Exhuming the Truth
BY RON RUSSELL
New Times L.A.
http://www.newtimesla.com/issues/2001-11-29/faultlines.html/1/index.html
"For years the Self-Realization Fellowship wanted to disinter the body of
its founder, Eastern holy man Paramahansa Yogananda, from a crypt at Forest
Lawn Glendale and place it in a shrine to be built at the religion's
headquarters atop Mount Washington."
Peace, Love, and Misunderstandings
BY MARK ATHITAKIS
SF Weekly
http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2001-11-28/bayview.html/1/index.html
"The last two months haven't been easy for Faustin Bray. Bray is a
self-proclaimed "profound seeker," and she's recently lost her guide."
Benin alert over 'penis theft' panic
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1678000/1678996.stm
"The authorities in Benin have ordered security forces to curb violence in
the commercial capital, Cotonou, following the deaths of five people by
vigilantes."
Do you see dead people?
By J.D. MULLANE
Bucks County Courier Times
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/1128dead.htm
"Edie Weinstein-Moser examined her dead husband's wristwatch, which had
just been pulled from the branch of a withered evergreen tree."
'Witchcraft' Murders Cast A Gruesome Spell
By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25297-2001Nov27.html
"In his mind's eye, the image of what Jose Antonio Serra saw in a burned
patch of jungle on the Amazon's edge is still chillingly fresh -- not
because the murder happened just seven weeks ago, but because there are
some things a father can never forget."
New age practices to appear on mainstream TV
The Guardian [UK]
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,608329,00.html
"The strict rules restricting the TV coverage of yoga, homeopathy and
reflexology are to be relaxed as their popularity grows through the
endorsement of celebrities such as Madonna, Geri Halliwell and Sting."
We know where you bin hiding!
Bexley News Shopper
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/local_london/news/weird/2001/november/ed01281\
101.html
"Two spiritualists could have given the world another clue to where terror
chief Osama bin Laden is hiding."
Will 'It' Finally Be Revealed?
By Farhad Manjoo
Wired
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,48703,00.html
"Remember "Ginger," the supposedly earth-shattering Mystery Thing that
inventor Dean Kamen was rumored to have been working on earlier this year,
back in happier times? Well, the enigmatic Ginger -- also called "It" --
will soon be unveiled ... maybe."
Anthrax Hoaxer On Most-wanted List
By KAREN GULLO
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011129/ts/anthrax_fugitives_3.html
"Clayton Lee Waagner, one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives, is a suspect
in a string of anthrax hoax letters sent to abortion clinics, Attorney
General John Ashcroft announced Thursday."
Town sees mass meditation as way to world peace
By Julie Deardorff
Chicago Tribune
http://chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0111280288nov28.story?coll=chi%2D\
newsnationworld%2Dhed
"Even before terrorist attacks stunned the nation, the people in this town
were diligently working for world peace. Here, every new home sprouting
from former corn and soybean fields faces east for enlightenment and
harmony. Every resident practices transcendental meditation for inner
serenity and "unbounded awareness.""
Trio accused of five killings wanted to start self-awareness program
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20011127-1219-ca-musiciansdaughter.html
"A trio accused of killing five people, including the daughter of blues
guitarist Elvin Bishop, wanted to bring truth to the world through a
self-awareness program, prosecutors say."
UFO sinks fishing boat
Yachting Monthly
http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/auto/newsdesk/20011027164136ymnews.html
"The Portsmouth-registered fishing boat 'Fin Ar Bed' struck an unidentified
floating object shortly before 1130 yesterday morning, holing so badly that
the three crew were forced to abandon ship and take to the liferaft. The
vessel sank within 45 minutes of the collision."
Mavericks claim creation of many cloned human embryos
by Andy Coghlan
New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991612
"Mavericks aiming to produce the first cloned person have claimed they are
already a step or two ahead of Advanced Cell Technology, the
Massachusetts-based company that announced on Sunday it had created cloned
human embryos."
Deadly AUM cult in new software venture and Russia chapter
Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=172153
"The AUM Shinrikyo religious group, accused of being responsible for the
1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, has started a software development firm
and resumed ties with followers in Russia, AUM members said Tuesday."
Japan cult 'to compensate victims'
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1678000/1678633.stm
"Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult, which was behind the deadly 1995 Tokyo subway
gas attack, says it has set up a computer business to compensate its victims."
Harry Potter banned in some school districts
By Eric Bradley
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_1614528.shtml
"It comes as a surprise to local teachers that Harry Potter, a character
who has encouraged thousands of area children to read, is one of the most
hated figures in recent literary history."
Unearthed: the 1936 film that first launched Nessie mania
by MEG MILNE
Scotland on Sunday
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/news.cfm?id=SS01045931&keyword=ness
"THE grainy black and white images of a dark blob moving slowly across grey
water was hailed in cinemas across Britain as final 'proof' of the Loch
Ness monster's existence and sparked nationwide Nessie mania that has
continued until this day."
Camp for Nude Witches Fights Closing
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011128/od/kansas_dc_1.html
"A Kansas retreat that caters to witches and pagan rituals is fighting for
survival amid community talk that naked witches may be weaving magical
spells in the moonlight."
Consumer Health Digest #01-48
Your Weekly Update of News and Reviews
November 26, 2001
Current # of subscribers: 3,980
Vitamin cartels heavily fined. The European Commission has fined eight
companies a total of 855.22 million euros (about US$755 million) for
participating in secret market-sharing and price-fixing cartels affecting
vitamin products between September 1989 and February 1999. The Commission's
investigation, which began in May 1999, found that 13 companies
participated in eight cartels aimed at eliminating competition in the
markets for vitamin A, E, B1, B2, B5, B6, C, D3, biotin, folic acid, beta
carotene, and carotenoids. Hoffmann-La Roche and BASF, the two main vitamin
producers, participated in virtually every cartel, whereas the rest were
involved with fewer products. According to the Commission:
"The prime mover and main beneficiary of these schemes was Hoffmann-La
Roche, the largest vitamin producer in the world, with some 50% of the
overall market. The cartel arrangements covered its full range of vitamin
products. The involvement of some of its most senior executives tends to
confirm that the arrangements were part of a strategic plan conceived at
the highest levels to control the world market in vitamins by illegal
means." [European Commission imposes fines on vitamin cartels. News
release, Nov 21, 2001]"
Commenting on the case, Competition Commissioner Mario Monti stated: "The
companies' collusive behavior enabled them to charge higher prices than if
the full forces of competition had been at play, damaging consumers and
allowing the companies to pocket illicit profits. It is particularly
unacceptable that this illegal behavior concerned substances which are
vital elements for nutrition and essential for normal growth and
maintenance of life." The fines were imposed as follows:
*F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland): 462 million euros
*BASF AG (Germany): 296.16 million euros
*Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd (Japan): 37.05 million euros
*Aventis SA (France): 5.04 million euros
*Solvay Pharmaceuticals BV (Netherlands): 9.10 million euros
*Merck KgaA (Germany): 9.24 million euros
*Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (Japan): 23.4 million euros
*Eisai Co Ltd (Japan): 13.23 million euros
The five remaining companies -- Lonza AG (Germany), Kongo Chemical Co Ltd
(Japan), Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd (Japan), Sumika Fine Chemicals Ltd
(Japan) and Tanabe Saiyaku Co Ltd (Japan) -- were not fined because the
cartels in which they were involved ended five years or more before the
Commission opened its investigation. The cartels related to B1 and B6
escaped for the same reason. In 1999, three of the companies pleaded guilty
in the United States to similar anticompetitive conduct and paid heavy
fines (US$500 million for Hoffmann-La Roche, US$225 million for BASF, and
US$72 million for Takeda).
###
Philip Morris to change name. Philip Morris, which owns one of the world's
most recognizable corporate names, has announced plans to change its name
to Altria Group next year if its stockholders approve. [Schwartz S. Philip
Morris to change name to Altria. New York Times, Nov 16, 2001] The apparent
purpose is to suggest to consumers (and investors) that the company, which
owns Kraft Foods and Miller Brewing, has become a good corporate citizen
and is not just a cigarette-maker whose best-known product is a leading
cause of preventable death and disease. Press reports note that "Altria" is
drawn from the Latin word "altus," meaning "high" and is supposed to
suggest high performance. Noting this monumental event, SatireWire has
announced that lung cancer will change its name to Phillip Morris to gain
greater exposure. [Philip Morris to change name to Altria; Lung cancer to
change name to Philip Morris: Rebranded disease gains universal negative
brand imagery. SatireWire Web site, Nov 20, 2001]
http://www.satirewire.com/news/0111/altria.shtml
###
FDA warns against Lipokinetix. The U.S. Food and Drug Administraiton has
warned consumers not to use Lipokinetix, marketed a "dietary supplement" by
Syntrax Innovations, Inc., of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, because the agency
has received at least six reports of users who developed liver injury or
liver failure. [FDA Warns Consumers Not to Use the Dietary Supplement
Lipokinetix. FDA Talk Paper T01-59, Nov 20, 2001]
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01120.html The product has
been claimed to produce weight loss by "mimicking exercise" and supporting
"an increased metabolic rate." Its ingredients include norephedrine (also
known as phenylpropanolamine or PPA), caffeine, yohimbine, diiodothyronine,
and sodium usniate. The reported problems occurred in persons between 20
and 32 years of age between 2 weeks and 3 months of Lipokinetix use. The
FDA also advised physicians to review their cases of hepatitis to determine
whether any are related to use of the product. Sale of the product appears
to have stopped.
###
FDA Web site highly rated. A study released by Brown University's Taubman
Center for Public Policy has rated the FDA's Web site (http://www.fda.gov)
best among the the 59 federal sites it examined. The project evaluated
whether needed information was available on sites and if average citizens
could easily find this information. Sites were graded on factors such as
presence of contact information, availability of online publications,
online services provided, and whether the sites included "one-stop
shopping" portal pages with links to government services. [West DM. State
and Federal E-Government in the United States, Sept. 2001]
http://www.insidepolitics.org/egovt01us.html
###
Antiquackery book bargain. In "Lying for Fun and Profit," Kurt Butler
reveals how talk shows and other media outlets promote quackery without the
slightest concern about whether or not they harm their audience. He also
describes his many efforts to counter the problem. The book originally
marketed for $19.95, is now available from Quackwatch (P.O. Box 1747,
Allentown, PA 18105) for $6 plus $3 for postage and handling.
###
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by Stephen
Barrett, M.D., and cosponsored by NCAHF and Quackwatch. It summarizes
scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news
reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and
other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer
decision-making. Other issues of the Digest are archived at
http://www.ncahf.org/digest/index.html. For information about the National
Council Against Health Fraud, see http://www.ncahf.org/about/mission.html.
If you enjoy the newsletter, please recommend it to your friends.
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Board Chairman, Quackwatch, Inc.
NCAHF Vice President and Director of Internet Operations
P.O. Box 1747, Allentown, PA 18105
Telephone: (610) 437-1795
URL#1: http://www.quackwatch.com
URL#2: http://www.chirobase.org
URL#3: http://www.homeowatch.org
URL#4: http://www.ihealthpilot.org (under construction)
URL#5: http://www.mlmwatch.org
URL#6: http://www.nutriwatch.org
URL#7: http://www.ncahf.org
URL#8: http://www.chsourcebook.com
Editor, Consumer Health Digest http://www.ncahf.org/digest/chd.html
Weekly column: http://www.canoe.ca/HealthAlternative/home.html
Donations of $1 to $50 to help support Quackwatch can be made through
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T1X6GUTTCLU3T4
Saints lift curse of St Mary's
By John Ley
The Telegraph [UK]
http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;$sessionid$NNJB0CAAAAL3BQFIQMG\
CFGGAVCBQUIV0?xml=/sport/2001/11/25/sfnsou26.xml&sSheet=/sport/2001/11/25/ixfoot\
y.html
"SOUTHAMPTON plan to display archaeological finds discovered on the site of
their newly built stadium. Alongside the gold ring, swords and hairbrushes,
they may decide to show other exhibits such as T-shirts, proclaiming this
first ever victory at St Mary's Stadium."
South Africans protest baby rapes
Reuters
http://www.msnbc.com/news/662878.asp
"Thousands of South African men, women and children took to the city’s
streets Sunday to protest an apparent surge in baby rapes. The crime-weary
nation was still reeling from the alleged rape of a nine-month-old girl by
six men earlier this month, when it was shocked by reports this weekend of
the rape of another eight-month-old baby."
Child abuse incidents disgust Mbeki
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/853315.htm
"President Thabo Mbeki was disgusted by the recent spate of child abuse
incidents, including the weekend rapes of an eight-month old baby in Cape
Town and a two-year-old in Port Nolloth, the presidency said earlier today."
