Creflo Dollar's Gulfstream Jet for God and Heaven?

 

Creflo Dollar's new scheme to raise $60 million to purchase a luxury Gulfstream G650 airplane is the latest chapter in a long and sordid history of televangelists exploiting their churches' tax-exempt status -- and their congregants -- to line their own pockets.

Preaching the word of faith, or "prosperity gospel," and capitalizing on lax government oversight of his church's finances has enriched Dollar and his family to the detriment of his followers and the American taxpayer.

Dollar's 30,000-member church, is a tax-exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code. That means the church's donors receive a tax exemption for their donations (including for Dollar's new jet ambitions), and the church pays no tax on the revenue.

What's more, because it is organized as a church, the federal government does not require World Changers to file a publicly available tax return, as other nonprofit organizations are required to do. Those tax returns provide at least some financial information to donors and the public about the organization, including its revenues, assets, expenditures and executive compensation.

Dollar is known for his custom suits, luxury homes and private jets that ferry him, among other places, from his home base in College Park, Georgia, to his satellite church in Manhattan, where he and his wife reportedly have a $2.5 million apartment.

For Dollar, though, these excesses aren't embarrassments. Instead, they are proof that his theology works, that God blesses the faithful with abundant riches. Dollar tells his congregants to "sow a seed" with him, promising that a plentiful harvest will be their own blessing and, essentially, a return on their investment.

Scandinavian Girls in Bikini and Snowing Weather

June 1941 Germany Conquest of Europe

In June-1941 Germany attacked and occupied Poland, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Yugoslavia and Greece.

Signs of Loveless Marriage

You knew the heady early stages of your marriage weren't going to last forever. But when you find yourself stuck in a stagnant, unsatisfying relationship years later, you can't help but wonder: Is this really what I signed up for? Would we both be better off on our own?

If you find yourself in this position, the first thing you have to do is ask yourself if you have the energy to revive the relationship, said Christina Pesoli, a family law attorney and the author of Break Free from the Divortex: Power Through Your Divorce and Launch Your New Life.

"If you do, explore every last avenue to save your marriage, from therapy and mixing up your routine to improving your communication," she said. "But if you’re not willing to invest the energy into it, my advice is to gut it up and get out of the marriage before disaster strikes; people in loveless marriages are at a huge risk for extramarital affairs. And nothing turns a loveless marriage into a house of hate faster than betrayal."

Below, Pesoli and other relationship experts offer seven signs you're in a loveless marriage.

1. You dread date night. 
When you're in love, you look forward to dinner with your S.O. and cozy nights in with takeout and Netflix. So if the thought of spending time with your spouse leaves you feeling cold -- or you actively try to duck out of doing things with him or her -- it's a huge red flag, said Pesoli.

"The occasional weekday lunch or special evening with your spouse should be a joy, not a job," she said. "If it seems like a chore, your relationship has probably grown stale. That’s especially true if you’re game to go to lunch with other people like friends and colleagues. When you relegate your significant other to only getting whatever you have left over at the end of the day, your marriage may be in deep trouble."

2. Only one of you is willing to work on the marriage.
You both agreed that your relationship needs a tune-up and yet, you can't help but feel that your spouse has checked out. Making those appointments with a marriage counselor? Your handiwork. Planning a weekly date night? All you again. If you're solely responsible for reviving your marriage, you might be beating a dead horse, said Susan Pease Gadoua, therapist and co-author of The New I Do: Reshaping Marriage for Skeptics, Realists and Rebels.

"It's not fair that you're knocking yourself out trying to get your spouse to counseling, trying to resolve the conflicts, make him or her happy without that being reciprocated," she said. "It’s hard to come to terms that a marriage might be over when you’re so invested in it working, but just as all problems in a relationship are both people’s responsibility, so, too, is the solution. You can't do it alone."

3. There's nothing happening between the sheets. 
Don't underestimate the importance of sex in a relationship. Sure, your sex life isn't going to be insanely hot all the time -- your desire for your spouse (and his or hers for you) ebbs and flows through the years. But if the lack of sex starts to unnerve either of you, it's time to have a discussion, said Micki McWade, a psychotherapist and the author of Getting Up, Getting Over, Getting On: A Twelve Step Guide to Divorce Recovery.

