Global
Former OSU quarterback Bill Long and animal-rights activist Rob Russell planted themselves at OSU’s Vet School in the middle of September and swore off food until the university pulls the plug on a “scientifically unjustified and cruel experiment that will cause the suffering and death of defenseless animals,” says Russell.
This is the fifth in a series of protests scheduled by the animal-rights organization POET against Michael Podell’s FIV/methamphetamine research that, if allowed to continue, will infect, drug, and destroy 120 cats at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Sure I’d rather be sitting down to a pre-game meal on this home game weekend” says 1969 OSU graduate Bill Long who played on both the football and baseball teams. “But knowing that my alma mater is behind this unnecessary killing is killing not only my appetite, but my long-standing school spirit and devotion.”
To answer the question we must first identify the perpetrators of the crimes. It is generally assumed, plausibly, that their origin is the Middle East region, and that the attacks probably trace back to the Osama Bin Laden network, a widespread and complex organization, doubtless inspired by Bin Laden but not necessarily acting under his control. Let us assume that this is true. Then to answer your question a sensible person would try to ascertain Bin Laden’s views, and the sentiments of the large reservoir of supporters he has throughout the region. About all of this, we have a great deal of information.
Many Americans — unaware that the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem) has doubled in the past decade during the so-called “peace process” — are surprised by the intensity of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
Here are some excerpts from the numerous articles, letters and writings we have received in the week following the terrorist attacks.
“Since the U.S. has become a world power, it has deviated from the path outlined by its founders. It was Thomas Jefferson who said: ‘No nation can behave without a decent respect for the opinion of mankind. (I quote from memory). When the U.S. delegation left the world conference [on racism] in Durban, in order to abort the debate about the evils of slavery and in order to court the Israeli right, Jefferson must have turned over in his grave.” – Uri Avnery, Israeli peace activist.
On Labor Day, following a four-day stand-off with the FBI and state and local police authorities, Crosslin was shot and killed by an FBI agent. The next day Rohm was shot and killed as well.
Marijuana activists in Michigan and the Midwest are comparing this to Waco and Ruby Ridge. Increasingly throughout the region, militant activists infused with an angry populism, radical environmentalism and a leave-me-alone libertarianism have defiantly held rural hemp festivals once the exclusive domain of liberal college towns like Ann Arbor.
Petitioners and many others believe that a court action is necessary because the democratic process was hindered due to the Board of Elections preparing to move buildings during the counting procedure. Throughout the ten days, which is the amount of time granted by law, the Board was overloaded and had a skeleton staff due to the 4th of July holiday, prompting them to recruit warehouse workers to help with the count in order to meet the deadline. In addition, they procedurally always double check a petition counters work, but on this occasion there was no such effort.
Just three years ago, the headlines read: “Marijuana Harvest Brings Out The Authorities,” “Police, Marijuana-sniffing Dog Sweep Through Madison High,” “Deputies Arrest Man after Finding 5,000 Marijuana Plants,” and “Medical Marijuana Law Dumped.” What happened? Why has reporting focused on law enforcement shifted to reporting focused on medicine?
A strange thing happened on the way through the millennium. The media got it. A quiet revolution has occurred in the way Americans and others worldwide view this much-maligned plant.
Behind this shift lie facts like these, again from MAP:
An August 2001 report from the mainstream Commonwealth Fund shows that American women are losing health coverage at an alarming rate. Some major findings:
Insurance rates of women are falling below that of men:
- The numbers of uninsured women has grown 3 times faster than the number of men over the past 5 years. Nationally, the numbers of uninsured women is growing fast and could surpass numbers of men by 2005.
- Low-income mothers represent 3 out of 5 low-income uninsured parents and one-quarter of uninsured women.
- Women 55-65 are more than 20% more likely to be uninsured than men.
The Commonwealth Fund also reports that women have more trouble accessing care than men:
Byrd’s scheduled execution date of Wednesday, September 12 at 10 a.m. was stayed by the Sixth Circuit Court late Monday evening. Numerous questions remained surrounding the killing of suburban Cincinnati convenience store clerk Monte Tewksbury. While Byrd was convicted of actually stabbing Tewksbury during a robbery, his trial was a farce. Byrd’s attorneys failed to investigate his claims of innocence, offer evidence or mount a defense during the trial. The state’s only direct evidence against Byrd was the perjured testimony of a violent and notorious jailhouse snitch, Ronald Armstead.
Rep. Barbara Lee: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart, one that is filled with sorrow for the families and loved ones who were killed and injured in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Only the most foolish or the most callous would not understand the grief that has gripped the American people and millions across the world.
This unspeakable attack on the United States has forced me to rely on my moral compass, my conscience, and my God for direction. September 11 changed the world. Our deepest fears now haunt us. Yet I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States.