I admit it; all of you were right all along
By JAN GLIDEWELL
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/News/112601/Columns/I_admit_it_all_of_you.shtml
"It's amazing, at least to me, how many things I have gotten wrong lately,
but it is time to set the record straight."
'Pyramidiot' earning new accolades
By Dana Bartholomew
Daily News Los Angeles
http://www.dailynews.com/news/articles/1101/26/new05.asp
"A business consultant deemed a "pyramidiot" by Egyptologists for
suggesting the world's pyramids were built by wind power has won worldwide
recognition."
No Bucks Without ET
by Bruce Moomaw
SpaceDaily
http://www.spacer.com/news/decadal-01b.html
"Other than finding out that the current outer planets program is
effectively dead in the water, planetar scientists who gathered Nov 14-16
in Irvine to map out the best plan for the next 10 years for NASA's Solar
System exploration program saw discussions center around three critical
themes - astrobiology, the need for more terrestrial studies, and the need
to start a new line of "Medium-class" planetary missions midway in cost
between the small Discovery missions and the billion-dollar behemoths NASA
has been fond of in its earlier space science plans."
Psychics accused of conning customers
Associated Press
http://www.wkyc.com/news/morelocal/cleveland/011124psychic.ssf
"A family of psychic shop operators is accused of swindling thousands of
dollars from customers hoping to better their luck."
Academy's 'tough love' called abuse
By Jim Suhr
Associated Press
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=788412&pic=none&TP=getarticle
"Before his parents shipped him off to the Heartland Christian Academy,
16-year-old Tim Hans was struggling in school and messing with drugs and
the occult."
Minister complains about Harry Potter to school
By JOE PATTON
Tullahoma News
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2685652&BRD=1614&PAG=461&dept_id=16105\
2&rfi=6
"Children attending city schools in Tullahoma do not have to participate in
classroom discussions or readings about "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone" or other works they or their parents find objectionable on moral or
religious grounds."
Out in the wilderness, the legends are growing
by Tom Stienstra
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/11/25/SP1185\
07.DTL
"Two of the biggest outdoors stories of the year likely will never be
broken open. A code of silence has been sworn by those who could verify the
accounts."
Ghostly tales draw tourists to Calif. towns
Associated Press
http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.ghosts25nov25.story?coll=bal%2Dna\
tionworld%2Dheadlines
"When guests ask for Room 7 at the Hotel Leger in the old gold mining town
of Mokelumne Hill, owner Mark Jennings knows they've heard the legend: a
rocking chair with a mind of its own, phantom footsteps in the hall,
apparitions in a mirror."
The liars club
by Benjamin Errett
Saturday Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/arts/books/story.html?f=/stories/20011124/7\
99098.html
"Swindling is more common than you might think, as a recent spate of books
on the subject makes clear. Take the Argentinian tourist in The Art of the
Steal by Frank W. Abagnale (Random House, $37.95), who double-parked his
rental car in Miami and was fined $20. The man sent $22 in cash to the city
clerk; instead of returning the man's two $1 bills, the city sent him back
a $2 cheque. The man scanned it into his computer, touched it up, and soon
it was a cheque for $1.45-million. He deposited it in an Argentinian bank."
Singer's 'Motherland' eerily predicted Sept. 11
by Aidin Vaziri
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/11/25/PK9596\
2.DTL&type=music
"Nobody is claiming Natalie Merchant, 37, is the new Nostradamus, but even
her most determined critics are having a hard time discounting the
prophesies on her latest release, "Motherland," and the events surrounding
its arrival."
When stars align
By Steve Rosenbloom
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagosports.com/bears/content/story/0,1984,168449,00.html
"Maybe you didn't see this improbable season coming from the Bears. Maybe
the rest of the NFL didn't see this inexplicable 7-2 record coming either.
Maybe not even the Bears themselves foresaw the wild way in which they have
shot to the top of the NFC Central."
Handwriting expert to share insights in lecture
By RAY WADDLE
The Tennessean
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/11/10812923.shtml?Element_ID=1081292\
3
"When Roxanne Perri sees the proverbial handwriting on the wall, chances
are she's looking for the spirituality behind the scrawl."
State attorney general: Avoid online cure-alls
by PETER WONG
Statesman Journal [Salem, OR]
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=33668
"Attorney General Hardy Myers is warning against Internet promoters of
products that purport to offer protection against anthrax and other
biological and chemical threats."
Putting stock in mystical powers
by Brian Albrecht
Cleveland Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard\
.xsl?/base/cuyahoga/10065978201758544.xml
"The shelves are scented with the whiff of dragon's blood, licked by the
flames of potential passion, slick with the sheen of fast money, dripping
with the molten wax of hot luck, smoldering with the smoke of spiritual
enlightenment."
Potter 'witchcraft' in school ban
Australian Associated Press
http://www.theage.com.au/news/state/2001/11/24/FFXCW9YTCUC.html
"Harry Potter novels have been banned from a Melbourne Seventh Day
Adventist primary school because they "promote" witchcraft and the
supernatural."
Ian Wilson: When mystery drowns history
By Peter Stanford
The Independent [UK]
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/interviews/story.jsp?story=106512
"Ian Wilson, 60, was raised in Bristol and was working in marketing at the
Bristol Evening Post in 1978 when he translated his private interest in the
Turin Shroud into an international bestseller."
Apocalyptic Theology Revitalized by Attacks
By KEVIN SACK
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/national/23THEO.html?ex=1007269200&en=8da16acc\
d25fce2d&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER
"Aaron M. Hopper, a 23-year-old middle-school teacher, was scanning the
bookshelves of the Family Christian Store in Gainesville, Ga., today when a
new paperback caught his attention."
COURTNEY, YOU'RE PROPHETIC!
NME
http://195.246.98.28/NME/External/News/News_Story/0,1004,50805,00.html
"COURTNEY LOVE has exclusively told NME that she foresaw the terrorist
attack on the WORLD TRADE CENTER and wrote a song about it before September
11."
Poof! Harry's back on shelf - fantasy, themes enchant pastor
By Jacinthia Jones
The Commercial Appeal [Memphis, TN]
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_883050,00.html
"Harry Potter books are back on the library shelves at Holy Rosary School."
Aztalan's past fuels paranormal present
by Tiffany Drake
OnMilwaukee.com
http://www.onmilwaukee.com/info/articles/aztalan.html
"Cannibalism and ritual sacrifice aren't just native to TV shows like the
"X-Files." They're native to Wisconsin's history, too."
P.E.I.'s mysterious blue and white drops are ...
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/11/23/mystery_droplets01\
1123
"Scientists in Prince Edward Island are trying to get to the bottom of an
environmental mystery after dozens of homeowners found blue and white
droplets on their vehicles and plants this summer."
Indian magicians fear for future
By Habib Beary
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1672000/1672541.stm
"A three-day international magicians' conference has begun in the
pilgrimage town of Udupi in the southern Indian State of Karnataka."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch
Fury at 'sick' Gyde House flat sale gimmick
Gloucestershire Echo
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/scripts/edarchdisplay.asp?section=Local%2\
Bnews&ID=136740&source=E&s=archives&area=News&opensect=
"Former residents of Gyde House orphanage have condemned developers who
claimed the home was haunted by abused children in a sales pitch for plush
new apartments."
Vicar Bans Yoga Class From Church Hall
Reuters
http://news.excite.com/news/r/011123/07/odd-yoga-dc
"A British vicar has banned yoga classes from his church hall because he
fears they could encourage the growth of Eastern mysticism and lead his
flock away from Christian teaching."
Cult Says It Was First to Clone Embryos
By Robert Melnbardis
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011127/od/cult_dc_1.html
"A U.S. company's claim to have cloned a human embryo is simply a case of
``been there, done that'' for a Canadian UFO cult linked to a secretive
cloning company, the movement's leader said on Monday."
Trembling work of art
by Arnfinn Mauren
Aftenposten
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=233731
"The day that the bombing of Afghanistan began, a monument in Hareid,
Sunnmøre began to tremble. One of the three arrowheads shakes mysteriously
from time to time, and no one can explain it."
South Africans protest baby rapes
Reuters
http://www.msnbc.com/news/662878.asp
"Thousands of South African men, women and children took to the city's
streets Sunday to protest an apparent surge in baby rapes. The crime-weary
nation was still reeling from the alleged rape of a nine-month-old girl by
six men earlier this month, when it was shocked by reports this weekend of
the rape of another eight-month-old baby."
Child abuse incidents disgust Mbeki
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/853315.htm
"President Thabo Mbeki was disgusted by the recent spate of child abuse
incidents, including the weekend rapes of an eight-month old baby in Cape
Town and a two-year-old in Port Nolloth, the presidency said earlier today."
Group seeks to form passenger militia
Associated Press
http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/local/1006745614.shtml
"In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Don Detrich is on a mission to keep
airline travel a little safer."
Out in the wilderness, the legends are growing
by Tom Stienstra
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/11/25/SP1185\
07.DTL
"Two of the biggest outdoors stories of the year likely will never be
broken open. A code of silence has been sworn by those who could verify the
accounts."
The liars club
by Benjamin Errett
Saturday Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/arts/books/story.html?f=/stories/20011124/7\
99098.html
"Swindling is more common than you might think, as a recent spate of books
on the subject makes clear. Take the Argentinian tourist in The Art of the
Steal by Frank W. Abagnale (Random House, $37.95), who double-parked his
rental car in Miami and was fined $20. The man sent $22 in cash to the city
clerk; instead of returning the man's two $1 bills, the city sent him back
a $2 cheque. The man scanned it into his computer, touched it up, and soon
it was a cheque for $1.45-million. He deposited it in an Argentinian bank."
Singer's 'Motherland' eerily predicted Sept. 11
by Aidin Vaziri
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2001/11/25/PK9596\
2.DTL&type=music
"Nobody is claiming Natalie Merchant, 37, is the new Nostradamus, but even
her most determined critics are having a hard time discounting the
prophesies on her latest release, "Motherland," and the events surrounding
its arrival."
Book tackles myths about New England
Associated Press
http://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/books/11/22/thxgiving.new.england.ap/index.html
"Pilgrims and Indians feasting together at the first Thanksgiving 380 years
ago is a cherished image of New England and accepted fact in the holiday's
origins."
Fury at 'sick' Gyde House flat sale gimmick
Gloucestershire Echo
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/scripts/edarchdisplay.asp?section=Local%2\
Bnews&ID=136740&source=E&s=archives&area=News&opensect=
"Former residents of Gyde House orphanage have condemned developers who
claimed the home was haunted by abused children in a sales pitch for plush
new apartments."
Tycoon Loses $63,000 After Buying Sand From Conmen
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011127/od/conmen_dc_1.html
"A German business tycoon duped by conmen in Kenya lost around five million
shillings ($63,270) after the ``gold'' he bought turned out to be 350 kg of
sand, a Kenyan paper said Tuesday."
The Word Detective
Issue of November 27, 2001
http://www.word-detective.com/current.html
Teacher fooled the Saltire Society
by John Ross and Nick Drainey
The Scotsman
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=124695
"A SENIOR teacher at one of Scotland's top fee-paying schools has resigned
suddenly from a leading cultural body after allegations that he invented a
colourful "Walter Mitty" background."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch
Growers fight myth of poison plant
Georgetown Times
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2677946&BRD=2081&PAG=461&dept_id=38521\
0&rfi=6
"Poinsettias are not poisonous. For nearly eight decades, this rumor has
continued to circulate because of one unfounded story in 1919: that an Army
officer's 2-year-old child allegedly died after eating a poinsettia leaf."
All Your Tourist Guy Are Belong To Us
http://www.iconsofindustry.org/touristguy/flash/
Rumors, Theories Fill Void In Anthrax Case
By DAVE ALTIMARI And LORETTA WALDMAN
Hartford Courant
http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-anthraxtips.artnov25.story
"It was Halloween night when Thomas and Suzanne DeRosa's children came home
talking about a man in a white lab coat handing out little bags of peanuts
from American Airlines as treats."
Seahenge should 'not be reburied'
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1664000/1664196.stm
"A Bronze Age timber circle discovered on a Norfolk beach should be
conserved rather than returned to its original site, says English Heritage."
Prophet sounds as if he came from another planet
by Dennis Roddy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20011117roddy1117p5.asp
"Every religion begins as a blasphemy against its predecessors, and Claude
Vorilhon is off to a great start."
THE NAZIS ARE COMING! THE NAZIS ARE COMING!
by Katia Dunn
Portland Mercury
http://www.portlandmercury.com/2001-11-22/city.html
"Every Thursday night, a popular tavern in East Portland pulls in a
familiar crowd--many are locals from the neighborhood. But three weeks ago,
the hiphop music drew in the wrong crowd: According to witnesses, seven
alleged Neo-Nazis--four men and three women--stormed into the low-lit bar."
