Historical
Timeline
Calendar Months
Most newspaper article events happen anywhere from days, to months, to years before they reach publication. Consequently, most newspaper articles on this timeline are preceded by the date of the newspaper in which they appear. (Note: Detailed data source transcription for all news article quotes - this timeline - generally didn't begin until 2003.) [E.M. / D.R.D.] *Color Code
January 2000
2000 - Astronomic Configuration - January 1st, 2000: "Sun [10 Capricorn], Moon [10 Scorpio], Mercury [1 Capricorn], Venus [1 Sagittarius], Mars [27 Aquarius], Jupiter [25 Aries], Saturn [10 Taurus R.], Uranus [14-16 Aquarius], Neptune [3 Aquarius], Pluto [11 Sagittarius], Chiron [11 Sagittarius]."
[Based on: http://www2.bitstream.net/~bunlion/bpi/ephm/E200001.html]
2000 - Map of Europe - "Map of Europe, 2000 A.D."
2000 - Status / U.S. Oil Refinineries - "From 1993 to 2003, the market share of the five-biggest U.S. refineries grew to 52 percent from 35 percent, according to Public Citizen. For the top ten refiners, market share rose to 79 percent from 56 percent. Meanwhile, the Consumer Federation of America says 77 percent of the market on the East Coast and 67 percent on the West Coast were controlled by the top four refiners as of 2000. [....] Between 1997 and 2002, the number of U.S. refineries dropped to 153 from 282. Refining capacity in that period rose 2.4 percent to 16.8 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Department. However, domestic demand for gasoline surged 27 percent in that period." [Based on article by Jim Efstathiou Jr., Bloomberg News, May 2004]
2000 - U.S. Influence / Central Asia - "By the start of this year, the US has already begun 'to quietly build influence' in Central Asia. The US has established significant military-to-military relationships with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Soldiers from those countries have been trained by Americans. The militaries of all three have an ongoing relationship with the National Guard of a US state – Kazakhstan with Arizona, Kyrgyzstan with Montana, Uzbekistan with Louisiana. The countries also participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace program. [Washington Post, 8/27/02]
2000 - Diabetes Epidemic / United States - "An epidemic is raging in America. But unlike scourges that ravaged earlier populations, only to die back and later be tamed by vaccines, this one is quietly spreading, bringing devestating complications and occasionally death. Researchers predict that of the babies born in 2000, a staggering 33 percent of males and 38 percent of females will develop this disease in their lifetimes. In addition to its human toll, this epidemic has another victim - the health-care system that is reeling under heavy cost of treating this disease in so many people. The disease: Type 2 Diabetes." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/03/2003]
2000 - Trivia / New Year - January 1st, 2000: "The Jewish calendar year was 5760 and the new year scheduled for September 30. The Hindu year was 1921. The Chinese year was 4697 with the new year on February 5th. The Muslim lunar year was 1420 with the new year on April 6th." [Link: 1]
2000 - Peace Talks / Syria & Israel - January 3rd, 2000: "President Clinton opened peace talks between Syria and Israel in Shepherdstown, West Virginia."
2000 - Trivia / Catholic Church, China - January 6th, 2000: "In China the state-controlled Catholic Church ordained 5 new bishops while the Pope elevated 12 prelates in St. Peter's Basilica."2000 - AOL / Time Warner - January 10th, 2000: "The largest media conglomerate today is AOL, which bought out Time Warner for $160 billion early in 2000. Time Warner Inc, with 1997 revenues of more that $13 billion, was the second largest of the international media leviathans when it was bought by AOL. Levin, chairman and CEO of Time Warner, had bought Turner Broadcasting System in 1996 from Ted Turner, who had been one of the few Gentile entrepreneurs in the media business. Ted Turner, as the company president, is the number three man at the new AOL, after Case and Levin." [Link: 1]
2000 - Earth Temperature Warming - January 12th, 2000: "Scientists reported that the temperature of the Earth's surface had risen 0.7-1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century and that the Earth has been warming for the past 300 years."2000 - Land Return / Ute Indians - January 14th, 2000: "The federal government announced the return of 84,000 acres in northern Utah to the Ute Indians. The land was taken in 1916 for the rights to oil shale reserves."
2000 - Record Close / Dow Jones Industrial Average - "[....] On Jan. 14, 2000 ... the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,722.98, a record that stands to this day [January 2005]. [....]" [Based on: A.P.,01/13/05]
*Trivia: [....] "From the end of 1995 through early 2000, the Dow soared 132 percent, propelled by the enthusiasm over technology and the Internet .[....] Shortly after March 2000, the decline began, exacerbated over the next few years by a litany of bad news - a disputed election, bankruptcies, shenanigans at WorldCom and Enron, 9/11, the recession, war and Afghanistan. Oct. 9, 2002, would be the final day of reckoning on Wall Street, with the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500. The final tally: The Dow had fallen 37.8 percent from its high, the S&P 500 lost 49.5 percent, and the tech-heavy, start-up friendly Nasdaq tumbled 77.9 percent. [....]" [Based on: A.P.,01/13/05]
2000 - Earthquakes / China - January 15th, 2000: "In China 5.9 and 6.5 earthquakes hit in Yunnan province and 4 people were killed."
2000 - Stalled Talks / Syria & Israel - January 17th, 2000: "The Clinton administration announced that talks between Israel and Syria had been postponed indefinitely."2000 - Foreign Relations / Russia & Chechnya - January 18th, 2000: "In Chechnya Russian troops began moving through the streets of Grozny in the most intense ground attack in 4 months."
2000 - "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" - January 19th, 2000: "Scientists noted a 'giant horseshoe pattern' of warm air over the western Pacific Ocean called the 'Pacific Decadal Oscillation'. It was expected to effect weather for the next 20 years."
2000 - Ice Storm / U.S.A. - January 23rd, 2000: "An ice storm in the Southeast and Midwest knocked out electrical services to a half-million customers. The storm caused a truck to jackknife north of Kansas City resulting in a multicar accident the killed 10 people."
2000 - Chemical Spill / Texas - January 25th, 2000: "In Texas a tanker truck with 9000 gallons of furfural overturned and spilled the toxic chemical, which is used in manufacturing, into a drainage ditch that flows into San Martin Lake. An estimated 6 million fish and dozens of ducks were soon found dead."
2000 - Snow Storm / North Carolina - January 25th, 2000: "A snow storm hit the East Coast and left Raleigh, NC, with over a foot of snow. At least 5 deaths were blamed on the storm."
2000 - Russian Death Toll / Chechnya - January 25th, 2000: "The Russian government announced that 1,055 servicemen had been killed and 3,206 wounded in Chechnya since October 1st."
2000 - Super Bowl 34 - January 30th, 2000: "In Atlanta the St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV."
2000 - Trivia / Nitrogen Fertilizers - January 31st, 2000: "It was reported that nitrogen-based fertilizers were likely suspects in the rapid decline of the spotted frog in the Pacific Northwest."
February 2000
2000 - Flooding / Madagascar - "Flood date(s): February-March 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 150+." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - Flooding / Mozambique - "Flood date(s): February-March 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 700." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - Millennium Wheel / Britain - February 1st, 2000: "In Britain the Millennium Wheel, the world's largest Ferris wheel, began operating after a month long delay."
2000 - Oill Spill / Bolivia - February 2nd, 2000: "In Bolivia an oil spill was reported to have leaked some 5,000 barrels into the Desaguadero River, which empties into Lake Titicaca. The spill was reported to have reached Lake Poopo and Lake Uru Uru and was spreading to the communities of the Aymara Indians."
2000 - Nuclear Warheads? / Israel - February 2nd, 2000: "In Israel an Israeli Arab legislator, Issam Mahoul, announced that the country possessed up to 300 nuclear warheads and that 3 new German-made submarines would be fitted with nuclear weapons."
2000 - Miss Tennessee / U.S.A. - February 4th, 2000: "Lynette Cole, Miss Tennessee, won the Miss USA pageant."
2000 - Chinese Golden Dragon Year - February 5th, 2000: "The Chinese new year 4697." [Link: 1]
2000 - Israeli Air Attacks / Lebanon - February 7th, 2000: "Israeli jets launched air attacks deep into Lebanon. Power was knocked out at Baalbek, headquarters of the Hezbollah, and at Beirut and Tripoli. 18 civilians were injured."
2000 - NYC Bomb - February 11th, 2000: "An early morning bomb exploded in NYC on the corner of Wall and Water streets in front of an office building owned by Barclay's Bank. One person was slightly injured."
2000 - Cyanide Spill / Romania - February 13th, 2000: "In Yugoslavia the cyanide spill from Romania reached the Danube and weakened to non lethal levels. Life in the Tisa [Tisza] River in Hungary and Serbia was devastated and Serbia threatened to demand compensation at an international court."
2000 - NEAR Spacecraft / Eros - February 14th, 2000: "The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous [NEAR] spacecraft began its orbit around the asteroid Eros."
2000 - Falun Gong Protest / China - February 17th, 2000: "In China authorities detained Chen Zixiu [60] for heading to Beijing to protest for the Falun Gong. She was unable to pay a fine of $120 and was beaten and died on Feb 21. The government denied mistreatment."
2000 - Foreign Relations / China & Taiwan - February 21st, 2000: "China warned Taiwan that a prolonged lack of negotiations could provoke a military attack."
2000 - Cyclone / Mozambique - February 22nd, 2000: "Cyclone Eline hit Mozambique and 3 people were electrocuted in Beira from fallen power cables. Earlier torrential rains killed 67 people and displaced some 211,000."
2000 - Famine / Ethiopia - February 23rd, 2000: "It was reported that Ethiopia faced severe famine and the UN World Food Program planned an appeal to raise $50 million for emergency aid."2000 - Grammy Winner / Carlos Santana - February 23rd, 2000: "Carlos Santana won 8 Grammy awards at the 42nd annual ceremony for his album 'Supernatural'."
2000 - Pope John Paul II / St. Catherine's Monastery, Egypt - February 26th, 2000: "Pope John Paul II visited the 6th century St. Catherine's monastery in Egypt, built on the reputed site where Moses encountered the burning bush. He met with Greek Orthodox Archbishop Damianos and held a short prayer service in an olive garden outside the monastery."2000 - Volcanic Eruption / Iceland - February 27th, 2000: "In Iceland the Mount Hekla volcano erupted."
2000 - Foreign Relations / Iraq & Syria - February 28th, 2000: "It was reported that Iraq and Syria had established diplomatic ties that were cut in August 1980 when Damascus sided with Iran just before the Iran-Iraq war."
2000 - Died / Pierre Plantard - February 2000: "Reportedly died this month in history: Self-proclaimed 'Priori of Zion' spokesman, Pierre Plantard." [E.M.] [Link: http://www.priory-of-sion.com/]
2000 - GENOME - A hardcover edition of Matt Ridley's book: GENOME (Copyright 1999) was published in February 2000 by HarperCollins Publishers."
March 2000
2000 - Flood Status / Madagascar - March 3rd, 2000: "In Madagascar an estimated 600,000 people were affected by flooding from tropical storm Gloria and at least 55 people were reported killed."
