Agent13
2nd October 2003, 10:29 PM
How false memory of abuse almost destroyed Maxine's young life
Leeds Today
http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=667765
"FOR years Maxine Berry thought her happy childhood memories of playing with her father were a cruel trick of her imagination as her brain blocked out memories of his abuse."
Fake FBI site tries to lure victims
By Bob Sullivan
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/974015.asp
"A suspicious e-mail and Web site masquerading as a communication from the Federal Bureau of Investigation made their way around the Internet Tuesday, attempting to lure Net users into divulging their bank account information. Both the site and the e-mail sported realistic-looking FBI logos. The Web site claimed that there had been a massive theft of debit cards, and urged consumers to enter their account information so the agency could check to see if it had been compromised. The FBI (the real one) said it was investigating."
Police expert claims Bigfoot 'proof'
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3152468.stm
"A forensic expert in the US believes he has some of the strongest evidence yet that the Bigfoot, or sasquatch, creature exists."
Tanzania clamps down on juju
By Emmanuel Muga
BBC Sport
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/3156332.stm
"The interim committee of the Football Association of Tanzania (Fat) has penalised the country's top two teams, Simba and Yanga, for allegedly using witchcraft."
Alien visit? Crop circles remain a mystery
By LISA ROBERSON
Chillicothe Gazette
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/news/stories/20031002/localnews/374073.html
"The soil has been collected and the plants tested, but researchers still are in the dark as to what caused the crop formations on a Bainbridge soy bean field."
Crop Circles Appear In Ross County
WLWT
http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/2526265/detail.html
"A series of crop circles have appeared in a Ross County soybean field, causing some to search the sky for extraterrestrials and a farmer to search for a vandal."
Going Bust
BY CASEY LOGAN
Pitch Weekly
http://www.pitch.com/issues/2003-10-02/stline.html/1/index.html
"On September 20, Kansas City Star readers were greeted with an unsettling sight on the newspaper's front page: yet another rendition of "Precious Doe," the unidentified victim of a homicide more than two years old. This time, the decapitated child was rendered in a sickly, gray-colored, clay bust."
Science proves the Chinese right
By David Steinkraus
Racine Journal Times
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2003/09/25/local/iq_2464975.txt
"The Chinese have practiced tai chi chuan for hundreds of years to better their health, and now some Western researchers say that for the first time they've shown that such a change in behavior can improve people's resistance to a virus."
State Refutes Parker Family's Statements
KSL-TV
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=39&sid=50188
"For the first time ... a full accounting, in the Parker Jensen case ... is made public. And, the details ... directly contradict, much of what the Jensen family has said ... all along."
Doctor urges chemo, quits
By Matt Canham
Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09272003/utah/96420.asp
"The physician chosen by the family of Parker Jensen to give a second opinion on the 12-year-old's treatment has concluded that the Sandy boy requires 11 months of chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer cells floating in his blood."
Plan Could Cost 'Doctors' Their D.C. Credentials
By Avram Goldstein
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15160-2003Sep28.html
"In her yard in rural Floyd's Knobs, Ind., natural healer Lisa M. Murray grows joe-pye weed, which she brews into a kidney tonic, and valerian root, which she might give to someone with insomnia. She has no college degree, but Murray said she worked hard to learn naturopathy and pass a national exam in alternative medicine so she could help people."
Some patients and doctors say intravenous vitamins offer relief
By Lisa Marshall
Boulder Daily Camera
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/health_and_fitness/article/0,1713,BDC_2431_2301861,00.html
"Jack Butler did it after he was diagnosed with West Nile Virus last month — he says his fever broke within 24 hours and a week later he felt fine."
Disgraced doctor to face fresh charge
By ELIZABETH BINNING
New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3526191&thesection=news&thesubsection=general
"A disgraced Waikato doctor who used prayer and alternative medicine to treat patients is to be brought before the medical tribunal for a second time."
Man makes healthy living a way of life
By SHARON MILLER
Baxter Bulletin
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/news/stories/20030930/localnews/356384.html
"Joseph Horchak of Mountain Home sounds like a man ahead of his time, but he looks much younger than his 81 years."
