“I don't think anyone believes that the right of smokers to smoke is more important than the right for everyone to breath fresh air,” says Margaretha Haglund, head of tobacco control programmes at the Swedish National Institute of Public Health.

And with that general attitude prevailing, on June 1st Sweden will join Ireland, Norway, Italy, and Malta in implimenting a nationwide smokefree workplace law.

“It’s definitely a positive step for Sweden,” says Daniel Franzén (23) originally from Karlstad. “There’s so much emphasis here on creating healthy conditions in the workplace, why should bars and cafes and restaurants be any different?”

The law initially sparked criticism from the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Association although proprietors have been appeased by the general public’s support. In a study conducted by SHR in April 2005, 98 per cent of those asked said the law will have no bearing on the frequency they visit restaurants, bars, cafes or clubs.

This week, Belgium announced that it will be the next European country to move toward clean indoor air.

Several WI cities and towns have passed smokefree workplace legislation. Middleton and Shorewood Hills banned smoking in their restaurants in 1994, with a few exceptions. Fond du Lac, La Crosse, Ashland, Eau Claire, Kenosha, Neenah and Onalaska have followed suit in recent years.

Joe Cherner at SmokeFree.org says, "All workers deserve a safe, healthy, smokefree work environment. No one should have to breathe tobacco smoke to hold a job, because it causes cancer."

The problems voiced in Appleton lately regarding the loss of convention business due to the smoking ban should be recognized as a strong reason for statewide law regarding safe smokfree workplaces.

Joe Cherner provides an on-line way to Urge Governor Doyle to Enact Smokefree Law; No Preemption.

"Political candidates have a choice, they can either pander to people's fears in an effort to win, or speak the truth in order to lead." says 1992 New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate and radio talkshow host, Arnie Arnesen.

Give her show a listen, streaming at www.arniearnesen.com. For three years (2001 to 2004) she hosted her own political talk show, Capital Ideas on WNDS TV. It was the highest rated political talk show in the state and the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters selected it as the top talk show in the state in 2003. In addition to the radio and TV, Arnie has had a biweekly column in the Boston Globe and is a regular speaker at major academic institutions.

Living in Door County was once like living in a remote rural community. Over a decade ago Wisconsin Public Radio began to open a broader channel to alternative media with the addition of a northern Door transmitter. Now as public radio moves ever closer to the mainstream the World Wide Web provides unlimited options for news and entertainment that push out the boundaries. Try Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! for another fresh take on the news.

Pamela Anderson's PETA billboard that popped up on US 41 near Green Bay caught the eye of GBPG reporter Tony Walter. His light-hearted commentary led me to a little further research on the issue at KentuckyFriedCruelty.com where I learned:

• When chickens are slaughtered, they are hung upside-down with their legs snapped into metal shackles, which often breaks their bones. Many are still fully conscious when their throats are slit and when they are immersed in scalding-hot water for feather removal.
• McDonald’s and Denny’s have made strides toward implementing PETA's request for controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), the least cruel method of slaughtering chickens ever developed, while KFC continues to drag its feet.
• PETA actually bought shares of McDonald’s stock in order to present a shareholder's proposal, which calls on the company to prepare a feasibility report for switching its chicken suppliers over to CAK.
• The CAK method utilizes a controlled environment in which the oxygen is slowly replaced with argon or nitrogen, putting the birds to sleep quickly and painlessly.
• More than 750 million chickens are killed for KFC restaurants every year.

The real PETA billboards are on-line here. That eye-catcher above is a rejected, early draft of the billboard’s design provided by Defamer.

Baileys Harbor Smart Growth Plan

The Town of Baileys Harbor is nearing completion of its comprehensive "Smart Growth" plan. All Baileys Harbor property owners, residents, and businesspersons, as well as any other interested parties, are invited to attend two important meetings the Town Board and Town Plan Commission will be holding regarding the final plan:

1) Tuesday, May 24, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall (located at the intersection of State Hwy 57 and County Hwy F): Public Information Meeting/Open House. After discussion as to the process used to create the new town plan and a question and answer period, meeting attendees will have the opportunity to review and offer anonymous comment upon the various components of the final draft of the Baileys Harbor plan.

2) Tuesday, June 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall: Public Hearing before the Town Plan Commission and Town Board regarding the plan. This is the only public hearing scheduled concerning adoption of the final plan. All interested parties are encouraged to attend and offer formal testimony. Those unable to attend the hearing that wish to offer comment upon the plan may do so by sending a letter to PO Box 308, Baileys Harbor, WI, 54202. Letters must be received no later than Monday, June 6 in order to be entered into the formal record, and must include the writer's full name and address.

The Baileys Harbor Comprehensive Planning Project is available for review on-line.
Please call Mariah Goode at 920.495.6639 with any questions.

Good news for Door County's majority oldsters... "Eating moderate amounts of fish - and its added ingredient, mercury - appears to pose little danger to the brains of older adults, according to new study findings released Tuesday."

