"There are less than 40 pretzel shopping days left before Inauguration Day," say the developers of Pretzels for the Prez.

On a more serious note...
Each time the United States has gone to war, there has been pressure to limit
speech and to curtail other precious liberties in the name of national security, and a countervailing pressure to maintain our freedoms. By delving into the country's complicated, conflicted history with these issues, Professor Geoffrey R. Stone provides readers with the capacity to reflect and act on today's difficult civil liberties issues in his new publication... Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime.

The following message is from Julie Teskie, Sister Bay, who is organizing Door County activists wishing to participate in anti-war events on inauguration day in Washington D.C. Please contact her if you are interested in going or if you have a little extra money lying around for scholarship purposes. Some of the young folks going could use financial help.

Lakeshore Peacemakers (Manitowoc) has chartered a bus from Lamers and says anyone is welcome to join them. They'll be leaving from Green Bay on Wednesday, January 19. Cost is a minimum of $100 but that includes eats (www.lakeshorepeacemakers.org). There may be another bus out of Green Bay as well. Please let me know if you are interested in going, or if you can just help out!

thanks,
julie teskie.
blubyrd50@hotmail.com
920.421.1513

Why does Wal-mart want RFID ASAP?
Remember that sci-fi scene where Tom Cruise is walking through a shopping mall and the displays are hawking him, speaking directly to his individual tastes? Someday soon you may be scanned as you enter (and as you leave) a store to get data from the products that you are wearing or carrying in your purse, pockets or wallet. Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects.

RFID systems consist of a tag, (smaller than a grain of sand) that contains a microchip with a broadcast antenna... and a reader with an antenna that sends out electromagnetic waves. The tag receives them and converts the waves into power from the reader, using it to light up the microchip circuits. The chip then responds to the reader with its data.

The use of RFID technology is called "spy ware" by groups like CASPIAN, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering. They fear the following:

• The purchaser of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it;
  
• The tag can be read at a distance without the knowledge of the individual;
  
• If a tagged item is paid for by credit card or in conjunction with use of a loyalty card, then it would be possible to tie the unique ID of that item to the identity of the purchaser; and
  
• Tags create, or are proposed to create, globally unique serial numbers for all products, even though this creates privacy problems and is completely unnecessary for most applications.

Most concerns revolve around the fact that RFID tags affixed to products remain functional even after the products have been purchased and taken home, and thus can be used for surveillance, and other nefarious purposes unrelated to their supply chain inventory functions.

"Supermarket cards and retail surveillance devices are merely the opening volley of the marketers' war against consumers. If consumers fail to oppose these practices now, our long-term prospects may look like something from a dystopian science fiction novel," says Katherine Albrecht in RFID: Tracking everything, everywhere.

OK! Now here's the fun part... if you have $20 to blow.
It seems that RFIDs are already being inserted in the latest US currency. A fellow named Dave says he was recently scanned at a truck stop and his cash set off an alarm. Dave decided to try to deactivate the chips.

"We chose to 'microwave' our cash, over $1000 in twenties in a stack, not spread out on a carasoul. Do you know what exploded on American money? The right eye of Andrew Jackson on the new twenty, every bill was uniform in it's burning... Isnt that interesting?"

Ho, ho, ho! Have a Merry Christmas!

Support the Troops...
This summer Maj. Catherine Kaus and her soldiers commandeered several abandoned Army trucks in Kuwait to compensate for a shortage of their own vehicles. Kaus and her unit, the Ohio-based 656th Transportation Company, used commandeered trucks to fulfill their mission of transporting fuel. For that she and five other soldiers were court-martialed. Kaus, a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School was sentenced to six months in prison, fined $5,000 and given a dishonorable discharge. The 46-year-old divorced mother of one also faces the loss of her retirement benefits.

Kaus' sister said family members intend to contact U.S. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, Wisconsin Democrats, to seek their support for clemency. A spokesman for Feingold confirmed that Kaus' family contacted the senator's office Friday, but he would not comment further.

The transcript of Major Kaus' court martial states that she received the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and other awards during her long military career. Testimony also showed that when Maj. Kaus’ unit was ordered to march into Iraq from Kuwait, the company didn’t have enough vehicles to do the job. Darrell Birt – a chief warrant officer with Kaus' unit "found" two tractors and two trailers left in Kuwait.

According to Birt's testimony, "Major Kaus came back from a meeting with higher headquarters, I believe, it was with battalion and/or group ... and she told us that we were not getting any external support. In other words, we were going to have to move all of our assets ourselves, and Chief Parriman, who was there at the time, said, `Hey, I think I can solve that problem. I know where some vehicles are at,' something to that nature."

When asked how Kaus responded, Birt said he could not recall her exact words, but the gist was, "Do what you got to do. I just don't want to know."

Several weeks later, Birt and fellow scroungers also commandeered an abandoned cargo truck and stripped it for parts.

Birt who was later court-martialed for theft, destruction of Army property and conspiracy to cover up the crimes – was decorated not long ago with a Bronze Star for his “initiative and courage” in a combat zone. He too has been dishonorably discharged and stripped of all military benefits.

Col. David H. Hackworth (USA Ret.) is co-founder of Soldiers for the Truth and Senior Military Columnist for DefenseWatch magazine says, "As long as I served in the Army – from 1946 to 1971 – a cunning unit scrounger was one of the most important assets a commander had. From Korea to Germany to Vietnam, my guys were always officially short everything but never lacking in anything. We had hot jeeps, trucks, tents, kitchens, weapons and provisions of all types. I not only encouraged my trusty liberators to bring home anything that wasn’t nailed down, I frequently ordered them to de-nail goodies that were needed – like generators – and haul that stuff home quicksmart, too."

He says, "Make scrounging part of the Patriot Act."

Reaping the harvest...
"In the twilight of the Cold War, the United States spent millions of dollars to supply Afghan schoolchildren with textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation.

"The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's core curriculum. Even the Taliban used the American-produced books, though the radical movement scratched out human faces in keeping with its strict fundamentalist code.
From U.S., the ABC's of Jihad: Violent Soviet-Era Textbooks Complicate Afghan Education Efforts

The first day of winter dawns with 8 - 10" of new snow in Door County... off to a good old-fashioned white Christmas with great skiing ahead. I cannot remember a winter that started off this early with such an abundance of snow.

My Soldier is a program that puts politics aside and lets men and women serving in the armed forces know that someone back home cares. The goal of the program is to show support for troops by establishing pen-pal relationships with them.

Support the troops... demand ethical leadership!
"A document released for the first time today by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that President Bush issued an Executive Order authorizing the use of inhumane interrogation methods against detainees in Iraq."

"These documents raise grave questions about where the blame for widespread detainee abuse ultimately rests," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Top government officials can no longer hide from public scrutiny by pointing the finger at a few low-ranking soldiers."

The two-page e-mail that references an Executive Order states that the President directly authorized interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, the use of military dogs, and "sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc." The ACLU is urging the White House to confirm or deny the existence of such an order and immediately to release the order if it exists.

Newly Released Documents Show Possible Interference by Army Commander In Investigation Into Murder of Iraqi Detainee
December 21, 2004

FBI E-Mail Refers to Presidential Order Authorizing Inhumane Interrogation Techniques
December 20, 2004

Hat's off to Dan Egan...
At times he reports on Door County for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and has devoted a great deal of his attention to issues regarding the quality and survival of Lake Michigan. Today I discovered one of his latest works, the second in a troubling three-part series: Sea of change... a host of invasive species is wreaking ecological havoc in Lake Michigan.

I did a search for all of his other works to find part one: Paradise in peril... Lake Michigan is showing signs of vulnerability - or even ecological breakdown.

Thanks Dan, for bringing forth a number of important articles on the biological and geo-political issues that threaten one of the largest bodies of fresh water on Earth.

"I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our
time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the
Republican National Committee," says Bill Moyers. "We have an ideological press
that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press
that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant,
independent press whose interest is the American people."

"With the holidays upon us, some of us might wish to be mindful of who we patronize relative to their Election Cycle political donations, as reported by the Center for Responsive Politics," says Alan Abramowitz.

ChooseTheBlue.com compiles information from third party sources primarily to show certain reported spending by political action committees connected with a corporation and by that corporation's employees as political contributions, in each case related to recent federal elections.

"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." - George W. Bush

One way to see God... and ask for an opinion from the source, can be found in this interesting Holiday link sent by a Compass reader.

A large shadow looms...
Watch closely. Moving cautiosly, quietly, behind the scenes, a hunter stalks its prey. Using time-tested tactics perfected in communities across the nation, Wal-Mart continues to press for greater corporate profit through growth and expansion. While the debate over building a Sturgeon Bay Supercenter has subsided, it is far from over.

Wal-Mart's efforts to build a Supercenter in Sheboygan have hit some snags. On December 31, 2004 the Town Board refused to issue a conditional-use permit for the 212,000 square foot store. Save Our Sheboygan previously gave the board a petition with more than 500 signatures asking the board to deny the rezoning request. Over 200 people attended the Tuesday night meeting. But it's far from over.

The Town of Sheboygan is a different governing body from the City of Sheboygan. Many people fear Wal-Mart's next tactic - to ask the city to annex the land for the proposed site. The city would benefit in gaining a huge tax base.

The City of Sheboygan has already granted Wal-Mart permission to build one Supercenter, expected to open in late 2005.

“It’s not the need of a Wal-Mart store, it’s the greed of a Wal-Mart store,” said town resident Clarence Weigert. “It only takes 10 minutes to get to the south side.”

Tobusytoblog... lately but I couldn't pass this up:
From the The Daily Cardinal interviewing George Twigg:

DC: What role do you feel you played in Kerry's Wisconsin victory?

George Twigg: My job was really just to get our side of the story out, and, conversely, when Republicans came into the state and made all these claims about the things we were doing, that we did some truth telling and made sure people knew what we felt was their real record on those issues.

DC: By "truth telling," what do you feel you exposed?

GT: One point this fall, George Bush was in Wausau for a campaign rally, and he was talking about how he was going to support this program called MILC, a price supports system for dairy farmers ... Two days later, Republicans back in D.C. killed the program. It was a really clear example of him making these campaign promises out on the trail ... We got this 30-foot tall inflatable dairy cow called "Marathon the Mad Milk Cow," and she followed around Bush and Cheney to a bunch of their events. We had people dressed up in cow costumes, talking about how Bush was, we felt, not being forthcoming on his position.

Michael Moore writes:
"Fahrenheit 9/11" has been nominated by the People's Choice Awards as the American public's "Favorite Film of the Year." The five nominees were chosen from a poll of thousands of Americans in mid-to-late November. The other nominees for best film are "Spiderman 2," "The Incredibles," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (with Jim Carrey), and "Shrek 2." It is the first time ever a documentary has been nominated for best film by the People's Choice Awards.

The People's Choice Awards are considered, among all the awards shows, to be the one which most accurately reflects the "mainstream" public opinion in the United States.

OK, now, here's the best part: YOU get to vote! Online. Now. Just go to http://www.pcavote.com/voting/film/f01.shtml, click on the little circle next to "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the "Favorite Movie" category and press the "vote" button. Voting is going on now and continues only through this coming Monday, December 13, at 3:00pm ET, so send an e-mail to your friends and let them know they can vote, too. Winners will accept their awards live on CBS on January 9.

Now, normally I wouldn't make a very big deal out of something like this. It's nice and I'm honored, but it's not exactly the number one priority on any of our minds these days. In fact, when we found out we were nominated over a week ago, I didn't even think to tell you about it or put it up on our website.

But then a group of top Republicans took out a full page ad in USA Today (and placed a similar one in the Hollywood trade magazine, Variety) proclaiming that "An election is over, but a war of ideas continues." The point of the ad was to say that while they, as right wing conservatives, were proud of getting rid of Kerry, there was still one more nuisance running around loose they had to deal with -- me! They also issued a not-so-subtle threat to the Academy Awards voters that, in essence, said don't even THINK about nominating "Fahrenheit 9/11" for Best Picture. And Bill O'Reilly recently bellowed that if the Oscars recognize my work this year, Middle America will boycott Hollywood.

I promise, if we win, to give a nice and polite speech.


The Backbone Campaign and a growing coalition of grassroots organizations from around the nation have come together to initiate a process to empower citizens to nominate and elect "The Backbone Cabinet, A Progressive Parallel Government."

With the election behind us, progressives must lead the way to reclaim the moral language of our nation. Creating the Backbone Cabinet is an excellent way to put forward individuals capable of communicating our vision, values and expectations.

The success of this endeavor depends on you! Make a nomination, rate and comment on existing nominees. Forward this to your friends and colleages. If you are part of another progressive organization, urge the leadership to join the growing coalition of sponsors. If you lead a group invite your membership to join in the process! Numbers matter! Please advertise this effort on your webpage and in your newsletters, blogs, etc.

Between now and January we will hold a series of secure I.R.V. i.e. Instant Runoff Voting processes through which citizens around the country can select their top choices for each position. Be sure to sign up to be notified when voting begins.

You have one day left to place your bid on a ghost...
A woman, "marys454bb" in Hobart, Indiana is offering the ghost of her father for sale on eBay. So far, the ghost has received more than 80 bids, with a top offer of $14,935.66.

"Ever since my father died my 5 year old son has been afraid to go anywhere in the house alone whether it be day or night! I always thought it was just normal kid fears until a few months ago he told me why he was so scared. He told me "Grandpa died here, and he was mean. His ghost is still around here!" He then brought up the couple of times my dad tapped him with his cane and how mean his grandpa looked when he yelled at him. so up for auction is my dad's ghost along with his cane he used for getting around and hurt my 5 year olds feelings with."

Chris Jordan's current work examines the excesses of American consumerism. In large-format color, this project takes the viewer on a tour behind the shiny façade of the American Dream, into the fearsome industrial infrastructure that underlies our consumer society. There is something fascinating but frightening, evil yet necessary, about shipping ports and rail yards and the like. They carry a quality of unchecked power and violent excess, revealing the vast cumulative effects of our individual consumptive choices.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, recently kicked a Liberal MP out of the caucus after she stomped on a George Bush doll while taping a segment for a national comedy show. Carolyn Parrish was already notorious for her untempered criticism of the Bush administration, having called Americans "those bastards" and described US allies in the missile defence plan as a coalition of "idiots".

Parrish was first elected to Parliament in 1993 and has been re-elected twice since then. A former high school teacher and board of education chairwoman before entering politics, she shot into the news last year after she was heard saying outside the House of Commons, “Damn Americans … I hate those bastards.” She later apologized for those remarks, saying she meant them only for Bush and those in his administration.

Relations between Canada and the US have been chilly since the former prime minister, Jean Chrétien, decided not to join the invasion of Iraq. There have been slights and insults on both sides, with one of Mr Chrétien's most senior aides describing the president as a moron.

WBAY reports, "Authorities confirm it was a bomb found Sunday night that forced the evacuation of a Wal-Mart store in Manitowoc. An employee spotted a suspicious package in the toy department. Police say the device had wires, a firecracker-like fuse, duct tape covering the ends, and was filled with gun powder."

Citizens@SaveOurSheboygan.com are sending out an SOS...
The Town of Sheboygan Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public hearing on whether to let Wal-Mart build its 24-hour, 212,000-square-foot Supercenter in their community. The public hearing will take place at 5:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 30 at the Town Fire House (3911 Country Trunk Y).

OK time to lighten up...
My wife is wondering about how to wash pillows. Search Google on "how to wash pillows" and then read the top return result posted in Say Uncle on September 08, 2004.

On how to become FOXless in America...
Recieved in e-mail:
This is such simple, brilliant, potenetially effective idea, I wish I could say I thought of it. It was actually sent to me by a friend who is impatient for grassroots action against the right wing to begin. I'm doing this at once. I hope you'll decide to do the same and circulate the idea to at least a hundred million of your closest friends. LET'S SEE THE STOCKS PLUMMET- FEED YOUR STRENGTH. If you, too, have had enough with the FOX news channel, please read below. This action will make your voice heard while simply choosing not to watch the station can not.

I have decided to make a political statement. I called my Satellite TV provider and asked them to remove Fox News from my television. Since the election I have wanted to stick my head out of a window of a tall building and shout I can't take it anymore, but I soon came to realize that there is a better and easier way to send a message to Rupert Murdoch and his blathering bunch at Fox News and that was to simply make them disappear from my life.

I called my cable TV provider and had Fox News deleted from my television. It was simple I called the Repair Department at Comcast and said I wanted to be Foxless in America. I then wrote an email to the following: Reed Nolte VP Investor Relations for News Corporation (the parent company of Fox News) at rnolte@newscorp.com and Brian Lewis, Senior VP Corporate Communications for Fox News at brian.lewis@foxnews.com and to top it off I copied rmurdoch@newscorp.com.

I told them that I cannot take the Fox distortion and biased presentation of the news any longer and that they ought to inform their sponsors that there are millions like me. I can't tell you the immense satisfaction I gained from becoming Foxless in America. I am asking you to follow me in this protest and let it be heard by all that want to control what we all see and hear. This could be a way to have your voice heard-Become Foxless in America. We can start a movement if each of you send this email to all the others you know who are fed up with Fox News.

"It was a spectacular irony - a Republican senator using the word “fraud” about the presidential election," says Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. "More spectacular still, he was visiting his condemnation of apparent election manipulation on the incumbent party. And beyond all that, he and others based their conclusions largely on the incredible disparity between the last exit polls and the vote count itself. Of course, Indiana’s Richard Lugar was talking about the presidential election in the Ukraine."

Olbermann's Countdown show is one of the few sources of media coverage devoting time to ask questions that remain in the wake of the recent election. Keith interviewed the pollster John Zogby in his Nov 24 coverage report entitled Zogby Vs. Mitofsky regarding another poll this week - one that indicated that about four in five Americans thought President Bush had been legitimately elected three weeks ago: “But, Keith, 20 percent don’t think the president is legitimate. And worse yet, if you take the other half, those that didn’t vote for him, about half of the other side doesn’t think the president is legitimate. That just hasn’t existed for a long, long time in our system. We need to restore, I think, some semblance of legitimacy and honor to the system.”

The Geneva Conventions contain the following in the opening paragraph:

"Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat (out of combat) by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely...”

It goes on to explain, “The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

-- Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture.

-- The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.”

And it adds that “the wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.”

The Geneva Conventions are quite clear that the bombing of hospitals constitutes a war crime:

“Article 18: Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.

“Article 19: The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit and after such warning has remained unheeded. The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from such combatants and not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not be considered to be acts harmful to the enemy.”

Then... are these war crimes?
On November 6 the BBC reported on the effects of US bombing in Fallujah, “Witnesses said only a facade remained of a small Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city. A nearby medical supplies storeroom and dozens of houses were also damaged as US forces continued preparing the ground for an expected major assault.”

Ex-Navy Seal, Matthew Heidt, explains, “The shots fired at the ‘unarmed’ terrorist in that mosque in Fallujah are called ‘security rounds.’ Its (sic) a safety issue pure and simple. After assaulting through a target, put a 'security round' in everybody's head. There's no time to dick around in the target, you clear the space, dump the chumps…”

The Global Policy Forum explains, "The United States government has consistently opposed an international court that could hold US military and political leaders to a uniform global standard of justice. The Clinton administration participated actively in negotiations towards the International Criminal Court treaty, seeking Security Council screening of cases. If adopted, this would have enabled the US to veto any dockets it opposed. When other countries refused to agree to such an unequal standard of justice, the US campaigned to weaken and undermine the court. The Bush administration, coming into office in 2001 as the Court neared implementation, adopted an extremely active opposition. Washington began to negotiate bilateral agreements with other countries, insuring immunity of US nationals from prosecution by the Court. As leverage, Washington threatened termination of economic aid, withdrawal of military assistance, and other painful measures. These exclusionary steps clearly endanger the fledgling Court and may seriously weaken its credibility and effectiveness."

Here's a complete Chronology of U.S. Opposition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) starting with the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act (ASPA), a bill introduced on May 9, 2002 by Senator Tom DeLay (R-TX) and passed by the House and Senate within a month. On August 2, 2002 President George W. Bush signed HR 4775, making the ASPA U.S. law.

In September 2002 the Bush Administration released its National Security Strategy Policy. In reference to the ICC, it says:

"We will take the actions necessary to ensure that our efforts to meet our global security commitments and protect Americans are not impaired by the potential for investigations, inquiry, or prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose jurisdiction does not extend to Americans and which we do not accept. We will work together with other nations to avoid complications in our military operations and cooperation, through such mechanisms as multilateral and bilateral agreements that will protect US nationals from the ICC. We will implement fully the American Servicemembers Protection Act, whose provisions are intended to ensure and enhance the protection of US personnel and officials."


Never Fear...
Thanks to the ASPA we can continue to support our troops, despite the fact that they have been instructed to ignore the Geneva Conventions. Whew... for a minute there I was worried about being held complicit as an individual citizens who condones war crimes. No fear, our leaders have taken steps to insure that there will be no trial in the ICC.

RELATED STORY:
Embedded with the Marines in Iraq
Dead-Check in Falluja
"I had developed a strange relationship with the sight of dead Iraqis. I felt safer when I saw them."

Rest easy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

In the Old Testament, locusts were the 8th of 10 plagues which God brought on the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to release the children of Israel. Locusts can eat their own body weight in food, two to three ounces, each day. A single square mile swarm can contain from between 100 million to 200 million locusts, which can eat 220 tons to 720 tons of food every day - quantity enough to feed 200,000 humans.

A single swarm of locusts can be small, extending over a hundred square meters, or huge, composed of billions of insects. In one day, they can fly 100 kilometers in the general direction of prevailing winds. They may breed in one country and attack in another. The locust season usually runs from November through May.

BURKINA FASO: Up to 90 percent crops lost in north, food crisis feared

Locust swarms advance into Egypt

Drought, Locusts Heavily Damage Crops In Mauritania