"Physical affection is like a shot of vitamin B12 to a marriage. The first sign of trouble is the absence or infrequency of sex or intimacy," she said. "This may mean different things to different people but having a mutually satisfying sexual relationship is an excellent support for a healthy marital relationship. It makes the little day-to-day nuisances seem less annoying. It's absolutely something worth addressing."

4. You constantly fight in public. 
Everyone knows at least one couple who's downright painful to be around: they're constantly bickering, generally dismissive of each other and bring a cloud of negativity to any dinner party they attend. If you're slowly morphing into that couple, you just might be in a loveless marriage. Clearly, you have contempt for one another and nothing's more detrimental to a relationship than that, said Pease Gaduoa.

"When your mate loses respect for you or you lose respect for your mate, it means trouble," she said. "Having utter disregard or even disdain for the other is toxic. Every interaction from the most mundane to the most important will be colored with negative undertones, overt and covert jabs and hurtful exchanges. Because the negativity feeds on itself, it doesn’t take long for lack of basic respect to undermine the marriage. It’s what researcher John Gottman refers to as contempt in marriage and it’s one of his predictors that the relationship will end."

5. Not even love songs can make you change your tune. 
If you turn on the radio and all the love songs you hear leave you feeling flat, your relationship may be in dire straits, said Pesoli. It may seem like an insignificant sign of trouble, but it says more about your relationship than you realize, she said.

"The truth is, love songs know how to hit all the right notes," she said. "If you’re even the tiniest bit in love, listening to a really great love song can turn those feelings up to 11. So, if love songs don’t make you weak in the knees for your spouse, that’s a sign that your relationship is out of harmony. And if you find yourself swooning for your college boyfriend or work crush, it’s time for you to get some couples therapy."

6. The same arguments are played out over and over again. 
If your constant squabbles about the same old issues are become more and more embittered, it's a sign of a seriously unhappy marriage, said McWade.

"Bickering about minutia is deadly," she said. "A steady or frequent toxic flow between marital partners is a sign that there is underlying and unresolved resentment present which will eventually erode and abrade the marital connection. In my experience, that resentment is usually based on either lack of sex, money habits or both."

7. You look for solutions to your marital problems outside your marriage. 
According to Pease Gaduoa, one of the best indicators of whether a marriage is a loveless one -- or whether a couple is just experiencing a rough patch -- is how spouses try to solve their marital issues.

"When you see the solution to whatever problem or disagreement you are having with your spouse as being outside the marriage more often than you see the solution being within the marriage, it's problematic," the therapist said, citing an example of a client who eventually got fed up with his wife's refusal to go out on the weekends with him and the kids.

"At first he gave into her requests, but at one point, he started to fantasize how nice it would be if they lived apart and he could take the kids wherever he wanted to," she recalled. "Then whenever they’d fight, he’d picture the two of them divorced. The fantasies of being apart crept in at other times as well and soon, not a day went by where he didn’t long for his personal freedom. Four years later, he realized the situation really wasn’t going to improve. If he wanted to give his kids a better life, he had to end the marriage. Those fantasies you might be having are more worrisome than you realize."

Watch Top 10 Scams of 2015

Top 10 Scams of 2015

• Attention US Residents: Personal data, including social security numbers and residential addresses of over 100 million consumers has been stolen this year in the United States alone. Scammers trade information through black markets to use in future identity theft operations.
  The criminals use your identity in order to obtain credit cards, fake mortgages, loans, and cash advances. Once an identity theft occurs, it is a very difficult task to undo the damage. It often costs upwards of $10,000 in legal fees just to clean up the mess created by these criminals.
  We strongly recommend that you follow these steps to prevent identity theft:
  1. Please consider obtaining identity theft protection services. We highly recommend using theLifeLock. They provide up to $1 million coverage against identity theft for less than $9 per month. Additionally, the 30 day trial allows you to immediately activate protection without paying.Activate the 30 day trial here.
  2. To understand the general precautionary measures to keep your identity safe, please read the following article: www.scamguard.com/identity-theft/
  Jump to scams: Tech Support Scams, Fake/Counterfeit Merchandise, Pets-for-Sale Scams,Grant Scams, Collection Agency Scams, Property Rental Scams, Payday Loan Scams,Timeshare Scams, Dating Scams, Work From Home Scams, Fake Check Scams.
  
