Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news36~8.htm/text0012.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 64.2 KB | 1,523 lines

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
 03/30/1997 14:05 EST

 Taiwan Reports Outbreak in Pork

 By CLIFF EDWARDS
 AP Business Writer

 CHICAGO (AP) -- A severe outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease in Taiwan's pork
 population could boost U.S. exports and possibly lead to higher prices at
the grocer.

 The highly contagious disease has spread quickly among Taiwan's pork
population,
 with that country's Council of Agriculture reporting Friday that 842 pig
farms were
 affected and about 140,000 pigs dead or destroyed. Some 740,000 pigs are
on the
 farms.

 Hoof-and-mouth disease is a virus that causes fever and blisters in an
animal's
 mouth and around its hoofs. Animals affected usually do not eat and
ultimately must
 be destroyed. The disease does not harm humans.

 Taiwan has banned exports of its pork while it works to contain the
disease and
 rebuild its herds, a process that experts say could take years. Its
largest export
 partner, Japan, has banned all Taiwanese imports -- which could lead to
substantial
 new U.S. export business.

 ``Right now, it's a wait-and-see thing about what Japan is going to do,''
said Ken
 Maschoff, whose family-operated business in Carlyle, Ill., produces
140,000 hogs
 annually.

 ``Everybody's guessing they're going to lower tariffs to allow more
Western pork in,
 and that could mean consumers paying more for pork this summer,'' Maschoff
said.

 After the outbreak two weeks ago, pork prices began to hog the limelight
on U.S.
 futures exchanges. Live hogs futures prices rose the daily trading limit
for three
 consecutive days last week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are
poised to
 go higher.

 Taiwan accounted for 41 percent of Japanese pork imports last year, with
American
 imports accounting for 22 percent. American imports to Japan could rise to 50
 percent, economists have suggested.

 The possibility for increased exports comes as the government has
suggested that
 American pork supplies could get tighter in the second half of this year
because of
 lower production.

 If that forces pork prices -- which have been relatively low all winter --
to rise before
 the summer grilling season, fewer supermarkets may opt not to heavily
advertise
 pork in favor of other meats because of lower profit margins, Maschoff said.

 ``A lot of people think this situation in Taiwan came about at the wrong
time,''
 Maschoff said. ``American pork producers actually could end up getting
hurt if Japan
 doesn't lower tariffs to allow more pork in, or if Japanese consumer
demand falls off
 and American consumer demand also falls off.''
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 1997 08:37:08 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (AU) Aussie Beef Ban To Be Lifted
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
03/31/1997 07:25 EST

 Aussie Beef Ban To Be Lifted

 SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Indonesia was too hasty in banning beef and cattle
 imports from Australia due to anthrax because any outbreaks are already under
 control, a state agriculture official said today.

 Indonesia halted imports from New South Wales and Victoria on March 10,
citing
 anthrax disease in cattle in both states.

 Asian food buyers are particularly sensitive about beef after Britain's
problems with
 mad cow disease.

 But Victoria state's chief veterinary officer, Dr. Andrew Turner, said the
Indonesian
 ban on Victorian meat and cattle will be lifted Thursday and the ban on
New South
 Wales imports was lifted over the weekend.

 However, the head of the New South Wales' animal industries division, Helen
 Scott-Orr, said her state should not be included in the ban as reports of
anthrax were
 normal and decreasing.

 ``In fact, our incidence this year has been on the lower side'' of normal,
she told
 Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio -- outbreaks on six isolated farms.

 She said Indonesia appeared to be reacting to the high incidence of
anthrax in
 Victoria.

 More than 200 cattle died in Victoria this year before anthrax was
contained through
 quarantines and inoculation. More than 80 Victoria farms lost cattle to
the disease
 and more than 77,300 head of cattle were vaccinated.

 Anthrax is a highly infectious cattle disease that leads to ulcerating
nodules, lesions
 in the lungs and blood poisoning. It can also be transmitted to humans
handling the
 infected products.

 The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Australia's $2.7 billion
beef and
 livestock export industries are worried about losing access to lucrative
Asian
 markets after an apparent breakdown between government agencies in reporting
 the anthrax infections in New South Wales.

 A government spokesman told the paper that Australia always notified its
trading
 partners of any anthrax outbreak, but so far there had been no contact
about New
 South Wales infections.
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 22:25:07 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (AU) Once Australia's 'babes', now a menace
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>The Straits Times, MAR 31 1997
Once Australia's 'babes', now a menace

     SYDNEY -- Hundreds of pet pigs dumped by fans of the
     award-winning movie, Babe, are creating environmental mayhem
     in the Australian bush, the Sun-Herald newspaper said yesterday.
     Bought as cute piglets, they were dumped when they grew into
     full-grown pigs with aggressive temperaments.

        Rangers in wildlife parks around Sydney said that the new
     arrivals were threatening local species and chasing tourists away.

        "They can inflict serious damage on ground-dwelling birds and
     small mammals," said Mr Andrew Glover of the Rural Lands
     Protection Board, adding that the dumped pigs, now anything up
     to 100 kg, had charged at rangers and frightened park visitors.

        Babe, the endearing story of a piglet which learns to herd sheep,
     was a box-office hit around the world and was nominated for
     several Oscars, including best picture. -- DPA.


Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 10:59:56 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (CA) Tiger Escapes in Ontario, Canada
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

According to today's news the tiger was safely lured into a pen.  No injuries
to anyone, including the tiger.

Barry
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 14:24:08 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: POSTING
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


                    *****URGENT- TIME SENSITIVE LEGISLATION UP FOR
CONSIDERATION*****

       Attention Connecticut Greyhound Advocates and other
       Concerned Individuals:

           Committee Bill #6425 which is currently before the Finance,
Revenue and Bonding committee is designed to give further tax relief to the
pari-mutuel gaming industry (dog tracks and jai alai frontons) here in
Connecticut.  Currently, one dog track here is in bankruptcy and the
remaining one is projected to COST Connecticut taxpayers 1.4 million dollars
this year.  Repeated tax breaks and concessions over the years have done
little to resuscitate this industry.  The time is long overdue for CT
taxpayers and voters to say enough is enough.  Dog racing is an inhumane
industry which should not be supported let alone subsidized with OUR tax
dollars.  Even more outrageous is the fact that the State of Connecticut
spent $700,000 urine testing greyhounds last year at the behest of the tracks
which claimed they could not afford to pay for this expense themselves.
 Monies spent on oversight of dog tracks would be put to better use
encouraging realistic economic revitalization and exploration/creation of
long term job opportunities. If you reside in CT or have friends or family
who do, please encourage them to call their Senators and Representatives and
demand that they stop supporting any bills which aid the dog tracks.  Please
tell them that Maine, Vermont, Virginia, Idaho and Washington have
repealed/banned greyhound racing and you think Connecticut should get with
the program.  For info on who your legislators are, or to volunteer, contact:

