APRIL NEWS 2001

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IN AUSTRALIA Sharing e-mail banned by law

FORWARDING an e-mail to friends, family or colleagues without permission from the sender is illegal from today and could result in severe penalties. New laws set out maximum penalties of five years' jail or fines of $60,000. The illegality stems from breaching the copyright held by the person who originally wrote the e-mail.

An estimated five million or more e-mails are forwarded each day around the nation. Attorney-General Daryl Williams QC has warned Australians that they could be breaking the law, if they continue to forward e-mails from today.

"It's quite possible that the forwarding of an e-mail could be a technical infringement of copyright," Mr Williams' legal adviser told The Sunday Telegraph. "E-mailing something is a `communication' under the Digital Agenda Act and so is putting something up on a website."

The new measures cover material which already has copyright protection -- such as excerpts from books or song lyrics -- as well as personal messages. He urged people sending e-mail to spell out whether they gave permission for the content to be forwarded to others.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,1768268%5E421,00.ht ml
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Canada Finds First Case Of 'Mad Deer' Disease In Wild

(Reuters) - 4/8/01 WINNIWINNIPEG, Manitoba - Wildlife officials have confirmed the first case of a mad-cow like disease in a wild deer in western Canada, prompting concerns the brain-wasting illness could wreak the same damage already under way in game farms.

"Unfortunately, from our perspective, we were hoping it wouldn't be found in the wild but it has been confirmed now that one was positive," said Kevin Omoth, a senior analyst in the fish and wildlife branch with Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first detected in an elk on a game farm in Saskatchewan in 1996.

Since 1997, an extensive monitoring program has discovered dozens of confirmed cases in elk on 19 game farms. About 3,000 animals have been destroyed in an attempt to stop the disease from spreading, Omoth said.

CWD has been a major blow to Canada's elk ranching industry, about half of which is in Saskatchewan. The animals are raised for their meat and their antler velvet, which is used in homeopathic remedies and aphrodisiacs, especially in Asia. Korea banned imports of elk antler velvet from Canada last December because of concerns about CWD.

This latest case was found in a wild mule deer shot by a hunter last autumn in southwestern Saskatchewan, near the border of Alberta. Its head was sent to a laboratory for study as part of a government collection program that is testing 1,400 deer brains.

Officials at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency near Ottawa, confirmed the presence of CWD.

CWD belongs to the same family of diseases as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease...

The infected ranch elk in Saskatchewan came from the United States. Canada banned U.S. elk and deer imports in 1990... [Source: http://www.sightings.com/general9/dis.htm ]
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Mad Deer - CO Div Of Wildlife Killing 50% Of Deer Herds In N. Colorado

April 6, 2001 {PRIVATE} I thought you might be interested in this letter we received from the Division of Wildlife. We live in Glacier View where this is all happening. Colorado State University has been experimenting with injecting live deer, pronghorn and elk with Chronic Wasting Disease.

Some may have escaped quarantine and contaminated all of the herds. All hunters are required to cut off the head of their kill, tag it, and place it in a barrel by the side of the road.

DOW is supposed to notify the hunter as to whether the meat is contaminated or not within six weeks. Friends of friends waited six weeks and didn't hear...ate the meat...only to find out after 8 weeks that the meat was contaminated (with Mad Deer/CWD). We are attending the meeting on Saturday. See Division of Wildlife letter: http://www.sightings.com/general9/killd.htm

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Cattle Disease Poses Threat to Run Wild, U.S. Finds

Europe's Open Borders and Foot-and-Mouth Disease

NEW YORK TIMES - Elizabeth Becker - WASHINGTON, April 16 — The first comprehensive exercise about how the nation would contain foot- and-mouth disease showed that an outbreak could be stopped only with the combined strength of all federal disaster agencies, including the military, Agriculture Department officials have said.

After decades of relying largely on state and local governments to help contain animal diseases, the Department of Agriculture asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan to combat this one as forcefully as if it threatened human lives, said Clifford Oliver, director of the Agriculture Department's office of crisis planning.

"We were coming to the realization that state and local government would be overwhelmed and the U.S.D.A. would be overwhelmed if foot-and-mouth broke out," Mr. Oliver said.

