Science 16 Jan. 2004 Vol. 303 No 5656 p. 308 Keeping God out of the Canyon: -
The National Park Service (NPS) is investigating whether its bookstores at the Grand Canyon should be selling a book claiming that the canyon was created 4000 years ago in the biblical flood. Last month the American Geophysical Union and six other earth sciences societies as well as the American institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) wrote Joseph Alston, superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, urging him to stop the sale of a 2003 book, The Grand Canyon: A Different View. The book contains creationist essays compiled by Tom Vail, whose Canyon Ministries, according to the blurb on Amazon.com, offers "Christ-centered voyages through the canyon." Although the bookstores are managed by a private entity, the Grand Canyon Association, "most visitors to the park will not distinguish between it" and NPS, notes the National Center for Science Education. The book has been sent to headquarters "for review in terms of the books appropriateness as a sales item in a National Park," according to a letter from NPS to AIBS.

Science - 6 February 2004 Vol. 303 No 5659 p. 753 Buried, Recovered, Lost Again? The Romanovs May Never Rest - Richard Stone.
[Brief: 1990s DNA studies are now questioned.]
p. 771 The Sinews of War: Ancient Catapults -Serafina Cuomo [Brief: "The study of catapults (shows) that science and technology. . . play(ed) an important role in ancient society."
-The author is at the Centre for the History of Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. E-mail: s.cuomo@imperial.ac.uk.]

Globe & Mail, Nov 22, 2003 Book Review: Lemon-aid - Scurvy - How a Surgeon, a Mariner and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail By Stephen R Bown, Thomas Allen, 244 pages, $34.95 -
Reviewed by Andrew Nikiforuk (5-col. illus.) [Brief: One item mentioned is the note that "of the 184,899 British sailors rounded up to fight the French in 1763, more than 130,000 died of scurvy." Many cures were tried. A Scottish surgeon (John Lind) conducted a controlled experiment (a first) on 12 seamen suffering from this affliction. Six remedies were tried and the two fed oranges and lemons were cured. Captain James Cook used a thick syrup including this remedy, and an aristocratic physician, Gilbert Blane, convinced the Royal Navy of its value. Hence the name "Limeys" for British Seamen.]

Weekly Telegraph Jan 7-13 2004 No. 650:
1. Obituary: Patricia Roc - Aged 88 - 40's Film Actress. [Also Globe & Mail, Jan. 1, 2004]
2. Obituary: Margot Lawrence - Aged 88 - writing for The Daily Telegraph on the New Anglican Liturgy in 1982, led to her being appointed Secretary of the Prayer Book Society.

3. (in 1955) Margaret could have married and kept title - by Peter Day -
PRINCESS MARGARET could have married the love of her life without sacrificing her royal title or her income, it emerged last week. Instead she renounced her proposed engagement to Group Captain Peter Townsend on the grounds that she could not contract a Christian marriage with a man who had divorced his first wife. Their love affair had encountered the apparently intractable obstruction of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which meant she required the consent of her sister the Queen who, as head of the Church of England, would have been bound to refuse. [Brief: Government might have intervened. 3-col., illus.]

4. Germans invited to D-Day ceremonies for first time- by Henry Samuel in Paris and Caroline Davies -
GERMANY has been invited to join D-Day anniversary commemorations for the first time. [Brief: Painful memories for some, but the French initiative is apparently designed to solidify European unity. - 4-columns, illus.]

5. Union flag banned for N Ireland troops -
by Sean Rayment Defence Correspondent- TROOPS serving in northern Ireland have been banned from wearing the Union flag on their uniforms after claims that it has offended nationalists, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. The order, issued by the Army's most senior officer in the province, has infuriated soldiers posted there after returning from operational duty in Iraq, where the wearing of the badge is mandatory. [Brief: Government political correctness again!]

6. Bishop attacks Israel over Palestinians by Jonathan Petre Religion Correspondent -THE Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, has criticised Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, saying that it was "asking for trouble". In a newspaper interview, the bishop strongly condemned Ariel Sharon, the country's prime minister. "I agree with the millions of the Jews around the world, and tens of thousands in Israel who grieve at what some Jews are doing," the bishop told The Independent. I am not anti Israeli but when I see what has been done to the Palestinians over the past 50 years, I say, 'Well, if you put people behind barbed wire, keep them caged, take their land despite international resolutions, and bulldoze their home, you are asking for trouble'."