Jay and Silent Yobs Strike Back
by Max Sparber
Twin City Pages
http://www.citypages.com/databank/22/1094/article9970.asp
""Ingesters of stones, stoats, and swords have long compelled my attention
and motivated m to wield my pen," writes Ricky Jay. This line, typical in
its pseudo-scholarly tone and near-Victorian diction, is the opening to an
essay titled "The Ultimate Diet: The Art and Artifice of Fasting," which
includes the odd story of one Bernard Cavanagh. In September of 1841,
Cavanagh had just been confined to a garret in London for a full week
without food or water in order to prove that he needed neither for his
survival. Further, Cavanagh contended that he had done without victuals and
drink for more that five years, as he escribed in an odd exchange with a
newspaper reporter."
Not My Job!
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!
NPR
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/waitwait/20011117.waitwait.04.ram
"Gene Simmons, founding member of the 70's band KISS plays a game called,
"You're A Prestidigitating Marvel." 3 questions based on Ricky Jay's "Jay's
Journal of Anomolies""
Local frets over Potter influence
By Melanie Brubaker Mazur
Durango Herald
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&ar\
ticle_path=/news/news011121_5.htm
"Amid the hype of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the most
successful movie release in history, a local church congregation is showing
a video that claims the books and movie are an evil influence. Calvary
Chapel will show "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged" at 7 p.m. today at
Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1775 Florida Road."
Judge: 'Choose life' plate doesn't break law on religion
By Jim Ash
Palm Beach Post
http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/local_news_b3cff849e4\
5c22ed009b.html
"The "Choose life" specialty license plate sparked bitter legislative
debates about abortion, but it does not violate a constitutional ban on
state-sponsored religion, a Leon County circuit judge ruled Wednesday."
Falwell's apology: Is he sorry or not?
BY PETER CARLSON
Washington Post
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/national/digdocs/099150.htm
"Televangelist Jerry Falwell is sitting behind his desk at Liberty
University, the Baptist college he founded 30 years ago, before he became
famous as a leader of the Religious Right."
Charles Crenshaw, Wrote About JFK
LOS ANGELES TIMES
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/ny-cren222474464nov22.story?coll=ny%2Dn\
ews%2Dprint
"Dr. Charles Andrew Crenshaw, who became a favorite of conspiracy buffs
when he asserted three decades after the assassination of John F. Kennedy
that Lee Harvey Oswald had not acted alone and that as a surgical resident
he saw four gunshot wounds in the fallen president, has died. He was 68."
ACLU appeals faith-based firing case
by Ann Rostow
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2001/11/21/2
"The American Civil Liberties Union has appealed part of the U.S. District
Court ruling in the case of Alicia Pedreira, a lesbian counselor who was
fired by the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children."
Scam man may have connections to banks, government
Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1006297302921&call_page=TS_Ontario&call_pageid=968256289824&c\
all_pagepath=News/Ontario&col=968342212737
"Hamilton police believe they have arrested a major kingpin in a Nigerian
fraud scheme with tentacles reaching into Canadian banks and government
offices."
Crackdown on Bioterror Claims
By Bill Brubaker
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55734-2001Nov19.html
"The Federal Trade Commission yesterday warned about 40 operators of Web
sites to stop making what it called false claims that dietary supplements
can prevent, treat or cure anthrax, smallpox and other health hazards."
Aryan Nations leaders look to relocate
Associated Press
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/1118aryan.htm
"Sitting in an edge-of-town eatery, his 2-year-old son Gideon on his lap,
August Kreis looks like most any other father who takes his children to
McDonald's and plays with them in the park."
Politician Says Harry Potter Could Harm Small Kids
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011121/od/children_dc_1.html
"The Harry Potter blockbuster about an English boy wizard could be bad for
small children, a German conservative politician warned Tuesday."
Al Qaeda Duped?
by James Ridgeway
Village Voice
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0147/ridgeway2.php
"Suddenly, Al Qaeda doesn't look so smart. Just yesterday, a Times of
London reporter found a cache of plans, left in a Kabul home as the Taliban
retreated, that included notes for making a thermonuclear device. The
papers sent a chill through the Western world, since they appeared to
indicate sophisticated designs for an atom bomb."
Teen charged for false Potter letter
By KAREN SNIDER
Peterborough Examiner
http://www.canada.com/peterborough/story.asp?id={596877FF-815C-4250-A002-85C98D6\
75815}
"An 18-year-old George Street man faces charges in connection with the
distribution of letters attributed to the mayor condemning the new Harry
Potter movie, city police said yesterday."
Where Are the Cops?
by R. Scott Moxley
OC Weekly
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/12/news-moxley.shtml
"For five years, Jon Illingworth has led the effort to expose Newport Beach
businessman Edgar Dale "Eddie" Allen as a con artist who enjoys a life of
luxury by defrauding millions of dollars from conservative Republicans
across the country. In September, Illingworth won his biggest victory when
a federal judge ruled that Allen gained access to other people's money by
deceitfully posing as an affluent Harvard-educated attorney, Wall Street
financial genius, and key CIA spy who advised Republican U.S. presidents
and had been tortured while a prisoner of war in Vietnam."
It's Our Miscount, and We're Sticking to It
BY RAY HARTMANN
Riverfront Times
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/issues/2001-11-21/ray.html/1/index.html
"It has been forever seared into the nation's consciousness that more than
5,000 people were killed on Sept. 11 in the World Trade Center terrorist
attacks. The statistic is repeated thousands of times daily in reference to
the tragedy."
A simple thanks to mother of all search engines
by Eric Zorn
Chicago Tribune
http://chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0111220202nov22.column?coll=chi%2D\
news%2Dcol
"Yes. Absolutely. The usual. Family. Friends. Health. Freedom. Country.
Employment. Shelter. Warmth. Food. Music. Art. The soldiers, police
officers and firefighters who protect it all. I'm genuinely thankful for
these things on all days, but especially today."
AG Warns Of Anthrax Kits
KARK-TV
http://www.kark.com/karktv/news/story_tmp.asp?cmd=view&storyid=2233
"If you log on to any of the search engines on the Internet, you'll find
several different products claiming to protect you from anthrax. The
Attorney General's office fears that those products offer a false sense of
security."
Falwell's apology: Is he sorry or not?
BY PETER CARLSON
Washington Post
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/national/digdocs/099150.htm
"Televangelist Jerry Falwell is sitting behind his desk at Liberty
University, the Baptist college he founded 30 years ago, before he became
famous as a leader of the Religious Right."
Scam man may have connections to banks, government
Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1006297302921&call_page=TS_Ontario&call_pageid=968256289824&c\
all_pagepath=News/Ontario&col=968342212737
"Hamilton police believe they have arrested a major kingpin in a Nigerian
fraud scheme with tentacles reaching into Canadian banks and government
offices."
Bin Laden falls for 'internet hoax'
by Rene Millman
VNU Business
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1126996
"Secret documents found in an al-Qaeda safe house in Kabul, purporting to
reveal Osama bin Laden's nuclear plans, have been revealed to be nothing
more than a spoof that has been circulating on the internet for years."
Welsh roads in haunted list
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/wales/newsid_1661000/1661785.stm
"Two roads in Wales have been listed in a magazine survey of the UK's top
10 haunted highways."
We know it crashed, but not why
By WILLIAM BUNCH
Philadelphia Daily News
http://dailynews.philly.com/content/daily_news/2001/11/18/local/SHOT15C.htm
"Ernie Stuhl is the mayor of this tiny farming borough that was so brutally
placed on America's psychic map on the morning of Sept. 11, when United
Airlines Flight 93 slammed nose-down into the edge of a barren strip-mine
moonscape a couple of miles outside of town."
FTC Cracks down on Marketers of Bogus Bioterrorism Defense Products
Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/11/webwarn.htm
"The Federal Trade Commission is warning Web site operators who suggest
using such things as oregano oil or zinc mineral water to treat illnesses
like anthrax that it is aware of no scientific proof for such claims and
that the Web site operators must remove them from the Internet."
Life on Mars claims disputed
by Dr. David Whitehouse
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1666000/1666053.stm
"Fresh doubts have been cast on claims that fossils of primitive life have
been found in a meteorite from Mars."
War on Terrorism: Kandahar
By Justin Huggler
The Independent [UK]
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=105801
"The Taliban have abandoned plans to surrender their spiritual heartland in
Kandahar because of a prophetic dream Mullah Mohammed Omar had, according
to the brother of a senior opposition figure."
Hundreds of strange beasts sighted in WA
The Sunday Times [Australia]
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3269406%5E421,00.html
"CONSERVATION and Land Management has revealed it keeps a record of strange
animal sightings in WA and the file is bulging with hundreds of reports."
Europeans united in the hunt for alien
The Independent [UK]
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/science/story.jsp?story=105134
"Europe may be in several different minds about a single currency, but at
least its astronomers and scientists seem to be united on one thing their
desire to search for extraterrestrial life. At a meeting of European space
ministers in Edinburgh this week, scientists outlined their plans to extend
their search within and beyond the solar system."
Tests Show Few Students Know Science
By GREG TOPPO
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011120/sc/science_scores_1.html
"Only one in five high school seniors has a solid grasp of science and only
half know the basics."
Pokemon, Potter and schools
by BRANDY MCDONNELL
Edmond Sun
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=844&NewsID=212503\
&CategoryID=8200&on=0
"From Pokemon to math and from Harry Potter to art, the patrons of Edmond
Public Schools showed Monday that they had a variety of topics on their minds."
AUM cultist working for NTT in bank scam
Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=2&id=166279
"Tokyo police on Tuesday arrested a member of the AUM Shinrikyo religious
cult on suspicion of stealing banking data from a Mizuho Financial Group
transaction-management computer system, the police said."
FTC targets Web sites selling unproven anthrax, smallpox treatments
By DAVID HO
Associated Press
http://www.modbee.com/24hour/technology/story/173801p-1685159c.html
"The government is warning dozens of online retailers to stop touting
unproven treatments for anthrax, smallpox and other infectious agents that
could be used for bioterrorism."
Online anthrax remedies under fire
Reuters
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7921021.html?tag=cd_mh
"U.S. authorities Monday warned about 40 Web sites to immediately stop
marketing unproven treatments for anthrax or other products they falsely
claim can protect against potential biological warfare agents."
Feds warn sites selling unproven bioterror cures
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/11/19/ftc.web.sites/index.html
"Web site operators who suggest their products are effective against
anthrax -- or other biological diseases -- must have scientific proof they
work or risk being shut down, a federal agency warned Monday."
Chiropractor being sued over paralysis of boy
by Vanessa Lu
Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1006124612597&call_page=TS_Ontario&call_pageid=968256289824&c\
all_pagepath=News/Ontario&col=968342212737
"A Barrie-area family has filed a $2.75 million lawsuit against a
chiropractor who treated their 11-year-old son for chest pains, alleging
those manipulations left the boy paralyzed."
Smallpox Treatment or Snake Oil?
By Kristen Philipkoski
Wired
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,48444,00.html
"With bioterrorism threats snowballing in the United States, one biotech
company says it may be able to come to the rescue should an attack occur."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch
Chiropractors seek primary care status at Veterans Affairs Dept.
By Jay Greene
American Medical News
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_01/prl11126.htm
"Under provisions of a bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives
last month, chiropractors would be designated as primary care providers in
the Dept. of Veterans Affairs health care system. Physicians also would
receive training on the benefits of referring patients for chiropractic
services."
13 die in Madhya Pradesh temple stampede
India Express
http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/regional/madhya_pradesh/20011118-0.html
"A stampede caused by a false fire alarm claimed 13 lives in a temple in
Madhya Pradesh on Saturday."
Faithful vulnerable to fraud
Corpus Christie Caller-Times
http://www1.caller.com/ccct/religion/article/0,1641,CCCT_865_881026,00.html
"Mark Jackson drove a $62,000 Humvee and wore a $2,200 wristwatch. His
Covenant Broadcasting Network in Nashville, Tenn., was worth millions, he
claimed."
The four steps of coping with e-mail rumors
by Jim Norton
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1113/p25s3-stin.html
"Rumors have been a part of war since ancient times, when an
unsubstantiated report of elephant-riding raiders or a particularly bad
omen could send waves of refugees streaming across the countryside. It's
therefore unsurprising that the war on terrorism has created the online
equivalent of the gossip dished out by villagers huddling over the local well."
Glen Rock De Niro impersonator accused of con jobs
by PETER POCHNA
Bergen Record
http://www.bergen.com/news/deniro200111167.htm
"Joseph Manuella has made a career of impersonating Robert De Niro, getting
gigs at parties and weddings and playing De Niro's stunt double in the
movies "Cape Fear" and "The Fan.""
