feminist legend mentor <a href="http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/faculty-and-staff/faculty.cfm?pid=1003588">Dr Gloria F Orenstein </a>as a conversation partner in some difficult situations of deciding where to take my storyline helped me to keep on course with the right message I wanted to convey to the audience. It is a blessing to have good company when you ponder on the burning world issues like the internet romance scamming with its roots deep in the world of pornography and violence against women mentality.<br />
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It is very peculiar how I had stopped my researcher career in the middle of 1990's, when the global discussion about prostitution, pornography and violence against women sort of went underground just to publish my <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">book</a> in time when the world is truly recognising the need to understand and take action against violence against women, romance scamming being the top #1 fraud crime in the world. That is where my book can help.<br />
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A huge thanks to getting things done in the right way goes to my son <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nillohalonen" target="_blank">Nillo Halonen</a> in Finland and his <a href="http://www.protomo.fi/project/spartacus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spartacus</a> team. They designed my personal author <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Website</a> and the smart branding of my profile. Without Nillo's cheerful and focused prompting, the book might even now have been some time from being published.<br />
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Luckily, I had already decided on the <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000968262/Love-on-the-Line.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Publisher Xlibris</a> right at the start. Originally, I did it to encourage myself with the pressure of investing in myself and my self-publishing venture, but it turns out that it was a good deal. I have learned a lot about publishing during the gone year. Now I know what to do with the second book that I have already started writing.<br />
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So, you see that standing on that podium talking about my book to the book loving friends and listening to Chris, Fiona and <a href="http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/raymentc/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dr Cassandra Cross</a> talking about me and my book was a culmination of a long work process on several fields, just like my book is interdisciplinary work of non-fiction combined with personal narrative and a couple of fictional short stories.<br />
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Previously I was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=z-CRKkWr9RM&app=desktop" target="_blank">interviewed</a> about why I wrote the book and just yesterday Jas Rawlinson posted a brilliant review about my book in her <a href="https://thoughtsfromjas.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/books-to-read-in-2016-love-on-the-line/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thoughts from Jas</a> blog. I am truly blessed because all the reviews and articles, so far, have been very encouraging and wonderful to me. Thank you all and everyone for reading and talking about my book and so highlighting the issue of romance scams and the source where is leads to, namely violence culture in our society.<br />
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I want to write some more and I will. The future looks like there is so much more to say. Stay tuned for the sequel. It is in the writing. For now I urge you to take action and share the story of <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Love on the Line</em>. </a><em>How to Recover form Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation.</em><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-34267676575910378782016-01-12T23:41:00.001-08:002016-01-13T03:14:55.846-08:00Time to Celebrate 'LOVE ON THE LINE' Book Launch<div>
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It is a special day for me today. It is the first of the firsts I have ever imagined. And I have imagined. </div>
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It is a celebration of the publishing of my first book <i>Love on the Line. How to Recover from Romance Scams Gracefully and without Victimisation.</i> I am totally, totally stoked. </div>
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This morning I went to the <a href="http://xlibris.com.au/">Xlibris.com.au</a> and opened the bookstore and witnessed in realtime how my book appeared online. First it wasn't there, and then a minute later, it was. Both the hardcover and the softcover are now available. It was an incredible experience for me and a blatant display on how international we are in the publishing business. </div>
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Very soon I can also celebrate my next milestone which is the <a href="http://www.elinajuusola.com/">website</a> that has been designed by the Spartacus team and should be online any time now. That will be the second time I am able to witness something that I will always remember. The year 2016 will be such a huge year in my books, that it will stop the clocks and blow the horns loudly in my mind. It will also mean a lot of work for me. </div>
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Self-publishing is actually not a ride in the park as everything that leads to the success of the book and the message depends on you. That means that even though there are so many people and so many tools that can help with the outcome of the message getting to the audience, it is still your responsibility as an author to make it happen. It is a huge learning curve, to say the least. And it starts now, after the book is online and can be purchased and read by those people who find it interesting. </div>