League of Women Voters (Hamden, CT) ~203-288-7996
Your library or Town Hall
Greyhound Protection League/CT ~203-968-2308

                                                    EDUCATE~~LEGISLATE~~ELIMIN
ATE

Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 15:15:01 -0500 (EST)
>From: Ming-Lee Yeh <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (TW) emergent appeal
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Dear Lynn and all ar-activitists,

If you want to speak for pigs in Taiwan, you can also call Mr. Hu, the
representative of Taiwnanese Government in the Washington DC office. Their
number is 202-8951800

If you prefer to fax your signature to LCA, any of the following number is
avaiable: 011 (US)+ 886-2-7191044; [phone]; [phone];
               + 886-2-9825630; [phone]

All of your voices are appreciated and helpful!

Sincerely,
Minglee
On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Lynn Andrea Halpern wrote:

> Ming Lee,
   > It is heartbreaking to read of this situation in Taiwan. Will it
> be helpful to call the embassy here in Washington?
>
> Sincerely,
> Lynn Halpern
>


> Emergent signature collection -- appeal for using humane methods to
> terminate foot-and-mouth infected hogs [Taiwan]
>
> According to 3/27 Taiwanese newspapers, the epidemic situation of the
> foot-and-mouth disease is continuously  increased. Over 716 farms and
> 146,713 hogs have been infected and more than 76,065 pigs were killed.
> This disaster has impacted national economy and threatened farmers'
> survival. At this moment, slaughtering all diseased animals for
> minimizing the negative impact seems to be inevitable. However, numerous
> cruel images are seen on all media recently, such as, burying animals alive,
> beating animals to death, and incorectlly electrocutting animals
> leading them suffering in half death. The scene of cruelty is to the
> degree that even farmers and soldiers, who implement the slaughter,
> can not bear and have both complained about their mental stress they
> had received. These images have raised the publics awareness that such a
> cruel and inhumane termination will have an extremely negative impact on
> our next generation in Taiwan.
>
> This outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease has indeed affected the country
> economically. Have we not handle it carefully, it may also hurt the
> society and morally psychologically, sue to our cruel actio. Eased on the
> belief of all lives are precious and should be treated with respect, the
> Life Conservationist Association (LCA) urges the authority to use the most
> humane method to terminating animals to minimize animals' suffering before
> they die.
>
> The LCA suggests:
> 1. to use the effective electrical stunning to knock out the animals
> before they are shot by gun
>
> 2. to mobilize professional veterinarians to implement the above
> procedure, assisted by military and farmers;
>
> 3. the electrial stunning must be provided with sufficient current that
> is passed through an animal's brain, inducing immediate unconsciousness
> and insensibility to pain
>
> 4. gun shooting must be accurate to the fatal point in the animal's head,
> which will immediately terminate theiir lives and reduce their fear and
> pain. It can also avoid to spread the virus cased by bloodletting.
>
> Considering the equipment and work-forcer, the effective electrical
> stunning and gun-shot is the "most" feasible, fast and humane method which
> can be suggested now. Currently using bar-beating and ineffective
> electrical stunning will result in burying or burning animals that are
> still alive and conscious. In order to stop the cruel termination and its
> negative impact to our society, the LCA APPEALS to your support!
>
> Please SIGN your name or WRITE Your statement on this letter, and FAX
> to:
> 011-886-2-7191044;  011-886-2-2866403;  011-886-2-2402688
>
> Tel: [phone] (LCA)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Organization: _________________________
> Your name (print): ___________________________
> Signature: ___________________________
> Tel #: _________________________
> Fax #: _________________________
> Address: _________________________________________
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> All support are most appreciated!!
>
> Sincerely,
> Minglee Yeh
> Representative in the US
> Life Conservationists Association of Taiwan
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- End of forwarded message from Ming-Lee Yeh -----
>


Date: 31 Mar 97 16:24:33 EST
>From: 0  <[e-mail]>
To: Ian Lance Taylor <[e-mail]>
Subject: notice for posting
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>





                                        Contact: Nina Natelson
                                                 [phone]
                      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     March 31, Alexandria, VA - On March 17th, Na'ama Bello,
President of Magen le Chatul, a cat protection organization in Tel
Aviv, was arrested.  Ms. Bello was charged with putting starving,
injured, sick, suffering, homeless cats out of their misery with
injections of the humane euthanasia drug sodium pentobarbital, the
same drug used in animal shelters worldwide.  While in the U.S. and
elsewhere around the world, animal welfare workers are trained and
allowed to euthanize animals when necessary, Israeli law makes it
illegal for anyone but a veterinarian to do so.
     According to Ms. Bello, "At all hours of the day or night,
cats are hit by cars, suffer from diseases, or are injured by dogs
or cruel people.  It is neither possible nor humane to transport
them a long distance to a veterinarian.  Veterinarians are often
either unavailable or unwilling to euthanize animals.  Many demand
high fees.  I do what animal welfare workers around the world must
do to relieve suffering."
     Na'ama has been released pending trial, but the media has
labeled her the "Angel of Death", a term applied to Josef Mengele,
a Nazi official infamous for extreme cruelty, and people have
threatened to burn her newborn baby.
     Days before Na'ama's arrest, Melvin Simons, a British
immigrant to Israel in his 60's who resides on a kibbutz (farm
settlement) in the north (the Galilee) and who is assigned the task
of dealing with all the stray dogs dumped on or near his kibbutz,
was also threatened with arrest.  Melvin, also, euthanizes injured
and homeless animals, rather than watch them be strychnine
poisoned, starved, drowned, run over by cars, eaten by Thai workers
brought to Israel to replace Palestinian workers, sacrificed by
cults, or sold to laboratories for experimentation.  The Upper
Galilee municipal veterinarian demanded that Melvin turn over all
dogs found to the municipality, which then strychnine poisons them.
     The law says dogs can be strychnine poisoned only if they
cannot be captured, but this municipality poisons even captured
dogs.  Many years ago, CHAI provided sodium pentobarbital free to