Weekly Telegraph January 14-20 No. 651:
1. Inquiry into Diana death 'plot' (4 pages) [Brief: Any outcome will still be tragic.]
2. Syria will not scrap WMD before Israel (& p. 22)
SYRIA'S president, Bashar Assad, came close last week to admitting that his country had WMD stockpiles. Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, he said that any move to follow the Libyan example of scrapping its nuclear and chemical programmes would depend on a prior Israeli commitment to abandon its nuclear arsenal. His comments were given short shrift by the US and Britain, who said that Syria must give up its weapons of mass destruction or face ostracism, regardless of Israel's policy on nuclear arms.

[Brief: Related headlines: Syria leader is given ultimatum on weapons, Gaddafi's regime in secret talks with top Israelis, Libyan minister in visit to Britain, WMDs may never be found, says Blair.
Also: Globe & Mail, Jan. 9: U.S. exaggerated Iraqi threat, report says;
G & M, Jan. 10: Israeli offer to Syria's Assad may signal shift;
G & M, Jan. 12: Iraq war plan predates 9/11 O'Neill says (Former US Treasury sec. speaks);
G & M, Jan. 14: Meet a man who retracted his cry of 'wolf' (Threat of WMD);
G & M, Jan. 24: Weapons hunter leaves post in Iraq;
G & M, Jan. 26: U.S. weapons hunter calls for explanation;
G & M, Jan. 29: 1. 'We were all wrong' U.S. told - Iraq did not possess banned weapons, former arms expert tells senators. 2. BBC in turmoil as Blair cleared, reporting blamed;
Time Feb. 9, 2004, p. 30 - "So Much For The WMD."]
[COMMENT: Why do the words of Hosea 12:7: "He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress." come to mind?]

3. Zimbabwe shops turn down banks' cheques by Peter Thornycroft in Harare -
THE decline of Zimbabwe's economy passed a milestone last week when shops began refusing cheques from six commercial banks teetering on the brink of insolvency... .
Related: Farmer orders 'settler' off his land - TO ANYONE familiar with the once well-tended, red-soiled farms of Zimbabwe, the lands which once fed a nation, the sight of barren land is devastating...
4. President 'rarely has an opinion' - Paul O'Neill, former US Treasury secretary.
5. Prodi in row with Jewish leaders - The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, said he would cancel a conference on anti-semitism after Jewish groups accused Brussels of "moral treachery."
6. Salamanca burial pit discovered - on the site of one of the Duke of Wellington's greatest victories. After heavy rain human bones were found near a farm track outside Salamanca, where British and Portuguese forces defeated the French during the Peninsular War.
7. Britain must start again on constitution - by George Jones:
TONY BLAIR will have to start afresh and re-negotiate safeguards for Britain when talks are resumed on a proposed European constitution. The Irish government, which has taken over the European Union presidency, said last week that nothing had been agreed officially at last month's aborted summit, when talks broke up in disarray. Dick Roche, Ireland's Europe minister, said agreements reached between member states in talks before the summit would effectively count for nothing, adding: "In negotiations nothing is agreed until everything is agreed." His comments are a blow to Mr. Blair who had hoped to "bank" what he believed was progress on safeguarding Britain's interests.

Weekly Telegraph Jan. 21-27 No. 652:
1. Police reward for moustaches -
[Brief: In Northern India, police with moustaches are paid 30 rupees extra per month as it improves their "authority."]

2. Sacred lion king found in tomb -
THE MUMMIFIED remains of a lion bred by ancient Egyptians and treated as a god have been found in the tomb of King Tutankhamum's wet nurse at Saqqara. The skeleton is the first complete lion mummy found and confirms the creature's sacred status in ancient Egypt, researchers say.

3. Saddam's order casts doubt on al-Qa'eda link by Alec Russell -
SADDAM HUSSEIN told his followers to keep their distance from foreign militants crossing into Iraq to fight US troops, according to a document found with the dictator when he was captured last month.