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It is the eye catching pink book there online, with the attention catching title and the cool cover. Or so my marketing specialist says. And it should be out there because the message is very important. It is topical and it is transformative, It is about one of the top ranking issues on everybody's toungue right now, namely scamming and love. But most of all it is about recovery and a way forwards with dignity. It is something we all should know to talk about. Lastly it is challenging. </div>
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Every book needs to be challenging the reader. It has to deliver on the promise it gives. I really hope that my book does just that, I urge you to give it a change, get it, read it and give me your feedback. I would want to travel everywhere talking about this important issue. Surprisingly, this issue is age old in a new suit. And we need to find a way to change it. We need to find a way to deal with it and recover from the trauma. Already, I am writing the second installment. </div>
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But first, let's all celebrate! I have done it! My book is out. My world has changed. Let's open the champagne bottle and have a toast to new beginnings. Let's toast to friendship and kindness because if there was not such deep rooted friendships and kindness, my book would never have been written. Because, despite the hard work I put into it, if there were not friends, family and compassion, I wouldn't be here saying THANK YOU, thank you everybody for listening to my story.<br />
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THE BOOK LAUNCH will be at the <a href="http://avidreader.com.au/events/elina-juusola-love-on-the-line">Avid Reader Bookstore in Brisbane at West End on Friday the 22nd of January at 6 pm. You are all warmly welcome!</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-22840518609897716782015-12-31T16:53:00.001-08:002016-01-02T20:23:13.101-08:00How to Stretch Your Limits and Write Your Dream Book<div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">There is a promise of very exciting times ahead in the year of 2016. Namely, I finally finished my book </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">LOVE ON THE LINE. How to Recover from Romance Scams with Dignity and without Victimisation</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. It is the first book in the series of critically analyzing scamming in the modern world with its roots firmly in the world of pornography and romance book industry that I have planned on writing after becoming a victim of an online scam. The book is my ode to the new quantum paradigm and the possibility of happy endings through social change. I have great ambitions to helping people to overcome their limits by understanding the bigger picture.</span></div>
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How was I able to achieve my goal, you might ask. On hind site there were a few things that contributed to the successfull execution of the plan. Namely, I was inspired into stretching my limits, overcoming a seeming language skills barrier with the help of a wonderful women's community connection, personal editor and some determination from my part. Finally, and I write it with gratitude, I was able to get my act together and finalise a long term dream of writing a book in the English language.</div>
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What I am saying here is that people should dream, set goals, make plans and work on achieving their desired happiness. They should seek to stretching their capabilities and overcoming their limits. It is worth all the angst and trouble. I should know. I w<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">as shocked enough to start writing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">After having researched pornography, prostitution and violence against women for decades, I suddenly found myself in the clutches of an online scammer. It was a huge wake up call for me. How could I have fallen into a scam like that? Certainly, I am a savvy and intelligent woman. I would think so, at least. But the new digital world can fool anybody. It was a really low point in my life. I felt devastated and disillusioned with the whole world. How could I have fallen so low? Luckily, I had my son to lean on to.</span></div>
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He inspired me, with his words of encouragement. He advised me not to dwell on the negative but keep in mind the positive memories of the romancing. So, I took his advise to heart and used it as a muse to write my best happy ending to the story in ordear to help others to avoid similar situations. My book is about to come out any day now. The launch date is already locked in. I am very excited. It is a new high for me. I am inviting everybody to participate. </div>
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It is a new year for me, literally and symbolically. Having had huge anxiety attacks about how on earth could I write in a fluent English, I finally have had professional help to make me get my message through in a language I love but sometimes cannot express myself in. I thank my lucky stars and the community of wonderful <i>Unstoppable Women</i> who have encouraged me to stretch my limits and believe in myself. As a non-English speaking person, I often get corrected in my use of the English language. Sometimes, I feel like an idiot for not being able to express my thoughts in a way that deliveries the message the way I want it to be. It is frustrating! Luckily, there are those friends that understand my blight and encourage me to expand on it and further explain my thoughts. I am blessed with good friends. I am grateful for that as well. A personal editor will make all the difference to a budding author's confidence. </div>
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I really hope you will enjoy the results of my year of labour. I am inviting you all to the launch at the Avid Reader Bookstore in Bribane on Friday the 22nd of January at 6pm. You can register already on the website at </div>