Nonetheless, eating contaminated fish can cause permanent language, attention and memory impairment in children. At least 45 states - including Wisconsin - have mercury-related fish consumption advisories but not many people pay attention to them. A recent study by the New England Zero Mercury Campaign found that 36 percent of New Englanders didn't know the government issues warnings. Forty-six percent didn't know that children and women of childbearing age should avoid swordfish, tuna steak and freshwater fish. And 59 percent didn't know that pregnant women and children should limit their consumption of canned tuna.

While the majority of the mercury pollution in the lake waters comes from coal-fired utility plants there are some things you can do to help reduce the contamination of mercury in land fills.
Last month the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules requiring power plants to reduce mercury emissions by 70 percent by 2018. But the new EPA rules also allow power plants to buy credits from other plants to avoid meaningful emissions cuts. At least nine states, including Wisconsin, have filed lawsuits against the government, saying the rules fail to protect the public's health and do not follow the requirements set out in the 1990 Clean Air Act.

It's all the rage these days, religious leaders of all flavors are deciding to take back the moral highground from the silly and simplistic, Satan-fearing sycophants. These are the endgame days and ways of a new world order as dictated by the Unitarian Jihad...

"Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues."

"People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution."

How fitting and indeed just right that my Unitarian Jihad Name is: The Nail Gun of Enlightenment.

Get yours.

When Door County photographer Jan Goff-LaFontaine decided to do a photo project on abuse against women, she took a daring approach... asking the models in her latest work, "Women in Shadow and Light, Journeys from Abuse to Healing," to provide not only their painful life stories, but to pose nude in order to "...let them see their bodies in a new way and let them find their beauty again... to sort of reclaim their bodies and their beauty."

Monterey Herald reporter Brenda Moore says, "...(Jan) talked about the idea with two friends who had been in abusive relationships and both endorsed it. She also discussed it with an abuse survivor who ran a domestic violence services agency in Door County. The woman liked the idea, and agreed to take part in it, she said. One woman led to another and another and eventually she had 40 subjects, ranging in age from 19 to 95, victims of sexual and physical abuse by family members, spouses, partners, strangers."

I wonder what response Jan's work would have elicited from Andrea Dworkin; born September 26, 1946, died April 9, 2005 a campaigner, writer and feminist activist who helped break the taboo over talking about violence against women by writing openly about her experiences as a prostitute, rape victim and battered wife. She led an active crusade against pornography and violence against women but her "bottom line" uncompromising approach was almost as threatening to women as she was to men. Her anti-marriage, anti-male stance split the feminist movement, where liberals believe "tasteful" pornography is empowering.

Camille Paglia cattily remarked that Dworkin never addressed her real problem, which was food. “Thanks to Madonna, the whole pro-sex wing of feminism which had been ostracized since the ’60s came back with a vengeance," says Paglia. "And we won. We won massively. Now, Catharine MacKinnon, Andrea Dworkin, you hardly see their names anywhere.”

"Young women are rarely given the opportunity to speak on their own behalf on issues that affect their lives and futures," says Feministing.com. They advocate girl-power by providing and on-line platform for them to comment, analyze and influence."

Meanwhile dirty old men are still lurking in the background... the power of porn is no secret to Rupert Murdoch. But how many conservative Fox News fans realize that Murdoch's News Corp. owned satellite cable company DirecTV, makes more than $200 million a year in pay-per-view pornography. Murdoch also owns the New York Post, and Harper Collins, which published porn star Jenna Jameson's bestselling book ''How to Make Love Like a Porn Star."

Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, also cashes in on porn, making more than $50 million from distributing XXX movies. And Comcast's E! Television network ran a highly rated ''E! True Hollywood" story starring none other than Jenna Jameson.

Janice in Baileys Harbor writes:
Hi Everyone!
WIDELY USED PESTICIDE KILLING FROGS--WHAT'S IT DOING TO US?
If you care about the effects that Monsanto's poisons are having on our health, our environment and the rest of the world, you may want to sign a petition against them. Visit www.organicconsumers.org to learn more, then click on Sign the Millions Against Monsanto petition that sends the FAX below to Monsanto CEO, Hugh Grant.

Monsanto is a HUGE, POWERFUL, EVIL EMPIRE...a "terrorist" of the worst kind. It's good that someone is trying to take a stand.

Hugh Grant
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
Monsanto Company
800 North Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, MO-63167
(314) 694-1000

Dear Mr. Grant:

I am deeply concerned about the direction Monsanto Company has taken in the past decade with respect to sustainable agriculture and farmers' rights. Right now we are at a critical crossroads in history, and I fear that Monsanto Company is not contributing to the nation's welfare with a "profits over people" attitude.

Monsanto Company has embarked on a vicious campaign against family farmers in the North American heartland, as well as across the world. These hardworking farmers are the backbone of our nation's food supply and national security. The current climate of insecurity has been exacerbated by your company¹s policies of intimidation, lawsuits and defamation.