                               -2-
every municipal pound in Israel, as a result of which they switched
from poisoning to using this drug.  In the case of the Upper
Galilee municipality, however, the workers poison many dogs before
they ever reach the pound.
       Years ago, CHAI urged the Veterinary Services Division of
the Agriculture Ministry to allow trained animal welfare personnel
to euthanize animals and even offered to sponsor a course on the
subject for them.  At CHAI's request, animal organizations around
the world appealed to the Israeli government.  The Veterinary
Services, however, said the shelters did not operate at a
sufficiently professional level to be trusted with the drug, nor
would they take action to help improve conditions.  Sodium
pentobarbital is a controlled substance, but it is "denatured" and,
therefore, has no street value.  Theft or illegal use of the drug
has never been a problem in U.S. shelters in all the decades of its
use.
     Said CHAI's President, Nina Natelson: "CHAI is calling on
animal activists everywhere to stand by these courageous people who
will not be stopped from relieving animal suffering by a cruel and
unreasonable governmental policy that permits strychnine
poisonings, but denies trained animal welfare personnel the right
to put animals out of their misery humanely.  Israeli government
policy also prevents proper animal welfare work by imposing high
customs duties on donated animal ambulances, while allowing
ambulances for people into the country duty-free."
     Letters of protest can be sent to the newspaper and T.V.
station that led the negative media campaign.  Write or fax Mr.
Yossi Klein, Manager, Ha'Ir, 19 Josef Caro Street, Tel Aviv,
Israel, fax # [phone] or 011 972 3 562-7420; and Mr. Guy
Zohar, News Editor at The Second Channel T.V. station, 5 Kanfe
Nesharim St., Jerusalem 95464 Israel, fax # [phone] or
011 972 2 655-6287, asking that they tell the other side of the
story - the side of the animal welfare workers who must deal with
the suffering that results from the massive overpopulation caused
by an irresponsible public.  Journalistic integrity requires no
less.

Contributions toward a public education campaign and legal fees can
be sent to CHAI at POB 3341, Alexandria, VA 22302.



Update on CHAI's efforts to get ambulances to the SPCAs in Israel:

The new Animal Protection Division within the Ministry of the
Environment has agreed to pay the customs duties on the ambulance
we seek to donate to the new Tiberias SPCA, however, the Ministry
of Finance has not yet given its approval.  Knesset member Uzi
Landau has agreed to introduce a bill in the Knesset to change the
government's policy on the issue.  Knesset member Avraham Poraz
(sponsor of the Animal Protection Law), at a meeting of Israeli
animal groups in the Knesset, said the ambulance issue has become
his personal issue and he swore that he would get the ambulance in.
Two other Knesset members also agreed to lend their support to
efforts to get the ambulance in.

Thanks to all of you who have told organizations that raise money
for Israel that you will withhold your contributions until the
poisonings stop and the donated ambulance is allowed in to relieve
animal suffering.  Please ask the organizations' Presidents or
Executive Directors to convey your protest to Israeli officials.

In positive news, our "Living Together" program that brings Jewish
and Arab children together at the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Israel to learn about and help animals
has tripled to 120 students and many more schools are seeking to
participate in it.  With your help, we are reaching the country's
youth, the best hope for change.  Surveyors have been called in to
begin construction on the Isaac Bashevis Singer Humane Education
Center, and construction on the Tiberias SPCA has begun.  We'll
keep you posted on these exciting developments.


Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 17:00:24 -0500
>From: "Zoocheck Canada Inc." <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Lynn Rogers/Jeffrey M. Masson/Jane Goodall lectures
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"

<x-rich>Three presentations in Zoocheck Canada's<italic> 1997 Natural World
Lecture Series</italic> have now been confirmed.


On April 24, 1997, wildlife biologist/photographer Dr. Lynn Rogers will
present a lecture entitled <italic>Mysterious and Misunderstood: The
Truth About Black Bears</italic> at the J.J.R. McLeod Auditorium, 1 Kings
College, Circle, Toronto, Canada, 7.30 pm..


The great Edward O. Wilson has ranked the work of Lynn Rogers, whose
specialty is the black bear, with that of the long-term research projects
of Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Iain Douglas-Hamilton on elephants, and
George Schaller on lions., labelling their projects the "four major
pioneering studies of large mammals".


For some twenty-five years, Lynn Rogers has conducted an ongoing field
study of black bears in northern Minnesota, as well as studies of timber
wolves, white-tailed deer, moose and beaver. His thousands of hours of
observation have revealed many previously unknown facts about black bear
life.


On June 5th, also at the J.J.R. McLeod Auditorium, international
best-selling author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson presents a lecture entitled
<italic>When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals</italic>.


And on October 30th at Centennial Hall in London, Ontario Canada,
world-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall presents a lecture entitled
<italic>The Chimpanzees of Gombe</italic>.


For more information, or to order tickets contact Zoocheck Canada.



Zoocheck Canada Inc.

3266 Yonge Street, Suite 1729

Toronto, ON M4N 3P6

[phone]  Ph

[phone]  Fax

E-Mail:  [e-mail]

Web Site:  http://web.idirect.com/~zoocheck

Registered Charity No. 0828459-54
</x-rich>
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 1997 17:03:15 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) L.A. Zoo Has Geriatric Animals
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
 03/31/1997 11:36 EST

 L.A. Zoo Has Geriatric Animals

 LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Zoo is becoming a regular geriatric
ward.

 Some occupants have bad teeth and arthritis. Others suffer from diabetes
and need
 insulin shots and a regimented diet without sweets -- just like they're human
 counterparts.

 Twenty percent of the 1,200 animals at the zoo are considered old for
their species,
 with more living longer lives thanks to scientific advances and improved
living
 conditions in captivity.

 But just as with elderly humans, older animals have to deal with issues like
 long-term medical care and chronic illness, and subsequently, fatter
health budgets.

 High medical costs have prompted Los Angeles Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo to
 ask Mayor Richard Riordan this February for $70,000 to supplement the
zoo's overall
 $12 million budget.

 ``It's almost like a double whammy,'' said zoo administrative officer
Robert Tanowitz.
 ``It's not just the aging population but more preventive medicine. The
drugs we're
 using to treat these illnesses have almost doubled our budget.''

 Animals with incurable diseases may be euthanized if they don't respond to
 treatment after approval from the animal's keeper, the zoo curator and a
veterinarian
 serving on a three-member committee.

 But those that survive are inflating the zoo's budget. Preventive exams and
 medications for older animals could surpass the zoo's $89,000 budget for such
 expenses by $70,000.