  

  #1. Tech Support Scams

  Reported countries: India and Pakistan. In many cases, scammers used U.S. VOIP phone numbers.
  Damages reported: $100-$1000 and the cost of real technical support after to fix the damaged computer. As scammers usually ask for payment via credit card, many victims have also reported having their identities stolen afterward.
  
  
  It's rare that any technician from a PC manufacturer or tech support company would cold call non-client computer users and tell them that there's an immediate threat to their computers and that the company needs remote access to fix the problem. Yet, many people fall for this scam.
  Operating usually out of India, scammers call victims and allege that they're with a big name tech company. Victims are told that their computers are either already infected or about to become infected with malware that can cause significant damage, such as operating system corruption or identity theft. The “technicians” then urge users to allow them to have remote access to troubleshoot and fix related issues. Scammers use these opportunities to infect systems with malware or perform other damage; or send users to third-party websites that cause damage. All of these actions are focused on the singular goal of giving scammers access to computers so they can cause errors and then charge for unnecessary repair services.
  ScamGuard advice: Never give anyone remote access to your computer. Instead, hire a local computer repair service whenever necessary.
  Example complaints: Complaint #4644, Complaint #1316, Complaint #2856.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  
  

  #2. Fake/Counterfeit Merchandise Scams

  Reported countries: China
  Damages reported: $100-$1000. As scammers usually ask for payment via credit card, victims have also reported identity theft at a later time.
  With so many online stores available, it's sometimes very difficult to know the difference between a legitimate e-commerce site and a fake one set up to steal money or a person's identity.
  Operating predominantly out of China, scammers set up generic online stores that sell name brand items or mimic the websites of big name brand companies. On these sites, scammers sell fake or counterfeit products at significantly reduced prices designed to attract buyers looking for big deals on name brand merchandise. The over-reaching goal of these scammers is to gain access to the credit card numbers of their victims and then use the numbers to fraudulently make purchases, or make a buck with the information on the black market. In some cases, the criminals even go so far as to send fake or counterfeit products to victims. As the merchandise ships from international locations, victims often remain unaware of any wrong-doing against them until weeks have passed. Although many brand companies discover these sites and shut them down, it's usually too late.
  
  
  
  ScamGuard advice: To verify the identity of a website in question, always contact the brand company using the phone number on the company’s official Contact Us or similar page. Consumers can also contact ScamGuard on our Contact Us page to verify the legitimacy of any website in question.
  Example complaints: Complaint #5730, Complaint #5156, Complaint #6455.
  Identity theft risk: Medium - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  
  

  #3. Pets-for-Sale Scams

  Reported countries: Unknown
  Damages reported: $200-$2000
  
  The promise of cuddly and cute puppies, kittens and other pets is another scam and has harmed a lot of people in 2014.
  Pets-for-sale scammers create fake websites that claim to be associated with pet adoption or animal nurseries. On these sites, they offer a wide selection of pets for adoption or sale at prices significantly below the norm. Some sites even offer puppies for free to attract victims. With this scam, victims are told that they must pay for at least the insurance, shipping and other services associated with processing and delivering the pets. Victims are then required to make their purchases and/or pay their fees with non-returnable, cash-like forms of payment, including but not limited to: Moneygram, Western Union, Vanilla prepaid cards or wire transfer to a foreign bank account.
  ScamGuard advice: Avoid paying for a pet using any type of cash transfer method. Additionally, contact ScamGuard for more information about any pet breeder in question.
  Example complaints: Complaint #2176, Complaint #4484, Complaint #1962.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  
  

  #4. Grant Scams

  Reported countries: India and Pakistan
  Damages reported: $100-$2000+
  Representatives of the United States government don't call American citizens with offers to sell them grant money. Operating usually out of India and Pakistan, scammers who deal in selling grants purchase consumer information from legitimate companies that run payday loan affiliate websites. The companies usually have no idea that they're dealing with scammers. Instead, they believe that the scammers can offer some of their payday loan applicants financial assistance. Scammers also acquire consumer personal details from unsuspecting advertising agencies who run lead generation campaigns targeting consumers in need of loans. The scammers then contact the people from these lists and claim they represent the United States government. They advise victims that they can provide access to grant money for a "processing fee". As with the Pets-for-Sale scenarios, scammers require victims to pay via non-returnable payment methods that act like cash.
  The processing fee is merely the beginning of the crime. Grant scam artists then use the banking information of their victims to gain access to additional funds or sell the information to the highest bidder on the black market.
  ScamGuard advice: Block callers who offer access to grant monies for a fee. If you have been a victim of this type of scam, report it here.
  Example complaints: Complaint #2723, Complaint #3381, Complaint #3156.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  
  

