GENETIC 'FOOT'-PRINTING FOR BIGFOOT?

Will DNA scientistÕs be able to do what others have failed to doÑproduce proof of the existence of Bigfoot?

Ohio State University researchers are attempting to identify the DNA in a clump of hair found in the woods of the Pacific Northwest by three men including two former forest rangers who claimed to spot a group of ÒBigfootsÓ about 100 feet away in the dark.

The analysis should show if the hair came from a human or any other known primate.

THE CIA, THE PENTAGON & THE PSYCHICS

Whatever the Pentagon and the CIA may privately feel about the value of psychic sources of information, they clearly do not like having to justify it publicly in a time of budgetary constraints.

After admitting in November that they had spent $20 million dollars of taxpayer money on a program code named ÒStargateÓ which employed psychics in numerous intelligence operations, the agencies have been on the defensive. Declaring that the program has proved ÒunpromisingÓ CIA officials appear uninterested in further pursuitof such research. What is not clear is whether the bureaucracy has truly given up on the paranormal or is simply reacting to considerable ridicule from the press and establishment scientists. In the meantime Senator Claiborne Pell D-R.I. is said to remain enthusiastically interested in the possibilities of the metaphysical.

At least one of the psychics employed by ÒStargateÓ John McNoneagle says he was awarded the Legion of Merit for his work, which included alerting the Pentagon to when a new Russian sub would be launched, thus making useful satellite pictures possible. That feat alone, McNoneagle says, saved the government $10 million in reconnaissance costs.

Loss of face, though, may prove even more costly.

EGYPTOLOGISTS SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS OVER NEW GIZA DISCOVERIES

Workers in the process of dismantling a thirty-year-old theater near the pyramid of Chefren on the Giza plateau have unexpectedly discovered an ancient canal, as well as a tunnel which runs beneath the valley temple.

Before conjecture about lost halls of records or unacceptably great antiquity could get too far, Egyptian antiquities boss Zahi Hawass quickly moved to put an official spin on the story. While conceding that the canal is probably at least 4,500 years old, which Hawass says would make it the oldest canal in the world, he does not hesitate to declare that its function was in connection with the burial of the pharaohs. Regarding the tunnel, Hawass admits Òit could be very excitingÓ but says researchers have yet to determine the tunnelÕs use.

NBC RESCEDULES "ORIGINS OF MAN" SPECIAL FOR FEBRUARY

The NBC special ÒThe Mysterious Origins of ManÓ which was mentioned in Atlantis Rising (#5) has been delayed. Originally scheduled for mid January, it is scheduled at press time to air February 25 (7 p.m. EST). Consult your local listings.

Hosted by Charlton Heston, the program is produced by the same team (including director Bill Cote) that put together the emmy-award-winning ÒMystery of the Sphinx,Ó but delves into the deeper implication of some of the new research. Special attention is paid to the work of Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson on a cover-up of archeological evidence pointing to much greater antiquity for modern humans than academic authorities would have us believe.

PYRAMID RENTAL

It appears that even with the Egyptian antiquities authority, money talks. While continuing to resist the efforts of researchers like John Anthony West and Geologist Robert Schoch to pursue unorthodox investigations into the Sphinx, the agency is, nevertheless, interested in accommodating the increasing demands of mystics to spend some private time in the Great Pyramid. For a price, that is.

A group of 15 can rent the pyramid for $450. $5 is charged for each additional. How about Sphinx rental?

FEVERISH DIGGING IN QUMRAN

Four newly discovered man-made caves in the Qumran region may shed new light on long-simmering controversies over the Dead Sea scrolls. Just a short distance from the original caves where, in 1947, many scrolls written in the time of Jesus were unearthed, the new discoveries come as a major surprise to archeologists who thought they had found everything there was to find in the area.

The caves must be excavated, and fast, say Israeli authorities. The area is in West Bank territory scheduled to be negotiated in May under terms of the Israeli/Palestinian peace deal. In the meantime, Palestinian officials are accusing the Israelis of plundering the site and have demanded a halt.

SYMPOSIUM ON ANCIENT WISDOM

Recovering the advanced but lost knowledge of the ancients will be the subject of public symposium at the University of Delaware this fall.

Among the speakers at the UniversityÕs Clayton Conference center, on September 27-29, will be John Anthony West, Robert Schoch, Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval and Rand Flem-Ath. Sponsored by the Society for Scientific Exploration, the event will be called ÒA Return to the Source: Rediscovering Ancient Wisdom and Lost Knowledge,Ó and will explore through diverse disciplines the evidence for an advanced body of knowledge that may have fueled ancient civilizations, as well as the relevance of this knowledge for contemporary culture.

For more information call 609/965-3657 or E-mail to MtaMedia@acy.di-gex.net.