Herbal Web Sites Not Always Honest
by KATRINA WOZNICKI
United Press International
<http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/hb/news/article/0,,comtex_2003_09_29_up_0000-3951-bc-us-onlineherbs~ew~xml,00.html>
"A new survey has found half of all Internet marketers of herbal products have violated federal law by making false claims or omitting legally required disclaimers and medical warnings. The findings suggest many consumers are vulnerable to purchasing substandard or potentially dangerous products by patronizing the illegal sites."
State sues Bellevue health-center owner
by Catherine Hawley
King County Journal
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/144876
"The owner of a Bellevue health center is being sued by the state attorney general for allegedly making unproven claims about a medical device."
Doctor gets licence back for appeal
by HAROLD LEVY
Toronto Star
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1064873412423&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037>
"A Toronto doctor thrown out of medicine for giving terminally ill cancer patients false hope and charging them tens of thousands of dollars in the process has been permitted to continue practising pending his appeal, but subject to restrictions."
Flight of fancy leads to salvation
By GRACIE BONDS STAPLES
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/1003/01real.html
"At age 39, Alison Ader discovered she was pregnant. It was a pleasant surprise, but nothing could have prepared her for the flight her life was about to take."
Health fear as vaccine is shunned
By Sadie Gray
Walsall News
http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_43303.shtml
"Walsall children face outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella because parents have shunned the MMR combined vaccine over controversial reports linking it to autism, health experts have warned."
Tantalizing clues, but few facts
By David Kohn
Baltimore Sun
http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-te.autism15sep15,0,5261347.story
"In recent years, autism research has been a battleground. A vocal group of parents, advocates and a few scientists focused on vaccines containing traces of mercury as the lead suspects in the disorder. But most autism researchers were suspicious, arguing that the theory didn't fit the evidence."
Parents sue 7 companies over mercury in vaccines
By Pat Moore
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/auto/epaper/editions/tuesday/martin_stlucie_f3879fc16098e18900a0.html
"A Port St. Lucie couple and single mother filed lawsuits Monday claiming their autistic children suffered mercury poisoning injected in childhood vaccines during the first three years of their lives."
Doctor disputes claims that vaccines endanger children
by Hilary Waldman
Hartford Courant
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0926vaccines.html
"Dr. Robert Windom recalls the time he postponed a 4-month-old patient's planned shots because he had a funny feeling the baby was not well that day."
State says clinic uses unapproved test device
By MATTHEW CRAFT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/142174_ckline02.html
"At least 1,000 people every year pass through the doors of the Pacific Health Centers in Bellevue and Spokane, where first-timers receive an "electronic interview with the human body.""
PADRE PIO'S HEALING TOUCH
By GISELLE SOTELO
Vineland Daily Journal
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/news/stories/20030929/localnews/350803.html
"Were it not for Padre Pio's miraculous intercession on her behalf, Alexis Mavromanolis might not be alive today."
UNM Dean Objects To Class' Science Credit
Associated Press
http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/education/2524601/detail.html
"The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico is crying foul over a course advertised as science."
Peace proponent pushes method from Maharishi
By Julie Poppen
Rocky Mountain News
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/election/article/0,1299,DRMN_36_2306408,00.html
"Peace promulgator Jeff Peckman has dodged details about what programs his offbeat Denver ballot initiative would promote should voters pass it Nov. 4."
Stress measure pushes quack science
Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_2314272,00.html
"The ballot title for Initiative 101 in Denver claims it will "help ensure public safety by increasing peacefulness." We'd never want to be against either public safety or peacefulness, but the claims are bogus."
Stumping for Kennewick Man
By Kristina Lord
Tri-City Herald
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/4053089p-4073040c.html
"Will Tran thinks Kennewick Man's remains should be returned to the American Indians."
'Gifting circle' figure may get fine reduced
By Chris Loos
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/daily/2003/Sep-28-Sun-2003/news/news2.html
"An administrative hearings officer for the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has recommended that a Big Island woman be fined $10,000 for her involvement in a "women's gifting circle" pyramid scheme."
Judge rules in favour of pyramid scheme victim
by HANK DANISZEWSKI
London Free Press
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/10/02/214621.html
"Jan Fulkerson, one of many London-area women who lost in the so-called Muffin Club pyramid scheme, should get her money back, a London judge has ruled. But the lawyer for Delores Roberts, the woman Fulkerson sued for the return of her $5,000, said yesterday the judgment will be appealed."
