I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

- Woody Allen
 

50 Ways to Beat the System without Being Caught

a book by James Brazil

Sometimes you may find yourself left behind by people who do not play by the rules and can get away with it.  And you are left wondering what's wrong with the system.

This book by a little-known writer may provide you with some answers to that question.  It reveals some tricks and scams that the author claims have proved successful in "beating the system", but could be viewed as nothing more than stealing.  A message on the first page declares that the book is not aimed at encouraging readers to commit an illegal acts.  "The tricks, scams, and cons presented here are for entertainment purposes only.  It is not the author's or publisher's intent that the reader use this book as a manual for illicit acts," it says.

But the author makes a different statement in the introduction.  "I put this book together to reveal some of the inner workings that make up our capitalist society to readers who are sick of playing by the rules but still have not figured out how to break them and get away with it," he says.

The author relates in the introduction how he managed to overcome some hurdles to become a caddie at a "very prestigious country club" in California.  He got the job after lying about his age, falsifying some documents and cheating in the caddie test.

And that's only the beginning of the story.

In the 50 chapters that follow, the author discusses in detail how he deceived the supermarket, restaurant, hotel, insurance company, credit card firm, airline, his employers, authorities, and even a court, among others.  Some tricks are amusing, such as the one used to cut to the front of the line at theme parks and to get pizza and other food delivered free.  But virtually all of those "ways to beat the system" can be called stealing.  So it's not a good idea to try any of them.

This book should be read conscientiously, purely for the sake of information and entertainment.

The e-book is available as Web pages at BiblioBytes (bb.com), a website that is devoted entirely to electronic books.  To read the book, you need to go through the web pages one by one by clicking the "Next Page" links.  If you prefer to save all the pages for off-line reading, you will find an off-line browser program helpful.  (tucows.com has a special section on the utilities.)

The "Previous Page" links of this e-book do not always work and sometimes bring you to somewhere that is not the intended page.  So you had better use the "Back" button of your browser program.

Source: "Cyber Worm" The Nation (Bangkok) 24 October 2000 by Kittipong Thavevong kittha@thailand.com

By reviewing this book, did Ms Thavevong encourage the spread of the ideas it contains?  And by telling you about her review, did I do the very same thing??

See also:

	High School Student Survey (in the section on Money and Politics) - study finds widespread lying, cheating among teens
	Corporate Culture: Poison for Whistleblowers (also in the section on Money and Politics) - Morality is doing what seems appropriate in the situation to get things done or doing what the boss wants.  Having absolute principles is a prescription for career stagnation or disaster...

Chinese Executive Sentenced to Death for Corruption

Beijing - The latest conviction is part of drive to stanch widespread abuse, but Chinese public harbours doubts.

In the latest in a series of harsh penalties handed down in a move to stem widespread white-collar corruption, a Chinese businessman was sentenced to death last week for taking bribes when granting government contracts.  Yu Bufan, the former manager of a state-owned engineering firm, was found guilty of taking more than $500,000 in bribes to finance a luxurious life for himself and his mistress.

Bufan's conviction and death sentence follow a reported government crackdown on upper-level corruption.  Last month alone, Chinese courts convicted 84 people on corruption charges, sentencing 11 of them to death.  While the spate of stiff sentences is intended to curb corruption, the BBC reports that the Chinese public remains skeptical that the crusade will bring about any systemic change.  Recent polls indicate that most citizens believe the dragnet is biased to catch mostly low-level officials while letting the powerful and well-connected slip through.

Source: globalethics.org

Family Values

When Lennie got weekend leave he found Dad doing unmentionable things with a sheep, Mum blissfully clutching a half-empty whisky bottle, Brucie happily stoned out of his skull, and Debbie performing serious body piercing with curtain rings.

Lennie's heart swelled with emotion.  "Prison's cool," he thought, "but home's awesome.

Source: Book of Incredibly Short Stories selected by Brian Edwards, Tandem Press 1997

For articles on white collar and petty crimes, injustice, capital punishment, race, executioners, freedom of the press, cheating, private prisons, punishment, retribution, prison labour, appeals, instant justice, electronic tags, lepers and second chances click the "Up" button below to take you to the Index for this Prisons section.