Three accused of bogus tax refund scheme
Associated Press
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/florida/digdocs/004732.htm
"The Internal Revenue Service has asked three courts to stop three men from
promoting and using what officials described as a bogus tax fraud scheme to
get refunds."
Call for joint study on UAE folklore
By Dahi Hassan
Gulf News
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=32921
"The Sharjah Department of Culture and Information (DCI) and the GCC
Folklore Centre should work out a joint strategy to study and document
heritage and folklore in the country, said a senior official."
New York seeks extradition of man who allegedly posed as firefighter
Associated Press
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/1117fakefireman.htm
"A New York City prosecutor requested the extradition Friday of a man who
allegedly posed as a firefighter to scam the New York City fire department
and residents out of food and other gifts following the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks."
WTC 'RESCUER' A CON MAN: DA
By JESSIE GRAHAM
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/5554.htm
"City authorities are seeking the extradition of an alleged con artist who
is accused of posing as a firefighter, scamming the FDNY and stealing from
a New Yorker who took him into her home following the World Trade Center
tragedy."
Astrologers refute rumours
Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=85444604
"The rumour that festivals or auspicious rituals, including marriages,
would not be organised in the year 2002 not only astonished the local
panchang (Hindu calender) makers and astrologers but also caused them some
worry."
At last ! an e-mail tale that's true
by Bud Kennedy
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://web.star-telegram.com/content/fortworth/2001/11/17/fwnews/17bud.htm
"email is nothing but a bunch of e-tales."
Uganda scam bilks local woman of $640
By NAOMI KLOUDA
The Frontiersman [Wasilla, Alaska]
http://www.frontiersman.com/display/inn_news/news08.txt
"A person in Uganda forged the signature of a Valley woman to bilk her of
$640 that was then transferred to a Ugandan bank account, and a Nigerian
scam offers a new twist."
Director held in RM45m scam
By LOURDES CHARLES and R.S.N. MURALI
The Star [Malaysia]
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2001/11/17/nation/ljkaya&sec=nation
"A woman director of a get-rich scheme company, which had allegedly cheated
3,000 depositors of RM45mil, was arrested yesterday."
Sears Tower alert a hoax: police
by Sarah Schmidt
National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/national/story.html?f=/stories/20011117/791098.\
html
"A Bank of Montreal employee scuttled a co-worker's business trip to
Chicago by falsely alerting Toronto airport staff that his colleague had
"plans for the Sears Tower," police allege."
Was Paper on Bomb a Parody?
By NICHOLAS WADE
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/17/international/asia/17SPOO.html
"For whatever other dark business may have occurred in the Al Qaeda safe
houses in Kabul, a lot of time and effort had been devoted within them to
researching the creation of an atomic device," The Times of London reported
on Thursday."
Rape of baby sparks outrage in South Africa
by Corinna Schuler
National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?f=/stories/20011115/787029.htm\
l
"The alleged gang rape of a nine-month-old baby brought hundreds of
protesters to a small-town courthouse this week and provoked talk of moral
degeneration in a country often numbed to crime."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch/members
Tracking down the ghost cats of the north woods
BY ERIC SHARP
DETROIT FREE PRESS
http://www.freep.com/sports/outdoors/cougar15_20011115.htm
"Mike Zuidema, a retired state forester, spent the first 10 years of his
career assuring people that they were wrong when they reported cougar
sightings."
Witchcraft practitioners upset by link to woman accused of killing son
by Sam Cook
The News-Press [Fort Myers, FL]
http://www.news-press.com/news/today/011114samc.html
"Wicca practitioners, incensed when The News-Press ran a story last week
linking accused son-killer Leslie Wallace to the Wiccan religion, lambasted
reporter Mike Hoyem with e-mails."
Pagans Advised: Be Careful With Fire
By ERIC R. DANTON
Hartford Courant
http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-wiccans1115.artnov15.story?coll=hc%2Dheadline\
s%2Dlocal
"Pagans conducting rituals that involve fire are being advised to use
caution now that local firefighters have had to extinguish a second
Wicca-related fire since August."
Chinese medicine needs its own cure
By Vico Lee
Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2001/11/18/story/0000112121
"China and Taiwan's WTO accession may be good for your health. To accompany
its admission to the world trade body, China has announced that students
from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau will be allowed to practice medicine in
the mainland, prompting Taiwan to consider similar policy changes to open
up its health fields."
Local pastors react to opening of film based on J.K. Rowling's books
By Mike Bockoven
Grand Island Independent
http://www.theindependent.com/stories/111801/new_new_pot18.html
"For many who have read author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of books,
words such as "Quidditch," "Hogwarts" and "Muggles" set off alarms."
Schools look at request for silent moment
By Ryan Werbeck
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
http://web.journalgazette.net/content/fwgazette/2001/11/18/news/18i_1c_nws_schoo\
lprayersu.htm
"Kosciusko County commissioners are strongly encouraging county school
districts to start their days with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer or
moment of silence."
Astrologer reaches for the stars
BY MIKE THOMAS
Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/output/show/sho-sunday-chicown18.html
"On a blustery afternoon in late October, high above the city in her
cluttered Lake Point Tower office, Chicago's most glamorous astrologer,
Laurie Brady, got down and dirty. Dressed to kill for her nightly night on
the town (it promised to be an early evening--only two soirees), the
dainty, auburn-haired queen of moons and stars wore bright pink lipstick, a
short form-fitting black dress, matching stockings and stylish heels. On
the floor before her sat a stack of unwieldy, soot-caked scrapbooks that
trace the arc of her professional life. She'd long neglected them, but now
seemed as good a time as any to crack them open, manicure be damned."
Faithful vulnerable to fraud
Corpus Christie Caller-Times
http://www1.caller.com/ccct/religion/article/0,1641,CCCT_865_881026,00.html
"Mark Jackson drove a $62,000 Humvee and wore a $2,200 wristwatch. His
Covenant Broadcasting Network in Nashville, Tenn., was worth millions, he
claimed."
Survey: Spiritual people less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol
BY KAWANZA L. GRIFFIN, TOM HEINEN AND DAVE SHEELEY
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/national/digdocs/095619.htm
"Teens and adults who consider religion or personal spirituality important
are far less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs than nonbelievers, according
to a new Columbia University study that analyzed three national surveys."
Illinois city rallying for prayer in schools
By JOHN W. FOUNTAIN
New York Times
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1136547
"Jason Clark, 17, a junior at Thornton Township High School, stood at a
classroom chalkboard, thumbing through his Bible as about 30 students stood
silently, eyes closed and heads bowed."
DOG, FAT CHANCE THIS POTION WORKS
by Phil Mushnik
Nwe York Post
http://www.nypost.com/sports/35257.htm
"TO LISTEN to Chris Russo's takes on sports, even on only a semi-regular
basis, is to know that he's often a conspiracy theorist. He suggests that
there must be a deeper and darker reason for just about anything."
Three accused of bogus tax refund scheme
Associated Press
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/florida/digdocs/004732.htm
"The Internal Revenue Service has asked three courts to stop three men from
promoting and using what officials described as a bogus tax fraud scheme to
get refunds."
Nature's pharmacy
By CAROL ROBIDOUX
Bucks County Courier Times
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/1118herb.htm
"High-tech weaponry is truly impressive. But don't underestimate the
military prowess of the lowly bilberry bush."
New site to search for life in space
by Michael McCabe
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/11/17/MN160010.DTL
"Silicon Valley, constantly on the lookout for the Next Big Thing, is
getting serious in its search for new life -- the extraterrestrial kind."
A Pastor Unafraid Of Flying Brooms
by Charles W. Bell
New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-11-17/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-132343.as\
p
"It came to pass that the word was Harry Potter, and lo! he found great
favor with the Rev. John Zingaro, and the preacher spoke the word of the
wizards and witches."
Some Christians critical of Pottermania
By Anthony Breznicani
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://web.tallahasseedemocrat.com/content/tallahassee/2001/11/17/religion/1117.\
rel.harrypotter.htm
"The new Harry Potter movie that opened in theaters Friday has enflamed a
small legion of conservative Christian critics who claim the boy wizard is
a tool leading children to witchcraft and sin."
They're not to read the wizard?
By Nancy Mitchell
Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/books/article/0,1299,DRMN_63_880714,00.htm\
l
"He's now a movie phenomenon, but Harry Potter still warrants caution in
Douglas County schools."
Wickford: Club's lasers spark UFO alert
Essex Evening Echo
http://www.thisisessex.co.uk/essex/news/NEWS16.html
"Worried residents called in police after fearing they were about to have a
close encounter with UFOs."
Two Catholic schools ban Potter books
By Tom Bailey Jr.
Memphis Commercial Appeal
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_879359,00.html
"Fear over Harry Potter wizardry spread this week to at least two Memphis
Catholic schools, which are banning the highly popular books from their
libraries."
Death penalty demanded for 'cruel' exorcist
Mainichi Daily News
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20011116p2a00m0dm008000c.html
"An exorcist accused of killing six cult followers at her home by beating
them should die for her actions, prosecutors told the Fukushima District
Court on Friday."
Chords can cure
By CLIFF DROUGHT
Oneida Dispatch
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2631791&BRD=1709&PAG=461&dept_id=68844\
&rfi=6
"Bambi Niles sat peacefully in a corner of her Drake Ave. home Monday,
strumming Pia, a harp named for a Thai goddess."
Nurse enters plea in hoax case
By MORGHAN MARTELL
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
http://www.newscoast.com/2news.cfm?ID=56223
"A nurse accused of sprinkling powder in the office of her boss at a
nursing home pleaded not guilty to a felony hoax charge Thursday."
Mt. Adams UFOs are Still a Mystery
KPTV
http://www.oregons12.com/news/local/story.asp?content_id=775291
"The Pacific Northwest is no stranger to the UFO phenomenon. For years,
Mount Adams, in south central Washington, has been a hub for UFO activity."
Vedic City council says Sanskrit will be preferred language
By JO ANN GESNER
Ottumwa Courier
http://www.ottumwacourier.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2001/November/1\
4-1960-vediccity.txt
"Vedic City will formally be called "Maharishi Vedic City" and the ideal
language will be Sanskrit."
Rape of baby sparks outrage in South Africa
by Corinna Schuler
National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?f=/stories/20011115/787029.htm\
l
"The alleged gang rape of a nine-month-old baby brought hundreds of
protesters to a small-town courthouse this week and provoked talk of moral
degeneration in a country often numbed to crime."
Witchcraft fears keep Fargo kids from Harry Potter
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011116/en/film-potterschool_1.html
"A witchcraft controversy brewing in a North Dakota town forced a local
school to cancel a field trip to a screening of the new Harry Potter movie
Friday."
Could This Be Just Coincidence?
By Lloyd Grove
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37280-2001Nov15.html
"The "Crawford Curse" has struck again."
Astrologers refute rumours
Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=85444604
"The rumour that festivals or auspicious rituals, including marriages,
would not be organised in the year 2002 not only astonished the local
panchang (Hindu calender) makers and astrologers but also caused them some
worry."
A Focus on Fort Phantoms
By Jennika Pierie
Syracuse Post-Standard
http://www.syracuse.com/news/syrnewspapers/index.ssf?/newsstories/20011114_rogho\
st.html
"Lt. Basil Dunbar's tombstone is almost ghostly in its crude lettering and
its primitive carvings. Its owner, it has been said, can be seen making his
way around Fort Ontario, especially when America enters into a war."
YOU CAN'T BEAT THIS FOR A GOOD FRIGHTENER
by John Rutter
Edinburgh Evening News
http://www.edinburghnews.com/news.cfm?id=EN01191613
"IT was plucked from the obscurity of a Grassmarket second-hand shop to
help bring a historic display to life at Edinburgh Castle."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch/members
>From: snopes <snopes@...>
>Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 22:49:53 -0800
>Subject: [ulrp-update] Urban Legends Reference Pages Update #64
>
>
>Hello again from snopes.com, your corner of urban legends sanity on the
>World Wide Web! This update details pages added to the Urban Legends
>Reference Pages (http://www.snopes.com) since our November 4, 2001
>mailing.
>
>The Attack on American has given rise to numerous rumors, some true,
>some not. You can keep up with them through our Rumors of War page
>at http://www.snopes.com/rumors
>
>If after this update you're still left wondering about something newly
>arrived in e-mail, we hope you'll feed a few keywords from it to our
>search engine at http://www.snopes.com/search or air your
>suspicions to our knowledgeable band of regulars on the message board
>at http://www.snopes.com/message, or send an e-mail to
>snopes@....
>
>And now, to the legends!