2000 - AIDS Trivia / U.S.A. - March 4th, 2000: "On the AIDS crises it was reported that 1 in every 50 black men in the US was HIV positive. It was also reported that 1 in 300 of all people in the US were HIV positive."
2000 - Cloned Piglets / Scotland - March 5th, 2000: "PPL Therapeutics of Scotland cloned 5 piglets in Blacksburg, Virginia."
2000 - Increased Gasoline Prices / California - March 6th, 2000: "Gasoline prices in California reached an average $1.63 per gallon."
2000 - Land Allocation Rules / Israel - March 8th, 2000: "In Israel the supreme court ruled that the government may no longer allocate land based on religion or ethnicity and may no longer prevent Arab citizens from living where they choose."2000 - Record / NASDAQ - March 9th, 2000: "The US NASDAQ market reached a record 5,000, ten weeks after passing 4,000."
2000 - Metal Pollutants / Romania - March 10th, 2000: "In Romania some 20,000 tons of metal pollutants escaped into the Vaser River from the state-owned Baia Borsa mine after a dam broke following heavy rains and melting snow."
2000 - Women's Rights / Morocco - March 12th, 2000: "In Morocco some 500,000 Muslim fundamentalist marched in Casablanca in opposition to the government's plan to extend women's rights. In Rabat another 200-300,000 people marched in support of the plan."
2000 - Begged Forgiveness / Pope John Paul II - March 12th, 2000: "In Rome Pope John Paul II begged for God's forgiveness for sins committed or condoned by Roman Catholics over the last 2,000 years."
2000 - Blizzards / Mongolia - "March 13th, 2000: "In Mongolia the Red Cross reported that winter blizzards had killed over 1 million head of livestock and that some 300,000 people were short of food. The dead animal number was soon raised to 1.8 million, or 1 in every 15 in the nation."
2000 - Same Sex Couples? / Vermont - March 16th, 2000: "The Vermont state House of Representatives voted 76-69 for a bill to give same-sex couples all the rights and responsibilities granted to married heterosexuals."
2000 - Famine / Kenya - March 18th, 2000: "In Kenya it was reported that some 10,000 cattle, 25,000 camels and 20,000 goats had starved to death over the last 3 months. 2 million people faced famine and 20 died in the last 2 weeks in the Wajir district."
2000 - MTBE Contamination / U.S.A. - March 20th, 2000: "The Clinton administration moved to phase out the fuel additive MTBE to avoid further contamination of groundwater."
2000 - Trivia / Tobacco Regulation - March 21st, 2000: "The US Supreme court ruled 5 to 4 that the FDA lacks the power to regulate tobacco products."
2000 - Depleted Uranium Rounds / Kosovo - March 21st, 2000: "NATO acknowledged that depleted uranium rounds were used during the 1999 Kosovo war whenever American A-10 ground attack aircraft engaged armored vehicles."
2000 - Citrus Canker / Florida - March 22nd, 2000: "Four Florida counties were declared agricultural disaster areas due to a spreading citrus canker. Half the lime crop was already destroyed in the southern part of the state."
2000 - Genetic Code / Fruit Fly - March 23rd, 2000: "Scientists reported that the genetic code of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, had been decoded. 60% of the flies 13,600 genes are identical to human genes."
2000 - President Vladimir Putin / Russia - March 26th, 2000: "Russia elected Vladimir Putin as its 2nd post-Communist president with 52.5% vote."
2000 - Holy Land Tour / Pope John Paul II - March 26th, 2000: "Pope John Paul II ended his Holy Land tour with a message of contrition at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a visit to Al Aqsa Mosque and a Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site for the resurrection of Jesus."
2000 - Tobacco Law Suit - March 27th, 2000: "A San Francisco jury ordered Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds to pay $20 million in punitive damages to Leslie Whiteley [40]."
2000 - Jewish Same Sex Couples? - March 29th, 2000: "The Central Conference of American Rabbis adopted a resolution stating 'a Jewish same gender couple is worthy of affirmation through appropriate Jewish ritual.' "
2000 - Death Toll / Ugandan Doomsday Sect - March 29th, 2000: "In Uganda the doomsday sect body count reached 644."
2000 - Volcanic Eruption / Japan - March 30th, 2000: "In Japan Mount Usu erupted on Hokaido following 22 years of dormancy. Evacuations from Date, Sobetsu and Abuta preceded the eruption."
2000 - "No Strings Attached" / 'N Sync - Entertainment highlights during the week of March 26-April 1: " 'N Sync's album 'No Strings Attached' sold 2.4 million copies its first week out. It set an all-time record for first-week sales." [Based on: A.P. article, p. D5, S.L.P.D., 03/27/06]
2000 - Proposed Nuclear Missile Cuts / Russia - March 31st, 2000: "In Russia President Putin called for a quick ratification of the START II nuclear arms reduction treaty and deeper cuts in nuclear missiles."
April 2000
2000 - Merger / Monsanto, Upjohn, & Pharmacia - "April 1st, 2000: "Monsanto merges with Pharmacia & Upjohn to become Pharmacia Corporation, which moves its headquarters to Peapack, N.J. The agriculture business is separated into a subsidiary named 'new' Monsanto Co."
2000 - Foreign Relations / U.S. & Lebanon - April 3rd, 2000: "US defense chief Cohen said that the US would join an int'l. force in south Lebanon when Israel pulls out."
2000 - Record Losses / U.S. Stock Market - April 4th, 2000: "The US stock markets hit intraday record losses as the Nasdaq fell 554 but recovered with a loss of 74.79. The Dow fell 504 but recovered with a net loss of 57."
*Trivia: "[....] On Jan. 14, 2000 ... the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,722.98, a record that stands to this day [January 2005]. [....] From the end of 1995 through early 2000, the Dow soared 132 percent, propelled by the enthusiasm over technology and the Internet .[....] Shortly after March 2000, the decline began, exacerbated over the next few years by a litany of bad news - a disputed election, bankruptcies, shenanigans at WorldCom and Enron, 9/11, the recession, war and Afghanistan. Oct. 9, 2002, would be the final day of reckoning on Wall Street, with the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500. The final tally: The Dow had fallen 37.8 percent from its high, the S&P 500 lost 49.5 percent, and the tech-heavy, start-up friendly Nasdaq tumbled 77.9 percent. [....]" [Based on: A.P.,01/13/05]
*Trivia: "[....] During the high-flying stock market days of the 1990s, the Fed chief in December 1996 famously questioned whether Wall Street investors were engaging in 'irrational exuberance.' Despite the warning, stocks continued to soar. In 2000, the stock market bubble began to rupture and wiped out trillions of dollars in paper wealth." [Based on: A.P. article by Jeannine Aversa, p. B3, S.L.P.D., 08/27/05]
2000 - Trivia / Genetic Foods - April 5th, 2000: "A 261-page report by the 12-person National Research Council said 'it was not aware of any evidence suggesting foods on the market today are unsafe to eat as a result of genetic modification'."
2000 - Muslim New Year - April 6th, 2000: "The Muslim new year 1421 began with the new moon."
2000 - Elections / Bosnia & Serbia - April 9th, 2000: "In Bosnia the moderate Social Democratic party claimed victory in 20 cities of the Muslim-Croat Federation. In the Serb Republic the Serbian Democratic Party won 56.5% of the vote."
2000 - Premier Costas Simitis / Greece - April 9th, 2000: "In Greece Premier Costas Simitis declared a narrow victory over the New Democracy opposition."
2000 - President Eduard Shevardnadze / Georgia - April 9th, 2000: "In Georgia President Eduard Shevardnadze won re-election with some 82% of the vote. Dzhumber Patiashvili, ex-Communist leader, trailed with 17% and charged that there was widespread vote rigging."
2000 - Elections / South Korea - April 13th, 2000: "In South Korea election results gave 115 seats to the ruling Millennium Democratic Party of President Kin Dae Jung. The opposition Grand National Party won 133 seats."
2000 - Global Human Order - April 14th, 2000: "Leaders of developing nations called for a 'New Global Human Order' to spread the world's wealth and power. The Group of 77, expanded to 133, made the call during a 3 day summit in Havana."
2000 - Milosevic Protest / Serbia - April 14th, 2000: "In Serbia some 100,000 people rallied against President Milosevic in Belgrade."
2000 - Stock Market Plunge / United States - April 14th, 2000: "US stock markets plunged with the Dow down 617.78 to 10305.77 and the Nasdaq down 355.49 to 3321.29. Inflation fears were cited."
2000 - WTO Protest / Washington D.C. - April 15th, 2000: "An estimated 600 people were arrested in Washington DC prior to the meeting of the IMF and World Bank."
2000 - WTO Protestors / Washington D.C. - April 16th, 2000: "In Washington DC police blocked some 10,000 protesters from disrupting the meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. Finance ministers and central bankers issued a statement that pledged to seek greater debt relief for the poorest countries and to reform the IMF to prevent future financial crises."
2000 - U.S. Threats / Philippine Rebels - April 17th, 2000: "In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf rebels on Basilan Island threatened to kidnap and kill Americans if the US does not release the men convicted for bombing the World Trade Center in New York."
2000 - Expulsion / Cheng Kejie, China - April 20th, 2000: "In China the Communist party announced that Cheng Kejie, a deputy chairman in the national legislature, was expelled and charged with amassing $4.5 million in bribes and kickbacks."
2000 - Execution / Li Chenglong, China - April 23rd, 2000: "In China Li Chenglong [48], deputy mayor of Guigang city, was executed. He had been convicted of corruption during his term as Communist Party secretary of Yulin city between 1991 and 1996."
2000 - Hostage Abductions / Philippines - April 23rd, 2000: "Philippine gunmen abducted 20 people from a Malaysian resort on Sipadan Island. Islamic insurgents took credit for the attack. They later freed 2 hostages and demanded $2.4 million in ransom for 19 captives."
2000 - AIDS Trivia / Russia - April 24th, 2000: "It was reported that officially 5,000 new AIDS cases were registered in Irkutsk, Russia, over the last year along with 8,500 heroin addicts. 40% of Russian prostitutes were reported to be HIV-positive."
2000 - Drought / India - April 25th, 2000: "In India it was reported that some 50 million people faced severe drought in Rajasthan and Gujarat."
2000 - Trivia / Church vs. State, U.S.A. - April 25th, 2000: "The Ohio state motto, 'with God, all things are possible,' was declared unconstitutional by a federal appeals court."
2000 - Trivia / Microsoft Corporation - April 28th, 2000: "The U.S. Justice Deptartment and 17 states filed to split Microsoft Corporation into 2 corporations."
2000 - Drought / Pakistan - April 29th, 2000: "In Pakistan it was reported that the worst drought in 100 years ravaged southern Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. Up to 500 people were dead from diseases related to the drought."
2000 - Status / Earth Temperature - April 30th, 2000: "It was reported by the Royal Swedish Academy that the Earth is currently hotter than at any time in recorded human history."
2000 - Gay Rights March / Washington D.C. - April 30th, 2000: "The 4th annual gay rights rally, billed as the Millennium March, was held in Washington DC. The crowd in the national Mall was estimated from 200-750 thousand."