Those e-mail come-ons aren't just spam, they're scams
By JACK COX
DENVER POST
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/141517_webscams29.html
"More than 100 years ago P. T. Barnum was credited with saying, "There's a sucker born every minute," but the spirit of that consummate con artist lives on in today's e-mail scams, and they dupe probably far more Americans than Barnum ever did."
Plummer exposed to 'cover jinx'
By Adam Schefter
Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~1670286,00.html
"Upon seeing Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, with the headline "Man on the Run," Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe lowered his head and closed his eyes."
E-mail hoax harmful prank
by Ian Gillespie
London Free Press
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/10/01/213625.html
"The e-mail got my attention. Fast. "Read this!" declared the subject line. "IMPORTANT NOTICE.""
Godmen have a field day as polls draw near in Chhattisgarh
by Raja Bhattacharjee
Hindustan Times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_399037,0008.htm
"As assembly elections draw nearer with each passing day, godmen and soothsayers are having a field day in Chhattisgarh. Host of ministers and Opposition leaders have begun flocking to godman, astrologers and tantriks in order to know their prospects in the elections."
Schools should not limit origins-of-life discussions to evolution, Republican legislators say
By GREG C. HUFF
Stillwater Gazette
http://www.stillwatergazette.com/story.asp?cat=NEW&story=6538
"More than 78 years after the famous Scopes "monkey" trial, lawmakers and educators in Minnesota and across the country have been again debating how to teach in public schools the origin of mankind."
Dying child appeal is hoax
By MARY FRANCES DONALSON
Bainbridge Post-Searchlight
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2068&dept_id=387468&newsid=10231617&PAG=461&rfi=9
"Persons who have received letters from friends and business associates regarding a Make-A-Wish request for business cards to be sent to a Craig Sheppard , a child reportedly suffering from a brain tumor, should be aware that this is a hoax."
Judge: Indiana extradition premature in missing girl hoax
Associated Press
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/10/01/missing.girl.ap/
"A Kansas judge ordered the return of a woman taken to Indiana to face charges she misled a couple into believing she was their long-missing daughter."
Hoax suspect won't be returned
By Cathy Kightlinger
Indianapolis Star
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/6/079691-5016-093.html
"The Boone County prosecutor insisted Wednesday he would ignore a Kansas judge's order to return a suspected hoaxer, even as the woman herself called her flight to Indiana kidnapping."
Sherrill family reacts to Walker's extradition
By Matt Hendrix and Derek Clay
Zionsville Times Sentinel
http://www.timessentinel.com/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=13699?zt_story
"Dorothy Sherrill arrived at the Boone County Courthouse Thursday, Sept. 25, shortly after Donna Walker, to attend Walker's first hearing in Indiana. She and sisters Beverly McKinney and Jody Ames spent a few moments outside, gathering their composure, before entering the building through basement doors to avoid television cameras."
Court may end standoff
Associated Press
http://www.record-eagle.com/2003/oct/01stando.htm
"A landowner who once threatened violence if forced to remove three manufactured homes from his property now says he will abide by a judge’s ruling, even if it means moving the dwellings."
Trailer standoff endures after all
By KEITH MATHENY
Traverse City Record-Eagle
http://www.record-eagle.com/2003/oct/02standy.htm
"Disgruntled landowner Lyle Barkley on Wednesday disputed reports indicating he'd allow authorities to remove three house trailers from his Bay Township property if so ordered by a county circuit judge."
Did NY Times Curse The Red Sox?
Associated Press
http://www.turnto10.com/sports/2522970/detail.html
"The Boston Red Sox take the field in Oakland on Wednesday in a quest to erase 85 years of jinxed history that's usually pinned to the immortal Babe Ruth."
The Media's Obligation in Debunking Myths
By Seth Porges
Editor & Publisher Online
http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1991322
"Every day, newspaper editors must grapple with the question: "What is news?" There is a fine calculus that goes into determining what belongs on the front page, what gets buried in the middle, and what doesn't appear in a newspaper at all."
Sexual abuse of young girls rife in Zambia
by Dickson Jere
Agence France-Presse
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=21177
"Growing numbers of girls in poverty-stricken Zambia are being raped by men who believe that having sex with minors can cure HIV/Aids."