>
>------------------------------------------
>
>Did Oliver North state during the 1987 Iran-Contra hearings that Osama
>bin Laden was "the most evil person alive" and that "an assassin team
>[should] be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the
>earth"? (3 November 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/north.htm
>
>
>More baseless scarelore -- seven women died after sniffing perfume
>samples sent in the mail. (3 November 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/perfume.htm
>
>
>According to Gray Davis, Governor of California, a credible threat
>exists of terrorist activity against bridges in that state.
>(1 November 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/bridges.htm
>
>
>Were six men of Middle Eastern appearance stopped by police in the
>Midwest but released, even though they possessed Israeli passports and
>photographs and descriptions of a nuclear power plant in Florida and
>the Trans-Alaska pipeline? (1 November 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/sixarabs.htm
>
>
>Did Muhammad Ali offer a pithy quote about religion while visiting the
>World Trade Center site? (31 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/ali.htm
>
>
>No, garlic and oil of oregano aren't proven remedies for anthrax.
>(31 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/garlic.htm
>
>
>Are black cats routinely sacrificed by "satanic cults" at Halloween?
>(29 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/horrors/mayhem/blackcat.htm
>
>
>Did General John J. Pershing effectively discourage Muslim terrorists
>in the Philippines by killing them and burying their bodies with pigs?
>(29 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/pershing.htm
>
>
>E-mail message examines various automobile manufacturers' contributions
>to September 11-related relief efforts. (26 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/cars.htm
>
>
>Did the Clinton administration fail to track down the perpetrators of
>several terrorist attacks against Americans? (26 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/clinton.htm
>
>
>The truth about recent mysterious crop duster incidents in Mississippi.
>(26 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/cropdust.htm
>
>
>Los Angeles: targeted for a terrorist attack on October 26?
>(25 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/oct26.htm
>
>
>Did a convicted terrorist released by Israel at the insistence of the
>United States participate in the September 11 terrorist attacks on
>America? (23 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/atta.htm
>
>
>Some people take umbrage at restrictions on expressions of patriotic
>sentiment. (23 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/american.htm
>
>
>The fire chief of Berkeley, California, ordered the removal of
>American flags from city fire trucks. (23 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/berkeley.htm
>
>
>Will signing an e-mail petition help establish a National Firefighters
>Day? (22 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/firemen.htm
>
>
>Another fatal Halloween hanging accident. (22 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/horrors/freakish/hanging.htm
>
>
>Do coded images in oil paintings reveal plans for an upcoming "massive
>germ attack on the U.S"? (22 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/wandawi.htm
>
>
>Were a mother cat and kittens found living in the basement of a
>restaurant beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center?
>(20 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/cat.htm
>
>
>Senator John McCain delivered a speech about a Vietnam POW who was
>beaten for sewing an American flag into his shirt. (20 October 2001)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/mccain.htm
>
>
>Still Haunting the Inbox
>------------------------
>
>Virus announcement and virus hoax e-mails are afoot! We try to keep
>current on them and do our best to point readers to authoritative
>links confirming or debunking them.
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/virus/virus.htm
>
>
>It's a hoax all the way down -- 30 Ryder, U-Haul, and Verizon trucks
>were not stolen by terrorists in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/ryder.htm
>
>
>Nope, the story about the Budweiser driver who punished Arab-Americans
>he saw celebrating on September 11 ain't true.
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/bud.htm
>
>
>The email asking for help in locating 5-year-old missing Penny Brown
>is a hoax.
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/children/penny.htm
>
>
>Seems like everyone has become the recipient of mysterious e-mails
>promising untold wealth if only one helps a wealthy African quietly
>move millions of dollars out of his country. The venerable Nigerian
>scam has discovered the goldmine that is the Internet. Beware --
>there's still no such thing as "something for nothing," and the
>contents of your bank account will end up with these wily Africans
>if you fall in with this.
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/scams/nigeria.htm
>
>
>No one is trying to get "Touched By An Angel" cancelled, nor is there
>a plot afoot to remove all mentions of religion from the airwaves.
>This tomfoolery has been around for more than *25 years* and there
>was never anything to it, even while Madalyn Murray O'Hair was alive.
>(The latest versions of this petition now include the information
>that O'Hair is dead but go on to assert the threat of the loss of
>Christian programming is real anyway. It ain't.)
>
> http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/petition/fcc.htm
(A moment of silence, please, for Excite.com's Newstracker service, without
which I never would have begun doing the newssearches. Excite is
discontinuing the service today.)
Going Ballistic
by Brendan I. Koerner
Village Voice
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0146/koerner.php
"Last year, Theodore Postol began distributing a report critical of a
missile-defense system made by aerospace giant TRW. Postol, an MIT
professor of technology and security policy, argued that Pentagon
scientists had doctored TRW's data to conceal the fact that cheap, low-tech
decoys can easily fool the $60 billion-plus system. A nuclear warhead could
be encased in a Mylar balloon, for example, and released with a flurry of
identical balloons; the defensive missiles would be unable to detect which
one carried the lethal payload."
Blasphemy law to be scrapped soon
by Alan Travis
The Guardian [UK]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,593744,00.html
"David Blunkett last night announced his personal support for the scrapping
of Britain's ancient blasphemy law. The home secretary signalled his
backing before MPs, while defending his new law against inciting religious
hatred."
CASTLE GHOST FEAR
Daily Record [Scotland]
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/shtml/NEWS/P25S1.shtml
"STAFF at Edinburgh Castle have been spooked by the 200-year-old tunic of a
drummer - because the arm twitches all by itself."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch
NY Woman Killed Daughter in Exorcism
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20011114/us/brf_mother_arrested_1.html
"A woman who believed her 4-year-old daughter was possessed by demons
killed the girl while attempting an exorcism, authorities said Tuesday."
Evangelists Say Harry Potter Books Are Evil
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011115/od/potter_dc_1.html
"A group of Taiwanese Evangelists said on Thursday that the Harry
Potter books were evil and warned parents not to let their children read
the adventures of the boy wizard."
Library to pay $2,000 as part of settlement
By Ann McBride
Portage Daily Register
http://portage.scwn.com/display/inn_news/news1.txt
"The recent settlement of a lawsuit brought against the Portage Public
Library will cost the library $2,000 in insurance fees, library director
Hans Jensen reported during this week's board meeting."
Needle therapy drives away pet ailments
by Anjira Assavanonda
Bangkok Post
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/15Nov2001_news26.html
"A Bangkok vet who is pioneering the treatment of animals with acupuncture
says it works for pets who fail to respond to Western medicine."
(A moment of silence, please, for Excite.com's Newstracker service, without
which I never would have begun doing the newssearches. Excite is
discontinuing the service today.)
Student Book Offers a Twisted History 'Coarse'
By Sarah Tippit
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011115/od/campusmentis_dc_1.html
"Experience history from the Stoned Age to the Blintz Krieg! From Middle
Evil Times to the Age of Now, from the Land of Milk and Chocolate to the
Iran Hostess Crisis and the fall of the Berlin Mall!"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch
A battle over language and race erupts at City Hall
By Blair Anthony Robertson
Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1146564p-1214268c.html
"When Robert Pacuinas addressed the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday, he
was talking a blue streak about red-light cameras."
Howard High jolted by hoax on Web site
By Laura Vozzella
Balitmore Sun
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/howard/bal-ho.hoax14nov14.story?coll=bal%2Dloc\
al%2Dhoward
"Howard High School's principal broke the news to students over the PA
system late yesterday afternoon: A recent graduate had been killed overseas
in the war on terrorism."
Sad Story Called Soldier's Hoax
By Nurith C. Aizenman
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31771-2001Nov14.html
"Cheryl King arrived at the Howard County police station to report what
seemed an unconscionable prank: Someone had posted a message in her name on
Howard High School's alumni Web site claiming that her son had been killed
by terrorists in the Middle East."
With Friends Like These
by R. Scott Moxley
OC Weekly
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/10/cover-moxley.shtml
"Dr. Ted Dalton chuckled when he said his memory is fading, but the retired
former president of Newport University won’t ever forget meeting
right-wing, anti-feminist orator Jo Ellen Allen in 1992. Allen and her
husband, Edgar Dale "Eddie" Allen, had just quietly stiffed their Corona
del Mar landlord $14,000 in rent and—in hopes of winning Jo Ellen a seat in
the state Assembly—moved to the Santa Ana rental home of the late Stephen
Wagner, a married but closeted-homosexual Republican who would soon be
convicted of embezzling $4 million from Newport Beach schools. Of course,
Dalton wasn’t privy then to such behind-the-scenes dirt. For all everyone
knew, Jo Ellen and Eddie were who they said they were: the ideal Orange
County Republican, Christian couple whose wealth and morals were surpassed
only by their personal heroics."
Stark man accused of scam
BY ANDALE GROSS
Akron Beacon Journal
http://www.ohio.com/bj/local/docs/030516.htm
"Hoover Co. employees opened their hearts and wallets to help a co-worker
who presumably was left to raise a 7-year-old niece whose mother was killed
in the World Trade Center attacks."
THE RIDDLE AND THE KNIGHT
Reviewed by Jonathan Yardley
Washington Post
http://www.iht.com/articles/38615.htm
"THE knight of Giles Milton's title is Sir John Mandeville, who left his
home at St. Albans in England in 1322 "with the intention of making a
pilgrimage to the churches and shrines of Jerusalem" and did not return for
34 years, at which time he published "an untitled volume known as 'The
Travels' in which he claimed to have visited not only the Holy Land but
India, China, Java and Sumatra as well." At a time when not many people
could read, "The Travels" was "available in every European language,
including Dutch, Gaelic, Czech, Catalan and Walloon." It was hugely
influential."
A sampling of legendary tales
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.thehawkeye.com/daily/stories/ln131110.html
"True or false? Here is a sampling of the more than 80 terrorist-related
stories, rumors, and urban legends that appear on the Web page "Urban
Legends Reference Pages." Additional information on each story is posted on
the site, at www.snopes2.com."
House considers stiffening penalties on scam artists taking advantage of
attacks
By JANELLE CARTER
Associated Press
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/washington/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-f\
ree/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0935_BC_Attacks-Congress&&news&newsflash-washington
"Scam artists who try to swindle those wishing to give to help victims of
national emergencies would face stiffened penalties under a bill passed
Tuesday by the House."
Man who scammed coworkers says the devil made him do it
WKYC-TV
http://www.wkyc.com/news/morelocal/akron/011113wtcscam.ssf
"A man said the devil made him do it after lying about his sister dying in
the World Trade Center attacks and needing money to help raise her daughter."
Can faith help to heal?
By Lan N. Nguyen
New York Daily News
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestlife/134365603_prayer13.html
"When Mark Haruf was diagnosed last December with a rare form of bone
cancer, he was told he had a 10 percent chance of beating the disease."
S. Africa child rape court protest
Reuters
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/11/13/crime.safrica.rape.reut/index.html
"Hundreds of demonstrators protested outside a South African court on
Tuesday, demanding the death penalty for six men accused of raping a
nine-month-old girl."
Belzer Hosts Conspiracy Council
SCIFI.com
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-11/13/10.00.sfc
"Actor, comedian and conspiracy theorist Richard Belzer will host The SCI
FI Channel's upcoming one-hour special Conspiracy Council, which will look
at theories about the Kennedy assassination, the death of Elvis and the
crash at Roswell. The show is slated to debut on SCI FI in 2002."
NEW YORKERS FLOCK TO CHRISTIAN BOOK
By MEGAN TURNER
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/34203.htm
"JONATHAN Franzen, author of "The Corrections," New York's literary light
du jour, has been toppled from the top of Manhattan's best-seller list by
the latest in a wildly popular Christian fiction series."
Natural remedies won't defeat anthrax
Los Angeles Times
http://www.sptimes.com/News/111301/Floridian/Natural_remedies_won_.shtml
"Surfing the Internet or listening to talk radio in recent days, you might
get the idea that herbs, homeopathy and other alternative health remedies
can prevent and cure anthrax infection."
Placebo antagonists draw a dose of anger
Discover News Service
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0111110020nov11.story?coll=chi\
%2Dleisurefamily%2Dhed
"Taking a swipe at conventional wisdom, medical philosophers Asbjorn
Hrobjartsson and Peter Gotzsche of the University of Copenhagen recently
proclaimed the placebo effect--one of the best-known but least understood
curative processes--a myth."
Parents could face death penalty in girl's fatal beating
BY CARLOS SADOVI
Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-girl14.html
"The parents of a 12-year-old girl who died after being hit more than 100
times with an electrical cable could face the death penalty."
'Survival gear' has hit the market
By Edgar Sanchez
Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/scam_alert/story/1162245p-1229908c.html
"Fearful of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, some Americans are
avoiding skyscrapers."
