How to identify a spam message?

There are viruses, there are phishing scams, and then there are insidious messages like the following where the originator of the message gets kicks knowing people are blindly forwarding his creation. Please don't forward spam. How do you identify forward-spam? Look closely at the language. It does not give any specific information ["at a Local hospital"; which hospital?]; and it does not give any contact information. It appeals to your conscience by asking you to forward the message to others. And poor you...in your gullibility you end up wasting your friends' time.

If you Google the first line of this message, you will find that this post has been in circulation for quite some time. You wonder how come Salma is not dead yet.

In short,
There is no Parveen, and no 12-year daughter named Salma battling for life at a local hospital. Somewhere out there, there is a smart aleck happy to see his spam reaching so many people (and wasting their time). PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD SPAM.


An Appeal from a sister

Asslamualaikum, My daughter Salma, who is just 12 years old is battling for life at a Local hospital, she is suffering from cancer and is presently in the last stage. The doctors have given up all hope but then I have trust in ALLAH and in the power of dua. therefore as a helpless mother of a dying child I beg all of you to pray for my daughter,please include her as a part of each and every dua of yours. Please pray to ALLAH that He should give her body the strength to respond to the medication, that He should somehow miraculously heal her of this disease and Inshallah grant her a healthy and long life (AMEEN) Please, please pass this message on to as many brothers and Sisters as you can.

If even ten percent of you would remember to pray for my daughter then it would mean a lot for us. Your duas and Allah's mercy is our ONLY hope.

Thank You,

Parveen

Please don't forget,,,before you close this message Please fwd. ALLAH ap sab

ko apni amaan mein rakhay... Please Please apni Duaoo'n mein Yad Rakhiyiaga.

Pakistani- Americans Observe Anniversary of Illegal Sacking of Chief Justice of Pakistan

March 9, 2008

SAN JOSE , CA , March 9, 2008—A small crowd gathered outside the Superior Court of Santa Clara County to observe the first anniversary of March 9, 2007. On that day, Pakistan ’s military ruler General Pervez Musharraf had illegally removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry on made-up charges of corruption. Sunday’s rally was organized by Friends of South Asia (FOSA---www.friendsofsouthasia.org), a group of Pakistani and Indian activists of the San Francisco Bay Area. The group commemorating March 9 noted with gratitude that just a day earlier PPP and PML-N leadership had agreed to reinstate judges deposed on November 3, 2007. The participants of the protest held the conviction that an independent judiciary, along with independent media, would ensure continuous accountability of the Pakistani government.

Prominent Pakistani-American attorney Javed Ellahie provided a brief historical background of the Pakistani situation and praised Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry for standing up to the military ruler. Ellahie said that because of the Chief Justice’s principled stance “a new dawn has risen in Pakistan . Pakistan ’s civil society has come forward and said enough is enough.” He showed to the protesters a petition of treason recently filed in Pakistan against General Pervez Musharraf.

Dr. Khawaja Ashraf, President of Pakistani-American Congress (PAC) informed people that PAC had declared 2008 the year of independence of parliament and judiciary in Pakistan . He demanded that General Pervez Musharraf step down and constitution be rolled back to its November 2, 2007 status.

Sabahat Ashraf (iFaqeer), a founding member of FOSA, said that the Pakistani civil society must keep up the pressure on the newly-elected Pakistani government for complete reinstatement of deposed judges. He said that the major political parties of Pakistan including PML, PPP, and MQM did not have a good track record in respecting an independent judiciary.