Nexus - 0603 - New Times Magazine-pages

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... GLOBAL NEWS ... NEWS BRITAIN PLANS TO DUMP NUCLEAR WASTE IN AUSTRALIA Geologists aboard the drilling ship Joides Resolution, which is working on the international Ocean Drilling Program, have found that two submerged features, the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge, now about 2,000 metres below the surface, were once joined. Together they formed a continental shelf with an area of two million square kilometres. By studying recovered plant remains and fossilised marine plankton, the researchers have identified three periods during which the crust rose above sea level: 110 million years ago, 85 million years ago, and 35 million years ago. (Source: New Scientist, 20 February 1999) lhe United Kingdom is undertaking a £6 billion project to dump nuclear waste in Australia. British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), which is wholly owned by the UK Government, has already spent millions of pounds investigating a scheme to build the world's biggest nuclear waste repository in the outback. Britain has the world's second-largest stockpile of nuclear waste from power stations, and considers outback Australia to be an ideal site for the deep disposal of contaminated waste. Given Britain's track record (or lack thereof) of honesty and integrity in dealing with problems arising from previous nuclear and atomic projects in Australia, this move will be even less popular than breaking wind in an elevator! (Source: The Guardian Weekly, London, 28 February 1999) THREATS TO HEALTH CARE FREEDOM IN NEW ZEALAND hree-year-old Liam Williams-Holloway is in hiding, and half the New Zealand police force is on the lookout for him. His ‘crime' is that he has parents who care. Liam's parents have refused to continue with experimental chemotherapy ordered by HealthCare Otago and have gone into hiding, sparking a New Zealand—wide police manhunt which has included raids on alternative health clinics. Fearing the growing wave of public support, the Family Court has taken out a censorship gag on all news media, prohibiting them from publishing anything concerning Liam or his parents. A statement issued by Liam's parents on Friday 12 February 1999 reads as follows: "Given the intense public and media interest, we would like to explain the reasons behind the forcing of our actions. When your child has a medical problem of an unusual type, unless you are skilled you seek a clinical diagnosis. It is at this point that you relinquish control. "Liam was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in November 1998. Diagnostic procedures were carried out, which indicated one site only, and chemotherapy was initiated. The protocol chosen is still of experimental status. It consisted of seven 10-day cycles of very intensive chemotherapy, with the final administration of chemotherapy to kill bone marrow before a stem cell transplant. [The family explains that Liam's chance of survival was 50 per cent with conventional treatment.] "After two cycles of chemotherapy and much reading, we wanted to seek alternatives to give Liam the chance of a better quality of life. Meeting with HealthCare Otago, we were reluctantly given three weeks to seek out alternative stuff. Although given this opportunity, we were told that no matter how much progress was made, even if the cancer was in remission, Liam would still be put through the set protocol completely without re-evaluation or compromise. Australia dndian Ocean Plats Broken Ridge Ke rgualen Plateau Aatasctic Plate ANTARCTICA Australia LOST CONTINENT FOUND! Seen have discovered a continent that has risen above the Indian Ocean at least three times over the last 80 million years. The submerged continent is situated approximately 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles) southwest of Australia. The discovery of events and conditions that caused the raising of the Earth's crust above sea-level is so unexpected that theories on how continents form will have to be revised yet again. 8 - NEXUS APRIL — MAY 1999