2000 - Terrorist Report - April 2000: "A walk-in at the FBI's Newark, N.J., office claimed he was supposed to meet five or six people in the United States to hijack a plane and either fly it to Afghanistan or blow it up." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch (S.L.P.D.) 9/19/02]
May 2000
2000 - Terrorist Report - May 1st, 2000: "A U.S. State Department annual report on efforts to combat terrorism listed Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria as state sponsors for terrorism. The report indicated a shift from the Middle East to South Asia with Afghanistan and Pakistan listed as threatening."
2000 - May Day Protests - May 1st, 2000: "May Day marches and protests took place around the world. In Berlin violence erupted as some 10,000 anarchists marched against "capitalism and imperialism" after some 1200 neo-Nazis rallied. In London some 2,000 demonstrators caused havoc in London. Tens of thousands gathered in Madrid and some 15,000 demonstrated in both Russia and Istanbul. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Sao Paulo, Brazil and some 20,000 marched in Quito, Ecuador."
2000 - AIDS Status / Rwanda - May 2nd, 2000: "In Rwanda health minister Ezechias Rwabuhihi reported that some 500,000 Rwandans, 6% of the population, were infected with AIDS."
2000 - Earthquake / Indonesia - May 4th, 2000: "In Indonesia a 6.5 earthquake was centered in the Maluku Sea off Pelang Island and at least 17 people were killed."
2000 - Hostage Status / Sierra Leone - May 4th, 2000: "In Sierra Leone rebels seized more UN troops and brought the total of hostages to 90."
2000 - E-Mail Virus / "I Love You" - May 4th, 2000: "The e-mail virus 'I Love You' bug hit millions of computers around the world. It was considered the most virulent, most damaging [$2.6 bil], most costly and most rapidly spread virus to date."
2000 - Inauguration / Vladimir Putin - May 7th, 2000: "In Russia President Putin was inaugurated. He named Mikhail Kasyanof as the prime minister and pledged to restore the country to world-power status."
2000 - Genome Mapping / Chromosome 21 - May 8th, 2000: "Scientists announced that they had mapped chromosome 21 which is associated with Down syndrome, epilepsy, Lou Gehrig's disease and Alzheimer's."
2000 - Los Alamos Fire - May 11th, 2000: "At Los Alamos 25,000 people were evacuated and the fire destroyed at least 150-260 homes. Flames scorched parts of the nuclear weapons facility. The Los Alamos fire toll covered 30,000 acres with 191 housing structures burned."
2000 - Conflict / Ethiopia & Eritrea - May 14th, 2000: "Ethiopia claimed a major victory against Eritrea and claimed that 8 divisions had been destroyed over the last 2 days. Eritrea said 25,000 Ethiopian soldiers were killed or wounded."
2000 - Opposition Supporters / Serbia - May 15th, 2000: "In Serbia some 20,000 opposition supporters rallied in Belgrade for free elections and the resignation of President Milosevic."
2000 - Flooding / Timor Island - "Flood date(s): May 17th, 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 50+." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - Large Oil Reserve? / Caspian Sea - May 15th, 2000: "A consortium of Western oil companies found a large oil reserve in the northern Caspian Sea off the coast of Kazakstan. The 480-sq. mile Kashagan field was estimated at 8 to 50 billion barrels of oil."
2000 - Proposed Islamic State - May 17th, 2000: "In the Philippines Islamic rebels asked for $2 million for the freedom of ailing German hostage Renate Wallert. They also issued written conditions that included the creation of an independent Islamic state and a global probe into the plight of the Muslim minority."
2000 - Computer Virus - May 18th, 2000: "Another computer virus, described as a complex polymorph, began to spread around the world."
2000 - Refugees / Ethiopia - May 18th, 2000: "Ethiopian troops captured Barentu in Eritrea and some 250-550 thousand refugees were reported displaced by the fighting."
2000 - World Bank Loans / Iran - May 18th, 2000: "The World Bank approved 2 loans for Iran totaling $232 million."
2000 - NATO Petition - May 19th, 2000: "Nine countries banded together to petition entry into NATO in 2002. They included Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia."
2000 - Women's Rights / Israel - May 22nd, 2000: "In Israel the Supreme Court ruled that women may read out loud from the Torah and wear a prayer shawl at the Western Wall."
2000 - Foreign Relations / Israel & Lebanon - May 22nd, 2000: "Israel's 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon crumbled as Islamic guerrillas and civilians laid claim to disputed lands."
2000 - Ethiopian Zalambessa - May 23rd, 2000: "Ethiopian forces reclaimed Zalambessa, which was seized by Eritrea 2 years ago."
2000 - Israeli Occupation End / Southern Lebanon - May 23rd, 2000: "The South Lebanon Army abandoned its positions and Israel's 22-year occupation of its 'security zone' ended."
2000 - New U.S. Bills - May 24, 2000: "New US $5 and $10 bills were scheduled to be shipped to banks. The engravings of Lincoln and Hamilton would be larger and off center."
2000 - Computer Virus / "Killer Resume" - May 26th, 2000: "The 'Killer Resume' computer virus began to circulate."
2000 - Weizman Resignation - May 28th, 2000: "In Israel President Weizman announced that he would resign July 10 due to past financial misdealings."
2000 - Hostage Release / Sierra Leone - May 28th, 2000: "In Sierra Leone the last 85 UN peacekeepers were released by rebels into Liberia and returned to Freetown."
2000 - Trivia / Speed of Light - May 30th, 2000: "It was reported that physicists had conducted experiments in which light beams appeared to travel faster than the speed of light."
2000 - Peace Talks / Ethiopia - May 31st, 2000: "Ethiopia declared victory over Eritrea as peace talks continued in Algeria."
June 2000
2000 - Pesticide Ban / Chlorpyrifos - June 1st, 2000: "The organophosphate pesticide called chlorpyrifos, sold under names including Dursban, was reported to pose a risk to children. The EPA announced a ban on its use for most applications on June 8th."
2000 - Resettlement / Zimbabwe Farms - June 1st, 2000: "In Zimbabwe President Mugabe announced that the state would begin seizing 804 mostly white-owned farms and resettle them with landless blacks."
2000 - Missing? / U.S. Nuclear Secrets - June 1st, 2000: "At Los Alamos hard drives with classified nuclear secrets were discovered missing. They were found June 16 behind a photocopier."
2000 - Genesis / IBM "Blue Gene" Computer - June 4th, 2000: "It was reported that IBM planned to build the 'Blue Gene' computer over the next five years to model the way human proteins fold into shapes that give them unique biological properties."
2000 - Earthquake / Indonesia - June 4th, 2000: "In Indonesia a 7.3 earthquake hit Sumatra and over 100 people were killed with relentless aftershocks."
2000 - Independence / West Papua - June 4th, 2000: "In West Papua separatists made a declaration of independence from Indonesia. Thaha Alhamid read the declaration before thousands gathered in Jayapura. 500 West Papuans had gathered for a 'congress' that resulted in the declaration."
2000 - Oil Well & Pipeline Project / World Bank - June 6th, 2000: "The World Bank approved a $3.7 billion oil well and pipeline project led by Exxon and Mobile to link oil fields in Chad across 663 miles to the Atlantic coast of Cameroon."
2000 - Fuel Price Increases / Nigeria - June 8th, 2000: "In Nigeria rioting in Lagos and a nationwide strike began after a 50% increase in fuel prices."
2000 - Death Toll / Congo Civil War - June 9th, 2000: "In Congo the 22-month civil war averaged some 2,600 deaths every day. The total was estimated at 1.7 million dead."
2000 - Same Sex Couples Benefits / Brazil - June 9th, 2000: "In Brazil legal rights for same-sex couples were extended to include inheritance, pension and social security benefits."
2000 - Computer Virus / "Serbian Badman Trojan" - June 9th, 2000: "The FBI began discussions on the 'Serbian Badman Trojan' computer virus disguised as a movie clip and embedded in some 2000 commercial and home computers."
2000 - Trivia / Stanley Cup - June 10th, 2000: "In Dallas the New Jersey Devils beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 to win hockey's Stanley Cup."
2000 - German Music Festival - June 10th, 2000: "In Germany the 3-day Rock of the Ring music festival in Neurburg drew some 100,000 people to see 90 bands."
2000 - Flooding / Chile - June 12th, 2000: "In Chile the worst rains in 20 years began and caused flooding in Santiago and a large portion of the central and southern parts of the country. "
2000 - Fuel Prices Reduction / Nigeria - June 13th, 2000: "In Nigeria a national strike ended after the government agreed to a substantial reduction in the 50% increase to fuel prices."
2000 - Foreign Relations / North & South Korea - June 13th, 2000: "President Kim Jong Il of North Korea met with Pres. Kim Dae Jung of South Korea in the 1st meeting ever between leaders of the 2 countries. They agreed to try to satisfy their people's desire for reconciliation. Border loudspeakers that blasted insults at South Korea were shut off."
2000 - Trivia / Atomic Energy, Germany - June 14th, 2000: "In Germany Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed with heads of the nuclear power industry to end the use of atomic energy. With an expected life span of 32 years closure would occur by 2020." [S.L.P.D.]
2000 - Elections / Ethiopia - June 16th, 2000: "In Ethiopia the election board announced that the 4-party Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front won a landslide victory in 4 key regions in the may 14 elections."
2000 - Sugar Molecule Discovered? / Milky Way - June 16th, 2000: "Scientists reported the discovery of the sugar molecule, glucoaldehyde, near the center of the Milky Way at Sagittarius North, 26,000 light-years away."
2000 - Drought / Iran - June 17th, 2000: "In Iran thousands of dead fish were reported to be spread over 5,400 acres of the dried up Arjang Lagoon, near the city of Shiraz, due to a 2-year drought."
2000 - Drought / Kenya - June 17th, 2000: "In Kenya an ongoing drought was reported to have caused hungry baboons into villages in search of food. A crop failure for the 3rd consecutive year placed 22 million Kenyans on the brink of starvation."
2000 - Black & White Relations / Zimbabwe - June 17th, 2000: "Zimbabwe President Mugabe said that whites may live in Zimbabwe, but they will never have a voice equal to that of blacks."
2000 - Tiger Woods / U.S. Open - June 18th, 2000: "Tiger Woods won the US Open Golf Championship at Pebble Beach by 12 under par and 15 strokes ahead of his nearest rival."
2000 - Trivia / State Farm Insurance Co. - June 19th, 2000: "A class-action lawsuit is filed in Madison County [Illinois] accusing State Farm of selling thousands of wrecked vehicles nationwide without salvage titles." [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A4, 01/24/05]
2000 - Oil-Related Pollutants / Caspian Sea - June 22nd, 2000: "In Kazakstan some 11,000 seals were reported found dead on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Infectious disease linked to weakened immune systems due to oil-related pollutants were blamed."
2000 - Oil Spill / South Africa - June 23rd, 2000: "A Panamanian registered tanker sank off Cape Town, South Africa and at least 1,300 tons of oil seeped out. Oil began to soak the local penguins at Robben Island."
