Skeptic NewsSearch - 9/5/03

[Agent13]

Our Lady of Hollywood
BY SUSAN EASTMAN
New Times Broward-Palm Beach
http://www.newtimesbpb.com/issues/20...l/1/index.html

"Gloria Martinez called in sick this past July 12. A blood clot in her leg hurt so badly that, for the second week in a row, she couldn't get out of bed. The 45-year-old Dominican mother of two feared that her health would force her to quit her weekend job at Jackson Memorial Hospital and to drop out of school. For seven years, she had been a kind, sweet, competent voice on the other end of the line when people called the hospital's poison control hotline. During the week, she studied for a master's degree in mental health counseling at Nova Southeastern University. "I am a very busy woman," she says."


RAW POWER
by ZACH DUNDAS
Willamette Week
http://www.wweek.com/flatfiles/News4283.lasso

"Victoria Jayne has sparkling, clear-blue-sky eyes, and a mission in life just as intense."


A Quayle Curse? Call It a Bust
By Elaine S. Povich
Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...,1753488.story

"It's not exactly the "Curse of the Mummy," but two sculptors who worked on former Vice President Dan Quayle's official bust both died before the monument was completed. The third, Long Island City's Daniel Sinclair, finished the job - and without any worries."


White supremacist asked father to lie
UPI
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breakin...4256-6673r.htm

"White supremacist Matt Hale told his father to lie to a Chicago federal grand jury, according to an indictment released Thursday."


Officials try to thaw body for ID
By MIRSADA BURIC-ADAM
Prescott Daily Courier
http://www.communitypapers.com/DAILY...00&PubID=11263

"An official from the Yavapai County Medical Examiner's Office said it may be days before investigators can positively identify a frozen body that police discovered Tuesday morning at a Prescott residence."


Police: Man Preserved Wife's Body In Freezer For 6 Years
WKMG
http://www.local6.com/news/2453445/detail.html

"A 75-year-old man who hoped to bring his dead wife back to life was arrested in Prescott, Ariz., after police found her body packed into a refrigerator with dry ice."


Mum re-buried after 'dream vision'
Australian Associated Press
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...E13762,00.html

"THE body of a 105-year-old Bangladeshi woman was exhumed intact six years after her death and reburied after a fresh funeral participated by hundreds of stunned villagers, a newspaper reported today."


Government to Give Fewer Lie Detector Tests
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
New York Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/05/po...partner=GOOGLE>

"The Energy Department said yesterday in a surprise announcement that it was sharply cutting the number of lie detector tests it would give to people with access to nuclear secrets, particularly at the nation's weapons laboratories."


Energy Dept. to Narrow Polygraphs' Use
By ROBERT GEHRKE
Associated Press
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...y_polygraphs_2>

"The Energy Department plans to use fewer polygraph tests to detect espionage at energy labs after a study said employees could be unjustly accused — in effect reversing a policy that grew out of the Wen Ho Lee investigation."


Energy Dept. to cut use of lie detectors
By Richard Willing
USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...rgy-usat_x.htm

"Citing ongoing doubts about the accuracy of lie detectors, a top Energy Department official said Thursday the department plans to eliminate routine screening of most employees."


Two Lives of Nepal's Child Goddesses
By Sanjeev Miglani
Reuters
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...pal_goddess_dc>

"Twenty-two-year-old Rashmilla Shakya is like any other eager student in the crowded Kathmandu classroom, working toward a bachelor's degree in information technology."


'Killer' Christ icon is removed from Hermitage display
By Julius Strauss
The Telegraph [UK]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...04/wicon04.xml

"An ancient icon depicting Christ has been removed from display at the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg after claims that its "energy field" is killing staff."


SCIENTOLOGY: NO RIGHTS, PLEASE
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09042003/gossip/pagesix.htm

"TOM Cruise, John Travolta, Lisa Marie Presley, Kirstie Alley, Juliette Lewis and other Scientologists may have signed away many of the rights that most Americans take for granted."


Jensens, state are closing in on a deal
By Matt Canham
Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09032003/utah/89289.asp

"Utah authorities and Parker Jensen's family remained tight-lipped Tuesday after meeting to negotiate an end to the dispute over treating the 12-year-old Sandy boy for cancer, saying only that an agreement could be within their grasp."


Cancer Expert Weighs in on Jensen Case
by Carole Mikita
KSL-TV
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=46207

"In rejecting conventional cancer treatment for their son the Jensens say they're using alternative medicine. Many doctors say both chemotherapy or radiation AND massage or vitamins help patients recover. But they also warn patients or their parents that medical science is clear, some cancers require immediate, intense treatment for survival."


Using Alternative Medicine Risky For Some Cancers
KSL-TV
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=39&sid=46225

"In rejecting conventional cancer treatment, for their son ... the Jensens, say ... they're using alternative medicine."


Jensens budge on care
By Matt Canham
Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09042003/utah/89536.asp

"The parents of Parker Jensen have selected a board-certified physician to examine and, if necessary, treat their 12-year-old son for cancer as part of a settlement they offered to Utah officials Wednesday."


