Gays Seeks Marriage Rights under U.S. Constitution
When Judge Vaughn Walker also asked Charles Cooper, the attorney defending California's Proposition 8, if he “could provide proof that same-sex marriages harm society,” Cooper conceded that he could not provide any. Read the full version at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/GaySF.htm [more]
The “Colored” People of South AfricaUnder British rule the "coloreds" of South Africa enjoyed the right to vote in the Western Cape until 1930. After that they could only elect white candidates who would represent their interests. When the Nationalist Party took over in 1948 the rights of coloreds were further restricted. Read the full version at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/Colored.htm [more]
Did Jesus Pray to Allah?Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language from Syria. Trying to be as authentic as possible in his film "The Passion of the Christ," Mel Gibson has his Jesus speaking Aramaic and praying to Aalah, Western Aramaic for God. For the full version with images of the oldest Arabic Bible and the Virgin Mary holding an Arabic text, go to www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/Allah.htm [more]
Effects of forest fire on carbon emissions, climate impacts often overestimatedA recent study at Oregon State University indicates that some past approaches to calculating the impacts of forest fires have grossly overestimated the number of live trees that burn up and the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result. [more]
USFS Chief Emeritus: Tester bill “flawed, inappropriate, less than fully informed”Jack Ward Thomas, chief emeritus of the U.S. Forest Service and Bitterroot Valley resident, had a guest column in today's Missoulian about Senator Tester's logging bill. [more]
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Tester Bill Comments from Members of Last Best Place Wildlands CampaignThis pdf document contains a sampling of the types of comments submitted to the US Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests regarding S1470, the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, by members of the Last Best Place Wildlands Campaign. These comments were officially entered into the record for the Subcommittee’s Dec 17, 2009 hearing. [more]
TheBrave Young Woman Who Went Before Rosa ParksLong before Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks there had been protests against the Montgomery bus system. In the late 1940s at least five women and one man were fined for refusing to take the back rows that Jim Crow had reserved for them. Colvin was different because she refused to pay her fine and plead not guilty. For the full version go to www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/Colvin.htm [more]
Dennis Brutus (1924-2009): South African Freedom FighterIn his autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" former South African President Nelson Mandela describes a new arrival at the notorious prison on Robben Island: “Dennis Brutus, a colored political activist, was a poet and writer imprisoned for violating his bans.” Descended from Africans, French, and Italians, Brutus died at the age of 85 on December 26, 2009. Read full version at www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/Brutus.htm [more]
Tester Bill: Mandating Logging Will Not Stabilize IndustrySenator Tester's "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act," which seeks to both boost timber harvests and add hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness in Montana, had its first hearing before a congressional committee late last week. It was not surprising that Montana timber interests testified in favor of the bill.
What was interesting was that wilderness advocates from Montana and national environmental organizations were strongly divided over the merits of Tester's bill. Tester is attempting to "split the baby" and end the multi-decade paralysis that has both blocked any new wilderness protection for Montana's six million acres of unprotected wildlands and shrunk timber harvests on federal lands in Montana down to a small fraction of what they were two decades ago.
The Obama Administration, through the Undersecretary in charge of the U.S. Forest Service, weighed in on the side of the critics of Tester's bill, strongly recommending that key elements of the bill be modified. [more]
“Do You Hear What I Hear?” Said the Little LambBefore writing this I listened to many versions of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" on YouTube –Whitney Houston’s, Cee Cee Winans’, Carrie Underwood’s, the Carpenters’ – but I have to admit, and many out there will roll their eyes, that Johnny Mathis’ rendition is still the best. The full version with Michael Feinstein's discovery that his Christmas concerts of popular favorites were "too Jewish" can be read at www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/DoYouHear.htm [more]
The Myth of the Copenhagen ConspiracyIdaho State Journal columnist Richard Larsen calls on the authority of very questionable spokesmen for his view that man-made global warming is a hoax. Lord Christopher Monckton's vision of Communist world government coming out of the Copenhagen conference is McCarthyism plain and simple. For full version go to www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/CopenMyth.htm [more]