2000 - Red Tide / East China Sea - June 24th, 2000: "A red tide of algal bloom over 2,700 square miles was reported over the East China Sea. China's environmental protection agency blamed pollutants and weather conditions."
2000 - Montenegro Representation - June 25th, 2000: "Montenegro told the UN that it no longer wants to be represented by Yugoslavia."
2000 - Green Party Nomination / Ralph Nader - June 25th, 2000: "The US Green party nominated Ralph Nader as its presidential candidate with running mate Winona LaDuke, an Ojibwe activist from Minnesota."
2000 - Roughly Mapped / Human Genome - June 26th, 2000: "Public and private gene researchers, Celera Genomics and the National Human Genome Research Institute, announced at the White House that they had roughly mapped the human genome."
2000 - Democracy / Poland - June 27th, 2000: "In Poland 107 participants joined to endorse a declaration of the 'community of democracies'. France alone excluded itself."
2000 - Drought / China - June 28th, 2000: "In China the government announced a $48 million emergency plan to fight the drought in the northern provinces of Shanxi, Hebei, Gansu, and Ningxia."
2000 - Non-Gay Boy Scouts / U.S.A. - June 28th, 2000: "The US Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts can exclude gays from its organization. The court also ruled that Nebraska's ban on 'partial-birth abortion' put an 'undue burden' on a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy."
2000 - Democratic Reforms / Peru - June 29th, 2000: "The OAS said it would set up a permanent office in Lima, Peru, to oversee democratic reforms."
2000 - Hostage Release / Sierra Leone - June 29th, 2000: "In Sierra Leone 21 UN peacekeepers were freed by rebels and arrived in Liberia."
2000 - Same-Sex Unions / Canada - June 30th, 2000: "In Canada a bill that erased virtually all legal distinctions between heterosexual marriages and same-sex unions went into effect."
July 2000
2000 - Trivia / Mad Cow Disease - July 2000: "The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture issues a Declaration of Extraordinary Emergency after four sheep in Vermont test positive for Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE). The sheep came from one of three flocks that have been quarantined by the state of Vermont since 1998 after learning the sheep may have been exposed to BSE-contaminated feed in Belgium and the Netherlands, from where they originated." [Based on: St. Petersburg Times, 03/12/01]
2000 - Elections / Mongolia - July 2nd, 2000: "In Mongolia the People's Revolutionary Party won 72 seats of the 76-member legislature."
2000 - Muslim Relations / Philippines - July 5th, 2000: "In the Philippines the army carried out a large offensive against Muslim separatists and bombarded the 25,000-acre Camp Abubakar on southern Mindanao."
2000 - Diamond Mines / Sierra Leone - July 5th, 2000: "The UN Security Council placed a diamond ban on the rebels of Sierra Leone to strangle their ability to finance the civil war. 90% of the diamond mines were in rebel hands."
2000 - Heat Wave / Southeast Europe - July 6th, 2000: "A heat wave in Southeast Europe left 25 people dead as temperatures rose to 113 degrees in some places."
2000 - Elections / Serbia - July 6th, 2000: "In Serbia President Milosevic changed the constitution to allow himself to run for re-election. He also reduced Montenegro's power in the Yugoslav federation by changing how delegates are selected for the upper house."
2000 - Torrential Rains / China - July 7th, 2000: "Three days of torrential rains over central China left at least 22 people dead in Sichuan. Thousands of buildings, 17 bridges and 7 hydroelectric power stations were damaged. In Guangxi Zhuang a bus fell into the Liujiang River in Liuzhou and at least 65 people were killed."
2000 - Love Parade / Germany - July 8th, 2000: "In Germany over a million people gathered in Berlin for the techno music Love Parade at Tiergarten park."
2000 - Volcanic Eruption / Mount Oyama - July 9th, 2000: "In Japan the Mount Oyama volcano erupted for a 5th time on the island of Miyake. The eruptions began July 9 after 17 years of dormancy."
2000 - Togo Treaty - July 12th, 2000: "In Togo 36 African heads of state signed a draft treaty seen as a step toward an African Union."
2000 - Trivia / Waco Report - July 14th, 2000: "In Waco, Texas, a federal jury decided that federal agents were not responsible for the deaths of 80 Branch Davidians in 1993."
2000 - Locusts / Xinjiang Province, China - July 15th, 2000: "From China it was reported that an attack force of 700,000 ducks and chickens, trained to hunt and eat insects at the sound of a whistle, were placed in the locust-plagued fields of Xinjiang province."
2000 - Missle Tests / Iran - July 15th, 2000: "Iran test-fired an upgraded version of its 800-mil range, Shabab-3 missile."
2000 - Oil Leak / Araucaria - July 16th, 2000: "An oil leak in Parana state began near the Getulio Vargas Refinery in Araucaria and dumped over 1 million gallons of crude into a tributary of the Iguacu River. Petrobras was later fined $94 million for the country's worst spill in 25 years."
2000 - ABM Treaty Violation / U.S.A. - July 18th, 2000: "Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russia's President Putin denounced the U.S. proposed missile defense program as a violation of the 1972 ABM treaty. They also vowed to strengthen a strategic partnership between their countries."
2000 - Trivia / African Nation Loans - July 19th, 2000: "The U.S. announced a plan to offer sub-Saharan African nations $1 billion in loans through the Export-Import Bank to finance the purchase of American AIDS drugs and medical services."
2000 - Trivia / Speed of Light - July 20th, 2000: "It was reported that an experiment at Princeton showed light traveling beyond its previous known limit."
2000 - Fined / Portland Industries - July 20th, 2000: "Willamette Industries of Portland was fined $11.2 million under the federal Clean Air Act plus $8 million in contributions to environmental projects. It also agreed to install an estimated $74 million worth of pollution control equipment. The company estimated the new equipment at $28 million."
2000 - Trivia / Norm Mineta - July 21st, 2000: "Norm Mineta, the 1st Asian American to serve in a president's cabinet, was sworn in as the 33rd US secretary of commerce."
2000 - Warming Climate / Greenland - July 21st, 2000: "It was reported that warming climate was causing Greenland to lose 11 cubic miles of ice a year, or 12.5 trillion gallons, enough to raise sea level by .005 inches annually."
2000 - G-8 Talks - July 22nd, 2000: "G-8 talks ended in Okinawa and leaders pledged to do more to provide schooling, health care and food to the poorest nations. President Clinton said the US would send $300 million in surplus farm crops to provide school lunches in the developing world."
2000 - Falun Gong Protest / China - July 22nd, 2000: "In Beijing some 100 people were rounded up in a scattered protest marking the first anniversary of the banning of Falun Gong."
2000 - Labor Strike / Mexican Women - "July 22nd, 2000: Mexican women staged a one-day strike, more symbolic than massive, over housework."
2000 - Torrential Rains / South Korea - July 22nd, 2000: "In South Korea torrential rains in Seoul and Kyonggi caused floods and landslides and killed 9 people with 4 missing."
2000 - Tiger Woods / British Open - July 23rd, 2000: "Tiger Woods won the British Open with a record 19-under par score."
*Trivia: "Tiger Woods, 24, became the youngest to win all 4 of golf majors, with record score in British open July 23." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 557]
2000 - Last Broadcast [of "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee] / Kathie Lee Gifford - Entertainment highlights during the week of July 23-29, 2000: Kathie Lee Gifford hosted her last broadcast of "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee. [Based on: Article (THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS), p. D5, S.L.P.D., 07/24/06]
2000 - Anti-American Protests / South Korea - July 25th, 2000: "In Seoul, South Korea, thousands clashed with police in the biggest anti-American protests in 2 years."
2000 - U.S. Protests / Cuba - July 26th, 2000: In Cuba over 1 million protestors marched in Havana against the U.S. trade embargo."
2000 - Layoffs / Bank of America - July 28th, 2000: "Bank of America, which merged with NationsBank in 1998, announced the layoff of 10,000 people over the next year to cut costs."
2000 - Poppy Ban / Afghanistan - July 28th, 2000: "In Afghanistan rulers ordered a complete ban on growing poppies. Defiers of the ban were threatened with jail."
2000 - Drought / China - July 29th, 2000: "In China it was reported that the Songhua River had completely dried up under the drought that has ruined 35 million acres. 16.2 million Chinese were left short of water."
2000 - Destruction / Nuclear Test Facility, Kazakstan - July 30th, 2000: "In Kazakstan the last nuclear test facility was destroyed with a controlled detonation of 100 tons of explosives."
2000 - Farm Resettlement / Zimbabwe - July 31st, 2000: "In Zimbabwe Vice President Joseph Msika announced that 3,000 white-owned farms would be resettled by landless black families."
August 2000
2000 - Flooding / Bhutan - "Flood date(s): August 2nd, 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 200." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - Flooding / Himachal Pradesh, India - "Flood date(s): August 2nd, 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 120+." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - Cholera Blueprint - August 3rd, 2000: "It was reported that scientists had developed the genetic blueprint of the cholera bacterium."
2000 - West Nile Virus / N.Y. - August 4th, 2000: "NY officials issued a statewide alert for West Nile encephalitis after the 1st case of the year was reported on Staten Island."
2000 - Death Toll / Chechnyan War - August 4th, 2000: "It was reported that the war in Chechnya had killed 2,508 Russian soldiers since 8/2/99. A mother's group put the figure up to 6,000."
2000 - Royal Birthday / England - August 4th, 2000: "In England the Queen Mum celebrated her 100th birthday."
2000 - Protest / U.S. Military Exercises, Vieques - August 6th, 2000: "In San Juan, Puerto Rico, thousands rallied to protest new U.S. military exercises on Vieques."
2000 - Trivia / Nuclear Waste Sites - August 8th, 2000: "Some 109 nuclear waste sites in 27 states, Puerto Rico and territorial islands of the Pacific would remain dangerous for centuries according to a new report by the US National Research Council."
2000 - Firestone Recall - August 9th, 2000: "Bridgestone / Firestone Inc. announced the recall of 6.5 million tires used mainly on Ford SUVs and light trucks due to 46 [88] deaths and over [250] 300 accidents related to the tires."
2000 - Kurst Submarine Disaster - August 12th, 2000: "A Russian nuclear submarine, the Kurst, became trapped on the floor of the Barents Sea during naval exercises. 118 sailors were trapped in the Oscar-II class submarine that was thought to have suffered a torpedo-room explosion."
2000 - Somali Government? - August 13th, 2000: "Over 2,000 Somali leaders gathered in Djibouti to form a central government with a new 225-member parliament."
2000 - Islamic Militants / Kyrgyzstan - August 14th, 2000: "In Kyrgyzstan a 4-day clash between Islamic militants and government troops left as many as 95 people dead. The militants were said to belong to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which was trying to carve out an independent state."
2000 - Korean Reunions - August 15th, 2000: "One hundred people from North Korea and 100 people from South Korea held temporary reunions with family members not seen in 50 years. South Korea released 3,586 prisoners in an amnesty."
2000 - Wild Fires / Montana - August 16th, 2000: "Montana Gov. Marc Racicot declared the whole state a disaster area due to the raging fires."