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My book will be online next week at</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-42563108379722163112015-11-23T20:16:00.001-08:002015-11-24T03:14:47.527-08:00How to Take Advantage of Experiencing Failure and Become Unstoppable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What do you do if you want to be unstoppable?<br />
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You look at the things you have failed before. Preferably you make a list of your most phenomenal failures and contemplate over why, where, when and what to do about them. Because, what you now might think as your most profound failure in life could become your best ever success, yet. That is, if you set goals, make a plan and execute it with some courageous effort. </div>
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At Brisbane, October, 'Howling at the Moon', Unstoppable Women's evening, we had a theme that looked into these failures. We shared stories about how to turn phenomenal failure into success. As I was filling in the discussion questionnaire, I commented to my friend, sitting next to me that lately, I felt like I was on top of my failures. And then it hit me! </div>
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My phenomenal failure, in the past had been three things </div>
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First, due to dyslexia, I always would feel like a failure in expressing myself in writing and by words as well. Sometimes, I would be overwhelmed by the English language which I just felt I could not master. I felt that I never could be perfect. So a phenomenal failure in Finnish, Swedish and English. What a bomber! </div>
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Secondly, I had always wanted to write a book but had not done so because I sabotaged myself by believing that the deed was too hard to accomplish. Particularly in the English language. It followed that I never completed a book about my 15 years of research into violence against women even though I mentored others to write theirs. That <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">was my first "failure."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Another failure was never to have finished my PhD in the History of Ideas, despite completing the fieldwork for it and interviewing 99 Scandinavian born Finnish women in Australia: a second phenomenal failure. But how to turn it around? Would there be a way to correct this mistake? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">And talking about mistake, oh yes. My third failure has been my ever yoyoing weight management skills. Up and down, high and low depending on my emotional state at any particular time. </span></div>
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Thinking about these failures, I realised that <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">yes, the Universe had intervened from all fronts. The impulse to share my experience on how to recover from romance scams overshadowed everything. The drive was there, and when there is the will, the opportunity opens up through planned action. I was inspired to start with the end in mind and that created a pathway to the resulting product, my book: 'Love on the Line. How to Recover from Romance Scams with Dignity and without Victimisation'. I even visualised the pink cover for it. I was determined not to be a victim and not to look like one either. That is how the third failure was taken care of. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">By the time the circumstances were created for my pathway, I had already learned from all kind of intelligent thinking persons. Napoleon Hill had inspired me to recite daily his suggested Self-Confidence Formula. And my networking had taught me about the definite purpose statement as a means to creating pathways to the vision about my future. It always included writing a book and becoming a healthy person. Admittedly, I had know all of that before, but I was never inspired enough to really set my goals and my efforts to serve the same end: becoming unstoppable in being a success story. I learned that people are drawn to human lives. My story will be worth reading about. And why? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Because it contains everything I have learned about the subjects:</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> personal experience about online romance scams, personal approach based on my now over 25 years of observing of how to understand WHY in our society there is such vulnerability that requires half the humanity to be available to the other half to exploit. Most of all it has a creative solution for how to heal yourself through the energies created by the community of my family, friends, acquintances and circumstances. It is a journey that is gaining momentum. It will be self-published, but it is set as a project with a reliable publishing company, Xlibris. And not only that - there will be a sequel, to go deeper into it - to answer the question of how to meet real people in the real world. Because love is at stake. Right now! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So, let's turn our profound failures into our best ever success stories. Let's plan with the happy end in mind, filled with compassion. According to the science of Quantum paradigm and Epigenetics a happy ending is as likely as a miserable one. So let's choose our own happy ending and put all our effortless effort in to make it a reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">In the Novevember 'Howling at the Moon' the theme is 'Being Unstoppable'. I urge you to come and share your story with other unstoppable women. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Love on the Line, my story, can be followed on my Facebook page @ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorelinajuusola/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf">Author Elina Juusola</a> or Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/ejuusola">@ejuusola</a> and very soon on my new website @ www.elinajuusola.