1 DEC 06: SPAM IN MY DRINK

It's always struck me as strange - how Columbus was the home for years of Coca-Cola creator John Pemberton, yet has become famous today as an "RC town." For you younger readers: this occurred back when R.C. did NOT stand for radio-controlled.

SPAM-A-RAMA: We're thinking about cola because of a surprising e-mail promotion we received the other day. First of all, it claimed to come from Coca-Cola's Hong Kong office -- not from Atlanta. You know outsourcing is out of hand when giveaways are based halfway around the world.

The promotion wasn't even offering me a trip to Asia. Here's part of what it said:

THE COCA COLA COMPANY Hong Kong office is Giving Away 1 cars For "FREE"!! And cash bonus of $800,000.00

The Company is trying e-mail to e-mail advertising to introduce its products.

The reward you received for advertising for them is a Mercedes-Benz, ML class jeep convertible free of cost! Including cash prize of $800,000,00

I mentioned this offer to a co-worker Thursday night, and he was ready to jump all over it. In his words: "Who do I have to kill?"

The e-mail offer went on to promise that I would receive my "free car" within a month. A convertible in Columbus in late December?! This warm spell can't possibly last that long....

But admittedly, I was a little skeptical of this e-mail. For one thing, when was I ever "advertising" for Coca-Cola? When we tried to start Power Frisbee months ago, we didn't even get an offer from Wham-O to provide free discs.

The line about Coca-Cola trying "e-mail to e-mail advertising" has some truth to it. Some bottle caps have code numbers which you enter on a "Coke Rewards" web site to receive prizes. You give them an e-mail address as part of the deal -- but when the products and prizes are dominated by free ring tones, it doesn't exactly thrill me.

All I had to provide "Coca-Cola Asia" to get my free car was a name, snail mail and e-mail addresses, phone number -- plus my occupation. I'm not sure why my workplace should matter. Unless, that is, I was "advertising" Coke simply by punching out a can from an office vending machine.

But why should I send an e-mail all the way to Coca-Cola's Hong Kong office, I said to myself, when the world headquarters is only 100 miles away? The next thing you know, couples in Georgia will go all the way to Russia to adopt babies and.... oh wait....

So I called the main office of Coca-Cola in Atlanta - and sure enough, my skepticism was confirmed. This e-mail is another example of an online scam known as "phishing." One of these days, the rock band Phish is going to sue these scammers for ruining its reputation.

A woman with Coca-Cola customer service read an obviously prepared statement, saying the company is investigating where these bogus offers started. If these scoundrels are found, I'm sure Coke is prepared to act - by providing a lengthy list of Pepsi e-mail addresses.

The woman who read the Coca-Cola statement included what's become a classic cliche: "If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is." That's why I called Atlanta in the first place, instead of e-mailing Asia. It gives a new meaning to an old cartoon series - Hong Kong Phooey.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now for a message that seems much more legitimate....

I sent this to the Editor of the Ledger but I've heard that a lot of people are turning to your blog for news as well. So I thought you might be interested too.

The article about the movie "In the Valley of Elah" [28-29 Nov] pointed out that filming won't take place in Columbus. However that doesn't mean the city will be overlooked entirely.The Davis family has been shattered by this murder. In the process they've encountered good people who have tried to help them through the heartbreak the best they were able. Unfortunately with a tragedy of this kind there is no "getting over it" so even good people get tired of the strain. As a result proper justice has been slow and the public has been deprived of a good deal of the truth.

There is one lady that has never stopped pursuing truth and fairness in relation to this crime since becoming involved. Writer Cilla McCain is a personal friend of mine and shows unwavering devotion to the Davis family at a time when gruesome facts of this case has turned otherwise caring people away. Cilla is from Columbus so even though the movie is not being filmed here we can still be proud to have such a wonderful lady representing our town. She has consistently shown the Davis family the honorable qualities people in Columbus are really made of, a trait that's not always forthcoming by some of our city leaders. While investigating information for her book she has never failed to involve Richard's family in new discoveries and having real answers has eased their suffering. Like Elah's Charlize Theron, Cilla's beauty is distracting and at first glance you think she is just a sweet southern belle who could never even raise her voice. But this elegant lady is a beautiful person both inside and out and is a true "Steel Magnolia" I'm proud she's my friend and Columbus is lucky to have her in our corner.

James Baxter

Columbus, GA

I haven't met Cilla McCain, so I can't speak to whether her "beauty is distracting" or not. But I'm reaching the point where I wouldn't mind being seen at a party with Ugly Betty.

If you've turned to this blog for news, I suppose I'd better give you some from Thursday:

+ A seven-hour search for a missing Hannan Academy student ended when she was found safely with her mother in Griffin. A fellow student reported a young man took the girl - but police say that "man" turned out to be the mother's lesbian lover. C'mon, ladies! At least follow Ellen DeGeneres's beauty example....

+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported the proposal for a veterans' care center in Box Springs has been withdrawn, in the wake of public protests. Can't you hear the Talbot County residents now, singing "When Johnny Goes Marching Out"?!

+ Auburn University's Student Government Association let its traditional campus tree. This year, the event was billed as a "holiday celebration, featuring a Christmas tree." I've never before seen a ceremony of this type put on the level of a recording with Carlos Santana.

+ Georgia prosecutors announced every college student in the state will receive an e-mail, warning of the potential risks of methamphetamine. This idea is SOOOO 1999. Wouldn't it be more effective to send a cell phone text message - maybe about 11:30 on a Friday night?

+ Sumter Regional Hospital released a report showing its impact on the Americus area's economy comes to about $128 million per year. I never realized so many people were getting hurt, building Habitat for Humanity houses.

+ Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland announced he will NOT run in 2008, in a possible rematch with Georgia's Saxby Chambliss. Somewhere today a newspaper headline will read: "SAXBY - MAX WON'T BE."

+ Instant Message to whomever checked our blog from Tehran, Iran: We don't know who you are -- but we're going to assume you work for the government, and you're looking for one-liners about President Bush. There's no possible way you're a U.S. secret agent plotting an overthrow, right?!?!

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