Nexus - 0703 - New Times Magazine-pages

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... GLOBAL NEWS ... NEWS humans—who are too close to the source. What started in the 1980s as a US Navy project to detect a new class of so-called "silent submarines", remained virtually unknown until 1995, when, with LFA Sonar on the verge of being deployed in 80 per cent of the world's oceans, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) became aware of the program and of the fact that the Navy had never filed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). NRDC sent a letter to the Navy, threaten- ing to sue because the Navy was violating numerous environmental laws. To avoid a lawsuit from NRDC, the Navy decided to file an EIS on LFAS. In 1997 and 1998, the Navy conducted tests of LFA Sonar on blue, fin, grey and humpback whales off the coasts of California and the Big Island of Hawai'i— in a national marine sanctuary for hump- back whales. The test levels were always much lower than the 240 dB level at which the Navy wants to deploy LFAS. In March 1998, the Navy came to the waters off the Big Island of Hawai'i and began broadcasting LFAS. Almost imme- diately, whale-watch boat captains began reporting whales leaving the test area, and these reports were filed with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). A swimmer who was in the ocean at the time of one of the tests was "ensonified" by the LFAS transmission at 120 dB. (Note that since the decibel scale increases exponentially, the proposed 240 dB deployment level is not twice the 120 dB that this swimmer was exposed to, but— __ formed a coalition calling for a reappraisal and this is not a typo or a miscalculation— __ of AIDS. it is one trillion times as strong!) She was Tshabalala-Msimang's initiative to con- diagnosed within an hour of her exposure vene an international panel to reassess as having symptoms comparable to acute AIDS science is a first. trauma. (Source: Ben Maclennan, SAPA, 28 The damage caused to humans and February 2000, e-mail Ben@sapa.org.za) wildlife has resulted in the filing of three separate lawsuits and is spurring concerned COLOUR PHOTOCOPIERS DO people from many countries into action. HAVE TRACKABLE ID CODES! (Source: Margaret Mead, 25 February 2000, L* issue in Global News, we ran an with credit to the Stop LFAS Worldwide web - item from J.J. Johnson who was site, http://manyrooms.com/ and other links) refused permission to make a colour photo- copy of his driver's licence (to deal with an SOUTH AFRICA CALLS EXPERTS identification problem with his local tele- TO REASSESS HIV=AIDS THEORY phone company). A Kinko's (copying cen- “A expert panel, which will reassess _ tre) worker reportedly told him that making various aspects of AIDS science, is to such a copy was "illegal" and that any such be convened by South African Health copy could be traced to the store through a Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, _ hidden ID code. according to her special adviser, Dr Ian According to a Privacy Forum Digest Roberts. special report: "...it's been well known for "We are looking into the feasibility of | years—no secret—that 'invisible' IDs are getting an international expert panel to look imprinted on virtually all color xerographic into AIDS in Africa and the way forward. output, from (apparently) all of the manu- It will be internationally representative and facturers. But for persons outside of 'the made up of experts from the US, Europe _ trade’, this hasn't been as widely known and Africa," Dr Roberts told the South (even though the issue goes back to the African Press Association (SAPA). early '90s, and the topic has appeared in The new panel would be reappraising the publications such as the Wall Street scientific evidence that HIV causes AIDS. Journal)." Debate in scientific circles over AIDS As explained in the report: "Modern sys- has been raging since the viral cause of _ tems, which are now reportedly implement- AIDS was proposed in 1984, with main- _ ed universally... [encode] the ID effectively stream science and medical journals consis- _ as 'noise' repeatedly throughout the image, tently refusing to publish articles by the so- making it impossible to circumvent the sys- called AIDS dissidents, who, in 1991, tem through copying or printing over a small portion of the image area or by cut- ting off portions of printed documents. "To read these IDs, the document in question is scanned and the noise’ decoded a Bn an & ia a secret : ‘etary algorithm." 26a & NNT, Cad alee via a secret and proprietary algorithm. OS Se _ (Source: Privacy Forum Digest, vol. 8, issue ~~ oe 18, 6 December 1999, webpage www.vortex. = Dy. “wl | com/privacy/priv.08.18) =e’ = SOUTH AFRICA CALLS EXPERTS TO REASSESS HIV=AIDS THEORY “A expert panel, which will reassess various aspects of AIDS science, is to be convened by South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, according to her special adviser, Dr Ian Roberts. "We are looking into the feasibility of getting an international expert panel to look into AIDS in Africa and the way forward. It will be internationally representative and made up of experts from the US, Europe and Africa," Dr Roberts told the South African Press Association (SAPA). The new panel would be reappraising the scientific evidence that HIV causes AIDS. Debate in scientific circles over AIDS has been raging since the viral cause of AIDS was proposed in 1984, with main- stream science and medical journals consis- tently refusing to publish articles by the so- called AIDS dissidents, who, in 1991, ee se, a ie ) eee Gir 9. SY TRVE,. isa st been’ Nef | arr a Post / —, _ a UK LEGISLATION COULD MAKE INTERNET CAMPAIGNS ILLEGAL ontinuing with a definition first brought in by the Thatcher government to allow police to tap the phones of union members in the 1985 British miners' strike, the proposed Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill specifically designates "conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose" to be "a seri- ous crime" justifying an interception of their private e-mail correspondence. Under the Bill, police will be able to Sn 8 - NEXUS APRIL — MAY 2000