I always wanted to know how... "accurate" was this cartoon episode regarding the assertive/aggressive and "how-to-say-NO" thing.

To the people that use the person the most, Appearing obstinate and compromising the communication are very good things. You need to communicate to those people that you are no longer their free ride and do it clearly. Users will get aggressive if they think their free ride is getting wiser. They will pull out the…

The best list of dramatic no's.

I think the underlying issue here is that so many of us are never taught how to figure out where our boundaries are, and how to maintain them. A lot of "no's" come out of a feeling that we won't be liked otherwise, or that we owe things to people.

Haha if I asked for a letter of recommendation from someone and they said "There's probably someone more appropriate to ask", I would just assume they hate my guts.

Is there going to be a follow-up article on a nice way to back out of something you've already agreed to?

I agree that guilt over saying "no" is more prevalent in American society. When traveling, it is good to be aware of that fact, since people may try to use that fact to their advantage.