Comets, Meteors & Myth
By Robert Roy Britt
SPACE.com
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/space/20011113/sc/comets_meteors_myth_new_evidence_\
for_toppled_civilizations_and_biblical_tales_1.html
""...and the seven judges of hell ... raised their torches, lighting the
land with their livid flame. A stupor of despair went up to heaven when the
god of the storm turned daylight into darkness, when he smashed the land
like a cup.""
On my watch, no light shed on mystery
by Leigh Dyer
Charlotte Observer
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/behind1111.htm
"What's behind the Brown Mountain Lights, unexplained flickers that have
tantalized N.C. mountain residents and visitors for centuries?"
Kenyan 'God' sent Aids as 'punishment'
By Muliro Telewa
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1651000/1651884.stm
"Jehovah Wanyonyi's worshippers fall face-down in the direction of the
throne. A middle-aged man starts worshipping animatedly as if in a trance."
Faith May Help Prevent Drug Abuse
By RICHARD N. OSTLING
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011114/us/religion_substance_abuse_1.html
"People with religious faith are markedly less likely to abuse alcohol and
illegal drugs than non-believers, a Columbia University research report
issued Wednesday says."
From crackpots to gurus
By Janelle Brown
Salon
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/11/12/survivalists/index.html
"If terrorists strike again, Bill believes he is ready -- no matter what
form the attacks might take. In his rural home he keeps biowarfare chemical
agent detection paper, airline smoke hoods, P100 disposable protective face
masks, a Geiger counter and radiation pills; plus a freezer full of beans,
19 containers of water with filters and an air cleaner and a roll of
plastic and duct tape to fashion a "safe room" in case of chemical attack."
MISS CLEO, NATURAL RESOURCE
By PHILIP RECCHIA
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/33981.htm
"Of all the threats facing our great nation - both credible and those
reported by cable news networks - Miss Cleo shouldn't be high on anyone's
list."
Making hay from chaos
by Reynolds Holding
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/11/11/IN138469.DTL
"As '70s radical-turned-housewife Sara Jane Olson tells it, she's innocent
of parking bombs under police cars 26 years ago, but she pleaded guilty
recently because the nation's anti-terrorist sentiment makes a fair trial
impossible."
Psychics join the manhunt
Sunday Times [London]
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/11/11/stiusausa01012.html?
"US intelligence agencies are recruiting psychics to help predict future
attacks and to find Osama Bin Laden. The recruits, known as "remote
viewers", claim to be able to visualise happenings in distant places by
using paranormal powers."
Prophecy of Fishbone
By Tonya Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
http://orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/music/orl-livfishbone12111201nov120.sto\
ry?coll=orl%2Dcaltop
"Call it bad luck or prophetic, but two nights before the Sept. 11
terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Fishbone performed "Party at
Ground Zero," "Get Out of the City" and "No Fear" in a New York nightclub."
Prank letter brings arrest, not laughs, for Imlay City man
By James L. Smith
FLINT JOURNAL
http://fl.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20011107f7a2lapeeranthrax.frm
"A prank letter that leaked a white powder at the Flint postal center Oct.
16 has landed an Imlay City man in trouble."
Bunny Man Rampant
By Kevin Merida
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52198-2001Nov7.html
"Growing up here in the late '60s, early '70s, I still remember the rampant
rumors of a giant costumed rabbit who chased and frightened kids.
Supposedly, there were numerous sightings of the Bunny Man, as he was
called, and pretty soon this furry menace was the talk of neighborhoods
across metro Washington."
Seniors warned of scam
Bucks County Times
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/1026105.htm
"Lower Makefield Police Chief Ken Coluzzi is warning senior citizens that
they are the targets of a scam artist."
Doctors Worried as Americans Get Organs of Chinese Inmates
By CRAIG S. SMITH
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/11/international/11ORGA.html
"Three years ago, in New York, one of Dr. Thomas Diflo's patients on a long
waiting list for a kidney transplant showed up with a new problem: she no
longer needed a kidney, but suddenly needed after-transplant care."
'Tourist Guy': Is He or Isn't He?
By Jeffrey Benner
Wired
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,48225,00.html
"Ever since the fake picture of a jetliner bearing down on a doomed tourist
atop the World Trade Center spread around the world, one burning question
has tormented bored geeks everywhere. Who is that tourist guy?"
Catholics feel duty to fight conspiracy theories
By MICHAEL PAULSON
The Boston Globe
http://www.dallasnews.com/religion/STORY.e9ebf6d807.b0.af.0.a4.6aca0.html
"Scholars say it's one of the more ominous developments since the Sept. 11
attacks: the belief among a significant number of Muslims that Jews are
somehow responsible for the assaults on New York City and Washington, D.C."
Police warn of possible pyramid scheme
by Tim Eberly
Havre Daily News
http://stacks.msnbc.com/local/PNHV/N207868.asp?cp1=1
"Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, unless it’s asking you to break the
law."
‘Pyramid’ scheme lies in ruins
By Bimpe Fatogun
Irish News
http://www.irishnews.com/Archive2000/09112001/news2.html
"A PYRAMID scheme which has attracted hundreds of investors is perilously
close to collapse."
Beware of E-Mail Whopper Warning of Junk Mail Germ
by Asa Aarons
New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-11-09/News_and_Views/Media_and_Business/a-131472\
.asp
"Plenty of consumers are sick of junk mail. But now a growing number also
are concerned that junk mail will make them sick — literally."
Con artists posing as cops take couple for $40,000
By Theresa Kiely
The Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, MI]
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0111/10/m09.html
"An elderly Jackson couple were swindled out of $40,000 Friday by two men
who flashed badges and posed as police detectives, an official said."
Sentencing continues in Omega scandal
By STEVE BAUER
CHAMPAIGN NEWS-GAZETTE
http://www.newsgazette.com/story.cfm?Number=10473
"A Galena man who set up a computer database for the Omega Trust and
Trading scam got a reduced sentence Friday for his help to the government
in understanding the program."
12 Survivors Charged in Relief Aid Scam
By JANET WILSON
LOS ANGELES TIMES
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000089779nov10.story?coll=la%2\
Dheadlines%2Dnation
"A dozen World Trade Center cafeteria workers who escaped safely Sept. 11
have been charged with illegally taking money from the American Red Cross
disaster relief fund by claiming they had lost wages when they continued to
be paid."
Imlay City man, 20, admits mail hoax
By Ken Palmer
FLINT JOURNAL
http://fl.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20011109f9a1hoaxster.frm
"A Mormon missionary who tried to pull a prank on another missionary is the
first person in Michigan to be convicted of sending imitation anthrax
through the mail, postal officials said."
2 victims lose $15,000 to con artists
BY GLENN SMITH
The Post and Courier [Charleston, SC]
http://www.charleston.net/pub/news/local/swan1110.htm
"Smooth-talking con artists have swindled at least two people out of
$15,000 in the past two weeks, North Charleston police said Friday."
Quite a few popular Oswego State legends are actually true
By Corinne Heller
The Post-Standard [Syracuse, NY]
http://www.syracuse.com/news/syrnewspapers/index.ssf?/newsstories/20011108_oswur\
ba.html
"Ever hear the story about that Chrysler convertible buried in front of
Culkin Hall, the administration building at the State University College at
Oswego?"
Halloween candy didn't kill girl: police
Canadian Press
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?id={89C393B5-E4C5-4A1D-8086-C1EB104CD3\
14}
"Vancouver Police say poisoned candy didn't kill a four-year-old girl the
day after Halloween."
'Rumors of War': Facts, myths in cyberspace
By Michel Moutot
Agence France-Presse
http://www.inq7.net/wnw/2001/nov/10/wnw_8-1.htm
"Like most visitors to cyberspace, Barbara and David Mikkelson were awash
in the torrent of rumors that inundated the Internet in the wake of the
September 11 terrorist attacks, which ranged from ridiculous to plausible,
hair-raising to reassuring."
DIRTY DOZEN CHARGED IN WTC SCAM OF CHARITY
By LAURA ITALIANO
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/33884.htm
"You'd think they'd be counting their blessings."
Snopes.com aims to dispel urban legends
by Julie Hinds
Detroit Free Press
"Can garlic and oil of oregano treat anthrax?"
Lottery fraud nets $10,000
By OAKLAND L. CHILDERS
Colorado Daily
http://www.coloradodaily.com/display/inn_news/news02.txt
"Boulder police are still seeking two men who they say perpetrated a fraud
against a Superior woman on Nov. 2, taking $10,000 in cash."
Hoaxer jailed over food claims
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1647000/1647771.stm
"A Leicester man has been jailed for 14 months after repeatedly hoaxing
companies by claiming he had found foreign objects in his food."
Hoaxes plague Postal Service
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/conditions/11/07/postal.hoaxes.anthrax/index.html
"The U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday it has been plagued in recent days
by nearly 12,000 hoaxes, threats and suspicious mail incidents -- an
average of 654 daily -- that have resulted in the evacuation of 429 postal
facilities for varying amounts of time."
Pastor gets prison time for scheme
by Robert Ruth
Columbus Dispatch
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/news/news01/nov01/928581.h\
tml
"Saving souls wasn't enough to save the Rev. Benjamin G. Taylor Jr. from
prison yesterday."
Millbury discovery
By Donna Daley
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/tunnel.html
"A minor construction mishap has unearthed an archaeological mystery under
the Town Common."
Subterranean mystery deepens in Millbury
By Donna Daley
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/tunnel1.html
"Everyone has a theory about the structure under the Town Common, but
nobody knows for certain, not even the experts."
Youths say they put pins in candy
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_2744.html
"A 12-year-old boy and his younger brother have admitted to police that
they put straight pins into a
candy bar on Halloween, then made up a story about finding the candy in a
trick-or-treat bag."
Post-9/11 divorce decline is urban myth
By Karen S. Peterson
USA TODAY
http://www.indystar.com/print/living/fri/articles/siegedivorce.html
"Americans are hankering for some good news. But initial reports that more
are marrying and fewer divorcing since the terrorist attacks appear to be
more wishful thinking than fact."
Selling the War
NPR
http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2001/nov/psyops/011109.psyops.html
"Shortly after hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon,
Army psychological warfare experts from Fort Bragg, N.C., headed to war."
Kanungu DRC Warns On Cults
New Vision [Kampala]
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111100120.html
"Kanungu Resident District Commissioner Kamara Bayeye, has expressed deep
concern over the growing rate of cults similar to that of Joseph Kibwetere."
State argues voucher program isn't endorsement of religion
by Jack Torry
Columbus Dispatch
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/news/news01/nov01/933125.h\
tml
"Insisting that Ohio was not endorsing religion, state attorneys argued
yesterday that Ohio's school voucher program is constitutional because it
allows parents to freely choose to send their children to either religious
or secular private schools."
White supremacists step up efforts to recruit
WASHINGTON POST
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/whitesupremacists10.htm
"The goodwill unearthed across America by September's terrorist attacks has
done little to stop the spread of hate, according to a new report detailing
the activities of 338 white nationalist groups in 10 Midwestern states."
Local resident creates new runes
By Kyra Gottesman
OROVILLE MERCURY-REGISTER
http://www.orovillemr.com/display/inn_news/news6.txt
"There are some people on the planet who by intent or nature have the
ability to see beyond the corporeal, to touch the intangible, to connect
the linear with the spiritual. Suzanne Strisower is one of those people."
Cemetery worker confesses to selling bodies for occult rites
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
http://www.abc.net.au/news/justin/nat/newsnat-11nov2001-8.htm
"Nigerian police are preparing to prosecute a cemetery attendant who has
confessed to being a supplier of human parts to occult practitioners."
Astrologer thinks arson could be tied to his views
By CHARLES CRUMM
Oakland Press
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2624282&BRD=982&PAG=461&dept_id=467992\
&rfi=6
"A Berkley astrologer who predicts we're at the end of history as we know
it had his popular bookstore set on fire and destroyed just after midnight
Monday."
American hate groups under scrutiny
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/167300p-1603696c.html
"Hate groups in the United States have talked for years about using anthrax
to strike at the U.S. government."
Catholics feel duty to fight conspiracy theories
By MICHAEL PAULSON
The Boston Globe
http://www.dallasnews.com/religion/STORY.e9ebf6d807.b0.af.0.a4.6aca0.html
"Scholars say it's one of the more ominous developments since the Sept. 11
attacks: the belief among a significant number of Muslims that Jews are
somehow responsible for the assaults on New York City and Washington, D.C."
This is boom time for End Times believers
by Elizabeth Nickson
National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/columnists/story.html?f=/stories/20011109\
/777677.html
"Honeyman Dave Harris was tossing my winter wood off his truck at my feet
last Saturday afternoon, while I shivered on the porch and watched. Now,
Dave was a school teacher and he reads four newspapers a day, so he has his
opinions and they stream uncensored from his mouth. He is a conservative so
I can listen without suppressed fury and I usually do, even when it's
freezing outside, and this year I was rewarded when he mentioned the
Antichrist and I remembered the Tribulations. "Holy crow, Dave! Bin Laden's
heralding the End Times!" I cry. "Look at the parallels!" Dave is a bit
more of a rationalist than I am, so he set his jaw and was polite, but I
was in a fit of excitement because the End Times, the Tribulations and the
Rapture are a fascination of mine."