Monsanto's legal actions against Percy Schmeiser, the Rodney Nelson family, and the Oakhurst Dairy for example, are deplorable attacks, and do not reflect your "Stake in the Ground" pledge to honesty and decency.

The North American farm sector is becoming a veritable wasteland. Monsanto's Genetically Engineered crops have increased pesticide use, destroyed key export markets and threaten global food safety. Over 90% of American consumers want genetically engineered foods labeled, while 60% or more want GE-Free food for themselves and for their families.

Family farmers have the right to produce the safe, sustainable food without fear of intimidation and litigation. Consumers have the right to choose food that guarantees their families' health and safety. I demand that Monsanto change course by adopting the following practices:

1. Stop intimidating small family farmers
2. Stop force-feeding untested and unlabeled genetically engineered foods on consumers
3. Stop using billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to subsidize genetically engineered crops- cotton, soybeans, corn, and canola.
4.Stop placing patents on life forms. It is unethical and immoral.

I look forward to your written response on this important matter.

Sincerely,

The following is a live blog, that tracked the speaking event by John E. Peck at the Compass Coffeehouse in Fish Creek on April 9, 2005:

The former head of Cargill Inc., Daniel Amstead is in charge of US food policy in Iraq. He drafted the Bush policy on seed ownership that has taken away the rights of Iraqi farmers to save their own seeds.

What are the big GMO crops in the US? Corn, soybeans and cotton... Who cares about cotton? We don't eat it... Wrong, cotton seed oil is found in food for humans and in animal feeds. We won on wheat. GMOs have not been permitted there... yet!

Corn is one of the most promiscuous plants in existence, with corn pollen travelling miles. BT corn pollen is unchecked and affects all forms of life in the food chain starting with insects that feed on the pollen. We've lost a third of our honeybees in the past few years due to BT. Monarchs and Bt corn: questions and answers.

How much testing was done on bovine growth hormone? FDA and the USDA have a revolving door problem - executives from corporations leave and join a a supervisory government agency that would/should regulate that corporation. The history of such rotation is a scandal.

All foods must have GRAS Status - Generally Recognized As Safe. The "Precautionary Principle" says, "You need to prove something is safe before you introduce it to the market and it has essentially been tossed out the window."

Consumer right to know... it's just ECON 101. Do we have the right to know about GMOs? NO!

The whole genetic engineering process is very sloppy, a crazy shotgun effect, trying various things to see what happens.

Why would Monsanto want to sue someone for labelling their food product as BGH free? Because the label then implies that there is something dangerous or harmful about Monsanto's product BGH.

Should someone actually be able to own life forms and patent them? Not in India, they don't allow this, but here in the US we do, and the US administration intends to use the World Trade Organization to force countries like India to comply.

European scientists generally agree we should not be developing or producing any side products like drugs in a food crop... but US scientists are doing it in food crops, because their corporations own the patent rights on the food crops they use.

Property rights gone right out of control...
Monsanto currently spends $10 million per year suing farmers and have 75 people working fulltime on their agressive lawsuits. Percy Schmeiser's canola crop in Canada was contaminated by Monsanto seed growing nearby. Monsanto sued him, claiming he stole their seed. Monsanto investigators will actually drop a Round-up bomb on a farmer's field to see if the plants are Round-up resistant. If they live, Monsanto claims the farmer has illegally obtained Round up-Ready seed like Percy's canola crop in Canada.

The Canadian Supreme Court issued their decision in May 2004 and one can view the decision as a draw. The Court determined that Monsanto's patent is valid, but Schmeiser is not forced to pay Monsanto anything as he did not profit from the presence of Roundup Ready canola in his fields. This issue started with Monsanto demanding Schmeiser pay the $15/acre technology fee and in the end, Schmeiser did not have to pay. The Schmeiser family and supporters are pleased with this decision, however disappointed that the other areas of appeal were not overturned.

Oil, coffee and cocao are the three largest commodities traded in the world. Any farmer you talk to will tell you there's no free market on commodities. Prices are set by four companies in Chicago.

One audience member says, "All of this is very depressing... What can we do?"

BUY LOCAL... Kraft Singles are not even made with real milk. Buy Wisconsin cheese, shop at local farmer's markets. Do we have country of origin labelling here? NO... Most stores have no idea where their food comes from. Eat foods when they are available in season. The farmers' market in Madison is the largest one in the US.

What is food sovreignity?
The USDA decides what foods schools will serve in school lunch programs - not the local school board. Remember irradiated meat? This effort failed bacause of the public outcry. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal describes slaughterhouse practices. Our slaughterhouses run at 3 times the speed of those in Europe. In Sweden they have outlawed factory farming. We need to combine the organic movement with the Fair Trade movement.

Just Coffee in Madison has a slogan: "Not just a market but a movement."

Create a Farmer Diner - a restaurant where the food served is obtained locally. Have a "Food for Thought Festival" or a "Fair Trade Holiday Fair" featuring all local products. Where are the organic cherries from Door County? The Peninsula Research center is starting to explore this possibility - encourage them!