With Britain, one of the most advanced agricultural nations, enduring an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease and British troops belatedly called in for mass burials of hundreds of thousands of slaughtered animals, American farmers and ranchers began lobbying their state agriculture chiefs for better planning. Those officials recently urged Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman to find out what the rest of the government could do to contain an outbreak.

The federal Catastrophic Disaster Response Group, which normally worries about bioterrorism or industrial disasters, organized the tabletop exercise for the Agriculture Department on Wednesday, bringing together representatives of 26 agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Interior, Energy and Health and Human Services, Mr. Oliver said.

The exercise confirmed fears that without the entire government working to contain it, the disease would spread like wildfire if it ever reached this country.

"They made it very very clear in the first 15 minutes of the exercise that the possibility of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease is very real and we need to be better prepared," said a participant who would not allow his name to be used.

Mr. Oliver said, "For the first time we asked this group to look at a biological event that doesn't affect humans, only animals."

The situation was played out like a military war game, with agency representatives acting out how they would react if foot-and-mouth broke out in Iowa. Participants said that the computer-generated model could not be controlled and that the disease spread to three states within 60 days, requiring 50,000 people to contain it.

The virus that causes the disease could pass through the intestines of birds feeding on the carcasses of dead animals. When those birds fly to adjoining farms, they could spread the disease through their feces, far ahead of containment efforts, the exercise showed.

With the explosion of world trade making the spread of the disease to this country more likely and with the routine movement of animals around the nation making the containment more difficult, several participants said the exercise showed how an outbreak here could quickly become a national emergency.

"You would see the National Guard called out to kill thousands of animals in the first days and deployed to control traffic and keep thousands of people out of the area," another participant said.

A representative from the United States Geological Survey was especially troubled by questions about how wildlife like deer, bison and wild pigs would be treated if they roamed near the infected areas.

"If the disease infected a herd of white tail deer in the state of Virginia, would they be slaughtered, too?" the representative asked. [Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/17/national/17FOOT.html ]
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Suicide ship to cruise globe
By SASHA BASKETT

April 9, 2001 - A SHIP anchored off the Australian coast to perform voluntary
euthanasia would also travel the world delivering death.

http://heraldsun.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,1877985%255E662,00.html

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Spy photos show Beijing set for underground test

Washington Times - Mon Apr 9,2001 -- China is preparing to conduct a small, underground nuclear test in the midst of a standoff with the United States over the detention of 24 American military personnel, The Washington Times has learned. U.S. intelligence officials said the EP-3E surveillance aircraft that collided with a Chinese interceptor jet April 1 was gathering electronic intelligence related to the impending test, along with other intelligence targets.

The test preparations were detected two weeks ago at China's Lop Nur testing facility in western Xinjiang province. They were based on U.S. spy satellite photographs that showed activity related to nuclear testing at one location of the testing site. One official said the underground blast could be another in a series of "subcritical" nuclear tests — small explosions that do not produce an actual nuclear yield but are useful in weapons development and maintenance. However, other officials familiar with intelligence reports said the Chinese are known to have a covert testing program that relies on small, or low-yield, nuclear explosions.

In 1996, China became a signatory to an international treaty banning all underground nuclear blasts. U.S. intelligence officials said suspicions about the secret Chinese nuclear testing program were confirmed after agents from Beijing purchased special nuclear containment equipment from Russia several years ago. The special equipment is known to be used in masking the seismic signatures of nuclear explosions — like the small blast China set off June 1999, days before a senior U.S. diplomat delivered an apology to Beijing for the mistaken bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, during the air war there.
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Unification Church leader finds many fans in North Carolina

Religion Today - Mon Apr 9,2001 -- The Rev. Sun Myung Moon had many members of a large crowd shouting words of agreement as he stressed the need for families led by men, and a rainbow family of mankind led by God, in his sermon on April 2 in Winston-Salem, N.C., part of a 50-state, 51-day "We Will Stand" tour.

Moon, 81, established the Unification Church in his native Korea in the 1950s. The church, which scholars say mixes Christianity and Buddhist ideas, is known for conducting mass arranged marriages. Moon also stressed the family of mankind. "We have to tear down the boundaries among religions ... so that we can build one grand family under God." ... The Rev. Stanley Gravely of the Church of Faith, Hope and Love in Kernersville, said, "I see a message of love, a message of hope ... I see a quest for world peace. If this is a cult, then I'm proud to be a part of the cult of love that stands for true unity."