2000 - Trivia / Philippine Hostages - August 16th, 2000: "It was reported that Libya had paid millions to free 9 Westerners held hostage by Muslim rebels in the Philippines."
2000 - Volcanic Eruption / Mount Oyama - August 18th, 2000: "In Japan the Mount Oyama volcano erupted for a 5th time on the island of Miyake. The eruptions began July 9 after 17 years of dormancy."
2000 - Catholic Woodstock :) - August 20th, 2000: "At the Vatican some 2 million young people closed the 6-day World Youth festival dubbed the Catholic Woodstock."
2000 - Earthquake / China - August 21st, 2000: "In China an earthquake in Wuding county, Yunnan province, left 177,000 people homeless and 211 injured."
2000 - Typhoon / Taiwan - August 22nd, 2000: "In Taiwan Typhoon Bilis struck with winds over 100 mph and 3 people were killed."
2000 - Guidelines / Stem Cell Research, U.S.A. - August 23rd, 2000: "The Clinton administration released guidelines for federally funded scientists to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells."
2000 - Dedicated / U.S. Radio Telescope - August 25th, 2000: "In West Virginia the new $75 million Robert C. Boyd Green Bank Telescope, the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope, was dedicated following almost 10 years of construction."
2000 - Embezzling / American Cancer Society - August 25th, 2000: "Daniel Wiant [35], former executive of the American Cancer Society, pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $8 million form the charity."
2000 - Elections / Somalia - August 26th, 2000: "In Somalia Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, a former interior minister, won the presidential elections."
2000 - Status / Nigerian Debt - August 26th, 2000: "President Clinton visited Nigeria. President Obasanjo, head of 110 million people, pressed Clinton to help reduce the country's $32 billion debt."
2000 - Abduction / Jeffrey Schilling - August 28th, 2000: "In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf guerrillas abducted Jeffrey Schilling [24], their first American hostage."
2000 - U.S. Aid / Colombia - August 30th, 2000: "President Clinton stopped in Colombia and pledged that US aid would not lead to military escalation in the drug war. The recent $1.5 billion military aid package was part of a broader $7.5 billion Colombian plan to fight drugs, help refugees and strengthen government institutions. It was reported that many professional and entrepreneurs were leaving Colombia and Venezuela due to civil war and economic policies. On August 31st, a meeting of South American presidents opened in Brasilia. They expressed concern over the civil war in Colombia and planned to discuss the creation of a South American trade block."
2000 - Robot-Created Robots? - August 31st, 2000: "It was reported that computer scientists had created a robot to design and build other robots almost entirely without human help."
2000 - Results / Texas Air Quality Study - "In the summer of 2000, in a news item that received little national attention, the University of Texas released the results of its $20 million Texas Air Quality Study. The study revealed that Houston's industries had been vastly underreporting the magnitude of their emissions. Scientists found it hard to believe the instrument readings from aircraft measuring industrial plumes. The various chemicals were 6 to 15 times higher than what the Houston Ship Channel's factories had been reporting to state and federal agencies. Some chemicals were at levels 100 times higher." [Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Crimes Against Nature, pp. 17-18]
2000 - Identified? / Mohamed Atta, U.S.A. - Summer 2000: "More than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks [Summer 2000], a small, highly classified military intelligence unit ['Able Danger'] identified Mohamed Atta and three other future hijackers as likely members of an al-Qaida cell operating in the United States, according to a former defense intelligence official and a Republican member of Congress. The account is the first assertion that Atta, an Egyptian who became the lead hijacker in the plot, was identified by any U.S. government agency as a potential threat before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Among the 19 hijackers, only Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi had been identified as potential threats by the CIA before the summer of 2000, and information about them was not given to the FBI until the spring of 2001. [....]" [Based on: New York Times article, p. A3, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 08/09/05] - [Brackets text inserted for clarity - E.M.]
September 2000
2000 - Palestinian Restrictions - "Security restrictions, progressively tightened since September 2000, have made movement to and from Palestinian enclaves ever more difficult and time consuming and, whenever the Israelis clamp down, impossible." [N.G.M. / October / page 109]
2000 - Experimental Antioxidant - September 1st, 2000: "It was reported that an experimental antioxidant extended the lives of nematode worms by an average 44%."
2000 - Religious Vanity / Catholic Church - September 5th, 2000: "The Vatican issued a statement that declared efforts to depict all religions as equal are wrong and reasserted that the Catholic Church is the one true church."
2000 - Toxic Algal Bloom / U.S. Gulf Coast - September 5th, 2000: "Oyster harvesting was shut down in Galveston Bay as a large toxic algal bloom began to spread from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Florida panhandle. Millions of fish began to die."
2000 - Taliban Offensive / Taloqan - September 6th, 2000: "In Afghanistan the Taliban captured Taloqan, 160 miles north of Kabul. The Taliban lost about 500 soldiers, while the opposition lost about 300."
2000 - Ozone Layer / Antarctica - September 7th, 2000: "Scientists reported that the ozone layer over Antarctica had grown to 11 million square miles."
2000 - Trivia / Gasoline Prices, France - September 7th, 2000: "In France taxi drivers began 'Operation Escargot', driving into cities at a snails pace, to protest gasoline prices."
2000 - Birthday Celebration / California - September 9th, 2000: "California celebrated its 150th birthday."
2000 - Sam-Sex Marriages / Netherlands - September 12th, 2000: "In the Netherlands a bill was passed that converted same-sex partnerships into full-fledged marriages."
2000 - Status / World Gasoline Prices - September 15th, 2000: "Truckers across Europe blocked highways to protest high fuel costs. Protests hit Spain, Germany, Ireland, Poland and the Czech Republic."
2000 - Summer Olympic Games / Sidney Australia - September 15th, 2000: "In Australia the XXVII Olympic Games opened in Sidney. The US [97], Russia [88] and China [59] topped the medal count."
2000 - Korean Railroad - September 17th, 2000: "In Korea a ground-breaking ceremony was held at Imjingak for a railroad to connect the capitals of North and South Korea."
2000 - Smallest Transistor - September 18th, 2000: "It was reported that scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab had fashioned the smallest transistor using a buckyball, single molecule of carbon-60."
2000 - Status / World Oil Demand - September 19th, 2000: "Current world oil demand was running at 76 million barrels a day."
2000 - Flooding / Bangladesh, India - "Flood date(s): September 19th-30th, 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 1,000+." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - End / U.S. Whitewater Probe - September 20th, 2000: "Robert Ray, the independent counsel who succeeded Kenneth Starr, ended the $52 million Whitewater probe without charges against the Clintons."
2000 - Trivia / Euro Low - "The euro hit a 20-month low of 84.44 to the dollar."
2000 - Torrential Rains / India - September 21st, 2000: "In West Bengal, India, the release of water from 2 dams left tens of thousands of people stranded. Floods following torrential rains left at least 59 people dead."
2000 - Floods / Southeast Asia - September 21st, 2000: "In Southeast Asia the death toll from floods reached 235. The Red Cross issued an appeal for emergency aid to Cambodia."
2000 - Flooding / Bangladesh - September 24th, 2000: "In Bangladesh flooding forced some 60,000 to flee their homes and at least 9 people sere killed."
2000 - Flooding / Thailand - September 25th, 2000: "In Thailand flooding left 47 people dead."
2000 World Bank Protestors - September 26th, 2000: "The annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF officials officially opened in Prague with delegates from 182 nations. Protestors numbered far less than the expected 20,000. An estimated 6,000 protestors battled police with homemade gasoline bombs and cobblestones from the streets."
2000 - Asian Swamp Eel / Flordia - September 27th, 2000: "It was reported that the Asian swamp eel, Monopterus albus, was within a mile of the fragile Florida Everglades National Park."
2000 - Palestinian Uprising - September 28th, 2000: "The uprising erupted on Sept. 28, 2000, after Ariel Sharon, then Israel's opposition leader, visited a sensitive Jerusalem hilltop revered by both Jews and Muslims. Palestinian riots broke out, and five months later Sharon defeated Ehud Barak in a special election for prime minister." [A.P., 09/29/04]
2000 - French Abortion Pill - September 28th, 2000: "The US FDA approved the French abortion pill, RU-486. It will be sold as Mifeprex by Danco Laboratories."
2000 - Declassification? / Project 112, U.S.A. - September, 2000: "Since September 2000: "The Department of Defense has been actively pursuing declassification of relevant medical information from all 109 planned chemical and biological tests in Project 112. DoD is committed to providing the VA with the medically relevant information it needs to settle benefits claims as quickly and efficiently as possible and evaluate and treat veterans who were involved in those tests. This requires analyzing historical documents recording the planning and execution of SHAD tests. A June 2003 completion date is anticipated." [Links: 1]
2000 - Trivia / Al-Aqsa - "After September 2000 Arafat's control over group is disputed; Israel links them to Tanzim and says its terrorist attacks have killed more than 100, injured 400; affiliated with Fatah."
2000 - "Blueprint For U.S. World Domination" - "The neo-conservative think-tank Project for the New American Century writes a 'blueprint' for the 'creation of a global Pax Americana.' The document, entitled Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces And Resources For A New Century, was written for the Bush team even before the election for President took place. It was commissioned by future Vice President Cheney, future Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, future Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Florida Governor and President Bush's brother Jeb Bush, and future Chief of Staff for Cheney Lewis Libby. The report calls itself a 'blueprint for maintaining global U.S. preeminence, precluding the rise of a great power rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests.' The plan shows Bush intended to take military control of Persian Gulf oil whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power and should retain control of the region even if there is no threat. It says: 'The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.' The report calls for the control of space through a new 'US Space Forces,' the political control of the internet, the subversion of any growth in political power of even close allies, and advocates 'regime change' in China, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Iran and others. It also mentions that 'advanced forms of biological warfare that can 'target' specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool.' A British Member of Parliament says of the report, 'This is a blueprint for US world domination - a new world order of their making. These are the thought processes of fantasist Americans who want to control the world.' " [Sunday Herald, 9/14/02]
October 2000
2000 - Falun Gong Protest / China - October 1st, 2000: "In China Falun Dafa staged one of the biggest Tiananmen Square protests since it was banned 14 months earlier."
2000 - 1st British Bill of Rights - October 2nd, 2000: "Britain's 1st bill of rights went into effect."
2000 - Earthquake / Japan - October 5th, 2000: "In western Japan a 7.3 earthquake struck and at least 106 people were injured."
2000 - Oil Spill / Peru - October 6th, 2000: "In Peru a 5,000 barrel oil spill by an Argentine company threatened the water resources of some 10,000 inhabitants in the northern jungle."
2000 - President Vojislav Kostunica / Yugoslavia - October 7th, 2000: "In Serbia Vojislav Kostunica was sworn in as the 1st popularly elected president of Yugoslavia. He was backed by an 18-party coalition."
2000 - Genome Mapping / Lab Mouse - October11th, 2000: "Celera Genomics announced the completion of the mapping of the lab mouse's genome."