Be wary of latest merchants of doom
by Jeff Gelles
Philadelphia Inquirer
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/11/10/business/CONSUMER10.htm
"In the aftermath of Sept. 11 and the anthrax attacks, it's natural that
people would be searching for ways to protect themselves and their families
from all manner of perils, real or imagined."
Spiritual Medium to the Stars
ET Online
http://www.etonline.com/celebrity/a7534.htm
"JAMES VAN PRAAGH has been stunning the scientific community for years with
his astounding abilities as a spiritual medium. Our JANN CARL got the
lowdown on psychic stars, BONNIE LEE BAKLEY, James' new book, Heaven and
Earth: Making the Psychic Connection, and his September 11 premonition! "
Vaccinations hurt by scare tactics: study
by Tom Blackwell
National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/national/story.html?f=/stories/20011109/778328.\
html
"Canada's buffer against numerous infectious diseases is at risk because of
growing opposition to vaccination based on fear, myth and philosophical
objection, a newly divulged Health Canada report says."
Super FuelMAX Marketers Settle FTC Charges
Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/11/gadget.htm
"The marketers of the Super FuelMAX automotive fuel-line magnet, advertised
as providing dramatic fuel-saving and emissions-reducing benefits, have
agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their claims were
unsubstantiated. The settlement would bar the Gadget Universe catalog and
its CEO from misrepresenting the actual benefits or efficacy of any
supposedly fuel-saving or emissions-reducing products for motor vehicles.
It would also prohibit misrepresentations about testimonials, endorsements,
tests, or research."
Astrologer Says Laden Search to Frustrate US
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011109/od/astrologer_dc_1.html
"A leading Indian astrologer who says she predicted the September 11
attacks in the United States believes Washington's hunt for Osama Bin Laden
may end up in frustration."
Report links murder suspect to witchcraft
By MIKE HOYEM
Fort Myers News-Press
http://www.news-press.com/news/today/011107wallace.html
"The North Fort Myers woman who police say went on a bloody rampage Sept. 2
— leaving her 6-year-old son dead — practiced witchcraft and went by the
name “Palm Frond.”"
Alabama keeps evolution warning on books
Associated Press
http://fyi.cnn.com/2001/fyi/teachers.ednews/11/09/evolution.ap/index.html
"There was plenty of debate when Alabama began putting stickers in its
students' biology textbooks warning that evolution is a "controversial theory.""
Obnoxious Buzz
by T.M. Shine
CityLink Online
http://www.citylinkonline.com/news.html
"A morning DJ starts a hoax about West Palm Beach's Moonfest. Were his
motives more selfish than stupid?"
Halloween poisonings more fiction than fact B.C. parents await tests
by Tom Blackwell
National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20011107/774417.html
"As Vancouver parents wait nervously to find out if a four-year-old girl
died from eating deliberately tainted candy, they can take some comfort
from the long and strange history of such Halloween poisoning scares."
Shakespeare Revealed
by Mark K. Anderson
New Mass. Media
http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/articles/shakespeare.html
"For all the heated accusations he faced, you'd think he was a
slash-and-burn corporate raider on the rampage or a revolutionary scheming
the overthrow of some third-world despot. In reality, all Daniel Wright did
was plan an academic conference."
A New Tune
By Robert Wilonsky
New Times
http://www.pitch.com/issues/2001-11-08/stuff.html
"Natalie Merchant finished recording her third solo album, Motherland, on
September 9, so by no means should anyone listen to the disc's first song,
"This House Is On Fire," and think it has anything to do with hijacked
airplanes, collapsed skyscrapers and the thousands buried beneath the rubble."
Man tries anthrax hoax to get deported to India
Reuters
http://in.news.yahoo.com/011107/64/18eqm.html
"A man who allegedly tried to use an anthrax hoax near Manhattan's Grand
Central Station as a way to get deported to his native India was charged on
Wednesday with making false statements to federal officials."
Adviser in Tawana Brawley Case Pays Off Defamation Award
By ALAN FEUER
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/07/nyregion/07TAWA.html
"More than two years after he was found to have defamed a former prosecutor
in the Tawana Brawley case, Alton H. Maddox Jr. has finished paying off a
$95,000 damage award against him."
Police discount rumors of "blueprint" threats
By CHRIS SIMONDS
The Independent [Hudson River Valley]
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2600039&BRD=248&PAG=461&dept_id=462341\
&rfi=6
"It may be a sign of our tense times that rumors of local terrorist
threats, which otherwise might come and go without much notice, are quickly
achieving the status of urban legend."
Party sterilizers and accidental tourists
by Michael L. Tan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://www.inq7.net/opi/2001/nov/08/opi_mltan-1.htm
"THE OTHER day I received an e-mail from a Filipino warning about a "new
drug" called Progesterex that, slipped into your drink, would knock you out
and get you raped."
Black towns warned of slave credit scam
By Mick Hinton
The Oklahoman
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=778831&pic=none&TP=getarticle
"The Internal Revenue Service is warning residents of Tatums and other
black communities in the state to beware of people who offer to get a
so-called "slave reparations credit" for them."
Former officials charged with lending Vatican authenticity to dubious art
works
by Philip Willan
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,588961,00.html
"Two former senior officials at the Vatican have been charged in Rome in
connection with an alleged art fraud."
'Urgent and very confidential': African scam letters circulating
By Jason Clay Jansky
Wilson County News [TX]
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2601342&BRD=1378&PAG=461&dept_id=19110\
6&rfi=6
"Tens of millions of U.S. dollars are being smuggled out of corrupt
Nigeria, the smugglers' lives could be at stake, and an offshore bank
account is needed - for which you will be richly rewarded if you provide
this assistance."
Indiana fraud victims ordered to send back restitution money
By ROBERTA HEIMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/164396p-1569545c.html
"More than a year ago, 75-year-old Helen Morris received $4,320 in
restitution for a criminal fraud committed against her. Now she's being
told she has to give the money back because the people who committed the
fraud have filed bankruptcy."
Bishop Banishes Evil From 'Cursed' Soccer Stadium
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011107/od/bishop_dc_1.html
"A struggling English soccer team has turned to religion for salvation by
asking a bishop to carry out an exorcism at the club's ground."
Bishop denies football club 'exorcism'
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1642000/1642439.stm
"The Bishop of Oxford has denied reports he performed an exorcism to lift a
curse at a football club, but admits he held a ceremony to bless the ground."
Truth Seekers
By Dianne Lynch
ABC News
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/WiredWomen/wiredwomen.html
"Ironing your mail will kill the anthrax spores."
Lawsuit against Florida-based Psychic Hotline settled
Associated Press
http://www.miami.com/herald/digdocs/015274.htm
"The Psychic Hotline, accused of overbilling Arkansans by $3.2 million,
will issue refunds or forgive still unpaid bills in its settlement of a
lawsuit filed by Arkansas officials."
Physical therapist opens new practice
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/News/110701/SouthPinellas/Physical_therapist_op.shtml
"Laurie Joi Scheer has opened a physical therapy practice at 6740
Crosswinds Drive N, Suite A, St. Petersburg. Scheer, who holds a master's
degree in physical therapy from the University of Delaware, is also
certified in reiki, a healing technique founded in Tibet. Before opening in
Pinellas County, Scheer practiced physical therapy at Lee Memorial Hospital
in Fort Myers."
Appeals court suspends judge's order to display ceramic tiles at Columbine
High School
By JENNIFER HAMILTON
Associated Press
http://www.nandotimes.com/nation/story/165577p-1581787c.html
"On Tuesday, an appeals court suspended a federal judge's ruling requiring
Columbine High School to display ceramic tiles with religious symbols
painted by the families of two slain students."
Deputy Injured and Suspect Killed in Shoot-Out
KPNX-TV
http://www.12news.com/headline/Cooper2-110601.html
"An Apache County sheriff's deputy was shot in the head and is in guarded
condition. It happened during a shoot-out with a man with militia ties.
That man, William Cooper, was shot and killed."
Militia Figure Killed After Shooting
By EDUARDO MONTES
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011106/us/militia_shooting_1.html
"A wanted militia figure who vowed that he would never be taken alive was
killed by a law enforcement officer after he shot a sheriff's deputy trying
to arrest him, authorities said Tuesday."
U of Mass Scientists Discover Ancient Oil Health Benefits
Country Folks
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2599636&BRD=1218&PAG=461&dept_id=42609\
1&rfi=6
"With increasing emphasis on natural remedies for dealing with irritating
aches and pains, Dr. Robert Nicolosi, Director of The Center for Chronic
Disease Control And Prevention has announced the conclusion of two studies
both utilizing Emu Oil. While not yet recognized by the United States, FDA
, Australia's Therapeutic Goods Registry lists Emu Oil as both an active
substance and an active ingredient."
Sexist, satanist, classist: will the real Harry stand up?
by Kira Cochrane
The Sunday Times [London]
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/11/04/stirevnws02003.html
"Pity Harry Potter. A teenage wizard with a healthy interest in chocolate
frogs, he has never expressed a desire to run for public office or to
become a United Nations ambassador."
Bishop Banishes Evil From 'Cursed' Soccer Stadium
Reuters
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011107/od/bishop_dc_1.html
"A struggling English soccer team has turned to religion for salvation by
asking a bishop to carry out an exorcism at the club's ground."
Bishop denies football club 'exorcism'
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1642000/1642439.stm
"The Bishop of Oxford has denied reports he performed an exorcism to lift a
curse at a football club, but admits he held a ceremony to bless the ground."
Hindu medicine store focuses on natural treatments
BY CAROLINA PROCTER
The Times [Northern Indiana]
http://www.thetimesonline.com/index.pl/article?id=593251
"Rani Pargaonker worked as a family doctor in town for 15 years. After
watching some patients take pill after pill and never fully shake an
ailment, she decided she'd try another form of health care."
Court ruling about mall preachers doesn't affect Aurora
By Frank Bell
Aurora Sentinel
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2599690&BRD=1947&PAG=461&dept_id=16865\
7&rfi=6
"Even though the state's appelate court ruled that an area shopping mall
has the right to require 24-hour notice for Christians who want to
proselytize, it hasn't opened the door for preachers to set up at Aurora's
two malls."
Home Grown? - If anthrax is domestic, likely suspects abound
By Johnny Angel
LA Weekly
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/laweekly/20011101/lo/29657_1.html
"As the specter of anthrax spread up the Eastern seaboard from Florida to
New York, Americans began an inevitable round of speculation on the source
of this "other shoe." And while Osama bin Laden and his supposed allies
were considered early on as the likely suspects, government officials are
backing off that assumption. Increasingly, experts on terror and the
radical fringe say they expect to find the perpetrators here at home. They
contend that the very use of anthrax as terror weapon, whether real or
hoax, is a trademark of the American far right."
Truth Seekers
By Dianne Lynch
ABC News
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/WiredWomen/wiredwomen.html
"Ironing your mail will kill the anthrax spores."
Two admit faking alleged Viking inscription
Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/11/06/viking.htm
"Two people say they are the ones who carved inscriptions on a 2,200-pound
rock — not a band of Vikings who supposedly explored the state in 1363."
Illinois School Uses Lie Detectors
By JAY HUGHES
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20011106/us/football_polygraphs_2.html
"One by one, the subjects were led into a room and hooked up to a polygraph
machine."
Brazil relies on astrology in World Cup qualifiers
Kyodo News
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=152763
"The coach of Brazil's embattled national soccer team, Luiz Felipe Scolari,
has sought the help of astrologers to select players in the 2002 World Cup
qualifier series in Latin America, a local daily said Monday."
Obesity drug seized following FDA investigation
HeartCenterOnline
http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/home/research-detail.cfm?reutersid=20\
47&name=moreover
"At the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US Marshals
seized almost $3 million worth of a product being marketed as a dietary
supplement for the treatment of obesity last week. According to a press
release issued by the FDA October 31, 2001, about 140,000 bottles of AMP II
Pro Drops were seized from Utah- based company Biogenics Inc. (doing
business as E'OLA International), and its contract manufacturer, Nature's
Energy, Inc., also of Utah."
Nostradamus, Move Over!
by Gersh Kuntzman
Newsweek
http://www.msnbc.com/news/653154.asp?cp1=1
"The Amazing Kreskin has lived up to his nickname—the “Amazing” part, I
mean, not the “Kreskin” part—once again!"
