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U.S.
Special Forces Ground Attack
Excerpt
from article describing the first substantial combat efforts
(in response to the 9-11-01 attack on America) by U.S. Special
Forces in Afghanistan ...
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U.S.
forces were fighting on the ground in Afghanistan Friday night,
opening a secretive phase of the war on terrorism, a defense
official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
provided no details on the size of the operation or on its location.
Earlier
in the day, officials confirmed that special forces commandos
were in northern and southern Afghanistan, searching for Taliban
targets to strike and searching for Osama bin Laden and his
al-Qaida lieutenants
The
use of small numbers of U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan
marked a shift to a broader range of military activities –
both overt and covert – after nearly two weeks of aerial
bombardment, U.S. officials said. ...
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Source:
Countdown
to Red Planet Arrival
Excerpt
from article describing the upcoming highly anticipated exploration
of Mars by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft:
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After
200 days of interplanetary travel, covering more than 460 million
kilometres (285 million miles), the American space agency's
2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is preparing to go into orbit around
the Red Planet.
It
will be a nervous time for Nasa. The last time it attempted
to send spacecraft to Mars, in 1999, both the Mars Climate Surveyor
and the Mars Polar Lander failed. Odyssey
was launched on 7 April and should arrive at Mars in good condition.
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...
When it gets there it will carry out a survey of the composition
of the planets's surface and look for warm and wet regions
on which future landing missions could set down. ...
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Source:
'Danny
Boy' Banned At Funeral Masses
Excepts
from article describing protests against the banning of the
classic ballad, 'Danny Boy', and other secular music, in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence:
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The
ballad "Danny Boy" has long been played at funerals,
wakes and memorial services, its mournful strains conjuring
up images of Ireland's green pastures and wind-swept hills.
New
York Fire Chief Peter Ganci, killed in the World Trade Center
attack, actor Carroll O'Connor and John F. Kennedy Jr. all were
laid to rest with the plaintive melody.
...
The Archdiocese of New York, which has buried scores of police
officers and firefighters since Sept. 11, often playing "Danny
Boy" at the service, usually discourages the use of secular
music during mass.
"All
music played at church services should be liturgically appropriate
music," said Joe Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese.
"But we don't have a policy about any one song, or a list
of songs that can't be used."
Besides
lacking the appropriate piety, the song can counter what funeral
services are supposed to achieve, Healey said.
"Part
of what I do at a funeral mass is try to lift people's spirits,"
he said. "But the song is emotionally manipulative. Everything
I've spent the last hour working toward is gone within two minutes
because everyone is reduced to tears."
Despite
its popularity among Irish-Americans, the song's lyrics were
actually penned by an Englishman, Frederick Edward Weatherly,
in 1913, and set to the tune of the 17th Century Irish folk
song "Londonderry Aire."
"Danny
Boy" tells the tale of an Irish lad called to military
duty by the sound of distant bagpipes, and a loved one who vows
to wait for him. "'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow/Oh
Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so," go the wistful
lyrics.
The
tune has long been cherished by police officers and firefighters,
who identify with its message, McKenna said.
...
Source:
- Chicago
Tribune [link inactive]
| Danny
Boy
Oh
Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From
glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The
summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying
'Tis
you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But
come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or
when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis
I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh
Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
And
if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And
I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll
come and find the place where I am lying
And
kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.
And
I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And
all my dreams will warm and sweeter be
If
you'll not fail to tell me that you love me
I'll
simply sleep in peace until you come to me.
I'll
simply sleep in peace until you come to me. |
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Florida,
New York, and D.C. Anthrax Strains All Match
Excerpts
from an article with the latest information on anthrax incidents,
reported in the U.S., South America, and Kenya:
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Tests
have shown that strains of anthrax sent to NBC television in
New York, the Sun tabloid in Florida and to the Senate in Washington
could have come from the same source.
US
Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge said "the tests to date
have concluded that the strains are indistinguishable".
He
said the anthrax had not been "weaponised" - altered
to make it spread more easily in the air.
Reports
from South America say anthrax-tainted letters have also been
received there.
Mail Now
Handled With Care
A
letter sent from Miami to an individual in Buenos Aires showed
the presence of anthrax spores, Argentine Health Minister Hector
Lombardo said, confirming test results.
And
the New York Times said on Friday that its reporter in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, had received a letter that tested positive
for spores "consistent with anthrax," Reuters news
agency reported.
Earlier,
the Kenyan Government said four people had been exposed to anthrax
bacteria in a letter posted from the US.
Eighth
infection in US - US
health officials said on Friday that a second postal worker
in New Jersey had tested positive for skin anthrax, bringing
to eight the number of people diagnosed with the disease in
the United States.
The
35-year-old man is taking antibiotics in a hospital and is expected
to recover.
Pennsylvania
Department of Health spokesman Richard McGarvey said "it
isn't life-threatening in any way".
The
man worked at a regional mail centre in Hamilton that handled
anthrax-tainted letters posted to NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw and
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in Washington.
Earlier
this week a female postal worker was diagnosed with skin anthrax.
New
York Post case - It
was confirmed on Friday that a woman working for the New York
Post had contracted skin anthrax.
A
statement by the newspaper's publisher said the employee was "already
regarded as cured".
Speaking
at a White House press conference, the homeland security chief
said: "I wish I could tell you that we've seen the end
of it, but we obviously are preparing for more.
"That's
why we've decided to increase the supply of the antibiotics
and that's why we are pursuing every lead as aggressively as
possible."
New
Jersey connection - The
White House has yet to name a suspect for the anthrax attacks.
According
to the New York Times, the tainted letters sent to Senator Tom
Daschle and NBC news announcer Tom Brokaw were sent from a 1.6
sq km area of West Trenton, New Jersey, where some hijackers
and suspected members of al-Qaeda lived.
The
infected New York Post employee is the fourth case of anthrax
in New York City - all involving media companies.
At
least 38 people have been exposed to the bacteria.
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"Our
biggest problem is fear... We are resolute, we will not
flinch, we will not bend, we will not swerve."
-
CBS news anchor Dan Rather
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All
three major TV networks in New York City, the New York Post,
the Capitol Hill complex in Washington and a tabloid newspaper
company in Florida have now become sites of anthrax infection.
...
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Source:
Does
Mammography Save Lives?
Excerpt
from article regarding a study which questions whether mammography
saves lives:
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Breast-cancer
screening programmes may not save lives, according to a new
examination of clinical trials.
The
controversial findings have led to calls for a re-evaluation
of the routine monitoring procedure undergone by numerous women.
Mammography,
X-ray breast imaging, is used in Europe and the United States
to catch cancers early.
"We've
based a national screening programme on a set of results which
do not stand up to scrutiny," says Richard Horton, editor
of The Lancet, the medical journal that today publishes the
peer-reviewed research.
In
January 2000, Ole Olsen and Peter Gotzsche of the Nordic Cochrane
Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark first questioned whether regular
screening of middle-aged women reduces the overall cancer death
rate.
Their challenging re-analysis of large-scale mammography trials
sparked public and medical controversy as some questioned the
validity of the work.
Now
Olsen and Gotzsche have confirmed their earlier conclusions
with a more comprehensive analysis.
The
report comes with further scientific backing from the respected
Cochrane Collaboration, an independent, international body that
supports high-quality, systematic reviews of health-care treatments.
"The
best evidence says there is no reduction in mortality following
screening," says Olsen.
...
Around 1 in 8 women in the United States and 1 in 11 in Britain
will develop breast cancer during their lives. It is the main
cause of female cancer deaths in these countries for women under
54. ...
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Source:
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