2000 - Bombing / USS Cole - October 12th, 2000: "A U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, refueling in Yemen suffered an enormous explosion in what appeared to be a terrorist attack. At least 6 sailors were killed with 11 missing. The death toll was revised to 17. The 8,600-ton Cole was returned to the U.S. aboard the Norwegian ship Blue Marlin."
2000 - Flooding / France, Britan, Italy, Switzerland - "Flood date(s): October 12th-17th, 2000, Number of recorded deaths: 35." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2000 - Miss Hawaii / US.A. - October14th, 2000: "Angelo Perez Baraquio [24], Miss Hawaii, was crowned Miss America in Atlanta City, NJ."
2000 - Heavy Rains / Alps - October 15th, 2000: "At least 31 people were killed as landslides due to heavy rains continued in the Alps of Switzerland and Italy. 23 died in northern Italy and 8 in southern Switzerland."
2000 - Fatality / Missouri Governor - October 16th, 2000: "Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, his son, Roger Carnahan, and chief of staff Chris Sifford were killed in a plane crash near St. Louis. Roger Carnahan piloted the twin-engine Cessna in stormy weather."
2000 - Trivia / Pharmacia - October 18th, 2000: "Pharmacia sells about 15 percent of its holdings in Monsanto in an initial public offering."
2000 - High School Riot / Bosnia - October 18th, 2000: "In Bosnia over 1,000 Bosnian Serb high school students rioted in Brcko and demanded an end to the city's multiethnic status."
2000 - Member Deaths / Falun Gong - October 18th, 2000: "In China a human rights group reported that 3 members of Falun Gong died after their arrest by police. 57 Falun Gong members have died under police custody during the 15-month crackdown."
2000 - PPA Warning - October 19th, 2000: "A panel of US scientists recommended that the FDA ban the drug ingredient phenylpropanolamine [PPA], a common ingredient in decongestants and appetite suppressants due to the risk of hemorrhagic stroke in young women. The FDA issued a warning on PPA on November 6."
2000 - Ancient Bacteria? - October 19th, 2000: "It was reported that scientists had brought to life 4 strains of bacteria entombed in salt crystals of New Mexico rock for 250 million years."
2000 - Trivia / U.N. War Crimes Tribunal? - October 22nd, 2000: "Arab nations demanded a UN war crimes tribunal for Israelis responsible for Palestinian deaths and formally ended economic cooperation with Israel. Ehud Barak suspended Israeli participation in the peace process. He called for a 'timeout' to decide whether negotiations can be salvaged."
2000 - World Series Winners / N.Y. Yankees - October 25th, 2000: "The NY Yankees won the baseball World Series 4 games to 1 over the NY Mets."
2000 - Fluoroquinolone Ban - October 26th, 2000: "The US FDA planned to ban 2 fluoroquinolone antibiotics used by poultry farmers due to fears that humans might become infected with germs that resist treatment."
2000 - Trivia / Global Warming - October 26th, 2000: "UN sponsored scientists reported that pollution had contributed substantially to global warming."
2000 - Falun Gong Protest / China - October 26th, 2000: "In China at least 100 Falun Gong sect members were dragged from Tiananmen Square following a protest one the year anniversary of a government ban of the cult."
2000 - Mismanaged Funds? / China - October 27th, 2000: In China the state media reported that auditors had found over $11 billion in mismanaged funds in government offices and businesses."
2000 - Elections / Kosovo - October 28th, 2000: "In Kosovo municipal elections were held. Ibrahim Rugova declared victory for his League for a Democratic Kosovo and won 21 of 27 contested municipalities."
2000 - Heavy Storm / Western Europe - October 30th, 2000: "A heavy storm swept over Western Europe and at least 8 people were killed."
2000 - Chemical Spill / English Channel - October 31st, 2000: "An Italian cargo ship sank in the English Channel with 6,000 tons of chemicals that included the toxic styrene, a known carcinogen, along with isopropyl alcohol and methyl ethyl ketone."
November 2000
2000 - UN Membership / Yugoslavia - November 1st, 2000: "Yugoslavia was accepted into the United Nations."
2000 - Flooding / Texas - November 3rd, 2000: "Five people died in central Texas over the last 2 days in car accidents due to flooding."
2000 - Regenerated Stem Cell Neurons - November 5th, 2000: "It was reported that brain stem cells from cadavers could regenerate into healthy neurons."
2000 - Dollars to Euros? / Saddam Hussein - November 6th, 2000: "A Radio Free Europe article discusses Saddam's switch for his oil sales from dollars to Euro's on November 6th, 2000." [Link: 1]
*Trivia: "[....] The man that actually did demand Euro for his oil was Saddam Hussein in 2000. At first, his demand was met with ridicule, later with neglect, but as it became clearer that he meant business, political pressure was exerted to change his mind. When other countries, like Iran, wanted payment in other currencies, most notably Euro and Yen, the danger to the dollar was clear and present, and a punitive action was in order. Bush's Shock-and-Awe in Iraq was not about Saddam's nuclear capabilities, about defending human rights, about spreading democracy, or even about seizing oil fields; it was about defending the dollar, ergo the American Empire. It was about setting an example that anyone who demanded payment in currencies other than U.S. Dollars would be likewise punished.
"Many have criticized Bush for staging the war in Iraq in order to seize Iraqi oil fields. However, those critics can't explain why Bush would want to seize those fields - he could simply print dollars for nothing and use them to get all the oil in the world that he needs. He must have had some other reason to invade Iraq.
"History teaches that an empire should go to war for one of two reasons: (1) to defend itself or (2) benefit from war; if not, as Paul Kennedy illustrates in his magisterial The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, a military overstretch will drain its economic resources and precipitate its collapse. Economically speaking, in order for an empire to initiate and conduct a war, its benefits must outweigh its military and social costs. Benefits from Iraqi oil fields are hardly worth the long-term, multi-year military cost. Instead, Bush must have went into Iraq to defend his Empire. Indeed, this is the case: two months after the United States invaded Iraq, the Oil for Food Program was terminated, the Iraqi Euro accounts were switched back to dollars, and oil was sold once again only for U.S. dollars. No longer could the world buy oil from Iraq with Euro. Global dollar supremacy was once again restored. Bush descended victoriously from a fighter jet and declared the mission accomplished - he had successfully defended the U.S. dollar, and thus the American Empire. [....]"
[Based on: Article (The Proposed Iranian Oil Bourse) by Krassimir Petrov, Ph. D.]
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1137510262.php]2000 - Trivia / U.S Elections - November 7th, 2000: "In US elections Al Gore conceded to George Bush and then retracted his concession based on an early prediction of the vote in Florida, which was reversed as too close to call. Hillary Clinton won the NY Senate seat."
2000 - Foreign Relations / Saudi Arabia & Iraq - November 8th, 2000: "Saudi Arabia opened its border with Iraq and signed export contracts to nearly $600 million under exceptions to U.S. sanctions."
2000 - Elections / Bosnia - November 11th, 2000: "General elections were held in Bosnia."
2000 - Ebola Virus / Uganda - November 12th, 2000: "Uganda confirmed a new case of Ebola in Masindi, the 3rd district to confirm the deadly virus."
2000 - Fire Ants / U.S.A. - "November 15th, 2000: The US government announced a plan to use the gnat-like phorid fly to control fire ants."
2000 - Earthquake / New Guinea - November 16th, 2000: "In Papua New Guinea a tidal wave followed a magnitude 8.0 earthquake and left at least one person dead and at some 5,000 people homeless."
2000 - Weapons Exports / China - November 21st, 2000: "President Clinton agreed not to punish China for exporting missile components to Iran and Pakistan after China promised to end future technological cooperations with countries seeking to develop missile weaponry."
2000 - Mad Cow Disease / Spain - November 22nd, 2000: "In Spain the government reported its 1st case of mad cow disease. On November 24th, Germany and the Portuguese Azores Islands recorded new cases of mad cow disease. Main land Portugal has reported 467 cases since 1990."
2000 - Global Warming Conference - November 25th, 2000: "In the Netherlands the last day of the Global Warming conference at the Hague produced only a declaration of intent to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A compromise between US and EU negotiators failed. An increase of 4.5 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit was predicted in the coming 100 years if greenhouse gas emissions were not reduced."
2000 - Certified Winner? / George W. Bush - November 26th, 2000: "In Florida Sec. of State Katherine Harris certified Gov. George W. Bush as winner in the state's presidential election, 2,912,790 to 2,912,253."
2000 - Ramadan Begins - November 27th, 2000: "The Muslim holiday of Ramadan began."
2000 - Drug Trade / Brazil - November 30th, 2000: "In Brazil a 5,000 page report, begun in April 1999, was released and covered the $25 billion drug trafficking trade and implicated almost 200 public authorities including 10 national and state legislators."December 2000
2000 - Terrorist Report - December 2000: "By December 2000, the FBI and FAA said in a classified assessment that their investigations 'do not suggest plans to target domestic civil aviation.' The FBI considered attacks on U.S. soil 'anomalies' from terrorists' focus on overseas targets." [S.L.P.D. 9/19/2002]
2000 - Trivia / Mad Cow Disease - December 2000: "U.S. government bans all imports of rendered animal protein products from Europe, regardless of species." [Based on: St. Petersburg Times, 03/12/01]
2000 - Fishing Reductions - December 1st, 2000: "The European Commission demanded reductions in fishing including 60% cuts of cod and hake catches due to overfishing."
2000 - Russian Arms Exports / Iran - December 1st, 2000: "Russia as of this date declared that it would no longer abide by a 1995 deal to halt arms exports to Iran. The US threatened sanctions."
2000 - "Lost City" / Atlantic Ocean - December 4th, 2000: "Scientists found a deep-sea garden of hot springs and towering spires that they called the 'Lost City' over 3,200 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean."
2000 - IMF Loans / Turkey - December 6th, 2000: "The IMF agreed to grant Turkey $7.5 billion in emergency loans."
2000 - Manipulated Study / Army Corps of Engineers - December 6th, 2000: "A Pentagon investigation concluded in a 168-page report that 3 top Army Corps of Engineers officials manipulated a study to justify a construction binge on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers."
2000 - Elections / Romania - December 10th, 2000: "In Romania Ion Iliescu, former Communist turned social democrat, won the presidential runoff elections over nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor 70-30%."
2000 - Foreign Relations / Yugoslavia & Slovenia - December 10th, 2000: "Slovenia re-established diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia."
2000 - Peacekeeping Force / Ethiopia - December 12th, 2000: "Ethiopia and Eritrea planned to sign a peace pact in Algiers. A 4,200 UN peacekeeping force was set to patrol the border. President Zenawi and President Afwerki signed the accord, which established a commission to mark the 620-mile border, exchange prisoners, returned displaced people and hear claims for war damages."
2000 - Disaster Area / Wyoming - December 13th, 2000: "President Clinton declared Wyoming a disaster area following a month of storms."
2000 - Genome Mapping / 1st Plant - December 13th, 2000: "It was reported that scientists had decoded the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, a common spindly weed, making it the 1st plant to have its genetic material fully described."
