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.