It's a scale thing... Small is best, local is best.

In October, 2001 a book entitled The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World by sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson coined the term Cultural Creative to describe, "people whose values embrace a curiosity and concern for the world, its ecosystem, and its peoples; an awareness of and activism for peace and social justice; and an openness to self-actualization through spirituality, psychotherapy, and holistic practices."

Taken together with The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life by Richard Florida and published in January 2004, one can begin to trace a path out of the woods. It's been a long winter and I am ready for the 2nd annual Arts Conference... Huh?

Last year a roomful of over a hundred dedicated cultural creatives gathered to brainstorm about the future of the arts in Door County. Round table discussions on a multitude of topics rolled on throughout the day. Now, a year later it's just a memory. Meanwhile Tom Tresser, a Chicago marketing executive and theater producer, turned a few heads around when he spoke at Arts Day in Madison this year. He's the organizing force behind the Creative America Project, a national effort to get creative people to run for office.

"Artists and creative professionals are non-traditional thinkers," he says. "They're problem solvers. And those are skills we need in the public space. We need those minds applied to public policy."

I've been talking with Tom lately... He's inviting artsy types to "start exercising their political imagination" by creating a "vision statement for a more creative America" and uploading it to his group's Web site. How about a vision statement for a more creative Wisconsin/Door County? If you are interested in helping to develop a sequel to last year's event I'd like to hear from you... editor@DoorCountyCompass.com.

With the 5-question bridge referendum set for a vote on Tuesday, April 5th, am I doomed to wear a tin-foil hat if I question the precise timing of the WI DOT? The Michigan Street Bridge will close for seven hours from 8 AM to 3 PM on Monday, April 4. The Bayview Bridge (Wisconsin 42/57) will have lane closures for five hours from 9 AM to 2 PM on Tuesday, April 5.

But far worse for summer tourism... The Milwaukee Journal's Larry Sandler reports, "If Marquette Interchange reconstruction hasn't affected you yet, get ready to cross over to the other side. Within two weeks, traffic on I-43 (through Milwaukee) will be cut to two lanes each way, all traveling in what are now the northbound lanes between W. North Ave. and W. State St. That will continue until November."

Door County Tsunami Warning Issued...
after HELP of Door County fails to help its biggest benefactor in a time of his greatest need

Years ago I once called to ask for HELP and was told that HELP existed for women and children... only. Men were not considered potential "victims" back then, only perpetrators... of violence against women and children. That call for HELP was made almost fifteen years ago. I had hoped that after more than a decade, HELP policies would have evolved.

The recent resignation of Allin Walker, after his abandonment by the officers and board of directors of HELP of Door County, should serve as a warning. Despite all of Allin's years of paid and unpaid service to this community and to his employers it seems that nothing tangible in regard to policy evolution has taken place at the agency. Men are still "perpetrators" and women and children their "victims."

According to a recent letter from Kirsten Dixner, president of the HELP board, and Tom Bronsky, president-elect of the agency, “There was a growing awareness of issues that warranted the board’s and Allin’s immediate examination for their potential impact on HELP of Door County, our clients, supporters and the larger community that we have served for more than 25 years.”

Instead of taking on the difficult task of providing a strong and supportive base for Allin Walker when he came under fire, they and their fellow board members chose to duck and cover, running for the exits in a most politically correct manner. Instead of truly considering the greater impact of their decisions on this community they chose a self-serving safe and tidy plan to dispose of their "problem."

This is the fundamental flaw in governance models utilized by almost all non-profit organizations. While there are many people who voluntarily work in the public interest, some individuals choose to serve on a board of directors because it makes them feel good about themselves. They show up for meetings and act very busy... once every 8 or ten weeks. Occasionally they serve on a committee. Meanwhile the paid staff suffers in the trenches each day, while their "performance" is evaluated from afar, by a collection of detached rulers... very feudal.

When Allin Walker fought to try to stop the inevitable reallocation of resources from social benefit programs to incarceration programs in building the inJustice Center he was cautioned by the HELPers to back off. When he claimed the recent Fischer case was further evidence of a lack of adequate social services and limited funds for mental health treatment in Door County he was again hushed. Now it seems a sniper has picked off Allin Walker, firing a bullet from so far back in his past that it's taken over 30 years to hit home.

Just like in all of those other assassinations, I'd like to get a close look at who it is that's standing just out of sight up on that grassy knoll. I'd like to ask them how they feel now after bagging their trophy, and I'd like to make sure they watch the wave of pain and loss and hardship that spreads outward in all directions. Allin Walker is not the loser in this tragedy. It's you and me and your friends and my friends and everyone else in this entire community... because that's how many people Allin Walker's efforts have benefited.

Has anybody here seen my old friend Allin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walking up o'er the hill
With Abraham, Martin and John.

I'm pleased to find out that Door County's Compass Coffeehouse is not alone when it comes to serving up a bit of left wing attitude with it's all Fair Trade and Organic coffee.Some conservatives are angered by opinionated quotes that Starbucks puts on its cups.