Supporters For Parker Jensen Family Hold Rally At State Capitol
KSL-TV
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=39&sid=46415

"The emotionally charged situation surrounding the Parker Jensen case brought hundreds of people to the steps of the State Capitol. Many of those who showed up today want a permanant change to state law over parental rights. Government Specialist Richard Piatt was also at the capital. And he joins us with this update on the Jensen's case."


Crop Circles Allegedly Found In Ohio Field
WCMH
http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/2456512/detail.html

"A southern Ohio mystery has some people wondering if someone -- or something -- from far away stopped by for a visit."


Crop Circle Spotted
WFIE
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=1429997

"A crop circle has shown up in a soybean field near Locust Grove, Ohio."


Ohio residents report strange lights in sky
By TIM STEPHENS
Huntington Herald-Dispatch
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2003/...04/LNlist5.htm

"Maybe it is something for the X-Files."


Local Crop Circles: Fake Or Phenomenon?
WLWT
http://www.channelcincinnati.com/new...13/detail.html

"It's been the talk of the town this week, and although recent incidents have been disproven, there are still plenty of believers of unusual activity as crop circles have shown up in Adams County."


Theory puts a serpent in the garden of education
By Robert Weitzel
The Capital Times
http://www.madison.com/captimes/opin...uest/56116.php

"In 1925, high school science teacher John Scopes was charged with violating the Butler Anti-Evolution Act, which prohibited public school teachers from teaching any theory that denied the story of divine creation as revealed in the Bible. The focus of Scopes' trial was less on his violation and more on the constitutionally of the Butler Act. Predictably, most of the proceeding was a battle of conflicting worldviews: fundamentalist Christian creationism vs. naturalistic evolution."


Wannabe a millionaire?
by Munir Attaullah
Daily Times [Pakistan]
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...5-9-2003_pg3_4

"Some genius once said there is a sucker born every minute. Obviously the genius was not Pakistani, for given our birth rates that would be a serious under-estimate. But whatever be the true global rate of addition (Fibonacci series?), what is beyond dispute is the size of the existing membership of this particular club: It is huge."


Suspected Othello 'bones' are only mineral deposits
By Shirley Wentworth
Tri-City Herald
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/lo...-3870136c.html

"It could have been Othello Woman."


Great balls o' fire
By KEN BRADFORD
South Bend Tribune
<http://www.southbendtribune.com/stor...ls_o__fire.sto>

""What was that?" Chris Hardy asked his uncle."


Don’t buy (all) the hype
by Ken Beck
Northern Star
http://www.star.niu.edu/perspective/...90403-hype.asp

"When you talk about politics day in and day out, you run the risk of becoming a complete bore. You can’t really broach the subject at parties, or you run the risk of starting a fight."


Celebrity psychic looks into future for weekend fair
By MARY LOU CREAMER
Port Huron Times Herald
http://www.thetimesherald.com/news/s...ws/189756.html

"She's appeared on such hit syndicated programs as Blind Date and Mr. Personality, and serves as the personal astrologer to such celebrities as J-Lo, Lisa Marie Presley and Andrew Firestone of The Bachelor fame."


Telepathy gets academic seal of approval in Sweden
Reuters
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...eden_telepathy>

"Sweden's Lund University, one of the oldest seats of learning in Scandinavia, will take a leap into the unknown by appointing northern Europe's first professor of parapsychology, hypnology and clairvoyance."


Stargazer to the Stars
By Ron Swoboda
New Orleans Magazine
<http://www.neworleansmagazine.com/cg...29&article=103>

"As we all move on down the road, there’s lots of stuff offered up to believe in. Religion. Corporate fidelity. Santa Claus. The words "I love you." The list goes on and on, and somewhere between The National Enquirer and the tooth fairy, according to my sensibilities, is astrology."


Board candidates divided on religion
By DANA BOONE
Des Moines Register
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stori.../22167652.html

"Two Des Moines school board candidates said they oppose teaching biblical creationism in science classes, but candidate Ako Abdul Samad, a Muslim imam, said he supported the practice during a forum Thursday."


Umtata cult members in court
South African Press Association
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_A...411789,00.html

"The 15 members of the notorious Umtata cult church appeared in the Umtata District Court on Thursday."


Police: Lake Body A Hoax
By Terry Groover
FORT SMITH TIMES RECORD
http://www.swtimes.com/archive/2003/.../LakeHoax.html

"Crawford County authorities say an investigation into remains discovered along the shores of Lake Shepherd Springs on Tuesday is now closed because the remains were not human."


Authorities Not Amused By Bone Hoax
Associated Press
http://www.thehometownchannel.com/ne...16/detail.html

"Bones found sticking from a pair of work boots and a shirt found on the bank of Lake Shepherd Springs were from a large animal, not from a human, Crawford County authorities said Wednesday."