 Take, for example, Koo, a 24-year-old white-cheeked gibbon who was diagnosed
 with diabetes.

 ``Koo was acting kind of cranky. We would test him and his blood sugar
would be
 too low,'' zoo veterinarian Cynthia Stringfield said.

 Zoo officials contacted a physician who offered free medical advice.

 Stringfield said that Koo is now trained to hold out his arm for insulin
injections once
 a day, and his high-fiber diet is devoid of grapes, other sweet fruits or
sugary liquids.

 Arthritis is particularly common among elephants, rhinoceroses and other
large
 animals that compact the soil in their exhibits until it is like concrete.
The condition
 flares up especially on cold, rainy days.

 ``They're just like people with creaky joints. It's much harder for them
to move
 around,'' Stringfield said.

 Zoo keepers give the animals ibuprofen and till the soil in their living
areas to
 cushion the ground.
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 17:11:24 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Woman Gets Jail for Cat Killings
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

I<< .c The Associated Press

       KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri woman is going to jail for
 four months - for stabbing to death a cat and five kittens.
       The woman said she wanted to teach her son a lesson, after he
 became fascinated with knives.
       But court records say Vicki Hill had become fed up with the
 commotion that the cat family was causing in her small duplex.
       Her 6-year-old son was traumatized by the incident - and he's
 been in state custody at a group home ever since.
       Hill claims that she's really an animal lover - and that ``no
 one has suffered more'' than she has. But animal-rights activists
 are applauding the sentence.
       Prosecutors say the case has generated more calls and letters
 than most murder cases.
       AP-NY-03-29-97 2148EST

---------------------
Forwarded message:
 >From:[e-mail]
Date: 97-03-29 23:05:07 EST

<HTML><PRE><I>.c The Associated Press</I></PRE></HTML>

      KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri woman is going to jail for
four months - for stabbing to death a cat and five kittens.
      The woman said she wanted to teach her son a lesson, after he
became fascinated with knives.
      But court records say Vicki Hill had become fed up with the
commotion that the cat family was causing in her small duplex.
      Her 6-year-old son was traumatized by the incident - and he's
been in state custody at a group home ever since.
      Hill claims that she's really an animal lover - and that ``no
one has suffered more'' than she has. But animal-rights activists
are applauding the sentence.
      Prosecutors say the case has generated more calls and letters
than most murder cases.
      AP-NY-03-29-97 2148EST
      <HTML><PRE><I><FONT COLOR="#000000 SIZE=2>Copyright 1997 The Associated
Press.  The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.<FONT COLOR="#000000
SIZE=3></I></PRE></HTML>


To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.

Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 17:14:25 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Leaving SdeCAP/Changing addresses
Message-ID: <v01540b07af6585f45df5@[198.59.173.218]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I regret to relate that today March 31, 1997 will be my last
day of employment at Sangre de Cristo Animal Protection,
Inc.

When I moved to Albuquerque in October of 1995 it was
because I felt  SdeCAP's campaign against the Inhalation
Toxicology Research Institute was worthwhile.  I still do.

Lately, however, concerns about funding have precluded
any program work that I've been able to do and unfortunately,
we have been  forced  to cease our efforts on the ITRI
campaign.  I hate to leave, but have  no other choice.   The
campaign has been running  at a deficit for over a year
now and simply cannot continue in this manner.

I am still discussing other options and will let y'all know as
soon as something noteworthy develops.  For now,  I can be
reached at the email addresses below if anyone needs or
wants to reach me.

Lawrence Carter-Long
Email: [e-mail]
              [e-mail]

"Nothing is given to humanity, and the little we can conquer is paid for
with unjust deaths, but humanity's greatness lies elsewhere.  It lies in
our decision to be stronger than our condition, and if our condition is
unjust we have only one way of overcoming it, which is to be just
ourselves."  --  Albert Camus, 1944.










Date: Tue, 01 Apr 1997 17:12:03 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Groups Want Salmon Habitat Saved
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
---------------------------
 03/31/1997 01:31 EST

 Groups Want Salmon Habitat Saved

 By SCOTT SONNER
 Associated Press Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Environmentalists are returning to court in Oregon to
ask a
 federal judge to play ``fish master'' and save the endangered Northwest
salmon.

 Ultimately, they want to return the Snake and Columbia rivers to a more
natural state
 where currents run faster and cooler. But that could hurt hydropower
producers,
 shippers and irrigation farmers.

 The conservationists say past efforts to move salmon by barge and truck
around a
 series of dams has failed to reverse the salmon's population declines.
They want
 more water devoted to helping flush young fish to the Pacific Ocean, at
the expense
 of commercial river users.

 Two years ago, U.S. District Judge Malcolm Marsh of Portland, Ore., ruled
in a
 related case that federal efforts to protect the dwindling salmon runs were
 ``seriously, significantly flawed.''

 Environmentalists were heading back to Marsh's court today for a hearing
on their
 claim that the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Army Corps of
Engineers and
 the Bureau of Reclamation are still doing too little to save several Snake
River
 salmon species from extinction.

 The environmentalists complain that the government for the last two years
has fallen
 short of water-flow targets needed to help flush young fish to the ocean.

 ``This could be a big turning point,'' said Rick Taylor, spokesman for the
Columbia
 River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission in Portland, which has filed
friend-of-the-court
 briefs in support of the conservationists. ``They have asked the judge to
become the
 fish master of the Columbia.''

 The plaintiffs want Marsh to order the government to draw reservoir levels
down to
 return the river to a more natural state with faster moving, colder water.

 That would help juvenile salmon arrive at the ocean in days, just as they
did before
 the dams were built a half-century ago, instead of the weeks-long journeys
they now
 make through slack water pools filled with predators.

 But it also would make less water available to churn hydropower turbines
and shut
 down at times the navigational system that connects the port of Lewiston,
Idaho, to
 the Pacific.

 The salmon population once numbered 10 million to 16 million in the Columbia
 River basin. Federal scientists estimate only 2 percent are left and the
number
 continues to drop.

 American Rivers, a conservation group leading the lawsuit, has been
pressing for
 increased protection of three Snake River salmon species since they were
listed as
 endangered in 1991 and 1992.

 The group contends that federal agencies are loathe to carry out conservation
 measures that could hurt other river users, especially the producers of cheap
 hydropower.

 ``They call themselves the federal family. We call them the dysfunctional
federal
 family,'' said Lorraine Bodi, Northwest regional director of American
Rivers in Seattle.