"The Seattle coffee chain has raised some eyebrows over its "The Way I See It" campaign, which prints quotes from thinkers, authors, athletes and entertainers on the side of your morning machiatto," says reporter Jay Cridlin. "Starbucks' founder and chairman, Howard Schultz, is a major Democratic campaign donor who last year gave $1,000 in Florida to Peter Deutsch's failed U.S. Senate campaign."

The cups also refer customers to the campaign's Web site, www.starbucks.com/wayiseeit where ordinary Joes can submit opinions for publication on a future cup.

Today I felt very "old" attending a lecture by Dr. Marc Von der Ruhr at the DCA. I listened to a nice young man voice his heartfelt beliefs, only to wonder how he had earned a doctoral degree in economics without ever getting his hands dirty. Privileged to be elevated - the sage on the stage with classic backdrop of Powerpoint slides - he played a perfect Custer facing an unsympathetic Apache audience that called to question much of his sterile, clinical approach to globalization. One can only hope that Marc gets stranded for a few months in Bangladesh or Kuala Lumpur without his credit cards, luggage and passport in order to gain a true grassroots understanding of world economics.

On a kinder note... I'd like to see Dr. Marc spend some time travelling as a Winess for Peace in order to experience firsthand how global economic and military policies affect the people of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Several DCA staffers leaked the news that Dr. Marc called in advance to find out the DCA's policy on dealing with vocal hecklers, so at least he came prepared for a frosty reception. Cheers to the students at his home base. SNC activists have worked to make Fair Trade coffee the exclusive variety served in all St. Norbert facilities.

"Two magazine covers stood out in poignant contrast on newsstands last week," says Scott Klinger in The Cavernous Divide. "Forbes magazine released its 29th annual listing of the world's billionaires. Time magazine's cover story wondered "How to End Poverty."

The Time article was written by Jeffrey D. Sachs a noted economist who stands at sharp odds with Dr. Marc Von der Ruhr. Sachs leads the U.N. Millennium Project and is director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. His latest book should be required reading (especially at St. Norbert College where Catholic charities strongly support Sachs' opinions) The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time.

“The system is not working right now — let’s be clear,” he says. “There’s a tremendous imbalance of focus on the issues of war and peace, and less on the dying and suffering of the poor who have no voice.”

According to a recent UN report on poverty, 1 billion people live on a dollar a day or less, many of them going to bed hungry every night; life expectancy in the poorest countries is half that of people in high-income countries. And every month, for example, 150,000 African children die of malaria because they don’t have bed nets to keep out mosquitoes, a tragedy Sachs calls the “silent tsunami.”

In 1970, the world’s nations agreed to provide 0.7 percent of their gross national income for development assistance, and that figure was reaffirmed by the U.N. conference on financing development in Monterey, Mexico, in 2002.

So far, only five countries have met or surpassed the target: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Six others have made commitments to reach the target by 2015: Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Spain and Britain.

Where's the USA? We're busy trying to force corporate-driven global policy like NAFTA, CAFTA and FTAA on the poorer nations of the world, while fighting terrorism with bombs and bullets. It's no wonder Paul Wolfowitz, architect of the invasion of Iraq will now migrate to president of the World Bank.

"When you go looking for the Weird, the Weird also comes looking for you," says Richard Hendricks. He's the editor and publisher of Weird Wisconsin. He's always looking for articles, photos, websites, new books or references to books about Wisconsin-related materials, stories or photos of your encounters with weird phenomena and any research into the lore and legends of Wisconsin.

Jazz Composer Nabs Grammy After Web-Only Sales

"Jazz composer Maria Schneider took home a Grammy on Sunday for her album Concert in the Garden, without selling a single copy in a record store. Schneider, 44, financed her Grammy-winning album through a Internet-based music delivery service called ArtistShare that opens the financing of production to dedicated fans."

According to feminist icon Gloria Steinem, “The shape we call a heart resembles the vulva far more than the organ that shares its name... It was reduced from power to romance by centuries of male dominance.” A few years ago Steinem and other feminists banded together to start a campaign to replace the traditional Valentine’s Day on February 14 with “V-Day.”

The V-Day movement seeks to reclaim words that make some people blush and “stop violence against women and girls.” The V-Day website proudly states that “the ‘V’ stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.”

Weekly US Map: Influenza Summary Update provides the current status of influenza activity in the nation. The latter part of January brought widespread reporting of infection in southern and western Wisconsin, and now northern and eastern Wisconsin counties are reporting escalating rates of infection. Remember, the influenza virus may be transmitted to others one day before onset of symptoms and up to seven days after the first sign of symptoms. Also, while Governor Doyle has lifted the restrictions on access to the influenza immunization in the state of Wiscosin, 4-6 weeks must pass before significant protection is present. To avoid infection,

# Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.

# Wash your hands often.

# Avoid touching surfaces such as doorknobs, grocery cart handles, cash... It's winter- try wearing gloves when in public as a simple solution to the problem.