Police call in the ghostbusters
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat...-haunted_x.htm

"Stumped by mysterious sights and sounds in their own headquarters, who did police call? Ghostbusters."


Bump in the Night
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/S...stbusters.html

"Footsteps on the stairs in the dead of night, doorknobs turning with no one on the other side and strange hot zones in an air-conditioned room are hardly the stuff of the latest gory horror movie."


Family of buried teen wants ghost stories to stop
By Heather DiMattia
Hammond Daily Star
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=169546&rfi=6

"More than 20 years after her 15-year-old son died in a car accident, Wilkinson and her daughter, Mary Anthony, are defending their loved one's memory against fictitious ghost stories that have led many to visit the Springfield Cemetery. They'd like to know who started the stories and why."


'Ghost hunters' arrested for trespassing
By Kevin Moran
North Adams Transcript
http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories...613154,00.html

"Two people who ventured into the former Plunkett Hospital in search of "ghosts" in recent weeks were arrested for trespassing, the town's police chief said."


Teen charged over e-mail hoax
Reuters
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/as...internet.reut/

"Authorities in Singapore have charged a 14-year-old boy for posing as the nation's education minister in an email hoax."


Jailed suspect in hoax case asks justices to free her
Associated Press
http://www.ljworld.com/section/state...l/story/144467

"A defense attorney wants the Kansas Supreme Court to intervene in the case of a woman accused of impersonating an Indiana couple's long-missing daughter."


A visitor makes an entrance
By JERRY ALLEGOOD
Raleigh News & Observer
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2...-2623237c.html

"Jeanie Dilday's home hasn't been the same since The Chief showed up at her front door."


N.C. woman welcomes man's image on her door
Associated Press
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observe...al/6696834.htm

"Jeanie Dilday doesn't know whether the appearance is a supernatural phenomenon or a quirk of the wood grain."


Guinness Book of Records Snubs Magician Blaine
Reuters
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...tain_blaine_dc>

"The Guinness Book of Records has rejected magician David Blaine's most demanding stunt to date, which will kick off high above London's River Thames on Friday."


Brazil occult sex killer jailed
By Jan Rocha
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3084532.stm

"A Brazilian doctor has been sentenced to 77 years in prison for his part in the murder and sexual mutilation of boys in the Amazon town of Altamira between 1989 and 1993."


Students debunk tribal healing myth
Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiw.../04/2003066412

"Two Aboriginal students won the first prize in this year's national scientific experiment contest but their discovery has been viewed by elders in their village as an act to subvert a hundred-year-old tribal tradition."


A Mark to Remember
by Patricia Cooper
Cavalier Daily
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArtic...16523&pid=1034

"Among the worn brick pathways, white columns and freshly seeded Lawn, the wandering eye notices perfectly stenciled white symbols adorning walls and sidewalks."


Healing by faith
By Hannah Lacsamana
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...30906lif1.html

"Jessie “Kosako” P. Nobida has helped countless patients on the road to recovery, and has vowed to continue his uncle’s legacy of healing for the rest of his life."


Bones identified in Vermont
By EILEEN MARKEY
NORTH JERSEY HERALD NEWS
<http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?...Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz>

"After police brought a psychic to her Lake Trail East home, Elizabeth Maher wondered what might be buried in her yard or basement. She can rest now - kind of."


ID of bones raises more questions in mystery
By DOUGLASS CROUSE
North Jersey Herald
<http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?...ZxZWVFRXl5Mw==>

"A black Labrador returned from a romp in the woods of southern Vermont six years ago carrying a human skull between its jaws. Days later, it dug up a lower jawbone and femur, and along with them a troubling mystery."


Psychic Helps Godsmack Singer Overcome Fear Of New Orleans
MTV News
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/147...godsmack.jhtml

"Roll over, Shirley MacLaine, and tell Jimmy Page the news. Godsmack's next single, "Re-Align," is about a past-life regression frontman Sully Erna had last year in New Orleans."


Local author publishes second book
Siskiyou Daily News
http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/article...news/news4.txt

"Local author Vin Smith plans to meet the public and autograph his recent publication "Lincoln Park" from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 22 at The Book Store on Miner Street in Yreka."


Speak of the Devil
by Patrick Rucker
Hartford Advocate
http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/Ne...?oid=oid:31545

"Mingling cheerfully in the DoubleTree Hotel's nondescript lobby one recent Saturday evening, the few dozen attendees of the SMART seminar in Windsor Locks could have been mistaken for any name-tagged conference-goers -- rarestamp enthusiasts or computer programmers on a motivational retreat."


Two admit roles in 'black money scam'
Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...,4051944.story

"Two African men pleaded guilty Thursday to scheming to sell a useless counterfeiting scheme to someone they believed was a wealthy businessman."


Lights in the Sky
by Graham Winch
KPLC
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.a...4&nav=0nqxHpbz

"Moss Bluff resident Stephanie Wilks saw a strange glowing object in the nights sky last Thursday. She says, "I am not crazy and I am very sane I don't believe in UFO's but my perspective is changing.""

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