 Doug Arndt, senior program manager for the Army Corps of Engineers' North
Pacific
 Division in Portland, said his agency has struggled to achieve a balanced
approach.

 ``We have 13 Indian tribes, five states, any number of utilities and
environmental
 groups all coming at this thing trying to present their points of view,''
Arndt said.
 ``There's not even agreement we are chasing the right goal.''

 Much of the disagreement centers on whether the fish are better off being
barged
 and trucked around the dams or remaining in the Columbia throughout their
 migration.

 After hearing oral arguments today, Marsh is expected to rule within a few
weeks --
 about the time the fish start their annual migration to the ocean.
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 17:31:00 -0500 (EST)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Saving the Rare Houbara Bustard
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

IThis is some of the most disgusting waste of money and resources for
digusting practices I have ever seen.

 c The Associated Press

       By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
       SWEIHAN, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Artificial insemination,
 man-made rain, computers and satellite identification tags are
 among high-tech tools used by researchers trying to revive a
 declining bird population.
       And all this is to save the birds so they can be hunted. The
 birds - houbara bustards - are the most prized quarry in Arab
 falconry, a sport revered by the wealthy sheiks of the Gulf.
       The birds are being studied and bred at the National Avian
 Research Center, which opened in the emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1990
 and is a pet project of Emirates ruler Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al
 Nahyan, an avid falconer.
       The center is run by a team of international specialists, some
 of whom admit privately they are happy to have Gulf oil money to
 save the houbara bustard but are less dedicated to the center's
 other goal - encouraging falconry.
       Using costly, sophisticated gear, the center studies every
 detail of the houbara, a brown and gray bird with dark neck
 feathers that is about the size of a large chicken.
       Twenty houbaras are housed in desert aviaries where researchers
 study their reproduction in a natural habitat. Scientists monitor
 the mating behavior of another 20 birds kept in artificial
 conditions at the center's Environment House in Sweihan, east of
 the Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.
       Derek Gliddon, a geographic systems analyst, follows color dots
 on a computer screen that show movements of tagged birds - 15 have
 been released by the center since 1994 - over the course of their
 migration.
       ``When they start moving, they go very quickly,'' says Gliddon,
 a 33-year-old Briton, pointing to the route on a map.
       The tagged houbaras wear tiny backpacks holding satellite
 transmitters. Each weighs 1.2 ounces and costs $3,000, plus $2,000
 to run for a year.
       The transmitters beam signals 620 miles to three orbiting
 satellites, which calculate the birds' position from space and send
 the data to a computer in France.
       The houbaras inhabit an area stretching from the Canary Islands
 in the west to China in the east. They migrate to the Gulf between
 November and February, the hunting season.
       Conservationists say without such a sophisticated project the
 houbara bustard is certain to disappear because the Gulf sheiks -
 who have hunted the birds with falcons for 2,000 years - are
 unlikely to stop.
       Olivier Combreau, an ecologist at the center, says the houbara
 population in the Emirates could be fewer than 1,000 in winter. By
 contrast, David Remple, founder of the Dubai Falcon Hospital,
 estimates there are 10,000 falconers in the region.
       It's difficult to get a firm picture of the houbaras' decline
 since no studies were done on past migrations. But, according to
 poachers, the birds are in noticeable decline.
       Farming and use of pesticides in the birds' breeding grounds
 have contributed to the drop in numbers, but by far the major
 reason is overhunting - mainly because the sheiks have switched
 from camels to four-wheel-drive vehicles in giving chase.
       In the past, a party of hunters would pursue bustards for weeks
 or months across the desert, tracking their footprints in the sand.
 Today, as before, the falcon perches on the falconer's wrist, which
 is protected by a glove-like mangela.
       Once a hood covering the falcon's head is removed, the falcon is
 trained to attack with its claws and beak to break the prey's neck,
 then drop the kill on the ground before the hunter. As a quarry,
 the houbara bustard is prized by Gulf Arabs for its rich, dark
 meat.
       The falcon is such a part of Gulf heritage that it's the
 Emirates' official symbol. Arab poets use the falcon as an image
 for strength and speed; it can fly at more than 100 mph.
       British traveler and author Wilfred Thesiger gives a picture of
 the traditional hunt in his writing about desert trips in the 1940s
 and '50s with Sheik Zayed, the Emirates' ruler.
       ``For months or more we rode for long hours on superb camels,
 slept on the ground in the open, fed on the hares and the bustards
 we had taken - half a dozen in one day if we were lucky - an
 exacting and rewarding experience in confronting an immemorial
 past.''
       At the research center, spokeswoman Theri Bailey said the
 breeding of houbaras to be killed as prey does not contradict
 conservationist values.
       ``We see the potential for conservation ... if the hunting was
 managed properly. We try to put out a positive message,'' said
 Bailey, who comes from England.
       ``Arab people need to move toward the right direction. If you
 are their friends, advisers, it's better to work with them than
 throwing mud at them from the outside.''
       One environmentalist at the center, who spoke on condition of
 anonymity, said he would prefer to free the houbaras to enjoy a
 long life but added: ``We must please the sheiks.''
       ``It's a sensitive subject. We cannot tell the sheiks they
 cannot hunt. They will if they want to. But we can utilize their
 money to understand the ecology in order to protect the houbara,''
 he said.
       Sheik Zayed, the center's benefactor, has described the hunt for
 the bustard as a meditating experience.
       ``Our hunting trips accustom us to patience and endurance,'' he
 wrote recently. ``We regard them as a means of achieving a degree
 of psychological equilibrium between sedentary urban life and that
 of the desert. The simple happiness this sport brings us fortifies
 us against the stresses and strains of our official duties.''
       AP-NY-03-30-97 1201EST >>


---------------------
Forwarded message:
 >From:[e-mail]
Date: 97-03-30 12:04:24 EST