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The book will soon be available through all possible channels, especially through <a href="http://bookstore.xlibris.com/">Xlibris</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838570321015023836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584352164830550482.post-6603553501456164322015-10-11T06:50:00.000-07:002016-02-26T18:41:54.304-08:00Has Fraud Touched Your Life: Sharon Armstrong in Conversation at the QLD Fraud Support & Recovery Group<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is an alarmingly ever rising number of people that are touched by fraud in its different forms. Many have a personal experience with scammers, and others know someone from their family, friends and acquaintances who have been victims of fraud. It is a devastating experience and many do not recover or it takes years of great effort and strength to move on in life.<br />
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Meet Sharon Armstrong, a very courageous woman, who was scammed into unknowingly carrying drugs for her scammer. She was arrested and spent two and half years in an Argentinian prison for a crime she was scammed to commit. Should she have known better?<br />
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After all she is an intelligent woman. She had previously held a high position in the New Zealand Public Service and had not for twenty years had time to think about dating with her busy life. This had been her own choice. Somehow, though, she suddenly fell for a charming man at the other end of the line and was convinced that it was her destiny to marry and spend the rest of her life together with this same man. For the sake of their future, she was ready to help him with money and later by picking up some papers and carrying them to London, where she would meet him. But this did not happen. Instead she was stopped by the customs in Argentina. She was told that she was carrying cocaine and that she would be arrested. Later she was sentenced and in the end spent two and half years of her life in the prison surrounded by other 'drug mules'. What was it that made her so vulnerable to scammers?<br />
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I am really interested in her story. It is yet another version of the Ghana scam, like mine was as well. It adds another more frightening, if not deadly dimension into the life of a victim of a scam. She talks about vulnerability but adds that maybe even saying that makes the person more vulnerable. And vulnerable people get caught in scams again and again. She prefers the term survivor just as I do. She is not sure that she has recovered, though. What is it that keeps the victims attached, I would ask.<br />
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An other woman who is listening to Sharon thinks that she would be too sceptical and this kind of romance scam just wouldn't happen to her. I doubt her statement. Media, who was very hash in the case of Sharon declared that of course it could happen to her; what else could she expect, because 'she is fat and plain'. I strongly disagree. And she is not that. Clearly she is attractive, intelligent and strong, otherwise she would not be putting herself forwards again and sharing her experience in order to educate and raise awareness for fraud and especially for the different forms of romance scams.<br />
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My research, packed by others shows that no, she could not have known better. There is no clear profile of a person who would fall for a romance scam. Everyone is a potential prospect. It is all in the scammers ability to catch the target at the right time and persuade her/his brain to act with the emotional 'lizard brain' instead of the rational frontal cortex. The experience of the continuous flooding of oxytocin to the brain keeps us attached and falling yet again and again. Sharon confirms this when asked about how she did go from loss to recovery. Her answer is that it was easier for her because she was 'locked up'. Otherwise, she says, 'it would have been hard for her to keep away from this man'. But what is it that contributed to her personal recovery when so many affected people cannot make the transition from a victim mode to the survivor strength?<br />
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Sharon Armstrong sits up and looks at the audience with confidence and lists her reasons:<br />
- always having a positive outlook<br />
- thinking and seeing that others had it tougher than her<br />
- learning to appreciate little things<br />
- learning to forgive<br />
- her family's continuous and unwavering support<br />
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Her wisdom is profound. She states that forgiveness is not about others. It is about you. And learning to be grateful is a way to recovery. It is important to share your experience in order to fight the scams, to raise awareness. 'We must stop the shame', she says. I fully agree. It is crucial that there are people, just like Sharon who are willing to personally step into limelight to make the fight visible. <br />
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Sharon has started a campaign. It is called Standup2scams. It is everywhere on the social media but mostly on the Facebook and the Twitter. You can easily find it there. She has also recently been part of a two part documentary. It can be found through her pages as well. I am looking forwards to her new projects.<br />
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There is a book on the line in near future and also a possible documentary project. So there is much to come from her experience that will change your knowledgebase about romance scams and fraud. <br />
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Otherwise if you need help right now, please be aware that there is a QLD Police Fraud Support & Recovery group meeting every month. And similar groups are being planned and founded elsewhere as well. Here is a flyer for that:<br />
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