Nigerians have developed a rather questionable international reputation.  Several fraudulent international investment schemes have been linked to Nigerian nationals.  Here is the latest one, as reported in The Economist.

Scam of scams

Aug 22nd 2002
The Economist

How to impersonate a central bank

If you must tell lies, tell very big ones. Last week a gang in Johannesburg were caught telling a whopper: they were masquerading as South Africa's central bank. African con-artists, mostly from Nigeria, have long run a racket known as the “419” scam, or advance-fee fraud. Gullible types overseas are persuaded that great piles of cash stolen by an African general, warlord or minister are mysteriously available. The victims are asked to store the money in their bank account, in return for a share of the loot. But first they must pay a few thousand dollars—to cover expenses, you understand. Each year, amazingly, thousands of credulous victims pay out, with never a cent in return.

Such scams have become two-a-penny, partly because red-faced victims rarely come clean to the authorities. But as Nigerians earn a reputation for dodgy deals (the 419 racket is named after the number of the Nigerian law that forbids it) con-men are moving to southern Africa. One group recently sought partners to “share” in millions of dollars of the late Jonas Savimbi, the Angolan rebel leader.

The latest swindlers set up a website purporting to be that of the South African Reserve Bank. They e-mailed folk in Britain and America to say that money could be siphoned from the bank to their own accounts. Doubters could double-check names, photos and mobile-phone numbers online, and visit an accompanying (and also fake) website of a law firm to draw up legal documents. Of course, the victims were also told to send “facilitation payments” to anonymous bank accounts, and to keep quiet about the deal. Many people are reckoned to have sent money. One Briton alone, says Sipho Ngwema, of the police investigating team, was defrauded of 2m rand (about $200,000).

South Africa worries that such scams will sully the country's name. The finance minister, Trevor Manuel, wants a call-centre set up by September, so that investors can check on local businesses without relying on websites. That should help against pyramid schemes and fly-by-night operators, but it will not guard against scams that depend upon victims' complicit silence. Next time that Savimbi's daughter or Mobutu's cousin e-mails you with a promise of riches, press delete.

*     *     *     *     *

Here is an interesting story about unusual sightings in India that appeared in the New York Times (August, 25, 2002).  --not unlike UFO and Saskwatch sightings in the U.S.!

INDIA

By AMY WALDMAN
 

NEW DELHI

They call it muchnowa — the "face scratcher." In the eastern part of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a mysterious flying object has supposedly attacked more than 100 sleeping villagers. They see a flashing light, feel an electric shock and a hard object, and emerge with scratched faces and limbs.

At least seven unexplained deaths have been attributed to the muchnowa, and the result has been mass hysteria — a panic that has yielded more deaths. The police killed one man when a mob stormed the station demanding protection. Another man killed his mother — ostensibly accidentally — while shooting at the mysterious light.

Theories about the cause abound, and the news media has reported each new one with delight. It may be an extraterrestrial being, or simply disoriented migratory birds or bats. Some blame genetically engineered insects from Pakistan; others, laser-equipped terrorists. The Indian Institute of Technology tried injecting science into the less-than-reasoned debate, saying the phenomenon is a rare form of lightning, but to little avail.

This is not the first such mass delusion to seize India. Last year, a "monkey man" — reputed to be half man, half monkey — terrorized Delhi residents. Six years ago, Uttar Pradesh was gripped by fear of the manai, or man-creature, which was said to be stealing babies. In the resulting hysteria, 40 people were lynched. The manai, upon investigation, turned out to be a pack of wolves dislodged from their habitat by deforestation.

Uttar Pradesh is one of India's poorest, least developed states. Perhaps rumors spread more quickly among the uneducated; perhaps the muchnowa furor is simply displaced anxiety about the state's failure to protect the welfare of its citizens.

Whatever it is, it has left its mark.   

*     *     *     *     *

Bigfoot Legend Creator Dies; Family Calls Bigfoot A Hoax

Wallace's Friends, Bigfoot Believers Find Explanation Hard To Believe

December 6, 2002

Ray Wallace's family remembers him as a prankster whose biggest hoax contributed to the Bigfoot legend.

His family says Wallace asked a friend to carve 16-inch feet, then he and his brother wore them to create huge tracks on the ground at his California construction company in 1958. That led The Humboldt Times to coin the term "Bigfoot" on its front page.