'Wave at the cashier' used in films
by Fay Faron
Contra Costa Times
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/6913975.htm
"I thought you might be interested to know that the "two women in the supermarket" story was made into a comic short in Mexico in 1997."
New York's New Age: City Awakens to Aurora Spiritual Book Center
by Nicole Pezold
Publishers Weekly
<http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA326235&display=breakingNews&publication=publishersweekly>
"In April 2001, Angela Babecov, a former CIBC Oppenheimer vice-president, left her job on Wall Street to open Aurora Spiritual Book Center on the Lower East Side of New York City, not far from her former workplace. The timing was striking: five months later, the World Trade Center fell and many of her former colleagues and coworkers suffered a malaise that forced them to reconsider the path of their lives."
Cult babies remain unclaimed by kin
Associated Press
http://www.projo.com/ap/ma/1064585899.htm
"The bodies of two infants who died while in the care of an Attleboro sect remain unclaimed in a Boston morgue more than three years after they were exhumed from a makeshift grave in a Maine park."
Sect Mom Accused Of Son's Murder Freed On Bail
Associated Press
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2526487/detail.html
"A mother who allegedly watched her infant son starve to death because of a religious prophecy was released on $100,000 cash bail Wednesday, just a week after a judge found her competent to stand trial on the second-degree murder charge."
Va. Doctor's Misconduct Left Trail of Broken Lives
By Sandra G. Boodman and Patricia Davis
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10967-2003Sep27.html
"Anita Kratzke hadn't been feeling well in the days before she died. Her body was still in bed, tucked under her comforter, and there were no signs of violence."
Superbomb ignites science dispute
by Keay Davidson
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/09/28/SUPERBOMB.TMP
"The Pentagon's pursuit of a new kind of nonnuclear super-weapon has sparked a behind-the-scenes revolt among its elite scientific advisers, some of whom reject the scheme as pseudoscience."
Police: Items Found After Psychic's Tip No Clue To Man's Disappearance
WJXT
http://www.news4jax.com/news/2517144/detail.html
"A family hasn't given up looking for a 34-year-old man missing for more than two years, but police say a potential clue dug up after tip from a psychic won't help."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skepticsearch/
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Leeds Today
http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=667765
"FOR years Maxine Berry thought her happy childhood memories of playing with her father were a cruel trick of her imagination as her brain blocked out memories of his abuse."
Fake FBI site tries to lure victims
By Bob Sullivan
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/974015.asp
"A suspicious e-mail and Web site masquerading as a communication from the Federal Bureau of Investigation made their way around the Internet Tuesday, attempting to lure Net users into divulging their bank account information. Both the site and the e-mail sported realistic-looking FBI logos. The Web site claimed that there had been a massive theft of debit cards, and urged consumers to enter their account information so the agency could check to see if it had been compromised. The FBI (the real one) said it was investigating."
Police expert claims Bigfoot 'proof'
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3152468.stm
"A forensic expert in the US believes he has some of the strongest evidence yet that the Bigfoot, or sasquatch, creature exists."
Tanzania clamps down on juju
By Emmanuel Muga
BBC Sport
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/3156332.stm
"The interim committee of the Football Association of Tanzania (Fat) has penalised the country's top two teams, Simba and Yanga, for allegedly using witchcraft."
Alien visit? Crop circles remain a mystery
By LISA ROBERSON
Chillicothe Gazette
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/news/stories/20031002/localnews/374073.html
"The soil has been collected and the plants tested, but researchers still are in the dark as to what caused the crop formations on a Bainbridge soy bean field."
Crop Circles Appear In Ross County
WLWT
http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/2526265/detail.html
"A series of crop circles have appeared in a Ross County soybean field, causing some to search the sky for extraterrestrials and a farmer to search for a vandal."
Going Bust
BY CASEY LOGAN
Pitch Weekly
http://www.pitch.com/issues/2003-10-02/stline.html/1/index.html
"On September 20, Kansas City Star readers were greeted with an unsettling sight on the newspaper's front page: yet another rendition of "Precious Doe," the unidentified victim of a homicide more than two years old. This time, the decapitated child was rendered in a sickly, gray-colored, clay bust."