  #5. Collection Agency Scams

  Reported countries: India and Pakistan
  Damages reported: $100-$2000+
  Some scammers are well aware that collection agencies have the right to contact consumers who owe money to them or companies they represent. Criminals involved with collection agency scams use this knowledge to their advantage to steal money.
  Representing a fake collection agency, or even the United States Attorney General's office, scammers make cold calls to victims and threaten lawsuits or embarrassing on-the-job confrontations unless the victims start making payments. Sometimes, the scammers support their claims with real details about outstanding loans. This type of scam can go on for months. After repeated harassment, victims cave to demands and pay a fee. Some time later, the scammers repeat the tactic with the same victims or sell/share the information to other scamming organizations who repeat the vicious cycle. Fee payment is also expected via non-returnable methods, such as Moneygram, Western Union, Vanilla and wire transfer.
  ScamGuard advice: Unless you have bad debt and owe money to collection agencies who have purchased it, block all collection calls. Additionally, if possible, report collection agency scammers to ScamGuard and/or the appropriate government agency.
  Example complaints: Complaint #6628, Complaint #6323, Complaint #6224.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  
  

  #6. House/Vacation Property Rental Scams

  Reported countries: Unknown
  Damages reported: $500-$3000+
  After the housing market scandals of the last few years, many consumers have opted to rent home and vacation properties, and scammers have targeted this trend.
  Scammers advertise properties that they don't actually own on classified ads websites, such as Craigslist and Backpage, with attractive pictures and detailed descriptions. Typically, they associate the ads with desirable, rich or low crime rate neighborhoods and offer prices that fall well below local rental averages. Instead of in-country phone-based contact, scammers use VOIP numbers from foreign countries and text messaging to communicate with buyers and renters. All payments are requested via non-returnable methods like Moneygram, Western Union, Vanilla and wire transfer.
  ScamGuard advice: Always pay rent using a check or a credit card. Checks and credit cards leave paper and electronic trails that law enforcement agencies can track back to criminals. Additionally, if you decide to pay by credit card, the card’s issuing bank can perform a transaction chargeback or reversal for up to usually the first six months after the transaction.
  Example complaints: Complaint #5883, Complaint #3078, Complaint #2191.
  Identity theft risk: Low
  
  

  #7. Payday Loan Scams

  Reported countries: India, Pakistan
  Damages reported: $500 - $3000+
  As previously mentioned, scammers love to pick their victims from those most in need -- people who are willing to take out high-interest payday loans.
  Like grant scams, payday loan scams rely heavily on legitimate leads gathered by payday loan affiliate website companies or advertising agencies. Advertising agencies use cleverly designed small websites to entice consumers who have bad debt to apply for payday loans. Once the information is gathered, they sell it to other companies and re-sell it over and over until a scamming company posing as a legitimate company gains access to it. From there, scammers advise payday loan applicants that they qualify for low interest loans that they can also can get immediately with payment of a processing- or security-related fee. For example, some scammers tell victims that the fee helps confirm that the victims have the means to repay their loans when it's time. As with similar scams, payday loan scammers request upfront money through cash-like payment methods or wire transfer and then never follow through with any sort of loans. Sometimes these criminals also ask for the bank account details of their details. They claim that they need the information to direct deposit the approved payday loan amount, but in reality they take the information to steal from the accounts later or to sell it to those who will use it to steal.
  ScamGuard advice: Never pay any upfront fees to anyone promising a loan over the phone. If unsure, please ask ScamGuard using the contact us page.
  Example complaints: Complaint #4195, Complaint #1121, Complaint #3328.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  