*     *     *     *     *

Here is another interesting story from The Economist (8/25/02):

Zambia, though facing famine, said it would accept food aid only if it contains no genetically modified product. Much of the food provided by the World Food Programme to the region comes from American farms, where modified grain is common.

*     *     *     *     *

The Economist is just filled with interesting stories.  The story to the right discusses the growing business of transforming your loved ones (including your pets) into jewelry!

Lobsters, Caviar and Brandy for MPs

at Summit on Starvation

 Neil Syson

The Sun

(London)

8/26/2002

THE sickening champagne and caviar lifestyle being enjoyed by Earth Summit delegates was exposed yesterday.   They are gorging on mountains of lobster, oysters and fillet steak at the Johannesburg conference — aimed at ending FAMINE.

As the summit began yesterday, desperate kids in nearby shanty towns queued for water at standpipes.  Bigwig politicians among the 60,000 delegates, including Deputy PM John Prescott, also get vintage bubbly and brandy.

Taxpayers are footing the £500,000 bill for the 70-strong British party. Friends of the Earth called the extravagance “deplorable”.   The head chef of the swanky hotel hosting Earth Summit bigwigs described the mountains of posh food he is laying on for their pleasure. And Desmond Morgan declared: “Money is no object.  The chef is in charge of meals at Johannesburg’s five-star Michelangelo Hotel, where world leaders and other VIP delegates are staying during the “save the planet” conference, which opened yesterday.

While people are going hungry at shanty towns just a couple of miles away, Mr Morgan told how he had stocked up with an extraordinary array of delicacies and fine wines.    "It includes 5,000 oysters, more than 1,000lbs of lobster and other shellfish, buckets of caviar and piles of pâté de foie gras.”

He has also got in more than 4,400lbs of fillet steak and chicken breasts, 450lbs of salmon, 220lbs of a tasty South African fish called kingclip — and more than 1,000lbs of bacon and sausages.

The huge bill is paid for by taxpayers of participating nations including Britain.

Mr Morgan said: “Whether they want Beluga caviar, foie gras or bacon sandwiches — we have it all. “In my experience, heads of state don’t decide what they want to eat or drink until the last minute. “So I have to make sure I have everything they can possibly want.”

Vintage champagne, fine wines, spirits and liqueurs have been flown in from around the globe so the VIPs can wash down their meals in style.  A new kitchen has been especially created for world leaders, including the Sultan of Brunei, who have their own cooks and tasters.

The £35million summit — aimed at combating hunger, poverty and pollution — is centered around Sandton, the most exclusive suburb in Africa.  Its streets are lined with expensive restaurants, gated villas and gleaming shopping malls.  Yet close by, families scratch a desperate existence in the sprawling shanty town of Alexandra. They live in corrugated shacks. Hungry children play among piles of rubbish and queue for water at standpipes.  The average weekly wage for the few who work in the township is less than the cost of a vintage brandy at the Michelangelo.

Aid agencies say southern Africa is facing its worst food crisis for more than a decade.  More than 14million people — most of them children — are threatened with starvation. 

The 60,000 summit delegates from 182 countries are expected to drink 80,000 bottles of mineral water during the conference.  Yet each day 6,000 African children die from diseases caused by contaminated water.  Since the last Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992, the number of Africans living in poverty has soared from 220million to 300million.

Several other environmental issues will be discussed at the ten-day summit, organized by the United Nations.  But in another ironic twist, hundreds of trees have been felled around the conference centre so fleets of limousines will have unhindered access. 

The 70-strong British delegation, led by Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, is costing taxpayers £500,000.  Most other countries fund their delegations too — but the poorest nations get financial help from the richest countries.  Tony Blair is scheduled to address the summit for half an hour.  He will spend less than 12 hours in his £550-a-night suite, complete with butler service, at the Michelangelo.  Globe-trotting Deputy PM John Prescott arrives at the hotel, which boasts an “executive lifestyle” fitness centre, tomorrow.  He and the British team, which also includes Environment Minister Michael Meacher, have five Mercedes cars at their disposal, plus two people carriers for aides.  Tories have branded Mr Prescott’s trip to South Africa — the 16th country he has visited since April last year — a waste of money. He has no official speaking role at the summit. 