Science proves the Chinese right
By David Steinkraus
Racine Journal Times
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2003/09/25/local/iq_2464975.txt
"The Chinese have practiced tai chi chuan for hundreds of years to better their health, and now some Western researchers say that for the first time they've shown that such a change in behavior can improve people's resistance to a virus."
State Refutes Parker Family's Statements
KSL-TV
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=39&sid=50188
"For the first time ... a full accounting, in the Parker Jensen case ... is made public. And, the details ... directly contradict, much of what the Jensen family has said ... all along."
Doctor urges chemo, quits
By Matt Canham
Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09272003/utah/96420.asp
"The physician chosen by the family of Parker Jensen to give a second opinion on the 12-year-old's treatment has concluded that the Sandy boy requires 11 months of chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer cells floating in his blood."
Plan Could Cost 'Doctors' Their D.C. Credentials
By Avram Goldstein
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15160-2003Sep28.html
"In her yard in rural Floyd's Knobs, Ind., natural healer Lisa M. Murray grows joe-pye weed, which she brews into a kidney tonic, and valerian root, which she might give to someone with insomnia. She has no college degree, but Murray said she worked hard to learn naturopathy and pass a national exam in alternative medicine so she could help people."
Some patients and doctors say intravenous vitamins offer relief
By Lisa Marshall
Boulder Daily Camera
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/health_and_fitness/article/0,1713,BDC_2431_2301861,00.html
"Jack Butler did it after he was diagnosed with West Nile Virus last month — he says his fever broke within 24 hours and a week later he felt fine."
Disgraced doctor to face fresh charge
By ELIZABETH BINNING
New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3526191&thesection=news&thesubsection=general
"A disgraced Waikato doctor who used prayer and alternative medicine to treat patients is to be brought before the medical tribunal for a second time."
Man makes healthy living a way of life
By SHARON MILLER
Baxter Bulletin
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/news/stories/20030930/localnews/356384.html
"Joseph Horchak of Mountain Home sounds like a man ahead of his time, but he looks much younger than his 81 years."
Herbal Web Sites Not Always Honest
by KATRINA WOZNICKI
United Press International
<http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/hb/news/article/0,,comtex_2003_09_29_up_0000-3951-bc-us-onlineherbs~ew~xml,00.html>
"A new survey has found half of all Internet marketers of herbal products have violated federal law by making false claims or omitting legally required disclaimers and medical warnings. The findings suggest many consumers are vulnerable to purchasing substandard or potentially dangerous products by patronizing the illegal sites."
State sues Bellevue health-center owner
by Catherine Hawley
King County Journal
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/144876
"The owner of a Bellevue health center is being sued by the state attorney general for allegedly making unproven claims about a medical device."
Doctor gets licence back for appeal
by HAROLD LEVY
Toronto Star
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1064873412423&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037>
"A Toronto doctor thrown out of medicine for giving terminally ill cancer patients false hope and charging them tens of thousands of dollars in the process has been permitted to continue practising pending his appeal, but subject to restrictions."
Flight of fancy leads to salvation
By GRACIE BONDS STAPLES
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/1003/01real.html
"At age 39, Alison Ader discovered she was pregnant. It was a pleasant surprise, but nothing could have prepared her for the flight her life was about to take."
Health fear as vaccine is shunned
By Sadie Gray
Walsall News
http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_43303.shtml
"Walsall children face outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella because parents have shunned the MMR combined vaccine over controversial reports linking it to autism, health experts have warned."
Tantalizing clues, but few facts
By David Kohn
Baltimore Sun
http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-te.autism15sep15,0,5261347.story
"In recent years, autism research has been a battleground. A vocal group of parents, advocates and a few scientists focused on vaccines containing traces of mercury as the lead suspects in the disorder. But most autism researchers were suspicious, arguing that the theory didn't fit the evidence."
Parents sue 7 companies over mercury in vaccines
By Pat Moore
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/auto/epaper/editions/tuesday/martin_stlucie_f3879fc16098e18900a0.html
"A Port St. Lucie couple and single mother filed lawsuits Monday claiming their autistic children suffered mercury poisoning injected in childhood vaccines during the first three years of their lives."
Doctor disputes claims that vaccines endanger children
by Hilary Waldman
Hartford Courant
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0926vaccines.html
"Dr. Robert Windom recalls the time he postponed a 4-month-old patient's planned shots because he had a funny feeling the baby was not well that day."
State says clinic uses unapproved test device
By MATTHEW CRAFT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/142174_ckline02.html
"At least 1,000 people every year pass through the doors of the Pacific Health Centers in Bellevue and Spokane, where first-timers receive an "electronic interview with the human body.""
PADRE PIO'S HEALING TOUCH
By GISELLE SOTELO
Vineland Daily Journal
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/news/stories/20030929/localnews/350803.html
"Were it not for Padre Pio's miraculous intercession on her behalf, Alexis Mavromanolis might not be alive today."
UNM Dean Objects To Class' Science Credit
Associated Press
http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/education/2524601/detail.html
"The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico is crying foul over a course advertised as science."
Peace proponent pushes method from Maharishi
By Julie Poppen
Rocky Mountain News
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/election/article/0,1299,DRMN_36_2306408,00.html
"Peace promulgator Jeff Peckman has dodged details about what programs his offbeat Denver ballot initiative would promote should voters pass it Nov. 4."
Stress measure pushes quack science
Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_2314272,00.html
"The ballot title for Initiative 101 in Denver claims it will "help ensure public safety by increasing peacefulness." We'd never want to be against either public safety or peacefulness, but the claims are bogus."
Stumping for Kennewick Man
By Kristina Lord
Tri-City Herald
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/4053089p-4073040c.html
"Will Tran thinks Kennewick Man's remains should be returned to the American Indians."
'Gifting circle' figure may get fine reduced
By Chris Loos
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/daily/2003/Sep-28-Sun-2003/news/news2.html
"An administrative hearings officer for the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has recommended that a Big Island woman be fined $10,000 for her involvement in a "women's gifting circle" pyramid scheme."
Judge rules in favour of pyramid scheme victim
by HANK DANISZEWSKI
London Free Press
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/10/02/214621.html
"Jan Fulkerson, one of many London-area women who lost in the so-called Muffin Club pyramid scheme, should get her money back, a London judge has ruled. But the lawyer for Delores Roberts, the woman Fulkerson sued for the return of her $5,000, said yesterday the judgment will be appealed."
Those e-mail come-ons aren't just spam, they're scams
By JACK COX
DENVER POST
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/141517_webscams29.html
"More than 100 years ago P. T. Barnum was credited with saying, "There's a sucker born every minute," but the spirit of that consummate con artist lives on in today's e-mail scams, and they dupe probably far more Americans than Barnum ever did."
Plummer exposed to 'cover jinx'
By Adam Schefter
Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~1670286,00.html
"Upon seeing Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, with the headline "Man on the Run," Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe lowered his head and closed his eyes."
E-mail hoax harmful prank
by Ian Gillespie
London Free Press
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/10/01/213625.html
"The e-mail got my attention. Fast. "Read this!" declared the subject line. "IMPORTANT NOTICE.""
Godmen have a field day as polls draw near in Chhattisgarh
by Raja Bhattacharjee
Hindustan Times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_399037,0008.htm
"As assembly elections draw nearer with each passing day, godmen and soothsayers are having a field day in Chhattisgarh. Host of ministers and Opposition leaders have begun flocking to godman, astrologers and tantriks in order to know their prospects in the elections."
Schools should not limit origins-of-life discussions to evolution, Republican legislators say
By GREG C. HUFF
Stillwater Gazette
http://www.stillwatergazette.com/story.asp?cat=NEW&story=6538
"More than 78 years after the famous Scopes "monkey" trial, lawmakers and educators in Minnesota and across the country have been again debating how to teach in public schools the origin of mankind."
Dying child appeal is hoax
By MARY FRANCES DONALSON
Bainbridge Post-Searchlight
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2068&dept_id=387468&newsid=10231617&PAG=461&rfi=9
"Persons who have received letters from friends and business associates regarding a Make-A-Wish request for business cards to be sent to a Craig Sheppard , a child reportedly suffering from a brain tumor, should be aware that this is a hoax."
Judge: Indiana extradition premature in missing girl hoax
Associated Press
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/10/01/missing.girl.ap/
"A Kansas judge ordered the return of a woman taken to Indiana to face charges she misled a couple into believing she was their long-missing daughter."
