"A worldwide campaign begun in 1988 to eradicate polio was on the verge of success when, early in 2003, a conspiracy theory took hold of the Muslim population in northern Nigeria. That conspiracy theory has singlehandedly returned polio to epidemic proportions.
The theory's source seems to be one Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, 68, a physician and president of Nigeria's Supreme Council for Shari'a Law. Ahmed, an Islamist, accuses
Americans of lacing the polio vaccine with an anti-fertility agent that sterilizes children (or, in an alternate theory, infects them with AIDS) and considers them, according to John Murphy of The Baltimore Sun, 'the worst criminals on Earth... Even Hitler was not as evil as that.'
This fear of polio vaccines caught on, explains a doctor with the World Health Organization, because of the war in Iraq. 'If America is fighting people in the Middle East,' goes the Islamist logic, 'the conclusion is that they are fighting Muslims.'
Local imams repeated and spread the sterilization theory, which won wide acceptance despite vocal assurances to the contrary from the WHO, the Nigerian government and many Nigerian doctors and scientists.
Ibrahim Shekarau, governor of Kano, one of the three Nigerian states that refused the polio vaccine, justified the decision not to vaccinate on the grounds that 'it is a lesser of two evils to sacrifice two, three, four, five, even 10 children [to polio] than allow hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of girl-children likely to be rendered infertile.'
The Baltimore Sun offers the example of a young Nigerian mother who rejected polio vaccine for her child. The child did get polio, and the mother was asked i"
May 25, 2005
May 24, 2005
Suspicious package indeed: Device that forced I-75 and Daniels shut was a prosthetic penis
The suspicious object that jammed traffic Monday on Interstate 75 and Daniels Parkway was not explosive, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
The device — found on the side of Daniels Parkway under the northbound I-75 overpass — a was prosthetic penis. There's no word yet on whether the penis was designed to serve medical or recreational needs.
A motorist called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office shortly after 3 p.m. about the suspicious package on the side of the road under the northbound Interstate 75 overpass.
The cylinder was more than a foot long in a plastic bag and wrapped with duct tape. It looked like pipe bomb.
Deputies arrived and alerted the bomb squad, which used a robot to disable the cylinder. The north- and southbound lanes of Intestate 75 were closed for about an hour between Alico Road and Colonial Boulevard. Traffic was blocked on Daniels Parkway at the overpass for an hour while the device was removed.
The device — found on the side of Daniels Parkway under the northbound I-75 overpass — a was prosthetic penis. There's no word yet on whether the penis was designed to serve medical or recreational needs.
A motorist called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office shortly after 3 p.m. about the suspicious package on the side of the road under the northbound Interstate 75 overpass.
The cylinder was more than a foot long in a plastic bag and wrapped with duct tape. It looked like pipe bomb.
Deputies arrived and alerted the bomb squad, which used a robot to disable the cylinder. The north- and southbound lanes of Intestate 75 were closed for about an hour between Alico Road and Colonial Boulevard. Traffic was blocked on Daniels Parkway at the overpass for an hour while the device was removed.
Two hurt in mock light sabre duel
Two Star Wars fans are in a critical condition in hospital after apparently trying to make light sabres by filling fluorescent light tubes with petrol.
A man, aged 20, and a girl of 17 are believed to have been filming a mock duel when they poured fuel into two glass tubes and lit it.
The pair were rushed to hospital after one of the devices exploded in woodland at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.
A third person present at the incident had been questioned, police said.
Videotape found
A videotape was found nearby by police called to the scene on Sunday.
A police spokeswoman said the pair were taken to West Herts Hospital before being transferred to the specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, in Essex.
They are both said to be in a critical condition.
She said the 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man from Hemel Hempstead suffered serious injuries.
She added: "At this stage we are unable to confirm the exact circumstances, but glass tubes and traces of accelerant (flammable substance) were found at the scene."
The final film in the Star Wars series, Revenge Of The Sith, arrived at UK cinemas last week.
One of the crucial scenes features a light sabre battle between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker.
A man, aged 20, and a girl of 17 are believed to have been filming a mock duel when they poured fuel into two glass tubes and lit it.
The pair were rushed to hospital after one of the devices exploded in woodland at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.
A third person present at the incident had been questioned, police said.
Videotape found
A videotape was found nearby by police called to the scene on Sunday.
A police spokeswoman said the pair were taken to West Herts Hospital before being transferred to the specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, in Essex.
They are both said to be in a critical condition.
She said the 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man from Hemel Hempstead suffered serious injuries.
She added: "At this stage we are unable to confirm the exact circumstances, but glass tubes and traces of accelerant (flammable substance) were found at the scene."
The final film in the Star Wars series, Revenge Of The Sith, arrived at UK cinemas last week.
One of the crucial scenes features a light sabre battle between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker.
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