The conference’s lavish nature was blasted by environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth last night. Spokesman Mike Childs said:  "It is to be deplored, especially as politicians are scrabbling to do nothing about the problems of environment degradation and poverty.  "They are living it up while not taking action for the millions around the world who will die because of inaction.  "The people of Alexandra would be gobsmacked if they could see how people live in such opulence on their doorstep.  "How can delegates sleep soundly in their beds knowing such suffering is just down the road?"  He added: “We have been working closely with communities in places like Alexandra to help them get a voice.  “But delegates from rich countries just don’t want to listen to the poor in society.”

Friends of the Earth have sent a ten-strong delegation to Johannesburg to have their say. They flew out economy class and are sleeping on the floor of a school.  Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor dismissed the summit as “absurd”.  He said: “The whole thing makes me feel sick. When you think about the starving people in the world and then see this sort of lavish display it just isn’t right.  “I’m sure nothing will be achieved at the meeting except for photo opportunities allowing politicians to say how great they are.” 

The criticism was brushed off by Downing Street last night.  A spokesman said: “I don’t think we will be going into these aspects of the summit.”  A spokesman for the Department of Environment said: "This is not a jolly, it is a very serious conference.  “Delegates will not be living it up. And it is their duty to be conscious of costs.” 

US President George Bush is NOT attending Johannesburg, even though he is the leader of the world’s biggest polluter.  The American delegation is being headed instead by Secretary of State Colin Powell.  The summit will discuss how an increasing population can boost and spread wealth without destroying the environment.  But climate change is not directly on the agenda. Former top UN climate scientist Robert Watson yesterday claimed it was left off because of pressure from the US.

*     *     *     *     *

New York - An obese man in New York is suing four leading fast food chains, including McDonalds, about his weight-related health problems, hoping to win similar payouts to those made by the tobacco industry.

*     *     *     *     *

Senior citizen thwarts robbery,

beating suspect with her cane

The Associated Press
(9/18/02 - New Kensington, Pa.)

An 85-year-old woman, angered that a would-be robber was scaring a cashier, beat the man with her cane and foiled the robbery, police said.

Police said the woman told them, "that poor child was frightened and I wasn't going to let that happen."

She would not give her name and refused medical treatment, though she was knocked to the ground by the fleeing robber, police said.

"She turned out to be a hero, but she adamantly refused to give her name," Sgt. Bob Laporte said.

Witnesses said a man grabbed the cashier by the wrists at a store in New Kensington on Monday and threatened to cut her with a metal can opener that he then used to attempt to open the cash register.

The elderly woman beat the man in the head with her metal cane and he fled, knocking her down. The woman "had some choice words for him while she was sitting on the floor," Laporte said.

*     *     *     *     *

Ananova

September 20, 2002

Stray dogs are being used as mobile billboards by rival shops in a Russian city.

Shopworkers grab the dogs in the city of Penza after luring them with cutlets or sausages.

They then spray-paint their shop logo on the animal, reports the Molodoy Leninets newspaper.

Logos include not only the name of the shop but also the goods they stock, including Sony and Camel.

The newspaper says workers of rival stores often catch each other's dogs and repaint them in their own colours.

Local vets say they can't save animals from being painted as it is not illegal. They say it's a question of ethics rather than animal welfare.

*     *     *     *     *

JERUSALEM () - A 91-year-old Israeli died after his caregiver spread a paste-like dishwashing detergent on his bread instead of hummus, police said on Monday.

The caregiver, who had worked for the old man for five years, told police he could not read the Hebrew writing on the detergent's container and served it up when the man asked for some hummus, a chickpea spread popular in the Middle East.

"We are checking to see whether there was criminal intent or whether it was a negligent homicide," a police spokesman said.

Douglas Herrick, 82, Father of the Jackalope, Is Dead

By DOUGLAS MARTIN

New York Times, January 19, 2003
 

People in China are starting to celebrate their New Year.

Celebrations in temples have included performers apparently feeding live snakes through their noses and out of their mouths.

The celebration, also known as the Spring Festival, is determined by the lunar calendar. New Year this year is officially on February 12.

Residents of Beijing have been wearing masks, dressing in costumes and eating German and Thai food as well as listening to jazz at the city's Chaoyang Park, the People's Daily reports.

Local official Yang Weiping said: "The park is expected to have some 300,000 visitors during the Spring Festival holidays. People are excited at the prospects of having something different."

Farmers have been told to put a football, metal chains or hay in their pigsties to provide "environmental enrichment" for their animals.

The ruling, originally from the European Commission and now being passed into law at home, is designed to stop pigs from getting bored and attacking each other.

"(It is) to allow pigs to forage with their snout, which is an important behavioral need," said a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).