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NEWS ... ... GLOBAL NEWS ... cases. At present, defamation is excluded BRIGHTEST GALACTIC FLASH NEW ANTENNAS FOR HAARP from the scope of legal aid. EVER DETECTED HITS EARTH hazar Corporation has announced that The unanimous ruling from Strasbourg huge explosion halfway across the Antenna Products Corporation (APC) will also prompt a re-examination of the galaxy packed so much power it in Mineral Wells, Texas, a wholly owned libel laws, which many believe are too affected Earth's ionosphere in December, subsidiary, was recently awarded a technical and complex and too heavily scientists have announced. The blast origi- US$3,723,531 firm fixed-price subcontract weighted in favour of claimants. nated about 50,000 light-years away and from BAE Systems ATI for the production A spokeswoman for the Department for _ was detected on December 27 last year. of 270 Low Band Antenna Matching Unit Constitutional Affairs said the government The commotion was caused by a special Assemblies and 346 High Band Antenna would be looking at the libel laws generally variety of neutron star known as a Matching Unit Assemblies. This equip- "in the context of this judgment". magnetar. The blast was 100 times more ment will be manufactured at APC's plant The world's biggest fast-food chain spent powerful than any other similar eruption in Mineral Wells, Texas, and deliveries are an estimated £10 million on the case, witnessed, said David Palmer of Los _ scheduled to begin in June 2005 and con- which involved 28 pre-trial applications; | Alamos National Laboratory. tinue monthly through September 2005. the pair had to represent themselves wit! Several researchers wonder if the magne- The equipment will be shipped to the sporadic free help from friendly lawyers _ tar blast could be related to the December High Frequency Active Auroral Research and £40,000 raised from supporters to help 26 earthquake and tsunami. Program (HAARP) ionospheric research cover expenses such as transcripts and "Had this happened within 10 light-years site near Gokona, Alaska—the site of the photocopying. of us, it would have severely damaged our recently completed installation of an array McDonald's sued Ms Steel and Mr atmosphere and possibly have triggered a_ of 132 crossed-dipole antennas built and Morris, both from north London, in 1990 mass extinction," said Bryan Gaensler of __ installed by APC in 2004. over leaflets headed "What's Wrong Wit! the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for (Source: News release, February 7, 2005, McDonald's?", which they distributed out- Astrophysics. http:/www.antennaproducts.com/News.htm) side the burger chain's restaurants. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event," said These accused the chain of exploiting Rob Fender of Southampton University in EPA ACCUSES DUPONT OF children, being cruel to animals, destroying the UK. "We have observed an object only HIDING TEFLON'S HEALTH RISKS the rainforest, paying low wages and ped- 20 kilometres [12 miles] across, on the Me: than 50 years after DuPont started dling unhealthy food. other side of our galaxy, releasing more producing Teflon, US federal offi- Roger Smith, director of the law reform energy in a tenth of a second than the Sun __cials are accusing the company of hiding group Justice, said: "This is a wonderful — emits in 100,000 years." information suggesting that a chemical victory for the sheer perseverance of two The eruption was also recorded by the used to make the popular stick- and stain- litigants who have just stuck to the task and National Science Foundation's Very Large __ resistant coating might cause cancer, birth insisted upon justice. It's also arecognition Array of radiotelescopes as well as defects and other ailments. of legal aid as a basic human right which European satellites and telescopes in Environmental regulators are particularly should be available in all types of cases Australia. alarmed because scientists are finding where it is absolutely necessary." (Source: Space.com, February 21, 2005, _ perfluoro-octanoic acid, or PFOA, in the (Source: by Clare Dyer, The Guardian, UK, — http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/ blood of people worldwide, and it takes February 16, 2005) bright_flash_050218.html) years for the chemical to leave the body. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported in early January that exposure even to low levels of PFOA could be harmful. i Z With virtually no government oversight, ah =. te 7 = PFOA has been used since the early 1950s a \| at a is in the manufacture of non-stick cookware, rain-repellent clothing and hundreds of other products. The EPA is asking an outside panel of experts to assess the risks. "The fact that a chemical with those non- stick properties nonetheless accumulates in people was not expected," said Charles Auer, director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Critics say the lack of knowledge about PFOA and related chemicals—called perfluorinated compounds—exposes a - system where environmental regulators a eee - Swale. largely rely on companies that profit from = woal industrial chemicals to sound alarms about "Where's Osama?" their safety. Questions about potential Se 7 =a ~ { |wim ormation| ~—— +——— ~ cases. At present, defamation is excluded from the scope of legal aid. The unanimous ruling from Strasbourg will also prompt a re-examination of the libel laws, which many believe are too technical and complex and too heavily weighted in favour of claimants. A spokeswoman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs said the government would be looking at the libel laws generally "in the context of this judgment". The world's biggest fast-food chain spent an estimated £10 million on the case, which involved 28 pre-trial applications; the pair had to represent themselves wit! sporadic free help from friendly lawyers and £40,000 raised from supporters to hel cover expenses such as transcripts and photocopying. McDonald's sued Ms Steel and Mr Morris, both from north London, in 1990 over leaflets headed "What's Wrong Wit! McDonald's?", which they distributed out- side the burger chain's restaurants. These accused the chain of exploiting children, being cruel to animals, destroying the rainforest, paying low wages and ped- dling unhealthy food. Roger Smith, director of the law reform group Justice, said: "This is a wonderful victory for the sheer perseverance of two litigants who have just stuck to the task and insisted upon justice. It's also a recognition of legal aid as a basic human right which should be available in all types of cases where it is absolutely necessary." (Source: by Clare Dyer, The Guardian, UK, February 16, 2005) = iia "| cea pany — peel a SS Sern lie > =e 4nformation| — "Where's Osama?" 8 = NEXUS APRIL —- MAY 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com