<HTML><PRE><I>.c The Associated Press</I></PRE></HTML>

      By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
      SWEIHAN, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Artificial insemination,
man-made rain, computers and satellite identification tags are
among high-tech tools used by researchers trying to revive a
declining bird population.
      And all this is to save the birds so they can be hunted. The
birds - houbara bustards - are the most prized quarry in Arab
falconry, a sport revered by the wealthy sheiks of the Gulf.
      The birds are being studied and bred at the National Avian
Research Center, which opened in the emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1990
and is a pet project of Emirates ruler Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al
Nahyan, an avid falconer.
      The center is run by a team of international specialists, some
of whom admit privately they are happy to have Gulf oil money to
save the houbara bustard but are less dedicated to the center's
other goal - encouraging falconry.
      Using costly, sophisticated gear, the center studies every
detail of the houbara, a brown and gray bird with dark neck
feathers that is about the size of a large chicken.
      Twenty houbaras are housed in desert aviaries where researchers
study their reproduction in a natural habitat. Scientists monitor
the mating behavior of another 20 birds kept in artificial
conditions at the center's Environment House in Sweihan, east of
the Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.
      Derek Gliddon, a geographic systems analyst, follows color dots
on a computer screen that show movements of tagged birds - 15 have
been released by the center since 1994 - over the course of their
migration.
      ``When they start moving, they go very quickly,'' says Gliddon,
a 33-year-old Briton, pointing to the route on a map.
      The tagged houbaras wear tiny backpacks holding satellite
transmitters. Each weighs 1.2 ounces and costs $3,000, plus $2,000
to run for a year.
      The transmitters beam signals 620 miles to three orbiting
satellites, which calculate the birds' position from space and send
the data to a computer in France.
      The houbaras inhabit an area stretching from the Canary Islands
in the west to China in the east. They migrate to the Gulf between
November and February, the hunting season.
      Conservationists say without such a sophisticated project the
houbara bustard is certain to disappear because the Gulf sheiks -
who have hunted the birds with falcons for 2,000 years - are
unlikely to stop.
      Olivier Combreau, an ecologist at the center, says the houbara
population in the Emirates could be fewer than 1,000 in winter. By
contrast, David Remple, founder of the Dubai Falcon Hospital,
estimates there are 10,000 falconers in the region.
      It's difficult to get a firm picture of the houbaras' decline
since no studies were done on past migrations. But, according to
poachers, the birds are in noticeable decline.
      Farming and use of pesticides in the birds' breeding grounds
have contributed to the drop in numbers, but by far the major
reason is overhunting - mainly because the sheiks have switched
from camels to four-wheel-drive vehicles in giving chase.
      In the past, a party of hunters would pursue bustards for weeks
or months across the desert, tracking their footprints in the sand.
Today, as before, the falcon perches on the falconer's wrist, which
is protected by a glove-like mangela.
      Once a hood covering the falcon's head is removed, the falcon is
trained to attack with its claws and beak to break the prey's neck,
then drop the kill on the ground before the hunter. As a quarry,
the houbara bustard is prized by Gulf Arabs for its rich, dark
meat.
      The falcon is such a part of Gulf heritage that it's the
Emirates' official symbol. Arab poets use the falcon as an image
for strength and speed; it can fly at more than 100 mph.
      British traveler and author Wilfred Thesiger gives a picture of
the traditional hunt in his writing about desert trips in the 1940s
and '50s with Sheik Zayed, the Emirates' ruler.
      ``For months or more we rode for long hours on superb camels,
slept on the ground in the open, fed on the hares and the bustards
we had taken - half a dozen in one day if we were lucky - an
exacting and rewarding experience in confronting an immemorial
past.''
      At the research center, spokeswoman Theri Bailey said the
breeding of houbaras to be killed as prey does not contradict
conservationist values.
      ``We see the potential for conservation ... if the hunting was
managed properly. We try to put out a positive message,'' said
Bailey, who comes from England.
      ``Arab people need to move toward the right direction. If you
are their friends, advisers, it's better to work with them than
throwing mud at them from the outside.''
      One environmentalist at the center, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said he would prefer to free the houbaras to enjoy a
long life but added: ``We must please the sheiks.''
      ``It's a sensitive subject. We cannot tell the sheiks they
cannot hunt. They will if they want to. But we can utilize their
money to understand the ecology in order to protect the houbara,''
he said.
      Sheik Zayed, the center's benefactor, has described the hunt for
the bustard as a meditating experience.
      ``Our hunting trips accustom us to patience and endurance,'' he
wrote recently. ``We regard them as a means of achieving a degree
of psychological equilibrium between sedentary urban life and that
of the desert. The simple happiness this sport brings us fortifies
us against the stresses and strains of our official duties.''
      AP-NY-03-30-97 1201EST
      <HTML><PRE><I><FONT COLOR="#000000 SIZE=2>Copyright 1997 The Associated
Press.  The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.<FONT COLOR="#000000
SIZE=3></I></PRE></HTML>


To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.

Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 20:21:20 -0800
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Your tax dollars at work
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Genes used to restore salivary glands in rats

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (Mar 31, 1997 7:55 p.m. EST) -- When patients with head and
neck cancer are treated with radiation, a serious side effect is damage
to glands that produce saliva. Now researchers say a new gene therapy
may eventually solve this problem.

Scientists at the National Institute of Dental Research have
demonstrated in laboratory rats that near normal saliva secretion can be
restored for a time by transferring a saliva-making gene into certain
cells in the mouth.

The study is to be published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Bruce Baum, chief scientist in the study, said the work is "an
important first step to managing a condition for which no suitable and
effective therapy is currently available."

Head and neck cancers often are treated with radiation, but the therapy
may kill acinar, or fluid-producing, cells in the salivary glands. This
causes unrelenting "dry mouth," leading to a chronic inflammation of
mucous membranes and frequent infections. Patients also can have
difficulty swallowing, speaking and eating.

Radiation often does not affect the salivary ducts, however, and now
researchers may have found a way to make those ducts produce fluid.

The scientists modified an adenovirus, which is similar to a cold virus,
so that it could not reproduce.  They then put into the virus a gene
called aquaporin. This gene, recently discovered, causes the formation
pores for the passage of fluid.

In an experiment, laboratory rats were irradiated so that their salivary
glands were damaged and saliva secretion was reduced by 64 percent.

When the rats salivary ducts were infected with the modified virus, the
saliva secretion increased to near normal. The effect was transitory,
however, the researchers said, because the infection from the modified
virus lasted only a short time.

Baum said in a statement that the research is at an early stage and it
may be several years before the gene transfer technique will be ready
for testing in humans.
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 20:23:53 -0800
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Falcons return to Seattle skyscraper
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Endangered falcons return to Seattle skyscraper

Reuter Information Service

SEATTLE (Mar 31, 1997 5:19 p.m. EST) - Capistrano may have its famous
swallows, but Seattle has a mated pair of endangered peregrine falcons
who have returned to nest on a downtown office building for the fourth
year in a row.

The female, Belle, laid her third egg at 1:56 a.m. Monday on a ledge on
the 56-story building and is expected to lay one more, according to
Terry Onustack, a spokesman for Washington Mutual Bank, the tower's
principal tenant.