4. Tapes 'link Sharon to illegal election funds' by Toby Harnden in Jerusalem -
ARIEL SHARON, Israel's prime minister, faced a storm of controversy after secret tapes seemed to implicate him in illegal foreign contributions to his election campaign.
Also: Globe & Mail Jan. 22: Bribery scandal creeps closer to Sharon.

5. Spain pays tribute to British role in defeating Napoleon - by Isambard Wilkinson in Corunna:
[Brief: Sir John Moore conducted a famous successful retreat to Corunna by British forces, which averted disaster during The Peninsular War. Sir John managed to march 15,000 of his men across Spain for two weeks with little rest and no rations and embark them while under heavy fire during which he was killed. (195th anniversary.)]

6. Smile! You're on digital as Kodak says goodbye to film
[Brief: 4-col. illus.]
COMMENT: It means photos are no longer "proof" of what is shown therein!

7. Fewer going to church
THE CHURCH of England lost 100,000 worshippers between 2000 and 2002, according to figures that will make gloomy reading for the clergy. In 2002, the average number of people attending a church at least once a week was 1,166,000, down from 1,274,000 two years earlier, provisional figures show.

8. Anti-gay conviction upheld -
A PREACHER who held up a sign in the town square in Wimborne, Dorset, calling for an end to homosexuality and immorality was "properly convicted" of a criminal offence, the High Court has ruled. Two judges dismissed arguments that the conviction of the late Harry Hammond, 69, for displaying an "insulting" sign interfered with his freedom of religious expression and infringed his human rights.

Weekly Telegraph Jan 28-Feb 3 No 653:
1. Britons are divided on Jewish PM -by Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent -
Michael Howard, the Tory Party leader, ...could become first Jewish PM since Disraeli.

2. Obituary: 'Flying Housewife'dies -
Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen, dubbed "The Flying Housewife" by the British press, died on Sunday at the age of 85. She was the only woman to have won four gold medals at a single Olympics, a haul matched by just two other competitors, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis. In 1999 the governing body of track and field sports, (IAAF), voted her the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.

3. Bard takes centre stage again for tests -
THE downgrading of Shakespeare in the national curriculum tests is to be reversed in response to widespread complaints.

4. Dutch ethnic tolerance experiment is 'a 30-year failure' - by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
[Brief: Failing to create a tolerant, multicultural society, it led instead to creation of ethnic ghettos and sink schools, according to official parliamentary report.]

5. Zulus mark anniversary of victory over British force by Tim Butcher in Johannesburg -
[Brief: Picture caption: "The Zulu victory at Isandlwana is re-enacted to honour the 3,000 Zulu and 1,400 British dead."

6. Arms hunter resigns after drawing blank -
by Alec Russell in Washington: THE MAN who led the coalition's post-war hunt for weapons of mass destruction has stepped down, saying he did not believe there were stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in Iraq.

7. Salvation Army left £800m -
THE Salvation Army will be the beneficiary of one of the most generous bequests in history after Joan Kroc, the widow of the founder the McDonald's fast-food empire, left the Christian movement more than £800 million in her will. [Also in Globe & Mail, 20 January, 2004.]

8. 'Arabic' numerals are written l. to r., came from Hindus via Sanskrit (Letter to Ed.)

Globe and Mail, January 1, 2004:
1. Web inventor is knighted - British-born scientist Tim Berners-Lee kept new technology in public domain by Tu Thanh Ha -
In The Queen's New Year's Honours list, his intellectual property rights could have made him "richer than Croesus." instead this unassuming 48-year-old academic preserved the open structured concept of the World Wide Web for free use by all Internet computer users. His design has so revolutionized the world that he has been compared to Gutenberg.

2. Israel's plan for Golan reverses peace pledge -
Syria, U.S., France deplore announcement "Jewish settlements will be expanded" by Doug Saunders [6-col. illus.]

Globe and Mail, January 2, 2004:
1. 'New Jews' struggled to settle in Palestine -
Immigrants fleeing Eastern Europe found no promised land, Paul Adams writes. [Brief: 1904, immigrant Jews arrived in Palestine. Picture caption: "David Ben Gurion, the eventual founder of the Israeli state, found conditions in Jaffa, Palestine, filthy and depressing; when he arrived from Poland in 1905. 'This was not my idea of a new life'." (6-col. illus.)]

