-Caveat Lector- SkeptiNews 990202b - - - - - - - - - - - All The News That's Fit To Question : Passages starting with : are editorial comments to provoke discussion. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *** Groundhog predicts early spring. PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. Thousands of winter- weary people who waited through a rainy night were rewarded this morning: Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow. That means, according to legend, that spring is just around the corner. A cheer went up as members of the local Groundhog Day club made the announcement, shortly after dawn. If Phil had seen his shadow, it would have meant six more weeks of winter. See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558298838-14a : Are groundhogs better, cheapier, friendlier, prettier than meteorologists? Are groundhogs psychic? Do they have alien implants? What is their secret? *** Canada groundhog dies before event. WIARTON, Ontario (AP) - The crowd at Canada's top Groundhog Day festival got worse news than a bad weather fore- cast: They learned that star groundhog Wiarton Willie had died. Some chil- dren among the 200 people burst into tears. Willie died of natural causes Sunday night, but his death was not disclosed until Tuesday's ceremony. "We didn't really know what to do," said Sam Brouwer, Willie's caretaker for the past 10 years. "We were absolutely devastated." Willie was lying in a pine coffin for a public viewing Tuesday morning. His paws were crossed, pennies were placed over his eyelids and he was clutching a carrot. See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558300299-a79 : Are you devastated by groundhogs? Is there a conspiracy to silence ground- hogs who don't deliver the right forecast? Who's behind this: ETs, CIA, NWO? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *** Prowling tiger still mystery in New Jersey. JACKSON, N.J. (AP) - People move to this fast-growing suburban enclave in the scrub pines to get away from the big city. A prowling tiger has shown some residents just how far they've gone. Last week, a 431-pound Bengal tiger wandered around a residen- tial subdivision for several hours until it was shot to death by police. See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558299237-ad6 : Will global warming leave more tigers roaming around US suburbs? When? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *** Thai crown prince seeks probe. BANGKOK (AP) In a rare foray into public issues, Thailand's crown prince is supporting a government investigation into a Buddhist temple accused of bilking the poor and operating like a cult. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn's secretaries told government officials he was concerned the temple was attempting to exploit the royal family to gain followers. Thailand's royal family is revered as semi-divine by the count- ry's citizens. www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558296894-e98 : Do you exploit divinities? Is that dangerous? Are Buddhists more crooked than Judeo/Xian/Moslems, Hindus, Atheists, or Animists, or about the same? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > Anti-Abortion Activists Guilty In Internet Case. PORTLAND, Oregon (CNN) - Anti-abortion activists whose controversial Web site, "The Nuremberg Files," struck fear in abortion providers were found guilty Tuesday of illegally threatening doctors and abortion providers. The eight-person jury delivered its verdict after a three-week trial in Portland, Oregon. The plaintiffs, abortion-rights activists seeking $200 million in their lawsuit, say the defendants used thinly veiled tactics of intimidation, such as the practice on the Web site of crossing off the names of slain abortion providers. http://cnn.com/US/9902/02/abortion.web.verdict.01/index.html : Are netted threats different than mailed or phoned threats? Does your religion approve of threats? How about prayed threats? Do your gods listen? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *** NASA planning plane bound for Mars. WASHINGTON (AP) - To mark the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first airplane flight NASA wants to dup- licate the event - sort of - on Mars. The NASA budget for 2000 contains $50 million to begin development of a Mars airplane. An animated video played at the budget briefing showed a small, pilotless plane parachuting toward the sandy surface, unfolding its wings and propeller, and puttering off. In ac- tuality, a lot about the plane remains to be determined, including actual design and means of propulsion and delivery to Mars, NASA chief Daniel S. Goldin said. Flying in Mars' atmosphere is like flying at 100,000 to 130,000 feet altitude above Earth, so much research needs to be done. A long-range jetliner flies at about 30,000 feet altitude. There is also an eight-minute time lag for radio messages between Earth and Mars, complicating the control of the plane, which would be unmanned. The goal, if all goes well, is to make the flight in 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight, though NASA's briefing papers admitted it could slip to 2005. ### : Are prop-planes suitable for Mars flights? Are there better technologies? Will the Reticulans help us? Is this money well spent? Will Martian-flyer technology be usable elsewhere? In which solar system? Would you fly it? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *** Report: Astronomers make vast map. LONDON (AP) - A team of astronomers has created a map of the cosmos that covers the largest area of the universe ever charted. The three dimensional map charting 15,500 galaxies, covers an area so large it would take 500 million years for a light shone on one side to reach the other. Superclusters - gigantic structures made of clusters of galaxies - are charted, and the spaces between them, called voids, offer important information about the expansion of the universe. According to the Big Bang theory, gravity has kept the universe expanding since its creation. See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558267558-c90 : Is the Reptilioids' home world on this map? Why not? Are you disappointed? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *** Companies to equip fully networked homes. NEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM and Bell Atlantic said they will team up to equip homes for full networking, leading consumers closer to having "smart homes" that can link all digital devices. http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558299595-c01 : Would you live in a home that's smarter than you are? Would you want to be mentally linked to your house? Will "smart houses" recognize alien implants? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Grilled Links: @ Eclipses: http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/eclipselinks.html @ Roswell Science Report: http://www.etcomp.com/eric/roswell/index.html @ The UFO Top TEN - Cast your vote for your favorite UFO/Alien, Paranormal, Conspiracy, New Age, and/or Other Website. http://www.geocities.com:80/CapeCanaveral/Galaxy/4384/Top10Links.htm @ Find yourself: http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com/GetPageByPlace.asp @ Cow mutilation: http://www.accessnv.com/nids/page4.shtml @ Constitution Society! www.constitution.org/ [non-USAnians can ignore] @ A Feminist Despite Herself? http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.5/pageone.html _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "'It *was* a shark!' Anne Thormby-Knight hooted with lusty gusto as she pulled her arm out of the water and triumphantly wagged her bloody stump at the doubters in the dinghy." --Daniel Orozco * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * http://www.sonic.net/~ric * ICQ# 19633976 * email INFO or SUBSCRIBE SKEPTICHAT to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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