# It's common sense, but often ignored... stay away from people who are sick!

# Wash your hands often.

# Stay home as much as possible and specifically avoid obvious situations where contagion is likely.

# If you get the flu, stay home from work or school. No one wants you to return before you're ready and infect everyone else.

# Wash your hands often!

Wisconsin State Rep. Terri McCormick (R) is planning to run for Mark Green's (R) seat in the 8th Congressional District, which includes all of Door County. McCormick set up a federal campaign account Wednesday, while Green recently converted his federal account to a state campaign fund in preparation for his campaign for governor. McCormick, resides in Grand Chute and she says the most important issues to her are national security, job creation and traditional values.

Word Spy! is devoted to lexpionage, the sleuthing of new words and phrases. These aren't "stunt words" or "sniglets," but new terms that have appeared multiple times in newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites, and other recorded sources.

Billionaires for Bush packed the Platinum Club in Washington DC last night. Over a thousand people dressed to the nines, dancing on four different floors, celebrated four more years and four more wars compliments of of their man Bush... Marco Ceglie, a political activist that Compass Coffeehouse regulars will remember as "Monet Oliver D'Place," the billionaire that brought the “Get on the Limo” Tour to Fish Creek this summer has a new project in addition to his infotainment gig: wheredowego.org. Pictures from the Platinum Club will be posted ASAP...

The Human Flower Project is an international newsgroup, photo album and discussion of how people live through flowers. They report on art, medicine, society, politics, religion, and commerce.

Bill Bishop, a reporter with the Austin American-Statesman says, "I read on humanflowerproject.com that the flower decorations at the inauguration’s “Democracy Ball” will be only shades of red. Perfect. That’s the meaning of democracy these days: we keep all the red flowers over here, all the blue flowers over there and all the gold flowers in another spot."

Proposed wind farm project behind schedule
"As an application for the Forward Wind Energy Center continues to wind its way through the review process at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, a local group continues to fight the proposed 133-turbine wind farm."

Located near the Horicon Marsh, friends of the nationally recognized wildlife refuge are voicing concerns about the impact of the 400-foot tall turbines on birds and bats common in the area, group President Joe Breaden said.

Umbra Fisk of Grist Magazine says, "The number of animals inconvenienced by worldwide climate change will be exponentially higher than the number killed by wind farms, and for that reason, everyone who pauses to consider the big picture should be supporting wind farms in their community."

Its Eyes is a 6 minute and 30 second long film, freely available for download and alteration that envisions surveillance cameras as a biological organism slowly taking control of our urban space. Filmed on location in the Chelsea Market and Harlem, Its Eyes explores concepts of control, technological innovation, and surveillance.

"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

"On the porch was a garbage bag," says Bev Harris of www.blackboxvoting.org, "and so I looked in it and, and lo and behold, there were public record tapes." Take a look inside this bag of 'Stinking Evidence' of Possible Election Fraud Found in Florida with the help of a report by Thom Hartmann.

A new report by GRAIN and Focus on the Global South exposes, "Iraq's new patent law: A declaration of war against farmers." In it they explain why Iraqi Farmers Aren't Celebrating World Food Day despite the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) efforts to celebrate biodiversity.

"As part of sweeping 'economic restructuring' implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations - including seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve."

Low income families in Jacksonville, FL will receive $970, a free video camera, a T-shirt, and a framed certificate of appreciation if they are willing to expose their kids ranging from babies to 3 years old to the effects of toxic pesticides for two years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Bush appointees, plans to launch a new study entitled CHEERS (Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study) to look at how chemicals can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed. Funded by a $2 million grant from the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry front group that includes members such as Dow, Exxon, and Monsanto, the study is vital, says EPA's Linda Sheldon, because there is so little is known about how small children's bodies absorb harmful chemicals.
Click to learn more and file a complaint with Mike Leavitt, EPA Administrator.

"Do you believe there is a U.S. government cover-up surrounding 9/11?"
That's the question of the day today on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and, so far 88% of the 4,493 voters say YES.

"At least eight of the 19 foreign-national September 11 hijackers had registered to vote in either Florida or Virginia," says John Fund in his brief historical essay, How to Steal an Election in the latest City Journal.

Central in the administration's debate over what interrogation techniques are permissible for prisoners held since the Sept. 11 attacks, Alberto Gonzales is the author of a White House memorandum in which he wrote that the Geneva Conventions were 'quaint' and not suitable for the war against terrorism. Alberto Gonzales has a record of injustice as White House Counsel tracing back to his role in advising the Texecutioner.

The economic unraveling begins...
Greenspan, Fed Governors Warn on Government Spending
"Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the growing U.S. budget deficit could destabilize the economy... 'A second term for Bush doesn't bode well for the dollar,' said Samarjit Shankar, director of global foreign-exchange strategy at Mellon Financial Corp. in Boston, which manages $625 billion. 'There's no way of convincing the market additional spending on the war can be paid for if you have a lower tax base. It's a fundamental mismatch between spending and revenue.'"