2000 - Trivia / U.S. Budget - December 15th, 2000: "The US 106th Congress closed with a final $450 billion budget package that included increases in education spending, expanded Medicare payments, and modest tax breaks for investments in poor communities."
2000 - Volcanic Eruption / Mexico - December 18th, 2000: "In Mexico Popocatepetl volcano began spraying hot rock and ashes in its biggest eruption in 1,200 years."
*Commentary: "A portent to the administration of George W. Bush?" [E.M.]
2000 - U.S. President George W. Bush - December 18th, 2000: "US electors voted for their party's candidates. In the 224 years of the Electoral College only 9 electors had switched votes. The DC elector withheld her vote to protest lack of representation. Bush won 271 votes, one over the constitutional minimum, and became the official president-elect."
*Trivia: "George W. Bush will go down as the worst environmental president in our nation's history. In a ferocious three-year attack, his administration has launched over 300 major rollbacks of U.S. environmental laws, rollbacks that are weakening the protection of our country's air, water, public lands, and wildlife." [Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Crimes Against Nature, p. 3]
2000 - Trivia / U.S. Sulfur Reduction - December 20th, 2000: "A new EPA regulation required oil refineries to remove 97% of the sulfur from diesel fuel by 2006."
2000 - Salmon Statistics / Columbia River - December 20th, 2000: "It was reported that four-fifths of the salmon spawning in the last free-flowing reach of the Columbia River had reverted to female sex for unknown reasons. Water temperature and environmental pollutants were suspect."
2000 - Trivia / World Debt Relief - December 22nd, 2000: "The US, Japan, Europe and other industrial powers agreed to provide debt relief to 22 poor nations: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua."
2000 - Trivia / U.S. Census - December 28th, 2000: "U.S. census results set the population at 281,421,906, a gain of 13.2% since 1990."
2000 - Closure / Montgomery Ward - December 28th, 2000: "GE Capital Corp. announced the closure of Montgomery Ward & Co. following 128 years of retail."
2000 - Military Partnership / Russia & Iran - December 28th, 2000: "Iran and Russia announced an expanded military and security partnership."
2000 - Record Snow Fall / U.S. East Coast - December 30th, 2000: "A record snow fall covered the US northern East Coast."
*Trivia: "Winter Storm, TX, OK, AR. Storm date(s): December 27th, 2000. Number of reported dead: 40+." [The World Almanac And Book Of Facts, 2005, p. 206]
2000 - Gulf Nations Defense Pact - December 31st, 2000: "Six Persian Gulf nations [Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates] signed a regional defense pact."
2000 - Trivia / Working Income - "Swedish and U.S. official statistics state that in the year 2000, roughly 140 percent of the average working man's income went to necessities such as food, living, clothing, education medical care, as compared to 75 percent in the early 1970s. Today it is barely enough for both parents to work to make ends meet." [Juri Lina, The Barnes Review, September/October 2004, p. 14]
2000 - Trivia / U.S. Farm Subsidies - "[....] An Associated Press review of Agriculture Department records for 2000 found that almost two-thirds of the $27 billion in farm subsidies offered that year went to just 10 percent of the nation's farmers.... At least 20 Fortune 500 companies were among the top recipients, according to the AP review. This results, in part, because of rules that base subsidy payments on farm acreage, rather than financial need. [....]" [Based on: Commentary article (The Daily News, Longview, Wash.) p. B9, S.L.P.D., 08/12/05]
2000 - Alan Greenspan Biography - "Justin Martin, authored the biography 'Greenspan: The Man Behind the Money'. It was about Alan Greenspan [74], the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve."
2000 - U.S. After-Tax Income Gap - "The Congressional Budget Office last week [September 2003] announced that in the year 2000, the famous 'richest 1 percent' of Americans had the same amount of after-tax income as the poorest 40 percent combined. That's 2.8 million people with the same after-tax income as the poorest 112 million. The gap between the richest 1 percent and the poorest 40 percent more than doubled between 1979 and 2000." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 09/29/2003]
2000 - President Hugo Chavez / Venezuela - "In 2000, Hugo Chavez was re-elected to a six-year term." [E.M.]
2000 - Resignation / W. Stephen Thayer III - "WASHINGTON - A key overseer [W. Stephen Thayer III] of the Bush administration's unsuccessful efforts to create a more comprehensive screening process for airline passengers resigned in disgrace four years ago [2000] from the New Hampshire Supreme Court to avoid prosecution over his conduct on the bench." [Based on article by Michael J. Sniffen & Leslie Miller, A.P., 07/29/04]
2000 - Fraud Settlement / Gambro Healthcare - "Gambro Healthcare and two subsidiaries paid $53 million in a health care fraud settlement in 2000. Those allegations involved medically unnecessary laboratory tests and billing problems, and federal officials said those problems weren't corrected until the current investigation [2004] began." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12/03/04]
2000 - Pagan Religions Recognized / U.S. Air Force - "The Air Force recognized the religious categories of Pagan, Gardnerian Wiccan, Seaz Wiccan, Dianic Wiccan, Shaman and Druid in 2000. Many bases now have circles and hold services. Dog tags also can identify a person as Wiccan. [....] The Department of Veterans Affairs so far has refused to allow a Wiccan emblem on the headstones or markers of soldiers. Wiccans don't meet the emblem requirements, said Nacincik [Mike Nacincik of Veterans Affairs]. The department's bureaucratic hurdles include a written request from the recognized head of the organization, a list of national officers and a membership tally. The VA demands are impossible, McCollum [Chaplain Patrick McCollum] said: Wiccans have no hierarchy or governing board for the religion's numerous sects." [By Randy Myers, Knight Ridder Newspapers, 08/21/04]
2000 - Trivia / Genome Research - "Matt Ridley authored 'Genome' a look at what scientists were finding as they read the 70-120,000 genes of the human genome."
2000 - Trivia / Physics Revolution - "Presently we are in a crucial period during which the laws of physics are being rewritten - just as they were between 1890 and 1910, when the revolutions in twentieth-century physics that led to relativity and quantum physics began." [Three Roads To Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin]
2000 - Time - "Alexander Waugh authored 'Time' Its Origin, Its Enigma, Its History."
2000 - GENOME - A hardcover edition of Matt Ridley's book: GENOME (Copyright 1999) was published in February 2000 by HarperCollins Publishers."
*Trivia: "[....] I began to think about the human genome as a sort of autobiography in its own right - a record, written in 'genetish', of all the vicissitudes and inventions that had characterised the history of our species and its ancestors since the very dawn of life. There are genes that have not changed much since the very first single-celled creatures populated the primeval ooze. There are genes that were developed when our ancestors were worm-like. There are genes that must have first appeared when our ancestors were fish. There are genes that exist in their present form only because of recent epidemics of disease. And there are genes that can be used to write the history of human migrations in the last few thousand years [1000 B.C - 2000 A.D.]. From four billion years ago to just a few hundred years ago [1700 A.D.], the genome has been a sort of autobiography for our species, recording the important events as they occurred. [....]" [Based on: GENOME, The Aurobiography of a Species in 23 chapters, by Matt Ridley (Copyright 1999), 2000 paperback edition, p. 5] - [Brackets text added - D.R.D.]
*Trivia: "[....] ... We have no fossil record of the way life was four billion years ago. We have only this great book of life, the genome. The genes in the cells ofyour little finger are the direct descendants of the first replicator molecules; through an unbroken chain of tens of billions of copyings, they come to us today still bearing a digital message that has traces of those earliest struggles of life. If the human genome can tell us things about what happened in the primeval soup, how much more can it tell us about what else happened during the succeeding four million millennia. It is a record of our history written in the code for a working machine." [Based on: GENOME, The Aurobiography of a Species in 23 chapters, by Matt Ridley (Copyright 1999), 2000 paperback edition, p. 22]
2000 - The Battle For God - "Karen Armstrong authors The Battle for God, A History of Fundamentalism."
2000 - The Rosetta Stone of God - "Copyright 2000: The Rosetta Stone of God, by James Davis. Edited by Joan Klemp, Anthony Moore, and Mary Carroll Moore."
2000 - Genesis Of the Grail Kings - "First published in Great Britain in 1999: Genesis Of the Grail Kings, by Laurence Gardner. First published in the United States in 2000."
2000 - Dialogue in the Age of Criticism - "Copyright 2000: Dialogue in the Age of Criticism, by Doug Marman."
*Trivia: "This book [Dialogue in the Age of Criticism] has been a long journey. It began with the criticisms of David Lane and the many fascinating spiritual lessons to be learned from those challenges. This led to deeper insights into the spiritual path, and eventually to the changes and conflicts that we face in our society and civilization.
"It has been a journey of viewpoints, interpretations and states of consciousness, as the spiritual path always is. I think it has shown some glimpses into the amazing thing we call this movement of ECKANKAR, both inwardly and outwardly.
"It has brought out some new information on Paul [Paul Twitchell], the founder of this movement, and the meaning and purpose that dialogue can play in discovering truth. It also explains some of the significant differences between the ECK teachings and those of Sant Mat, while at the same time showing the inner connections that tie them together, along with many other spiritual teachings.
"This book has evolved through the discussions and responses of many people who have been drawn to this dialogue, and I hope I have represented their ideas faithfully.
"However, I realize that this book largely shows my own perspectives. Each person will tell the story differently. Different insights. Different lessons.
"I see no line separating spiritual seekers of truth. Whatever name they might call themselves - Buddhist, Christian, Sufi or ECKist - they are to me all brothers and sisters on The Path. The only difference is in how we each see ourselves, which shapes our thinking and goals.
"For this reason I hope the words on these pages will have a meaning for many others. I hope that something can be drawn from these chapters that might help the path of whoever might read them. And I hope they read it all as poetry.
"I have been blessed in many ways by the care and guidance of some very great teachers. More than anything I hope my appreciation for them can be seen and felt in these writings. It is in their honor that I dedicate this book." [Doug Marman, Dialogue in the Age of Criticism, Conclusion, Chap. 12]2000 - "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" - 2000: "734 pages, 3.8 million first printing, 18 million in print." [Based on: article in S.L.P.D., p. A10, 07/13/05]
2000 - Notable Albums of 2000 - "Marshall Mathers LP" (Eminem); "Hybrid Theory" (Linkin Park); "Country Grammar" (Nelly)
2000 - Storm Trivia / 2000 - "Number of notable storms this year: at least 1. Number of storm deaths: 40+." [E.M.]
2000 - Flood Trivia / 2000 - "Number of notable floods this year: at least 7. Number of flood deaths: 2,255." [E.M.]
2000 - Volcano Trivia / 2000- "Number of volcanic eruptions [and, or] notable volcanic events this year: at least 5." [E.M.]
2000 - Earthquake Trivia / 2000 - "Number of notable earthquakes this year: at least 4. Number of earthquake deaths: 122." [E.M.]
2000 - "Natural Disaster" Deaths / 2000 - "Estimated number of people who died from natural disasters this year: at least 2,422." [E.M.]
