Animal feed contaminated with human remains may have caused the first cases of Mad Cow Disease. Previously it was assumed that Mad Cow began when the ground up remains of other cattle were fed to cows as a source of protein. But now scientists believe it may have begun when the theremains of human corpses were imported into the UK to be added to cattle feed. In the Indian subcontinent, some religiousgroups leave their dead unburied for vultures to consume,andit is being speculated that bones may have have beencollected from these bodies, ground up and imported to the UK, where they were added to feed for cattle.
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Governor Rick Perry of Texas made a generous gesture when he offered to house the newly homeless people of New Orleans in the Astrodome in Houston. There were so many people overflowing the Superdome in Louisiana that the dome, along with the city of New Orleans itself, had to be evacuated. But the governor either didn’t realize how many busloads of people were going to arrive or didn’t know how many people could fit into the Astrodome. Fire marshals in Houston said there was absolutely no way 25,000 people could fit in there, so busloads of refugees have been turned back. For these people, there was no room at the inn.
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This firsthand account from a doctor (pathologist) in New Orleans puts an even more “human face” on what we’ve been watching on the news.

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

We recently wrote about how National Guard troops needed for disaster relief in New Orleans have been diverted to the Iraq war. Now it turns out that Federal money earmarked to repair the levee system has been diverted to Iraq as well.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested $27 million to pay for hurricane protection projects around Lake Pontchartrain. The Bush administration offered them less than $4 million, and Congress eventually gave them $5.7 million. The corps requested $18 million specifically to repair and strengthen New Orleans levees. Instead, their annual budget was reduced 20% because the money was needed for the war in Iraq.
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