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Catholic Church reaches out to gays

Religion Today - Apr 9,2001 -- In an effort to make its parishes more "open and welcoming" to homosexuals, a growing number of U.S. dioceses have established a ministry for gay and lesbian Catholics. But the ministry has not been easy. "It is rejected on the one hand, by people who don't want us to welcome homosexuals into our midst," said Auxiliary Bishop Carl Moeddel of the Cincinnati Diocese. "On the other hand, it's rejected by homosexuals themselves, who don't think the church goes far enough in its teaching."

One of the difficulties, Moeddel said, is helping people understand the church's teaching on homosexuality: that the homosexual orientation, in and of itself, is not wrong, but that homosexual sex is. "The church calls the homosexual person to be chaste" the same way it calls heterosexuals to be chaste, Moeddel said. Sexual relations, however, can be blessed only when they are between a married man and woman.

Church teaching also stresses the inherent dignity and worth of homosexuals, he said. "There is no moral guilt in being homosexual, and so the church's job is to help homosexuals live chaste lives." Homosexuals are encouraged to receive the sacraments and participate in church life, so long as they abide by church teaching.

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Crusade to 'cure' gays was wrong, says founder

Electronic Telegraph Apr 9,2001 -- An evangelical Christian charity founded to "heal" homosexuals has declared that its mission was wrong and that same-sex love is "God-given". The charity, Courage Trust, is expected to be expelled from the Evangelical Alliance as a result of its change of direction. The trust's founder, Jeremy Marks, 48, announced his change of heart in this month's issue of Lesbian and Gay Christians which he once regarded as enemy territory. Mr Marks, who has admitted to gay inclinations but married "for companionship" 10 years ago, admitted he had been wrong in believing homosexuality "was not of God" and could be healed.

He wrote: "I have come to the conclusion that we have been quite wrong to dismiss all same-sex love (other than platonic) as sinful." The charity, founded in 1990 and based in High Wycombe, Bucks, used to run residential courses in "safe houses" with sessions of healing prayer and counselling. The charity now holds weekly meetings in London for about 150 men.

Courage used to teach that man was made in God's image and was "naturally heterosexual". Members prayed to reach the "wholeness" of heterosexuality. Mr Marks said: "For the gay or lesbian Christian, there was only one view to take - homosexuality is not of God. The practising homosexual had to repent and stop it."
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100,000 in city are possessed by the devil

NewspaperA serious Croatian Newspaper claims around 100,000 people in Zagreb are possessed by the devil.
Vecernji, which usually concentrates on politics, says the Catholic church is desperately looking for exorcists.

Quoting an unnamed clairvoyant and a satanic magazine, it warns that 3,000 Satanists will meet later this month and ask the devil to appear. The paper is advising readers who think they're possessed to see a priest and "make a thorough confession and regret their sins" before they consult a doctor. It lists symptoms of possession as nausea and tiredness.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_220323.html
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Astrophysics Challenged By Dark Energy Finding

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/darkenergy_folo_010410.html?Enews=y
A strange repulsive force of "dark energy" pervades every nook and cranny of the universe, a team of scientists said earlier this month, but the force not only pushes against the master force of gravity -- it also has astrophysicists' heads spinning.
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'Dog tag' gets whole new meaning California bill requires microchip for pets, permits for animal sales

WorldNetDaily.com by Julie Foster © 2001 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. --April 11, 2001 - Pet owners in California will soon be required to place a microchip in every dog and cat they sell, as well as obtain a permit for each animal to be sold, if a bill in the state legislature becomes law.

Senate Bill 236 by Sen. Jack O'Connell, D-Santa Barbara, would require anyone who wants to sell a dog or cat under 1-year-old to obtain a permit for an unspecified fee per animal from the local animal services agency. The permit would need to be obtained before advertising any such sale, and all ads would have to include the permit number.

Additionally, the bill provides that every time a dog or cat is sold in California, regardless of the animal's age, it must be "microchipped" and the owner's identification entered into a local or national registry. And every time ownership of the animal is transferred, the new owner's information must be reported to the registry. Local officials would be charged with maintaining records regarding the number and type of dogs and cats sold, and the records would be open to the public, excluding owner- and former owner-contact information.