January 2001
2001 - Astronomic Configuration - January 1st, 2001: "Sun [10-11 Capricorn], Moon [21 Pisces], Mercury [14 Capricorn], Venus [27 Aquarius], Mars [5 Scorpio], Jupiter [2 Gemini R.], Saturn [24 Taurus R.], Uranus [18 Aquarius], Neptune [5 Aquarius], Pluto [13-14 Sagittarius], Chiron [23 Sagittarius]."
2001 - Flooding / Mozambique - "Flood date(s): January-February 2001, Number of recorded deaths: 84." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 207]
2001 - Disposition / Israel & Palestine - January 7th, 2001: "President Bill Clinton told the people of Israel that 'there is no choice for you but to divide this land into two states for two people.' "
2001 - Religious Intolerance / Taliban - January 8th, 2001: "In Afghanistan the Taliban ordered the death penalty for anyone who converts from Islam to a different religion."
2001 - Trivia / Mad Cow Disease, Britain - January 8th, 2001: "It was reported that Britain was culling 20-30 thousand older cows per week in the mad cow crises and that it would take 3 years to catch up with the backlog for rendering their remains to powder."
2001 - Earthquake / El Salvador - January 13th, 2001: "A 7.6 earthquake that hit El Salvador killed at least 100 people and left 1,200 people missing. A 1,500-foot landslide destroyed houses. The death toll by January 15th had risen to nearly 600; with a total 1,893 people injured."
2001 - Formally Launched / Wikipedia - January 15th, 2001: "[....] Wikipedia was formally launched on January 15, 2001, as a single English-language edition at www.wikipedia.com [....]"
[Based on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia] - [T.D. - 02/21/08]
2001 - Sex Scandal / Bill Clinton - January 19th, 2001 "President Bill Clinton admitted that he misled prosecutors about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and struck a deal with independent counsel Robert Ray to accept a 5-year suspension of his Arkansas law license and pay a $25,000 fine."
2001 - U.N. Sanctions / Afghanistan - January 19th, 2001: "In Afghanistan UN sanctions began following a 30-day deadline for the handover of Osama bin Laden. The sanctions coincided with the worst drought in 30 years."
2001 - Presidential Pardons / Bill Clinton - January 20th, 2001: "President Bill Clinton in his final hours issued 36 commutations and 140 pardons that included Susan McDougal, Patricia Hearst, Henry Cisneros, John Deutch and Roger Clinton. It was later revealed that Hugh Rodham, the brother of Hillary Rodham Clinton, received $400,000 to help 2 felons win clemency."
2001 - U.S. President George W. Bush - January 20th, 2001: "The 43rd American President, George W. Bush [Republican], begins his term. Some 25,000 protesters gathered in Washington DC for the inauguration of President Bush along with some 7,000 police."
*Trivia: "Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill says [January 2004] the United States began laying the groundwork for an invasion of Iraq just days after President George W. Bush took office in January 2001 - more than two years before the start of the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein." [A.P.]
2001 - British Cloning Laws - January 22nd, 2001: "In Britain the House of Lords passed legislation that effectively legalized the creation of cloned human embryos."
2001 - Falun Gong Protesters / China - January 23rd, 2001: "In China 5 people believed to members of Falun Gong set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square. One woman died."
2001 - Chinese Golden Snake Year - January 24, 2001: "The Chinese lunar calendar marked this as the new year, 4698, Year of the Snake. It is celebrated in Vietnam as Tet and in Korea as Solnol." [Link: 1]
2001 - Genome Mapping / Rice - January 26th, 2001: "Scientists announced that they had decoded the genetic blueprint of rice. It was the 1st important plant to have its genome decoded."
2001 - Earthquake / India & Pakistan - January 26th, 2001: "A 7.9 earthquake in hit India and Pakistan and India prepared to celebrate Republic Day. It was an intraplate earthquake along a thrust fault 300 miles south of the boundary between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian Plates. Some 20,000 people were killed and over 14,000 injured across Gujarat state. 10 people were reported killed in Pakistan. The quake caused an underground river, either the Saraswati or Indus, to reappear that had disappeared in a 19th century quake. On January 31st, in India, the death count reached 12,000 and an additional 13,000 were believed still buried."
2001 - Conviction / Pan Am Flight 103 - January 30th, 2001: "In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicted Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer, of murder in the 1998 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. A 2nd Libyan, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted."
2001 - Separation / Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise - Entertainment highlights during the week of January 30th-February 5th, 2001: "Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced their separation after 10 years of marriage." [A.P.]
2001 - Trivia / Mad Cow Disease, Germany - January 31st, 2001: "Germany plans were announced to destroy 400,000 cattle due to the mad cow crises."
2001 - World Social Forum / Porto Alegre, Brazil- January 31st, 2001: "[....] The World Social Forum was first held in Brazil in 2001 [01/3101-02/05/01] and coincides each year with the World Economic Forum of business leaders and politicians in Davos, Switzerland." [Based on: News Services article (Marchers protest globalist capitalism), p. A14, S.L.P.D., 01/21/07]
2001 - National Geographic Channel / U.S.A. - January 2001: "[....] In the United States, The National Geographic Channel, launched in January 2001, is a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks. The National Geographic provides programming expertise and the Fox Networks Group provides its expertise on distribution, marketing, and ad sales. It is primarily a digital cable and satellite channel there. [....]"
[Based on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Channel] - [T.D. - 02/21/08]
February 2001
2001 - Trivia / California Power - Feburary 1st, 2001: "California state lawmakers enacted legislation to spend up to $10 billion for power. Governor Davis ordered large retail outlets to dim lights with penalties beginning March 15th."
2001 - Ariel Sharon / Israel - February 6th, 2001: "In Israel Ariel Sharon won the elections over Ehud Barak 62.6 to 37.2% with a record low turnout of 62%. On February 7th, Ariel Sharon signaled an end to the peace process begun in 1993 in Oslo and planned something in the spirit of Oslo on an interim level."
2001 - Non-Cooperation / Israel - February 10th, 2001: "Israel said it would not cooperate with the newly arrived UN human rights mission for a fact-finding tour of Palestinian areas."
2001 - Trivia / Human Genome Research - February 11th, 2001: "It was reported that scientists had found the human genome to consist of 30,000 genes and that only some 300 were unique to humans as when compared to mice."
2001 - Nothing Is Secret / PROMIS - February 12th, 2001: "Good morning, Mr. McDade. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has reason to believe that the national security of Canada has been compromised. A trojan horse, or back door, allegedly has been found in computer systems in the nation's top law-enforcement and intelligence organizations. 'Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to establish whether this is the PROMIS software reportedly stolen in the early 1980s from William and Nancy Hamilton, owners of Inslaw Inc., and reportedly modified for international espionage. As always, should you or any of your associates be caught, the governments of Canada and the United States will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This recording will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Sean.' Sounds like the opening taped message from an episode of the 1960s TV action series Mission Impossible. But just such a mission was offered - and accepted - by two investigators of the National Security Section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
"The Mounties then covertly entered the United States in February of last year and for nearly eight months conducted a secret investigation into the theft of the PROMIS software and whether and by whom it had been obtained for backdoor spying. PROMIS is a universal bridge to the forest of computer systems. It allows covert and undetectable surveillance, and it and its related successors are unimaginably important in the new age of communications warfare. In this exclusive investigative series Insight tracks the Mounties and explores the mysteries pursued by the RCMP, including allegations involving a gang of characters believed to be associated with the suspected theft of PROMIS, swarms of spies (or the 'spookloop' as the Mounties called them), the Mafia, big-time money laundering, murder, international arms smuggling and illegal drugs - to name but a few aspects of the still-secret RCMP probe. But the keystone to this RCMP investigation is PROMIS, that universal bridge and monitoring system, which stands for Prosecutor's Management Information System - a breakthrough computer software program originally developed in the early 1970s by the Hamiltons for case management by U.S. prosecutors.
"The first version of PROMIS was owned by the government since the development money was provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ), but something went awry on the way to proprietary development. For more than 15 years the story of the allegedly pirated Hamilton software, and how it may have wound up in the hands of the spy agencies of the world, has been hotly pursued by law-enforcement agencies, private detectives, journalists, congressional investigators, U.S. Customs and assorted U.S. attorneys. Even independent researchers have taken on the role of counterespionage agents in a quest to uncover the truth about this allegedly ongoing penetration of security. But each new U.S. investigation has failed fully to determine what happened. While the Mounties encountered a similar fate, officers Sean McDade and Randy Buffam have been the most successful to date." [Based on article by Kelly Patricia O'Meara] [Link: 1]2001 - Earthquake / El Salvador - February 13th, 2001: "A 6.1 earthquake in El Salvador left at least 173 people dead."
*Trivia: "Earthquake location: San Vicente, El Salvador. Earthquake magnitude: 6.6. Number of recorded fatalities: 255." [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 208]
2001 - Trivia / Chechnyan Rebels - February 14th, 2001: "In Chechnya rebels opened fire on Russian positions and 12 Russian soldiers were killed."
2001 - Decreased Opium Production / Afghanistan - February 15th, 2001: "A UN team confirmed that the Taliban had nearly wiped out opium production in Afghanistan."
2001 - Fatality / Hamas Activist - February 19th, 2001: "In the West Bank Mahmoud Madani [25], a Hamas activist, was shot to death from long range."
2001 - Song of the Year / U2 - February 21st, 2001: "In the Grammy Awards U2 won for Song of the Year for 'Beautiful Day'."
2001 - Volcanic Eruption / Io - February 22, 2001: "The most powerful eruption ever detected on any planet in our Solar System has been seen on Io, one of Jupiter's moons." [Links: 1, 2]
2001 - Mismanagement / Native American Trust Funds - February 23rd, 2001: "A US federal appeals court upheld that the US government mismanaged and neglected Native American trust funds."
2001 - Japanese Superconductor - February 24th, 2001: "It was reported that Japanese physicists created a superconductor using magnesium dibromide at minus 389º F."
2001 - Year of The Iron Snake / Tibet - February 24th, 2001: "Ugyen Thinley Dorje [15], the 17th Karmapa Lama, led prayers to mark the Tibetan Year of the Iron Snake in northern India."
2001 - Statue Destructions / Afghanistan - February 26th, 2001: "In Afghanistan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar ordered the destruction of all statues including the Buddha statues carved into the stone cliffs of Bamiyan."
2001 - Trivia / U.S. Air Pollution - February 27th, 2001: "The U.S. Supreme Court voted that the nation's health, and not industry costs, must guide government in fighting air pollution."
2001 - Strong Earthquake / Seattle - February 28th, 2001: "In Washington state a 6.8 magnitude slab earthquake shook Seattle. It was centered 32.6 miles below the surface along the boundary of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate and the continental North American plate. Damages were later estimated at $2 billion."
March 2001
2001 - Prison Terms / Falun Gong Members - March 2nd, 2001: "In China 37 members of the banned Falun Gong were sentenced to prison terms of 3-10 years. Most had been convicted of 'using a cult to obstruct the law'."
2001 - Afghan Buddha Destruction - March 3rd, 2001: "In Afghanistan the Taliban began the destruction of the giant Buddha of Bamiyan despite int'l. protests."
2001 - School Shooting / California - March 5th, 2001: