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OB OY Le VEN? ANTHROPOLOGIST DISGRACED OVER NEANDERTHAL FRAUD US SCIENTISTS TOLD TO ALTER FINDINGS Me than 200 scientists oa” employed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service say they have been directed to alter official findings to lessen protections for plants and animals, according to a new survey. The survey of the agency's sci- entific staff of 1,400 had a 30% response rate and was conducted jointly by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. A division of the Department of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service is charged with determin- ing which animals and plants should be placed on the endan- gered species list and with desig- nating areas where such species need to be protected. More than half of the biologists and other researchers who responded to the survey said they knew of cases in which commercial interests, including timber, grazing, development and energy compa- nies, had applied political pressure to reverse scientific conclusions deemed harmful to their business. (Source: by Julie Cart, The Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2005) [ appeared to be one of archae- Y ology's most sensational finds. The skull fragment discovered in a peat bog near Hamburg was more than 36,000 years old—and was the vital missing link between modern humans and Neanderthals. This, at least, is what Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten—a distinguished, cigar-smoking German anthropologist—told his scientific colleagues, to global acclaim, after being invited to date the extremely rare skull. However, the professor's 30- year-old academic career has now ended in disgrace after the revelation that he systematically falsified the dates on this and numerous other "Stone Age" relics. Yesterday [February 18], his university in Frankfurt announced he had been forced to retire because of numerous "falsehoods and manipulations". According to experts, the professor's deceptions may mean an entire tranche of the history of man's development will have to be rewritten. "Anthropology is going to have to com- pletely revise its picture of modern man between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago," said Thomas Terberger, the archaeologist who discovered the hoax. "Prof. Protsch's work appeared to prove that anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals had co- existed, and perhaps had even had children together. This now appears to be rubbish.” The scandal only came to light when Professor Protsch was caught trying to sell his department's entire chimpanzee skull collection to the United States. An inquiry later established that he had also passed off fake fossils as real ones and had plagiarised other scientists' work. His discovery appeared to show that Neanderthals had spread much further north than was previously known. During their investigation, the university discovered that the flamboyant Professor Protsch, 65, was unable to work his own carbon-dating machine. (Source: by Luke Harding, The Guardian, February 19, 2005, http://www.guardian. co.uk/germany/article/0,2763, 1418083,00. html) 11,000 US SOLDIERS NOW DEAD FROM DU POISONING Considering the tons of depleted uranium used by the US, the Iraq war can truly be called a nuclear war. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter (no. 169) alleges that the reason Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier in February was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq war. Writing in the newsletter, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law, based in New York, stated: "The real reason for Mr Principi's departure was really never given; however, a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret, naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the 'Gulf War Syndrome’, has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military." Bernklau continued: "This malady [from uranium munitions], that thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the "Good morning! This is your laptop random security software. Please get up without any sudden movement, go over to the far wall, fold your arms above your head and spread your legs." 6 = NEXUS APRIL — MAY 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com