The bill is sponsored by Richard McLellan, M.D., of the Animal Legislative Action Network, a political action committee that supports animal-rights proposals... The bill would help create a paper or electronic trail for animals. SB 236 is scheduled for a hearing on April 17 in California's Senate Judiciary Committee.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=22366
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Afghan Taliban warn of locust plague

10 April, 2001 - The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have appealed to the United Nations and to neighbouring countries for help in combatting a potential plague of locusts. Millions of the insects' larvae have been found in seven northern provinces. Taliban officials say years of drought have forced the locusts to move from mountain and desert regions to agricultural areas. They warn that once the locusts start flying the situation will be out of control.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1270000/1270181.stm
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Astronomers Map Inhabitable Galactic Zone

http://www.cosmiverse.com/space04110104.html
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CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS & JEWS ALL SEE THE LIGHT

Daily World Affairs Report - 4/11/01 - Christians, Muslims and Jews have similar religious experiences in which they describe intense light and a sense of encompassing love. Research at the University of Wales, Lampeter has detected a "common core" to experiences which crosses boundaries of culture and faith. Implications for inter-faith relations are significant as it suggests people share a common spirituality regardless of religious affiliations.

The research, which is still in progress, is being funded by the Alister Hardy Trust. Accounts of 6,000 religious experiences have been collected by the trust since 1969 from people of all ages and backgrounds. About 1,000 refer to light. A religious experience is defined by the trust as "an experience of a presence or power, whether you call it God or not, different from yourself".

Christians described the light as an encounter with Jesus or an angel and Muslims also often interpreted it as an angel. Jews described it as a sign of insight or an experience of God. Some people describe an intensification of natural light, others a light which enters the room and some describe being enveloped or filled with light. Most people are alone when they have an experience but there are accounts in the archives of people witnessing the same light. (The London Telegraph)
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Jerusalem as Jesus saw it

Time Magazine article - 4/12/01: http://www.time.com/time/2001/jerusalem/
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Yahoo reversed it's position !

 

4/13/01 Email list owner was in a bit of a quandary regarding the recent story that yahoo was going to add porn to their shopping service.

But Yahoo, after receiving negative feedback, has reversed it's decision. News story can be found at this URL: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010413/tc/yahoo_porn_2.html

Thanks Joel! That was a fast answer to prayer!
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Church torn by ultimatum over tithing

Boston Globe by Kathleen Burge - 4/16/2001 - ''Please be advised,'' her letter begins, ''that you are in default in the payment of tithes to the Holy Tabernacle Church of God in Christ Inc., for a period in excess of 90 days.'' If the money isn't paid, the letter warns, ''all privileges of membership in the Church will be immediately suspended....''

''My spirit just kind of broke,'' said Sandra Smith Cosby, a daughter of the church's founder who received the letter last month. ''Our job is to bring people in, not kick people out.'' The letter was the latest skirmish in an ugly power struggle at the place known as Holy Tab, a Dorchester Pentecostal church whose Web site displays a drawing of a dove and a Bible verse about the blessings of unity.

...the church's only pastor until his sudden death last year left the congregation in turmoil. Now, some members, disgruntled with the church's new leadership, hope that a judge can settle problems that prayer, so far, hasn't. Cosby and about 70 other congregants filed a lawsuit against their church earlier this year, contending that they were denied a voice in choosing a new pastor and prohibited from seeing the church's financial records.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/106/metro/Church_torn_by_ultimatum_over_ti thing+.shtml
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New California state regulations mandate pro-homosexual curriculum

Weekend News Today - Sun Apr 15,2001 -- The California Department of Education's Tax Force has finalized twelve pro-homosexual recommended mandates for public schools to follow. These recommended mandates include:

* Integrating pro-homosexual viewpoints throughout all public school curriculum * Requiring the personal questioning of children regarding homosexuality and transsexuals * Using taxpayer dollars to establish "gay/straight alliances" on campuses * Establish a response system whose purpose will be to "provide rehabilitation to perpetrators" of discrimination against homosexuals and transsexuals * Required training of every public school teacher and staff member on how to implement these regulations.

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