Hoax suspect won't be returned
By Cathy Kightlinger
Indianapolis Star
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/6/079691-5016-093.html
"The Boone County prosecutor insisted Wednesday he would ignore a Kansas judge's order to return a suspected hoaxer, even as the woman herself called her flight to Indiana kidnapping."
Sherrill family reacts to Walker's extradition
By Matt Hendrix and Derek Clay
Zionsville Times Sentinel
http://www.timessentinel.com/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=13699?zt_story
"Dorothy Sherrill arrived at the Boone County Courthouse Thursday, Sept. 25, shortly after Donna Walker, to attend Walker's first hearing in Indiana. She and sisters Beverly McKinney and Jody Ames spent a few moments outside, gathering their composure, before entering the building through basement doors to avoid television cameras."
Court may end standoff
Associated Press
http://www.record-eagle.com/2003/oct/01stando.htm
"A landowner who once threatened violence if forced to remove three manufactured homes from his property now says he will abide by a judge’s ruling, even if it means moving the dwellings."
Trailer standoff endures after all
By KEITH MATHENY
Traverse City Record-Eagle
http://www.record-eagle.com/2003/oct/02standy.htm
"Disgruntled landowner Lyle Barkley on Wednesday disputed reports indicating he'd allow authorities to remove three house trailers from his Bay Township property if so ordered by a county circuit judge."
Did NY Times Curse The Red Sox?
Associated Press
http://www.turnto10.com/sports/2522970/detail.html
"The Boston Red Sox take the field in Oakland on Wednesday in a quest to erase 85 years of jinxed history that's usually pinned to the immortal Babe Ruth."
The Media's Obligation in Debunking Myths
By Seth Porges
Editor & Publisher Online
http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1991322
"Every day, newspaper editors must grapple with the question: "What is news?" There is a fine calculus that goes into determining what belongs on the front page, what gets buried in the middle, and what doesn't appear in a newspaper at all."
Sexual abuse of young girls rife in Zambia
by Dickson Jere
Agence France-Presse
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=21177
"Growing numbers of girls in poverty-stricken Zambia are being raped by men who believe that having sex with minors can cure HIV/Aids."
'Wave at the cashier' used in films
by Fay Faron
Contra Costa Times
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/6913975.htm
"I thought you might be interested to know that the "two women in the supermarket" story was made into a comic short in Mexico in 1997."
New York's New Age: City Awakens to Aurora Spiritual Book Center
by Nicole Pezold
Publishers Weekly
<http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA326235&display=breakingNews&publication=publishersweekly>
"In April 2001, Angela Babecov, a former CIBC Oppenheimer vice-president, left her job on Wall Street to open Aurora Spiritual Book Center on the Lower East Side of New York City, not far from her former workplace. The timing was striking: five months later, the World Trade Center fell and many of her former colleagues and coworkers suffered a malaise that forced them to reconsider the path of their lives."
Cult babies remain unclaimed by kin
Associated Press
http://www.projo.com/ap/ma/1064585899.htm
"The bodies of two infants who died while in the care of an Attleboro sect remain unclaimed in a Boston morgue more than three years after they were exhumed from a makeshift grave in a Maine park."
Sect Mom Accused Of Son's Murder Freed On Bail
Associated Press
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2526487/detail.html
"A mother who allegedly watched her infant son starve to death because of a religious prophecy was released on $100,000 cash bail Wednesday, just a week after a judge found her competent to stand trial on the second-degree murder charge."
Va. Doctor's Misconduct Left Trail of Broken Lives
By Sandra G. Boodman and Patricia Davis
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10967-2003Sep27.html
"Anita Kratzke hadn't been feeling well in the days before she died. Her body was still in bed, tucked under her comforter, and there were no signs of violence."
Superbomb ignites science dispute
by Keay Davidson
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/09/28/SUPERBOMB.TMP
"The Pentagon's pursuit of a new kind of nonnuclear super-weapon has sparked a behind-the-scenes revolt among its elite scientific advisers, some of whom reject the scheme as pseudoscience."
Police: Items Found After Psychic's Tip No Clue To Man's Disappearance
WJXT
http://www.news4jax.com/news/2517144/detail.html
"A family hasn't given up looking for a 34-year-old man missing for more than two years, but police say a potential clue dug up after tip from a psychic won't help."
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