"Praise God And Pass Out The Cash," says Harley Sorensen.

And even Popular Science is talking about vote fraud...

Sorry, Your Vote Has Been: Lost, Hacked, Miscast, Recorded Twice
New electronic voting machines are supposed to prevent another Election Day disaster, but these paperless PCs could make hanging chads seem like a minor nuisance

Call in the Geeks...
"Your local elections officials trusted a group called NASED - the National Association of State Election Directors - to certify that your voting system is safe. This trust was breached," says Bev Harris. "NASED certified the systems based on the recommendation of an 'Independent Testing Authority' (ITA)." Harris rounded up a crew of skeptical computer geeks who dug into the "independent testing" process. Her report: The Tampering of Electronic Voting Systems on November 2nd reveals some critical flaws and even has links to dowload the GEMS software to test it for yourself.

The Federal Election Commission explains that, "Independent Testing Authorities designation is granted by NASED, and The Election Center (in its capacity as secretariat for NASED).

While the Election Center claims to be, "a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving, and improving democracy... (whose) members are government employees whose profession is to serve in voter registration and elections administration," critics contend that the Election Center acts as a front group for e-voting machine vendors.

In March 2004, a mistake by the IRS inadvertently revealed that e-voting machine vendor Sequoia had donated $10,000 per year to the Center from 1997 through 2000. When challenged by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Center's executive director R. Doug Lewis confirmed that the center had taken donations from the following makers of electronic voting machines:

* Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. of Oakland, CA
* Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S) of Omaha, Neb.
* 'probably' (in Lewis's words) Diebold Election Systems

Disinfopedia.org will tell you all about The Election Center.

Are you getting angry yet... or still in denial?

Find out, "Why Kerry Conceded Defeat despite Electoral Fraud" from the Centre for Research on Globalization. In the article they ask you to, "...consider what we would be left with other than defeat, had the Democratic Party thrown its support behind Carol Mosley Braun, Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton or even Howard Dean. We might still be faced with Bush on November 3rd, smirking and basking in the glow of illegitimate power. But we would also have a country that was at least talking about the possibility of ending war on Iraq, protecting civil liberties, and challenging the many forms of racial social and economic injustice that are endemic in this country. We might have heard corporate media pundits being forced to talk about something, anything new."

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance...
Skip the last two stages of "Grief" as defined by Elsabeth Kubler-Ross, it's time to get to work defining the spiritual left wing of this bird.

Democrats need to lay claim to the real pro-life party by opposing all war and the killing of our own soldiers along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Reverse the direction toward the greater use of atomic weapons and begin moving toward nuclear disarmament. Become the real pro-life party by demanding an end to the death penalty nationwide. What is it about "Thou shall not kill" that you don't understand?

Defend the environmental resources we have been entrusted with. Clean air and water are directly related to diminishing the use of fossil fuels. Work to support the use of alternative fuels and conservative energy efficient design. Become the ethical defender of minorities and the oppressed... black, Hispanic, gay, women, poor, and laboring Americans. Fight the corporatization of everything from the media, to healthcare and pharmaceuticals, to social security, to patented genetics in seed crops, to tax laws. Explain that an educated pro-life stance does not oppose in vitro fertilization, nor should it oppose the use of the resultant thousands of discarded zygotes for infant stem cell research. Recognize that Palestinians are an oppressed people and the weapons of mass destruction are stockpiled in Israel.

Simply said: It's time for Democrats to become the genuine opposition Party!

As a legally ordained minister I approve this liberal and progressive Sunday sermon,
Stephen Kastner


Recomended reading...
What's the Matter with Kansas?
How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

"A heartland populist, Frank is hilariously funny on what makes us red-staters different from blue-staters (not), and he actually knows evangelical Christians, antiabortion activists, gun-nuts, and Bubbas. I promise y'all, this is the only way to understand why so many Americans have decided to vote against their own economic and political interests. And Frank explores the subject with scholarship, understanding, passion, and -- thank you, Mark Twain -- such tart humor."
--Molly Ivins

From Manic Depression to... Purple Haze

"I was thinking today about how the 'red v. blue' states graphic is really misleading considering the slim margins that the candidates won some of those states by, so I sat down and created the map," says Jeff Culver. See USA Today for a national red/blue breakdown mapped by county for 2004 and 2000.

Meanwhile there has been some debate regarding the actual phrasing in Osama bin Laden's most recent message, "In conclusion, I tell you in truth, that your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush, nor al-Qaida. No. Your security is in your own hands. And every state that doesn't play with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security."

It has been said that Osama actually understands the electoral college system and intends to strike only the "red" states... Here's the map he intends to go by:


"One thing we can say for certain at this point, after the grieving, the anger, is that the country is still bitterly divided," says the Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel in Stand and Fight.

Maybe I'm just a bad loser but why isn't the "media" discussing any of the following:

"It happened all around the country. Prior to Election Day 2004, people of colors, students and low-income people were intimidated and denied the right to vote. Citizens reported 1,074 instances of voter intimidation to the Election Protection Coalition. Read a few of the many examples of voter suppression.