  #8. Timeshare Resale Scams

  Reported countries: USA, India
  Damages reported: $200-$3000+
  "Don’t have the time or money to invest in your timeshare any longer? Need someone to take it off your hands? We have the perfect buyer for you!"
  These lines are what scammers want you to believe.
  For decades, criminals have taken advantage of the idea of sharing a single property between multiple owners to reduce costs.
  Operating usually from within the United States, timeshare resale scammers tell their victims that they have buyers, or in some cases renters, ready to take over any timeshare at a moment's notice. The scam? They require an upfront fee to move forward with the process. Timeshare resale scammers give their victims a wide range of reasons for the fee, including but not limited to: appraisal, marketing analysis and fees related to transfer or closing. Some even claim that any fees pay for marketing and go so far as to mock up a contract that has wording to that effect to reassure their victims.
  ScamGuard advice: Never pay upfront fees to anyone promising to sell or rent your timeshare or refer you to buyers or renters. Instead, list your timeshare on free or minimum payment timeshare listings websites such as: Redweek.com, TimeshareMarketplace.com and Tug2.net.
  Example complaints: Complaint #3049, Complaint #2066, Complaint #5085.
  Identity theft risk: Medium - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here. 

  #9. Dating and Relationship Scams

  For information about dating and relationship scams, please review the following articlededicated to this topic.

  #10. Work from Home - Inspecting and Shipping Merchandise

  Reported countries: Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe
  Damages reported: Loss of funds for variable amounts. If not reported to authorities immediately, victims can suffer legal consequences if believed to be part of any criminal activities related to product sales or shipping.
  Many people around the world dream of working from home. After all, who wouldn't want to give up the stresses from commuting to work or dealing with co-workers? For some, job ads and websites claiming to offer at-home work opportunities seem like the perfect answer.
  In reality, these offers are usually the bait for various types of scams.
  One big scam in 2014 involves at-home merchandise inspection and shipping. Scammers set up professional-looking websites and claim that the sites are owned by shipping and logistics intermediaries. Some also set up sites to state that they can offer these work-at-home opportunities because they represent large merchant companies in the United States that don't have international shipping services.
  Scammers use job search website ads to attract victims or target victims using job board profiles. They go through the interview process with each victim, usually via an Internet communications application like Yahoo Messenger, and then offer a job to every single person they interviewed. Once they've “hired” their virtual workers, scammers use stolen credit cards to purchase merchandise and then ship it to their new work-at-home "employees" with instructions on how to open the packages, inspect the merchandise and ship it elsewhere.
  Not long after, usually a week, the scammers cut all ties with their recent batch of employees or go a step further and attempt to scam their victims with fraudulent paychecks made out for amounts that are much greater than the compensation for time worked. Victims are then advised to deposit their checks and use the over payment amount to perform a bank transfer of the funds to one or more people who supposedly weren't paid for some type of service, such as document verification or office supplies. The check then bounces and victims to their horror that not only worked for free, but they also lost extra money.
  ScamGuard advice: Never agree to receive and ship packages from home. Additionally, never refund money from a paycheck as a bank transfer. Instead, ask the company to re-issue the check for the correct amount.
  Example complaints: Complaint #2908, Complaint #4411, Complaint #4772.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here.
  

  #11. Fraudulent/Fake Check Scams

  Reported countries: Nigeria, India and USA
  Damages reported: $200-$3000+
  One of the most popular scams involves scammers convincing unwitting victims to accept fraudulent/fake checks.
  Victims with banks accounts in the United States receive checks for whatever reason at much higher amounts than expected. Scammers then use a variety of creative, clever stories to explain any compensation discrepancies and convince victim to send back over payment via cash-like payment methods or wire transfer. When these checks bounce, the victim discover that they have been fleeced. Over the years, this scam has been used with a variety of consumer actions, including purchase of vehicles and renting property.
  ScamGuard advice: Never accept checks with amounts over the agreed upon price. Never agree to send money back. Ask the bank if the check has cleared before releasing the merchandise to the alleged buyer.
  Example complaints: Complaint #5004, Complaint #1401, Complaint #1632.
  Identity theft risk: High - If you’ve been affected by a similar scam, your identity is at risk. We recommend locking your identity from unauthorized changes using Lifelock. To activate your free 30 day trial protection services, click here. 

Cathay Pacific Airplane Landing

Love Poem Sherif S. Monem

There is something called love
It is sweet like honey
Beautiful and awesome like rose
You fly like bee to seek it
You fly from flower to another to nourish it
Love is all what the heart needs
Love is all what the soul will desire
Love is like a dingy boat in the ocean
Sailing the long distances to reach it
The dream island of love, peace and tranquility