AIDS Fraudster Gets 14 Years
RainbowNetwork
http://www.rainbownetwork.com/content/NewsLife.asp?newsid=2307
"A man who posed as an AIDS expert has been handed a 14-year sentence for
fraud and money laundering."
AIDS myth fuels S. Africa's child-rape scourge
Reuters
http://europe.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/11/05/crime.safrica.rape.reut/index.html
"South Africa is in shock over a surge in the rape of children and even
babies, fueled by a myth that sex with a virgin will protect a man against
AIDS, activists said Monday."
In a Crisis, Go With What Works
By JANE E. ALLEN
Los Angles Times
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-000088379nov05.story?coll=la%2Dheadlin\
es%2Dhealth
"Surfing the Internet or listening to talk radio in recent days, you might
get the idea that herbs, homeopathy and other alternative health remedies
can prevent and cure anthrax infection."
Haunted Long Island
By Ralph D'Ambrose
Suffolk Life
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2568946&BRD=1776&PAG=461&dept_id=6365&\
rfi=6
"A rocking chair begins to move by itself. Household objects lift off the
countertop and fly around the room. Pale, shrouded figures float down the
hallway. Ethereal voices whisper your name ... then fall silent.
Occurrences like these are common in Hollywood movies, but what people may
not know is that they happen on Long Island, too."
HAUNTED BISTRO SERVES ‘SPIRITS'
By GERSH KUNTZMAN
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/commentary/33424.htm
"IT WAS Halloween night and SoHo's Manhattan Bistro was empty - so empty,
in fact, that the staff decided to close up early."
Cash scam church leader jailed
By JOSIE CLARKE
New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=227053&thesection=news&thesub\
section=general
"An unsolicited letter from Nigeria started a chain of events that ended
yesterday in five years' prison for a church leader who swindled his
victims out of $1.2 million."
Spies admit it: there are no aliens out there
by Paul Harris
The Observer
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,587309,00.html
"Britain's spies have given up looking for aliens after more than half a
century of fruitless monitoring of thousands of UFO reports."
Enraptured readers
By SHARON TUBBS
St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/News/110501/Floridian/Enraptured_readers.shtml
"Susannah Malison had to stop by Borders bookstore on her lunch break. It
was Oct. 30, the release date for Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne,
the ninth in a series of books about the end times, and she couldn't wait
to read the latest."
"Fascinating' Houdini seance
By Bill Soberanes
Petaluma Argus-Courier
http://www.arguscourier.com/display/inn_local_news/2houdini.txt
"Although Harry Houdini didn't manifest himself at the Halloween seance,
those present had the unanimous opinion that this was one of the most
fascinating."
Clevelanders getting unwanted calls from psychic
WKYC-TV
http://www.wkyc.com/news/morelocal/cleveland/011103misscleo.ssf
"Popular "psychic" Miss Cleo has been making uninvited housecalls to people
in the Cleveland area."
NWI Ghost Trackers find regional phenomena
The Times [Northern Indiana]
http://www.thetimesonline.com/index.pl/article?id=8445731
"Below the steps of the Old Lake County Courthouse, a group of tourists
stand waiting for their guide."
Did meteor destroy old civilizations in Mideast?
by Robert Matthews
The Sunday Telegraph
http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.html?f=/stories/20011105/771160.html
"Scientists have found evidence that a meteor impact in the Middle East
might have triggered the mysterious collapse of civilizations more than
4,000 years ago."
Psychic Nelson Guyette dies
By Jack Jones
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
"Nelson P. Guyette, whose colorful resume included stints as a songwriter,
disc jockey, real estate agent, advertising executive, stand-up comedian,
stock car race announcer -- and psychic -- died last month at F.F. Thompson
Hospital after a brief illness. He was 63."
Ghostly occupants, well-publicized murder case can drop a property's value
by up to 35%
by Susan Deutschle
Business First
http://columbus.bcentral.com/columbus/stories/2001/11/05/focus1.html
"It's not easy to sell a house inhabited by a ghost. Or a property that's
been the scene of a ghastly crime or suicide. Worst of all is a residence
occupied by the former who was the victim of the latter."
Militia steps up its 'preparedness'
By Roy Bragg
San Antonio Express-News
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=485772&xld=180
"The citizen-soldiers of the Republic of Texas spent the weekend on their
bellies and on their guard, learning how to assist a state government they
don't recognize and a federal government they uniformly despise."
Resident reports UFO sighting
Bristol Press
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2594888&BRD=1643&PAG=461&dept_id=10486\
&rfi=6
"A Nicholas Drive resident reported to police Sunday that he saw an
unidentified flying object about 1 a.m. Sunday hovering near the Douglas A.
Beals Senior-Community Center."
Apocalyptic cult methods explain bin Laden
By Patricia Pearson
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/2001-11-05-ncguest1.htm
"At the Pentagon memorial service last month, President Bush called the
al-Qa'eda network "a cult of evil," and for the first time, I thought:
"Yes, that sounds right." It is a kind of cult, and Osama bin Laden — far
from being the Muslim world's Che Guevara, is its evil and manipulative guru."
Teachers warn of occult dangers in Potter movie magic
by Tracy McVeigh
The Observer
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,587261,00.html
"He may have single-handedly fought the forces of evil, but now Harry
Potter faces a real-life adversary - the schoolboy wizard is in trouble
with teacher."
Consultants raking in a fortune over hot coals
By Dave Barry
Miami Herald
http://web.tallahasseedemocrat.com/content/tallahassee/2001/11/04/features/1104.\
fea.barry.htm
"A while back I read a fascinating business-related article in my
newspaper, The Miami Herald (official motto: "The Person Who Was Supposed
To Think Up Our Motto Got Laid Off"). This article, which was written by
Elaine Walker, concerned an incident wherein employees of the Burger King
marketing department walked barefoot over hot coals."
Anti-Scientology group to disband in Clearwater
Associated Press
http://www.naplesnews.com/01/11/florida/d658307a.htm
"An outspoken group that has battled the Church of Scientology is
disbanding and likely will close its headquarters, according to its founder."
Bruner Chiropractic chosen chamber business of month
By Amy Fauth
DAILY COURIER [Connellsville, PA]
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/s_2342.html
"Bruner Chiropractic Health Center, located on Crawford Avenue, West Side,
Connellsville, has been
selected as the Greater Connellsville Area Chamber of Commerce Business of
the Month for
November."
Strange, ghostly figures reported at plantation
By LINDA CONLEY
Spartanburg Herald-Journal
http://www.goupstate.com/hj/news/1031ghosts.asp
"The Juxa Plantation in Union County advertises that it has something for
everyone, including a ghost in the old Gregory Family cemetery."
Sect leader sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/44812_turgeon31ww.shtml
"The leader of an apocalyptic religious sect has been sentenced to more
than 50 years in prison for murder on top of an 89-year term for other
crimes in California."
Chiropractor allowed to continue pratice despite sexual assault charges
By John J. Archibald
Oshkosh Northwestern
http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/local/110301-3.html
"An Oshkosh chiropractor charged with several counts of sexual assault will
be allowed to continue to treat adult women, a Winnebago County Circuit
Court judge ruled Friday."
Foundation says evidence of cougars exists
By TOM CARR
Traverse City Record-Eagle
http://www.record-eagle.com/2001/nov/02cougar.htm
"Claims of cougar sightings that used to crop up from time to time around
here have just graduated from Bigfoot-Loch Ness mythology to reality."
Legends and lights
By Stacy Peterson
Fayetteville Observer
http://www.fayettevillenc.com/obj_stories/2001/oct/fl31leg.shtml
"The ghost lives just beyond the football field."
Items, rituals help athletes see success
BY IONE GEIER
Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald
http://www.pottsville.com/pub/2001/Nov/3/E496045A.htm
"Pottsville chiropractor Dr. Jack Dolbin, who played with the Denver
Broncos NFL football team during the 1970s, always put his socks on the
same way on game days. He also used a specific order to don the rest of his
uniform."
Nixon discusses psychic, gasoline prices
By B. Ray Owen
Southeast Missourian
http://www.semissourian.com/show.html?/news/297282509214504.bsp
"State attorney general Jay Nixon suggested Friday that legal actions taken
against a Florida psychic foretell the future of others who violate
Missouri's limits on telemarketing."
U.S. warns on Internet items sold to ease fears
By MAIA DAVIS
Bergen Record
http://www.bergen.com/news/remedymd200111023.htm
"Against an ominous and unnatural red-yellow sky, a family in gas masks is
on the run."
TV to shine light on Northeast psychic
By Tiffany L. Pruitt
Bay City Times
http://bc.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20011102bbeyondchance.frm
"JoAnna Henry-Quewes believes she can see into the future and communicate
with the dead."
Walter Karl Drops Miss Cleo List Following Allegations
By Scott Hovanyetz
DM News
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=17721
"List brokerage firm Walter Karl Inc. has ceased marketing a consumer list
from the Miss Cleo psychic network after New York state authorities
unveiled allegations of deceptive marketing by the operators of the hotline."
Alleged Ponzi Scams Hits Oregon
KPTV
http://www.oregons12.com/news/i_team/story.asp?content_id=744886
"These are tough economic times for many Oregonians, a time when people are
may be more likely to fall for money scams."
Sacred vision guides man’s spiritual life
By PETER HALL
The Express-Times [Easton, PA]
http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/index.ssf?/news/expresstimes/nj/blue_a\
r0.html
"A sacred vision lead John Mathias Haffert to dedicate his life to
spreading a message of world peace."
AIDS myth fuels S. Africa's child-rape scourge
Reuters
http://europe.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/africa/11/05/crime.safrica.rape.reut/index.html
"South Africa is in shock over a surge in the rape of children and even
babies, fueled by a myth that sex with a virgin will protect a man against
AIDS, activists said Monday."
Two admit faking alleged Viking inscription
Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/11/06/viking.htm
"Two people say they are the ones who carved inscriptions on a 2,200-pound
rock — not a band of Vikings who supposedly explored the state in 1363."
Break an old myth by breaking in a car the right way
By Tom and Ray Magliozzi
http://web.tallahasseedemocrat.com/content/tallahassee/2001/11/05/features/1105.\
fea.click.htm
"Dear Tom and Ray: My dear, departed daddy told me that if you broke in a
new car engine at slow speeds, it would always be slow and sluggish. Is
this true? What's the real skinny? Is there a preferred break-in protocol?
- Susan"
The rumor mail
BY RANDALL E. STROSS
U.S. News & World Report
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/011112/biztech/12domain.htm
"The Internet's high-speed rumor-distribution service does not work like
the old game of telephone, in which sequential whispers produce an instant
lesson in the untrustworthiness of interpersonal communication. Today,
thanks to the E-mail command "Forward to My Mailing List," we pass on
stories of imminent mayhem that echo right back with unnerving fidelity."
The Case of the Killer Heels
By GUY TREBAY
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/06/fashion/06FRON.html
"Even fashion is getting in on the urban legends that have proliferated in
what are now universally termed "these uncertain times." To wit: Manolo
Blahnik's killer shoes. A flurry of reports last week on the Web and in
British and American tabloids maintained that Mr. Blahnik yanked a pair of
stiletto shoes from his latest collection for fear that their heels could
be put to dastardly uses."
In a Crisis, Go With What Works
By JANE E. ALLEN
Los Angles Times
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-000088379nov05.story?coll=la%2Dheadlin\
es%2Dhealth
"Surfing the Internet or listening to talk radio in recent days, you might
get the idea that herbs, homeopathy and other alternative health remedies
can prevent and cure anthrax infection."
Cash scam church leader jailed
By JOSIE CLARKE
New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=227053&thesection=news&thesub\
section=general
"An unsolicited letter from Nigeria started a chain of events that ended
yesterday in five years' prison for a church leader who swindled his
victims out of $1.2 million."
Tale & Legends
Animal Planet
http://www.animal.discovery.com/convergence/halloween/legends/legends.html
"We've all received emails or been in conversations regarding news about
the strange, bizarre and weird things we humans sometimes do. We laugh and
say, "That could never happen!" We also ponder the notion and wonder, "What
if?" All too often an animal is in the middle of these misfortunes. We
commonly refer to these happenings as tales or urban legends."
SEC: Be Wary of Anti-Terror Claims
By MARCY GORDON
Associated Press
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011106/pl/sec_anthrax_scams_1.html
"The Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors Tuesday to be wary
of claims of valuable products useful in fighting terrorism, as it
suspended trading in stock of a company claiming it is testing a
disinfectant for anthrax."
Missing Girl's Family Looks For Help In Cyberspace
WCVB-TV
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wcvb/20011105/lo/942917_1.html
"The family of a Warren, Mass., teenager who disappeared more than one year
ago, will launch an e-mail campaign Friday in hopes of generating new
information about the whereabouts of the missing girl."
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