Evidence Mounts That The Vote May Have Been Hacked

Greg Palast says Kerry Won.

In states where there were paper ballots the results exactly matched the exit polls.

In states where there were only electronic 'touch-screen' paperless voting machines Bush showed an inexplicable 5-8 point or more difference from the polls, contradicting otherwise accurate exit polls.

The software used in these voting machines is so sophisticated that you can't even check out the programming because it disappears leaving nothing to verify, no source code, no nothing.

"Did the voting machines trump exit polls? There’s a way to find out. Black Box Voting (.ORG) is conducting the largest Freedom of Information action in history."

The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy by Thom Hartmann

Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes

More Evidence The Vote Was Rigged from Wayne Nash.

"As evidence mounts that this election was likely stolen, it becomes imperative that the unleashed outrage is channeled into effective political action." Draft Dean says Stephen Dinan.

Never before have I seen an American election where one party is working like crazy to get people to vote, while the other party is doing everything it can to block the vote... "It's just the sounds of the Devil going down screaming," says my beautiful and intelligent wife.

Poet and pal Mark Turcotte alerted me to the NEA's Operation Homecoming, funded by Boeing. Many people doubt the validity of a project funded by an arms manufacturer that intends to give troops who have served in Iraq the encouragement to express themselves about their experiences.

Operation Truth is a non-profit 501(c)(4), non-partisan veterans' organization that is already accomplishing what the NEA proposes in “Hear it from the Troops,” unencumbered by war-maker sponsorship.

If you have ever suspected that George W. Bush is actually a snotty teenage brat posing as an adult this video clip proves you are correct.

Here's a couple of Halloween treats...
But this filmstrip's not for kiddies.
"I just don't feel like we should changing horses in mid stream, even if the horse is on fire and the stream is made of gasoline..." from WTFMFWTFAYT another song by Jim's Big Ego.

And just in case you missed this one on CNN...
Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host Tucker Carlson over journalism ethics.

Ever wonder How Bin Laden Got Away?

To set one more record straight...
‘Swift Boat Veterans for Truth’ does everything possible to conceal the fact that every member of John Kerry’s own boat crew endorses him for president.

"It's hard for me to listen to President Bush invoking my father's memory to attack John Kerry. Senator Kerry has demonstrated his courage and commitment to a stronger America throughout his entire career. President Kennedy inspired and united the country and so will John Kerry. President Bush is doing just the opposite. All of us who revere the strength and resolve of President Kennedy will be supporting John Kerry on Election Day," says Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg.

I missed seeing the movie Rolling Stone rated as #1... The Motorcycle Diaries. Taken from a book by the same title written by the young Ernesto Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student who takes off on an eight-month motorcycle journey across Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. I suspect that Sturgeon Bay's Cinema 6 wasn't interested in screening it because Ernesto eventually became known as Che... The latest listings for Cinema 6 show no sign of Team America: World Police on their docket either, despite the fact that while many folks think it attacks the right, others like Rolling Stone's Peter Travers think it goes after the left, "the film targets a clear and present danger: liberal Hollywood." Maybe it's the R rating - nothing worse than foul-mouthed puppets.

So far, five Wisconsin video stores have begun free rentals of Fahrenheit 911 through Nov 2nd.

How would God vote?
Florida Billboards Blame Bush for Hurricanes
Susan Jones, CNSNews.com Morning Editor
10/26/2004

Because President George W. Bush has "ignored the threat of global warming," Floridians can expect to be hit by increasingly destructive hurricanes, a new billboard campaign says.

The billboards, going up along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando -- a week before the presidential election -- read, "Global warming equals worse hurricanes. George Bush just doesn't get it." The billboards show a photo of a hurricane swirling toward Florida.

The campaign is co-sponsored by Scientists and Engineers for Change and Environment2004. The NAACP National Voter Fund is also involved in the effort to blame Bush for ignoring global warming.

A press release announcing the billboard campaign quoted Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton: "The damage from this year's hurricanes should be taken as a sign of things to come," Oppenheimer said. "The warming ocean surface will supply more and more heat to future hurricanes, causing their winds to strengthen and their destructive power to increase disproportionately."

Aimee Christensen, executive director of Environment2004, said President Bush has "pursued an energy policy driven by industry, which puts polluters before people." She said the Florida billboard campaign is intended to "raise awareness" of how Bush administration policies are "harming the people of Florida."

Christensen said people in the hard-hit Tampa and Orlando areas "need to know that Bush is doing practically nothing to prevent hurricanes from getting worse in the future from global warming."

Gregory T. Moore, head of the NAACP's National Voter Fund, said his organization has launched an effort to inform minorities how they are "more heavily impacted by environmental threats," such as stronger hurricanes.

"Here in Florida," Moore added in a non sequitur, "there are still 90,000 people homeless because of the hurricanes, and they should have the right to vote."

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