"Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have."

Norman Vincent Peale
1898-1993, Pastor, Speaker and Author

"Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It's no use. I can't go on. If you do you're licked, and by your own thinking too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on."

Norman Vincent Peale
1898-1993, Pastor, Speaker and Author

Imagine a whole country who's noted for corruption, Cretians held the title in the 1st Century,in biblical times, Paul said they quoting a poet: Cretians arel Evil Beasts, Liars and Gluttons! I think Nigeria may have taken over the title, I get a lot of e-mails form them, some want to order items and pay with a fake cashiers check. Just what I need!
Beware of the Cretians!

LAGOS (Reuters) - A Nigerian court has sentenced a woman to two and half years in jail after she pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the country's biggest e-mail scam case, the anti-fraud agency said on Saturday.
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Amaka Anajemba, one of three suspects in a $242 million fraud involving a Brazilian bank, would return $48.5 million to the bank, hand over $5 million to the government and pay a fine of 2 million naira ($15,000), the agency said.

Scams have become so successful in Nigeria that anti-sleaze campaigners say swindling is one of the country's main foreign exchange earners after oil, natural gas and cocoa.

Anajemba's sentencing by a Lagos High Court on Friday is the first major conviction since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established in 2003 to crack down on Nigeria's thriving networks of email fraudsters.

The agency said in a statement that the judgment was "a landmark achievement by EFCC in the fight against advance fee fraud, corruption and other related crimes."

Typically fraudsters send out junk e-mails around the world promising recipients a share in a fortune in return for an advance fee. Those who pay never receive the promised windfall.

Anajemba, whose late husband masterminded the swindling of the Sao Paolo-based Banco Noroeste S.A. between 1995 and 1998, was charged along with Emmanuel Nwude and Nzeribe Okoli.

The prosecution said the three accused obtained the $242 million by promising a member of the bank staff a commission for funding a non-existent contract to build an airport in Nigeria's capital Abuja.

All three accused pleaded not guilty, but Anajemba later changed her mind to enter a guilty plea in order to receive a shorter sentence.

Her prison term was backdated to start in January 2004 when she was first taken in custody. The trial of the two others who maintained their not guilty pleas was adjourned to September.

Ranked the world's second most corrupt country after Bangladesh by sleaze watchdog Transparency International, Nigeria has given new powers to the EFCC which is prosecuting about 200 fraud and corruption cases.

"Treat a man as he appears to be and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749-1832, Poet and Novelist

Rain, pot plants cause havoc

Published on July 14, 2005

Bangkok traffic was mired in chaos yesterday morning following hours of widespread rain throughout the capital.

Most of the city’s main thoroughfares were inundated and traffic flows were slowed to almost a standstill. At some intersections, motorists had to wait for more than 30 minutes to move at all.

Inner-city areas and roads along the Chao Phya River were the worst affected.

More than 10 hours of heavy rain and the resulting flooding caused many commuters to arrive late for work. Roadside houses were flooded and many occupants were seen bailing floodwater from their shophouses using whatever utensils they could find.

Even the Government House compound was heavily flooded – with water levels topping 30 centimetres in some areas – unprecedented for the enclosure. Heavy flooding forced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s vehicle to move from its usual parking spot to higher ground.

Government House officials and reporters were forced to carry their shoes while wading through shin-deep floodwaters.

Then cars started breaking down, creating more congestion, as traffic police pushed lame vehicles out of the way.

Floating potted plants, which had been used as traffic-island decorations, became another obstacle in the already slow-flowing traffic, and a source of amusement for onlookers in an otherwise stressful situation.

"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!"

Anneliese Marie Frank
1929-1945, German Jewish Refugee and Diarist

James Allen wrote a little book: As a Man Thinketh! Each week I get a ezine on a thought here's a good thought:

Negative expectations are really nothing more than a manifestation of fear, so look the fear in the face. What is the worst that could happen? Is there some action you can take that will change it? If so, take the action — nothing conquers fear faster than action. If no action on your part will change it, then have the Faith that you will handle the outcome. That thought alone is a positive expectation. Take to heart the ages old wisdom that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

In the final analysis, always expecting the worst is living a life in fear. Always expecting the best is living a life in Faith. As the ancient writer Paul noted, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” And Marden described the power of Faith in The Miracle of Right Thought: “Faith is the bed rock upon which all other foundation stones in every great character rest. Thus the person who has an invincible faith in his mission, an unconquerable faith in himself and his God, has power in the world.”