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The CIA says 5 countries?the U.S., Iraq, North Korea, Russia and France?have smallpox. Smallpox cultures are held officially in two heavily guarded laboratories, one in Atlanta and the other in Koltsovo, Siberia?all the others are unofficial. Everyone knew that Russia, North Korea and Iraq have stockpiles, but France comes as a surprise. The French say they use it only for defensive research.

Records found this year in Afghanistan show that Osama bin Laden tried to buy smallpox, along with other biological weapons, although officials say there is ?no reason? to believe he succeeded. Other items on al-Qaeda?s wish list are the nerve agent ricin, and the toxin that causes botulism.
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A study of gay sheep shows that homosexuality is probably genetic. Rams that prefer male sexual partners have distinct differences in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This region is usually twice as large in rams as in ewes, but in gay rams it’s almost identical in size to that in “straight” females. The hypothalamus regulates the release of sex hormones and controls many types of sexual behavior.

These differences are almost identical to those identified in gay men by neuroscientist Simon LeVay. His work is considered controversial because the brains he studied came from men who died of AIDS, so it wasn?t clear if the differences were due to homosexuality or the disease.
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We have a new poll up this week about the Visitors, asking if you think they’re beneficial, dangerous (or you just don’t know). If they’re going to make their presence known in 2003, as Whitley and others think may be possible, this is a question we all need to resolve within ourselves. There is also a new Prayer Group prayer: “That we may understand our true needs.” Do we need peace, love or a new DVD player?or all three. What are our true needs?

To vote in the poll,click here.To participate in our prayer group, click here.

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.read more

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Tibetan Buddhist practices have often been shown to work, once science has developed the technology to test them. Thong Len, a meditative technique developed almost 800 years before the discovery of anesthesia, works by imagining someone else’s pain, and drawing it into yourself. As you take the pain from others, your own hurt disappears too, replacing the negative with the positive. “I was amazed a couple of years ago when I discovered Thong Len. I had a burnt hand, and (when I used) that technique, it was like an anesthetic had been injected into my arm,” says Jack Pettigrew. “You can explain what might be happening when you anesthetize your own arm. But people in a room with a Thong Len practitioner have also said they feel better. How do you explain that?”
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