2. General Clark's Kosovo is a mess - [Brief: 5-col. article by Marcus Gee.]

Globe & Mail, January 5, 2004: Social Studies by Michael Kesterton -
[Brief: 3 items:
(a) Planet spinning: from 1972 to 1998 Scientists began adding a "leap-second" on the last day of the year, but in 1999 they found it wasn't needed any more. They aren't sure why.
(b) Bullets falling: Local custom of firing bullets into the air is dangerous: falling bullets can reach 2 miles up and fall to earth at 300 to 700 feet per second.
(c) Diabetes & walking: Diabetics walking just over 8 blocks a day slash risk of dying prematurely by more than one-third, according to a study.
From Jan. 6 Social Studies article: By age 4, a professional's child will have had 50 million words addressed to it, working class child, 30 million, welfare child just 12 million. By age 3, the professional's child will have a bigger vocabulary than the parent of the welfare child.]

Globe & Mail, January 6, 2004: Full Page & Editorial - John le Carré's gospel
[Brief: His newest novel reflects concerns over U.S. 'hyperpower' & where it's going.]

Globe and Mail, January 10, 2004: Three Book Reviews:
1. The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook,
2. Diana Mosley (The fascist princess),
3. The Macmillan Diaries - The Cabinet Years 1950-1957.

Globe & Mail, January 13, 2004:The humble hippopotamus is Africa's deadliest animal (illus. article) by Stephanie Nolen, Johannesburg -
"Forget the lions and the hyenas and the stealthy crocodiles. And ... forget Disney's cuddly dancing hippo in the tutu. A spate of high-profile chompings in southern Africa has drawn public attention to what wildlife biologists have known for years: The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble hippopotamus. 'The lions and crocs and snakes seem dangerous,' said Dominic Moss, the keeper in charge of large mammals at the Johannesburg Zoo. 'And hippos seem so nice. But with the size of their teeth - they give you one bite and its over'." [Brief notes: Hippos have only four teeth known as tusks, not particularly sharp, but grow to about 50 cm. in length and are set in enormous powerful jaws. Each tusk in a hippo bite leaves a hole the size of a human fist. 'They're grumpy - not bad, It's like a hangover.' (Crocodiles flee from them.)]

Globe and Mail, January 14, 2004:
1. Bank of England goes on trial -
BCCI liquidators say central bank 'ran away' from its duties to protect depositors - A lawsuit against the Bank of England over its role in the world's biggest banking fraud kicked off yesterday with a stinging attack on the 310-year-old central bank. [Brief: Negligent $16-billion (US) investment in BCCI which collapsed in 1991 makes its way to court with prospect of a legal battle.]

2. Canada's diamond industry set to be world's third largest - by Wendy Stueck Mining reporter, Vancouver - [Brief: Plenty of high-quality stones, brilliant prospects.]

3. Canada's gun legislation is a double-barrelled disaster.

Globe and Mail, January 15, 2004: Georgia's new ruling party replaces national flag - by Mark Mackinnon, Moscow --
The maroon, black and white pre-Bolshevik flag has been replaced by red and white Cross of St. George with smaller crosses in corners.

Globe and Mail, January 20, 2004:
1. Vitamins E, C cut Alzheimer's risk, study says -Andre Picard, Public Health Reporter.

2. Obituary: Ada Oakley 1906-2003 - Pioneer, Last of Newfoundland's first nurses.

3. Churchill's peevish parrot not quite as vulgar at 104. (Used obscenities vs. Hitler.)

Globe and Mail, January 21, 2004: Beards may be target of French religious ban.

Globe and Mail, January 22, 2004: Go ahead and eat the pie - just work it off (Amish thrive on diet).

Globe and Mail, January 24, 2004:
1. Kickback scandal engulfs Halliburton over Iraq contracts by David Teather, N.Y.

2. Obituary: Bob Buckham 1918-2003 Artist forged documents for PoWs.

Globe and Mail, January 26, 2004:
1. Hezbollah prisoner swap is 'moral' Sharon insists (435 Arabs for 1 Israeli).

2. The farmer, the canola and mighty Monsanto (long Editorial)

Erratum: Prophetic Expositor Vol. 41, No. 1, January 2004, p. 29, 7 lines from the bottom: For repeat "6," read "7," and (top p. 30), for "7," read "8."