Last year, the falcon laid four eggs. Two of the babies survived to
leave the nest.

It will take four weeks for the latest eggs to hatch, and then another
six weeks before the young falcons make their first flight.

Bank patrons and other nature lovers can follow the progress of the eggs
and any chicks on two video monitors set up in the building, the
Washington Mutual Tower, including one visible from the street that is
switched on after hours.

Daily updates on the progress of the falcons can also be heard on a
telephone hotline.
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 20:35:51 -0800
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: FWD: Forest Focus
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

>From: Western Ancient Forest Campaign <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Subject: WAFC Forest Focus - March 27, 1997
Date: 31 Mar 1997 00:10:45 GMT

FOREST FOCUS, the Bulletin of the Western Ancient Forest
Campaign, Mar. 27, 1997  Reach us at [phone], fax (202)879-
3189, or email [e-mail]

NEW LAWS?:  Sen. Frank Murkowski, chair of the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, says he is "skeptical" about the claims
of the Clinton Administration that they don't need new laws to
effectively manage the national forests, AP reports.  "Administrative
changes are taking, if not forever, longer than most people can afford
to wait,"  Murkowski said in requesting the Government Accounting
Office to provide his committee with information on the agencies' rule
making process and the average time frames involved.  "We believe
wholesale revisions of land management statutes are neither necessary
nor desirable," Secretaries Bruce Babbitt and Dan Glickman wrote to
Sen. Larry Craig earlier this month in commenting on Craig's proposed
timber industry legislation. "The laws under which the Forest Service
and BLM now operate are fundamentally sound."

MINE APPEAL:  The Kettle Range Conservation Group has appalled
the Crown Jewel Mine, a proposed open-pit mine located on Buckhorn
Mt. on Forest Service land, a release from the group says.  The mine
"has it all," KRCG says: "mine tailings over a creek, blasting the top
off a mountain, use of cyanide to process microscopic gold, and
disregard for the folks living in the area."  The group claims that the
creation of a "special management area" by the Forest Service for the
mine "is unprecedented and illegal."  KRCG is appealling the project to
Regional Forester Bob Williams in Portland OR and asks "all
concerned citizens to write a letter to the Regional Forester, as an
'interested party,' opposing the mine and asking him to prevent this
land grab."

NO GOSHAWKS:  Logging on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
has eliminated goshawk habitat, a new wildlife study says according to
the Arizona Republic.  "Goshawks aren't there," researcher Richard
Reynolds told the Republic about "seed-tree" logging areas on the
North Kaibab Plateau.  Conservationists say that if goshawks are in
decline in the North Kaibab, their numbers "must be drastically off in
other, more heavily logged Southwestern forests."  Robin Silver of the
Southwest Center for Biological Diversity said that the area is "what
historically was the best habitat for goshawks in North America."

DAVIS SUPPORT:  The Mayor of Davis CA has written to Rep. Vic
Fazio (D-CA) asking that Fazio support measures in Congress "that
bring more accountability and oversight" to the Forest Service.  The
letter specifically asks Fazio, who is a member of the House
Appropriations Committee, to support the Kennedy amendment to
eliminate Forest Service road building in roadless areas.  "We object to
spending millions of dollars to promote the obliteration of our old
growth forests, watersheds, and wildlands," says the letter to Fazio
from Mayor Lois Wolk for the Davis City Council.  "We would like to
see an end to certain funds, such as the Salvage Fund, which promote
increased logging at taxpayer expense."

AFRICAN ALARM:  "An alarm bell must be sounded" at the
devastation taking place in central African forests, Rep. Clay Shaw (R-
FL) told a House subcommittee considering development assistance last
week, the Environment News Service reports.  Shaw and Rep. Bill
Archer travelled to central Africa in January and Shaw said he
observed that "the new type of logging that is being done by the Asians
[in Africa] is clear-cutting pure and simple."

--=====================_859607111==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Steve Holmer
Campaign Coordinator
Western Ancient Forest Campaign
1025 Vermont Ave, NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/879-3188
202/879-3189 fax
[e-mail]
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 20:54:48 -0800
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: The newest drug racket
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Critics Claim Drugs Intended For Obesity Are Often Misused

               By ROBERT LANGRETH
  Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

On a pale Saturday morning in Santa Monica, Calif.,
while much of the town is still waking up, the waiting
room of the Manhattan Weight Control Medical Center
is already packed with patients.

Most are young women, and they wait for up to an hour
to be seen for a few minutes by a doctor or an assistant
in one of the nine patient rooms. They want pills to make
them thin -- or thinner. By closing time at 1 p.m., more
than 70 customers have been treated in just 4 1/2 hours,
each spending $30 or more for a seven-day supply.

The pills are American Home Products Corp.'s
hot-selling Redux, an obesity drug based on
dexfenfluramine, and "phen-fen," a combination of two
other obesity drugs, phentermine and fenfluramine. The
drugs, available only by prescription, are intended only
for patients who are clinically obese -- that is, 20% or
30% heavier than ideal weight -- and can have rare but
devastating effects. But some customers at Manhattan
Weight Control simply want to shed a few pounds to
improve their appearance.

Hundreds of new diet-pill clinics have sprouted
nationwide in the past year or two to cash in on the new
drugs and the desire of women -- the clinics' chief
customers -- to be fashion-model thin without working
at it. These "pill mills," as critics call them, maximize
patient turnover while providing little direct contact with
doctors. Many play down the risks and deceptively
promise permanent weight loss; sometimes a doctor isn't
present at all.

"There are plenty of pill mills out there, handing out
medications like cheap Halloween candy," says Michael
Myers, an obesity specialist and doctor in Los Alamitos,
Calif. "Lots of physicians have suddenly become experts
in obesity."

Those who promise permanent weight loss come in for
particularly sharp criticism from Richard Joseph, a
weight-loss specialist in Naperville, Ill. Dr. Joseph,
chairman of the ethics panel of the American Society of
Bariatric Physicians, a group of weight-loss specialists,
says: "It's totally unethical to promise permanent weight
loss ... since weight loss is rarely, if ever, permanent."

Experts say it is the biggest gold rush in the diet-pill
business in 30 years. Diet clinics offer an alluring cash
business to doctors stung by managed care. In Southern
California alone, at least half a dozen doctor-owned
chains now offer multiple locations. Get-rich-quick
entrepreneurs are jumping in, too, including a Houston
used-car lender and the Florida operator of a
money-losing chain of Domino's pizza palaces in Poland.

