GO TO SOURCE BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, July 7, 2002: As a boy, he helped his father loot goods trains. When he grew up, he started looting gods! Prakash Patnaik, 24, who hit headlines as the brain behind the thefts in Lingaraj and Puri Jagannath temples of Orissa, has had police groping in the dark for years. Hailing from Kantapara village of…
GO TO SOURCE INDIA, June 29,2002: This report on the life of India’s devadasis, which may not be a subject everyone wants to read about, begins: “Lakshmi must have been stunning once — her high, prominent cheek bones and hazel eyes hint at beauty. But that was before she was ravaged by AIDS. Now her body is emaciated — her…
GO TO SOURCE DALLAS, TEXAS, June 15, 2002: Windle Turley, a Dallas attorney, is known for two of the nation’s most notorious lawsuits over priestly molestation. In 1997, Turley won what is still the largest jury verdict ever levied in the Catholic Church’s 20-year-old sex abuse scandal, US$119,603.500. Three years later, he followed up with a $400 million lawsuit against…
Source: Hindustan Times INDIA, June 24, 2002: Controversy continues as Indian environmentalists warn that the risks associated with Bt cotton, a genetically engineered version, outweigh the benefits. A study done at the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences in China, has suggested that the use of Bt cotton could cause environmental damage, that Bt cotton fields have more pests, and that…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, July 4, 2002: Requests for extending the duration of the annual Amarnath Yatra (pilgrimage) had been received from many quarters, however Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Girish Chandra Saxena, announced Tuesday the yatra cannot be extended, citing security considerations. “We too would like to extend the yatra by a few days, but the present security environment…
GO TO SOURCE LEICESTER, ENGLAND, July 3, 2002: Bhaarat Welfare Trust announces that “Atma Shanti Katha,” a special recitation of the Shrimad Bhagavat Purana by the renowned Pujya Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza (Pujya Bhaishri) will be held from 12 till 21 July, 2002, at Rushey Mead Secondary School, Leicester. The Atma Shanti Katha aims to educate the Hindu public and…
GO TO SOURCE KOLKATA, INDIA, June 28, 2002: Unmoved by strong protests from animal rights activists, Nepal’s King Gyanendra offered animal sacrifice for the second consecutive day Friday when a goat was slaughtered after his prayers at the historic Kalighat temple here. The slaughter took place after the dignitaries had left the temple premises apparently in a move not to…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, U.S.A., June 25, 2002: Elizabeth Gershoff, a researcher at Columbia University’s National Center for Children in Poverty, suggests to parents that if their children are acting poorly and they are going to spank them, consider an alternative. She says, ” Think of something else to do — leave the room, count to 10 and come…
GO TO SOURCE SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, June 19, 2002: Mark Morford, columnist for SFgate.com, reported that during dreary rush hour traffic on Highway 12, a large, black, gas guzzling SUV slowed down slightly to allow two small cars to merge into the lane ahead of it without the driver feeling the need to blare his horn or swerve angrily or…
GO TO SOURCE USA, June 28, 2002: The supermarket and fast-food industries unveiled their first comprehensive guidelines for the humane treatment of farm animals, recommending that farmers curtail such practices as starving hens to make them lay more eggs, housing pregnant pigs in crates so small they cannot fully lie down and slaughtering some animals before they are fully unconscious.…