"I've never seen a vehicle like this for seeing large
number of patients. You may be talking to the next
billionaire!" says Fred Garcia, owner of Slim & Slimmer
Medical Associates of Newport Beach, Calif. Dr.
Garcia operates 24 sites, most of them opened since
May 1995.

"It's a wide-open market. The profit margins are much
larger than in restaurants," says Mitchell Rubinson, chief
executive of QPQ Corp. of Miami Beach, the Polish
pizza business. QPQ opened four weight-loss centers
staffed by doctors last year and hopes to expand to 36
in three years.

The last time a diet-pill craze sparked big business was
in the 1960s, when hundreds of weight-loss centers
prescribed amphetamines that proved to be highly
addictive. Diet pills fell out of favor and were frowned
upon for three decades, until phen-fen caught on in
1994, followed by Redux last year. Though not as
addictive as amphetamines, the new drugs have possible
side effects that include temporary memory loss,
depression, dependency and pulmonary hypertension, a
lung disease that kills half of the people who get it. That
is why the pills usually are intended only for those who
are 20% to 30% overweight or more; the health risks of
obesity outweigh the risk of side effects.

"It is terrible medicine, malpractice per se, to give the
medications out to people who want to lose five or 10
pounds and risk the chance of side effects. All it does is
enrich the doctor," says Morton Maxwell, an obesity
expert at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gary
Huber of the Texas Nutrition Institute in Tyler, Texas,
warns: "A lot of people are going to get killed."

Last year, doctors wrote a total of 18 million monthly
prescriptions for one or the other of the two drugs in the
phen-fen combo, a daytime/nighttime mix. Redux racked
up an additional 2.4 million prescriptions in just its first
six months, according to IMS America Ltd., a
pharmaceutical-research firm.

Sales of the three drugs cleared $400 million last year,
and about three-quarters of that went to American
Home, which makes Redux and Pondimin, the main
brand of fenfluramine. Sales of Pondimin quadrupled to
about $190 million last year. An American Home
spokeswoman says the vast majority of doctors
prescribe its diet drugs only to patients who are obese.

However, visits to several clinics in California and
Texas, both states with high numbers of diet-pill centers,
show just how liberal the prescription practices are --
and how vastly profitable the clinics can be.

At Manhattan Weight Control in Santa Monica, lawyer
Emily Maxwell has trimmed 15 pounds off her
5-foot-7-inch frame and has reached the 125-pound
mark with phen-fen. "The time to exercise isn't there,"
she says, but she doesn't worry about the diet drugs'
side effects. "I feel good about this place."

Jan Wineman of Irvine, Calif., was treated for several
months at a Manhattan Weight Control clinic last year,
dropping almost 30 pounds to just 112; she is 5 feet 6
inches tall. Acquaintances wondered whether she had
AIDS. She had bothersome side effects -- memory loss,
stomach cramps, irregular menstruation and jarring heart
palpitations -- which she says she reported to the clinic.
"It was like having 15 cups of coffee," she says. She
ultimately quit the drugs on her own and has since gained
back about 10 pounds. The pills, she says, were "so
easy to get."

Manhattan Weight Control maintains it weans patients
off the drugs after they have lost enough weight.

Most of the chain's 18 clinics have opened only in the
past year. The owner, Don S. Jensen, a former family
practitioner who lives in Los Angeles' exclusive Bel-Air
section, says the chain reaped $15 million in revenue last
year. He says most customers are more than 60 pounds
overweight and that the chain rejects many who don't
qualify. He acknowledges treating people who aren't
really fat; but he maintains, contrary to generally
accepted medical opinion, that doing so doesn't pose a
risk.

Dr. Jensen also says his company hasn't had a single
serious side effect among 45,000 people it has treated
and that the threat of pulmonary hypertension is "a red
herring ... pretty much a media creation."

But at least two malpractice lawsuits have been filed
against Dr. Jensen by patients who say the chain was
wrong to prescribe drugs for them. One suit filed by
Serzine Oghli in Los Angeles Superior Court against Dr.
Jensen and his company alleges that the plaintiff, on
medication for high blood pressure when treated at the
center, had to be hospitalized for heart palpitations
because of the diet drugs. In the second case, Don
Ventura is suing the center, Dr. Jensen and another
doctor no longer at the center; the suit, filed in Orange
County Superior Court in Santa Ana, Calif., alleges that
diet pills caused Mr. Ventura, who had uncontrolled
hypertension, to suffer a stroke that left him partially
paralyzed.

Dr. Jensen denies the allegations and calls both lawsuits "totally
ridiculous."

At local rival Slim & Slimmer Associates, business is
booming. Dr. Garcia, the would-be billionaire, went into
the diet business after watching his anesthesiology
practice fall off 40% because of managed care. His
chain treats 1,400 patients every month at $90 each,
pocketing a 30% profit, he says. And Slim & Slimmer is
in talks to open clinics at a chain of 34 health clubs.

Dr. Garcia says he mainly treats patients who are 20%
overweight or more. But Julie Taylor, an accountant,
had no trouble getting phen-fen at one of his San
Fernando Valley offices. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall and
dropped about 20 pounds to 110 before recently
stopping the drugs.

In suburban Atlanta, several doctors say they were
pressured to churn out rapid-fire prescriptions and that
the patients often were too thin at Ashford Medical
Weight Loss. "They talked about spending three to five
minutes, maximum, per patient," says James Heusner, a
physician who worked for a single day at an Ashford
clinic. "At least three times in four or five hours, they
complained I wasn't moving fast enough."

John Powers, operator and part owner of the Ashford
chain, denies pressuring doctors. He also says: "If
somebody isn't 20% overweight, our doctors aren't
going to treat them. Period."

In Houston, Jay Mont treats several dozen patients a
day at his clinic inside a small office building. Dr. Mont
buys magazine ads emblazoned with before-and-after
photos of a bikini-clad woman who purportedly lost 140
pounds on his program. "Permanent weight loss ... even
if you only want to lose five pounds!" the ads blare.

Some patients say Dr. Mont tells them exercise is
optional and lets his staff treat patients when he isn't
present. Dr. Mont declines to comment.

In Tyler, Texas, Anton Lester III treats up to 20 diet-pill
patients a day at $50 a head; several patients say he
often gives them only a cursory exam. Dr. Lester says
the diet pills are only a fraction of his business. He
admits that he sometimes prescribes the drugs to people
who need to lose only a few pounds. "If they pay you,
you have to give them something," he says.



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